How to tell when you're gossiping

Most people like to convince themselves that they don't gossip, they will say they only "discuss " or "gist". It's obvious that many don't even understand the difference between a normal relevant conversation and an idle talk aka "gossip". Let me illustrate with this conversation between two ladies.

Dialogue
Jane :   Have you heard that Ada is getting married soon?
Ann:  Woaw! I'm happy for her. So who's the lucky guy?
Jane:  They say he's from South Africa & he's a very wealthy lawyer.
Ann:  hmmm...it's ok. After all her dissapointment  God has finally blessed her. I'll attend the wedding.

Now check this out.
Jane :   Have you heard that Ada is getting married soon?
Ann:  woaw! I'm happy for her. So who's the lucky guy?
Jane:  They say he's from south Africa & he's a very wealthy lawyer. I heard he's been married before, with 2 kids already from 2 different women. In fact, I learnt his first wife left him when he got another woman pregnant.
Ann:  Really? tell me more! So after her dissapointments this is the kind of husband she ended up with. You know her last boyfriend was an alcoholic & a junkie and he almost killed her. She always came to me for advice whenever they had a big fight. Any way sha, God has blessed her. I'll attend the wedding, let me see this guy with my two eyes.

So,  you'll agree with me that it's very easy to tell when you're gossiping.  The difference is the extra irrelevant details added and it's usually something unpleasant especially about someone's private affairs.
Gossip hurts and damages. If you can't stay away from people who gossip, you can at least try not to contribute to irrelevant gist, that's how I do it.

Total Forgiveness.

Forgiveness can be a very difficult thing to do. Over half of the people that preach forgiveness don't really know what it truly means, some because they have never been deeply hurt and others because their forgiveness has not been truly tested. Many times, we fail God's test of our so called forgiveness without even knowing it.

Years  ago I had a friend Ngozi who betrayed me, hurting me so badly. Forgiving someone unrepentant can be very difficult but I eventually let go. I didn't know that God would test my heart.

One morning I was at Ngozi's office to see another friend. That day, Ngozi  had made the mistake of leaving her office without asking anyone to cover her duties while she's out. Same day, a very important client came. After waiting unattended for long the man got very angry that he had missed an important meeting just to be there and it wasn't the first time he was having this experience . He decided to withdraw his contract and swore never to transact with Ngozi's company again .

If he leaves, it would be a very big loss to the company because he was a major client. He was about to call the managing director to inform Him of his dissapointment. I thought about it, a worker had previously been sacked for such truancy and negligence of duty and if this man makes this phone call, Ngozi would be in big trouble.

I wanted to do something but then,  the memories of all the wrong she did me began to flash through my mind. She definitely didn't deserve my help. But then I heard this tiny voice inside me  "this is what total forgiveness is really about, if she were your sister or best friend, what would you do for her?"

So, since I was very familiar with the environment, I pretended like I was a new staff (I didn't say that though) and I apologized to the man for the delay telling him that Ngozi had something urgent that needed her attention  and she would be back in no time. I also called my other friend who was a staff to take over attending to the man. Soon, the man sat down again and relaxed.

About an hour later Ngozi walks in. Of course she doesn't know all that transpired in her absence but within me I was glad to know that I had totally forgiven her. That's what Jesus did, even when we are unrepentant.
I'm one of those young ladies that have been deeply hurt and emotionally abused severally in life, by loved ones, by friends, even in past relationships but I chose to let go.
When we forgive and release our enemies to God, He restores  peace to our heart. Mind  you, He will definitely take revenge for you in his own time!.

"Little by little" says the snail

One afternoon I strolled out of my office depressed and preoccupied with thoughts of a failed personal project I had been on for about a year plus, all the resources wasted! My time, sleepless nights, money all gone. Hot tears clouded my eyes, the tears of a young lady struggling so hard on her own, pushing it and trying to make a difference in life. I just wanted to go home fall on my bed and shed all the tears in me. I'm such a cry baby you know.

Then I bumped into a friend who had just succeeded in a similar project and had moved unto the next level. He tried to cheer me up with encouraging words. He said, " there's no level in life that is too little nor a point in a journey that is too far behind. What matters is that you're moving and someday you'll get to your desired destination. Someone else is somewhere praying to get to even half of where you are right now in your life"
Those words seemed so magical at that moment, because it gave my spirit some glister of hope.
 Little by little, the snail moves, but she eventually arrives somewhere. Many are in the grave afterall , thank you a Jesus for the gift of life.

Photo credit: animatedimages.org

The Giraffe women of Padaung.

The Kayan Lahwi  people also known as the padaung are a minority  ethnic  group with populations in Burma and Thailand. The padaung women are peculiar for their interesting culture of wearing brass rings around their elongated neck, even on their arms and legs. They are a serious attraction to western tourists who pay a good sum of money to see the "giraffe women" in flesh.

The Padaung girl begins to wear her neck ring between two to five years, following a ritual by a priest. Initially it's quite uncomfortable but begins to feel normal over the years. As she grows, the length of the coil is lengthened so that a full grown woman could have up to twenty or thirty something rings of brass wound round her neck giving her a seemingly elongated neck which is considered very attractive by their men.
No one knows for sure the origin of this weird culture but many of these women still hold fast to it in Thailand today.

Neck-stretching is form of beautification to the padaung women, they rarely remove the neck rings in their life time except on rare occasions like during medical exams. It's also said that a woman on committing adultery can be stripped of her neck coils as a punishment. When the ring is removed after many years, the neck muscle has atrophied and can no longer support the head normally. Besides that, the neck is usually scarred and discoloured leaving the woman with little or no option than to put back the brass coils.
(Image © Keystone/Getty Images) 

Does the brass neck coils really elongate the neck?
X-rays have shown that the ring compresses the rib cage and pushes the collar bone/clavicles and upper ribs  downwards giving the illusion of an elongated neck. The weight of the rings twists the collar bone and eventually the upper ribs at an angle 45 degrees lower than what is natural.

I'm enthralled by God's creation of varieties of beautiful amazing people with their unique cultures, many of whom we are not even aware of their existence.

Really, I respect this culture but I don't fathom the idea of disfiguring one's body out of a misplaced sense of beauty. Imagine the pain and inconvience those little girls have to go through with such heavy object on their neck.
(Image © Karl Lehmann )

Time changes yesterday.

Take a look at the scene in this 1956 photo, I see about four men bringing out a big structure from a container sorounded  by a crowd of men on suit. By the way they were eagerly waiting and watching you can tell that whatever was inside the box must be something very vital or amazing .
 Well, it's actually a 5 mega byte hard drive that had just been shipped  out by IBM. That's right! Only 5mb and its about the size of a small car.That was way back when the computer had just been invented, and that hard drive which can't hold more than a single track in an album was the scientific wonder at that era.

Today, over 6 decades later, I can store hundreds of movies in my 1 terabyte hard drive which is about the size of my palm or in my 64G memory card which is as tiny as as a nail on my finger. Well, such is life, time changes yesterday and change is constant in life.

Today as I look at this photo , it looks ridiculous and funny. But you know that's how life really is. Sometimes we find ourselves engulfed by trend or entangled in a prevalent condition that seems so overwhelming as at then, such that we might be forced to take one or two decisions. The truth is that it will all pass away.

Someday you will just look back at that same thing or situation that either amazed or terrified you (maybe laughing too) and be like "I can't believe I did this or that just because of this common/ordinary thing...."
Time changes so many things, including your opinions and perception of the world around you and life in general.

Photo courtesy of History in pictures

Separated from death - the story of a passenger.

On one of my trips to western Nigeria, a passenger shared this unique story of how God singled him out from death. Mr John is an elderly man who has spent most of his life as a Christian evangelist.This is his story;

Mr John wanted to travel to Lagos, Nigeria.  When he arrived the park, the que was terribly long and it seemed the transport  company had sold out much more tickets than the number of seats actually available.  There was just 2 luxurious buses  currently available, with the passengers all lined up according to their ticket numbers patiently waiting to get into their seats.
One of the transport officials came to a point just in front of Mr John and devided the  que asking Mr John and those behind him to move into the second bus. Inside the second  bus, there was chaos as many passengers did not sit according to their sit numbers. In the midst of the confusion and quarrels,  Mr John lost his sit and was peturbed on realising that he was the only one without a sit.

Fortunately, a third bus came along soon and Mr John was asked to move again into the third bus which he did without complaining. But suddenly someone came out to inform Him that there was a mix up and there was actually a vacant sit behind in the second bus. Now fed up and not minding that he was still the only passenger sitting in the third bus, Mr John declined and decided to patiently wait for the bus to get filled. Just then a fat woman arrived, a woman whose destiny had already been sealed!. She seemed to be in a hurry and quickly demanded to have the vacant sit in the second bus.
About an hour plus later Mr John's bus moved. Mid way into the journey, they were forced to stop at an express road where a large crowed had just gathered in front. It was an accident, a luxurious bus had just run into a fuel tanker and there was a huge fire.  It was the second bus that Mr John was sopposed to be in and there were no survivors!

As John narrated the story I could feel the pain in his voice and tears in his heart. He emphasised on how much God cares for and protects his servants. He also admonished us to be however ready at all times because no one knows tomorrow .
Well, that's a scary story to hear while you are on a journey but thank God for journey mercies .

by Chioma Morah

If wishes were horses.

I thought I had a mountain of a dream
A dream that seemed almost impossible
Day and night I prayed and wondered
Do dreams still come true?

I thought I had a mountain of a dream
One that kept my mind constantly preoccupied
Night after night sleep eluded me
As my heart cried, God, will I ever get there?

Then I saw this touching picture
It's of a little boy with a very big dream
he was courageous enough to nurse it
A desire that seems almost impossible.

No one deserves to be incomplete
I know that miracles do happen
but I also pray that someone helps him.
A prosthetic leg at least would do!

by Chioma Morah
photo credit: unknown.

Why old couples look alike.

Ever wondered why many  old couples have striking resemblance? It's a popular observation and scientists have proposed some explanations for this. These are some of the explanations given.

Decades of shared emotions.
Research reveals that the happier the marriage, the more the couple resembles each other. A study was conducted at the University of Michigan by psychologist Dr Zajonc & Co-researchers. Test subjects were randomly given photos of people with the background blacked out. They were told to match the men with the women they most resembled. Twenty-four pictures were of couples when they first married. The other Twenty-four  were of the same couples 25 years or more later. The couples were white, lived in Michigan or Wisconsin, and were between 50 and 60 in the second photos.

The judges discovered that the young couples showed little or no resemblance to each other while there was marked resemblance between the couples who had been married a quarter-century.While the resemblances were not dramatic - some seemed to involve subtle shifts in facial wrinkles and other facial contours, for instance - they were marked enough that the judges were able to match husbands and wives far more often when the couples were older than when they were younger.

Dr Zajonc proposed an explanation for this; common life experiences over years and years can alter facial musculature and wrinkle patterns, leading to an increased resemblance. Couples unconsciously mimic the facial expressions of their spouses in a silent empathy and that, over the years, sharing the same expressions shapes the face similarly.

Similar  environment
Similar environment, similar diet, similar disposition, postures, gesticulations etc

Initial resemblance
Some others are of the opinion that some couples initially look alike when they got married.

If all the above is logical, then what happens in the typical  african polygamy scenerio?  Will a man look like his 4 or 5 wives at same time? Or will they all find a way of collectively looking like each other?... just thinking aloud!

photo credit : www. Stopcoloncancernow.com

When People Change

"You have really changed"! Some of us receive this accusation quite often. Initially, I would usually try to defend myself, while at other times I would get hurt and raise my voice. This was just until I got to learn the other meaning of those words, the real implication behind the sentence, I'll tell you.

Every human has his own way of life, we all have our perculiar personal battles and issues. ln life, you sometimes have to take decisions which in your own judgement is the right thing to do in order to achieve certain goals. This means therefore that you cannot have it as a goal to please every one around you all the time.
Having said this, I have come to realise that there are some people in one's life who are there to pull you down the ladder. When they say "you've changed o! What they actually mean is,  "you have stopped living your life the way we want it, you've stopped placing us first before you, you've stopped filling us in on little details in your life,  you've  now taken charge of your life and we don't like it,  you have changed!"

Well, there's no way you can progress  in life if you must please everyone around you. Even the only perfect man Jesus had a million haters. It's important to be nice to people around you, but the main goal is to please and glorify God not man.

by Chioma Morah
Image courtesy of animatedimages.org

Dirty diamonds don't shine.

Mathew Henry once said, "there's great worth often hidden in despicable packages".
There's an attitude in the society that is not appealing to many neither is it to God, it's an attitude of pride, arrogance and a feeling of superiority (proverbs 16:5).
 All humans were created equal with same substance and design, no man is made of gold while his neighbor is made of copper or wood. We are all same, flesh from dust! The only thing that creates the differences is the opportunities and privilege that one man has over the other and these mould our various destinies.

That not withstanding, no one knows tomorrow, that boy feeding from your trash today might just be the man in whose hands your life or destiny may lie tomorrow.
Never look down on anyone, because some people due to certain conditions are just like precious stones wrapped up in dirt or clay. Because u know what? dirty diamonds don't shine.

So, what's your excuse?

I saw these photos on face book, I can't remember who posted them or the original source but I saved them because they sent a message straight to my heart. The photos were captioned "what's your excuse". 

Now, I don't know who the guy in the photos is, nor his name but I can see what he's doing. Maybe he's an engineer,  construction worker or something but I'm moved by the fact that he did not allow his disability become a limitation in his life. Didn't the bible say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4: 13). What's my excuse if I don't become what I ought to be in my life?

Meet Dr Ain - the orthopedic surgeon with a difference

Dr Micheal Ain ... A Dwarf Surgeon , a living source of inspiration for all those who Underestimate their Capabilities. ... He became a Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon from one of the best Universities John Hopkins after being refused from 30 programmes. ... He never left trying hard even after Multiple Failures and Refusals.

‪#‎BIOGRAPHY‬
Dr. Michael Ain is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and neurological surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include achondroplasia, clubfeet, orthopaedic surgery, pediatric orthopaedics and skeletal dysplasias. Dr. Ain is the director of the Residency Training Program in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Ain and his colleagues have developed groundbreaking surgical techniques for patients with spinal deformities and skeletal dysplasia, including the design of prostheses and instruments for people less than four feet tall and the use of pedicle screws instead of hooks and wires for scoliosis surgery.

Dr. Ain received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Brown University. He earned his M.D. from Albany Medical College of Union University. He completed his residency at Albany Medical College and performed a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Ain''s research interests include skeletal dysplasias, scoliosis, achondroplasia, pediatric trauma, pediatric spinal deformities, hip dysplasia 



Photo credit & writer; Anonymous 

Why some remember their dream and others don’t – Study

Everybody sleeps, but does everybody dream? This, among other related issues, is perhaps one of the most interesting and unsolved mysteries surrounding human existence, and possibly one of the many questions that have not enjoyed relative unanimity in response from people.

When asleep, eyes are closed, the postural muscles are relaxed, the nervous system becomes inactive and consciousness is practically suspended, but in the midst of all these is the phenomenon called dream, which can be described as a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep.

Dreams can be interesting sometimes, coupled with its psychological and spiritual colorations. It is not even uncommon for people to find themselves in some fairyland or paradise while dreaming but wake up to find themselves where they were before sleeping.

Even though scientists argue that everybody dreams, some people maintain that they do not dream while some others say they can’t remember theirs. Be that as it may, a study by some French scientists has revealed the reason why some people remember their dreams and others don’t.

The study was carried out mainly to unravel this puzzle and to identify which part of the brain differs between those who remember their dream and those who do not.

In the course of the study, the researchers, led by Perrine Ruby, of Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, used Positron Emission Tomography to measure the brain activity of about 41 volunteers during their sleep and while they were awake.

The participants were then shared into two groups, with the first one comprising those (21) who used to recall their dreams at least 5.2 times in a week and the other group comprising those who rarely recall theirs, like twice in a month.

After observing the spontaneous activity in their brains both during sleep and while awake, Lyon and his team found that when the brains of people in the two groups were examined, there was some variation in the spontaneous activity in two regions of their brains, namely, medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction.

While the medial prefrontal cortex is responsible for making associations between context, locations, events, and adaptive responses like emotions, the latter is the information-processing hub in the brain, responsible for imitation, and forming pictures of oneself and other people in the brain. The two, according to the researchers, help in creating dreams and remembering them, more so that medial prefrontal cortex plays a huge role in memory and decision-making function of the brain.

After the observation using PET, the researchers found that in the brains of those who usually remember their dreams, there is a higher level of activities in these two areas of the brain and the section of the brain that responds to external stimuli compared to the level of activity in the brains of those who rarely remember theirs.

They added that those who react more strongly when their names are called by other people and those who tend to wake up by any slight interference in their sleep are more likely to remember their dreams. Funny as the latter sounds, the researchers stated that that brief moment of being awake, whether by interruption or naturally, helps such people to encode (commit) the dream they already had to memory.

The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology and reviewed by Daily Mail added, “High dream recallers have twice as many times of wakefulness during sleep as low dream recallers and the brains of the high dream recallers are more reactive to auditory stimuli during sleep and wakefulness than those of the low dream recallers.

“This may explain why high dream recallers are more reactive to environmental stimuli, awaken more during sleep, and therefore better encode dreams in memory than low dream recallers. Indeed the sleeping brain is not capable of memorising new information; it needs to be awake to be able to do that.”

The researchers explained further that people are more likely to remember the dreams where they had memorable encounters than others where there was nothing much of interest.

On enquiry, findings by Saturday PUNCH showed that people (almost everybody) want to remember their dreams, possibly everytime they close their eyes to sleep, which has been appeared impossible. Thus, the question, what can people do to remember their dreams?

A report on Medicaldaily pointed out certain things that could be done by people who want to remember their dreams. One of such is for people to train their brains to remember and recreate things, which it called the window treatment.

The report advised people to watch scenes unfold outside a window, observe everything to detail, including colours, objects, people, animals and movements.

The report added, “The goal is to detail in your head everything you are seeing. Don’t generalise. Once you’ve done this, write everything down in a notebook. By experiencing the events and recounting them, you’re training your brain to remember details in real life, and eventually your dreams, too.”

Another recommendation by the report is that people should wake up naturally instead of being interrupted suddenly, such as splashing water over a person sleeping or shouting the person’s name vigorously which could wake the person suddenly.

“Waking up naturally is a much smoother transition between dream sleeping and wakefulness, and chances are that dreams could be more easily remembered this way. Even taking an extended nap can improve a person’s chances of remembering,” it added.

The other recommendation is that people could keep a piece of paper and pen beside them before sleeping, such that the moment they wake up, even if it’s in the middle of the sleep, they should quickly record every information they remember from the dream.

It added, “Rather than waiting for the morning to write in the paper, keep it close to you at night, and as soon as you wake up from a dream, write whatever you can remember again, all the details, like you would with the window treatment. If you don’t want to write everything down, take notes of the key points. Soon enough, dreams should start to become more vivid, and remembering them should be easier as well.”

A similar report on asdreams.org pointed out that reminding oneself of the need to remember a dream and keeping a paper and pen or a tape recorder by the bed side to take notes could help improve one’s dream memory. It added, “As you wake up, try to move as little as possible and try not to think right away about your upcoming day.

“Write down all of your dreams and images, as they can fade quickly if not recorded. Any distractions will cause the memory of your dream to fade. If you can’t remember a full dream, record the last thing that was on your mind before awakening, even if you have only a vague memory of it.”

Commenting on the spiritual implication of not remembering one’s dream, Pastor Nons Amano, explained that it is not good for a Christian not to remember his or her dream.

He said, “The implication is that such a person is missing the information that God is releasing to him or her because it’s the time Heaven is broadcasting. It’s a moment that vital information about destiny and things to happen are being released. So, if you don’t remember your dreams, devil is keeping those ideas and information so that you won’t be aware of it. Then, you must learn to speak in tongues to activate the spirit, which is like the antenna, to be able to pick signal in the spiritual realm.”

He also advised that when people eat heavy food before sleeping, or they leave their phones on such that it could ring to wake them suddenly, or they start talking the moment they wake up, they might not be able to remember their dreams.

Also, a cleric, who identified himself simply as Adebayo, said there was nothing wrong for one not to remember his/her dream but that “it is wrong to share your dream with a stranger that is not your trusted person.”

In his response, a psychologist, Prof. Toba Elegbeleye, explained that people could lose track of some of their dreams but that “when dreams are very (thoroughly) impactful, you tend to remember.”

This article was extracted from PUNCH.
Photo credit : Getty images & www.cliparthut.com

Against all Odds

This is a truly touching  love story, and a wedding that took place two days ago in Lusaka.
Suzyo Muzuri (28) a Young Lusaka Man deferred all odds and got married to his long time lover, Diniwe Bowa (27) in his hospital bed at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka

Suzyo was involved in a road accident two weeks ago just before his wedding and lost one leg. They still managed to get married despite the challenges.
The wedding was attended by a group of people that included family members and friends who witnessed the two exchange their marriage vows in the hospital ward. 


In her FB page, Diniwe rebukes all those condemning and criticising her decision to go along with the marriage plans and she is determined to keep the promise she made to her fiancé months ago. She reaffirms her trust in God and her belief that He will make all things possible for them.

I'll say this is true love. That lady has a true heart of Gold, she's one in a million! And the man, he's really courageous too. He has found himself a really good thing and God will open the heavens to bless that Union. Wish them a happy married life.

(Pictures Courtesy of Q FM)

World's most notorious female islamic terrorrists

( Photo credit :  pix good.com)

For over a decade now, female suicide bombing became the popular trend in terrorism in many nations and recently in Nigeria. Whatever happened to the traditional Muslim norm that Muslim women are supposed to be secluded at home busy with their primary role of housewife and motherhood while the men are educated to fight.
What kind of god contradicts himself?
What kind of god derives joy in killing and destroying innocent lives?
No doubt the devil is seriously at work.

Female suicide bombers can easily get past military checkpoints. women appear harmless such that they are less likely to be searched and if the security services are too invasive they may begin to make cases of sexual harassment

"Moreover, When an improvised explosive device is strapped around a woman’s midsection, it gives the impression that she is pregnant, throwing off security forces who don’t expect a woman — let alone one who is pregnant — to be carrying a bomb,” says Prof. Bloom  (Author of Women and terrorism.).

The big question is; Do these women volunteer or are they coerced? Well, both.

In extreme Islamic societies, many young girls are forced into marriages with Islamic radicals, Jihadists  etc where they are brainwashed into suicide bombing. In such societies, a raped woman is no longer marriageable, it is believed that she can redeem her family name and soul with eternal martyrdom (suicide bombing ).
Here are a few of the  notorious female terrorists and suicide bombers ever known;

Samantha Lewthwaite (aka "White Widow")

(Photo credit: Getty images)

One of Britain's most wanted terrorist and is still being sought by British and US intelligence services. The mother of four was reported to have been gunned down last year but sources say she is still alive and recruiting female jihadi suicide bombers.
Lewthwaite was a normal British christian girl until she met and  married suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, a Jamaican-born Yorkshire man (Reuters). She is said to be responsible for numerous bombings including that of Kenya and Abuja, Nigeria.


Sajida  Al-Rishawi

Al-Rishawi was the most well-known face of modern female terrorism. She hailed from a powerful terrorists family in western Iraq. She and her husband  were involved in the al-Qaeda attack of three luxury hotels in Amman, Jordan. Unlike her husband who successfully detonated his own explosive, she failed and was captured in 2006.  According to Reuters, IS was keen to secure her release in exchange for the Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. She was later executed by Jordan government after the pilot was burnt alive on January 3 this year.


Reem Riyashi,

(Picture credit : Getty Images)

Riyashi, a Hamas operative, detonated herself at the Erez Checkpoint between Gaza and Israel on 14 January 2004. She passed through a security check by claiming to have metal plates embedded in her legs. She triggered her device while being searched by a female Israeli soldier. (1)

Khava Barayeva

17-year-old blew herself up in a truck filled with explosives at a military base in Chechnya . This was when the group "black widow" into limelight.(2 )

The Black Widow phenomenon is a nightmare for the Russian government. They are a group of female suicide bombers aka  shahidkas. A Russian journalist  Julia Jusik called them “Brides of Allah”. Many of these are wives of the murdered Chechen fighters seeking for revenge. Some  are poor or unemployed teenage girls.But, their common link is hatred towards the Russians because of war in Chechen. (Wikipedia )

Shamil Basayev

In 2001 Shamil Basayev founded "Riyadus Saliheen," a brigade of female suicide attackers in Chechen. The formation of the brigade is the direct cause of the many tragedies in Russia today.


Dzhanet Abdullayeva

The deadliest identified female suicide bomber in history was Dzhanet Abdullayeva, who blew up a Moscow tube train in 2010, killing 38 people. She was a member of black widow (1)


Thenmozhi Rajaratnam
Rajaratnam, a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), carried out a suicide bombing that killed Rajiv Gandhi, then prime minister of India, on 21 May 1991. (1)

And many others...


REFERENCES

1. David Blair . (2015 ) Revealed: world's deadliest female terrorists.  The Telegraph.
2. Yuri Barmin. (2013) Female "Black Widow" Terrorists Expose a Hard Truth About Russian Culture

Why pregnant women crave for certain foods.

Cravings during pregnancy are sudden urge or desire for certain type of food, drink or substances.

They can feel overpowering such that the woman will not be okey until she takes that food she craves for.

Some women even develop a potentially harmful form of craving known as Pica. This is a craving for non - food items like soap, charcoal, clay, dirt, Ash, starch.

It is not known for sure what causes cravings during pregnancy. Some theories say that it's the body's way of demanding for some nutrients it lacks.

Studies show that the extreme  hormonal  changes during pregnancy can alter both a woman's sense of taste and smell. So certain foods and odors can not only be more enticing but in some cases more offensive;  This may also explain why a woman will suddenly begin to despise certain food she used to like before pregnancy (food aversion)

 Sometimes,Pica can be a sign of underlying physical or mental illness. A pregnant woman with persistent Pica craving needs to see her doctor.

by Chioma Morah

The Evil called "Wife battery"

I lay on my bed rolling from side to side, it was past midnight yet sleep had eluded me. How could I sleep when the noise and the pain were becoming unbearable for me. The screams where piercing my heart as I covered my ears with my middle fingers. It was the voice of a woman crying and screaming, my neighbour’s wife being beaten and battered again, and she is pregnant! It wasn’t the first nor would it be the last time.

 No wonder I rarely saw her outside, each time I saw her, she was always in a hurry to get back inside her house, she avoided the company of fellow women and she never wore a smile. That is the image of a woman whose ego is gone, she has learned to live in silence under the control and terror of her abusive husband.

What Kind of man beats his wife like an animal? Ask me, I’ll say he is a weak man! Yeah that's right, a very weak man. If he cannot appropriately handle a single human being, a weaker sex for that matter who God placed under his authority, then he seriously lacks leadership qualities. One may say “well, but she nags, she doesn’t listen , she insults...’’  Some women are terrible but whatever the case, Wife beating should never be an option.

That man is yet to learn to be a man. Women are emotional beings, a times we overreact and  many times we make mistakes too, what we need is proper guidance with love.

A  man should know how to command his wife’s love, respect (not fear) and loyalty, he can make her "worship" him. He should also know the appropriate way to correct her. Every woman is like a machine ( a machine with a heart) in that she has buttons that switch her on and off, she has parts of her that need to be lubricated often to make her function normally.

If you keep pressing the wrong buttons you might just keep bringing out the negative aspects of your woman. A man who truly loves his wife would do what it takes to make it easier for her to keep submitting and also keep lavishing him with love and support, Such a man prospers.  God knows this, that was why he obliged men to love their wives as their own bodies, just as the woman submits. (Ephesians 5: 22-29)

A  wise woman understands her husband, his psychology and his temperament. She should avoid annoying her man to the point where he looses control of himself especially if he's hot tempered.
If  domestic violence and abuse is a habit of his, then she should know the limit above which it can damage her, the children and family. Its necessary for her to seek advice from appropriate channels in such situations 

by Chioma 

( Photos Courtesy of Alexsandro Palombo)

Celebrating our treasures.

Today we celebrate them children, little angels both big & small. They are all precious gifts from God. I gladly look forward to someday when I will have them. Dear Lord  please make it soon!...Lol.  I'm trying to picture their faces, beautiful little treasures growing in wisdom , in stature & in favor  with God and man just like Jesus did (Luke 2: 52).

My heart goes out to all the helpless and unfortunate children out there. Those with no special one to really love or care for them and guide them trough this rough world. God be with them.

It's children's day in Nigeria today.

Photo courtesy of CP cartoons ( 2015)

It began with Ireland

Three  days now and the party's still on, colourful displays, fireworks in the air, sounds of popping champagne, young men and women drunk with fun & glee, John hugging and kissing David,  and Sandra kneeling on one knee right in the middle of the cheering crowd to propose to Jane.

"Ireland became the first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote, sweeping aside the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church in a resounding victory on Saturday for the gay rights movement"
With the final ballots counted, the vote was 62 percent in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, and 38 percent opposed.
The pro-gay marriage vote captured headlines around the world, with celebrities praising the outcome.

What more can I say, God's word is very clear on homosexuality (Mark 10: 6-9, Lev 20:13, Rom 1:27, I Cor 6:9 ). Last time I checked my bible, it was Adam & Eve I saw as God's created couple, not Adam & Steve or  Ada & Eve!....It began with Ireland,  End time major agenda fully in progress!

The Cat behind the window

Is it mere coincidence? Or could it be the same cat that was seen just behind the window the night before. 
This question raced through my mind as I quickly strolled past the dead cat in the gutter in a hurry to catch up with the early Sunday morning church service.

One night, while I was on vacation at grandma’s apartment somewhere in Enugu, south eastern Nigeria, I was awakened by the sound of mama firing prayers in the blackness of the night.  With my eyes still battling with sleep I could barely assimilate  what she was saying although I think I heard her say  “You demonic cat, I command the holy ghost fire to strike you dead right now in Jesus name!”

In the morning, She told me she was awakened by  the “meow” of a large scary looking cat standing outside her window frame. The apartment was on the 2^nd floor of a storey building and there were no nearby trees, structures, or stair way so I wondered how the cat got itself up to that window.

If you are African, you would know the general perceived significance of a cat by your window in the dead of the night. It can send chills down the spine of even a prayer warrior...Lol.  The next morning a dead cat lay in the gutter just in front of the gate of grandma’s compound. Hmmm...  really mysterious.

by Chioma Morah