Month: November 2018

“Give thanks with a grateful heart…”

This is a quote from the lyrics of one of my all time favorite songs by Don Moen. Instead of the usual Monday posting, I decided to defer it today in honor of the day we are celebrating on this other side of the world.

Today is our Thanksgiving Day- a national holiday in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November set aside to give thanks for one’s blessings, along with holding feasts to celebrate a harvest. That was the origin of its celebration. Today, it has become commercialized that we have lost its meaning

Last week, I wrote on remembrance; that and gratitude are very interwoven. Remembrance has to do with reflecting on the past to appreciate the present; more of a thought thing, gratitude is an action word- it shows in giving thanks by deed or word

To those of us celebrating, let us take time to acknowledge God and be grateful to him for our health, our family and friends, (…) and the fact that we are alive today. Today’s merry making and socializing should be a time of forgiveness, peace and love. Whilst breaking bread and drinking, let the value of sharing amongst us continue to be encouraged and still be an imprinted value in our society

Thanksgiving is the time of meeting many strangers we don’t know and yet will welcome in our abode in the spirit of the season. May this gesture never stop but teach us to be acceptable of all. There is only one race- the human one. Let us find a common ground to stand together and fight off every schism and division that breaks our rank and unity

To those not celebrating today, you are not left out! The import of today’s message is let us always be grateful to God and count our blessings, let us believe in the power of love. Love is a strong force that conquers hate and division.

As you read this today, let today be the day you start to be giving. Give of yourself! Be a gift to someone’s life. Giving of yourself starts with a small action like giving of thanks

The most gratifying way to live and have a full life is to give of yourself than living for yourself. Lose yourself!

Happy thanksgiving, Americans & a happy Thursday to all my friends worldwide

I am thankful and grateful to God for all of you. Thank you for inspiring me to keep on writing

Today’s post is dedicated to my brother in-law, Randy! He is a very giving person and I appreciate him. He is my friend and a brother indeed! Great husband and a great father too

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“God isn’t unjust so that he forgets your efforts and the love you have shown for his name’s sake when you served and continue to serve God’s holy people”. Hebrews‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭CEB‬‬

I am a Christian who worships God! This is one of the encouraging truths out of the many to keep on worshipping Him and living my life for Him- he is a God who does not forget.

Yesterday was 11/11 and on the calendar of the world, it was known as the Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. It is a day set aside to honor veterans particularly those who fought in World War I. It also marks the day the armistice was signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany for the cessation of hostilities; more like a formal peace treaty

Such an important day to remember and honor our fallen heroes who laid down their very lives for us to enjoy the peace, freedom and democracy experienced in majority of the world. I came to find out that there is a link between honor and remembrance. You can’t honor what you forget easily hence the need for dates set aside for some important events in this world.

For you and I embarking on this earth, we need to do this journey with gratitude and remembrance, and see fit to whom honor is rightly due. Otherwise, we raise a generation full of ingrates devoid of history going no where. In order to move forward, it is necessary to know where you started from which was your point of origin. When you know that, it is easier for navigation to your destination.

Yesterday’s event is over until 11/11 of next year. For us, we need to remind ourselves constantly of certain key people who have played a major role in our lives and shaped us in the way we are. What are you grateful for as you travel down memory lane? I believe we can all remember these key people we all have in common

1. Your parents

Always remember your parents. Half of you comes from your father, the other half; mother. You will never exist without their contribution and care. You might be reading this saying, “I don’t have parents”. You might not have met your biological parents but you have one. Anyway, whoever stepped into the gap of your parents should be seen as such and accorded the honor they deserve. Most don’t treat parents well because they have forgotten. God has never treated me unfairly because he never forgets. That is my personal testimony! It is hard to treat with contempt and esteem lightly when you remember

2. Your teachers and mentors

Teachers and mentors play a very huge role in our lives. No one started experienced or skillful. We all started in various junctures of our lives as novices. It took the guiding hand of one that has been where you are going to train and teach you to where you are now. Always remember those key people! Life can be so amazing that when the student outshines the teacher and becomes great, he starts to look down on the teacher forgetfully with dishonor and disrespect thinking he is all that. Don’t forget that loving supervisor or colleague at your work desk who showed you the ropes in the company to be the “real McCoy”

3. Good friends

It is easy to have friends but rare to have good ones. Good friends are like pearls- pearls today are rare in our society. It can be found if you want them but it will take a bit of work and effort. In my generation, one of the things taken for granted are relationships. Few have relational IQ. You can have a relational IQ when you remember! Friendships and relationships have a shorter life span than before. Why are we changing friends every week? How soon can you forget the great contributions which are too numerous to list in this article? Before you sleep tonight, remember THAT FRIEND, say a prayer for him or her and if possible, reopen the communication lines

4. The elderly and aged

“Show respect for old people and honour them…” Leviticus‬ ‭19:32‬ ‭GNB‬‬

We will all grow old one day! Please be careful of how we treat people who are the aged in society. Life has an interesting concept called the boomerang effect. What goes around, comes around. Try throwing a boomerang after reading this! The force with which you throw that thing, it will return with the same force to you! Pretty interesting, right? A child loved his grandfather and they were very close until one day, the child’s father (who was very busy with work and didn’t have time for either the father or his child) decided to send his father away to an old people’s home. The child cried and was very sad at loosing his grandfather when they had to part ways at the care center. Now on the way back, the car was quiet till the dad asked his son, “Johnny, what’s wrong?”, then the son said, “I have been thinking that when I grow, I know when to send you one day when you are becoming a nuisance like how your dad is to you”. These words cut to the father’s heart so strong that he made a u-turn real quick back to the care center to fetch his father for Johnny to be happy again. The morale of the story is treat people how you want to be treated in the future

I hope you enjoyed today’s read and will like to hear from you and also establish correspondence. Have a very good week

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love

“Don’t you know that all the runners in the stadium run, but only one gets the prize? So run to win.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:24‬ ‭CEB‬‬

We are in the fall season; where leaves shrivel and wither, longer nights and short days; not forgetting the biting cold accompanying the rain making way for the winter season. In this part of the world, it is sometimes amusing when the gloominess of a weather can make us downcast at times. In November, many resign and conclude their year- whether it was a failure or success. You go to stores and you will see 2019 diaries and calendars on sale.

Well I couldn’t help seeing this scripture which served as a source of encouragement personally and thought I should share it with our community here. I came to tell you: KEEP RUNNING. Don’t know how your year has turned out to be but don’t throw in the towel yet. The next one and half months is an opportunity to end well on a victorious and good note

Let us focus our attention on the athlete (not just a runner, but the sportsman) who is running to win and see if we can glean some pointers in our race of 2018. Permit me to share a few:

Endurance– John Orozco, the US gymnast comes to mind when I think of this quality. He has faced a number of serious injuries but always came back stronger. He tore his Achilles in 2010 and 2012 which was career threatening but that didn’t stop him from rehabbing, training hard and coming back in time for the 2012 Olympics in London and won the gold. Where are you mentally and emotionally? Don’t check out! Recalibrate for the journey and keep on till it is over

Focus– I admire comeback stories. Tiger Woods in 2008 was on track to becoming the first billionaire athlete until everything around him came tumbling down in November of that year. His carefully packaged and marketable image was seen as a laughing stock. He was among the most decorated winners in his sport- golf. Lost endorsements, his marriage, and the trust of his fans who felt somewhat betrayed- just a few to mention. It has been a long road to redemption with bumps here and there. Well, in September 2018, he won the Tour Championship which has put him back in the books of the elite. The ten years of struggle had to do with his break in focus. Around this time, it is easy to break focus when you are not hitting your target. You have travelled too far to lose focus now. Keep focusing! You will win

Diet– This really counts! An athlete needs to be within a certain weight for optimal capacity. You are almost treated like a car. You get what you want out of the car, if you put in the requisite fuel! You can’t eat and drink anything for excellence on the track field. Paul Gascogne popularly known as “Gazza” could have been one of the greatest English footballers. He had skill, strength, stamina and was a very good reader of the game, but he had poor conditioning and was injury prone due to his poor dieting habits. He underachieved! What are you feeding your soul and spirit, and to an extent your body? Watch the foods that make you sluggish, overweight & prone to inertia. Please take a personal inventory after reading. Information, like fuel to the car, is food for the soul and spirit. What are you reading, watching and listening?

Treat the rest of this year like an athlete and monitor your energy levels. Don’t let anything or anyone eat at your endurance. Protect your focus and arm yourself with the necessary and relevant information! If I may add, please eat well! Be determined to finish well no matter how you started this year

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love