Her Sides

  The story of Christmas is as uplifting as the season itself. It’s filled with joy and hope amid the busyness of closing the year and spending time with family and friends. But at the heart of it all stands a central truth: Christmas represents an undeniable gift of love and redemption—grace freely offered to all.   While the celebration of Jesus’ birth is a joyful occasion, it also serves as a call to reflect on its deeper meaning. It reminds us of God’s boundless love and the hope we have through the birth of Jesus. However, we must remember that the gift of Christmas foreshadows a greater sacrifice to come. The virgin-born baby would one day lay down His life as an atonement for the sins of all humanity. It’s a beautiful story of love and grace, but a solemn caution lies between the gift and the sacrifice.   In Romans 6:23 (NIV), we find a warning worth heeding, even during this festive season: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of...

Once, there was gloom, But now comes honour. The people walking in darkness, have seen a great light. They have increased, and their Joy, too. Because the yoke that burdens them, is shattered. For unto us, a child is born. He is both human and divine. The Royal bearer of Peace for all. It is the Miracle of Christmas. - Based on Isaiah 9:1-7

There is something special about this time of the year. December brings an air of joy that can help you reduce the stress acquired over the course year if approached correctly.    On the other hand, you can choose to take on the month's festivities with hyper-stress as you participate in the gift exchanges and family gatherings. Or you can choose to bask in the month's joy and sip in all the comfort of knowing another year is coming to an end. In other words, relax! And as you relax, you reflect - look back and see some of the footprints you have left in the sands of time.   Some prints may bring back memories you wish you didn’t have, while others may remind you of moments you want to last forever. It’s effortless to keep your mind fixated on those not-so-great moments, which can then add to the stress of living through December. However, if you own your thoughts and keep them on the beautiful moments of the year, you’d find that the “thank goodness” moments st...

There is a saying you may have heard; it says, "music refreshes the soul." The Soul – the very essence of our being. It is the part of our existence that lies between the world we live in and the world our spirit seeks to dwell. It is the part of us that lives on long after we are gone from this world. It is the part that seeks out its creator, the one our creator seeks. The Soul is the core of our being; it's the eternal being.   When disaster strikes, you may feel the pain in your body and could very well recover from it. However, if you let that deep dark feeling of loneliness and depression sink into your Soul, it will destroy your entire being. Look around you, see how worries, anxieties, and fear saps out life from souls around you. The hardship of our world serves to create a troubled soul. A troubled soul is a fertile ground for seeds of greed, wickedness, and evil to grow, which eventually grows into lost souls.   Sin...

Christmas is only a few weeks away and it’s a great time to show people just how much we care. As we celebrate God's gift to mankind through the birth of his son Jesus, we can celebrate and encourage people around with words that endure. So just before you tick off your Christmas shopping list as all done, check out the Blossom Collection by Hersides. ` Blossom’ inspired artworks are an encouragement to us all to allow ourselves to become all we were created to be. Infuse your child, friend, wife or yourself with a word that is sure to make eyes glitter with hope every time. " He has made everything beautiful in its time” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Christmas! One of my favorite times of the year. There is just something about this season that makes me smile. I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the colorful decorations all around, or the great lengths to which people go to express love through giving. Whatever the case may be, I love Christmas, and I always will. This season, among others, reminds me of God’s love for me. I have read the nativity story since I was a little girl and have heard the story about the birth of Jesus so many times. But it wasn’t until I had a child that the truth about the depth of God’s love for humanity became clear to me. Almost every mother and father will tell you just how much they love their child and how they would do anything to make that child happy. Just look around schools, playgrounds, and malls, and you will find parents doing all they can to keep their kids smiling — it’s one of the great joys of being a parent. If you took a survey and asked parents, “What would you do to save your...

Someone once told me that the fear of being left alone forever is one of the greatest human fears on earth. It beats the fear of dying, being locked in a room with insects, or any other phobias we may have. The reason is simple: we are made for relationships. From the beginning of time, humankind was made for companionship, so it’s only natural that we seek out the friendship of others. You can see it in the face of the little child who gets left out of the game on the playground, or in the eyes of the young woman who strives to be the centre of attention. People of all ages, races, and creeds have the same need: a deep desire for relationships. Little wonder social media thrives. If you can’t find someone to relate to in person, you can simply connect remotely to others. The danger with that is that people can mask who they really are, and since you can’t judge them by their body language or tone of voice, you need to be extra careful about whom you let into your online...

What would you rather have this Christmas? Time with the ones you love A gift you really want Most people think its best to give gifts during the holidays. Another school of thought believes the best gift to give is yourself , spending time with the people you love.I'm beginning to take sides with the first school of thought .   Hear me out, you spend most of your 365 days with the people you love, wouldn’t it be nice to actually give a gift other than yourself? Well that's me, what do you think? Just for fun, take the poll in the picture above. Have a memorable holiday.   Image courtesy of everydayplus and photostock   at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I love Christmas! It’s that time of the year when spirits are high and people seem to be merrier. Whether by nature or force of the season most people seem to want to go an extra mile to show they care. It’s a nice time of the year, one that sums up all the hard work you have done and leaves a few days to refresh before the new year. Good times. But what I love most about Christmas is the memories it brings, of childhood, of family times, gifts and more importantly, of the reason we celebrate. Except you’ve been living under the rock, you should pretty much know why most of the world celebrates the season of Christmas. Well that’s aside from the great discounts and shopping spree, we celebrate the birth of the son of God. This Christmas story that has been told from century to century, through different cultures and race, holds true even today. That God decided to give up his son to bring salvation to the world through the birth of a baby in a manger. I’ve read this st...

One of the things I love about December is the atmosphere, the feeling of love, giving, and festivity that fills the air. I love the positive aura most people have around them. Even people who have been very uptight throughout the year find some moments to relax and enjoy being with other people.  December is one of my favorite times of the year. But what’s really special about this month is not the weather, nor is it the gifts and parties. Rather, it's that we all go out of our way to show love because the very essence of this time was wrapped in a swaddling cloth and laid in a manger many years ago.  Many years back, God himself decided to take on a human form and come and live among us. I often wonder why, and my best guess is that he wanted us to see that it was possible to live a life free from sin and full of love while on earth. Many of us, myself included, have this notion that we are unable to live a sin-free life on this earth; we believe “to er...

Written by Yemisi Sawyerr There’s something about holidays that focus on “Family,” that should remind us to be thankful. No matter how dysfunctional or crazy we think our families are; never mind if the two brothers haven’t spoken properly in years because of some long forgotten beef that pride will not let either of them be the first to let go of. Never mind that mother and daughter-in-law maintain frosty silences while wrapping presents, seasoning the chicken and yelling at the household staff... Never mind the simmering undercurrents of resentment and anger crisscrossing the room like fiber optic telecoms cables when the family gathers. The gossip, the askance glances, the “Can you imagine what he/she/they said/did? Who does he/she/they think he/she/they is/are???” Never mind the slights, real or imagined. Or the crimes against property, feelings or personal space. The jealousy, the one-upmanship, the insecurity, the pretense. That’s what makes us family. The complex ...

Wishing you all the best of God's grace this season and always. Have a very merry Christmas.   Love always +Seye Oke     Let's stay in touch on twitter @seyeoke

I asked some people what Christmas meant to them and this is what they had to say: "It is celebration season. All over the world, millions of people are already switched into celebration mode. "Christmas is a celebration of love. John 3:16 says, for God so love the world that he gave... It’s all about love and giving."

The last month of the year reminds me more than any other time about the grace of God. This period is synonymous with the birth of God’s son, and it reminds me not just of his birth but also the reason for the birth. In the early hours of this morning, I was reading a verse from the book of Colossians, second chapter, v erse eight: “For it is by grace that you have been saved.” Grace, as described by many authors, is simply unmerited favor, something you get underserved. We look around our world today, and we see this come into play in the life of the little child who survived the auto crash that killed her entire family; we see it in the heart of the drug addict who survived the overdose which sent others to the grave; we experience it in the love of a family, reunited after years of a bitter divorce; we embrace it through the forgiveness of the people we have done wrong to; and we appreciate it through the eyes of the colleague who received the promotion they didn’t expe...

Christmas Wishlist 2013

                          Praise the LORD! Praise God in his Temple! Praise his strength in heaven! Praise him for the mighty things he has done. Praise his supreme greatness. Praise him with trumpets. Praise him with harps and lyres. Praise him with drums and dancing. Praise him with harps and flutes. Praise him with cymbals. Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise the LORD, all living creatures! Praise the LORD! Psalm 150 (GNB) Merry Christmas everyone! I’m so excited to write this special season’s edition. I love Christmas simply because I get to kick back, relax and spend valuable time with my family after a very demanding year. It’s one of the times I truly enjoy—when I get to reflect on how my days, weeks and months have been and to reflect on what I have done well and what I have not done well. Lessons I learned, mistakes I made and the disasters I managed to avoid. As the year gradually roll...