"I will not keep silent because of Zion, and I will not keep still because of Jerusalem, until her righteousness shines like a bright light and her salvation, like a flaming torch." (Isaiah 62:1)
When Elizabeth came into my life last Dec, I really had no idea about the life & weight she carried for me. It was my response to the Lord’s gentle nudging from within that had me get her from the local nursery, but little did I know that a journey of sorts had just begun.
Over the months, I saw her go from a beautiful, bright red-leaved plant to a dry, dull green-leaved survivor that honestly, was quite discouraging.
Presenting Elizabeth!
After a 3-week battle where I shifted her in and fought for her, I knew I had to let her go.
So I prayed for her, committed her to the Lord and sowed her as a seed in the ground before finally bidding her adieu.
Friend, how often do we hit a curveball like this in life, and then think it’s all over when it’s actually only a new beginning?
Had I simply dumped Elizabeth on the pavement, it would have been a different story. But committing her to the Lord as a seed buried in the ground has fetched me a completely different result.
A few weeks later, I began to notice the entire landscape & geography of my living space shift. The Lord had been working within me, through me and also on my behalf in a way that has served to release a most beautiful, diverse and buoyant plant family in my life!
These folks initiated the release 💚My first succulent planter 🪴Except that it’s a snail 🐌 🙃 Yes he is! 🌴In a capsule 🙂
All this to say that should you have lost any thing/person dear and precious to you, then take heart. All is not lost.
As surely as I grieve with you, I also simultaneously encourage you to sow the thing/person as a seed in the ground, for Jesus is faithful to receive your seed, honor it and multiply it. In the kingdom of God, what is dead and buried is often used to raise a harvest of righteousness and bring in newness of life that could never have been anticipated.
For me, it looks like a brand new plant family springing up to life in the wake of one seed – Elizabeth – that was an unwitting sacrifice. For you, it can look completely different. But what we do have in common is the perfectly righteous God we serve who can and who does use all things for our good and his great glory!
This past season I have found myself sautéeing vegetables, cooking quinoa, tossing salami, soaking sprouts and making myself cups of tulsi-ginger tea.
I could never imagine myself in the kitchen a couple of years back, yet here I am. Though I came into this year with Covid, it was precisely this area – physical health, wellness & nutrition – that I found God breathing upon.
Honestly, I have had a propensity to believe that God is a fearsome dude who is only interested in the big moments of my life.
But my experience proves something different.
God, I’m learning, is a Good, Good Father who isn’t just present in the mighty mountain top moments, but also in the ordinary everyday. And he isn’t just present, he cares.
He cares about how I’m doing on a daily basis – what I am consuming and putting into my body. He cares to give me an understanding about my physiology and how it is that he has wired me up to work.
As a result, I have seen myself morph from someone who really didn’t give much thought to food but was mostly seeking ‘food for thought,’ into an identity that cares.
I care about what I eat and put into my body, because my body (and yours) is not a dumpyard, it is a temple of the Holy Spirit – the very house of God.
Having gone from a diet where I barely knew what I was ingesting to a largely organic diet composed of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, leaves and seeds has seen a sure shift in my thinking, believing and subsequently, my feeling.
I feel so much more alive and awake than ever before. I am energised by the scent of wind-tossed herbs, the feel of green lettuce leaves under cool, running water; and the sight of new life as I witness inch-long sprouts freshly emerging from my lentils and red gram.
And new life is exactly what he offers us, friend.
Gathering us, his Sons & Daughters, around the Father’s Banquet Table, Jesus calls us to dine full – receiving generous portions of new life that renew, refresh and revitalize.
I just didn’t realize that sometimes he means it literally.
“When the rug was pulled out from under me, I found solid rock beneath my feet.”
A lot has been burned up. A lot has been shaken. A lot feels lost.
As I write this, I am keenly aware that so many of us have been trudging through impossible circumstances, trying to scale insurmountable mountains.
But friend, I want you to know that there is healing in the valley and there is honey in the rock.
Our setbacks may have caught us by surprise, but God knows the end from the beginning. And He still has a plan, a purpose and a sure path of victory moving forward.
Do not fear. Hold onto Hope.
All of us want to know the miracles of God, but very few of us want to know the God of miracles. The latter always requires us to be in a position where we need him to show up – a posture of vulnerability in the face of fear and uncertainty.
Here it is important for us to remember the nature and character of our God – he is rich in mercy, abounding in grace, perfect in love and unrestrained in power.
He rules the earth with the scepter of his throne, and works on the behalf of truth, humility & justice. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, the Word of the Lord endures forever.
Stepping into the rocky landscape of this post-pandemic world, I see God creating a new reality, and he is doing it by the power of the Spoken Word.
Certainly we have seen our circumstances cave and crumble, but the power of God’s Word has withstood the test, the tribulation, the hell, the highwater, the fire and the storm.
Jesus told us that God’s Word is firm foundation for us to build our lives on. And I have found that in a time when everything that can be shaken has been shaken, it is only that which cannot be shaken that remains – all things built upon the kingdom of God.
The kingdom still remains unshaken, and always will be.
So the waves can roar and the winds can blow, but I will be still and know –
.. the ground where I stand is not only rock solid, but rather solid Rock.
“The Eucharest: Receiving the holy grail of peace, grace and joy with thanksgiving.”
It was on Holy Thursday that Jesus broke bread with his disciples. Before the Passover Lamb could be sacrificed for good, he wanted to have one last meal with his friends & followers.
Dr. Luke in the gospel account records the words of Jesus thus, “and he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them…” (Luke 22:19).
In the original language, ‘he gave thanks’ reads – ‘eucharisteo.’ The root word of eucharisteo is ‘charis’ which means ‘grace.’ Jesus took bread, saw it as grace and gave thanks.
So ‘eucharisteo,’ thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, ‘charis.’ And the Greek word for grace, charis forms the very heart of the word, eucharisteo.
Because it was soon to be the grace of God found in the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb which would form the very heart of the table of the eucharisteo – the table of thanksgiving.
And this brings us to the deeper meaning of the Greek word – charis. For it is derived from the Greek word, ‘chara’ meaning ‘joy.’
Because deep chara joy is found only at the table of the eucharisteo – the table of thanksgiving, where the grace of God that brings with it the promise of wholeness and shalom is enfleshed for us in the Person of Jesus – the Living Bread that was broken to give us new life.
The days after The Lord’s Supper were days that were going to see the deepest kind of wounding inflicted on him, followed by a day of gloom and despair, before he would finally be raised back to life again.
And the days that we are now walking into this Holy week commemorate & celebrate the same reality – if we suffer with him, we will also be raised up in glory with him (2 Timothy 2:12).
A Friday that saw Jesus suffer as the Lamb of God, a Saturday that marked a bridge between his suffering and his glory, and a Sunday that saw the resurrection power of God triumph over hell and death for all time to come are not only a testament of great hope to us, but also serve to take us on a brief journey that we will from time-to-time embark upon this side of heaven.
Take my hand, friend and let me lead you through it.
Good Friday:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:15-16)
The above passage of Scripture reveals that though Jesus was sinless, he was not pain-free. He was in fact, ‘tempted in every way, just as we are.’ He too was familiar with the pain of abuse, persecution, insults, ridicule, rejection and betrayal; so much so that he eventually surrendered even to a most terrifying death on the cross!
This tells me that as we walk through the pain and trauma of this fractured world, we can trust that even when no one else understands what we are going through, Jesus perfectly does.
And he doesn’t tell us to deny it, bury it or numb it.
Much the opposite really.
He encourages us to bring our wounding to him, because by his stripes, we are healed. The day we reckon as, ‘Good Friday’ is proof of that.
For the crown of thorns on his head to be bartered for the wreath of peace we now wear, this was a day when the righteous died for the unrighteous, the godly for the ungodly, the sinless for the sinner.
It wasn’t fair, but it was necessary.
Likewise, your suffering and mine has purpose too. There is nothing glamorous about it, but it is glorious.
How, you ask…
Our pain, whatever it may be, when brought to the foot of the Cross, enables a divine exchange –
Brokenness for wholeness.
Human suffering now embraced by his glory becomes not only shared and dignified, but immensely transformative.
Eugene Peterson puts it like this,
“…people do not suffer less when they are committed to following God. But when these people go through suffering, their lives are often transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness, in remarkable ways that could never have been anticipated before the suffering.”
Our pain produces purpose when it is embraced by the beauty and power of who God is. For this is the truth of the cruciform life –
The Lord walked through unjust suffering, we will too. There is nothing right about it, but I’m reminded that love is the logic of heaven.
So if our Savior hung on a tree that we may have hope in the midst of our pain and suffering, then let this somber yet sacred day called, ‘Good Friday’ serve as a reminder to us that our brokenness on this side of eternity does not disqualify us from the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. In fact, it is through our brokenness that God works all things together to qualify us and to script songs of glory for all generations to echo.
So, as we have opportunity, let us approach the throne of grace – the table of the eucharisteo – to find the help we need in our time of need, but to do so with hope and joy, praise and expectation …
.. and a ton of thanks.
Silent Saturday:
“Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.”
(Psalm 27:14)
Sandwiched between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection was a day where darkness seemed to have prevailed and all hope felt lost in Jerusalem. Grief and despair hung in the air as the disciples huddled together, without any comprehension of what was next. God had orchestrated this pregnant pause of sorts, but the atmosphere was thick with sorrow and suspense.
Friend, in our walk of faith, we too will have moments when we feel hopeless and discouraged. But when we do, we can always find comfort and camaraderie with the disciples. We can know that just like this wasn’t the end of their story, what we are walking through isn’t ours either.
‘Silent Saturday’ – a day riddled with fear and doubt – was in fact, a necessary bridge between the disciples’ history and their destiny. It was a purposed cross over between what was and what was yet to be – the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, which meant but one thing:
Life would never be the same again. But on a despondent Saturday wedged between a catastrophic Friday and a monumental Sunday, this secret was hidden from them.
And somewhere I suspect the same holds true for us too.
We may not be able to fully understand or comprehend the ‘why’ behind our perceived delays, but one thing we can be certain of –
God is in it with us, and he is not busy preparing the blessing for us, but rather he is engaged in preparing us for the blessing he has already prepared for us.
In other words, our waiting is not the end of us, but rather the ‘becoming’ of us. He is the Alpha, he is the omega; but the journey?
That’s where we’ll find him.
Resurrection Sunday:
“It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
(1 Peter 3:21-22)
I took a walk with the Lord the other day – a phenomenon I love calling, ‘walking with the Lord in the cool of the day.’
And as I walked on, I found myself toying with the two keys I currently possess. One is the key to the main entrance of my home, while the other unlocks my personal almirah. Wrapping each key ring around my right and left thumb respectively, I smiled.
Peering into the face of Jesus, I suddenly realised that what I really had in possession was not just the two keys that opened up portals in the natural realm, but rather keys that had authority in the spiritual. As this epiphany came through, it brought me right back to the message of Easter:
“Because on the third day, he rose again, I now have the keys to hell and death, in Jesus’ Name.”
He is Risen!
I am Risen!
Hallelujah!
So this is the Good News we celebrate on Passover.
Death has been swallowed up in victory, and darkness has been eternally vanquished!
Therefore, we can never be deadlocked in any situation because the Lamb of God has overcome. As prized children of the most high God, we can rest in the assurance that what seems to be the end is now only a new beginning in his hands – which makes our lives a saga of unending hope, brave adventure and ceaseless glory.
The Bible states that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). So as we lift up the cup of the new covenant this Passover, let us look at our challenges square in the eye, pick up the sword of the Spirit, and decree what he has decreed over our lives, thereby enforcing the triumph of the Cross and establishing God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
One of the Lord’s last directives to his disciples was to take the bread, the wine, and to remember. Do this in rememberance of me. Remember, and give thanks.
For the truth is that after what the Lord has done for us, we can never repay him. But we can remember him.
And as we remember him, it is we who will be reminded of who we are and whose we are. The Psalmist puts it like this,
“So now, what can I ever give back to God to repay him for the blessings he’s poured out on me? I will lift up his cup of salvation and praise him extravagantly for all that he’s done for me.”
(Psalm 116:12-13, TPT)
So friend, as we approach the Holy Week, let us lay hold of the life that is truly life, let us celebrate the Lord’s grace with peace, joy and thanksgiving.
Let us take the bread, take the wine and take communion.
‘These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?
But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out.
The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.
Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.'”
(Deuteronomy 7:17-21)
For He still is the God who parts open the Red Sea, pushes back River Jordon and tears down the walls of Jericho.
He still is the God who turns bitter waters sweet, and commands the sun to stand still.
He still is the God who leads us with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
He still is the God who provides manna from heaven, and brings water from the rock.
He still is the God who shuts the mouths of lions, and turns the heart of the king around.
He still is the God who brings dead bones to life, and calls things that are not as they were.
The Lord still is a sovereign, miracle-working God who goes before like a devouring fire, comes between the enemy and His loved ones and makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Because the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same – yesterday, today and forevermore.
So can I encourage you?
Don’t yield to your fear. Yield instead to the revelation of who He is.
Not to the next beautiful destination, friend. But to the beauty of what has been thus far in 2022.
And trust me. Though it wasn’t perfect, there sure were some incredibly beautiful spots along the way.
So let’s hone in for a bit.
Shall we?
“The best is yet to come.”
The anthem of hope firmly fastened to my heart was how I entered into this new year.
God had been speaking to me throughout the previous season, and I knew my expectations from life moving forward were good & glorious.
Looking back to reflect & learn all that 2021 had packed within itself, and reaching forward to lay a hold of what 2022 promised was the delicate beam I found myself balancing on as I made my way into Jan ’22.
Ok.
Now brace for impact.
A day into the new year and I was tested positive with Covid.
Really now?
Friends, over the course of 2021, the Lord had taught me not only the power of his Word, but also the power of standing on his Word. Once he speaks, it is finished. The matter is settled.
So though I had begun this year with an unexpected diagnosis, I knew what the Lord had promised. I knew he would see me through yet another valley and that I would come out not only unscathed and unharmed, but seven times stronger than I was going in.
Because that’s how the Lord works. The restoration he brings about is always to a place better than before. As it is says in the Passion Translation,
“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up. And he has all the power needed to do this—forever! Amen.”
(1 Peter 5:10)
Friends, the Hebrew word for glory is – kabod. Experience with the Lord has taught me that whatever the enemy means for evil will not only be overturned by the hand of the Living God, but also used by him to bring about the manifestation of something good that releases his kabod, his glory into my life.
Please, Lord. Show me how.
God uses All Things
So though I got down with Covid, I found myself involved with two amazing challenges online – a 31-day Wisdom Challenge hosted by Pedro Adao as well as a 5-day Prophetic Planning Challenge by Roma Waterman.
Honing into the voice of the Lord was the number one thing that I needed spiritually, because where the enemy brings chaos, God brings clarity. So I learnt to lean in closer and hear what the Lord was saying and what I heard back from him, friends has given me much hope moving on, not only for a promised future, but for life as it happens – right here, right now.
Let me try and break down the fruit I have received thus far, from this rather uncommon time here:
1. Facebook Lives:
Watching a dazzling array of powerful speakers like Bill Johnson, Lisa Bevere and Heidi Baker across a time span of 31 days in Pedro Adao’s Wisdom Challenge during this time was the very thing that gave me the unction to go ahead with my first set of FB lives!
Though I was physically battling weakness, I experienced the Lord’s anointing work dynamically to create beauty within and bring meaning to an otherwise bleak landscape. I was truly reminded of what they say,
Every dark cloud has a silver lining.
2. The Book of Proverbs:
It was Dr Brian Simmons who in Jan beginning kicked off not only the Wisdom Challenge, but also my own personal time in the Book of Proverbs. Not only have I been enjoying my time in this book, but it has produced much fruit – challenging me, exhorting me, calling me higher.
Lady Wisdom, it seems, must be pursued. And this past season, I have found myself running.
3. Divine Rhythms of Grace, Rest & Play:
Learning to lay down creative projects for a bit and to prioritize instead my personal healing and recovery has been a huge part of my process thus far, but also a kind of eye-opener concerning the true heart of the Father towards me.
I’m learning, friend, that He isn’t after my works. He is after my wholeness – body, spirit and soul.
Author, Hannah Brencher encapsulates this sentiment beautifully as a part of her own personal journey with Jesus this season as she affirms,
I AM IMPORTANT + I MATTER
So with the right order of priorities, I now am learning to create in a grace-filled, restful and playful way through the Lord’s unforced rhythms that keep me whole, and don’t leave me broken.
Because the truth is works don’t validate me. Love does.
4. Soak-Sprout-Sautè:
I have also been learning from Jesus the art of soaking + sprouting lentils and whole grains. Finding myself in the kitchen – chopping and sautèing – a mixed bag of carrots, beans, cauliflower, capsicum and broccoli has been symbolic of a subtle, but sure shift from my tendency to have processed foods to a much more healthy intake.
Nope, I am not giving a class on cooking, but rather offering on a plate the perspective that my body (and yours) is not a dumpyard, it is a temple of the Holy Spirit – the very house of God.
And what he calls holy ground, I’m learning to too.
5. Switch the Lights:
I also learnt this season a very interesting fact – the white lights that we use in our rooms & homes after sunset deceive our senses into believing that its still day time, which causes us to remain subconsciously alert even after the sun goes down.
This increased brain activity at a time that God designed for our bodies to rest & renew, results in prolonged evenings/nights and crabby mornings.
So what’s the antidote?
A very small change has made a big impact for me, friend.
I decided to ditch the idea of using white lights after sunset, and stick to a yellow table lamp instead. One could actually try candles too. The idea is to create an environment that helps reduce activity and promote rest instead.
Switching the lights can most definitely switch the script.
The God of All Things
Candid confession time now.
Until recently, I believed that God was only interested in moving the big mountains that stood in my way, and didn’t really care that much about my day-to-day life.
But looking back on my experience as I write this today, I am so amazed, friend, at how wonderfully He has revealed himself to me to be both,
The God of the Practical + The God of the Miraculous
My experience in these times testifies that God is a hands-on Father. He is so crazy about His kids that He insists on being involved in the details of our lives.
From hiding tiny surprises for us as He meets our everyday needs to manifesting divine interventions that part the proverbial Red Sea, He is invested in it all as the God of the mundane, but also as the God of the mighty.
So as I wait upon Him to perform the signs, wonders & miracles that I know He has promised me, I am also deeply content in knowing Him as an intimately connected Father who walks with me in the cool of the day, and is hugely interested in revealing His kabod to me – not only one day when, but also right here, right now.
OK.
Enough said.
I’m taking my foot off the gas, friend. We’re almost there!
The ride may have been bumpy at times, I admit. But you chose to stick it out with me, and I commend you for it.
You’ve been brave.
So as I get ready to roll up the windows, I thank you for the priviledge of your company.
I do need you to know that I am proud of journeying alongside a worthy fellow traveller like you. The roadblocks and humps we have needed to manouver were very real, but so was the beauty and the glory that came with the trip.
All because of the reality of a God, who despite my taking leave right now, promises to be by your side forever – without a shadow of turning. So remember to let him in, friend and let him take over.
For its this kind of genius love that gets in the driver’s seat for us, and taking a hold of the steering wheel of our lives; leans over waiting patiently as we settle into the passenger seat, to hand us a steaming cup of mocha with a glint in his eye that lovingly says,
“Buckle up, babycakes. Its your Father who has the wheel.”
“Christmas doesn’t have to be spectacular for us to experience Christ, but because we know Christ, we can experience Christmas to be spectacular.”
Bunny slippers – Hot chocolate with whipped cream – Advent Devotional by Hannah Brencher – Elizabeth, my beautiful new, red tree – Outdoor walks & conversations with Jesus
aren’t just ‘a few of my favorite things,’ but some of the most wonder-full things that have made my Christmas full, thus far. Having begun Advent this year thinking it would perhaps be bleak, my story reveals the opposite is true.
For it is a knowledge of Christ that enables a spectacular experience of this season, and not necessarily a spectacular experience of Christmas that enables our knowledge of Christ.
The latter can help, of course. But it isn’t a necessity to behold the reason for the season.
A small, sharp look at the snap shots and I reckon the things listed aren’t too big of a deal. But when viewed through the lens of a personal walk with the Messiah which reveals His fingerprints all over the roadmap for this season, the dynamic changes.
Where I wrote, ‘bleak,’ He wrote, ‘wonder.’ Where I wrote ‘barren,’ He wrote ‘fruitful.’ Where I wrote ‘dormant,’ He wrote ‘latent.’ Where I wrote ’empty,’ He wrote ‘beauty.’
And this is why I love Jesus. This is why I love this season. Because He changes everything.
He flipped the script on its head 2000 years back when God became man and came as a humble babe in a manger.
The Light in the darkness. The Hope in the despair. The Miracle in the mundane.
And He is the same even now.
Because ‘knowing’ Immanuel – God with us – is the real celebration.
May we trace Him. May we behold Him. May we adore Him.
‘The Beauty of Jesus’ inspires me, friends to cultivate gratitude for who He has been, who He is and who He promises to remain, for He never changes and ironically, He keeps getting better!
“The Son of God lays down his privileges, wraps himself in flesh and comes as a babe in a manger.”
The world awaited a Savior. Many prophecies and 400 years later, there was still no answer.
But then, He came.
He did not come as one would expect. No. Not with pomp and show, but rather with a humility and fragility that almost takes us by surprise.
The King of glory redeines and revolutionizes our concept of ‘Kingship’ by authenticating it through ‘Servanthood’ and translating this unique hybrid into the language, the identity and reality of “Sonship.”
Friends, we have a Savior in Jesus because we need relationship with the Father. We are not orphans or strangers with respect to the Father, but rather closely held, delightfully known and tenderly loved Children of the most high God who is Perfect in His heart towards us, and it was to reveal the height, the depth, the length, the width of this magnanimous heart that Jesus came.
Not as a military dictator – because that’s not who the Father is. But rather as a helpless babe in a manger – to identify with us so that we could identify with Him, for compassion is who the Father truly is.
Slowly growing up in wisdom and stature, the Son of God modelled for us the “Perfect Servant-King.” And the Bible tells me that as He is, so are we in this world.
I don’t know what your story is, friend. But mine has seen me discovering the truth of my identity as a Daughter of the King of kings and then also the beauty of my role through my relationship with the Father in the earth. What that means every single day is the hope that I awaken with and awaken to every single day.
So for the string of days leading upto Christmas beginning with Advent, I feel like we have a fresh invitation & opportunity from the Lord to seek to know Him – as a Father so that we can be known as much loved Children.
There is no fear in love, but Perfect Love casts out all fear. In a day and age where there is so much temptation to live in fear, anxiety or dread; I’d rather be defined by the Love of my Father and let His Love transform the story of my life.
Because He came, I’m going.
Straight into the arms of my Father. For who was once a helpless babe in a manger is now the Risen King of glory who is the Savior of the world, but also my personal, perfect, intimately connected and hugely involved – “Father.”
In response, its only natural to want to press in to know Christ this Christmas, friend.
So let’s do that!
He is our Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.
To discover Him is to unwrap the gift of Christmas.
🎁
So as I knit my heart with yours, I hope and pray that the winter snow kisses you afresh and awakens you to the desire of the Father.
For to make you known to Him was also why Jesus came, and I’m guessing we’re going to make it count this season.
SoulandSubstance27 