1:48am

Here I am, in my penthouse-like room on the Third Floor of Daniel Hall, Covenant University, trying to read for an exam less than 48 hours away. Taking in the fresh Sunday morning air, reveling in the ambience of its accompanying stillness as I listen to a song from Tenth Avenue North, I slowly punch the right arrow key on my keyboard, sifting through the PowerPoint slides flickering on the screen of my faithful, 4-year old HP Laptop. Maybe I am bored with reading, or just distracted, but something seemingly insignificant catches my attention. My outstretched hands… To be more specific, my veins (or are they arteries? They should be veins…).

So you’re thinking, what’s so special about a vein? I see those everyday… It’s the same question I find myself asking. But these are no ordinary veins… Ok, they are ordinary, according to human standards. But then I take my observation a little deeper. Watching my veins throb, slowly but surely pumping blood around my arms… oxygenating the muscles beneath my skin… strengthening my radius and ulna… doing whatever it does, I realize that I really don’t know how my veins function. I have an idea, but I didn’t have the slightest clue.

So, taking my observation from my arms slowly to my legs, my head, chest, ribs, I tardily think of their respective underlying structures… my brain, my cortex, cerebrum, left and right hemispheres, my diaphragm, liver, and spleen. I realize that I really do not have an idea of what my spleen does… but that’s another story.

So I try, unsuccessfully, to get back to my 33-slide lecture note, and that’s where it hits me. I want to play a game. It’s the silliest game I’d ever play, if it’s a game at all; it involves taking my eyes, and my mind, off my veins and back to my PowerPoint. And then back again to my veins. My laptop screen, my veins… back to my screen, and back to my veins. It’s a very silly game by any standard.

But then, I make a very interesting observation. My veins keep throbbing. Taken in by the full consciousness of its presence, or completely oblivious of the fact that is exists, it still does its job. Slowly and surely, it miniates my innards with vermilion, accompanied with oxygen and nutrienty stuff.

Or maybe not. The vein is actually a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart. That just means it does not carry oxygen. I had no clue until Biology class.

But all that doesn’t matter to me now.

What really amazes me is the fact that I really do not have to know how my veins work… they just work. I don’t have to be conscious of my heart… It just keeps beating. I don’t have to spend every waking moment thinking of how to breathe… I just do. I don’t have to be cognizant of the intricacies of digestion as I chomp on my breakfast… I just eat.

I don’t have to know how my body works…

It just works.

And I’m very grateful to God for that.

Isaiah 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth

I recently got a little obsessed with Scrat; the Sabre-toothed squirrel from the Ice Age Movie series. Scrat? you might ask? Yes, Scrat. Everyone who knows Scrat knows he spends his entire life pursuing an acorn. Yes, an acorn. And even though he does not speak, the Ice Age story is very incomplete without him. In fact, every Ice Age movie starts with a scene by Scrat. Even the soon to be released “Ice Age: Continental Drift” will most likely feature him in the beginning. Apparently in this edition, he was the one responsible for forming the world – its mountains, plateaus, terrains and even the seven wonders of the world. He was also the one responsible for upsetting the balance of nature in “Ice Age: The Meltdown” – Just by pursuing his acorn.

The acorn. This acorn has brought Scrat so many memorable moments. He has fought with Eagles, Piranhas, conquered extreme weather and unfavorable conditions in the pursuit of his acorn. Even after meeting and falling in love with another squirrel, he left to pursue his first love; the acorn. Even when he finds himself in tricky situations, he always wittingly and innovatively gets himself out of it. Just to get the acorn

As interesting as Scrat’s story is, it also taught me some very valuable lessons about life:

1) Set Goals: Scrat has just one goal. To eat the acorn. And he’s not going to stop until he has done just that. Whether it rains, snows, hails or pours, he is going to get the acorn (In fact, when he finally gets it, he spends too much time worshipping it, and then eventually loses it again. But that’s besides the point). Goals are very important is anyone’s life. Learn to set goals that are realistic, achievable, and most of all, will motivate you into action. Identify where you are going to; As it is said, “The World will step aside for the man who knows where he is going”.

2) Be Passionate about something: Scrat is passionate about his acorn. He loves his acorn. You can see it in his eyes. This passion has given him strength to maneuver extreme environmental conditions, take on animals ten times his size, and most importantly, stay focused. Scrat’s passion has kept him relevant through the Ice Age merchandise. The world is turned in your favor when you are diligently pursuing your passion. Nothing makes you as passionate and relevant as a vision that will always keep you excited.

3) Get the right skils: Along with supernatural strength, Scrat has skills! He specializes in sniffing out and struggling for his acorn. He has developed various techniques for escaping tight spots and battling with the elements. Scrat knows his business more that anyone else. In pursuit of your vision, make sure you acquire the right skills needed to make it possible. A vision without the necessary provision will most likely lead to frustration.

You can learn so many lessons in life, just by observing many of the things around you; Even the biblical King Solomon, in all his wisdom, learnt by observing the ants. You might not have to read so many books to discover a few, important secrets about success and life. I learnt these three lessons while watching Ice Age. You can learn many more, in many other places.

Most importantly, you must be conscious to do these things, just as Scrat will continue to do all it takes to get the acorn. One day, he most likely will eat the acorn. We might never see it in the movie, but he will. I know he will.

Scrat has taught us a few things. There is still so much to learn.

Go to the ants, consider its ways; and be wise.

From when You formed me in the womb, You knew me… and ordained me as a prophet unto many nations. You made me in your image and your likeness, then you breathed life into me. And that’s where it all began..

You kept me… you preserved me… you guided me… you guide me. You see me when I’m happy, when I’m sad… when I fall… when I crawl… when I think you’re not there at all… and you still love me.

Slowly and surely, you raised me… lifted up my head… forgave me… sent your son just because of me. You define me.. refine me.. conform me to your perfect image. In you I live, move and have my being. I am your perfect creation.. I am in You. As you are, so am I in this world.. you are beautiful beyond description.. your glory shines upon me.

You placed a burden in my heart.. one that I can’t just explain.. but it goes a little like this – You have sent me to impart, improve and impact lives for You.. you have placed in me, solutions, to the World’s greatest problems.. I might not know how to go about it, but I’m mighty glad I know WHO will show me how. And I know He is committed to showing me. Yes He is.

You have placed so much in me, sometimes it scares me. Will I live up to your expectation? fall by the wayside, lose enthusiasm? Am I strong enough?

Guess what?

You gave the vision. You give the provision. You told me.. assured me.. to fear not. That assurance is not just enough.. its more than enough. And that’s all I need.

Therefore, Today, I promise to be conscious of your ever-loving presence.. to give you full expression in my life.. to pay attention to your voice.. obey your instructions.. to read my product manual.. you Word.. to remain hidden in you.. to glorify you in all I do.. function according to your precepts.. and in all, to be a man after Your own heart.

Because I am nothing without you.

Yours Sincerely,

Your Creation

Seun Owolabi

14th March, 2012.

Scientists succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known

At the young age of six or seven years old, B.P contracted polio, a dreadful disease for which there was no treatment at that time. Within a few months, his body had become massively deformed and crippled, shriveling up and becoming useless. His family believed in God and in the Bible, but like many Christians, they never expected their prayers to be answered. Their faith wasn’t strong enough to overcome what they saw the polio had done to B.P’s body.

B.P’s parents didn’t know what to do with him. They placed a wooden box on the floor, and his mother would drag him from room to room throughout the day as she went about her housework. Sometimes she placed a mirror on the floor in front of him so he could entertain himself while he sat in his box.
One day B.P sat in front of his mirror and really saw himself – he had a vision. B.P saw himself running. Jesus appeared to him and told him that he would be healed, and that he would be able to walk and run. The key was that B.P saw himself walking and running around completely healed. He captured that vision in his heart.

From that day on, B.P started rocking his box trying to shatter the physical limitations put on him by the disease, the emotional limitations put on him by the doctors and his family, and the limitations of a victimized individual. He was still crippled, he still couldn’t walk, and his legs were useless; but he rocked his box back and forth until he would fall over. Then he would crawl out of his box on his hands and start scooting (dashing) across the floor.

His mother would see him and say, “B.P get back in your box.” She would pick him up and put him back in that box, but B.P wouldn’t stay there. All day long, he would rock his box. Every once in a while, it would fall over and he’d start crawling. B.P had a vision of getting out of his box!

For months B.P kept rocking his box until he would fall over, and then he’d scoot. Pretty soon he could scoot faster than his mom could catch him. Before long, he started scooting over to a chair, pulling himself up trying to get his legs under him, and then fall. Day after day, week after week, and month after month, B.P rocked his box and scooted until as a teenager, he began to walk and then run. As a young man, he lived without limitations.

Nobody knew that the successful businessman, B.P Burkland had spent his early years battling polio or that he’d spent his early years living in a box – defined by other as his “box of destiny.” Faced with impossible circumstances and limitations, B.P Burkland rocked his box because he had seen a vision and believed the words Jesus spoke to him. B.P smashed the glass ceiling of his limitations by thinking right about himself, keeping the vision in his heart foremost in his mind, and then reaching for it. When his mother said, “B.P, get in your box,” his vision rose up inside him saying, “No, you’re not going to keep me in a box.” His mother didn’t understand it, but B.P knew he couldn’t let that stop him.

We need to rock our boxes, even if it means falling out and scooting, even if others around us don’t understand it. Thinking right about yourself is not always popular; it will be challenging – to you and to others – but without a doubt, it will be rewarding.

Excerpt from “Focus: What’s in your vision?” by Art Sepulveda

I was recently with a friend, and we were having coffee in a coffee shop with several people. I remember looking at the hairstyle of the girl who was waiting on us and, to be honest, it was absolutely the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Her head was shaved except for what is called a Mohawk going down the middle, and it was black, blue, red and white. She also had her nose, her tongue, her lip and several places on her ears pierced. I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable because she was not anything like I am. We were so different that I couldn’t even think of anything to say that she might relate to. I just wanted to order my coffee and try not to stare.

My friend, on the other hand, started a conversation with her and the first thing he said was, “I like your hair. How do you get it to stand up like that?” He continued the discussion with her and the air that had felt tight suddenly relaxed. Soon, we were all at ease and I could feel that we were all starting to join in their conversation and include her in our circle… I learnt a huge lesson that day.

Perhaps to the girl in the coffee shop, I was the one who was unusual and different. Why do we always set ourselves as the standard for what is acceptable and assume that anyone who is different must have a problem? What is the right hairstyle, or clothing style, or the right behavior? One day I started thinking about what Moses must have looked like when he returned from Mount Sinai, where he spent forty days and nights when receiving the Ten Commandments from God. I bet his hair was messed up, his beard seriously needed to be trimmed, and his robe and sandals were a bit dirty.

I know that John the Baptist was a bit strange. He lived in the desert alone and wore animal skins and ate honey and locusts. When he did come out, he yelled loudly, “Repent you sinners, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

The Bible teaches us that we should be careful how we treat strangers because we might be entertaining angels without knowing it (Heb 13:2). It says we should be kind, cordial, friendly and gracious to them and share the comforts of our homes. Most people in society today don’t even speak to strangers, let alone be friendly.

We might be in a different world from before, but don’t let fear make you unfriendly and cold. Surely you can look for the new person at school, work or church and say hello!

Surely you can talk to the elderly woman sitting in the doctor’s office while you wait to be called for your appointment. She seems so lonely; why not give her ten minutes of your undivided attention and just let her tell you all about herself. You’ll probably never see her again, but she will remember you. Oh, and by the way, God will appreciate what you did for her. Yes, it was a little thing, but you included her!

Surely you can park your car, and take a little time to assist the mother whose car has broken down on the highway. Maybe she just needs a battery to jump-start, or a few gallons of gas to get her car to the closest mechanic. There will always be excuses but we have to show love nevertheless.

Indifference makes excuses; love finds a way.

The hurting people in this world don’t always have the best appearance, make the best impression or smell nice. Sometimes they do, but not always and we must stop judging by the cover and be willing to read the book. Be willing to look beyond how people appear and find out what they are all about.

“Excerpts from “The Love Revolution” by Joyce Meyer

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When we’re young, we learn all sort of new things. We have dreams, pictures and visions of our future. So we often have a certain knack for motivation… for learning new and often exciting things like:

• How to achieve our dreams
• Attain our desired success
• Go for what we want
• Remain motivated
• Take risks
• Start something revolutionary
• Step out of our comfort zones

You are the future. What you go with your life determined the future. You are only one person, but God can take one person and change nations. In the prophetic age we live, He is looking for nation changers. That may sound unreal, but with God it is absolutely a possibility.

The bottom line is that your destiny as a Christian is to grow up in Jesus. Eternity is In the balance – and eternal lives of hundreds, possibly thousands or hundreds of thousands, depend on you fulfilling your part of God’s plan. But, to do it your own way is to fail. If you are truly to succeed in this life and bring glory to God, you have to do it God’s way. You have to seek His guidance through his word and through taking time to talk with the Holy Spirit. He can’t guide you unless you are talking to Him and listening to Him speak to your Spirit- that’s what prayer is.

So, develop your relationship with God and take hold of your future!!!

The very stars in the sky show that God is with us!