Don't Settle

I choose this title because the easiest thing in the world is to stop trying. 

Trying brings pain and in that moment of persistent trying without results, we are tempted to give up and quit.

I have been trying to get another job for a long time but have not been successful so far. I stopped trying for a while and lost track of where I was. I was encouraged to start again and I am shocked at how far back I have to go, to start over. 

I realised that settling and giving up takes us backwards when and if we do decide to start again. 

So my encouragement to you today is "don’t settle".

Don’t settle for a present of misery when you know your future is more than what you have right now. 

Don’t settle for a man who is less than what you envisage in your future.

Don’t settle for a marriage of abuse when you know you are suppose to have a good life

Don’t settle for second best in anything.

Settling may take the pressure off temporarily but does not bring you joy,  because you know deep within you this is not your destination. 

You may pause while trying to figure it out, but don’t stop when difficulty or pain comes knocking. 

Don’t let what's happened in your past affect you and stop you from going on with your life. 

You can begin where you right now to start over if you have settled or packed it in. 

Yes you dealt with abuse

Lost loved one

Lost your marriage

Lost your healthy

Let these become your testimony, for there's no pit so deep that God cannot reach and bring you out. 

Be humble and seek God's face for your future.

Let him carry you to your destination.

When you feel tired and want to stop ask him for the strength to go on. But do not stop, keep moving and soon you will reach your goal. 

Don’t settle but rather set your goals and set yourself up for the next phase of your life.... 

Don’t settle 

In His Arms

As I made my way towards the open heaven’s team, I saw it lying helplessly on the ground. I picked it up as I sat down and lay it on me.

This was my daughter’s doll, they bring their dolls to church and on seeing their friends abandon them and run off to play.

This ministered to me and to the team, this doll couldn't get up by itself, it was helpless, but it has use, it brings joy and fun to my kids. I cradled it in my hands as the team encouraged me with God's love for me and that just liked I picked up the doll God will cradle me in his arms.

He wants me to rest in him and he wants to cuddle me and let me know that everything will be fine.

Too often we want to figure out our path, our next move and we rush into projects and take up well thought out ideas only to run into obstacles and difficulties. We find ourselves lost wanting to turn back. We come to a point where we're we become too tired to get up, this is when our father comes in.

When we are weak, then are we made strong. He comes in, picks us up and fathers us.

What we think we need to get by may actually not bring us rest, joy and contentment. It may be a good cause, but if it takes away your joy and leaves you in misery, ask the father to show you his perfect will for your life.

One minute the doll was lying helplessly on the floor the next it was resting in my arms. The father wants to pick us up, let him, come to him rest in his Bosom and find peace.

Are you weary from the toil of life? Do you seek help in the things you do, in financial wealthy, material things? Release all control to the father and let him cradle you in his arms and father you, this is where you will find rest.


Other post you may like: have faith and trust

My Facebook Life

My life in pictures. 

Someone said to me yesterday, I like your life in pictures. Referring to my FB post. 

I wish I have time to have fun like that. 

This was food for thought? 

What do we really have time for now? 

I have really enjoyed my time off work as a result of the school holidays. I do things with my family normally, but this was special, something was different because I decided to let go of every stress and really just be in the moment, to stop worrying  about the millions of ideas and things I have to do. 

To enjoy every moment and go back to the simple things I love. 

Which are to spend time with good friends, my family and God. 

I really felt a release as I was not pulled in Several directions. I am able to focus on my projects without pressure or strain of performing. 

This was a big relief for me and I came to the realisation that my life in picture may be great, what matters is my life behind the click of a Botton. 

I am happy and grateful, I really am. My life may not be perfect but I am at peace. 

Life's journey consists of the little details which brings us joy, 

The sorrows we face which makes us strong.

The struggles we strive to overcome.

The pride of succeeding at every small venture.

The node from a loved one which speaks volume.

The silence of friends who understands your pain.

The strength of comfort we give others. 

Our life in pictures may not always mirror our daily existence, but they are ours nonetheless, in that moment, in that place where we are happy, nothing else matters.

You may not leave your life on display, regardless, set time to love deeply, care truly and serve sincerely. That's what matters. 

Treat your off Facebook friends as you would your Facebook friends.

Guide your heart jealously, protect it from stress, pressures and unhealthy thoughts.

Release yourself to hope, faith and love, let go of the burdens of expectation, focus on being the best picture of you, the one which  brings real joy to others. That's the picture which matters. 

Yes, my in picture is great but my life off picture is unbelievable awesome. 

And for that I am eternally grateful. 

March On

Seeing the roses bloom, seeing faces come alive,

watching their expectant,

tells me spring has sprung

the year marches on
we continue on with our daily task,
some brings hope
others despair

I still see an end,
filled with promises of gladness

Am anchored to his promises

of comfort and strenght in times of need

I stay close to the anchor

and place all wishes at his feet.

Say, March on in faith,

not wavering or yeilding to defeat.

and if at the end your hopes still waits,

Do wait, it will surely come.

Infertility: Dealing with Festive Periods

Seasons of the year can be difficult when you are facing infertility. I remember dreading the approach of celebratory seasons, I just hated the attention given to all women on Mother’s day in particular. I was of the opinion that only mums should be celebrated, not all women, and so to avoid being part of any kind of celebrations. I usually prepare an excuse for my absence at any gathering.

I remember avoiding any sort of gathering during Christmas, Easter, or mothering day

Mainly because in my church and most churches there's always something to do with kids and mothers/mothers to be. At my then church, kids put up a performance for mothers, flowers are usually handed out to all women, young or old.

Either way I did not fit. (so I thought at the time) I always felt uncomfortable every time I received a happy Mother's Day card from one of my God children. I knew they were sent with good intentions but I just felt sorry for myself and made excuses for my absence.

I am not a mother I reasoned, I wonder why they have to keep inviting me. Do they feel

Sorry for me, this was purely coming from a place of self-pity.  I felt I was holding it together, but come the day, I just want to stay away from it all.

In the mist of it all, I found strength to deal. Below are 5 practical steps I took with the help of the Holy Spirit to deal with it:

Pray about my  feelings;

I got to a point where I just could not go on the way I was and I cried out to my Heavenly Father, I just opened up to him letting him know how I felt.

For a long time, nothing changed but after a while I started to notice small changes, like being at peace with myself during the service, staying calm and not thinking the reason for people’s kindness is because they felt sorry for me. Focusing on what God is doing in my life and ignoring my conflicting thoughts.

Let close friends and families know how you feel

Let them know you appreciate their cards and kind gesture but that you are really struggling to reconcile your feelings with the cards. And I am sure they will appreciate your honesty and be sensitive to your feelings during such times.

Explain your absence

Although you have a right to be absence from family and other social gatherings.

If you know your family and friends will be disappointed about your none attendance, explain to them that your absence has nothing to do with them. Reassure them that you are working through some issues and really want to spend time with God alone. Make them know that you appreciate their love and support of you.

The problem is we just don't show up and this raises more questions. 

If you do not want to explain your absence, just decline the invitation gracefully.

Engage your heart

Our heart is where our feelings and though originates from.

Deal with your heart, talk to yourself, encourage yourself with the word. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid, trust in the Lord with all your heart, stay your heart on him, because he keeps in peace all whose hearts are stayed on him. Your feelings will not go away but you will be able to deal with them better.

Be hopeful

As cliché as it sounds it is better to be hopeful about your situation then not to be. Remind yourself of God’s promise, hope will give you the faith to tell yourself they one day you too will be a mum and come to watch your child perform. Better still you will become a better you through this process. 

I began to experience a change when I yielded myself and emotions totally to him who aloneunderstands my deepest feelings. He gave me strength and courage to deal with festive periods and I hope you too can come to a place where being around mums, children and pregnant women at such times will no longer bring pain, but fill you with hope for the future.

Watch out for information of our new blog dedicated to couples who are currently going through the pains of infertility, miscarriages and still birth.

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New Reslove

Do not begin the year with the same old habit, dreams and wishes.

I believe the reason we are given News, whether that be weeks, months and years is for us to start over, 

To replace old habits with new ones, 

To improve on past performances, 

To Dare to succeed in new ventures, 

To desire to be better human beings,

To aspire to new heights 

To gain new territories 

To master new skills

And to attempt new feats

To make new friends 

And to rebuild and mend broken relationships worth fixing

To resolve to dream big,

To venture to take risk and to renew your faith where it faltered 

To leap without fear of failing 

To venture knowing that no venture, no gain

To put the past behind and embrace newness with hope

To look behind without regrets and look ahead with boldness of mind

A new year to see yourself achieving and succeeding at becoming all you are born to be, and attaining heights previously dreamt of. 

Let This be the year you dive deeper with God. Commit to reading God's word more than ever before. 

Let Him be your daily guide, your compass for 2016, the instruction manual for each endeavour. 

What's it going to be this year? 

A new you with determination and zeal 

Or same old same old

The choice is yours 

Happy New Year 

A New View

If someone were to ask you what your vision is for 2016, how would you answer?

Have you truly stopped to consider that question? Have you asked yourself lately? While 2016 hasn’t arrived just yet, you certainly plan on being there to experience it. It only makes sense to have a clear vision of how you want that year to unfold.

Evaluating Your Perspective

Start by examining your view of God. Perhaps your perspective has shifted because you’re still fighting the same battles or facing the same old issues. Maybe your situation has even worsened despite your cries for help.

Has the struggle diminished your view of Him? It’s easy to become indifferent or to stop seeing Him as loving and kind when life feels stagnant.

Reframing the Image

Instead, try to hold onto this image of God: a Father who is deeply passionate about you and the specific challenges you face.

As you step into a brand new year, I encourage you to intentionally adjust your lens. Dive into His Word to capture an accurate picture of His character. Remember:

• God Loves unconditionally.

• God Cares deeply.

• God Gives generously.

• God Nourishes, Comforts, and Restores.

You and I

You and I
Hand in hand
Through the rain, the stormy clouds and the darkest nights
Plodding on stronger and better
Growing deeper in love

You and I moving on
United in one goal
Advancing in purpose
Our dreams to achieve

You and I
Together as one,
Forging a bond
Of peace and unity
Of love and hope

You and I
Living each day
In the delight of each other’s present
Yielding subtly and steady
To the lure of
Of unending love.

©

What's your custom

I have a routine every morning, this involves saying a prayer of thanksgiving, reading and meditation.

I start the day off like this, however I do not stick strictly to this routine, because sometimes I get up later than usual or have to attend to the kids. On such days my routine is disturbed.

When this happens, I find myself rushing into the day while muttering a thank you Lord here and there. Like me most of us live by routine, a set way of doing things, routines we have become accustom to.
Daniel lived by a set routine, one he stuck to regardless of what was happening around and within him. His routine was to pray 3 times a day, no matter what was happening, he stuck to this routine.

So it was when the decree was passed for no one to pray to any other god, Daniel was not bordered he knew this was just another.
I don't think Daniel went into prayer that day crying and wailing, asking God to save him from his plotters or for God to stop the lion's mouth. I think he was praying as usual about the things he always prayed about, he may have mentioned to God the current state of affairs, but
his devotion was not about the decrees because it was his custom to pray anyway.

Daniel was not the kind of man to cry and be afraid. The fact that he went home to business as usual after witnessing the king signed the decree, suggests to me that he was not a pushover, nor was he one to be bullied into doing or not doing something. Daniel went about his business as usual and prayed with boldness.

I imagined he prayed fervently, as was his custom but not with fear or out of desperation. He did all these because his life was of constant devotion to God.

To me Daniel's actions were almost as if he dared them to carry out their threat, as if he was thinking - these guys know nothing about the God I serve.
Daniel seems to be thinking, “what's the worst that can happen”? Be thrown in the Lion's den, so what? Death doesn't end my relationship with my God; if anything it begins a new life for me in the presence of my Lord. If he was going to die let be for doing what he love to do, pray.

Many times we are faced with life threatening situations which cause us to quaver with fear, or run and hide. We lose our faith in The All Powerful God, we abandon our custom and hope the storm will pass.  

Here’s what Daniel did in during this trying times

He carried on his business as usual

He involved God in his business

He had faith and resolute trust in God

He was bold in the face of dire circumstances

He was not afraid of death

Be inspired by Daniel's faith and boldness and audacious hope in God.

He was faithful to God and God honored him
He was involved in politics, and his integrity held up
He was judged by his peers to be the best at what he does
He was friends with the ruler of the land which Led to envy envied by others.

When trying times come as they certainly will, let your faith hold up, do not run scare, as much as possible keep your routine going.  We serve a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever, if he came through for Daniel he will come through for you. 

All you have to do is anchor your hopes on him and carry on as is your custom, he will honor your faith in Him.

New Territory

It begins with a flurry of well wishes

It continues amidst the ups and downs 

For some it ends as soon as it starts

For others it never began

It did not begin for many reasons

Dreams lay as a heap in their tangled hearts, 

No, not another year to hope again

Nay, I'll rather it doesn't start at all. 

For some it begins with trepidation

As they take cautious steps forward 

They dare to peek through the windows of faith to what lies ahead 

Perhaps they reason,

This year will unfold with floods of yesterdays dreams 

Many venture into it with

Courage, to live on

confidence to attempt feats untried and untested

commitment to see it through

determined to conquer fear

 as they endeavour to venture into territory unknown

Begin 2015 with faith, hope and trust in God, forgetting what is past, look ahead and give wings to your ambitions. 

You made it through that's reason enough to go into the year with zeal and audacious faith. 


Happy New Year. 

Total Abandoment.

Every thing changes, really?

I am a mom? Woohoo!!! And I am loving it. Sleepless nights, poo? Cries? All piece of cake. Yuke, some may say, but it borders me not.

Being a mun reminds me of another father, our Heavenly Father.
Here are a few things I do which reminds me of God's love.

I meet every need of my daughter as much as I can
I turn/respond whenever she cries
I try to guess what her needs are, I anticipate them in order to meet them
I stay awake when she's awake
I sleep light now she's here

I some times turn up the volume of my music when I am taking my well deserved rest so that her cries won't disturbe me, while my mum looks after her.

As hard as it is, I sometimes do stuff which I believe is for her good. I.e, let her sleep in her cot, so that she gets use to sleeping there, even though she sometimes doesn't want to, get her to go at least 2.3 to 3 hours before her feed, sometimes I feed her when she needs.

Play with her, talk to her and smile at her.
Without giving too much away these are some of the delights I enjoy with her.

This is frail me, finite human with failings. My daughter is totally dependent on me. This is what God wants of us, that we are totally abandoned to him, totally, no ifs or buts, no figuring things out on our own.

There are some processes he may decide to take us through, for our own good. Just like me trying to get my four weeks old daughter to sleep in her crib is for her own good. It's hard on me to see her cry. So too it's hard for our father to see us go through pain, but as long as the end result is achieved, the process is necessary.
God does not fall asleep like I do and wakes up when I cry or call, non does he takes his eyes off us to attend to some bigger world problems like the famine in Somalia or the tusuami or the massacre in Norway sad as these events are, he values you as much as them.
All he ask of you is that you trust him.

He doesn't take a break and hand us over to someone else, like I do, to look after because he needs a break. He doesn't need a break, he doesn't take one because he is the almighty, he is ever present to meet our every need. Now, that's reassuring.


My little girl trust me without knowing it, her cries and demands are with expectations. Imagine what will happen if we have such trust in our Heavenly Father. I am learning to do that, now that I have a child. Abandoned trust have a new meaning.

So straight from my heart is this post to encourage you to be abandoned to him, in the good and bad times, when you can't figure out how your future will turn out and when you can, when difficult situation seems to be a constant in you your life, when winter lingers even though it's suppose to be summer months, trust, trust, trust, he's got your case sorted and it won't be long before he shows up.

Lord, i want to be like a little child before you. Totally trusting, abandoned to your purpose and perfect will. And when at times I have to go through pain, help me know you are working it out for my good.

With Love
Debbie

Have faith and Trust God.

One of the things that affects our faith is our constant questioning of God. Why God, why, when God, when.
We need to get to the point where we stop questioning and start to trust unreservedly. Because we don’t live by explanations but by holding on to the promises of God, through faith, believing it will come to pass in our life.
I have come to learn that there is no such thing as trusting without waiting, we have to trust God with the when and the how and forget about the why.

According to Joyce Meyers, it is important to remain hopeful as long as you are alive, through the toughest days of your existence, if you don’t give up hope, you will enjoy everyday life.

She also says that any time, we want something so bad that we absolutely cannot be happy without it, we probably want it more that we should.
That’s actually what lust is about. Not just a sexual desire, it is wanting anything too much. If God is first in my life, I don’t have to let what I want destroy my joy.
I will just go on believing that God knows the desires of my heart and will bring it to pass in HIS time.

We have to get outside of our little box of issues, problems, disappointments, delays, obstacles, sadness and say to God what I really want is you.
Give me the grace to be happy without the things I am looking for, after all he said his grace is sufficient for us and that with him comes all that we are looking for, (blessed be God who has given us all things to enjoy in Christ Jesus), so the secret is to be in Christ first. So seeking him first guarantees us all things. Yes it may not come when you want it, but he’s on time.

Our joy comes from being in the perfect will of God, not from having a job, because we want one,
Having a spouse, because we want one
Having a home, because we want one, the list is endless.
It is living in his purpose and will as stated in His word.
Only then can we know that we are justified, if we live by faith.

So Straight from my heart is this piece to encourage you that as you embark on this journey towards trusting God implicitly, may you live each day in joy, taking your place in the city of praise.
Setbacks may occur, brought on to pull you down, but though the clouds gather, it may not always pour down with rain, the clouds may roll back to make way for the glorious sunshine of his grace and even when the rain does pour, perhaps with its droplets are showers of blessings.
Let the drops refresh you and renew you for the next season.

Hope That Saves!

The remarkable story of 33 miner buried 2000 feet below the surface of Chile’s Atacama desert made head news around the world. Even more remarkable was the unbelievable rescue of these men. I'm sure you are familiar with the story so I won't bore you by telling it again.

One thing struck me through it all and that was the resilience of the men, they didn’t give up hope. They kept their hope alive by pulling together, when one was weak, there was one who encouraged, together, with the help those on the surface they kept their hope alive.

Often, we are faced with dire situation, ones which threatens our very existence. Literally we feel buried in those circumstances with no way out. If you recall, there was no way in or out of that mine after it collapsed (talk about a hopeless situation). An emergency rescue plan had to be put together to get them out.

Straight from my heart is this piece to encourage you to have faith in God, in the face of buried dreams and seemingly hopeless situation.
Look up your help comes from the Lord, in a way you could say their hope saved them. Watching them come out, not one of them had an angry or exhausted look, and they kept their hope alive by hooking up with God, those on the surface and encouraging each other.

For some of us, it may look like there’s no way in or out of our situation, but hang in there help is on the way. While waiting for a rescue, reshape your attitude, let go of pain, anger and hatred, have a winning attitude, because you can’t tell your story with all those things written over your expression.
It may require a dramatic effort to bring you out but it will happen.
As Romans 8:24-28 says, we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is no hope at all, who hopes for what he already has? 25: but if we hope for what we do not yet have we wait for it with patience.
Hope in God, have faith that he's working all things out for your good. Be assured it won't be long before he rescues you. Just stay hooked up and connected to him.

Snared, bruised and brushed, still I arise.
Knocked down but not out, kicked but not killed, still I arise
With gaze upward looking,
My hope is rekindled with the vision of victories ahead.
I arise.

Still, I hope

At the dawn of the year, we said our prayers with expectations, hopes and wishes as to how we want the year to turn out. It is the same story year after year, some of our dreams do come true, others stall for time and eventually become a reality. Still others tarries as years roll by.

The people of Haiti had hopes and expectations for 2010, they celebrated the New Year and welcomed it just like we did, they couldn’t see the 12th January when the earthquake struck. On that fateful day all hopes/expectations were shattered. Lives and livelihood lost, dreams dashed. Watching the devastating effect of the earthquake has caused me great sadness, at the same time watching survivors being pulled out days after the disaster fills me with hope.

This got me thinking, with our best hope and expectation, anything can go wrong, we don’t know what the future holds, it sounds like a cliché, but it is true.
Be that as it may, what should our attitude be towards the year? Should we live a “whatever will be, will be, existence?” or should we continue to hope and expect something good for our lives? People are scared, fear has taken hold, and no one knows what this year, decade holds. All of a sudden we have become too afraid to hope.

Being a Christian I choose to hope and live by faith, the “just shall live by faith”, I choose to hope; for I know hope in the God for the future gives us joy in the present. I choose Joy in the present, only brought about by faith in God!

I know a lot of you have given to the cause of the Haitians so this not a call to make a donation, but rather to choose to live regardless of fear, choose hope and keep your dreams alive, do not let fear stop you from discovering the beauty of each day and the joy faith gives: As for me

I choose to live with heavenly perspective, in the mist of earth uncertainties.
Tomorrow is a million miles away, but I choose to hope and believe that it will come,
I have today to be my best in the service of mankind.
I choose today to set aside, malice, strive, anger, hatred, grudge, evil conversation
And embrace, peace, forgiveness, love, faith, purity.
I choose to see the beauty in each day, regardless of the weather
I strive for perfection only in what will be for the benefit of others.
Sometimes I may succeed, sometimes I may fail,
But that’s ok, because as long as I take one day at a time,
I may achieve the ultimate goal, hope blossoming into reality.

I see

I see a future
One in which yesterday’s failures
Are buried in the soils of success

One where pains, perils, sorrow and loss
Become building blocks for ascension

I see a future one in which
Destiny are fashioned out of desires
Where realities are spread out like rays of rainbow

I see a future of attainment
Of purpose
Of bliss,
One void of pain
One filled with love, laughter and life

I see a future lived here in man’s territory
And in eternity row.

Happy New Year!

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.

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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Conversations.

On the prowl he seeks his prey
Subtly he speaks, disguise as a friend
Then he engages, lures and entices seeking to lay claim on any who listens,

But friend, just one word spoken in faith will slay him.

We constantly engage in conversations with our friends, spouses, children and our heavenly father, it is therefore safe to say that our actions are sometimes influenced by these conversations. They could be simple things like where to go on holiday, career prospects and other such things.

in conversations with our heavenly father carried on in prayer, we speak to him of our hopes, fears, share our pains and victories. He also speaks to us via his word.

Just as we converse with these people and our father in heaven , there is also one who tries to engage us in conversations that belittles us, demeans us, and degrades us, albeith he doesn't make his intentions known, the devil is he.

When you open your heart to conversation with the devil you open up yourself to his ideas, to question what you know about God and what God said in his word. Gen 3:1-8.

Eve carried on in conversation with the devil in the garden of eden and he suggested to her that the consequences of eating the apple isn't really death but an opening, an enlightenment to knowing good and evil. She considered it and that landed us in what we know today as the fall of man.

The only suitable response to the devil and his suggestions is the response Jesus gave the devil when the devil suggested that Jesus should bow down to him. Jesus replied "get thee behind me Satan".

He will come at us with his suggestions to get our attention and question our beliefs and the authenticity of God's word but do not entertain any thought from him nor consider his suggestions. "Get thee behind me Satan" is the only appropriate response for him.

What is the enemy suggesting to you today? That you are less than able, questioning your status as a child of God, that you are not worthy, that maybe, just maybe what you believe in isn't true, that God's word won't come to pass in your life. Regardless of his suggestions your response should always be "Get thee behin me Satan". It worked for Jesus, it will work for you today.

So keep pressing on in faith, for despite the fact that your adverary the devil is on the prowl, be rest assured, that one word spoken in faith will slay him.