Hair and beauty

So I just spent over 30minutes writing a post only for my phone to ring and for me to lose everything I wrote!! I'm going to start afresh....
I'm at this salon getting my hair braided, and there's this toddler here crying my ears off. This post is being written not because I can't stand crying babies. It is being written because I cannot fathom why for the life of me a less than two years old baby will be subjected to such torture! How can a mother seat her baby on her laps and hear her cry from the pain of having her hair being braided?
I'm convinced this little girl is gong to grow up with a warped understanding of what true beauty is. She's most likely going to grow up thinking to look beautiful, she always has to cover her beautiful reddish brown kinky hair with fake hair. Her cries were so much tearing at my heart that I almost asked her mother why she was doing this to the girl. I stopped myself because I cannot speak twi well and knowing myself, I'll end up coming across as judgemental (which I am on this issue by the way :D)
I am braiding my hair because it is natural and knowing how busy I'm going to be in the next couple of weeks, I'm better of putting it in an easy to manage style. But this little girl here has short natural hair which only has to be trimmed in order for her mum to be able to pass a comb through it when it's messy.
The crying got unbearable to the point where one other customer in the shop advised the mother to breastfeed the baby to sleep so the braiding can continue. She heeded to the advice and the baby is asleep now, but the whole situation has awakened in me something! It's got me asking myself what is wrong with us women? When are we going to get to the point where we understand that true beauty is not about how you look on the outside, but is something inside that radiates on the outside.  Of course that doesn't mean I agree with women who go about looking like they're crazy all in the name of keeping their hair natural. They twist their hair and keep it for weeks on end, making them look like they were crazy for real. This post is not even about keeping the hair natural. I have no qualms at all with whichever way one wants to keep her hair so long as the person understands that beauty is from within and not about what she adorns herself with.
I think I'll end my post here before I digress. And next time,  I'll make sure to intermittently save as I write. O wow! Call it perfect timing.  The baby just woke up and is at it again! Mercy me.

Christianity or Fanaticism?

I've been wanting to write on this topic for a while now, but I kept holding back because I wasn't so sure it was a topic I should address seeing as I'm still a baby Christian. However, recent happenings here in Ghana have broken whatever it was that was holding me back, and I'm ready to speak up.

Before I go further, let's get some basic definitions right. I am one who's been taught to never quote Wikipedia in any academic write up... I have since then always found myself unconsciously looking down on any article in which Wikipedia is referenced, although that's always my first point of call on any subject matter! Ironic isn't it? Anyways, as a Christian, I decided to put up my own definition of Christianity.

What is Christianity?

Christianity is the belief that there is one God who came down to earth many many thousands of years ago in the form of man. This same God we Christians believe is a three in one God (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit)....a concept that is difficult to understand if you want to use your human understanding to....So, God The Son came down to earth in the form of man, lived for some 33 years, and when the people of his time who had been awaiting the Messiah had had enough of him claiming to be the Messiah, they put him to death. Unknown to them, they were only playing a role in getting the prophecy around God The Son, "Jesus Christ" to come to pass....The prophecy was that He would be put to death, but would rise on the third day....Now, I wasn't there, and I can't say which side I would have belonged to... would I have believed that Christ was the long awaited Messiah? Or would I have been part of the crowd that was screaming "Crucify Him!"?

I don't have an answer to that....all I know now is, I believe this story....and that makes me a Christian. And I try my best to live by what the Bible says.

Ok, so now, what is Fanaticism? According to Wikipedia, "Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for religious or political cause or in some cases, sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby." 

The same Wikipedia quotes one philosopher George Santayana as defining fanaticism to be "Redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"

Disclaimer: Although I love this definition, I'd never heard of this philosopher until today :) 

So where am I going with this my long talk on Christianity and Fanaticism?

I'll go straight to the point here. Every Ghanaian who is on any social media, has a radio or a TV knows what's been going on in recent times regarding people flocking to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) which is headed by Prophet T.B. Joshua. As I said earlier, I am a baby Christian, so I'm in no position to say if this Prophet is true or false. The Bible I read says by their fruits you shall know them...the same Bible says in my name they shall cast out demons.....and he does cast out demons from what I see...The same Bible further says in Matthew 24:24-25 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." These are Christ's own words!....

I just want to say I'm not out to say someone is real or not real. I just want to say that Christians are missing the whole point of what Christianity is about. We are missing the point so much so that our belief seems to be now rooted in things such as holy water, holy oil, anointed handkerchiefs. 

I'm yet to come across a story in the Bible where Jesus bottled and sold his miracle making potions....take for instance when he spat and mixed it with clay (or was it sand?) and used it to make that blind man see....Why didn't any of his disciples take up the initiative to bottle and sell it? Is it that they just didn't have the marketing orientation?

I was once dragged to a church service in London by my aunt...I don't remember the name of the church, but the pastor was called "Jesus Abrantie" I was disheartened when I saw people buying t-shirts anointed by the man of God for as much as 300pounds sterling! yea, you read me right! Give me that money and I'll get myself some Chanel purse ( I mean, a whole lady like me has not got one designer purse in her wardrobe!)...this shirt was supposed to be worn anytime the owner was in a difficult situation....one specific example i remembered was headache....

You can blame it on my Deeper Life upbringing, but I've never believed in such stuff...I believe in miracles, but I don't believe in " I've prayed over this so do this and you'll be healed, and you'll get visa, naaaa" we've got to be real!

I believe that If I have a problem, and I get down on my knees, and call on Jesus, He will come to my rescue. Let me also make it clear that I don't believe in living a reckless life and running to Jesus only in times of trouble. Being a Christian is an everyday walk. One day at a time. So when you live your life just any how, and you hear of a man of God who is distributing holy water somewhere,...even if it is God himself who asked him to do this, your going for that holy water is not what will save you....and this is where I like the definition of Fanaticism as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"

Is Christianity about living like Jesus and believing that your own belief in Him is enough to save you, or is it about believing that water prayed over by a man of God is what you need to solve all your problems? Is the aim about being more like Jesus, or is it about miracles? When you redouble your efforts to get holy water by getting to the church venue at 8pm saturday when the service starts at 9am sunday, then surely, your aim is to get holy water....but should your aim be to get holy water, or to get to know Christ better? If it is to know Christ better, then trust me, you could have done that in the comfort of your bed!.

All you have to do is pick your Bible, ask God to through His Holy Spirit speak to you, and read it! It's as simple as that.

Anyways, I think this is enough for now....I hope I did not miss my aim of trying to get we Christians to take a step back from being fanatics who double our efforts in search of miracles, while missing the point of what Christianity really is about....i.e living like Christ.

Baby on Board

I was driving home yesterday on the Accra Tema Motorway. I think I should at this point clearly indicate that I don't drive like a woman. I'm the kind of girl who honks at the car doing 80kph ahead of me in the inner lane and keeps flashing my headlights into your rearview mirror until you move to the outer lane..well, at least that's what i used to do until my car developed this problem where it starts to vibrate and shake between 80 and 100kph...strangely, it doesn't do that when i hit 100!

So yesterday, whiles driving, I saw through my mirror this car coming at real top speed, so i changed lanes to give way. I was really surprised when i noticed it was a young lady driving the car.....and to add to that, there was this bright yellow "baby on board" sign hanging on her back windows!

This sign got me thinking...why would I want to let the whole world know there's a baby in my car? I really don't get it! Is it something all would be mothers except me look forward to?

I tried reading around the reasoning behind the sign, and what I found says "it is to encourage safe driving"!

Oh really? That lady was certainly doing over 100kph, and the limit on the motorway is 100!

I don't see anything safe in letting the whole literate world know that I have a baby in my car. It is even dangerous to me because you're probably making a baby thief's work easier! Telling him/her, "Oh, you've got a potential here"...

Well, I just felt like putting what I'd been thinking into words.... no offence to readers who cannot wait to hang their "baby on board" signs in their cars some day...feel free to put up a post on how it amazes you why anyone would drive around with a baby in their car without warning to other road users....I just might get it after reading that...But until then, I stand amazed!

It's March Already?

Wow! It's been five months since I last posted!....and already three months into the new year! There's no excuse for this...well, I've got loads of reasons and I could start typing away to explain my "laziness". But I'll spare anyone who cares to read the details....I figured I should just put up a post (even if it's just three lines) to help get me back into the writing and posting mood (the same one I found myself in about six months ago)....So, hopefully, I'll soon start writing and posting :). With this being my first post of 2013, let me wish anyone who finds him/herself reading this a happy new year....My new year resolution (which I JUST made) is to MAKE time to write instead of just WISHING i had time to write...So help me God!
Maybe I should mention at this point that I actually made some time to continue the story I was working on before I took my hiatus...I've read through it a number of times, but it's not impressed me and that could explain why it's yet to see the light of day on this blog...