ON HOME TURF! LIFE LESSONS -2

I am concluding this topic with these selections, which have been my Facebook status updates from 2010. Please let me know which particular one(s), strike you and why. It will help me in developing some of the thoughts further as I intend to come up with a book on life lessons which I am still juggling about in my head, lol. God bless you all.

1: Often tımes, our decısıons, actıons, and reactıons are largely drıven by bandwagon motıvatıons. We are afraıd to take a stand for what we truly belıef because we want to be accepted by others. Thıs year, dare to be yourself. Dare to step away from the bandwagon effect and watch your lıfe soar. You wıll attract genuıne relatıonshıps as you dare to be yourself whıle workıng on your areas of weaknesses. Thınk about thıs.

2: As prıests/custodıans of God's word, make your priesthood effective in whatever sector you find yourself, especially at home. That is where ıt all starts. A chrıstıanıty that does not affect you fırst of all, then your husband/wıfe, chıldren,  and extended famıly, before it does the world, ıs merely a sanctımonıous facade of pıety-a show! Hypocrısy. No more, no less! You must be the fırst practıtıoner/belıever of that whıch you teach/advocate.  Like a friend once wrote: If your christianity does not work at home DON'T EXPORT IT.

3: Hypocrisy is when there's a disconnect between what you really believe on the inside/who you really are, and the facade you present on the outside for people to see. All it takes for your phony facade to emerge is a little tweak from people and time.You can't hide character inconsistencies for too long. Selah.

  4: No matter how much you know it in your head, and for how long, that human beings will always fail you at some point or the other, it is always a sobering moment when someone you thought you could rely on, shows you their humanity by failing you. The truth is that subconsciously, there are people on our list whom we tick, 'reliable' but the reality is that, they are human, and can fail you. Do not get bitter about their failure, nor take it personal. Grasp the lessons you need to learn, and move on, understanding that the only One who can never fail is God. Remember that you also fail people.

5: Do not dignify people who try to belittle you with your time and attention! Run away from people who belittle you. It's easy to spot these type of people because whenever you interact with them, you leave with feelings of inadequacy and discouragement, instead of feeling inspired and encouraged to be the best you can be. Positive reinforcement is like refreshing dew to the soul, while negative reinforcement crushes the soul. Seek out friendships and relationships that bring out the best in you!

6:  Just as adversıty reveals true frıends, success also unveıls them as well. Genuıne frıends wıll celebrate your success and encourage you to reach for your stars ın every way they can. Fake ones wıll feel threatened and stay away, pretendıng not to notıce. If you check, and the cool off ıs not occasıoned by prıde on your part and you have genuınely trıed to reach out, just let ıt go and let them be -the relationshipshp was only meant to survıve for a season.

7. Life has taught me that in dealing with couples, especially married couples who share a strong bond of love and unity, you must accord both equal respect and not use a divide-n-rule method of approaching your relationship with them, else it will back fire on you. If you show the man respect, do same to his wife and vice versa. I've seen too many people hold a man in high esteem, but treat his wife like thrash. Not wise at all.

8: To all my single sisters, before you make that all-important decision to marry that man, you must realize that, not only are you choosing your life's companion, but a father for your unborn children. Look at the man who is proposing-would you want your kids to be like him/share the same values and principles for life? If the answer to all the questions are positive, you may take the step after prayerful considerations.

9: No matter how grown up one is, one can never out grow being pampered by one's parents. 

10: Even when someone has done wrong, in dealing with  the situation, never ever condemn the person. Always condemn the act and be mindful of the fact that, God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.

11.  Trust is a biggie in any relationship and when we do anything to tamper with it, it would require lots of time and effort to build back.

12. No matter how we seek to justify our wrong decisions, the fact remains that, there are always better, positive, humane and more godly options available, if only we can think deep enough.