How Grey is your Grey Day?

Coming from the tropics where the sun shines almost 10 months of the year, I couldn't help noticing how grey it can be in the Northern hemisphere especially as you get closer to the arctic circle.

During this time of the year, here in the northern countries during the winter if you have 1 hour of sunlight, it is like winning a lottery. The daylight is scarce and the days are mostly grey (like when heavy rain clouds cover the sky in Malawi).

As the amount of daylight reduces every day due to the sun moving southwards from 21st June to 21st December, one can not help to appreciate what a great weather we have at home.

When I first arrived in Sweden I could not understan why people would run out and lay themselved in the sun during a beautiful summer day. With time I realised what an expensive entity and a scarce commodity the sun is on this side of the world. I learned to appreciate what I used to take for granted like a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies, a beautiful spring day, a golden autumn day and a snow white winter day. I learned to appreciate the little things that happen each day as it came and just be happy for another day that went by.

Sometimes just like me, I am sure we miss on some of the most beautiful opportunities in life because we overlook them or we think they are not so important.
Its just like how we take walking, breathing, seeing and quiet and calm peaceful moments for granted until we meet someone who cant walk, or cant breath without a life support, or one who has an ailment which cant allow them to stay still, you can add on to the list.

So if you think your day id GREY, know that someone else could be having a much more GREY close to BLACK day. Therefore let us learn to appreciate every moment of our days.

All the best as you appreciate this day, for the Bible says " This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it". There are no conditions that have been put in this verse, for example that "I will only rejoice and be glad in a day when ......."
Let us learn to be thankful eveyday.

Enjoy the weekend

ONLY BELIEVE!

How many times have you managed to lose something or not been able to achieve what you could only because you did not believe that it could happen.

Yesterday I found myself in an interesting situation, I had to connect between two buses to get to my destination. I find myself in a country where time is very important and everything happens or is done on time.

So here I was sitting on the first bus which was scheduled to arrive at my connection point at 9:13am, my next bust was at 9:19am. As we drove through the traffic, I could not help realizing that I will not be able to make it for my connecting bus, I was about to start thinking of my plan B, that is a nice way of saying I was beginning to get worried. As I was in the process of starting to think of what I will do in case I miss the bus, there was a Bible verse that just came into my mind " ..only believe, ALL things are possible..." I chuckled and told myself "I believe". I was still in a bit of doubt honestly, but I prayed and said, "God help my unbelief". I sat on the bus, I looked at the time it was 9:15am and we were not close to my connecting point, and to make matters worse to take the next but I needed to cross one of the major roads which happens to be the bussiest street as well. Time was not on my side.

I got off the first bus and did not bother to look at my watch, I checked the direction where the connecting bus was coming from, the bus was not yet in sight. I crossed the road and as I was just finishing the crossing there was my bus just about to leave the bus stop, I ran and guess what I got it, just on time. The interresting part was the driver saw me from a distance and he waited until I got on the bus.

Talk about believing, I thanked God for that moment. This continued throughout the day as there were a lot of things that I had to do, they seemed so impossible but the sentence kept echoing in my head "..only believe, ALL things are possible.." And at the end of it all, everything went well.

Indeed all things are possible if we only believe and have faith in God.

I thought I would share this story with you my coleagues.

Do your best to believe, today.

Blessings

A TRIBUTE TO PIYASONI KACHEPATSONGA

It was my birthday, my big birthday, I was so excited and happy, I thanked God for the life He gave to me. On the other side of the wolrd at the same time a great life had just been taken back to God the creator, my heart was broken and I was in terrible shock.

It was Piya, the same Piya, the God's Marvelous Creation (GMC) Piya, a son, a brother and a great friend. We all could just not take it in without expressing the shock.

Some of you reading this blog may not know him, but to those of us who knew him, its hard to believe that 2nd December 2008 was your last day Piya on this earth.

I met Piya at Chanco, when he came to join GMC theatre, a christian drama group that went out evangelizing and spreading the word of God through drama. When Piya joined the group we could not help noticing the talent that was embedded in this young man. He was a great director and play writer. He always had interesting imaginations and ways of acting which would always spark a heated discussion most of the times during the rehearsal. But at the end of it all it was just GMC.

I remember the time we had to act "KUMASANO", this was a great production which all GMC remembers. It was a play that we acted in many schools and we never stopped appreciating how each time we acted it came out different.

After Chanco we re-united as GMC alumini and called ourselves GMCA. We still had the same goal reach out to many young souls in schools. As time went by with age, most members got married but we still tried to keep GMCA together. Piya worked hard to keep GMCA together with several members who were in Blantyre, Lilongwe and many parts of Malawi, he did not give up on the dream of GMCA. There was a dream of having a film of one of GMCA plays I dont know how far you took that one Piya. Unfortunately, I can not ask you now, but I know you dreamed big for GMCA.

Some of the interesting moments were when we had to dance "Kumasano " on the weddings of members of GMCA. You were on the lead, with the "Kumasano chant". I am sure GMCA remebers "Kumasanooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, Kumasanoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

There is a lot members of GMCA would want to write about Piya. And I have put together this tribute on my blog so that all the members of GMCA and all friends can comment and add on what fond memories we shared.

We are separated now physically, but you are always with us everyday, as we look at your photos, as we walk past St. Columba, as we walk past HHI, as we walk past Salima turn-off, everywhere we go you will always be in our memories.

We will always remember you Piya, as one of our GMCA members put it: May the great "Kumasano" rest in peace. The great Piya will always be rembered. He was so dear to us at GMC. He was a God's Marvellous creation! (EK)

Mnyamata wa pa Lizulu, wakwambewe, womwetulira bwino, nyamata wodziwa kuyankhula chichewa, wokonda chikhalidwe cha chi Malawi, m'ngoni woyenda ndi litchowa, sitidzakuyiwala PIYA!

I will always remember the last time I met you at shoprite in Lilongwe in 2007, you were just back from a youth conference in Kenya. I didn't know that that was the last time I was seeing you, in this life. You will always be remembered.

Piya, you were indeed God's Marvelous Creation.
We will MISS YOU SO MUCH!

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.
LOVE GMC and GMCA

A SPLIT SECOND CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

My dear friends, its been a while since I posted an entry but here we are today, there is something to share.

I was walking in the city where I live, coming from a shopping centre which is located close to a busy bus and train terminal. As I walked amongst the crowds, I heard a voice say "you", I just took a glance from the corner of my eye because I was not sure who was being addressed. After a few seconds I realised that the "you" was for me because there was an old lady standing in front of me with her eyes fixed on me. My first thought was what does she want from me, then my second thought came, do I really have to stop and hear what she has to say, I dont really know this person. But a big urge within me said stop and listen so I did. With a smile I looked at the old lady and said "yes", she looked at me and said "could you please help me pick the coin by my feet?" I smiled and said "sure" I picked up the coin and gave it to her. She said thanks, and I smiled and walked away.

Even though I was walking away from her, my thoughts were still with her. I thought to myself, what if I had ignored her (which I could have easily done), all she needed was just a little help to pick a coin. Due to old age she could not bend and all she did was just to stand next to where her money was. I turned to look around if she was still standing at the same spot, I realised she was walking into the shopping centre. I am sure if I had walked away without picking that coin, she would still wait there until somebody picked it for her.

As I might have mentioned earlier on in one of my entries, I find myself living in an interesting society, where everybody cares about their own bussiness and old people are the least in the society that one would care about. Here old people either have to be put at a retirement home or can stay on their own in their apartments hence the need to go shopping for food. It is possible that this old lady had tried to ask several people to help her with the coin, but may be they ignored her or just did not care.

I am sharing this story, which happened yesterday by the way, just to say that there are small things that we can ignore, or feel like they are not worth doing for others that would make a huge difference in their lives.

I am sure you can remember of such moments in your life where all you needed was just a few minutes, or seconds but no one was there to help or somebody came and everything worked out.

All I can say is that friend, take a moment to listen when someone stops you, in our busy life we can still spare a few seconds, that could change somebody's life or brighten their day.

All the best as you think about this story, honestly it got me thinking.

Blessings and all the best as we enter the advent season.

Forces of Gravity at Work!

My dear friends today I thought we take sometime to look at work environments and how they can affect our performance. When I say work environment, this includes those studying in different institutions, those working in different offices and departments and every kind of environment you find yourself in where you have to interact with people.

I have titled today’s discussion “Forces of Gravity at Work” what I mean is working in an environment where colleagues are pulling you down. How do I mean pulling you down, I mean working with people who are happy to see your downfall and not your success. People who try their best to block you in whatever you do, those who do their best to hide information from you because they want to be the best, this is the kind of environment that I am talking about.

After having attended a workshop involving African women scientists in Sweden and Europe and hearing their stories about their journey to success I could not help it but write this article. It was sad and at the same interesting to see how far these women have come with their struggle to fit in a society where they stand out as “different”. A society which had judged them by their background (where they come from) and not qualification, how did these women manage to stand out and fight this “force of gravity”?

Hearing their stories, one would see that most of these women while trying to integrate in the societies where they find themselves in; they have not forgotten where they come from (home countries). Most of these women are doing projects which are supporting and benefiting their societies at home and also working in the countries where they currently find themselves to the benefit of these countries.

It's not only women who are facing these kind of challenges, there are also a lot of men who have found themselves in such kind of environments where coworkers be it in research, or in industry are pulling them down. It happens sometimes that even bosses are the ones who pull down their own subordinates trying to block them from developing a better career.

My dear friends my discussion here is that you should never be discouraged by those people who are trying to pull you down. One thing you have to know is that each one of us has potential to thrive and achieve the best. Work hard where ever you are no matter what people around you are saying or think, no matter how much they try to pull you down, keep your head above the water. You have potential and you can achieve the best.

I wish you all the best as you ponder on this discussion and know that you can get your dreams and be the best.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Thanks for your comment Dee Dee, it sheds more light to what true friendship is all about.

Today I had some other thoughts which I thought we could share, this thought is also a result of my day to day observations.

Walking around the streets in the city where I find myself in currently, I cant help to notice some people very humbly dressed, with a face reflecting their line of thoughts "NO HOPE". They move around with all they have, they dont have a home, they dont have savings, all they have they carry it with them. To them they take life "a day at a time".

At the same time I cant help to notice those people who have their life going well, everything almost in place, they have a job, a steady income at the end of the month, a home and you can add on to the list. The interesting thing with this group of people is that they live life in plans of "in five years time I will....." or "in ten years time..."

I thought we centre our discussion on the question, which of the two categories of people really live by hope?

It is funny to note that the people who reflect the line "NO HOPE" are the ones who really live by hope, they hope to see the next day, they hope to find food for the day, they hope to meet someone who will smile at them and brighten their day. Even though it seems like all hope is lost in their lives, they still live hoping for a better day.

On the other hand the group which seems to have it all worked out, mostly live with lots of uncertainity. Their lives are filled with the question "what if...." In this case there is nothing like hope all there is is I have to work hard so that the "what if.." I just thought about should not happen.

Life is very interesting these are just two extremes of people but all in all, how do we take life ourselves? I believe no matter what ones status is, we ought to be grateful and thankful for each new day. There are so many things that can happen not even in a day but in a split second which can turn our lives upside down.

I urge you my friends instead of spending time complaining about what we dont have, let us look back at what we have and be thankful for it.

It is always "ONE DAY AT A TIME". We may have five year, 10 year even a 100years plan, but it all takes a day at a time to be accomplished.

I hope to hear your views on life as pertaining to the things discussed above.

All the best.Until next time, remember life is always one day at a time, it can never go any faster or slower!

The Reason Why!

For the past weeks I have been thinking a lot about the reason why certain things are the way they are. I have been walking in different streets and meeting different people from all walks of life. Some people looked happy, others well dressed and others looked sad and blown down by the winds of life.

This made me ponder a bit on what is the meaning of life and why some people seem to have it good and others not, why others seem to be always on the down side of life while others are soaring high and happy.

These thoughts also led me to think about friendships. I was asking the question who is my friend, how much can I invest in a friendship, and how much can I trust my friend?

Thinking about these questions, I have seen that there are so many unanswered questions in life which everyone tries to address in their own different way that seems right and appropriate. Solutions to these qustions may be good for a certain group of people and not for others.

This led me into thinking of the saying “life is not fair”, is life indeed not fair? Is there something we can do to make it fair?

Are friends really forever, or they are only for a certain period? How can one know who is a true friend? Can one ever have a true friend? Is there anything as a true friend?

I believe there are many different answers that can be given to the different questions I have posed here.

Which ever the case, I think it is possible to have a true friend as long as one is willing to invest in the friendship.

As for the question “is life fair”? Well there are a lot of challenges in our world and in the human mind and eye; it is difficult t say that life is fair.

I would love to hear your views on this topic.

Until next time stay blessed and as you think about yourselves, think about others as well.

OUR FATHER

Every child’s behaviour most of the times reflects their background. Each and every caring family, teach their children while young principles pertaining to life. If this child is understanding and obedient, the child will take up whatever the parents have taught him or her and utilise them in their day to day life.

Whether it is good or bad, a child will also take on the behaviour of the parents. Let’s say if the child’s parents are drunkards, or are constantly fighting in the house, the child will see nothing wrong in drinking or fighting, because that is what his parents do. In the same way, if the parents are well behaved, the child will also grow up into a well behaved chap unless he or she decides on their own to go astray.

So is our relationship with our Heavenly father. God wants us to take up all what He has done and keeps on doing everyday as life lessons that will carry us through in life. He is our model just as parents are to their children.

Let us look back to where we belong, if we are children of God are we following what He has taught us or we are on the disobedient side. Jesus Christ set an Example for us in his life here on earth. He is the first born of all creation let us follow His footsteps. God wants us to grow in His likeness for in His likeness He created us

Stay Blessed

LESSONS IN LIFE

Hello friends, this week I have had some interesting encounters which have taught me a few life lessons which I thought I share with you.

I will share them to you in the form of a story so you can follow exactly what happened.

Two days ago as I was on my way to work, I got on a bus and the bus driver leaned to talk to me as I was just getting on the bus. Mind you the society where I find myself living here, is one where rarely people talk to each other be it on a bus stop, in the bus, in the cafe or anywhere. It's a society where everyone minds their own business and are never bothered about the person next to them or next door. So with this mentality, the gesture of the bus driver talking to me made me think, "has my ticket expired?" or "what is he up to?". Whilst I was still trying to sort the questions in my mind, the driver asked me a question which took me offguard. He said to me "have you used this bus route before?" I answered "yes I have", then he continued " could you please direct me which way I have to go from here because I am confused and the map I have is old." I thought for a second, he must be joking, then I answered him and explained to him how he has to drive to get to the last stop which was also my stop. I noticed as he continued driving that he was telling the truth he did not know where he was going and all he was doing was trusting the directions I gave him that he, will take me and the rest of the passengers in the bus to our right destination.

This story taught me one big lesson "Never assume". Honestly I had all reason to assume that a bus driver knows it all when it comes to directions. Here he is driving the bus all around the city why should he ask me for directions. I realised how much I may have hurt or not been of help to so many people because I assumed they knew what they were doing or where they were going.

Friends it is very easy for us to fall into the "assumption trap", let us be cautious of ourselves that we do not miss an opportunity to help someone or let someone end up in trouble because we assumed they knew.

Another interesting twist to the story was that the bus driver trusted me when I told him which direction he should drive. Trust is an important virtue in life, if we have to survive in this world we have to trust atleast in a few people otherwise nothing will work. No man is an island, we all need someone to stand by us or walk along with us whichever direction we are taking in life. Sometimes even if the future seems bleak let us trust as the bus driver did.

Another lesson I got from this story is humility. Can you imagine how humbling it must have been for the bus driver to ask for directions from a passenger? I am sure he should have been thinking about it for a long time and he was prepared for whatever reaction he was going to get from the person he was going to ask for the directions. But he did it anyway.

Sometimes life demands that we humble ourselves in order to get to what we need or what we want to achieve. Can you imagine if this bus driver did not humble himself to ask?

I wish you a great a nd blessed weekend as you ponder on this story.
Until next time, God Bless

PROVERBS!

HAHAHAAHA lero tiyendera tiphunzitsane mikuluwiko...

OOps! I started writing in Chichewa, that is just because I am so excited to share some proverbs that one of my friends sent me.

As you know it is a long running tradition in Africa and other countries in Asia that people/adults use proverbs to teach some of life's big or great lessons as well as pump wisdom into the younger generation. Proverbs have also been used as forms of expression where the person who is being told should figure out on their own what message is being relayed to them.

So here are some of the proverbs from Africa that made me laugh this week.
I hope you will enjoy reading them and trying to figure out what they mean.

The country where each proverb originates has been indicated at the end of each proverb.


When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all
beehives" - ( Kenya ).

"The man who marries a beautiful woman, and the farmer who grows corn by the roadside have the same problem" - Ethiopia .

"A short man is not a boy" – Nigeria

"No matter how hot your anger is, it cannot cook yam" - Nigeria .

"An old lady feels uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb" - Ghana.

"The same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay" - Niger.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there" - Uganda

"There's no virgin in a maternity ward" - Cameroon.


I hope you enjoyed reading the proverbs as much as I did.

Until next time ....Dzimvere mu mtolo!

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Hello friends, today I was listening to the very first recording of the songs from our first album which me and my sister Carol recorded at Transworld radio it gave me fond memories that I thought I could share with you.


The project to record the album "Ablaze Kuyaka" started in a very simple manner where my parents first encouraged us that if we want to record our music they would willingly support us.


To get the ball rolling I spoke with Peter K, he was working for Scripture Union, in Area14 , in Lilongwe by that time. He was also leading the "scripture union band" ( I dont remember if the band had another name) and together we rehearsed and recorded the first 10 track album "ABLAZE KUYAKA".

I write today to say THANK YOU, to all the guys who were there to support me and my sister Carol when we recorded this album. Peter K, you were so instrumental in putting up the whole band and sparing your time to help us record the album. Believe you me by then I had no clue of what goes on during the recording and everything that follows but Peter K took us through. I would like also to thank all the members of the Scripture union band at that time (1999), who tirelessly worked with us and even survived the overnight recording at Transworld radio studio in Lilongwe. Dingi J, I appreciate your time and the beautiful tenor that you put in the songs. My sister Carol, you were the best soprano you sang through all the songs tirelessly. And to the one who was doing the recording at Transworld radio (sorry I forgot your name), thanks a million, this was the beginning of a life long commitment to serve God through music and you played a big part.

Many thanks to my parents for the encouragement to me and Carol and providing transport and food to the rest of the band during the recording and shouldering all the expenses during the recording of the album.

Above all thanks to God almighty for all he has done and taking me where I am today with my music career.

Some people may be wondering why I am sharing this, I am writing this because it is important to remember those who have helped you to be where you are today, and also to appreciate how far you have come from.

To be where you are today, remember there is a place and time WHERE IT ALL STARTED! Dont forget where it all started!

Many blessings

WELCOME NEW BEGINNINGS!

Hello friends

I know its been´a while since I wrote something on my blog, but I am back now.
Today I thought we discuss the topic "Welcome new beginnings!"

I know some of you are already having millions of questions in your minds, "what is Nya mphande trying to say?"

Well remember in my last entry I wrote about " when all seems lost", well, when that happens it is important for one to look at the bright side of life and that's where todays entry comes in.

I spent the month of June thinking about a lot of things that were happening around me, and all that I could hear in my head was "welcome new begginings!"
Yes it is important to face circumstances in life and also to accept changes that happen in life.

Sometimes we spend time "crying over spilled milk" which can never be recovered. It is important and very crucial to know that after "crying over that spilled milk" we have to pick ourselves up and either fetch for another cup of milk or accept the fact that we dont have any more milk. What am I trying to say here, no matter what you are going through, whatever the circumstances, know that there is always another chance of starting all over again, a chance for a new beginning.

My dear friends let us not deny ourselves this chance by clinging on to what used to be (spilled milk), let us move on and see what we can achieve now in whatever circumstances were in.
It is always my joy to share with you.
I hope you get a fresh start, a NEW BEGINNING!
Love

WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST!

Hello again, today I just thought we share on the topic "when all seems lost".
Have you ever sat down and looked back or reflected at your life and what you have been through and at the end of it all just feel like all is lost? Well I have. Lost friends, lost relationships, lost time, lost opportunities, lost ... the list goes on and on.

When this happens I sometimes feel so low and helpless. But I have also realised that in looking back at such things, it's the time I see how far the Lord has brought me to be where I am today. Painful as it is to have lost those moments but it is also the moment that I have gained so much more than my human mind could have imagined.

Sit back and reflect on your life today, instead of counting on all those lost moments and occasions, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.

It is always my joy to share my thoughts with you. I hope you have been uplifted today.
Stay blessed

GLOBAL DAY OF PRAYER

Dear All

I mentioned in my last posting that last weekend was the Global Day of Prayer http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/

We (me and my friends) had a great time together following the prayers on God TV and also praying together for the nation of Israel on its 60th birthday and also for several countries around the globe.

I have inserted a banner on the global day of prayer. I hope you will be part of it to pray for your nations and also other nations of the world.

May you be blessed as you lift others in prayer to the Almighty God.

Until next time PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens)

Blessings

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP?

My dear friends, it’s been a while since I communicated to you.
This weekend hosts the global day of prayer and I thought our topic of discussion should also lean towards that.

Today I thought we dwell on the question “Do you have a personal relationship?”
I know some of you have already started asking the question “with whom?”
Well, I will begin by saying that I am a Christian, a believer in the almighty GOD creator of heaven and earth. I was born in a Christian family and my parents made sure they taught us the word of God through Bible stories and also taking us to church along with them. As I grew up I realized that my parents would encourage me to go to church but the decision was now mine whether I wanted to go or not. I had questions like why do I have to go to church? Is it necessary? What does going to church benefit me?

With all these unanswered questions lingering in my mind, one day in my adult Sunday school our teacher mentioned something which made all the difference and answered the questions that were in my head. He talked about having a personal relationship with God. He said you can be born in a Christian family, your parents can be pastors of the largest congregation, you may be the most well behaved, kind, generous, good hearted person in the world but that does not mean that you know God. What does knowing God mean? It means having a personal relationship with Him. Then what does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? The Holy Bible says “if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead than you will be saved” (Romans 10:10). A personal relationship begins by believing in someone, knowing them on a personal level, otherwise there is no relationship. If we take an example of our day to day life, those people whom we call friends, it’s not just any other person, they are people we have grown to know and have developed a personal relationship with them. In the same way that is what we have to do if we want to have a personal relationship with God; we have to be interested to learn more about Him, getting close to Him and believing in Him, spend time talking to Him in prayer and telling Him what is within our heart.
Remember it is about a personal relationship, do you have a personal relationship with God or you are still in the crowd of having a church going habit because that is what you do on a Sunday? In this fast and changing world it is important to know what you believe in otherwise you will be tossed to and fro by winds of corrupt messages that do not glorify the LIVING Almighty God.

Mind you I am not saying that it is wrong to go to church but we have to know why we really do it.

My prayer to all of us today is that may we develop that personal relationship with God, let us know Him, and trust me you will never regret.
Until we meet again remain blessed. It is never too late “if you confess Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him up from the dead” you have began your journey towards developing a personal relationship with God.
Let us join together in the Global prayers lifting our Nations to God.

YOU CAN PLAN.. BUT WHO IS IN CONTROL???

During the month of March I addressed a few issues concerning women, and this month we will look at day to day living. I thought we start this series by pondering on "who is in contro?"

Lets start by looking at this quote from the bible "Proverbs 16 vs 9 : In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps"

What have you planned for this year? You know when the year starts we always have what is called "New year resolutions", which some people stick to up to the end of the year, while others kind of lose track of their resolutions a few weeks or days into the new year.

So I ask the question again what plans do you have for this year, is it to get a good job, get a good house, find a spouse, get closer to God the list is endless.

What steps are we taking to fulfill our plans? Some of us could be working very hard to earn money to help us achieve what we want, others could be even trying to get contacts so that they can have a good ground to execute their plans, while still others are on their knees praying that God should see them through their plans. It is interesting to note how man can plan a lot of things and think that they are in control and suddenly it dawns that they are not so much in control or may be not in control at all.

Well the quote from proverbs 19 vs 9 reminds me that everyday no matter what I plan and think and wish to do, there is someone greater than I who orders my steps all the way and makes sure that the plan goes well. The interesting part is that God even adds into the plan those points you missed during the planning and makes things even better.

I will leave you with the question who is in CONTROL in your life??

Remain Blessed until we meet again right here...

A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE ON RELATIONSHIPS

Hello friends, as you may have noticed this month of March we have discussed a few issues concerning women I thought to crown it all we look at the CRUCIAL matter, RELATIONSHIPS.

What kind of relationships am I talking about? Today I will focus on boy-girl or shall we say man-woman relationship. And this is not just male or female friends at work or church, I mean relationships which if they work out will culminate into husband and wife.

This is an issue which I have thought about for a while and being female myself and in talking with my female friends and coleagues I realise that there are so many things that happen in a friendship between male and female counterparts which may lead to a one thinking they are in a relationship (both male or female member) while in actual sense there is none.

What am I trying to say here, friends (of the female gender) we have to be careful with what we conclude out of friendships. Let us not let our emotions betray us into thinking "oh because Mr J walks with me to work everyday or calls me twenty times a day then he is in love with me" NO! thats a non starter, unless you and MR J sit down and discuss what your friendship is all about there is nothing like a relationship there. You will be shocked that Mr J does not even think about you that way. This line of thought has led to so many disastrous endings of women getting pregnant and Mr J saying " I am not interested in you". So you know what that means single parenthood and emotional trauma that you will live with for the rest of your life. To make it worse with the HIV floating around in our world, Mr J could actually deliver an extra present with the baby, HIV and this means a troubled life for the baby and a bleak future for you as a woman.

It has also happened that women end up making wrong choices in their career because as they plan of their future they plan it with Mr J in the back of their heads while on the other end Mr J is only thinking about himself and you are not part of his plan. So let us be honest with ourselves, if we are not sure whether we are in a relationship or not, then most likely we are not and its high time to discuss with Mr J.

I am not saying that having a relationship is a wrong thing, but thinking that you are in a relationship with someone without agreeing with that person, that is WRONG.
Someone will say "but you know sometimes things just happen", yes I agree sometimes things just happen but think before you "LEAP". Relationships can be fun and rewarding if the basis of the relationship is good and is based on a mutual agreement between you and Mr J.

Women let us wake up and think about ourselves and our future. Lets make sure that we are in the right relationship. Let us not rush into getting Mr J just because Miss P got herself a Mr J. Her time is not your time. Your time will come just hang in there, there is no need to rush, there is always a time for everything.

Men this is also something you can chew on. Well you may not get pregnant but you can surely contract HIV and end up in relationships that are painful and traumatic.

Untill next time, Stay Blessed

ONCE YOUNG

Hello my dear friends, today I thought we could look back to the days when we were young.

What inspired me to write this article is really one of those things that we encounter everyday. I was standing on a bus stop waiting for a bus of course and on this particular day it was stinging cold. I was frozen to my bones and this reminded me of my old primary school days.

Do you remember those days in Malawi when we were going to school in shorts, in June and had to run or play with friends to keep ourselves warm? Yeah this particular cold day reminded me of those days. JUNI (referring to the cold weather) AKUTSINA osati zibwana!

I remember the days we would sit in class with my coleagues and the wind will be blowing through the open windows, the teacher would say that the cold was to keep you awake but ......

One day we were in boarding school and I guess those of you who have been to a Malawian boarding school will relate with me how tough it was to take a shower when its cold, especially those from the North and in Dedza and other mountanous areas of Malawi. I remember to have had some conversation with some male coleagues who said that they would compete on who would stay the longest without a shower (Kupha dry!) because of the cold.
In other words taking a shower in the cold was the biggest challenge especially when you had to use cold water! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Other than that, there are so many things that I look back to and they bring a smile on my face of when I was once young. Going to kindergatten (ku mkaka), singing and laughing away not forgeting the epilogue of sleeping for two hours before going home.
Then came the tough part of STD1 where you think the whole world has turned against you and you don't understand why your loving parents have to be so CRUEL to send you to school. DO YOU REMEBER!!!!!!!!!!!? Or may be I was the only one who had this problem.

All in all school was fun and at the end of the day I look back at everything and see where I am today, I thank my parents for taking the courage to encourage me.And all in all I thank God for the opportunity to go to school and be where I am today.

I am sure those of you reading this blog have your own experience. Lets share it and laugh together.

WE WERE ONCE YOUNG ISN'T IT?

God Bless

HAPPY EASTER

MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU and MAY YOU KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE REAL MEANING OF EASTER.

BEING A HOUSE WIFE

Let me start by saying that the last topic brought out interesting discussions and comments. Many thanks to all of you who read the post and also shared with others.

Today we take a look on the other side of the coin, being a house wife.

What does it mean to be a "house wife"?. I will give some definitions that I have heard from talking to people what they view as a house wife. Some people say a house wife is a woman who stays at home and manages the household. Others will say a woman who is usually not working, may be has not gone to school so they can't get a job anywhere than staying at home. Another group will describe a house wife as a "goal keeper" meaning someone who waits for handouts from her working or employed husband.

Its interesting to note that in all these definitions a house wife is someone who is looked down upon in the society of women (I will use my home country as reference). There are several men who would prefer a house wife because they will manage the home full time and may also respect their husbands more because that is their only source of income. As for me I would say a house wife is a woman whom we have to respect in society even though she is not a career woman (lawyer, secretary, doctor, scientist, you name it), being a house wife is a career on its own.

I will start by pointing out that there are so many women who do not have any office jobs but spend their whole day at home and have a lot of talent which they can share with the society.

I have seen house wives who have used their time of staying at home as a time of thinking and developing their career, either in hand work such as knitting, sewing or even cooking. What am I trying to say here? Being a house wife does not mean that you just stay at home, bear children, and cook food for your husband. That is the time a woman can also develop their talents.

There are alot of things that women can do whilst at home, talk of painting for example, sketch drawing, gardening, decorations, all these seemingly small things can earn you as a house wife a career.

I know of women who are house wives and are good in baking, who have ended up opening bakeries, others even shops for wedding cakes and now they have thriving businesses. I know of women who started by trying to sew some small dress and realised that they could do more with their time at home and talent and now have tailoring shops which supply uniforms and other types of clothing to different schools and institutions.

So women, house wives out there, wake up and develop your God given talent.

Until next time

stay Blessed.

BEING A CAREER (AFRICAN) WOMAN

I thought we could continue on the subject we started in my last posting on "Being a Woman".

The most challenging part of being a woman is to combine career and marriage/motherhood. This is even more challenging when it comes to the African woman. I will tackle this topic with reference to my country as Africa is a big continent and every country has got its own ways of dealing with this issue.

Allow me to loosely use the term African woman here because in my discussion I will be comparing the African woman and the woman in the western world.

When a girl child goes through secondary school education, it seems to be the norm that the girl has a choice of either going to university to further her studies, do a short proffessinal course, work or get married. For those who are fortunate to go to university or do a proffesional course, they have another 2-7 years to study before they decide to settle down while those who did not usually the only option is mostly getting married and have children.

The interesting part of our society is that the less number of years a girl child/woman spends in tertiary education the higher the chances of getting a partner hence marriage. While the more years she spends in tertiary education the thinner the chances of getting married. There are several reasons that have been outlined from discussions with both male and female friends why this is so.

In the first place it is percieved that the more educated a woman gets the more independent she gets and the less likely that she will respect her husband. This is attributed to the financial security that the woman assumes due to her career hence the male counterpart think that the woman will be rude in the household as she would "stand up" to her husband because they are on the same level or worse still if she is on a higher level. But is this true? Well its an open question and I am sure everyone has a different way of looking at it.

Secondly, sometimes women try to pursue a career before settling down in a family because of the fear that when they get married they may not get a chance of reaching their goals as their partners may say "you have studied enough!" or "what dont I provide for you" or "aaaha so you want be like those other women who dont respect their husbands". In as much as this may sound funny, it has been a set back for several women who would have loved to continue in a certain career path.

These and many other reasons which you may know, have restricted women to pursue careers in certain fields back home in Malawi. But what is the picture in other countries in Africa and outside Africa? The answer to this question is open, I will let you as a reader answer this yourself. But if you ask me, every country has a different picture with the Western world being far ahead on women managing careers and marriage, others have even chosen their career at the expense of family, that is they choose to be single so as to pursue their career "at peace".



This is a topic that fascinates me a lot, "being a career woman". I will conclude by saying, women we can pursue our careers which ever field we want. No matter what perceptions society has, we can either prove them right or wrong depending on how we carry ourselves.


In this day and age it is good for a woman to be able to support herself and her family. And to those in our society who are bothered by women pursuing their careers, I believe its high time we reason together with our women and encourage them. The sky is the limit!











Have a blessed day!

International Women's Day- Being a Woman

I could not help noticing today from the topic that one of our Malawian bloggers wrote today concerning "unmarried women". It is a very intersting article and I would urge you to read the artilcle as well from thins link, http://ndagha.blogspot.com/


I thought we could share today on "being a woman". I myself being a woman I have observed different things in society that only happen to us of the female gender because we are women. In as much as some if not most of the things are frustrating, these experiences help me to realise what role I have as a woman in society. Whether single or married women have a huge role to play in society.


So women out there no matter what we are going through or facing, let us shine the joy that the Lord has imparted in us as women. Let us beautify our societies like flowers and precious stones. Remember there is a beautiful and unique personality in every woman and that no one can change.







Have a blessed day and remember you are a woman who can make a difference in your society which only you can bring and no one else.

WELCOME 2008

Hello again, it has been a while since I wrote but here I am again.

The year 2008 has started with so many different things happening. Some joyous others painful and heart breaking but in everything I give thanks to the almighty God.

Today we had a great bible sharing with my coleagues and different topic were shared.

I wanted to share a song with you that blessed my heart today. I hope it will uplift you as well.



The song goes:

"Bless the Lord, oh my soul

and all that is within me

bless His holy name.



He (God) has done great things

Bless His holy name".



When I sang this song I thought of all the good things, challenging things, not so easy to accept things, the list goes on and yet I still had to say " God has done great things and I will bless His holy name".



Have a good day

HAPPY 2008?

Hello again


This is another year, 2008, we thank God for carrying us through to the new year.


I don't have so much to say than to wish you all a blessed 2008.


Yes its the begining of another year, only God knows what this year holds for each and everyone of us. In all you do put God first and through those ups and downs of life remember God is always with you.





Remember the past is there to learn from, the present is here for us to make a difference and the future is there for us to have hope!

Looking forward to keeping in touch with all of you this year.


God Bless