A BOWL OF PORRIDGE!!

The reason why God is always against gluttony is the fact that too much of anything results in upset, or in other words the inability to be able to withstand pain in other to get our deserved blessings would result in a "BOWL OF PORRIDGE EFFECT"

As I sit down on my bed and think on the wonders of God and why it is important to him that some were born first before the other and they can lead while another set who were born after end up taking the mantle of leadership, my mind goes back to a portion of the holy book (my manual for existence) and I remember two brothers, two nations, two people and "A BOWL OF PORRIDGE".

Some were born to lead (not because of what their parents have) but because they were born before other, some were born to lead just because it is hereditary, some learnt it along the way, some have been moved to lead (because of the society or circumstances around them, or maybe they desired a change) while some have had leadership forced down their throat.

Sorry I digress from the main gist.

It is an open fact that most of us went to the farm and came back home "HUNGRY", we found our brother making porridge and in a bid to satisfy our hunger sold our birthright for "A BOWL OF PORRIDGE". A lot of Nigerians grew up hungry but unlike the story in the bible most of us do not have an inkling for what we hunger.

WE JUST NEED SOMETHING TO FILL OUR STOMACH NOT CARING WHAT IT IS AND WHERE IT IS COMING FROM!!

So some of us have eaten porridge that has kept up going to the loo times without number with no relief in sight!

Leadership is a heavy burden that requires that you must sometimes go hungry and in some instances be able to overlook your brothers "BOWL OF PORRIDGE" and focus on making your own part in life.

Let us remember that getting that "PORRIDGE" means that you have to let go of your birthright and your blessings, things that are naturally yours from inception and from the beginning of creation.

It means that a people that initially came to get from you would be the ones that you would go begging to get from them?

A man was hungry and sold his birthright to lead for "A BOWL OF PORRIDGE" and he later regretted it.

What is your bowl of porridge? What is that thing that would take from you that which will make you who you are and you are meant to be? Search well and ensure that you know, if you are on the verge of selling retract and do not do so!

It is this same hunger that has made it impossible for us to move forward and this that has ensured that we do not, after 50 year of independence, have the right kind of leader we need. Some have decided to sit down and ensure that “THE BOWL OF PORRIDGE” does not get to the next guy. They don’t want it but would also ensure that the guy who not only wants it but can also wash the bowl and make it presentable that he who sees the bowl and its content would envy him and want to partake in the feast, does not get to have it.

It is high time that we refuse to be fed from that “BOWL OF PORRIDGE” that keeps taking from us and not give back. We must learn how to say no and move forward. We have gone hunting and we have the meat at hand, why must we be in haste when we have the food? Why is it that we cannot make the meal even when all needed to do so is right there with us?

LEARN FROM THE MAN FOR A FLEETING PLEASURE AND SATISFACTION OF JUST A FEW MINUTES LOST A LIFETIME OF GLORY!! THE BOWL OF PORRIDGE WOULD NOT LAST A LIFE TIME BUT THAT WHICH YOU HAVE AT HAND CAN GO A LONG WAY! USE IT!!

The Shephard Leader

Show me a Nigerian leader and I would show you a wolf stealing sheep from its owner.

Show me a Nigerian Leader and I will show you a fearful man, one so afraid of mediocrity that he holds money by the throat just to have relevance.

Show me a Nigerian Leader and I would show you a man that is drunk with power and has lost consciousness of moral, social, godly values.

Show me a true leader and I would show you a Shepherd that knows his sheep and who's sheep know him.

The picture image for the note shows a Shepherd carry a sheep and protecting it. That is an example of a true leader.

A Shepherd will stay out in bad whether just to ensure that the sheep in his care are safe and protected.

A Shepherd will go hungry and starve, he will travel a long distance, be a doctor just for the safety of its sheep.

A Shepherd will stake its life for that of its sheep, fighting the wolves and the lions just so they don't get to the sheep.

A Shepherd lives by the code of conduct that my sheep first before every other thing, and so the sheep comes first.

A Shepherd lives his life based on principles and morals that ensures that those under his care are safe and want for nothing as long as he can provide it.

He ensures they have food to eat water to drink a good place to lay their head, a shade from bad whether and protection from danger (both internal and external).

This is what makes a true Leader!

This is the kind of Leader we need.

Someone that will not think of himself but of those he is leading.

A person that would put the welfare of his people ahead of his own.

A man or woman guided by moral principles that are of positive impact to the society, economy, persons, and nation.

A man that is not ruled by the fear of not having money,someone that is confident in who he is that that money is never a basis for judging personal worth.

The leader we need? One ruled by values and principles that shines a guiding light.

A Shepherd is never perfect but one simple thing about a him is that he would never put himself above the sheep because to him, THE SHEEP COMES FIRST!

IT IS YOU THAT MATTERS

It is important to note this one important thing, “without you there will never be a problem, when you are gone problems peculiar to you will cease to exist”

It seems to me that all that really matters is YOU and not what happens around you. Again, I would say the choice is yours. I think I can hear you say, what? You mean with all I am going through, it boils down to me? Are you saying all that matters is me? Thanks for helping me out, you got it, that’s all I mean to say.

You are the only thing that matters in the event of thing and circumstances that takes place in your life. Remember that whatever the situation you pass through or encounter, good or bad, it is yours because it is taking place in your life at that particular point in time, it therefore peculiar to you and you alone. Every problem that occurs in your life does not have a hold on you and waiting for you to devise a solution to it, it takes you alone to understand the peculiarity of the situation and to also dissolve the puzzle. Since we both know that “life is full of puzzles” the solution to them is you, plain and simple and no one can handle it for you. They only be your think bank and proffer suggestions but they would not be able to handle it or provide solutions to the puzzle.

It is important to note this one important thing, “without you there will never be a problem, when you are gone problems peculiar to you will cease to exist” Remember the Garden of Eden? The serpent did not come to tempt until man was created, the problem of sin was peculiar to Adam at the time, so also are your own problems. Without you your problems cannot exist (they become a failed enterprise) because they can’t leave in a vacuum independent of you. It’s a great thing for you to know this because this gives you the power you need over those problems, the knowledge that you own them and can deal with them as you alone deem fit for them. I think this is why God gave us dominion, because he understood and knew that we own the problems and have control over them. We already had it in us but he had to declare it so that we would remember it and make good use of it. We were meant to rule over everything and that includes our problems because for every one of them we were born with a solution to them, otherwise they would not come looking for us. This is also why God says he would not test us with what we can’t bear.

If your problems have the ability to thrive on its own then you are not needed, i.e. it does not need you, but then let the problem try to exist independent of its owner and it would cease to exist. Therefore know this your problems are of no value and lacks existence without you as the owner and chairperson. Treat them with this superiority and you will always be the boss of them.

Always remember that your problems came because of you and without you they will have no place. Therefor you have the solution before they came calling. All you need is to see it as an opportunity to show your superiority that God has given you and benefit from the reward.

CONTROL YOUR EXCITEMENT - Don't let it get to your head!

Your excitement must be managed, it is a clear sign of discipline and maturity. - Austine O. Augustus Author of "Play with your Problems"

Have you heard the story of the two geese and a toad?

There were two geese that wanted to go on an annual migration and as they prepared, the toad asked if he could come along. They agreed to take him along but had to develop a means to make that happen since the toad could not fly. While thinking, the toad came up with a solution:

Each one of them would hold on to a long thread of grass using their mouth

The geese agreed, they held the thread by both ends while the toad clung to it at the middle with his mouth and so the journey began.

This unusual affair caused quiet an uproar and the people looked up to see the great wonder of the toad and two geese. Down below some humans who could not contain their excitement and admiration for the uniqueness of the three buddies in the sky spoke up.

They praised the creativity and cleverness of the three. The praise was so great that it got to the toad's head and he decided to respond. In doing this he had to open his mouth, in opening his mouth he got disconnected, and crashed to the earth.

OH WHAT A GREAT CRASH IT WAS!!

It is important that we know when to keep quiet and when to speak. Sometimes, speaking actually breaks connection and causes a crash or destroys all our hard work. The best thing is not to be bothered by the praise of the praise singers, they will not help your cause.


Honestly? They will be their when u get to the top!

Letting praise or criticism get to your head, shows a weakness we cannot afford to have. We must be able to curb and control our excitements and how we react to them. it is important at most times that even when you are excited and feel that you have a good deal, that you keep a clear and blank face. This also ensures that the other party does not know what is going on in your head and therefore would want to please so as not to loose out. But if you are the kind of person that can easily be read like a book then wahala dey!

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying anything is bad about been excited or about praises or criticism but dwelling on them, so much so that it goes to your head, means you might not be able to go further than where you are presently.

Excitement, praise and criticism is a propeller that should push you to think and strive to be better, not something that needs your response. (Maybe a Thank you would do).

Remember, half-way there does not mean you are there.

Don't let it get to your head, GET A GRIP!!

RENE AND MAGELI

Women of magnitude
Two of a kind but poles apart
Weaving-in out of life
Webs and intimate intricacies
That makes existence an ultimate challenge
Though they started young
Weaving mirrored glasses
That magnifies things in rainbows
And bestows the ideal of everlasting summer
On their believes and outlooks
They came out of a world in which they were born
To find themselves and conquer the world
Not knowing that without removing
From their faces the mirrored glasses
The world would continue to deal them a terrible blow
And after two terrible bangs on the frame
It breaks and falls off
The great trumpet is blown
The mighty wall of Jericho is fallen
As in the bible no one would be able to build this wall
And so the new ideals start
From the debris and rumbles
Come a rambling magnificence
A fortress that cannot be equaled
This is the result of gradual work
Painstaking decisions
Sacrifices made for essence of survival
And since life must go on
They do nothing but go on living
In a life in which they refuse to be
Nothing but the actors, directors & producers
Refusing to be spectators
Or viewers on the outside looking in
At an early age they learn
That life, truly, is not a bed of roses
Lavishly they court the true essence of living
Fighting and winning a war never started
Always on top of whatever it is
That life decides to dish out to them
And as we look on and marvel
At the goodness and beauty of it all
We fail to realize that sacrifices have
Been made in lieu of happiness
In their race they have been able
To do what most would not do
They have made a name for themselves
Overcome all odds and become over comers
We need not contemplate
Lives of two never known to the other
But fighting hard without relenting
Retreating and coming back to win
Never vanquished
They stand out among all
And forever will remain a legend
To be admired from race to race
And generation to generation
They stand out among many
And never cease to amaze
Neither is there a chance
Of them not been able
To surmount all obstacles

RENE AND MAGELI

Women of magnitude

Two of a kind but poles apart

Weaving-in out of life

Webs and intimate intricacies

That makes existence an ultimate challenge

Though they started young

Weaving mirrored glasses

That magnifies things in rainbows

And bestows the ideal of everlasting summer

On their believes and outlooks

They came out of a world in which they were born

To find themselves and conquer the world

Not knowing that without removing

From their faces the mirrored glasses

The world would continue to deal them a terrible blow

And after two terrible bangs on the frame

It breaks and falls off

The great trumpet is blown

The mighty wall of Jericho is fallen

As in the bible no one would be able to build this wall

And so the new ideals start

From the debris and rumbles

Come a rambling magnificence

A fortress that cannot be equaled

This is the result of gradual work /Painstaking decisions

Sacrifices made for essence of survival

And since life must go on

They do nothing but go on living

In a life in which they refuse to be

Nothing but the actors, directors & producers

Refusing to be spectators

Or viewers on the outside looking in

At an early age they learn

That life, truly, is not a bed of roses

Lavishly they court the true essence of living

Fighting and winning a war never started

Always on top of whatever it is That life decides to dish out to them

And as we look on and marvel

At the goodness and beauty of it all

We fail to realize that sacrifices have

Been made in lieu of happiness

In their race they have been able

To do what most would not do

They have made a name for themselves

Overcome all odds and become over comers

We need not contemplate

Lives of two never known to the other

But fighting hard without relenting

Retreating and coming back to win

Never vanquished

They stand out among all

And forever will remain a legend

To be admired from race to race

And generation to generation

They stand out among many

And never cease to amaze

Neither is there a chance

Of them not been able

To surmount all obstacles

PERRY THE TRAVELLER

Perry the man
Perry the lover that found love
Not knowing that his days are numbered
For decades he has been a traveler
seeking an abode in which
He may settle and call home
and for decade he has not found this
Born into riches he takes for granted
and in search of this abode
He marries himself off to an illusion
Perry never really looked
He never paused to realized
Until he discovers that the illusion
to which he clings
Are in shambles and gone forever
and gradually he distances himself
Until the covering is finally removed
And he sees for himself what it is
He should have realized
That with love which he can’t find
there would be no happiness
And then he resumes his travelling
And continues his search
in a remote place in which he did not look
A place he did not take his search to
He finds temporary abode
in the city of pairs he find himself
A permanent abode which is home
In the person he loves
He secludes his finds to himself
Never letting goes but holding fast
that the happiness would not
And never be grasped from his hand
That’s been put in their part
would they find happiness?
Eventually they find
and to them it’s on everlasting treasure
Long forgotten but now known
Beholden and never to be let go
the vanquished they have left behind
And never to come into contact with again
Two distinct individual
Different personalities
But naturally alike
In that they set out to conquer
And in a world of hardship
they did what they could not have done
Initially in their world of make believe.

Rising above "Slavery"

There are different forms of slavery and each form has an effect on us all irrespective of whether we are directly involved or not. There is the physical slavery that we all know and that was abolished long ago, there is the corporate slavery to which a lot are still bound by, sexual or marital slavery in which either party becomes enslaved to the other, mental slavery that gives false hope and binds the soul and financial slavery that breeds corruption. There are a lot more of those but whichever one it is a slave is a slave!

To know if you fall into any of this category, check this out: It results in poverty, irresponsibility, low self-esteem, failure, negative pride and in most cases greed. Whatever way we look at it every individual that cannot account for his life or existence, he who's basic need is dictated by someone else (be it employee or master) is in actual fact a slave.

There is a great difference between deliverance and freedom as we see in the story of the journey of the Israelite from Egypt to Canaan. Moses delivered while Joshua led them to freedom. While under Moses they were delivered physically free but were still mentally enslaved and back in Egypt. By the time the baton was handed to Joshua it was time for accountability and responsibility.

The difference between deliverance and freedom are:
1. when you are been delivered you are still fed and catered for. You still have someone that is still responsible for you. It’s just that he is not a master while freedom means you are responsible accountable, no more manna

2. Freedom means you get to fight but deliverance means someone else fights your battles

3. freedom means you make your own wealth (with help from God) but deliverance you get paid (wages or otherwise)

4.Deliverance means you shift blame when things go wrong or someone bears the blame for your mistakes but freedom means you get the blame when things go wrong

it is quiet unfortunate that a lot of people have been delivered from illiteracy, poverty, bad relationships, financial crisis, and lots more and yet they are not free. Why? They enjoy the satisfaction and irresponsibility that slavery gives to them. That way they don't have to worry about, where the next meal comes from (they get paid end of the month) or who carries the blame.

This is the reason why people in place of power in Nigeria have refused to live the comfort they derive from it. They can act irresponsibly and like the slave master or the prisoner they get to control the slave who does not know his right. Most Nigerians are in a place of slavery one way or the other because most of your do not know our right and those who know have been so blinded by the comfort of enslavement that we do not seek change

Some are slaves to bad habits, they get delivered but are not free. Why? Because they enjoy the pleasure, false security and fleeting joy that slavery gives. The idea that they would have to let go of all the pleasure (no matter how bad) and do what is right serves as a thorn which they do not want to bear. I must tell you first hand the immediate pleasure that slavery gives or the false security would cloud the pain that would come afterward. However, the ability to be free and accept freedom is the first step that makes deliverance different from freedom.

It is high time that we rise above slavery and move from been delivered from colonization to been a free nation. This would start with a change in individual mindset. We must have a mindset that does not push the blame for our backwardness and challenges to the government, society or even our past colonial masters. Let us take our own destiny into our own hands and be accountable for what our future will be. THEN WE CAN SAY WE ARE FREE INDEED!!