Don't DIE Like A FOOL! Follow Jesus Christ | @Vlad Savchuk

How are you Black Friday-ing?

It's BLACK FRIDAY! The American shopping holiday that has found it's way across the globe. But let's really think about this day from a financial and budgeting perspective. Do you shop on Black Friday because you've somehow managed to stop yourself from buying the items that you wanted so badly but you just did not want to overspend, so Black Friday is your day because those items are now on sale? Or are you shopping on Black Friday because the sales make you feel good about your pre-existing shopaholic situation? There is perhaps a thin line between having a need and having a want. And when we fail to realize the difference then we are in trouble. 

I listen to financial gurus like Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey and I must say, I am not even close to being mindful of the things they teach us, but I try. 

Sales are good, I feel good when I pay less than what I would have originally paid. But do we really take our time to do an inventory of the things we have and then decide what we will be buying today is what we need versus what we want? 

Let me give you an example; I desire to upgrade my photography equipment, and I feel a pinch when a product I need is not on sale or when I pay so much on taxes. Because of that I have a reminder on my phone calendar to remind me to purchase equipment during Black Friday as well as Sales Tax Week so that I don't overspend. Unfortunately, when a need for buying an equipment occurs it is because I have a project in a near future and I need to buy that item asap. This means, I do not have the luxury to wait until Black Friday or Sales Tax Week. A good example, I want to upgrade my camera to Sony A7IV but this product is not yet out, it's on preorder status and will begin shipping on December 30th 2021. In this case, should I just go ahead and buy any other camera that's on sale this Black Friday or should I be patient until the next Black Friday and hope that the Sony a7IV camera will be on sale and for some reason, I will still desire to buy that same exact product at the point of time?

I did not write this post to question everyone else's reason for making use of Black Friday, I wrote this to question my own. And in situations like the one I just mentioned above, is this day really helpful to me? Or should I just head on to B&H early next year and see if that camera is available and hopefully sold at a lower price?

Sincerely, 

Mamatembo Safari

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Be Resilient Be Thankful

We get pulled down by life too many times to count, but that's life. We want oranges we get lemons. We want peace, war breaksout and we are tested and yet expected to have peace in the midst of the war. What I have come to realize in the midst of it all, is that we are meant to be resilient! My version of being resilient is by naming all the things I am grateful for. Believe me it's not easy to be thankful when every inch of your being wants to scream and complain about the warfare you are going through or have been through. So, my gratitute list include things such as life, not being in the hospital, being able to use my hands and legs, I have food on the table, I can feed myself, etc. 

The things we take for granted are sometimes someone's actual struggle. When we struggle to find a job, someone out there doesn't have legs and hands or has another disability that makes their options fewer than yours and maybe they have the same amount of responsibilities as you! 

So, not to say your problems are few or petty than someone elses, but just focus on what you can be thankful for, if you can. 

Welcome Home Richburg Family!

Weekend Adventure

PSMJax partnership with Centric Brands

It's back to school season here in the United States, students are looking forward to going back to school but this is not the case for everyone. There are many people in our communities who are not able to afford uniforms and that's where the Presbyterian Social Ministries and Centric Brands partnership comes in handy. So many agencies who directly serve the individuals in the community, have the privilege to get these generously donated uniforms (from Centric Brands to Presbyterian Social Ministries) free of charge. What an amazing work by these organizations. 

Read more on how their partnership has helped local communities. 

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Tanzania Mourns and Rejoices

2021 has, thus far been a tough one for our nation, Tanzania. Very prominent government leaders lost their lives to health conditions. To add salt to that wound, we lost our President, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli on March 17th. This has been a tough pill to swallow to many (Tanzanians and non Tanzanians alike). On the flip side, the then Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was sworn in as the first FEMALE President of the United Republic of Tanzania March 19th. 

The nation and the world alike are grieving a loss and celebrating this huge mile stone for Tanzania. Thus far, Tanzania is the only East African country with a Female President. WOW! It gives me chills just thinking about it, let alone seeing with my own eyes that we now have a MADAM PRESIDENT. Pardon my caps, I am not shouting at you, I am screaming in text format at the amazement of having a female President, truly history has been made. 

Tanzania is a secular country, which means we have the privilege to belong to any religion, and government leaders can come from any religion that's practiced in the nation. That being said, all Tanzanians see is a FEMALE president regardless of her religion. I love this about my country, that we celebrate our nationality PERIOD! 

It's about who we are as a nation and not which church or mosque a person goes to, or which region or tribe a person comes from. We may not be 100 percent perfect when it comes to democracy, but I am happy to say, there is hope for me, you and our female children when they say 'I want to be the president when I grow up' and we can nod our heads in agreement with our children because we know it can be done. 

Photographing Irena Stoyanova

I spent March 13th doing this shoot, it felt good switching lenses on my Nikon. 

Model: Irena Stoyanova

 

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I think someone needs to hear this!!! 

Practice Gratitude

Image by gemineyeproduction.blogspot.com

One of the easiest yet hardest thing to practice in life is Gratitude. Gratitude is one of those things that slaps us in the face very often and we end up being reminded that we need to practice it more often, but then her evil sister walks in and gets our full attention then we forget about gratitude instantly. We all know the evil sister, she is called Complaining. Boy oh boy, aren’t we happy when complaining walks in. I mean, I feel like we become friends with Gratitude because we get a wake up call that we have what someone else is dying for, but maaan, complaining is our best friend. We just love her. As a matter of fact, Complaining is perhaps that one person that we constantly stay loyal to even during the wake up call moment. Did you complaining can be detrimental to your health?

I told myself last year that I will practice gratitude. I made a point to share with my close friends only the good things that have been happening to me, but can I be honest though, it was easy for me to forget the good things yet very hard to forget the bad things. And I found myself wanting to complain more than I wanted to be grateful, that’s the kinda stronghold I am talking about here. 

But, just like everything else, we only get better with practice. As the word goes, practice makes perfect and I do believe someday I will be able to share all the things I am grateful for more than the things I want to complain about. 

Being grateful means you realize that what you have now is what you used to pray for, fast for, and wish for. But the problem with us humans is that it’s always about the next thing.  I’ll be happy when I get that phone, I’ll be happy when I get that Man or Woman, I’ll be happy when I buy a house or car, or gadget. We tend to put happiness on hold until the next time we get something that we want, but we fail to remember that we should constantly be happy because what we have now is what we prayed about and wished for a while back. 

So, my dear readers, what are you grateful for this year? What do you currently have that you’ve had for a while? Yes! You read right, I want you to be grateful for what you have now that you’ve had for a while because that’s what you wished for a long time ago. Don’t get caught up in the lie of complaining for what you don’t have and forgetting what you currently have. 

We prayed for 2020 to end, and it ended, we are in a new year, yet 2021 is still a mystery. How about being grateful for being alive and healthy because you spent 2020 praying you don’t get sick or die, and you are now alive!!! Hurraaay!! 

As you step in the second month of this new year, make a point to remind yourself to be grateful even in the midst of trials and tribulations because that’s what life is all about, the good, the bad and everything in between. Besides, being grateful is good for your health and makes you happier.

XOX

Mama Tembo Safari

Sometimes

Sometimes, life feels meaningless when you find yourself performing something that you neither have interest in or passion for. Every week feels like you are in a loop of this painful struggle that just won’t end. 

The sad part is, you have to stay in it because your options are few. No, it’s not because you are lazy and therefore not able to make a change. Sometimes you go through pain because you have fewer options. Sometimes you go through pain because you are scared of change. 

In such situations ask God to help you draw near to Him because He is able to make a way where there seems to be no way, and also, to give you courage and wisdom to make a move when the opportunity presents itself. 

There is Purpose in Your Pain