WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE 1ST OF JANUARY...?

Most of us believe that the 1st of january is special (being the first day of the year) and should thus open the doors for the beginning of new/fresh things. We expect that God (if we are christians) would begin something new on that day and some of us even go as far as programming ourselves to start a new thing - what we call a 'resolution'. But I've always wondered; is this not a misconception?

I understand the rationale behind the Xmas celebration (not totally sha) but whats so special about the first of january? Why should God have to wait till the first of January before he begins something new (at least, that's what most of us believe)? Why is it that in our churches, it is only on that day that we recieve bucket load of prophecies? Why should our budget and goals begin on the 1st of january? Why should our own resolutions begin on that day? More interesting is the fact that most parents become conscious of their ward's welfare (clothes and good food) during that period.

It is imperative that we begin to review this ideology or else we would continue to miss all the 'new' ideas, opportunities and resources that happen to come our way every other day apart from the Ist of january. For instance, most of us (christians) fail to ask God for a new beginnin or direction unless it is the first day of the year even when He is ready to begin one immediately. He speaks all the time but we fail to listen cos we hope to hear and receive them (prophecies) on that day. Even when we fail in our resolutions, we wait for another new year to start afresh.

A friend (not really friend sha) of mine wanted to stop smoking 2 years ago and made a resolution to that effect. After staying clean from january till march, he went to a party in april and ...smoked! He was really really disappointed at himself but I told him not to be and encouraged him to continue his resolution after the let down. He refused, claiming that the year had been dented and he would have to wait for another year. He smoked till the end of that year. The same thing happened when he made the new resolution. Today, he is still smoking.

We have also allowed this mentality creep into other aspects of our lives. For example, in our businesses, we wait till the beginning of a new year to set new goals, plans and objectives. What is wrong with february, march, or november? That is how we miss business opportunities to right thinking competitors cos we were waiting for the almighty january! Sometimes, even when we fail to implement these plans to a reasonable degree, we quickly push them aside and set new ones once we hear 'happy new year'!

Please dont get me wrong here; the beginning of the new year is important and I'm not disputing that. It is not bad to start something new or give presents and celebrate. Even the prophecies we receive on that day should not be taken lightly. But we should not make it a tradition so much as to loose focus on what needs to be done at a particular point in time. Why should you wait for a new year to make your resolution? Who made that rule?

My point is this: the newness of the year should not stop you from doing something new at every other time of the year. If you want a new direction from God, start praying now! If your child needs a new dress and you can afford it, why not give it to him now! If you want to stop a 'good' habit and start a 'bad' one, just make that resolution now! And of course, in your business, if you are eyeing growth, I'll advice you to set the targets now! Like I said before, the 1st of january is special (and i'm gonna celebrate it), but it should not stop us from doing what we have to do every other day...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. MAY 2013 BRING OUT THE BEST IN ALL OF US.

QUESTIONS... ?¿?

There are questions and there are indeed questions. questions dat we would so much love to get answers to. But unfortunately, the answers to most of these questions seem painfully elusive, most of them turning out to be questions themselves requiring answers. The ordinary man is thus left in a situation where he is afraid to ask certain questions and when he dares to, no competent minds are usually available to answer them. Even when he is lucky enough to find competent minds, he could be replied with answers that throws him into deeper states of confusion, leaving him worse off at the end.


I should state here that not everyman contemplates these questions but i fall into the category of curious minds that always wants to know the thing behind the thing. A lot of questions have plagued my mind since childhood and I, after searching for answers and getting none, have often left them unanswered, hoping for such a time when i shall attain a certain age (which I have been told comes with wisdom), and the answers shall present themselves.

Interestingly, at my current age, I believe i have gathered enough experience to guarantee me answers to these questions but it seemed i have been lied to. To compound issues, the experiences gathered have thrown up a gamult of more questions that i sometimes begin to wonder what a question is. My curiousity has grown (along with my age) to unbearable proportions such that I want to know everything. I hope that this curiousity would not kill me as it did the cat!

But seriously, I am not satisfied with having questions with options that do not contain the answers. Thus, I have currently resolved to find answers at all cost even if it means reading the 'Seven Books of Moses'! (fear not, i shall survive it).

A lot of my friends have suggested that I wait till I die cos the answers to my questions are not in this present life but then their advise leaves me with another question: what would be the use of the answers I get if i no longer existed? Take the case of Lazarus and the rich man for example; what good is the knowledge of the fact that hell is real to the rich man when he was already in it?

Like I said before, not everyone contemplates these questions which is in fact good. Cos if you do not have questions to ask, it implies that you have answers to all questions (a lot of people would argue with this point) and i expect that you should be able to handle mine...

In a few weeks, i shall share with you an article on a question i attempted to answer and how far i've gone. If you are lucky, i shall tag you but you must be ready to help...

HAPPY XMAS...

IT'S TIME FOR STOCK-TAKING 2

You can read part 1 here: http://avictomama.blogspot.in/2012/12/its-time-for-stock-taking-1.html?m=1

Like I said before, in this part, i shall present the results of the evaluation conducted on myself for the year. As regards life and experiences over a period, stock-taking must be holistic. It must be a complete evaluation of all aspects of your life - physical, spiritual, financial, to mention a few...

In the year 2012, my physche did not improve a bit. I did not grow taller (not dat I was expecting to) neither did I grow fatter. The later is becoming worrisome. I had envisaged that by now, i would have been able to cover a large percentage of my bones with flesh but i failed woefully. I know you would want to encourage me to eat more but i've tried eating all the junk which obese people are suppose to avoid but the result was still negative. There was a time i did nothing but eat and sleep for a whole week. My brother, the result - negative! I have given up on that aspect and have resigned to God for a miracle.

My spiritual life did not experience any real improvement, instead, i 'slided back'. Attending church services was like attending a burial service; reading the bible was like reading a 900 page medical journal; prayers... Hmmm; even my sober early mornin fellowship i used to enjoy, died. I hope to improve on this aspect next year.

Relationship wise, I think I did well. I made more friends (and also enemies) and met lots of new (and ugly) faces. There was no real romantic relationship after the last one ended early this year. But i can confess to a few romantic encounters with individuals i can not boldly call my girlfriends (not that it is even a problem). I have already schedule the 'thoughts' of marriage to five years from now. I am thus not disappointed at my relationship status - I am still SINGLE! Applications are welcomed though!

Financially... I had a high hopes early this year about the things I needed or wanted and quite painfully, some of them are still hanging. Not that I didn't make enough 'dough' (that's why its painful) but a lot of financial miscalculations sunk them. From all my hussles, I made over 200k this year (including NYSC allawee) but i still could not get my laptop as budgeted, no thanks to financial 'igbo smoking'. Sometimes I wonder the kind of Accountant I am!

I made a lot of resolutions at the beginning of this year but I kept none. I have made a resolution to stop making resolutions! Now although, in general, the results of my evaluation was poor, I did make a few achievements which I am grateful to God for!

I evaluated other aspects of my life but i cant post them here. Being a blogger doesn't deny me a right to privacy - does it? I have only tried to encourage you here to do a little stock taking of your life. You dont have to tell me the results, its personal. Like I said in part one, every experience presents an opportunity to learn. You can only grab that opportunity when that experience is evaluated. Yes, there are some experiences you want to forget but what of the lessons? The past cannot get you to your destination, but it can be of great help in getting you there!

IT'S TIME FOR STOCK-TAKING 1

If you are reading this article now, you should be at least 15 years of age. It is thus likely that you have celebrated about 15 xmases and seen 15 new years. I know for sure that throughout this your long existence on earth, you must have seen and experienced a lot. You must have seen good and bad times, laughed and cried, attended events, made decisions, some of which turned out ugly and you should also have meet thousands of people...

My guess is that as you read this, most of these events would 'flash' through your memory and you might actually begin to feel nolstagic. Most of you would chuckle and smile lightly as you ruminate along the lines of these memories while some would just cry. But let's not get all touchy and emotional here, the essence of this article is not to make you happy or hurt your feelings but to bring to the forefront, a fundamental activity which should have followed these experiences.

It would suprise you to know that we have all engaged in this activity at one time or the other, for various other purposes without taking time to discover its importance in our own lives. In businesses, organisations, politics as well as other spheres of life, a particular time is usually taken to review and evaluate the activities of the immediate past. This activity is usually referred to as 'STOCK-TAKING'!

Now the question is: when last did you take stock of your life? A lot of us would argue that the past is unimportant as it plays no role in helping us achieve the ambitions of the future. Who said? Picture the importance of the side and rear mirror in a forward moving vehicle. Although they only help you see behind and cannot take you to your destination, they can be of great help in getting you there.

A lot of us have allowed things to happen without taking time to learn from those happenings. We have laughed to humorous or joyful events without taking time to listen to the voice of knowledge roaring from the crackling of those laughs and have cried from pain without taking time to absorb the lessons from those tears.

Like I said in this post: http://m.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150178022078187&refid=21 , wisdom comes when we learn from experience (might not be ours). It is for this reason that I have decided to take stock of all my activities in the year 2012 and review my experience. I shall present my review in part two... Watch out!

I'M NOT A JEALOUS LOVER... Part 1

Most of the girls I’ve dated (ask me how many) seem to have this belief that I am a very jealous guy. I don’t know the scientific theory they applied (I’m guessing it’s Newton’s law of motion) and how they managed to arrive at the same conclusion but I know that they are so… so… wrong. It is for that reason, and for the sake of future applicants (in my companionship firm) that I’m making clarifications.

Everyone gets jealous at one point or the other for various reasons. It depends on the personality of the ‘jealouser’ and the object of his jealousy – the ‘jealousee’. For the sake of this article, we would focus on jealousy aroused by love and on a particular specie of lover- me!

PASTOR...!!!

I know u quickly want to know which 'pastor be dat sef?' but slow down, the title was just to catch your attention. I am not one to shy away from lending a voice to interesting issues, not with the kind of mind i have. Thus, when i began to read about the arguments for and against our ministers' (both political and spiritual) new preference to now hold services in the sky, I felt it would be a sore evil not to add my voice to the roars of dissenting voices.

For those of you who know me well, I am a good critic and for those who are familiar with my write-ups, you'ld agree that I am not one to easily take sides. I prefer to stand (not sit) and present my points, which most times is a combination of supporting and opposing views. You can thus say that i talk with both sides of my mouth (or write with both hands). That is why today, I'll neither support nor oppose. I'll just speak as the spirit leads. After all, it's a spiritual issue!

Personally, I would be uncomfortable in a church congregation whose shephard's suit is torn. I believe, that every pastor, should have and enjoy not just the basic, but also the good things of life. Thus, I see nothing wrong if my pastor lives in a well furnished apartment, drive fleet of cars and kills a cow everyday. Afterall, Christ promised us prosperity, i see no reason why he should be excluded.

But again, in my opinion, the lifestyle of a leader should reflect the average lifestyle of his followers. Anyting contrary to this would definitely attract criticisms (from me). This is the problem the Nigerian people have with their leaders - the president plans to eat with a billion naira when 70% of his citizens can hardly afford three miserable 'triangular' meals.

Basically, like our politicians, our pastors have lost it. I am not a good bible student but I remember reading that when Christianity started, the early Christians related with each other as with blood brethrens. Some of them would (as led by the spirit), sell their properties and sell the proceeds among the brethren according to their needs. But these day...

I remember an event that occured in my church in benin last year. It was our annual thanksgiving and the harvest that day was bountiful- yams, rice, garri etc. I was in charge of moving them from the altar to the store room. It was really bountiful. I was so impressed with what i saw and worked with so much enthusiasm. Being a student then, i was in a tight corner and needed rescue- a tuber of yam would have done a lot. I waited till the end of the service and nothing happened. I thought it was a mistake so I (quite unusually) attended the mid-week service. Immediately i entered the church, i headed straight to the store room only to discover that it was empty. When i inquired about the yams, i was told that it was none of my business...

That is what our churches have turned into. The church build schools but its members cannot attend; Build hospitals where consultation alone is 5k and on a rainy day, your pastor can speed past you and splash some mud on the only white shirt you have. And then they threaten us with the quote that if we complain, we are touching God's anointed. Sometimes I wonder...

Every sunday, I am bombarded with Malachi 3:10 and luke 6:23. I am also told that God would use someone to meet my needs- a helper. But then i ask, is it a crime if God uses the church to meet my material needs...? I believe that all the tithes and offering is not for the pastor's alone but for the Church's welfare.

More disturbing is the way our spiritual leaders fraternize and compete with these corrupt politicians with their flamboyant lifestyle. In church today, a guest minister was telling us how a 'governor' invited him. He went there, passed a nite (may be more) and even used the magnificient toilet where he spent 30 mins searching for how to flush. Then I began to think- If i were to need him, would he not direct me to come to his office and see his secretary? Even if he responded, would he sit on my 'wooden' couch? Would he even dare use my pit latrine?- I guess not!

Let us come to the conclusion of the whole matter. There is nothing wrong if our ministers feel that the sky is now the best place to hold services, only that they should ensure that 50% of their members can attend such services...