The Heart - My Hearts Impressions @ 1

"For out of the abundance of THE HEART the mouth speaks"

Matthew 12:34

 

Exactly 1 year ago I started a blog entitled "My Hearts Impressions", with 46 posts to date I've spent countless hours fiddling with words, sharing some of my life's experiences, opinions and testimonies all under the umbrella of My Hearts Impressions. The name of the blog is likely to have been a spur of the moment 'bright idea' but as the blog came to form, my pride and joy, it stayed true to it's name.

On my blogs birthday I subconsciously decided to search the scriptures and see what The Word that rules above all others has to say about the heart and needless to say I found some interesting revelations that I thought I'd share with you reader on this momentous occasion. :)

 

A few key things about the heart...

1. A person cannot live without a heart. The heart is the muscle that is in charge of pumping blood throughout the body. Without this pump, one would die as tissues would begin to die.
2. The heart symbol or "heart shape" (♥) is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its metaphorical or symbolic sense as the centre of emotion, including affection and love, especially (but not exclusively) romantic love. 

 Therefore YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT IT and  SYMBOLICALLY IT IS THE CENTRE OF EMOTION-LOVE.

This is what the bible says:

 

• "Above all else guard you heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23
• "As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person" Proverbs 27:19  

Your heart is a reflection of who you are and everything you do flows from it. You MUST guard it.  

• "My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart." Proverbs 3:1 
• "Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them on your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favour and a good name in the sight of God and man." Proverbs 3:3-4
• "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." Jeremiah 31:33

 

Your heart has/is a tablet where you write stuff (i.e keep stuff). The verses above highlight that your heart is a storage place, similar to a sheet of paper where God continually tells us to keep his commands, to write his law as well as love and faithfulness.

 

• "Trust the Lord with all your heart." Proverbs 3:5

The heart Trusts. With your heart you trust. When trust is broken it's a heart issue. 

• "The Lord is close to the broken-hearted" Psalm 34:11
• "My heart sank at his departure" Song of Solomon 5:6
• "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" Proverbs 13:12

Your heart can be broken, downcast or sick

• "You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride you have stolen my heart." Song of Solomon 4:9

Your heart can be stolen.  

• "On the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced." Song of Solomon 3:11

Your heart rejoices.

• "A person may think their own ways are right but the Lord weighs the heart." Proverbs 21:2
• "You know what is in everyone's heart. So from your home in heaven answer their prayers, according to the way they live and what is in their hearts." 1 Kings 8:39
• “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10 

 

God looks at your heart, he knows what is in it and he uses it as a measure.

 

•  "But you must decide once and for all to worship him with all your heart and soul and to obey everything in The Book of God's Law." Deuteronomy 30:10
• "You also must obey the LORD--you must worship him with all your heart and remember the great things he has done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24

 

Your heart is worship central.

• "The fool says in his heart there is no God. Psalm 14:1  

 

•  "The HEART is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can Understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Your heart is deceptive and cannot be cured.

• "I looked for the one my heart loves." Song of Solomon 3:1

Your heart loves. This is the only passage of scripture that I could find that links the heart with Love. Like how we say "I love you with all my heart".  I found this interesting and I stand to be corrected but yeah...

 

 

In conclusion our hearts are not only a vital organ but an expression of ourselves. They are a storage point, God tells us to keep his laws and commands on our hearts. He tells us to write stuff there. He looks at our hearts and uses them as a measure. Our hearts are delicate and can be broken, they are worship central and with them we love. With them we trust and we are told to guard them diligently because they are a reflection of who we are and everything we do flows from them. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is deceptive and cannot be cured. As a central organ we cannot live without it and conventionally the heart symbol is used as a centre of emotion. It is from the overflow of our hearts that we speak....

For the past year my blog has served me as of offloading point and blank canvas where I have shared the things that have taken hold of my heart and compelled me to write. To me this blog has in so many ways become an expression of myself and I've often told people that if you want to know a bit more about the core of Chido search through my blog. Although it has been my voice sometimes I have been shy about it and oftentimes secretly prayed that no one reads too much into the things that I post. As we (you and I) enter into year two of My Hearts Impressions I pray that this blog propels to be all that it can be in touching the hearts and minds of all who read. 

 

XOXO

Chido Dziva Chikwari

 

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Talking is for now and writing is forever!

18 Feb 2013 - My Hearts Impressions turned 1

 

If you want to be a writer write!!



Single: My 14 Feb Impressions

The 14 February movement/craze a.k.a VALENTINES DAY is upon us! It seems there is no way to escape it (red all over) and as a member of the #TeamSingle society I thought I should share something on this auspicious occasion...

Hanzi everyday must be like valentines day but let's be honest and face it....when 14 February starts creeping up on us expectations start to rise, we look forward to the day and anxiously await it's arrival. Single or not 14 Feb affects us all. I've had the pleasure of being both single and in full swing romance on this notorious day so I feel I may be justified in the comments to come..lol. These are all based on my personal experiences with heavy accents on where I'm at right now (single) :)

I remember my very first boyfriend going all out on Valentines day when I was in high school. He lived in a different city and on this day we speak of sent me a huge card (it may have been musical too), a bouquet of red roses and chocolate via courier. At my school gifts where distributed publicly after supper for boarders and I remember the entire dining hall going crazy over the sweet things he had to say and the lavish gift he had obviously put so much effort into. He really went all out for high school standards and I must say he set the bar pretty high. The years to follow were filled with similar highs and a few lows...love, romance, heartbreak and tears and well in my reflections this year I can boldly say I've learnt a few things... Like I said before all these have a significant bearing on the fact that I'm single so my opinions may be slightly biased.

My single years I value the most...Why? Because of "Expectations" and the room they have given me for Self Appreciation and Personal Growth....at some point in my single years I decided to jump onto the Miss Independent, I can make myself happy bandwagon and ensured that I kept myself busy and spoilt myself rotten on Valentines day. I'd take myself out and buy myself gifts, things I've always wanted and knew I would treasure for life- No one knows you better than yourself. A few days ago I was looking through my possessions and saw one of my gifts dated 14/2/2012 "To Chido from Chido" It made me smile and got me thinking about what happened to all the years where I wasn't single and it occurred to me that for some of them I actually didn't get gifts (LOL) and did nothing special either. This really wasn't an infringement on whoever I was dating at the time (believe me he was probably a great guy) but it's a reflection on the importance of making yourself happy and not being dependent on somebody else who may or may not disappoint you. I can remember moments of deeply felt disappointment when I expected at least something from my current 'male friend' and got nothing, or moments where I thought I made it clear I loved roses and got a card instead. This may be the team single voice in me speaking but in the years that I have been flying solo I've learnt a lot  about personal responsibility, being sure of yourself, being certain of your individuality -where your self worth is not defined by how somebody else treats you, standing as one and being 'free' in a way! Some of these things I personally lacked previously and believe being a relationship can negatively impact. I've learnt that while being with a guy can be awesome, being alone can be just as awesome too!

A friend of mine actually said something very profound the other day, she said, "When you are single you know it and you can own it!". I feel like she summarized where I'm at and how this year 14 Feb is going to be viewed by me. This year I am going to own it, I may be single right now but I know my Mr Man is coming. Next year this may not be my story. I cannot wait to meet this guy OR for our relationship to become official however right now it's all about The Value of ME outside of anyone else...I'm now crazy enough to buy myself roses, to take myself out or even my dad :)  Sooo If you are single, like myself, this is your day too! Love on YOU. Valentines day is just as important a day while alone as it would be with someone else. Get yourself something special :) Tis the Season!


Happy Valentines day to you reader!!!

XOXO

Chido Dziva Chikwari




P.S 1 I'm thinking the undertones of this day are very much materialistic and some people could have issues with that but I just wanted to zone in on the fact that although Valentines day may force you to be materialistic (buy gifts, spend money)  it's important to note that "Receiving Gifts" is one of the 5 love languages. That makes it just as important as spending Quality Time with your partner, sharing Words of Affirmation or Physical Touch! It's important! Oh and this is not exclusive to valentines day only! But I'm sure you know that...

P.S 2 This is where I'm at right now. Some of my readers may actually be in relationships and expecting stuff from their loved ones or planning on getting them something and well the advice I have for you is GO ALL OUT!!! Show him/her how much they mean to you...savor the time you have together because tomorrow is not guaranteed. There is no time like the present. For me it's going all out in my oneness and for you it's going all out in your oneness together too :) Whatever your circumstances take charge and own it :) Spread the LOVE!