We have a side by side fridge & freezer – one of those with a freezer from top to bottom on the left side, and a fridge from top to bottom on the right side. It saves us a lot of space – we don’t need a deep freezer in addition to a huge fridge. Everything we need is in one spot – I absolutely love it!
Well apparently, so do the kids lol. If they had their way, they would open up either side and keep bringing stuff out. (By the way – In case you were wondering, the left side is not a deep freezer, and it is virtually impossible for a kid (or anyone) to shut himself in. The door simply won’t shut. It’s an extremely shallow freezer but just has many different compartments so it can store a bunch of stuff. It’s a pretty safe freezer, not the typical deep freezer you will see anywhere else;))!
But still – naturally, we don’t want them getting into the habit of opening it. So we asked them to never open it – and that if they wanted something, they should always ask one of us to get it for them. And I promised a good spanking if I ever saw anyone opening the freezer side in particular. I was very well understood lol. A little while ago, the kids were in their play area and I had gone to the pantry to get something. As soon as I left, my 2.5yr old sneaked into the kitchen and opened up the freezer side.
I came out to shouts from my 4.5yr old – “Mummy, come quick, T just opened the freezer!” I saw my 2.5yr old looking very guilty. He hadn’t had enough time to make his exit back to the play area. lol. I scolded him but decided to let him off from the spanking I had promised. But big brother came by, all excited. “See what I told you, Mummy?! T opened up the freezer!” “He’s been a very naughty boy! Don’t forget to spank him!!”
I smiled when I heard him say that….wondering how he would feel if he had been in his little brother’s position that day. Would he be reminding me to spank him then? I’ve also let him off so many times for doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. So why couldn’t he be happy for his little brother? My mind then went back to a post I read a while back from Tracy C’s Blog – “Is Mercy Only Good When I’m Receiving It”? I think the title says it all… (By the way – my 2.5 yr old is not immune to “punishment reminders” either – Just yesterday, he kept reminding me to punish his big brother after he had failed to pick up his toys! lol. )
But yes, we are happy when others enjoy many blessings, and we rejoice with them. But what about people who have really messed up – in whatever way? People we know have intentionally done such horrible things but seem to get off without “getting what they deserve”…. Maybe getting off with what we see as a slap on the wrist. How do we feel?
Needless to say, we are ever so thankful for the numerous mercies we receive… after all, like the beautiful hymn says:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning, new every morning… Great is thy faithfulness – O Lord,
Great is thy faithfulness… (See more great Verses, Quotes & Hymns here).
I pray we always remember that God’s love and mercies are always good, not for certain people, not for certain situations, but for everyone. I pray that as we have been shown mercy, we will remember to continually show mercy to others – in love, kindness, forgiveness and in whatever way we have the opportunity to. So help us God – Amen!!!
I pray we always remember that God is sovereign and can show anyone mercy… and like Femme Lounge said in the comments below – “It doesn’t matter whether we find them qualified or not.”! So so true – Thanks Femme!
Have a great day everyone!! & Do share your thoughts on this topic… Have you ever felt like someone only got a scolding when you were expecting them to get spanked? Or does this remind you of any situations, verses, experiences, songs, lessons learned etc? Thanks:)!
Much Love & Blessings,
Bomi Jolly
Don’t go yet:)! I think you’ll also enjoy:
- Got Your Shot?
- Samosa Days & Giraffe Nights
- Lady in the Blue Jacket
… And many thanks to Anahid at Fireside Moments for the Sunshine Award:)! I am honored, and I am giving one right back to you today=)! I enjoy reading your articles!
LOL!!! I love this post. I completely agree with you though Bomi! It’s easy to forget how much grace we’ve enjoyed.
Thank you.
It’s so true, God help us all… thanks for this Miss Jolly
I can definitely relate with this. It is good to be reminded. I will think of you and your little ones the next time I feel like telling God “Don’t forget to spank him (or her)!”
I have definitely done many things for which I have received only a “scolding” rather than a spanking. Sometimes I wonder just how much God really loves me for allowing me such easy “get-aways.” His love is amazing. Thanks Bomi for this piece.
awesome, unbelievable, this came at the right time. going through something like this right now and i had been devising ways of ‘punishing’ the culprit and every time the soft cautioning voice comes i push it back. I so know I’d gotten away with so so so so so many ‘mess ups’ before and with my upbringing, i should know better bout forgiveness. this is like a prophet coming directly at me … i’m awed …
@ TeeTee , Abi & Tracy – Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. I love the way Asake put it (a comment on the note on my FB profile) – She called it “Selective Integrity”. I pray we are all completely cured of selective integrity!! Thanks again.
@Feyi – Me tooo!!! His love is truly amazing Feyi. I hope we always remember how much love and mercy we have received, from God and from others too. Thank you Feyi!
@Sam – Thank you so much for taking the time to share that! That is so wonderful that you have found this practical to apply in a situation you are currently going through. That’s awesome! Thanks Sam!
Reminds me of the story in the Bible about the King that had mercy and forgave his servant of a debt. I don’t remember the exact verse now. But the servant went ahead and put another person in jail because he was owed a much smaller debt. It’s always sweet to receive mercy. We should be equally willing to forgive, be merciful and be happy when others receive mercy. Thanks for this wonderful reminder.
It’s so true! Like Tosin, it also reminded me of that story in the Bible with the debt. Great post Bomi & you’re welcome, you definitely deserved that award!
.-= Anahid´s last blog ..Impatience is expensive! =-.
Thanks alot for this article. Its very inspiring. It reminds me of God’s faithfulness & kindness. his mercy endureth forever and ever.Amen. God bless.
hahahahaa… His faithfulness sure does endure. Can you imagine how life would be if he dealt with us according to our shortcomings?! Yikes! Stay blessed! Hugs
@Tosin, Anahid – Thanks for reminding us about that story of the debt from the Bible! It’s actually here if anyone is interested:
http://www.jollynotes.com/inspirational-verses/parables/the-unforgiving-servant/
Thanks a lot guys!
@Christy – Thank you Christy, really glad this was good for you. Thank God for His faithfulness!
@Maxine – Too hard to imagine… Yikes is exactly right! lol.. Thanks Maxine, Stay blessed….Mega Hugs!
lovely post as usual, but am afraid we get away with so many “mess ups” that we take His Grace for granted, may God help us all
I want to be a mercy extender. The fact of the matter is that it’s just so easy to say now, and a different matter all together when someone has done something terrible that affects the ones we love. But I’m definitely a recipient of more of God’s mercy than I ever deserved.
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..Terrific Tuesday with Victor from Time for Reflections =-.
Hey Bomi, This is a nice note. I hope he won’t open it next time…God is so merciful but I wonder why we human’s cannot exercise a little of it in our relationship with people. Is it because we human beings have the tendency to take it for granted? Well it’s food for thought. Nice one from you Again Bomzi
lovely one. interestingly, the accuser of the brethren actually works through brothers who rack accusations against their fellow brothers. You know, the position that man had which was lost to Satan from which he could raise allegations against Job, was redeemed by Jesus. Jesus won’t accuse us before the Father, oh, but we often do that by the way we speak of our brethren. An important lesson to learn, we can by our words either add to the dilemma of other people or provide a way of escape for them, like Stephen did and he provided a way for Jesus to go after Paul(Saul).
Stay blessed!
@ Emeka – I know exactly what you mean! I pray we learn to never take God’s grace for granted… True talk.
@Tracy – Thanks for bringing up that very important point! It really is a tough situation to be in, when it’s not about forgiving relatively “petty” things that affect us. When it comes to others doing terrible things that affect the ones we love, it can be really really tough. I want to be a mercy extender too! Amen to that!
@SeyiDudu – Thanks so much Seyi. Good point – It may very well be that because we take the mercies we receive for granted, we don’t attach as much significance to it as we ought…. Thus we don’t remember to exercise the same when dealing with others. It’s certainly food for thought. Thanks Seyi! May we all learn to be “mercy extenders” in all that we do – in the big things and in the little things too. Amen!
@Tosin Psyno – Thank you Tosin for those reminders! Your comments remind me what I read in my devotional yesterday morning…. “we can by our words either add to the dilemma of people or provide a way of escape for them”… I pray we always do the latter! Thanks Tosin!
LOL, what a funny post but teaches a moral too. Thanks for sharing Bomi.
.-= Myne Whitman´s last blog ..This I promise (Poem) =-.
Lovely piece Bomi. May God never turn His face from us. Thank God for His daily mercies.
Thank God He forgives and doesn’t deal with
us according to our sins. Aanuoluwapo!
Another true and well written article sis. So so true. Thanks for the reminder! xx
@Myne & Yetunde – Thank you very much, glad it was good for you! Indeed, thank God for his daily mercies!! Thank you…
@Toyin – Yes yes yes, Aanuoluwapo!!! God is plenteous in mercy… I love it!
@ Toju – Thank you thank you thank you sis!! xxx
Hehehe. Nice one…thank God for Jesus who is always there to plead for me when the devil starts saying ‘Don’t forget to spank him’. I believe I’ve been let off easy soooooo many times….sooo many and I marvel at the infinite nature of His grace and mercy. I also strive not to disobey even as much as I know grace abounds because the “do’s and don’t's” are for my own good, just like not opening the freezer is for the good of ur kids.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey miss Jolly i love the more enhanced jolly notes page!!!!i especially love the reminder that Gods mercies never fail us.i just know that if God has not spanked me for my wrong doings day in and out….who am i to not let another person off the hook or forgive them?if they do something i feel deserves stiffer punishment, the lord himself will take of them.God bless us all.
Nice one Bomi, a daily reminder that we are not to play God in other peoples lives!
@HexyDre – Thanks for reminding us that the way things are set up are for our own good! When we obey God we are actually doing ourselves a favor. May we always remember… Thanks Hexy!
@Mwila – Thanks:)! God’s mercies never ever fail us, I hope like you said we always trust him to take care of it and not hang on to stuff so much. Thanks Mwila!
@Tomi – “We are not to play God in people’s lives” – Very deep!! Thanks a lot Tomi!
LAM 3:22-24 MSG
The Lord’s kindness NEVER FAILS! If He had not been merciful, we would have been DESTROYED.
The Lord can always be trusted to SHOW MERCY each morning.
Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!”
thanx for sharing Bomi.
Last year, i found myself in two different situations that i knew that only God’s mercy could pull me out of them…and it did…..since then i totally believe that even when we do things that makes us undeserving of his mercies he can still still decide to show us that mercy if we can only ask him…….
If I have been forgiven and received mercy from God, I should forgive and show mercy to others. God doesn’t just do things, He does somethings to show us how we should do it to others, just like a role model.Still all about the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, which can only come out of True love , which is God himself, working through us. May God help us. Thanks for this
@ Ola Joseph – Thanks so much for sharing that scripture… “Deep in my heart I say … The Lord is all I need, I can depend on him. ” Amen!! Thanks Ola!
@Seun – Thanks a lot for sharing your experience Seun … ! God’s love, mercy and forgiveness is amazing, I just pray we never take it for granted. And thanks for reminding us to ask . Thanks again Seun!
@ Tobi – I love the way you summarized it -Yes, God is our ultimate role model, God is love and love is God. God’s love working in us will help us do things that we would ordinarily find very difficult to do. Like you said – May God help us! And may God help us to always accept how he decides to work in anyone. Amen. Thank you very much Tobi!
I’m just so glad that i enjoy His Grace,a lot of times,i know that’s what saw me through,i do love the reminder too,atimes,it’s so easy to forget to let someone else go,even when we in d past committed the same offense.Thanks Bom,for bringing us back into remembrance.i’m glad u let your little ones inspire you in these manner,n thanks for sharing.God Bless u.
A nice and inspiring story reflecting on the goodness of God’s grace and bountiful blessings. Keep up the good work.
i read this post last week and it has had a strong hold on my mind since then, i came back to read it again this morning. God is merciful and He alone has the power to choose who He shows His mercy too. It doesn’t matter whether we find them qualified or not.
@ Teye – I couldn’t agree more! I too have enjoyed God’s grace countless times. But it can be easy to forget that we are not perfect and we may even have committed the same offense in the past. If not the same, we have also been in the wrong one way or another. It is easier said than done but I know God will help us become “mercy extenders”, like Tracy said in an earlier comment. Thank you very much Teye!
@Tosin – Thanks so much for the kind and encouraging words. Thanks for taking the time to read & comment. So glad it was good for you. Have a wonderful day – God bless!
@Femme – So good to know you’ve been thinking about this post. Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts. God is indeed a merciful God. He shows mercy to us all. He is sovereign. And it can sometimes be tough for us to accept, but yep – He has the power to decide how to deal with every single one us. He deals with each one as he sees fit. He can show anyone mercy….like you said, “It doesn’t matter whether we find them qualified or not.” It’s so true! It really truly does not matter whether we find them qualified or not! Thank you very much Femme – I just updated the post with that reminder!
We also have the side by side fridge – freezer and my 2.5yr old likes to open the fridge too. Though she can’t open the freezer because it’s designed to be harder to open. I don’t mind her opening it because she helps herself to a serving of milk or orangejuice and does a good job of not making a mess and closing the fridge when she is done. It might become a problem later, but for now, i find it cute, lol.
Hm I was let off by God sooo easy during my exam today that I didn’t do that much for (lol just like the one I had on the day you left!).
I’m so grateful to God cuz that test should have slapped me men. It didn’t o. And I didn’t even have to do my “Please God, if you help me out this time I’ll never not study for my exam again.” prayer. God indeed is merciful.
Love love the post!
Great Post Bomi!
Very interesting, relevant and insightful piece as usual! We really thank God for his mercies which abides forever. Most of us have been guilty of this type of attitude at various periods in our lives, especially when we see people perceived as very bad, terrible, lacking in moral and ethical values e.t.c prospering in all areas of their lives and also enjoying marital bliss! We often fail to realize that we have been and are always beneficiaries of God’s immense mercies as well. For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God! I pray that God will give us the Grace to be more merciful to others and wish them well no matter how terrible their pasts have been. May we also continue to enjoy God’s perpetual mercies and blessings and may we never depart from the way of the Lord. Amen
@ E- Thanks for stopping by! I know exactly what you’re talking about lol. The freezer side of ours is also designed to be harder to open. The kids have not always been strong enough to open it. I think my older son became strong enough when he was 3+. I think. My younger son figured it out very recently i.e. at 2.5. So it’s still a novelty to him I guess. lol. I’m sure he’ll settle down eventually, like big brother. I’d be interested to see how your 2.5 reacts when she’s able to open the freezer side too. Kids are too funny aren’t they:).!
And that is so impressive that at 2.5, she is helping herself to orange juice, milk, etc and not making a mess!
@ Femi:)!! So good to hear the test didn’t “slap” you lol!! And LOL @ “Please God, if you help me out this time I’ll never not study again..”!! Oh boy..lol..those words sound all too familiar, I certainly remember doing the same in those days
! Hopefully you won’t need that prayer ever again … 
! God help us all to do what we need to do when we need to do it…always. Thanks a lot Femi! Miss you lots xxx!
@Temmy – Thank you very much! Appreciate it!
@Adekemi – Thanks so much for sharing that! I definitely know exactly what you mean. And I loved the way you put it… We often fail to realize that we have been and are always beneficiaries of God’s immense mercies as well. It’s so true!! I echo your prayers Adekemi! Amen and Amen! Thank you very much once again.
hi,this piece made me remember a friend of mine i was discussing with some weeks back, she,s had delay “(fruit of d womb) for some years now,she was telling me there was a day out of her numerous days of crying to God dat she started telling God how she has been faithful to God and all his dictates all her life,ow she got married as a virgin etc and then d holy spirit told her u r just appraising urself .its all about mercy….start praying for mercy dats alll…..’ dats deep..dats when i realise ow thankful we should be for his mercies he has shown on us in any and every situation……its not all abt what u ve done but his MERCIES!! thanks dear.
WOW!!! Awesome post sis and this made my day. It served as a great reminder about God’s unconditional love and unwarranted mercies and it is also a reminder to reflect that same unconditional love towards others.
Thanks as always for sharing Bomi and keep the fire burning.
Lovely write-up! I remember too, to be thankful to God for His grace and slowness to punish me when I’ve strayed, and I should remember to extend that same grace and kindness to others too.
Thanks!
.-= Favoured Girl´s last blog ..Social Issues: Domestic Staff =-.
@Nike – Yes yes yes…. This was honestly one of the things that came to mind when writing this note and also after reading Adekemi’s comment too. But God knows and God sees all right? Indeed, it’s not about what’s we’ve done…it’s all about mercy…May we always remember, and resist the temptation to appraise ourselves, like you said..! Thanks so much for sharing Nike!
@ Eskor – Thank you so much bro! So glad to hear this was a good reminder/affirmation for you. Unconditional Love…amazing isn’t it? Thanks a lot Eskor!
@Favoured – “I should remember to extend that same grace and kindness to others too.” – Amen to that for us all!! May we always remember! Thanks so much Favoured Girl!
Hey Bomi, great post…this reminds of that passage of scripture about rejoicing with those who rejoice and on and on… I wonder which comes first, showing mercy to the “un-deserving” or rejoicing with those who seem to have better “luck” than us. God has no respect for persons neither does other people’s opinion count when God decides to move..upon whom He’ll have mercy, he’ll have mercy… love to your boys Bomi…
This sure hits home for me. Earlier last week I was studying Matthews 18. Verses 19-24 tells the story of the servant whose master wrote off his debt but he (the servant) was so mean to a 3rd party that owed him money. It reminded me not to expect mercy and think that mercy is not available to others in their downtime. It’s so easy to say,”Lord, how can you let him/her get away with that?” At some other point God extents that undeserved grace and mercy our way too.
Food for thought.
bomi, i just read this post and i must confess am guilty of this , as i daily ask for God’s mercy whenever i go wrong and unconsciously fail to stretch the long stick of mercy to those who fall. Most times , i am judgemental , giving God reasons why He must deal /chastise my fellow humans that fall . Thank you for opening my eyes to learn to cut people some slack by praying for them always.
.-= Tolulope´s last blog ..Top 100 Bible Verses =-.
@Titilola, Nneka, Tolulope – Thanks so much for sharing those reminders… Truly food for thought! Lord help us to never get complacent, thinking we’ve arrived… Help us to keep thinking and thinking and learning and re-learning. Amen. Thanks again!! Much love to you and yours!!
Unfortunately most of us secretly believe that we are above reproach, we usually faour ourselves, but we forget to think about others, we fail to think that others matter just as much as we do. I pray that we would find mercy of others more and more everyday as we remember the brandnew mercies that we recieve from God each and everyday and please don;t forget the unmerited favour he showers upon us that we do not deserve, but he still gives us anyway.
Blessings~*~*
K*
Hello, I like your website. This is a nice site and I wanted to post a little note to let you know, nice job! Thanks MiMi
lol lol lol! Children – a gift from the Lord; blessed are us parents (and parents-to-be) who God entrusts them to…
Big kisses to your little angels
@Kay – I agree, a lot of times (whether we realize/admit it or not), we favor ourselves…. it’s funny when we don’t get it right we will often think or say “I’m not perfect, nobody is”… lol. Like you said – May we always remember to pray for others as we pray for ourselves, and always remember that others matter just as much as we do!! Amen to all your prayers… May we never forget all that we have, and continue to receive. Thank you very much, Have a very blessed day… we will remember, by God’s grace!
@Mimi, Tola – Thank you very very much Mimi and Tola:)!!! Have a blessed day!