Don't forget to brush your hair

I'll let you into a little secret, I don't brush my hair! I've had my hair cut once in the past 20 months and it has got so long. I like to get up and get out of the house, I don't have time for faffing and fussing, so I literally wash my hair, give it a shake, and go. I don't even use conditioner! Haha. 

Anyway, I remember as a child, my mum would always brush my hair after it had been washed, sometimes it hurt so much as she would try to brush the knots and tangles out. I would sit there squirming and squealing until that awful hair brushing procedure was over. But like a good girl, as I grew up, I followed the instruction that all good mothers give to their little girls, "make sure you brush your hair!" And I did, that is until the last few years.

Well, I had been getting along just fine with this no brushing my hair thing, it was so much easier to not brush it, and also when it dried it looked better without being brushed. Well, that's what I thought haha. So last week I was surprised to find a rather large knot of hair at the back of my head. I hadn't even noticed it, and to be honest I didn't know how long it had been there. I fiddled with it for a bit, hoping I could get the knots out with my fingers, I soon realised I couldn't. I showed a friend, who also tried to get it out, she couldn't either. So I ended up washing my hair and reaching for the Argon oil. That stuff was sure to help. Now, in my limited knowledge of hair styling, I did know that when using argon oil, one should only use a small amount. I began to massage the argon oil into the knot, which was actually a full on matt of hair! It wasn't working. I used a bit more and a bit more, until I had used two thirds of the bottle!! After lots of oil, a fair bit of pain and frustration, I finally managed to get the matt of hair out! Along with some big clumps of hair swirling down the plug hole! Ouch!

The thing is, if I had been taking care of my hair the way I should have, following Mamma's advice, I would not have been in the that situation. I wonder how often in life, we let things slip, we don't follow instruction, we say yes when we should say no (or vice versa), we don't take that piece of advice, we think we know best, we don't listen? And then, suddenly, we find a knot in our life. An issue, a problem, a stronghold, that really, if we had been given attention where attention was due, it would not be there.

I don't know what your issue is, or what your knot looks like. But I know that if I choose to be bold, and look beyond the long blonde wavy hair, I will find the root of the knot. See the thing is one of my goals in life is to live uncluttered, uncomplicated and to be the most low maintenance person I know. Well, in order for me to fulfil that goal, there are some things I need to put in place.

I want to live a life that honours God, everyday, not just on Sundays, or when I'm with my christian friends. I want to live a life that is pleasing to my God. And if I'm going to live that life, I must give careful attention to it. There are so many things I can do that give attention to the areas of my life that need care and a bit of work. But, I believe the most important thing is God and His Word. I recently just finished a bible reading plan where I read the bible front to back in 90 days. I don't say that to get an applause, I don't need one. I don't see it as an achievement, but rather an absolute necessity if I am going to live the life I dream of and the life that God has destined for me. See, I can't do life on my own, I need God's direction, wisdom, grace, forgiveness, truth, freedom, favour, protection and presence more than the food I eat and the air I breathe. I cannot live this life without Him, I need Him. If I choose to put Him on the back seat of my life, that is when knots start appearing, and they don't just appear at the back of my neck, but they have the potential to appear all over. I need Him. I choose to put Him first. Knots are painful to get out, they are awkward and ugly, and you end up loosing hair through it. The beautiful thing about God's word is that it brings conviction and guidance in the most powerful and loving way. God has good plans for us, but He can only lead us into those good plans if we put Him first, follow His word and allow Him to work in our lives for our good.

I think I need to get my hair brush back out! ;-) How about you? :-) xxx

A Poem

Life has it's way of surprising us,
There are many twists and turns.
Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad,
And sometimes there are things to be learnt.

The path we walk, the road we take,
Our future is often unknown.
Some days are dark, some full of light,
And sometimes we feel all alone.

Feelings come and feelings go,
Some emotions are too much to bear.
Our hearts get hurt, ripped out and abused,
And life isn't always fair.

I hear many stories, I've seen many things,
There is deception, abuse and betrayal.
But I won't forget who walks with me,
It's my God, and He will prevail.

The thing about life is it's just so unknown,
We plan and advise and walk.
But some things happen that we did not expect,
And They leave us unable to talk.

In life's ups and downs, in the fire and flood,
We will go through valleys and lows.
But in the storm, we can lean on God,
His presence, His power, His love

So don't be afraid, do not despair,
There is someone who carries you.
He is far greater than all that you face,
And He will walk with you through.

Friends may have left, loved ones gone,
You may be facing abuse.
But Jesus is there, His arms outstretched,
He is you anchor, your hope, and truth.

Cling to Him and lift up your eyes,
He is your everything.
He paid a great price, laid down His life,
And He will cause you to sing.

Pain lasts for the night, it can hurt so bad,
It is ugly and tries to control.
But joy comes in, the morning, so bright.
And joy will enrich your soul.

There is a Saviour, there is a king,
There is a God who sits on the Throne.
He loves you with passion, He sees all your days,
And one day, He'll carry you Home.

It's time for some favour :-)

Last year I saw the power, presence and favour of God at work in my life in the most incredible way. I have so many testimonies of God being there for me, keeping me safe, providing for me, opening doors for me, healing me, restoring me, bringing incredible people across my path, and so so much more. 2014, for me, was definitely a year of experiencing the favour of God.

As I sat down last week, at the end of what has been an incredible year, I thanked God for His favour that has so evidently been all over my life, and I also asked Him for more of His favour this year. Don't get me wrong, I have a whole list of areas I want to grow in this year and have also set myself some pretty big goals of things I personally want to accomplish and achieve. But, for me to live the exceedingly, abundant and above life that He has called me to live, I need His favour. I need strength in my spirit, I need a healthy body and soul, I need finances, I need the right relationships, I need Him to enlarge my capacity, to daily renew my mind, I need to know Him more. I need His favour.

I woke up on the morning of January 1st 2015 and specifically thanked God for His favour over my life this year. I declared that this would be a year where I see His favour even more than last year. I began to ask God for something specific for that day. I told Him what His favour would look like in my life that day and as I talked to Him that morning, I said, "you know God, it would be really good if you could do this for me today, and in this way". I left my request with Him and went about my day, hoping He would do what I had asked, but knowing that I would still trust Him if He didn't. About four hours later, God had come through for me with my earlier request, not only had He miraculously answered my prayer that morning, but He answered it in an Ephesians 3:20 kind of way, the way that only He can! Not only did I receive what I asked of Him, but it was even better than my prayer! Obviously, I was super excited. It's always wonderful when God answers a prayer, but even more wonderful when it is above and beyond what we even asked Him for! I started thanking Him for His favour. And smiling I said, "Wow, God, I didn't know you were going to do that!" I felt His response in my heart, "Leah, My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, My ways higher than your ways. You might think you know what My favour on your life looks, but you haven't seen anything yet. What I want to do in you and through you is far greater than you can even imagine".

God is so good and He desires to do us good. It got me thinking that we often ask God for something, that we might think is pretty big, but actually, we can limit God with our prayers. When we pray we are not talking to a dead, distant or dormant God, we are talking to a King who sits on the throne, the God who is alive, to the God who has overcome the evil of this world and has conquered death a hell. We talk to a God who can heal, rescue, restore and redeem. A God who is for us and not against us. A God who wants to give us the desires of our hearts. A God who created the universe with His own hands. A God who is stronger than any force that tries to destroy us, bigger than any fear that tries to control us and more powerful than anything that comes against us. THIS is our God. Why are we surprised when He answers our prayers? Why do we only ask Him for small things when He is able, and willing, to do big things? 

My prayer is that we would dream big, and then dream even bigger. Expecting the best is good, but let's not just expect the best, why have the best when you can have the best of the best? Expect the impossible. Believe for the unattainable. Reach for the untouchable and believe for the supernatural. God wants to do wonders, in us and through us this year. The amount of wonders we see will be determined by our faith, our attitude, our persistence, our seeking, our trusting, our serving.

Have you every read Isaiah 61? I love that portion of scripture and it has been close to my heart since I was young. It has always challenged, inspired and encouraged me whenever I've read it. I was once in a performing arts group called "Isaiah 61", we would share the Gospel through song and dance, it was a lot of fun! ;-) 

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that THE TIME OF THE LORD'S FAVOUR HAS COME..." (Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT)

The thing is, His favour, which He wants us to experience, is not just for us, but rather to flow through us and touch those we meet. The whole point of us experiencing the favour of God, redemption, and restoration, is to enable us to live lives where His love and grace freely flow from us to impact the lives of those around us. When I think of God's favour on me this coming year, I get excited. But, when I take that a step further and think of His favour on my life spilling out to impact others, well that makes me want to jump for joy. Which is why this year I am asking God for MORE of His favour. I am not on this planet to live a boring, play it safe, mediocre kind of life. I am here to live big, to live full, to live right, to live free and to proclaim to those who don't yet know, "THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE FAVOUR OF GOD", and so are you! :-)