Life happens! Happens to everyone. You lose a loved one, you have a bad business experience, your spouse cheats on you, your courtship ended unceremoniously, life is too hard on you, your many efforts don’t seem to be yielding corresponding results, etc, etc, Happens to everyone. 

Problem with unsavory life experiences is not that they happen, it is the heartache, hurt, pains, dejection and depression they come with. While many people easily shake these off, bounce back to everyday living, others move from dejection to severe depression. Feelings of persistent sadness, disinterest in activities once loved, worthlessness, and not finding meaning in life. 
It is usually not long after someone starts thinking living is useless  than they start harboring suicidal thoughts. 
Thanks to science and medicine, mental health professionals now provide therapy and medication for depression. Help can be sought. Mental Health Practitioners can be reached in your neighborhood or via the internet. 

 Here I share my thoughts on trading feelings of depression for a more meaningful, productive and impactful life. 

Isaiah 61:1-3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord……to console those who mourn in Zion, to give beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness….” 

Beautiful prophecy from Isaiah about the Christ. As I read the good news in Isaiah 63, I am excited because I’ve got the Spirit of Christ in me, and so do you {if you’ve made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior}. I can therefore categorically brag that the Spirit of The Lord is upon me  🙂  And where the Spirit of the Lord dwells, the joy of the Lord flows, and where the joy of The Lord flows, there’s no room for depression. 

Trade those feelings of depression and dejection today;

1. Be conscious, at all times, of the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. Pray always in the Spirit, make melody in your heart, sing songs and hymns in the Spirit. Enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit. 
2. Be Purpose-Driven. It is not okay to just walk through life without discovering purpose. God created you for a specific purpose. Find it {with God’s Help}. Ask Him. 
3. Be People-oriented. Invest time, energy, money, talents in people. Give to people, help people, comfort people, support people, console people.  Give people reasons to smile, to praise God, to enjoy their righteousness, etc, etc Move the attention from yourself to others. Don’t thrive in self-pity. Certainly do not call a pity-party for yourself. Appreciate that you can make a difference in someone’s life. That makes you ‘super-productive’.   🙂 
4. Be thankful for little things. Appreciate the air you breathe in, marvel in it. Appreciate the sun, moon and stars, the trees of the garden, and all beautifully created things all around you. Appreciate yourself; Realize that God made you carefully, wonderfully and beautifully. 
5. Be intentionally joyful. Choose joy over sadness, shake off the garment of heaviness. Make new friends. Indulge in new games, sports etc, Join a different department/group in Church, etc, etc. 

Reinvent yourself. For where the Spirit of The Lord is,
the joy of the Lord flows, and where the joy of The Lord flows, there’s no room for depression

I got Good news for you today….You Got the Holy Ghost! 

My love always…………..

Elijah believed the drought was over. By faith and acting on God’s command, he proclaimed that the rain was coming. Then he confidently, prayerfully, patiently and persistently awaited manifestation of his faith proclamation. The moment Elijah got news about the smallest cloud that had gathered in the cloud, he knew that the process for the miracle he’s been expecting was completed. His miracle was full.

Can you think of times when news about clouds gathering may not be exactly good news? Like being all prepped and ready to go out for a picnic with some friends, or when armed with farm tools to till the ground and start planting, or when you simply want to hang washed clothes on the line on a sunny day after many days of rain. But it wasn’t the case this time; the rains were needed and so represented good news….

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you“1 Kings 18:41‭,44 NKJV.

Winning faith is the faith that believes a thing, speaks it and takes actions towards manifestation of the faith proclamation.

And this is exactly how we’ll put an end to the season of drought that has pitched tent around us for so long. We believe by faith that God has called an end to this season of drought, we accept God’s promise of rains and just like Elijah, we bow to the ground, put our face between our knees and pray, wait, remain expectant, check 7 times and over, until we see the cloud…even its smallest bit. Halleluyah!

How best can we translate the ‘cloud as small as a fist’ miracle to our present day realities? – a flicker of movement from a previously paralyzed limb. -a score of 60/100 in maths from a 4th grader who you’ve been making faith confessions to move up in her grades from 30/100 to 90/100. A 60% score and a 50% increase, is similar to ‘a cloud as small as a fist’-

when a spouse who’d not want to hear anything ‘Jesus’ let alone ‘Christ’, suddenly starts humming continuously on gospel music, rejoice and be exceedingly glad because that is ‘a cloud as small as a fist’. Oh! but it is not exactly as small as it seems, no, it is only an obvious tip of a full and complete miracle.

Elijah’s servant, saw a small cloud {at the 7th look}, but Elijah knew an abundance of rain was nigh because The Lord had spoken it.

I try to take morning walks as often as possible. One of such mornings I observed how the sun emerged from behind the clouds. The first visible sign of the rising sun are the rays which illuminate the clouds around it thereby giving the yet to be visible sun away. And then a tiny part of the sun peeps out of the clouds and gradually but steadily, the full sun emerges and shines brightly.

Question: At what point in the emergence of the sun, did the sun become fully formed? At the time the rays become visible or when we see the tiny portion that peeps out of the clouds? Or is it when the full sun emerges?

Things to know about this cloud;

1. The small visible cloud does not signify the beginning of the process of manifestation of a faith project rather it shows that the faith project is fully complete. It’s a done deal.

2. The appearance of the clouds, no matter how small, tells us it’s time to make adequate preparations for the rains,….for the full manifestation of our faith proclamation.

3. It tells us to prepare for celebration because the rains will surely pour down, our miracles are surely here. Halleluyah!

What do you do while waiting for the cloud to appear?

1. Be expectant. Be alert. Be sensitive. Don’t miss the small cloud because of it’s size. Don’t just make a faith proclamation and then go to sleep. No. Ask God for the actions to take to mix your faith with works (thereby making your faith more effective) and also for what do to stay focused, alert and expectant.

2. Persistently and patiently look out for the cloud. Elijah sent his servant 7 times! Don’t get used to the status quo or become comfortable with it. Don’t lose faith. Don’t give in to hopelessness and don’t give up.

3. Don’t ignore or overlook the small cloud when it shows up. Don’t call it irrelevant. Show no disdain over the small cloud. If you have a spouse who doesn’t think your birthday is anything special and you’re trusting God for a behavior change from him, please do not laugh at him if on your next birthday he buys you a cupcake! Realize and recognize immediately that the jinx is broken and your miracle is full and complete. Praise God and thank Him.

4. When the small cloud becomes visible to you, begin to make preparations to receive and welcome the heavy rains. Don’t be caught unprepared or unawares. Don’t suddenly feel that your once uncaring spouse is now paying too much attention to you.

Recognize that God has completed His work and own it.

Prepare for the heavy rains. Prepare to accommodate your full miracle. Praise God forever! I see the cloudsAnd I see the rains. Halleluyah!

Drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rain leading to a shortage of water. Drought characteristically causes famine (because vegetation cannot grow, the ground is difficult to till and crops generally wither/fade). Food and power supply are in short supply during drought. The ecosystem is distorted, pollution, fires are more likely to happen and economic losses are huge. Hunger, sicknesses/diseases, deaths are also common. 

Obviously a period of drought brings untold hardship on men and women, livestock and vegetation diminish, efficiency is lost, unproductivity is paramount, the labors of ones’ hands are without reward, and there’s a constant hovering of the shadow of death. 

So when Elijah pronounced a season of drought to Ahab, it was more than just an absence of rain. Elijah knowingly or unknowingly ushered in sustained feelings  of exhaustion, desperation, despair, great suffering, desolation, feeling of helplessness and emptiness on samaria {1 Kings 17:1}.  The kind of feeling you get from laboring without wages, praying and waiting on the Lord without manifestation of expected results, from serving faithfully and yet seeming unrecognized and definitely appearing foolish, or investing resources without corresponding profit/success.

It is beautiful and quite encouraging to note that God sustained Elijah by the Brook Cherith and through the Widow of Zarephath just as we find He promised in Isaiah 58:1, but truth remains that there was massive destruction of lives and property, there was sadness, grief, and hopelessness. 

Why couldn’t Elijah call of the drought seeing its many negative impact on all, including himself? Pride? Nonchalance? Selfishness? Honestly, I know not, but I am glad God intervened, directed Elijah to return to Ahab in Samaria, and to await an end to the drought as he sends the rains. 

In this New Coming Season, in the New Coming Year, be encouraged and excited because The Lord has put an end to the drought in your life. Doesn’t matter what form it took, doesn’t matter how long it’s stayed around you, doesn’t really matter its intensity or the damages it’s caused before now.  The Word of The Lord is – The Drought is Over. The famine is gone. The Rains are here. 

Life is here. Growth is here. Productivity is here. Increase and profit are here. Healing is here. Your joy and fulfillment are here. Your wages are chasing after you. 

Halleluyah! 

Not sure what the coming year would bring? Not sure which direction to face in 2019?

Well, The Lord says to ‘Look up!’ 

Look up! The Drought is Over. The Famine is gone. The Rains are here. 

For many weeks now these words have stayed on my mind and I am sure (beyond all doubts), that this is God’s word to me (personally) in the coming new season. You can connect with it also when you believe it, accept it and confess it. It’s manifestation will surely come. 

No more drought. No more unproductivity. No more famine. No more hunger. No more barrenness. No more toiling without expected outputs/outcome.  No more staying down because of debilitating sickness and disease. No more labouring without wages. No more heartache from a deliquent child. No more struggling with a particular sin problem. No more of anything that have represented drought in your life. 

What is up, you ask? The Cloud! The clouds have gathered and they’re gathered because of you. The clouds are ready to empty of themselves for you, for your increase. They are ready to let down the Rains. Hurry….

The Rains….the former and the latter Rains, coming in abundance. And bringing with them, growth, productivity, life & fruitfulness. The Rains will cause green vegetations all around.  They’ll bring grain, oil and wine. They’ll bring seed, bread, fresh insights and anointing for great exploits and manifestations of covenant promises, outpouring of God’s goodness in overwhelming measures.

These are no showers. They’re not trickles. They’re an abundance of the Rains. So prepare to receive them. Prepare to receive Full, Complete and Exceedingly overwhelming miracles. No more half baked miracles. No more halfway  experiences. Full and complete miracles dropping down from Heaven. 

Prepare for the Rains. They’re here. The Rains are here. The harvest is here. 

Amen & Amen. 

A priest, God’s servant, described as Righteous, blameless and a keeper of all God’s commandments. One who faithfully served The Lord day in, day out. One who dedicatedly administered sacrifices and offered prayers for multitudes, having the very rare privilege of burning incense at the Lord’s temple. He was careful, meticulous and cautious, making sure laid down guidelines were followed. 

Alas! Zacharias was Barren!  ‘Barren’ for a man, you ask? Alright, Zacharias was advanced in age and yet childless. 

Luke boasts to have given an orderly account of events; probably subconsciously attempting to arrive at a logical end, something similar to a diagnosis. The picture his orderly account in Luke chapter 1 paints of Zacharias, God’s own priest, suggests a sad, near-disgruntled, unsatisfied yet faithful servant of God, with an unmet need (a child; just a child). 

Questions: Why did it take God so long to send Gabriel to Zacharias? Was it fair for Gabriel to have made Zacharias dumb and mute considering his period of wait? How many times had Zacharias prayed for a child, waited expectantly for a manifestation and yet experienced nothing? How many times had he trusted and believed for the miracle of a child and yet got no obvious response? Has Zacharias been  truly doubtful as he served or was Gabriel’s observation a one-off? Or had constant waiting and believing without seeing an expected corresponding response eroded his faith and patience? 

Too many questions…and yet more questions…

The Lord did not forget Zacharias. He did not forget his servant’s devotion and commitment. He remembered his labour of love, overlooked his doubtful and imperfect nature (if truly) and honored him. In the end Zacharias didn’t just get a child, he got the ‘premessiah’, the forerunner to the Christ. 

Be encouraged today as you serve. He will not forget your labor of love. If He said ‘ a labourer is worthy of good wages’, then rest assured that He knows exactly what to do for you. The miracle you expect will not come in the way you’ve envisioned it, no! It’ll be bigger, greater, wider, exceeding your best imaginations. 

Keep serving and loving The Lord. Any other options are unattractive and devilish ?

Compliments of the season. 

What is a Miracle?
Anita grew up admiring her mother. Her mom was pretty, smart, industrious and most importantly served God. She never missed weekdays or Sunday service days. And she made sure Anita and her 3 siblings attended all services as well.

As a young girl, Anita hoped to be exactly like her mom when she has her own home. Not until she watched her parents’ marriage crumble for simple misunderstandings she thought her mom could have contained. Why couldn’t her mother forgive her dad? Why was it her mom that moved out of the home? What happened with all the Bible she carried and taught them to live by? Didn’t she remember anything about forgiveness at all?

Anger, bitterness and resentment grew in Anita. As far as she was concerned, there was no point carrying on with this Christianity talk. If a devoted Christian like her mom couldn’t forgive, it was pointless continuing to profess being a Follower of Christ.

Anita wasn’t going to fool herself and other people like her mother did. She decided she was done with everything Church, so she tossed her Bible aside.

The Lord directed Anita to one of Talk with Grace Obomanu’s Counsellors. Talking and counselling with Anita made her see why she cannot put her Christianity and love for God in ‘Parking’ simply because her mother slipped. With a few sessions of talking with the TWGO Team, Anita once more appreciated the importance of a personal relationship with God.

Today, Anita is glad that she had someone to talk to, she’s fast rebuilding her relationship with God. And more importantly, she’s excited that things are going to be different this time because she’s going to know God for herself.

Praise God!

When a young man is ready to marry, he wants everything to be right, especially the relationship between his mom and his bride-to-be.  Most young men are apprehensive if they sense any tension between the 2 important women in their lives. That’s  exactly how Joe felt.

As an only son, his case seemed more sensitive. 
His mother had kept him by her side most of his childhood and teenage years.
All Joe really wants now is that his bride-to-be can manage the strong bond between him and his mom, but he didn’t know if she could. And it’s kind of unfair to pressure her into it.

Joe needed guidance. What would be the best strategy to bring these 2 women together? 
God led Joe to TWGO where he got an answer of peace.

When mothers worry about their son getting married it is because they’re afraid of losing their son’s love, attention and commitment.
Mothers tend to share strong bonds with their sons, more so if they have only one son.
Such fear, is most times taken away if the bride-to-be makes added effort to accommodate and accept the mother-in-law to be as she would her own Mom. She would need to lavish her with love, gifts and attention, without necessarily putting too much pressure on herself. These actions are important because they  assure the older woman that  her son won’t be lost, rather she can gain another love …from her daughter-in-law. 
Joe encouraged his bride-to-be to go the extra mile to accommodate his mom a bit. 

Few months ago, they were successfully married.  Joe’s  testimonies and joy have been  awesome. His mom and his fiancee, now wife, have become  best friends to the point that they sometimes forget Joe is around the house as they indulge  in their ‘womanly gists’  His mom also gave his wife a special pet name.

Praise God!

Lisa is in her early 50″s and a single mom. She lives in Ghana with her only daughter and child Becky. Becky is almost done with high school, she hopes to become a lawyer someday.

Lisa is looking forward to seeing Becky’s dream of becoming a lawyer fulfilled. But in recent times she’s had some concerns. She’s uncomfortable with the kind of association her teenage daughter has been keeping of late. These new group of friends seem to occupy most of Becky’s time. When they’re not in school, they’re out partying or visiting with another group of friends. Lisa became very troubled. These associations could ruin her daughter’s future. But the young lady doesn’t seem to see it that way. The more Lisa tried to caution Becky the farther she seemed to be driving her away and more towards her friends.
Lisa needed to talk with someone, and fast too.
She came across our online counselling group, Talk with Grace Obomanu, and she decided to drop a message asking her help.

First we needed to get Becky’s opinion on her mom’s concerns. So we put a call across to her, and it was a different story altogether.
Becky feels her mother is overbearing, wouldn’t let her socialize with her peers, wouldn’t let her visit them or them her. Becky said her mom shouts all the time and seldom listens to what she has to say.
Becky claims she makes efforts to stay away from her mom because of her behavior. She said she wishes her mom could be more understanding and friendly.

Apparently, daughter and child were seeing things from their own perspectives. Lisa doesn’t want to lose her only child to teenage deliquency and Becky doesn’t want to remain a baby forever.

This observation was communicated to both of them.

Becky was also thankful that TWGO intervened. She promised to be more understanding of her mom and to relate more with her to allay her fears. And Lisa accepted her mistakes promising to engage her daughter more rather than control her.
Their relationship would heal and become better.

Praise God!

As Erica listened to Hope narrate a horrifying experience of how a neighbour’s dog attacked and wounded an innocent child who was playing around their home, it dawned on her what great deliverance she’d experienced few weeks ago.

Dogs are not Erica’s favorite pet. She can barely stand them. On this blessed morning as she took a walk, she suddenly came face to face with 3 giant dogs who’d sighted her from a distance and ran towards her. Play or fight, these dogs didn’t look friendly. And she’s stranger to them. What does she do now? Run, shout or stand still? If she tried to run from them, they’d outrun her and possibly harm her. She stood still as they reached her. God must have under control, she thought.

Erica lived in a quiet serene neighborhood. It was still too early for anyone to be outside by 6.30am. Dogs don’t stroll casually and unattended within the estate, these ones must of sneaked out without their guards knowing. She started talking to the dogs, stroking their bodies. Was this the best reaction? Judging by the dogs incessant growling around her it may not be. Running away wasn’t either. Erica started shouting for help. But none came. She tried chasing the dogs away but they looked even more angry and dangerous. One, two, three, five minutes and more, the dogs were still around her, just moving around her and making angry sounds, also jumping around her. For some strange reasons, they didn’t bark, maybe that would have drawn some attention. But not today.

As Erica thought about how this could end up, fear took hold of her. She suddenly heard herself shout ‘JESUS’ and in that instant the 3 dogs walked away from her. 

What a deliverance?
Not even a scratch on her body.
Praise God!

Rita has been married for 17 years with 2 teenage children.
The last 5 years have been anything but beautiful for her. Her husband James has been abusive (physically and verbally), he stopped her from working, he wouldn’t do any work himself either. How do they eat? Family, friends, any form of goodwill. James claims he has a call from God and spends most of his time chasing people around to sow seed into his life.

Rita had tried many times to leave her marriage but he wouldn’t let her.  She didn’t know what to do. Life hasn’t been fair to her neither has God.
Then someone directed Rita to our online counselling group, Talk with Grace Obomanu (TWGO). Rita’s story began to change from then.  

A look at James’s family history revealed that his father was exactly as he is. He was abusive, lazy and irresponsible. So obviously James’s problem was more complicated than it seemed, it had familial roots.  This makes Rita’s case even more difficult, but God has a way. 

James needs to make a total mind and behavior change. But how do we reach him considering it’s Rita coming for help?

Rita would have to make a decision at this point about her marriage, to leave or to stay.
While leaving may seem the easier and more attractive option, Rita didn’t want her children growing up without their father.
Staying meant she needed to do more work, on herself as well as for James.

First she must identify the things she does that upset him at least to forestall further physical abuse. She must identify her weaknesses and strengths as well as James’s. With a personality like James’ it can be trouble flagging his weaknesses, at  least not at him. To get him to be more productive, his strengths have to be accentuated and he needs to be regularly reminded of them. That’s exactly what  Rita  did. She also  moved back into the bedroom she once shared with her husband. Additionally, she  resumed her wifely duties (not doing it for James but as unto The Lord).  She located her Bible wherever she tossed it. She must rebuild her relationship with God and trust Him to fix her marriage.

As nicely as these may sound, these are not easy changes. But are possible when you do them in God, when you understand that agape means loving the unlovable unconditionally.

Rita took up the challenge, made these drastic changes and within one week her testimony was different. Her husband has never been as happy, calm and loving as she sees him now. He’s told her to go search for another job and he’s going to do same. He suddenly seems to have brilliant business ideas too. They even now pray and plan together.
Rita is grateful to God and to the TWGO Team for intervening in her situation.
Praise God!