News #3 - Its all in a name

– Written by Anneline de Hout

In ancient times, names carried far more significance than they do today. They were often thought to reveal the nature and character of a person. In the Old Testament, God introduced Himself to many people by different names: Adonai – Lord, Master; Elohim –Mighty Creator; El Shaddai – God Almighty; El Kanna – Jealous God; El Roi – The God who sees me; just to name a few. Each name reveals a different characteristic of God. By making Himself known to us, we receive an invitation to know Him.

I am working through the book Praying the names of God by Ann Spangler once more, which goes hand in hands with Estell Brink’s colouring in book Meditating God’s Hebrew names (available through Sela). Just reading theses names makes my heart leap with a “Praise the name of the Lord!”.

I received many articles and blog posts written by anyone who has made a study about the mystery of the word “Sela(h)”, found 71 times in the Psalms and 3 times in the book of Habakkuk, ever since authors started joining Sela®. The general understanding of the word is that it indicates a pause – a time to reflect. I don’t want to add anything to what was already written, but in my studying of God’s names in Hebrew, I discovered something about the word “Selah”. I looked at the meaning of the Hebrew letters spelling the name Selah, Shameck (support); Lamed (to Lead or teach); Hay (Arms raised). It basically spells out “Support” “Lead/Teach” “Praise”. How awesome is this? God called this movement Sela®, to support, lead and teach authors in praising Him – together we are “Telling His Stories”, Selah.

On a personal note: For all practical purposes, I go under the name Anneline. Many have asked me about the De Hout surname . Allow me to explain: In 2016 when I published by debut book Vuurwa-Taxi, I explored the option of using a pen name. My married surname, Bezuidenhout, together with my first name is rather long and does not sound have a creative ring to it. Writing under my maiden surname was not an option, as people will not take me seriously as “Anneline Kriel”. My husband’s creative mind brought us to “de Hout”, an abbreviation of Bezuidenhout. We now freely use “De Hout” for more than just my pen name.

Prayer Journaling – by Julaine Marais

For me, Lockdown in 2020 was a full stop. More than that, it was a period of time that launched me into a new direction and the beginning of a culmination of God’s work in and through my life.

I had a lot of time to pray for our country, asking God to help us and expose anything that was not of Him and release His spirit in South Africa.

At the beginning of June 2020, as I prayed, I wrote this in my journal – “I sense that something is about to give way in the Spirit realm. Breaking open. Release.” The Lord gave me a picture of South Africa with chains around it that were breaking. I felt so impressed in my heart to paint it. I printed a colouring map of South Africa on a sheet of paper and painted it as the Lord showed me to do it. Then, I wrote Psalm 107:14 “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces,” on it with a prayer: “Break the chains of slavery over this nation, Lord.”

Last year in June, I presented a Prayer Journaling workshop showing others how to create prayer journaling pages using scripture, images (drawn or cut out) and prayers.

Recently, I felt impressed to pray over my family using the Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet and customising a unique prayer for each individual. The prayers are so powerful. I will be offering workshops to teach people how to create these prayers to pray them over their loved ones.

If you are interested in attending or hosting a Prayer Journaling Workshop, you can contact me on 084 767 9928 or at julaine@parpar.co.za

You can also contact Anneline on 0825634407 if you would like to host or attend a Prayer Journaling Workshop.