After attending a one year old's birthday party and singing a ton of Sunday school songs, I now have a playlist of 'children's' songs playing in my head. I kept thinking of the 'perfect' introduction for this week's piece but all I got was a Sunday school song.

Read your Bible, pray everyday
Pray everyday, pray everyday
Read your Bible, pray everyday
If you want to grow.

I probably stayed too long in Children's church. Haha
Well, since we are treating the theme GROWTH, I decided to write on growing spiritually first. 'Growing spiritually' kinda sounds weird in my ears, I prefer to refer to it as growing in your relationship with God.

Firstly, if we are going to talk about growing a relationship with God, it only means that you have a one with Him. Just in the case that you don't have one, you can start one, better put, you can respond to His request. (that just sounds cheesy).
The christian walk, is one that is based on relationship with God.

Sometimes, as Christians we make it look vague, abstract, like God is just some guy in a far away land, the 'guy' upstairs, but the truth is that He is right next to you, His Spirit is within you.
Growing a relationship with God is just like growing a relationship with anyone else.

One of the basic truths about growing a relationship is that you have to be INTENTIONAL about it. It takes your conscious effort, your dedication to make the relationship work.

Your being intentional about this relationship is what moves you to devote time to the study of the word and prayer.
Understand that studying the word gives you insight into who God is, you see His character, His ways, His power. It also begins to reveal to you who you are, who you can be and then a transformation begins from your inside out, there's the renewing of your mind and a metamorphosis into the person, God designed you to be.

Prayer is simply communication with God. God isn't just interested in the big things that concern you, He is also interested in the seemingly small details of your life.
Some people have the idea that prayer is just you saying a truck load of words to God but that isn't entirely true. It also involves the act of staying still and listening to Him. He doesn't just want to hear you speak, He wants to speak to you too.

I have come to learn that prayer isn't something that should be reserved for a specific time; maybe just when you wake up. It is a conversation with God that should be kept all day long. Living with the consciousness of God's presence leads to our constant conversation with Him.
Do not be deceived and think, oh no, God will only speak to my Pastor, He will speak to you too. All you have to do is listen for His voice.

The christian life is one that is of faith. It is by faith that we receive salvation and it is by faith that we live. Every step that you take should be one that should be guarded and strengthened by faith.
"..for without faith, it is impossible to please God.."

God loves you and He desires that you grow deeper in the revelation of who He is. He is not far fetched, He is waiting on you to take that step and walk close to Him.




Till next time, remember that '..today belongs to you'
Let's connect on FACEBOOK - Kaydo's blog

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Life is beautiful. Life is well, incomplete without people. If you're like me, you ENJOY your company. You would rather live in a world of your own and have minimal connections with other people. But life isn't that way, everyone needs people and even when you don't really need them, there are always people around you.
A nice person is a good-natured person. Being nice doesn't have to be complicated. Be nice for real, not just because you want to put up a show.
Stay within your boundaries but honestly care. Work on your attitude and check your relationships with people especially if you don't know them personally.



It's Kaydo

Evil communications corrupt good manners
I think I heard this phrase about a zillion times as I grew
From home to church and even in school
The truth is that I tried my best to be careful about the company I kept
I stuck with the "good" kids.
Those one who never fought nor stole
I mean that was the best I knew.


But I'm all grown now
And is pretty difficult to tell
I'm trying my best to be a good kid
Errrrrrm, I don't think I should say kid, maybe girl
I'm hanging out with those who are called "good" but really I want to be cool
In areas I stood out, I just painted myself to blend in
Oh please, I didn't want too much attention
I just wanted to be part of the squad.


Then!! Boom like a blast
Without my consent I discovered something different growing on my inside
It was some sort of cancer
The changing was much more than superficial
It was no longer beneficial.
Now I'm hurting.

Anyone ever found themselves in such a place?
When you bring the illness on yourself?
The more painful part is that since we become ashamed
We choose to hide like Adam and Eve
We try to perform our own surgeries
Forceps, scissors, incisions too deep
Now we're bleeding much more than we thought
Slowed down breathing, heart rate flat lining
Now I'm scared, could I be dying?


I thought this was the was the easy way around
The paths seem to be taking too long
I just couldn't wait for the doctor anymore
I thought I had learnt enough
And soon enough like Saul we come up with excuses like
I wanted to make a sacrifice to the Lord
Oh really?
What He wants is living sacrifices not dead ones
The ones with sweet smelling savour
Not those that are covered with stench!


And just STOP!
Stop trying to clean up yourself because you can't
All you do is introduce pathogens
And now there's an infection
At the site of the incision.
Oh my it's spreading faster than I thought!
Exactly what did you think?
Just stop trying to clean up your mess
Because you don't even know what clean is
Allow Him who is perfection
Permeate you and make you His reflection
You are His creation
His art work expression
He knows exactly  what you're supposed to be
So allow Him direct the paths of your life.


It's Kaydo

If you are African, this question may come off as more than just a question. It gradually leans towards being an insult on your personality. Before we all get mad and start throwing things across the room, lets take a while and find out who a learner is.

A learner is one who's learning. 

To learn means to acquire knowledge or skill by study, instruction, or experience.

So let me ask you again, 'are you a learner?'

It's an undeniable fact that living without knowledge is living life headed towards destruction. It just so happens that if we decide to live just with the amount of knowledge we're born with, we'll be dead in a couple of weeks.

Usually when people ask if you are a learner, they do so not with the honest desire of knowing but because they've concluded that you're a dullard. So, because of this pressure from the outside world, we decide to live like we have it all together, like we know it all.

At the end of the day, no one wants to be called a know-it-all yet we don't want to be referred to as learners. Its high time we stopped allowing the wrong ideology get in the way of our identifying with the right thing.

What if you actually did something really wrong? Students get the answers wrong all the time. No need to sulk and be all worked up about it. The mistake we often make is that we live in the error when all we're supposed to do is learn from the errors. Some people are caught up with trying to live the perfect life that they would rather not take risk. It gets worse when they start judging every other person and begin to classify others as wrong, you know, they are the only ones right.

Hmmmm! Really bro!
Don't get me wrong, I am not against working towards perfection, I indeed am a perfectionist but we must remember the balance in life.We must keep in mind that we are not perfect YET but are a still in a work in progress and must learn to give room for others and most especially for yourself to grow. You must learn to explore, to take risk, to try new things. I think one of the reasons why the universe is large is so that we can all explore its different parts.

The Learners' Attitude.

Your attitude is simply your settled way of thinking or feeling about a thing. It's important that we keep the right kind of attitude as it either enhances or impairs our learning process.

1. Be Humble. Humility is a trait that cannot be over emphasized when it comes to learning. The truth about life is that there are lessons all around us and a new born can be our teacher at any point. That's why it's important that we keep a humble spirit because without it, we would pass out on a whole lot of truth and lessons.
2. Be Tenacious. Tenacious means holding together, cohesive, tough, not easily pulled asunder. There will be things that will want to pull you apart in your process of learning. There will be people that will want to bring you down, happenings that will wan to tear you apart, roads and courses that will seem to be thorns and bushes. But in all, it's important we don't give up and that we are willing and determined to learn the lessons embedded in life.
3. One attitude a learner must avoid is a Judgmental attitude. No one is an island. One thing that judging others will do for you is that it will leave you alone. When you go on judging people and saying all kinds of nasty things about them, you cut relationship with them. You don't know it all, not even if you claim to. We must put up the attitude of appreciating others. Now, it doesn't mean that people are not gong to step on your toes and annoy you. It doesn't even mean that people will not go around doing annoying things and piss you off. BUT in all this, you must keep your character in check and not allow others be in control of our emotions.