Who is my Neighbour?

I remember from way back year 2000/1 when I signed up for the Accounting Technician Scheme classes in my Country. One of the modules I had to write was Business Law. And I can almost picture my lecturer standing in front of the class in his suit asking "who is my neighbour?". The definition he gave us was : Your neighbour is anyone affected by your actions. And may I add "your inaction"

These days, we are all so busy with our lives; jobs, businesses, children, husbands, academics, that we barely notice what is going on in the other person's life.  'Everyone is busy' is  mostly the excuse for our inaction and nonchalant attitude towards the next person. And that's a fact; everyone is busy but I think it's not too much to take a break from our busy lives once in a while to be a blessing to the next person. Most of us don't even say hello to our next-door neighbour. How would we know if something went terribly wrong with the person and we needed to call an ambulance to save his or her life if we cared less?

It's important to note that it's not only our actions that hurt; our refusal to act or negligence can equally hurt deeply. You can imagine a situation in which the response of a witness to a crime scene could either make or mar the life of the accused. A refusal of the witness to speak in that situation can have grave consequences on the defendant.

So I urge us today to act, to show love, to speak up! It is popularly said that "silence means consent". If you are silent about what you should have spoken against or people you should have spoken for, it means you agree to the situation. Of course, when dealing with such issues and people in general, wisdom is to be applied.

I'll leave you with the admonition of Jesus : Love your neighbour as yourself. Mark 12:31

Life Happens

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? When it seems like you are doing all you can but things aren’t going as planned. When lives throws dung at you. When you feel judgment in the tone of your so-called loved ones?

I’ve realized that life itself isn’t fair…you don’t get what you deserve, you claim what you deserve. You might think you’ve done all you could possibly do to change the situation but trust me, there’s still something out there that you can explore to effect a change.

What if it’s an emotional situation- you lost someone dear, your fiancée broke off your engagement, your son doesn’t want to see you or you are just depressed - nothing that was really your fault? Like I said, life doesn’t hand you what you deserve.

I would think the first thing I need to do is to accept the fact I need help. And as a Christian, my principal source of help is the Holy Spirit. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle. The Holy Spirit is called The Helper. He will give me ideas as to what else to do to change my situation and feel better. He also comforts us – for those who lost someone or something dear.

I could also seek counsel from trusted friends who have overcome such situations. I could associate myself with people that can help me. Ask for tips, read books. Some of us are too proud to do this. The earlier we seek help, the better. No man is an island.

Another is changing one’s mindset. Some of us are of the opinion that nothing good happens to them. I remember one of my classmates who is of the mind that if something good was happening to others, before his turn, it’ll turn bad. If gifts are being shared, before his turn, it’ll finish. Change your mindset, change your thoughts and you’ll change your life! Have a can-do attitude. Have a success-prone mindset. Don’t accept that you can’t change something. If you don’t like a situation, change it. If you don’t like your weight, do something about it. If you are depressed, cheer up. If your business is failing, try another. Ensure you get the necessary training though.

It’s never too late to change a situation. As it is said “the only constant thing about life is Change”

I am changing…I hope you do too.

HOW WAS YOUR VAL'S DAY?

I'm can imagine that a number of us got mesmerised by our loved ones on that special day dedicated to love and lovers. I know this piece isn't on Valentine's day but hey, it's not too late to share our experiences. Let me share mine with you...

I had imagined the day being so romantic with prospects of a dinner with my husband and exchange of gifts. Although these somewhat happened, they did not go the way I expected at all. I just relocated to another country and my husband would rather I don't go out on my own considering the fact that I'm not yet mobile. So first of all, squeezing out time to get his gift was a challenge. Eventually, I had a window on Val's day and so when he came home for lunch break, I gave him the gift. He really appreciated it and said mine was on the way. Yay!!!

Later, I realised that the hope for a nice romantic dinner had been dashed by an official meeting fixed for Valentine's day evening! Who does that? :( It was only when he got back in the evening that I got to know the meeting was cancelled at the last minute (but was too late for us to go for the dinner) and that HE DIDN'T HAVE MY GIFT! Earlier in the day, we got to know that a mutual friend of ours took ill and was in the hospital for a medical operation! And guess what? My husband kept my gift at this friend's place so I don't find it in the house! So that was it! Neither dinner nor gift for me. I got a card though. How unexciting for our first Valentine's day as a married couple.

Later in the evening, I encouraged my partner that we go and check on the guy at the hospital. Coupled with the fact that we didn't know the way to the hospital, we didn't know which ward he was in. So we went about perambulating like 'aimless' people. The big size of the hospital didn't help matters. Eventually, we located our friend and was told the operation went well, thank God. We spent a considerable amount of time with him, chatting and making him smile. So as God would have it, on Valentine's day, we ended up showing love to a man who had neither family nor close friends in a strange land. It wasn't what you would call an ideal Valentine's day but it was so fulfilling. I personally had a realisation.

Actually, what is an ideal Val's day? Is it one in which we are carried away in our own little world of loving and giving to those that than can give us back or one in which we extend a loving hand to those that are less-privileged? This is a clarion call to everyone out there to look beyond your little circle to a wider one in which you can be a blessing to others and make them feel loved. Such people could range from motherless babies to those in prisons to that guy you pass by on the street every morning. Let's go back and think...Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14 paraphrasing ...when you have a banquet or dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbours, people that can return the favour but invite people who never get invited to such things - the misfits from the wrong side of tracks. Then you'll be-and experience-a blessing. They can't repay you but God will at the resurrection of the righteous.

So good people, let's go around and show some love and not just on Valentine's day! By the way, at the end of the day, we had access to our friend's flat and was able to get my gift :) I gave then I received! And errrm...our dinner happened later in the week :)

Feeling drab :(

Right...so I woke up this morning feeling drab. Deep within me is the feeling that I need to do more with my life than I'm currently doing. I reckon there are people out there who can identify with this feeling. I have acquired some academic and professional qualifications which some will think commendable but I ask "where do all these come in?" How do they all roll into that beautiful life I had imagined? Surely not by feeling sorry for myself and wondering when it'll be my turn. So now is the time to practice what I preach. Remember the last post? I talked about praise, turning to praise when it seems all else has failed and things are not going the way you expected. It's difficult but that's what a 'sacrifice of praise' is all about. So I kicked into praise- started playing my favourite praise tracks and all...This (writing) is also one of my therapies :)

Thankfully I received a piece from a friend this morning encouraging me to mine the gold within. It's amazing how little things that are not working in our lives becloud us from appreciating the other big things that are working and we have taken for granted. The mole hills also prevent us from showcasing our rare talents. Can I advice that you make a list of things that are working and those not working on a sheet and compare? More often than not, the working stuffs rank higher. I got this idea from the movie ' Why did I get married?' I think it's the practical expression of the hymn 'Count your blessings'. Ok, so I'm off to do the same!

Ciao!

My 'swaggerlicious' ESIARP!

Hey people,

I think it's in order to say HAPPY NEW YEAR at this moment! It's the first post of the year and I believe they'll be more regular this year ;)

I'm sure a lot of us are back into the full swing of work, school or whatever our businesses are. Most of us started off the year enthusiastic like me but it's likely there are signs of things not going as we desired or planned already. No 1, it's pretty early to say that, there's still a lot of time to make up! and No 2, I've got a word for you - Keep the praise up! When all else fails, try praise.

I for one have learnt from personal experiences that praise attracts, delivers and preserves answers to prayers. One of my favourite songs is titled "I NEVER LOST MY PRAISE" and can be found on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOkwUKn_gfc . The song speaks volumes and I advice that in the midst of all, never let go of praise cos God inhabits it and if God is with you, then what's the thing that can stand in your way? NOTHING! So be encouraged, we've got a year ahead of us.

You may ask 'why are you sounding all spiritual?' Cos I love God and I guess it's ok to start off a year this way! So praise the Lord with me!

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All in the mind

Hey all,

Sure your week has been good and all the bank holidays fantastic! Speaking of holidays, I think the mood somehow found its way into my mind and I've been getting up later that usual in the last two days. Having finished most of my business, I slept last night setting my alarm for 7.30 am this morning. The alarm went off, I got it but somehow slept back only to wake up at 11.30am! OMG, I jumped out of bed wondering why no one has called me at this time of the day (which would have woken me up) and then started scolding myself. A couple of days ago, I was still pushing the phrase 'a little sleep, a little slumber...and poverty will come on you...' into my head and now this!

Anyway, I decided to start my day and put on my laptop only to check the time on it and it was 8.24am! I checked my phone to confirm and it was positive! Yes, it was later than when I should have got up but not as bad as I thought. Then I remembered that the wall clock stopped working last night! Phewwww! I narrated this to my friend and he said 'now you'll agree with me that it's all in the mind'. He says this a lot but never agreed with him but for a second this morning, I thought about. It was what the clock communicated to my mind that made me jump out of bed!

What are you allowing into your mind through your senses - hearing, seeing, feeling etc ? What kind of materials do you read, watch or listen to? What you feed your mind with or allow to sip in influences your actions and what you think about yourself . A man is as he thinks in his heart so

let's be mindful of what we allow through. You might say 'I listen to and watch the right things' but how do you respond to things flying around - someone talking you down and probably calling you a failure, violence, poverty and so on? The responsibility is ours to sieve what we allow in. We should throw the negatives out filling our hearts and minds with words of encounragement and the word of God which is able to build us up. I bet we'll surely be better for it! I am continually working on this aspect of my life 'cause it affects every other thing!

Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life (Proverbs 4: 23 NLT).

See ya!

InSpiratioN

Ok, I know it's been almost two months that I published a post last. I already mentioned in my first post that I am not so good at keeping diaries and things like that but here I am again. I didn't just decide to write today, nope. I was reminded that I had a blog by reading another guy's blog. It was good and so I got inspired.

Speaking of inspiration, where do you get yours from? I watched a movie yesterday titled 'Invictus'. The major character in that movie, who was imprisoned for 27 years before his release and subsequent election as president, mentioned that whenever he felt like giving up in the prison, he drew inspiration and encouragement from the poem written by William Henly in 1875 titled Invictus. I'm sure we all draw inspiration from different sources. I'll be glad if you could share yours with me in the comment section.

I can not deny the fact that I am a believer and without sounding cliche, my number one source of inspiration is the Holy Spirit. Many a time when I really need a bright idea, He drops it in my mind either through a verse of the scripture, something I have read, heard or watched. It's amazing.

When I was in Uni , I used to take walks to quiet places around the campus and engage in deep thoughts to crack something. It worked! It worked almost all the time. Come to think of it, I haven't done that in a while. I should return to it but that does not mean I have not been inspired lately. These days I just lie on my bed and think prayerfully or think on paper especially for designs for my craft. Some other times, I get inspired from the smallest things like staring at the sky, looking at drawings (I like art) or pictures, staring at a crowd, in a lecture and especially while listening to people. Something about them just drops an idea in my mind. It's beautiful!

Of all these sources, my best is the holy spirit and of course he can do the same for you if only you would invite Jesus into your heart. If you already have, that's the greatest decision you ever made and you sure will understand what I'm talking about.

The most beautiful thing about inspiration is its application. Whenever one sees the result of what one used the inspiration for, it brings great joy - talking from experience. As a final note, don't just get inspired, inspire others!

Alright then, till I get inspired to write again :)

Golding me.