role-model

5 unexpected reasons to get started with PR today

5 unexpected reasons to get started with PR today

I have many nick-names spanning from the expected (Neen, Neenz, Nini), sentimental (baby, baby girl, sweet girl) to slightly random without a back story. One of the more random nick-names came from my girl, Kishma, who went through a stage of calling me "Pretty Pants".

Here’s the back story to where that came from:

If you've been following me on social media for a while, or know me in real life, then you'll know that this British-born Nigerian girl loves patterned clothes. In case you haven't or don't, the pic above should prove my point. (Aside from African prints, I'm also partial to florals, animal prints and bright colours).

About 6 years ago, before my hair was locked, I was walking around Wood Green (a cosmopolitan shopping part of London) wearing trousers that had a black background and were embellished with bright, colourful flowers.

Long story short...

As I shuffled through the crowd and walked pass a bus stop a guy (who I had noticed watching me and hoped would leave me alone) cat called me with the phrase "Hey, Pretty Pants!" (referring to my trousers in his Jamaican accent and vernacular). I, of course, kept walking but I couldn't help but be amused by his "original" pick up line. So amused, that I laughed out loud as I walked away from him and told Kish about it the next time we met up, hence the nick-name "Pretty Pants".

Remember me saying that this happened before I locked my hair? Here's why that's an important detail...

Me and Kish actually went on to lock our hair shortly after that *clears throat* incident. Whenever people who are thinking about dreadlocks ask us questions about whether they should do it too, we often talk about the expected benefits of locking- like the low maintenance; improved health and strength of our hair- and laugh about the unexpected things- like the fact that men speak to you differently and, rather than calling you "pretty pants," "my size" and so on, use more respectful terms such as "Empress". Who knew, right?!

It's like that with PR too, sis. For example, you might be expecting PR to cause an increase to your visibility, credibility, email list and money- and rightly so! But some things that you may not be factoring in as a perk of PR (because I certainly didn't!) is:

Lessons from Samson's Mother on How to lead authentically

Lessons from Samson's Mother on How to lead authentically

In my most recent post, I talked about How to be a trailblazer

You can read it here if you missed it, sis

Of the 5 things that I mentioned, one of them was the fact that being a trailblazer often means going first or being the first

which may mean discrimination, isolation, discomfort; people questioning your validity and/or the validity of your vision until God vindicates you- just like Zipporah suffered.

Going first or being the first also means leading by example, which is something that we see through Samson’s mum

To summarise a previous post about her:

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be a trailblazer

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be a trailblazer

One of the many things that fascinates me about Zipporah, as told in Numbers 12, is that she was a foreshadow of what was to come

How?

Although she was not Hebrew by birth, her marriage to Moses grafted her in to their society and heritage (the blessing of Abraham) in the same way that Jesus’ death, resurrection and our faith in it has done for us

(just as Romans 11 explains in more detail).

In other words, Zipporah was a trailblazer

which is “a person who is a pioneer in any field or endeavour”

Because she blazed the trail that we, as modern women, would need to have fellowship with God.

Zipporah’s pioneer status also teaches us a valuable lesson about what it takes to be the change you want to see in the world and take a stand, as we’ve been talking about in the last few weeks i.e.

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be the change you want to see

Lessons from Zipporah on how to be the change you want to see

In my most recent blog post I talked about the importance of taking a stand with your messaging, even if it’s polarising

You can read that here if you missed it, sis

The truth is, though, that sometimes your presence can be polarising not just because of what you say- but who you are

Don’t believe me?

Just look at Zipporah

Number’s 12:1 is very explicit about the fact that “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married…”. In other words-

They disliked her, not because of the content of her character, but because she was a minority

The worst part?

Lessons from Jesus' Donkey on How to Overcome Insecurity and Get Visible

Lessons from Jesus' Donkey on How to Overcome Insecurity and Get Visible

If you’re looking for some quarantine viewing, sis, I would really recommend “20 Feet from Stardom” on Netflix

On the surface, it seems like a documentary on the music industry from the vantage point of (legendary) background singers. But, on a deeper level, it’s a really inspiring ensemble piece on grit, purpose and overcoming adversity.

One of my favourite quotes in the programme came from Dr. Mable John (former background singer to Ray Charles as part of The Raelettes):

“We as women need to know our worth. We need to know as women we’re important and I think the breakdown is when a woman doesn’t know who she is, and she settles for less. Check out your worth because you’re worth more than that”

A prime example of how we can carry out this awesome advice in our own lives is demonstrated really clearly in Matthew 21, which tells the story of the origins of Palm Sunday (today)

For example…

Lessons from Ruth on How to Find a Mentor

Lessons from Ruth on How to Find a Mentor

One of the things that I have mentioned quite a bit, in these last few weeks of studying Ruth, is that Ruth went from working in Boaz’ fields to owning them with him as his wife

She accomplished this feat through many different means and methods such as:

But, if you study the story properly, it becomes very apparent that the thing that really helped Ruth succeed was the mentoring that she received

Namely from Naomi (her mother-in-law)

This shows us, as modern women, how important it is that we seek mentorship too

Not sure how, sis?

We can take a leaf out of Ruth’s book in the following ways:

Lessons from The Woman with the Issue of Blood on how your test is your testimony

Lessons from The Woman with the Issue of Blood on how your test is your testimony

When I did my Stuck to Savvy challenge live a few weeks ago, I did a lot of talking about The Woman with the Issue of Blood because- having had a gynecological issue that caused her to bleed for 12 years before Jesus healed her- she is a prime example of somebody who was "stuck". 

On continuing to reflect upon her story, though, I realised that the events of her life don't just demonstrate what is means to be stuck and then set free- she also demonstrates that our adversities are actually here to serve us. In fact, our test is our testimony is 3 main ways- all of which I shared on my Facebook page this week via the (live) video below.

Lessons from 30 amazing Women of the Bible

Lessons from 30 amazing Women of the Bible

This week (October 3rd to be exact) was my birthday and- it wasn't just any birthday- it was my 30th! Also, although I didn't actually make it public until late November, this month will mark a year since I started this blog with a view to:

  • Raise the profile of the contributions of the women of the Bible and how the lessons contained in these can be practically applied in our modern spiritual walks
  • Empower Christian women to fully embrace their unique identities and purpose in Christ, free of the stereotypes and traditions that can "so easily best" us

To celebrate, I am going to share my top 30 women of the Bible along with what they taught me either about Christian womanhood/femininity or life in general. So, in alphabetical order, here goes!