Get out of the BOX

One of the greatest feelings in the world is overcoming a seemingly unconquerable mountain; doing something that you thought you’d never be able to do. That euphoria that comes from accomplishment and achievement. True, noticeable growth comes when you STEP out of your comfort zone and push your self erected boundaries and limits.

“If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.”

Comfort zones are exactly that: COMFORTABLE. They make us slack and we become complacent. We are confined to the limitations of the dimensions of the “box” we put ourselves in. Imagine packing for a holiday. Your suitcase is 90cm x 50cm. you will only be able to pack luggage that falls within those dimensions and to fit more stuff you would have to get a bigger suitcase or pack less stuff! It works in the same way in our growth and development and advancement as individuals. When we’re in our comfort zones we can only grow to a certain level. Further growth would require us to get out of that comfort zone and stretch ourselves. It involves pushing those limits, conquering fears and doing something that may not be easy for you.

Forget the hypothetical *box* we put ourselves in. forget the four invisible walls that surround us and restrain our growth. Step out the box into new possibilities, challenges and experiences. Stretch yourself beyond what feels comfortable. Do things that challenge you. Face your fears. Usually, the thrill we get from conquering our fears and insecurities is bigger than the fear itself.

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

Keep pressing

Au revoir 2010, hello 2011!

I love this: the end of the year. The prospect of a new year a stone’s throw away. The chance to “start afresh”. Well, I’ve never fully understood why people, myself included always feel like one year needs to end and another needs to start in order for change to begin. ANYWAY.

For me this is my end of year stock-take time.This is the time I take stock of the past year. To see if I have actually grown and improved from the last year. ANY positive growth is good for me, but as always, there are always areas to improve on.

One of the things that really helped me this year was HONESTY. Facing up to the truth. Being upfront about stuff, but most of all, being brave enough to face up to the truth. (ß NOT easy). Sometimes we try to sugar coat things so they are nicer to deal with but sometimes that’s not always the best thing to do. Usually, the best advancement of a person comes from biting the bullet and looking at things #zvazviri.

In 2010 I learnt that everytime you learn a concept, YOU ARE TESTED ON IT. For a while now, I have declared myself as an impatient person. and boy did God try my patience and tolerance in SO many different ways! From waiting in queues to annoying people to incompetent people. All I can say is, “Good things come to those who wait,”

A book I was reading said something that really struck me: You are as close to God as you want to be. Sometimes people complain that they aren’t close to God, and they envy people who are deeply spiritual who seem to be “homies with God” yet GOD gives us all we need to have an intimate, one-on-one relationship with Him. Don’t complain about not feeling close to Him because whatever rift exists between you is because of YOU.

Here are some more of the amazing things I learnt in 2010:

ON OUR DUTY AS AGENTS OF OUR BELIEFS: We are not just agents of ourselves, but are ambassadors of whatever it is we belong to or believe in. We represent other entities, our religion, our families. 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 and not its roots!

ON FAITH: “Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future; but faith is having the courage to dance to it today!”

ON CONTENTMENT: Life will never be perfect. WE ourselves are not created to be perfect. There will always be someone more beautiful than us, more successful, more popular. Fine, we sometimes need to better ourselves but sometimes we just need to be content and choose to be grateful for what we have as opposed to what we don't. Wants are unlimited. Blessings are countless.

ON GOD’S ROLE IN OUR LIVES: “To have God on our side doesn’t mean sailing on a boat with no storms, it means having a boat that no storm can sink.”

ON OBEDIENCE: We are called to be OBEDIENT beings. It doesn’t mean it’ll always easy to obey, but it’s what we are supposed to do.

ON THE TONGUE: Life and death is in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Complaining is the language of the enemy. Praise is the language of God. Be careful what you say over your life and about others, for those same words may come back to you and either bring blessings into your life, or curses.

GOD KNOWS BEST: When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something else (**thinking Jeremiah 29:11).

ON NOT CONFORMING TO THE WORLD: Don’t conform yourself to the world, but let God transform you inwardly. For the more you conform to the world in your actions and thoughts, the further away you trek from God because the way the world is is not in tandem with the perfect will of God.

God is not a God of ENOUGH. He is a God of EXCESS and OVERFLOW. He doesn't want to just fill your cup, but He wants it to overflow; abundant and exceeding blessings, not because we always deserve them, but by His grace! (**pressed down, shaken together and running over!**)

ON MIRACLES:
(a) Miracles happen EVERY SINGLE DAY. But it’s all about whether you choose to see everything as a miracle or everything as an accident or coincidence, AND
(b) Whenever a seemingly immovable mountain exists, that is the perfect condition for an extraordinary miracle.

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW

LASTLY, I learnt that GOD does answer prayers. You just have to clean out the wax from your ears so you can hear His answer.

WORK. PRAY. LOVE.

DARE to be different

We spend so much time trying to fit into standards and measures preset and predetermined by the world. We try to mould ourselves into what the world will accept or approve of. We take the focus off being we should want to be approved by.

The “world” dictates what’s sexy, and what’s not. What’s hot and what’s not. What cool and what’s “gwash” ( :) ). It’s so easy to fall in the trap of worldliness because it’s in our nature to want to belong and to be up to date with trends and follow the crowd, when really we should STAND UP and STAND OUT for something. Most people would rather be lost in the crowd somewhere and blend in with the wallpaper, EVEN when they don’t agree with something.

Standing out and being different isn’t always easy. More often than not, there is resistance from people because people are so used to being “like everyone else”. Even when you do the right thing amid “wrongdoers” you will probably be known as the “goody-two-shoes” but the point is at the end of the day, you aren’t doing things for man’s approval but everything you do is a performance to an audience of one: for God. People can say whatever they want (and they will always have something to say!) but if you do right by Him, nothing and no one else should matter.

The truth is, unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it. Only dead fish “go with the flow”.
DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

*White picket fence*

I used to have a thick, multi-layered brick wall around my heart,
designed to protect me from anything and anyone who could possibly hurt me, break me or break my heart.
I didn't want to let people in.
I didn't want them to leave with a piece of me if they decided to walk away.
It was my defense mechanism,
My way of protecting myself from all the cruels of the world.
It was until I realised that that same brick wall that was meant to keep "baddies" out was also keeping the good, genuine people out as well.
It was then when I decided to let the walls come down - it didn't happen over night though... it's almost as if they came down brick by brick.
BUT they did come down...
They were replaced by high electric fencing, until I realised that that scared away people who wanted to "touch" my life, my heart and be my blessing.
The fencing had to come down too.

Now, my heart has a white picket fence around it.
Some people jump over (if they dare),
Some people squeeze through the gaps,
Some people just look on from the outside, too scared to approach,
But the point is, THE WALLS ARE GONE.

The picket fence still protects me and what is precious to me, my heart, but it still leaves room for me to love and to let some people in.

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.