High on Arrival

Ever had that warm feeling in your heart; that feeling of complete and utter peace, where you know life ain't perfect, but EVERYTHING has been taken care of? You know that feeling, when you know not to worry about anything because God has taken care of EVERYTHING already... That feeling that I would equate to the high a druggie gets from his/her drug of choice. Only difference is this "high" doesn't cause withdrawal symptoms afterwards, or a plummet in your mood when it wears off, because it comes from within and it comes with faith and complete trust in God.

So many times, we try to twist fate's arm in order for things to happen in the way we think they should happen or the way we want them to happen. We forget that God is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our lives, meaning He wrote the story from the very first page and He will bring the story to completion. We forget to submit completely and to stop leaning on ourselves and our understanding. We get caught up in what we see as opposed to what we should believe. We forget that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are your ways His ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than your ways and His thoughts than your thoughts. We put God in a box and imagine that He can only do what is logically possible, yet He is GOD, His ways are higher than ours. He is able to do above and beyond what we can even imagine!

As people, especially as young adults looking to grow as Christians, looking at our futures, marriage and all that, we need to stop trying to make things happen our way. We need to learn to trust HIM completely. We need to trust that His plans for us are for our prosperity, not for our disaster. We need to have faith that as we pray, God gets to work immediately. We need to be patient and not try to fix things ourselves when it seems like God is taking too long to respond. We need to remember that good things are worth waiting for. We need to constantly remember that God gives us free will and the freedom of choice, but ultimately, when we submit to Him completely, He can change rules and regulations on our behalf, He can make ALL things work for our good, AND He can make things that are impossible, and logically speaking should not work, WORK and BE POSSIBLE.

We need to worry less about tomorrow and focus on living today as best as we can. God guides us every single step of the way if we let Him, and if we worry less about stuff He will lead us in His ways and open doors for us that NO ONE can close. But it begins with that leap of faith, that complete trust in Him.

When we begin to see things differently and deal with our issues, weaknesses and shortcomings head on, that inward joy begins to show outwardly. Imagine being stopped by the cops at an airport, and you are *buzzing*...they think you're high or drunk, or both, but you're not. You're just high on the Spirit. High on faith. Faith, that's my drug of choice.

Cut off the dead wood!

Ever wondered why friends backstab, lie and cheat on each other but somehow they patch things up and become friends again only for them to backstab, lie and cheat again...to patch things up and be friends again?
Ever wondered why a woman will be with an abusive husband (or vice versa) and keep taking him (her) back everytime he (she) apologises?
Why does a woman stay with a cheating, lying man who she knows will never ever be faithful to her? Why does she not just cut her losses and kick him to the curb?

I think it's a little thing called "autophobia": the fear of being alone. it's a little in-built fear that most humans have in them. As a result, most people have a propensity to hold on to whatever relationships they may form, no matter how unfulfilling. Most people would rather remain in a bad relationship, marriage or friendship because they'd rather put up with the drama than be alone. Most people like the title and sense of security attached to relationships, not the relationship itself. People like being able to say, "I'm married" or "I am in a relationship", even if they KNOW they are not happy.

Friendship is usually the basis of any relationship, which is why it is very important to choose your friends very carefully: "bad friends corrupt good morals".

Every now and then, we need to assess our friendships and relationships and TRIM OFF THE EXCESS FAT weighing us down.

Don’t despair when certain people are pruned from your life, NOT EVERYONE'S MEANT TO MAKE IT TO YOUR FUTURE.

Accept it.

Some people are meant to be in our lives just to take us to the gate and leave us there, some will walk inside the gate with us, others will fall by the wayside and some will be there right till the end.

You need certain people in your life during the different seasons you go through in your life. But as you advance to the next level, you may not need some people as much, especially if they weigh you down and dissuade you from your purpose.

Birds of a feather flock together. You can always tell who someone really is by the company they keep. What do YOUR friends say about YOU? Eagles don’t hang around chickens: chickens don’t fly.

If you are always surrounding yourself with with same level  minded people, how are you going to advance to the next level?

My take on the 'Tree and its Fruit' Scripture

Lately, i have noticed that there is a disjoint between what we as Christians say and what we do. It isn't all that hard to speak about God and shout praises, but walking the talk isn't always easy. That's why a lot of people say one thing but do the other. So often we are quick to dish out advice to people about how wrong what they are doing is, and even quote the Bible on this, that and the other but when we are in the same situation we want to bend the rules, and talk about how they don't apply to us. One thing I have heard said over and over is that people should want to be a Christian because your life is a testimony, not because of the words you say.

At the end of the day we need to realise that we are not just agents of
ourselves, but are ambassadors of whatever it is we belong to or believe in. Actions speak louder than words so don’t expect people not to associate you with a particular thing or refer to you as a reference because people gauge what you represent by what YOU portray. If we say we are CHRISTians, we should strive to live as CHRIST did. A tree is known by its fruits, not its roots.

It reminds me of the famous Mahatma Gandhi quote: “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”

Part of our mandate as Christians is to bring the lost to salvation. Our lives must draw them to "the light". There must be no disconnect between what we say and what we do.

"A healthy tree does not bear and fruit, nor does a poor tree bear good fruit. Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes."
Luke 6:43-44

So, what does your fruit say about you?

Average: The World's New "Awesome"

Originally Posted on "The Zambani"

I may not be perfect, but definitely ain’t your average girl. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but, well, I just ain’t average.

Average is the best of the worst and the worst of the best. So, why are people so “okay” with mediocrity? What is it exactly that’s missing from people to make them wish to excel to be more than just ok or average. Why have the world’s standards fallen and why is it so acceptable to be just average. Average is exactly that, AVERAGE but why do societal norms make it seem like being average is actually awesome? It’s probably because being better than average takes a whole lot more effort than just being average. It takes you stepping out of comfort zones you have become so cozy in. it takes putting more effort than the average person. It takes a conscious decision to want to be better than everyone else. Whatever you want to do, aim to be the best at it. Aim to be excellent and to do above and beyond and better than everyone else.

Why do I think am not an average girl? Because I do not follow the standards set by the world. They are too low for what I want to achieve in life.