Glass Half Full

You've just woken up from the most amazing dream: you know, that awesome dream that was just about to get to the good part when BAM! The alarm clock goes off X_x So what's the first thing you do? You complain. Yes, I've been there most school day mornings; the first thing I do when I'm up is complain. Either I complain about how I never got see how my dream ended, or I complain about having to go to school or the lack of sleep I had... The list is endless.

As it is my home country, I try to know more or less what's going... Which leads to even more complaining. I've complained so much about the Xenaphobia in South Africa, all the striking and the tons of other fun stuff that happens in our country, that sometimes I forget to look at the positive. And isn't that the truth? Sometimes we're so wrapped up in complaining about something that we fail to see the positive parts about it, which brings me to my topic today:

Positivity.

To have positivity is basically to be optimistic, and it's really hard to be optimistic sometimes. The glass often looks more half empty than half full, and life often seems so full of sadness, hurt and heartbreak that it's difficult to be optimistic about the future. Well, if that's your mind set, then stop thinking that RIGHT NOW. If you're not optimistic about the future, how will you be able to motivate yourself to be the best person you can be; to distinguish yourself from mediocrity?

Just because life seems dull or hard right now, doesn't mean it will be that way forever. So often we get caught up in the present that we forget to look further on. Imagine you were climbing a mounting and only looked at your feet the whole time? You'd miss all the beautiful views. Sometimes life doesn't turn out how we would like it to, or how we had expected it to. That's the thing about life; it isn't constant. The only constant thing about it is that it is constantly changing!

Just look at David for example. Before he become king and defeated Goliath, he was just a young shepherd boy. Never once does the Bible describe him as unhappy or complaining about his situation. In 1 Samuel 17, David's father asks him to travel and deliver some food to his brothers who are fighting the Philistines. Now they didn't have cars or even bicycles those days, so it meant he probably had to WALK all that way. Gee, and I complain having to walk just to the kitchen and pour my brother something to drink!
When David asked some of the Israelite soldiers what would happen to whoever defeated Goliath, one of his brothers stepped in and bullied him a bit, saying he was "wicked" and "conceited" (hmph... I would probably give my brother a big slap if he called me that :/ ).
David, officially my new role model, replies, "Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” ³⁰ He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before."
Wow. Instead of calling his brother names back or complaining to his father, David just asked if he had done anything wrong and then moves on. Just like that.
Eventually David ends up killing Goliath with God's help, you know, with the slingshot and single stone (I'm sure not even Chuck Norris could do that).

So here's the thing about David: he had so many reasons to complain. Imagine being forced to watch sheep while your brothers got to be heroic and fight in the army? Also, he had to walk super far just to bring them food. Then his brother bullies him for just wanting to know what's happening. Not only would I be complaining, but I'd probably have some very colourful language to add in as well.
And that's why David is such a good example of positivity: he didn't let other people bring him down and he ensured God was his priority. David asked what would happen if someone defeated Goliath, he looked beyond right now into the future to know what he was working towards. Most importantly, David had faith. He knew that with God's help, he could conquer anything, even a literal giant. In verse 17, David says, "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
But that faith though! He didn't say "I wonder if God will help me", or "I hope God won't let me be defeated", he just said in a statement that God WILL rescue him. He looked at the situation positively and just look at all he achieved: I mean he became king. KING. That is quite a big achievement, if I do say so myself.

Now that's all great that some boy who looks after sheep could kill a giant, but how will that help me? Well I think we should all learn some lessons from David. Instead of concentrating on the negative, look ahead to what the future holds for you. The future is exciting, people! Doesn't it just excite you to think that if you're single, maybe one day you'll meet an amazing man or woman to marry? Isn't it exciting to think maybe one day you'll have the job of your dreams or maybe have enough money to never have to work a day in your life again? Isn't it exciting to think one day, YOU could discover something new that could write your name in the history books forever and ever? Isn't it exciting to think that one day, you could fully unlock your potential and be completely and wholly the person you were called to be?

The future may seem dire or unsure at times, but remember that God has already planned your life (Jeremiah 29:11) and He will make sure He helps you, as much as you allow Him to, to have the most abundant and amazing future ever, even better than you can imagine. After all, Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. "
God will make sure things work out for you. So instead of complaining now, try look ahead and say something positive instead. In fact, I challenge you: every time you're about to complain, or if you have just said a complaint, say something positive about the same situation instead or straight after. For example, tomorrow morning I'm probably going to complain about this strike that is happening near my home, but instead of complaining about how annoying it is, instead I'm going to say, "You know what, it may be frustrating but I respect these people for making a stand. Plus I probably don't have to go to school, so yippee for that." (do people still say 'yippee'? Or is that only in those old children's books? :/)

There we go, so even though life may seem horrible now, remember to look forward. The world may not always be a pretty place, but Jesus did say in John 16:33, "“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
#WOW

Running With New Takkies

Recently there have been various protests and debates at UCT to remove the Rhodes statue, as many find it offensive due to what Cecil Rhodes stood for and did in the past. Now that's all good and well to stand up for what you believe in, so this is no offense to anyone, but this situation got me thinking about how we, as people, hang onto the past.

It's almost as if we physically struggle to move on. The thing is, the past is the past, and just because something bad happened, doesn't mean it has to affect your future. However, if we're being honest, I think there's always one or two things that we hang on to and let affect us. Maybe you had a bad break up and now you struggle to trust other significant others, or maybe you were bullied about something in primary school and now you're still struggling with that insecurity. I am guilty myself. This may sound silly, but a few people would comment on my hairy arms in primary school and even today I'm shy about them, especially around boys! (To whoever is reading this, just know I promise I'm not some cave woman with arms that are so hairy they look like a blanket, they're not that bad... I hope!:P ) 

Holding onto the past will hurt you and make it harder to move on. Think about it : if you're running a long race but you're still wearing your broken takkies from ten years ago, it's going to be pretty hard and pretty sore to finish that race, and I definitely don't think you'd be able to achieve as well as if you had worn newer, not broken shoes. 

There's the perfect example of this in Numbers where God told the Israelites that they had to stay in the desert for 40 years (Numbers 32:13). Why? Because they were hung up on the past and not trusting God. Basically, God called this guy Moses to lead His chosen people, the Israelites, out of slavery by the Egyptians, into a new place He was preparing for them. So Moses got them out of Egypt after some really tough negotiation and a few plagues, but while they were traveling to this new land, the Israelites got cranky and said it had actually been better for them in Egypt and they should have stayed there! I'm sorry, but I think anything is better than being a slave. But you see, the Israelites were hung up on the past and didn't want to move on when the going got tough. They hadn't  traded in their old, broken takkies for their new, not broken ones (what's the word for not broken? Think my brain's on holiday today!) 

The Bible actually warns us several times not to hinder on the past. Philippians 3:13-14 says, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah 43:18-19, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

As you can see, even God is telling us to move on, He knows what's best for us. It's true, bad things happen and sometimes moving on is super difficult, but when you learn to move forwards instead of staying tied back; that is when you will uncover some of the best things in life. 

God creates newness, and once you're in Him, you are a new creation. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

If you've done or experienced bad things in your past, that all goes away once you've surrender your life to God. He will give you the newest, most non-brokenest (#NewWord)  pair of takkies you could ever wish for. He will give you the strength to move on to new heights and experience things you never thought was even possible. There is a catch however: you actually have to let Him catapult you to new heights. Sometimes it's hard to trust God, but it's only when we trust Him and have faith that we are able to reach these new heights.

Don't let the past define who you are. You can create your own definition of yourself and that definition is up to you; will you choose the world's definition or God's definition of your life? 

Hebrews 12:1-2

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Get ready to run the rest of your earthly race with God holding your hand. Stop worrying about the past, it's only going to cause wrinkles and a broken heart! Let God's newness flow in you. Ask Him to help you finish this race to the best of your ability.

Think about it, life is hard enough as it is. Why add to that by hindering on past things that you can't change? Learn from it and try not to make those mistakes in the future. Put on those takkies, and 

Run, Forest, run! 

BBL Challenge: Kindness

I just came back from a school hiking trip in the Drakensburg, and our accommodation was primitive to say the least: we slept in a cave, we showered in a waterfall and, most shockingly; there were no bathrooms!! Now I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not super comfortable with doing my business in a bush (lemme just tell you, grass can be very sharp and can poke you in some very weird places X_x)

So there I was, rushing to pack things for camp, when I forgot to bring the most fundamental thing: toilet paper! Not only would I have had to go in the open on a mountain, now I wouldn't be able to experience the last aspect of civilization either: using toilet paper.

Now luckily for me, I have some amazing friends and one of my friends, Megan, did a super generous and kind thing: she let me use her toilet paper.

Ok, I'm cringing writing this so far (toilet practices are not usually on the top of my list of conversation starters), but I thought Megan did a super kind thing- I mean what if, by some chance, she had run out of toilet paper because of me (gross, now I sound like I have a bladder  problem... Just remember this is hypothetical :P)?!



That brings me to the topic of this week's blog: kindness.

So now that patience has (hopefully) been cemented into place (my cement is still drying...), it's time to build the next part of the wall: the block of kindness.

"Love is patient, love is kind.... it is not self-seeking..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love..., patience, kindness...." Galatians 5:22


Once you have mastered the art of patience, it makes it a whole lot easier to be kind. But hey, wait! What is kindness?

In simple terms, I'd say it's being nice to others or doing something nice for someone else without expecting anything in return. However, I am not an English teacher, so here's the proper definition:



"The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate" (Oxford Dictionary)



Ah that's awesome, so to be kind you should be friendly to, generous to and considerate of others.

Now why is this so important?

Well I think that being kind is showing love in the physical form. I mean think about it; would you go to your enemy and bake them a cake if you didn't love them at least a little bit? And no, poisonous cake does not count! :/

Kindness is such an important and strategic way to show God's love to others and to get them asking questions about God. Just imagine there was someone at your school/ work who wasn't able to bring lunch for some reason, so you packed an extra sandwich for them every day. Now that's super kind, and I bet you one day that person will ask, "Howcome you do this for me?" Then BAM! In you go with your whole lemme-tell-you-all-about-my-King speech #PerfectOpportunity.

Now here's the main reason kindess is important:

Are you ready for this?

Are you taking a seat?

This might shock you:
GOD TELLS US IN HIS WORD TO BE KIND.

It's as plain and simple as that. We are supposed to obey God, and part of that obeying means we should be kind to others.

In fact, Ephesians 4:32 tells us, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Proverbs 11:17 says, "A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself."

Colossians 3:12 tells us to, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience"

Romans 15:2, "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

Acts 20:35, " ...the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”


As you can see, kindness is very important throughout the Word. Those were just a few examples but there are plenty more.


By being kind, many opportunities will be opened to you.  We should be kind to those around us, trying to build them up and not down. This does not necessarily mean only physically doing kind things- it means verbally as well. Our tongues hold the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21) and I think can actually be more harmful than a weapon. If you're stabbed or shot or whatever, the pain will eventually go away. However, when somebody says something nasty to you, it can affect you 'till your dying day.  Ephesians 4:29 actually warns us, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

When we speak to, or about others, it should be encouraging and motivating; not belittling or demeaning. Life is hard enough as it is and I don't think we have the right to make it any harder for other people by verbally breaking them down. Words are important; they are impactful and powerful,  both in the way they can hurt someone and in the way they can bring someone up. Imagine if every time you wanted to say something bad about someone, you said something good instead? Imagine how different the world would be. Our words can change the world!


Kindness can also be shown physically, mainly through generosity. Now I think in today's economic slump, people are very hesitant to be kind; money's tight! But here's the thing: kindness does not have to be expensive. By spending tons of cash on doing something nice or kind does not make it any kinder. A kindness can be some as extravagant as buying a car for someone you know is battling, or as simple as lending someone toilet paper! To me, they are both equally kind as they meet two different needs.

I heard a sermon once titled "A Random Act of Kindness" that was centered at the idea that we should just do random, unplanned acts of kindness. Now that got me on fire; I wanted to be super kind to everyone and just do kind things all day. One thing I discovered, though, is that often when you least expect it, that is when God calls you to do the deed of kindness.

Maybe it's offering someone half your sandwich, or maybe it's volunteering at the SPCA or a children's shelter one weekend. Who knows? It may even something like listening to your grandpa reminisce about the past. Again, kindness does not have to cost you anything.


By building this block of kindness, you will be yet another step closer to love. We should "put on" kindness every day, refusing to leave the house without it. Kindness should become a natural inclination that requires no thought. It's not always easy to be kind, but just remember that you never know what someone else is going through, and by being kind to them, you may be saving their life in some way. Kindness can change families, people, lives. There is no limit to the heights that kindness can catapult you to.

Therefore my challenge to you this week is to SHOW KINDNESS.

Whether it may be saying something nice about someone else, sharing food with someone, giving money to a beggar, helping a granny cross the road, writing someone you don't normally speak to an encouraging letter...

Don't let people hold you back. Most importantly, don't hold yourself back! It is incredible to see what God is capable of doing when you start obeying Him.


Aesop said, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."


So let's do this.

Let's change the world.

One small, kind step at a time.

Building Blocks To Love Challenge: Patience

In the next 9 weeks or so, if you partake in this challenge, you're going to build a wall. I know what you're thinking: "A wall? No thanks, I'll rather go watch cricket". But then you'll see how awful the Proteas are doing and you'll want to go back to building a wall (ok to be honest, I don't watch, nor do I understand cricket, so I don't actually know how the Proteas are playing. I just don't think their last game went well because I heard my gran sighing and shouting "Ag no man!" at the TV screen quite a lot). 

Now I guess I should get back to the point: building a wall. We're going to partake in a challenge: the Building Blocks to Love (BBL) challenge. This wall you'll be building, if you choose to join me, is a wall of love. 

Love is an important part of the Bible and God strongly urges us to love. He also continuously tells us how much He loves us and He has shown it to us in various ways- just take John 3:16 for example: For God so LOVED the world that He gave us His only Son. In fact, Mark 22:36-40 tells us that the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and then after that, it's to "love your neighbor as yourself". 

As you can see, love is quite important to God, and so it should be to us too. But now here's the problem: it is SO difficult to love most of the time. For example, when you're about to be late for work/school, and a taxi suddenly stops in the road in front of you, I don't think love is the first emotion that you feel. If it were me, I would probably think of some very foul words, get super angry and then make some very 'nice' hand signals. I don't think my first reaction would be to love the taxi driver and smile and wave and sing or whatever loving people do. 

It is hard to love a lot of the time, and that's why sometimes we need 'training' in it. We need to start building the blocks of love in our life; and I'm encouraging you to do this through the fruits of the Spirit. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

To me, this ties in perfectly with fruits of the Spirit, which are: 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." Galatians 5:22-23

So through the next 9 weeks or so, I will post a blog on one fruit of the Spirit and then your challenge (and mine too!) will be to put that fruit into practice. 

Ahhh I'm excited already!! I hope you are too! :D (The teenage girl in me is trying so hard not to scream and cry and do all the things you'd normally see at a Justin Bieber concert)

I think that this challenge will be life changing if you follow it correctly and commit to it. I'm ready for my life to be changed, are you?

So let's start:

"Love is Patient".

Fruit 1: Patience. 

Ok, I'm officially probably THEE worst person to talk about this. I'm very impatient. However, this is also perfect because now I have the opportunity to put patience into practice B-) 

Patience is defined as "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset" (Google). 

The word "patience" in Hebrew is "qavah", which means "to wait for, to hope, or to expect."

The more I read about patience, the more difficult it seems. However, it is not impossible. I mean look at Moses for example. He was probably the most patient guy in history. For those who are unfamiliar with the story, Moses basically led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. But these Israelites just kept complaining and complaining and complaining. Honestly, if I were Moses, I would have taken early retirement! 

Patience is vital when showing love. If you are getting impatient with people or situations, often that leads to sin. For example, let's say you need to open an account or something at the bank, but the teller you're dealing with is being super annoying and slow. So now you start thinking horrible things because you're getting impatient, maybe you start becoming quite rough and maybe you even say one or two hurtful comments. Is that portraying Jesus? No. Impatience is dangerous. 

Jesus was super patient. I mean imagine being the Son of God and knowing how AMAZING and awesome heaven is, but having to wait 30 odd years on earth first before being able to go back? Think about it: Have you ever been sooo excited about something that time drags until that thing happens? With me, for example, I was super excited for my birthday in February, which was on a Thursday. Never in my life had I had a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday drag so much- it was awful. Now imagine if I had to wait 30 years! 

I'm sure you've had many situations where you've been excited for something. So I'm pretty sure Jesus was excited to get back to heaven, but now He had to do His earthly duties (which I'm beyond grateful He did!) first. Never once do we read about Jesus complaining and sulking in a corner, instead He worked His butt off and made the most out of every opportunity. 

(There are tons of examples of Jesus being patient throughout the Bible, but I'm trying not to make this way too long to read)

Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be "imitators of God", and so if Jesus showed patience, should we not too?

I mean think how many people it could bring to Christ! Going back to the earlier example, imagine instead of being impatient with that teller, you accepted the delay without getting upset; you realised there was not much you could do about it and chose to just be friendly and Jesus-filled instead. Maybe that could have been an opportunity for you to share Jesus with the teller, or at least make her/his day better (Seriously, think about how many bitter people they deal with in a day!)

So how can we be patient? 

Well firstly, we have to pray for God to help us be patient and to open opportunities for us to practice patience; after all, how do you get good at something if you don't train? 

If you're starting to feel impatient in a situation, take a deep breath and send up a silent prayer. Impatience isn't going to help the situation at all, instead it will leave you feeling more stressed and uncomfortable.

Another thing you could do is be accountable to someone. Tell your best friend or spouse or pastor, or anyone you want, that you're trying to be patient and they can help and encourage you. Trust, it helps a lot! 

Also, why don't you put a little reminder for patience somewhere? Maybe write a "P" on your hand, or if put a little Bible verse about patience on a note and keep it on your desk or on your fridge or in your office or in your car or wherever you feel it will be most helpful. These are just ideas, but they help a lot. I, for example, often draw a small cross on my hand at school to remind me to be like Jesus.  Remember the story of Jacob in Genesis 29:20-28 where he worked a total of 14 years to get the girl he loved, even after her family tricked him. Maybe that would be a good Scripture to remind you on patience because at least you don't have to wait 14 years for the thing you want!

Patience should become a habit, then it'll get easier and easier to show. Remember that by showing Godly patience, you could honestly change somebody's. It's the same with impatience: by being impatience and maybe doing something regretful, that could have a horrible effect on somebody's life. 

Therefore I urge you, put patience into practice! This week the challenge is to be patient, whether at school, at work, at home, with your family, or whatever the situation. Let's start building block one and let's build it strong. 

I'm ready. 

Are you ? 

P.S. If you'd like to share about how you're doing on your patience challenge, that would be awesome! Why don't you post a comment on this blog, or on my Facebook wall, or even message me personally! :D 

Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore since we also are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (NKJV)

Love

 joy 

peace 

patience 

goodness 

gentleness 

self control

Faithfulness 

Kindness 

Don't Settle

So I'm sitting in a plane right now and there's turbulence; to say I'm freaking out would be putting it mildly. However, I tend to get very deep when I think I'm about to die, and I landed up thinking about relationships (ah trust Michaela to think of boys when she may only have minutes left to live!)

A word of warning, I'm going to be VERY honest in this blog, so don't judge :/ (just remember I only just recently turned 18! Haha!)

I've always said I'm going to wait until marriage to have sex and that I'm going to stay pure for my husband. I think this is due to ignorance, but I honestly thought it would be so easy and I'm a Christian, so I obviously wouldn't be tempted to do anything naughty with boys.

But then hormones, experimental friends and over keen boys came along. Then I suddenly realised that I had actually signed myself up to quite a big challenge. 

I've also always been quite the romantic, and I always imagined that if a guy liked me liked me, that he would bring me flowers, write me romantic letters, post cute photos of me on social media and say adorable things like "I don't know why God would bless such an ordinary guy like me with such an amazing girl like her <3" (obviously he would be underestimating himself, though, because my guy wouldn't just be ordinary!). However, reality hit me hard last year and I realized most guys actually aren't like that. It's not that they're bad guys or anything, it's just that guys' brains work differently to girls' I suppose. I won't lie, this did bum me out a bit though. 

And then one day I was having a conversation with a really good friend of mine because we had discovered that we were a part of a handful of virgins left in our schools. Then we spoke and posed the question why we should even wait if the chances are high that our future husbands are probably not virgins, if society standards are anything to go by. I mean here we are, trying SO hard not to fall into temptation, and then there our husbands are getting frisky with some irritating girl (sorry if that girl is super nice and all, but hey, if you're dating my future husband, you better expect some hard feelings from me ;) ) 

I prayed about this a lot. I mean did God really mean we had to stay virgins until marriage? Maybe He meant that we just shouldn't sleep around with a million different guys. Plus, you know, the world has changed from Bible days and maybe nowadays it's ok if we don't wait. Also, in Bible days, girls were getting married at 12 or 14, so they didn't have to deal with that sexual urge for very long anyway. So how come now we have to wait so long? And what if I only meet my husband when I'm like 40?! Uh, how the heck am I supposed to stay a virgin for so long?!

These thoughts were protruding my mind and I was so confused. I realised how hard Christianity can be, and yoh, I had some very tough arguments with God about how unfair He is and how He expects too much.

But then it hit me: God is good. 

He answered every single one of my queries and sent people to remind me that waiting IS possible and that I don't have to settle for less.

The whole point of my blog today isn't just about waiting for marriage, if you've already had sex, or you decided not to wait, that is SO chilled! No judgment from me at all! One of my main messages today is that I want to encourage you to NOT SETTLE FOR LESS. 

Ok, so, did God really say we must stay virgins? Well the thing is, He warns out throughout His Word about not living like the world does, but like He does. He also encourages us to not to gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16-17 says "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."

 Also, lust is a sin. Whoooah I sin quite a lot there... Can't help but think some very lusty thoughts when I see some of those 6 packs at the beach!:P 

"For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own." Job 31:11

But the thing is, we need to pray for God to help us with that. Somebody said something quite profound to me once: every time you're looking lustily at some guy or girl, you are busy checking out somebody else's wife or husband. Would you like it if every single guy or girl who walked past check out your spouse like that? I wouldn't. He's mine. Mine, mine miiiiiiiiine :/ (haha ok I say that in the least possessive and creepy way possible!)

If you're sleeping around with ten people a night or whatever, those are people you have to tell your future spouse about, and isn't that in a sense already committing adultery? If you're destined for one person, why would you want to share that intimacy of sex with so many other people? Then what will make it special with your wife/husband? "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28 

(Again, I'm not writing to make you feel bad if you do have sex or whatever!)

Also, I believe God wants us to wait for our spouse for health reasons as well, especially in today's society with things like Aids and all the STDs we have just chilling around. Every person you sleep with is a more of a chance to pick something gross up. In Life Orientation at school, they've shown us pictures... Trust me, you DO NOT want your private areas to look like that!:/ 

Then secondly, is it ok in modern time not to wait because the Bible days were so long ago? No! God says numerous times in His Word that Him and His Word are NEVER changing, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17 and so on). He created everything and obviously He'd know what's best for the world and people He created. Plus if sex is suddenly ok out of marriage, does that mean it's ok to suddenly murder people whenever you feel like it? No! God's Words and laws are never changing, they are rocks like Him, and do not crumble. There are no terms and conditions. 

Now here's my most general and probably most applicable and important message today: DO NOT SETTLE FOR LESS.

YOU are amazing! You deserve nothing less that amazing. If you are God's child, He's put a special Mark on you and it's going to take an incredible, faaaaaaar above average, amazing, wonderful, beyond what you can ever expect or imagine, man or woman to win your heart. God is this mighty loving Father, and He isn't going to allow somebody ordinary to have the heart of His son/daughter. So yes, maybe you're single now, but amazing, incredible, wonderful things take time. 

Imagine a beautiful, luxurious castle being built. It doesn't just take an hour to build. Sometimes, it takes years and years. It's the same thing with your spouse, sometimes they just need a few years to be "built" into the amazing person you deserve. And also, it's the same with you. We have to be humble and remember we aren't perfect. God is still at work within us and don't you want to honour  your spouse by being the best person you can be? 

I've recently met some inspirational couples that have shown me that amazing guys do exist out there! A good friend of mine from school as this incredible boyfriend who she's been together with for about 9 months, but dating officially for 6 or so. He still will not let her pay for a single meal. The other day, he came all the way to our school to drop off stuff he printed for her,  and then wrote her the sweetest note to tell her to be happy and to remember he loved her. He shows up to her house with flowers and biltong, he respects her like I've never seen a guy respect a woman before. He will honestly drop anything to help her. I've recently spent time with the two of them, and  I believe God did that on purpose to remind me that there ARE guys like that out there who exist. 

And for the guys, there are girls like that as well! You must just see how my friend treats him. Honestly, I believe every single guy deserves an amazing girl like her (or if you're tanned, have a 6 pack, are really Christian, can drive and earn big bucks, then you deserve an amazing girl like me in your life! ;) haha jokes!)

This is just one couple, but there are so many more: like my grandparents, my youth pastor and his wife, and so many other people who I could name who just have the most incredible relationships. 

Also, I've been privileged to come back into contact with or meet some awesome guys recently who have shown me that there are still true Christian, gentleman out there. My hope has been restored!

So please, I urge you, do not settle for less. If you are single and lonely, don't just go for the next guy or girl who comes around just because you want some loving' in your oven or whatever they say, rather wait and use your singleness to grow closer in God.

I watched a YouTube video from ChaseGodTv, and he said that your singleness is such an important ministry time. When you're married, your priority ministry is your spouse and family, but when you're single, your priority is the WORLD! There are no limits at all. In fact, Paul said it is better to be single (GET VERSE).

Ok I'm not encouraging you to give up dating all together, I Personally don't see a problem with it as long as it isn't causing you to sin or getting in the way of your relationship with God, and as long as it is Christ-centered, but just remember that being single isn't a bad thing at all. Rather look at the positives! 

So please, I urge you again, do not settle for less than what you deserve. Even if you've slept with 100000 people, or have messed up your life, or if you feel down about yourself, remember God loves you and He will forgive you no matter what, and as His child, you deserve nothing less than the best. 

"Don't be so desperate for a relationship that your spiritual life runs dry. Seek Jesus and let Him lead you. He will provide when you are ready, not lonely." @adamcappa

No, don't say it!

I had this English teacher last year, Mrs. Warrington. So my good friend, Megan, and I were walking to class when Mrs. Warrington happened to walk past us.  She stopped and asked how we were and all that usual small talk, when Megan says, "I really miss your lessons ma'am!". Obviously I needed to show appreciation as well, as per normal human behavior, so I said the first thing that came to mind: "Oh yes and I really miss your creepiness!"

Words.

Words are powerful and I don't think we comprehend how powerful they really are. You know that saying 'Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me'? I think that is such a lie! Words hurt. A LOT. Often words hurt more than just a simple punch to the face, because the pain lasts longer. Look at cyber bullying for example- those words on social media hurt the bullied person for a long time. 

I know that personally, words often stick with me, even if they weren't meant to hurt me. That's how else words are powerful- often we use them without considering the repercussions. I mean I didn't intend to offend my teacher by saying she was creepy, I just hadn't chosen my words correctly, but saying something like that can hurt (my teacher luckily laughed though!) 

Proverbs 18:21 says it beautifully, " Death and life are in the power of the tongue.." 

How many people have committed suicide because of verbal bullying? How many people have become depressed because of what people have said to them? Have you ever not done something because you're scared of what people will say?

Words can bring death, if not physically, then definitely emotionally. Please understand that it may seem "cool" to badmouth someone, but it really hurts. Matthew 7:12 urges us to do to others what we would want them do to us. So if you don't like it when people say nasty things to you, why do you do it to others? 

I've noticed women do this a lot, and I will admit it, I am a part of this gang of gossipers. If my friends make a remark about a certain teacher wearing very high pants that make it look as if that teacher has quite a bad constant wedgie, I suddenly want to remark and laugh too. Yoh, but afterwards I feel SO bad. I mean if you want to wear high wedgie pants, that is your basic human right! :D (#PositiveWords)

On the other hand, words can bring life. Now I love this! It is so true. You know that feeling when you're in some race and you feel like you're about to die; the sweat is pouring out of every nook and cranny and your lungs feel like they're about to explode, but then suddenly, you hear that "Come on *name*, you CAN do it!" Now you've got that boost to finish. 

Words are powerful, but they can be powerfully beautiful. Imagine that if every single time you thought to say something bad about someone, you said something good instead. You know, next time you see a taxi try to pull in front  of you, instead of trying to use some very colorful words to describe him, maybe say something good instead, like: "Oh yay, now at least his passengers will get there sooner." Yes, it may sound lame, but it will make you feel much calmer. 

Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

The way we talk should portray grace, and thus God as He is full of grace. Our words should build up others and motivate them, not demotivated them. Constantly throughout His Word, God tells us to love, and part of this love can be shown through what you say. If you tell someone they're fat and smelly, is that being loving? Err I don't think so... If someone said that to me, I'd probably slap them in the face!:/ (Or I'd try but then my clumsiness would kick in and I'd land up slapping  myself...)

Although words should build up, remember the verse also says "as fits the occasion". If you're In a situation like Paul was and you're on trial for God, trying to build up the judge won't help you much. I don't think the judge would appreciate you saying things like, "Ah well done! You made a verdict! I'm so proud, that's awesome! Congrats, man." We have to be strategic with our words. Although we should not downgrade others, we should also speak boldly . Just look at some of the things Jesus said! He was super bold, but never mean.

One last verse I thought was quite good is Matthew 12:37, "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

To be honest that scares me a bit. It just shows how careful we have to be. Verse 36 warns us that we will have to "give account for every careless word" we speak. Just because it's funny to say something now doesn't mean that it's suddenly going to disappear. We will have to answer for every single word we speak one day. 

Imagine on Judgement Day, God holds two papers out to you: one with all the good, Godly things you've said, and one with all the nasty, sinful things you said. Wouldn't you want the Godly list to be longer than the nasty one? But often that isn't the case. Let's be honest, being nasty is often so much easier than being nice. This is why saying nice things takes a courageous person to do. Complimenting people, encouraging others, being nice to those who aren't nice to you, all of these take a serious amount of courage that not just anyone posseses. However, with God's help, anything is possible (Luke 1:37). As the saying goes, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. 

Therefore I challenge you this week with what I mentioned earlier: every single time you want to say something mean, say something nice instead. It won't be easy, you're going to have to be brave, but trust me, you'll be so much happier for it! Let's start changing this world, one step at a time <3 

P.S. Just some final wisdom: If you ever see a teacher who taught you previously in life, rather just say she/he was a good teacher or something like that, rather be safe than sorry! ;) 

Don't be a "Load Shedding" Christian

Imagine you're sitting there on the couch, just minding your own business and watching your favourite TV series when BAM- the power goes out.

For us here in South Africa, this is something we've all grown accustomed to in these last few weeks. Yup, that's right, it's load shedding. 

So here's the thing: Eskom is having some trouble with their power plants and hence the lights go out and we're left in darkness. 

This could sound like some bad horror movie, or, it could actually sound like Christianity.

You're probably thinking, 'What on earth is this [amazing, wonderful, awesome, inspirational, incredible ;) ] girl going on about?!'

Well think about it: how often in life is it easy to be a Christian when life is going well for us? 'Oh yes, I've got money, food, no work problems and I'm having an awesome week- God is so incredible! He's blessing me so much!'

Ahhh but then things take a turn: 'I can't afford all my bills this month, my food consists  of tuna and 2 Minute Noodles, and everyone is turning against me at work- Where is God? Does He even exist? Why's He doing this to me?'

It's moments like this when your 'light' as a Christian goes out, and this is not what God calls us to! Acts 13:47 says, "For so the Lord has commanded us, saying 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

God calls us to be a light to the world, to shine so that others can see Him, after all, 1 John 1:5 says "...God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." 

If Ephesians 5:1 says, "...be imitators of God..", then does that not mean we should strive to become like God and do what He does? We should be following God, and that means 'copying' Him by being light and not darkness. 

It's the times when we have to 'fix our machinery' that we tend to give into the darkness. This isn't a joking matter. Look at how Eskom's load shedding (due to their malfunctioning power plants) is affecting people all over the country; when your light goes out, it isn't only you that is left in darkness. What about all those people in the future who you were going to touch with your light? Or what about all the people who are relying on your light right now? 

This isn't to scare you, but it is a reality: as Christians, we have people's lives relying on us. It is not an easy journey. Christianity is NOT for 'sussies'. 

We just look at Paul for example. He was an amazing man! He kept spreading the Good News, even after being beaten, jailed and stoned. 

In fact, Acts 20:19 says "I served the Lord with great humility and with tears..."

Paul served with TEARS. Usually when people cry, it's not because they're enjoying something or feeling incredibly happy. Paul went through some tough times and I think his heart sometimes broke for the people who wouldn't accept Christ. 

One thing about Paul though, is he never let them stop him. 

Acts 16:37, "But Paul said to the officers, 'They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."

Freak I love this man! He is so inspirational! As Christians we should not go out without a fight. The situation could be hard, but we are hardcore too! 

I love this too:

In Acts 21:27-40, Paul is arrested and beaten. Verse 35 says that "the violence of the mobs was so great he [Paul] had to be carried by the soldiers."

But did Paul let that stop him! NO! In verse 39, Paul asks the commander of the Roman army if he can speak to these people. How hectic is that! Here's this group of people rioting, trying to kill you, and you want to SPEAK to them?! I don't know about the rest of you, but I  probably would have been half way to China by then!

Better yet, Paul went on to tell his testimony- he used this to preach a solid message. He refused to let his light go out, even when the world around was trying to blow his flame out. 

So there we go. Christianity is not easy. When people around you are indulging in sin that is just so tempting, you have to say no. And frankly, sometimes it sucks. But is it worth it? Heck yeah! 

Jesus Himself warns us that our journey will not be easy. But isn't it true that the hardest journeys are usually the most worthwhile? I mean after you've done Comrades for example, that sense of achievement you  feel must be INCREDIBLE. That hard work paid off. 

And the cool thing with God, is He is always with us and His Word is always there to encourage us. 

John 16:33 says, (and I LOVE this verse), "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 

Woooow! If Jesus overcame the world and we are meant to be like Him, then we too should be able to overcome the world :D 

Remember, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14) 

Don't hide away.

Let your light shine.

Do not let load shedding put your light out. 

"Light always trumps darkness. It always has, and it always will. Therefore... If you believe that your world is darkening...if you believe that the culture of your nation is growing dimmer by the year...don't blame it on the dark! Darkness is only doing what darkness does.

If darkness is winning the battles, my friend, it is because light is not doing its job. You are light. So wake up. Wake up."

Andy Andrews