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Music Monday: Matt Redman – These Christmas Lights
For those looking for a more contemporary listen this Christmas allow me to introduce your ears to all that is Matt Redman. Matt is a 2 time Grammy award winner, worship leader and renowned singer and songwriter in the christian music circles. I mean, I am all for putting “Christ” back into Christmas… and that’s exactly what he does on his festive album, These Christmas Lights.For starters, the album is filled with a collection of original Christmas themed songs … so if you’re preconditioned to “bleugh” at the mere sound of jingle bells, this one is for you! Secondly, as I’ve mentioned Matt is a really top songwriter and as a double score, he features the vocal prowess of Chris Tomlin, Natasha Bedingfield and the great Tasha Cobbs, on this album.
Some of my favorite picks include the duet with Bedingfield. I mean, the lady has a set of pipes on her! Cobbs also does her fair share of vocal wowing, on the duet ‘Glory to you in the highest‘, where she totally does justice to an amazing song that is kinda like a reprise of the traditional Christmas tune, ‘Hark the Herald angels‘.
Matt is a story teller. He has been gifted with the amazing ability to paint pictures, with words and music and I love that he has taken something that is often completed and utterly pulverized (I’m talking about Christmas, yo) and reinvented the way it’s told, in a way that is more personal and intimate.
There’s a whole lot more that I can say about this one… and I did, over here at Gateway News. You can check out the complete review there.
Win your own set of Christmas albums!But wait… there’s more! Remember I said that I’m giving away a collection Christmas-themed albums to one of you (thanks to Christian Art Media)? Well, that’s definitely still happening! Whoot whooot! I’ve changed the entry mechanism, to give everyone more of a chance. Simply complete the rafflecopter below! Giveaway closes on Tuesday, December 19th!
Find the rest of the reviews here:
Lauren Daigle – Behold -
When a city honors it’s fathers
So apparently Sunday was International Men’s Day. Did you even know? If not, why not? No, seriously, why do we not know these things? We are living in the throes of an era where “who run the world, girls” is the theme song in most single parented households. And I guess there’s nothing wrong with having (or being) a strong single mother. Heck, I was one for a good couple of years! But ladies… females… can we be honest? Our children need strong father figures in their lives. Fatherhood needs to be celebrated in South Africa! It is with this in mind that the Fatherhood Foundation of South Africa decided to celebrate men with an annual ‘Dad of the Year’ awards ceremony.The event was launched in Nelson Mandela Bay this past weekend. Yo! Media, who helped to pull it all together, invited a bunch of us to attend a family picnic at the MTR Smit Children’s Home, where we would join in to celebrate with the award winners. The aim of the event was to honor men who contribute to the tremendous effort it takes to raising children in today’s society, and to elevate the role of fatherhood and encourage a legacy of responsible fathering.
Founder of the Fatherhood Foundation, Zane Meas (famously known to local TV soapie fans as Neville Meintjies), shared his heart and it totally hit home for me! Zane said that mothers are doing to much, referring to the vast number of single mothers who are responsible for raising a large portion of the fatherless youth in South Africa. He passionately shared: “It’s not her job to be mommy and daddy. Once we get men back into their rightful place, we’ll see change!”
Zane explained that in most impoverished communities, men who grow up without fathers end up having children of their own, who they in turn abandon too. He said that the #menaretrash social media trend totally broke his heart because it implies that all men are bad and that is not the truth. There is a perception that men aren’t good enough anymore, so women feel like they don’t need a man in their lives. He ended off with saying that all children want to know that they are loved. They need to know their identity, in order to find a sense of belonging and worth.So what are your thoughts on this, single moms? I know, all to well, the struggle of trying to be all things for my child. And even though my kid’s dad was very much involved, he lived in another city, which meant that a lot of the heavy lifting had to be done by me. It’s not easy, guys. Can we do it? Yes, we can. Should we be doing it? No. This new normal should not be the standard. I also found that Kyle seriously looked forward to spending time with his dad, because he needed that male bonding time. He needed a male role model… someone who “got” him in ways that I never could. (And thank God that Chris came along, but that’s another story for another day.)
I love the concept behind celebrating fatherhood and I am looking forward to the 2018 Dad of the Year Awards!
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Music Monday: Top 25 Christmas Hymns compilation
I love me some Christmas music. And I’m not entirely fussy when it comes to who is doing the singing (or instrument playing), as long as it’s done with excellence. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do have my favorites. But also, I’m okay with just about any version of ‘Hark the herald angels sing’, yo! Which is why I’m so excited to tell you guys about this week’s Christmas music review, Maranatha Music’s Top 25 Christmas Hymns 2-CD set. What’s better than a Christmas album? A Christmas compilation album, duh!Christian Art Media sent me a bunch of fantastic Christmas albums to tell you guys about, but I think this one right here got me the most excited. I love that there are 25 whole festive-inspired songs for us to put on loop, during the ‘most wonderful time of the year’! At first I was like, huh, are there really that many Christmas-related songs?! Well yes, yes there are. Besides for the usuals, I was introduced to a bunch of treasures (some of them probably older than I am) that you probably won’t find on your latest pop sensations Christmas release.
My favorites are here too though. You know the faves, ‘Joy to the world’, ‘O holy night’, ‘Silent night’ and the classic ‘The first noel’. For the full review check out my article on Gateway News.
Win your own set of Christmas albums!Ahhh, I love Christmas! Do you love Christmas too? Well then, you should totally enter my Christmas music giveaway! Every Monday I review a Christmas album, and I add some of my faves to a special Christmas music hamper, which I will be giving away to one of you!
I’ve changed the entry mechanism, to give everyone more of a chance. Simply complete the rafflecopter below! Giveaway closes on Tuesday, December 19th!
Find the rest of the reviews here:
Lauren Daigle – BeholdMatt Redman – These Christmas lights
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Prepping for 2018 with Priscilla Shirer
With the end of the year quickly approaching, I find myself looking back on the past year… mistakes made, lessons learnt, that sort of thing. I love this aspect of life… that we are always growing and learning. No one year looks like the next. Well, it doesn’t have to, that’s for sure. We were gifted with choice and the ability to change and (most importantly) adapt to that change. So to help me get my house in order, I picked up two insightful reads (sent to me by Christian Art Media) and I really want to give one of them to one of you!
Firstly, do you guys know who Priscilla Shirer is? Well, she is the lead actor in the amazing Christian blockbuster War Room and is an author, motivational speaker, actress and evangelist. Priscilla has inspired me, since watching that movie, and I was super keen to hear what she has to say in her new devotional book called Awaken.The 90-day devotional will have you reading with intention. In fact, the back of the book says that “this kind of reading is not merely for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment. With this kind of book you’re praying for something more – to hear from God, receive His direction, and be refreshed in the depths of your soul.” Uhm, yes please!
Each day has a dedicated message with the sole intention to equip you to better hear God’s voice, empowering you to make sound decisions about the rest of your life. I needed this for 2018!
I was also so excited to get my hands on Chrystal Evans Hurst’s latest book, She’s Still There. Chrystal is actually Priscilla’s sister. Priscilla has highly recommended this read and, in the foreward, says: “each page will take the numbness away from your emotional limbs and spark a flame in your soul to mine the treasure you’ve been given by God. It will shine a spotlight on the clutter in your life that you’ve been too busy or too tired or too disinterested to unpack so that you can get to the good stuff.” In She’s Still There, Chrystal shares the secret to loving and honoring your life… even if your story is messy. She speaks about her teenage pregnancy and struggles with her weight. Man oh man, I can relate with so much of what she has to share!
When I opened the book and saw the title of the first part called “Fight for your life”, I could immediately feel the hairs on my arm stand on edge. Isn’t that what we feel we constantly need to do, ladies? We’re always fighting for our lives… for our happiness… for justice, acceptance, sometimes even for love. This book will equip you to reject the lie and move forward. Expect to be equipped and refreshed!
Giveaway! Can I please give this book to one of you? Consider it a Christmas present! To enter the giveaway, simply make sure you’re following my Facebook page over here and drop a comment on the specially marked post (like the one above) letting me know what you find the most interesting about it.I’ll draw a winner on Monday, November 20th at midday and will do an announcement on my Facebook page.
Update: Congratulations Carren Brandt!
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Click here if you need a break
You need a break. Yes, I can tell, from all the way over here. Granted, I only picked it up because I need a break too, so I know all about what “needing a break” looks like. It’s usually a symptom that comes with a classic case of “holding it all together” and “being all things to everyone.” I believe one will most likely find this behavioral pattern common among mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and over all wonder women. They all need a break. And so do you.
The fact of the matter is that you become ineffective when you fail to maintain your own mental and spiritual health. I love spending time, at the beginning of each day, in reflection – a spiritual “wooosahhh” if you will. It helps me to stay sane and keeps me connected with God. And once a year, I do a BIG woosaahhh at the annual Arise Conference – a women’s conference, in Nelson Mandela Bay, that aims to see women from all walks of life become who God has created them to be. I’ve attended every single conference for the past few years and each year I discover new things about myself, who I am meant to be, what I should be pursuing and how God is in the midst of it all helping me to win!
I love that each conference features dynamic guest speakers. These women, hand picked to share their wisdom and story with us, usually ninja chop me out of a stagnant mental space into a place of victory. Seriously, ladies, we can be our own worst enemies sometimes.
Besides for the talks from our guest speakers, there are also really fabulous workshops to attend. Over the years we’ve enjoyed practical training on topics covering divorce care to business chats, parenting talks and photography to party planning. I’m a member of the official Arise Music and Creative Arts team, so I always enjoy the amazing worship team, dancers and creative arts. And I’m not just saying so because that’s me, singing, in the pic above. Oh and friends, if you love a good competition like I do then you’ll have so much fun during the cool giveaways! These run over the duration of the conference and as always, there are a bunch of phenomenal prizes to be won!
Another fave of mine is the much needed pamper zone, where I enjoy my ‘once a year’ full body massage. (And it’s super affordable too). I mean, I need a physical wooosahh too. And the food. Always the food. This year, delegates will be spoiled for choice, with a bunch of seriously hip – and seriously delish – food truck vendors on premises, ready to
feed our facestantalize our taste buds. As always, the Arise lounge will be set up, offering guests a place to rest their tootsies and mingle with newly made friends, in the true spirit of sisterhood.
So if you’re tired, like I am, and you need a “wooosahh” weekend too, join me at the Arise Conference. Need some more nudging? Well, consider these reasons:
Reason number 1: It is an investment into your well being
Reason number 2: Your family deserves to have the best version of you possible
Reason number 3: You need a break – you deserve it!To register, check out deets on their website. Unable to attend the whole conference? That’s cool – register for one day/session only. I’d love to hang out with you if you’re coming, so let me know in the comment section below or drop me an email!
Arise 2018: The “grand extravaganza” opening takes place on Friday, September 7th and runs until Saturday, September 9th.
https://www.facebook.com/AriseGirlfriends/videos/2308303395862861/
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Our newborn photo shoot with Cutepix Photography
Remember how much I bragged about Michelle over at Cutepix Photography? Well, the proof is in the pudding and this post right here is the pudding, ladies and gentleman. Well, MY pudding, to be exact… look at that face! I was so chuffed to be able to plan Jonah’s newborn photo shoot with Michelle. After seeing the amazing way she orchestrated Kari’s first birthday cake smash shoot, I knew that I would be pleased with Jo’s pics! I saw this shoot as a way to capture the beauty of our Jonah, fresh out of the oven. But it was also a way to celebrate his life and all the promise that we see over it! I’d like to celebrate with you too! I will be giving away a very special gift at the end of this post. But first… more pics! -
Inducing labour: My birth story
As far as these things go, I’ve always considered myself pretty expert at giving birth. My first two deliveries were quick and easy and yes, there was pain, but I could handle it to the point that I laughed through most of the contractions. Literally, laughed. But the birth of my son, last Thursday was way different. I think that inducing labour played a big role in that. But hey, let’s start at the beginning:
The beginning
My doc knew that I was super keen to give natural birth. I was convinced that Jonah would practically walk out of my womb, so to speak. But my last gynae visit showed us a very big Jonah and he didn’t seem too eager to make an appearance anytime soon. Given the fact that I was a few days away from my due date, my doc suggested that we induce labour. I mean, the kid was growing each day! There was also the concern about him being too big for my pelvis and all the other medical mumbo jumbo that made sense. I asked doc for a week to try to get things going myself. If nothing happened, we would be back the following Wednesday.Inducing labour at home
And so the semi freak out began – I was determined to get labour started naturally! I even blogged about it over here, if you recall. Some of my concerns about a chemical induction was just that: It would be CHEMICAL. When you give birth naturally, your body releases certain hormones that makes it easier to do what it needs to do. It also helps you to handle the pain of childbirth. A chemical induction overrides all of this and is therefore more painful. Also, it could speed up the labour process which is not always a good thing, thus resulting in a C-Sec. And hey, there is nothing wrong with giving birth via Cesarean, but it was not what I wanted for me and my baby. Anyways, so I tried to induce labour at home but nothing seemed to be working! Finally, my Hubstopher grabbed me by the hands and gave me a good ol’ pep talk – “everything will be fine!” I decided to enjoy my last few days of pregnancy, because you know what, life is too short to do squats with a nearly 4kg baby boy lodged in your belly!Induction day
Finally Wednesday arrived – the day of the hospital induction. We packed bags and kissed our kids goodbye (which is another blog post for another day). I prayed and remembered all the things that I had learnt from the book that I had been reading – Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize. The book speaks about how God has designed our female bodies to form human life and give birth, naturally and successfully! I believed all of those promises for this birth. Once at the hospital, the nurse checked and saw that I was 1cm dilated. They decided to give it a night to monitor me and see if things will progress naturally. I watched TV, read alot, ate Macdonalds (no judgies) and a couple of hours later I had nothing to report. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. I woke up the following morning feeling like a loser. Jonah was meant to be here already!Don’t go chasing waterfalls
The doc decided to induce me at 9am that Thursday morning by way of Pitocin – a synthetic form of the hormone Oxytocin. In a nutshell, Oxy is your friend… it’s the hormone that makes your uterus contract and spurs on labour. Pito is the chemical version of this wonder hormone – it stimulates the uterus. It’s usually given to moms by way of vagina, orally or via an IV. Sometimes, it’s administered all three ways, in various stages of labour. My doc chose the former option and said that she might not even give it to me orally because she thinks it would be enough to get labour going. And she was right. I spent most of the day on the bouncy ball, to get baby moving in the right direction. My doctor came to see me at 12ish and at this point my contractions were mild. She then ruptured my membranes (aka “waters breaking”) and I am pleased to say that I finally had my TV moment. My waters came out in a gush instead of the trickle-trickle I had experienced with my previous two pregnancies. I laughed, and continued to laugh each time I had a contraction because the gushing did. not. stop. I’m talking “somebody left the tap open!” gushing waters. It was a good sign, apparently.Ish gets real
At 4pm the doc decided to administer Oxytocin via IV. This is meant to encourage the uterus to contract and let me tell you, the minute the hormone hit my blood stream, the contractions were super duper intense. I remembered everything that I had read in Supernatural Childbirth though. Every contraction is literally the muscles in my tummy doing it’s job to get my baby boy out. So that’s what I focused on, and I did it rather well, to the point where I heard my nurse tell the doc that I am “comfortable” and won’t be giving birth anytime soon. I had to call her and let her know that I am definitely NOT comfortable and I WILL be giving birth soon and she needs to check me to see for herself! She did and yup I was nearly fully dilated. She was totally shocked at my lack of dramatic screaming but I had peace and knew how to channel my energy into focusing on each contraction and not on the pain.I need to push!
At 6pm I told her that I need to push, she told me it would probably take me another hour and half to reach that point. But the Oxytocin had really kicked it and it made my contractions totally unbearable, so I asked her to switch it off because I knew that my body could do the rest without any help. We had to walk from the labour room to the delivery room and guys, I stopped halfway (yes, in the passage) because I needed to push! I got a bit dramatic over there (sorry other ladies, within earshot, who still needed to give birth) and the nurse stood behind me ready to catch baby Jo, just in case he fell out. He didn’t fall out, fortunately, and I made it to the delivery room with everything still intact.
Jonah is born!
Once on that delivery table there was no holding back… and I got pretty vocal. Jo was born in a couple of minutes and yep, it hurt like crazy! Compared to my other kids, he was a big baby at 3.9 kg. My Hubstopher cried and laughed at the same time. I was just really glad that it was finally over! The rush of emotions (considering the fact that I had zero pain medication, I can’t even blame the drugs) made me say a lot of crazy things while my doc was taking care of my episiotomy. I remember babbling a bunch of things like “Oh wow, why do women go through this? I blame Eve!” and “Doc, I’m so sorry for being so loud but that was very hectic!” and (while addressing the nursing staff) “Guys, I’m so glad that is over!”Jonah Mark Williams is perfect in every way. He looks like his daddy and has a calm disposition. His big sister loves him already! He latched on immediately, like a pro, and had his first “milk drunk” moment yesterday – super cute! I am totally inlove with him! Thank you to everyone for your sweet messages and prayers. And I am so thankful that God once again showed us exactly how He has His hand on our lives… especially when we are NOT in control.
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Preggy update: Husbands are sometimes right too
Preggy update: I’ve been especially hard on myself the past few days. Why? Well, mainly because I am STILL pregnant and I don’t know how to make it stop! If you recall from my previous posts, my doc would like to induce me later this week because this kid is a giant and I really want to give birth naturally. So, for the past few days, I’ve been trying out old housewives remedy’s and modern mama theory’s to try to get baby Jo to make an appearance. And still nothing. -
So, what’s up with Easter?
Oh look it’s public holiday time again! (And the crowd goes wild) What’s this one about? National Siblings Day? Braai Day? Edgars Red Hanger Sale Day? Okay, I digress much… let’s start at the top: This weekend we celebrate Easter! As you know, many of us associate Easter with chocolates, rabbits, pickled fish, hot cross buns and, oh hey, maybe we’ll go to church. But what’s the big deal anyways and why do we get time off from work to celebrate days like “Good Friday” and “Easter Monday”?
Well, traditionally, Easter is the remembrance of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Some of us believe that this guy really DID walk the Earth a couple of years ago and really DID die a horrible death. I know that the very idea of Jesus seems a bit far fetched – and I get that. I mean, if there is a God, why would he send a man (who calls himself God’s “son”) to this crazy planet?
Well, I think that it was totally genius of God to come meet with us, on Earth, in human form. I mean, think about our brain capacities, as human beings – human form was the only way that we would be able to relate with him. I mean, if Jesus looked like an alien, how well would we have responded to him? Or if God came to meet with us as a giant unicorn or a ball of fire or a massive winged angel, would we have been able to relate with him? Clever move, God, clever move.
Anyways, so this Jesus was born, as a normal human being and grew up as a (guess what) normal human being, with brothers and sisters and parents. As he grew older people were instantly drawn to him. Philosophers and wise men spoke of this guy and his radical teachings. People could not understand his talks of a God who loved them unconditionally – back then they had to sacrifice their babies on altars of fire to get recognition from their “gods”. And here comes this man saying that all they need to do is open their hearts.I’ve heard of amazing ancient history books (not the Bible) documenting the life of this Jesus. Soldiers reported about Him, in their log books, saying that the stuff he and his followers were saying, caused an uprising among the people (who all worshiped rocks and metals back then).
They eventually found reason to arrest him (basically, the locals made the #Jesusmustfall hashtag trend) and the dude in charge couldn’t decide if he should be punished (because, basically, all he was doing was talking), so the public took it on themselves (think: mob justice) to do something about it.
They beat him up, whipped him, mocked him, spat on him and taunted him. This beating was so severe that at times victims would not survive it in order to go on to be crucified (another norm back then). Those who were flogged would often go into hypovolemic shock, a term that refers to low blood volume. In other words, the person would have lost so much blood he would go into shock. This explains why, after Jesus died and a Roman soldier thrust a spear through Jesus’ side (probably His right side, piercing both the lungs and the heart), blood and water came from His side just as John recorded in his Gospel. (John 19:34)
Anyways, he died. They put him in a tomb and had guards surround the tomb, because Jesus had spoken of his death and said that he would rise again in 3 days (I mean, he knew they were going to kill him. Hello, bells should be going off). They were like, this guy’s followers will probably try to steal his body, so let’s guard the tomb and make sure that they don’t get away with it! I mean, logical thinking, right?
Except that days later, he actually did rise from the dead. The guards ran away in terror. (Shame. You had one job.)
What does all of this even mean?Here’s what it means: God loved us all so much that He took on human form to come and mingle with us locals. He knew that if we were left to our own devices, there would be no way we would ever be able to have a relationship with Him, because He is pure and perfect and we are not. He needed to establish a way for us to be close to Him. Jesus became our scapegoat, so to say.
Jesus sacrifice on the cross meant that we are now able to trade our old for new, literally by accepting it, believing it and confessing it in our hearts and with our mouths. Like, that’s how you sign the contract. That’s it. No sacrificing of babies on alters and no slaughtering of goats required.
I also love that Jesus referred to God as his “Father”, thus giving us a way to relate with God… as our Father. Isn’t it beautiful that the God who actually made everything – like the whole Universe – wants us to know Him as a Father?
Anyways, this supernatural fact is what makes Easter such a supernatural period and a special time for me. God is alive and He is real. I love me some chocolate, but THIS right here is what love looks like. Beat that Easter bunny!
Originally posted on April 12th 2012. Updated on April 13th 2017.
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Dear friend who is no longer my friend
Dear ‘friend who is no longer my friend’. I know it’s been a while since we last spoke. Even though we’ve exchanged online glances… and real life ones, as we avoid each other in shopping malls, pretending not to see.
How are you? You popped into my head space a few times this past month (thanks a lot Facebook ‘On This Day’). I know that we’ve totally moved on from each other… let’s keep it real, we don’t even have the same interests anymore. But I was wondering if you still remember all those great moments we shared. Those were the best times.
Remember your cousins wedding? We danced so much and cried through all the speeches – the passion and zeal of our youth overtaking us and making every single moment the most important moment of our lives. I also remember when I caught my (then) boyfriend attempting to cheat on me (to me it was world changing… to him, it was just Tuesday). You told me that I was worth more and that if I don’t stop running after him, you’ll beat me up with a stick. I remember the time you got into a car crash with your mom’s car. I don’t regret staying by your side the entire time, as you gave your statement to the police.
What changed? Well, that’s a bit rhetorical – I know what changed. I changed. You changed. And that’s okay. I mean, who wants to be the same person for the rest of your life?! It’s a pretty mundane expectation. I can’t apologise for being a different girl to the one you knew… the one who had no direction in life and partied with you until the sun came up and sat on beach chairs, drinking vodka, until it went down again. That is not who I am anymore.And hey, my transformation had nothing to do with you. In fact, it had everything to do with me and the God of my life. He had a bigger plan and I decided to roll with that. Somehow, in the middle of the whirlwind, as I gave up my old life (and my old habits) for something else, our friendship fell away too. I don’t think it was intentional – for either of us.
I’m sorry if you feel that I neglected our relationship. And I’m sorry if my sudden changes made you feel as if I was saying that your way of doing things is inferior. I’m sorry if I acted as if all our special quirks and memories meant nothing. But I can’t apologise for being who I am today. I hope you understand.
Anyways, I don’t expect this to resurrect an outdated friendship that we’ve both outgrown. It just feels weird to not acknowledge you when we have a deep well of history together. I believe that certain relationships are planted in our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I hope that my season in yours was fruitful and that you look back at all our crazy with fondness and not regret. Because I certainly do.
