Anything And Everything

The Dog That Chose the Wrong Side By Khanyisa Manganyi You know how kids can sometimes bully you with their cute little faces into making decisions that will ruin your life? That’s exactly what happened to me. “Mom, please, we need a dog! Everyone has a dog!” they chanted like it was some holy chorus from heaven. I thought, fine—maybe it’s a good idea. After all, dogs guard, they bark at thieves, they chase goats and cows away like good, loyal soldiers. So I gave in, thinking, “This could work. Two in one—kids happy, and thieves terrified.” What I didn’t know was that I was signing a contract with the devil himself disguised in fur. I thought it best to be responsible and adopt from SPCA . Surely safer, right? Wrong. Big mistake. Huge . The day that dog came into our yard, it was like the universe whispered, watch this chaos unfold. I swear the dog was bewitched. Instead of barking at stray goats and cows that strolled down the road, the dog jumped the wall—yes, like an Olympic hig...

The God Who Knows My Name By Khanyisa Manganyi When we think of God, it is easy to imagine Him as distant, seated high above the heavens, far removed from the struggles of daily life. Yet the Bible gives us something much more intimate, much more comforting: a God who reveals Himself through His names. Each name isn’t just a title, but a window into His heart, showing us how present, powerful, and personal He is in our lives. To the weary and overlooked, He is El Roi, the God who sees me ( Genesis 16:13 ). Hagar , alone and cast out, discovered that even in the wilderness, she was not invisible. God noticed her pain, and He notices ours too. When you feel unseen, remember that He watches over you with eyes full of love. To the weak and uncertain, He is El Shaddai, God Almighty ( Genesis 17:1 ). When Abraham and Sarah thought it was too late for promises to be fulfilled, God showed that His power is never limited by age, time, or circumstance. His might stretches beyond our impos...

The Weapon Hiding in Your Mouth By Khanyisa Manganyi Have you ever noticed how words slip out of our mouths faster than a WhatsApp status update —and yet their impact can outlast even the longest family gossip chain? It’s wild when you think about it. The tongue, this tiny muscle we hardly think about, carries more power than a loaded gun. Don’t believe me? Proverbs 18:21 spells it out perfectly: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” That means every word we speak is planting seeds, and whether they bloom into sweet fruit or sour thorns depends on what comes out of our lips. I’ll be honest—sometimes I’ve spoken things in the heat of the moment and immediately wished I could chase those words down the street, tackle them, and stuff them back into my mouth. But once spoken, words don’t expire like milk; they echo, they stick, and sometimes they bruise. Think about it: a careless comment can crush a soul, while a simple “you’ve got ...

When Praise Becomes a Weapon By Khanyisa Manganyi There is a thunder in the atmosphere when true praise rises. Not the quiet, casual kind of praise we mumble half-asleep on a Sunday morning, but the kind that shakes chains off wrists and causes prison doors to fling open. Praise is not a soft melody tucked in the corner of worship—it is a weapon sharpened in heaven’s armory, waiting to be wielded by those who know its power. Scripture doesn’t paint praise as background noise; it paints it as a battle cry . When the enemy comes in like a flood, God has given us a weapon not made of steel or fire, but of sound lifted to heaven. And this is why praise must never be underestimated. Think of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25–26 . Beaten, chained, and thrown into the deepest cell, their backs bleeding, their future uncertain. What did they do? They didn’t plot an escape. They didn’t collapse into despair. Instead, they prayed and sang hymns. And suddenly, the earth shook, the prison doors fle...

Blinded by Greed, Saved by Mercy By Khanyisa Manganyi There are stories in the Bible that feel like thunder rolling across the heavens, shaking us awake to see the majesty and patience of God. Balaam’s story is one of those. It’s not every day you read about a prophet , supposedly gifted with the power to interpret dreams and speak the words of the divine, suddenly having his plans interrupted by a donkey that talks. It sounds almost like a fable, yet it is Scripture—and through it, God shouts to us about His unmatched mercy and His determination to open the eyes of the blind, even when their blindness comes from stubbornness and greed . Balaam was not just an ordinary man; he was a prophet who held a reputation for his ability to bless or curse with power ( Numbers 22:6 ). Kings feared him, nations sought him, and his words carried weight. But with all his prophetic gifting, Balaam had one fatal weakness—he allowed greed to cloud his vision. When Balak , the king of Moab , saw t...

A Thousand Ways to Worship By Khanyisa Manganyi Worship is not confined to a song, a building, or a Sunday service —it is the language of the heart that reaches God in countless ways. There are a thousand ways to worship, and none of them must look the same, for the Lord searches not for perfect performance but for sincere devotion. Some lift their hands in praise, others kneel in silent prayer . Some find worship in the melody of a hymn , while others find it in quiet moments of gratitude when no one is watching. Worship is in the whispered “ thank You, Lord ” after a long day. It’s in choosing kindness when anger would have been easier. It’s in giving without expecting anything in return, in showing love to the poor, the broken , and the forgotten . It’s in reading the Word not just with the eyes, but with the heart that thirsts for understanding. Worship can be tears rolling down your cheeks in a season of loss, yet still saying, “You are good.” It can also be laughter shared wit...

The God Who Sees Me ( El Roi ) By Khanyisa Manganyi There’s something electrifying about being truly seen . Not the casual kind of “oh, I see you” people say when they notice your new hairstyle or your outfit, but the deep kind of seeing — the one that slices through the walls, the filters, the masks, and lands straight on your soul. That’s what Hagar experienced in the desert , when life had written her off as nothing more than a runaway servant. Abandoned, thirsty, hopeless, she meets the God who introduces Himself not as “The Almighty, Thunder-Wielding, Sky-Shaking Ruler,” but as El Roi — the God who sees me ( Genesis 16:13 ). And let me tell you, that hits different. Because when El Roi looks at me, He doesn’t just see what everyone else sees. He doesn’t see the mess-ups, the days I feel like a failure, or the labels people try to slap on me. He sees the blueprint He Himself sketched before I even took my first breath ( Jeremiah 1:5 ). He sees the me I sometimes forget to beli...

The Fifth Day : When the Seas Came Alive By Khanyisa Manganyi In just four days, God painted the heavens and the earth, and by the fifth day, He decided to make the waters dance with life. Imagine the silence of the deep ocean suddenly breaking with the rush of fins, tails, and creatures so magnificent our human minds can barely grasp it. One moment, the seas were empty, vast, and still—and then, at His single command, they exploded with movement. Fish of every color darted through the waters, schools moved as one body, and mighty whales broke the surface with their grand songs. If that’s not breathtaking, I don’t know what is. But here’s the part that gets me—I’ve always wondered what the Bible meant when it said God created “ great sea monsters .” Monsters? What kind of divine surprise is that? Were they giant whales , fearsome sea serpents , or perhaps something beyond our wildest imagination—like mermaids or creatures the human eye was never meant to see? The word “monsters” mak...