Amazed At What God Is Doing

We are already in the ninth month of 2015. It is not the end of the year yet. But I cannot wait until December 31^st to take stock of the events of the year. I look back into the last eight and half months, and I am overwhelmed at what God has done and is doing in my life. Not only in mine but also in the lives of my family members. God is awesome.

The song played in my head as I floated into consciousness in the early hours of Wednesday;

Count your many blessings

Lay them one by one

Count your many blessings

See what God has done

Count your blessings

Lay them one by one

And it would surprise you

what the Lord has done.

I am amazed at how much God has done and what He has done. Counting it all is like counting the sands on the beach, where do I start from?

At the beginning of 2014, the word of God to my family was that “we shall recover all” (1Sam30:8). We stood firm on that promise throughout the year. It was combined with another word that “we shall not see the rain or hear the wind, but our ditches shall be filled with water” (2Kings 3:17). At the end of the year, we had many testimonies of how God followed after His word to fulfil it in our lives. I believed that we carried over these promises into 2015 and received along with it that this is our year of divine establishment. I trusted God for the establishment of His word in our lives, and for us to be established in the centre of His will for us.

I can sing over and over again that I have seen the Lord’s goodness, His mercies and compassion. I have seen His mighty hands working on our behalf. I can testify that God is faithful to His promises. His words are effectual, and they have the power to produce an effect in our lives.

In April, we flagged off the fundraising efforts of the Feet Of Grace Foundation during the Hit The Street For Their Feet Charity Walk. The funds are still coming in. Two amputees received prosthetic limbs. One is doing very well. But Olivet has developed some diabetic ulcers on her second foot making it difficult for her to make maximal use of her prosthetic limb. Do pray along for the healing of the second foot and the grace to bear up under this affliction.

We are getting set to support another amputee who also needs to have her prosthetic limb replaced after using and repairing the current one several times in the last seven years. I am so grateful to all our donors and supporters who have not considered their support an once and for all effort.

The Lord promised me in 2013 that He will give me the Feet of Grace that will take me to places where my natural feet could not take me; places beyond my imagination. He has been doing just exactly what He promised. He opened the doors to me to share my testimony in several places I could never have imagined I would be visiting a few years ago, talk less of speaking there. I shared my testimony in Lagos, Geneva, Zurich, London, Yupaica, Los Angeles and Chicago. And there are still more coming before 2015 is out. The number of kilometres I have covered in this year alone surpasses what I was able to do during the last seven years of my affliction.

My second son successfully completed his high school education in May and gained admission into a great science and engineering College in Claremont, California. I had the opportunity of accompanying him to support his transition to the college, a desire that eluded me when my first son went to college in 2012. I couldn’t get out of my bed then to see him off. That was painful. But God turned it all around for our good. We didn’t have the opportunity to visit the College selected by my second son before he accepted the offer. The orientation section provided me the opportunity of finding out more about the college where our son will be spending the next four years. The peace of God flooded my heart as I learnt more about the school. I knew without any doubt my son is where God wants him to be.

It has been a year of reconnections. Right from May, I got reconnected with friends from my high school days. It is more than 33 years since I saw most of them. Then in August when I got to California, I met my Sistafriend of over 40 years again. It was pure joy holding her in my arms. We saw each other last in 1987. But we kept in touch over the past years. God worked it out for us to spend a few precious days together catching up on our lives, sharing our testimonies and encouraging one another. Reconnections continued as I met friends from my university days, and finally my Best Lady at my wedding and her family.

I was amazed at the warmth and love we still shared despite the many years of being physically separated. The fellowship was vibrant. The icing on the cake was meeting so many who have been praying for me without knowing me or thinking they would ever get to meet me. They prayed with all fervency as I walked through the valley of the shadow of death in 2013. Their joy is indescribable when they finally saw me alive, well and walking.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” – John 15:12

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."- John 13:35

I have felt true love showered on me right from the beginning of this year, everywhere I went. Many people going out of their way to make themselves available to God to be used to bless my family and me. Help keeps coming when most needed. I am truly humbled and blessed to be the recipient of this kind of brotherly love.

I wanted to be with Sally's husband and children since the day I heard that the Lord had called her home while I was in a coma in 2013. God gave me that opportunity this month. It was humbling for me to stand on the same altar she once preached from and faced the congregation that is still coming to terms with her absence. I bless God for His grace keeping her husband and children. Her husband testified of God’s sustaining grace flowing towards them each day. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share with them how Sally’s legacy spoke to me about finding and fulfilling the purpose for which God gave me this second chance at life.

Above all else, I am grateful to God for life and for the opportunity to be a vessel He can use. I am grateful for the way He is using the story He is writing of my life to touch lives for good. What God has been doing this year is beyond my imagination—simply amazing.

Upcoming Events:

·       Weekend of Hope and Glory at House On The Rock Church International, London, UK – Sept. 19^th – 20^th

·       Local Speaker at Geneva Q Commons. Lake Geneva Hotel, Versoix. Geneva – Sept. 25^th, 2015 Geneva Q Commons

·       Launching of the InzpireTV. Geneva – Sept 26^th, 2015 Inzpire TV Trailer

Celebrating Life, Love And God’s Faithfulness

The ducks quacked. The little boy on his green scooter echoed the quacking. He raced on and hi-five his mother. She laughed. I smiled. The deep blue Lake Leman merged with sky blue horizon over Evian on the other side of the lake. 

I took it all in. My heart rejoiced in God for the gift of life. Everything around me echoed life; the laughter of the two men sitting on the quay, the old couple smiling at them and the gentle lapping of the waves against the rock boulders.
 

Even the grey tree beside with its crown of many stumps whispered as the cool breeze from the lake passed through them; "watch out, I'll soon be green and full of life again!" I smiled and looked up to the sun blazing above it. Its warmth caressed my face.

April is a month of celebration of life, love and God's faithfulness to me. It is a month of celebrating the amazing love God so extravagantly lavished on me and my family. There are many significant landmark events in my life in April. But it is also a sober celebration, reflecting on the God's mercies to me. Indeed, it is by the mercies of God that I was not consumed. The hands of God kept so that I won't give up.

I had walked 1.5km by myself, up and down a steep slope to the bank, the florist, the shop and now at the lakeside in Versoix. It was April13th. My initial plan was to buy a bunch of long stem white roses and put them in the Lake. But, as I walked to the florist, I had a strong urge in my heart to send the flowers to someone incapacitated and with no friend. I knew where to find such as a person. So I ordered the flowers and gave instructions to the florist. Deep furrows creased above her brows.

"Do you mind if I ask you why?"

I shook my head and smiled, "Two years ago today, someone gave me a precious gift of new lungs."

The furrows disappeared and her face lit up, "how are you doing?"

"Great. Thanks be to God."

As I sat on the wooden brown chair gazing into the horizon, my heart went out to my Unknown Benefactor, I wished I still bought a stem of white rose, perhaps another day. It was sufficient that someone would smile the following morning.
 

My heart rejoiced in the Lord as I celebrate life and God's faithfulness.

I am a living testimony
I could have been dead and gone
But Lord, You let me live on
I am living testimony
And I thank the Lord; I'm still alive.

 (The Williams Brothers, I Am A Living Testimony)

Many times during the following days, I paused and pondered, “What was it like for my husband going through the days after the transplantation?” The surgeons told him the surgery went well. Then, they told him there had been some complications shortly afterwards. He sat by my bedside day in day out as I laid deep in a coma. I wondered what must have been going through his mind leaving the hospital, driving home, coming into our bedroom without knowing if or when I would be back home with him again.

My son told me he was calm, and he kept saying, "It is well." Perhaps, one day, he will write and share his story.
 

We both sighed. "Blessed be God" he whispered, as we drove on the highway passed the exit to Lausanne leading to the hospital last Thursday (April 16th). We were going to Bern. The exit was about 40km from Geneva. He drove this way, sometimes twice a day during the period I was in the hospital, until I came out of the coma and was strong enough to be airlifted back to Geneva.

I turned and looked at him, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, and I knew what was going through his mind.

Later that day and the following day, I was reminded again that I have every reason to celebrate life and God's faithfulness. I remembered my friend, Funmi Adewole. She went home to be with the Lord, on Friday April 17th, 2013.

I learnt about her home-going a few weeks after I came out of the coma. I was shocked, perplexed and confused. There's no searching the knowledge and wisdom of God. He is all Sovereign. He does what pleases Him. I could not fathom why He took Sally home and allowed me to come back from the valley of the shadow of death. She was a vibrant and passionate Christian. Her legacy lives on. In her death, she is still touching lives for good.

That was when I knew without any iota of doubt that my second chance at life is a gift from God to enable me fulfil specific and unique purposed. In her death, Funmi reminds me why I must leave behind a lasting legacy.
 

I thank the Lord; I'm still alive

My focus shifts back to my husband today. On Thursday, April 23rd, 1992, I married my friend. The fine man who has proved to be a treasure in heathen vessel. He is God's own special gift to me. He is a tremendous blessing to my life. He is my Chief Encourager, one-man cheer-leading squad and strong supporter. He bore the burden of caring for me through the twenty long years of affliction with grace. He carried my broken body with care and affection.
 

I feel truly blessed beyond measures and highly favoured, as I look forward to celebrating twenty-three years of doing life with this fine man, next Thursday. My heart overflows with joy and praise. I bless God, for my husband's devotion and commitment to our marriage and the sacred vows we shared that Thursday morning before God, our families and our friends. I thank God for the love and life we have shared to date. I give praise to God for His mighty hands, which kept us through the storms.

We will take our celebration of life, love and God's faithfulness to the next level on Saturday, April 25th, as we Hit The Street to raise 15,000 Swiss Francs to provide prosthetic limbs for amputees.

Dear Friends, wherever you may be, you can support my friends and me for the 5k Charity Walk. Together, we can make the dreams of these amputees come true. Leave a message in the comment box below for more details.

In what ways are you celebrating God’s faithfulness in your life this month? Share with us in the comment box and let’s give praise to God together for His steadfast love that never ceases and His mercies that never come to an end.

Out Of My Control

For many years, I travailed in prayer over these intractable situations. For months, I beseeched God for a change. For the past few weeks, my heart was weighed down under the heavy burden. They were issues within my circle of concern. I yearned for a change. I longed to see broken relationships restored. I desired a breakthrough the walls that hitherto resisted progress and improvement in certain situations. I wanted to see a Sarah laugh.

I cried out to God, “I know there is nothing impossible for You to do.”

I asked the Lord to give me the mountain looming before me for a possession. “Give me this mountain, O Lord or make it plain.”

I wanted to the power to fix the situation, which laid before me like a pile of a million pieces of puzzles.

But I also knew that I cannot do the work of the Holy Spirit, so I petitioned God to do what only He can do—change hearts and change situations.

These situations were out of my circle of control.

On Thursday, December 11^th, 2014, I woke up with an irritation along the suture line on my rib-cage. Soon the irritating itch became a full blown throbbing ache in my chest. By mid-day, I was agonizing in pain. It did not respond to the painkillers or steroid. But I still went for my Moms’ Prayer meeting. It was the last one for the year and we planned to have lunch afterwards. We prayed about the pain. I was restless through the lunch. The pain was radiating deep in my right shoulder and my right arm felt numb.

Back at home, I tried to reach my husband far away in New Delhi. I needed his medical opinion and guidance. The painkillers were not effective, and I was crying out to the Lord for relief. It was at this stage, I had to call my GP. He asked me to call my Pulmonary Specialist at the Teaching Hospital. I was hesitant. I knew what was likely to follow that call. They asked me to come into the ER immediately. In a short while, the ambulance arrived at my doorstep. This was not on my arm-long agenda for that day. But the situation had spiralled out of my control.

All the way to the hospital, I struggled to reject all the suggestions of the enemy. I refuted them with the word of God. But all the things that I had dreamt to accomplish this year and those initiated flashed across my mind. It was a long list of unfinished tasks.

The next few hours confirmed again that the last place anyone want to be is in the ER, especially during this season. The pain was controlled. They ran a battery of tests to confirm the situation was not life-threatening and the suspicion was proved false. But I began to have another bout of irritating itch. I was having an allergic reaction. This time it was generalized. I itched from the top of my head to the tip of my stump. The course of steroids offered no relief. The doctors were not willing to increase the dose of the steroids. They had to determine the best antihistamine to use given my peculiar situation.

It was 2:00am. The itching was unbearable. The doctors were attending to critical situations. Unable to control the itching, sleep deprived, physically and emotionally fatigued, I crumbled on the bed. I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the itching, which I could not control. I was overwhelmed by the other issues out of my control. And the dam broken.

The nurses heard me crying and came into my cubicle.

“Pourquoi, Madame? Pourquoi vous pleurez?”

I heard her ask why I was crying. She touched my shoulder. My body was folded in a crumbled state as I sat on my stumps, my head laid between my knees and my arms over my head. I did not respond but continued crying.

“Madame?” she shook my shoulders. I lifted my tear-drenched face. There were two of them standing over me. I motioned my hands over my body.

“J’arrive.” She went out of the cubicle and the second nurse took her place, holding my shoulders. In a minute, she was back with a bottle of oil. She asked if they could apply the oil on my burning skin while we await the doctors. Indeed, they anointed my body from my face to my stumps. It cooled down the itch. It was like the balm of Gilead that calmed my wearied body.

A few days later, a dear Sista tagged me in a post on Facebook. I read the post and these words became engraved in my heart:

Those things in your circle of concern but out of your circle of control are definitely not out of God’s control. They are in God’s control and in God’s hands.”

It was a clear message from God. Like the oil the nurses applied on my body, the words were like a soothing salve on my burdened heart. It was the third message the Lord impressed on my heart within two weeks during which I pondered on all situations for which I sought a resolution, and to unravel the convoluted and knotted issues in my circle of concern.

God had ministered to my agonizing heart during the preceding week. First, I was reminded of the many instances in the Bible of when God proved Himself to be the God over impossibilities.

“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” – Luke 1:37

Faced with Goliath who kept taunting the people Israel and their God, David received divine strategy and intervention that gave him the much desired victory over the Philistines. I was reminded that there was a murderous Saul who the Lord touched and turned to Paul. I was also reminded that the dead body of Lazarus was already emitting odour from decay, yet God raise him from the dead and restored him to the fullness of life.

I knew there is no situation too far gone for God to turn around and there is no heart too hard for God to touch. I was reminded that the things which are impossible for man are possible for God. I can’t fix the situation. I can’t unravel the knots. But God can. I was encouraged to surrender all the issues burdening my heart to the One Who specializes in doing the impossible.

The second message, God impressed on my heart was;

Wait with joy, hope and praise.

It can be really hard to wait especially as another year comes to an end and you have yet to see your dreams and desires fulfilled. It is difficult to wait when the longing desire for a change burn with an aching heat in your heart. Waiting is serious business. Yet I know that God has called us to with hope anchored on His unfailing promises. He asked us to wait with joy overflowing from the assurance of hope and with praise because we know faithful is He Who has promised.

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” – Hebrews 10:23.

If God said it, He will do it. God is infinitely faithful to keep His promise and fulfil His word.

I was encouraged to wait with praise because God is Omnipotent. He is infinitely capable of putting His Omnipotent power on display in each of the situations I presented before Him. He can do all things. There is nothing too hard or difficult for Him. There is no purpose of God that can be thwarted. He is the One Who upholds the entire universe by the Word of His power.

I knew praise is a very effective weapon of warfare. I knew that as I acknowledge God’s limitless power in praise, I am also calling it into manifestation in my life, in the lives of those in my circle of concern and in the situations out of my control.

The flurry of events screaming like oversized billboards and reminding me of the seemly insurmountable mountains were intent on blurring my vision from God’s omnipotent power, which is able to change the most difficult and extreme situation. They sought to distract my attention from His amazing goodness in our lives this year. So I became even the more determined to offer exuberant praise to God.

With this came the confidence of hope that I can rely on God Who resurrected the dead. He is able to resurrect dead dreams and dead relationships, and turn dead ends to open doors. The more I praised God in the midst of the situation, the more I was energized to dare to dream of a change, to dream of restoration and to dream of victory.

I asked that the Lord to give those in my circle of concern yielded hearts. I asked on their behalf for a broken and a contrite heart, and a willingness to let God have full control. I prayed for a deeper understanding of God’s power to work out His purpose in our lives.

As 2014 rolls to an end, perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation, faced with mountains of impossibilities and surrounded by challenges, I encouraged you with these same words with which the Lord encouraged me:

Those things in your circle of concern but out of your circle of control are definitely not out of God’s control. They are in God’s control and in God’s hands.”

God has it all under control. Wait for Him with praise, with hope and with joy. He is infinitely reliable. He is Omnipotent.

Match into 2015 with the confidence of this hope and assurance, and with an uplifted face. May the hope that comes only from knowing God as the Omnipotent Father and Jesus as Lord fill your hearts and home with great joy this Christmas.

Pause…Observe….And Ponder

I walked through the revolving doors of the Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve (HUG) with a spring in my step.

Full of life. Full of energy. Full of joy.

Then I saw him. He was sitting on the grey metal chair by the door of the café. In a glance, I took note of the details. He was dressed in the hospital light floral gown. He had a nasal tube connected to the oxygen bottle on the floor between his feet. I recognized the fatigue on his face and the arching shoulders due to the labour of breathing.

Images flashed through my mind. For seven years I carried a similar oxygen bottle. I could not count the number of times I sat on the same chair exhausted from the labour of breathing, waiting for my husband to bring the car close to the door. I saw the many times I passed through the same revolving door, every step was an effort, with the oxygen bottle hanging on my shoulders.

My heart was overwhelmed with memory of the goodness of God.

The storm has passed. The heavy dark clouds have been lifted. The sun is shining bright in the sky.

I have been captivated by Psalm 145 for the past three months. The intensity of David’s praise flooded my heart as I pondered on this event days after.

David declared in verse 7 that everyone will abundantly utter the memory of God’s goodness. They will share the story of God’s wonderful goodness.

Charles Spurgeon in his sermon in 1879 said, “we shall be helped to abundant praise by careful observation." In order for us to have a memory of God’s goodness, and then abundantly utter it in exhilarating praise, we must first of all make an observation of it.

“A man does not remember what he never knew” – Charles Spurgeon.

The proportion to which a fact or a truth makes an impression on our minds is the proportion to which it is likely to abide in our memory. And what we meditate on for long enough becomes the reality of our lives. The question therefore is this;

Is the goodness of God daily making an impression on our minds?

If we want to remember the goodness of God, we must let it strike us. We must take notice of it. We must consider it. We must ponder on it. We must meditate on it. We must let its full influence be exerted on our hearts.

The sight of the man on supplemental oxygen struck me as I walked into the hospital that day for my routine check-up. I took notice of the man’s situation. I remembered that I was once in a similar situation for many years. I paused and pondered on the amazing goodness of God which brought the change to my life.

Our acknowledgement of the goodness and mercies of God will become vocal and exuberant when we have it imprinted on our memory. It is from the memory of His rich goodness to us that praises will gush from our mouths like torrential water flowing through a stream. Heated by our fervency, our praises to God distils into vapour that rises up to heaven.

“So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,

drinking in Your strength and glory.

In Your generous love I am really living at last!

My lips brim with praises like fountains.

I bless You every time I take a breath;

My arms wave like banners of praise You.”

(Psalm 63: 2-4)

We can never praise God enough or too much because there are no limits to the outpouring of His goodness upon our lives.

There is no denying that God is good to all. Everything He does is suffused with grace. His tender mercies and compassion are over every single one of us created in His image—you and me inclusive. Evidences abound of God's rich goodness and mercies to each of us every moment of each day. If we pause and make take note of them, they become committed to our memory from whence they will ignite an eruption of abundant praise to God.

But many times we are blinded to God’s abounding grace and kindness to us. This is because our vision become blurred as we focus on the challenges we are facing, the storms raging and whirling around us, and the heavy dark clouds that are looming over us.

Often we forget that in the midst of each storm, God is present there with us to hold us steady as a post. Often we forget that no matter how grey, dark and heavy the looming clouds may be, the sun is still shining high above the clouds. So also is God’s love and kindness still radiating its warmth to us in the midst of the challenges and difficulties we are going through.

God always does what is right not what we want. He is always on time, not a minute early, not a second late. There is nothing we need that God cannot provide according to His will, in His own time and in His own way. He clothes the wildflowers of the valley and feeds the birds in the air. I am far more valuable that these. If this be the case, then I have no reason to be anxious or allow myself to be downcast or morose. I can be joyful in the knowledge of God’s unfailing goodness even when it may seem that it is not evident. So can you, because you count more to God than lilies and sparrows. You can abandon yourself in His loving care.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28)

The ability to make a deliberate effort to take note of, observe, focus and ponder on the goodness of God is a learned behaviour. You learn to do it. You commit to doing it.

Whenever the storms are raging, remember His constant presence and His promise never to leave you alone or forsake you. Whenever the clouds are heavy and dark, lift your eyes up to an altitude where you will see the sun is shining above the clouds. Let the brightness that sun illuminate the goodness of God in your life so that you can observe and take note of it. Make an inventory of the goodness of God in your life each day, and let the recollection of His acts of wonder imprinted in your memory ignite an abundant praise to God right there in the midst of the challenges—because God is good ALL the time.

As 2014 rolls to an end, I encourage you through the course of each day to pause, observe, and ponder on the many rich blessings being poured into your life. I challenge you to seek every opportunity to praise and magnify the name of the Infinite God without limit. Make a joyful noise of thanksgiving.

May the praise and adoration of our ever-faithful God flow continually from your mouth.

Thirty Days Ministering Gratitude To God And More

In a weekly newsletter written by a dear brother on August 30^th, 2014, he noted that a decision to be a Minister of Gratitude is a great concept. He made reference to 1 Chronicles 16:4, where David appointed some Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord—to invoke His blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.

Inspired by this article and by David’s decision in Psalm 119:164, I committed myself to Thirty (30) days of Ministering Gratitude to God. After all it, takes only twenty-one days to form a habit.

Seven times each day I stop and shout praises for the way You keep everything running right.

 (Psalms 119:164. The Message).

I will praise You seven times a day because all Your regulations are just. (NLT).

Seven times a day and all day long do I praise You because of Your righteous decrees. (AMP).

This is a classic example of thanks-living. All day long praise to God. All day long ministering gratitude to God.  It takes a determined decision executed with a conscious and deliberate effort. Consequently, I decided that I will daily minister gratitude to God ALL DAY LONG for the next One Hundred days, and by then, it would have truly become a lifestyle for me to do so on a daily basis without effort.

I determined that I will consciously pause several times in the course of a day to acknowledge the goodness of God in my life and in the lives of my husband, sons, families and friends. I will stop and give praise to God for great is His faithfulness.

Ps 50:23a says that it is a praising life that honours God. There is nothing I desire much more than to honour God in my life.

It’s the praising life that honors me. (MSG)
But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. (NLT)
He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; (AMP)
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: (KJV)

Thirty Days, How Far?

The more I gave thanks to God for His goodness and wonderful works in my life, the more I found more reasons to give thanks to God. The Holy Spirit kept bringing remembrances of God’s many acts of wonder in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. For these and many more, I paused and ministered gratitude to God—aloud, in songs and in my heart.

It was interesting to note how the Holy Spirit kept reminding me of many old songs and Hymns. Sometimes, I just remembered the tune or a line, then I went in search of the songs and had a glorious time singing them to bless and honour God.

I’ll bless Your name into eternity.

 I’ll bless you every day, and keep it up from now to eternity.
God, You are magnificent; You can never be praised enough.

There are no boundaries to Your greatness.
I compose songs on Your wonders.
I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.

Ps 145 (The Message, paraphrased)

Psalm 145 indicated that praise is prompted by the unique nature of God. God has been generous. In response to His generosity, we want to honor God by ministering praise and thanks to Him.

It was a joy to recall the blessing my parents, parents-in-law and my friends have been to me, and to announce it publicly. I am grateful for my parents who gave me a legacy of solid education, sound home training, and a prayer-oriented life.  Without the foundation they gave me, I could not have been who I am today. I am grateful for my parents-in-law, who love me, care for me and took me as one of their own. These ones are a rarity and I am truly blessed with them.I am grateful for Friends, who have sown seeds of goodness into my life and whose acts of kindness have left indelible marks on me.

There are many more people in my life who are a gift of God and a blessing to me. I give praise to God for them and I will surely be announcing them publicly in the coming days.

September, A Month To Remember:

As I noted in my earlier posts this year, I entered 2014 with mind-boggling expectations. I knew it was going to be an eventful year. I trusted God for the grace to do great exploits for Him. As we come to the end of the 9^th month of 2014 and I look back, I am amazed at how much God has done in our lives, how much that has transpired in our lives this year and how many opportunities He opened to me to fulfill His calling on my life. Choosing to minister gratitude to God this month gave me the opportunity to look back, and to see the works of God’s hands in our lives. Indeed, I have had to stop many times and declare, “Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God.” I am so grateful because God is Who He says He is and He does what He says He will do.

I cannot recount them all but let me share a few of them of what God has done for us in September:

He said, "I will restore....." And indeed, He restored my health. He renewed my strength. He gave me new life. He rejuvenated me. He restored me to sound state of being. In this month, I regained much of my autonomy and independence. I can now take care of my day-to-day needs with limited support. Praise be to God. With my physiotherapist, I was able to walk outdoors up to 1.2km, up-and down-hill. I had a ride to the shops and took the bus back home, walking 500m from the Bus-stop home unaccompanied and unsupported. I have not been on the bus for at least 8 years! On top of this, I walked 1176 steps outdoors in one day without the cane. Believe me, I am hollering Hosanna!!!!

He renewed, refreshed and revitalized my visage. To the extent that I have lost count of the number of persons who have commented on how well I am looking. And I remember the days I stared at the frail, gaunt and fatigued image in the mirror, wondering how and when restoration would come. My goodness, because God has been so good to me and I am helped by Him, I cannot but holler Hallelujah!!!

I am so grateful to God for restoring our fortunes like the streams of Negev and for putting us on the path to recover all that we have lost, all that have been stolen, wasted and destroyed in our lives. He is truly a God of restoration.

To cap it all, last Saturday, 27^th of September, I reconnected with my book after three months of a massive block and resistance, and busy schedule. More on that in another post.

And More:

As 365 days roll away today, I stand at the verge of a new year and a new beginning on October 1^st, all I have to say is “Thank You, God……”

I am Alive

              I am Blessed

                             I am Content

I am Determined

                                                         I am Energized

I am Favoured

                                                                                      And I am GRATEFUL

I am Healed

I am Invigorated

I am Pursuing destiny

I am Ransomed,

Renewed,

Restored,

Revitalized and

Rejuvenated.

And I am Thankful.

Join me, dear Friends, to minister gratitude, praise and thanks to God.

O for a thousand tongues to sing

my great Redeemer's praise,

the glories of my God and King,

the triumphs of his grace!

My gracious Master and My Lord

Assist me to proclaim

To spread through all the earth abroad

The honours of Thy Name

- Charles Wesley

O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing by Charles Wesley

Always With A Smile

Always With A Smile: A Testimony of God's Faithfulness.

"Toujours avec sourire" the nurse exclaimed as I was wheeled back into the ward.

"She has every reason to be. It is amazing how much improvement she has made," replied the physiotherapist pushing me on the wheelchair.

When my specialist proposed a six-minute march test as part of the intensive checkup, one year post lung surgery, several members of the medical team thought that was asking for too much. The lead physiotherapist said, "let her try, she can stop if she can't do it."

Try I did, and I completed 300 meters in the required 6 minutes using one cane, while maintaining oxygen saturation at 99% and a stable heart rate.

"Incroyable! C'est genial," exclaimed the Physiotherapist who conducted the test. “It is incredible,” she kept repeating in French.

It was the fourth and last day of my stay in the hospital. It was exactly one year since I have the life-threatening surgery with the ensuing complications, which resulted in another surgery, this time life-changing. I had to do a battery of tests, examinations and consultations in the course of the four days. they pratically left no cell or system unchecked. It was overwhelming and left me no time for rest.

The good news was that all of them came back with positive results confirming what God had already perfected. Only one indicated a need for improvement in my Calcium and Vitamin D status. The doctor gave me an earful of lecture about the importance of adequate calcium to prevent osteoporosis. "Noted," I responded, my face radiating with a wide smile. She probably was wondering what was funny. “I mean, this is serious business” was written all over her face. What she did not know was that she was giving a Nutrition lecture to a Nutrition Specialist. But more importantly, I was overflowing with exhilarating joy, because this was the only issue that needed attention, it had been one good report after the other.

Why won't I be full of thanks and smile, with all God has done for me and all He delivered me from? I will be an ingrate if I am any less joyful. I know where we were at this time last April but better to say, I know what they later told me was happening at this time. I was not conscious of anything until a month later.

“He that is capable of deep and reflective reasoning will be full of thanks.”

One of the nurses said she was covered with goose pimples watching what I am able to do now and how I have regained my autonomy, and as she heard me giving praise and thanks to God for all He has done in my life. 

But wasn't that what the Bible says:

Matthew 9:8 - following the healing of the paralytic.
"And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men."

Matthew 15:31
"The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel."

Indeed, the doings of God in our lives will cause men to be awestruck, astonished, and amazed such that they will give praise and glory to God on our behalf.

This was not the first time I was going to hear that expression, "Always with a smile or She is always smiling." Through the thick of the storm last year and indeed, throughout my 10-year sojourn on 8CL, the 8th floor ward of HUG (Hopital Universaire de Geneve), this has been the constant remark from the nurses and medical staff that took care of me. It was a constant source of amazement to many of them: "how does anyone in her situation keep smiling?"

I lost count of the number of times I heard them saying to my hearing, “she is always smiling.”  I lost count of the number of times, medical personnel exclaimed with amazement at the remarkable progress I had made and my composure through it all.

Truly, it is by the grace of God that we can keep smiling through the storm. It is because we know that the one Who holds us in the palm of His hands is the same One Who can bid the storm, "peace, be still."

It is also a conscious decision to remind oneself that it is by the mighty hands of God we are kept, day by day, come what may. It comes from that assurance of faith that God will never abandon or forsake or fail us. Yes, we can keep smiling through the storm when God is the hope that we cling to.

We also know that before Jesus was glorified, He was crucified. He suffered the shame of the cross. His glory came out of His sacrificial death. Yet He did not complain. Like a rose, trampled in the ground, He took the fall. He thought of me above all.

And because He rose up again and He lives, I can face tomorrow, all my fears are gone. Life is worthy living and enjoying because Jesus lives. Certainly, with such a glorious hope as this, we can smile come what may and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves because God’s plans for us remains unchanged.

May the hope that comes with the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ fill your hearts and home with much joy this Easter. May this hope bring you the assurance that the promises of God concerning you shall be fulfilled. 

Happy Easter.

The Night A Dream Came True

For many years, my sons and I wanted to do something that would cause his face to light up in amazement, and bring out a wide and bright smile. It was difficult to find any gift that could have this effect, he is not easily dazzled by things. At Christmas, his birthday and at our wedding anniversary, it’s always a headache trying to phantom what gift to give him.

It was about eight years ago that I started thinking about how to celebrate him on his 50^th Birthday. I was reflecting on what we had been through over the past years and I wanted an opportunity to appreciate him in a meaningful way. I believed that one must not wait until death before we start eulogizing our loved ones. We need to let them know how much they mean to us and how much we are grateful to God for blessing our lives with them, while they are still able to hear our voices.

At that time, I did not know what the next eight years was going to be like for us. It got to a point that it seemed that I might not be around to see the day come to pass. When I came “back to life” in May, 2013, my dream was rekindled. I wanted to do something to show and tell my husband how much I appreciate him. I wanted to celebrate his steadfastness when the storm was most torrential, his commitment, his dedication, and his selfless love and care for me and for our children.

I stopped working and earning an income since 2007. The burden of my medical expenses had put a huge strain on our finances. Yet my heart longed to see my dream come true: to have a musical night, a night of praise, to celebrate God’s goodness in my husband’s life. By November, I simply could not imagine how it could happen. My beading business was just taking off and that was a lot of investment plus all the medical bills coming in. I was ready to give up on my dream.

That was when my big Sista and dear friend called to ask me what my plans were to celebrate this fine man, God blessed my life with. I shared my dream with her and also told her just how impossible it was looking. She encouraged me to go ahead, start planning, and find out what it was going to cost, while we pray about it. I did.

I wrote to some members of the musical group he led when he was in medical school in Nigeria and continued to be a part off afterwards. I shared my dream with them that I wanted to enact a kind of homecoming and for them to have the opportunity to minister together again in music. They loved the idea and promised to make effort to come. I wrote to his siblings in Nigeria and US, and asked them to be a part of it. They were pleased with the idea.

When I drew up the budget in January 2014, I was crestfallen. It would require nothing short of a miracle to make this come to pass. I had less than 5% of the budget. I knew I could not touch our family account without my husband finding out about the surprise. And honestly, there was no way we could accommodate such an expense at that point of our lives. This was a classic case of “how can this be?”

I was greatly encouraged by my big Sista. She told me to focus on the dream and not give up on it but to trust God to bring it to pass. I remembered the word God gave us at the beginning of the year, “Prepare the ditches, for you shall neither see the rain nor hear the wind, yet the valley shall the filled with water” (2Kings 3:16-17). Also, I knew from experience, that God is God of exponential increase. I had studied much about Him as a God of multiplication. He was able to multiply the oil in a small jar to fill many vessels until there was sufficient to pay off the widow’s debt and there was enough left over for them to feed on. He multiplied 20 loaves of bread to feed 100 sons of prophets and there were some left over. Jesus, also gave thanks to God for 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, and 5000 men ate without counting the women and children, and there were 12 baskets left over.

The same God is more than able to multiply the little we have to meet our huge vat of needs to the extent that there will be enough left over to live on and bless others with. I committed my dreams and heart desire into God’s hands. I laid all my plans before Him. I knew I have to trust Him every step of the way to make provision not only for the event but for all our needs.

I wrote to some of our close friends and told them what I was planning. The response was overwhelming. Many of them acknowledged that my husband is a selfless giver and it was their pleasure to be a part of appreciating him and appreciating God Who made him such a blessing to many. What God provided through our family and friends was exceedingly more abundant than I could ever dreamt, imagine and ask for. God also raised up a friend who helped me with all the planning and organization. Given my circumstances, I simply could not leave home without giving my husband details about my movement. He usually takes me to wherever I needed to be.

I wanted that night not only to be a night of praise, but to be used by God to bring refreshing, revival and renewal to every relationship that would be represented there. I wanted God’s glory to be on display and for Him to the center of all we would do. I wanted lives to be touched for good. So I went before God with this request.

On Saturday, March 29th, two days after his 50^th birthday, my husband and I arrived at the venue and he saw his name on the event board in the hotel reception, he exclaimed; “my name is all over the place.” When we entered the hall and he saw the number of guests there, he was truly amazed but that was not all.

We began to reveal the surprise guests: four old members of the Calvary Love Singers from his days in UCH, Ibadan, came from UK. He was expecting to see two of them but the remaining two were a pleasant surprise. Then we revealed our very dear friend from Ibadan, Nigeria and her sister from US, and that threw him. Lastly, we brought out his junior brother, also from Ibadan. That was the “crème de la crème.” He was astonished. His smile was broad. He was truly wowed. After a long time of waiting and dreaming, we finally dazzled him.

The theme for the Night of Praise was Musical and Blue.

Why Musical?

My husband’s passion for gospel music pales only compared with his passion for God, and perhaps for me J. He loved to minister in music and his commitment to this ministry has not waned since the day I first met him at a Gospel Musical Concert organized by the Calvary Love Singers in Paul Hendricks Hall, UCH, Ibadan in December 1984.

Why Blue?

Blue seemed to describe my husband best.

When hell unfurled its fury

And the stormy blast blew

He was as calm as the blue summer sea

He is solid like the snow-capped mountain

 piercing the clear blue sky

He is deep like the deep blue ocean

When the shutter closes, and the blues creeps in

He is indigo as a moonless night.

I gave him his bass guitar and the night of praise began in earnest with the choir from our church, Tower of Refuge Church International, leading the guests in songs of thanks and praise. Then the old members of C.L.S. did a number of old songs with him. The Itinerant Gospel Ministries choir ministered in songs with one especially composed for us. It shared our testimony and was heart-touching. I was awed.

Our sons, my brother-in-law and I sang together. I read a poem I wrote for my husband; “On My Knees” that will be posted another day. The boys also shared what they learnt from their father, and friends spoke glowingly about him.

All in all, he was very happy and full of smiles. He enjoyed the evening. He felt truly loved and appreciated. He was humbled by the generosity and by the length families and friends went to give him a beautiful celebration.

Needless to say, I was of all women, most grateful to God. Against all the odds, God granted me the desire of my heart and made my dream come true. The dazzling smile on my husband’s face made it all worth the effort. Above all, God was glorified through it.

Another mind-burgling expectation fulfilled just as I wrote in my blog post in February. All praise and thanks be to God.

Christmas With A Difference

Take all the glory, all the glory, Almighty God

Take all the glory, all the glory, O Lord

For Your faithfulness, power and Your love

Take all the glory, all the glory, O Lord

By the grace of God, I have had the opportunity to celebrate many Christmases. Each of one of them has been unique, even when we did just about the same things. But this year, Christmas has a unique and special meaning to me. Never have I so much appreciated and be filled with this much joy sharing Christmas with my husband and our two sons.

Jesus loved me so much,

He left His throne in glory

He took the form of man

He walked the surface of the earth

And He felt every pain, distress

and discomfort ever known to man

What amazing love

That brought Jesus to us on earth

What overwhelming joy

Filling our hearts to overflowing

Just to know that Jesus is the reason

I can celebrate this Christmas.

Indeed, the best gift I could ever ask for; is the grace and mercy of God in giving me this Christmas with the three wonderful men He blessed my life with. Honestly, the joy of spending this Christmas rejoicing and reveling in the awesome love God so extravagantly lavished on us as individuals and as a family is indescribable.

It has been an eventful year. There have been times this year when the thought of being here rejoicing at Christmas was simply a hope and a dream. But we got to know the superabundant grace of God in keeping us through the darkest vale. We experienced His peace which garrisoned our hearts against all agitating fears. We saw the Lord fight our battles and He gave us victory in our trials and struggles.

Through it all, our sons matured into strong, supportive and God-fearing young men. Personally, it is joy inexpressible for me to be blessed with these fine young men who gave me many reasons to fight for life, and not to give up. I love them so much and words can not express my gratitude to God for blessing my life with them.

What can I say unto God for the special gift of a strong and God-fearing man, He gave me as a husband, who stood by my side through the thick and the thin. Together we have been to the mountain and to the valley. Together, we walked through the floods and through the fire, the good Lord kept us. You don’t even want to imagine how many times I wondered, "how does he maintain a composure of peace through the challenges and difficult situations, which marked the landscape of our lives this year?" I still can not imagine how he coped talking to someone who could not answer him back, walking away from my bedside knowing only by faith that it is by the grace of God that I will be kept in life or coming back home to an empty bed-room and not being sure when he will be able to share that space again.

If I spend the each day of the rest of my life thanking God for this wonderful and courageous man, it will not be enough to express my gratitude and appreciation to God for my blessing my life with him.

God fulfilled our much desired and longed for dream this month. We went for a vacation together, just the two of us, after over 15 years. That was a blissful time away together. Just to see my husband relaxed and rested was priceless.

 

Christmas is a special time

to thank the Lord

for the gift of love

that binds our heart

through all the seasons of the year.

- Dayspring Devotions: A Christmas Prayer.

I can say without any iota of doubt that it has been God's gift of unfailing love that kept our hearts through all the seasons of our lives this year in particular and in the last twenty years. That is why I can not but overflow with thanks, praise and gratitude to God this Christmas.

Christmas 2013 is different and unique, I have so much to be thankful for. It is about appreciating the goodness of God in surrounding me with loving and caring family and friends. If I want to begin to write about how God used our families and friends to support and uphold us these past years, I will need another post to do justice to it.

I am truly blessed with a wonderful family - our parents, our brothers and sisters, and their spouses and children. They held us up in prayers and stood in the gap for hours. The phone calls were countless, and their encouragement was profound. Only God can truly bless and reward them.

Our friends showed us what brotherly (and sisterly) love is all about. Friends who expended of themselves and gave themselves no rest until they saw the glory of God on display upon our lives. God Who owes no man will surely be their recompense and great reward.

On Christmas eve, we had friends in the house for a night of Christmas Carols singing. We sang joyfully unto God, shared testimonies and fellowship with one another. More friends came to share fellowship with us on Christmas day. We acknowledged God's faithfulness in our lives and in our countries. The turkey came out fine. We have opened the gaily-wrapped gifts and cleared up the torn wrapping papers - some people don’t have the patience to unwrap their gifts without tearing the wrapping papers.

As I wrote this post, I pondered again over the events of the past year and all I can say is that behind every cloud, there has been a silver lining. And the song playing in my heart has been:

"…. For Your faithfulness, power and Your love,

Take all the glory, all the glory, O Lord."

Take All The Glory

Each moment of this season has been profoundly moving  and reflective. He who is capable of deep and reflective reasoning will be full of gratitude. I hope you too can look back into 2013 and as you reflect on the events of your life this year, I pray that you will identify many reasons to fall upon your knees and sing: For Your faithfulness, power and Your love, take all the glory Almighty God.

Please feel free to share your testimonies in the comment box below and let us give praise to God on your behalf.

May the reality of God's unfailing and undying love for you fill your hearts with overflowing joy this Christmas and in the New Year, may this sure and guaranteed love hold your hearts in perfect peace.

Thank you all for being there for us and for standing with us in 2013. May the good God be your recompense and reward.