WHY THIS PROBLEM ?

Why would a loving God, allow you to face problems in your life? Why can’t He just instantly give you a perfect life? Do you ever wonder if He is really interested in helping you to win and achieve in life? Sometimes life’s challenges just seem impossible to overcome: Financial challenges are ever at your doorstep; just when you think you’re about to have a breakthrough – then something goes wrong; you have to contend with jealous workmates at your job; it’s taking forever to buy that car; you have family issues – and you just don’t seem to appear to be winning in all these areas.                  

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”    

                                                                                                                                                           When we are facing problems in life, it can be difficult to believe that God has a plan through every challenge that we face. We can be tempted to believe that God is more interested in punishing us than in helping us. We can be tempted to believe that God would rather see us struggle than conquer. However it is important to learn from Jeremiah 29:11 that God does not purpose in His mind to harm you. God loves His creation and you are created in His image. God is not sadistic. God will therefore never create you so that He can spend His time ensuring that only bad things happen in your life. God has great plans for you. God’s plan is to “prosper you” and “to give you hope and a future”. Therefore if you are facing problems and challenges in your life, God may allow them for the following reasons:                                                                                                                              

God Wants to Build Your Character –                                                                                                  God is more interested in you developing your character and becoming mature so that in Christ, you can cope with anything that life may throw at you. When you face problems, it might be that God wants to teach you specific values and virtues through your problems such as patience, perseverance, love, faith and the like. (My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-5NKJV).                                                                

God Wants to Teach You About Himself –                                                                            
Ultimately God also wants you to know Him and to know His character. God can use problems to change your perspective about life and about Him. For example, some people who have had sickness or near-death experiences have been known to radically and positively change their outlook on life. Therefore God can use problems to help you refocus your perspective and to view Him and His plans for your life more correctly. (“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. – Isaiah 55:8-9NKJV)                                                                  

God Wants You to Help Other People After You Have Conquered Your Problem –      
 People who have overcome abuse, a tragedy or any type of problems are more effectively able to comfort, empathize and counsel a person who is going through similar circumstances. (Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.- Galatians 6:1-2NKJV)                                                                                                                  

God Wants to Prepare You For A Future Position or Mission in Your Life –                      
 God is able to use your current challenges in life in order to build your character and resilience for a future mission or role in life. You may not understand the purpose of your challenges in the present, but they will make sense in the future when you have arrived at the place that God wants you to be in life. (Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. – Genesis 50:19-21NKJV)   
                                              
  A Life of Sin Is the Reason for Your Problem                                                                                   
 Living a sinful life or making sinful choices can cause problems in your life. God is not to be blamed for your problems, especially when the cause of your problems is a sinful choice or life. Sometimes we can make wrong choices on our own that land us into problems. Therefore when we live a sinful life, we then separate ourselves from God and because of sin our perspective and our approach to life’s problems become ungodly. (But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. – Isaiah 59:2NKJV)
                               
  God Allows Problems in Order to Test Our Hearts –                                                                        God may allow problems so that He may test your heart and your motives. God is not merely interested in giving you the things that you want in life – but God is more interested in you having a genuine and growing relationship with Him. For example, do you follow God just for what He can give you, or do you follow God simply because He is your loving Creator? (“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. – Jeremiah 17:9-10NKJV)                            

It is therefore important to understand that challenges and problems are not always present so that they may destroy us. But in certain situations, God may use our problems so that He may achieve His will and His purpose in our life. And for every trial you face, God is faithful and He will provide a way for you to escape and be victorious. It is therefore important to understand that challenges and problems are not always present so that they may destroy us. But in certain situations, God may use our problems so that He may achieve His will and His purpose in our life. And for every trial you face, God is faithful and He will provide a way for you to escape and be victorious.

Romans 8:37-39 NKJV Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

AMVCA 2014

Kakadu the Musiacal

Poor Parenting

Early this year, I read about the parents of Benjamin Sargent leaving him strapped in his seat inside the car for 8 days with no water, food or change of diapers. I was shocked that any parent would be that careless, irresponsible and wicked.
What were the parents doing for 8 days that they didnt hear their son crying for help. I thought it cannot happen in this part of the world and dismissed it until today when an incident occured in central Lagos.
My car has been having some mechanical issues even after routine maintenance few days ago. So for these 2 days, yesterday and today, i went out using cabs. Well cabs can only stop at a distance and most times cant drive through busy areas. Today I happened to go to such busy areas, an open market so I did a lot of walking.
Along the way a child that could barely walk, ran past me into the main road and the mother was busy peeling pineapples for customers.
People shouted at the mother and another passerby ran and picked the child away from harm's way. The mother barely looked from what she was doing.When the child was deposited at her side, she drop what she was doing then and started beating the little boy. We all were shocked at her attitude and she only said the boy had been warned not to cross the road. Ha! Hello! We are talking about a 2 YEAR OLD boy that cant talk well and now being made to act like a grown up to know what is right and wrong. 'Na wah' meaning unbelievable!

  
Tracy Hermann and James E Sargent

Away from this part of the world. a five months old boy was shockingly left in a car seat for 8 days unattended to. The boy was BENJAMIN SARGENT. The boy was left in the car by his parents. Below is part of the report:

5-month-old Benjamin Sargent was dropped off at his parents’ house strapped into his car seat. Eight days later, he was found in the same position. Benjamin died from an infection caused by the feces in his diaper that eventually ate through his skin, resulting from lying in his own waste, which had not been changed or attended to in 8 days.  His ‘parents’, Tracy Hermann and James Sargent, not only neglected to change their infant son, but neglected to feed him as well.  The 5 month old baby boy only weighed 2 lbs. more than what he weighed at birth.
Benjamin Sargent died with his eyes open, fists clenched and strapped into a car seat after eight days without food or water.

Now what could distract two parents so much that they fail to even remove their son from his car seat, let alone forget about him for eight days?  Not 8 hours o! Tracy D. Hermann, 21, and James E. Sargent, 23, parent of the boy couldnt say it was the video games they played throughout the week and the loud music that drown out the cries from the baby who was starved of food and love and sitting in his own waste.

It’s the worst case of child neglect we have seen since the turn of this century, 

State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons made the above statement when he heard about the case.  Lyons said the death of Benjamin Sargent had rattled him and went on to say the parents simply left Benjamin in his crib, strapped in the seat, while they played video games, slept and ate.

When he was interviewed earlier, Sargent told the Police that he had moved the baby “once or twice,” but later conceded that he might not have moved Benjamin at all during the week.  Meanwhile the mother, Tracy’s last contact with her son was the night before police were notified. Can you imagine that?
She allegedly told police she “looked at the baby in the crib and presumed he was sleeping" so she said she stuck a bottle between the baby and the side of the car seat so that when he woke up, he could grab it and feed himself.

When hearing this in court, Lyons simply stated “In case the court had missed it earlier, Benjamin Sargent was five months old,”, staring directly at Hermann.  Tracy claimed that Benjamin was not her duty and that it was James’ responsibility.

Why did these two, Tracy D. Hermann, 21, and James E. Sargent, 23, were allowed to have children if they were not ready or matured enough for parenthood?  I am sure neighbors and friends even family knew they were not up to the task but they did not say anything. It was so horrible the way the boy died. According to the State Attorney, the action of the parents was brutal, heinous and indicative of wanton cruelty.

Both parents were charged with two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to maximum of 100 years for the father and 50 years for the mother.
Yes, they may have been sentenced but that will not bring back the innocent boy.
I pray parents whether in Africa or America will learn to care for their children especially when they are still young. I know being a mum is a calling, but we can call ourselves by praying for guidance from God and the Holy Spirit.

Its so unfortunate this happened but I know if it was in this Country, the boy would have not died. I know we can be careless like that woman at Oke - Arin market but the people around you will not allow the child to come to any harm. To us it takes a whole community to raise a child. We don't mind our business and are always very curious. Someone would have gone to the car to check if something is suspected.You may call us busy-bodies but we are always looking out for one another.

Lupita Nyong'o - breakout performance

2nd March 2014
The 86th Academy Awards held on Sunday, 2nd March 2014  ended, with "12 Years a Slave" winning the best picture of the year. The movie won the night's biggest prize for best picture and 2 other awards including best supporting actress where my interest was. Although "Gravity” took home most of the awards including the Best Actor,  all the technical awards, including best visual effects and sound editing, the joy that Lupita an African won in the supporting category was overwhelming. It would have been nice if Chinwetal won for Best Actor but since he didnt, it was still great that a cast member won.



It was a beautiful night full of expectations, suspense and surprises. Though the Best Actor went to gravity which was well deserved, was glad that Lupita won the supporting act. I watched her in the television series - SHUGA years back and was impressed with her interpretation of her role as the carefree, fun loving but hardworking young lady. I knew she was going places but did not see her for a while. The first thing i noticed about her is the colour of her skin. I am a woman of colour like the American would say but Lupita's colour is something else. I was just laughing when i read the speech she made when she was accepting her honor for best breakout performance at Essence magazine's seventh annual Women in Hollywood luncheon. She confessed that as a young girl, she had wished her dark-coloured skin would become lighter.

I got teased and taunted about my skin. My one prayer to God was that I would wake up lighter skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of the mirror because I wanted to see my face first. Every day I would feel the disappointment of being just as dark as the day before."

Nyong'o said she tried to bargain with God by vowing to stop eating sugar cubes and to never lose her school sweater again, if she could only see a change in her skin tone. It wasn't until she discovered Sudanese British supermodel Alek Wek that she began to believe in her own beauty. She continued

She was dark as night and was in all the magazines and on runways, My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome. I couldn't believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me as beautiful. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn't help but bloom inside of me.

Nyong'o said she would also like to inspire young women.

"I hope that my presence on your screen and my face in magazines may lead you, young girls, on a beautiful journey,". "That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.

Thank God she learnt to accept herself the way she is. Its not the colour that determines the personality or character like Martin Luther King stated in his famous speech but the intellect and upbringing. And for me Christianity also plays a major role in shaping one's character and personality.

Some critics claimed Lupita just spoke few words and appeared in few scenes compared to other cast members but I think she acted her scenes so well that you felt what she was feeling. It's beautiful that among the whole lot, she was nominated and eventually won the OSCAR. I hope some of the aspiring actresses all over the world will belief in themselves and improve on their crafts and not give excuses about the colour of their skin.

See the complete list of Oscar Award winners below:

Best Picture
"12 Years a Slave"
"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Her"
"Nebraska"
"Philomena"
"Captain Phillips"
Fact: "12 Years a Slave" won in three Oscar categories.

Best Actor
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyer's Club"
Christian Bale, "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
Fact: This was Matthew McConaughey's first Oscar nomination and he won.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Judi Dench, "Philomena"
Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"
Fact: This was Cate Blanchett's first Best Actress Oscar. Nominated six times, she won her first Oscar for her supporting role in "The Aviator" in 2005.

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyer's Club"
Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"
Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"
Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"
Jonah Hill, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Fast fact: This was Jared Leto's first Oscar nomination.



 Best Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong’o, "12 Years a Slave"
Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"
Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"
June Squibb, "Nebraska"
Fast fact: This's Lupita Nyong'o's first Academy Award nomination and she won.

Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón, "Gravity"
David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"
Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Fact: This was Alfonso Cuarón's second win as he was nominated six times in total.

Best Original Screenplay
Spike Jonze, "Her"
"American Hustle"
"Blue Jasmine"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Nebraska"
Fact: This was Spike Jonze's first Oscar win and fourth nomination.

Best Adapted Screenplay
John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"
"Before Midnight"
"Captain Phillips"
"Philomena"
"The Wolf of Wall Street"
Fact: This was John Ridley's first Academy Award.

Best Original Song
"Let It Go" from "Frozen," Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
"The Moon Song" from "Her,"  Karen O. and Spike Jonze
"Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.) and Danger Mouse (Brian Burton)
"Happy" from "Despicable Me 2," Pharrell Williams

Best Original Score
Steven Price, "Gravity"
Alexandre Desplat, "Philomena"
William Butler and Owen Pallett, "Her"
John Williams, "The Book Thief"
Thomas Newman, "Saving Mr. Banks"

Best Production Design
Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn, "The Great Gatsby"
"American Hustle"
"Gravity"
"Her"
"12 Years a Slave"
Fact: "The Great Gatsby" won every Oscar for which it was nominated.

Best Film Editing
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger, "Gravity"
"12 Years a Slave"
"Captain Phillips"
"American Hustle"
"Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Gravity"
"The Grandmaster"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"Prisoners"
Fast fact: Emmanuel Lubezki's nickname is 'Chivo' (the goat).

Best Sound Editing
Glen Freemantle, "Gravity"
"Captain Phillips"
"All Is Lost"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Lone Survivor"

Best Sound Mixing
Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro, "Gravity"
"Captain Phillips"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Lone Survivor"

Best Foreign Language Film
"The Great Beauty"
"The Broken Circle Breakdown"
"The Hunt"
"The Missing Picture"
"Omar"

Best Documentary Feature
"20 Feet From Stardom"
"The Act of Killing"
"Cutie and the Boxer"
"Dirty Wars"
"The Square"

Best Documentary Short Subject
"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"
"Cavedigger"
"Facing Fear"
"Karama Has No Walls"
"Prison Terminal: Last Days of Private Jack Hall"

Best Live Action Short Film
"Helium"
"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
"Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)"
"Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)"
"The Voorman Problem"

Best Visual Effects
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould, "Gravity"
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
"Iron Man 3"
"The Lone Ranger"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
Fact: Nominated for 10 Oscars, this was the first win for "Gravity."

Best Animated Feature
"Frozen"
"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"
"Ernest and Celestine"
"The Wind Rises"
Fact: Nominated for two Oscars, this was the first win for Disney's "Frozen."

Best Animated Short Film
"Mr. Hublot"
"Feral"
"Get a Horse!"
"Possessions"
"Room on the Broom"

Best Makeup And Hairstyling
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Bad Grandpa"
"The Lone Ranger"
Fact: The second Oscar for "Dallas Buyer's Club."

Best Costume Design
Catherine Martin, "The Great Gatsby"
"The Grandmaster"
"American Hustle"
"The Invisible Woman"
"12 Years a Slave"