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YOUTHFUL4GOD Living the amazing Christian lifestyle
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
03 Editor's note 04 Contact Info 5-6 Real Talk (Why not horoscopes & Palm reading) 7-9 Article (Free love of God) 10-11 Sermon (Snake onboard) 12
2020 Roadmap
13-15 Fitnesstribecorner_bw (Choosing the right workout clothes: part 1) 16 Covid News 17-19 Fertility facts & fiction 20-22 Business feature (Organic Natural Skincare) 23 Book Review (Do it Afraid & When women pray)
70
24 Devotional- Salvation sounds of new beginning
EDITOR'S NOTE 18
The world has never been in so much confusion like now. There is so much information circulating around the world about the vaccine
Let me let you in on a little secret, this is my birthday month and wedding anniversary (MARCH) and I am filled with so much
for Covid 19 and there seems like we don’t know which vaccine is good or bad. There is also information that the vaccine is a way of the developed countries killing Africans for
gratitude for everything God has provided me with. The cherry on top of this birthday year is that there is an addition to our family and I never cease to pray for our son that may God
their rich countries of minerals and resources. The information is overwhelming. With that in mind, we need to pray for families that have lost loved ones to this pandemic because the death numbers are alarming and they keep growing each day. Death do not be proud.
use him in every way. God promised and delivered a loving, supportive husband. He is my best friend before anything and I can’t imagine life without his jokes…lol and guidance. There are people that pray for me and I am forever grateful because what we are doing is not appealing to the devil so thank you for your prayers.
There is so much we want to do in this magazine. We would like to introduce the international feature, recipes feature, sports and public news. For this to be successful, we need people to volunteer as the spirit leads them to become our resident writers. Pray about it in your spare time and let God use you in the publication. Our goal is to show people that Christians can be cool and the lifestyle is amazing. We do have fun as well and it's not unchristian like to be happy.
Death do not be proud
Please take care of yourselves, keep reading the magazine every month, washing your hands regularly, wear a mask at all times and stay at home and spend time with your family members. I love you but God loves you more my SAFE readers. We love you but God loves you more
Lebo Lepere
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
WRITERS WANTED! IF YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER IN THIS PUBLICATION CONTACT US ON ANY OF THE BELOW MEDIA MAY GOD SPEAK TO YOUR HEARTS
GET CONNECTEDWITH US
youthful4god Christian magazine
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youthful4god youthful4god@gmail.com
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
WHY NOT HOROSCOPES & PALM READING!
By yourstrully
It’s amazing to know or be aware of what the future holds, I mean, who wants to just be walking without direction, not knowing where they are going and how they will arrive where they are going. Especially after the year 2020 which was full of uncertainties. We could use some direction for this year. Humans like being in control of the future, that’s why when Adam and Eve were told by the serpent that they will be wise if they eat of the fruit they were told not to eat, they ate it with the sole aim to be wise as God and hold time in their hands. (Genesis 3: 1-7) There are so many things that people do and do not realize that they are not godly but they trust or believe in them. They will sign up for these things but CANNOT read the bible for 15mins. The biggest question is;
It all right for a Christian to believe in astrology (palm reading and medium speaking to dead people) and discover God’s plan for his or her life through a horoscope?
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MARCH 2021
Billy Graham answered the above by saying the fascination with astrology and horoscopes undoubtedly reflects people’s desire for wisdom beyond their own and direction for the future. Astrology is the ancient belief that a person’s destiny can be found in the pattern of the stars and planets at the time of one’s birth. The “horoscope” is the chart that attempts to describe that destiny. The Bible mentions the astrologers in the royal court at Babylon and their inability to tell or interpret royal dreams (Daniel 2:10-11 and 4:7). Isaiah the prophet spoke of astrologers with derision: “Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you” (Isaiah 47:13). Astrology is offensive to God because it attributes to planets and stars the power that belongs to God alone and because it tries to find the will of God by other means than God has appointed. Throughout the Bible God tells us that He will guide us; read Psalm 23:1-2, 25:9, 12, 32:8; Luke 1:79; and John 7:17. A Christian has no need for astrology with its futile hints because believers can turn instead to the guidance of God’s Word. We do not have to know our future in an unholy way. I won’t lie, in my youthful days I subscribed to the be sent horoscope every day and I will base how my day goes according to what the sign says. Then I started to ask myself how they (horoscopes) get to know how my day will going to be like when they did not create me and also seek wisdom from the bible and some of the verses that made sense was Jeremiah 27:9 ESV So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ I canceled the subscription and started relying solely on God every morning to guide my day. As Christians, we are supposed to fully trust God alone and nobody else. Our God is a jealous one, He does not want to be served with other gods that people follow. John 14:6 ESV Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. When you believe in these things, you simply saying God is not enough that you need something that can give you direction now and also shows that you are not patient in God and not willing to read God’s word to hear what it says about the road you are traveling. God left us with the Holy Spirit to guide us (John 14:15). The problem is some people do not invest time to understand how the Holy Spirit communicates because it's different for most people (hear an actual voice or have a feeling that you can put a finger as to why you feel this way or a dream or vision). We never have time for counsel with the Holy Spirit. we are always in a rush for answers but we need to be still and trust God.
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
ARTICLE BY:
Maemo Nthebang FREE LOVE OF GOD
The Bible in 1st John 4:19 (NIV) tells us that “we love God simply because he first loved us”. It is somewhat difficult to comprehend why we can be loved
unconditionally even as the sinful people that we are, even when we haven’t lifted a finger to do any act of kindness for those around us, but that’s God’s way and nature. Love is one of the most difficult subjects to talk about because most often, it lacks proof and is associated with worldly things such as money, goods, beauty etc, taking these things away, renders us loveless.
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However, God teaches us that it is possible to express one’s love to those around us including everyone even without all the beautiful things of this world. God himself is love and for us to act as His disciples here on earth, we have to be substances of love through our actions. Good actions and intentions can easily bring awareness to those in our communities. It is important to highlight what God’s expectation of love from us is just as is stated in 1st Corinthians 13: 4-7. It is important to quote it here to remind ourselves of what is expected from us; “Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope and always preserves”.
A life filled with love and good neighborliness. Let us feel proud to be people of substance and despite the difficulties and challenges we face on a daily basis. With this, I am reminded of a true story of how a supervisor overcome by bitterness and anger almost destroyed an employee’s life spiritually and emotionally. The continued harassment and abuse made the employee believe that there was no love in the entire office. He saw
everyone
as
an
enemy
and
believed that he was being unfairly targeted for dismissal. Little did he know that taking the right steps to address
his
challenges
with
the
supervisor would yield a very positive outcome from the leadership of the company. Sometimes we allow few people to dictate to us how life
It is important for each person to introspect and align themselves to the word of God. Despite all these that we learn at least once a week, let us not allow the hardships of life to make us forget the rule laid down for us in the above scripture. Let us try our level best to follow the example given to us by God Himself, let us allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, convert us and guide us in leading a better life.
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should be like by allowing fear to over-power us unnecessarily, failure to address problems in their infant stage has a possibility of making a small issue build up in to a big issue which could have been easily resolved or avoided
had
urgently.
MARCH 2021
it
been
attended
Having love in our hearts can defeat all the evil we see in the world today because love on its own is the power given freely to each and every one of us. It is us people who chose to do evil things, things that separate us from the love of God. We can learn from Ephesians 3: 17b-19 where the word of God says: “and I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God’. Therefore clothing ourselves with this power should make us so proud that we should constantly ask ourselves how much love we have released to the world to cover God’s people and how much of this love can we proudly say has worked for the good of God’s people at a certain period of time. How many people have we honored during our period of observation? A lot of life challenges in our everyday lives make us forgot this power that we have been given by God to overlook beyond our weaknesses as well as the ability to exercise this power that we have. The most important lesson that we must learn in this regard, is first to consider and accept that human beings are weak in nature and therefore, this calls for us to learn to forgive and forget the wrongs done to us so that love may prevail. Love is mostly shown by true actions and true good intentions shown to us or that we show to fellow human beings. Let’s let love lead in our everyday lives as a symbol of togetherness.
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
SERMON SNAKES ON BOARD There is an old story being told of a plane that was carrying both passengers and containment that had big snakes that were being transported from the Amazon jungle to some Zoo in America. As the plane was about to land on the plane crew members realized that some of the snakes had escaped from their containment, chaos erupted in the plane as passengers got scared. The pilot called the zookeepers who were waiting by the airport, they advised him to not land the plane but get it back to higher altitudes. As the plane flew higher, the snakes kept coming and the captain once again called the zookeepers to alert them that their plan seems not to be working. The zookeepers maintained their advice for the pilot to get the plane to even higher altitudes. The pilot gave it one more try, he got the plane to a higher altitude than he had ever done in his whole career, then a miracle occurred; the snakes laid dead. The snakes were captured again and put back to their containment. The above story resembles our current situation, we are not able to carry on with our normal lives as before, there is a lot of panic and uncertainty. The devil appears to be out of his containment, and he looks to be coming for everyone, from the young to the old, the least to the high-profiled, it appears no one will be spared. The attack was not foreseen, like a bigger river flooding it happens abruptly. Often, we find life challenges attacking us without even at least a notice, and they pitilessly toss us. We then ask "ourselves where our Lord is.
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Addisathat littleGod bit ofisbody text for us, He is The good news still there fighting for us, the enemy will be defeated. Deuteronomy 31:8; “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be there with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; not be discouraged.” So, we should take courage in that whatever attack the enemy will launch against us, God will be there for us.
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” This is our ultimate solution to the current attack, the snakes on board are out of their cage and are rampaging on us, but the good thing God raises the standard for us. Just like the plane pilot we ought to raise our
Isaiah 59:19; “so shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood,
he found us at, we need to put in more effort.
prayer life to another level, we cannot defeat the enemy with the same standard
Maybe you have been reading this and you were inspired but have not yet received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we would like to close by praying with you this simple prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen. With this simple prayer, you are now part of God’s family, start living for Him and find a bible-preaching Church to fellowship with.
By Tumelo Lepere YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
2020 ROADMAP By Annonymous
There was not much activity for me in 2020 because I was on maternity leave since January. I did not see the lockdown coming. I just felt like I was on extended maternity leave. I am grateful that I got a chance to spend more time with my baby. I was supposed to go back to work on the 14th of April 2020. I ended up going in June as the lockdown finished end of May 2020. Having extra time, I decided to learn how to make the pastry, cook steamed bread, bake. and grilled some meat for dinner. Had time to play with my Reatlegile (daughter) because there is so much more time. I was taking serious precautions if I had to go out and get baby supplies, the cleaning up after was exhausting. When the lockdown was lifted I fed my cravings as I have been in a rural place and the restaurants had been closed. So I eat the junk that I had been craving during lockdown even though some places took a long time to open to the public. I did focus on growing myself professionally which include looking for a side hustle of selling baby clothes. Stared reading and exercising to become the best mother to my kids and make time for my family. Around October, I had to self-quarantine as someone I work with tested positive and on 21 October underwent the first Covid test which was scary when I did it. It was irritable, especially on the nose and discomfort. I was so scared and panicking when I thought I was taking care of myself. I had negative results, so I was relieved and waited for the second test. Self-isolation was a bit hectic in that, I stayed in my room for 10 days. The first 3 to 4 days was nice because I rested then the stress of wondering if I am positive because we tested after 10 days The second test was positive and thank God I did not have symptoms. My mother ended up also testing just to be sure, but her results came negative.
I do not have any regrets for 2020 as I have just given birth and I was locked down with the baby so that meant more time with the baby. I want to have peace within and acceptance of the things I cannot control. I want to live and have life.
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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FEBRUARY 2021
CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORKOUT CLOTHES: PART 1.
BY
ONNEILE KEALOT SWE Fitness Instructor (New Skills Academy) Strong Nation Instructor (formerly Strong by Zumba) YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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FEBRUARY 2021
Last year I registered for my first ever ultra-marathon (50km). I had trained well and I was up for the challenge. I finished the 50km within the targeted time and feeling pretty good. After receipt of my medal, I proudly headed for the shower. When the water came into contact with my skin, an excruciating pain caused me to immediately leap out of the shower. Upon looking in the mirror, I noticed raw and open bruises all over my chest and back. The bruises followed the exact pattern of my bra. I later came to know the bruising as chafing caused by the bra I was wearing during the race. I learnt the hard way that selecting fitness clothing is not purely a cosmetic exercise but largely a functional one. Every piece of clothing has to serve a purpose, be it a bra, t-shirt, tights or shoes. For this article, we will focus on the importance of getting a good bra for your workouts. A sports bra is one of the most vital pieces of exercise clothing that anyone can have. Breasts are composed of tissue, they are mainly supported by just the skin and fragile ligaments, so they require extra support during repetitive or high impact activity. No matter your breast size, you have to invest in a very good bra for training. It may be uncomfortable doing exercises with an ill-fitting bra and consequently might reduce the quality of your workout as your focus is drawn to the discomfort caused by either too tight or a loose bra. There are different kinds of bras in the market, some of these are:
a. Compression bras: these compress breasts against the chest to restrict movement. Even though it is a compression bra, it should not be too tight. Breasts should be contained in the cups and should not be spilling over. b. Encapsulation bras: these have individual cups. Each cup surrounds and supports each breast. Most regular bras are encapsulation bras and have no compression. c.
Combination compression/encapsulation bras: combine compression with individual cups and offer
the most support. These are ideal for high-impact activities because each breast is individually supported. d. Bra tanks: these are tank tops with a built-in shelf bra. These are okay for low impact activities, they are however not for running or any high impact or explosive movements. YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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e. You also need to consider bra straps: Spaghetti straps provide less support than wider straps. Racer-back straps are more supportive than both spaghetti and scoop back. Many sports bras offer adjustable straps, make sure the straps are not digging into your shoulders. It is important to bear in mind that, a bra should not be too tight to a point where you cannot breathe properly. Secondly, your breasts should not bulge. Thirdly, the cups should not have any wrinkles or gaps. If the cup fabric is wrinkled, try a smaller size. Lastly and maybe most importantly, consider the fabric of the bra. Luckily, the latest bra use high technology fabric which improves breathability and helps remove excess moisture. Avoid cotton bras as these do not dry fast during an activity, and as a result they become heavy which can lead to chafing (bruising on the skin). Chafing is a real sport injury and can be very painful and can leave permanent scarring. Do not let a bad bra ruin your workout.
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FEBRUARY 2021
Covid News
Different COVID-19 Vaccines types There are four categories of vaccines in clinical trials: WHOLE VIRUS, PROTEIN SUBUNIT, VIRAL VECTOR and NUCLEIC ACID (RNA AND DNA). Some of them try to smuggle the antigen into the body, others use the body’s own cells to make the viral antigen. WHOLE VIRUS-Many conventional vaccines use whole viruses to trigger an immune response. There are two main approaches. Live attenuated vaccines use a weakened form of the virus that can still replicate without causing illness. Inactivated vaccines use viruses whose genetic material has been destroyed so they cannot replicate, but can still trigger an immune response. Both types use well-established technology and pathways for regulatory approval, but live attenuated ones may risk causing disease in people with weak immune systems and often require careful cold storage, making their use more challenging in low-resource countries. Inactivated virus vaccines can be given to people with compromised immune systems but might also need cold storage. PROTEIN SUBUNIT-Subunit vaccines use pieces of the pathogen - often fragments of protein to trigger an immune response. Doing so minimizes the risk of side effects, but it also means the immune response may be weaker. This is why they often require adjuvants, to help boost the immune response. An example of an existing subunit vaccine is the hepatitis B vaccine. NUCLEIC ACID- vaccines use genetic material – either RNA or DNA – to provide cells with the instructions to make the antigen. In the case of COVID-19, this is usually the viral spike protein. Once this genetic material gets into human cells, it uses our cells' protein factories to make the antigen that will trigger an immune response. The advantages of such vaccines are that they are easy to make, and cheap. Since the antigen is produced inside our own cells and in large quantities, the immune reaction should be strong. A downside, however, is that so far, no DNA or RNA vaccines have been licensed for human use, which may cause more hurdles with regulatory approval. In addition, RNA vaccines need to be kept at ultra-cold temperatures, -70C or lower, which could prove challenging for countries that don’t have specialised cold storage equipment, particularly low- and middle-income countries. VIRAL VECTOR: vaccines also work by giving cells genetic instructions to produce antigens. But they differ from nucleic acid vaccines in that they use a harmless virus, different from the one the vaccine is targeting, to deliver these instructions into the cell. One type of virus that has often been used as a vector is adenovirus, which causes the common cold. As with nucleic acid vaccines, our own cellular machinery is hijacked to produce the antigen from those instructions, in order to trigger an immune response. Viral vector vaccines can mimic natural viral infection and should therefore trigger a strong immune response. However, since there is a chance that many people may have already been exposed to the viruses being used as vectors, some may be immune to it, making the vaccine less effective. YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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by www.gavi.org
Fertility facts and fiction
Struggling to conceive? We separate the truth from the myth in 10 common fertility beliefs that could be preventing you from falling pregnant! There are some absurd and totally untrue baby-making facts and words of advice doing the rounds in social circles and cyberspace. Because of these, couple‘s incorrect beliefs could be their own obstacle in successful conception. Dr Merwyn Jacobson, a reproductive medicine specialist from Vitalab fertility clinic in Johannesburg, sets the record straight about these widely held opinions on fertility and reveals what’s true and what’s not. MYTH: You can get pregnant if you have sex during your period. REALITY: Each menstrual cycle is a sign that the egg from the previous cycle wasn’t fertilised. ‘’As a result, there’s been a hormonal change which caused the lining of the womb shed,’’ explains Dr Jacobson. The lining will be rebuilt in preparation for the release of an egg in the following cycle. Therefore, it isn’t possible to fall pregnant if you have sex while menstruating. MYTH: Having an orgasm helps you to fall pregnant REALITY: the release of an egg has a very sophisticated inter-relationship between your hormones and the actual physical function of the egg Dr Jacobson explains that orgasm may be associated with increase pelvic congestion due to an increase in blood flow to the vagina and that the altered blood supply associated with congestion and the mechanical activity of intercourse, may affect the conception process. He adds that there has to be a mature egg that’s ready to be released for an orgasm to have any effect on conception at all. MYTH: Ovulation always happens on day 14 of your cycle and you should therefore have sex on that day if you want to fall pregnant. REALITY: if you have a regular 28-day cycle, having unprotected intercourse around day 14 of your cycle will increase your chances of pregnancy. But, if you have a 32-day cycle, ovulation would generally occur around day 18. If you have a 35-day cycle, ovulation will occur on the 21st day of your cycle. MYTH: You should have sex 24-72 hours after you ovulate. REALITY: Dr Jacobson explains that the egg can only be fertilised within 10 hours after it’s been released, so having intercourse 24-72 hours later is unlikely to result in a pregnancy. The right time to try to conceive would be within this 10-hour window period. After this, the egg diminishes rapidly. It could still be fertilised, however it’s unlikely to result in a pregnancy. YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MYTH: You’re most fertile on the day your temperature rises on your basal body temperature chat. REALITY: Your basal body temperature is the temperature of your body at rest. Even the minutes changes in this temperature could reflect a hormonal change, and this change usually occurs around the time you start to ovulate. “Depending on the temperature rise is documented in relation to when you begin ovulation, you may be able to improve your chances of failing pregnant,” explains Dr Jacobson. MYTH: Your doctor won’t see you for fertility treatments until you’ve been trying to conceive for a year. REALITY: ”There are many circumstances that warrant being seen by a fertility specialist sooner rather than later,” says Dr Jacobson. If there’s been a history of irregular periods, pelvic infections or surgery, and if a woman is older than 35years and struggling to conceive, you should see your doctor or fertility specialists as soon as possible. MYTH: On the day you’re ovulating, you should have sex as many times as you can because this will increase your chances of falling pregnant REALITY: You may be more likely to fall pregnant if you have intercourse multiple times during the fertile window. “While it’s true that sperm concentrations decrease slightly with increasing intercourse frequency, having intercourse more often is still more likely to result in conception than infrequent intercourse for couples with no male factor fertility issue,” explains Dr Jacobson. MYTH: Sex is sex; you don’t have to change anything about intercourse when you’re trying to conceive. REALITY: Your sexual position makes no difference to conception, but penetration is the key point, as the sperm has to reach the cervical mucus within certain time frame before they’re made redundant by the active pH levels of the vagina. MYTH: The woman should always get tested for fertility problems first. REALITY: Infertility is a couple’s problem. Up to 40% of all fertility problems are related to male infertility, and it’s therefore important for both partners to be evaluated and then to discuss specific treatment options together. This way, couples can work efficiently towards achieving their goal of becoming parents.
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MYTH: If you’ve previously had a baby, then you aren’t infertile REALITY: Dr Jacobson explains that secondary infertility affects millions of couples worldwide. He adds that a previously fertile partner may be with a new spouse, or could have developed fertility problems, such as endometriosis, since her first pregnancy. Men can also have a decrease in sperm motility or concentration, and as women get older, their fertility also begins to decrease substantially.
From Living and loving magazine, October 2011 YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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FEBRUARY 2021
ORGANIC NATURALS SKINCARE What is the name of your business and any significance to the name?
Organic Naturals Skincare I had thought of producing something natural and safe to use on the skin. Safe to eat. Safe to use on Skin. What services do you offer?
When was it established?
Organic Naturals Skincare was born in 2016 and started officially operating in 2019 March.
Produce skincare products using indigenous plants such as morula, mowana and moringa found in Botswana and we also offer skin assessments.
Where are your operations?
Botho Education Park as part of the Alumni Support what have you sponsored so far or workshop conducted?
Our Social Causes support include a muchridden Women Empowerment Structure that has initiatives such as Support a Morula Collector that took place in December or the Support a Girl Child.
what else can you tell us about your business?
Organic Naturals Skin Care cares about its clientele and we make sure that our clients are satisfied with our products. What effect does covid or lockdowns had on the business?
As much as covid affected most businesses, for us it was good for our business since we managed to diversify our business model and create services that benefit our customer.
what are the future plans?
To export and product diversification.
Organic Naturals Skincare 267 77878171 YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
YOUTHFUL4GOD MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Fear is the devil's favorite tool in the toolbox of schemes he uses to destroy God's good plan for you. He uses it to hold you back and
In a time when women carry more influence than any other generation, the power of prayer has never been
prevent progress in your relationships, career, and more. In Do It Afraid, Joyce Meyer explains that fear is everywhere and affects
more important to remind us that we do not have to bear our crosses alone. We need prayer to stand guard over
everyone. It rules many people, but it doesn't have to rule you any longer. She will teach you how to:• Understand fear and recognize how it works in your life. Confront those fears that are holding you back. Change your mindset for lasting freedom from some of the most common fears people face. Remember, courage isn't the absence of fear;
our hearts and minds and over the hearts and minds of our families.Women today are shattering glass ceilings and forging new paths in the world. What Happens When a Woman Prays is a clarion call for women to continue their progressive march of empowerment by dreaming
it is learning how to move forward in the presence of fear. Courageous people do what they believe in their hearts they should do, no matter how they feel or what doubts fill their minds. When you take ownership of your problems and open your heart to God, He will help bring light into the darkness so that you can be free.
like their daughters and praying like their grandmothers.Through exploring the lives of 10 prayer-filled women of the Bible, Bishop Jakes emphasizes the life-changing power that women have when they find their identity, their strength, their healing, and their voices in Christ.
SALVATION SOUNDS A NEW BEGINNING
By Tony Kelesitse
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 There is a song by Hillsong titled relentless. It speaks about how God’s love is unrelenting; that it is the type of love that does not easily give up on us. As I have begun to learn over the years, being a child of God means that we are exposed to his relentless love. However, the fact that is not often emphasized is how we can get access to this love. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that God does not love us all, but there is an expectation that lies on us. The covenant of love between us and the father is that we should believe in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our faith in Jesus starts with our hearts. We must first believe in our hearts for us to be saved and as the title of this devotional says, that would spark a new beginning. Salvation is a graceful process that allows us to be cleared of our sins through repentance. We are living in such a time where the end is near and we must be transformed by our faith to become new creatures in God’s kingdom. Salvation is just a beginning of a transformative process. Once you step before the altar and confess all your sins with a remorseful and repented heart, God begins a work in you. Nothing of a physical nature will occur, but from within you will begin a metamorphosis. As the scripture says, we need to turn away from our wicked ways for us to be forgiven by God. So once you have prayed the prayer of salvation, you need to get your act together. Become intentional about living a holy life dedicated to God. Not only will God forgive you of your sins but he will also go further to heal us. There is far much more to salvation that reciting the prayer of repentance. We become newborns in the spirit and qualify to benefit from God’s promises among which are healing, providence, blessings, joy, peace and happiness. You are a candidate for the benefits of salvation and you must meet God halfway by showing through your behavior that you want to be changed for the better. After all, God can never intervene where we do not allow him. Lastly, all of this is neither by might nor by power, but it is by the spirit of the Lord. For those of us who are saved, salvation is not a destination, it is a journey so you must keep pressing for the high mark set by God and never think you have arrived.
k n k a n h a T h T ! u ! o u y yo
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