Wednesday Word!

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

Psalm 121:1-2

The Message Bible translation

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Hating Me into Loving Me???

Him: Sit.List all the things you dont like about yourself

Me (scribbling fast and furiously): Uhm, so that we are not here for the next three months, can you give me a limit? Do you mean things I hate about myself, or things I really dont like about myself, or things….

Him: Let’s just limit it To things that if you could change, you would like yourself a bit more

Me (I still havent come up for air since I started scribbling): Should I only mention things i do at work, or at home, or when I’m in company…

Him:I think we should limit it to the first ten things you can think about.

Me (Looking u dejectedly): Just ten? I’m already on number thirteen. And I got a whoole lot more to…

Him: Thirteen is fine.(He stretched out his hands and snatched the list from my grasping fingers)

Dang. I just thought about number 14. I hate that I have just written all this stuff about myself that is only going to cause this man to look down on me even more than he does already.

Why do I do this to myself. Why?

He slides me another sheet of paper

Him: Now I want you to write ten things you like about yourself

Me: Umm… I have to think…

Him: How do you do it? Go through life, being your own worst critic and disbeliever

Me: It’s not like I don’t love myself. It’s just that I need a little more tweaking…

Him: Tweaking, for what purpose?

Me: So that I’ll be better of course

Him: Better for what purpose?

Me: So that I’ll be able to achieve more

Him: Achieve more for what purpose?

Me: So that I’ll be more at par with others of course

Him: And why do you want to be at par with others?

Me: I guess… so that I’ll love me more

Him: It seems pretty obvious you cant hate yourself into loving yourself

Me: I guess… so  I’m stuck with just hating myself, huh?

Him: You can cut all the prerequisites and just love yourself. Now. This minute

Me: How?

Him: Everytime life asks you what you would change about you, first start with who would not exchange you for the world

Me: Will it work?

Him: There’s only one way to find out. You may go now. 

Me (leaving the room)

Him: Oh. And by the way. Number 12. I love number 12. It makes you different. And number 2. And especially number 4…

God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!

Jeremiah 31: 3b

The Message Bible translation

 

 

 

God is my only connection o…

A little context first (it occured to me that the topic has a Nigerian flavour to it).

I grew up in a christian home. Yes, my parents were a part of the S.U. movement of the seventies. And they were in the academics- trained at the prestigious University College, Ibadan (now called UI=University of Ibadan). So growing up, the values I was taught were hardwork (which translated as school diligence) and serving God. That was what I really needed to lead a successful life.

I’m not sure if primary school  children have any ethics but ‘hardwork and God only’ served me well in Secondary school. Again, I need to clarify. By ‘God only’, I’m referring to serving God from a mostly religious point of view. Yes I loved Him, but I also needed to ‘settle Him’ by doing all the right things. (Obviously I wasnt perfect but I tried reaalllyyy

Wednesday Word!

What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, 

inviting the homeless poor into your homes

putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

being available to your own families.

Isaiah 58:7

The Message Bible Translation

Wednesday Word!

Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds,
    walk away from their only true love.
But I’m worshiping you, God,
    calling out in thanksgiving!
And I’ll do what I promised I’d do!
    Salvation belongs to God!

Jonah 2:8-9

The Message Bible Translation

I, robot.

Disclaimer alert: this is not about the movie. I am not even sure I ever actually watched it.

The title always just fascinated me.

I’m not sure what the storyline is about but when I see the name, I picture a human being actually becoming a robot.

And I’m certain we have all felt that way at some point in our lives.

In the frantic chaos that life can be, I sometimes get the feeling that I’m just running on some auto-program, which is re booted everyday.

Wake. Rush to work (as I never leave early enough for a leisurely ride). Work. Come home and spend some more time caught up in work related stuff. A little me time. Sleep. Run the program again tomorrow.

Wednesday Word!

“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans”

Rom 8:26

The Message Bible

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