Mirror Mirror who am I??.... By Morenike Oluwole-Aguda

I am daughter, I am sister, I am wife, I am niece, I am aunty, I am cousin, I am friend. I am companion,I am protege, I am mentor......I am woman.
I know pain and I am kin to strength. I am fearless not because I do not appreciate danger, but because I serve a God who is above all.
Happiness knows my name and sadness sometimes checks in...guess life serves one mean cocktail.
I am a child with an enchanting view of the world and yet I am woman sometimes jaded by my experiences. I have felt the sting of disappointments and the euphoria of hope, I have insecurities but i refuse to be defined by them.
I have trusted, I have regrets,so many lessons I have had to learn. I have been heartbroken and I have found love that's true. 
I know no limitation: in plenty I thrive and in lack I rise above my challenges. I am young and gifted, I go through life with purpose trudging on with nothing but an unshakable faith in The Almighty God.
I refuse to apologise for my blessings and I own my mistakes....after all I am human and in no way infallible.
Who am I? I am Moreniolake and my black is beautiful.

Philippians 4:4

I got to church this morning and about an hour into the service, I realized how happy i was to be there. I was genuinely glad to be in His presence and i was definitely blessed.

Yay it is September already!!! Is it just me or did this year go by so fast???
2012 has been very good so far, despite the lil glitches here and there (yup i said LIL), I have so many reasons to be grateful to God for everything that has happened from January till date. I inherited an awesome brother-in-law, My sister and besty got a new job (God this doesn't mean she is there yet, we are still hoping for something better...#wink), My sister brought forth my adorable and beautiful (yes beautiful) nephew Jayden Adetomiwa (our Tommy-jay) into this world just the way God intended him to come, I FINISHED Medical school (most will say finally...lol), one of my best friends is about to pop-out my beautiful honorary god-baby (yup Ruddie i called it 1st), my mama has been super excited about everything this year (with everything on her plate, trust me that's a testimony), my baby brother is going to school this month and yes i mean University to study a dream course Mechatronics (don't ask, I have no idea what its about), I met an adorable. God loving and ME-loving guy (plenty blushes), Ogorben got a new car, Esohe got a spot for houseman-ship  Damilola started her own business and it is blooming....... Yup it is a long list and the more i write, the more i remember. But most especially I am grateful for the love and friendship that my sisters and I have and it has been unbelievably cool.

I have lost friends this year but I am not sad about them because God has shown me that the people I have around me right now are the people I need. I don't have it all figured out yet but i have peace in my spirit, Do You know the kind of peace you have even when all you wake to every morning is one rejection letter/mail after another?? Yup that kind of peace lol ( and trust me that has been happening alot these days, even got one this morning before church).

This month is the beginning of the end of the year for me and I know God isn't done with me yet, but if all I have gotten this year is all He has for me for 2012, I can still gladly and honestly say that this year has been  FABULOUS.

Wishing everyone a fun-filled September.
Meemeesola

My God of specifics...

Exodus 25-28

God is into specifics. When He called Moses up to the mountain, he told him to tell the children of Israel to build him 'THE TABERNACLE''. He didnt say 'just go build', Exodus 25:9 'Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you'. God gave them specifics- i am talking lenght of the ark, special materials, width of the ark, lenght of the table, height of the lamp stand, He even told them to hire 'the most skilled' crafts man to make the breast place, all these cos God wanted perfect.

This place was to be a sanctuary for God, so He could dwell among them ( Exodus 25:8). God wanted to be closer to man so he decided to come down to us, isnt that just amazing! 

Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross we have become santuaries and since our God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is still in the business of specifics. In the old testament he showed and gave them a pattern, in the new testament He did the same but this time He gave us Jesus. Our lives have to be fashioned like Jesus', he is our model. He came to earth and with all the odds against him he died blameless, without sin or blemish. I know perfection is impossible afterall we are humans but that doesnt stop us from trying (theres no harm in that right....lol), cos i want to believe we get points just for trying. We can start from the lil things- stop lying, not stealing, having a daily prayer altar, being the best people we can be etc.

God doesnt do messy (or ugly like Morenike would say), He does order, He does pattern, He does specifics! No one says its going to be an easy process but all He is asking of us is to try,  He even gave us resources- Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness (trust me the list is longer than that).

Try!!! that is all He is asking.......

Meemeesola

My mothers love...

So my mum went through my blog for the first time today which is weird because my mum knows EVERYTHING about my siblings and I, and any other person that happens to be close to us..lol  (if you know my mum then you definitely know what I am talking about). She sent me a message saying 'I HONESTLY CAN'T BELIEVE MY BABY HAS GROWN, YOU ARE SO DEEP'.... yes in caps letters! and all I could do was grin.
That message got me thinking, 'Have I really grown?' or am I just blanketing the child in me so the world won't criticize me?. But after a lil thought as well as a flash back of all that I have been through and risen above in the last year, I can confidently say 'Sunmi you have indeed grown!

But it hasn't been all me, it has been with the help of my family especially my mum. She has a strength that is confounding, she has the grace that is virtuous, a heart simply made of gold and most especially she has a spirit that is unflappable.
Everyone loves their mum and I am sure we all have seen our mums do astonishing things (in a good way) but mine is extra special...Yes she is! If you don't believe you better ask around or as my boyfriend would say...'You better Google her'...(inside joke)....lol.
So this is me telling the most amazing woman I have ever known that sometimes I might not agree with your tactics, I might argue with you now and then, I might even be mad at you for a couple of minutes but I love you with everything that makes me Sunmisola and if I happen to be half as great as you or half the woman you are today then I know that the man I marry will consider himself blessed just as I know my daddy does everyday.

Its your birthday in a couple of days, so this is me saying Happy birthday to my mum, my friend and my inspiration.
Love you mama

Moreniolake....

Morenike Omidiji, your birthday is just around the corner! yay!
On my birthday you said it all so I am just going to rephrase everything you said.... you are my best friend, you are my confidant, my greatest cheer-leader. You are the one I tell when I feel like punching someone in the face because I know you would understand and tell me to go ahead without any judgement, you are the one I call when all I want to do is crawl under my bed and cry, you are the one I think of when I feel like drinking myself to stupor because I know you would say 'drink for two babes' and not judge me because you trust I will do the right thing. You treat me like my opinions matter, like if I dont like 'it' then 'it' isn't worth considering let alone buying. I know your life is about to change and I wont be your priority any more (you know what I mean....wink wink) but I am very sure I can still count on you to whoop someone's ass for me when the need arises... lol
So this is me saying happy birthday to you Morenike Ibidoyin Eniola Omidiji.... I love you

The fruits of the spirit in the 21st century

Let's face it: Christianity in the Western world is quickly changing. If you've had a conversation with an average person on the street about what she believes about God or religion, it shouldn't surprise you to hear that she probably doesn't have regard for those topics. More and more people don't know what they believe, or simply don't believe in much at all. Many Christians are even having crises of faith. The things our parents believed about politics, the world, and spirituality in many ways now seem out of date, in dire need of being reinvented.

 

A variety of contributing factors can be credited for this changing cultural landscape: the end of the industrial age, the birth of free information, and technology that focuses on the life of the individual. One reason why so much social change seems to be happening is because people in the West are changing. We no longer blindly accept the truths and traditions passed on to us by our parents. Many are questioning everything; they just can't seem to help it. Call it crazy teenage rebellion, but something about our culture is definitely changing.

 

And still, there is a group of us who think that this world can be redeemed, that God has a plan, and that the message of Jesus is universally relevant. We believe that faith, hope, and love are still the greatest elements, and we want to see them, receive them, and share them.

 

Here's what I think that looks like in the 21st Century:

 

Faith as a conversation. You've probably heard this buzzword thrown around more than you have cared to hear. I know I have. Conversation. It's been overused by many Christians (you may use or have heard the words "emergent" or "emerging") to the point that it now comes off as arrogant.

 

But what could be more beautiful than a conversation?

 

There's a story in the Christian Scriptures where Jesus reveals himself as the rightful king of Israel to a promiscuous woman at a well. How does he do it? With a church service? Big tent revival with flashing fanfare and confetti? Nope.With a conversation. There's something genuine, transcendent even, that is communicated in a conversation that can't be transferred any other way. Sharing one's faith through conversing is a must for the age in which we are now entering.

 

Hope as a tangible reality. We abuse the word "hope." I hope I see you tomorrow. I hope to go to a movie tonight. But "hope" means so much more than that, and as a friend of mine once said, "Everyone in the world needs hope." In this new age, Christians need to begin expressing our hope in more tangible ways: an encouraging word to someone who's depressed, an act of generosity towards the poor and needy, a grand gesture of dignity to someone struggling with self-worth.

 

This means that we need to do more than tell people about heaven. We must show it to them.

 

Love as an action. The same that was said about hope can be said for love. No three words in the English language have become quite as passe as "I love you." Yes, I've heard that before. But what does love look like?

 

Can I taste, smell, and even touch your love? More importantly, will it touch me? 

 

Jesus showed love by dying for the ragamuffins(don't think this word is English but....lol...who cares). He loved before those whom he loved knew how to love him back. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to die for it. The apostles loved Jesus so much that they rejoiced when they were beaten for him; they loved him back by giving their lives.

 

We need to relearn love -- messy, dirty love that costs us something. And when the world sees that kind of love, it will realize that something is missing. A ridiculous gesture of grace communicates so much more than a T-shirt or billboard that reads: "Love the sinner. Hate the sin." 

 

I hope that this doesn't come off sounding pretentious or naive. I really do think that the world is changing, as are those of us inhabiting it. I believe in God and in his ability to redeem anything, but I think that it is essential for christians to grasp the reality of this shift and adapt to it. If faith, hope, and love are the essential elements of a meaningful Christian life, then we should consider what they mean to us and the world this day and age.

 

Above are just a few ways in which I think that faith, hope, and love need to be rehashed in the 21st Century. What about you?

God....my healer

I can't believe I am putting up another post barely 24hrs. after the last one..I guess God really needs me to think straight....lol

What really got me thinking about this was a daily devotional email I received a couple of days ago and it mentioned Hezekiah.


2 Kings 20:1 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘ Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”
2Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3″ Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight ” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,5″Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.6″I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”‘

This is interesting to me, because Hezekiah wasn’t just sick, he was dying. He looked up to God after speaking to him and then Hezekiah wept bitterly. Bitterly? Sounds to me like Hezekiah was disappointed at God. Can this be? Can someone be disappointed with the creator of the Heavens and Earth? I think so (trust me, I have been there). I think God wants this kind of interaction with his followers. He created us in his image, and so we have feelings like anger, resentment, and disappointment. When we get behind God like Hezekiah did, “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight “, then are we are a follower of the one true God. I think if you are truly in the path of righteousness, then you can get healed like Hezekiah did, if it’s within God’s will. It would be no different than asking a parent for something. God is going to take everything into account, including your faith and commitment to him, and come back with an answer. I don’t think that’s anything new, but I believe that answer can even be “Your healed”.

I don’t just conjure up these thoughts, I read the Bible and then try to apply it to today’s world. I’d love to hear your comments on this, maybe my thinking is way off, but I think a lot about my interaction with God and how in the Bible their interaction was totally different, I’ll be doing a second post this week along this same lines about faith in the 21st century.

Meemeethinks......