Cleaning out the Closet...

*Hoovering the dust*
**Side note: But One, this is getting kinda old! *sheepish smile*

Hiya everyone.. It's been a while..

So I was reading an article on Myne Whitman's page here about who gets to keep the engagement ring after a breaking off of the engagement?
The comments were quite interesting but majority of the people supported the fact that it should be returned to the guy since he probably bought it.

Now, I have never been engaged so I don't know what I would do, I guess probably return it to the individual but also I have come to realise that it may also depend on how the engagement ended...

Now, I want to ask as well, after the end of a relationship, do you return the gifts ie the ones that are quite significant and/or expensive?

When I was going out with HOG, one of the great things he used to do very well was give gifts - very nice and poignant ones.
In the past, I haven't had any qualms about using an ex's gifts after breaking up but this one is kinda a bit different and I have been wondering what to do.. To keep? To continue using? To discard? To give out? To sell?

So he loves jewellery a lot and I got a few from him. One of the first gifts he got me was this expensive friendship bracelet which he had a similar type.
On our 'first week anniversary' he gave me a nice Swarovski necklace that had some kind of significance (there was some explanation involved)
He also got a matching ring over Christmas (not engagement) but another thing we had in common, as well as a nice watch.
On another occasion, he got me another nice necklace

So, a while after we broke up, I stopped wearing these things cause:
1. They were quite personal
2. I saw him a few times and I didn't want him to see me wearing them (*covers face*)

Thing is sometimes, I think "What's the big deal, they are mine now" and other times I'm like why are you still holding on to these things.

I have been tempted to sell them (££ hehe) or give them away or give them back.. But I have some reservations about thse options.

At the moment, they are just lying in a box on my bedside table and I'm thinking 'what a waste!'

So what do you think, to keep, to give back, to give away or to make some money? :-)

xxxx

In need of a Miracle?

Miracle: An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and is held to be supernatural in origin r an act of God (www.freedictionary.com/miracle)

I don't know if you believe in miracles, but I DO! God does miracles. 'Big', 'small', 'medium'.. He does them.

Many people have tried to take the glory from Him by terming it a "coincidence", a "mistake that was not detected", "mis-diagnosis" etc But one thing I know is that it was God and only GOD!

(read my lips or watch me type) HE IS A MIRACLE-WORKING GOD!

God works on a day to day basis, it's either we fail to recognise it or sometimes very comfortable with the available physical resources or sometimes 'managing' the situation. But I tell you, God desires that you and I have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). He is still working! You can go back to Him and ask Him for yours! Don't be satisfied with average, be hungry for more and let God in His awesomeness fill that hunger.

I want to share what happened to someone I know recently and I believe that it will touch somebody, encourage your faith in this mighty God and believe in Him for your miracle. God says in His word, All things are possible to all who believe (Mark 9:23)... Including that 'impossible' situation!

Let's call her Divine.
So Divine had been dealing with this protracted illness for so long. It had to do with her womb and there seemed to be no way out. She always fell ill and had multiple Doctor appointments. Eventually the Doctor said that in order to prevent her developing cancer, the only solution was to have a hysterectomy ie take out her (uterus) womb. Implication being that Divine will be unable to conceive naturally. Meanwhile, Divine is a young lady and not yet married.

It was a very difficult decision to make but in order for her to prevent something even more fatal, she had to consider having it done, hoping against hope for the best. Now, the date for this had been fixed. A day to this procedure, she raised a prayer request at her Home Cell Group, a simple prayer was said and everyone prayed that God will intervene (in fact most of the prayer point was that God make it successful, let there be no complications etc).

Well, we serve a God who does beyond our expectations, beyond what we can ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). The next day as she was being wheeled to the theatre, they did the routine pre-operation scan and to the Doctor's amazement, he saw nothing.. Yes, you read that right, NOTHING! He was very surprised to say the least. He exclaimed saying "this is not what we saw the last time!" and immediately, Divine said "God has done it!"... He asked her to repeat her statement and she said it "God has done it!".. He said well whatever you believe in, hold on to it! She got up and walked out of the hospital in floods of tears.. God just changed her life! And HE turned it around from something that would have changed her life in another terrible way to a miracle!

This happened about a fortnight ago in a very good British Hospital where things are checked meticulously and where they try to avoid having operations on the National Health Service (NHS) - so the Doctors must have been certain that they saw something that had to be removed. The Doctor saw one thing weeks before but GOD corrected it in His own wonderful way! We call Him" the Surgeon who operates without spilling blood!"... The Balm in Gilead, The Mighty Healer, The Jehovah Rapha, The One that has the FINAL say, the MIRACLE worker, the same God yesterday, today and forever!

I tell you, God works, the bible says that there is NOTHING impossible for Him to do, if HE could part the red sea to make a way for His children, your case is too small. If HE could bring out water from a rock, how difficult can your issue be? If HE could send down manna from heaven? What is it that you are asking for? If HE could raise Lazarus from the dead after 3 days! What situation is too hopeless for Him to sort out?

I can tell you countless experience of miracles from a personal point of view and even from others.. You can even read more in Aloted's account here and here

God is able to do ALL things, do you believe right now? Then hold on TIGHTLY to Him for that expectation

xxxx

Let's talk about SEX!

I know you would be eager to read this post.... hehehehe

Today, I just wanna share an excerpt from a message given by Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo this morning at the RCCG Youth Convention in Nigeria (Yup! I'm a bonafide RCCG-ite :-D)

Judging from my 2 previous posts, the issue of sex is one that a lot of people are interested in for a variety of reasons. For some, it's that we they are looking forward to it excitedly, some are wanting to keep themselves from it until it is done rightly in the context and security of marriage, some are looking to get away from it as it has been dabbled in before marriage and are looking for a way out.

We certainly need to know more about sex from God's point of view and I hope that the following write-up will help someone who reads this blog:

(It's quite lengthy but it's worth the read)

LET's TALK ABOUT SEX

Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 6: 23-27

Be careful what you take in, the music and movies you watch could desensitizes you to the truth. It is the truth you know that will set you free.

Colossians 3:5-6

You are to honour God with your body, sex is not allowed outside marriage.

Even though Nike may say 'Just do it!" You're not to with SEX!

The simple thought of sex crossing your mind is not a sin but the desire for sex is the sin!

Sex goes beyond the physical, it's spiritual and emotional!

In the bible, when a man sleeps with his wife the bible says "He knew his wife" but when a young man sleeps with an unmarried woman the bible says "He laid with her"

Don't let anybody deceive you, you can know them by their words. e.g "You don't need to tell anybody what we are about to do!"

If a guy comes to you with a condom, he is a con(artist) and you are dumb!

Virginity is something you give away and not what is taken from you by force! If you were violated and tampered with, only your virginity is broken, you destiny isn't, so don't mess up yourself! You are still so precious in God's sight. God values you, He values your body so honor Him with it!

85% of those who live together before getting married end up divorced. 50% of marriages in UK and 80% of black marriages in US end up in divorce!

If you sell yourself cheap, you end up being treated anyhow. A man who cannot treat you like a lady doesn't deserve you and any woman who cannot treat you like a prince doesn't deserve you!

Don't start what you can't handle! The skin is only a few centimetres deep and beneath that skin, there are 18million nerves passing information round. When ever someone touches you sexually, your nerves sends info that are stored somewhere in your brain. That's why when you see the person later you remember the touch! You have imprints of people on your life through sexual relationships.

Don't let anyone touch you in a way that is not holy. From hugs to kissing and then the deed happens unplanned!

Once you mess up your sexual life, it messes up your spiritual life! Get it right!

Exodus 26, 27 gives a summary of the Tabernacle. It was divided into the outer court, the Holy place, Holy of Holies. As a human being, your body is the outer court, your soul the holy place and your spirit the holy of holies!

The outer court gave access to many levities and they brought their sacrifices there. Your body is your outer court many people will have access to you, you'll meet many boys/girls but be careful, many will come and go. Proverbs 4:23

Only the priests were allowed into the holy place. The holy in your body is your soul. Your emotions are conceived there. Before you let anyone touch your soul, be very careful! The reason many broken relationship ends up a soul tie is because they let someone else make an impact on their soul and no matter how much they try to forget the person it is difficult.

Guard your soul, don't let just any nice person get in. The holy place had a lampstand in it, anyone who must get into your holy place was be a lamp. Ladies, any man that wants to court/date/marry you must have more light than you already have! He needs to be the lamp! Don't settle for less!

Only the High priest was allowed to enter into the holy of holies (Hebrews 9:7) ! He had to break through the veil to get in. There is only man allowed to get into you and that is your husband! When a man sleeps with a virgin, it's more than just sex! It's spiritual, it's a blood covenant!

Guys note, everywhere you go as a man and have sexual releases, your testicles will testify against you! The reason God gave you two testicles is because the bible says out of 2 or more witnesses, a statement is established (Deuteronomy 17:6).

There is a point when sexual activities goes beyond the physical, it becomes a demonic activity! It is spiritual!

Easy sex does not make more romance, neither does not give joy and happiness!

When you have sex while waiting to be married, you crush the foundation of your marriage

Don't let anyone blackmail you to stay in a relationship! After giving your life to Christ break away from every ungodly relationship!

Titus 2:11-12

To get out:

It requires the decision to maintain your integrity!

It requires a bold step to confront ungodly relationship you are in!

Break away and make a vow to be pure!

Keep yourself and honour God with your life!

No sex is safe sex!

Desire change, deny yourself!

I need your help please!

Hiya lovely people!

First of, I have good news, especially for Toinlicious and Aloted.. I am happy to say that captcha has finally gone! Our relationship is over - done and dusted :-D Thanks to Myne Whitman for showing me the way! (See, I value your wonderful feedback :-)

A huge thanks to everyone who commented on the last post (Let me just say, I'm really grateful for having very nice people who visit this blog)....

I was particularly touched to receive an email from a lovely lady who reads this blog and decided to ask for help for what is quite a dilemma for her in her relationship. I admire her desire to want to do the right thing and I say thank you to her for giving me the opportunity to share on here so that people wiser and more experienced than me can give her useful tips.... 'In the multitude of counsel, there is safety'...

She would really appreciate your input, thank you!

I am a lady in her twenties, I am a Christian who respects and adores God, although I am not perfect but I am trying. when I was in my teens I made a vow to God in church to keep myself and not have sex with any man till I get married. I got into a relationship 2 years later with a dude in my university and the issue of getting 'petty' came up, but one thing I always made sure i did before going into a relationship was 'define my vow and get him to understand the situation'...he said he understood and wasn't in a rush to do anything but fast forward 2 years later he started 'stylishly' demanding sex from me, I told him I couldn't give in (I always did the kissing, necking bla bla bla but no going further than that) so we had to break up.

A few months later, I fell in love and started dating again. This dude was crazy in love with me and as usual said he'll do without the sex because it's me he loves and not my body. That he did quite alright, but I noticed whenever we were together he was always getting 'touchy'...he'll start caressing and fondling and you know how hard it is to resist all that sometimes (I'm still very human)........ I'm not going to bore you with all the long story, but I ended up having sex with him last year.... I felt really bad giving it up despite the vow I made with God and all. The issue now is I want to quit the relationship because he's always very touchy whenever we are together and it's very hard to resist that and I don't wanna keep going back to sin. but at the same time, I am really scared that I may not be able to get over him or find someone else cos we've been together for 5 years.

I know it may seem like I am so tied to him, but the truth is I love him with all my heart and I always wish I'd spend the rest of my life with him but he's always leading me to sin...typical example, I could just be lying down and working on my laptop and he'll just come and start touching my butt, boobs n all and the funny thing is he knows where to touch to get me very aroused. then eventually I give in and we get very sexual...but afterwards, this very weird and painful feeling of regret and guilt fills my soul and I just can't shake it off. it's like I feel I've let God down over and over again.

I'd appreciate some advice or comments or anything, because I am tired of fighting this battle alone.......it's really weighing me down and all...

P.S - We also work for the same organisation and in the same department, so you can now begin to imagine how hard a break-up will be.

Help Please? God bless you all! xx

So we Kissed....

I have a confession.. don't take it personal. I have a confession (please) you gotta listen.. (Thank you D'banj! :-)

Ok, on a more real note, I have wanted to write this post for a while but I haven't had the 'energy' to do so but I feel that it is quite important to do so.

Some of you may remember the note 'Taking it Back Old School' where I expressed how I desired my relationship / courtship to be like and hoped it would work out that way. I think I wrote it a few months to my next relationship. I knew that in order to achieve something, it was important to plan ahead for it. I wanted to 'purpose in my heart' like Daniel in the bible did concerning certain decisions, dos and don'ts in my relationship with the One so that things wouldn't 'just happen'. Summary of the post was that before marriage, I wanted to do zilch / nada / nothing sexually with my intended.. so including but not exclusive of kissing, 'quaving' (I don't know if that word still exists!), petting, necking, rubbing etc etc lol

Anyways, thanks to you wonderful people, I had so many encouragements and comments and 'yes you can!' and 'Yes, I will too!'. It was something I desired intently to adhere to and sometimes I would tell my friends, speak it, plan towards it etc.

So, when I met this Christian, tall, talented, gorgeous human being whom I totally totally 'digged' a few months down the line, I was like YES! Thank You Jesus. It was a very flash-fast point from properly meeting / talking / liking / joy / relationship. In fact, point of interaction to relationship was under 1month (God is good! lol). He ticked all the boxes and the most important thing and attractive for me was his walk/relationship with God (that has the potential to make me fall in love with you in seconds haha + the extra summin' summin').

So the day he 'asked me out' (lol) aka for us to become exclusive, inside I was dancing but I was like ok, before I answer, I just have to set out some things and what I had wanted my relationship to be like so I shared with him the 'Taking it back Old School' vision - that was the deal breaker ( I even showed him the post!).. He was mega impressed and totally sold on it agreeing that it was what he wanted as well and could definitely abide by it by God's grace. Haa I was like singing "Jesus, I love you oh!" lol.

The next few weeks was great! We saw each other weekly (we lived in different cities) and it was lovely, just holding hands and hugs when we see + talking, sharing plans and hopes and vision for the near and distant future - it felt GREAT!... But as the days grew by, my attraction shot up by 1000 x 1000 x 1000! I was like mehnnnnn what manner of dilemma is this one? You mean actually 'no kissing'? Oh my! Lord have mercy!

So, One initiated the first kiss.. Yes I did.. I was just like nothing more, just the kiss (I didn't say it loud, just thought it) and it just felt very good, like *sigh* with a tinge of guilt. But as we know, usually after the first taste, other things are bound to follow. We didn't have sex or go deep but there was some kissing and touching (Lord please protect this post from my mother!).

Anyways, why am I sharing this with you? I want to be quite honest with you. From my heart, this was something I wanted to do ie taking it back old school. Not just for the sake of achievement or punishment but more because I honestly wanted to honour God in that way. I have seen people who have done it and I really wanted to commit my relationship to God and honour Him in every way possible. That was my decision and commitment to Him + there are so many things that have started innocently and small and trivial and have ended in a way that we never expected nor planned and I don't want to take that risk at all!

So, I kissed + more... I didn't 'old school' it at all! BUT, I repent. I want to take it God school by God's grace. We broke off the relationship and in a way I thank God for the perspective it's brought back again. I know it's easier said when you're not in a relationship and the attraction is not there to propel you but I believe it's possible. God knows I sincerely want it to work in a way that is pleasing to Him and in a different way for Him.

I have decided that I won't give up my desire and given the opportunity and grace, I would attempt it again - only by GRACE. I have also learnt a lot of things for my future relationship that I hope to share in coming posts.

Also, may I encourage you that if you made a pledge / commitment / decision and for one reason or the other you have failed to do so, God is wonderful in the way He has mercy and forgives, He never gives up on you and I so don't give up on yourself irrespective of how many times you have tried! I believe that He honours effort and gives grace to achieve.

So, ladies and gentlemen, One is taking it God's School! .... So help me God :-)

The 100th One! Yayy!!

This is my 100th post on 1 + The One, yay!! I don't even know what to say but laugh hehehehehehe.. I'm smilinggggg... Thank you Jesus! I have actually never celebrated a landmark on here so allow me to be happy :-D :-D

So as you may have guessed, I am intrigued by relationships :-)

I love love, and everything about it! I love the love of God and I love the love that I have experienced thus far in my life..

I have always wondered if it is worth falling in love even if it doesn't last or it's cut short. So, would you rather fall in love and experience heart-break it's end or would you rather not love at all than go through the whole hurt.. 

Hmmmmm, I've always wondered as sometimes depending on what frame of mind I am in at the time, I'm like 'Oh, I don't regret being with him at all, the joys of being in love with him I will not trade at all' and other days I'm like 'Oh Lord, if you knew it would not work out, why did you make it happen? I would rather have not than have to face this intense sadness'.... You see, I belong to the category of people who when they love, love hard! It doesn't happen easily but when it does, it hits hard!

So what do you think? Which school of thought do you belong to?

To love and lose but be grateful for the experience or to love and lose and wish you never had to go through it?

At the moment, I'm in a grateful place so I am dedicating this post to HOG!

You have a special place in my heart bebe! Love you still xx

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Hi all!!



So, I was very chuffed and grateful when I went on one of my very favourite bloggers site and saw that I had a .. *drum roll* nomination from him as an inspiring blog *awww*.
"I would like to thank God - The ultimate One, my family, friends, fellow bloggers who have inspired me to no end, faithful readers / commenters, God again, enemies for being wonderful audiences as He sets a table before me :-P " iKid.. But seriously though, I'm truly gratefully.

The truth is I find his posts so wonderfully encouraging and every time he writes a comment on any of my posts. they.. 'make sense gan' lol. He is an incredibly wise and focused man and if he wasn't the one who nominated me, he would have definitely made the list below!

Set Watchman, thanks so much!!!! And as you make a way for others, you will always achieve your dreams! Please check out his very fantastic blog here.

So here goes, these are the rules!

1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you. (Should I be ashamed to admit that I don't know how to do this? Help Plssss!)
3. State 7 things about yourself
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them.
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and award's requirements.

7 things about myself:
1. I love singing and dancing, music and songs. I sing anyhow, anywhere - on the road, in the shower etc :-)
2. I love reading - haven't had the time to in recent times though.
3. I am not a TV / movie person at all.
4. My favourite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
5. I attend the Redeemed Christian Church of God and one person in the whole wide world I would love to spend 'learning' time with at the moment is Pastor E.A Adeboye  (Oh bonus, I LOVEE Pastor Agu Irukwu)
6. I am a 'people-person' but treasure my 'home-time'. Family is a major priority for me.. After God, comes family.
7. I am passionate about Jesus :-D I am in a place at the moment where I want to know Him more, fall deeeeeep in love with Him and cultivate an intimate relationship with Him. I love GOD.

Phew.. So that's a little bit of me.

Now to nominate 15 people *rubs hand in glee*

1. EROInspirations - I love this amazing woman. She is an inspiration indeed. Would definitely love to meet her! :-)
2. SayeDero aka The Fashion Engineer - An Engineer and fashionista extraordinnaire! I admire and I'm inspired by her creativity, sheer genius! 
3. Aloted - Another wonderful woman. Encourager through and through.
4. Myne Whitman - A wonderful writer and social activist :-) Has her own book published and is making it happen! Obviously loves what she does and is committed to it.
5. Boundless Line - A blog by different contributors who break down the ABC of God-ly relationships. Wonderful!
6. DollChic - Another lovely young woman of substance. Her faith and life inspires me.
7. GoodNaijagirl - The 'Thankful' lady :-) Always has a positive outlook to life.
8. Wailacaan - Witty, down-to-earth and lovely young Christian lady. Her writing style is lovely. Always a joy to read.
9. Solomonsydelle - One of my main inspirations for venturing into the world of blogging. Thank you! xx
10. Linda Ikeji - My other main inspiration to start blogging. Thank you! xx
11. From Now Till I Do - Beautiful woman with a heart for God. Love her insights into being newly married.
12. Chibundu - Such an achiever at a young age and a Christian who is not ashamed to publicly state it to boot! Inspiring!
13. Verastic - One of my early reads. Real and down-to-earth. Her writing style inspires me. I definitely see a talkshow in the offing!
14. My World of Acting - Lovely personality (well from her blog :-) and a great encourager.
15. The Alabaster Jar - One of my new finds but I have absolutely learnt so much! Again, focused on marriage, relationships et al.

So the list above is by no means exhaustive! All the blogs listed on the right hand corner of this page inspire me! I refer to them as my blog treasures. May God bless you all and continue to make you Lights in this world and an inspiration to others!

Loveeee xxxx

Lettin' that bad bwoy go!

So one of my friends asked recently during a discussion how a 'young heart moves on from a broken relationship with someone who is not good for them or someone who is maltreating her but can't seem to move on'.

Now, I I'm not an expert on this topic (and I hope never to be by experience! Lol) but I thought I may just share some of the points that I have found personally helpful when it comes to going through that process.

The truth is that a number of us have gone through what is referred to as 'wrong love' syndrome and the worst part is when for some, after the relationship ends, you are unable to or find it difficult to let go or move on.

So here goes, suffering from a broken heart + 'wrong love' syndrome and want to move on / let go? Hope this helps:

1. You need to want to move on. You need to come to a place of understanding that the relationship is not good for you and not for you. If you keep thinking 'what if', moving on will be extra hard.

2. You need to believe that you are WORTH a good man. If you are happy to settle with someone who is not good enough or who will not treat / celebrate you as you ought, it will be difficult for you to move on.

3. You need to constantly affirm yourself as the lady that God has made you to be and believe it. Books / audio messages help a great deal. Listen to some Joyce Meyer / Pastor Bimbo Odukoya / T.D Jakes / Christian friends for some encouragement. You need to hear things to reassure you that your self-worth is not determined by any man or relationship... Remember faith comes by HEARING!... Hear the right things!

3. You need to try as much as possible to avoid the triggers that remind you of that relationship. Not a total cutting off (although that's necessary sometimes) but avoid those things that bring back memories of both of you being together, as much as possible. Then also stop texting/calling/fbooking (even if it's just to 'check on him' - yup we all know that line! lol). Let considerable time pass before you begin doing that again.

4. Now, the most important and helpful thing for me is the assurance that GOD gives of who I am in Him, how much He loves me, and how much He has invested in me. At this point, you need that closeness with Him, pray for strength from Him. Cry if you want to, but everyday until it happens, ask God for the grace to let go. It may not come immediately, it may seem like it's getting to you badddd but the wonderful thing about committing things to God is that He has a great way of turning bad situations into great testimonies.

He may not come back but there's a reason why that door is closed and in due time, you will see it. Trust your faithful Father in heaven and patiently wait. You will certainly see it and thank God for it.
If he is yours, he will come back but not on your terms or by sitting idle waiting for him to realise he's made a mistake, you have to move on with your life by God's grace and let/watch God move on your behalf.

I can certainly testify that no matter how bad it seems, when you look back on it, you will have much to thank God for. Trust Him, He has only the best will for you.

So my friend, let that bad bwoy go! xxxx

PS there's no text book answer or solution as each person is different so please feel free to share your helpful points :-) God bless you xxxx

Thank God for Closed Doors!

I have been thinking and reflecting recently and today I listened to a wonderful message by Joel Osteen about 'The God who closes Doors'.

It was just a confirmation of the encouragement and words I have been getting from God. I will be writing from the point of relationships but please feel free to apply it as you deem fit.

So, I have been very very sad about the end of my last relationship. To be honest, I thought he was the One. Even though I had only known him for a short while, I was convinced it was one of those relationships that take off very quickly because you just KNOW... 

He was many things I had hoped and prayed for in my future partner. In fact I had admired him from afar and the fact that it became real made me want to sing and dance for joy. I was sooo in lovee! I kept thanking God everyday that not only did he bring someone into my life, He brought HIM.. It was an answer to my prayers and I felt a reward for all the time of waiting!

I don't think both of us would have ever thought that very shortly down the line we would be calling it quits and for no apparent reason. It just wasn't working out and I did not want to remain in something that wasn't 100%. I desire God's best and I wasn't ready for anything less no matter how attractively packaged it was. I must admit that I had my own issues etc but I don't think it was over the top. 

So when it ended, I cried and cried! I didn't even know it could ever get to me like that! I have had my fair share of disappointments in relationships so I thought it would just be one of those things but this one was different. I don't think I have ever felt this heart-broken and helpless before. 

Of course the next thing I did was turn to God.. I prayed and prayed! I asked God for mercy, to right the wrong. To make him come back... But He didn't or He hasn't and I have been so discouraged. What makes it worse is that there is no apparent reason why it had to end. 

... However, I am coming to understand that sometimes God closes a door to open THE door and like Joel Osteen said in his message, He loves you too much to give you less when you cry for it when He knows that the best is coming! Our thoughts/visions/plans are way limited compared to what God has in store for us. And sometimes He withholds what looks ideal to our human eyes to enable us get the real deal! 

..Sometimes though, He requires you to give up that precious thing to prove that without it you can still remain happy and content in Him. If He chooses, He brings it back, just like Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:!-19) BUT even if He doesn't, know that He has not a shred of wickedness in Him.. All God has for you and I is love and He ONLY ever wants the best for you.

Be encouraged, you and I don't know what God has just saved us from because our sight is limited but in due season, you will come to know and appreciate Him even more. Right now, all you can do is trust in Him, thank Him in all situations and wait with the right attitude for the very BEST He has for you.

Lots of love xxxx

Smell it, go right ahead and eat it!

Please if you are not going to eat it, don't smell it/stare at it longingly!

This goes for both ladies and men... It just helps a lot of people and it would mean preventing a LOT of heart-break(s).

If you know you are not interested in being in a relationship with someone, Please, please and please don't act like you are. The least you owe them is honesty and transparency. Don't lead them on..

And by that, don't spend endless minutes/hours on the phone with them because 'I like talking to you'..

Don't introduce them to important people in your lives..

Don't share the odd kiss, holding intimately etc with them and then have it at the back of your mind that it's 'no strings attached'.

Don't go out to eat together, go on cinema dates outings, go bowling alone and say 'I like your company that's all'.

Don't text/chat/bbm endlessly with them just 'for the fun of it'.

State your intentions, let them be clear from the beginning. You do the person a great disservice by toying with their emotions. And there's a thin line between love and hate, especially when the heart is involved!

I'm just sharing this because I have heard so many experiences of guys and ladies who are heart-broken because they 'thought', and by all indications, you wouldn't blame them for 'thought-ing'.

You and I know when someone likes you more than being just friends, if you have any iota of respect for them, maintain your distance if you know you are not interested. Yes, it's difficult - hey, who doesn't like the attention but be kind. It could be your sister/brother/son/daughter tomorrow.. It could even be YOU!

A lot is said to people to 'wake up and smell the coffee, see the signs' but this is an appeal to the other side, please have mercy. Just have mercy!

God bless xx