Tochi Eze: Waiting for Isaac!

I read this note written by Leading Lady Tochi Eze, my friend, sister and personal person for whose headache I will joyfully take Panadol. hehehe  :) That's Tochi speak, if you ever heard one! 

Anyway, I read the note and I nodded hard till I felt my brains rattle in my head. You'll understand what I mean when you read it. 2012 is almost over...I rest my case.

Tochi at a Selah Inspirational event

Waiting for Isaac!

It's the 10th month of the year o, just incase you have not noticed, 2012 has almost finished! That's right; now is a good time to take stock and balance account...or perhaps for someone, now is your convenient time to panic!

Like seriously, what have I been doing?!!! Those were my thoughts three weeks ago; tucked away in my room, on a late saturday evening, sulking away in familiar despair, hanging out with demons of depression and almost enjoying their company. I have always been a dramatic melancholy, so it's always easy for me to paint dramatic pictures of doom in my head and fall into the lead role. Honestly, na Jesus dey slow me down!

What my problem was? Simple...Isaac. The Isaac matter. Relax; I'm sure you think I am talking about a Man...(You no see yourself) hehehe.

I had spent over 9 months waiting for Isaac and I couldn't stand the ambience of the waiting room any longer. I panicked!!! Isaac; the child of the promise! Isaac; the child of laughter, Isaac; the proof of my visitation, Isaac; the defiance of natural laws and human logic, Isaac; the assurance that I am not barren, Isaac; my seed of posterity!!!

My mind did a time travel, and I quickly recollected the boisterous excitement and thunderous applause as we all cheered on in the place of worship...The shepherd had just announced to us that 2012 was going to be our year of laughter. The congregation keyed in Faith, the expectation of the future was almost a physical cheque you could cash in a bank, and in the midst of tight hugs that threatened to squeeze the air out of your lungs and firm handshakes from the sweaty palms of strangers, I knew without a doubt, that 2012...I would bear Isaac!!!

So imagine my horror as the months went by, with friends testifying about the authentic reality of God's sure word...I began to feel like the blacksheep of the Christian family. (What; I told you I could be quite the melancholic).

But this is it! In the action movie of my negative thoughts, just as I was about to pull the trigger on the character I was playing in this self deluding script, just as I was going to write off myself and write off my year...I saw Light!!!

As in Nepa literally brought light. But the light that hit my bulb did not travel on it's own...It came with a certain measure of hope, It came with strength, clarity and a warm mushy feeling in the pit of my belly!!!

So it is this same hope that I have come to share with you...To live Life without Faith, without expectation is like going to bed at night without expecting the sun to rise in the morning. It is a certain death on it's own! To stand aloof in complacency and succumb your emotions to the events of chance as you physically see it is like embarking on a mission of self destruction.

Will a player disqualify himself from the match because he hasn't scored any goals? Do you stop your push-ups simply because you haven't seen the six packs yet? Even if you do, does it mean the muscles were not building underneath your skin?!

In truth, Isaac may seem like a distant echo, a vague memory, an idea lost in the sea of life, By this 10th month October, what has your Isaac become? Wishful thinking or a faint whisper? Have you moved on to more 'practical goals? Remember that Convenience has never been the path thread by Champions!!

Sweetheart, Ore mi, Beloved, Stranger or Stalker, Ndi otumokpo...feel free to categorize yourself! *hehehe (na joke o), Don't give up on God's promise...don't insult him with a filthy slap of unbelief. Even though there is nothing in your logical mind to prepare you for it, Isaac is going to come! You know why? Simple; God said so.

Life can really be that simple, we can go to bed resting on the pillow of God's promise...because no matter how long the night is and how loud the darkness makes her boast, morning will still come and the Sun will radiate brilliant glory...You know why?...Exactly! Because God said so!!!

I love you jare.

With 2 fingers in ah d air,

(C) Tochi Eze

October 2012

 Tochi is a writer, Author, Speaker and Social entrepreneur. She is the Chief Efficiency Officer at Selah Inspirational.

 @tochi5 

www.facebook.com/tochi.eze.9

http://www.selahinspirational.com

So, do you feel a little trepidation that the year zoomed past and now it's almost over? Then re-read Tochi's last paragraph. :)

Roy.

So I'm supposed to be a Versatile Blogger O...

Relentless Builder gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. I feel guilty sha, because I have not been blogging with diligence (Sounds like christianese, abi? hehehe )

Thanks Relentless, for passing the award to me. However, I apologise before hand because I doubt I'd be able to fulfill all the requirements. I shall try though. Here goes.

Here are the rules for accepting the award;

1. Thank the blogger that nominated me (done)
2. Share 7 Random facts about myself
3. Nominate 15 bloggers who are relatively new to blogging
4. Let the nominated bloggers know they have been nominated

So here are 7 random facts about moi :)

1. I can watch a movie a hundred times!!! Seriously i can. As long as i really like it, i can watch it over and over and over again. Some of my friends think i'm crazy but hey na me be dat. Case in point, 3 idiots! I must have seen that movie a gazillion times already. *sigh*

2. I am an introvert. Okay thats no news abi? Well just had to say it. I'm energized and more creative when I work alone. I get physically drained when I move around lots of people for extended periods of time. Ask my colleague Susan Cain, she understands lol! 

3. I hate honey. I know its hard to believe. Sweet as it is honey nauseates me. 

4. I'm so not a morning person. I can stay up late working, playing, watching movies anything but when the first rays of light break through the sky, I change gears in la-la land. 

5. I still want to marry a rich man who will buy me a house by the sea, provide all I need and I will send the rest of my life just writing. *sigh*

6. Aal izz Well is my favourite song right now. (3 idiots again!) Sue me *grins*

7. I still love God more than anything in the world. Cant get past what He's done for me. I'm sold!

8. Okay this is an extra. I love Mandisa!!!! Do ya'll know her? She's this awesome sister who was on American Idol some seasons ago and Ryan Seacrest used to call her ManDIVA! She's a full fledged artist now with awesome songs like Good Morning, Stronger, He is with you and many more. She's just too much. I follow her on facebook and she always inspires me. Plus she has changed a lot since American Idol; used to be really overweight now she has lost all that and never stops sharing her story. Hmmm, she just rocks!

So those are random facts you may or may not have known about Roylicious :). 

Well about the next part, I haven't been around blogs a lot these past few months but these are a few I'd like to pass on the award to.

Mazi Nwonwu

Uniquely Woman

Nevertheless

Sugarspring

Cee

Roy!

So I'm An Introvert, Now What?? (Jobberman and Time Magazine speak)

blog.social-marketing.com

Yes. I am an introvert and if you're like me you've probably been through the "Lord, why did you create me thus?'" phase.

It can be most unnerving to find that words elude you when you need them most. Or the fact that crowds and activity draws energy from you while others thrive on them. Or you mentally relive a conversation or moment where you should have spoken up more, given that person a piece of your mind instead of standing there like a stick figure. :(  The list is longgg. 

So what's an introvert body to do in this jet age, especially as per careers where it's a dog eat dog world and you have to speak up or get left behind? Well, I bumped into an article by Jobberman that made sense. The meat of it was how to sell yourself and succeed at a career (that seems to be tailor made for extroverts) despite being an introvert. Below is a short excerpt of the piece. Find the full article HERE

You are shy and introverted; you always  seem to be at loss for words when you need the words most. And you are concerned, even worried that your career choice needs a certain level of being extroverted. So, how do you sell yourself seeing that you are such a shy person?

Three points were mentioned: 

1. Know your audience very well: Make sure you understand the kind of people you want to sell yourself to, what they are interested in, what makes them tick, what businesses they are involved in etc.Research is therefore very essential.

2. Use your wealth of knowledge as your weapon against shyness: position yourself in your friend and family members’ mind as the go-to person on that industry and subject matter. Gradually, begin to talk to people outside your circle as you meet them, on the knowledge you have. For example, you know a lot about social media and you want to be positioned as someone who is vast in career fields related to social media. Let your conversations with people and problems create awareness in their minds that you know a lot about the subject matter. Pick up words and conversations in the line of that career and job, and talk about it.

3. Use other non-verbal platforms to sell yourself: Blog, be active on social media networks, get on the professional network platforms and build conversations around your business, job and career path.

Emphasis was:- Be an expert, become known as an expert and build relationships.

Another article I really like was written by Bryan Walsh of TIME Magazine. According to him there's an Upside to being an introvert. Although he started his article by examining the different ways in which the world system seems to be in favour of the extrovert. I particularly like this paragraph;

Simply being an introvert can also feel taxing--especially in America, land of the loud and home of the talkative. From classrooms built around group learning to open-plan offices that encourage endless meetings, it sometimes seems that the quality of your work has less value than the volume of your voice.       *Ouch!*

Read more HERE

I think its good to encourage introverts to not see their personalities as a hindrance. It's a serious cause of insecurities and it certainly hampers creativity and performance. 

But is the system really unfairly slanted toward the extroverts?

What do you think?

Roy