A Life Lesson from The Apprentice

I'm not a big fan of Reality Shows, in fact I dislike most of them because they tend to go on and on about nothing in particular. I do however like 3 in particular, Come Dine With Me (coz I love food and you get to learn how to cook interesting stuff), Dragon's Den (I'm always amazed at all those intriguing inventions and ideas...and the ones that are not so great) and also The Apprentice(UK).

The other week on the The Apprentice(UK) a lady was ousted from the show after a dramatic showdown in the boardroom. She was given a chance to say something and redeem herself and had she been clever she would have used that chance to highlight her strengths and why she should not be fired. She chose to play dirty. She started going on about the other two candidates, how useless and incompetent they were and how Sir Alan should do the right thing and fire them. Sir Alan then pointed out to her that she was out of bounds. The only person who was allowed to judge the contestants and make the final call was Sir Alan himself. Because she tried to operate out of her jurisdiction, she ended up taking the cab home even though she had been a strong candidate herself.

As Christians we are meant to live our lives without being judgemental. Yes, people around us may be doing one wrong thing or the other, but it doesn't give us the right to judge and pronounce verdicts.
Yes, so that girl in church has a stud ring on her tongue and that other guy wears jeans that sag showing part of his Calvin Klein boxers, or that other woman smokes as soon as she leaves church or that man has a few beers on Saturday night before coming to church the next day...ohhhh how so unchristian like...we tend to think...

We may not agree with certain things but let's not judge and decide that these people are doomed and cannot be sincere in their walk with the Lord, for we don't know their hearts, only God does. Let us just love people and leave God to convict and deal with their "issues" which we may feel do not measure up to our standards.

The thing is if you tell someone not to do something and they stop because you told them to and not because of any conviction of their own, they are likely to keep going back to it. But if the Spirit of God grabs hold of them and gives them a revelation about the wrong thing they are doing, they are likely to stop for good.

You may feel led to advise and correct someone who may be erring (which the bible says to do in certain cases where someone is going against the word of God) but do so tactfully, in private and with love. Do not condemn them and decide their fate because we ourselves are not perfect and are living by God's wonderful grace. Let he who has no sin cast the first stone.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5 
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Blessings to ya'll

It ain't over till the Fat Lady sings...

Red leaves, yellow leaves, orange and lots of brown ones too mixed with the refreshing green of the tender grass. That was the sight that greeted me as I walked into the park the other day. I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty that stood before me.

For a minute I stopped thinking about all the stuff I needed to get done, the things I wished I had or the pressures coming from different arenas of life. I sighed, took a deep breathe and just paused to take in the moment. I wished I had a camera so that I could capture that moment, when nothing else seemed to matter but the tranquility of being in a place where the surroundings reminded me of the goodness and magnificence of my Maker.

Life has a way of knocking you down sometimes and you think back to the time you were a child when everything seemed to be alright and if you had a problem you knew your dad or the school teacher could fix it somehow. No one placed great expectations on you other than getting reasonably good grades, no one expected you to be responsible for too much.

Enter the later years of life, rejection letters, disappointing emails, demands, work or the lack of it, dreams you reach for that sometimes seem out of your grasp, making it in a world recovering from recession, being a good Christian in a society whose values are upside down. It ain't easy, no sir, it takes tenacity, perseverance and the ability to lean on God like never before.

In such times I retreat to the rock that is higher than I and seek wisdom, strength and encouragement. He makes me to lie down in Pastures Green and sometimes when I lie there I don't want to get up and go back to facing the real world.

But get up I must at some point. He has given us grace to go through all things. His grace is more than sufficient. Set backs may come and obstacles will be many on the road that leads to destiny. But His word is true, He cannot lie, trust Him. Remember the things He has whispered to you in the secret place and may they remind us of why we started this journey and carry us to the place that our hearts yearn for.

Be blessed,

Say no to Size Zero

Over the years I 've seen one diet after the other captivate all sorts of women (and some men believe it or not) as they search to fulfil that quest of being slimmer and trimmer in all the essential places.
Atkins, GI diet, Paleo, Leptin, Special K two week plan... the list is endless.

Now I don't know for sure whether or not they work, but I do know that if you starve yourself for extended periods of time you will inevitable start to lose weight.
Now as Believers we are meant to keep ourselves well nourished with plenty of the Word so that we can stay in great shape. A well balanced diet with double helpings of the Word through reading the Bible, listening to word based sermons,some gospel music, reading books and blogs is essential...its up to you how you like it.

The problem is that a lot of people are only having snack bites of the word once or twice a week, sometimes never. Getting the word from the Bible is the main meal, all the other things are appetisers and snacks for in between meals and as we all know you can't really survive on snacks.
Now if you've always looked at the Size Zeros and thought c'mon you need to fix up and put some weight, I 'm sure the angels are looking down at some of us and thinking the same thing. Stop this dieting and getting yourself on a healthy feasting plan. Enough said, I think you get the picture.

Ask yourself some serious questions and be honest with yourself.
When was the last time you read the bible and are you reading it consistently?

Soak yourself in the Word and always pray for revelation before you begin your bible reading. I know sometimes it can get a bit boring and it feels like a chore but you can pray and the ask The Holy Spirit to give you a hunger for the Word and for it to come alive in your life. Believe me you will never see it in the same light again. You will begin to look forward to reading it like you do your Nandos chicken.

If you feed your flesh more than your Spirit, you will act fleshly, your thoughts and actions will mirror what you're feeding on, so guys lets all make it a priority to make time for the one thing that will ultimately have a long lasting and beneficial effect on our lives.

Joshua 1:8 says "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Lets give up the skinny diet and stuff ourselves with the Word, after all it's the only place where it's cool to be obese.

Be blessed,

Will you be deceived?

I am the one who makes you itch until you've shared that juicy bit of news,

Even though you know you're not supposed to tell.

I am the one who makes you beat your wife down,

Even though she's three months pregnant and helpless.



I am the one who encourages you to harm your body

by inhaling substances that will make you lose control.

I am the one who will make you take another man's wife as your own,

whilst your own wife sits at home.



I am the one who will say its OK when you take thousands of pounds

from the company account to finance your new car.

I am the one who will make you hoard riches for yourself,

when many are in need worldwide.


I am the one who makes you harbour resentment and not forgive

the people that wronged you several months ago.

I'm the one who makes you use %&*% profanity and tell crude jokes,

even though you know it's not morally right.

I approach but you cannot see me,

I give you a dose of deception

and you fall for it.

All I do is plant a little thought in your mind,

the rest is up to you.

Will you entertain the thought or get rid of it?


You can duck and hide but I will find you.

Only those whose minds are renewed,

and filled with His powerful Word,

have any hope of ever defeating me.

 

Who am I?

You may ask.

I am

Sin.




Be blessed,

Heavenly Bodyguards

The other night, my friend and I were driving home after attending a birthday party. Then we heard police sirens wailing in the distance. My friend and I slowed down trying to decide where the sirens were coming from in case he needed to give way to them.

As we approached an intersection, the traffic light turned green and our car headed towards the intersection. Then out of the blue, a speeding car coming from the other side of the intersection wheezed past going through the red traffic light on their side, even though we had right of way since the traffic light was green for us.

My friend who was driving hit the brakes hard and we watched as the car drove past followed closely by two police cars with blaring sirens. We started commenting about how stupid that driver had been going through a red light and how that could have turned into a potentially dangerous situation if we had driven a few metres ahead.

Then we realised that God had just saved us from what could have been a disaster. I remembered Psalm 91 and how it talked about God's protection over our lives. My friend and I started praising God for His protection and deliverance from harm.

God has promised to keep us safe and give His angels charge over us Psalm 91:11. (which I think is really cool. It's kind of like being a celebrity and having bodyguards)

As we go out daily, let us pray and ask for God's covering over our lives, our families and friends.

Stay safe y'all!

What you do when no one is watching...

Have you ever used the work photocopier to do your own personal stuff? Or the work phone to catch up with your buddies? Or even gotten too much change in a store and kept it when you knew that you should have pointed out the error to the shop assistant.

Every now and again we find ourselves caught up in one such situation or the other.
We tell ourselves that everybody does it so hey what's the big deal? Well the big deal is God is watching and He doesn't think it's a small thing...He doesn't like it one bit!

I remember going through this lesson a few years ago  I was quite good at taking a paper clip here and a pen there from work and printing my stuff using the office printer and paper. The laminator, scanner and all the other gadgets were crying for mercy as well.
Then there was the work phone, I thought it's purpose was to help me keep in touch with my girls.
Wrong!
God started saying stop but I thought hey they don't pay me enough in the company anyway so this is part of my benefits. Eventually I got called into my manager's office and warned about the way I used the telephone. I knew things had obviously gotten out of hand and I prayed for God to help me refrain from misusing company things.Sigh...Praise God, with time I became better.

Then came the issue of what is called The Free Bus. There's one particular bus in my area dubbed the free bus because people at times get in and don't bother paying because it had several doors and if you use one of the back doors no one checks whether you have a ticket or not.
Now being a middle class person myself at the moment, when funds were tight the temptation was there to just walk into the bus. But God always had such a strong hold on me, I just couldn't do it. I felt so bad. And then came the one day I was so tempted to almost do it....the Inspectors got on the bus to check tickets...thanks goodness I hadn't, I would have been in a bowl of hot soup plus a nasty fine.

I realise now that developing Integrity and Honesty is a continuous process that has to be dealt with over and over. You become better with time, but we have to continuously renew our minds and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in all our actions.

Jesus is the Truth and if we are to be anything like Him we need to try and speak and act in accordance with the truth. Integrity and Honesty are two very key elements which God values. Joseph and Daniel were two men that displayed integrity in the bible and God honoured this and elevated them. If you show yourself to be a person of integrity, God will promote and elevate you to a position of influence because He can trust you.

So the next time you go online at work and start messing about on Facebook and Twitter when you are supposed to be working, remember that even though no one may see you...God is watching and deciding whether you really are ready to go to the next level you are praying for...

A Pinch of Salt

Have you ever tried to use an appliance or piece of equipment and it didn't work?  I remember my frustration about two years ago when my almost brand new TV suddenly stopped working. I tried everything including banging it with my hands to no avail. The expensive top of the range TV had ceased to do it's job.

The bible says that we are the "Salt of the Earth". Think about this for a minute. When you add salt to any food say chicken for instance, the taste of the food changes. The salt adds a lovely flavour, without which, the chicken would be bland.

That means wherever we go, whatever we are doing, as Believers we have to be changing the environment around us just like the salt changes the food its added to. Our environment should be better because of us. If we are not affecting the world around us that means that we have lost our purpose and as Jesus says, "...that salt is good for nothing but to be thrown out..." Matthew 5:13 We will become like the TV I bought which stopped working and had to be thrown away.

How then do we enhance our environment? What are we supposed to be doing to add our saltiness to the Earth?

I believe that we are supposed to first of all demonstrate our love for God by loving other people. This can be through doing good for others whenever we get the chance, a helping hand here and there, a prayer for someone, a word of encouragement and so on.

The second way we can affect our world is by doing all things, for example our job, our ministry, to the best of our ability so that God's name can be glorified. Imagine if you serve in the Media team in church and you're constantly late and there's only one person serving instead of two. It may have an impact on the sermon CD production or the TV broadcast and it could give a bad name to the church.

Thirdly I believe that we can enhance our environment by sharing the gospel with unbelievers, we will ultimately play a role in changing their lives and henceforth change our environment. So when was the last time you witnessed to someone and told them about God's love or Christ's work on the cross?
Don't kick yourself if you haven't done so in a while. Dust yourself up and get going. There's many out there who are looking for answers and the good news is, we have the answer. Lets spread the love and share the message of the Cross with all.

Stone, Wood or Pop Idols - Help, I think I'm an addict!!!

"Hi, my name is GG and I'm a Social Networking addict. It has been err ... 2 hours and twelve minutes since my last log in."

I look around nervously at the smiling faces of all the fellow addicts, all welcoming and encouraging, their eyes telling me they can relate.
Men, women, boys and girls and wait a minute ... you're kidding me, is that a cat sitting in the circle as well?

Ok, so maybe I exaggerated about the cat and I'm not sure if anyone has launched Social Networking Anonymous but if it were so, this scenario is one I might find myself in if I don't keep myself in check.
Yeah, I have to admit the Internet has at times become one of my favourite past times, the other day, my laptop was so hot from being continually on, I was so sure I could have fried a steak on it...
Maybe you're very self disciplined and you're one of those that can go for weeks without logging onto anything and when you do, you only stay for five minutes...good for you, but for the rest of us, every now and then we find ourselves spending far too much time than is necessary. Sigh.

Right, lets rewind for a minute, so I can put all this in perspective.
We all know that the Israelites messed about in the wilderness and because of that God made them wander around for 40 years instead of 11 days.
They did all sorts of terrible stuff, they complained and grumbled more than Mr Grumpy himself.
Then they thought, ahhh lets make ourselves a god. So they made themselves a golden calf. Who knows maybe they figured they could get some golden milk from it??? Beats me. Anyway the point is throughout the bible people did all forms of idol worshipping. Some preferred stone, some wood, others precious stone but bottom line is they worshipped other gods.

Now we may turn up our nose at them and think, how could they? But before we do, we need to examine our own lives and make sure we don't have our own idols. Now our idols may not be silver or wooden images and yeah we don't prostrate before them but our own idol worship takes a somewhat different form.

Pop idols - some people "worship" singers, actors, sports people and other celebrities to the point of treating them like a god. Some people take their direction in life from these people. Instead of looking to God and His word to lead and mould us, we sometimes look to these people to determine our way of dress, talk and so on. We emulate them in the way we carry ourselves.
There's nothing wrong with admiring them but make sure it doesn't go too far. As children of God, we need to be Christlike and let Him lead us in every facet of life.

Use of time
God requires that we should love Him with all our heart, soul and mind. And most importantly we should have no other God but Him. Exodus 20

This to me, denotes that we should spend as much as much time with God as we can. If we spend 10 mins with God in the morning and then spend the rest of our free time time going out for fun, or online chatting to our friends, face booking, blogging and watching TV then it's most likely that those things may have taken a bigger place in our heart than the things of God.
If we truly have a desire for God, we will cultivate our relationship with Him by spending more time with Him. He has said "Seek me and you shall find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

Now don't get me wrong peeps, I'm not saying social networking or blogging or online surfing is wrong or evil.
NO, I'm not saying that.
And I'm not saying that we should spend every living moment of our lives singing hymns and carrying harps whilst sitting on fluffy cloud 9.

No.
I'm just saying, too much of anything is never good. The bible says we should exercise discipline and do everything in moderation.
Not everything that we do is profitable.
Besides God has given us special talents and assignments to do whilst we are down here. If we spend all our time on entertainment, we won't have time dream, plan and work our plan, and yet we will continue to dream of being bigger and better than Bill Gates.Hhmm.

Be honest with yourself. You may not be an addict but how much time do you spend watching TV? What percentage of your time do you spend going out with friends? How much time do you spend on your Nintendo Wii or PS? How often do you have the compulsion to log in and see whats happening with everyone on Facebook, Blogger, Buzz, Twitter or whatever it is that floats your boat?

The bible says the truth will set us free. John 8:32
If you think your time management may be a little out of hand, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you coz will power alone won't cut it. But the first step is admitting it to yourself.
C'mon guys we can all have fun but lets be wise with our time for one day, we shall all give an account of our time to our Daddy dearest.
                                                             ________________________________
Do you ever struggle with this? Or do you think you are very disciplined in this area? What advice could you give others?

Knock, Knock...will you open?

Lately I've had a strong feeling upon my heart that God really wants us to draw nearer to Him than ever before.
Hence I wrote the post "I will make Time"and "The Master's Visitors" to remind myself and others that God longs for us to spend time with Him and become his closest friends.


Now if you've ever used Facebook you will understand the next few things I'm gonna talk about, if you haven't used Facebook don't despair, just flow with me... :-)

God is sending us a special friend request and its up to us to accept it or ignore.

He has created many events for which we are invited, the best of all being eternity with Him in Heaven.

He will send us many gifts over the period of our lifetime, not mere things like virtual flowers and jewellery
but peace and joy that will carry us during the during the challenging times.

He will never block us or remove us from His friend list.

He's the creator of a massive Group,
Have you joined his group of believers who meet occassionally to fellowship, pray and encourage one another?

Join his fan page by clicking on "Like" but don't be like those who disappear and never visit the page again after that. Be a regular and active group member in his Kingdom.

Friendship with Him doesn't just mean, having Him there in the distance as someone we can run to when things go pear shaped.
No, God wants to be involved in every area of our lives. He wants us to share our joys with Him, to talk to Him at the beginning and the end of our day and also whenever we have a chance in between.
He wants us to ask His opinion on everything small and big.

Spend time praying!
Read the bible, not just two or three scriptures here and there when you get the chance but really take time to get into the word.
There are times when reading the bible seems like a chore and you don't feel like doing it, I know coz I've been there. Ask God to help you enjoy and have an appetite for the Word. Ask Him to help you understand and receive revelation so that you can see how what you read applies to your own life.

Sing to Him as often as you can. Sing songs of adoration, song of praise;
It doesn't matter whether you have a voice as bad as the Jedward brothers, sing nonetheless,
Let's tell Him how much we love Him, Let's tell Him how good He is...
I pray that as we draw nearer to the end of this year we shall move into a close, loving and heartfelt relationship with our Father. He's knocking at the door of our hearts, will you heed His call and open...???

The Master's Visitors

They come from all directions with their worries and their woes,

Some problems are big, some are small,

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all,

But if only they'd have some love for me.




"Can you pleeeeaze help my sick daughteeer?" the Indian woman asks in a desperate voice.

I take her daughter and place her on my lap,

A little TLC and a rub of the tummy,

And the girl is skipping and dancing around.



"Can you fix my lapy topy," the Chinese man asks with a smile.

I take the laptop from him, a little screwing here and a dusting there,

Within a few minutes, I hand it back to him good as new.

"Now stay off the streets and stop selling DVDee DVDee."



"My crop has failed and I have no food,

My family and I will starve if you do not help,"

The African man looks round hoping I'll offer him Supermalt.

Bags of grain, wheat and flour I give to him from my abundant storehouse.



"Yo wassup Big Man, I need your help,

Ain't good for man to be alone, you know the deal,

I need a honey, you know someone to love," says the American man with a twang in his drawl.

I point him to the East where a beautiful maiden is picking flowers,

Go to her, Your soul mate awaits you.


"Ma Mia, Help me Master, ze debtors in Milan are after me!"

I look at the Italian Shopaholic, carrying dozens of bags,

eyeing me from behind her Gucci sunglasses,

I sigh at her mess but still settle her debts,

Another satisfied visitor leaves without a second thought.



They come from all directions with their worries and their woes,

Some problems are big, some are small,

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all,

But if only they would show an ounce of gratitude

Or treat me better than they treat Santa Claus.



Then I see a boy approaching,

"Master it's good to see you."

 "Good to see you too my child. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just came to see you."

"You mean you don't need anything?"

"No, I wanted to spend time with you and tell you I love you

and appreciate everything you do."

The Silver Lining in the Grey Cloud...

Huge pellets of snow began to fall all around them.
"We have to turn back,"Andy shouted to the rest of the group.

It was at that moment that Angela lost sight of them.
"Andy! Pete! Lorna! Jess!" she called.
No response.

Angela came to a halt and looked around but she couldn't see anything. There were giant snow flakes everywhere and they were coming down so fast and hard as if someone was tipping a bucket of snow in the sky.
Angela started skiing again and suddenly she felt her skis hit a huge boulder that was hidden under the snow and her body went flying.


                                                                ******
A few hours before


Angela didn't know why she had let her friends talk her into going on this ski trip in the French Alps.
She hated skating so there was little chance she would enjoy skiing.
Never mind all the falling she would have to endure.
But then, Andy was going, so that was an incentive for her to go along as well.
Maybe this trip would be a chance for him to get to notice her.

The party of two girls and three guys set off from their chalet in the morning.
Everyone else was quite experienced except Angela and it wasn't long before she started slipping and falling.
"I can't do this," she exclaimed after her fourth attempt.
"C'mon Ange, don't give up now. We all started out just like you. In fact I was probably worse than you right now."
"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Angela said as she watched Andy manoeuvre his skis expertly like the people she used to see on TV.
“It's not that hard. What you need to do is use the Snow Plow. Position your skis as if they were a pigeon toe and slowly move the backs of your skis outwards, away from your body, to stop yourself. You also can control your direction of movement by simply bending your knees and leaning to one side or the other,” Andy said.
“So I have to bend my knees, keep my hands above my thighs and the tips of the skis have to be close together?” Angela asked.
“That’s right. Kind of like an up-side down V shape.”
As they slowly started skiing slowly down the slope, it started snowing.

After Andy's instruction, Angela fared a little better but she started lagging behind the rest of the group. Huge pellets of snow began to fall as the snow storm progressed.
"We have to turn back,"Andy called to the rest of the group.
They all went round a bend and it was then that Angela lost sight of them.
"Andy! Pete! Mike! Jess!" she called.
No response.

Angela came to a halt and tried to look around but she couldn't see anything.
She started skiing again and suddenly she felt her skis hit a huge boulder that was hidden under the snow and her body went flying, her backpack landing on her arm.
Angela felt immense pain in her leg and it was then she realised she couldn't move. Maybe she had broken a bone or something.
The pain was excruciating.
Her vision was getting hazy and she could feel her whole body trembling uncontrollably as fear and cold ravaged it. She pulled her scarf tighter around herself.
She managed to drag herself on her stomach to a huge ledge which helped shield some of the snow. But at this rate she knew she wouldn't survive more than a couple of hours in the snow storm.
She called out again but there was no reply. Only the small eerie echo that seemed to taunt and remind her of her dire need to survive.
"Lord, please don't let me die out here," she prayed softly.


Minutes passed, though they seemed like days. The wind bellowed and the giant trees swayed threatening to fall on top of her. The icy coldness stung her fingers and toes, mocking her last bit of sanity.
Each minute that went by was as precious as gold. Except for her breathing, there was no sign of life and hers seemed to ebbing away slowly.

Then she decided to reach for her rucksack so that she could get the chocolate bar she had in there to give her a bit of comfort and strength. As she reached for it, she lost her balance and knocked the the ruck sack from where it had landed.
Angela watched as the rucksack fell down the slope disappearing out of sight, with it, her chocolate, flashlight, bottle of water, map, compass, flares and any hope of her survival.

She couldn't hold back the tears.
Lord that was all I had left...if you're gonna kill me why didn't you at least let me enjoy the chocolate?
Frustration overwhelmed her. She began to wail.
Anyone listening would have thought it was a hyena caught in a trap, in great pain.


After a while the snow fall subsided.
Angela lay in pain waiting. For anything.
A rustling and twig breaking close by.
What was that?
Angela listened closely.
Footsteps.
She wasn't sure whether she was dreaming or if it was real.
She wondered if she should shout? What if it was a bear or some other animal?
Did they even have bears in this part of the world? C'mon focus, this wasn't the time to play Animal Habitats.
Maybe she should keep quiet.
But what if it was someone looking for her.

Grey and Black Boots. She recognised Andy's hiking boots.
"Andy!"
"Angela, thank God you're alright."
"I'm so glad to see you guys. I thought I was gonna die out here. How did you find me?"

"We looked everywhere for you and we couldn't find you and we were about to give up. Then believe it or not, your rucksack fell and landed on Jess. We started walking in the direction the ruck sack had come from and as we approached this area we heard you crying.Thank goodness we found you before it was too late."

Relief swept over Angela and she couldn't help but thank God.
It was then that she realised, that although losing her backpack had seemed like a terrible thing at the time, it was the very thing that God had used to save her life.

Money cometh, money runneth

How can I get more money?
Oh how I wonder,

Where does all my money go?
Oh how I wonder.

One minute my bank account is overflowing and threatening to burst,

The next minute, it's sending out SOS signals for aid.



The Jones next door are making me sweat,

Trying to keep up with them is no easy task,

They've got a new ride, with alloys shining and the horse power of a thousand horses,

"Isn't it wicked? Isn't it sick?" The boys on the street shout as it goes past.


End of season SALE, red stickers are like magnets,

As the search for a bargain, gets the better of me.

I try to hold on to my Benjamins, but like a slippery eel they make their getaway.

Someone once said, the best way to have money,

Is to give some to God and spend a little,

Give some to others and save a chunk.






Then Apple will come along with their new iPot ... yes that's right, iPot.

The sleek pot that lets you cook, take pictures and listen to music all in one handy appliance.

I ask myself...do I really need it?

But then again every one's got one, so before long I join the crowd.

No wonder then, the holes in my pocket increase.



Someone once said, the best way to have money,

Is to give some to God and spend a little,

Give some to others and save a chunk.

 

Then there's the gambling gurus that want to put their hand in my pocket,

"Place your bets," the man shouts,

Machines glistening with coins, poker tables and  betting on who will win Big Brother,





Even the State Lottery keeps calling me,

Surely one day my luck will come and my number will be called.

I wonder.



Someone once said, the best way to have money,

Is to give some to God and spend a little,

Give some to others and save a chunk.


Money is NOT the root of all evil BUT the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

I will make time...

I stumble out of bed,

More tired than I was the night before,

Work starts in less than an hour,

Out of the corner of my eye I spy my Word for Today

No time for Quiet Time

Will have to pray in the shower.




Boiler playing up, so its a cold shower marathon today.

Two minutes and I'm out, prayer will have to wait.

Weetabix and toast gulped down as I try to read my bible,

I lay it aside, can't concentrate at all.



Dashing out, I miss the bus, trot to the station heels in my hand,

My iPhone is ringing, the Blackberry is vibrating as peeps are hitting me.

Facebook is open and someone is poking me, another tagging me.

Everyone wants a piece of me

I have nothing to give.

I'm empty... I need refreshing...yesterday was just as bad

I need to make time,

Yes tomorrow.

I will make time

Tomorrow.


Three hours and two projects later, leave the office

Lunch with the girls, salads and chicken to fill our hard worked bellies,

Doesn't do much for me, should've brought my pounded yam from home.

Back in the office, memos meetings and deadlines

Where did all the time go?

I want some time to myself

Is it ever gonna happen today?

Doesn't look like it...

But tomorrow I will make time.


Soaps, Reality shows and Facebook keep me company as I have my supper

More phone calls and chats online.

As I get into bed, I want to pray

But my eyelids have a different mission

To the Land of The Nod I go,

Empty...

A void within needs refreshing...



I need to make time,

Yes tomorrow.


I will make time


Tomorrow.

A love like no other...

I love my family to bits. And there's nothing I wouldn't do for them and I know without a doubt they feel the same way about me too. I would do anything in my power to make sure they never lack or get distressed in any way. I would defend and support them in their times of weakness and try to make sure that no one ever did them wrong.

The other day God made me realise that He loves me even more than I love my family. And since He loves me more, wouldn't He be more concerned about my welfare than I could ever be concerned about those I love.
I realised in that instant that I should trust Him more than I do. After all He loves me more than I love my own family and if I am willing to do anything for any member of my family.
What more would God be willing to do for me?

Yes, it is sometimes hard to trust God when things are not going the way we want them to...we ask well does he really care? If He did would he let my loved one die? Would He not give me the job I want and so forth?
I don't have all the answers and it's certainly not easy to trust during such times but I've learnt that through the good or bad, He is the best person to cling to all the time. I share my anger and frustration with Him and tell Him honestly how I feel about everything and you know what, He totally understands my pain and my fear. During such times He gives me the grace to get through the situation and when I look back now I don't know how I got through some of those times... but I'm glad I stuck with Him.

I've always been very protective of my younger siblings. I remember when we were in Junior School, if anyone messed about with my brother or sister they had to answer to me. And because I was a Prefect in the school, it made me a force to be reckoned with. And so people knew not to mess with those dearest to me.

God feels the same way about us but take that feeling and multiply it by a zillion, that's just the beginning of measuring how much God cares about our lives.  He calls us the apple us His eye, His treasured possession...wow that's so amazing, that  a God so big and magnificent could take the time to care about each and everyone of us in a unique and individual way.

The "Tiger" within...

You see her in the office, hair in a weave, heels like a pencil

prancing about,

her Prada fragrance following her everywhere she goes.

She is an enigma to all who behold her

Her aura, filled to the core with allurement

She smiles at you on her way to the copy machine,

You smile back.


Your phone beeps, its the wife texting again,

The bolier is leaking and a reminder to pick up the dry cleaning.

You scratch your head, the money is nowhere in sight

Your life so full of worries, demands and insecurities.

Oh... if only you could get away

From all the stresses and hassles that threaten to engulf you.


You turn your gaze to her again.

She is such a beauty

Now why doesn't the wife look like that?

She drops her file as she approaches your desk

Then stoops to pick it, her loose top revealing all to see,

You jump, ready to help, but not before you catch sight of her twin towers.

You hand her the file, she smiles and whispers her thanks.

You pretend not to notice how her fingers linger over yours,

The so called innocent brush radiating heat up your arm,

Heating up your blood to a temperature higher than the boiling point of mercury


 Run my good man run.

Her claws long to clutch you, and entangle you like a spider's web

Once you're in her embrace there will be no escape.

So I say to you again,

Run my good man run...

Or stay and face death in the eye

And should you choose to stay

Know there will be no recourse to life's kindness...

No...

Decadence will become you.

Te Amo - Yeah right ... The joys of loving the unlovable

He took her hand and looked at her, dazzled by her twinkling soft brown eyes and radiant smile.


“I love you,” he said.


Her smile widened revealing a sparkling row of perfect teeth.


"I love you too," she replied.


Yes, no doubt about it, the brother was in love.


Oh... if only life was as sweet and simple as that. You know, me loving you and you loving me and all that jazz. Life would've been all dandy innit? We'd all join hands and sing Bob Marley's "One Love" whilst sipping some tea.


Sadly life ain't like that. Personally I've met a few people in life who I just couldn’t stand. Yeah yeah, don't judge me, at least I'm honest. And ... Yes I’m a Christian but these people just got on my nerves because of things they did or said or maybe what they didn't do or say. So after a while I decided they didn’t deserve an ounce of my time.
And God said, "Uh uh girl, you have to fix that." I didn’t want to be nice to them. I tell you nothing within me wanted to have anything to do with them. I wanted to talk about them and what they had done. And believe me they had done me wrong. In all fairness I was justified to feel the way I did.


But God said that's not how things work. If you only love those who are nice to you and lovable, then what credit should go to you? You’ve done what any person on the street can do. What a Christian needs to do is to go the extra mile and love those that are unlovable. The ones that smile at you when you know they’ve been talking about you behind your back. The ones that invite all your friends to their Christmas party and conveniently “forget” to invite you.


Loving friends and family is easy (for most people anyway) but loving your neighbour or enemy is hard coz they may be the kind of people you feel like strangling half of the time. I think we have all met someone who really tries all our patience, the kind of person that makes you want to go on a spiritual holiday and give them a slap.




People are sometimes hard to love especially when is situations like :


Talking about you behind your back,
Spreading lies about you,
Walking past and ignoring you as if they didn't see you,
People who use you, you know the kind that don't call you or ignore you until they need something from you and then they're all smiles or start calling you
Impossible and inconsiderate work colleagues and flatmates,
Saying one thing and doing another, people who break promises
Insincere smiles and pretenders


Is there someone who you keep doing something for but they just don’t seem to appreciate it or do anything in return for you. Every time you see them you feel like singing Janet Jackson’s “What have you done for me lately?” I am sure most of us have been there at some point in time.
The list is endless...I'm sure you have some of your own...

Where are all my married peeps at? Some of you might relate to something similar in your marriages ...Has your spouse ever annoyed you so much that you wanted to ignore them for the rest of eternity?  How could they do that to you?  You told yourself that you were not going to let them off so easily yet somehow you found yourself being nice to them again the next day...well I guess that’s love.

However bad people may be towards you, the bible says we should walk in love. And boy is that hard or is that hard.


What really is love anyway?

When the French say “Je Taime,” it is just as heartfelt as when the Tswanas' say “Ke a go rata.”

Love, love, love!
What really is this contagious phenomenon?


For centuries the word has been tossed about, sometimes almost carelessly without any real thought as to it's real meaning or significance. Is it the strong feeling you experience when you see your beloved? Or is it the fluttering feeling of butterflies in your stomach every time you think of them? Or the tingling sensation that radiates through your body when you hear their voice? It seems love means different things to different people at different times.
One dictionary defines it as “a profoundly tender and passionate affection for another person.”


Wow! That's deep.


The bible calls it the “affectionate concern for the well-being of others.”


I was asking God how do we walk in love...What are we supposed to be doing? 
These are some of the things I received...
 

1 It means doing things for others without expecting anything in return.

2 Being patient with people when they act in unbecoming ways, remember not everyone is as spiritually grown up as the next person.

3 Not taking things personally. When someone walks past you pretending they didn't see you and doesn't say hi, smile at them and say hi to them instead.

4 Forgiving those who do wrong to you. Yes, even that girl in church who swiped the guy you'd just told her you were interested in.
5 Pray for those who hurt you. Even Jesus prayed and asked God to forgive those who crucified Him for they knew not what they did.

As we go through life we will meet those that are made from "sugar and spice and all that's nice"...and then there will be those that are made from all the other stuff... you know snails and puppy dogs tails (I'm sure you know the nursery rhyme). When we meet those kind of people I pray that God will give us the grace to turn the other cheek and treat them with the uttermost love. As Obama said in '08 "Yes we can!"

    

Keeping a zip on my gob

Have you ever noticed how we seem to derive ounces of pleasure from things that aren't so good for us...?

Take the example of eating several big slices of cheesecake, chocolate cake or any other cake for that matter... it melts in your mouth and leaves you wanting more...and if you aren't disciplined enough...you could eat the entire lot without any help from anyone. Momentary pleasure with dire consequences. A few months down the line and you begin to look and feel like a blob of cake...

Over the years I've noticed that talking is one of my greatest gifts. (and also undoubtedly one of my greatest flaws) I can talk for all England and even Africa for that matter. Those of you that know me personally will be able to relate to that...ke ke ke...

Talking in itself is not all bad but the problem is when one does talk a lot there is the possibility that it could land you in a bowl of hot soup!
Hence the warning from the bible that we should be slow to speak.

A few days ago I was complaining to a good friend of mine about how one particular woman did this and that. In fact someone else had also complained about this woman doing the same thing so I felt I was justified because this woman was doing a lot of wrong (in my eyes at least).
Before I even finished my complaining, my dear friend said to me, "Would you tell this woman what she is doing wrong to her face?"
"No, I don't think so," I replied.

"Well maybe you shouldn't be talking about her then. What good is it to keep criticising her, if you're not willing to tell her?"
At that point I realised that God had used this friend to check me and my attitude. I thank God for friends like him because he loves me enough to tell me the truth. I felt so bad because I knew deep down I had no business to be talking negatively about somebody in that way. I asked God to help me stop acting in that way. On reflection, what I should have done instead is to keep my mouth shut about it and pray for God to help that woman to change.

I remembered how God had dealt with me about this issue before and for a while I had refrained from such behaviour but after a while I would slip back into complaining and criticising people or sharing juicy stories about other people's lives. And I know I'm not alone on this one...it's so easy to do it but oh how it breaks our Father's heart. I thank God that I can sense His conviction because at least I can recognise that I have done wrong and correct the situation.

The book of James says that we should watch our tongue and make sure that every thing that comes out of our mouth is a blessing to those that are listening.

Its so easy to talk about people, their weaknesses and imperfections....
How many times have you heard things like:
"Did you see what she was wearing?"
"Yeah, it was disgusting."
"Did you hear that so and so is pregnant?"
"No way!"

As with everything in life, we can never reach perfection; all we can do is to strive towards it, one day at a time. If we do this, with each day we will be a step closer to being worthy vessels for God. We will be better than we were the day before.
I pray that God will help me to do right by Him and may He do the same for you.

Don't worry be happy...!

You may feel that life has thrown some pretty tough stuff your way... how do you deal with it?
You would probably feel justified to sulk or pout because things are not going your way but please don't give in to that...it will only make you feel worse. A pity party? Don't even go there...you may find yourself being stood up and being the only guest...and what good is that?
 I don't know how you handle challenges, it certainly aint easy especially when it seems like you're the only one going through hard times and everyone else seems to be having a ball.

Bobby Mcferrin nailed it in the head with his old 80's hit, "DONT WORRY BE HAPPY!"
Worrying doesn't accomplish anything, it just makes you physically sick and stressed. Even the bible says "Do not be anxious about anything...make your requests known to God." Phil 4:6
Try the following and see the wonderful results that will follow:

1.Pray

2.Praise God

3.Love those around you and be a blessing to them.

4.Serve faithfully

Do all these things and maintain a joyful attitude and watch how God will supernaturally give you His grace to be able to go through the whole thing.
Remember "...weeping may endure for a night but joy will come in the morning..." Ps 30:105b

Just One Touch

Mark 5:25-34

Many years ago I read a book called The Midas Touch and it was about a king who had special powers and everything he touched turned to gold. Now you may be thinking wow, I sure wish I had that kind of power, I would touch as many thing as I could and get myself some gold. But I know another King who has special powers. But his touch doesn’t bring about gold. No, it brings something far better than gold. Just a touch from Jesus can take you from zero to hero.

The "woman with the issue of blood" in the scripture knew that just one encounter with Jesus could transform her situation. Her faith led to her breakthrough. In the same way, whatever you need in your life; one touch from Jesus can give you breakthrough.

Just one touch from Jesus can:

- bring you out of debt

- bring divine healing in your body

-deliver you from sin and addiction

Your marriage may be falling apart, your child may be running amok, your womb may be barren. It doesn’t matter what you’re facing. Only believe that Jesus can resolve any issue in your life. Though circumstances may seem to indicate otherwise, don't lose hope. Keep on believing.

^{Habakkuk 3:17-19 says}

¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
       and there are no grapes on the vines,
       though the olive crop fails
       and the fields produce no food,
       though there are no sheep in the pen
       and no cattle in the stalls,  ¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
       I will be joyful in God my Savior.
 ¹⁹ The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
       he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
       he enables me to go on the heights. 

Let us not consider the dismal surroundings but rejoice in God, who strenghtens and enables us to climb to the challenging high places referred to in scripture as the "heights." We may get weary but let us hold on to Him who is faithful, He who will remain true forever and ever.

Reflection

Is there an area of life where you need breakthrough? You may have tried everything else in vain. Today I urge you to draw nearer to Jesus in faith, touch Him and experience total restoration. He is waiting for you...

Prayer

Lord I come to you with this situation.........deliver me, in Jesus name, Amen.