Thankful Wednesday: the good men that I cross paths with

I love my job because I get to meet people from different walks of life. There's been one elderly man who has become a father figure to me. I hold him dearly to my heart. I met him in August and if you read my blog, you'll remember I shared a letter that he wrote.

So this elderly man was a teacher and then became a school principal. But what stands out for me is his love for mankind. The first time we met, he shared his creamed buns with me. He shares with everyone. He speaks kindly, he complements others, whether by mentioning how good they look or just something good that they are doing ; he speaks a word in season, brings food and reminds me to eat or to take a break.

I've had the pleasure of typing documents for him and I must say, I am always inspired to keep writing, reading and just be the best that I can be.

We also share a love for writing, thoroughness and teaching.

I also met another elderly man. He spoke so gently. I shared a pamplet with him but the words he spoke really touched my heart. While speaking to another man, he said all that God does is good. He also admonished us to live Cbristianity because through our misconduct we misrepresent God. This has honestly made me think quite a bit. Titus 1:16 comes to mind.

It's so comforting to see godly men who are gentle, kind, considerate - attesting to the fact that God is able to raise godly men regardless of heredity or social standards.

This is particularly refreshing to someone like me, who does not have a godly father figure.

I am thankful for hearts who love and who by their conduct point me to God. True greatness is character.

P/S If there are spelling errors it's because I'm using my phone. I'm still getting used to blogging here.

HOW DO I GAIN VICTORY OVER SELF-DECEIT? [PART 4]

 I believe in order to gain a clear perspective of our own deceitfulness, it’s crucial to see where we come from and compare how far we’ve fallen and how much we need God to help us.

The Genesis account of the origin of mankind records:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the every living thing that moveth upon the earth.-Genesis 1:26-28

How can we know the image and likeness of God?

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the worlds.

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the power of his word, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.-Hebrews 1:1-3

In order to understand how we were character-wise before the fall, we need to study the character of God and see how much we have fallen.

The character of God according to His image

 ²⁰But ye have not so learned Christ;

²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.- Ephesians 4:20 - 24

From the text above we learn that the image of God is righteousness and true holiness

The Character of God from Scripture

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. –Jeremiah 9:23, 24

The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.-Psalm 145:15

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. - Psalm 145:8, 9

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. - 1 John 4:7

From the texts above we learn that God possesses:

-Lovingkindness

-Judgement (Justice)

-Everlasting Righteousness

-Everlasting goodness

-Impartiality

-Compassion

-Slowness to anger

-Holiness

-Truthful

Lastly, God is love

The Character of God as Revealed in Christ’s Life

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. - Romans 8:28-29

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ; for I am meek and lowly in heart. -2 Corinthians 10:1a; Matthew 11:29b

²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. – 2 Peter 2:21- 25

Christ, the express image of God and thoroughly expression of God:

-Meek

-Gentle

-Never sinned

-Without guile (purity of speech / without deceit)

-Reviles not

From the few scriptures we’ve gathered we have learnt about the image of God, which only reveal him in part; and since men were created in His image, we can conclude that:

Mankind came from the hands of God possessing love, compassion, humility, impartiality, right doing (righteousness), justice, gentleness, without deceit and more. He possessed no taint of sin.

In the next article, we’ll look at how sin has corrupted mankind and led to self-deceit. We’ll also look at the cure for self-deceit thoroughly.

REST A WHILE, WEARY CHILD!

Rest a while, weary child,

In the mighty arms of God. Lay your head upon His chest, Close your eyes and simply rest. He knows all that you need, He has heard, He has seen. So come and lay your burdens down, let His love surround and hold you. That tender love of God for you, never failing ever true. Rest a while, driven child in the shelter of His wings. They have been a place of refuge to both homeless and kings. Rest assured, He knows your needs. He is the giver of good things. From ages passed, to eternity He had promised to Provide for you. (CHORUS) For you are His precious treasure, He loves you without measure. You are His delight, priceless in His sight. And wherever you may go, may you always know, The tender love of God for you, never failing ever true, That tender love of God for you, never failing ever true. Rest a while, broken child and by healing hands of God. Hands that hold the reeling spheres, Will wipe away your tears. He who makes all things new, Will do the same for you. He is faithful, good and true and he's promised to restore you (CHORUS) For you are His precious treasure, He loves you without measure You are His delight, priceless in His sight. And wherever you may go, may you always know, The tender love of God for you, never failing ever true, That tender love of God for you, never failing ever true.💘

Listen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXJ0yFI9RrQ

The Black Task Masters

They know their employees' struggles
They know suffering-from a distance or from experience
Yet they are severest in oppressing
They will stop at nothing to make sure your situation doesn't improve
They are stumbling blocks to personal development
The lie is: the slave will always submit
The slave has nothing going on for him/her
The slave will die a slave
The task master- the black task master is our greatest enemy
At least seemingly.
He thinks of his black subordinate as a slave
Each day I find myself in the hands of such a master
But I won't die a slave

What Matters

I keep losing important stuff
I'm even losing other people's important stuff because at some stage, some things are beyond our control.
But I'm learning an important lesson: nothing tangible lasts forever; even some things that are not tangible perish.

But this remains (as I console myself):

I'm learning that there are riches and true riches. True riches last forever.

Don't mind them

To my beloved twin and to many who've been discouraged by naysayers

Don't let their negative words even stay in your memory
Don't let their words pierce your heart - they not worth keeping
They say many words but they hold no weight
Remember:they don't know your journey nor your dreams and your aspirations
Don't let those who know not your purpose make you tremble
Don't mind them

Don't even be fazed
Don't be moved
Don't incline your ear
Don't mind them

Don't fear mortal
No matter what mortals do, they can't take your purpose away
Don't let the purposeless convince you otherwise
Don't mind  them

Don't give them a chance
Don't entertain them
Don't let them in your space
Don't mind them

You won't be tamed
You can't be tamed
Envision it
Your dream is that valid
Don't mind the naysayers!
Don't mind them

Are you feeling the pressure? My thoughts today

Are you feeling the pressure?

Posted on October 22, 2018

Image Source: nyweddingco.wordpress.com

So, I’ve had about 3/4 people ask: Are you married? or Would you like to get married? or When are you getting married?

And my answer is more or less the same : I laugh, say no or not yet. Or I’m not ready yet.

And I wish people could understand:

I was born for something greater

I am more THAN my hips and my breast

I am called for something greater- outside of my marital status

I am called for something greater- outside of motherhood

I am called to Christ-likeness

And there’s a deeper conviction that the question shouldn’t be: are you married?

But, are you becoming more like Christ?

As much as I look forward to my wedding day and getting married to beloved One

It won’t mean a thing if I am not becoming Christ-like daily

I can never be a good wife, if my heart is unconverted and there’s no daily conversion

My children won’t be blessed, if sin is my daily portion

My destination is not marriage

My destination is heaven

So, I aint pressured! I’m just alright  !

My pressure: A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next.-Maranatha 223.2 (emphasis mine)

A good character is a capital of more value than gold or silver. It is unaffacted by panics or failures, and in that day when earthly possessions shall be swept away, it will bring rich returns.-Maranatha 223.4 (emphasis mine)

[Article copied from my other blog .]

My heart is starting to bleed on a daily basis: Part 2

Reflections about Sunday (14/10/18)

There's another group of children. They come from affluent families. Definitely nothing wrong with this. So these are the kids who wear smart clothes and everyone wants to be friends with them.They attend model C schools. Some don't. But you can tell they come from privileged backgrounds.

I don't teach this  group of kids because they belong to the Adventurer Club, aged 2-9. So this past Sunday I had the privilege of teaching these children. Their teachers had not arrived yet so I figured I could help.

When I viewed their books I was shocked. Little work to nothing had been done. So I told the first boy I was helping to come to me whenever he needs assistance for the day. And this really broke my heart. His mother is always working and the father is occasionally present. I just found myself wondering about when does he get to spend time with his dad. I found myself wondering if he has the experience of sharing all his childhood trials and experiences with his mother. Sure, it's great that dad is there- but he needs mom too.

I couldn't help but realize that sometimes parents use money to make up for their lack of their availability in their children's lives. Sure, they want the best for the children; but I'm realizing that children appreciate closeness and intimacy; more than other things and this is good for them on so many levels.

Then this little girl. My heart literally broke. I assisted her. I saw 2 scriptures she had to memorize and next to them both was written homework. When I inquired as to why she had not done  her homework, she said her mom was busy and couldn't assist her. Arg man, I was sad. When she said it she sounded quite heart broken. I 'cry' for her today. Her brother also needs attention. It's a mess.

There's also another hyperactive boy  who's just busy and never wants to settle down. But yesterday he insisted that I teach him as well. And as I read out loud to him- he laid his head on my shoulder.

I exist for him. I exist for the little girl whose mom is too busy to assist. Sure, I'll wonder why. But I'll mother these children occasionally or whenever they need me. I believe I exist to mother other people's children who due to circumstances cannot be there.

Image Source

http://kissingthecollarbone.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-mothering-blackness.html

My heart is starting to bleed on a daily basis : Part 1

On behalf of children growing up in this day & age; especially those who live in Christian homes.
Their home lives should be different. They should be different because they are not of the world. But the more you observe, your heart breaks. It breaks because innocent children are brought to this world without any proper preparations. This is not to say these children are any less important; but the only concern is: little care is placed when raising them. So much emphasis is placed on taking care of physical needs; but little importance is placed on the cultivation of character, skills & abilities.

Parents are pleased if their children have some As in their report cards. But the truth is, sometimes As are a false indicator of the capabilities of a child. Anyway, what really saddened me this previous weekend is: I had asked one parent to assist her daughter with revision and she said she'd try. And on Sabbath she came to tell me she had tried but her daughter is struggling a bit. Mind you, this daughter of hers has so much potential. She's one of my top students.

I then tested her and she knew nothing. And I couldn't help but wonder: how is that parents can facilitate potty training but not mental activities? As a parent you're the most acquainted with your children, how can it then be difficult to help them with school work and other activities? I couldn't understand.Anyway the child was just lazy. So I had to force her to read, pinch her and smiled with her and by the end of it all: we finished 2 stories and our relationship was not even marred. She even came to class again on Sunday- even went to fetch me for class :).

It's really crucial to lay this particular principle for our children: feelings aren't true guides. Just because you don't feel like it , doesn't mean you should not do it.

Anyway, there are many sad stories just from this past weekend and you can't help but wonder: why not wait till you are complete and everything is sorted and are willing to ensure the best in the development of your child before having one?

Anyway, who says you owe them children? If you truly aren't prepared, why have a child who sadly becomes a burden? 

EMPLOYEES: COMMODITIES AND NOTHING MORE?

For the past weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the workplace and specifically about how employers view their employees. I can't help but wonder if they truly value their employees purely for being human instead of the work and the capital they bring?

A month or so ago, I met a man in his early 50s and he had worked for this particular company for 18 years. Then in 2012 or 2013 he lost his dear wife and this devastated him so much that he struggled coping at work and he lost his job. Upon learning this, I asked if they had arranged a psychologist or anyone whom he could speak to and he said no. He mentioned that his family had suggested that he sees a psychologist but because of his stubbornness he refused.

I couldn't help but wonder if the employers had done enough to retain him. Did they care enough, did they visit him at home? Did they make him know that he was valuable still regardless of the loss and perhaps let him know they don't want to lose him? How do you let 18 years of experience just go to the drain?

A week ago I met a young, pregnant lady who needed her employer to sign her unemployment insurance fund document. We were at our wits just trying to get her to sign. It turned out there was an issue with the email address & the following day I called and I requested her to email me back. She did and I replied on her emails and a week later suddenly there's some temporary error. When I contacted the lady to find out if her issue had been sorted, she said no. She later went to the Labour department, which decided to take the matter to CCMA. I'm still to ask her for an update.

There's also an issue with my mom's friend whose employer refuses to pay and many other examples of poor treatment of employees. And I can't help but wonder what do employees bear on a daily basis.I can't help but think employers sometimes view their workers as commodities and nothing more. They don't know them. They sometimes see payment as something great; whereas it isn't. Shouldn't employers be focused on giving their workers opportunity for improvement? What about their employees' dreams, talents, capabilities and struggles? Do they care?

With each passing day, I think of ways of not ending up with a boss. God forbid that my people continue to suffer like this while God has given each one of us talent and mental power.

On Patience

My heavenly Father is seriously teaching me patience. 

I also happen to do a job that requires so much patience from me! Today was the severest test on patience but my mind ran to the text below and it's really starting to make sense.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.-James 1:4

HOW DO I GET VICTORY OVER SELF-DECEIT? [PART 3]

HOW HUMANS GOT DECEIVED & CONTINUE TO BE DECEIVED 6000 YEARS LATER

From the past articles, we learnt about how deception started and how the Devil managed to deceive a third of holy angels. We learnt that he worked through lies. Today we'll go deeper and find out: how is it that we are deceived too and we find ourselves in such a sticky situation. Yet we need not to fear because we serve a wise God.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.-Revelation 12:7-9

The Devil was expelled from heaven as a result of his rebellion and He was cast down on earth. This signifies that God does not coerce us to worship Him. After the fall of Lucifer, God created planet earth. Genesis 1 & 2 give a thorough account on the creation story and we’re told after each instant God declared ‘it was good’.

The Bible gives us this account about the origin of mankind:

²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

From this we learn:

·        Mankind was made in the image and likeness of God

·        Mankind was given dominion upon creation

·        Both male and female when created in the image of God

·        God blessed them

·        He told them to be fruitful i.e. to inhabit the earth

Like we learnt that in heaven there are commandments which angels subscribe to (Psalm 103:20), God gave Adam & Eve a command:

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.-Genesis 2:16,17

From this command they were given the liberty to eat from every tree except one. Following the command, God also told them the consequences that will occur upon breaking this command. Another trait about God shines out: He is a transparent God. Furthermore, there’s a principle: every action has a consequence. After every good thing that befell Adam and Eve, Genesis opens with an interesting scene; we find the Devil exercising his deception again:

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.-Genesis 3:1-6

In this instant, the Devil used the serpent (which is said to subtle than any other animal) to lure and deceive. It’s important to note that the Devil’s war is truly against God and His law. He used the very command which God had laid out to be obeyed.

From the account we see that the Devil:

·        Questioned Eve so as to cast doubt

·        He tweaked God’s word to suit his plan, which was to deceive in this case

·        He then painted God as a jealous God who withholds information and stated they shall be as ‘gods’. Quite an interesting observation to make. Satan was the one who desired God’s office and yet He was perpetuating the very agenda.

·        Through Satan’s deception: Eve saw the tree differently. She saw it ‘good for food’, ‘pleasant to the eyes’ and a ‘tree desired to make one wise’. Eve wanted more than God had given and unfortunately she took of the tree and gave her husband too.

·        Unfortunately, our original ancestors, Adam & Eve gave in to Satan’s deception. But instead of gaining wisdom, we learn that instead they became naked and had to cover themselves.

·        Prior to this: they were covered with the same covering as God’s (Psalm 104:2)

Paul mentions how Satan made our parents fall into sin:

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. – 2 Corinthians 11:3 (emphasis mine)

Eve, upon deceiving herself that she will be wiser and the fruit looked lovely to eat, fell into sin. The lesson here is: self-deceit results when we decide to go against God’s expressed will. It also occurs when we listen to the suggestions of the Devil, who happens to be the greatest deceiver.

Our safety against self-deceit is knowing what truth is, so that we may be able to have a barometer to test every suggestion whether it’s from within or from the Devil himself. Not only is it important to know the truth but it’s important to take heed of it and do it.

This is the sad story of how mankind bought the lies of Satan and how everything went from ‘good’ only to evil too. Death, strife, hatred, oppression, pain, poverty, homosexuality, fornication, lust, intemperance and every evil originates from this very event INCLUDING self-deceit. And from the pair giving into the suggestions of Satan, the great controversy has been the result- a war between good and evil (God & Satan) and the Devil seeks to do the very thing he did to our ancestors and have us perpetuate his own agenda and die hopelessly.

On the next article we’ll zoom into self-deceit and look at the cure for it. We’ll also look at what truth is and how it can help from self-deceit and more.

Encouragement to 'teachers'

I have the lovely privilege of teaching 10 year olds at church. This journey of teaching children started in 2014 when I was not in school and had nothing to do. So I adopted about 4 girls whom I started teaching Bible, Languages and Mathematics. It went well although they’d overwhelm me at times. 

Then in 2015 I had the privilege of working with kids at a mission camp in Limpompo. I must confess though that I wasn’t really pleased with this as I felt I was missing out on the evening crusades and I really felt robbed. I did form friendships with some children and upon leaving, I remember giving one girl the heads up on respecting her parents and what-not. And fast forward to the following year, and we received the news that she had drowned in a river when they had gone for a swim. Who knows? I’ll just leave it there.

As years went on, I developed a love for teaching and an interest in true education. I’m nowhere near where I should be in terms of what constitutes true education but the education system has been nothing but a disappointment and I know with some of my friends that has been a similar experience. A disappointment because it didn’t prove much helpful (minus my laziness and depression). It hasn’t helped me to be less dependent and much of an independent thinker; nor has it given me skills which can help me to be self-employed and of much use to society. And I guess my earnest desire is to experience true education for myself and share it with the younger generation.

And so, I believe teaching at church is a God-given appointment to explore. I’d be lying if I said this has been easy from the get-go. To begin with I learnt that there were various things that initially proved as a hindrance. The children upon meeting them did not have daily devotions, some could not read in English, some struggled with basic things like being able to transfer notes on their own personal books and so forth. I was overwhelmed. How is it that 10 year olds had to be told what to do? Why did they have to be spoon fed? Why did they not have accountability? 

My first step was to go to God and just talk to him about these issues and I receive counsel from books such as Counsels to parents, teachers, and students and others. But the victory came with prayer and having more real talks.

What frustrated me the most was their lack of motivation. But the more I spoke to their parents and visited their homes, I realized there were many underlying issues; and I’ve had to sympathize, lend an ear and to understand. Truth is, children go through a lot; especially when their home circumstances are not okay.

 Manier times upon learning about their situations I’ve had to pray much and counsel. It goes beyond the books. It calls for commitment beyond the book covers and the allotted time. It takes everything.

  But as we speak now, things have taken a complete change. There was one particular girl who really frustrated me. She couldn’t read, do basic arithmetic, or   even remember what was being taught in class. So I approached her mother and there has been improvement. But now she has gone from that to having a desire to learn, not only has her memory improved but she’s even excited to learn. She even comes and asks when we are we having class. Essentially, I thank God because I know this is His doing.

 And so to you dear teacher, who happens to be childless: God qualifies even the childless to teach. God does more than we can imagine in the minds of the children we teach. Above all, He transforms you. I am happier, less uptight and I enjoy being around these lovely children. They have taught me how to love, how to be patient, how to suppress unkind words and all the more. They have added so much to my life and God willing, I hope we’ll spend the next coming years together.

Reflections on being a South African citizen

My heart bleeds for myself and my fellow South Africans. We are in a crisis.Perhaps we’ve 

been in a crisis for the past 24 years but we were lulled into sleep by words like ‘democracy’, ‘human rights’ and ‘equality for all’; yet these were just in theory and seemingly nothing was done to bring these to practicality. Maybe the faces of black presidents made our people transfer individual responsibility to them with the hope that the black man will sympathize more with them; that black presidents’ hearts will be true and they will always have people’s interests at heart.

I myself am guilty because I have not been concerned because of other forms of distractions but that’s not an excuse. And I’m grateful that I’ve been awakened to the real struggles of my people-particularly black people and people from my own tribe, AmaXhosa. This doesn’t in any way seek to water down the experiences of other people; but I can only speak of my own experiences and those I get to observe.

The reality is: Xhosa people are still oppressed; most South Africans are too. I feel like only a few things have changed post-apartheid and I am grateful about the changes; but at the same time I can’t pretend as if all is well. I still experience the pangs of poverty and I know many who still do. My heart breaks at this realization and at times I become overwhelmed with sadness. But I know this is not our destiny as black people. The change begins when realize we are also part of the problem and stop pointing fingers without actually asking what can we do regardless of circumstances and bring about change.

 As things stand, S.A has citizens that are so depended on the government that every crisis needs the police, government, and ministers. We need to let go of the ‘entitlement’ and ‘dependency’ mentality. We need to realize that our needs cannot be met by government officials while we sit and do nothing. We need to work for ourselves and come with the solutions. Think about it: if we are members of a particular residential area and there is an issue that needs to be solved, is it fair to call an outsider when we are the most acquainted with our struggles? My point is: we need to take accountability and play our role too. We cannot wait like helpless babies when we’ve been blessed with exceptional minds, strength and other talents.

We are fully capable and that means we all have a role to play. An elderly man mentioned how we no longer pride ourselves in hard work and building ourselves up. We want the government to clothe us, feed us, school us and the question is: what do we bring to the table? Is it truly the government’s duty-when he has not even been there when were conceived? May God enlighten us. May He help us to develop as individuals and depend solely on Him and grant us wisdom on how to not put our responsibilities on mere mortals; help us to improve on all spheres.

And I believe solving the issue begins to seeing that there’s a problem so that the next generation is rescued. We can also learn many lessons from presidents like Thomas Sankara and others; we can also learn more from Ethiopia with regards to their self-help programs. There are many other issues that must solved too like education and the likes.

Starting October with blessings all around

30 September 2018

Yesterday was such a blessing. I and my friends went on a sisterhood outing. To top it up, we had the lovely company of my friend’s daughter who is 9 years old and a 16 year old. It was her birthday so we celebrated it with her and it was so lovely. Whenever we meet I am always blessed and I cannot begin to thank God for this particular sisterhood because it’s touching every sphere of my life in a positive way. And for the first time, I realize my dreams are valid and they will come to fruition because of their counsel. It was such a lovely day and it’s engrafted in my heart. And I discovered one of the sisters has been writing as well! Lovely!

01 October 2018

The Lord is faithful. He has carried me through for the past 9 months and I cannot thank God enough. This morning started quite well. I had to rush somewhere before going to work and my brother stood in for me J (see why I’m blessed?). As I was in the taxi, an elderly man came in. At some point, as I was looking at him, I couldn’t help but believe he was once a teacher in my junior secondary school. I kept looking at him when he wasn’t looking at my direction and I finally plucked up the courage to ask: are you Mr.Jobela who once taught in Garrett? He initially said no, and jokingly said: yes, I am. He then confirmed his suspicion of me as well. I think he knew me because I was a head girl and a ‘good’ girl LOL. We then went on to speak about the current state of education and we agreed on every point. It was such a lovely, fulfilling conversation and I wished to not get off at my stop to continue with the conversation. He then gave me his blessing with regards to the future and gave me a hug. What a man! Such a humble father. I was really encouraged and blessed to know that he still remembered me and he’s one of the people rooting out for me.

Then when I returned to work, it was messy. Our printing/copying machine was out of order but praise God my brother was there. Let’s just say he discovered that the other printer that was not vacant is actually working. I’m surrounded by great minds I must say. Then, after a few customers came in, a middle aged man from our church came in and I assisted him. It was a blessing and his farewell words were: “umgcine lomntana mama” which can be loosely translated as “treasure this child”. It was such a blessing. I treasure these words honestly. More than anything, I treasure what my mom has been to me. She has been an encouragement and a constant reminder that I should not give up. There’s so much I admire about my mom and one of these days I’ll reflect. And she fixed our printing/copying machine too! See? Great minds I tell you.

All in all, October started with such blessings and it happens to be my mom’s birth month. So yay to October and awesomeness!

THANKFUL FRIDAY

1.I am grateful for my immediate family ☺️! The Lord has arranged things in such a way that I get to spend most of my time with my parents and I must say, I'm growing fond of them!

A shout out to my mom who's my right hand, the doer of amazing things, the one who strengthens me when flesh fails (Of course she knows these sentiments!).

A hello to my dad who's teaching me patience LOL and who judges me for being 'African' just because I prefer to watch things that have to do with people of my skin colour. Lol! He's spoiling and scolding too. An African fathers' disorder maybe? Lol!

My twin, my manga-manga business, such a wonderful soul to be around. I thank God for the friendship we share and I am thankful that he enjoys my company. He told me some months ago that he wanted to offload and  he felt he could speak to me. I was chuffed man!

2. Thankful for the kids I teach and don't teach at church. Last Sabbath afternoon there were only 4 kids (the Adventurers had gone to a camp) and we just spent the afternoon together. They were reflecting about the week and it felt good just listening to their genuine stories. Man, I love these kids! One even allowed me to lay my head over her lap. It doesn't get better than this!

3. I'm thankful for real, meaningful, face-to-face relationships! So heart warming and beautiful.

4. The lessons God is teaching me and the conversations we have.

5. For well-thought, meaningful articles and the ability and appetite to read!

6. For scars that are healing.

7. And for the Sabbath! Sjoe, exhaustion makes you appreciate the Sabbath. It's more than that!

And many more things I'll share next time.


Image Source

medium.com

Articles that made me think & dig a little DEEPER {a}

I'm still DIGGING (introspecting)!

I have not come across such a well-put, realistic article like this one (busyness and not having the right sources I think). Excuse the f word and cringe if you must; but don't miss the point. Dig with me! Read the rest of the article here: https://thoughtcatalog.com/jamie-varon/2014/12/this-is-how-we-date-now/

We want a life that does not need the validation of likes, favorites, comments, upvotes. We may not know yet that we want this, but we do. We want connection, true connection. We want a love that builds, not a love that gets discarded for the next hit. We want to come home to people. We want to lay down our heads at the end of our lives and know we lived well, we lived the fuck out of our lives. This is what we want even if we don’t know it yet.

We bombard ourselves with stimuli, input, input, input, and we wonder why we’re miserable. We wonder why we’re dissatisfied. We wonder why nothing lasts and everything feels a little hopeless. Because, we have no idea how to see our lives for what they are, instead of what they aren’t. 

She also mentions something that resonates with me and happens to be the reason I'm off whatsApp & Facebook:

And, even if we find it. Say we find that person we love who loves us. Commitment. Intimacy. “I love you.” We do it. We find it. Then, quickly, we live it for others. We tell people we’re in a relationship on Facebook. We throw our pictures up on Instagram. We become a “we.” We make it seem shiny and perfect because what we choose to share is the highlight reel. We don’t share the 3am fights, the reddened eyes, the tear-stained bedsheets. We don’t write status updates about how their love for us shines a light on where we don’t love ourselves. We don’t tweet 140 characters of sadness when we’re having the kinds of conversations that can make or break the future of our love. This is not what we share. Shiny picture. Happy couple. Love is perfect.

We are The Emoji Generation. Choice Culture. The Comparison Generation. Measuring up. Good enough. The best. Never before have we had such an incredible cornucopia of markers for what it looks like to live the Best Life Possible. We input, input, input and soon find ourselves in despair. We’ll never be good enough, because what we’re trying to measure up to just does not fucking exist. These lives do not exist. These relationships do not exist. Yet, we can’t believe it. We see it with our own eyes. And, we want it. And, we will make ourselves miserable until we get it.

Article on deception coming up soon (as I cringe at how busy I've been to read and write on this issue). 

Breaking free from the shackles of social media

A week ago, I decided to break free from the grip of social media except for Instagram (photography pages are my joy). Oh, and I only chat to beloved one on whatsApp. Nothing personal. It just got exhausting. I have realized that social media somehow perpetuates being unreal. Somehow people put on the perfect pictures, perfect this or that. Everything is rosy. It's as if you aren't enough and you need more whenever you go online.

If it's not that-it just get's tiring. The constant communication which doesn't really make up for real intimacy is exhausting. And lastly, it's really time consuming. My weakness was the status updates-any platform where I can write becomes a snare. So ja, I was there- updating, sharing and it just got to a point where I felt like I was oversharing. So what if I've just read a particular article? Essentially I didn't want to lose on the real moments while updating. I wanted to break free from keeping appearances.

And it's been so freeing! I have more time on my hands. I don't feel any pressure to write anything (because blogging makes up for it :) ). I'm just living life on my own pace and honestly, I plan on living like this till Jesus comes. I feel like in the near future I'll just have a smart phone and not use WhatsApp and Facebook.

I want more real, face to face relationships and these are more rewarding.

So ja, I am not returning from this sabbatical!