Wedding Week

So this past week I attended a wedding on a houseboat on the lovely Jozini Dam. It was stunning. Here is how it went.
At 11:30am we (all 20ish of the guests) were picked up by the boat which had travelled across the dam to pick us up. Once we and our luggage were safely ferried and deposited onto the boat we were shown to our cabins and sent to get ready pretty quickly as the wedding was at 12:30pm.
Upstairs on the deck, chairs were set up and we settled down as we waited for the lovely bride to arrive. She came up the stairs and the tears went down the cheeks of most of the guest! She was beautiful.

We witnessed their covenant surrounded by nature at her best. Hippos and crocodiles below us, elephant,rhinos and zebra stood as witnesses to this marriage as well as the exquisite mountain range. It was a blessed ceremony and everyone felt it.

Afterward a yummy lunch of salmon, tender beef fillet and chewy meringue was served while laughter and sounds of joy filled the air, letting the good times roll and roll and roll. It was an afternoon of absolute love - ALL AROUND! We sailed into the sunset blissful.

Once the sun had gone down, the captain put the boat to sleep in a little nook on the shore, in the middle of nowhere. The crew then tied the boat to very thin, flimsy trees and plugged us into a plug point that looked rather strange standing in the middle of no where. BUT behold it worked!

The dinner table was set and a lovely dinner was served. With fire lies, as the disco lights, we boogied the night away. All too soon,time came to go down to bed. After a hot shower, a cool room and a comfy bed, I, like many other guests drifted into sleep, content.

The cabins were lovely little rooms with a great big window as one wall where if opened there was nothing but a rail between you and sweet nothing else. Some of the rooms were on the lower deck. This is where I stayed. With the waters surface being just 50cm below the window, and the window being at eye level you were practically sleeping on water.  Brushing your teeth and having a stare down with a hippo was a very real possibility.


Waking up was a pleasure! Outside some of the guys had risen early to do some fishing while others slept in an relaxed. Breakfast was served an we all enjoyed each others company as the wedding group. Bags were packed and we spent the rest of the morning just chilled while the boat took us on a final tour around the dam, giving us one last opportunity to see the animals.

Speed boats ferried us back to shore and we waved good bye to Shayamanzi II and their lovely crew!

Congratulations Kim and Kc - Blessings!

Its been a while.........Somehow life took over and i got mixed up in all of it. BUT, seasons changing and so am I. I have gained a lot in the past few months and the lessons have been incredible. Now I find myself in a place where I need to apply all that Life has taught me. Talk about an exam in life!

The direction that my blog is gonna take for a while is one of growth. What growth means and what it entails. The nitty gritty of it all. Its not all pretty and nice. Its not all storms either. So basically its all about how to look pretty in the middle of storm. and everything in between.

I look forward to it.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

~Maya Angelou

Some pictures that have made REJOICE! GIGGLE! HAPPY! They just do!

O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions (Psalm 104: 24 )

"Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away." (Psalm 148:1-6)

"You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." (Nehemiah 9:6)

"Don't just finish the race, but Finish well..." (2 Timothy 4: 7)

Posted in General Posts by Tres Washington on 6/2/2010

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(Romans 8:18) - 

If things are getting tougher in life, consider the enemy is only trying to wear you out because he knows what is about to be revealed in you." 

The devil may not have fought you when you first started this race, but now that you are about to finish He will do everything in his power to keep you from completing the task God has given you.

One of the most important things we will ever do in life is to finish what we start. It's by the grace of God we are allowed to start things, but how often do we consider it a privilege of His grace to finish something?

God gives us the grace to finish. So what in your life needs to be finished?

(ex. School, commitments, conversations, degrees, love, a book, a career, a family...)

A crown acknowledges those who finish...He is waiting so He can give us beauty for ashes...when we finish..

We will never learn what life is like unless we finish something. Life is more than the mountain top experiences, it's the valley below that makes the mountain top experiences worth celebrating. Give us something to look forward to. 

One of the most important things we will ever do in life is finish. Whatever it is, we need to finish it. Starting is sometimes the easy part, it's the finishing where most people give up, where the enemy has his way, where kingdom doesn't come because one has chosen to give up then step up...

We may never be successful in life unless we learn to finish things God has given us to do. Beware of people who have a hard time finishing things. Often these people will keep you from finishing for fear that you will outshine them. When in fact, you playing small serves no one. And when you give into someone else fear you make yourself more like them - fearful. Instead of who we were created to be - fearless. Respect those who finish.

God is a finisher. And we were made in His image and likeness. Therefore the identity in beginning something (alpha) that lives in us to give life to projects, babies and relationship, is the same life that lives in us to complete or finish (omega) what we started.

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He can complete what He started in our life, but we need to put ourselves in position for completion to take place.

It is a grace given to us in life to finish what we start.

3 aspects of finishing and being effective in what we begin:

1.) Finish in phases - manage the goals so gratification and accomplishment can be experienced. Don't let life overwhelm you. If you keep quitting and start blaming others you cease to understand your value and loose confidence in yourself. 

Often a product of lack of follow through provides room for erosion to occurs weakening your own word. You must prove to yourself you can finish before others will believe and trust you can finish.

Please know that I am a project. Please be ready to understand I am a work in progress. Forever under construction. I am not perfect, but I am found strong in Him with my perfect imperfections..

If you just finished what you started...how much farther would you be in life?

The behavior you'll reward is the behavior you'll repeat. Don't wait to receive the reward. When you complete something that was done in phases, reward yourself along the way. Gives you something to look back at and press into as His will reveals truth in your life.

2.) Finish your course - "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race. I have kept the faith."

God will give you the grace you need to finish your course. Don't be a cheap copy of a great original. Just be you.

The closer you get to completion the harder the task will become. The closer you get to your goal the tougher life will become. That's the way He works in places where we can not finish He comes along and takes our hand and says "I gottcha..." 

3.) See more than you can finish... (Ecclesiastes 3:10)

One man plants, another man waters and God gives the increase. 

Do what God has called me to do and know that He will show me more than I can complete myself, but it's important for me to see it, but not try to complete it.

Just because I can see the next step, doesn't mean I am called to do the next step. 

Sometimes God allows me to see what's ahead in order that I may share with someone else and prepare their hearts for what's to come based off what He's done for and through me.

Let God continue to challenge you as you finish the race, He has set before you and be blessed in knowing that the journey is the accomplishment. And finishing is the reward...

Finish you race...well

Prayer

Philippians 4:6 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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 (NIV)

"Prayer is the practice of the presence of God.  It is the place where pride is abandoned, hope is lifted, and supplication is made.  Prayer is the place of admitting our need, of adopting humility, and claiming dependence upon God.  Prayer is the needful practice of the Christian.  Prayer is the exercise of faith and hope.  Prayer is the privilege of touching the heart of the Father through the Son of God, Jesus our Lord." http://carm.org/christianity/prayer-ministry/what-prayer

"Prayer is not a half-hearted ritual recitation of words; it is an outpouring of the heart."www.aish.com/sp/pr/48942086.htm

Sometimes i feel it and sometimes i dont but i always know that i can. And when i feel like i cant bring myself to pray and have that conversation with God because of shame,regret,condemnation,guilt, pain, sorrow etc, i feel my Fathers hand on my heart comforting me and letting me know that even though i cannot speak it, He still hears it.

Tash

 

Proverbs 17:22

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.(NIV)

What a speech by Bill Gates

What a speech by Bill Gates
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill
Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not
and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically
correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality
and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect
you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You
won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents
had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about
your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are
now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and
listening to you talk about how cool you think you are. So before you save
the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life
HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll
give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t
bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and
very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on
your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to
leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this – Thank a teacher!