Monthly Archives: February 2012

Feb 10 2012

The Eagle Principle: Anon

1. Eagles fly alone at high altitudes and not with sparrows or with other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle. When Moses went to communicate with God on the mountain, he left the crowd at the foothills.

The lesson: Stay away from sparrows and ravens. Fly with eagles

2. Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sights his prey, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter the obstacle, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

The lesson: Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.

The lesson: Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with; Steer clear of outdated and old information. Always do your research well.

4. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s winds to lift it higher. Once it finds the wing of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees.

The lesson: We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.

5. The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls.

The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it. He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase.
This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then she will allow him to mate with her.

The lesson: Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

6. When ready to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach.
The male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff, then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest.

He flies back to earth and picks thorns laying them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns. When this first layering is complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns, lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass, lay it on top of the thorns, then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders.

The lesson 1: The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes.

Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects them; he builds the nest and hunts.

The lesson 2: The preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success.

During the time of training the young ones to fly, the mother eagle throws the eaglets out of the nest. Because they are scared, they jump into the nest again. Next, she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest, leaving the thorns exposed. When the scared eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked by thorns.

The lesson 3: Being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable may result in not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all.
Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air. As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for some time until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly.

The lesson 4: The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live on. We may not know it but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns. The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper. Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.

7. When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.

The lesson: We occasionally need to shed old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives.

Isaiah 40 vs. 31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not be faint”

Feb 5 2012

Phila Dlamini Writes For Us: Stepping Into Tomorrow

Phila is a Public Relations Specialist who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communications from the University of Johannesburg, a post graduate qualification in Public Relations (PRISA) and another one in Project Management from Milpark Business College.
Phila believes that knowledge is power and that without it, people perish. She regards herself as a student of the word, a debater of pertinent issues in society and an exhorter.

She writes for us about Stepping Into Tomorrow.

I have come to a place in my life where I am convinced that our thoughts really do have the power to direct our tomorrow because by our thoughts we project a picture of the future. How you project into your tomorrow has an impact on the next step you will take and how your tomorrow will receive you. It has an impact on whether you step out as a confident or timid person, as a hopeful or hopeless person, as a bitter or fulfilled person and on it goes.

Looking at Genesis 41:14 “so Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh”.

As desperate as Joseph was to get out of that dungeon, he didn’t just dash out of there excited that his time had come to be called out, he understood that he could not present himself to his future looking like his past. Some people would have just walked out saying “ah well, everybody knows I have been in a dungeon all this time, they will understand my dress code and appearance. It’s not a big deal”. But it is, how we present ourselves where we go determines how we will be received. It determines whether we will be asked to stay or leave. Even though he had been in the dungeon for 2 years, he didn’t adopt dungeon mentality, he kept his day of favour in his mind that when it finally came, he knew exactly what to do. He had made up his mind that where he was may have been his today, but certainly not his tomorrow.

When he stepped out, he didn’t do it looking like the prisoner that everyone knew he was, but he stepped out as a man ready to step into his destiny.
If you read the rest of the story, you will see he became governor of Egypt. I wonder what would’ve happened had he arrived looking or smelling like prison, he probably would’ve been thrown right back in after serving his purpose, he probably wouldn’t have even been allowed within 100 feet of Pharaoh. His future would’ve rejected him.

Clothes provide a covering for our bodies. If my future could be dressed, my thoughts would be the clothing. Our thoughts dress the future and if we are going to step into our tomorrow, we are going to have to present ourselves to the future in the right way. What do I mean? Just to make an example, some women (I am not picking on women, it’s just easier to talk in that vein because I myself am one) will say “men are just good for nothing” and yet they hope to one day be in a relationship and ultimately marry (obviously this is not everyone, I am just making an example). You cannot hope to step into a happily ever after thinking like that, you cannot present yourself to your future and hope it will be rosy holding onto the past, especially one that even when you think when brought to mind doesn’t bring peace.

Changing your clothing is so important that Jesus after raising Lazarus from the dead said to them concerning Lazarus “take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:44). Lazarus had been dead and buried in the tomb, he had grave clothes on which were fitting for the state he was in but were not fit for where he was going. Jesus knew and understood that well which is why he commanded that the grave clothes be removed and he be let go. I cannot be released from where I am to where I need to be if I think like where I am or where I have been – I am going to have to defy my present and think like where I am going.

Sometimes in my mind I like to think that for Lazarus to have been awakened from his dead state into being alive, there had to be a willingness and longing somewhere inside him that caused his spirit to respond when Jesus called him out. He didn’t want to be dead, he wanted to be alive. What do your thoughts say about you? Do they say you want to live or want to remain dead? Now I am not that careless to even think or suggest that we can do it on our own, we can’t. What I am suggesting is that we have the power to choose right thoughts. I would also like to suggest that your thoughts should serve you and not the other way around.

If we want to go to the next level, if we hope to one day stand infront of kings like Joseph, we are going to have to change our minds. We are going to have to change our minds about how we see our money, our weight, our children, our family, our friends and the list goes on, we are going to have to change our minds about how we see ourselves. Doesn’t matter what label or sticker they have put on you, it’s time to change our minds. Doesn’t matter who said you can’t, or won’t, or will never, you are going to have to change your mind about that and step out in that direction. It’s time to bring out the child in us that dreamt of one day becoming a doctor or fire fighter or whatever you were thinking, the child that dared to dream in spite of the situation.

In the words of Henry Ford “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right “. It’s time to think about what we think about. I mean seriously think about what you think about. If it doesn’t bring you joy or inspiration, don’t entertain it. Remember, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). You are your thoughts.

Feb 1 2012

Victoria Maloka Writes: Kingdom Heirs and Business During Economic Meltdown

Victoria Maloka is an international civil servant with extensive knowledge and experience of human rights and democratisation spanning various functions in international, regional and national institutions. Among others, Victoria has served in different capacities with the UN, African Union, South African Human Rights Commission, the Centre for Conflict Resolution as well as with the South African government.

She has worked on human rights, democratisation and peace-building process in many African countries, among others Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC, Tanzania, Nigeria, The Gambia and Western Sahara. Internationally, Victoria has supported human rights and democratisation efforts in countries such as Nepal, The Philippines as well as Serbia and Montenegro.

 A lawyer by training, Victoria holds BIuris and LLB Degrees from the University of Limpopo, an LLM in Human Rights and Constitutional Practice from the University of Pretoria as well as a Diploma in Peace and Security from the University of Upsalla, Sweden. She has contributed publications on conflict management, peacebuilding, human rights , constitutionalism and democratisation. Victoria is also co-editor of a book titled “National Human Rights Institutions in Africa: Defenders of Human Rights, Managers of Conflict, Builders of Peace?”

She writes for us.

A conversation with a dear friend about challenges companies are experiencing due to the ongoing recession, gave me a lot of food for thought about the responses of Christians to the world economic meltdown. Some comments he made that caught my attention are to the effect that there is a slow down in business in SA due to the recession and companies depending on government tenders are in trouble as less business is forthcoming from government and related entities. This means many more companies are facing possible closure, including those established and owned by Christians.

A layperson that is me that dreams of one day creating massive wealth for the Kingdom of God was moved by the conversation. With the understanding that government does not have to be the only source of business, although remaining a primary one, I asked myself questions, with no attempt at providing answers about Kingdom heirs and their business in times of recession:

1. If God is calling us to transform the marketplace and bring back the wealth of the righteous from the hands of the wicked (Proverbs 13: 22), then how do we Christians access that wealth that the Lord has stored for us during these kind of economic conditions? In that regard, how do we invoke the same spirit that brought back the wealth of Egypt and the world into the hands of Joseph following seven years of prosperity and seven years of famine(Genesis 47: 13 -26)?

2. How do we shift our focus from the reality of the world around us (there simply is no business or government gives fewer tenders) to what  the WORD of God says about wealth creation (God gives me power to get wealth -Deuteronomy 8: 18)?

3. At what stage does the Kingdom-minded business person shift attention from the world economic system to the WORD economic system where God provides all needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)?

4. As citizens of the richest Kingdom of all time and its ambassadors on earth, when do we invoke our faith to direct the kind of action that will bring us the desired returns in these times of recession (i.e. faith followed by works that create wealth)?

5. How do we remain blinded to the world economic system to wholly (i.e. emotionally, spiritually and intellectually) focus on the WORD economic system? Put differently: how does Peter walk on water completely blinded and deafened to the raging sea and blustering wind around him to remain focused on Jesus?

6. Is it possible that somewhere in the springs of the seas and the recesses of the deep lies some mysteries about Kingdom strategies that Kingdom citizens must employ to bring Kingdom wealth back into the hands of its rightful heirs?

7. To access those mysteries, what is expected of a Kingdom citizen operating in the market place ravaged by recession?

A “penny” for your thought…..