The Donald or The American President

I have made it a point of staying away from the hullabaloo going on in Trump’s America. After all, which one be my own. However, something in the news this morning caught my attention on the issue of President Trump’s first international trip.

“….political analysts say if the president can return home from this with even minor achievements but more importantly, no major gaffes, the White House can consider it a win.”

Since Trump’s presidency started and given the amount of excuses that have been provided to explain his behaviour, I had always feared that by the time Trump is done with America, we would have forgotten what ‘The American President’ is meant to be. Based on what was said in the  news this morning, I am beginning to think I might be right.

Having your fears confirmed isn’t a good thing. FYI.

Now, not that I worry for present day Americans, after all, some of them put him there. But I worry for our children. Not just American children, but children all over the world. See, United States of America being a world leader is being watched critically. Yet, America is compromising on ideals regarding the highest office, the most sacred seat, and political analysts are hoping for ‘minor achievements’. Is that what he was elected to deliver? Minor achievements….

 

So I ask, given that history is watching, what type of America are we going to leave our children? How do we teach our children the values of not compromising or settling for less? The Founding Fathers fought for a deliberate type of America. Is this it?

 

Self-sabotage

There is this thing I got curious about. Why do we post our conversations with God on social media? Isn’t it supposed to be a private conversation between God and the individual?

So I said this very short prayer. It rhymed. And I thought, “that was quite delicious.”

Next steps – post it on Facebook.

But wait, shouldn’t that remain a prayer? A conversation between my God and I? If I post it on Facebook, is it still a prayer, or just another poem? By making public what should be private, just to get some nods from strangers, I think I will change the course of that prayer from Heaven and direct it to Earthlings. I believe my prayer will lose its potency as soon as I do that. Are the ‘likes’ I’m gonna get worth it?

I think by doing that, I have engaged in self-sabotage.

Each time I tell myself I will read that article tomorrow and chose to watch Big Bang Theory instead, I am engaging in self-sabotage.

Every time I convince myself I should eat that muffin even though I am not hungry and I’m going straight to bed, I am engaging in self-sabotage.

Self-sabotage is the worst because the evil we do to ourselves doesn’t feel so evil-ish because we are the ones doing the evil, not that  next door neighbour that envies our new ride.

Photo credit: The Huffington Post

 

What can we do when we feel powerless?

“I wonder what I will wear tomorrow…”

That’s my most immediate worry. It is as mundane as that.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the folks in Aleppo also had the luxury of such mundane worries. But now, it doesn’t really matter what they will wear tomorrow.

Because there is no assurance they will be alive to see sunrise tomorrow.

Humanity id dying off gradually. And we sit in our warm homes; around our loving families, worrying about whether it will snow on Christmas day.

Or what shoes to wear to the club.

 

I honestly don’t care how this civil war started. And I don’t care how they must have asked for it. All I know is that no one, no human, should have to suffer like this. There are some people that have the power to make policies that will change the lives of these people. There are also some people who have the financial power to give humanitarian aid to them. But for us that have neither political nor financial power, what can we do?

We don’t have to grit our teeth in frustration. We can pray.

 ^“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.” 1 John 1: 14 NLT.

I know it pleases God that people live in peace; and I know it pleases God that humanity stops with the genocide.

So for us powerless ones, let’s turn to God in prayer. Please, pray for Aleppo everyday. Be moved in your heart to desire a change.

Photo credit: AFP/George Ourafalian.

Is Heaven a paradox?

I heard someone say the other day that Heaven is a paradox. Essentially, the person said that there will be so much joy and happiness in Heaven that people will get bored and there will be no more happiness.

I was instantly weak.

And I got to thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I do not think Heaven is a paradox, so that wasn’t what I decided to ponder upon. What I got to thinking about was how we came to think this way in this generation. What happened to us?

We are in the era of social media; free and affordable speech. There was a time, to get a word out to the public, you are either a gentleman of the press, a politician or a professor. Now, any Tom, Dick or Harriette with a smart phone can get word out to the public. And that is the scare. We get all sorts of contrasting information thrown at us daily. Today, we are told wheat is good for us, tomorrow we are told it is terrible for our skin tone. There is so much hate, so much negativity, so much division now, all because of free, affordable speech.

Anyone can say any stupid thing and be believed. What makes the difference is the presentation of the stupidity. And let’s not kid ourselves, there are talented people out there, with amazing presentation skills; world class delivery. They will have you eating out of their palms before you can say ‘hello’.

Whether we like it or not, words are POWERFUL. What we hear influences us, determines our decisions and choices. It is therefore key, that we consume the right words, the right information. We will keep getting bombarded with all sorts of crap in the media. How then do we filter out our truths?

In this era, in order to stay safe from the bombardment of crappy information, let’s develop a sieve. Social media will not provide that sieve, popular culture will not provide that sieve and, believe it or not, society will not provide the sieve. Each of us will need to develop a system of sieving out the weeds.

So, I finish with this. Ask yourself, is Heaven a paradox? Why won’t anyone want to be happy forever? Imagine a world without ISIS, a world without hunger, without dying children…imagine a world without cancer. Who wouldn’t want that to last forever?

Thanks for reading to the end folks!

Photo credit: canstockphoto.com

Time is whopping my ‘you know what’

As I headed home today, I saaaavooouuuured the idea that I was done for the day. No more go-go-go. I can now relax and be irresponsible. Just as I was really settling into my happy thoughts, time decided to give me a whack on the head. Yea, I am sure that wasn’t what you thought the ‘you know what’ referred to. Anyways, back to time doing me a number. I realized today is gone.

No more Monday, 14th November 2016.

This Monday with its super-moon is gone. Forever.

What did I achieve today? Whose life did I impact today? What steps did I take to move me closer to my goals, my dreams? How much richer am I by what I did today? Am I both older and wiser or just older, not wiser? Will anyone remember me for good after today?

If I leave this world today, will I be missed?

Time is everything and time is nothing. It can be nothing for you and it can be everything for you.

The level of respect you have for time can make or break you. You’ve got 24 hours in this day, I’ve got 24 hours in this day, Beyonce also got 24 hours in this day.

I end this with a quote by Obafemi Awolowo – “Those who desire to reach, and keep their places at the top in any calling must be prepared to do so the hard way.”

Thanks for reading to the end!

 

“Miracles from Heaven” Movie

I didn’t really want to see this movie because I was skeptical about how entertaining it would be, being a Christian movie and all {going on my knees and with palms together ‘forgive me Father for I have sinned’}

To my surprise though, the movie started strong and sharp. It was fast paced and it headed straight for the subject matter. I loved that! And then the pain and troubles started. For a while, I was in shock. Why would a kind little girl, who loves God, go through all that horror. And her family too. It was like what did they do wrong though! Her illness had no cure, and her parents did not have that much money for healthcare…sincerely, no one should ever have to deal with all that in their lives. I was in tears for the most of the movie. I kept muttering intermittently to God that if this ever happens to me, He will need to give me the grace to keep believing in Him. Cos that’s just unfair.

For most of the movie, I was basically indignant! I just kept bawling. By the end of the movie, I had used tissues scattered all around my bed. And I just couldn’t stop asking “Why?”

And it came to  me.

The bigger the problem, the bigger the miracle. If the girl simply had an abdominal pain that some meds could take care of, there would have been no movie today.

When bad things happen, it is hard to trust God and His bigger picture, but there is always a bigger picture. We must never forget to always trust His masterplan.