Dedicated to my girlfriends x

This blog is dedicated to my favourite girls :). I couldn't fit all of them in the picture below....but I tried. To my sisters (my best friends!), cousins, fantabulous close girlfriends and the girlies that have been such great people to be around. I have found a special blend of lovely women in my life that have made this life so much easier and entertaining. Especially my sisters who know all my faults and strengths and still love me! They are my best friends cause they are most happy when I am happy and not afraid to tell me if I am wrong (even when I am so insistent that I am right). Through it all I know they are always looking out for me.

To my cousins and close girlfriends who bring out my best and different sides of me. We’ve had many amazing memories together. Thanks for forgiving me when I fall short and sometimes neglect spending time with you. We have spent countless hours over coffee, watching movies, having girlie chats, trying to get fit, cooking, shopping, travelling together, arguing for silly reasons and making up, studying together, taking long drives, etc. Some of us now lead very different lives but when we are together it is as though we never parted. I am blessed to have you ladies in my life and I thank God for you. 

Shalini xx

** Learning to be the light **

Last Sunday was so exciting…..I did my first ever sharing during the main service in church. Yes, a sermon! It was so exciting and terrifying all at the same time! I knew it was a great responsibility and that not everyone gets an opportunity like this. Even as I share, I still feel excited for what God is doing. When I was first told that I would be doing the sharing for our “Youth Sunday Service” (its when the youths in church take over the main service and give the adults a break) two weeks prior, I was naturally so nervous. My first few thoughts were “what would I say?”, “could I speak for an hour!?”, “I don’t think I’m ready for this!”. But it was simply amazing cause I had a peace about it even then. I knew everything would turn out which was not something I would usually do. And yes, God met me where I was to encourage me cause all I wanted was a sign about the topic I was going to talk about. The word ‘authority’ kept popping up in my mind. Not an easy topic to talk about….especially since I am a single 28 year old. At first, I thought I got the wrong topic cause it is such a big topic to take on. But God works differently….He wanted me to depend on Him for the knowledge. The Lord did not just give me one or two words/signs…..there were about 6 words/signs to confirm (through devotion, people). God knows I am an amatuer at this. Yet He bestowed the opportunity on me to tell His people something about ‘authority in the family’. Without even realizing it, I was sharing that topic on Father’s Day!! What were the odds of that happening! How He just plans everything so perfectly…..I am still in awe of how perfectly He times everything.

I’m learning everyday how to trust and obey the Lord and let go of the things I hold dear by handing it to Him. The more I trust and obey, the more I fall in love with Him. And now its not just a feeling, it has become a lifestyle. I do not know when that happened….it just developed over time. Its so true….the more you serve and give of your time, the more you love. It goes for not only God but people and things. Some people love their jobs or money a bit too much cause they serve and invest their time and money in it. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Loving the temporal things leaves so much room for disappointment. Living for Jesus, I’m enjoying it.

I’ve realized the work He is doing in me as He helps me deal with my issues. I know I should never play the game of ‘pretending my sin is not there’. While He does this with me….I know that He is equipping me by “expanding, stretching, lengthening and strengthening” me (Isaiah 54:2). It is not an easy one but He gives the strength. Everday I learn to rest in Him and take on His yoke of freedom. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30). Jesus also says “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst”(John 6:35). This blog is my step of faith. I am not just edifying other people but it helps me with my personal walk with God. As I share about my life, I’m also learning to be the light :).

Have an amazing rest of the week xoxo.

Cheerios :)

Rebellion

“For rebellion is as sin of witchcraft,

And stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

1 Samuel 15:23.

Yikesabee!!….to liken rebellion (resistance to any authorities) to ‘sin of witchcraft’ and stubborness to ‘iniquity (wickedness, doing my own will) and idolatry’….I never quite saw it that way before. The whole thing sends shivers down my spine. These were the words that Samuel spoke to King Saul in which the king replied, “I have sinned……..because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24). In the previous verses we see how Saul failed in a test of obedience that showed his proud and rebellious spirit towards the command of God. How many times have we used other people as our excuse for our rebellion. Whether its rebellion to God or our earthly authorities.

In Bill Gothard’s ‘Basic Life Principle’ seminar (which was brilliant!!), under the principle of ‘Authority’, Gothard states that “God gives direction, protection and provision through human authorities (parents, government, church leaders and employers). If we rebel against them, we expose ourselves to the destruction of evil principalities who take jurisdiction over specific places and people”. That’s why rebellion is likened to witchcraft.

While I heard all this, I thought of my parents. I notice how much obeying my parents has brought me so far (nah, nah…I’m not a perfect child). The times that I rebelled I stepped out of their ‘umbrella of protection’, I have regretted it. But God, through His grace and faithfulness, has turned those regrets and painful experiences for good. For those who have difficult authorities, I believe that these difficult authorities are there to develop our character. I believe with all my heart that God has never done anything by accident…….He planned everything so well and also allows suffering to take place (God never allows something you cannot handle). It is all for a bigger purpose. I truly believe that…..its a humbling yet rewarding experience. 

Earthly authorities that have been ordained by God are important. For ‘who may lead them out and bring them in (Numbers 27:17)….with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matt 9:36)’. My proposal for the week is that firstly, for us who are single, we need to be under the umbrella of protection of your father….do not stray from that protection, even if they are non-Christian. If you are not under it, get under it :). God gave them to us for a purpose. “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12, emphasized in Lev 19:3). If you are without a father, God is the Father to the fatherless (Ps 68:5, 10:14, Hosea 14:3) stand under His umbrella of protection…..it is the best Umbrella to be under :). If you are a married woman, you are under the protection of your husband. Husbands, you are accountable to God. These are God-given authorities. Refusal to obey our authorities causes a mess, a confusion. If our authorities are difficult, perhaps God’s teaching us to pray for them or to trust in Him alone. I am learning not to allow ‘bitterness, previous unfulfilled promises, anger and pride’ to remain between God’s purposes in my life. This act of obedience to our authority…..God honours it and Satan knows that. We must not give Satan a foothold in our life. Contrary to popular belief, obedience is liberating……I did not believe it until I experienced it.

Have an amazing week peeps :)
Love,
Me xoxo