WE HAVE MOVED....

I want to say a big thank you to all those who have visited this blog at one time or the other, i sincerely appreciate your words of encouragements.. without you their wont have been this blog... once again i say thank you. we have moved to http://conspicuties.wordpress.com .... you can find  new posts there. Apologies for any inconveniences.. we hope to serve you better....
Once again.. Thank you for your patronage.. God bless

...LOST IN THOUGHT

I remember the first day we met.  I was at my cousin’s house party dancing and having fun when I spotted her sitting quietly in a corner all by herself.  She was a beauty to behold with exquisite features. She didn’t need to strut for anyone to know that she had a body to die for.  Her smile as she declined dancing with the guys at the party added more sparkle to her radiant beauty.  She watched everyone as they danced and didn’t seem interested in joining in. I kept looking in her direction strategizing how to approach her. Suddenly, my feet began walking towards her as if it had a mind of its own, I didn’t even know how to start, “Mind if I join you?” I screamed above the loud music.

She shifted on the sofa leaving me a little space to sit beside her without saying a word in reply. “Do you enjoy having no fun or are you just a peculiar snob?” she stared at me menacingly and I realized I’d gotten her attention so I continued, “I wish I knew who invited you to this party; he or she deserves some real spanking”

“Do you have a problem with me not dancing? Am I disturbing you? What’s your problem?”

“She speaks!!!” I replied mockingly. ”Since you won’t dance, can I sit by you and enjoy your quiet company?” she smiled at me for the first time, I was obviously the first guy who wanted her company and not just a dance.

“I’m Gbemi Orenuga”, I said stretching forth my right hand, “Titi Oresanya”, she replied as she placed her hand in mine. In one swift motion, I moved her hands up to my lips and gave it a slight kiss, “Nice meeting you Titi”

She smiled and before long, we were chatting away like we’d known each other for ages. I remember her laughter the day I asked her out many months later; we’d grown to be best of friends

“What took you so long? Thought you’ll never ask”

Our relationship blossomed and things couldn’t be better. We were in love, without a care and the future looked so bright for us. We had loads of fun together, blooming friendship. It wasn’t rosy all the way though, but in all we still smiled and were happy with each other.

 The way she moaned with delight when we made love, the clothing she wore to seduce me when she came around visiting. We just couldn’t get enough of each other’s company and bodies. We were in love and we couldn’t be happier. We wanted so much to get married in the nearest future and we worked hard to make it happen.

I’ll never forget the day I proposed to her. I was at work that morning when I called her up, “Hey, how is you? How was your night? Can I see you tonight? We’ll meet at Knoxxy Lounge for 7pm, got something really important I need to tell you. Have a nice day”, I didn’t wait for her to utter a word before I cut the call.

She called back and was furious, “What was that about? Is everything okay with you? Why the brash attitude this early in the morning? Not even a simple good morning from you”. I ignored her questions, “Titi, I don’t have time for all this your questions, its too early to pick a fight with you, let’s meet at the Lounge tonight”. She didn’t say a word as she ended the call in annoyance.

That evening, she came ready to rain fire and brimstone on my head but was willing to listen to whatever it was I had to say first. I could see the anger written all over her face. I’d bought a two thousand dollar engagement ring a week before and it was in the inner pocket of my suit.

As soon as she came in, I motioned for her to sit and ordered for two plates of chicken and chips.

“So how was your day?” I began “You look so stressed…”

“… Are you going to tell me what all this sudden meeting is all about? We could have had this meeting or this talk in either your house or mine” she said angrily cutting me short in mid-sentence.

“I’ll cut to the chase; I was at a prayer conference yesterday where we were told to bring the names of those we wanted to marry for prayers. I wrote down your name and after series of prayers, the pastor picked out your name from the lot and told me that we couldn’t work”, I looked at her face, and there was disbelief, horror, hatred all rolled into one written on it. Whether it was directed at me or the purported pastor, I didn’t know. I sat back, taking my face from impending harm. She shifted in her sit and kept staring at me without saying a word. I was enjoying myself so I continued

“”So, I went to meet him after the service and he particularly told me, that I should end our relationship if I wanted to be happy in life. Titi, that was a man of God speaking and I have decided to obey”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, she was speechless. After a few minutes she found her voice, “You’re breaking up with me? Did this Pastor tell you why we couldn’t work? Does this Pastor know how long we’ve dated? Does he know that I gave you four years of my life?”

I was really having fun, “He doesn’t know that. You are not saying I should disobey the voice of God, are you?”

The tears came down in full force as I spoke; I couldn’t take it anymore as my heart felt for her.

 “Titi, with you as my girlfriend, my joy can only be short-lived, but with you as my wife, as the mother of our kids, waking up to see your beautiful face beside me every single day, my happiness will know no bounds. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you”, I got on one knee and brought out the ring, “Titilayo Oresanya, will you be my wife? One whom I’ll love and cherish for the rest of my life, will you be the mother of my kids, bringing me happiness every single day? Will you..?”

“YES! YES!”She replied with excitement as she wore the ring on her fourth finger. “I will marry you”. We kissed intensely as tears of joy flowed down her cheeks. I kissed the tears and whispered "I'll never stop loving you into her ears", she smiled and replied "i Love you too".

We ate our dinner laughing and chatting away, we were both delighted. After the meal, i paid the bill and motioned that we leave, she looked at me sternly and said, “Gbemi, for what you did tonight; that crazy stunt that almost ran me mad some minutes ago, you are so dead”, I ran out of the bar and headed for my car with my fiancée in hot pursuit.

Our wedding ceremony a  year later was exciting and our joy knew no bounds. Our dream of starting a family together had finally come true.

We had our first child a year later; a lovely boy who looked so much like his handsome father.

We’ve been married for two years now and things are getting out of hand. Our sex life is crap. She joined the prayer warrior s of the church six months ago and since then; our sex life has gone downhill. Each time I make to touch her, she would either begin speaking in tongues or give me one excuse or the other. Then to make matters worse, she got a promotion at work a month later that takes much of her time and every night rather than perform her wifely duties,

“Baby, I’m really tired. I have a lot of work I have to do tomorrow. Let’s do it during the weekend”. That weekend hasn’t come yet.

The sexy outfits she wore to seduce me back then are nowhere to be found. I know she’s too busy to cheat on me despite all that my friends are saying to the negative. I love my wife so much but I’m beginning to feel the urge to cheat on her. She says she’s now a prayer warrior in the church and thus can’t go to work in the morning, be a mother, pray in the night and still have sex that same night. My patience is running thin and I’m on the edge, I wish I knew who to turn to. I’ll hurt her badly if I cheat on her, but it seems I have no choice but…

Wait a minute… could she be punishing me for my proposal night stunt?

BLOGGER'S NOTE:- Compliments of the season. I hope you all are enjoying this blog so far. please click the follow button on the top right corner of the page and follow this blog. my apologies that this post is coming lat4, been busy of late. would love to hear your opinions.

However, I need a kind of contribution from you all. I want to write a series for this blog, but I need a title to work with. Suggestions are highly welcome and I will definitely pick one of the titles suggested to write on over the course of the holidays and acknowledge the "suggestor"..

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.... MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR.....

TOP TEN TIPS FOR SPOTTING A LIAR

I have always been one who likes to know when someone is lying to me. Quite often a person feels the need to lie about something – if you are the person being lied to, there are a few simple tips for catching the liar out. It could come in handy now or in the future with your kids. This is a list of the top 15 tips. Enjoy

1. Physical expression will be limited and stiff, with few arm and hand movements. Hand, arm and leg movements are toward their own body as the liar tries to take up less space.

2. A person who is lying to you will avoid making eye contact.

3. Hands touching their face, throat & mouth. Touching or scratching the nose or behind their ear. Not likely to touch his chest/heart with an open hand.

4. Timing is off between emotions gestures/expressions and words. Example: Someone says, “I love it!” when receiving a gift and then smiles after making that statement, rather then at the same time the statement is made.

5. Gestures/expressions don’t match the verbal statement, such as frowning when saying “I love you.”

6. Expressions are limited to mouth movements when someone is faking emotions (like happy, surprised, sad, awe, ) instead of the whole face. For example; when someone smiles naturally their whole face is involved: jaw/cheek movement, eyes and forehead push down, etc.

7. A guilty person gets defensive. An innocent person will often go on the offensive.

8. A liar is uncomfortable facing his questioner/accuser and may turn his head or body away.

9. A liar might unconsciously place objects (book, coffee cup, etc.) between themselves and you.

10. A liar will use your words to make answer a question. When asked, “Did you eat the last cookie?” The liar answers, “No, I did not eat the last cookie.”

11. A statement with a contraction is more likely to be truthful: “I didn’t do it” instead of “I did not do it”

12. Liars sometimes avoid “lying” by not making direct statements. They imply answers instead of denying something directly.

13. The guilty person may speak more than natural, adding unnecessary details to convince you… they are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation.

14. A liar may leave out pronouns and speak in a monotonous tone. When a truthful statement is made the pronoun is emphasized as much or more than the rest of the words in a statement.

15. Words may be garbled and spoken softly, and syntax and grammar may be off. In other-words, his sentences will likely be muddled rather than emphasized.

TEN TIPS TO SEEM SMARTER THAN YOU REALLY ARE

We all want to seem smart around workmates and acquaintances, but we often don’t have the time to put in to further study to achieve this. Luckily, there are a few ways you can make yourself seem smarter with a minimum of effort. This is a list of the ten best tips for appearing smarter.

10. LEARN A TOPIC TO DEBUNK

The majority of “hot topics” are debated by people with very little knowledge of the subject. A good example of this is global warming – the majority of people you speak to on this subject will tell you how we must change our habits to prevent global warming, but few will know what “anthropogenic global warming” is. Spend a little time learning what the real experts on these faddish topics say and you simply can’t go wrong. Try to remember some of the names of authors so you can quote them.

9. IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY

The simplest way to do this is to subscribe to a “word a day” emailing list. Or better still, read educative materials, novels and write-ups that’ll help with your vocabulary Remember to ensure that you memorize the correct pronunciation and spelling of the new word or phrase. Perhaps you can start with mesonoxian,

8. OBSCURE KNOWLEDGE

By developing knowledge in a very obscure area, you are very unlikely to meet someone else with the same knowledge. This means you can wax lyrical for hours and it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make – no one will know, and you will seem ultra-smart. You might, for example, spend some time studying the early Egyptian dynasties or the writings of early Christian writers. You can be sure that even the most staunch Southern Baptist fundamentalist has never heard of most of the “fathers of the Church”, let alone read anything they wrote. Saint Igantius of Antioch is a good start; you can follow up with Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Origen, Novatian, and Polycarp.

7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

This can be done very easily. Buy a Trivial Pursuit (Genus Edition) and memorize one card before going to bed each night. In no time you will have a fount of general knowledge so immense that no one will dare debate you. The other thing you can do to improve general knowledge is to read “This day in History” articles.

6. ASK QUESTIONS

The best way to use this trick is to ask questions when you already know the answer. This is a form of Irony when used in the right way; when the person you are questioning answers, you can ask a related question which will make it appear that you have taken in what they said, absorbed it, and wish to clarify an aspect of the topic. Additionally, when you are discussing a subject with someone who clearly knows less about it than you, you can ask questions that you know will make them stumble. This is particularly good if you have a large audience as everyone will be in awe of you. Make sure you are humble when the person’s weakness shows.

5. Learn About Good Books

Sparknotes. Use the short notes found on this site to get a broad overview of famous classic novels. You only need to learn enough to make it seem that you have read the book. For a decent classic you should be able to do this in 30 minutes or less. And who knows, you may find that you want to read the book and gain some real intelligence.

4. Watch Movies

Watch some classic movies that are both good and bad. These movies don’t have to be silent movies, black and white, etc. just good movies. Also, watch some bad movies. Someone who can spout off one or two good movies will sound either smart or fake. But someone who can state both good and bad movies, and justify why each is classified that way, will sound intelligent.

3. LEARN QUOTES

A great writer once said: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” – While this is amusing, it is not entirely correct when trying to appear smarter. People will be utterly in awe of you if you can quote a famous line from poetry, a great play, or a witticism by a literary master. There are a million sites on the internet that will help you to find quotations. Learn one a day. If you wish to learn a few lines of poetry, I recommend starting with Plath, Ginsberg, or Whitman; everyone knows who they are, but few will be able to quote them. Oh – the quotation I used here is by Oscar Wilde.

2. USE WORDS YOU KNOW

Nothing makes you looks more like an idiot than fumbling language. Stick to what you know! People will argue that tapes and books can teach you new words, but you still risk a terrible mistake. Learning new words can broaden your thinking and amplify your ability to communicate. However, doing so will open you up to appearing stupid, so you should stick with words you are 100% positive of pronunciation and meaning. Even if it takes you an entire extra sentence to explain a concept that one word would have clarified instantly, it’s totally worth it.

1. BE QUIET

Quite simply, the less you say, the less you can say wrong. Oh, and smile and nod knowingly.

REMINISCING

It was nineteen years ago, there were no GSM phones, no twitter, no facebook; things were much simpler back then. I was just six years of age, an only child of my parents and a bundle of joy to all and sundry. Well, at that age, one would ask if I knew what love meant, but I did; I was in love with my childhood beau Tosin and she was just four years old.

We were in the same Sunday school class as kids and she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever set my eyes on. We were very good friends and almost inseparable. Gradually people began to label us “husband and wife”. It was annoying at the time and I always defended our friendship. I still remember some girls that composed a song for the two of us and I always wished I was older just so I could knock some sense into their thick skulls; no one was going to embarrass my sweetheart..

We attended the same primary school for a while and I looked forward to spending time with her during breaks. We grew up like we were a part of each other until she changed school. Then I began to look forward to when next I would see her, when next we could talk. Any spare time I had to visit a friend, I spent in her house. While we played in her room, I would seize every opportunity I had to peck her on the cheeks or kiss her while she slept. We were both only kids of our parents so it was easy for us. We had a unique kind of friendship and things could only get better between us.

On one occasion, her parents took us to Sheraton hotel along with two other kids for a UNICEF programme. I was too smart for myself back then. We were all given cakes and I threw mine into my mouth at the first opportunity. She held hers and didn’t eat it, I calmly told her, “Cakes are not good for girls o. it’s going to spoil your teeth”. I said it with much confidence and with lots of feigned concern. After a little more persuasion, she handed me her cake which I gladly ate, smiling at my mundane achievement. On the ride back home, she fell asleep and she looked beautiful in her sleep. I planted a soft kiss on her forehead and slept off too. As far as I was concerned, Tosin was mine.

At every opportunity I got I would ask her, “Who would you marry?” to which she always replied “You”. It was like a dream come true to hear her say I was the one she was going to marry. We were a little bit older at this stage, but she was all I wanted and I didn’t want anyone else. Even when I changed schools, I looked forward to seeing her on Sundays.  Her mother would call me aside and ask, “George, how are you doing in your studies? Hope you are still topping your class and coming first”.”Yes ma”, I’ll reply. Apart from making my parents happy, the other reason I wanted to top my class was so her parents would let me marry her.

Few years later, I left for secondary school and my Father was transferred, which meant I wouldn’t see her on Sundays anymore and she couldn’t see me either since I was in an all boys boarding house Secondary school. I missed her terribly and told anyone who dared asked me if I had a girlfriend that I did and her name was Tosin. They’d moved to their private house and she now had a kid sister as did I. I kept hearing about her from people who knew both families and the desire to see her kept soaring.

One afternoon, while visiting a woman in company of my Father, I asked for directions to Tosin’s house from her and she gladly gave me. The following Saturday, I made my way to their home uninvited. Her mother was excited to see me, “How are your studies? Hope you are still topping your class. I trust you”, she asked amongst other things. Her daughter Tosin was glad to see me, but she didn’t show it. She really didn’t care as much as she used to, the long silence from both of us was telling. I looked on with total surprise as she offered me a seat like I was a visitor, it was in total contrast to how her mother had screamed with delight when she saw me afar off, “Tosin!!! Guess who is here”. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the attention her mother gave me and her usual questions, to me it sounded like she was saying; I know you want to marry my daughter, just keep topping your class and it’ll be a piece of cake. Unknown to me, My Tosin wasn't a little girl any more, she had changed in many ways.

I made her house my next visiting place every time I was free. Since we lived in the same city, it was very easy to go see her. I never knew my joy was soon going to be cut short and that our lives were going to change forever.

School was resuming and I knew I might probably never see her again for a long time. So I wrote a beautiful letter to her, typed out a colourful poem and bought her an ‘I miss You Card’. I dropped it in her house hoping that my rather loving gesture would make her not forget me again. Unfortunately, her Dad saw all of them and he flared up, my parents took some bashing and I was warned off her. I was barely thirteen years old.

I tried to childishly salvage the situation but it backfired terribly and this time I knew I’d bitten off more than I could chew. I never saw or heard from her again till I was in my third year in university six years after we’d parted. This time mobile phones were in vogue, I called her up and tried to bring us back to how we used to be. I tried all I could but to no avail; she was studying medicine in one of the expensive private schools in the country. I longed for her company and wanted her back in my life. We had not seen in six years and yet she understood me more than those I’d been with for so long. She knew how to make me happy, she knew the right things to say and when to say them, and I was overwhelmed. What could be better?

When I was experiencing problems with a girlfriend, she was the first I’ll call and she knew just how to make me smile, “Don’t worry, she doesn’t know what she’s got, if she did, she won’t be behaving so irrationally. If only I could meet her to talk some sense into her head”, she’ll say. I would nod in agreement over the phone. I told her everything that was going on with me. It was like she was my long distance girlfriend. Deep down in my heart, I wanted to tell her I loved her, that she was special, that I could go through anything for her, that she was my only fantasy, but I knew not how.

 I went to meet another female friend to solicit for advice on how to get my message across in the best way possible to Tosin and in a total twist of fate; I ended up falling hard for this female friend. I never got to express my love for my childhood beau.  Gradually, the communication gap between Tosin and I began to widen, she was too busy to talk, she never returned my calls or even sent a text. She blamed it on her studies but I knew better. A large part of me still loved her but then I knew we could never work out. I called her to try to make things work, but it began to sound like I was talking to a stranger; distance had taken its toll. Reality began to set in, and I began to pull away. It was only on our birthdays that we called each other to talk and even then we barely talked for three minutes. I hated seeing this childhood fantasy, this beauty that I’d loved as a child gradually turn out to become a stranger, but our relationship had deteriorated beyond repair.

Today am a guest at her wedding, I’m married to that female friend I met for advice many years ago, but I can’t but imagine what could have been if only I’d told her I loved her. If only I’d never written those letters, if only I’d allowed nature run its course maybe I would have been the one getting married to her and not the charming young man from the United Kingdom she was getting married to. I wish she could just know for one day that I’ll always love her no matter what. She always remains a part of me I’d never forget easily. I’m a happily married man to a woman who makes me bask in the euphoria of bliss, but my thoughts run wild with what could have been. If only…

Hope you had a nice read. please if you are finding it hard to comment under any of these blog posts, tweet at me @ConspicuousGent ... would love to hear from you. Watch out for something more exciting during the week. Cheers!!

My Adventure With a Cougar 3

My thinking pattern spun in different directions as it finally dawned on me that my day of reckoning had come. This was the moment I knew was coming but hadn’t adequately prepared for. I braced myself up for the worst and trying in vain to feign confidence said, “So what about? I guess at this point I should be ready for anything”.

She smiled knowingly and replied, “You are not ready for this one my dear”, then she got up and left the room. I sat in the expansive sitting room lost in thought. “Should I make a run for it? What would I happen if I said No?”

She came back in after what seemed like for ever, there were smiles all over her face and a box was in her hand. I refused to be curious as to what the box contained. I silently prayed, “Lord, let this cup pass over me”. She sat in front of me and took up her previous position.

“I have been thinking about this for a while, and until recently when I made up my mind I was going to tell you, I have always maintained that it was a bad idea. I have found a friend in you and I have found someone who could be special in my life again. However, these are not the times to just focus on friendship, I want more than that from you”.

If only she would just go straight to the point and stop the mental torture. There was a unique smile on her lips and it was driving me insane not knowing what she had in mind. Then she said the dreaded words that hit me like a bullet from a shotgun,

“David Banks, Marry me!”, she paused briefly to let her words sink in then she continued,

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, being happy and taking care of you, loving you and having you do the same to me”.

‘Marry me?!!!’ Those were the words that had been hanging in mid-air for so long and had driven me almost insane. I heaved a sigh of relief and for the first time, I managed a big smile. She brought a beautiful gold ring out from the box and waited for my answer.

I had occasionally played with the idea of marrying her in my head, but for obvious reasons I never dwelled on it.  However, at that moment, there were  many things to consider before giving any answer; she was soon going to be forty-one and I was soon going to be twenty-six, she had everything I could possibly want in any woman except for the age difference. She was still admirable and attractive and most men would even call her beautiful. She could still bear children if we rushed the process of making them and a part of me actually cared and loved her. She’d made me who I was and there was still a long way to go if we both got married.

“My Darling Vivian Adenuga, Yes I would marry you. On my honour I promise to be the best I could ever be; to love you, to cherish you and to remain loyal to you as long as I shall breathe”. The words sounded like they were being read from a script, but deep down, I meant every word. I took the ring and wore it on my fourth finger and that same day for the first time we had amazing sex.

The following day, I went jewellery shopping and got a beautiful diamond ring with her initials engraved on it. That night, just before we slept, I proposed to her in the best way I knew how. “Vivian Adenuga”, I began, “the world is going to frown at us, we are going to face a big battle ahead of us, but I have made a decision to have you in my life, to love in the best way possible, to be your husband, to be the man in your life, to be a Father to our children, to treat you with utmost respect, to cherish you and to adore you. And tonight, all I ask is Will You Marry Me?” Tears of joy streamed down her face as she gladly said “YES!”.

My Parents tried everything humanly possible to dissuade me from going ahead with the marriage. I did all I could to make them see reason in our union, but they didn’t seem to give it a second thought. I was yet to tell them that she had helped me immensely financially and had been the source of my sudden rise to wealth. One Sunday afternoon after church service, I headed over to Ikotun to see my parents. They had been cold to me for quite a while and were threatening to disown me if I married Vivian. I sat them down that day and gave them a proper lecture.

“Mom, Dad, I know how much you hate this woman all because she’s a few years older than I am. Let me however say this, that car I drive, she gave it to me. The house you all love to visit, it was a birthday gift from her. The job I have now, she got it for me, that surgery Uche my cousin had in the United States two months ago, she paid for it. If you want to show your appreciation for all she has done for this family, you would consent and bless this marriage. She is going to bear my name and I love her and I will marry her whether you like it or not!!!” I bellowed.

My Mother was furious, she voiced her displeasure at my choice and that she wouldn’t be bought. Well, I had come prepared for them. “Mom, in the next few years, she would be unable to bear children again. If I don’t marry her now, I would wait till when you can’t have any grand-children through her before I marry her.  I won’t re-marry or cheat on her to have children! Its either I marry her or nothing”. I affirmed. That same day, my parents called her and gave their consent to our union.

Exactly on her birthday that year, we exchanged vows in the presence of over a thousand guests. Three serving state governors, various dignitaires from all works of life were in attendance,  foreign friends of hers were also in attendance. The wedding was bigger than I could ever have thought possible if I’d married someone else. The value of gifts we received on that day ran into tens of millions; cars, cheques, house-hold items and lots of other gifts. The following day, we flew out of the country to The Bahamas for our honeymoon where we spent a week before leaving for Paris to spend another blissful week.

Ten months after, she delivered a set of identical boy twins. Celebrations went wild as I told anybody who cared to listen that I was now a proud Father of two Boys. Things couldn’t have been better between us. We gradually became best of friends, fell in love with each other daily and always looked forward to seeing each other at the end of every day.

When either of us had to travel on business purposes, it was as if a part of the other was missing. A year later, she had a beautiful girl for me; her eyes were beautiful as were her features. I fell in love with the new creature we’d brought into the world together. At this point, we both agreed to stop the child bearing and focus on just making carefree mad love to each other. Somehow, I never even thought about cheating on her, it occurred to me but I never gave it a second thought. We had our quarrels, we had our little fights, but we learnt to never sleep without solving our differences. We became the cynosure of all eyes in our marital lives and not once did I regret making the decision to marry her.

Today she’s celebrating her seventieth Birthday and I will be fifty-five in December. I couldn’t help but reminisce at how far we’d come. Our three children were married and were doing greatly in their chosen fields and we were growing old together. We’d been married for twenty-nine years and going stronger. “What do you think I could ever give you just to show how much I appreciate you, love you and adore you?” I asked my lovely wife as she dressed for the birthday Party.

She kissed me all over my face, paused and replied, “Write a story about us and title it ‘My Adventure with a Cougar’ “.

                                                                    

                                              THE END

New stories coming up next week monday. Keep checking in, leave a comment and follow this blog.

TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES FOR CHRISTIANS

Christianity may have become one of the world’s predominant religions, but there are still many places where Christians are persecuted, dispossessed, tortured, and even killed for their faith. Often this occurs as part of governmental or religious policy. Western media frequently under-report these incidents, scared of offending cultural sensibilities. As a result, much of this news must be culled from secular human rights publications and religious watchdog groups. Submitted for your approval are the Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries for Christians, as ranked by the Open Doors World Watch List. Christians in these countries need our prayers if not for anything but because freedom of worship is a right of every human and they are being denied their god-given rights.

10

LAOS

Population: 6.4 million; 200,000 Christians
Main Religion: Buddhism
Government: Communist State

The Laotian government’s attitude towards Christians is open hostile. Lao authorities, along with many in Lao society, view Protestant Christianity (and among Christians in particular) as an American threat to Communist rule. Christian churches cannot operate freely and Christians are restricted in their family and community roles. Many Laotian believers endure extreme physical and emotional pressure to abandon their faith.

Case in point: in 2010, 29 Christians were killed and at least 20 were arrested and held without trial, while several churches were destroyed. In January of that same year, 11 Christian families in Laos’ Saravan province were driven out of their villages and into the forest after refusing to deny their faith.

9

UZBEKISTAN

Population: 27.5 million; 208,600 Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

Pressure on Uzbek Christians increased last year. The number of raids on churches spiked and fines for illegal religious activities now exceed 100 times the minimum monthly wage. Short-term prison sentences (3-15 days) are frequently meted out as a punishment for Christian religious activities, and 27 year-old Baptist missionary Tohar Haydarov has been sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on (likely trumped up) drugs charges. An appeal is being prepared for his release.

Many churches have also lost their registration and some of their buildings in 2010 as well. Recent Christian converts also experience job loss, beatings, social rejection and often expulsion from the family home.

8

IRAQ

Population: 30.7 million; 334,000 Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Parliamentary democracy

Don’t be fooled by all those American soldiers: violence against Christians in Iraq is on the rise, with large numbers of believers killed and injured. ‘Targeted killings’ of Christians in Mosul during the run-up to the March 2010 election led many Christians to flee their villages and settle in the Nineveh plains. Fears of a ‘Christian ghetto’ in Bagdad were born that day. Pope Benedict XVI even made an appeal for the safety of Iraqi Christians during this time.

Attacks on church buildings and Christian institutions also increased in the latter half of 2010, and at least 58 Christians were killed in a bomb attack on a Bagdad church during an evening Mass in October of that year.

7

YEMEN

Population: 23.6 million; very few Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

Yemen’s state religion is Islam, and sharia law is the source of all legal matters. Foreigners do have limited religious freedom, but evangelism of any kind is strictly prohibited.

Case in point: several expatriate workers were deported in 2010 for discussing Christianity with (well-meaning) Muslims who asked about it.

Moreover, Yemenis are not allowed to leave Islam; those who convert to Christianity face persecution from family, authorities, and extremist groups. Worse, terrorist movements and separatists made Yemen very unstable recently. Christian aid worker Johannes Hentschel, his wife Sabine, and their young children Lydia, Anna and Simon, along with married British engineer Anthony Saunders were among nine foreigners abducted in in the north-western Yemeni province of Saada.

Last year Anna and Lydia (3 and 5 years old respectively) were rescued by security forces from neighboring Saudi Arabia. But the Saudis also found the bodies of three other abducted Christians, German Bible students Rita Stumpp, Anita Gruenwald, and South Korean teacher, Eom Young Sun. German and British investigators have since ended their active search for the other hostages.

6

MALDIVES

Population: 311,000; very few Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Republic

All citizens must be Muslims in Maldives, as sharia law forbids practicing of any religion except Islam. Christian churches are forbidden, and importing Christian literature into the country is strictly prohibited.

New regulations governing religious practice were unveiled by the government in 2010, and stricter policies have been imposed on tourists after some were discovered with Bibles. The few indigenous believers in Maldives are isolated from one other and are closely monitored by the law enforcement, religious authorities, and locals.

5

SOMALIA

Population: 9.1 million; very few Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Charitably described as ‘Transitional’

Somalia as a “country” has been without an effective central government since 1991. It’s dangerous for anyone to live there, but doubly dangerous to be a Christian.

At least fifteen Christians were killed by Islamist insurgents Al-Shabaab in 2009, and they killed at least another eight Christians in 2010. So it’s no wonder a quarter of all Christians have already fled the country. The few believers remaining are heavily persecuted and must practice their faith in secret, lest they be murdered in front of their children like Christian convert Osman Abdullah Fataho.

Al-Shabaab has taken control of most of southern Somalia, and they have a stated goal to wipe out Christianity from all of Somalia. However, recent indications hint they may be losing popularity.

4

Saudi Arabia

Population: 25.7 million; 565,400 Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Monarchy

There is no religious freedom in the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Public non-Muslim worship is absolutely forbidden, and conversion to Christianity – perceived apostasy – is punishable by death. Most Christians there are monitored foreign workers who are allowed to worship privately within isolated ‘foreigner’ compounds, and even then they sometimes face difficulty.

For example, twelve Filipino Christians and a priest were arrested while attending a service in a private home in October 2010. They were verbally charged with ‘blaspheming against Islam” and cordially banned for life from Saudi Arabia (quiet deportations are a new tactic of the religious police- it avoids the media scrutiny that heavy-handed arrests generate).

Saudi believers fear being open about their faith, even with their family. There have also been reports of several Christians being physically harmed for their faith in 2010.

3

Afghanistan

Population: 28.15 million; few Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Islamic Republic

Open Christians in Afghanistan face constant pressure from family, society and government agents. Believers usually keep a very low profile and never meet together publicly. In June 2010 the deputy secretary of Parliament called for the execution of Christian converts after seeing baptisms of Afghan Christians on an Afghan television (correction—THE Afghan television).

As a result, many Christians have gone into hiding, and in August 2010 the Taliban shot and killed ten members of a Christian medical team that had been providing eye treatment and other health care in remote villages of northern Afghanistan

2

IRAN

Population: 74.2 million; 450,000 Christians
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Islamic Republic

There was a sharp increase in the number of Christians arrested in Iran during 2010. Although some were later released, pressure on the Christian church remains very high. Many of the approximately 450,000 believers from Muslim backgrounds live in fear of harassment by the government.

Even worse, the regime has lost a great deal of credibility following the social upheaval of the 2009 elections and subsequent demonstrations. In a transparent effort to distract attention from continuing protests, the Iranian government has been lashing out against Christians with even greater fervor.

1

North Korea

Population: 20 million; 400,000 Christians
Main Religion: Atheism
Government: Dynastic Communist Dictatorship

North Korea’s persecution of Christians knows no equal, and being a Christian there is considered one of the worst crimes possible. North Korean communist dogma considers religion an ‘opiate’ of the people, unless of course that religion is the personality cult of ‘Great Leader’ Kim Il Sung or his son, ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong Il.

North Korean Christians must hide their faith at all times, and Christian parents can’t teach their faith to their children until the kids are old enough to understand the dangers (and for parents to be sure their kids won’t turn them in). Just owning a Bible in North Korea is grounds for execution or deportment to a harsh labor camp (essentially a gulag).

In 2010 hundreds of Christians were arrested: some were publicly executed, while others were sentenced to labor camps. Despite the risks, the Christian church is growing: an estimated 400,000 believers now sing silent hymns in cramped basements of crumbling buildings.