Purple Lipstick

5 Ways to Treat yo' Self this Valentines Day

Friday, February 12, 2016
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I Stopped Loving Love...

I have had more than my fair share of crushes, but one day I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired of the drama that comes with romantic crushes. It took me meeting the Last Crush. He was gorgeous to say the least, sparkly eyes and dimples, what girl could resist dimples?! I mean he had dimples! That’s enough said! We seemed to hit it off from the start. He got double ticks for the flattery and the sweet empty-nothings! He had a way of just pulling them out of nowhere! And I took it all in! We exchanged numbers and we started communicating over Whatsapp for a few weeks. And then we finally met up again. Don’t get excited, this was not a date! We just met up (insert side eye emoji) at a one of the city’s nicest spots. And it was a disaster. I told you there was nothing to get excited about….Lol. He behaved so poorly. He tried to flirt with my friends! Oh YES he did! *Finger snap and neck roll* And then suddenly, standing in that restaurant, an arm’s length away from this guy, it was as if the scales just fell from my eyes. I had seen it from the get go but I had chosen to feign ignorance, but at that moment, I could not deny it.

That was the very last crush I ever had. That experience made me realize that I had treated God like a seat filler for way too long. It forced me to go back to basics and fall in love with God, I presented my heart to Him because I now truly understood that He designed it, and I can trust Him to do better with it than a mere mortal man who has to borrow breath from Him would. I needed to fill the hole in my heart. Yet only God, whose love is like a never ending well; whose love never runs dry; only God who loved me before the beginning of time could adequately do that job! Only God has that quality written on his resume yet I had been so unwise so as to fire Him several times for counterfeit saviors. No temporary things on this planet can ever take the place of God. A boyfriend, that job, good grades, that Michael Kors designer handbag or whatever it is that you value above God, may add to your life, but it can never replace your relationship with God. I had to cut off my addiction to romance because it was hindering my walk with the Lord. I cut off all “randoms”**. Now I choose to be intentional about developing my relationship with God, I choose to focus on increasing in the knowledge of God everyday instead of chasing after a relationship or the next big crush. I just get up every morning, taking each day as it comes and I intentionally pursue a relationship with God and I give my days to Him. My desire for romance is no longer a priority. Instead, I have taken up a lifestyle of waking up and choosing God every single day of my life.

Ladies, the Creator of the skies loved us before the beginning of time. Because of that, sometimes we just have to overvalue ourselves. Know our worth and add taxes to it J

You are so Loved <3

-Noni

**Random- A person that you know you’ll never marry or build a meaningful relationship with but you date him because you are bored or lonely

Wednesday, February 10, 2016
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First YouTube Video, Ever!

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Monday, February 08, 2016
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Why I stopped trying to be perfect

authenticity

Most of my childhood was spent playing outside since we didn't have DSTV, and ZBC only ran cartoons for about 3 hours a day. During that time my siblings and I got most of our entertainment from Christian VCR tapes (yikes! throwback) and a bunch of 80's cartoons. When I was around 14 years old my dad walked into the house with a decoder. I was so excited I ended up spending the entire evening scrolling through the channels and taking it all in . I don't think I noticed anything different for a while, but by the next year I was nagging my mom to take me to get some new clothes. My jeans were too big and the plain t-shirts didn't look good. My lunch box was not exempt, it needed to be filled with chips and burgers, not polony sandwiches! I remember being in form 2 and waiting anxiously for the holidays so I could ditch my boring short hair and have long braids, just like Moesha. Even my personality got some tweaks. After watching a show called 'That's so Raven' I decided that I needed to be funnier and started thinking of ways to get people to laugh at my jokes.

Flash forward a couple of years and I was in form 4, getting ready to write my O'levels. The pressure was so heavy. I had recently seen a movie about a guy who managed to study really hard, get into an Ivy League college and become a cardiovascular surgeon. He went on to become famous and everyone loved him. I wanted that, no I need that, to be loved and accepted. I had to get amazing test grades or my life would be awful. As lower 6 crept up, I started to feel tired. Tired of trying to be everything I saw as valued on TV. Tired of dressing up like the princesses I saw on Disney channel, so that a prince would notice me. Tired of changing my personality so I would have lots of friends. Just plain and simply tired!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25 not to worry about everyday life. He speaks directly to our earthly desires and reminds us that life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. I had to make a decision that day in lower 6 and everyday since to "seek first the kingdom of God." When we are so concerned with our hair, clothes, grades or anything else, we tend to forget the real meaning of life. My purpose in life does not change regardless of whether I have braids, a weave or my natural hair. We are designed to love God and love others, so when we focus on ourselves too much the lines start to get blurry. I've found that whatever I let influence me, whether that's the Kardashians, Mai Chisamba or even Ben Carson, affects what I value. I'm not saying don't work hard at school or wear clothes you don't like, but I am saying that in the grand scheme of things all of that stuff doesn't really matter as much as your relationship with God and others. This week try make an effort to love the people around you and spend time with the Creator. You'll be surprised at how much you start to love life!

xoxo
Love Always
Marlene <3

Friday, February 05, 2016
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Because she competes with noone... - Noni's musings

acceptance

At the beginning of the New Year, I made a decision to take a long break from all things "social media". Now, I am so obsessed with Instagram and Facebook, so this was a tough call to make but it had to be done. I realized that I was not using social media to edify God in any way, instead I used it to stalk my primary school best friend who is now living it up in Dubai!! a lump of envy would rise to my throat every time I saw her pics; outfit and hair ALWAYS on fleek (whilst I on the other hand could barely keep my relaxed hair straight for a full day) ; eyebrow game so strong; the hashtags #Yass #Slaying are basically the order of her Instagram daily life. And I would feel bad about my own life which pales in comparison to such fabulosity. And usually by the time I exhausted my 250MB daily bundle, my heart would be green with envy and I would be so discontent with my life. But I thank the Lord that He called for an intervention in my life during one of our one-on-one sessions and He reminded me of Galatians 6:5 "...don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life…" (The Message). Basically He was saying two things: firstly; "My dear Nnonipie (I think that's His nickname for me. Lolie), if only you could fully understand and fathom what a creative God I am. I don’t do carbon copies, neither do I specialize in one-size-fits-all. Before you were born, I mapped out a unique purpose for you. Stop looking over at other people as they do what I have (or at times what I have NOT) tasked them to do, basically: run your own race! Walk in your own lane!" How liberating! It made me feel free to know this truth.

You see, competitiveness and jealousy are a form of bondage at their core. Their tie up our happiness like those little weights that hold down helium balloons. What a waste of time!

So just relax and trust God. Celebrate other people's success; share in their pain. Learn to love yourself. And THEN learn to love others, that way you will never feel the need to covet their walk. Realize that everyone's lane is tailored to suit their different needs and strength according to the unique way God fashioned them. Find contentment in the seasons of your life. In the end God's perfect plan will prevail. Do your own thing; that unique thing God is leading you to do! Comparing yourself to someone is like comparing the Victoria Falls to the Table Mountains. They are both beautiful. In the words of one fabulous Mrs. Ashley Brown; "uplift, edify and inspire each other rather than trying to compete and outdo. It’s pointless and a waste of your energy". I say; there is room for everyone to win :)

You are so very loved

xxxx
-Noni