Unconventional and not 'norm-al' Gratitude Journal Entry with Faith

         Hey there people!...How's your day coming along?Great innit??Are you consciously finding reasons to be #thankful already?....
    I think that my very essence struggles with conventions&many atimes I just stand out,showing a more excellent way....Hehehehe
Pay me no mind.The above is merely a glorified,funkified excuse for breaking rules out of love.
Let me explain;
   I uh,figure sometimes,we should be sensitive enough to be willing to break the norm(I should know about norms&norm breaking.I'm a sociologist afterall) especially in matters that regard doing God's will.
I think that God wouldn't mind(and neither should you)my unusual #Gratitudejournal post at this time of the day. However,she(Faith)couldn't send her post to me that night(phcn,bb battery ish) and I had to fill in for her.I'm glad she didn't give up and still thought of sending past her d̶e̶a̶d̶ lifeline.
Summary,she's chosen to be #thankful and i'm gonna make a discretionary exception to share her #gratitudejournal entry a̶n̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶m̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶....You berra be excited Day 26 is double portion day o! I am.

I present to you Ukpai,Faith LLB(there's such delight in using that suffix after half a decade (5years..lol))in school)

Faith
I'm actually nervous on this one
 *scratch that*
"you can't be nervous on Thanksgiving Day, oh! Night?"
(..And I'm seriously not having a conversation with myself, about myself)

That said. I don't even know where to start from (Aha! Gotcha! That's the famous "testimony opener" in Churches and all of you'd actually scream: "Start from the beginning! Start anywhere!")LOL!

There are strains of Hillsong's "Desert Song" playing in the background as I muse and type. That song's been on repeat today.
It captures the depth of my feelings through my recent experiences.
Hence, the things I'm most thankful for, today are:
Family
Friendship
These Five years
Trouble
These are mainstream, you say? No sir. They aren't. Not to me. They capture the story of a young woman in a strange land held and led by the hands of THE All-Knowing, all-Sufficient God.

CAVEAT: It's impossible to have 'testimony' without the gist, right? Kindly allow me tell mine with words and faces:)

Put the biro in this cassette, 'wind' it back five years. Frail girl turned woman. Sent off from the hills of the Plateau into the embrace of rusty roofs (The Lord bless the inhabitants of Ibadan).
First year, second year, the third? Up until the fifth? Clad in charcoal-black pencil skirts and shirts that could only earn you the sometimes unpleasant tag 'Abadina student'. Racing across faculties for lectures, for countless meetings and several functions, staying up nights 'fore exams to cram weird cases, whose names flew out of your head the moment they flowed through the vein(s) of your pen(s).
The platforms to love, serve and learn the ropes of being an active team member and a leader? You, only You, Principal Intriguer could have brought these opportunities. The L&D, TFI, CFI, INCEPTUM, MAYEIN amongst others. Picking up clay, moulding and re-moulding, breaking up, enriching with character and virtues and strengths.
I'm grateful for those days, Father. You ARE the solid Rock on which I stood and forever will still find my footing upon. Under those Everlasting Arms my soul found and still finds succour, love and peace. Ahh..!Lord and Saviour aren't just titles to both of us!

To adopt the (Western) Dictionary's definition of family? Nah..it'd be like kicking myself in the shin. So, for this next category of persons, 'tis with great honour I call 'em FAMILY plus I'm bowed with aeonian gratitude.
My father would call every day (yes, unfailingly! He'd ask if I'd fed his daughter- that became our joke). My mum became Confidant during this period, praying with me through difficult situations. Her story should definitely light up the pages of Stormie Omartan's "Power of a Praying Wife/Mother". My brothers and I would see only 6 times in 5 years? Parting was always difficult and sometimes, *sighs* tearful. Men of great global and eternal relevance you both are.
"Family is everything", one writer says. I agree. The Igbokwes, Ohihions, Amaojos, Andahs, you see? They created a place for me in their hearts and homes- and how I'd ever repay this huge debt of Love? The Paris Club ain't got those kind of resources . Plus did I also add that I was taking a class on "Family Life" at these points? The Lord sure knows how to fix a class.

"...We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)
I am not sure one can be excitable whilst writing a piece like this. So I can't seem to find myself howling or hollering on this one. It doesn't sound very intelligible simply saying 'Wow' to describe this group of persons, but I ask that you kindly indulge me.
That in His awesome wisdom, He would craft my times and embed into the vision called CFi keeps my knees infinitely bowed and my heart's faucet of praise forever turned on. Mrs. Aanu Oyinlana Akintounde, P. Sunny, Tessy, 'Fumibi, 'Sade, Pastor Chuks, the names would take up the whole length of this entry and perhaps more. You walked and talked Jesus, keeping this iron sharpened. Moreover, this seed could grow- especially because the environment supported life!
Grace Nenji- The memory of our first day in this City brings with it unbridled tears- of joy, of course.
Tosin Fatoyinbo, Brother and friend, all rolled up in one? I'm grateful especially because you'd look past the "Iron Lady" look on my face and tell me like it is, saving my head and soul in the process!
Kayode Oyewole, Emeka Ossai and Edem Andah, I watched your lives closely, in silence and in awe at the greatness God spins out of yielded, humble hearts.

So, here's to every single person who at some point or another, plucked at my heart's strings with bows of love. You were there as an attentive ear, a firm shoulder through an ordeal,you probably held a handkerchief for the tears (oh! I had a dam of those!), or was someone I shared laughter and great moments with, I've got a phial of those memories stored in a very special place in my heart. I bless each of you daily, as I stand before God, whether with word-laden praises or wordless groans, I give thanks for blessing my life with such fragrance.

I'm grateful for trouble.
*Double-take*
Yes, you read that right. I am grateful for trouble, for the night times of my life, for the days when God seemingly didn't make sense. The Spirit of God was brooding over the waters of my troubled mind, over all the confusion! Brother Hagin says it well; " you don't know nothing about faith until 'tis put to test/practice".
Hebrews 5:8 was given to me in a most humbling manner. I am a son, there are paths I must tread- whether by suffering that yields obedience; refining that births gorgeous gold, or the heir that is no longer a child and now worthy of the inheritance. I flunked many a class,wanted to give up too, but He held me firmly and with victory in tow, I rejoiced each time in wondrous Revelation- "My strength comes into its own in your weakness" (2Cor 12:9)

I can only say that if you've gone through this, you'd know that there's great gain. However, if you haven't, truth is, there are a lot of those classes you're gon' have to take. They serve to qualify you! Be encouraged knowing that you're never alone through this (why am I thinking of Liverpool now?) The Holy Spirit's the Best support system. He's Wisdom, Comfort, Teacher, Friend and more all rolled in Him!
For me, this is merely the scratching of the surface!
I am grateful all the way.

PS: I didn't feel this should come at you as a script, hence my apparent refrain from the usual public speaking embellishments. I simply wrote out the contents of my heart on Friday, August 24, 2013


Lizzie
Phewwww!..*fans self*....and y'all thought I could wax poetic like T.D Jakes? Nah nah nah
My friend just gave us all a run for our money.
Infact,I insist she's Sarah Jakes younger sister.
She has to be jor...LoL

Choi!no one's more grateful for this graceful, unusually gifted woman of God.
Bless your heart Faith!I'm #thankful for divine orchestrations that has linked our pathways.
I'm even more grateful for the conclusion of the seemingly unending school phase.
The testimony of Faith is the possibility of Lizzie.I'll be out just in His beautiful time.

God'll throw and make mincemeat of the bounds of your knowledge of Him dear....and in no small measures too darling...All the way!

Okay Lizzie,come and be going,this is not your post...lol.

Thank you for stopping by people!...Don't quit the attitude o'gratitude today.
Decidedly enjoy those benefits.They are for you folks!


'Till we catch up in the evening for our 'normal' #gratitudejournal entry,(i'm not even gonna give in to the temptation of telling you how remarkable my guest blogger is gonna be tonight)...uh,did I just do what I said I won't do?....ugh!...*sighs*..

Oh well,till then...Cheers people!

Live Resplendently!