Do you have the kind of 'Umbrella' I talk about in this article?? Why not have a look and then share with me what your 'Umbrella' is!!!

My 'Umbrella'

Till today I have only thought of an umbrella as an item that protects me from the 'blessings' of  rainy days...

As I sit here in the bus that has been chosen to take me home, I realize I am brimming with confidence. My thoughts begin to wander as I ponder on the source of this confidence... Is it my outfit?? Nah!! My office?? Nah!! Me?? Nah!! Then it hits me just like the flash of lightning that strikes the sky during a storm.
It's my Umbrella.

You see around 4pm this evening dark clouds gathered in the sky and brought with it little drizzles of raindrops; I wasn't bothered because I had my Umbrella with me...
The journey home progressed and amidst light showers I looked up and the clouds were darkened... In an uncharteristic manner, I smiled to myself and looked at my Umbrella, once again reassured that rainfall or no rainfall I was covered and protected... My confidence almost bordered on cockyness so I put it in check....

Then I began to wonder about life's storms. Do people have have an 'Umbrella' to protect them from the storms of life?? from the negative twists and turns of life? If they do have one, do they use it??

Your 'Umbrella' is your faith, your beliefs, mindset, attitude to life etc. Is it strong enough to protect you from the 'rain' (disappointments, heartbreak, setbacks etc) of life's unforseen circumstances?

Do you 'carry' it around with you always? Do you abandon it when it's 'raining' and try to hide under someone else's umbrella? Do you actually trust it to help you move around in the rain and sometimes keep the 'rain' away from you?

My question today is: Is your 'Umbrella' useful to you???

My 'Umbrella' is my Faith in God: not just in any God but in the very nature of who He is... He is faithful and loves me unconditionally,  He wants the best for me when I agree with Him and even when I fight Him, He is patient and will never give up on me no matter how many times I screw up, and because He is so important to me I treasure carry Him EVERYWHERE that I go...

If you have an 'Umbrella I'd like to hear what it is, please write it in the comment section below or via my Facebook page 'https://web.facebook.com/Fulfil-Destiny-and-Be-who-you-were-created-to-be-620877444713675/?ref=bookmarks'

Thank you and God bless

(C)2016 Iquo'Ma

Stop trying too hard!!!

The best way to bring God glory is to do and become all He has created you to be in Christ Jesus, for when you do all of mankind will see your works and give Him glory!!!

Sarah made her choice; It's time to make yours... Pleasure or Pain..find out below!!!

Sarah was happy. She loved her environment; food, shelter and water were readily and easily available. She wondered if life was always going to be this good.

Life continued like that for a while and even when small storms came Sarah didn't panick because they never lasted long. It was amazing that as her appetite increased so did the availability of food. Surely there was a God somewhere who looked after her she thought....

One day a storm came, she wasn't bothered because they usually didn't last for long, this one however seemed in no hurry to depart...

She began to get restless as the storm kept raging, and in the twinkle of an eye, her world as she knew it was shattered and a force was pushing her in a particular direction.

Anger and disbelief ran through Sarah as she wondered why all this was happening, this is so unfair she thought and the tears began to stream down her face...

Then she saw bright lights everywhere and lots of people. She didn't know how she knew but she knew they were people...The tears wouldnt stop flowing because she didnt want to be here, she wanted to go back home, she was hungry and she was cold...

Like an answered prayer she saw them wrap something around her and was grateful for the warmth it provided... Hmmm maybe they're not so bad afterall...

She was still determined to make her displeasure... She didn't like it here and she would let them all know; amidst her tears she wondered what her new surroundings would offer...

Realizing the tears were getting her nowhere, she stopped crying... Suddenly she heard a familiar voice calling her, the woman was not as tall as the rest and as she settled into her arms, she closed her eyes and wondered where she knew that voice from.

This was going to be an interesting journey she thought as she decided to adapt to her new home... 'It might not be so bad after all'

Sarah is a foetus that grows into a baby in the comfort of her mother's womb... At the appointed time she is brought out because if she stays inside the womb any longer she will probably die.
Sarah doesn't know it but her mom and doctors know it, so despite the discomfort to her, they make sure they bring her out.

Life is like that: we are Sarah and God is the doctor and parent... He knows when our time is up in any given circumstance and He begins to cause change to happen. No matter how much we cry, pray, fast or give up, He is unmoved because just like the doctor He knows that if He leaves us there, we will surely die...

So ignoring our pleas and tears of discomfort, He guides us into our next phase.

The process of change is hardly ever welcome because it is usually ushered in through pain or discomfort... But in order to grow we must accept that Life is sometimes going to take us through discomfort and pain.

Your attitude and perception determines whether that change will bring blessings your way or keep you in misery...

It's Your Choice!!!
Choose well and thanks for reading!!!

Shalom!!!
(C)2016 Iquo'Ma

Emeka- My 1 Minute Experience

I had just joined the company and I was thrilled to discover that Fola, who had a car, was going my way. That meant no bus hustles, standing under the sun and rushing for a seat in the hot vehicles that make up our means of transportation here in Lagos. Folas very comfortable car was Heaven sent as we prepared to leave the office 5 mins before 5pm :-P

The day at the office has been just like any other day. I got to work early because Heaven forbid that one should live in Ajah and leave home at 7am hoping to resume work on the island at 8am, i tell you Heaven forbid!

Work progressed smoothly amidst the usual chatting, meeting deadlines, having lunch and all other normal office activities.... Then it was time to switch off mentally from work issues and head home, happy in fact elated was I.

I'm not the quiet type but that day as we drove out of the office I was silent and deep in thought, I considered where life had led me to thus far and how I was going to adjust into life in a bustling city like Lagos... As we drove on the bridge between Ikoyi and VI my eye was drawn to a pure water hawker, whom I will call Emeka...

As Emeka dashed in-between cars to make sales and avoid collisions, his tray fell off his head and his sachets of pure water came tumbling down. Unfortunately the traffic started moving and the oncoming cars drove straight through his goods leaving behind empty satchets....... and a face with heart wrenching tears streaming down.

Those tears got to my heart, they came so instantly and though I was far away and couldn't hear a thing I felt his pain... The sorrow and sadness on his face went straight to my heart like it had direct wifi access to it...
He looked like a teenager but his tears came from his gut, a place he probably thought no one in the world knew existed... I felt his pain at the unfairness of his predicament and his fear at the consequences of what would undoubtedly be labelled as 'his carelessness'.

In the hot Lagos sun, that somehow manages to shine brightly even at 5pm, I observed his face and my mind reacted to what had troubled my heart and spirit. I instinctively grabbed the door handle to open it and reach out to tell him not to cry because I would help him out; you see my brain had already done a mental calculation or be it a rough estimate of the total net worth of the goods that had been on the tray. I immediately recalled I had N500 and concluded that it would be enough to ease his pain and answer any questions that may arise about how his day went.

As I tried to open the door, I suddenly remembered we were driving on the bridge with cars behind us and it would be suicide to just open the door. Fola hadn't noticed a thing as driving requires your full concentration anyway. We drove past as I looked at Emeka and wondered 'Would she stop if i asked her to or would she simply laugh me off'? What would Fola think if I asked her to stop so I could go back to give him the money?

Sadly i was not confident enough in myself to ask her to stop... I cared too much about how she would view me after that, if it would be the topic of the day at work tomorrow, if i would be labeled as a 'notice me' and all these fears or worries about how another person would perceive me caused me not to ACT.

I remained silent as we drove home but my mind was on Emeka and what the end of his day would look like. I re assessed my life, my complaints and my grumblings and realised I had it okay if not good but more than that I realised that I wanted everybody to have it 'okay' if not good.

Its been over 5 years since this happened but even as I wirte, tears form a pool in my eyes as I remember the heart wrenching picture a young boys tears left imprinted on my heart...N500 to me then was nothing, not because I had a lot of money or a job paying me in the hundreds of thousands but simply because I knew that if i parted with it i would still be ok, but i couldn't say the same for him...

I never saw him again: I betrayed myself for not speaking up and i lost an opportunity to give someone the strength to get through another day because I wasn't confident enough to be me.

From that 1 minute experience I made a decision that no matter my present surroundings, when next a situation spoke to the core of my heart, I would ACT.
You see there is a strength of character muscle we develop anytime we are bold enough to do what our heart says is the right thing to do even if it means you looking odd or being laughed at for a minute or two...

Touch a life whenever God gives you the opportunity, heart and resources to do so...

(c) 2016 Iquo'Ma 

Your perception really matters to God!!!

Has God put a dream in your heart? How do you perceive it? Your perception matters so much to Him that it actually determines if you will see that dream become a reality in your life or not...

Check out what happened to the spies who saw rightly with their eyes but had a flawed perception in their heart in Numbers 13:25-34, 14:1-45...

What is your perception about the dream and vision He has placed inside you? Do you believe He can and will bring it to pass?? Or have you allowed what you can see physically to kill your belief that God is able???

Be reminded today that it is only what you believe that God will bring to pass in your life so be sure to keep alive your belief in Him and in His abilities, no matter what your physical eyes may see.  

Shalom and Happy Wednesday!!!
(c)2016 Iquo'Ma

As sure as the sun sets each day this word of God will surely come to pass!!!

True Leaders... May God bless them all!!!

This makes sense because for a second there I was about to ask God Almighty why he created men 'aliens' and made women 'normal'....
Hahahahahah have an awesome week ahead and be expectant of good things :-)

(c)2016 Iquo'Ma