Blog

MUNA

9 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content, Short Stories, Stories

Written by Jennifer Azubuike “You cannot build integrity on promiscuity, it is madness!” Muna disdainfully mimicked the words of his neighbor and hissed. He pushed the center table aside and looked underneath but could not find the remote anywhere on the floor. He could have sworn he saw it on the table that morning. How am I supposed to turn down the volume of this blasting TV? How did it get so loud anyway? He thought to himself. Personally he didn’t mind it but he was afraid Elder Tim would complain again. Elder Tim, that grumpy old fellow. He never seemed pleased with anything. “My brother and I are promiscuous?” Muna humphed and shook his head.  How dare him insinuate we are promiscuous. Has he even seen his granddaughter? That Jezebel throws herself at any man who as much as makes passes at her. Besides, he doesn’t even know us. I mean he doesn’t care to get to know who we are. The other time Jean visited, I tried to introduce her and the best he could do was smirk and walk into his house without saying hello. So rude! If he had waited he would have gotten to know that she is my sister and not a random girl. I mean he’d know I have four sisters!  Muna moved to the couch and lifted the throw pillows but found nothing underneath them. He straightened up and looked around again. “And this useless new TV has no control button attached to the body.” He cursed. That moment the smell of raw tobacco started to seep into the house prompting Muna to shut the windows. That could only mean that the old man is already sitting on his patio again. He snuffs tobacco as the clock works. He smokes like a chimney but has the guts to judge innocent me as promiscuous. Does he even know the meaning of the word? I doubt it! I think he meant to say ‘promising.’ Yeah he probably meant to refer to me and Adam as promising young men. You know what? I will take it as that. We are promising young men! He opened the drawers of the TV stand, and inside the bottom drawer he found the remote. How the heck did it get there? Muna turned down the volume of the TV. “I have told Adam countless times that the volume of this TV does not have to be the source of his deafness, but if he doesn’t care about his eardrums he should care about mine and turn this shit down when he is done using it.” He retrieved his jacket from the dining chair and threw it over his shoulder before starting upstairs. Again, he recalled the spiteful look on the face of Elder Tim that morning when he tried to say hi. Sometimes he feels some sort of pressure to prove himself to that man; a chance to prove his innocence, credibility, integrity…whatever. “How can someone know so little about a person, yet despises them so much? Such a self-righteous bigot!” Muna hissed. As he walked past the door to Adam’s room, he heard a sound coming from the room and stopped. He checked his wristwatch. It was 11:30 AM. Adam should be in his office. He saw him get in his car that morning for work. What then was that sound? He moved closer and was about to push the door open when it occurred to him to take caution. Just on the ground in front of the door laid a hat. He bent over and examined it closely but didn’t recognize it to belong to him or Adam. Besides, his brother never wears hats. Suddenly it hit him. They were being robbed! Muna quickly retreated back to the kitchen in search of a weapon. He picked up a bread knife but set it down again. “If the thief is taller than me then I need something bigger.” He said to himself as he searched for something else. Behind the fridge, he found a rod of about twenty-four inches and picked it up but also added a kitchen knife. Stealthily, he walked back upstairs armed with a rod in one hand and the knife in the other. When he arrived at the door, he steadied his trembling hands and set himself to attack as soon as the door opened. On a second thought, he changed his mind and kicked the door forcefully. The door swung open with a bang! Muna rushed into the room, raised his hand to strike but hung it in the air. It took a minute for his brain to comprehend the sight his vision transmitted to them. In another split second, the adrenaline rush he had felt melted into weakness; a weakness so overpowering that he dropped the knife and narrowly missed stabbing his own foot. Adam was lying on somebody in his bed naked. Muna could not see the other person but whoever it was must have a really small stature. The party got startled when Muna entered. Adam quickly rolled off the other side of the bed while trying to hide his nakedness. The other party pulled the duvet over his or her head to hide as well. Muna couldn’t see the face. “Mu..muna!” Adam stuttered at his brother who stared back at him confused. “What are you doing, Adam?” He didn’t respond but looked like a child caught doing what he should not be doing. Out of curiosity, Muna walked to the bed and pulled back the duvet to uncover the person lying there. In shock, he looked at his brother and screamed “Adam! What? Adam what is this?!” The girl tried to hide herself again but in vain. Ashamed and confused about what to do, she burst into tears. Muna stared at the twelve year old daughter of their neighbor and back again at his brother in disbelief. He had seen this girl a few times with her mother

MUNA Read More »

GOD HEARS…

8 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content, Short Stories

Written by Jennifer Azubuike It must have been a normal day in heaven. Angels taking orders; YAHWEH, maybe, reviewing orders; the twenty-four Elders and the Seraphim worshiping; Jesus advocating… Just a regular day – when all of a sudden there was a stand still because The Most High ordered a hush! Angel Gabriel turned around to see what the sudden hush was about and found The Father with Christ by His side looking intently down into the earth. Something big must be happening down there to call such attention. He leaned to another angel and asked, “What did I miss?” “Uhm…I am not sure.” The Angel replied. Gabriel moved closer to see. In Babylon there were three young men standing in front of a crowd. This large crowd were all before a magnificent man-like image of earthen gold. He could see a furious King huffing and puffing at these young men. By divine supernatural knowledge, Gabriel could see that these three men were righteous. Who are they and why are they drawing so much attention from us? Gabriel thought. Curiously, he listened intently to the conversation among the men as he could hear it. At that time, everyone in Heaven could hear it. “We serve a living God and will not worship your golden image O King.” The three men chorused. * * * Let’s rewind to how it started. Earlier that year, there had been rumors in the capital city of Babylon that the King was working on a big project. Shadrack was sitting in his office one day when the Chief engineer brought in a budget for approval. “What?! What kind of project would require such big budget?” “Well, it’s a new god for Babylon and the King wants it to be grand. In fact, it is being made entirely of gold that is why the budget is big. I just need you to sign here.” Shadrack shook his head as he signed off on the budget. There are so many gods littered around Babylon, what difference would this one make even if was made of gold? It won’t speak or do anything helpful besides just being a new center of attraction to Babylonians for another few years. Being of Hebrew descent, the God of his own ancestors has evidence that He is alive and spoke to the people when He wanted. The gods in Babylon do not do such. Personally, he thought it was dumb to invest so much in something so useless, but he was only an overseer, and does not really have a say when it directly involved the King. Afterwards, Shadrack did not think much of the incident again except for mentioning it in passing to his friends – Daniel, Meshack and Abednego – until that fateful day. An order had gone out to have every person that held a leadership position in the country to gather at the temple for an occasion. The invitation read ‘Dedication of the King’s image.’ It was signed by the King was very important. Right off the bat, Daniel declined to attend. Daniel was a man of impeccable reputation and has long established it publicly that he only worshiped one God – that is the God of his ancestors. Even the King knows this and reveres him for it. Therefore, nobody bothered that he did not attend. However, Shadrack was curious to see the project he had heard so much about. Meshack and Abed-nego went out of a sense of duty to the King. Little did they know that they would end up in the precarious position of choosing whether to bow or not to bow to the king’s image. * * * [Back to present] King Nebuchadnezzar laughed hysterically. “Here, I will give you another chance. Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn… and all kinds of music and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be thrown at once into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can rescue you out of my hands?” Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied without hesitation “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you on this point. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up!” Gabriel smiled. So that is what is drawing the attention of Heaven. They are men of incredible faith. He looked on. The King was aggravated by their response and immediately commanded that the burning fiery furnace be heated seven times hotter. He had to appease his injured pride. These three Hebrew men will be a public example of what happens to anyone who tried to make mockery of him. He will destroy them by burning them alive. At that moment, there was a great stir in Heaven. What will The Father do? Will He let these men be martyred? Gabriel laid a hand on his sword still sheathed and looked at The Father. His thoughts were clear, “At thy command my Lord, and I will go.” But The Most High raised a hand to calm the stir and turned to Jesus. “Son, will you go?” “But Father, it is not my time to manifest on earth, yet.” “I know, but Nebuchadnezzar challenged Me, so I want him to see Me.” “Hmmm…Okay, I will go, My Father, I will keep them safe.” Heaven rejoiced and continued to watch as Jesus descended to earth. When King Nebuchadnezzar followed through with his threat and threw the young men into the furnace even the henchmen that took them to the furnace died from the heat. But

GOD HEARS… Read More »

A LADY AND HER SHOEBOXES

3 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content, Reflections

Written by Jennifer Azubuike I am a big fan of Francine Rivers’ stories. I was reading one of her books when a short story told inside her main story caught my attention (yeah, she’s that good at plot twists and relaying messages). It is a story about a young woman with two shoeboxes. The first shoebox she assigned for prayer requests so that whenever she had a request, she would write it down on a piece of paper, pray over it and put the piece of paper into that shoebox. The second box is for testimonies; when a prayer from the first shoebox is answered, the young woman takes out the note from that box and transfers it to the ‘testimony’ box. What stuck with me about this story was when the woman confessed that whenever she starts to grow weary from a prayer taking too long to be answered, she opens the testimony box and reads her testimonies from the past thus reminding herself of God’s faithfulness and thereby strengthening her faith. I honestly think it is a great idea to note down our testimonies as much as we have a list of requests to ask. That note will not just remind us to thank the Lord for what He has done but also re-energize our faith in our ever-faithful God. Talking about being thankful, my grandmother used to say in a proverb “When you praise a soldier for fighting on your behalf, he will be motivated to go again.” Simply put, the Lord wants us to remember His victories on our behalf. I say so because He was pissed each time the children of Israel murmured and complained when they were faced with difficulties and quickly forgot His past wonders on their behalf. What is the wonderful answers God has given to your requests in the past? Do you still remember them? I mean do you have a testimony box?  Till next time, Peace! Please see other post here

A LADY AND HER SHOEBOXES Read More »

THE MEANING OF JOY

5 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content

Written by Jennifer Azubuike Sometime ago, a series of consecutive events happened that left me depressed and sick; including an accident, money loss and a sad health news. I remember desperately wanting to close my eyes and make everything go away. You could also imagine that the last thing I wanted to do was smile because I was too sad to. In fact, I was so sad that my energy level was below zero, if there’s any such level. While this was going on, I attended a prayer meeting online. During the meeting, every other person was breaking into tongues and destroying yokes in fervent prayers while I just sat there nodding and feeling detached. In my heart though, I quietly begged God for mercy, and God must have heard! Because I soon caught the prayer fire and blasted into tongues myself. Shortly after, I felt my spirit revive and the heaviness in my chest lifted away. Do you know what I felt the days following? JOY! Of course those problems didn’t go away, but because I rediscovered my joy, I consequently found strength to go on with life and also face those problems head on. The experience helped me understand what Christ meant when he said in John 14: 27 “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled.” In this world, the meaning of peace is the absence of trouble or noise but with Christ the meaning of peace is power for sustenance whether in trouble or peace. This inner peace is the source of our joy, and that joy translates to strength; strength for life. A popular Nigerian slang says ‘Wahala no dey finish. (Translation: troubles are never ending)’ When you think about it, it is true. Troubles of life don’t announce their arrival nor do they measure themselves to everyone in equal proportion, but everyone has to deal with some form of trouble. So, do we continually stay sad, anxious or depressed? No! “Then he said unto them…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” ‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬ Life is tough at times; really tough, but I want to remind you that Jesus is ever ready to replenish our joy. If you have to crawl, please crawl to Him because “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” Psalm‬ ‭34:19‬ ‭KJV‬‬ Till next time. Stay lifted. You can read previous posts here

THE MEANING OF JOY Read More »

WHERE DOES YOUR HELP COME FROM?

11 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content

Written by Jennifer Azubuike. Sometime ago, I was working a kind of job where I made deliveries to people based on their request. One particular day, I travelled to a home to make a delivery. When I got to the house, I decided not to turn off my car engine or properly park because I had the intention of making the delivery very snappy. Thus, I put the car in ‘park’ and dashed out. Thankfully, the delivery was quick because the customer responded to her door as soon as I knocked. However, when I exited my car to make that delivery, I pushed down on my ‘all lock’ button on the car door out of habit and didn’t think anything of it until I returned to the car. It was then I realized I had locked myself out with the engine still running and my phone inside the car. I quickly ran back to the house where I had just done the delivery to ask for help. Surely, they will help since I just did them a favor or so I thought. To my dismay, nobody answered the door regardless of the several loud knocks and ‘excuse me please.’ Instead, I felt somebody watching me from a window or something. Creepy right? After standing there and calling for help to no avail, I had to leave. I went back to my car and stood beside it trying to think, but no good idea was coming forth and to make matters worse, neighbors of the woman I made delivery to were beginning to line up behind my car and honk. I didn’t park properly and the size of the car was huge, so there’s no getting around it. I started to explain and beg each one of them to turn around or wait. As the pressure was mounting, I suddenly felt the need to pray. I shut out the noise and prayed quietly to God for help. Right away, I felt calmness flood my mind which gave me some kind of control over my emotions and also came with an inspiration to look further for help. So, I just started walking down the street randomly while asking the Holy Spirit to direct me who to ask. I had walked about two blocks when I found a man working on a house. The moment I waved, he got up and walked towards me, inquisitive. I explained my situation to him and without hesitation he followed me to my car. The first thing he did was speak some words of encouragement; he’s been in that situation himself and understood how it felt. Without asking, he suggested what I needed to do. Additionally, he pulled out his cellphone and voluntarily dialed the cops then handed me the phone to explain the kind of help I needed. Finally, he stood there with me for a couple minutes while I waited for the cops to arrive. He later excused himself to return to his work but not before reassuring me that everything will be fine, and everything did turn out fine. Here’s what I learned that day. Help will not always arise from where you anticipate, and that is okay. If a person is not destined to play a certain role in your life, you will only feel frustrated expecting them to. It helps, I mean, it really helps to be able to pray in ANY situation. Jesus is a present help in times of trouble but it’s important to remember to ASK. Please find previous posts here

WHERE DOES YOUR HELP COME FROM? Read More »

CHOICES 1

12 Comments / Blog, Short Stories

Inside the building of the multimillion-dollar Tech Company, the regular daily buzz was ongoing with a little twist of excitement for the upcoming big wedding. The boss’s assistant walked into the general secretary’s office. The woman was startled when Matt walked in. “Good morning Liz! Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” “You’re early. Is the boss already in his office?” “No, He’s not coming in today. Actually, it’s the reason I’m here. He wants you to take care of these files. He said the Vice would know what to do with the sealed envelopes, so hand them to him when he comes in. In addition, clear his schedule for tomorrow and Friday, he needs the time off for personal stuff.” Liz rolled her eyes. “You say ‘personal stuff’ like we don’t know it’s about his wedding.” “Yeah, whatever, it’s still his stuff.” “I am so excited for him though.” “Me too.” “The boss is the ideal groom, you know. He’s tall, handsome, kind, compassionate, and rich.” Liz leaned on one hand resting on her desk and rattled off dreamily. “Liz, Liz concentrate. He’s taken.” “I know, I know. Unfortunately so.” Matt curiously drew closer and asked. “Wait, you had a crush on Mr. Dave?” She blushed and sat up straight. “No! Of course not. He is young enough to be my son.”   HELLO…THIS STORY WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE BOOK COMING SOON. See other stories here

CHOICES 1 Read More »

WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN

14 Comments / Blog, Christian/Biblical content, Short Stories
King David

(Adapted from 2 Samuel 6:1-23) Written by Jennifer Azubuike Finally they remembered me. My children remembered to take me home. My name is Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the Cherubim on the Ark. My chosen servant, David, led as they came to move my tabernacle to rest.  My children surrounded me. I love their company! As we walked home, they sang me songs and I swayed to the melody. Voices, lyres, harps, timbrels and cymbals. All in beautiful harmony. I swayed to the right when a note hit a beautiful pitch and swayed again to the left. Maybe I swayed a little too far for someone thought I was falling and touched me. At that moment, my anger burned. “Who dared disrupt my bliss?” Someone not chosen has touched me. Alas! Uzzah the son of Abinadab. I was wrath and chastised him but man is too fragile for he fell asleep. His brethren panicked and fled. My children again deserted me. “Come children, I am no monster but a loving Father. I only meant to say I choose who touches me.” But it was too late for they all misunderstood. In a quiet corner of Obededom’s house, I sat and reflected on my action. I am Holy and glorious but also gracious. I want my sons to trust my love for them. Therefore, I promised I will do better and always remember how fragile my children are.   To start, I kissed the household of Obededom with my goodness. Therefore, he prospered. And as if my children heard of my repentance, they rushed to embrace me home again. You see, my children also learned something. Yes, they learned I dislike desecration. Therefore they behaved themselves prudently this time.  When I saw their determination to please me, I fell in love with them over again. I watched my servants rejoice before me. David my beloved danced to my content.  He is a son after my own heart. This time, I behaved myself too because I love my own. I said to myself, In anger I will remember moderation.  And I kept my word until the daughter of Saul touched me. When she held my beloved in contempt, she touched my chosen and therefore touched me.  I will burn no more in anger, I had promised for I may scare my beloveds away again.  So I turned my face away. Yes, my favor away from Michal. Have you not learned, you daughter of Israel? Have you been raised in a Palace in Israel and yet have no knowledge? Have you had many teachers and finest provisions for nought? Know you not that it hurts me to see you miss out on my blessings? Ah! Indeed, my people perish for lack of knowledge.  There is no gain to me when my people suffer. Please study to show yourself approved.  Come, this once and I will teach you this. My child, if I have chosen your spouse for my service, honor them like you would honor me so that it will be well with you. For he that honors my chosen, honors me. See previous post here

WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN Read More »

FINDING ME 1

19 Comments / Blog, Short Stories

Written by Jennifer Azubuike “Ladies and gentlemen please give a round of applause as I call on the winner of this year’s writers’ award to join me on stage. Mr John Mathews.” The thundering sound of clapping erupted as John marched to the front. The hem of his prime suit flapped rhythmically to his movement as he climbed the shorts stairs in quick steps onto the stage. The presenter handed him a plaque and exchanged handshakes with him as he mouthed his ‘thankyous’ in the deafening sound of applause. Face beaming with excitement, he gave a quick glance at the object in his hand and saw his name engraved in gold on the diamond shaped glass plaque. The clapping continued and some folks even stood as they clapped. When the clapping died down, John stepped up to the microphone for a vote of thanks but when he opened his mouth, the words would not come out. He knew what he wanted to say. His mouth formed the words but the sound would just not come. “John! John! Wake up.” A hand slapped him on the shoulder to rouse him from sleep.  John opened his eyes and shut them back in reflex to the light shining above his head. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and sat up. His right arm felt numb from laying on it. He looked in the direction of the person who woke him. It was Kenneth sitting in the next cubicle. “What time is it?” “It is 4am.” “What? No!” “Yeah, you slept the entire time.  I tried several times to wake you in vain, but when you started that mouth exercise, I just had to force you up because it was weird.”   “What mouth exercise?”   Thank you for reading! The rest of this story will be available in a book coming soon.   Read another interesting story here  

FINDING ME 1 Read More »

WHY THE FLAG WON’T FLY

7 Comments / Blog, Short Stories

Written by Jennifer Azubuike Fayemi appeared in the living room in khaki shorts and a singlet with a small bag slung over her right shoulder. She carried her sneakers across the room and without a word to her mother, dumped them just outside the front door before going back inside. A couple minutes later, she re-emerged with a t-shirt over her singlet unbuttoned and seemed ready to hurry out the door. “Where are you going, young woman?” Fayemi was reluctant to reply. She knew her mother would not support her joining a potentially volatile thing as a protest. She had waited for the elderly woman to leave the house before going out but Mami lingered and didn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. Besides, there’s been pressure mounting on Fayemi from watching the protest unfold online. She craved to be part of it; to be part of the peaceful protests that have been going on nationwide for about a week, including in her city. “I am going to the protest, Mami.” “Which protest?” Thank you for reading! The rest of this story will be available in a book coming soon. Read other interesting stories here

WHY THE FLAG WON’T FLY Read More »

Verified by MonsterInsights