30 December 2010

Better The End

As we count down to the end of the year, some will heave a sign of relief...... if like me you've followed closely affairs around the world you will agree that this has not been a particularly smooth sailing, fun filled, fantastic year for a lot of people, for governments, families and individuals alike.

Some have faced serious set backs, relational, financial, physical..... better the end.
Some have lost their livelihood and can't wait for the year to end ------ better the end.
Some faced terrible challenges, once which threatened their very existence and all they believed in ...... better the end.
Some suffered the loss of good health, a sibling, a child, a spouse, a parent and can't wait for the year to end ..... better the end.
Some were on the verge of losing their minds for the weight of the issue they were faced with ...... better the end.
Relationships broke down, sending shock waves down ones entire world ...... better the end.

The list is endless........ I personally know of close friends who faced some dire and serious issues, illness', challenges, loss of businesses, job, relationships, true, 2010 has had its fair share of misfortune.

If you fall in any of the above category and are waiting with birthed breath for 2010 to roll over to 2011 so that you can start afresh, you are not alone. While we wait to usher in another New Year, we can't just wish 2010 away and hope that 2011 will bring us good fortune. Sure I want 2011 to bring me good fortune, but I am also determined not to live things to fate. As bad as we may have had it in 2010, we cannot just wish it away, there are lessons to be learnt from our trials and circumstances.
Don't wish these away, pick your way through the dirt and see if you can come away with some positives which can act as a spring board for 2011.

Where there people who stood by you through it all? those you least expected to? Did you make some new friends along the way? What valuable life lesson did you learn? think, pick your way through, make a list and see if you can at least pick out one good thing which occurred in your life this year.

Regardless of how bad it may have been, we can't just wish it away and wait for it to end. Yes, I echo with you, better the end, but is that all? How would you begin the next. End the year as you mean to start the next one, with purpose, vision, determination, hope, love, tenacity, audacious faith in God.

Dare to hope again in 2011, you may not feel like it given where 2010 took you, like I said above some terrible things may have occurred during the year, sad and hard as they have may been, and the temptation to want to cling to saddnessfor the comfort they bring or the vulnerability they make us feel. Regardless, we are still here.

So I urge you straight from my heart, be resolute do not allow the pain of the past year to hinder you from envisioning what 2011 could bring. Dream again, dare to believe that the best is yet to come and 2011 can be the year where things begin to turn around.

Lay the ghost of the past to rest,
embrace with awe the future as you would an infant child,
See afar, endless possibilities waiting to be realised,
Reframe from negative thoughts as you would a hot coal.
But rather Lay hold on all that is good,
of a future packed with endless beauties of what we can achieve if we believe.
Let hope wrapped it's hand of peace around your heart as you relinquish your hold on grieve and dare to believe that visions can become reality and years of toil become pale as joy replaces the dread of waitings.



Happy New Year.

10 December 2010

A Gift Worth Giving.

It’s that time of the year again, I love the season of Christmas, because I get time off work, try to relax and read, I get to catch up with friends, I get to have a proper Christmas meal!

What I don’t like is the frenzy leading up to Christmas, people buying gifts which they will probably not remember in a years time, because they don’t’ want to be left out. After Christmas, most people are so tired that they can’t even remember what all the fuss was about. Recently, a news reader mentioned, are you dreading Christmas? Because you have to sit in the company of the in-laws and pretend you love your gift when all the time you want to choke them.

Don’t get me wrong I celebrate Christmas and believe in what Christmas stands for which is the Birth of my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. What I don’t stand for is the commercialism which has taken over, call the spirit of Christmas.

The Spirit of Christmas to me is the spirit that causes us to be selfless all year round not just at Christmas, the spirit which will look on the cause of others and show compassion on the less fortunate, regardless of the time of the year, the spirit which will love and give and not expect anything in return.
The special thing about Christmas should be the spirit of love we share for others, which should shine through in our gifts giving.


If you are giving gifts this Christmas, here are a few thoughts to ponder:

What is your motive?
Can you afford it?
Are you giving gifts because you don’t want to be the one who didn’t give a gift after receiving one?

Does the person you are buying a gift for really need it?
Are there people outside your circle of friends and family you can reach out to at this time of the year? (locally or internationally).
Have you considered the possibility of not buying gifts but rather donate the money to a charity involved in a worthy cause.
Are there other ways you can show the people in your life how much you care for them.
Have you accepted the greatest gifts of all?
This is the person of Jesus Christ whose birth we should be celebrating, but alas, we give gifts to others but fail to give the celebrant the gift of our life and love.
If you have not done this I urge you to strongly consider it, because after all, it is his birthday and all he ask from you is the gift of your life.
In giving him your life, you are opting to receive from him a life time of priceless gifts.

Have Yourself a Merry Christmas.

15 November 2010

Perspectives:

We sometimes have different perspectives on the thing same issues. For instance your analysis on how the economy should be run may be different from mine, we’ve sat and discussed how we think the economy should be tackled, and we’ve become self professed economic analyst.

Regardless of our perspectives, the current government did not seek our opinion before going ahead with the cuts and changes which we are currently experiencing. The government, together with experts in different fields sat down to the reality of the current state of the economy and decided (regardless of the perspectives of the people) to make certain changes. And by God will they hurt?

This got me thinking
, it’s the same with God. He does not seek your opinion or perspective on your future. He already determined our end from our beginning, which means that before we were conceived, God already knew what each second, minute, hour, day, week, month and year has in store for us. He did not have a round table discussion with you when you became a teenager to decide how your future will turn out. He already had that figured out.
Does it mean we have no part to play in our daily existence? Not at all, the fact that the government did not seek our point of view before making these changes doesn’t mean that we have no part to play, our part is to find out how the changes will affect us and come into line with it. We may need to re-organise our personal finances to come in line with the governments.

In the same way we too can find out what God’s plans are for our lives are and come into line with them. The bible clearly tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that his plans for our lives are good not evil. Our perspectives on our lives are irrelevant if we haven’t viewed it in line with God’s perspectives. God’s perspectives is contained in his word, it is loaded with guidance and clues which are certain to bring us into his perfect plan for our lives, but because we are so pre-occupy with our own plans and perspectives we fail to seek and see what his are, we struggle to understand where the problem lies when things aren’t working the way we thought they should.

I encourage you today, if you are struggling to understand the way your life is turning out, go to God in prayer, ask him to show you areas you’ve neglected to involve him and come into line with his plans.

What he shows you may be difficult to implement, he may ask you to change your attitude, change your perspective, change your location, change your character, change, and more change. But whatever he ask of you, be ready to get on board with his purpose for your life, as we wrap up this year and set assail into 2011 a territory unknown us but known to him.


23 October 2010

Hope That Saves!

The remarkable story of 33 miner buried 2000 feet below the surface of Chile’s Atacama desert made head news around the world. Even more remarkable was the unbelievable rescue of these men. I'm sure you are familiar with the story so I won't bore you by telling it again.

One thing struck me through it all and that was the resilience of the men, they didn’t give up hope. They kept their hope alive by pulling together, when one was weak, there was one who encouraged, together, with the help those on the surface they kept their hope alive.

Often, we are faced with dire situation, ones which threatens our very existence. Literally we feel buried in those circumstances with no way out. If you recall, there was no way in or out of that mine after it collapsed (talk about a hopeless situation). An emergency rescue plan had to be put together to get them out.

Straight from my heart
is this piece to encourage you to have faith in God, in the face of buried dreams and seemingly hopeless situation.
Look up your help comes from the Lord, in a way you could say their hope saved them. Watching them come out, not one of them had an angry or exhausted look, and they kept their hope alive by hooking up with God, those on the surface and encouraging each other.

For some of us, it may look like there’s no way in or out of our situation, but hang in there help is on the way. While waiting for a rescue, reshape your attitude, let go of pain, anger and hatred, have a winning attitude, because you can’t tell your story with all those things written over your expression.
It may require a dramatic effort to bring you out but it will happen.
As Romans 8:24-28 says, we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is no hope at all, who hopes for what he already has? 25: but if we hope for what we do not yet have we wait for it with patience.
Hope in God, have faith that he's working all things out for your good. Be assured it won't be long before he rescues you. Just stay hooked up and connected to him.

Snared, bruised and brushed, still I arise.
Knocked down but not out, kicked but not killed, still I arise
With gaze upward looking,
My hope is rekindled with the vision of victories ahead.
I arise.

30 September 2010

Still Arise

As I speak with various people and read the news daily, it is apparent that the tough times are getting worse. There seems to be no end to loss of job, house, loved ones etc. As I ponder our current circumstance one scripture came to mind.

Habakkuk 3:17: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stores, “
18: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my Salvation”.
19: “The Lord is my strength, he will make my feet like the hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon my high places”.

Straight from my heart
is this piece to encourage you to Still Arise, lift your head regardless of the temporary pain or heart ache you face, Arise.

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Worries, fears, toils and ruins
On parallel lane abound
Hush, still arise, amidst the turbulence.

Know that the birds toil not, yet are fed, clothed and catered for
Know that the roses, though beautiful they appear, do blossom in summer and wither in fall
Yea, a yearly cycle of bloom and gloom, still they arise,
They do not give up blooming,
Neither do birds give up flying amid the storms and wind.

So too, rise up and strive pass the temporary pain and set back, look forward to the day of relieve though it may seem distance and appears tough now, ride out the storm, stay the course of whatever betide, stir up your spirit to arise and shine.
Do not waste the time of turbulence,
Nay, but rather, gather the dust of your setback,
Lay them up as a memento for the future, a reminder of how you overcame.

Lift your head and arise.

9 September 2010

Fall? Which Fall?

A few days ago I was staring out of my bedroom window and observed my neighbour and her little girl of 2. The mom was walking to her car packed a few yards from their house, she got in and shortly afterwards I noticed her little girl running down the road to the car, the mum came out and shouted for her to stop running. (It has just stopped raining). The little girl kept on running. The mum got back in the car, her little girl was almost near the car when she fell. The mum jumped out of the car, picked her up and tried to sooth her. She kept walking up and down saying, its ok, I told you not to run, but you won’t listen, its ok. I smiled as I watched.

This got me thinking.
We sometimes ignore our God’s warning to stop running without him or not to run at all. Running could be anything, we may ignore his warning about taking that job, moving house, making that decision on our own or waiting a little bit longer before taking that next step, but because we fret and think we have a better grasp of the situation and can make a reasonably “wise” decision we continue with our plans, all the while ignoring the fathers warning not to run.

We soon make a mistake and fall.
But just like that mom picked up her little girl, he’ll pick you up, with the mud, the grass and the filth which comes as a result of the fall, he’ll pick you up with the dirt and soothe you, he won’t wait for you to be clean and repentant, he’ll come running to you just before you fall.

So have you fallen due to running? And are you berating yourself for failing to heed the father’s voice? Stop! Just let him soothe you as only he can.Lean on him and let him wipe the dirt away.


The little girl continued crying for a while before she calmed down. Some of us never forgive ourselves, we continue crying each time we remember the fall and repent all over again, and all the time the father is saying, but I picked you up, I wiped you clean, I don’t know what you are talking about, fall? Which fall?
No wonder Jesus says except we are like little children……
Little ones don’t remember. No sooner had she calm down than she started playing again.

So Straight from my heart is this piece to encourage you to get up from the place where you’ve fallen, get over your fall, you’ve been wiped clean! Hear the father saying, fall? Which fall? I picked you up.

Running towards the goal,
Pressing to achieve
I make no haste to attain
The quest my heart desires.

Running towards the mark,
Heedless of humps and bumps
I’ve prayed, my guide the Lord will be,
I run, and make no tarrying to wait.

Running as I climb, I saw the finish line
But lurking along my path, lay thorns unknown to me,
Soon I stumble and fall, unable to finish the race

Swiftly, he picked me up,
Shook me clean,
Place me on his shoulder
And ran to complete the race,
I embarked without him

On his shoulder I soar,
I did not sway or loose my grip,
He’s steps propelled me to heights never dreamt before,
Because he ran the race he has chosen for me.

9 August 2010

Memories

What do you feel when you remember the loss/losses you've suffered? Do you feel sad and helpless? Does remembering rekindles the pain?
Losses of any kind are painful, be it the loss of a child, a parent, a sibling, a job, business or a house, whatever, losses are not pleasant.
But after a while, the pain of the loss/losses passes (I hope), and is replaced with only memories of what we suffered and how we to pulled through.

A year ago I suffered a couple of losses one of which is the loss of my dad, looking back now I remembered the pain of those losses and marvel at how I pulled through. one year on the pain has been replaced with fond memories of my loving dad. The pain was painful (if there's a phrase like that), it was horrible, but that was then. Pain are for a season, we are build to feel pain, sorrow and sadness, but we are not expected to stay in the place of pain and dwell in the land of questions like why me, what next, when Lord?


We are meant to bounce back stronger and better than we were before our losses.

So have you suffered a loss?
Does the pain become real again on the anniversary of the loss?
Do you still feel sorrowful?


Sad as your loss was or is, you are meant to bounce back and not remain in the place of pain.
Do whatever you have to do to bounce back, go for counselling, do something to move pass the place of pain into the place where you can remember not with pain, or sorrow but with a sense of gratitude that you pulled through.

We cannot erase the past, but we can look on the past and smile at our resilience and our ability to weather the storms of our past demise.

So straight from my heart
is this piece to encouraging you to move on purposefully to a place were memories become spring board to hope and dream again.

21 July 2010

Start Nurturing





It’s been a while since I updated you on my veggies. I am so amazed at the rate of growth and the produce so far. Really this whole growing thing has got me looking forward to next growing season.
The beauty of it all is the finished produce. I must say the taste of my peas and spinach is compared to nothing. My tomatoes have started sprouting and gosh! The size of it!


It was only a couple of months ago we got to work, sowing the seeds, watering and feeding. At some point I was tired of carrying on. Each evening after a hard day’s work I am out there tendering. To put it in biblical terms I sowed in tears and now am ripping in joy!


This got me thinking about a lot of the things we are involved in on a daily basis, our relationships, our jobs, our character, what are we sowing? Are we expecting to reap where we’ve not sown? To have a good harvest, be it good friends, well groomed kids, beautiful garden, not only must we sow the seeds, we must tend to it, we must modify our character, taking stock daily of areas we need to improve on. We must put the needed hours on the job to get the recognition. We must sweat it out at the beginning, through the middle and right to the end till our produce bring forth fruit worthy of harvest.


At one stage some of my plants weren’t doing well, I was sad, I didn’t know what was happening, I had to researched what the problem could be and apply the necessary treatment to restore them to healthy state.


If things are not working in some areas of your life, find out why, look within and without, are you doing enough, is there something you’ve neglected to do? Only when you’ve given your best at any task or call can you rest.
We can work it out all on our own and succeed, but sometimes with our best effort things may still go pear shape, just like the time I had to lay hands on my crop one morning when they all appeared dead, I must say God intervened whether you believe it or not! But I didn’t give up on them.


So don’t sweat it out all on your own, involved the master who gives us the power to make wealth. Equipped with his strength we can do all things!


So straight from my heart, is this encouragement to you to being to sow today, begin now, where you are, wait no more, depose the handicap call excuses and be on your way to Nurturing that dream, birth within you a reality too powerful to fail. With unwavering faith, propel your being into all you’ve been created to be and watch as you sprout and soar like a giant, conquering and winning all the way.

29 June 2010

Joyful Always

I recently spent a few days with one of my good friends, we did many things together, we went out we joked, we played, and we prayed, we ate, we talked, it was awesome. I didn’t want to leave after the weekend we had. I enjoy times like this spent with VGFs. (very good friends)
Days after I returned, I was full of life, happy, and just generally felt good about myself, partly due to the fact that I was away for a couple of days and spent time relaxing with someone whose company I enjoy.


This got me thinking: Can it be this way always! Can I be joyful, happy and relax always? Maybe it can, maybe I can. Why can’t it be, if I spend time with my best friend in the whole world, my best friend who is also my dad, my help, my all in all: God my Father? Now imagine what it will be like to always talk with him, walk with him, share jokes with him, giggle with him, listen to him, cry to him, and unburden your heart to him: imagine what that will do to and for you. We can be joyful every minute of every day. It is possible, why? Because we will never leave his presence and in his presence there is fullness of Joy! He said his presence will go with us and he will give us rest.

I came away from the presence of my friend refreshed, this lasted for a couple of days (as all holiday does). Imagine, if I don’t have to leave the presence of the Joy Giver, it means I’ll be Joyful Always! I know, we cannot be happy, hippy all the time, that’s what we’ve been told and we’ve come to believe it. The main reason we are not always joyful is because we leave his presence and pursue our own agenda. We feel a temporal high from being with him and then we leave.

We associate our special prayer times and places of prayer with the presence of God. Often, we finishe praying, get up and carry on as usual, there’s subtle unconsciousness of we’ve finished, “now we can go about our business”, “we are leaving the presence” till our next “prayer time”. The presence of God should be with us everywhere we go, in, during and outside our specific prayer times and place. Staying in his presence is the only sure belt that we can be Joyful All The Time.

So with the help of the Holy Spirit, practise being in his presence all the time, every day. Find small ways of involving him in your daily activities. Stop and pray in the middle of work. Set little reminders to get you back into his presence and soon it’ll become second nature to you and you’ll find you are full of joy unspeakable All The Time.


So straight from my heart: I encourage you seek his presence more than his presents,
His presence brings peace which passes all understanding, peace in the mist of dire circumstances, which permeates the souls, unleashing it from the tangles of pain, sets it free to be joyful, Joy that trickles as an endless stream which flows from being with him, never ending, always abiding. Always a joy to be joyful always!

3 June 2010

Rest In God

I’ve been thinking a lot about this sentence and what it means. Given the current state of the world’s economic, natural and man made disasters, personal turmoil, terminal illness, and difficult situations. Men’s heart fail because of the uncertainty they are faced with, we no longer know what it is like to rest in God. We’ve allowed circumstances within and without to upset our rest in God.

I’ve come to realise that rest in God is not something we achieve overnight. Mastering the habit of resting is a daily, minute by minute task as we are faced with life’s perplexing issues. Once mastered, we can become unshakeable in the face of difficult circumstances.


The rest of God releases us into God’s possibilities. It is only in resting that we are revived, restored and renewed.
How do we rest in God? You may ask, well start by immersing yourself in God’s word, rather than let your heart be troubled by what you read in the media, hear on the radio or see on TV or around you, let your heart be saturated by the truth in God’s word.

God’s word says let not your heart be troubled:
are you troubled by the recession, the possibility of loosing your job, your home or your livelihood or your health? If this is the case, it means your reality is bigger than God’s possibility. When we are troubled by our reality, God’s word looses it hold and becomes insignificant if not applied to your reality: Resting means trusting in God regardless of the present and future outcome of whatever we are faced with, trust releases us into a place of calmness, it is in this place we can say like David, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death I will fear no evil. Only a heart of trust and rest can be in the valley of shadow of death and not fear.

God’s word says we are more than conquerors: Do you act that way? Do you see yourself as a conqueror in the face of your present circumstance? I do not know of anyone who is not currently facing some tough time right now, if you are not you may have at some point, if not, one is around the corner. It’s not a cause it’s just the simple fact of life. As one who has conquered, we should walk as victors even when we don’t see it in the physical. It is a done deal.

God’s word is full of wonderful promises, holding on to them releases us into His rest: we will still have trials and tribulations, there will still be cares which unsettles us, but being seated in Christ in Heavenly places means that we can ride through life’s storms anchored to Him:
Christ in us is our Hope of Glory, no matter what is happening right now, we may not be certain of the outcome of our situation, but we can be certain of a God who glorifies His Name in every circumstance we are faced with and works it out for our good.

So I say, enter into his rest, a place of quiet attest, where fear fails and cares are vanquished.
Strive brings discontent which comes with anxious thought of tomorrow’s toil,
Rest in his love, for it assures and releases us to trust
Let the quietness of being with him still your heart and release you to rest.
Enter into his rest, for it is only in resting we can truly abound unto every good works

11 May 2010

Preparation and Persistant Breeds Success



Prepare, prepare, sang the enchanted bird.
It chimed days on end, hoping some soul will hear
It cries, it shirked it quake as it flies,
Its wings flapped in unison as it chimes it favourite tune,

Prepare it sang out,
prepare in summer months, for winter comes when nature goes to sleep,
Gather now in summer its chilling cry rings
For autumn looms and may unclasp, what is loosely held.

Nay, gay souls of summer swayed on unperturbed.
Heedless of the warning in the sparrow’s cry.
It chimed one last cry, perhaps some wise soul will hear.
but Its warning is drowned in the boisterous street of summer’s spark

Then came icy blast from afar, heralded by frosty winds in all the land,
Idle man unprepared, was caught out as it gathered grapes.
With shrivelled fingers, they struggled night and day, weakened by the cold,
They plodder on, remembering the chime of the sparrow as it shirked, prepare, prepare!, if only we knew, they thought as they gather in winter, what was ready in summer.

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After almost 3 years of wanting to start a vegetable patch, I am glad to say I finally did. I took the plunge. Yea! I must say its been an exciting process watching my veggies sprout.

First we decided what to plant and brought the seeds, we investigated what was needed, when and how to plant, how to maintain them. When to transplant, and we set about doing it.

Before we started planting, we had to prepared the ground, we read books, did some internet research, I spoke with colleagues who were already experienced vegetable growers, we bought propagators, we bought little cans to transplant them into when they were ready, we bought compost, grow bags, we prepared the raised bed! preparation! Then we began planting.

I screamed the first time I saw a tiny stem busting through the soil of compost. I was so excited, wow! they are growing, I shouted. I expected them to grow alright, but seeing them spring to life was a real joy.

After the initial excitement, I've come to realise that the planting and preparation stage is just the beginning. They need to be tended to, watered, weeded, protected from frost, from slugs, from virus, plant eaters.

This got me thinking, life is like starting a vegetable patch, we are all involved in sowing, but it's amazing how many people go into a project without preparation. We take on a new job, we start a new business, we move to a new city, get married, all these far important things than sowing tomatoes, yet with very little preparation, and wonder when things fall apart what went wrong! Even when we prepare and engaging in our new ventures, we are often unprepared for the work involved afterwards.

It will be like me saying saying I want to start a vegetable garden, buy the seeds, throw them into the ground and expect them to grow. They will grow alright because they are designed to, but what sought of vegetables would they become? weak and limp without yielding anything worthy of the kitchen table.

Our projects are the same, if you want to see your business grow, see success in your marriage, job, relationships, you have to start to prepare long before you take the plunge! research, find out what you need to do, before you begin.
Everything starts with a thought, which becomes a conviction, a certainty that this is what you really what want to do.
Like me I actually bought some of the seeds and books 3 years ago! when I knew it was something I will do in the future.


Get to work, find out everything you need to before you begin the journey, but be ready to tend your work, they need care and attention, if you sit back and relax after you've planted, you will not see the results you envision.

Preparation is needful so too is care, time and attention given to the work of our hands enabling them to yield us fruits that will make us proud.

21 April 2010

Every Little Helps.

Do you feel the world is getting worse by the minute? Everyone seems to have their own written rules on the way things should be. No one is prepared to take responsibility for their actions. Parents have lost the plot and at a loss as to what to do with their kids. Children act all grown up while the adults are becoming increasingly afraid to nurture them.
Crime is on the increase in unprecedented proportion, (depending on which side of politics you are on), government without credibility.
Religious or church folks can’t be trusted either. The world has gone upside down
What in the world is going on?
The following depicts the world we currently live in:

We have more laws but more crimes,
We have more rules but less common sense
We have more cars but have to go to the gym and pay to get rid off excess fat
We earn more than our parent’s generation but are less satisfied.
We live in bigger house but with fewer friends
We travel more but can’t cross the road to visit a neighbour
More education but less wisdom,
More freedom but less freedom to express our thoughts,
More protective of our children which in turn have led them to being less adventurous
Work more but have less time to enjoy the rewards
More people but less contact with them
as we would rather make contact with them via virtual networking sites.

The list is endless.

We can’t act indifferent because we are all affected by what goes on in society. We have to engage more with the youths of today, create more boundaries for our kids. Be more involved in politics in whatever way we can and positively influence change wherever we find ourselves.
I like the Tesco’s slogan “every little helps”. It is so true. we can do our bit for the greater good. So I implore you, straight from my heart to be deliberate in what you do and how you do it, because really every little helps.


I am spent in time and money as daily chores I run
I care for needs around, though limited is my store of wealth.
I have a £
I have a $, of no good to anyone
But still I pause and think, small it may seem,
A world of good it will be to a soul in need.
For a little gift in aid of a dying child is all it takes to make a difference in someone else’s life.

It takes the warmth of an abbreviated sun to warm our bodies,
Though brief in its appearance,
The little shine it gives brings a ray of hope.
Look within and search without
For that little bit of help that will make a difference to a world in need.
It is the little smile given,
It is the little touch of love
It is the little act of kindness
That leaves an indelible mark in the prints of someone’s life.

4 April 2010

Taken (Final Part)

Yes he died a wretched death.
He allowed himself to be taken and killed because he wanted to take something back for himself!

He was taken so that he could take back:


Sons and daughters of his, bound by sin
The down trodden and restore them to wholeness
The weak and give the strength
The poor and give them riches
The broken hearted and fix their hurt
The hopeless and fill them with assurances of better things to come
The loss and show them the way
The accused and free them from guilt and shame
The isolated and bring them into the fold
Taken! Yes he took the stripes, the beatings, the scorning, the accusations, the causes
So that he can take away our shame, hurt, sickness and pain.

No wonder Good Friday” turned out to be “Good” after all, because he wasn’t taken,

HE WAS THE ONE WHO TOOK IT ALL.
He took my place instead! That’s why today we celebrate, our freedom from Sin.


"Taken" away on that Good Friday afternoon when he hung and died”. He visited Hell and set us free from sin and death.

Happy Easter.

3 April 2010

Taken (Part 2)




He was taken, beaten and killed
He died a painful death,
He was not killed by the beatings, the nails or the crown of thorns which hung on his head,
But by the many, present on the day and the many not yet conceived.
He allowed himself to be taken without a fight of resistance or a word of protest
He was taken, not gently but roughly, dragged, kicked, whipped, even though he offered himself willingly!
He was nailed to the cross, his side pieced!
His garment taken as he hung naked on the cross for you and me!


Pictures by "photobucket"

2 April 2010

Taken (Part 1)

Some see the cross as a symbol of sadness, pain and shame, rightly so too. You see the event which led to his death was everything depicting sorrow, pain and shame.


Imagine it:
He was caught, handcuffed and lead away.
Taken before the judges of his day, he was accused of all manner of good deeds. Say, how can one be accused of doing good? Yes he was.

It was a sad day for the many that were with him, his disciples were full of sadness as they watched their saviour gave up himself without a struggle.
The road to the cross was littered with Jeers and snares from the angry crowd! Cries of “away with him! He’s a scum”

A saviour! No not on that day, for he couldn’t even save himself, rather he was "taken" without putting up a word in his defence.

How! How! How! Did we come to believe in this man? I imagine this was the thought going through the mind of his disciples. They were perplexed, angry, dismayed, amazed, ashamed and afraid to be identified with him, no wonder the denial!

The one whom they have come to believe in, was led as a lamb to be killed, a saviour? No not on that Friday Moring, he was anything but that!

Good Friday? Far from it!


I imagine it was a gloomy day. for his Disciples it far from being Good’ their saviour and friend has been TAKEN” and worse "killed"! What was good about that day? Surely nothing “Good” can come out of his death, they thought. They would never have guessed the event which unfolded in the days to come!



See part tomorrow!

13 March 2010

A Mother

thinking of her, I smile,
I see her as she is,
a lover, a mother, a friend,
a helper,
a shelter
a mum, in season and out of season
when it's convenient and when it's not,
she's a mum to me.

Seeing her now, I am humble,
a woman of true passion,
enduring love,
of unpredictable humour,
skilled in everything,
woodwork,
homework,
schoolwork
yet of a tender demeanour.
cannot be replicated, even though often relegated
cannot be done without, disowned or denied
forever a channel
choose by God to bring life to be.

Thinking of her
I know I am blessed.
Happy Mothers Day!

4 March 2010

An Often Forfeited Task

It’s the season of lent and if like me you’ve already failed in your task of giving up something, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.
We often fail and fall short at the things which we should do.

Take prayer for example a very important and powerful Christian tool but it’s widely known as one of the areas we struggle the most.
Well maybe you don’t struggle, I do and I know a few others too who find it a struggle. Thank God for his grace he knows and understand our struggles and doesn’t hold it against us.

My church has focused a great deal on prayer this period and we’ve been encouraged in so many little and inspiring ways on how to pray. I found our first weekly prayer pod meeting today very refreshing and encouraging. It spurred me on to write this.

Enjoy.


I know I ought to pray but in this task I often fail
For reasons that seem valid enough to keep me off my knees


I know great rewards abound if I just but pray, but somehow I hesitate to pray
And oft rush at this one important task.


I crave to seek his face, for I know he longs to hear
The solemn call I make
For me and other’s too


And though I often pray for
Me, me, and me,
He does kindly grand my often selfish request
When to his throne at last I come.

I often ask for my needs,
For things I think I need and when delay I sense
I cry and wonder why

But to his arms I run and soon my fear subsides
For somehow he does make me understand his intent are pure


Answers sent like rain a might pour it came
He brings my request to pass, when I do stop and pray

21 January 2010

Still, I hope

At the dawn of the year, we said our prayers with expectations, hopes and wishes as to how we want the year to turn out. It is the same story year after year, some of our dreams do come true, others stall for time and eventually become a reality. Still others tarries as years roll by.

The people of Haiti had hopes and expectations for 2010, they celebrated the New Year and welcomed it just like we did, they couldn’t see the 12th January when the earthquake struck. On that fateful day all hopes/expectations were shattered. Lives and livelihood lost, dreams dashed. Watching the devastating effect of the earthquake has caused me great sadness, at the same time watching survivors being pulled out days after the disaster fills me with hope.

This got me thinking, with our best hope and expectation, anything can go wrong, we don’t know what the future holds, it sounds like a cliché, but it is true.
Be that as it may, what should our attitude be towards the year? Should we live a “whatever will be, will be, existence?” or should we continue to hope and expect something good for our lives? People are scared, fear has taken hold, and no one knows what this year, decade holds. All of a sudden we have become too afraid to hope.

Being a Christian I choose to hope and live by faith, the “just shall live by faith”, I choose to hope; for I know hope in the God for the future gives us joy in the present. I choose Joy in the present, only brought about by faith in God!

I know a lot of you have given to the cause of the Haitians so this not a call to make a donation, but rather to choose to live regardless of fear, choose hope and keep your dreams alive, do not let fear stop you from discovering the beauty of each day and the joy faith gives: As for me

I choose to live with heavenly perspective, in the mist of earth uncertainties.
Tomorrow is a million miles away, but I choose to hope and believe that it will come,

I have today to be my best in the service of mankind.
I choose today to set aside, malice, strive, anger, hatred, grudge, evil conversation
And embrace, peace, forgiveness, love, faith, purity.
I choose to see the beauty in each day, regardless of the weather
I strive for perfection only in what will be for the benefit of others.
Sometimes I may succeed, sometimes I may fail,
But that’s ok, because as long as I take one day at a time,
I may achieve the ultimate goal, hope blossoming into reality.

8 January 2010

I see

I see a future
One in which yesterday’s failures
Are buried in the soils of success

One where pains, perils, sorrow and loss
Become building blocks for ascension

I see a future one in which
Destiny are fashioned out of desires
Where realities are spread out like rays of rainbow

I see a future of attainment
Of purpose
Of bliss,
One void of pain
One filled with love, laughter and life

I see a future lived here in man’s territory
And in eternity row.
Happy New Year!