Saved by Grace

Hey Fam, I am here! I had no intentions of making my first blog post of the year in 3rd month. However, I have learned to embrace the art of flexibility as things around me seem to be changing at an uncontrollable rate.  I wanted my post today to touch a bit on expectations. Growing up this was a very tough concept for me to grasp. I always thought that expectations I had of others were only fair because how could loving people be or do any less than the standard I had set? My mom used to always warn me about getting hurt by people because I had such high expectations. Her words then didn't make a lot of sense to me. But in hindsight, I completely see it! I had expectations of perfection from imperfect people around me, including myself. I know I had said this before, but my humanity used to shock me a lot more than it does now. All this to say, I learned lesson after lesson about misplaced expectations.  I think of how Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king...

  Merry Belated Christmas and Happy Early New Year! This year has surely been a different one. It is for sure one for the books.  As this Christmas season comes and goes, I can't help but compare it to how I spent it last year. Last year, we didn't have lock downs or Covid -19 to worry about. Nor did we worry about gathering restrictions or wearing masks in public places.  On the bright side, this year's restrictions have allowed some of us to focus on the reason for the season more than the traditions we are used to. It has allowed us to dig deep and search for the true meaning of Christmas. I have also heard numerous reports of families spending more quality time with one another than ever before. Though this year had its fair share of burdens, hurts, and even losses, I thank God for the good that I have heard and experienced myself.  One of the things that came to mind however is how we as Christians can remain focused on our Unchanging God in these rapidly changi...

  Well, Fam, this was written halfway for a post in October and I was thinking about how to finish it off. And then I thought I will finish it up at the beginning of November and then post another one at the end of the month. Spoiler alert, it didn't happen! I sure hope you are keeping well though. I am also in awe that we are already at the end of November! To say 2020 flew by is the understatement of the century.  Healing had been a topic on my heart to post about for a while. However, I felt like it was such a broad topic. I further considered how little I know about the topic. Nonetheless, if it was important enough to be mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments, then it is a topic worth exploring. If you are like me, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear of healing is in the obvious context of physical restoration. That said, in looking into this topic I have since learned that healing seldom refers to just physical restoration. I knew this was one to pull ...

I did not mean to take the whole summer off from blogging it just so happen to be that way. Partly due to the numerous things that were changing in my life but more so due to lack of better planning/ time blocking. One of the highlights of my summer was becoming a Mrs. I never knew the weight the pre-fix would carry until I heard someone address me as such. I don't know about you but the Amharic word is, even more, weightier, "ወይዘሮ/weyizero"!. That was one of my life updates. Now that I said that, let's get to the meat and potatoes of my post... I have said before that I am a recovering perfectionist. Today, I stand before you confirming that statement still rings true in my life. I confess, somedays, I face some battles as if I had never before and get frustrated because I haven't gotten perfect at not being a perfectionist! You see the irony...   Tracing back where my want/need to be perfectionist came from, I was surprised to find out that it was linked to ...

I do not have an expert level understanding of what it means when doctors say “Bonding Time” when they refer to a time a newborn spends with his/her mama. However, since the arrival of my niece, I have heard this term being thrown around a lot and it got me curious. It turns out that the “Skin to Skin” and mama baby time are important parts of a newborn learning his/her new environment. It is when the baby lays down on the mom’s chest that they calm down. This is because of the mama’s heartbeat, a rhythm the baby has known and felt from the inside. In bringing the newborn close to the mama’s chest, it brings the baby comfort, peace, protection, and a sense of familiarity. In addition, it allows for the newborn baby to learn mama’s scent.   The tone of voice and the scent become two of the ways that a baby recognizes his/her mom until they get past seeing shapes. Seeing this up-close and understanding the why behind some of the things that are done for a newborn got me ...

I hope you and your loved ones are safe in these crazy times. If any tragedy has come to your home, I pray God's peace and love envelops you right where you are. I pray that you rely on His unending love, mercy, grace, and strength in this time of hardship... I am, like most people, feeling very jaded. I have experienced more highs and lows in such intense frequencies now than any other time I can remember. I believe this is why the Lord has me sharing this... I had planned to write about loving people and what it looks like in different seasons. However, I felt a nudge that I should be sharing about the hope I have despite feeling jaded. To make sure we are on the same page about what I mean when I say jaded, here are two definitions from Merriam Webster's dictionary:  1: fatigued by overwork: EXHAUSTED  2: made dull, apathetic, or cynical by experience or by having or seeing too much of something I can identify with both definitions. In this season, I fin...

Friends, I hope you are keeping well and safe in this time of craziness.  I don't know about you but where I live the minute the Covid 19 panic hit, the grocery stores saw a spike in sales. Most importantly, lots of stores had no toilet paper left. That is when I proceeded to order it online. In the meantime, this might be a tiny bit TMI, I got flushable wipes and had a backup toilet paper roll that I took from my sister. Interesting times require interesting measures so if all else fails, thank God for old water. I don't know if I mentioned it but back in December of 2018, I had moved to the city I live in now. I remember keeping a roll of toilet paper in one of my storage spots in my vehicle. That toilet paper roll was awaiting its moment to shine very patiently. One fine day, when my back up roll ran out, I recalled that I had one in my car. One that had been in my car for more than a year! I, of course, went and grabbed it, peeled some layers off, and started us...

I thought I had another topic I wanted to share about something God spoke to me a few weeks ago. However, one thing I try to do is check-in to see if I should share that same topic or if there is another thing He wants to put on my heart. Typically, if I do not post right when He drops the message, then next time I check in it will be a different topic. The moral of the story is that God gives us words for each season of life. His word is active, living, and applicable in every stage of our lives.  A few minutes ago, I sat and waited for Him to give me an updated topic. I waited and I heard "Rain". Because I didn't want to go off on my own tangent about rain, I first searched what scripture says about it.  As I looked for verses related to rain, this one jumped out at me " 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on yo...

This is an age-old question that generation after generation has asked in one form or another. In some respects, this question is an association with self-discovery whilst other times it speaks to the feeling of unworthiness or being undeserving. In a way, this question is one of the reasons we can not comprehend unconditional love. A love undeserved, not purchased, nor earned!  This question came to mind as I was reading Moses's conversation with the Lord; 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Exodus 3: 11 - 12 Don't you just love God's response? When we ask Him who we are that we can do this thing, have this, be this... He counters our objection by "I will be with you!" This encourages me so much! O...

Dear Friends,  I hope the Christmas Season has brought you Joy, Peace, and New Hope! However, if instead, it is a season of remembering and missing a loved one that is no longer with you, I hope it brought comfort! I hope in this season you are reminded of God's unending goodness. Most importantly, His promise of life everlasting, eternal life with him!  I am always encouraged but also intimidated when I read/hear the verse "Pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 . I don't know if you have experienced times in your life when all the prayer you have is "God Please Help!" or "Thank You God!" or just sitting in His presence quietly. I was recently and still getting out of a season like that. In this time of drought, I saw a post on Instagram made by Kalley and Andrew Heiligenthal regarding their baby girl who passed away unexpectedly. The family asked for the Global Church (Capital C church, that is all of us!) to join them in interce...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to my Canadian Freinds and Happy Early Thanksgiving to my American Friends! Today, though very physically tired, I feel like rejoicing and jumping around like a little kid. I think it is very important to allow ourselves to be like little children, especially when it comes to things of faith. In the spirit of being joyful, I would like to start my post with things I am thankful for!  I thank God for: - Being such a loving father to me. He is One who does not seem to get tired of waiting on me to understand that "He's got this!" - For surrounding me with loving people!  - That I get to start a new chapter of my life, with the love of my life, my man! - Being such the mastermind behind the beauty we see everywhere! My list is surely longer but I think you get the idea! Thanksgiving and praise are two strong weapons against the enemy. The art of practicing Praise and Thanksgiving not only transform and guard your minds, hearts, an...

Hello friends, sorry for the disappearing act. I have two excuses for why I haven't posted the last two months. The first one is I have been too busy, unsustainably busy, which is an excuse I hate making. The other, more vulnerable, reason was the promise I made to God and myself that I would not post without hearing from HIM! The thing is, when I was too busy, I also did not have much time to be still before the LORD. Hence, I didn't have much to talk about. But GOD! I feel like that has been my MOTTO for as long as I remember. Despite me, He is still HIMSELF! A faithful, loving, patient, and generous father. Though this is not what I want to talk about, I wanted to mention a lesson I relearned: He is the author of time! Which means when the first fruits of my calendar go to HIM, I somehow have time to do everything else. This is not to give you a formula on how to access God, but really to a keep check on your heart when it comes to the most expensive commodity we have, ...

I  worked in a non-profit organization for almost 4 years of my career. In my tenure in this one non-profit, or social profit as we called it, I learned so many things. Somethings just snuck in when I didn't even know I learned them.  As an Events Planner, one of the things l always looked at is how the cost of admission impacted attendance. I noticed that the most expensive events were sought after and highly regarded whilst the free or cheap ones were taken for granted. If that was the only thing I learned then it would have been easy to increase the prices to these events. However, we received complaints that the events, the same ones that were taken for granted because of the low entrance fee, were too expensive. Despite the complaints, I think a common thread is that people value things they pay for more than the things they receive for free. I believe King David shares the sentiment of paying for something in order to adequately appreciate and understand the value...

AGE GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT... Hello Friends,  I hope your last month and a bit has been going beautifully. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather and longer days. Well, beautiful weather unless you are in Alberta! I am really trying not to complain too much about extended winters we are graced with in this side of Canada. My man so wisely puts it, "How can you love Alberta and Hate winter?" I would like to believe that I have moved closer to being content with winters on the Hate to Love spectrum of this season. Give me 9 more years, I will be much closer to liking it :)  I was thinking a lot about how one preacher said: "Kids do not receive a Junior Holy Spirit!" This statement not only was very biblical but also very intriguing. The reason I say this is because the culture I come from and I am sure most eastern cultures put so much emphasis on the respecting elders that it heavily invades spiritual things as well.  Don't misunders...

Happy new month friends! I am so sorry for the delayed post. I was also so determined to do a post during my birthday month (February) but it did not happen.  I don't know if I have publicly confessed this before so here goes...I Do Not Love Cooking! Phew! I feel lighter having gotten that off my chest, lol :) Ironically though, I love serving and feeding people. I especially love when I make something for Mr. Hubby-to-be. I particularly love it when he enjoys the meal I made for him. The thing is, the love I have for him outweighs the passionate dislike I have for cooking. In that same notion, he is not much of a movie person but he endures through extremely cheesy movies because he knows it is something I truly enjoy. The thing is, not only do we do these things, we forget that we are not huge fans of the aforementioned things because of the love for one another. It becomes second nature when our focus is love.  These past few weeks I have been listening to ...

Happy New Year friends!  To be honest I really struggled to title this post so I decided to write the content then name it after. I am going to get right into the meat and potatoes of this post! :)  One thing I am very passionate about is encouraging Unity in Christ. My specific passion is seeing people from various denominations coming under one roof because Christ is Enough! Because His love compels us to just, simply just, Love!  These last few days I have been a bit grieved about a situation that I have been following for about 9 years.  There is an anointed worship singer from my country whom I have admired and thanked God for her ever since I first heard her music. She was in one denomination that accused her of being different when what she did was just truly worship the Lord as she saw fit! She fought to remain in the church despite the persecution that came from her people, her fellow believers. Until this one day, she officially moved o...