The Scars Of Life

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida , a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.

Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the 

Alligator snatched his legs.

That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy.

We have scars, too.

No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past.

Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you.

You are a child of God.

He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead.

The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack.

That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful.

He did not and will not ever let you go.

Please pass this on to those you love.

God has blessed you, so that you can be a blessing to others.

You just never know where a person is in his/her life and what they are going through.

Never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they got them.

Also, it is so important that we are not selfish, to receive the blessings of these messages, without forwarding them to someone else.

Right now, someone needs to know that God loves them, and you love them, too - enough to not let them go .

#DrJTF

The TRUE and REAL meaning of Love

 I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.

Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it:

"As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to possess it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds".

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love.

They try to possess it; they demand; they expect; and just like the water

spilling out of your hand, love will retreat from you.

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature.

If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect.

Advise, but don't order.

Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly

Practice.

It is the secret to true love.

To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those

Who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

PASSING THOUGHT... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we

Take; but by the moments that take our breath away.

#DrJTF

Think about it!!!!!!!!!! !

(Author unknown) 

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country side with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.

'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father

The son answered:

'I saw that we have one dog

and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden

and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden

and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard

and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on

and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us,

but they serve others.

We buy our food,

but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us,

they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

And if you like your friends, why not share this with them

Sharing is Caring and it is Loving

#DrJTF

Count To 10 Before You Speak

If you react immediately to criticism then you’ll often react in a knee-jerk manner. And the words that come out may be overemotional, vicious and unnecessary. Count to at least 10 after someone has criticized you. Then respond. 

This simple way of calming yourself down and regaining some perspective can save you a lot of trouble and help you avoid saying something you can’t take back. 

It’s a good approach to avoid creating unnecessary problems.

Maybe you’ve heard this one before. It’s a great and practical way to look at criticism. It might be extra useful when dealing with angry, destructive criticism and nasty personal attacks.

“A man interrupted one of the Buddha’s lectures with a flood of abuse. Buddha waited until he had finished and then asked him, “If a man offered a gift to another but the gift was declined, to whom would the gift belong?” 

“To the one who offered it,” said the man. 

“Then,” said the Buddha, “I decline to accept your abuse and request you to keep it for yourself.”

Simply don’t accept the gift of a criticism. You don’t have to. Then it still belongs to the person who offered it. 

Culled 

Oga And Madam

A man and his wife are both working and leave the house almost about the same time daily. However the wife comes back earlier than the husband.

They have 2 kids (a boy and a girl) and a house maid named Nkechi

Nkechi is the one that bathes the kids in the morning, prepares them for school including preparing their lunch and packing their lunch boxes; she is the one that waits with the kids for the bus to come and takes them into the bus; she is the one that welcomes them back from school when the bus drops them and ensures that they do their homework (if any).

While the kids are at School and Oga and Madam are at work, Nkechi tidies the house, she cleans the Master Bedroom, tidies up the bed that Oga and Madam slept in the previous night; she tidies the children's room; does the dishes from last night and prepares lunch for Madam who usually comes earlier than Oga.

On a blessed day, Oga came back to meet Madam sprawled on the sofa in the living room; she called out a welcome greeting to him but Nkechi was there to take his portfolio from him and took it into the Bedroom.

While Madam was still sprawled on the sofa, Nkechi ran the water and asked Oga to go take his bath.

Madam was still lying down on the sofa when the Oga came out of the room refreshed and wanted his dinner.

Oga:   Madam, can I have my dinner now?

Madam:  Nkechi, bring Oga's food

Madam:   Nkechi bring water for Oga to wash his hand

Madam:   Nkechi bring drinking water for Oga

Nkechi served the Oga and after eating his food, he spent some time in the sitting room with Madam and then told her that he was going in for the night.

She said she would be in later

When she finally came into the bed, Oga turned to hold her and she just exploded "What do you want to do now? eh?; you came in and saw me in the sitting room and you did not even bother to ask me what is happening with me; now you want to touch me? look I am so tired from my activities today and am not in the mood for anything."

What do you think of this Oga and Madam?

#DrJTF

All It Takes Is One Thing - ACTION

So you have been shifting the goal post?

Postponing the evil day?

Shifting for tomorrow what can be done today?

Yesterday, you said today, and today again, you are saying tomorrow!!!!

That is called #procrastination

Are you guilty?

Yes you are

And how do I know that you are guilty?

Because I was once in that shoe

There was a time, I could not just decide on what I wanted to have done, even though several times I already had it done in my mind; but lifting my physical being to do that thing was an issue.

It must have been for fear of tomorrow or fear of the consequence of the action or fear of one thing or the other; but definitely it was as a result of FEAR.

Then one day, I put on the armour of faith and decided that whatever it would result in, I was going to do that which I had postponed for quite a while.

And kpummmmmm I did it

And what was the result?

The thunder did not strike as I had feared, the heavens did not come down on the earth as I had envisioned, the torrential rain did not result in flood to sweep away my abode as I thought it would, none of the things I feared ever came to be.

I was the fear that I actually feared. I was the one holding myself back, I was my own enemy and yet looking for the enemy outside.

Today, are you afraid of taking that step of faith?

Don't be afraid

Learn from me, the only thing to fear is YOU.

When you conquer you, then you would become the real you that you ought to be.

Try it

Don't forget to give the testimony

Fear lives inside of us; but God also lives inside of us, why don't we allow God to chase out the fear in us??

Waiting to read from you

Cheers

#DrJTF

No Free Lunch Even in Free Town

The other day, in the course of my tour of duty to Sierra Leone, I was the Guest of a Business Man based in Free Town who wanted us to have a business lunch and discuss the possibility of a business tour of Nigeria.

For those who may not remember, Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country.

Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial,cultural, educational and political centre.

The city proper had a population of 951,000 at the 2014 census.

As of 2010, the population of Freetown is estimated at 1.2 million.

The city's economy revolves largely around its harbor, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the world's largest natural deep water harbours.

The population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse, among Muslims and Christians.

The city is home to a significant population of virtually all of the country's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority of the city's population.

As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is Freetown's primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city.

So, I found myself at the downtown Restaurant where we scheduled to meet and in no time the Business man joined me.

After going through the menu, I placed my order for grilled fish and potato chips with plenty onions. And for drinks, I asked for old sweet Guinness

We made some small talks while waiting for the lunch to be served. It was my first time in Free Town and he made great efforts to fill me in about the city and its beauties.

Then lunch was served and while at it, we also had all the talk that needed to be talked about Nigeria and its business climate.

Towards the end of the lunch, the waiter brought the bill - gave me mine and gave the man his. I was waiting for the Business man that brought me out to take my bill and pay alongside his, but he just counted the amount on his bill and dropped on the plate.

I looked hard at him, but he was not batting an eye lid or saying anything and in order not to be embarrassed before the waiter, (and thank God I had some Leone with me) I also counted out the amount on my own bill and put into the plate and the waiter left.

As we were about to step out of the Restaurant, I asked him why he did not pick my bill, since it was his idea that we met there for a business lunch and he said "Sorry Doctor that you had to learn it this way, but even though we are in free town, but there is no free lunch here. Everyone picks their bill when they go out for lunch whether on invitation or all alone."

I told him that in Nigeria, when we ask people out for lunch or dinner, we pick the bills and he laughed so hard that I thought I had said something funny; and you know what he ended up saying "Anyway, you Nigerians are all rich because your Country is a rich Country"

So my Country people and friends, should any of you find yourselves in Freetown of Sierraleone, and someone asks you out for lunch or dinner or even breakfast, be sure to have enough Leone in your wallet to avoid any embarrassment.

Cheers

#DrJTF