Anxiety! Anxiety!! Anxiety!!!(*I'm having one of those moments where you spell an everyday word and it just looks strange - I had to give it a go three times - still looks strange*)

Anxiety always sounds like one of those words that we associate with big events in our lives like "Am I going to pass my GCSE's?", "Am I going to be the successful one?", "Will I ever get married?", "Why can't I put on any weight?", "Why do I keep putting on the pounds?", "I don't have the resources to meet my needs?", "Am I really getting old & when do I start losing all my teeth (this is major for me especially the teeth part - details to follow)?". In Life, we just get so burdened with these kind of thoughts that they become "part of us" - they are like a constant unseen partner.

...and then there are the small major things that we get anxious about but because they are so insignificant, we think "I'm allowed to worry about this, it's not such a big deal!". Perfect example - I get up this morning and all of the 20 minute drive to work, I am working myself up with the fact that "The IRON is ON!!". I'm smiling writing this because we all have these moments - "The gas is on", "I left a towel on the heater" and God bless my imagination, I tortured myself with images of "the iron" burning through my bed & setting fire to my apartment. Help us Lord!.

Right now, I just reminded myself of Philippians 4:6-7 "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life"

It sounds really funny but I just sat here having my morning toast and I said "Jesus, I'm going to have a heart attack if I keep thinking my flat is burning down at this moment with my passport in there and it is holiday season. I trust you in this situation. I will not fret. I will not worry about the big things like losing my teeth and about the tiny things like this iron-situation. If for any reason I need to be at my flat, let me know. If not, I am going to have a beautiful Friday and feel your wholeness over this day".

Funny thing was after I said this, I got a very clear image of Fire trucks pulling into the building but I AM NOT GOING TO WORRY (it is a very conscious decision).

Have a worry free weekend & Enjoy every minute of it.

xoxo

Casting Crowns - Who Am I

FREE

"Back jump zoom" by Dawn Okoro - http://www.dawnokoro.com/

Selfless Love

If you listen to a CD in your car, hear something funny, laugh out hysterically *alone*, turn to the right and realise that the driver next to you thinks you are either mad or just *strange* - put your hands UP! Yup, that's me every morning - who will love me?

This morning I was listening to a lady talk about how God moves in & with his church (that's you & I in simple terms). I'm certain that the church today is so much different than the church 20 years or 5 years ago. I believe that Jesus is leading us into his heart for "selfless" love. Selfless Love - it takes courage & determination to put others first, to love others first & to just-go-on-LOVING.

I believe that God is asking us to look outside our comfort zone, to come on an adventure with him - fully trusting, fully believing. What a challenge? What an exciting challenge. If you're looking for an adventure, get on the boat and go out with Jesus. He'll take you to places you've never seen, show you broken hearts that need a warm hug, lonely smiles that deserve to be loved - you'll reach out, not in your own strength but you become transparent to see and value every human being, every situation through the eyes of God.

This is an adventure!
This is a journey!

While we're on adventures, the i-Heart Revolution film is in London - June 17th 2010 (& I am out of the country). Click on http://alternative.artsalliancemedia.com/hillsong/cinemas/ to get all the details.

Take a friend, any friend. This movie is not just to stir something up in Christians but it is to stir the hearts of everyone. To realise that there is a world out there to reach - in your neighbourhood, your city, your town, your country - wherever you are. To realise the father heart of God.

I love you so so much!

Get on BOARD :)

Dear My Heart...

I stumbled across this website yesterday afternoon - "Leah Dieterich's mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she does. To everything"

What a brilliant idea? I started thinking thank-you notes in my head to situations that makes breathing difficult *literally*. Such a good habit. Try it.

I can relate to this thank you note to a heart - mine just wants to be loving even when I have nothing left to give - so I hope the rest of me catches up with you as soon as. xxxx

This is Me!

"The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness."

Phil 3:7-9

#my story, my freedom, my Christ, my HOPE.

Dear KFC Bucket

Dear KFC bucket,
I am not your greatest fan but last night you did a great job binding hearts together in friendship. We did life together!!
Love, Ruky

COLOUR!

If like me, you spend some of your time being silly with 8 year olds, then you'll understand the beauty of crayons, colour pencils & paint on a plain A4 paper. Priceless. Point to note is 8 year olds DO NOT CARE if you choose to colour inside or outside the lines. There's a sense of freedom to "be free" or "be silly". Most times, the A4 paper isn't just enough and as the adult, they insist that "your face" becomes the canvas or maybe your nails - why not! At the end of the day, you stare at your face in the mirror - almost thinking "why did I agree to this? How am I going to get all this colour out of MY HAIR" & then you smile because you realise that sometimes "to be free, you have to be silly, you have to let go, you do not have to be IN CONTROL all of the time, you can relax and allow some COLOUR in your life"

So, GO ON, COLOUR YOUR WORLD.
Be Free. Be You. Love & Be Loved!!

"Christ has set you free to live a free life"

- Gal 5:1

Rock Nations

Click Here!!

Through African Eyes

Holland Cotter writes: "For centuries Euro-American eyes have been trained on Africa. We’ve scanned it from afar, surveyed it up close, put it behind glass; looked and looked, wonderingly, acquisitively, disdainfully, fearfully.

"But we rarely seem to be aware that during all that time Africans have been looking back at us — wonderingly, acquisitively, disdainfully, fearfully."

A carving by the Yoruba artist Thomas Ona Odulate of a European couple walking a dog. From The New York Times

Detroit Institute of Art. April 18 - August 8 2010. Through African Eyes. Click Here

Passion 2010

"Hunger. Sex Trafficking. Poverty. Orphans. Homeless. Unreached People. Children. Translation. Underground Church. Injustice. Surgeries. HIV/AIDS"

Together we can make a massive difference in the lives of people around the globe in Jesus' name.

See you at Passion 2010. Wembley Arena, London. 14-15 May.
Register Here

I.Journey...'Thanks'

T is for Thankful.
My heart is so full. There are no words.

So, thank you very very very much. Thank you.

I.Journey...'12.42am Kenya blogging'

I said I was going to blog about everything that happens in Kenya. Where do I start? From the moment I arrived at Jomo Kenyatta, my brain has been in over-drive. I'm taking so much in and I have no time to process it. As always, I'll be able to process it in a few months and maybe then I can blog.

It's 12:42am and I'm trying to write something on here quickly and the words wouldn't come together in my head. I love Kenya. There's something about the people and sitting here, I've just realised what it is - Peace. In the midst of Chaos, Madness, Matatus (which I love by the way) & more madness, Kenyans are the most peaceful people I have ever come across (How do I explain?!?)

Well, just so you know, there is a lot of love in the beautiful Nairobi tonight, thanks to an amazing Kenyan artist - 'Atemi's Hatimaye'

Happy Easter!!!!

Asante (Thank you)

I.Journey..."Kenya 2010"

Opportunities. Kenya. 2010. Love. Hope. Faith. Laughter. Sunset. Tears. Food, Good Food. Friendship. Family. Jesus. Serve. More Serving. Sunshine. Hugs. More Laughter. Love. Love. Love. Stories. Travel. Food, again. Sunrise. Joy. Heart. Jesus.

The above picture is what I would LOVE LOVE to be doing in Kenya. I might get the chance, I might not. Whatever happens, I'll write about everything as I journey Kenya. Keep me in your heart.

"After much hesitation, I have come to realise that serving others is what Life is truly about & my heart screams with JOY & Laughter & more LOVE" - Ruky @ i.Journey

I.Journey..."I wrote this for you"

Picture Caption -
"You are nobody's hero. And nobody needs you. Desperately."

(This image and words are directly from his blog @ www.iwrotethisforyou.me)

This is one of my best reads everyday (almost everyday). The words, the pictures, they capture emotions, unspoken words and all of that creative stuff. It feels like he sits there with my face/feelings/emotions in his hands and expresses them in pictures and in words that I am too afraid to.

I love this particular post for so many reasons.
One of them being the fact that I am constantly reminded by situations in life that I am just the "one in how-many-million-billion" in the world & that, my friends, is a daunting feeling *Sigh

But, if we flip the coin and see that there is just the one of you.

You are needed.
You are somebody's hero.
Desperately.

Happy Mother's day.

xx

I.Journey..."Color2010"

"Black and White is good but Life is so much better in COLOUR."

It's COLOUR 2010 ladies!

LONDON!!! Here's the Link Colour2010

If you would love to Volunteer for Colour 2010 in London, Click Here
Listen/Read/Watch Sydney Colour Here
Here's Colour Sisterhood

BE BEAUTIFUL Girls, Mums, Sisters, Wives, Daughters, G-Mamas, Aunties!.
Be who you are, BE BEAUTIFUL!

xoxo

I.Journey..."LFS Introducing"

Summer 2009.

I arrive Durban to find out I was sharing a room with the beautiful "Laura-Anne Mackay". After two weeks of early mornings, trying to hide under the covers and drown the noise of the hotel cleaning staff, enduring a terrible stiff neck, feelings of UPS & DOWNS, Laura and the minor accidents, falling in love with Durban, evening chats about our projects and Life in general, I laughed most of the time until I was inspired over and again.

I think Laura kept a log on Soul in the City Durban adventures Here.

So Here's introducing "LFS Introducing" (sounds funny). Laura's hope with this is that the stories inspire and help people but also in turn encourage and support the people who are sharing their stories"

So, you can support this project by
1) Subscribing to the blog - RSS feed or by email
2) Tell anyone who's interested
3) Follow on Twitter (if you have twitter) - @LFSIntro
4) If you would like to share something through a guest post, leave a comment on the site.

Click LFS Introducing
Get Job Laura! Inspired Again.

I.Journey..."Self Harm"

"'Hear Me' is an art exhibition by young people who self harm, first shown in Luton in 2006. The young people involved in the project developed the ideas for each piece out of their own experiences. The result is a powerful insight into why young people harm, their inner struggles about what they do, and their plea to be understood by their friends and family, and by all of us.

In March 2006, the exhibition opened with both local and national media attention. The honesty and power of the work moved the hundreds who came to see it. For many, it was the first time they had heard young people talking so openly about self harm. An audio track of the young people talking about their experiences added to the impact. We are making some of the material from 'Hear Me' available to download from this page. Income from sales will go towards further developing our work with young people who self harm."

Click here to read more on the "Hear Me" Exhibition

Brief Intro on LCET (Luton Churches Education Trust) - "LCET is determined to help young people achieve their potential. Our staff work across the secondary schools and colleges of Luton providing a huge range of therapeutic and chaplaincy services. But we're not content to stop there. We're constantly trying to find new and better ways to help young people 'switch the light on'. We believe every young person should have the opportunity to understand more of themselves and their place in our world."

All Information written is from the LCET website. For more on LCET, what they are about and how they can help, please visit www.lcet.org

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as He (God) was there for us - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4"

Great Job LCET!

Whatever challenges you might be going through, please remember that there are people out there who love you just because they love you.

I.Journey..."Spring"

After feeling like "Grey grey clouds" last night.

I read this "You will be like a well-watered garden, a bursting spring that never runs dry" Isaiah 58:11

& this morning I came across COLOURS courtesy of "colormekatie" (Thank you!)

I.Journey..."Soul Surfers"

Here's an interview crop from LFS introducing (the creative Laura-Anne Mackay) "Soul Surfers",

"Surfing is often described as being “spiritual” or having ”soul”. I’m trying to gather some like minded people who love the sea and the beach. I’m trying to encourage us to live our lives transparently in the beach communities we may be a part of and to invite others to join us. I’m hoping that people will see that larger than our love of the sea is our love for Jesus and God’s love for them."

Click
LFS introducing to get the full read on the interview (I'll have to do an interview with Laura soon).
Soul Surfers
& finally Christian Surfers

One day, I will learn how to surf.
I love the sea. I love to swim.
However, that day is not today.

On the other side, make yourself available and you'll be surprised that the things you consider the least will be used to change people or places.

Keep Surfing Boys (& Girls)!!!