SPEAK!

While watching a movie one night, the generator went off. It was at an interesting point in the movie so I pleaded with hubby to put it back on quickly. But that was not to be, as the fuse had gotten burnt (or something of the sort). Therefore, he was going to have to spend time fixing it. My children came downstairs and my son decided that he would lead us in praise and worship while we wait. So he started off and we sang and praised God. After about 10 minutes or thereabouts, he said it was time for worship. So, he led a worship song (He’s got the whole world in His hands LOL), after which he said “let us pray”. He led us in prayers and specifically prayed that the generator will be repaired and as soon as he was done and we said amen, the generator came on! Of course, we all cheered and hi-fived “Pastor D-boy” but the entire episode taught me an important lesson….

Faith speaks.

Totally unrelated to the story above you may say, but that singular action by my son in having so much faith in his prayers corroborated what God has been teaching me lately.

Recently I’ve had to revisit faith fundamentals. When you believe something in your heart, it flows out of your mouth. You invariably begin to speak about what you believe. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Believing without speaking is just hope. Hope is good because it gives you a picture of what you want and would like to see, but faith is what actually delivers that picture and translates it into reality. Anyone can have hope, that’s true. Many walk about hoping that tomorrow would be better. And as long as they keep hope alive (that’s a picture of a brighter tomorrow), hope may translate to that tomorrow they desire. But what separates us as believers from non-believers? It’s faith!

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) – Now faith is the substance of things HOPED for, the evidence of things not seen

Amplified version (AMP) – Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things HOPED for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

Did you see HOPE in that scripture above? Faith gives wings to your hope. And for faith to work, you have to speak! Speak based on the word of God. Speak what you believe of that word, and keep speaking to make that hope a reality. This doesn’t take the place of works, but you have to realise that works can fail but faith doesn’t fail.

2 Corinthians 4:13 (NKJV)
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.

Open your mouth and confess what you want to see regarding that situation. But make sure your confession is based on God’s word and make sure you’re constantly speaking that word.

Remember, a closed mouth is a closed destiny.

Speak!

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

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Logic? Naah!!!

I had problem with the toilet in my office. It was broken and I needed to get a plumber. Luckily for me, I had his number and I called him. I was in more ‘luck’ as he was just round the corner from the office and was free. In less that 20 minutes, he’d arrived to fix it. Told me what was wrong, I gave him money and he promptly went to get a replacement of the broken part, came back and fixed it all in less than an hour! I was pleased. Life is good! Hehe

Thanking God for early detection and fixing, I thought I had overcome…

I got to the office by afternoon the next day after an early morning meeting. Because I was moving house, I was going to take the rest of the day off but quickly remembered I needed to stop by the office to pick up something I had forgotten. As I brought out my keys, I felt water around my shoes. I panicked as I opened the door and yes, I was right – the whole office was flooded! And it came from the toilet the plumber fixed the day before! I was really upset, to say the least. What was the point of detecting the fault early enough, calling the plumber and ending up with the very same problem I was trying to avoid?

Then the Holy Spirit whispered to me. You see, I had had a nagging feeling to turn off the main inlet before leaving the office the day before but I felt there was no need to, the toilet had been fixed. I got home to realise that I had forgotten my charger  and it prompted me to go to the office the following day despite of the fact that I was tired and just wanted to go home after my meeting. And guess what? I called the plumber immediately I saw the flood and he was available again! He swiftly came by with some workers, fixed everything properly and helped to clean up the entire office.

You see, life can sometimes be difficult and you run to God for Him to fix things up. But there are times when you think you have it all figured out and actually apply all the ‘principles’ you know yet things still end up going the wrong way! Learn from the Samaritan woman. With each marriage gone wrong, she kept fixing it with another marriage. That seemed the most logical thing to do. But it kept messing her up. Sometimes, life defies logic. You need the wisdom of God to handle that situation! And though it may seem you have tried all that there is to try yet things go awry, remember the Holy Spirit could just conveniently ‘make you forget your charger’ and that leads you back to the place of wisdom!

And through it all, remember to have a heart of gratitude because Romans 8:28 is our constant reminder that He’ll sort it out. Hallelujah!

My thoughts?

Life sometimes defies logic
You can’t seem to figure it out
You need more than your own wisdom
To clear out all self doubt
When you’ve tried all you can
Yet don’t have all the answers
Remember God has it all planned for you
Just go to Him for the right answers

Personal study: John 4:1-42

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

 

God is God, God is good.

Paw Patrol (a cartoon) came up on TV and I heard an excited voice:

“Mommy, you have to watch this episode!”

When I hear such ‘instruction’ sometimes, I listen because it means I’m about to be schooled…lol. I wasn’t wrong.

This particular episode had been repeated over and over (as they tend to do on DSTV *eyes rolling*) and being that he had seen that episode before, my son asked me to pay attention to it and proceeded to tell me the story as it unfolded. A big purple egg was found astray somewhere and was rescued by Paw patrol. They got to realise it was a dinosaur’s egg. As I watched, my son said “Mommy watch closely. The egg will hatch and the baby dinosaur will come out crying for his mummy”. Then after a while he said, “It’s a good thing I have a Mommy so I don’t ever have to cry”

And I just ‘teared’ up in his place. Tears dropped down my cheeks because I felt so loved and trusted. He never has to cry? Of course he cries. But I think he was talking about a different kind of cry. The cry you have when you feel all alone and abandoned, like no one cares. the cry you have when you’re burdened and have no one to help, the cry of confusion, pain and hurt…

But to him, those cries don’t exist because Mommy is there as his shield! And Mommy can never do him evil. Isn’t it surprising that some of us think we know God yet have the wrong perspective of Him? Some people think that when something bad happens to them, then it must be God doing or permitting it simply because of a sin somewhere or something of the sort. Get this straight – God is good!!! And He only does good!!! The concept of a heavenly Father who sits back and watches bad things happen to you must be eradicated from your thinking! That is not who God is!

1st John 1:5 – This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Does my son cry? Oh yes he does. When he falls, or wants something or feels I’m not being fair or fights with his sister….etc, he will cry. But he never wavers in his trust for me through all that. He always believes Mommy is good and if anything bad were to happen, it would never be Mommy instigating it! That’s why the Psalmist said in that famous psalm:

Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

If He’s there with you in your darkest moments and pulls you through, does it make sense that He instigated it?? Of course not! The problem is we think about God in our human knowledge and judge Him the way we would a friend or family member…. Stop doing that!

Remember “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” – Lamentations 3:22(ESV) –

Remember this song by Don Moen?

God is good all the time
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
God is good all the time
Through the darkest night His light will shine
God is good
God is good all the time

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

The Spaghetti race

My children love spaghetti. On most days. Even well preferred to rice (except my Jollof rice of course, which is always the best ever). And I don’t like cooking or eating spaghetti, so I tend not to make it often.

But when I do, you need to see how excited they get. And you won’t believe the excitement lasts the whole day! They fall over themselves to see who eats the most spaghetti, and usually my son wins hehe.

Like the other day, he went about boasting that he had had 4 plates! 4 plates of spaghetti and he still wanted more. Well, the 4 plates were spread across the entire day so in essence he had spaghetti for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, saved me the stress of thinking about what to cook.

Can you boast of eating the word of God that voraciously? I can’t yet as I’m still a work in progress, so I would like to begin what I’ve tagged the “Spaghetti Race”. In essence, it’s the rush to see how much ‘spaghetti’ can be eaten and who gets to eat the most! (Now I wish WordPress had a ROTFL button, would have used it here) But seriously, how much of God’s word do I love and desire to take in?

Care to join me? Only replace the spaghetti with the Bible. Do you wonder why most Christians act the way they do? It’s because they have not been transformed by the Word. Oh, for a world of Christians who are Christ-like indeed. Well, that can happen – one ‘spaghetti-eating’ Christian at a time.

My thoughts?

The Bible is God’s word
Sharper than a two edged sword
Cuts through religion’s thin cord
So over your life make it Lord

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Psalm 119:105 – Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

Stop the snacking.

People ask me why and how I manage to stay so slim. One answer to that question is I don’t snack.

I love food, proper food that is. So I would rather eat a good plate of Jollof rice (it’s just got to be Jollof, right?) than have a  cookie and soft drink (soda), or even chocolates.

What is a snack?

It’s a light meal or an item of food eaten in between meals. In order words, it’s not your main meal for the day, but it kind of stops hunger pangs before the real deal. It’s also what you use to curb your ‘peckishness’.

Now there is healthy snacking and there is unhealthy snacking. I’m not talking about healthy snacking though.

The snag with having unhealthy snacks is it messes up your diet. So ideally we know we eat 3 times a day right? (or 5 small meals as some claim). However when you snack, it gives you the feeling of having satisfied your hunger for the time being till you have the main meal, whereas what you’re doing is being unhealthy in your diet! The effects? Unnecessary weight gain!

Some snack spiritually you know. They sense a hunger in their spirit and choose to snack – reading a verse or two here, a devotional there and articles on the internet sometimes. While this in itself is not wrong, it becomes unhealthy when it replaces the proper study of the Bible, when they should be eating the main meal! The result is a malnourished spirit, one that is unable to stand in the midst of trials, one that is unable to build faith, one that looks robust but is actually weak!

Did you not know that without faith it’s impossible to please God? Did you not know that faith comes by hearing (and reading) the word of God? Did you not know that solid meal is for the mature? When, then, are you going to grow up?

My thoughts?

Snacks are quite tempting
Giving temporary relief
But their effect can be deadly
That’s my honest belief
If you would just stick with proper meals
And stop the eating in between
You’ll make being healthy a big deal
And your spirit enjoys the win

 

Hebrews 5:14 (NIV)
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

 

You will be fine!

My daughter’s fish died.

It was a painful morning. We were preparing for school and she went to the kitchen to drop her plate after breakfast when I heard a piercing scream. Fearing the worst, I jumped up and was heading to the kitchen when she collided into me. With tears streaming down her face and sobbing uncontrollably, she managed to stutter the words “My fish is dead!”

Oh God, I watched my 8 year old experience pain and grief for the first time in her life and my heart broke. I tried to console her but she was totally inconsolable. I couldn’t promise to buy her a new fish because I didn’t even know where to get it from (she won this fish from her school’s excursion to a fish farm). So I made promises of all sorts – I’ll buy you something nice, I’ll take you to the mall. I’ll get you ice-cream……bla bla bla. I hugged her, I wiped her tears, I did all I could but she kept wailing and wailing. After sometime, I asked if she would prefer to stay at home and miss school, just to relief her grief. She chose to go. Then I told her “Darling, you’ll be fine. I promise”.

But she still cried. All the way to school, even after I dropped her off, she continued crying till after morning assembly (she told me this when she got back home after school).

When I left her, I said a prayer for her in my heart and asked the Holy Spirit to comfort her (What more could I have done?)

She came back home all smiles in the afternoon and said she actually felt better after assembly. Then she said “Mummy you were right. You kept your promise. You said I’ll be fine and I’m fine now”….and she hopped away.

It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me so much of this scripture:

Psalm 34:19

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all (KJV)

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time (NIV)

The righteous person has many troubles, but the LORD rescues him from all of them (GWT)

There would be trouble, and there would be afflictions as long as we live on earth. But if we are righteous (God’s righteousness in Christ Jesus), God promises to deliver and rescue His own from ALL OF THEM, ALL THE TIME.

It doesn’t really matter what it is, and how inconsolable you may seem at the moment. It may look like all hope is lost and you can’t make it this time. Your fish could have meant all the world to you, and now it’s gone. God always keeps His word. And His words are Yes and Amen. If He says He will come through, then He will come through.

I kept my promise to my daughter, though not of my own power. But I did say a word of prayer and God heard.

God ALWAYS keeps His promise. The ones contained in His Word. The scriptures He has given even before you were born.

His promise of healing, restoration, hope, promotion, relief, deliverance, breakthrough, salvation….the list goes on.

Trust Him. You will be fine.

Job 5:9 – He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted (NIV)

 

First written for Thypreciousjewels ’16

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

 

 

Mind power

Every time I think about someone, whether they are near me by location, or close to me by relationship, I almost always would get to hear from them within 2 days! No joke!

True life story.

So if I have been thinking about an old school mate, for example, I could end up commenting on a post on SM and the next thing you know, they comment after me or send me an inbox or something! It kind of used to freak me out.

Then I received sense.

If my mind was willing those people to me somewhat, what if I consciously began to use my mind to will things, events and people to me in the right way? Spooky you say?

I laugh!

I started thinking recently on how I could improve in something I was working on, then boom! I was at the airport and guess who chose to sit beside me in the waiting lounge? Fela Durotoye! (Please google him if you don’t know him). And for the next one hour (with series of phone interruptions of course), he schooled me in the very area I needed help with, for free! I politely asked him if I could write as he spoke and he was more than happy to oblige me!

Mind power!

I have just discovered a great gift God has given me. It probably has been there all along, I just never used it as I should.

And you have it too.

How do I know? Cos the bible says “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” – Proverbs 23:7

You think it with your mind, you will it to yourself, you have it and become it.

Simple!

We hear it preached all the time, maybe just never this way

Philippians 4:8-9* has never hit me so hard!

My thoughts?

The mind is too powerful
To leave and run idle
You can achieve things wonderful
Once you fill it with words from the Bible
Your thoughts can form your life
What you think, you attract
So fill up your heart with the words of life
And watch as you expand and not contract

*Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message Translation)

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

Are your senses awake?

I went to the salon with my daughter. While we were being attended to, my daughter wanted some water to drink. I asked one of the salon attendants to help us get a bottle of water from the shops. When she brought it, it didn’t look like a ‘fresh’ bottle of water. The bottle was slightly bent out of shape and the label was rough. I cracked a joke about it looking like it was filled with water from a well down the road and we all laughed. Anyway, rather than ask the girl who purchased the water to return it and get me another one, I felt it was too much of a stress seeing that the bottle was sealed. I opened it, took a sip from it (just to check if it was okay) and passed it on to my daughter.

Now my daughter has an awesome sense of smell. What ordinary people would not perceive, she would smell from afar. As she lifted the bottle to her lips, she froze and said “Mummy, this water smells!” (so much for me tasting it, right?) I hadn’t perceived any smell, but what happened was I had ignored all the physical signs I’d seen…

How many times do you ignore warning signs you see about someone and afterwards get burned? How many times have you ignored that tug in your spirit about that business venture simply because it looked ‘okay’? How many times have you thought to yourself “this doesn’t look right, but maybe I’m overanalysing things”.  That’s why we have the Spirit of God! Our spirit is supposed to be connected to that ultimate Spirit who tells us what, how, where, when and with whom to do. Without the Spirit’s direction, we are lost! Looks are deceptive, they say but there is also a saying that you don’t judge a book by its cover! How do you know when to apply which saying if your spirit isn’t sensitive?

I made a wrong judgement by thinking since the bottle was sealed, the water was good. I was wrong. Thank God for my daughter’s sense of smell. Which reminds me…what fragrance are you emanating? How do you smell to others? And how is your sense of smell?

2nd Corinthians 2: 15 (NLT) – Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.

Romans 8:16 – The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Galatians 5:16 – So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

My thoughts?

Open your eyes to see
Open your ears to hear
Open your mind and conceive
But above all,
Open your spirit to perceive

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2017

iTestify!!! – 4

UNDESERVED FAVOUR!

I sat in that waiting room, apprehensive. I had arrived a little early for an interview in this Company I totally had no idea of. I received a call 3 days earlier inviting me for this interview and the lady who called asked me to research all I could about the Company before coming. In that waiting room, I saw about 9 other people to be interviewed for the same position. And they all knew someone within the premises, because I saw some of the staff come out and exchange pleasantries with them. I sighed. How on earth am I going to still my frayed nerves? I was so jittery I went to the toilet, twice!

My turn eventually came. I was number 4 or 5 now, I can’t remember. I went in and faced a panel of foreigners and only 2 Nigerians. That made my tummy churn in knots but I was determined not to show it. I smiled a big smile and got down to work…Was the interview easy? I don’t know but I know I answered the questions to the best of my ability.

---

I had just gotten home after an hour and half of traffic. I was tired and hungry and was just about to open my front door when my phone rang. It was the same lady who called me to invite me for the interview. “They want you to come back immediately”, she said. “They will wait for you no matter how long it takes you to get back”.

I was surprised and even more apprehensive. Several things passed through my mind and I wondered what I was going to meet but I decided to pray all the way back to the Organisation. I got there almost 2 hours later and I was fagged out! As soon as I got there, the receptionist asked me to go upstairs immediately. “They’ve been waiting for you”, she said. I got to the door, knocked and as I stepped in, there was clapping and cheering! The interview panel stood up on their feet and started congratulating me – first for making it back, and then for getting the job! Apparently foreign delegates loved me so much that they wanted me to come back so they could offer me the job in person! One of them was travelling back that night and she said “I’m so glad I met you and I look forward to seeing you next month at our Head Office for training”.

I also learnt that out of all the candidates who showed up, I was the only one without a Masters degree or a University degree! But they wanted me so much that they refused to interview any of the other candidates after me so they won’t be forced to change their minds! They only agreed to interview everyone much later when they learnt it would take me almost 2 hours to get back to them and they didn’t want to stay idle.

TALK ABOUT DIVINE FAVOUR!

I was shocked, overwhelmed, flabbergasted, in awe….all the adverbs you could think of. When I came to my senses and managed to get my tongue working, they sent me into mute mode again as they reeled out their offer and the total package. And just like that, from being jobless and hopeless for almost one year, I became a Regional Manager at Mid Management level in an International Organisation! And it had nothing to do with my qualifications!

My tears of joy knew no bounds. I can’t begin to tell you how much I had suffered, how I had searched for jobs and none seemed forthcoming. I literally spent my days crying, praying and hoping. And yet it seemed nothing was happening. I was low on money and had even borrowed the money I used to transport myself to the interview that morning but I kept hoping and God surpassed my expectations!

I have since settled into my job and have several promotions even after that but every time I think about what God did and how I started, I stand in awe of how great God is!

I have since learnt that God is no respecter of persons. If He dis it for me, He can do it for ANYONE. Indeed, He is the only one who can turn any life around. To Him be all the glory!

Testimony as shared by O.D.O

Psalm 126:1-6

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
The Lord hath done great things for us; and we are glad.
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goes out and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

iTestify – Real life, real issues, real testimonies, REAL GOD!

Get ready for a deluge of hope, stirring up faith in God!

©Debywrites 2016

 

Finish well, finish strong.

When I had my first child, I was in the hospital for 20 hours. Got in at 2am and didn’t have her till 10pm at night!

I went through all the stages of childbearing and labour and though it was slow and steady, I experienced the pain nonetheless. Throughout my stay that day, I was attended to by the night nurse, then the morning nurse, the afternoon nurse, and finally, the evening/night nurse again! I sat through 4 shifts and it wasn’t easy. I gritted my teeth in pain, I swallowed my screams, I persevered. I’m one of those with high pain threshold so yes, looking at me you would think I was having a field day but I wasn’t!

The afternoon nurse looked at me on resuming her shift and said “You mean there’s a pregnant woman in this hospital about to give birth and we can’t hear the screams? Ah ahn, you never start o”. I smiled and told her “I have started and this is how I will remain” She nodded condescendingly.

When the night nurse took over, by which time I was almost signing the consent form for a C.S, she looked at me and said “You are strong in the Lord, I can see that. You will have this baby. Don’t give up now. Let’s do this together”. Needless to say, God used her for me and I had my baby effortlessly not too long after that.

During my 20 hours, another pregnant woman came in, had her baby in a short time and was sent off to the ward afterwards. A shorter labour period, yes, but though I started before her, she had her baby before me but that didn’t stop me from having my baby eventually!

You may not be where you thought you should be. You may have started off before a lot of your peers or even started off together but it now seems like they have left you behind. You are gritting your teeth in pain, bearing the disappointments in silence, licking your wounds and looking all forlorn and it seems you’re being overtaken over and over again! But that you started and others have passed you by, while it seems you are crawling doesn’t make you a failure! That you are experiencing pain doesn’t mean it will never end. God is too faithful to leave you to it all by yourself. And even when people come with all sorts of negative and non encouraging comments (like the afternoon nurse), rest assured that God will send you the one who will lift up your hands and stand with you through it (the night nurse).

In the midst of it all, it is your confidence in the Lord that pulls you through. As long as you keep your eyes on the goal (in this case having my baby), you can be sure you will finish well and strong. God is on your side. Trust Him!

Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Psalm 30:5 – For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning

My thoughts?

He makes all things beautiful in its time
Though it feels today your life is not worth a dime
All you need to do is just patiently wait
Rest assured, He can never be late
What might seem like an endless delay
Is God’s grace bringing His best your way

Originally written for Thypreciousjewels 2016

God’s blessings!
©Debywrites 2016