Week One
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Early around 5 am, I woke up to have my morning devotion before going for a Sunday service at my church. In the course of the service, I learned about the need to work earnestly for the escape of everyone in Sodom. Just like Abraham who intervened for his cousin Lot to escape destruction, I was admonished to extend the same gesture to the helpless and those in danger.
Some days earlier, I received an invitation email to participate in a 21-day challenge organized by the management of Cmonionline. This was done to help young writers shut out distractions and live a purposeful life. This prompted me to reschedule my day to participate in the challenge.
After the talk shop meeting on Google Meet, I noticed that the world truly, was filled with enormous distractions capable of drowning creativity and making life futile. Armed with this renewed understanding, I decided to brainstorm about what I could create and devote my time to during the 21-day challenge. This made me remember my dormant YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWnmVX9Bfq-Gb84awDRAebQs which had been barren of content for almost 3 years. With the fire of the challenge burning in me, I quickly went online to research some Christmas songs and copy their lyrics.
Monday Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 20-22, 2023
My schedule from Monday to Wednesday looked similar due to the activities I engaged in.
As usual, after waking up, I observed my fellowship with God before cleaning up and heading for work. With examinations drawing close, I invested my time in revising some Mathematical topics with my learners to keep them abreast with some subtle concepts.
After I had gotten the lyrics of some Christmas songs the previous night, I tried to take time to practice the songs to be conversant with them within these days.
One thing that marked a difference for me within these days was that while I engaged in a football practice session on Tuesday and Wednesday, I skipped it on Monday.
I also had a good rest and took care of my diet.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
A popular adage says, “No work and no play make Jack a dull boy." In light of this adage, I took time to exercise myself and keep fit by participating in a football match with my learners. By the end of the match, my team had won by six goals to one. Fortunately, for me, God helped me score three goals.
Friday, November 24, 2023
Around 8 a.m. that morning, I organized my pupils to visit the NKST orphanage at Mkar Gboko. My aim in organizing the visit was to extend the love of Christ to these disadvantaged children and help my learners cultivate the habit of caring for the poor and needy around them. Before the trip, I tried to paint a picture of the situation the orphans found themselves in and the need to help them with the little we had. Out of pity, some of my learners donated detergent and pencils for the children. I supplemented these items with some packs of pencils, pens, and detergents.
Upon arrival, we were received by the director of the home. After presenting the gifts to the children, we sang some encouraging songs for the children before teaching them some songs. One striking thing I noticed in the course of the visit was the continuous chants made by the orphans about the song, “Whatsoever you do, to the least of your brother that you do unto me." The chants made me think deeply about the welfare of these kids and others around the world who were disadvantaged by the circumstances of life.
We were then conducted around the home to have a first-hand assessment of the environment. From my observation, I noticed that many of the rooms lacked beds, mosquito nets, fans, workable toilets, and bathrooms.
I wish to use this opportunity to call on any member of the public who is willing to render help to contact the home via the following numbers and emails: +2347039161881, +2348071768431, Nkstfoundation@gmail.com, contact@nkstfoundation.org.
After the visit to the orphanage, I branched out to a public junior secondary school to deliver a sermon to some of the students during their fellowship of Christian students meeting.
Saturday November 25, 2023
Since it was a weekend for me, I spent time resting well before getting out of bed. This was followed by a word of prayer and study of God’s word.
After applying for the Tony Elumelu Foundations Be Green grant program in August, I got a congratulatory email about my selection to participate in her 12-week business management training on www.tefconnect.net. This interruption led me to devote my whole day to completing two modules from my course outline and taking two assessment quizzes.
Week Two
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Early that morning, I cleaned myself up, dressed, and left for a church service despite the rainy weather. Upon arriving, the Sunday school service was taken from the book of Mark: 10:46-52. From the lesson, I learned about the life of blind Bartimaeus and his insistence on pleading for help from Jesus Christ regarding his blindness. People around him who never knew what he had been going through attempted to shut him down, but the more they tried, the more he called on Jesus for help. His insistence drew the attention of Jesus, who healed him of his blindness. I also understood from this lesson that in my life, many may write me off due to my present situation and attempt to shut me up while I seek help, but as a resilient writer, I need to be focused until I get through.
After the church service, I returned home to continue my online business training on TEF Connect. Around 6 p.m., I logged onto the internet to connect with the second Cmonionline webinar. During the meeting, I learned about how Cmoni used his time productively the previous week and the need to have a schedule and routine that will enhance good habit formation. Questions were raised regarding the distractions of the phone, but the final counsel was for everyone to deliberately take control of their online presence for effective productivity. The need for exercise, good nutrition, and good rest weren’t neglected during the discussion.
Monday, November 27, 2023
As a mathematics and creative writing tutor, I observed my morning devotion before cleaning up and heading for school. Since the school was observing a revision week in preparation for examinations, I drilled my learners through some practice exercises before doing the corrections. Later in the day, I visited a colleague of mine who had been down with typhoid fever. I offered some words of encouragement to her and asked her to eat well, rest, and take her medication to regain her health.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
After three morning lessons with my learners, I shot a video session with them during their break period. Since we had practiced some Christmas songs during the term, this was a perfect time to record our progress. Some of the songs featured in the video include “He Takes a Beggar, Long Time Ago, and I Have a Shepherd”.
When school closed around 1:30 pm, I hurried home to record some solo Christian videos for my YouTube channel.
Later in the evening, I dressed up in my kits and went to a nearby exercise field to have a football practice session. My team won by four goals to two.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Very early that morning, I woke up, said my prayers, and read my Bible from the book of 2 Corinthians 7:1. God instructed me about the need to cleanse myself from every filthiness of the flesh and spirit and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.
Being the tutor on duty, I headed for work to conduct assembly and coordinate the day’s activities.
One thing I noticed due to my busy schedule was a reduction in my prayer time. This motivated me to re-read a book titled, ”Power through Prayer” by E.M. Bounds.
Thursday, November 30, 2023
After rising from bed around 5 am, I observed my morning devotion from the book of 2 Corinthians: 10:3. From that scripture, God spoke to me about the need for me to remember that though I walk in the flesh, I am not supposed to walk after the flesh but in the spirit.
As the tutor on duty, I organized a light football match for my learners when I resumed work to help them maintain their physical fitness.
When I got home, I joined the Drucker Forum live online video to participate in her annual conference. Earlier in August 2023, my essay was selected as one of the best 30 essays globally. This feat won me a free avenue to participate in the conference.
Since I was not financially buoyant enough at the time to sponsor my trip, I sent an EMS post letter through Nipost to the Governor of Benue State to request a travel scholarship. Unfortunately, I got neither an acceptance nor a decline response for two months. This made me resort to the online channel. During the conference, I stumbled upon an interview with a bestselling author by the name, of Daniel H. Pink. He encouraged participants and leaders not to overshare information that is unrelated to the job on the ground. He went further to describe how he was always concerned about what others would say during his early days. He, however, overcame this limitation when a personal analysis proved that people weren’t concerned. This helped him in his journey to become an author.
Mr. Daniel also talked about regrets. According to him, “Many people are misguided when they say they don’t have regrets. The only people who don’t have regrets are children with undeveloped brains and mentally deranged people. Regrets come with negative emotions, but humanity has not been taught to manage them properly. As a leader, one has to normalize regrets because, according to a 60-year psychology study, leaders who confront their regrets become better negotiators, problem solvers, and strategists. He also stressed the need for leaders to convert their regrets into useful goods to be continuously successful.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, he said, “There was no need for creatives to be afraid of this new technology because humans will not compete with AI but complement it."
From the forum, I learned about the ease with which writers were leveraging AI compared to their counterparts from other professions. This was because writers have a convenient way of conveying their prompts in distilled, crunch-like ways that yield positive results.
Friday, 1st December 2023
After my usual morning prayers and study of God’s word, I left for work to coordinate the school’s first-term examination.
Upon closing from work, I went out for an intensive exercise session at a football pitch close to my house.
Toward the end of the day, I went online to catch the closing ceremony of the 2023 Drucker Forum conference. For those who were not opportune to attend, here are the takeaways:
*One thing that I wish for you is the small things that make a difference in how you go through life: "curiosity".
*The more connected we are, the more resilient we will be.
*The purpose is what stays when the lights go off.
*Learning from failures is a team sport.
*Regrets make us human, regrets make us better, and regrets reveal what we value.
*Management is philosophy in action.
*Start a failure journal.
*Leadership is not executing power over people. It is unlocking the power in people.
*It's not only about overcoming obstacles but also looking back and reflecting on what you gained along the way.
*How do I sum up my resilience in one word, "love"? I love what I do.
*Unless we focus on emotions, we will never achieve what we want to achieve.
Saturday, 2nd December 2023
Being a weekend, I observed my prayers, relaxed, and never bothered rushing for work. I instead settled down to listen to the network news on Radio Nigeria before feeding my rabbits, goats, and poultry.
For some time now, my laptop mic has been giving me problems during online meetings and interviews. This prompted me to visit a laptop engineer during midday to find a solution to the sound software. After several trials, he couldn’t resolve the issue but told me it was either a software or hardware issue. I look forward to visiting an experienced computer technician soon.
As I left for home, I continued my online business training on www.tefconnect.net before having a night's rest.
Week 3
Sunday 3rd Dec 2023
Around 5 am, I rose to observe my quiet time with God before heading to the church. The sermon for the day centered upon the need to give sacrificially to God and man. One of the anchor examples used was the poor widow who was recommended by Jesus for casting two mites into the treasury. From the service, I learned that what matters is the attitude with which one gives and not necessarily the amount.
By 2 pm when I got back home, I logged into my account to continue my business training on www.tefconnect.net.
After completing two modules, I joined the Cmonionline talk shop where I learned from the experience of a journalist who had wasted a large chunk of his life writing politically motivated articles without productive impacts. During the meeting, it was also resolved that the essay prize money from the competitions would be won by just three writers to enhance the growth of young participating writers.
Monday 4th Dec 2023
Despite going to bed late the previous night because of my numerous online engagements, I still managed to rise early to start my day with a word of prayer to God and clean up before reporting to work.
At work, I coordinated the assembly spoke to my learners about the life of Abraham, and emphasized the reasons why they needed to emulate his good lifestyle.
By 3 pm after closing from work, I quickly went online to start the last two modules of my course on www.tefconnect.net. The training was a self-paced training that was supposed to last for 8 weeks but with the array of projects and commitments lined up for me in December, I squeezed out time to complete the training around 10 pm after a two-week study.
Tuesday 5th Dec 2023
Being the third day of the week, I cleaned up and headed to my workplace to organize a mathematics examination for my over 90 learners.
Around 11 am when we were done with the examination, I practiced some carol songs with my learners in preparation for an invitation to neighboring schools’ carol the next day.
In the evening, I went out for football training to exercise my body system and burn out excess calories.
Wednesday 6th Dec 2023
As God spared my life to see the new day, I equally took time to pray to Him and listen to His word before cleaning up for work.
After my work schedule, I took my learners to a neighboring school where they had been invited to grace a Christmas carol celebration.
Around 1 pm after the carol, I left for the market to shop for some snacks and juice in preparation for my learners’ carol.
In the evening hours, I went to a Ministerial Leadership Retreat satellite center to participate in a global program organized by Peace House, Gboko. During the first session of the program, Bro Gbile Akanni spoke to the participants from the book of Mark: 7:24-30. According to God's divine arrangement, the children’s bread was not supposed to be given to dogs. Dogs were supposed to feed from the fragments that fell from children’s tables. The woman, though not a Jew, persisted until she got a promise of healing for her daughter who was possessed by demons. The servant of God told us that as Christians, God was expecting His children to come and dine at His table so that the nations of the world would eat the fragments that would drop from our tables. Unfortunately, many Christians are shying away from taking responsibility to deliver the nations of the world from their predicaments.
Thursday 7th Dec 2023
I rose a bit earlier from my bed around 4 am. This may have been because I went to bed early the previous night. To maximize my day, I observed my devotion, cleaned up, and went to work.
The first examination term, which was billed to be completed that morning, ended around 11 am. After that, I organized a mini Christmas carol for my learners to help them celebrate the love of Christ.
Upon closing from work, I left to attend the second session of a Ministers Leadership Retreat. At the meeting, I learned about the challenges the gospel of Christ was facing in The United Kingdom and Latin America. A young disciple from Sudan also shared about the war and turmoil ravaging his country and pleaded with Christians across the globe to remember them in prayers. God also spoke to me about how to maximize an open heaven. The message was drawn from the book of John: 1: 51 where Jesus spoke to Nathaniel about “The ascension and descending of angels upon the Son of man”.
Friday 8th Dec 2023
With the first term examination concluded at work, I rose a bit late to observe a word of prayer and study God's word.
Afterward, I set up my computer system to type in my schedules from Monday to Friday. With this feat achieved, I cleaned up and visited a bank to carry out an urgent transaction before heading to the venue of the retreat to catch up with the day three session.
In the course of the third-day session of the Minister's Leadership Retreat, God spoke to me about the need to shun unbelief and believe Him for open heavens. An example about the King's servant who doubted the word of the Lord from the mouth of Elisha was cited to further buttress the issue and encourage Christians to always have faith in what God has promised.
Due to the burdens that were developed during the meeting, I joined a group of brethren to observe a night vigil in response to what God was saying.
I retired to my bed around 1 am the next morning.
Saturday 9th Dec 2023
Despite the load of activities the previous day, I was able to rise in the morning to observe my prayers and devotion. Thereafter, I cleaned up and headed to the retreat, billed to end around 8 pm.
On the last day of the meeting, God spoke to me about the purpose of open heavens, which was to glorify Christ. I also learned that if Jesus is not preached to the nations of the world, there will be no hope for this generation.
After the meeting, I returned home around 9 pm to continue with the typing of this journal. With this completed, I uploaded some videos to my YouTube channel to keep it active.
NOTE: Through this challenge, I can confidently say my life is becoming more productive than ever. I encourage readers to carve out time to engage in fruitful ventures that will enhance their productivity.