Posts in Dear Mentee

2020; Our return to the blogosphere

Dear Mentee Life Diary 3 Comments

Guys…I was waiting for 2020. Waiting for it. We’re in 2020. It’s been great so far, yes. One reason why I was waiting for 2020 was so I could pick up blogging again. Here I am though, super reluctant to post.

Why? There’s some desire to only put out content that very obviously teaches or exhorts because of the increasing number of blog readers I have. This desire is stalling my blog updates in the anticipated 2020 (Zaza and I used to tag 2020 because with law school ending, there was going to be time to focus on other assignments). 

However, resuming from my writing (not just blogging) hiatus needs some warm-up and the best warm-up is just to journal and keep journalling. Journalling tends to be gisting.

So guys.. Let’s gist

Wait a bit. In further support of my stance to chill-blog is this post, I refer you to a post I uploaded some two years ago where I encouraged (lifestyle) bloggers to feel free to blog their shopping list one day and ‘change the world’ in a blog post the next.

Now, our gists.

I saw a writing sometime recently that says “Kindness is doing to each person, some good each day“. That breaks it down some bunkers, doesn’t it? So kindness is more remarkable in my daily affairs when I do good to someone’s life. When I perform an act, I know what it is and I’m grateful for it. It was kindness when I informed and even helped register my classmates who had the same reg problems I had on a certain portal for final university clearance. It was kindness when I shared gems of wisdom to some of my best girls still in school at a cafe during our short meet up. Kindness, when my sister and i first had some girl talk involving planning various dinner gowns, and when we had spiritual and life building talk. It was kindness (or was it) when I had fun taking pictures with some of my friends (and when I took a pose which embarrasses and crashes my gentle girl credibility). Just add some good.

Ahah…in reference to the crashing of my gentle girl credibility. I did the pose. I really wasn’t doing it. I was joking with my girls and telling them on a light note that we’re conservative and boring with photo styles unlike the many poses we see online. Then I did the stoop, as an example, joking. Or so I thought, until the pictures were presented and we discovered my zealous sister had caught me on camera . My girls weren’t having it. They  got the picture with great joy and strength. Sighs.

Explaining here how there are so many poses we see online
Here’s how its done. And baam, photographer stores it for life.

In other news…I was at a wedding today. It was a double-wedding relating to a set of twins I love from university fellowship. We had to live in the same hostel at some point in university and we had a great time in fellowship.

It was a mini reunion for some of my friends from differing years back. 

With some friends I got to squeeze in some picture with
Sister D

This gets me to one of the gems I shared on friday – (especially if you’re still in university) Know that some of your best friends in life will be those you get in your ‘humble’ state. Without airs of achievements but preferably in the toils of service towards God and plainly desiring him. They’re some of the best friends you’ll ever have; without any fear of betrayal and with confidence that they can correct you at all times no matter what height you reach in life.

Another gem a university student may love to learn is this – invest. Invest in people. Give. Give your time and energy and money. Teach and pray for others in campus fellowship (and beyond). Don’t serve in fellowship half-heartedly. People never ever forget those that poured into them. Its moulding time.

That’s about all the gist I have for now dear people. In clearer terms, I’m back from law school and I got welcomed with imported goodies to munch on.

I also got back to my alma matter to finalize what I didn’t get to before going to law school. In the weeks to come, I’d be resuming my service year and taking on other projects.

I gave a compressed 2019 recap here, if you care for such. Much love and light.

To growth, beauty and confidence to blog again.

Debby.

DEAR MENTEE || Video hack

Dear Mentee 9 Comments

So I have this leading to start a segment where I write what’s desperately on my heart. Obviously, that’s what the entire blog is for, but this is different. On the blog, I’m addressing myself, addressing my future children and grandchildren, addressing you and your uncles and neighbours. This segment though is addressing my mentees or proteges, if you’ll like. The things that I desperately want to pass on to the younger ones (not only age wise) that’s what I’ll write here. They are some of the life tips I’ll tell my younger ones who come to sit beside me at night and say “advise me. Tutor me”. Its a broad range of advice.

 

The idea of this ‘dear mentee’ segment is really to reveal some tips and hacks about my life. Little structures that give me the result I get, that make me who I am, which I think you may want to learn from.

I wrote a blog post on how I use my gratitude journal here. I hope you read that and you’ve been abiding by it. Beyond that, I have a culture of recording short videos of and for myself. I have a number of them. Nothing specifically aesthetic, nothing intended for the gram or any social media. Simply for keepsake. It does nothing but help me worship God later on. Yoruba people say, the person that does not think deeply, cannot give thanks. Thanksgiving is not a function of what God has done for you, but what you remember and what you choose to do with what you remember.

The starting point is remembering, and don’t trust your mind to do that for you, it’s easily distracted and the little things which make up the big things.

This morning, I have spent time worshiping God for the process I’ve had this year. Right now, a video recording I once did of my morning devotions while in UI is playing on my laptop. I wish I could share the videos I have with you, but I’m not sure about the wisdom of that – being different personal videos, it’s not the safest thing I can do. I however think you should inculcate that attitude. Take short clips at wedding events with your friends, record your little sister having a fun game with you, record yourself narrating that instance that has stressed you out, record yourself returning from your first NLS CLASFON fellowship and what you thought about it, record yourself talking about your last week in UI, record yourself on your last day of your law school externship, record yourself when you feel depressed, when you feel ecstatic. At the end of the year, you won’t be able to say God hasn’t done anything for you. Your recordings will keep you in awe.

This video clip by Pastor Sarah Omakwu is a wonderful one analyzing why David could not keep quiet or dance sanely when he remembered so many things. If you trust yourself to remember enough to always give thanks, discard this video idea. If you don’t, knock yourself out with it.

I hope you get introspective enough to truly worship God all the days of your life. I hope you value each moment and see HIS hand behind it.

It was bishop David Oyedepo who said (emphasized) “the Lord answers prayers, but HE inhabits the praises of his people”. He lives in it.

 

I hope this has helped. Much love from this end of the hub,

I remain your sister, Debby

Dear Mentee || What you should know about the word think-tank

Dear Mentee Educative 4 Comments

…and other English words.

So I have this leading to start a segment where I write what’s desperately on my heart. Obviously, that’s what the entire blog is for, but this is different. On the blog, I’m addressing myself, addressing my future children and grandchildren, addressing you and your uncles and neighbours. This segment though is addressing my mentees or proteges, if you’ll like. The things that I desperately want to pass on to the younger ones (not only age wise) that’s what I’ll write here. They are some of the life tips I’ll tell my younger ones who come to sit beside me at night and say “advise me. Tutor me”. Its a broad range of advice too.

This post has nothing major to do with the word think-tank, but it has everything to do with my attitude to the word.
I was reading someone’s profile on LinkedIn just now and I saw a reference made to a think-tank that she set up. I would’ve skipped over it since I had the basic understanding that it meant an initiative – an intellectual initiative. But I didn’t skip over it. I barely ever do. Words that I manage to question a bit in my head, I head over to my phone’s dictionary and do a crosscheck. I strongly believe this is a proper attitude to learning.

Make a habit of this and you’ll become so familiar with the words you already know including their context. What’s more? You’ll also become perceptive of the meaning of mere expressions of words you’ve never even heard of.
You’re welcome.

By the way, Think-Tank:

“(idiomatic) A group of people who collectively perform research and develop reports and recommendations on topics relating to strategic planning or public policy, and which is usually funded by corporate, government, or special interests.”

Notice how I largely fell short of the meaning earlier and the disadvantage of brushing over it.
Okay, Mentee, that’ll be it for today.

P.s: If you have recommendations of some great dictionaries for android, please let me know.

Till next time,
Debby.

Dear Mentee || The HolyGhost and Sleep

Dear Mentee Educative 3 Comments

So I have this leading to start a segment where I write what’s desperately on my heart. Obviously, that’s what the entire blog is for, but this is different. On the blog, I’m addressing myself, addressing my future children and grandchildren, addressing you and your uncles and neighbours. This segment though is addressing my mentees. The things that I desperately want to pass on to the younger ones (not only age wise) that’s what I will write here. They are the things I’ll tell my younger ones who come to sit beside me at night and say “advise me. Tutor me”.

Today, what’s on my heart is “your sensitivity to the Holyghost”.

I have been in meetings where the Holyspirit woke me from sleep to attend them. I have been in meetings I left for in the rain because my spirit was restless. None of those meetings have been in vain. I have been sleeping in vigils – on two distinct occasions, when the Holyspirit woke me up and said ‘Its time’. It always was time*.

I would’ve missed some blessings, had the Holyspirit not tugged at my heart till I gave.

Friend, you need this thing. Its called divine ordering of steps. The Holyspirit does it!! He did it for Philip and it is forever recorded for Philip that he led that Ethiopian Eunuch to Christ and many others through that means. Its seen in the entirety of Jesus’ life – He lived in sync with what he received from heaven. Don’t be blind to the spirit’s move per time.

If in your spirit, you never have the prompts, develop your sensitivity to the holyghost. Start first by having a relationship with him. These steps may help:

  • Tell him you want to be best friends
  • Study your bible and pray in the spirit
  • Read books (like those on Kathryn Kuhlman) and listen to ministers like Benny Hinn. These people because they have had wonderful relationships with him and teach us how to.

He is a person and he wants to be more real to you, than your friend is. More real to you than I am too.

That’s it for today. Do not miss out when others are getting help through this very means – let the spirit order your steps.

Till next time, mentee.

I remain Debby.

  • Because you’re my mentee, I’ll tell you bluntly : If you so like, go around sleeping at vigils, waiting for the Holyspirit to tell you its time, you go sabi.