I had another encounter recently with Mr Joel Osteen (remember my post about our first encounter?), let me tell you what happened. I was attending this conference and was quickly reminded that those things are seldom fun. Right about the time i was getting bored with my sorroundings and looking for a distraction from my distraction of choice, Mr Osteen showed like a good fairy godmother (er erhm , i beg your pardon Mister Osteen!). He was sitting on the rugged shelves of a book stand! Of course, he was smiling like he usually does, and wearing a black suit. It’s true! We (Mr J. Osteen and me that is) quickly got to talking, and he started telling me all this good stuff about “Becoming a better you”! This was just the sort of thing i needed to hear so after the conference i took me, my tired body and Mr Osteen back home ( erhm ... i didn’t think Mrs Osteen would mind very much) LOL
Anyways, “Becoming a better you” is a great book by J. Osteen which i am reading at the moment!
THE GOOD STUFF
I want to share something i learnt this year from my bible study. I call it the twofold blessing or the law of compensation. Read with me...
“Instead of your former shame, you shall have a twofold recompense; instead of dishonour and reproach your people shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double what they had forfeited and everlasting joy shall be theirs” Isaiah 61: 7, AMP.
I first found out about the compensating blessing of God when i read that scripture but i didnt know what the two – fold recompense meant. I only knew from checking the dictionary that recompense means “ to give compensation to somebody for an injury or loss “ . On the authority of that word, i knew i could lay claim to a twofold compensation if i had an area of injury ( shame, dishonour, reproach e.t.c) or loss ( forfeited rights, with held dues, deprived entitlements). I understood that God would make things up to me where i had received undeserved treatment or suffered innocently- that much was clear. I would later find out more.
A few months afterward, i was in church with alot to thank God for when a thought dropped in my spirit;
God restores, then He compensates!
As i thought about it, i remembered Job. I became restless, waiting for the last “amen” so i could race home to check out Jobs experience for myself. I was eager to see if i would find a definate place where it said that God specifically restored then compensated and when i checked i saw the twofold, two-part blessing there!
1. The blessing of Restoration: The blessing that turns the captivity. The blessing that brings a turn about (a turn about is the act of turning completely around in the opposite direction or a shift from one situation to another that is the complete opposite). The blessing of restoration reinstates, reestablishes or restitutes.
2. The blessing of a Double portion: The blessing that doubles, the blessing that gives twice as much as what was before, the double for your trouble blessing, the blessing that attracts honour, brings sympathy and gives comfort and compensation.
Let me show you;
In the book of Job, from the first chapter, Job’s faith was tested (not unlike the trials you and i have in our lives) and in a single day he lost his assets & wealth (7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 females donkeys), and all of his seven sons and three daughters. When God turned about Job’s situation, the book records that God blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. I believe the blessing Job received was the twofold recompense mentioned in Isaiah.
See Job 42: 10
“And the lord (1)turned the captivity of job and restored his fortunes; also the lord(2) gave Job twice as much as he had before.” AMP.
God restored all of Jobs children and every asset he had lost, then he doubled it giving Job 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. Talk about double for your trouble! The blessing even overflowed to the next generation because Job’s daughters were the fairest girls in the land and although they were women, they received an equal inheritance as their brothers!
“Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.”Isaiah 61: 7. MSG
It also happened for Joseph. When God turned Joseph’s slavery around, he restored his freedom and then he gave him double for his trouble- he took him from the prison to the palace! Wow! When God restores, he compensates; when he reverses captivity, he makes up for lost ground; when he allows you go through the shame and the blame; he allows you to be comforted! He sends a blessing of compensation- the twofold recompense!
He is a God who gives beauty for ashes, strenght for fear, gladness for mourning, peace for despair! He is a God who turns mourning into dancing! Who binds the broken hearted and heals their wounds! God will make us forget the pain of yesterday! He is a good God! Say with me:
Lord i thank you because i will rejoice in my portion.
Thank you because you will restore whatever i have been deprived of.
Thank you because you will compensate me for everything i have lost.
Thank you because i have double for my trouble. Amen
October 29, 2010
October 25, 2010
FALLING IN LOVE WITH MY LIFE.
FALLING IN LOVE WITH MY LIFE.
I took another sad look at my blog the other day and decided to do something about the sinking feeling i felt at it’s unupdated status;
Nike, this simply wouldn’t do!
I am a writer, and a writer rights, write?
LOL
Recently, a friend of mine from school invited me to collaborate on his radio project. It’s called Da Music Room and it’s a radio spin off of Nigeria’s first gospel news and music magazine- Imbue Magazine. It would be motivating, uplifting, about music and for young people and hey, it was radio, i couldn’t resist! I and radio have a little history, hmmn now let me see...
Way back in secondary school i was in Press club. I can barely remember any constructive activities back then except the club meetings which were usually dominated by the senior students. I also vividly remember we paid club dues. One day, one of the seniors informed me that i was behind with my dues and she promptly proceeded to total up my indebtedness! When she announced the amount which must have been something in the region of N100- N150, i quickly withdrew my membership , alarmed that that was more than half of my pocket money at the time! LOL! So that was the end of Press club. They were kind enough to give me a certificate of membership to remember them by at graduation though!
I soon transited to University and joined the school’s radio club in my fourth year. It was a short but memorable stay! We ran the affairs of the station by ourselves, developed the programs, and came on air from 4pm everyday. I met other talented young people hungry to try out their raw and sometimes trained talent on the school airwaves. That was fun while it lasted and i met friends who are both in my life and in radio till today (you know who you are fam!).
School done and i moved out of my small town to the big city of real street lights, real cinemas and upwardly mobile people... everything looked big and fascinating! I figured the radio stations would be bigger, the sponsorships better and the guests more accessible and i was right but i had to start at the beaten tracks called NYSC,National Youth Service Corps.
During the weeks at the National Youth Service Corps boot camp, i joined the Orientation Broadcasting Service (OBS) as the Vice President for my batch. I developed programs for our make shift station and ran two of my own. One was a motivational talk and the other was about relationships. On the latter, i and my co – presenter would come up with naughty, pretend relationship problems and ask the other corp members to come up with advice...
’I have a boyfriend outside camp and i have fallen in love with someone here, what do i do?’
Corp members would then write their equally naughty responses and we’d broadcast their comments! It was hilarious! People would actually come into the studio while i was on to see the owner of the voice and i got a lot of complimentary shoutouts from our listeners! lol.
Soon after youth service i did a couple of things on the radio for friends but it would take me another year before i was invited to co- present for Da Music room. It airs in the capital city, Abuja and you can hear yours truly and co –presenter Paulette on Sunday afternoon, for a solid hour from 11pm – 12noon on hot 98.3 Abuja. This collaboration that started out of supporting my friend’s vision has come to be a blessing to me as well!
On a parting note, It’s been one busy year and i almost forgot how to live because of all the doings. BUT, i took time to fall in love with my life again and here’s how, it’s wholesome advice people and it’s all good- ENJOY!
1. EMBRACE WHERE YOU ARE
2. CELEBRATE YOUR LITTLE VICTORIES
3. TAKE ADVANTAGES OF OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT
4. ELIMINATE WORRY
5. PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE
6. WORK ON YOURSELF
7. INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS
8. SPACE OUT YOUR GOALS
9. HUSTLE WHILE YOU WAIT
10. HELP OTHERS ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS
I took another sad look at my blog the other day and decided to do something about the sinking feeling i felt at it’s unupdated status;
Nike, this simply wouldn’t do!
I am a writer, and a writer rights, write?
LOL
Recently, a friend of mine from school invited me to collaborate on his radio project. It’s called Da Music Room and it’s a radio spin off of Nigeria’s first gospel news and music magazine- Imbue Magazine. It would be motivating, uplifting, about music and for young people and hey, it was radio, i couldn’t resist! I and radio have a little history, hmmn now let me see...
Way back in secondary school i was in Press club. I can barely remember any constructive activities back then except the club meetings which were usually dominated by the senior students. I also vividly remember we paid club dues. One day, one of the seniors informed me that i was behind with my dues and she promptly proceeded to total up my indebtedness! When she announced the amount which must have been something in the region of N100- N150, i quickly withdrew my membership , alarmed that that was more than half of my pocket money at the time! LOL! So that was the end of Press club. They were kind enough to give me a certificate of membership to remember them by at graduation though!
I soon transited to University and joined the school’s radio club in my fourth year. It was a short but memorable stay! We ran the affairs of the station by ourselves, developed the programs, and came on air from 4pm everyday. I met other talented young people hungry to try out their raw and sometimes trained talent on the school airwaves. That was fun while it lasted and i met friends who are both in my life and in radio till today (you know who you are fam!).
School done and i moved out of my small town to the big city of real street lights, real cinemas and upwardly mobile people... everything looked big and fascinating! I figured the radio stations would be bigger, the sponsorships better and the guests more accessible and i was right but i had to start at the beaten tracks called NYSC,National Youth Service Corps.
During the weeks at the National Youth Service Corps boot camp, i joined the Orientation Broadcasting Service (OBS) as the Vice President for my batch. I developed programs for our make shift station and ran two of my own. One was a motivational talk and the other was about relationships. On the latter, i and my co – presenter would come up with naughty, pretend relationship problems and ask the other corp members to come up with advice...
’I have a boyfriend outside camp and i have fallen in love with someone here, what do i do?’
Corp members would then write their equally naughty responses and we’d broadcast their comments! It was hilarious! People would actually come into the studio while i was on to see the owner of the voice and i got a lot of complimentary shoutouts from our listeners! lol.
Soon after youth service i did a couple of things on the radio for friends but it would take me another year before i was invited to co- present for Da Music room. It airs in the capital city, Abuja and you can hear yours truly and co –presenter Paulette on Sunday afternoon, for a solid hour from 11pm – 12noon on hot 98.3 Abuja. This collaboration that started out of supporting my friend’s vision has come to be a blessing to me as well!
On a parting note, It’s been one busy year and i almost forgot how to live because of all the doings. BUT, i took time to fall in love with my life again and here’s how, it’s wholesome advice people and it’s all good- ENJOY!
1. EMBRACE WHERE YOU ARE
2. CELEBRATE YOUR LITTLE VICTORIES
3. TAKE ADVANTAGES OF OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT
4. ELIMINATE WORRY
5. PREPARE FOR YOUR FUTURE
6. WORK ON YOURSELF
7. INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS
8. SPACE OUT YOUR GOALS
9. HUSTLE WHILE YOU WAIT
10. HELP OTHERS ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS
May 23, 2010
BOBO OR BOO?
CONFESSIONS OF A BONDAHOLIC!
If girl- bonding were an art, i think i have perfected it! One of my girlfriends is counting down to her happily-ever-after, and she's been spending the precious remaining threads of her singlehood weaving stronger bonds with the girls and me! In between becoming experts on all things bridal and going over details and more details, we have found time for sisterly chats with the bride to be! Oh! don't worry about what that means, it's just girl -talk for saying we've been shameless busybodies!
I mean whether she is 40 or 22, the announcement of a girl's engagement always meets with a flurry of female, hair-flying, scream- squealing, hand- flapping, totally emotional displays! After the excitement settles, the blushing culprit, who is not just the fiancee and not yet a bride,is put through a gauntlet of questions; ranging from;
"when did you know he was the one?" to " are you scared?".
Then comes the admiration phase. This is when somewhere in the third degree session, this bride-to be suddenly grows from "the girl" of yester- years into a "confident woman" before your very eyes; as if her decision to take this leap of faith, has somehow baptised her into full womanhood. She begins to look like she knows something you, the single woman somehow do not see and that that singular thing makes her superior- makes her sure...set...ready!
"she's no longer on our level o!"
Then there's the last phase, where all your emotions first settle into deep respect for your friend, the conspiracy called love and the marriage instituition,before they finally sediment into a quiet, concealed assurance that if it can happen for one, then it can happen for the other!
oh, I just love happy endings!
wee!
Enuff Nike!
Ok, so i wrote this one about 6 months ago and couldn't think of a better time to share than now, so to all my Nigerian brothers and all the women who love them, this one's for you!
BOBO OR BOO?
If he can pass for a local on the outside but is an “onyibo” on the inside, you can be certain you have an intercontinental Nigerian guy a.k.a boo! You can tell because he doesnt wear “ankara” but always looks spiffy in crisp shirts from next or gap. He probably calls you “baby” and uses intangible pet names like “snugglebunny” to describe you. And yes, he doesnt always get your innuedos and you dont hear everything he says the first time, but when he says “i love you” , you know his is the voice you want to hear first thing when you wake up and last thing before you fall asleep! He knows how to pamper and spoil you and probably gives you flowers, chocolates, perfumes, and designer clothes from his trips abroad. He is quite the gentleman and probably pulls out your chair and opens the door for you. He doesn’t mind that you’re career driven and is quick to support you whether you want to be a doctor or an artist. When he tells you sweet nothings, you blush and giggle because even though you know it’s absolute rubbish, it makes perfect sense!
And if he says “i rove you” when he means “i love you”, then you know you have a naija guy with a local flavour, a.k.a bobo! You may fault his phonetics but there’s plenty to like about this son of the soil. With the right steel in his chest and the perfect pout on his lips, you can’t deny you secretly like his swagger and that almost brash way he talks in naija slang. He probably says stuff like “no long thing” and calls you pet names like “o baby”, “sweetim”or “Nne”, mother because yours reminds him of his mother’s love. He probably takes you to eat “nkwobe” and “isi ewu” and knows where to find the best point and kill joints where you can eat fresh fish. And even though he is not from your home town, he has won your family over and whenever he comes to visit, your siblings know that “big bros” is around. He understands the igbo word- “maintenance moni” and doesnt wait for you to ask but just takes care of it. He buys your recharge cards and doesn’t expect you to spend all of it on him and yes, he’s even man enough to tell you when he’s broke!
Regardless of the tonal inflections of his tribal language on the english language or the cultural imprint of his environment on his behaviour, naija man na naija man! So ladies lets make a toast, shall we, to the Nigerian man.
Naija man wey sabi!
If girl- bonding were an art, i think i have perfected it! One of my girlfriends is counting down to her happily-ever-after, and she's been spending the precious remaining threads of her singlehood weaving stronger bonds with the girls and me! In between becoming experts on all things bridal and going over details and more details, we have found time for sisterly chats with the bride to be! Oh! don't worry about what that means, it's just girl -talk for saying we've been shameless busybodies!
I mean whether she is 40 or 22, the announcement of a girl's engagement always meets with a flurry of female, hair-flying, scream- squealing, hand- flapping, totally emotional displays! After the excitement settles, the blushing culprit, who is not just the fiancee and not yet a bride,is put through a gauntlet of questions; ranging from;
"when did you know he was the one?" to " are you scared?".
Then comes the admiration phase. This is when somewhere in the third degree session, this bride-to be suddenly grows from "the girl" of yester- years into a "confident woman" before your very eyes; as if her decision to take this leap of faith, has somehow baptised her into full womanhood. She begins to look like she knows something you, the single woman somehow do not see and that that singular thing makes her superior- makes her sure...set...ready!
"she's no longer on our level o!"
Then there's the last phase, where all your emotions first settle into deep respect for your friend, the conspiracy called love and the marriage instituition,before they finally sediment into a quiet, concealed assurance that if it can happen for one, then it can happen for the other!
oh, I just love happy endings!
wee!
Enuff Nike!
Ok, so i wrote this one about 6 months ago and couldn't think of a better time to share than now, so to all my Nigerian brothers and all the women who love them, this one's for you!
BOBO OR BOO?
If he can pass for a local on the outside but is an “onyibo” on the inside, you can be certain you have an intercontinental Nigerian guy a.k.a boo! You can tell because he doesnt wear “ankara” but always looks spiffy in crisp shirts from next or gap. He probably calls you “baby” and uses intangible pet names like “snugglebunny” to describe you. And yes, he doesnt always get your innuedos and you dont hear everything he says the first time, but when he says “i love you” , you know his is the voice you want to hear first thing when you wake up and last thing before you fall asleep! He knows how to pamper and spoil you and probably gives you flowers, chocolates, perfumes, and designer clothes from his trips abroad. He is quite the gentleman and probably pulls out your chair and opens the door for you. He doesn’t mind that you’re career driven and is quick to support you whether you want to be a doctor or an artist. When he tells you sweet nothings, you blush and giggle because even though you know it’s absolute rubbish, it makes perfect sense!
And if he says “i rove you” when he means “i love you”, then you know you have a naija guy with a local flavour, a.k.a bobo! You may fault his phonetics but there’s plenty to like about this son of the soil. With the right steel in his chest and the perfect pout on his lips, you can’t deny you secretly like his swagger and that almost brash way he talks in naija slang. He probably says stuff like “no long thing” and calls you pet names like “o baby”, “sweetim”or “Nne”, mother because yours reminds him of his mother’s love. He probably takes you to eat “nkwobe” and “isi ewu” and knows where to find the best point and kill joints where you can eat fresh fish. And even though he is not from your home town, he has won your family over and whenever he comes to visit, your siblings know that “big bros” is around. He understands the igbo word- “maintenance moni” and doesnt wait for you to ask but just takes care of it. He buys your recharge cards and doesn’t expect you to spend all of it on him and yes, he’s even man enough to tell you when he’s broke!
Regardless of the tonal inflections of his tribal language on the english language or the cultural imprint of his environment on his behaviour, naija man na naija man! So ladies lets make a toast, shall we, to the Nigerian man.
Naija man wey sabi!
March 03, 2010
All is fair in love, war... and boarding school?
OK i’m back!
I hadn’t expected my last post would be the last for ‘09 but it turned out that way. It wasn’t a typical case of writer’s block only that my entrepreneurial instincts have been awakened in the last three months and it’s taken every ounce of my creative energy leaving me none to write with. But i’m coming out of my hiatus and catching up with the rest of blogworld so hey everybody, i’m back!
Recently, an old friend contacted me for the first time in almost ten years. I was totally surprised to hear from her and was even more bewildered when i realised why she was getting back in touch. As the story slowly tumbled out, she explained that while we were in school together she had done something to me which i had completely forgotten. It was one of those schoolgirl pranks that didnt matter afterwards and now she was calling ten years later to apologise and restitute. I couldn’t stop myself from tearing up. In the middle of wondering why she hadn’t forgotten what had happened so long ago and of wondering what was causing her sudden need to make it up to me, i couldn’t help thinking of how important it is to mend fences when you can and not be in a position where you have to start looking for someone you’d offended to apologise later. I quickly put her worries to rest and assured her it didnt matter at all. Afterall, all is fair in love, war and boarding school, eh?
His word, His ways and His will.
This year i believe God’s Great help is available to do mighty things. I heard the phrase above early in the year and it very simply amplified for me the direction my quest for God would take. Many of us by reading it and hearing it, know God’s word (the bible) but we do not know God’s ways and are very often totally confused about His will. To know Him intimately, we need to know His word, His ways and His will. Knowing God’s word is only knowing a part of him. The part that speaks. But knowing God’s way is knowing the part that acts. The bible describes God’s ways as being higher than our ways , it also encourages us to observe the way God works and fall in line. God’s ways are intriguing. One of his ways is forgiveness. No matter what we do, God is ready to forgive us. Another one is love. It is in God’s character to love us inspite of what we do and who we are. That’s God. That’s just the way he is. We are called to be like Him in our ways too! When we know God’s word and God’s ways, it will be easy to discern His will.
So my silence has been broken, now i can go to bed... its ten past midnight! But before Zzzzs and before my foray into the land between asleep and awake, let me take out time to brag on another blogger whose blogs i follow, on the launch of her blog series now turned book “in my dreams it was simpler.” Favoured girl’s “ a journey down the aisle” is my favourite of her blogs and it chronicles her experience from her single and dating days up on till her married ones highlighting lessons she’s learnt along the way. She is very bold about her relationship with God and weaves it into all her stories of her human ones. In her blog you meet the lady , her lover and her lord . From blogs to books, she’s taking blogging to a new level! Reminds me of another blogger- Uche Eze of Bella Naija. Big ups ladies!
I totally look forward to the unfolding of two thousand and ten, this is the year for mighty men!
I hadn’t expected my last post would be the last for ‘09 but it turned out that way. It wasn’t a typical case of writer’s block only that my entrepreneurial instincts have been awakened in the last three months and it’s taken every ounce of my creative energy leaving me none to write with. But i’m coming out of my hiatus and catching up with the rest of blogworld so hey everybody, i’m back!
Recently, an old friend contacted me for the first time in almost ten years. I was totally surprised to hear from her and was even more bewildered when i realised why she was getting back in touch. As the story slowly tumbled out, she explained that while we were in school together she had done something to me which i had completely forgotten. It was one of those schoolgirl pranks that didnt matter afterwards and now she was calling ten years later to apologise and restitute. I couldn’t stop myself from tearing up. In the middle of wondering why she hadn’t forgotten what had happened so long ago and of wondering what was causing her sudden need to make it up to me, i couldn’t help thinking of how important it is to mend fences when you can and not be in a position where you have to start looking for someone you’d offended to apologise later. I quickly put her worries to rest and assured her it didnt matter at all. Afterall, all is fair in love, war and boarding school, eh?
His word, His ways and His will.
This year i believe God’s Great help is available to do mighty things. I heard the phrase above early in the year and it very simply amplified for me the direction my quest for God would take. Many of us by reading it and hearing it, know God’s word (the bible) but we do not know God’s ways and are very often totally confused about His will. To know Him intimately, we need to know His word, His ways and His will. Knowing God’s word is only knowing a part of him. The part that speaks. But knowing God’s way is knowing the part that acts. The bible describes God’s ways as being higher than our ways , it also encourages us to observe the way God works and fall in line. God’s ways are intriguing. One of his ways is forgiveness. No matter what we do, God is ready to forgive us. Another one is love. It is in God’s character to love us inspite of what we do and who we are. That’s God. That’s just the way he is. We are called to be like Him in our ways too! When we know God’s word and God’s ways, it will be easy to discern His will.
So my silence has been broken, now i can go to bed... its ten past midnight! But before Zzzzs and before my foray into the land between asleep and awake, let me take out time to brag on another blogger whose blogs i follow, on the launch of her blog series now turned book “in my dreams it was simpler.” Favoured girl’s “ a journey down the aisle” is my favourite of her blogs and it chronicles her experience from her single and dating days up on till her married ones highlighting lessons she’s learnt along the way. She is very bold about her relationship with God and weaves it into all her stories of her human ones. In her blog you meet the lady , her lover and her lord . From blogs to books, she’s taking blogging to a new level! Reminds me of another blogger- Uche Eze of Bella Naija. Big ups ladies!
I totally look forward to the unfolding of two thousand and ten, this is the year for mighty men!
November 29, 2009
Been took home to Mama.
I woke up one harmattan morning knowing my emotions were against me. I was aware of a feeling of sadness that made me just want to cry. I also knew without needing to dig too deep what it was all about. A delightfully dear friend of mine who took a cupid arrow in the heart for me once, and who thankfully is still affectionately disposed to me regardless, had come to visit the day before and we played catch up. Even though we’d been pals a few years, i relished the quality of our friendship as it now stood; never been lovers, twice been friends. He told me all about his career, his forays in business, his writing which we have in common, it’s evolution and of course his love interests ( I’m a hopeless romantic, i never spare my friend’s love lives) . As our talk wore on into the last minutes of conversation, he suddenly said to me, “Nike you are the type to take home to Mama” . His comment didn’t have the usual effect on me, i was lost in thought.
In the first six months of this year life was a breeze. I was ensconced in testimony after testimony, month after month, but as the year stepped into it’s concluding half cycle, i got unlucky in love and had a hurtfull falling out with it. As if hit by a gaint wave, i found myself at the low ebbs of life’s current and literally found myself there. In the whirl of battered emotions, something strange began to happen- my spiritual life had a chance to grow. Humbled by pain, numbed by suffering, i was more open to listen to God. I was so sobered that i wrote in one journal entry:
I’m numb
I have no pride
I have no shame
No tears to cry
No tantrums to throw
I’m no longer looking for a way out
I ‘m not looking for a short cut
I’m just waiting for this cup to pass over me
I’m waiting to be fine again
Interestingly, this year i set for myself the laudable goal to read the entire new testament. My strategy was to read a chapter or two a day. I made this decision in Febraury when i had this unsettling feeling of “hollowness” settle over me. A phenomenum i later recognised as God nudging me in the area of my commitment to a consistent, daily fellowship with him. But about the time of my fall from cloud nine i had slipped into a dull routine. It was all beginning to be a bore and i had started loosing ground and focus. Love-wrecked however, i turned to God again and together, God and i found the way back to solid ground. On the sturdy steps of a rejuvenated relationship with God, my shaken sense of self was centered again and i quickly regained my elasticity (the ability of a thing to return quickly to it’s original shape and size after being bent, stretched or squashed) and pulled back tautly into form. Incidentally too at that time, i miraculously encountered Joel Osteen in his book- “Your best life now”. I know that book was well timed to my exact need of it by the author and orchestrator of love Himself. He loves me so! My awe of God’s timing was heightened when i observed that i would just be experiencing a withdrawal symptom, when the chapter i was reading would be teaching on how to cope with the SPECIFIC thing i was dealing with! I have never before seen that type of synchronicity between real life and a book, but as i concluded chapter after chapter of that book, i literally closed chapters of what has now become a retreating past. This was also when i started journaling the lessons from my daily devotions and curiously, there seems to have been an outstanding theme in all the messages i’d been receiving- messages very relevant to what i was going through. I’d love to share what i’ve been learning but i’ll save that for another post.
Counting blessings; Listing lessons.
One of the things i’m very thankful to God for this year, are ideas. I’ve had so many ideas i’m excited about, ones i think are brilliant. My mind has been alive with them and alert to insights dropped into my very thoughts at odd moments. One of my ideas was to send my article to TRUE LOVE West Africa, it’s one of the articles i featured here in January this year. I was absolutely and pleasantly surprised when the article won a cash prize and was published in the prestigious magazine!
Yay!
So i’m thankful for i-d-e-a-s! I’m also thankful for the amount of information i’ve acquired in both physical and spiritual things. The bible defines a mature, well –rounded christian as someone who has spiritual understanding, see that in one of my fav scriptures of ’09:
“...don’t loose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others”. 2 Peter 1:5-8 The Message/Remix version.
When i found that verse a while ago, i fell in love with the prose. It paints with action words the picture of a seasoned child of God. There is a certain intrigue in the character these words describe, let me show you.
Our basic faith is our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, first as our saviour ( saving us from a damned here and now and a damned hereafter as a direct consequence of sin) and as our Lord ( the one we offer our worship, service and whom we obey). But that’s not all there is to developing our christian status, that’s just the basic not the whole. In addition to being saved and church- going, we should develop good character. This has to do with our morals, integrity and behaivour. Then we should add to that spiritual understanding. This implies that we should acquire a deep, firm, well- founded and resolved understanding of spiritual things. As christians we should be knowledgeable about God, faith , healing, and unworldly things. We should not be left in the dark or be ignorant and unlearned in this area but we should know about them from the bible’s perspective. In addition to that we should develop alert, watchful discipline. This means we should apply a concious control over our lifestyles, values and beliefs. We should then add to that the quality of passionate patience. Isn’t that such a paradox? Patience is the ability to endure waiting or delay or provocation or unpleasant circumstances calmly without becoming angry or upset. And to be passionate in the most watered down, diluted sense means to be willing. So the quality of passionate patience adds up as being willing to endure something difficult with a calm attitude.
Do you already see how beautiful we could be if we were matured christians not just faith speaking, church going, empty ones? I was especially pleased and interested in the next quality.
We, christians are to develop into our persona, reverent wonder. We should develop the sixth sense of wonder. We should be able to see and recognise beauty, the miraculous and the lovely. Christians should exude the charm that comes from the ability to see that a basic beauty permeates things and people. Love for people comes from and is of God, a christian should abound with love for people, affection for others and exuberance about life. These fruits grow out of God’s love for and in us. Added to these traits, a seasoned christian should develop warm friendliness. That’s quite a contrast to our typical gruff, critical or even rude attitudes. People around you and around me should enjoy our warmth. Our friendliness should show itself as helpful, welcoming, tolerant and free of cutthroat competition or mean-spirited conniving. Finally a seasoned christian should show generous love. We should be big hearted, open handed people. Giving in time, in cash and in kind, substantial, sufficient and princely offerings of ourselves .
There aren’t many christians who are a combination of all these traits but the bible explains that each one of these qualities are essential to the development of our basic faith. Most christians stop at being saved, we need to grow. Seasoned with the spices of good character, spiritual understanding, passionate patience and alert discipline and sweetened with the flavours of reverent wonder, warm friendliness, generous love; we can attain the full stature and maturity of our christian transformation. Then will our profession of faith be worth savoring. Then will we be well cooked and suited to our Father’s palate.
Closing ceremony of ’09.
This isn’t my last post for the year but as the year counts down into another, for me the closing ceremony has begun. Part of the activities of my personal 2009 closing ceremony includes that i will be sitting back to count my blessings. This means i will think of every “remembrable” thing (pardon my French) that i’ve been blessed with or blessed to have and prepare a praise, an offering and a dance for the Lord to thank Him. The second thing i’m going to be doing is to go over the four journals i have written this year and review all i’ve learnt. I’ll be taking time off my bible and other books for a while and will use my journalized devotions during my quiet time. Finally i will take time to focus on the new year and be ready for her by the time she gets here. So let the count down begin! Oooooh i’m soooo excited!
In the first six months of this year life was a breeze. I was ensconced in testimony after testimony, month after month, but as the year stepped into it’s concluding half cycle, i got unlucky in love and had a hurtfull falling out with it. As if hit by a gaint wave, i found myself at the low ebbs of life’s current and literally found myself there. In the whirl of battered emotions, something strange began to happen- my spiritual life had a chance to grow. Humbled by pain, numbed by suffering, i was more open to listen to God. I was so sobered that i wrote in one journal entry:
I’m numb
I have no pride
I have no shame
No tears to cry
No tantrums to throw
I’m no longer looking for a way out
I ‘m not looking for a short cut
I’m just waiting for this cup to pass over me
I’m waiting to be fine again
Interestingly, this year i set for myself the laudable goal to read the entire new testament. My strategy was to read a chapter or two a day. I made this decision in Febraury when i had this unsettling feeling of “hollowness” settle over me. A phenomenum i later recognised as God nudging me in the area of my commitment to a consistent, daily fellowship with him. But about the time of my fall from cloud nine i had slipped into a dull routine. It was all beginning to be a bore and i had started loosing ground and focus. Love-wrecked however, i turned to God again and together, God and i found the way back to solid ground. On the sturdy steps of a rejuvenated relationship with God, my shaken sense of self was centered again and i quickly regained my elasticity (the ability of a thing to return quickly to it’s original shape and size after being bent, stretched or squashed) and pulled back tautly into form. Incidentally too at that time, i miraculously encountered Joel Osteen in his book- “Your best life now”. I know that book was well timed to my exact need of it by the author and orchestrator of love Himself. He loves me so! My awe of God’s timing was heightened when i observed that i would just be experiencing a withdrawal symptom, when the chapter i was reading would be teaching on how to cope with the SPECIFIC thing i was dealing with! I have never before seen that type of synchronicity between real life and a book, but as i concluded chapter after chapter of that book, i literally closed chapters of what has now become a retreating past. This was also when i started journaling the lessons from my daily devotions and curiously, there seems to have been an outstanding theme in all the messages i’d been receiving- messages very relevant to what i was going through. I’d love to share what i’ve been learning but i’ll save that for another post.
Counting blessings; Listing lessons.
One of the things i’m very thankful to God for this year, are ideas. I’ve had so many ideas i’m excited about, ones i think are brilliant. My mind has been alive with them and alert to insights dropped into my very thoughts at odd moments. One of my ideas was to send my article to TRUE LOVE West Africa, it’s one of the articles i featured here in January this year. I was absolutely and pleasantly surprised when the article won a cash prize and was published in the prestigious magazine!
Yay!
So i’m thankful for i-d-e-a-s! I’m also thankful for the amount of information i’ve acquired in both physical and spiritual things. The bible defines a mature, well –rounded christian as someone who has spiritual understanding, see that in one of my fav scriptures of ’09:
“...don’t loose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others”. 2 Peter 1:5-8 The Message/Remix version.
When i found that verse a while ago, i fell in love with the prose. It paints with action words the picture of a seasoned child of God. There is a certain intrigue in the character these words describe, let me show you.
Our basic faith is our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, first as our saviour ( saving us from a damned here and now and a damned hereafter as a direct consequence of sin) and as our Lord ( the one we offer our worship, service and whom we obey). But that’s not all there is to developing our christian status, that’s just the basic not the whole. In addition to being saved and church- going, we should develop good character. This has to do with our morals, integrity and behaivour. Then we should add to that spiritual understanding. This implies that we should acquire a deep, firm, well- founded and resolved understanding of spiritual things. As christians we should be knowledgeable about God, faith , healing, and unworldly things. We should not be left in the dark or be ignorant and unlearned in this area but we should know about them from the bible’s perspective. In addition to that we should develop alert, watchful discipline. This means we should apply a concious control over our lifestyles, values and beliefs. We should then add to that the quality of passionate patience. Isn’t that such a paradox? Patience is the ability to endure waiting or delay or provocation or unpleasant circumstances calmly without becoming angry or upset. And to be passionate in the most watered down, diluted sense means to be willing. So the quality of passionate patience adds up as being willing to endure something difficult with a calm attitude.
Do you already see how beautiful we could be if we were matured christians not just faith speaking, church going, empty ones? I was especially pleased and interested in the next quality.
We, christians are to develop into our persona, reverent wonder. We should develop the sixth sense of wonder. We should be able to see and recognise beauty, the miraculous and the lovely. Christians should exude the charm that comes from the ability to see that a basic beauty permeates things and people. Love for people comes from and is of God, a christian should abound with love for people, affection for others and exuberance about life. These fruits grow out of God’s love for and in us. Added to these traits, a seasoned christian should develop warm friendliness. That’s quite a contrast to our typical gruff, critical or even rude attitudes. People around you and around me should enjoy our warmth. Our friendliness should show itself as helpful, welcoming, tolerant and free of cutthroat competition or mean-spirited conniving. Finally a seasoned christian should show generous love. We should be big hearted, open handed people. Giving in time, in cash and in kind, substantial, sufficient and princely offerings of ourselves .
There aren’t many christians who are a combination of all these traits but the bible explains that each one of these qualities are essential to the development of our basic faith. Most christians stop at being saved, we need to grow. Seasoned with the spices of good character, spiritual understanding, passionate patience and alert discipline and sweetened with the flavours of reverent wonder, warm friendliness, generous love; we can attain the full stature and maturity of our christian transformation. Then will our profession of faith be worth savoring. Then will we be well cooked and suited to our Father’s palate.
Closing ceremony of ’09.
This isn’t my last post for the year but as the year counts down into another, for me the closing ceremony has begun. Part of the activities of my personal 2009 closing ceremony includes that i will be sitting back to count my blessings. This means i will think of every “remembrable” thing (pardon my French) that i’ve been blessed with or blessed to have and prepare a praise, an offering and a dance for the Lord to thank Him. The second thing i’m going to be doing is to go over the four journals i have written this year and review all i’ve learnt. I’ll be taking time off my bible and other books for a while and will use my journalized devotions during my quiet time. Finally i will take time to focus on the new year and be ready for her by the time she gets here. So let the count down begin! Oooooh i’m soooo excited!
November 06, 2009
I USED TO FEEL GUILTY WHEN I DIDN’T READ MY BIBLE BUT NOW I JUST DON’T.
At the beginning of the year i had a wake up call. I had been playing hop, skip and jump in my personal bible study and prayer time and i experienced an unusual and uncomfortable feeling of emptiness inside me that i couldn’t bear to live with it. This persisted over a period of time until i realised it was God letting me experience the emptiness of a life without Him at the centre of it. I knew without being told that it had everything to do with the lack of consistency in my learning about God and his ways and in my training in being like Jesus who is the exact image of who God wants us to be. I also knew it wasn’t just a question of my not doing the ritual of “quiet time” or “daily devotion” or “personal altar” or whatever you might call it, i knew it was an issue bordering strongly on my attitude to God and the things of God. It was an issue of things like committment and faithfulness. Those are terms that come up when you’re in a relationship with someone you’re into and these are the qualities that take our experience of God out of impersonal routine into a real , tangible, results- to –show- for – it, relationship with the Living God. God will always match committment, faithfulness and obedience with passionate involvement but he barely tolerates reluctant, hot today; cold tommorow, once in a while, when i can, committment. It’s like a relationship between you and someone you love, their indifference to you would be worse than their outright rejection of you.
So i brushed up. I got my act together and stopped slacking like someone reading this should. I looked into all the reasons why i had been unable to maintain the discipline of devotions before and here is one; I didn’t have a plan to follow. The reason you hop, skip , jump on your devotions is because you don’t have a plan. If you rely on just opening your bible to some random page and reading whatever you see, it’s just as silly as preparing for an exam by guessing the pages and topics to read instead of reading the syllabus.
An example of a plan is one of these: Read the bible from start to finish in one year by reading a minimum of two chapters from the old and new testament each; Read the entire New testament in one year by reading at least two chapters a day; Read the entire old testament in one year by reading at least two chapters a day; Read selected books each month e.g study the life of Esther or Daniel; study all the books that chronicle the life of Jesus on earth- the gospels( Matthew, Mark, Luke and John); Read the books that deal with your attitudes or areas of weakness e.g the book of Proverbs that deals with issues like anger, talking before thinking, hard work or wisdom, the book of Hebrews to understand the free gift of salvation, the book of Timothy and Titus to understand what the bible says about you and your family, your spouse, your employers, the government and your church or read the bible by topics using a devotional, your bible index or a book that gives you selected reading over a certain period e.g The purpose driven life by Rick Warren. This is a very good book, please read it.
What Is Your Perception About The Bible?
The bible is not a book of stories, a book of histories, a religous book, a collection of psalms and proverbs, or “whachumacallit” , it is all of these and more. It is a library of resources for life, it is a guide that points the way to God, it is a friend that holds you accountable, it is a teacher of the very principles on which human endeavours thrive... not convinced? Tell me what you think it is and we’ll take it from there but for starters know that the bible is the truth about God and how he relates with you. If you question the authenticity of the bible and don’t believe it, i want to help you so write back, but this is what the bible says about it’s own authenticy - (2Timothy 3:16) All scripture is given by the inspiration of God; this is what we believe. If you see it as irrelevent to today, you probably have your good reasons, i want to hear them but know that your basic attitude to the bible limits your experience of what it says.
Back To The Basics.
Own your own copy of the bible. Buy a Version you like, one that appeals to your style and your person. Consider the size. Personalize your choice.
Set aside a convenient time to read it at the same time everyday, like brushing your teeth.
Take time to pray before you start, like saying grace before a meal. David in Psalms said ” Lord open my eyes to see the good things in your law”. He was one guy that was passionate about his daily devotions, he wrote all about it in the longest psalm of the collection. Ask God to settle you in a frame of mind that is peaceful. Ask him for undersanding. Ask him to help you not to reason contrary to what it says; have you ever thought you were right about something beyond any REASONABLE doubt and then found out that you were oh, so wrong? Ask him to give you a receptive mind.
Bite what you can chew. Value quality over quantity; a verse you understand and apply is better than an entire book you forget. Do a bit everyday. Think of reading your bible like the acts of eating and sleeping. We sleep only for a few hours of the day, everyday; we don’t sleep all our sleep time for life at once, so don’t do it all at once, you will go a long way by just reading a bit consistently and on a daily basis.
Learning Consistency.
If you are not a very disciplined person like me, this might be a long struggle for you but the success is in getting right back to it when you miss a day, a week or months. It’s natural to feel quilty about forgetting or outrightly refusing to read your bible but don’t let the Devil take advantage of your emotions and make you feel so guilty that you think you are a bad person or God is angry with you or you’re not going to be able to keep this up because you lack what it takes, e.t.c. Any feeling of guilt that makes you unable to read your bible is not from God. Guilt that makes you feel unhappy that you haven’t kept your committment but pushes you to do the right thing now that you’ve realised your mistake is healthy. Practice makes perfect so just keep doing it till you form a habit of it. To buttresse more on the importance of consistency, in the parable of the sower, the inconstant reader of the word is described as a person who is like rocky ground that when the seed of the word is sown into him, because it has no real roots, no depth, the crops dried up and whittered away. Only the consistent develop roots so go be a root LOL.
Getting The Most Out Of Reading Your Bible.
Try to grow beyond reading your bible just to satisfy your conscience. I remember those days in Sunday school when the teacher will go round the rows asking if we had read our bibles, some days my heart would just sink as i waited my turn. Grow beyond that type of bible reading motivated by fear of punishment or rebuke. Approach the bible like a student of it and like a student don’t read but study it. I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you but consider it thoughtfully and strive for it. You should have a notebook where you take down notes as you study your bible. It’s called SOAP.
S - Scripture: As you read the portion for the day, write down the verses that make sense to you in your notebook. The ones that strike a cord or gets your attention.
O- Observation: Concentrate. Reason. Think. What does what you have read mean? The measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear or read will be the measure of benefit, information and knowledge that comes back to you.
A- Application: Think through an application of what you have read. This may require you to recall situations in the past and make comparison between the way you acted and the way you’ve just observed from the bible that you should act. Replay the scenerio and reason out how you would act next time. Your premeditated course of action about a hypothetical situation or one that occurred in the past will help you be a better doer of the word if you have to face it in future. You may also see in your bible things you should do, write them down and make a commitment to do them. Best of all, you might see things you didn’t know before, write these new lessons down. God will be speaking to you through them. After a while when you go over all you’ve been learning, you might find a re-occurring topic or theme God is trying to teach you about.
P- Prayer: When you pray, thank God for showing you what He needed you to see. Ask him to help you apply what you’ve learnt in real life, also ask him to help you remember what you have read when you need it.
What To Do When You Don’t Understand What You Are Reading.
Don’t get discouraged, read till you can pick out something you’ve learnt or understood. You might also want to consider using a daily devotional which not only gives you a bible reading plan but also explains the passages you have read. When you use a devotional, don’t just read the story or write up in the devotional without checking out the verses yourself, God will speak to you every time you pick up his word. Devotionals you can use include: Everyday with Jesus, Inspiring women, Daily manna, Our daily bread, The word for today, Rhapsody of realities, there are a lot more out there. Again choose one that suits your style, the goal is not for you to rely so much on a devotional that you cannot read your bible without one. Look up devotionals online too but please have someone recommend a good one to you, you don’t want to find out that you’re reading a devotional by the church of Satan!!!
www.lifejournal.cc is one you can try.
A final word.
The blessing in reading your bible is in doing what you learn, you are blessed in the doing not in the reading or hearing. One reason we do not do the word even though we hear it is that we forget. The bible likens that to someone who looks in the mirror, sees how fly he looks then leaves his house and completely forgets who he is, dumb yeah? The bible calls us heedless listeners who forget when we act like that but we should grow into active doers who obey. Just remember that the taste of the blessing is in the doing. Have i helped you in any new way? Let me know how. Enjoy your devotions!
So i brushed up. I got my act together and stopped slacking like someone reading this should. I looked into all the reasons why i had been unable to maintain the discipline of devotions before and here is one; I didn’t have a plan to follow. The reason you hop, skip , jump on your devotions is because you don’t have a plan. If you rely on just opening your bible to some random page and reading whatever you see, it’s just as silly as preparing for an exam by guessing the pages and topics to read instead of reading the syllabus.
An example of a plan is one of these: Read the bible from start to finish in one year by reading a minimum of two chapters from the old and new testament each; Read the entire New testament in one year by reading at least two chapters a day; Read the entire old testament in one year by reading at least two chapters a day; Read selected books each month e.g study the life of Esther or Daniel; study all the books that chronicle the life of Jesus on earth- the gospels( Matthew, Mark, Luke and John); Read the books that deal with your attitudes or areas of weakness e.g the book of Proverbs that deals with issues like anger, talking before thinking, hard work or wisdom, the book of Hebrews to understand the free gift of salvation, the book of Timothy and Titus to understand what the bible says about you and your family, your spouse, your employers, the government and your church or read the bible by topics using a devotional, your bible index or a book that gives you selected reading over a certain period e.g The purpose driven life by Rick Warren. This is a very good book, please read it.
What Is Your Perception About The Bible?
The bible is not a book of stories, a book of histories, a religous book, a collection of psalms and proverbs, or “whachumacallit” , it is all of these and more. It is a library of resources for life, it is a guide that points the way to God, it is a friend that holds you accountable, it is a teacher of the very principles on which human endeavours thrive... not convinced? Tell me what you think it is and we’ll take it from there but for starters know that the bible is the truth about God and how he relates with you. If you question the authenticity of the bible and don’t believe it, i want to help you so write back, but this is what the bible says about it’s own authenticy - (2Timothy 3:16) All scripture is given by the inspiration of God; this is what we believe. If you see it as irrelevent to today, you probably have your good reasons, i want to hear them but know that your basic attitude to the bible limits your experience of what it says.
Back To The Basics.
Own your own copy of the bible. Buy a Version you like, one that appeals to your style and your person. Consider the size. Personalize your choice.
Set aside a convenient time to read it at the same time everyday, like brushing your teeth.
Take time to pray before you start, like saying grace before a meal. David in Psalms said ” Lord open my eyes to see the good things in your law”. He was one guy that was passionate about his daily devotions, he wrote all about it in the longest psalm of the collection. Ask God to settle you in a frame of mind that is peaceful. Ask him for undersanding. Ask him to help you not to reason contrary to what it says; have you ever thought you were right about something beyond any REASONABLE doubt and then found out that you were oh, so wrong? Ask him to give you a receptive mind.
Bite what you can chew. Value quality over quantity; a verse you understand and apply is better than an entire book you forget. Do a bit everyday. Think of reading your bible like the acts of eating and sleeping. We sleep only for a few hours of the day, everyday; we don’t sleep all our sleep time for life at once, so don’t do it all at once, you will go a long way by just reading a bit consistently and on a daily basis.
Learning Consistency.
If you are not a very disciplined person like me, this might be a long struggle for you but the success is in getting right back to it when you miss a day, a week or months. It’s natural to feel quilty about forgetting or outrightly refusing to read your bible but don’t let the Devil take advantage of your emotions and make you feel so guilty that you think you are a bad person or God is angry with you or you’re not going to be able to keep this up because you lack what it takes, e.t.c. Any feeling of guilt that makes you unable to read your bible is not from God. Guilt that makes you feel unhappy that you haven’t kept your committment but pushes you to do the right thing now that you’ve realised your mistake is healthy. Practice makes perfect so just keep doing it till you form a habit of it. To buttresse more on the importance of consistency, in the parable of the sower, the inconstant reader of the word is described as a person who is like rocky ground that when the seed of the word is sown into him, because it has no real roots, no depth, the crops dried up and whittered away. Only the consistent develop roots so go be a root LOL.
Getting The Most Out Of Reading Your Bible.
Try to grow beyond reading your bible just to satisfy your conscience. I remember those days in Sunday school when the teacher will go round the rows asking if we had read our bibles, some days my heart would just sink as i waited my turn. Grow beyond that type of bible reading motivated by fear of punishment or rebuke. Approach the bible like a student of it and like a student don’t read but study it. I’m going to tell you something that might surprise you but consider it thoughtfully and strive for it. You should have a notebook where you take down notes as you study your bible. It’s called SOAP.
S - Scripture: As you read the portion for the day, write down the verses that make sense to you in your notebook. The ones that strike a cord or gets your attention.
O- Observation: Concentrate. Reason. Think. What does what you have read mean? The measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear or read will be the measure of benefit, information and knowledge that comes back to you.
A- Application: Think through an application of what you have read. This may require you to recall situations in the past and make comparison between the way you acted and the way you’ve just observed from the bible that you should act. Replay the scenerio and reason out how you would act next time. Your premeditated course of action about a hypothetical situation or one that occurred in the past will help you be a better doer of the word if you have to face it in future. You may also see in your bible things you should do, write them down and make a commitment to do them. Best of all, you might see things you didn’t know before, write these new lessons down. God will be speaking to you through them. After a while when you go over all you’ve been learning, you might find a re-occurring topic or theme God is trying to teach you about.
P- Prayer: When you pray, thank God for showing you what He needed you to see. Ask him to help you apply what you’ve learnt in real life, also ask him to help you remember what you have read when you need it.
What To Do When You Don’t Understand What You Are Reading.
Don’t get discouraged, read till you can pick out something you’ve learnt or understood. You might also want to consider using a daily devotional which not only gives you a bible reading plan but also explains the passages you have read. When you use a devotional, don’t just read the story or write up in the devotional without checking out the verses yourself, God will speak to you every time you pick up his word. Devotionals you can use include: Everyday with Jesus, Inspiring women, Daily manna, Our daily bread, The word for today, Rhapsody of realities, there are a lot more out there. Again choose one that suits your style, the goal is not for you to rely so much on a devotional that you cannot read your bible without one. Look up devotionals online too but please have someone recommend a good one to you, you don’t want to find out that you’re reading a devotional by the church of Satan!!!
www.lifejournal.cc is one you can try.
A final word.
The blessing in reading your bible is in doing what you learn, you are blessed in the doing not in the reading or hearing. One reason we do not do the word even though we hear it is that we forget. The bible likens that to someone who looks in the mirror, sees how fly he looks then leaves his house and completely forgets who he is, dumb yeah? The bible calls us heedless listeners who forget when we act like that but we should grow into active doers who obey. Just remember that the taste of the blessing is in the doing. Have i helped you in any new way? Let me know how. Enjoy your devotions!
October 19, 2009
MUM, I’M NOT YOUR BABY!
Food for the soul.
Today i had an absolutely wonderful time sharing my life with my girlfriends. It rubbed my heart, touched my sense of person and it not only left me with a deep feeling of fulfillment, but also gave me an even deeper sense of gratitude for the gift of having each other. The time with my girls was worth a day of my life. We share a history of life experiences, each one stored in the treasure chest of our hearts and as we sat together for hours and hours, totally oblivious of time and place, we took out memory after memory, and cherished them like precious jewels. I prized our friendship even more as we recounted it’s length and it’s rewards. I hallowed the bond formed and forged from laughter loaned and tears borrowed. A bond of sacred sisterhood; legitimate by loyalty, thick as blood. At the end of the day, i observed the healthy glow of my face in the mirror and laughed in meriment; half child, half girl! My smile was a rosette of joy, happiness and heartfelt delight. I was exuding that quality of peace in oneself that flows out of being at peace with others. It was a big high for me. It filled my emotional tank. I had experienced with kindred spirits the wisdom of God in making friends!
Erhm, did i mention that it was wonderful?
MUM! I’m Not Your Baby!
I and my mum speak to each other at least once everyday so when recently she started calling me two, three or four times in the day, i didn’t need a louder signal than that to recognise she wanted me around. So i packed my bags and headed home hoping i was making a good decision and that whatever i would be putting on hold or in second place would wait for me. Once home it was quite surprising how i quickly eased into my old ways. I still preffered to read and write seated on my old bed rather than use a table, i still found it hard to leave the house and i still loved my bed. The rewards of being back were peace and quiet, regular and healthy food, longer hours of sleep, sessions in front of the tube plus i got to dodge house work in the name of seniority, i mean if it was unpleasant or inconvenient, i remembered i was the senior! I thoroughly maximised the moment for i knew that the moro cometh when i would lust for my independence again.
Isn’t it puzzling that no matter how old we grow our parents still see us as their babies. When we are young the relationship we have with them is uncomplicated. In fact we learn early in life the way we relate to our parents, we are conditioned by nature and habituated by their nurturing to play the role of a child. But as we grow older and change, the relationship also changes and our roles evolve along entirely different lines. Perhaps unfortunately, no one teaches us how to manage the different facets it metamorphosis into and we are forced to figure it out by ourselves. It is at this point that fathers loose their sons and daughters hate their mothers. This is not the picture God had in mind for our relationships with our parents. That’s a malfunction of the design that was intended by the manufacturer. God’s actual picture is one of peace and harmony between parents and children. The bible says it’s a good and pleasant thing for brethren- members of the same family, to dwell together in harmony and that it is within that type of unity that he commands his blessings.
During our teenage years we start to develop our own views about life. We tend towards the opinion of our peers more in the interest of solidarity than by the force of individuality. It is at this age we begin to test theories and experiment with convictions. We start to disagree with our parents and resent the imposition of their standards on us. We hold waring opinions on what to wear, where to go, what time to stay out, which course to study, whom to date e.t.c and if it is not handled properly it often ends in a battle of wills where the one party who wins the battle, looses the war. Consequently, the emotional umbilical cord from parent to child is yanked off and we never regain the level of intimacy, trust, respect and even love we shared with our parents in our early years.
As we mature, that cord of love is further tested by our transition into adulthood. Our parents struggle to accept that we have grown and they fight to hold on to the level of control they used to have but this makes us shift even further from them as we struggle for independence and strive to shake off their influence and control. They want to be relevant in our decisions but we often assert our independence and maturity by taking decisions on our own or ignoring their advice. Our financial dependence is the last of our dependencies we grow out of and from there on we are our own. It seems we don’t need them anymore. Worse, as our parents grow older we notice their flaws, we judge their results, we criticise their choices, we blame them for their failures and even ours. In the end all that is left is over used courtesy and distant respect. The gulf all but widens until there is no hope for any intimacy with them. Our heros who though at one time faced the world with brazen confidence, suddenly contract a disturbing fear of it. They become intimidated by rapid changes they have not caught on with or distressed by thoughts of the future and as their hands grow frail on the reins of life, ours attain mastery of it. The wheels have turned. It is at this point that the child becomes the parent and vice versa and they may need to depend on us for emotional, mental and financial support.
And although we have played our role of being our parent’s children by force of habit in our developing years, as the circle turns and we earn our independence, we must rely on a greater force to keep the balance in the evolved relationships with our nearest and dearest- Love. Love makes the effort to involve them and make them feel relevant, respected, loved and valued. We may have to rediscover them, we may have to resist the pull of our busy lives to keep in touch with them, maybe even take an interest in something they love and make it our thing just to get along. And even though we now know that they are far from perfect and may get on our nerves from time to time, we have to find common ground to walk with them on.
I miss mine just writing this and i think i’ll just stop here and make a quick phone call eh?
Today i had an absolutely wonderful time sharing my life with my girlfriends. It rubbed my heart, touched my sense of person and it not only left me with a deep feeling of fulfillment, but also gave me an even deeper sense of gratitude for the gift of having each other. The time with my girls was worth a day of my life. We share a history of life experiences, each one stored in the treasure chest of our hearts and as we sat together for hours and hours, totally oblivious of time and place, we took out memory after memory, and cherished them like precious jewels. I prized our friendship even more as we recounted it’s length and it’s rewards. I hallowed the bond formed and forged from laughter loaned and tears borrowed. A bond of sacred sisterhood; legitimate by loyalty, thick as blood. At the end of the day, i observed the healthy glow of my face in the mirror and laughed in meriment; half child, half girl! My smile was a rosette of joy, happiness and heartfelt delight. I was exuding that quality of peace in oneself that flows out of being at peace with others. It was a big high for me. It filled my emotional tank. I had experienced with kindred spirits the wisdom of God in making friends!
Erhm, did i mention that it was wonderful?
MUM! I’m Not Your Baby!
I and my mum speak to each other at least once everyday so when recently she started calling me two, three or four times in the day, i didn’t need a louder signal than that to recognise she wanted me around. So i packed my bags and headed home hoping i was making a good decision and that whatever i would be putting on hold or in second place would wait for me. Once home it was quite surprising how i quickly eased into my old ways. I still preffered to read and write seated on my old bed rather than use a table, i still found it hard to leave the house and i still loved my bed. The rewards of being back were peace and quiet, regular and healthy food, longer hours of sleep, sessions in front of the tube plus i got to dodge house work in the name of seniority, i mean if it was unpleasant or inconvenient, i remembered i was the senior! I thoroughly maximised the moment for i knew that the moro cometh when i would lust for my independence again.
Isn’t it puzzling that no matter how old we grow our parents still see us as their babies. When we are young the relationship we have with them is uncomplicated. In fact we learn early in life the way we relate to our parents, we are conditioned by nature and habituated by their nurturing to play the role of a child. But as we grow older and change, the relationship also changes and our roles evolve along entirely different lines. Perhaps unfortunately, no one teaches us how to manage the different facets it metamorphosis into and we are forced to figure it out by ourselves. It is at this point that fathers loose their sons and daughters hate their mothers. This is not the picture God had in mind for our relationships with our parents. That’s a malfunction of the design that was intended by the manufacturer. God’s actual picture is one of peace and harmony between parents and children. The bible says it’s a good and pleasant thing for brethren- members of the same family, to dwell together in harmony and that it is within that type of unity that he commands his blessings.
During our teenage years we start to develop our own views about life. We tend towards the opinion of our peers more in the interest of solidarity than by the force of individuality. It is at this age we begin to test theories and experiment with convictions. We start to disagree with our parents and resent the imposition of their standards on us. We hold waring opinions on what to wear, where to go, what time to stay out, which course to study, whom to date e.t.c and if it is not handled properly it often ends in a battle of wills where the one party who wins the battle, looses the war. Consequently, the emotional umbilical cord from parent to child is yanked off and we never regain the level of intimacy, trust, respect and even love we shared with our parents in our early years.
As we mature, that cord of love is further tested by our transition into adulthood. Our parents struggle to accept that we have grown and they fight to hold on to the level of control they used to have but this makes us shift even further from them as we struggle for independence and strive to shake off their influence and control. They want to be relevant in our decisions but we often assert our independence and maturity by taking decisions on our own or ignoring their advice. Our financial dependence is the last of our dependencies we grow out of and from there on we are our own. It seems we don’t need them anymore. Worse, as our parents grow older we notice their flaws, we judge their results, we criticise their choices, we blame them for their failures and even ours. In the end all that is left is over used courtesy and distant respect. The gulf all but widens until there is no hope for any intimacy with them. Our heros who though at one time faced the world with brazen confidence, suddenly contract a disturbing fear of it. They become intimidated by rapid changes they have not caught on with or distressed by thoughts of the future and as their hands grow frail on the reins of life, ours attain mastery of it. The wheels have turned. It is at this point that the child becomes the parent and vice versa and they may need to depend on us for emotional, mental and financial support.
And although we have played our role of being our parent’s children by force of habit in our developing years, as the circle turns and we earn our independence, we must rely on a greater force to keep the balance in the evolved relationships with our nearest and dearest- Love. Love makes the effort to involve them and make them feel relevant, respected, loved and valued. We may have to rediscover them, we may have to resist the pull of our busy lives to keep in touch with them, maybe even take an interest in something they love and make it our thing just to get along. And even though we now know that they are far from perfect and may get on our nerves from time to time, we have to find common ground to walk with them on.
I miss mine just writing this and i think i’ll just stop here and make a quick phone call eh?
August 29, 2009
A moment in the mirror
I was innocently making up this morning, just minding my beauty business. I was absent minded; giving no actual thought to the motions just creating the desired strokes by habit. One more dab of powder on my left cheek and i paused to see if i had done enough and that was when i really noticed me in the mirror. I must have been staring at my face the whole time but it was in that split second i really saw myself. I saw my fair, smooth skin that was alive with it’s own vibrance. I could see that the powder i had been rubbing on to it could neither hide it’s shine nor take credit for it’s glow. My eyes took in my side view quite like any observer, only in this case my attention was commanded by my own beauty, i mean beauty that is mine, that is a part of me... i was only looking.
I saw that the face in the mirror was oblong , i thought it was the right fit for a face with a discernible forehead and a long chin. I noticed the black hair starting at the front of my head and tilted my face sideways to see it end at the nape of my neck. Pulled back in a chignon it looked just like me. I saw that it was good. I smiled. My words took the admiration of my thoughts and escaped my lips with them:“ See this fine girl”, i said, as much in estatic surprise as in proud delight. It was mine; the face, the moment, the feeling. I may never remember those few minutes again but i don’t want to forget what they left me. They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If i am the beholder, i am beautiful.
Between Joel Osteen, God and me!
So i’m reading this book by Joel Osteen called “Your best life now”. I love books. A great book is like a great friend.And so when I wasn’t feeling very tall inside recently, i knew i only needed to find the right book and i’d be fine. I just didn’t know what book i was looking for.
While i was in the middle of this thought process, i came across a copy of “Your best life now” that belonged to someone else. I flicked through the pages and was engaged by the parts of it i could speed-read. I knew it was just what i needed only after a few minutes of perusal. I couldn’t borrow the copy i saw but the thought of stealing it certainly crossed my mind. Sadly, i and the book parted ways and i wished i’d either find a copy to buy or get it as a gift just as soon as i could find the right person to give a carefully deviced hint! I had to have that book.
That same day i went for my bible study meeting and somewhere between the praying, studying the word and catching up with friends , i soon forgot all about Joel Osteen or his book that i had to have! As the meeting ended and i was about to tow my tired body home, i was informed that there would be another short meeting i was to be part of! One of those fellowships after fellowship! I took a long, longing look at the door , envying those i could see making their way through it, before commanding myself in the opposite direction for this second meeting.
Once there i felt guilty about my reluctance because it was a surprise celebration of belated birthdays for some of us in attendance.There was a cake, drinks and wrapped gifts. I quickly warmed up to the mood. I received a gift, grabbed some cake and played along when they sang “happy birthday” and prayed for us. I mean, if God wanted to recreate my birthday experience a whole month after the actual date, i wasn’t going to mind!
The others who didn’t get gifts were curious to know what the rest of us had been given. “Open it” someone said motioning at me. I tried to feel it to figure out what it was. “it’s a book”, i replied hoping my response would do. I wasn’t interested in opening it just yet. Then it hit me. “What if it’s Joel Osteen’s book?”
Nah! I dismissed the thought.
“It couldn’t be. How would that happen anyway? Afterall, i only wished for it this afternoon and that was just a few hours ago. Besides there was no time to even pray for it to happen. You know how you have to bug God about it or work hard at worrying about how it would come, then pout that it hadn’t and finally grumble about it until God took the hint and gave you just to shut you up! How could i get the book just like that?”
“Nah”, i concluded again. And to prove it, i peered through the wrapping paper and saw the letters: T-i-m. “That settles it”. I decided. “It’s just some book by Tim Lahaye. See!”
“Let’s see what you got”.
The voice came from behind me. I acquiesced and started to unwrap my Tim Lahaye book from one corner. As i peeled off the wrapping paper, i caught a picture of Joel Osteen on the cover! My eyes widdened in complete, honest- to –God surprise and grew bigger when i read the words on the cover: ” Your best life now”. I screamed. I looked for Tim’s name and saw that the words where- New york TIMes bestseller! The voice behind me spoke again;
“It’s a book”.
This time i wheeled around to face it’s owner shaking my head, desperate for understanding. “You don’t understand”, I insisted. “It’s the book. Just this afternoon, i wished i could have this exact book and i get here and you guys present it to me without ever knowing what i wanted!”
I was blown away by God and i kept screaming out the holler conceived in my inside the minute i saw my surprise. God knows how to blow your mind! I mean here i was trying to figure out what God had set up an abundant way to give me!!! Woow! Later when i told someone else, she narrated how she had been prompted to make a gift of the same book to her brother who unknown to her, had the day before, given it as a gift to somebody else when he really wanted it for himself!
I’m still on cloud nine from that experience and i just had to write about it... there!
I saw that the face in the mirror was oblong , i thought it was the right fit for a face with a discernible forehead and a long chin. I noticed the black hair starting at the front of my head and tilted my face sideways to see it end at the nape of my neck. Pulled back in a chignon it looked just like me. I saw that it was good. I smiled. My words took the admiration of my thoughts and escaped my lips with them:“ See this fine girl”, i said, as much in estatic surprise as in proud delight. It was mine; the face, the moment, the feeling. I may never remember those few minutes again but i don’t want to forget what they left me. They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If i am the beholder, i am beautiful.
Between Joel Osteen, God and me!
So i’m reading this book by Joel Osteen called “Your best life now”. I love books. A great book is like a great friend.And so when I wasn’t feeling very tall inside recently, i knew i only needed to find the right book and i’d be fine. I just didn’t know what book i was looking for.
While i was in the middle of this thought process, i came across a copy of “Your best life now” that belonged to someone else. I flicked through the pages and was engaged by the parts of it i could speed-read. I knew it was just what i needed only after a few minutes of perusal. I couldn’t borrow the copy i saw but the thought of stealing it certainly crossed my mind. Sadly, i and the book parted ways and i wished i’d either find a copy to buy or get it as a gift just as soon as i could find the right person to give a carefully deviced hint! I had to have that book.
That same day i went for my bible study meeting and somewhere between the praying, studying the word and catching up with friends , i soon forgot all about Joel Osteen or his book that i had to have! As the meeting ended and i was about to tow my tired body home, i was informed that there would be another short meeting i was to be part of! One of those fellowships after fellowship! I took a long, longing look at the door , envying those i could see making their way through it, before commanding myself in the opposite direction for this second meeting.
Once there i felt guilty about my reluctance because it was a surprise celebration of belated birthdays for some of us in attendance.There was a cake, drinks and wrapped gifts. I quickly warmed up to the mood. I received a gift, grabbed some cake and played along when they sang “happy birthday” and prayed for us. I mean, if God wanted to recreate my birthday experience a whole month after the actual date, i wasn’t going to mind!
The others who didn’t get gifts were curious to know what the rest of us had been given. “Open it” someone said motioning at me. I tried to feel it to figure out what it was. “it’s a book”, i replied hoping my response would do. I wasn’t interested in opening it just yet. Then it hit me. “What if it’s Joel Osteen’s book?”
Nah! I dismissed the thought.
“It couldn’t be. How would that happen anyway? Afterall, i only wished for it this afternoon and that was just a few hours ago. Besides there was no time to even pray for it to happen. You know how you have to bug God about it or work hard at worrying about how it would come, then pout that it hadn’t and finally grumble about it until God took the hint and gave you just to shut you up! How could i get the book just like that?”
“Nah”, i concluded again. And to prove it, i peered through the wrapping paper and saw the letters: T-i-m. “That settles it”. I decided. “It’s just some book by Tim Lahaye. See!”
“Let’s see what you got”.
The voice came from behind me. I acquiesced and started to unwrap my Tim Lahaye book from one corner. As i peeled off the wrapping paper, i caught a picture of Joel Osteen on the cover! My eyes widdened in complete, honest- to –God surprise and grew bigger when i read the words on the cover: ” Your best life now”. I screamed. I looked for Tim’s name and saw that the words where- New york TIMes bestseller! The voice behind me spoke again;
“It’s a book”.
This time i wheeled around to face it’s owner shaking my head, desperate for understanding. “You don’t understand”, I insisted. “It’s the book. Just this afternoon, i wished i could have this exact book and i get here and you guys present it to me without ever knowing what i wanted!”
I was blown away by God and i kept screaming out the holler conceived in my inside the minute i saw my surprise. God knows how to blow your mind! I mean here i was trying to figure out what God had set up an abundant way to give me!!! Woow! Later when i told someone else, she narrated how she had been prompted to make a gift of the same book to her brother who unknown to her, had the day before, given it as a gift to somebody else when he really wanted it for himself!
I’m still on cloud nine from that experience and i just had to write about it... there!
August 12, 2009
And you call yourself a Christian? Of course...
As i walk with God; as i develop and grow a relationship with him; as i learn the way he wants me to be in thought, action and motive and practice it; as i express my needs to him; asking him to do things in my life, in my relationships, in my world; as i submit my will to him, becoming agreeable to his desire for me ;and as i fellowship with other people allowing myself see God through their experiences and getting a richer picture of who he is; i am positioned to live an abundant and full life.
Everyday as i allow God in i see him make things work for me. My prayers are answered. For instance the important things that i really wanted say, in the past year? When i got to the point when i needed to get them, even when i did not qualify? I got them. All of them, the complete package, nothing missing, no detail omitted. I’m telling you the truth.
As i allow God a few hours of my time each day; as i allow him a little part of my money each month; as i allow him to guide and sometimes, no, most times pinch me and make me aware of how important the people i interact with daily are to him and how i can’t treat them like second class citizens, as i commit to several hours a week of church meetings which i find interesting, uplifting and educative ;there is an unmistakable turn around in the quality of my life. My point is i generally seem to master my complete role in life with God. I’m reaching higher and grabbing handfulls of a higher life.
I’m becoming a better person. My fears are not at the foreground; they recede in the background. My worries are less engaging, i turn them into prayers; self- centered behaivour is challenged. There’s just a sensor that alerts me to behaivour that is unfair towards another person. My accommodation and acceptance of people more; my suspicion and scrutiny less. It’s just more of the good everyday and less of the bad.
You know that kind of person who seems to get it all? God literally sets you up to be the kind of employee your boss wants to promote , the child your family wants to help along, the homie your friends want to stick up for, the spouse your partner wants to see succeed, the member your pastor/community leader/assocciation president is looking for an opportunity to help, the name or face a total stranger wants to assist... do you see?
A short excerpt explains better...
“It’s obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex, a stinking accummulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition, all- consuming –yet –never- satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love and be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small – minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies (poor imitations) of community/family/relationship... but what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard. Things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshall and direct our energies wisely.”
My life is not perfect. I’m not perfect. But my life makes sense. It is full. It feels great. The future not only looks bright but it is. It isn’t waiting to happen, it is happening. When you do it his way in every area, you live in the flow where he commands things to be blessed, where he makes life abundant, where he nourishes dreams to grow, in the flow where he says YES. When you say yes to him and what he wants, you are saying yes to you and what you want.
Read your bible (get one), pray everyday, be in church, participate, be born again ( in simple english that means do what God tells you, live as he wants you to, give him his rights over you). It pays big time!
You already know what i’m talking about cos it’s been real for you? Then talk about it. Share all that good stuff! “... you are the one’s chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work( nothing heavy folks it just means being an amebo about God), chosen to be a holy people (yep yah heard right), God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night- and- day difference he made for you – from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”
Well, so you are a christian eh?
Everyday as i allow God in i see him make things work for me. My prayers are answered. For instance the important things that i really wanted say, in the past year? When i got to the point when i needed to get them, even when i did not qualify? I got them. All of them, the complete package, nothing missing, no detail omitted. I’m telling you the truth.
As i allow God a few hours of my time each day; as i allow him a little part of my money each month; as i allow him to guide and sometimes, no, most times pinch me and make me aware of how important the people i interact with daily are to him and how i can’t treat them like second class citizens, as i commit to several hours a week of church meetings which i find interesting, uplifting and educative ;there is an unmistakable turn around in the quality of my life. My point is i generally seem to master my complete role in life with God. I’m reaching higher and grabbing handfulls of a higher life.
I’m becoming a better person. My fears are not at the foreground; they recede in the background. My worries are less engaging, i turn them into prayers; self- centered behaivour is challenged. There’s just a sensor that alerts me to behaivour that is unfair towards another person. My accommodation and acceptance of people more; my suspicion and scrutiny less. It’s just more of the good everyday and less of the bad.
You know that kind of person who seems to get it all? God literally sets you up to be the kind of employee your boss wants to promote , the child your family wants to help along, the homie your friends want to stick up for, the spouse your partner wants to see succeed, the member your pastor/community leader/assocciation president is looking for an opportunity to help, the name or face a total stranger wants to assist... do you see?
A short excerpt explains better...
“It’s obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex, a stinking accummulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition, all- consuming –yet –never- satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love and be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small – minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies (poor imitations) of community/family/relationship... but what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard. Things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshall and direct our energies wisely.”
My life is not perfect. I’m not perfect. But my life makes sense. It is full. It feels great. The future not only looks bright but it is. It isn’t waiting to happen, it is happening. When you do it his way in every area, you live in the flow where he commands things to be blessed, where he makes life abundant, where he nourishes dreams to grow, in the flow where he says YES. When you say yes to him and what he wants, you are saying yes to you and what you want.
Read your bible (get one), pray everyday, be in church, participate, be born again ( in simple english that means do what God tells you, live as he wants you to, give him his rights over you). It pays big time!
You already know what i’m talking about cos it’s been real for you? Then talk about it. Share all that good stuff! “... you are the one’s chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work( nothing heavy folks it just means being an amebo about God), chosen to be a holy people (yep yah heard right), God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night- and- day difference he made for you – from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”
Well, so you are a christian eh?
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