Happy Women’s Month Message

The cold is still there but it is during this month that the winter becomes weak. Vegetation starts to acquire the green colour. The hills and mountains get some green blanket. This is how nature functions and we must try by all means to learn from her. The world goes through seasons and moves smoothly from one season to the next one. 

When news came about the Covid-19 pandemic it seemed as if that was the end, people lost hope. We have now adjusted to living with it and we strongly believe that this too shall pass.  Just like the winter season makes way for the spring season, this Covid-19 is gradually making a way for a new season.  

In South Africa this month is fully dedicated to women. We hope and believe that most of us are aware of the background. Shortly, the women of 1956 organised themselves to the common purpose of goal. We would therefore urge women of today to revive their goals and purposes in life.

‘When you educate a man you educate an individual, when you educate a woman you educate a generation’ African Proverb. By nature design women are nurtures and it is in the process of nurturing that the latter part of this proverb is seen in action. If women can take their rightful position a lot of things will be in order in the society. This journey begins at finding your identity as woman, which leads to discovering your purpose and these two aspects make it possible for one to live life in her terms… 

Women must carry themselves as women. We know that this statement may start some debates but for once this is not our intention. That would be a subject for another day.

For now we encourage women to ensure that their goals are achieved. This can be done individually or collectively, but as long as there is a good intention to it. The world is in desperate need for women of purpose, the ones one would not mind multiplying as he knows that they can certainly make the world a better place. Determined, motivated, focused, disciplined… these are terms that define the women that we have just referred to.

Rofhie a student at the University of Venda, initiated, made and produced hair oil and soup. 

Ladies we want to wish you all the best in your month. Let it bring all the mercies in your life. Remember to work hard day and night. Do take some rest where necessary. 

By S.S.S ‘Triple S’ Mhlungu & M.P Thabana; a mentor and a mentee 

S.S.S "Triple S" Mhlungu

M.P Thabana

A Luta Continua / The Struggle Continues for the Youth

June is the youth month because the 16th of June is the Youth Day. Your mind might be troubled as you ponder on why would I title a piece about the youth with a title that some might consider as a negative phrase with ‘struggle’ as the key word. Please do not be hard on the brother, care to allow him to explain himself.

“The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus. In 1976 the Soweto Uprising transpired and that was 44 years ago. The youth that lived at that time were living in challenging times. Their struggle was that of the system that made the lives a living hell. The struggle has not stopped and will never stop. We have to come to an understanding that a struggle is lifetime issue. Our effort should not be on ending the struggle but on living with it. Today’s youth face the struggle of keeping with the times. Hence, the title ‘a luta continua for the youth.’

                                                                                                                                                   

 Few thoughts

Reactivity, Proactivity and Planning: 

Young people must not be reactive instead they must be proactive. Reactive people lead a stressful life, life drags them wherever she wants them to and such a person stays ordinary. To be extraordinary one needs to be proactive, that is, a person must not wait for things to happen and then respond but he or she must initiate - and make things happen. A part of what making things happen means is planning. Planning is key, ‘an hour planning can save you 10 hours of doing.’ Dale Carnegie

Adapting to change:

Dinosaurs became extinct because they could not keep up with the change that had to do with the climate. We can consider the climate to be environment where we are living. A young person who fails to adapt to change will go extinct. Being extinct figuratively would mean being irrelevant. One or two understand the age we are living in. We are speedily graduating from the information age to the digital one. A young person who really understands the time we are living in must work towards getting information, training and education towards making the most of the digital age.   

Laying the foundation:

If you rush, you crush.  A lot of young people are in a hurry to go nowhere. They have lost the meaning of what it means to live, to them living means having fun all the time. I am not saying that they must not have fun, but there is a time and a place for everything. Youth is the time to prepare towards building your house, that is, your future; it is the time to lay a foundation. A lot of adults whose houses (futures) are crumbling today got it all wrong when they were supposed to lay a foundation at youth. Don’t fall on the same trap. Time lost in youth cannot be fully recovered in adulthood.

                                                              

Growth:

If you are not growing, you are dying. Growth is very important. It is the major element that measures our progress. While a lot can be said on this section, let me not be a man of many words and say, learn something new every day… 

Being an active and a relevant citizen:

Azania (South Africa) no longer needs to have young people who are too dependent on the government, those who ask what can or will the government do for us? This country is in urgent need of young people who have something to offer to the country. These must be individuals who are ready to share their knowledge on any endeavour that they understand and mentor the next generation. This will make Azania great now and secure this position for years to come.

A youth that will win is the one that is proactive 

A youth that will win is the one that adapts to change 

A youth that will win is the one understands that there is a time and a place for everything

A youth that will win is the one that seeks to learn something new daily

A youth that will win is the one that is has something to offer to the country  

May God’s grace and light shine on you!

Shalom! Khotso! Ukuthula!

Meet your blogger:

M. Thabana

Faith or Fear – What’s your response to Covid-19?

During the first quarter of 2020 things started to get serious about Covid-19. On the 5th of March the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in South Africa and from then our lives has never been the same. Something that we thought was an issue that only had to bother Asia, Europe and North America in a blink of an eye was at our door steps.

I commend Government’s prompt response to Covid-19, this includes all the measures that have been put into place to curb Covid-19. 

People have lost time. People have lost their jobs. People have lost profits from the lack sales or low number of sales. People are depressed… They ask, is this the end? Will we ever get through this? Yes is the answer for these question.

Two currencies run the world. One of them is from the Kingdom of God while the other ones from the kingdom of darkness. I am referring to faith from the former Kingdom and fear from the latter kingdom. 

The only way we are going to survive is through faith. We need to believe that a day is coming when we will refer to Covid-19 as something of the past. We had faith that the Apartheid regime was going to come to an end and it came to an end. To attain the extent of the freedom that we are enjoying today we lost a lot of things, the precious ones were souls of the likes of Hani, Sobukwe and many other great people. 

As we a losing a lot of things we must know that something better is on the way. We shall overcome!

It very interesting to notice that when things are good we never ask where is God but when things start to look disastrous we turn unto Him. In the midst of what we are going through just like David, God wants us to say these words “This is the day that the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24. Life has ups and down. We must never ever allow situations to get the better of us. God encourages us to rejoice and be glad everyday regardless of what we are facing. One might argue that I am encouraging us to turn a blind eye on what is happening in the world. No! That is not what I am saying. Have you observed that when we focus too much on any sort of challenge it grow bigger and bigger and this makes us to lose hope. Faith makes us to focus on the problem solver, not on the problem and this us makes us to be optimistic. By the way, nothing is impossible for God. We practice the above quoted verse because we know that all things work together for the good of God’s children. Our God is in charge… All things work for good, even in days like these ones. 

Out of the lock-down here is what we have got or are getting:

• A chance to be with the family: The family is the foundation of a prosperous society. The unfortunate thing is that some of us only get to have a real family time during the Easter holidays and the Festive Season. This year we are given an opportunity to be together to share love, create wonderful memories and help each other which is something that we have been deprived of for many years.

• Business ideas: something that is rigid is bound break. Businesses have been introduced to the new way of doing things and there are people who are benefiting from this. In my house, my aunt is making and selling masks, she is able to sustain her family. 

• Review of plans: in January you might have had plans to achieve something by the end of the year; this situation is enabling you to look at them again. This will help you to make the necessary adjustments towards attaining your goals Our plans fail to be executed when they are not regularly reviewed.

• Wake up call in the finances department: No more will any of us live from hand to mouth anymore. The prevailing situation has made us to realise how important is it to have different sources of income and a saving account for rainy days. We have learnt the hard way though, and as a result; henceforth our finances will cater for the unforeseen situations.

• Nothing is impossible with God: testimony

Complaining and being fearful will not help. It is time to man up and rise above the current situation. Dear people we can do better than complaining. Has it been brought to your attention that no matter how much money you have, you could not buy or purchase life? The very same mouths we use to complain must be used to express our gratitude towards God. We must thank God for our lives, shelters, families, work… the list is endless.  

Fear must not define us in any way. While we ‘rejoice in the days that the LORD has made’ let us allow the will of God to prevail. To the fearful God says “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 

The county might be under a lock-down but our minds are not locked. We need to make the most of the lock-down and this will not be possible with our minds locked. Set you mind free of any fear and anything negative and use it positively.

Although the Almighty God may not explain Himself but there is one thing that we are must be sure of and that is, He will continue to reveal Himself just like he has did with the above shared testimony. He will also continue to reveal Himself as we hear of some recoveries. 

May God’s grace and light shine on you!

Shalom! Khotso! Ukuthula!

Meet your blogger: M.P Thabana

 

The Power of Self-Love (Part two)

Have Mentors:

Another way to attain greatness is through learning from the giants who stood tall against all odds. In our communities there are people we look up to, and can give us some guidance about all the walks of life. Love is an easy term, but difficult in showing it. We can learn how to appreciate ourselves by observing at how our mentors are living their glorious lives. For example, a mentor will tell about his experience; and then you learn from it. Sometimes as human beings, it is easier to get carried away and rush life; but when you have mentors you learn to take things step by step and at the pace that God has set before you. They would enlighten you about the direction that you can take in life; which will ensure that God’s plan is revealed through your ministry life.

Listen to Inspirational Clips:

Paul who was an advocate wrote a letter to one community and said “faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God”. We would be doing no harm by attempting to make some adjustment on his words and say ‘hope comes by hearing and hearing words that give you hope’. We cannot live without hope. Hope keeps us going. Hope is the difference between the dead and the living, losers and winners, pessimists and optimists.  When you listen to inspirational clips they help you to firstly develop a positive outlook in life and then maintain it. A positive attitude informs your actions. Your attitude determines your altitude, that is, your attitude determines high you can go in life.          

Inspirational words are the fuel that keep you (as a car) on the road towards you destination. When you listen to inspirational clips what is supposed to discourage you encourages you; you stop being fearful and become courageous; what seems impossible suddenly becomes possible; you stop being weak-willed and become determined; you stop doing anything at any time and start doing something at a certain time, and you make peace with your past and work towards realising your bright future. All these experiences are possible as you ask yourself, if they achieved it what can stop me? And the answer is normally ‘nothing can stop me’. Listen to the materials that inspire you to bring the best out of you.

Good company:  ‘

Why I can’t be at the liberty to decide who do I befriend or relate with from a relationship perspective?  This is a question that frequents our minds.  Our parents and other family members are very particular when it comes to the people we spend our most time with. ‘They are being nosy,’ we might protest. The bigger picture out of all this is that whether we make it to our future or not largely lies on the company we keep. As the common expressions goes - ‘show me you friends and I will tell you your future’.  This is not a prophecy but we need to agree on this, the person you will be in five years is based on the people you surround yourself with. Unconsciously and gradually we replicate the people we spend most of our time with. We share their thought patterns. In a group of four pessimists, you optimism about anything will be swallowed up by the four fellows. It is tough and rough, when it four or any number against one you do not stand a chance dear brother/sister. We must not fight our parents and other family members over what we cited above, we must know that they are driven by love.

We can conclude that you understand self-love from the good company angle when you befriend like-minded, focused, determined and diligent people, those who add value to your life. A decision about who becomes your friend (any kind of a friend) should be based on your where you are going, your future. You miss this; you are heading for a disaster. Amos 3:3 - Can the two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? No because there will always be challenges. A dreamer will always be told, you are too hard on yourself, you can’t make it … avoid the company people who cannot help you in any way to become a better version of yourself.

Key points from part 1 and part 2:

-  Develop a Relationship with God:  He promises to save you, take your burden, protect you, strengthen you, prosper you…

- Have a Clear Vision: direction and focus come from a clear and well defined vision

- Read Books: you perform at the level of what you know, read books to take your life to another level

-  Mentors:  share invaluable counsel that can help you to attain your ambitions. Those who have gone before are the ones who can show the way

 - Inspirational Clips:  make you to be positive and when you are positive nothing is impossible

- A Good Company: take care to surround yourself with individuals who take you higher or challenge you to rise

May God’s grace and light shine on you.

Until text time…

A link  https://kingdomcitizenshipinheritance.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-power-of-self-love.html   (to Part 1: The Power of Self-Love)

A link  https://kingdomcitizenshipinheritance.blogspot.com/  (to other blog posts)

Meet the bloggers:

M. Xaba

M. Thabana 

                                                                                                                      

The Power of Self-Love (Part one)

Love is the most talked about affair in the universe. There are movies and music about it. When you read books, newspapers, magazines you are most likely to come across the word love or pictures related to it. The interesting thing we can take note of is the fact that what we have just alluded to in most cases refers to love as involving two people or more; it could be love between a lad and a lassie (a boy and a girl), friendship or it could be love in a family setting which comes in different forms.

King Jesus says ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’. It is impossible to love other people if you do not love yourself. We have somehow lost the essence of love. Going back to the basics we need to start with loving ourselves. Love must begin at self-level. The question is, how do I go about loving myself? The answer to this question is easy. It reads ‘All things are lawful but not all things are helpful, all things are lawful but not things build up’ Apostle Peter. Expressing self-love is seen when we only do things that are helpful, things which build us up.

The following are some ways one take into consideration to express self-love:

Develop a relationship with God: The first and foremost thing one must consider is that of seriously attending his or her relationship with Jesus. This relationship is very important because it assists someone to have principles to live by. These principles are on the Word, the Bible. The interesting thing about them is that we are guaranteed that when we follow we shall be great. 

‘The LORD will make you the head and not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom’ Det 28:13

God is not a human, so he does not lie – He is a promise keeper. If you really loved yourself you would develop a relationship with your Maker. God can take you from poverty to prosperity. God can make a miracle out of your misery. He is able.

Have a clear vision: ‘If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there’  Lewis Carroll.

There is no place that is called there, this was Carroll’s way of telling us that without a vision you are not going to get anywhere. You are just going around in circles. The premise of this quote is that, it is impossible to realise your vision when you do not have a specific destination. A vision makes you to be focused; it also orders your steps towards making it a reality. It gives you a direction; it is more like a map. It helps you to focus on things that matter most, the things that draw you closer to your destiny. Without a vision is one leads a loose life, they do anything at any time. The person with a vision leads a very well planned life, s/he does something at a specific time and whatever s/he does has a relationship with his/her expected end.   

 An example of how to develop a vision:

-          Where do I see myself in two years?

-          What do I need to do to get there?

-          Who can help me to get there?

The voids that a lot of people try to fill with many things that eventually destroy them are as result of not knowing what they want to achieve. Eric’s expression gives us an idea of how self-love is the result when one has a vision which most likely makes that particular person focused - When your life is focused you are far more likely to experience fulfilment and significance. Eric Deschamps 

Read books: Loving yourself is very crucial, and can contribute to a well-balanced life; because people will learn to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses. People do not understand that you don’t need a massive degree from an institution to adore and appreciate who you are. Fearing to engage with self-love just because you don’t see a value for yourself can stress you. A wise man once said that in order to be a great swimmer, you must train your limbs to work together with your mind and heart. In order for us as human beings to attain our greatness of self-love; we need to develop and train our minds about the good and the bad of life.

 The only way we can achieve this skill is through books. A book carries a whole world in it. Reading books helps you to see life at another perspective; and hence find a solution to a problem you are facing or an obstacle which will hinder your success.

To be continued

Meet the Bloggers/Writers:

 M. Xaba & M. Thabana

The Beginning of a New Journey

Compliments of the New Year Friends

Year 2019 is all in the past now and we are in year 2020, and looking forward towards achieving what we could not achieve last year.

Last year you were a Matric Student and I believe you gave it your all and you are now awaiting your results. I can image how you are feeling right now. You do not need to panic, you have got this.

Needless to say the results will come in a form of a B for Bachelor pass, D for Diploma pass and H for higher certificate pass. At this point, it is important that we state that many of us have a flawed definition of success. Most people in the community believe that who one becomes in the future is largely affected by his or her Matric results. You also have people who define academic success in terms of comparing learner A results verses those of learner B. Life is too complex to subscribe to these definitions of success.

In life we are casts of the same Movie but we have different scripts. Each and every character has his or her role which is determined by the script and he or she must stick to it, and never try to imitate other characters roles. Imitating other characters might affect the whole movie production. The same attitude needs to be applied in terms of the results. The symbol you get be it a B or a D or an H should not be something that affects you personally in a sense of having a low self-esteem. You must never compare yourself with others. You are special. You are different. There is something that you can do that no one else in the entire universe can do and you task is to find ‘that thing’. In this regard, you are too great to have your destiny determined by academic grades. There is greatness innate to each and every one on earth. You can still make it no matter the level of your results.

There are learners whose key to greatness will be through unleashing their skills and talents (Soccer, Art…

There are learners whose greatness will be through academic achievements (Educator, Accountant…

All we are saying is that be true to yourself and be the person you were created to be, with or without excellent grades or matric, your destiny is calling on you. Do not let the matric results status determine your reality. If Cassper Nyovest made it big with Grade 10 as his highest school level, you can still make it. We are not promoting quitters instead we are attempting to enlighten that there are people who were called to use their gifts and talents and make a living out of them. The only issue is that they have been socialised into believing that they would not amount to anything without education or a Matric certificate. Reality has proved the previous or latter statement wrong. In this regard, we say stick to your role and focus on your script otherwise you will spoil your movie as a talented actor or actress in terms of your calling. Your success story might not happen immediately but we want to assure you that that it will definitely transpire or happen. Let them talk, let them gossip, let the laugh but your day is coming. Just go quiet let their nagging remarks fall on deaf ears and your success will be loud in its season!

The saying ‘education is key to success’ is somehow a cliché in nowadays, because we have people who had attained their greatness using their unique talents. Parents, religious and community leaders, and other important stakeholders in the society need to take it upon themselves to support and nurture learners’ talents so that they won’t disregard themselves as invalid if they fail matric ‘grade 12’. I had a friend in high school who used to be not so good when it came to class work or should I say school work. On the other side, he was an expert when it came to construction. He used to get jobs whilst at school, people complementing his great work. The houses he had built for his clients were a shining mirror of his talent. He was able to discover his talent, and made an income out of it. Today, he is a respected individual in the community due to his work. He passed with a Diploma (D) in our matric year, but never compared himself to others who obtained a Bachelor’s pass accompanied by distinctions. When others fought their way through entering universities; he was busy designing leaflets for his aspiring business.

We urge all grade 12 candidates who sat for their 2019 National Senior Certificate examinations to find their true calling, and never limit their strengths based on education. The best way to find your calling is to sit back, and ask yourself this question: What is the purpose for my life? There is something that you love, and every time you do it you lose track of time; that’s you! Do not compare yourself with your friends who dream of becoming doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, police men etc. you may find that your talent is not taken as a stable profession; but that is what you were born to do. Many candidates are at the urge of their sits during this difficult time awaiting their results. Some even commit suicide, and leave a wide gap for their true calling.

 At the end of it all, what matters is whether you made a contribution on earth.

May peace, love and prosperity follow you in 2020.

May God’s Grace and Light Shine on You!

Khotso, Peace.

Meet your Bloggers:

M. Xaba

M. Thabana