Celebration of Christs' Birth...not 'X'.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!!!!!!! :)

Congratulations to each and every person who has successfully witnessed and joined in the celebration of the selfless saviour's birth!! You, my friend, are one loved and highly favore person. Just so you know. :)

I'm excited to be here, thankful more like. God's been exceedingly faithful and merciful and i'll all but shout it from the rooftop(s)! :D
It's been a wonderful year. Every incident, experience or challenge, encounter or attack, memory and adventure, smile or scowl, laugh or tear, EVERYTHING! has in some way contributed to the uniqueness of 2013 and llike it or not, they have all added to the changes in you. They've had a mighty hand in making sure the person you were 361 days ago, isn't the person you are now.Innit grand? I think it is too.

Christmas is wonderful. I appreciate the amazing love expressed to us by God almighty in His letting His beloved son come to earth to undergo agonizing pain and suffering just so we get to dodge His mega wrath. I appreciate the truth and reality of this each day i take in oxygen. It's truly beautiful that we get to have Christmas-a day that ought to serve as the global reminder- so the entire world can take out one day in the year to collectively revel in such irrational love.

Unfortunately, way too many are ignorant to or have just gradually forgotten Christmas day's essence. Well let's make it simple;
No Jesus, No Christmas.

Jesus Christ is the center of attraction. He is all that is worth celebrating. He is worth all the joy and excitement and thanksgiving. HE is the REASON for the SEASON.
Not 'X', not 'Santa Claus', not Presents, not stockings, not trees, cookies, milk and chicken, not Mistletoe and Romance, not some warped definition(s) of love, not great holidays, great food and gift hampers.
It's Jesus, Jesus, JESUS! It's not going to change. Christmas celebrates HIM! Enough with the sad hype of Santa Claus and food and parties, presents, clothes, vacations and what have you. If all the festive fun we have is not centered on Christ and not expressed for reason of our love, absolute surrender and gratitude to Him...it might as well be any other day.

Oh and one more thing; there is no such thing as Xmas. Nobody celebrates the birth of X, X never died for nor saved anyone. X is a plain old letter that has nothing to do with anything as concerns CHRIST.
Let's QUIT IT, alright? I am not an 'X'tian celebrating 'X'mas.
I'm a Christian, honored and privileged to know Christ and to have had a whooping great CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas all. :)
xxx, kwiksie.

A 'Thank You' note.

Hello people! It's finally come to the end of the awesome month of November. Awesome in so many different and yet equally beautiful ways. For starters;

-My birthday was on it's very first day. ^_^

-I wrote the very best exams within it's duration.

-I've gotten repeated confirmation of just how 'big-a-deal' I am to my father God. 

And tons more events which completely made my heart dance after skipping for a while. :)

Well, the semester's over and most have gone home to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with loved ones and family. My semester had it's fair share of ups and downs, temptations and overwhelming situations, individuals who'd give anything just to see you hurt and unhappy as well as the exact opposites of such phonies and despite all that, the only constant that kept me going and held mind and heart together through it all, was my assurance in the love God has for me and the fellowship I'm privileged to enjoy with Him.

So this post is more of a thank you note. To Him (God); for being who He is and choosing not to abandon us to our pathetic nature, no matter how much we deserve it.

And to you; for taking the time to read all the stuff i post, (despite the high tendency i have to bombard my readers with  random 'Tales from the life of Kwiksie.') and those of you who actually are encouraged in whatever way by my posts and have given me feedback---you've no idea how happy that makes me.

It's just kind of nice to know there are people who actually do give a hoot about what you have to say sometimes. ;)

Anyways, i'll be sharing some more recent pictures of mine real soon; I just can't seem to get over nature's beauty these days. #shrug

Stay blessed all!

xxx, Kwiksie.

Without You

Hi there. What's going on with you? This has been one loooong October though, i've got to be honest(but God has steady been making it every bit as awesome as it has been long for me sha. ^_^).

I hope you've all been doing great. I just thought i'd share this one poem. It's a pretty old piece i was inspired to write early this year....

See sometimes yeah, i tend to complain. A lot.

I know, it might look like not-so-big-a-deal but if it's a really inconvenient 'little-deal' situation, and i've been having numerous instances of such 'situations' in close proximity, then yeah, I'll whine. I go running to God with a variety of 'why's' just jumping off my tongue and the funny thing is, i ought to KNOW better. Right?

Yet half the time i'm simply AMAZED at how it's almost like the easiest thing on earth to pin point each and every annoying disruption to my anticipated 'smooth' day and relay them to every ear that cares to listen (and even the ones that do not).

It's rather disgusting.

Even I don't feel so proud when i'm done more than half the time. But you know what's really sad? The way we (because i'm pretty sure i'm not a one-man band in this act)so easily let one or two petty situations (or even an avalanche of depressing circumstances) COMPLETELY take our focuses off all of the many wonderful things there are to 'wipe that frown off' over. SO FRIGGIN' MANY! o_0

Sometimes i catch myself (more like the Holy Spirit quacks me though) and ponder on just how big a mess every one of us would be in if God didn't bother to intervene in our lives on a per-second basis. Just imagine. Try.

I mean, sure i'm allowed to get irritated and upset about some things, i'm pretty sure i'm even allowed to share what's hurting me with someone, run to my heavenly dad and cry out to Him; all that is cool! Where the problem lies is in the dwelling on the source of anger/annoyance/frustration/irritation/vexation...(you get the message). It never, EVER helps telling folks over and over and over what who did and how it's really got you in a rage and blah blah blah; then we come with the pretty much empty threats or the 'if-onlies' we know won't be happening anytime soon, etc.

Sound familiar anyone? Well I should know. I was guilty of all this only yesterday. And no it is NOT a braggin' point. -_-

That's kind of why it's so fresh in my memory and i thought of the poem because I can tell you one thing with all certainty, when I managed to get my big mouth shut and just asked God to calm me and put all that was bugging me totally in his care, GBAM! That was it (plus one or two really deep breaths and a heavy meal. #wink). But really though, i think the biggest problem lies in the way we over emphasize the problem and simply keep yakking about it like that ever got anything fixed. I mean really!

Fact remains, bad things may happen to us, around us and all, but there are people living who've gone through much worse. People who are still living despite the greater nightmares they've had to face in their lifetime. None of that comes to mind when we're feeling sorry for ourselves---but it should. So that we learn to stay grateful. And keep things in their proper perspective.

If there were no God, if Jesus NEVER came, if there wasn't salvation and redemption and all the wonderful mercies we enjoy now as a result of God's unlimited grace and eternal sacrifice...all the stuff that happens and seems really tragic, would be nothing more than a walk in the park compared to what it could be...

Let's just remember that.
Here's the poem:

Without You

 It’s the bruised heart, the fear filled eyes

The trembling fingers and shattered self-pride.

It’s the loneliness and desolation, the hunger that’s feeding a whole nation.

The cries of the aged one, the silence of the still born.

It’s the pain and the bitterness; it’s the scars that are hidden.

The tolerance of hate and the incessant fighting.

It’s the wrong and the cruel, the folly obedient mule.

It’s the welcome of bedlam and the art of being inhuman.

 

It’s the rape of the truth and discernment’s absence.

The distortion of what’s honest, the diversion of the relevant.

It’s the sound of death and they who live in it.

The weighty emptiness, the feeling of numbness.

It’s the worst thing imaginable, what we have brought upon us

Because we mete out irreverence to you in whom love we can trust.

It’s what our temporary dwelling and its inhabitants go through,

But this is the Good News…there will Always be you.

There'll always be pain.
There'll always be suffering.
And there'll always be Jesus. 

Stay blessed all!

xxx, kwiksie.

New found LURVVV!!! :)

Greetings! I'd like to quickly share something with you all. It's this hobby of mine; photography. ^_^

Now, i don't want to call it a 'new' hobby because that would be a tad dishonest, considering i've always loved being behind and infront of a camera. (Hehe) However, of recent i seem to have just fallen in love with the sky though. Really! I'm sure it can't be only me who notices how gorgeous the sky can be sometimes- the clouds,their ever changing patterns, the sunlight, the way it's rays shoot through them trees, leaves, etc. The thousands of shades and hues at just one sunset--c'mon, you know what i mean.

Now it's not as if i'm just noticing them, but the difference is i didn't always have a way of storing those really beautiful moments and sceneries (except in my minds' eye); but now.

I SURE DO! :D

I enjoy taking people, plants, insects, wareva! But so far, nothing leaves me breathless as the way God paints masterpieces on the vast canvas of the sky millisecond after millisecond. It's just awe-inspiring! And so i've decided to share some shots i really love with you all.(I'll probably make this a habit now or soemthing).

Please note, the picture quality of an ipod...isn't the most fantastic. But it gets the job done and that's good enough for me though! ^_^ Enjoy!!! :)

19th August's Sunset 

In front of the Hall of Mary. ;)

A moth i saw in CDS...it had the most artistic wings though!

                                                             THIS IS MY FAVORITE SKY PAINTING! (so far).

When fruits are ripe...but still inedible. lol

   Random moth i saw on Friday.

Pretty gathering. 

Well say hello to a new day! ^_^

I know it might not be the most exciting past-time...but they make me smile so...#shrug. :)

Thanks for viewing!

xxx, kwiksie~

Happy New Month!!!

Hi people! Yes, yes, it's great to write to you as well!! ^_^ How was September?
Mine was pretty busy, i must confess (i've had to squeeze in time to post this) but  i can hardly bear the thought of not communicating with all you amazing individuals out there for over ONE WHOLE MONTH!!! Naw men, it's too hard. ;)
I do apologize for not getting anything across to you for the whole of last month though...i sincerely will try to make sure that doesn't happen again. School's just been tremendously hectic! There's been at least a million and seven things happening at a time and at some point they all threatened to overwhelm me-but i've come out okay (Thank God!).

I don't have too much to say though. Happy New Month!!! for starters. :D It's great to be here innit? Yes, yes, it might not seem so for some of us but still, no matter what's happened in September, before September and etcetera-- hey! you're alive! You're sane, you can still think and operate a laptop or ipod or iphone or blackberry, or whatever. Soooo, liven up a little! (Trust me, that's partially a note-to-self.)

One thing i know i'm going to be working on this month and onward is the way i use my tongue (in regards to speaking and all) because the topic never gets old and it's too important to be ignored.
I need to be constantly on guard because many times, even with the best of intentions, correcting and helping and scolding and advising can suddenly slide down the interpretation slope and become NagGing.

Webster defines nagging as scolding or finding fault with REPEATEDLY, to cause annoyance by scolding or repetition.

Interestingly, a nag is also an inferior or aged horse. HA!

The best remedy (as i was able to derive from my devotional: "Girlfriends in God") to being a nagging person is to becoming a praying person. (Look up: 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalms 55:22). It something i consider quite relevant though because, believe it or not, wrong communication or misinterpreted/misrepresented behavior can ruin the most valuable relationships and opportunities in our lives! Especially since too many people seem to just LOOOOVE to take offence at the slightest thing! Wearing them down with the same broken record drone of how faulty they are and how you know just how to fix them cus they've missed it big time (and you never have??)is not going to work. Even i get a bit 'correction' deaf when i think i'm only hearing too much judgementalism and self-righteousness being espoused from the lips of someone claiming to care about me, imagine when it keeps coming over and over and over again---from someone you might not even be so close to!

Yup. i don't think anyone would really dig that.
Let's try and work on it (for those of us who are guilty of 'nag syndrome') and for those of us who aren't----i hope you stay that way by God's grace. :)

I'll be with you all soon enough. Stay blessed.
xxx, Kwiksie~

Writing Contest.

Hi again! Please follow this link and vote for my entry (that is, if you actually like it) on Tallenge.com. It's a poetry/writing contest of sorts ending by Sep 17th.

Thanks!
xxx, kwiksie~

http://tlng.me/17Xe4fK 

Learning To Listen

Hi you blessed bunch! How are you doing?! :) Kinda missed writing for you though...

Well, i'd just like to share a recent experience i had when struggling to find the best way possible to solve an issue.
Or rather, a dilemma.

A dilemma i was faced with while attempting to figure out my next step in this life journey of mine. And in case you've not sniffed out the hint...yes, it was a very important choice i had to make.
So i had it all figured out yeah. These were my plans, such and such is what i intended to do in so and so time and whether or not it was scriptural; as long as it was what i wanted it was fine.
But you see, it really wasn't.
The entire thing started getting so messy, nothing was working out as it was supposed to. Stuff i needed to make my great dream(s) come true were just not available! It was frustrating i tell you.
I fought and i fought and i wouldn't listen if it wasn't my headstrong will speaking. I even  tuned up my stubborness and selective hearing but the effects were still unsatisfactory.
Yeah. I was at a cross-road alright, Problem is, i wasn't even sure if i was meant to choose a path anymore. I'd spent so much time confusing myself, both sides seemed wrong.
But even that thought didn't sit right in my heart.
So, eventually, i chose to do what i was supposed to from the very beginning. I chose to talk to God.
I mean, He'd spoken initially but immediately after...i took off! I figured there were still some parts of the conversation left hanging but, y'know' i just filled in the blanks with what i considered appropriate. And convenient. Without His final consent. Such silliness...i know right?

I guess that's where i missed it.

Soon enough though, when i got my priorities straight and my reasoning faculty was once again functioning optimally, i let Him calm and lead me. His reassuring and yet firm voice was all the soothing i'd need. Things became a lot less turbulent when it was to His voice, and not mine, my heart paid heed.

In the end, the confusion i aided my assumptions in creating offered zero comfort so i figured waiting for His time was of much more worth...and believe you me, it was.

Trusting God and trusting in Him is always more fulfilling and useful. Than worrying about the future, living in fear or worry about what might go wrong or not go very right, doubting His complete ability to deal perfectly with all that concerns me (you, your familiy, etc). Methinks sometimes we all need a refresher course in faith, trust, humility and obedience. I suppose this was mine...

Lesson learned. :)

Proverbs 14:26// Proverbs 3:7// Ephesians 3:20// Proverbs 3:5// Psalm 106:1

xxx, kwiksie~

To a Wonderful Mother.

Someone Special: A Poem for Mama.

I met someone special

Almost 20years ago;

With laughter like petals of the softest rose.

So fragile in appearance, more delicate than most;

Yet with greater strength than all of 'MARVEL'S Heroes.

I met someone special; i never planned this meet,

But my first encounter with vision this lovely face did greet;

In that very moment, grew an almost magical bond

With zero connection to fairies, witches and wands.

I've known someone special my entire life,

Down beneath or at loftier, merrier times.

Life's situations never determined this person's location,

'Ever nearby' became the permanent station.

I've known someone special as i have grown

And by this special person, I’m known also;

My strengths, joys, and the times i fell...

They are all known and known very well.

This special someone, i share with a group of four

Biologically speaking, but otherwise tons more.

This special someone, i cherish more than she'll ever know;

She is called Ifediora Ope Tanimowo.

I love you mummy.

xxx, kwiksie.~

Key Words: F.A.I.T.H & T.R.U.S.T

Hi people! What's been going on? Any milestones to celebrate? Any testimonies to be thankful for? Any challenges recently dealt with or in the process of being overcome??? Come on, there's got to be something!

Well i'm sure they ARE there--somewhere. We just need to look a little harder... :)

I've been splendid though (thank you for asking). Oh sure, there have been a great many challenges, hurdles yet to be jumped and what not. But the good thing is, i know who's got my back sooo...Hakunamatata! #lionkingmoment, sorry. ;)

Anyway, this past week, i've had about a gazillion and five things on my mind and the count is still on! You know it doesn't necessarily take a whole lot to get your head to explode. There's the goings on around the world, my government, friends i should but haven't called, people i owe visits, money i need (which appears to be scarce..on the surface), my country, challenges other loved ones are facing, situations that need to be prayed for, family matters, personal life, time i'm yet to invest in perfecting my guitar playing, Spiritual growth, preparations for my future, where am i going, blah blah blah blah---STOP!

Sometimes we need to sit back, tell our overzealous thought processes to shut self up and PRAY! A much more soothing, useful and result generating process dontchu think?

Remember the scripture, Matthew 6:33? Anyone? That's right, it says: "Seek first [Be concerned above all else with] God’s kingdom and ·what God wants [ his righteousness]. Then all ·your other needs will be met as well [ these things will be given to you].

What does 'all' mean here? The same thing ALL signifies in any context in which it is used pal! Everything. Lacking nothing. Complete. Whole. Perfect. ALL!!!
Get it? In other words, GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!

If we actually go up to verse 25 of this same chapter, we'll discover that Jesus was actually warning His disciples in earnest against being overly bothered about and having disquieting, distrustful, distracting cares about things of the world (which is a pretty bad hint that you're waaaay into so much perishable-earth junk, that you've completely lost your heart to it and forgotten where the REAL treasures are at!) Pretty sad huh?

Matthew 6:25-
"Therefore I say unto you, be not careful for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more worth than meat? and the body than raiment?"

Remember what God is forbidding here? The THOUGHT!
Disquieting ones, hurrying the mind and disturbing our joy in God.
Distrustful, unbelieving ones, springing from doubt in God's unshaking promises to care for and watch over us.

And the sequence is, HIM FIRST and then everything else tags along.
The money, fees for tuition, that new car, a great, Jesus crazed guy who won't hurt you like the others, a child, twins, quinteplets even, a new house, a born again Spouse, new ideas, fresh inspiration, a different job, a different boss, a happy life, a life that completely honors God, a more seasoned tongue, a generous spirit, better grades, more business, no more nightmares, peace of mind, provision, good health---ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU!

After you seek Him.

No one is saying be unconcerned about everything. Just take instead, everything that concerns you and lay them at His feet. Trusting unwaveringly that He will never, EVER let you down. 

Hebrews 11:6-
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Key word: Faith. Synonym: Trust. Antonyms: Doubt, Fear, Worry.

:)
Stay blessed people, and whatever you do, DON'T WORRY!
xxx, kwiksie~

Marriage or Murder.

Hi people. Wish i had something more pleasant to share today but i saw this post by someone on facebook and felt the urgent need to share it. Please, don't lets turn the other way while evil cruises the streets....

Hannatu Musawa

STOLEN LIVES

“ELHAM MAHDI AL ASSI WAS A YOUNG GIRL WITH GREAT PLANS FOR HER FUTURE. THOSE PLANS CAME TO A CRUEL END WHEN SHE MARRIED A MAN WHO WOULD LATER BECOME HER MURDERER. ONE DAY AFTER HER MARRIAGE, ELHAM WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL DUE TO EXCESSIVE BLEEDING. THE DOCTOR WHO EXAMINED HER SAW THAT HER INTERNAL CANAL WAS RIPPED AND ASKED FOR HER TO BE ADMITTED. HER HUSBAND REFUSED TO ADHERE TO THE DOCTOR’S ADVICE AND INSISTED IN TAKING HIS WIFE HOME. TWO DAYS LATER HE BROUGHT A MOTIONLESS ELHAM BACK TO THE DOCTOR IN AN EMERGENCY. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE DOCTOR PRONOUNCED HER DEAD FROM SEVERE HEMORRHAGING RESULTING FROM THE RUPTURE OF INTERNAL ORGANS CAUSED FROM INTIMACY WITH HER HUSBAND… ELHAM MAHDI AL ASSI WAS 12 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME SHE WAS MARRIED OFF AND 12 WHEN SHE DIED.”

“FAWZIYA AMMODI WAS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL, WHOSE LIFE CAME TO A TORTUROUS END WHEN SHE WAS FORCED INTO MARRIAGE WITH AN ELDERLY MAN. SHE BECAME WITH CHILD ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND BORE THE COMPLICATIONS PREGNANCY PUT ON HER VERY SMALL FRAME. DURING CHILDBIRTH, FAWZIYA WENT INTO BRUTAL LABOR AND SUFFERED FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT. TOGETHER WITH HER BABY, SHE DIED OF SEVERE BLEEDING AND SHOCK. FAWZIYA WAS 11 WHEN SHE WAS GIVEN OUT IN MARRIAGE AND 12 YEARS OLD WHEN SHE DIED.”

“NUJOOD ALI WAS A GIRL WITH THE AMBITION OF ONE DAY BECOMING A DOCTOR. HER DREAMS WERE HALTED ABRUPTLY AND HER TROUBLES STARTED WHEN SHE WAS TAKEN OUT OF SCHOOL AND MARRIED OFF TO A MAN OVER TWICE HER AGE. HER HUSBAND BEAT AND RAPED HER CONTINUOUSLY, BUT A DETERMINATION WITHIN HER PROMPTED HER TO ESCAPE TO A COURT HOUSE, WHERE SHE DEMANDED FOR THE JUDGE TO GIVE HER AN ANNULMENT. NAJOOD WAS 10 WHEN SHE WAS MARRIED OFF AND 10 YEARS OLD WHEN SHE SAID “NO” AND SURVIVED.”

The case of angels like Elham, Fawziya and Nujood are a stark reminder of the increased risks placed on young girls who are married off too early and are clear examples of the justification for limits and enforcement of such limits on the age of marriage.

In several Islamic countries such as Yemen, the trend of very early arranged marriage, where girls as young as 8 and 9 are pawned out to much older men are common. In such societies there is a preference for child brides because they are considered docile, submissive and subservient to a husband. Usually the parents of the girls are agreeable to such union because the marriage of the girls lessens the financial burden on the family. In some instances, the parents insist on an undertaking from the husband that the marriage would not be consummated until the girl gets older and is mature. But from the accounts of the girls, the husbands hardly ever adhere to this arrangement. The high rate of underage marriage is generally attributed to economic reasons and largely takes place in Middle Eastern countries or rural areas of third world countries.

This week’s news that the Nigerian senate reversed a vote that appeared to outlaw underage marriage despite a senate policy that prohibits repeat votes on clauses was not only outrageous but disturbing and injudicious.

The calamity of abject poverty, sheer ignorance, sordid influence, appalling desire and absolute disregard of liberty personifies the atrocious case of the senators or anyone else for that matter, making a case to permit the marriage of minors.

Cases where andropausal men in the midst of their mid life crisis endeavor to purloin the innocence and childhood of a girl young enough to be their granddaughters, all in the name of matrimonial bliss are simply thoughtless, unfair and scandalous. Although the age at which a child assumes majority varies in different countries, depending on the jurisdiction and application, it would be difficult for anyone to make a case that a girl yet to reach the age of 13 has in anyway reached maturity or is any way near the threshold of adulthood, let alone view such a minor as a wife. It really is a contemptible catastrophe and a desecration of common decency for any adult Nigerian in this day and age to openly justify the rationality and humanity of such an unfortunate union. To take a young girl and treat her as if she were a woman is in all definition nothing short of child abuse and pedophilia.

The distaste of the senators who are justifying the concept of child marriages is made even worse by the fact that the senators are senior member of a legislative body that is meant to make laws that protect every citizen of Nigeria, including young girls. What happened in the hallowed chambers last Tuesday is outrageous to the very highest level and a huge embarrassment to the Nigerian Senate. Under the Child Rights Act 2003, the rights of every child are categorically outlined. The statute provides “a child’s best interests shall remain paramount in all considerations” and they shall be given the care and protection that is necessary for their wellbeing. Such laws were made in order to shelter children, especially young girls, from the transgressions of elements in the society. As leaders, one wonders what kind of example the senators justifying underage marriage imagine themselves to be setting, especially in the light of numerous cases of child abuse that the government is fighting.

One wonders where the Nigerian senators place the concept of maternal mortality, which is so much higher in societies that fail to protect prepubescent girls from exposure to the dangers that come with being a child bride and the medical safety of young girls. It is absolutely medically unsafe for a child to be exposed in a way that makes them candidates for Vesico-Vaginal fistula (VVF). When a young girl, whose pelvis is too narrow to give birth, is exposed to carnal acts or carrying and bearing a baby before her body is ready, pressure from the baby’s head blocks the circulation in her anatomy, destroying her tissue and forcing a gape which allows for involuntary urine flow. These and other pregnancy and labour complications are the fatal and painful realities faced by young girls who are forced to marry before or as soon as they reach puberty.

Every child should, at the very least have the right to grow up and every child should, in its most basic form, have the freedom of innocence. Regardless of any opinion, culture or religion, the issues regarding what values represent the right of a child to care, education, protection against violence and so many other basic liberties, are one and the same. This can certainly not be an un religious, western or imperialist viewpoint, but one of humanity.

Elham Mahdi al Assi, Fawziya Ammodi and Nujood Ali were all beautiful young girls, who deserved to have a childhood that prepared them for adulthood, but it was stolen from them. And while Elham and Fawziya didn’t survive their ordeal, Nujood stands as a beacon of hope for all the pre-adolescent child brides who are the unfortunate victims of stolen lives.

As the Nigerian National Assembly resume in voting for the laws that will eventually make up a revised new Nigerian Constitution, they should step up to their responsibility of protecting the rights and freedoms of the young by addressing this issue of such ridiculous early marriages and completely outlawing it.

While they do that, in the interest of all the young girls in Nigeria, Egypt, Yemen and beyond, those who have the opportunity should please ask the senators and those adult men who forage on the innocence of other people’s young daughters, if they truly believe that marrying a small, little, preadolescent girl is a right, positive or fair act. If the answer to that question is in the affirmative, they should then ask those same senators and men whether they would be ready to accept such early marriages for their preteen daughters. If the answer to that second question is nothing less than an ecstatic yes, then they have conceded that marrying a girl at such a tender age in these times is not right; it’s taking advantage of a girl and rendering her life… stolen!

Those of us who choose to stand on the side of the girl child and protect her from the dangers she will be exposed to as a child bride must all lend our voices in urging the senate to reconsider its position and resolution on child marriage. We must also pressure the House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly to reject any clause that gives life to underage marriage… And before they cast their votes, I urge the legislators to take a minute to think about their own preadolescent daughters’ best interest.... Because whatever is in the interest of their own prepubescent young daughters is also in the best interest of another person’s preadolescent young daughter.



Written By Hannatu Musawa

Please let's pray and do the best we can as individuals to turn this around.

Stay blessed.

xxx, kwiksie~

Life: It Isn’t Yours’ To Take (pt. 2)

Hi people. Hope you’ve been ruminating on my last post for the past few days (?).

Yeah, well you see I’m not quite finished with this topic (to be honest I don’t think it can be stressed enough) and I just have to do the best that I can with the help of the Holy Spirit to drum it into the Spirits, hearts and minds of every single individual who’s thus far been deceived that ‘the world would be a better place without me’ is a proven truth.

Please. That’s the lamest lie I have EVER heard.

No really, it actually is.

I mean uhm, hel-looo! Has it ever been reported that there was a decrease in the rate at which the ozone layer was depleting because someone killed themselves? Or maybe that there was a sudden decrease in poverty levels worldwide, or an unexplainable extinction all across the globe of much feared ailments like cancer (of whatever kind) and AIDS and STDs and all the rest of them? Can you link me to one such case, whereby someone thoughtlessly wasting their precious lives, given to them by the Almighty, resulted in some positive and edifying testimony??? I’ll help you with that one; THE ANSWER IS NO! Alright? Good is not birthed by evil, EVER! Your death will not fix whatever it is you’re trying to run from, it will not change the situation that has bruised you so badly, it will NEVER help anybody, and worst of all, it will FOREVER (as in, permanently plus a little extra) separate you from an eternity with Jesus. You have nothing to GAIN and EVERYTHING to LOSE if you give into the urge to destroy you.

How does accepting the short-term offer with the bleakest and most depressing prospects ever, become more appealing than the long-term one with a lasting and trusted promise?! o__0

I just don’t get it!

Please believe me when I say this; suicide is a scam! It never works. And the worst part is, the moment you fall for its peddler’s honey-coated lies and buy into it, you can’t get a refund. 

You are stuck with that decision and there is no turning back. It isn’t THE solution to a million problems like thousands believe; it is simply a much speedier way to fall into an escape-proof pit, where all the nightmares and pain and heartbreak and trials you thought you were escaping from, reside…with all their many cousins.

This is not an attempt to put fear into any heart (fear’s not God’s thing, it’s the devil’s) but instead hope. To remind you that there’s such a glorious reason He’s helped you hold it together this long, to remind you not to give up.

God’s the maker of every happy ending and even though we human beings try our hardest a lot of the time to turn our stories into heart-wrenching tales of woe, He still is able to weave a wonderful, colorful conclusion out of the mess we make of things! But, only if we let Him help.

To my darling brother or sister dealing with or struggling with whatever trial, tragedy, dilemma, sickness, attack, addiction, pain, hurt, heartbreak, poverty, crisis… (anything at all), who’s reading this right now, all I’m trying to let you know is, there IS someone who can fix all this (someone who can help you fix things as well) and you’ve got no idea how much He yearns to! But you’ve got to quit running!

Quit running from Him and His truth.

      You have to stop fighting His love.

      Stop trying to scienc-ify His awesome power.

      Stop trying to challenge His authority.

      Stop taking for granted His mercy.

      Stop questioning His will.

      Stop ridiculing His gracious sacrifice

      And stop limiting His unrestrained, unconditional love for you.

You need to stop right where you are and admit it to yourself: You need Him. You need Jesus. To save you, and help you and guide, lead, direct, protect, shield and comfort you. You need to believe that He really does love you, and gave His very life up WILLINGLY so nobody would ever have the right to hurt or separate you from His love. But you can render all that a waste and make the one who despises you the most ecstatically happy if you reject Jesus and throw His love right back in His face. You need to choose wisely…

So, what’s it going to be mate? <3

Xxx, Kwiksie~