BONA MAGAZINE PHOTO SHOOT 2012

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Bona team with love

 

Emily Mafa at Bona magazine photo shoot in December 2012. She was an intern at Midrand Flame Newsletter and Bona Magazine. She is definitely going somewhere bigger in life.

 

Watch this space

YEAR-END FUNCTION AT KAYALAMI

 

 

 

 

ASCEND OUT OF YOUR FURROW

It took me many years to learn that it takes the power of God to release us from negative locked-in thinking.

Is it possible you are in a negative - thinking furrow?

 

Aeronautical engineers in the 1920s said it was impossible to fly faster than the speed of sound, but they were wrong. Is it possible you might be placing your faith on some negative precept? What ideas are limiting your growth? What opinions are restricting you?

Furrows have a way of becoming security blanket in your second childhood. My little boy has four different blankets, but there is one which is his  favourite blanket. Many of your negative, deeply ingrained opinions and well - entrenched conclusions become emotional security blankets, holding you back frrom

• daring to go out in business for yourself,
• or daring to go back to college or university,
• or daring to go to the gym for physical fitness program,
• or daring to learn another language (s) such as Zulu, French or Arabic.

I am in my mid - 40s. I promise you it takes a lot of courage to make a major career change in mid - life! For many years my spouse has been persuading me to quit my current employemnt and move to the 'corporate world'. She even organised few jobs with fairly improved take-home package, but I did not have the courage to accept any of the offers. Why? It's simply because I lack the courage to step out of my comfort zone. I love what I do for a living.

That was not all, she also wished for me to join our local gym to keep myself fit. I always came up with many excuses until last week when I came out of my furrow and made a decision to join the gym inorder to keep my pot-belly flat.

What furrows are you in? You are free to leave that furrow. A furrow, you know, is a grave with the ends knocked out.

Come alive. Climb out of it. Tackle some exciting new possibilities today! Just make sure that you are guided by God Almighty.

Enjoy...

 

CHECK THIS OUT

Perhaps I should have trained as a specialist doctor, huh

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?

Faith is not merely thinking holy and happy thoughts. God’s thoughts must take the form of good and godly goals (Phil. 3:12-14). Everyone set a goal with the hope that such goal will be realised within a set period of time according to one’s faith.

What is faith? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). In my opinion, setting a goal is an act of faith, and no act of faith is more dynamic, more constructive, than setting high goals!

 

In the beginning of this year I set a complex but measurable academic goal for myself. At one point in the month of April it felt like I was not going to achieve my goal because of many odds in my path, but I did not let go of my faith. I never stop believing in God that He would help me to achieve my set goal.

Have you noticed how negative people avoid setting goals? Well, I know few friends who dare to set goals of any kind. Their utterances are as follows:

“Goals – who needs them? I prefer to roll with the punches,” “I don’t want to get trapped by a commitment. Isn’t that what happens when you set a goal?” “I’ve had enough disappointments. I don’t want to be set up only to be let down. Goals? No more failures, thank you.”

Failure is not a matter of failing to meet your goal. Failure is not making the most of the possibilities seen and unseen, known and unknown, in your present and in your future! The biblical parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30) clearly exemplifies this negative approach. The one who buried his talent in the field took no responsibility. He did not set any goal, and reaped nothing. The man who set goals and wisely invested his talents was praised by Jesus for taking positive action. He set a goal and he achieved it.

Use faith to set positive and realistic goals, and you will be sure to rise to the higher butte. Try it, and you’ll find that …

·         You’ll be farther ahead tomorrow than you are today. Even a little can turn out to be a lot!

·         You’ll be a happier person. When you’re focused on goals, you are distracted from worries.

·         You’ll feel that your life has value!

Goals – what are they anyway? They are impossible problems waiting to be solved by someone with this incredible power called faith! So get set to set positive and realistic goals as you approach a new year, and move upward!

I hope to see you soon on the other side in green pastures. Believe it by faith.

MGI GRAPHIC DESIGN EXHIBITION 2012

Faculty members

Bianca, Karen & Doret

Karen and friend

Lydia, Tanya, Nyeleti & Tsholo

Lydia, Tanya, Daniel & Nyeleti

Dr. Tom Brown

Mary-Jane & Ofentse

Dr. Johan and wife

Miranthe and family

 

SHOUT OUT

Solomon and Daniel Msiza (MF News Editor 2010/11)


Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours.

MIDRAND FLAME TEAM 2012

The young shall grow.

EISH! INGEST YOUR HURTS

The book of Job 9:27 suggests a way we sometimes try to handle the rejections, defeats, or failures we experience – by pretending to be okay even though we are really very terrified by the things we can’t understand.

You may have collected enough hurts to keep you from wanting to press forward. Setbacks can take the joy of God out of your life if you don’t watch out! Even success – steady, solid, and exceptional – can make you the target of criticism from colleagues who are jealous of your achievement.

Careful! Hidden hurts in the heart can nurture and nourish negative thinking. Often the most painful wounds are not the scars that are outwardly seen but the hidden wounds deep in the heart. Because they are hidden they are often the most dangerous.

Whale with barnacles

 

Ingest your hurts and stimulate a novel spirit and spurt of growth! If, in fact, your drive to grow has lost its passionate power, if the flush of enthusiasm has mysteriously diminished, then check the accumulation of negative emotions that have attached themselves to you, much like barnacles that attach to whales.

In one documentary on television, I saw a whale stopping alongside rocks to scrape off barnacles as they migrate in the ocean. In the walk of life, we, too, will pick up a collection of personal hurts that will attach themselves to our souls like parasites sapping the life and vitality out of us. Ultimately, Job found restoration not in hiding behind a false face of well-being, but in recognising and acknowledging the greatness of God (Job 42), and so can we.

Have a great week.

OLUWA NI OLUSO AGUTAN MI

Oluwa li Oluso-agutan mi; emi ki yio se alaini.

O mu mi dubule ninu papa-oko tutu: o mu mi lo si iha omi didake roro.

O tu okan mi lara: o mu mi lo nipa ona ododo nitori oruko re.

Nitoto, bi mo tile nrin larin afonifoji ojiji iku, emi ki yio beru ibi kan: nitori ti Iwo pelu mi: ogo re ati opa re nwon ntu mi ninu.

Iwo te tabili onje sile niwaju mi li oju awon ota mi: iwo da ororo si mi li ori: ago mi si kun akunwosile.

Nitoto, ire ati anu ni yio ma to mi lehin li ojo aiye mi gbogbo: emi o si ma gbe inu ile Oluwa lailai.

Amin.

WORKING WONDERS




Symbol of the cross of christ

Majestic in Holiness,

Awesome in praises,

Working wonders? (Exodus 15:11)

 

That is my God in whom I trust.

SECRET PLACE

The cloud

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust (Ps 91:1-2).

Dwell in the bosom of God and He shall take care of you.
 

WHO IS YOUR ANGEL?

“All God's angels come to us disguised, and they have no philosophy but love” – Unknown.

Professor Katy Khan

Almost every religion has an angel. They might not share the same name but they share the same purpose which is to guide, protect and comfort believers (see Gen 24:7; Psalm 34: 7 and Act27:24).

According to the bible angels are created beings, non-human, spirit beings (Psalm 48:2 & Heb 1:14).

They cannot die, cannot be numbered (Luke 20:36 & Heb 12:22),are normally invisible but can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands and manifest themselves to us (Heb 13:2).


Most references to angels in the Bible say nothing about wings

As awkward as it may sound in this 21^st century. It is my opinion that professor Khan is an angel sent into my life. She was my lecturer and a friend, but her human characteristics are like that of angels, so I call her my angel.

I am who I am because of God and her. If you ever came across a person called Professor Khatija Khan, Department of Communication Science at the University of South Africa you must know that she is an angel sent from above.

 

No words can fully describe this woman's humanity, generosity and good heart.
 

The Bible indicates that angels strengthened Jesus after His temptation and encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Matt 4:11 & Acts 5:19-20).  Professor Khatija gave me strength and encouragement when I needed it  the most.

 In 2002 during my undergraduate studies, I was prevented by the university from writing my 2nd-year-end exam because I could not pay my tuition. That was a low moment in my life. I could see my academic dreams coming to an end, and I prayed to God for help.

 I needed money urgently and I thought that God would provide money to pay my tuition, but I was wrong. God did not send money to me, instead He sent Professor Khan into my life. It was as though a bright candle was lit in a dark ally. She gave me strength and encouraged me with the message of hope.

 

 

 

She provided guidance to me throughout my undergraduate and further studies. She saw possibilities in me when I was yet to discover my true self. She held my hand to my academic success and even where I stood now she has not let go of my hand.

 

Bible record shows that angels provide physical needs such as food for Hagar in Genesis (21:17-20). In the same way Khatija went all out to put food on my table. She ensured that I got employment after my first degree. Yes! She made it happened because she’s an angel of God sent into my life in the form of humanity.

 

“Angels are all around us, all the time, in the very air we breathe” - Eileen Elias Freeman.

If you are reading this post, it's possible that you never saw an angel with wings as you've read in books, but your angel may be in the person of your teacher, lecturer, friend, neighbour or a fellow student. He/she may come from tribes or races different from yours, and may speak different languages which you do not comprehend.
 

All you have to do is to be  alert and observant to the people around you because one of them might be an angel sent into your life. Do not allow your prejudices and stereotypes to chase the person God has sent into your life as an angel away from you, because your angel may come to you as a man or woman from a tribe or race you dislike, but  with a hand of help stretched out to you. It  will be your decision to accept or decline based on your perception.

 I accepted the hand of help and possibilities stretched out to me by Professor Khan without any hunch that she’s an angel sent to me from God Almighty.

 

THANK YOU PROFESSOR. INDEED YOU ARE AN ANGEL.