#Paperchase…. Lesson 3

Apologies for the delay, it’s been a hectic but awesome week :). In continuation with our #Paperchase series, this week’s post is from my big brother Emmanuel Adeseko. He’s such a great guy, a powerhouse of wisdom and a gentle giant (literally he’s like 6″4). There are certain people who are always willing to stop and listen to you and he is one of them. I feel so blessed to have him as a part of my life, he never ceases to amaze me with his deep words of wisdom or funny stories. I can go on and on, but lets cut to the chase…enjoy 🙂

Some things I’ve learnt this year

This has been an amazing year so far for me. It’s been full of both challenges and achievements. Both of which have helped me tolearn, grow and progress in Gods plan for my life. I’m going to highlight a snap shot of things I’ve learnt since January 2015. Have a read and hopefully what I have learnt will help and encourage you too!

Relationships

The 3 keywords for me this year for relationships are ‘redefine, reposition and reconcile’. When comes to redefine I had to reflect on what I define authentic friendship and relationships to be and some particular things came to mind. For example, they should be mutually beneficial, help you to progress, challenge your weakness and be for you etc. That being said I started to reflect on the relationships I had around me and began to see some were definitely authentic, but others were definitely not. This is where the other word comes in; reposition. This didn’t mean that I should be offended or start to be bitter towards them. It just simply meant that I repositioned my expectation and boundaries. This meant that I gained some relationships and lost others – but that’s ok and necessary sometimes.

I’ve learnt that you should respect relationships; protect relationships but never force the relationship.

It’s also important to create the right boundaries to help protect your time from others that do not place a value on you. The last word is reconciled. Sometimes you may need to humble yourself and acknowledge that maybe you were the one who didn’t protect and respect the connection and seek to reconcile. I’ve needed to do that and it’s just as important to do. Sometimes the other party may not be willing to reconcile but its important for you to reach out to make peace.

Money Management

I’ve been working in a professional job and staying in my own place for less than half a year now. Having a budget has been a really useful tool because it’s like having a vision for your money. Practical things like setting up any bills and expenses to come out at a particular time of the month so I can control my finances and better manage expenses has been helpful. If you don’t have a vision on how to spend your money someone else will definitely help you! I was advised to read a book called ‘rich dad poor dad’ that definitely opened my eyes when it comes to the importance of financial literacy.

Ministry

My brother recently got married and I had the privilege to undertake the wedding ceremony. I haven’t ever undertaken a wedding ceremony and know how important the day would be for him and his wife. But by the grace of God and the wisdom and guidance from my Bishop, I grew in confidence to do it. I received great feedback from people afterwards and people were really touched by God during the ceremony. I even had the chance to share Christ with others after the dinner. This situation really was a great learning and growing experience for me because I was 100% willing but not 100% confident, as I hadn’t done it before. But He gave me the grace to do it as I moved forward by faith and with guidance. It reminded me that our destiny is like a shirt that doesn’t fit us but its something we grow into. And as we seek to grow we will automatically hit goals.

 

Identity

Identity can be defined as ‘the name or essential character that identifies somebody or something’. Everything we receive from God and all our functioning in life comes from the place of identity. I learn more and more not to get my worth from anything on earth. As I grow in my identity in Christ I learn more and more that everything flows from the place of identity. Faith functions best from the place of identity. So when we put our faith in Jesus we are introduced to our true identity – sons of God (Galatians 3:26). In the different events, gatherings and conferences I’ve preached and taught in this year it has been something I have felt the Holy Spirit really emphasizing on and its really been setting people free to build their relationship with God on a firm foundation. There have been some great testimonies of salvation, healing and restoration through it and I’m really looking forward to seeing what else happens the rest of this year. We are called to live from this identity and not to let our occupations, roles or functions define who we are and how much we are worth. My/your job doesn’t define you/me and neither does salary, location or even the opinions others may have. This is really really liberating because when you are free from the compliments or criticisms of others you can then genuinely serve them and help. This is a continual lesson I’m happy to keep learning it!

Conclusion

I have learnt to approach all situations as a learner. You can grow and develop regardless of the experience you have when you do. Its not always about what you go through, but the lesson you have learnt from it. I would encourage you to do the same for the rest of the year. Also take time to stop and reflect in this busy life because when you do, your experiences will then turn into insights and principles that you can use for the present and future.

If you have learnt something and been encouraged then feel free to share with others. Thanks and God bless

Emmanuel Adeseko

p.s. check out this week’s something new … enjoy 🙂