Mercy Anang Blogspot

In a world of instant gratification and the worship of self, coupled with our sinful hearts, we always grapple with the damaging nature of selfishness. It is essentially saying, ‘be at my service at all cost’- it just doesn’t matter how. We hurt others when we make life revolve around us without giving thought to the other person. We look out for our needs at the expense of the next person; It’s all about what serves us or make us comfortable. It’s never about giving thought to our brother or sister. Selfishness, unchecked leaves us empty and drives away those who really matter-those who seek our best interest at heart. In 1 Corinthians 13 where the infamous love verse is quoted, Paul says love is not selfish. How is love not selfish? It does not make decisions that end up gratifying self and leaving the other person destitute or discouraged. In light of the above, it stands to reason that to overcome this evil that plagues our hearts, we ought to ask the LORD to transform our h

Social media is inundated with many adverts advocating for the perfect curves and ultimately, the perfect body in every sense. The pressure to have the Kim K or the Tyson Beckford looks drive us to all kinds of experiments to attain that physique. Others become anorexic in their quest of losing weight and staying slim. Others go for plastic surgery to alter their looks in extreme ways. For some, it is the desire of appearing fairer, thus the craze for the hydroquinone effect. Whatever it is, at a point, most of us, if not all of us have been dissatisfied with our physical appearance. Growing up, I hated my lips! I wished they were smaller. I wanted to smile showing my teeth effortlessly. I was very conscious of my physique and that led to a never-ending battle with low self-esteem. I’m sure if I had the means to alter my looks, I would not have hesitated! You see, instinctively, we craze for acceptance and attention. We want to turn heads and be the topic for the prettie

In the past week, I have struggled with unhealthy fear- the kind that keeps you absent-minded. The kind that gives you sleepless nights. The kind that sees tears roll down your cheeks. That fear that makes you want to go into hiding. That voice of fear that drowns every ounce of hope in you. We have all been there. Very often, unhealthy fear stems from not knowing what’s ahead of us. We create the perfect picture in our minds but when things begin to go contrary to what we envisaged, we get jittery and begin to imagine worse things that could happen. Unhealthy fear prevents us from enjoying the moments as they come. It prevents us from taking bold steps that will bring about breakthroughs. It erodes trust in relationships. Unhealthy fear essentially makes us give up even before the race starts. Ultimately, it keeps us in a prison where we find ourselves in shackles of despair and craziness. Unhealthy fear can make us lose out on a great business opportunity or miss out on

We have all been there. We try with every ounce of strength in us to justify our shortcomings. It is never our fault and often times, we say things like, “She made me say to say those words”, “ I was just in a bad mood”, etc. I’m sure you can think of countless occasions where a heartfelt apology would have restored calm, instead of wasting time to prove a point. But here’s the crux of the matter, why do we get defensive when we are in the wrong? Why do we easily seek a hiding a place when we are criticized or made aware of our mistakes? I would love to see your answers in the comments below. However, I believe that the reason we get defensive is that our pride is often times hurt and we would rather defend that ego or pride rather than admitting our offense and seeking growth. The Collins Dictionary puts it better in the following, “ If someone is on the defensive , they are trying to protect themselves or their interests because they feel unsure or threatened”. In justif

I have been battling with acne for a while now. Looking for a quick fix, I have tried many products but they seem not to be working to my satisfaction. I tried one organic product and was very meticulous with its application. After three consistent days of using it, I saw a change and complacency made me reduce the number of times I was using it. Then boom! The acne surfaced again. I’m back to square one now and restarting the routine to gain the necessary results. Consistency has many synonyms which include evenness, steadiness, constancy, and regularity. In the chemical world, consistency relates to the way in which a substance holds together in terms of its thickness, density or firmness. In my write up today, I will discuss the power of being consistent in our pursuits. In the article, ‘The Power of Consistency’, the writers assert that consistency is a necessary ingredient in success. Having the discipline to keep going through thick and thin will eventually reap the resu

Dear Lady, You Are More Than Your Skin. There was a lady I always admired. She was fair, had pointed nose and was really endowed with all the 'woman assets'. She turned heads and I wished I could be like her, if not, be her.  It's insane, I know. I struggled with my own sense of insecurity and low self-esteem so my perception of a pretty woman was quite unhealthy.  I set out to search for the truth. Read God's word on how He really defines beauty and was blessed with friends I could share my struggles with & who really prayed for me. I was blessed with the works of authors like Elizabeth Elliott, Elizabeth George and many more whose reflections helped me in gaining a new perspective. There are still many young women and girls out there who are struggling with society’s acceptance of what beauty is. Insecurity and a low self-esteem drive us to all the wrong places and the wrong people; where we are left empty and distressed. We depend on mak

The canker of mediocrity In a fast-changing world where anything goes, there’s always pressure to get things done because they have to be done! We are result-oriented more than we are quality-oriented. This mediocrity is seen in some products we buy. They promise durability but barely make it past the set time of use. Some students settle for a pass, not because they are unable to excel academically, but because they just want to graduate and be done with anything called ‘school’. Mediocrity rears its ugly head at the workplace too. With the availability of all the necessary equipment, some employees will still choose to produce substandard service at the slight absence of the supervisor or manager. A google search of the word, mediocrity, returns the following descriptions; ordinariness, commonplaceness, lack of inspiration, indifference among others. Is it sheer laziness that drives us in settling for anything? What influences a mediocre attitude? Is it that we do not ju

Ladies, Don’t Marry A ‘Nice Guy’. Sometime ago, I met a nice guy. Actually, he wasn’t just nice. He was very handsome, tall and fair! He came from a wealthy family and had one of the top positions at school. When he asked me out, I wasn’t enthused about it. Yes, he “he had it all” but I wasn’t really looking for a nice guy. Of course, nice things are good, right? There’s nothing wrong with someone being handsome or beautiful, being rich or affluent but for someone who is serious about settling down with another soul for a lifetime, the standards should not end with “He’s nice”. The world has evolved and it seems our view on what love is has also taken a 360 degree definition! We make permanent decisions based on temporal emotional flings. He seems to do all the ‘nice stuffs’ and so we get on cloud nine and conclude they must be ‘Mr Right’ and boom! We are head over heels in love! You are blinded on how he mistreats his mother and sister. How he flirts with everyone in skir

We live in a broken world. It is marred with sin and so much brokenness. I attended a church service recently (it has been a long while I visited that branch) and that brokenness yet beautiful was so visible. Many I knew as strong and agile have grown quite frail. I watched one particular old woman who could barely walk; she was once active in church and the inevitable phase of aging had caught up with her. I saw the young who have grown into adolescence. I was fascinated with how time has flown so quickly with so many changes. I saw many left hands with glitters and glee of being called Mr. & Mrs. I was fed the ‘gossip’ of who is expecting a baby, many who have moved away among others. Very often we are caught up in our small little world that we barely see and appreciate being part of a church family. We hurriedly set off right after church and hardly spare time to speak with others. Our own struggles blind from seeing what God is doing among the community of believers! Ou