Nobi's hobbies

My husband asked our daughter to write a composition about her hobbies and I enjoyed her write up so much i had to share.

Hello my name is Nobi and today I am going to tell you about my hobbies first I am going to tell you about reading:I like reading during my free time because it transports me to a whole new world because I like using my imagination to think about what the characters are doing in my mind I can imagine the characters however I want them to be and nobody can stop me.When I open a book it is like I am transported to a whole new world, like I am in the middle of everything. It is a wonderful feeling I experience when I open a book, and it is also very educational.I love romance novels,teen-fiction,Adventurous stories and sometimes autobiography.My next hobby is writing:I figured out I like writing because I read and I also like the fact that it has to do with my imagination.I am also transported to a whole. new world but this time I am in control of what happens.The feeling of being in control of a book is just as Wonderful as what happens when I am reading.My next hobby is drawing because it has too do with Imagination sometimes and also because I am good at it.I don't get lost I. drawing so deeply that I won't know what is going on around me like reading but I get lost in it sometimes, I see something that looks beautiful and I have the urge to It. It like taking pictures but it takes longer and I can add more details to it if I want,it takes a steady hand and sometimes hand-eye coordination.It is a wonderful feeling to look at a beautiful piece of art and know that it is you that made it.That is why I want to be an artist. my next hobby is listening to music:I don't know why but I get happy when I listen to music,i can't explain the feeling I get when I am listening to music,all I can say is that it is a happy feeling. my next hobby is singing:I think I like to sing because of my love for music.I am working on my voice right now but soon my mum says she will get me a voice trainer because she sees potential in me, I think that is why I like to know the lyrics of my favorite songs.Some of my favorite musicians/singers/rappers are 

Ariana grande,Nicki Minaj,lewis capaldi,Shawn Mendez,Jojo siwa,Camilia I forgot her last name and so on.Some of my favourite songs are: one last time,No tears left to cry,Boyfriend,Sucker,Old town road,Seniorita,Someone you loved,Heart attack,Dangerous woman,Side to side,7 rings,Thank u next,problem,into you,me,Break with your girlfriend,Breathin,focus and so on.My next hobby is sleeping:I like sleeping I don't know why it just relaxes me.My next hobby is watching t.v:when I am watching t.v it relaxes me but I don't use my imagination so I don't like it as much as the hobbies I wrote above. I like movies and cartoons and in movies I like

 Teen-fiction,comedy,paranormal and sometimes action.Some of my favorite shows are Barbie,miraculous,Hannah Montana,liv and Maddie,icarly,sam and cat,The Thundermans,Teen Titans Go!,Craig of the creek,Henry danger and so on.

Stop and take a minute to read this

I was walking around in a Big Bazaar store shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old..
The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to the cashier and asked: are you sure I don't have enough money?''
The cashier counted his cash once again and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.
Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much . I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.
I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God.. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister...''
My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly..
I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''
'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.
The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'
Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'
I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever...
The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.
Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.
Now you have 2 choices:
1) Forward this message, or
2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart.
For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us.... go ahead and delete this. For the rest of us..... pass this on.
The value of a man or woman resides in what he or she gives, not in what they are capable of receiving. #copied
Jun 10, 2013 · Public · in Timeline Photos

Money mistakes we should avoid

👌🏾👌🏾*Money Mistake 1:*
Never borrow money that accrues interest to start a business (except if you are paying for it through your salary); only borrow to grow your business. This is because business takes a long time to gain ground and begin making profit, yet most loans repayments have to be made within a month of taking the loan or even earlier. Therefore, never borrow money to start a business expecting that the business will generate income to pay back the borrowed money plus the interest.

*Money Mistake 2:*
Never spend money you haven't received. Don't even promise someone money based on a promise you have from someone else. If someone tells you: "Ezra, come to my office tomorrow at 9am and pick N3,000"don't go out to buy items on credit based on this promise, with the hope that you will pay off your creditor when the promised money comes; it may not come as promised and this will leave you in problems with your creditors.

*Money Mistakes 3:*
If you want to save, whenever you receive money, don’t start spending hoping that you’ll save what remains. Normally what remains is zero because as long as money to spend is available, the numerous things you can spend it on are also available. And things to spend on even incite their 'relatives' so that you spend even more than you had planned. When money to spend is not available, we naturally find a way of doing without it. That's why I've learnt to save in an INVESTMENT ACCOUNT. Once I send money there I assume I no longer have it. Before you spend any money, put your savings aside then spend what is left after saving.

*Money Mistake 4:*
When you get an opportunity to meet a very wealthy person, never ask for money. Ask for ideas on how to make money. They may even choose to give you money on their own after seeing that your ideas are great, but let getting money from them never be your objective.

*Money Mistake 5:*
Keeping your seed instead of planting it. Many people stop at saving. It's very, very difficult to save and have all you need to maintain your lifestyle especially after retirement. When you save, your savings are seed; plant it. When you just keep the seed (saving money) some seeds begin to die (eaten by inflation and the like). That's why I recommend that you read about the different types of investment vehicles you can use to grow your savings. I am not necessarily talking about putting the money in a business, because you can easily lose money in  business. I am talking about putting it in an investment.

*Money Mistake 6:*
Never lend someone money you are not willing to lose. By the time you lend someone money, be contented in your heart that should the person fail to pay, you will not die. You should not even lose that person's friendship if they fail to repay the money you lent them. If you feel the person might fail to pay you and this will not affect your relationship with them, then lend them money. If their failure to pay would make you hate this person’s entire clan, please advise the person to go to the bank.

*Money Mistake 7:*
Never append your signature to guarantee someone on a financial matter if you are not willing or able to pay the money on their behalf. Do I have to explain that one? No, it's self-explanatory.

*Money Mistake 8:*
Avoid keeping money you don't intend to use in the short-term within easy reach. For instance, don’t walk with N10,000 in your pocket when all you plan to do in a day costs N2,000. Like I mentioned in Money Mistake 3, there are always expenses available to gobble any money that is within reach, so if you don't want to lose it, put it away in a safe place.

*Money Mistake 9:*
Avoid keeping money in inappropriate places e.g. in socks, under the pillow, in a pit, in the sitting room, in the bra, in a travel bag that you will place somewhere in a bus ... impulse buying is a devil that will keep you busy!

*Money Mistake 10:*
Spending money on an item that you can do without (at least for the time being). These days when I pick money from my pocket or wallet, before paying for something I ask myself: What would happen if I didn’t buy this? If I find I can live with the consequences of not having that thing, I smile and walk away.

*Money Mistake 11:*
Paying an amount for something that's not the minimum you can get that same value for. In other words, if you are at Spar and you pay N15,000 for a shoe that you can get at N3,000 at Rumuokoro, that's a money mistake except for those who have achieved financial freedom.

*Money Mistake 12:*
Wanting to be the savior of the world by helping everyone in financial need. My sister, my brother,  you are not Jesus. If you find it so hard to say no to a financial demand, you may think you are practising generosity when in actual sense you are committing (financial) suicide. We are not learning to be miserable here; we are learning to live within the boundaries of reality.

*Money Mistake 13:*
Consistently spending all you earn or more than you earn. It's like having a drum where you have an inlet that's smaller than the outlet. It will never get full. And should the inlet ever reduce significantly the drum will run dry. If you do it the other way round and the inlet is bigger, it will get full and even overflow. Hence, we have to always ensure we are widening the inlet while narrowing the outlet – all the time. Your side hustle comes in handy!

*Money Mistake 14:*
Thinking about short-term only and forgetting about long-term or thinking about the long-term and forgetting about the short-term. For instance, Lydia was told that there's money in land. She saved money over a long period of time and bought 30 acres of land. Now she has the land but she is always broke. She is always complaining. She's disgruntled and she doesn't seem to see herself earning from the land in the near future. Now, let's ask ourselves: Having 30 acres of land and no money to feed your family or take a child to hospital, is that wealth or poverty? I think Lydia only looked at long-term needs and forgot that she has short-term needs that require money. What of those who find they are one paycheck away from salary? Are they thinking about the long-term needs?

Let’s take stock of our finances. How many mistakes are you guilty of?
Do you now feel better-equipped to do better with these tips? Enjoy the journey , saver

Copied from Facebook: Purple Aura.

Man with cancer given 4 months to live got restored while restoring an abandoned old church

When Greg Thomas was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he needed something to take his mind off everything. So, he threw himself into fixing up a dilapidated old chapel. But while he was saving the church, it turned out that the church might have been saving him, too.

Thomas lives in Montgomery, Minnesota. Now in 2009, at the age of 57, Thomas was given some terrible news. Doctors told him that he had stage-4 cancers in his neck and head – and that he would most likely die from them.

“When I found out that I had cancer they told my family to go ahead and start planning my funeral,” Thomas revealed to Minneapolis news channel K.A.R.E. 11 in 2012. “It’s almost like a nightmare that you can’t wake up out of,” he added.
And to make matters worse, Thomas then lost his job as a propane delivery man. So, in a bid to combat his stress, he began journeying into the nearby countryside where he would spend hours strolling around with his pet dog. And it was then that something caught Thomas’ attention.

Thomas had stumbled upon a crumbling old church in the middle of a prairie. Now, although the church would have been a perfectly pretty little building when it was built by Catholic Czech immigrants in 1868, by the time Thomas encountered the building it had certainly seen better days. In fact, it hadn’t been used for over 100 years. Neglected and abandoned, then, the church had slowly fallen into disrepair.

Intrigued, Thomas attempted to enter the church but found that it was all locked up. Suddenly, he had the urge to pray, so he sat down on the church steps and began to talk to God. And after that, the former delivery man couldn’t get the decaying structure out of his mind.

Later, Thomas returned to the area and began making enquiries with locals to learn anything he could about the building. Thomas had, in fact, spotted an opportunity. He thought that if he could help repair the church, it would take his mind off his terrible diagnosis.

“He went to a neighbor and said he wanted to paint the church and who does he talk to, so the neighbor sent him to talk to me,” Don Rynda told K.A.R.E. 11. Rynda acts as the treasurer for the foundation that attends to the church’s accompanying cemetery. He was astounded by Thomas’ offer and decided to allow him to paint the building.

Thomas soon began work on the forgotten church. First, he stripped away more than a century’s worth of paint which was 15 layers thick in some places. However, the work was tough and was no doubt made harder by the effect of Thomas’s cancer and subsequent treatment.

“I’ve been on a feeding tube now for three years,” Thomas explained to K.A.R.E. 11. Indeed, the illness also caused him to lose his saliva glands, his teeth and much of his energy. But despite everything, Thomas was determined to restore the church to its former glory.

So Thomas soon began work on the forgotten church. First, he stripped away more than a century’s worth of paint which was 15 layers thick in some places. However, the work was tough and was no doubt made harder by the effects of Thomas’s cancer and subsequent treatment.

Once he had finished work on the building’s exterior, he was finally able to access the inside of the church. And what he found was like a portal to another time. The 1860s interior was still very much intact and the church bell was still working.

However, despite the church’s cosmetic splendor, some structural issues needed addressing inside. Indeed, the floor was rotting, a new roof was needed and the church altar and fireplace needed some T.L.C. So, without stopping to rest, Thomas began fixing up the inside as well.

It was then that Thomas was given news of something almost miraculous. In 2012, he was told that his cancer was in remission. So after he’d put his heart and soul into restoring the old church, Thomas was sure that this good news had been a blessing from God.
And although Thomas had been given his future back, he still continued to work on the church. “This is my way of saying thank you,” he told K.A.R.E. 11. By this point, moreover, his project to take his mind off his cancer had not only become his passion, but also his savior.

Consequently, Thomas continued working on the church until late 2015, when he was given some bad news once more. After a growth was found on his throat, Thomas was told that his cancer had returned. “It was the same cancer I had before,” he told K.A.R.E. 11 in 2016. “But now it’s in my voice box and has metastasized to the lymph nodes in my neck.”
Thomas’ only treatment option now was surgery. But even that, doctors warned, would leave him disfigured and might not be successful. Thomas subsequently decided against treatment and has since thrown himself into finishing his restoration project on the church. However, doctors warned that his cancer was moving fast, so it would be a race against the clock to get everything completed.

After learning of his story, a woman named Tracy Tomczik-Loso set up a crowdfunding campaign to help Thomas realize his dream of completing the church. Indeed, Tomczik-Loso hoped to raise enough money to help Thomas replace the eight windows in the chapel and install electrical power. “I can attest to both the beauty of the chapel, and the beauty of Greg Thomas,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page in 2016. “They are both beautiful inside and out and both have a new chapter to write.”

Meanwhile, Thomas himself wasn’t worried about what the future had in store for him. “I firmly believe He’s not done with me yet,” he told K.A.R.E. 11. “If He takes me home, He takes me home. I’m a winner either way.”

And aside from finishing the chapel, Thomas had one more final wish. He is currently enrolled in a two-year program to become a pastor with the New Day Church in New Prague. What’s more, according to Tomczik-Loso, it is his sole aim to preach in the chapel that he has spent seven years lovingly restoring.

While Thomas has been praised by many locals for his work on the chapel, the work has given him so much in return, he says. Indeed, while he was saving the church, he felt that he was also being saved – by God. As Thomas said, “It seems like while I was restoring the church, He was restoring me.”

Men made to experience labour-like pains

The physical pain of child birth is one of those things that men are mercifully exempt from having to experience. But have you ever wondered just how a man would cope with having to give birth?

Its difficult for men to know just how painful it is for a woman to give birth, which is probably why some men like to pretend that it isn’t such a big deal and that women are simply exaggerating the pain. But when two husbands volunteered to have themselves hooked up to a couple of labor pain simulators in order to prove their point, things didn’t go quite as expected!

“It feels like someone is taking a saw and just carving up my abdomen,” says one of them, unaware that the pain he’d just experienced was only the pain of early labor. When “active” labor commenced, the two men, who had chosen Mother’s Day to make their macho statement, start writhing with uncontrollable pain until one of them suggests that he’s about to throw up. Their wives accompanied them during their “labor,” although whatever moral support they were there to provide quickly gave way to fits of laughter as they watched their husbands ride out the agony.

“That sucked,” said one of them during his postpartum phase. “That was horrible. Mom, if anything that I just experienced is anywhere close to what I did to you all those years ago, i’m sorry, you’re like a superhero. You’re one tough momma.”

God's thoughts for His children

I needed a new phone.
Someone volunteered to take it up, so they asked:
"Should I send you the money for the phone or buy you a phone by myself ?"
That question sort of put me in a 'dilemma.'
I knew it required a thoughtful response.
I considered the status of the person that asked me.
I knew he would send any amount of money I asked.
But the issue I had with that was that I also knew myself - knew I would only ask for what I would have bought for myself if I were to buy it.
And that was going to be very small.
So, I decided to ask this person to buy a phone and send it to me.
I knew this person quite well. I'm sure of their standard. I knew they would not get me something they can't use for themselves.
I know them that much.
So, I wasn't surprised when this person asked me in response to my answer,
"Do you like an iPhone? That's what I use. I can guarantee you it's very good. Should I get you that?"
Don't ask me what my response was...
=============================
Now, imagine you telling God how you need a life.
And God asking you,
"Should I allow you to choose the life that you want or would you prefer me giving you the life that I chose for you and chose you for?
Would you want me to say 'yes' to your plans or would you rather I give you plans to say 'yes' to?"
===========================
God, the owner of the universe; the Master Planner Himself, the One with whom nothing can ever go wrong,
The one who wrote to you and said,
"...I know the plans I have for you... plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jer.29:11 (ESV)
And the prophet Isaiah testifies of Him,
"No one’s ears have ever heard of a God like you. No one’s eyes have ever seen a God who is greater than you. No God but you acts for the good of those who trust in him." Isaiah 64:4 (NIRV)
So, which would you prefer?
The life you choose or the one He chooses?

written by Bimbola Tayo-Bamidele.

WHO HURT YOU IN YOUR PAST?

I saw this on Facebook and thought to share.

He had a deadline to beat. So he came home late when his family was asleep. He went into the kitchen, warmed up his dinner that the wife had cooked. Matoke with beef stew. In a few minutes he was done and went to sleep, exhausted.
In the morning, him and his wife got up. After the shower, wearing robes, it was time to prepare for the day.
"You think I am your house help? What is this? How many times must I tell you to never leave utensils unwashed? I wake up to an unwashed plate in the kitchen sink. Can't you even wash after yourself? Must I always clean up after you? Are you a baby? And you used my favourite plate that I keep for visitors, can't you even use the many other plates I bought? Agrrrr you've ruined my morning. I am so sick of being married to a man who can't even follow simple instructions" his wife shouted at him.
"What is this all about?" He asked looking at her surprised.
"What is this all about?" She ridiculed him. "Stop acting like you don't know. This is about the mess you left in the kitchen last night"
"Is this really about the dishes? Are you seriously talking to your husband like this because of a plate?" He asked shocked.
Their six year old child walked in on them in the kitchen.
His wife looked at the child then sneered at him and said, "We're getting late. The kids are getting late for school"
He gently grabbed her hand to lead her to the bedroom.
"My love, we need to talk" he told her.
"We don't have time! You have a deadline, I have an early morning meeting at work. The kids need to get to work. Stop rushing me" she reluctantly said.
"Kids, prepare for school. Mommy and I will have a chat, join you, have breakfast then we'll leave" he told their three children.
"But dad we'll get late for school" said their first born.
"You've never been late. But today, there will be no harm getting to school slightly late. Don't worry, I will personally talk to your teachers" he said.
"Woop woop! You are the coolest dad" cheered their naughty second born jumping on to the sofa turning on the TV.
The couple walked inside their bedroom. Closed the door.
He got her to sit on their bed and he knelt next to her, placing his hand on her lap.
"We're getting late" she said with a cold tone.
He rubbed her waist and said, "Shh, it doesn't matter, this is important. I don't want us to get caught up living life that we fail to address issues"
"So there is an issue?" She asked.
"Yes, my dirty plate on the sink" he said.
"Don't worry, I will wash it" she said trying to get up out of the bed.
He pressed her down to make her remain seated.
He looked deep into her eyes as if searching for her soul. She felt naked before him.
"My wife, who hurt you in your past?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" She questioned.
"For the years I have married you, I notice you are easily irritable, you have this temper, this bitterness, this fear that erupts out of petty things" he spoke.
"Oh, so you're saying I am petty? You think my reaction over what you did last night is petty? You think I am petty?" She erupted, sneering at him.
"See what I mean?" He said.
Silence.
"I am not saying you are petty, I am saying you are easily angered. I am saying that your response to my dirty plate was cold and harsh, all you could have done is correct me with love, but instead, you attacked me, you crushed me over a dirty plate, you fought me over a thing. Why are you this angry?" He continued.
Silence.
"No one is born angry and irritable. Anger, a hot temper is something we acquire as we live. It is our reaction to the circumstances that push us to fear, defensiveness and confusion. We acquire an angry temperament from our upbringing and the pain we collect along the way. So I want you to look inside you, your past and tell me, when did you start being so angry?"
Silence.
"My love, open up to me. Let me in to the darkest corners of your past. Show me your scars. Who did this to you? Who introduced you to bitterness? When you open up, you release the pain and healing will start; but when you hide, when you pretend, when you act like you are OK, when you wear a fake smile; healing will evade you and you will take it out on your loved ones. You will find yourself shouting at me and the kids, taking out your frustration on us"
Silence.
"Racism, fear, tribalism, fear, anger; all those are taught. All of us are born in the image of God and then the darkness of life creeps in through events and we become fearful and angry. Who did this to you? Who taught you how to be angry? Who made you feel like you have to fight alone, like no one is on your side?"
She began to cry.
She broke down in tears.
He hugged her. She broke down even more.
"I was raped. I was raped by my cousins. I was just a young girl" she opened up.
She let him inside her darkest thoughts. Told him of how she was raped, her abortion when she was seventeen that she did because she couldn't face her parents, her questions about her father who was largely absent when she needed a father figure, how she was sexually harassed at work by her boss and no one believed her. She opened up about her fake friends, who were there only to use her until the day she chose to ride solo. She opened up about how she gave her body to a man who claimed to love her, only for the man to end up cheating on her and making her feel unworthy and not beautiful enough. She opened up about her struggle with self esteem, the nights she cried to sleep. She opened up about how she made mistakes that ended up costing her time, money and peace of mind, her struggle with porn and alcohol while she tried to project an image of a Godly woman yet she felt God was angry with her. She opened up about the nights she'd wake up naked in bed with a man she didn't love and how that made her angry with herself. She opened up about the five relationships she got into thinking they would last. The first one she was used, the second one she was physically abused, the third she was rejected because the man's parents didn't approve of her tribe, the fourth she was cheated on, the fifth she was dumped the night before her wedding. She opened up about all her baggage"
He listened.
He wiped her tears.
"My love, that is alot for one person to go through. Thank you for opening up to me. It will help me to love you better. When you open up, you release the burden. I now know better about where you are coming from" he told her.
"I have never told a soul all these things" she said clinging on to him.
"If you don't tell me, who will you tell? Darling, this is what love is about. Taking your past, walking with you today and building with you our tomorrow. Many people think marriage changes things but actually marriage reveals things. In marriage that is when issues become unearthed. People use marriage as a cover up thinking it is a magic wand that will change lives. But when marriage is done in honesty, marriage become a place of healing because where there is love there is healing. With the help of God, my love will silence your fear, my love will redeem back your view of sex, my love will tell you the men you were with before me were wrong. I will show you that you are a Queen deserving of the best of love. Love will heal you. Instead of taking things out on me, let me be love to you. My love, stop fighting alone, stop fighting your inner wars alone. That was then, this is now. You have me. You are married to a man who has your best interest at heart. No more fear, no more anger. OK?" said he.
She looked at his eyes and said, "I love you. I cannot believe after all the pain I went through, finally God brought me something good and I allow the hangover of my past to make me live with anger in my present"
He kissed her and said, "Healing takes time but it will happen. It happens when you stop covering up your pain but become intentional about it"
"I love you. I love you so much" she said.
"I love you too. We are in this together" he told her.
"Kiss me" she requested.
They kissed. The healing kiss.
They prayed. The healing prayer.
He then helped her to dress up and she helped him to dress up. They exchanged some laughs, joined their children, had breakfast as a family and drove to school and their respective places of work playing some cheerful music in the car and having family fun.
Did you get married without addressing the issues you went through in the past?
Are you an angry person?
Don't take your anger in to your marriage, it will tarnish the relationship between you and your spouse and your children.
May you heal from all the damage you went through along your path.
May your marriage be a place of healing.
We live in a hurting world. Support your spouse in his/her healing process.

Single mom being a father in every sense of the word

When I became a single mom over 3 years ago I made a promise with myself that I would do anything I could, even if it meant going out of my comfort zone, to give my kids a "normal" life and the same experiences as other kids. We have accomplished a lot. Trips alone, teaching my son how to play catch, killing bugs with minimal screaming, countless memories, and a normal life. But when my kindergartener came home with a paper saying that they were having "dads and doughnuts" my heart kinda sank. I finally sat him down and asked if he wanted to ask his grandpa to go. He just smiled and said "no. I want you to go. You're my mom and dad". So this morning I gathered up my best dad outfit, painted on some facial hair, and went to breakfast with my sweet son. I was so embarrassed but I couldn't help but smile when he introduced me to his little friends saying "this is my mom... she's my dad too so I brought her!" I've tried my best to let them know they are loved but I wonder a lot if I'm actually succeeding at it. When I went to leave he ran after me and hugged me tight around my neck and whispered "mom... I know that you'll always be there and do anything for me. Thank you. I love you" kissed my cheek and ran off. I hope he remembers this day cause I'll never forget it or his sweet words. # singlemom # dadsanddoughnuts
# myforever # lovewhatmatters

Copied from Whitney kittrell's Facebook page

Mixing up the names of children

If you are a parent who quite often gets your children's names wrong and confuse the names your children, you know how exasperating it can be.
And it's frustrating too, if you have to go through a million names every time  you want to call someone to run an errand.
"Ese, I mean, Bayo - no, I mean Haruna- can you pass me the remote, please?"
Those names don't even sound remotely similar, so why the mixup?
A study has found that names don't even have to sound entirely alike for people to get them confused repeatedly - it's actually all to do with the categories the names belong to.
Researchers conducted five studies across 1,700 people, investigating why misnaming occurs.
They found that "familiar individuals are often misnamed with the name of another member of the same semantic category."
What does this mean? Well, "family members are misnamed with another family member's name and friends are misnamed with another friend's name."
So when your mum goes through every one of your siblings names before getting to yours, it's because she's picking it out of a little filing cabinet in her brain labelled "children".
What about the names not sounding alike at all? The study found that phonetic similarity between names, leads to misnaming, but the semantic category effect was a bigger cause of people getting names wrong.

I do this a lot and it's frustrating.

What are our children doing online?

Children these days have access to their own tabs and smartphones at a very early age and most times, we parents do not even know  what our children are reading/watching online or who they are chatting with via social media platforms.

How do we as parents keep track of the websites our children are accessing?

Many parents do not keep track of the browsing habits of their children and a large percentage are completely unaware of their children's online activities.

Most of us parents rely on these smart devices to help with homework and general learning for our children from an early age because its a great way to stay up-to-date with happenings around the world and  for our teenagers to communicate with friends. So there's need for younger children to access the internet.

Access to the internet is mandatory in most schools these days with tablets being a part of their starting requirements. So teachers expect students to go online to do research and assignments and reinforce information's.

While access to the internet has a lot of advantages, there are also disadvantages.

Some of the advantages are the help it renders during research. Children who have access to the internet always learn new things online and are abreast with happenings in their immediate environment and the world at large.

For our primary schools presently, I noticed a lot of things have changed. Sciences and mathematics that used to be taught in primary 5 and 6 classes, are now taught in primary 3 and 4 and sometimes in primary 2 classes. I have constantly had the need to run to my phone to check out answers to homework and research needs for my 7year old. Older children I know in secondary schools are constantly chatting via Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter, my space and other social media platforms concerning school work and generally socialising.

Technology is moving very fast and we as parents, have to move along with it so as to be able to monitor our children's great computer skills(these days, children seem to be born with an inbuilt manual on computer operations).
They know far more about the world than we did at their age.

Access to the internet equals access to cyber bullies.
Having a smartphone, tablet in recent times is as commonplace as eating. Its a  part of the life of a modern day child. Cyber bullies are invisible and are difficult to identify even if the child opens up to a parent/an adult, because its very easy to put up false information online.

Many children spend so much time online that they find it difficult being social/sociable offline and cannot concentrate on anything else(reading a book or having a healthy conversation). Most children begin to feel agitated if they are away from online activity for any considerable length of time.

Some scientists predict that these high amounts of internet exposure may alter the thought patterns of children.

Some children meet up with strangers they met online without their parents knowledge. We should teach our children not to meet with anyone who they meet online. These strangers can be serial killers, rapists or generally a bad influence on the child.
Although a lot of children have had negative experiences online, most parents do not even realise this.

Not all information posted online are private.

How do we keep safe, our children's internet access?
Firstly, be sure to talk to your child(ren) about the dangers of communicating with strangers and exchanging personal information online.

There are some signs we have to watch out for in our children.
Do they become secretive and try to hide what they ate doing online?
Are they very depressed and cannot concentrate in on anything else?
Do they get on the computer at a specific time daily?

As a parent, know your way around a computer and the internet. At the very least, know as much as your child(ren) until they get to their very late teens and 20s.
Most internet browsers have parental control options for various age groups.
Activate these controls and access to certain websites are restricted. Additional safety tools for parents are also available for purchase online.
Try visiting the websites your children visits to have a feel of what they are exposed to.
If your child uses the internet , they may unwittingly give away sensitive information to strangers(phone nos, address, pictures etc). If this is the case, and you get to know, try changing as much of the information given out as possible. And make sure contact with the stranger stops.
Discourage your child from posting pictures on social media even if they think its "cool".

Teenagers mostly need the most monitoring online but children 12 years and younger should not be allowed to use an internet connected computer alone because even though they may be in secondary schools, they are not mature enough to handle internet predators.

Children 7years and below in my opinion have no business with the internet. In carrying out school projects adults should help them search and show them just what they need.

It is best to be in the room when children are using the internet, it might help if computers are used in the family room instead of the privacy of their rooms.
Try to always check the internet history of your computer. If your child clears the history, there might be a cause for concern.

Make your child feel safe and confident enough to talk to you if they receive harassing or threatening messages online. Start conversations about online safety with your child early.
Set a good example by limiting your time on social networks/your phone when at home.
Teach them to decline friend requests from strangers.

In as much as internet access is a common factor in our lives, we need to think of the security of our children and as such, cautious movement into the advantages should be taken.