George Mbewe 1931-2012

“Grandfather is dead.”

Numbness, then regret because I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t have time to go to the farm. Time….

But the word of God says “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Its hard to be thankful in situations like this…but let’s see..

1) I am thankful that my grandfather got to meet Matthew and they got along ‘like a house on fire’. He gave us his blessing.

2) I am thankful that my mum got to spend some time with her dad before he passed away

3) I thankful because my grandfathers sickness has brought my cousin Elizabeth and I back together after about 6 years of not talking

4) I am thankful for all the people in my life, family and friends that have been praying for my grandfather.

5) My grandfather accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour on Thursday. He died on Saturday. He was 81 years of age. I am thankful.

Who Am I?

‘Who am I?”.

A question that I’m sure many of us have asked ourselves. This question usually comes with the feeling of being lost and as someone who was once lost I went through the famous ‘I need to find myself’ period.

How hard can finding oneself be really?

Well, after years of searching for Mwenya, man, I got tired of looking- I must have been looking in all the wrong places and if you are like me, looking in the wrong places, chances are you won’t ‘find yourself’. I like to think that God must have gotten tired of seeing me not making any progress, so He pointed me to the right direction; He pointed me towards Him. He helped me ‘find’ Him and when I ‘found’ Him, I found the me I thought I had lost.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” Jeremiah 1:5. God knows me, knew me even before I existed, before even my parents met- who better than God to help me find myself?

Finding yourself, when you truly do find yourself, is a life-changing experience. My life is not the same. I am not the same me- I am a better, happier, more confident me.

So who am I?

I am a woman who has been set apart by God. I am a Divine, Inspirational, Virtuous and Anointed woman. I am a DIVA. 🙂

The Right Investment

Apart from Accounting 100 during my Bachelors and International Accounting during my Masters, i successfully managed to run away from all forms of accounting during my student career – i hated it that much. 6 years later, happy with my career path which i thought had no use for accounting and bam! Accounting principles for Credit Managers.

I had 2 options.

Option 1: i am not a Credit Manager and therefore i don’t need to attend the training.

Option 2: keep quiet and hustle.
I chose option 2. And now after 6 years away from University, here  I am studying for an exam on Friday.

Life always gives us options and it is up to us to pick the easy way out and stay at the same level…or pick the more challenging option, work hard and struggle through it for a short while and eventually succeed.

I believe you get out of life what you put into it; to yse the Word of God (which should be our basis for EVERYTHING), “you reap what you sow”.

How can i expect to be a Head of Commercial Business Banking or CEO if i do not build on the skills i have? Indeed, how can you reach the roof level of your house if you don’t (or wont) keep adding bricks?

How can i expect to become more intimate with God if i dont struggle through reading His Word and go from reading 1 Chapter every 3 or 4 days to 3 chapters a day? From praying a 5 minute thank you Lord prayer to a 1 hour prayer, also listening out for what God has to say to me?

The bottom line is you are your bottom line. best investment you can make is in yourself. Trust God to do the rest and open those doors. Could be those doors have been opened for a while but you were busy running away from Accounting and were not ready to walk through them.

Tangled Jewel

My mother loves buying me jewellery.  She loves jewellery and of course as her only daughter, it’s only normal that she expects me to love jewellery. I don’t love it but i don’t hate it either. I just like a simple, hassle-free life. On an ordinary day the most jewellery i have on is my wedding band  (but of course), a pair of earings (mind you sometimes it’s the same pair throughout the week) and a simple braclet that I’ve had for years with zirconia stones running around it (some of which have fallen off). So no, jewellery is really not my number one priority.

My mum loves buying me jewellery. She bought me 2 pairs of earings for my wedding (i only wore one), 2 bracelets (i only wore one) and two neckalces (i think i wore both (at seperate times of course) so at least i made an effort). I think my mum couldn’t decide which earings/bracelet/necklace to get me because each piece was beautiful. Or maybe it was because she knows how fussy i am so she needed to provide me with options- i dont know. All i know is that i love my mum and i want her to keep buying me jewellery.

Okay so now that i have established my indifference to jewellery i can continue…

On Tuesday i decided to wear a necklace to work. I dont know why but i did. I was going to wear a ‘salmon pink’ cardigan and I remembered i had a matching necklace. Now, as a person who is indifferent to jewellery you can imagine that i do not store my jewellery well so when i found the necklace i wanted to wear, it was tangled up with a bunch of other necklaces.

For some mysterious reason, i must have been very determined to wear this necklace because my normal reaction to the tangled mess would have been “Ah, forget this!”. However, despite the fact that i was running late for work i decided to sit on the bed and detangle the mess of about six or so necklaces just so that i could get wear that particular necklace. (maybe i was missing my mum).

If you have ever tried detangling a bunch of tangled necklaces you will know that it is not something you can rush through (lest you get them even more tangled). You have to work slowly and carefully, ensuring that you do not destroy the necklaces. You have to be patient.

So as i sat there slowly and carefully seperating my necklaces, it occured to me that this is exactly what God does with our lives. Each of us has a specific God-given purpose to fulfil, which He has placed inside of us. We are to discover what this purpose is but most times in our journey of life, as we are trying to discover what this purpose is we get tangled up. We get tangled up with looking for love in all the wrong places – with all the wrong people, getting hurt along the way, when all along the One who loved us first has always been there. We get tangled up living a life of lies, piling up debt and tossing away our self-esteem, trying to be people we are not because of the ‘perfect lives’ we see on the media (traditional and social media).

When we reach that place of being a tangled mess and the mess finally breaks us down to the realisation that all we really needed was God (duh!), what does He do? He gently picks us up and slowly and oh-so carefully begins to detangle us from the mess. He untangles us from self-loathing and frees us from low self-esteem. He untangles us from our fake lives and the people that are not meant to grow with us by showing us what we truly need to live a fulfilled life.  He untangles us from unrighteousness and sickness and pain and fills us wth love, joy and peace. He does not stop working on us and in us.

Its not an easy job and it’s not a job that can be rushed. Sometimes even during this process it looks like the tangled mess is worse than when He first began but worry not – He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. Nothing is impossible for God- there is no mess He cannot fix.

A tangled jewel is still a jewel after all.

Love,

MrsD

Getting Married in Zambia| Step 4| Who Gives This Woman Away?

So…where were we?

Oh. Yes, you are rushing to the church because your groom is waiting and the driver seems to be taking his own sweet time (even though you are literally a 6 minute drive away). Its just you, dad and the driver. There is no music playing and not much conversation (you and your dad don’t exactly know what to say to each other). You can see the church when you remember that you forgot the Salt for the Salt ceremony! To go back or not to go back? If you go back, your groom might think that you are a Runaway Bride so you stay. Besides, if you forgot the salt, he definitely did (he did).

It hasn’t really sunk in that the day that you have cried and prayed and fasted over is finally here. Not that you doubted God’s Word; the vision He showed you of yourself in a Wedding Dress in front of the ‘2014 Year of Going Beyond Limits’ at the 2013/2014 Cross-Over Service. You knew He would do it, you just didn’t know how hard getting to this point would be (bringing two families is not easy, add to that the fact that the devil hates anything that’s good).

You only know that it’s really happening when you hear Nathan Nyirenda playing the intro to The One He Kept For Me by Maurette Brown Clark on his Saxophone.  When you hear the the singer capturing the emotion of this song that perfectly captures what this day is about, you can’t  help but break down.

You are reminded that “God is not human that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”- Numbers 23: 19

Pastor: Who gives this woman away?

The moment of truth has arrived. Your father (or Uncle or male guardian) in a bold, strong voice announces “I, ………… the Father of the Bride, i give her away” (insert respective name of Father/Uncle/Male Guardian here). Your groom walks over, greets the parent that is giving you away, takes your hand and walks you to the altar.

Now most people do not know that significance of this “giving away” which has become a formality of so many marriage ceremonies. Genesis 2: 24 says “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become on flesh”. The man, your groom has left his parents home to become united with you, the bride. As a bride, you do not leave of your own accord, you have to be given away by the head of the house (your father/uncle/guardian) to the new head, your husband. The significance of this moment should not pass you by- be given away with the grace and humility it deserves.

This is your first act of submission.

         

Getting Married in Zambia | Step 4 | Get Me to the Church on Time!

It is is now 10 days to our 1st anniversary and i really, honestly can’t believe it has been a year already?!!. People say the first year (or couple of years) are the hardest because all the pretense  of dating and the excitement of planning a wedding have passed; its now just the two of you and there is no more pretending that you roll the toothpaste from the bottom when in fact you don’t.

Our first year was not easy, we laughed, we cried, we argued, we made up – nothing out of the ordinary (i think). It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it ( sorry, i couldn’t  resist that cliché).

As we celebrate our 1st year together, I’d  like to talk a walk down memory lane and wrap up my series on Getting Married in Zambia.

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The morning of the wedding day for the Bride and Groom in Zambia is filled with last minute to-do’s and phone calls (unless your bridesmaids confiscate your phone)- mostly because it is not yet common to hire a Wedding Planner or the Bride,  if they are anything like me think that only we can get things done PER-FEC-TLY

You are the first one to wake up,  and you make sure you have your bath first before waking up the entire household. Of course you are coming down with the flu after spending the night before decorating the church with your fiance (you are an event planner and decorator after all). So lemon and honey tea, Strepsils and a dry piece of bread is sufficient for your breakfast.

You are just in time for your hair appointment but the stylist cant seem to get it just like the one in the picture you got off Pinterest…you are happy with the end result because you know you were just being fussy but of course you are late for your make-up appointment  (and now you look back and wonder why you didnt ask the stylist to come home like you did the make-up artist *duh*). But its okay, your make-up turned out perfect. So did your mum’s,  even though she thinks it’s  too much; but that’s mum for you.

The "it's too much make-up" face

Its time to get your dress on- wait! Where are the bridesmaids?? (i think I should write romance comedy at the rate I’m going with this post- but i promise, it was that dramatic). The brisldesmaids are late (no electricity at the salon perhaps?) but they are finally here to help the bride get ready- oh and they look fabulous thanks to the brides being dictatorial on their entire look.

Through out the ‘organised chaos’, dad is calm, reading the newspapers, having already done the seating arrangementsfor the reception.

Lawyer's scribble

The moment of truth……does the dress fit???? Yes! It does. It’s perfect (please note that this is not always the case for Zambian brides) but its got tooo many darn buttons!!

At this point, you say forget these 101 buttons, I’m  late! And off you go, to you handsome groom with half your buttons undone.

Service should have started at 10.00am

Vendor Information
Hair: Yami’s Collection Arcades Mall
Make-up: Embeauti Hair and Makeup Studio
Wedding Dress: Custom-made, LaceMarry Etsy Shop (Yes, i bought my dress online! I couldn’t  find any plus-size wedding dresses that suited my shape in Lusaka)
Bride’s  Shoes: Ebay
Hair Band: Brass Lotus Etsy Shop
Mother-of-the-Bride’s Dress: Online
Mother-of-the-Bride’s Shoes: Ebay

Before 30

Today i say goodbye to my 20’s and hello to my 30’s.

To be honest with you, i haven’t really been excited about my Birthday this year, which, trust me is really shocking for me. I am a big advocate for celebrating birthdays and making sure that a birthday is made special. My parents spoiled me with cake and presents each year, sometimes even a party just to make me feel special on the day. When i was in boarding school, my parents would either come visit me or send me some goodies on my birthday…so yes, i have been blessed (read spoilt) and birthdays are a big deal for me.

I haven’t  been excited about the big 3-0 and here is why….

I had so many plans/hopes/dreams that i  wanted to have achieved by this day. I thought by 30 i would have my first child. I also thought i would have my own house (with a big garden) in my name, instead of still paying rent. That my event business would be successful, with me owning my own exclusive venue. Finally, that i would have made strides in my career and probably at Executive level.

But the day is here and i haven’t achieved any of the things that i wanted to. But you know what? It’s okay.

It’s okay because even though i am not where i want to be, i am in a great place. And you know what, i have achieved a lot and i am truly blessed ( and I’m not just saying that).
I have a family and a husband that love me (the twins are still coming). I have a good job and a good income (and i will still be an Executive one day). I am very hopeful about my business and i am excited about the God given ideas for its expansion. Most importantly for me, i now know who God has called me to be; the calling He has placed over my life. I welcome the challenges and i am excited for the start of my ministry.

Yep, i did good.  But i couldn’t have done it without God looking out for me. I just want to take this moment and publicly declare my love for God. I am sooooo grateful for what He has done in bringing me this far, that i am alive today and i am thankful  for His PERFECT plan over my life- His time is best.  So i dedicate this day to praising Him and i dedicate this song by Pastor Donnie McClurkin to my Maker.

“Great is Your Mercy toward me
Your Love and Kindness toward me
Your tender Mercies i see
Day after day

Forever Faithful towards me
Always providing for me
Great is Your Mercy towards me
Great is Your Grace”

Life is good @30

Getting Married in Zambia | Step 3: Kitchen Party – The Fashion

In Zambia, being invited to a KP is the perfect excuse to look good- its like a fashion show with models of all ages and sizes.
My day  was filled with so much colour and culture- starting with the decor, my outfit, the uniform chitenge worn in different patterns by the bride’s committee,  to the colourful outfits worn by the guests. 

Here are some looks from the KP:

My look, designed by Esnoko

Bride and Groom matching outfits by Esnoko

Some patterns by my ladies

I loved Nosizwe's bright pink heels

Jane's (LeSizzleCafe) unique top paired with a black skirt

Guests: My King's sisters

MOB (centre) stole the show!

That’s all folks!

Getting Married in Zambia | Step 3: Kitchen Party ( Part 2)

Traditionally, the groom is not meant to come to the KP (something to do with him only unveiling the Bride once, on the wedding day….i think, i could be wrong, its complicated). However, i silently insisted that my groom made an appearance. The role of the groom (or his representatives if he is not allowed to make an appearance) is to unveil the bride, who enters the event veiled in a chitenge (traditional wrapper/material) after the guests have arrived. It all gets a bit blurry here…so i won’t get myself in trouble by getting too much into it. The bride is unveiled, the bride and groom exchange gifts, then present gifts to their mothers and the groom leaves.
Did i mention that this event is strictly for women?  NO MEN ALLOWED!

Bride's entrance- escorted by family and friends

Waiting to be unveiled (it was sooo hot under there!)

The Unveiling

Presenting my gift to my King

Appreciating my Mother in Law (and Love)

Appreciating my Mother (yes, we cried)

Next on the agenda is the opening of gifts and each guest (in the case of gifts) is called up to explain to the bride their gift; what it is ànd how to use it; whilst monetary gifts are collected at the entrance (and guarded by the most trusted relative/friend)

Ready to receive wisdom (and gifts)

Example of gift presentation:
Wise Guest: Mwenya, this is a tea set. When your husband gets home from work, make him some tea to relax him and serve it in this nice set to show your appreciation for his hard work to provide for the family.
Bride: *nods and gentlty claps hands* (as a sign of gratitude for the wisdom)
NB. Bride does not speak,  her job is to soak in all the wisdom.

Finally, your favorite Aunt (or Aunt closest to you), shows the bride around the gift display put together by the MOB’s committee, explaining what each item is for and how to use it to care for your King, the head of your house.

I have to say, although i initially did not want  to  have this event, i am eternally glad i did. Despite the fact that i knew i had no choice but to have it; being my mum’s only daughter, i knew i couldn’t deprive her of the joy; it was a humbling experience and it taught me to appreciate my beautiful mother for all that she has done
for me and sacrificed for me not to lack anything, and more importantly, to become the woman and the wife i am today.

Love,
MrsD

Getting Married in Zambia | Step 3: Kitchen Party (Part 1)

It’s  been over a year since i had my Kitchen Party, which was on the 23rd of August, 2015.

What is a Kitchen Party you ask? It’s another opportunity for the bride to look beautiful of course!

Spot @LeSizzleCafe helping me get ready

Seriously though, going by my experience from my own Kitchen Party or “KP” as my mum and i call it, it’s another event that prepares the bride for marriage. 
Married women, most likey the brides family, the mother’s friends and her new family, come together to celebrate the brides upcoming marriage, as well as offer wisdom. More importantly, it is the mother of the brides “final goodbye” (figuratively of course) because her daughter is no longer her child, but has become a woman, responsible for her own home.

It’s not as morbid as it sounds.  It’s a celebration. Its a rite of passage. The best part? The gifts of course!

The reason for the theme of this party is because the guests bring different gifts, mainly for the kitchen,  to help the bride start her home- they don’t  say “the way to a mans heart is through his stomach” for nothing.
Gifts range from big items such a a stove and fridge to smaller items such as dinner sets, cutlery, a toaster and other appliances, cooking sticks, you name it. Traditionally (though I’m not quite sure where this particular “tradition” came from, i have an idea but can’t be bothered to get into that right now), the Brides family purchases the stove, whilst the grooms family purchase the fridge.

Bride's stage and committe gift display

Also, the MOB (Mother of the Bride) would have set up a committee of her closest friends prior to the event that help her not only plan the event, but also purchase some of the biggger items for her daughter- you can only imagine how expensive it can get! Then the rest is brought by the guests- who depending on the invitation will be asked to bring gifts only or money only  or both- the money option is normally to enable the bride to purchase fir herself what she wants for her kitchen as gifts can get repetitive. Alternatively, thd brude can set uo a registry. My invitation gave our guests an option of either gift or money and let’s just say i raised a considerable amount of money and i got a number of gorgeous dinner sets that i still don’t have space to store it all.

Invitations with Save The Date Bookmarks

Committee gifts on display

The bride will also have her committee of friends that put money together to gift her items to add to the display, as well as help in ensuring the event goes on without a hitch. This normally includes setting up the display, keeping the bride calm, welcoming guests and any thing that the MOB may require. The committee is identified by their uniform chitenge, check out my fabulous friends below

OOTD: Blue Skies and Tartan

It’s official Summer is here!

It’s  gotten so hot over the last couple of days and yesterday i really did not feel like getting out of the  house. All i wanted to do was sit on the couch, watch movies and eat my  second favorite summer treat – freezits! (Popular iced treat in Zambia). My all time favorite treat is cool watermelon.

So anyway, i have choir practice on Saturday afternoons so staying indoors was not an option. So what do you wear when you dont want to wear anything?

I decided to keep it simple with a plain white tee, stretchy tartan skirt and borrowed green sandals.

God blessed me with a change in weather – i ended up enjoying a cool breeze and some drops of rain and it totally changed my mood. Definitely  worth an afternoon of praising Him.

Don’t you just love it when God surprises you?

Outfit Deets
Tee: Pep
Skirt: Identity (SA)
Sandals: borrowed from a friend who got them from her sister  (i know right)
Hair: Custom made wig by Yam’s Collections at Arcades Mall

Interviews and Auditions

I started writing this moooonths ago but never got round to finishing it..but here goes…

I have spent the last couple of weeks of my life in a jittery state. I dont know about you but whenever i have something big happening, i get so nervous and my life becomes a series of sleepless nights and a running tummy (as if I’m on some kind of detox)- my final year exams were definitely  a time i would rather forget.

The last 2 weeks i have been preparing for job interviews and auditions.  There is nothing worse than putting yourself out there (in a vulnerable) position to be judged by people who know nothing about you – and it’s entirely up to you to impress them in 10 minutes or less. You can go through as many interview questions as possible, or rehearse the song you’re going to sing a thousand times,  but the outcome isn’t really up to you. You performance will be judged by those who have granted you this opportunity.

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My life back when i first started writing this felt like it was in limbo. The music ministry at my church was being refreshed and I needed a new job (and more money, that always helps). Simply put, i needed to be in a place where i would be given the opportunity to grow, to flourish, to be able to spread my wings. I was so unhappy in my previous job that waking up was a struggle. I had attended a couple of promising job interviews before, i had been told the job was mine but somehow i always found myself walking through the same doors.

I reached a point where i think i gave up and accepted my fate in a place that was making me unhappy. Till i got a call and i found myself preparing for an Interview and an Audition in the same week.

Was i ready for the biggest performances of my life?
Truth be told, i wasn’t. There’s only so much i could have done to prepare- this was one if the first times i totally relied on God- you know, when you say “let Your will be done in my life Lord”, only this time you really mean it.

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4 months down the line, i am in a new job with a new company that is encouraging me to grow, to flourish and to spread my wings and my ministry is back on track and i have been asked to be a part of its leadership (me, the girl that thought she couldn’t even sing).

It wasn’t an accident that i had an interview and an audition in the same week- God was up to something and He isn’t finished with me yet. Just like He isn’t finished with You. He has not forgotten about you- He knows what you are going through and He is up to something.

Love,
MrsD