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Before I heard about Nathaniel Bassey's #HallelujahChallenge, I had first heard about his #TonguesChallenge in the previous month. My first reaction was to disregard it as just another social media stunt by a celebrity.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Though I didn't take part in the #TonguesChallenge (sadly), I joined the #HallelujahChallenge on the 10th day.

And it was simply amazing.

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What is the #HallelujahChallenge?

The #HallelujahChallenge is a 30 day, 1-hour long praise session on Instagram Live, by Nathaniel Bassey.

And no, they do not just shout Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujaaaaahhhhh! all through like a white garment church.

It is an intensely spirit-filled session of praise and worship, with bursts of prayers in-between.

The theme for the challenge is OLOWOGBOGBORO, a Yoruba name used to describe an attribute of God as the one with long arms that delivers his children.



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How do I join the #HallelujahChallenge ?

Between midnight and 1am today, over 30,000 people took part in #HallelujahChallenge on Instagram.

You too can join this praise movement.

It starts from 12.00am to 1.00am every day in the month of June, and you can join in any day before the end of June. You don't have to have started from day one. I started from day 10, have done it for two nights straight now, and it's been a powerful experience.

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Nathaniel Bassey's tips on how to praise your victory in with the #HallelujahChallenge

Nathaniel Bassey gave the following tips to help you praise your way into victory with the #HallelujahChallenge:

CONTINUE READING AT http://untothematter.com/2017/06/11/hallelujah-challenge-nathaniel-bassey/

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The fight to hold on.

by Judy Rousseau

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After 22 years of marriage, my husband turned to me one day and said, "Judy, I need to tell you something. I just don't love you anymore."

After 22 years of marriage, my husband turned to me one day and said, "Judy, I need to tell you something. I just don't love you anymore."

Admittedly, our relationship wasn't perfect, but I didn't think our marriage was in any danger. So I basically ignored what my husband, Paul, said hoping his feelings of dissatisfaction would just go away. In the months that followed, however, our relationship deteriorated so much that our home became a war zone, and the stress level accelerated to the point that I asked my husband to move out.

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The Headstrong battle.

We were both hurting and yet stubbornly clung to our beliefs that we were right and the other was wrong. At the time, it seemed more important to be justified in our anger than it did to try and work things out. Surely I didn't deserve to be treated so poorly after all I've done for Paul, I thought. I hope you can detect the self-righteous attitude because believe me … I certainly had one.

Paul and I were now living about 40 minutes away from each other. Neither of us had anything good to say so we simply said nothing. My husband wasn't getting positive attention from me and became vulnerable to the affections of a very attractive, divorced co-worker. When I learned about the affair, I decided that it was time to draw up divorce papers. I thought a divorce was the answer, or at least what was expected of me under the circumstances.

The weeks went on and my lawyer seemed to be dragging her feet. Eventually, she told me, "Judy, I have to be honest with you. I walk with God, and because I do I cannot proceed with your case. I will not be a part of burying something that isn't dead. I believe if you will be patient, your marriage can be saved."

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Never have I felt such despair.

What would I do now? I have to admit, the time that I was pursuing a divorce were some of the blackest, most hopeless days I've ever lived. I had no peace.

I sought help from a beloved Christian friend, Jeanne, who asked me, "Judy, if God Himself were standing right in front of you and asked you what you would like Him to do for you … what would you tell Him?" The words came easily as my eyes filled with tears. I said, "I would ask Him to bring my husband back to Himself and back to our family. I would ask Him to heal us and use our family as an example that nothing is impossible with Him." Jeanne said, "Well then, we know how to pray, don't we?"

Suddenly, everything seemed so simple. Within a few days I sensed God telling me, "If you are willing to walk with me through this time, I will bring you great victory … but it will be very difficult."

Even though it was going to be hard, I desired the great victory the Lord promised. God's Word says that He hates divorce, and so I would choose to hate it too.

At first, I expected that my husband would return home any day. I was convinced that God was going to strike Paul with a lightning bolt and correct everything that was wrong in his life. Boy, was I wrong. God began to change me. He taught me so much as I waited on Him, allowing me to see that the love that I had for my husband was not really love at all.

He showed me that He loved me unconditionally, in spite of my imperfections. Could I offer my husband any less? God's truth and mercy exposed my selfishness, and I sought His forgiveness.

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Learning to wait on God

When I called my husband to tell him the "great news" that I wanted to get back together, he was not impressed. Paul told me that nothing had changed; he still was not in love with me but rather caught up in an exciting new romance with the woman of his dreams.

At first I was crushed by Paul's rejection, but I chose to continue waiting on the Lord to bring me the great victory He had promised. Now I was able to identify with the suffering and rejection Jesus experienced and how He chose to love anyway. He did not throw stones at the adulterous woman (in John 4) but rather offered her mercy and forgiveness. As His follower, I would have to treat my husband the same way.

People thought I was crazy. Why in the world would I hold on to someone who obviously did not want to be with me? They insisted that certainly God does not expect me to suffer in this way. Even Christians and a pastor counseled me to get a divorce … they seemed to think that God had someone better for me and that my husband would never change.

Yet over and over again, God gave me the grace to put more faith in His Word than the words of other people. One memorable experience occurred one day when I was shopping at Wal-Mart.

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The Wal-Mart story

One day, my two youngest boys and I were headed to Wal-Mart. For some strange reason that I didn't know at the time, I chose to go through the center of our city rather than take the bypass. I came upon a traffic rotary which was completely bottlenecked … no one was moving.

I casually looked to my left and saw a motorcycle headed in the opposite direction only a couple of feet away from my car. To my surprise, it was my husband with his girlfriend's arms tightly wrapped about him. I was stunned. Out of impulse, I tooted the horn and waved. He dropped his sunglasses and sheepishly waved to me and within seconds the traffic moved him along the highway and he was gone.

I took a deep breath and told my boys that they needed to help me pray.


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16 LIFE LESSONS FROM EMMANUEL MACRON


1. Have giant thoughts from the get-go.
My key message is to be innovative, be ambitious; think global and big on day one.
– Emmanuel Macron –
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2. No matter what others say, your actions will speak for you.
I come all wreathed in a reputation the press has made for me. Judge me on my actions. That’s all that counts.
– Emmanuel Macron –
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3. People will resist change, but it has to be done
I realized how much the system did not want to change.
– Emmanuel Macron –
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4. Doing things the same way is the killer.
The status quo leads to self-destruction.
– Emmanuel Macron –
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5. Aim to act and be understood.
Popularity isn’t my compass. Unless it can help one to act, to be understood… that’s what counts. – Emmanuel Macron –
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6. Attack problems from the root.


CONTINUE READING @ http://untothematter.com/2017/05/08/lessons-from-emmanuel-macron/

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Marriage is a life-long journey, and waiting for love may be tough, but it’s the wise thing to do.

Just ask Banky.

After years of searching, he finally struck gold with sweet Adesua Etomi.

Waiting for true love is like waiting at the bus-stop for the right bus. If you impatiently jump on the wrong bus, you will find yourself at a place you don’t want to be.

5 reasons you shouldn’t rush into just any bus to begin your marital journey with.

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1. The bus is not going your way.
Certain people make it clear from the onset that their goals in life are totally different from yours. You may be ready to settle down, but he or she isn’t. Or you may envision you and your partner as power couples, ruling in their different careers, but he or she believes a woman should sit at home and care for the kids.

There’s also the issue of different core values. If you have strong disagreements about key issues you both hold dear, then your buses are heading in different directions.

Wait for a bus going your way so you don’t find yourself in a destination you don’t want to be.

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2. The bus SEEMS to be going your way
If you are unsure of the person, and he/she is not making effort to clarify those key gray areas you have, then that may not be your bus.

You need to have peace of mind about whoever you are with. Do they really love you for you? What are their intentions for both of you? Do you have similar goals and core values?

Don’t begin the journey of marriage with someone who you have deep uncertainties about.

If you are not sure, then try to get clarity with communication or you let that bus go.

Your own bus will come. Keep waiting for love.

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3. The bus is rickety looking.

...


CONTINUE READING AT http://untothematter.com/2017/05/06/waiting-for-love-reasons/

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Is not for you to judge.


These days a lot of people have made it their calling and ministry to criticize pastors. It’s very common to hear people say stuff like:

“That’s how all these pastors used to do”

“Your pastor is just eating your money”

“Is that one a man of God?”

“How can a pastor say bla bla bla…”

“Why do pastors not bla bla bla”

The finger pointing and accusations are endless.

While I have a lot of personal opinions about pastors and people who badmouth pastors, I am not going to talk about my opinion.

Let’s talk about God’s opinion.


What does the bible say about speaking against the pastor?


Do his prophets no harm.
In Psalm 105:14-15 the bible speaks of The Nation Israel and Her Prophets.

God says, “He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

It didn’t matter whether they were actually in the wrong, or actually guilty of all the accusations against them. When you speak against a pastor, you are harming him with your words.

And it’s not for you to decide who is a true prophet and who is not – because the common excuse for criticizing pastors is that “He is not a real pastor” or “God did not call that one”.

It’s people with that mentality who crucified Jesus. And they are still crucifying him today. Every time you judge and condemn a pastor, you are judging and condemning the one who sent him – Jesus.

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You could be unknowingly provoking God
In Numbers 12:1-2, 4-9 we see,

“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it… And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.”



CONTINUE READING HERE http://untothematter.com/2017/04/30/ugly-truth-about-your-pastor/

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A LOT LIKE YOU.
POETRY BY RUDY FRANCISCO


I was told

The average girl begins to plan her wedding at the age of 7

She picks the colors and the cake first



By the age of 10

She knows time,

And location



By 17

She’s already chosen a gown

2 bridesmaids

And a maid of honor



By 23

She’s waiting for a man

Who wont break out in hives when he hears the word “commitment”

Someone who doesn’t smell like a Band-Aid drenched in lonely

Someone who isn’t a temporary solution to the empty side of the bed

Someone

Who’ll hold her hand like it’s the only one they’ve ever seen



To be honest

I don’t know what kind of tux I’ll be wearing

I have no clue what want my wedding will look like



But I imagine

The womAn who pins my last to hers

Will butterfly down the aisle

Like a 5 foot promise



I imagine

Her smile

Will be so large that you’ll see it on google maps

And know exactly where our wedding is being held



The woman that I plan to marry

Will have champagne in her walk

And I will get drunk on her footsteps



When the pastor asks

If I take this woman to be my wife

I will say yes before he finishes the sentence

I’ll apologize later for being impolite

But I will also explain him

That our first kiss happened 6 years ago

And I’ve been practicing my “Yes”

For past 2, 165 days



When people ask me about my wedding

I never really know what to say

But when they ask me about my future wife

I always tell them...



CONTINUE READING AT http://untothematter.com/2017/04/13/alot-like-rudy-francisco/

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Following the end of the Big Brother Naija 2017 reality TV show, former presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati had a lot to say about the show.

He basically went on an epic rant about how the #BBNaija show was trash and most of the contestants were bigger trash – especially the women.

While he did make some valid points, he deliberately went out of his way to give disparaging remarks about the show, and the women in and around the show.

Barely saying anything in particular about the male contestants who were fellow accomplices to the offenses he accused the women of making.



HERE ARE 7 HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT WOMEN FROM REUBEN ABATI'S #BBNAIJA RANT
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1. His one-sided analysis


“The biggest star of the programme was, I don’t know what you think, TBOSS (real name: Tokunbo Idowu), half Nigerian, half-Romanian. She dominated the space with her Jezebelic antics, even got some of the male participants ousted by entrapping and outsmarting them with her sexual wiles. She projected herself as a sex object, the ultimate manipulator, the champion Delilah of the Big Brother Africa series.”

A point of correction Mr. Abati, Tboss was the one who was sexually assaulted, not the other way round. Yes, she did portray herself as a very sexual person – as did a lot of the guys, but that did not give anyone the right to her body without her consent.

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2. His Hard-on for TBoss.


“TBOSS, who claimed she didn’t need the money even exposed her breasts on live television more than once. I have seen better breasts, TBOSS. I am not too sure those private jet owners will be excited by your fluffy, South-looking, slightly bigger than mangoes breasts. If the same men see bigger assets, I mean, those interesting Ojiakor-like ones that look like papayas, pineapples and watermelons, they will not send private jets, they will deploy submarines and fighter jets!”



This is just “beer parlor” bants.

“Attention seeking” bants.

“Lemme say words that will vex them” bants.

And we refused to be vexed.

Like Michelle Obama says “When they go low, we go high”

So we choose to rise above your degrading, objectifying, body-shaming comments.

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3. When he almost made sense


“Given her looks and talents, she would have been a perfect winner. She would have looked good on the billboards. But she lost because of her arrogance. Attitude is everything: this is the lesson of T-BOSS’s disgrace and humiliation.”


You should have just said only these words, and not all the others. We would have clapped for you. But then again, I guess we probably wouldn’t have even gotten to read the article, because neutral things don’t go as viral as nasty things.

Mission accomplished. Uncle, your article trended (for all the wrong reasons). Congrats.

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4. He really does have a thing for TBoss


” When she was sent out of the House as the second runner-up, the viewing center in Ikeja, Lagos, including Kemen whose nemesis she was, danced in joy.

“They are taunting me?” she asked Ebuka, the anchor. No, sweetheart, they were making a far more serious statement about you.


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EQUAL OPPORTUNITY + EQUAL PAY = A BALANCED WORKPLACE FOR EVERYONE.


Yesterday was Equal Pay Day
It is a symbolic day dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap .
Equal Pay Day is basically a day to highlight the fact that most women are paid less than their male colleagues. For doing the same job.
While some men people argue that this is not exactly true, and that the gender pay gap doesn’t exist; strong evidence all around prove otherwise.
I will give you four different real personal experiences about Equal Pay and Equal Opportunity.
I was once went for an interview where I was categorically told that they wouldn’t hire me because they wanted a guy. And I wasn’t hired.
Before you say that could have also happened to a guy, here’s another story I experienced.
A former boss (male) once told me that when he saw my name on my CV, he thought I was a guy, and that’s why he granted the interview. When I came in for the interview and he saw I was female, he said he was quite disappointed. And that he only continued the interview just because I was already there. However because I made such a strong impression during the interview, I got the job.
When I asked him why he did not want a female, his response was that:
“Women’s wahala can be too much”.
While he is entitled to his personal opinion, this perception is totally unfair to the millions of hardworking women out there who are giving their all as they try to make a living.
The third instance of gender inequality was told to me by a female colleague at work. She told me of how she stumbled on the pay slip of a male colleague who was a level below her. And discovered that they were earning just about the same thing. Meanwhile she had been working in the company as a full-staff for about 2 years before the guy came in as a Youth Corper.
The last instance I will be sharing was actually the most poignant because the discrimination came from a woman herself.
A female friend and I were chatting and somehow we got talking about women in the workplace. And a statement she made left me speechless for some seconds.
She said that if she was a business owner and was presented with an equally qualified man and woman for a job, she would rather pick the man than the woman.
Now this female friend of mine is someone who is normally very “pro-women” and before now I could have even described her as a feminist. So you can imagine how shocked (and betrayed) I felt.
However, she shed more light on her stance.
Coming from an HR background, she had done her fair share managing personnel. She explained how a woman could need to take about 4 to six months paid ‘vacation’ from work for child-bearing. Coupled with the days she has to close early, resume late, or even be absent from work due to all the demands of raising a child/children.
So from a business point of view, it would be more cost effective to hire a man than a woman. My first response to her was “But that’s not fair! What if they do that to you?”

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WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? This definition may leave you sleepless

WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE HERE FOR?
I woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep. So naturally my brain got busy.

I thought of my itinerary for the next day and everything I planned doing.
After that, I thought of my itinerary for the rest of the week and most of the things I planned doing.
After that, I thought of my itinerary for the rest of my life…and everything I planned doing…and whether or not those plans would come to pass…and how I would feel if they didn’t…and how I will feel if they did…and what’s the big deal if they did or they didn’t.

Most importantly, what’s the big deal about life anyway?
Yes we are all going to die eventually, but before then…Why am I here?

Why are we here?

What is the point of our entire existence as living creatures?

What is the meaning of life?

So being the deeply spiritual person that I am, I asked Google.

After clicking on several sites, and reading all sorts of scientific and theological postulations, I picked out the following:

Dalai Lama’s meaning of life…
Dalai Lama says the meaning of life is to be ‘happy & useful’. But this raises the question, how can one truly be happy?

Especially with all the numerous issues and challenges we face in life everyday.

To get my answer this time around, I went to the only source that knows much much much more than Google.
I went to the word of God…(Jer. 15:16)
And I asked for happiness…(John 16:24)
And I received…(Psalm 4:7)

The second thing I picked out from my Google search was Picasso’s meaning of life...


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