Financial Freedom

 

I am a girly girl and naturally  love shopping my heart out and as if that is not enough I will bend backwards to please my loved ones with gifts, let's say am blessed with the gift of generosity.

Like any other 21st century millennial, I have gotten into the rut of spending what is not mine thanks to the hand that keeps giving in form of credit.

Many times I have revisited my finances and attempted to get them in order only to get back where I started.

I recently attended a financial workshop at my church that reinforced that living with less is the most efficient way to control your financial future and here's how;

Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20 It's good to receive wealth from God and good healthy to enjoy it.

 

ü  To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life, this is indeed a gift from God.

ü  Tell your money where to go- have a budget, track your money. You can't manage what you don't measure.

Proverbs 27:23 Be diligent with your flock 

ü  Your money is a seed, plant for next summer. Don't eat everything  you  bring in. 

ü  Include God in your finances (tithe)

ü  If we align with God, He will show us how to invest our finances.

ü  Don't do the same thing over and over and get the same results and accept it.

ü  Have someone you are accountable too.

ü  Delay gratification; don't use credit for something you don't need, save for what you need.

ü  Avoid and eliminate debt, get rid of instant gratification. 

ü  Don't owe anyone anything apart from debt of love.

ü  Know the difference between profits and wages.

ü  Don't subscribe to the cultural perspective of “Things bring happiness”, Happiness can only be found in God.

ü  The way we manage money is a matter of the heart, dedicate it to God, plan, give, save, repay and enjoy.

ü  Use the 10:10:80 rule;

10%Give 

10% Save

80% Live on

 

ü  If you can't afford it, don't do it.

ü  Don't work for money enjoying what you can't afford, let it work for you. 

Proverbs 21:5  Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

ü  Build an emergency fund.

ü  Save for unpredictable emergencies, for predictable needs and for planned future goals.

Proverbs  21:20  The wise man saves for the future but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.

ü  Enjoy- the secret to enjoyment is to stop the comparison  trap.

 

Hebrews 13:5  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.

It is never too late so hoping this triggers you to start by evaluating your current situation, establishing a spending plan, creating a repayment schedule, downsizing your lifestyle and if you can’t downsize consider earning additional income.

Here’s to Financial Freedom!

God Gives His Beloved Sleep...

 

                 CELEBRATING JAJA GIRL

You had so many names over the course of your life, a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, mentor and grandmother.

I can rightfully say you were in my life from when I was a baby and were a constant as I grew up.

When I heard the news of your passing I was so crashed … there are so many reasons why but mainly because I never in my wildest dream imagined you ever going away.

Why? You were so full of life, so warm, energetic, so industrious and on top of the next big thing.

You had a range of abilities but what will forever be memorable for me is how welcoming you were drawing in people from all walks of life and making them feel at home. It became hard for me to go by your street and not  branch off and say hello never worrying if I had another person tagging along because I knew you would embrace them and of course there was the bonus of your home always having a hearty meal thanks to your home making skills .

One of my fondest memories is how you run around at my friend's wedding hosted at your home making sure everything was in order, we joked later that you went the extra mile like it had been my very own wedding. That is just the kind of person you were.

You mothered and nurtured many fostering relations with your love and as I mourned you with the so many miles in between I was comforted in knowing that your home going was befitting for a queen as many came to celebrate your short life.

 

It's still very hard to rationalize why you are gone, but that it is the mystery of death.

You’re  going away has taught me that death is closer than we think , so we need to live each day like it is our last, celebrate waking up each day, love hard on the people in our lives and that there is no better time  than now to do what we plan for, for later.

I am comforted in the fact that you lived a rich life; you spread your wings and didn't let circumstances stand in your way. You used the work of your hands to the fullest and were able to see the fruits of your work, more so in the grandchildren who gave you a new name 'jaja girl' a name that encompasses all you were, sugar and spice and all things nice.

Yours was a magnificent existence and your going did sting but death is not the end for you live on through the many lives you touched.

Forever loved, Forever cherished, Never forgotten, Always there in the silence.

 

Spinning Into A Girl

Love is wonderful and what better way to celebrate it than when long lost family members meet together.
I was blessed to have a reunion not so long ago with a cousin I had last seen let's say a very   long time ago. Thanks to social media and other wonders of the 21st century  we had somehow kept in touch and I had virtually  met her family of 6 kids, yes 6 amazing kids and I'm shy to say she is 5 years my junior.
Well the moment I met and we held each other at the airport after what felt like a zillion years was surreal, there as we embraced and as I slowly took in her features all I could see was the little girl of my youth. I was so happy that my face felt like it would split from all the joy.

Over the days we had together we  laughed, we hushed one another and laughed  again at nothing and everything as we caught up on lost time, retelling stories from way back .

In spite of the distance the stories of our lives had continued to unfold creating a beautiful web of love. Here was this mother of six who as we interacted was daughter, sister, wife, and mother yet still a young girl at heart. Her army of 6 a handful  half the time was  as can be expected  a lot for me to process and yet seeing how she related and knew each of them individually  revealed to me God's  love for us. I have always wondered how God can love us equally and often tease a certain friend of mine that she is His favorite. But seeing this my little cousin(try as I might, I still view her as a baby) with her babies, I was charmed by her obvious affection  for each one of them, they were well cared for and I noticed she had  a purpose.

Precious Family

As we bonded  exploring new frontiers  in all the  areas we love, fashion, beauty, entertainment,  wellness,  work, dreaming up; girls just being girls, she made it seem like being a woman and a mother was one of the easier  things .  She had slid into it carrying everything on her back and shoulders. Candidly honest, she told me much as she loved her children jealously, having some me time or adult company was her idea of a dream holiday.

This was more evident when her mother my loving aunt joined us. The age difference among us ceased to exist and it's like we had spun into a whole new universe as I saw my aunt in a whole new light, a little girl at heart  just like all of us. She was not only a mother but a more experienced peer .

With a lightness of touch in that moment I realized here was this 60 year old woman happy to let her hair down and here was her daughter a mother too letting herself  not only be a girl but be her mummy’s baby. And as I looked on I realized that mothers never out grow their babies and that inside every independent, self-assured woman is a little girl.  No doubt being a woman is indisputably admirable but if I had to choose I would be a girl all the time.

The Trump Effect

The last place you want to find yourself if you are as impatient as me in the last days towards Christmas is a store. So there I was in one with my few items picked up that had nothing to do with Christmas , behind this queue that if one didn't know better they would think there was a giveaway /freebie at the end  of it all. Not having anticipated the wait, I was undoubtedly fidgety and my face must have been saying things for suddenly the lady in front of me said, oh if you are in a hurry you can go before me, to which I replied no thanks  because  literally that was not about to get me anywhere as fast as I wanted.

Hardly a second later she goes again, oh where are you from, my eyes must have popped coz she quickly added you have an accent. I bluntly replied Kenya which I always do when I don't want to be bothered as the times I tell people I'm from Uganda which I'm proudly from that comes with a spiral of other questions from Idi Amin to the weather and in the spirit of Christmas someone asked me if they do Christmas there, sigh!

So anyway a minute later the lady who obviously wasn't picking my do not disturb cue added oh I also have an accent, this caught me in the middle of my thought process that since post-election I have labeled The Trump effect. My brain had been working overtime as I categorized the lady as another Trump supporter or dare I say deplorable, I mean how dare she catch my accent in a four word sentence and use it as an icebreaker to talk to me. She went on to tell me she was from Sweden; I forgot the long line, remembered my manners and went on to ask her what brought her here and for how long. It was actually a sweet chat that went on past the checkout to the parking. We even exchanged numbers.

 Back home I couldn't help but reflect on how much the elections have divided the country. And much as I had convinced myself I had moved on from the disappointment of the results, isn't it sad that a simple question like where I come from irks me and sends me off into judging people that I know nothing about. And now as if that is not enough, the so many executive orders that made up the 1st week of the new presidency have divided an already divided country further. Each day a different category, the LGBT, the indigenous Americans, immigrants or should I say the world and I can't imagine what else is in store.

An ardent believer, when things don't make sense to me I always anchor myself in the word. Post-election one tweet that used a bible scripture from Hosea 13:11 cracked me up, “In His anger God gave us a king…" I quickly added a NOT and instead found solace in Romans 13:1 that says all leadership comes from God and since I couldn't make sense of that one either I switched off mainstream media and decided once sworn in the guy, His Excellence the President of the free world would surprise us and indeed all would see God's hand.

 Uh from last month's events looks like that surprise is not about to turn pleasant any time soon. Instead as if it's not enough that the election results made me suspicious of simple questions like where I am from, shady just got a new meaning as the swamp is being drained though I’m not sure of what it is being refilled with.

Switching off now and hoping I wake up. soon to a world of decency, empathy and sanity before willful contortions of the truth (#AlternativeFacts) and should I  say dubious decisions take over the land of the free and the brave.

Note to self

 

Sons and Daughters

My mother is catholic; my dad was an Anglican or what other people call Protestant.

My mum being the dutiful Muganda woman raised us Anglicans; children after all belong to a man in the African culture.

All of us loved church; it was the day we got to pull out our pretty dresses rightfully called Sunday Best. Right from the onset I ventured a lot in Church activities and was particularly fond of Bible quiz competitions representing my parish at the National level. Thanks to my early involvement in Sunday school I never have trouble finding Bible books as I know a song to all 66 of them.

As soon as I could flap my wings I ventured into more of the meaning of being a Christian and from the time I was a teenager  identified myself as a born again Christian  and outside the school term  started attending a Pentecostal Church. For most of my Christian walk hence forth, I preached the only way to salvation was not only through Jesus Christ, but Jesus plus going to a Pentecostal Church.

Like fine old aged wine my perspective on things has changed with age and as  I have  continued to walk with the Lord in His wisdom ,He has revealed to me that  Jesus and just Jesus is the way the truth and life.(John 14:6)

The above was especially emphasized last year when my local church did a series called Jesus plus nothing equals Everything.https://lifecentertacoma.simplecast.fm/163 I was also drawn to this church because it is all about people the emphasis being on Jesus and call the congregation Jesus people. The notion of religion ceases to exist when you worship here and instead focus is on our relationship with Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our salvation. The differences of Catholic vs Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox, or however one chooses to worship cease to matter as long as Jesus is the center.

 As I came to the end of 2016, I was heavy laden, burnt out with work and had a personal issue weighing me down. With no one to share with I was particularly looking forward to going away to visit a friend down in the Land of Lincoln.

Once there, with so much time on me to do nothing and a lot to do it in, once the excitement had worn off in my quiet time I battled with the conflict in my life and just as I was starting to accept that it was going to shadow my time away, my host a devout catholic asked me to accompany her to a church she had heard lots about. My initial instincts were like well well, will do it for her as there is nothing there for me. On getting there, there was something in the air that I usurped and completely opened my mind.

As I bore my heart to the Lord, there was the fresh revelation that I am His child and can leave anything at His feet. The rebuttal I had had  subconsciously about the catholic faith or how God really didn't inhabit there all vanished as he embraced me as He had so many other times  reassuring me He was there with me. I also had the special benefit of the serenity of the place whose architecture was an expression of love and as I digested it all I came to the revelation that even buildings are an act of worship. As human beings we gift those we love if we can with houses beautifully designed to show our love and right there in MaryTown;https://marytown.com/ I  saw man's attempt to love back the creator through a building dedicated to being open 24 hours a day and when I was able to look past the building I  found Him in all His glory.

In that place the peace, joy, love and mercy of God was multiplied unto me. Before the end of my trip I asked my friend if we could visit that place again, and this time since I had come willingly and expectant the Lord didn't disappoint me as this time I made meaning of the word adoration, honoring the presence of my Savior, contemplating his awesomeness and the mystery that He is while giving Him my all.

As I reached out for God and He for me, I came to the realization that God in his Mightiness had never once faltered on who could be His sons and daughters or where we could find Him but had simply offered us Love through His son Jesus.

In light of the above discovery and the memories of how His sweet presence had changed my story, I have purposed to deliberately switch off the noise of the 21st Century for instance social media and instead use that time to spend with God, to encourage myself, to let Him speak and motivate me as I absorb the most cherished truth that I am not only His child but the purpose that He came was to redeem us from the burden of the law so that we can become sons and daughters.

Wherever you are, may you find yourself rejoicing as you purpose to let the fullness of His love manifest in your life.