Thankful Thursday: Humility

 Today’s post might finally stay true to word and be short. Humility has been the recurrent theme for me for the past week or so…I do need to examine myself probably and see how I’m applying this in my everyday life..i am  on the fence about a few issues and something (pride?) insists I am simply respecting myself, and not being proud…I’m still praying over that..

But I’m on about humility before God. Humble yourself before Him and He will exalt you. He will raise the humble, and it is His breath in us that gives us understanding. If you are proud and willful, then you won’t be able to submit to Him and hear His wisdom and explanation, you’d want Him to conform His answers and Himself to the way you think..and that won’t happen because He can’t deny Himself, and He has wisdom and understanding far beyond what we can ever  imagine…so it makes sense to learn from Him…but to do this, we need to embrace humility…

For such a simple concept, it is a very hard thing to do. I know..i’ve been at that place where I felt the bible was weak in it’s explanations, I have been there where I felt there were no answers for my questions..and it’s all written here..but by His grace, I have brought my questions to Him in prayer, and I know it sounds cliché..but they have been answered, I have been given insight, and God has provided understanding..but first you need to show humility…

That’s today’s challenge…

I am thankful for life

I am thankful for God

I am thankful for Love

I am thankful for grace

I am thankful for growth

I am thankful for family

I am thankful for friends

I am thankful for my grandparents..it hasn’t always been smooth sailing..but in my heart I know and acknowledge that I am blessed to have them, and they love me so and they are truly there for me, even when I act out and am generally quite a handful to be honest..i see that from the side…I am thankful for them…and their patience, and their care..

I am thankful for who I am, where I am, and all that has brought me here

I am thankful for food

I am thankful that GOD sees me through everything! All my anxieties, He soothes, all my worries, He takes away, every challenge, He gets me through. He is my saviour, my father, my friend, my comforter, my protector..and I am totally head over heels in love :P

I am thankful for the relationship I’m blessed to have with God

I am thankful for His faithfulness, because it is not by my might that I am here, and still here in this relationship, typing this, praying, having devotional time…I gave Him my heart and told Him to never let me go, that this time, was THE time, and He should not let go of me no matter what…and He hasn’t abandoned me, forsaken me, or let me go..this, all of this, rides on Him..He gives me the strength each day, and I am thankful.

I am thankful for grace

I am thankful for understanding

I am thankful for the little things

I am thankful for the way He looks out for me

I am thankful for wisdom

I am thankful for my sisters…the quality time is phenomenal…I feel God’s presence every time we’re together

I am thankful for kindness

I am thankful for honesty

I am thankful for patience

I am thankful for rest

I am thankful for laughter

I am thankful that I am so blessed, each day, every breath

I am thankful for peace

I am thankful for joy

I am thankful that He always makes a way

I am thankful that He always has a perfect plan, and that His ways are not our ways

I am thankful for books

I am thankful for inspiration

I am thankful for thought

I am thankful for surprises

I am thankful for care

I am thankful for liberation

I am thankful!!!!!!

*I did see this really spot on Bible verse last night…might add it on later

Ciao!

Thankful Thursday: Truth, logic, thin lines and deception.

Sooo..over the last couple of days, I read Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti. I guess it just proves tht there is a time for everything and a thing explored before its time is going to be useless to you. I have had This Present Darkness for over 5 years and I haven’t ever got past the second chapter. I thought..this Peretti dude is sooo tedious and impossible to read and so booooring! So I just stocked up on DekKer who was going down oh-so-smoothly. I used to think that people who enjoyed Peretti had a mindset that I would never come to understand…

One time when I was going through this depression, downhill spiral thing, somehow God sent the Big Bro’s wife to talk to me and we had the most amazing conversation (which totally drew me out of that state and gave me new strength), and somewhere during that conversation, she used the Peretti book as an illustration how fear and depression and anxiety ati be be lo were demons that latched on to us and we carry them about and feed them by indulging them and giving in, and dwelling on them when we should be renouncing them…so I bore that in mind and picked up the book when I got the chance..

Bear with me if this sounds like a book review for a bit but that’s how it is :P…The theory with the demons and our negative emotions is a topic all in itself, but the theme that resonated with me personally, and the one which I want to try and broach in this post is about deception and the very thin line between the truth and lies.

The book made me squirm a bit because it touched on things that I feel I’ve been guilty of and may still carry the residue about with me unknowingly. In it there’s a whole movement dedicated to basically re-educating people in such a way that it effectively eradicates and undermines Christianity and creates a world culture that is totally controllable by these people…

See, the thing is…that they didn’t all out go and say this…oh no, they approached it with a lot of logic. They indoctrinated school curriculum which was void of  “excessive religious instruction”, making Christianity out to look like this ancient, dumb, often bizarre thing…nevermind that according to the new curriculum, children were made to meditate and  “channel” and receive “spirit guides” and all this, of course was presented in the most matter-of-fact way as perfectly normal and supremely logical…

Let me try and narrow down what exactly pinches me funny…first of all, it’s the way the devil tries to make a mockery of Christianity, as per makes it out to be  irrational, impractical and generally silly and even dangerous, while replacing it with outrageously questionable things but speaking of them as though they were pure logic and ”humanity” and of course, the total opposite of the picture of Christianity they’ve painted.

This is what is scary. Lies are presented as common sense. Having morals and values and obeying God’s word are presented as being intolerant and unloving. God’s commandments are made out to be burdensome and unfair..and then people start looking for answers elsewhere, and the devil is all to happy to provide this elsewhere, provide alternatives that “logically” sound like a good deal, sound like a good idea, sound like they make a whole lot of sense and are practically dripping tolerance and love…and people accept this..because it’s easier..it’s easier o pick rules that agree with what YOU want to believe, it’s easier than rules that break that and shape you into a better you..people will pick what seems easier..but there is that road that is wide, with the easy way, and the end of that road is death. That yearning that they will seek to fill will never get satisfied, so they hop from belief system to system…eastern mysticism, occultism, witchcraft..because they seem to be bathed in mystery and offer that secret that is the key to it all..this, of course, is a lie..people seeking an easy andwer and oly eager to look for it in complicated places. The yoke of the Lord is light..but that’s not enough, apparently.

This is the part that made me squirm…If you’ve read this blog for a while, or if you somehow read it down to way back when…you’ll see that it is indeed a journey, and I have been at that place where I sought God in other places than through Jesus. All these other philosophies seemed to make so much sense, they seemed so fair and all embracing, and I was gathering my “spirituality” from all these sources..a little Buddhism, a little yoga there, some meditation here, an interest in crystals there. God has saved me, and is still saving me, opening my eyes to understanding why exactly that isn’t the way..this book has been a huge step. I am super thankful for His work this way.

I would say that when stuck in a confusing situation, just ask yourself…Does the Bible agree with this? Is it through Jesus? If there is a no, then move on and leave it alone. I realize how this sounds like the typical “intolerant”, “blind” “fanatic” Christian that the enemy tries to paint..but believe me, this is between you and your interest for the destiny of your soul. Things like this used to rub me the wrong way, used to grate against my ego, like…oh please, so I should dumb down and limit myself in order to be a Chistian? And the devil just goes to town with that deception, using pride to make you seek God everywhere but where He is. Just leading people astray. It’s not “dumbing down”, it is humility, and surprise surprise, humility is quite a difficult thing to do…but when you humble yourself before God, He gives you a whole new type of understanding and clarity..i am testimony to this.

I think the summary to this post is this…There is a very thin line between lies and the Truth. I keep remembering the Sunday school class I sat in on and they really concentrated on explaining how in the garden, the devil didn’t all out lie to Eve. He did not construct a fresh story for Eve..oh no..He took God’s word, and edited it, so that Eve was deceived. She heard some parts that rang true and allowed the lies to come in under that umbrella. This is the same way a “teaching” or “philosophy” doesn’t have to scream evil intentions from a mile away with lights flashing.. For the most part, it will come looking rational and logical and tolerant and all that good, sensible stuff…it doesn’t make it God’s word… again, this situation is leading me to a lot of prayer and contemplation, because it means I might have to review my support of some things that I really kinda like, for example, Coelho and the part where he’s advocating “channeling” and then you stop and think…and wonder how much that is backed up in the bible..it is a practice that can let in anything..not just the angels you intend to talk to..why dabble with fire? I do think this is a whole other conversation though..right ow, I’m praying, and trying to work with the..stop, and ask yourself, pick a situation apart and hold up every bit against God’s word..don’t let in any kinds of Trojans. If you knaaamean! Basically , watch, be vigilant, for the enemy is a prowling, deceptive lion, out to destroy.

Again I will say…this blog Is about a relationship, a journey. Relationships are not stagnant, I have watched my thoughts and convictions grow, change, evolve. This is life, this is evidence to progress as far as I am concerned. It is not wisdom to pick a ship and sink with it. The Lord has been at work in my life, and I can see that looking back..i am thankful that I have this platform as a testimony and reminder and chronicler of that..

I am thankful for life

I am thankful for my family

I am thankful for God

I am thankful for the relationship He has made possible for each and every one of us to have with Him

I am thankful for my friends

I am thankful for forgiveness

I am thankful for Love

I am thankful for thoughtfulness

I am thankful for understanding

I am thankful for God teaching me everyday

I am thankful for growth

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit

I am thankful for Inspiration

I am thankful for this post…because as per usual, when I sat down….no clue as to what exactly was going to happen.lol was ready to type “do not be deceived” and let it be that…

I am thankful for curiosity

I am thankful for laughter

I am thankful for grace

I am thankful for His patience

I am thankful that He is faithful

I am thankful that He loves me so

I am thankful for communication

I am thankful for each new day..it’s always a gift, a surprise, and worth living for

I am thankful for His perfect plan

I am thankful for purpose

I am thankful for relationships

I am thankful for books

I am thankful for signs

I am thankful for pleasant little gifts He sends my way

I am thankful that I am SO blessed

I am thankful that He never abandons me

I am thankful that He saved, and keeps on saving me

I am thankful for praise and worship music

I am thankful for beautiful people dem

I am thankful for prayer

I am thankful for God’s commandments

I am thankful!!!!!

Thankful Thursday: It starts with you..fix you.

This is..a nice change in typing the TT..at home, my sisters lappy, watching fresh prince and happy out of my mind after watching the trailer for Feathered Dreams..go see it..i am so proud of my friends dem ;P lemme extend the famzing zone small :P

A couple of days ago, the Quackster and I were having a conversation when I realized I had gone off on a tangent, that was a topic in itself…as always, my intentions are to make it as compact as possible..but we’ll see where it leads…

I will start with myself and say that often times, I catch myself wandering off with the thought pattern that hmm when I get married, somehow, things will be okay then. I think a lot of people (girls especially) walk about thinking this, having this fantasy, and it’s not necessarily conscious…it’s wanting it so much on some level….so we go ahead, throw ourselves into making this come to life, because..when it does..life is going to get that much easier, right?

It probably even starts off when we (speaking for girls) go…hmm, I just need a man, then it will be better…then that doesn’t seem to be doing the trick so they think..well, if I get him to commit and get married, then that would make it okay..i’ll be a married woman, and that status..then you get married…and then marriage isn’t the magic fix-it-all you hoped it will be…so people go ahead and legit have kids in the hope (and I’ve heard this one, real time) that it will help make them closer….and on and on the cycle goes and people keep chasing the status that will fix them, that will make their lives finally fall together..and it keeps being elusive…

That brings me to this…fix yourself first. God is enough for you. He is all you need to complete whatever parts of you you feel are missing. Do not make other people into crutches, do not look to partners as mr and miss fix-its..it is unfair to them, and apart from that, useless to you and will not a healthy relationship bring about.

In one Tyler Perry stage play, Madea spoke about people looking for partners when they haven’t sorted themselves out. What do you want to do with another human being when you don’t even have yourself figured out..

NOW, I’m not saying that you should stay in isolation until you have it all figured out, because that is not possible. Other people are there in our lives because they help us grow in so many ways, we help them the same way…BUT, the problem is in placing the responsibility on them, and skipping the part where YOU work on YOURSELF.

YOU are where it starts. A complete and healthy YOU is what makes a good better half/partner, a good parent, a good friend. Don’t go into relationships thinking that they owe you to make your life fall into place, don’t chase those external things, material and immaterial that you feel will be “IT” and from then it will get so much easier..because it won’t…that’s life..it’s not a tragic thing..we keep working, we keep living, every day has its own challenges..that’s beautiful…

Our pastor says it often, how people have this mindframe where there’s this target they are working towards where they feel happiness is, after which they can heave that final sigh of relief..and they keep on keeping on, target after target, thinking okay, maybe it’s this next one..graduate college, okay,get a job, okay, find someone, okay, get married, okay if only I got this promotion, okay If only I had a kid…and on and on…it’s not bad to have targets and goals..but don’t confuse them with your source of happiness.

Work on you and your relationship with God, and He will fill all the holes and straighten out all the wonky bits..i promise that…God is enough and all you need…He will fill you up with Himself and give you what to share with others..surely that is lovlier than hanging your broken self over anyone who crosses your path and demanding they heal you..when God does that perfectly….

It starts with you.

I am thankful for life

I am thankful for love

I am thankful for God

I am thankful for my relationship with Him

I am thankful for my family

I am thankful for His faithfulness

I am thankful for family

I am thankful for friends

I am thankful for surprises :D

I am thankful for His thoughtfulness

I am thankful for patience

I am thankful for forgiveness

I am thankful for understanding

I am thankful for laughter

I am thankful for DVDs :P Fresh Prince!!!

I am thankful for food

I am thankful…for waiting

I am thankful for His perfect plan

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit

I am thankful for His word

I am thankful for prayer

I am thankful that He protects and keeps my family

I am thankful for the amazing people in my life

I am thankful that He is my rock, my fortress

I am thankful for every breath

I am thankful for books

I am thankful for this journey I’m on

I am thankful for the signs

I am thankful that HE is GOD and greater than everything

I am thankful for His unending love

I am thankful!

Thankful Thursday: The words we plant

Okay, so I’m going to say that this might be very condensed upfront. The internet is acting up, nay, conspiring as The Quackster has said..and yes, it took me 20 or so minutes to realize that instead of perfecting my solitaire game while I practiced calmness and waited for the internet, I could start typing in Word.

Now, the Bible verses that go with this post are !saiah 55;10-11…no, I do not have them ommited to memory and no I do not have a bible by my side like riiight now..and as the internet is acting up..well, you know how is goes..

Basically it’s this..like the snow and the rain do not just fall and do nothing, so are our words. The rain comes down and nourishes the earth, waters the plants, before it evaporates and turns back to rain/snow/hail….and the words we speak are like seeds, kernels..they do not just fall on the ground and cease to be..they take root and grow and become plants and bear fruits.

The sort of fruits that they will bear and the sorts of plants that they will be depend on you and what you are sowing. It is very important to bridle your tongue, set up a gate over your mouth. It’s often hard to do because the effects are not immediately tangible You think..it’s just words. They say, sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt…

The Bible makes the significance of the things we speak very clear..our world, all that it is, in the beginning…was the word, and the word was God…do you see where we are going with this? If a word brought things into being, if “Let there be Light” started this whole party..then how can words be mere words?

So the challenge I’ll put before us with this post is this: be aware of the words you speak.sit back and listen to yourself, note the words, note the mood you convey, the things you confess, the energy which you convey…I assure you that it can be scary how much negativity we constantly prophesy into our lives..if God didn’t override them as often as He does, we would speak ourselves into destruction, into oblivion, into pain and depression and worthlessness and no success whatsoever…It might sound way out there..but for one day, listen to yourself, then make amends as much as you can. It is not something to be done in a day, it’s a process..but I do believe it would be well worth it…Speak life. Lol yes, I see how I sound like all them charismatic churches them…but I’m not on about speak money into your life..just…realize that words are more than just words..they are powerful.

I am thankful for Life

I am thankful for Love

I am thankful for family

I am thankful for understanding

I am thankful for kindness

I am thankful for forgiveness

I am thankful for patience

I am thankful for solitude

I am thankful for wisdom

I am thankful for His perfect Plan

I am thankful for books

I am thankful for movies

I am thankful for laughter

I am thankful for the internet (in general…right now, it’s a cow)

I am thankful for food

I am thankful for signs, omens

I am thankful for where I am, who I am, and all that has brought me here

I am thankful for sleep

I am thankful for rain

I am thankful for His patience

I am thankful for His faithfulness…He holds my hand and sees me through each day

I am thankful for contentment

I am thankful that He explains everything in time and gives me the strength to endure

I am thankful for Grace

I am thankful for His friendship

I am thankful for peace

I am thankful for emotions

I am thankful for words

I am thankful for start-overs

I am thankful!!!!