Thank You

Amidst the busyness of life and the endless chores of things and issues to attend to: I want to take this opportunity appreciate my wonderful friends and family: those who have been consistent in their relationship with me.

Those who have shown their love not only in words but in deeds, who, regardless of their own situation have been selfless in giving, in thought and in purpose, because of you, I was able to weather the storms of 2009.

Your thoughtfulness in my time of need rivals none other
As we come to the end of 2009 and embrace 2010 I dedicate this piece to you:

As diamond radiates beauty, with its glittering rays
Its colour is indescribable,
Of crisp whitish blue and of sparkling glow depicting clarity
Of yellow hue or scarlet pink
So too is your love my friend
It comes shining through the dullest moment
It pieces through a grey terrain
Its presence refreshes my soul.
More valued than precious stones,
I cannot exchange it for another
It travels through distance, unhindered by space
It transcends culture and status
It embraces me with my failings
It is inclusive and encompassing
It’s alluring and calming
It is bold without being demanding
When quietness I demand
That you gave
You become for me what I desire to have in a true friend
You my love
Is the hook that anchors me to the future
And keeps hope alive
As you’ve shown love to me
So do to others
Let the flow of it overwhelms and drowns the recipient
In the tidal wave of pure and undefiled love

Season's Greetings: Today and Everyday

It's the season to be jolly right? How come I've heard so many people say they won’t celebrate Christmas this year"? Why? I have asked, and the replies have often been, O, it's just the same old, same old routine of buying presents, attending parties with people you'd rather not be around, buying cards and presents, etc. I must say that I felt like that too and decided not to send cards this year, not because I don't like my friends and family but because I feel that I can use technology to express my wishes to them.

I like that my church has decided that instead of everyone sending cards to each other, we should donate to a charity and this year we will be donation in the form of the money we would have spend on Christmas cards to the children's society. You may think the amount is insignificant. Be that as it may, when pooled together it will go a long way to impact someone else’s life.

I still like the buzz around this time of the year, primarily because it's the end of the year, I take time out to reflect on the past months, relax, catch up with friends and recharge for the coming year.

Regardless of whether you will be celebrating or not, I want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a fantastic year ahead.

As you tuck into your turkey, my Christmas wish is that you remember:

it' was a birth that was predicted thousands of years before he was born
it' was an announcement that was made to a virgin
it' was a birth shrouded in controversy,
it was a seed that was not human
Yet it was planted in human body
It was an act without man's involvement, except as a vessel in the form of a virgin
it was a divine birth that brought Christmas to us today
it was a God that became man in human flesh.

Not just on Christmas day, but every day.

It was his birth which led to his living, it was his life which leads to his death
it was his death that brought us pardon, it was his resurrection that brought us life
it is his life in me that causes me to celebrate his birth everyday and on Christmas day!

Happy Christmas today and everyday!


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Who's cheering for you?

I am an avid sports fan. I love football, Tennis, athletics, basketball you name it. I may not understand them fully but I like the buzz around games, the excitement before, during and after a game. I like listening to the analysis by professionals and amateurs, the bickering by fans, the seemingly fanaticism of sports never fails to amaze me.

I get in on the act too, when supporting my football team, my favourite tennis play or other sports stars, all these from the comfort of my couch. I have been opportune to attend a few live sporting events. Imagine what it’s like in a football field, you can’t be still in those matches, which is second only to a Holy Ghost filled atmosphere.

One thing is certain, the cheers of fans steer teams on. I have witness countless turn around in games. Where it was almost certain that a team or an individual is going to lose only for them to make a remarkable turnaround and win. When asked after a Tennis Match against Roger Federal, Del Petrol attributed his turnaround to the chants of the Argentina’s fans amongst the crowd. He said anytime he felt like he couldn’t carry on, their chants spurred him on.

This got me thinking: everyone of us has someone cheering for us, rooting for us to succeed in every area of our lives.
Who’s cheering for you? Who will be disappointed if you give up?

There is one cheer that dwarfs the cheers of sports fanatics, “The cheers of the saints who have gone before” the urging of the Holy Spirit to try one more time at whatever it is we’ve been tempted to give up on. It may be the urge to give up trying for that promotion at work, to give up working at a difficult relationship, the urge to give up on a desire or a dream, the urge to give up the wait for a spouse or the urge to give up on that difficult child.

Straight from my heart is this piece to encourage you, as we approach the end of another year to:

Tune your earring aid,
lengthen its cord,
stretch it wide to the frequency of the chants of those who have gone before.

Imagine them standing on the sidelines,
urging you to take one more step,
to continue on in the hope of achieving that dream.

Their cheers will give strength to your wings,
enabling you to stay in the race.

Envision yourself in the realm of the desired for many a soul has won, who sort to draw strength from the cheers of those on the side lines.

And when you are tempted to give up trying,
remember that you may be giving up on the chance to stand on the side lines,
to cheer on those who will come after you.

For you see,
only a winning attitude guarantees entrance to be a spectator on the stands,
to take your place with those who amidst the odds,
continued and obtained the price.

So stay in the race, because someone is cheering for you.

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Hope

This year is rapidly coming to an end. As I look back on the last 9 months, I marvel at how swiftly time flies. It wasn’t long ago we welcomed this year, made goals and resolutions, with hopes of how we wanted things to go. Here we are, counting down.

This year holds different things for different people. Some can’t wait for it to roll by quickly so that they can start another one. Perhaps it doesn’t hold pleasant memories for them. They may have loss jobs, loved ones, houses, health, excreta. Things happened that have made them eager to see the back of 2009.

What memories do you have of 2009? In what way does it stand out for you? Have you loss a loved one? Have you been struck down by an illness, are you one of those who look back to the last months and sigh? Do you feel things are out of control in your life?

Here’s one peace of advice for you, regardless of the pain, disappointments, or sorrows you may have encountered this year, it could have been worse.

Do no dwell on the disappointments of the past so much that it hinders you from seeing the blessings in your life right now.

Perhaps things have been really bad for you this year, whatever can go wrong went wrong and you dread the dawn of another year even though you can’t wait for this one to end. Remember however good or bad a situation is, it will change. We don’t know whether it will change for bad or worse but that is where faith and hope comes in: we hope it will change for the better if it was bad and trust God to do right by HIS word.

So straight from my heart is this piece to ENCOURAGE you.

Hang in there my friend.
Though dark the night may be and fear overwhelms
Tales of toil and snare litter an uncertain horizon
and your heart palpitates as it anticipates the arrival of another season
Though visions becomes blurred by scary clouds
As hope wanes and dreams go cold
Though dawn waits on the shores of misery,
Look up, skies become clearer as the clouds roll back
See beyond the blur
Extend your vision
Let your hope be restored amidst the scares and tears.
Lay your cares aside,
Let faith be ignited again

As you stay the course and wait for the dawn of a New Year with Joy.

Hope

Right Now.

Sometimes we temporarily forget the goodness that surrounds us, because we become so engrossed with what’s not going well in our lives and loose sight of the good things we have going for us right now. We’ve been so programmed to plan and prepare that the very act of planning for the future stops us from living live “Now” and taking a break to just enjoy the time we have right now. If you are waiting for a job, to buy a car, a house, start a family, get married.
I urge you to:
Enjoy the “Nows” of your life, take a look outside your issues, go for a walk in the park, wonder at the changing times, and marvel at the beauty of nature, changes in the colour of the leaves from vibrant green to enticing orange. Let the beauty of Now feel you with awe, be invigorated again, forget about the onset of the bitter grip of winter and drink in the glow of autumn.

I am here:

I'm here living in this moment, basking in glory, assured of a flourishing finish.
I am here with head held up high, I walk tall a smile etched on my face.
I am here not in a maze of empty thought. I fully grasp the reality of my being.
I envisioned my future, an oasis of peace, love and joy

Sometimes I wonder what the outcome of my quest will be,
My soul quieten within is reminded to live in today’s reality,
The certainty of being here, right now in this moment
Enjoying the warmth and love of good friends and cherished family.
Today I am here, trying to show love regardless of its outcome, because this is my ultimate quest.
Now, in this moment,
I decide to be at peace, with myself,
I lay aside turmoil and strife,
I embrace the abundance of serenity, for right now, in this moment,
I am here in full breath, given to me for today.
I am here, right now enjoying the reality of a life filled with Love and Joy on my way to a flourishing finish.

Navigators

Navigators revolutionised lives in most western countries. Can you remember the days without them? How did you survive? I remember the good old days when we had to rely on AA or Multi map, hubby usually pre-print the instructions for me to help with the directions, but we often drive past our exit or turning before I gave my directors. My hubby would usually stop the car several times (fuming) to read the directions himself, needless to say I rubbish at map reading and he was very good.

My job requires going to new places daily so I had to learn to read street maps and did pretty well using them to find my way around. I am always ecstatic whenever I manage to find my way to my destination without too much hassle. I graduated from street maps to road maps and it was really a joy to arrive with the help of AA or Multi Map. So I was really reluctant to go the digital way. Hey! Wait a minute; I’ve only just started enjoying map reading, I don’t want to change!

I reluctantly made the change and bought a sat nav, it was said to operate within 95% accuracy and I must say, my journeys improved a great deal. I thought to myself, God bless the makers, “why did I wait so long to get one" rarely did my navigator took me the wrong turn or place. It may take me the long way but it always took me to my destination. That was five years ago, and the technology has improved since then and am still loving it.

So what's the point of all this you may ask? Am I a spokes person for the one of the Sat Nav Companies"? Well, no.

I was once a passenger on a journey with a friend, going to a place we hadn't been before and needed the help of the sat nav, she did alright at the start of the journey because she knew the way up to a certain point, and although the navigator was on we ignored it until we came to unfamiliar route. My friend became impatient, glittery and worried as soon as she started depending on the sat nav.

At one point I had to say, calm down and follow the its direction, immediately I said that she went on and on, on how these things cannot be trusted, on how many stories she's heard about them failing. I asked her “have yours failed you" "no" she replied, “so why are you afraid I asked:” “well what if it does she replied”? "I've heard stories of navigators taking people the wrong place". My reply was “if yours haven't failed you yet, I don't see why you should be stress and worry now”. “It may take us the long route, because it sometimes does”, she replied, “as longs we get there, I don't see the problem”, relax and enjoy the drive, I replied. Needless to say that she ignored me and continued to fret, but broke out in a big smile of relieve when we arrived at our destination.

This got me thinking: You see, we are like that with God, we trust him in the things we can see and it is easy to have faith then, but wait a minute, why have faith and hope for the things we see? We do not hope for the things we see, but we with patience, hope for the things we don't yet see. Quite often we become impatient, jittery and angry with God. Worry often kicks in when what we are waiting for seems to be taking a little longer, we begin to complain and remind ourselves of stories of others who are in similar situations as us whom God is yet to come through for.

Just as I was a passenger on that journey, the Holy Spirit is our passenger on the way to our destination, urging us to trust God, the journey may seem long but he'll take you there. Don’t make the journey difficult by resulting to old ways and wishing for the good old days.

Relax and enjoy the ride, focus your on God's goodness and personality, (He’s good, he’s loving, he’s kind, he’s faithful and he’ll bring it to pass), he will always bring you safely to your journey's end.

The journey may seem long and painful, but don't fail to grasp the beauty and lessons of life along the way, because you may not travel that road again, so you have an opportunity to grasp whatever it is you have to learn on your journey to whatever you are waiting for.

Just like my friend, you too will break out with a big smile when at last your destination you reach. Till then, Press on in faith, knowing that you too will arrive safely on the other side.

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