SEPTEMBER

Happy New Month Darlings!

And Happy 57th Independence Nigeria!!!! I will always be proud of The Green White Green.

Moving on, September was QUITE the month for me. I learnt A LOT. Some too personal to share, others, I will gladly let you guys in on it. I hope you draw something from this.

SOME THINGS I LEARNT IN SEPTEMBER:

1.       You can’t force kindness or friendships. Yes, this one has been a recurring lesson over the years, but I finally understand what God has been trying to tell me.  Be kind if you want to be kind. Care if you want to care, but don’t expect people to reciprocate the gesture to you just because you made it. Do what you can, do the right thing and move on with joy in your heart. Now, God is faithful and always has a way of repaying you. It might come through the same person (or people) and it might come through someone totally new. 

        

      

      

       In September, I enjoyed that. God never forgets, people might, but He doesn’t. You just be you, spread love as wide and far as you can, then watch how the grace of God translates.

2.       Patience isn’t just a word, it’s a journey. It’s easy to tell someone “Be patient, will you? It will happen” But have you ever waited –and waited –AND WAITED for something you really want? It’s not an easy thing to do, is it? Maybe if you knew what was on the other side, you probably won’t be so antsy. But when you go days, months and maybe even years on end waiting, not knowing if what you’re waiting for will even happen, phew! It’s a tough one. Still I’ve learnt (and I’m still learning) that those who wait on The Lord always receive the best. The saying ‘He who laughs last, laughs best’. That’s true folks. It really is. 

        

      

       Waiting isn’t easy. Having that kind of patience isn’t a joke. I commend those who have waited and have now received. I pray for those who are still waiting for one thing or another (Including me, I’m still waiting for many things!), that God will answer our prayers beyond our wildest imaginations soon.

3.       There is always another option. I’ve heard the saying many times “I ran out of options”, “I didn’t have a choice”, “There was nothing else I could do”. There is always something else, another option, a different choice. If you think this isn’t true in some situations, then imagine if aliens were to invade the earth right now, you’ll be surprised at how many thousand ways you can get creative in trying to evade capture or to preserve the Human race.            

       

      It might be difficult, but never allow yourself to be so backed into a corner that you end up making the wrong choice, agreeing to the wrong thing, or ‘just going with the flow’. These are lazy (sometimes even dangerous) alternatives. Settle down and think things through, there is always another option.

                      There are other things I learnt in September, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with all of it right now. Hopefully, as this month go on, I will share stories of my experiences with you.

Did you get something from the three points? I hope you did.

I wish you an October filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and every blessing from God.

Remember Darlings, put a big smile on your face and KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Ciao!

Pictures that be VS Pictures you believe

I won’t talk so much today, ‘cause there’s already a lot of talk going on in the world right now.

It’s like an a never-ending barrage of talk; on the radio, on Tv, online, on every electronic device we can lay our hands on, in fact, we’re beginning to hear these talks in our sleep.

The talk?

• ·         About the messed-up world we live in.
• ·         About the crazy country we are Citizens of.
• ·         About the natural disasters all around us.
• ·         About the man-made disasters stifling us.
• ·         About the insecurities, terrorism, kidnappings, violence of every nature.
• ·         About hate; of Ethnic groups, of race, of religion, of neighbours, of friends. Let’s not forget Xenophobia too.
• ·         About rumours of wars between so-called world powers.
• ·         About how the world appears to be imploding.

Now My dears, Take deeeeeeppp breaths, in-out, in-out, in-out, one more time, then let it go.

I want you to listen carefully:

• ·         I believe in Love. In a world where Love outweighs Hate, where there are still more good people than bad, where there are more kind-hearted human beings than cruel ones, where people are their brothers’ keepers, where there are still people who look out for each other.
• 
  
• ·         I believe in Joy. In a world where there are a lot more happy people than what the media shows us on all our electronic devices, where people are living contentedly and happy (and they don’t need all the money and material things in the world to be this way), where people still have kind words for one another when they pass on the way.
• 
  
• ·         I believe in Hope. In a world where the light of faith can never be burned out, where people know there’s a higher purpose and meaning to life no matter what it presently looks like, where people know that prayers will DEFINITELY be answered and there WILL be a better tomorrow. 

• ·         I believe in GOD, in His Son, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. And I know He is -and always will be- in charge. The world is His, nothing and no circumstance can mess it up. Only God’s will can be done. He knows what He’s doing and very soon,  all will be made clear.

So in the midst of the roaring and shouting and screams of despair, I want you to believe with me. Have great pictures of the world you want in your heads, then put your heads up, put smiles on your faces and MARCH ON!  Because though it seems dark now, light will come in the morning.

• ·         I believe the morning is here.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD DARLINGS!

1 RACE, RED COLOUR

Let’s talk about Race.

Let’s examine Ethnicity.  

      

What is ‘My people’ ‘Your people’?

One emotion is gradually becoming king today. HATE.

If Hate was a perfume, it would be the cheapest to get. It’s so much out there right now, you can bottle it up and have your own personal stash for years.

Why are people so filled with hatred, anger, malice, envy, jealousy and many other negative emotions these days? Have Positive Emotions taken a holiday? What’s going on? Where is the Love?

Today, you find most people more than ready to ‘bring down’ rather than ‘pull up’.

I want to narrow it down by focusing on Race. In Nigeria, we’re predominantly a country filled with black people, so for this write-up,  I will keep an extra-focus on Ethnicity. Here lies our problem.

Yoruba people are like blah blah blah

Igbo people always blah blah blah

Hausa people can never blah blah blah

And hosts of other trait people authoritatively associate with many ethnic groups.

When will we stop seeing one person as the yard-stick for a whole ethnic group, and start seeing people as human beings first?

I am privileged to have been raised in a home where ethnicity wasn’t an issue. Don’t get me wrong, there are characteristics and cultural values that are uniquely symbolic to each ethnic group and from time to time, in my home, you could hear things like, “Don’t you know if you’re going to an Igbo person’s wedding, you have to blah blah blah” or “When you sit to eat with an Hausa elder, you don’t blah blah blah”. Yes, there were times when we’d yap other ethnic groups, but we always kept it fair, it was never in an attitude of “We’re better than them” or “We’re the superior ethnic group”.

This made it easy for me to relate and easily make friends with people of diverse ethnic origins. I never saw them as ‘This one from that place’, they were just friends –loved and appreciated. Truth be told, some of my closest friends till date (people who I absolutely adore), are not even from my ethnic group and we’ve kept our friendship tight and strong for years. This isn’t an accomplishment for me, it’s not like I deliberately set out to ‘do One Nigeria’, so I can beat my chest about it. It’s simply this- I met great people, we clicked, we became friends and have stayed close. I thank God for this, I really do. ‘Cause I’ve learnt a lot from them over the years and I want to believe they’ve learnt from me too.

My Darlings, If any of you was brought up to look down on another race, mis-trust another ethnic group, hate a particular set of people because of the colour of  their skin or the place they’re from, then you need to GET RID OF THAT MINDSET NOW! It’s not healthy. It’s like using one colour to paint a whole house.

For instance, you love white, you know white, white is good. 

So you buy buckets and drums of white paint and paint the entire house with it; The Gate, The Fence, The Railings, The building’s wall, Bedrooms, Kitchen, Toilets, Living room, Pantry, Garage, Study, Windows, every single corner! Imagine how weird, ugly (and even suspicious) that would look?

I mean, even the White House diversified its colours. Not everywhere (in and out) is painted white.

Put yourself in other people’s shoes; When you were young, the people around you told you one ethnic group is so horrible, wicked, you can never trust them, they betray, they kill, they are dirty, they are diabolic, they are ugly etc and you grew up entrenched in this mindset about the people. So now  you’re grown and matured enough to explore the world for yourself, but you refuse, stubbornly stick  to your notions,  and on your first contact with someone from that ethnic division, you act out horribly. You should ask yourself; Is your behaviour justified? Did that person do something to warrant that attitude from you? If you were in the person’s shoes, how would you feel?

Or you’re the free-minded type, bravo! You were brought up to believe something about a particular set of people, but you didn’t hold it to heart. So one day, you meet someone from that place and the person behaves in exactly the way you were taught to believe. From then on, you say to yourself “Yes, everyone was right. These people are like this. I will never trust any one of them again”. You see what you did there? Now, the lesson for you isn’t about being careful in future dealings or learning to look before you leap. No, it’s now about “The people from this place always behave like this. You can’t trust them” And so you pass this mind set and ideology on to the next person and the next, until a whole generation buys into it.

You’ve become part of the problem but you justify it by quelling your conscience and saying “What? I gave them a chance and they failed me” 

 

Errr Bros/Sis, who died and made you Emperor of The World? 'They' failed you? REALLY?

Please wake up Dears! Before we send ourselves back to the dark ages where kingdoms go to war just because someone from one kingdom, dared to look at a maiden from another kingdom.

It’s time to open our eyes to the beauty of the world around us. It’s time to be humans beings first and every other thing next. Judge people for people, not for the colour of their skin, their background, ethnic group or religion.  Spread love and cheer, not judgment and hate.

Don’t get so hung up on your bigotry, ethnic intolerance, xenophobia and racism that you lose out on meeting some of the most amazing people in the world, people who perhaps God has sent to your life to fill it up with laughter and goodness. 

This is what I believe and if you don't, I want you to try believing it also;

There is only one race; THE HUMAN RACE.

There is only one colour; RED, THE COLOUR OF BLOOD.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Hold On? Let Go?...Do Both!

It’s August 1 2017 (Please don’t pay attention to what the date at the top of the article says!)

Today is the first of August 2017 and I’m sitting here with my laptop at 3:19am, led to write this.

I know that feeling of panic some of us get when a new month comes, especially when it’s a month closer to the end of the year than the beginning of the year.

You’re thinking “Oh no! It’s August already and my life is pretty much the same. I haven’t moved in life, I haven’t achieved anything so far or my achievements have been snail-paced”

I need you to FOCUS this morning. Wherever you are, you need to GROW UP a little. It’s time to stop being the person you were in the first 7 months of this year. It’s time to do something different.

Re-train your mind. Think Different, Act Different. Stop being the person who only knows how to count the problems, dwell on the frustrations or embrace the depressions.

The world is crazy right now, don’t also join the wagon of ‘What’s-the-use?’ people. These are people who like to shrug and say “what’s the use?” to every idea or opportunity presented to them. Before they even try, they already believe it will fail due to ‘the economy’, ‘the government’, ‘family member(s)’, ‘unknown enemies’, ‘ancestral curses’, ‘terrible lineage’, ‘village people’, ‘the current president’, ‘people might say no’, ‘lack of finances/not enough finance’, ‘their uncaring spouse’, ‘suspicious neighbours’ and a host of other challenges they can come up with.

Listen, I’m not saying challenges don’t exist, I’m saying be careful, because if you become so adept in looking for the problem with the situation before you even try it, then dear friend, you’re gradually succumbing to a class called LAZY. Never shy from new ideas. Do your research, make sure it’s workable, then go for it. But stop having automatic negative responses for EVERY opportunity that comes your way, it’s the fastest way to exit life.

You  -we all, in fact-  need to wake up from the dreary slumber of ‘Nothing is working out so let me just sit in this corner and cry’. GET UP! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Stop selling yourself short! You are better than you think you are! You have a lot more to give in life than you give yourself credit for!

God is not done with you, so why are you done with yourself?!

HOLD ON, the war isn’t over yet, there are still many battles to be won.

LET GO, it’s time to get rid of that constant negative mindset, the fear, the anxiety.

Okay Darlings, I will stop talking now and leave you with these quotes, I hope you learn something.

HAPPY NEW MONTH MY DEARS!

What Have I Done Lately?

And now, we approach the end of June!    *Shofar Sound!* 

Yet as usual, I’m thinking, imagining, counting the cost, one question going through my mind:  How have I spent the first half of 2017?

• ·         What have I done so far?
• ·         Am I achieving my goals as planned?
• ·         Have I moved forward in life?
• ·         Am I where I thought I would be at this stage in my life?

Usually, my first reaction to these questions is to panic a little. Thank God I’ve started learning not to have knee-jerk reactions every time I weigh my life, I’m learning to stop over-thinking or second-guessing every decision.

However, I started dwelling on life in general and how we tend to leave EVERYTHING in God’s hands, sit back…and be lazy. With a sense of entitlement, we tell ourselves “I have a God who never fails so I’ll just keep praying and fasting until something happens”

I’m talking about those who, having been blessed by God with common sense, become over-spiritual to the point that they refuse to use their brains, they’ve forgotten how to get up and do something. It’s like they can’t think for themselves anymore, they make excuses with every opportunity that comes their way.

If you are one of such people, then darling please wake up! There is a time and place for everything. God always plays His part but He requires you to play yours too.

·         You ask for favour? Granted! 

       

       But you need to go out and offer a sellable service, then the favour of God will open more doors for you.

·         You want money? It’s yours! 

       

      

       But you need to get a job, start a business, create/craft something, use your God-given talents, then watch how God’s grace and mercy usher in the financial blessings. Even more than you ever imagined.

·         You’re praying and fasting for a perfect life-partner? Excellent! 

     

But you need to work on yourself too. Be the kind of person a man/woman will want to be with. Then you’ll be amazed at the outstanding way God will connect you to your partner. And what God joins together…

·         You want to advance in life? That’s the spirit! 

       But you need to swim out of your comfort zone, go further, try new (positive) things, meet people, become someone people love to associate with, sell yourself, sell your brand, do more, do something new with what you’ve got. 

      

       There’s a whole life out there you probably haven’t explored yet. Then see how God blesses every step and make you stand before kings and not before mean men.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying miracles don’t happen, they do, I just need you to grow up a little, I need to light a fire under your bum, so you can stop with the ‘I-will-just-wait-for-God-to-do-everything-for-me’ mentality. It’s dangerous, it’s lazy, it’s unattractive and frankly, it’s a boring way to live.

I mean, I can just imagine God wondering “He/she once asked for wisdom, knowledge and understanding, I gave her/him, but why ask when he/she wasn’t planning to do anything with it” Stop being ‘That Person’ who only knows how to say “Bless you” and “It is well” whenever he/she is asked “So what are you up to now?”

Don’t get me wrong, there are those who have done all they can, tried their best and are just waiting and believing that every move they made will yield results. The key words here are ‘they have done something’. I pray that God answers all your prayers and meet you at the point of your needs. AMEN.

In conclusion, I’ve learnt to ask myself the question; WHAT HAVE I DONE LATELY? (WHIDL or pronounced ‘wheedle’) and I encourage you to acquire this habit too.

My Dears, as we round up the first half of 2017 and swim into the second half, may we all be wiser, smarter and filled with the wisdom of God in everything we do. So that, like me, when you ask yourself WHIDL, your answer will make you and God smile.

This is our year!

Take more steps Darlings!   Keep Moving Forward!

JUST SCREAM!

I caught the flu.

Here’s how I feel right now;

                                             

In case it didn’t register ,I’m saying  this is how I feel;

And like this;

I so wish I felt like this;

But what can I say? I guess it’s the season. You pray for rain and God answers. That’s why they say “Be careful what you pray for because God might actually answer”

Which brings me to the statement “I’m so sick of this life!”                                                 WARNING; Statements coming out of mouth are more potent than you think.

I know right now in Nigeria, we are dealing with so much right now; Economic instability, High Cost of living, Continuous Ethnic Rubbles, Lack of jobs, Mortality rate has gone up (what with all the accidental deaths and insane, evil ritual murders).

It can be overwhelming, I know, but things are tense enough right now without you cursing yourself as well.  You might think saying things like-

“I hate this life”

 “I’m tired of my life”

 “I wish I could just go on sleeping. What did I even wake up for?”

When you feel the need for an angry outburst, go somewhere where you can be alone and…SCREAM!

It’s therapeutic to let all the angst out, don’t hold it in, don’t speak words, just SCREAM so you don't end up saying what you’re not supposed to say. 

You can also try screaming into a pillow. That works too.

No matter how your day goes, always remember this very common saying ‘TOUGH TIMES DON’T LAST BUT TOUGH PEOPLE DO’ (Like me, standing tough against this flu even while I keep sneezing).

Keep Moving Forward Darlings.

We’ll chat again in a bit!

The Rain Cycle

I know the feeling of doing all the right things and still getting the wrong answers, or worse, not getting any answer at all!!

It feels like you wake up every day with a tub of lead resting in your stomach. You try to keep up a brave face, sunny smile, cheerful disposition (Especially if you’re the type that loves posting online. For e.g you quickly run to your IG page early in the morning and load up 5 beautiful smiling/posing pics of you with the tag #livingitup #slaying LOL!  – This is one worrisome compulsive behaviour I will one day dedicate a whole article to).

Back to our gist, in recent times up, you’ve been feeling like “what’s the use? Let’s just wrap this up and call it in”  Has life lost its colour for you? Believe me, I KNOW what that can be like, but I was listening to a message this morning and the words below sunk right into me, I just knew I had to share it with my Darlings.

“Something is always happening even when nothing is seen” –Pastor Steven Furtick.

It made me think of the rain, the cycle of rain. We all learnt this in Primary school, right? (Say what? you didn’t?...YOU DIDN’T?!)

If you don’t remember, let me jolt your memories a little with pictures which explain the stages.

STAGE 1: Warm Air rises.

STAGE 2: Air Cools.

 

STAGE 3: Condensation

STAGE 4:Clouds Form

STAGE 5: RAIN!!!!

We only notice rain when the water starts showering down on us, we don’t see ALL THE FINE-TUNING that went into making it happen.

It’s a lot like life, the things we want the most; We’ve prayed about it, worked towards it, done all the right things, gotten in touch with all the right people, we’re holding on to faith (perhaps at this point, by a thin thread) but still, NOTHING IS HAPPENING!

Now, I want you to take a deep breath and repeat the statement below over and over until it stamps itself to your brain.

 “Nothing is impossible with God, which means the only thing impossible with God is nothing” –Pastor Steven Furtick

Got that?! Yeah, I know y’all did. It means, hang tight, the best is almost here. God's got it handled.

There is nothing and I mean, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, you’ve asked and prayed to God for, that is impossible for Him to make happen. No matter how long you’ve been waiting. I want you to know that things are taking shape behind the scene, getting your Showers of Blessing ready, even if all you see now are clear, boring skies. It doesn’t look like it now, but that doesn’t mean a great plan isn’t already in the works. In fact, the answer was set in motion the first moment you asked.

So hang on and when your energy (emotional and physical) starts failing you, remember the awesome Rain Cycle.

Have a great rest-of-the-week!

The Real One

            

“Let’s be real”

You hear this statement a lot, don’t you? I do.  What is Real?

Is it:

Real: Verifiable as actual fact.

Or:

Real: Everyone is saying this word ‘Real’ so let me also add it to what I say, so I can be using the in-word.

What do people mean when they say “let’s be real” ? The funny part is that, most times, that statement is immediately followed with a lie or a lot of fake-ness. So now ‘being real’ is just a cool thing to say huh?

For instance,

¥       “Let’s be real, I don’t care how hungry I am, I will never stoop low to stealing” Big-attitude Lady informs a group of eager young girls. The same lady who recently cheated her partner of the partner’s share in a business they did together. Perhaps her ‘realness’ is in ‘not stooping low’ to take 500 Naira or 1000 Naira from someone’s purse, I mean, come on! But for Big-attitude Lady, from  20,000 Naira upwards is fair game.

¥       “Come on, let’s be real, she’s my girlfriend, if I want her to put out, she should. Why is she making it a big deal, know what I’m sayin?” Irritated Guy says to a group of impressed friends, all nodding in solidarity with him. The same Guy who almost cut off his sister’s head, preaching to her that she has started fornicating, because he saw her kissing her boyfriend. Hi Irritated Guy, just want to remind you that your girlfriend is someone else’s sister too Bro, know what I’m sayin?

¥       “Let’s even be real, why all this nonsense?! When I was in school, I kept my head in my books always, stayed away from trouble. Why are you so different?!” Angry Father asks depressed Son. The same Father who had a two-year whirl-wind adventure with a Cult Group when he was in the University. You have every right to be upset Angry Father, why is Johnny Junior ‘so different?’, kids of nowadays huh?

When I first read the words on the left, I thought “It can’t be that bad” But looking at the world today, IT ACTUALLY IS THAT BAD.

 These days, people are so focused on ‘performing’. They want to-

o   Please a group of people (you must like me). 

o   Get accepted (I must join you).

o   Get noticed (it’s by force).

o   Impress someone/people (please see me, I’m cool like dat).

o   Project a certain personality (I have natural swag).

o   Pretend to be someone else (this is the real me o).

o   Get approval (do you like me now?).

-they do this so much that they lose their identity.

You wake up one day, look into the mirror and wonder who you are.  By the time you start asking yourself these questions: “Who should I be today? –The Snobbish One?  -The Uber Stylish One?  -The Classy/Rich One?  -The Friendly One?  -The Moody One?  --The Brilliant One?  -The American/British accent One?  --The Deep Philosophical One? or  The Funny One?

You should be scared if you’ve gotten to this level. I mean, you should be really scared! Multiple Personality Disorder comes to mind at this point (You should probably download the movie ‘SPLIT’, starring James McAvoy). It’s a fearful life when you can’t really define yourself.

When last did you ask this question; Who Am I Really? What have I become? What do I represent? What image do I project? If someone were to describe me, what would they say?

Perform this exercise; Ask the person (not) closest to you to describe you in five words. What’s the first word that comes out of their mouth? (Please make sure it’s not someone close to you, it  should be  someone you’ve had an opportunity to interact with for a time. Those close to you might be biased).

On a final note, if you’ve lost yourself along the way due to insane pressure to present an image you think others might be impressed with, so you can fit in, it's time to find yourself again. 

Get back to your identity; get in line with who God made you to be. Man didn’t create you, why do they have to force you into their own image?

Most important, why are you molding you into someone you too can’t recognise? You are who you are, You are who God made you, You are beautiful in your own way.

When you get back to that person you were before you started wearing various identities, then you finally know what REAL means. That’s when you truly start to live My Dear!

Life Though

This week has been a very emotional one for me and to think it’s not even the middle of the week yet!

If you reside in Nigeria, then by now, you’ve heard of the recent act of suicide by a Doctor who told his driver to park somewhere on Third Mainland Bridge (Lagos) and then jumped into the water. Sadly again, I just heard of a woman who also jumped into a Lagos Lagoon but thank God she was rescued in time.

It makes you wonder about life, no one wants to be so choked up with issues that you can no longer breathe and choose death as the only way out. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I REALLY wish I could help everyone, including myself sometimes. Even if all we do is gather round, keep drinking cups of the most satisfying coffee until we’re numb to every issue that weighs us down. But it’s not possible to wish problems away, so one way or the other, we must face what’s in front of us or around us.

With that in mind, I’m not going to insult your intelligence by telling you “Here are 5 ways to blah blah blah” or “You just need to do these three things and you’re blah”. No way, it isn't always so simple.

However, I care a lot about you and wish you much joy, so I’ll leave you with these stories I found on the internet. I hope they inspire you to keep putting one foot in front of the other or (and my earnest wish), put a soft smile on your face.

Here they are:

ONE DAY A SMALL GAP...
One day a small gap appeared in the cocoon, through which the butterfly had to appear. A boy, who accidentally passed by, stopped and watched how the butterfly was trying to get out of the cocoon. It took a lot of time, the butterfly was trying very hard, and the gap was as little as before. It seemed that the power would leave the butterfly soon.

The boy decided to help the butterfly. He took a penknife and cut the cocoon. The butterfly immediately got out, but its body was weak and feeble, and the wings were barely moving.

The boy continued to watch the butterfly, thinking that now its wings would spread and it would fly. However, that did not happen.

For the rest of its life, the butterfly was forced to continue dragging had its weak body and wings that wouldn’t spread. It was unable to fly, because the boy did not realize that an effort to enter through the narrow gap of the cocoon was necessary for the butterfly, so that the life-giving fluid would move from the body to the butterfly’s wings and that the butterfly could fly.

Every butterfly has to first learn to struggle out of its shell, so it would become stronger and would be able to grow and develop.

If we were allowed to live without meeting difficulties, we would not be viable. Life gives us challenges to make us stronger.

 

KEEP SWIMMING

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl.
One was an optimistic soul.
But the other took the gloomy view.
"We'll drown," he lamented without much ado,
and with a last despairing cry,
he flung up his legs and said "Goodbye."

Quote the other frog with a steadfast grin,
"I can't get out but I won't give in,
I'll just swim around till my strength is spent,
then I'll die the more content."
Bravely he swam to work his scheme,
and his struggles began to churn the cream.

The more he swam, his legs a flutter,
the more the cream turned into butter.
On top of the butter at last he stopped,
and out of the bowl he gaily hopped.

What is the moral? It's easily found...
If you can't hop out, keep swimming around!

MY FRIEND JERRY…
My friend Jerry was one of the most positive people I had ever known. He was always in a good mood and always had something encouraging to say.

He was a manager at a restaurant. If his employee had a bad day, Jerry always helped him to look on the positive side of the situation.

Jerry‘s attitude truly amazed me. So one day I asked him: „How can you be so positive all the time?“. He replied: „You see, every morning I tell myself, that I have two choices for that day – to be in a good mood or in a bad. I choose the good one. And when something wrong happens, I can be sad and angry or I can learn from it instead. I choose to learn. Thus I choose the positive side of life“. I said: „It is not that easy“. He replied: „Yes it is. Life is all about choices. You can choose how people or situation will affect your mood, your life“.

One morning Jerry left the restaurant‘s back door open and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. He tried to open the safe, but his hands shook due to nervousness and he slipped off the combination. So the robbers shot him. Fortunately, Jerry was quickly found and brought to the nearest hospital. After many hours of surgery and long intensive care, Jerry was released home.

When I met him, I asked what his thoughts were during the robbery. „I thought that I should have locked the back door“, he replied. „Then, when I was lying on the floor, I remembered about my choices in this case: a choice to live and a choice to die. I chose to live.“

I asked, if he was scared. Jerry continued: „When they wheeled me into emergency room and I looked at the faces of doctors, I got truly scared. I knew that I need to do something. So when the nurse asked me, if I was allergic to anything, I replied „Yes“. Doctors and nurses stopped working as waited for my answer. I took a deep breath and yelled „Bullets“. They started laughing and I said: „My choice is to live, treat me as I am alive, not dead“.

Now Jerry is alive owing to skills of his doctors, however his amazing attitude played an important role too. I learned from him, that every day we should choose to live fully no matter what.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD Dears, KEEP MOVING FORWARD. 

Whatever it is that might be stealing your happiness now, it shall soon pass by God's grace. Amen.

With Love.