Category: Lifestyle

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7 Life Lessons Blogging Has Taught Me.

Hi guys! I hope your week went well?

Well mine was quite challenging but I’ll share that another day.

I’ve been a blogger for 2years now and I must confess, it has been an interesting ride. The ups and downs have opened me up to a different part of life.

The blogosphere is a very interesting place. Some people start and within a month, they have booming stats while others struggle to be heard for years.

A lot of people do not see bloggers as serious people. They are of the notion that blogging is just for fun but they’re unaware of the challenges involved. Blogging is a fulltime job for some people, just a passion for other people and both for most people.

These are 7 life lessons that my two years of blogging has taught me.

1. Consistency is key: Blogging has taught me to be reliable, dependable and firm. It was easy for me to be inconsistent when I didn’t have a reasonable size of audience but when I grew to a certain level where I knew I couldn’t disappoint the people who looked up to me and read my blog, I stepped up. I remember when I first picked Friday as my chosen day for blog posts, I struggled within myself, not for lack of content but time and other factors but I knew I didn’t want my blog to be taken for granted because in the blogosphere, out of sight IS out of mind so whether my phone or laptop’s battery is low, I don’t have data or I even have tons of assignment and tests, I know I need to have a post ready by Friday morning and this has really paid off because the feedback I get after each post is amazing and mind blowing. Keep the love coming guys, I’m always thrilled to read your comments and know that my sacrifice was worth it.

2. People are watching you: I can’t remember the first time I was called “blogger” but when people started calling me that, I was surprised. Me? Blogger? The thing is, when I started blogging, I didn’t know what blogging really was but I knew I was doing something I love and I just continued. I didn’t see it as “blogging” which is my reason for doing many things wrong when I first started (story for another day). In a nutshell, people started calling me “blogger” even before I called myself that. Your actions define you to people.

3. Networking is very important: I have suffered a lot from this because Vet school does not give me time to network and collaborate with other bloggers much. I am on The Blogger’s Advocate WhatsApp group where helpful tips are shared everyday and sessions are taken on different aspects of social media and blogging. It’s a group for bloggers where we have professionals and people who can help you in every area of blogging but I’m hardly ever able to chat on the group. I get to skim through the messages and go through the links posted on the group once in a while and it really helps. The need to meet and rub minds with people with similar passion as you can not be over emphasized. I’m planning a Zaria/Kaduna bloggers meet up soon, I pray it works. It’s meant to be a very enlightening, educative and fun time where we get to invite professional bloggers from outside our area.

4. Get Knowledge: Like I earlier said, when I started blogging, I knew very little about what I was doing but as time went on, I saw other blogs and knew something was wrong. I went on to read more about areas where my blog was lacking and I started implementing changes where necessary. I still have so much to learn and my blog is not “there” yet but I can proudly say I have gained enough knowledge from reading and watching videos online and trainings to coach a new blogger and even some old ones.

5. You will never have enough time: I stopped wishing God would add more hours to my day when I realized how foolish it was. There are days I feel like 24hours aren’t enough. I have so many things to do and so many ideas but very little time. I get so worried about this sometimes and end up doing nothing. You have to make time for whatever it is you really want to do.

6. You need people: Humans are the most important entities on earth so if you always have issues with them, you need to find a way to solve that. My greatest motivation have come from people. After the Holy Spirit, encouragements, and love from people have made me continue blogging. My best friend is my biggest motivation but apart from him, I have so many friends that support and encourage me; Hadiza, Oluwatobi Oso(I disturb Tobi A LOT concerning my blog and he always puts me through and encourages me), my very beloved Joyce, Daniel and Sharon to mention a few. You really can’t do things on your own.

7. Find your passion and pursue it!: What are you passionate about? Find it and invest into it.

I’ve learnt so much from blogging that I’d love to share but digest these seven for today.

I found a new favorite blog this week and I hope to tell you guys all about it soon.

Don’t forget to comment and subscribe via your email just below ↓.

Enjoy your weekend and see you next week!

❤❤❤

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Cry for help

Last Saturday, God decided that this post had stayed long enough in my head, it had to come to the blog. I had had this post in mind for a month now but Koinonia’s Saturday’s message “The Mystery of Genuine Brokenness” prompted me to write.

Here we go, I pray this blesses you.

My heart sank!

“No, please, no..”

My phone had just fallen into a big bowl of water. I picked it up to switch it off immediately since the battery was inbuilt and there was little or nothing I could do to open up the phone.

“I really hope it comes back on…” I mumbled as I tried to remove the phone cover and put it outside under the sun.

It was my first year in the university and I had been washing plates outside my hostel room when the tragedy occurred.

I tried putting the phone back on but it came on only to go back off. It repeated that sequence countless times and I knew there was no hope.

“What do I do now!?” I asked myself, tears stinging the corners of my eyes and threatening to fall.

I had just fixed the phone two days ago and this is happening again!

And to think that I didn’t have enough money to last me the month, talk more of money to fix phone.

My day was ruined. I went back to my hostel room and sat on my bed, staring blankly into space.

All my lectures for that day were affected, I couldn’t concentrate.

“I can’t ask mommy or daddy, I just collected money from them yesterday and they’re aware of the fact that I fixed my phone recently because they paid for the repair.”

I had materials I had downloaded for school on the phone which I was yet to transfer to my laptop.

Coupled with my numerous social media accounts, (both mine and those I’m managing for people).

My blogs also were on the phone, my gmail, email, etc.

My phone is my office, I prefer my phone to my laptop. Now this calamity had befallen my phone and I had no hope or so I thought.

After spending a day in misery, I decided like the prodigal son that I’d go back to my father, (just that in this case, I decided to go to my mother).

As I went up the stairs to my mom’s office, I rehearsed what I was going to tell her.

When I got into her office, she looked up and smiled.

“Mama bawoni” (Meaning “Mama how are you- My mom calls me “Mama”)

“I’m fine ma” I answered.

“You don’t look fine. What is it?”

Grabbing this opportunity, I narrated my ordeal to my mom concluding it by saying “Mommy I know you gave me a huge amount of money recently and you fixed this phone two days ago but please ma, can you help me?”

She looked at me for a while and smiled.

“Do you want to fix this phone or you want a new one?”

I thought I wasn’t hearing right.

In a nutshell, my mom gave me money to fix the phone because I didn’t want a new one and she gave me more money to sustain me in school.

What did you learn from my story?

This is a picture of our relationship with God.

Sometimes, we think God has done too much for us and we don’t deserve it so when we run into trouble, we run to everywhere but God.

Sometimes we’re in so much trouble that we forget the simple prayer “God help me”.

And I’m not talking about a causal and careless unconscious “God help me”.

I’m talking about a genuine acknowledgement of your inadequacies and even faults. A conscious acknowledgement of the fact that you probably don’t even deserve help. You may have like me “squandered so much money in little time” and need more money.

You may have committed sins that warrant heavy punishments but instead of seeing God in your mind, holding a big cane ready to flog you, why not see His open arms welcoming you?

My mom could have asked me why I even took my phone with me to wash plates but she chose not to.

Even more merciful is our God.

God was willing and ready to help you when you were deep in sin, why would he hate you for your mistakes now that you’re His?.

This post is a call for you to cry out to God for help.

Lay aside all you have achieved and cry for help.

Stop wallowing in the consequences of your foolish decisions, admit that you were wrong and reach out to God.

When you’re faced with situations that are beyond you, cry for help.

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TRUST – even when God “fails” you?

Currently I am listening to I will sing by Don Moen

As a Christian, you’re told that every storm teaches you something but what happens when the storm doesn’t even make sense? How can something that doesn’t make sense, teach you anything?

I read a book by Lysa Terkeurst titled “What happens when Women Say Yes To God” and in a part of the book, she wrote about a woman called Beverly who had cancer but was still courageous and in her words “refuses to get swept up in the bitterness and anxiety that surely come knocking on the door of her heart”.

Beverly shared an experience on how her husband’s van had gotten spoilt on the first night of their vacation with the kids.
They had had a great day and were headed back for supper and to retire for the night when their van suddenly died.
All efforts to get it back to work were futile and after a two-and-a-half-hour-wait, they had to get a ride back to their motel in shifts because they couldn’t all fit into the car.

The next day, her husband went out to get the car fixed while she and the kids stayed back in the room and prayed.
Would they be able to fix the van?
How much would it cost?
What were they going to do without a vehicle?

But they consoled themselves, saying;

“God must have a plan”.

They fantasized over what God’s plan could be as it was obvious that theirs was ruined.

Maybe God wanted them to share Christ with the mechanic and he would give his heart to the Lord.
Maybe they would see God’s provision by the mechanic fixing the car for free.

Two days later, the van was fixed and none of what they hoped happened.
The mechanic didn’t accept Christ.
They didn’t get a free repair; they paid full.

They were poorer but not wiser.
This was a woman with cancer that loved God with all her heart and her family.

“Why, Lord, did You allow this to happen?”

This may not seem like a big deal to us but it definitely was to them.

We’ve definitely had problems that had God’s fingerprints all over them and He brought us out eventually and we learnt one or two things from them but how do you explain times when you totally relied on God for something and he “fails” you?
Problems where you really can’t see any new lesson to learn.
The problem just brought depression, shame and pain.
You’re faithful to God but he doesn’t really seem faithful at that point.

What do you do when you don’t see what God is doing in your failure and pain?
Can you trust Him regardless?

When it feels like God has failed you, are you willing to say “I really don’t know what You’re doing, but I trust You”?

Habakkuk 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Can you trust God after it seemed like He wasn’t fair to you?

God wants us to trust Him at all times. When the chips are up and when they’re down, when He seems distant and far.

Trust His plan.

Whenever God is silent, He’s watching you.

-Apostle Joshua Selman

God wants to know if the only time you call Him “good” is when things are well with you.

Rest in God’s undying love today and find peace in His mercies for they’re new every moment.