Why This Season Makes Me Sad In A Way

I love the season of Christmas. There is always something exciting going on - talk about events, parties, markets and so much more. One of the things I also look forward to are the Christmas movies. However, (I bet you saw that coming) each year something always bothers me. It feels like Christmas has been hijacked. Santa Claus/Father Christmas and the commercialization of the day being some of the culprits. Honestly, I don't think many people know what Christmas is all about. The focus is no longer on Jesus as it should be but its on other things which have taken the focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

I remember watching a programme sometime ago where they were asking people what Christmas was all about. Shockingly very few people even mentioned Jesus. I was hurt, yes hurt and saddened. One person even mentioned that Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus because if he really ever existed he wasn't even born in December. This person just had to miss the point...

Anyway, so what does Christmas mean to me. Whilst I agree it is also about spending time with family and giving gifts, those are just side events which are done to share and show each other the love which the Lord Jesus Himself showed all of us by coming down to earth, living as a human and dying for us in order to give us life abundantly and bridge the chasm which had been created between us and God because of sin.He didn't have to but he did it anyway because He loves us so much. Christmas to me is about remembering how much God loves me and how He was willing to humble himself although He is God. His very birth changed the fate of mankind and human life was forever changed.  I am glad that Jesus came and died for me, I am because of Him and I cannot imagine life without Him. He is my everything.  One day when I have children I am going to make sure they know the real story behind Christmas.

Here is my current idee fixe. I love Lauren Daigle, I think she has an awesome voice and this song is really awesome. Love it and it is on repeat on my play list.

In other news - I have also been doing the rounds visiting Christmas markets. I am always on the look out for interesting and unique staff and general markets always deliver. Here are a few pictures.

The Christmas Village at Monte Casino was one of the places I couldnt miss.

You can just tell its Christmas.

There was even a cool fountain place where the children could cool off and have fun.

They even has movies showing every evening. 

I got this gorgeous bag which is perfect as an over night bag or an office bag where I can put in my laptop and work stuff.

 So what have you been up to this festive season and whet does Christmas mean to you? Just curious:).

Facing My Fears

As a child I never learned how to swim and it has always been one of my regrets. I have  always wondered why I never go the opportunity to learn. I guess it was never considered a priority and hence I  never did. I love watching swimming (the sport) and have always admired swimmers and how good they are - they make it look so easy. But I have a fear of water.

Back in January a friend made a joke saying that if I was not careful I would be the girl to always pass the drinks to others whilst they are having fun in the water swimming. That joke awakened something in me and right then and then I made the decision I was going to learn how to swim.
One day I want to be able to swim with my children and not just wait by the pool side watching. I guess you know what I am going to say next ...right?
I started swimming lessons on the 5th of August and so far so good. The water is not so bad, I can do this.. it might take a bit of time but hey I am determined.

My One Thing

A few days ago I had a conversation with my friend Fay about singlehood and she was encouraging me not to lose hope. She gave me the scripture of Luke 18: 1-8 where Jesus told the parable about the persistent widow. I have always loved that parable and on many occasions that particular scripture has kept me going and I must admit pesistance in prayer has paid off. However, when it comes to being single and struggling with it I have found it hard to be consistently relentless. There are times when I feel hopeless and discouraged and I feel as if God is simply not hearing me and that I might as well accept that I am going to be single for life. Friends like Fay are a blessing because they remind me that giving up is not an option and that there is always hope.

Anyway, as with most single ladies I have a list of things that I would love to have in a husband. I know that people have different views on this and my view is that there is nothing wrong with having a list. Well, I am a dreamer and believe that anything is possible so I am not afarid to dream big and act outside the box. Having said that if some one where to ask me if I had to chose just 1 quality in my future spouse what would it be. The answer would be that I want my future spouse to be able to love me the way God does. I mean I have experienced the highest kind of love there is and I don't want to experience any less. Plus if he loves me the way God loves me then all other things like faithfulness, kindness, forgiving etc will be part of the package. Just my thoughts! That would be my one thing from my 'crazy' list (smiley face).

Inspired by Johannesburg and Jewel (Singer)

Last year I entered a short story competition and my story was shortlisted in the 1st round and in the 2nd and final round it received honorable mention as a story which was well written and which the judges enjoyed reading. This year I have been suffering from writers block and haven't been able to write up anything as yet and so I dismissed the thought of entering the same competition again. Last minute, I decided to re-work an old story and enter the competition. I wasn't very hopeful but to my surprise my story was shortlisted again , this time in the top 25 out of about 677 entries. I was wowed and humbled by this.

What really touched me was that  the  5 or 6 judges read my story, really read my story, liked it and put me in the top 25 out of 677 entries. For me that is huge and it gave me a huge boost. Although I eventually did not win in the 2nd round I was ecstatic. My story was in the honors category which is actually higher than the honorable mention category my story for last year was in. The honors category is for stories that were well written, with great story lines and solid characters. This recognition has made me feel that I am going in the right direction with my story writing. 

God help me I really want to take my stories to next level by getting published. I just need to figure out how to go about. Yeah, I am a published author in the making :)

Oh by the way my story was inspired by Jewel's song Hands and my imagination of what living on the streets of Johannesburg could be like. I was in the in a taxi one day on my way to work when I saw some street kids sleeping on the pavements and the idea of a story hit me. Coincidentally Jewel's song Hands had been playing over and over in my head and a story came together. I was very emotional when I wrote that story I tell you. I usually carry a small notebook where I can jot down ideas and thoughts. A lot of times ideas hit me at the oddest of times so I need somewhere to write before I forget. For me writing stories is an adventure in itself. My prayer is that one day (soon) people will read my stories and enjoy them the same way I enjoy reading other people's stories - example I am talking about you Alexander McCall Smith.

A Blessed Weekend

Dr. Allan Bagg is one of my favorite preachers. Almost every morning when I am dressing up for work I watch his Wisdom for Life Programme. It was one of my desires to see him preaching live. I got the opportunity this past week and it was a real honor. I am grateful for opportunities like these.

Ola Chica and Senorita

I was in Spain last week and returned 2 days ago. It was an awesome holiday which I didn't want to end at all. I will prepare some posts to share about my trip. There will be tonnes and tonnes of pictures. In the meanwhile here are a few pictures:

 

I can see this is not going to be easy at all. Choosing the ones to share will be interesting. Barcelona is one interesting city for sure.

I am Ready

Last year it was all about being brave. I wanted to be brave in my approach to life and in pursuing my dreams. I have to admit 2015 was an amazing year for me, one of the best years I have had in a while. A few days before 2016 I managed to have a mini get away where I was able to spend quality time alone – reflecting on the year just ending, spending time with God and clearing my head. The word I am Ready popped into my head and I knew it was going to be my theme for 2016.

I am so ready for God to take me to the next level of my life, I am ready to take steps to live my dreams and live my life to the fullest. For so long I have been wanting to do things like learning to swim, travelling to certain selected countries – this year I am ready to make some of these things a reality. May our good Lord lead me and give me strength, courage and wisdom. I am very very excited.

My Ongoing Love Affair

It was the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri which ignited my love for Switzerland.  Reading about her love of living with her grandfather in the Alps Mountains created this wonderful picture in my mind which I couldn’t rub out. I made up my then young mind that one day I was going to visit or live in Switzerland. Since then I have had a fascination with Switzerland, with it being one of my top go to places.  Every time someone asks me which is the place I would like to visit the most, I don't hesitate to mention  my sweet sweet Switzerland. Sometime ago my love for Switzerland was intensified by this:

The OHCHR is headquartered in the historic Palais Wilson building in Geneva, Switzerland.

Yes, this is my dream work place. I want to work for - The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). I refuse to give up on this dream one day...

In 2009 I had an opportunity to visit Switzerland but I blew it and I regret it. A friend of mine was getting married in Bern and she invited me for her wedding. I hesitated ... I wish I had not. Next time I get an opportunity to go I will grab the chance because really I have waited much too long for you Switzerland. Maybe now that I have put it out there my dream is closer to coming to pass.... I hope so.  

The Story of My Story

In this post  I shared my love for reading, well... it doesn't end there I also have go a wild imagination which I use to write stories. So far I have written quite a number of stories which I have shared with just a few people because I have not been confident enough to share with a lot of people. When I come up with a story idea I write and write until I am all out. I get transported into the world of the story am writing and to be honest its one of the things I enjoy most about writing.

Anyway, a few months ago came across a story competition online and I decided to enter one of my stories. Last week I found out that I am one of the finalists. I am super excited. I don't know how it will all end, whether I win or not but I am so happy that someone read my story and liked it.

I hope, I hope, I hope. Let's see what happens end of month.

Dreams, Expectations and Reality

One of my favorite authors is M.C Beaton. I am a great fan of her Agatha Raisin Series. I am someone who likes to have a good laugh when I am reading a novel and I am never disappointed when I read M.C Beaton’s books about the adventures of Agatha Raisin, a woman who has a complex personality and is simply hilarious. Below is an excerpt from M.C Beaton’s book Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley which I found very interesting:

She (Agatha) remembered a typist called Fran she had once employed at her PR Agency. Fran had mooned and talked about a man she fancied who worked for another PR firm. At last Agatha and the rest had pointed out that it was the 20^th century and there was nothing to stop her phoning the man up and asking him out for a drink. They had all stood over her until she had picked up the phone and done just that. He said he would meet her for a drink on the Friday evening after work. They told her what to wear right down to the under wear and scent. They told her what to talk about and how to behave and then sent her off on Friday.

On Monday morning Agatha stopped by Fran’s desk and asked “How did it go?”

“I didn’t meet him” said Fran.

“What!” exclaimed Agatha “Didn’t he show?” She remembered Fran’s little resigned sigh and how she had said “I went right up to the door of the pub and looked in and he was there at the bar, waiting. So I turned and walked away. You see, I’d dreamt and dreamt about him for so long that I realized he could not possibly live up to my dreams and expectations. I am not into reality”

I felt very sad when I read this passage. It is a very sad thing to be stuck in the dream zone being afraid of living those dreams. Whilst we have to be realistic in life I believe that the realities of life should not stop us from dreaming big and thinking big. Yes, we may not necessarily get to have or do exactly what we have been dreaming of but just doing something and giving it a go never hurt anyone. At least one can learn and find out that maybe what they thought they wanted was not really want they want after all. Personally, I would get satisfaction knowing that although things did not turn out the way I thought  or expected at least I tried. The thought of never having tried would drive me crazy.  Nothing can be lost in trying; fear is a disease that can hinder us from taking steps that can transform our dreams into reality.  I like the words of Joyce Meyer, in one of her sermons she said that it is better to ask God for 50 things and get half of them than to ask for only 4 things and get all of them.

Maybe it is a matter of being more daring and fearless when chasing our dreams. One can never know what they can do and achieve unless they try, so why not give those dreams a go. Move from the dream zone where dreams remain dreams and make a move towards making those dreams a reality. As for me I am ready to make a move.

Enough of Excuses

"How does one become a butterfly"…she asked? "You must want to fly so much that that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar".

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about dreams and ambitions. I used to pride myself as an ambitious person who dreamed big and pursued those dreams relentlessly. I used to set goals, put myself out there, take chances and refuse to quit.  I have to say I lived some of my dreams; some which I never thought would become a reality either because they seemed too unrealistic, too silly and crazy – but come to pass they did.

To be frank it has been a long time since I sat down and re-evaluated my life, where I am, where I want to be and where I am going. It’s like I have shelved some of my dreams for one reason or the other. Yes, life it too hectic, there is always so much to do and sometimes this busyness runs me down leaving be too exhausted and lazy to do much. Then there is the issue of procrastination – it never seems to be right time or the right way to do it. Then lately I have been thinking that it is simply too late to do some of the things I have always wanted to do – for instance simple things like learning to swim or ride a bike. Making too many excuses that is the problem.

Then a few days ago I watched this film called the First Grader, which is based on a true story of Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge  a Kenyan man who holds the holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school. The story of this man stirred something inside of me and lit again that fire and zeal I used to have when it came to my dreams. He reminded me that it is never too late to pursue a dream or desire. Marunge at the age of 84 in 2004 enrolled to be a first grade student after an announcement by the Kenyan government about free elementary education in 2003. One of his dreams was to be able to read his letters himself; he wanted the empowerment that came with education. This man faced much opposition but he refused to be denied the opportunity which had represented itself in the announcement of free elementary education for all (his argument being that no age limit was given).  In the remaining 5 years of Marunge’s life he achieved things he would not have done so had he just accepted that he was too old and it was too late. He was appointed head boy at the school he was going to as he was a model student and in 2005 he went to New York where he addressed the United Nations Millennium Development Summit on the importance of free primary education. It was also the first time that he boarded a plane. I believe that when Marunge died in 2009 he died a fulfilled man having lived his dream and so much more. 

Thank you Marunge for leaving behind such a powerful piece of history that reminds us who are on the verge of giving up thinking it is too late or what is the point . How wonderful it would be get to the end of our lives and be able to say we lived a full and fulfilling life – either having chased our dreams or lived them or at least having had a go at them.