I am so candid

I will stay with you Lord I will trust in you  I will hope in you only To perform your word I will stay with you Lord Even when it looks weird And things may look awry I will not be dismayed I will stay with you Lord It's not laziness Nor is it procrastination  Your plan is perfect I will stay with you Lord I will only go where you lead I am tired of shooting blanks I will not write that Linkedin post if you don't lead it You have the best plans Plans of good always So I will stay with you To know your plans I will stay with you Lord Even when it does not make sense Even when I may look crazy Staying with you is worth it I will stay with you Lord You alone satisfy my soul You alone are my desire You alone do I long for. I miss these deep writings, where I can express myself to God without cover or performance.

On the 13th of March, after church, we held hands and prayed.  The week before 13th, I got the instruction in Church that we should always pray when we get home after service. So that's where this after church prayer originated from. Back to 13th of March, my 6 year old son went first. He prayed beautifully if there is anything like that. He thanked God using clear and meaningful words, to be honest it was better than the way his brother prayed. Even though after his prayer, he started kicking his brother but at least we got that win.  I believe one of the reasons this was possible was because of an earlier instruction I obeyed in the last quarter of 2022. The Holy Spirit told me,  "Take my children to church". "The boys need to start going to church". Ah tor. The die is cast.  For the past 9 years that I have worked shift, going to church for me hasn't been consistent. I had sunday off days once in 6 weeks. I am either working morning or afterno...

'So my children can not kill me' I don't know whose Mum never said this. It's even sweeter when its said in Yoruba. For real though! That's how I felt tonight. This post is a testimony and a recount of the antics of Mr 4. If 'Drive' was a person, it would bear his name. Or even 'Persistence'. Photo credit @pexels.com Some mornings ago, I told the boys if they follow me to the bathroom immediately, I will let them watch something on my phone for a bit. Even though I was still pressing my phone and not ready to get up. This is a tactic that always works and allows me have peace for a bit. Lol. Judge not! We all have days like this. Before long we noticed Mr 4 was no longer in the room, we found him in the bathroom already with his bathing bowl, sponge and soap making a lather and splashing suds everywhere. Fast forward to last night, hubby went out and brought suya along. I don't remember telling this boy anything about bath...

Enough! Of taking from us forcefully Enough! Of trying to silence us Enough! Of trying to make us the victims Enough of turning the tables when we cry out. When we walk the streets at night We have to look over our shoulder When we are in our hotel rooms We have to be wary of intruders When we voice out We are silenced forcefully. Enough of raping us women! Enough of sexist comments! Enough of lecherous lecturers! Enough of wolves in sheep clothing! Enough of shaming the victim. We are tired of being intimidated to silence We are tired of feeling unsafe where we should be safe We are tired of second guessing ourselves We are tired of being misunderstood We are tired of a system that enables you We are tired of being RAPED!!! My thoughts are all over the place and I know I had to express myself in the best way I know how to. My heart is heavy and the pain of what we go through cannot be ignored any longer. I sincerely hope our voices will continue to ...

"You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for".  Napoleon Hill. I love reading. Most of the people that know me can attest to this. You can be sure to find my nose buried in a book even right from the time I was really young.(Well, really young, because I am not old old right now) 😁😁 And as such, I was one of the happiest people when digital publishing became a thing and e- books were no longer an elite privilege. Years ago there came a new player on the scene, now currently one of the foremost digital publishers in Africa. As a matter of fact, this app was the next best thing since sliced bread that year. The app was available on android and coming soon for IOS and that was the issh Fam. I could read all I want via my mobile phone and on the go. You can imagine my obvious excitement. I was in ninth heaven.  The most interesting part was the plethora o...

Today is Date night with the absolute love of my life and I am so excited. It's been a while we went out alone what with having two kids and no help, its being mission impossible but this weekend my sister is home from Uni and she looks forward to spending time with the kids. By 4pm I had completed all my tasks for the day at work and I was packed and ready to go. I was even contemplating going to meet my line manager if I could be allowed to leave 1 hour early 😂😂. We were going to this restaurant I and hubby had heard so much about from our friends and I wanted to take my time so I could look my best. Femi one of hubby's friends had gone to celebrate his girlfriends birthday there and he had only good things to say about them. Meanwhile the girlfriend turned fiance that night with a dazzling huge rock on her finger. Femis' fiance told her sisters about the oh so amazing place where she was proposed to and so they planned a family dinner, needless to say their experience...

'Amen' 'Amen' 'Amen' My then two year old now five was saying Amen in response to my prayers. But the most surprising thing is, I wasnt praying in actual words. I was speaking in other tongues and we were in the bathroom. So it wasn't like I was alone somewhere in prayer mode. I was shocked to say the least.  PRESENT DAY 'Mum are you praying'?  'Yes I am'  'Can you teach me how to pray like that'? I was taken aback again but I said yes then proceeded to lay my hand on his head and pray for him to receive the power of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues. I am sure you are wondering why I would do that and how did I think a 5 year old will be able to speak in tongues? I don't know how too, but mine is to obey, because the Bible says out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, God has perfected praise. In this journey of intentional parenting, I have learnt to take advantage of the seemingly innocent and care...

"My Kids are Special".  "My Son is a genius." This is not to say other kids aren't, but it is what I reiterate to my children everyday. I tell them how proud I am of them. How I love them. Giving out lots of hugs and kisses. Now, I am not saying everything is all rosy, there are days we don't see eye to eye, when they play too rough and break their Granparents flask, or allow their Dad's laptop to fall off the bed, or the day they refuse to understand I don't have change for lollipop and they start whining which stresses me out, but what can I do? The core of my parenting is being intentional and positive. The desire to raise kids that are thoughtful, compassionate, fair, kind and who love God. In all of these, they are really cool kids and I am grateful to God for the privilege to parent them. That been said, the conversations I have with my 5 year old deserves a special mention hence the title 'Musings Of A Five Year Old'. They will be d...

"If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune." Jim Rohn, Author and Motivational Speaker 'What's wrong Amaka? Why are you frowning at your phone?' I peer into her phone curiously. Amaka is my colleague and she has a penchant for ordering items online. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc and she has all kinds of stories to tell about the way she has been treated by online vendors. She handed me her phone to look at the exchange between herself and an online vendor and I was appalled. From being sheer clueless to outright rudeness, the tone of the conversation was condescending and I couldn't imagine how such vendor will still expect to be patronized. How do you deliver over sized shoes to a customer and refuse to take it back, saying there is no exchange, meanwhile she explicitly told you her shoe size. You have also refused to process a refund even after my colleague o...

'I am not going to patronize your store anymore, you sell inferior items. You are fake'.  She said all this at the top of her voice, visibly upset.  'I bought expired yoghurt here. It landed my kids in the hospital for food poisoning'. People around her gasped. One lady glanced around furtively and returned the yoghurt she had just picked. I demand a full refund and I will tell everyone I know not to patronize you guys anymore. You are a bunch of fake ass people. Other customers looked on, uncomfortable with the scene unfolding. One of the staff approached her, wary and standing far off,  'We are sorry Madam, I have gone to call the manager, he will sort this out' Sorry Ma'. He moved away quickly. I knew then that if care wasn't taken, this situation would get out of hand. I also came to shop but the store had a good reputation and would not knowingly stock expired items. They were known for having variety and good items. She was fum...

Times have changed Tide has turned Corona disrupted The semblance of order we had. Its Sunday Seems like every other day now Grandma is not cooking her signature jollof Sunday special. Probably because she cooked it the day before. Its Sunday Grandpa is sending broadcasts He hasn't been to church in a while. I miss seeing him in his white garments Returning by 6pm. Its Sunday Its 9am We are not in a frenzy, Hurrying one another No last minute preparations. We are gathered in front of the laptop Streaming Daddy G.O live Baba Adeboye with the word for the season. Gods' servant, who serves us too, Gods' word undiluted and pure. Its Sunday No sunday finery. No visitors. It's like every other day, It's our new normal.

I lost my Mum over 15 years ago when I was in ss1 and that is the extent of familial loss I have ever experienced until recently.  God blessed me with Mothers of different ages, tribe, and class to see me through life. Far away from home, I will make friends and their Mum will take me in, show me love and care. It told me more than anything that God cares and was looking out for me. But I had this fear. I didn't know how deep rooted until I started saying I wouldn't get married. I figured marriage translated to having kids and I was fearful that I could die at a young age, leaving my kids at the mercy of relatives and I didn't want that at all. I started praying about it and I came to the realisation that I am now in Christ, old things have passed away and all things are new. I am no longer a slave to Fear! Oh how liberating. 5 years ago God made me a mother and it was the end of 'anyhowness' in my life. I could no longer take things for granted. I ...

Every Saturday Even on Sunday I think of that day A day of pain, And unbearable grief. And hollowness I lost a dear one. One of the realest friends I have. Always holding my hand Advising me as a sage would. Praying over me like a mother. When pain overwhelmed me When grief overshadowed me When I questioned God why. I tried to understand. I couldn't fathom it. She loved God, was hopeful about her future. We had plans. She was young It wasn't time She wanted to get married, have kids. She has loved ones. She worshipped God with her whole being. Like with tears running down her face, and a smile on her face and speech that could only be a result of a deep communion with God. Her presence calmed me. Her words uplifting. Covering me. A shield by exercising faith and praying. I am consoled because she has gone to rest. I smile because she would now worship God till eternity. I have hope because we will see ourselves again someday in Heaven. I a...

And there was light. Light when a cure for the pandemic is found. Light when isolation no longer exists Light when social distancing becomes a thing of the past. Light when our normal returns to normal.   Light when our security forces did their jobs Light when the police is actually our friend. Light when the youths are employed Light when vocations are promoted Light when one million boys are rehabilitated   Light when you can move around at 6pm, Without fear of your phone being snatched. Light when you can sleep all night, Without the noise of vigilantes whitsles Light when our houses are not covered in soot From burning tyres.   The dark is dark We crave Light. Written by Temilade Adu.

All day sharpening cutlasses Torchlights ready after the day charge, alas Night is here The law is there And we are outside There is law If handicapped, forgive Dark days are not for the weak Forgiveness is not for the meak  The system left you hanging Yes, hanging without a dime While you watch it amass 'your entitlement' Your reason to go on a rampage. Cutlass ready, torchlight beaming  The law lay like a log when the dark is on the run Million footsteps of boys on rampage But we are ready Knock knock! Who's there? Your neighbour. It's time for the watch. Your neighbourhood needs you Your family needs you You. Need. You. The dark is not for the weak Let there be LIGHT... This poem was written by my friend Omotayo Oladipupo. You should follow her on IG @t.rhanco I wrote a follow up for this. It's a hopeful piece.