Equipping young women professionals with young families to find fulfillment, contentment and joy as mothers and home makers without losing sight of who they are as women.

Volume 12, Issue 39: The Opportunity In Unexpected Occurrences

Every now and then life throws us a curve ball. Something unexpected happens and we find ourselves in uncomfortable territory. When we don't pose to consider all possibilities, we often tend to let the unexpected happening bring out our weakness rather than our strength.

When I have one of my teenagers do something crazy, or someone behaves badly towards me, do I have to react out of character? Just yesterday I was displeased by one of my teenager's disregard of a code of conduct and I didn't handle it well. I later regretted sweating the small stuff.

When the unexpected happen, can I instead pose to consider how I want to show up in the situation? Before doing or saying anything, can I have a brief meeting with myself and consider how I want to handle myself in the situation?

"In the midst of the unexpected, we have the opportunity to make one of our greatest Best Yes decisions ever. Let this unexpected happening point to your strength, not your weakness". Lisa Terkeurst.

When the unexpected happens, let's learn to pose and consider the best decisions we can make and take the subsequent best actions. Let's desist from doing the easy thing - reacting. Let's rather take the high road and consider the best decisions and actions to take.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 12, Issue 38: Show Up To Practice

Part of finishing strong means showing up to practice. There are times when pursuing a goal feels hard. At such times, we can motivate ourselves to at least show up and do even just the bare minimum. As I write this, I am showing up for my writing assignment this morning.

Once you have determined that your goal is worth pursuing, talk yourself into showing up to practice even when you don't feel like it, and even when you don't see good results. Show up to practice even when you feel like a failure in that area.

I read about a girl whose sport of choice was pole vaulting. For the first almost 3 years of joining the team, she came in last in all competitions. But she never missed a practice session. Day by day, this girl showed up to practice, went through her routine and followed her coach's instructions. It wasn't until the tail end of her third year at the sport that she started winning.

Which goal are you struggling with the most? Could it be that you even stopped showing up for it? If the goal is important to you, try showing up to practice for it consistently from here on.

Finishing strong isn't just about winning. It's also about resilience. It's about knowing that you gave this year your all. That you didn't leave anything on the table. Yes it's true, that in life, we win some, and lose some. But whether we lose or win, we want to finish strong by showing up to practice to the very end. We want to be able to say that we gave our all to our pursuits this year.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 12, Issue 37: Finish Strong

We are in the last quarter of the year, approximately 12 weeks to the end. This is an opportunity to hit the reset button and finish strong in the areas of our lives where we aren't doing so well in or have gotten out of order.

Most of us started the year on a strong note, but as time went by, we slowly loosened our grip on some of our goals. Before we knew it, "floppy", "average", and in some cases "out of order "became our new normal in those areas.

What areas of your journey can you revamp now, in order to finish the year strong? One of mine is my food portions. My portions have progressively expanded over the past couple of months. I know so because I have been finishing my meals feeling stuffed. The week before last I decided that I would take my food portions back to the sweet spot I had found before. I have started my way back there and I am determined to see it through to the end of the year.

Practically, this means that where I was dividing a pot of stew into two portions and ending a meal stuffed, I am now dividing it into three portions. Where I made four chapatis from two cups of flour, I am now making six chapatis, thereby turning two cups of flour from two dinner servings to three dinner servings.

To bring my writing to a strong finish, I have decided to go back to a scheduled writing time and quietly sit there doing nothing else until the time lapses, whether I manage to write something or not.

Which of your goals are out of order? Consider the practical ways you can make adjustments for the poor performing areas of your life to restore order and usher you to a strong finish by the end of the year.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 12, Issue 36: Not Every Assignment Is Your Assignment

I recently had two funerals in my extended family for which I didn't travel upcountry for the burials which took place on two Saturdays, one after the other. I attended the funeral service in the city, but I didn't make the 9-hours' one-way road trip to the country side for the burials.

With the help of others, I at first felt a little guilty for not going for the burials. Even though the guilt did not grip me for a long moment, it still crossed my mind that it looked bad on me that others, including distant relatives made the time to go but I didn't.

What helped me shake off the guilt quickly was that I was more than aware of the fatigue I was working under, trying to wrap up a phase of work that was coming to an end in less than two weeks. I understood that with all I had on my plate, I didn't have the physical and emotional resources to make the long trips. I knew I needed to conserve my energy for the work I had to finish well in limited time.

Going for those burials would have been a good thing to do, a loving and Christian thing to do. But it wasn't the right time for me to do them. As unloving as it may sound, I now know without a doubt that they were not my assignments.

Around the same time, a friend of mine asked if I could bake and decorate a cake for her son's birthday, to which I quickly said 'No'. I also usually bake a birthday cake for my twin salonists for their September birthday, but this time I decided to postpone the bake to October. I admitted to myself that I was too overstretched to invest physical and emotional resources to all it takes to put together a cake.

Reading Lysa Terkeurst's "The Best Yes" book this week, I have figured out why in some instances I say "No" to requests to give or go or do or host. What I didn't realize when I turned down those requests is that I first analyzed my ability to accommodate them financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Some requests pass three of the four dimensions. But a "Best Yes" for me is one that passes all the four dimensions.

Not all assignments are your assignments. In some cases, they are assignments that you could take up if the timing was right. I have gleaned from Lysa's book that we should only take up assignments for which we will be able to walk in love as we do them. When we fill our plates with too many assignments at the same time, it compromises our ability to walk in love.

“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:3 MSG‬‬.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 12, Issue 35: He Undertakes For Us

In big and small matters alike, God never fails to undertake for us. I have seen His undertakings time and time again. God never misses an opportunity to do us good. He never misses an opportunity to look out for what would serve our interests and meet our needs.

I recently lost an item, but I didn't realize the loss until almost a week down the line. When I did, I figured too much time had elapsed to still find it. Nonetheless, I traced my steps back to the place I thought I could have lost it. To my amazement, it was there! Unbelievable. Someone had picked it off the ground and kept it nearby for me!

I reckon that wasn't sheer luck but God undertaking for me. He knew I would need the item when I noticed it was missing. The item being part of a set, God knew it would be impossible to replace it without buying the whole set again, something that wouldn't go down well with me. As such, He saw to it that someone picked it up and kept it for me until I went looking for it. I am so glad that our Father in heaven never fails to undertake for us. Praise His holy name.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi