The God that Compensates!

I will never forget an incident that happened when I was a child. It was a birthday party and of course we were slugging it out on the dance floor (In case you didn't know, we are champion dancers in the Thompson family LOL).

Dancing is in our blood!

We were told to dance and that good dancers would be rewarded with a sweet. A number of people know that we used to dance then to win a prize - we took no prisoners!

As we were dancing, sweets were being distributed. Even though I danced with all my might and all my strength, giving them moves known and unknown, up and down, left and right, I didn't feel anyone tap me to hand me a sweet!

What happened was that my mum(!) was in charge of distributing the sweets and because she is a woman who wants to be fair and unbiased to a verrryyyyy large extent, she refused to reward my hard labour with a sweet, all because we were related! People who were not even doing half of the calisthenics I was displaying on the dance floor got a sweet! Lol

After a while, one of the other mums who had been watching stood up and exclaimed saying "This girl has been dancing so much, please she deserves a biscuit!"... Alas my hardwork hadn't gone unnoticed and where others got a 'paltry' sweet, I got a nice, bigger biscuit! :-D :-D

I can never forget that experience. This happened many many years ago but the lesson from that day still encourages me and I would like to encourage someone with it as well.

Looking at life and the bigger picture, God is a God that compensates. There's nothing on this earth that you do that goes unnoticed (good or bad). It may seem like no one knows or others are getting a reward, yet you keep putting in so much with nothing to show - it's only a matter of time, don't stop, don't give up, your reward will come and it will compensate you for all the time it seemed you were ignored or neglected.

With the benefit of hindsight, would I take the sweet? Heck no!! I will not change that story at all. The biscuit was worth the wait!

Your wait will be worth it. God will compensate you for every single effort, sacrifice, commitment, disappointment and any other thing you think you might have been deprived of! Hold on, don't stop, keep doing, it will come!

You are just the Carrier, the baby is Mine - Emma and Obi's Story

Hi beautiful people!

I am excited whenever I have the opportunity to watch, hear or read about God's Awesomeness!

Everyday, we get the opportunity to have a glimpse of just how GREAT God is - From the break of dawn, to the rising of the sun, to the clouds that fill up with rain that drops on the ground to produce a bountiful harvest and nurture life.

From the details of creation - the unique lines imprinted on the palms of every human being, to the beautiful crinkle that forms when you smile. From the numerous strands of hair on our head that differs in texture, strength, length and colour to the next person just as our DNA, as intricate, complex and detailed as it is, differs from the next.

God is great and there is NOTHING He cannot do.

Emma and Obi Anyadike

If you followed the Waiting and Loving It series, you would remember Emma and Obi who were one of the first couples we featured. You can read their story HERE.. What they might not have touched on at the time was the miracle of conception and birth of their first and only son at the time Noah.

Emma and Obi are now blessed with 2 very handsome sons and Emma recently shared her story of faith, belief (and moments of unbelief), hope and miracle of God's faithfulness. Please watch the video below, you would certainly be blessed:



Also, very recently, Emma and Obi dedicated their second son Zac at their church, the City Temple (Elim) in Swansea and they made this beautiful video to celebrate. It's a bit of a 'Music and Me' as well, as I would encourage you to please pay attention to the background song (words on screen). It's also one of Emma's favourite songs..



How beautiful indeed. I had tears in my eyes as I watched. May God continue to bless and keep Emma, Obi and their gorgeous boys in Jesus name.

My prayer for you is that if there is anything at all you are trusting and holding on to God for, He would do it for you. No matter what the facts and proof are pointing to. No matter what the doctors have said, no matter what society has said, no matter what precedent has been or history has proven, may God answer your prayers and grant you the desires of your heart as you trust in Him in Jesus name.

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible" - Luke 1:37

Lots of love xxxx

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Another Chance...

"No matter how far off the path you have gotten from the plans and purposes God has for you, when you surrender your life to the Lord and declare your utter dependence upon Him, He carves a path from where you are supposed to be, and He sets you on it."

I read the beautiful quote above in the beautiful book - Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian.

As I read it, it brought such a huge reassurance to me and I hope it does the same for you too..

No matter how far you think you have gone or strayed away from God and His plan for your life, it's not too late for you to achieve them. You will make it!

Even if you imagine or know that you missed a great opportunity - relationship, career, family, ministry - God can give you a brand new one! Don't think because it is gone that it marks the end in your life and destiny.. No way! That's why God is GOD.. He who gave the opportunity in the first place can give you another by His grace and mercy.

You can come back on course by God's grace at whatever age or time you are and pray to God for mercy for a fresh start, a new beginning. He can do it!

I am reminded of the Potter and the Clay in Jeremiah 18:4

 "But the pot He was shaping from the clay was marred in His hands; so the Potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him". 

The Potter who formed you in the first place and gave you a purpose (Jer 1:5) can re-form you to make you all that He wants you to be even if you have been marred.

Your experiences, circumstances and past do not disqualify you from being the fullness of ALL that God plans for you. You might have made mistakes, taken a wrong turn, made poor decisions in the past but the moment you come back to Him and surrender it all, He can give you another chance.

Embrace it, don't let the devil tell you lies that it's over, or that it's no longer possible, for with God, nothing shall be impossible!

You will achieve your purpose, you will reach your goal, and God will take all the glory.

xxxxx

Dare to Dream?

                        

Have you ever had a dream so big that you thought you shouldn't even be dreaming about it because it possibly couldn't happen to you?

Have you had a blessing so wonderful that you were looking out for the 'catch' because it seemed too good to be true?

The truth is that every single human being has a dream, a desire; and usually we become afraid to continue that thought process because we fear the disappointment of it not coming to pass. Unfortunately sometimes, the fear ends the dream even before it takes flight.

"No, it possibly couldn't work, why bother". 

"That life is not for me, I wonder how other people get so lucky!"

"What if it doesn't work?!"

... And many times we lose out on a great opportunity, a great life because we don't believe enough that dreams and desires do come through.

Whenever we dream small or don't dare to dream big, I dare say that we diminish the power of God and the integrity of His word.

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?" - Jer 32:27

Perhaps, the greatness of our dreams is proportional to how much faith and trust we place in God and His word.

You can have that great career, you can have that phenomenal business, you can have that beautiful relationship, you can have that wonderful marriage, you can have a happy and fulfilled life, the things that happened to that loved one would not happen to you too.... Your story can be great and your end glorious. That dream can come to pass.

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" - 3John 2

Don't limit the power of God, don't limit the greatness He has invested in you.

"Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession" - Psalm 2:8

Great things don't just happen to other people, great things can happen to you too.

So, here's a call to you, don't be afraid to dream. It's time to stop limiting God and start taking Him up on His word, afterall, He said it -

"God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it?or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good?" - Numbers 23:19

Dream that dream, take the next step by asking God in prayers to bring it to pass, work diligently to pursue it, ignore the setbacks, dream again and work even harder. When you begin to see the dreams in real life, don't be afraid to embrace it with joy and thanks to your God because being great is not extraordinary for Him, that's His signature.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" - Ephesians 3:20

Remember - "Exceedingly abundantly above ALL that we ask or think" - God will surpass your dreams and expectations.... But don't forget to dream and imagine that it is indeed possible by God's grace.

PS I read this fantastic post by a blogger (Ms Akut) whose amazing ability to bring life to every day simple activities is a gift indeed. I pray that the post inspires your faith to expect the best from the very best God. Click HERE to read.

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Waiting on a Dream

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He could feel the biting cold through his skin as he tried to use the small scrap of cloth to cover some parts of his body. The cell stank and the lunch he had just endured threatened to pour out from his gut. No matter how long he ate the food, he could never get used to how terrible it was. At least he had a better portion than the rest of his mates, he thought as he chuckled to himself, thanking God for small mercies that make a big difference. Being the leader even in this forlorn place had its advantages, he smiled.

He sighed "But Abba, it is getting more difficult to smile or keep my head up. How long would it take? How long Elohim? I tell the other boys the story of the God of my youth and they laugh with mirth at how ridiculous I sound. I tell them the stories that my beloved Papa regaled us with night after night - true stories, some of which he saw himself and some which even happened to him! And sometimes I do think that they believe I may have lost it!" 

He pushed the cloth away from his skin as he rose to walk the small length of his 'home' soliloquising "How do I explain angelic visitations, stairways to heaven, Papa wrestling with you?! It all sounds so mad, completely FOOLISH!! Am I running mad? Is it folly to still hold on to the dreams of years gone past? Did I not see it? Was it not you? Why did I open my big mouth! Oh why Abba, why have all these terrible things happened to me?! I have tried.. tried so hard to love you - the unseen God. I have tried, tried so much to obey you like Papa admonished us day and night. I have striven, striven to honour you even when I had so many ways out... So many easier options which I rejected because I would rather honour you." As he thought aloud, he couldn't help the tears that escaped his lashes as his voice broke with every word.

"I have been forgotten Lord, who remembers me? Who knows my name? Time and time again I have been forgotten. I have paid the price for crimes unknown. My heart has been broken in two by family and foes. Disappointments, I have to bear over and over again. Years and years have gone past and I ask again, would this ever change Lord? Would the dreams ever come through? Will you let me die a prisoner in a foreign land".

"JOSEPH! Come". The Chief Security Officer calls out loudly to him, and then turns to speak to the men hovering around the cell - "Guards take him, change him, the King wants him!"

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During the season of waiting, one comes to almost fully appreciate the story of Joseph. A man who was given a dream years and years before, yet everything pointed contrary to it.

Can you imagine for a minute how he must have felt waiting all those years?! Waiting for a dream that started from teenage-hood and didn't get fulfilled until adulthood; with a lot of disappointments, betrayals, impossible situations and suffering in-between.

But he had a dream.. And only he would have been able to deprive himself of it; not his brothers, not his parents, not Potiphar or his wife, not the Baker or the Cupbearer.

The season of waiting for the fulfilment of a dream or a promise can be one of the most difficult periods in our lives. You may be waiting for God to bring you that dream spouse, that dream child, that dream job, that dream opportunity, that dream change..  You may have cried your fair share of tears, done your bit in fasting and praying, obeying God through it all yet it seems like nothing is happening right now.

You may be just ready to give up.

I want to encourage you today to please hold on to your dream, hold on to your promise.. Just as God came through for Joseph, He will come through for you.

It is difficult now, it looks bleak now BUT God never leaves you, He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deut 31:6). He is right there with you urging you to hold on, to keep going because He is not a man that should lie, neither the son of man that should repent of His word (Num 23:19). That dream of yours will come to pass, that promise will be fulfilled. Please don't give up yet. No matter how bad it is right now, your joy will come in the morning and when it does you won't stop dancing.

"... All the days of my appointed time, I will wait till my change comes" - Job 14:14b

"When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion (insert your name here), we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, then they said among the nations, "the Lord has done great things for them". The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad." - Psalm 126:1-3

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You can read the story of Joseph yourself in Genesis 37 - 46

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Where are Your Manners?!

How was your weekend?! Mine was wonderful! It always is after the Holy Ghost Service at the Redemption camp on the first Friday of the month - Theme for the night was 'The Blessed of the Lord'.. I feel blessed :-) May this be an exceptionally blessed month for you too in Jesus name.

So, I learnt something important early Saturday morning. 

I was sitting with my beautiful Aunts, Uncles and much younger cousins after the Service, quite tired and ready to snooze while watching my cousin play a racing game on his Dad's tablet. As he played, another young boy who was walking past was so drawn to it that he lost himself and just stood over my cousin watching the game. My Aunt and I said to each other "Wow, games are so addictive, look at the boy, he hasn't even realised that he is peering over a stranger's shoulders and it almost seems like he is about to fall into it". We went on to imagine the level of punishment and abara (famous back-slap invented by Nigerian mothers in 1843, known to cure most forms of deviant behaviour with alarming speed) we would have had the 'pleasure' of, if it had been us. 

Oi! Where are your manners mate?

Like we thought to ourselves, no manners! I mean, how could you just wander off, happen to see another boy in the midst of people and just stand over his shoulders, absolutely engrossed in the game that he was playing! (You know how you get when someone is reading your newspaper over your shoulders without being invited lol). Good manners say that you control yourself and just keep walking right?

Well, not too long afterwards, my Aunt whispers to me that "The woman sitting across us is his mum and can you believe that she has 5 young boys (2 sets of twins) and I happened to just make small talk with her about how she copes with all of them, when she starts to tell me with tears in her eyes that she does it alone, as their father was recently killed in Borno state by the terrorist group - Boko Haram".

I must have felt a douse of cold water on my face! I couldn't believe it! I looked again at the young boy peering over my cousin's shoulder and what I now saw was very different. I saw a boy who possibly needed to make new friends and probably escape from the hardness of life. My heart reached out to him as I couldn't imagine what life had dealt this young boy and his siblings. A life without a father.. A myriad of thoughts crossed my mind, "How does he feel?" "What did that sad loss mean to him?".. He was old enough to know what the loss of his father meant, but too young to have to deal with it.

I couldn't care less at that moment if he wanted to grab the game from my cousin's hands! It wouldn't have really mattered then. All I could see was a boy who needed all the love and understanding he could get. Far gone was my disapproving look and thoughts.

I asked God for mercy for being so hasty in judging his lack of good manners! And it dawned on me how quickly we sometimes stick our noses up at people for the way they are now or they behave, yet we do not understand the story behind that individual.

Judged until proven innocent

We want them to do 'the right thing' behave 'the right way', yet at that time, all they need is just to be.

It was a huge lesson for me - Always give people the benefit of your doubt. Be charitable always to others, you never know just what life has thrown at them or the enormity of what they have had to deal with. You never know what may be responsible for their actions - it doesn't excuse it all the time but it means that you empathise and just give them a break.

I will never forget a quote I read not too long ago - That individual who seems most difficult to love is probably most in need of love.

May God help us to be charitable in our thoughts and actions and to show love to all, at all times.

Have a wonderful and blessed week xx

Monday Morning Reflection

Hello people!

It's another Monday morning to love right? right? (I had to ask again cause that question is dodgy, lol).. But yeah, I choose to believe and be excited at the fact that this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it! Woop woooop!!

Hope your weekend was great? Like I mentioned on Facebook (You haven't been on the blog's Facebook page?! *shock gasp* lol.. Here it is www.facebook.com/1plustheone.. Please like and share too!), Saturday was the birthday of a man I have deep respect and admiration for! A man of God indeed. A man who makes Christianity look mighty good, marriage desirable and restores much hope in Fatherhood! Please help me to say a huge GOD BLESS YOU to the one and only PAI, Pastor Agu Irukwu - son of God, Husband of one wife and father of 3 children + multitudes too + friend of soo many!

                             source

Anyways, over the weekend, I was also reflecting on the Dear Daddy POST of Friday and as I thought about the God of my youth, I couldn't help but reminisce a little on how far my love-relationship with God has come... It took me back to a place of singing old worship songs (Amen, Amen! I will enter His gates..).. I remembered the joy of being taught in Children's church Sunday School and all the many activities that made church so wonderful (it still is today, thank God!), I remembered the prayers made, the answers to them and wonderful testimonies from God.. I remembered the not so pleasant experiences too, the lessons learnt and how God saved me from them.. I realised even deeper that God is ever so mindful of me.. and not just me, every single human being on this earth! His love is so large that He can have a uniquely individual love relationship with each of us.. You have your own love-history with the King of Kings or if you haven't, you can have your own love-history with Abba Father.. What a JOY!

So I encourage you this morning, just like a wife or husband looks at their spouse of 10, 20, 30years and remembers the early days, the days when they would play-fight - the time she overlooked that misdemeanour and just proved her unconditional love for you, the time he nursed you back to health when you were ill and how it made you feel "I never want to let you go", the time she went all out to set before you a feast of delicacies and you thought "I sure hit gold!", the time he danced silly and sang off-tune just to make you smile and forget the tough stuff going on and it made you want to spend the next 50 years with him again!

In the same way, I encourage you..

Remeber when He healed your heart?

Remember the way you used to wake up early so you could spend time in fellowship with Him - your own personal time?

Remember the time you begged and asked "If only You could just do this Lord".. and He came through for you?

Remember how you promised Him that "No matter what you faced, you would still praise Him"?

Remember the God of your youth - It could have been 10years, 5years, 2years or even 1month.... I encourage you to go back to the place of your love anew! xx

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Have a blessed and wonderful week all!

Flaunt It Monday coming up!! :-) xx
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Will I have a good marriage?

Not everyone is looking forward to getting married.. Some people are scared of the prospect of marriage! Like, what would happen after we say 'I Do'? Would I be happy? Would we be true to our vows and committed for the long haul?

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There are deep set doubts as to being in a committed relationship and sometimes the thought of it can be almost suffocating.

For some the desire is there alright, but it's like what if I get it wrong?! What's the guarantee that I would not end up like Mr A or Mrs Y?! They started happy and all that, now look how they turned out!

I used to be scaredd (bold and underlined!) of the prospect of marriage! Don't get me wrong, I wanted to get married, sure! I have always had a bone of romance but I had seen so many bad examples of marriages that the thought of it scared me! I had heard and seen people being destroyed or a shadow of themselves as a result of poor marriage decisions! To be honest, at some point, I used to genuinely believe that after 5years of marriage, couples endured each other.. You do your duty as a mother, he does his as a father, you find a way to relate (awkwardly) with each other and if you can manage that, you stay married! (Did I hear you say "Oh dear!")

This fear for me was real because I am a Christian and like the bible enjoins, I don't believe in divorce cause God says He hates it so as I thought then, God help me if I end up in a wrong marriage, with a wrong man.. Imagine a lifetime of agony! Real hell on earth!! Trying continuously to 'fix things'.

As I grew in my relationship with God and I grew older, I started to actively pray about it - my fears, my concerns, the prosperity of my marriage! I remember then, anytime they asked for a prayer point/request - mine would be concerning marriage "Lord, give me a good marriage, I don't want to marry wrongly, I don't want to endure my husband or my marriage".

And God answered my prayers concerning my fear about marriage..

I have mentioned previously that I believe that marriage is one of the biggest acts of faith - deciding to commit to a long term relationship without actually knowing what will exactly happen afterwards. Many of us know that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God". Now how that was translated in my life was that God started with my mind and what I heard and saw. He transformed my thinking and renewed my mind by bringing me in contact with people who had exemplary marriages - like the real deal, not TV stuff..

I didn't even know what He was doing until a little after. One way or the other, I started mixing with people who had been married for a while and still enjoyed being married to each other.. not one, not two.. My faith was being restored, good marriages no longer belonged to novels but were achievable! I read a lot and prayed some more, renewing, changing, re-setting my mindset to agree with God's idea and plan for marriage.

God did a work in me from within. He didn't wait for me to get married to prove this to me, He healed my heart and my mind when I didn't even realise that I needed it! It was practical - I feel like I went through a 'school of marriage' by watching examples of others, listening attentively to lessons learnt etc. And I didn't plan it - the Master Planner did!

And now, I look forward to the prospect of marriage and I KNOW that by God's grace, I am having an exemplary husband, marriage and home in Jesus when it comes - until death do us part!

                              
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This explains a little bit of my zeal for building relationships, celebrating God-ly marriages and discussing fruitful relationships. We are highly influenced by what surrounds us, what we hear, what we see and what we interact with!

Marriage was created by God to be beautiful. It is God's own creation/idea. He saw a need in Adam and decided to make him a helpmeet. God created an avenue for companionship, friendship, sex, fruitfulness and generational continuation. Everything God made was GOOD.. Marriage is GOOD!

This post was inspired by a question asked HERE by Mizadventures of Mizchif and I know that some people may be facing doubts about marriage based on many factors - probably having never seen nor understood how a good marriage can happen, an experience of a bad relationship or from negativity and lies that have been constantly fed on.

God wants you to have/enjoy/live life and have it in abundance! If you are struggling by an impaired perspective of marriage, you can ask God to renew your mind and ask Him to teach you how to get it right..

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" - Romans 12:2