2015, Celebrating the Milestones

Here we are at the end of 2015 - this month's post is a video !

So check it out via my YouTube Channel : Rita Mirembe or right here !!

God has me pushing new limits I didn't even know I had in me! Join me on my new 'Faith Adventure ' !! Obedience is better than sacrifice. Amen.

I pray that pursuing Christ and not the things of this world will be your desire this new year!

Have a blessed 2016!

God bless you.

Love, Ree

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)

Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

Suffering - A Good and An Eternal Purpose

As I begin to write November's post, I am excited to share with you the wonder I am feeling from deep within me courtesy of daily choices to be obedient to God. You see I struggled to write last months post Rejoice in Trials and Problems but the Holy Spirit kept leading me to it and testing me in this area and also providing me with great lessons on it. It wasn't until night of the 31st of October that I finally yielded to his gentle nudging very unsure about how to go about it all and what to do but I settled down to write. See I understood the lesson in my spirit but not how to share it and I didn't want to mislead anybody. To my amazing surprise and delight.. He went and poured out Himself on me and directed my writing and helped me put it together, the post is still speaking to me. All I had to do was finally yield.

Pic from about a month ago :)

Come November 1st and the daily on-line devotion that I get from John Piper is titled -  The Seminary of Suffering!! And then the message, oh my... I was like what!! .. and every day after that until November 4th, it was all in synch with the blog He had just helped me write. *Mind Blown!!!* The devotions have really reassured me on the lesson I have been learning from God in a very special way with all these amazing angles in it.

This month I'd like celebrate some of the spiritual authorities who speak into my life! God brought them into my life even before I gave my life to Christ, and He greatly used them to turn my heart back to Him! They continue to speak the true and living word of God into my life and right to my spirit, my core.. These would be my Pastor George Mathu, senior pastor Eagles Faith Christian Centre, Heather Lindsey founder of Pinky Promise and John Piper of Desiring God . Today I will mostly be sharing excerpts from John Piper on this subject of pain and suffering in a Christian's life. May they be a blessing to you as they have been to me!!!

Ps : Obedience to God... is everything! Like EVERYTHING!! What is it that God has told you to do? That the Holy Spirit leading you to do? When will you obey? How about today ...how about right now...

The Seminary of Suffering - John Piper

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in self and the world. I have never heard anyone say, “The really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort.”

But I have heard strong saints say, “Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God’s love and growing deep with him has come through suffering.”

The pearl of greatest price is the glory of Christ.

Thus, Paul stresses that in our sufferings the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace is magnified. If we rely on him in our calamity and he sustains our “rejoicing in hope,” then he is shown to be the all-satisfying God of grace and strength that he is.

If we hold fast to him “when all around our soul gives way,” then we show that he is more to be desired than all we have lost.

Christ said to the suffering apostle, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded to this: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

So suffering clearly is designed by God not only as a way to wean Christians off of self and onto grace, but also as a way to spotlight that grace and make it shine. That is precisely what faith does; it magnifies Christ’s future grace.

The deep things of life in God are discovered in suffering.

Christ’s Sufferings in Us - John Piper

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.(Colossians 1:24)

Christ has prepared a love offering for the world by suffering and dying for sinners. It is full and lacking in nothing — except one thing, a personal presentation by Christ himself to the nations of the world.

God’s answer to this lack is to call the people of Christ (people like Paul) to make a personal presentation of the afflictions of Christ to the world. In doing this, we “fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” We finish what they were designed for, namely, a personal presentation to the people who do not know about their infinite worth.

But the most amazing thing about Colossians 1:24 is how Paul fills up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

He says that it is his own sufferings that fill up Christ’s afflictions. This means, then, that Paul exhibits the sufferings of Christ by suffering himself for those he is trying to win. In his sufferings they see Christ’s sufferings.

Here is the astounding upshot: God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people.

God really means for the body of Christ, the church, to experience some of the suffering he experienced so that when we proclaim the Cross as the way to life, people will see the marks of the Cross in us and feel the love of the Cross from us.

Rejoicing in Pain - John Piper “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12) Christian Hedonism says that there are different ways to rejoice in suffering as a Christian. All of them are to be pursued as an expression of the all-sufficient, all-satisfying grace of God. One way of rejoicing in suffering comes from fixing our minds firmly on the greatness of the reward that will come to us in the resurrection. The effect of this kind of focus is to make our present pain seem small in comparison to what is coming: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans8:18; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16–18). In making the suffering tolerable, rejoicing over our reward will also make love possible. “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35). Be generous with the poor “and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14) Another way of rejoicing in suffering comes from the effects of suffering on our assurance of hope. Joy in affliction is rooted in the hope of resurrection, but our experience of suffering also deepens the root of that hope. For example, Paul says, “We exult in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces proven genuineness, and genuineness produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4). Here, Paul’s joy is not merely rooted in his great reward, but in the effect of suffering to solidify his hope in that reward. Afflictions produce endurance, and endurance produces a sense that our faith is real and genuine, and that strengthens our hope that we will indeed gain Christ.

The Meaning of Suffering - John Piper

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:26)

We do not choose suffering simply because we are told to, but because the One who tells us to describes it as the path to everlasting joy.

He beckons us into the obedience of suffering not to demonstrate the strength of our devotion to duty or to reveal the vigor of our moral resolve or to prove the heights of our tolerance for pain, but rather to manifest, in childlike faith, the infinite preciousness of his all-satisfying promises.

Moses “[chose] rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin . . . for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:25–26). Therefore, his obedience glorified the God of grace, not the resolve to suffer.

This is the essence of Christian Hedonism. In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain.

If we do not communicate that he is the goal and the ground of our joy in suffering, then the very meaning of our suffering will be lost.

The meaning is this: God is gain. God is gain. God is gain.

The chief end of man is to glorify God. And it is truer in suffering than anywhere else that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

And even suffering has an eternal, good purpose: “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen, ” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18). - John Knight ....since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Every person and every season carries its own set of hard time, beautiful times, tests and struggles. - Heather Lindsey

And to close, here is something for you to meditate on....

"There is no book that is more relevant to human existence other than the word of God- the Bible. There is no book that speaks to who we are and where we are going like the word of God.

Are you relating to a historic God or a now God? Learn to stop and ask God ' what is Your rhema word? ' For we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God..we live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. God is a now God. He lives in the timezone of now. " 

Pastor George Mathu.

God bless you.

Love Ree.

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)

Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

Rejoice in Trials and Problems

Hey there. My goodness I have so much to share as I write today and it's my prayer that I can streamline my thoughts and bring what I can across in the best way I possibly can.

A few months ago I wrote a post I called For when it is hard remember this. This was about the time I truly began to understand letting God have his way in our lives whatever way He chooses, for all His plans are good. It is so amazing how interested God is in our character development. There is always room for improvement in us in each and every area so He doesn't stop with the lessons. As you pass one test, the levels get upgraded and He reveals more that you need to learn in whatever area He sees lacking in you.

Unfortunately a lot of us sometimes misunderstand or misinterpret some fundamentals of what coming to Christ is all about. I see, hear, notice people expecting life to become 'easy', them getting what they want because they have prayed for it, a trouble free problem free life, that they have done what God wanted now He should do what they want or ask for.... but is this what God promises when one comes to Him? A trouble free problem free life? On the contratry! And  the bible is loaded with examples of people having to go through crazy unimaginable things because they chose Him.

Matthew 5:45 says  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

I learn from this that it is even or uneven playing ground depending on how you look at it to both the believer and non believer. Both can experience immense wealth or poverty, great working conditions or otherwise, tragic conditions, sickness or health, loss of loved ones... But why would He have it this way you might wonder? Shouldn't good be repayed with good and bad with bad on the spot. He tells us that His ways and this thoughts are not yours and mine, they are higher ways and higher thoughts. (Isaiah 55 :8-9).

He makes accessible and known to us some of His higher thinking. And where suffering ( in whatever form you consider it or however you may describe it) as a believer in life is concerned, these are a few of my thoughts from the lessons I've been learning on this matter....

1. It is to help us grow! It is to build our character! And I am reminded in an older post I shared that " We truly don't grow and become better when things are easy. There is no challenge when it's easy, hence no room for growth. I am learning that pain is not a trial, it is an initiation, it is not meant to be a battle, it is supposed to define us. It moulds us, it betters us. Do not pray for an easy life, do not ask God to make the hardships go away, pray instead that He gives you strength and wisdom and guides and walks with you through it all. What you are going through may not feel good to you, but it is good for you."

2. To be able to go through the same things those who don't know Jesus are going through but have a different way of handling it all, that reflects Christ and brings God glory! Your life begins to reflect that your identity is in Christ, not in what you have or what you don't have. Everything about how you handle everything is simply different. Because you have the distinguishing factor - the J factor *wink wink*... and are you using it? You have Jesus!! Your hope ought not to be in the things of this world. You are set apart! Are you reflecting the hope you say you have to others? Is your life truly living out that Christ is enough for you? Do others look at you and wonder how you have abcd but they are simply resources sent your way to use for God's work OR how you don't have abcd but you are alive and thriving even better than those who have 'lifes essentials' ?

3. Christ is concerned about our eternity. Our life on earth is the foundation and the tempo setter of our forever life and all we are going through is all reflecting and being credited into our eternal accounts. We are foreigners, strangers, aliens, pilgrims here on this earth ( 1 Peter 2:11, Hebrews 11:8-10 ). We need to keep reminding ourselves that we ought to be living our daily lives in light of eternity, in light of a billion years from now, in light of 100 years from now. Eternity and heaven are so very much real.

Matthew 6:19-20 remind us which account we ought to be crediting “ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

There is so much more to share on this but I'll close with this today.

Faith that perseveres through suffering is the kind of faith that reveals Jesus to a broken world.

God is calling us to a place where we begin to understand that He is not interested in deleting the struggle, but rather to empower our endurance.

He wants to develop our character. He wants our faith to grow and not be shaken no matter the circumstance. He wants our faith to be in Him and not in man or stature or property or family or anything else that is not Him.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has given us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:16-17)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For your faith to grow, you have got to go through the processes set out for your journey, you can't microwave genuine faith. And many times while we are still on this earth, we are all going to go through some very unpleasant, very uncomfortable times... but the beauty of it is that through it all our faith will grow and soar and take us deeper into the things God wants to share and reveal to each one of us.

I really love the Romans 5: 3-5 reminder... It tells us to also rejoice when you run into problems and trials ( in the same way we rejoice when things are good) for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. Also because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope ! 

It is my prayer that we may go to and sit before God with whatever part of us that is still struggling to understand this and ask Him to have His way with us and open our eyes to see life through His eyes.

Help us Jesus.

Love Ree.

Photo:officialnotw

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)


Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

The Blog Turns One !!!

Wow, look at that, it's been a year of coming here to write!!! Clearly, even if it tangibly doesn't seem like it, time moves so fast. So whatever it is you need to do, begin by taking the the first step now, because before you know it, a year will have gone by and you'd either have gained 12 months of progress or lost them.

So last month I shared here about my first year anniversary in salvation !! This month, the blog turned one, on the 21st September to be precise.

In Honour of that, this month's blog is going to be a little different because.... IT'S A VIDEO!!! I'm on YouTube ! Heeeeey! Yay!

Today I'm going to be sharing from a moment last year November when the Holy Spirit prompted me to give my testimony to my church Eagles Faith Christian Centre, turns out my flatmate recorded the moment!! She also helped me with the video editing! Gosh I love how God has knitted our lives and hearts together, so many things I could share about our close to 1 year of living together!!! & I will!!

So back to today. Here we go...from my heart to yours. May it be a blessing to you as it is to me!

PS: Jesus, I absolutely love being surrendered to your love, being surrendered to You is everything. Your love keeps taking me deeper, moment by moment, day by day! I honestly can't live without You. There is no point of anything in my life if You are not at the centre of it. I LOVE YOU!! I love you so much. I love you with all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my strength and with all of my soul!! Thank you for loving me first, thank you for loving me into the person I am today, thank you for giving me life! Thank you for picking me up from the lost broken messed up girl I was and restoring, transforming and restructuring my life!!

Love, Ree

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)


Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

Suited Up ... in Salvation ( It's a Year !!! )

I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ( Isaiah 61:10 )

Joshua our worship Pastor exhorted the Church with this verse a few weeks ago. I had never read it before then but it has been so beautiful meditating on it since then. God has dressed me up, clothed me in salvation. He has given me a suit of salvation! By His power working in me He has suited me up ... in Salvation !! What an honour and privilege!

A year ago this month I got married to Jesus! Basically I said yes to Him, I said I DO. I gave him my heart, all of it with no more reservations ( the Maker is my bridegroom Isaiah 54:5 ) and nothing in my life has been the same again, everything changed! For my good!!!

I see a tonne of things I struggled with, so many times I tried to make myself a better me, but now I know that all that good stuff like new year resolutions, will power and best intentions are not enough to make you and I the best version of ourselves! Only Jesus has the power to do that for us for He created us with His perfect plan for our lives, according to His will. When a person begins to see themselves as and for who God made them to be, through His loving eyes, through His perfect image of themselves, they will raise the standard of how you look at themselves, how they carry themselves, and how they live.

Image : Google Image

For years I struggled with drugs and alcohol, I always knew I could do better with myself, but my will power to stay sober never lasted long, I always caved eventually, I always went back to self destruction mode.

Up until salvation, I hadn't understood the true meaning of purity and how waiting for your one day spouse is muuuuuch more than not 'going all the way'. I sometimes smh and laugh when I think of how many times I proudly announced to close friends that 'I was celibate' (which didn't last either). The thing is I was still involved in sexual sin during those celibacy phases even if I wasn't having sex per se, but I didn't know better. I had lots of misconceptions about what life really should be. Most importantly, I had confused good standards for God standards.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 "There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ does not aim to overcome as the enemy of his honor. And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone. Jesus Christ is now, in this age, putting all his enemies under his feet. Every rule and every authority and every power will be conquered. " - John Piper

Alcoholism, drug abuse, lust, sexual immorality and low self esteem, God has conquered all those things and so much more that had once conquered my life. It doesn't matter how many times I tried to stop or realised that they were destroying me, I always failed at letting them go and fixing me. It wasn't until I let the power of Jesus into my life that I could do it. This is the kind of God I need, this is the kind of God I serve. One year later and me and Him are celebrating our 1st year anniversary!  I have been born again for a year! I am a new creation, my sin was taken from me as far as the east is from the west 2 Corinthians 5:17 , Psalm 103:12 !!

Is it easy living for Jesus? Good question! Well, in my own strength..that's an easy no it's not, because that brings us right back to trying to live good through the strength of will power, good intentions, resolutions and all of that. True living for Jesus involves giving all of you to Him. The good, the bad and the ugly... allowing the Holy Spirit to come live in your life and you submitting to the authority of God over your entire life. You come just as you are and surrender to Him. The most interesting thing about it all is that in God you find yourself by losing yourself, you die to live again, you lose to win again ( Matthew 10:39 , Matthew 16:25 ). He is for you, He is rooting for you, He wants the best of the best for you. Jeremiah 29:11. But you've got to come to Him on His terms John 8:12, John 14:6. Because His terms are eternally better for you than the very best of your own plans would have been ! You've got to trust Him.

I am not perfect, far from it, but I get up daily with the desire to be faithful to Him. God isn't looking for or expecting perfect, he knows we are human, so very imperfect! He is simply looking for a heart that is turned towards Him. That's all you and I need to do to begin and continue this journey with Him. Spiritual growth is not automatic, it takes intentional commitment. One must want to grow spiritually, decide to grow, make an effort to grow and persist in growing. I have seen this work in my life. It is real.

Is it worth it living for Jesus? ABSOLUTELY YES!!! That will always be my answer, because there is nothing outside Jesus worth living for. Speaking from experience, I reiterate, It is absolutely worth it living for Jesus! What He asks of you, what you have to give up doesn't even compare to what He gives you, and continues to give in return, It's absolutely beautifully insane! Living for Jesus is the true living. I dare you to try Jesus! Accept that He has already paid the price for all your sins, it is done, paid for, no debt, you just have to accept His forgiveness. Accept His pure, full, whole, satisfying unconditional Love for you and accept His salvation (1 John 2:12). Understand that you were born a sinner but He atoned for your sin and vindicated you so that your sins are forgiven on account of His name. Let Him be Lord over your life by telling Him that that's what you want. He is a gentleman, He would never force Himself on you or go where He isn't invited or welcome. If you do this, I assure you that this will be the best decision you ever made in your entire life, and the ripple effect will be going on to making better decisions for the rest of your human life with His help, receiving a peace and joy unlike anything else this world can ever you, and life eternal for when we transition into eternity after our days on earth are done. John 3:3 . He is calling you right now, listen to that voice, that nudge...say yes to Him.

God loves you, if you paid attention, I bet ya you'd love Him too! ( I heard that in a song a while back, I just don't what it was called and who the artist was). I share it because of the truth in it. I know now how little I loved God before I was born again even though I called my self a Christian. But when I really began to pay attention, giving Him all of me, getting to really know Him, I fell in love, and I fall deeper in love daily! I assure you, salvation is not boring, it is not something you want to wait to do later after 'having fun'. Salvation is the plan that we all needed to get on like yesterday!!

Love, Ree

** PS: We are almost there!!** Look out for my first YouTube Video going up in September as a toast to 1 year of blogging !! I will be branching out into Vlogging a little later in the year as God leads, but this particular one will be a very very special share .

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)


Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

Surrender All

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

So many Hymns in my Spirit lately, I seem to keep finding myself singing one after  another. Just the other day I woke up with this tune in my heart and on my lips and I thought to share it to encourage you and me with all the truth it is filled with. Isn't it just so beautiful how relatable hymns are, crazy how I used to think of them as 'old folk music'. How amazing the words that meant everything to followers of Christ then mean just as much if not more to followers of Christ now. I plan on having a collection of these and I look forward to teaching them to my babies :).

So it's an interesting and very exciting time for me. My Re-Birth aka my salvation and total surrender to Jesus is turning one year old next month !! During the course of the Month of August 2014, I finally said yes to Jesus from the deepest corners of my heart, from places I had never even known existed within me. Everything I was holding onto, everything that I placed as more important than Him I was finally ready to release into His care and Trust that He was better. My gut always said He was but Christianity simply didn't seem like 'fun'/ 'the way to live'. But I was broken, I was at my end, enough was enough, I was self destructing all in the name of what I regarded as the better way to live. Honestly, yes it did 'feel good' most of the time, but it wasn't necessarily good to and for me ( plus no one ever got anywhere worth going in life by letting their feelings control their life) and deep down I just knew it wasn't enough.There was more to me, there just had to be more to my life.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I now truly know and believe that life doesn't get better than this... In Jesus is what true living really is! There is no better way..... His way is the way, His way is the truth, His way is the life.

I look back at how in just a few months I have grown in Love and Faith for Jesus Christ. No the journey has not been easy but it has and still is and will always be worth it all . My Lord Jesus turned out to be everything I ever wanted, just what I was looking for and more!! There is no living without Him. There is no life without Him!! And if it's not Him I am consciously serving and worshipping, I will end up serving and worshipping something else whether I am aware of it or not, and it will never satisfy my soul.

It all started with surrendering my all. Allowing His opinion about me and my life to be higher than anyone else's. I gave Him all of me. I placed down my armoury and said "that's it God, I am done fighting and shaking you off. You win. You can have me." I gave into His pursuit for my soul. I began the process of saying Yes to Him everyday for the rest of my life and now, a year later, I am like.. Yooooo!!! why didn't I do this sooner! What took me so long??!! This is where it's at!! It really is! Jesus is the answer! To anything and everything on and beyond this life. What I held onto and finally gave up doesn't even compare to what I am getting in return. He is the exceeding and abundant giver in things way bigger than material perishable earthly worth.

If you don't know what I am talking about, I wish and pray that you can get to understanding who He really is. God is much more than just this ambiguous supernatural thing / feeling. He is my Father, my Best Friend, my Lover. Yes He is Lord over my life and I live to worship and serve Him all the days of my life, but we are in a relationship. We communicate. I grow deeper in love with Him with each passing day because what He is about is inexhaustible. We get intimate and so real.

I have grown a hunger and thirst for His true and living word, the bible. I am always left amazed by all the rich knowledge of Himself that He is just waiting for us to open up, dig in, explore, learn, understand. His word is alive, and to think I only just scratched the surface.

If you don't know Him as your saviour, I urge you to go on and begin a relationship with Him. He loves you just as you are, He wants to fill you up and make you whole. Feel you up from within. Bring your soul to life in ways more money, cars, career or business success, a spouse, children and all that good stuff we are always chasing could never ever do. Come to Him just as you are by believing in His unconditional love, His forgivingness of all your sin and accepting His salvation. Ask Him to come into your life. Don't seek religion, seek Him. Don't go after what He can give and do for you, instead go after Him for who He is - He is Love. Go after a relationship with Him. He loves you and He is waiting for you. He longs to be in a relationship with you, for you to know Him intimately and for you to see yourself the way He see's you. For you to find your true identity and that is only found in Him for He created you, He is your maker. He knows you more than you know yourself.

Listen to that voice deep inside of you calling and nudging you to say yes to Him.

And still in the spirit of Hyms...

You alone are the real joy giver

and the apple of my eye.

You're my friend and you are my brother

Even though you are a king

I love you more than any other

So much more than anything

You alone are my strength, my shield 

To You alone may my spirit yield 

You alone are my heart's desire 

And I long to worship Thee

As the deer panteth for the water

So my soul longeth after Thee

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship Thee

Every Blessing,

Love, Ree.

Trust and Obey. (Photo: Google Images)

** PS: A First of it's kind Special Announcement ** Look out for my first YouTube Video going up in September as a toast to 1 year of blogging !! I will be branching out into Vlogging a little later in the year, but this particular one will be a very very special share .

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)


Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam. 

Epilogue....that Rock Bottom feeling

Today is the last day of the month of June, that means we are done with the first half of the year 2015! Can you believe that!! Progressing and moving forward in the right direction with my life has me feeling great at what it has been thus far and excited about the endless possibilities lying ahead of me. You know for each one of us, it all begins with the choice to take the better journey of our lives! My hope is that you are also making the right ones.

In last month's post titled That Rock Bottom feeling, I talked about areas of struggle that we all face in one way or another in this life and I even opened up about two particular scenarios of my own. This month I will keep it very simple and just flood my page by picking some encouraging quotes and phrases from my endless collection and with scripture, that we can have to come back to during those discouraging moments as they will always arise in one form or the other, to keep us encouraged.

Some are new, some are old. Enjoy and may you be blessed and enouraged !!! 

You can’t change your past - but you sure can change your future!

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

If it doesn't challenge you, it wont change you.

One day in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.

Keep pushing, the only way to get past it is through it.

Realise that failure is not an identity but an event...don't allow your past mistakes to define you.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling. Our greatest glory is in rising each and every time we fall . 

It's our attitude not our aptitude that determines our altitude.

Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. Success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.

Never ever give up. Winners don't quit! Keep going.

If you do not take control of your inner thoughts, you will become a slave to your outer circumstances. You won't be driving your life; the storms and changing weather will.

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0

Don't GO through life ... GROW through life...

Don't stop trying because you've hit a wall, progress is progress no matter how small.

Never let a mistake take you down. If you fall, get back up.

Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.

Just because what you are working toward hasn't come to pass doesn't mean that it's not going to happen! Keep PUSHING!

Never assume that you're stuck with the way things are. Life changes, and so can you.

Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.

Turn your low moment into your highest and strongest moment.

It is never too late to change the negative works into something positive.

I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.

Your future is not ahead of you , it is within you .

If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.

"w̶̶a̶̶i̶̶t̶̶ ̶̶f̶̶o̶̶r̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶p̶̶e̶̶r̶̶f̶̶e̶̶c̶̶t̶̶ ̶̶m̶̶o̶̶m̶̶e̶̶n̶̶t̶̶, Take the moment and make it perfect."

No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, you can still turn around

Don’t curse your crisis- it can be a blessing in disguise!

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes

Train your mind to see the good in everything.

Life is not waiting for the storm to pass, its learning to dance in the rain.

You are the average of the 5 people you spend your time with. - Get around winners.

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. Even when it hits the fan.

You are wired for greatness and success! Failure is not an option and fear does not exist in your DNA!

Let your faith be bigger than your fear.

When you are in Christ, you are victorious! :)

It is not by might nor by strength, but by unmerited favour of He who began the good work in us. (Zechariah 4:6)

I can do all things thorough Chirst who strengthens me. ( Phillipians 4:13)

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” Matthew 19:26

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. - John 16:33

Love, Ree. 

Snapchat : iamarete

Come over to My Facebook Page to stay in touch with me when I am not on here :)


Ps: If you are ever in Nairobi and are looking for a church family to visit with, during your short or long stay. My church Eagle's Faith Christian Centre ( EFCC) would be privileged to host you! OR if you live in Nairobi and are looking for a church family or if you simply want to visit and send our love back to your home church family, get in touch with me for directions, or Get Directions Here  !

The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

Comments are not moderated but author reserves the right to remove any comment deemed defamatory, inappropriate, or spam.