December 17, 2009

Random Thoughts


Today, I simply feel like freestyling, too many topics fighting in my mind for attention, I don’t want to be bound by one topic. As I reminisce over the last 11 months of this amazing year, my heart swells with gratitude to God, and is slightly punctuated by unexpressed tears gathering momentum in my tear sac. My mind is well trained, not to ask the questions for which the answers are clear. Today is (I can’t seem to use past tense) my mum’s birthday, and oh, how I miss calling her and and hearing her reassuring voice.  So today, I just want to well it out from my heart, demonstrate gratitude by counting the blessings that can be counted in public, sharing the bitter sweet lessons, and giving everybody a reason to have hope, to trust and to obey.
Mummy’s Day
It’s my mum’s day today, and though I know the righteous do not die, they sleep, I miss her.  If you read the two articles I wrote at the time of her departure in the second half of this year, you’ll see what an enigma she was. Sweet mother and Lessons from the life of my mum. Interestingly however, even though fast asleep from this current existence, she’s more alive than many who still have breath, or how do you reconcile these things. On my Fathers birthday for example, my mum’s phone suddenly comes back to live and starts beeping and alarm, on the face of the phone was a cake and lights and a message – Jo’s (meaning sweetheart) birthday! My father was happily shocked and told me about it, in my mind the phrase that rang – “Still relevant!”. A few weeks ago, my dad asked me to tell any of my friends coming to Lagos to him, that my mum’s farm of Yams have just been harvested and he wants to send the yam to all the children (we) and siblings.  We are still eating the yam from my mum’s farm, it’s a lot of yam as it was a huge farm, in my mind? Still relevant! You are alive and well, are you relevant? Who are you relevant to? Is your life relevant to now, and are you living to be relevant in eternity?Relationships
Whenever I think about this year, one of the things I’m most grateful for are the people God has brought into my life. Please understand that whatever God will deliver into your hands must come via the vehicle of people, value will change hands till that which you desire comes to you. He who is seperated from all relationships is on the pathway to ruin. This year has been a great year for me in the context of relationships. I’m in a friendly relationship with so many great people, my personal accessible network has doubled. I have also added value to more people than I have ever, travelled more widely and simply enjoyed the company of family and friends who last year were total strangers. The door to my abundance is wide, there are many channels through which the divine can cause my desires to reach me. It’s worth every clap and shout of praise.
Are you conciously adding value to people? Are you building quality relationships? Or is this your year of  ”My Job first”? Poeple are our connectors with our possibilities, they are the access points through which our desires are delivered, they are our options. Don’t let work clubber you into a position where all that is left with you, are the people you are forced to work with, who don’t like you very much and who you don’t send either.
Opportunities
I had a few great opportunities this year, I also had many not so good opportunities. What I have learnt however is that if one is great it sometimes covers for 20 others.  One success wipes away the memory of many failures. The challenge is not in failing, it is stopping short of success.  This year has been a year of tremendous learning for me,  infact it has made me look back in time with absolutely no regrets, as even the rough and rugged times of my life have prepared me for the opportunity of now.  No experience in life is a waste, every experience shifts your benchmark, sharpens your mind and prepares you for the next. I am sincerely sad for those whose past failures have numbed from positive movement. I’m sad for those who have taken their current realities as the TRUTH and have refused to listen to the inner guidance of their maker. I weep for those who will not amount to much in life, because fear has eaten deep into the fabrics of their soul. Does your philosophy allow you to seek for opportunities, or do you operate with a closed mind and limited options?

Today, I simply feel like freestyling, too many topics fighting in my mind for attention, I don’t want to be bound by one topic. As I reminisce over the last 11 months of this amazing year, my heart swells with gratitude to God, and is slightly punctuated by unexpressed tears gathering momentum in my tear sac. My mind is well trained, not to ask the questions for which the answers are clear. Today is (I can’t seem to use past tense) my mum’s birthday, and oh, how I miss calling her and and hearing her reassuring voice.  So today, I just want to well it out from my heart, demonstrate gratitude by counting the blessings that can be counted in public, sharing the bitter sweet lessons, and giving everybody a reason to have hope, to trust and to obey.

Mummy’s Day

It’s my mum’s day today, and though I know the righteous do not die, they sleep, I miss her.  If you read the two articles I wrote at the time of her departure in the second half of this year, you’ll see what an enigma she was. Sweet mother and Lessons from the life of my mum. Interestingly however, even though fast asleep from this current existence, she’s more alive than many who still have breath, or how do you reconcile these things. On my Fathers birthday for example, my mum’s phone suddenly comes back to live and starts beeping and alarm, on the face of the phone was a cake and lights and a message – Jo’s (meaning sweetheart) birthday! My father was happily shocked and told me about it, in my mind the phrase that rang – “Still relevant!”. A few weeks ago, my dad asked me to tell any of my friends coming to Lagos to him, that my mum’s farm of Yams have just been harvested and he wants to send the yam to all the children (we) and siblings.  We are still eating the yam from my mum’s farm, it’s a lot of yam as it was a huge farm, in my mind? Still relevant! You are alive and well, are you relevant? Who are you relevant to? Is your life relevant to now, and are you living to be relevant in eternity? Continue reading

Related Posts:

July 5, 2009

Life Lessons from My Mummy


mummy1

“The essence of life is to live it, not watch it” – Adeolu Akinyemi

The inspiration for this quote, is merely watching my mum, and listening out to the people whose lives she had touched. My mum was important to so many people, she was their “somebody” that made their lives better, their crosses easier to bear and rekindled their hope. My mum was a template for the virtous woman described in Prov 31, the more I read it, the more I remember her. I have not ceased to ask myself a fundamental question, “when would have been a good time for her to die?” The more I ask and think, the more I realize, that for us her children, for her brother, friend, business partner and lover – my dad, for her relations near and far and for the many lives she touched, there would never be a good time! There is never a good time to lose a loved one, even at 90, she’ll still have left us puzzled. I can remember my dad shedding tears at the burial of his 78yrs old mother, there is never a good time. One thing is sure though, life should be measured by donation, not duration. What matters is not how long, it’s how well! Thinking like this, I have every course to celebrate my mum’s temporary separation from me. I am confident that we’ll meet again at Jesus’ feet, I am confident that she has voluntarily joined the company that constitute the cloud of witnesses. I am happy that my mum lived a life that if I can set as benchmark for mine, I’ll be driven till I’m done! I know that God is all wise,  all his word is perfect and all his ways are just.

My mum had a glorious exit, and there are many things to learn from her life. I’ll attempt a few here, and if I’m so inspired, I’ll do a book in her honour. On the 21st of June, 2009, my mum dressed for her last church service. Very early in the morning of that day, she bade farewell to all of us her children. We had all come home from Lagos, for my younger sister’s wedding introduction the previous day. Even though the meeting was meant to have less than 60 people, my mum had killed one of her cows (yeah.. she has cows she’s rearing) and shared it for all her children and sibblings. We all saw mummy on Sunday, unaware of course that that was the last time we’ll see her alive and well. We hugged, waved and went. In a series of events, that led to her driving to church, and sitting, as ever and always beside her husband she decided to share her testimony. She raised a song as she stood up, and stood at the pulpit (Gbese ope me po, mi o le san tan, sugbon o sibe sibe, hun o se iwon ti mo le se, baba a laanu mi, e ma se o baba – My debt of thanksgiven is more than I can pay, but never the less, I will do the best I can, my father the merciful, thank you). Everyone sang along, and she started to share her testimony. She shared on, until she got to a point and announced to the church, I am feeling dizzy, at which point she slumped in the ready hands of my dad and her pastor. That was when the chariot that took her to heaven came, that was the last time she stood on her feet for the next 11 days that ended with her being taken. The doctors called it a hemorrhagic stroke, and showed that it was really up to God or nature. Between those days, she spoke for some and was unconscious for others. Her life flashed before our eyes and I’m sure hers as well. Her 56yrs have been more life than 200 regular years. Many hope to die in the lord, my mum was a child of God at her death, and even took her departure from his house -the assembly of his people. Continue reading

Related Posts:

August 12, 2008

Numbering-002


Advertisement: An NNC Financial Empowerment and Opportunities Seminar will be holding in Ilorin in Kingstone Grand Suites Hotel on Sunday the 17th of August at 3pm. Please invite your friends that live in Ilorin to be a part of this life changing event. For more details about this event call Kunle on 07030597130.

Also, NNC UK is coming live on the 30th of August, 2008 with Billionaires in Training. If you are in UK or it’s environs, I urge you to meet up with the organizers and help to make it grand. For more details you can mail Peter on ukinfo@newnigeriaclub.net

Last week we started on a very interesting topic – Numbering our days. We established that it requires wisdom – application of knowledge to calculate the numbers of our days and to chose the appropriate steps to take. Since this is a continuation article, I advice that you read the Numbering 001 before you continue so you can get a full picture of the entire article.

If you have ever read the stories of how God instructed Noah to build the Ark, or Moses to build the Ark and Temple or Solomon to rebuild the Temple, you will see that God is very precise, and has unique reasons and purposes for everything that he specifies. I have covered numbers 1-6, so Now I will start from Number 7 Continue reading

Related Posts: