ELIZABETH ODUWAIYE LIFESKILLS COUNSEL

 The stickers (or do I call them picture messages?) attached to this write up were gotten from candy. They look like messages gotten from more 'serious' sources but no. They are a part of candy wrapper. The truth is that I was amazed when I saw them too.  There was this particular day I wouldn't say was one of my best days. I had many issues I was worrying about. I was bothered. It felt as if I had reached the crossroads. In essence, I wasn't my usual bubbly self. I needed encouragement. I needed succour, I needed to be strengthened because I was weak. I was tired! So tired of the whole situation.  As I was deep in thought, my children informed me that they wanted to go get some candies. I said they could. They did and when they came back, and were done unwrapping the candies, I saw these papers in this picture in their hands. It will interest you to know that, immediately I saw these papers, my mood improved significantly. I got the message. I believe everything worked...

 It makes me smile when people try to guess what my course of study was in the higher institution and they say 'English'.  The truth is that the course I studied in the university is not even in any way related to English language.  It doesn't even come close.  As an inquisitive person, I made my findings and got to know that the reason why people think I studied English language is because of my impeccable spoken and written English.  It is worthy of note that at some point during my active teaching years, my boss had to compel me to become an English teacher.  He obviously knew that was not my area of specialization but he was so sure I would do well as a primary school English teacher.  So he took that step of faith 😁 Most people don't know this but I will reveal it to you today. The secret to my mannerisms, comportment, admirable command of the English Language is that I READ A LOT!  Oh! I never got tired of reading. I still read but not as m...

  As parents, we need to be practical in the training of our children.  There is one thing we are guilty of as parents: we make a lot of threat that we do not carry out. We speak words like 'If you do that again I will discipline you'. The child does it again but we do nothing. We say 'If you don't change that habit, I will deal with you', child continues with the habit and we still give out more threats. These kids are quite smart and mentally alert, they begin to realize that you are all barks and no bites: all you do is threaten them without carrying out your threats. They may not change because all you do is give out empty threats. They may even begin to think to themselves or say among one another: "All mum/dad does is give threats and nothing more, I will do it/I will not do it and nothing will happen."  I once read about a parent who had repeatedly reprimanded the child about not safeguarding his school bag but the child didn't change. So, when ...

Have you heard the saying "Time is Money"? That phrase is essentially true. Unfortunately, time doesn't always equal money though. Time is continually passing but that doesn't mean you are continually making money. Making money depends on how you manage your time and what you do with it.  Very long time ago, there used to be a Nigerian singer who said in the lyrics of his song; "time na money, use your time well". This simply means time is money, use your time wisely. Despite the truth in those words, till date, there seem to be no one else who sings, or preaches about time management.  I have noticed that it is what we need most, that is most times less-talked-about or not talked about at all, then, and the irrelevant things are easily discussed and given more priority.  The issue of time and how to manage it is hardly discussed, yet it is one of the most important subjects that ought to be discussed, because time is essential to life and living. Anyone who...

 I wanted to prepare a meal using a sachet of tomato paste then, I realized the package was bloated. I knew something was wrong so, I didn't use it.  I didn't stop there though. I was inquisitive. I wanted to know why some packaged products get bloated like that. (Below is the picture of the bloated sachet of tomato paste). I have the result of my findings and you will be amazed at what I found out.           👇  👇  👇  👇  👇  👇 *********************************** WHY DOES FOOD PACKAGING BLOAT? When you purchase food or juice pouches, you might notice that a few pouches are bloated. Generally, there is a warning written on pouches that if a packet is bloated, it should not be purchased. Bloating is a clear indication that bacteria are present inside the packet. Bacteria feed on the contents of the pouch and produce gas. Since this gas cannot escape from the sealed packet, it accumulates inside and causes the pouch to bloat. ...

 BEYOND THE PHYSICAL ************************* I was busy cleaning, one morning and I had my back turned towards the entrance. Someone came along and greeted “ekaro ma” (“good morning ma”). He saw only my back view. I was about to answer him, but as I turned to face him to do so; he saw my face and his countenance changed and he said “hmmn, good morning”. I smiled and asked him why he changed to English Language immediately he saw my face. He told me that I don't look like someone that understands Yoruba. I smiled and answered him, “Mo gbo Yoruba daada” (I'm quite fluent in speaking the Yoruba Language).       This scenario above happens a lot in our everyday life. People tend to conclude things about you after taking just one look at you. Sometimes, these conclusions are positive, sometimes they are negative.  They look at you and decide: ‘he is a banker’, ‘she is a flirt’ ‘he is wicked’, ‘she doesn't know how to cook’, ‘she is lazy’ and the list goes on. ...

Some time ago, a mechanic came to do repairs on the vehicle in our family compound and I was present. I noticed the mechanic was extra respectful towards me. Yes, I expected the respect because I am older but not to the extent he was willingly giving it. Though, I didn't say anything, but I knew something must have happened to prompt that magnitude of accord he was giving me. I later got to know through my younger brother that he and the mechanic talked about me and my brother told him things that got even me flattered when I heard. He said the mechanic was like “wow”, hence the respect. I learnt some lessons from the incident above that I will like to share with you: Whatever you say about people affects their image and how people see them; so be mindful of what you say about others. Humans tend to believe the things you tell them about others even if those things are not proven to be true. The words you speak are seeds, whether the hearer likes it or not; those words germinate an...

I wish there are many pastors who PREACH THE UNDILUTED WORD OF GOD. Many pastors today don't preach the truth, on the other hand, some preach the true word of God but change some things (dilute it) so that the members will not be angry. They want the tithes, offering and mostly Prophet offerings to flow unhindered. They turn the word of God to a tool to collect what they want from the members. They reference men instead of God. They turn man to their provider instead of God. GOD HAVE MERCY! If my heart bleeds like this because of what you do; oh preacher/pastor, imagine how God feels. As a minister of the word of God, your duty is to preach the word of God,  not the word of man. You were appointed BY GOD to be His mouthpiece (if you are truly called). Several times when I have the opportunity to preach, if I want to say something and I know there are some people in the congregation that such words may be talking to/about, I don't look at faces. Whatever I'm led to say at t...