Little Things Mean a Lot..

So recently I put my traveloholic shoes on again and headed to Paris. It was great coz this year one of my goals was to learn a new language and I am currently learning French so it was a chance for me to practise...I was able to order some things and get around but hearing the native French people talk I realised I still have a long way to go until I get to the point where I can speak like a real French dame. :-)

Anyway whilst I was there amidst eating lovely breads and croissants, I learnt a thing or two about being grateful for the small things. Paris is a beautiful city; the magnificent buildings, great historical tales, lovely scenery, beautiful French language and the River Seine is a lovely addition to the whole mix.

Paris...

And then of course you have the whole romantic aspect of it as an icing on the cake. But there is one tiny detail that I observed that surprised me...
There are hardly any lifts or escalators in the metro/subway, shops or even at most of the tourist sites...and I was baffled as to how the elderly and disabled people get around in that city. Mothers with babies have to be constantly carrying their children's prams and buggies on long flights of stairs. Travellers are lugging around huge pieces of luggage as their aching arms beg for mercy.

In a first world country which has so much going for it, I think that is such a terrible oversight on the part of the city planners, mayors or the powers that be in that city/country. In our modern world of equal opportunities for all, a city should make it a priority that every kind of person despite their circumstances can get around easily without hindrances.
It made me realise that even though us Londoners complain about rare train delays or the faulty air con on the bus, we have so much to be grateful for.

Hhhm good question....

You don't know how good you have it until you sample what's on the other side of the fence. So I'm grateful for my home city and the little things that we have like lifts or escalators in our stations and shops, clean drinking water, a constant electricity supply, accessible well equipped health care facilities, food supply, jobs, hot water, wifi and being able to connect with people like you (worldwide) who I don't even know... I am grateful for my husband, my family, friends, a home of our own, a home church ... the list is endless. Boys to Men were on point when they sang ..."little things mean a lot, appreciate what you've got..."

Develop a heart of gratitude

                                                                       
Often when we are grateful, we cause an atmosphere of praise to develop in our lives. And God inhabits or lives in the praises of his people. And we know that with God's presence comes abundance.

Therefore we can suppose that being grateful will bring even more blessings our way. We all know that it's those friends and family members who always say a big thank you that we are always willing to do more for, than the grumpy ones who always moan and complain about things not being good enough.

What are you grateful for today?

Life may not be going the way we want right now, but lets cultivate a heart of gratitude...after reading this write down a list (minimum 5 things) that you want to thank God for and tell Him.

Great habits bring great results...See if you can do this every morning when you wake up and I guarantee that this habit will put you in such a great frame of mind to start your day.

xoxo

Disappointment comes before THE Appointment

Hope you guys have been well. I'm good....excited because I feel God is about to do something big in my life. Not sure what but excited nonetheless.... :-) There's something that I've been seeing more and more in my life which is helping me to trust God more.

Now I'm sure all of us have had those kind of days when things just don't seem to go the way you want. You may feel annoyed, disappointed and feel that life is so unfair and you want to rant your sorry tale to anyone who will listen to you....well I'm learning to keep calm and carry on. I read a story a few years ago that illustrated this point and it stuck with me and I've decided to share it with you. 

An unemployed man goes to apply for a job with Microsoft as a janitor/cleaner. The manager there arranges for him to take an aptitude test.
After the test, the manager says, "Congratulations! 
You got the job and you will be employed at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your 
e-mail address, so that I can send you a form to complete and give you details about where and when to report for work on your first day."
Taken aback, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the manager replies, "Well then, that means that you virtually don't exist and can therefore hardly expect to be employed.

Stunned and disappointed, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having only $10 in his wallet, he decides to buy a 25 lb flat of tomatoes at the supermarket. Within less than 2 hours, he sells all the tomatoes individually at 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 before going to sleep that night.
And thus it dawns on him that he could quite easily make a living selling tomatoes. Getting up early every day and going to bed late, he multiplies his profits quickly.

After a short time he acquires a cart to transport several dozen boxes of tomatoes, only to have to trade it in again so that he can buy a pick-up truck to support his expanding business. By the end of the second year, he is the owner of a fleet of pick-up trucks and manages a staff of a hundred former unemployed people, all selling tomatoes.


Planning for the future of his wife and children, he decides to buy some life insurance. Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. At the end of the telephone conversation, the adviser asks him for his e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically.
When the man replies that he has no e-mail, the adviser is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? How on earth have you managed to amass such wealth without the Internet, e-mail and e-commerce? Just imagine where you would be now, if you had been connected to the Internet from the very start!"
After a moment of thought, the tomato millionaire replied, "Why, of course! I would be a floor cleaner at Microsoft!"

So we can see that:
1. As the bible teaches "all things work together for good." Romans 8:28 (Everything happens for a reason)
2. If you don't have e-mail, but work hard, you can still become a millionaire.
3. Seeing that you got this story via the world wide web, you're probably closer to becoming a cleaner than you are to becoming a millionaire. Lol just kidding
4. If no one will give you a chance, create one for yourself. Very few people ever become millionaires through working for someone else. 

The downs in life will probably not make much sense at the time but learn to trust God and watch Him cause it to work for your ultimate good!

xoxo

Excitement in the Air

I know its a bit late...but happy new year to you all...hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year celebration. Mine was great, spent time with my family and hubby's family too, lots of good food, great pressies....so it was all smiles on this end.




So with the new year comes the desire to start afresh, set goals, make plans... you know the usual stuff we do when we are still excited about the new year. If you haven't made any plan for the new year...don't wait to long...we are already in the middle of January...get started!
Maybe these questions might help you come up with a few basic things to consider...







As I prayed and made plans for the new year, I got so excited because I have such high expectations for this year. Last year I was kind of in laid back mode because it was my first year of being married and I wanted to get used to all that and settle into marriage and our new home. Now that I am all settled in and happy... :-) I feel that I am ready to take on the world.

This year one of the main things for me is that I really want to focus a lot on my writing and see where God will take that. I also have a business idea in mind which I am going to start researching and see if that is something that could be feasible for me to embark on.
I also want to be a God Chaser in the true sense of the word...I want my spiritual walk to be the best it has ever been. :-)

As some of you may know I am a "travelaholic" and with that in mind I will be planning a few trips here and there with hubby and friends to see some new sights. Last year I only visited two countries compared to the previous year when I went to six countries. So this year by the grace of God I wanna improve on last year's record. :-) The first trip is coming up soon and I am excited as this will be my first holiday in Northern Africa...For those wanting to travel or book hotels you may wanna consider cheapcheaptrips.com for very good deals. You can thank me later! :-)

My philosophy for 2014

I have other goals and plans which I may choose to share in the future but for now those are some of the things I am looking forward to this year. :-)

At the end of last year the world lost a truly remarkable man...Nelson Mandela, who thankfully I had the privilege of meeting and shaking hands with in South Africa in 1996. (Yay!!! It was an exciting moment...one I will always treasure) I know I am a bit late in saying all this but may we learn a lesson from his philosophy of forgiving as this goes a long way in making our world a better place. Whatever it is that may have happened in the past..lets not be like Emily Thorne in the American TV show Revenge and be out to get them all...lol
Don't let the hurt consume you....let go and let God. As the saying goes..."Not forgiving someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."
I know that there were many tributes done for Mandela but this one was by far....my favourite... enjoy

Wishing you all the best in 2014

xoxo