What Way? (guest feature)

It was my birthday yesterday *drops laptop, throws hands in the air and runs around screaming "yaaaaaaay"*. I was gonna do a photo post and show you guys how it all went and tell u I had fun and bla bla bla but as an oversabi said 'a year older is a year wiser'. So in celebration of my birthday, I'm going to introduce to you a secret treasure, one of my favourite writters on blogger (note that I didn't call her just a blogger?). She is Fabulo-la and the babe writes, shet! Add her blog Me. And then some to your blog roll and i promise you won't regret it.
Anyhoo, i asked her if i could share this post with you and she agreed. I really hope it speaks to you cos I find myself living it everytime and I pray it reminds you to be cautious too. Enjoy...

 

What Way?

Walking down the path of the way that seems to be right, but the stick in my eye prevents a clear view. My lamp of Judgement aiding my way. My holier-than-thou cloak protecting me against the chill of the pleading stares of passers by, going in the opposite direction, warning me of the stick in my eye. But with the bright light of my 'Judgement lamp' in their faces, they cower away.
How can I with my badge of 'morally upright-ness' associate myself with them?
I pass by a mirror and notice a little stain in my cloak. Black tar-like stain that seems to be growing by the second. I try to wipe it off but it only spreads. Covering it in 'hypocrisy' I leave it. Afterall if no one can see it, it really isn't there.
But as I trudge on, the cloak seems to get heavier and the path dimmer. I refill my judgement lamp with some 'I-am-better-than-you' oil. Just then a passer-by warns me of the trail of tar I am leaving behind and offers to help me clean the cloak.
I yell, accusing her of trying to distract me from the way of the 'right'.
I spit at her, only for the spit to land on my face.
Just then I notice scores of other passers by rushing past me. Right infront of me is the woman who warned me of the stick in my eye. She is in a corner washing away the tar from her cloak.
"Aren't you going in the wrong direction?" she says to me.
'Hmm!' I say to her as I walk hurriedly past her. Careful not to let my cloak get anywhere near her in case she 'stains' it.
The irony.
I hurry along stumbling, as the cloak has gotten heavier and is soaking through my hypocrisy. The stick in my eye has grown and is protruding out my eyeball.
Suddenly I trip and I'm falling. Slowly into a hole. My life if flashed before my eyes and I realise...
I dug the hole with my bare hands. Covered it with hypocrisy and pretence, and now here I am.
Or am not.

Walking down the path of the way that seems to be right, but the stick in my eye prevents a clear view.
I lay my judgement lamp and walk to the 'mirror of truth' to remove the stick in my eye.

And it hurts....

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God bless you as He delivers you from self-righteousness and leads you to the right path
P.s
My second fave post of her's is I want it all

Global Outreach

There is a lot wrong with the world!

That you can read this post means there are 5 things right with you. You can see, read, have a gadget, have access to the internet and have access to the Word. These are things to be grateful for. They also give you an opportunity to be a blessing and give someone else something to be grateful for - to the glory of God.

No matter where you are and in whatever situation you find yourself, there is always something to be grateful for and an opportunity to minister through your life (the best way to preach the gospel is by living the gospel). But there are times when you have to go out of your way and inconvinience yourself to reach out... missionary work. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matt28:19-20

If for some reason you can't do the work or make it to a trip please try to contribute either financially or just support them with prayers. Yes, the people in our immediate environment need the gospel and we preach and support them daily but sometimes the missionaries need to go to a different place to not just bless but also grow spiritually and recharge their batteries in order to come back and serve better. And i believe they put it in prayers before leaving and so it is in the will of God.

Anyway, if you're in the U.S and interested in going on a missions trip, my church (Grace Community Church) is organising 3 outreach trips this year and i'ld love for you to pray about it and see if this is for you
1. Romania/Moldova outreach: this will be May 8 to May 21, 2012 and the focus of the team will be women’s discipleship/leadership training. The estimated cost of the trip is $2,000

2. Guatemala outreach: this will be June 2 to June 9, 2012 and the focus will be to build a permanent shelter for a poor family and ministration to children. The estimated cost is $1,300

3. Italy outreach: this will be during the Summer in July, 2012 and the focus is EVERYONE! I don't have information on the details of this trip but i'll come back to share after the meeting on monday.
For more information please go here , click on Events then on Global Outreach and you'll get everything you need including contacts. May God bless and direct you. P.S don't make the mistake of frowning at the cost because you know that i know that if you save 100 bucks off every pay cheque starting from this week you'll have enough. But who am i with my big mouth to tell you what to do? Please pray about it and may God direct you.
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On to other issues, how una dey naw? I'm on a soloquising p mehn but i can't complain at all. Training for the new job is today and i'm super excited, i feel like this is The One because it's not just with kids but also in ministry so it's everything in one and i'm grateful to God for it.

I'll leave you guys with my favourite gospel song. This song has seen me through hell and back, it's the voice of God, the voice of reason whenever i find myself struggling with life and i pray it blesses you as it has me. Have a great weekend :*

By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face, just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child?
Tell me where will you run, to where will you run?

Chorus:'Cos I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don't fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands at my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in and give you life
I wanna give you life(Chorus 2x)

'Cause I, I love you, I want you to know
That I, yeah I love you, I'll never let you go
No, no(Chorus 2x)

Here at my side
My hands are holding you

Wanting

I want to not have to air the house whenever i cook with dry fish!

I want to be able to determine the consistency of my cereal! I didn't realise powdered milk was something to be grateful for talk more of taking it for granted. I miss (Nigerian) powdered milk and right now even Cowbell is a treasure in my heart.

I want my mum to call me and go "When are you coming to Makurdi? So you just want to sit in Abuja and not even come to see mama (my grandmum)?" and i want to give her the same silly reply i used to "Mummy stop quarelling and just tell me you miss me"

I want to go to a salon, have someone wash my hair, soak it with watery setting lotion, roll it in pink, yellow and blue rollers, tie my ears with foam then put me under a drier to set my hair. I want so badly to go to a salon and have them weave my hair and sew in weaves for about N2,500

I want to eat fire-wood flavoured jollof rice with fried meat or chicken that has no yeye flour on it

I want to go to Fam's house on Sunday after church, have lunch (probably with ketchup cos she made it her life's ambition to torture me with pepper), watch movies, sleep, get woken up by her to park inside, do that, go back to bed then wake up at 5am and drive home like a mad woman

I want America to care about something other than America... to report international news and to teach international geography (you won't belive how many times i've explained the difference between Nigeria and Africa to educated adults)

I want to fill up my tank with a little over N3,000 and i want to be able to complain on twitter that the gas price here is twice what it is/used to be in naija... I want the fuel subsidy issue to be resolved!

I just want to drink garri and

I want YOU to know that no matter what and through whatever God loves you. He loves you when you sin and even more when you run to Him for help. He loves you when you don't trust Him to take care of you and understands when you feel like your sins are too many to be forgiven. He loves you always because He is God and there is no sin too horrible, no situation too difficult and no pain too deep for Him to heal. God is love and He loves YOU!

Much ado about plenty

Early this year, my pastor asked us to try something for a year and judge for ourselves what we thought about it. I wasn't particularly excited because it meant alot of work but i did it because it was something that i had been thinking about but wasn't sure how to go about it. She asked us to ditch daily devotionals and try studying the raw word of God for ourselves. She advised us to try the yearly bible plans at the back of most bibles and kill 2 birds with one stone by finishing the bible in a year and meditating on what God has to say to us directly instead of focusing on someone else's words. I turned to the back of my Bible and whispered "wahala dey" when i saw the morning and evening verses because i knew it wouldn't be easy. I love my quiet times with the Lord but studying the word at night was something i had never really practiced.

Anyway, by the second week of January i made up my mind to try it and it was on of the best decisions i made this year. I have been a christian all my life but there are stories i have never heard and things i probably wouldn't have known if i didn't dig for myself. Heck, i didn't even realise that Rahab and Naomi were in Jesus' family tree. Most importantly, God spoke to me EVERYDAY! With devotionals, if i was running late and had the time to read only one thing, i would always pick the devotional over the bible and go through the day with someone else's words as my soul food. But this year i had no option, it was either the Bible or the Bible and i couldn't jump any days or nights i missed because it was a straight study of Matthew to Reveletions in the mornings and Genesis to Malachi in the evenings and i didn't want to miss anything. It has been alot of work but it is fulfilling and enlightening,

The Bible says somewhere in the old testament that the word of God does not return to Him void so please, just pick up your Bible next year and let God minister to you. If there is something you don't understand even after prayer, take note of it and ask someone spiritually mature to help you. I am not against devotionals at all and if you find yourself not studying the word gabadaya because you're not motivated for whatever reason to pick up your bible then please, go back to your daily guide but give studying the word for yourself a try and see what the Lord will do.

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Biko, don't make worshipping God a horrible experience for anybody. If you decide to go to church without taking a shower then please use some deodorant and teist a peist! And no matter what state you meet a restroom, if you decide to use it instead of running for your life then please realise that it is your responsibility to leave it looking clean. As children of God, people shouldn't walk into the restroom and see our business all over the place. Thank you very much. I'm very sorry if i sound like a bitter leaf christain but there is no way to sugar coat some things.

I love you guys very much and i thank you for the love and support you show after reading my posts. Your comments, emails, bbms and tweets mean the world to me and i'm grateful for the oppurtunity to be a vessel. May God bless you and your family as we cross into the new year, may He show you what His plan is for your life and may the things that matter to Him be the things that matter to you.

Guest post on G.R.I.P My Grand Habitat

Swimming in circles

Sharks feed on their own when they bleed. There are no second thoughts when they smell blood, they just head out for the kill!

Dolphins on the other hand swim in a circle around the hurt (dolphins and humans) to protect them from predators. They either swim around the human while (s)he swims to the shore or swim around the hurt dolphin AND occassionally push it up for oxygen. It's the most amazing thing.

Most of us are like sharks, we eat one another alive! We are constantly on the look out for anyone to mess up so we can point our fingers in their faces and constantly remind them of how they have failed and how their misfortune is as a result of their past sins and bla bla bla. But we really should be like the dolphins, helping each other up and leading one another to God and the love of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself  lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and also fulfill the law of Christ.

There is no room for self-righteousness, it is never about us and how perfect we are but about the hurting/lost and God. If God could forgive David and still call him a man after His heart then who are we to hold people's sins against them? Especially since we're no different one way or the other? We need to swim in circles around one another for the love of them, for the love of us (one good turn) and for the love of God. Jame 5: 19-20 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

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I shared a message on The Early Risers Conference (TERC) 2 weeks ago based on the book The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It is an amazing, awe-inspiring interpretation of the Parable of The Prodigal Son and what i shared is just frosting on the cake. Please listen to it and then look for the book or holla at me and i'll send you my copy in the mail if you promise to read and pass it on (books are for sharing not keeping, lol).  TERC is at 5am EST every friday and it'll be a pleasure to have you call in +17124320175 code 210524. Enjoy...

I'll marry him for you!

Me: Mummy, it's getting too much. Shei it's my party? I should decide how big or small I want it and I really don't want a big party

Her: Do you realise this is the last party I'm paying for?

*my heart skipped a beat*

Her: And 21 is a big deal so I'll have my friends inside and you'll have your friends outside. You can throw your little party while I throw my big party

Me: *laughing and falling on the bed* why are you even throwing a party? What if I don't want your friends here? It's my birthday, right? And if we're fighting this much over my 21st birthday party what will my wedding be like?

Her: Uwuh! (Tiv exclamation) You won't have a say there! You're having a big wedding and I'll take care of everything. Matter of fact, if you're too lazy to go to the wedding just stay at home and I'll marry him and bring him home to you!

My mum is crazy like that. The talk of parties and weddings bring out a hilarious side of her that you can't help but love. She is my God-rep on earth, the strongest person I know and I absolutely love her.

That conversation happened a couple of years ago and it makes me laugh every time I think about it. I doubt that she can remember saying any of those things so Chiki I hereby command you to print this post and send it to her :p

It's my mum's birthday today and I miss her very much. I'm sure she'll have her friends and my aunts over, buy a big cake, get aunty Elizabeth to pepper some sexy chicken and fresh fish and just have a ball at home. Chei! Walahi, i miss naija!

Mummy, I love you, miss you and thank you for all you've done for me

May God continue to bless and keep you safe

Kolomentality... it runs in the family!
Goofing off in the kitchen before my 21st birthday party

Plastic smiling for the camera cos we couldn't wait to get back to the party.
This was at home and not in a studio by the way *side eye*

How are you guys doing? Please say a quick prayer for my mum today and have a wonderful day :*

Silence, togetherness.

Togetherness

 

I miss Family Worship Center, my family and friends. I miss the companionships but more than that I miss the fact that I won't be questioned if I decide to get 'stupid' here. I mean, I definately don't like people all up in my business but I also hate knowing that if I drove home with a Bugatti Veyron (i totally googled "most expensive car in the world" for this) tonight no one would question me or atleast send me on a guilt trip. I can I magine doing that to Fam's house, after jumping up and down she'll say something along the lines of "Dooshima, I know your mum spends on you but she'll never buy you a Bugatti. I know that if you could afford it, which you can't, you wouldn't get one for yourself. And I know too well that you don't have any guys lavishly spending on you so from whence cometh this sexy thang?" Normally, I would hate this but the truth is, togetherness, companionships and fellowships keep us all in check. Sometimes, the fear of open rebuke is stronger than the fear of God but (I think that) if it keeps us from sinning then it's not so bad 'cause it brings us closer to fearing God. Ok, maybe it doesn't but it keeps us on the right track and that's my point.

 

Silence

*Please don't close the page if it gets overwhelming, i promise it'll make sense somehow*

You know how Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul left Antioch to spread the gospel in the book of Acts with Mark as their helper ba? No? Oya keep up! Mark was Barnabas' cousin and also their helper on the trip but somehow, he got distracted or couldn't handle the persecutions and left the brethren. Luke (the writer of Acts) didn't give a reason why Mark left, matter of fact the only reason we know that there was a falling out is because in Acts 15:37-38 he wrote "Now  Barnabas was determined to take with them John, called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work".  Was Mark homesick? Was he one of the Jewish Christians who couldn't handle the fact that salvation had come to the Gentiles? Or was he just upset that authority had been moved from his cousin to Saul, the horrible convert? No one knows, we only know that he left his companions when they needed him the most.

Word must have gone round but it is also obvious that he was later forgiven and accepted back into ministry because Paul wrote in Colossians 4:10 "Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions, if he comes to you, welcome him) and in 2Timothy 4:11 "Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry".

 

 

Togetherness in silence

The point i'm trying to make with all this bible study -which is highly inspired from my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) bulletin by the way- is that if you pay close attention you'll realize that Mark's sin was not written anywhere. Luke and Paul's silence made it possible for Mark's ministry to be restored. How would we percieve the gospel according to Mark if they had exposed him? Would they even have published his account?

 

Silence is graciousness. Not telling our family and friends details of someone's mess up gives room for reconciliation, it won't hurt to be a little graceful even through the bad times. It makes it easier for the sinner to return and it definately helps in 'saving face' when/if we reconcile with the person. This is where fragility meets strength and power. The grace to forgive and the strength to stop sinning even when people have lost faith in you can be found on the cross. Christ died for you and me so that we wouldn't have to worry about being weak anymore. There's hope, peace and salvation on the cross, reach out and grab it.

Thanks to Rhapsody Phoenix  for the One Sweet Blog award and Jemima for the Versatile blogger award, i really appreciate it :*