Daddy's Dance so Dandy 😂

When he walks into a room, his purposeful strides and genial smiles unlock treasures in the hearts of people in such a manner that they are captivated, and naturally gravitate towards him. That's my daddy! Mr Patrick Adefioye. ❤️🌹😍

I celebrate the great faithfulness of God upon his life as he clocked 78 on Thursday, January 19, 2023🎉🎉🎉. Such a winsome personality! He expresses his leadership using gifts of eloquence, outstanding relational and writing skills ( my dad is an artistic writer, his stylish  handwriting is unbeatable @78), to lead his community within Lagos suburban area through developmental projects and conflict resolutions. He chaired the community association for eight years, winning several awards and still very relevant in the political space. I'm intentional about eulogizing him while he's still full of life @78.  As humans, we all make mistakes, we all have weaknesses. I have learned to be more patient in dealing with his struggles. I'm now wiser, I'll continue to pray and encourage him and my brothers to trust and depend fully on God. I still believe the best of God's treasures for him even as he is painfully recovering from the emotional expense incurred from the glorious exit of his beloved wife( my adorable mother), Sarah Adefioye, who passed on to glory, almost ten years ago. 

Oh.. my mom was a godly and graceful personality, strong hearted, intelligent and meticulous in her ways. I'm eternally grateful to God for the privilege of being mothered by such a beautiful soul. Even as her only daughter amongst four vigorous guys, she was really thorough in her dealings with me...No 1 rule was zero tolerance for chewing gums😂! Mom was the very stereotype of the prim Yoruba woman.  The strictest woman I have ever known aside from my nursery school teacher Mrs Babarinde, who disciplined me severely anytime I failed to do my assignments, amidst tears pouring from my eyes, mucus streaming down my nose...she was never moved by my emotional drama...her striking rod on my back even in the presence of my parents did wonders!😁

Also, I reminisce the " Margaret Thatcher' leadership style of my secondary school class teacher, Ms Koya, who rejected my dramatic plea to resign as class captain. I was appointed the class captain, presumably based on my academic merits, however upon assuming the role, reality dawned on me that my brilliance was not sufficient to gain the necessary cooperation from my classmates. Moreover, all of them knew I was the youngest in class. I was often intimidated by their " I'm older than you" attitudes...couldn't confront anyone and was punished always for the sins of the whole class. After struggling for about two weeks, I boldly approached Ms Koya at her office and told her I was no longer interested in the position of a class captain....she listened to all my lamentations while staring at me and after an unusual long silence, she broke it with a question: "Toyin( My first name), if you become the first lady of Nigeria in the future and you come under intense pressure in the course of discharging your duties, would you resign? Hmm💨...as a thirteen year old, I understood the weight of such rhetorical question . I was speechless... the thick silence in the office could be cut through with a knife... without any word I eyeballed Ms Koya with my tears soiled eyes and humbly walked out of her office. 

On my way back to the class, I sensed a sudden surge of energy...now bold and resolute to lead...got thinking and suddenly got a crazy strategy.  I appointed the 'Chief- bully' of the class as my assistant and like magic ✨  that settled it! On getting home, I shared the progress report with my mom first, being the reserved type, she gave a broad smile which was priceless for me.  On the other hand, when I mentioned it to dad, he got up from his seat and played one of his favorite Sunny Ade's records ( a popular Juju music legend in Nigeria) and he started dancing for me ☺️...his steps were well in sync with the beats, his child-like leaps of joy were so stunning. I laughed out loud as I watched him display his pleasure in me. What a gracious daddy! As he advances in age many things are changing, however his dance steps are still... so dandy!

Likewise, I cannot forget the dandy dance steps of one of my big fans, a pillar of support, my father-in-law, Prince Ademola Awolesi, who passed on to glory in 2018. He was more than a father-in-law to me, he was a father-in-love with me. Now I understand why he danced for me the last time I saw him. As I entered into his room, upon sighting me, he jumped to his feet and generously whirled his body delightfully to welcome me. After the dance, he held my hands warmly and instructed me to stand by the window. I saw the flash in his loving eyes snapping at me. Oh...I wish I knew that that was the last time I would set my eyes on him on this planet …I would have danced for him too. Even though I miss him greatly, I'm always comforted by the truth that his life was a harvest of immeasurable joy and fulfillment.  

Truthfully, the key to a life of immeasurable joy and fulfilment is knowing the Lord and living His way. This means giving time, energy, love, talent and finances according to His direction. My intimacy with the Lord has been deepened and enriched by the gift of a night vision I received on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. I saw myself in a large space like a stadium, it was partly filled with people however there was a section of the field which had a large screen and I was the only one standing in front of the screen. Suddenly, out of the screen there appeared an extraordinary, incandescent personality who illuminated the whole space, clad in pure white robe that covered from his neck down to the feet, full of splendor and majesty. I avoided looking directly at Him to preserve my eyesight ...but I couldn't resist catching a look. I looked and saw His face, bright and an indescribable beauty, of course I knew that's Christ Jesus my Lord!. As He appeared fully on the screen, I was pleasantly surprised to see Him with His winsome smiles, twirling His body, whirling His feet...dancing.. wow...Jolly Marvellous.😘💜🙌  I roared with laughter watching the Omnipotent One, who bears the weight of the world making out time to dance for me...I could see that Jesus truly enjoys the company of His child. I was so enraptured in this pleasure that I awoke with such amusement. I jumped up from bed and started practicing the dance steps I saw in the vision. Oh...it was such an immeasurable joy🎊! My mind kept wondering, so Jesus dances so well? Then I spoke to the Lord " I'm going to tell the world that you dance so good...so dandy..." I started by sharing with my family and we all had a great time practicing the new dance steps I learned from Jesus 😍☺️. 

I learned some important lessons from this vision. You can be as close to God as you choose to be . It's not out of place for Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world to dance for me.  It sounds ridiculous to the religious mind but I believe it's simply a love gift from the heavenly Father to His precious 💞 daughter. It wasn't hard for me to believe and appreciate this dance gift after I had gladly watched my own dad and even Father in- law dance for me. 

God is no respecter of persons ...He can do it for as many as desire such flavor of intimacy with Him. The Living God revealed in the bible has emotions but He is not emotional about His judgements. He loves, hates, laughs, dances, sings, cries, hugs, rebukes, warns, fights, chastises, blesses, curses ...for at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore...don't dare to be on His left hand!  

Much more, I'm totally amazed at how Jesus reciprocated my dance offerings. Prior to the revelation, a few years back, my lifetime coach, the Holy Spirit enlightened me to know that we were created to give God pleasure. He counseled me that one of the creative ways I could fulfill this purpose as a living sacrifice is to offer a freewill dance offering to God. It's a great way of tingling God to excitement to rejoice over me. I found out that King David in the bible understood this wonderful way of giving God pleasure. Little wonder, God proudly refers to him as " a man after my own heart.."

" Then David danced before the Lord with all his might...2 Samuel 6:14. 

So over the years, I have cultivated this fantastic habit of giving God my dance offerings. Though I do not consider myself a talented dancer but I still choose to dance anyways, moreover it's also profitable as an exercise to keep fit🙌😜

I dance for the Lord wherever and whenever I deem necessary, at home, church, during celebrations...and I do this with a joyful attitude and understanding that it's not only a thanksgiving offering but a battle strategy during troubled times ..

Did you know that singing and dancing before the Lord is an effective winning strategy in battle? 

Psalm 149: 1- 9. 

Verse 2- " Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance...

After singing and dancing before the Lord, we are empowered to execute judgement...

Verse 6- 9: Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgement- This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!"

Did you notice the scripture started with singing and dancing to the Lord and also ended with Praise the Lord? God gave the victory over the battle in the middle. Smith Wigglesworth profoundly says: " Praise the Lord! The Word of God  is very clear regarding this...Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6 . If you ever get to the place where you cannot praise the Lord, it is a calamity in your life and a calamity to the people who are around you....you must know that God has come to supplant you and put within you perfect praise."

A perfect praise comes from a cheerful giver, for God Himself is a cheerful giver. When you receive His gift of salvation, you're acceptable through the righteousness of Christ and with a right heart, your tithes and offerings please him. However, in addition to your usual offerings, you can spice up your relationship with Him by gladly giving Him a good dance from time to time. From personal experience, you can dance away your sorrow when it's all about Him.. in His presence...not just at church or parties, make your home a right atmosphere for miracles!

Of course, there are moments in your walk with God when you do feel weak... you don't feel like praising God...too weak to sing not even to dance. Listen, the compassionate God understands and Has made provisions principally through His Word to uplift you because He does not desire that you remain weak. Draw strength from God's Word today. Hear ye the Word of the Lord: 

" Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears , Let the weak say " I am strong". Joel 3:10

"Right thinking arms you for the battle.." Joyce Meyer says in her book ; Battlefield of the Mind. 

Be provoked by the words of Bishop TD Jakes in his sermon " Getting Past the Silence of God"..." God does not move by how bad your situation is, your whining and complaining doesn't move Him. God is not moved by the magnitude of your discomfort, you're talking to a bleeding saviour... Your discomfort does not move a God whose emblem is a cross! Your suffering doesn't necessarily move a suffering saviour, you can't out- suffer the sufferer, after all He said " Deny yourself, carry your cross and follow me. Stop exploiting God for your pain  ...God is not moved by pity but God is moved by faith...God is not into pity, He is into power !"

The Canaanite woman in Mathew 15: 21-28, provoked a conversation with Jesus despite being called a 'dog' by Him. She went past the 'insult' with her humility, persistence, emotional intelligence and trust.. though she was not even a Hebrew... little wonder her faith moved Jesus! To those who gloat over sufferings, It's high time you dropped the crutches of pity- parties, quick temper, aggression, hot temper, moodiness, depression, anger, anxiety, destructive criticisms, bad attitudes ..they are time wasters!

The right approach is to stop focusing on the troubles, but keep your mind stayed on the Lord. His purpose is paramount. Sometimes, God's wisdom sets us in the valley of dry bones to solidify our backbone and strengthen our faith.  

Most times, I dance out of faith not good feelings, even in church. I know this greatly pleases my God but humiliates the enemy of my soul who wants me down. An overcoming faith may require you to make out time in your heart and home to give God a dandy dance offering without any music...good if it's available.  You don't even need dancing shoes...a joyful heart is all you need! For the joy of the Lord is your strength. As you dare to rejoice in the Lord even in difficult times, singing and making melody in your heart, dancing...you'll hear the sound of dry bones rattling!!! Yes, the dry bones will live again!!!

" So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. " Ezekiel 37: 10. 

Yours Sincerely,

Segilola.