DEAR SINGLE: MY VAL’S GIFT TO YOU!!! ❤️😍🥰

Hello y’all,

The valentine’s day is officially over in my part of the world, so everyone of us, whether “single” or “double,” can go back to status quo…lol.

I was telling some friends yesterday, how that’s the second time in about ten years, that yours truly is Booless on a Val’s day. 😁😂

And truly speaking, the thought made me sober for a couple of minutes.

I honestly got used to being loved up and pampered on Val’s day, whether I was in a long-distance or short-distance relationship. But we are where we are today, and we don’t complain, we give thanks …😉

Sometime last year, I wrote this article on ways to practically prepare yourself for marriage, and I thought to share it with other singles, who would love to maximize this season of their lives.

Please note that this post applies to both ladies and gentlemen, and is in no way exhaustive.

Enjoy!

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1. Invest in spiritual growth.

Cultivate the habit of seeking God’s face in your closet. Ask to be filled with the Holyspirit and learn to discern his will at all times.

Pray so that you don’t become a prey to the wicked one. There are so many temptations out there.

Attend church meetings regularly and serve faithfully too. Submit to your spiritual leader. It’s for your own good.

Have a bible study plan. Meditate on God’s word and journal your reflections. Let your faith not just be in theory, apply God’s word to your everyday life.

Join a home cell or small group, to build intimacy with fellow believers and have spiritual accountability.

Get your friends together (physically or online), to study the scriptures, pray for and admonish one another.

2. Invest in domestic skills.

Hone your cooking skills (try new recipes, both local & exotic), research on healthy dietary plans and learn to meal prep.

Practice keeping your house and immediate surroundings clean and tidy.

“Sister single, please normalize fixing simple things around the house (like, replacing the light bulb).”

Learn to go to the market by yourself, to negotiate prices and make wholesale purchases. Not everytime shopping at Shoprite.

“Brother single, I hope you know the current prices of tomatoes & onions?”

Learn how to organize and make your living space beautiful and comfortable. Carefully pick out your furniture, wallpapers and other decors.

These are essential habits that can give you a headstart when you get married.

3. Invest in meaningful relationships.

Don’t be a recluse.

It’s tempting to want to “dey your dey,” as a single person, especially when most of your contemporaries are married or taken. But it’s unhealthy to keep to yourself all the time.

Learn to reach out to others and welcome them into your space. You deserve to be loved, even if you don’t have a significant other yet.

Hospitality, communication skills, tolerance, kindness, and conflict resolution, are some of the values you learn, when you interact regularly with others.

It is also good to visit older relatives and family friends, so you get the opportunity to babysit their kids. It’s not too early to learn about changing diapers and potty training, if parenting is something you someday desire.

4. Invest in knowledge and personal development.

Learn more about yourself. Study your primary and secondary temperaments.

Start by taking a personality assessment. It is important to know your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your core values and guiding principles.

Attend sound marriage seminars, and read godly books on dating and parenting.

Learn to budget, to save and to invest. Avoid debts if you can. Financial incompatibility is a red flag in any romantic relationship.

Learn how to drive and get your driver’s license. You don’t even need to own a car, just do it.

5. Invest in self-care.

Prioritize taking care of your physical and mental health.

Learn the art of self-grooming.

Pay attention to your personal hygiene- Brush and Floss. Shave regularly too. Be generous with the use of deodorants and body spray.

Do your manicure and pedicure as often as you can. Say NO to chipped fingernails or cracked feet.

Keep your hair neat and your beard well trimmed.

“Dear brother single, please when last did you change your towel or bedsheet?”

Be responsible about your health.
Don’t just buy over-the-counter medications every time, go for routine medical check up.

Get your blood pressure and sugar level checked. Ensure you know your genotype and blood group.

Work on your weight and build up those muscles, don’t wait until you have a potbelly.

Upgrade your wardrobe regularly. You deserve to look good.
Wear befitting clothes (including nighties and undies), shoes and accessories.

Learn to pamper yourself. Gift yourself a full body massage at the spa.

Not every time bread and akara, sometimes treat yourself to some pizza and ice cream.

Hangout with friends to Netflix and Chill. And if you can afford to go to the cinema to see a movie, and buy yourselves some popcorn and hotdogs, please do.

Learn how to dance. Tryout karaoke. Register for a swimming class. Go on a boat ride. Just. Have. Fun.

Don’t postpone your enjoyment simply because you’re single.

6. Invest in living.

The best time to discover and start to live out your purpose is NOW.

Build your career skills. Update your CV. Apply for that new job or a scholarship to further your studies. Expand your network.

Start that business. Write that book. Record that podcast. Set up that website.

Travel wide. Tick your bucket list.
Set new goals and ace them.

Buy a landed property if you can.

“Dear sister single, it’s okay to buy a car, move into a bigger apartment and get a whole set of furniture and electronic gadgets. It’s also okay to have your Master’s and go for your PhD. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Your possibilities are endless when you embrace living. Nothing will stop you, unless you stop yourself.

With these few points of mine, I hope, I have been able to convince you that being single is a blessing, if you make the most of it. 😂

:::requ1ne:::
♥️♥️♥️

MAY 2021|| Life Update + Adios!!!

Hola amigos! 😃🤭

First of all, thanks to everyone who followed the last series, Joseph’s Diary: a retelling of the biblical story of Joseph & his brothers, centered around the themes of betrayal, forgiveness, reconciliation and the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Joseph’s Diary.

In this post, I promised that I’ll share with you a life update…

MARCH 2021: CAN DO.

2021 kinda started on this note, but a lot has happened since then.

JANUARY 2021|| ADAPT.

After trusting God for months, I finally made the transition into the next phase of my career in February.

Hola doctora!

Thankfully, I was able to get a job in the facility I desired. And while life as a resident doctor hasn’t been all rosy, I am grateful for the opportunity to do what I really love.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve also been working hard to set up a website, where I not only share blogposts but also upload courses from the Requine Academy.

I’m happy to say that by the end of June, this project will be launched.

It’s therefore with mixed feelings that I would like to announce that the journey which started some 7+ years ago with this post, has officially come to an end. I will no longer be writing new articles on this blog.

WELCOME NOTE

What next?

You should subscribe to my new website: requ1ne.com, so that you can receive the monthly newsletter, get details about my courses and have access to other exciting offers.

Home

Adios! ❤️

:::requ1ne:::

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 21

(Reference: Genesis 47:1-12)

Today, I took a few of my brothers as well as my Father, to meet King Pharaoh.

The reception was warm and cheerful.

He and my Father were able to engage in a casual conversation, after which my Father blessed him.

Later in the day, I showed my family around Egypt, then gave them a property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses, as the king had commanded.

I also gave them enough food to last them for many days.

I can truly say that despite my ordeals in the hands of my brothers, the Lord ordained my journey and made me victorious.

– Joe.

THE END.

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 20

(Reference: Genesis 46: 28-33)

The day finally came that my father, my brothers and all the members of their respective families, arrived from Canaan.

I went to Goshen to welcome them. On seeing my Father, I threw out my arms and hugged him for a long time.

His first words to me, were, “I am ready to die, now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.”

After making sure they were comfortable, I went to inform the king of their arrival.

I told Pharaoh, that they were shepherds who took care of livestock back home, and that they brought their flocks and herds with them.

I did this to make sure that Pharaoh gave the permission for them to continue to live in Goshen, because the Egyptians will have nothing to do with shepherds.

• – Joe.

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 19

(Reference: Genesis 45:5-28 GNB).

As the shock of my reveal wore off, I reassured my brothers, “Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives.”

I explained to them how it was the second year of the famine and there were still five more years of to go. I encouraged them to hurry back to Canaan, and let my Father know that I’m still very much alive, and that I wanted them all, together with their families and livestock, to move to Egypt and live with me until the famine is over.

When I finished talking, all my brothers were in tears. I started to cry too, then I hugged everyone of them.

Soon the whole of Egypt knew that my brothers had come from Canaan.

When Pharaoh heard the news, he was very pleased and he said to me, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan. Let them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have more than enough to live on. Tell them also to take wagons with them from Egypt for their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. They are not to worry about leaving their possessions behind; the best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.”

After the preparation for their journey had been made, I sent ten donkeys with the finest Egyptian goods, as well as corn and bread, to my Father.

• – Joe.

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 18

(References: Genesis 44:18-34, Genesis 45:1-4)

After Benjamin was taken away, Judah asked for permission to speak to me.

He knelt before me and said, “Please, sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don’t be angry with me; you are like the king himself. Sir, you asked us, ‘Have you got a father or another brother?’ We answered, ‘We have a father who is old and a younger brother, born to him in his old age. The boy’s brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s children still alive; his father loves him very much.’

Then you told us to bring him to you, or else we won’t be able to buy corn in Egypt again. When we went back to our father, we told him what you had said.

Our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel bore me only two sons. One of them is already dead. If you take this one from me now and something bad happens to him, the sorrow of it would kill me.’

So I pledged my life to my father for the boy. I told him that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame for the rest of my life.

Sir, let me stay here as your slave instead; please allow my brother to go back to our father, with the rest.”

At this point, I could no longer control my emotions, so I asked all my servants to leave the room.

Then I said to my brothers, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”

You should have seen the shock on their faces. They were so terrified that they could not answer.

• Joe.

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 17

(Reference: Genesis 44: 1-17)

Later that evening, I said to my chief steward, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the top of his sack. Put my silver cup in the top of the youngest brother’s sack, together with the money for his corn.”

Early the next morning, I sent my brothers on their way back to Canaan.

When they had gone only a short distance from the city, I told my chief steward to hurry after them, and when he gets to them he should ask, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? Why did you steal my master’s silver cup? It is the one he drinks from, the one he uses for divination. You have committed a serious crime!’

When he caught up with them, he did as I instructed. As expected they denied his allegation, and swore that they had done no such thing.

They even told him, “Sir, if any one of us is found to have your master’s silver cup, he will be put to death, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”

He asked them to lower their sacks, then he began to search them one after the other, until it was Benjamin’s turn.

When the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, the others tore their clothes in sorrow, they all loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

On getting to my house, they all looked dejected, and bowed before me.

I said to them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know that a man in my position could find you out by practising divination?”

Judah answered,
“What can we say to you, sir? How can we argue? How can we clear ourselves? God has uncovered our guilt. All of us are now your slaves and not just the one with whom the cup was found.”

“Oh, no! I would never do that! Only the one who had the cup will be my slave.” I replied, “The rest of you may go back safe and sound to your father.”

Despite their pleading, I asked my chief steward to separate Benjamin from the rest of them.

• Joe.

MARCH 2021: CAN DO.

It’s another month of the year, and a new season for me.

Prayers are being answered and God is working out some of the fine details about my life behind-the-scenes.

There’s an exciting Life Update Post coming up, soon.

Like with any season, this new season has come with its own share of challenges.

There are moments when I feel like, maybe this kind of life was not particularly meant for me, days when I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep for hours.

It’s too early to call what I’m experiencing Burnout, but some of the signs are there, even if subtle.

The other day, as I sat to restructure my weekly planner, the Holyspirit made me meditate on Philippians 4:13 NKJV,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

While I still feel overwhelmed sometimes, the above scripture has helped me to tune into God’s strength, rather than focusing on my own ability.

The season I’m in right now, demands a level of mental and physical capacity than I can currently produce.

The Holyspirit further made me to understand that, to grow my capacity, I have to be consistent.

This is a season I cannot afford to make excuses, no matter how genuine they seem.

It’s in our stretch, that God builds our strength.

If we are going to thrive physically, mentally and spiritually, in whatever season of life we are in, we have to keep our eyes firmly on God.

And this is my earnest prayer, for everyone reading this.

:::requ1ne:::
♥️♥️♥️

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 16

(Reference: Genesis 43:18-34).

It was much later that my house servant informed me that when my brothers got to the door, they told him,

“If you please, sir, we came here once before to buy food. When we set up camp on the way home, we opened our sacks, and each man found his money in the top of his sack — every bit of it. We have brought it back to you. We have also brought some more money with us to buy more food. We do not know who put our money back in our sacks.”

He had replied, “Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks for you. I received your payment.”

After this, he released Simeon from the prison to be reunited with them.

Then my servant gave them water so that they could wash their feet, and he also fed their donkeys.

As soon as I got home, they brought me gifts and bowed down to the ground. I asked about their health and if my Father was alive and well.

They answered, “Your humble servant, our father, is still alive and well.”

When I saw Benjamin, I said, “So this is your youngest brother, the one you told me about. God bless you, my son.”

Then I got up suddenly, because my heart was full of tender feelings for him. I went to my room and cried. After I washed my face, I came out, and ordered the meal to be served.

I was served at one table and my brothers at another, because the Egyptians considered it beneath their dignity to eat with Hebrews.

I instructed the servant in charge, to seat my brothers in the order of their age from the eldest to the youngest. When they saw how they had been seated, they looked at one another in amazement.

I also instructed him to serve Benjamin food, five times as much as the rest of them.

They all had enough to eat and drink, until they were drunk.

• Joe.

Joseph’s Diary.

Episode 15

(Reference: Genesis 42: 25-38, Genesis 43: 1-17).

After putting Simeon in prison, I allowed the rest of my brothers to go back to Canaan.

Unknown to them, I’d instructed the servants to put back the money each of them they paid, into their sacks of corn.

A number of weeks passed and my brothers had still not returned to Egypt. I was a bit concerned since the famine was still very severe.

Simeon meanwhile was still in prison, and I made sure he didn’t suffer. He was provided with three square meals, a daily change of clothes, and allowed to trim his hair regularly.

Occasionally, I’d visit him in prison and ask him to tell me about his family. He told me about our Father, and how he still grieved for my supposed death, and also about the many nephews and nieces I was yet to meet.

At last, after what seemed like an eternity, my brothers returned to Egypt, and brought with them, Benjamin.

I was tempted to run and hug him, but I had to restrain myself.

Then I instructed the servant in charge of my house, to take all of them to my house and prepare us a sumptuous lunch.

• Joe.