RACING AGAINST ME

The riders in a race do not stop when they reach the goal. There is a little finishing canter before coming to a standstill. There is time to hear the kind voices of friends and say to oneself, the work is done.  Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

For me, cooking skills came by necessity. While I was still like six years old, my mum became ill requiring long hospitalization and as the eldest child, fate bequeathed on me the necessity of taking care of my siblings, especially mixing chemicals in the kitchen for them to eat. What I prepared then were not so much of what I can call food and my siblings have to eat the end products of the chemical reaction whether palatable or not. Anyway I have grown in no small measure in my cooking over the years.

Recently, somebody told me I stare too much at things and my reply was that almost anything inspires me and I try as much as possible to concentrate on something until the candle is lighted in my spirit. It was therefore not surprising when I woke up this morning. I had put some water on the cooker for me to prepare some oats for breakfast. On getting to the cooker with my oat hoping the water has boiled, all I could hear was hissing noise which became louder by the second. As a veteran cook (lol), I could remember mum telling me not to pour the flour for amala into the hissing water because its not yet boiling. Pouring the flour at that time will not produce amala.

Now thats it! Many have poured their yam flour into hissing water thus messing up the preparation of their amala, botching the outburst of their greatness and ruining all their efforts at the tail end. Many a man walks on the road of life with a disease I call near-greatness syndrome. They have been on the road walking the way, gathering the necessary momentum for greatness but just when the glimpse of greatness was shinning ahead, they became complacent. This is because at that time, many can palpate their imminent success and much noise start developing around them making them feel they have arrived when the water is yet to boil.

This quarter-to-boiling season is a very dangerous point in the life of every man. People who didnt see you in the days of cold beginning wants to associate with you. Men who didnt know you during the seasons of warm believing will now start shouting and singing praises because your water is about to boil. Even the molecules of your emotions are at an excited state now and the probability of falling for the deception of these noises increase.

As I was typing this article on my system, I remembered the story of a sportsman I had read a while ago. Aleh Yurenia , a citizen of Belarus recently won silver in the 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championship. Yurenia slowed down in the last lap apparently sure of his victory because the crowd went wild that he had won. It was like a dream to him when Max Hoff of Germany passed him to win gold in the mens 5000m single Kayak event. It was a serious disaster. The times of our life when we are on the verge of a very important achievement are always very critical. This is the time when your guard should be up most. This is the time when you need extra dose of sensitivity to discern men in your life.

I enjoy watching Usain Bolt run anytime any day! It is amazing the gap he wins with when he runs, yet he never slows down until the final mark is crossed. He runs as if he is running against himself and no other person matters. Racing against self! Yes! Thats the way we should run in our pursuits. As men on the quest of destiny, the noise of the world should spur us on the more and not distract us from the prize ahead, or make us complacent in our pursuit. Life is a track race and as runners, men will make noise when you are leading, but dont stop because of the noise. There is a time for the congratulations and it is not now! Dont relax, keep running. Its not over until it is over.

The water will always hiss before actually boiling. As a good cook, the hissing of the water should make you increase the fire under the pot and not lowering it. There is a very big difference between a glimpse and a stare. Dont quit on the edge of greatness. Dont build monuments around your achievements. As this year runs out, I had been thinking about the things I can call achievements of the year. I dont ever want to be complacent because what I am racing against is me, Me and ME!!! Till next time, zoom off to greatness! Thou art blessed!

O’dayo Afolabi

Don’t worry.

Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. 

Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? 

 Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

 What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself. 

-Extracted from Matthew 6 

B before C

To believe is to accept something as real and true, it is a prerequisite for confessing. Confession is a formulary of faith, and faith, believing without evidence, comes by hearing God. Without believing, confessing is fake, fraud, and flattery, like a tree without roots.

Confessing scriptures without believing in your heart is mere positive speaking; heart work must precede mouth talk. Trying to work out the words of God on lips alone can be compared to an attempt to run a program not installed on a computer by mere copying of its desktop icon. Nothing will happen when you click, except that you will get a message reminding you of your error.

Believing installs the word of God in the heart while confessing activates it. Lip service cannot effect any positive change or deliver any meaningful result. Confessing without believing may result in shame and ridicule, but anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed. The saying is true: if you believe, you will receive.

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low, and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worse, that you must…

                       NOT QUIT

-Author Unknown

Fly

Do you know that flight, even for birds, is an energy demanding endeavour? Taking off and landing requires such an enormous amount of energy. Birds breathe faster than any other animal to meet up with the energy requirement for flying. For example, a flying pigeon breathes 450 times each minute, as opposed to 30 times per minute for a human that is running.
No wonder, even youths faint, and young men give up on flying but those who depend on God will find fresh strength and fly high on wings like eagles. The ground level is over saturated. It’s time to fly.

CREATIVITY PROCEDURE 1

The creation story never ceases to amaze me. Before God created the heavens and earth as it is today, the earth was an empty and a formless mass engulfed in deep darkness. God started work by switching on the Lights. He introduced light and darkness was overwhelmed, although it still struggled for relevance alongside light. God called a truce, separated light from darkness and christened them day and night respectively. He decorated ‘day’ with the sun and spiced up ‘night’ with the moon and the stars.

That to me is FORM, for formlessness is the lack of order, procedure and structure. One can only wonder what the World will look like without both Night and Day. God continued to introduce structure and shape to the world. He separated water from waters and land from waters, ending up with the Sky, dry Land and the Seas.

With the formations clearly defined, God moved on to add content and substance. He filled the Dry land with plants and animals, the seas with fishes and other life, and the sky with birds and flying creatures. He later blessed all creatures to flourish w.r.t their given boundaries, the ocean, the land and the space.

This procedure is still relevant for creating something good out of nothing:

• Introduce light

Darkness is default, you don’t need to subscribe to it. Therefore, the first step in the direction of solution is the introduction of light. “For nothing is hid that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light” - Luke 8:17. Or what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp…before sweeping? The Spirit of a man is the Lord’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts. Put on the lamp.

• Set up a system and put structures in place 

Create an enabling environment that is supportive of continuous growth and improvement. Only a well defined structure can guarantee a long lasting creation. Introducing a solid structure takes time, maybe because it’s a bit permanent and may not be made over without damage or destruction. If the land is well founded and the water is bad, Elisha can do something but if the foundation is crooked, what can the righteous do?

• Add substance and content.

Start filling with the right substance. Content is prime!

However, there is a warning:

NEVER ATTEMPT THIS PROCEDURE ON YOUR LIFE WITHOUT THE SUPERVISION OF THE POTTER, JESUS CHRIST. YOU CAN ONLY GROW WORSE ON YOUR OWN.