tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86880951823416991592024-03-21T09:27:26.938-04:00Sound Word And MusicLet's Dig Deeper..Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-50643528691333934702020-06-14T13:18:00.001-04:002020-06-14T13:18:48.029-04:00Who Is The King On Your Throne?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffuxNskwIaIYRSaupEbMozoshtQOv85YxI7vYkKkxBKQ4AN82JmiDMfYtm_fAt6EGc8gcS66RpuHVgkewIb7BfV0NmuHqU_ur1MoH40KX5PbMwyhWnZOELTjmyFdCjzzhJkxoqDf6_BI/s2160/King+on+the+Throne.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffuxNskwIaIYRSaupEbMozoshtQOv85YxI7vYkKkxBKQ4AN82JmiDMfYtm_fAt6EGc8gcS66RpuHVgkewIb7BfV0NmuHqU_ur1MoH40KX5PbMwyhWnZOELTjmyFdCjzzhJkxoqDf6_BI/s320/King+on+the+Throne.PNG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia">Psalms<span class="s1"> </span>23</font></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: georgia;"><sup>1</sup></b><font face="georgia"> The Lord <i>is</i> my shepherd;<br />I shall not want.<br /><b><sup>2 </sup></b>He makes me to lie down in green pastures;<br />He leads me beside the still waters.<br /><b><sup>3 </sup></b>He restores my soul;<br />He leads me in the paths of righteousness<br />For His name’s sake.</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><b><sup>4 </sup></b>Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,<br />I will fear no evil;<br />For You <i>are</i> with me;<br />Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.</font></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><b><sup>5 </sup></b>You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;<br />You anoint my head with oil;<br />My cup runs over.<br /><b><sup>6 </sup></b>Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me<br />All the days of my life;<br />And I will dwell in the house of the Lord<br />Forever.</font></p><p class="p3" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">David wrote Psalm 23 because he knew God, God had walked with him but most importantly he knew the power of faith. He did not take it for granted despite his short comings, but operated from a place of divine understanding. The most pivotal thing in our walk with Christ is understanding how He, God, operates through relationship. Truly, you cannot perfect anything without putting it into practice.</font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">Faith is a gift and every gift needs to be put into action. A dormant gift will die! David was the last born of his family but there was something quite unique about his upbringing. I passionately believe that his training as a shepherd made him write Psalm 23 from a graphical point of view. Any time I read this psalm, I literally picture myself on a journey and how each time God comes for me, assures me, and how this strengthens my faith in him!</font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">Before David was able to accept God as his Shepherd, he had to see himself as a sheep. If we look up the definition of a sheep, apart from its physical description, one of its attributes is the ability to “follow others in the flock.”</font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia">David looked after sheep, he understood that no sheep had a mind of their own, they followed because they trusted and had assurance that their Shepherd would take care of them, otherwise how can you explain the narrative David drew from</font></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><b><i>“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters”</i></b><i></i><br /><br />This is a man speaking from a revelation God allowed him to see by being in “God’s shoes” for a moment. But he only knew this because of the relationship he had with God.</font></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia">His upbringing made him understand that there are spiritual benefits in following God.<br /><b><i>“He restores my soul, he leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake”</i>.</b><br /><br />I know that a lot of us religiously read through this Psalm, but if you read it line by line you will understand that your life has not been very different from that of David's. God has used all our life experiences to shape us but truly to strengthen our faith, so that we can move mountains. Not for us, but for his sake. You may have not been a Shepherd boy, but perhaps you have always been a leader wherever you find yourself or held positions of authority. You understand what it means to lead and the importance of follower-ship.</font></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p5" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="georgia"><b>“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For YOU ARE with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”<i><br /></i></b>David had major bragging rights. He boldly tells God that he knows he is with him. He did not fear. He accepted God’s authority, because he had a way of escape and made his declaration of victory and faith. How many of us have prayed amiss by not understanding how powerful the gift of faith is? David knew that the reward of his obedience (by being the sheep that follows) and his declaration of faith would be to be rewarded in the presence of his enemies and a Godly inheritance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p6" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">Faith does not acknowledge the problem; Faith responds to God. The moment we lose sight and focus on the problem, we have dethroned God, telling him that he is incapable of handling the “small magnified issues” we bring into His presence. Let us drop our titles, the worldly knowledge we have acquired and the algorithm of life. In order to successfully follow God, we need to become like babies whose dependency falls on its parents and, in our case, it is God.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">I challenge you this week to have him lead you, so he can become the King on your Throne! Ask him to guide you, commune with Him because no one can discover the depths of God or discover his limits! (Job 11:7) He’s a never ending well!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">May your faith be strengthened in him!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></font></p><p class="p4" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><font face="georgia">Bolanle Boyewa<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p></div>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-71476190392795306722020-06-07T14:41:00.001-04:002020-06-07T16:50:13.943-04:00He Remains Faithful<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF3SH9pD_FxgxBwUFqNS2_ylbmKtGlprrroNOFUPs9_0fyFWoY21JCAy_VVHprDKoE79pb3GwL_XzEQR9E2V2a96L3WW1OEXUARnQDcd-82nI8xx1UlmZm8dWzbiBBnc26hlv4mHrkfY/s2160/Faith.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF3SH9pD_FxgxBwUFqNS2_ylbmKtGlprrroNOFUPs9_0fyFWoY21JCAy_VVHprDKoE79pb3GwL_XzEQR9E2V2a96L3WW1OEXUARnQDcd-82nI8xx1UlmZm8dWzbiBBnc26hlv4mHrkfY/s320/Faith.png" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="georgia">“If we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13</font></span></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia">We
have endless examples of the power of great faith: the woman who forced her way
through a crowd simply to touch Jesus’ garment for healing (Mark 5); Abraham
who believed God that he would have a son when he and his wife were well past
the age of childbearing (Genesis 17); or the centurion with a sick servant who
had so much faith that he did not request the presence of Jesus to heal his
servant, but believed just a word from the Lord could do it (Matthew 8). <o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia"><o:p> </o:p>I
realize that sometimes, these great stories of planet-sized faith make me feel
guilty when I don’t have sky-high faith for some tough situations. If you are
like me, whose faith doesn’t always seem like it can move mountains, this post
is for you. After all, Jesus Himself said you only need faith the size of a
mustard seed to be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20) – that’s a <i>really </i>small
amount of faith! I want to encourage us today with stories of people who didn’t
have truckloads of faith, but who had just enough. And even when they began to
seem “faithless,” Jesus remained faithful.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia"><o:p> </o:p>A
man named Jairus also pushed through a crowd to see Jesus – his daughter was
dying, and he knew that if the Lord laid His hands upon her she would be made
well. While Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house, someone came and told
Jairus that his daughter had died. I know for a fact that Jairus’ faith
dropped because Jesus looked at him and said, “Don’t be afraid. Just have
faith.” (Mark 5:36 NLT). Jairus had enough faith to go to Jesus for a healing,
but he had not planned on needing a resurrection! Even still, Jesus went to his
house, shut the naysayers up and raised Jairus’ 12-year old daughter from the
dead. He far exceeded the expectations of everyone there!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia"><o:p> </o:p>In
a similar way, when Lazarus died, his sisters, Martha and Mary, both told Jesus
that this would not have happened if He had been there sooner! Even when Jesus
told Martha that Lazarus would live again, Martha did not even consider it
possible in the physical realm; she thought Jesus spoke of the resurrection
when the kingdom of God would finally come (John 11)! Nobody present had faith
for Jesus to raise Lazarus! It’s not that they didn’t believe in Jesus – many
knew He was capable of healing Lazarus (verse 37), but they all thought He was
too late; the man was already dead. Even in the absence of faith, Jesus called Lazarus
forth and Lazarus was raised up to live again! These people had no faith for
the miracle, but Jesus remained faithful to perform it!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia"><o:p> </o:p>What
is important in all these testimonies is that fundamentally, these people had
faith in Jesus! Even if they didn’t have faith that their loved ones could be
raised from the dead, they believed Jesus to be the Son of God who could heal.
I want to be absolutely clear that faith in Jesus Christ is a <b>must: </b>“Without
faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)! I am not suggesting that
you should not believe in Christ – on the contrary, like Mary and Martha and
Jairus, you must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God with whom all
things are possible! It is because they had <b><i>faith in Him</i></b><i> </i>that
they approached Him in the first place. They all went to Jesus because they
believed that if anyone could help them, it was Him. They had faith in a
Faithful God, but just didn’t know how much He was capable of. They all had
faith for healing but not for resurrection. The good news is, their lack of
sky-high faith did not in any way affect Jesus’ sky-high faithfulness.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia">Some
of us are not much different from the people in these stories. Maybe you have
been faithfully praying for your child’s healing or your own healing, but you
never considered that the situation might actually worsen. Maybe you have been
expecting God to heal a strained relationship, but you never thought it would
end up in a break-up or separation. You might have been believing God for a supernatural
encounter with Him, only to hear radio-silence every time you pray. Or maybe
you’ve been trusting God to be more financially stable, and all of a sudden,
you’ve lost your job or been furloughed due to the economic recession.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia">You
need to know that it is never too late for God! Although your faith may have
been shaken up, He is no less faithful! He is still the same Faithful Father to
you, because that is His nature and He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13)! It
may seem like God is too late on the scene but have faith – even if it’s just a
little – and believe in God’s character even when you can’t see His hand!
Believe that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Believe that He always
stays true to His word. And believe that even if you’ve never seen anything
like the miracle you need from Him, God can still do it! It’s not too late,
even if you think all hope is lost. The darkest situations are the perfect
settings for the light of God to shine brightest. Only have enough faith to
continue to call on Jesus. Like the popular song goes, “When I call on Jesus,
all things are possible!”<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia">With
encouragement,</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><font face="georgia">ZB<o:p></o:p></font></p><br />Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-41099442103970350662020-05-31T11:36:00.000-04:002020-05-31T11:36:14.000-04:00GRACE FOR THE FALL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLObPt9GFZaEAL3Z12EMcOq89vE1UA0yOUMWSx2XR-8u5EYawZrimURzw60S-HPH7atJdAAUSNBsF8azqPtZqGn_bW9TM_Re8XGP2TGb9b3euBKdTh_qEBGqMU3IGMYirhfs7jXVVYrOc/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLObPt9GFZaEAL3Z12EMcOq89vE1UA0yOUMWSx2XR-8u5EYawZrimURzw60S-HPH7atJdAAUSNBsF8azqPtZqGn_bW9TM_Re8XGP2TGb9b3euBKdTh_qEBGqMU3IGMYirhfs7jXVVYrOc/s320/Untitled+Design+3.PNG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Hello dear readers,</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">So glad to be writing you amidst the pandemic and these seemingly sad times of recurring death and violence. It is a sign that we need God more than ever before! The world needs the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring peace to so many lives and situations, home and abroad!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,” this powerful prayer to the trinity, is the crux of our existence. We cannot and should not remain fallen while there is grace to rise again!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Adam and his wife, Eve, fell into the sin of disobedience in the garden of Eden; I realize that they rather fell into grace, not outside of it. Grace is like the clean up for the mess up, no matter how bizarre the fall is. The love of the father literally made grace in the person called Jesus Christ possible for mankind to experience fellowship with Him again.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">For any parent, one of the most exciting time is when a child literally start learning to take their first steps. There are children who suddenly start walking without even crawling. This is true for about 21% of children (both male and female) according to statistics.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">However, for the other percentage who go through the regular stage of crawling, they often experience quite a number of falls. The parents or the adult watching them are usually present while the fall is taking place. (Most parents I hope do not leave their children unsupervised!) The parents' supervision provide comfort such as being available to tend to bruises. These children continue to rise up after each fall, attempting to walk. Though a bit wobbly at first, they eventually master their walking skills.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">The amazing parallel in this story for me is how God is literally doing the same with me and I hope that you see He is doing the same with you. There are probably certain aspects in life, where we are learning to take our first steps and we have fallen.</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Sometimes, it is a relationship walk, a business walk, a marital walk and we seem to have fallen. The truth this morning is you never fell outside of God’s supervision, oh! We never did! Even if we had no proper supervision by others, God is right there doing the cheering and hoping we get right back up!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">No wonder God’s word says: “For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.” Proverbs 24:16</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">There is a vast difference between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous falls into Grace and that Grace empowers them to keep rising, while the wicked falls suddenly into calamity. Calamity is great misfortune and disaster and this isn’t usually the case for God’s children. Though they may look the same to us on earth, they are definitely not the same in the sight of God! This scripture in proverbs is probably one of the reasons Job’s wife and friends couldn’t understand the reason for Job’s trial. They instead judged him as wicked while God was watching Him closely in Grace!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Regardless of the expectations and allegations from those around us, we have to see beyond the disappointments of those who care about us and recognize that there is Grace made available, no matter the struggle to get back up. We are in the presence of Grace and if we spend so long in the fall, we may never walk. However, Grace is what is available to get us walking again! The Grace for the fall..</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">If God made provision for Adam and Eve and we are truly their descendants, rest assured that we are covered under the same Grace to walk again in His presence!</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">It has been a powerful month, reflecting on God’s Grace! Like never before, I am forgetting those things behind me, pressing toward Grace forever in eternal value! May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.. Amen</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Love,</font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><font face="georgia">Kemie.</font></div><div><br /></div></div>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-9440683266793853322020-05-24T08:48:00.000-04:002020-05-24T08:48:02.491-04:00GRACE: THE MIRROR WE ALL NEED<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02ANXbK4UETbI8CzgHsuLRIDvz9Ykfy91PUvABJYSfPfPDB6AjzOoPgonxnskxpdutHpc3Dq2dZ3NRjqKjEwSKDIxOjCGU2eghA4zeEUomIn2RhiupeFPNpRpoUWPNZMKJIO1FhindC0/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02ANXbK4UETbI8CzgHsuLRIDvz9Ykfy91PUvABJYSfPfPDB6AjzOoPgonxnskxpdutHpc3Dq2dZ3NRjqKjEwSKDIxOjCGU2eghA4zeEUomIn2RhiupeFPNpRpoUWPNZMKJIO1FhindC0/s320/Untitled+Design.PNG" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="georgia"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In my previous blog post, I referenced the struggle so
many of us face in accepting God’s grace, master this gift given by God to us
and grant it to others. Today, I would like us all (including myself) to look
in the mirror. What do you see? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Are you
pleased with what you see? Do you struggle? Do you see the chosen one, the
royal priesthood you are? (1</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Peter 2:9). I want to use this medium
to encourage you and tell you that what you see, is not who you are. Grace has
transformation power; Grace is everlasting, and Grace is with you throughout
the journey of your life. Remember, the person you were five years ago is not
the same person that looks in the mirror right now.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">Everything within the Christian walk is personal, but
also meant to be an aspect of <i>you</i> that affects everything around you. The
reason the message of the cross is relational. The bible teaches to “Love your
neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39), but what do we do when we do not understand
this principle? Many of us believe that once, we have committed our lives to
Christ, serve in church, memorize bible verses and do everything else that
“defines” the aspects of modern Christian living, that we are doing the right
thing. To be honest, what really separates you from a person that is
categorized to be living in sin, and your heart posture is still not right with
God? <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">A lot of us have fallen into the trap of being
“over-righteous” and placing judgment on homosexuals, rapists, murderers and
the list goes on. It is so easy to place judgment on someone who sins different
than you do while there are sins you hide, but God sees. How easy it is to
forgive our siblings for committing the same sin for which we crucify others.
God did not give us Grace as a gift through his son to become over-righteous,
judgmental and unrepentant people. He gave us Grace to have access to him and
affect as many lives as we can through living our lives in dedicated worship. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">This pandemic has taught us all, that anything can
change our lives in the blink of an eye. We all had to reschedule, adapt,
refocus and reshape ourselves to adapt to this “new normal” of living. I have
been overwhelmed with a lot of things, some stem from work, classes I take, and
personal situations that I am believing God to see me through. And then I
stumbled over a sermon I decided to listen to, and the preacher said <i>“You
cannot do anything without God’s grace, be it your job, your marriage, dealing
with people in church etc. He went on to further state that, when you begin to
list these things in your heart, you’re becoming arrogant, and you contend with
God”. </i><o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">I paused. I sat back, and I was ashamed of myself
because my duties of life had overcome me so much. I did not notice that I had
become so discombobulated with tasks, and it became a strain of arrogance. So, I repented, right there and said, I am
sorry that I have been so ignorant of your Grace. Isn’t it funny, how we take
the simplest things for granted? Attribute them to us, unknowing that indeed it
is Grace, that strengthens, empowers, encourages, gate keeps us from the enemy
who likes to creep in and ultimately tries to mirror everything that GOD is
NOT. Truly, I felt awful, but I was grateful that God led me to this message,
however He was not done. (now I laugh about it)<o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">I had some downtime and I scrolled through Instagram.
And there was a parody I was listening to.
The video was about a pastor that stated, “Holy Spirit sit on me, so I
won’t sleep with another man’s wife”. There is no additional back story regarding why he said it, but this comment
struck me the most, as others went ahead to make jokes of him <i>“The prayer
you need, is not the prayer you are proud of”</i>. Here I am pausing again. The
statement remained with me till today. And I could not agree any more with it. </font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">We all have sides of us that we are not proud of (the moment we choose to be
honest with ourselves) and these are the most difficult prayers to pray. Grace
is brutally honest with us. And the truth is, God catches us in the moments you
least expect it. The moments we are most vulnerable, the moments our heart is
open to receive His truth. The truth that humbles you into reference of his grace
and love. The truth is, we are not better than anyone else in the world. We
just have recognized that we cannot afford to live without God’s grace. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">Please be encouraged! You are the light of the world –
like a city on the hilltop that cannot be hidden! (Matt 5:14). You are not what
the world calls you to be, you are not what you think of yourself, you are what
Grace calls you to be. Yes, with every single unpleasant part of you! Grace
covers it all. And that is the reason why you are tremendously loved by God so
much, that He was willing to give His only begotten son, to die for us. I believe,
once we understand the power of love, to do this first for ourselves and have
Grace have His way in our lives, we will all understand that our personal
relationship with Christ is the unstoppable force to win the heart of others
for Christ. <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">Serve in love, not for love! <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">Have an amazing week, <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><font face="georgia">Bolanle Boyewa </font></span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-73259201578186709022020-05-17T09:40:00.000-04:002020-05-17T09:40:23.495-04:00GRACE FOR THE GRUESOME<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTzTTO3iIGyLcUTA3Iry78RXKq1ggzHagUJ2fHU-8iYdjYVUxwizT_uDgb8uSFwroQdpu9ZbtTCM67qZGJmANrEAcIikStQbtAEkE01qZxhpNHsNzbSXi9uO21D_-_OUZfnfwKoZhcEk/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTzTTO3iIGyLcUTA3Iry78RXKq1ggzHagUJ2fHU-8iYdjYVUxwizT_uDgb8uSFwroQdpu9ZbtTCM67qZGJmANrEAcIikStQbtAEkE01qZxhpNHsNzbSXi9uO21D_-_OUZfnfwKoZhcEk/s320/Untitled+Design+%25283%2529.PNG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There’s one thing we have all received from The Great Lockdown -- time. In the “old normal” we were always on the move, going to work, school, church, meetings etc. and this gave us the opportunity to be a little more distracted, a little more out of touch with our thoughts and emotions. However, now, we can spend more time with friends or family (even virtually), start projects, have longer, deeper conversations, or simply just have more time to think. All of these things could be great… or terrible. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My family and I have been on a lot of group video calls to stay in touch and keep each other company, as we’re all in different parts of the world. This may seem like a pretty normal thing to do, but for us it’s a little more special. My parents separated when I was about 9 years old, and it was not an amicable separation, if you know what I mean. So to have both my parents and my brother on video calls multiple times a week is a huge blessing that I had not previously experienced. It has felt euphoric -- so many laughs, so many jokes, so many prayers. And then this week, it seemed like all the good vibes we’d built over these last six weeks suddenly came crashing down. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Our usual trips down memory lane often include funny things that happened in my childhood, but this week, we had to dig up some very unpleasant things. Memories of disappointment, hurt, anger, and even abuse. Those are never easy conversations to have, and as you may imagine, there was a bit of yelling. Still it was a beautiful moment. I realized that even though we all still have memories of how we’ve been hurt, we truly have moved on from the numerous years of pain. The ways in which we had hurt each other did not affect how we love each other. There is no resentment, even though I’m sure some of us would appreciate it if we had some more closure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The conversation ended with a sentence -- something like this: “Even though you did all those things, it doesn’t make us love you any less. That’s what family is about. That’s what unconditional love means. Loving people fully regardless of what they may have done.” And that reminded me so much of God. Is this not the way that our Heavenly Father loves us? We may have committed the worst sins, but as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us (Psalm 103:12). This means that when God looks at you, He doesn’t see your sins. He just sees His beautiful child that He loves so dearly… enough to give His life for.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Have you been able to look at people who have deeply hurt you the same way? When you think about them or see them or talk to them, do you see the horrible things they did? Or have you been able to remove their transgressions from them, casting them afar off, so that you just see a human being you love? That is grace for the gruesome. Grace for the wrongdoings that left scars that may never fade. Grace for the people who never did, never do, and never will apologize. Grace for your abusers, grace for the murderers, grace for the ones who tore your life apart… grace for the gruesome. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s not easy, and it may take time, but it is possible… trust me, I know. We have the blood of the God of all grace running through our veins, so we are capable of extending grace to the people in our lives who deserve it the least. I don’t have a formula or a step-by-step guide on how you can get to that point. All I know is Jesus -- the One who is with you in the hurt, with you on the journey to let go of the pain, and also waiting for you at the destination of grace to welcome you to your newfound freedom. Because deciding to let it go; deciding you no longer need an apology; deciding to love someone despite what they did really is <b>freedom</b>. You may never forget it, but you can be free from the evil it intended for you. You can be free from a bitter heart. You can be free from a damaged soul. And I pray that you experience that soon, in Jesus’ name. Amen. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Have a lovely week!</div><div>Zarina Bentum.</div></div>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-72164643185300526362020-05-10T09:58:00.005-04:002020-05-10T10:46:54.489-04:00GRACEFULLY OPEN THE WOMB WITHIN <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiHXP9lo3eSNj7a3_SOlMlhXLUl9JNNogL9pkSuNTNQTJl_tIkbRQhoM63eSykSGlWnsQTwp7cfCFkVFooK5VIvc03l2SsBeX3b7jdbUJfBQGYs94t0RHC2JiwcyW8tbfwq-McbhNIzI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font style="line-height: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 2;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNg9K_JGDfEhQFZF25gU96IQVrP4hYm28J-uOdWBlsztnzCFw0U6J_lCuh0qAtmCtOuumAb52gz29pRcXutH7ckyaJ_uKPGnsCD59Vyar3xpJGX_1JS0yn-4UucGhBo6BiPxcOa624_i0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNg9K_JGDfEhQFZF25gU96IQVrP4hYm28J-uOdWBlsztnzCFw0U6J_lCuh0qAtmCtOuumAb52gz29pRcXutH7ckyaJ_uKPGnsCD59Vyar3xpJGX_1JS0yn-4UucGhBo6BiPxcOa624_i0/s320/%25D7%25A8%25D7%2597%25D7%259D.png" /></a></div><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;">At the light of creation, God opened up the earth and He formed man. He then proceeded in His creation to completely fashion out of man, the most delicate part of him and upon seeing her, he lovingly called her woman(womb-man). For her womb would open up to receive his seed, this in fact would make her the mother of all. The beauty of creation wrapped up in the heart and womb- male and female. </font></span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 2;">I noticed like you that when God was to open up the man to acquire his bone, the man was asleep, a deliberate sign that the process of recreation should be void of pain(or should I say would have been void of pain). It should be a numbing process- (right now I'm thankful for anesthesiology). In God's original plan, there was meant to be a pain free, wound free process of opening up to bring forth. </span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><font style="line-height: 2;">It i</font><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">s only natural for a blooming flower to open up its petals to the dashing ray of sunlight at the wake of spring. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">Even the earth opens up to receive just enough rain to feed the crops, season to season, year to year, watering till harvest time. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">God made it so! Opening up one element to create another, creative and sensually beautiful, the nature of God's Grace. His thoughts, so delicate and if you ever doubt it, take a look at the sensitivity of the woman, the grace buried in her caring nature , it is the very nature of God.</span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;">The crux of the fall of woman began with the deception that she would be like God. The devil deceived Eve to open her eyes instead of her womb to God's Spirit. Eve allowed her eyes to wander lustfully at what she desired. However, where Eve failed, Mary the mother of Jesus succeeded.<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 2;"> Mary changed the cause of motherhood by opening up her womb to the power of God! Many women are stuck like Eve, completely confused about what to do with the power they possess. We often allow our eyes to fixate on power- only the wrong way. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small; line-height: 2;">As long as we continue to strive with men, we are yet again striving with God like Eve.</span></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small; line-height: 2;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><br /></font></span></div></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><div style="line-height: 2;"><font style="line-height: 2;">Humanity waits for the woman to gracefully open up her womb! In fact this generation will benefit yet again, if women would lend their wombs to the Holy Spirit and become mothers in Spirit and in truth! True power is in submission to the sovereignty of God and the true test will always be in submission to her own man.</font></div><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 2;"><font style="line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><font style="line-height: 2;">For all the mothers out there, the best of you is right within you. There is more if you allow your heart to open up again. We glory in the achievement of childbearing, but there is a whole lot more than bearing earthly children. </font><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">The power we possess can forgive, it can create, it can tear down and build up! This power allows us to open up in tremendous ways than we can imagine! </span><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">The purest and truest form of power abides in the ability of a woman to open up her womb to carry the Holy Spirit, the ability to submit to the Holy Spirit.</span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><font size="2"><br /></font></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.5; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiHXP9lo3eSNj7a3_SOlMlhXLUl9JNNogL9pkSuNTNQTJl_tIkbRQhoM63eSykSGlWnsQTwp7cfCFkVFooK5VIvc03l2SsBeX3b7jdbUJfBQGYs94t0RHC2JiwcyW8tbfwq-McbhNIzI/s320/Untitled+Design+%25285%2529.PNG" /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.5; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">To receive anything tangible from another, the hands must open up. When we feed the belly, the mouth must first open up. The natural law of giving and receiving requires the catalyst of opening up to complete the reaction. I once wrote that </span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;">receiving is a sign of humility, which is why to open up and be vulnerable can be one of the most difficult process for anyone who has been disappointed time and time again. I mean if you are unsure, randomly watch one of the videos of a childbearing process. Women are truly super heroes in the labor room.</span></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><font size="2" style="line-height: 2;"><br /></font></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;">The best things in life are seemingly wrapped up like a gift, completely hidden within until we open up. Forgiveness is often hidden within pain, it is found only when the heart reaches back to the root cause of the pain. Light is often conceived in darkness, darkness disappears as soon as it opens its womb to light. This was the risk that Mary took to birth the gift of salvation to us all.</font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;">To every girl, lady, woman, mother, grandmother out there, you are graced with a womb within. Despite abuse, trauma, neglect and abandonment, if you would embrace the risk, there is so much grace within the womb of that wound. I believe the deliverance of many men lie within the womb man. So I pray we open up to the </font><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">power o</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;">f God to fill us up to birth greater things. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: small;"> As we celebrate today, celebrate the true strength bestowed by God to make you a woman! It was for a purpose!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;">Let us together gracefully open the womb within to birth purpose - The Holy Spirit our partner!</font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;"><br /></font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;">Love,</font></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><font face="georgia" size="2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 2;">Kemie.</font></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-41873158449815285042020-05-03T10:18:00.000-04:002020-05-03T10:18:44.905-04:00GRACE WALK<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI1ViXDouCel_wH5NsZUKZLaAvF1ERgjnVZMVnAYj-uuOYckfYGuSQUHfC8-wjGmwu0spg8W8Nnqrs7mlD2931h6259PFMczq4lJ2ywnNVHcA-APf2IVdLoo72Hsa1OQvyk9WRzxWNjk/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI1ViXDouCel_wH5NsZUKZLaAvF1ERgjnVZMVnAYj-uuOYckfYGuSQUHfC8-wjGmwu0spg8W8Nnqrs7mlD2931h6259PFMczq4lJ2ywnNVHcA-APf2IVdLoo72Hsa1OQvyk9WRzxWNjk/s320/Untitled+Design+2.PNG" /></a></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Grace begins with us. This may sound odd to you, but as you read along, I hope you begin to reflect what </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">grace means to you. Often, we find ourselves struggling with accepting God’s grace. We constantly </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">remind ourselves of the wrongs we have done, situations we could have handled better or even worse, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">filled with regret. The could haves, should haves and would haves overwhelm us, while grace has been </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">granted before our sin was even committed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is a common saying that states: “You can’t give what you don’t have”. A lot of us haven’t fully </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">grasped the ideology behind this phrase. A lot of us are on a path and we learn as we go, but we do not </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">master our acquired skill set, the same goes for grace. Let me break this down for you a bit more.</span></div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Grace is a character trait of God as it is linked to unmerited favor, benevolence, love and mercy. In other words, Grace is the umbrella that conceals everything we need in order to be complete in Christ, as well as being successful in our grace walk. Grace was activated, when Christ died on the cross of calvary for us, so why do we struggle with it so much? It is a lack of understanding, as a lot of us do not understand the concept of mercy, grace and/or unmerited favor. Which one would you prefer?</div></span><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Right from childhood, I always had this sense of perfection. Everything had to be laid out in a certain way, colors had to be aligned cohesively and the moment something did not happen the way I had envisioned, it would throw me off balance. One would say, I am the poster child of “Perfectionism”. I never considered this to be an issue, until adulthood and real-life situations hit me. One of the greatest weaknesses perfectionists have is that they are very hard on themselves (I am sure someone must be nodding by now) and those that are connected to them. They put themselves and their loved ones on a pedestal and the moment they fall short of their expectations, judgment is placed. My own weakness became my biggest struggle. Perfectionism that turned into a stronghold.</div></span><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">I struggled with grace for a long time, as I felt I was not worthy of it and I needed to try so much harder to explain and reassure God that, indeed I am worthy. But it was the lack of knowledge that prolonged my journey of entering my grace walk. I did not have to earn it; he had given it to me freely. It is my personal gift. The moment, I was able to accept God’s grace, I understood to also grant it to others. Those that are close to me, always hear me say “Extend the grace God gives you to others, as you are on your 500th 2nd chance”. I say this to constantly remind myself to be a grace giver, to master this skill set, because being a recipient of a gift comes with only one condition - not to abuse it. If grace is part of God and he calls me His heir, I need to ensure that I act just as my Father in Heaven does.</div></span><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">I need you to understand that grace and mercy are not the same. I would go as far as stating that grace is the mother, mercy is the child. Mercy is conditional, it is situational. But grace is everlasting. It is the gift of heaven. It is your salvation. The gift is now yours to keep and for you to master it. Therefore, uphold people to the standard of grace and not a pedestal, expectations or perfectionism. The moment you live in grace, you see life through the eyes of the Father.</div></span><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Have a blessed week!</div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Bolanle Boyewa.</span></div></span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-53554758750369064382020-04-26T13:15:00.000-04:002020-04-26T17:24:37.040-04:00HOW IS YOUR MAINTENANCE CULTURE?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgLhOfgNalC7_NAwno-SQk4d-w4p4MQdPdnxyBMnrJnVEmRX3LegkIzpDfVbrm1IbV7b0GEf6CtGPsDQHawzpBIVfubgRlpW0fcf9ST4ii74PnYzIYCOrANc8rMA-MLogpntJJvJH7LA/s1600/Can+you+maintain+a+classic_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgLhOfgNalC7_NAwno-SQk4d-w4p4MQdPdnxyBMnrJnVEmRX3LegkIzpDfVbrm1IbV7b0GEf6CtGPsDQHawzpBIVfubgRlpW0fcf9ST4ii74PnYzIYCOrANc8rMA-MLogpntJJvJH7LA/s320/Can+you+maintain+a+classic_.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">A friend once likened women
to cars. In his bid to give me a compliment, he compared me to his old mustang
which only appreciates with age. He loves and treats this car with care because
of how valuable it is to him. That compliment was very nice, and it came back
to me as I meditated throughout the week on what I would like to blog about
today. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Most of us choose our cars
based on functionality. I happen to be a fan of fast and furious, which
translates to some form of luxurious cars with an affinity for speed. Yours
could be as simple as a car that can get you around town, simple but special.
Point is we all need cars. Even though we all don’t have it and some just can’t
afford it. Cars are a necessity and because they are, they must be maintained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If we must own cars, we
must learn a maintenance culture. There are car engineers for repairs and
overall maintenance who are designated experts who make their time available
to fix what car owners cannot. The depth of this awareness of maintenance
culture can save car owners from losing their cars to fatal damage.
Neglecting to maintain a car will result in an eventual
breakdown of the vehicle.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I’d like to establish that many
of us are like that in our relationships. We acquire relationships,
neglecting the need for maintenance and I must say, a breakdown is in sight. When
we refuse to check our tires, the brakes, do the oil change, then it is only a
matter of time, we’ll blow the transmission and the engine knocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I was a young girl who watched
my dad closely in cleanliness and maintenance culture. Washing our dad’s BMW had
to be the best chore ever. What a memory to have, but what a culture to learn
from a father! I most definitely learned how to take care of my car from my
dad. I now wax my car and do my own oil change because he showed me how to maintain
a car. I must say I learned a lot of love from him as well. He honestly gave me that and I am super grateful for it.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">At the time while we were
young, we had no idea how to maintain a car. Though we wished we could drive
one, some of us actually snuck behind our parents to drive their cars, but we
had no idea how to maintain it. Truth is we were ignorant and maybe even too careless
and were in no shape ready to handle a car!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Many of us in the place
of prayer and supplication are like a child who requests a luxury car from his
father which he has no idea how to maintain. The child wants it, wants to show
it off to his friends, but has no idea that the car has a valve in the engine
that could need replacement due to a damage. If this child is close to his
father, the father would then teach him what he needs to know about the car’s
maintenance. He would remind him of the oil change and probably arrange a
cleaning schedule for him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If this is in fact true,
then understand that God is intentional about maintenance! Before He created/s
anything, by account (please read the book of Genesis), we could see that He
created/s a maintenance culture for all things created within six days. He makes sure the earth is watered and the trees are fed. And, when he saw the man, he
created the woman to help maintain the man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Woman, there is no other way to put
it, you were created for the man. Like I said, the maintenance manual is needed
to fully maintain any relationship. To properly balance this, Man, you could abuse the luxury of a woman if you are not ready to maintain one. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">To conclude the matter
this week;</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Are you ready to maintain what you’re asking for in prayer?</span></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -24px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Device a maintenance plan through the help of the Holy Spirit. This could possibly be the reason we experience delay in prayer.</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -24px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -24px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Relationships are to be maintained. If you have abused yours, you might need to take some time to learn how. Some of us mess up because we didn’t have it properly modeled to us.</span> Ask the Lord to help you better prepare. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="line-height: 200%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span>Seek mentors who have modeled a proper maintenance culture. Talk is cheap! We should be walking bibles in maintenance.</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Have a lovely week
people.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Kemi Gwan.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-31809897063136265012020-04-19T13:14:00.000-04:002020-04-19T13:14:08.141-04:00THE PURPOSE IN LOOKING BACK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rczO9Md6VMjsf8TUB-Hc8LQ3j8NFvQ-tbUpKg9bIUv1V-RAA5f2yz0dxJDKr5td0wpfcN_pwp0oMQrxHvctp-anC1BUXyts7s8WY4Zm0kM_gNpot_g2r4cjSoC0O8hJWFzQ0CKwkD4g/s1600/Purpose+meets+past.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rczO9Md6VMjsf8TUB-Hc8LQ3j8NFvQ-tbUpKg9bIUv1V-RAA5f2yz0dxJDKr5td0wpfcN_pwp0oMQrxHvctp-anC1BUXyts7s8WY4Zm0kM_gNpot_g2r4cjSoC0O8hJWFzQ0CKwkD4g/s320/Purpose+meets+past.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Looking back can mean many different things, however, I would like to address looking back with respect to purpose of the past and how to reconcile it peacefully.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To ever reconcile anything, you need purpose to cooperate with past to be a successful process. Most times, we are wired to run away from the past, especially if it has brought us nothing but pain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The past becomes what we cannot do without when pain is introduced. It is like the shadow that follows at a distance, not catching up but not completely lagging. The human mind stores up memories from the past and many people struggle to reconcile the past peacefully, especially if trauma is involved.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As children, we look for our parents in a spouse because we are stuck with the memory of our adult parents. So, we subconsciously or secretly hope that our spouses will recreate our parents. As parents, we may be equally stuck in the memory process of raising children even though they have grown to become adults.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have found that we look back when we shouldn't and we refuse to look back, especially when it is relating to our past experiences and there are consequences for not understanding why we shouldn’t look back and when we really should look back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Abraham was to leave his family’s comfort to go to a land he was unfamiliar with to begin a new life. He left quite alright, but he was unable to let go so he had his son pick a wife from the place he was to let go. Well, we know the rest of the consequence it brought upon Jacob who was abused in the process by his uncle Laban.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was in trouble in Sodom and Gomorrah. He was to vacate the polluted land to save his life from God’s judgment. His wife struggled to leave and as she looked back she instantly became a pillar of salt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Joseph was one who was forced to leave His father’s comforting love and was sold into slavery by His brothers. He went into Egypt as a slave, learned the language and never looked back. One day, it was to time to reconcile with the pain of the past and forgive his brothers so he could save them from famine. Joseph shed heavy tears as he allowed himself to heal by confronting and reconciling with the past. As he understood purpose, there was peace laid over the pain of the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moses was involved in a gruesome murder that turned him to a wanted fugitive in Egypt. However, God had him look back with a purpose to deliver all of Israel so they could worship! He made all sort of excuses because of the trauma. He wished someone else would do it, not him. The more he embraced it, the more it healed him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Queen Esther was in her place of comfort next to her King. Mordecai her adviser and guardian summoned Esther to look back to reveal her identity which was to save her people. She had no business being identified with her past, but purpose had her look back to deliver all of Israel. Sometimes, our past really does catch up even in the place of comfort. She had to look back for a purpose!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus took his chances, went back home to Nazareth, but he could not perform many miracles or bring the good news of salvation to them. Purpose also had Jesus look back but the people were unable to reconcile with their past. This particular one I find sad because it could have saved the entire city if only they could have cooperated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most of us are hindering the process of reconciliation. It should begin with us as individuals and then it trickles down to everything and everyone else. Peace is absent without true reconciliation within. The process of reconciliation is allowing ourselves to understand the purpose of the past, pain or pleasure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pointers for this week</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Identify a painful past</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recognize and understand the purpose</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reconcile with it and healing is inevitable</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Peace is guaranteed.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Live, Love, Laugh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span><br />
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Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-87794169901421123932020-04-12T13:29:00.000-04:002020-04-12T13:29:16.813-04:00WHAT DIES BEFORE YOU...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNcKZhwnAL5XTkRNCIISJUhKE0oNK_WHFelFPvh3w1eHa9vfkkeRCN-mNEJsdir92Cq0IjxrsRpAsUVJ1iumm9yzYNHgPVQgTFoOKJTSX6OyjpQ2Sbt0sKO-X0Dpudz_iipEKzszQEkQ/s1600/Untitled+Design.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNcKZhwnAL5XTkRNCIISJUhKE0oNK_WHFelFPvh3w1eHa9vfkkeRCN-mNEJsdir92Cq0IjxrsRpAsUVJ1iumm9yzYNHgPVQgTFoOKJTSX6OyjpQ2Sbt0sKO-X0Dpudz_iipEKzszQEkQ/s320/Untitled+Design.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Can you believe it has been three Sundays since we resumed blogging! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Most importantly, t<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">oday is resurrection Sunday! It is of course a reflective season, as we continue to remain in isolation <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">with our families while practicing physical distancing from the public.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am excited and grateful to be able to express the thought I have on this special resurrection Sunday and I think I found just the exact illustration for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yesterday was my day of discovery, as I stood aloof in the cafeteria at work, warming up my scrumptious fried rice, carefully layered with a piece of chicken for lunch. As I drowned in the sound of the microwave, passing time, waiting for my meal to warm up, I stared out the window and straight ahead was a hill. The position of the hill took me by surprise, as the building facing mine had made it impossible to notice the beauty of the hill, but there it was, sloped perfectly above the building before me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I work on the second floor and so the view couldn't or should I say shouldn't be such an oversight, but I had missed what was in plain sight. The color of the lustrous green grass and the unique little trees on this hill had me mesmerized for the very first time. It was so beautiful, but it had not lived in all the eight months I had worked here. I had stared out the window so many times and completely missed what was before me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I couldn't help but re-live some of Jesus' memoirs as I thought of His experience in the new testament. The rejection and how He had already died to many before He even made it to the cross. The savior of the world came in flesh, but they(we) couldn't recognize the messiah. He did so much good, fed the hungry and defined purpose for His disciples, yet He was unseen and dead to the very world He came to die for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The beauties, virtues and relationships we are unable to recognize while in plain sight are truly dead before us. They start living the day we start paying attention by opening our eyes to see. So many long for what they already have, completely unaware of their selective blindness. We have a selective strategy, it's called choice - our free will that allows us to prioritize what's valuable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I hope this lockdown is helping you quiet down the noises and readjusting your lenses. Many will come out reshaped and completely refined in purpose as long as they are choosing wisely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, my few suggestions today are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Change your perspective to a positive one; there are always two sides to a coin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Look intentionally at what's inside and in front of you. Everything dies when we stop seeking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Appreciate beauty in everything. Our perception stimulates our environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today, Jesus in all His power and glory is still drawing people to Himself. Those who choose to look at Him will see what a savior He truly is. Those who ignore Him will have to find out someway that He was there all along. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Happy Easter to you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span></div>
Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-62571603621070232062020-04-05T14:45:00.000-04:002020-04-05T14:45:02.231-04:00THE MEMORY OF MIND<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13LRlVcK4IK3ERIMGtv_LvDW3rJ5Ul0p-PEf3qxcb0ajJgh2OcyvAVqcNj4-2OTZ9jjuWSH3Zs7IJ_8qR-Oz0YwnwVeUIzavjPb0IBX0r5YPieWYv2-SciUpk4uH8TlGYEWIKMb5W-9Q/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13LRlVcK4IK3ERIMGtv_LvDW3rJ5Ul0p-PEf3qxcb0ajJgh2OcyvAVqcNj4-2OTZ9jjuWSH3Zs7IJ_8qR-Oz0YwnwVeUIzavjPb0IBX0r5YPieWYv2-SciUpk4uH8TlGYEWIKMb5W-9Q/s320/Untitled+Design+%25281%2529.PNG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">The quote from my image drew my attention while I was writing this blog. This is in fact true about the mind and the memories we value. Memories fleet with time and we sometimes store the ones that matter the most.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Out of nowhere, my phone suffered a malfunction in February and I seriously needed a new phone. So, I took my phone’s SIM card and slotted it into my son's phone. His phone of course had its own SIM card, so his phone's memory and information were still on his phone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Every time I swapped SIMs, the memory associated with his SIM remained on the phone, despite the intermittent swaps and to really have my phone’s full memory installed, I had to erase and reset the phone to make room for my phone’s information.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Have you ever thought maybe, just maybe our minds truly function with a capacity or a memory limit like cell phone SIMs? I mean from the moment we are born, the brain, just like the phone starts storing new memories. It is honestly like the camera feature that takes the pictures on your phone. It snaps a picture in a moment and stores it up. Some pictures never make it to storage and gets deleted on the scene, some will eventually get deleted due to memory space limit, while some remain forever in the cloud storage. Take it from a girl who loves her candid shots! I can picture all the females grinning in agreement. We are selective on the pictures to post on IG, and God help that friend that decides to post a group photo where we are not exactly popping... LOL.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">In retrospect, what our eyes see, what our very senses feel, these are often stored in the memory bank. We store up memories, both good and bad. When we meet people, we are doing what I illustrated up there with the memory card intermittent swaps, constantly. You even store up memories of sexual experiences, hey!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Sometimes, it can be a bit conflicting when we aren’t properly erasing and resetting a particular memory before introducing another memory into our minds. It becomes harder to figure out which memory really matters as they start to look similar right?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">I am not a psychiatrist but from my own life, I know I had failed quite a bit at properly resetting before introducing or building new ones. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Many relationships wouldn’t suffer as much if the individuals paid said attention to this major aspect of life. And of course, who cares you say? We all have memories and we live with them, you say. They can be properly managed I say.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">To enjoy anything new, especially relationships, you will need to “erase and reset.” It may sound a bit brute, but most of the time, we do not allow ourselves go through the process of “erase and reset” before plunging into another important relationship that inevitably forms new memories.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">We instead carry all the memories- good, bad and ugly and try to slot another one while the current memory is probably still active.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">And to be fair, no, we are not like cellphones because our memories aren’t completely like memory cards. We are not robots, thankfully so. However, I cannot help but have us pay attention to what happens to our minds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 1; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjA6O9fxEZVMiJap5Lwk-vPxOFTb8-HckOWETacPp8G0s47DFTCD6dQf9C0fn5MGGtbABZv-K7WoK19KWcQTCJXLFabwiTn-cnTxW72MDYKtrWp9OVr3bbXQGvv-rx4OnYfqTvxDTPtg/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjA6O9fxEZVMiJap5Lwk-vPxOFTb8-HckOWETacPp8G0s47DFTCD6dQf9C0fn5MGGtbABZv-K7WoK19KWcQTCJXLFabwiTn-cnTxW72MDYKtrWp9OVr3bbXQGvv-rx4OnYfqTvxDTPtg/s320/Untitled+Design.PNG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 1; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">We have control over organizing our memory. We do it with everything else. For instance, the memory is a muscle and it remembers anything you repeatedly tell it to do. You can repeatedly forgive a memory in your past, so that it does not keep spilling into a new found memory. You can take time out of your relationship to evaluate unwarranted collision.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">I have had situations where even exes tell me, they constantly sought for me in their new relationships. If I must be honest, I have also sought for said exes in something new. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">It is completely unfair to the new person, but these are the questions that both parties must be willing to dig into before starting their new journey of memory lane.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Some struggle than others in releasing old memories with a past relationship and I strongly suggest you stay out of the trouble of heartbreaks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;">My advise today will be:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: left;">For Relationships: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><ul style="line-height: 2;"><li style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Ask yourself what ended your past relationship? This gives you perspective on how to either keep the door half open(for reconciliation) or shut it completely. </li><li style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Please, do not rush into another relationship if you are not done erasing and resetting. Your present relationship will suffer and you will suffer the most. </li><li style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Pray and seek counsel(this could be a therapist who’s spiritual). </li><li style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;">Forgive yourself and move on! Most people get stuck here because they take on the responsibility of why the relationship didn’t work. Do not forget that it takes God, two and the entire universe to make a relationship successful.</li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: left;">For Grieving a loved one:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><ul style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><li style="line-height: 2;">Most people get stuck and some never move on from the memories made with their loved one. </li><li style="line-height: 2;">The way to make peace with this is truly allowing yourself to think about what your loved one would want you to do. When I lost my dad, I relieved memories and wept so hard each time. It felt like I was never going to move on. One day, I had an epiphany, I heard him so loud yelling for me to move on and that he was fine. Since then, I stopped weeping bitter tears. I erased and reset and found new meaning to life. I picked up new memories and replaced that one.</li><li style="line-height: 2;">The only way it gets easier is relieving the good memories.</li></ul><div style="line-height: 2;">For Mistakes:</div><div style="line-height: 2;"><ul style="line-height: 2; text-align: left;"><li style="line-height: 2;">I learned this past week that making peace and embracing my mistakes is the key to a healthy mind.</li><li style="line-height: 2;">Forgive yourself and stop relieving what you think you should have done. Instead, accept that your best was what you offered at the point of a said mistake.</li><li style="line-height: 2;">Being a perfectionist is truly a myth. No one is perfect.</li></ul><div>For Abuse:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Most people find coping mechanism for abuse, they blame themselves and sometimes bury the pain.</li><li>The pain from abuse- physical, emotional and the rest are like wounds that should not be tucked away but rather spread open for fresh air to heal them. The pain will seep through every and anything new if unattended.</li><li>Find a trusted experienced person who can help you work through the pain.</li><li>Do not try to numb the feeling of healing. Healing is equally painful.</li></ul></div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;">I would like to stop here today and hope that this helps someone take proper care and reset their memory cards.</div></div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Feel free to comment and ask me questions.</div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Until the next time you read from me, remain blessed!</div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Love,</div><div style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;">Kemi Gwan.</div></div></div>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-63920399445127491692020-03-29T19:33:00.002-04:002020-03-30T07:52:53.964-04:00BACK TO BETTER!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, Hello There!</div>
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Today is the start of something great for me as I pick my pen to write to you from the ashes of life's unavoidable plagues, coupled with the reality of the greatest pandemic ever recorded. </div>
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What a time to be alive!</div>
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I have been away on a break developing myself spiritually with a handful of men and women who are passionate and full of zeal for worship and prayer in a way that I've not experienced in years. </div>
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Being on this spiritual journey opened me up to purpose in a different way and though and it was not shy of haha moments, it definitely exposed so much about God's truth, my perfect imperfections (which I have learned to embrace like a cross daily) and the reality of how difficult it is to love without a perfectly functional spirit.</div>
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I'm so excited to now be back to one of my best forms of expression - writing. </div>
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Let me say this real quick: I missed writing, but I missed you! </div>
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I mean I wrote songs and devotionals and even started writing my book, but I certainly missed blogging the old school way. I'm not old I promise..</div>
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I wanted to just touch basis with you about what to expect moving forward and how I plan to be faithful to you my readers. Honestly, I feel like Maleficent, who after a said death, rose from the ashes into a phoenix. I feel like a brand new person, completely reborn to live purposefully and nothing beats that awareness to me.</div>
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To be allowed to dive into our lives by rising, falling and allowing God to mend the broken fragments of our fragile nature is essential to living a whole life. I think that is the jackpot I've hit. Allowing myself to live my truth and honing it with a fashion that I alone can wield.</div>
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So in other words, expect a weekly blog about overall sprit, soul and body wellness. I am a firm believer that it is important to be aware of what makes up our whole being and to actively sync them to wholeness.</div>
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When one part is starved, there is a tilt in growth and one specter cannot keep the being functioning. Those of you who were with me since my blogging journey began in 2011 might be more acquaint with how much I've grown. That is actually all I would like to share on my blog - my growth.</div>
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I would love to help many men and women learn about themselves if possible, but also to help people avoid certain mistakes that I made and how to avoid them.</div>
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This space will focus on the overall picture of what kingdom identity represents on all three facets of the human existence - body, soul and spirit.</div>
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I look forward to reading comments and sharing more..</div>
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Yours truly,</div>
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Kemie.</div>
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Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-53484131104084457502018-06-26T12:38:00.003-04:002018-06-26T12:48:44.705-04:00CONTENTMENT- THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 6px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If we cannot clearly understand our motives, our minds will be constantly encumbered by the pressures of worry and dissatisfaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The human nature is in constant need and it’s nature is to fend for that need naturally by whatever means necessary. The body desires food, sex etc.. the mind desires knowledge.. the soul has its desires for the unseen or a savior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, God states very clearly that He knows our every need and tries to point us to how to get what we need not what we think we need and want! If I give “me” all it wants all the time, rest assured that I’ll die a miserable death due to dissatisfaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The dictionary says to be content is to be satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A discontent person will always want. Unable to see that they already have all they need per time. The desire for more should always align with God’s plan, else you will become an embittered worried person. Worry never gives birth to purpose, just more worry. <span class="_5mfr _47e3" style="line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/f57/1/16/1f609.png" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /><span class="_7oe" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px;">😉</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As God’s children, He expects maturity in this area actually. Unfortunately, even God’s giants might still be struggling to learn this lesson.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A person might want something because they assume all their problems will be solved, they want it never really fully understanding or putting into adequate thought why they desire it or if they even have need for it. It’s like buying a million shoes when you truly can wear one pair at a time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will admit that that was so me. In some ways it is still me and I will share...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me be clear, that God is never against wealth. His principles are very clear in scripture. He desires to bless His beloved with wealth, with everything good. The problem is when His beloved abandon the desire to seek Kingdom for the desire for prosperity and wealth. Most people turn the blind eye in Church when their Pastor says this, but for those who are walking with God, I trust Him to train us rigorously until our ultimate desire is to Him and Him alone! Then other things may or may not be added.. doesn’t matter! That’s the Kingdom we signed up for!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In my present journey, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me about how contentment is directly linked with my all round happiness and wellness and thus might take root in someone today. In fact I pray that it does in Jesus name.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Meanwhile, I know that I am content than most in some things, but all that doesn’t matter to God when He is interested in shaping you into Him. God’s truth brings freedom! <span class="_5mfr _47e3" style="line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/f4/1/16/1f483_1f3fd.png" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /><span class="_7oe" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px;">💃🏽</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where I currently work isn’t my dream job, but I do my job excellently well. So much so that the company refused to let me go after the initial 6 week contract was over. I have now been there for 4 months. The job pays the bills so that is one blessing I should be grateful for right? <span class="_5mfr _47e3" style="line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/f60/1/16/1f937_1f3fd_200d_2640.png" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /><span class="_7oe" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px;">🤷🏽♀️</span></span> Hmmn.. your sister was apparently discontent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was initially excited about the job because I had been home for too long, but as I progressed on the job, I started getting anxious. I wanted more. I thought I deserved more(this is true) but I just felt tied down. I would apply for other things but nothing came through, but I still had my job. It gradually started affecting my happiness on the job and some days it took listening to sermon upon sermon to get through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I realize that I had been discontented and refused to appreciate where I am in this phase in time. I was reaching out for a future that will eventually come either I put pressure on my heart or not. <span class="_5mfr _47e3" style="line-height: 0; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle;"><img alt="" class="img" height="16" role="presentation" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/f34/1/16/1f914.png" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: -3px;" width="16" /><span class="_7oe" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px;">🤔</span></span> Impatience and not exercising faith causes most of us to worry while waiting. The attitude of a faith-filled person is contentment. This is my lesson learned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me be really honest that nothing could ever satisfy a discontent person. The emptiness you’re looking to fill was meant for only one thing - GOD! If you don’t know how to REST in God, you will constantly sit in a place of worry.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Worry stems from discontentment which gradually leads to greed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of us who follow Christ have been taught that Jesus wants the best for us(true), but directly associate that with obtaining wealth alone. Most times false hopes are raised in people because the motives are wrong. If you preach only to people whose focus is still on self, you will produce a discontent, self seeking, self glorified greedy people! What a mighty church of discontent people that is!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is important to preach contentment in the house of God! You will produce happier people, patient and disciplined Christians who learn process rather than praise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My focus is on you who is reading this write-up. I heard the Holy Spirit’s whisper to me that if I embraced every process on my job and choose to be content right here, I will do a far more excellent job and that is not only pleasing to my boss or the company but to God! Promotion is bound to come.. but if I fail to develop a Godly character of contentment here, even if I become a CEO, I would continue to be dissatisfied.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So many of us have been blessed with little seeds(a job, a business, a ministry) that we’re nurturing right now. The way you nurture growth really matters. Doing it with a content heart is doing it wholeheartedly and doing it well.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our anticipation for the future should not override today’s pleasure or else worry takes over. Give up being anxious, because truly, only God knows the future, we don’t.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Be content in your space today and watch God make your tomorrow even better!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Matthew 6:34 NLT</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
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Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-86700103224078948632018-05-26T17:02:00.001-04:002018-05-26T17:02:28.240-04:00LOVE & JEALOUSY..<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnyaw7R_raksUMs2-rwI41nFi2-cIV59gnUYN967KgxGPoULmorzwOqD3CXd3ZlAkp-7x8H4Dfi4mF3JoivLx4ycgIaKCo9by82z-FQm20AGXLZXQliGD2yt-PTlZ6rZ4z_bZlxlnJVE/s1600/The+thin+line+between+Love++JealousyIs+Success.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnyaw7R_raksUMs2-rwI41nFi2-cIV59gnUYN967KgxGPoULmorzwOqD3CXd3ZlAkp-7x8H4Dfi4mF3JoivLx4ycgIaKCo9by82z-FQm20AGXLZXQliGD2yt-PTlZ6rZ4z_bZlxlnJVE/s320/The+thin+line+between+Love++JealousyIs+Success.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been learning about some things recently. I realize how easy it is to dismiss and say, that’s not me when in actual fact it is me, it is you, it is us.. not the other person, not the unbelievers..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love between two siblings could get sour real quick if something called success or preference for one, becomes evident. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m your loving sister until your elevation or opinion appears more important and mine is ignored. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love is not love until it has passed the test of “preference”. Variables like success, promotion, money, fame etc shows up in a person’s life or their relationships to test who they really are..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the one thing you desire the most at every level, falls in the lap of someone else, someone close to you, what’s your reaction? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It could be affection, promotion on the job, a position or respect.. When you see the respect given another, do you think 🤔 that should be me? When the promotion you had been vying for is given to another, do you distance yourself? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many friendships fall out because of jealousy, not because of love. A difference in opinion is a big challenge and it takes love to prefer another’s opinion. If I prefer you and you prefer me, there will be no room for competition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many people are unknowingly building relationships on a competitive foundation. You have a husband, I too will go and get married. You now have a job, I too need to belong to this group of “successful” young people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jealousy usually finds its home in a heart that is desperate for...</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recognition from peers at school, work, church etc (a desire to be the “go to” person)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Position in society (fighting to always have the title of “leader”)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fame (you want the world to know your name and what you can do)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Success (an appearance of wealth, a problem/struggle-free life) Etc.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The person that finds self-validation in these shallow attributes, is very likely to quickly embrace jealousy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Leah and Rachel were cool sisters until they had to share one man’s affection. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cain and Abel were close brothers until God preferred one’s sacrifice over the other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">King Saul loved David until the people he led, sang David’s praises higher than his own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The disciples fought each other strangely about who deserved to sit next to Jesus when Jesus takes his seat in the Kingdom of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you see that it is human nature to seek glory for itself, to be competitive in opinion, in success, even in love?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus beat that nature by submitting to God to receive that glory. The devil in all his glory was infected with this same disease. The rebellion started in heaven. When humans fell into this same error, we also became self seeking, glory seeking. Just because you give your life to Christ doesn’t autocorrect this sinful nature.. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am encouraged because the more I follow the Holy Spirit, the more I become like Jesus and the more I become like the father. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I wake up in the morning, I examine my relationships, my husband, my family, my friends, my church members and members of my prayer groups.. do I love them enough to prefer them?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Check your heart today! Be transformed once more! Love is real but so is jealousy. Don’t just gloss over it, check your heart, is your love pure? Or is it tainted by jealousy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kemi Gwan</span></div>
<br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" />Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-86226647926043356872018-05-24T12:32:00.002-04:002018-05-25T05:14:00.397-04:00FROM EMOTION TO SUBMISSION..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijylMS96TPFq89tpfJpgfJg8EF44JRLHcKlDmXQPtLJYxZ8HubniMMYMK7O5YktWZetRMbX9qjvb5l8cGiFq2iIab3rwSjNRl9z6_d-t8BEtvHnPkklF1lK4NNakVftgC4qGoTxS91JZs/s1600/The+greatest+weakness+of+the+woman+is+her+emotions+and+the+greatest+weakness+of+the+man+is+a+woman.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijylMS96TPFq89tpfJpgfJg8EF44JRLHcKlDmXQPtLJYxZ8HubniMMYMK7O5YktWZetRMbX9qjvb5l8cGiFq2iIab3rwSjNRl9z6_d-t8BEtvHnPkklF1lK4NNakVftgC4qGoTxS91JZs/s320/The+greatest+weakness+of+the+woman+is+her+emotions+and+the+greatest+weakness+of+the+man+is+a+woman.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This quote has a backup story I promise.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I think of the man through the eyes of the word of God and through my experiences, I think of his power, dominion, strength and splendor. You men are pretty simple actually. You’re either for God or yourself... think on that 🤔🤷🏽♀️</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When I think of the woman.. hmmn.. I am a woman so it is easy to think of beauty, power, desire, strength then EMOTIONS(Exclusive-Motions)..😅</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When God created this duo, He had all these great things in mind. I know because good and evil already existed in the world before the humans arrived on the scenes. God put too much faith in humans you see. Especially the woman he gave Adam... 😂😂. I think God’s own weakness is His reckless love for humans.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The man’s greatest weakness is the woman. From Adam to Abraham to Samson! These men represented dominion, authority and strength. Let’s take it a bit further to David and Solomon, who were the embodiment of wisdom and wealth but fell into the hands of a woman 😅. Women what can I say, you got magic like that! No wonder Paul chose not to be with a woman even Jesus! 😂😂😂.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Now all my ladies 🙌🏾💃🏽.. come closer, let’s sit at this round table to discuss how to use power the right way..</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Let’s get this straight, our emotions could bring down a house, set nations against nations, destroy all of humanity like the Armageddon 🔥🔥. I can share stories in scriptures to backup my claim 🤷🏽♀️</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Eve used her power of persuasion..</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sarah used her power of conviction..</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Delilah used her power of passion..</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Aunty Bathsheba used her power of seduction(I have read that David was set up 😅) not saying it is entirely true, but I like it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">However Mary changed the course of humanity with the power of submission! Who says women can’t be good!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Unfortunately women will continue to struggle until they bring their emotions under submission to God. That’s all 🙌🏾 offering time! 😂😆</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I recently have been rejoicing because I finally get the submission thing... yes! Been married for 2.5years 🙌🏾😜(feels like forever) and I can categorically tell you that I heard people say submit, I read it in scriptures but my mind and my emotions won’t give in. I actually have good enough reasons to back that up.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After suffering physical abuse in my first marriage, I can tell you my heart became stone against the male specie(I gave it to Jesus in my defense 😭). My mind was made up to never back down for any man. I became my own man and though God brought me a man to be my husband years after, I still couldn’t let that part go.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I subconsciously struggled with him being the lead or the captain of our marriage. I struggled with being married. I was afraid of being taken for a ride. I was defensive and ready for attack. All these against an innocent person who just wanted to love me. 😭😭.. all these in almost 3 years too. (Ladies, if you are a control freak and you are desiring to be married, if you still struggle with some of these things, please enjoy your singleness until you are ready to yield).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Anyway, I couldn’t let my guard down. I resisted love and gave none in return. I resisted submission and resisted God.. I didn’t realize that yielding to my man was yielding to God!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">You see, God didn’t give up on me and I thank Him for using a man strong enough to help me see that all men aren’t the same. No, he’s not perfect at all but I’m learning to see through the eyes of love and healthy faith by praying more and practicing meditation daily. I surround myself with fire brand men and women who encourage me to see that I am loved by God. I intentionally listen to sermons not just music.. the word of God is powerful and transforms...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The devil is the architect of all these things. He would create all kinds of chaos against your life so that you continue to resist God’s love. Make you question your identity, your worth, mess with your emotions and lead your passions the wrong way. If you resist God’s love through humans, how can you ever submit to His authority over your life?? Impossible.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I believe that until you understand submission, you haven’t truly given your life to Christ. You are just a church goer or a religious know-it-all. Desire love all you want, you won’t enjoy a bit of it if you struggle with submission.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Women, there are things that drive our emotions constantly- assumptions, passions, perceptions, rejections, conclusions etc. If we don’t bring them under submission to the Holy Spirit, you could drive the greatest man out of his senses! You could start a world war even! You could cause all of humanity to damnation like Eve did. You would actually be an unfriendly egotistical successful failure.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Maybe this will bless someone today to let their guard down in their marriage. Maybe it will help that single mom who’s doubting her ability to love again. Maybe this will save a man who is struggling to let go of himself and allow God be His father. I honestly don't know but I just submit my pen for God to use.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This duo- man and woman, will do better if they submit their greatest weaknesses to God!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Kemi Gwan.</span></span></div>
Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-42710976189354678102018-05-18T12:12:00.002-04:002018-05-18T12:41:50.294-04:00REAL ROMANCE - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In light of the recently passed Mother’s Day, I figured I’d
start with the African woman. I must say I celebrate the knowledge
and strength that most of the women in our generation exude. It shows that we
have come a very long way from being relegated, subjugated and unheard! Women
are powerfully taking strides and a big thanks to the women who paved the way
for us! We do not take your sacrifices for granted. It is from this perspective
that I humbly write and one day will speak about the importance of paving easier roads for our sons and daughters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ever heard the saying that African men are unromantic? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, here is my first honest answer. They had/have “unromantic-unaffectionate” mothers!
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Show me an affectionate African man and I will point you his
mother 😉<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">🤷🏽</span>♀<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">️.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What the men lack, the women continue to crave. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My narrative is from the African culture<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>s perspective. It is a bit personal. Personal
in the sense that I watched my Parent’s generation closely (like I was in the
know) and then a bit of mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">’</span>d like to hear your thoughts on
this topic please..<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">🤔</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I learned over time and I have seen that in Africa, the affection
infused into the average male child is provision in terms of money, education, security
and power, while the average female-child is forced/taught to serve him and
look to him for survival (this is not true in every female’s case…but the
majority).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In history, the African woman is nothing short of a goddess
in my opinion, full of energy and power. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, circumstances forced her to cope and become tough! Her survival
instincts took over her ability to show pure affection. The African woman
taught her sons to become kings and from the knowledge passed down from her
ancestors she thrived to raise giants! Mostly, the African woman had to
strive to please one man in the midst of other women; her co-wives, where envy
and jealousy dictated the course of her emotional well-being. She was sometimes
battered and neglected, but still drove her sons to be mostly preferred,
and often forgot to teach her sons to <b>CARE </b>for the most delicate part of him - <b>HER</b>,
a woman! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am also forced to think about the African woman slave in America, who had to endure the hardship of being thought of as a second class human. Her emotions were reduced to anxious survival rather than peaceful affection. Her children didn't have the best of her, but she survived! She did the best she could in the hardest way possible. While, I am not focusing on the skin color today, I am painting a picture of what makes the African woman tough. Why she is often misunderstood. Why she seems so fierce when she doesn't intend to... her affection was forcefully taken over by the need to become an acceptable human in the world of men...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One day, the white-man invented television's romance and I
think they messed up what African folks had going for them 😂.
Do not hate on me for this… I am cracking myself up already. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But for real, if provision and survival were truly enough, why are my African
women all over the world struggling and craving to be heard, loved, seen,
accepted, touched and romanced?? There is a disconnect. Something has been passed down. If you were given time machine to use, you would marvel at what the women had to endure. It is rich but also broken.. It is the unspoken brokenness that lives in our genes..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As a young girl, I often wondered why my late dad found it difficult to hug us as children many years ago. He loved us and I knew very much that he would give his life for us but he just couldn't bring himself to hold and touch his own wife and children. Some of my friends would attest to this very thing. All that changed when we relocated to America years ago of course and I realized that affection can be taught and also learned..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many of our mothers remained married but also remained unhappy because of this unspoken problem. They endured marriage but didn't enjoy it. It made it difficult for them to share their happiness because there was none to share. After all, you can't give what you don't have. All they had to share was their pain and endurance in marriage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, ladies are we just gullible and craving for what we see on TV? Is Romantic
affection real? Did coming to America change me? Can romance/affection be taught to our sons and daughters? These are some of the questions I have for this first part...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">#RealRomance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-74250875932632443752018-05-08T12:05:00.002-04:002018-05-08T12:05:34.314-04:00WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE, YOU CAN'T SOLVE!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Many of us have really good intentions but our delivery is often warped and selfish..</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">If intentions were enough we wouldn’t need to fix anything.. 🤷🏽♀️</span></div>
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You cannot be a problem solver if you are not open to context and perspective. (Talking to myself today, I promise).</div>
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Most of the successful people in the world are people who found a way to fix problems. They SAW a problem and then found a way to SOLVE it.</div>
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I have a confession 🙊. I am a good talker okay.. I could talk your ear off and convince you to like what I like..</div>
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But this is not so good because good listeners SEE better.. I’m not saying all good listeners see better.. but you kinda get my point. Sometimes, you have to slow it way down baby.... slowwww down.. not too slow, you still need some fast and furious moments 😉😉😜</div>
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It takes someone who is willing to listen to another’s perspective to actually SEE where the other person is coming from. I know my hubby will be excited to see this write up because his baby girl just grew up 😂😂😂😂.</div>
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For people like me, half the time, all the words seem like a volcanic eruption in my mind and I just feel the need to launch that missile at someone else. Like yea.. you’re gonna hear me and me alone 😂😂😂..Talkathon...be mindful!</div>
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Ok so moving on..</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Question of the day for everyone wanting to be successful; What problems do you see around you that you are inclined to solve?</b></blockquote>
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I know some of us pray to be a blessing but I am beginning to understand that to be a blessing to my generation I’ll need to open up all of me to the many possibilities of other people’s perspective, opinions, ideologies, culture and lifestyles.</div>
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My life cannot be the same as yours and if I must be a blessing or a problem solver, I would need to walk in your shoes or allow my eyes be open through grace to serve in that capacity.</div>
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I might not like chocolate, but if my entire community loves chocolate and there’s a shortage.. the way to fix that is to figure out how to learn their likes, dislikes, taste buds and so on..,</div>
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Our generation is filled with many prospects at solving problems but we need to clear our vision of many things first. We need to learn to see clearly, listen to our world and then we can solve problems. Then our intentions will not be misunderstood because they aren’t enough... it takes wisdom coated vision and resilience to succeed at it!</div>
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Kemi Gwan.</div>
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♥️</div>
</span></span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-37984466645865803622018-05-05T13:00:00.001-04:002018-05-08T12:06:15.076-04:00THE BLAME GAME<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I try to look for a lesson in every living thing and the different circumstances around me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This one might make you laugh today as it is about ants 🐜. Yea ants.. 😂😂😂</span></div>
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These tiny creatures are said to be some of the wisest ones 🤷🏽♀️. In some way, I kinda see how now. In the winter they’re nowhere to be found because they had spent all of spring and summer gathering all they need to survive the harsh winter.</div>
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Today, I watched as these particular ants had gathered around an onion I had cut in half last night. What I noticed was, one ant actually died. Perhaps too much onion juice killed it. Poor creature. However, I saw few more ants getting juices and bites and marching their way back to their hole or wherever they reside. I marveled that because one laid there dead didn’t stop them from trying, even if it meant their death too.</div>
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I know this illustration may be a bit stretched but if you think a little deeply about how relentless they are, you’ll be impressed too. </div>
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If ants understand survival instinct and launch toward what seemed like an obstacle to try again and again, we humans can do better. Oh we’ve got to do better humans! 😉😜</div>
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I can’t help but think about things I attempted/still attempting, just once and because I met one obstacle, I completely gave up on trying again. Some of us play the blame game and use it as an excuse to not move forward. We blame everyone but ourselves for the reason we can’t take a step further. This happened to me recently.. I almost shortchanged myself because someone else had a problem with my style of doing things. When a new opportunity came up to serve, I was too angry to step up because I was hurt.. well until I got over myself.</div>
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You refuse to try an audition because someone didn’t like your voice enough; Big time shortchanging. You don’t think you qualify for that position or promotion, because someone else went to a better school and you think they’re better than you. 🤭.</div>
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You blame your parents for not giving you a better life. You blame your spouse as the reason for your anger and bitterness. You blame your friend for not noticing that you need help or for not affirming you enough and the list goes on and on.. 😱</div>
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Listen, just because people die in car crashes everyday doesn’t mean we stop driving cars right? When will you have a honest seat down with yourself to change your own situation and not blame others for your failure. You failed once, twice, thrice.. ten times, so what? Try again! Don’t do it for anyone, do it for you!</div>
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<b>Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb we all now use was asked: How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."</b></blockquote>
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Today if you are reading this, you are a survivor of some sort! You cannot afford to waste your life on expensive blocks of blaming others for your failures. Chin up! Try again! What doesn’t kill you, makes you strong 💪🏾.. literally in the case of those ants 🐜 </div>
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There are many steps to the greatness ahead!</div>
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Cheers to the Weekend!</div>
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Thank you for sharing your time to read from me.</div>
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Kemi Gwan.</div>
</span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-81136697385728943022018-05-04T09:00:00.000-04:002018-05-04T09:05:53.584-04:00I'M NOT DEPRESSED!<br />
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You can rehearse or memorize scriptures and be super depressed. Take all the antidepressants you can imagine and it won’t solve a thing. This is my story..</div>
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What if I told you that you had the key to free yourself this whole time, but you didn’t even know it. The sad truth is, so many of us have found a way to make depression a normalcy. You can’t cope without it. You say you want to be free but you are afraid of freedom. 🤷🏽♀️</div>
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Renewal of the mind is like going to the gym to workout when all your muscles are sore.. You still gotta go!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I remember some years ago, when I was depressed. I was battling rejection and my coping mechanism was to isolate myself and push people away unconsciously. I think of all my friends who misunderstood me and some just couldn’t take it and we fell out.(I am truly sorry).</span></span></div>
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Thing is I was perfect at coverups, I looked good and did things expected of me.</div>
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I functioned like a normal human being.</div>
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I knew scriptures, read the whole Bible many times and still missed the essence of it.</div>
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I’d like to blame the devil, but that would be a lie, because it had more to do with lack of understanding and acceptance of who God says I am. He says I am still His child despite my many mistakes.. I mean how do you reconcile that? God who is Holy and a sinner man like me?? It just didn’t make sense and I punished myself. Made myself into a punishing monster.. how many punishing monsters are in the building?? 🙆🏽♀️🙆🏽♀️🤣🤣</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">You know that feeling of never enough, wanting to accomplish something or some height and after you get it, you feel empty.</span></span></div>
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I wanted so much to complete my degree, because to me, that was what needed to validate me as accomplished because someone made me feel like I was not good enough and my drive only fed those lies, it didn’t fulfill me. What drives you?? 🤷🏽♀️</div>
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No wonder I became depressed right after graduation. I felt empty. I felt something else was missing.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">There are many men and women right now whom I believe that this would help.</span></span></div>
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You cannot be defined by things, toys, accomplishments or marriage even. If you marry just because you need validation, you will soon find out that that’s not what marriage was designed for. Marriage reveals our true nature and some of us aren’t even ready to face our true selves.</div>
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Many men and women around the world look normal but are feeling depressed, numb, abused and rejected. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I know that there is a way out, but you’ve got to be honest and willing to accept it. God can turn it around for good if you let Him show you who you are and how to work out what the nay-sayers missed. What they missed is that God is infinitely steps ahead. 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾.</span></span></div>
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You just need to do something a bit out of your comfort zone. Take one verse in scripture today and meditate on it. Try it again tomorrow and the next day after that.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I like this one: I often remind myself</span></span></div>
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“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”</div>
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Philippians 4:6-7 NLT</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like I tell those close to me, you have the authority(your will) to shut the devil(his job is to make you doubt and question what God says) and bend your mind to align with what God says! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Today, I am free from depression, I apply the scriptures I know even when I hear a false whisper in my mind. I immediately know that’s not right. I now have a job and I am enjoying my marriage better everyday.</span></span></div>
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I love my friends all the more and i’m learning to open up like a lotus flower 😊 because that’s what God wants for me! To Bloom, To be Happy! This is one of my numerous testimonies 😅</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stay Happy 😊</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kemi Gwan</span></div>
</span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-23234581699716278492018-05-02T11:32:00.000-04:002018-05-02T11:32:39.089-04:00THIS LADY AT WORK<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There’s this lady at work who's probably the most active and loudest person. She’s always talking and walking around throughout the day. For the past couple of weeks, I had been observing and now almost judging her as a busy body.</span></div>
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Immediately I heard in my heart: Kemi, that is not a fair judgement. The Holy Spirit told me to imagine if I was doing my job so efficiently and someone else starts judging me as a busy body, wouldn’t that hurt you, He quietly asked?</div>
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The worst part is, as of today, I realize that there are men constantly walking up and down too, but I regret to say, that as a woman, I am too harsh on my kind. No wonder Hillary didn't win as President of the United States..(Just had to put that out there).</div>
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I immediately felt remorseful and repented in my heart. If you judge others as gossip, you will soon reap the same. So, what does your heart immediately do when it sees others?</div>
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Women, I say this out of love and respect for us, but we are terribly bad at bad-mouthing each other and tearing each other down with our hearts and then it proceeds to the mouth. I am guilty. Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been judging a particular person in your heart, and all of a sudden your girlfriend calls you and says; have you noticed that so so and so seems odd lately? I promise you, what is in your heart immediately reveals itself without you knowing it. I all of a sudden have more to say than I had bargained for. And the gossip and mocking begins. This is what God classifies as evil. There are some of us in ministry who pretend to pray, but truly wound up talking about other people’s problems, God frowns at it. Read Psalm 1:1-end.</div>
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What’s the point of all this, you say? If you want to be judged fairly, judge fairly in your heart. Everything we do, starts from the heart. If we don’t attack the false conclusions about our spouses or relationships, giving them the benefit of the doubt, like I did that lady, we would fall into a cycle of judgement, dispute and complains.</div>
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I can promise you I didn’t know how to give people the benefit of doubt and so no wonder I have experienced people who didn’t give me any. I used to just jump into conclusions but God is working on me indeed! If you are experiencing a bit of harshness around you, maybe, just maybe you have been sowing harshness. If you give people the benefit of doubt, if you choose to trust more, you'll reap it, pressed down, shaken together, running over in abundance.</div>
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Keep asking, keep changing, keep on learning! It is a journey of transformation not a theory of living!</div>
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Kemi Gwan</div>
</span></span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-67383141535929253622018-04-30T15:54:00.005-04:002018-04-30T15:56:03.645-04:00SORRY..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a distinction in each child’s emotion and their graceful little way of expressing it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When children are upset, there are some who gravitate towards you, some who feel better after you say sorry, some would avoid you and go to the next safe person and there are those who cry themselves to sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Interestingly these emotional traits develop into adulthood. If no one teaches us how to handle our emotions properly, we end up being poor managers of our emotions. In life, we would always be at the mercy of sorry. You’re either saying it, receiving it or waiting for it forever <img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I remember when I was a child, my brother and I were masters of mischief. I don’t quite remember what it was that we’d done to get into my mom’s trouble, but we knew we were in trouble. Time progressed into the night and we were shocked that she didn’t spank us. I mean she served us a delicious meal, the whole nine yards of nice treat. So we thought we’d escaped being spanked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the middle of the night, I was visited with multiple strokes of the cane. (If your mom did this, you’re probably African <img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />). I was terribly angry that she’d waited until I fell asleep to do something so outrageously smart. <img alt="😭" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f62d" goomoji="1f62d" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f62d" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🤣</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, the morning came and I wanted to prove how angry I was by avoiding her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To my utmost shock, my mom called me out during devotion, asked me to kneel and say good morning. That day I learned that no matter how hurt I was, I still had to kneel and say good morning to my parents. I had to learn to forgive without thinking about it..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maybe my story doesn’t quite paint the picture for you, but to a degree you have to admit that forgiveness is a learned skill. It is not acquired from birth, but a skill that’s to be taught to children and a skill that adults must remember to teach themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What category do you find yourself? Some of us need to hear SORRY to let go of a hurt, but in reality the sorry might never surface because they’re not your parents who hurriedly picked you up to say sorry when you were a child.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you are married or single, please understand that you might be paired with someone that hasn’t learned the skill of saying sorry. If you wait for a sorry that’ll never come, you will soon start to resent the lover and you become the hater. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Y’all know I like to be personal in my stories. I personally feel better after one sorry. However, when I got married(my hubby doesn’t know I’m sharing this <img alt="😊" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f60a" goomoji="1f60a" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f60a" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="😊" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f60a" goomoji="1f60a" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f60a" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />), I realized that he wasn’t the sorry kinda guy until he has evidence that he was truly wrong(a day that might never come right..). Meanwhile, me being a lawyer in my past life would dissect the matter just to hear him say sorry <img alt="🤓" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f913" goomoji="1f913" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f913" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> because I am a natural sorry-giver. Time and energy wasted.. smh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyhow, I had to consciously teach myself to forgive my husband without hearing the word sorry. This is not to excuse that he has to learn but the fact that I could spend my time developing myself rather than pick point at a standard that isn’t his cup of tea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I learned a new skill and now it’s easy..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Have you learned the skill of saying sorry or moving on without one?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is time for you to connect with the child in you.. discover that child.. figure out your emotional habit and then correct it and get better at building a relatable character.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here are some emotional tantrums we display as adults.. they might remind you of your childhood..</span></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Stonewalling:you build a wall around your heart, very impenetrable.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Silent treatment: you stop talking on purpose.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Malice: you think of hurting them</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nagging: you complain rather than discuss the hurt.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lashing out: you burst out in anger saying things you didn’t mean to say</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hitting: you get violent</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the end of the day, we are never truly different from children. You are still a child inside who either runs away or toward a hurting situation and who is inclined to a Sorry!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span></div>
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Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-9965925615847803342018-04-27T10:52:00.004-04:002018-04-27T10:52:49.030-04:00RELEVANCE OF RECKLESS LOVE<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once upon a time there was a very wealthy man who had two sons. He had a large estate and his sons managed it with him. (Potential Boaz)☺☺</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One day, the younger son got reckless in his heart and asked for all of his inheritance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The kind father didn’t even question him but divided his wealth in half and gave the younger son his supposed “inheritance.” </span></div>
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The younger son immediately packed up and moved away from his father to a different city.</div>
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He lavishly spent his money on women and enjoyed his freedom and wealth inherited from his father. He literally partied day and night and refused to invest. Then all of a sudden, he ran out of money.. Reality hit like a tsunami.</div>
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Home boy became so broke that he couldn’t afford to feed himself. Practically turned a beggar. Lol..Hmn hmn. He even became a slave, just to eat. When pig’s feed start looking like burgers, you know it’s bad.</div>
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All of a sudden, a loud bell rang in his head and he remembered that he had a father who had more than enough to spare. He humbled himself, dragged his behind to go and ask for his father’s forgiveness.</div>
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As he took heavy steps back towards his father’s mansion, the first person to notice him afar off was his father (not his brother).. His father immediately became reckless by asking all his servants to throw a party for his son. His reckless son had become relevant and he was in fact the matter at hand. </div>
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The older son, his own blood brother’s heart was selfish and he became angry because he thought that his father was being a bit over the top for a reckless son. He really thought he didn’t deserve a banquet. He thought about himself being the faithful and committed but had never had a banquet thrown on his behalf.. so wrong!</div>
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Many Christian veterans are like the older son, who misunderstood the topic of relevance in this case. A banquet is even the starting point of reckless love for a lost child. I mean when a banquet is thrown, EVERYONE is relevant. </div>
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You partake in the food, the drinks, the dance, the dessert.. sheesh brother! The banquet was for you too.. How do we say we are out to reach out to our generation but the person right in your face, to whom you’re supposed to be a shining example, you literally not only condemn them in your heart but with your words and your prideful action 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️. You write them off, because they don’t dress like you or look like your family members..</div>
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But you see, God sees them from afar and He throws a party to welcome them home! Big Sigh. </div>
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This hit home right here for me because I remember many times in my brokenness when I really needed help and I was in the Church hoping to be helped and accepted, I was cast away. I became an outcast among my own brothers and sisters. I was judged by my status as a single mother. I was branded and some of you have been branded sinners above sinners! Well, I have super great news for you, you are HOME! You can come right HOME! I know because I am that son, you are that son too! No matter how far gone you are, you can take your heavy steps right back to Him.</div>
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While some were busy wondering why I deserved a banquet, God had already ordered for the best robes be put on me. 💃💃💃. I am a princess of God and the Queen of His Heart.</div>
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I have found that relevance is in-fact very reckless. What do I mean? </div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Maybe this write-up is for you if you are fighting everyday to be relevant in what you are committed to do. Don’t be grumpy on your commitment, because that bad attitude is lack of understanding and it could keep you from celebrating. Your attitude to 1 will be your attitude to 99, period. Remember the good shepherd leaves the 99 to chase 1 recklessly out of relevance.</span></div>
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The older son, thought one son was not deserving of a reckless love-coated banquet. But of course he was. When a child is born, we celebrate for only one child right. Even after 4 or 5 children, we still throw a celebration for the 6th and the 7th. Some women are graced! </div>
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It’s the same attitude with our Father in Heaven, when one child is reborn, oh He gets the Angels to throw a party. Serious throw down.</div>
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Here’s the challenge to someone who’s busy worried about the crowd they’re supposed to feel relevant to or impact. You know and see yourself up there on a platform, but your attitude on the ground level about ONE victory stinks! You don’t rejoice over ONE milestone! You don’t celebrate it. How do you expect to celebrate when you reach a 1000 milestones?</div>
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It’s the same parallel with everything else.. your attitude to Marriage, Ministry, Family, Relationship, Career, Redemption of souls.. think about it! </div>
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When I write like this, my focus is now on ONE person, just one person is enough for me to rejoice, because my attitude towards one, is my attitude to millions! Oh yes, I am not an expert, learning just like you on the job.</div>
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Change your attitude! Renew Your Mind Today! Let’s go be greater than yesterday family! Let’s do this! If you want to be relevant, learn from this story! Relevance is borne from Reckless Love and Passion 😉. And when your brother or sister needs help, you better give yourself recklessly like your Father did for you already! We are already RELEVANT!</div>
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Listen to this beautiful song by Cory Asbury</div>
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Title: Reckless Love</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-40442092234818901222018-04-25T09:59:00.005-04:002018-04-26T15:05:30.412-04:00FROM ONE INSECURE ME TO ANOTHER<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphuTwrNadQYs8BcPI_PGmfX4dskQj-UUOo6JVvaPMV8s9d0_ZoA4Bz-h6qTgBmgkzpEsz3J3FriqJvuUztPoeaT9HdsCG_lei3pYNFAqaWtTFQ9G_OAY_nwH3gBccfL9bxbvKzHAO960/s1600/IMG_3954.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphuTwrNadQYs8BcPI_PGmfX4dskQj-UUOo6JVvaPMV8s9d0_ZoA4Bz-h6qTgBmgkzpEsz3J3FriqJvuUztPoeaT9HdsCG_lei3pYNFAqaWtTFQ9G_OAY_nwH3gBccfL9bxbvKzHAO960/s320/IMG_3954.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wish I could tell you that all our insecurities go away as we mature. Ladies, you cannot help the number of stretch marks around your fine areas as you birth children except of course you get surgical help or not 🤷🏽♀️..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wish I could tell you that dyeing your hair darker would stop your gray hairs from forming. So many things I wish I could tell ya. Single folks, I wish I could tell you that sex becomes an everyday meal after marriage. Here’s what I can tell you; choose your battles carefully and wisely as time and age happens to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every man or woman deals with insecurities daily. No matter your height, talent, beauty or wealth, there are thoughts that dance daily around your mind right? Maybe the thoughts that others are better than you or far ahead and then mid-life crisis happens. Wheew! Well, I've got great news for you. You will see that our insecurities/security are usually either words spoken by others or low-key covetousness in the mind that you struggle to keep up with.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUJnCnqHpGmszAo5w-kay_nq803TvJ8pvbNPgS8BGSg8t8fyKWZgQEkD0u163ObKuEGlGSx__RO1RwAH43jeB2dXPqQ5l0ZFrnTHecHUms-PTtaAPcxvqD56rsoJgM7DuOKJVExO8bBs/s1600/Insecurity-Qutations-004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUJnCnqHpGmszAo5w-kay_nq803TvJ8pvbNPgS8BGSg8t8fyKWZgQEkD0u163ObKuEGlGSx__RO1RwAH43jeB2dXPqQ5l0ZFrnTHecHUms-PTtaAPcxvqD56rsoJgM7DuOKJVExO8bBs/s320/Insecurity-Qutations-004.jpg" width="282" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who/what determines beauty? Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who/what determines the right size? Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who/what determines smart? Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who/what determines successful? Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who/what determines strength? Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But who determines unique? You!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I was much younger, I was an athlete, it was a natural ability and when I ran, I felt my body move with the wind in a way that was special. What made me better and confident was 1. practice and 2. watching my late dad & my mom cheer me so loudly from the sidelines and I would run faster. I was a secure and confident runner until puberty kicked in..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was a late bloomer, but when I bloomed, I began developing huge “embarrassing” breasts. Mind you, my breasts were a bit moderate but I was too skinny to handle these babies I guess. These babies began to make me feel insecure. The thing I did so effortlessly became a burden that I shied away from it. I still run but on a treadmill nowadays..Lol</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I watched my mom struggle to find me bras sometimes. If you’ve seen my mom, to me, she is the Queen of beauty(inward and outward). She became my standard of beauty and I wanted my breast to look like hers. I tried so hard to wear sport bras to keep them from showing. It was that serious. My mom didn’t mean to make me feel bad, but when she said that I got my endowed breasts from my grandmothers, I was furious and I wept on the inside, because all I wanted was her kind of breasts not my grandmothers’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fast forward to when the boys showed up..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, tell me, why do men love boobs? <img alt="🙄" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f644" goomoji="1f644" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f644" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The attention that it got me was so weird that I became mean to boys. I’m sure some girls are like, give me your boobs please.. let’s exchange.. <img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. But really, I was like you don’t love me, you love my breast, boy-bye <img alt="💁" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f481" goomoji="1f481" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f481" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🏾♀️(forgive me all the guys reading). Let's laugh a little..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As much as I’d like to tell you that I’m over it, that'll be dishonest. My husband even likes for me to expose some cleavage, but I’m too stuck and I try. God knows I detox from it and try to feel free and not too conscious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What are some of your insecurities?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have a couple more.. like my voice. I seem to be the only one who doesn’t like to hear me sing. But when I started dealing with the source of that and why? I began to embrace my uniqueness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My point today is that, some of our insecurities come from what our minds have set as standards. The danger in that is, restricting yourself from fulfilling your highest potential in life.(my breast must fulfill their highest potential with my husband)...lol. Finding the right balance between confidence and insecurity could be a little hard but most of us instead settle for insecurity. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNyX_rjDw33ohWlZ4chEFuNlgvFGAGOtwzQ6dCcfmiqlIBgE22pMRXDeX_qGww1gb5-eTJ2QLvuGbDISMUqSkSjmyiHhbYBJeBcrNuDpzSb9Mnjok6O8TxR49QiaU4qVki_WnWYcHKvA/s1600/insecure-couple-sm-min.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="640" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNyX_rjDw33ohWlZ4chEFuNlgvFGAGOtwzQ6dCcfmiqlIBgE22pMRXDeX_qGww1gb5-eTJ2QLvuGbDISMUqSkSjmyiHhbYBJeBcrNuDpzSb9Mnjok6O8TxR49QiaU4qVki_WnWYcHKvA/s320/insecure-couple-sm-min.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All my married folks in the house, where you at? <img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🏾<img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. Thou shalt not judge! I was super insecure about trust when I first got married. I was a “phone toucher.” Super FBI agent <img alt="😜" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f61c" goomoji="1f61c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f61c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. I would snoop and you wouldn’t even know it until I snooped and got myself in trouble and it triggered many insecurities. My husband is so secure it hurts. He definitely has other insecurities but he is secure enough to trust me. <span style="background-color: transparent;">He sure doesn’t snoop. I have no choice but to change all my bad habits</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><img alt="😭" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f62d" goomoji="1f62d" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f62d" style="background-color: transparent; margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. Maybe your isn't trust, maybe yours is your teeth..lol. My handsome cousin who came to visit us when we were kids once made fun of my teeth. I instantly became insecure that I refused to smile with my teeth open.</span></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you “snoop” around your spouse’s phone to secretly find out if they’re talking to someone else, you’re insecure. Sorry..deal with it, don’t shoot the messenger.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you randomly criticize for no reason or you subconsciously in your mind wish you had the freedom to do what others do/did, you’re insecure. This one is for us Christians.. We are Ministers of Critical Affairs. lol</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you feel the need to talk about yourself and your achievements all the time, you’re insecure.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you feel like you are never heard when you speak, deal with it now, you’re insecure.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you’re timid, you’re insecure.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you’re vindictive, you’re insecure.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you seek to be noticed - there are unhealthy “notice me or I die,” folks, you’re insecure</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you're always skeptical and think things are always too good to be true or you expect things to always go wrong, you’re insecure.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you lose weight, not for yourself or your health, but for another, you're insecure. With this weight issue, you will always live on the edge, so find the right balance for you and your partner. Deal with your size and be healthy with it. Genes aren't cheap and can't be bought. It's who you are.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And the list goes on and on..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I could tell you that I am a master, but I would be lying. I could share tips on how I overcome my insecurities and push myself to ground breaking territories in my mind and in action. </span></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Detox, Detox, Detox Your Mind! </span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Admit your insecurities. </span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pray about it. Prayer doesn’t remove your insecurities. It reveals it.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Find out your “light bulb” moment. The moment you coveted, the moment you were no longer enough.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Be Your own Standard. Be who God says you are. Some of us haven't heard it from Him in a while. This is truly where Kemi Gwan's confidence comes from and of course from a loving family.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I hope these steps that I practice helps someone work out their insecurities to confidence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kemi Gwan.</span></div>
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Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-86598689505409448822018-04-24T08:55:00.001-04:002018-04-24T09:10:50.508-04:00MINISTRY OF SELF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOc5pDNtdeL75wXy0JNsyxU82RBWQZJuKVXZoEIBEcyDnJbJLRsU_nr968xfpUjA34S9BDSlwejuP_lpm8nLxGPMS4YvsBALu0eiT7ZYkKgfNc9aYOnXQJYOnnb7MmPuGTKsowBHElRA/s1600/IMG_3952.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOc5pDNtdeL75wXy0JNsyxU82RBWQZJuKVXZoEIBEcyDnJbJLRsU_nr968xfpUjA34S9BDSlwejuP_lpm8nLxGPMS4YvsBALu0eiT7ZYkKgfNc9aYOnXQJYOnnb7MmPuGTKsowBHElRA/s320/IMG_3952.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Conversations between a husband and wife after the honeymoon phase could sometimes go like this...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Husband: the problem I have with you is selfishness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wife: I could say the same about you. How could you call me selfish after all I’ve done for you? Ask people okay, I’m very giving and selfless <img alt="💁" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f481" goomoji="1f481" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f481" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🏾♀️..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Husband: Yea right! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alright.. maybe yours isn’t that way but mine is super close <img alt="😅" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f605" goomoji="1f605" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f605" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, confession time.. I have a natural instinct to look out for myself. Some would argue that it’s healthy but most times it is out of selfishness, not true love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">True love is borne out of pain and my affinity for pain used to be quite low. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After a devastating experience of pain, the capacity to love or hate increases. I chose love which requires forgiveness and it took grace and lots of different stages of healing and mind detox. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, for a long time I had told myself that I was selfless and giving. I didn’t realize that there were levels to this.. I was at level 1 and my husband was like a 10 when I married him. So, yea I have a teacher <img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🏾<img alt="😆" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f606" goomoji="1f606" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f606" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />♥️<img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />🏾.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of us truly cling to the scripture that says love your neighbor as yourself, but the love you have for yourself is quite flawed and selfish though 🤷🏽♀️</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Selfishness has its levels.. you might never know how selfish you are until you get married <img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="😂" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f602" goomoji="1f602" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f602" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" />. Marriage revealed mine and at first I struggled, but I submitted myself eventually to learning(real tough).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway, let’s do a reality check..</span></div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Helping others from your place of comfort. Anything that is out of your comfort zone irritates you, you are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You don’t like to share your time or space. You are selfish. </span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You like your things a certain way. You are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secluding yourself when you have been called. You say it’s privacy but in actual fact it’s selfishness. You can’t drink from others and others can’t drink from you, it’s selfishness</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You’re unfriendly. To you everyone is bad, you say they’ll stab you in the back but have you thought that if every one that comes your way is bad, you seem to be the constant factor. It may be you and not them. You are <img alt="🤔" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f914" goomoji="1f914" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f914" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /> selfish</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You always want your will to be done. When other people’s opinions are picked over yours, you throw a tantrum, you seek for yours to be the ultimate one. It is your way or the highway. You are disappointed when it’s not acknowledged. My sister you are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You are not a good listener. You are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You are impatient and irritable. My brother you are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You get angry easily, oh boy! You are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When things don’t go the way you plan it, you blow up to shambles (this is me, perfectionist trait). You are selfish.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When you isolate your family in order to protect your own interest. You are selfish. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I learned that if you refuse to be honest about it, you can’t see the change you desire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me tell you what Christians don’t say often. Just because you go to church doesn’t mean your struggles disappear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Folks that are in Church are some of the “sickest” people on earth. If most of us would gladly fall at Jesus’ feet for help before raising our hands in worship, oh! what a Church that would be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">YOU and I could never be unselfish without asking to be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT. You’ll see that yesterday doesn’t cover today and today doesn’t cover tomorrow. If you prophesy from now till eternity and blast in tongues or see visions, it doesn’t remove your selfish nature, you still need to humbly ask for the Holy Spirit’s help and learn the change. Learn from those that are better than you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Please share and bless someone today</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kemi Gwan</span></div>
Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8688095182341699159.post-2723403517420137022017-12-31T15:52:00.000-05:002017-12-31T15:52:34.444-05:00BONNE ANNÉE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the year comes to a rapid close, I have been taking stock of all I have learned, the growth I have achieved and what could be done better as I move on to the new year. The turn of the new year could help some feel like they could turn things around or do better with their desired goals. I learned today that out of the 129 million Americans who make New Year resolutions, only 8% manage to achieve their goals in the year.<br /><br />While New Year resolutions are great, I tend to think they should happen at the end of a learning phase in people’s lives. It is the best way to achieve paramount success. You simply evaluate your life and fix whatever is not working right or at least make an attempt to do so. Setting realistic goals and evaluating them quarterly or whatever works for you- weekly or monthly, is one of the best ways to achieve desired goals. New Year or not.<br /><br />One of my resolutions is striving to seriously not care about what people think of me. This statement is deeper than what you just read. To be honest this one thing could reshape anyone’s life for the greater good. At least I hope to one day come back and read this blog and be glad I made this one resolution and did one other thing right. All the time I spend patching up my weaknesses and shortcomings with temporary masks of perfection, could be spent being honest about my brokenness and getting the necessary help where needed.<br /><br />I finally figured out the scripture “God gives grace to the humble”. How about we switch it up to “God gives grace to the honest”. I had taken pride in stating that honesty is the creed I live by, but I realized that I’ve been dishonest about my own wounds for so long. In fact, pride is not far away from who I am. I pride in my strength and I had put multiple bandaids on my wounds for years until I started to understand Grace. Walking in Grace is walking in freedom.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, I posted a random question on Instagram about who we think we are, who people say we are vs who we truly are..<br />This question dealt with me personally as I came to see the relevance of how this shapes a person’s life. It is unnecessary pressure to focus on what people say or think of you. You will never win that battle, except you are ready to live for people’s opinions for the rest of your life.<br /><br />Hubby and I started the show “Travelers,” and we saw how historical records and social media posts are far from the reality of our everyday lives.<br />The travelers are people from the future traveling back in time to save the world from impending peril and doom centuries from now. They choose their hosts by taking over their consciousness just before their historical time of death. I think it was hysterical that some of their hosts had “fake/falsified” information that jeopardized the mission of the travelers. To the world you are one version of who you say you are and to your family you are a different version. Ultimately when we are alone, we are the true version of us. Alone, angry or happy and peaceful. Content or insatiable.<br /><br />What a world? Everyone is either perfect or we are a dishonest bunch angrily expecting the same of every person encountered. Pastor Ryan spoke so powerfully today as he spoke about what I had written for today’s blog. It was like a sign for me. I sat there listening and confirming what I needed to do better for myself. If I did this one thing for myself, every other person would benefit from the real me.<br /><br />I want to challenge my readers as we enter into the new year to spend time evaluating who we are now vs who we aspire to be. Not because society or religion demands it, but because it is important for self awareness and success in all areas of our lives.<br /><br />Do these things for you in 2018 and beyond<br /><br />Be honest<br />Be real<br />Be self aware<br />Be confident<br />Be happy<br />Be humble<br />Be loving<br />Be cheerful<br />Be peaceful<br />Be kind<br />Be YOU<br /><br />I hope to see you all on the other side soon!<br /><br />HAPPY NEW YEAR</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And lastly, thank you for always reading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kemi Gwan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A woman called Grace.<br /></span>Kemi Kayodehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06818138952075596422noreply@blogger.com0