THE LONGONOT PARABLE

THE LONGONOT PARABLE

So I was talking with my sister last weekend about our friend Joy who had just climbed Mount Longonot for the first time. Yes, many people have climbed Longonot including my sister and myself as well. But there was just something about Joy’s experience that I had to share. The perspective she got about life and her Christian journey while going round the crater pretty much sums up ones Christian life journey. A modern parable so to speak.

As much as this is my second mountain climbing post on this blog there was no way I was not going to share this amazing testimony with all of you.

I hope you find some revelation and some encouragement even as you read her interview.

Joy all set

1. What can you tell us about yourself? [Who you are? What you do? …….]

My name is Joy Mutuku,

I am a Business Development Executive at a tax consultancy firm in Nairobi.

I am also the praise and worship leader at my church.

2. What are the things you do for fun?

I love reading, travelling and lately I have developed an interest in mountain climbing.

View of Longonot before the climb

3. How did you start climbing mountains/hiking? Was it your first time or is it something you usually do?

Mid last year I started taking exercise seriously and began running every morning for at least 30 minutes. Beginning this year, one of my resolutions is to incorporate mountain climbing into my exercise.

I listed three mountains that I should climb by December 2016.Mt. Longonot, Mt. Kenya ad Mt. Kilimanjaro.

When I was in High school I climbed Mt. Kilimambogo in Thika so I know a thing or two about hiking.

4 What was the experience you had when you went on this particular hike?

a) Physically -was it a struggle? It was a struggle, because such a feat definitely takes a toll on your body because you are pushing it towards its limit but in the end it was the will to finish what I started that kept me going.

b) Emotionally- were there times you wanted to give up, if so what pulled you through

There were times where I wanted to give up but the will to go on was much greater because I kept declaring Philippians 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength “

c) Growth-what did you learn about yourself?  I learnt that I am a go getter, I strive to achieve what I have purposed to achieve. I am strong willed.

5 What next for you after this climb?

I am planning on climbing Mount Kenya.

Scripture that kept Joy going

6. Would you recommend this experience to others? If so why?

Yes I would recommend this experience to others. It is a wonderful experience, you not only lose some weight, but you also get to interact with different people from different cultures and beliefs. It could also be a great adventure for anyone interested in local tourism or just thrill seeking,

7 If there was one thing you could do if money was not an issue what would it be?

I would travel all over the world, live with different communities, learn new cultures and languages, make new friends, share the gospel of Jesus Christ and Video blog about my experiences.

Mount Longonot Terrain

8 What inspirational thing would you share to other African believers?

When I was going round the crater, I got a revelation about Salvation and mountain climbing.

At first when we started climbing, we were so psyched up and had so much energy quite similar to when someone gets saved, you get psyched up about salvation and what you believe salvation will do to and for you.

As you continue to climb, you start getting weary and the  thought of quitting crosses your mind, you meet people on the way that will discourage you with statements like “you have a long way to go”  or “you should have started early in the morning before sunrise”. On the other hand, you will meet with people who will encourage you and assure you that you will make it to the peak.

In salvation you need people around you to add value to your life and lead you to the right paths, it’s the same experience even as you climb the mountain. If I hadn’t gone with my younger brother I don’t think I would have made it to the top and round the crater. There are times I would get weary but he would encourage me and remind me why I decided to climb in the first place.

I also realized that it is very important to keep focus, whenever I lost focus I would get weary. We kept checking where the finish point was, and this would encourage us to go on. In salvation as well, you are not focused on where you are going, you will just be living a mediocre Christian life, without experiencing Jesus Christ and having a relationship with Him.

Something else I need to point out is that in mountain climbing you need water and lots of it. If you climb without water, you might faint. In Salvation this water can be likened to the Word of God, you need to keep “sipping“ the living scriptures or else you will get weary and faint, and eventually die spiritually.

Chilling at the top

When we got to the end, we had this wonderful feeling of accomplishment, we looked back and had an appreciation of all the struggles we encountered on the way because they are the ones that made the finishing worthwhile. Were it an easy feat, the wonderful feeling wouldn’t be there to begin with.

I have also learnt that we should appreciate the journey, even as Christians we should appreciate the ups and downs of life since they bring us closer and closer to being where God has destined for us to be. If we frown at every hurdle that is in our way, we fail to recognize that victory isn’t that sweet if it is effortless.

Joy and her brother

9 Favorite moment while at the bottom of a mountain?

The fact that I embarked on a journey not knowing what I will encounter and I made it.

And seeing everyone smiling and happy to have made it was my favorite moment.

10 Favorite moment while on top of the mountain?

My Favorite moment on the top of the mountain was seeing, the beauty of Gods creation.

11 Any regrets?

I have no regrets

12 Favorite scripture?

Ecclesiastes 3:11, “ He has made everything beautiful in his time , He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Celebrating a victorious climb

Favorite verse

Told you that it was a great experience and I hope it inspired you. Even though she wanted to give up several times, she held on and finished not only climbing the mountain but going around the crater. And isn't it great that God never lets you go through life alone, He always sends some encouragement our way and other believers to help us with our walk of faith.

Have an inspired week

 Check out a previous interview on Mountain climbing Here

LOOKING FOR NAOMI

LOOKING FOR NAOMI

This is yet one of those serious posts that I really felt I had to write in this season and I have dedicated it to the original Naomi in my life, my mum.

I’m sure the title seems a bit strange but it is basically based on the relationship Ruth in the Bible had with Naomi.

It’s been 10 years since my mum passed on and it is only in recent years that I realized I have a gap of an older woman in my life. I am sure one may wonder what a grown woman needs an older woman in her life for. My answer is plenty. The verse in Titus is no joke. Let’s look at it

Titus 2:3-5

³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

For me this verse is more than about being married. There is the preparation for before and even during and just being a wholesome woman in the first place. That is something that you can only learn from another woman.

The verse speaks to me more about what kind of a woman one should be in society because even the character of the older woman and her reputation has to be intact. Besides that when this verse was written the role of a woman in society was more about being a wife and mother but so much has changed in current society.

 Currently the gap is so big for older women helping younger women transition into being wholesome women in society. It is a very sad state when I approach older women to speak to younger women and they say they have nothing to offer or they think younger women don’t want to listen to them. Then you speak to younger women about getting an older woman to mentor her and she is too intimidated or feels the older woman is too busy to make time for her. Such things crush my heart. Especially for one such as me who is in need of such leadership in my life.

I enjoyed the movie War Room a lot and my main impact of the movie was how Miss Clara was such a Naomi to Elizabeth. She walked her through being a wholesome wife by teaching her to turn to God in her circumstances and challenged her to be a Naomi to another Ruth in need of help. That is actually what stood out to me in that movie. What the power of two in agreement can do. Apart from what God did in that marriage there was a huge transformation for both Miss Clara and Elizabeth. For Miss Clara she helped a younger woman avoid the mistakes she made in her marriage and walked her through the difficult situation she was in through prayer. For Elizabeth she became more wholesome, more forgiving, a better mother and wife and a joyful woman.

I picked the Story of Naomi and Ruth in the Bible from the book of Ruth. There is always so much stressed on how Ruth met Boaz and people forget that Naomi had a big part to play in that relationship.

As much as Naomi was originally Ruth’s mother-in-law I believe Ruth truly converted to Judaism when she dedicated her life to be with Naomi after her husband died. I think so because Naomi was not too sure about her daughter-in-law’s commitment to Judaism or even to her when she decided to go back home. But when Ruth abandoned all she knew and dedicated the rest of her days to be with Naomi without knowing what the future held, that was what sealed it for Naomi. She was sure Ruth truly loved and cared for her. Not that Orpah didn’t, I just think Orpah wasn’t ready to commit to a life of uncertainty.

Sometimes when I mentor younger ladies, I do get the ones who are committed to walk their life journey with you and those that it is only for a season.

It is easy as a young woman to think you have life figured out and the truth is that it is a difficult world out there. We need each other and especially the Naomi-Ruth relationships. For all who have mums, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, mother-in –laws, sister-in-laws, female mentors etc. Do not take that time you spend or their presence in your life for granted. Appreciate them and reach out to them.

As much as we need them to give into our lives we also need to help them. Even as Ruth took care of Naomi we need to ensure we minister to the Naomi’s in our lives where we can.

 I have had a lot of older women come and go in my life, short term as it was the impact they have had in my life only God knows. They did not even have to necessarily speak but just to know that they care and how I saw them live their lives and take care of their families is amazing to me. I have seen God work in their lives in an amazing way.

My mother was an amazing woman. She impacted so many young ladies in her lifetime and even when I meet them now they miss her just as much as I do. She was willing to meet them at their level and even went and visited them in their homes. She made real impact in their lives and was a source of encouragement to them. Because of her my sister and I have a passion for reaching out to younger ladies and just being there for them in the space they are in. and we truly want her legacy to live on through that ministry.

I encourage ladies out there, reach out to a lady younger than you and younger ladies reach out to the older ladies to walk with you in this life journey. Who knows we might create a movement. But we need to be there for one another as women. Reach out today.

WORD OF GOD

WORD OF GOD

Ever since I became a believer, I have been fascinated by the Word of God. I just cant get enough of it and I learn so much about God and also about myself through reading and studying it. I am not just saying it either for me it’s real.

I realized there is a different impact God’s Word has for people who grew up in a Christian home and for people who became Christian on their own accord. For me being a Christian is trusting Jesus as my personal Savior. For those who have been brought up in a Christian [church going] family, it can become more like an inherited custom more than an active faith.

But when they pursue it then it makes a world of difference because it becomes real and how they were brought up makes a world of sense.

 I am those people who may not look it but I love to seriously study The Word of God. And I mean study it beyond the text. I love the History behind it and getting into the authors mind and what was happening when they wrote and why they wrote it.

I encourage every believer to go through a class like this and really get into the Word of God and see it from the perspective of a Biblical scholar, it will totally blow your mind. It gives you a new perspective in life and makes you focus more on the big picture that circumstances.

 It will amaze you and make you wonder why there are people who may doubt the authenticity of The Word of God. I am those people who even wondered why people did not tell me earlier. But you realize that it is a journey of faith. Even when one tells you something about God’s Word, it is so active and breathing that it will just minister to you in a different way.

Our church this year has gone all out and decided that we will look at the Bible in such a way. Beyond what we usually just read, into what God is trying to tell us. It is an exciting time.

Beyond that they are also offering classes that further explain the Word in a deeper way called Tyrannus Hall. Click here for more details on that here

I encourage you this year now that we are in a new month to get deeply into God’s Word. Let it transform you and allow yourself to live it and reach a new level in your faith. Allow yourself to be transformed and become a new person and allow yourself to experience life in a new way and in a way you never deemed possible.

You can never regret knowing more about God. You can never regret growing closer to Go. You can never regret growing deeper in the Word and you certainly will never regret it making you a better version of yourself. Read an old post I wrote about our flaws here that will gain you a new perspective

GREAT LOVE

GREAT LOVE

I wasn’t those kids who grew up in a Christian home. My parents had Christian background and even went to church as kids but for some reason that culture was not passed down to us.

I became a Christian in High school. Fully committed and never turned back since. Sometimes I wonder how people can “backslide”

I think everyone has some rebellious moments and some take it to the extreme but I don’t really understand how one would simply just walk away from GREAT LOVE.

 Think about it, we all look for love in one way or another in people, in things, in animal and when you finally discover God’s Love you realize that your mind cannot comprehend it. You just know different aspects of it and you cannot completely fathom the depth or height or width of it.

Why is that? Because GOD IS LOVE. Simple.

I personally believe our Christian journey is to explore that love throughout our life. That is why we are told to worship God with our lives/ lifestyle.

 Jesus put it in this way Matthew 22:27 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

That is a lifestyle. It is not something you switch on and off depending on who is around you and what you are currently feeling.

I recently read a book THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman

I highly recommend it and you learn these ways we communicate love to one another.

·         Through Physical Touch

·         Through Words of Affirmation

·         Through Gifts

·         Through Acts of Service

·         Through Quality Time

You will discover that we all have there but everyone has different ranks for what comes first.

What is mind blowing about this is what a transformation a relationship can have once you can figure out what the other persons love language is. The idea is that you express love the way the other person feels most loved not the way you feel most loved.

What I have discovered is that God speaks all our love languages. It is not even an issue, God Loves you whether you seek Him or not, but you only feel His Love when you accept and receive it. It is always there. Even when you are in a situation where it is easier to question God’s Love for you.

It is not measure by circumstances or feelings. It is constant because God is Constant. It does not change even when we change.

On of my favorite things to do is read scripture. A great book to read is the Gospel of John. As compared to the other Gospels, that one speaks God’s Love through and through. If you have not done a study just yet I encourage you to study the Book of John.

I love to spend time in God’s Word because I am sure there is always something I will read that will reassure me of His Love.

I will write on more of God’s Word in a another article but I just thought I would attempt to explain the concept of God’s Love

Here are a few scriptures that tell us about God’s Love from

http://www.allaboutgod.com/bible-verses-on-love.htm

Bible Verses on Love - God’s Love For Us 
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20 

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. - Deuteronomy 7:9 

For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones... - Psalm 37:28 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11

Bible Verses on Love – Love for God
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16 

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. – 1 John 4:19-20 

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:10 

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. - Matthew 6:24 

So be very careful to love the LORD your God. - Joshua 23:11 

I love you, O LORD, my strength. - Psalm 18:1 

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' – Matthew 22:37-39

MY FLAWS AND I

MY FLAWS AND I

This week I came across this article from a site called Flawnt It Kenya

I was intrigued by the nature of it and that it is a site that generally helps people to appreciate themselves as they are, flaws and all. I had to share the links, feel free to check them out. Click on the links

Flawnt It Blog  Flawnt It Kenya Page

Going to the site helped me think about my flaws, both physical and emotional. After I read some of the stories I did realize that I have grown.

Let me explain.

A lot of those stories were very familiar. The stories where you concentrate on what is wrong with you until they become your truth. You point out what is wrong with you before you give a chance to what is good about you.

You always want to be someone else or look to the old version of yourself and not pay attention to the journey that got you to where you are now in the first place.

As a woman in Africa, it is easy to live life in passing. What I mean is that your life can actually pass you by because you are always waiting for what is next. If that next stage does not come quick enough there is something wrong with you.

When you are a child, you want to be a teenager, as a teenager you can’t wait to be in your 20’s so you can be independent, after you finally get a job you want to get married, after marriage you want to have kids, when the kids come you want them to grow up, when they are grown you want to relocate upcountry and wait for life to end.

It is always the next thing in life we look to and we barely enjoy our present status. There is always more to strive for.

The biggest one that women in Africa get most stressed about would be the stage of getting married and having children.

You will never hear the end of it until you pass this stages. People can even forgive you for not having a career, but if you are not married or do not have kids at a certain age, you are branded as someone who has something wrong with them. Your faults are always pointed out and used against you.

I made up my mind to be my personal encourager. I have a gift of encouraging people, I can easily be a source of encouragement to another person until one day I stopped and realized that if I believed so much that it can happen for someone else, why not me?

I became more aware of what I told others and put it upon myself that as I tell someone something I should back it up with a personal story so it’s real to me as well.

Like if someone is stressed out about not having a job, I share that I didn’t have a job for years and how I used my time and by the time I did get a job I had even learnt to negotiate terms and was a huge asset to the company. That way I also believe God comes through for people and it’s even more encouraging when a personal story is tied to it.

I will admit I still have days when I am down dwelling on what is wrong with me, but I have learnt that it is important not to stay down. It will not make my flaws go away. In fact my flaws contribute a lot to who I really am, for it is in them that God shows Himself strong in my life. That is one of the biggest lessons I have learnt thus far.

I will end with this video clip. I hope it will inspire you more to embrace life. Click on the link below

Video

ARE YOU A HOBBIT OR AN ORC?

ARE YOU A HOBBIT OR AN ORC?

I was having a discussion about life and experiences with my sister and she said something profound in the end that inspired this article

Yes we are big Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit by J.J.R Tolkein fans and we tend to re-watch them annually and we can probably recite Smiggles lines to the T by now J

So either way we were discussing life experiences and how people generally go through a difficult period in life and either bounce back like a Hobbit or disintegrate like an Orc.

 Let me explain from my own personal view from watching the movies.

Hobbits are a very peaceful race. They mind their own business and rarely seek adventures outside their comfort zone. They are also very community based and lead simple lives.

 The thing about Hobbits is that as much as they were a private race they were loyal and very reliable. If a Hobbit is given a task they will accomplish it and they will risk their lives to keep their word. The only Hobbit who defied that was Gollum and it was mainly because he allowed the ring to consume him. That made him turn into Smiggle. And from then on his good nature always battled his bad nature until his demise.

So what can we learn from Hobbits

• ·         When we encounter trials remember that there were once good times before and look forward to them coming again. Mindset is half the battle. Tough times do not last and they build character. You will agree half the hobbits in the story grew a lot after their experiences
• ·         Finish what is expected of you no matter what the circumstances. Observe the situations and take it one step at a time. Your biggest fears don’t really exist. It’s all in the mind. There is nothing the Hobbits encountered that they did not overcome, even those they had only heard about.
• ·         Consider if your current situation is a catastrophe or an inconvenience. Hobbits always saw the greater good and saw the possibility of the end of the situation if they persevered. You can only change situations you take responsibility for, if you keep passing the blame you remain in the same place. Learn from your mistakes and circumstances.
• ·         Pain is part of life. Otherwise we would just take everything for granted. If you know you can lose something you will probably hold it more dearly than if you know it is always going to be there. What we need to learn is live in the present because that is what you really have. There is always something to be grateful for even when you are going through your worst moments in a painful season.

• ·         Hobbits did not even need to ask for help because of their communal nature they were helpful to one another. But either way if you are alone, ask for help. It doesn’t hurt to seek a helping hand when you need it. It’s not always obvious to others.
• ·         Great things take time. There is nothing great that suddenly happened. It is always a process. The process is not always a pretty one either. Sometimes your attitude in the process will make you get where you want to go faster or slower.
• ·         Believe it or not you are not alone even at your loneliest, someone may be watching out for you from a distance. Even as the Hobbits were trying to get the ring to Mordor they were completely unaware that the elves and the humans were fighting to keep the attention of the eye away from them so they could finish the journey. It had been years since they last saw each other, but there was hope and the Hobbits completed their quest.
• ·         Everyone heals differently. That can be seen with how the lives of the different Hobbits concluded in the movie/book. Some got married, others went to live in a special land, others sought new adventures. Seek healing either way just don’t expect to heal like others do.

     Be vulnerable and be your true self and never give up the good that exists in you that is what being a Hobbit is all about.

     As for the Orcs

   What is an Orc. Believe it or not they were once Elves. They were once beautiful mystical creatures that became tortures soles. It’s easy to judge the Orc as they look now but if you understand where they came from you find it hard to believe that they used to be such grant creatures.

I  I think that’s what happens to us when we dwell too much on the negative side of our life experiences.

   Everyone goes through difficult times but sometimes we just let it consume us and if we let it do so for too long we change and become bitter and angry at the world.

• ·         The Orcs did not fight the evil that tortured them, they succumbed to it.
• ·         The Orcs became a victim if their circumstance and did not take responsibility, they decided that everyone should suffer as much as they do.
• ·         The Orcs always felt someone has to pay and suffer just as they do. They never in any instance tried to defy their current fate, they just went with the flow. There was not one orc who decided to change sides even once, they only got worse and even turned on each other at times
• ·         Because the Orcs were not at peace, no one else could be. They caused trouble even where there was previously no trouble.
• ·         The Orcs policy was to recruit others into their war if not they just tortured and killed you.
• ·         The Orcs had no ambition and just blindly followed their evil master. They did not even attempt to take the ring for themselves

I think it is very possible once in our lives to have Orc tendencies. Some of us get out of it but some do not. It is an unfortunate place to be in, but there is always hope. There is an inner Hobbit in each of us hoping for the best.

I am sure after this you may consider re-watching Lord Of The Rings because it’s been such a while. Please do. I am sure you will view it with greater insight.

So remember you always have a choice on whether you are a Hobbit or an Orc

       images courtesy of Wikipedia, lotr.wikia.com, scifinow.co.uk