September issue

SEPTEMBER ISSUE 19

YOUTHFUL4GOD CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE

TABLE OFcontents 3

Contact Infor

4

Editor's Note

5-7

Real Talk: As you find me

8-9

Featured Article 1: Encounter with God

11-12

Featured Article 2: Dare to be different

13-14

Fitness: I only want to lose fat around my waist, A myth or fact

15-19

Reproduction: Pregnancy Questions 101

20-21

Heavenly Sound: Know your instrument

22

Business feature: Poet Tlamelo Office

23

Book Review: Brave

Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg 2

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Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg 3

Editor's note

Hello, my SAFE readers,

We are still burying many people and by now, one must have thought as the time when on, we will be able to control our movements or most people vaccinated. We are hurting and we seem not to give how we are hurting much thought. I believe that there is going (if it is not visible yet) or are a lot of mental issues that we are going to deal with in a couple of years. The rate of hurting caused by losing loved ones is alarming. Homes are closing and children are left orphans.

People are losing jobs and/or getting salary cuts. Nothing is working in our favor. As we get hurt by losing loved ones, can we never lose hope in God or feel that He started all this so He should end all the suffering. Remember Ephesians 6: 12 (For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.)

Trust God when you don't understand and trust him more when you are hurting.

I love you so much, but God loves you more

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Malebogo Lepere

Real Talk

By Yours Truly

AS YOU FIND ME One thing about God is that He is perfect. He is without blame or blemish. God is Omniscience, meaning He knows everything. Christians believe that God knows every person's inner thoughts as well as knowing all that has happened and all that will happen. All He wants is a relationship with the people He created in His image. He doesn’t want to be needed only when you are pressed or in trouble. He wants to be your only option when it comes to life tribulations. God doesn’t judge us.

He loves us so much even though we take him to the cross over and over again by sinning.

Many people think that they need to clean themselves before coming to or before God. They think one must be at their best behavior to be welcomed by God or to have a relationship with Him. Some people believe that they want to have achieved this, then that's when they can come to God. Some think that they should be in a certain class in terms of finances and worldly possession and that’s when they will have time to have a relationship with God. People believe that when they have accumulated worldly possessions like houses, cars and fat balance in the ban then God will listen to them easier, or now they have all the time now because they are done hustling.

Most people turn to Him when they have issues when they have tried to solve the issues on

When you want to start a relationship with God know the following;

their own and failed and now allow God to help as the last option. God is not the last option but the only option. A lot of people want to stop drinking and clubbing then come to God to have a relationship with Him. God wants us

God wants you as you are, with your baggage.

Don’t try to change who you are. God knows where you have been so no need to hide it from Him. Rather tell him your opinion about it. Even if

as we are, He wants to have a relationship with us more than judge us based on our life habits.

you are angry speak to God.

People judge others but God doesn't.

God is already perfect and He doesn't need us

· Buy a Bible version where you will be able to comprehend the English being used. There are so many versions out there. If you have extra cash

to be like Him. All He wants with us is a relationship that is true. A true relationship

get the application Bible that will help you explain further as you read the bible.

with Him is spending time with Him in prayer, reading His word and loving one another. The things that you do say to any person, you tell them to Him. When you are about to commit a

· Be intentional about spending time in prayer and reading the word of God. If you are an early morning person, take 30 mins in the morning and

sin (knowingly or not) pray to Him. Read the Bible for yourself so that you understand who God is and ask Him to have a relationship with you. FORGET about what bad things you currently doing. Chances are that you still going to fall back to the same sin over and over

speak to God. If you did not make it in the morning, use your lunchtime in the car or in the evening when you get home. God is always listening, there is no specific time when He is available. When in prayer be honest with God. Jerimiah 29:13 (You will seek me and find me

again, until you see God shows you who He really is. When you don't have any option and nobody to count on. He will be there.

when you seek me with all your heart). The Keyword is with all of your heart.

Christians do not make it easy for people that are struggling in sin. As if they themselves are

· Don’t mind what other people say because this is an individual, personal journey. Go out on weekends but Sundays make it a point to seat and watch a sermon and internalize it and put what you have learned into action. I live by that, people talk about whether you do good or bad without understanding the personal battles you are facing. So do what you think is right before God and yourself.

not sinning in something. The other problem is us,

church-going

people.

We

think

that

someone should act right when they come to church. However, we forget that a church is a hospital for the sick. We are all sick with different diseases or we classify sin. We say 'they get drunk so they are sinners'. We often forget that one might be struggling with loving

· Trust the process. Don’t be too hard on yourself because you are not perfect so you are going to fail and need God’s grace. Learn to pick yourself up and continue the race of salvation. (if you were perfect, you would not need God) You will come to a point where you feel like getting your life in order.

your neighbors.

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The things that used to interest you that caused you to sin, don't tickle your fancy anymore. God is just, meaning that God is fair to all and he forgives those who say sorry for their actions. Psalms say God is fair and just (Psalm 25:8).

TESTIMONY I have been praying for someone close to me to get saved and I never lost hope in her, it took years and years. I pledged and told God this is for her life. One day she told me she wants to be born again but she is not ready to let go of alcohol. I told her that there is nothing wrong with it but being drunk and acting stupid. The joy I felt when she said the above. I realized that prayer works and now she is learning the Bible. She looked for Bible study and counselling because now a seed has been planted and God is working in her.

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Encounter with God

BY K.M NTEBANG God has a different plan for each one of us, He comes to us through different ways and circumstances. He uses us differently to achieve His work here on earth. It is important for us to have a direct and personal relationship with God so that we are able to hear Him when He speaks to us. There are so many voices out there that can confuse us if we do not know God’s voice. If we cannot recognize Him or if we are unable to properly associate with Him. The Bible in 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”.

This means that the devil will do all possible to trick, cheat and confuse us to believe him. Therefore, the devil may trick us into thinking that he is in control of everything. However, if we know God personally, we will be able to recognize Him from all other beings. We can learn to have a strong relationship with God from the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13 which reads: ‘Then He said, “go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “what are you doing here, Elijah?”’

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How often have we mistaken the strong winds and turmoil going on in our lives as God’s voice? How many times have we ignored that still soft voice speaking to us as nothing?

Instead of brushing it off and desperately continuing searching for God’s voice amidst the noise of this world? How many times have we pushed aside that continued nagging feeling inside us (our conscious) to keep looking for a reasonable explanation for the challenges and difficulties we may be going through? The Bible tells us the “still small voice” came and Elijah knew that God was present before him. Elijah knew how to behave to show respect, recognition, and honor for his God. When we know who God is in our lives, no amount of trouble will destroy us or reduce us to an emotional wreck because we know He is all able, omnipresent and our provider in times of difficulties.

Psalm 46:10 also teaches us a very valuable lesson: “Be still and know that I am God”.

This speaks volumes in our everyday lives.

This is especially true when we look at the world we live in today. Amidst the crisis, we find ourselves in currently where we are always fearful of what tomorrow holds for us.

However, it is worth noting that our nature as human beings drives us to be afraid of the outcome of a challenge, a crisis or a difficult situation. But if we trust in God who knows everything going on in our lives, we will be able to overcome fear. We will also be able to keep a level head and control our emotions in order to take heed of God’s voice. THE LESSON HERE IS TO KNOW GOD AND TO SEEK GOD ALWAYS. In times of happiness and in times of difficulties because when we do that, we will build a strong barrier between ourselves and the devil. We will not give the devil a chance to confuse us and we will not allow the devil to play with our emotions. As children of God, we are blessed enough to have regular encounters with God. The most important question is, do we recognize

Him when He presents Himself to us? Sometimes we only acknowledge His presence during the most difficult circumstances when we realize we could never have managed on our own, when He has pulled us out of the shadow of the valley of death.

We look back and say, “wow, only God could have rescued me from this situation because there is no way I am here all by myself”.

Often times people do not take much appreciation when He presents Himself during a happy occasion because they believe it was all their doing, they are smart, capable etc. I would like to urge us to ponder on the encounters we have truly seen the hand of God at work in our lives, both good and bad. Then make happy thoughts about those instances. Hold on to those happy thoughts and let them drive your next encounter. If you are going through some difficulty right now, go back to the happy thoughts, let them trigger positivity, trust and reliance in Him. Stir that flicker of light deep inside of you and allow it to increase with each day until you are able to see or feel the warmth of a growing flame. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit help to keep the light burning. It is only by faith that we will testify of the good deeds that the encounter with our God has brought in our lives.

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DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

By Harry Tawiah Ussher

FACTORS TO CONSIDER AS YOU CHOOSE TO BE DIFFERENT

For you to stand out from the crowd you must dare to be different. Daring to be different means that you have chosen not to follow what everyone else is doing and popular ways

1.Close your ears from criticism.

of thinking. It is to stand tall from everyone around you. It is to go the extra mile to improve yourself. It is look at things the way God sees them. You will never accomplish those great things by being the same as the world. Do not do what

2.Do not be afraid to stand out.

everyone else does, do what God wants you to do. If everyone is living for material things, live for Christ. If everyone is being rebellious, live in righteousness. If everyone is sleeping around and behaving as though they have not heard the truth on living a pure life for Christ, live a holy life.

In Romans 12:2 the word of God says; And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. In our first scripture we see that conforming to the world will not help us. However, transforming by renewing our minds as we hear the word of God comes to us is what will help us to the Lords will.

Understand that what is popular to everyone in the world may not always be what seems right in the sight of God. Proverbs 14:12 says. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Our second scripture tells us that only the standard of God leads to eternal life. As a Born Again Youth you must never allow peer pressure to define you but rather allow the word of God to define you.

1.Let your yes be your yes and your no be no.

1.Understand that you are unique from everyone else.

1.Focus on where you want to reach in life and drop certain people if the need be.

1.Choose your friends wisely.

1.Learn to overcome challenges quickly.

1.Lean on God’s word for daily strength.

1.Spend quality time with God in prayer.

1.Remain humble all the time.

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Daring to be different means that certain protocols that have existed in your family, village and nation need to be broken. Many people have allowed their family background, the village they were born into and the nation they come from to restrict them from becoming what they were supposed to become. Life is a choice and you can decide to become ordinary or break out from the shelf to go on top. The fact that your father didn’t take care of you shouldn’t make you irresponsible. Your father was an alcoholic, womanizer, abusive and primitive man who didn’t know Christ, must you be like him after you have seen the light? The fact that nobody built a house in your family should make you follow their footsteps. Almost everyone died a local champion in your family; must you also die a local champion without the world hearing about the stuff you are made off? No one has ever travelled to abroad before in your family, will you die also not seeing how beautiful the world is? In some families the uncles will tell you that nobody has become successful before, must you accept this nonsense after Jesus Christ became poor so that we become rich? 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich.

Jabez was born in a difficult situation because that her mother named him “Jabez” meaning sorrow according to the Bible. But he didn’t allow his name to define him, but he dared to be different by praying for God to change his story. Many times consistent prayers are all you need to break out from negative family patterns in order to be different. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 says, And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

According to Luke 2:11-12, Jesus was born in a manger but he didn’t remain there. He didn’t allow the negativity surrounding His birth to determine His major assignment on earth. In fact, great men of influence were not born without a silver spoon on their mouth, but they fought to the top by being different from everyone else.

QUOTES “DON’T BE AFRAID OF BEING DIFFERENT, BE AFRAID OF BEING THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE.”

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“I ONLY WANT TO LOSE FAT AROUND MY WAIST’’ A MYTH OR FACT? By Onneile Kealotswe Fitness Instructor

As a fitness trainer, I have had people ask me this question a lot, ‘’how do I lose fat around the waist only?’’. In my opinion, there is no such thing as training to lose fat around the waist only.

When you train, you cannot choose where you will lose fat first. The idea of working abs to get abs is one of the oldest misconceptions in training.

The fact is, you are not going to be able to remove layers of fat and show your abs just by focusing on ab exercises. Those 1000 sit-ups would just lead to frustrations when you do not see the results you were hoping for i.e trimming the waist. Ab exercises do not create abs but rather develop them. However, for your abs to be visible, you need to strip the layer of fat that covers them. That is to say, your body fat percentage has to be below.

A workout whose intensity creates a calorie deficit by burning a substantial number of calories in a single session would be the best option. A good total body workout incorporating compound movements is, was, and will always be the key to fat loss because of its energy demand. Diet can also be manipulated to achieve the same, this is the best option for those with limitations that are a hindrance to high-intensity workout.

The same way you put on weight gradually around your waist, your thighs, your arms just to name a few areas of the body that shows initial signs of weight gain, is the same way the excess weight is shed. As much as we would like to see a fat reduction in our areas of concern, our bodies store fat differently. For some, the first areas that show signs of weight loss could be the lower body and for some upper body. Hence, you can have a defined mid-section and still have cellulite on your thighs or have a potbelly and have a well-defined lower body. For us to achieve a well-sculpted physique, we need to see the whole process though. That is to lower total body fat to optimum levels rather than focusing on particular areas.

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PREGNANCY QUESTIONS 101 There can be so much information to take in when you’re pregnant! We answer your most commonly asked pregnancy questions. BY XANET VAN VUUREN

It’s all too easy to forget to ask your gynaecologist those really important questions that were bugging you just two days ago. You may also be so overwhelmed by your pregnancy that any concerns you might have move to the back of your mind to make way for thoughts about cute baby outfits, soft toys and colour schemes for the nursery. Living and loving’s resident obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr Rafik Mia from the Genesis Clinic, answers your all-important pregnancy questions 1. IS SEX SAFE NOW THAT I’M PREGNANT? Sex during pregnancy is absolutely safe, provided you’re having a normal pregnancy with no complications. In fact, many women report having better sex while they’re pregnant. However, sex during pregnancy can be harmful if you’re bleeding, if your placenta is low when there’s a rupture of membranes, or an infection or cervical incompetence (the cervix doesn’t stay closed for the duration of the pregnancy).

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT MY FIRST PRENATAL CHECK-UP? WHAT TESTS WILL YOU DO? You should schedule your first prenatal appointment with you gynaecologist as soon as you think you’re expecting.

However, most caregivers won’t schedule a visit before you’re eight weeks pregnant, unless you have a medical condition, if you had problems during your previous pregnancy, or are experiencing symptoms such as vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain or severe

A detailed medical history. Your menstrual cycle, contraceptive use, past pregnancies, allergies, a family history of congenital abnormalities or genetic diseases, and other medical conditions will be discussed. Take along a list of medications that you’ve been using.

Establishing due date. This will be done using the date of the first day of your last period and an ultrasound scan to confirm that the date is correct.

nausea and vomiting.

During your first visit, your caregiver will establish whether you’ll have a low- orhigh risk pregnancy. This is established through factors such as your previous pregnancy experiences, any possible risk factors for your current pregnancy and your medical fitness, and by identifying the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities in the baby. Set aside a reasonable amount of time for your first consultation. Your partner should also make every effort to attend this appointment. Some of the tests and procedures you can expect at your doctor’s visit include:

Lifestyle issues. Your specialist will discuss with you the importance of nutrition, prenatal vitamins, exercise and other Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg lifestyle issues.

15

PREGNANCY QUESTIONS 101 CONTINUES......

A full physical exam. Your specialist will check your weight, height and blood pressure. He’ll also perform a full physical examination to determine how fit you are. He may also examine your genitals or do a pap smear if you complain of any symptoms related to these areas.

Lab tests. The basic blood tests are: a haemoglobin level test to determine your blood type and Rh (Rhesus) factor (a specific protein on the surface of red cells), and tests to determine your exposure to sexually transmitted infections and viral infections including syphilis, rubella, hepatitis B and HIV. Tests for chickenpox, measles and toxoplasmosis immunity may be done, depending on your exposure to these diseases. An analysis of your urine will also be done to establish whether you have a bladder or kidney infection and to screen for diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease.

S c r e ening test s f o r f o e t a l a b n o r m a l i t i e s . T hese tests h e l p t o d e t e c t a n y possible f o e t a l a b n o r m a l i t i e s . T h e y d o n ’ t d i a gnose or confirm that t h e f oetus has a n a b n o r m al i t y b u t i d e n t i f y t h e r i sk of the baby being b o r n with one. T h e s e t e s t s a r e u s u a l l y d o n e b e t w e en eight and 13 weeks o f p regnancy.

I S I T SAFE TO F L Y D U R I N G P R E G N A N C Y ?

Y e s , especiall y i f y o u ’ re i n y o u r f i r s t a n d s e c ond trimester and if t h e t rip is s h o r t e r t h a n o n e h o u r . Y i y o u ’ r e c a r rying a singleton and h a v e had an u n c o m p l i c a t e d p r e g n a n c y , y o u c a n f l y up to until 36 weeks o f your pregna n c y . I f y o u h a v e d i a b e t e s , h i g h b l o od pressure or blood c l o t s in your l u n g s o r l im b s , o r i f y o u ’ v e h a d a vaginal bleeding or a p r e v ious pre m a t u r e b i r t h, c h e c k y o u r c a r e g i v e r before buying your a i r p lane tic k e t s . F l y i n g i n s m a l l p l a n i s n ’ t recommended, as they d o n ’ t have p r e s s u r i z e d ca b i n s . F l y i n g d u r i n g p r egnancy can increase y o u r risk of t h r o m b o s i s ( b l o o d c l o t s ) a n d v a r icose veins slightly, b e c a use you’re s i t t i n g d ow n f o r a l o n g p e r i o d o f time without moving a r o u nd. Wear s u p p o r t s t o c k i n g s w h e n y o u f l y to help keep your c i r c ulation fl o w i n g .

A R E HERBAL PRO D U C T S S A F E T O U S E D U R I N G P R E G N A N C Y ?

T h e r e isn’t mu c h d a t a a v a i l a b l e r e g a r d i n g t h e s a f ety and effectiveness o f herbal pro d u c t s , w h i c h i s w h y s o m e h e a l t h c a r e professionals advise m o m s -to-be t o s t a y c l e a r o f a l l h e r b a l p r o d u c ts during pregnancy.

H o w e ver, shou l d y o u d e c i d e t o u s e h e r b a l products during your p r e g nancy, i n f o r m y o u r d o c t o r o r m i d w i f e a b o u t the products you’ve b e e n using. A v o i d u s i ng a n y h e r b a l p r o d u c t s during your first t r i m ester, or p r o d u c t s th a t c o n t a i n m o r e t h a n o n e herb. Don’t exceed t h e recommende d d o s e s .

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IS IT SAFE TO USE HAIR DYES DURING WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FALL DURING PREGNANCY? PREGNANCY? Currently, there’s no clear evidence that coloring your Many women fall during pregnancy, and in most hair causes birth defects, as only a small quantity of instances, these falls don’t result in anything hair dye gets absorbed through the skin. Since there serious. Unless you fell on your stomach, back isn’t enough evidence to establish whether or not hair and pelvis, there’s no reason to panic. If you’re dye can be dangerous during pregnancy, specialist worried, schedule an appointment with your usually recommends avoiding it during pregnancy, doctor to give you peace of mind. If you’re especially during the first trimester. experiencing severe abdominal pains and backaches, vaginal bleeding and can’t feel the HOW SHOULD I CHANGE MY EATING HABITS baby move, you should go to the hospital NOW THAT I’M PREGNANT? immediately.

Your regular diet should include a healthy mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, grains and IS IT DANGEROUS TO EAT FISH DURING legumes. You’ll also need to increase your intake of PREGNANCY? protein, folic acid and iron. There are a number of Certain types of fish such as shark, swordfish foods you need to stay clear of during your and king mackerel contain high levels of pregnancy. These foods generally have minimal mercury and should be avoided during nutritional value or contain toxic substances, and pregnancy. According to The Food and Drug include fast food, food that contains raw egg, soft Administration (FDA) and the Environmental cheeses, raw and undercooked meat, especially liver protection Agency (EPA), pregnant women can products, and any fish containing high levels of eat up to 340g of seafood per week. Safe mercury. Alcohol and caffeine should also be avoided, choices include shrimp, carb and salmon. You as these drinks can have negative effects on your can eat canned light tuna, but no more than unborn baby.

170g per week.

CAN I FOLLOW A COMPLETELY VEGETARIAN DIET? You should be able to get all the nutrients that you and your baby need by eating healthy vegetarian dishes. If not, you can use vitamin and minerals supplements to ensure you’re getting the required amounts.

ARE THERE ANY MEDICINES I SHOULD AVOID FOR THE DURATION OF MY PREGNANCY? Over-the-counter medicines shouldn’t be used unless you’ve discussed it with your doctor. Medicines containing alcohol, antihistamines, castor oil, liquid paraffin, corticosteroids and non-steroidal antiinflammatories should also be avoided. If you’re trying to conceive and are using hypertensive medications, anti-psychotic drugs, antidepressants, anti-epileptics, antibiotics or anticoagulation (blood thinning) drug, chat to your doctor about whether they’re safe to continue during pregnancy, or if you should change to a safe option.

IS IT SAFE TO USE A HOT TUB DURING PREGNANCY? It’s best to avoid hot tubs and saunas during pregnancy. Spending 10 minutes or more in a hot tub can raise your body temperature to 38.9c leading to a condition called hyperthermia. Exposure to hot tub at any time during your pregnancy can cause you to overheat and lower your blood pressure, which can impair your baby’s oxygen supply.

WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO HEAR MY BABY’S HEARTBEAT? Your baby’s heart beats beating between the fifth or sixth week of pregnancy, but you’ll only be able to hear it during the eighth week. It may be more difficult to hear it if you’re overweight.

WHEN WILL I START TO FEEL MY BABY MOVE? You should start feeling the baby’s first movements, called ‘quickening’, between the 16th and 25th week of pregnancy. However, if this is your first pregnancy, you may not feel any movement up until the 25th week.

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Some second-time moms start to feel the movement as early as 13 weeks. You’ll be more likely to feel your baby move when you’re in a quiet position, either sitting or lying down.

If you aren’t 25 weeks pregnant yet and haven’t felt the baby move, don’t panic. As your little one grows, she’ll become more active, and by week 28, her kicks and jabs should get your attention. Some babies are less active than others or they may be awake when you’re sleeping. However, once your baby has started moving around regularly and you haven’t felt at least 10 movements in two hours, you should call your doctor.

I FEEL DIZZY WHEN I GET UP FROM SITTING OR LYING POSITON. IS IT NORMAL? It’s common to feel a little lightheaded when you’re pregnant. It may be that you got up too quickly, resulting in a drop in your blood pressure. If the dizziness is a recurring pattern, its best to make an appointment with your doctor

WHAT CAN I DO TO HAVE A SAFE AND HEALTHY PREGNANCY? Attend all your prenatal doctor’s visits, follow a healthy diet, remember to take your prenatal vitamins and ensure you’re taking enough fluids. Exercise regularly, although nothing strenuous-walking, swimming and pilates are all great choices. Ensure that you get enough sleep and avoid alcohol, recreational drugs and over-the-counter medications. Attend antenatal classes, avoid stressful activities and draw support from friends and family.

Article by: Living and loving magazine October 2011 Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg 18

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Heavenly Sound

KNOW THE INSTRUMENTS

By; Akhu

Most of the time people mistake instruments for others. For example, I get a lot of people saying I play trumpet while I play the saxophone. Familiarizing yourself with the different types of musical instruments will help you know which among them would suit your talent and skills, allowing you to choose wisely the instrument you would like to master.

Musical experts classify instruments according to families. The most famous classification of musical instruments globally—groups the musical instruments into strings family, keyboard family, woodwind, brass, and percussion family.

1. Strings These are instruments with strings, and they are played by strumming, picking, and bowing. These include the common orchestral instruments, violin, viola, cello, and an upright base. Guitar and ukulele also fall under this category of instruments.

Although they are called woodwind, not all of them are made of wood. Some are made of cane, brass, silver, and metals such as platinum and gold. A saxophone belongs to this category though it’s made of brass, but it uses a reed to produce sound.

3. Brass These are instruments that are made of brass, and they produce sound by blowing air into a mouthpiece. The sound is produced with the help of valves, slides, crooks, and keys for changing tubing.

Examples of brass instruments include, trumpets, cornets, trombones, tubas, French horns 2. Woodwinds These instruments can be categorized into two, reeds and flutes. The instruments include saxophones, clarinets, Bassoons, Flutes, oboes.

These distinctions are due to the way the instrument produces sound. Some use a reed to make sound and some like the flutes do not use a reed.

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4. Keyboards

These instruments are characterised by a standard keyboard though their operations may vary in range and usage. These include the organ, piano, electronic keyboards, synthesizers and digital pianos.

5. Percussions

These instruments are played by striking, hitting, scraping, or rubbing the instrument with one’s hand. The instruments include drums, shakers, tambourine, timpane, bass drum etc.

Percussion instruments are also classified into two types: pitched percussions and unpitched percussion instruments. Pitched percussions produce identifiable pitch while unpitched produce sounds or notes with indefinite pitch. The human body may also qualify as a percussion instrument.

Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg 21

Business feature: A poet Tlamelo Office My name is Tlamelo Office and I am 22 years of age. I am a student at the University of Botswana studying international business. I am passionate about poetry and have been doing it for over 10 years now. I started when I was still in primary school.

My love for poetry started when I was reading poetry books in primary school, I admired the fact that the names of people who wrote the books or poems were familiar, famous, and popular. I wondered how it feels to have your name in a book or be referred to as one of the best poets, have your name praised out loud.

I started writing to see if I was good enough.

I started with written poetry but then developed into spoken word poetry. I shifted from written poetry because I wanted people to hear me and not read what I wrote because I believed, with spoken poetry, I could express all my emotions better than written poetry.

Being a Christian, I explored nonconventional ways to spread the gospel outside the pulpit. I wanted a more youthful way to spread the Word of God so that I can be appealing to young people. This proved to bear good results as now I could encourage and tackle issues that matter while being in touch with the youth.

No one taught or mentored me, it’s a Godgiven talent that needed to be nurtured because I started by writing and then realized

up always, and be focused on life. The world has changed so we should not run with what the world offers. What the world gives changes as there is always something new that comes up. If one runs with the world, they will lose their strength and eventually lose themselves.

I urge people to support Poetry as its one of the most undermined and undervalued arts, unlike other forms of art like music. We need to support poetry by hiring poets for events, uplifting them, listening to poetry because it’s a powerful tool to speak for ourselves and for other people. We speak on behalf of the nation. We just recently saw Amanda Gorman reciting a powerful poem at the inauguration of the USA president. She delivered a beautiful piece that touched the whole world. That’s how powerful poetry is. If only we could trust in ourselves and use the talent for good. If you are not a poet, you know someone who is.

You can hire me for any event (birthday parties, church events, funerals). I specialize in Gospel poetry, but I can do other poetry that is not gospel-oriented. I have featured in a book called the GIFTED HANDS which is a poetry anthology, I contributed four poems in the book.

You can get a hold of me on different platforms, like the one below Facebook-tlamelo midas Instagra-midas the poet Email Tlamelooffice@gmail.com

that I am not that bad, so I improved with time. I was not taught how to arrange words, I just observed people that I love, people that did the same poetry as I was, so I would be improving my craft on my own.

It is my dream to release an audiobook with a bit of music infused into poetry.

As a young person, I have always wanted to encourage the youth especially those behind me, to spread the gospel, to keep their heads Youthful4God | September Issue 19| Pg 22

Book Review

The book is not officially out but you can get yourself a copy of the book at 72 310 426

The book is about getting out of toxic places and out of your comfort zone and try things that you have always wanted to thus be BRAVE. "I was being brave publishing the book as a poet", she says.

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l i t l i n t u un

t t x e x n ne

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