End of Prayer Challenge #IPray4U - Day 7

Wow we made it!!! Woo hoo! Thank you Jesus.

The devil tried to knock us out but we prevailed.

Thanks for all your encouragement, the emails, the calls, twitter messages. Thank you for sticking this out. I am sure it wasn't easy...God bless you for obeying the call.

I hope we all learnt something from the prayer challenge. I sure did.

For those just starting welcome! The Lord will surely reward the labour of love and prayers.

Someone sent me a lovely song on praying for others which I was going to add. But for the life of me I can't find where to attach an audio. I tried blogger help but the grammar was plenty so I left it.. If anyone knows how I can do this please tell me ...thanks.

Before I forget to mention- Someone asked P when she shared her testimony, if she doubted she was going to be healed from cancer. Her answer was that she KNEW that she was going to be healed one way or the other. Whether on this earth or if she died in heaven as there is no sickness in heaven. So she did not worry about that.

She reminded me of the three Hebrew boys- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that didn't bow to King Nebuchadnezzar. 

They said, "Our God will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and even if He doesn't deliver us, O king, we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up."
 
See bravery and faith. Chei!

One day my faith will reach that level in Jesus name. Amen.

My point though is God is good no matter what and he will NEVER forsake the righteous.

God makes all things beautiful in his time, so stay rooted in him and let HIM do only what HE can do in his time. All glory MUST go to HIM.

Ok back to what I was saying on the song. Since I can't add the song yet, I leave you with this Matt Redman song- Blessed by your Name. Reminds us that even in good and bad times we should bless the Lord. I hope this song ministers to you as it did to me.

Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say:
Lord, blessed be Your name

Love you all!

P.S you can still send me your prayer request anytime you read about the prayer challenge through the contact page.. I would be happy to pray with/for you.

Prayer challenge- IPray4U

1 Timothy 2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”

source: google images

On Saturday 7th July, I attended a women’s conference called Real Women, Real Issues and it was phenomenal to say the least. We had a choice of attending any of the small sessions after the main session and I read through the list.

There was a session on yummy mummies and coping with work, family and spiritual life. I thought to myself yes perfect, what I learn in this session would help me with my Super Working Mum website. So I went to the designated room for this session and waited. As the session was just about to start I skimmed through the other sessions and I read the last one “What cancer taught me about prayer and interceding for others”. I was like hmm. Then I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to attend that session. I hurriedly went to the room for this session.

Ok I must admit when the lady (lets call her P) started talking I was bored initially. The previous speaker was more vibrant, funny and engaging…so one part of me was like maybe you should sneak out and go back to where the yummy mummies are but I didn’t and I am so glad I stayed.

P’s testimony was beyond awesome- she had stage 4 cancer of the womb for 4 years. It had spread all over her insides and she went through HELL. In the end she was completely healed (Praise Jesus!) after they tried about 3 times to remove her womb. I don’t want to go into her main testimony as I need to get to what my post is about.

P mentioned how during her trying times, God led her to pray and intercede for other sick people in the hospital and many of them got their healing long before she got healed. And that just blew my mind away. The fact that this lady who was completely sick, in utter pain, hair falling out, couldn’t bath herself etc could overlook her pain and pray for others; IT COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY. I was in awe.

For some months now Baale and I have been going through a challenge that I considered a big issue but suddenly my issues looked minute compared to what P went through.

Coincidentally, I have been learning about trusting and obeying God more and seeking his Will in all I do and P’s testimony just took it to another level for me. Interceding for others. Hmm I knew about interceding and yes I pray for others but umm not often and usually after praying for myself.

Listening to P, I knew in my deepest of heart, it was time to take my prayer life to the next level. Forget about my issues and pray for other people. For a few months now, a few people have told me about their issues and I believe God is calling me to pray specifically for these people.

To further confirm what I heard, I visited a friend’s church yesterday and the preaching was also about prayer and we were even asked to hold hands and pray for/with the person sitting next to us. I was like God ok I have heard you, I cannot deny this anymore. I know you are calling me to pray for others and forget about my issues for once.

***Side Bar****
I remember Geeconnect on twitter did something called Prayer Thursday (I think). She offered to pray for you if you send her your prayer requests. I have respect for this sister.

I think I DM-ed her twice to pray for me and on both occasions God answered. Whether it was Geeconnect’s prayers or a collection of all the prayers all I know is God ANSWERED. In fact I should share one of the testimonies with you...some day... 

So my dear friends, there is POWER in praying for others. Sometimes we are too weak to pray for ourselves so the prayers of others lift us to God and he hears their cry for us. Just like the Holyspirit intercedes for us
***end Side bar***

So I want to invite you to join me in a prayer challenge called IPray4U. This challenge may not be for everyone, but I have an inclination that a number of people (or maybe it is just 1 person) reading this already felt a nudge in their spirit to pray for someone else. It could be a friend, your husband, your child, your pastor, anybody else apart from yourself.



The IPray4U challenge:

Write down the name of at least seven people you know needs your prayers.

Now for a week starting from tomorrow 10th July or the day you read this, pray for at least one of the people you have listed above per day. So this should mean you will be praying for at least seven people this week. The challenge will end on 16th July if you start tomorrow.

It could be someone who has come to you in recent times with their issues, it could be a friend seeking the fruit of the womb, it could be your pastor, it could be a friend in financial crisis, or one seeking to marry, someone in a troubled marriage, someone who is sick, it could be someone who needs salvation, it could be your wife or husband or children.

Now here comes the hard part- During this week you will not be praying for yourself. Yes you heard me right. Yes forget about your pain, sickness, needs, wants! Put them aside for one week and concentrate on praying and giving thanks for others.

(Of cuz God wont strike you down if you pray for yourself during this time, this is simply just a sacrifice you are offering on behalf of your loved ones and maybe enemies!)

To help you stay committed, set a reminder to pray at specific times of each day on your phone for a week. Once you compile the list of people you are praying for, put their names in each reminder. This will only take a few minutes of your time so do that now or sometime today.

I believe testimonies will come out as a result of your prayers. Breakthrough upon breakthrough. People you pray for will share their testimonies with you. And to top it up your own breakthrough will come as a result of your prayers and sacrifice. People will rise up to pray for you and God will listen to them.

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

On another note, if you want me to pray for you, please send me your prayer request here and by the grace of God I promise I will pray for you this week.

I have never done anything like this before i.e. decide to go on a marathon prayer session for others and not even pray for myself. How terrifying! In fact I was hesitant about writing this post (I still am) but I know God wants me to share this with you as he would love to perform a revival in our lives if we OBEY. He wants people to rise up and PRAY. It is not about us, it is about HIM.

I know after our week of praying, testimonies will abound in our lives and in the lives of people we pray for. It may not be immediate but I hope when the testimonies start rolling in you will come back and share with us here.

Let’s do this challenge for a week (or as long as God leads you to) and then let us make it a habit to pray for others and not just ourselves.


Please share this post with your contacts, so they can join this prayer challenge if they wish too. If you are on twitter you can click here to tweet about the challenge.

Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit

So is anyone with me on this IPray4U challenge?? Let me know in the comment section. If you choose to do this anonymously that's totally cool as well.

I hope you will join me to pray. Let God surprise you!

I am so excited!

God bless

Aloted

Everything is Working Out for your Good

Last week was a very very challenging week for me, I stood for what was right but it appeared to backfire. My faith wavered and I doubted God. On Sunday a friend prayed with me and asked God for mercy. Yes mercy, that was what I needed. By Monday morning, God turned my situation around with just 1 text message and now I have a completely different story. He came through! He surprised me! Woo hoo!!!!!

This post is simply an encouragement to someone out there trusting God for something.

You feel pressured to do the wrong thing because everyone is doing it

You speak the truth but discomfort, pain and rejection follow suit

You pray and pray and that thing you so desire isn't coming forth

HOLD ON!

Do not be discouraged

Everything is working out for your GOOD

Just HOLD ON and TRUST in HIM who knows you and loves you

God is bigger than any mountain or trouble you may be going through.

Even in good times or bad times- HE is STILL GOD. He is Unchangeable, Unshakeable, Unstoppable!!!!!

Cast all your cares on him

He will SURPRISE you much more than you can ever imagine!

Stay STRONG.

Below is the song I am loving now. Heard it in Church this Sunday and it reassured me of God's love. It is all about God..only God.....

Hope it blesses you.

Thots!

Aloted

Deo Volente*

Growing up, my mum trained my siblings and I to always say “By God’s grace” any time we wanted to say something futuristic. For example “I will be going to the market tomorrow by God’s grace”. Most people that know me, will know that I live (or I conscious try to) by this golden rule because I strongly believe that whatever I do, is by God and not my power.

I have been meaning to blog about this but reading Temite’s post on death, re-inspired me so I have decided to stop procrastinating.

James 4:13-16 says-

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

As human beings we plan, we strategise, we deliberate over our future. However we should remember that our lives is in the hands of God. A number of people sleep at night and do not wake up in the morning. What becomes of all their plans? No one can boast of tomorrow as only God knows tomorrow.

Remember the story of the rich fool who thought he had arrived but God told him he will die that night and he would not be able to enjoy all he had worked for. The problem was not that the man was rich but he thought he was invincible and could enjoy his riches anytime and all by himself but alas death came knocking.

This is just a short post to encourage us that as we wake up each day, let us be thankful for another opportunity to be in the land of the living as it is by the grace of God. Let us be a source of blessing to others and ensure God is directing our every step.


Have a great weekend and a Happy new month!

P.S-I have no internet at home as Baale and I just moved, so I shall be back on blogsville next week, by God's grace :)



*Deo volente means God Willing in Latin

Ten Things Tuesday (10)

I have been doing my blog rounds and have wished most of you a happy new year but this is an official “Happy New Year” greeting from me at the Purpose Driven Blog. 2009 is the year to seek God’s face. Seek first his Kingdom and every other thing will be added unto you.

In 2009, I am running with 2 Chronicles 26:5:
He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper.

To be honest, in 2008 I slacked in this area. It's like I took God for granted and expected that he will sort me out. God has commanded that I should seek HIM always and allow him to direct me in everything. There is no point making any plans if God is not involved. I shall seek HIM not for what HE can give me, but because I want to do HIS Will.

Back to the subject of today, this is the first TTT (Ten Things Tuesday) for the year. Wow! God has been faithful, words alone cannot express my thankfulness to HIM. I have decided to highlight 10 key months in 2008 and express gratitude for the wonderful things God did in the life of me and my family. On a whole, God was indeed good and faithful. I blogged about a few of the things below and I have included a link in case you want more details.

January- I got married to the love of my life. We will be 1 year old next week. Yippee! I must say it has been an eventful year.

February- God provided a new job for Baale*(hubby) miraculously.

April- Celebrated my birthday

May- Was 2 wonderful years of blogging. I’ll take note to do a post on my 3rd year blogging anniversary but I can confidently say blogging as become my best hobby (Baale thinks I am addicted) and I am grateful for the wonderful people I have met here.

June- We bought our first car.

July- New baby in the family (extended)

Aug- Went on our belated honeymoon

Sep- Passed my driving test and got my license

Nov- Baale’s birthday month

Dec- Travelled home (Nigeria) just before Christmas, was nice to see and be surrounded by family from both sides especially my grandma.

What are you thankful for?

P.S- I will get round to revealing the answer of the 2 truths and 1 lie meme. Please bear with me. Meanwhile, if you haven't answered, here's your chance, or if you want to change your answer ;o)

*Baale- this is officially now the new name for my hubby on blogville. It means Father/Man of the house. Anytime I speak to my grandma on the phone part of our conversation goes:
GM: “Baale re nko?” “How is the Man of the house?”
Me: “Baale mi wa.” “The Man of the house is fine.”

Do you believe?

Hi good people,

Sorry I have been away. I got the dreadful flu and I am just recovering. Anyway just stopped by to wish y'all a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2009.

In the midst of all the eating, merrymaking and jubilation, let us remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season.

He brought JOY to the WORLD. May your JOY no know bound because of him.

He came to set us free from the law of sin and death.

He came that we might have eternal life.

He came because he loves you and I.

Do you believe in HIM?

He is coming back AGAIN, not as a baby but as the King of Kings.

Are you ready?

I pray that the true meaning of Christmas will be revealed to each and everyone of us as we celebrate.

If I don't update again before the year runs out, see you in 2009 by God's grace.

God bless!!!

Inspired by this!

Hi y'all, A friend sent this to me and I was blessed by it so I thought to share with y'all. Trusting in the Lord is the best decision one can ever make in life. Feel free to share your thoughts. Ta!

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Praising God for Closed Doors

We need to learn to praise the Lord as much for a closed door as we do an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us. If he didn't close the wrong door, we would never find the right door.

God directs our path through the closing and opening of doors. Once a door closes, it forces you to change your course. Another door closes; it forces you to change your course again. Then, finally, you find the open door and you walk right in to your blessing.

The Lord directs our paths through the opening and closing of doors, but instead of praising him for the closed door (which keeps us out of trouble); we get upset because we "judge by the appearances."

You have an ever-present help in the time of trouble that is always standing guard. Because He walks ahead of you, He can spot trouble down the road and set up a roadblock or detour accordingly. But through our lack of wisdom, we try to tear down the roadblocks or push aside the detour sign. Then the minute we get in to trouble, we start crying, "Lord, how could you have done this to me?"

We have got to realize that the closed door can be a blessing. Didn't He say that no good thing would He withhold from them that love Him?

If you get terminated from your job, praise God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves: it might be another job, it might be school.

If that man or woman won't return your call, it might not be them; it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

One time, a person had a bank they had been in business with for many years tell them "No!" to a $10,000 loan. The Lord put in their spirit to call another bank. That bank gave them $40,000 at a lower interest rate than the first bank was offering.

We can sometimes trap ourselves in doubt and discouragement through judging by appearances. Be grateful for the many times our Father has closed doors to us just to open them in the most unexpected places.

The Lord won't always say in spoken words: "Go to the left, now to the right" ...sometimes He will just close the doors that are wrong for you.

The saying is indeed true: trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him – and he will direct your paths.

If you are blessed with this, bless others by passing on.............. When You're down to nothing, God is up to something!

Still on Spider Man

A friend sent this to me and I thot to share. LOL

The End of SpiderMan

"This was his only weakness…but it takes a genius to discover this"

On a more serious note, please read this- Spidey Gets Spiritual. My sis sent it to me and I think it is a good read. Let me know what you think. Ta!

On Spider Man

Yesterday evening, I went to watch Spider Man 3 with the boyfy, his brother & wife. The movie was really action packed. Apart from all action, the movie actually reminded me of the Christian walk, the choice between evil and good, the battle between the flesh and the spirit (You might need to watch the movie to get what i am talking about). Living in the flesh looks all sweet n rosy but the end is destruction. Being "good" or living in the spirit can be hard work but in the end it pays off.

The movie also taught me about forgiveness, admitting when we are wrong, putting others first and not making life about ourselves, the effect of bitterness, revenge and pride. Lastly about valuing and guarding our friendships.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the movie if you have seen it. Garageboy shares his thots on the movie in his blog(kinda similar to mine).

On a lighter note, Spider Man was a bit too teary for my liking ...any little thing, tears don full en eyes! Okay it prolly shows he is human but omo, superheros are not supposed to be cry babies. That's why Superman is my all time Superhero ;) I can't remember him been tearful. Should blog about him sometime, you know. LOL

Ok, got to get back to work now. Looking forward to Spider Man 4.

Where is your treasure?

Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will always be where your treasure is.
Mat 6:19-21

Over the last one month, I have been hearing about different Nigerian investment schemes especially the High Yielding Investment Programs (HYIP) like Nospecto, Seftreg, Wealth Zone, Wealth Solution, Treasure Line etc. Apparently they have been in existence for some time now but I just “discovered” them recently. Everywhere I go I hear people talk about these schemes and how to make lots of money in a short while. Everyone including myself wants to gain financial freedom. I mean who wants to be in the rat race forever, definitely not me! I want to be able to live a very comfortable life, not depend on my salary and also invest ahead so that my children can live well. I am sure many people have a "similar" financial vision to mine.

Ok, so we all want to be wealthy, rich, set a legacy for our children but it seems that is all many people are doing- concentrating on storing up treasures on earth which can be destroyed or stolen. Who says any of these schemes cannot fizzle out tomorrow? If this is the case, that means we cannot depend solely on these schemes or wherever it is we are storing our treasure to give us the freedom that we so desire. So where does that leave us? One thing I love about God is that he does not leave you stranded, if he tells you what not to do, he definitely will tell you what to do, so there is a way out! In the passage above, we are commanded/advised/encouraged to store our treasures in heaven. Am sure you are asking, “So how on earth do I store my treasure in heaven?” Right question!

Well for starters you don’t have to literally go up to heaven to store your treasure there. You store your treasure in heaven here on earth. Getting confused? Ok, what I mean is, or what I understand from this Word is that to store my treasure in heaven I need to consecrate myself fully to God and help all men that are in need. How many times have people come to meet us to assist them but we send them away without helping them even when we are in the position to help? How many of us pay our tithes, donate money to missionaries, the orphans, the motherless, the prison ministries, the nonprofit organisations that help those in needs etc. Those were opportunities God gave us to store our treasures in heaven. This passage of the bible stresses this principle:

When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me." Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed you did it for me." Matthew 25:35-40

Each person on earth was created by God so any time we help someone in need we are doing it for God and he is the rewarder of all good deeds. It may not seem like it because you can’t see money multiplying in your account but when you invest in God’s people he will surely reward you here on earth. When they say givers never lack, believe it because it is VERY true. I have personally experienced and also heard testimonies of several people who do not necessarily invest their money in stocks and shares but are givers and they never want. God always meet their needs. This is because the bible says Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with what measure you mete it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

So dear friends, invest your money wisely. Lay up treasures that cannot be taken away from you. As you invest your money in schemes, stocks, shares etc, remember that it is far more rewarding to invest in people and in God’s work. Someone’s life can be saved today just because you invested in them. Selah

By the Flesh or the Spirit?

Hi peeps, sorry been away from my blog for sometime now. Blame it on work :) as usual.

Lately, I have been thinking about stuff relating to God, time, purpose etc. However, one particular question that surrounds most of my thoughts is- how have I been living my life: according to the flesh or to the Spirit?

An important choice that I think all believers are faced with, daily, is between living by the flesh or the Spirit. The bible says: Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom8:5-6).

To me this means that when a Christian deals with life by his flesh, he/she typically thinks about:
"what I want out of my life"
"what I can accomplish with my life"
"what I can get out of this"
"what I can do for God"

The result of this is spiritual deadness.

On the other hand, when a Christian deals with life by the Spirit, he/she generally thinks about:
"what God wants for my life"
"what God can accomplish through my life"
"how much I need the Lord"
"how great the Lord is"

The result of this is eternal life and peace.

The truth is that the "flesh-spirit" choice is something believers will face every day as really those are the only two options for every issue of life. Personally, I know most times I think about what I want and not what God wants, I think about my heart desires, not God's heart desires. I need to get past thinking of me, me, me and start thinking of what the Father wants/desires. I need to get past spending time on my stuff and start spending time on God's stuff. I need to start living according to the Spirit!

So how then do I do that- I need to ask God for supernatural power to renounce the path of the flesh. Practically, I need to feed my Spirit by feasting on God's word and place my expectations on Him, so that his Spirit can bring forth fruit like "love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" in me. (Gal 5:22-23).

Any other tips or practical steps? Please feel free to share.

By the way, here's something else I have been thinking about-The Spirit, Soul and Body. Do you know that when one becomes born again it is his/her spirit that became born again, not the body or soul? Ok that's a discussion for another day. :)

New year, new blessings

Happy new year to y'all!!!

So sorry this is coming late. Honestly speaking I have been meaning to update my blog since December '06 but the affairs of this world would not allow me, more like my work did not permit me.

Anyhoo, this is simply to wish you the best year of ur life, your year of dominion over temptation, poverty, evil, sickness and death. This is your year of blessing at home, in your relationships, at work, in short in every aspect of your life.

This year I hope to update my blog more often :)

MUCH LOVE!!!

Work your Gift.

Thank God, I finished my dissertation as planned and now am back to work. To be honest I still don’t know which one I dislike more: working or schooling. I guess with schooling I can decide not to go for lectures and sleep all day and still get away with it but this isn’t the case with work. The good thing, though, is that I get paid to go to work. To sleep or to make money- that is the question I have to answer to make a decision considering I love both:)

Anyhoo, moving to today’s topic- at church yesterday the pastor spoke about working our gift. I learnt that I, like every other person was born with one or more gifts, and these gifts are meant to be used to glorify God and to edify others. I am not supposed to bury my gift or be envious of others who are using theirs. I need to work my gift because it will make way for me in life. Above all I am liable to God and I will have to give an account of how I used the gift(s) he gave me.

The Pastor said something that struck me. He said some people have buried their gift but think that they have lost it. This statement made me remember when I was young, I used to write a lot and one of my uncles saw what I used to write and said to me that I had the gift of writing. I never took him serious because I just used to write out stuff as I have always been able to express myself better in writing. I have never seen myself as the next John Grisham and honestly I don’t see myself writing bestseller novels or anything like that (am far too restless for that). All the same, there was a point in my life when I would write a line or a note of encouragement to friends and families or my thoughts towards them and they were blessed by it. Some have even said it came “just in time”. Sadly, I can’t remember the last time I did anything like that so you can agree with me that I have buried that gift. Some of you might say “oh please you can’t classify that as a gift” but I do! Who is to say that all writers have to write novels, poetry, short plays or whatever? If my writing is a source of blessing to others around me and they thank God for it, I can safely conclude that writing is one of the many gifts God has given me. No be so???

Any which ways, I need to dig up my gift(s) and work my gift(s)! The bible says a gift of man will make room for him and cause him to stand before great men. So God will take me places if only I work my gift, same with y’all.

What is your gift? WORK IT! ;)

Dealing with disappointments

Last week came and went by swiftly, yet in retrospect I really did not achieve much except for maybe the letter of complaint I managed to write to my bank for terminating my credit card. It was one of those weeks where I did not feel like doing any work. Basically I just faffed around- played online games , chatted and watched online videos despite the fact that I had so much to do. Am so lagging behind in my project, but I just could not be bothered! I tried to do some research but boy I couldn't get into the flow at all. It was a really bad week.

It might not be the best method but I have noticed that I sometimes deal with disappointments by getting into a "lazy" mood. Am like what's the point anyway? Why am I stressing myself?? Really what happened was that I got rejected by two companies I applied to and I didn't realise it hit me so hard till I saw the week go by just like that. In my head I knew that God was working everything out for my good but in my heart I just couldn't "move on" to do other things. It was like a pity party only I wasn't wailing but I practically wasted a whole week loafing!

During the week, I woke up one morning panicking and asked God "Ok what next?!, Lord you know I need a job before I finish school, I need to be sure of what the plan is, don't keep me in the dark here!!!" After about an hour of having dreadful thoughts I decided to have my quiet time and the scripture for that day (I use "Our Daily Bread" for my daily devotion) was from Matthew 6:25-34. The first verse (vs 25) actually hit the nail on the head - "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life whether you have enough food, drink, clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?". At that moment, it was like I could hear God telling me "You worry too much, my child". In the same scripture, Jesus was also talking about the birds that do not need to plant or harvest but they always have food to eat. Yet, I am more valuable to Him than the birds!

Reading on, I realised I needed to seek God's face and make His work my primary concern instead of worrying. He said in His word that if I seek first His Kingdom He will add every other blessing to me. I still don't have a job , neither do I know what the plan is but I do know that the plan is GOOD and all I have to do is trust and seek HIM.

By the way I feel much better now and I intend to get back to work but then again I know I have to take some practical steps on my "lazy" mood swings. I can't afford to be wasting days and weeks any time I get disappointed! First step is to admit that I have an issue- done! Second step is to get suggestions, comments or advice from y'all on how to effectively deal with disappointments. I look forward to hearing from you :)

Ta!!

Custom Built.

This morning I woke up at 10:15 and church service usually starts at 10:30...geezz! For one second I was tempted to go back to sleep. Oh well I was gonna be late anyways but I thought about it- if it was a business meeting, I won't think twice about jumping out of bed and since God is much more important to me than a meeting I "gus" to get out of bed. Sure, I got to church late but t'was good I went. Pastor Ian talked about the DaVinci Code which seems to be the hype of today. That is another story for another day.

Anyway back to the subject at hand.....

It is amazing to know that my birth was not a mistake. Everything surrounding my birth- the date, the location, my parents, my race, EVERYTHING, was planned by God. The Bible tells me God saw me before I was born, and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Am wowed by this fact. Oh by the way, I am going to be making a lot of reference to the Bible in my blog, because I believe in it. It is the living WORD of God, and am not going to get into any argument with anyone over that. Period.

Anyway as I was saying, God is omnipotent and omniscience hence he has a reason for everything and everyone he creates. There might be illegitimate parents but there are no illegitimate children. Even when some parents see their children as mistakes, God doesn't because he planned for them. No one on earth is an accident.

Science teaches us to believe that we are homo sapiens, we came from apes but am sorry I don't believe in all that. I believe each one of us was made in the imagine and likness of God. We were created as a special object of God's love. HE made us so he could love us! God created us for a significant purpose and we can only discover this if we make HIM the reference point of our life.

Anytime I feel dejected, ejected or rejected in life (like a friend of mine would say), I would encourage myself with these words- "I am unique! There is no one like me on planet earth, no one has the set of finger prints I have. No one has the exact personality I have. I am custom built by God."

That's some proper esteem boost right there! Hehehe.

It's not about Me!

The realisation that this life is not about me or you is kinda carking, don't you think? Many times I do what I want because my happiness depends on it but now I know this life is not about my happiness or peace of mind.

I have read many self-help book that tell me- "if you want to be fufilled, look in within, think about what makes you happy, what makes you tick and you've found it". The world teaches us to be self-centred- What makes me happy? What do I want to do? What are my goals and my dreams? If I didn't create myself, how can I look within for answers? It really is not about me but about God because I was born by his purpose and for his purpose. That means I have to look to HIM the one that created me for my purpose. Imagine a sofa telling Mr Carpenter, "I have looked within and I notice I am comfy, I think I will be happy being a bed, let people lay down on me when they want to sleep". Fine, the chair might be fufilled playing a bed's role but that wasn't the purpose for which Mr Carpenter created it. It will end up as a short-lived sofa.

The Bible says in Ephensians 1:11 that -"It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone". This verse tells me that:

• I can only discover my identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus
• God was thinking of me long before I even thought about him. His purpose for my life precedes my conception. He didn't need my input to determine my purpose
• My purpose in life fits into a much larger purpose that God has designed for eternity.

So I guess the question I should be asking myself is how do I live for God and not myself? Hmm.

My Commitment

Hi y'all!

Am sure we sometimes wonder what we are doing here on earth. Is it just about getting an education, falling in love, getting married, raising a family, getting a job, climbling the career ladder, retiring or is there more to life? Most of us just follow the tides of life and take whatever life throws at us. Personally I think there is more to life. There must be a purpose for my existence. I know many of us are curious about our purpose on earth, sometimes we think we know it, next minute we aren't so sure of ourselves. Tough life!!!

I don't know how many people have read this book- THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE by Rick Warren. I got this book as a gift 2 years ago, I started reading it but never completed it for some reason or the other, then I lost it! Anyway just last week I got a parcel from someone and guess what was in it- yaaah, The Purpose Driven Life..LOL, so here's my second "God-ordained" chance to read it again. I believe this book would help me answer some of the questions I have in my head concerning my purpose.

Anyway I have decided to make a commitment to myself and to God to read this book (its a 40-day journey) and I believe at the end of the 40 days, by God's grace, I would know the real purpose for why God created me. I intend to share my thoughts on what I learn with you, hence the blog. Your comments are most welcome.

If you have the book I encourage you to read it; from the little I read of it 2 years ago I know you will be blessed.

Happy reading :)