Tag: inspirational

A tale of compassion and faith

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Penspeak Communities across Nigeria have recently taken up Freestyle Fridays hosted by The Godzniel. This is a collection of poems from Penspeak Community UNEC freestyles in January 2025.

From the watchtower, Iruoma cried out:

I am compassion, a gentle breeze
That calms a raging soul and quiets pain to freeze
I run in obscurity, yet understanding I seek
To heal a silent wound that mouth can’t utter

Like flower that blooms in desert oasis
So am I, a savour taste to the broken soul
I’m a badge of mercy, worn by one who’s torn
An irresistible gentle word, that calms a storm

I see beyond the fist, the anger and pain
And serve a feast of kindness, to wash the heart’s deep stain
I’m a dose of hope, that keeps each day aglow
A beacon of light, in the darkest place I go

I am compassion, I offer listening ears
Pay attention and owe no debt to negligence
I am the greatest gift to humanity
The loudest voice of love
I walk enduring miles
Leaving trails of smiles

Taking the wheel again, Iruoma launched:

With heart swift and low on  paths unknown
I plead to listen to the quiet whisper, that binds me whole
With convictions strong on choices made

I plead to heed the persistent voice of truth
With barns so enriched, and yards full of glittering gold
I pray to harvest, with mind full of sight

To sift grain from chaff, and separate truth from false
And with each step to embark, a journey of uncertainty
I pledge to trust the gentle guide

For He’s the spirit of the divine, with mysteries to unveil
He grants a sense of immortality, in the stillness, a peaceful knowing of secrets untold.
And moments to disobey in doubt, are times to will in regret

Not wanting the momentum to die out, Neche Goodnews took the baton on the relay:

 “Wish upon a shooting star and make your wish come true”
Senior said to me as we stared at the night sky
“So, make the wish”, he said to me as I was beholding the awe of the star littered sky
I close my eyes and make my wish and open my eyes into the present
A decade had gone by but I still reminisce the days gone by
I fasten up my tie while facing the mirror

What a decade it has been
Peril and strife fought their way into my world but I persevered
The psychological breaks and lapses chipped away at my very soul but I didn’t derange
As I go towards my bag, a thought enters my mind and a smile is found on my face
“Your wish is profound and pure, its impact, ground shaking, all I might not see it actualised but I can behold its potential”
Senior said to me, that was one of our last conversations
“It’s no time to slack, the world will soon be in awe”
I say as I take my bag and leave my place

People see the outcome of reality
I behold a future of possibilities
My wish would ensure that
Until then, I carry on

See you next month!

Authors:
Iruoma
Neche Goodnews

Penspeak Online – 30/12/2024

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Our last offering of the year is an event we are so blessed to share with the world. During the year, we were blessed to share what God has given us with some amazing writing communities in Nigerian Universities. 3 out of these communities were able to host a Live Spoken Word Event under the theme “Called”. It featured first-time writers and experienced ministers as well making a symphony of words to and for the pleasure of our Lord.

Penspeak Online is a selection of some of these ministrations for the benefit of anyone who may or may not have had the blessing of attending in person. The event is hosted on YouTube and will remain available on YouTube. The date for the live event is 30th December 2024 and time is 9pm WAT.

Go to our YouTube Channel

Stay tuned for more offerings on here and hopefully we will all have a Holy Ghost service at Penspeak Online!

God bless you and have a glorious Christmas celebration.

BOOK REVIEW: Dear Unloved

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Author: The Christ A Poet Team
Editor: ChyD
Pages: 33
Publisher: The Christ A Poet Concepts Ltd.
Reviewer: Ubamara Ezenobi

The book Dear Unloved lives up to its title.

It is not unusual for human beings to fall into sad states occasionally, and Christians are not left out of the trend. While these tragic states may be caused by a variety of reasons, the different poets that contributed to this work have proffered only one solution: Christ.

Dear Unloved starts with Osione’s Crackhead, where she passionately describes the addictions we all at some point or the other go through with depression. You can see yourself in the words as she skillfully paints the picture of a man helplessly adapting to his companion. As we ride through the waves the poets craft for us with their symphonies, we find the same symptoms recurrent in the seemingly unloved human. Pain. Listlessness. Deep sadness. All of those words tell the same story.

Many of the poems in this book are duets, causing the rich blend of poetry and passion you’ll find within. There’s Project Proposal for example, where ChyD and Imani remind us of Jesus’ finished work at the cross. In their own words, someone already produced results for this problem. Dear Unloved resonates with suspense as the characters go through their own phases of darkness.

It is not often that I get to review a book that leaves me reading through, spellbound. The sentences got my attention. The choice of words left me amazed, and impressed. Ultimately, I started all over again, because I found it good for my soul.

If you’ve ever felt dark times, and if you are in fact going through dark times now, then Dear Unloved was written with your name beating in the hearts of the poets.

Download the Book for Free

Chief’s son

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Imagine just for a moment
That father and mother had tossed you
Because you hurt them to immeasurable lengths
Imagine you became an orphan and you deserved to

An orphan on the street surviving
You make a habit of peeping into Chief’s house
You know you shouldn’t, but you just want a glimpse
Of life, of everything good on the other side of this wall

You imagine if you could get a job
You will prove yourself worthy of existing so close to Chief
You daydream of seeing Chief smile and hand you a bonus loaf
Working for Chief would be everything, but you have nothing

The least in Chief’s house outranks you
You have a stained history, and your skills fail you
Chief is kind but the worker must earn the pay he is due
Your orphaned soul sighs as your hope dies anew

Now imagine Chief finds you at your spot
Seems unlikely but what if Chief took you to the other side
What if Chief announced to everyone your speedy adoption?
What if you went from orphan to son in the shortest possible time?

Imagine the servants’ puzzled faces
The ones you envied now wait on your next command
Imagine your shock as Chief takes you to your own spaces
You can feel your lack disappear as Chief holds your hand

Chief invites you to walk with him
Chief says he has grown to love you
Chief has given you an inheritance of all that is his
Chief has made your life completely new

Now stop imagining, the moment is gone
Chief is still in the room, he still wants to adopt you
You don’t have to stay orphaned in this world alone
Take Chief’s invitation, your transformation is due

You don’t have to work for this
But you will learn to walk with Chief
And when you taste the goodness that Chief brings
May you never think you earned this

– Ezeonyeka Godswill
(c) 2022

Small

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When I am scared to write, I don’t
When I am confident to write, I don’t
If you are reading anything I wrote
It is because my part in it was ever so small

– Ezeonyeka Godswill
(c) 2022

Kindness Versus Love

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Kindness is a display of charitable behavior towards someone, while love means a profound and caring affection towards someone. Clearly, kindness and love don’t mean the same thing. Kindness is what one shows to the outsider, while love is for the insiders. It’s not rightly acceptable to say you are kind to your own children. You simply love them. You are to be kind to someone out there but loving to your own family. Thus, love is certainly of a higher value than kindness.

The prodigal son’s elder brother only knew and lived on their father’s kindness. He never knew nor understood their father’s love. He kept doing many things to please the father who was already pleased with him. On the day his brother returned home, the Scripture apprises to us that he was in the field till quite a later time of the day, whereas the main servants were already at home. One would wonder what he was doing out there all alone. By living only on his dad’s kindness, he only could SOMEDAY expect to receive a kid goat from his dad, when everything, including the fatted calf which was later killed for his brother, was for him to enjoy had he understood his dad’s love.

Hmm, it’s sad to know that many children of God are living exactly like this prodigal son’s older brother. They only know of God’s kindness, never His love all their life. They relate with Papa God as His hired servants when they are actually His beloved children. And mere kindness never gets anybody the best, only love does, always. God is kind toward everybody but especially loves His own children. You may have started on God’s kindness, as we all somehow do, but you don’t remain there. You need to move on to knowing and receiving God’s love that you may experience and enjoy God’s best in life henceforth.


The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Jeremiah 31:3
Funmi P. Adebayo is a preacher of the gospel of Christ and believes that His gospel covers everything, as God is God of all things without an exemption at all. God has helped him found a ministry by the name, THE SIMPLE LIFE OF CHRIST MINISTRY (AKA THE RESTING PLACE), the platform through which God’s Spirit is helping him to reach out to the world with the simple message of Jesus Christ and by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, which is solely for the defense and the confirmation of the same gospel of Christ.
Download Funmi’s maiden e-book

The Evening Will Tell

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When we think of a group of children in an open place, somehow playtime should come to mind. During holidays or weekends, children could be seen gathering at the house of one person. They will play together and have fun. Sometimes some mothers will serve all of them some snacks. These children can sometimes get along so well, that if a total stranger happens to come around, they may not know whose child is which. But no matter how long they stay and play together, the evening time will always reveal who among them belong(s) in that particular house. The rest will have to go back to their respective houses one way or another.

Jesus said that the servant does not remain in the house forever, only the son does. We may all be rolling together now like we are God’s children, but the evening time will reveal who really is God’s; those who will remain with God. Those who aren’t will surely be sent away. Unlike the children’s case, only two homes are involved here, God’s and the devil’s. If you aren’t God’s, you are automatically the devil’s. So, as we all appear to be God’s children now, playing together at this temporary home, called earth, while God keeps serving us some good meals, do make sure you are God’s indeed. Don’t wait till the evening time before you know where you belong.

Please, thoughtfully answer this, Are you a son or a servant?

[34]Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth (is doing) sin is the servant of sin.
[35]And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever.

John 8:34-35

– Funmi P. Adebayo
(c) 2022

Funmi P. Adebayo is a preacher of the gospel of Christ and believes that His gospel covers everything, as God is God of all things without an exemption at all. God has helped him found a ministry by the name, THE SIMPLE LIFE OF CHRIST MINISTRY (AKA THE RESTING PLACE), the platform through which God’s Spirit is helping him to reach out to the world with the simple message of Jesus Christ and by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, which is solely for the defense and the confirmation of the same gospel of Christ.
Download Funmi’s maiden e-book

I Will Follow You

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My Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of my soul
I will follow You wherever You lead me
I will not fret nor cringe in fear
Even if You lead into the pit
I know it will be for the best at last
I’ll trust You always
For I know the pit can’t ever be the destination
But an only-to-be-routed-through junction
Just as hell wasn’t Your destination
But a place to pass through to the glory beyond
Thus my eyes are fixed on the joy ahead
For I know it will all be worth it in the end
So I rest NOW as I follow You
My mind is not seized with any frenzy
But simply resting in Your love and care
Right through every step of the way

– Funmi P. Adebayo
(c) 2022

Funmi P. Adebayo is a preacher of the gospel of Christ and believes that His gospel covers everything, as God is God of all things without an exemption at all. God has helped him found a ministry by the name, THE SIMPLE LIFE OF CHRIST MINISTRY (AKA THE RESTING PLACE), the platform through which God’s Spirit is helping him to reach out to the world with the simple message of Jesus Christ and by the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, which is solely for the defense and the confirmation of the same gospel of Christ.
Download Funmi’s new e-book