Shabbat.....and the rat race.

I love to celebrate Shabbat with my faith family. Each time I partake of the meal with them, I am reminded of the freedom I have in God. I am reminded of my true identity. I am reminded of why I am here and to whom my allegiance lie. My heart is full of pain, and gratitude for the cross and all it signifies. Above all, my heart is full of hope....one day Our King shall return! May we be found in him. Amen.

Ok.

So a few Fridays ago, after our shabbat meal, we prayed and Shalom my dear dear sister, drew our attention to how easily we lose sight of who we are, get distracted and step back into the "rat race''.

You see, I live in Lagos Nigeria and with the kind of lifestyle we lead, It is very difficult to get to do what your heart truly desires. Most people just go with the flow. There is so much pressure that it is almost impossible to stay  true to yourself and your purpose. Life itself with all its pressures can be daunting and overwhelming.

My favorite workout instructor is Billy Blanks and I love his charge. He would always say 'You have got to give something to get something...If you want it, then you must give it to get it!' I feel it is high time we really think about what we want from life. What is our definition of success? What kind of life do WE want to lead? (and not just what society dictates). What kind of life do we sense God leading us to live? What does he want to do through us? What is our role in His Story?

It is very important one has clarity....clarity of purpose! and ultimately let this purpose resonate in every aspect of one's life. After defining purpose (remember your Purpose is not your decision, it is your discovery!), one must then be methodical about the future and how one must proceed with life. We must ask ourselves, what does the future I want mean to my daily living? What does it mean to my weekly living? What does it mean to my monthly living? And then make necessary adjustments no matter how painful or drastic!.....sometimes drastic is what does it. (please read that with a pinch of salt. If you have a family make sure you carry your family along as the family is a unit). So that 10 years from now, you will be living the life you CHOSE and not the life society forced on you.

Now, I know this sounds very good and easy on paper, the reality is it is hard in real life and the fact that you want it does not mean the universe automatically throws it on your lap. Remember, you have got to GIVE something to GET something. If you have a vision, you must work painstakingly hard. When you live for a purpose, then hard work is not an option, It is a necessity!

The reward is that you actually get to live the life of your dreams!

I leave you with these words that have stayed with me over the years.....

"There are rules that govern the earth, and even unbelievers will profit if they know how and follow the rules. Our outstanding advantage is ZOE....the life of God in us! "


Shabbat Shalom!

'Dammie

His Love...our cross

Hi Hi,

It took me a while, but I finally came to understand that God will not sacrifice his ultimate goal in us in order to appeal to our emotions or comfort.

A lot of times, just like a child, we whine and cry for momentary relief of our pains and struggles, we would rather cry and whine than grow up!

The truth is;

He will not give you wealth until you have the strength of character to handle it. You will not enjoy sound health if you live carelessly and refuse to take responsibility for it. You will continually live in debt if you do not learn to live within your means and probably manage your resources better. The devil is enough trouble already.

I mean, it is like a child with wounds asking his father not to tend to his wounds because of the "temporary sting" he would feel. Love makes the father ignore him no matter how much he cries for mercy even though the cries pierce his heart. He knows he has to do what he has to do for the greater good!

I have come to learn that unlike us, Abba is not emotional about his parenting. He has no interest whatsoever in winning parent of the year award. He is very purposeful, disciplined and committed to his ultimate goal for our lives and when we know this, I sincerely believe life will suddenly be a whole lot easier and our attitudes will make a 360 turn.

Whether it be him working out character in us, or bringing us to a place of absolute trust and dependency on him and his love irrespective of what our physical senses tell us.

He loves us as we are however, that love will not leave us as we are. It will transform us from a worm into a butterfly. And sadly it is though the things we suffer, that we learn obedience.

Let this be our assurance, that he will not leave us in the fire a second more than is necessary to make us pure.

Hang in there...and while you are at it, Find JOY!


Cheers!

'Dammie

Relationships and putting your best foot forward

Hi hi!

I was talking with a friend of mine and she was sharing with me a conversation she had with someone about her relationship and this person had told her "In a relationship, a lady has got to put her best foot forward" 

Now I really didn't think much of this but it kind of just stayed with me like a pimple that wont go away. The more I pondered, the more I thought.....

Are we really? 

What is this supposed to achieve?

Make you love me more? Or make you commit? 

What happened to just being me? Or is me not good enough?

Me consists of the best foot, the bad foot and then some.....and if you cannot deal with the total package should we even be together? 

I mean if we were talking business and unique selling points and all I can totally relate but this? 

This is love we are talking about, commitment.

Is love not supposed to cover a multitude of sins?

Is love not supposed to love irrespective of what "foot" you put forward?

Is love not supposed to look beyond who you are at the moment to who you can be?

Does love seek perfection or does it not just seek to find expression? 

Is love not supposed to be content in its recipient? 

Is love not a decision to love the recipient unconditionally? 

I would love to hear your thoughts......

A Poem for Abba

Background:

So I am sitting on my bed, thinking about life and its true meaning.....about the things that really matter....about the things that are important and those that are not so important. This flowed from my heart:


Dear Abba

Dear Abba, 
You are my priority
You are all I want
You are all I really need.

I long to know you, to understand your ways
I long to know your heart, the deep mysteries it holds
I want to love you with every breath that I breath
O Abba, You are the treasure that I seek. 

Take my hand dear Lord and lead me along your path
Take my roots deep down in the soil of your love
Help me to be grounded in you
Like any son or daughter, I long to be like you my father.

Open my eyes to see how you see
Touch my heart, to love how you love
Let our hearts beat as one.
For in you I am content. 

"In a dry and barren land where no water is, my soul is thirsty for you.''

Time....and goals

Wow!

I cannot believe how much TIME has passed since my last post! Yhoor!

BTW, don't you just love vintage watches? I love them like! OK back to time! *inserts side-eyes* (lool i'm so playful.)

Ok!

It really has been a long time since my last post chale! My sincere apologies.

It might be a wee bit comforting to know that while I was away, i did not stop writing and my journal is full of write-ups about my thoughts and experiences in the past month. I guess it will be good to share some of them before I go into the whole newness phase. Yeah, I think i'll will share a couple of them. *smiles*

Thing is, my laptop broke and although to be honest, i really needed that time off and I am grateful for the miracle of my laptop packing up.....Yes! It was a miracle because I was forced to step back from my rat race and really think about what I was doing with my life and boy, it really has been a very rewarding time for me.

I have finally been able to implement a lot of things I set out to do at the beginning of the year...at least I now have a plan.

Have you ever goal-set? I don't know about you, but the hardest part is knowing what you really want, the things you want to accomplish! and really tuning into what you perceive God wants to achieve with your life. Your role in His story.

It has really been a great beginning for me and even though the second hardest thing for me is putting myself out there, I have decided to embrace the real essence of starting this blog which is to chronicle my journey to living a balanced integrated life. Besides, I figure the best way to get it done is to tell the whole world about it! how's that for motivation?

Let's just say things are about to get very real on this street. :)

In the next couple of days though, I will be posting some of my write-ups from the past month so please stay tuned! or else!......i'll beg lol.


Enjoy the ride with me.


Cheers!

'Dammie

Being 29

So I am not one to be excited about my birth-day but amazingly, I have been unusually happy and full of joy. Asides from the fact that I have like the best faith family ever!no jokes! God has really been super good to me! Abba Rocks!

I have not had a rosy life, but I have had a really really good life so far. Abba has been really gracious to me. He has been super good. Through all my ups and downs, through the ebbs and flows, through the good and bad, God has proven Himself as GOOD!

I have felt unspeakable joys, I have felt deep sorrow . I have gone through unbearable pains and I have felt such love my heart could explode. And through it all, Abba has been a faithful friend.

If I have learnt anything in my short life, it is the following;

1) God is so so good! We have no idea how good He is, and it is because we are have a warped idea of what good is.

2) We NEED a family! Families are God's gift to us. and often times we bear much sorrow because we choose to isolate ourselves. God blesses families, He works in teams and the benefits of yielding is just profound! (I must however add that choosing families and especially what the family model should be like is post for another day).

3) I was created FOR GOD! Not the other way round!

4) Family and friends, good friends does not mean perfection. They are gifts and they will work out His perfect will out in you. Their frailty will show sometimes when you need their strength, It is all working together for your good. It does not make them less of a gift. They are special, cherish them! There is a reason God gave them to you!

5) Rejoice in hardship! This! I cannot over-emphasize. We learn Obedience by the things we suffer. My hardships have worked out a great deal of good in me! I love Abba, His love can be tough, but it is Love! My comfort is not the goal of my life, His Character and the working out of His will is! I am content in Him.

Lastly,

6) Money does not define me! This one took me a long time to finally get. But yeah. Abba defines me!

I am grateful for my journey, I am grateful for His dealings with me and I know without a doubt, that He who has began a good work in me, is faithful to finish it and bring me to His expected end.

Cheers everyone!

Much Love xoxo

Dammie.


P.S

Please join me in saying a prayer for 2 of my dear friends and family who are going through health challenges. That Abba will preserve them and perfect their health. Thank you.xx

Life in book titles.....

I love books....oh my do I love books sadly however, I do not have a good reading habit.

I find it quite hard to finish a book. Mostly books with big grammar and a serious style to it....I would start reading with excitement and somehow a few chapters in, one thing leads to another and I just lose interest. Mostly because I have to read a chapter like 5 times.  I prefer an easy style with lots of stories, I get more from a story than I do from a 'lecture'. It is why my favourite books to read are fictions and biographies. I just relate better.

I realize however that sometimes, I have to go through the pain of reading heavy stuffs and so what I have been doing lately that has helped me so far, is to restrict my reading to a chapter per day. No pressure to finish it. Don't know if its the determination from starting a new thing, but it seems to be working so far. If you have any other suggestions on what can help please please please pray share!

OK, that was a digression, back to my post...lol

Because I love books, I find myself buying some anytime a chance presents itself. I really do not have a systemic way of buying books, I see something that catches my eye and I buy (I have ended up with many silly books this way but there is always something to learn though..lol).

I was going through my purchase in the past month and it is just amazing how the titles are a reflection of the things that have been on my mind lately even though I have not even started reading most of them.


*Infinite Impact ; One thing that have been on my mind lately is IMPACT. I am learning more and more that what makes my heart glad more than anything is serving. Service in whatever capacity presents itself (maybe not quite because I hate doing domestic stuffs....X _ X.....lol). Being Kingdom minded. Making things happen for people. I realized that the more I focus on Abba and others and stop obsessing over myself, the better life actually gets.

*Generation Next Marriage ; I am definitely not one to get a book on marriage lool. The book vendor however insisted on this one and so I obliged. I am GLAD I did. I love the style of writing. I love that it is a compilation of different peoples narration of different issues plus it is so easy to read. Marriage has been a tough one for me. I am going to be 29 in a few days and society seems to be having a tough time accepting my status. "They" make it seem like I have a problem. It irritates me to be honest. I mean I will like to get married, it is a beautiful thing to get to share your life with someone but making it seem like I am less of a person because I am not married is just plain ridiculous!.

*Breach of trust ; This one is a fiction. A series of events happened recently that left me feeling very alone even though I am surrounded by so many good people. It can be very hard when you are confronted with the frailty of a friend especially when you really need their strength....don't know if I make sense but.... anyway, It can make you question their love and even their commitment. And I really haven't figured it all out yet but one thing I have learnt is this - The best of man, is still a man at his very best...we are all flawed humans put together by good intentions - and that will just have to suffice. Only Abba can be a perfect friend. The rest of us are a work in progress. All of us! So I have learnt to accept and celebrate what I have. How blessed I am for the gift of them!

*Courageous Living ; This one I am reading at the moment and really I need to share the things I have learnt in a separate post. Courage is underrated!

*From my heart to yours; I haven't even read this book at all but lately, Abba has been talking to me a lot about my heart. My no1 prayer point has been that He give me a new heart, a heart like His. I watched a DVD on the story of David DAVID The Bible Collection and it has just further expanded this in my heart. The matter of the heart is indeed the heart of the matter!


Ok, that's about it! Please do drop a few lines in the comment box. I will loooove to hear from you as well!

Hope to write soon.


Cheers!

Dammie