A Story To Tell

      Where to begin? I was going to take one of the many pieces from my journals to post then I thought about writing something on “Consistency” would be better. Something that would speak to the guilty and that includes all of us! But as I pondered with so many thoughts racing through my mind, I decided to write a story.

     A story of survival right from your mother’s womb, most of us know the “Biologic law”; once a sperm fertilizes an egg no other sperm can fertilize it again. So in this twist, suppose your sperm did not win the race? You would not even exist. Just imagine the risks and probability involved in the development of a growing foetus, yet you made it through.

   A story of strength through and even in the mists of the raging storms. It is no surprise we were brought forth into different homes and families, our challenges; peculiar, upbringing; worlds apart, wants and needs sometimes basic but yet diverse. Through the losses, pain of separation from loved one, silent and lonely tears, you are still standing. Maybe a shell of what you used to be, looking put together on the outside but broken up inside. You are still standing because something inside of you believes there is more, a better tomorrow, a better story to look forward to.

   A story of hope, when every voice around you is telling you give up and you can not make it across that finish line. You still get up day after day to prove them wrong and tell yourself you are not a failure. When opportunities seem lost and dreams seem to fade away, you do not give in but stand your ground because of that sunshine you see in your heart.

   A story of love, self love that appreciates the person you are becoming. A love that makes you smile and believe in yourself. A love that gives you the courage to push away negativity from around you and embrace those things that encourages and lifts you up. A love that makes you appreciate the simple things of life taken for granted; the sunrise, the night skies bedazzled with stars, birds singing and most of all the love that lets you believe and walk in the supreme love that is of God.

   A story of tomorrow, a story with so many questions and yet so many answers if we dare to listen, a story about the choices made today that not only has the power to affect our very life but generations yet unborn. What would your story be? Will it be a story of defeat, mediocrity, excuses or a story of victory, excellence, or a good report? Every good and lasting story comes from the One who made you not your parents (channel through which you came into the world) not the big bang theory, not evolution.

   Life sometimes is not as pretty as most stories would put it, the challenges faced can be most daunting from lack to sickness and everything in between that can be imagined that is not good. But there is one assurance given by Someone who made life itself; “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give thee rest…” that Someone is Jesus Christ. It is an open invitation to all of us, just the way you are.

  “Before I formed thee in thy mother’s womb I knew thee…” Jeremiah 1:5

  “I know the plans I think towards you, plans of good and not of evil…” Jeremiah 29:11

It is therefore wisdom to honor the open invitation of the One who knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb and has the plan of your life.

Think about it, meditate on it and be blessed by it.

The Wonderful Cross

Hello World!!!!

  Yes, it has been a while AGAIN!!! This time, it was not due to a “writers’ block or pause” I think more towards improper time management and dare I say “procrastination”. God have mercy! Amen.

     I was going to start off with the popular saying ”Thank God, its Friday” but then I thought, what about those that have shifts on the weekends, or personal businesses to run or something that takes as much of our time as any other day? Well, “Thank God, its another beautiful” would suffice for me. It is another day to be thankful, another day to be blessed, another day to be a blessing, another day to be around family, friends and loved ones, another wonderful day God has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Hallelujah!!!

     Enjoy reading this little piece of words put together (Lol) and be blessed!!

                         

                              THE WONDERFUL CROSS

     In life, we are often faced with seemly hard choices and most of the time it usually is “to do or not to do?” or “to go or not to go?” That is basically what are our choices are hinged on. Quite often than none, the way out is usually that one which we dread the most, that one that will take us out of our comfort zones, that would make us work a little harder or spend a little less money on our cravings. It is usually that one that throws out right in the middle of the raging storm.

     

     However, be rest assured that raging storms do not last forever because this is what God said about situations like that in Isaiah 43:2 “When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you” and we as His beloved children can always trust and believe the very words of God because it is well able and powerful to show God always as a loving Father and a righteous King. Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not My word like fire? declares the Lord and like a hammer that shatters a rock? So no matter what you may be going through or the choices you have to make, take them to God, He will always lead you to the right destination.

    

     This reminds me of a story in Matthew 19:21 about the rich man and Jesus Christ. This certain man came to Jesus asking “what else can I do to gain eternal life?” He was very justified in his own eyes, I mean he felt he kept the 10 commandments from A-Z since childhood so what is next? Personally, I wondered why he still felt empty enough to know that despite his great wealth that something was missing. He did not feel satisfied, complete or fulfilled.

      

    The all knowing Jesus who sees our hearts told him “one thing is lacking, sell all your wealth, give to the poor and follow me.” That must have been a huge blow to him because he just turns around and walks away feeling sad. I think that was one open cheque of Jesus’s “follow me” that was not cashed. He could not just imagine his life without all the rewards to show for his hard work or probably he considered the loss of all the wealth unbearable to comprehend or his public image or this type of new way of life he was not accustomed to.

    

     In this present world, it may not have to do with selling all your wealth and giving it to the poor that is the one thing still lacking. It could be a bad habit that needs to be given up on, living in forgiveness, showing and living in more love, believing God more, worry less or mature in faith. It is our responsibility through the help of the Holy Spirit to sort it out. Only then can we truly surrender to Him and follow Him.

     

     A life in Jesus Christ can not be compared to the life we try to map out for ourselves.

  I end with some of the lyrics of “The Wonderful Cross” by Michael W. Smith;

“When I survey The Wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride”

                                    

            Stay Blessed and God dearly loves you!

                                         Happy New Year World!!!!

          I decided to pause a bit before I started writing. I wanted the whole frenzy of the New Year to subside a little and in deed it has subsided with most people facing the realities of life once again as we strive to make our lives count.

         I sincerely hope that this piece inspires you even more as the year grows.

     2015 wow! In my wildest imagination, I did not think I ever put the year 2015 in mind. It was like thinking too far but here we are counting seconds, minutes, hours and days to God be the glory forever! Amen.

    I often wondered what hinders a man from achieving something he truly desires to get in the previous year or years that have gone by. Of course, there maybe multiple factors surrounding situations but one controllable one is attitude. Have you ever dared to confront your attitude towards yourself, others and life in general? People often have this misconception that God is only concerned with the spiritual aspect and nothing more but this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

    Let’s be imaginative here, imagine you as a seed and God with the responsibility of bringing the best from that seed. We never can tell what physically makes up a seed, all we know is you bury the seed and a plant sprouts sooner or later.

      In God's vineyard, He is even more intricate in the production of His seeds. He has made us good seeds with the capability of bringing forth good and beneficial products. God doesn’t give less than His best, He gives His best. So in each seed lies the power to make the right decisions, do right and productive things, have the right attitude towards life, letting go of harmful behaviors that are self destructive.

       We need to move a step higher and do a proper self examination, an appraisal. It is quite easy to see the faults in others, maybe this time see the faults in yourself for a change and decide to be a better person. Do I live in love? Do I get angry like a ragging bull? Do I procrastinate? Am I that lazy? Do I manage my time well? Did I really have to drop that juicy gist about so and so behind their back? Do I really need to get that bag or shoe or hair extension only to be broke the next hour? After you have self evaluated yourself and seen where you have fallen short ask God to heal you 2nd Peter 1:1-8. I heard a man say "the minute you have someone else to blame for your situation, that’s the moment you became a failure"

    So in this New Year 2015, let each of us do ourselves a big favor and have the right attitude towards God, those around us and ourselves. Peradventure that change maybe in waking up one hour earlier or helping more with house chores or letting go of all the worries and stress. Do the right things at the right time with the right intentions.

    

God bless Us All

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Work!!!

A Very Merry Christmas!!!

      When Christmas approaches in temperate regions it is often associated with snow falling most of the time but here in the tropics particularly in Nigeria, it is associated with the Harmattan season. My geography is a bit rusty now but I know it is due to a particular wind blowing across the Sahara desert. The wind is cold, dry and dusty.You know the period has come when you go out in the morning looking young and come back home looking "old" literary because you have grown grey hairs! It is actually the dust particles trapped by hairs that are uncovered. I remember when growing up my siblings and I after long hours at school would come back home arguing who was older.(seniority became proportional to the amount of colour change on the hairs on our head and eye lids)LOL!
    I decided to post a Christmas story from one of my throw back Thursday pieces. Do enjoy and never forget to be thankful.

                                 Once Upon A Nativity Story


           I remember everything so clearly as if it was yesterday. It was one of those nights, different from the others; its cold, a little misty and with clear skies decorated with diamonds of different sizes and a glitter each with a story to share. Always been fascinated with stars, could tell where the North star was pointing, the Belt of Orion, the Big Dipper from the Small Dipper. I wondered where this interest came from? Maybe a dream or a vision I cant tell but I saw a being like a human but much larger descend from the heavens and he spoke to me pointing to the night skies and said "look at the stars, there is a change in the times" and to my surprise I saw the star realign themselves and everything else.....a blur! This night had a certain feel to it, there was an East star that seem to dominate the skies but dint put much thought into it probably because I was so exhausted from working a whole day's job at the inn. Had to hurry up so I could help aunt Jane with the the remaining chores at home. I decided to take a short cut, took a path close to the hills covered with the finest pasture in the land where shepherds took their flock to for grazing. 

      As I hurried on, to my utter shock and total disbelief, a blinding light appeared and an heavenly being like an angel appeared to the shepherds. I was totally filled with awe and became as still as a log of wood. I looked on and the heavenly being spoke to the shepherds saying " fear not; for behold,I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord. and this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" and suddenly the heavens opened and I saw a host of angels in the heavens and then the strangest thing happened, I saw myself in the king's palace. 

       I was at the entrance to the king's court, dressed in the most expensive silk I have ever laid eyes on. The jewellery from my head to my feet were extraordinarily beautiful. Then a soft greeting and an embrace from the queen as she walked towards me. I thought to myself this is getting better by every passing second. And she says "your husband awaits your presence" pulling me along as we walked through the palace hallways. In a low pitched voice I asked "husband"? and she says "yes dear, my son Prince Yonathan!" I wondered how I held the excitement within, finally I married the prince and am a princess!yeeaaa! I got to the courts and there he was my very own true love, my prince! He calls out for me to seat by his side. Showered me with praises and stares that made my eyes water, holds my hand as we sat together. He got up as if to kiss my cheek, held my face and started licking it over and over again and barking like a dog and I opened my eyes and there it was a German Shepherd... one of the guard dogs licking my face! oh well! there goes my fantasy dream! 

     Sitting upright for a while, I remembered what made me pass out in the first place. so I hurried up to the manger as described by the angel. I got there, didn't enter but I found a broken down window, squatted at the base and peeped through, there laid the most precious sight in the whole world;a baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes as described by the angel. The baby boy had the calmness of an angel, the beauty of precious stones and the aura of a king. But wait!!! this was the couple my master rudely turned away from the inn saying" there was no room". As I looked on ,there were three men looking richly dressed with gifts and presented it to the baby: gold, myrrh and frankincense. Also the shepherds were there. I decided to head home because it was getting late. I got up and took a look at the skies and it was as if the stars were dancing and leaping for joy and there it was the East star that lighted the skies over the manger as if to announce the birth of the child! 

     As I walked on, I pondered on the whole events of this nights. Thought of the heavenly announcement, the gifts, the star, the child. Little did I know it was the beginning of the greatest story of love and redemption. 


God Bless and do not miss the reason Jesus came to the earth!
Merry Christmas World!!!!! God believes in your tomorrow, do not give up!

Happy Holidays!

#Ding dong merrily on high........!

Hello world!!!

    It is indeed a blessing to be alive and healthy in a time as this despite all the ups and down. The only thing we hold on to is God and He has been faithful and merciful all the way! Praise the Lord!

      This is the season of Christmas, a season of giving, we mark this because the reason behind the season is God giving us Jesus our eternal saviour and redeemer. I would like to challenge you all let this be a season of giving: yes giving! Giving thanks to God for all things you have been through since the beginning of the year till now. A wise man told me " you might have lost something but the reason you have not lost everything is because of God." If you say nothing is working around you, then let us do a quick review; your eyes see, you are not paying to breathe, your legs are functioning well, you eat without help, you use the bathroom any time you feel like and so on then give thanks.  "A living dog is better than a dead lion."

       Have this at the back of your mind: the fact that you see another new day, God believes in your today maybe you should start believing in yourself! So give thanks, give thanks to God!let everything that has breath praise the Lord! do you have breath? Yes, then praise the Lord!

                                       Affect Your Generation

    Each creature of God has potentials embedded in him/her but the problem with most
of us is that we keep dreaming and wishing to be something everyday of our lives
without taking bold steps to get there.

    To see far is one thing,going there is another. Due to the fear of failure,most

people prefer to be complacent concerning their dreams in life .What makes us so
afraid of failure? As if it was the ultimate scandal. We assume that because we
have made one mistake we are failures,therefore forever disgraced.

    What a ridiculous assumption. How many people are completely successful in every
department of life?No one. The most successful ones are those that learn from
their mistakes,turning them into opportunities.

    My dear reader courage is not the absence of fear,its going ahead in spite it. No one
can make you inferior without your consent,else you allow it. Remember the way
you see yourself today will affect your performance today. 

    

    God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power,love & of a sound mind . 

So affect your generation.

By Anthony Ogedegbe

Whose Are You?

 Though this is coming late; Happy New month World!

      For a while, I never understood what it meant to be living in good health, I just considered it as one of those things one is entitled to, you did not have to pray about it or be thankful for it. I guess that perception changed when I took trips to a certain hospital and saw the sick and I mean the really sick. At that moment, I told myself " I have done nothing to God, for Him to put me in good health, every breathe is a blessing and a miracle"
     In essence what I am trying to say is never forget to tell God "thank you" to be able to see a new day.If you really take time to think and evaluate things, you will realise you are not more qualified to be in good health or be alive than those that are on sick beds, dying or dead.
    A word of hope to those with health challenges: God is able to turn that situation around and there is hope in that promise of sound health.



I was going through some old journals and I saw a simple story illustrating the hope of salvation and hope that I thought it necessary to share. Read and be blessed.


     A shepherd had two pregnant sheep and was excited about it. On the fateful delivery day both sheep gave birth but the lamb of one of the sheep dies and the mother of the other lamb dies. The confused shepherd needed to device a plan that would save the orphaned lamb so he decide to put the lamb close to the bosom of the bereaved mother but to his surprise, each time she sniffs it she pushes it away.
    The shepherd realises that the mother knows the lamb is not hers, so he slaughtered the dead lamb and robbed its blood all over the living lamb and brought it back to the mother sheep. This time she sniffs it and allows it to suck.

     This is how the mystery of the Kingdom works; to come to God, to get the best from the Father, to be nourished and blessed by God, we all need a certain type of blood and that is the Blood of Jesus Christ. This is done by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour and giving Him Lordship over your life.
John 14:6 "Jesus said..."I am the way, the truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me."
     Life is a transient and vulnerable state, it is therefore a wise conclusion to have divine help. make Jesus the Lord of your life and have that boldness to approach the throne of grace to obtain mercy in the time of need.

God bless you plenty>

Through It All

 
      It helps most times to take a moment to reflect so far on the life you have lived.Time away from all the stress, pressures and demands and see how you have fared even in the darkest of times and realized that if God was not on your side, you would have been greatly destroyed.
 
     We find conflict when try to take God out of the picture and reply on our own strength or wits. Man in his natural self is not designed to handle life or go through this earth by himself or without divine help. You are who you are because God loves you and there is always going to be a better tomorrow when we surrender all to Him.

       For the fact you wake up everyday is a sign that God still believes in your tomorrow. So do not give up on God because He has not given up on you.




                                   Through It All
      You picked me up when I was nothing, broken, battered and bruised.
      You picked me up from the gutter and held me close like a mother would hold a child,
      With all the silent love and happiness unfathomable.

      You cleaned me, healed my broken pieces and my wounds. 

      Washed me clean and called me yours.

      I found delight and joy spending time with you.

      But days and seasons came when I decided to walk away and far away did I drift off.

      I left everything and most of all I left You.

      By needs and wants was I surrounded about like a thick smoke and I could hardly breathe.  

      Lost again, not knowing where to turn to. 

      But Your grace found me. 

      Your love made a path for me in the mist of everything to return to You once again.

      Out in the light, I saw my true state, broken once again. 

      All You did was hold me even closer.

      How can I ever repay this debt of love that takes words right out of my lips.

      In reference I will worship you and in Your Holy presence will I dwell.

      I am nothing without you and everything with you.

    

Hope you enjoyed this little poem? The truth is, as humans we need  help and true help comes from the Creator of the heavens and the earth....Jehovah Almighty is His name. Let Him guide you, let Him love you and let Him give you His peace this world can never give.

Have a beautiful Wednesday and a lovely week ahead. To my Nigerian family: Happy Independence Bless