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Showing posts with label Contentment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contentment. Show all posts

Monday, 3 March 2014

A grateful dog has more worth than..

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend? I did! My weekend is usually super after a fantastic time in church! Have I told you lately that I absolutely love my church?! Lol.. Well if you need any reminding, you can find out a few of my favourite things about church HERE. We had another wonderful thanksgiving service yesterday and it is soo good to spend time praising a God who deserves it so and thanking Him for blessings past, present and future!

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Talking about thanksgiving and saying thank you, its importance couldn’t be over-stressed. We have heard it before, a grateful heart receives more. Besides that, thankfulness is a sign of a good character and endears people to one’s self. In addition to saying thank you, it is important to have an attitude that seeks to always find something to be grateful for!

It is easy sometimes, to think “Oh but you haven’t done anything ‘thank-worthy’”, however, I have come to realise that sometimes we miss the opportunity to show love and gratitude due to our very limited outlook on things and this has the potential to undo many good relationships (platonic and romantic).

What’s your first reaction when someone does something good for/to you, no matter how little? Are you thinking and saying “You could have done better” “Is that all?” “Others are buying Swarovski jewellery, you are buying flowers!” (haha)

(Yup, don't be that person who forgets good gestures easily in the face of one disappointment)

The truth is sometimes we don’t know how much effort/sacrifice has gone into giving us that ‘small’ thing but if we keep focusing on what ‘could have been better’, we totally miss it! And sure enough we may never be the recipient of any further good gesture.

I remember when I was younger, we had someone live with us for a while and after every meal, he would go to my mum and say thank you. My siblings and I thought it was quite funny and made fun of him thinking, “Calm down bruv, it’s just food, it’s normal, and she’s our mother after all, if she doesn’t give us food, who will? Lol, In a way, it’s her duty right? Nothing special there.. Well, WRONG! I guess we forgot that the fact that we have food on our table 3 times a day, every day was a real blessing indeed and quite frankly the fact that she chose to take her responsibility and commitment to us seriously was indeed more than thank-worthy no matter how frequently it happened!


Have you said thank you for that meal? Have you said thank you to that loyal friend who has remained constant in and out of season? Have you said thank you for the last birthday treat? (even though it fell below your expectations). Have you said thank you for your Valentine’s Day card and cupcakes even though you were expecting your favourite perfume? (After ALL the not too subtle hints! lol). Have you said thank you because he never fails to call on you just to check that you’re alright? Have you said thank you because she is consistently nice to your friends (even the obnoxious ones!), Have you said thank you for the phone cards he buys for those long distance calls, have you said thank you for her keeping awake to ensure that she receives your long-distance calls?

This week make it a plan to show gratitude for even the ‘smallest’ of things and refrain (as hard as it may be), to keep from complaining “you mean that’s all?!”– You may be surprised at how far it will go!

Thank you to all those who visit, who comment and who come back again and again.. I am grateful xx

Thursday, 10 October 2013

But I want that other one!!

I was gisting with my fabulous sister who I introduced HERE and I think I made reference to a new development that had taken place in the Secondary School she went to and that's how this wonderful lesson came (or was illustrated again)..

So let me go down memory lane a bit..

After my Junior Secondary School, I upgraded changed schools to a much nicer one that was uber cool! I had extra cool school mates, extra-curricular activities that I had hitherto only watched on TV, a fancy unifrom that stood out in those days, everyone had to have some kind of rep, teachers ddin't beat children *heaven* (in those days it was something oh! lol).. In short it was just too cool for school (in my mind) :-)

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At the same time, my sister was going to change school too and we both thought it would be absolutely 'divineee' for her to join me at my new cool school! I had regaled her with tales of school daily and each day she couldn't wait to hear the new adventures of One's cool school.. She did the entrance examination and passed (I did tell you she is super intelligent! lol) and we thought 'YES' she's coming in! Fun School for 2 - how mega exciting!

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For some reason, she couldn't attend the school any longer cause the parents decided that she would go to another school that she had also written their entrance exam.. Now this school was great BUT it did not have the 'trappings' of my school. It was just 'there' and guess what? They beat chidlren too and punished mehn! *shock gasp*.. However, it was bigger, it was growing in strength and it was quite academically strong. But my sister was disappointed and so was I!

Anyways, fast-forward later, guess what? My old school is barely existing and my sister's school is flourishing! I smile when I remember because I'm like who would have thought?

Now if we both mention our alma matters, hers would be received with more recognition and respect than mine in many places. The products of her school are doing great things! (And mine too oh, I mean look at me! lol)..

As we remembered yesterday and joked about it, I got a lesson from it 'Don't look at or judge things, situations or people with your limited instinct, but trust God's direction even in disappointments. He may be taking you to a place you don't really understand why, or isn't your first preference, He may be asking you to venture into something that looks quite off while your choice looks definitely more appealing, but trust His judgement... Usually it's a set-up for your own benefit because while we see the 'here and now'.. He sees the enduring long-term benefit, glamour and usefulness.

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(Be malleable to God's own picture)

This may be for someone who is about to make a decision or whose direction has been 'veered' towards something that isn't your first or preferred choice.. As long as God's got you, trust Him.. Very very soon, you will see and understand why, and you will thank Him for it.

At that time, my sister probably didn't realise that God was giving her a real gift in taking her to that school as she thought mine was better but thank God He interrupted our limited desires to give her much more! And now, she looks back and can say thank God He took me there instead of where I wanted.

Things to remember
1. Commit all your ways to God (specifically and unspecifically)
2. Have a plan, let Him know your plans - communicate it to Him expressly
3. Give Him room to change it when there's a need
4. Trust Him enough to believe that He has got you covered so He one way or the other, He will make a way for you
5. Usually, when there is a change, you will probably see that it still broadly achieves what you want but not in the way that you want it (eg, my sister still got educated but not in the school that she wanted)
6. With the right attitude (thanksgiving in all situations work), you will start to see that 'it's not that bad actually' lol - that's just the beginning
7. Ultimately, when the full, grand plan is revealed, you will love Him more for it and be so grateful He orchestrated it all!
8. Patience and trust should be your close allies!

Thanks for reading folks xxxx