Hello there!!!

Hope you had a good weekend to rest off the week’s stress? Well! I sure had a good rest this weekend. Every once in a while, it is advisable to just ‘do nothing’ but rest….

So as I said in the previous post, the ‘Wisdom Nugget’ for last month will be coming later than usual. Well, that ‘later’ is today. If it happens that today is your first time reading the blog, and you are wondering ‘what is wisdom nugget, all about’? Wisdom Nugget post is a post that will be uploaded at the beginning of every new month containing key lessons that I learnt from the past month. You have not missed a lot, the first wisdom nugget was last month [for the month of September]

Here we go……

• If you are giving someone something, give because you want to, not because you want a return. I remember vividly blogging about ‘giving’ here. It is a very nice read, especially with the different comments that were made on that post. I know this point may not resonate with everyone, but it is one principle I have learnt and relearn in my daily living. I have come to understand that the pressure that comes with expectations of return is what destroys friendships/relationships. Personally, I believe that all good works will be rewarded but it is not my place to know how. So when I decide to give someone a gift, I find the aim being defeated if the reason why I am giving that gift is to get something from the person. Instead of calling it a gift, I think the appropriate name should be ‘exchange’ not ‘gift’. I remember giving away some gifts sometime ago to a few friends, and it so happened that my birthday took place a few months after, and my friends took me out for a meal. After the meal, while on my way home, someone else asked me, ‘so what did they give you?’ I laughed, a meal and their time. This other friend of mine was left speechless. Why? You see, this principle has helped me in having different perspectives about life and in building relationships. If you can give, give. But if every time you give something, you are expecting a return, then I am sorry to say that your expectations will not be met at all times. I know the aspect of giving is very broad, I hope to one day touch all the aspects, but for today’s post; this part is one of the lessons I had to relearn last month.
• Check yourself, before you check others. I would have loved to narrow this point to just bloggers[inspirational/Christian]; but I realise that this applies to everyone. When I upload a post, one of the things I consciously do is, ask God to highlight every area of my life that does not meet up with what I put up. I, like Paul, will not want to be disqualified after I have shared what has been placed on my heart. It so happened that last month, one of the posts, I uploaded was for me before anyone else that read it, but it did not occur to me till later in the month, after certain events. It is just like how a pastor is talking about how it is wrong to engage in gossip, and we are seated there, thinking of that sister A or brother B, who we think are the biggest culprits. When what we should be doing is telling God to show us our hearts and ways. So I won’t sit here blogging and tell you that I am 100% perfect. Nah! But one thing is that, by His grace, when I miss it, I don’t just stay down, I correct what needs to be corrected and keep it going. So since then, whenever I am composing a post, it is God talking to me first before any other reader.

It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-Know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. Luke 6:41-42.

• Never be afraid to be Gideon. I am of the opinion that we should not get oblivious to the time we are in. So many things are being done and said in the name of God, but truly not all is of Him, or from Him. I believe a permanent prayer point that needs to be said daily is one requesting for discernment, because the discernment of last year will never be sufficient for this year. The devil is smart, he is not resting, so everyday he is devising new, strategic, familiar means to sidetrack God’s children. Therefore, we need to be alert, very alert. So we need to be like Gideon, [Judges 6:36-40] in this day and age, if something is presented to us, and we are not sure if this is of God or not, we need to outrightly ask for a sign [or more than ‘a sign’], God is very much in the business of giving us the signs we need. It may just be that we are too impatient to wait for the signs we have requested for. The thing about impatience is that, we end up wasting time doing things that we shouldn’t have ventured into, in the first place. If there is anything I have come to understand, it is the fact that not every good thing is of God. Not all good things are Godly.

Remember, good is ever relative. The question we need to ask ourselves is: ‘Is God in this?’ not ‘Is this a good thing?’

So these are the wisdom nuggets from last month, I hope you can resonate with one or two, or all. I will also like to know what lessons you learnt from last month. Feel free to share with me and other readers, in the comment section.

Also, the second guest writer that was supposed to give her view on ‘Once saved, always saved?!’ is quite busy and has not gotten to it yet. I am of the opinion that the post by Frances Okoro did a whole lot of good, but if you still have tugging questions, please feel free to leave a comment below, or you can send an email to preciousthoughts2013@gmail.com.

Have an amazing week ahead!

Missed my last post?

P.S Precious Thoughts will be a year this month, 22nd November, precisely. And woah!!! I am thrilled at how I have grown since I ventured into blogging, how I have met amazing people via blogging and the many phases that have come with blogging. I will be sure to make a post on how the one year has been. This is me thanking you for being a part of my ‘lil sharing’. God bless you. Amen!

Also, while preparing this post, I read about the death of Dr. Myles Munroe, his wife and seven other leaders of his church, who were involved in a plane crash. May their souls rest in peace. Amen! Please pray for their families, friends and church, that the Lord will comfort them and give them strength to continue with the vision that has been set by the departed. And I will also urge us to realise the brevity of life, and begin to align our life with God’s will, because tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

Chinomnso Precious!