Isaac Boluwatise

Immediately after World War II the allied armies gathered up many hungry, homeless children and placed them in large camps. There the children were abundantly fed and cared for. However, at night they did not sleep well. They seemed restless and afraid.

Finally, a psychologist hit on a solution. After the children were put to bed, they each received a slice of bread to hold. If they wanted more to eat, more was provided, but this particular slice was not to be eaten – it was just to hold.

The slice of bread produced marvellous results. The children would go to sleep, subconsciously feeling they would have something to eat tomorrow. That assurance gave the child a calm and peaceful rest. More tomorrow! Isn’t that really the basic longing deep inside each of our hearts?

It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out why we’re that way. The longer I live, the more I see taken away from me. Oh yes, I’ve got more stuff than I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. I’ve got books I’ll never read, work manuals I’ll never work, catalogues I’ll never order from.

Plus, I’ve got jars and jars of assorted nuts and bolts, electric wire nuts, picture-hanging brackets, and curtain rod implements. Stuff. The funny thing about it is that when I need some of this stuff I can never find it, so I wind up going down and buying more stuff.

Would you like to know what I do with the leftovers? I put them in the jar alongside the stuff I was looking for when I went down and bought new stuff. It’s right beside the half empty gallon paint can I saved from one of my projects back in 1991.

Yeah, I got stuff all right but I’m also losing things — lots of things. My mind, for instance. My once active brain picks the dumbest times to go on sabbatical. Some things I’m still good at; some things I’d rather not discuss. I’m sort of like the professor on Gilligan’s Island who was smart enough to make a two-way radio out of a coconut; but didn’t have sense enough to fix a hole in the bottom of the boat. That’s me all right.

And my eyes aren’t as keen as they once were, which might have some redemptive value. At least when I can’t think of someone’s name I can always use the excuse, “I couldn’t see you very well.”

Yes indeed! I want more tomorrow, like the little children in the war camps. I need something to hold on to; something that will let me know that tomorrow is taken care of already. God knew that we were all going to be like those little children. That’s why he so often referred to us as ‘little children’. And one of my favourite ‘little children’ talks Jesus gave, came to us by way of the pen and parchment belonging to Matthew, His disciple: “Don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing,” Jesus said. “Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

That’s better than stuff stuffed into the closet. Better than stuff on shelves in the garage. Better than stuff in jars. That’s even better than sliced bread!

Larry Hatfield is Pastor of Grand Assembly of God in Chickasha, OK.

Visit at http://www.boluwatise.blogspot.com

Don’t give up….

One day I decided to quit…

I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality… I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I asked, “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me…

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light.

I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth.

Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.

“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed..

But I would not quit.

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would

not quit.” He said.

“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared

to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant…But just 6

months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”

He asked me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”.

“I would not quit on the bamboo.

I will never quit on you.”

“Don’t compare yourself to others.”

He said.

“The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.

Yet they both make the forest beautiful.”

“Your time will come”, God said to me. “You will rise high”

“How high should I rise?”
I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned.

“Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest and brought back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.

Never, Never, Never Give up.

For the Christian, prayer is not an option but an opportunity.

Don’t tell the Lord how big the problem is, tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

And heaven’s door opened this very moment.

A lady was driving along with her father. They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?”He said “keep driving”.. Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was getting worse.

“What should I do.” The young lady asked?”Keep driving,” her father replied. On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over. She told her dad, “I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It is terrible, and everyone is pulling over!”Her father told her, “Don’t give up, just keep driving!

“Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she could see a little more clearly.

After a couple of miles she was again on dry land, and the sun came out. Her father said, “Now you can pull over and get out.”She said “But why now?”He said “When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is now over.

This is a testimony for anyone who is going through “hard times”.Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don’t have to…if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun will shine upon your face again.

Someone shared this with me. Feel free to pass it on to some people you know. Tell them, “never give up”, because GOD will never give up on them!
Keep Driving! This story touched me! I hope it touched you!

IATB

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview. The director called him for the last interview and made a lasting decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research. Never had there been a year when he did not score.

The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?” the youth answered “none”.

The director asked, “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?”

The youth answered, “My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.”

The director asked, ” Where did your mother work?” The youth answered, “My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.
The director asked, ” Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?” The youth answered, “Never, my mother always wanted
me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me”.

The director said, “I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning”.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands.
His mother felt strange. Happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. His tears fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realised that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother’s hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother’s hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director’s office. The Director noticed the tears in the youth’s eyes and asked: ” Can you tell me what you did and learned yesterday in your house?”

The youth answered, ” I cleaned my mother’s hands, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes’

The Director asked, ” please tell me your feelings.”

The youth said, “Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not be the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship”.

The director said, ” This is the one I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired”.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company’s performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wants, would develop “entitlement mentality” and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parents’ efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. This kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel any sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more.

If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying our kid instead?
You can let your kids live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand that no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.
You would have forwarded many mails to many and many of them would have back mailed you too…but try and forward this story to as many as possible…this may change somebody’s fate…

You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.

IAT Boluwatise

“… that Satan might not outwit us… ” – 2 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

Addressing a worldwide convention of demons, satan told them: ‘As long as Christians stay close to God we’ve no power over them, so: 1) Keep them busy with non-essentials.
2) Tempt them to overspend and go into debt.
3) Make them work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles.
4) Discourage them from spending family time, for when homes disintegrate there’s no refuge from work.
5) Overstimulate their minds with television and computers so that they can’t hear God speaking to them.
6) Fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines so they’ve no time for Bible reading.
7) Flood their letter boxes with sweepstakes, promotions and get-rich-quick schemes; keep them chasing material things.
8) Put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances; that way they’ll be dissatisfied with themselves and their mates.
9) Make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy; that way they’ll be tempted to look elsewhere.
10) Emphasise Santa and the Easter Bunny; that way you’ll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays.
11) Involve them in ‘good’ causes so they won’t have any time for ‘eternal’ ones.
12) Make them self-sufficient. Keep them so busy working in their own strength that they’ll never know the joy of God’s power working through them.

Do these twelve things faithfully. I promise-it’ll work!’

Have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what God’s called you to do? Sometimes being B-U-S-Y just means Being Under Satan’s Yoke!