Evaluation Series V: SOCIAL MEDIA

Good day friends! In the previous part of this series, we proceeded further in our Journey of Evaluations by evaluating our results. I’m sure that with all we’ve discussed so far in these series, 2020 will produce better results.

In this final part, we shall consider the need to evaluate our SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENTS.

Evaluation Series IV: RESULTS

Good day friends! In the last part, we continued our journey of Evaluations as we visited the personal development pool. I hope that we have taken the necessary steps and resolutions we need to.

In this part, we shall consider the need to evaluate our RESULTS.

Evaluation Series III: PERSONAL GROWTH

Good day friends! In the last part, we moved this Vehicle of Evaluations round the business/career arena. I hope that we have taken the necessary steps and resolutions we need to.

In this part, we shall consider the need to evaluate our PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT.

Evaluation Series II: CAREER/BUSINESS

Good day friends! In the first part of this series, we turned on the ignition of this Vehicle of Evaluations and drove through the relationship corner. I strongly believe that each of us is becoming more intentional with our relationships.

In this part, we shall consider the need to evaluate our CAREER/BUSINESS growth.

Evaluation Series I: RELATIONSHIPS

Good day friends! December is here and it calls for series of evaluations, especially in our personal lives. It is not unusual that every organization rounds up their business year in this month. Stocks are taken, needs are addressed, failures are reassessed, and successes are celebrated.

John Wooden is the man whose quote would serve as underlying thought all through this series. I am pretty sure that when he made his quote:  

“Without self-evaluation, failure is inevitable”, 

he never envisioned that there’ll be a TheAsegunProject blog that will drive themselves on the wheels of his thought. Beyond his inspirational life and leadership, John Wooden penned down these golden words that can never go down the drain.

THE UNNEEDED DRIVERS

 

In such a country like Nigeria where unemployment is easier to find than employment and almost everyone is underemployed, job vacancies hardly stay on various media of advertisement before people apply in torrents...

Some years back, Dangote PLC reportedly decided to employ graduates and masters degree holders as drivers of their trucks. Well, if that is by any chance true, then we can better understand the depth of the mess of this country. But then, the question is: "Who wouldn't want a better, educated, exposed, and socially sound driver who'll add some class to his business?"

Being Relevant in your Career

Why is this important at this moment?

Employers have higher expectations of their employees today than they did in the past. If you want to stay relevant competitive, and marketable, you’ll need to make sure that you’re continuously improving and evaluating yourself to ensure that you’re not coming up short. Expectations are increasing at an aggressive pace, and you cannot afford to lag behind; else you’ll become a forgotten history.

Warren Buffet (CEO, Berkshire Hathaway), Bill Gates (CEO, Microsoft Corporation), Herbert Wigwe (CEO, Access Bank), Aliko Dangote (Owner, Dangote Group),Pastor E.A. Adeboye (GO, RCCG), Leke Alder (Founder, Alder Consulting), Linda Ikeji (Owner, LindaIkeji Blog), Michael Jordan (World Greatest Basketball Player), Cristiano Ronaldo (5-time Winner, Ballon d’Or), Femi Tiamiyu (Convener, Leaders’ Quarters), Kolade Ogundare (Lead Facilitator, Koladeinspires), Michael Amure (Administrator, EMU, HHF, Surpass) are examples of people who are consistently relevant in their chosen careers, hobbies, and sphere of impact!

So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re an employee, an entrepreneur, a businessman, or even a social media influencer, you need to stay relevant!

So, how do we become (and stay) relevant? I’ll be sharing 7Ps to Be and Stay Relevant in your chosen career. 

PassPose – Price – Professional Development – People – Personality – Productivity – Power

1. PassPose 

Don’t mind my coinage of words… This is simply a merger of Passion and Purpose. Specialize in something. Don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades while becoming a master of none. Instead, discover your natural capacity and excel in that discipline. You’ll make yourself more marketable to employers and even buyers who are searching for experts in that field. What is your Purpose? Where lies your Passion? Find it and carve a niche for yourself. Never be a square peg trying to fit in to a round hole…

Now imagine a Cristiano Ronaldo fighting boxing or a Pastor Adeboye running a blog. Relevance becomes almost impossible, my people. There are many noodles, but Indomie stands out. There are many cement brands but Dangote stands out. There are many blogs, but Linda Ikeji stands out.

Find your PassPose, develop a career around it, and then you are on your way to relevance!

2. Price

Price here means you should be ready to sacrifice, as much as you need to, in order to get the needed knowledge, skills, and mastery in your chosen career. Every teacher should have a form of teacher education; every doctor should get education in the profession. Even corporate organizations give their specialized education/trainings to new recruits.

Once you’ve discovered your PassPose, get education/training. There are masters of the art that you can learn from. You cannot become relevant if you don’t have the required skills. Passion fades away in the face of frustration due to lack of skills. Ask Pastor Adeboye, he will tell you how many hours he spends studying the Bible. Do I need to tell you about Ronaldo and the sacrifice he made (great price he paid and still pays) to become (and stay) relevant? My friend, Mark Francis (although, a Barcelona fan) will tell you better!

3. Professional Development

Be a lifelong learner. Seek to embrace learning in all its dimensions and embrace it as a lifestyle. Learn by seeing, by doing, by reading, by taking physical and online courses, by asking questions and talking to people, by experimenting and innovating, learn by whatever means are at your disposal and in whatever learning method you prefer. Aim to stay ahead of the literature in your industry and pick up books that motivate and inspire you and benefit you in your overall career and general well-being.

Show me a man who’s not developing himself professionally, and I’ll tell you he’s going nowhere. Regularly learn and sharpen the skills relevant to your career path. Understand the dynamics of the industry you operate in. Myopia serves no one. Mastery is essential because, if you have no useful skills, you cannot be useful to others. The biggest barrier to staying relevant is feeling like you don't have time to fit in professional development. But you HAVE to. Think of it like brushing your teeth: It's so much easier to do a little each day, week or month than try to catch up and deal with the consequences after you neglect it for years.

Take control of your own education. Industry events can often be more useful to you than formal coursework and credentials. Attend seminars specific to your discipline. It’s easier to stay on the bleeding edge when you’re listening to experts speak, as well as get opportunities to build your network.

4. People

Warren Buffet said “your network is your net worth”. Enrich your network with the good players in the industry. Don’t try to compete; rather try collaboration. Permit me to share two quotes made by Kolade Ogundare:\

1. To live to the best of your abilities, work harder on your strength and collaborate with others who have strength in your area of weaknesses. Doing otherwise will make you work like iPhone X and get result like Nokia 3310”. 

2. Your attitude and disposition towards talented colleagues/people will determine more than 70% chance of your own success. If you are competitive, you’ll always turn out average. If you seek cooperation and teamwork, everyone will win.

Make friends across generations. Don't assume you don't have anything in common with co-workers who are older or younger than you. Making friends with people who aren’t in your age group can help you communicate with a wider variety of people. Getting their perspectives can help provide new ways of looking at the “business”. They can keep you updated on big-picture changes, as well as provide new tools and problem-solving approaches.

Another thing to note: Be involved in People Development. Be a People Person, depending on the nature of your career. Build people up, and they will strengthen your relevance. Personally, I am so committed to building people who will become masters of social media management, and I stay relevant this way. I empower people, and these people are the evidences of my relevance.

5. Personality

This is about who you are and your core values. I will keep it very simple: Be authentic, have integrity, be a good time manager, be polite, and be reliable. Strong competence may give you success, but it takes good character to sustain the momentum. Reportedly, Warren Buffet personally and directly works with only 24 people in his head office (at Omaha), and he only chose them based on good character, before competence. He prioritizes character over competence, as that’s the high way to relevance!

6. Productivity

Listen clearly: “Results cancel insults.” If you’re not deliberately producing results, you will fade off easily. Redundant workers are parasites to every organization. How productive are you? Experience and good past records are not enough to keep you consistently relevant. If Ronaldo does not produced goals and breathtaking displays every season, do you think he’d have five Ballon d’Ors by now, especially in the stiff competition with Messi? (Anyways, I celebrate the both of them for being relevant season in, season out. I’m blessed and my generation is blessed to enjoy these two icons in the football scene at the same time). The moment you stop being productive, you start dying. If you doubt, ask a farmer about his crops.

7. Power

Another source of relevance is Power. What do I mean by this? Be responsible enough never to shy away from leadership roles. When they come knocking, grab them with determination and see the challenge as a means to expand your capacity. I’m not saying you should be power hungry, I’m actually saying you should not reject leadership. Wield your influence and make your impact. Speak from the Peak. It is your actions, ultimately, that make you relevant to others. It is through action that you change yourself and change the world. Without action, even a great and brilliant mind and soul remains entirely irrelevant.

Don’t be too humble to lead people. That’s not humility, it’s mediocrity. Write your name in the record books. Increase your stature and voice in your industry by leading people. There’s a place where powerful people speak, that the voice of talented people cannot reach. Get there, step by step, and make your voice known.

Your career is your sphere of impact to the world. Work towards relevance, and not popularity. Your popularity may grow, while your relevance wallows in abject ordinariness. But once you grow your relevance, popularity comes as a free added advantage. Chase relevance, and success will chase you pants down!

Thanks for reading!

Just Kill Me!

 

I have many friends who share in my joyous moments. We celebrate with one another, even in our little successes. We catch fun together, I must confess that they are the liveliest friends ever! Even when I feel bored, a simple WhatsApp chat with them is enough to add some sparks to my day. But I am struggling with some issues of my life; yet, none of them is worthy to be opened up to… Just kill me!

I have senior friends whose maturity, care, and generosity magnets me to them always. When we talk on phone or via Facebook, their words of encouragement invigorate me to hit the peak! My love relationship is in mess (deep mess, actually); yet, I cannot open up to anyone of them for counseling… Just kill me!

My Church people… You see those ones ehn! They are too spiritual to relate with my human weaknesses. Their holiness is out-of-worldly and I can’t just tell them about my struggles. For where? Who born me? Just kill me!

How on earth will I tell people that I, the fellowship president, am in deep academic crisis? I slipped into probation grade last semester, and any further mess up will lead to withdrawal. Ah! Holy Spirit must have left me then… I must have committed some grievous sins for the Holy Spirit to punish me with bad grades… Just kill me!

I know what I will do… I will go to my Facebook page… Well it’s my personal space… and express my emotional hurts, excesses, inadequacies, depressions, imbalances and struggles there. I will paste my relationship problems on my WhatsApp status, shebi it’s my personal space. It’s my life, my space, and my problems. I will get my relief once I post them. Just leave me alone.

Hmmmmmmmn… Dear Friend, everyone has their personal problems and struggles. Now, imagine, for once, that everyone begins to post their personal problems on social media… What will social media turn to? Emotional Soak away? Just imagine it for once…

Any slight issue in your relationship… Paaaaam! You go to your Facebook/WhatsApp status to upload slight shades at your partner, or even pack everyone in a generalized gender bag with your derogatory comments. You use one guy’s flaws to judge all guys. A girl dumped you, and you turn all girls to heartbreakers… Just kill me!

Now, you claim it’s your personal space. It wouldn’t be disturbing if you’re the only one who’s “on your space”. I know it’s your personal diary, but diaries are not meant to be publicly displayed to all. Eventually, if you post your struggles for all to see, you’ll get lots of jests (they may not show it to your face), much public sympathy, and probably little help. Coming on public domain may not solve your issues, except in cases where you intentionally seek counsel (advisably, with anonymous identity).

So, Asegun, are you saying that people should bottle up when they’re passing through mess? Oh, no! I know that mental health is a big issue in this part of the world. Many are mad, but only few are roaming. Do not die in silence, but do not make your personal issues a public discussion. Seek counseling. Seek help. Don’t be too shy to seek help. If you don’t have anyone (trusted friend, mentor, counselor) you can express your concerns and hurts to privately, I suggest that you evaluate your friends/contacts list and connect with better persons. There’s safety in the midst of counselors. Your network determines your net worth (Warren Buffet).  Connect wisely and rightly.

Opening up is the best thing to do, especially when one gets depressed or threatened in a relationship. Communicate your concerns expressly to your partner (or friend). Malice has never worked. Online shades aggravate issues. Gossips don’t lessen the burden. Open up! But how do you open up? That’s equally important. It all boils down to the quality of your connections. Do you have an inner circle? What’s the quality of your inner circle? I almost suspended my Masters programme early this year due to some frustration… But, thank God I opened up to my inner circle. They “drove” me and helped me sail through.

Hmmmmn… Your partner offends you and you make social media your home of relief by posting shades at him/her. What would happen in marriage? There’s a whole lot of difference between seeking counsel/help and seeking public sympathy.

Life would be much easier if one invests in his/her “people bank”. Don’t leave your life in shambles due to silence. Also, don’t parade your dramas on social media. Respect your privacy. Get proper counseling, not public sympathy.

If you’re in a toxic relationship that can lead to suicide, quit! If you’re in a relationship that forbids you the freedom to expressly communicate your feelings and hurts, review the relationship and make the best decision (even if it means you’ll quit!). If you have NOBODY (no trusted person) you can share your burdens with, review your connections.

Don’t just have jesters in your circle of friends. Have motivators. Have value-adding friends. If your contacts/friends can only journey with you in your bright seasons but are not useful in your dark times, you seriously need to evaluate your connections. Why will you be free to discuss and celebrate your good times with people, and have NOBODY to open up to during your struggles?

No… Don’t kill me… Don’t kill yourself. Let’s Save Ourselves!

FOCUS: Impact

Hello Friends, 

Can you see that the euphoria of New Year is fading already? That’s a very good reason for us to get running and not play away our time. Sleeping and Waking is one of life’s biggest blessings, and we are glad to be blessed so much.

In the previous article, it was a charge to focus on our goals for the year (Read here: https://theasegunproject.blogspot.com/2019/01/focus-goals.html). In this article, we will charge ourselves towards impact.

What can we actually do with our lives? The biggest thing we can do with our lives is to make IMPACT. This is better by far (Unilorin students, right? #winks) than making income. Our impact outlives us, and that is why the likes of Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, and even our own Obafemi Awolowo will never be forgotten in history.

And the sweetest thing is that we do not need titles in order to make impact. Impact is not the birthright of some selected persons. No. No.. No… You don’t even need $30billion. #ShrugsShoulders

I’ve got just ten simple tips for us this morning. These tips will drive us towards making “little impacts” that will sum up to become mighty ones. Little things count, just as drops of waters make a mighty ocean.

This year, friends, 

1. GIVE more, 
2. SMILE more, 
3. HELP others, 
4. APPRECIATE people, 
5. FORGIVE quickly, 
6. LOVE more, 
7. SUPPORT people’s dreams, 
8. NURTURE relationships, 
9. INSPIRE lives, and 
10. BUILD systems.

Simple tips, right?

The idea of making an impact in life is nothing new. Doing things that have a profound positive effect on those around us means that we both stand out in people’s minds, and also leave a lasting impression of what is possible with the right actions and decisions. Each day when you wake up, consider this question - “Do I live to exist, or do I exist to live?” Living to Exist means you go through your day just waiting for it to end, while Existing to Live means you take the day as an opportunity to make things better.

The best quote on laziness I’ve encountered is this “Laziness is resting when you’re not tired.” Don’t be income-hungry, be impact-driven. People who are impact-driven eventually live beyond their income because their impact has a way of creating passive income. Those who invest in lives don’t lack resources, because such investments appreciate and multiply.

Friend, I need to tell you this: In your journey to make impact, many people will misunderstand you. You know there’s so much noise in our generation, such that people who have chosen to tow the impact-path are seen as driven, crazy, obsessed, abnormal, and weird. That’s okay. Let them not understand that you refuse to waste your life. Not everybody understands, especially in our generation.

So find some friends who get it, and encourage each other. Whether they live in your neighbourhood or whether they live 1000 miles away is irrelevant. Just find some likeminded people. The internet has broken the distance barrier, and that is why TheAsegunProject is here to inspire you. The people who have inspired me are not only people I’ve met personally. I met lots of them via the internet.

Also, friend… Don’t be discouraged by current results. Your impact usually can’t be measured now. So don’t be discouraged if you think you’re not making much of a difference. So just keep doing the right thing. Every day. Eventually you’ll see the indicators that you’re on the right track. Please don’t despise small beginnings.

In my mind, I would rather go to bed knowing I made an impact in life, rather than going to sleep just being happy I survived another day. I don’t care about my numerical age when I die, what matters most to me is that I should die empty. The grave has no use of my potentials, successes, inspiration, or impact.

This year, friends… Let’s focus on making more impact in people’s lives, in our immediate environment, and even beyond. E-Merge and SURPASS!

Thanks for reading!

FOCUS: Goals

The race in this New Year is no longer new. We are already enjoying God’s blessings for the year. And blessed are we among all creations!

In the previous article (check https://theasegunproject.blogspot.com/2019/01/focus-past-present-and-future.html) I illustrated the importance to focus on what is right before us instead of concentrating on the past that is gone, or the future we don’t know yet. Focus is key. “Where your focus lies” is as important as “what your decisions are”.

Now, let’s talk about our 2019 Goals. I don’t know what goals you’ve set for yourself for this year, but I make bold to tell you that achieving your goals is YOUR responsibility (all things being equal). New Year resolutions have been made; I honestly hope that the same resolutions won’t be “remade” next year. Honestly.

Staying focused on your 2018 goals was hard. In the beginning, you were certainly motivated. But your motivation waned over time. You got caught up, stuck, frustrated, overloaded, overworked, distracted, and you simply just deviated off track. Clearly, it was hard to stay focused when you have so much going on. Right?

Here’s my good news for you: FOCUS on your 2019 goals is POSSIBLE! Just as my friend, Mike Amure, charged me on three different occasions towards the end of last year… I know anything is possible. We are not of them who agonize about the past; we organize for the present. We won’t beat ourselves up for our failures or sit comfortably in our past successes. We will rather pay attention to what’s present right before us and conquer the territories before us.

Friends, Write Down Your Goals. If you haven’t written out your goals, then you’re missing the most important part of effective goal setting. When you don’t write your goals, they stay in the abstract. They’re less real, even if you think they’re as real as they can be. You have to write them down and get very specific about them. 

Friends, Remove Distractions. What were those things that took your attention off your goals last year? Identify them and avoid them as much as you can, even if it means seeking help from “friends”. Remember, if you want to go FAST, you go alone… but if you want FAR, you go with people.

Friends, Become an Effective Manager of your Time. It’s virtually impossible to stay focused on your goals if you can’t manage your time. Become an effective time manager and you’ll see yourself progressing rather than falling behind. Pick a time management system that works and work it. MANAGE “important and urgent” tasks (short-term crises and problems), FOCUS on “important but not urgent” tasks (long-term strategic goals), AVOID “urgent but not important” tasks (distractions and interruptions), and LIMIT “not important and not urgent” tasks (time-wasting activities).

Friends, Strategize. To stay focused on your goals, you need a plan. A plan is what helps move us from the status quo, to achieving our goals over time. Without a plan, we’re like a fish out of water, caught floundering. Usually, we end up failing without a plan. So, if you’re serious about your goals, and you want to stay hyper-focused on achieving them, create a plan.

Friends, Be Disciplined. When Jim Rohn said that “discipline is the bridge between your goals and accomplishment”, he zeroed in on something so important that has the power to shift and alter the state and quality of all our lives. It’s not just the matter of being disciplined for a short period. You have to wield that discipline for long periods if you want to accomplish big goals.

FOCUS, friends. F. O. C. U. S.! 

Thanks for reading!

FOCUS: Past, Present, and Future

It’s a New Year! To say “we are blessed” is an understatement. I am pleased to usher you all into this New Year!

We are too concerned with what was, and what will be… Yesterday is history, Tomorrow’s a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. Focusing on the future will make us anxious. Dwelling in the past, we are bound to fall down. We will feel nostalgic and will lose the precious moments from present, hence, the only reality is present and our focus should be to make it beautiful. Amen?

Lao Tzu, the great Chinese Philosopher, made a profound statement – “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present”. The past is exactly that, it has passed. However, if we focus on the future, it will create stress in our lives.

I am very sure that some questions are being raised in your mind. Am I to just “forget” the past as if nothing happened? Hmmmmmn… How can I even “forget” what happened in 2018 so quickly? Smiles… And how will you tell me not to think about the future?

Friend, I never hinted all these. So, those questions are just distractions and invalid. Why? The word here is FOCUS and not “look” or “remember”. Let’s move on!

Your Life is likened unto a car with a windscreen and rear view mirrors. The rear mirrors help you to view what is behind (past) and the windscreen help you to see what is here (present) and what is ahead (future). So, would you focus your attention on the rear mirror or on the windscreen? Hmmmmmn!

Friend, would you keep basking in the euphoria of your past journeys and take your focus on what’s in front of you? 2018 has either obeyed or disobeyed. We cannot change what happened. But 2019 is here. Let’s rewrite our story!

Have you ever considered the reality that the windscreen of your car (life) is at least 20 times bigger than the rear mirror? The rear mirror is very small, and typically you should spend less than 5% of your driving time looking behind you. However, your windscreen is huge, because you must have clarity and visibility in front of you to be able to drive your car and arrive at your destination safely.

The number one rule of driving is to always keep your eyes on the road, and a clear windscreen is extremely important.

2018 is gone. The past years are gone. We cannot and should not dwell on those things that happened to us, whether good or bad, because that will deprive us the opportunity to deal with the present. Drivers who look back through their rear mirror instead of focusing on what’s ahead of them will continue to run off the road, hit the potholes and crash into adversity.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not undermining what horrible things might have occurred in your life, but I refuse to allow you to believe that those things make up who you are as a person.

So… What do you do with your past? Try to “remember” –not focus on– what has passed. And try to learn from it. Apply your learning to the benefit of yourself and others, when you can. If you can’t, you can’t. Don’t worry about it. Life continues, no matter what. Life is not fair or unfair, cruel or kind. Simple. Not simple? Okay.

The past is good for only two things: Entertainment and Instruction. All other uses (as well as too long a time spent in entertainment) are corrosive to the human soul. One needs to CONSIDER the future... it’s hard to get where you're going, if you don't know where you want to go. But one must learn to appreciate the dynamic nature of life. What do I mean? No matter how hard you look, eventually the future will throw you… Which brings us to the only place in which you can live: NOW – the present!

Friend, can we break it down as: 80% in the present, 15% the future and 5% in the past? We know that the past is unreliable, so focusing too much on it can lead to trouble. The future will always be there, so it is not necessary to put all of one’s focus on it. The present and result of present actions will produce the future that one is seeking. Hence, time thinking about the future needs to be thinking about whether present actions are helping bring about the future of your choice.

Thanks for reading!

https://fawoleasegun.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/to-serve-with-heart-and-might/

ON TWITTER

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— Fawole Victor (@Fawole_victor) February 13, 2014

WHY DO PEOPLE MISUNDERSTAND THE BIBLE?

In Mark 7:14 Jesus said, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand.” Yet today people will dismiss plain Bible teaching about moral issues (such as homosexuality, divorce, or abortion) or about salvation from sin or the church because they say the teaching is too confusing or difficult to understand. Why don’t people understand? It is not because the Bible is so unclear. Jesus expected people to understand His teaching, and Paul said: “…do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17; see also 2 Timothy 3:16,17). But some don’t understand because they do not study diligently. “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures…” (Matthew 22:29). Others misunderstand because they accept teachings of men who disagree with the Scriptures. “And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Such teachings often come from false teachers dressed in sheep’s clothing who are really ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:13,14). But often people do not understand the Bible simply because they do not like what it says. “Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15). When the Bible does not say what some folks want to hear, they just conclude it is all too confusing and you cannot really understand it anyway! People who want to please God must “search the Scriptures daily” with an open mind, like the honest Bereans in Acts 17:11. To please God, we must know the truth, and that truth is found in God’s word.

OF WALKING AND DREAMS

My love for walks started with my father. When we still had money, I loved riding with him to buy petrol for the generator. We would sit there, not speaking, listening to all my favorite people on the radio. At the filling station, he would give me the money and ask me to get the keg out to be filled- I liked the sense of responsibility. But the walks. I loved them more. The walks started when the money went. We would take the short walk out of our small estate to the Malaam to buy candles because petrol became too expensive. But because there was no radio noise to fill the quiet, we spoke instead. We had long conversations of what I wanted to be; what he wanted to accomplish and what he wanted for us- each child. We would walk so slowly, walking past the bigger houses that were lit up with a thousand lights because they had money to buy petrol for their generators. Past the smaller houses like ours, some bright, some dark. Walked slowly as fast cars zoomed past and other pedestrians briskly overtook us. Till we stopped in front of our faded red gate. Father always looked a bit sad when we got back home. I didn’t figure out why until recently. I think Father got sad when we got back because it was a rude jolt back to reality. See, Father was a dreamer, he had these big aspirations for himself and the family; he had all these plans laid out and he spoke about them with such zeal, each time. But getting home was like a douse of cold water at three in the morning because the dreams were just that- dreams. Nothing was happening. His projects were still failing. We were still being called out at school because the fees hadn’t been paid. We were still eating meat only at night. We were still buying candles. So, whenever we stopped at that faded red gate, those palaces we had built with our words quickly faded into nothingness. But Father was such a sport; he’d bound into the house with jokes for mother and sweets for the little ones. We found other reasons to go on walks. Just him and I. And then, we stopped walking for reasons at all. We just did. I paint now. I was a sculptor a few months back. I was writing for a magazine last year and I was a freelance photographer before that. A boyfriend once told me I was a lot more like my father than I thought. Picking a project and then abandoning it in pursuit of another dream. We fought that day. Not because he was wrong, not because I did not agree with him; but because it had never been put to me that way. I fought against it. So cold but so true. Abandoning one to chase another. My younger siblings are grown now, working in banks and owning schools while I paint and write and play my guitar and take long walks. But I find that my walks do not end when I arrive at my tiny, cluttered studio apartment; it doesn’t end when I see my battered wooden door, I go on dreaming. I have translated it to what I call my art. I sing my dreams, I write them, I draw them. My life feels like a leisurely haze of pastel colors. Surely, this isn’t a bad place to be. None of Father’s dreams came true. I should probably say instead, none of Father’s dreams have come true because he hasn’t stopped dreaming. I visit him four times a month, every Sunday. My parents live now in the cute flat my sister bought them after her last promotion. We walk, even slower now that he’s supporting himself with a stick. We walk, past the houses that are all lit, because it is an upscale area. We walk as the faster cars cruise past. We walk on the lush lawns and neat pavements. We walk. We walk and dream.

THE UNREAD WILL

The Unread Will The richest man that ever lived wrote a will and instructed his lawyers to read the will on the television, radio, social networks, streets, public buses, cemetery, restaurants etc all over the world. The man further instructed his lawyers to codify the entire will in a single document so that everyone could have access to the will. Finally, the man declared that only those who re…ad the will and claim the assets in it should be given his property which were worth trillions of dollars. The lawyers did exactly as they were commanded. They went everywhere telling the people of every nation and tribe about the man’s will. But the people found the criteria to claim the will just too good to be true. The will was so strange to the hearing of the people that they beat up the lawyers in some places while in other places they were stoned and considered bizarre and insane. On a certain occasion, I met the lawyers and I was given a free copy of the will but I never read it. As I write, I have the will in my cupboard dusty and on my phone but I hardly read it let alone claim it. The unread will is the word of God. The bible is the most widely distributed book in the whole word but ironically many persons don’t read it. And the few who read it never bother to claim their inheritance in God. They bible is the only medicine that can cure all manner of illnesses and diseases only if we would read and claim our inheritance in it. The book of Joshua 1:8 reads “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Dear father, help me and my friends to read your will so that we can claim our inheritance in you. Amen. Image

THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

Some women today think of family life as an unbearable drudgery. Many feminists tell women that they cannot find fulfillment by being wives and mothers, so instead they should leave home and pursue careers. It has gone so far that women who do stay home almost feel inferior and guilty. But Titus 2:4,5 says that young women should be taught “to love their husbands, to love their children, to be … keepers at home.” Surely it is difficult for young mothers to stay at home and lovingly care for their families. It often requires hard work, tears, and many sacrifices. But excelling at anything worthwhile in life takes hard work. Consider the joys and rewards of the job. Psalms 127:3 says: “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” What other job produces a final product to compare to that of motherhood: loving children who will someday mature to productive, God-fearing men and women? If women will not sacrifice in their younger years to raise children, they will not have those children and grandchildren to hug their necks, love them, and care for them in their older years. 1 Timothy 5:3,10 says: “Honor widows that…have brought up children…” Years ago, before modern philosophies prevailed, motherhood was an honorable profession. It ought to be the same today. Proverbs 31 includes the following statements: “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies … Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her” (verses 10,28). Let us show our appreciation for our wives and mothers. Let us speak out for the joys of motherhood. May it again become honorable for a woman to be “a joyful mother of chi1dren” – Psalms 113:9.

SEPARATION OF GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION?

Some people say Christians should stay out of government issues (applying this, of course, only against religious conservatives, not against religious liberals). I agree that local churches should not endorse or finance candidates, but the issue goes much deeper. Consider some practices that government officials currently debate: homosexuality, abortion, gambling, divorce, pornography, and contraceptives for unmarried teens. Who can deny that all these involve deep spiritual principles? Our Lord commands: “Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all…” – 1 Timothy 5:20. How can we obey our Lord if we remain silent about fundamental issues affecting morality and marriage? Many faithful servants of God instructed government officials regarding such issues. Nathan rebuked David for adultery and murder (2 Samuel 12:1-15). John the Baptist spoke against Herod’s improper marriage relationship (Matthew 14:1-4). Paul warned Felix about his immoral conduct (Acts 24:25). Modern Christians can imitate these examples by public statements, by letters to elected officials, and by our vote. The apostle Paul often appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen as a means of protection from evil (Acts 25:10-12; 22:24-29; 23:12-33; 16:35-40). Why should American Christians not likewise seek to protect ourselves from evil by exercising our rights to vote and to write our representatives? Many current government decisions have major impact on families. But God commands parents to protect their families and provide a wholesome upbringing for our children (1 Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 6:4). If my vote can help protect my family by providing a more wholesome environment in which to raise my children, why should I refuse to vote? To claim that Christians should keep out of politics is to misstate the issue. Christians are not the ones who have left our sphere of interest. The problem is that politicians have made a full-scale invasion into the realm of religion and morals! In that realm Christians are not only permitted to act, they are obligated to act.

ARE YOU GUILTY OF LYING?

Proverbs 6:17 says that “a lying tongue” is an abomination to God. “Lying” means telling a deliberate or intentional falsehood. There are many forms of lying. Could it be that we are guilty without realizing it? For example, hypocrisy is a form of lying. 1 John 2:4 teaches that, if a person says “I know God” but does not keep God’s commands, that person is a liar. Yet many religious people profess great dedication to God all the while knowing they have sins in their lives that they have no intention of correcting. God says they are liars! Another form of lying is making false promises that we could keep but simply choose not to. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie … Has He said, and will He not do it?” The implication is that, when a person makes a promise he could keep but refuses to do so, he has lied. God does not do this, but people often do. What about you and me? Then there is the half-truth, in which a person tells things that are technically correct but deliberately leaves out important facts or tells the story in such a way that leads people to reach a false conclusion. In the Old Testament, for example, Joseph’s brothers sold him to be a slave. Then they took his coat, dipped it in animal blood, took it to their father Jacob, and said that they had found this coat. Jacob, of course, concluded that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal, which is exactly what the sons wanted Jacob to believe, though they never came right out and said so (Genesis 37:31-33). Nevertheless, they had deliberately deceived their father to believe a falsehood. Are you guilty of lying like this? Ephesians 4:25 says we should put away lying and speak the truth to our neighbors. Revelation 21:8 says that “all liars” will have their part in the lake of fire, which is the second death.

THERE IS NO GOD!

There once lived a professor who was an atheist. He went about proclaiming that God does not exist. One day, his seven years old son asked him who created the sun,the moon and the stars. The professor began, “son, the sun, the moon and the stars were created by nobody, they evolved spontaneously! To attribute the creation of the sun, the moon and the stars to a god or God is mere folly”. The boy became confused because he couldn’t understand the grandiloquence of his atheist father. So the boy asked “dad, what does evolution mean?” The professor answered “my son, I just hope you will understand this, Herbert Spencer(1820-1903) a British social philosopher defined evolution as a change from a state of relatively indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite coherent heterogeneity. Charles Darwin in his Origin of Species published in 1859 had unarguably established that all living things evolved from a simple homogenous structure to a complex heterogenous structure through a gradual process of change”. Obviously, when the professor finished his explanations, the poor boy became more confused than he was before he asked his questions. However, the boy continued to belief in the existence of God. One day, the boy and his atheist father went for a vacation in a distant city and they were lodged in a hotel. During their stay in the city, the street lights would shine in the nights but would go off in the mornings. The rituals continued for several days and nights, then one evening the boy walked up to his atheist father and said “dad, I have observed in the past few days that the street lights in this great city shine very brightly in the nights but they go off during the day. But I don’t believe that the street lights in this city were created by anybody or that do you have any contrary opinion? The atheist father answered “how do you mean son?” The boy replied “dad, I meant to share your view that the lights evolved spontaneously through a slow and gradual process of change”. The professor became very angry when he perceived that his son had attempted to rubbish his evolutionary doctrines. So the professor said “Don’t be a fool son to believe that the street lights in this city evolved, I can bet my life that there are certainly engineers who designed and control those street lights. I may not have seen the engineers but certainly the lights did not emerge spontaneously”. The son smiled for a while and said “dad am sorry to tell you this, but I must not fail to tell you. Dad stop being a fool, I can bet my life that there is a God who designed and controls the sun, the moon and the stars. That God created the Sun to give us light during the day and the moon to give light during the night. Dad, to be honest, I am damn tired of your evolutionary nonsense!!”. If you believe in the existence of a God who created the heavens and the earth like this and share with friends.