"Lessons from My Daughter & I (African Mother Geng)" is the latest post on my blog. It’s funny, instructive, and a 2 minute read pere!

Where are my fellow African mothers? Oya, pls go click link in my bio, read, like, share and drop a comment.
Have a beautiful weekend!

#africanmothergeng
#mydaughterandI …

Yaaaayyy!!! It’s the weekend! How is yours going already? Chilling? Owambe? Work? I’m sure you can make room for this……

My dear single and those that love them, pls read my sizzling hot article titled, “Is Technology Helping Your Dating Life? It didn’t help mine……..It will take just 3minutes to read. Oya, click the link in my bio right away! Pls read and drop a comment ❤️

Yeah, I know the site is cool and has a lovely flow to it. The credits go to @felix.ekpa

Enjoy! …

Late 2006/2007, I and hubby were thrown into the deep end of business. All the promises we had for training and consulting jobs were entering voicemail, and the proposal submissions and follow up calls were yielding nothing. This season was when hubby began his blog. And like the correct guy that he is (I didn't feel so then…….lol), he encouraged me to start writing. I started reluctantly.
Fourteen years down the line, so many waters have passed under the bridge. I've written several articles on relationships for single and married, business, life lessons and walk with God. After some time, I took my writing to facebook, but I decided to relaunch my blog this year.
So, here goes!!! That's why I love what I do in this light. Some of the posts on my blog are almost 10 years old and they're as valuable now as they were then; evergreen!
Please take a tour, drop a comment, share with a friend, give feedback on your visit to www.topeakinyemi.com
Thanks so much family and have a Lovely Thursday! …

Our MUMU don do……!

For every marriage that is working, there is at least one “mumu” per time. In some cases, one person plays the mumu almost all the time. Other times, the roles change. Before you say I don’t know what i’m saying, me too I do “strong head” many times and I know where it ends. Once someone chooses to see beyond self, every issue can be solved by talking through it.

When you choose to not be the “mumu” and expect your spouse to, you can win arguments, have moments to gloat and feel gratified that you did not “agree”, but gradually lose your relationship.

Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. 1 Cor 7:4-5 MSG

In marriage, as in life, the higher road is the service lane. It may not appear so at the beginning, but it will show in time. When both parties strive to serve one another, the union becomes a case of heaven on earth.

N.B: Pls don't ask me how we are sharing the Mumu role in our family, or if it tilts to one side; we are sha working it out. Tenk you!😜 I will also not mind someone helping me interpret what Mumu means in English and many other languages so the post can benefit all readers 🤣

#makeyourmarriagework
#taketheservicelane …

This my spouse ehn……..

This post is not for everyone. Infact, it’s not necessarily for all married people, especially those who feel I don’t know their spouse or what he/she is capable of. This is my attempt to give counsel to someone. If it’s for you, you will know……

Dear Married Man/Woman, is there something your spouse does that you don’t like? Is there something you would like for your spouse to do, for him/herself or together with you and you’ve been talking about it for years, but nothing has changed? I have something to share with you. Stop talking about it; directly or indirectly. It’s ok!

I don’t know how this works, but after being married for about 18 years, I realized that not too long after I stop “nagging” about some things (not everything o…..lol), things change. I’ll share a personal example and hope it helps someone.

For some years now, I have been talking to hubby about having a regular exercise routine, but he just never found it exciting to do it. You would wonder, shebi it’s his health and he should take it seriously? No way. He started swimming at some point, then stopped. I on the other hand, always started and stopped; either joining the gym, jogging, even got a treadmill at home, but doing this thing alone wasn’t working.

So, this year, while working on action steps towards my fitness goals, I decided to download an app to count my steps daily. As I downloaded it, hubby checked what I was doing and decided to join me. Experience taught me not to get too excited. I set a goal for my day steps and he set his own as well. Along the line, we decided to convert stepping time to bible study and prayer time. Before I knew what was happening, he was leading daily in number of steps (over 10,000 steps daily on most days!) Infact, he challenged me to pay him 1k on any day he achieved more steps than me! I was like, wow! 😲😲

I realized he really wanted to do it, but wanted it to be fun and more productive than just exercising. He needed an angle to do what I had been suggesting, and when he found it, he joined me without being told afresh. …

If we take action, we die. If we hold back from taking action, we still die.
Friend, why then are you allowing yourself to be held back by fear?
It's not going to be a different month because it's new. It will be because you decide to act inspite of fear, on what you've known all this while, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Welcome to the month of March family!
#newmonth
#takeaction
#WeMove
#greenmondays …

Our regular sunday lunch is rice (Jollof, fried, white with stew or gravy, etc); but last sunday, I had no clue what to prepare. During the drive home from church, I planned to get plantain to go with the whatever rice I eventually decided to make.

As we got close to the plantain seller, I saw the aboki selling vegetables and the colors on his barrow caught my attention (red, yellow and green bell pepper). I bought some of each of them and some carrots, still not sure what to make of it. As we drove home, stir fry came to mind. I had never made it before but I’ve eaten it plenty of times.

I entered the kitchen and started slicing the peppers. Then I went on YouTube. To cut the long story short, after a couple of rewinds, pauses and more, the result is right before your eyes. And before you say maybe it just looks good, hubby asked for a repeat of the same meal for dinner. That’s rare! 😂

Morale of my story: Once you have an idea of what you want, move. As you do, things will get clearer.

Things are not as impossible as they seem at face value.

You can get it right the first time if you take time to look for help.

N.B: This picture was taken two days ago, I will be lying if I say come and eat 🤣😜😂

#gethelp
#impossibleisnothing
#wemove …

Boarding house gives us an idea of what happens in the larger, obviously messed up society. I think this calls for the need to prepare our children to face society; beyond simply focusing on shielding them for a season.

Some shielded children become messed up in University (home or abroad), some during NYSC.

It’s important to address the root, which starts from training & encouraging them to speak up, instead of addressing & fighting what we cannot control. I certainly respect people’s choices of whether they want to send their children to boarding school or not; but some of the reasons don’t solve the problem if we don’t address the root.

I saw seniors practising lesbianism live for the first time in boarding house (1992 or so), but it was in 1989 in the same school that the foundation of my faith in Jesus was laid.

Indeed, these times require more focused efforts on all fronts. May our children be taught of the Lord.

#boardinghouse
#parenting
#reflections
#hccc
#family …

It’s been a day of work, making decisions, meetings and stuff. On our way back home this evening from my last meeting, my driver pointed my attention to one woman who sells very good groundnut. Seeing it wasn’t our regular route, and being someone who “hears word”, I told him to reverse. We bought a bottle and just as I was paying, my eyes caught the “guguru” (that’s the name for locally popped corn) and my mind went down memory lane.

Long story short, pls join me on my guguru and epa combo. That’s less than half of what I bought. The exercise of crushing the guguru mixed with the nut flavor brought back memories indeed. I will finish the rest during thank God It’s Friday. Isssa lotta chewing work. Join me abeg before it finishes.

My fitfam gang, don’t judge me pls. I will take Rida afterwards. Tenks! And thank God It’s Friday!!!

#memories
#pushforgift
#delightfuldecember
#grateful
#likeseriouslytemitope …

Sometimes, we are put under undue pressure based on what is, or is not going on with us versus other people. Case in point, my daughter’s admission.

As soon as she got into SS3, people had been asking what University and course she would be going for. Some advised us sternly about options we should never consider. I took all that I heard in and just looked forward to God’s direction. I kept praying.

Even after writing JAMB and choosing courses, we knew we were not yet there. After JAMB and WAEC results came out, we still were not sure. Meanwhile, many of her classmates already knew where they were going and for what. We kept searching. Many times, I fretted.

Fast forward to 2 weeks plus ago, on a particular morning after we prayed, we did a casual search on my phone, and then hubby saw a course and said, I think this is it. We sent in a few mails for enquiries and we were told we were getting late for the admission process & needed to speed up the application if we were interested. That same week, Ireoluwa got back from school and I showed her the course of my phone. Her face lit up. She liked the course. She had strengths and interests in a good part of the course. One month ago, I didn’t know that course existed! The application came through within the week, orientation followed and lectures began on Monday! Thank God for tekinoloji!

Many times, we fret; but God knows what we need. When others seem to have gone far, God wants to give you a miracle; something that wasn’t in your plan, but which is what you need.
Rejoice that God cares about you! He does! Don’t feel bad that you’re missing out. God’s got you! While applying yourself to what you’re doing, He’ll give an open door and take ALL the glory. I’m excited about God and how He works!!!

Happy weekend my people!!!

#happyvibes
#lifeevents
#memories
#pushforgift
#delightfuldecember
#excited …

It was a weekend sometime in September 2001. I had attended a Final Year Students’ dinner organized for the Electrical/Electronics Engineering graduating students of OAU, Ile-Ife, and I was there as my “boyfriend’s” plus one. The next day, while heading to the park to get a bus to travel back, I saw my Pastor who was leaving for Ibadan at the same time. I joined him and we headed for Ibadan. While on the expressway, I began to have a bad tummy ache, then I started sweating, then I became very pressed (I remembered the dinner coleslaw……chai!) I prayed that it would pass, but it didn’t! I had to plead for him to stop at a nearby bush so I could…….you know the rest of the story.

Do you care to share of an experience when you were pressed in a really odd place and what you did?

#callofnature
#lifeevents
#memories
#pushforgift
#delightfuldecember …