Music Monday: Oceans~ my song of 2013

Allow me to take this opportunity to wish you a H.A.P.P.Y - N.E.W- Y.E.A.R to you wherever you may be reading this. May it trully be a year of new discoveries and tremendous blessing!

I don’t know about you but 2013 for me was the most challenging and most rewarding year wrapped up in failure and overwhelming victory all in one. But in the midst of the chaos, the stress, the heartache and tears, I’ve found true joy in the presence of God…just letting go and letting God. Worship has become as important as breathing to me. I’ve come to realise just how precious spending time with God is, it’s a time of healing, of refreshing, or replenishing and of putting things into perspective. It’s where I truly loose myself, allowing God to do his business, where I am completely and utterly content.
 

‘We were made to worship Him not just in a song on Sunday mornings, but 24/7 in all that we say and do.’ – Michelle McKinney Hammond

The gift of presence…

[Disclaimer: excuse the irony of this topic, as I’ve not been ‘present’ on this platform these few weeks, I do apologise. You must know me by now, go with it]

When was the last time you were fully present, engaging in a conversation with someone who really needed your attention, and being attentive to the words spoken whilst curiously anticipating to participate? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been really struggling with this one recently, hence why I’ve resorted on writing down (ranting) about it here. With the holiday season fast approaching, most people are now busy buying physical presents for their loved ones, but imagine the idea of offering someone something new, different and unconventional as a gift, your time and presence…How many of us would really sign up to that?

Three P’s for victorious living

Those of you know me well will know that I LOVE September. It’s my favourite month by far. Not only does it bring forth my birthday (which is a great day for reflecting on God’s goodness and mercies over the past year) but mostly because I feel like it’s a month of transitions and new beginnings, which always carries common mixed emotions in the form of excitement and fear. Not to mention that it’s also the end of summer, which in most cases (especially in the UK) gives people the opportunity to make use of the [rare] sun before the beauty of autumn and doom of winter descends upon us. In my case however, the month of September turned out to be quite a blessing, a victorious one despite the many challenges I faced. I won’t go into it with sheer detail just to spare you the ramble, but I’ve seen the hand of God at work in so many aspects of this new journey I’ve started. Walking on water (living out in faith) hasn’t proved to be easy so far, but as October rolls on, these are the three P’s I’m adopting for victorious living!!

‘…Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ…’ – (Romans 8:37)

The joy of walking on water...

Have you recently felt like you are being called to something new? A change of country/city, career path, pursuing further education, taking your spirituality more seriously? Or perhaps it’s something less drastic and yet just the mere thought of it presents you with doubt beyond belief, which subsequently affects your decision-making. Therefore you are also aware that whichever decision you do make will be costly, and this utterly scares you (though you may not want to admit it) You feel like the more you pray about it, the more confused and agitated you become towards the prospect of stepping out of your comfort zone and experiencing something new. Well, I’m here to reassure you that you are not alone.                                                                  

Your life’s highest calling will always create the highest level of joy within…

I will remember you...

Just the other morning when I awoke and was reading my daily devotion, I stumbled upon a well-known story in the bible...it was the story of Joseph. (One of my all-time favourites). Surprisingly, the verse that I read seemed oh so familiar - except a tiny little detail that caught my attention and thus lead me to ponder on something that I've been struggling with lately, and nope, this isn't one of my 'post-graduation syndromes' as I like to diagnose it. (Or perhaps it is) but that's not the point. It's about the gift of remembering and Genesis 40 captures the moment Joseph (who ironically is the captain guard in the prison he is kept in) interprets two prisoners dreams and Joseph asks a simple yet, significant favour afterwards,

¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

Taking time-out…




stunning sunset from our Campsite- Priceless

‘We need times of solitude and silence. We need times of refreshment, laughter and rest. We need to listen to the voice of God in our hearts as he tells us what we need.' – Captivating, by John & Staci Eldredge

I have just returned from a week-long camping holiday called FOCUS with my church family, which was hosted by HTB church network and was situated in the small town called Mablethorpe (far east-cost of England). It was simply magnificent. If I go on to describe just how awesome it felt to truly zone out from all the distractions of life and FOCUS on God…I would bore you with all the details. But it really got me thinking about the importance of taking time-out. This is something I particularly struggle with. The idea of putting a break to everything, simply letting go, inhaling and exhaling rest and exercising a prayerful lifestyle in exchange to living on a busy schedule and constantly being ‘proactive’ is not easy. How many of us really enjoy times of solitude and silence when presented with the opportunity?

Love is Patient...

I’ve recently been reading a really good book by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer called, wait for it… ‘Praying for your Future Husband’- (Preparing your heart for his) – I had to include that to make it sound less crazy. Hah. But seriously, as soon as I mentioned the title of the book to my friends, the response I get is always that of hilarity. The girls shyly smile or laugh hysterically, depending on how/when I bring it up…and the guys, well – rather freaked out by the idea to be perfectly honest. I seem to not understand why the concept of Praying for the ‘bone of my bones & flesh of my flesh’ is stirring up such negative connotation. Surely we can all relate to the idea that prayer is indeed powerful, and as we begin to pray for someone else…we are also being changed/transformed in the process? This should be great news for single ladies (myself included) to be aware of, knowing that there is something they can invest in now that will make a huge difference in their life and the life of their future husband?