time out 07

This week i was able to take time out to a lotta new stuff.
I went to an art gallery on Tuesday and i was impressed at seeing so many foreigners and students who come to see a picassso painting and immediately begin drawing it in hopes of catching the picasso inspiration/spirit. Some of the students were really young. There were some very contemporary paintings by young africans that spoke volumes about war, tension, modernisation...



Then i went bowling today...dint know i was that good lol... Thoroughly enjoyed myself since bowling was followed by buffet and it was all paid for by a gud fren.
December feels good..december has always felt good as long as i can remember...i can only look back and be extremely grateful at how much God has done this year.

I remember last year, i could only wonder what this year would be like..and i kept thinking, "God pls dun make 2007 like 2006"..in many ways this year i have had to face bigger challenges but i feel i am so much stronger and mature that i have learned to let God deal with the abstract.

American Gangstar

Waited in eager expectation to see this movie and i was delighted when i visited a friend yestada, only to find the dvd was available so i immediately feasted on it and i was not dissappointed.

Even for Denzel Washington, it was always going to be difficult to play Frank Lucas but he did not dissappoint. Very good piece of acting there.
But in truth, this movie was another Blow, Scarface, Godfather if you like.Pity we have to see the same story evolve in diff lives over and over again but hey, if you like those earlier movies, you'd like this epic too.

Popstar

Exams are finished.
I mean finished finished finished! theres only a half done project to go and i've got till march so as u can guess, i am super relieved.

The new Nickelback song, 'Rockstar' has got to be my favourite song for 2007. I think its a perfect satire about the absurdity of today's city life. So i am embedding the original video.



There's a modified version which i like here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSlqI1AVUk

South African for a day

Rugby is not my sport BUT It was so much fun watching South Africa defeat England in the finals of the Rugby World Cup.
I actually felt like a South African, at least for the 2 hrs or so not least cos of the anthems of "O God bless our native Africa", even the famous Lady Smith Mmambazo did a rendition for the South African national team.

Sports aside, i was thinking a few weeks ago of actually taking stock of this year, to see if i met my goals or if i have made the most of the year (at least in the areas where i din't have any meaningful goals.)

But then i remember how sports matches can change in the last minute because the crucial goal was scored in the dying seconds...so i'll wait till December cos i believe the very best is still ahead. The year seems to have flew on very fast..not that i mind though.

freaked out:

1.what freaks me out: Preachers who claim to be men of God and are leading thousands astray with false teachings.

2. what annoys me: the fact that we christians do not read our bibles, cannot tell left from right and are so easily gullible. Its like we forget to bring our brains to church or something.

3.what scares me: how good this false teachers are. Extremely likeable, very eloquent and use scriptures to back up their heresies.

4.what i am trying to understand? how did it get to this? when did it get so bad? How did we become this gullible?

whats up Michael?

I started the new job officially yestada. Well i must say its much more fun than my previous job (couldn't resist taking a swipe at my old employeres at inti lol).

Will be going for a seminar this weekend...the kind i used to pay for myself except this time, the company is paying. Now i am really enjoying London and will most likely postpone my trip to Nigeria from november to december....funny what a lil bit of money can do to a man huh?

School might suffer a bit but hey....who am i to complain lol? I guess i cannot thank God enough.

I was reading proverbs 31 today about the virtous woman...how she is kind, diligent, makes sure everyone in her home is catered for, her husband and children bless her...how the thrust of her being comes from the fear of the Lord. The bible says women like that are rare so i prayed...."God pls make my wife like that."

Thank you lord!

Its been a while since i updated.
Actually its been ages
Sorry to everyone who came round to read about my birthday over and over again ..dun worry this is one of my longest entires yet lol.
Thanks a lot for all the wishes though..i felt so loved..still feel so

A lots happened since...in my life and in yours so lets cut to the chase
Yay!!!! I got a job
This was God's favour...
If you dun believe in God's favour, lemme tell you what it feels like
On Monday, i was going for a job interview
I was almost as good as dead broke
I had 5 pounds in cash and 1.97 pounds in my bank account (yeah thats one pound, ninety seven pence)
I bought a train ticket for 3.9 pounds, arrived at the penultimate stop and realised that i needed extra 40p cos the next bus was 1.50 pounds.
I cannot withdraw from my acct cos no atm spills out 1.97 pounds lol.
At this stage, i am not even thinking of how i will come back yet.
I said to God, "you gotta help me here.......whats all this about?"
God says, "I jus want you to know the value of a penny so that when the money comes you'll be wise about it."
I'm like.."yeah right, can you at least help me out with the extra 40p?"
I look around the floor, maybe i will see a magical 40p, your guess is as good as mine...nobody leaves a 40p on the floor in london lol.
Eventually i ask a fellow at the bus stop if he can help me with 40p, he's a nice guy but has NO coins...he says. "Tough life"
I walk around again and again, then i go back to the bus stop and ask this dude if he can help me with 40p..turns out he's got loads of coins so he helps me out Yay!!!!!

I arrive at the interview venue laughing at myself as i dun even know how i will go back.
My interviewer says, "Where's you cv?"
(Now i did not bring the cv cos i could not print it out within the short notice)
On realising this, the manager goes, "you wouldn't be having this interview today, how can you come without your cv?"
On hearing this, i am freaking out and thinking, "How can i not have this interview that i just spent my last money on coming here?"
Cut the long story short, miraculously i got the job and i also got some money from the CEO. He asked me to use it for my transport. I later got another money gift that day, i added it to the CEO's gift and i paid rent hahahahaha. So much for transport.

In any case, the job starts officially on Monday and its as an assistant investment analyst. And i am just so grateful to God.
I would have taken a job flipping burgers but i got a dream job by my own standards..its in my field and its what i love to do.

Ts been a pretty fulfilling week...i serve a living God.

This is my now!

There was a time I packed my dreams away.
Living in a shell, hiding from myself.

There was a time when I was so afraid.
I thought I'd reached the end,
But baby that was then
I am made of more than my yesterdays.

This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment.
As I look around
I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.





Ok....its my birthday!!!!...
and i am extremely grateful to God for what has been, what is being and what will be

The way of the planet

Do you ever go through times when you really need someone to talk to but no-one seems to be around? Last weekend was like that for me. I really just felt like talking to someone, talking to a friend, other than pc chatting or internet surfing. I mean i wanted to hear the voice of a living being.
I called my friends in London and for some reason none of them picked up their phones and no returned calls all weekend. I made international calls...even my mum did not pick her phone. The other numbers would not even go thru. All at the same time

Today, a text message from a fren in Malaysia woke me up, btw then and now i have had so many calls from literally everywhere. All those ppl and more all calling within the space of about an hour. Its as if today was my birthday of some sorts. i din't wanna blog but i js got a call few mins ago again. That makes me think...How does this world work? These ppl do not even know each other and it is at worst a pleasant co-incidence and at best God telling me something.

Letting OUT

Well...there's been a lot thats been going on recently...in my mind...in the world and this post is just a major rant on several issues.

1. BLESSED
Well this week is just blessed. i feel like i have risen. I have been recieving practical answers from God on issues that have been bothering me for a while. I believe its God's mercies. I also know its not unconnected to my brothers n sisters al over the world. Lanre sent me the dvd of Dr Jonathan n Pastor Bakare last friday and i have been immersed in that. when i got it, it was in a brown envelope and my name was spelt "Micheal (its supposed to be Michael)" ...and it was put in a batman PS2 casing so i knew it had to be from a NIgerian dude hahax...well i am so grateful. The right word of God is LIFE to me!!!

2. Manchester United Sign 9 yr old wonder boy
Well when i read this i thot...there they go again...public relations campaign and all but after watching the video below, this 9 yr old kid will become a genius soccer player as long he doesnt have any prolonged injuries or attitude crisis. And guess what, this boy's dad send a dvd of his skills to Manchester United, and the club have signed him to their academy. This boy's video has been viewed on youtube close to a million times...i should try posting a video of myself on youtube too, as soon as i can figure out what i am good at doing lol



3. MONEY Still Talks
Now this is about Rupert Murdoch, the much-hated Capitalist who made a fortune on myspace. No, he did not build myspace, be bought it cheap. He also owns most of the newspapers in the world with naked girls on the front page...well, yes He does and thats what we live with over here. We all probably recieve information from Mr Murdoch's empire one way or the other. Either its American idol (fox tv) or the sun or a newspaper in new york or just plain myspace so He's pretty big.
He has been trying to buy Dow-Jones, publisher of Wall Street Journal for about 3 months...he offered 65% premium to shareholders. Majority of Dow Jones is owned by the Bancroft family...a family with a very complex family tree...owners include cousins, brothers, sisters et al. The family at a point vowed not to sell their beloved newspaper with all its legacies to this Capitalist monster, arguing that He would compromise the integrity of the paper. employees, readers, owners...it seemed nobody wanted Mr Murdoch to take over.
i have watched this develoment carefully over the last 3 months and with keen interest been captivated as brothers fought sisters...cousins fought grandparents. Eventually mo than half of the family decided to sell...because at the end of the day..its America and the $$$$ count for more than a dead great granny who left a legacy. Hmmm Interesting.




Mr Murdoch has been married 5 times but i dunno how much that counts for these days..

____________________________________________________________________________________
4. DMX---Lord Give Me A Sign
Well i came across this video by DMX on youtube. Sometime ago, I heard he had become a christian but dint know too much.
I remember in 1999, DMX to me then was the ultimate symbol of a soul that looked God in the eye and said NO. i was crazy at the time too and i loved DMX for it.
Well times change, it seems today He's humble, surrendering and saying YES to God. I am crazier today than i was in 1999 and i love DMX even more for this. cheers Bro


____________________________________________________________________________________

5. The Human Stock Exchange (7 for 1)
I need the help of basketball fans here. Celtic bought Kevin Garnett (10-time NBA all star player) from Minnesota in exchange for 7 players...yes the numbers are real and the figures have not been made up. Pls someone explain this to me in simple english.

What the Bombs could NOt take away

Question: What is it this time...Manchester United?
Answer: No...its he Iraqi National Football Team

Question: So Iraq has a national football team eh?
Answer: Not just that, they won the Asian Cup yestada beating Saudi Arabia 1-0

Question: NO...is it just like a middle east cup or something? Are u sure its soccer you are talking about?
Answer: This was the Asian cup in Jakarta, Indonesia with participants including Japan, Australia, Malaysia etc.

Question: Wow...how did they do it?
Answer: Thats what everybody in the world is wondering. The team included players from Sunni, Shitte and Kurdish tribes. None of the players was untouched by the war. Its the soccer story of the year. Though its not exactly a happy camp going back

Question: Why is it not a happy camp?
Answer: Well there is no camp going back. Mahmoud, who was named best player of the tournament, said one of the tragedies of the war was that the team would not even be able to return to Iraq with the trophy.

'I wish we could go, but you just don't know who will kill you,' he said.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Well...its inspiring to know that these warring tribes can play together in a team and win a major tournament.

2 Ponderables

...Burj Dubai..under construction


...................................


...Taipei 101



................................

Number 1
I remember watching Superman/Smallville...and in one episode Clark's father tells the young superman honestly, "Son, no matter how strong you are, there will always be someone stronger than you."
With the exception of God, and while limiting the context to this world, "there will always be a bigger, better, faster, taller, more beautiful, richer". If you doubt, just ask Bill Gates..now he's no 2 richest. But more interesting is the new world's tallest building...the burj Dubai which is taller than the one in Taiwan, which was taller than the one in China, which was taller than The famous Twin towers in Malaysia, which was taller than the ones Osama blew off in 2001 in New York. Interestingly, after being acclaimed as the new world's tallest, the chairman of the developing company then issues this statement, "Its a fact of life, someone will build something taller than yours at some point". Quite profound.. I doubt if the tower of Babel would have come close to any of these four buildings i have posted.


...Jimao Building, China

................................

...the twin towers in Malaysia...(thats me n Oguchi)

..........................



Number 2
Pls take a very good look at this moron below:



..........................

this criminal was a governor of Taraba state, Nigeria up until a few months ago. Name is Reverend Jolly Nyame. Well on investigations of corruption, His Highness, this so-called reverend actually confesses to looting/stealing over 2.25 billion naira (well over 18.75 million US dollars ) of his people's money. He hopes that by confessing, he may just be forgiven. What did he spend the money on? well just a few aircrafts and other things he cannot remember....maybe we shld play nice and be good christians and forgive our dear Reverend...yeah right!!! No way! This crook should be dealt the highest punishment possible to serve as an example to the others. Yes there are many others, but we are happy to deal with this son of a *** first. Sorry Rev, appeal rejected. Read full story here
Geaorge Bush wouldnt dare go this low, neither would Abdullah Badawai or Tony Blair or GB so u guys (non-Nigerians)...ur leaders could be a lot worse

a sparK of newNess

Breadth of Fresh Air
I feel like i'll be the one throwing some deadly blows pretty soon. Well i am in much better shape.. feel like a breath of fresh air. i am exactly sure why... maybe its cause i spoke to mum this afternoon and we had a couple of really good laughs...or maybe it was the odd call to my broker...or oguchi's call or ..the other calls...or your comments [ayoks, MunK, Princessa, FO, Jeff], sure felt good to hear sheep in a bright mood or maybe it was a lil bit of everything. God knows there are some battles where the strength we draw from others carries us a long way. Thats y He brings those ppl into our lives. Well i feel very close to a million dollars now. Getting close to my contagiously joyful self again


OOps
Well i missed church again today. I really wanted to go especially since i missed it 2 weeks in a row (now 3). Can't remember the last time i went on such a long honeymoon. Its a long story but they are the usual excuses...exams...then woke up late...then met up wif a fren i havent seen for ages...went for dinner, transformers...woke up late or rather went to bed late. I'll be the first on tuesday evening prayer meeting tho...ts my favourite service and i can't wait. Btw i am currently studying 1st Corinthians and i was struck by Paul's humility in Chapter 4 when the man says "my conscience is clear but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me" Its weird cos theres a general feeling that if your conscience is clear, u'r innocent, which is not entirely wrong but the catch here is the man's humility towards the only One who can truly judge.

Transformers vs ShawShank
Well, Transformers was animated, flashy, action packed, full of effects but it din't win me over. Story seemed patchy at best. I enjoyed the comedic parts tho...the indian call center, robotic humour et al.



I did watch ShawShank Redemption this weekend too...bought the DVD. This is an old film, i think early 90's cos i was in high schl when it came out. Its a beautiful story of HOPE and it obviously was the blueprint for Prison Break. if u have not seen this movie, pls watch..its a thrill and it delivers as it voyages round hoping against hope and the human search and ability to deal with freedom.
And while u are at that, the book, "the Burden of Freedom" by Myles Munroe is a good read anyday, in the same line. Its one of those books Myles wrote when he still used to write in simple language. In a scene in Shawshank, Morgan freeman finally lives jail and gets a job. The following dialogue ensues between Morgan Freman and his boss:
Morgan: Boss, can i take a break to piss?
Boss: (waves Morgan to come closer so no-one can hear)"You don't have to take permission from me everytime you wanna take a piss?"
Morgan: (speaks to himself) "For 40 years i have taken permission to piss"

The point is that freedom comes with responsibility, with choice..what we do with our freedom in Christ determines our destiny. Nobody bosses you around anymo or chains you with bondages, depression or whatever issues. But now, we have a responsibility of how to handle the new found freedom...what we do with our lives....

Have a splendid week!!

Fighting Still

Growing up, i loved action movies, loved watching fight scenes, boxing martial art and all those adrenalin pumping rocky, no retreat no surrender, ninjamania and schwarzenger's conan. Funny thing tho i never for one second liked the idea of fighting myself. I was not scared of losing but i always thot of the cost. if i fought a guy and won, he probably would still hit me a few times and i could still be significantly injured. growing up reinforced the idea in me cos boys that couldnt fight would fight dirty. They'd break a bottle on your head.

So why am i talking about fighting. Well this stage of myself can best be summarised as " Fighting ". Its no doubt tough and i have been getting knocked around quite a while in the last few days. Not literally though. i am going through the fights of life that define you. I know i will not lose but i am scared i'll end up really wounded. I need to condition myself, trust His Love more, move in faith, step up one more level but its easier said than done. Just like a boxer, even when i am down, i know its not over yet as long as i get up one more time.

Am i bruised? yes
Am i feeling the pain of the blows? yes
Is my adversary strong? of course
Then why am i not out of the contest? Because i know that defeat comes when i resign and give up. As long as i am hanging in there, there's a chance His Love will bring the victory. I remember friends, brothers, sisters, memories, scriptures, experiences and i try to draw hope against hope that somehow victory will be mine. I sure could use a prayer.


On a Lighter Note
Thankfully i will always have time for a good laugh so here we go:
Mr Al Gore, the US president-reject turned grammy winning environmentalist who preaches the gospel of saving the planet, animals, environment, plants (everything except saving humans) shocked us all yesterday. The man who won a grammy for asking us to eat less, drink less, use smaller cars, dress down, live in darkness, shop and dun take packages, recycle our can drinks, become a vegetarian or just plainly fast as much as possible did not practice what he preached. The lust of the erm..environment we shall call it.
At his daughter's wedding party, the Chilean sea fish was served. This fish is one of the most endangered in the world. So how did Reverend Gore become a carnivore?
Well you can't have them all. The family tried to keep the event green (environmentally friendly) as possible putting non-endangered species on the menu. Somewhere someone overlooked this fish or maybe it was just asking too much of a man's appetite. Read the article here

Here we go

I was tagged by Jeff shortly before my exams ended, now is time to pay it forward.
Here are the rules of the Crazy Eights meme:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.


Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.




8 THINGS YOU Don't Know ABOUT ME (ER..you probably know 1 or 2 lol)

1. My first name really should be Junior by Nigerian standards (thankfully its not)

2. I have seen more cities and towns in Malaysia than Nigeria (even tho i only spent four yrs in Malaysia compared to about twenty in Nigeria)

3. I used to be a chained smoker. I made a deal with God in 2001, "i will quit smoking if you make me pass this terrible PHY101 exam". God kept his part of the bargain and i kept mine lol.

4. I started acting dramas in church at the age of 6

5. Presently, my favourite song is This is my now...by Jordin Sparks.
p.s. its playing now

6. I am a big..big fan of both George Bush and Tony Blair (there have been much worse leaders in history + George has a spine + Tony never loses)

7. i am from a small town in Ogun State, Nigeria called Sagamu and i love it there... (i'll usually listen to Carrie Underwood's "I aint in checotah (sagamu) anymore" to reminisce)

8. I really thot this list of 8 was never gonna end....

_______________________________________________________________________________

Tags: i am tagging a few pple whom i have been reading their blogs silently for a while. Here we go


1. Priscilla

2. Jolyn

3. Chris

4. Princess

5. Funmi

6. Aaron

7. Alvin

8. Valentine

Time to pay it forward

Almost There

Exams have been much better than i expected. That was such a blessing. Considering my Tennis-styled exam preparations, the first 3 papers i took were really good (din't think i was gonna say that hehe).
i have got one more to go tomoro...hope the streak continues

Spoke to parents yestada, turns out dad had to go for surgery on saturday. Mum was tellin me the name of the symptom/condition/case but i frankly have no idea (u know what medical conditions sound like). I was quite pleased to learn that dad's ok now, surgery went well. i spoke to him, his new car is also here. My God knows all and is strong enough to keep my folks hail, healthy and hearty.

I have been thinkin a lot about hope the past 3 days. I remember situations in my life (not too long ago) when i felt hopeless but today its a whole different story. Hopelessness is real, you have to look no further than rates of depression and suicide. You begin to get the feeling that that's it, you can't make it, you'r stuck, dreams are crushed, its like u loose the will to live. But the joy of the Lord can swallow all hopelessness.

With Jesus, there is always always a case for hope. You just have to think about the last time you were in trouble and thought you wouldn't make it through BUT you made it through somehow and today you probably have forgotten the ordeal.

On a lighter note, i got tagged by Jeff whose blog is quite interesting(http://psychosomaticwit.blogspot.com/) so my next post is 8 random habits/facts about myself...and i will be taggin some unfortunate bloogers.

a case for hope

"within each of us lies a storm
Some believe it will never end
But he who has faith in the heavens
will weather any storm".....R. Kelly

How true

OOooouuuuchh!!

that was a sound i heard as i was trying to cross the road. It was the cry of a little girl when her mum who was driving was going to hit an unfortunate pedestrian (a certain Michael Temitope). I thot i had looked twice but if you know me, then you probably know by now that i was at fault hehe. But the car din't hit me, thanks to that little girl screaming in time for mum to slam the brakes. Thank God!!!

BLOW

This is one of the earlier movies by Johnny Depp. He was much younger and had not yet become a pirate or think of goin to the carribeans which he is now so famous for. I had watched it wayback in Nigeria but i watched again yesterday night.

It's about a boy (Johnny Depp as George) who grew up with a poor but hardworking father. Father was a plumber and never earned enough. Mum always screamed and vent frustration on dad. Mum left so many times but always came back. George always begged mum not to leave but she'd always leave. Everytime she came back, dad took her in with open arms (sounds like God ya). Anyway the thrust of the story is that George vows never to be poor.

When George was about 20, he went to Carlifornia and he thot the people were happy, the girls were beautiful and to cut the story short he became a drug dealer and made lots of money. The story is full of up and downs of George's life, love, business, in-jail, outta jail, marriage, becoming a father.

The highlight is somewhere along the line when George loses his money cos the Feds catch up with him. Now he's got a beautiful Columbian wife (Penelope Cruz) and a daughter and he's broke. The wife starts screaming, venting frustration and threatening to leave just as his mum had done years on. The same thing he vowed to run away from was staring him in the face.

Aside the usual excesses, i thot it was a very good movie/biography/life story.

The Others

It was good to hear from Ayoks....

missed chattin with Sheep on friday...class was on and.....think i'll get scolded lol

you guessed it..Venus did it!

Wimbledon Women's Tennis vs Exam fever

.... *****........ ******* ........ ****** ..... ok i hav been tryin to study for my exam which starts on monday but i can't get to it so i thot i could blog a bit

The Wimbledom's Women's Tennis is way more interesting than the men's. and yours truly has been grossly captivated by some of the more fierce battles.

Venus Williams beat Sharapova yestada in a match that John McEnroe (legendary tennis player) described as the best he has ever seen Venus play. I enjoyed it cos it a lot not least cos it was more fun than studying.

Today she demolished another helpless Russian to storm into the semis... Justine Henin is the one on fire tho and tournament favourite but i am really hoping its de javu for Venus who always wins when u least expect her to.

In the back of my head i can hear those lingering thots, "Have you studied those investment ratios? Cost Volume Profit Analysis? Total Quality Management?" Of Course Venus and tennis sound simpler and much more interesting at the moment than any ratio....

Rollercoaster Friday

ok so i and my colleagues in a group of 7 had been preparing for this tedious presentation. we were supposed to have presented last week but the lecturer kept changing the requirements. i really thot this was gonna be one horrible presentation. It ended up being a really good one. So i thot why not go to central london and chill out b4 going home.

London Bomb Scare
well initially the main hotspots were taped off by polie cause they were scared of 'u know what'.
Fortunately the 'u know whats' were discovered by accident else 'u know what' cos there were abt 1700 ppl around there

Jermyn street
Jermyn street is a famous shirt-making street where i often pass many times and wish i could get one of dem shirts. Well on fiday, i jus took went in, pickecd a shirt, dint have much money but i jus thot i wanted to treat myself

Canada day
i was around leicester square and i saw these huge crowd..apparaently a rock group was performing right next to the canadian embassy.. it was this huge exhibition with posters of canada everywhere. it was fun. i guessed its probably the national day is around or something. Ayoks will have somethin to say abt that, i'm sure.


Moroccan Marrakesh
To celebrate the success of our presentation, my fren, Ali who works in a Morrocan restaurant called 'Marrakesh' invited me to come and have fun.. So after leaving the canada placei went to Marrakesh. its quite different from anythin i've seen...The sittin arrangement's very different..everyone sits round..my fren said they used to have belly dancers n all. Anyway to the food, it was something called Lamb Tangine which tasted like something from the mid-east, more pakistani than indian definitely...it was potatoes and lamb in some spicy stew with white pitta bead well cut. The best part was i dint have to pay cos my fren sponsored. that was a relief now cos i was happy enuf to stay at home and microwave some frozen food before the offer.

Grandma's burial
Anyway i got home and called my parents. My grandma's burial ceremony was completed yestada. They think they missed me at the event. I am thinking i missed the whole event. Anyway it ws good to hear their voices even though they were obviously very tired.

Thank you for your mercy
'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness o LOrd'

stay blessed...n remain in Him

Relief

A couple of tough weeks done with: Praise God.
i submitted all my asignments today...finally
Even tho exam is just about 10 days away,
i am so relieved at gettin the assignments done with

I moved to a new house last week... (close to school n church yay!!!)
my roommate is a guy from Czech republic
with a seemingly simple life:
Go to work, eat, watch tv, sleep.
i am sure i'll see mo of the other parts soon.
(p.s. do not be decieved, there is no such thing as a simple life, God made us to do much more, problem is many times those dimensions of excitement, interest, adventure and destiny only live in our minds and fantasies)

Yes! my stocks are doing well (http://wisefinance.blogspot.com/)...all thanks to God..
I am trying to be able to visit Nigeria this christmas..really hope i can make it
Finally watched Oceans 13..dem dudes really make stealing look that easy...
Jumping a bus in London is hard enough (chuckles)

stay blessed y'all

Amazing Grace

I'm sure you can remember that hymn...
Originally composed by John Newton, a man named John Rees added a new verse that has become part of the song for a while.... I am hooked on this new verse..love it...enjoy.....

"When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun."

Wild @ Heart

In John Edridge's book "wild at heart", he proposes some very interesting ideas. These were discussed in a MUSCLE meeting in church the other day. And i was wondering, what do you think about this thoughts. here they are:

Every boy/man wants:
1. a battle to fight
2. An adventure to live
3. a beauty to rescue

Every girl/woman wants:
1. to be wanted (to be pursued)
2. an adventure to share
3. a beauty to unveil


Do you identify with any of these....let me know your thots. If you are not sure about what i have written, think about the movies you have liked and still like. Were there times where you have dreamed of being the hero, the one to rescue the princess or the girl, OR were there time when you wanted to be the beautiful one being rescued.

Btw i am adding this link http://www.myspace.com/1gems, its for a brother in my church who raps bblssfully with powerful Spirit-inspired lyrics..check it out. His name is gems.

stay blessed.

UntimelY UpDatE

Of course an update is overdue
So many missin links...lets tie it up now

double swoop
i have got two new housemates, the best part is one is from Malaysia, the other is from Nigeria that's even mo interesting considering its coming at a time when i am contemplating
moving to a new house so i am thinking.... do i still wanna move?
Hold the thought.......

exams? what exams?
can u imagine that my exams are in a month's time...gosh!! how time flies.. and assignments still piling but its no point moaning over exams anyway.

England vs Brazil?
i did not want to watch this match even tho ppl were goin crazy over this match in London. Anyway a lot of strange things happened.
1st: i supported England, that is so weird cos i never support English national football team,
i guess i felt sympathetic.
i went to the the nigerian embassy n i decided at the last minute to giv myself a treat and watch the match at a sports bar ...which was not bad. (everyone who was not British was supporting Brazil...erm except yours truly)

Miracles
this week, i have had phone calls waking me up with good news.
on monday i think, a fren from malaysia woke me up with some real good news that i was excited throughout the whole day..days lateranother call from nigeria..
this morning, someone called and gave me a gift of 300 pounds (incidentally, i had gone to bed thinking about money hehe). God sure knows how to surprise. erm...btw keep the calls coming lol

Grandma farewell
Well my grandma passed away about a month ago, but it aint so sad cos she was quite old, a strong woman who lived a legacy many of which i admire. she also knew God. Anyway mum called, and she wants me to write a farewell greeting on behalf of all the grandsons which will be in the program notes later this month at the final burial ceremony.

Going to manchester
One of my mum's frens is having a birthday 5 hours away in manchester,
i have been sent a return bus ticket to go join them for the weekend so iam really looking forward to that. besides manchester is where my favourite football team is so there'll be no shortage of sight-seeing.

MUSCLE
Men Under Spiritual Construction and Life Empowerment.
thats the name of my church men's group and we have a meeting in 30 minutes.God has been veryfaithful to me the last few weeks even in the frequency and power of His revelatory word.


i'll be stopping here for now...hopefully this is a return to active blogging.
love you and stay blessed

Thank You!!!

This week was js amazing. I had so many breakthrus
i cant help but sense that someone or some ppl were
praying for me. So this is saying thank you.

A lot happened this week that started with me feeling
real sick but at the end, The Lord is more than faithful
coming through for me in so many ways.

"Let every thing that has breadth praise the Lord"

i am sorry i have not been in touch, bear with me for
that short while, there's so much i wanted to do this
last week that i could not do.

Restaurant Mathematics 101

a fren put this in frenstar, n i thot it was realy cool. u mite need a calculator if u r as bad in maths as me...ur handphone calculator will do anyway.


YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT
Don't tell me your age;
-but your waiter may know!

YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH
This is pretty neat.
DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute .
Work this out as you read ...
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat.
more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (justto be bold)
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1757 ....If you haven't, add 1756.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
You should have a three digit number

The first digit of this was your original number (I.e., how! Many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)
The next two numbers areYOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)
THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2007) IT WILL EVER WORK,
SO SPREAD IT AROUND

Life in a Fridge

its really cold here. its been for about 3 days..
feels like living in a really big fridge with the
only consolation being there's other people
there with you.

i think i am catchin a fever or something,
couldnt go to church this morning.
Trying to keep warm...

Hopefully it gets better real soon...
Summer is supposed to be approaching

the spirit of Balaam

This posting is for you who love the word of God. Its a posting from my heart, about what God is revealing to me.

In the book of Jude verse 11, we are warned against the way of Balaam. A superficial look at the story tells us that Balaam was a prophet of God who was hired by the King of Moab to curse the Israelites (children of God) because the King of Moab was very scared of them. Perhaps if they were cursed, he could defeat them in battle.

God told Balaam very clearly that the Israelites were blessed and could notbe cursed. More money was offered Balaam and to cut the long story short, he accepted. But he could not curse them, he found himself blessing the Israelites more and more.

How amazing that whatever the enemy tries, we are blessed, a chosen people, royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.

You wish the story ended there....

Reading Further on the last chapters of Numbers, we find a dark twist to the tale. Balaam, knowing that these people were blessed and could not be cursed resulted to something that the book of Proverbs tells us leads to the grave.

He advised the people of Moab to seduce the Israelites, seduce them into sexual relatons with their women, into worshipping their gods, into becoming like the moabites, seduce them into separation from their One true God. If they could seduce these children of God, surely this holy nation would lose its holiness. Sadly this devious plan worked, it took a plague from God and the death of over 24000 Israelites for sanity to be restored.

The spirit of Balaam is the spirit of the enemy, its the spirit of the devil. It is still at work today trying to destroy the children of God thru subtle ways just like it did Eve in the garden.

Let those who have ears listen.

This story can be found in Numbers chapter 22 to chapter 31.

Famous @ Tussauds

Well, its bank holiday weekend here..no school till tuesday next week So i took the chance to meet up with Vicky. We went to 'Madame Tussauds'

That's the place where you get to meet the wax version of all your favourite celebrities. I must add, they look very real.

Then there's this dark horror chamber where they try to scare u as much as possible :hands come up from walls tryin to touch you and all creepy stuf which will ensure that you scream,and this cinema place where the screen is on top instead of in frontof you.

In all, i had an amazing day out and here are some pictures.Thx Vicky!!!

It all started when Oprah Winfrey insisted on interviewing me..***

Then Justin Timberlake requested a pose together

Martin Luther looks very much alive and still nursing that 'dream'

Now what celebrity list would be complete without Mr George Bush and Tony Blair

Hmmm....i found 'roast pork noodles'...not bad tasting

Christian or Christ-like

Childish or Childlike? That was a really good one from Mun Khea. It awakened my interest in vocabulary.
Here are some more words that sound/look similar,but might mean something quite different. ....the 3rd one is the tricky bit.

1. advise, advice:'advise' is a verb - it describes something you do: I advise you to take care. 'Advice' is a noun - it describes a thing: My advice is, be careful. This also applies to the other -ise, -ice pairs, such as practise and practice; -ise means a verb, -ice a noun

2. continual, continuous:'continual' means recurring frequently; 'continuous' means without interruption.

3. Here's the BEST.
Christian or Christ-like: What do you think?

Last Word: I have not forgotten the Michael's Breakthru Version 1.0. Work in Progress.

2 Questions & a new Version

Question 1
Everything was almost perfect. I was in class studying some crazy interesting topic about how to calculate Net Present Value.The lecturer is one of those monster teachers except he's a brilant good monster. I am siting next to a finance lawyer from Bogota, Columbia whose being sponsored by his company.Next to him is a lady chattered acountant from India. While three of us are trying very hard to enjoy everymoment of this lazy man's acounting subject, then it happens, my phone rings,i get a very important call from Nigeria, should i pick it?

Answer: You guessed it. if i dint wanna pick i should just have left the phone at home haha

Question 2
On a more biblical note, why did God create the man Adam, instead of the boy Adam? why was Adam not born a baby like the rest of us?

Answer: If you are thinking, then that's all the answer that'll make me happy. Just wanted you to think on this one.

New Bible Version
Romans 8:1 (Michael's Breakthrough Version 1.0)
After all that has been said so far, It is obvious that nobody can condemn the beliver, no situation can make the believer feel condemned or useless. By being in Christ Jesus, the believer stands way above condemnation.

Last word: Tel me what you think about this bible version, i might just do some mo verses. cheers

luv UnitEd

Background info:

i vowed to stop being a soccer freak this May.

The good news is i have got one mo month

so i'll jus load it all on you for now.

My apologies if u dun lyk soccer

the meat:

i love Manchester United!!

i love Rooney and Ronaldo

those are 2 talented boys

that are younger than me

i luv everyone associated with united

thr's few things i luv mo than united

if u know me, then u know what those are

the reason:

u guessed it

i jus came back from seeing one of the matches

and it was breathtaking

let me put it in some borrowed words

"this victory was steeped in courage, grit and determination"

side-gist:

i watched the match in a London bar

and that is such an experience

u feel as if u r in the stadium

u feel as if u scored the goal

the atmosphere is jus delirous

final word:

i'm probably this excited cos the match really livened up my day.

u can too...leave a comment

The place of exchange

it is a place of transition
a place where inhibitions give way to release
in the face of an awesome God
my weakness gives way to His strength
my frustrations for untold joy
its hardly a mystery,the good book says,
"His strength is made perfect in my weakness"
"the joy of the Lord is my strength"
it goes on,
"in His presence, there's fullness of joy"
in the twinkling of an eye
in that moment
the sadness and weakness of the human spirit
is exchanged for strength and JOy immeasurable
of a loving and mighty Creator-God
those are the moments when u dun wanna leAve.
the place of exchange,
it could happen in a service
in your room
or just somewhere, anywhere really
its not the physical place
its that junction in the spirit
where i have come again and again
after the world drains me of vigour
How i love that placewhere it all happens,
How i love even more,
the One that makes it happEn
if u have been there,
u know what i'm talking about
if noT, u need to find it

On a free day

Not much to do today so i walked round my neighbourhood and took pictures with my phone. it was a beautiful day as i also got my cheque book and debit card (p.s. u'll get a cheque book and a debit card here no matter how litte you have but the feeling's good).

And so i, erm i jumped straight to amazon.com to order two books, on is a textbook i need, one is an investment book i have wanted to buy for a while. Well here are the pictures.

And for my new found love of poems written by others, i am posting 'the creed' by steve turner at the end. Its a beautiful satire that makes fun of how we humans live...pointing out the ironies with a touch of humour.

This was on friday in school at a party for new students. These south Americans are dancing salsa

this is the house i stay on Ermine Road, Lewisham, London.

This is the street overview...Ermine road

This is a very green and beautiful park nearby

strange cos london is such a busy metropolitan city but thank God for few sparks of the beauty of creation like this just beside the chaotic urban

Creed....by Steve Turner

This is the creed I have written on behalf of all us.

We believe in Marx, freud and darwin

We believe everything is OK

as long as you don't hurt anyone,

to the best of your definition of hurt,

and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before,

during, and after marriage.

We believe in the therapy of sin.

We believe that adultery is fun.

We believe that sodomy is OK.

We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything is getting better

despite evidence to the contrary.

The evidence must be investigated

And you can prove anything with evidence.
We believe there's something in horoscopes, UFO's and bent spoons;

Jesus was a good man just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves.

He was a good moral teacher although we think His good morals were bad.
We believe that all religions are basically the same

-- at least the one that we read was.

They all believe in love and goodness.

They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing

Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing.

If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,

then it's compulsory heaven for all

excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.

What's selected is average.

What's average is normal.

What's normal is good.
We believe in total disarmament.

We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.

Americans should beat their guns into tractors and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.

It's only his behavior that lets him down.

This is the fault of society.

Society is the fault of conditions.

Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.

Reality will adapt accordingly.

The universe will readjust.

History will alter.

We believe that there is no absolute truth

excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.
We believe in the rejection of creeds,

and the flowering of individual thought.

"Chance" .......a post-script
If chance be the Father of all flesh,

disaster is his rainbow in the sky, and when you hear
State of Emergency! Sniper Kills Ten!

Troops on Rampage! Whites go Looting! Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.

One guy didn't

Three guys were tried for crimes against humanity.
Two guys committed crimes.
One guy didn't.

Three guys were given government trials.
Two guys had fair trials.
One guy didn't.

Three guys were whipped and beaten.
Two guys had it coming.
One guy didn't.

Three guys were given crosses to carry.
Two guys earned their crosses.
One guy didn't.

Three guys were mocked and spit at along the way.
Two guys cursed and spit back.
One guy didn't.

Three guys were nailed to crosses.
Two guys deserved it.
One guy didn't.

Three guys agonized over their abandonment.
Two guys had reason to be abandoned.
One guy didn't.

Three guys talked while hanging on their crosses.
Two guys argued.
One guy didn't.

Three guys knew death was coming.
Two guys resisted.
One guy didn't.

One.
Two.
Three guys died on three crosses.

Three days later.
Two guys remained in their graves.
One guy didn't!!!
...author unknown... but what i do know is that the one guy who did not remain in the grave has given me hope..hope that i will overcome all my failings...that i will make it through....how grateful am i that he did not remain in the grave. Thank you Jesus!

iN puRsuiT of happYness

TodaY was an amazing day for all sorts of reasons..got up very early, rushed all chores, got out of the house b4 8 am, had a job interview at a place i was unsure of ,for a job i was unsure of.
i found the place and saw that everyone who wanted the job had somethin in common with me, all students from other nations...bangladesh, germany, mauritius, india, greece.

..... ..... ..... ..... .....

At the end of a day when i had made some little money, there was a lot of reflection goin on in my head in the bus ride home. A certain Michael Temitope had seen more than enuf for one day. From expensive non-essentials to promiscous media, wise evangelism to philosophic jargons...forgive my over-the-edge grammar..

i started to consider questions or rather, answers, or maybe they r jus realities.. and in that state of deep reflection, it came to me...all men have dreams...but life has enuf wiles to suck out desire and leave only a desperate fight for survival..what man trades off in the pursuit of happyness..why many give up their dreams..why many cling on to hopeless addictions..how distraction ceases to become a luxury..

BUt caN oNe reallY gamBle wiTh desTinY? the consequences are grave.. we livE in a world where what we beliEve iS Not what is POppulAr..but can there ever be an excuse to deny our calling? Can wE tell God that the sinfulnEss of tHe croWd made Us compacent or even disTraCted? yEt Jesus lived, preached, performed miracles and died amidst the orgy of the crowd of siNNers chanting "cRuciFy hIm!!"

Now i almost feel as if i see what wAs goiN on in tHe background wheN josHua challenGed, "ChoOse yE tHis dAy wHom yE wIll seRve, aS foR Me and mY housEhold, we will seRve tHe LoRd"..JosHua 24:15

sO heLp mE GoD.

p.s. i'm not always this serious but at times its helpful to take a more introspectful approach on tHe biG issues

a dose of 3ncouragement

A while back i met Lydia Than, a very enthusiastic girl who was vice president of care club, INTI College and yours truly was president. I invited her to church and she gave her life to CHrist that Sunday. That made our relationship stronger..we became mo than frens and i still consider her my lil sister to date.

Well she left for australia to study and she got involved with the ministry of planet shakers. She lead a cell group and discipled a girl named Vicky for about a year and half. I met Vicky yesterday,and it was an amazing encouragement to both of us. How God works...from kuching, Malaysia to Melbourne Australia, to London GB. When we disciple a person,we never know where God will take that life. Lydia is now intercessor for her campus ministry

I had a really nice and inspiring chat wih Vicky..walked thru LOndon....................starbucks in between...London Bridge which does not look like it will fall down anytime soon (that's a joke for those who remember the nursery song..London bridge is falling down)...the eye of London..the big ben...the house of parliament..and all those Robin-Hood-castle like buildings

At the end of the day, it was not the serenity of London that stayed with me though, it was in hearing the maturity of Vicky and how much of it she attributed to Lydia. That is encouraging like no amount of money you can get. i remember discipling Lydia and wondering if she got the message...how i worried...how would she fare in australia..would she have the right frens around? i guess i should just have trusted that God would complete what He started in her

Surely the greatest investments are lives and one should never cease to pour into lives because we never know the grandeur of what God is building, i certainly have learned that.

Here are a few pictures of wat's been happening with me:

Here's Vicky at the Victoria Station, London

My Turkish Housemate Haroun..nice guy

This is church.told you there's lotsa pl...and they've got these thing with the lights.

Converging Thots.....

why i started this blog

i love the way you guys could pour your heart out on these pages and thot i might as well do the same Also knowing i'm a couple of miles away...i'd love to give an update of what's up with me....And yes...i'm extremely excited cos there is a world to come (Hebrews 2:5, check it out) and its about us!...how could i be quiet about that?..as if that was not enuf...reading oguchi, grace, sherene's, yan hui's etc blog made me start hehe

london

its mo than a week here now, i'm gettin used to the buses, the currency. one of the courses i'm taking is financial management and analysis...covering topics like valuation of bonds and shares, dividend policy...i'm excited about that cos that's why i wanted to study mba. Lecture is still a week away. i'll be opening a bank acount on wednesday..p.s. my digi line's still working..thx for the messages....*keep em coming

first miracle

Well, it takes four weeks for an international student to open an account here...and all i have is a bank draft and a few pounds. My landlord however needs 725 pounds cash... Well i found favour with a lady here who is my mum's fren..she borrowed me enuf to cover all bills...yeah!!

easter sunday

i went to 'new wine church'. i thot i'd get lost but guess wat? it was so easy to find...i dint even have to ask any question. It was an amazing experience. The songs, choir presentations made me cry at times...how powerful the story of easter? the church must have about 3000 members but u dun feel too lost tho. Here's the best part, the pastor, Dr. Tayo adeyemi who by the way preaches very well used to be a student of my dad in medical school.

the mesage of easter

its this: "Jesus thot i was worth it"

He thot i was worth every lash, every pain.

Now i have to believe in the ONE who first Believed in ME

Thank you Jesus.

63 months and 7 days ago, i gave my life to Christ. i was from a christian family but i had strayed far away in my teens. It was His Love that sought me out and found me.

i remember the first christian book i bought cost me 750 Nigerian naira..that's about US$5. it was a prayer by 'Bruce Wilkinson'...the prayer of jabez.

'Oh that you would bless me indeed

that you would expand my territory
that your hand would be with me
that you would keep me from evil

that i might not cause pain'..1st Chronicles 4:10

If God could answer the simple prayer of an unwanted child, surely there must be hope for me.

Looking back, it looks like God has done more than just answer my own prayer. Its been Blessings...and blessings....and blessings from the steets of Sagamu to an almost wishful catcity in east Malaysia,and now to the capital city, London..its been a thrillig ride-mo than i could have wished so far

Reflecting on the past 5 yrs...i just have to start this blog with an ounce of'Appreciation' to my Sustainer....that surely is the loudest cry in my heart

Accompanying such gratefulness lies an untold urgency that makes my heart leap...that's the next blog.
Well settled in London...God's favour abounds even in less than a week here.

His light will shine!!!