Hi there! you can call me Setti or Sette as my family and friends would call me. I have chosen a few people to view my intimate vulnerabilities and insecurities to my glorious accomplishments and through what my heart longs for and what it desires. I have chosen to take a step forward in my blog and make it more personal. I hope as you read this, its not for me to boast but to show you my heart and show you a part of me. I value myself and through this blog, I want to show that I value you by opening my heart to you.
Sincerely, Setti
Road Blocks on Dreams
When we drive in our car and we plan on where we are going, we don’t expect a road block in our way, or a construction or accident on the road, we expect a smooth sailing drive to our work or home. The tendency when we get stuck on traffic due to unexpected reasons, we tend to get frustrated, upset and even angry at our situation because we want to be on time. If you look at our lives, we all plan on for example going to graduate high school and get into that perfect college that you wanted or on getting that dream job, a girlfriend/boyfriend and a dream house. Let me ask you this, what if it doesn’t go all into your plan? What if you or your loved one gets sick? What if you’re in your mid 20’s and you still don’t have a stable relationship or a permanent job? What if there is a temporary road block in your life and you think that there in no hope in your future? I used to think that way and sometimes dwell on it – in the past I got disappointed at myself, upset and angry at times but when I remember the verse that makes me think that there is hope and a future.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3
These three verses have similarities and these are that each and every person has plans in their life that they want to accomplish but it won’t always be smooth as we want it to be. There will always be road blocks on our dreams, there will be struggles and the plans we have in our life might not always be the best for us but rest assured God’s purpose will prevail, he will capture your heart and make you new and he will improve our character and mold us into who we are created to be.
One thing I learned within the few years I lived on this earth is that God softens the heart and opens our eyes and shapes our life for the better. He cleanses the heart as we surrender to him. Remember that God has perfect timing and that if you are in that waiting period in your life, always guard your heart and commit to the Lord in whatever you do, seek God first, TRUST in Him and the rest will follow.
Help…I need direction!
Source: Help…I need direction!
You’re Beautiful!
I have seen this movie several times already, and it always touches my heart whenever I watch it. I recommend you watch this, its about Queen Esther and how she became queen. I completely adore Queen Esther and her story of courage and unfading beauty.
I just want to share this verse that is related to Queen Esther and the movie and to all women. I believe each girl out there should always remember this verse.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
1 Peter 3:3-5
So many women focus on their outward appearance to make themselves attractive but they tend to neglect their inner self and how their character should grow and develop. It should be the other way around. Focus on the inner self- gentle and quiet spirit and the outward beauty will overflow from within. We should try to and start believing that we are beautiful inside and out. Even though it’s hard sometimes to look in the mirror each morning. Deep inside, you are beautiful, adorn yourself with a gentle and quiet spirit like Queen Esther.
In conclusion,
Thank you Lord Jesus for the reminder that I am beautiful first inside and that is more important to focus on the inner beauty than outwardly appearance. Help me to accept what I cannot change with myself and those I can change, help me to strive better and work on myself to become the best version of me. I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
Three stages of Gratitude to God
I still remember when I was young, my parents always taught me to say thank you to someone who gave me something. When I go to bed, my parents would even make me memorize the prayers and then in the end of the prayer, give thanks to God for what he has given me. Now that I think about it, its just good manners to give thanks when somebody gives you something.
It’s like when we are all little children. We give thanks to the things that are present and can be seen. “Thank you, For the… “ That is the first stage of gratitude. This is the preschool stage for saying thanks. For example we thank God for the food that we are about to eat. We thank our parents when they give us things. Basically, we thank someone for what they have given us that is present and that can be seen.
The next stage for saying thanks is when we give thanks for the presence of God. While Moses taught us how to say thanks for the things God has given us. David teaches us to give thanks, in another way which is more advanced than the one before. This can be seen through Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
“Even though…” For example, even though I am afraid of the unknown things that may happen, I still want to give thanks for the opportunity that was given to me. Even though I am heart broken, thank you for the chance to feel loved by someone. These are just examples of what David taught us, that even though we have struggles and problems and in the midst of all the chaos,we still give thanks and fix our eyes on Jesus. This can be seen further on Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5
Lastly, the most advance of giving thanks is “Because of…” This can be the most difficult thing to say because it is thanking God for everything in our life. The bad and the good experience that we have, we give all our thanks. For example, I wanna thank you Lord for every ingredient that you have in my life, I know that whatever you make up in my life will be something good overall. This part of gratitude is not as easy as it sounds, because it is thanking the Lord for each and everything he gave or he didn’t we still thank him anyway, we give him our complete TRUST in our lives and believe everything is for the better.
Always remember that All things work for the glory of God and that you do not have to feel grateful to be grateful.
Special thanks to S. Furtick for inspiring me to write this from his video, Graduating in Gratitude.
Cherry Blossoms
Still Being Moulded into His Likeness
I have always been an overweight girl since childhood, and I have only reached my goal weight once when I was eighteen years old, I lost 40 pounds but then gained it back again because of the wrong motive of losing weight. That is in my opinion is the most important thing to consider first when deciding to lose weight. Why do you want to lose weight? Some people do it for the approval of other people and that is not lasting because in the long run your motivation will decline in the end. That’s what happened to me, the thing to always remember and tell yourself that you are doing this for yourself and not for anyone else, because that will have a lasting motivation for losing weight. It’s a lifestyle change and it’s a choice that will change your life.
- Why do you want to lose weight? The initial motivation is critical, you want to do it for your health? appearance? relationships? you’ll fit in your old clothes again and you’ll look good in photographs. What are the three things that will benefit you from losing weight, picture this and have your vision for 5-10 minutes everyday. Have a vision of your ideal self and visualize yourself when you have gained these goals.
- Program yourself mentally, it’s going to be a hard journey ahead of you but always say to yourself it’s going to be easier the next day because of the habit that you are building in yourself.
- Building a habit takes about 30-60 days.
- The healthy weight loss for a week is 1-2 pounds at most.
- Try to have a gym buddy or an exercise buddy to go to the gym.
- Eat more protein and less carbohydrates. Drink a lot of water. More vegetables. Cut out sugars.
- Don’t expect to have a progress in the first 3 weeks because your body is still getting used to the physical exercise.
- There will always be an inner struggle when it comes to exercising and dieting, just focus on one day at a time and do not focus on having to exercise in 60 days, just focus on one day.
- Have a playlist on your phone to take to the gym or when exercising at home. Try to pick some upbeat songs to follow when you are in the treadmill or elliptical trainer. Bring at least one litre of water and finish it all when you exercise to feel refreshed.
- One thing that I have helped me a lot is to use an app called myfitnesspal, its a free app that counts your calories.
- It’s a lifestyle change. Commit to it and consistency is the key.
I have been struggling to lose the weight that I have gained back and more, now I weigh 200+ pounds and my goal weight is 150 pounds. As I continue to work on my goal, I know that I am still being moulded inside and out into Christ-likeness and when I have reached my goal I will give all the glory to God!
Don’t give up on You
In someone’s journey to become whoever they want to be, either to overcome insecurities, depression or to either lose weight or get good grades, whatever that ideal person you want to be, there will always be struggles and challenges to overcome until we get to the point of giving up in the end but all I wanna say is DONT GIVE UP! because you’ll never know that the next day might be the day that you have the point of either success or failure, the turning point where everything will change. A wise person once told me that life is like a horizontal escalator, you will move backwards if you don’t keep pushing forward toward your next destination, towards that finish line.
I know it’s really really hard to overcome the procrastination, the chatterbox, that voice in our own head that says NO you can’t do it! Just stay in your comfort zone and there is still a lot of time until the deadline of that 15 page essay that is due tomorrow but your still not doing it, why because your reason is its hard…or that time when you said you’ll lose weight this year finally! and even signed up for a one year gym membership and on the 2nd try you don’t even want to move your butt off your couch, sounds familiar? Yes, there are a lot more examples but each one of us has this situation where we just can’t finish something or even start it and especially commit to it. Well don’t give up, keep at it, keep walking on that escalator, keep pushing forward on your life, strive to be the best that you can be, don’t do it for anyone else, but yourself because you deserve to love yourself and be loved by you.
To be continued…
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken
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Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken
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“Chicken breasts are breaded with flavorful crumbs, herbs, and Parmesan cheese, then baked for the easiest, quickest chicken dish ever. Serve with a salad and pasta or rice for a scrumptious dinner.”
INGREDIENTS:
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2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast
halves
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DIRECTIONS:
| 1. | Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. |
| 2. | In a bowl, blend the olive oil and garlic. In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper. Dip each chicken breast in the oil mixture, then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish, and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture. |
| 3. | Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. |
Sautéed chicken with mushrooms and bokchoy
I have been busy at the kitchen lately and I have discovered a new recipe which is healthy and good for you. Skip the fast food and try this out!
This is an original recipe of sautéed chicken breast marinated with barbecue sauce with mushroom and bokchoy.
Cooking Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Mama Sita’s barbecue marinade
- 1 Chicken breast
- 2tbsp Oyster sauce
- Minced garlic
- Chopped onion
- Handful of mushrooms
- 2 Bokchoy
- Optional: broccoli and julliene carrots
Preparation:
- Marinate the chicken breast with Mama sita’s barbecue marinade and leave it in the fridge overnight or 3 hours at most. Add some pepper for more taste.
- The next day, cut the chicken breast into strips and fry them until golden brown. When cooked, set aside.
- On the same pan, sauté minced garlic and chopped onion.
- Then, add oyster sauce.
- Add mushrooms and chopped bokchoy.
- Let the vegetables cook and when it’s done, place the cooked chicken back to the pan.
- Optional: you can add more vegetables like broccoli and carrots.
Heart Enthroned 