A whole lot wiser :)

Hola Les Amis,

My favourite book in the whole universe is the BIBLE.....

Thankful God gave us that....

I just grew wiser reading Romans 12, and I thought I'd share it with you....

Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

4-6 In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

6-8 If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

- The Message.

Aren't you amazed by how much we learn from God daily?

Big Hugs :)

Great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHEN THE MORNING COMES

Hello Les Amis :)

Image source: google images

One of my fave moments today was listening to Oprah Winfrey's Harvard commencement speech...

Feel so inspired...
Watch Below and let me know what you think...

Source: Youtube

This poem/ song stuck with me

WHEN THE MORNING COMES

VERSE 1: 

Trials dark on ev'ry hand, and we cannot understand

All the way that God will lead us to that blessed promised land;

But He'll guide us with His eye, and we'll follow till we die,

We will understand it better by and by.

CHORUS:

By and by, when the morning comes,

All the saints of God are gathering home.

We will tell the story how we've overcome

We will understand it better by and by.

VERSE 2

We are often destitute of the things that life demands,

Want of shelter and of food, thirsty hill and barren land;

But we're trusting in the Lord, and according to His word,

We will understand it better by and by.

CHORUS:

By and by, when the morning comes,

All the saints of God are gathering home.

We will tell the story how we've overcome

We will understand it better by and by.

VERSE 3

Temptations, hidden snares, often take us unawares,

And our hearts are made to bleed, for each thoughtless word or deed;

And we wonder why the test, when we try to do our best,

But we'll understand it better by and by.

CHORUS:

By and by, when the morning comes,

All the saints of God are gathering home.

We will tell the story how we've overcome

We will understand it better by and by.

'Max out your humanity'- Oprah Winfrey

“Don't ask what the world needs, ask what 

makes you come alive and go do that, because 

what the world needs is people who have come

 alive- 

Howard Thurman

Be guided by God. Trust Him. There is always joy when the morning comes. Just be YOU!

Thanks a billion for reading. Hugs :)

Proudly GIRL!!!

Hello J

How was your weekend? Mine was super duper great (have some pictures to show you, but I forgot my phone at home~ long story~ promise to show them tomorrow).

11^th of Oct was the UN international day of the girl child. Personally, I loved that a day is being picked out to celebrate the girl child. I am proud to be a girl, woman, female, lady, blah blah, etc and I’m grateful that I'm free to be the best woman I can be now. Not many girls have the opportunity to be that- their best selves ‘cos of some crazy stereotypical beliefs and laid back traditions.

Once, I heard my parents talk about an aunt who wanted my dad to re-marry so that he can have a male child or an heir to continue the family lineage.

In some cultures, women are disregarded as nothing; lands are not allocated to women, properties aren't inherited by girls, girls aren't educated. They are sold off to early marriages :( {Imagine a 13 years old kid married to a 50 years old man. It's crazy but they still practice that}and are relegated to the kitchen. Why? ‘Because she is just a girl and eventually she will be married off’, some say.

This is supposed to be in the past, but somehow, in this 21^st century, a lot of girls bear the burden of being born a 'girl'. Take another example of this man in India, who killed his daughter because she is a girl.

Like me, I’m sure you can write a novel recounting the blessings of being a girl. I’m so proud of us (Yippee!!!). One person I thought of during the weekend was Malala Yousufzai. She is 14 and an activist (really brave, I should add). She lends her voice in support of the girl child education even though it’s a taboo to talk about it. Recently, this little strong woman was shot by the Taliban and I’m praying she gets well and healthier.

Image Source: globalgrind.com

For me, I believe that everyone should be treated equally, whether a boy or a girl. No favorites  We all, as individuals have the opportunity to be the best we can be. We all have our individual strength and ability to carry out certain thing. It depends on you. Jehovah made us unique and special, whether boy or girl. Your sex doesn't matter. My opinion. 

Please, what’s your thought?

Oops, before i forget, check this link,  for CNN’s compilation of advises from exemplary women.

My new fave song (love its message): Willow Smith- I am me

Heard it over the weekend and it’s been on replay( in my mind) J

How’s your day so far? Hope the ‘Monday’ isn't getting to you?

Have a great day...Hugs.

THANKS A LOT FOR READING !!!

Miss Joy

Hi,

How are you doing? How’s your Friday going?

Mine has been great so far. So many lessons to learn in this race called life.

Sometimes, I hate sad stuffs especially sad movies (You know the ones where the person you cherish much dies!!! annoying), but I learnt a lesson in ‘not judging’ (Remember the saying 'do not judge a book by its cover'). 

I've been putting off watching the movie ‘Letter to God’ ‘cos in my head, it will be too sad for me to handle, but I watched it today, during lunch break and I was blown away. I learnt about God, hope and inspiring others.

Talking about inspiring others, my person of interest today is ‘Talia Joy Costellano’ (check her blog). She’s one of the smartest/ strongest 13 years old/ talented make-up artist who is inspiring the world with her story and strength, even though she’s battling cancer. I really admire her and love that she's not giving up.

Image Source: refinery29.com

I think we judge ourselves more. For example, the fact that we are not rich makes us dull or the fact that we are ‘a little’ weighty makes us ugly. I love Miss Costellano ‘cos she didn't allow her cancer stop her from being her amazing self but she rose above being judgmental of her situation and is one the strongest persons I know.

So here is me saying, ‘Stop judging yourself, and convert your weakness to strength’ (Saw this somewhere ‘each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage and confidence in the doing)...

Whether it's a life threatening ailment or a crazy home, lose the depression and exude happiness and confidence, like Talia said on Ellen's show ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming'...and lean on God (I might add)...

Thanks a lot for reading :))

Song of the day : Girl on fire by Alicia Keys ft Nicki Minaj

Have an awesome weekend..Big hugsssssssss J

THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Hello Dear,

Since yesterday, I've been listening to great speeches of all time. One of my new favorites is Theodore Roosevelt's speech in Paris 1910, 'Citizenship In A Republic'. I loved his reference to 'The Man In The Arena'...

Here's what he says...
                                        

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.  

- Theodore Roosevelt

Source: shopo.inshopo.in

 CHAMPION- CHIPMUNK FT CHRIS BROWN

I'm feeling a little inspired this morning. Hope you are too? 
Remember, people will always talk, (They are entitled to their opinion anyway), but in the long run, it's all about you. 

Ignore the critics and be true to yourself....

Have a beautiful day :)...Hugs!!!!!!

Sunitha Krishnan: My new HEROINE

Hi everyone,
How's your day so far?
I just listened to one of the greatest woman in the world speak and would like you to listen to her message as well...
Sunitha Krishnan- The fight against sex slavery

                                         Source: Ted.com
I learnt 3 lessons from her speech:
1. You can go past your bad experiences in life and make something good out of it.
2. Think of ways to help the less fortunate. Yeah, alms are important, but how else can you empower them? Just think of one way...
3. Be empathetic. I didn't say 'compassionate'. Be empathetic.

Here are some disturbing facts on human trafficking in the world:

Short Statistics Human Trafficking Worldwide (polarisproject.org)

• 27 million – Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world.

• 12.3 million – Number of adults and children in forced labor around the world

• 9.8 million – Number of these that are exploited by private agents for labor or commercial sex purposes.

• 800,000 – Number of people trafficked across international borders every year, as of 2007.

• 2 million – Number of children exploited by the global commercial sex trade.

• 1.2 million – Number of children trafficked globally in 2000.

• 80% – Percent of transnational victims who are women and girls.

• 50% – Percent of transnational victims who are minors.

• At least 56% – Percent of trafficking victims globally who are women.

• 161 – Countries identified as affected by human trafficking:

• 127 countries of origin; 98 transit countries; 137 destination countries.

• Note: Countries may be counted multiple times and categories are not mutually exclusive.

• 116 – Countries that have enacted legislation to prohibit all forms of [human] trafficking.

• 104 – Countries without laws, policies, or regulations to prevent victims’ deportations.

• 62 – Countries that have yet to convict a trafficker under laws in compliance with the Palermo Protocol.

• $32 billion – Total yearly profits, in U.S. dollars, generated by the human trafficking industry.

• $15.5 billion, half of the total, is made in industrialized countries.

• $9.7 billion, one-third of the total, is made in Asia.

• $13,000 per year, on average, generated by each trafficked laborer. This comes to $1,100 per month.

• $21 billion – A preliminary estimate of the total financial cost of being in a forced labor situation, rather than a free employment situation, to all workers in forced labor across the globe in U.S. dollars.

Hope you learnt a lot from her speech and please spread the message. The statistics above is SCARY.

Thank you so much for joining in Sunitha's fight and reading this post...

Oops!!! If you are in Nigeria, there is a stage play on child trafficking that will be shown on all of the Sundays in the month of AUGUST. It's called 'Batonga- A tale about Child trafficking'

The Venue is 'Terrakulture's freedom hall' and ticket is for N2,500.

Thanks again...Hugs :)