His Lavish Love

 “I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.”

Psalms 71:16-17

Love is the theme. Love is my story. So much I have learnt from a very young age. How I should always appreciate gifts cause I was a late bloomer, how to appreciate friends cause I lost a few due to my insecurities, how to trust God even when doing well felt impossible. Oh I could go on! But the issues are not what I want to talk about – it is how my God redeemed me that my heart rejoices. He loves me with my flaws and promised to do a great work. He keeps to His Word. He always does. He turned some of my weaknesses to my strengths. It was through my weaknesses that I found God. He met me when I was in my most vulnerable state. Like a child, I gave my all. In sheer hopelessness, I found Him. For that I boast of His works and I will do this all the days of my life.

My story is of how He loved me first and predestined a life full of promises. He keeps to His Word and always encourages. When I am distracted or do my own thing, He waits and reminds me of who He is and His plans. Like the prodigal son, I return. When I go through the wilderness, He teaches faith to trust Him even though things are dry and weary. Rick Joyner says that one of the primary purposes of the wilderness is for the separation of pretentious faith from true faith. After separation comes purification. The pain and suffering of the wilderness does not cleanse, but the faith required to endure and persevere does. In my wilderness, I see His love and power and I fall deeper in love with Him.

He began this love by giving me everything - I received. Then I learn from His love and I just want to express mine so I worship, I minister, I just want to do more…..He says I just want you. Rest. He overwhelms me with His ways. Joy overflows and my insides cannot contain it. But I also learn that love is not a feeling, it is a decision. Honouring Him even when I am wronged by doing what pleases Him. Worshipping Him with my life by giving Him my issues even when everything inside me wants to hurt someone who has hurt me. He pulls me close and whispers – ‘remember My love’. I have learnt that my aim is to live a life of love by giving cause My God is love and He loves me – flaws and all!

The Promise to Restore

We are part of God’s business of restoration (‘bringing back to a former or original condition’). He restores us and we are also used in His plan to restore. In the Bible when something is restored, it 'is always significantly better than its original condition'. From the beginning to the end of the Bible, we see restoration as a major theme. ‘Refresh, mend, regenerate, return, reinstate, reestablish, fix, give back, reconstruct, revive, rehabilitate, energize’ are amongst the words given in the Thesaurus for restore or restoration. These are a few Scriptures on restoration:

‘So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.’

Joel 2: 25-26.

‘….His mercy He saved us, through washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit..’

Titus 3:5

‘…be renewed in the spirit of your mind…put on a new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness’.

Eph 4:23-24.

‘For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem’

Ezra 9:9.

The pivotal personal restoration is the cleansing of sin and restoration of man back to God by the significant act of Jesus dying on the cross and His resurrection. Our salvation is the best thing in our personal walk. The ultimate restoration is the return of the church, the bride of Christ. It will be the time that makes the restoration complete.

Sometimes we feel that God is hiding Himself from us. That the world is just too messed up for it to be saved. Thats why faith is so important. Trusting the God we know in things unseen. In our lives, we are being restored to the image of God everyday. We are not perfect but we are complete in Christ. It was just today that I was down and out. God used His Word to restore me. It was His Word that spoke life into the dust of the ground and created man. With His Word He spoke and there was light, water, birds of the air, fish of the sea, plants and every other living thing. Restoration needs His Word and Him in the center of it. Perfect.

‘Let the ruins come to life
In the beauty of Your Name
Rising up from the ashes
God forever You reign

And my soul will find refuge
In the shadow of Your wings
I will love You forever
And forever I'll sing’

- lyrics of chorus from Glorious Ruins, Hillsongs

Kindness - A dying gesture?

“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. 

Know how to give without hesitation, 

how to lose without regret, 

how to acquire without meanness.” 

― George Sand

"State ways that you can show kindness to someone in school". This was a question I asked my class of about 44 students. Other than 'helping teachers carry her/his books' and 'helping a friend with their homework', my students found it very difficult to think of something kind to do for someone else. I was shocked when a student said, 'saying hi to the aunties that clean the school'. My initial thought was 'hmmm...and who are you that they must feel privileged that you 'bestowed' them with your time and word'. Being kind is not lost but it doesn't come easy to many of us. Many children are not being taught or shown from example to think of others needs. It is very sad. Doing something kind without expecting something in return is a dying gesture. In a blink of an eye, we have become tremendously self absorbed. I am all for self-improvement. Wanting to look good and develop yourself, is not a bad thing. But when it becomes all you think about, we have a serious problem. As the 'selfie, Facebook, tweeter, blogging' generation, we care too much about our image and what we want the world to see. We are too busy focusing on our latest selfie and post on tweeter or Facebook that we miss opportunities to be a blessing. 

Here are the facts, we make more of a difference when human contact is involved. Having amazing Facebook statuses does not change lives like human contact. Making the time to be with people, talking to them, investing in the lives of people, living life with a positive attitude, etc. changes lives. Technology is an amazing tool to reach out to the world. I am a big fan but we should not let our phones, Ipads, laptops, etc. run our lives. Getting out there and doing 'random acts of kindness', taking the time to spend with friends and family, leading lives that loves others, speaks life into lives, and walks the talk, are a few things that we should be doing. These are things that take the focus off us and causes us to look at others. We become aware of needs. From this, we have opportunities to be kind to others. We are living epistles. I am an epistle of Christ. Our stories are being written and we definitely want to have a story that makes a positive difference. 

Things you can do to show kindness - just think of another persons need and do something nice for them. Even for a day. Babysit for a friend or family member so that they can have a break, write a note to cheer someone up or to tell them how awesome they are, cook a delicious home cooked meal for a friend, buy a drink for the guy who is working hard under the sun, etc. There are many ways to be kind. Just think about their needs and do a simple gesture without expecting anything in return. 

Being kind does not come easy. But if we make it a change in lifestyle from what the world advocates ('Me, myself and I'), kindness will be easy. Actions speak louder than words. Let your actions do the talking. Take a stand to have an attitude of kindness. 

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” 

― Steve Maraboli

Disappointment with God

The craziness of the last few months finally ended last Saturday. I could finally relax with a good book (and now with my blog). I looked into my dad’s bookshelf and my eyes were drawn to a book entitled ‘Disappointment with God’ by Philip Yancey. My initial reaction was ‘yikes! It looks interesting (especially since its by Yancey) but can one say they are disappointed with God!?!?’. Ah legalism….it always has its way of making us feel like we are better if we say and do all the right things. I knew I had to pick up the book to read. On this journey of being honest with myself and allowing God to work with my unconscious legalistic patterns, I find that answering questions about how I really feel and what I really struggle with can be very difficult. Questions that will take a lifetime answering (or may not be answered)…..here I found myself being challenged.

As I read, I realised the little things or events that have caused me to be disappointed with God. Its causes you to question if God will come through in certain or other situations. Does He really care? These could be events you never realised affected you. Small or big. They may have caused you to slowly and steadily lose your trust in God. It may have started with being let down by a friend, the divorce of parents, the loss of someone very dear to you, problems with dealing with a secret sin, heartbreak, an accident, etc. Most of the time, it does not happen all at once. The disappointment builds until there is questions about whether or not you could trust Him and if you ever did believe in Him. Some pretend that their okay with God but they really have some major issues with Him. Being honest with your disappointment is part of the healing. 

I began my faith in God through the bible teachings of my parents, relatives and church, then I met God in my situations and circumstances, I heard Him in my quiet time and even in the calmness when I was in a storm, etc.. But as I grow, my relationship is more about faith in the unseen than seeing and believing. Trusting even when He says ‘wait, it isn’t time’, ‘walk away and do not look back’, ‘we will deal with this issue together. One step at a time’, ‘it’s your ego that is bruised. You do not need to defend yourself in this state. Walk away’, ‘walk into this new thing that I have for you. Do not fear’. Bad things happen but God protects His people. There is a process of breaking the unwanted things to refine us. Even in pain, He will be with you. Your situation and circumstance may not be the way you pictured it to be. But continue to pray, trust and obey. He is with you. That is a promise.

I have not completed the book but I will fill you in on how this book has inspired me. Have a great week.

Me xoxo

The day I stopped asking God for clarity

"Lord, just tell me what to do. I really need you. Just one more time".....silence. No reply. The closer I get to God, the more He is teaching me to trust Him. "Be still and know I am God". Most of the time, I think I have everything together and then suddenly, I doubt myself and my decisions. The thought of making a blunder freaks me out. Its like what if God wants me to learn from this or something. What if its painful. I have this nagging feeling that I might make a decision that will bring me such unhappiness that I will regret it. Oh my complex brain!! Don't worry, my brain doesn't analyze everything that goes on. These come in flashes. If you know me, you would see a women who loves God but I want to show you that we all have weaknesses in trusting God. Anyways, the article below brings things into perspective and I pray it helps you. And yes, God does not promise a painless and problem free life. But He does promise that He will be there with us and He has given us tools to get through. We are more than conquerors. Be blessed. 

The day I stopped asking God for clarity

http://forteebello.com/2014/03/14/the-day-i-stopped-asking-god-for-clarity/

I pray you are blessed by this article.

Easily Entangled in the Web that can be Untangled

“If you wish to travel far, fast and light.

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness,

selfishness, and fears” (guilt too) – G. Clark.

Unloading the baggages of the past is a process. Sometimes there is just so much more attached to the baggage than we could have ever imagined. “Do not go through life with baggages”. We all know that! Somehow familiarity sometimes beats the option of having to deal with our flaws/sins/ordeal. I honestly couldn’t and cannot do life without Christ as my role model and guide. He is such a vital part of who I am and how I deal with life. We tend to get so easily entangled in our own web of lies, rejection, lust, etc. that we are not able to move beyond due to our own guilt. Our guilt, unforgiveness, fears, selfishness, envies and jealousies keep us from enjoying life cause we are too entangled (consumed) in the web that we unconsciously/consciously have spun for ourselves.   

The Bible is a book that tells the story of our Saviour fighting a kingdom for a bride (which is us). Probably why we are so naturally drawn to fairytales. We are part of this story and it ain’t a fairytale. Christ has made a way to save us. However, we are the heroines that seek answers in the dark when the Light wants to show us the way. Jesus will come for His bride. Are we ready or are we too busy being tangled in our own bad decisions? I assure you, we will fall. Its in our sin nature but we are overcomers. Lets break out of the web that we are so easily entangled in and step out in faith that Christ, who endured the cross, will get us through this. For He overcame death therefore that same power that lives in us causes us to be overcomers. 

The Single Woman: '14 Reasons to Celebrate Your Singleness This Valentine's Day'

Happy Valentine's Day all!!! Wooohoooo! By the way, am still very much single and am enjoying where I am at. I still hear the groans of singles from all the Facebook statues to bitter comments and the excitement of couples. I groan sometimes too. I do not blame singles for feeling the sting of Valentine's day cause the media slams it in our face and the overly happy Facebook statues that are mushy does get to you at points. Today however, lets celebrate being single. I always celebrate Valentine's day with my girlfriends or sisters. Having an attitude of celebration and not self-pity really makes our day great. If you ain't feeling like celebrating....perhaps one (or a few or all) of these quotes by Mandy Hale (aka 'The Single Woman') will speak to you. She named this '14 Reasons to Celebrate your Singleness this Valentines Day'. Some of the reasons gave me the 'hey! Thats exactly how I feel!' moment. By the way, my personal favourites are number 9 and 14. To be honest, it is not always easy being single especially when most of my friends are not in that stage of life. Having said that - I have never enjoyed this stage more than now. These quotes are just a fun way to celebrate this stage of life. The reasons to celebrate your singleness this Valentine's Day is:

1. Because you're so brave, you'd rather walk alone than with someone who is unworthy of you.
2. Because you realize that you are the cake & a relationship is the icing.....& with or without the icing, a cake is still a cake.
3. Because you've created a life that you love & feel no need to be rescued from.
4. Because you pay your own bills, plan your own day, chart your own path & make your own way.
5. Because you love when you're ready......not because you're lonely.
6. Because you live life on your terms.....& you don't apologize.
7. Because you know that YOU have to learn to love you before you ask someone else to.
8. Because "good enough" isn't good enough for you.
9. Because you've decided that whether or not love ever arrives you're going to thrive.
10. Because your happiness, worth & self-confidence is not dependent on your relationship status.
11. Because you trust in God's perfect timing, you know that every moment of wait if preparing you for the one you're waiting for.
12. Because for you, settling is not an option.
13. Because you know it's no one's job to complete you, fix you, or validate you. It takes a healthy 'me' to create a healthy 'we'. 
14. Because before you're ready to wear a diamond, you want to become one.

Singleness is a journey and marriage is NOT a destination. It is just another different journey. Hale describes it as 'a wild, beautiful, colourful journey'. I believe that journey is dependent on what you choose to believe, your words and actions. Love the journey you are on....never regret not celebrating every stage of life.

Lets celebrate! 

Me :)