Deliberately GRATEFUL

Hey darlings,

How is everyone doing?

OK lemme just jump right into what I wanna blog about today #noTime

Ok there is time for some little chitchat

(though Aku’m always says ‘fine girl one pimple’ lol)

Oh, BTW, I am fine everyone, thanks for asking and checking. Life has been happening but God dey. He he he

Still lemme share what’s been up…

We made a most amazing trip to Lagos and Ibadan. Hubs and I, to see my parents and his.
Then we visited with our Rev too. First time of seeing all these people as a couple after our wedding.
Then off we went for hub’s best friend’s wedding.

I will just skip details of the wedding and jump right to the hotel we lodged in whose hall the wedding was taking place too. Very rude staff they had. You won’t believe the girl intercepted the groom as he was about to dance in to tell him that he ought to have checked out at noon blablabla. Imagine!!! She was soooooo rude, I wish he slapped her. Maybe he was supposed to rush in at that point and go and pack. We too had our things in our own room and it was only after the wedding at past 5 did we go in to get them. The silly girl came to me and hubs had already told me not to talk to her so she went to him. Ah, I respected my hubby more that day.
Silly girl: Excuse me sir, I want to talk to you *in a very rude manner*
Hubs: As you can see, I am in a hurry. I can’t stop. If you want to talk, follow me as I walk
Next thing the rabbit says is ‘If you don’t stop I will call security’
Loooooooooooool
Trust hubs, he says, while still moving, he told her ‘I am a lawyer, both you and your security can NOT harass me’ and he ignored her after then. Security ko… Lol. Very silly girl

Anyways, we visited with my bestie and her hubs, went to Coldstone for ice cream and pizza,

spent the night with them and 6am, we were at the airport, I was The ‘Buj bound and hubs, Bonny bound. I was  flying commercial and he, private. My dears, that’s how i dressed up for church as i planned to land and fly straight to church. Lemme just skip the long story and just end by saying i finally got home in ‘Buj at 8pm. My flight was delayed for about 10 hours like play like play ooo. I had an out of body experience. By that time, hubs had forgotten he even went on a trip. Even those that went by road woulda hit ‘Buj before me. Anyways, I met one of my readers Amara in the airport and she was great company.

Trust hubs, he didn’t stop yabbing me.

Kai, for me to leave this ‘Buj again, it has to be private ooo. Thankfully, there is now a straight flight to Bonny island from ‘Buj. I cant have a repeat of this experience again.

See why I need that Private jet ?

Ok, on to what i wanna discus today

Now as believers, we should ALWAYS be believing for something. Tz either we are believing for something or we are going through something. Either ways, we have to use our FAITH

Now one thing the Bastard devil is good at is magnifying our problems so that is all we see and we forget to be grateful for the good God is doing, cos we think it is small do.

In recent times, I have found myself believing for an INCREDIBLE lot. I mean, my faith has been at its most active. There are days when it is at a head really and I just feel like crying but mehn, it is in those days I have learnt to let the devil know that he can neither depress me nor tension me.

Now let me drive this home…
Like most of you know, I stay in a different town from my hubby. Now this separation didn’t crop up on us ooo. It was the plan even before we got married that I would go ahead of him to Abuja and then God willing, he would get his transfer and join me. I actually didn’t know it was going to be soooooooooooo hard. Now with work getting more serious, and my opportunity to travel thinning and the transfer having not clicked, it is HARD!!! Being pregnant and all, it is harder. Having to stay with someone until we get our own place/hubs joins me here is the HARDEST. I must admit, there were days when I just felt HOPELESS and very emotional. I stay with my SIL here and while she is an amazing host, your house is your house ooo.
Nothing seemed worth it. I would magnify every challenge there is in the world and whenever I got to my prayer place, I would just be very quiet not in meditation but in exasperation. It would just be another pity party. My heart would be physically heavy indeed. Trust me guys, it wasn’t easy. It also didn’t help that people would always ask me ‘where is your hubby’ and when I say he isn’t here, rather than shut up and keep moving, they would proceed to give very unsolicited and certainly unwelcome opinions about how wrong it is, etc. I have come close to slapping someone.
But look, this is a phase that will SOON pass, why lose my joy and spirit because of it?
So what did I start to do?

When the devil comes with his ‘you may end up giving birth and the transfer hasn’t happened and I would still be putting up with someone here in Abuja and so may have to quit work and go back to Bonny where we have a home, etc… ‘ that would be a good time to open my mouth and tell him that the transfer will happen soon and can even be tomorrow and when it happens, we will be so together in our own very beautiful home in our ‘Buj, our GREENland flowing with milk and MONEY!!! I would sooooo forget the near crying days I have had. Then I proceed to thanking him for the little signs here and there that he gives us.
1. My SIL is super duper amazing. I mean she takes care of me to a TEN!!! More than makes up for any inconvenience I feel not being in my own home. I mean I had my reservations moving there but imagine if I was staying with someone who really didn’t care whether I was pregnant or not and just treated me anyhow because I was bunking with her? That woman cares incredibly, it is amazing. So while we await his move and our home, God sorted me.
2. I have a fantastic colleague who picks and drops me daily saving me a tosh load of cab money. I mean, how amazing can that get?
See how I can just be griping about current circumstances and miss the amazing stuff God is about.
3. I have amazing colleagues who always buy me/offer to buy me lunch so I don’t have to spend my money on that. Especially the bosses I work with directly. I have actually been incredibly favoured here being the baby of the department he he he.
4.Oh my gosh!!! Pregnancy has been nice and easy. Imagine being in and out of the hospital due to pregnancy esp first trimester wahala in addition to living with someone and your hubby not being here? I would have been out of my mind literally. But God has kept me healthy indeed. I mean, see how I would have just been ungrateful about His blessings while focusing on temporary stuff.

And so many other ways I just see His hand.

Look ehn, I have plenty to be grateful for in the meantime and I won’t let the devil rob me of my #attitudeofgratitude and joy which I even need if I am going to attract my testimonies. Everyday I wake up, I thank Him for the accommodation He has provided now and the one He is providing for us, I thank Him for a sound sleep despite the inconveniences. I thank Him for my job and colleagues even as I pray for more favour and blessings. I thank Him for my super smooth pregnancy hailing Him that He is faithful to perfect what He has begun. Look people, I am deliberately grateful. We have to be deliberately grateful. We have to ‘one-up’ the devil. While he is busy magnifying our present challenges, we are busier making a BIG DEAL of what our God is doing.
Cos God is doing something. He is giving us little signs here and there but we are being blinded by the devil’s antics. I am actually visibly scared of ever being ungrateful. I fear many of us are letting our challenges make us ungrateful. That’s downright scary. Lemme take you to Malachi for a second

Mal 2:2
If you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, then I will curse the blessings you have already received, yes I have already cursed them. I will exchange all your blessings for a curse, infact the curses are already at work…

Choi!!! Could it be that your complaining is already cursing the blessings?

In recent times, I have had the privilege of talking to people who are in their ‘waiting period’ and see, this is all I tell them. This picture says it well for me and I always share with them…

Hey, when God cooks you don’t see smoke ooo.

Things can get done/cooked
So while you are trusting God for that fantastic job, thank Him for the crappy one. Ask Him to give you grace for the storm pending when He leads you out of it

While you are jumping buses and taking Okada, don’t forget to throw your head back and take a good laugh, enjoy the ride and tell yourself and the devil that soon, you won’t remember what it means when people be talking about buses and okadas cos your level would have so changed…

While you are still single, don’t throw a pity party, throw a praise party. Every time you attend a wedding,imagine how beautiful yours will be. Thank God that soon, you will not know what it feels like to live alone. Say it out loud, sing if you must, that your single days are gradually getting lesser and lesser.
Walahi, I have learnt to talk out loud so the devil can hear me say that this situation won’t last forever ooo. It will soon be over.

Annoy the devil abeg

Whatever it is, sweetie, deliberately find something to be very grateful for boo. Like papa Oyedepo says, if you can think, you can thank.

Muah.

gotta fly off to church

E’