My interview with Safiyah Givens

Hi there! 

I hope you are keeping safe out there.

I had an interesting chat with Safiyah Givens, who is also an author and based in New Jersey. Hop over to her blog and enjoy reading more about my new book, She Rescues & Other Stories, which released a few weeks ago (available on amazon kindle). 

Happy reading!

xoxo,

Gen.

the missions trip to yeji!

hi people! so i mentioned sometime back that i got the chance to go for a local missions trip to yeji in the brong ahafo region of Ghana in february. it was organsied by the ministry i serve with called teens aloud foundation.

we set off from accra late in the night from my old university campus on  on 23rd february. it was a very loooong drive. we had to pick our members from the other university campuses (Kwame Nkrumah uni of science and tech //KNUST//, uni of energy and natural resources //UENR//etc).
so we got here the next morning. and right away we dispatched in groups and went for junior high school outreach (j-reach) in several schools in the town.

here's a little recap of the missions. twas an amazing time with children and young people. this is going to be mostly photos. ;)

 junior high school outreach at citizen int school :)

 ice breakers// doing the banana dance ;)

 

 the students trying out the banana dance :D

 i think i was pulling someone's leg about the dance ;)

 we're dancing! yaaayyy! :D

 time for the sermon. i shared my slightly thick passion story heheheh ;)

the key text was based on 2 timothy 2:22 "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

 we shared "shine magazine," a magazine designed for young people filled with devotionals, puzzles and fun, fun, stuff that's geared towards helping the nurturing process of their spiritual growth.

 having fun taking dozens and dozens of photos with the students with their copies of the shine magazine. :)

 

 of course, i couldn't leave without hanging with the sweet little children i befriended there and give them bear hugs. hihihih

 with my fellow missionaries walking through the market place in the town on our way for SOS (Sermon on the Sofa) to minister to senior high school students.

 playing ampe with girlsss :)// yes, yes, that's me in flight. heheheh

 marching through the town during the Jesus March to crown Him Lord over Yeji! :D

 

 our final stop at the bank of the volta river on 26th February, our last full day. hanging with wilma and alex!

hanging with dessy, gould, joseph and another awesome missionary. :)

 my friennnd!

 so i borrowed her bike, trying to test to see if i could still ride a bike cos it's been forever since i rode one. the last time i did was way back in junior high. bwahahaha!

oh you know, taking a photo with the bike that i actually couldn't ride cos my riding skills have gotten so, so rusty. :P

 the evening we were leaving. 

we took this after i spent some time chatting with them and making them laugh their heads off. kwakwakwa! laughter is good for the soul i hear. :D

i miss allll my kidssss. :( they bring me so much joy. :D

 

 baring our teeth in the pitch dark cos we're excited missionaries!

 alright guys, i hope you've been inspired to go out there and serve cos you've been saved to serve! ask the Lord where He would want you to go and follow His leading!

xoxo, delali.

 

joy to the world + my book!

Hey, hey, hey guys! Merry Christmas!!! I had a lovely time on Christmas eve with friends who have become family. We had a carols service and it was fascinating! Teens alooouuud! Seeeizzzee the moment! ;)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. //John 1:14

Jesus, thank You for choosing to come to planet earth. You rock forever! <3 font="">

So, I'm sharing this lovely song joy to the world by pentatonix.(I discovered pentatonix when I was taking the studio shots for my book. The photographer was jamming to it and I was like, wow, who are they? so yeah, I got hooked.)

here goes!

Aaaaaaand, my book! It's all ready, freshly baked from the oven of words. ;)

I'm so thankful to my lecturer who wrote the foreword for me! Most of the poems in this anthology are from the years when I was taking Creative Writing at University of Ghana.

Thank you, Dr. Azdei for teaching me how to turn the lemons thrown at me into cool glasses of lemonade of words!

A garland for the soul. There's a kindle version too! I spent tons of hours trying to get it on kindle on Christmas eve. I slept close to 4am, guys. But it's soooo worth it!

Snag the kindle version or request for the paperback and I'm gonna sent it right to your mail box. :) and lemme know what you think after reading! oh, and kindly review it on amazon for me! Thanks!

Father God is so, so, so faithful! I'll be back to gist you guys on so many other things He's doing in this heart of mine.

I love you guys! xoxo

gen delali.

my book is almost hereeeee

so my anthology is almost ready. hopefully by Christmas it's gonna be all ready! as in hard copies ready!!! I'm so excited!!! I'm planning on having a kindle version as well. still working on that.

I'm so thankful to Gd for making all of this possible. It's been quite the journey.

I can't wait for y'all to read the lines f poetry on my heart.

Self-publishing is so awesome!

 

I have so many other stories I need to share. working on that.

If you guys outside Ghana would need a copy, just lemme know. 

xoxo,

gen delali

 

A Testimony

Testimony so this morning {sunday morning}, I woke up, switched on my phone and it went all blue on me with some Chinese inscriptions on the screen and eventually it went completely off. I was like what at all is all this? Smh

So I prayed and told God to let angels fix the phone for me cos there's no way I'm going to buy a new phone with my tight budget. 

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 So I left the phone, did my quiet time and funny thing, my devotional was talking all about what I was dealing with.  

So I later on picked up my semi 'yam' phone so I could listen to music on it and went about doing what I had to do during the day and I refused to let the whole thing steal my joy. I decided to look at the good side, like how it was giving me time away from social media to actually rest and catch up on my reading. 

Then this evening, I decided to charge the phone and see what would happen. And guess what?! It started charging! I turned the power on and even better, it switched on! No Chinese gibberish!! And I went like, the angels fixed my phone, Praise Jesus!!! Jesus is into the very little details of our lives!

Maybe it was some mini test to see if I'd be grumpy with God if my phone is withheld from me. Well, I hope I passed the test!   

"I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart, I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds."// psalm 9 :1

my favorite movies!

Hi guys! So today, I decided to blog about my favorite movies. These movies reveal and remind me of what’s important and what’s true; faith, hope and love. 

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Some are quite popular, some may be new to you. I hope you discover meaningful stories from these movies that resonate with your own story or a story close to home. In no particular order:

·         Amazing love (based on the book of hosea.)

·         Facing the giants

·         Fireproof

·         Letters to God

·         One night with the King (based on the book of esther.)

·         Pilgrim’s progress (old one, I know. Haven’t read the book yet so the movie does it for now ;)

·         This is our time (ethan’s story in this film is so close to mine at the moment)

·         Taken by grace

·         What would Jesus do

·         Akeelah and the bee (love it cos of my love for words ;)

·         Anne of green gables series (oh, how this story expresses my desire for a stable, warm family. Sigh)

·         Beware of ‘christians’ (this is such a good one, I promise. It’s actually a film by a few college guys. You have to watch this!)

·         Brother white

·         Christmas with a capital C

·         Christmas angel

·         Courageous

·         Cutback

·         End of the spear (this is a must watch, guys! It’s a film based on a true story.)

·         Hachi, a dog tale

·         I am Gabriel

·         Jonny (I got to memorize some lovely scriptures through this movie.)

·         Left behind I and II

·         Marriage retreat

·         Me again

·         Love comes softly

·         Loves everlasting courage

·         Love begins

·         October baby (lovely one!)

·         Preacher’s kid

·         Pride and prejudice

·         A mile in his shoes

·         A shine of rainbows

·         Revenge of the bridesmaids

·         Safe harbor

·         Sarah’s choice

·         Soul surfer (very inspiring!)

·         Suing the devil

·         The blindside

·         The encounter

·         The nanny express

·         The ultimate gift (it’s filled with so much wisdom about life… who true friends are)

·         To save a life (if you’re battling depression or know someone who does, please carve out time to watch this. Really important.)

·         The grace card

·         Snowmen

This is quite a list, huh. hahah I’m a story kind of person, so movies, films, they speak to me, especially faith based ones. Lemme know if there’s any on my list you’ve watched. i hope you get to watch any of them this weekend. and please share titles of any great movie/film you’ve seen which isn’t on my list. enjoy!

keeper of the spring

so, today i want to share on guarding our hearts. our hearts are the wellsprings of our lives and from it come our thoughts, words and actions. i've been trying to guard my heart for a while now and the outcome compared to how i used to leave my heart unchecked is remarkable. before i intentionally started guarding my heart, i would watch certain movies/ tv series, read secular non-edifying books and listen to songs that didn't glorify God and didn't edify me either. i sometimes allowed certain friends who should remain simple friends become too close. simply put, i left my heart unguarded, no boundaries.

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with time, i began to filter everything and anything that came to me with the Word of God. if this friendship continues what fruit will it bear? if i watch/read/listen to this what implications and fruits are going to result? are they good fruits or bad fruits. i began to ask myself. i had to let go of some dead weight and people/things that were obviously going to have negative influence on me rather than me having an impacting influence on them. 

i had to evaluate the people i constantly surrounded myself with and ask, how much of influence do these people have on me? does that influence bear good fruits? - the fruits of the Spirit [love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness and self-control. galatians 5;22-23] do i desire to be godly when i consistently hang with this or that person? my interactions with certain people had to greatly reduce and some things simply had to go! this doesn't mean i lock up my heart, throw the key somewhere and not be able to even feel or be empathetic, no. i simply allow God's sure and true Word be what i use to filter/check what does come into my heart. if the thing isn't making me grow into the stature of Christ, i let it go.

here are some words and a story from joshua harris' book i kissed dating goodbye, illustrating how important it is to keep watch over what comes to our hearts.

the Bible is replete with warnings about the nature of the human heart and with instructions to make our top priority watching over it. proverbs 4:23 tells us, "above all else, guard your heart..." how should we do this?

first, picture guarding your heart as if your heart were a criminal tied in a chair who would like to break free and knock you over the head. in other words, protect yourself from your heart's sinfulness. keep a wary eye on your heart, knowing that it can do you damage if it is not carefully watched.

"the heart is deceitful above all things...' we read in jeremiah 17:9. "who can know it?" though the advice of many well-meaning people today is to "follow your heart," the Bible warns that your heart can lead you in wrong, even deadly, directions. our hearts lie. something can "feel" right and be completely wrong. 

in his book 'first things first', stephen covey uses an analogy that can help us understand the knack our emotions have for bending reality. if you take a flashlight and shine it on a sundial at night, you can make the sundial tell any time you want. but while this method gives you a time, that time won't be accurate. why? because you've manipulated the source of light.

in the same way, our emotions can "shed light" on our circumstances from any number of angles. they can tell us whatever we want to hear. but we can't place all our trust in these heart readings.

...next, picture guarding your heart as if it were a fresh spring of water that you want to drink  from daily.

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an elderly , quiet forest dweller once lived high above an austrian village along the eastern slopes of the alps. many years ago, the town council had hired this old gentleman as Keeper of the Spring to maintain the purity of the pools of water in the mountain crevices. the overflow from these pools ran down the mountainside and fed the lovely spring which flowed through the town. with faithful, silent regularity, the keeper of the spring patrolled the hills, removed the leaves and branches from the pools, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise choke and contaminate the fresh flow of water. by and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers. graceful swans floated along the crystal-clear spring, the mill wheels of various businesses located near the water turned day and night, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants sparkled.

years passed. one evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting. as the council members reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary paid the obscure keeper of the spring. "who is this old man?" he asked indignantly. "why do we keep paying him year after year? no one ever sees him. for all we know, this man does us no good. he isn't necessary  any longer!" by a unanimous vote, the council dispensed with the old man's services.

for several weeks nothing changed. but by early autumn, the tress began to shed their leaves. small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water. one afternoon, someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. a few days later, the water had darkened even more. within a week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks, and a foul odor emanated from the spring. the mill wheels moved slowly, some finally ground to a halt. businesses located near the water closed. the swans migrated to fresher waters far away, and tourists no longer visited the town. eventually, the clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

***

the shortsighted town council enjoyed the beauty of the spring but underestimated the importance of guarding its source. we can make the same mistake in our lives. like the keeper of the spring who maintained the purity of the water, you and i are the keepers of our hearts. we need to consistently evaluate the purity of our hearts in prayer, asking God to reveal the little things that contaminate us. as God reveals our wrong attitudes, longings, and desires, we must remove them from our hearts.

***

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here's a song that speaks to me a lot on this matter.

slow fade- casting crowns

people never crumble in a day. it's a slow fade.

which people do you consistently surround yourself with? do they breathe life and speak truth into your life? what behaviors/activities do you engage in? are they drawing you closer to Christ? the movies/tv shows, books, music you feed your mind, do they feed your Spirit or your carnal pleasures? let's be intentional with guarding our hearts guys. it's important! what consumes your mind, controls your life.

xoxo, gen delali.

a cleansed past: the room

hi guys! i would like to share a dream. not one of my own but one that deeply moved me and has been embedded deep in my brain ever since i got to know of it. remember how i was reading i kissed dating goodbye? i finished up last weekend and got to start when dreams come true by eric and leslie ludy & finished that up yesterday- but that book is for another post to gush over. ;) 

back to the dream- joshua harris shared a poignant dream he had some time ago while visiting a pastor in peurto rico in his book i kissed dating goodbye and i can't help but share it. here goes...

maybe you've blown it. maybe you reflect on past actions and wince with remorse. purity seems like a lost cause. this dream, called "the room," is dedicated to you.

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in that place between wakefulness and dreams, i found myself in the room. there were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. they were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. but these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. as i drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "girls i have liked." i opened it and began flipping through the cards. i quickly shut it, shocked to realize that i recognized the names written on each one.

and then without being told, i knew exactly where i was. this lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

a sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as i began randomly opening files and exploring their contents. some brought joy and sweet memories, others a sense of shame and regret so intense that i would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. a file named "friends" was next to one marked "friends i have betrayed."

the titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "books i have read," "lies i have told," "comfort i have given," "jokes i have laughed at." some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "things i've yelled at my brothers." others i couldn't laugh at: "things i have done in anger," "things i have muttered under my breath at my parents." i never ceased to be surprised by the contents. often there were many more cards than i expected. sometimes there were fewer than i hoped.

i was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life i had lived. could it be possible that i had the time in my twenty years to write each of these thousands, possibly millions, of cards? but each card confirmed this truth.
each was written in my own handwriting. each signed with my signature.

when i pulled out the file marked "songs i have listened to," i realized the files grew to contain their contents. the cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, i hadn't found the end of the file. i shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time i knew that file represented.

when i came to a file marked "lustful thought," i felt a chill run through my body. i pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. i shuddered at its detailed contents. i felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

suddenly i felt an almost animal rage. one thought dominated my mind: "no one must ever see these cards! no one must ever see this room! i have to destroy them!" in an insane frenzy i yanked the file out. its size didn't matter now. i had to empty it and burn the cards. but as i took the file at one end and began pounding it on the floor, i could not dislodge a single card. i became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when i tried to tear it.

defeated and utterly helpless, i returned the file to its slot. leaning my forehead against the wall, i let out a long, self-pitying sigh. and then i saw it. the title bore "people i have shared the Gospel with." the handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. i pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. i could count the cards it contained on one hand.

and then the tears came. i began to weep. sobs so deep that they hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. i fell on my knees and cried. i cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. the rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. no one must ever, ever know of this room. i must lock it up and hide the key.

but then as i pushed away the tears, i saw Him. no, please not Him. not here. oh, anyone but Jesus.

i watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. i couldn't bear to watch His response. and in the moments i could bring myself to look at His face, i saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. why did He have to read every one?

finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. but this was a pity that didn't anger me. i dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. but He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. starting at one end of the room, He took out the file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"no!" i shouted, rushing to Him. all i could find to say was "no, no," as i pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. but there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. the name of Jesus covered mine. it was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and continued to sign the cards. i don't think i'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed i heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "it is finished,"

i stood up, and He led me out of the room. there was no lock on its door. there were still cards to be written.

"so let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in dissension and jealousy. rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." romans 13:12-14

***

joshua continues...

maybe you have a particular memory that continues to hound you, a memory that makes you feel unworthy of God's love and forgiveness. don't let the past beat you up. forget it. don't replay that moment or any others like it. if you've repented of all those behaviours, God has promised to remember them no more ["for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." hebrews 8:12]. move on. a lifetime of purity awaits you.

***

i believe God gives us dreams to show or reveal certain insights we don't know of or certain spiritual mysteries. i don't know if the room and the files joshua saw in his dream are exactly as the records system in Heaven concerning our activities down here on earth. but what i do know is, God does take notice of every single thing we do. He knows our every move and thought.

"Your eyes saw my unformed body, all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." psalm 139:16

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 Jesus sacrificed His life while mankind was in sin in order to reconcile us back to our Father. and when we truly believe and surrender to God, our past sins are washed white as snow and the purity of Jesus clothes us. 

"He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." psalm 103:10-13

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have you messed up? i've made mistakes too. hush, it's okay. ask for forgiveness from God, your Creator and Redeemer. surrender your whole heart to Him and start the journey of purity with Him right by your side. let's finish the race clothed in purity. :)

xoxo, gen delali.

linking up here and here.

currently

listening to- my lighthouse by rend collective, little light by rachel platten, God is good by dustin kensrue. can i say how much i love rend collective?! so, so good!

enjoying: my book thrifting trips. i found really great books by anne lamott, joshua harris, eric & leslie ludy among others on my last trip. i found 2 copies of i kissed dating goodbye! i'm deciding to gift the second copy. *mentally scrolls through friends.* haaa, i know who! ;)

reading- genesis- really refreshing to get back to the basics of this God-given life. i love being plunged into the stories of flawed people who loved God from the beginning of time, i love the unfolding, the redeeming. i dunno but i giggled each time abraham had to lie that sarah was his sister and not his wife in order for his life to be spared. and the interesting part is, each time, he & sarah were sent off with lots of gifts after the lie was brought to light. funny, little couple that God used greatly!

aaand, i'm almost through with i kissed dating goodbye by joshua harris!! guys, the wealth of Godly wisdom dripping from this book is nothing short of amazing! having being single for over 3 yrs, patiently waiting for God's best, the book goes down my throat really well. it affirms my convictions about serving God & being productive in the waiting season. i'm gonna be blogging some excerpts pretty soon. and the fact that he wrote it when he was only 21?? incredibly wise beyond his years if you ask me!

watching- nothing really, although there are sermon videos, meaningful scripture-based movies, and videos from the anima series that are begging for my attention. haha i'm too caught up soaking in words from books. that's what happens when the bookworm in me fully awakens. ;)

understanding: what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God-[my forever Home] and His righteousness and trusting Him to take care of the details of my life.

rocking- finger coils. i had on twist outs for some time and decided to go for a new look. i did the finger coils myself last weekend, all by the help of some useful kinky hair tutorials i found on youtube. i used organic root stimulator lock & twist gel. it took me close to 5 hrs to finish all the coils. it's been a week and it's still looking pretty neat as compared to the twist outs which began to look a lil messy after a few days. but maybe that's bcos i used only water+hair oil without the gel for the twist out? welp, i think i'll go with the finger coils more often. it's convenient and easy to maintain.

memorizing- philippians 4:6-7 "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guide your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

romans 12:2 "do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will."

2 timothy 3:16 "all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

2 corinthians 10:4-5

"for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

thankful for: the hand of the Lord in my life. without Him i'm sooo lost!

praying: bold, BIG, hopeful, strongholds-shattering prayers.

loving: this lovely quote i found on pinterest.

what have you guys been up to lately?!

xoxo, gen delali.