Tuesday 31 December 2013

INSPIRED BY THE BLIND

Compliments of the season


 This year marked the begining of a lot of things in my life, for instance i began to take my writing more seriously hence this blog and already i am planning my first Anthology of poems which would be released next year.


 well as the year drew to a close it was time to head to kaduna for my yearly outreach programme with the LXG (League of Extraordinary Gifts). however this year was a special year as it was our 10th year anniversary and it was tagged IMMORTALITY...

as God would have it i was in charge of protocol(why am i always in protocol ooo, well sha na so i don take meet many many important people who end up remaining my friends) and on the morning of the show(dec 29th) my phone rang, 

grrring grring... 'hello' i quipped

'toffy, our special guest has arrived' shouted ope

'ok' i'll go pick him.'

and i headed to meet up the special guest. 

 i got to the car and there he was... i was finally face to face for the first time ever with famous Nigerian producer and gospel artiste, 

Cobhams Asuquo.


we had been talking on phone so as soon as he heard my voice he hailed me and we hugged(yes hugged, i was pleasantly shocked. so celebrities still hug peeps they meet for the first time?) well we made little talk and my team whisked him to the new council lodge(one of the most exotic lodges in Alheri camp reserved for VVIP guests and Executive council pastors). i don't know what i expected to see but i was awed by the way he moved, carried himself about and joked. at some point i discreetly went to pass my hand around his face to be sure he was really blind.

his fluidity in movement was one to be envied. however my greatest shock was still to come when we talked about internet connection and i fumbled with my android, next thing i know he whipped out an ipad, opened it, and began to operate, looking for wifi. and he pronounced with surety few seconds before my android told me same 'no network within range'. i almost blurted out. how do you do that sir? years of exercising self control kept my mouth shut.

he joked with his friend silver saadi(another musician) about how Alheri camp always gets one fat and he reminisced about the first LXG programme he attended in the year 2004. he was only in his early 20's then and God had brought him thus far since then. after making sure they were settled in properly, i begged to take my leave and then i got the third shocker for the day.


 actually he was to come with his wife and son and i had made bookings and paid for them, seeing only him and his friend i kinda felt this tweak inside(yeepa money don waste ooo...) but cobhams apologised that they couldn't make it and he didn't stop there, on his way down he had stopped at the airline counter, stopped the ticket, placed it open. and informed the airline that we would be needing a refund, a slip for refund was printed out and he handed it over to me saying he couldn't allow our money go to waste.

at this point i couldn't stop the tears from flowing through my eyes, here was someone who had not only made up his mind to conquer his disabilities but also has refused to allow success get into his head...

later on as he led the assembled crowd in worship, i could not but stand in awe of God who continually uses the foolish things of the world to confuse the wise. 


barely 30 minutes with him and i had been so inspired i wondered why i had never met him beforehand. i'll highlight a few points from the boss himself

Do not Excuse Failure, for any reason on any account

Focus is in itself Blindness


there are more lessons i learnt from him before he departed but those are quite personal and i'll play them close to my chest for now... well i'm back in lagos now and preparing for an awesome crossover service. i'll see you all in the new year.
God Bless.

N.B (whispers) Cobhams will be releasing his Album early next year... stay tuned

Wednesday 18 December 2013

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON 1



Compliments of the season people of God, it’s a few days to Christmas and already celebrations are in high gear, lot’s to eat and drink and people travelling here and there, we celebrate with our families and have fun all the way. As much as it is good to bask in this season, it is also a time for reflection and deep thinking. Many of us celebrate without knowing the Reason for the Season.


I took the liberty to ask a few people what Christmas means to them and the answers I got scared me. To some Christmas is a time to have fun and be merry, to children it is a time to see father Christmas and collect gifts, to some it’s a period where their business booms and they make twice the normal profit on their goods and services, sadly, only very few people remember that’s it’s a period set apart to celebrate the birth of Jesus (yes we know he wasn’t born in December, but we have chosen that date to celebrate him nevertheless).

Christmas is first and foremost about Jesus and then it is about you. If we have chosen dec 25th to celebrate the birth of Christ then it is time we began to actually celebrate him on that day and not just concentrate on having fun without Jesus Christ.
The next question is why was Jesus born? The bible makes us to understand that Jesus was born to save his people from their sin, in other words he came to reconcile man back to God. If Jesus was born for your sake, then it means the reason for Christmas is you. Not just you but your salvation brought about by the birth of Jesus Christ.

Finally the big question; how do we celebrate Christmas? Christmas is indeed a time for celebration but knowing the reason for the season we should take care in order not to grieve the spirit of God in our actions. If you were celebrating your birthday you don’t do things that will make u cry, instead everyone does things to make you happy. You are made the centre of the day and everything revolves around you. Same it should be if we decide to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Let all we do reflect him and make him happy.

So this season I encourage you to have three attitudes:


1.       I want you to feel special because Jesus Christ came specifically because of you. He had you in mind when he came and that’s why you are saved today.

 

2.       I want you to extend a hand of fellowship to the unsaved in other to give Christmas a meaning to them also.

 

3.       Show love by giving in any measure you can to friends, family, strangers and especially the needy.


God bless you.
MMERRY CHRISTMAS IN ADVANCE