Faith Friday: Be Willing to Wait

It is Faith Friday, Yay! Today's Faith Friday is brought to you by Gloria Copeland from the Power Up Devotional

February 22, 2013

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.
Proverbs 21:23

Be Willing to Wait
by Gloria Copeland

Source

There's just no two ways about it. To live a life of blessing, we have to make our words agree with what God says. Not just for a few hours or a few days, but all the time.

If you've ever done that, you know it's not easy. As time wears on and the circumstances around you appear to be stubbornly determined to stay in the same miserable condition, it can be hard to keep on speaking God's Word. But you have to do it if you ever want your harvest of blessing to come in.

When Kenneth started preaching prosperity, I sat out there and listened to him with holes in the bottom of my shoes. But we knew our financial problems didn't change what the Word of God said. We knew His prosperity promises were true even if we hadn't been able to tap into them yet. So, even though we felt foolish at times, we just kept on talking about God's generous provision for us.

I realized later that Word went to work for us from the first day we began to believe it and speak it and order our lives according to it. Our prosperity crop began to grow the moment we started putting seeds in the ground. It just took time for them to come up.

Sometimes, believers don't last that long. They start planting well enough, but then when they don't see immediate results, when the bank account gets low and rent is past due, they get discouraged and begin to speak words of lack and defeat. They tear up their crop with the words of their own mouth, and they never get to enjoy the fruit of it.

The next time you strike out on faith, whether it's in the financial realm or any other area, keep that in mind. Determine from the beginning that you're not going to let that waiting period discourage you. Then hang on until the Word of God is manifested in your life. Put patience to work and keep your words in line. You will receive your harvest.

Take The Colour Quiz Personality Test

Have you ever stopped for a moment and wondered why you act the way you do? Sometimes people tell you, you act in a particular way or your attitude is like bla bla bla or I think you will be well suited for a particular job role or gifted in a certain area. Whatever the case, all of that and much more make up your personality. The Oxford English Dictionary defines personality as 'the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character'. Sometimes understanding your personality would guide you in channeling your energy towards the things you are more suited for as well as help you in your relationship with others. There are so many personality tests out there that are administered in various ways. Some are almost 100% accurate while others just look like a general result. While doing my post-graduate degree at the University of Dundee, a personality test was administered by Insights Discovery , a people development organisation based in Dundee. The interesting thing about this particular test was that four colours; Red, Blue, Green and Yellow were used to measure our personality and each colour represented a certain personality trait. You had to arrange the colours with your best colour first and least liked colour last. It was an interesting activity and at the end, we were giving a detailed report on our personal style, key strengths & weaknesses, value you bring to your team and tips on effective communication. This helped us understand our team members and easily allocate tasks amongst ourselves.

Insights Discovery do not offer a free test as a personality profile from them costs more than £150.00. But I discovered Color Quiz which uses the same colour concept but this time around, with more colours. According to their website, the test is based upon fundamentals in color psychology. After years of research by color psychologists, the characteristics of certain colors has been identified to cause an emotional response in people. They achieved this by studying the response from hundreds of thousands of test subjects around the world in order to isolate how certain colors make us feel. Now, it is important to understand that the results from this personality test and others like it can be both short-term and long-term in their meaning. That is, if you take the test when you are feeling depressed or overtly excited about something, it maybe reflected in your results. So it is best to do it when you are in a normal state of mind. I took the test and the result was quite accurate. Part of my result said 'Quickly becomes an expert in any field she pursues and can sometimes come off as overbearing and nosy'...lol...that's true. So please take note, I just come off as overbearing and nosy, but I'm not! There's a difference...lol. The test is free, fun and easy! No long questions or essays; just click away. It will tell you why you act the way you do. To take the test, please click Color Quiz and let us know if your results are accurate or incorrect.

Meet The Chinese Millionaire Who Works Six Days A Week As A Street Cleaner

Meet Yu Youzhen, a wealthy 53-year-old woman who lives in the Chinese city of Wuhan but works six days a week as a street cleaner. Yu is the proud owner of 17 apartments worth more than 10 million yuan (approximately $1.5 million). Six days a week she wakes up and goes to work as a sanitation worker for the city, earning a monthly salary of just 1,420 yuan ($227). A reporter for local newspaper, Wuhan Evening Times, discovered her and since then, Yu has become a symbol of hard work and determination in China. She has kept her job, which involves scrubbing the streets and emptying trash cans, since 1998, and grew up in poor circumstances. When she came into the ownership of the expensive apartments in the city in 2008, she was determined not to become lazy like many others who came into ownership. 

According to Oddity Central, in the 1980s, Yu Youzhen was just an average vegetable farmer in the Hongshan District Donghu Village, Huojiawan, working hard with her husband in order to save some money. After years working from dawn till dusk, they became the first family in the village to own a 3-storey house. At the time, a lot of people were coming to Wuhan looking for work, and many of them needed a place to stay, so Yu started renting the spare rooms in her home. Each room would bring about 50 yuan every month, and the resourceful woman used the extra earning to build even more houses and add more floors. After several years, she had three 5-storey buildings, most of which were rented out. At that time, everyone was building houses but luck ran out on Yu Youzhen when the policies of requisitioning and redevelopment of land in China came into force. She and her family were compensated with 21 apartments for the houses they had built in Huojiawan. 

She wasn’t the only one, who was compensated but she didn't want to end up like other villagers who squandered away their fortunes on gambling, drinking and even drug use, so she made it a goal to set a good example for her kids and act responsible. Yu says, "I want to be a role model for my son and daughter. I don’t want to sit around idly and eat away my fortune". She has warned her son and daughter: “If you don’t work, I’ll donate the apartments to the country.” They have taken her advice as her son works as a driver in the Donghu Scenic Area, making over 2,000 yuan a month, and her daughter is an office worker, with a 3,000 yuan salary. This is interesting. I've heard stories of how people came into wealth and suddenly  their attitude to life changes. Instead of them controlling the money, they allow the money control them. I once heard someone say that the true test of a man's wealth is not when he has nothing; but when he is successful and I do agree. 

The New Miracle Oil For 2013

Surprise! Surprise! Two days ago I came across a report about a 'new miracle oil' called Red Palm oil that has received the blessing of the great Dr. Oz. During this week's episode of The Dr. Oz Show, he talked with Bryce Wild about this exciting new product that can help fight disease as well as aid weight loss. He listed the red palm oil as one of his top "miracle health items" for the new year 2013. Bryce Wild noted that just two tablespoons a day of the oil was enough to help lower cholesterol by as much as 40 percent in a month. It revs up the metabolism and in effect helps burn more calories. He says you can use it in your cooking as it is flavourless and can be easily added to recipes or just used for a healthy oil in the pan to cook with. This is very funny because this is the same oil they said was high in cholesterol and unhealthy; now it is a 'miracle oil'. I don't even know how it aids weight loss cos it is very high in unsaturated fat or am I missing something here? Well Dr Oz, 70% of my cooking involves palm oil and I am even trying to reduce it or do away with it completely which has been very difficult - I guess i shouldn't then. Whatever they say mehn! I just had a bowl of Plantain Pottage and the 'miracle oil' was the main ingredient...lol....I am sure the price of Palm oil will go up now. Calling on all Palm Oil exporters to capture the American market now!

You can watch the video clip below

My own bottle

RE: An Early Christmas Gift For Victor Chukwueke

Compliments of the season to everyone out there reading this blog I update once in a quarter or so :) Do you remember Chukwueke who was featured here and here some months back? Well, Victor has since graduated from Wayne State University with degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology and still living with the missionary nuns who arranged for him to be treated in the U.S. He is a dean’s list student who volunteered in the chemistry and pathology labs, and was chosen to speak at his commencement ceremony. Victor is in the news again and this time, the Michigan lawmakers have passed a rare, “one-man Dream Act” in his favour. Victor still have dreams of becoming a surgeon and was accepted into the University of Toledo medical school but on the condition that he had to become a legal resident of the United States. 

His visa expired 10 years ago, and he has been living in the U.S illegally ever since. According to Michigan Radio, some of his advocates, including Detroit businessmen and Wayne State University, worked with Michigan Senator Carl Levin for more than a year to get a bill passed that will grant Victor a legal status in the US. These “private relief” laws, as they’re known, allow an individual to apply for permanent US residency. Though they aren’t unheard of, but they’re long shots. According to other media reports, about 83 similar bills were filed recently, but getting them passed was a different story entirely. Of the 83 bills proposed, only one made it through both the Senate and the House: Victor’s bill. The House passed a special bill granting Victor Chukwueke legal status in the U.S. Already approved by the Senate, the legislation now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature. Chukwueke expressed his appreciation on  victors hope, a website dedicated to sharing his story. He said, "Today, December 18, 2012, is one of the happiest days of my life; the passage of this my private bill is the best Christmas present ever.. And it wouldn’t have happen without all your incredible efforts. Words cannot express my extreme appreciation for your support during this process. I am truly humbled and blessed in so many ways by your kindness. Having been in the U.S. for 11 years, it seems like nothing less than a miracle to have reach this point in my life. This confirms my opinion that only in this country can so many miraculous and wonderful things happen to someone like me. And now the private bill has been approved, I will be able to move forward with my medical school aspiration.Thank you and God bless."

According to Michigan Radio, he rushed to call his friends and advocates to share the news. He even placed a call to his family in Nigera – they speak a couple times a month – but couldn’t get in touch with them. Despite his condition and the years he’s spent away from his family, Victor says he never sees himself as a victim. “I’ve been very fortunate in my life. You can’t control what happens to you. You can only control what your reactions will be.” 

This is great!!!! He has an awesome attitude and I have learnt a lot by following his story. Many thanks to the U.S for giving him a chance to become what he wants to be.

Chinese Couple Who Refused To Move Now Have A Road Built Around TheirHouse

What do you call this? Stubbornness or foolishness or wisdom. An elderly couple in China now have their half-demolished house right in the middle of a newly constructed road in Wenling City in east China's Zhejiang province because they refused to move. Duck farmer Luo Baogen and his wife were the only couple in the neighbourhood that once housed lots of family but was cleared to make way for the thoroughfare which heads to a newly built railway station.



Mr Baogen said the house cost 600,000 Yuan (around £60,000) to build, but the authorities have offered substantially less to relocate him. He said the compensation he and his wife were offered by authorities for the destruction of his home was not enough, and he refused to sign the property over. Well, that did not stop the government from going ahead with the construction of the road around the five-storey property.

Hmm, I wonder how the couple will enjoy living in their home which is now a round-about, when the road is finally opened. In the People's Republic of China, during most of the Communist era, private ownership of property was abolished, making it easy for residents to be moved on - but now the laws have been tightened up and it is illegal to demolish property by force without an agreement. In some countries I know, they won't offer you any compensation and they will still demolish your property. I know it is so painful and annoying but me thinks Mr Baogen should have accepted the compensation and moved out cos it is going to be hellish living in the condition he has found himself in.