Favour is not dependant on me!

I have come across something I find very interesting. I think most of us when we want something so badly it's natural to think that if we pray harder and read more, fast more and do our part it will happen. I think that is exactly how I felt until Wednesday morning when I came across Rev. Creflo Dollar's sermon, titled "God's Favour is not dependent on you." How ironically appropriate was this for me especially since I was watching more sermons because I though, if I do this then God will do what I want him to do. Did God not just smack me with a reality check!

Creflo Dollar goes on to say, God has already done it, it's done! Jesus paid the price and favour, mercy, prosperity, wisdom and all good things have already been done for me. All I have to do is believe and say thank you!

This thing we do of coming to God in panic, anxiety and frustration is a direct reflection of the doubt we walk around with.We try to get God's blessings based on our merit and performance. None of our performances can get God to do what He's already done.

What do we then do after our added prayer hours and "our part"...boast about  how God answered our prayers after we were on our knees 6 hours and fasted for 21 days. While all of that is great and pleasing to God, the motivation cannot be to get God to do something. It's no longer about Him, it's about what I did to get the blessing. No! I personally believe God's revelation to me was that all He asks is that we live righteously everyday of our lives. That Jesus is in us from the way we speak, think and interact with others. Everything else has already been done. The peace that comes with knowing this is what will comfort us through every trial and tribulation!

This blessed me deeply, I hope it blesses you too :)

An Attitude of Gratitude

April 20th 2014 was possibly that day for me. My dad's surprise 50th birthday party was so profoundly blessed it went beyond my expectations. It was so amazing to see my whole family in such good spirits. I had never seen my mom and dad so proud. My friends that came to show their support made it even more special. Since that day I know everything shifted for the better.  My family and friends are more than just people in my life, they are a gift from God and I will cherish them forever. 


 It feels good to be able to do things for your parents while they are still alive. I was going through Instagram posts last week and somebody posted the question "What was the last thing you said to your mother?" The replies to that post were heartbreaking. So many people will never have the opportunity to do something for their parents because they have passed away. For those of us that still have that opportunity, I think it is so important to show gratitude to the people that raised us. I love my aunt and uncle so much, because I always think back to how good they were to me when I was growing up.

When I was growing up I spent all my school holidays at my grandparents' home until they both passed away. I may not  remember everything that happened but I do know that I always felt good and cared for in the hands of my dad's siblings. Sometimes, even when we don't have much, our mere existence is a blessing to someone else' life.  We need to guard the aura we project to other people. Kindness really does go a long way and I'm learning that myself and just hoping that my words, existence or being does not bring hurt to anybody out there.

Authentic

With tomorrow being my 26th birthday I find myself reflecting on more than just the past. My blessings are vast and I am wealthy in love and health. My gratitude towards that is invariably expressed to my Creator.

However, at the risk of sounding pompous, the resonant of how my authenticity played an enormous role in my development does not escape me for a second.  I remember when I was being interviewed for the current pisition which I hold in my career, at the end of a very profound interview, my interviewer said to me "I think what I like about you the most is the fact that you know yourself so deeply. You know what you can and cannot do. You know your strenghths and weaknesses past what most people just google. I can trust you because you have a clear understanding of who you are and what you can bring." Honestly speaking, in that interview I was myself and I thank God that I know who that person is. I really didn't think much about what I was "expected" to say but merely focused on giving my heart.

I cannot stress anough how important it is to do the things that are congruent with one's character. You are guaranteed to be the best at that. I understand that we can't all afford to live our dreams, but there is no greater feeling in the world than doing something that you are designed to do. Nobody can explain it, it makes your blood boil in a good way and you have a unique satisfaction at the end of your day. That is how I feel when I go to work and when I come back home. I can only hope that we are all afforded the opportunity to be honest enough to ourselves and truly live to our full potential. I think everybody deserves that feeling of fulfillment.

*Blossom*

Finish Your Race

Thursdays are now officially known as #ThrowbackThursdays aka #TBT on social media networks. The youthful and creative (myself included) upload pictures and videos from the past which can be a great way to look back on how far one has come. However, TBT serves a different purpose on social media, and it's not necessarily a bad one either. Today, being a Thursday, I was reminded of a "throwback" that isn't too far back. I was reminded of a sermon by a guest preacher last week on the topic "Finish Your Race/ Determination To Finish (something along those lines)."

How many times do we start projects with excitement and enthusiasm but get distracted along the way. Do we even have the required determination to finish? Many bible verses and quotes were thrown in to highlight the importance of finishing what you start. One thing that I share and take very seriously with one of my friends is "A Word." In as much we always say it jokingly, but I truly believe that YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY. To me personally, if you fail to do what you have said, I lose some respect for your character because your word means nothing me. The vitality of saying what we mean and meaning what we say cannot be stressed enough towards the reflection of one's character.

To bring it back to the subject of being a finisher, I loved the quick analogy that was told of a Tanzanian man who was running the marathon somewhere in America. He got severely injured along his race. All the other participants passed him one by one while he hopped his way ahead, enduring the pain and determined to get to the finish line. When he finally made it to the end of his race, obviously hours after everyone else had finished, he was asked why he continued racing. His response was, "My country did not send me all the way here just to start the race, I came here to finish my race and that is what I have done."

I hope this motivates us to not only be great at beginning projects, whether it be studies, business ventures etc. but to see them through with determination and endurance so that at the end we can bodly say the above words in the image!!!

*Dust that Rose*

The Circle of Trust

Gratitude is one of the things I can boastfully say I  am not guilty of withholding. I unashamedly express it towards the people in my life. I think it's so important to let people know that you appreciate them while they are still there to hear it.

I am blessed to have the most amazing friends in the world. Our group is very intimate and honestly is a circle of trust. We all have our other extended friends whom we appreciate and love dearly,  but what we have have with each other is so heavenly anointed and truthful.

Life is constantly showing us how difficult it can be to find birds of your feather. I have been blessed with this coterie of devoted friends. We all have different passions and personalities but there is something beyond the norm that keeps us so attached to one another. I remember back in August while driving to Durban, before my car broke down on us, Zoleka and I were chatting about growing up and being the adults we are now. We both said the one thing that will completely break us besides death of a family member, would be suffering a loss of our friendship with everyone in the clique. We have such ease and comfort with one another and I would hate to one day just have that taken away from me. We used to think that our friendship was very co-dependent, abnormal and perhaps a break from each other was good for us. We tried it and it did not work.

I am always amazed at the way God orchestrates things. Nearly four years ago (Jan/Feb 2010) Xoli and I were looking for a place to stay. We were trying to find a 2 bedroom apartment to share but couldn't find any. Eventually we decided to to look for 1 bedroom apartments since we were running out of time. She found one and called me, I told her I had also found one and it turned out it was the same complex and she lived just upstairs from me. A few months later Zama also found a place up the road. It has been such an amazing four years having the two of them so close to me, in more ways than one.
Last Friday, 29th November '13, I moved out of my apartment las because of the constant break-ins  and they both turned it into such an emotional thing. I tried to laugh it off and joked that I was not dead I'd just moved up the road, but it really did feel like the beginning of a separation. I've got Zikhona in my new complex which is just another one of God's mysterious acts :). Zikhona and I along with Spho and Zama stayed together at Milpark for about 2 years or so, way back in Varsity days. Apartment 225 will always be our happy place. Zikhona used to say how emotional she got every time she drove past our  apartment in Milpark. We have A LOT of memories there. I think that is where the "circle of trust" was conceived and rooted. Living in Milpark with my friends from 2007 to 2010 was the best years of my life. Nomthi and I had lived together shortly at Melville Mews before that, with Qhaks and Xoli just a few doors down in the same complex. They all later moved to The Yard, closer to the University of Johannesburg, where even more memories were created! Gcobisa , Zoleka and Andile were also living together in Morningside and visiting them was always so much fun. When Thabiso moved to Braamfontein and got a car, we were officially ballin'! Arty Fartsy Zola has always been in Pretoria and visiting her is always an event.

I could go on and on about the circle of trust (Which was originally labelled by Leroy, who is in every way possible part of the crew). These last few years we have all spent in Johanneburg have been one for the books. These are the people I will tell my children about and only hope and pray that they will all still be around for a very long time to come.

Later guys :) Love form this heart to all of yours!

The Resilience of a Palm Tree

Once again I heard something very interesting in one of Joel Osteen's sermons. He spoke about the resilience of a palm tree. In Psalms 92:12 it says the righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
He went on to explain that we were not built to break. A palm tree can withstand hurricanes, tsunamis and severe storm without breaking.  It bends sometimes all the way to the bottom, but it does not break. When the storm is over, it goes back to it's original position.  Scientists have speculated that all that shaking and bending strengths the root when the storms are over.

The storms will end because they can only blow for a while. We will flourish like the palm tree. This gave me great inspiration that regardless of how many times we are shaken and bothered sometimes to the point of no return, we will not break. We have a resilience that is built in us by the Most High. We are rooted, where nothing will separate us from our source. So the storms can but only bend us, where they intend to break us. But break we will not. We can not. 

Stay rooted!

The Eagle and The Crow (Knowing What to Ignore)

I recently listened to a Joel Osteen sermon (whom I have recently discovered is an awesome preacher). He was preaching on the topic Knowing What To Ignore.

"If you're going to live in victory you have to be very selective as to what you give your time and attention to." Right there I was captivated! He used the analogy of the eagle and crow. An eagle can fly as high as 20 000ft in the air. A crow, which is very agile and can easily maneuver its way around the largely built eagle, would often try to pester and aggravate the eagle. HOWEVER, the eagle knows it can fly at altitudes that the crow cannot. So, instead of getting upset or trying to fight with the crow at its level, the eagle simply rises higher and higher until eventually the crow falls off. 

This was very personal to me because I am not a person who likes conflict. Infact, world peace would actually suit me just fine. Sometimes not every battle is a battle for you to fight. Learn to ignore somethings and trust on what and Who you know.

*Blossom*