Was listening to an episode of a podcast called “Unraveling Princess” a while back and heard something that really struck me and was honestly what I needed to hear that day.
“The devil has experience”
He has lived years before us and has gained mastery in his plot against the Children of God. He has practiced over and over again as the centuries rolled by and mastered all that is evil.
This explained to me why some issues just always seem to keep coming back. The orchestra-tor of depression, anxiety, pain ,bitterness, guilt… has had years of practice. So once you get over it once, he will bring it back in a dimension he hasn’t used on you yet.
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 AMP
Be on your watch darlings read the word so that it is easy to distinguish the devil’s lies from the truth.
I joined Instagram earlier this year, I’d always told myself I’d only join when I had a solid business plan that I was ready to market or when I finally buy myself a good camera. I joined thinking I’d found that business that finally required me to make my Instagram debut. As I continued to look into it I saw how some aspects of it were unrealistic so I mentally dropped that idea, but i didn’t leave the app. I showed myself around, accustomed myself with what the different little symbols on the screen were, learnt how to watch reels, learnt what a story was and how to post on my story.
I’m in a season of life where I do a lot of introspect in so many areas of my life. Joining Instagram brought forward certain responses within me that I had to examine. Majorly in the lines of why do I want to share this aspect of my life with people, does it build them knowing I had a green juice smoothie today?, or do i just want to present myself in a certain light. Some posts, I have no trouble posting, the sky is one of my favorite canvases to look at so I take many pictures of it, but there are times I want to post something like what I’m eating or my location and I’m stopped in my tracks by a that question, ”Why do you want to post this?’
Honestly I don’t have all the answers yet and continue to examine my heart and encourage you to examine yours too, but I found a verse today that might just be my new social media guide,…
”Make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living, just as we told you before”- 1 Thessalonians 4:11
Below is a link to a post I found very relevant and helped me think more on this entire topic. Blessings!
The way the world runs in its natural state has always prepared us for change and the impossibility of stagnation. So many things change and its comforting in some cases (because we are used to the change) but its threatening in many other cases.
I’m coming to strongly believe that as humans, we look for something that seems constant to give us a sense of stability, control, power, comfort, security…Something or someone that will not just always be there but won’t not change their nature.
Realistically speaking, there is no such thing or person here on earth. Everything evolves, grows, changes. Money gets depleted, qualifications get outdated by newer qualifications, relationships come to an end, seasons race across the sky to let the next season have its turn, babies grow, maybe to adulthood and then die too..
And yet, the need for stability and security within us is not dealt away with simply because we are aware of the way the world runs, rather its increased so we grapple, reach for anything the gives us that momentary stability. Momentary because as exhibited by all that is around us, nothing is really constant.
I have found an exception though, the being who is by name’’ The I am’’. I am. Not was, or will be. He, by nature is all that is constant and reliable .He operates outside of the forces of time, space , and change…and yet controls them. Irrespective of where you stand in time, He remains The I am.
So much can change in our lives: our circumstances, the way people treat us, our health, and even our feelings can constantly change. But God will never change.
Mona M. Hanna, The Nature of God
Here is a truth, we will continue to be anxious and heartbroken, we will continue to chase and grasp for things we can’t possibly have forever, until we by free will choose that which cannot be taken away from us, Jesus Christ. He doesn’t change. He will not leave us till the end of age. He freely gives all that we look for in physical things. And best of all, He already made a declaration of commitment to us on the cross. That’s all the stability, power, comfort and security we will ever need.
Exodus 3;14 “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” John 8;58 “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
The color highlighting the sky on days with breath taking dusks.
Golden,
The quality of true riches
Golden,
The nature of the city and streets of heaven.
Golden,
The dominant colour in the sky the day it occurred to me that the reason sunsets hold me such a willing captive could be because they pass on a message that is painted plainly on the canvas of the sky as well as across the pages of the book that holds life within its covers. That there is such immeasurable beauty waiting on the other side if only we trudge on.
Golden,
A reminder that my true wealth is not behind a heavy copper safe door, but rather in heaven.
The actual picture of the lovely lovely sunset that inspired this piece.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. (Revelation 21:21)
The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.(Revelation 21:18)
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. (Psalms 19:1)
Some prayers we say with our eyes closed and knees to the ground.
Some prayers we know by heart and can recite word after word with a couple of other things on our minds.
But more prayers we say with just our tears.
under our breath in moments of anguish.
Other prayers never even make it to our lips.
They are mentioned in our thoughts as we dash out the house to work
More often than not, other prayers, we are not even sure we prayed because they were said as we floated into the depth of sleep…
But all prayers,
He listens.
There are more than a couple of times I’ve been brought to tears when I realize that my little heartfelt prayers were not only listened to but answered more perfectly than I could have hoped for. Some prayers I only remember saying after what I prayed for comes to pass. How encouraging is that! That even when I forget , God doesn’t.
Growing up I couldn’t say I liked my smile. My teeth used to appear to be sticking out of my mouth when I smiled and I had gaps between all my front teeth. ALL! In fact, the dentist or mum…( can’t really remember who) told me it was almost impossible for me to have cavities because there was no where for food to hide in my teeth. We talked about braces for a bit but they were an unnecessary expense at the moment. I said a little prayer
Lord, give me natural braces please.
Let’s just say I can now walk these streets flashing my pearly whites without a care.
That prayer that you are hesitant or dismissive of, say it because God really does hear our prayers.
Please do share on your answered prayers in the comments section. I’d love to read them and have everyone who is reading be encouraged .
A brief narrative of how the Bible began to breathe in my hands.
I was about 6 weeks shy of age 18 and was at “Morph Camp”. (A Christian camp for high school going chaps like myself at that time). “Morph” because you know, teenagers are constantly growing and changing. I had attended this camp for the last three years and each camp had a major life changing highlight for me. I have met some of my closest friends at this camp and recommited my life to Christ during my first camp…point is, should you find yourself in Uganda with a highschool going child/niece/ nephew / friend / human being really,…they should most definitely attend this camp. Let us hope and pray for the best after this pandemic.
So, at this particular camp, one young gentleman caught my eye! (Both of them if I’m being honest) He was the official photographer for the camp and heavens! Never had I seen a young man so well groomed and with such a faultless sense of style. I’m not even into fashion much but it was impossible to ignore a one Maynard Mulindwa’s sense of style. Day after day my friends and I would just marvel ,until this one day I had had it up to here ( pointing at the top of my head). I simply had to deliver my sincere appreciation to him for always ensuring that we were always optically nourished. I picked myself up from my seat and walked across the room to where he stood, I didn’t even introduce myself. I was a girl on a mission and was not to be deterred. I said a simple “hello” and told him exactly what I wanted to say. I can’t remember my exact wording but it was something along the lines of ” I just want to tell you how lovely your sense of style is! My friends and I have been watching you and I couldn’t take it anymore. I just had to let you know you have a fine sense of style and you are appreciated”. Even for me that was a pretty bold move.
Need I mention he was shocked? But in a pleasant way ofcourse. In the next 3-5 minutes, we got better acquainted, told him my name and then He told me he would like to talk to me at a better time when we were both free.
Huhhh??!!!
For what purpose would this refined young man want to spend time talking to me? I agreed nonetheless and returned my puzzled self to my seat. The next day when I saw him , he reminded me that we had to talk. The curiosity grew…
I was taking a walk around the camp site a day or two later and there Maynard was, seemingly not busy so I walked over and had a conversation I will forever be grateful for.
For the next hour or so, this gentleman shared with me his life in regards to the word of God. He talked about the word of God in a way I never heard anyone talk about it before. He talked about the Bible yhe way a soccer die hard would explain to you why Messi (not Ronaldo) is goat, or the way a man madly in love would talk about the love of his life and indeed for Maynard the word, was his love. I listened and asked questions completely blown away by the passion he had for the Bible. Where do I start? How do I start? I grew up memorising Bible verses and listening to scripture in church but I had never seen it the way it was being described to me! “There is a reason it is called the living word” Maynard told me. By the time that conversation was done, I had set my mind and heart on discovering for myself the treasure that lay between the covers of my Bible.
That year is a year that I can’t forget for a couple of reasons. But high up on that list is I began to testify to fact that the Bible is truly the living word! I began to read it slowly…it was not easy at first but a friend of mine offered to read with me a chapter a day and discuss it after. This worked out well for the first bit since I was still on holiday and we could easily communicate. Trouble came in when school started. I was in a boarding school that didn’t allow us to take phones. So I’d borrow the warden’s phone whenever possible, give her money to buy airtime so that this discussion could somehow go on. Soon I didn’t feel like I needed someone to read with to stay motivated. The Bible literally came to life before me! Such wisdom! Such truth! Such peace! I found myself eager to read it everyday! I’ve heard someone say that the Bible is the only book that you read and it reads you back! Man is that true!
It is one thing to hear about the wonder that is the word of God, but it is a completely different life changing experience to delve into the word for yourself and let it change you.
Over the past few months I have become a student in the class of the brilliant Maya Angelou. A mother, poet , writer and human rights activist. There is so much I’d like to share about what I’m learning from her in particular, but that’s a post for another day. My most recent class (majorly old youtube videos) was an interview where she spoke of her dear friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Greatness really does surround itself with greatness. In my opinion they are two of the most influential people in the last 100 years!
Allow me assume that the majority of people today have heard of Dr. King’s famous 1963 speech “I have a dream”. If you haven’t read or heard it for yourself, I highly recommend you do so. I had heard a few lines from it but decided to read it in its entirety recently. It speaks of a world that we still only dream about, it seems impossible but his dream, once one allows oneself to have faith, is the image of a nation where everyone understands that every other person is equally important.
I look at the USA today through news and social media and I hurt because it’s like Dr.King’s work was for nothing. The minority groups especially Afro Americans are still under extreme racial discrimination worse still at the hand of law enforcers just like when Dr. King was still alive (52 years ago) and it honestly brings tears to my eyes. It’s easy for us, the rest of the world ,to dissociate ourselves from what is going on in the United States but we can’t allow ourselves to dissociate ourselves from humanity. Social injustices go on all around us; rape, racial or tribal discrimimation. In my country Uganda, corruption isn’t even completely hidden anymore. Irrespective of where you live , chances are that you have seen or heard of a form of these disgusting crimes.
Here is what I need to communicate with this post…
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Start in your home when there is violence! Start at your place of work when the boss asks you to raise a skirt for a promotion or when a certain individual gets to be the supplier of a certain product only because they share a bit of DNA with someone “important”.
But firstly , let us get on our knees and ask God for wisdom , courage and a whole lot of love.
Wisdom because there are many ways to go about things, but not all of them are the best. Wisdom because the way a message is delivered matters just as much as the message. Especially one that calls someone out on their poor behaviour.
Courage because, as Maya puts it ,”courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue” . Courage because all actions right or wrong have consequences and because we live in a fallen fallen world more often than not, the right actions can be life threatening and eminently critisized.
Love because it is the only way that truly wins. The only way that we will approach folks practising these injustices and stand a chance of being heard out. We need to remember that it’s not the person that we hate, but the vice. Love because correction without love breeds hate. Love because ,.: “Do everything in love”.1 Corinthians 16:14
Let’s pray for forgiveness, for we are guilty of these things as well. That “joke” about people of another tribe or race, that dislike we harbor in our hearts towards people whose skin is coloured different from ours, forgiveness for taking or offering that bribe. If we allow God to search our hearts, we realise that we are not faultless in this area. The good news is we have a loving Father who readily welcomes us back home and will guide us in the paths of righteousness and free our hearts and minds from the sin that clings to us so tightly.
Lastly, pray because our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Ephesians 6:12 AMP
God bless you! Be courageous. This world isn’t our home, but we can leave it better than we found it, or atleast try.
Its been a while since I posted anything here, which is weird since I was so excited to start blogging and the blogging challenge launched by the Ugandan blogging community gave me that extra push I needed to start publishing articles on a site I had opened two years back. 5 days into the 21 day challenge I put my pen down. Why? I felt uninspired. Most of the topics I had no interest in, but more importantly that was not the content I wanted to write on. I wanted to write about things that truly mattered to me in the season of life that I was in. With that in mind, today let’s talk about pressure.
What will people think?
Almost as soon as I chose to stop following the challenge this nasty question kept on popping into my head. “What will people think?” And before these people ( that by the way were only existent in my head)even had time to think about it, or think about thinking about it… my head had come up with multiple answers to “what people might think”. That night was a particularly hard one because I was coming face to face with an insecurity I wasn’t fully aware I had . The next couple of days were filled with the feeling that I had somehow failed as people I started the challenge with carried on till the end.
After my high school experience, I honestly thought I’d always be unfazed when it came to caring what people thought (Pride alert!..on our own we are bound to fail) So it came as a bit of a shock to me when I started to feel pressured by what might go on in other people’s minds due to failure to finish the challenge. I had to have a sit down with myself (still occassionaly have to) and remind myself of a few things.
1. Pressure doesn’t come from the outside it comes from within.
We may have people around us asking us why certain aspects of our lives do not conform to the normal. For example ,why you opted not to do university, or why you don’t drink, or why you don’t know what you want to do with your life yet… but if we have surrendered to God and are completely comfortable with the fact that our journey isn’t supposed to look like someone else’s journey and confident in our true identity in God, then none of that is an issue. But, if as an individual you are insecure about something then its you that presses the pressure button all on your own. Using myself as an example, no one even asked why I’m not completing the challenge by the time those thoughts crossed my mind. The reason we feel pressured to keep up appearences is because there is an aspect of our identity we have not yet surrendered to God.
2. We can’t use other people’s achievements as a yardstick of our own success or failure.
Everyone’s journey is unique. My assessment of “my failure” was based on the fact that others had gone on to complete the challenge and I hadn’t. I completely turned a blind eye to the fact that it was a victory for me to have started to post . We miss out on appreciating our efforts and our seemingly small victories when we use other people’s accomplishments as a measure of our own success.
3. When the pressure sets in, remember your “why”.
It’s easy to feel pressured do to something you wouldn’t have done when you forget the reason as to why you are on a particular line of action. If it wasn’t for incessantly reminding ourselves why we are doing what we are doing, I’m pretty sure a good number of people would have dropped out of university or quit that job…During my sit downs with myself, I had to remind myself why the desire to blog grew within me in the first place.
God has taught me plenty in my 21 years of life and continues to teach me more. This period of lockdown alone has been full of learning. He has taught me through quiet time with Him, through His word, and without doubt through other people. As I started this blog I should have had my first post about why I wanted to share myself with the world this way but I was caught up with trying to keep up with the challenge. The irony! Anyway, one of the ways I dealt with the pressure that had built up within me was to remember why I wanted to blog and it is to sharpen whoever reads it with the lessons that life has taught me so far.
This was just one thing for me that brought up the worry of what others would think, and I could name a couple more issues that would make this insecurity pop up and I’m almost certain so can you…but as a reminder to you and I, we weren’t put on this earth to please man. The only opinion that truly matters is that of God.
Weird, its empty! China is empty. The streets are quiet and the silence is loud. The billions of people that I usually have to find my way past are gone. I rush around twirling and dancing with the particles of earth that are carefree enough to be swept off their feet by my waltz. Its fun really having all this room to myself and not be interrupted…but i miss them. Maybe they’ll come out tomorrow.
I stopped by Italy on my way back home to the Atlantic the other day and those beautiful people werent dancing in the streets. I run across the globe looking for anyone! No one in sight! Not in the land where dreams come true , not in the home of the people who have chocolate for skin, so I looked for my old friend the queen. Surely she would know where everyone is , but she too is no where is sight. She is locked behind these doors that I simply can’t really get past.
I slow my pace into gentle steps. Maybe I’ll hear them…
Its coming from these huge buildings with an “H” slapped across their foreheads. A sound, plenty of sounds actually. I blow in through the open windows and there they are. Princes, world leaders, war veterans I recognise despite their wrinkled faces, a few children, fishermen, students, mothers, fathers. It doesnt matter who they are. Who knows them or who doesn’t. Where they work if they work at all , or if they have a millions to their name or mere pennies. All races, all ages, all religions.
Its not a pretty sight. I go out and keep the empty streets company as I give them the assurance that healing is coming. And as I sit there, it hits me. They are all the same , all equal. Unfortunate it took a pandemic for both them and I to realise it.
Today’s theme has to be among my best. To read a great book is to come into contact with a great mind. Books are an entire world of wisdom, experience and entertainment waiting to be discovered as one flips through the pages. I’ve read a couple of books, but here is a list of 5 books with advice and stories that continuosly ring in my mind.
Good Morning,Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn
Reading this book surely was a blessing. I read it in my last year of high school and it sparked a flame in me to get to know Holy Spirit for myself. Being honest, this is a book you should read. Benny Hinn tells us the story of His life and how Holy Spirit has been His guide and best friend. Holy Spirit literally pin pointed out Benny’s wife to him. He speaks about Holy Spirit the way a man madly in love with a woman will describe her to his friends. Frankly the way He describes His relationship with Holy Spirit(who is God) is far more intimate and admirable than a relationship between any two human beings. When i finished this lovely lovely book, i wanted nothing more than to get to know Holy Spirit as my friend not Benny’s friend, but mine. The amazing thing is, all of us are invited to experience such a profound relationship with Holy Spirit. A relationship where you are fully known, completely love and valued.
The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership by John C. Maxwell.
For the greater part of my life I have aspired to lead and the times when I’m not particularly eager to volunteer as a leader, the “authorities” dictate that i will lead anyway. I wish I had had the privilege of sitting down to learn from John through his book before I took on many of these leadership roles because man did I mess up more than a couple of times! But im glad I got to read this book when I did. This book is a perfect exhibit that people have really gained mastery in certain aspects of life through learning from their mistakes as well as from the mistakes and successes of others. As I read this book, it showed me precisely why things didnt go as planned during certain periods of my service as a leader and helped me learn so much more about serving as a leader. The principles in this book can serve in any field as all fields need a leader. And just so its clear, leaders aren’t born leaders. Anyone can lead. Dont write off reading this book because you dont consider yourself a leader.
10 things I want my daughter to know by Annie Chapman
Ladies, imagine all the conversations you think your mum wants or wanted to have with you but was probably too shy or too busy or unavailable. If those conversations were compiled into a book, it would be this book. Its important to have people to guide us and give us advice on how to tackle different challenges in life and good thing is we can learn from people’s experiences and not have to experience everything for ourselves to learn. After reading this book I remember feeling like I had stuck gold and shared the information with anyone who cared to listen, the school chaplain , friends , the sisters of the Legion of Mary in my high school and now, you.
The kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
This has to be my best fictional novel ever written. Any time I see Khaled Hosseini’s books I ,without second thought add it to my reading list. Infact all the rest are pushed a book down as his book is placed as first priority. This particular story is one of pure love between two friends. One a coward and the other extremely admirable. It tells a story of great betrayal and a life of regret and at the same time great forgiveness. I like this book because it is not a fairytale. It gives us the real picture of what life can be like. Not always rosy, not sunny all the time but always full hope if we choose love and forgiveness.
Lastly…Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
I love love and I’m always in for a good romance novel. But the problem with most romance novels is they were placing images that really dont have any business in my head, in my head and stirring up appetites in me that really have no need to be tickled any time soon .So for a while i had actually given up on romance as a genre. I needed to watch what I was feeding my heart and mind.Then I fell upon this author! Judith McNaught and all other erotic writers have nothing on this lady! Romance at its best and in a way that reminds the reader that there is more to eros love than…eros.
If you arent much of a reader, take baby steps and do try to read, there is so much knowledge and wisdom to soak up. Be blessed.
