36th Sunday...!!!

Song of the week: Jedi – Jehovah

Encouragement Verse: “And I pray that as you share your faith with others it will grip their lives too, as they see the wealth of good things in you that comes from Christ Jesus.” – Philemon 6

Quote of the week: “Each time anyone comes into contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us. We must radiate God’s Love...intense Love does not measure...It just gives.” – Mother Theresa of Calcutta


On this my 36th Sunday Post...The “Song Of The Week” is a special dedication to everyone: Idon't have to mention names because You all know Who you are...!!!

...This past week has been two kinds of crazy with deadlines to meet… [I don’t know why we Nigerians like to wait to do everything last minute?]

So I had a project to submit before Thursday and here was I on Monday, I still did not have any idea on how to start the project. By Tuesday, I started playing around with different concepts on what to work on…and suddenly, down the road, I blacked out on ideas. Since I can’t kill myself, I decided to sleep over it until Wednesday…and by this now, time had already begun to tick away…announcing each second, minutes and hours that have begun to go down the drain as waste water…

”Hmmm! God save me, I needed to thinking fast or else I lose any chance of possible promotion to the next level.”

Wednesday zoomed by like a fast moving train introducing Thursday to my Calendar…With others having theirs (projects) beautifully package, I was still trying to put finishing touches to my own…[Thank God for Risi*[i] who assisted to make my project more presentable…]

Time for Presentation: Because I was late, I had to present my own project with the last group. And when it was finally my turn, I decided to showcase mine behind two other partner’s in crime because I was kind of embarrass by what I had put together.

But Guess what? They decided to switch the rule on me and begin with mine… I was certainly taken unaware. OMG! I wanted to die…I was not expecting this to go this way…Haba! Someone should have given me hint on that, and then I would have taken first place to present instead…

There was no place to run to, except to slide under the table and die a slow dead from embarrassment…but just then, I could not believe the news my ears was gathering, I was actually getting rave review about my project…and it ended with “Great Job, Miss Penélopê !!!”

I was like ‘Humph!’ Who would have thought otherwise…anyways, I have officially retired from ‘Last minute doing of project’, I will have to start learning to start on time (I hope? LOL)

Meanwhile on Last Week Sunday’s Post…I’d like to thanks everyone who left a wonderful comment and to ease Aloted’s mind, I will certainly reveal ‘Little by little’ the lady behind ‘Miss Kemi Penélopê’ but put it in mind that I also need to protect the identity of my friends, family…in my life.

Also Bloggers, if you have any question you’d like to ask me, you can leave a comment or simply email me: Kemipen@gmail.com (If you’d like to remain anonymous)

Anyways, do have a wonderful week and remember that “Good things just don’t happen; you have to go after it…” (I should also give myself that advice…LOL)…Enjoy the wonderful music dedicated to you ALL…!!!

[i] * Not their real name

Picture source: Getty Image

35th Sunday...Knowing Kemi Penélopê!!!

Song of the week: Mary Mary – God in me

Encouragement Verse: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, you will abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9: 8

Quote of the week: “If you think you're too small to make a difference, then you've never spent a night in bed with a mosquito.” --- Anita Roddick

Fifteen Sundays left and then what…? I really don’t know but when that time comes I will take the step to what next.

In the intervening time, I decided to formally introduce me, myself & I, to the members of the B* World (a.k.a, ‘Blogsville’).

The name Kemi Penélopê was born from the fictional character in the 2008 movie called, ‘Penelope’ (a fairy tale about a girl who has trouble finding the right Prince Charming to break her curse of being part pig[I])…

What is interesting is the odd similarity I share with this fictional character ‘Penelope’...

The Curse: Oh yes I do have flaws (or that part of me) that I conceal away from the eyes & ears of the world for fear that they will only judged me without getting to know the real me.

Different Suitors: Penelope had to endure meeting different suitors who her mother was hoping will be the one to break the curse. I have had my own share of ‘hook-ups’ that have either run away or I have personally chased away out of my life…I guess I do them the honor before they decide to actually run away. I know that is wrong way to go about it but if you were in my shoes, you’d probably do the same.

Met ‘Max’: I met ‘Max’ who knew the Real Me...he never judged me but he could not give me what I wanted...and I could not completely commit to the relationship because I feared he may not be accepted.

Running away from home: Ok, I did not exactly run away from home but I did leave the beautiful and comfortable ‘Penélopê’ mansion to live on my own: I know, not so African. But I have to writethat it was my biggest leap to self-discovery…excited yet frightened that I may fail at this venture. It was not my comfort zone so I did not know what to expect…and worst of all, I had to start from the very beginning (not a very easy place to start). Papa & Mama Penélopê were definitely not happy with my decision and won’t speak to me (but they are finally coming around to accepting my decision).

The World Outside the mansion: It has been an emotional roller-coaster ride to self-discovery. I have had my ‘Allelluia’ days and then there were those days that it felt like Heaven had shuts its doors to my prayer. But God is not man and I have discovered His kindness in Psalm 34...I know He loves me and He never judges me because although it may not look or sound like this situation was planned by God but I do see the hand of God at work in my situation.

I have discovered things I never believed I was capable of doing myself…and although I can as slow as a turtle, when I have to make a major decisions but I always get there in the end.

[I] Penelope, http://www.penelopethemovie.com/
Image from: Movie-List

34th Sunday...Making It Easy!!!

* Please click song title to watch & Listen the song of the week...

Song of the week: Keisha White – It Takes A Stronger Man

Encouragement Verse: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. – Isaiah 54: 10 (NIV)

Quote of the week: “When you get to the end of all the light that you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly.” --- Edward Teller



Last year, I made up my mind I won’t be attending any other friend’s wedding until I walk down the aisle myself…I have lived faithfully to that promise since then until I got a call from my friend last night…she decided she’d like me to be on her train. Don’t get me wrong, I am truly honored that she has chosen me and I am definitely happy for her but I am tired of being the ‘Bridesmaid and never the Bride…’

So I guess I have to take my dieting serious (Update: I have managed to drop five (5) pounds since my last post “Making the right choice”)

Meanwhile I will be making it easy for the guys when they have to make a decision...(call me crazy but I call it honesty)


‘Caveat emptor’…[Latin for “Let the buyer beware”]

So how far will you go to get a guy to fall in love you even when you realize that ‘He’s just not that into you…’? And why do we have to hide the ‘Real Us’ just to get someone to love us, well actually the ‘Fake Us’? Well, I decided to take a different approach with the guys and I almost certainly will mess up my chances of ever getting ‘Hitch’ but at least, I can hold my head up and say, ‘I did not compromise who I really am…’

And just to make it uncomplicated for the guys and to kind of shrink the list of potential toasters, I would be wearing the ‘Caveat emptor’ sign on my fore head…Letting them know upfront my flaws.

I am no longer interested in ‘Window shoppers’ who simply do not have a serious intention of purchasing or ‘Testing Officers’, who waste my time trying to sample the product, "excuse me, but I am no guinea pig". And to those who leave the job of ‘finding-a-mate’ to Agents (Friends…), I guess you will never know the joy of getting the real face value of what would have been yours and since those agents work on commission, they definitely may decide to keep the ‘goods’ for themselves.

Anyways, let me leave it at that for now but I am serious about this…

33rd Sunday...Allelluia...On the Third Day!!!

Song of the week: Wale Adenuga – Ta lo dabi re

Encouragement Verse: “He is risen...” – Matthew 28:7

Quote of the week: “The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.” – Robert Flatt


On this my 33rd Sunday Post...Y

...I praise God for keeping His promise...
For He gave us, His only beloved Son to die for our sins,
So each year we get to nail our sins to that 'Old rugged cross',
And then we feel our sinful nature buried forever,

But suddenly, there's a shout of Allelluia...!!!
For...on the Third day,
Because He lives, we have become a new creation...

Jesus is Alive...
We are alive again,

Praise God!!!

To Everyone, I wish you a Happy Easter Celebration,
God has given us another chance for a new life...

So Rejoice!


Jesus is the joy of the Dance...!!!



Picture source: Getty Image

32nd Sunday...A Eureka Moment!!!

Song of the week: Shanice Wilson – Don't Break My Heart

Encouragement Verse: “I love you, God— you make me strong. God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight.” – Psalm 18: 1 - 2 (The Message)

Quote of the week: “There is nothing that waste the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatever.” --- Mahatma Gandhi


Had a ‘Eureka Moment’ this Thursday…

[How do you feel when you find something you’ve been looking for over ten years? Excited??? Emotional??? Or simply, indifferent???

Nah! definitely not indifferent, I think you will have that moment when you just want to shout ‘Eureka’ or even do more than that…You know tell everyone who cares to listen what has happened...as you tell me yours, do take time to read about my own moment this past Thursday…]

…So I think the year was 1996, and it was around that year that CD players began to work their way into the minds and pockets of people who loved to brag about acquiring new high-tech gadgets. The new magic box saved a lot of people the time spent rewinding those audio cassette with their pen/pencil or even their fingers when we had to replay their favorite track again and again.

Worst of all, having to screw open these audio cassette and bond back the broken tape that have been ripped off while playing... [Thank God those days are long gone, like those shoulder pad…LOL]

Anyways, I decided to travel during the holiday break that year to spend some time with my cousins... One of my cousins who was in the University back then use to play the hell out one particular song on her new CD player (Yeah! She was one of the fortunate ones back then...) Unfortunately, I was forced to listen to it because I shared a room with her and my little cousin. I had to listen to it everyday until somehow the song eventually grew on me. At that time, I always thought the song was featured in the soundtrack of the movie, ‘Boomerang’ but I was so wrong.

After my vacation was over and I was back home, I began listening to radio everyday, hoping I would get to listen to it but I never did get to hear it again. I am sure you will say, 'At least, Kemi, you got saved by the bell...' Yes, I should be happy but I had also fallen in love with the song...sometimes I found herself humming the only part I still knew. And when the internet was invented, I tried to searching for it but yet again, I was unlucky. Also never hear it on radio either.

Sooner or later, I gave up hope ever finding it until this past Thursday when that same song resurfaced in my “Blast from the past” archive file...

This time, I decided to ask a colleague if she had ever heard the song. I sang the part I knew to her but she also had never heard the song. She recommended we search for it on the internet. I took her advice and did so. And as luck would have it, the search brought up links to the song, ‘Don’t break my heart’ by Shanice Wilson.

I wasn’t sure if it was the exact song I have been searching for but I decided to try looking for it on my beloved YOUTUBE (I wonder why I never checked there until now?)...The song began to play and when it got to the chorus, behold it was The One,

“OMG! EUREKA! EUREKA!! EUREKA!!! Gosh! I have found it!!!”

[I repeatedly said to myself even though I would have wanted to go tell it on the mountain about my goodnews.]

And for the first time I took my time to listen to the lyrics of this long searched for song and I have to write that now I do understand why my cousin was so in love with this song (you've got to listen to it to understand...Click the title link to listen)...and to me, it was worth the long wait and search…so worth it, I have to write.

This might be an insignificant tale but if you have been waiting to hear that one song that could change your whole life forever…or you have been waiting for that someone or something that makes all the waiting worth while…You will understand my excitement.

I want to let you know that nothing you do is in vain…it might be irrelevant to those you tell your story to but God has a hand in it. He planned it all. He planned this to happen to me so I could reassure someone that He has not forgotten about you…and guess what? Sssh! don’t tell anyone but YOU & I, are His Favorite!!!

See you on Easter Sunday...

...Images from: Getty Images

31st Sunday...Making The Right Choice!!!

* Please click song title to watch & Listen the song of the week...
Song of the week: Mandisa – My Deliverer

Encouragement Verse: “You will go out in Joy and be led forth in Peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55: 12 (NIV)

Quote of the week: “If God sends us on stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes.” --- Alexander Maclaren

I wrote these little thought to myself after watching the 2007 Nollywood movie titled, ‘A letter to a stranger’…

Why did Jemima have to choose ‘Fred’at the end of the movie? Was ‘Sadiq’ not also deserving of her love to change her mind? I know this only a movie but it unquestionably does happen in reality. In fact, everyday we are faced with a similar dilemma. Honestly, we love ‘Fred’ but what would happen down the road or ten years from now?

And if our choice is to be ‘Sadiq’, will it only be a phase that eventually fades away, quickly turning into that regret...? An infatuation...

Gosh! This can be so hard...!!!

Facing the same dilemma when I remembered what I had written a long time ago. So what will you do when you have to make a decision between two things, person, or maybe a job…especially when both choices seem so attractive? Let me know your thoughts..

Meanwhile, this is the chapter (of my life) I am reading...

“You seem to have added weight…” I heard those lines, like the one hundredth time this month. My reaction immediately was I had to set myself up for some serious dieting. I could not even believe my eyes when I checked my weight in the scales, I had gained more than 10 Pounds/4.54Kg in the course of two Weeks (I am sure even more).

Just 10 Pounds and already my clothes don’t fit right. There's definitely the need to do something before things began to get out of hand. So I will join other fellow bloggers who have began to walk-out and also I have to watch my eating habits.

My goal is to lose at least 20 Pounds/9.072Kg.

**Thinking to myself: Why do we ladies always worry about our weight when a guy makes a comment about it...And to think that we've made up our minds never to let it get to us, but it still does...LOL


So, I guess I have another new task at hand...

...Images from: Getty Images

30th Sunday...Love The Place You Are!!!

* Please click song title to watch & Listen the song of the week...

Song of the week: Ohenmaa Mercy – Edin Jesus

Encouragement Verse: “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to thinking about. Your workmanship is Marvelous – and how well I know it.” – Psalm 139: 14 (TLB)

Quote of the week: “The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within that endangers him, not the storm without.” --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

...it was Saturday, when I heard my phone ring as I had my breakfast. It was a friend I hadn't spoken to for a while…We got talking about different things and one talk led to another, then she said something to me about not getting too worried about the place/situation I am right now but I should learn how to appreciate it and in due season, and at the right time I’ll definitely move to the next level.

[Need I say, this friend of mine is a Muslim but the words she spoke made my heart blossom like flowers…God is surely no respecter of man, He does how He wants to and chooses who He wants to…and knows when to send the right person to breathe life through the words they speak into your life...]

>>>Sometimes we find ourselves in places that we spend our time complaining about instead of finding out ways we can get out. It is like being in a deep hole with no way of getting out…instead of complaining about being there and stay in the same spot forever, you can joyfully start looking for ways to get out. And need I say, you just may need the help from those who make your life a living hell in the hole to get out.

>>>Or we just may say it’s because we are not in the right environment that is why we have not yet prospered or some uncle or aunty has done some ritual using. But we forget that geographical location does not determine our success what God has put inside us. Read this quote by Thomas Edison...

“Most of my ideas belonged to other people who didn't bother to develop them.”

Neither can human stop the destiny God has mapped out for us…

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

>>>And maybe you are still single (like me), and you think it was because some man or woman jilted you that is why you are not yet married. But I tell you that you should be thankful to God that you become heir to that baggage that came with that relationship. That relationship was meant to be temporary…for the better portion that God has kept aside specially for you. [No one ever stays permanently in our life, all comes and goes. What would matters in the end should be, how they saw us live our life.]

>>>Then just maybe it is your job…you hate your job, your colleagues and most of all, your boss…and even when you’ve prayed that you get another job/position, you still find yourself in the same place two or more years later.

What do we do?

One of the best ways to getting out of situation is realizing that there’s no condition that is permanent…surely one day this will pass. Appreciate it and learn to love it (even if there’s nothing to love about it) and just when we start getting comfortable…Guess what? God is ready to give us another task. and like the Jeffersons, it is time to move up. What can I say, but that is just God’s way of saying that you have done a great job and it is time for a promotion.

[Remember the Parable of the Talents: Matthew 25:14-30…only those who use their talents properly got more]

So Seek the propersity of the place/situation you find yourself, for it is only when it prospers that you prosper…learn to HOPE for the promise of tomorrow as APPECIATE the place I find myself today…

>>>I guess I am trying to write here that I need to step up my game so God can find me worthy for the next level [Amen]

Images from: Getty Images

29th Sunday...I Need To Slow Down!!!

Song of the week: Third Day – Call My Name

Encouragement Verse: “Have mercy on me, O GOD, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” – Psalm 51: 1 (NIV)

Quote of the week: “Attitude is Everything...Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain. Each day is not promised to us, but with each day that we are given, let’s make a difference!” --- Author Unknown

Eight month ago, My Genesis began [See my First Sunday Post] with Hope & Faith that I will have a bountiful harvest at the end of it all (Amen).

And like Esther, I wonder how God's revelation about my destiny will ever come to past. Every road that leads to the fulfilment of God‘s promised blessings seem to have one obstruction of some sort: some caused by my own making while others caused by some other reasons.

We need to recognize those obstacle which we have brought about by our own doing and ask God to help us ‘Slow down’ before it leads to our destruction...
I am thankful to God that I can post my Sunday post again which happens to be my Twenty-nineth Sunday post, to begin the new week...also am all grins today that my journey is still not over. So this Sunday, I ask,

“God for what reason am I here...show me what You want to make of my life. Please don't cast me to the side...don't remember my sins which I do know is alway before You. But You, O Lord, forgive me. Have Mercy but let me know Your plans for my life...”

My Flaws
Like glue, my bad habit have stuck with me...and they keep accumulating like keepsake items that I am never in need of but I just keep around...

I definitely need to do something about them before they overtake me. I have to realize that God can only help me when I do call on His name. For it is when we are weak...that God is strong.

Also on my own, I decided to add more fun to my struggles knowing that I will overcome in the end. I need to make an effort to change instead of telling myself that I will but keep going back to the dirt. I guess I am tired of repeating the same exam which is the core course to my long overdue graduation to the next level.

God Has A Sense of Humor

So this is what I decided to do (by His grace)...Get a calender which I will insert 'Smiley faces’ as each day goes by (only if I do earn them though)...
If I succeed in doing something positive each day, then I reward myself with ‘Smiley faces’ but if I succumb to my own desire and eat dinner once more with the devil then I get a sad face. Each Month I get to calculate how far I have fought to stay steadfast to my promise to God. I just want to make it fun because who said, God does not have a wonderful sense of humor...[*Wink]

He Does...

I also need to alway remember that “I am God's temple therefore I need to take care of it until the day God visits me and finds me worthy of His heavenly place..."

*Remember I can't do it alone without God and you, Guys who have been an encouragement to me. God bless you as I read your input.

Images from: Getty Images

28th Sunday...A Day Too Late!!!

Song of the week: Gogo – Almighty God

Encouragement Verse: “… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” – Jeremiah 29: 7 (NIV)

Quote of the week: “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” --- John Calvin

Definitely, am a day too late but I guess better late than never. So this is my Twenty-eighth Sunday post and still reading the Book of Esther. There’s so much to learn from the book of Esther. About the way, she carries herself with grace...knowing what she wants but never taking a step faster than God. I am still learning to just trust God with everything and I may probably have start from the very beginning again. Am I afraid of starting from the beginning? Of course, I am...even the thought of it does scare me but I believe that the Lord is surely my strength.

“Lord, show me my blind spot…”



My Shortcomings
Honestly, at this point of my journey I have to say, am like the woman in this image…am so exhausted. I keep fighting but I never get to that point where I get Victory…am running but yet I still have not found the finishing point. Sometime I get this feeling that I have not done enough...I strive to be better each week but it is like I find myself right at the very place I started. I guess am too hard on me...but Gosh! I need strength...

Well, what can I do, the fight continues and I just have to rise once again and keep fighting…“but I need to tell you, God, please don’t leave me alone”...Give me strength once again.

Images from: Getty Images

27th Sunday...Dancing to the Life around Me!!!

Song of the week: Jazzi Tee – Gbaajoo

Encouragement Verse: “When I walk into the thick of trouble, keep me alive in the angry turmoil. With one hand strike my foes, with your other hand save me. Finish what you started in me,God. Your love is eternal—don't quit on me now.” – Psalm 138:7 - 8 (The Message)

Quote of the week: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau


On this my 27th Sunday Post...Y

...and for this new month, I will begin studying the Book of Esther, which I believe has been put in my spirit by God to read for sometime now...but I have sturbbornly ignored that call. But I have to say that I am now becoming a bit curious as to why this revelation/passage has been so strong within me. I guess it is time for God to reveal His plans for me...


Prayer:
...May God use this Book of Esther to change my life in a positive way...





On the side, I will continue my Dance to the life around me. Have a wonderful week!!!



Picture source: Getty Image