How not to mess your current life stage?

I was always told that if I miss a stage in life it will catch up to me at a later stage in life. Well…there is full truth to the previous statement although few may disagree. I am after the 95 confidence level in any case. Life goes according to the stages unfortunately. I know some people that decided to grow quick and now when I meet them they are living the stage that I lived couple of years ago. Now this get confusing because the very same people decided to be bigger… and are younger again. They are actually refusing to grow now. I am happy that they are finally seeing the light. It is important that at some point you really need to open up and throw away the eye blinders. If you don't realise that you in a rut, somebody must pull you out before you miss the entire life trying to grow up quick.

The point about life stage is that, you will not fully understand what people are going through until you are there. When they talk about the challenges they are facing…it doesn't click into you reach the very same stage. In whatever life stage you are embrace it and its challenges. It is there to teach you a lesson, don't forget to note the lesson regardless of how messy it can be sometimes. As they say when life stage throw at you lemons make lemonade. The aim is not to try to solve every challenge in that stage but rather manage it. Manage the challenge so that it does not get out of control. Those that are too lofty to be tackled go with a flow and don't try too hard to look for solution, life or God will provide one. Just embrace the challenges and enjoy them as well. Trying to solve every problem put a stress upon you and you end up giving/messing up altogether. Most times the more you try not to make mistakes the more mistakes you make. In actual fact the more mess you make of your life. So is the same with the stage…hence the title how not to mess up your current life stage. Donald say go and enjoy but be careful…enjoying the stage does not mean that each stage must have a negative evidence/memory /consequences associated with it. One should still live a responsible and accountable lifestyle but do not be too hard upon yourself for the mistakes you are making it is part of that stage.

That one song that send you into a Trance!!!

Natalie Cole "A Smile Like Yours"

Hmm, thought I'd seen everything there was to see in this world
Now I'm not so sure I've really seen anything at all
I thought life could show me no surprises
And then you came and showed me I was wrong
I have seen the bluest skies, rainbows that would make you cry
I have seen miracles that moved my soul, days that changed my life
I have seen the brightest stars shine like diamonds in the dark
Seen all the wonders of the world, but I've never seen a smile
As beautiful as yours, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, I thought I'd been everywhere
I've climbed a mountain so high, sailed the sea, crossed the sky
And still I was nowhere at all, until that day, oh, you came to my senses
And your smile, it made sense out of it all, (I have seen the bluest skies)
Rainbows that would make you cry, I have seen miracles

(miracles that moved me soul) that moved my soul, days that changed my life,
I have seen the brightest stars shine like diamonds in the dark
Seen all the wonders of the world, but I've never seen a smile as beautiful as yours
(smile so beautiful) so beautiful, comes one time in a lifetime
A smile this beautiful, (a smile this beautiful) I've never dreamed I'd ever see, oh
(I have seen the bluest skies) I have seen it, (rainbows that would make you cry)
That would make you cry, I've seen miracles (miracles) moved my soul,
(days that changed my life) and days that changed my life
I have seen the brightest stars shine like diamonds in the dark
Oh, I've seen the wonders of this world (wonders of the world)
But I've never seen a smile (never seen a smile before as beautiful as yours)
Oh, I've never seen a smile before, (never seen a smile before as beautiful)
As beautiful as yours.

I must admit that Love is a beautiful thing…the merrier the love song that sends you higher in spirit. I have such songs that really take me from nowhere to somewhere. I know most of us do have them and every time they play we enter in to a frenzy or trance.

The song above is such…this just demonstrate how amazing love is…love is so gooooood!!! It makes people creative and intelligent especially when it comes from the heart and is genuine.  At times one wonders what was Diane Eve Warren thinking when she penned such a beautiful tune. Listening to the song now actually makes one want to go back to the time the song was first compiled. You can actually feel the connection of the song and the singer. Her soul is poured into the song and her emotions speaks volume. There are those singers that are able to take you from one level to another. You actually feel the spiritual upliftment when the song plays.

This reminds me of people like Randall Abrahams from Idols Fame, he sometimes commends the aspiring singers for been able to emulate the spirit of the song, not just simply singing a song because one has a beautiful voice. It is not about the voice…it is about the spirit and the experience behind the song…does the singer live the lyrics of the song on stage or when singing. It is very easy to see, no singer can fake the song and get away with it. This is a like a gospel show…there is a gospel show and there is Gospel show!!! The same way…listening to Pastor Benjamin Dube, one can tell the Spirit (anointing behind the songs) as opposed to Joyous Celebration songs where the voice is on display as opposed to the Spirit of the song.  If I had to be a singer I wanna make people speak in tongues of love and anoint them with the spirit of love. I wanna transform their space into a cognitive environment of worship of love and its beauty. For a moment they need to forget about impossible but see the possible because of the tantric nature of love.

Love is such a beautiful gift whether you fall in love temporarily, illusory, confectionery, fixation or genuinely…has the same effect…there is a moment of insanity (self-lost). N Cole first line says that she saw everything is there to see in the world but….a big No! Why because she has not seen a Smile as beautiful as yours. She thought life has shown her all the surprises but Nope…because she has not seen your ever shining beauty that turn reality into a dreamland for few seconds. When she sees you her world is topsy-turvy. When she hears you speak, her world is complete and fulfilled. She has seen miracles that moved her soul but that still cannot be compared to the beauty that Love is. Love transcends…inspires…humbles…drives…controls and inhibit your intellectual capacity. When you try to think straight…you can’t because you are out of balance.  I have been and seen the wonders of the world but that is nothing compared to your smile - this got to show that it does not matter how much you travel and see the world but love will you bring you home (hence it humbles even the greatest of the Kings). Hence the bible says that you can have all the knowledge and riches in the world but if you have no love you are like a metal that make a sound.  Love is a force that attracts.  May be now you still seeing the brightest star in the dark that shines like a diamonds. I hope, wish and pray that this love…smile will come to your senses one of this days that you recognise and identify the one thing that you need or want, whichever comes first. Then you can sing this… days that changed my life!!

Is it about the Easter Eggs?

A Christian friend of mine on Thursday evening jokingly said we have a window period where anything goes between Thursday and the Resurrection Sunday. This does signify that to some Easter weekend is about remembering Christ and His sacrifices for mankind, whereas some is an opportunity to rest and relax. To some is a holiday time, to some is a time to jolly and folly. Whatever the meaning is derived from this long weekend its sole purposes is for Christian to commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Easter has two significant meanings, the death and the resurrection. So much has been written over the years about both topics. This are my personal reflections about the Easter.

The Death

For many years I grew up knowing Easter Holidays to be a time to jolly all the way. I could see my father come up and hear of many accidents on the road. Fast track that to the time I started serving the Lord Jesus Christ consciously in 2004. I was aware of my actions. The death of Jesus, reminds me of a scripture in John 12:24 Jesus replied that the time had come for him to return to his glory in heaven, and that "I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone - a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives. It means that until Christ has died sin still has power to bind us. In the King James Version, His life is liken to a kernel of wheat which must die in order to produce fruit. When it dies, it has the ability to replenish and reproduce more seedlings which will grow into saplings and finally become trees which will one day mature. The death of Christ affords us the ability to start afresh. It grant us the opportunity to re-evaluate our lives, whether we are dead to Christ or we are alive to ourselves. Some very extreme Christians will advocate the view of completely dying to self in order to serve the Lord. They use the scripture as found in Philippians 1: 21 it is no longer I but Christ Jesus who live in me. For me to die is gain, however living give more opportunities to Christ. The fact is, it is better to be here on earth to serve our God given purposes as described in Mat 28: 19 Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Until this is fulfilled we are not ready to depart mother earth. For us to be able to make disciples of all the nation we need to have relatable relationships with people. We need human experience. We need to be relevant, however, we should be cautious not to be of this world but be salt and the light that is duly required to make an impact. As a Christian…there should be a certain impact that you are making. Either in a small or larger scale. For the bible says that you never labour in vain…whatever you do in the small corners will one day come out to be the spectacle of everyone. We should never lose heart but persevere in doing well, not be weary, for the price and gift comes from the Almighty God. There would be no need if we are heavenly minded but earthly pathetic, at the end of the day we are living here on earth to make a Godly dent. If God wanted us as Angels He would have taken our lives long ago so that we can worship day and night non-stop. We are better than angels as we have the human experience. However the extremist, those who observe the law still believe that we should completely die to self needs and live to Christ. There are many beliefs with different interpretations but I think we need to look at this in light of our main job description here on earth.

The question is what about the death of Christ, what is the value in our lives? In 1 Cor 15:31 Paul says

I die every day (daily). I really mean that, brothers and sisters. Here is something you can be sure of. I take pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for you through my work. For any effective life, a person must die daily…His mercies are new every morning…we are renewed and transformed in that way. There is a need for constant renewal of our spirit and our lives in the Lord on a daily basis. As Paul affirms, we need to start dying so that the benefit will be much greater. If we practice to die daily…we become closer to God, we become more like Him and the relationship and nearness to God increases. Eventually we can proudly say that He is Jehovah Shammar...He is Emmanuel and let him increase so that I can decrease. Dying daily means you have an opportunity to start afresh on a daily basis…there is no need to wait for a quarter or season…every day is an opportunity to start a new beginning in your life. Start something new, create and develop new habits and manner of living. His mercies are new every morning. 

The Resurrection

The resurrection signifies the fact that death has been defeated and it longer has power over our lives so is the same with sin. We are longer under the law but the grace of God. The grace that is made sufficient for our inequities. The resurrection means that a new life has been birthed with a new beginning in the Lord. However, Cor 12: 11 When Christ talk about the bread of life that is shared as a remembrance of Him. He says what you heard and saw me do, you also do it. So that the Kingdom of God may be established. If anything God has given us an opportunity to proclaim his power and omnipotent throughout the whole world. We need to exercise that faith and plan that is upon our lives. He says go and be my witnesses in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. We need to be His witnesses…testify that He is Christ the Lord. We need to acknowledge His sovereignty. He is the Alpha and the Omega…My Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. The joys of resurrection should contain what is described in Deuteronomy 7: The following are outlined

1. The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are going to enter it and take it as your own: - The Lord is saying possess the land and claim it as your own. Practically acquired wisdom and knowledge for you to claim and take possession of the land. The time for poverty is over. Now is the time to enter and possess the land.
2. He'll drive many nations out to make room for you. He'll drive out the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Those seven nations are larger and stronger than you are: - The Lord will drive out whatever it is preventing you from possessing the land, He says it does not matter the amount of force against not to possess the land. He will drive them/it out so that he can make the room for you. However, our relationship with the Lord Jesus need to be such that he is able to converse freely with us and give us instruction to execute. Without that kind of relationship it might be difficult to know exactly what we need to do, when and how?
3. The Lord your God will hand them over to you. You will win the battle over them. You must completely destroy them. Don't make a peace treaty with them. Don't show them any mercy. 3 Don't get married to any of them. Don't give your daughters to their sons. And don't take their daughters for your sons: - The Lord will hand the enemies over to you and he is saying…have nothing to do with them. In fact destroy them and do not entertain them…nor make any pact with them. Some of the sins and issues we are dealing with, we need to drive them at once and for all. We should not negotiate and entertain them lest they become the problems that make us suffer. Read Making Decision about Your Life posting in this blog.
4. You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. The Lord chose you because he loved you very much. He didn't choose you because you had more people than other nations. In fact, you had the smallest number of all: - The fact remains that we did not choose ourselves to be here on this earth. There was a plan upon our lives. God has planned for us before the foundation of the earth. He knew us by name before we were even born. We are the weakest but in Him we are the strongest.
5. He bought you back from the land where you were slaves. He set you free from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: - The bible says those who the son set free are free indeed. We are free in the Lord, we have liberty in him. To ask what we will and He will give it to us according to his Will.
6. So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commands. He shows them his love: - Most importantly we need to acknowledge that the Lord God is INDEED God, there is power in acknowledge God's power and rulership. We give Him his place as the Head of All things we are and we become. He is always and forever will be faithful…as He was until death. He showed His love by dying so that eternal life may be activated.
7. Pay attention to the laws of the Lord your God. Be careful to obey them. Then he will keep his covenant of love with you. That's what he promised with an oath to your people long ago: - There is an action required from our side…which is to pay attention to His laws and commandments. That's the least we could do to be able to activate the covenant of Love that he has with us. He gives us some many things even though we do not deserve them.
8. The Lord will love you and bless you. He'll increase your numbers. He'll give you many children. He'll bless the crops of your land. He'll give you plenty of grain, olive oil and fresh wine. He'll bless your herds with many calves. He'll give your flocks many lambs. He'll do all of those things for you in the land of Canaan. It's the land he promised your people long ago that he would give you: - After we obey the following shall happen. The Lord will increase us, bless, bless our crops (possession – wages and salaries). He will bless what we have, what we touch and the lambs. Why do all this? Because he promised.
9. He will bless you more than any other nation. All of your men and women will have children. All of your livestock will have little ones: - There is a guarantee on our heads…He will bless us more than any other nation on this earth. Like He promised that He will show us great and mighty things we have not seen or do not know anything about. He said he will bless your womb and your livestock. If you are in a predicament and can't have children…the blessing is yours to bear children. Your livestock, if it has decreased expect an abundance of increase because He is blessing you.
10. The Lord will keep you from getting sick. He won't send on you any of the horrible sicknesses you saw all around you in Egypt: - NO sickness will befall you, he is protecting you from any ailment, diseases, plaque or discomfort. You are free to serve God with your body and spirit intact. You are the child of the most High God, He died for you and rose in Victory to remove all those diseases that plaque us.
11. The Lord your God is with you. He is a great and wonderful God: - The great assurance is that He is with us until the coming of an age. He is a loving God, compassionate and merciful. He is looking after our own interest and He is mighty to save. He says do not let this book of life depart from you, study, memorise and verbalise what is written in it. I will make you successful and bless you greatly. 

We really serve a mighty God who has promised us abundant life…he has indeed set us free and allowed us to be who we are in Him. I release you to be everything God intend you to be…I decree and declare a miracle and a blessing…I Donald Mmei Matjuda do wholeheartedly love the Lord My God for He has saved my soul. I love him with everything inside of me. Without Him I can do or be absolutely nothing. This is my declaration, I can't say enough, He is majestic and incomprehensible.

If Deut 7 Chapter is promising what is outlined, there is no reason/need for us to suffer any longer. We need to exercise what is written in it and practice it daily as we die daily. We need to live according to His expectation not the expectation of the extremist view (Pharisees) that observe the law. They refuse to accept that the grace of God is sufficient to cover multitude of sins. We are to be relevant, to acquire the wisdom and experience, we should not be the "know it all" kind of people. The bible says lean not on your own understanding but trust in the Lord your God at all times. I am a testimony of this…I am a living proof and the Lord has seen me through. I hope you will be blessed as you ponder about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How that edgy office flirt starts...and more

I am sure most of us can identify with that flirt in the office that never materialize…if that’s the hope, or never seems to take off but both are comfortable with it. They are comfortable with it because both are involved or one is, none does not want to be seen as easy or cynically called slapdash.  So both are unconsciously enjoying the edgy moments that exist between them at times. 

Through my personal observation it would seem as if this ilk of relationships develop because of exposure level. What do I mean? It’s when you get attracted to somebody because you spend time with them….not necessarily that you like them. Is the case of the more you see them the more you realize their beauty and overlook the ugly side? Which brings me to this question, is it true that we get attracted to each other by the level of exposure or by the mere force of nature, I just like from a distance? The jittery flirt in the office seems to stem from this exposure level. This bring me to the next attestation, ever heard of high school and tertiary sweetheart, the homeboy or homegirl sweetheart, singer and manager, lead singer and bandmate, cast members etc. Most of them started because of high level of exposure. 

Flirtatious moments that never got anywhere!!! I must say I had some of those during my working career, although I shall not say which company I was working for, in case one of my female colleagues that suspected something is reading. The edgy flirt takes the most amazing form - small exchanges & surprises, favours and lunches together etc. The looks sometimes do count but when other things start to count, the fantasy develops. You are either obsessed with the guy’s muscles, lips, stature, intelligent, dress code, character or the lady’s body, lips, hair and …other body parts that I do not want to mention by name.  Of course other characteristic that she may possess.

When I was residing in Shoshanguve, I had this jittery flirt with this lady and it lasted for a couple of months. Why it ended? It is because the lady left…which is exactly what happens in the case of office flirt. When I left the other workplace that I used to work, the feelings were no longer the same…I seem to have forgotten that person, so quick? I did attempt to keep in touch but it was not the same…because it was the jittery flirt. It was not about to be serious as both of us just enjoyed spending the time and space together. 

However, at times during this flirtatious period, sometimes the feelings arrest you to the point where you think this person could be the one. The overwhelming feelings of passion, desire, need, reliance and dependability. When this person is not in the office you feel like the office is not the same - its dreary, boring and lifeless. I am afraid if the situation get to that point it is no longer the jittery flirt but the desire for something more or certain fulfilment. 

I should also point out that, half of the edgy flirt has led to romance, to relationships and even marriage, while some led to cheating, divorces and side chick. I know few that led to marriage, some led to tarnished career path and some ended just that edgy flirt. The caution though is that don’t be emotionally involved to a point where it endanger your professional career path. You are welcome to make a meat out of it under certain conditions - be ready for the consequences though.  

Some of the benefits of the edgy flirt - improves one’s mood, looking forward to going to the office, keep certain people on top of their game as they try to impress and uplifts the office morale. One fact remains after all, whether your relationship started as an edgy flirt or not…this will continue beyond my lifetime as it shapes the work environment and the society we live in. Your partner that you got the same way has started another edgy flirt…let’s see where it will end!!!