Mission Trip Update 2 - Team Meeting 1

Catch Up:
Update 1

OK, so I just got back from my first Mission Trip Meeting that was all sorts of exciting!

Tonight we just got to meet the team, hear each others stories and each of our hearts about how we got here and why we picked this trip. We also got to hear from our amazing team leaders their hearts for Italy and some of what we'll get to do or accomplish there.

One of the things I'm excited about is we hold a conference for Pastors & Business Leaders and Youth who are absolutely hungry for God and really pursuing what we get to live and grow in here in Bethel, that is God's Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven...in other words a lifestyle of love encounters with Jesus and displays of that through healing, breakthroughs and miracles. It's personally exciting to me because I was that "hungry youth" pursuing that in my home country with no idea what it looked like and no connection whatsoever. So our team is going to be focused on not just hosting a fantastic conference, but also establishing a network and relationships that will be built on for years to come. I think we are in the 2nd year of the school going on this particular trip, so really being at the forefront of that is so exciting to me, and totally up my ally in terms of learning how to foster relationships for when I start a Church or Ministry or something like that.

Another thing is learning what the stuff we've been learning looks like placed in this cultural setting. Italy is really the heart of religion and whatever affects the heart affects the body. I can't begin to describe how great I feel just to begin to dream with God about what that will look like when old cathedrals are filled with ardent worshipers filled with the Holy Spirit. The family heart is also so strong there and my mind is swimming with possibilities of how this nation can change the world. God is SO good! When I started this blog post I had no idea it would end up here :-)

Financial update; we had some crazy testimonies released over us. Expenses decreased just enough to cover the deposit, anonymous donations that went just over what was need to cover both tuition and the deposit, finding money, receiving unexpected money, how a group didn't lose a single student due to finances. I am just pouring that over myself as I go to bed tonight! God is so good and beautiful & sweet and He is absolutely perfect and I choose to believe Him. God do it to me!

If you guys want to partner with me & this big crazy dream, please head on over to https://missiontrips.ibethel.org and fill in my name (Joan Maina) in the search box or use the easy link below. This gift is tax deductible(!) and you will receive a statement at the end of the year for your tax records. If you wish your gift to be anonymous, please check the anonymous box. This will allow you to receive an end of year statement, but will not allow me, to see your name.

https://missiontrips.ibethel.org/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&donor_search=Joan+Maina

(If online payment is not an option, check donations can be made payable to Bethel Church and mailed to the following address: Bethel Mission Trips Department, 915 Twin View Blvd.,Redding, CA 96003. Please include a note with my name (Joan Maina) with the donation to specify which student you are so generously supporting.)
I love you guys, thanks for reading. Please keep me & the team in your prayers!

Joan

Friday Night

Friday night seems like the perfect night to catch up on what's been happening on the dating scene :-) Hahaha, it's Friday night & I'm blogging, that catches you up!

I don't know I've learned a lot about myself these past couple of months and I'm kinda glad I'm sort of forced to process them with God. We talk about dating with my friends a lot, so I don't want to act coy & pretend I've not been thinking or praying about it. There are times of impatience, times of doubt where you think, "does anybody notice me :-( :-(" But there is also this overriding season of peace. I know myself & the dreams God's placed in  my heart. I've gotten a couple of dreams & prophetic words on family, plus I was born on Mother's Day, I'm taking that & running with it!

I've been thinking a lot about purity & boundaries. I think it's been hitting me just how much my choices will affect my kids. There are 2 versions of the example I've led for them. The first is a cautionary tale on how not to do life. Now that I have this abundant life, I get the chance to show them how to do life. I'm writing their script in a way. I don't want to be the type of parent who lays down the law & pushes them against me even more. I want to be able to show them different paths, the consequences of each and make them know they are powerful by the choices they make.

So what's the new version I want to write for them? It may look like dating in groups or having chaperones. It may look like discussing boundaries with Spiritual authority/parents. It may look like saving "I Love You" for my engagement. It may look like holding hands & hugging being the extent of our intimacy. These are definitely going to be interesting conversations to have with him, whoever he is.

Right now, it looks like developing great friendships. It looks like desiring God with all my heart. It looks like fighting for my breakthroughs in intimacy with God & friends. It looks like rejoicing with those who rejoice & not being jealous or comparing myself to them. It looks like being joyful & thankful. It looks like not being sleeping beauty with my life on hold until Prince Charming gets bold enough to ask me out ;-). It looks like trusting God & living out the fact that He is good.

Bucket List Item #1 Dinner at Ali Barbours

I think a lot of times we take for granted all the absolutely wonderful treasures God has given us to enjoy. I just pray I remain the girl whose moved to tears by a beautiful sunset/sunrise, have you looked at the sky lately we've been having some great ones, my phone is full of pictures, I did a post once, check it out.

Anyway, I thought it would be cool to start a bucket list here, since this blog does document my life...it might just happen that one day I get the chance to do some of these things.

This 1st one was actually on CNN Travels top 10 things to do in Kenya...are you ready for this?

This is Ali Barbours Cave Restaurant in Diani/South Beach [30km South of Mombasa]

I mean come on, how ridiculously perfect does this look?! I mean, there's "Honey, let me take you out to a romantic dinner." and then there's "Honey, I'm taking you to Ali Barbours".

In their words: "Dine beneath a star-filled night sky with a sense of style, flair, extraordinary levels of service and comfort and genuine hospitality"

"Built underground in natural caves inside what was - a very long time ago a coral reef, with an opening above through which one can see the stars.."

According to the reviews, the food is amazing and the menus even have kindle lights so as to not 'affect the ambiance' plus free transport to and from your hotel!

 

Where Before Meets After

I have these huge dreams about my life that not many people know about. In fact, when I told my sister some of them, she remarked that she would have never known those things about me because I've never talked about them or shown any kind of passion or motivation about them. I told her, "What do you mean? I blog all about it?!"

It's gotten easier this year to put some of my dreams out there, starting with the beginning of the year when I actually verbalized it to my mom. Then telling my worship team about some of the ways I'm pursuing that and finally saying it to my sister.

There's a reason for it, I came to find out.

I've given so much of myself to worthless pursuits. I've been saved since I was 10 years old, but I've lived backslidden for a lot of that. So, any time I'm back on the proverbial Christian bandwagon, I hesitate sharing whatever it is God's teaching me because I feel like the people around me are just looking at me with one eyebrow up, cynical and waiting for me to fail yet again. I'm getting better about sharing God, especially through this blog. I think I've always been real here. Well, I've come to find out I had the equation all wrong.

I write here about my relationship with God, and I get sometimes months of consistent writing. Then a rough season comes and I write about it too, then I read back what I wrote and somehow God uses my past words to speak into my current life and He gets me back on track. So sharing my heart leads me back to God. Hiding my heart to try and preserve my dignity or reputation or to put it bluntly, pride, it drives me further away from Christ.

I've made so many decisions to protect my pride and deny my Christ, deny my heart. I've replaced this, God; my purpose with this desire to be accepted or to receive affection or again to protect my dignity or reputation or again to put it bluntly, pride.

Today though, I want to put it all out there. These are the short bullet points of my purpose and my goals.


Me: I am a Follower of Christ and absolutely nothing without my Lord. I love helping people especially with purpose, relationships and life with God. I love digging into His Word. I'm learning how to be the woman I've always wanted to be every day. Trying to be all in for God. I am thankful for Love and Grace more than anything else.

My husband: I am soon to meet him. He is a warrior in prayer and defending His family. He is a priest and in random moments I will find him on his face before God. He is a great leader who will teach me something about leadership every day by simply watching him live his life. He has an incredible passion to lead people to deeper knowledge and understanding of God's love. He loves every part of me.

My Kids: They are the biggest blessing God has entrusted me with. They are the most fun part of my life. They love Jesus, music and sports. They make me laugh till I cry. They teach me how to live. They grow my heart everyday.

My Ministry: Still stands unnamed and the vision remains dim, but, oh, it's coming.

Do you hunger for the Word of God and long to teach it with authority and excellence? Yes

Is your heart burdened for hurting women? Yes

Is God calling you to a teaching/speaking ministry? Yes

My Everyday Life: God, family, health, friends, ministry = a very happy me.

So that's it. Again though, I don't want to get my hopes up. I don't get my hopes up about anything usually, it's just how I am. I just don't, it's easier that way.

But with the Maker of the Universe and the Almighty Sovereign Lord as my Savior, why shouldn't I have hope? That's again my pride getting in the way of faith that He has the best for me. Because He does! He promises that! If I don't have hope, then I'm just setting myself up for another failure in my walk with God and a failed life lived outside of my purpose, which very well could happen. But by God's grace, and with His guidance, and how He's preparing everything for me ahead of time, it will not happen. I'll be sure to tell you all about it as it unfolds.

It's an amazing thing that we don't have to settle! We don't have to be content with our own little plans! God's plans are infinitely greater and more creative than any of our dreams! What this means is that we can always, always have hope.

He's about to blow in this place.

 

Feeling Like an Old Maid

Last night I was talking to my mom about how it seems all my friends are getting engaged and having babies and here I am, with this one year pledge of singleness we made at Church in Febrauary, and how even after this one year, I might end up doing a Ministry internship which as I've seen so far, some don't allow dating, and even after the internship, I'll be spending so much time trying to move to a new city and finding a job and actually making something out of the nothing I currently have and might be so busy I don't even have time to date! So, in reality, I'm looking at about 3 years before I can even have the thought of settling down and falling in love.

If you know me, if you've read my blog, you know how freaked out this makes me.

• In High School, my life plan was to finish High School, move after a year and get married by the time I was 22, have my first kid at 24 and so on.
• After High School, I got caught up in the expectations to finish college, make a career, get married, which pushed out a lot of MY dreams
• Right now, I'm trying to catch up to the High School dream, but now it goes like, know God, experience God, move to a new city, learn God, get married, teach God, get cute babies and so on

My mom, is encouraging me and saying everything that a mom is supposed to say, "finish school", "get a job", "don't be in a hurry or else you'll settle for anything that comes along" and I was telling her, yeah I get all that, I don't want to settle, I want to be loved completely and to be in love and I want to be happy, but I also want to be a young, hot wife and a young, hot mom. I want to be settled with someone who has the same dreams and passions as me (read, God) and someone who we can work together, so that we start working now.

She may say all those things, but the fact remains, she got married at 24, like most of my uncles and aunts. My cousin, who we used to live with, got married at 24, my sister met her husband at 23, my sister in law married my brother at 25. I'm turning 22, I FEEL LIKE AN OLD MAID!!!

Yeah, I know, I'm supposed to be "the one" before I find "the one" and that's what this year's pledge is for and there's stuff I'm building on my own, even with the Ministry stuff. Just to be clear, honestly, this has been an amazing year so far and I wouldn't give it up even if my dream guy walked through the door right now, I've gotten to experience God more in 3 months than I have in 21 years. But I think even God gets that sometimes its easier to work with somebody and to have somebody.

At the end of the conversation with my mom though, an amazing thing happened. I just got this amazing reassurance from Jesus, a.k.a, my awesome, awesome friend, that I don't need to freak about this. He's got my back. Everything's going to be OK, and that filled my heart so much I ended up tweeting this;

I honestly just love Jesus. He's awesome.

Anyway, later last night I was listening to a podcast from Gateway Church, Austin and John Burke just talks about how when Jesus met people who needed something, like the blind men who cried out to Him, He asked them an obvious question, "What do you want?" I mean, duh, they wanna not be blind anymore, they wanna be healed. But Jesus asks a question that we sometimes are too afraid to ask God, because we feel like it's beneath God to hear us, or its too selfish to pray when there's so many other things to pray for, but Jesus asks this question so many times, there's gotta be something to it.

So, I laid it all out there, all my desires, all the crazy things that I hope for, that I see when I picture my future, all the stuff that makes my heart race, like praying or talking or singing or like getting to minister with someone, or watching him minister. Small things like finally having someone put time and thought into my birthday or valentines day (remember I've never had a boyfriend on valentines day :-/ ) And more than any of that, just getting to put into action, or just experiencing love, the kind of love that He's teaching me. I prayed about finishing school in time. I prayed about getting an opportunity to move and find a job and a house smoothly and hassle free.

Like I said, I laid out all the crazy things that look too big and too impossible to ever happen. I'd rather ask and not get than live wondering "What if?" "Why didn't I?" I prayed that if it came down to it, I'm always going to choose Him. It usually takes me a while, but at the end of it, I always choose Him, and with what He's done and how He's changed me so far, it'll probably not take as long a while for me to choose Him. But, I cant help what I feel, and what my desires are, you know?

I always say, God is my dad. He's got my back. Even when it comes to stuff like this.

xx
Raha

Future Life Friday

I am extremely excited to announce the return of Future Life Fridays! Starting tomorrow, we go back to interviews and research on all those little things that make up the Furaha's Fabulous Future Life or as I like to call it, triple FL!  :-)

See you friday!

The Big Bright Future

Since recently, I've been getting a little panicky about the future. Like if I'll get a good job, if I'll be rich or middle income, if I'll have this house of my dreams, if I'll have a great husband and family, if I'll be a good wife and mom, if my kids will have everything they want.

I guess it's because I have in 3 semesters I will officially be kicked out of my momma's nest and be on my own. It's like the money I make for my job will be for my survival and not for saving and shopping :-) Don't get me wrong, I still make money and I like to think I'm responsible with it, and I have a little bit of a firm grasp on reality, but it's nice to know that I have a soft place to land if things don't work out.

Source: fromupnorth.com via Cathey on Pinterest

Also, I have this desire to have not only an awesome job, but to also do something on the side that'll bring me money and that I'm totally passionate about. I don't think it's realistic to rely on being employed in the long run, a side haussle is important too.

There are honestly so many things to know and so many decisions to be made, and I want to sort everything out one at a time, because I know if IU wait till then I'll be overwhelmed. Honestly, I have no idea how people get through life without believing in God, because I cannot live with this anxiety of my life being in my hands. I could honestly go crazy.

How did you guys find the transition from being sheltered college kid to total independence?


xx
Raha

Weddings

I've mentioned before how much I love weddings and how I'm the girl who spends hours fantasizing about weddings despite the fact that I'm still very much single...

Style Me Pretty

There's just something about weddings that is so magical and romantic, and I dont think it's wrong for me anyone to think about it. Think about it, if you're lucky, you'll only get married once, so plan it to the full and milk all the benefits you can out of it.

Style Me Pretty

So, if you're on Pinterest and you see how most of my Pins are on wedding ideas, you'll know why.

Any one like me out there? Even better, any one plannng a wedding or who has planned a wedding, any advice on patience and how to wait for the right guy and not give up would be greatly appreciated.

xx

Raha



Happy!!!!

So, you all have seen me struggle through my faith, being new to it and everything. Moments like these, when I'm so happy and in love because God's come through for me or just done the simplest of things are worth writing about a million times over. God always has a surprise behind his back ;-)

Credit: Photostock

Remember the horrible day I had yesterday, well I thought today was going to go the same way. First I couldn't sleep because I'd had a pretty nasty argument with my sister last night, words were said (by her) that I just got tired of taking, I tried to apologize, but you know those apologies you offer just to get by, because in the back of your mind you know you're not the one who should be offering this apology. Anyway as you can see there's still a bit of resentment left in me, that I'm trying to figure out how to work on.

Then, there was some crazy traffic and I was late to Church by an hour, (no, that wasn't me watching Megamind till I lost track of time)

Then I got to Church and guess who was there:

Credit to KQ, KRFU and Mavuno and my LifeGroup friend who forwarded me this e-mail.

The sermon was about praying for our families. Like Gideon took action despite his position and weakness. I'll have to do a separate post on that topic because it really touched me. I was amazed though because surely God has some incredibly perfect timing! 

Then we watched this video:

I don't know if it's just me with my overly-pinkness, but I literally cried at the end of this video. Hope you watch it. How it related to the sermon is that we weren't put into our families by accident and we have to fight against the forces (lions and crocodiles oh my!) that try to tear our families apart.

After the Service ended, I drank some delicious Tree Tomato Juice. I seriously cannot get that taste out of my head, it was so amazing. Then, caught up with some friends.

Then guess what happened next:

Yup, that's me and ***BIKO ADEMA***

Yeah, me with all my years in this life could not pass up an opportunity like that. However, I was a bit too embarrassed to ask for an autograph and fan picture in front of the Main Church, so I went to the Teens tent where at least I wasn't the only screaming fan hahaha! I was however and embarrassingly enough, the oldest. My friends were looking at me like I'd gone crazy!

Am I a huge dork for still being so giddy and excited? I can't help it, I've had a crush on this guy since High School! He's an amazing rugby player, (I mean, Kenya's 7's Team is the friggin best in the world, so how can he not be AMAZING? Aaaand it doesn't hurt that he looks that good *wink*wink*. To add on to that, he was so sweet and polite...ahh...gush! Now every time I watch a game and I see him scoring tries I'll be thinking, yeah, that guy knew my name for two seconds, he had his arm on my shoulder!

Do you see why I love my Jesus? Who else offers such perks?

Apartment Updates 1

So, exciting news. I found a TV for my place. It used to be our TV but in some way, it ended up being my aunt's TV, so I had to ask her for it. I thought she'd say no, but she said I could pick it up tomorrow. It's not ideally whta I want, I mean, it's too big for a tiny house like mine, but I'm glad to have it at least until I save up some money to buy a smaller one.

I also stocked up the kitchen, I got a dish rack, plates, glasses, gas. There are some glasses I looked at that I liked and I'll save up to buy those too.

I don't have a couch, I think that's a couple of months away, hopefully after I've made enough money from the internship I'm hoping to get.

As for the flat in question...I still don't have one. You see, my BFF found me that place in his building, but then another friend of mine from my Mizizi class is also looking for me. So, I've kinda put the BFF on hold waiting to see if I can get a better deal. Hopefully though, by next week I'll be done and all moved in.

My mom is behind me, it just feels so weird, ah, I'm growing up.

First Apartment

So, this little girl is growing up and next week I'll be a house-owning, bill-paying, solo-living, adult-becoming citizen. How crazy is that?

This will actually be my second time moving out. My first place was great. It was huge! It was close to ammenities, it was in a gated estate, just perfect. Until, the landlady decided to expand her business and build new units, thus begun the power-cuts, the water rationing, the smelly mess when the sewer system was being set up, the construction crew at my door every morning before I got up, the crew being able to look into my bathroom when they were constructing the top floors. Then came me, tucking my tail between my legs and heading back home, defeated by the real world.

But this, this is my second chance. Sure this place may not be as big as my last place. Sure it may not be in a nice gated community, sure it may entail a 15 minute walk through deserted land (which means, no late nights for me! hehe), but it's my place. I pay the bills, so they can't limit my electricity like they did at the last place where I couldn't even plug in my computer without it blowing a fuse. Plus, now I have the experience to learn from. Oh, and there's free satellite TV, so Yay me!

Other stuff that's different, is that the last time, I was moving because my friends, were pressuring me. This time, I'm doing it for me. Last time, it was right after my dad died, so I was running away from home in a way, not to face it, but this time, I think I'm a bit more settled. This time, I also have my mom's blessing to do it.

This place is going to be different. I'm going to make it feel like home, like completely, from getting a carpet, to nice drapery, to window treatments, the whole nine yards! I'm even doing research online. I can't wait. And, hey, new stuff to blog about.

Pictures soon!

Hiatus

So, I kinda took an impromptu hiatus. I know, I've been doing that a lot recently, but for valid reasons:
Internet Poblems
Eye problems

Yup, I guess all those long hours spent in front of my trusty Mario (my laptop, yes, we've already established I'm the crazy lady who names her electronics lol) have finally caught up with me. My eyes have been giving me so much trouble the last few weeks, not in big ways just like dryness and straining like when I'm driving at night or under fluorescent lights, anyway long story short, I'm getting glasses this week. Still have to figure out the style, I still have to look good!

To catch up, we had our Mizizi Half Day of Prayer and Fasting. It was amazing, 3 hours praying, I mean, at first it's like, what am I going to say for 3 hours???? But, they gave us this little guide and time was over before I was even done talking, I'd definitely do it again.

So you remember that guy I saw and got an enormous crush on, well I saw him again that Saturday, long story short, still crushing big time. Oh, and he talked to me *gush* *gush*!!!!

Anyway, after that, we went to have pizzas and chicken and rice and sodas with my Mizizi class, I've not had that much fun in ages, I came to realize, life is what you put into it. Like, if you invest in this class and in friendships and in being the one to text people and not just wondering "why does no one ever talk to me?" life pays you back positively. I opened up to my class, I told them the embarrassing things I tell you guys over here, like about that guy I have a huge crush on, and I'm still laughing about it now.

Sunday was awesome too, albeit a little uncomfortable, but awesome, the sermon was challenging, but more on that later. My whole family came home, i.e. my brothers and sisters and the niece and nephew. Plus my grandmother's in town, she had a doctor's appointment and she slept over at our house. If you could maybe pray for her to get better, I'd really appreciate it.

And today, after driving my grandma to her fancy clinic, I went to the eye doctor, or rather I schlepped all the way to my not so fancy hospital, Kenyatta....hey, don't knock it, it's an 1/9th the price of that clinic which basically means, it's free!!!

That was however cancelled out when I spent money on a liter of yogurt and fries later today.

Then, I went back to my old school, for the first time since the infamous break-up, but it wasn't that bad, and I didn't feel like everyone was looking at me thinking, "I know how you were dumped last September" hahaha! Then dropped by to see my nephew, who's growing so fast, at 7 months he's already almost crawling...I'm sorry I'm not a mom, so I don't know if that's a big deal, but to me it is, because just yesterday, I was scared to touch him because he was so tiny, now he's so big and he can't sit still, and he walks by himself on those baby walker thingies. That boy is going to be a genius someday and I said it here first.

Anyway, I haven't posted Bible Readings for a while, but I'll be back soon, yes, I've been reading, but it's not the same without writing, so in that sense I feel like I've been missing out.

Here's me, hoping I see that guy again :-) not for any reason, I remember very well, I'm supposed to stay single for a while, but just to be friends, he looks like a fun guy. Honest!

Reasons Why I Love You, 1.......

So, my friend just sent me this e-mail, that he stole from his older married brother (who made it up for his wife), my friend gave it to one of his ex-girlfriends a while ago, and I thought it was really sweet [the list, not the stealing :-) ] and deserved a blog post. Also for any male readers this list can give you some ideas for writing one for your special someone :-)

Reasons Why I Love You....From a Guy To A Girl

1. When I lay next to you all I can think about is our future and how we'll be together all the time and never be apart.
2. I love you because I can be silly with you
3. I have no problem telling you exactly how I feel, no matter what
4. You have the most beautiful face I've ever seen
5. You always tell me the truth no matter what
6. I love you because when you wake up before I do you kiss me until I wake up
7. When I get off work you come and give me a hug and look up at me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen and ask how my day was and just smile because I'm there
8. You believe in me
9. You know how to deal with my ridiculousness
10. You enjoy me when I'm being silly
11. I love you because you're absolutely gorgeous
12. I love you for your love for shoes except the ugly ones
13. I love dancing with you
14. I love watching the stars with you
15. I love reminiscing on the time we have been together
16. I love our first date
17. I love your Eskimo kisses
18. I love cuddling with you
19. I love the way you hold my hand
20. I love when you tease me
21. I love the way you smile
22. I love kissing your hands
23. I love watching t.v and movies with you because of all the stupid little comments we make through the whole thing
24. I love how you accept my past
25. I love how you're always there for me and the way you stand by my side
26. I love the times you make sure nothing will harm me
27. I love how you always find a new way to WOW! me
28. I love how when I'm sad, you take the pain away with a joke
29. I love how you always look deep into my eyes
30. I love how you can make my heart melt with your soft lips
31. I love the way you hold my hand so tight
32. I love the way you never let my hands go
33. I love how you always watch out for me
34. I love the way you make sure I have everything I need
35. I love how you always know what to say when I get mad at you
36. I love when you buy me things out of the blue
37. O love how you say the cutest things over and over and never gets old
38. I love the way you play with my hair when I'm falling asleep
39. I love the way you stare at me as if I am the most handsome guy in the world!
40. I love the times when you where determined for me not to be mad at you anymore
41. I love the way you look when I get all dressed up
42. I love the smile you give after I'm done kissing you
43. I love the way you act like a dork but make me laugh
44. I love the way your not embarrassed to say or do anything in front of me
45. I love how you can just defend me and not be scared
46. I love the way you walk when you get sad!!
47. I love the look you make when you get jealous
48. I love how when I'm feeling the worst, you make me feel the happiest
49. I love the way you sing to be all cheesy
50. I love how you can just drive hours to see me for a day
51. I love how you always finish my sentences
52. I love how your the only one who thinks I'm NOT weird
53. I love how your the only one who gets my joke... and laughs
54. I love the way we play stupid games, but you play anyways
55. I love how I can never hate you
56. I love how you love me like no other
57. I love the way you touch me as if I might break
58. I love how you tell me long stories that have no meaning, but you know I'll listen anyway
59. I love how you listen to me talk for hours
60. I love how you forgive me when I do wrong
61. I love how you hardly ever get mad at me
62. I love the way you look after I say I love you
63. I love how times it seems like we're the only ones here
64. I love the way your not embarrassed to call me sweet things in front of anyone
65. I love the way you call me every friggin minute
66. I love the way you always find a way to see me or talk to me
67. I love how you put me before you friends
68. I love how you would do anything I say
69. I love the way you get my attention
70. I love the way I turn you on, without me doing anything
71. I love how you can just speak your mind
72. I love how your not afraid to tell me your feelings
73. I love how you can cry in front of me with out being shy or embarrassed
74. I love how you can diss parties to just stay home with me all night
75. I love how we talk on the phone all night
76. I love how we both get along so well
77. I love the way you spend all your money to buy calling cards for me
78. I love the way we're so much alike!!
79. I love how you make me feel when I think I'm nothing
80. I love the way you inspire me with your thoughts and emotions!!!!

Then I went to Google because I'm a Google addict and found some more lists like this here and here and here and here and here

Shaggz Visit.....Part 2...Landscapes and a Sneak Peek at Mt. Kenya

       So, here are some photos from shaggz also known as up-country also known as the oldies homeland, also known as that place far away with the red soil, also known as where the grandparents live, also known as the farm, also known as where T-Dubz will be introduced and "bring dowry" one day......hey, he might read this one day, to be forewarned is to be forearmed! :-D

Here's my mom planting pineapples or something....

Some steep rolling hills.....

Huge mango tree for some yummy mangoes coming in around February/March

Some more rolling hills.......we live in a hilly place, so now you understand why I was so worried about William Pro being driven around in those winding roads....

What I like to call my little hiking trail, for real if you go up and down this trail, you'll lose about 5 k.g.....

The rolling hills.......

The clouds are covering up where the Mountain is, but you get the idea......

Lastly, what's a good farm post without a pregnant cow :-)

Keeping Up With My Soaps

We had a series in church called Man Enough in March of 2009.
That was my first month at Church and hence my first sermon series and hence the reason I knew I'd finally found my home at this particular church :-)

The reason I mention the sermon, Tender Warrior is because I've just come from watching Cuidado con el Angel on t.v and Juan Miguel was crying (and yes, he was still very very hot with his red puffy eyes), anyway, Juan Miguel was crying and begging Marichuy to forgive him and to talk to him and take him back. You see, Juan Miguel married Marichuy without telling her a very important detail concerning their past which if Marichuy had known she'd have never have married him. But, you see, Juan Miguel just wanted a chance to show Marichuy true love, to treat her like no man had ever treated her, to allow her to open her heart and experience love for the first time. And he said all these sweet, sweet word with tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks.....yup, you guessed it, there were tears in my eyes too! I can't help it, I'm a pink girl with emotions just below the surface!!!

Anyway, as you read in my morning post, I also read how Tina Su's husband said something so sweet to her and that got me as well!

So, in this sermon, Tender Warrior, Pastor S talks about these four faces of a man, which when in balance come together to create a real man. I loved this sermon because, it's almost like I have the Biblical authority to pray for this "dream guy" ha ha ha.

So, does Juan Miguel measure up to the standards of a real man? Has Marichuy found her Tender Warrior?

Find out this week right here on 20th Paradigm as I share what I learnt two years ago in the sermon series "Man Enough"

Links

So, I called my brother last night and told him to let me go to Church because I didn't think he would make it home by 11, and if I could go to Church, there wouldn't be any difference, and he was like no, I'll be there by 8, I have a lot to do etc, etc. Well it's 10 a.m now, he's two hours late, and you know what, if I'd been bright and trusted my instincts I could have gone and come back, and he wouldn't have noticed. He's always ALWAYS late!

Anyway, he's my brother and I love him and despite the fact that he's always late, I'll do what I always do and give him another chance, maybe next time, he'll do what he said he'd do, when he said he'd do it.

But, waiting for him has ended up being a positive thing because I just discovered this new writer called Tina Su, and I've just found my new favorite articles, they describe me to the T. Click on the links below!

My behavior in past relationships...

Love is beautiful and unpredictable...


Enjoy!

O.k, It Was a Date....

Today was a great day. I had fun, I laughed a lot. It was a fun day. At some point during the day I was standing on top of a chair singing "What's love got to do with it" Is that a Whitney Houston song? I'm sorry, I'm not sure, but whoever sang that song, I totally out sang them today. I ate some dry fries and a very big, greasy kebab, and very bitter pineapple juice, and miracle of miracles, I found someone selling strawberries, in January!
That's the first time I've seen strawberries other than in August - and I LOVE strawberries!!! So how can this day be anything other than great.

My friend just called me and asked me to go clubbing with them, but here I am, in my room, with Flyleaf playing in the background, eating strawberries and writing and I could not be happier.....This is me writing and smiling.

My secret meeting that may or may not have been a date went o.k. My BFF just called me and asked me how it went and I was just like..."ehhhh ivo tu" as in, it was just there. So, we ate dry fries and big greasy kebabs, but all the time I was siting across from this guy, I was thinking about how I've just blown my diet and what I was planning on wearing to the Mizizi launch on Tuesday.

It wasn't that the guy was boring, in fact, he was really nice but, my head wasn't in it. (Don't worry guys, I didn't let him pay for my food! I was kind of feeling like I was a bad date) We just didn't have much to talk about, he's one of those guys who still doesn't know what he wants to do and he brought about a couple of, "that's what she said" moments you know the double entendre or innuendos. I just ended up laughing! But, I was still polite and he did just call me to say he had a nice time, that's always a good thing.

But, I still just don't think we clicked. I have a feeling that when I meet the right guy, we'll just click. Conversation will start to come easy after a while and we'll have stuff in common, and he'll know what he wants to do with his life starting with having a plan to not live in his parent's house till his mid to late twenties!
Anyway, it was still a great day, and a day well spent, weird moments aside. Now I'm home, eating strawberries, writing and dancing when a good song starts up.

Aren't these moments, moments when your stress from the week and other day to day problems are the furthest thing from your mind, moments of peace, smiles and strawberries, aren't they the friggin' best?

Jacob's Love Story

This is another one of my favorites, but before I get to that, today I read:

• Genesis 28:1-29:35
• Matthew 9:18-38
• Psalm 11:1-7
• Proverbs 3:11-12

Genesis's reading today is an account of Jacob's life after he stole Esau's blessing. That's a story I can't even begin to ubderstand, except maybe in terms of how important a dad's blessing is to kids, but in terms of why Isaac couldn't bless both his sons although he was incredibly rich, maybe I can just attribute it to the culture of their day because beyond that I don't get it. Any insights would be highly appreciated :-)

Anyway, to the part I understood, Jacob and Rachel.

So, Isaac tells Jacob not to marry a Canaanite, but to go look for a wife back home, and he finds Laban who had two daughters Leah and Rachel. Jacob met Rachel first, excited to meet someone from his family he gave her a big kiss and told her his story. Rachel went to tell her dad a kinsman had arrived, long story short, Laban invited Jacob to stay, Jacob offered to work, Laban offered to pay, Jacob already in love with Rachel offered to work 7 years to get her as his wife


Genesis 29:20  Jacob worked seven years so that he could have Rachel, and the time seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her.




By the way, isn't this the first time in the Bible has mentioned someone being in love with someone? I mean, yeah I remember Isaac and Rebeka, but in that one, they were married first and then Isaac loved Rebeka. This one is in love then love. Anyway, I'm a T.V soap opera-holic so I notice such things :-)

Laban ended up tricking Jacob and gave him Leah instead telling him last minute - past last minute that the 1st daughter is always married off before the 2nd. So Jacob offered to work another 7 years and Laban gave him Rachel. So, he worked 14 years for this woman that he loved. It's like an encouragement, or a "been there, done that, you can do it too" story for us in present day, exercising this kind of patience, because that's one of the things that love is, patience.

Funny thing is, last night I prayed along these lines of how in the past I haven't been patient, and up till now I'm still not patient and content in God's timing, and I was concerned about not having patience even in the future, and it's so cool that I got to read this today, just to remind me that I'm not the first person in the world who's had to go through this and I won't be the last and it's the sort of thing God can handle.




Image from Mavuno Website

Finally, A Bit of Romance :-)

Today I also read, 

• Genesis 23:1-24:51  
• Matthew 8:1-17
• Psalm 9:13-20  
• Proverbs 3:1-6

 

I love the Isaac/Rebbecca love story. Here’s a girl carrying out her duties, her normal routine of helping out with the family;

Genesis 24:13 Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.

Then on the other side, here’s a man who puts his trust in God before he even finds this woman who’ll be his master’s son’s wife. He says a little prayer to the effect that he doesn’t want a woman who God has not chosen.

Then Rebbecca comes along, all nice and helpful to this servant man she’s never met i.e. didn’t disregard him or look down on him but goes over and above to help him. And she was welcoming to him and took him home, where his marriage proposal on behalf of Isaac was accepted

Gen 24:50-51 Laban and Bethuel answered, "Since this matter comes from the LORD, it is not for us to make a decision. Here is Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD himself has said."

This is my favorite part of the Bible so far. Of course I’m a sucker for romance and this one does not disappoint. There are also a lot of lessons to be drawn from it to single people like me, for example how Rebecca was carrying out her duties not just idly sitting by waiting for someone to come and rescue her!

In Matthew, I was shocked to realize, Peter the disciple had a wife! That’s some of the stuff you never think about. So what was her life like, did she feel alone or proud? Plus, how did she react when she found out Peter had denied Jesus, was she comforting or disappointed or just in shock? Anyway, not the point of this post :-)

My biggest take out though is this;

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

If you’ve been following through my blog, you know my biggest issue is in trusting God. I always think that I know better or that He’s taking too long and 'Ana ni chelewesha!' - He’s making me late! So, I’ll take it as a challenge to trust in His plans and in His timing.

Image from Mavuno Website

I'm Angry With Abraham

Sorry for the late post, I had a bad headache last night and my Internet provider still had issues and i just couldn't stand struggling with it! Today thankfully it seems better. So here's yesterdays post;

Today I read:

• Genesis 20:1-22:24
• Matthew 7:15-29
• Psalm 9:1-12
• Proverbs 2:16-22

I’m so frustrated with Abraham, in chapter 20 he pulls the same “Sarah is my sister” act AGAIN!!! Didn’t he learn his lesson in Egypt??? First of all, here you are in communion with GOD as in he’s tight with God having conversations with Him directly! He couldn’t ask God for wisdom on what to do, or for protection? We see as it goes on, God coming in and salvaging the situation, wouldn’t it have been easier if he’d prayed about it before?

Second, why is he treating Sarah like a possession like, “O.k. honey, I’m gonna need you to sleep with this other king so I don’t get killed” I mean wasn’t Sarah by this point, you know his most sacred asset, God promised him an entire nation through Sarah, and is this what marriage is supposed to be? No protection from the husband? My view of Abraham improved a tiny bit when I got to this;

Genesis 20:9-12 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, "What have you done to us? What wrong have I done to you to make you bring this disaster on me and my kingdom? No one should ever do what you have done to me. Why did you do it?" Abraham answered, "I thought that there would be no one here who has reverence for God and that they would kill me to get my wife. She really is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not of my mother, and I married her.

So, it wasn’t his fault completely, but still…

In better news, God’s promises get fulfilled when Sarah gets her baby. After years of waiting, God came through, despite what was the norm and what people expected, nothing could ever compare to the love of God and His plan for you. I learnt from this, never to underestimate God. Like, I could pray for amazing grades, an amazing job, great relationships, the great relationship, an amazing future hubz and everyone can tell me for example, ‘ah, in reality, that can never happen’ well, it happened for Sarah, so don’t underestimate God.

O.k. Abraham redeemed himself when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, and he actually did it. He wasn’t all bad after all. That’s an incredibly hard thing to do, and I got to thinking, if I’m willing to sacrifice stuff to get closer to God. Wanting something is one thing, but do I have the chops to sacrifice for it? Today, that’s what I’ll be thinking about.

Image from Mavuno Website

Matthew 7:24  "So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock