JUST BELIEVE

In Mark 5 from verse 21 to the end, after Jesus crossed over to the other side, He was asked  by Jarius a ruler in the synagogue to come and heal his daughter who later died but was brought back to life.

When the messenger broke the news to Jarius that his daughter was dead publicly, Jesus quickly looked at Jarius and assured him and said, ‘be not afraid, only believe’.  No matter what you are going through, Jesus is privy to it.  What is the condition that you are going through that is so bad that people around you are even weeping with you?  Jesus is saying to you, ‘only believe’.  His words are life and powerful.

Fear has torment and anytime a man begins to live in fear, he is tormented on the inside.  The first thing Jesus did was to remove fear from the life of Jarius.  Anytime you are looking up to God for something, your faith in Him will make Him move in your situation.  It doesn’t matter how long you have been carrying or going through troubles, Jesus is saying to you, ‘do not be afraid, only believe’.  When Jesus spoke to Jarius, he stayed glued to Jesus and kept on going.  The messenger was wondering what Jesus was doing with Jarius.  Notwithstanding, Jarius would rather believe Jesus than what the messenger had come to say.

As soon as the words of life which Jesus spoke entered into the girl, it quickened her and brought her back to life and rose up.  To confirm she was not dead, food was given to her and she started doing the activities she could not do before.

Let the word minister life and salvation to you today!

HOW WE MET...TOLU & TOFFY

By Tolu and Toffy:
Story begins with Toffy, Continued by Tolu, (1 paragraph each)

Well, it all started with a Phone call, a mutual friend had used Tolu’s phone to try call me but I missed the call, much later in the evening I tried to call back to know whose call I missed and I heard a voice so welcoming and friendly, The harsh tone most girls use when they pick up such calls was absent (Girls be nice on phone to first time callers, You just might be speaking to your future husband) hehehehe.  Anyway, we were finally able to ascertain who had tried calling me, so I told her thanks and then requested permission to save her number so we could get to talk later and maybe become friends(As a sharp guy na).

Well, I just was being nice on phone, You know how it’s important to have good manners, and when I knew he was a friend of one of my padi’s,  I decided there was no harm in being friends and when he called subsequent times he sounded nice mannered.  We would talk for hours on phone and at some point even several midnight calls. Can you imagine he boasted that he could plait hair better than me? (I practically grew up in my mum’s hair dressing salon).  He didn’t stop there; he challenged me also saying he was a better cook (Baby, Get ready to be floored). 

Anyway She finally got Admission to UNIBEN .(Yes she wasn’t in school all this while) and I was so Glad, I was schooling in BIU, so omo I quickly booked a meeting with her. The first meeting was so so interesting, from the moment I set my eyes on her I was riveted by her beauty, she took me on a tour of her school, and finally excused herself to go to fellowship.

Mtscheew... Which Fellowship? My people make I yarn una tory, as I walked towards Ekc(Ekewuan Campus) gate to meet this guy I had come to like after countless phone calls, I couldn’t believe the assault on my eyes, behold I saw a scruffy looking young man, who had probably never heard of the invention off the pressing Iron, walking towards me, I wished the ground would open up and swallow me, whew... I would give anything to have been able to disappear right then, but Alas, the gods were not on my side, as I didn’t disappear. He walked up to me and attempted to hug me, I quickly gave him the side hug. At that moment I got an inspiration, why not show him pepper? That devious little voice whispered to me. Take him round and round the school till he gets so tired and his legs ache. And that’s exactly what I did. You should have seen him sweating... it was Epic. When I was finally pleased that I had done enough damage, I just told him I had to attend fellowship and excused myself.

Well after leaving UNIBEN I was so tired, the lovely stroll had taken its toll on me. I couldn’t even contemplate taking a bus to ring road then heading back to Ugbor GRA. I simply took a bike straight to school.

We saw about once or twice after that, I remember him taking me to Mat-ice on my birthday and trying to impress me by boasting of all he was doing, I was just looking at my time and wanted to be back in school where I knew I would have fun with my room mates... He offered me anything I wanted but I felt eating would make me spend more time there. I finally took an ice cream.

Wow what a decent girl, imagine having a babe in mat-ice and she no gree spend your money... (If I hear say that kind thing happen for BIU) anyway inevitably I began to have feelings for her.

DEVIL tiptoes in (I MADE THEM LOOSE TOUCH WITH EACH OTHER FOR 2YEARS)

ANGEL FLYS IN (I SENT ANOTHER MUTUAL FRIEND TO CONNECT THEM BACK IN 2010)

Well, I thank God for mutual friends, (keep your friends close, God can use them to connect you to your destiny) so we started talking and then I got posted to serve in Kaduna. As a corper(otondo) no much money to dey call na, so you can imagine how delighted I felt the day I saw her on 2go, a social network app...(MI 2 sound track)

It all started on 2go... the constant chatting, he soon became someone I would always look forward to chatting with, in the morning noon and night, he would flash me to come online (chai see me ooo) and we would chat till late into the night, then he began to ask me to introduce my close friends to him, and he started ‘bribing’ them, winning them over to his side. Then the visits started. There was one day I had just finished exams and was to go to Lagos the next day, after which I would start my IT. He said he just needed to see me before I travelled to Lagos and that afternoon he boarded a bus From Kaduna and came straight to Benin (I was like this guy is too impulsive).

The day I knew I was in Love was when I woke up and told myself I would see Tolu today, I waited till she came online and told her, she sounded indifferent(I think she thought I was joking) so I took the next bus to Benin. Of course I saw her that night and mutual friend 2, and that night was pure bliss, (we didn’t see for more than 40mins o) but I felt fulfilled. The next morning she left for Lagos, while I headed back to “Croc city”.

A lot of things went on via 2go, but I insisted that I could never take any guy who asks me out online or via calls serious, as the Yoruba’s would say “Oju loro wa”. But let me tell you all a secret... whispers (Toffy became shy anytime he was with me, the word master became wordless, that’s how I roll)

I made up my mind to ask her out in August of 2011, I remember the lunch dates, the cinema outings, the letters(yes letters) but every time I wanted to ask her out, it was as if there was something restraining me from talking.(how dare you all believe I was speechless, I wasn’t. I was just....)

Well Eventually, December 25th 2011, he finally told me he needed to see me urgently and he showed up on my street in the evening.  We took a long long walk round Ejigbo, after an hour he was still battling with words to say,

Dec 25th 2011, I was almost frustrated, the day didn’t have meaning to me, I wanted Tolu to be part of my life, another mutual friend(Mutual friend 3) sat me down and encouraged me to at least ask her out and that the worst I would get was a no. So I put on my shirt (my best shirt ooo) and headed to her place.

I eventually decided to spur him on, and I asked him, did you just come to gist or you have something you really want to say? If you do you better talk before it’s too late.

Till Today, I cannot remember the words that came out of my mouth; all I know is that it was none of the 7 (yes seven) well rehearsed speeches I had saved up in my head... I don’t know what made her say yes, but that day I went home with a spring in my step like never before

Whew... Finally he says something... Well, I told him I would date him, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted anything more than that, we agreed that we would give it a trial and take it slowly,

Both: Four years later, slowly but steadily, through the ups and downs, the good and the bad, through thick and thin, we have defied the odds and are ready to begin forever after....
N.B: For those who think it would have been romantic to wait and get wed on Dec 25th ... we couldn’t bear to be apart any longer...

10 SECRETS TO LONGIEVITY

10 THINGS YOU MUST DO TO LIVE LONG

1. YOU MUST AVOID LIES AND EVIL SPEAKING
Psalm 34:12-13 Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile.

2. YOU MUST NOT USE WRONG WEIGHT/MEASURE OR SELL FAKE FOR ORIGINAL
Deuteronomy 25:15 "You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

3. YOU MUST KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD
1 Kings 3:14 "If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days

4. YOU MUST FEAR THE LORD
Deuteronomy 6:2 so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

5. YOU MUST HONOUR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER
Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

6. YOU MUST LISTEN TO ELDERLY INSTRUCTIONS
Proverbs 4:10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many.

7. YOU MUST HAVE WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING
Proverb 3:13, 16 Happy is the man that finds wisdom and the man that get understanding. For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you

8. YOU MUST DESIST FROM COVETOUSNESS
Proverbs 28:16 A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding, But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days

9. EAT RIGHT.
Genesis  2.16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

10. DONT SHED BLOOD OR BE A PARTY TO BLOOD SHED.
Genesis 9.6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

SPEAKING PROPS... THE INSIDE SCOOP

Have you ever felt public speaking was something meant for men called gods like Martin Luther King?

Did you know that a public speaker's message is woven into his personality; a good blend is a great combination that is powerful?

Have you been speaking for free and you loathe the fact that phenomenal speakers are lugging home outrageous amounts for speaking?

Are you considering going into public speaking full time?

Do you feel the pangs of fear that make your knees buckle and your speech slurred whenever you stand before people to speak?

Are you often confused on how to properly pronounce some English words and that makes you look like as a wanna-be?

If you have considered the questions above and found yourself fitting into one of these questions above, then keep calm and read on.

SPEAKING PROPS is a Masterclass for public speakers, thought leaders,business leaders and TV/radio presenters.

The first edition held in Port Harcourt on the 30th of May, 2014. Abuja edition held on the 15th of November, 2014. Lagos edition is scheduled to hold on the 20th of June, 2015.

There will be five sessions facilitated by awesome speakers:

1. PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.

Public Speaking is not rhetoric. It is meant to be a persona. You shouldcarry your message from inside you. The original power in public speakingis derived from being a walking, living version of your message.

There is a psychology to public speaking. Your first few words, yourfacial countenance, your gait and salutation can make or mar your speechpresentation.

How do you grip this psychology and use it to your advantage?

During this session, BANKOLE WILLIAMS @iambankole will teach participantswhat the psychology is and how to use it to their advantage.

2. OVERCOMING FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.

Many individuals have messages within them, yearning to be shared to theworld. But, standing in a room of just five persons, they tremble, sweat, or even piss in their pants. The fear of public speaking is one of theworst fears in human history. However, this can be overcome, not by usingdrugs or narcotics, but by effective strategies that work.

CHINONSO OGBOGU @chinonsowrites will share with participants on how toovercome this fear.

3. BUSINESS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING.

Many speakers speak for free, and that’s fine. But you can earn a fee bydoing something you usually do for free. That’s where the business aspectsets in. Speaking is a value-adding enterprise. How do you fashion yourproduct? How do you structure your offering to be valuable and profitable?

STEVE HARRIS @iamsteveharris will share with participants on how to do thebusiness of their speaking.

4. PHONETICS, ELOCUTION AND SPEECH PRESENTATION STRATEGIES.

Phonetics isn’t just to speak like oyinbo people. Keeping your wordssimple so you don’t lose your audience is key. Sounding your wordsproperly is paramount. Modulations, using a key example like Martin Lutheris essential to a fantastic speech delivery.

EKUNDAYO ODELE @ekundayoodele will share these strategies participants.

5. PROPPING YOUR SPEAKING ANTICS

What do you do when you are invited to speak? What’s the place of

PowerPoint slides in your presentation? How do you start preparations?

What do you do if you are running late to an event? Should you stay behindwhen you are done speaking at an event? What is the use of feedbacksheets? What has time got to do with your delivery?

EMEKA NOBIS @iamemekanobis will share effective strategies that can propyour speaking antics and position you to be invited again and again byclients.

Date: 20th June, 2015

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fee: N25, 000 (covers light breakfast & lunch, free e-books and all theslides of the sessions).

There is a special discounted fee of N20, 000 for participants who paybefore June 15th, 2015.

To register, pay into GTBank, 0120774989, Profound Impacts International.

Send details to info@profoundimpacts.org

For interaction via phone with the organizers or for inquiries, please call 08037997884.

THE GAS THEORY

Happy sunday my people I trust you all are having a great day? I had a beautiful time at PRAISE BANQUET this morning and I am happy I was there.

Today's topic is as usual very somehow... That is typical of me so it should come as no shock to you. However, let me give you details.

Yesterday I visited a friend very close of mine who just went through a surgery, and I learnt something new. A surgery is not said to be successful until the patient passes out gas.

Shuo... so until person mess doctor go still dey fear say the person still fit die? Which kine world be this? Na him my friends go dey complain anytime I mess?

Mhen my people the ability to pass out gas is God given and it's something to be continually grateful to God for. So henceforth don't feel ashamed to pass that gas... infact learn to whisper a silent thank you to God for his mercies...

Me I dey on my way to go find out more about the 'Gas Theory'. If you be doctor abeg educate me

Have a fabulous sunday evening and God bless you.

N.B. if una like go mess where your oga or your father in-law dey, just no say na me send you oooo... Get well soon Alice...

Inspiration is the gateway to transformation
#GetInspired
Minister Effizey

THE DEATH SERIES: EPISODE 2: WHY LONG LIFE?

I hope you enjoyed Episode 1 and i hope you got blessed? if you want me to expantiate more on how you can prepare for death like i suggested in episode 1 stay tuned and i'm sure by the end of the series you will be better educated.

Today's episode is titled Why Long Life?

First of all please don't get me wrong i am not against people having a full and long life, what i am against is having a long life void of impact. i feel like of what use is it living till 120 years of age as a liability being carried about, what use is it being 75years old and you are a security man on a street earning less than 5,000 a month and you are still praying for long life? i feel somehow when you see 80years old men living under the bridge or on the streets(you think i'm exagerrating? you need to visit Lagos) and still praying for long life. Long life is good, but why not make it worth it?

Many times i thank God that he doesn't think like man, because if he did i'm quite sure many who have failed to discover purpose would have been withdrawn from the earth long ago... however that's a conversation for another day.

Why long life? when next you decide to pray for long life, imagine God asking you why do you want to live long? and watch out for your answers

i came across a post by a Pastor Friend of mine that asked a factual question that i throw to you today...
Which is the better prayer: TO DIE OLD
                                              or
                                      TO DIE EMPTY

in other words it is possible for one to live to very old age and yet not use up to 30percent of the potentials deposited in him. to me that is a wasted life; however one can  die at a relatively young age and yet have lived life to it's fullest capacity, emptying all his/her God given ability into the world in the time spent here on earth.

Jesus Died at the age of 33 and yet you would agree with me that  he had fulfilled purpose on earth
Archbishop Idahosa died at the age of 60 and you would agree with me that he had lived life to capacity.
Myles Munroe also died at the age of 60 and if you think he didn't fulfill purpose then think again

Now while i would personally have loved that these people had lived longer(so i could get to meet them personally and get impacted more) yet their minisrty proves they left lasting legacies behind.

hence, a long life does not automatically mean a fulfilled life. neither does the fact that a person doesn't live to be 80, 90 or 100 years old mean that he didn't fulfil destiny.

My conclusion on the matter is this, longlife is good, but make sure it's purpose driven, in the words of Myles Munroe(1954-2014) " the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without purpose"
so when next you open your mouth to pray ask yourself, Do i pray to to die old or to die empty?
God Bless You.  have a great weekend

Inspiration is the Gateway to Transformation
#GetInspired

THE SALIENT POINT

Calvary greetings guys and i say happy sunday to you, i know or hope many of you are already heading to church or in church already so would see this after service... however i just wanna share something with you all and i hope it causes us to think deeply.

Nigeria is host to the largest church auditorium in the world

Nigeria is also host to One of the largest Congregation in the world.

Majority of Nigerians attend one church or the other on Sunday

Nigerians majorly are a very religious lot.

Nigeira has the largest number of Penticostal Pastors in the world

Nigeria hosts some of the richest pastors in the world.

Nigerians are London's biggest spenders

                    Yet

Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world

Nigeria is becoming home to some really mundane practices

Boko Haram has been having a field day

The Standard of living for most people doesn't seem to be improving

Nigerians are some of the poorest people in the world. 

Crime rates are on the rise in Nigeria daily

The Salient Point...
Of what use is our salvation if we can't impact our world?
We go to church religiously every sunday and yet it seems that is all there is to it.
how about if we decided to take a different approach? what is we stopped restricting ourselves to those sunday sunday gatherings in massive cathedrals, and also added some community development initiatives? personally i mean. what if we stopped dusting and bringing out our bibles only on service days and actually begin to show love to our neigbhours everyday?  What if we began to reach people not only with the written word of God but with the evidence of obedience to scriptures? 

don't get me wrong, i love going to church and fellowshipping with the brethren(i even work in church so i guess i pass on that point) but the salient point is, if we restrict ourselves to fellowshipping with believers, who will show love and minister to that area boy? Remember the area boy you did not reachout to with God's love becomes the potential armed robber or election thug tomorrow.
Let's not just play church, Let's become christians.(Christlike)

Inspiration is the gateway to transformation
#GETINSPIRED
Minister Effizey

I AM ADDICTED

Well sha... i know this title will get you all wondering...

but there it is...i have said it, i gradually became an addict.(it feels so ominous).
however i'm owning up to you all first for myself and then for you all. many people seem to think inspirational speakers, ministers and writers are above reproach and are probably one step away from heaven. well while i can't talk for all i can talk for myself. and maybe a few others in the Bible like Elijah etc who were men of like passion. even a pastor is first of all a christian and thus has his own battles to fight and overcome same as every other believer. yea back to my story.

For years i have kidded myself, i have told myself i just like drinking, if i feel like i can stop, it's not harmful to me and all sorts, but truth be told, those were all excuses i was giving myself to cover up the face that i had become an addict.

once i tried to stay away from drinking for 3 days, i succeeded but at the end of the third day i walked briskly to a kiosk, bought a drink and gulped it all down, got a second and did same, then i finally got a third one that i took home and drank leisurely.  another time i went off drinking for two full weeks but the story remained same. immediately i got off my two week ban i relapsed.

guys normally i would average 8 bottles a day, but lately i have been able to cut down to roughtly 4 bottles a day. and i usually applaud myself that i have done well, but truth be told, even 4 bottles a day is just as harmful.

hence today i tell myself the truth i am addicted to soft drinks and it's time for me to kick it!!!
yea i know at this point some of you would laugh and say i'm a joker but be it soft drink, or alcoholic drinks, or food, or drugs, or cigarettes or anything at all, an addiction is an addiction and if it is not kicked in time it could destroy you.

So today is day one of my being 'clean', it's been a tussle so far, as i type this 3 empty bottle of water sit on my office table, and i have had about 2 more when i went out. it's not going to be easy i know but it is possible and it is worth it...
i know i'm still a work in progress but i enjoin you to come with me on this journey as we kick off negative addictions together. this is the process i intend using
1. Admit you are an addict
2. Make up your mind to kick the addiction
3. Ask God to help you overcome the addiction
4. become accounntable to someone or some people
5. Make conscious effort (as much as in your power stay away from triggers)
6. if you slip, don't beat yourself up or give up and slide back into your addiction pick yourself up and ask God for strength to continue
7.Build your spirit man (this will give you an edge over the flesh) Gal 5:16
i hope someone will join me on this train to put an end to addiction, in taking back our lives.

that's all for now, i'm Minister Effizey and i'm an addict

FAITHFULNESS-THE KEY TO INCREASE

I remember driving all the way from Lagos to Benin, and back to lagos just to attend a 2hour program with Pastor Sule Emmanuel about two years ago. truth be told, even i didn't fully understand then. but after the meeeting i stopped praying a prayer point.

i stopped praying for increase... and instead i started working towards it... How? keep reading.

He made a profound ststement i will never forget that day

 he said "You don't pray for increase; Increase is the natural reward for faithfulness"

truth be told when he first made the statement i felt somehow...i come from a background where it is believed you must pray for everything. but having driven that distance to listen to him i'm sure you know it means i respect him and the calling upon his life. so i went back to study scriptures.

i stumbled across the story of Abram who was asked to leave his homeland at 75years of age, an age where most of us are writing wills and getting ready to die, but the man packed his bags and relocated to where God said he would show him. God rewarded him with a son in his old age. feels like increase right? but God didn't stop there, God decided to test his faithfulness again and asked him to sacrifice isaac to him. once again Abram(now Abraham) made moves to sacrifice the only son through which God's promise of increase to him was to be fulfilled.  God stopped him in time and of course today everyone claims to be a descendant of Abraham.

The story of the talents butressed his points as the man who hid his talent got it taken from him, while the men who were faithful with theirs got additional cities to rule over. Does that sound like increase? it sure does to me.

 I remember the stories of some of our fathers in the faith, Pst E.A Adeboye, Rev PJA Olaiya, Apostle Johnson Sulemanand several others who have attained great heights and influence. their beginings were small but they remained steadfast, holding on to God's promise of increase, but remaining faithful to the call upon their heads.

as i look back now i discovered that God had enlarged my coasts and has increased me, because i made up my mind after that day to become faithful in whatever i find committed to my hands. all of a sudden i who used to be taken for granted have become an integral member of any committee being set up in church, i used to teach Jamb tutorials and i threw myself into it committedly, now i teach post graduate students. i used to write poetry and articles for magazine now i am writing books...

Folks, i am not preaching what i have not tried... many christians have been praying for increase over the years and it seems to be eluding them. many believers have resorted to blaming witches from their villages. Just before you look outside, first look inwards, have you been committed to the little God has placed in your hands?

You might not like the job; be faithful...

you might not like your boss; be faithful...

your salary might be too low; be faithful...

and before you know it, increase will locate you.

God Bless you

TOUGH TIMES WILL COME

Morning everyone and of course I must say welcome to 2015. Never mind that it's coming late. But I just am not a fan of making noise when everyone else is doing same.
However I can assure you that 2015 is gonna be a great year. Speaking of great,my book is finished and currently undergoing review with my senior friends.
 I am very excited about the book as it promises to be helpful to our relationships. It is opened up for further reviews from literary lovers,relationship counselor,editors and other interested friends.




Yes back to my topic. tough times! I know some of you have heard just predictions of a blissful 2015 and feel I'm being too negative but I must assure you that tough tomes will come.However, tough tomes don't last, tough people do. My Dad would always say, it is foolhardy not to prepare for what you cannot avoid!

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren’t the way you had hoped they would be.That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.
There are times when people disappoint you and let you down;. but those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust not in your own judgments and opinions, but instead to keep your life focused on believing in God’s promises.That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, but and it is up to you to accept them. Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction God has planned for
you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are. So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to keep trusting God and never toot stop walking
in the path he has set for you.

Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep Believing In The Most High!

Toffy Jesugbamila(Minister Effizey)

THE PROBLEM IS YOU!!!

Hello people of God... i hope you all enjoyed the series i just finished poseting... truth be told, i didnt intend for it to be a dream but when i saw how brutal the ending was, my spirit couldn't take it so i had to figure out a way to make it a better ending... lolz. i am being tempted to continue ooo(just that some people go get emergency high blood pressure.) 

ok back to my topic for today! i know the topic sounds negative but truly as the year 2014 draws to a close we have to begin to hope and pray for a better Nigeria in 2015.

it is an open secret that 2015 is an election year and already the tempo is really high with a lot of back and forths between supporters of the major political parties or candidates in Nigeria. However i refuse to talk politicson this blog so i won't make much comment on that. Something happened around christmas which got me thinking.

a popular Social Media Strategist and Author of several books, John Obidi,(yea he is a friend of mine, u go fear famzing) put up this post.

"CONTEST! What does Christmas mean to you?

The comment with the FEWEST likes will get a recharge card to any network!"

 

and so people began writing what christmas meant to them and then something funny began to happen, in order to win people started liking other peoples comment, so other comments would have more likes than theirs, this continued for a few days, and my comment began to acquire likes, i commented again and this time i just wrote 'ah' . unbelievebly that also attracted likes, i tried again and wrote 'chai' and that also miraculously attracted likes. so i decided to think of another approach and i deleted my first comment then reposted it. but alas, within a few minutes it had attracted all the likes necessary for me to lose. 

and then i resorted to if you can't beat them, you join them, and i then took my time to like all the previous comments in that thread.

a few days later, after most of us lost the competition, i sat back and wondered, the nigerian mentality of if i can't have it no one else will have it it a prevalent attitude.  in retrospect i wish i could apologize to all whose comments i 'liked' in revenge, but of all  FirstLady tinny roonie stands out. so i use her as a way to reach out to all.  Biggest apology to her. i am sorry.

it's also known as dog eat dog mentality, imagine a society where we all cared about each other, where we all loved each other and where we all looked after the interests of each other.

we need to develop the right mindset if we are to experience change in this country. the change we need does not begin at the level of the presidency and other political positions.

 The Change begins with you!!!

the bible says clearly, Remove the LOG in your own eyes first before attempting to remove the speck in another's eyes.

As Bishop FEB Idahosa would always say. Be the change you want to see.

so as we enter a new year, let's look inwards before we look outwards, how have we contributed to the rot in our dearly beloved nation? paying or receiving bribes? making things difficult for others? stealing? petty thefts? cybercrime? hijacking of products price? cutting corners? lying? cheating? laziness? etc...

Remember you can only punish disobedience when your own obedience is complete... 

So when next you want to clamour for change remember the change is you!!! Happy New Year in Advance!!!

THE WEDDING

I finally got around to writing this.
Well first of all I must say welcome to November. It already promises to be a November to remember. Yesterday morning I was opportuned to sit on a panel that examined the role of Godly connections in furthering the kingdom agenda, and it struck me that as Christians we really do need to make more connections if we are to fulfill God's command.
Well that's a full blog post in itself, I'll talk about it soon. For now back to the story.

The wedding took place in benin city, As I packed my bag to leave Lagos I thought to myself, lord, na me be Bestman again? How many wedding I go do groomsman/bestman sef before my turn go reach? and I heard him whose voice was like the son of man say. This is the last time( I hope you all know since I am made like Jesus my voice sounds like him too)  so having made such strong affirmative declaration in my spirit I prayed and set out for the park. I thought it was my assistant in the office that was going to drive me to the park but on getting to God is Good motors, I knew I was driven by a James Bond wannabe. Thanking God for safe journey (Omo na journey o, cos my heart dey my mouth all through) I waved him goodbye and whispered a quick prayer to God to keep him safe especially as he was driving my only car.

Few hours later my eyes snapped open. It was 11 and the bus was stopping. I was happy that we had arrived Benin but alas when I discovered we were just at ore. Chai since 7am? Who the heck was driving this bus, a snail or a tortoise? (The voice came again, should your assistant come take over from here?) I immediately repented and walked in to eat the not so tasty but amazingly expensive food they had to offer where we had stopped and then continued my sleep fitfully punctuated by the grumbling of the bus driver. (Ok to be fair to him, it's not good to sleep when you're the one sitting beside the driver. As it might cause him to feel sleepy also)

Well thankfully when I woke up this time I didn't need a prophet to tell me I had arrived in the ancient city. The town truly deserves that name. ( I say no more than that before I begin to receive death  threats from my Benin folks) within 20 mins of coming down from the bus I was thoroughly lost in a town I had schooled a few years ago. Thankfully after 2hours God sent an Angel (in the form of my friend who was getting married) to rescue me. God used my gsm to guide the angel to my location and that's where the story began.

At this point I'm wondering if to rename the title of this post to THE JOURNEY because the wedding itself was beautiful, but the journey before and after was hectic.

My good friend(I'm intentionally not mentioning his name, I no want make Una go find am kidnap) was running around doing all those little things people do before they get married, and some more, and by 6pm he fainted inside the printing press. Mhen see as people confuse, I just smiled and applied first aid treatment.(red ooo) and then later got him something to drink to regain his strength. He fell sick overnight and by Friday prayer warriors were attempting to bind and cast every demon that was against the wedding. I thundered amen as they prayed(make I no be like the demon wey wan stop the wedding) but shook my head as this was a clear case of misfired prayers.(thankfully they took the shaking of my head as a sign I was communicating with the heavenlies.) 

Well the prayers must have worked because strength came, (even though he had to sleep and eat and use drugs to drive out some of the stubborn demons) and then we stated running around again, the traditional ceremony was to start by 2pm but by 1:55 we were running to the tailor's shop to collect our traditional attire. We finally made it to the ceremony and the demons had reared their ugly head again as he was ill again. I had to leave the ceremony and go conclude most of the other arrangements for the white wedding. Finally after the traditional ceremony he went home to sleep.( thank God ooo).
The morning of the white wedding came again and it dawned on us we had no suits to wear.( well in fairness to us we had suits they were just in the tailor's house, even though he was supposed to bring it.) and so on sat morning we found ourselves traversing the crevasses of one unnameable community after lucky way, looking for the tailor's place. We finally got there, made a lot of noise and took the suits n trekked back home again. Almost 45minutes of hard trekking on the wedding day, little wonder we could barely stand in the auditorium as the pastor took all year to conduct the ceremony. Plus we were expected to dance our hearts out when in reality we just wanted the ceremony over.

Admittedly I learnt a few things, e.g how to print a cute wedding program with just 4,000, and that the most important man in a wedding is the groom, not the best man as the name implies( I wonder why that name sef)  but I also discovered the power of delegation, it would save a lot of unnecessary stress and slow down the barrage of demon binding prayers towards heaven as regards the wedding.

As I sign out I must confess that being the Bestman who doubled as mc at the reception I had a lot of fun and I wished the reception could go on and on, then I remembered I had to preach in a Benin church the next day, so I had to close on time so I could also send a barrage of demon binding prayers towards heaven as regards the ministration.(since they Don teach me say demon plenty for Benin, so I no go faint on top pulpit.)

Thanks for taking time out to read this post, thanks for stopping by my blog. Happy Sunday and have an awesome November.
Minister Effizey.

P.S sorry there are no pictures, I snapped then forgot them in Benin.(maybe those demons are at it again....)