“Recipe for Rightful Living: The Nails in the Fence" by Isaac Oluyi

True to my promise, I have decided to share another story with you today from “Recipe for Rightful Living”. Today, I will beam my searchlight on ‘Anger’. Anger is a very bad emotion. Despite the fact that it is bad, everyone of us still gets angry from time to time. What do we do when we are angry? React or respond? Please take time to go through the following story and see the best way to handle anger. I hope you enjoy it.

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

He said, 'You've done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there and a verbal wound is just as bad as a physical one.'

Moral Lesson

Do not react to situations when you are angry, rather respond to it by remaining calm in the face of provocation. 

"RECIPE FOR RIGHTFUL LIVING" by Isaac Oluyi

I am glad to announce that my inspirational teacher, Isaac Oluyi, has decided to write for my blog.  He has graciously agreed to share portions of his forthcoming book, Recipe for Rightful Living and he has promised to write for this blog for the next 30 days. I can assure you of one thing: your life will not remain in the same state after the next thirty days; you would have become a better person.

No one has a fool proof formula for rightful living, as experiences of individuals differ from time to time. Despite these differences in experiences, there are still points of convergences in what individuals experience on daily basis. To this end, it is only reasonable for one to learn from other people’s experiences rather than from one’s experiences. Experience has been said to be the best teacher, but I believe the best way to learn any useful lesson from experience is mostly when one learns from others. Why does one need to learn from others? It helps to avoid the pitfalls others have experienced and act as a guide for one’s day-to-day activities.

In view of the above, I will be sharing with you on this blog site in the next 30 days some inspirational stories from my forthcoming book “RECIPE FOR RIGHTFUL LIVING”. Today, I want you to take your time and digest the following story entitled “An Interesting Funeral” with a view to picking some vital lessons that will improve your living. Enjoy it.

One day all the employees of a very unusual company reached their office and all saw a big sign on the main door which read. . . 'Yesterday, the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.'

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that person who hindered the growth of their colleagues and the company itself?

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up.

Everyone thought - 'Who is this person who was hindering my progress?'

One by one the intrigued employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it, they suddenly became speechless.


They all got to stand near the coffin, and all ended up shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself or herself! There was also a sign next to the mirror that said. . . 'There is only one person who is capable of setting limits to your growth and IT IS YOU!'

Moral Lesson

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your husband or wife changes, when your company changes, when your church changes, when your location changes, when your money changes, when your status changes.  No! Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs.
Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses. Be a winner; build yourself and your reality. It's the way you face life itself that makes the difference.

About the Writer

Isaac Oluyi is a motivational teacher, entrepreneur and entrepreneurship educator. He is happily married with children and can be reached on +234-8060702979 or through email: isaacoluyi@gmail.com

"Passion for Truth" by Oluwaseyi Alamu

   

It was the dawn of a new day.

A day filled with hope and expectation.

I opened the windows to see the world.

It was the sight of men accused wrongly,

Women weeping for pain and

Children dying of starvation.

With tears in my eyes I exclaimed,

God why all these pains?

Why so much disappointment and falsehood?

Then came the still small voice

 ‘Where is truth?’

In search of the much needed Truth I went.

He was not in the streets;

Neither was he in the markets.

I couldn't find him in the offices.

I then concluded that he had gone back home,

To the church of the living God,

The pillar and ground of the truth: where he resides.

With great excitement I ran and hailed;

Racing to the church,

Hoping to find the missing truth.

As I opened the doors of the church

Tears rolled uncontrollably down my eyes

As I saw many lying, widows and fatherless abandoned,

Selfishness and covetousness rejoicing,

People were buying and selling, and nothing was of truth.

Confused and perplexed I left

Wondering where else to find the truth;

Then came this grieving thought

When the son of man comes

Will he find truth on earth?

Come O Lord and redeem your people!

For many are Iike lost sheep

All scattered in different directions ignoring the very truth of God’s word.

Where can one really find the truth?

For we can do nothing against the Truth [not serve any party or personal interest], but only for the Truth [which is the Gospel].

                                                                                                      2 Cor. 13:8 (AMP).

                                                                                         

                                                             By Alamu Oluwaseyi

#BringBackOurGirls: Operation Entebbe and Why Our Government May Not Be Sincere

On the 4^th of July 1976, commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The mission, which has been tagged Operation Entebbe, was carried out to rescue Israeli hostages who had been kidnapped a week earlier by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells who had hijacked an Air France plane with 248 passengers which was going from Athens to Paris. After hijacking the plane, the terrorists flew the plane to Entebbe and were personally welcomed by Idi Amin. The hijackers separated the Israelis and Jews from the larger group and forced them into another room. The non-Israelis were later released while over 100 Israelis and Jews and the non-Jewish pilot were held hostage. The hijackers threatened to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met.

The Israeli Mossad built an accurate picture of the whereabouts of the hostages, the number of terrorists, and the involvement of Ugandan troops from the released hostages in Paris. While planning the military operation the IDF erected a partial replica of the airport terminal with the help of civilians who had helped build the original. After days of planning, Israel dispatched four Hercules C-130H cargo planes carrying 100–200 soldiers and escorted by Phantom jet fighters. The aircrafts secretly flew to Entebbe Airport at midnight without being detected by Entebbe air traffic control. During the operation which lasted 90 minutes, all seven of the militants were killed, three hostages and one Israeli soldier was killed. Jean-Jacques Maimoni, a 19-year-old French immigrant to Israel who chose to identify himself as an Israeli Jew to the hijackers even though he also had a French passport—stood up and was killed when Israeli company commander Muki Betzer and another soldier mistook him for a hijacker and fired at him. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, the manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire from the commandos. In addition, a third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had emigrated to Israel, was killed in the crossfire. The only Israeli commando killed in the operation, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, elder brother of former Israeli Prime Minister, was shot in the chest bu a Ugandan sniper, when the assault team was putting the passengers in their aircraft.

If Israel can fly past many countries to rescue Israelis held hostage in a heavily guarded airport, isn’t it surprising that Nigeria’s security forces have been unable to rescue hostages who are being held in a forest on Nigerian soil? I am not an intelligence or security expert but I think it is easier to rescue hostages being held in the open than hostages being held in a building because the assault force can attack the camp from all sides, including the air at once. I believe a surprise attack will catch the abductors unaware that they will not have time to harm the girls. That is my layman submission. So when the Chief of Defence Staff came out to announce that the military knows where the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are but will not attempt a rescue, I find it difficult to believe that Nigerian forces know where these girls are. Is the government saying that there has been no movement in and out of Boko Haram’s camp in Sambisa? Those heavy artillery behind Shekau in his videos cannot move around without soldiers who are looking for him and his acolytes noticing. Have the terrorists not been receiving food supplies? And if truly they have not been getting food supplies, then they must be physically weak already.

I think the government is hiding something. I think our government does not know what to do. I think our government may even be misleading the foreign experts who have come to help secure the release of these girls. Are we sure Abubakar Shekau does not have a direct line to President Jonathan? We are not even sure what to think.

Is it not a pity that the values of the majority of those in government in Nigeria are different from those of government officials of some other nations? But I want to call on the government to tell us the true state of things with these girls because whether they do or not, the truth will eventually be known. Please read the statement of the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations after the raid on Entebbe and then ask yourself if our government shares the same values:

“…we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.”

Have you seen the mindset of a government that cherishes human life? Can you say the same about our government?

The Warning Song by Tomi Colors

Ok. Now I get it

I turned too fast

I ran too fast

So, I can’t be reached

I wish. I didn’t go this far

Away, away,

The lonely thoughts now plague

Perhaps may be

Probably would have

Didn’t see any other way

No one showed how

No share in it

Yes, I fell

Am sorry, am sorry,

Teach me better

Don’t fight me for what I am

The lesson stopped making sense

Now the pain built a fence

It’s a shame

Now we find, now we find

The snake,

Now a dragon

A parable, a warning

Perfection isn’t learned

It is given and seen

Don’t look the best

Look the best you can

Because the stray

It’s not its fault alone

It’s a fault for all…..

Grieves for more…

Except we all are liars

c.

"An Appeal to Christians and all Nigerians" Oluwaseyi Alamu

It is more than a month now that the nation Nigeria has been in a pensive mood concerning the over two hundred young school girls that were kidnapped in Borno State by the Boko-Haram sect. This has led to calls for the release of these girls from various groups like the Christian Association of Nigeria, Muslim Council in Nigeria, human right activists and different countries of the world.

It is heartbreaking to hear people wailing and weeping at the loss of their loved ones. In my heart I hear the echoes of our children saying ‘Please let us go back home’. As the adage goes, ‘the directly concerned know exactly what the experience is’. I am sure that most of us are eating, drinking and laughing, but the relations of these girls find it difficult to eat or even sleep well. If care is not taken we won’t only be talking about loss of lives of the girls but also of their family members which may result from anxiety disorders and high blood pressure.

I therefore seize this medium to appeal to as many that are God-fearing, that it is time to arise and call on God to intervene. God can use anybody not only to deliver these girls, but also to restore peace to Borno State and the nation as a whole.

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

                                                                             Proverbs 21:1 ESV

From the above bible verse it means that God can turn the hearts of the leaders of Boko-Haram. If the word of God never fails then let us call on Him. God will act in Jesus’ name. If Saul became Paul and God has not changed (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8) then He is bound to do it again. He has the authority to end it all. However, God can also use this occasion to EXALT Himself as He did before in the case of Pharaoh the ruler of Egypt (Exodus 15:1-7). The cry then was ‘let my people go that they may serve me’. But Pharaoh refused. At the end God proved that He alone rules over the affairs of men.

Nonetheless, every group has a reason for what they do, be it positive or negative, but whatever these reasons are, let us remember that love covers a multitude of sins. Moreover, when you love your fellow man, you will not want to hurt him/her. No one that truly cares will kill his neighbour.  Let peace reign again. As Yakubu Gowon, a former Nigerian Head of State once said “there is no victor no vanquished”. I believe it is time to embrace this statement again because every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Let us think of our children.

Uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

                                                                    Proverbs 14:34 AMP

Any country that nurtures sin is in danger of reproach/disgrace. Righteousness must be promoted. Nigerians should be in right standing with God. However, for these to be done, we need to ask God for forgiveness of sins committed and make restitutions.  Spiritual leaders should engage moderation in all they do (Philippians 4:5) and our focus as Nigerians should be ‘Peace and Unity’ as declared in our National Anthem.

Peace! Peace!! Peace!!! This is the cry of passion. Let us return to God and He will give the country rest in Jesus’ name. SHALOM.

Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.

                                                                                    Matthew 11:28 GNB

#BringBackOurGirls: 7 Questions for PDP and Labaran Maku

Please someone should tell Mr. Labaran Maku that I am not a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC). This clarification is necessary because it seems the federal government of Nigeria sees every one who opposes it as a member of the opposition.It is really ludicrous when the government is always shouting fro the rooftops that anyone who disagrees with it is a member of the APC. Or is is not ridiculous for the Minister of Information to say on national TV that 90% of those behind the BringBackOurGirls Campaign are members of one political party? Don't we all know that Madam Oby Ezekwesili is not a member of APC? Don't we all know that Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin is not a member of APC? Don't we all know that Japheth Omojuwa does not belong to any political party? Is Hon. Dino Melaye's involvement enough to conclude that all the BringBackOurGirls campaigners are APC members? Going by the government's logic, Michelle Obama is an APC member. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister is a member of APC. Alicia Keys must also be a member of APC. Does that not sound absurd? Definitely not to the PDP government.

So questions for the PDP-led government are:

(1) Is PDP not concerned about the missing Chibok girls?
(2) Is it wrong for APC to ask that the girls be brought back safely?
(3) Is it because the government thinks APC is behind the #BringBackOurGirls campaign that the government has been tardy in its response to the abduction of these girls?
(4) Why has the government failed to rescue the missing girls till now?
(5) Hope the government of Nigeria will not justify itself if it eventually fails to bring back these girls (intact) by saying the U.S. and some other countries were also involved in the search? So if foreign help could fail, why blame the Nigerian government?
(6) How much did it cost government to organise its own Bring Back Our girls Campaign? (7) Has the PDP government left the search for the girls to God? Or didn't Labaran Maku say government was expecting God to bring the girls out? 

Please, Mr. Labaran Maku, when will I get answers to my questions? Whether you answer my question or not, I must let you know that it is of utmost importance to #BringBackOurGirls alive and healthy.

I will like to leave you with this video of Paul Kagame talking about African leaders. You will find it interesting.