Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Home Authors Posts by Claudia De Nobrega

Claudia De Nobrega

It’s the little things

Yesterday evening, my husband surprised me with beautiful flowers! Why? Just because.

It’s not the big things that mean the most, but the little things; the everyday acts of love and kindness in a marriage that really make the most impact on your heart.

I love being married and get really annoyed with those silly “marriage jokes” that the world and media degrade marriage with – you know those jokes – because being married to your best friend is the best thing ever! It’s a blessing; a gift.

Sometimes a random spoil with a cup of coffee or great big hug (or getting off your phone to have a proper conversation!) means the world in that moment. And one of the best ways to make the most of these moments is to learn your spouse’s
“love language”. These “languages” are explained in an awesome book by Gary Chapman called ‪‎The 5 Love Languages‬.

I encourage you to take some time in the next few days to discover the love languages that speak to you  and your spouse.
It’s also a fun activity to do together. Once you understand your spouse’s love language it can make the world of difference!

The five love languages‬ are:

  1. Words of affirmation
    This language uses words to affirm your love and appreciation.
  2. Acts of service
    For these people, sometimes actions speak louder than words.
  3. Receiving gifts
    For some people, what makes them feel most loved is to receive a gift.
  4. Quality time
    This language is all about giving the other person your undivided attention.
  5. Physical touch
    To this person, nothing speaks more deeply than loving affection.

Below is an awesome video that shows examples of each of the love languages. Enjoy! Invest in your relationship!

The Great Architect

My husband and I are in the process of building our first home. We are super excited, as you can imagine, and feeling really blessed that we are able to design and build our own home.

At this stage we are overlooking our plans, basically studying it every day together, making sure there are enough plug points in each room, that we have placed enough lighting in our kitchen, and making decisions such as whether or not to add an extra window… the list goes on. These are the questions we ask ourselves and the discussions we have, so that we don’t forget or leave something important out of the plan.

As much as this process is really exciting, it is very much a lengthy process and at times an overwhelming task to try to figure out everything on our own.

This had me thinking about life, and how God strategically plans every single part of our lives. This is what the Bible says: “He knew you before you were formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born God set you apart!” (Jeremiah 1:5).

He has a plan for us. God is the Great Architect of our lives.

In His Word he tell us this: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11).

Just as we design and build a house, God designed us. He has a plan for us. In Hebrews 3:4 it says, “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”

So my revelation was this: It is impossible for us to try to figure life out on our own, and in our own understanding. God’s ways are so much better and bigger than our ways. Our minds cannot possibly comprehend what He can do! If we allow Him to lead us and we take that step or (sometimes needed) “leap of faith” and surrender everything to Him, we allow Him to build, design, and create our lives in His mighty ways and it’s the most wonderful thing!

Countless times in my life, when I have surrendered and released things I was trying to figure out on my own and just gave it over to God and whole-heartedly surrendered it to Him – that’s when I saw the Red Sea part in my life. It’s the place of miracles; it’s the place of blessing; it’s the place of letting go and letting God. It’s the most wonderful place to be!

It’s the journey to freedom, the plan of peace, the design of deliverance and the act of obedience.

I love how God works in our lives. I love how He teaches us all the time. We can never stop learning. There is a lesson in everything we do. When we fail, we learn. When we succeed, we learn. God never gives up on us!

Building our house is a big lesson in taking a leap of faith, and trusting and depending solely on God to guide us, help us, instruct us, teach us, lead us, and provide for us. I am learning something new every day. I have reached a point in my life where I understand humility and the blessings that follow when we humble ourselves. It’s truly life-changing.

You might not be building a house, but God might be building something in your heart.

Step out in faith and trust and allow him to build and rebuild the walls of your heart.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:1)

A Blessing in Disguise

A few mornings ago I was driving in my car and thinking about the challenging day ahead. I knew it might be a difficult day and I used the time in my car to warfare in prayer, asking God to bless the day, and to use me to be a light. I was very specific, come to think of it. I especially asked God to replace my eyes with His eyes so I could see the light in people and discern in the environment I was going to be in. I asked that His light would shine through me so I could be a blessing to those around me.

The day was wonderfully productive and all went well – much better than I anticipated it would be. Although I didn’t have any real epic moments where I felt like God used me to be a light or blessing, I just did the best I could for those around me. It was a good day and I felt good. I thanked God for blessing the day and helping me.

On my drive back home, I had to make a few stops along the way. I quickly went to the grocery store to get a few goodies for dinner. As I was reversing my car out of the parking lot, a man stood close to my car. By his appearance I could see he was very poor and through the window he asked for money to buy food. Before I could say anything he assured me he wasn’t going to spend it on alcohol or drugs. Without blinking, I politely shook my head and told him I was so sorry I couldn’t help him.
The minute I said it, my stomach turned and I felt like the worst person in the world. I was selfishly thinking about the large amount of money I just spent at the grocery store.

I drove around the centre to go to the post-box to collect my mail. As I was driving, my stomach was in knots…
But God spoke to my heart:

EVERYTHING belongs to ME,
your money is MY money
and I AM the Provider of ALL things

God then reminded me of a R50 note I had in my purse. It all came down on me like a ton of bricks: just a little earlier, I was asking God to use me to bless others, but when the opportunity arose, I failed. As I drove my car around the centre, I knew what I needed to do; I knew what my mission was. I just prayed it wasn’t too late to find him.

Thankfully, he was standing in the same spot. I signalled for him to come over to me. I rolled down my window as I was in the middle of the road in the late afternoon traffic madness. The words just rolled off my tongue, because only God can do that!

I said to him: “This is for you. Your Heavenly Father loves you very much and He wanted me to bless you with this R50. God gave this to you, not me. It’s from Him and Jesus loves and cares for you very much. God bless you!”

I will never forget the look on his face when I was speaking, it was like no one had ever told him that God loves him and that God sees him right where he is. He said “Thank you! Bless you!” and I drove away realising that God answered my prayer to be His eyes; to see His beauty; to be His light; to shine His love. Not in the way I had thought, but perfectly in His way.

It truly was a humbling experience. To think I almost missed the boat completely! I’m so grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me a second chance to be a blessing that day and forgiving my initial disobedience! I’m blessed to serve a great and mighty God that loves me in all my human error. I hope this story encourages you. Now go be a blessing to someone in your day!

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

– Numbers 6:24-26

God In The Detail

At the beginning of 2015, I made a decision, that this year I would acknowledge and see God in the detail of everything,
in my life, around me, in the small things, in the big things, and everything in between.

Through this faith exercise, my eyes started shifting focus as I began to see God move in every detail of my life.
During this year, I learnt so much about myself, about God and about others.

If you think about the word “DETAIL” it means “a small part of something“.

It’s the smaller parts, that when put together, form the BIGGER PART, the BIGGER PICTURE of something AMAZING.

Have you heard about the parable about the mustard seed? Matthew 17:20
Jesus said. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

See below a photo of a mustard seed, look how tiny it is, and yet Jesus tells us that if we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains with that faith, nothing would be impossible for us.

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The mustard seed is a smaller part of something bigger, it is the seed, that when planted, grows, flourishes, strengthens, develops, lives on to do great things on this earth!

God is in the detail of everything in our lives, we need to praise Him in the small things and in the big things and everything in between. I have so enjoyed this journey of watching God bless me in the small things. I have been grateful for the sunshine on my face on a stressful day, an unexpected client meeting that happened to be near the sea, just a breath of fresh air, the birds singing, the joy when someone blesses me with a cup of tea on a busy work day, the gratitude when I am driving in an unfamiliar area and someone with a smile on their face allows me to move into their lane last minute before I get lost, the joy in the simple things, laughing with a friend, receiving a cuddle from a child, spending quality time with my husband and my family, a walk on the beach, those priceless moments, a friendly face, a kind heart, a sincere gesture. The list goes on and on and I could write a book about GOD IN THE DETAIL in every part of our daily lives.

The famous Albert Einstein said:
Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous

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There is no such thing as coincidence or luck. God works in the detail of your day, you might not recognise His Hand in it and you might think it is a coincidence or luck, but there is no such thing. Follow the blessings and you will find they all lead to God. He wants to bless you and to show you He loves you. If you are having a stressful or bad day and you come home to a family that loves you, comforts you and is there for you through it all; that is God in the detail, blessing you with loved ones who can support you and love you in the sunshine and through the storms. Don’t lose focus, don’t allow the negativity in this world to distract you from God’s goodness, love and peace.

I truly encourage you to take a week or a year or even just one day, to do this faith exercise and you will truly see the love of the Father for his Children. Remember what Jesus said about the MUSTARD SEED parable. Take this into your daily life. Allow it to encourage you and give you strength.

Thank God for your blessings, no matter how big or small,
praise HIM through it all.
YOU can move mountains,
YOU can do ALL things through Christ who gives YOU strength.
Philippians 4:13

I have decided to take this faith exercise into 2016, as it has blessed me so much!

Will you try it? Would you like to know more about faith, love and grace?
Watch the video below to find out more. Have a blessed week!

 

Shalom, Paris and the Real Enemy

SHALOM (שָׁלוֹם)  is a Hebrew word meaning PEACE
and also used as a salutation by Jews to say both hello and goodbye.

By now you have probably heard about the deadly attacks in Paris that happened on Friday, 13 November 2015 by several gunmen and suicide bombers that hit a concert hall, a major stadium, restaurants and bars, almost simultaneously,
leaving at least 129 people dead and hundreds wounded. These horrific events are the complete opposite of shalom “peace”.
It’s the works of evil.

The news spread very quickly on social media and I was moved by all the prayers, support, pictures and videos,
all in compassion for the “city of lights” and it’s extreme and tragic loss on Friday night.
Some news headlines, read: “WAR ON PARIS” and “PARIS TERROR ATTACKS”.
These are very hard and frightening headlines to read.
The world is going to war. The enemy is at large.
The attacks have been described by French President Francois Hollande as an “ACT OF WAR” organised by the Islamic State (IS) militant group. We know the extreme terrorist group, ISIS have taken responsibility for the attacks on Paris.

BUT WHO IS THE REAL ENEMY?

Just after news of the attacks spread, I came across this video by MARCUS ROGERS on social media.
With a fire and passion in his heart, he explains who the real enemy is, and what our role is in all of this.
THIS VIDEO IS A MUST SEE!!!

Another video that impressed me was by celebrity and musician, Justin Bieber, where he broke down in tears on-stage at a recent music concert, to say a prayer for the lives lost during the attacks in Paris and for their families who are mourning.

“Through all the pain and all the darkness,
God, you still shine your light, God,”

To view his emotional moment of prayer during his concert, watch the video below:

The world is in darkness, we need to be SHALOM, walk in SHALOM and shine God’s LIGHT in all we do, we need to follow in the footsteps of the
PRINCE OF PEACE, JESUS CHRIST.  Isaiah 9:6

Click on the banner below to find out more about Jesus and His peace, His shalom, His love! God bless you.
#PrayForParis #PrayForTheWorld

Those Creepy Crawly Moments

It was an ordinary evening, my husband and I were chatting in our bedroom and while I was busy talking to him, he starts laughing strangely and he comes over towards me and shifts me across the room without saying anything. He directs my face to look in the corner of the room, way up on the wall, on the ceiling next to the bookcase… then I see it… in this moment just imagine the “Jaws movie theme song” start playing, because that’s how I felt when I saw THE GECKO.

I am sure most of you are completely normal human beings and thinking “but a gecko is so small and she is well… bigger“.
The thing is fear and shock can mean different things to different people. Fear can come in any shape or form.
It can paralyze us into feeling numb and extremely overwhelmed!

My reaction: I jumped like a crazy woman onto the bed, while my husband attempted to catch the gecko. It was touch and go because we almost lost it when it ran behind the bookcase. Thankfully it resurfaced and my husband caught it a box, then it fell out of the box, ran under the door and down the stairs, he caught it again and let it free out the window. All the while I am jumping on the bed with the
“heebie-jeebies” no help to him at all, just all crazy bananas waiting for him to save me from the gecko.
One thing’s for sure, the windows will be staying closed tonight, I thought!

When I was a little girl, my dad would always save us (my mom, my sister and I) from spiders and any creepy crawlies.
We would just shout “DAD” in our nervous emotional voice and he would come running, he almost always knew that by the way we called out to him that we needed him to save us from a creepy crawly! He just laughed and stepped into “save the day” action immediately, while we stood on high chairs or beds and/or at the opposite side of the house. After the conquest, he would always end off with, “I GOT IT, IT’S GONE” and we would cheer on with so much relief in our voices!

During this evening’s pandemonium, I completely relied on my husband to save me, to help me, to fix the situation. I was numb with emotion and stricken with fear that the gecko would get lost in the room and at one point thought I wasn’t going to be able to sleep knowing the gecko was loose in our bedroom. Thankfully it was found and my heart rate could go back to normal and I could sleep in peace.

You probably thinking… hello Claudia it’s just a teeny tiny gecko, no big deal.

Yes it is a big deal to me. Same thing could be said for someone who is afraid of heights or tight spaces or afraid of birds.
It is such a horrible feeling. I prayed. I asked God to help us find the gecko because I knew it could have gotten lost behind the bookcase and then I wouldn’t have slept knowing it was lurking in the room. God helped us and all is well.

Exodus 14:13-14
“Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

If I look back at my childhood, my dad rescuing me and now my husband doing the same. It reminds me of how God saves us, He rescues us. We just need to call out to him and say “FATHER I NEED YOUR HELP” and just as my dad knew by the sound of my voice what was wrong, and my husband knew that it would be a good idea to move me away from the gecko sighting spot, so does God our Father know every need and desire of our hearts.

We are all God’s children and in this life there are going to be many situations
that feel like those “creepy crawly” moments.
We just need to remember to CALL OUT TO OUR FATHER and ask for HIS HELP, He will fight for us.
HE WILL RESCUE US and RESTORE THE PEACE. We only need to be still. God will do the rest.
Just as my dad and my husband knew exactly what to do.
God knows. He knows everything!

If this encouraged you and spoke to your heart, please click on the banner below to find out more!

The Power In Our Words

The words we speak over our lives or over the lives of others, have great significance and power. Think about this for one second, so what does this mean and what can I learn from this and how can I apply it to my life. This post is going to challenge you and surprise, at how what flows from your mouth has power over your life and the lives of others. Let’s go in deeper and see!

Jesus said for every careless word that we speak, we will be held accountable for in Matthew 12:36

In Ephesians 4:29 the bible says, don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

In Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

In Proverbs 16: 24 Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

We have the choice to either speak life with our words or destroy with our words. Our words are real and the battle is real. Have you ever thought about this? How often have we spoken negatively over our lives or the lives of others?
How often do we think before we speak?

The Bible says so a man thinks, so he is Proverbs 23:7

Here God is very specific about HOW we think, is who we are and in return becomes what we say by the words that flow from our mouth.

Let’s go into another study of how God speaks life HIMSELF. In the beginning of time when God created the heavens and earth, God SAID: “LET THERE BE LIGHTand there was light in Genesis 1:3. Look how God SPOKE it and it happened.
God SPOKE all creation into existence with just HIS WORDS.

So if God says we will be held accountable for our words, then it’s pretty serious, don’t you think?

God gives us so many examples through Jesus of how our words matter, that we have choices, we can choose to speak life or use our words to speak destruction and negativity. Our words are powerful. When I started doing a bible study on WORDS, I couldn’t keep up with all the scripture I found on how powerful our words are. God has specific instructions on how we should speak, and the blessings on those who keep His WORD.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I love Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.

This really opened my eyes to see God’s truth in how the words we speak really impact and make a difference,
the Bible explains this in James 3:2-12

Indeed, we all make many mistakes.
For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.
It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?
No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring
.”

What a man sows, he will reap Galatians 6:7.
The words of your mouth will either bring life or destruction over you. You have the CHOICE. We all have that same CHOICE every day, to choose life, so speak life. What will you choose to say?

When I personally grasped the reality of the power of my words and the words of others, my ears became sensitive to what others said. If someone said a harsh or negative word, it sounded very loud to me, not in volume, but in my heart and spirit because I now know the truth and power in the words we speak and the harm they can do if used negatively.

It’s not always easy, as we are human and our emotions can overwhelm us at times, but I have learnt that my words matter and my words can either turn a situation into a positive or a negative one. I have learnt that the more we BLESS others, speak kindness, speak love or just learn how to hold our tongue in a challenging situation, the more we walk in the FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS.

We can learn so much by studying how Jesus used HIS WORDS on earth to speak LOVE and TRUTH, even in the most trying situations. If we can walk in HIS WAYS, live HIS WAYS, how would that impact or change our lives. Try it and find out for yourself. Take this week ahead, to bless instead of curse.
To speak love and kindness instead of hatred and anger. Speak positivity instead of negativity.

You have the choice and the choice is yours to make.
Choose life. Choose love. Choose Jesus. You won’t regret it.

If you have a testimony of how your words changed a situation or impacted someone’s life, please share your story in the comments below, and if what I wrote spoke to your heart and you want to find out more about Jesus, please click on the banner below to find out more!

A Story of Theft and Restoration

Today, exactly a year ago, something happened that really rocked my boat and taught me a few lessons along the way.

A story of invasion, theft, healing and restoration.

On THAT DAY, I photographed a children’s clothing brand, full day shoot, this was for friends of ours who were starting a new business venture. It was such a successful shooting day and we all felt so great about the work we had all just done, and we were excited to see how God was going to take their brand to the next level.

As an extra fun factor, we decided to go to a nearby park in the area, so we could get a few family snapshots of my friends and their two kids in the beautiful afternoon light. We arrived at the park, parked our cars next to each other and I was attentive at all the people walking their dogs and the buzz of people just enjoying this beautiful park. We parked in front of residential homes and I honestly felt safe. So safe in fact that for the very first time EVER I left my cellphone in the car door (which I never normally do ever), I locked my own camera gear in the boot of my car, as well as my laptop and my handbag and purse. The reason I locked my own camera gear in the boot, is because my own camera gear became my backup gear on every shoot as I would photograph with rental gear that I hired, which on this particular day was locked safely in the boot of my car,  so I thought. We were 6 people altogether, 4 adults and 2 children, and we had a great and fun shoot of about 45 minutes. Our cars were close by and after the shoot, we started walking back to the cars.

Shock and horror took over as I saw my back window was smashed in and broken in pieces. The backseat was pulled down, leading me to see the criminals had broken into my car by smashing the back door window, pulling the seat back down and entering my boot through this gap. When I tell you we all were shocked is an understatement. My assistant immediately took photos of the crime scene on her cellphone, being very wise as her dad is an investigator. I opened the boot to find my very own camera gear and my laptop were gone… STOLEN… gone! Yet my handbag, purse and cellphone were still there. None of the rental gear were stolen and I had all the photographs of that day’s shoot on me. Thank you Jesus.

I will always thank our Lord God for keeping us safe, especially that we had 2 young precious children with us. It could have been a lot worse.

So we were safe and unharmed, however, only witness to this crime scene and invasion. Those of you who have experienced theft in any way will understand these feelings of invasion, disappointment and frustration and upset and just pure shock!

The drive home was filled with many tears and I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I have photographed at many different locations over the years and this one felt so safe that I had no suspicion of anyone hanging around, but there was someone watching us, someone we didn’t see and they saw me lock my boot with my camera goods in. Always be on alert around you is my advice no matter how safe you feel.
After a trip to the police station to report the crime, and a whirlwind of emotions, I was home. Sitting on the couch with my husband Ricky and just in shock, how can this happen, did I do everything possible to ensure safety, why didn’t I see anyone suspicious and where were they watching us from, felt quite eerie to realise a bad guy was watching us… and we weren’t even aware.

That evening, I looked at the beautiful evening sky, the bright moon, the shining stars, somehow amongst all these emotions and drama of the day, the evening sky appeared more beautiful than ever, and I prayed and told Lord Jesus that I didn’t know why this had happened but I knew as sure as the almighty God keeps the moon and the stars in the sky so I know God will take care of this situation and I just give it all over to Him.

Two months passed by and we still hadn’t heard from the insurance what was happening, emails back and forth and no proper answer. One evening, my husband walks through the door with a brown paper bag… SURPRISE!!!
Insurance had paid out and my husband was able to purchase my DREAM camera and lens. Oh happy day! Not only did I have my camera gear now but I had my DREAM camera and lens! Before this all happened, I thought it would take me a few years to save up for my dream camera and lens. The Lord works in mysterious ways! He surely does! What started off as a crime, God turned it all around for the good! I didn’t know what would happen, but I just put my TRUST and HOPE in God and knew somehow there would be a blessing in the storm! Sometimes, actually all the time, you have to LET GO and LET GOD.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

I believe God hears every prayer and knows every desire of our hearts. Amidst the trials and tribulations God is always with us walking the journey, sometimes when we don’t feel God walking next to us it is only because He is carrying us! (by the way I love that poem “Footprints in the Sand“).

I hope you will learn many lessons from my story... always be alert around you, insure all your camera gear, kindness goes along way, trust in God no matter what, material possessions can be gone tomorrow so put your faith in Jesus.
God hears every prayer so don’t stop praying, all things are possible with God,  and when you encounter a challenge in your life, remember to be encouraged by how God can work all things for GOOD. Be blessed.

If this encouraged you and spoke to your heart, please click on the banner below to find out more!

You Are Beautiful

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Today, I have a message for all the women out there, and if you are a man then I encourage you to share this message with a special lady in your life, to inspire, encourage and uplift her and most importantly to tell her that SHE IS BEAUTIFUL.

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Ladies, ask yourself the following, what does it mean to be beautiful, what is beauty?

It is so easy to flip through a magazine and compare ourselves to the imagery. The world gives us the impression that we are meant to look like the magazine images, however, God’s version of beauty is way different.

The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:14,
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

The Bible also tells us in Genesis 1:27,
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

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How special?! We were created in HIS OWN IMAGE and we were WONDERFULLY MADE.
May this speak so loudly to your heart as you soak in this true wisdom.

There is a saying, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder“.  So how do you see beauty?
There is beauty all around us, we just have to open our eyes to see it. There is beauty in a smile, there is beauty in a flower, there is beauty in laughter, there is beauty in an eyelash, there is beauty in your kindness, there is beauty in your patience, there is beauty in your understanding, there is beauty in your compassion, there is beauty in your tears, there is beauty in your heart. Every woman is beautiful, but further than the surface, is the inner beauty, the beauty that we all have inside of us, our hearts, our spirit, our thoughts, our dreams, our lives. Above all these things is the beauty of the LOVE that lives inside of us. We are all called for a purpose, we are called to bloom, to shine, to love, to share, to live a life worthy of a beautiful legacy for the next generation of women.

I encourage you to take a pen and a paper, go to a quiet spot in your home or take a walk in the garden or along the beach. Switch off your cell phone. Take a few moments to breathe in the fresh air, listen to the sounds of the nature around you, take in that peace, take in that beauty. Write down what beauty means to you. What makes you feel beautiful? Take this quiet time to refresh your soul, stir your heart to the goodness of the Lord all around you, everyday. In this week, take a moment to encourage someone, smile at a stranger, say hello to your neighbour, make your loved one a cup of coffee or tea just to spoil them, there are so many things we can do to love others, to spread the love, to show God’s love. To shine our inner beauty.

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It’s in sharing His love with the world, that we shine His light. Friends, God has a plan for you, awaken to your purpose,
shine your light wherever you go, bring goodness and kindness to all you meet. Remember this, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL,
God loves you, God chose you, God has a plan and a purpose for your life. Shine.

If this encouraged you and spoke to your heart, please click on the banner below to find out more!

Finding Joy In The Journey

A few days ago, myself and my husband were shopping at our local grocery store. The store was very busy and the queues for the paying station were extremely long. Each counter had a queue of over 10 people, all waiting to pay for their groceries.
My husband walked the aisles searching for the shortest queue but there was unfortunately no short queue. So we had to wait patiently for our turn just as everyone else did. We had to find joy in the journey.

Life is very similar to this, sometimes the unexpected happens in life and we have to be patient and wait on the Lord for His perfect timing. We as humans tend to want to see results quickly and in the very fast paced, technological world we live in,
we are so accustomed to finding our answers at the click of a button. We want to solve problems quickly and delay’s frustrate us.

I want to encourage you, if you are in a situation that is frustrating you or something is delaying in your life that you can’t control and nothing is going as planned. Just remember that God is in control, and He has a plan and purpose for your life.
He is the Creator of all things. He parted the Red Sea so just think how much more can He do for you. Trust him.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5

We have to trust God and trust His time, not ours. Even when we don’t understand the situation we are faced with.
The bible teaches us in Nehemiah 8:10 that the “Joy of the Lord is our strength”.

So next time you are in a shopping queue and running late and everything seems to be going wrong, or maybe it’s another 100 different types of situations that frustrate or delay you, leave it in God’s Hands and remember this lesson for all hardships in life, that our strength comes from God, because the joy of the Lord is our strength.
So next time something goes wrong, big or small, find the joy in your journey and put your trust in God.
That is our new family saying: “Finding Joy in the Journey”.

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