Sunday, October 30, 2011

Don't Bring Shame to our Name

I'll never forget the following words my Dad told me in the Autumn of 1994 "There's nothing within our power that we haven't tried to do to give you the best, please don't bring shame to our name"

Oh I'm sorry. Welcome once again to Heaven Here We Come :). Yeah I know its been months since I last updated this Blog, but here's some good news, I'll now be updating it weekly. But wait, there's more good news, I'll also be extending the expiration date of the Blog for the the amount of months I missed. So instead of the original expiration date of 12/31/2011, it will now expire on 7/31/2012.

As I was saying about the Autumn of 1994 when I was working as a security guard earning a little over the minimum wage. Only problem though, I looked, dressed and bought stuff like I was working on wall street. I had it all. Matching Starter Hats and Nike Sneakers, Girbauds, Guess Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger Rugbys, Timbs, Jordans, Fahrenheit Cologne by Christian Dior etc. Back then, The A&S (now Macy's) on Fulton street in downtown Brooklyn new me very well. My parents will quickly take notice and ask how I was able to afford all this stuff on a mere security guard's paycheck. And I told them it' was God's blessing. Yeah right! Fact was I earning some extra funds in a less than honorable way and they knew it. My mum yelled and called me all sorts of unflattering names to try to get me to stop, but everything went in one ear and straight out the other. My Dad, however,  will take a different approach. He came up to me one evening after I returned from another shopping spree and simply said "There's nothing within our power that we haven't tried to do to give you the best, please don't bring shame to our name" and walked away. Those words not only pierced my heart, but also left me perplexed. So much so that I had to call my homies that I wanted out of our not so honorable money making schemes.

Today, another Father is calling upon his children to not bring shame to His Name. That will be our Heavenly Father calling upon those of us who claim to be Christians, to live up to the promise we made to follow in the footsteps of His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As a Christian, its important for each one of us to check ourselves from time to time to ensure that we are bringing Honor and not Shame to to his Holy Name. May His goodness and mercy continue to abide with us all.

Well, that's all for now folks. Have a great week ahead.

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
Btw, one of the greatest musicians (if not the greatest) of time reminds us in his Evergreen Hit Yungba, Yungba as he sings "R'onu ko to wuwa, ranti omo eni to je" which simply means,  let your behavior reflect the child of who you are.

Disclaimer: If you are not a Christian or don't give a damn about bringing shame to your family's name, please feel free to behave as you please.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I Will Take Care of You

And when it came time for him to give his speech, he looked into her eyes and said these six words "I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. "

Hello and thank you once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had an amazing week and getting ready for an amazing weekend ahead. May the beautiful favor of God through the grace of his Son Jesus Christ continue to be evident in our lives.

Now I've attended quite a few wedding ceremonies in my lifetime, but I'll never forget the one I attended in the Summer of 2006 Between Mr. & Mrs. N&Y O. Classy, beautiful, great food, great music and wonderful guests. But what made it memorable for me were the words the groom said to his beautiful bride when it came time to give his speech. He looked at her with extreme admiration and humility and simply said "I Will Take Care of you." What a smart man. I'll like to make it emphatically clear that the duty of any Man lucky enough to be blessed with a Wife is for him to take care of her. I tell you, the return on investment is immeasurable. Any man not ready to take on this responsibility should not even bother getting married because hell is what awaits him. On the flip side, it is the duty of that woman to appreciate the efforts of her Man. This only encourages the Man to want to do more. I saw this system of care/appreciation work for my parents who remained married for 30+ years until my mum's passing in 2006. My mum was my dad's number one priority, even over us his kids. My mom, ever the smart woman she was made sure she never betrayed my dad's attitude towards her by making him feel very appreciated. So women, if you are blessed with a man who is willing to take care of you and make you his priority, please reciprocate the gesture with sheer appreciation. Otherwise, you might end up alone and age fast.

I'm always so glad when I occasionally see the couple in the said wedding. Its quite evident that not only has the groom lived up to his words, but the bride is equally playing her part by appreciating him. I have no doubt that they are extremely happy in their union as man and wife. I'm also glad to report that they have since been blessed with a beautiful daughter, who some day will also meet a man that will also look into her eyes and emphatically say "I Will Take Care of You" :)

For tips and advice on how to take good care of your woman and make sure she's your #1 priority, please check back in the very near future as I lay it all out. As always, may the goodness of God continue to abide with us all. Until next time...

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
One of the greatest (if not the greatest) musicians of our time, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey sings about this in one of his many hits titled "Better Life for Women." He sings in broken English "if you marry a wife, make you treat am better o, if you treat am better o, it go better for you"
Nuff Said ;)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Beware-Titudes

Hello and thank you once again for stopping by Heaven Here We Come :). I hope you had an amazing week and getting ready for an even more amazing weekend ahead. May the goodness of God through his son Jesus Christ continue to be evident in each and everyone of our lives.

Speaking of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, remember He had something called the "Beatitudes"? Well that inspired me to come up with the "Beware-Titudes." While the 8 Beatitudes talk about the blessings that awaits those who are poor, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty for justice, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and are persecuted for justice sake, the 8 Beware-Titudes talks about, well read on...

Beware of those who want to be your friend so quickly and easily for they are looking to use you for something and once they get it, chances are you'll never hear from them again.

Beware of those people who always have a better story than yours for they are subtly competing with you and will eventually begin to envy your success.

Beware of those who always want to be in the spotlight for they will slowly begin to despise your time in the spotlight and would do anything to take away your shine.

Beware of those who you confide in but don't confide in you for they probably don't think much of you and will eventually use what you share with them as fodder.

Beware of those who call you when they need a favor, but only return your call with a text when you call them for a favor.

Beware of those who only tell you about the party after its over. They never really wanted you there and are probably just trying to spite you even more.

Beware of those who constantly criticize you for they are only trying to mask their own insecurities.

Beware of those who just try to make up grudges and reasons not to talk to you, they really just don't know how to break out of their shame.

And there you have it. Believe me, you are bound to cross paths with some of these individuals in your lifetime. So just don't Beware, but also Be Aware. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and may His favor through His Son Jesus Christ be forever evident in our lives.

Ebenezeri,
Humble Prince

P.S
Oh yeah one more, Beware of those who don't think Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey is the greatest :)


Saturday, February 12, 2011

A Valentine's Day Story

St. Valentine's Day eve 1998. There he was in the barbershop waiting to get a haircut and getting ready to go out later and sin. For the sake of anonymity, we'll call the main character in this story Commander ulO. I'm sorry, excuse my bad manners. Before I continue, I'll like to thank you once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come. Hope you a wonderful week and getting ready for an amazing weekend ahead. May His goodness continue to sustain us and be evident in our lives

The barbershop sure was buzzing that night and packed with customers all talking about their Valentine Day plans. And while Commander ulO was in the barber's chair, one last customer came in. This wasn't no ordinary customer either, this customer had a gun and probably wasn't interested in getting a haircut. And sure enough that's exactly what was about to take place, an armed robbery. Like I said, Commander ulO was in the first barber's chair and was the closest customer to the armed robber. As he sat, the armed robber pointed the gun towards his direction and ordered everyone to give up their money, watches and jewelry. With the gun pointed towards his head, so many things began to run through Commander ulO's mind. One of them being where he would spend eternity if he was to die that night.  Looking at how he was living his life, especially with the kind of plans he had later on that night, he knew it definitely wasn't going to be with Jesus.  All he could do was pray and make all kinds of covenants with God to spare his life. The robber meanwhile collected his contributions and just as he was about to leave, his gun went off. The bullet  passed right between Commander ulO's head and the barber. How that bullet did not hit Commander ulO's big head still amazes him till this day. Especially with the fact that the bullet managed to pass between him and the barber despite the close proximity. 13 years later and Commander ulO is still well and kicking. He however admits that he hasn't fully lived up to the promises he mad that night with a gun pointing to his head.

My prayer for us all is that we won't need to have a gun to our head before we decide to live our lives in accordance to the will of our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ, who died so we can all have life. Fact is we're all going to pass from this world some day. Problem is we don't know when. Smart thing to do will be for us to make sure we are living our lives in such a way that when we come face to face with death, we can smile with confidence as we know we're only going home to our Heavenly Father. Have a blessed and fruitful week ahead.


Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu Commander.


P.S
Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The BIble, Fact or Fiction?

Hey there and thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you all had an amazing week and ready for an even more amazing weekend.

So what if its all Fiction, a BIG FAT LIE. I'm talking about everything from God, to his son Jesus Christ, the Angels, Heaven, Hell, Satan, Adam, Eve, The Garden of Eden, Moses, Judas, Paul etc. Yeah what if the contents of the Bible are all one big fairy tale. Or maybe even a collection of someone's imagination of a group of ancient Super Heroes and Villains just like we have in our modern day comic books. What if our going to church every Sunday and midweek bible study sessions are all for naught. Also what actually happens to us when we eventually pass from this world? Is there really a lake of everlasting fire waiting for non believers and a place of everlasting happiness for those who chose to believe as stated in the Bible? Did Moses really part the Red Sea? Did David really kick Goliath's behind? Was Jesus really conceived of a virgin, Did Jesus really heal the sick, give sight to the blind, cast demons out of the possessed, walk on water, die on a cross, buried only to rise again on the third day? And the questions go on and on and on...

I have no doubt that some of these questions and more have all crossed our minds at some point and still lingers in minds of many. And rightfully so. We are all designed to process information and determine if it makes sense or not. Ask the average Christian any of the questions above and they will probably say "you gotta have faith." However, I think we need to take it a little further. We as believers and followers of Christ need to pray for God to reveal Himself to those who may have doubts. Be it through a sign, miracle, breakthrough, blessing, deliverance etc. We as believers need to also pray for ourselves that God will continue to show us signs that He is God whenever doubt sets in hearts as they often do. I pray for this constantly and I'm glad to say that God not only showed me one sign but He's shown me a thousand and counting. One was witnessing the birth of my son in the delivery room. While Biology can explain the process, it didn't create it. Neither did a big bang process as suggested by scientists. The birth process is most definitely a Divine Design as I like to call it. A perfect sign as commanded by God our Heavenly Father that He does in fact exist. I pray that His glory through the grace of his Son Jesus Christ, will continue be evident in each of our lives. Amen

So while it may all sound like one big fairy tale, I believe the Bible and its contents are very much indeed real. And even though its gone through multiple revisions and discrepancies do exist, the message within its pages, books, chapters and verses is quite clear.  And if you are still skeptic or have doubts, just ask Him to show you a sign. He will be glad to. He's waiting...

Have a blessed and amazing weekend.

Ebenezeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
It often amazes me that people believe in dinosaurs and aliens but not in God and Jesus Christ.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Case of the Fake Coach Briefcase...

In the fall of 1996, I was blessed to get a job offer even before completing my final semester in College. Upon graduating and starting my new gig, I decided to reward myself with a nice Coach briefcase. So I walked into their store on 5th  Avenue in New York City and looked around for one. After about a half hour and perusing the store, I changed my mind and I think the prices might have had something to do with that. After telling a friend about the Coach briefcase escapade, she told me she knew someone with a hookup that could get me fake Coach merchandise that looked quite authentic at half price. I jumped at the opportunity and boom, I had my new Coach Briefcase.

Oh my bad, thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had blessed week and are prepared for an amazing weekend ahead. May God's goodness continue to be evident in our lives. Now back to my new briefcase. So there I was carrying it with me everyday to my new job and I received quite a few compliments from friends and colleagues alike. When asked I where I got it from, I lied and told them I got it from the Coach store on 5th Avenue. After a few months, the strap snapped and I decided to get it fixed right away. Back then, Coach had a policy where they repaired their products for free. So to one of their stores I went along with my briefcase to get it fixed for free, or so I thought. Upon entering the store I was greeted by one their reps and told her I wanted my briefcase fixed. She gladly took it with her to the back of the store to have it examined. I was surprised when she came back and told me they weren't going to fix my briefcase for free. Much to my chagrin, I asked why and I'll never forget her reply. She said, "Sorry Sir, but we don't fix fake coach products. You are however welcome to go to the repairman up the block where we send other people who also come here to have their fake Coach products fixed for free."

I'll like us to take a look at this scenario from a Christian perspective. I pray when we all pass from this world and have to meet face to face with our Lord/Savior/Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, we don't hear him say "Sorry, we don't allow fake Christians into my Father's house. However, you are welcome to go to that other place where we send other fake Christians." Remember, while I as able to fool friends and colleagues that my briefcase was authentic, I could not fool the actual makers of genuine Coach products. The same applies to our lives as Christians. We may be able to fool friends, family, colleagues etc that we are real Christians, but we can't fool our Maker who created us and who we are all scheduled to face sooner or later. I pray we all work together and encourage one another to be genuine Christians. That way, when we eventually meet our Heavenly Father, we will hear Him say "Welcome my Child, we've been waiting for you".

Have a great weekend.

Ebenzeri,
Prince Olu

P.S
Also remember that the price we pay for being fake Christians exponentially outweighs the price we pay for being exposed for owing fake merchandise.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Christians Advice #34

Hello and thanks once again for stopping by Heaven, Here We Come :). Hope you had a blessed week. As we start another weekend, I pray God's favor and mercy will find its way into our lives.

My Mum, God bless her soul, was a very loving and strong woman and I had never seen her cry once. Even when her mum passed, all she did was pray, told me death was a part of life and went on with her day. However, in the summer of 2000, I will see my mum cry for the very first time. My brother and I got into an argument and was just about ready to start throwing blows when she came running downstairs wondering what all the ruckus was about. As my brother and I continued yelling and cursing at one another, we both looked at my mum and we could see the tears streaming down her eyes. I tried playing tough but seeing her in that state completely softened my anger. I asked why she was crying and she replied that she felt like she failed as a parent despite all her love for us. And love her kids so much is what she did. I re-assured her that she hadn't failed and my brother and I made up.

Today, I can only wonder if our Heavenly Father sheds a tear or two when he sees Christians fight amongst one another. I'm sure it hurts Him that despite his Love for us, we still allow pettiness and frivolity to further divide us and keep us further away from Him. Furthermore, when we as Christians fight, we are not only creating a deep chasm between ourselves and God, but we are also preventing non-believers from becoming Christians. Now I know it's inevitable for us not to disagree from time to time, but we need to ensure that we eventually come to agreement in accordance to His love. Even the 12 disciples disagreed occasionally with one another but they always resolved their conflicts. Well, except Judas and we all know the rest of that story.

So my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, please lets stop all the fighting with one another. One way to achieve this is to always remember that our Heavenly Father and his only begotten son Jesus Christ hurt deeply when we do fight. Fighting on with one another on the other hand makes Satan happy and I'm sure well don't want that. Thoughts of this should be enough to soften any anger within us. Also, lets all prove to God and ourselves that His love for us has not failed but instead continues to put Satan to shame. I pray that the peace and love of God through his son Jesus Christ will continue to abide with us so we will love one another as he instructed us to. Put yourself in God's shoes, how will you feel if your children that you love so much are constantly fighting with another despite your love for them? Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Ebenezeri,
Humble Prince

P.S
I'm proud to say that 2000 was the last time my brother and I ever had an argument or disagreement. Not only because of our love towards each other, but also because we never wanted to see our mum shed a tear ever again.

P.P.S
Btw, to my dear brother if you are reading this, you're lucky mummy came down just in time or else... :).