JEMIMA:Patterns for living a full life

You are invited to embark on the journey of grace and discovery as Jemima takes root in the heart’s and mind’s of God’s people. We are entering exciting times as we position ourselves to be receptive vessels for all that our creator has in store for us!

To ensure that each of you has the opportunity to experience a contemporary look at an age-old question of ‘How can I encounter God’s miracle-working power in my every day life?’, order your copy of Jemima today!

As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches how beautiful will it be to share with your loved one’s stories of strength and encouragement that will last longer than flowers. This investment in their destinies will inspire them to encounter the seed of change as they learn to experience God’s grace? Order a copy for your special someone today!

Search for – JEMIMA: Patterns for living a full life (Funmi Onamusi)
Orders in Nigeria – www.booksng.com
Orders in UK/US – www.amazon.co.uk (but buy it from Graceville publishing as Amazon do not have it in stock.
Bulk purchases of more than 10 orders – gracevillepublishing@yahoo.com

Please make sure you join the invitation to join the Jemima launch/movement event on Facebook as we have  released a story abstract on Monday, 2nd February 2009.

I am encouraging people to post their thoughts, victories and generally share their Jemima-xperience with fellow members. Also, pass on the Jemima-xperience and invite your friends to join up!!!!!!

Plant the Seed of Change in 2009 and experience the fullness of God in your everyday life by purchasing your copy of Jemima today!!!!

Be blessed

Funmi

Gods Grace day by day

A number of my friends have accused me for not updating my blog regularly – especially after my last post addressed something of that nature. What i then explained to them was that i was not just writing (which i love doing), i was doing it on a bigger scale.

Over the last three months i have been working almost full time to finish up on my book. It had been on my mind for over a year but after i wrote the last post, i decided to take a cue from my own lesson and then plunge into it full time.

One of the greatest things that can happen to any individual is the ability to stick with the right habits. Tell me your habits and I will predict your future!  So in order to make my dream of completing the book project, i made writing a habit instead of a hobby. I pushed myself hard and i must say i had no idea i had so much to say.

When operating under my own time frame, i would write about one story in a month or two. But in less than two months i have written about 15 stories!

I realised that in our walk in life we are confronted daily with challenges..many people try to deal with their issues how they know best, but how can we fare well when we ignore the potential to make ourselves better? I had many issues around writing more frequently but the moment i decided to apply discipline and make myself accountable to others for writing, it was like a dam broke and the words kept flowing. 

As the dream grew bigger i decided to enlist the help of trusted people who supported my  love for writing. I finally got about 12 stories that were contributed by friends. They were amazing stories and i enjoyed reading every one of them thoroughly. I didn’t even know some of them were such great writers and i would never have known if i had not spoken up that i needed help.

 The book i am working on is a compilation of short and interesting real life stories that have been written to stimulate and encourage people to take an active part in ensuring they live a more fulfilling life through some simple lessons on how to tap into God’s Grace on a daily basis. 

 It also revealed another lesson to me; When you have a dream and you have started to work towards it, reality is that sometimes the journey may  suddenly look endless and the results may look bleak – that is usually the best time to seek the support and help of trusted friends who share the same passions as you. You will be amazed as to how a simple action from them can get you bouncing back and rearing to go!

I tried it and it worked and i am now so happy that i can cross that off my list before stepping gallantly into the new year.

The greatest lesson i learnt from it all is how the Grace of God abounds daily unto great things. I decided to take my mind off the overwhelming vision (which was that i needed to write sooo many stories to compile into a book) and focus on getting past each day.

Every day i would believe in Gods grace to give me a personal experience during the day so that i could write a story about it. It worked greatly. Because it was trust on a day to day basis, i was more at ease and it made me more sensitive to my surroundings and to the lessons i could learn from things around me…and for me, a lesson meant a story.

I titled this post Gods grace day by day because that is what has kept me going since the last time i blogged here. Which is why i gave the book the same title… in Hebrew. So watch out for a book titled JEMIMA!

Merry Christmas and have a new year filled with JEMIMA!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its your Life…

It’s been ages. Three months I have been away but it feels like a lifetime ago that I last blogged here on ‘Truth’.

 

Looking back now, it may not be a lifetime in terms of your calendar month but it has been a lifetime of experiences…

I got married to a wonderful and loving man in July and I guess the sheer and overwhelming joy of that experience got me so lazy that I couldn’t write or even think of writing anything.

 Then in August I realised that I had to put the ‘honeymoon’ feeling on hold and focus on trying to complete my MBA thesis. I threw my whole being into getting it done on time and barely had time for anything else.

Towards the end of august, Hubby (feels nice to be able to say that…) suggested that I should start checking out different vacancies to see if I would find one that could be potentially interesting for my career. At that point, I was not really keen as I was under immense pressure from writing the dissertation and I just wanted to complete it and get back to blogging and enjoying married life before plunging into the world of waking up early, going to work, traffic and so on. In all fairness to him, I had complained that I was worried about having to go through any serious job hunting after graduating.

Anyway, so I sent out my CV to a couple of companies one Monday morning and got a call a few hours later to come for an interview. To cut it short, by Friday afternoon, I had a fantastic job offer!!!

I have to admit I was extremely thrilled and excited at the prospect of working again after taking time of to go for my Masters, but then out of the window went all my plans to take time after submitting my dissertation to update my blog, finish up on my book project, and generally have plenty fun.

I submitted my dissertation on a Friday in the middle of September and started work the following Monday. Since then, it’s been a roller coaster ride with barely enough time to catch my breath on weekends!

I was finally caught in my tracks over the weekend when I tried to review the last few months and I found that I hadn’t done the thing I love doing most for over three months and I didn’t feel it (well, maybe an occasional feeling of guilt every now and then ).

 

Thinking about it now, I realise that it is very easy for your whole life to pass in what seems like a blur without you being able to do the things you really want to and love doing! If I hadn’t taken the assessment check of my life of the last couple of months, the year would have probably rolled by without me really noticing that I hadn’t blogged in a long long time and then by next year blogging may have become past history.

 

Even though I am very grateful for the life I have right now, I will not rest, get lazy and let my real purpose for life just fly by…and the buns are not yet in the oven oh! How much more when the kids start rolling in?

So I have decided that things I cannot control (like time I spend at work, taking care of the home etc) will be given normal and proper attention but every spare time that is within my control will be put to good use.

Right now, I am on a train travelling for yet another business meeting but I am putting my time to better use by updating my blog – something I somehow could not find the time to do over the last three months!

 

That is it dear friends, lets live better because as long as there is night and day, responsibilities will always increase and there will always be new challenges and not once will the number of hours in a day exceed 24.

So take charge and make the most of your day… and life!!!

 

TRUTH…

The Old gate (Nehemiah 3:6) represents truth. In many lives today, this gate is broken down – people no longer rest upon truth.

Truth is always old, and it is upon old things that every new thing must rest. I read somewhere that  

   “whatever is true is not new, and whatever is new is not true.”

We live in a post modern society that believes there are no absolutes. So “truth” is being forsaken.

Modern society is rapidly throwing away biblical truth which the church has stood for since Christ’s day. It is saying in effect, that we dont need these things anymore. But if we allow this “old truth” to go, the consequences are that the walls crumble  and then we are just like everyone else.

I often think about the story of a man who went one day to visit an old musician.. He knocked on the musicians door and said

” what is the good word for today?”

the old musician did not say a word. He turned around and went back across the room to where a tuning fork was hanging.

He took a hammer and struck the tuning fork so that the note resounded through the room. Then the musician said

“that, my friend,is ‘A’. It was ‘A’ yesterday. It was ‘A’ five thousand years ago and it will be ‘A’ five thousand years from now”.

Then he added,

“the tenor across my hall sings off-key. The soprano upstairs is flat on her high notes and the piano in the next room is out of tune.”

 He struck the tuning fork again and said,

“That is ‘A’ and that, my friend is the good word for today.”

That is truth, Truth is always the same. Like God, it never changes. We need to rebuild the old gates of truth.

what are the areas we have broken down in this our long journey of life?  truth at work, to the kids, in our relationships, to our spouse…

it just gets worse doesnt it? every other time one untruth to cover another and then what results is the emergence of a new definition of ‘truth’ – where they are no absolutes… where there is no right or wrong…

Ask for the old paths, where the good way is and walk in it…

Selah 

 

TENA DESIREE TEBEKAEMI

It came again, the betrayer…

Only this time it took one of our very own

You, so full of life

You, a personification of friendliness

 

Tee, you took a walk

Then it became a journey

There was no goodbye

But there was a life well spent

 

You were a dear friend

I remember the first time you spoke to me…

You heard me discussing my accommodation problems with someone

Then walked right over and offered that I could move in with you!

 

All those weeks I stayed with you,

And in the years that followed as your friend

 You showed your true colour

The human embodiment of love, hope, purpose, fun and desire

 

You left behind a message…you lived to love

For that, you will remain alive in our minds

Even in REST, you will not be a memory felt, but a memory kept

Now, that is not a statement,

It is a PROMISE.

 

Till we all meet again

Anytime, anywhere I hear your name

I won’t grieve…

Instead I will remember,

TENA, the young lady who lived a full life

 

 

ONE more STep – The tale of a fly

I dont know if it was while i was washing or if it had walked into the trap by itself…  I had been staring at the fly struggling in the pool (more like a few drops) for a few minutes.

At first i thought it was playing in the water because what attracted me was the way it seemed to be running to and fro inside the pool. It took a little while for me to realise that it was trying to GET OUT of the water.

After a while i noticed it would scurry from one end of the tiny pool of water and then turn and repeat the journey in another direction… what i found amazing was that it always turned just when it had very nearly reached the end of the pool to “dry land”.

that was when i realised that it didnt know that it was at the end of the pool

- so it would just walk, walk,and then seeing no dry land, turn and head in another direction.

I pulled a chair and sat down to watch. I couldnt understand it, how could it not know that it was almost free at each point before turning to head back into the pool. i wished it could hear me so i could shout;

 ”you silly fool, you could have been free a long time ago”

i watched its pace change from fast scurring around to a much slower drag as it seemed to now crawl around. I could use a broom to prod it out of the water but i was angry with it…

why couldnt it just take that one (okay maybe four or five) steps that would lead it out of the pool; was it blind – could it not see dry land?

i left the kitchen and took the chair back to my room.i sent an email or two and then i remembered the silly fly  and thought to go back and check up on it. 

 by the time i got back, it was dead. it was still in the water , it had the two back legs touching dry ground but its body was fully submerged in the pool – so i realised it must have died while it was turning again to head in the other direction…

even in death, it didnt realise it could have been free – just one more step.

i just started crying. i was both sad and angry at the same time.

how could it not have known? why did it not take a few more steps in the same direction? why did it keep turning around when it was so close to the end?…

a few hours later, when i was on my bed, he started speaking

“do you realise you humans arent any different from that fly? you find yourselves in little pools prepared by the enemy or by accident.

 but you are always too busy trying to get out of it that often times you do not realise that you already have a part of you on dry ground…but because you cant feel the full blast of fresh air signifying dry land, you head back in (your own definition of trying another approach).

then when people ask you, you say fasting is not working, i want to try praying (or any of the many other ways we decide our problems will be solved)…

finally, you give up and die in the man made pool “

I didnt feel fantastic after that, but at least i knew of other areas where i could make improvement -

 the fly was dead forever… but you guys are still alive –  we all, struggling in our different pools

The worst thing that could happen would be in many years for you to look back and realise that you were one step away from a life changing breakthrough but you didnt make it because you were not persistent enough…

Remember, the fly was persistent..only it was not in the right direction!

 

 

Without Warning…

Hello guys,

Hope u all had a lovely week. I saw this short clip and i thought it would do as a “food for thought” over the next few days… and maybe help us make a move to change something in our lives…

For this week, i will present us a three course meal…

Click on this link

For the main course, click Allow me to re-introduce the Christ 

Desert is What if you had no more excuses?

Have a great week… and remember -  the worst thing to do after going through those links is to do nothing…

THE BLINDFOLD!

Hello all,

Hope you all had a great weekend. Last week was my birthday and i kept moaning to a friend that i was getting old… (imagine yeah?) Anyway, i woke up this morning feeling tired and  was thinking… “this old age thing is not funny oh” and then, just as quickly, another thought hit me and i realised that its not with how much life we have, its with how much we can put into that life – and remember life comprises of one day rolling into another!

So i thought, Funmi you have a duty to make your  day (and eventually your life) better by blogging today and blessing others!

So, before i could get bogged down with other tiny details of life, here i am! Todays edition is not mine. It was sent to me by email and i think it is a very great piece. Read on…

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of Passage?

His father takes him into the forest,blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold…It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he
discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don’t know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story:

  Just because you can’t see God, doesn’t mean He is not there.

In our world of today, the things that we go through are a lot more trying than sitting in a forest all night!

What i also learnt from this is that if you do not act in the Knowledge that God is there with you in those trying times,

chances are 10:1 that you will take your blindfold off before dawn.

… and I hope you dont!

Dependable…

Without opening my eyes, I knew it was morning…

I could feel the shy rays of light pushing its way into the day…into my room

but i couldn’t open my eyes , something was missing…so i lay there.

45mins later, i finally opened my eyes and picked up my phone – no text message

I sighed and closed my eyes again.

another hour passed by before i dragged myself out of bed. I was now two hours behind my plan for the day. 

 My sms had not come in and i was feeling miserable.

My friend Tosin, had started sending me text messages about two months ago. It started as a morning prayer and an encouragment for the day. He would usually send the sms on his way to work – and because he left for work very early, his sms became my morning alarm. Over time, i got used to waking up to the sound of my phone announcing the sms.

What better way to start your day than to wake up to  a lovely sms before getting out of bed.

On this morning, no sms came in. - Tosin had travelled out of town the day before and could not send me my morning sms. All through the day, i felt like there was something missing from my day, like i was driving at night without headlights…

The next morning, i was on my bed… this time the sms came in a few minutes after i woke up (Tosin got back the night before). I smiled in relief as i opened my eyes to reach out for my phone  – and that was when He spoke…

” Funmi, do u know it would be nice if you could be this consistent and sold out to speaking with me every morning?” 

I groaned, but you know i try… plus, this is different

“how is this any different? … it would be very great if i could depend on you to be here to commune with me every morning the way Tosin can almost bet that you wont be able to get out of bed if his sms doesnt grace your phone… Its not just about your morning prayer, how much of our communion do you carry into the day with you?…How exposed to the day would you feel if u were to miss a morning of communion?…”

I felt quite ashamed at the end of our small chat.. But then thats what my relationship with the Father is all about.

 I learn daily… One step forward, two steps back, 10 forward, pause …(until i am jolted ) and then i move again

Since that day, my song has been if your presence doesnt go with me, Lord i dont want to leave this place… its a much slower journey but its more satisfying.

There is nothing like stepping into a new day with God and spending the day hand in hand with Him.

He is a Faithful and Consistent God… how much of a dependable child are you?

New Beginnings

Hello Guys,

 Happy  new year… and Congrats for being part of the army to step into 2008!

I hope that in this year we will be able to share more of the essense of living and loving… and helping others live.

I hope i will blog more often… and u will visit and comment more often

I hope you will have cause to be joyful in this year

I hope you will know more of God

 … i hope this world will know more of His message that u bring through your daily life…

…i hope for many things  and i know i may not be able to get them all done

buts its worse not to hope for anything at all

SO my friends, i dare you to Hope…

Welcome to 2008!!!