Abiola Olojo's Blog

This is not a religion. It’s an experience. I discovered that God is real, more than what religion or anyone has ever told me. I believe there’s God in heaven, and I believe all the things I’ve read in the bible. But you know the experience you have when you move from theoretical knowledge to practical knowledge. That was the experience I had.  After the death of my husband, I was in deep grief and sorrow. I wouldn’t know how the future would look like. Fear gripped my soul and I cried day and night. In the midst of all that, I encountered God. Peace began to enter into my heart and I was getting relieved from all the emotional pains that I'd suffered. I was able to touch heaven and felt the heart of God. It was an experience like no other.  This was the first time I knew God as a father. I had the confidence that a child has when he knows his father is there with him and for him. Even though enemies might be making noise outside. No shaking. My fears and worries disappeared. ...

Oftentimes we experience Saudade . Saudade is the deep emotional feeling of nostalgia towards the absence of a loved one or something in the past. It is the love, feelings, emotions, memories or thoughts that remains after someone we love or situation has passed. Many times we attach to the past, that we don’t want to live the present and enjoy the blessings of the future. There are definitely going to be certain moments we loved and cherished either alone or with someone and we wouldn’t mind to have those moments again, but the truth is -there are better days ahead, only if we can leave the past so that we can enjoy the future.  Beyond the good, there’s always the better. But if we cling to the good, we will not see the better. We might think we’ve reached the height of enjoyment in life until we have a new experience and realize there are always better days ahead. Though things might be hard and situations difficult to cope with, but I promise you that your attitude will surely ...

One summer afternoon, a young mother laid her baby girl to sleep in her cradle. She said to herself “I’ll just go to meet one of my friends in the neighborhood for a minute or so to visit. I haven’t had time to talk with her for such a long time." But while she and her friend were having their ladies talk, the city fire alarm sent a chill through them both. “Don’t worry,” said her friend. “Most likely it’s only a grass fire. There are lots of them at this time of year. I’m sure the fire isn’t anywhere near here.”  “But listen,” said the mother. “I think I hear the fire engine coming this way. Look! People are running down the street- running toward my house!” Without another word, she dashed into the street and ran with the gathering crowd. Then she saw it. Her own house was on fire! Smoke and flames were already pouring through the roof. “My baby!” she cried frantically. “My baby!” The crowd was thick around the house, but she pushed and shoved until she reached the door. A firem...

Aaron Moser was seventeen years old when tragedy struck during a 1998 local junior league hockey game in British Columbia. He was checked into the boards, hit his head first, and broke his neck. Initially seems it was something minor that could easily be handled, but later found out that the injury had caused Aaron his spinal cord to be damaged, leaving him a quadriplegic, with all his limbs; arms and legs completely paralyzed. And he had no feelings or movement below his chest because all the nerves were severely damaged.  For Aaron who was such an athletic and active guy, who was popular among his mates, it was a brutal blow. For his family, they had to adapt to the sad situation and give him all the care and support he needed and helped him to adjust to his new life. This also had to go with extra expenses and sacrifice. To get around this situation, his family, friends, and the entire community set up a trust fund to cover supplies, equipment, wheelchair, renovations, and other...

  Growing up, I wouldn't believe this- " life is predictable ", How? We had always been taught that life is mysterious and whimsical. It happens anyhow and you don't know what will happen to you. You don't know if God will help you or somebody will hate you. It's always by luck or by fate. Nothing is predictable. You can't plan anything. You just subject yourself to luck and miracles.  To say life is predictable, I don't mean change will not happen one way or the other. But you have the power to make it and turn it to  the direction that you want. And because it is inevitable, it  happens anyways.  But with the old mindset that I had, it is easier to believe that there is absolutely nothing you can do about predicting your life. You just wait to see which direction your life will go. There's nothing you can do about the government or the condition in your country. You just believe that God would solve all the problems and if He does not, there...

  Yes, you read it right.  It wasn't a miracle that did the creation of heavens and earth.  It was work.  How did I know it was work and not miracle?  Let me explain.  What happened in the account of creation in the book of Genesis was similar to what could happen to us in any seemingly hopeless situation.  Instead of waiting for a miracle, God worked.  How?  First, when He created the heavens and the earth, the earth was void and empty.  Darkness was everywhere.  Then the Spirit of God and the word of God began to work. God used six days to do his work.  And on the seventh day, he rested.  I think it's someone who has worked that rest.  A person who didn't work has no need to rest.  God didn't look for shortcuts even though he could find one, but he did work.  So why won't you work?  If God our creator, the maker of heavens and earth worked, then we've got no excuse not to work.  Jesus said- ...

Many people would feel the same way Diane Warren did as a young girl. She was this kind of girl who didn’t want too many people around her but always loved to be alone, and so was misunderstood and somehow different from everyone around her. She lived with her parents in California. At a point, she ran away from home and later came back. She had passion for music and was always fond of writing songs that expressed her feelings and circumstances. She’s so creative and gifted with words.  While her mother thought there was no way in what she was doing, her father encouraged her and raised her hope of becoming a great singer and songwriter in future. With that encouragement, she produced her songs and began to sell them. Her first song brought her to limelight, and she released other hit songs which featured other artists with biggest names in music. People like Celine Dion, Trisha Yearwood, Toni Braxton, and LeAnn Rimes. Her music career stepped up to the next level when her songs be...

Is it possible to overcome fear? Every now and then we are cumbered with so many thoughts that put fear in us. So how do we allay those fears? I remember in my forties when I used to fear a lot; m y fear threshold became so low that I literally feared anything and everything. The fear was about my family - my husband and my children. I always thought about little things- “ How are we going to do this? How are we going to do that? What would happen after this? And so on. ” I became so distraught and frantic. What happened? Nothing!  All the things I had feared and became so anxious about just became needless. They weren't as serious as I thought.  You know the challenge with us as humans is that we don't usually learn from the past unless it's very serious. The moment something happens, we do it and forget about it. Even the same situation could repeat itself over and over again and we will still express the same fear and anxiety towards it. One thing to understand is that ...

Every parent wants to have good children. They want their children to turn out good and be a blessing to the world. They give them good education, home training, and legacy to as much as they can afford. But sometimes, parents face challenges with training their children. Some of the challenges could be financial, environmental, social or spiritual.  However, parents are not happy when their children are not doing well and want to do everything to make sure they get them back on track. Sometimes the children could engage in wrong activities that could tarnish the image of the parents. In such situation, it has to be a more committed effort from the end of the parents, involving both physical and spiritual. Talk with them, pray with them, and if needed, consult a professional, like children psychologists or counselors.  Though it’s always better to put your children on the right path early in life. So that it will be easier to put them back on track if they derailed. Notwithsta...

Life, first of all, is a gift. It is what every one of us receives without payment. Nobody ever bought the life they are living. All living things live life free of charge. If life could be bought, the rich would have bought extra lives, so that in case they exhaust the one they have, they can put in the extra ones. But that’s not so. Every one of us is given this precious life to live and enjoy every day in one single lifetime. However, we have a different number of days to live that life on earth. Many times, we wished people who are close to us who have died had longer days to live here on earth with us. But the most beautiful thing is that we will still meet again.  Life doesn’t end here. Our loved ones are not dead, they just moved to the other side, where there’s no more sorrows, troubles or shame. Death came to take off their garment and transferred them to a place of rest. For as many of us that are still here on earth, let’s appreciate and enjoy every moment we have with o...