I AM

Wondering why you are overwhelmed?
It's because you've left a lot of things undone. You have been procrastinating, looking for the right time, looking for perfection, searching for the key to start, searching for how to start.
Now you see that everything I told you to do was for a reason. It's now toomuch for you to handle.
How would I achieve all this without failing? You ask yourself.

Don't worry about it. I AM. I AM the way,  the truth, the life. I AM the beginning, I AM the end. I AM The Key. I AM The Starting. I AM The How. You have Me, you have all the answers you need.
Your heart shouldn't fail, I AM The Capacity you need.

Just start with me. Trust me. Depend on me.

I AM

*******
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 NLT 

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NLT 

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 NLT 

ARE YOU? .... BREATHE!

Are you tired of the happenings around the world at this time?
Are you overwhelmed by the do's and don'ts?
Downcasted by the pushes and motivations?
Or putdown by social media and the confusion of who to listen to at a particular time?
Are you sick of working from home? Tired of staying at home, or perhaps you are claustrophobic?

The truth is that, You're not alone! I'm overwhelmed by social media and I know others have their fears too.
It's okay to feel some type of way because of the sad happenings around us. But we don't have to let such feelings becloud us. Like someone said, "you can't stop a bird from flying over your head but you can stop it from building a nest on it. It is key to be awoke for yourself.

Take a break and breathe!!!
You are not in competition with anyone.
Everyone might be right, but there is a 'right' for you.

You might not have plenty, but there is a God who is sufficient in providing.
You might be confused on the know-how, but there is a God who turns our confusion into perfection.
You might be irritated by being with people for a long period of time, but there is a God that can use you to heal and teach another.

You know what?
Turn off the noise. Turn off your data. Put an earpiece in your ears and listen to nothing (just for family and friends to leave you alone). Turn off your system. Close your eyes. Talk to God heart to heart (without opening your mouth). Then, BREATHE DEEPLY.

You know you need it. You will be glad you did it. Do it for your mental health.

Ala O. Wilcox.

#alawilcoxblog #areyou #breathe #live #trustAbba 

A FEW THINGS I'VE LEARNT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

1. A lot of people make comments because they want to be noticed.

2. Many want to just antagonize. Not necessarily because they want to, but because they want to be seen in a different light.

3. Many don't really mean what they say.

4. Many just want to shake tables. This obviously comes with the negatives and positives.

The bottom line is that; we all want to be heard. Observers will say, 'but I only observe.' No dear, even you who observe, when you write, you write because you want someone to hear (read) what you post. You might not care about the likes, but you care about your message being passed.

Truth is, you have the responsibility of telling yourself the truth and living the truth; which is you.

You are your reality. Others have the reality of you in their heads, but you can't live other peoples reality for you. You have to FIND YOU, BUILD YOU, and LIVE YOU.

Before you make a post or write a comment on any page, ask yourself; "Is this for eye service? Is this truly me? Is this me being positively relevant to the world?"

PS: The true you in a certain context might not be positive because of so many things, ranging from bias, nepotism, anger (because you have been directly affected) , culture, religion, etc. So before you post or comment, think of the people your comment could have a negative influence on.

Even me sef, I think before I comment because I might be boiling on an issue and speaking about it might cause an unnecessary controversy. Laslas, I'll read the comments, like and agree on what I agree on and disagree on what I disagree on, just within my space (my head). I must not drag people to have the same struggles I have.

We can't argue that everyone is a working progress. Please work on giving hope to the world, especially in this Covid-19 pandemic season, when everyone's voice is important.

PS TO READERS:

• Don't believe everything you read.
• Evaluate what goes into your mind. And
• Have the discipline of detaching your mind from accepting what won't make you better.

My Thoughts. 

ALA O. WILCOX 

#alawilcoxblog
#readbetweenthelines
#beyondwords
#wisdom
#peopleareimportant
#writtenwordsarepowerful
#weinfluencewithposts
#positivevibesonly
#covid19
#truth
#blog
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#reality

step back

Sometimes, I can be a weirdo. I say so primarily because I don't seem to fully understand why I think the way I do. In short growing up in the church, a few of my very senior teachers felt I was a rebel, not because I rebelled but because I asked questions they didn't necessarily have answers to. I have changed o, because I've understood that asking some questions to the wrong people would bring bad results.

As a younger girl, I was really inquisitive and outspoken. I also read anything I came across asides mills and boom novels (I wasn't a lovey-dovey freak like the usual teenager.)🙄. I did read some, but those weren't my areas of interest. So, as a teenager, I read a lot of books that were totally opposing my belief system. I read books on crime and investigation, analytics, atheism, etc. I watched horror movies at night.🤦‍♀️ I would always ask myself questions of what the people entrapped would have done differently.
Believe me when I say I am one person that can have an unwavering mind. I got to find this out through my readings and thought processing afterward.

Anytime these things seemed to make sense, I always found myself asking questions that were deeper, and somehow I got answers. I sha know that instead of what I read to make me turn to an atheist, it makes me love Jesus some more, but it makes me ask and have to answer to questions that make Christians become a ridicule in our society and see how I can fix it for myself and in turn influence others to do the right thing.

I used to advise my seniors, so I was seen as smart, intelligent and all. And if I got into an argument with you, I will intelligently rubbish you, but you see that argument, I must win.

Fast forward to growing into a young lady in my mid twenties, I took a step back from always being in the spotlight, always asking questions (based on wanting people to know I know because somewhere at the back of my head i knew the answers directly or indirectly) , always having answers to peoples questions, etc. I stepped back to unlearn, listen and learn. I decided to process slowly and attentively.

Guess what?
It has helped me a whole lot to being the lady, people applaud me to be today. I know sometimes I overdo it, but I'm learning to share when I need to and be quiet when I need to.

I was never really always patient with people. I personally had to go through stages to make that part work. I was ever really not fully judgemental. It took a while to see things from the perspective of Jesus' instruction of loving people. I was never really always soft spoken and courteous. I always wanted to be, but I always got it wrong till I stepped back to observe.

The wisest man in the Bible Solomon also observed. Notice that he didn't go about asking questions to get knowledge. After God had granted him his request, he had the assignment of paying attention to get the understanding the normal man wouldn't because they were busy being busy. For instance, he observed the ants.

The whole world is telling you at this moment to "do, do, do" but you might just need to take a chill pill and observe instead. Observe others, observe systems, observe governments, observe brands, and most importantly, OBSERVE and DISCOVER YOU.

Many might not agree, but as usual, these are just MY THOUGHTS. It's not for everybody but a few.

Ala O. Wilcox.

James 1:19

#AlaWilcox #stepback #covid19 #season #wisdom #blog

PRESENT BUT ABSENT

In the heat of the night,
Through the coolness of the trees,
I heard the whispers of the wind,
Which amplified the sounds of the teaching on the street of Arochukwu.

"It is not wrong to correct a sister"
One of the words the wind sent to me
Everyone was solemnly quiet as she spoke
I guess it's bible classes
If it were Sunday I'll say Sunday school

They were divided into 8 groups
But these words caught me
The lady on red stood out amongst all 8 teachers

Guess what?
It was through the short barricaded fence
I saw how apt they listened
But then again I was distracted
Distracted by a guy who seemed absent
I don't know if he was hungry or disturbed
But I know he was there but wasn't there

So much we can see within a few seconds
Only if we look
Like really look

Guess what?
It wouldn't be his fault if he was rude to a lady after this class session
Why you may ask?
Because he was absent

Present but absent
That's one of the decadence eating our society today
If we can be presently present
We would learn to unlearn

It's just a 5 minutes walk
Hence my inability to say more.
But,
I was present in my presence
Hence the lesson from my walk.

What is your lesson?
Are you presently present or presently absent in this covid-19 season?
Think about it.

My Thoughts.
written on 06-02-20 but relevant for the season.
Ala O. Wilcox

#alawilcoxblog #present #absent #stayathome #covid19 

GOOSEBUMPS

It's funny how being cold doesn't necessarily make me have goosebumps. My mum is tired of asking me if I'm okay. You know why? Because when people are cold, I'm warm, when people are hot, my temperature is cold. When you don't expect my temperature to be high, it would be without me necessarily being sick. Whilst cold gets into people via their heads, I have to protect my legs and leave my body, and I'm good.😄 God is just wonderful with how He creates. 😊

When my late granddad sold his house and bought another, the new house was close to a big bush which used to be a forest. There was a cut tree in the compound, and it had soldier ants in them. We didn't notice this at first, but during the rainy season, the ants came. 

Chai God! They flooded the environment, the house, our doors, our windows, our bathrooms, etc., and goosebumps became my friend. Solomon in the bible wasn't wrong about ants in any way.I was even the first person to see a snake in that compound but it didn't give me goosebumps, but common soldier ants ‍🙆‍♀️ gave me. Nna! The thought of the army of soldier ants is even giving me goosebumps right now. 

Anyways, in the fear, I decided to face my fear and do a research on how I could get rid of soldier ants. I tried everything I saw that I could and eventually at some point they didn't give me goosebumps anymore. Soldier ants were a bye bye situation after a while, and as much as I still get goosebumps once in a while from a cluster of ants, I faced my fear and goosebumps just became a natural way of reminding me there was danger, but it didn't make me want to stay away from dealing with what was to be dealt with.

So what's your fear? What gives you goosebumps? Have you fought with it yet? You either choose to live with allowing your fear scare you or you choose to scare your fear away even in your fear.

My Thoughts.

Ala O. Wilcox

#goosebumps #alawilcoxblog #fightfear #covid19 

The SHIFT DRESS

I held myself somuch not to write about this, but I had to anyway.
On this very beautiful Saturday morning, as I prepared for the training I was to attend, I had lost interest in the pre planned cloth I was to wear and I was looking out for something that I would be relaxed in for the day, based on my mood. Alas! I saw this over five years short native gown I wear once in a while. That was my comfy outfit according to my mood and I just ironed and rocked it.

Enroute my destination, while I walked down the road, I realized the gown wasn't staying in position. It always shifted away from the regular line, thereby making the dress feel tighter than usual and it made it look hotter too and uncomfortable. I had to make an extra effort to hold a part of the dress firmly while I walked to reduce the rate at which it tightened.
As usual, many cars stopped to either say hello, or attempt to collect number or just slow down, smiled and zoomed off. I'm a very shy person, especially when toomuch attention is on me while walking but I managed through the long frequent walks at different stops.

Few weeks before that day, I wore an above the knee skirt (not necessarily short), and this same occurrence happened and I was wondering why that day. But this gown version brought my attention to my inner wear. One of the tights I bought recently while I was changing the old ones was a material that seemed slippery and of course elastic. The bottom line is that the surface was slippery therefore it affected the outer clothes I wore.
How didn't I take note of this earlier? I asked myself. It just got me thinking about how much we pay attention to the outside of a thing and not pay full attention to the inner. Forgetting the inner can distort the outer at some point.
It's just like painting a house that has damp issues, after a short while, the inner issue (dampness)will surface to the outside and reveal that there is a problem that has not been sorted out inwardly.

Ponder on, and pay attention to those things you know you need to change on the inside. It's not good enough to look all glam, orderly and perfect on the outside whilst your inside is wailing for a change or an adjustment to function better.
If you don't pay attention to what you wear under, your outer wear, though looks perfect now, will shift like the shift dress, and reveal there is something is wrong on the inside.
Nothing is truly hidden under the sun.
A word is enough for the wise.

My Thoughts.

Ala Wilcox.


#alawilcoxblog #shiftdress #innerwear #attention