SURVIVAL IN THE LAND OF TOO MUCH

A friend once said she had to change bed space from sleeping next to me because I was asthmatic and her aunt said she could contact Asthma by sleeping next to me, thinking about it now it’s pretty funny huh but the day I was told it was in no way funny. Nigeria is such a country where there is so much and sometimes you want to get mad at people, everyone denies anything evil is happening until things get out of hand, there is so much discrimination in everything, the rich, the poor and average. Nigeria  is particularly unfair to people with disorders, I recently decided to consult with a therapist with regards to a few symptoms of ADD I was experiencing, you should have seen the “you don dey kolo? Look I got when I asked people if anyone knew any psychologist we are very good with trying to use religion to overlook real things, a child with tourettes syndrome would have to sit through a agonizing hours of sermons on self control instead of getting therapy or medical help, children with ADD would be flogged and yelled on to learn to concentrate and even punished and many times insulted, and if you even go ahead to explain your situation you’ll be met with amazing responses like “G0od forbid it’s not your portion” as if by simply saying that and taking your hand around and snapping your finger (the Yoruba God forbid sign) you’ll be better. There is just too much in this country people overlooking your needs as trivial because it’s not common. The worse is to have eating disorder in Nigeria, kai you’ll hear talk upon talk about how it is not your portion and about it is a disease for only the oyinbo people. Even something as medically proven as sinusitis I still have a lot of people pass crazy comments about how I’m not supposed to live in Nigeria o and some other ridiculous things, Nigerians don’t even believe there is anything like depression you’ll die of depression in Nigeria and people would blame the dead body sef.
   To live through all these and not commit suicide is hard, but to live through all these and not commit suicide and not be depressed and be content is real hard work, its hard work in a way but not so much, all you need to survive in Nigeria is LOVE, yes I said love, (oh don’t go religious on me just yet I know some religious folks are already about to close this page cause I said love, chill) y7eah its love; love for God helps you to live right, God love keeps you going, love for yourself helps you to let suicidal thoughts go, self love helps you to know what you can do and who you really are, love for others helps you forgive when they hurt you, loves for others makes you pray that they und3erstand better, love for others helps you not to hurt those who hurt you. Your survival in the land of so much is totally dependent on LOVE.
Lots of Love
Meshel

WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?

It was Wednesday afternoon about time for chapel hour, now at school we used to have chapel hour at 12 noon every Wednesday, it was one service i never gained anything from, i would already be drained before the service as i would have had classes from 8am till 12pm and would even still have by 1pm immediately  the service was over, i went in grumpily that day I then i sat down facing the entryway and then I saw a guy, he was Fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, yeah he was fine like that oh! He walked towards me and sat a little close to me, mhen he just gave me a good view for a boring Wednesday service, anyways into the service, the preacher said something and someone around us made a reply apparently is was supposed to be a joke and not a reply because almost every stupid person who sat around found some humour in it, now most of the people i saw laughing were people i already knew before and yeah i wasn’t amazed because i know they are silly like that, almost immediately my eyes went to my fineeeeeeeeeeeee dude and Boom! He was laughing too, now he wasn’t just laughing normally he was laughing like that was the funniest thing he had heard in forever. Now you can call me judgemental but there and then he stopped looking fine to me, i had no interest in him whatsoever, anyone who could find so much satisfaction in such profanity is certainly not one with good character.
A lot of us don’t count some seemingly little things as  important but every little thing is just as important, the way you stand, the way you sit, the way you walk, what you say all say something about you, but even the kind of jokes you find funny, the things you laugh at show your true character. A person with a good character will never laugh at any profane joke because its just not called for, they may not even be angry, they may just be indifferent. But some of us believe its our duty to laugh at every Joke that is told. Listen not every Joke is amusing and sometimes when you laugh to just make the joke teller feel funny, most times unknown to you, you give off a bad impression about who you are, I have no idea how my fine boy Really is in person but I was turned off just by the kind of thing he found humorous and satisfying. Be careful what you laugh at and laugh about it tells a lot more than you intend for it to. 
Love Meshel

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

If only someone had told him
If only someone had informed him
If only he'd gotten counsel
If only the devil knew
He wouldn't have messed with me
He wouldn't have touched me
He wouldn't even have come close.
He would have left me
Cos i was already his
I had the illusion i was in control
Which is the first step to pride
I going to be his most likely
If only life had gone like i planned
Because i never would have seen my need for God.
But then he did
He messed with me
And then i saw the need for God
I needed a heart fixer
I needed a healer
I needed a deliverer
And then i found Him
If only the devil had known
That for every time he touched me
He got me just a little closer to God
He wouldn't have touched me
If only the devil had known
He wouldn't have thought of me
All i have for the devil is sympathy
Because he touched one
He's lost many!

LEARN TO SAY STOP

A story is told of a woman who went to a diner after a long day, the waitress serving her coffee said to her to say stop when she's had enough coffee in her cup, she sat and watched as the waitress filled the cup with coffee and continued to pour it even as the cup was obviously filled up, it was then she remembered to say "WHEN". She expected that the waitress could see and know when the cup was filled up.
It’s how we humans are, humans would keep dumping things on you until you're bold enough to say “WHEN", to say stop when you've had enough, we can sit around and expect people to see when they have burdened us with too much people would know that they are putting much on you but your silence gives them a go ahead to continue.
Particularly females we have this instinct in us that just wants to make sure everyone feels good and is comfortable, but a lot of us are extreme with this, we get so busy pouring ourselves out to cater for the need of others, that we sometimes forget to care for ourselves, we are afraid to stop, we let kids, our husbands, our boyfriends, our extended family, our friends, to dump all of their problems and we overfull, we’re spent but we won’t stay stop, we just keep letting them pour it all on us, and we’re angry, we’re wondering if they can’t see you’ve had enough? The fact is people won’t take it that you’ve had enough until you say so. I did something titled “you come first” last year and a lot of people who read that thought I was just being selfish. But isn’t it sad when you’re angry and worn out and still doing things for people because work or good deed done in anger is as good as work not done. Its about time for each and every one of us to learn to stay stop, I need a break and really take a break to refresh when you’ve had enough. Pamper yourself, a day at the spa, swimming, just anything to cool off and relax. No matter how strong you seem you deserve a little rest from everyday’s stress and workload.
Love Meshel

ON BEING A LADY

My dad, well not my biological dad but my dad all the same, my dad shared some5thing with me over the weekend, well not just me a host of us his daughters about being a lady, he said so much yeah but there’s just one thing I’d like to write a little piece on.
   Don’t you just hate it when guys are rude to you? Or when guys decide to step on you without any single show of courtesy? Or about how guys can’t be gentlemanly around you? Yeah its something a lot of us contend with on a daily basis yeah? But do you ever think the problem is with guys or with you, I mean if you’d evaluate it you’re the constant in the whole equation, do you ever think the problem may just be you. Because it really might be you. I mean a lot of us ladies can be really rude and we wonder why people are rude to us. Severally people would treat you only how you’ve treated them (not always tho) but most times people reactions to you is only a direct representation of your own reaction to them. You want guys to be polite with you yeah? Then be polite to them. In my daddy’s words “The more you act like a lady, the more you bring out the gentlemanly sideo f the boys and men in your life” “when you ask nicely and gently, you’ll be surprised about the reaction it evokes in others”. Yeah what does he mean by acting like a lady? Being a lady is about being kind, being polite, being a genuine friend, being caring and being compassionate, and most of all believing the best about others and yourself. You have no idea how much your words affect the men, meet up with great men and one thing that seems common to most of them is their mothers words, you’ll hear them say things like my mother said this to me or that to me and that was it. Being a lady also involves having seasoned words, not being a scatter mouth.
   Now from experience people have often mistaken my being a lady for flirting. Errm that’s really common, it’s because ladies are scarce all the men meet are femen! (Yeah I just made a word) femen( female men) women who are almost men except for their physical bodies, so its normal for people to confuse you ladylike attitude for flirting, but its not enough reason to stop being a lady, gradually they realize it’s just who you are and not you being a flirt, and in the end it all works for the good.
lots of love
Meshelamia B. Kehinde

REJOICE

Hi everyone, a blessed day to you all, it’s been a while again and this time around it was beyond me, I took ill last week  and I’ve been unable to do much for the past week, I hope everyone of you is doing well? I’m a lot better and I’m using the little strength I have to do this because I love you that much.
In Phil 4:4 apostle Paul said “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” and the message translation puts it as “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!” it’s amazing that apostle Paul wrote this while he was in prison. The last week has been crazy for me I had to miss a whole week of school because of my health condition, but one thing I’ve learnt from all this is our attitude is what would help us go through life successfully or otherwise. Being content and being thankful is the only attitude that helps us go through life triumphantly, I’m sure that is the secret of apostle Pails victory in his everyday life; His attitude. He was never for once upset or angry at God even when it felt like his troubles came from following Jesus. He spent every day even his prison days rejoicing, and that’s what kept him going severally. Being upset and angry doesn’t improve life’s situation its makes it worse if anything else, in fact proverbs 17:22 says
“A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired”
 God has called us to rise above life’s situations, the first step to rising lies in our attitude, by deciding above all things to rejoice.
Today make up your mind to be joyful!!!
Lots of love
Busayo Kehinde

I LEARNT SOMETHING NEW

I recently saw this quote somewhere  “for every trial we encounter in life there is supposed to be a positive impact in our character” There is just so many trials we face daily that sometimes we start to wonder if Jesus really cares. Earlier today I came across a quote by Paul Powell he said “God is more concerned about our character than our comfort, his goal is not to pamper us physically but to perfect us spiritually” then it hit me, its possibly the reason why some of us seem to keep moving from one trial to another, one phase of challenges to another, one struggle to another, it’s because God is trying to perfect you. For our struggles there is usually an impartation in our characters, for some love is imparted, for some faith, some trust, some hope, some joy, and some peace, so for every time you and I have any struggle and it’s like our physical bodies are being bent beyond us, bear in mind that your spirit is being perfected in Christ.
Great thing is much as God is more concerned with our spiritual perfection, he still has a thing for our physical body and that’s why he gave us the Holy Spirit; the comforter, to comfort us and encourage us to hold on, to soothe the physical pains we feel while our spirits undergo perfection. We can decide to hold on to the Holy Spirit and let him comfort and walk with us through our perfection stage, and ultimately walk us into our perfect day.