A year to reflect

It has been a whole year since I last blogged and so much has happened. I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl, my family moved (again) to the other side of the country and life has been super hectic to the point where I thought I'd lose my mind! But thankfully everything is now falling into place and looking back there have been a lot of things that I let go of such as: my phone and social media which surprisingly gave me back self control which also resulted to me being more focused and concerned about what is happening on the inside of my life rather than what is going on, on the outside.

The point I am trying to make is, deleting my social media accounts gave me a sense of freedom that I lost due to over-posting, over scrolling and simply spending to much time in boredom looking at photos of how other people live their lives.

I wouldn't say I was addicted to my social media accounts, but for some reason, especially if I was sitting down watching TV or just laying in bed, I would be on my phone just scrolling, looking and liking pictures, reading post of quotes, agreeing with them but never applying them to my life to the point where I would feel a bit depressed about my life, especially when we moved (I hated our new city but I now love it) and wishing I could be living my life like everybody else on social media which was happy, travelling, meeting up with friends, shopping, and being the mom who can bake anything! I am so glad I do not feel that way any more. It took a long time after deleting my social media accounts to stop feeling that way because then it became a mental thing, as I have very good visualisation memory, I would always look back and wonder and think I wonder how he or she is doing, to the point where I had to ask myself.. who cares?

Some may read this and say, well that is you and not everybody is like that. But you don't notice it as a problem until you don't have access to it anymore, because it just becomes part of your life, and some have more control than others. For me it became part of my life, the excitement of sharing your life in pictures and receiving positive comments made me feel good, also sharing my knowledge on matters close to my heart and having people agreeing also made me feel good, so I guess it was not that bad however it came to the point where I became uncomfortable with constantly sharing my life and constantly receiving information in forms of pictures just for likes and comments, to the point where my mind was so bogged with useless information that space for creative thinking was limited.

Today I am happy to say, after 9 months of not posting on instagram, 5 months after deleting my Facebook and twitter accounts, I no longer feel the need or urge to post anything on social media and if I do decide to it is because I want to share moments that mean something to me, rather than posting every single moment everyday or every other day.

Anyways this was my experience with social media, I will be writing more post about this topic and how I weaned my self away from it whilst regaining self control and enjoying life without feeling the need to share it all the time.

I would love to know your thoughts and experiences on social media habits? Please share them in the comments below

Putting My Faith 1st

For the first time I am putting my faith first! When I say first I mean first as in number 1

In the past I have said faith comes first but looking back it seemed as if I was putting my faith to the test! Telling God:
God this week I will be good. I will pray more often, read the bible more often and in return God please give me that job I applied for, please allow this loan to go through, please make this guy like me!!!!......That was me putting my faith to the test because when the above and many other things I prayed for did not happen I would then slip right back into my old ways of complaining, being miserable and feeling frustrated which led me to give up and turn away from God. However, I did not turn away from God completely. I love God I really do from the bottom of my heart! But when I say turn away I meant I didn't persevere or press on in my faith and trust God even when things went wrong or did not go my way, and now looking back I have realized...

.....I have been doing this on and off for the past 13 years!!!

Growing up in a christian/catholic household knowing of God ''our father in Heaven'' was ingrained in me as a child. I remember my mother dressing us up for church every Sunday I also attended a roman catholic school where we recited the lords prayer every morning and every other Sunday we would attend a more cultural church from my country of origin which reflected more of a Pentecostal way of worshiping. So knowing there is a God a father in heaven who looks down on us, loves us unconditionally and sacrificed his only son Jesus Christ to wash away all our sins...was very comforting! And I would pray, I would thank God for the world, ask him to feed the poor children in the world and one prayer that I remember reciting often was that God would make it rain in countries suffering from drought so that people there could grow crops and not go hungry. So yes I have loved God from ever since I can remember and I thank my mum for being consistent in this area of our upbringing and I pray that God will bless her greatly just for doing that.

So...when I turned 16 we stopped going to these loud Pentecostal churches and also stopped attending the boring catholic churches where I fell asleep during service. My mum would still go and at times drag my siblings and I during special occasions like Easter and Christmas. Then something changed she started to attend a different church which was closer to our home, a church that I remember walking past everyday not knowing it was a church because all I saw was second hand clothes being dumped outside its doors.....Well when we started attending with my mum that's when I realized it was the Salvation Army and it is here that I really really began to fall in love with Jesus Christ!

....So I could say my journey to know Christ even better and to live more of a christian life began when I started attending the Salvation Army, Thanks to my mum and of course God who somehow led my mum there!....

This is where I fell in love with Jesus, I wanted to know more of Jesus, I wanted him in my heart and most importantly I wanted to be guided by him. I wasn't saved at that time and didn't even know what being saved was... but I just loved worshiping God! Listening to the preaching which were taught in a practical way in different forms not only standing from a pupil preaching but also in form of theatrical plays to biblical arts displayed across the church hall. 

I felt more engaged and for the first time I was excited about going to church every Sunday, seriously at 16 when others my age would rather sleep-in on a Sunday morning or go shopping I would get up early just to go to church to hear the word of God and when service was done I felt so uplifted and happy...then I would go shopping and hang out with my friends knowing that the holy spirit was is in me (that was and still is a special feeling). 

And now.. at 28 years old, a wife.. a mother, I am still not where I want to be in my christian journey. Up until recently I was still complaining, feeling miserable and getting frustrated when things were not going right or MY WAY!!....Not knowing that maybe it's not my way that I should be concentrating on but GOD'S WAY!!....Its funny because as a christian and someone who  loves Jesus Christ you would think I should know this right?... Well I do or did know it but putting it into practice was what I was battling with..
And now looking back the past 13 years I have seen a pattern, and to say the least its about time I put a stop to it and start correcting the problem!

Steps I took to trust God 100%

1).  I Stopped worrying about things I have absolute no control over!

Example: Waiting for a desicon i.e job offer, immagration, rental application, waiting for that person in your life to change, waiting for your circumstances to change!

Examples as above and many others you cannot control are not worth the worry or stress. Worrying separates us from God as we start to focus on ourselves and our inability rather than focusing on God and his absolute abilities.

If this is you.. like me start by putting your focus on God through constant acts of faith, prayer and trust.. This way we will learn to not let measures out of our hands bother us to the point where we lose ourselves to problems which we cannot control, as this will lead to a miserable, frustrated unhappy life... Question: How can you be reflecting Gods likeness in this state?

Learn to lean on him patiently particularly in times of trouble...

2.) I Cleansed my mind off negative thoughts

I'm going to start this point with a verse from Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect"

We all know the saying "where the mind goes, the man follows" well that is true! It's a simple equation.. if you think bad  thoughts you won't do good.. if you think good thoughts you won't do bad..

Also remember the devil is hard at work trying to destroy your mind, and by focusing on negative thoughts you are fulfilling the will of the devil rather than the will of God.

If this is you.. I urge you to lead your mind towards positive thinking by rebuking negative thoughts about you/your life.. This is a constant process, so remind yourself daily that your mind was created as a tool to purposely fulfill God's good and perfect will... not the devil's.

The day I started to renew my mind was the day I allowed the word of God to properly and effectively influence my thoughts daily.

These are the two main starting points that helped me get over me.. and unto Jesus..

There are more points to come, This I will blog in another post tilted ''Trusting God 100%''

Until then keep loving God, others and yourself!

Amani babs :)

Summer post 101:

Just give me a shirt loafers and a pair of jeans.. that quite sums up my summers outfits. As a mom I try to balance comfort with style... Afterall my day consist of chasing + cleaning after my kid and on most occasions joining him in the sandpits at the beach or playground.

So below are a few outfits that fit right into my closet. They may aswell be my wishlist as I will keep an eye out for these particular outfits on my next shopping trip!

Which outfits do you like the most? And how do think mothers with young children should dress during the summer months?

Casual everyday summer wear

Beach Wear

This outfit would be great for an afternoon at the playground

Dinner for Two?..

No this post is not an invitation for dinner rather it's a dinner recipe that can also be eaten for next days lunch! If you are like me a working mother, a student or even single with lots of responsibilities your probably thinking who's got time to cook? furthermore who's got time to cook healthy food??...(your probably making that face)... yeah I know I make that face too! But on a serious note I have no choice but to cook unless I want my family to starve, and if I am going to cook I want to make sure they and myself are eating meals that are wholesome and nutritious.

So with this 2in1 meal I chose bits that I use could again for next days lunch whilst still maintaining it's freshness and goodness (no matter how good you cook a piece of meat, it never taste as fresh as the day it was cooked) and that's a fact!

I had this dinner 2 nights ago, it was simple yet delicious and only took me 20 minutes to cook (10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes of actual cooking time). 

Ingredients

 

Spaghetti

 Broccoli Cole-slaw

100% whole wheat rolls

 Organic cherry tomatoes & baby carrots 

Tuna

 Tip:

Always check the back for ingredients.. just to make sure no unwanted artificial extras have been added!

DINNER 

As you can guess I made spaghetti for dinner....

Once cooked I added to the spaghetti: Coconut milk, mushrooms, garden peas, sprinkled salt + pepper for added taste and texture. I also lightly steamed (or you can boil) baby carrots.

Tip:

Boiling/cooking foods for too long strips essential nutrients needed for the body to absorb, therefore I only allow my spaghetti to boil for 10 minutes, whilst still slightly hard set aside and cover, steam will soften the spaghetti. Same goes for carrots I only steam/boil for 5 minutes!

For the salad I mixed broccoli coleslaw tuna + cherry tomatoes into a bowl and added 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise. 

Tip:

I like my salad cold, so I placed the coleslaw pack in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients. This gives the salad a good crunch!

LUNCH 

I call this the subway roll with baby carrots as a substitution for fries..

Whether you are lunching at home or at work this meal is great as it is fresh, delicious and full of nutrients.. Did I mention portable?.. just wrap it up and throw it in your lunch box :)

Plus because it's homemade you know exactly what went into it..

Tip:

There is so much goodness that you could add to this.. instead of butter (bad fat) spread avocado (good fat) as a base.. throw in some fresh kale (high in vitamin K) or spinach for that extra crunch!

I hope you have found this 2in1 one meal plan helpful... Regarding portion size particularity for lunch, as I love my food I would have 2 rolls and handful of carrots with a bottle of water... as long as its good for you! Plus you can never have enough of healthy food. However If you are worried about your calorie intake you can substitute the 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise and add creamy coconut milk instead.

Remember we were all created healthy in our natural state so why tamper with that by eating unhealthy and proccessed food? God ♥ you

I hope you all have a lovely weekend..leave a comment or suggestion on what you will add/substitute from this meal.


Amani Babs xxx