ME AND MY BIG FAT MOUTH (FEAT. A SPECIAL GUEST)

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Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me again in Finding Thea.



I've recently been learning about the importance of listening and I thought to share it!

Listening is different from hearing. We live in a generation where everyone is so quick to speak, give advice but no one is really listening or paying attention. In this video, I encourage people to take time to really listen. Not just hear when people talk, but really listen.



My mum also popped by to say hi!

I hope you enjoy this video and if you do, please like, share & subscribe.

Also, let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to talk about- relationships, life at uni, God etc. Just hit me up!



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The Good News

Romans  1: 16 - 17

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven. This message was preached first to the Jews alone, but now everyone is invited to come to God in this same way. 17 This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven—makes us right in God’s sight—when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, “The man who finds life will find it through trusting God.”

Are you ashamed of preaching the gospel? Why should you be? Apostle Paul says the word of God is a powerful method of bringing all who believes in to heaven. Don’t we all want that for our family and friends? Then why are you ashamed? Why does it matter that they’ll judge you or call you names? Your own is to plant the seed, leave the Holy Spirit to water it and it will grow. You are not God; you cannot change their heart. But you can pray that He will.

Your relationships will become healthier once people know and believe in God. It won’t be about fighting everyday or lying because those are not fruits of the Spirit. Sharing the good news is not just for God, it’s for your own benefit too. So that you may have a fruitful, pleasant, abundant life, just as God Himself intended. Just think about that peace that will flow when everyone around you is on the same wavelength of God. You don’t have to read your bible in private or wait till you get to church to pray because all your friends are with you on the same faith. So next time you find yourself struggling to tell that friend more about your love for God, let this verse come to mind and be empowered by it.

Till next time,

Peace & love,

Thea xx

If I could go back in time...

If you could go back in time what would you change? A lot of people think of the big events they’d like to undo – how they flunked that test (they could’ve studied harder), the death or terminal illness of a loved one, the people who broke their heart (they could’ve avoided that relationship) and many others that most people would consider.

Most.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change the big things to be honest. Because those ‘big things' came about because of the little things and so I’d start off with the things people don’t notice or take for granted. The everyday habits, the people I surround myself with, my thoughts towards life … and God. Yes. Believe it or not, but we live in a generation where God is constantly belittled, even ‘tamed’.

‘I’ll take this God thing seriously when I get older/to Uni.’ Have you heard someone say that? I have. I almost wanted to smack them in the hope that perhaps, they’ll get back the sense that they just lost. Almost.

You see, it’s not even what they said that made me upset, so to say. It’s the fact that they don’t even know what they said. They don’t know what it means to ‘Take God seriously’. Because if you knew that taking God seriously involved a life filled with an abundance of grace, love and joy to begin with, everyone would sign up for that. But they didn’t know. The Bible says ‘My people perish for lack of knowledge’  (Hosea 4:6)

Back to the point; if I could go back in time, I’d change the way I looked at God. I wont see Him being so far off, someone that couldn’t relate with what I was going through. Because that’s where our flaw of Jesus comes in. We’ve painted a façade of God such that instead of people wanting to draw close to Him, they’d rather stay distant. Have you heard the phrase ‘Christians are boring’? I have. I almost smacked that person too. Almost. Christians, boring?! “If only you knew… “ I wanted to yell. But I cant go on almost wanting to smack everyone; that’s not what God called us to do. And it’s not like I’m any better to be honest. It’s just that, for each of those comments, I can literally see the ‘old’ me in them and it’s sad.

It’s sad because all God wants to do is have a deep, intimate relationship with you. Me? Yes, you. And me too. And everyone else out there still ‘living’ in sin. God is asking to be your friend, will you let Him?

Will you take Him to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death (not do you part) join you together again?

If it sounds like marriage vows, that’s because it is. That’s what having God as a friend is about. Yeah, pretty deep huh? And He’s saying those vows to you. So I urge you, dear friend, as you come into the next chapter of your life, take God with you. Have Him to love and to hold, by your side at all times. He’ll be there for you. I promise.

Till next time,

Peace & Love,

Thea xx

18 things I've learnt at 18 - Part 2

#UniGoals

I remember my first year so vividly. I remember the first day, when I moved in. Such high expectations and a smile that was so wide you’d have thought I couldn’t actually close my mouth. I remember writing everything I wanted to do when I got my offer- circling all the bits around campus I wanted to see, all the clubs and societies I wanted to join and all the other cool things I had read about. I wanted to join cheerleading, play tennis, be part of the fashion society, be the ACS (afri-cultural society) president and be a member of every food society. You could say I had dreams. I’d say I had goals- goals I had set for myself carefully and strategically. Do you have goals? Not dreams (though they are pretty similar), but goals that you want to achieve?

Not so long into uni, I had registered into at least 2 clubs, 4 societies and I was already envisioning myself as the ACS president. Uni was fun! Better than what I had heard and thought it would be. Or at least that’s what I thought.

There was only one thing missing and I couldn’t place my hand on it. Have you ever had that feeling? Annoying isn’t it? Something keeps bugging you, it’s in your head somewhere but you don’t know how to say it or get it out, it’s just there.

It took me the whole of first year and then some, to find it and get it out of my head. It was God. 

For over a year I was dilly-dallying in my relationship with God. It was something I knew I wanted; I just didn’t think I wanted it yet. Better still, needed it. But when I got to my second year, I didn’t just want or need God. I desired God. I craved His presence and when I felt it - the blissful, awesome, majestic, holy presence of God - I knew there was nothing in this life compared to that. I literally - in the full sense of the word - hit the jackpot.

I thought uni was fun then. When I met God was when I knew what fun was. You see, people get it wrong - they look for ‘fun’ in all the wrong places and think they know what life is. I know this because I went through it. But here’s the plot twist. Ever heard the phrase ‘It’s only fun till someone gets hurt’? That’s what happened to me; I was hurt and I didn’t even know it. I was hurting my heart, hurting my spirit, but most of all, I hurt God. You’d think a God so sovereign couldn’t be ‘hurt’ by some actions, but that’s where I missed it. God was hurt, deeply. All He wanted from the beginning was for me to realise that He was all I needed. Without realising it, I was looking for ‘God’ in all the wrong places. I knew I wanted something more out of life, but I didn’t know where it was, so I searched. In the clubs and the pubs, but never in the most oblivious place - within me. It wasn’t till I got worn out of partying and I had gone too many times in the same circle that I realised ‘This couldn’t be all there is to life.” I wanted more, and in that ‘more’ was when I quieted everyone else’s voice to listen to mine. A quote I read said ‘You don’t know the value of an anchor, till you’re in the storm.” Another phrase by a ‘Mama Maggie’ says - 

‘Silence is the secret. Silence your heart to listen to your spirit. Silence your spirit to listen to His Spirit. In silence you leave many and be with the One…'

Could you believe that was all it took?

I’d love to share more with you but I think you get the message. And so, I leave you with these parting words and I can only plead that you hold on to them. No matter where you are on your walk with Christ, this is applicable.

• Find God early. I know how much of a difference my life would be if I found God in my first year. (& No, I’m not talking about ‘I-was-born-in-a-Christian-home so I know God) I mean find Him. Search within and find Him. Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Once you get God, you get everything. Matt 6:33 

• Create a friendship with Him. Okay, you’ve found God now what? Start talking to Him about everything. Offload your problems to Him; He is the friend that is ever present and cares deeply about you. He will not betray you and He will never forsake you. 1 Peter 5:7 says Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. ; Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

• Now you’ve found God and have Him as a friend, what next? Find or build a community of believers. Too often we see Christians easily backsliding into their old ways. To avoid this, (and this is something I’m especially striving towards) mind your associations. You might think you don’t have to do away with your old friends, (and I’m not saying you do). But you do have to know where to draw the line.  You are in the world but not of the world. You might have to give up something to get something but hey, that’s how God works. 

In conclusion, I can’t promise it’ll be easy but I can assure you it’ll be worth it. I wish you a glorious and blissful God-filled year ahead.

Peace & Love,

Thea xx

18 things I've learnt at 18 ; Part 1

Hey everyone ! Welcome to Finding Thea again. 

I just turned 19 and I thought to look over the past 1 year and share some of the things I have learnt. I hope you like it and find it useful. 

Please like, comment & share. 

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And I'd love to hear what you've learnt over the past one year too, no matter how old you are! 

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Thanks, I noticed.

To all the people who have helped me start this blog, all the words of encouragement, the support, this is for you.

For listening to me talk about this blog for months, right up till I bought my camera, started writing and editing videos- thanks, I noticed.

For not letting me give up, for not giving up on me, especially in those times i felt like there wasn’t a point anymore - thanks, T noticed.

For praying, endlessly and tirelessly for me, for those bible verses and posts that kept me going strong daily- Thanks, i noticed.

For just being there, sitting without talking while there were no words in my mouth- thanks, I noticed.

For unconditional love, always abounding - thanks, I noticed.

For the late night/early morning calls, hours of staying awake just because I couldn’t sleep - thanks, I noticed.

For your warm smile on a cloudy day, for your big bear hug through ‘Spirit mail’ - thanks, I felt it. and I noticed.

I may not always act like it all the time, or show it but I love you. I truly, honestly, passionately do.