Bereanista

I have a confession. It's really, reaaaaally weird. There's this thing my brain keeps doing (not me, my brain ;) It will NOT QUIT thinking about Beyoncé. I know... not Jesus, not the lovely people in my life, not my looming exams... Beyoncé. I can't tell you how many times: * I'm channel surfing or just passing by the TV and her video happens to be on and I stay glued to it till it's over. * I'm reading articles online and see yet another headline about her and her wonderful life- and no amount of reasoning can keep me from clicking the link! * I suddenly start singing her tunes or dancing her dances in the privacy of my room. All it takes is to hear a song or stumble upon a news clip, an advert, a picture; and Mrs. Carter takes up my brainspace for Lord knows how long. Sounds like the symptoms of a die-hard fan, right? Think again- I don't follow her on Twitter, don't patrol her website, not subscribed on YouTube- and that's what gets me the most- I...

When stuff about gay rights comes up, I usually feign deafness, dumbness, blindness and whatever else it takes to avoid the issue. The Nana Oye Lithur/gay rights issue has popped up in my News Feed a lot this week; but I told myself I didn't know the facts of the story and succeeded grandly at leaving it alone... until a memory popped up in my mind about five hours ago as I was lying here, unable to sleep. 2010, final year of undergrad. Saturday morning, I'm on my way to a class  (UGBS 10 accounting peeps, you know which lecturer did that :)  It's around 8am, so there aren't many people about, especially not on the roads leading to the faculties. On that stretch of road leading up to the Business School, I see him... heading in the same direction. It crosses my mind to offer him a ride, but... I'm torn. I drive past.  **Him: the openly gay undergrad student. Let's call him Guy. He was such a novelty and a shock, we didn't quite know  what to do abo...

On Sunday, I went to a church I have objections to. Why? Well, I'd like to say it was open-mindedness or unconditional love... but convenience is the word. This church (let's call it  ThatChurch  :) is in a shopping district I needed to go to on Sunday afternoon, so to save myself the trip from my church, I thought:  ThatChurch , here I come. I had my misgivings about going, but then I thought of this year's focus on humility. Whatever is wrong with  ThatChurch 's focus or worship, my disdain for them isn't godly. So I asked God to: * Open my mind to truth and beauty in  ThatChurch * Shield my heart and mind from  ThatChurch -isms which do not conform with His truth * Teach me what to be thankful for and what to be troubled by; and more importantly, what to do with my   thankful and/or troubled spirit [In reality, the things that bug me about  ThatChurch  may not be wrong, in spite of my views on them. However, for the sake of t...

Dear Well-meaning Christian, On behalf of all other Christians, genuine prophets and non-Christians, I ask you: please stop creating and circulating doomsday texts, emails, posts, videos, Whatsapp messages- whatever- just STOP IT... please. Yes, this world is slipping deeper and deper into evil everyday. Yes, we are in the end times; BUT God in His wisdom has made it so that  '...  no one  [including you] knows the day or the hour...' (Matthew 24:36). So yes, Jesus may come next year or right after you read this; but you're not doing us any favours when  you  decide it must be 12/12/2012 or 13/03/2013 (If I were God, I'd come on a different day just to prove you can't order my schedule). You drive people into panic and fear and insincere conversions- those who still believe you anyway... And that's just the problem. You know what happened to the boy who cried wolf? From around January 3, 2000; when people realised the millenium wasn'...

August 14, 2011. We were just clearing out an old bookshelf at home and stumbled upon a sealed envelope. It contained a letter my baby sis wrote to Junior Agogo back when he was Ghana's Most Beautiful. See: February 8, 2008. Dear Junior, I am a fifteen year old student... who admires you a lot. I’ve watched you play a lot of football matches and have decided that you are the best football player ever. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to see you in person but as fate would have it, I’ve only watched you once from a distance and that was at the Black Stars match against the Nigerian Eagles. I can’t be described as one who is easily taken aback by a person’s style of play but I must confess that the way you handled the ball was excellent. I also pray that in coming times, you become an even better player. Also, that maybe one day I will have the honour of owning your jersey. Please don’t get bored reading my letter since I never get tired of looking at your smile....

September 30, 2010. How are swear words formed? I ask cuz there's this perfectly innocent word that's fast becoming offensive in my books. It gets me all hot and bothered these days; and you'll prob never guess what it is... Future. Yeah, future. Future as in: 'So, what do you want to do in future?' or 'What are your future plans?'. Anybody else break into a cold sweat when they hear that word these days? I don't like the pressure; I can't stand the EXPECTATIONS. All I thought I could be before (popstar, vet, talent coach, writer, doctor, lawyer... wife, mother); I suddenly realise I cant  just  BE. There are compromises, sacrifices... not to mention the BIG question: can I spend the rest of my life doing that? Growing up has just hit me over the head with this one, I'm still reeling; and all these well-meaning people keep popping that one word which inspires anxiety, uncertainty and... the BIGGEST 'F': fear. I wish the one Bible ...

September 26, 2010. I think maturing as a Christian is much like growing as a person; and discovering the imperfections of the church is kinda like what happens to us during our teenage years when we suddenly realise mummy and daddy aren't really superman- they have flaws. It's tough to deal with all this in a place that's supposed to be a support- a haven from all the crud we already have to face in the world. But oh well, I guess it reminds us not to rely too much on cosy relationships and social belonging. Jesus is the only real perk in this life we have chosen. And I guess we'll never really be mature Christians unless we face, come to terms with; and learn to LOVE Christ's church- beauty and imperfections alike.  Apart from feeling dissatisfaction within, there may come (or have been a time) when church is/was unbearable because of doctrine. This time, the mess is technical rather than emotional. You may be feeling (or have felt) this way: DRIFTER ...

December 16, 2010. In the last few months, it's been death after death- mostly of young people I know or am somehow connected to. Being around families that are grieving, not knowing what to say; knowing that nothing would make it okay, and yet still feeling like you should say something. The helplessness. The pain. It sucks... Suffering, and yet knowing it's not entirely helpful cuz you can't make them feel better by it... there are no words for it... maybe that's the point. Maybe it's to just shut up and grieve with them... and pray. Pray long and hard and channel all your sadness into praying for comfort for them because it's the only salve... I've been thinking about death; and dying :-\ Though no amount of preparation could soften the blow of losing people we love, maybe seeing things from a certain perspective helps in keeping hope alive: A LIFE-WISH Dear God, teach me to number my days I know not when I’ll go. Let me live out a...

December 9, 2010. Nope. This isn't a lashing out. I've just heard a whole lot of stuff about my church (join the club, right?); that got me thinking. This poem is for all Christians: Ridge Church members or not; fans or critics, in the ff contexts: Members: Some are clichés, some true; in any case we can never have enough self examination, right? Love u!  Non-members: See how this may apply to ur attitude toward and in ur own church. Love in Christ. x! Fans: We love you! You're the bomb. Together always in Christ. Critics: All I ask of u is an open mind. To paraphrase Rob Bell (Google him oo ton!): we love everybody... and you're next! :-) 5 Questions So… um, just what do you think of this church? Yep. Accra Ridge Church- what do you say? Walk with me, let’s do a soul search We’ll re-examine some perceptions today. This is a true story- in four weeks I heard two strangers throw mud on our name. Got mad that they don’t know; yet they speak Till God re...

November 18, 2010. I'm sharing this to celebrate past seasons in my walk with God. I'm grateful for the phases and the experiences I've been through (and often have to re-go through cuz I wont learn my lesson :-). I'm also grateful to be experiencing truths that are renewing my mind; and changes that  I can actually put a finger on (gotta love those). This is my journal for today (journal entry implying that I had to flesh it out and elaborate a lot to present this; cuz often, only God and I can make sense out of our written moments in the raw form- what can I say, they're private; right Daddy?  ;-)  My God, I’m so grateful for the  ease  You’ve put into my heart. For the most part, I’ve overcome the pressure I used to put on myself to perform, to  achieve   holiness, to earn Your approval. I’ve no more use for rules and regulations: Christians don’t do this…, don’t go to this place, don’t befriend this person, don’t laugh at this, d...