I came across this quote by Tim Clinton - "You are who you spend time with", and it led me to some self-examination; appropriate for the dawn of a new month...appropriate for some soul-searching...

Who did you spend most time with last year and last month? How did that relationship add value/meaning to your life, your other relationships, your family, your business, your career, etc? Who are your friends? Who or what is shaping you? Most adults are certain that they've passed the stage of 'peer pressure' but we need to take note that there's still a level of influence that the people we spend time with have on us - no matter how small that influence may be.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. - Prov. 27:17

Do we have friends who keep us eternity-conscious? Parents, do the people you spend time with encourage you to be your best in your roles at home in a God-honouring way, spend more time with your children and make an intentional effort to impart life-changing traits to the next generation? Couples, do you spend time with other couples who encourage you to build sweet-smelling marriages that focus on Jesus at the center? Single ladies and men, do you spend time with people who encourage you to be pure, joyful, grateful and steadfast in our most holy faith while you wait for God's perfect will concerning you?

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character". - 1 Cor. 15:33

Do we have people in our lives who are bold enough, and who love us enough to tell us the truth - even if that truth may hurt and may turn our relationship a little sour?

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. - Prov. 27: 5&6

Are you being a good friend, sister, mother, wife, office-mate, church member, boss, employee, husband, brother, etc. to the people in your life? We are all not perfect, but we can motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Let us encourage one another to be all that we can be in Christ Jesus, by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, even the more as we see the day of His return drawing near.

May the Lord cause us to choose our friends carefully...may His Grace keep us from walking in step with the wicked or standing in the way that sinners take...may we build one another up in our most holy faith and keep ourselves safe in God's love. Amen. 

Life gets discouraging sometimes. We may feel our skills and talents are being underutilized on our jobs...or that our current salary is nothing compared to what we think we deserve...or we 'wasted our time' in that relationship which didn't work out...or that we took a course in college that we don't seem to be using...
But there's no wasted season in life. All things may not feel good, but all things are working together for our good. Moses had to be in the wilderness to encounter the Lord in that burning bush experience. Moses had to first walk the dreary path of the wilderness to enable him be the leader that God had predestined him to be. Moses' being in the wilderness was totally different from everything he had known previously about life; raised up in the palace, he had all things provided for him...But God thrust him into a season that prepared him for his purpose - a season that was uncomfortable...perhaps confusing sometimes...a season of humbling oneself to learn new things...a season of hard work that was noticed by no man...a season of tears, fears and failures...a season of doing the 'dirty work' of tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law...a  season of insignificance...a season of fleeing and trying to hide the unpleasant parts of his testimony - in short, a season of running to God to discover his true identity and purpose in life.

Whatever you're going through or doing in life right now, here's a truth worthy of all acceptance: There's no wasted season of your life - The Grand Weaver is putting all the pieces of your life together beautifully. No tear of yours would go wasted...no relationship would go without the necessary lessons...no experience would prove futile if we yield all of our lives to the Lord. No tear, joy, laughter, pain, failure, success, disappointment, victory, grief, friendship, wilderness-experience, mountain-top experience, mistake, etc. would go wasted. May the Lord sustain us through all the seasons of our lives...may we not get frustrated and give up when He takes us through 'tough times'...may we see life through His eyes...and may His perfect way of telling our peculiar stories be what we yearn for all our days. Amen.

iBlog to give a portion of myself – the gift of words, gifts of the mind, gifts of the heart and most importantly gifts of the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in me.

I saw this quote (coming up below) from Wilfred A. Peterson in a book i read two years ago and it made me think, "what portion of myself am i giving?" Think through each line as you read this 'Art of Giving' quote...may the Lord reveal to you ways in which you can give portions of yourself to those you love, and to the world at large. Amen.

"We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the heart:
Love, kindness, joy, understanding, sympathy,
tolerance, forgiveness.

We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the mind:
Ideas, dreams, purposes, ideals, principles,
plans, projects, poetry.

We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the spirit:
Prayer, vision, beauty, aspiration, peace, faith.

We give of ourselves when we give the gift of words:
Encouragement, inspiration, guidance.

Emerson said it well:
"Rings and jewels are not gifts,
but apologies for gifts.
The only true gift is a portion of thyself." "

From The Art of Living
by Wilfred A. Peterson

Sometimes words jump at me. Sometimes I get the actual wording for a piece I’m led to write. Sadly, I don’t readily get to put my pen/fingers to work in those sacred times. God help me be a better steward of the words and pieces He graciously gives me. Amen.

What holds me back sometimes? Well, I feel inadequate on some occasions. For example, God says to write a piece on motherhood & I go like “I’ve been a mother for barely 13 months Lord…surely, the older mums know better. There are many people with much more experience, plus, many sermons have already been written on the topic of motherhood, etc.” Valid excuses! But I thank God for characters in the Bible who encourage me:
1. Gideon felt inadequate but the Lord called him ‘mighty man of valour’ and said to him ‘go in this your might.’
2. Paul said to Timothy, ‘let no man despise thy youth’.
3. God said to Moses, ‘now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people’. Moses said to God, ‘who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?’ God said, ‘I will be with you’.

There are many more encouraging examples in the Bible. The Lord is with us, so whatever He tells us to do, we should just do it. Let's quit giving 'valid excuses' and get to work.

...iBlog to bring Him Glory...iBlog to encourage myself and others in the Lord. I may not have all the perfect skills but i'm stepping out like Gideon 'in this my might'. Thankfully, i have this blessed assurance: The Lord is with me!

…to help in better archiving and quick referencing. Facebook helps me share my thoughts with family and friends, but it hasn’t helped much with quick searches for written stuff.

I’ve been through phases where going through a challenge, I remembered faintly some words of encouragement which came to me sometime back (which I didn’t write down) and then wishing, ‘oh, those are the exact words I need in this season of my life!’.

Here’s my motivation, plus this blog’s theme Bible verse: “Then the LORD told me:
“I will give you my message
    in the form of a vision.
Write it clearly enough
    to be read at a glance.”

Whatever message the Lord gives me, I pray that I write it clearly enough to be read at a glance. Quick searches, proper labels and headings, so that, as the Amplified Bible puts it, ‘everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.’

...iBlog because I understand that the words God gives me are not meant for just me.

We read quotes of people who lived centuries ago & these words still speak to us in our generation. There are hymn-stories of authors who wrote some verses, were not pleased with what they had written but got composers who added beautiful tunes to these verses and transformed these ‘unpleasant’ words into soul-lifting hymns that are sung till this day.

Life isn’t only about us and how we feel at the moment. God is an expert at transforming foolish things into mighty things; He specializes in using the little we have to offer to accomplish life-transforming feats; He’s a pro at using available vessels to show forth His praise and glory.

...iBlog to show forth the praises of Him who brought me out of darkness into His wonderful light.

The following text is from Charles Spurgeon's Devotional app (i.e. Morning and Evening app for Android) You can subscribe to it via the link posted at the end of this page.

"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content."— Philippians 4:11 (KJV)

These words show us that contentment is not a natural propensity of man. Covetousness, discontent, and murmuring are as natural to man as thorns are to the soil. We need not sow thistles and brambles; they come up naturally enough, because they are indigenous to earth: and so, we need not teach men to complain; they complain fast enough without any education. But the precious things of the earth must be cultivated. If we would have wheat, we must plough and sow; if we want flowers, there must be the garden, and all the gardener’s care. Now, contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature; it is the new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the grace which God has sown in us. Paul says, “I have learned ... to be content;” as much as to say, he did not know how at one time. It cost him some pains to attain to the mystery of that great truth. No doubt he sometimes thought he had learned, and then broke down. And when at last he had attained unto it, and could say, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content,” he was an old, grey-headed man, upon the borders of the grave—a poor prisoner shut up in Nero’s dungeon at Rome. We might well be willing to endure Paul’s infirmities, and share the cold dungeon with him, if we too might by any means attain unto his good degree. Do not indulge the notion that you can be contented without learning, or learn without discipline. It is not a power that may be exercised naturally, but a science to be acquired gradually. We know this from experience. Brother, hush that murmur, natural though it be, and continue a diligent pupil in the College of Content.

..."for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Phil. 4:11b-13.

The verse 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' is often used in a 'possibility' context, i.e. we can overcome all temptations through Christ...or we can achieve anything through Christ who strengthens us. This verse is not often used in its 'true' context - the 'contentment context'.

 The NIV Bible is one of the translations that makes the meaning of the verse clearer: - "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength."

In keeping with the last part of 2 Tim. 2: 15 which says we should correctly handle the word of truth, let's check the previous verse(s) to find out what this in Phil. 4:13 means:
The apostle Paul was talking about how he had learned to be content in whatever state / circumstance in which he found himself.
1. I know what is it to be in need, and i know what it is to have plenty:
Paul acknowledges that this isn't as simple as it sounds, but he's been able to do this through Christ who gives him strength.

2. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Paul testifies that this is only possible through Christ.

Humans are naturally selfish. A baby cries when her breast-milk is not available at the time she wants it. We always want more of one thing or the other, and sometimes even believe that the things we don't have currently are the exact things we need to make our lives sweeter and better.

Contentment is not listed as one of the spiritual gifts. It is not a skill attributed to some personalities. It is not a talent that readily comes to some individuals. CONTENTMENT IS TO BE LEARNED.

Whatever our circumstances may be today, may the Lord teach us to be content. Amen.