Prayer for the week

Hmm.. a new week. Lord, I thank you and I bless your name to be counted as one of the privileged to see this week. There are some people that started last week and are not here to see this week and for this I am grateful.

This week I have so many things I want to achieve and the 'to-do' list looks pretty overwhelming but I am asking for your wisdom to know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Help me operate at my highest gift and enable me to to do my work diligently and efficiently.

Also, enable me to walk in the fruits of the Holy Spirit (especially patience..u know some people are trying me seriously!!!Lol!). Let your joy fill my heart, let your peace guard my heart. Help me to be kind even when it is difficult. Most importantly, help me to love the way You do with total abandon, without conditions.

Lord, increase my faith to believe you for the impossible, for your Word promises that every word you have spoken concerning me cannot return to you void but it must first accomplish it's purpose in me. Let my words encourage and edify and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight.

I know there are testimonies hiding behind the challenges of this week so I'm ready to make a start....

I pray this for myself and for any others who might need it.

Thank you for answered prayers.

Me.

Psalm 9:10 (NIV) Those who know your name will trust in you; for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.

What a day!!

What a day yesterday was! Got to the lab really excited (at least for a Monday!) about starting a new experiment just to find out that I had forgotten to sterilise some stuff..me thinks this is not a good way to start as I have to delay starting for about 2 hours.

Anyways I started and it just went downhill from there the crowning moment involving spilling some Salmonella (don't worry I was working in a contained environment). I just felt like going home to sleep. Usually I'm quite organised and capable but yesterday was so not one of those days. After lunch I just decided to relax. So the day wasn't going the way I wanted, so there were some mistakes, so I have to repeat the experiment..it's not like these are not serious issues but no use worrying about the past I cannot change.

When I woke up today, I decided to leave the craziness in yesterday because all I have is today. I don't know what tomorrow will bring but I'll work my darnest best today to make sure it is beautiful.

I learnt not to cling to the past, who we are is a sum of all the experiences we have been through both good and bad. This morning I talked to God and received the strength, grace and joy that I needed for today.

It hasn't been so bad, most of the results from yesterday are wack but I've got some moments I wished I had captured on film!

Welcome to a new month. May is the fifth month of the year. Symbolically, 5 in the bible represents grace (one of the greatest gifts that God has endowed my life with). So, may you experience the grace of God in all areas of your life. I pray that you walk in favour as the Heavens open over you and shower you with multiple blessings.

Remain blessed

Me

Life: A-Z; D is for Decisions

Decision (n) A conclusion reached after consideration (Pocket Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus)

Life is full of decisions, from when I wake up in the morning till when I go to bed at night. From the day that I was born till the day I die, decisions will have to be made. When I was younger, most of the decisions that affected me were made for me by other people a.k.a the parents but one of the 'freebies' that comes with growing older is being able to make my own decisions.

Decisions are powerful because who I am, where I am and what I have are largely based on the decisions that I have made. So am I making the decisions that are taking me where I want and need to be? I used to find it difficult to make important decisions, just being content to allow life to carry me in whatever direction and then looking for something or someone to blame if I ended up somewhere I didn't really like. My wake up call came one fine morning when someone told me that 'not to make a decision is a decision in itself'. It's like my eyes were opened and at the end of the day like my pastor says "If it is to be, it is up to me".

So now I'm learning to make decisions. It's not easy, the road to success is usually accompanied with some tough ones. I've had to make some painful ones especially in the area of relationships. I've had to let go of some things and some people so that I can follow the purpose that God has for me. I've had to make some decisions concerning my health and my lifestyle especially in the area of diet and exercise (this has been one of the hardest!)

So what am I saying, we can't always blame others and external factors for where we are in life, it's largely due to the decisions that we have made. The good news is that if I don't like where I'm standing then I can make a decision to move. Is it always easy? The answer is no, some decisions are harder than others. Is it possible? Yes, as long as we are willing to admit there is room for change and take the steps towards where we need to be. Even the definition of decision shows that there must be a thought process before it can be carried out!

Another thing I've learnt is that when I commit my decision process to the source of all wisdom, I make the right ones. Problems come when I want to go on my own way so Lord please give me wisdom for every single step, for every single day, hour and minute so that I can remain in the purpose You have designed for me.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isiah 30:21 (NIV)

Remain blessed

Life: A-Z; C is for Character

Dictionary.com defines character as;

1. the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.
2.qualities of honesty, courage, integrity

There are so many C words to choose from. Commitment, courtesy, compliments and some others reigned at the top of my list but when I think about it those words and most of the stuff in our lives are linked to character one way or the other.

The best definition of character I have read is "Character is who I am in the dark". The real me, when I am on my own , when no-one else is there and I can finally drop my mask, stop acting and face reality. The question then becomes who am I in the dark?

On my journey, I am beginning to learn so many things about myself, some good and some bad. For the good, I compliment myself. For the bad, I've got the greatest Life Coach of all walking this journey with me so I know it's all going to work out.

I like the first definition.."the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of a person". Think about it today, in your life what is the aggregate of features and traits that makes you, you? Do we stand for what we believe in or what the crowd believes in? There are so many things that make for good character but character is like a foundation (SIMILE!!) it's like a bedrock on which we build our lives, if it isn't very good we might deceive people for a while but eventually the weight of the pressures of life or even the storms of life will expose us for what we truly are cos in this life I've learned that..we can only pretend for so long.

So I choose (another C word, Choice..for another day) to walk towards good character. I want to give you my word and you can take it to the bank. I want to be compassionate (yes..c again I'm on a roll!) not judgemental. I want to love unconditionally, not based on behaviour. I want to be diligent in all that I do so that I can excel in all areas.

How do I get good character? I listen to the voice of my life coach cum best friend cum lover cum Father (yes He is the all in one) because it is only through and with Him I can make it. He also gave me a manual (known to some as Bibeli mimo) and through it's pages I see a reflection of who I can and should be and I strive towards that every single day.

That's all folks, seems a bit scattered to me but I hope you find a little something something that is a blessing to you.

Remain blessed

Me

N.B: C is also for compliments. We can never give to many as long as they are genuine. I am sensing that some people are being a tad bit miserly with theirs so please this week try and put a smile on as many faces as possible. I'll start.

Although I don't know you, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. You are looking great today so keep stepping ans shining cos you are a STAR! Pass the compliment on to those at home, work e.t.c.

Remain blessed.

Me

Working, working..and more work to come!

Ok girl, breathe!

Yeah, yeah trying to catch up on my work and men is it much! I'm enjoying it anyway, there's nothing like ticking off all the goals that have been set for today. Thank God for that.

Nothing much to say except may the good Lord bless you and keep you, may He cause His face to shine upon you and give you peace. May you have a reason to smile, even laugh this week. May this be a week of receiving strength, a week of testimonies where your expectations become a reality. May you wake up each morning and feel like you have just been kissed by the breath of His Grace. May you receive the wisdom that comes from on High that allows you to make the right decision even the ones that don't seem important.

I hope you are as expectant as I am for wonderful things this week. Look beyond the hard work that you do..to the BIG impact that your job makes in this world. I don't care what it is you do, all jobs are important and I don't care if you are in locked in a tiny cubicle or on the top floor of a sky rise building. Your job is significant because not everyone can do it and even though there are other people in your profession they don't bring the same uniqueness and flair you do..so keep stepping.

Have a great week. I'm rooting for you!!

Me

Life:A-Z; B is for Brokenness

When I think of this word, i think of the term 'breaking a horse'. It's a classic scene in an old Western movie, wild horses are brought to the ranch and the cowboys make wagers as to which of them will be able to break the horse, to break in this sense means to tame and make useful for a particular and specific purpose.

The aim of being broken is not to destroy the spirit of the horse.."for who can bear a broken spirit" (Prov 18:14b). Wild horses are beautiful and fast but they live for themselves, are masters onto themselves and live for no specific aim so they must be broken.

Before, I was like that wild horse, living for myself with my own plans, my own agenda, my own view e.t.c. but then I had an encounter with the Love of my life and although at the beginning it was all good and sweet, He soon made me realise that if He was going to be able to use me, He would have to break me escpecially my will so that He could use me for the specific purpose He had for me.

At first like the horse, I resisted violently but then I realised that He would be doing it Himself and because He loved me, He would never allow me go through anything beyond my capacity to endure also as I see what He is doing (this process is far from finished in my life!) it's really great! One thing I've come to realise in life is that there must be PROCESS before a PRODUCT and usually the more valuable the PRODUCT (e.g gold, perfume, pearls) the more stringent the PROCESS. Also, I noticed that He didn't change every SINGLE thing about me, just how I expressed my gifts and myself.

I think a lot of people shy away from my Love because they have this idea that you need to be perfect before He can use u, i want to tell you that is not just true..don't let our Baptist shouts and Pentecostal halleluyahs fool you. Underneath it all, there are cracks from where we have been broken and it is through these cracks that His anointing, power and love can flow from us to reach a hurting world.

Another misconception is that He will change us into 'zombies' but just like breaking the horse doesn't change it into a cow, this process just makes you the best you that you can be because the One who created you is now in charge and He knows what you are capable of. The same giftings and talents you have now will just be redirected by Him to His own purpose. So no, you don' have to join the choir if you aint got the voice ( was that sigh of relief from me or you? ha ha)

I end with some lines from one of my favourite songs..'Holiness' by Micah Stampley

Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for
Brokenness is what I need
Brokenness, brokenness is what you want from me

Remain blessed

Me

N.B Just a quick prayer

Dear Daddy

I am giving a shout out for myself and any others that have found themselves in 'breaking' encounters. Please give us the strength to endure all that we must face and also the ability to trust that you are with us in everything even when we don't understand. Also, bring divine messangers that will help us on this journey.

Thank you so much. Love u loads (though some days I know I don't act like it).

Keeping it real as always,

Your girl (I'm so proud u chose me!)