Keeping the faith in the wilderness

At one point or another, each one of us have had our faith tested. I know I've been in situations in the past where I've just gotten down on my knees and said "God only YOU can come through for me". I've been in situations where things didn't seem to make any sense and there seemed to be no humanly comprehensible way out. But the amazing thing about God is where your human ability or strength ends is where His majesty and splendour begin to be manifested.

I've found that often our faith is limited to that one unanswered prayer...or more aptly put that "not-answered-in-the-way-you-want" prayer. Most times we focus on that "pending" prayer request and forget about the many other abundant blessings we have and the things God gave us without asking. We begin to doubt God's ability to "deliver" because He hasn't delivered within the time frame we've set, yet He may just be saying "Not yet my child".

Whenever my faith is about to falter, I call to mind all He has done for me...the miracles I have seen, the promises in His word and suddenly the flicker of doubt grows dimmer and dimmer in the face of faith.

Isa 43:19
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
(ESV)

Catch up

Wow. It's been almost a year since I published an article. You could say I've been under construction.  God's been working on my heart and I've been learning and getting filled up so I can empower and inspire y'all.  The past year has been a cocktail of experiences, from trials to triumphs, fingers burnt and lessons learnt. But one thing has been constant: God.
In this year of putting God first, I'm learning to trust Him even when it doesn't make sense and above all seeking Him and His righteousness before all else knowing that ALL the things I desire shall be added unto me!

That's all for now... more to come.

Tash

Zooming in on: RUTH

"Ruth" is means 'pity or compassion', but also means 'loyal friend'

Background

The book of Ruth starts in the heathen country of Moab, then later moves to Bethlehem. A famine causes a man by the name Elimelech and his wife Naomi to move from Judah to Moab. Elimelech dies and Naomi is left with her 2 sons who go on to marry 2 Moabite girls; Orpah and Ruth. Later, the sons both die and Naomi is left with her 2 daughters-in-law and encourages them to return home to their families. Orpah returns to her parents, but Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi, and cannot be persuaded otherwise as she has shared loneliness, anxiety and grief with Naomi, so they travel back to Bethlehem where they meet up with Naomi's wealthy relative; Boaz, a wealthy man. When they arrive in Bethlehem, it is barley harvest time, and not one to sit back and wait as events happened around her, Ruth decides to help glean the barley in the fields (a form of charity work for the disadvantaged such as widows and orphans). As she labours, she finds favour in Boaz' sight and often gets preferential treatment as he is Naomi's next of kin. In a very unorthodox manner, Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz and eventually they get married and have a son together by the name Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David and the ancestor of Jesus.

The Lesson

• Ruth’s obedience brought her into the privileged lineage of Christ.God guided Ruth every step of the way to her becoming His child and to fulfill His plan for her tobecome an ancestor of Jesus. In the same way we should be assured that God has a plan for each and every one of us. Her obedience and trust in God's plan and purpose caused Him to order her footsteps, and get her to a place of greater blessings.
• Ruth is an example of the virtuous woman depicted in Proverbs 31. she was devoted to her family and fully dependent on God, and spoke words of kindness, respect and wisdom.
• Ruth’s devotion to Naomi illustrates her love and loyalty, a characteristic we should all emulate. It was probably much easier for her to remain in her home country of Moab after she was widowed, but her commitment to Naomi magnified God's grace in her life.

A loving tribute to a true Proverbs 31 woman, my mother

Rise Up and Take Your Place

Have you ever thought about how seemingly insignificant YOU are in the fuller scope of the 7 billion people in the world? I mean there are 6,999,999 other people, so what difference can you make?

 Right? Wrong. You can change the world, by just being the change YOU want to see in the world as Gandhi said. Imagine if everyone looked at themselves as insignificant, and opted for inaction; the world would simply stay the same, if not get even more out of control.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the tag line of this blog is “Empowered To Empower”. I have been empowered through personal experiences and through watching other people’s lives. I have had so many “ah ha” moments through personal reflection and with the help of  wisdom imparted to me from others, and I tell you, it’s an awesome place to be…knowing that I may be one, but knowing the power of one to impact and change lives, and ultimately change the world. Knowledge is power, and the purpose of this blog is to impart some of what I have learnt to y'all. If I had the frame of mind of looking at myself as only 1 out of 7 billion, I probably would have stopped blogging log ago. 

I am hoping for increase in viewership of this blog, and that it reaches and touched those who need it, and for that I will require your assistance. I implore you to rise up and take your rightful place wherever you are, whatever your sphere of influence may be. Recommend articles that touch you, give me feedback either publicly or privately. Make suggestions/crit me on where I can improve, suggest other great blogs to check out, WHATEVER, but DO SOMETHING. Don’t shrink back at the challenge and daunting thought of you being only one person. We can be the change we want to see in the world, if we empower each other by sharing knowledge.

I'm baaaack :)

First off, my sincere apologies to all you loyal readers for the "disappearing act"... Unfortunately, technology had gotten the best of me, so I had been unable to upload articles, but all is well and sorted now so keep an eye out for the upcoming posts.

I've got quite a number of articles that I have been working on while I was offline. Look out for more editions of the popular "Relationship Series", as well as the promised and much anticipated "Zooming in On" articles. I will be featuring a mighty woman in the next article, as a tribute to my mother (March is her birthday month :)), and many more thoughts from my heart, lessons learnt and revelations and epiphanies I have had.

I am very happy to be back and I am so excited for where this blog is going and the lives it is changing. Please keep sharing, on Facebook, twitter, and "+1" it on Google.


Much much love to you all.

Tash

The Art of Hanging On

I've heard people say stuff like "winners never quit and quitters never win" and "when you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on". They may be cliches but they offer encouragement when it's easier to throw in the towel.

Each and every one of us have at one point or another been faced by an affliction. Times when we've felt pressed, and afflicted in every way, But, "many are the afflictions of a righteous man, but GOD delivers him from them ALL". this word offers immense comfort to me when I feel helpless, because I know whom my help comes from. No matter what I am faced with, I know that I will be delivered. 

My mantra is "Whatever happens in your life is either sent by or used by God".
Even when I struggle to see how He will deliver me, I call to mind His promises, and how He works ALL things together for my good. And not just my good, but as a child of the Most High God, yours too.

My prayer for whoever is reading this is that whatever you go through, His grace be more than sufficient for you. That in the midst of trials, you call to mind His promises and stand firm on His word and stay anchored in the knowledge that He IS GOD.

Zooming in on: JOB

A story of when bad things happen to good people.

Job is one of my favourite men from the Bible. Mainly because his story is almost parallel to the things that happen in everyday life to us ordinary people. Since being saved, Job is the one man I was able to immediately identify with as he went through the different seasons in his life.

So, who was Job?
The book of Job tells us that he was a RIGHTEOUS man; a just and good man who always sought to please God. He was rewarded by God with great wealth. BUT the devil was jealous of Job and began to vilify him before God claiming that Job was only righteous and faithful because God was blessing him, and if God stopped blessing him, He'd curse God. To prove Job's faithfulness and loyalty God allowed the devil to take away all his possessions and through a series of events, his cattle, servants, children and property were destroyed. Job did not complain, and said "God gave, and God has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."

The devil was put to shame and wasn't satisfied. God permitted him to deprive Job of His health and Job's body broke out in lesions and sores of leprosy. His wife began to persuade him to complain against God. His friends offered little consolation, but Job remained firm and didn't lose hope in the mercy of God

Although Job was a righteous man, he shows his "humanness" when he complains to God. He cursed the day he was born and even pleads with God, but after all the emotional talk, Job STILL HOPED IN GOD and expressed confidence that his redeemer lives.

After several chapters of dialogue between Job and his friends, near the end of the book of Job, God finally answers Job telling him basically how insignificant he was as he was not there when the Lord created the earth. Through his speech, God revealed his majesty and power over all of creation including Job and Job promises God silence.

Eventually, Job confesses and repents and God rebukes his friends.
God rewarded his loyal servant and restored his health, wealth and family manifold.

The lesson
When you're faced with trials and tribulations, it is easy to be discouraged, especially if you are a righteous person. It is easy to look at the so called "unrighteous" who seem to have it all, forgetting the verse that says "many are the afflictions of a RIGHTEOUS man, but God delivers him from them ALL". We forget God majesty and his ability to deliver us from whatever trials or storms we encounter. Our attitudes during suffering and pain determines how long the pain will last. God is moved by faith and praise and if you will praise him through every circumstance, he WILL deliver you from every affliction, every chain that binds you and every mountain that blocks you.
Faith.

What the enemy is up to...

I came across the following article the other day and felt I had to share:

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We
can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and
knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"
"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.
"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their
minds" he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work . Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and
break that union with Christ."
"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail,
sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services and false hopes. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.
Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual
fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion."

Has the devil been successful at his schemes? You be the judge.

The bottom line here is not to expect the devil to come to us with a horns and a three-pronged fork. His favorite tactics include stealing your time and controlling your mind.
Reanalyze what you spend most of your time on and the subliminal messages and images etched in your mind. Above all, use your time wisely and try by all means to be conscious of what you look at listen to.
In terms of ungodly music, or music that unsettles me, my stance has always been to kindly ask whoever is playing it to turn it down (within reason of course and if possible) or to excuse myself from the room. I'd much rather be labelled as a weirdo for not listening to something that doesn't add life to me than "roll with the crew" and end up with a whole lot of junk clogging up my mind.

What's new in 2012??

Hey people!

Tashy-b.blogspot.com is doing something new in 2012. Presenting the "Zooming in on" monthly special feature.

Once every month, for the next 12 months, I will be featuring and "zooming in on" 12 of the greatest characters in the Bible. Each post will be put up on the 12th of every month so keep an eye out for them! This will be in addition to the usual posts I put up. First post will be up this time next week :) *excited*

I find that often, people, especially us young people look north, south east and west, in magazines and tabloids for role models when some of the greatest people that ever lived are right there in the Holy Book.

Feel free to leave a comment here, or contact me directly if you have any specific individuals that you would like to be profiled.

Enjoy the coming posts

--Tash

2011: Looking back

So, today's the 31st of December 2011. The last day of the year. And what a year it has been! From the trials to the triumphs, the tests to the testimonies, the pain, but above all the joy and inexplicable peace I feel to be where I am today. Because of the significance of the number 11, 2011 was dubbed the year of disorder, chaos and mayhem and I am so grateful to be still standing on this day despite all the chaos going on in the world around us. Throughout the year, one thing remained constant: GOD.

It's always great to look back on the year that's been and smile at your accomplishments, laugh at your silliness and mischief, and reflect on where you can improve. But it's an even better feeling to look back and be content with how things have turned out.

Yesterday I bumped into a post from T.D Jakes that was really profound. He said,
"You can’t spend your life in the graveyard of guilt dealing with the corpses of the past. Know when things are dead, know when to release them and bury them. If you continue to work with the dry bones of dead issues, you too will begin to decay. No amount of work will resuscitate a corpse. Sign the death certificate and bury the past."

I believe this word is so relevant and crucial at this time of the year. It is important to let the old, dead and dry situations GO. Don't drag them into the new year hoping they'll miraculously be resurrected. Let go of the old and be prepared for the new.
The Bible clearly states:
No one puts a patch from a new garment on an old garment; if he does, he will both tear the new one, and the patch from the new [one] will not match the old [garment]. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the fresh wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be ruined(destroyed). But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. (Luke 5:36-38 AMP).

I am expectant for the coming year. My God has been faithful throughout 2011 and I am excited for the coming year.

Thank you all for the support the past year. Especially for reading and giving feedback. I am grateful and looking forward to the coming year. Have a prosperous 2012 and keep reading.

--Tash

In Love So Deep

Love unfailing, overtaking my heart. 

I’m always in awe of HIS unfailing, unending, unwavering LOVE. Even in the midst of my imperfection, He still loves me. I’m amazed at Him, My God, who with 6,999,999 other people in the world to think about still sees me as the apple of His eye, His priced possession. He knows everything about and that concerns me. Every single hair on my head is counted. Every pain, affliction, joy and success in my life He is aware of. 

I am in awestruck at how He stands majestically in the heavens, more powerful than any of the Kings and rulers that have ever lived, yet I don’t need to make an appointment to speak to Him.

How deep is His love? As deep as the deepest ocean.as deep as my wildest dream AND THEN SOME!

As I decrease He increases. As I succeed, more glory and honour befalls His name.The more intimately I get to know Him, the deeper in love I fall. The more I get of Him, the more I want, and desire. 

I cannot fathom how others live like there is no God and question His existence. His existence is so explicit, I am surrounded by so many reminders of His awesomeness. 

Love unfailing has overtaken my heart...I'm in love SO deep.

De-clutter

 Never be afraid of letting go of things in your life that have reached their expiry date. Letting some things go makes space for something new!

Every month, I spring clean my living space. But every  2 or 3 months I do a major, all-out SUPER CLEAN.  I take out all my old boxes, get into the cupboards that haven’t been opened in a while and dig up all  my clothes which I haven’t worn in ages. I’m always amazed at the amount of stuff I accumulate over the months!

I used to have a lot of stuff I'd cling onto because it had “sentimental value”, or ‘just in case I needed it’ -- Clothes I KNEW I’d never wear,  things I knew I’d not use again and so on. But lately whenever I decide to do a major clean I become RUTHLESS with my clutter and anything not used in the past 6 months, and  not likely to be used again gets thrown out or given away! I’m always so happy at the end of my cleaning sprees at how much stuff I am able to get rid of and the amount of free space I create just but letting GO!

Often, we let great things pass us by because our “space” is fully occupied by illegal settlers and things that have passed their expiry date. Whether it's a wrong relationship, a failing friendship or holding onto a past hurt...whatever... holding on to clutter from the past limits your availability for new things. Sometimes we hold on to things with such a tight grip, and clog up our lives, often, holding onto things that really shouldn’t be in our lives. Just as we spring clean our living spaces every now and then, we also need to periodically evaluate and take stock of our lives and highlight the space-occupying non-benficial things in our lives.

Let some things go.You’ll be amazed at the wonderful things you’ll begin to experience because of the space created when you let go!

Relationship 102

Take your time

Good things should be worth the wait. Take your time to get to know each other. A lot of failed relationships could have been avoided had people actually taken time to get to know each other to see if they are well suited for each other. Never rush into something because of pressure. If someone isn’t willing to be patient while getting to know you, rather walk away. Rushing or seeming to be in a hurry, usually shows that the person isn’t really concerned about getting to know YOU, but rather about what they can GET FROM YOU.

TRUST

One of the most important elements of a successful relationship is TRUST. A relationship with no trust is bound to end in disaster. Although you can never really trust someone 100%, a substantial amount of trust is paramount to the maintenance of a healthy relationship. It’s impossible (and unhealthy) to be with your partner every minute of everyday, 365 days a year, so when you are apart you shouldn’t have to wonder what they are doing and with who.

GOD CORE

A God-centredness is so important. GOD should be the core of the relatoionship.You need to be in His will and be submitted to His plan for your relationship. It’s so easy to be led by the flesh and to abandon His desire for you but the Bible warns us against being led by the flesh in Galatians 5:17: “For what out human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies and this means you cannot do whatever you want to do.” A God centre isn’t just about being based on a love for God, but also on doing what is pleasing to Him, and that includes conquering the flesh and not giving in to temptation

Shared values

It’s so important to believe in the same things especially spiritually and in your core values. I’ve heard people say opposites attract but when it comes to beliefs and values opposites should repel. It’s very difficult to reach a compromise when it comes to conflicting beliefs. When two people with polar opposite beliefs and values come together, something’s gotta give. One person or the other will have to compromise in order for the relationship to continue.

 

Love

Notice, LOVE, not lust. A love based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

I get  worried when people talk about "love at first sight". Mainly because that initial “spark” between two people is based on what they see and are initially physically attracted and generally  not a true genuine love. There is a distinct difference between infatuation and love. And an even more important difference between love and lust. I believe true love grows and develops through getting to know each other and accepting each other flaws and all. I’m not disputing the fact that there can be an immediate connection between two people, but mistaking that for love is a big mistake.

CHOOSE to succeed

I talk about success being a choice because that's what it is. No doubt, there are adverse circumstances that can stunt your success for a while but at the end of the day, you CHOOSE whether to be a success or not. Each choice you make either leads you in the direction of success or in the direction of failure.

Tip #1
Discipline. That self regulated behaviour where you do the right theing even when others are lavishing in doing the wrong thing. It’s about doing what you are supposed to do WHEN you are supposed to do it.How big is the gap between what you do when everyone’s around and what you do when you’re alone?

Tip #2

Respect –  for everyone around you. From the man who picks up rubbish on the side of the road right up to the wealthy “VIPs”. I’ve found that people almost fall over themselves and overdo it when an important dignitary is around, but those same people mistreat those in lower, “less respectable” positions. I’ve watched people “suck up” to people they stand to gain a lot from. The question is: how do you treat people who you don’t think can do anything for you?

Tip #3

Order. Be orderly. disorder is the mother of confusion and chaos. Be organized. Order increases confidence and aids clarity of thought.

Tip #4

Reliability and dependability. Do what you say you’ll do. Rather under promise and over deliver than over promise and under deliver. I always say “You’re as reliable as your word”.

Tip #5

Relationships – it’s virtually impossible to really be a success without good relationships with people. I don’t think it’s by accident God put us in families, communities, neighbourhoods and so on. EVERYONE potentially has something to contribute to your life, and ultimately your success. Nowadays, it really is about “Who you know”. Get involved, and get connected.

Tip #6

Reputation. How many people have you met someone for the first time and in your head thought: “Oooooh, so this is the --- I’ve heard so much about?” Your reputation is like an answering machine. Even when you aren’t around, it still speaks on our behalf. Work on maintaining a good reputation. Yes, you can’t control what everyone thinks of you, but giving them less negatives to talk about, people will be forced to spread the good stuff about you. Your reputation = free advertising. You’re the brand and people will decide on whether to choose you as a “brand” or not, be it in the job market, as a business person, or even just as a friend.

Relationship 101

Be friends first

I believe a relationship is as strong as its foundation. A good foundation usually leads to a solid structure; a successful relationship. Get to know each other before you jump into the relationship. Forming a relationship without having friendship as a base, is like trying to build a house without a foundation. You may somehow manage to erect the structure of the house, maybe miraculously make it to roof level, but it will collapse sooner or later.

 

State your intentions clearly from the beginning.

Be honest about your objectives. What do you want to get from the relationship? –  "booty call" (God forbid), casual dating or courting (heading towards marriage) and make sure these objectives are the same for both of you.

  

Ceteris Paribus

Ceteris Paribus is a Latin phrase, literally translated as "with other things the same." Although we are all works in progress and somewhat unfinished, it is wrong to go into a relationship expecting the other person to change or hoping they’ll be malleable enough to make them into what you want. Ask yourself… “If this person didn’t change a single thing about themselves, would I still want to be with them?” If that person changes for the better, that’s an obvious bonus but you first have to have accepted them as they are.

  

Set standards and boundaries for the relationship.

Once again, make sure you are on the same page. This point reminds me of a concept in business called “benchmarking”. It involves establishing a standard and comparing future performance to the standard. Blindly entering a relationship with no prior standards or boundaries set up is quite foolish because it means you sort of  “go with the flow” and see where the wind takes you. To prevent regrettable situations and “I wish”es, determine the standards of the relationship before you enter it and from time to time compare “performance” to the standard, and clearly define lines not to be crossed. Adherence to  the standards and boundaries is imperative otherwise they are pointless.

  

Keep your private life private

The mistake many couples make is to publicise their “bi'ness” too much. There’s nothing wrong with sharing your relationship moments  with others but there needs to be SOME privacy in the relationship.

I’ve always found it fascinating how people basically put their relationships online for everyone to see via Facebook and other social networks – sweet nothings back and forth. 100s of photos of each other from 10 different angles and public declarations of love but the moment things turn sour the subliminal statuses, bitter messages and cussing begins. Relationship statuses are changed quickly “because of what people will think” and so on. Really though. A relationship, and a successful one at that needs as few spectators as possible. It should be between 2 people and private moments should as much as possible be exclusive to those two, not the 2 and the rest of the world.

Run Your Own Race

"Many unhappy people are usually those who over value what others have and undervalue what they have."

Often, it looks like the grass is greener on the other side but I once heard that the grass would be greener on our side too if you actually watered it!

The problem with many people is that they spend so much time looking at what other people are doing, looking over their shoulder to see if anyone’s catching up to their success. Truth is, none of that really matters. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being motivated or inspired by other people’s success, BUT there is a serious problem if you spend more time involved in what other people are doing than actually living your life.

When race horses are running a race, they usually have blinkers put on. This causes them to lose their peripheral vision and all they can see is what is ahead (tunnel vision). The blinkers help the horses stay focused and calm and make them easier to handle for the jockey. Imagine what would happen if they didn't have the blinkers on, and they were able to look around freely and saw dozens of horses running towards the same goal and all the spectators in the stalls screaming and cheering! CHAOS!

It’s the same with our lives, sometimes you need to put those blinkers on and run YOUR own race in YOUR own lane. God’s plan and purpose for YOUR life is as unique as your fingerprint. It's not anyone else’s destiny, or attached to anyone else’s success but is specially tailored to YOU. Stop comparing and complaining and start thanking and trusting!

So often people look at other people's lives with envious, lustful eyes, but what I have learnt is that people only show you the sides of their lives they want you to see.You see the *bling* but you may not know the struggles and issues they have to deal with. Stop looking around and be content with what YOU have.

Many cartoons use the donkey-and-carrot analogy where the rider dangles a carrot in front of the donkey to motivate it to move. You may have to decide what that ‘carrot’ is for you to keep you moving!

Life would be pretty boring if we all started and finished at the same time.