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Praying with Understanding

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Prayer, I believe is a conversation between us and God, either we are giving thanks, making requests or even asking questions. Yet it is not uncommon to feel like a prayer could be such a complicated and maybe even a delicate conversation to have, after all, it's God we are talking to here. There is no way that wouldn't be somehow daunting! I remember learning to pray as a child during family devotions and how nervous I'd get, mumbling through my words, hardly able to get anything coherent out. My auntie, bless her, would jump in the middle of one of my many long pauses to rescue me and carry on with the prayer but once we were done, my uncle would almost chide her for not giving me a chance to learn and develop my confidence. I didn't blame her; I found those long pauses very uncomfortable too! So, I usually understand when people tell me they do not know how to pray and would prefer others to pray for them or they'll just avoid it altogether and some even ask if ...

Lazarus

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Happy Sunday everyone! Listening to a message this morning reminded me of a little story I had written a few months back for my kids to help them learn to pray and trust God for healing. I thought to share it this beautiful Sunday morning. 😊 Nana Flo : Why the sad face Toby? Toby : Nana Flo, I was going to go over to play on the PS4 with Ben next door, he is not feeling so well again and can’t even play with me! Toby sobbed. Nana Flo: That's a pity, I hope he feels much better. Would you like us to hold hands and pray for him? Toby: Would that work Nana Flo? I really want him to feel better, he is one of my nicest friends! Nana Flo: Of course! Oh Toby! See let me tell you something, as children of God, when anything troubles us we can always take it to God in prayer, we can communicate with him freely, anywhere, anytime having faith that he listens, that’s the key thing, choosing to trust in His plan for us. See, let me tell you the story of Lazarus: Lazarus lived in ...

Oatie Breakfast Cookies

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Oatie Breakfast Cookies: My kids would remind me over and over again how much they disliked porridge oats but since I started making them into these cookies, they have asked for it most mornings for breakfast. It takes approximately 45mins to prepare and bake in the oven. Ingredients 100g Rolled Oats 100g Plain Flour 100g Slightly Salted Butter 50g Brown Sugar 2 Tablespoon Golden Syrup 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder 1 Large Egg 1/2 Cup Semi Skimmed Milk Directions Heat your oven to 170C Fan Melt the butter in hot water (not boiling) and set aside Pour all the dry ingredients (Oats, Flour, Cinnamon and Sugar) into a mixing bowl and mix together Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and add the egg, milk, syrup and melted butter **At this stage, you can add milk chocolate chunks or Blueberries if you desire** Mix in gradually with a wooden spoon (preferably) till a thick paste is formed Use your wooden spoon to scoop small portions unto the baking tray (line tray with...

Head above Water

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There is always something we seem to struggle with at some point in our lives, something that is not going as smoothly as we want. It could be anything, I mean education, work, finance, health, family, relationship, life etc. Jesus Himself did not have it easy while He was here on earth, did He? It’s always one thing or the other but always remember, you are not alone. God is always a present help in our times of trouble. At times, when you feel the weight of it all crushing you, it’s because you are trying to go it alone, there is only so much we can do on our own. Try and cast some on to God, and I mean the worry about how to bear that burden because if you want to be honest, most of that burden is actually the worry you have added on top of it. Release that worry and let God uphold and sustain you. (Reference: Psalm 55 vs 22) If you have ever experienced any kind of struggle, you’d know what I’m talking about: sleepless nights, loss of appetite, fear, distrust of everyone an...

Beauty for Ashes: Are there any known Single Moms in the Bible?

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Hagar comes to mind and I remember the difficulty she passed through raising her son all alone. In the beginning, she had no choice in the decision that was being made concerning her journey into motherhood, she was after all, a slave. This decision was made by her mistress, who only saw Hagar as an object to be used.   The Bible tells us Sarah took the maid and gave her to her Husband to be his second wife, her consent was never sought. Bible Reference: Genesis 16  There was always going t o be some problem with this arrangement, and it began from the moment Hagar knew she was pregnant. At last! she had an upper hand against her mistress, she thought, so that ugly human attribute reared its head: arrogance. This ensured that she was already on the run even before her baby was born. She fled when Sarah decided to take steps to remind her she was still the Boss! It was at this point she faced the risk of raising this unborn child alone had God not come to her help. Whe...

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It does matter: what they watch

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So recently I was referred to a movie on YouTube called ‘The Train’, a movie by Mount Zion Film Production based in Nigeria. I remember as a child I had watched their movies such as Agbara Nla (Ultimate Power) and Apoti Eri (Ark of the Covenant) , perhaps these two movies will only be familiar to some but not all Nigerians as I believe Nollywood movies are more known and also these two movies are pretty old. They were not produced under the popular Nollywood umbrella, and that’s because it stays respectfully in a class of it’s own: Christian Movies. It might not usually have all the glitz and glamour of Nollywood movies as they tend to sway to the side of modesty in most cases but the knowledge they impart is so vital, they minister the gospel to us through their acting. Don’t get me wrong, I have a long list of Nollywood movies I have seen over time and enjoyed in some ways and still do but not as profoundly as MZFM movies. Some Favourites I am extremely cautious about wh...

Peacekeeper

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Hope you have all been keeping well?  It has been a minute since I have been on here. Trying to keep a balance with so many things…. No excuse, I haven’t got more on my plate than the next person! Still praying about this COVID-19 situation, mercy is all we need and what we will get! I wanted to share a quick thought: a bible verse came to my mind recently when I was having a chat with a friend. It is found in Romans 12 vs 18 (Amplified Version) : If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. I came across this bible verse as a teenager and I remember my understanding of it helped to improve relationships with my siblings and my general outlook on all relationships. Rather than complain about the way they behaved towards me, I focused on my behaviour and it’s impact on them and others and allowed that to guide me in managing certain situations. That does not mean I won’t call people out if they are acting unreasonable, I will just ensure my own action...

Hey June!

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Welcome to the month of June everyone!! There is just something about June, it's different compared to every other month, in my opinion. You get this sense of tranquillity in your spirit and I think it's romantic, people tend to express their feelings more. You see, I did have plans for what I wanted June 2020 to look like, every blessed day of it, of course that was before the lockdown. I was planning birthday celebrations, mine and friends. For mine, I decided that a tree top adventure with Go Ape was a good way to celebrate turning a milestone age like...40!. I'm not one for such things, but I carefully considered the risks to my aging and aching joints and said, why not?What are the odds of me falling off a tree and breaking my neck on my 40th birthday?? Almost impossible, right?! Well, that's not happening for another decade! I mean tree climbing not falling off a tree. I am super excited for this month and as a matter of fact, for the rest of the year 2020...

What Love Is

We have all been trying to figure out the impact this Covid-19 has had on us all, I mean in terms of health, work, lifestyle, family, education, just about everything. For weeks, it was all I thought about, or should I say worried about. Anything else in the news seemed less important and honestly there isn't much else in the news. I have focused my prayers mostly on health and safety, praying we all come out of this pandemic ok, also trying not to think too much about having to live with it, if it doesn't go away totally. The world is filled with lots of uncertainty, pain and hurt and seeing people hurt each other is just so heart-breaking. We must learn to love one another; the sky is vast enough to allow all types of birds fly without colliding with each other. The earth is the fullness of God and all that is in it, You and I, everything around us. We have everything we need to survive and the wisdom to manage all those resources wisely. Why do we have to live in fear of o...

♫ What a friend I have in Writing!

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Writing is an outlet for emotions, I know most writers will agree with that statement. It's a way to capture an idea,intention or point or even convey a message and depending on your flair,build around it and decide to share this creative piece with people if you so choose. I have never seen myself as having any sort of skill in writing, not in any way but my earliest recollection of writing was when I was about 8 years old, I loved to create my own comic magazines, adapted from favourite ones I read of course and I would also draw my characters; reading was my thing then and still is. Does this ring any bells? I loved reading comics such as Beano, Asterix , Dandy, Archie etc as a child, they were my brother's but I would of course sneak into his room and read them, as fast as I could ( I have already suggested these to my children by stocking up their bookshelves with it!), these were my earliest inspiration. I did entertain, briefly, the aspirations of becoming an acc...