Hello Beautiful People,

Today’s post is coming to sprinkle some motivation into the air.

It was inspired by Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, two legends that share this day in different ways. A reminder that when there are times that you feel things aren’t going your way although you may be working hard, don’t give up. You may have invested time , energy and even money into situations or people, but with life being life things haven’t exactly gone as you have expected. For example, you may be in one of these scenarios;

1. Uni has you feeling like you are in a boxing match about to tap out. You’re stressed with deadlines coming at you from left right and centre. Now your crying sitting in regret of all the time you could have spent studying.
2. Your business is moving slowly or even failed and now you’re thinking of all the money and time it took that you cannot get back.
3. Maybe your on a diet ( or at least meant to be) and you have fallen off the wagon. How you’re regretting how one cheat day turned into 6 and all your hard work and progress is gone down the drain.

Guys, guys, guys! Slow down! Take a deep breath, take a break , then come back and take control.

Students,  Stephen Hawkings was once bottom of his class, not only did he eventually achieve his PhD but today he is known for work, discoveries and research that will live forever. Albert Einstein was called a jobless failure now he is the man we are forced to read about in science books. Start now, start from today. Pull an all-nighter if you have to , do what you have to do because if you don’t you will never know. Persevere like the greats we read about, turn 180 and shock the world.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change” – Stephen Hawking

Entrepreneurs Pick up the pieces and start again with a new plan. Dieters , draw a line under your shortcomings and get back on the wagon.

There is no way that you will put all your power and might into something and not come out winning. This doesn’t mean that it will happen straight away or with ease it just means that you have to get back up and try again.

I have seen this meme/quote in many places, something I have myself been in constant battle with. However, I have finally come to a conclusion. Nothing was just meant to happen, you have to make it happen. My Pastor gave a sermon one day asking “are you reactive or proactive? do things happen to you or do you make things happen?”.

This personally gets to be because I understand how hard to it to keep going when you have been knocked down several times. I finally got to where I have wanted to be and it wasn’t because it was just meant to be. It was because despite my trials and tribulations I promised myself never to stop working for what I want. It doesn’t matter how many sleepless nights I have to endure or how many times I fall flat on my face, what matters is how many times I get back on my feet.

Now I finally understand why so many people give up on their dreams.

many people take the “L” as a failure and give up on their dreams, rather than as a lesson.

I write this to encourage anyone feeling like this to remember why you started in the first place. Whenever you find yourself torn and asking yourself, is this meant for me? follow with these two questions;

1. Am I willing to fight until I get this, and no matter how long it take me will I continue the chase?
2. Am I at peace now that I have decided to let it go?

Truth Is sometimes we are chasing things for the wrong reasons and the minute we make the decision to let it go we feel a large weight lifted off our shoulders. However, if something is truly your passion, no matter how many times you fail, your mind will never be at ease unless you persevere. In the words of 50cent – get rich or die trying.

It matters if you don’t just give up” – Stephen Hawking

Sometimes we are chasing our dreams , and hustling hard, however using the wrong strategy. Eventually we exhaust all our energy and decide to give up. This doesn’t mean our desires that weren’t meant to be, we just lacked the ability to realise we were taking the wrong approach.

“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insanity”- Albert Einstein.

I have been here and trust me and it took me a lot of time to realise. I fought and pushed for years and in my mind I was chasing my dreams but my strategy had me running in the wrong direction. The hardest decision I have ever made was eventually dropping out and starting again. I worked so hard for so long that it made me feel like I had accepted defeat and I felt like a failure. I couldn’t see it at that time, but it would become the best decision I have made because I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now on the road to achieving my dream, the same dream. I just had to take a different route (that is a story for another day) and that opened my eyes and made me realise that sometimes……

“If you want something you never had you have to do what you have never done” -Thomas Jefferson.

 

I could sit in regret and pounder on the time, money and effort I wasted. It could have thrown me off balance altogether but NO! that isn’t proactive. If you find peace and refuse to dwell on the time you feel like you wasted, you can pick yourself up and try again. Trust in the Lord and believe his promise written in Joel 2:25. I don’t believe God will give you such a burning desire without the tools and ability to execute them. From reading Proverbs 16:9 I understood that if we surrender our desires to him, all we have to do is look into our hearts and he will guide us.

Lastly I will say…..

“Live your dream and your dream will live on”

Sometimes our very purpose on this earth evolves around our dreams and even if we do not fully reach them and the passion that fuels the fire in the belly is the very thing we live for. Our mission was to start the race and pass the baton onto the next person. You leave your mark on the earth so that the world knows I WAS HERE! and as long as the job gets done one day the goal is achieved.

Rest in Peace Stephen Hawking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Beautiful People,

Todays post will be a sermon that was ministered to me from the Most High.

(Disclaimer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You do not need to be religious to benefit from this post so I hope you keep reading and are blessed in one way or another).

I don’t know about you, but for me the month of January was long, trying, exhausting , draining both mentally and financially and just borderline depressing. During this month I joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God to partake in the fasting and prayer. I was at such a low point that I had never been so excited to fast in my life( usually I’m dreading it) and I can honestly say that the only thing that kept me sane during the month of January was being in the presence of God.

One day I was on the metro heading to work when a thought came to mind ” if time is the best healer, when will this end”. Next thing I know God intercepted my thoughts and spoke to me very clearly. This is a message I will never forget  and it would be selfish of me to keep it to myself.

Whoever said time is the best healer , forgot to mention “with God” at the end.

Truth is time is the best healer , however , time doing what?

Are you ;

1. Crying, thinking the day that your tears run dry is the day that you have received your healing?
2. Dwelling in the pain allowing yourself become numb and immune to the negative feelings, so much that you have let it become a part of you?
3. Talking to the Lord, spending time with Him. Have you surrendered the situation to Him? Have you surrendered your heart to Him?, allowing Him to enter into it and heal you because He is the mighty Healer.

He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds – Psalms 147:3

As the day progressed I began to understand more and more what God was trying to tell me. I realised that sometimes as humans it is possible to stunt our own healing. This is  because we do not fully surrender, instead we pounder and worry about what is bothering us. This does not only reopen our wounds but rubs salt into them.

Jesus Christ didn’t die for you to be crying about the things He has already sorted out!!!!!!!!! I beg you please read Isaiah 53:5.

The Lord told me to go and read Matthew 6:25-34 ,and my eyes that were full of tears opened and my heavy heart softened.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will follow – Matthew 6:33

Having said all of this I know that worrying is a part of human nature but at the same time , worrying is a thought. If you cannot change the situation , surrender it, change your thoughts and channel your energy into something productive. Time is precious and we cannot afford to sit around and wait for healing without taking practical steps. A perfect example of this was the woman with the issue of blood ( Matthew 9:20-22). For 12 years this woman had been dealing with a painful issue but the moment she saw an opportunity to be healed and wasn’t going to let it pass her by. She knew that if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment that she would be whole. She didn’t wait for Him to discover her, she made her way to Him. Trust me my brothers and sisters this revelation changed my life!

So is time the best healer?, well like I said earlier what are you doing? Are you actually trying to heal or are you just crying, worrying , going nowhere fast? Truth is…… YES!Time is the best healer but time with God. Time spent can never be regained so please my friends, use ever precious moment wisely.

January was a tough year but we made it – Yes I said year LOL

So…. No matter what or who you believe in, I feel like somebody somewhere can relate. THIS IS FOR YOU AND I HOPE YOU ARE BLESSED.

Lots of love,

Tori XXX

 

Hey Beautiful people , since its Valentine’s day today I couldn’t think of a better time to publish my first post, and cliché as it may be , what better to talk about than the topic of “SELF-LOVE”. Although it may be a typical post on #SingleAwarenessDay, lets not forget whether in a relationship or not self- love is the foundation to any relationship. So today I will be sharing my personal expression of the importance of self-love.

Let me share a scenario: its valentine’s day, your 25 or over, there were weddings galore the previous year and many more to come this summer of which you may be a bridesmaid. The bride’s are all your age or possibly younger. Your planning your best friend’s hen-do and your wondering why its not you planning a wedding. Does this sound familiar? It may be you but STOP!!!!!

This right here is why people jump into relationships for the wrong reasons. Relationships which may in turn be toxic and unhealthy, at the wrong time, or even with the wrong person. I must admit at some stage this has been me (probably more than once). Recently after watching a sermon series on YouTube I found peace and remembered being the girl who was always content and valued her singleness.

I am going to share 4 self – love tips that I live by on valentines day and everyday.

1. God Loves you!

Many of us in our 20 somethings feel like time is running out and as the clock is ticking we begin to question AM I LOVABLE?, so much value is placed on relationships that we equate having someone in out lives to how much we are loved.

If we place our worth on how much another person loves us, we will only ever be worth how much valve they place on us

John 15: 13 gives a perfect definition of love but how many of us can truly say that our friends, even partners will sacrifice their life for ours? I’ll wait…………….But John 3:16 tells us how we are loved. So much that Jesus Christ willingly came down from His throne in Heaven and died for us. We are priceless, Love is Priceless. Stop selling yourself as anything less.

I kid you not the moment I started believing this is the moment I found peace and the love He has for me is what converted into the love I have for myself and others.

2. I Love My Freaking Self

I don’t think I have loved myself as much as I do now and that love can only keep growing. Yes, I may be heavier than my early 20s self, yes I may have had my heart broken more than once, and yes I may be single AF with a DM dryer than the Sahara desert but boy am I happy.

Self- love comes from within and I don’t need anyone to validate it. Time alone with yourself shows you how beautiful you really are, you begin to appreciate your qualities and accept your flaws. You reflect on your relationships and wonder to yourself, being the prize that you are, how you accepted anything less than you know you are worth. You also have time to reflect on your insecurities and fears and construct a plan on how to overcome them. Your no longer afraid of being vulnerable because no one can use your weaknesses against you , you have distinguished exactly what they are and understand how to deal with them.

It’s easy to forget to enjoy being alone and focus on all the reasons why we are not in a relationship. However you must be the best you before becoming a part of another person.

Live your best life before becoming someone else’s wife

You are enough!

3. Treat Yourself!

You may hear this often , and cliché as it may sound it is very practical. Actions speak louder than words, its all well and good to believe in yourself worth but you also have to show it. Whether you are in a relationship or not you require time alone to do what you love, to take care and pamper yourself, go to the spa, take yourself on a date, go on a shopping spree, get your hair/ nails done or a shape up. Put on that freakum outfit and look at yourself in the mirror and say “Damn, I look good”, don’t wait for someone else to say it! Workaholic as I am , sometimes I am guilty of neglecting the self-care aspect of self-love but I have to remind myself , how I look on the outside is a reflection of what I feel on the inside. True joy comes from within, let love exude from the inside and may your glow shine so bright it blinds anyone who tries to dim your light!

 

Last but not least….

4. ENJOY THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This last point is especially for my singletons. Being single is a beautiful moment, and although I understand why some people beg to differ, its unfortunate that it is often wasted worrying. Remember this season is time, time lost can never be regained! I will again hold my hands up and be honest but right now I have never been so content with my “singleness” Two beautiful songs ,WithholdingNothing  and Surrender have helped me and now I am at peace and trust in God. Instead of planning the hypothetical ( and trying to control everything), I plan for where I am now.

No more cramming and wondering how I will fit marriage and a husband into my plans – que sera sera. I am just enjoying the season. Trust me once you surrender your destiny into the hands of the maker, life is so so so so much easier.

I am living , learning exploring, appreciating life to the fullest capacity- why worry about the unknown?

Congratulations for making it to the end of this post. I hope I have inspired at least one person. In the mist of all I just wanted to remind us all that love is in the air everywhere. To all my singles, taken, engaged, married, have a fabulous , love filled valentines day. Remember to love effortlessly and most importantly , LOVE YOURSELF FIRST!