What Mary did

When Mary broke her alabaster box full of expensive oil on Jesus, her intentions were misconstrued. She was condemned by many even Jesus' disciples for wasting such precious and very costly oil. In their beration of her "unacceptable" action, her character was also brought into question in Luke 7:37 "a woman in that town who lived a sinful life".
Despite the negativity around her and her somewhat warped reputation, there was something beautiful about what Mary did.
Mary saw an opportunity: it was six days before the passover, when Jesus would be crucified. She knew her lord would be taken from her soon so instead of reveling like others were, she chose to do something eternity would appreciate. What better time than that moment to bless her master as she knew he would not be coming that way again. SHE SEIZED THE MOMENT. She saw an opportunity and took it.

She gave: Jesus was always the one giving so she decided to turn the tables around this time. Mary recalled that Jesus brought her brother back after he had died and was buried three days. Death to man is the final fontire but Jesus crossed that frontier and brought back life. I'm sure never in Mary's wildest imagination had she thought that those grave clothes that held her brother Lazarus bound will ever be loosened nor the tomb that sealed and separated the living from the dead would ever be opened except at resurrection but at His Word "Lazarus came forth"; his grave clothes unbound and tomb stone rolled away. What an  amazing love. How can one repay such feat? That moment in Bethany was her opportunity to say "thank you". The hand that gave was small but the heart that received was large.

Picture credit:www.tyrellmara.com

She Appreciated: you can rarely separate appreciation and giving. Mary had witnessed the many miracles that Jesus had performed and she'd also had the opportunity to learn at the Master's feet first hand and in close proximity. Her giving was a show of her appreciation.
She gave something of worth: the bible describes her gift as costly Infact one of the disciples put a price tag to it " why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarius and givenlisted to the poor" John 12:5. My dear, for all Jesus had she couldn't just give anything, she gave something of worth and heaven noticed.
She was generous: Mary was not miserly with her offering, the bible says "she poured a flask of costly oil on Jesus", in other words she soaked Jesus with her offering. She drenched his clothes in expensive oil!
Her giving caused a furore : Mary did not only grab heaven's attention, her giving also caused a furore in that small room. People will sometimes misconstrue your intention and even label you negatively. The disciples labeled her giving "a waste". Her giving was so much that it irked the people in that room.
It is the Jesus opinion that matters: People will always have an opinion about what you do or what you are but it is the opinion of Jesus that matters. The disciples called her generous offering a waste but Jesus called it "a beautiful thing" Matthew 26:10. I will Take Jesus opinion anytime.
Lessons from Mary

• Opportunities abound around us
• Seize the moment.
• Appreciate 
• Give.
• Let your giving be generous
• Let your motives be selfless and genuine.
• Give your best-don't pinch corners
• People will always talk but it heaven's opinion that matters
• Never mind the crowd follow your heart.

Wow! What amazing lessons from a simple gesture from a pure heart. My heart beats for this woman's misunderstood offering. I know what it means to be so blessed and you wonder how to say thank you, bacause this has been a long post I'll what I mean in my next post.  

Cultivate a habit, have a routine and Follow it.

My people say "you can't open your eyes and watch someone prick them" meaning you can't be alert and watch things slide into chaos in your life, you do something about the situation and take control. A couple of months backs,  I decided to form a godly habit and stick to it. As you may know,every habit requires a routine in fact every habit is formed by routine.

Every night before my son goes to bed, I anoint him with oil and we say our prayers together. Initially he didn't mind my nightly kisses but as a typical boy he's grown tired of mummy's kisses but would rather blow me a kiss as I stand by the door ready to turn off his lights.
Everyday for the past few months, it doesn't matter how tired or stressed I am, I always anoint my son before he sleeps. Infact, my son looks forward to our nightly routine. The moment I walked towards him, he says "nointing" his word for "anointing" (My heart skips ever time he talks after years of waiting and praying for the lord to open his lips. I shared the story Here
Some days when I want to skip our routine, I feel the gentle nudge of the holy spirit to go back and finish the day right by anointing my son with oil.
Aside from his bed times,  we also go through the process before he goes to school.

There  is a purpose to our routine. James 5:14 says " is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him anointing him  with oil"( since I have five strands of grey hair on my head, I think I qualify to be an elder..lol.)

The perfection of Josh's healing is the ultimate purpose of our nightly routine but along the way several things are happening that have been beneficial to mother-son relationship.

• Our nightly anointing provides bonding moments for the two of us
• Josh gets to use his words in prayers
• We both look forward to it.
• It's a date with the Holy Spirit. 
• God wants date time with His children.
• We get to God at work.

This is one of the positive habits and  routines I have cultivated over time. A routine is simply " a sequence of actions regularly followed" in my case for an expected end. A routine is not done haphazardly but deliberately  with an end in view. Jesus had a routine. Luke 5:16 "but Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed". It was his habit to go away frequently to pray so much that his disciples took cognisance of his routine and habit.

TIPS ON BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE HABITS AND ROUTINE

• Find a godly habit
• Create a routine 
• Consistency
• Every routine is deliberate 
• It works with an end in view
• Routine is crucial in building anything.
• It is deliberate 
• What you keep at, you become perfect in. Proverbs 22:29
• Enhances productivity 
• It is healthy to create balance
• It builds structure which is key in healthy and wholesome living.
• It helps create healthy habits
• Positive routine empowers.

Since every habit is built by routine, mind what you put heart and mind to; they are key to  activate success.

Speak the word

My son Joshua  just started to speak at the age of 9. My littleman was diagnosed with autism at age two plus with added complication of no speech! His delayed speech was a source of constant pain to me and frustration for him. As he grew older; he couldn't express his needs and I had to constantly guess what he wanted or what was wrong all the time. This took a toll on both of us, so you can imagine the constant conflicts and tantrums in my house.  Mind you, I throw a mean tantrum and this I did constantly. .lol.

Photo credit:www.songofthelarkblog.com

Fast foward to this day, Words cannot adequately describe my joy the day he uttered his first word! Dear friends, the Israelites were absolutely spot on when they exclaimed with joy in Psalm 126:1 "when the lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like them who dream". Seriously, this is a dream I don't want to wake up from, not even the devil can pinch me out of this....E FITTING'NT.
The miracle of Joshua has become a source of encouragement to many families that are experiencing similar challenges. I give glory to God that there is indeed a purpose to my pain. (we will talk more on that tomorrow).

I have learnt several lessons watching joshua's speech unfold daily.

1. Some of the words have been innate in him though dormant as he did not know how to frame them or give expression to the words.
2. As a parent, I had to teach him more words by pointing out objects and calling them by name.
3. Used the strategy of repetition to enable the word stick., 

Like any SANE mother would (emphasis on sane), in excitement I will point  at anything and everything in sight wanting my son to say them loud and clear to the glory of God and the shame of the devil. However to my dismay, my son got tired of using his words he'd rather pull me or point to the desired object but my humble self was having non of that. You see not using his voice and words would lead to the loss of his acquired skills. WHAT YOU DON'T USE, YOU LOSE! PRACTICE ALSO MAKES PERFECT..KAPISH?

God wants His children to speak the word always.The word of God to a believer is an affirmation of the righteousness and glory of God. It is a declaration of an unshakeable  faith in an awesome God. The believer believes in the heart (innate)and confesses(expresses) with the lips.  In Ezekiel 3, after the prophet had eaten the scroll  which represensented the word of God, he was told " son of man go now and SPEAK MY WORDS TO THEM" As sweet as the word was because it was likened to honey in verse 3, the prophet was not meant to merely savour the taste and lick his lips but to GO AND SPEAK HIS WORD. Ezekiel was commanded to speak the word he'd consumed to a hardened and obstinate people.
Dear friend, what is stopping you from declaring the word in your life? Don't just keep it bottled inside, SPEAK THE WORD and watch amazing things start to happen. What that mountain needs is just the word " Trully I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain 'be lifted up and thrown and thrown into the sea' and has no doubt in his heart....it will be done for them" Mark 11:23

BENEFITS OF SPEAKING THE WORD

• it builds your faith
• It is an exercise of faith
• It builds confidence in you and God.
• It brings God's purpose to bear in our lives.
• It enhances spiritual growth.
• Develops the inner man and transforms us outwardly.
• It gives victory over sin
• It gives life

Back to Joshua, you are not shutting off the words, NOT ON MY WATCH.

Love in action

Editor's Note: Love has a ripple effect. When the heart is right, love is like a river that flows from person to person, effecting change  in its wake. Being a conduit of love is an ideal we all must strive for. It is simply putting your money where your mouth is. Moreover it is what God expects from every believer. Reminds me of a story about a girl that chose to be the hand of change in the life of a drunken neighbour. All her life she'd known this man as a drunk, a source of comic relief for the neighbourhood. Everyone laughed at this man in his weakness until this selfless young lady chose to be the one to help transform the man. She paid someone to feed him and enlisted other hands to wash him while still seeking assistance to further help him learn a vocation . That is what I call love in action....more than mere expression of feelings! Now the man is on a full road to recovery. Let me share an excerpt from a devotion by Joyce Meyer to encourage us on the benefits of being the conduits of God's love.

Joyce Meyer

"There are many ways to demonstrate the love of Christ. When you show His love to someone else, it can soften that person's heart and before you know it, they'll be finding ways to to reach out and show love to others and so on and so on. So celebrate God's love and let Him lead you. Is he putting someone on your heart right now? 
I want my love for Jesus to be reflected in the way I show love for others, even those that may be difficult to love. If I can soften one hard heart with the love of God , maybe that person will soften another's heart with love then that one will reach out to others and so on and son....And soon we'll have a love revolution!
John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,  if you love one another."

Never forget your source....BE GRATEFUL

The Internet is full of wonderful stories ranging from the interesting, hilarious to the downright absurd! However no matter how weird the stories might be, I try to keep an open mind but keep my inner filters working to maximum capacity. Don't want the silly stories taking root in my mind.  I was stunned by the story of a  beauty queen who went back home to thank her mother shortly after being crowned winner of a much coveted beauty crown. 17 year old  Khanittha"Mint" Pheasant  is pictured kneeling before her mother near a row of wheelie bins. She went down and dirty on her knees,crown and all because that was her root-NO SHAME!!

She didn't mind the rubbish or consider that her silk sash or pageant gear and golden heels will get dirty because it was the hands that cleared the dirt that reared reared her-NO SHAME.

I am amazed that the first thing this beautiful lady did was to go back home to appreciate her mother and and not throw a self congratulatory party as many are want to do-HOW SELFLESS AND HUMBLE.
Gratitude simply means thankfulness or appreciation for kindness shown.
Luke 17:11-19, tells how Jesus healed 10 lepers and only one returned to show appreciation. Before the healing they shouted with a loud voice " Jesus, Master, have pity on us". After all is said and done only one returned to show gratitude. If gratitude was not important Jesus would not have made the following statement. " were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Then he said to him "Rise and go; your faith has made you well" Luke 17:19. Some bible scholars say the one that gave thanks was made whole.
An African proverb says "a river that forget its source wI'll soon dry up". The Israelites forgot their source in the old testament and became prey to their enemies. People who were once the dread of their enemies later became captives in the land of promise-HOW SAD!
Think back for a moment on the mighty victories God has done for you. Miracles of healing or deliverance from the bondage of sickness or addiction. Did you remember to show gratitude?
Take time today to remember God's faithfulness and how He has seen you through the many stages of your life.
TIPS ON GRATITUDE. 

• Count your blessings.
• Be content.
• Focus right-gratitude puts situations in perspective. It says "it could be worse"
• Never give up on hope.
• Appreciate the little things.
• Celebrate every milestone and small successes. 
• Sometimes it's not about what you don't have but what you do.
• DO not envy- it's not really greener on the other side of the fence.
• Say it-Always show appreciation.
• Gratitude takes the focus off you-its selfless.
• Gratitude enhances relationships.
• Practice attitude daily. It will change your outlook on life and people.

Right now is a good place and time to start. Bring out a journal and start writing.