Filling this white space felt weird; I paused for a few seconds to try and think of what to put here. I thought to myself, how do I sound here? What’s my voice like? Should I make it like I’m beginning from the start, or just move straight into the whole paragraph like I hadn’t taken a break from here without an announcement? Then, as I continue to type out these thoughts, I have this cemented feeling that I’m still me; this is still the place I can dump and de-stress, where I can just weave my words into statements that wow others, but I still don’t see the big deal at all when the readers highlight them. So, this girl is here again, at the beginning of the 11th Chapter of 2026, to see if she still has her voice. I would love to uncover lots that happened to me here, but I think I should do that post by post, or should I put it in Medium’s way, story by story. So, welcome to the 11th Chapter of this jack of everything of a year. I want to believe on your behalf that the times have been everything, for they all work together for our good. Thanks for staying despite my absences; it’s such a good and sweet thing to know that you have been here and you love being here. I’ll see you in my next story. Wishing you a Happy New Month. Welcome to November 2026.

There was a time when calling myself a writer felt uncomfortable.

In fact, I avoided the title.

I had convinced myself that writers were people who studied Literature, English, or related disciplines. They were the ones who understood metaphors effortlessly, quoted famous authors from memory, and had spent years mastering the craft. I had studied Zoology.

So whenever someone referred to me as a writer, something inside me resisted it. Surely they're talking about someone else, I thought.

Looking back now, I realize I wasn't rejecting writing.

I was simply struggling to see myself the way God already did.

If there's one thing I've learned about purpose, it's that it often finds you before you find it.

Long before I ever wrote stories or articles, I loved writing itself.

I was the person who carried notebooks everywhere. During church services, conferences, and gatherings, I filled pages with notes, thoughts, and reflections. I didn't know those quiet moments were preparing me for something much bigger.

Then came my NYSC year in 2022.

A friend reached out and encouraged me to submit a piece to The Christian Literacy Network. I almost didn't.

I questioned whether my words were good enough. I wondered if anyone would even want to read what I had written.

But I submitted anyway.

A few days later, my piece was accepted.

I still remember the joy and disbelief I felt. It wasn't because I thought I had become a great writer overnight. It was because, for the first time, someone outside my immediate circle believed my words were worth reading. That moment became the quiet confirmation I needed to stop hiding behind self-doubt and start embracing the gift God had placed in me.

That single decision became the doorway into a journey that has completely changed my life.

Since then, writing has become more than a hobby.

It has become stewardship.

My name is Aderonke Oyinade Ajuwon, and many people know me as The LifeInker.

Interestingly, I didn't always have that name.

Like many writers, I desperately wanted a pen name. I searched for countless ideas, trying different combinations and choosing names that simply sounded nice.

None of them felt right.

Then one day, during my quiet time with God, something happened that I don't think I'll ever forget.

A question settled deeply in my heart:

What if God had never written to us?

What if His love, His promises, His instructions, and His covenants had only been passed from generation to generation through spoken words?

How much would have been forgotten?

How much would have been altered?

How much would people have added, removed, or twisted to fit their own narratives?

At that moment, I began to appreciate the beauty and necessity of writing throughout Scripture.

God instructed people to write visions.

Prophets documented His words.

Kings recorded history.

The apostles wrote letters that still transform lives today.

Writing preserves truth.

Writing protects memory.

Writing carries God's heart across generations.

That revelation changed everything for me.

I no longer saw writing as merely arranging beautiful words.

I saw it as preserving truth.

That's when "The LifeInker" became more than a creative pen name.

It became a reminder of the assignment I believe God has entrusted to me: to use words that leave life wherever they go.

Today, whenever I begin a writing project, I don't ask only for inspiration.

I ask for guidance.

God remains my first Mentor, my greatest Teacher, and the One who reminds me that words are never just words when they are surrendered to Him.

The journey hasn't been perfect.

I've experienced seasons of consistency and seasons of silence. There have been moments of confidence and moments of doubt.

Yet every step has convinced me of one thing.

I was created to write.

Not simply to publish books or articles, but to communicate truth, stir hope, inspire growth, and point people toward the Light.

If my words can encourage one weary heart, challenge one wandering mind, or bring one person closer to God's purpose, then every page has been worth writing.

And I believe...

I'm only getting started.

It’s been so many days since I left something here. Whoosh 🥺 I’m starting to find my footing again, trying to remember why I opened this account in the first place. If you come across this story on your For You page and you click and read it, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope the other stories I’ve written make your day and bring a smile to your face.

To my followers, both old and new, I thank you for staying despite inactiveness in a while. Hope you’ve been well.

Till I write again,

Be Blessed!

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✨ WELCOME TO JUNE ✨

Happy New Month!

As we step into the sixth month of the year, I pray that this month brings divine alignment, fresh strength, and uncommon favour into your life.

May every seed of prayer, diligence, and faith you have sown begin to yield visible results. May doors that seemed shut open by God's mercy. May clarity replace confusion, courage replace fear, and peace guard your heart through every season.

This month, may you walk in wisdom, grow in grace, and experience God's hand in ways that leave no doubt that He is with you.

May June be a month of answered prayers, meaningful progress, divine opportunities, and testimonies that will make you smile and give glory to God.

Keep believing.
Keep growing.
Keep showing up.
God is not finished with your story.

Welcome to your month of advancement and divine surprises.

Blessings always! 💛

I’ll see you in my next story 😀🤗

Hey! 👋 Did you know you can give multiple claps on a story? Yeah! You can clap up to 50 times! 🎉 The more claps, the more people see my content, and I really appreciate it! Thanks for the support! 😊

I was reading Numbers 1 today, and I was struck by something deeply comforting.

God counted the Israelites not just as a crowd, not just as a nation, but individually. He knew them by name, by lineage, by responsibility. In their vast number and widespread, no one was overlooked.

It made me pause.

If God could be that intentional with them, how much more with us?

He is not forgetful of us in these times. He is closer than we often realize. He cares deeply, personally, and completely.

So why do we sometimes feel exempt from His care?

Maybe it’s because we’ve outgrown the kind of faith that trusts—the kind a child has. The kind that doesn’t overthink love or question provision.

We start to believe we are too grown for God to handle our smallest needs. Too independent to lean fully on Him.

But God doesn’t ask us to outgrow dependence. He invites it.

He desires that we still look up to Him. Not only in lack, but even in abundance. Because no matter how much we have, we are still sustained by His care, His love, His daily provision.

Another thing stood out to me.

When God gives an instruction, it is not for later. It is for now.

Divine assignments require prompt obedience.

Partial obedience delays purpose. Delayed obedience can become disobedience.

Today is a reminder.

God knows you, He sees you, and He cares for you.

And when He speaks, respond.

Let’s share and encourage one another, what is one thing you’re trusting God for right now?

Thank you so much for reading till the end.

If this message blessed you, please 👏🏽 (the icon just below this post — 50 times), comment, and share it with others.

Till I see you in the next story 😀,

BE BLESSED!

Hey! 👋 Did you know you can give multiple claps on a story? Yeah! You can clap up to 50 times! 🎉 The more claps, the more people see my content, and I really appreciate it! Thanks for the support! 😊

There’s something about a new week that feels like a quiet invitation.

Not loud. Not forceful. Just a gentle nudge that says, “you get to begin again.”

Last week may have been full. Or messy. Or incomplete in ways you didn’t expect. Some things worked, some didn’t, and some are still hanging in the middle, asking for your attention.

But here you are again.

A fresh stretch of days. Another opportunity to be intentional. Another chance to show up, not perfectly, but deliberately.

This week, I’m choosing to focus on small faithfulness.

Doing what needs to be done, even when I don’t feel like it.
Showing up for the things I said matter to me.
Paying attention to the little disciplines that quietly shape who I’m becoming.

Because growth is rarely loud. It’s built in the unseen moments. The decisions no one applauds. The consistency that doesn’t trend.

So as we step into this week, I want to ask you:

What does showing up well look like for you this week?
What are the few things that truly matter?
Where do you need to be more present, more intentional, more honest with yourself?

Don’t try to do everything.
Just don’t ignore the things that matter.

Let this week be one where you move with clarity.
Where you act with purpose.
Where you extend yourself grace, but not excuses.

We go again.

If you’re up for it, share one thing you’re committing to this week. Let’s hold it together.

It's a new week—another opportunity to make things happen! How is everything going for you? This week could be different if you change your approach and take steps to attract what you desire.

Remember, God is always with you, so reach out to Him for help, and He will respond quickly.

Wishing you blessings this week and beyond!

BE BLESSED!

I’ve been in a quiet season lately.
The kind where God is teaching you, even when nothing around you seems to be changing.

My sister visited recently, and the first thing she said when she saw me was,
“You’re glowing ooo.”

Funny enough, I wasn’t feeling that way at all.

That morning, I had been quiet, heavy, praying under my breath about things I couldn’t fully explain. So her comment felt strange.

Then she looked closer and said,
“Wait… your front hair is growing back.”

That made me pause.

Because for months, that wasn’t my reality.

Sometime last year, my front hair started falling off badly. It reached a point where I couldn’t create simple hairstyles without covering them up. It affected my confidence more than I liked to admit.

I was advised to shave it all off. Start afresh. Try different treatments.

Eventually, I started using herbal cream. But for months, nothing changed.

No visible progress. No encouragement. Just consistency.

I almost stopped.

Then I asked myself a simple question,
What do I really lose if I continue?

So I did.

Somewhere along the line, without noise or announcement, growth started happening.

Enough for someone else to notice before I even did.

That moment reminded me of something important:

Not all progress is loud

Not all growth is immediate

Not all change is visible at first

Sometimes, the real work is happening beneath the surface, in seasons where it feels like nothing is changing.

As a believer, I’ve come to see that those seasons are not empty. They are stretching seasons. Forming seasons. Preparing seasons.

Because when the results finally show, you’re not just excited, you’re ready.

If you’re in a season where nothing seems to be working, stay with it.
Growth might already be happening, just not in ways you can see yet.

Thank you for staying with me.
God is not absent in your waiting. He is working, shaping, and preparing you for what’s ahead.

If this resonated with you, you’re welcome to stay. I write about faith, growth, and the quiet lessons life teaches us along the way.

Maybe you didn’t know, but you can clap more than once on a story. The best part? You can clap up to 50 times! By doing that, you help push my content to more people — xoxo 💋

Remember to leave a comment, as I know you have something to share not just with me, but with others as well.

Till I see you in my next story,

BE BLESSED!

Every Sunday night, I used to feel it.

That quiet pressure.

A new week was coming, and instead of feeling prepared, I felt… scattered.

So many things to do.

So many expectations.

And somehow, no clear direction.

By Wednesday, I was already tired. Not from doing too much, but from doing too many things without intention.

Then I realized something simple:

It wasn’t that I had too much to do.
It was that I had no system for facing my week.

So I changed my approach.

Not with anything complicated. Just a few intentional habits:

I started writing everything down, getting the noise out of my head.
I began choosing just three priorities for the week instead of chasing everything.
I broke my tasks into small, clear steps so I could actually start.
I gave my days direction instead of hoping I would “figure it out.”
I handled small tasks immediately before they piled up.
And most importantly, I protected at least one hour each day for focused work.

At the end of each day, I paused, reviewed, adjusted, and prepared.

And slowly, my weeks began to feel different.
Not perfect. But intentional.
Not overwhelming. But directed.

That changed everything.

Because the truth is, productivity isn’t about doing more.
It’s about doing what matters, on purpose.

So as a new week begins, don’t just hope for a better week.
Prepare for one.

What is one thing you’re doing differently this week?

I await your heartfelt responses in the comments section 🤗

Till I see you in the next story,

Be BLESSED

... Wide-eyed and mystified

Today, while reading Scripture through my yearly Bible calendar, a structure that splits the Bible into three sections, two from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament, something in Mark 6 struck me deeply.

From verses 45 to 52, I found myself pausing.

Jesus had just fed over five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes. Afterward, He sent His disciples ahead while He stayed back to disperse the crowd. Later, He went up the mountain to pray. From there, He saw that the sea was troubled and the disciples were struggling to row.

So, He walked on the sea.

What caught my attention was this. Jesus intended to pass by them, because He was simply heading to the destination they had agreed on. But their fear stopped Him. They cried out, thinking He was a ghost, and He turned to reassure them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Then came the part that truly arrested my heart.

The disciples were more astonished that Jesus walked on water than they were about the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Scripture says their hearts were hardened. They had witnessed abundance from nothing, yet it did not move them the way this did.

> “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves. Their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:51–52)

This reveals something profound. It wasn’t just about what they saw, it was about what they perceived. Their lack of spiritual insight dulled their wonder.

But then, reading further from verses 53 to 56, I saw a striking contrast.

When Jesus and His disciples arrived in Gennesaret, the people recognized Him immediately. They ran through the whole region, bringing the sick on mats to wherever He was. Their faith was simple yet powerful. Many believed that if they could just touch the edge of His garment, they would be healed. And they were.

No hesitation. No overthinking. Just belief.

These two scenes stirred something in me.

Have we become so familiar with God that we no longer recognize His daily works as miracles?

Have we reduced our awe to only the “big” things, the kind we can easily point to and say, “See what God did”?

What about the quiet miracles?

The miracle of sleeping and waking up.
The miracle of breath in our lungs.
The miracle of sight, hearing, touch, and understanding.
The miracle of salvation, that Christ died for us.

These are not small things. They are daily evidence of God’s hand, yet we often overlook them.

Perhaps, like the disciples, our hearts have grown a little hardened, not out of rebellion, but out of familiarity.

And maybe, just maybe, God is calling us back to wonder.

Not because He needs to prove Himself again, but because we need to see again.

This reflection reminded me of a song by Amanda Cook:

May we never lose our wonder
Wide-eyed and mystified
May we be just like a child
Staring at the beauty of our King

That is my prayer.

That we would return to childlike awe.
That we would see God not only in the extraordinary, but in the everyday.
That our hearts would remain soft, responsive, and full of wonder.

May the Spirit of God help us to continually recognize and appreciate His grace and blessings, every single day.

Amen.

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I’ll see you in the next story 😀

BE BLESSED!

I hesitated to write this when the thought first came. I had to pause and look inward, and in doing so, I saw areas of my own life that need realignment. So this is not just for you, dear reader. It is for me too.

Many people move through life without ever stopping to consider what comes after it. For some, death feels like the end of everything. But the Word of God makes it clear that it is not the end. It tells us that after death comes judgment, a moment of reckoning, either into eternal life or eternal separation from God.

And if this message is not new to you, stay with me. Sometimes we do not need new truth. We need to be reminded of what we already know.

We all desire a life that counts. We want our names to be associated with something meaningful, something lasting. But there is a question we often avoid. How much is enough? At what point do the things we pursue begin to take the place of God in our hearts? Because anything we give our devotion to, knowingly or not, becomes what we serve.

The truth is, the life we are living now is an investment. Every choice, every action, every priority is sowing into eternity. We are all building toward something beyond this present life. So the question is not whether you are investing. The question is where.

Scripture gives us a powerful picture.

When Abel was killed, his blood cried out to God for justice. It spoke of innocence taken, of wrong demanding an answer. But when Jesus Christ was crucified on Good Friday, His blood spoke a different language. It did not cry for judgment. It cried for mercy.

That is the heart of Good Friday.

At the cross, justice and mercy met. Sin was not ignored, it was paid for. The weight of humanity’s wrong was placed on Christ, and in His sacrifice, a way was made for us to be reconciled to God. His death was not just an event in history. It was a divine exchange.

But the story does not end there.

Easter morning declares something even greater. The grave could not hold Him. Death was defeated. What looked like the end became the beginning. The resurrection of Christ is the assurance that those who believe in Him are not bound to death, but are invited into new life.

So now, the question returns, deeper and more urgent.

When your life is over, what will speak for you?

Will it be a life spent chasing things that fade, or a life surrendered to the One who gives eternal life? Will your choices echo for justice, or will they rest in the mercy made available through Christ?

This is the invitation of Good Friday and the victory of Easter. Not just to admire the sacrifice, but to respond to it. Not just to remember the resurrection, but to live in the power of it.

Because in the end, it is not just about how long we live. It is about what speaks when we are gone. And through Christ, your story does not have to end in judgment. It can rise in mercy, grace, and eternal life.

Happy Good Friday, dear reader. May God’s divine plan to save you from the sins by sending His only begotten Son to be crucified never seem ordinary in your life, in Jesus' name, AMEN.

If this message blessed you, please 👏🏽 (the icon just below this post — 50 times), comment, and share it with others.

©Aderonke Oyinade Ajuwon (The LifeInker)

BE BLESSED!

I was reading the Scriptures this morning, and when I got to the New Testament portion of my yearly Bible reading plan, Mark 2:1–22, something in verse 18 made me pause.

The scribes were questioning Jesus about His disciples. Why weren’t they fasting like the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees?

It seemed like a fair question on the surface, but Jesus’ response went deeper than their expectations. Instead of giving a direct answer, He spoke in two short parables, the old and new cloth, and the old and new wineskins.

In that moment, Jesus revealed something profound about His presence and His mission.

He compared Himself to a bridegroom, a figure that represents joy, celebration, and intimacy.

His presence among His disciples was not a time for mourning or strict religious observance, it was a time of rejoicing.

Yet, He also hinted that a time would come when He would be taken away, and then fasting would have its place.

Then He gave those two illustrations;

1. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment. When it is washed, the new patch pulls away and makes the tear worse.
2. In the same way, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. As the wine ferments and expands, the brittle skins burst, and both the wine and the wineskins are lost.

These were simple, everyday images, but they carried a weighty truth.

The work Jesus came to do was not meant to be an addition to the old system.

It was not a patch on worn-out religion or a slight adjustment to existing traditions. What He brought was entirely new.

His kingdom is about transformation from within, not mere outward conformity.

This is why trying to contain the life of Christ within rigid, outdated structures will always lead to tension and loss.

The new life He offers requires a new heart, a renewed mind, and a willingness to let go of what can no longer hold what God is doing.

As Second Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” This is the essence of the message.

Christ does not come to improve the old you. He comes to make you new.

So the question for us becomes personal.

• Are we trying to fit this new life into old patterns, old mindsets, and old ways of relating with God?
• Or are we allowing Him to reshape us completely so we can carry what He is pouring?

Because the beauty of what Christ brings is not in patching what is broken. It is in making all things new.

If this message blessed you, please 👏🏽 (the icon just below this post — 50 times), comment, and share it with others.

© Aderonke Oyinade Ajuwon (THE LIFEINKER)