DON'T WORRY, ........

Am sure you said be happy without giving it a second thought.

I was a little bit down a few weeks back and I knew I really needed to be in church and the message was so on point.

It was taken from Philippians 4: 6-9

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

A lot of times we are worried over this and anxious over that as if our worry or anxiousness could make any difference. And the funny thing is that the things we worry about most times are things we can’t control or do anything about. It is hard not to worry when things are not going as we imagined or planned but that what the Christ demands of us. HE commands us to give thanks in any and every situation and not just for when the going is good.

After hearing this message, I realised that I have been really ungrateful because I began hearing different people’s life experiences and I was indeed overwhelmed. I have not been to half… in fact one – eighth of what these women have been through and I am complaining. As if that was not enough,  a magazine also came my way( SEE Inspiration) and I  read articles about what different women have overcome the great challenges that came their way and am thinking to myself ‘have I been ungrateful or what’? 

One thing that has kept me going and I know for sure is that God doesn't make mistakes and HE knows what HE is doing even if we can’t or find it hard to understand.

So be encouraged and hold on!

It might get better and it might not but just know that God has a reason for everything or situation that you pass through. The next time you are about to complain, get anxious or be worried just say Lord I thank you for this situation am in because I know all things work together for me and it shall be for a greater glory.

And remember

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

If everything other thing should fail, Gods word will never fail!

Shalom.

Faithful with Little

                                    Listening to God in the Little Things

Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth

"He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back" (Isaiah 50:4-5 NIV).

Friend to Friend

One of my favourite devotion books My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. On October tenth, he wrote, "All God's revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. ...Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up…God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you already know."

We must never fall into the trap of thinking that God will always give us "big" things to do. Jesus…took a towel and …began to wash the disciples' feet…" (John 13:3-5). Through his act of servant leadership, he demonstrated the obedience we should have on a daily basis in the mundane activities of everyday life. Yes, he raised the dead, but he also washed the feet.

One evening Steve and I were on our way to dinner. Just before we arrived, I saw three teenage girls walking into another restaurant in the same area where we were going to eat. One of the girls had been in a small group I had led for two years. I felt God nudging me to go into the restaurant and pay for their dinners.

"Steve, there's Christine," I said. "I believe God wants me to pay for those girls' dinners."

Steve, being a man who listens to God, whipped the car around and headed toward the door.

"Hi girls," I said as I walked up to them in line.

"Hi Mrs. Jaynes. What are you doing here?"

"May I take your order?" the cashier interrupted.

"Go ahead girls," I urged. "You go first."

Each girl ordered and then the cashier turned to me. "And you ma'am.

"Oh, I'm not having anything. I just came in to pay for these girls' dinners."

The threesome were very surprised and very appreciative. I ran back out to our car, feeling a warm sense of listening and obeying.

The next day, Christine called. "Mrs. Jaynes," she said "thank you so much for paying for our dinners last night. My friends were so touched. No one has ever done anything like that for any of us before. See, last night, they wanted to go out to dinner, but I told them I couldn't afford it. So they were going to pay for mine. Then you came in and well…thanks.

Obeying God only cost me $19.95, but the lesson to Christine, and her two friends was invaluable. Jesus said, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38). 

Obeying God begins with heeding the simply nudges. Don't be afraid! Many people are afraid to obey those nudges because they aren't absolutely sure it is God's voice. I've decided that if the inner prompting lines up with Scripture and is consistent with God's character and ways, then I'd rather err on the side of obedience that the side of caution.

"We all have those times when there are no flashes of light and no apparent thrill to life, where we experience nothing but the daily routine with its common everyday tasks….Don't always expect God to give you His thrilling moments, but learn to live in those common times of the drudgery of life by the power of God….I must realize that my obedience even in the smallest detail of life has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it" (O. Chambers June 15). "If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God" (O. Chambers November 2).

My prayer is that I will be able to say like the prophet Isaiah, "He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back" (Isaiah 50:4-5).

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, I'm listening. Speak to me. Nudge me. I will not be rebellious. I will not draw back.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn

Today, I encourage you to pay attention to any way that God might be nudging you to be His hands and feet.

Read this today and it touched me so. There are times when you I God questions and the answers just begin to come from different directions.  And sometimes am like God its okay, I get the message!

This one of those times and the write up above is one of the answers HE has been giving me lately.We all have lofty dreams of this gigantic thing we want to do with our lives or we want God to do with our lives and we fail to see the little things he is laying plain in front of us.

Have you stopped for a minute to listen to what God is telling you to do even when it seems so insignificant. It is when we do those little thing that the big ones open up and you begin to see all the plans he has laid out for you.

I leave you with Luke 16:10

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Hope you were blessed as much as I was.

The Single life!

So you wake up ’jejeli’ on your  own deciding to have a day out to forget all the pressure from the home front telling you to go and get married asking if something wrong with you. So you get dressed, go on outside and begin to observe the happenings around you. First you see a happy looking young lady with her beautiful baby and her husband carrying the bag beside her, looking around again you notice an older couple taking a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Again you see two teenagers looking so excited, the girl looking slightly flushed and the guy trying so hard to impress her. Then you begin thinking this outing might not be such a great idea and to top it all up you see an old friend with her hubby in the same attire on their way to attend an event and you smile and try so hard to look like you are happy.

Okay so you decide let me stay indoors instead and watch a movie (to avoid anymore drama) and you end up crying throughout the whole movie because the it ended with the couple living happily ever after and you wish it was your story being played over in front of you.Single life sucks you say, how I wish I had someone in my life, a companion, someone I can talk to freely and not hide anything from, someone who we can share the good and the bad times with. Why does everyone seem so happy apart from me! It’s like the whole world is ganging up against you to make you feel miserable.

Am so lonely!

Well my dear you are not alone and it is just a phase everyone (well almost) passes through and it shall surely pass like every season in life. 

‘There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest’.

Remember there was a time you were in primary school and you wished you were in secondary school then you wished you were in the university able to do anything you want , and then you wished you had a job and making money on your own and then…etc. Also people in their 50’s 60s and 70s wish they were much younger and some married couples today wished they were still single or wished they had maximized the time they had as a single person properly. 

So you see we humans are insatiable always wanting more and needing more.

After you finally get married then you will wish you had kids, and then you would wish they were all grown up and then…the list goes on.  Yes the feeling of loneliness will come and yes the need for companionship will come and sometimes it may even overwhelm you but just keep in mind that it is a phase and this too shall pass.

So don’t put your life on hold because you are single, occupy yourself, pursue your dreams, discover yourself, read, learn , get yourself ready  and prepare because very soon you won’t have so much time on your hands. You will have to start thinking about how to balance work, life, family, children, spouse etc. and if you aren't careful you might get all drowned up and lose yourself in it. So use your time wisely.

Remember this though: ‘The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all’.

So my dear enjoy the single life while it last because it won’t last forever!

If you are still single share your thoughts with me on this topic.

* jejeli - gently

FORGIVE ME WHEN I WHINE !

• 
  

  Today, upon a bus, I saw a very beautiful

  woman and wished I were as beautiful.

  When suddenly she rose to leave,

  ... I saw her hobble down the aisle.

  ... She had one leg and wore a crutch.

  But as she passed, she passed a smile.

  Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

  I have two legs; the world is mine.

  
  

  
  
  

  I stopped to buy some candy.

  The lad who sold it had such charm.

  I talked with him, he seemed so glad.

  If I were late, it'd do no harm.

  And as I left, he said to me,

  "I thank you, you've been so kind.

  It's nice to talk with folks like you.

  You see," he said, "I'm blind."

  Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

  I have two eyes; the world is mine.

  
  

  
  
  

  Later while walking down the street,

  I saw a child I knew.

  He stood and watched the others play,

  but he did not know what to do.

  I stopped a moment and then I said,

  "Why don't you join them dear?"

  He looked ahead without a word.

  I forgot, he couldn't hear.

  Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

  I have two ears; the world is mine.

  
  

  
  
  

  With feet to take me where I'd go.

  With eyes to see the sunset's glow.

  With ears to hear what I'd know.

  Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

  I've been blessed indeed, the world is mine.

  
  

  
  
  

  OK  so did not write it but I got it from a friends page on Facebook. 

  Am in a season of life where I really feel like whining this sort of brought me back to reality.

  I have every reason to be grateful!

  
  

  
  

  Kudos to Ekaete for posting it .

  
  

Am Coming Home!

Its been a while since I have 'blogged' or even written anything, If you asked me one of my favourite activities I would confidently say writing. I sit back and try to to remember when last I wrote anything and sadly I noted that it has been a while.  I have missed it a lot and I can see the effect by the number of thoughts running through my head seeking an outlet.

I see writing as an outlet. It frees me to say many things I would not ordinarily talk about.
I am not much of a talker but when it comes to writing the way I feel about an issue I could go on and on....

So I guess I will say am coming back home. Wish me luck as I begin the journey again into the world of writing.

Is She/He the one?

On yesterday's post, my husband talked about PURSUING! He actually mentioned in the first paragraph ways that one can tell if she/he is the one for you to marry. I will repost what he said and then elaborate.

PAV: "If you are both believers, your feelings are mutual, you both feel you can not live without each other and you both believe that God will be pleased with you two marrying, PURSUE."

The TWO biggest keys we believe are, BOTH should be BELIEVERS and FEELINGS should be MUTUAL! Who says you can not have chemistry? Who says you must marry someone just because everyone says they will be a good fit for you? Don't take the saying "God will send you someone" to mean that God will send you someone you will be disgusted by and you must obey God and marry them! We do believe God has the perfect person for those that will marry(Gen 2:18), but we believe that includes being attracted to that person as well. If you can hardly stomach being around someone, how will your marrying them glorify God? Even in my own marriage I am HEAVILY attracted to my husband and vice versa. We know we will age and looks will change, but in our eyes, there will always be that attraction that drew us together. That attraction was not only God, but other things we absolutely loved about each other; physically, mentally and spiritually.

So while we can not tell you EVERY single way to know someone is the one for you to marry, we can tell you what we believe is the Foundation for marrying. Both should be believers! Because that means your marriage will be based on Christ! Next, feelings should be mutual. You should NEVER force yourself to marry someone or try to force them to marry you. Both should feel they are right to marry each other. There also may be some kind of feeling that you MUST have each other in your lives, like each other is needed to fulfill God's purpose on the earth. And marrying each other should please God. Remember, when you understand the true meaning of marriage, you will marry someone who will enhance your life all to the Glory of our King, not just someone who will look good on your arm!

There are other things to consider as well, but the basis is found in those 4 things we mentioned. Because some people have bad habits, short comings, money and health issues, etc. That is why it is ALWAYS good to seek God BEFORE you make such a big step in life!

Even if you do not believe in GOD "sending you THE ONE" and you feel you can choose whom you marry, we still say those things above are key even in your choosing! But as we ALWAYS ask, who created marriage? God did. So it makes sense to go to the CREATOR about what He CREATED! We hope this helps many of you who have been asking this question!


Prov 18:22, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD".

Psalm 37:23, "The LORD DIRECTS the steps of the godly. He delights in EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR LIVES".

Prov 19:14, "Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife IS FROM THE LORD".

Prov 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD DETERMINES HIS STEPS."

culled from Truly Faithful page
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Phenomenal Woman

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Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say, It's in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Maya Angelou