Sell your heart to me
It’s much stronger.
Or could it be for free? Could I afford it.
Give your heart to me.
Mine is too fragile.
Maybe there is no need to give me the whole.
Give me a piece. I will add it to mine.
Then, I will have a stronger heart.
Then, I will handle things as easily as you do.
Give your heart to me… I think I need it more than you do
When you are around children, you find yourself answering all kinds of questions. Some of these questions require some research of your own because they have a way of asking about things you thought you knew but really, you don’t.
With my 9 year old son, its one question after the other every day. He is one curious kid. And just like I wrote in Questions, I used to be afraid of questions, but now, I look forward to them.
Today’s question was really good for me. I loved it.
We were on our way to school early this morning, around 7:30am, when i saw a swarm of people walking out from a nearby catholic church. I realised the swarm was a lot larger than the usual morning mass one. Then it hit me, it was Ash Wednesday. It always fell on the Wednesday just before Terver’s (my husband) birthday.
I didn’t realise I had spoken my thoughts out loud, but as soon as I heard the question; “Mummy what is Ash Wednesday”?, I knew that I had.
Growing up catholic is something that I have always loved. Even though I no longer go there, a part of me has always remained with the Catholic Church. Every year, I look forward to Lent.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent. On this day, practicing Catholics (and some other Christians) smear ashes on their foreheads as a symbol of their immortality (dust to dust, ashes to ashes) and also a way of imbibing the ashes and sackcloth method as a show of repentance and humility.
The period of Lent (40 days – Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) is a period of sanctification, a time to pause and reflect. A time, to abstain from things that may prevent us from communing with God. These things differ from person to person. For me it may be anger, for you it may be food. For another it may be alcohol, bitterness or anything else.
As I explained this season to my son, I realised how teachings have dwindled. I wondered how many people had ashes on their foreheads just because it was expected. I guess I will never know.
I only hope that many get to enjoy and feel Gods presence throughout this Lenten season.
Have a happy Ash Wednesday.
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
“Mummy, it’s like you wear these shoes everyday”
…but how could they not become every day wear? Black and comfortable can barely escape that torture.
That’s what my son decided to say to me randomly one day in a public place. I looked around, feeling a bit embarrassed but apparently no one else had heard him. He was not wrong though. Coincidentally, I had just said similar words to myself that day.
I remember the day I was given that pair of shoes, I had put my feet in and observed that they were comfortable. I didn’t know that they would become every day wear.
When I saw the prompt I pondered on “where have they taken you?”… Everywhere… but nowhere particular to remember or tell a story about.
In all the everywheres and nowheres, one place has been sure, comfort.
Is there anything you feel too old to do anymore?
I keep seeing these writing prompts on my jetpack app. Today’s prompt is one I can’t ignore.
I want to go out when it rains and sing out loud. I want to run in the field and jump around like I have no cares or worries. I want to jump rope with my friends and play hand games. I want to feel the wind on my skin and even the sun too. I caught myself daydreaming about this a few times, I even put it in words in Play time
I want to play.
But I feel I’m too old, I can’t do this anymore.
A couple of months ago I wrote in Beauty in Candour about candor. In my post I mentioned how my pastor drew me with his openness and his vulnerability.
As I celebrate with him, his wife Holly and the entire Elevation Church on their 17th Anniversary as a community, I will like to share something I learned afresh from the anniversary worship experience.
It is okay to be vulnerable:
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
As the church waited to hear a word from Pastor Steven, it was clear, from his red skin colour and his bent head that he was crying and emotional. It was not till he whispered to Holly; “I can’t talk” that it hit me; this man was okay with showing the world that he didn’t always have it all together. Trust Holly to take it up from there and speak beautiful words of wisdom and encouragement.
This renewed realization coincided with something similar I recently read from day 35 of Rick Warrens The Purpose Driven Life, he said “Vulnerability is the pathway to intimacy” and then he also said “Honestly share your weaknesses, ministry begins with vulnerability”.
I pray for God’s grace upon the entire Elevation Church worldwide, may we continue to be renewed in our minds and our hearts. As we continue to build the “New You”, may we not forget the value of community and the need for deeper intimacy with each other through honesty, openness and vulnerability.
Kisses to my egroup, I love you ladies so much.
On the 16th of October, 2022, Pastor Steven Furtick preached a sermon on The Faith of Abrahan. While going through views and comments from the sermon on an online discussion group, I found something written by Thelma Allen, I thought it was worth sharing:
“How do we know?”
How do we know when we’re doing something in our own strength, according to our own blueprint, like Abraham did with Hagar, or when it’s God that’s prompting us.
I love what Chad said about relationships and how the more time we spend in them the better we know the one we’re in a relationship with. So it’s important with God – to spend time – and the longer we’ve known Him and the more time we spend with Him, the more we know.
It made me think of a verse that has really helped me with this: It’s Jer 29: 13 & 14a – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD,” I came across another translation once that really helped me: NASB20 – ‘And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will LET MYSELF BE found by you,’ declares the LORD.
I thought about when we play hide and seek with little children and how, if the game depended on them, they’d never find us. We let ourselves be found by them. That game depends on us. And so it is with God. It doesn’t depend on how smart we are to figure it all out. It depends on God! He shows Himself to us when He sees our hearts searching for Him. We can count on Him. We watch over our little children and God watches over us, looking for our searching hearts.
You speak the truth and you assume that people believe you.
They don’t.
The world is in love with lies.
They are drawn to lies.
They are repelled by truth.
They prefer to hear the lies. It sounds very close to what they believe.
Nevertheless, I choose truth.
Maybe that’s why my mum named me so… Mimi (Truth).
I have always been fascinated about crosswords. I spent most of my growing up days wondering if I could ever be like my cousin’s mum, Olga. She used to have crossword books and she would solve them page by page. It amazed me more because she was Russian and English was actually her second language.
I never did anything about my fascination for crosswords, infact I remember a little over 10 years ago, I found a crossword booklet but I never went past page 1.
Fortunately for me, our human love for screens has helped lately. About a year ago, just when I decided to do a 50% cut on social media, I decided to get alternative apps for screen time and I was able to get a good crossword game. It has five stages from Easy to Very Hard. Each stage has atleast 50 crosswords, so I have been doing a lot of word crossing for some time now.
Different words; related words, unrelated words, new words and old words, crossing here and there.
That’s how some of us use our words, as though it’s just a game. We throw them here and there… Not knowing and not minding how and where they fall.
The thing about words, is how you just can’t take them back. You say it and that’s it. Some words cut deep, real deep, and it can take a while or even forever for some people to heal.
I believe that I must think before I speak, just in the same way I pause and ponder on my words before entering them in the crossword.
Biblical aid – James 1:19-20
I once had a bottle of sprite and an apple. It was given to me at a meeting that I had attended. I wondered if I should eat the apple that night and then have the sprite the next day.
I got home tired and so I left them in the fridge and went to sleep
Two days later, I got an idea, I sliced the apple, soaked it in the sprite and then I put it a cup with a lid. I left it for a whole week without even looking its direction.
One evening. I got home and all I wanted to do was enjoy my apple sprite. I poured some Whiskey in it and I had a pleasant drink.
I called it Don’t Rush
Yeah, I guess that’s how people come up with recipes.
Farewell tWitch.
With so much sadness, I write this piece.
Stephen Laurel “tWitch” Boss was found dead and it seemed to look like a suicide. In as much as it hurts and kind of hard to believe, it is a reminder to me that the happiest people may not necessarily be totally as happy as they look.
Even though I seem to be leaning towards lots of tweeps saying an investigation should be carried out because “something just doesn’t seem right”, we still ought to realise that people are dealing with a lot of stuff and try really hard not to show it. The world is very judgmental and this makes so many people try to hide their real emotions and fears.
I don’t know what led to his decision but my heart goes out to his family in this very difficult season of their lives.
tWitch was Ellen DeGeneres’ long time DJ and Co-producer, he always had a smile, his dance moves were pretty cool and he really had a way with the fans.
We never know what people are dealing with, let us try to;
