Peace of Mind.

Your heart is the first conflict zone; it is where your feelings and desires clash with each other. It is the melting pot of all your fears, your hopes, your trusts and distrusts, love and jealousy.

The character of every man should reflect love, after which there must be peace for the individual to live life to the fullest. Unless peace rules in your life, love cannot reign because it is the condition of the mind that determines the perception of one’s life. Your state of mind will control the state of your affairs and peace must begin from the heart in order that it may be expressed outwardly because the heart is the first battlefield for peace.

A person without a clean mind will always read between the lines. They see things that are not, they are always causing trouble because they lack peace of mind, happiness is out of their reach and they are always troublesome. A peaceful mind promotes tolerance, respect, trust and peaceful co-existence. Anytime you do not have peace of mind about a decision you are about to make, don’t be in a hurry to act or react. You need to have peace in your life, home and family before you can preach peace to others.

The only true source of peace is our Lord Jesus, II Thess 3: 16, “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.”

The power of peace can only be experienced through the Lord Jesus because the Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.

Shalom.

The Unforgiving Spirit.

I watched a drama recently, which centred on an old man who lost his only son while returning from abroad with his family in a robbery incident. His closest friend who was assisting him with the move was accused of the crime and he was sentenced to death.

When the old man knew who was responsible, he refused to be consoled and insisted that the culprit be severely punished. He vowed never to forgive and he also sworn to deal with him, saying that if he were God, he would have killed the culprit without allowing him the benefit of a trial, WOW!

The son’s friend later died in police custody under mysterious circumstances. Everybody including the police now thought the old man had carried out his threat; he was also condemned without a hearing.

We need to be careful about the things we say; life and death are in the power of the tongue. It is better to be quiet than to say things that could put us in trouble. There is nothing like an unforgivable sin, remember, that you sin everyday and God forgives, simply by asking him to forgive you. Why not learn to forgive and forget.

If you are the kind of person that never forgives nor forgets, then you should be careful not to sin because you will never receive forgiveness. Also anyone with an unforgiving spirit will only end up hurting himself.

To err is human and to forgive is divine.

Polygamy, what a life!

Recently I met an old friend of my whom I have not seen for years. At first glance I could not recognise her because of marked changes in her physique, personality and even looks. She was once a beautiful black woman, who was always impeccably groomed, she also had lots of confidence in herself and her looks.

I was at a market trying to buy some items when I heard someone timidly called out my name. I looked back and I asked how I might help her, she then introduced herself, and I instantly recognised her voice even though it no longer sound confident and vibrant. I could not believe my eyes, I quickly drew her aside and asked her about all our mutual friends so as to confirm she is truly who she claim to be. It was then I asked her about the changes in her. I could not the story she told me.

"After youth service, I decided to work for a while so I can get myself organised before Mr Right came. I secured employment with a small oil servicing firm, a very promising job, good salary and great conditions of service. In the course of working I met the CEO of the firm and he showed an interest in me, I was too awed to say no because he was very rich and owns several small companies, filling stations and some other interests abroad. I sought the opinions of other friends and I was advised to accept him if I still want to retain my job. I was undecided because he was a divorcee and even had children in the university. I finally gave in and the relationship bloomed so much so that he proposed to me, I refused and of course he pampered me so much that I eventually gave in and after a while I found out I was pregnant for him. I was devastated because even though he had proposed, my parents were not aware of the relationship; they simply believed my job paid so well that I could afford all the luxury I had and even travel on out of the country on vacations.

The matter came to a head when the pregnancy started to show, we decided that he should visit my parents with members of his family to ask for my hand in marriage. When my mum heard, she was devastated, she cried herself sick because she entered into a polygamous home when she knew no better. She became a Christian in the course of the marriage and vowed that none of her children will ever go into polygamy as long as she was alive.

We did a small traditional marriage and I moved into his house full time. It was then I realised that the wife he claimed to have divorced still live under the same roof with him. I did not know this because he got a big apartment that was well furnished for me, which was where I stayed until few months after the marriage when I vehemently decided to move into his house before delivery. My friend, I saw hell, the first wife was a firebrand, in fact from what I heard from some of the servants, she has sent several other women the man married packing and the ones that refused to leave died mysteriously. By then I was scared, afraid for my life and it was then my eyes opened and I realised I have messed up my life.

I was delivered of a baby girl, and from that moment on never had peace for one moment unless when I was outside the home. I had no one to turn to, my mum had made it clear that she had no hand in it and if it backfires I should not call on her. The few friends I had are not Christian and they started taking me round in the hope of finding peace in the home. Our husband dies in the process and that was when I was sent packing by the woman with the help of other members of our husband’s family whom she had bribed.

I was now back to square one, they did not allow me take anything except items belonging to my daughter. That was how I came to be moving from one friends house to the other seeking for help. Those friends that advised me back then were the first ones to deny me, I was told they did not want me to snatch their husbands from them. I saw you while packing the car and I quickly decided to take my chances and see if you can only help me to get a job with which I can take care of my child.”

Very tragic! Now she needed to know what to do next, is she to sue the woman for her daughter’s share of the property since the man made no will? Or what?

My advice to her is to first and foremost, give her life to the Lord Jesus and forget about her daughter’s share of whatever the man left. She should try and get her life back and that means she has to go back to the woman to collect her belongings from the house, especially her credentials.

Please, reasonable advice is urgently needed.

Introducing Gorgeous Praise Oreoluwa.

Oreoluwa is my daughters native name, it means Gift of God or Gods gift. She is indeed a gift to us from the Lord almighty. She is 4months old and a continual source of joy to our family. She always has a wonderful smile for everyone.

I just can’t help introducing her to my blog friends, who constantly asks after her and always want to know how she is faring.

Here are her latest Pics.

Happy viewing!

Jealousy, the price a loser pays to a winner.

That is not the dictionary meaning of jealousy, just an analogy. The meaning from dictionary.com is jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself.

Jealousy is always the fear that something, which we hold dear, will be taken away by another person. Jealousy can apply to every areas of our lives; our jobs, our possessions, fame, business success / acumen, excellent grade, or our reputations, even though the word is more often used to describe the anxiety that comes when we are afraid that the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable and successful.

If we all agree that all men are not born equal, some have a measure of charisma, which the other lacks. Some have lovable personalities others don’t. I have traits that are quite different from my husband’s and children’s, if I understand this and the fact that when God created us all, he deposited different grace in every one of us, then i will have no reason to be envious, it breeds jealousy. In matt 25:14-30 the master gave talents to all the servants according to their predetermined abilities. This simply tells us that we all have resources, talents, grace and ability to make it and be whoever or whatever we want to be; our success is not dependent on any man except God. I have this understanding and that is why is very easy for me not to be bothered by issues like page rank, links to popular blog, number of visitor and other blogging promotional related issues.

Don’t get me wrong; they are good if they are achieved by pure hardwork and not by copying other successful bloggers posts in other to draw the same traffic to your otherwise unknown blog. Begging for links is also wrong, when I started blogging, I thought the best way to move ahead is by begging bigger blogs for links, some of the big blogs even offer to sell their links in exchange for money, it’s totally wrong! They also started blogging the same way every other blogger started and over time with lots of dedication, self-discipline, hardwork and focus became bloggers to reckon with.

In general, a jealous person feel happy when the rival is experiencing pains, failure, heartbreak, disappointment simply because, what makes the person better than him is being taken away from the person. I read somewhere than the first major sign of jealousy is when it’s easier to show sympathy and weep with those who weep than it is to exhibit joy and rejoice with those who rejoice.

I have learned that if I work hard enough I will get that which is due to me without any struggle other than the hardwork I have invested. I don’t need to envy that which another person has.
A jealous person ends up hurting no one but himself.

Let us take heed.

Happiness.

These days when we see some couple and think, oh these people are happy, we may not know otherwise. A lot of couples are having difficulties in their marriages, but out in public they pretend to be happy because they want to maintain appearances and that is the more reason why we have a lot of Christian separation and divorces.

Most Christians have forsaken God; they have handed over the reigns of control in their homes to materialism and worldliness through which they have also invited sorrow, failure, and regrets into their homes forgetting that happiness is not found in pleasure, happiness is not found in position and fame, it is not found in money, neither is it found in cheap glory.

I am exceptionally moved by so-called men and women of God who allowed themselves to be cornered into divorcing their spouses, they were suppose to know better, pray better and try to work out issues that may lead to divorce before it degenerated further. What do they tell their flocks, which reasons do they give for divorce? How can such men continue to lead their flock when they have already disobeyed God?

Genuine happiness can only be achieved when we truly love, honour and care for each other, always considering our partner’s interest before our own. Living a life full of kindness and good deeds.

Marriage is not always a bed of roses; there will be the usual ups and downs, which we must learn to deal with maturely and with wisdom. Couples must be willing and ready to forgive each other for not living up to each other’s expectations and accept the differences in our personality and character; it is only by this that some measure of happiness could be attained.

We need to learn to live with each other happily for the sake of our children. It is quite easy to pass a wrong message across by our attitude to each other.

Shalom!

Uncontrollable Greed.

Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. It has driven people to do things that were unconventional; it has pushed others to commit unforgivable sins against God and man. It has also being known to make some give up their families, abandon their spouses with children, withhold testimony in a court of law in order to let a murderer go free and even kill in order to satisfy their greedy.

Greed is said to be the logical result of the belief that we have to grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it very hard so that others don’t snatch it from us. A greedy person can go to any length to get what they want, it could be greed for food, fame, praise, knowledge, wealth, position etc. People have even been known to involve in ritual killings, human sacrifices and all in other to make money, win an election, or simply for protection from assumed enemies. People in the grip of greed are often not able to control themselves, they just want to acquire more and more of whatever it is they crave, not caring whom they hurt in the process.

And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them 2 Pe 2:3

For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; he does not let anything he desires escape. Job 20:20

That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit. Jer 6:13

But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression. Jer 22:17

Watch Out, a greedy person is usually a dangerous person and often times a killer.

Discouragement Is Dangerous.

Paths without obstacles don’t lead anywhere. To be an achiever, one will have to go through some tough times. The best approach to this is to refuse to be discouraged by temporary setbacks like barrenness, disappointments in relationship, marital problems, lack of promotion, unemployment and so on.

If you are going through tough times, don’t worry because circumstances are not your master. You can always take the measure of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him/her. Remember that adversity is the mother of invention and difficulty give birth to opportunity. Discouragement can kill like a poison, it is dangerous. If your life is filled with difficulties one after another, then you need to seek the face of God in prayers, he is the only solution to a difficult life.

Ask God to reveal His purpose in allowing difficulties in your life. That's a legitimate question to ask. Often, the answer comes in the process of dealing with your circumstance.

"Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." (James 1:2-4).

Arte Y Pico.

I received this award few weeks back from Channelofhealing. I must confess that almost all the award this blog received was from channelofhealing. I am indeed grateful for yet another one.

Arte Y Pico award …is given to those who inspire others with their creative energy and talents in writing, artwork, design or contributions to the blogging community. It originated from Arte Y Pico …. Which Loosely translates to, “Wow? The Best Art. Over "

The “official instructions” are as follows:

1. Pick five blogs you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Name each nominee and link to his/her blog.

3. Show the award and include the name (and link to his/her blog) of whoever presented you with this award.

4. Be sure to link to the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone knows the origin of this award.

Here are my picks for this award.

Elder Larry C. Scott for http://marriagegodsway.blogspot.com/

Nijawife for http://anijawife.blogspot.com/

Solomonsydelle for http://www.solomonsydelle.com/

Wits an Wisdom for http://www.ayodeleajiboye.com/

A proverb 31 woman wannabe for http://msp31wannabe.blogspot.com/

How well do you know your children!

Our children are our best assets, but when they are unknowingly neglected on the premise of work or trying to provide for the family by either the father or mother and in some cases by both parent, the children tend to fend for themselves and along the way, develop all sorts of character and vices that the parents are not aware of. They mixed with friends that the parents may not approve of because there is no supervision from their parent and even when the parent’s are at home they show little concern for the friends their children make, the magazines they read, or the TV programs they watch.

Often times, these children are left in the care of househelps or relatives who do not care what the children do to keep themselves busy as long as they are not pestering. Some of these children suffer a lot at the hands of the people they are trusted with, of course, their parents may not know anything about it especially for those too young or those that are not bold and wise enough to report to their absent parents. And for those children in their teens, they are taught a lot of bad things which these children may accept as normal without question or are made to believe that if such are made known to their parents they will be punished or they may be construed as telling tales.

Some of these children lose their innocence without the parent’s knowledge; they matured quickly into adulthood as a result of keeper’s bad influence, peer pressure and unhealthy exposure to TV and Internet because the parent did not exercise either a positive or negative control over their usage. Because they are also made to fend for themselves for such a long time while the parents are busy making money, they are forced to take critical decisions on their own. Some of those children exposed to child abuse are those left in the care of others by their parents, they grow up being rebellious, degenerates, child abusers, perverts, and renown sex offenders.

Parents must take care, it is good to work and make money for your family but not at the expense of the child, a parent’s responsibility is not to his child’s happiness; but to his character.

Parents should not allow their own interests to keep them from taking the time to talk, listen, admonish and instruct their children on what they should know, if they do, they will seek answers from others outside and they may not always get the right answers.

Parents should also know that, if their children were constantly left in the care of others, the children would start to avoid them and they may eventually have problems getting attached to their parents.

Lastly, parents should learn to balance time at work with time spent with their children.

Peace!