My Walk with God 🌱

  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." -Galatians 5:22-23 Welcome to Mango Season!  Mango trees that were once flowering, now are delivering on their promises, bearing mangoes plentifully. Tree owners cannot keep up, persons selling mangoes are capitalizing on the season, and even the birds and the animals are guaranteed a good meal from the many mangoes high up in the trees. It's mango season where I am. Is it by you too? According to research, this fruit originated in Asia, and has even been declared the national fruit of India. There are also over 500 varieties of mango. This means, that no matter how selective we might be, there just might be one variety that can suit our taste. There must be more to this fruit than only what meets the eye. 🥭 3 L essons I 'picked' from a Mango Tree 🥭 🌳Every good mango comes from a good tree. Did you know t...

  "Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps." -Matthew 25:7 What do you use to give light? Many use a light bulb or an electrically powered light source. However, there are other traditional light sources. For example, consider a wax candle that we tend to seek out when the electricity goes, or even a scented candle when we want to set a mood. In my country, during the Hindu festival of Divali, deeyas (small cup-shaped oil lamps made of baked clay) are placed all around the devotee's home. Consider also, even before electricity was the standard form of power in homes, many would rely on what we call oil/kerosene lamps. These traditional light sources tend to have some things in common. They have a supply of fuel, and a wick, that serves as a conduit for the fuel, which is lit and burns to give light. On doing some research, I realized also that the wick does tend to get charred, and if not trimmed, tends to smoke or not give off as bright a light as desired. I...

"Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed;  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in Your tabernacle forever.  I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah" - Psalm 61: 1-4 A few weeks ago, while returning downhill from a hike as darkness fell, my friend and I passed a chapel. Usually it is quiet when we pass, but this time, the voices of a group of Christian brothers singing emanated through the open windows and blessed the night air with a spiritual flavour. Accompanied by the sounds of a gentle drum, they were singing the heartfelt psalm of David, as is quoted by tonight's scripture. The words of this psalm resonate with many folks, but it was a unique experience listening to male voices banding together in faith, praising the Lord their Father, their source of strength and help, and echoing the words of a f...

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." -Psalm 51:17 Have you ever been in a relationship or heard someone who is in a relationship complain that their partner doesn't make time for them or doesn't pay attention to them? Maybe you yourself have been the one guilty of this too? Perhaps crucial elements like communication, honesty, humility have broken down, and the closeness and intimacy that was once shared that brought the two individuals together in the first place have sort of fallen through the widening distance and faded into familiarity. While this may not necessarily be the end of the world for the relationship, it does weaken it. Experts have often shared that relationships are like plants, and just as plants need certain things to grow well, it is of great benefit when partners can among many other things, maintain date nights, shared activities or goals, or even accessing prayer and counselling...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7 Hello friends, did you feel flustered this week? Worried? Overwhelmed? Disturbed? Anxious? Grieved? At times, we can be affected by a number of concerning events, personally, locally or internationally. I was concerned about a man dying in a freak accident in the local news, a sick relative, the suicide of a young lady, some upcoming major ventures, someone's failing marriage, about the war between Palestine and Israel, and about my plant babies possibly not surviving this heat. The list can go on and on. We all have our own list of things that worry us. Some things we seem to have no control over, and this can disturb our peace of mind. I just want to encourage us all with a reminder that even when   there is n...

World Translation Day - September 30 "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." -Romans 8:26 True stories. 1. While in transit at an airport as a late teen, I sat next to a man from the Czech Republic, and even though we were trying to have a conversation, we were not getting very far with it because of the language barrier. However, the travel dictionary he had was still useful as it helped us both to still exchange a few words.  2. As a child, my abuela (grandmother) came to visit us from Venezuela. Most of the times, my mom was around, so we would simply listen to them talk. But one day my mom wasn't around, and it was just me and my abuela , and she started talking to me in Spanish. While I was glad that my abuela was spending time with me, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't understand her, neither could sh...