Thriving Words

I will praise You; for I’m fearfully and wonderfully made; - Psalm 139:14 It is so easy to lose yourself while growing up, many people do, they end up becoming someone else and living a false life.  I want you to smile at yourself because you're beautiful, and let no opinion tell you any different. The thing I learned about life is most people are going to see your flaws and not your beauty. You're going to be imperfect to most, but you'll always be perfect for the heart that God has for you.  You got to understand that there's going to be somebody somewhere at sometime that's going to find something wrong with you; but the something wrong they find is nothing but the something right to the heart that's searching for you.  You might be too big or too small in their eyes, but you're the perfect size for the heart that's meant to love you.  You might be too outgoing or too shy in their eyes, but you got the perfect personality for t...

Before social media, life seemed simpler, uncluttered. You knew what you alone were having for dinner, not twenty others. Hours in a day were more productive. Focused. No scroll-and-click distractions. No blog hopping. You hunkered down and worked — or played with your kids or read a good book — without thought as to what you might be missing. And you knew people, warts and all, not just their happy highlight reels, the ones that move you to discontentment with your own life. Social media has attracted masses of us because we benefit from the connection, the information, and the inspiration. But for Christians, as many of us can attest, there are potential pitfalls as well. Though we desire to glorify the Lord and represent him well, the world of social media can upset those intentions, if we’re not careful. Wisdom would have us check our hearts regularly by keeping key questions in mind. Social media is robust with real-time engagement. Timelines are filled with reaction an...

In the journey of life, you will meet two types of people, firstly, the praise singers and secondly your critics. Praise singers will always praise you even when your actions or steps are wrong. When men thank you, receive it cautiously and forward it to God. It is to save your neck. Beware of excessive praise. One way out of this is to point to the One who did the miracle-God. One of the tools Satan can use to deter you from making Heaven at times, are the friends you trust. Now, don’t get me wrong; it is good to have friends both good and God-fearing ones, yet you need to deal cautiously with such friends so that you don’t fall if the devil decides to use them. Say… God forbid! Arome Wesley rightly said: Disloyal folks always have the sweetest accent; most times traitors are the loudest praise singers. Don't be moved by the words of men; be more keen on actions. Trust me,actions are superior to words. If they show more commitment in words than in action, then  dang...

We're livin' in a time Where everybody is strugglin' for their lives They're stressed, they're depressed But with the power invested in me I came to speak life over you I speak of lessons of help, lessons of peace To my brothers and sisters all around the world Specially those in South Africa strugglin' with AIDS And Brazil and The States I speak life, you're gonna live Oh, my brother, my sister, I speak life You are the head and not the tail You will prevail, I speak life Don't give up the fight for your life You shall live and not die Let's not lose another person to a senseless death Substance abuse, gang violence, suicide Because of low self esteem The power of life and death is in the tone Speak life over yourself and those you love Help me sing it I speak life, you're gonna live Oh, my brother, my sister, I speak life You are the head and not the tail You will prevail, I speak life ...

When was the last time you geninuely asked someone "how are you?" I was about my usual my wakawaka some days ago when I bumped into a good friend of mine, we havent seen in a while so you can imagine how we shouted and laughed, the usual handhsakes and hugs took place and I asked "how you dey na?" he responded "oh boy I dey o" and we continued trying to catchup but somehow I knew he was not fine, I could tell even though he did well to hide it but something kept telling me he wasn't as fine as he was potraying.  So I said "baba I dey hungry oooo, make we go chop" he wanted to say no but I insisted. I delibrately took us to a place where I would go to eat only if its a special occassion. We ordered for Amala and I knew he wouldn't want to eat much so I ordered to eat well so he can do same. We had a good fill of Amala, Ogunfe and assorted with juice to step down.... After eating, I asked again "oh boy how you dey na...

God is still in the habit of always changing our stories for good just Like He did Kris-Lynn Williams and her husband Justin Williams. Below is the her story of a God’s reckless love for her and Justin: September 22, 2013. ❤ That was the day I met my Husband. I had been a stripper in Tampa, Miami & Vegas for the past 6 years and me and my girls were at the local AfterHours club where Justin and his brothers were selling molly, x, weed, and cocaine. Justin & I did all 4. And from that night we became inseparable. We were the IT couple and living a crazy life. Money. Drugs. Pimps. Strippers. Everynight. That's all we knew.  Alot of you that "know" me are probably saying to yourself "But wasnt she a Pastor's daughter growing up? At church every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sundays? Pastor Kid retreats. And youth camps? Yea. That was me. I could speak in tongues too. Been seeing things in the Spirit since I was a little girl and could finish any script...

The Lord said to him, “What do you have in your hand?” - Exodus 4:2a God called Moses to deliver the people of a Isreal from the hands of the Egyptians. Little has he start the mission, he ran back to God complaining of the difficulties he is having with Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. One noticeable thing in that story is that God didn’t send some angels from above or gathered some their people to go help Moses. He simply asked him “What do you have in your hands”? God has equipped each and everyone of us with everything we need to overcome in Life. He didn’t create us empty.  Most times, people do think they need additional support from God to help them wade through crisis in Life. Oh yes, God can strengthen us no doubt but He is not giving you any additional weapon other than the one He has given you. God takes what you have, who you are, and what you can do, no matter how small it may seem and then multiplies it to create miracles. God did not ask Mos...

For while we were yet with you, we gave you this rule and charge: If anyone will not work, neither let him eat. Indeed, we hear that some among you are disorderly [that they are passing their lives in idleness, neglectful of duty], being busy with other people’s affairs instead of their own and doing no work.  - 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 The Christians of Thessalonica had gotten the wrong idea about work. Having heard that the Lord might be returning soon, they decided that all they needed to do was sit down and wait. Jesus is going to return, the end of the age is coming, so, hey, why work up a sweat? Let’s sit down in the old rocking chair and let it happen! The Christians of Thessalonica figured that God would take care of everything, so why bother to work? It is to these lazy people, that Paul delivers a stinging word of rebuke in the above passage. What has happened to the work ethic in our time? o Why is it that employers complain that workers do not wan...

The Lord tells us to share generously with those in need, and good things will come to us in turn. Each of us has something to offer to someone in need. We can give our money and our time to charity, be a friend to someone who is sick or lonely, do volunteer work or choose a service-oriented occupation. We may give unselfishly of our time to our spouse, children or parents. This does not mean we are obligated to share our time or money with people who are clearly not in need but just want to use or abuse us. Apostle Paul reminds us that there is a correlation between the amount you give and the blessing you receive. This is true in all things. The more you are involved in a project or an event, the greater your sense of satisfaction when the project or event goes well. The more involved you are in your community, the greater the sense of ownership and blessing you will receive. The more you do in the remodeling project the greater the satisfaction you will feel when the project...

Another value we will be studying is Compassion.  Compassion means to suffer with another person. The word has a strong personal element. To have compassion means more than just feeling sorry for somebody. It means to get down where they are in the midst of their need and to suffer with them in the midst of their pain. When Noah Webster published An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828, he began his definition of compassion this way: “A suffering with another; painful sympathy.” I like that, but I find it very challenging. As an illustration of this “painful sympathy,” Noah Webster quotes Luke 15:20, “ His father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." That verse is very significant because it shows us that compassion is more than just a feeling. It’s not just an emotion. It’s more than feeling sorry for people in trouble.  Biblical compassion means that you see the problem, you are moved by the need, you go out t...

Values - is the lifestyle by which we truly live our lives by. For what we live is what  we truly value. In the next few days, we will be studying the values of Jesus and what it meant for us if we adopt them.   The disciples’ values said they followed Jesus to be great in the land - to rule and  to reign in His physical kingdom He would establish when He overthrew the  Romans. Jesus’ values said to lead, to be first, to be great among people  is to be a  servant.  Biblical Leaders in the body of Christ are servants to the body. T he way to lead people is to serve them!  Willing to wash the feet of your brothers and sisters. For in serving, God will use you to influence others.  Biblical Leaders are submitted, they serve, and they influence others through their  servants life. Why are we to be the servants of the Lord? What is God’s great plan for us? Life has no greater meaning and purpose - than to be involved wit...

Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor - King Solomon (The Preacher) Friendship is a good investment. “Two are better than one, because they have good reward for their labor” the words “good reward” can also be translated “good return” for it means -dividends paid on a wise investment. The very best investment you will ever make in life will not be a financial one, but rather the investment made in relationships. We will get the best return on that investment over any other investment that we will ever make. As we go through life there are two kinds of things we can give our lives to. Some people try to accumulate possessions. They are constantly trying to get more or better stuff. It is attributed to the late Malcolm Forbes to have said, “He who dies with most toys wins.” However, since he has died, he knows that not to be true.  If we spend all our lives trying to accumulate more and more possessions, we will never truly be happy and f...