Disappointment - A disguise for blessing

Disappointment is delayed appointment. Disappointment will strengthen but will never destroy. When disappointment travels towards you, you must be determined to meet it with courage. Never give in to disappointment, hopelessness or despair. When you overcome disappointment, you acquire the strength to change your disappointment and turn it into an appointment. Nobody can avoid pain. Pain is inevitable and pain comes through disappointment but you can do something about your situation and be determined to walk through the darkness of disappointment into the light of your appointment, your destination. An African proverb says, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors”. You cannot run away from trouble, trouble will always come. You cannot avoid pain, it is inevitable. The difficulties of life are intended to make us better. A path with no obstacles leads nowhere.

The world is a hard place, it is full of disappointments, woes and troubles but we can turn this around and create an opportunity to turn this into a blessing. You can change the face of disappointment, embrace it, meet it as a friend and turn it into an appointment. “Every disappointment is a blessing”, this is a quote we are all familiar with. At the time of disappointment we may not see the blessing but after the season of disappointment comes the season of appointment. Be ready to embrace your current disappointment in order to see the season of your appointment. See every disappointment as a disguise for blessing and soon enough you will begin to see your blessing emerge through the pain of disappointment. Learn to convert your difficulties into opportunities. Disappointment is a message that leads us to our destination of appointment. So let your joy scream across the pain of disappointment. Today, I encourage you take heart! Turn on the light of your appointment and the darkness of disappointment will fade away from you!

Wishing you courage in times of disappointment.
(Written by Ladé, 2009 © All rights reserved.)

What is true peace?

One thing the world lacks is peace. Every man deserves to have peace. Every home needs peace and understanding in order to maintain progress. The world loves power but it lacks the power to love. Without understanding, peace cannot be achieved. We bleed in war because we are not prepared to work hard towards achieving peace. The love of power has superseded the power of love. Our world is hungry for peace, it is thirsty for peace, and it is searching for true and lasting peace. World leaders are constantly talking about peace but the void remains to be filled. They have tried and failed.

What is the answer to achieving true and lasting peace in our world, in our home and the environment? What is the answer to having the peace you might have been searching for in a long time? You might be asking, “How can I achieve having peace in my life? Where is the peace I thought I would find in my home and family? How can I experience true and lasting peace in a depraved and wicked world?”

The answer to having true and lasting peace begins with you and me. We must be able to determine in ourselves and make a decision as to whether we would embrace peace or destroy it. Are we going to cling to the past or look to the future and are we going to open our arms or clench our fists. If we want peace on earth, in the family, in the environment and in the home, it must begin with us. I encourage you today to maintain peace in all that you do. Seek peace and pursue it. We lack peace when we forget that we belong to each other. Peace can only be achieved through the power of love; you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

I wish you peace in all that you do.

(Written by Ladé © 2009 All rights reserved.)

Giving Is Not Only Material

When I think of giving, I choose not only to give of what I have but also of who I am. I give of myself, my time, my love and my possessions.

You only give a little when you give of your possessions; it is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Giving is not only material -money, clothes, food, etc. The highest form of giving is achieved by giving a portion of yourself. The gift is not as important as the love of the giver.

I encourage you today, whatever you do, give of yourself, of your time and your possessions. While some are eating, others are crying, “Lord, give us our daily bread.” You might be the answer to someone else’s prayers, a beacon of light in another man’s tunnel of darkness. Give as you would receive, cheerfully without hesitation. Encourage others not only by words but also by action, through your giving. Give with love in your heart, hug with a smile on your face, share from what you have been blessed with and you will see the reward come back to you in more ways than you can imagine.

If you give of your hand and you do not give from your heart, then you have given without loving. The size of the gift does not matter, but the size of the heart that gives it matters most. In the words of an unknown author, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” So, give cheerfully without hesitation. Give with love in your heart. May God reward your giving and fill you with joy unspeakable!

(Written by Ladé © 2009 All rights reserved.)

You Are More Than What You Think

You are more than what you think you are
You are not ugly, neither are you a mistake
You only need to believe in yourself
And not measure yourself with other’s opinions
Believe in yourself
You are more than what you think you are

You determine who you are by what you think
Your thoughts shape your life and future
What you think and believe shape your life and future
You live your entire life within the confines of your head
No one can shape your future or think for you
Your thoughts are your own
Don’t allow other people’s words to bring you down
You are beautiful in many ways
You are more than what you think you are

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
What do you see, who do you see?
Whose report will you believe?
Theirs against yours?
Believe in yourself
And you will not believe the bad report
The negative words of man
The voices of hate and ugliness
You will see beauty instead of ugly
You are more than what you think you are

The world we have created
Is a product of our thinking
The seed of greatness lies in you
You must will to think what is right
And you will do what is right
Positive generates positive
Negative generates negative
Believe in yourself, be positive
Leave the negative behind, be positive

A whole new world emerges
When you start to believe in you
Do not allow someone else’s opinion
To become your own opinion
Accept no one’s definition of your life
Learn to be what you are

You are a unique being
A beautiful work of art
You are more than what you think you are
So, why don’t you believe in yourself?
And others will believe in you

The first step toward becoming better than you are
Is to be what you are
Then you will see
You are more than what you really think you are
A unique and beautiful work of art
This is what you are!

(Written by Ladé, 2009 © All rights reserved.)

Fear Not!

If you suffer from fear then you will be afraid to suffer. Life is all about taking risks. Fear is the opposite of faith. If you are not in faith then you are in fear. Faith is the light that disperses of the darkness of fear. If you are always afraid then you cannot be a leader because you are not a risk taker. You must have the faith that you will succeed even though you are not guaranteed a perfect outcome. It is through fear that we learn courage. It takes the brave to move forward in life. You have to be courageous and be ready to scale all the walls that may come up against you. You have to be ready like an army to be able to run through the troops of problems that may rise up against your progress in life. The battle of life is not for the fainthearted. I encourage you to step out of fear and walk into the arena of faith, boldness and courage in order to overcome your obstacles in life. Life is not a bed of roses, it could be full of thorns but in the midst of the thorns emerges a rose. In the midst of the thorns of life, you will emerge like a rose. The end product is usually always more beautiful than the seed. Is there a risk you might need to take in order to make some progress in your life? Then be bold and fearless, there is an end result that may be so good ahead of you that if you do not take that bold step you would not discover the success that is waiting ahead of you. To conquer your fear is the beginning of wisdom. Try and conquer your fears today, take a bold step forward, look up and don’t look down, if you hold on to faith, you will not fail. Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.
(Written by Ladé © 2009 All rights reserved.)

Living, Existing or Fulfilling Purpose?

When you lose direction, you’ve lost your purpose in life. You are here for a reason otherwise you would not have been created. Every work of creation has its purpose. What is your purpose in life and why have you been created? Why are you here? I’m sure some of us have asked ourselves this question many times. You need to know the answer so you can fulfill your destiny otherwise all you will do is go around walking aimlessly in life achieving nothing. What are you striving for and what is the significance of your existence? True and lasting joy comes from finding your purpose in life. You lose your usefulness when you lose your direction. If you have purpose, you can change your environment, you can change many lives, you can influence society for good in a small or big way. For instance, a person might set up a charity organisation so they can help the poor or people less privileged than themselves, this is their purpose. Another person’s purpose might be to be a successful politician, businessman, inventor, community leader or even simply helping others by caring for them and being useful in sacrificial ways. If you have no goal and you don’t know what you are aiming for, then you will be tossed by every wind and you won’t have any direction in life. Where there is purpose, worry will give way. If there is no destination there is no journey. If you are a sailor and you don’t know what harbour you are going for then no wind is the right wind. All you’ll do is drift about on the ocean going nowhere.

My belief is that your purpose is the special talent you have which is a gift to serve others. In serving others you are fulfilling purpose. What is your special talent, what is your special gift? This gift or talent is yours, not for you alone but is to be used to serve others because in serving and making others happy, therein lies your purpose.

My encouragement to you today is in the words of Erma Bombeck,

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

~Erma Bombeck
(Written by Ladé, 2009 © All rights reserved.)

Action is Eloquence

What are your plans for this year? Have you got any? If you have, hopefully you would have written it down? What are you doing to make sure these plans are realised? If you’ve written down your plans then you must take the next step, action. An idea not coupled with action will never get bigger than the paper it’s written on. If you leave your idea, goal or vision written down on paper and you don’t do anything about it, you won’t achieve anything and you won’t realise your dreams.

It’s one thing to have a vision or goal; it’s another to make sure you take the action necessary in order to achieve that goal. The vision must be followed by the venture. If you don’t know how to drive a car, you’ll never be able to drive unless you take driving lessons and pass your test. The first step is having the goal to drive, the other is to book the lessons and take the next step from there. There is no point in wanting to get a degree and not taking the necessary action in order to fulfil that dream. Having vision without corresponding action will get the visionary nowhere fast. If you don’t fill in the application form for that job or apply to that University, how will you know if your plans will materialise? Planning and taking action is important. Having a vision is important for progress in life. What are your plans for your life? Are you going to sit down and watch others achieve their goals in life whilst you sit down and think all the time? My encouragement to you today is to take the necessary step, take action now and do what you have to do in order to achieve your goals. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Talk doesn’t cook rice.” Take action now and leave the talking to others. When deeds speak, words are nothing, says an African proverb. “Action speaks louder than words,” is a wise saying we all know very well. The first step you take will bind you to the second. If you know how to dream then you must know that taking action is the next step to help you realise your dream. It is not enough to stare up the stairs; you must step up and walk up the stairs.

In the words of William Shakespeare, “Action is eloquence.”

God bless you as you take the necessary action to realise your dreams.
(Written by Ladé, 2009 © All rights reserved.)