Isaiah 61:1- PURPOSE

Time magazine person of the year- Vote for Doctors & nurses battling the Ebola virus

Dr Ameyo Adadevoh- professional to the core and a heroine

It is time for the editors at Time magazine to select who they will pick for their person of the year and Doctors who are battling the Ebola virus are listed as one of them and are currently in 5th position. Please vote for them in the link below especially in honour of the late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh.

http://time.com/3562179/time-person-of-the-year-poll/vote/45/

Thank you,

MOTIVES- a brief study based on Proverbs 16: 1-3 and Romans 10:13

Proverbs 16:1-3 | NIV

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart,but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. 2 All a person's ways seem pure to them,but motives are weighed by the Lord. 3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,and he will establish your plans.

Romans 10:13 | NIV

13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

What these scriptures say to me is that as a human being, my decisions and motives are driven by flesh. I am told that the proper answer comes from the Lord. I hear that it is all about my perspective and I am blinkered by my own perceptions. However, God is more interested in my motives, and He weighs them ( judges them)

Motive:

I looked up what words the thesaurus classifies under the word motive, and it is quite instructional. These are a few that jumped out at me: 

-springs of action 

-wellsprings of action 

-reason  

-by purpose 

-keystone 

-the why and the wherefore

These words together powerfully express the root meaning of the word 'motive'.

They further expand my thoughts and understanding of how motives are activated in my life, and therefore how I can be more aware of them.

The why and wherefore that drive my wellsprings of action, are the reason and purpose for which I do , say, or think things. It is by purpose that I do , say and think these things and this is the keystone of my actions. 

Motive is strongly driven by thoughts, some of which are triggered by a complex combination of inherent attitudes and my self will. These thoughts can often be hidden from my conscious knowledge because our flesh man is tricky like that. At war within is always the flesh man masquerading as the real deal, and convincing us that we are justified in our thoughts and actions. Whereas the real deal is what God is saying about a particular situation. 

That is why it is so important to: ' Commit to the Lord whatever you do,and he will establish your plans' as in Proverbs 10:13

This our God has our backs covered , for he says : "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." In Romans 10:13

Prayer:

This morning, I commit my thoughts , ideas and motives into the Lord's hands, I call on the name of the Lord to save me from motives driven by flesh and ask that my mind be transformed with renewal and an opening of my eyes to my motives. I call on the Lord to save me.

Amen 

  

A lesson for all Nigerians

A friend sent me this compelling article below. Please share as you see fit.

                         

  

A LESSON FOR ALL NIGERIANS

Mubi, the biggest commercial town in Adamawa state, was thrown into chaos the day Boko Haram descended on them and the people found themselves running for their lives. The terrorists shot sporadically, killing a lot of people while those who could escape jumped into any available car to run to safety. Christians, Muslims, Igbos, Yorubas, Tivs, Hausas and any tribe or religion, jumped onto any vehicle that was headed outside the town. 

Soldiers scampered onto trucks with civilians, begging to be saved, hundreds of people who could not get a vehicle ran into the hills. In their frantic effort to stay alive, no one paid attention to anybody's religion or ethnicity before asking them for help or helping them to stay alive. 

It was a community of people, united by their desire to escape the common enemy that hunted them all without discrimination. Ethnicity and religion vanished, all they were left with was their humanity. Those climbing the hills stayed together, helping one another stay on their feet as they all tried to survive. 

The most interesting part of the narrative is that the Chief of Defense Staff, is from the same town of Mubi. It has been reported that few hours before the attack, helicopters flew in and evacuated his family members from the town. The chief of Defense staff by the way, is the most senior military officer in Nigeria and he controls the army, navy and air force. Before that sad day, someone from Mubi would have boasted that the Chief of Defense Staff is from their home town. But on the day that it mattered the most, he evacuated only his family members and abandoned everyone else to their fate. It means he had information of the impending attack and as the most senior military commander, he did not fly into the town to lead his men to battle to defend his community. He quietly saved only his family and left even the soldiers without an inspiring commander to motivate them to engage the terrorists and defend his community.

One lesson all Nigerians must learn from this story is that as a people, all we have is our neighbor. When you need some help at home, you knock on the door of your neighbor. The president, governor, senator or minister is not there to help you. Why then should you continue to fight your neighbor because of a man or woman who cares only about his own family? Our elites may deceive us about sharing the same religion or ethnicity with us, but time and again, they have proven that they do not care. We have been fools, killing one another on the basis of religion and ethnicity while they stay united across all the divides and plunder our wealth. 
The time has come for us to rise, educate one another and unite to fight our biggest common enemy. The politicians are our enemies and not the poor struggling men and women in our neighborhoods. 

What now will the people of Mubi boast about as the gain of having their son as the chief of Defense Staff? If you go to Otueke , there are many people who live in excruciating poverty! There is still a lot of poverty and suffering in the home towns of all our governors, ministers, parliamentarians and former presidents, while they and their families live in scandalous affluence. 

The minister of petroleum spent over 10 billion Naira on a private jet. That money can end the poverty of several communities in her state. Another Minister  bought two cars with 120 million Naira while there are people in her home town who can't afford 500 Naira to feed their family in a day. 

The time to throw away the sentiments is now! Support only a man or woman who has a just heart and will serve everyone and every community regardless of if they come from there or not. The moment anyone begins to talk to you about religion or ethnicity, reject him summarily! We need leaders who will unite us because our shared humanity is greater than any differences between us. And if someone does something wrong or fails in governance, do not support them simply because they're your own.

Run for a cure 2014- another year, another reason for gratitude!

Team Lara

I just felt a sense of gratitude in my heart as I was looking for ways to let heaven take note of how much I appreciate the opportunity to remain in His service. Every year, as I mark one more year of survival, I have feelings that run deep, some of which I cannot articulate or identify. I do not usually bother too much with those feelings, and choose to identify and acknowledge all the great things that have happened.This year, all my arrangements were so last minute and I was not sure I would be able to pull it off. However, with such a wonderful team the day came off so well.

Team Lara logo and slogan

Owanari Duke through CSDON ( Child Survival & Development Organisation of Nigeria) is the promoter of this event, and I am thankful to her and all that she does to bring awareness for childhood, breast and cervical cancer.
As usual, it was a fun filled event, starting with warm up exercises. Team Lara did their best to follow all the instructions being loudly issued over giant loud speakers. Our approximations of what we were asked to do made us all crack up uncontrollably.










In the last two years, I have supported this event by speaking and sharing my experience with breast cancer with the audience, and I posted my notes from last year on this blog. This year, I was an actual participant in the walk! I did about half of the walk, and was very pleased with myself.
The day was more special because it was our son's birthday and he is the designer of our 'Team Lara! ' logo.

Team Lara was created and put together literally in two days. T- shirts were purchased and printing was completed at about seven thirty the evening before the event. Some deliveries were made to 'Team Lara!' participants as late as midnight. We met up bright and early, all sixteen of us and just enjoyed each other's company. Lots of joking and laughing all round, and whipping up heady camaraderie that put us in the perfect spirits to do the walk.









On the walk, we came accross a phrase stencilled on a wall that triggered my thoughts on what I was doing exactly three years ago at the precise time, we walked past the sign. I remember, I was sending our son a birthday greeting from my hospital bed, having had surgery the day before. This year, everything is indeed so different.

Please remember to do regular self examinations , yes, men as well! Seek professional treatment if you find anything irregular. On that note, I will sign off and leave you with  some photos from the day. Cant you just catch the fun?

     

Our logo designer and The birthday boy!