The Power of Inspiration

Yesterday we flooded our Dream BIG Facebook Page with Michael Jordan quotes.

The quotes were like surges of pure energy rushing through me. They did much to call me out of my little shelter into greater things.

There were many fantastic quotes but perhaps the one that spoke to me the most yesterday was:

expecting things with image

Michael’s quote echoed what I’d been learning in the past week about how vital the image I had of myself was to my success.

Whatever we see of ourselves is  who we become.

Successful people have failed many times. Even when they become successes they still experience failures. It’s part of life.

But what makes successful people different is that they see failures as incidents  and not as the story of their lives.

In an interview with Dream BIG, entrepreneur Max Mugabe, speaks of how we cannot prevent things from happening. He said “The happening will always happen, how we react is what matters.”

People who perpetually fail are usually marked by an inner belief that their entire  lives are failures. So the cycle of their failures continues because… it’s what they expect.

Sometimes a person will say one horrible thing to us. We take that nasty word and nurture it; We give it a supreme place in our hearts. We water it, cook for it, feed it… Soon that one word is a sentence, then a paragraph- before we know it we’ve written entire books from one bad word someone threw at us!

Successful people don’t operate this way.

Our lives are only meaningless when we choose to believe they are.

I’ve been through bouts of depression many times.

A few times I went through depression so bad I contemplated taking my own life.

Once I went so far as taking an enormous amount of pills- but I thank God for pulling me out of that pit! The way He did it was by reminding me that there was far much more to my life than I was belittling myself to.

Looking back at every single incident of depression I’ve had I can surely say each one begun with allowing wrong thinking to grow in my mind. Since I realised this I’ve been extremely vigilant about what I allow my mind to dwell on.

If you don’t hope for something better for your life you will die. Maybe not physically but everyday will be like death for you.

If you don’t have something great that you’re working towards every day you breathe will be long and unbearable.

Plunging into resources that inspire you sparks neurons, ideas, visions, energy-

I’ve seen with my own life that when I’m surrounded by inspiration I get excited about what lies ahead for me. I find myself sparking with brilliant ideas- I’m empowered to take more steps and strides towards what I hope for.

If we allow ourselves to perpetually dwell in places where failure is the  option then it’s inevitable that failure will be our constant experience.

People may say they don’t choose  failure- but every time we dwell in negativity we are choosing failure.

Looking back at all the guests we’ve had on Dream BIG it appears to me that failure was never an option for any of them.

I don’t think it’s that they were perfect or utterly confident in their abilities- what I saw in each of our Dream BIG guests was a drive for success that was far greater than their regard for failure.

This is not to say that they didn’t ever have moments or even periods of failure- they did- but they saw those failures as mere incidents  and not the be all and end all of their lives…

Inspiration is vital for sustaining this kind of attitude.

One of our Dream BIG guests, Jennifer Swanepoel, shared that her faith in God was her lifeline.

I think one of the reasons for this is that God has a history of making people super successful.

The Bible is filled with stories of God’s victory, His favour, His incredible ability to do the impossible, His generosity in turning dire situations around… when we tap into Him we are flooded with inspiration that tells us that the dump we may be in is not final.

William Jimerson, another Dream BIG guest, spoke to us about opportunity. He said no matter where a person was from, no matter how poor they were, opportunity would come for them; The question was would they be prepared for that opportunity?

William spoke about how (even though he came from a rough environment) his family exposed him to places and people that inspired him.

Today William has one of the most influential financial firms on the African Continent.

As a single, teenage, mom Jennifer worked two, sometimes three, jobs to ensure that her children went to schools in environments that inspired them to be great. Because Jennifer knew this profound truth: Inspiration is essential.

Oftentimes we feed ourselves with so much rubbish it’s an absolute miracle we don’t self combust from all the negativity we allow in our minds- Then we wonder how come we’re so depressed? How come we’re so miserable? How come it’s tough for us to be positive? How come year after year we remain in the same rut unable to make progress? To each question the answer is always: The junk we fill our minds with.

Until we change the image we have of ourselves in our own minds the greatness we hope for will never happen. It can’t.

It’d be like hoping sunflowers grow in the antarctic- that environment would never allow that.

The only way to create and sustain environments that nurture our dreams is to dwell in resources that inspire.

It’s impossible to be positive and resilient when we dwell in negative, life sucking, environments.

And by environments I mean ways of thinking.

The majority of poor people stay poor not because there are no opportunities available to them- but because they don’t ever change how they think.

Even when flooded with wave upon wave of opportunity they remain exactly where they are. Because as Will said- we have to prepare ourselves for opportunity.

Reading Michael Jordan’s quotes yesterday I received a fresh wave of inspiration;  First about myself and then about our work on the Dream BIG Project.

Since we started the project I’ve known that it was a “cool” project but now more than ever I see it as such an essential part of our existence: Firstly because Dream BIG exists to nudge each one of us to unleash the tremendous potential within us. And second- Dream BIG is an opportunity for each of us to delve into the amazing power inspiration holds.

Our daily goal at Dream BIG is to bring you nuggets of inspiration each day. Follow us on Facebook and see the power of inspiration change your life.

Having said that I’m also the first to say that of course we’re not the only source of inspiration on the planet. There are millions of resources available to us every single day.

Tap into them and live out this amazing life you were put on this earth to enjoy.

 

Our favourite Inspirational Resources:

God

The Scriptures

Dream BIG

Joseph Prince

 

Our favourite Dictionary Definitions of Inspiration:

  1. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
  2. A sudden brilliant or timely idea.
  3. A divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.

Does he show you Jesus?

One of the first things I really took note of about my guy shortly after we’d just met was a conversation we had about bats.

A tad crazy huh? Yeah I know…

In any case I was telling him how bats freaked me out- and his response was so beautiful and so childlike that years later I can remember exactly where and how he was sitting as he told me that bats were perhaps one of God’s most favourite creatures.

I can remember how he looked at me as though trying to help me see these little beings as God had intended for them to be perceived… beautiful, important in nature and so utterly harmless.

All my life I’d believed bats to be of the devil… I’d learned that they were evil and those that dabbled in the dark side used them only for witchcraft.

But as I listened to this rather weird and bizarre guy tell me how much God loved bats I was enamoured by how he expressed this belief.

He went on to tell me that one of the reasons he believed God loved bats so much was that God had made so many kinds of bat. There are over a thousand bat species.

Before then I’d always known of God to be this aloof Guy- sitting on the throne somewhere in heaven- and yet here was someone telling me that God loved bats.

As he spoke I imagined God walking through the forest and loving. Not only bats but ants and butterflies and earthworms… I imagined Him examining bark and grass and loving the nature that He had created.

As I chatted some more to this guy, I barely knew, what I knew for sure in my heart was that this was a man who loved God.

Years later I remember our discussion about bats- and this man I barely knew then is now my bestest friend in all the world. He is the father to my gorgeous children. He is my most influential mentor. More and more I find his wisdom to be such an essential navigator through life. And years later he is still such a strong force in pointing me to the God who loves bats; A God who is not far off but right here in my heart; A God who walks the earth and touches soil and dances in the rain.

I guess what I’d like to say to so many young women who may still be praying for the right partner is this- look for those simple moments of brilliance and Godly vulnerability that truly reveal a man’s heart.

It’s so easy for us humans to proclaim our “undying” love for God- but what I’m coming to discover more and more is that men who truly love God speak about His wonderful nature.

One of the most incredible gifts a man can give you as a woman is to point you to Jesus; To help you see yourself as God sees you and to remind you often  that Jesus loves you absolutely and unconditionally. A guy who does that will be such a force in your life that you’ll have to put a lot of effort into failing with someone like that loving you.

I don’t know the formula for finding the right guy- but it is my very strong belief that a guy who will love you as a woman’s heart desires points her to God and shows her the God that Jesus came to reveal: A God of mad, crazy, love; A true Father you can depend on always; A Present Help in time of need; A Giver of every good and perfect gift; a humble King- a wonderful and generous Saviour.

My guy told me all these things in a simple conversation about how God loved bats.

 

Related Post: Your man can’t fix you

Indescribable

I was so encouraged by a CUM staff member yesterday.

I’d been a tad disappointed that I was not getting the chunk of a discount people with loyalty cards qualified for.

I filled out forms to get the card… but the short version is that for the meantime I’d have to pay full price.

I didn’t want to wait for my card to get my hands on these much needed resources.

A little disappointed that I wouldn’t get the discount a staff member said: “What do you need a discount for? You are a child of God.”

And then it was like flood gates burst open in her. She started declaring how BIG God was and that as I believer the only way I had to look was up and never down.

This lady broke out bringing an experience and picture of Heaven’s abundance…

As she spoke I realised that my focus was (and usually is) on money and not on God’s abundance. I pray you’ll realise the depth of this…

I was so encouraged by her and I realised that yeah… I can be so particular about rands and cents- the truth is that the abundance of heaven cannot even compute my monies- they’re too small.

Compared to the abundance of heaven my little wallet is not just little- it’s really really really so tiny it’s impossible to describe just how infinitely small my finances are next to God’s abundance.

When Paul wrote to the Philipians he said this to them: “..my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

I once heard Jospeh Prince say “According to” means what we have access to (on this earth) as Children of the Most High God is not just a “portion” of God’s abundance- it’s all of Heaven’s abundance. God’s not holding anything back from us.

Most of us haven’t even begun to tap into the abundance of Heaven. We look at our pockets and we make that our reality- God wants to free us from that tiny, minuscule, thinking.

Our pockets are just carriers… What I was challenged by yesterday was this: will I trust the numbers on my bank statements or will I trust the numbers God shows me in the Scriptures?

We have got to see through eyes of faith on this one…

As this CUM staff member was pouring her heart out about God’s blessings, her colleague joined the conversation. She shared how, last year, she’d wanted so badly to go to Israel for three weeks- God has opened doors for her and she’s going to Israel for three months!

During my visit to the store I was helped by one of the most amazing young men I’ve come across in a long time- he couldn’t have been older than 19. Let’s call him Wikus.

Wikus’ excitement and passion for Jesus was evident. He was generous and humble and respectful- I was blessed to meet him.

Watching Wikus I was encouraged to come across a man so young, outside of the Sunday church environment, who was on fire for Jesus.

Wikus recommended I watch  Indescribable.  He was so excited about it that at one point I thought his feet would set on fire and he would shoot out of that store like a rocket.

When I got home and watched it I understood why Wikus had been so excited about the message in this DVD.
When I watched this I understood why Wikus had been so excited about the message in this DVD.

It tied in beautifully with what the two women had shared with me about God’s BIGness.

I cannot fully articulate what’s in this resource- you’ll have to watch the DVD yourself.

All I can say is that whatever (and I mean whatever) you’re facing it doesn’t even come close to the BIGness of God and the vastness of His abundance.

All In!

When I was battling to have children there came a point in my life when God was all I had left.
I knew He would have to come through for me or I’d never have kids.
Fertility rounds failed.
So I ditched all the fertility treatments- everything- and chose to trust God. All or nothing!

I believed with everything in me that I was meant to be a mom. And so against all evidence that it would happen I would rub my belly and speak to the baby I believed I was carrying inside me. I would write to this baby. I even went out and bought clothes for my baby- because I knew I would have the children I wanted.
Eventually I did. Naturally. Well Supernaturally is more accurate.

As I trust God for other dreams I know this for sure- it’s not enough to just want. Everybody can want. To get we have to get all in. And “all in” means we need to dwell in the place that we’re believing to get to.
I was already acting like a mom and preparing for my babies long before there was any sign they would come. Now I have two beautiful children- bless God.

In our minds we need to create the reality we want to experience.
And we need to fight for these desires even when we look ridiculous.

Once while I was still trusting God for my baby I was sick and needed x-rays.
I refused the procedure because I felt the x-rays would be harmful to my baby.
As I walked out the doctor thought me crazy because he didn’t believe there was a baby to protect but I was dwelling in the reality I wanted to see happen.
It turned out I wasn’t pregnant that time but still I believed.

Months later we were in a 4X4 on tremendously rough terrains.
I half stood in the vehicle because I didn’t want the impact to hurt my baby.
There were NO signs of pregnancy- but I believed.
A few weeks after that 4X4 adventure I found out I was a few weeks pregnant!

Prior to this some folks had told me that: “Some people are just not meant to have kids”. I rejected that instantly because God in the Scriptures said “be fruitful and multiply.” Nowhere did He say “Be fruitful and multiply… oh except Hannah.”
You have not been excluded from ANY of God’s blessings.

It doesn’t matter how crazy you seem when you go all in- the real question is how badly do you want to experience your dream?

It’s not up to God- God has already blessed you with everything you will ever need- It’s ALL up to you.
Will you 1. Believe? and 2. Act on your belief?

Below are the children I was “never supposed to have”…

I didn’t just get kids- I got amazingly gorgeous and spectacular children.
Dare to go all in!

My miracle baby Luke
My miracle baby Luke

My love baby Sky
My love baby Sky

 

Love Revolution

Where to begin…

These past few weeks have been profound.

I’ve been wrapped up in a plane I didn’t even know existed!

All my life I’ve believed in God. I cannot ever remember a time in my life I didn’t. But it’s only now that I’m truly beginning to believe in His Power. And His Power is Love.

A few weeks ago my husband and I had the profound opportunity to lead our helper to the Lord.

She was battling so many things and in my heart I knew all her answers lay in Jesus.

Usually I’m a fixer. If I see someone going through stuff my first response is to try and fix- but now I’m realising that what about those things that cannot be fixed by human goodwill, intelligence and even genius?

As I’m discovering God’s insane love for me I’m finding that I no longer have the “right” advice, or the “right” solutions because the purest forms of those things lie only in Jesus.

A few weeks ago I watched Father of Lights which just totally and utterly revolutionised my view of God.
A few weeks ago I watched Father of Lights  which just totally and utterly revolutionised my view of God.

As I watched Father of Lights  I was unraveled and totally shocked at how much I didn’t  believe in God.

All this time I’d called myself a believer- and yet I had so much unbelief in who  God was: Love;  so much unbelief in what He was doing; Insane miracles;  And so much unbelief in who He had called me to be: Everything He was.

I had heard about what Jesus had said to His disciples- that amazing things would happen through those who believed in Him- even more amazing things than He’d ever done! I’d read those Scriptures myself! I’d heard people testify about incredible miracles they’d experienced and yet as I watched Father of Lights  and saw those things caught on camera I could not believe what I was seeing!

I was embarrassed by my gasps of: “No way!”

But: Way! Way! Way!  These things are True.

So earlier this week I started googling, Todd White, one of the guys I’d seen on the film. He’s on a love mission to demonstrate God’s love wherever he goes.

Todd’s simple faith in who God was and how he was experiencing miracle after miracle challenged me. I wanted to live my life like Todd was doing.
Todd’s simple faith in who God was and how he was experiencing miracle after miracle challenged me. I wanted to live my life like Todd was doing.

So Tuesday morning I got up really early as I felt such a pull to soak in this world of stupendous where miracles were normal- where Love abounded like I’d never known it to.

I went online and watched Heidi Baker as she spoke about saying Yes to God… I watched Todd unpack his experience of God’s love. And I just drank and drank this life that was pouring out on me.

A few hours later my helper, Mariana, came to work. I could see she was in tremendous pain. Her face was grey. Her eyes welled up as she tried to explain how much pain she was in.

The left side of her face was swollen from the abscess in her jaw.

I told her she had to go home but invited her in for tea and something to eat before she left.

As she made her tea I crawled back to my study for more of this love revolution that was happening.

And I thought to myself that for weeks we’d been telling Mariana how much God loved her. Today what she really needed wasn’t just words of God’s mad love for her- what she needed was healing from the mad pain she was in.

So I sat with her and asked her if I could pray with her. She agreed.

I told her we were going to pray for the pain to go away.

I was tearing up, she was crying… On the inside of me I could see how inadequate I was. I had so many shortcomings- and yet I realised that none of this was about me. None of it.

I could feel God’s heart for this wonderful woman that He had given everything for and His greatest desire was to pour His love on her- that included taking every ounce of pain in her away.

So instead of looking at my inability I saw Jesus standing there. And I imagined Him putting His hands on Mariana. And I remembered that when Jesus had walked this earth, in every single encounter where someone had gone to Him for healing, Jesus had never, ever, ever turned anyone away. Everyone that came to Him He healed.

I thanked Father for Jesus and I put my hand where Mariana’s pain was. And I prayed. Knowing it wasn’t about perfect prayer. Knowing God wasn’t holding out a check list to tick what I’d done and not done- Knowing God was right there wanting to show Mariana His Love- the only thing He asked of me was would I let Him minister to her through me?

How could I say no to Love?

After the first time I prayed I asked Mariana how she felt. She said a little better.

I remembered Todd praying for a young man who’d been almost blind in one eye. The first time Todd prayed the young man said his sight was significantly better. But Todd wasn’t looking for “better” he wanted God’s best. And God’s best was complete healing. 100%.

Todd didn’t quit the first time. Three times he laid hands on the young man and on that third time sight was restored 100%.

So I told Mariana we were going to pray again. And I told her I needed her to be completely honest with me about the pain. We didn’t have to do this quickly. I wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t have to work. So there was nothing pressing us for time. I told her this pain was going to go completely. So I prayed again. This time when I asked her she was beaming- she shook her head and touched her jaw where the excruciating pain had been- She told me the pain was completely gone. Instantly her complexion had changed and she didn’t look grey anymore.

I could see she couldn’t believe what’d just happened.

I was stoked and wanted to pray for other things with her.

But I felt God impress on my heart that He wanted her to receive the gift of The Holy Spirit and speak in Tongues.

I know there’s a lot of controversy about this issue- I can’t even address that here. All I can testify to is what I know God told me. So I called my husband in to help me explain this gift to Mariana. We asked her if she wanted to receive it and although she didn’t fully understand all we were trying to share with her- she had such an eagerness for more of God.

So we prayed with her. The short version is she totally started speaking in Tongues.

As she prayed in this wonderful new language I could see the joy spreading in her entire being. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

She was bubbling with life. It was as though deep wells of life were just bursting open in her.

I was like a kid rejoicing, jumping up and down, praising God for how awesome He was.

So this was what it felt like to join the love revolution…

Even though I was with Mariana in our living room I could see that God had totally captivated her and this was such an intimate moment between them.

She was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. My husband explained as much to her as he could in the little time he had left with us as he had to leave.

Mariana didn’t want to leave. It was almost as though she didn’t want to leave what she was experiencing. I knew that what she was experiencing wasn’t confined to our living room. But I told her she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted to. She didn’t have to work. She could just relax and bask in what was unfolding in her.

For a while Mariana had been asking me to teach her to bake. So I asked her if she wanted us to make a cake. We did.

It turned out to be the most sublime cake I’ve ever had. So much so I dubbed it our love revolution cake.
It turned out to be the most sublime cake I’ve ever had. So much so I dubbed it our Love Revolution Cake.

We’d mixed food colouring in it. It came out looking like such a childish mess! But it tasted gorgeous and luxurious and utterly yummy.

In my heart I felt that God’s love was like that. On the outside it probably didn’t look like much but when enveloped by it, when taking part of it and experiencing it first hand- it was more than anything we could ever imagine!

By the time Mariana was getting ready to leave she was glowing. That grey she’d hobbled to us with was gone. The swelling had disappeared.

She told me that all she wanted to do was sing. And so she sang me a song about how much God loved her.

She told me how alone she’d felt. And that when she’d prayed in the languages she knew she’d still felt alone. But when she prayed in this New Tongue God had given her- she said it was as though her heart had flung open and she knew she wasn’t  alone. I understood then, far much clearer, why God had wanted her to speak in Tongues.

I know there are folks that think this crazy- at one point I thought speaking in Tongues was crazy too. I thought I was making it up and no such thing actually existed.

But this week I saw a physical change in someone just by her speaking in this “crazy” language. I saw God minister to Mariana in a way no human words would have been able to.

I’m realising more and more that there is a hectic  Love Revolution happening.

It started thousands of years ago when God sent His Son to show the world who He truly was. Not a God eager to punish at the slightest mistake, but a Father who wanted an intimate love relationship with us that made us feel safe and wonderful to call Him Daddy. A Father who loved us more than we could ever ever imagine and far more than we could ever comprehend. Jesus was the love He sent us. Jesus was His love letter to us.

At anytime Jesus could’ve walked away but every day of His life He said Yes to His love for us. He gave us everything until He had nothing left.

Today His love hasn’t decreased. It burns ever brighter. And the question He asks those of us who believe is a simple one: Will we say Yes to His Love Revolution? Will those of us who say we believe truly  believe in His love? Will we walk in faith and touch people where it hurts and allow His power to flow through us so they can truly  experience God’s love?

All these questions can be wrapped into one simple ask: will we join His Love Revolution?

I’m discovering an entire Gorgeous Nation of crazy believers who have said Yes. They are seeing people raised from the dead, limbs grow, blind eyes opened, deaf ears opened…

God is real. So is His power. His Power is Love. In that love exist miracles unknown.

This week I got a minute taste of God’s Love. And I can say with absolute conviction that truly God is Love.

I’ve never felt more alive than I did seeing Mariana transformed before my very eyes. I don’t know much about any of this. But what I can tell you for sure is seeing God operate the way He did with Mariana this week… man- it’s pretty addictive.

 

P.S. For our Love Revolution Cake  recipe click here

For Todd’s testimony click here

Below is a trailer of the Father of Lights  film:

 

Love Revolution Cake Recipe

We adapted our cake from Laura’s Sweet Spot Blog

Ingredients

  • 340 grams butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 5 extra-large eggs (or 6 large eggs), room temperature
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract (essence) AND 1½ tsp almond extract (essence)
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (our cake didn’t need baking powder as we used self-raise flour)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup Milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  2. Grease your cake pan.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
  5. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.
  6. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  7. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry mix. Mix well.
  8. Separate mix into various bowls and add your preferred colouring to each.
  9. Pour mixes in your cake tin in the designs you fancy. Just have fun with it.
  10. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is slightly brown and a fork comes out clean.
  11. When ready turn your cake out onto a baking rack and allow it to cool.
  12. We loved it so much we ate it piping hot.
  13. You can also use this batter for cupcakes. Laura recommends that for large cupcakes you fill each cupcake liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. For smaller cupcakes- evenly fill 3 dozen cupcake liners ⅔ full and bake 18-20 minutes.

– Happy Loving!

 

 

 

How do we get our children excited about education?

We take their focus away from getting the answer right and instead teach them to embark on incredible adventures that will ultimately lead to the answers they seek.

Even if they don’t get the answers right the first time, because they love the journey of discovery, they will go back and try again- and again and again until they get it right.

If we teach our children that only getting the answer right is important we have robbed them of the creative power within them. And we ultimately kill their innate desire to innovate.

Learning is about learning. If we can teach our children that we will never have to force them to study.

 

P.S.  In this video, creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture works against them.

In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational “death valley” we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

To watch the video click here

Gorgeous Waste!

The past couple of days with my son have been profound.

A short while ago him and I were in the kitchen- I bent over to look into his face- and I noticed something about his eyes I hadn’t quite taken note of in a long time.

I looked hard at his eyes- it was the way they were shaped- the way his pupils were positioned within his eyes- There was something quite awakening about that moment as I examined my little boy’s eyes that made me realise that I was missing out on some incredible things about this amazing young man.

Then there’s my daughter… My little girl turns a year this month- it’s startling how time truly flies when they’re this small.

I can still remember the day we drove to the hospital to deliver her.

I can clearly see her little screaming face as they showed me to her for the first time.

I can remember how I felt holding her and not wanting to put her down.

Sky a few minutes after her birth
Sky a few minutes after her birth

I remember it all in such detail as though it just happened- and yet it’s already been a year since her birth!

Just a year ago my baby girl was no bigger than my two hands put together- today she’s standing- trying to wobble a walk, scooting around the house in her walker, wrestling with her dad, giggling, tossing and giving her brother a hard time (often)- an entire year has already gone by!

It happens that fast.

Sky a couple of days ago
Sky a couple of days ago

And so the other day as I bent over looking at my boy’s eyes- and into them- I realised that there was perhaps nothing more important in my role in this life than capturing as much of my children as I possibly could.

For the longest time I’ve know that being their mother I am perhaps one of their most influential teachers. I’ve known that I am hugely responsible for the atmosphere of our home and creating an environment where they can flourish.

But even as I knew this- there were far too many times I let other things distract me.

I do have ambitions. And I have dreams. And I have so many other things that play a role in fulfilling me outside of my children. But what I’m discovering is that when my role as a mom is priority- I am so energised, so happy, so full that that fullness spills over to everything else in my life.

I’ve heard people talk about the “sacrifice” of giving up careers to be stay-at-home moms. I think it’s quite sad that the word “sacrifice” is used in this context.

Never ever ever, since I left my job to be home, have I felt I “sacrificed” my career for my children.

Not once have I missed getting into my car, driving to an office and working there.

There have been some tough days being at home but never in all my working life have I been happier than I am right now serving my family first and foremost.

In college I was among the top students in my study.

I remember once saying to my class mates that my dream was to be a housewife.

One of my guy friends was flabbergasted and blurted: “Love, what a waste that would be!”

His statement and so many others who think this reminds me of Watchman Nee. One day one of the men who’d taught him bumped into him. Nee didn’t look  very successful and his former teacher was disappointed.

After all the promise Nee had had as a student the teacher felt the boy had amounted to nothing. What a waste of such intelligence! Such promise! And he minced no words in telling Nee exactly how he felt.

As the man who had once taught him walked away from Nee, the young man felt such despair and shame consume him. He had dedicated his entire life to serving God. Had he truly wasted  his life?

And in that moment Nee thought of the woman with the alabaster box who took her most prized possession and poured it on Jesus.

Those that looked upon this act had called it a waste.

How could she waste  such a precious, insanely expensive, perfume on Jesus!

And yet… And yet where others saw waste, Jesus saw worship and ministry that touched Him so much that this woman was the only person He commanded we always mention when we preach the gospel.

And as Nee remembered that woman he realised that what others saw as a waste of his life God saw as amazing and so worthy of the highest honour.

If what I’m doing in leaving it all to serve my children and my husband is a waste of my life- what a gorgeous waste!

I don’t think I’m missing out on life. I don’t think I gave up my career for something less than.

Instead I feel I am so honoured being blessed with a husband who makes it such a pleasure to serve. I have been blessed with two gorgeous children whose coming has given me such purpose. I feel my babies brought me back to life.

A while ago one of my friend’s daughters told me that what she really wanted to do with her life was to be a wife and mom.

I know some of her friends may find her dream to be silly. But I hope with all hope that she doesn’t let go of that dream. It’s not silly. And it’s not unambitious. I know this for sure because I have done many things in my life. I’ve had great achievements and done things so many people thought I was incapable of accomplishing.

I’ve had people I’ve never met before contact me and tell me how incredible they think I am at my work… When I was a TV anchor I even had the glitz of being asked for my autograph a few times. Those times were great. But when I look back on my life nothing I have ever done has even come slightly  close to the joy of being a housewife and mom.

Stay-at-home mom. It is often looked down upon. I think because we haven’t truly unpacked the blessing that it is.

I have found it to be such a noble path. So if that’s the path you’ve decided for your life, please, please, please (please)-  Never ever say you’re “Just a stay-at-home mom.” What you are doing is crucial.

Being an amazing mom is the stuff great nations are made of. Don’t ever be ashamed of it.

I know sometimes it may feel thankless but I recently learned that God honours what I do for my children and my husband. Even if they don’t thank me or even show appreciation for my efforts, Father sees everything I do and every single day He says: “Well done my good and faithful servant.” That I know for absolute sure.

I didn’t give up my career I traded it in for work with purpose.

I didn’t give up earning a living, I was given the opportunity to learn how to live in this most remarkable and most joyful way.

The beauty of letting go

What an awesome start to 2014 it’s been!

January was a month of reconnection for me.

Reconnecting with myself, re-aligning with the true nature of my existence, remembering what life is all about and perhaps one of the most deepest realisations: realising how super fast my kids are growing and how essential it is for me to not miss this awesome stage in their lives.

Reconnecting has meant choosing to deeply seek God’s true purpose for my life and choosing to let go when need be to make room for the awesome plans He has for me.

Reconnecting has meant searching to truly know how loved I am- and not being afraid to look into my own fears and challenge some damaging beliefs I have of myself.

Reconnecting has required some grown-up decisions and most times stepping out of my comfort zone and doing the necessary rather than the comfortable.

Some of the things that have been brought to my attention about myself haven’t been great but they’ve been revealed to me in a beautiful, non-condemning, way that assures me that change is good. And that change will take me to a whole new level of wonder if I can just let go: Let go of my preconceptions, let go of unhealthy misconceptions, let go of crutches, let go of security blankets, let go of things that ultimately don’t resonate with where I’m going…

I believe this kind of deep re-connection is not meant for one season in our lives- I believe it continues to be such an important ingredient in the entire journey of life.

Letting go has sometimes been difficult because most times I’ve been concerned about what I’m losing.

But I’m finding that when the letting go is in line with the deep, beautiful, wholesome desires in my heart- I discover blessings that had been closed to me because of the room those things I was holding onto were taking.

I’m finding I’m powerful. And I’m able. And I’m confronting things that once terrified me.

I’m doing things I never thought I could do.

I’m discovering that most times fear is just a feeling. It’s hardly ever a true representation of what’s actually happening.

When we hear: “Let Go” we’re usually afraid. Let Go  oftentimes terrifies us because we don’t know what’s on the other side of it. I can tell you that if it’s God telling you to let go then on the other side wait freedom, liberty like you’ve never known, healing, wholeness, a deep experience of love and tremendous blessings.

If you can let go and step out in faith you will discover the beauty of this liberating act.

Most times reconnecting with where I should be has meant letting go of where I am.

Reconnecting with dreams and desires has sometimes meant jumping ships I’ve been sailing on.

Letting go is only hard when we argue.

When we trust, and just plunge into the cool, blue, water of refreshing, letting go is wonderful.

So while I continue to reconnect, and continue to open myself up to letting go, I’m finding that the driver in all this connection is love. So here’s to February, the month of love.