FunmiObi

‘Jenny’s really weird. She stays on her own a lot and doesn’t talk to anyone. She’s got no friends and always sits alone in the corner of the class. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile let alone laugh... pale, gloomy and weird? That’s Jenny! ’ Being alone for a while or having your quiet time isn’t a bad idea, is it? Absolutely not! Such a time could be used to improve oneself; plan, think straight, reflect, be creative… However too much of ‘alone time’ and then you’ll have a ‘Jenny’. It affects your psyche as well as your outlook. Research shows that too much loneliness increases the risk of death by 26%! Solitude gives way for depression to set in and this is not good for your health. I felt like being alone for a while just to get myself back. Then I stayed alone for too long and started feeling lonely, as though I had no friends. It began to affect me badly. I found it hard to put up a smile, read, concentrate and even breathe easily. I started losing my c...

Whenever the call came… I responded... ‘Here I am Lord, send them!’ As funny as it may sound, many of us have put up this attitude. We come around for events or to church but once it’s time to work… phew! You’re out. My secondary school classmate was recognized for this act in an outstanding manner (without even being noticed or punished). This earned her the title of ‘sharpest’. I had this mindset too and it still tries to raise its ugly head but I’ve got to subject myself consciously to work in order to develop myself. NO organization employs workers to only answer the roll call but to get things done. This problem stems from the act of seeing others as being more special than you are or as being set apart for the work, from laziness, self-comfort, fear… -When you see a need, respond to it- Stop excluding yourself from the work at hand. You’re actually a solution; the answer to someone’s prayer! You’re just as special and unique as ever. Get involved, Start see...

  Timmy and his team of sailors knew they had made a terrible mistake. Though no one admitted it, they knew they had gone completely out of track when the men on the night duty fell asleep. It was not until Timmy addressed his men and told them to face the ugly truth: they were in the middle of nowhere and were running short out of resources. They had two options: One, they could go back to where they thought they’d missed it (wasting even more resources) and continue on the right path from there. Two, they could sit down, strategize and plan a way out… SO many of us today are being confronted or have been confronted with this situation where we feel like we’ve lost our way and need to get things right especially in relationship settings. Both partners keep on asking themselves, where did we go wrong? Even in our personal lives when things feel out of place or don’t work out as planned, the same question still bothers us: Where did I go wrong? I kept on asking myself th...

  Is it possible to live a life free of mistakes? Can one truly stay without sin? It seems really difficult. I’m trying but it doesn’t seem to work after an hour. What am I to do?  Some crazy stuff right? Truth is, we all go through this phase in life where we try to be ‘pitch perfect’. We struggle to the next day and breakdown halfway, time…after…time. I tried it last week and I was out by the end of the first day. It took its toll on me and discouraged me from ever trying. However, I’ve decided to get serious but its different this time. I know I’m going to make some mistakes along the line but it’s not going to be intentional and it’ll be to the barest minimum. These mistakes are avenues to learn and improve not to destroy or wreck my life. “With God all things are possible” I (You) with God… Therefore, this new decision must involve God. Make Him your source and the world will become your means! Life becomes a new walk with God without impossibilities. ...

  I’ve gotten to a point in life when things seem to be at a standstill; I came to  a halt! Days roll by and I just seem to lose control of everything. Even in my capacity as a student and a leader, I just lost touch with reality… Flopping became the order of the day. ‘Maybe I’m not in the WORD enough, maybe I just need to pray some more’… been there, done that! However, things have been changing and all the events are linking up and screaming at me ‘GET SERIOUS FUNMI! GET THINGS DONE’. The Holy Spirit is ‘breaking me out of religion’ (coming out soon). I came to understand that I’m a leader not just on meeting days but every single second of every single day and leaders get things done (even through other people)! Leaders are responsible people so I’ve got to be responsible and get things right. We’ve got to get things right before it gets too late and they just stare us in the face… The strongest force on Earth is the will. No matter what happens or how moody y...

                                         Let no man despise your youth... (1 Timothy 4:12) The best time of your life is in your youth. You’re full of energy, passion and drive. However, you need to learn how to drive your energy towards your passion in line with your purpose. From 18-30 years of age, you’ve got to get it right! Pay the price now or else you’ll pay it later when you’re supposed to be reaping the fruits of your labor. Engage yourself in: -Purpose Discovery: With the help of God, you’ve got to find out why you’re where you are. When you know the way, the journey becomes easier. Don’t just stop there, fulfill it! -Personal Development: Pay the price now and build yourself in line with the future. Develop yourself (skills, abilities) for tomorrow. Build your c...

I recently got on Wattpad and read this really cool story ‘Grace Alive’ by NatashaHouse7. It highlighted the condemning nature of Christians and the Grace of God.   Many have been ‘taught’ that God’s mercy/forgiveness, help, love is earned and you’ll go to hell if you don’t impress Him or pray, pray and pray for His mercy to rain down. -The love of God is unconditional and unmerited.- Even if you don’t want it, He still loves you. He took out time not to count but to number your hairs like hair number 1, 2, 3… It’s not like He’s faking it or just acting to get our ‘support’, it’s His nature. HE IS LOVE. The only problem is that our earthly configuration can’t comprehend it. I can’t understand His love by going to the best Bible school or reading all the books on God’s love. His love is a revelation; a journey. There are so many new twists, turns and dimensions to it… you just can’t figure Him out. Even when I doubted and asked for a sign to prove that He’d forgiven me, ...

  Man’s universal problem: stress. How to handle it: rest. How and when to rest? Here’s how… Taking a break, clearing your mind or just getting out of the stress zone is extremely necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Laziness (lying in bed for 10hours) or time wasting is just not IT.   One needs to rest after work or tasking one’s brain. Any mental or physical activity drains one’s energy and that energy needs to be recompensed. Have a power nap. When you’re reading and you feel drowsy, just lay your head down on the table and take a 10-20minutes timed nap. You’ll notice a new sense of relief and strength… that’s a power nap (don’t sleep off though). Shut down. Like literally shut down. You’re extremely tired, you lay down but can’t seem to sleep off immediately. Don’t operate your phones at this point, it’ll weaken your sight and probably cause you not to sleep. Simply allow all the processes going on without you to cool down before you shut down (just like sh...

Overthinker... Sir-think-a lot. If there’s anything like that… That’s me! I have this habit of thinking too much and getting lost in my thoughts (I could just staaaaaare at the ceiling). Then my dad would snap me out of it and I’d get back to reality. I had to be honest with myself. Daddy’s not going to be there all the time to ‘snap me out of it’ so I decided to do the snapping myself. Whenever I notice myself slipping away, I’d start talking out loud, shake my head or do something to alert my senses. Fact: Almost everyone (especially girls) did this. Daydreaming or thinking too much takes your time, focus and emotions. You get to slip away from reality and create your fantasy world from time to time. Truth is, no matter how awesome fantasy is, it’s never going to be reality. Escaping from reality isn’t such a bad idea but staying away for too long is (just like avoiding chores, it won’t vanish). Things may start getting worse and you’d get to notice when ...

  God is Spirit. However, there comes a point in time when even we, physical beings especially Christians, become 'too spiritual' for God to use. We become resistant to change and stick to the old ways. We feel like we are sin itself when we accept to speak on issues like relationships, sex, etc. Even the thought of greeting someone that is not from your church or is not like you becomes unacceptable. Condemnation becomes the order of the day as we judge people for what they do. I saw a post that caught my attention; it read “Don’t judge me because I sin differently from you”. It got me thinking: Why would I judge someone for fornication when I carry lust in my heart? The manifestation of the sin is not what matters only but also the thought of it (Matthew 5:28). Or why criticize someone for playing video games during the sermon while I was sleeping also? Weren't we both 'not in tune'? My pastor usually says that some of us are too spiritual for God to u...

Joan never gets anything done unlike her friend Able. She’s always worried about how wrong things may go if she tries that she never gives it a try. Able on the other hand always tries to get the job done no matter what. He sits down to plan ahead and partners with people to overcome his limitations… two friends, Joan the worrier and Able the warrior. Worry adds no value to life (Matthew 6:27). It’s good to think and plan ahead but not to wallow in doubt and worry unnecessarily for tomorrow while in today. Planning aids preparation for success and avoids embarrassment (Luke 14:28-30), worry only aids depression and never gets the job done. Warriors speak to the mountain; the problems they face, while worriers speak about the mountains they face. A warrior confronts issues with faith and confidence in God. A worrier only complains and keeps on describing the enormity of the situation (even to the littlest of things) without even facing it. More so, warriors are courageous. The...

  " It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave" (Mandy Hale). Little Chinedum is always afraid of doing something new or grown up. As a member of the follow-up department in the church, she’s required to usher out first-timers to the reception venue but she had never done it. Even her pleas showed how scared she was when I told her to usher two guys out to the reception venue for the first time. However, when I went to usher out some other people, I took a quick glance at her direction and saw her helping the two guys out of the church hall… I must say I felt really proud of her. Although her story may never feature in history among the great stories of overcoming your fears like Joyce Meyer, Moses and other great people, I knew for sure that she had faced her fear and conquered it! One terrible thing fear does is to pin you down and limit you in your thoughts. It’s the greatest weapon of the devil which he presents...

  James 2:19, Philippians 2:10-11 Before I started blogging, I knew the devil didn’t want me to because he was afraid of its potentials and my desire to save souls through writing. He haunted me with fear which caused me to delay the project. Finally, I decided to start off the next day. So, before I went to sleep, I checked on the posts that were ready for publishing, said my prayers and went to bed with my brother by the side. While asleep, I felt a presence, very evil, in the room and the next thing I knew, it pinned me down on the bed and disabled all forms of movement even breathing. I tried calling out to my brother but the words only stayed in my head; unable to speak a word. I thought to myself that he could help me but I remembered that it is only Jesus that saves! Then I started calling on the name of Jesus Christ repeatedly. From my head, it moved down to my throat and out! As soon as I said it out loud, I got control of my body and was loosed! Many times the...

1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Timothy 4:16 It’s so much easier to say a thing than to do it. It’s so much easier to give advice and read the best books than it is to practice it in life. It’s easier to study the word (logos) and get revelations (rhema) than it is to share the Word with non-Christians to convert them… It’s easier to talk the talk than it is to walk the walk! I can say this for a certainty because I’ve also been a victim of this act as I would easily dish out advice to people and go contrary to it when faced with a similar situation. I’d advise you to forgive and yet hold a grudge against someone. The worst part is when you get caught… Words just seem to fail you as well as courage and esteem begins to fail the person I had advised. This is however a very serious matter. Many people no longer pay attention to the teachings of Christ by preachers and ministers alike because they believe that they don’t practice what they preach, that they say one thing and do another; teach...

Ephesians 3:20 I got into Church on Thursday for Bible Study with my blog note. Before the message, I got this topic. But when the pastor got on stage he started preaching about expectations… I came with that book expecting something from God and I got this.  I went for our annual camp meeting and after my first ever water baptism, I heard a soft voice that said ‘Funmi, I want you to write for me’… I went for the event and the baptism expecting to experience what Christ experienced in his own baptism and to get direction from God. And in all these, God met and exceeded my expectations!  It’s one thing to come to an event and another thing to come expecting. Most people just go for church events and other events for going sake. There’s no hunger for anything new. Just to fulfill all righteousness. This is a very wrong attitude; paying lip service while your heart is far away from Him. Imagine if you’re asked to host the president or go to an event he hosted, wouldn’t you ...