Thankful Thursday – Random

 

It’s thankful Thursday again! This is a meme which is hosted by Iris every Thursday of the week, feel free to go on over and participate; or simply read other thankful posts.

This week has been hectic to say the least! As soon as I posted my TT last week, I came down with a bad bout of malaria… but God always does come through! I’m on my feet again and in time for this week’s TT!!

• I’m thankful for good health; Malaria aside, yesterday I woke up with a piercing ear ache, it was so bad I could not move from the bed. After languishing for some hours, I suddenly remembered whose child I am and prayed over the ache and it went! I couldn’t believe it… this is not because I doubt God, it’s just that He does not always give us what we ask for, so this came as a delightful surprise to me.

 

• I am finally moving back home. I have not lived at home for so long and even though I’ve really missed my mum, well, living at home is bound to be weird, right? Anyway, I have so many things planned out that I can’t help being thankful that God is ordering my steps.

 

• My younger brother came to spend some of his vacation with me and it has been a wonderful time of fellowship. We will both be driving down together.

 

• Speaking Writing about fellowship, words cannot express the blessing that fellowship with the Thankful Thursday Sisters has brought my way. I have become a more positive person all round, made some fantastic friends and discovered some life changing blogs. Thanks to you all!

I found this picture in a public domain site and decided to use it to share a verse of scripture with you. If you like it, please feel free to take it – it is public domain!

Obama’s Private Prayer

Browsing through the various news sites available on the internet, I came across an article by Time.Com that really got me thinking. This was about a private prayer by Senator Barack Obama, whichwas made public in Jerusalem. What got me thinking was the content of the prayer.

The prayer began with a plea for protection. It was quite a profound prayer actually. Just repeating it aloud made me grow still… I do not know much about the Senator; I have not read any of his books; but that prayer gave an insight into a man who has a personal relationship with his maker and acknowledges his human frailties.

He asked for help to guide against pride and despair. Pride and Despair; two sisters of the same mother. They walk hand in glove and are rarely seen far from each other. Where Pride goes, her sister, Despair usually follows.

Pride isolates. It is that place where no one can reach you with the truth; where everything becomes obscured by your own peculiar bifocals. . . And because we were made to interact and to co-depend, that state of isolation naturally, generates despair. That is why the Bible says that Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18, NLT).

Finally, Obama ends the prayer by asking to be made an instrument of the Divine Will. And that, is the sum total of our presence here on earth – to do the will of the Lord.

Here is the Prayer according to Maariv, which ran a photo of the Prayer:

Lord, protect my family and me, Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.

 

Source: Time

Moving Home

On Friday, 1st of August, 2008 I am going home.

I have lived in Port Harcourt, Nigeria for the last one year. That is where I worked in a Law Firm, met my boyfriend, got engaged to him and have been living thus far. ‘Home’, where my parents live and where I grew up, is a small country side village called Gana Ropp, about an hour’s drive from Jos, the capital of Plateau State. It is a really beautiful place, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced. And I’m going back there in three days.

My fiance and I are both heart broken, but we have prayed about it and feel strongly that this is the Lord’s leading. It isn’t going to be easy for any of us; first of all, we have practically been living in each other’s pockets for the past one year. We see each other everyday of the week, every week of the month, every month the past 12 months. I keep asking myself how I’m going to survive without him. There’s a phrase in my language, yoruba (one of the languages of western Nigeria), which describes the sort of relationship we have, it is ‘kori ko soon‘ literally translated to mean ‘Doesn’t see, won’t sleep’. This transition is well. . . a transition.

Secondly, almost any Twenty Something knows that going back to live at home can be difficult; doesn’t matter how great your folks are – like mine. And that’s just what I’m going to do. To give them their due, they got me a little cottage not too far from them but . . . a rose by any other name?

So what would I spend my days doing? Working in another law firm? I’ve decided to go off practicing law for a while – well, no one can quite get out of that. Once your neighbours know you are a Lawyer here, that’s when they suddenly remember a piece of land their great grand father left for their grand father, which his brother stole (complicated, I know). But besides that, here’s what I’ll be doing:

• Running the family guest house. It is actually a Prayer and Retreat Centre; so if you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods and need a quiet, serene, homely place to stay, c’mon over! (I’m already marketing am I not?);
• Earning a Masters Degree. Online. Preferably something which combines the internet and international law. Any suggestions? Presently, all I have are brochures from UK universities and I think since our educational system here in Nigeria was patterned after that in the UK, I need a bit of the US in my education. But I don’t know any Colleges that offer a Masters in anything like that. I would really appreciate all the help here.
• Running my Myriad Blogs. Don’t ask cos they are indeed myriad. And I set up blogs and run them for people. Why would folks want to blog if they can’t do it themselves? I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It pays some bills.

Right. So that’s it for my plans for the next few months. Maybe one year. I will see it as a training period. I intend to understudy my mum, learn how to be a good wife and mother. I really do not understand why God wants this separation, but one thing I know is that I trust Him to do what’s good for me. Always.

Tag: I’m IT (so are you)

Ehm…well, I got tagged by Lily at Lily of the Valley.

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Right! So here goes. . .

I bite my fingernails. Yes I know, it’s a disgusting habit and I’ve ‘broken’ out of it several times but each time I get anxious or confused…. yep! I start nibbling;

I hated the classroom in school (still do actually). All those borrring lectures! I’d rather read up on the subject, or be shown or better still, told it in story form. I still wonder how I earned my degree… oh well!

I’m a daydreamer; I am a dreamer, fullstop. Which might explain why I hate the classroom so much. I felt trapped in those ‘four walls’. I’d sit near the window, turn my eyes a little to the side, catch sight of a bit of blue sky and I’m off to Timbuktu! Naturally, I loved movies like Bedknobs and Broomsticks; Chitty Chittty Bang, Bang; I completely identified with Maria in Sound of Music; Well, you get the idea;

I absolutely adore Cartoons! I don’t care which: Tom & Jerry; The Perils of Penelope Pittstop; Jimmy Neutron; The Flintstones….oooh, just bring it on! I really do feel sorry for all those who can’t enjoy Cartoons and look down on those who can.

I am nocturnal. Truly. And it is a family trait. We can all talk the whole night through. It was just perfect for me at University; I could read through the night and then sleep the whole day (remember, I hated lectures).

OK. What next? Uhm . . . Every morning (except when I’m down with malaria as I was last weekend), I have this funny ritual where I dance in front of the mirror in my bathroom and make funny faces at myself and generally allow myself those 5 minutes of insanity.

Oh, before I’m through I’d love to share my new Avatar from Meez.Com. Took me all evening to get it right and even now I’m not so sure…

Now here’s who’s next:

Heart to Heart

The Clock is ticking

Beauty for Ashes

A Very Fine Romance Redux

The Holley Herald

Ashe.Selah

Basic Truth – who cares … That you live or die?

WHO CARES … THAT YOU LIVE OR DIE?

*JEHORAM… was thirty-two years old when he became king and reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. There were no tears shed when he died–it was good riddance…” **(2Ch 21:20 MSG)** *
Life is all about meaning, fulfilment, achievements and legacies. No one wants to live a life that is considered “useless”, and no one wants to die leaving no legacies or good memories. What social psychologists term “middle-age crisis” is simply that point in a person’s existence when he or she struggles with, among many other issues, a sense of under achievement or meaninglessness.

“Check it out, people whose lives are celebrated and whose deaths are regretted are those who lived for God and through God, touched other lives.”

 

 

Sam KPUTU is a missionary with CAPRO MISSIONS, an African indigenous and non-denominational missionary organization. CAPRO Missions seeks to disciple, mobilize, train and deploy missionaries from Africa to Africa and the remaining unreached parts of the world. She currently has over 500 missionaries serving in various ministries in 24 countries of Africa, the Middle East and Europe. www.capromissions.org

COPYRIGHT – This article could be circulated or redistributed, in
whole or part, electronically or by print provided the author is
informed and properly acknowledged. For information or acknowledgements,
please contact the author, Sam KPUTU, atbutisamkputu07@gmail.com
 

 

Did you enjoy this devotion from Basic Truth? Join the Yahoo Group today to receive it in your mail! 

Sky Watch

Welcome to a tropical sunset. . . I took this right outside my apartment in Port Harcourt, Nigeria – from my balcony actually. 5 minutes later, the sky was completely dark…

that’s the moon struggling for sky dominance… I could not really get the clarity and purity of the moon – am still at the very baby stages of amateur photograpy (don’t even know how to use photoshop). I’d appreciate all the tips and hints.

Sky Watch is a fantastic meme which is growing and growing…this is only my second time on it and I’m definitely having fun. Check it out here.