music monday// no gray

hi guys! so, i've decided to start a new music series thingy where i share a unique song almost every monday. why? cos i love, love music!!! it's a part of me and it was about time it got it's own little spot on the blog.

i pray they're songs that will leave us really pondering about our lives and have us re-examining our walk with the Lord. :) and hopefully it'll be a way to come across 'new' songs/artists that you would love.

and i know how folks get about mondays. ;) poor monday, what did he (or is it a she?) ever do so wrong? ;) so, while you're out there wringing it out with monday, i'd like to invite you into my space cos i'll be here to offer some refreshing, soul awakening music. :)

for the very first post, i'd like to share a song a friend shared with me last friday. it's really moving. 
have you ever been torn between the world and Jesus? yeah, me too. so. many. times. i know! i've been there, still end up there, if i'm honest.

...the times when you're worried about what names people will call you if you get really into God...when you want to party it out the wrong way, club it up, wear the super tight/low cut cleavage clothing, curse it out to look 'cool', listen to/sing worldly songs so you can look 'hip' and fit into today's cuture, ...and all the while you go to church more out of a ritual than a committed love for the Lord. ...when we turn some guy who couldn't really be bothered about our soul into an idol, a mini god of a sort, craving his attention when we should be craving Jesus to fill us up ...when we constantly put our quiet time with the Lord at the back burner ...when we know the right thing to do and yet we do the wrong thing...we've all pretty much been there. i'll be the first to admit. dear old paul said in romans:

ok, now the song: no gray by jonathan mcreynolds. it says:

i wrote this song and i pray that you listen to all the words 

cause i feel like at some point in everybody's life

we feel like this,

Lord I'm split in two

part of me loves the world

and the other loves You

so what do I do

i wanna be saved

but I got to stay cool too

and no i'm not a fool

i know eventually I'm gonna have to choose

and really I don't wanna lose

my ticket into heaven

and a chance to be used by You

and if it's God that i'm after

i just can't serve two masters

and before something happens

i got to turn it all around

because i know

i can't just have my cake and eat it too

cause it's real easy to stay on the fence and still do you

and it'd be cool if we could love the Lord and still go do our thing

but see it doesn't work like that

you gotta to be white or black

see, i've realized

when it comes to sin

You just don't compromise

see, it's a matter of death and life

be weak and do wrong

or be strong and do right

and i don't wanna keep going to church

singing all about how much You're worth

and then continue doing my dirt

living as if i didn't care if You're hurt

Lord, i really need you to help me

get it together fast

saints, we really gotta

get it together fast

no, it don't work like that

you gotta be white or black

no gray

no shades of gray

no no no no no... no no no no no...

don't work like that

you gotta be white or black.

i found this lovely mime video for the song.

"no one can serve two masters. either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. you cannot serve both God and money." matthew 6:24

and though we can't attain perfection in our walk with the Lord, we can certainly intentionally cling to Him, and really try with our all to love and obey Him, and allow sanctification into our lives.

i hope you're blessed by the music. and i hope monday behaves. ;)

xoxo

delali

Through painted deserts

I posted this blog a year ago, but for some reason the link got broken and i couldn't seem to fix it. So, i decided to re-post it. enjoy.

Have you ever read a book and enjoyed it so much you became sad that it had to come to end? It’s like you’ve become a part of the story and leaving the scene is hard for you because you want it to roll on for your continued enjoyment. Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller is one of such stories.Somewhere in early December last year, I was looking up Christian books I could put on my to-read list, and I came across Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. It had good reviews and I found out it was even turned into a movie so I got convinced it must be good. Around Christmas I was looking for some good music on Noisetrade when I stumbled on a free audio version of Don’s book, Through Painted Deserts. Was I thrilled? You bet! I mean although Blue Like Jazz was what I was bent on reading, I was like why not give this a listening ear? After all it’s by the same author and if Blue Like Jazz is good, chances are Through Painted Deserts also is. Was I wrong? No!

 

In fact I’ve fallen in love with the book, seriously! (Sorry I had to scream that.) This is more like say, a short, informal review of the book with a bunch of my favorite quotes from it.

Through Painted Deserts is a memoir that takes you on a journey into how the author found the meaning of why God made us, his beloved creation... about changing, faith, finding light, friendship and beauty on the open road. It’s very touching and warms your heart in the right places. Oh, and the soothing voice of Don reading the book adds such calm and peace to the story itself.

It’s a book I will recommend for everybody especially those whose faith in God is a bit shaky and who doubt the goodness and beauty of God, people who wonder or doubt if God ever listens to their prayers and people who may need to leave their comfort zones and everything behind to go on an adventure to get a better perspective of life. It’s a book for people who get so caught up with life and forget there’s a big world out there full of the calmness and peace of God, people who don’t stop to enjoy the big, blue sky, people who don’t stop to breathe and experience the soothing nature, the works of God’s hands. Although we have to participate in life and go about our duties in order to survive, we need to take breaks every now and then to get away from the pressures and noise of it all and just enjoy God.

 

Considering I’m a ''small'' town kinda girl in this little country, Ghana, this book encourages me personally to venture out from my all too familiar surroundings to somewhere new, somewhere that’ll give me a new and beautiful perspective about life and God. I so want to leave, to venture out and experience and enjoy the magnificence of God somewhere away from where I call home, sharing His truth and forging beautiful friendships along the way... and I’m trusting God with that. I want to experience Him in canyons, on mountains, in deserts, in falling snow, in the falling of red autumn leaves, on beautiful beaches, on islands, on the open road... in different cultures. Nature has such an endearing way of reminding me not just of the greatness of God and the beautiful works of His hands but it also affirms that God really does exist.

So here are some quotes I totally love from the book. They’re like urm, spoilers of a good movie. LOL They’re quite a number but you can’t resist such lovely words that speak straight to your heart, right?!  Haha, here goes:

“Every person has to leave, has to change like the seasons. They have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing and I want to change because it’s Gods way.”

“Everybody has to change or they expire. Everybody has to leave their homes and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.”

“I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it’s time for things to die.”

“I want to repeat one word for you. Leave. Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong and forceful, the way you’ve always wanted to be. And you’ll not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry, everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who would have changed.”

“No, life can’t be understood flat on a page, it has to be lived, a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath.”

“It’s a living book, this life. It folds out in a million settings, cast with a billion beautiful characters and it’s almost over for you. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It’s coming to a close quickly and soon the credits will roll and all of your friends will fold out of your funeral and drive back to their homes in cold, in still, in silence and they’ll make a fire, pour some wine and think about how you once were and feel a kind of sickness at the idea you never again will be.”

“And so my prayer is that your story would have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter, some roses blooming out like children in a play. My hope is that your story will be about changing, about getting something beautiful born outside of you, about learning to love a man or a woman, about learning to love a child, about moving yourself around water, around mountains, around friends, about learning to love others more than we love ourselves, about learning oneness as a way of understanding God.”

“Everything is like a symphony if you think about it; birds are perfect and crickets come out of the wet woods like a choir...nature itself worked perfectly to calm the soul.”

“Life is a dance toward God... and the dance is not so graceful as we might want. While we glide and swing our practiced sway, God crowds our feet, bumps our toes, and scuffs our shoes.”

“There is nothing I’m missing. I have everything i was supposed to have to experience the magnitude of this story, to dance with God.”

“I guess I’m looking for what any guy is looking for. I want a companion, you know. Just someone to share life with. I want her to be my biggest fan and i want to be her biggest fan too. I want us to raise kids in a home where they know their parents are in love with each other, with them, and with God. I guess that’s all I want.”

“I want a friend, a true friend. Someone who knows me and loves me anyway. Like, when I’m through putting my best foot forward, she’s still there.”

“Real love doesn’t ask “what’s in it for me?” It just gives unconditionally, it just tries to take the weight out of somebody else’s pack, lessen his load and if it gets reciprocated, that’s great, but that isn’t what you did it for.”

“Don’t kick yourself around, if you can’t climb up out of a canyon real quick, just do it slow.”

“God made a whole beautiful earth and decided to put you in it, to experience all of this beauty. You can’t do that watching television all the time.”

“Life is not a story about me, but it’s told to me and I can be glad of that. I think that’s the why of life...to enjoy God.”

“Months ago I would have told you life was about doing, about jumping through religious hoops, about impressing people and my actions would have told you this is done by buying possessions or keeping a good image... but I don’t believe in that stuff anymore. I think we’re supposed to stand in deserts and marvel at how the sun rises. I think we’re supposed to sleep in meadows and watch stars dart across space and time. I think we’re supposed to love our friends and introduce people to the story, to the peaceful, calming why of life. I think life is spirituality.”

“If I ever get frustrated with life again, if I ever get into river deep debt, I will sell it all and move out into the woods, find some people who aren’t like me and learn to love them and do something even harder, let them love me. I will sleep beneath the stars and whisper “thank You” to the Creator of the universe as a way of reacquainting myself to an old friend, a friend who says you don’t have to be smart or good looking or religious or anything, you just have to cling to Him, love Him, need Him, and listen to Him while He tells His story.”

“Some things have to end, you know. I will be leaving soon and i want to feel this, really understand that it’s happening because God breathed some spark into mud that became us and He did it for a reason and I want to feel that reason, not some false explanation.”

"And if these mountains had eyes, they would wake to find two strangers in their fences, standing in admiration as a breathing red pours its tinge upon earth's shore. These mountains, which have seen untold sunrises, long to thunder praise but stand reverent, silent so that man's weak praise should be given God's attention."

"It's a wonder that those exposed to such beauty forfeit the great questions in the face of this miraculous evidence."

“I think again about this small period of grace, and thank God for it, that if only for a season I could feel the why of life, see it in the metaphor of light, in the endlessness of the cosmos, in the miracle of friendship. And had these mountains the ability to reason, perhaps they would contemplate the beauty of humanity and praise God for the miracle that each of us is, pondering the majesty of God and the wonder of man in one bewildering context. Their brows are rumpled even now and their arms are stretched toward heaven.”

Whew! (That’s a good whew, LOL) I’ve come to the end of the lengthy but lovely quotes from Through Painted Deserts. It’s such a good read and I love how the acoustic guitar plays in the background at the end of the final chapter. It ends on such a beautiful note that it even gets me teary-eyed (In a very good way.) I hope you enjoyed them and that you’ll read the book or better still get the free audio version right here. It’s a good read (have I mentioned that already) and you could listen to the audio book (all twenty-seven chapters) in a day. I personally didn’t want to consume all the yummy goodness in one day so I chose to listen to it in bits, over a number of days to let it all sink in. God bless Don’s kind heart for giving it away for no cost and for allowing others to go along on the journey with him through the mind’s eye. He sure has a way with words and he writes from a place of honesty and truth.

People travel all the time. Probably you do or you currently are. What I’m beginning to realize is that you could travel the entire world and it wouldn’t really mean anything until you travel with meaning, with the knowledge that God created all these magnificent things in life. Traveling should awaken us to the wonder of God and rekindle our love for Him. It should involve loving and sharing God’s truth to the people we meet along our journeys. Let’s always remember what Jesus said “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30,31 In our everyday living, we should not lose focus on loving God and people. And if you love people, you would want to share God’s truth with them so that they get saved. So travel to enjoy God and love people along the way!
:)

 Jesus loves you. xoxo

Delali.

Go forth!: My South Africa missions trip

Sawubona!!! I’m excited to be back to my good ole blog. I know, I’ve been a lil MIA. Well, it was for a very good reason. Remember I was talking about going for missions during summer time in some of my blogs? Yeah, I went for a three-week missions trip in South Africa! :-) I returned a week ago, and like usual, I had to take some time off to rest before getting all busy with blogging. Lol Oh, and ‘sawubona’ is an isiZulu word in SA which means ‘greetings’! (Putting my SA vocab to good use, eh? ;) Anyway, I have a lot to update you guys on and it’s going to be mostly pictures in the subsequent blogs. Cool? Good.

 

Yurp, I got the window seat. ;)

To be part of the trip is such a blessing and an answer to a prayer I said to God. He is such a faithful God! My going on the trip is a testimony in itself. I’m so thankful to all the people who supported me. I pray for God’s blessings over your lives. So much happened and my experience throughout the trip is one I’ll always remember. :)

 My dinner on the plane. Main dish was noodles with chicken. Yum, yum!

The chocolate pudding was delish!

 

The sun rising in Jo'burg.

 

The view of Jo'burg from my window before landing.

Finally at OR Tambo Int airport after the 6 hr flight.

The Potter’s House church in Boksburg hosted us. (God forever bless them & oh, btw they have no connection with T.D Jakes church.) We ministered in schools, in the streets, we held camps, we had a number of Jesus marches throughout some communities and did a number of awesome things.

The Potter's House, Boksburg

The street infront of the  Potter's House- Commissioner street

South Africa is such a beauty! The streets are artistically designed, the buildings are beautiful, the food is quite healthy and in abundance, there are quite a number of parks around and some amazing lakes. We went to Swaziland to minister there during the second weekend of my stay in SA and it was such a lovely time. I met some amazing people in Boksburg, Johannesburg and in Big Bend, Swaziland. I soaked in all of the things and scenes, never wanting to miss anything. Haha

One of the malls

Posing while the others waited at the counter ordering our meal.lol

One thing though, SA was extremely cold cos it was their winter time. The temperature could drop especially at night to as low as the negatives. It was that cold! I could layer up with four tops, two cardigans and a jacket, but the bitter cold still got to me. Wheew! The sun would come up during the day alright, but the wind blowing is terribly cold that you don’t feel any warmth from the sun. So the sun was more of a light giving element than a warmth giving one. There were times when I saw vapour pouring out of my mouth when I spoke. I began to think how bad it could get if it had snowed. I really missed the warmth back in Ghana. Smh 

We visited Care Bible Church and I met Serena there.

The change in weather even made me ill. It made most of us ill to be honest. I suffered a fever for a number of days. I had chills, headaches, tummy aches, I was nauseous, I threw up a couple of times, I lost appetite. :( But by His stripes, I was healed in time for the Swaziland missions. Isn’t God awesome?!

The beautiful man-made lake which was near where we lived in Boksburg.

On the contrary however, Swaziland was way better. We stayed with a host family there in Big Bend for a weekend. It only got cold in the early mornings and evenings there. Day time was as warm as Ghana. 

By the lake. 

South Africa honestly taught me never to take the sunshine back home for granted but to be very grateful for it. To feel a little warmth in SA was great joy for me. I knew SA was going to be cold but I guess I underestimated how cold it could actually get.

Apartments overlooking the lake.

There were a number of things I observed which were a bit of a culture shock like the fact that they still drive on the right. That took a little getting used to, considering that we drive on the left in Ghana. The oranges there are actually orange on the outside, unlike the green-looking yet sweet ones in Ghana. And their oranges are seedless! Like, you find no seed in them. That was surprising to me. 

Also, one of their common dishes is rice with soup! Lol I’m used to eating rice with stew/sauce so that one too took a lil getting used to. Meat/chicken is always in plenty though. Truth is, they love meat! Haha

One of the cute houses on the way to Reigerpark.

Yeah, that's a glass gate on the far right of this house.

In terms of morality and spirituality, there’s so much work to be done. Most of the youth smoke and drink...it’s so sad. Some mothers even smoke and give the cigarette to their babies to smoke too! I still can’t process this bit. Too horrible! The gay guys aren’t embarrassed in the least about their sexuality. They’re so open about it and even dress like females. Smh 

Advertisement for abortion is found everywhere on their streets! I was so shocked when I saw them... I just pray the Godly seeds we’ve gone to sow in the land will grow by God’s grace and the people held captive by the devil will be set free in Christ forever. A teenager getting pregnant and giving birth is no big deal there. It’s more like the norm. Hmm, it’s so sad. 

Cool building huh

There was an incidence that really surprised me. During the last Jesus march we had, a guy and a girl were busy smoking through some pipe thingy right before our eyes. They looked on at us with our Jesus placards, music and all but they couldn’t be bothered. Some of us went to talk to them, they seemed to listen but they continued smoking anyway. I stared at them for the longest time, wondering how they got to this point in their lives where the life giving message of Jesus meant nothing to them. My heart broke and still breaks for them. All I can do is keep praying for the lost in SA. Please do too.

So basically, this is the sum of my experience on missions field in SA. I’ll blog more about it using more of pictures. :-)

Jesus loves you, yes you! Keep believing. xoxo

Delali.

Learning To Say NO!

Hi dearies, I trust you are doing great! This one is a lil on the lengthy side cos its filled with so much yummy goodness. So grab a drink, get comfy and read on. ;)

A few Sundays back I was enjoying my walk from the junction of my University to my hostel after church service when I heard a car honk and someone called out to me. I turned my head sideways and saw this guy driving a beat up truck slowing down and smiling and asking me to come over for a ride. I gave him a wan smile and said I was alright walking cos I was almost at my hostel anyway. But he insisted and didn’t seem to give up so I said to myself, what could it hurt... I get to save some energy and sweat from walking under the glaring rays of the sun. So I crossed over to the other side of the street and got in the truck.

He was extremely friendly and started asking ‘’getting to know you’’ questions. From that short conversation however, I immediately got to know the type of guy he was. I mean which morally upright guy starts steering the first convo towards such things as ‘kissing’??? SMH Like dude, you even know I’m coming from church! But of course he had no shame. He was actually candid about telling me he is naughty! **alarm bells ringing** SMH some more.

 At the car park of my hostel, he asked for my digits and I nicely told him nahh, I don’t give my number out to guys who have no problem saying the kind of things he said. He insisted and insisted and I kept saying NO. I could tell I had bruised his ego big time cos he said he’s the type who doesn’t take no for an answer, but oh well I hope I’m the first to prove him wrong. He might have thought I was kidding and just playing a lil hard to get or something, but I didn’t mince my words. When my NO started to sink into his carnally clouded mind, he eventually stopped shoving his huge phone into my face. I got down and politely thanked him for the ride and walked away to my room with such dignity spurring in my heart.

I must have really taken him by surprise because after I climbed up the stairs to my room, I noticed from my window he was still packed outside. I found that odd because he had told me he doesn’t attend my school and that he was visiting his brother at one of the hostels at the other side of campus. So I began to think that what if he was just waiting to see which balcony I step out on so that he traces my room? I thought fast and quick and decided not to go to the balcony until he drove away. I mean I don’t want him stalking me and probably hurting me or something cos I turned him down. LOL So I did the wise thing of staying inside until I don’t even know when he drove his beat up truck away. 

I bet he thought I’m one of those girls who just go to church but live in an unbroken pattern of sin. You know, those girls who flash their Bibles around but never really read it and live it. There are too many ‘Christians’ out there who are lukewarm and live a double life. SMH No wonder he thought I was one of them. Wrong move bro, wrong move. He probably calls himself a Christian too...what a shame! And I didn’t want to bother giving him my number because he’s obviously company I do not want to have. I do selective friendships and relationships. I’m friendly to all but I don’t let just anybody in my space. He clearly didn’t have any respect for me and didn’t deserve my time.

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” Revelations 3:16

“No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

 When did it become ok for a guy to make suggestive moves to a lady especially in their very first conversation? I’m not some booty call. I know my worth and I have Godly standards that I honor. Because let’s be real, if I had gone against my standards and given my number to him, I would have ended up ignoring his calls and eventually blocking his number because it’s so obvious what he wanted from me. I don’t want any carnally filled guy blowing up my phone. It was simpler to avoid all that by saying a firm NO! At the end of it all his friendliness meant nothing really to me because the intentions behind them were thwarted and ungodly and his attempt to sound all sophisticated didn’t fool me either. 

“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”” 1 Corinthians 15:33

Saying NO does not mean you’re rude and snobbish, it simply means you know who you are and you know who and what you don’t associate with. I prefer to be called rude by men for doing the things that please God than to be praised by men for doing what displeases God. We should learn how to say NO without sounding apologetic. If the person had no shame asking for whatever it is he/she is asking with ungodly intentions, then why should I feel guilty or ashamed to say NO?! If a guy has no shame wanting to fornicate with you, you should absolutely not hold back in telling him NO! Let your no, be no dear friends. Say it firmly without being aggressive. Say it because you really mean it. 

 

“So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and men of integrity will remain in it.” Proverbs 2:20,21

 

Say NO to that guy who only wants to get into your pants and end up messing you up. Say NO to negative peer pressure. Say NO to ungodly friendships and relationships. Say NO to all the worldly parties and clubbing. Say NO to the songs that get you sexually aroused and make you have lustful desires. Say NO to the sinful thoughts that work their way into your mind. Say NO to the perversion the media displays. Choose not to watch/listen to any of it. Say NO to the pornographic films you hide and watch! Fill your mind with the Word of God, ponder over it and you’ll be able to discern good from bad and wrong friends from Godly friends. I get tempted alright, but by keeping the Word in my heart and obeying God, I escape temptations. Sometimes it’s really really tough but I pull through. You see, the Word fills you up and helps you to live Godly... By all means be friendly, but you have to stop being too friendly and too polite by saying yes to everybody and the ungodly intentions they may have for you.  

Via

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

“For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and Godly lives in this world.” Titus 2:11,12

If your friendliness is causing you to sin, then you have to watch it! Filter everything/anybody that comes your way. Your life and body should be a dedication to God. Stop allowing just anything/anybody into your life. Your NO will attract rather nasty and unpleasant comments/responses sometimes or even most of the time, but that’s okay. Just hold your head up high, remember who you’re living for and continue walking in obedience to the Word. 

“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” Matthew 5:30

 

“Indeed all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  2 Timothy 3:12

I continually pray for God’s strength to grace my life to have the will to say NO to ungodliness. Saying okay to ungodliness will lead you right into sin. My dear, please be strong in the Lord, ok? Respect yourself enough to steer clear from compromising situations. Surround yourself with spiritual minded people, not carnal minded people. Be around people who build you up in Christ, people who want to help you live a pure life for God. I know such Godly people are hard to come by these days. Tell God you need Godly friendships. Be a Godly friend yourself, and you’ll attract Godly friendships into your life.

Dear friend, I want you to mull over the verse below. Think of all your friendships and relationships and all the things you do in your life and ask yourself if they urge you on to bear the fruits of the Spirit or otherwise. If they constantly lead you to sin, then my dear, you need to weed them out of your life, because they are not helping your walk with the Lord.

“Now the works of the flesh are plain; fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:19-24

Please put a Godly value on yourself and let your NO, be NO! Jesus loves you wayyyy too much for you to continue hurting Him by giving in to sin. :) XOXO

 Delali