HIGHLANDS (SONG OF ASCENT)

This is definitely one of my favorite worship songs.

There is a story behind this song for me; a story of God's love and faithfulness. 

A story of His protection over me and mine.

I will share someday.

For now, enjoy and I hope it ministers to you as powerfully as it did for me.

Stay blessed!

VERSE 1

O how high would I climb mountains

If the mountains were where You hide

O how far I’d scale the valleys

If You graced the other side

VERSE 2

O how long have I chased rivers

From lowly seas to where they rise

Against the rush of grace descending

From the source of its supply

PRE-CHORUS 1

In the highlands and the heartache

You’re neither more or less inclined

I would search and stop at nothing

You’re just not that hard to find

CHORUS

So I will praise You on the mountain

And I will praise You when the mountain’s in my way

You’re the summit where my feet are

So I will praise You in the valleys all the same

No less God within the shadows

No less faithful when the night leads me astray

You’re the heaven where my heart is

In the highlands and the heartache all the same

VERSE 3

O how far beneath Your glory

Does Your kindness extend the path

From where Your feet rest on the sunrise

To where You sweep the sinner’s past

VERSE 4

O how fast would You come running

If just to shadow me through the night

Trace my steps through all my failure

And walk me out the other side

PRE-CHORUS 2

For who could dare ascend that mountain

That valleyed hill called Calvary

But for the One I call Good Shepherd

Who like a lamb was slain for me

BRIDGE

Whatever I walk through

Wherever I am

Your Name can move mountains

Wherever I stand

And if ever I walk through

The valley of death

I’ll sing through the shadows

My song of ascent

PRE-CHORUS 3

From the gravest of all valleys

Come the pastures we call grace

A mighty river flowing upwards

From a deep but empty grave

Words and Music by Joel Houston & Benjamin Hastings

© 2018 Hillsong Music Publishing CCLI: 7122399

Gender Reveal!

Hey peoples! 

Vira here (again)

So on my last post, I asked people of my gender a very important question (if you missed it, read it HERE, please).

It was a very important question; the answer would have made major headlines all over the world, I am talking about CNN BREAKING NEWS typpa major oh, as it would have solved a long time problem between the genders (that we knew of at the time)

But you see you my lovely readers?

You guys that I love so much for reading, sharing and commenting on my musings and craze, most of you decided not to answer the very very important question I asked but were asking me something else…

Turns out you guys were surprised when I mentioned '57 other genders', and wanted to know more.

I  am sorry, I have checked and 'they' say there are a total of 58 genders.

E shock you/ too?

See ehn, I was also left in a state of absolute shock when I read about the existence of more than the Apple Giving and Apple Eating genders.

How did I come about this knowledge? 

The other day I was reading  stuff I probably had no business reading about and I stumbled across this information.

So basically, some people wake up and depending on how they feel, they decide if they are a she, a he, a they, a them etc...

I told you it’s a confusing something, didn’t I?

Some even go as far as Caithlyn Jenner-ing... (this one is story for another day)

While I do not understand it, I do not judge their/them's/she’s/his'/her’s decisions.

Anyway, according to abc news, ''Facebook introduced dozens of options for users to identify their gender… and although the social media giant said it would not be releasing a comprehensive list, ABC News has found at least 58 so far''

Hmmmm Orisirisi...

The following are the 58 gender options identified by ABC News:

·         Agender

·         Androgyne

·         Androgynous

·         Bigender

·         Cis

·         Cisgender

·         Cis Female

·         Cis Male

·         Cis Man

·         Cis Woman

·         Cisgender Female

·         Cisgender Male

·         Cisgender Man

·         Cisgender Woman

·         Female to Male

·         FTM

·         Gender Fluid

·         Gender Nonconforming

·         Gender Questioning

·         Gender Variant

·         Genderqueer

·         Intersex

·         Male to Female

·         MTF

·         Neither

·         Neutrois

·         Non-binary

·         Other

·         Pangender

·         Trans

·         Trans*

·         Trans Female

·         Trans* Female

·         Trans Male

·         Trans* Male

·         Trans Man

·         Trans* Man

·         Trans Person

·         Trans* Person

·         Trans Woman

·         Trans* Woman

·         Transfeminine

·         Transgender

·         Transgender Female

·         Transgender Male

·         Transgender Man

·         Transgender Person

·         Transgender Woman

·         Transmasculine

·         Transsexual

·         Transsexual Female

·         Transsexual Male

·         Transsexual Man

·         Transsexual Person

·         Transsexual Woman

·         Two-Spirit

So, there you have it, the 58 genders according to oyibo people…

Do with this information what you want, you asked for it and because I am good peoples, I have delivered.

As you were.

😇

Dear People of My Gender...

Dear beautiful people of my gender 

You know I love you

You know I will always fight for you

You know I will always have your back

You know if you need a hype woman, I am always there

You know I am your guy for always…

But please I have a question to ask...

Come close.

A little closer..

Ehen, now you are close enough, the question is…

Why do WE do this?!

So now that 'they' are calling it abuse, I want us to critically look into the science of why women almost always eat out of their significant others' plates when they have their own plate(s) of food that they saw, liked, decided on and ordered for!

I want us to break down the biology/genetics/science, whatever it is that is behind this behavior that people of my wonderfully and fearfully made gender just love engaging in, this action which I happen to be very guilty of also.

The decision to make a post on this came up when I caught myself agreeing with @lily in the above picture. Yes, social distancing and covid prevention and all but with such measures, just how are we supposed to eat out of their plates?

Ehen, we all know it takes the average woman at least 20 minutes of back and forth to decide on what she wants to eat (do not ask me where I got the statistics from, just go with the flow).

As we were….

Let’s take it all the way back to even deciding where we want to eat... how come we know where we do NOT want to eat but cannot decide on where we want to eat?

See ehn, my gender can do some very confusing things that leave me thinking Weldon to us…

Now, back to the science we are trying for figure out, please if you are of my gender and you know you are guilty of this, come and tell us why you do it. I have asked myself this question and obviously, I have come up with no explanation, so I have decided to ask my people.  

Please tell me why, if you know. 

I guess it just gives us joy!

I promise you guys of the other 57 genders reading this, it is not done intentionally to annoy you, it is something that just happens (in my own case anyways). 

So I guess in conclusion, as world people would say, e be things... make una no vex. 

Thank you for coming to my Ted 

Be good.

Ps:   Happy Birthday to my darling Beebah, please keep my cake!

pss: Happy Birthday to Mummy Pretty, Omofeba, send my love and kisses to Mommy.

Psss: Covid is not over oh! Stay safe!

The Need To Unplug...

I'd been feeling the need to unplug from social media for sometime; this is mostly because I realized how much money I have been dashing Airtel...among other things. 

But recently, from reading about the different rape cases in the world, the killings in Southern KD, Zamfara & Katsina, gangster locusts in India, the killings and  murder hornets in the ‘Merica, return of Ebola in the Congo, more about the 'rona and so many unpleasant things happening around the world, I knew it was time...

I especially knew it was time to unplug from social media at least for a while seeing as all the raw emotions by people who are hurt, concerned and afraid began to get to me.

I was truly beginning to feel sad, that I began to internalize this sadness and I began to think of all the stuff that aren’t going ‘right’ in my life right now. My mental health was getting messed up! 

Ehn, ehn, I was not going mad oh! I know my dear Naija people do not like talking about mental health. Small thing, we will say it is craze that is doing her.

So yes, I did save a lot of data money but most importantly, I gave my mind some rest. And my mind rested for a couple of days…

I unplugged from Instagram, Twitter, I wasn't uploading/viewing Whatsapp statuses' and even chatting much generally…and boy, was it hard to do... but I knew the 'could be' empath in me really needed this so I kept going. 

The first day was hard, it felt like something wasn’t right, the desire to get off social media for my mental health was just as strong as my desire to keep up with  social media gist/gossip the news. I caught myself picking up my phone to go to the 'gram and the bird app (aka twitter) so many times, but I was determined to go with my plan so I fought myself hard and as time went by, it felt ok.

So…yes, it is ok to take a break from the internet or whatever may be clouding your head. There are so many things you can do to ‘reclaim’ your time from all the fuzziness. Watch a movie, listen to music, call and gossip gist with a friend, group call with family/friends, read a novel, study the bible, take a walk, exercise, go hiking, just do not let anyone or anything you did not send come for you and get you.

I studied my Bible a little more than usual and I watched a lot of stuff on Netflix *wait, that means I ended up not saving money on data, right*

Face palm...

But I would honestly say it was a good thing and I was happy for the whole three veeeeery long days I unplugged. It felt like my brain was taking in fresh air and stuff I watched were happy stuff...especially the series 'Sweet Magnolias'... it warmed my heart and reminded me of what true friendship should be about, it made me miss my friends and wished my best ones were closer and our bond was stronger... It reminded me of how blessed I am to have my friends.

So yeah, nothing serious here, just to encourage us all that sometimes, it is ok to take a step back and let time clear the dark clouds and.... just be happy. 

I love you for reading, come again.

xoxo  

PS

Gincheng, thank you.

We Are Tired!!!

We are tired!

I am tired!

Tired of hearing that another girl has been raped. 

Tired of hearing that another woman has been raped.

Tired of hearing that a baby has been raped.

Tired of hearing how women are blamed for being raped.

I join my dear Ozi to ask, ''how much louder do women have to cry before they are heard? This is one too many.''

How many times do we have to cry and condemn these acts?!

Just how many times?

Please let us know because we are ready to do it. 

We are ready to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves, our daughters, our sisters, our nieces, our friends and even our mothers from these monsters. 

I was going to make the title of this post ''Please Stop'' but no, We are tired! 

We are tired of being blamed for the actions of sick men who do not have any regard or respect for the body of the woman.

We are tired of the sick rape apologists who justify why a woman is raped.

We are tired of boys ''just being boys''.....whatever the heck that means!!!

I will not bother with the definition of rape today because I believe we all know what it means and if you or someone you know doesn't, please find out, educate a person or 2 while at it, thank you...

So I will just go ahead and say NO! 

NO means No!!! 

NO, no one has a right to my body just because he feels like it.

NO, the length of my skirt doesn't give you the right also.

NO, do not tell me what to wear, tell them, teach them not to rape. 

We have to understand that ''there is no amount of morals you can teach the girl child that will stop rape if we do not teach the boy child that he does not have the right to anyone's body''. 

So please, enough with the.... 

''what was she wearing?''

''why was she walking alone?'' 

''why did she go to his house?'' 

''how can she say she was raped, is he not her husband/fiance/boyfriend?"

People, please!!!!

Uwa was raped in a church!

In. A. Church!!!

Are we going to ask Uwa why she was in church? Would anyone have a ''good reason'' why this happened?

Yes, I know that not only females have been/are being raped. I know boys have had to suffer this also so I'll say teach ''DONT RAPE'', not ''DONT GET RAPED'. 

''Stop raping our girls, stop raping our boys! 

It is not enough to say you're not a rapist, you have to be anti rapist!

NO MEANS NO''

I will end this by saying may the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of every rapist and rape apologist! 

May they never know peace the rest of their lives!

May they know pain like their victims did!

I am sorry, but I am so angry and pained from all I have read! 

We just want to wash our hands, shako for the 'Rona and not feel unsafe while at it because some idiots think the length of my skirt, the obvious curve of my hips give him the right to my body!

Fathers, brothers, uncles, unkuuuls, nephews...the society, do better! 

Let us teach about, talk about, protect ours and everyone from rapists!

For Uwa and everyone who has been raped. 

Love and Light.

HELLO THERE!

 

Holla good peoples!...So this feels like day 11782 since the world as we know it went on hold...and we all got locked in/ locked down...

Apart from being veeeeeerrrrryyyyyy bored every now and then, looking more homeless daily, and a pair of raccoon tail looking eyebrows, all has been well with me.

All has been well, till today that is...because today, I woke up hit by malaria. I don’t even need to get tested, I just know it is malaria...You know I have a way of always accurately self-diagnosing malaria, right?

No? Please read about it...HERE

So once again, today I am super sure I have been attacked by some vicious ‘squitoes because why else will I dream of hanging out with CNN Don Lemon? 

Yup, the very one.

Ehen, you are beginning to see it too right? Not either of the Cuomo brothers oh, but Don Lemon.

See how he is looking at me like ''huh?''

So it is either malaria or my level of needing amebo at this point has gone so high that I am looking for gist in my dreams, therefore I vote malaria. 

 

So in the dream, we were hanging out at a party and there was zero social distancing involved, we were turnt up!  then the party somehow turned out to be a Christmas party and I got presents! Yup, that’s the best part of the party which also turned out to be the worst part of the dream as the disappointment hit hard when I woke up and there were zero presents for me.

*wipes lone tear*

 

 

 

Yes, I know. I’ll go get tested and while I hope the results come out negative for malaria parasites, I am almost certain it will be positive. 

How do I know? 

Well, remember the dream in which I was baby sitting Blue Ivy? The malaria was ++. 

So I know.

Anyways, how has it been with you in these days of the ‘rona?

Hope you’re doing good and taking responsibility for your health and others' by doing the right thing?

I have spent most of my days sleeping, eating, Netflix-ing, reading and I discovered that I may actually love to cook (whowoulddathought?!). I have been checking out some fun recipes and trying them out…

Now we wait for what the scale will have to say when the day comes that I decide to check my weight.

Now that we are ‘open’ and allowed to go out, please remember it is not the time for visitations and hanging out with dem peoples. If you have nothing serious/important to do, please stay at home.

I know a few people who have turned their stomachs to garlic and ginger reservoirs. Please be careful with the WhatsApp broadcast ''Doctors'' with their super concoctions.  

I don’t want to hear how someone’s stomach exploded while trying to avoid the ‘rona.

Do not be like my friend MM, who has been going for yawo (and as the good somebody that I am, I kept warning her but did she hear?). She is now calling me to say she thinks she is sick and wants to do the Madagascar concoction. 

I know we have all heard this a gazillion times but please wash your hands, avoid touching your face (I still battle with this one, I wont even lie) maintain the social distancing protocol and stay masked up in public...

 

Let's also follow the guidelines of the NCDC and please educate/inform someone about the Covid 19. Because ehn, I have seen all kinds of masks and different ways of wearing them, I’ve seen soo many people who just cover their mouths and leave their noses exposed and it leaves me very very very confused. So, while I get myself ready for the malaria test.

Be good and stay safe.

Pssst Yellow, cheer up! 

 

 

All Up In My Feelings...

I am so emooosh right now....
I have been preparing myself for the festive season and I have been binge watching holiday themed romantic comedies.
These movies are getting me all up in my feelings mhen.

So yeah, I am a sucker for Christmas/New Year themed RomComs. I am not sure why though, maybe it is seeing the snow and my inner man is asking "God when?"
*wipes lone tear*
*sniff sniff*

 hard guy, hard guy but small eye contact and film smile be getting me all teary...

So far, I have watched:
New Year's Eve
The Knight Before Christmas 
Love Actually
Let It Snow
This Christmas
Dear Santa

Did I mention that Christmas came early?
*wide grin*
Yup, I got chocolates in the office today *yay*

Me and my chocolate
Photo Cred: 'Steeeee!

So tonight, I am gonna be Netflix and chilling with my chocolate beside me (please, please please, it is diet cheat day) and I will be watching Christmas In the Wild...

I need recommendations on Christmas themed RomComs, please. So share your faves with me to watch and continue tension-ing myself...

I wish us all a happy happy happy almost Christmas!
And it is my sweet Miss Carla's 2nd  birthday today, so it is an extra special day...😊

Happy Birthday baby, I wish you the most amazing special day ever!

xoxo

LIFE AS VIRA MVP!

Holla, Dudes and Dudetts!

So I was just going through the blog (thinking and wondering what is wrong with me? what has made me so lazy?) and then I decided to check on my posts' stats and I saw that this post has the highest number with 2292 views! 
DrumRoll, please.... 
So our MVP Post is....

Do Mermaids really exist?

I really wonder how come it is the most viewed post I have put up.

Are you as curious as I am?

Well, you can read it HERE or https://lifeasvira.blogspot.com/2014/08/do-mermaids-really-exist.html

Please just click on the link and it will take you to the post.

Thank you!!!

GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable

"We need to uphold the equal rights, voices and influence of girls in our families, communities and nations. Girls can be powerful agents of change, and nothing should keep them from participating fully in all areas of life." — UN Secretary-General António Guterres

To our baby girls,
To our sisters,
To our nieces,
October 11th; International Day of the Girl Child. 
A day set aside to celebrate the achievements of girls and the milestones achieved by them.

Yes, the Girl Force is Unscripted and Unstoppable... because we are risen, we are a force and we now have a voice! A loud voice, even if not loud, still a voice. 
Even if not everyone listens, they hear us. 
Unstoppable. 
Unscripted. 
Our daughters will be trailblazers, they will do better than we are doing now and that gives me joy.

As an Auntie, a godmother and a Momma of two beautiful girls, I am glad that my Princesses can and will shatter the glass ceiling if they choose to. I am glad that they can stand up, speak out to protect their gender. I am glad that they can and will fight for themselves and other girls like them. I am glad that they have the opportunity to be great because they CAN and because they WANT to!

Having said this, I know that a lot more needs to be done for the girl child to amplify her voice, to help her break barriers and achieve even greater milestones in life.

We need to increase awareness of gender inequality, we need to help get a girl in school, we need to teach our girls that 'NO' means NO. 
Let us teach our girls to understand that we have rights, we are strong and can achieve whatever they set their minds to achieve in life.

Lets all come together to build up the Girl Child because the future is female. 
Speak for the #GirlChild who does not have a voice. 
Stand up for the #GirlChild who cannot stand up for her self. 
Point the #GirlChild to the right direction. 
Fight for the #GirlChild.
Love the #GirlChild
Do not stop the her!

To the girl child,
I raise a glass for you.
I applaud you. 
I stand for you.
I stand by you.
I stand with you.
I am you! 
October 11th!