In Gratitude

One Day, In 2002

I sat across him in the large, well-furnished office. In my mind, I went over my points. Times were hard. I needed a job. 1 year after Uni and NYSC had been postponed again. I had done IT with his organization. My grade in school was not bad. I knew he could help out for the time being. We had communicated through emails. Now I had the opportunity to express myself.

"Sweet little Rita," he started, "I have seen your emails. I cannot give you a job with us - it is beyond my power. But I can give you something better. Something to solve all your problems. Let me take care of you. I will buy you a house and put N1m in your account. Then you will take care of me and have a child for me."

I was not disgusted neither did I feel insulted. His offer sounded like the perfect plan for me. A house and N1million? Do you know what that meant to a young graduate who had seen only N100K (scholarship money) as the maximum in her account? I reasoned within myself. I could start a business with the N1m and generate more income for myself. I would live in a house, me and my child, and destroy this married man's marriage. Hopefully he will leave his wife for me. All the clothes, shoes, perfumes and hairstyles I had dreamt of will become a reality.

I did not know God then, so I could not refuse "for the sake of God". It's just that I had this dream, when I was 4 years old, of me and my young handsome husband (changed to young handsome Ibo husband when I was 13), and our 4 children, living in a very big house. My husband was very rich and he loved me very much. Was I going to give up this dream for an old man with N1m?

After the battle, which seemed like forever in the space of 5 minutes, I replied, "Dear Sir, I cannot accept. Maybe I am a fool but I will prefer a job of N5000. If you are not in the position to help me, then I might have to think of doing something else for myself. Thank you very much for everything you've done for me."

One Day, 2009

I looked at the promotion letter. I looked at the salary. I could not believe the digits. But I knew God. I knew He is more than capable. I knew this amazing increase could only come from Him.

Today, 2010

I thank God for His faithfulness. I thank God that even when I did not know Him, He still loved me and directed me. I thank Him for giving me the ability to wait on Him and 7 years later I have a testimony. I thank Him for waiting for me to come to Him. I thank Him for the dream, which comes to pass as each day unfolds. Thank You, My Loving Father. You, who promised, are Faithful.

Inspired by the scripture in today's devotional on "From The Heart of a Loving Father" which speaks of God waiting for us to come to Him.

Dear Jesus, I think I have a slight idea of what happened here: Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” [Matthew 4:8-9]

In This 2009, We Will...(8)

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance [Psalms 65:11 NLT].

As the year approaches its end, I am sure you will take a moment to reflect on how the year had been. No matter how the journey had been, I am sure you can find something to be thankful for.

And even if there seems to be prayers that were not answered, you need not be weary. When King Jehoshaphat faced a formidable problem, how was it solved?

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever" [2 Chron 20:20-21 NIV].

In this 2009, We Will Praise God

If you read further down the passage in 2 Chronicles 20, you will observe that they obtained victory "As they began to sing and praise". The cause of Judah's victory is given to their songs of praise. Praising God invites Him into your situation and chases the enemy away!

The most important key that opens new doors, closes old ones and advances us in our walk with God is Praise.

A few more reasons why we must praise God are:
• Praise turns our focus to God: When we don’t feel like praising, that is the exact time to jump up and praise, for it turns our focus away from our circumstance, situations and problems and turns them towards God. When we focus on our problems, we focus on ourselves and get stuck at that junction. When we focus on God, being the good God he is, he elevates us from whatever we are going through.

• Praise helps to keep us to be humble: When we praise we humble ourselves to seek refuge at God’s feet. When we praise, with reckless abandon, we don’t care how we look to others or how they perceive us. We are humble enough to know that God is bigger than any of our problems.

• God inhabits our praises: The dictionary defines inhabit as thus: to live or reside in or to dwell in, or to exist or to be situated within. From that definition it is not surprising the devil will want to keep us busy with many distractions. He wants to keep us from giving God praise. When we praise, God resides within our praises, and in his presence, there is no sorrow, heartache or problems.

May His praise continually be in your mouth in this 2009 and even as you enter a greater year, 2010. It is not too late for God to perform a miracle in your life in this 2009 – the year is not yet over.

Merry Xmas and a Fruitful New Year. May your year be crowned with the goodness of God.

Many thanks to RemiUK for permission to use her post “Continuous Praise”.

For further reading visit "The Praise Principle".

Before it becomes 2 Lies and 1 Truth

I enjoyed reading your responses to the 2 Truths and 1 Lie meme. I really ROTFL for some. But here is my story…

1. I have celebrated valentine’s day only once
Ever since JSS 3 when it seems everyone around me started having Mr. Valentines, I always wanted to celebrate valentine’s day. To me, Valentine’s day meant chocolates, teddy bears, perfumes, etc. It was really frustrating when no one asked me out on Valentine’s day let alone gave me those dream gifts. I assumed it was because I was "araless".

As I grew older ("arafull"), the people to ask me out were available. Somehow, the heartbreaks happened either on December just before the next year’s valentine, or on February 12th. Probably the amendment of the break up would happen on the 16th of February. Mr. Valentine was lucky to escape the expenditure.

As I drew closer to God, I learnt that Valentine’s Day was just a day like every other day in the year. If I wanted love, I needed to sow love. And love was not meant for only one day in the year. It was meant for every day of the year. So I began sowing seeds of love in people’s lives. Only last year did I celebrate Valentine’s Day. By then I had learnt that the benchmark for love was intangible, and if we want love, we have to give love [Luke 6:38].

So lest it becomes a lie, I had to put up this post before 14th of Feb, 2009.

2. I remained a science student because of a crush on my physics teacher
To be or not to be a science student? This was the question I pondered on when my chemistry teacher sent me out of her class for not having a note. My note was stolen by my 1st mid-term in SS1. I did not care about the choice I was going to make. I felt I could be an excellent art or social science student. Not until my mother sat me down and told me she knows I will do very well in the sciences. She made me sit at home one day, copy the note from beginning to end and write an apology letter to my chemistry teacher. Grudgingly, I went to my chemistry teacher and showed her my new up-to-date note and the apology letter. She allowed me back to her class. Today I am enjoying the dividends of remaining a science student.

Would I have remained a science student because of a crush on my physics teacher? I don’t know. My mother may not have allowed me to if she knew it was not good for me.

Beloved people, let us take out time this valentine season to appreciate our parents who helped us make decisions that have brought us this far. [Ephesians 6:1-3]. They sent us to school, they corrected us in ways we did not like, and they gave us food.

Therefore, No. 2 is the lie.

3. I am a 23 inched-waisted woman
Since we have identified the lie, we know this one is true. Yep, the waist has always been a reason for conversation when I wear those big-belted outfits. Maybe it is because of my slim stature.

I used to joke that if I ever get up to 50kg, I would do thanksgiving. To keep to my words [Ecclesiastics 5:4], I want to thank God for my weight. I came into marriage 45kg and currently I am fluctuating around 50kg (depending on how I march the scale, it can be 52kg). And guess what, the waist still remained the same.

That’s all for my 2 truths and 1 lie. Those who got the lie, you have done too well. You have passed the entrance exam for the FBI.

Kafo, you sounded too sure I was beginning to doubt myself…
Naughty Eyes, hmmmmm…We'll take it offline...

Happy Valentine’s Day in advance to you all...