Funny Things About Being A Father

Couldn't let go of this cute pix of David Beckham and his little baby. This pix reminds me of a picture I took with Daddy carrying me like this, although I didn't make a mischievous, funny face. Wish I could lay my hands on the picture. So this is me wishing every father, a Happy Father's Day.

Overcoming The Fear of Ebola

                      

I remember a song we sang in children’s choir, which was coined from Psalm 1:3.

The song goes:

I’ve got to be like a tree

Planted by the water

Trusting in the father

To keep me strong

Mr & Miss Anonymous

Here's another write-up (broadcast) I came across. Who wrote it? I don't know; but immediately I read it, I knew for sure it was worth sharing.
So I did a little editting and named it Mr & Miss Anonymous.

A QUOTE FROM GOD

I received this encouraging quote from God. Every now and then, challenges come to discourage us and make us doubt God in our minds. Sometimes things get so tough, we may just have enough humility not to say the words "I doubt God" but just wait a little more, trust Him a little more...


Cause He'll like you to know that He is working out something special  for you  and while he does, He say's you should hold on to these words in quote...  

 "I saw you

Food For Thought...

I read through this post by Pastor Nomthi Odukoya and I couldn't help but share. I guess it's because of the homely, practical narration used to explain this piercing and blunt scripture of the bible in Matthew 12 43-45. So I culled the post and tagged it a food for thought...

I laughed so hard when my friend told me about her 7 months old daughter who had started crawling, opening the cupboards and throwing away anything she found inside the cupboards. Having grown tired of putting things back only to have them taken out again, my friend bought some lockers. The young girl, not knowing that her mummy had outsmarted her, went for business as usual, 

WAITING

We have a term in my home referred to as someone’s “National Anthem”.  We usually refer to a song played over and over again (an overplayed song) as someone’s national anthem. This is because the national anthem is sang daily and sometimes one 

gets weary of listening to the same old song. Although I must 

admit that in primary school, we sometimes looked forward to 

the anthem because we longed to play or hear the drums.

So there was this season my sister declared a particular song as my national anthem. It was a song sang by Juanita Bynum, titled, 

“I Don’t Mind Waiting”. Interesting enough, the song 

always ministered to me as often as I played it. It even gave me insight as to what action to take at a certain point in my life.

The lyrics of the song:

I Don’t Mind Waiting By Juanita Bynum

You know, sometimes in life,

Situations are going to occur,

Where you may look to the left or to the right,

And you can’t find any answers,

And you can’t find anybody to help you,

But I’m reminded of the word that says;

They that wait upon the Lord, He shall renew their strength,

They shall mount up on wings as eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Come on, you’ve got to learn how to wait.

Chorus

I don’t mind waiting x 3

On you Lord

Repeat Chorus

At some point in our Christian race, the solution to our challenge will be to wait.

There seems to be negligible action/activity while performing the verb “WAIT” that we often choose to add irrelevant activities to 

our waiting period. We often say, “How can I just sit here and not do anything about this situation?” Besides, a saying goes “Heaven helps those who help themselves” This saying is not in the Bible and guess what? You are actually doing something when you choose to obey God by waiting. Even the English dictionary says WAIT is an action word (a verb).

We will all take a life test; a point in our lives when we’ve tried everything, yet we can’t seem to go go forward. We have even trusted man and man has failed us. Then we finally run to God and hearken diligently to His words but there seems to be no answer. When this happens, don’t be afraid or discouraged it’s a lesson of patience. God wants you to WAIT. Hold on to His word and let it strengthen you.

 Isaiah 40:31 

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;

 they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; 

and they hall walk, and not faint.

The grace to wait is upon as many as who ask. I have come to understand that the best things in life don’t come easy. I often imagine it takes a little longer to deliver a large, luxurious gift than it takes to deliver a cheap, common gift. Its the end of the year, and you may have something you're still believing God for, hold on to Gods word because it will soon come to pass.  

Merry Christmas in advance!

Love you and God bless you!

HOW TO BECOME FRESH AND CLEAN LIKE YOUR MAKER

You’re a tree replanted in Eden , bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom… Psalm 1:3 [MSG]

A question crossed my mind and it’s likely to have crossed yours too- “What does ‘fresh’ and ‘clean’ really mean”? Taking a closer look at the above scripture, Psalm 1 tells us that those who walk in the way of the Lord and keep away from the path of sinners but instead thrill to God’s word, chewing the scripture day and night, are like a tree replanted in Eden bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf and always blooming.

Let’s analyse this scripture a bit. Psalm 1:3 which is our key scripture proclaims 4 things:

1.      You’re like a tree, replanted in Eden-a place seen as been perfect and highly pleasing

2.      You bear fresh fruit

3.      You never drop a leaf

4.      You always blossom

A woman of God once told me that whenever I don’t understand a Bible verse or peradventure someone quotes a verse of the bible to support a statement which is not in line with my line of faith, I should read the verses before and after that verse. It makes the verse clearer. (Food for thought)

So we’ve been promised that in every area of our lives, we’ll be like trees in a perfect land, bearing fresh fruits, never dropping a leaf and we’ll always blossom. A tree that bears fresh fruit can be called fresh, and a tree that never drops a leaf can be termed as clean (Never withering; growth is a constant).  This is a fantastic promise but what does it take to get it.

The preceding verses says that we must

1.    Work in the way of the Lord.
2.    Keep away from evil company (remain clean).
3.    Have intense excitement and pleasure for    God’s word.
4.    Meditate on the scripture day and night. (replanted in Eden means to replant oneself in the word of God daily).

My belief is if we can desperately desire a fresh and clean life, then going through the steps to get it would be very easy. There is more to an ideal fresh and clean life. I’ll let the lyrics of Mary, Mary’s song titled “God In Me” unfold this mystery.

The God In Me (lyrics slightly remixed)

I just want to tell the truth now

You’re so fly, you’re so high

Everybody running trying to figure out why

You’re so cool; you’re winning all the time

Everywhere you go, men you get a lot of shine

Boy you’re like a magnet, bet I’ve got to have it

Everything you have, people say I’ve got to have it

From the white Suit, to the Gucci, hear the public say

People want to be like me

But what they don’t know is when you go home

And get behind closed doors, men you hit the floor

 and what they can’t see is you’re on your knees

so the next time you hear them talking

just tell them it’s the God in me.

They think I’m so fresh, think I’m so clean,

they think I’m so sweet; it’s the God in me

What is it people see when they see you, and what do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? If you and others can see a fresh and clean Christian who is prospering in everything, then you’re on the right track. Because you can’t fellowship with God, pray study, meditate and obey His words and not look fine, fresh and clean in every area of your life. There must be always be a transformation.

 “What do you want? Name it: Nations as a present?  Continents as a prize?”

Psalm 2:8 [MSG] God blesses those who serve him without restrain.

While working in the transformed state, we must remember to constantly give glory to God. This reminds me of Obiwon’s song titled “Testify”. Giving the glory to God is giving Him the honour due Him. It always reminds us that it wasn't by our might or power but by God’s grace, so it reduces your chances of  loosing focus and due to pride.

Nevertheless, this doesn't mean we shouldn't take compliments. We should acknowledge compliments with a smile and or a thank you but we must always remember that it was God. Some even precede a compliment with the phrase, ‘It’s God’ or ‘Thanks to God’. When people probe further trying to find out how you got transformed feel free to publicly give the glory to God.

Let’s talk about a fresh and clean diva. Lyrics continues…

See this girl, they think she’s nice

they look at her whip (hair), say the whip’s tight

they look at her crib; 

they’re thinking she’s well paid,

they look at her life; 

they think she’s got it made everything she’s got,

 the girl’s been daring, She calls it a blessing 

but you call it living

When it comes to money, she can be a hero,

She writes them cheques 

with a whole lot of zeros

But what you don’t know is when she gets home

and gets behind closed doors, 

men she hits the floor and what you can’t see 

is she’s on her knees

 and if you ask her she’ll tell you,

 it’s the God in me.

Prayer is a constant in the life of a fresh and clean diva. It is what you do behind closed door that shows who you truly are. As a Christian we need to imitate the fresh and clean life of our maker by being more like Jesus. We must plant the same seeds Jesus planted to get his kind of harvest.

And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and Spirit, blessed by both God and people. Luke 2:52 [MSG]

The last words of the song says:

They think I'm so fresh, they think I'm so clean,

They think I'm so sweet but God is my secret,

It's as a result of the time I spend praying

It's the result of my giving

As a result of my decision to change my ways

to be more like Christ

So the next time you're wondering

Just know that "IT'S THE GOD IN ME"

Who is in you? Kindly share and comment…

Love you and God bless you.

LEAVE IT TO GOD

Ese Walter on Thursday the 22^nd of August 2013

alleged that she had an intimate 1week affair with 

Pastor Xxx…” (The Pastor of a prominent church 

in Nigeria).

The whole world waited eagerly for the pastor’ 

response and finally, his response was, “When we 

asked God, God said be quiet. Thank you!” His 

response can be summarised as “Leave It to God” 

says Ofili (Ofilispeaks).

Has leaving it to God and taking little or no 

responsibility as we act, become our way of life in 

Nigeria? Or has the renowned prolific writer 

Ofilispeaks (a writer I really admire) jumped into 

conclusion all too soon?

Click these two links to discover the truth

http://ofilispeaks.com/leaveitforgod/

http://esewalter.wordpress.com/

“The things which hurt, instruct” – Benjamin Franklin

Love you and God bless you.

I'M IN LOVE…*blushing*

There’s this enchanting, smoldering, riveting, exhilarating and enigmatic feeling I have for this guy hubda, glazba, muziek, zene, muzik, tonlist, music, coel , musica, musique. Actually, I just spelt “music” in ten different languages. (You thought I was going to gist you about a guy right? *smiling* keep reading, you’ll find this even more interesting). 

I loooove music!

 According to mdictionary.com, music is an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony and colour.

Highlighting the word significant this implies that music, expresses a meaning, has a meaning be it hidden or not, it has the capability to influence. More so, anything with significance is never produced by mere chance, but for a purpose.

The kind of music we listen to affects our personality and who we eventually become” says a music lover. Scientific studies have proven that music relentlessly affects our psyche and our behaviour is dependent on the kind of music we listen to.

Let me tell you a brief story from my favourite non-friction book.  An angel named Lucifer was exceptionally endowed with music.  In fact he was the head of the music ministry in heaven. He was not only endowed with music but with beauty. He was even regarded as the morning star. (Read the Bible for facts- Job 38:7, Ezekiel 28:13-19, Isaiah 14-11-14) But his splendor got into his head and he became very prideful, wanting to overthrow GOD , so the ‘Big boss’ displaced him from the heavens down to the lowest depths. When Lucifer the fallen angel was displaced, his talents where not ripped off him and instead of using his talents for what it was created for, he used and still uses them to lure human into all manners of sin.  So that they will fall into the unpleasant, darkest, lowest depths like him.

Back to the significant characteristic of music, Music is not merely produced; this implies that every musical piece has its purpose. Music was originally created to glorify God, but when the music leader Lucifer rebelled, he started creating his music with a contradicting purpose. Now, a music piece can only have one of these two purposes, which is to glorify God or not to glorify God. No matter how enchanting music sounds, it can either be from the pure source or the evil source.

It is also important to know that not all secular music come from an evil source. In the same way, some godly music can be a disguise (The devil is a chief when it comes to deceit, II Corinthians11:14). When I was told about a decade back that not all lyrically good songs are from God and that there’s a spirit behind every song, in my mind I was like, “Which one is this  again! There are way too many rules. They said don’t listen to ungodly song, I tried sooo hard and happily succeeded (after sooo much struggle) and now just when I was settling down and feeling good with my achievement, they bring this ‘revelation’ again”.

Although the statement took me by surprise, I knew there was something deep about the statement “There is a spirit behind every song” so I took note of this statement and told God to explain this revelation to me. 

One interesting thing about God is that he never condemns you. He reveals and explains things to you in bits until you grasps the whole picture and leaves you to decide for yourself what path to take. Now it’s crystal clear to me that the statement is true.

Obedience doesn't come naturally to human so don’t be too hard on yourself to follow the ‘rule’ Just ask God, to reveal to you the truth about music and to help you love the truth. When you love something you’ll follow it without thinking of the opportunity cost. This is a simple secret on how to be obedient.

Oh o! This post is getting too long so I’ll highlight what I have discovered .

     1.   The lyric of a song is key. A song with clean, morally good lyrics is safe to speak meditate on.  Mark 7:20-21 

     2.  The personality of the artist. Although God can use whomever He pleases, if you’re observant, you’ll know an ungodly artist who is singing a godly song for the money.

       3. How do you feel while listening to the song? Most importantly, how do you feel after listening to the song? Take time to observe this and be sincere. Does the song make you sad, lonely, depressed, happy, edified or at peace…

       4.   What spirit is behind the song? On the long run it’s either God’s spirit or the devils. E.g. if the spirit of peace is released from a song then it’s of God. Job 32:8 says the spirit of God in man gives man intelligence. An artist who worships the devil will release a song with an evil spirit. The most effective way to discern the spirit behind a song is to be in constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit (The spirit of truth). With the Holy Spirit, in you, you’ll have a caution in your spirit to repel any song with an evil spirit.

         5.  Lastly the choice is yours. If you choose to become significant and fulfill the purpose for which you were created, you’ll listen to things that will aid your desire. The Holy Spirit can only guide you, not force you.

You can download godly songs free on

Tubidy www.tubidy.com, Praiseworld radio www.praiseworldradio.com an online gospel radio station and Gospogroove www.gospogroove.com

I’ll love you to share your perspective on music, do you love music? What type of music do you listen to? How do you discern what type of music to listen to? 

Please comment. The challenge with commenting has been rectified. To share this post simply click on the social media icons or share button. Thank you!

Love you and God bless you.

               

My Journey

Hi everyone! It’s been a while I discovered my love for writing. I love writing and sharing inspiring, informative and noble information I come across or develop in my line of thought. Although I’ve limited my contents to media outlets such as facebook, twitter and very few magazines, I’ll love to extend it to this blog which I’ve creatively called ‘Tourpaline’.

I created this blog about a year ago, but never really filled it with content. During this period I found me asking myself, ‘There are so many blogs and bloggers, why follow the trend? Asides your flair for writing, what’s your motive?’ I wasn’t particularly satisfied with my answers, so I left it dormant.

Then again, the regular reminders in my thought nudged me to pursue this uncompleted project. I knew I was waiting (wasting available intelligence and time) in vein. Bill Glass once said, “When you get an insight or inspiration, do something about it within twenty-four hours or the odds are against you ever acting on it”.

It is not unusual to come across interesting tales on media. More so, the stories are nicely packaged with a mixture of lies in between the lines thereby creating irresistibly sandwiched stories for us to feed on. Have you noticed that popular stories and headlines are filled with tales that bring about fear, deception and terror?

Discovery shows that the media has much more power than we can imagine.  So, it’s time we influence the media with the gospel so much that, the airwaves are filled with tales of truth, hope, love and peace. 

 This insight is the foundation of Tourpaline’s vision which is “to engage the media platform for God”.  Join me as I pump this blog and thus the media with news and gist cutting across relationship, enterprise, fashion, music, gospel,  and leadership.

I hope this post has been insightful. Why not share, comment and add tourpaline to your blog list. I’ll really appreciate it.

Love you and God bless you.