Tag: New Year

Kabod through Covid

Strap yourself in. I’m taking you for a ride.

Not to the next beautiful destination, friend. But to the beauty of what has been thus far in 2022.

And trust me. Though it wasn’t  perfect,  there sure were some incredibly beautiful spots along the way.

So let’s hone in for a bit.

Shall we?

“The best is yet to come.”

The anthem of hope firmly fastened to my heart was how I entered into this new year.

God had been speaking to me throughout the previous season, and I knew my expectations from life moving forward were good & glorious.

Looking back to reflect & learn all that 2021 had packed within itself, and reaching forward to lay a hold of what 2022 promised was the delicate beam I found myself balancing on as I made my way into Jan ’22.

Ok.

Now brace for impact.

A day into the new year and I was tested positive with Covid.

Really now?

Friends, over the course of 2021, the Lord had taught me not only the power of his Word, but also the power of standing on his Word. Once he speaks, it is finished. The matter is settled.

So though I had begun this year with an unexpected diagnosis, I knew what the Lord had promised. I knew he would see me through yet another valley and that I would come out not only unscathed and unharmed, but seven times stronger than I was going in.

Because that’s how the Lord works. The restoration he brings about is always to a place better than before. As it is says in the Passion Translation,

“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up. And he has all the power needed to do this—forever! Amen.”

(1 Peter 5:10)

Friends, the Hebrew word for glory is – kabod. Experience with the Lord has taught me that whatever the enemy means for evil will not only be overturned by the hand of the Living God, but also used by him to bring about the manifestation of something good that releases his kabod, his glory into my life.

Please, Lord. Show me how.

God uses All Things

So though I got down with Covid, I found myself involved with two amazing challenges online – a 31-day Wisdom Challenge hosted by Pedro Adao as well as a 5-day Prophetic Planning Challenge by Roma Waterman.

Honing into the voice of the Lord was the number one thing that I needed spiritually,  because where the enemy brings chaos, God brings clarity. So I learnt to lean in closer and hear what the Lord was saying and what I heard back from him, friends has given me much hope moving on, not only for a promised future, but for life as it happens – right here, right now.

Let me try and break down the fruit I have received thus far,  from this rather uncommon time here:

1. Facebook Lives:

Watching a dazzling array of powerful speakers like Bill Johnson, Lisa Bevere and Heidi Baker across a time span of 31 days in Pedro Adao’s Wisdom Challenge during this time was the very thing that gave me the unction to go ahead with my first set of FB lives!

Though I was physically battling weakness, I experienced the Lord’s anointing work dynamically to create beauty within and bring meaning to an otherwise bleak landscape. I was truly reminded of what they say,

Every dark cloud has a silver lining.

2. The Book of Proverbs:

It was Dr Brian Simmons who in Jan beginning kicked off not only the Wisdom Challenge, but also my own personal time in the Book of Proverbs. Not only have I been enjoying my time in this book, but it has produced much fruit – challenging me, exhorting me, calling me higher.

Lady Wisdom, it seems, must be pursued. And this past season, I have found myself running.

3. Divine Rhythms of Grace, Rest & Play:

Learning to lay down creative projects for a bit and to prioritize instead my personal healing and recovery has been a huge part of my process thus far, but also a kind of eye-opener concerning the true heart of the Father towards me.

I’m learning, friend, that He isn’t after my works. He is after my wholeness – body, spirit and soul.

Author, Hannah Brencher encapsulates this sentiment beautifully as a part of her own personal journey with Jesus this season as she affirms,

I AM IMPORTANT + I MATTER

So with the right order of priorities, I now am learning to create in a grace-filled, restful and playful way through the Lord’s unforced rhythms that keep me whole, and don’t leave me broken.

Because the truth is works don’t validate me. Love does.

4. Soak-Sprout-Sautè:

I have also been learning from Jesus the art of soaking + sprouting lentils and whole grains. Finding myself in the kitchen – chopping and sautèing – a mixed bag of carrots, beans, cauliflower, capsicum and broccoli has been symbolic of a subtle, but sure shift from my tendency to have processed foods to a much more healthy intake.

Nope, I am not giving a class on cooking, but rather offering on a plate the perspective that my body (and yours) is not a dumpyard, it is a temple of the Holy Spirit – the very house of God.

And what he calls holy ground, I’m learning to too.

5. Switch the Lights:

I also learnt this season a very interesting fact – the white lights that we use in our rooms & homes after sunset deceive our senses into believing that its still day time, which causes us to remain subconsciously alert even after the sun goes down.

This increased brain activity at a time that God designed for our bodies to rest & renew, results in prolonged evenings/nights and crabby mornings.

So what’s the antidote?

A very small change has made a big impact for me, friend.

I decided to ditch the idea of using white lights after sunset, and stick to a yellow table lamp instead. One could actually try candles too. The idea is to create an environment that helps reduce activity and promote rest instead.

Switching the lights can most definitely switch the script.

The God of All Things

Candid confession time now.

Until recently, I believed that God was only interested in moving the big mountains that stood in my way, and didn’t really care that much about my day-to-day life.

But looking back on my experience as I write this today, I am so amazed, friend, at how wonderfully He has revealed himself to me to be both,

The God of the Practical + The God of the Miraculous

My experience in these times testifies that God is a hands-on Father. He is so crazy about His kids that He insists on being involved in the details of our lives.

From hiding tiny surprises for us as He meets our everyday needs to manifesting divine interventions that part the proverbial Red Sea, He is invested in it all as the God of the mundane, but also as the God of the mighty.

So as I wait upon Him to perform the signs, wonders & miracles that I know He has promised me, I am also deeply content in knowing Him as an intimately connected Father who walks with me in the cool of the day, and is hugely interested in revealing His kabod to me – not only one day when, but also right here, right now.

OK.

Enough said.

I’m taking my foot off the gas, friend. We’re almost there!

The ride may have been bumpy at times, I admit. But you chose to stick it out with me, and I commend you for it.

You’ve been brave.

So as I get ready to roll up the windows, I thank you for the priviledge of your company.

I do need you to know that I am proud of journeying alongside a worthy fellow traveller like you. The roadblocks and humps we have needed to manouver were very real, but so was the beauty and the glory that came with the trip.

All because of the reality of a God, who despite my taking leave right now, promises to be by your side forever – without a shadow of turning. So remember to let him in, friend and let him take over.

For its this kind of genius love that gets in the driver’s seat for us, and taking a hold of the steering wheel of our lives; leans over waiting patiently as we settle into the passenger seat, to hand us a steaming cup of mocha with a glint in his eye that lovingly says,

“Buckle up, babycakes. Its your Father who has the wheel.”

Get ready for some kabod.

Glorious Ends – New Beginnings

“Tie a bow on it.”

In a few days, friends, we will be moving into a brand new year. But as we do, may we look back on the year that has been 2021 – not to stay stuck in what we are gearing up to wrap up, but rather to reflect & learn so that we can grow as we go.
For me personally, this year has been both, difficult + monumental. It has had me traverse the roughest terrain, navigate my way through snakes and adders, but it has also seen the Lord’s hand move me through my pain so mightily that it has grown me closer to His heart than I have ever been.

I call this the art of finding the ‘beauty in the brokenness.’

It will need us to get alone with Jesus for some time so that God is invited in to clean up the lens of our perception and show us the glory of what has been as He takes us into what will be in 2022.

The Father has good plans for us. For each and every single one of us. I believe that with all my heart.

For Jesus writes the script of our lives with grace, hope and promise. He does not plot our pain, but He does use it to evolve us.

So as we prepare our hearts this time of the year, let me leave you with some thoughts.

What was may not have been easy, but I bet it transformed you. I bet it gave you greater grit, purer faith and more strength of character than ever before.

I bet it developed things on the inside of you that couldn’t have been developed any other way.

I bet it taught you to turn your back on the inferior and pursue the superior.

I bet it introduced you to a version of yourself that reflects the image of its Creator better than it ever has.

And I bet that that’s worthy of celebration, sweet friend.

I bet that’s reason enough to tie a bow on 2021, receive the glory it carried and let that fuel us into the next.

He’s just getting started.

❤

Feliz Navidad!

“Happy Birthday, King Jesus!”

🎄🎄🎄

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

(Isaiah 9:6)

Because He came, we can go.

Lets celebrate Him.

Merry Christmas, friends!

☃️❤🎅🏻

Happy 2020! 🎉

When times change prompting us to shed the old and step into the new,

When cycles of growth are completed signalling the way into yet another dimension of our being waiting to be tapped into,

When seasons shift ushering in a breath of fresh air that causes us to pause and ponder,

When everything seems to come into alignment on the inside so seeds of greatness from deep down within can be made manifest on the outside,

When change is upon us and the only way forward is to embrace the adventure of a brave free fall,

It’s enough to say that the pain that prospered us the past year only served as a pathway towards the breaking of a new dawn.

For when God decides to act, who can reverse His decision?

The verdict is final:

It’s only the beginning of times.

Wishing all a very Happy New Year, and a life that is exceedingly abundant from the inside out!

Happy 2020, friends!

❤️🌟

Behold! I do a new thing🌟

On the eve of this New Year, that God is using to usher us into a whole new era, I felt an unction to pray over all of us,

“Heavenly Father, we foremost thank You for bringing us through yet another year that marks the end of a whole decade that has seen us see you walk with us, talk with us, guide us and love us. We thank You for the sheer integrity of Your Character. We acknowledge that we are who we are simply because You are who You say you are. Thank You for being both, The Father who never fails, and The Friend that sticks closer than a Brother. Thank you that You remain unchanging and therefore, we can rest and walk into the year, 2020 with a confidence that comes from knowing that You have gone into all our tomorrows and have not only made our crooked paths straight, but also made provisions for us whenever we would be in need. We thank You for You always meet us at our point of need, and unfailingly fill us to the overflow. Father, help us, strengthen us and bless us with the abundance of Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We ask that the coming year would be filled with the joy of seeing promises realised and fresh pathways being forged. We also ask for strength, love and wisdom to freely flow from Your Bosom to ours, in order that we would be willing to let go of that which no longer serves us, and instead lay hold of the newness of life that has a way of being made new, not only with every new year or decade, but with every new day.
In Jesus’ Invincible Name,
we pray!
Amen.”

Thank You, Lord!
👑

3️⃣1️⃣st December, 2019 : the last day of the decade!

Dear 31st December,

You came sooner than expected. The days that led to you went by swifter than the wind. They were filled with all kinds of experiences, some felt like valleys and some like mountain tops. There were times where the unexpected intervened like a mighty rushing wind, and then there were times where the call to persevere felt stronger than the desire for breakthrough. The 364 days that have ushered you in have left us deeply humbled and profoundly grateful. All in all, you come with a bag of mixed emotions. You come with a sense of gratitude for all that was and a sense of wonder for all that will be. You come with a tinge of excitement and a gleeful expectancy of all that our Maker has in store for us. So we take a moment in time to pause and say, “thank you,” for being a catalyst to usher in a new era with new birthings and beginnings, for being a bridge that connects our history to our destiny and for being a game changing tool, for in you, we can now safely say a thankful “goodbye” to a time frame in our lives that has left us enriched, equipped and empowered in ways beyond articulation, and echo a joyful “hello there” to the new thing that God is doing in our midst, a new thing that comes with fresh faith, favour and focus.

Thank you for your arrival and we ask that you would seamlessly transition us now as we bid farewell!

Signing off with a confident expectation,

❄️☀️

Sealed with love 💌

Dear 2019,

Thank you for being exceeding and abundant. Thank you for being the year where Identity and Purpose were both forged and cultivated through Love. Thank you for teaching me that I am never forsaken but am always cherished and treasured by my Creator. Thank you for revealing pathways where it seemed like dead ends. Thank you for establishing that our access to the promised rivers of living water is unlimited. Thank you for helping me to be a tiny sprinkling of light wherever it was that you guided me. Thank you for prospering me through the pain and promising me a seven fold return. Thank you for being a vessel in the Hands of God to not only reveal who He really is, in Spirit and in Truth; but also who I am in Him; and shall continue to become. Thank you for being a monumental year in my growth and development, and letting it spill over to those around me. Thank you for serving me well and enabling me to serve you too. Thank you that now as you usher us into not only a brand new year but also a brand new era, we can do so with utmost gratitude in our hearts for you were a womb that God used to birth that which we have an eager expectation to see made manifest through the Eternal jewels of Sovereignty, Majesty and Supremacy in the year that is to come. Thank you 2019, for setting up the stage and setting us on fire. Thank you!

Signed with love,

❤️



It’s begun :)

Dear Heavenly Father,

The Jewish New Year just about rolled in, and we are so excited to see all that You have in store for each and every one of us. We thank You for cultivating us in Your Love the past year, and developing us in ways that have left us dumbfounded. Truly, Your thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and we are grateful for that. So, in the same breath Father, we ask You to go ahead of us and illuminate our path. Guide us, guard us, instruct us, counsel us and watch over us; as Your Word promises. Keep us close to Your Bosom in order that we may hear Your Words of loving kindness that bring healing to our soul and strength to our bones. We pray Father, that the promises You have given us from Your Word will begin to see visible manifestations in this new era, that You will bestow upon us signs, wonders and miracles from The Heavens above as a constant source of encouragement as we tread uncharted territory simply because we trust in Our Father who will never fail us nor forsake us, but instead promises to fortify, strengthen and uphold us. We pray that the coming year would be drenched with Your supernatural favor and goodness. We Thank You for being our Constant One, Father and pray that as we continue to yield ourselves to Your Careful Hand, You will make us into the vessels that will spread the Love and Light that we have so freely received from You wherever we go. We Thank You for all that You have promised to bring to pass in our lives and ask You to grace us with the patience, love, peace and joy in our souls as we continue to travel with You into destinations yet unknown. We love You, Lord!

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen!