Not Perfect dot com:

Click...click...click. Her fingers were rigid on the mouse. She was focusing as hard as she could on her research on the internet, yet her thoughts were flying to a distant place, a place where no soul or living thing existed. A place where it seemed was the only place she could actually pause and breathe. A breath of fresh air.

Yes, her thoughts were flying. To a place that was not reality. Here, back on her computer, everything she clicked on reminded her of who she was not. More like, of who she tried to be each day. PERFECT! The entire web was built with perfection, and also depicted perfect scenarios with perfect people. On the other hand, in her flying thoughts, she was in a place where she could just "be." Eventually, she stood up and placed her arms akimbo, and she said to herself, "I am a work in progress. I am not perfect." Then she opened the double wooden doors and walked out into the sun-lit veranda. She would not pretend to be who she wasn't. She would strive for it, yes...but she would not pretend to be perfect anymore. She was saved by His grace and ransomed by His blood.

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Have you ever been in a place where you are forced to pretend to be perfect? A place where reality TV becomes unreal and where CNN depicts lies instead of truth? I have been in that place before, and have found it not very amusing.
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Whenever I want to do it all by myself, I get trapped in the errors of an imperfect body. Those times I try to do it myself are the times when I do those things I do not want to do. But when I become a "work-in-progress," releasing myself into the arms of the Master Potter, I find out that I begin to survive on the bread of His "grace." Like the stories of the actors on the NBC show, Heroes, they cannot control their abilities by themselves, but there's something invisible that is controlling their abilities...in the next episode I will find out whether their fate lies in the outcome of the eclipse of the sun.
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Pretty much, I am asking you to let yourself survive on grace. You can try to be a good person by your own abilities, but they will fail you. Let God take you by your right hand and show you the way. Our own righteousness is only as good as a filthy rag before God's eyes, that's why He chose to wrap the righteousness of Christ around us. Now, when He looks at us, He smiles. Why? He smiles because He has chosen not see our filthy rags any longer. Instead, He has chosen to see the blood of His own son, covering us and shielding us from our own imperfections.
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Today, let go of your pretentious sense of perfection. But choose to wrap God's righteousness around your own unrighteousness. If you fall, get back up again and hold His hand. You are not perfect, but He is!
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Photo by photobucket

The Nobody!!!

In the silence of the night, a shrieking sound arose. It was Ella's cell phone, an annoying ring tone. "Yes, it's Ella," she answered softly. "Hello Ella, I'm so sorry. Did I wake you up?" the woman on the phone asked.

"No," Ella responded, although slightly annoyed.

"It is Jadesola. The day after tomorrow is the ball. I just wanted to be sure you got my measurements right. Thanks for sending me the pictures of what you have done so far. I appreciate it."

"Yes, I did get your measurements right madam Jadesola," Ella retorted. "of course with a little room for a finger to slide through your waist. 29" for your waist, 35" for your bust, and 38" for your hips."

"Thank you Ella. Please have a blessed night."

Ella was not asleep when she got that phone call. She was more than awake. She had balls of cloth strewn all around her sewing table, cloths of different colors, shapes, and sizes...as though she was making many clown costumes. She smiled. It was what she loved to do best, creativity and innovation. So she kept on. She worked all through the night, she must have yawned about a hundred times. But she kept on...

The night of the ball came by too fast. Ella sat at a table close to the windows of the ballroom, she came so that she could look at the work of her hands, not necessarily to participate in the dancing. She even had no handsome date. So she looked. And she looked. She sewed the dresses of 90% of the women in that room. The event was an annual traditional event, and rather than buy their dresses, the women of this small city preferred to sew theirs instead. They danced and they danced, all night long. Laughing and bickering, on the arms of their knights in shining armor. Till they had their fill and it was time to go.

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Ever had a moment where you felt like a nobody? Well, I have good news for you. In God's dictionary, there's no such thing as a "nobody." You were created to be somebody in this world, and that's exactly who you are.

God looked at you when you were forming as a fetus in your mother's womb, and He concluded that you looked good. He knew you then, and He knows you now (Psalm 139). Guess what? Before you were formed He already made great plans for you...even before the foundations of the earth were formed (Ephesians 1:4).
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Therefore, in a web of complex details, every intricate thread matters. You, as an individual, are that intricate thread. Your function is extremely important to the significance of the entire web. Infact, that's the reason why you are so different from everyone else, if you have ever asked yourself that question. It's the reason why when others think they should go through paths A and B, you think path C will be the best option for you.

If you are the one behind the sewing wheel, and nobody seems to take note of you, God has already taken note of you before the foundations of the world were formed. Without your existence, the night of ballroom dancing will not dare take place. And one day, the manifestation of your works will praise you. In everything you do, do it excellently well. Because you are not a nobody, you are somebody!

And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). There is nothing that our Architect designed that is not good. You, and every one of your flaws. You, and every one of your thoughts. You were designed to be somebody "good." You are not a nobody.

Photo by Steff + Justin's Blog

Wrong Practice: We do not fight against flesh & Blood

Saw this video for the first time today on Bella Naija. I am ravished by angry thoughts that there is this grave misrepresentation of Christianity. In the minds of some, witches and wizards have caused everything that damages their livelihoods. And so, they have decided to beat up, poison, pour kerosine on, and even kill children who innocently have no protection against themselves.

You can support this cause here: http://www.justgiving.com/witchchildren

~Dementia~

In her dream, there was a picturesque village
And a big house with a garage
There was a wedding dress in the closet
And five exquisite pairs of shoes
There were also two little boys
Running helter skelter like they owned the place...

In her dream, there was the shadow of a woman
Cast on the bedroom wall
It seemed as though this woman's shape was hers
But she could not see her face clearly
Just as she could not remember who she was 10 years ago...
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She was once somebody great
But she could not remember who she was
She was lost in a different body
Trapped in a different soul
Confined in a different jail

She heard footsteps behind her
She looked back suddenly
But there was no one chasing her
Maybe it was the ghost of her past
Or maybe just a figment of her imagination
Yet, she knew she was once someone great
Only, she could not remember exactly who she was

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Most times, we don't remember. Most times, the glory comes into our lives, but then it fades away again. Because we fail to remember how it felt. Sometimes, I even fear to leave the physical gathering of believers because I don't want to forget what I heard in that place. I don't want to forget the message, or the powerful vibes that passed through me like fierce electric currents. I don't want to forget the anointing that flowed like a river overstepping its boundaries. But sometimes I forget...

They say people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. They should already know that they live in glass houses, so they must try as much as they can not to carry stones in their jeans pockets. In the same fashion, if you have ever seen God do any great and phenomenal thing in your life, family's or friend's, then don't carry in your pocket stones that will serve as counterfeits to these testimonies...or stones that will make you forget what God has done, or who He really is...
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You must always remember the child of whom you are, and must flee from the schemes of a demented mind. Keep remembering who you are, even until your very last breath. Let nothing steal your precious memory from you, not even famine, pestilence, or sword. Yes, YOU are the child of a king...no longer a slave. You have been freed from the chains of dementia, and now you have the liberty to remember His glory.

Photo by Photobucket

The Good Side of Darkness...

It was pitch black. Nothing could be seen on the horizon, except the horrors of blackness. Every living thing was still, either sleeping or dead. But the warrior was alive. It was the perfect time to move through the forest, in the still of the dark night. Only the bold and the strong dared to move at this time. He proceeded forward, pushing away invaders such as the shrubs and annoying prickly thistles that kept brushing his strong face and arms. He would not be moved by emotions, weakness, thirst, or exhaustion. He was only a man, he knew! But tonight, he would be a god...an unconquerable one.

He was the leader of the warriors. His team was only some feet behind him, but they did not come too close. His mission was to surround their enemies' camp, while they were yet sleeping. His nostrils picked up the fumes from a burning camp fire. They were close enough. His rapid breathing increased, as though he had run ten thousand miles. He stopped and turned back to the others, demarcating with hands that some should go through the left path and the others the right. Soon enough, they had surrounded the enemies' camp. Their arrows were strategically in place. As soon as the first streams of daylight began to show, they would begin to shoot...

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Darkness has indeed been underestimated. Yes, we all don't want to be in a dark place, but listen up...there is a good side to darkness. How do I know? I know because I read it! Lol. I read it in Psalm 18:11-29.

He made darkness His secret place;
His canopy around Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies
He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,
lightnings in abundance,
and He vanquished them...
You will light my lamp;
the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness...

After reading this Psalm I began to understand some secrets about being in a dark place. A dark place is where your enemy thinks you are asleep. It's like the dark room of a photographer, it looks dead but it's not! In a dark room, processing of photographs actually do get done.

It is actually from a dark place that God can shoot all the arrows towards the enemy's camp. He has made darkness His secret place. If He operated in broad daylight, the enemy would see Him approaching and take cover. So next time you get that irky disgusting and crazy foreboding that you're in a dark place in your life (again), don't get sad, get glad! Something is happening in the atmosphere that you probably don't understand. In your dark place, the carpenter is at work within you and you become a work in progress...a colorful photograph that is being processed.

Your darkness is what will blind the eyes of those waiting to see your downfall. So like the mighty warrior passing through a dark forest, be bold and yet proceed...

Photo by J McNaughtan (Photobucket)

Like a Woman in Birth Pangs...(Obama's birth)

She felt it all over her body, the abrupt turns of the child in her womb. Yet, she would wait.

She would wait for one more hour, until the time of the delivery. She would labor, but not in vain. The pain she felt would not be in vain. She had carried this child in her womb for nine months, and now was not the time to contemplate other options. At every turn, she gave a loud shout. The doctor came in and told her to walk back and forth in the hallway. In her mind, he was a crazy schizophrenic man...why else would he tell her to perform an impossible feat? Yet, as impossible as it seemed, she decided to rise up to the occasion. She leaned on the left handle of the bed as she stood up, writhing in merciless pain. Then she took one step forward. If she could take one step, she could definitely take another. And another. And yet another. Soon the steps began to multiply. The audacity of hope! As she walked back, she knew it was time. And she screamed that she was ready to push...

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Sometimes in life, all we need is hope. Hope that the seed growing in our wombs would grow to full term. Hope, that when it is time to deliver we will receive the strength to push. Hope, that there is no impossible task, that impossibilities are only on the threshold of those who don't have the strength to believe.
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A new thing has taken place in the world. In a dark place, a new light has come. Barack Obama is being born. Born into a Nation that was his expectant mother. America has pushed, and they have delivered. History has been made. President Obama, congratulations on your successful delivery.



Now, whatever your proposals are to change this Nation, I commit you into the hands of the Almighty. It is God who appoints kings, and you are no different from a king. May your throne be prosperous and sensitive to the Voice of your Creator.

I am not hoping in Barack Obama, I am hoping in God...

Be in pain, and labor to bring forth,
O daughter of Zion,
Like a woman in birth pangs.
For now you shall go forth from the city,
You shall dwell in the field,
And to Babylon you shall go.
There you shall be delivered...
(Micah 4:10)

Photos by Photobucket

The Triumphant Entry:

Tomorrow, the next president of the United States of America will be ascertained. My heart has unconsciously done uncountable skips since last night, as my head justifiably went over all the debates...over and over again, like the second hand of a wall clock. On Tuesday, God will give a man the power to rule a Nation, because He is the one who appoints kings on their thrones. On Tuesday, someone will make a triumphant entry. I wonder who it will be: the skinny black kid whose dream it has always been to find his place in a displaced and unbalanced scale and to give hope to the hopeless, or the bold and courageous veteran who risked his life on a platter of gold many times, for a country he claims to love so dearly? Only God knows...

Thousands of years ago, there was someone who made a triumphant entry. His name was Jesus, although His kingdom is the one that knows no end. It was time for the passover feast in the city of Jerusalem and at that time many hearts were focused on God, expecting Him to show up. And then He actually showed up! A prophecy was fulfilled that day which said, "Tell the daughter of Zion, behold your king is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey..." (Zechariah 9:9). Some of the people knew instantly who it was, laying even their cloaks on the bare earth for the donkey to trod on...it was the One who had come to save them. Yet, some of the people asked in confusion "who is this?" To those who believed, their lives were restored.

On Tuesday night, one of the candidates would make his own triumphant entry and emerge as a king, by the people and for the people. And those who believe and hope in a better America may be restored.

God bless the United States of America...
Photos by photobucket