Writers write writer's things

I haven't been writing much. Oh wait! Actually, that's a lie. It would appear this way though, cos I haven't posted much on my 'Restoring Destiny' blog. A crying shame if you ask me. I have been writing though, just nothing that I can put up on my blog. Or have I? I have written some poetry. I wrote an ode to my unborn daughter, so she knows that I was thinking of her even before she was conceived. So she knows that I was praying for her even before I met her father.

I want her to be the best person that she can be and reach for all her dreams. Most importantly I want her to not be a figment of who I desire her to be. A created, unrealistic image of who I want her to become, because it was my alternative life path. Oh no. I think parents struggle to allow their kids to be exactly who they were created to be. I too will have a hard time at it, but I am praying now already to help make it easier on myself.
My parents always understood that I was 'special', so they allowed me to explore, to learn from the school of life and watched me as I listened to my soul, many days and many nights over very many months unearthing my destiny.

I had a meeting this morning and the guy said to me: 'Well Osh, you are the only one of us that's actually living your dream.' 
Wow, even though I struggle more times than not, I truly am blessed to be able to say I am sacrificing comfort, security and stability to do what I want to do. To do what I need to do, what I was born to do.
The path is crooked and stony and many times insurmountable and I have to sit on this rock along the path and think long and hard whether to continue this climb or to head over to the tarmac road and lose everything my heart beats for.

God knows us before we are conceived so I know this fluttering in my spirit when I write screenplays, poetry, figure out in my head how to flesh out a character and when I am on set or in the edit suite I know this is where I was born to be. This is the only place I can be.
So big deal I suck at finance and can't read a self help book unless I read it sporadically over 2-3 years. I was born to be right here, right now and pray for the lineage to come after me, so they too can live what God placed inside them before their very conception.

This concept never seizes to amaze me. To be known before conception. Amazing.

Caro_loves

This is me snapped by Caro_loves' Nikon on an outing to Oshetu market,

a huge meat and traditional food market in the township and never

short of fun, silly faces, food and a dose of action and happiness

Caro_loves

• God, cos he gave her life and all her talents and gifts
• people that make her smile
• people that pull faces
• good and marvelous things she encounters in life
• pretty and mesmerizing things like flowers and ants
• animals especially wagged tailed one's (a veterinarian in heaven)
• challenges that make her character flourish
• anything worth snapping with a Nikon
• films that reach beneath the surface
• fonts that make sense and belong in a design

Visit her blog for more on caro_loves: http://carography.blogspot.com

Style a la ME

I am fascinated by people who dress to express a part of their personality, their individuality, creativity and don't follow the masses but wear what makes them feel good and look good.

It's all about EXPRESSION!!

This week I am featuring Jacky, just cos she's fabulous like that and she is such a lovely soul and stylish too! She works at an Interior Design Company and she loves shoes, well she has a tendency of always having theee most amazing pairs of shoes.

The lil fur balls are so cute and the texture of this vest is richly amazing and so warm, perfect for winter.

Gotta love the belt right and it defines the waist!

I tell you one thing accessories are key!

And you gotta love shoes and having fun shoes like these yellow animal print one's can add so much fun and zest to the outfit.

If I could rob any part of Jacky's wardrobe it would most definitely be the shoe department.

N.B. The idea is certainly not to turn this into a fashion blog but I will throw in a lil bit of that here and there, as it comes along :) just cos I can and I want to inspire along the way.

My Love Letter

Introduction: This was a piece I wrote and recited at our Letters of Freedom show in March this year. The design concept was by Tanya_turi, she did a great job right?!!

Dear Freedom,

I write to you today to express my views on what you have and have not done for me since we first met each other. At our first encounter, when you learnt to talk, you told me that, now that you have come life would be the epitome of bliss, of fulfillment, no more pains, no tears and no hardship.

As I lay wrestling with sleep that night of 1990, the night you were born, you whispered about the removal of these shackles from my ankles, from my wrists, which now have been loosened but in no way thrown off just yet

You painted me a picture of us dancing on the golden savannah sands, kicking up the dust into the eyes of those who had placed me into bondage. The strait jacket has loosened but still my arms are pinned.The gun no longer points at my head but still it surveys the space.

Freedom, did you deceive me?

Did you lie to me?

Did you hoodwink me?

Did you? Did you? Did you?

I stand in a land of promise that flies into the wind and flows into gutters of filth.It rots in the garbage and seldom do we ask from where the stench comes from

Freedom, can you not see Poverty lurking on street corners and petrol stations with outstretched hands, begging for hope that you said would come with your arrival. We are still entrapped and still cry out for mercy.

Freedom, what is it

that we beg for?

is it not hope?

When I drive past the city I see Poverty digging deep into the garbage bags searching for gold that was harvested long ago by the already fortunate who left nothing behind but residue of the plundered black coal. Freedom, remember Unemployment? You know the vagabond (man on the bridge) who gallivants the streets with a brown envelope containing an under-written, under qualified CV with muddy dirt stains presenting it as a reminder of its origin. Squatted on the pavements of our cities, eyes lurking, searching…searching, always, always searching

Freedom, what is it

that we beg for?

is it not hope?

Poverty and Unemployment are both in a bad mood, they don’t send their greetings or jump at the sound of your name any longer. They say you have become like one of those, those that we promised ourselves never to become

Poverty sits in the corner, crying, depleted, forgotten mumbling in throaty tones, that no one hears or cares to understand

Unemployment does not talk to anyone, he drinks his beer, one after the other, until he reaches for the bat and beats down vigorously on Poverty and me

Freedom my life is bound unto you, we share the future all that we want it to be

Freedom do you no longer need me?

Do you know what it feels like to be kissed by your eternity?

By the blood shed for our reconciliation unto you

They rejoiced and called you the Father of Freedom,

Do you remember that?

I can never forget how happy you looked that day.

I’m writing the letters of Freedom into the starry night sky, hoping that a star or two will fall into the lap of the hopeless to restore the already smudged image of you

Freedom, I write to you in love and ask you to return and fulfill the destiny you were given. No one is mad at you, a little disappointed, but come make it right before it is too late, I will always support, encourage and assist you

With Love,

your sister Liberty

Girls Night Out-Part II

The Girls-A very smart saying goes: Watch the company you keep, because bad company corrupts good character. As for me I had a great deal of friends, that came and went but I have some that have stuck by me through thick and thin. There is nothing wrong with going through friends, as some friends are for a season, but it is essential that you recognize who is good for you and keep around you and whom you need to let go. Acquaintances are not friends, be careful, some people are great to hang out with at an exhibition opening and you will have the time of your life, but they might not be the ideal company at an intimate girls night out. The round up of girls is not always the same, sometimes a friend is out of town or a friend from far away is in town or sometimes you want to introduce a new friend of yours to the girls, so that is all acceptable. So they can vary in sizes and dependant on that choose where to go and what to do.

Fashion Talk-I love clothes and fashion and you know that birds of a feather flock together right? So it’s definitely something that I share with my friends. So a lil fashion statement is allowed. A girls’ night out is a great time to catch up on new trends and admire one another’s latest findings. Since winter is creeping up, let’s call her Miz K had the legwarmer style going on. Wearing fabulous shoes and not freezing to death, we love the mere thought of it. Miz K also shares with me a love for bright colours-yay times a million.

Miss F is our lil’ fashionista and she rocked a fabulous blue dress and her accessories were just to die for. Miss N rocked classy shoes and the prettiest earrings in the world (Secret: she has the prettiest earrings in the world) but they did not allow themselves to be photographed :( As for me I had on one of my fave dresses on but I underestimated the chilly winter night breeze, which did no justice to my Barbie doll dress and spent the night clad in my shawl and sought the warmth many a times *sigh*.

Best Kept Girls Night Out Secrets-So here’s the thing about girls night, it’s only envisioned to be girls night for about 3 hours, then you ready to go out there as an entourage and go see people, places and things. It's always good to be on a mission for something, it could be anything. Sometimes it's hooking up people, to sing an out of tune karaoke track, whatever your heart desires. Be creative it can be anything. My mission for the night was to find all things fashionable. I was so impressed on how forthcoming the girls and women were, when we asked to photograph their shoes, bags and rings etc. I know how to make me more girlfriends-lol. But I am getting ahead of myself that is another post altogether. It’s Part 2 of the evening. Girls Night Out Fashion it’s called. Coming soon.

God has blessed me with some good people in my life. Sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy and I have to restrain myself from hiring a hitman to take them out, but all in all I love them to death (well not literally but until the grave anyways). And what’s most important, your girlfriends should be the one you should be able to confide in and be accountable to, about the stupid things you do, the hideous outfit you rocked last week and that boyfriend who should have been kicked to the curb six months ago. In the past 3 years I been going through a lot of changes in my life, a sincere spring cleaning has been happening and it’s great to know I got friends who been by my side. Maybe they don’t quite get me all the time (in their defense, I don't get myself all the time), but what matters is they accept me as their friend walking with Christ and respect my decisions and choices about certain aspects in my lifestyle.

HERE'S TO A GIRLS' NIGHT OUT!

Girls Night Out-Part I

When life happens it spins and spins and spins so fast that it's sometimes hard to grab a hold of what's really important to you, like family and friends. Real good friends, the one's you have known forever, those who have seen you transformed from kid/awkward teenager into a woman. They know your embarrassing crushes and will still make fun of them for years to come, but that's okay cos they your friends and will most likely always be. You have argued over money, had your first car accident together and held each other’s hair back over many a toilet seats on a night out on the town in your student years.Every once so often, regardless of what you got going on in your life, you need to make time for your good friends. Yea, yea, yea we all really busy and work will always be there, but as you get older, people get married, have children and it does not become any easier making time out and linking up with your friends. My single excuse is I would hate to bump into them in the streets one day and not know who the heck they are and what they have become.

The invite-Sometimes you got to use the boot camp strategy. Blow the whistle, set a date, no debate and don’t take no for an answer. It’s time to round up the girls.

So my girls and I we do it proper with invite and all. Save the date. We all have a life, work, family etc but just to make it a formal event in our diaries, we sent out the flyer, so everyone knows it’s serious. Sets the tone, the mood and each girls night carries its own theme. Sometimes it's a brunch, other times a sundowner or a fabulous night out. So at the onset of spring a 'Spring Fever’ theme might be appropriate, whatever the situation, just have fun with it.

The venue-For sushi fanatic me, the Haiku Sushi Lounge was the dream venue-yay. I was delighted. For the dinner it’s important to choose a place that is cosy, has great service and even better food. You don’t want to start a girls night out in a rowdy place where you can’t hear what the other one is saying or getting distracted by *cough* strange typa patrons. The idea after all is to catch up on each other’s life. And no it’s not a gossip marathon either, contrary to popular belief. We talk about our future plans, our families, work, things that been troubling you and oh bliss breakthroughs and achievements.

Where has 2011 gone???

Where has 2011 gone? As I look at the calendar to discover that it is already May, I wonder what happened to all the other months before it? They flew off my wall calendar and into the winds of a forgotten breeze.

So much has transpired, so much I have already done, so much is waiting to happen that I keep a hand and ear on my heart to hear and feel what God is saying, so that I may be living in his good and perfect will.

2011 is a year of gigantic plans for me. Best of all change. Big change.

Picture this. I am climbing a staircase that leads into the skies. The staircase radiates with glory and can not be touched by that which is not like it. So when I get to a certain level of the staircase and I get tainted (outside influences, wrong thoughts, sin etc) I find myself falling back down. Another remarkable thing that can not go unnoticed about the staircase is how narrow it is. Oh it is narrow. Unbelievably narrow. I can not step one bit to the left or to the right of it, cos if I do the staircase begins to fall away into an endless depth that reminds of Hades.

The one big lesson I am learning in 2011, not just learning, but one I took to heart, one that is sinking so deep into the very soil of my Spirit. How narrow the road to righteousness really is. Scripture says we can not be double minded and we really need to renew our minds. Cos remember the old has gone the new has come. Praise God.

Keep God close, oh so close and never let Him go. You will be amazed at what result steadfast faith can produce for you in a short period of time. That is why Jesus tells us to abide in him, in the vine.

I hope you are experiencing the goodness of 2011, God's favour is upon us and rains down unceasingly. So next time I look at the calendar and wonder where all the months have gone, at least I know what fruits they have produced and what God is doing in me during that time.

God is love. And perfect love casts out fear. Do not be afraid to change, to grow and reach new heights.