Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Each ‎morning when I wake up;

I have every reason to say "Thank ‎​you Father" for such a beautiful day.
I roll over in my bed, thanking Him for his mercy.
I know the Lord has blessed my day and I have all the lovely pray' to say;
"Lord you're good to ‎​​me,its by your mercy I ​​​am here."
Guide ‎​​me through and keep my family safe,
Let my friends excel in all the do on earth.

May we live to fulfil your will I pray,
And may our existence glorify ‎​you always.
Bless our going out and our coming in,
Anoint our feet and lift our heads;
Guide our thoughts and direct our steps.

Deliver us from the pestilence by day,
Shield us from the arrows by night.
Let our lives be a sweet smelling savour,
And our words,let it be seasoned with salt.
In all,may we live for eternity,
trimming our lamps and preparing our robes for
Our Heavenly ‎​​home.
Amen!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Abide in ‎​​me that ye may produce much fruits

I love fruits a lot, in fact as a ​"fruit provider", anytime I have to buy fruits,I try to select the best without a bad spot or a pungent smell. One day I bought some fruits,on getting ‎​​home, all the pineapples and watermelon were bad and I couldn't use them for my job. Painfully,I threw them away. It would have been unfair of ‎​​me to supply bad fruits to my clients. I wouldn't only lose my credibility but no one would refer my job to others.

Now,Jesus says; "I ​​​am the vine and ‎​you are the branches" and we know by now that branches bear fruits. Fruits actually grow on and are plucked from branches. Anytime there's a wind, fruits fall to the ground and ‎​‎​you find even kids scrambling under the tree to pack fruits(personal experience). Dead fruits which often drop with the good ones are selected and thrown away because it cannot be eaten.

So it is with a branch which doesn't bear good fruits, it's cut off so the tree can grow well. Dead branches cannot produce any fruits,they fall off and people either discard or use as firewood.

Jesus said and still says to ‎​you and me; "Remain in ‎​​me and I will remain in ‎​you".
Its no fairy religious tale neither is it a nursery rhyme. ‎​​Its a continuous process of consecration and pure,wholesome dedication to the Father as ‎​​we consciously stay(intimately) in Him. Remaining in Jesus is a sure way to producing fresh fruits. Its in him our branches are rid of bad fruits of: hate,bitterness, lust,anger,selfishness, and every sinful desire. Our branches are not supposed to-neither can they- bear good and bad fruits at the same time. Its in our intimacy with Him that he reveals Himself and exposes our hearts to us till we are like Him.

When we get so occupied with life,with little or no time for God we fail to realise how dead we become(‎​​Me very guilty here). But he's giving us another chance to RETURN,to remain in ‎​​him and FOLLOW His teaching so he can trim, prune and dress us lest we are thrust into fire.

Today,I lay before the lover of my life every bad fruit on my branch like bitterness, jealousy, angst,hate,unforgiveness etc and i keep pressing into Him(Jesus)till I can bear rich fruits of righteousness. By His grace alone, will I abide,dwell,remain,stay glued,be united to and fixed on Him. Without Him I cannot live. I need the gardener's nourishment(The WORD which is Jesus),I need his pruning, and the cleansing of His water and the WORD to bear richer,more excellent fruits.

I ​​​am also presenting this truth to my blog friends as he's led it in my heart; Jesus is saying to us all to ABIDE in him and not let our daily-busy- lives choke us.

Stay in Him
Receive instructions for your daily pursuits
Listen to him and DIGEST his truth
Bear your heart every time you're in a fix
Let Him be a Father, lover,friend and everything to ‎​you.

He is the vine and we are the branches. If people must find nourishment in our fruits, then there must be no room for stagnation or death and this can ONLY be achieved when we ABIDE IN HIM.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Do ‎​you know...?

...Jealousy is a very subtle- as small as a mustard- deathly and fleshy seed which takes root in the soil of a human's heart, further sprouting wildly like shrubs and weeds, choking the good(mulberry)tree from producing good fruits.
I have been a victim of the silly seeds of jealousy several times and as a matter of fact, I just uprooted one -while writing this post- because I know the effect of that terrible,very deadly seed.

Jealousy can ruin a very fruitful vine. From the seed of jealousy comes the branches called envy, hatred,bitterness, gossip, backbiting, pride(inability to take another person's achievement and a refusal to accept others as better than us), an unteachable spirit and many more.

Jealousy is such a destructive seed which can be sold to others at no cost. I sell fruits :), I supply to people,companies etc different kinds of seasonal fruits as a way of encouraging a healthy eating habit and living a fruitful life. If for instance I sell sour,spoilt fruits many stomachs would run. The same goes with the works of the flesh. Sell jealousy, hatred, pride, and all kinds of evil and produce death.

What has been the cause of most of the competition,bench marking et al in this world we live? It's the stinking seed of jealousy disguising as a way of life. For no substantial reason, we begin to "beef" people,slight them, criticise and condemn them even when our facts/rumours about them are unfounded. "Dem say, dem no say" is the MOST common one among Nigerians but if ‎​you follow the gist to the root,its all a hoax peddled against innocent victims.

The typical seeds of jealousy or hate in the hearts of people are as a result of other's landmarks, successes like "she's promoted, she's always in the circles of the high and mighty and I ​​​am not", "she's ‎​‎​married,her husband pampers her and I'm not". "He owns houses, he's recognised everywhere he's known as the most brilliant, he receives awards and I don't." I have realised that all this has led men/women to doing jazz, witchcrafts, to consulting mediums,crystal balls and spirits. Jealousy has caused lies and betrayal to separate best friends and families ,innocent ones have been maimed and even assassinated.

Today, refute every seed of jealousy in your members. When you flip throw a magazine and ‎​you find an hour glass babe-meanwhile you're a size 18- wishing in the right side of your heart that ‎​you could be that slim, please take it in good faith and don't pass that sarcastic remark. If your effizy neighbour just bought the latest Toyota car while you're struggling with an old model Subaru, hold your hate and celebrate him except the source of his riches are questionable.

A litmus test: If you can't handle another person's progress, jealousy is taking root hence the need to be sincere to God. Personally,I've experienced this severally and almost always,I chant; "God I'm jealous,help ‎​​me". Its a big shame on my flesh for nursing jealousy, humanly speaking jealousy can be a way of life but to the Lord its SIN. Whatever it is I haven't achieved now,will happen in God's time so no point fighting anyone who has made it before ‎​​me.

Another simple way(and this has worked each time I try it) to avert those deathly seeds is to openly commend, bless and speak well of them from your heart.

May our God and Father help us to live a blameless life amen.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Naija problem in my opinion

After reading Ibhade's- Housewife tales- post(please look for hers and read) on her estate wahalas, it got ‎​​me thinking so much about this country called Niger-area.

Hmm, IT IS WELL-though an awesome word in the scripture- is one unusually used cliche to wave off the obvious. But I choose not to lie to myself this ‎morning that all is well because the problems are so glaringly ugly,irksome and sad. I may ramble abit but follow my flow keenly:

I'm not one person given to criticising nigeria because in all honesty I have a deep seated passion for her but this "fifty ‎​γεαr old-looking baby" at this moment needs to grow up. My sixty something ‎​γεαr old mum cannot be shitting in her pants nor my four ‎​γεαr old nephew,he knows he would be spanked. But it seems my dear Nigeria is like one country with all the shitty problems stuck to her pants. Its either government is reeling out a bla blah point agenda/propaganda on things its yet to achieve, or its passing bills into laws(laws yet to be properly effected) or efcc is-boring us with news on- diverse probes and arrest of Ex law makers or an ex-governor or ex-one somebody or the other. The cases never seem to have an end. Now how much has been recovered at least right from 1998(after the dictator passed)? How much of all the millions recovered from Swiss banks or stashed away has been used to build this country to International standard? I mean built to a point where NITEL(a government owned telecoms) provides cheap call rates and we can spend a while talking on phone and pay less? Or NIPOST(government owned postal service) is taking letters round Nigeria in less than forty eight hours, where at the Ports Authority goods are cleared,etc ASAP, where the railway corporation is working 2-4-7 and we won't need to fly bikes on major roads or struggle with rickety buses. Where immigration, customs, Police face their duties responsibly without oiling hands, where we won't have to sink our boreholes but fetch and drink water supplied by water corporation, where Nigeria Airways is the national carrier used by many with very sane air fares, where environmental Sanitation agencies clean every nook and cranny, clear gutters, empty dust bins and even provide bins in strategic places for people to throw refuse. I mean, where Fire service and emergency help lines are in order,not arriving one hour after a crisis.

Where this nation state as oil producers will sell PMS(premium motor spirit) and other petroleum products at an affordable rate; where government hospitals are equipped and people won't have to "kick the bucket" because of negligence and a care free attitude; where NEPA/PHCN supply uninterrupted power (and I weep right now) #hiss and all other like NTA, NN-acronym and NN-parastatals are JUST WORKING as it was when I was young....

My God, HAVE MERCY! This country should be a million miles away from where it is now.

Do I blame the government alone? NO! Should the government perform better than it is doing right now? An uncountable YES from ‎​​me.
But do Nigerians need to change their perspective and comments made about this country?YES. Can we make constructive criticism and join hands to build than stand back saying; "Nigeria issue no concern ‎​​‎​​me or I no wan get headache on top naija mata? YES.
Even if ‎​you live in the moon and ‎​your name is "Ada, Eno, Yetunde, Hassan, your roots will still be traced back to Nigeria, every time ‎​you hear there's fire in Niger Delta, killings in Aba/Onitsha or Northern Nigeria,you will hold your breathe making frantic calls, praying it doesn't reach your loved ones.

Don't mind my lamentation this early ‎morning. Its Ibhade's write up that's made ‎​​me think so deep and I've attached a paraphrased comment I dropped on hers;

"...No amount of the "it is well" cliche can change Nigeria except we all stand up and effect changes where we can. You may not agree with ‎​​me here but I believe our attitude(everyone)MUST change if Nigeria is to be like the Western countries ‎​​we compare it to. People live orderly lives there and choose to abide by laid down laws. If government isn't working hard at keeping Nigeria clean,some of us dirty it even more. ‎​You find stacks of refuse,bottles, pure water wraps,food wraps, name them in gutters and on streets. At times I marvel at how sane people can live in dingy squalors-365 days of their lives- waiting for government to come and clean their immediate environs. I pass by some restaurants, stalls in the market and almost puke.
We live like lawless people always waiting for the government. Now who's the government?There are ‎​you and ‎​​me who get into power and suddenly lose sight of their duties and problems in the land. There are those civil servants, neighbours etc who are dispassionate, lackadaisical,non chalant and passive about their jobs.

Our attitude must change as we play our part: Let's build our country with our words, Keep Nigeria clean, don't throw things on the road like a woman I sat with today who flung her gum on the road. In fact throwing things on the road and in gutters is a plague(sane educated or literate people throw gala wraps and bottles out of their cars). ‎​​We need to learn/keep simple laws or make laws to guide you e.g queue up everywhere and don't jump the line, obey traffic rules etc."

I don't mean to be pessimistic or sound critical,but I'm stating the facts while looking to God the final judge for help. As Ezekiel in the 37th Chapter was led to the valley of dry bones, I stand there now looking at my dear country like those bones saying LORD thou knowest what will become of this country in five years but I speak to the dry bones to LIVE amen. I pray ‎​you Lord to scatter the cabals, dissolve caucus and godfathers surrounding the seat of power hindering progress.

I know without a shadow of doubt that Nigeria is a few steps away from change and it shall stand amen.

I say as provoked;
"NIGERIA shall FLOURISH again amen. "

Saturday, June 11, 2011

In a nutshell...

I've not had so much time this week and each time I think of what to write,so many thoughts cloud my mind. This week has been very interesting,extremely challenging and perhaps hectic. With time,I'd like to share on this blog my personal experiences-lessons learnt in a short period of time- as a new business person striving against the odds like power failure and immobility yet forging ahead like a rugged soldier.

Though this post isn't to talk about the business I do but I'll like to mention briefly: I ​​​am a "fruit supplier/seller LOL who's out to encourage healthy eating. I have started supplying companies fruits in bowls for lunch breaks and as a healthy snack for the health conscious folks. So if ‎​you live in the Lagos environ,have this in mind that ‎​​we can cater for your events as well or supply fruits(either nicely chopped,or whole fruits in a basket) to ‎​you in the convenience of your ‎​​home and offices. ‎​​We are also getting ready to produce pure,fresh juices and smoothies in addition to our fruit baskets, fruit platters etc. ‎​​We encourage people too BLESS homes with fruits as the healthiest and best ‎​gift idea because we know the essence of staying alive by munching fruits. I'd like to talk about the importance of most fruits subsequently.
My business page on facebook is: ENYBEES KIOSK and I can be reached via email:enybeeskiosk@gmail.com or on 07065561595 :D #marketingstrategy

I'd also like to share the link below with ‎​you for your perusal:

http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-become-your-spouses-best-friend.html

Its an interesting read for ‎​married and intending couples to learn from. Happy reading.