Shalom stories

As women, we are bound to love in a manner that finds our lives on the edge, our backs against the wall. A young woman of love, peace, once lived, once saw all that the world could offer. She walked tall and firm with boldness and her shoulders up, walked with pride, revealing the feeling of being a virgin to her innermost. Everyone knew her for the fierce beauty that lay on her face, the love that ran deep into her heart.

Some of the reasons why people stop going to church I was told by many people that they stopped going to church because people at church hurt them at some point, so they left church all together. That’s why God tells us not to put our trust in man. I also have people who tell me that they don’t tithe and give offerings because the money will be used to buy pastors' expensive cars and suits, so they don’t want to make them "richer" than they are. According to them, the pastors are already stealing from the congregations, so they say they are too smart to be duped like that. But wait, are you giving or tithing to obey a man or God? Moving on... No, let’s park here for a flash. When you choose to buy a dress and it comes to your attention that your dress lady is duping you when it comes to the price and quality of the dresses she sells, do you stop wearing clothes all together or do you look for another dress?   Guard your heart with all diligence, because out of it

I was at the hospital today where I met an amazing nurse, Lorna. She and I have become good friends due to my now frequent visits to the hospital. Of all the nurses I have met and interacted with all my life (I think there are five of them), she tops the list. As we were chatting, I listened to her talk to me about her job, especially with the ongoing doctors’ strike, and I couldn’t help but admire her love for people. Sick people, I might add; she calls them her patients, and she went on and on about how she treats them, cleans them and nurses them completely until they are back. As soon as she said that, a sigh of relief washed over me because I knew she would take care of me, so I let her. When I got home, I was just drained. It’s been one hard month for me. Before it all started, I remember having this dread of hospitals, and I kept praying and asking God to not let me end up in a hospital for whatever reason. The more I prayed about it, the more the fear intensified. One time, on

I am not much of a tetchy or geeky chic, but I know a thing or two about computers. Take Microsoft Word, for example. I know that I can copy and paste stuff I don’t feel like writing all over again. I know I can cut stuff I don’t like in a document I’m working on. I also know that if I don’t like some new applications that I installed or get bored with them over time, I can restore everything back to its default settings by uninstalling them and get rid of them.

A few weeks ago, I had a not so "saved" moment. Someone pissed me off, and I was ready to cuss them out. I kept talking about the things about this person that irked me and went on and on and on about how unfair the person was. In my eyes, I was a saint who was justified in feeling what she felt and speaking the way she did. Instead of having peace and a lot of contentment for "speaking my mind," my heart was deeply heavy. I ignored the heaviness and continued to be nasty about the whole situation and continued to shift blame and that’s when I realized that the Pharisee in me was still alive and well. Fast track to the current situation... We go to church on Sundays or on any other day and speak in hushed tones as we ask why people in that church are not getting saved. We wonder why so and so is still not married, why the lead worshiper had to wear that dress with those shoes. Our greetings have turned to "praise the Lord, have you heard mama Nani was sent away

Someone once said that if you want to know if a girl is really hurt, she is going to be silent and will outright ignore you. She will stop asking questions and will just leave you alone. You are not necessarily dead to her, though in some cases, you may be, but she will no longer make an effort to reach out to you.

Have you noticed those billboards that have questions like, “Is your life where you want it to be? Have you accomplished what you thought you would bring about or wished to have obtained by this time, this year?” I had these questions today, and I carried out that no, my life is not where I want it to be. No, I have not achieved what I wanted to have achieved by this point this year. I mean, I am still struggling with things I was meant to do in January, so I think asking me about achieving my January to October plans is pushing it... just saying. Do I get frustrated at times when things do not go my way? Yes, 100% Do I feel pressured by everyone’s expectations of me? You have no idea. I just smile, but in my head I am screaming, “Leave me alone.” I never thought I would see the day when suddenly almost everyone would be interested in finding out when I would get married and to whom. I meet my parents’ friends and most of them are like, “yes, call us now, we are ready.” Some touch my a

I have a God who is not only enthroned on High, but in His own special way, also comes all the way down to my level to speak to me in a way that I can understand and know it’s Him. He does not mind getting his hands dirty as he sorts me and my issues out. He is the only one I know who remains faithful even when I am unfaithful, and that’s why I can only boast of His love for me and not mine for Him, because mine is flawed. He is also the only one I know who allows me to go through seasons of being "hurt", but he never allows these seasons to "hurt" (damage) me. Instead, they help to shape my character, which makes me understand in a deeper way that faithfulness is more than the kisses of an enemy.

I woke up this morning with a desperate desire for God's will to reign in my life. I was in that place where i was trying to make head or at least tail of the things happening in my life and trying to understand the reason why there is so much drama happening and specifically why some promises are taking so long...and then i received this from a friend.  "For I am working in the secret things in your heart, in your mind, and in your circumstances, to bring about greater awareness of my plans for you. For you are so easily distracted by the here and now, by the things that are temporary, by the things that are unimportant. And so, these things that grab your attention, and hold it, are what you see, and these things are not important, they are not truly relevant. So the things I’m working on are out of your sight, out of your vision, beyond your awareness, but nevertheless, they are important, they are relevant, they are necessary. I am working in these areas, in these issues,

I have not always been the “follow your destiny” or “chase purpose instead of money” kind of girl. Phrases like pursue purpose did not mean much to me until recently. I went out for lunch with a really good friend of mine and I got a clear perspective on what that really meant. You see, he is the kind of person who asks you question that keep you up late at night. He is the kind of person who is real and tells it to you like it is. What amazes me most about him is the fact that I have not encountered any trace of vagueness in him; he makes his intentions clear about what it is that he wants in life and out of everyone he meet up.

I am that girl who still believes that it is possible to love someone honestly. I still believe in marriage in light of the fact that this is one institution that has been misrepresented, tainted, and defiled by many. It is tempting and really easy to give up on all that, especially when you get to see the statistics that show the number of divorces that happen and those that are likely to take over (place).  What makes it worse is when as an individual you have had your own share of failed relationships and, to be honest, this has the power to just put you in a bad place emotionally and psychologically. It possible to find a lover of your flesh. That person who holds you when you want to be held and who agrees with you sensually.

The wish I've come to discover about God's promises is that they never flow with their surroundings (truth be told before I did not see anything beautiful about it). He can promise provision just to guide you into a season of scarcity. He can guarantee you that things will work out between you and the one you love, but you feel like you're losing them on the inside.

We are living in times where we appreciate the prosperity gospel, but shut down the repentance gospel... We want to receive all the blessings, but we do not want to know the one who gives the blessings. We have more shallow Christians than deep Christians because we are no longer willing to go through the chastening process whereby God changes you from the inside out. We are quick to embrace anyone who comes in the name of God, and we no longer discern the spirit behind the voice. As a result, we embrace all manner of doctrines and stray from Jesus, who says that he is the only way, the truth, and the life, and that NO ONE CAN GET TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH HIS SON(JESUS CHRIST). We want to be anointed and spirit-filled, to have miracles, signs and wonders following us, but we constantly refuse to be under the subjection of the Holy Spirit of God, and so this power and authority we desire ends up being an idol because pride creeps in and we think we are "powerful". It is ti

In order to enjoy the life that God has for you, you will have to know Him at an intimate level (beyond just being saved seek true perfection in Christ) will stir up your mind, but Revelation of God’s word will move your core. Emotions will, at times, lead you two illusions, but a renewed mind will push you to your next dimension. Your instinct is your naturally God-given ability to strive in areas that are central to who you are.. Timidity will put you in a cage, but an open mind and a changed perception will allow you to run in the wild. It is with your mind that you serve the Lord, not your feelings. Removing everything that does not add value to your life and anchoring yourself to your core (the real you...

We mention the name Jesus often but constantly deny the power behind the name and any connections that come with it. We want to be saved but still refuse to allow God to carry out his plan in and through us, because we still want to remain lukewarm and philosophically tolerable. We want to encounter the wholeness of God’s power and blessings in our lives, but refuse to be in a relationship with Him.We want to go to heaven, but we are still under the curse of unforgiving because we have allowed bitterness and anger to reign supreme in our lives. We say we are saved, but we still allow profane talk, godless chatter, and curse every time things do not go our way. We condemn those who are "living in sin" based on our own righteousness only because they sin differently from us, and we forget that before God, sin is sin, and with that, He does not and will never compromise, because that’s why he gave us His best. We are slowly becoming the microwave generation that is used to getti

I have been close to a month and I still could not make head or tail of what was going on with me. All I knew was that it felt like my heart and my mind were in two different places, what my friend’s and I like to refer to as “feeling scattered”. Everything around me was picture perfect, but in me there was a raging war in which I was quickly losing.

She is nowhere close to a perfect girl, and it takes a supernatural kind of love to understand this. Behind the confident smile was once a broken girl, who only peeped through the windows of her soul but could never dare to come out. She dated wrong, believed wrong, did everything wrong and so it only made sense for her to build a wall around herself to shield her heart from the pain caused by opening herself up to the world, and so she would not allow anyone to come close.

I didn’t perceive how I missed the symptoms called ‘Jesus’ name... Little did I notice that I was already in labor. I did not understand what was going on, so I told the Lord to take the cup away from me as I thought it to be affliction from the enemy, plus the fact that I couldn’t take it anymore. My unbelief clouded my vision as the tempest turned my smile upside down and all that was left was my heart singing that I have no other God but you, so aid me.. You see, most of us go through existence without a distinct revelation of just what it is that God has put in us. As a result, some of us are pregnant (with His treasure) but are unaware of it. So he allows us to feel the pain, and the discomfort, so that we can first realize what it is that we are carrying, and also to prevent us, from missing our time of delivery or from aborting the baby (destiny) . The beauty about this is that what you have in you is a promise from God. One thing I have learnt firsthand about God’s obligations

I know that you’ve caught me. Right inside the palm of your hand, at each and every juncture, what’s good and what gets broken? Create only the course that you work out on. You are here. You’re sincere. I believe I can count on you even when it constrains me. Even when it’s troublesome. Even when it all just falls apart, I will fly to you because I perceive that you are a companion to my soul, a healer of my scars, and a source of comfort..

I am that girl who still believes that it is possible to love someone honestly. I still believe in marriage in light of the fact that this is one institution that has been misrepresented, tainted, and defiled by many. It is tempting and really easy to give up on all that, especially when you get to see the statistics that show the number of divorces that happen and those that are likely to take place.

It is amazing what faith can work out in your life. I’ve always used the words "NO" and "YET" exactly as my English teacher taught me to. I would say no when I did not prefer something and yet when I had not finished working on something. All that changed recently, and I can tell you that without hesitate! The elements that God has performed in my life have never agreed with the circumstances. My emotions, my resources, my senses, they have all been divine. It is having a history with God that always assures me that if He did it yesterday, He will do it today. I got sick late last year and the pain I felt in my stomach was unbearable. I could not stand, sleep, sit, walk, stretch or make any movement that would involve my muscles. So I curled up in my bed and took my phone, and decided to ask "Google" what was the problem. That was a wrong move right there, because the suggestions it came up with all pointed towards death or an operation. I put my phone as

At times, God gives you a promise and everything happens to defy that promise, to make you doubt that it will really come to pass... It is during moments like these that you need to be alone with Jesus and just tell Him, “Lord help me believe.” I want to believe it, but it’s hard for me to see past this storm right now. Lord, open my eyes. I want to be free.

I was so delighted that weekend when my brothers told me that they were driving to the coast, and furthermore, they asked me to travel with them. You see, I was the only girl in my family suddenly, so I was constantly surrounded by boys, and if that was not enough, the neighborhood we moved into was a "boys town". So the only character that I could develop then was one of a boy. I would rock jeans sagged low and a hoodie, doubled up with a philosophy from here to Timbuktu. I learnt how to ride a bicycle on one that had no seat and no breaks.   (Of course, I discovered the breaks part while driving down a hill and tried them, but they didn’t work.) It is a miracle I am alive today. I had always wanted to do something like a road trip with my brothers, but they always left me out for one reason or the other. So when they invited me to do this, it was HUGE!! I packed my bags, and we went to the (coast.) You see, all through this I did not know God was setting me up for salvation

He counts on you even when you do not sense him, and all actions are carried out jointly for the benefit of those who cherish the Lord and are called according to His purpose, so you will not withdraw and let go. Can he entrust you with a “NO” and know that you will not throw turn trumps and distrust his love for you?  Can he put his trust in you with what he values most in worship, so that even when you’re at your lowest, you’ll still lift your hands and say, “Lord, you are worthy of all praise,” so that your relationship with Him isn’t influenced by your surroundings?

At times, the only way you can be really effective in ministry is by allowing people to see and touch your scars. Thomas in the Bible got his name “Doubting Thomas” during a moment of weakness. The guy had been with Jesus during his entire ministry and believed in Him more than anything, i mean he left everything and gave it all up for the course of Christ. He knew Jesus would establish His kingdom right here on earth...

I was once called a religious fanatic, too saved, too uptight, and the list goes on. Somebody even told me I was looking for an angel when I answered  a question I was asked more than a year ago about the man I wanted to get married to. Le t’s back it up a little… I met a man of God a couple of years ago and I bless God for Him because He made me understand something to do with marriage. I say this because there are some things you only realize when you live with your husband or wife... not before.

"God can use anybody to speak to you. All you have to do is to be alert and believe that he is willing and actually wants to speak to you." These are the words that a great man of God told me one sunny afternoon in the cool "jee van jee" gardens of the campus I was on. Already, I had not gotten over the fact that God loves me, so him telling me that God, the great Jehovah God who is the Alpha and Omega, who created all this, actually wanted to talk to me was just out of this world and for a long time, I knew He talked to people, I just didn’t see how I would be in that group of the "blessed ones."