The prison that almost became my home.

Matters of the heart♡

She is sitting in a dark prison cell, the walls are closed in. She could not escape the endless, darkened mist that surrounded her daily. She never knew what lay beyond The walls of the cell. Life in this cell was the normal for her. The screams she heard paralyzed  her from even pushing on the door. Daily she sat in the silent strong sombre corner of the chilled room, shivering and shaking in the darkness of the cell.
The darkness worried her,  her imagination supplied many beasts with fantastical jaws to lurk beyond the range of my vision. But this was the life she had chosen wasn’t it it? So she must embrace it.?  As the minutes turned into hours and the hours turned to weeks and months turned to years. Time had almost stopped. The exertion grew into a beast, huge and grotesque that would be feed by…

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Thabile: The journey

Hello beautiful people! In my last blog post I promised I would share with you a little bit about the journey of creating my fashion design brand called “Thabile”.

My passion for fashion dates back to when i was a little girl. Growing up I used love playing around with my barbie dolls’ dresses, but i’d often get frustrated by not being able to make new clothes for them (I was not allowed anywhere near needles). So I decided to improvise, so I’d cut out figures of girls from cereals boxes then cut out diffrent outfits for them using the different parts of the outside of the box. This allowed me to change around their outfits, sometimes even hair. As I grew older and we started doing sewing lesson in primary school I’d always be “improving ” the clothes my parents would buy for me into something i thought was more exciting (no offense to their taste in fashion). I once turned my pyjamas into a skirt and a crop top and in my eyes it was a perfectly great outfit to go out in, lol. Later on into high school I designed my first dress for a friend of mine who was getting confirmed (confirmation is a Catholic church ceremony that signifies the strengthening of one’s faith). It was the first time I sketched something and it came out just as I imagined, we were both pleased with the results and I’d later go on to design my prom dress.

In my early twenties I signed up for a fashion show that was held at New Life Covenant Church, it was such a great experience, you’d think I’d have been inspired to continue,but life happened and I let the dream fade. For many years I allowed the goliaths in my life to taunt me and get me to believe in myself and the gift God had given me less and less. I knew and conceptualised what God had said about who I am in Him and the plans he had for me, but I was not convicted of this enough to step out in faith and trust him to lead me. It took work, I had to shift my mindset and I quickly learnt that the world does not stop for you to get your act together and God is not short of people he would like to use to show his glory. So here are a couple of lessons I learnt along the way together with some practical things I had to do to align myself with his word:

1. Get to a place where you seek to really know God in a very intimate way, know and meditate on what He says about you and why He created you.
2. We have all had things spoken over our lives that are not true, that we hold on to, words of rejection, failure and defeat. Cast those onto the cross, replace each negative word spoken over your life with the truth about what God says instead. This can be a difficult and long process, you may need someone you can open up to about this that you can be accountable to, and that you can pray with.
3. Cut out all the negative noises in your life, including people that do not build you up and nor encourage you. God will repalce them with the right people .
4. Do not lose sight of the dream, pray about it, learn about it and seek wisdom for it. Ask and you will receive, He will give you.
5. Boldly step out in faith, trusting in the word you receive.
6. Remember it is not about you, but it is ALL for his glory!
7. Repeat

Why do I say repeat? Because the word does not say the weapons will not be formed, but it says those that are formed against you will not prosper. So no, it’s not going to be rosy, you will have to constantly be seeking His face and He will reveal more and more of himself to you as you do. You will need his promises on your life as swords to fight of the world’s negativity. You will need to focus on the goal, strive for excellence and at every turn remember you are only but a steward of whatever it is He has given you and it is ALL for His glory!

Here are some scriptures that can help:

Deuteronomy 28:13; “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day…”

Philippians 4:13; “I can do all things through him who gives me strength”

Isaiah 54: 17 “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accusses you…”

The exciting thing about this journey is that you are not on it alone, you have the creator of the universe as your guide and Jesus as your travel buddy and biggest cheerleader. So if you have something you feel you are called to do and are not doing, step out, let’s fail, let’s win and most importantly let’s have faith together! You can!

 

Location: D0mboshava

Pants: Gift from a friend

Belt: Ali express

 

Hello Beautifuls !

Wow, it’s been way too long, 8 whole months without a posting, I almost feel like saying “makadii henyu” (how do you do in Shona) haha!

Where to even begin, so much has happened, the good, the bad, the great, and I cannot wait to share some of it with you. One thing remains through everything, God is still good, He remains faithful, He still sits on the throne and continues to show himself powerful in my life!

So let’s start with the exciting bits (smiles from ear to ear). Some of you may know that I have always had a passion for fashion, (I think I may have mentioned that in my bio, gosh it’s been too long don’t even remember, lol) if you didn’t now you know :). I decided to do something about that and created a clothing brand called “Thabile”, named after my second name “Sithabile” which means we are happy and my brand is all about bringing happiness to those who wear it !

It has been the most scary and difficult thing to do but also fulfilling and worth every sleepless night. Scary because I was very self conscious and weary about what people around me would think about my brand, whether i’d do well or not; all sorts of imaginery mountains i carefully stacked on my path. It took everything to shake that off an dive in. I am determined to learn, grow and build something that would be bigger than me and that would go beyond me. I am glad i made the decision! It has been quite the journey so far and I have had amazing support from family, friends and even people I have never met randomly sending me encouraging texts. I am in awe. This is how God works, He does not give you a vision without provision. I am so ready to get right in, face it all, learn it all and slay it all!

And no, I have not left Educate, nor am I planning to, haha! I still have my day job, I love it, I love the work we do at Educate, the lives we assist, the future we are helping to fund! Guess what, we have exciting new partners y’all should check out here: http://www.educate.co.zw

I am glad to be back and cannot wait to continue share with you the journey. Look out for my next post where I tell you more about THABILE the brand!

As is my custom, let me share with you some of the verses God has given me for this new season:

Isaiah 43:2

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Joshua 1:9

“…Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Philippians 1:6

“Be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

I hope these will minister to you as well!

Crop top by: THABILE

Maxi African Print skirt by: Chenesai

Neckpiece: from Mr Price

Location: Troutbeck Inn, Nyanga, Zimbabwe

THABILE

I have been asked what Thabile meant. I took it from my second name Sithabile, a ndebele name which means “we are happy” 

When i thought of naming my blog and my brand this is what Thabile meant to me:

T eachable spirit you have

H appiness you always bring to others

A ccomplished in all that you do

B eauty that comes from inside and glows outside 

I nvincible, nothing can completely destroy you because your roots are in God

L ove for God and love for his people

E xcellence is your standard 

Dress by: Thabile😊

Finding God in difficult times

Many of my friends, family and myself too have gone or are going through the most this season. From financial,relationship,health,career to job difficulties, it has really been so hard to comprehend and even harder to remember that God has a plan. 

The interesting thing is, it’s not that we do not know what the scripture says;  we know that He will never leave or forsake us, we know that He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose and that we are to trust Him. But the question many keep asking including myself is when life is falling apart how in the world are we supposed to practically do that??? When you are jobless and broke and you have bills to take care of, when you’re sick and cannot go about your normal life routine or when your heart has been hurt. Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and hope life fast forwards to the fruition of His plan.

I read an article that said;

He is found as we engage with the character of Christ, whose life and Spirit direct us to the Father. And I want you to know that God is a good Father. Our life does not always tell that story; but it’s true…I (the author of the article) have personally fought to find Him at every stage of my life…

When I read this, I felt this was soo true, we literally have to fight to find him in the midst of our mess. Our lives can be so cluttered with the noise of our struggles that if we do not fight to remember God, we can end up letting go of Him easily and completely as we are figuring out this life thing.

Another thing that got me thinking was when i look back at my life, i can see God’s hand, His faithfulness and His mercy. In fact, I would not be here if it wasn’t for Him. So maybe if we try to remember where we were before we met Him, the things He has rescued us from. It will help in making us see that He is in control. It’s like looking at God’s track record lol..and hopefully help us believe that He is working all things for your good.

It’s also good to have a person or people that can help you remember God, that you can be accountable to. We can never walk alone (sidetrack,this is why i love liverpool😂❤),there are areas where we are weak and we need the help of a friend/s to lift us up and get us back in alignment with God’s plan and vice versa. We can also be that friend for others.

This is what God says:

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jer 29:12‭-‬13 NIV

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 Mt 11:29 NIV

I hope this helps you find God in your hard situation. 😊

Destiny awaits…move

Have you ever listened to a great sermon, or had a revelation from God through his word and then thought, wow, that was deep, but i will act on it tomorrow? I have, many times, recently while i was listening to a sermon by Christine Caine at the Code Orange Revival, (amazing sermon by the way!) i got a revelation!

Remember the story of Moses, Pharaoh and the plagues? Particularly the “Frogs plague” Exodus 8:1-15 just read what Pharaoh said here:

“8…Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

¹⁰ “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

You know i have read this passage many times and i never thought of verse 10 that way, “tomorrow” he said, i don’t know maybe he just wanted one more night with his frogs, but he had the opportunity to get them taken care of instantly but he said tomorrow. By the way these are frogs yea, all over his country:

³ The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. ⁴ The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

But he said, “tomorrow”. Which made me wonder, what “frogs” do we hold on to? What excuses do we give to continue holding on to them and delay our freedom and destiny?

1. Procastination

You read a word or you listen to a good sermon on the power of persistant prayer, and you think, this is awesome, i need to improve my prayer life, i will do it….tomorrow. Or you even pay money to attend a financial management seminar, you know your finances are on the rocks, you get useful tips, and you think to yourself, those were amazing, I will implement them….tomorrow. Sounds familiar?

Isaiah 43:19 says; “See, I am doing a new thing! NOW it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

God wants to do a new thing NOW, not tomorrow. Allow yourself to be quickened in your spirit and move as the holy spirit moves.

2. Stuck in past moments of pain

Maybe you’ve been hurt or abused in the past and you are full of shame or regret. You want God to use you, you look around and you see others walking in their destinies and you want that too but you think, man, i have waaaayyy too much baggage, you just don’t know where i’ve been and God cannot surely use someone like me? That moment of pain becomes what defines your whole being and stops you from stepping in what God called you to be.

Can we change the past? Can we undo some of the things that we have been through?No! Being freed doesn’t mean you suddenly have amnesia and you forget what happened, but it means we can begin to accept and deal with those pains with strength from God. The process of recovery is more painful than the injury that took place, but you have to allow God in to break you apart, get into that place and start healing you. Freedom has no personality, background or past, freedom comes through the blood of Jesus and everyone qualifies!

You can spend your whole life defining yourself with your past, or you can go into the fullness of what he says about you. He says:

 

I am the Creator and you are my creation. I breathed into your nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). I created you in my own image (Genesis 1:27). My eyes saw your unformed substance (Psalm 139:16). I knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). I know the number of hairs on your head, and before a word is on your tongue I know it (Matthew 10:30; Psalm 139:4). You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

You are more valuable than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31). I have given you dominion over all sheep and oxen and all beasts of the field and birds of the heavens and fish of the sea (Psalm 8:6–8; Genesis 1:26, 28). I have crowned you with glory and honor as the pinnacle and final act of the six days of creation (Psalm 8:5; Genesis 1:26).

Quoted from: “Desiring God” blogpost 24/09/15  http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-god-thinks-about-you

The key to stepping into your destiny is to move, make that predetermined step to get yourself out of that funk that is holding you back. There is life beyond pain, but you need to want to MOVE past it.

Another thing is to BELIEVE God is who he says he is, the world is full of unbelieving believers who sing praises and quote verses about a God who is almighty, but when it comes to believing it for our own situations, suddenly we don’t believe He will do what He says he will do. I pray that you become truly convicted and believe what He says about you, who He created you to be; God’s destiny awaits he who has faith in Him.

He will never leave nor forsake you…

Motivation:

When you feel like you’re all alone remember God is always fighting for you, He is fighting battles for you that sometimes you cannot even see…

#Thabile

Praise through the pain

A Midnight Praise. – http://wp.me/p3D1f7-zg

The power of forgiveness

By Pastor Tom Deuschle

 

Let it go…

Forgiveness, an area in my life where God has really been dealing with me quite severely. It is easy to talk about it, but actually going through with it is the hardest part. So I decided to take my time and learn about how i can do it, mainly because it is such an important aspect in my walk with God and I was just tired of holding on to my pain, i was tired of being a slave to it. It was time to let it go!

Forgiveness is about you and your heart, Matthew 5:8 says: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Pastor Tom Deuaschle spoke about this just this morning (lol, when God is subbing you big time in church) he said, “We harbour emotions when we do not know how to release and forgive others to avoid the inevitable destruction of our heart.” When you have unforgiveness your heart is full of bitterness, resentment and anger and that is not good for you, in fact you become “dis-eased” literally. When we keep our hearts pure we have more clarity about what God wants us to do. So how do we keep our hearts pure?

1. By choosing not to take offence, yeah, you can do that sometimes. Choose your peace, even if it means you’ll look weak or too soft, protect your peace and look the other way.
2. Choose mercy over judgement James 2:13 says, “Because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement.” God wants us to offer others the same mercy he has given us, Matthew 6:12 Amp “And forgive our debts, as we have forgiven out debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].”  Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive yours…” Yea, i know, i know, it’s such a hard pill to swallow, like when i heard/read that i was like but God, that’s not fair, you don’t even know what’s been done to me and He said, what about what you do to me, what about the many things I have forgiven you, surely you were not deserving, but i did anyway. Forgive them too, let it go, surrender it all to me. Which brings me to the third thing…
3. Release your offences to God, he is your vindicator. Tell him, God it hurts, it’s painful, i didn’t deserve it, but i trust that you are my vindicator and you will fight for me. Don’t hold on to the pain and become a slave to it, hold on to God and conquer it. Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you’re still angry, and do NOT give the devil a foothold” The devil just luurrrves chaos, anger and discord among God’s people, he thrives in it, do not give him the victory, he doesn’t deserve it! “God can break the cycle of pain and use the situation to bring others to him.” Which takes me to my 4th point….
4. This one is not easy, in your own strength you may not be able to do this, that’s why you need God’s strength and the Holy spirit to take over. You need to put on the face of Christ and look past your pain but to the reason why the person that offended you did that, where they were hurting so much that they’d do that and pray for them. Right, i know, i know, vice Jesus gwans-that’s why i said it’s not easy, but you can do it, you can have that Christ-like mind, our carnal minds may not comprehend this, but there is much reward in doing this, so seek help from God, pray about it, read the word and the instruction it’s giving on how you can get to this place.                                                                       
5. Ask God to reveal to you the issues causing bitterness in your heart.Look in his word, learn how to have a mind like Christ. It is not easy when you think about it, but when you decide to trust God with that situation, the peace that will prevail will surpass all understanding.                                                                                                                                                                           

When we are offended or deeply hurt by the people around us the seemingly easy thing to do is to hold grudges, hold on to that pain, tweet about it, slander the offenders, change whatsapp statuses or seek revenge whatever seemingly more hurtful things we do these days (which do not ease your pain by the way). However, revenge is not ours, it is God’s, surrender it to Him, resist the urge to take control of it because in the end it will destroy your heart. God has called us to be beautiful beings with pure hearts, and NOTHING is worth losing that. It’s not easy, it doesn’t happen overnight, it may still hurt, but begin today to give it to God, do yourself a favor- forgive.