30 Days of Intentionally Seeking God: Day 19

Preamble

Hello and welcome.

How was today?

God is good…

Lets ride in as usual…

Prepare it

In recent times in my church, the messages that has been preached by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has centered on ‘Planting, Seeds, Growth and Harvesting.

Call it agricultural messages

There are basic requirements for planting, such as:

• The condition of the seeds to be planted
• The soil to be planted on
• Availability of adequate water
• Access to sunlight
• The presence of weeds, parasites and destructive animals
• Presence of manure if needed.
• A caretaker

Without these basic requirements, planting a meaningful seed to expect fruits may turn out to be a waste of any effort.

To plant, you need to prepare well. The soil needs preparation.

Different plants need different preparations. Some are delicate and some are not.

Different plants need different portions of the basic requirements.

But for any seed, there has to be a preparation of the soil it would be planted in.

For any service I am intentional to attend, I am intentional to prepare my heart for it.

Because God has prepared something for me as well

Doing this helps me to remain sensitive to what God is doing in the service.

My attenna remain up for a specific word for my life thus I do not take any part of the service for granted.

God has something for you

Matthew 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.(KJV)

Prepare well

Do not prepare anyhow.

Prepare intentionally. Prepare well. Prepare with expectations.

Do not prepare half-way. Prepare well.

God has something for you

As I prepare my heart to receive from God in any church service, I carefully watch out for the state of my heart and spirit.

I am careful to look out for distractions, and an unstable spirit because it is easy to miss God’s blessings due to distractions.

Pass me not oh gentle saviour. Hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling do not pass me by….

Matthew 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.(KJV)

Manage your requirements

Do not be careless with your requirements.

Use them well.

Requirements include:

• The word of God
• Prayer
• Repentance
• Spiritual people
• Worship and praise

Use your requirements well.

Prepare with faith

Prepare knowing that God is ready to bless you.

Prepare knowing that you will not leave empty handed.

Prepare with expectations knowing that God will come prepared as well.

For every gathering in the name of Jesus, God prepares special packages and those who are ready, they will receive.

To receive well, we need to be prepared well because receiving well depends on how you are ready to receive.

If you are prepared for small, you will receive small.

If you are prepared for more, you will receive more.

More will be given to whom is ready for more

Accompainment

On YouTube, I made a video that complements this post.

After preparing and receiving from God what next?

That video addresses what next to do after receiving.

Click CAN YOU KEEP IT to watch.

Prayer

LORD, thank you for today. Thank you for everything. Thank you for the soil of my heart. I present my heart that you make it a suitable soil for your word. Help me to prepare well for all the good packages you have prepared for me. Thank you because you are eager to bless me well. May I not lose out on your blessings due to lack of preparation. In Jesus name. Amen

Conclusion

I thought I was going to share this post in later days of this series but it rang loudly on my heart to share today.

I am blessed by it because it is one I practice often and I reap the results each time.

Thank you for being here.

Kindly share with others.

#daughterofabba

30 Days of Intentionally Seeking God: Day 18

Preamble

Welcome here.

Day 18..

Today, today….

Meditated on half part of this topic before the evening began and the later part after the evening began..

We begin.

Too uptight?

I have heard too many times that I am too strict.

If it is not my face, it would the tone of voice, the way I walk or my interest in serious conversations.

Many people have categorized me differently because of this and often tend to be careful when approaching me.

I on the other hamd do not fault them even though I sometimes feel awkward and displeased by this perception when it seems to be taken too far.

Most times, it seems as if I have to prove that I am not too uptight by verbally doing so or….

I cannot think of what else I have done to prove myself

I am a person who holds principles in high regard and follow them as much as possible. I enjoy intellectual conversations and will show more interest in them than casual ones. I believe that conversations should fill you up rather than drain you.

However, sometimes I do not always insist on having my conversations in these pattern.

This principle that governs my conversation also governs how I participate in physical activities. It has to be an environment where I can be filled and if possible have an opportunity to share intellectually and if a Christian gathering, spiritually.

But not everyone shares my principles and most times I come off as an uptight person who takes things too seriously.

Loosen up!

Recently, I spent time with some colleagues and I had a good time. I laughed deeply and was very expressive. I was comfortable because I knew them, and they knew me. We had share moments in the past before. We had fair conversations which were not exactly intellectual nor spiritual. They were light conversations which were not wasteful but were not as deep as the ones I often have.

In my perspective, I had loosened up but to another person what I just had was supposed to be a normal situation.

After the outing, I felt drained. I had enjoyed every moment but I still felt drained.

If this is what I get after loosening up, I prefer to ….

Most times when this word is used ‘loosen up‘ it is used to mean that the person in question acts self-righteous and such attitude makes other people feel guilty.

Loosen up! It is not that a bad idea

But is it a bad idea?

It is often used to make a person relax personal rules and principles in order to fit into an environment.

However, unless you come to a point when you understand why you do what you do, anybody can toss you as they please.

Why are you doing this?

Be firm with understanding

I enjoy being principled. It gives shape to my life. I do not in any way envy carefree people, they chose to be that way.

As a Christian, understanding the why’s has been of help in my journey with God.

I often ask God questions about things I do not understand. To me I am being open to Him about my doubts.

God answers

Today, I meditated on Moses and Joshua.

Moses was a great man, one who is still respected until today. A man whom God respected but he ended prematurely because he forgot his place.

He had familiarized himself with God to the point he felt he could take God’s responsibility.

How?

God asked him to speak to the rock instead he hit it.(Numbers 20:1-12)

He was trying to be angry for God and in the process he hit the rock trying to show the Israelite an example.

He was angry for God that he did not allow God to punish the Israelite but decided that it was now his responsibility to correct them.

Moreover, he had stood in for them many times. Why couldn’t he also correct them?

This single act of stepping out of his place denied him entry into the land he had worked hard for, for forty years.

Then came Joshua his successor who learnt his place and maintained it. Joshua initially timid to succeed Moses after being encouraged by God, did not step out of line and remained focused until he finished the assignment.

As I meditated on these two, I was encouraged to remain consistent and to know my place with God.

I learnt not to get carried away by what God is using me to do.

And will use me to do

But rather, I should always reflect back with the light of God’s word.

The same Moses who got ended due to the stubbornness of the people he was leading became the same Moses who was idolized after his death…..

Be careful. The people who may lead you away from God may be the same people who will mourn you the most.

O.R.A

Just a little sin? Try it na? It won’t bite? Don’t be stiff…

But they would disappear after the consequences arrive.

I do believe in having fun and good times. It is refreshing and relaxing but even in these moments do not get carried away.

It is good to fight for good causes and to be heard for what is right but even in these moments know what you are fighting for and if God is leading you there.

2 Thessalonians 2:15  Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.(KJV)

Prayer

LORD, thank you for today. Thank you for everything. Help me to have definition for my life. Help me to be intentional with my life. Help me to remain firm in you. As I walk with you, may I not get carried away by distractions. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Conclusion

Thank you for being here.

Today’s meditation was intense for me and I will confess that I did not share it exactly but I hope you are blessed by what I have shared.

Kindly share to others.

Stay safe and God bless.

#daughterofabba

Why You Should Have Matured Older Friends

Preamble

It’s been a while…

But I am back again😌😌

There are tons of posts and projects to catch up with and I hope to have you here when they are shared.

Let’s hop into today’s post

🐗

Why

You should have older friends.

They can be your closest friends. They can be your ‘I can reach you when I need you’ friends. They can be your ‘I respect you so much and I can talk serious things with you friends’

They can be your ‘all round’ friends

You need older matured friends

When I was younger, I enjoyed the company of older people more than my peers and this affected how I viewed the world at large.

It also helped me understand how to respond to the environment in a more logical way.

I am a deep thinker and deep conversations are my favourites.

I love to know the whys and hows and reasons and outcomes.

All the ssssss

You should have older matured fruends because they have experience.

You are less likely to converse on irrelevant topics.

You are more likely to feel refreshed and educated after listening to them.

Older

I intentionally used older because there are peers who are quite matured in their reasoning but they miss the experience part.

They are many things I can talk about from the logical point of view but my experinece on them is minimal.

There are things I talked about several times but when I got to experience them, it was different and my response afterwards was deeper.

Matured

Matured

That is the word.

Age is not the only factor. Age is only needed because of experience.

Older friends can be of little help to your life if they input the wrong ideas into you.

They have to be people who are logical and rational and can give you balanced responses even when it does not favour you.

You need matured older friends who can look you in the eye and say “You are wrong” and they say it because they love you.

And you know it

You need matured older friends who can comfort you and encourage you when you are beaten down by life.

You need them because they can help you get redirected when you lose focus or you are stepping in the wrong path.

Friends

They have to be people you can be comfortable with.

Maybe you are afraid because you dislike corrections.

Be honest

But if the person does not treat you poorly or belittle you then it is a high chance you will be comfortable with them.

No relationship should be forced but you can learn to grown certain relationships.

Rewind ⏮

You do not necessarily need to be mushy mushy around them. They do not need to treat you like your peers do, they do not need to be funny and kajagagahah

I am back with weird words. Forgive me

You need to be comfortable enough to share important details with them that they can give you concrete advice on.

At some point in my life, the only friends I could call my closest where older female friends and honestly, I was sincerely biased and kind of proud of myself but over the years, I am learning to expand my thought on relationships and age group.

So

To you out there running away from solid relationships becasue you dont want to hurt your feelings with the right stuff, keep running away from healthy stuff

Dont run away. Walk back.

Recently, the only people I could confide in where my older friemds and their support made a huge difference. They were all in different locations but gave the same words of encouragement to me. It was super refreshing to experience them.

The truth is: I am not super mushy with all of them but I can be open with them and that matters a lot.

And because I am called a too serious person at times, I fit better in the older people category😂😂

Real life talk.

You need matured older friends who will pray for you.

How to find them

Be interested in finding them.

They are around you

At church. At your working place. In your neighbourhood. At your friend’s neighbourhood.

They may be living in the next street or down the school in your locality.

Your pastor’s wife. Your friend’s mother.

Your mother.

Your pastor. Your friends’s older brother or sister.

Your father.

Your parent’s friends. Your mother or father’s friend.

The cousin of a classmate you got aquainted with.

Okay, I tried ☺

They could be anyone that you have taken time to notice or have heard of then and then taken your time to observe.

They may have even opened the floor for interactions.

Like : ‘If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me. Here is my number when you need it”

I know a lot be going on with trust but good people still exist.

You need them as a single and you need when you marry (if you do).

What does the Bible say?

I love this part of the post because it is the balance point of my sayings…

You are who you spend more time with.

The conversations you encourage tell a lot about your focus, and values.

The more you spend your time improving your perspective about life, you get better.

When you spend time with matured people whose perspective is well balanced, you become one as well.

When you have the right people, making mistakes will be rare.

There is more safety with the right advice and especially when it is from more than one person.

I love this particular verse and appreciate it as well. Practicalising it has been quite helpful.

What will do next?

• Appreciate the ones in your life
• Respect them more
• Pray for them
• Reach out to them
• Discover them
• Think about it

You can pick as many as you wish 😊

Conclusion

This should be my first time using this heading 🤔

Thank you for being here and if you enjoyed this post, kindly share to others.

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All media used in this post were made by me and as for the cover picture for this post, the artwork was modified and is not in its original format.

The original may be added to the Digital Art page.

Until next post, stay safe and God bless.

#daughterofabba