GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE

You gave me a beautiful garment of praise today

And I thank you Lord for your faithfulness

You have answered me in a myriad ways

I cannot begin  to tell how much

I am strong within, and my faith is strengthened

Double portion giver

Restorer of locust eaten places

I bow, I worship you in gratitude.

ABIDE- John 15:5

ABIDE- faithful God, our ever present help

Faithful God, our ever- present help.

By the power of the Holy Spirit
You indwell us all the time
Therefore Lord, you ABIDE with us. 

This is the beauty of who you are!
We ABIDE in you loving Father.
It feels good, it feels right.
We are strong

Food for growth

Faith is a shield

Faith is a shield
That when produced within
Is formed by our thoughts and actions
In deep recesses of our minds
The true lie of our spirit
Faith is the GPS of spiritual perception
The locator and director of our path
Faith is thinking and doing opposites
To what we see, and feel and know
To circumstances, and things that generate fear
Faith is the parchment paper we write on
Faith is a catalyzer
That allows us to perceive
To access and to know His favour

Happy 2015!

KINGDOM STRATEGY THINKING-PLAYING THE LONG GAME

Matthew 6:19-24 | NIV says,
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 

23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.


This passage prompts me to ask the following questions.
-Who is my master?
-Which master am I really serving?
-Self?
-The pride of life?
-My ..this, my...that?
-What exactly is in my heart?
-What am I dwelling on consciously or subconsciously?


This red letter word in Matthew 6:19-24 is saying, I have to choose who to serve, and that what I choose may not be serving God as I ought to. The one who created me, expects me to make choices that serve His purpose. My choices may find me in direct conflict with the will of God for me.
I am to store up eternal treasures that are imperishable as opposed to earthly, physical treasures that are subject to destruction . It is important what kind of treasures I store up, because that will determine where my heart will be focussed.
My 'eye' as a lamp to my body determines whether or not my perceptions and belief system will lead me to the inflowing of God's light, or the absence of it, which is darkness.
In meditating on this word, my thoughts are that God's light seeks to illuminate the darkness of my inner man, and this process is ushered in by the choices I make.
Therefore, I must be intentional and deliberate about what I seek, what I allow my eye to see. i.e the 'eyes' of my understanding. I must guard jealously, what I expose myself to in thought , word and deed, as these actions lead me along particular paths. Which paths am I on as evidenced by my thoughts , my words and my deeds?

Later on in this chapter, there is a powerfully compelling command.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33 | NIV

This is an instruction that implores me to seek the things with a heavenly kingdom oriented mind. This may appear to be counter intuitive and may not come naturally, due to the power of the flesh and its desires. I need to self check so that I am not motivated by all sorts of internal pressures, promptings and things that are limited by the here and now. This is the kind of sight that will not usher in the light of God.
Seeking His kingdom first requires dying to self, this is an often painful process that demands

submission of my self will. 

God is saying that I should not be satisfied with plucking the low hanging fruit because I must invest in Kingdom currency which is His will for me, it pleases God, and is my purpose here on earth.

This is consistent with other words of Jesus which speak to His desire that we 'die to self' and that we live for the benefit of others. In summary, I am to yield myself to the things of God that He has predestined for me .
Then and only then will ' the other things be added unto me as well'


Micah 6:8 says
He has shown you, O mortal , what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Prayer for myself and the readers of this blog:
May we listen to Our God the awesome teacher!
He shows, He speaks, He demonstrates, He encourages, He commands, He instructs.
As we move towards the close of the year, I pray that we will listen to what God is teaching us in this passage. May Kingdom oriented thinking be our portion in Jesus name!
Amen!

Jesus the reason for the season, Happy Christmas to all!

Abide under the shadow of His wings

Stay put, hang in there, dwell, spend time, just be.

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!

Enter the NMDB Naija Mega Diva Babe !

When she walks in to a party, fashionably late, there is no mistaking her importance at the event. You see, there is a way those who matter and know what's what with the latest head tie ,lace and all the attendant paraphernalia, carry themselves. It is an unspoken club and a statement as bold as the preening alpha females in a colony of primates. Every detail must be just so, and as I have said to various friends who have responded to my phrase with great mirth 'the kpim must match the kpam' .

This is a sample of the non- stop entertainment being played out in our lives minute by minute and so effortlessly, that we don't often pay attention to it.
Everything about the outfit speaks volumes, and the body language is unmistakably the same as a peacock strutting and fanning out it's tail feathers to display a stunning array of beautiful colours. 
Head held high, chest out, back exaggeratedly arched to extend butt out. The simple harmonic motion of the posterior cheeks gently swaying, eyes staring down everyone else from a high vantage point. Sight lines taking a quick scan, cursory look around the place to search out the lie of the land.
The eye brows are arched and raised so high as to give the appearance of being astonished. Or that may just be the outcome of last week's visit to the beauty parlour and the threading,waxing or tweezer artistry of her favourite beautician. With every considered step, she appears to take in a slow, deep breath, whilst simultaneously curling up the edges of her nostrils-eyes looking sharply from side to side. This looks like mild disgust or disdain, but it isn't, and is directed at no one in particular. It is just part of the body language required to make an impact. It is delivered very subtly indeed and accompanied by eyes that are glazed over to be totally inscrutable. Mouth pursed with sucked in cheeks together with a very gentle tilting of the head and a sort of slow-mo wagging of the chin, all accentuated and amped up to deliver 'the message'.

You better notice me jor , I AM all that!

If any one deigns to enter the shield and tries to offer a warm greeting within touching distance, God help them! And if they try to shake hands! A blunt 'How-wiryou' erupts! This curt and crisply delivered answer together with mouth movements that mirror that which you would get if you have been sucking lemons for a week. Her hand is extended for the briefest moment and rapidly withdrawn to resume it's particular place in one of her set body arrays. From the jewelry to the shoes and bag not to talk of the nail extensions, the aura and subliminal impressions push forth..
'Can't you see that I am among the glittering array of inter planetary stars?
I believe this is the very same spirit that inspired 'Lagbaja' to sing 'Oni gele yi skentele,.... oni gele yi skontolo' in which all accolades are directed at the head tie (gele) as a dazzling expression of pizzaz and elegance.

Once her high stepping Prada, Jimmy Choo or whatever designer clad feet set forth, with encrusted designs to match the elegant clutch, a series of automated events is set in motion. First of all the attendant paparazzi will leap forward to take the winning photos that will ensure bumper sales of their glossy magazines. Then the gorgeously dressed ushers of the event in order to show their recognition of Naija Mega Diva Babe (NMDB) will swoop in en mass and feign earnest servitude and show her to her seat.

The greeting-:
There will be lots of teeth on display, kowtowing, twisting, arms swung coyly backwards, lots of titles and accolades preferred forth as well. Fanning the blazing flames of her self aggrandizement to a roaring flame that consumes lesser mortals in it's path. Shamelessly ingratiating, the event ushers, pilot her to her seat and silence falls as she is seated.
Yes! The party is a success already, her place in the hierarchy of NMDB's is secure again as others outside the shield look on with the combined power of admiration, resentment and disgust.

Lara Cookey
Fly on the wall
At one high profile event in Lagos