Servanthood in its purest form

"Though He was God,
He did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, He gave up his divine privileges,
He took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When He appeared in human form,
He humbled himself in obedience to God
and He died a criminal's death on a cross."

Phillippians 2

Psalm 40

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground,
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what He has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to an end of them.
I take your joy in doing your will, my God,
for your instructions are written on my heart.

I have told all your people about your justice.
I have not been afraid to speak out.
I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart,
I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
of your unfailing love and faithfulness.

Lord, don't hold your tender mercies from me.
Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me."

Blessed Be Your Name...

The words from Matt Redman's song ring so true....

"Blessed be Your name when the sun is shining down on me
when the world is all as how it should be
Blessed be Your name
When the darkness closes in,
still I will say blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.
Blessed be Your name
On a road marked with suffering
though there is pain in the offering
blessed is Your name.
Every blessing You pour out
I turn back to praise".

And so do the words in Psalm 37 and 40:

"Trust in the Lord and do good
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper
Take delight in the Lord
and He will give you your heart's desires

Commit everything you do to the Lord
Trust Him, and He will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn
and the justice of your cause shine like the noonday sun.

Be still in the presence of the Lord
and wait patiently for Him to act.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly
He delights in every detail of their lives
Though the stumble, they will never fall
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

Work friendships that have grown through time...

It sometimes takes being away from a place to realise what you have at that place - if that makes sense. I am currently working away from my normal place of work (where I have now worked at for just over three years). I am beginning to value my workmates more and more, in particular their cheekiness, their teasing and the fun times I have with them. It sometimes takes time to build relationships and friendships and it is nice to see these grow and bear fruit over time. I feel as though I am reaping what I sowed a few seasons ago (and I am continuing to sow)....:)God's good, all the time. Odaaro.

Have you thanked Jesus today?

Life is really how you view it - how positive you want to be, how much you want to believe in God's promises for all of us. I woke up one morning this week feeling a little frustrated - it was caused by a combination of factors, I had a lingering feeling of being frustrated at not knowing where things were going in a couple of areas of my life (I know, I know this is where faith in God comes into play, and having faith in Him pleases Him). Then, as I was crossing the road on the way to work in the morning, a bus passed me with these words painted in bright red on it, "Have you thanked Jesus today?". It then hit me (as it eventually always does - it just sometimes take a very long time), I had loads to be thankful for. There were lots of little amusing things in my life to be thankful for. For instance, speaking to one of my male friends now reminds me of speaking with my mama. He (jokingly)calls me darling the same way my mama calls me. A little bizarre but actually pretty nice. That same evening, after work, when I was trying on a work dress (so I look more like an Oga Madame :)) in a cubicle, I could hear the girl in the next changing room speaking to the sales assistant called Tosha. We then popped our heads out at the same time to speak to Tosha. The girl turned out to be a close girlfriend from university. We ended buying a couple of dresses together and we went for dinner after that. It was so good catching up with her on such an unplanned occasion. It was great exchanging views about life, our jobs, men, etc. :) I know God is always there for me, giving me what I need at the right time, I just need to learn to be more patient and trust in Him. And thankful in all circumstances. :)