Amen

It has been too long.

Side note - I have quite a bit of posts that are in various stages of completion ranging from a start date of June 20 to now. I feel the need to start with this, then bombard you with the rest. You have been warned.

A lot has happened in 2012 - I can definitely say confidently that this year has been the most interesting year in my almost 24 years. It has been good. It has been bad, horribly bad. It has been amazing. There have been times where I'd wake up sweating profusely with my eyes as big as saucers, completely terrified about what's going on and what might happen next. There have been times where I'd be ridiculously happy and content. Now, I'm not schizophrenic (I'm sure..I think..hahaha). Things have just happened that will cause one of two things to happen: either drive a regular, fairly normal woman completely insane or to her knees. I chose to do the latter.

I'm not sure if at some point I told you that my favorite book of the Bible is Romans and more specifically Romans 8...I probably did - I'm getting old; that's what happens when you're slowly creeping away from "mid-twenties" status, you lose your memory, some of your hair, your hearing...It sucks getting old, lemme tell ya!

Sorry, I veered off tangent. I'm back, I promise.

To be really REALLY specific, I absolutely LOVE Romans 8 vs 18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

I'd like to add another to this now, considering the series of events - a few verses down, verse 28, a pretty popular scripture.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

And another..verse 31 - :-)
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

I  now know that sometimes when things are happening around you that just bring you constant confusion and anxiety, it's probably best to just hand over the reins to God anyway because all you're going to do is botch it a lot more. I am not all-knowing, He is. I am not all-seeing, He is. This realization became set in stone for me this year. I couldn't have told you in April that I'll be where I am now spiritually and all around to honest. Bad things happen, yeah. It's part of living; there will be ups and downs. That's why Romans 8 vs 28 was put in the Word of God. 

And to be buttress the point that we are not omni-scient and/or omni-potent, when trials, tests and tribulations come and it feels like things have never been this dark or twisted, that's not the end of the matter. That is why Romans 8 vs 18 is in the Bible. Your present condition right this instant is just another chapter to the story of your destiny. There's nothing in this world that can stop, hinder or delay you! Everything is working under God's timetable - the devil might not think so, you sure as heck wont think God is watching out for you while you're in the precarious position - but He is. You just need to remember Romans 8 vs 31.

If God allowed his only son to go through the pain, the humiliation on the way to and on the cross and the pseudo-finality of death after the cross, surely He won't spare us. We are Christians, Christ-like. We will have to stand in situations like He did.

This is a quick synopsis  albeit a little veiled, of my 2012 thus far. These are the things I had to preach to myself daily to prevent myself from burying my head in the sand and going mad. God knows. God sees. God can do all things. And He loves me. So I trusted Him (still do) and He brought me out..time and time and time again.

Really all I'm trying to drive home is in everything can comes your way, good or bad, all we are called to do, like Jesus Christ, is to say Amen. So be it.

**AMEN**

Get in The Game

Hello beautiful people!!

It's weird that I'm just blogging about this now as it happened close to three weeks ago. Well anyway, better late than never!

I was approached by the Pastor of Temple of Praise Sunrise Church, Pastor Tayo "PT" Tychus to write about "Get in the Game 2012". Two things happened at once - first I was shocked he knew I had a blog and actually read it from time to time then the bone-chilling panic washed over me like "I'm writing for a conference!! eeek!!".

Well, anyway, I got over my trepidation, 'cos I won't be writing this blog this wet and chilly morning if I didn't! As a quick side note, Get in the Game is an annual youth conference inviting people to stop sitting on the sidelines and make their lives count for God, plain and simple (Romans 8vs19).

You can read the blog HERE..

I hope you're blessed, challenged and inspired by it!!

Have a blessed and God-filled day!

Two smiles in the sky! Brightened up my day!!

Mixed Emotions

It's so hard to pick a favorite in sports. It's hard because, if you're like me, your emotions are tangled in there like a bug caught in a spider's web. Your heart starts to race when your team or favorite player takes the court (or field..you get me). It's sad, really. As much as I adore Roger Federer, watching his games is like torture for me. My heart is in my mouth most the time and other times (when he gets broken and he refuses to break back like he's supposed to!), my heart sinks into my stomach. I start to sweat profusely or my eyes start to twitch. So I change the channel or close the online tracker. I really can't get how his wife or other WAGs sit there stoically when their men are playing. Mirka Federer, especially, just sits there and chews gum and follows every rally! HOW!?! I'm dying in my room!

If he loses, I'm devastated. I can't function for a while. I don't google him for about a week because I know that all they'll talk about is how he lost! This in and of itself is torture for me as I google him at least twice a day..so imagine not doing this for a WEEK! Someone I follow on Tumblr put this up and it's really sad that I can relate -

                                            

So now, I read that Eric Abidal (Barcelona), who underwent a liver transplant about 3 months ago is retiring! Why is this happening to me!?! When he had his first surgery in 2010, came back to play in the UEFA Champions League and they won, I was so happy I shed a few tears! Especially when Puyol (who's out as well!!) gave him the cup. I really was hoping there'd be a repeat of that for Abidal, but no dice. Pops (that's my bro, by the way) says that he's old and would've retired soon anyway...but I don't care!

Eric Abidal

                             
To cap it all off, Kim Clijsters (Tennis) has decided to retire permanently after this year's US Open after a series of injuries and issues with her shoulder! I'm not a big Women's tennis follower to be honest, but she's one of the select few I watch when I decide to watch the WTA! And she's leaving! And Venus Williams (half of my all time fave) has an auto-immune disease that's not letting her play the way she used to! ¿Por qué?!

Kimmie! :(

                                           
I wish I could take my emotions out of the equation but I can't...and I'm suffering at the moment! I'm really hoping I don't hear or read any more negative news for the next two weeks,  Roger wins the French Open and Barca wins Copa Del Rey. That should make things okay.

Until then....womp womp womp!!!

Being a Fan...

This past month (and some change) has not been easy for me at all! AT ALL! I pride myself in being a well rounded person, for the most part; I love sports and I follow a select few teams or a person religiously. But it's been pretty tough to take; this past month, especially. No worries, I'll explain in detail; I need to vent anyway! Sorry, beautiful people...this might be a long 'un.

- FC Barcelona: I blame Pops, my older brother, for this obsession, really. He was the one who wouldn't stop talking about this team and Messi and Pep (who I call Peppie; my relationship with the hunky coach is a little more intimate that my brother's) and the amazing chemistry between all the players and how they play like a well-oiled machine and all that. So, one day, about two plus years ago, I decided to watch one match with Pops to see what the fuss was about. I used to root for Real Madrid but I stopped when they traded Raul to some German club (yep, my emotions ran really deep there). I believe the match I watched was Barca against Real Madrid, my former team. A beautiful El Classico. Barca won, of course. I did see the chemistry this team had and I noticed that they passed a lot and they were so well timed that it looked choreographed! It was also funny that they were all pint-sized! haha. Small guys deadly with a soccer ball. And of course, there was 22 year old (at the time) Leo Messi, who just reminded me of a shorter, stockier, younger, Roger Federer (we'll get to him later). I was hooked! I watch all the matches, trash talk a lot when they win, hide my head in the sand when they don't and just plain LOVE them.

Repping Barca!!

So imagine my despair when three horrible things happened back to back - we lost our semi-final UEFA match to Chelsea (of all teams, ACK!), we lost a key La Liga match to Real Madrid, both at home!! And then - Pep "Peppie" Guardiola, our beautifully made coach, decided to step down after 4 glorious years. I wrote this to Peppie on my other blog (I'll get to the story behind this in a minute) -

Pep! Oh Pep!! Why are you leaving us?! So soon after two disappointing losses! You were like icing on the cake for me on the sidelines...with your crisp fitted white shirt tucked into snug pants, thin tie and beautiful blazer topped off with your scruffy beard of grey black accented with that cute dent in your chin....

WHY Peppie! WHY!!!!

El Barca no sera lo mismo sin ti, oh Pep. Gracias por todo lo que hab al equipo ygoodluck con sus proyectus futuros.

Love that scruff on his face!

                                     

Oh Peppie!! Don't GO!! Notice the thin tie, snug pants and blazer..

And now I read that Carles Puyol is out for six weeks with a knee injury and Pops says he's getting old and might retire soon!! My heart can't take this!! It just CAN'T!!!

- Roger Federer: If this your first time reading my blog, let me just say that my love affair with Rogerio (my new pet name for my husband...you like?) is long and deep. He's the reason I watch tennis. Without him, I get twitchy 'cos watching tennis without him is like an ice cream sundae without whipped cream and cherry..like cheese-less pizza...like soul food without collard greens and fried chicken. You get my point. So you will understand how HORRIBLE I felt when after losing in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in mid-March, Rogerio went on vacay! Now, this time, it's not the fact that he went with his first wife and twins that irked me, it's just that he LEFT! For 6 weeks!! Why would he do that to me? Yeah, he needs to recuperate, but couldn't he have done that in like 3 days?! I was lost! I was itchy! I needed a fix...so I turned to Tumblr and found people like me who were heartbroken and in dire need of a picture, a gif, a post on his facebook page...SOMETHING!

Couldn't have put it better!!

Rogerio! 

I also discovered that although I love him a lot...I cannot begin to describe how much I love this guy...some people are just over-the-top! It made me feel marginally better about myself. So, while I was waiting, I started another blog on Tumblr, focusing on my favorite sports teams and people (leaning heavily on RF). You can find that HERE!

But, I am glad to announce that the wait is over!! Roger plays his first match in 6 weeks in the 2nd round of the Madrid Open on "blue" clay (another long blog coming up on this debacle) against cutie with a deadly serve, Canadian, Milos Raonic. Needless to say I will be watching that with a heavy glass of Amish Orange Juice and assorted nuts! With a stupid grin on my face and a gleam in my eye. My man is BACK!!

Rog in Madrid

Well, that's all for today..I don't want your eyes to glaze over any more than I suspect they already have (lol)

Peace be unto thee!!

Till next time!

:)

Nevertheless

Hello Beautiful people!!

So, I took my sister to the metro on my way to work (and ended up napping a little in my car in the garage at work..I was really early. haha) so as I approached the lever that allows entrance into the garage, we noticed that it was fixed...again! Let me give you a quick background on why this is not something to sniff at the Largo metro - Some faceless dude or dudette decides not to pay for parking and thwack! the perpetrator breaks out of the garage! But what gets me every time is the speed with which the metro people replace said levers. So on Monday, it was broken (it's sad really,  there's about  jagged 3 inches of the long lever left and once the sensor detects that a vehicle approaches, the little thing will still go up and down..teehhehe) and today, it's whole again! I really can't count the amount of times this has happened.

So, this got me thinking...

I am in a place in my life now where I doesn't matter what's going on around me - what I hear, what I see, what's documented - it doesn't change the infallible and irrefutable truth that I believe in. So the fact that things just seem to be going awry for you shouldn't shake your resolve. It should produce an opposite and unexpected response from you as a matter of fact! Our God is not a sensitive God who moves in anger, frustration or despair just because something's not "right". Stay with me here, I'll soon land this plane..

There's a reason these scriptures are in the Bible -

2 Corinthians 4vs 18 - While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Romans 8 vs 28 - And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8 vs 18 (one of my all-time faves) - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in  us.

My main schpeal is that when life throws you a curve ball, like the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, get up again and keep moving. Keep fixing that lever. Don't let a temporary situation cause you to make a permanent (and sometimes detrimental) decision. Hold on to God. Hold on to your faith. Hold on to the Word. It's all you need, really. Believe me, I know. Don't let anyone tell you what doesn't agree with what you know; they were not there when you heard what you heard or saw what you saw. They can't understand. When that storm is blowing and the rain is pouring and it doesn't look like it's EVER going to stop, stay rooted. Remember the God of "Peace, be still", remember the God who walks on water. Let your foundation be in these things.

This. Too. Shall. Pass. 

I hope this blesses someone today!

Have a blessed and God-filled day and week!

(This post took me a whole month to finish! A WHOLE MONTH! Better late than never, I always say!)

Seek Justice. Advocate Release.

Hello Friends -

It's been a while. A good long while as I was taking a break from blogging to concentrate on work. However, when something needs to be done, we need to rise up in any way that we can and help out. This is my plea for help on behalf of a good man; a son of God who is in a situation beyond his control. Your signature CAN make a difference in getting him released and letting his voice be heard. That's all you need to do. Read the petition, sign the petition, invite others to do the same.

Let us be the hands and feet of Jesus at this time. Help out a son, a husband, a brother who really needs your compassion, your empathy and your ACTION today.

Petition by iPetitions.com

Thank you.

Roger, the Incredible

Hello Peoples!

The Australian Open started yesterday! I'm sure you can understand how over the moon I am about this!! So, since this will be my first "AO" post, I believe it's only fitting that I post about Roger, right? That's what I thought. So Roger played a relative unknown, a qualifier, Kudryavtsev, beating him in 3 straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Enjoy!

Click on the above stills to see something cool! :-)

The Enemy

Hello Folks!!!

I watched this spoken word a while back that not only lays it out right, it shows you the alternative. There's no grey area...religion is what is plaguing societies, communities, countries and the world today! Denominations, doctrines, what to dos and what not-to-dos are what is driving man away from God and He is forever trying to connect with us. Once the religiosity veil is removed and BURNED, there will always be a rift. Religion is the foe...a relationship is the key.

Here it is:

Have a blessed and God-filled day and work week!

Things worth noting for Tax Season!!

Happy New year again folks!!

With the new year for some of us comes Tax season!!! Fun!

There are a few changes to filing this year and I thought to share them with you. Yes, the accountant in me is showing....even though I don't actually file taxes at work at all (EVER)

- Deadline to file taxes this year is April 17th (April 15th, the usual day is a Sunday and the 16th, Monday, is a public holiday, so there you go). You, of course, can obtain for an extension to FILE till the 15th of October. Now this is for filing, not paying taxes. So, if you owe the state or the federal government taxes (Hopefully, not the case), deadline to pay or make payment arrangements is still April 17th in order to avoid penalties and additional interest.

- Business mileage rates changed for 2011 mid year from 51 cents per mile to 55.5cents per mile

- For the self-employed, the health insurance deduction no longer offsets the self-employment tax. Previously, workers were able to reduce their taxed amount on the Schedule SE by the amounts paid for health insurance premiums (bummer). You, however, can still take the deduction on your Form 1040 as an adjustment to income (which only goes so far...again..bummer).

- If you're considering doing your own taxes, consider Turbo Tax. It's an online tool that helps you get the most bang for your buck. It's ridiculously user-friendly; it opens up options that you would ordinarily not think about that usually adds to your bottom-line. I use it and I love it! It's fantastic!! Try it out and let me know how it panned out for you. If you have any questions on how to use it, or if you have any tax questions at all, feel free to add a comment or email me at tabiola1029@gmail.com

Happy Filing!!!!

Nigeria!

It has indeed been a while!!!

I've had quite a few people (a lot of whom I didn't think knew I had a blog!!) ask me " Tola, wassup with your blog? When are you gonna post somethin'?" My sincerest apologies for the break in transmission, I was away in the motherland....and twas a grand ol' time!!!

This trip home was definitely more fun-filled and fulfilling than my last. I had a lot of weddings and engagements that I attended from the mainland to the island, I met a lot of new and awesome people and reconnected with my old friends. My girl, Ope was a stunning bride (picture below), Lola was beautiful (as usual), Sister Titi was absolutely gorgeous, Kehinde was the quintessential gushing bride!

I love Nigeria! There's always something to do, somewhere to go, people to see. Believe me, all that applied. I got to see my Yoruba-turned-Ghanian friend who I lost contact with since 2001 (one of the highlights of my trip), attended over 5 weddings and 6 engagements, went to various parties, mixers and sometimes, just plain went out! It was fantastic.

I think the downside of living in Lagos is the horrendous traffic! The traffic is SICK! I had three unfortunate encounters with the third-mainland bridge traffic. Needless to say, it is absolutely important to plan your trip around the moods of the outside! Because if you don't, you'll end up in stand-still traffic for upwards of 4 hours for a trip that should've taken only 45 minutes! Imagine that! Now, if you had the bad luck of getting into a car with spotty air-conditioning, then you're toast 'cos the heat was another matter!

I do not kid when I say the minute you step out of your door and you come in contact with that heat, you begin to melt..literally! I usually run into the car to avoid the trace of sweat that runs down my back if I spend more than two minutes in the heat. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind the heat! No, sirey! It's just as bad as summer in Maryland. It's the traffic and heat combo that I can't deal with! I mean, come ON!!

Gosh, I miss that place!! I miss it soo much! And I left only 5 days ago. It's so tough to think about it! I had sooo much fun! Any more fun and it'd have been illegal! I can't wait to get back....!

Here are few pictures chronicling my beautiful time in the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Looking forward to going back...soon!!

Spent a grand ol' time with Pirate and TJ

Leaving Sister Tyty Akinyosoye's wedding

With my one of my bestest friends, Ronke!

The beautiful Ope Awosan and her husband

Mr. and Mrs Awosan

The Akinyosoyes

Elgizzle and Ariztos

Look at my cuzzo's expression..priceless!

PS: This song was played at literally EVERY PARTY I attended...now I'm hooked!