CHANGE THE BATTLEGROUND

My younger daughter would always contend with and pull things out of the hands of her elder sister. I watched them struggle over a balloon one evening.  She took it from her elder sister. Danielle burst into tears while Olive was smiling. Then Danielle did something. She took it back from her. She went to a bookshelf and placed it […]

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INTIMACY DOES NOT COME CHEAP

When mobile phones were just getting popular, there were just a few people who had phones, and there were a few places where we had connections; I remember my parents would drive quite some distance to find the network to make calls. It was a sacrifice. When it improved, I remember hanging the phone on the window at the exact […]

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YOU HAVE A GREATER APPOINTMENT!

I was driving that evening through some of the city’s interesting areas to catch up on an appointment with my spiritual Grandfather. The GPS already told me it would take me about an hour to get to him.  Some minutes into the trip, a tricycle rider decided to be naughty and squeeze himself into a tiny space between me and […]

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DISTRACTION, A SILENT KILLER OF INTIMACY

I did terribly as a young husband. One evening, I returned from work, and as my habit was, I picked up my phone and began to press it. I did not know Irewamiri had called me three times in an attempt to tell me something. I was so distracted that I did not know when she left our bedroom to […]

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OVERCOMING DISTRACTION (10): REFUSE TO GET INTO UNNECESSARY COMPETITIONS

As we walked towards the car that evening, Olive ran ahead to the car. As we got to the car, she called out to her sister and me, saying, “I got to the car first.” Danielle’s response was simple but profound. She said to her, “I am not in competition with you.” If you will overcome distraction, you must get […]

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OVERCOMING DISTRACTION (8): DO NOT JOKE WITH THE MORNING 

A dear mentor told me a long time ago that he loves hotel rooms where there is a little notepad or jotter by the bedside alongside a pen. When he saw I was curious, he said to me, “The last thing you should do before going to bed is to take note of what you want to do the next […]

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OVERCOMING DISTRACTION (6): ASSESS AND CHANGE COMPANY IF NEED BE

As teenagers, my friends and I had a routine we kept on the first day of every year. We would all get in a car and drive around different homes in town. The journey started in a home where there was always roasted local chicken and ended with a family that would normally throw a light party every first day […]

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OVERCOMING DISTRACTION (5): LEAVE THE ‘NO DEMAND’ ZONE

My parents told a story about how my brother fell sick as a little boy. It was late in the night in Eruwa when they got a referral to the city of Ibadan. Dad would not take chances to wait till morning. They drove that same night, for almost two hours to get to the city. Why? Life was at […]

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