Be Unique

Funny how you'd ask a kid today what he/she'd like to be when they grow up and they'd say, 'I want to be like my daddy or like my mummy.'

You ask the same question to teenagers and you'd hear them saying they want to be like R.Kelly or Obama; like Dora Akunyili or Beyonce.

These people are great in their own rights, yes they are; read the papers, but that's not enough reason to spend your time living out a life just trying to be an image of another person.

This same question is not just limited to kids and teens, ask adults, business men/women and they'd also tell you they want to be like Bill Gates or Ellen Sir leaf Johnson.

We all have people as role models, who we want to be like.

Folks, we live in a world that is populated with more than a billion people.  Different people from different backgrounds, some are born with silver spoons and others with no spoon at all. We live in a world of challenges and solutions, obstacles and stepping-stones, depending on where you're looking.

Most of us spend our time and energy looking for shoes to fit into, leaving ours behind, trying to live life and act the way our role models do. It's good but that's not a determinant factor that we'd be like them, because we'd be surprised that we'll come-up short of our expectations if we spend such energy chasing the wind.

Success is 2% gift and 98% hard work, so it goes to reason that we all have this 2% in our genetic make-up but we need to put in work, carving out the spoons that we missed at birth.

Now, I'm not trying to say it's bad to want to be like somebody else, all I'm trying to say is that's not the main reason why you came to earth. You didn't stumble here from space; God placed you here for a reason.

Now to share a personal thought: I'd say God created you, giving you an empty book to write your life in. So while we are here writing our life story, I wouldn't want your book to be filled with how so-so and so is but rather how 'I is'.

For as you go around trying out people's shoes, who's going to try yours? Even if you don't make it big in life, console yourself with the thought that at least your shoes are worth trying out.

Big Storm

When we build a house, we take so much care to have a strong foundation so that it can stand the test of weather and time or that we could build more above it in course of time.

Do we take care to build our lives too on a strong faith foundation to courageously face the storms and challenges in life?

To stress the need to have strong faith, God told of a parable of a wise man and foolish man who ventured to build a house. The wise man built his house upon the rock. The foolish man built his house upon the sand. The rains came down, the floods rose and gales and storms beat against the houses. The foolish man's house crashed to the ground while the wise man's house stood firm.

Most of us have experiences of facing storms. There could be financial storms, relationship storms, emotional storms, physical storms (health problems). People who build there lives on a strong faith foundation are those who will look at the storm calmly and courageously say "Oh Storm, God is great." But people who do not have a strong faith foundation will look at the storm and cry out "Oh God! I have a big storm."

We love our children so much that we give them the best of education, food, clothing, entertainment. But the most beautiful love gift we can give our children is the gift of a strong faith foundation in God. When we can give them this, they will be able to stand the challenges and storms of life courageously even when we are not around anymore.

A story is told of a shipwreck where everyone was swimming to safety. One sailor was struggling to make it to the shore when he suddenly saw a small rock protruding above the tide. He gripped to it tightly till the storm receded. When he reached the shore, people asked him "Did you not shake with fear when you held that small rock?" He quipped "Yes, I shook with fear, but the Rock did not shake and that's why I am safe."

Let us give ourselves and our children that rock to hold on to. When a pious man was on his deathbed he called all his children around him and said, "My children, if I leave all my wealth and property for you but do not leave you with a strong faith in God, you will be poor, very poor. But If I do not leave you any wealth or property but leave you with a strong faith in God, you will be rich, very rich indeed."

A quite voice

This little story reminds us to listen to that small quiet voice from within -- you never know where it will lead you.

As a teacher of origami (the ancient Japanese art of paper folding) at the LaFarge Lifelong Learning Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Art Beaudry was asked to represent the school at an exhibit at a large mall in Milwaukee. He decided to take along a couple hundred folded paper cranes to pass out to people who stopped at his booth.

Before that day, something strange happened -- a voice told him to find a piece of gold foil paper and make a gold origami crane. The voice was so insistent that Art actually found himself rummaging through his collection of origami papers at home until he found one flat, shiny piece of gold foil.

"Why am I doing this?" he asked himself. Art had never worked with the shiny gold paper; it didn't fold as easily or neatly as the crisp multicolored papers. But that little voice kept nudging. Art tried to ignore the voice. "Why gold foil anyway? Paper is much easier to work with," he grumbled.

The voice continued. "Do it! And give it to a special person." By now Art was getting a little cranky. "What special person?" he asked the voice. "You'll know which one," the voice said.

That evening Art carefully folded and shaped the unforgiving gold foil until it became as graceful and delicate as a real crane about to take flight. He packed the exquisite crane in the box along with about 200 other colorful paper cranes he'd made over the previous few weeks.

The next day at the mall, dozens upon dozens of people stopped by Art's booth to ask questions about origami. He demonstrated the art. He folded, unfolded and refolded. He explained the intricate details, the need for sharp creases.

Then, suddenly, there was a woman standing in front of Art. Was this that special person? Art had never seen her before, and she hadn't said a word as she watched him carefully fold a pink piece of paper into a crane with pointed, graceful wings.

Art glanced up at her face, and before he realized it, he found himself reaching for the "gold-foil crane" he'd labored over the night before. Carefully he picked up the gold crane, and gently placed it in the woman's hand.

Art said: "I don't know why, but a voice told me to give you that golden crane. The crane is the ancient symbol of peace," Art said simply.

The woman didn't say a word as she slowly cupped her hand around the fragile bird as if it were alive. When Art looked at her face, he saw tears filling her eyes.

Finally, the woman took a deep breath and said, "My husband died three weeks ago. This is the first time I've been out. Today ...." She wiped her eyes with her free hand, still gently cradling the golden crane with the other. Then she said very quietly, as tears streamed down her face. "Today would have been our 'golden' wedding anniversary."

Then the lady said in a clear voice, "Thank you so much for this beautiful gift. Now I know that my husband is at peace.

Don't you see? The voice you heard, it was the voice of God, and this beautiful

crane is a gift from Him. It's the most wonderful 50th wedding anniversary gift I could have received. Thank you for listening to Holly Spirit within your heart."

And that's how Art learned to listen very carefully, when the Holy Spirit speaks to him within, and tells him to do things he may not understand -- now or even later.

Are you listening, my friend? God may be speaking to you.

A Ray of Hope

Once Wealth and Poverty approached a merchant and introduced themselves as Goddesses. The merchant offered his salutations to both of them and said: "May I know what brings you to my humble tenement?" The Goddess of Wealth said: "We want you to judge and tell us as to who is more beautiful between us two?"

The merchant was in a fix. He knew he was between the devil and the deep sea. If he were to declare wealth as more beautiful than poverty, poverty would curse him. If he were to declare poverty as more beautiful, than wealth, wealth would forsake him. However, he regained his composure and said: "I have great respect for you both.

Would you please act according to my instructions? Then only I can judge properly." The Goddesses agreed. He said: "Mother wealth, would you please go to the entrance (gates) and walk into the house? Mother, poverty! Would you please walk from here towards the gates? I can have a good look at you both, from near and far."

The two Goddesses did walk as the merchant wished them to. Then the merchant happily declared: "Mother wealth! You appear very beautiful when you enter the house. Mother poverty! You look very beautiful when you leave the house!" The Goddesses appreciated the wit and wisdom of the merchant. The Goddess of wealth happily stayed in his house while the Goddess of poverty cheerfully walked away.

When a serious problem confronts us, if we look within and think calmly, a ray of hope and light will beam forth and show us the way.

Foot Prints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of Footprints in the sand: one belonging To him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, He looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints.

 He also noticed that it happened at the very Lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he Questioned the Lord about it:

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow You, you'd walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most Troublesome times in my life, There is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied:

"My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering, When you see only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."

Free Food

There was a village that was attacked by wild boars.

Everyday the wild boars would enter the village to rampage the whole village of their food. The villagers tried various means to fight and chase away the wild boars, but without much success.

One day a wise man approached the village headman to offer his advice. He told the villagers that they will have to follow all his advice and directions. Out of desperation, the villagers agreed. The wise man told the villagers to gather all the food from every household and put it in the middle of a big empty field. They followed his advice, and immediately they saw hundreds of wild boars approaching the vicinity where the food was placed. The wild boars were apprehensive initially, but after a while they went for the food. Once the wild boars had a taste of the food they came back for the free food everyday. And everyday the villagers would put more food in the field and the wild boars would come to have their free meals. After a while, the wise man asked the villagers to erect four poles at the four-corners of the field.

The wild boars were too busy having their food that they did not take notice of what was happening. After a few weeks, the wild boars developed the habit of having free food. The wise man then asked the villagers to put fencing around the field, with a large gate through which the wild boars can enter to have their food. Finally once the fencing and the gate were completed the villagers closed the gate and all the wild boars were trapped inside the field. The wild boars were finally defeated!

Habits are easily developed but difficult to get rid of. The wild boars were trapped because out of their greed, they developed the habit of having free food, and without having to work for their food. They became so comfortable, that they did not realize they were being trapped. Most of us are like the wild boars because we become too comfortable with routine of our jobs and businesses that we do not realize we are in one way or another being "trapped" & obsolete until we get creative. We seek security rather than freedom!

Water & Rocks

Recently, while hiking in the foothills of South Carolina, I happened upon a small, yet briskly flowing whitewater creek. While relaxing and enjoying the solitude, I sensed a battle for superiority between the highly spirited water and the large boulders resting on the creek bed along the edges of the stream.

At first, the rocks, stubborn, immovable and unyielding seemed to have its way with its adversary. However the water, determined yet forgiving, seemed merely inconvenienced by the presence of the rocks, as it effortlessly changed course recharting a path towards its original destination.

Soon it became clear that the rocks, although remaining strong and steadfast, were losing this confrontation as the waters’ total indifference began to slowly reform these obstacles into smooth and beautiful polished stones.

You see, there seemed to be total lack of struggle associated with the water's trek. Struggle is like bondage forcing conformity and the water would have none of that. To the contrary, the water seemed perfectly content to move around the rocks when necessary, following some preordained route God had originally intended.

I paused for thought. Maybe people need to be more determined and less steadfast and stubborn. Maybe human beings need to always be open to different points of view, not afraid to readjust their direction as life presents all of its new and unforeseen challenges.

Balloon

Long, long ago, in a small, tropical village in acountry far, far away, a little boy lived with his parents in a small house. He could not have been more than four or five years old and his entire experience of life was limited to the fishing and farming , his neighbors and friends.It wasn't that the little boy was unhappy, given his situation, he was a rather cheerful, optimistic lad,but times were hard for his parents.

 The village was recovering from the recent floods that had wiped out his parents livelihood and the Christmas holidays were just around the corner.The parents would provide gifts for the children and little boys and little girls would squeal with delight as they played with their simple toys.It wasn't an expensive gift by today's standards,but in that village of long ago, as Christmas approached,any gift would be considered expensive. Yes, you and I would probably smile when we realize that all the little boy wanted was a balloon -- just a simple littleblue balloon.

You see, the little boy had seen pictures of brightly colored balloons and had even seen balloons that belonged to children of more affluent families. But he had never had his own balloon and so he longed for one.In the village, balloons were only sold in one shop and that shop was far from the little boy's home.And the cost of a balloon? Just one penny! You would think that a penny was hardly anything, but in thosebdays, literally every penny had to be used very carefully. When the little boy's parents had to choose between food and a balloon, the choice was naturally food.The little boy was very sad.

For weeks he had been thinking of the lovely, blue balloon he would get for Christmas. After another day or so, his mother, like all good mothers, determined to find her little boy a penny to get his blue balloon. Again, like most mothers, she sacrificed her own needs to get her son his wish.Imagine how happy the little boy was! Clutching the penny tightly in his small hand, he set off for the store. He did not care that he would have to walk for more than a mile in the blazing hot, tropical sun to get his balloon. He moved as fast as his little legs would carry him -- sometimes half-running and then walking quickly. Now he would have his blue balloon.

But fate played a trick on the little boy. There was no blue balloon at the store -- only one balloon was left.And it was a drab green one, a color he didn't really like. He probably thought that a green balloon was better than no balloon at all, so he bought and paid for it. But things were to get much worse very quickly As he was returning home, he decided to inflate the balloon by blowing air into it. Suddenly, there was aloud sound and the balloon burst into pieces.

At first,the boy couldn't believe it. He just stopped and stared at the rubbery shards in his hand. After all the trouble to get this one balloon and then, just like in life, in a split second it was gone.He continued walking home and although he was a brave little chap, tears streamed down his cheeks. After all,he was just four or five years old. His parents would not be able to spare another penny to buy a replacement balloon. And even if they were able to, there were no balloons left in the store. By now, his tiny feet were tired from all the walking so he sat down on a little rock at the side of the road.

That's when he saw the stranger. He wasn't quite sure why he hadn't seen the man sooner. He must have been too absorbed in his own problems to notice anything.Rarely were there strangers who came through the village. The man smiled a kindly smile and inquired of the little boy why he had tears in his eyes.The little boy explained his plight. With a knowing wink, the man reached into a bag he was carrying on his shoulder and pulled out a small box. "I have a gift for you," he said as he handed the box to the little boy."Go ahead. Open it," he continued.

Imagine the surpriseof the little boy as he peered into the box and saw three, uninflated, beautiful blue balloons, each one with a picture of a star on it. He turned to say "thankyou" to the stranger, but there was nobody there. The man was gone.Perhaps it was an angel, thought the little boy. Or may be the stranger just disappeared into thin air. But that would be magic, reasoned the little fellow. You see, there is magic in the heart and soul of every little boy and every little girl on Earth. They know it, but they forget the magic as they grow older.Years have come and years have gone, but that was one of the happiest Christmas I ever spent.

Every once in a while, or perhaps, even more often than once in a while, if I choose to sit quietly and revisit that scene of yester year, I could still see the kindness in the stranger's eyes and the beautiful stars on the blue balloons.It was a great lesson that I learned that day.Sometimes when life takes something away from you, it is only because it wants to bring you something much better. Life took my little balloon because it wanted me to have three beautiful, bigger and better balloons.

We may not understand why things happen the way they do, but this I know: If we trust the process and we keep on keeping on, the dark valleys of life will eventually lead into beautiful fields of light and splendor. You are cared for and protected by a Force that transcends time and space -- a Force that has existed forever and that loves you unconditionally.

The power's been out all day.

For years my daughter, Candi, and I had talked about canoeing the Yellow River in the Florida panhandle. Finally, during one of her college breaks, we decided to go for it.

We were only half an hour into our trip when the sky turned dark and thunder rumbled in the distance. The current picked up, and I grew uneasy about the rising water.

The rain came down quickly in wind-whipped sheets and the river tossed us wildly over submerged logs and rocks. "We've got to dock!" I shouted. Candi bailed water furiously while I searched for a clearing along the dark, tree-lined bank.

The rain was so heavy I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead. Every time I'd spot a place to come ashore, we were already past it.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the water directly in front of us. We 've got to get off this river now! Just then I saw a faint glow in the distance. A house?

I steered the canoe toward the glow. It was a porch light. And there in front of the house was a cleared section of the riverbank. By the time we got the canoe up on dry land, the porchlight was off.

"Lucky it was on when we needed it," I said to Candi. A woman standing on the

porch ushered us inside the house.

"Thank you," I said to her as we dried ourselves off. "I don't know how we'd have made it to shore if your porch light hadn't been on."

But it couldn't have been, " she said. "The power's been out all day."