God's Letter to a Woman

"When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being.

When I created man, I formed him and breathed life into his nostrils.

But you, woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man, because your nostrils are too delicate.

I allowed a deep sleep to come over him

so I could patiently and perfectly fashion you.

Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity.

From one bone, I fashioned you.

I chose the bone that protects man's life.

I chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him,

as you are meant to do.

Around this one bone, I shaped you....... I modeled you.

I created you perfectly and beautifully.

Your characteristics are as the rib, strong yet delicate and fragile.

You provide protection for the most delicate organ in man, his heart.

His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the breath of life.

The ribcage will allow itself to be broken before it will allow damage to the heart. Support man as the rib cage supports the body.

You were not taken from his feet, to be under him,

nor were you taken from his head, to be above him.

You were taken from his side, to stand beside him and be held close to his side.

You are my perfect angel.....You are my beautiful little girl.

You have grown to be a splendid woman of excellence,

and my eyes fill when I see the virtues in your heart.

Your eyes...don't change them.

Your lips, how lovely when they part in prayer.

Your nose, so perfect in form.

Your hands so gentle to touch. I've caressed your face in your deepest sleep.

I've held your heart close to mine.

Adam walked with me in the cool of the day, yet he was lonely.

He could not See me or touch me. He could only feel me.

So everything I wanted Adam to share and experience with me, I fashioned in you; my Holiness, my Strength, my Purity, my Love, my Protection and Support.

You are special because you are an extension of me.

Man represents my image, woman my emotions.

Together, you represent the totality of God.

So man......treat woman well.

Love her, respect her, for she is fragile. In hurting her, you hurt me.

What you do to her, you do to me.

In crushing her, you only damage your own heart;

the heart of your Father, and the heart of her Father.

Woman, support man. In humility, show him the power of emotion

I have given you.

In gentle quietness, show your strength.

In love, show him that you are the rib that protects his inner self.

Thinking about Haiti

IN THE SHADOW

Ntokozo Mbambo

I know a place I can always run to
In times of distress confusion and fear
When my enemy surrounds me
I know I'm safe, for you keep me
And hide me in the shadow of your wings

In the shadow of your wings
I know I am safe
In the shadow of your wings
I find relief, for you hold me
And guide me with your righteous hand
I find rest peace of mind
In the shadow of your wings

The Lord is my shield
He's a healer of my soul
He's the tower of strength
My redeemer my keeper
When my heart is filled with sorrow
For you're a lifter of my head
You surround me with favour
And you satisfy my soul...

What is my Price Tag?

The other day i was pondering on many things. Looking at clothes, shoes, friends... many things. We ladies are soo often proud and attached to our 'gadgets' - the dresses and shoes and jewellery and all those nice small things we ladies cling our heart to. But i realise that all these dont give us a price tag. The world will define our price tag from what they see on the outside. But God will attach a price tag from what lies within us.... Lady, what is your price tag? Just watch who your price tag with attract.

I cant wait to finish this up at the Yakuti Conference..... my spirit is bubbling with alot fo preach (If thats English-LOL)

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

On Dwelling...

I have been thinking about what a constant God we serve, and I realized that The King's Princess' post actually relates to my thoughts this week. God is always there for us; likewise, if we are serious about our relationship, we should be there for Him, not because He needs us, but because we need Him, and because His love for us is unfailing and eternal. We can draw near with our lips, but what causes us to dwell or drift away is the state of our hearts.

"...this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men..." Isaiah 29:13...

Dwelling Vs Occasional visits

Surely the lord has been teaching me alot in the past few days. I must add that i am more than delighted that this year is coming to a close in just a few days. But what has been lingering my mind and has stuck there is about dwelling in the secret place of the most high.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:1-4)

I must confess that if you begin a certain routine of prayer in your life, it later becomes a cycle that if you break , your life starts to feel abnormal. I just learnt that God is not so pleased with our occasional visits at his throne. You know those panicky occasional visits where we approach him with urgent prayer lines and we expect him to run over himself because we showed up?! No! He is more interested in the dwelling, constant, passionate visit.

But i would like to argue that an occasional visit that has purpose, meaning and is passionate is more worthwhile than a constant visit that is done just to fulfill a promise. Yeah, that can be disturbing. The fact that your friend who prays or attends church two times a year has had all her prayers answered those few times she made herself available to God.

God is looking for those who will dwell and abide in Him, and not just visit a time or two when it is convenient. Residing there requires much more than most people are willing to give.

I have just been reminded of something: God never flunks anyone out of a trial. You will go through it again and again until you get it. And when you do, He will not hide this fact from you. "They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony." Rev 12:11

My blood will not splash on you 1

I decided to post this here as well...

Every time I think about disciplining children, I remember an aunt of mine who, one morning, when she was about to beat up my cousin with a rather thorny, branchy stick, told my sisters and me to leave the room because blood would splash on us. I witnessed so many such discipline moments. A visitor would say something that a cousin had told him, and as soon as he left, my aunt would beat up that cousin. I saw many people beat up their children and the whole time, we were told it was good to be beaten and these things were endorsed by God Himself in the Bible. I accepted that as gospel truth. After all, if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. Right? Might as well use the rod every single opportunity you can get.

My parents are pretty strict but they didn't believe in beating us randomly. I probably got less than ten beatings my whole life. They preferred to talk to us about things and for the most part, we were pretty obedient.

Somewhere in mid-primary school, I transferred to a place where beatings were the order of the day. Pipes, more thorny branches, pieces of wood, whatever it was, we were beaten with it and for whatever reason the teachers deemed appropriate. Staffroom discussions were tailored around that stubborn child who thought he was all that because his parents were politicians. Aunts would have lunches talking about their children, sometimes even in our hearing in family gatherings we would learn what a good girl Mary was and what a bad boy John was. Only those children who were number one in school and in the neighbourhood qualified as "good" (but who is ever number one all the time?). Everyone else was a bad child and warranted discipline. After these meetings, teachers would tell us, "We should win the cleanliness prize this term - why should Std 3Yellow outdo us?" and parents would say, while beating their sons, "Why can't you be like Tom?"

Discipline in my mind was something bad, done in anger for the simplest things. It was only supposed to be enforced by people who had earned the right to do so... or people in bad moods who had fought with their husbands and wanted to take out their anger on those under them. Thinking about chastisement from God with that backdrop really made me dread discipline and reproof from Him. I'd picture something like this: me, banished from His presence, eating from a pigsty somewhere in the belly of a huge whale, with thunderings and lightnings terrifying whatever daylights remained in me. Every single time something in my life went wrong, I saw it as discipline. Every incident that hurt me seemed to be God just giving me a beating because I had annoyed Him by making the slightest mistake. Until very recently, to me God was just someone just waiting for me to mess up so He could rain a double portion of the afflictions of Egypt on me.

I never thought of God as pleased with me. I didn't know what I had to do to get Him to smile. I felt like I was constantly under some pressurizing surveillance and was walking on eggshells. Like my mistakes were laid bare for everyone with a spiritual gift. In my mind, He discussed me with His children much like parents discussed their children with each other at family gatherings.

And then, one day, I read a little about how parents should discipline their children. I began to understand the importance of not doing it in anger. Thinking about that and turning it around in my mind made me understand God's discipline better. Chastisement and punishment are two different things. I've been spared from punishment by Jesus' death and resurrection for my sake. But I need chastisement to keep me in line. I am not chastised when God is “in a bad mood,” because He never is, or when someone tells Him I said something bad about Him. He does not beat me with a log for the smallest mistake. I am chastised lovingly, calmly, and when I seek Him, He shows me why He is doing it and how He wants to change me. I am chastised for things about which I should have known better. Things about which He has told me. He doesn't have to ask anybody to leave the room... in fact, many times He will allow them to get a glimpse of my chastisement and glorify His Name. My blood won't splash on anyone because His has already spilled for me. And His discipline is effective. It is painful enough to get my attention but not so exaggerated that it kills my spirit. While it is ongoing I might wonder if He truly loves me but the end result is not bitterness from a child who feels unloved or resentment from a daughter who feels like she is being compared to others when she wants to live out her uniqueness. The end result is love and thanksgiving that are birthed from a recognition that this has truly been done for my good.

*The end result sometimes takes a looooong while to materialize, but it's worth it.