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 09, Issue 26: Second Half with a Bang!

It dawned on me today that it's half time. We are on the verge of starting the second half of the year, and what an opportunity this presents us to reset the clock and get ourselves on the way, and/or back on the way to a strong finish of each of our 2019 races.

If you are like me, with a few setbacks here and there and bit of sluggishness and distractions, you have dropped a few balls along the way thus far. Today it dawned on me that those dropped balls don't have to remain on the sidelines, and I don't have to remain unintentional about getting them back in the game. They can still make their way into the net.

I want to finish strong, finish what I started when the year began. Just like you, as the first half flipped through, I maintained a good balance of a majority of my balls, but a few balls rolled off the pitch. I need to grab a hold of my stray balls and get back the power of intention going for those as well.

I am reminded of the story of the lost sheep, how the good shepherd left the 99 to go after the 1 that had strayed away from the flock. Looking at your goals as your "100" sheep, how many "ones" have strayed off that you need to bring back to the fold so that you can finish strong? Going after the "one" doesn't jeopardize the "ninety nine" because you have formed strong habits around those to keep them in line.

I got sloppy about showing up on time and keeping time. I got sluggish about being intentional about a few things. This second half gives me an opportunity to reset the clock and get back in line. Which balls have you dropped along the way during the first half of 2019? Where have you been sluggish? What do you need to get a better hold of? Which balls need your refined focus and attention?

What better time to reset the clock than now. Let's grab this opportunity and give our new year reflections and intentions a strong finish. When the curtains fall, we don't want to be part of the statistics of those who didn't finish what they started. We don't want any of ours to be yet another unaccomplished goal when the year draws to a close. Let's get our stray balls back in the game and finish strong.

Perhaps your first half has been so floppy that you are on the verge of giving up hope of ever achieving your goals this year. The game is not over until the final whistle is blown. I have watched many movies of matches where a strong team makes a mess of the first half of the game. The matches I enjoy watching most are the ones where the coach challenges his team to show what they are made of and turn tables around in the second half. You have a chance to make good your intentions for 2019. The time is now, grab a hold of your second half and turn tables around for the final scores.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 09, Issue 25: Laughter, part of the Original Plan

This week I have studied a laughter plan and started a plan on habits of a joy-filled marriage on the YouVersion Bible app. These are not new notions but I am mesmerized and can't wait to delve in and begin to seriously start taking the recommended actions. We have spoken a lot about rest lately but nothing can be more refreshing than a continual feeling of joy.

Life gets busy, stressful and demanding that we honestly forget to play and laugh. Even if you are in a less-occupied state at the moment, the feeling of boredom, uncertainty and restlessness can quench the fun of life out of you. I personally do laugh here and there, but I could do with a lot more laughing in my life. I want to play more and enjoy a good laugh on a regular basis.

Today I am going to share excerpts from the YouVersion Bible laughter plan written by comedy writer Martha Bolton. We will see the importance of getting a daily dose of laughter. You may be thinking there are more serious things to focus on in life than read and ponder how to incorporate more laughter in your life. I agree that the demands on us are real, but we could all do with a healthy sense of humor.

Plenty of scripture addresses the benefits of joy and laughter. The Bible says it's medicine. A merry heart does good like medicine. A happy heart is a continual feat, Proverbs 17:22.

In spite of the ups and downs of life, and perhaps even because of them, the Bible tells us to get our daily dose of joy. Laughter-induced endorphins are beneficial to our health much like a regular exercise program.

If we can teach ourselves to smile, giggle and laugh on a regular basis, we will be better off for it. After all, God created us with the ability to laugh. It's not something we have to wait to use either. Smiling and giggling are two of the first things a baby learns to do, even before crawling and walking.

Living a laughter-filled life doesn't mean you don't have challenges or that you won't feel pain and sorrow. We all face difficulties that we have to get through. Laughter is a tool that can help us do that. Laughter can get our minds off our situations - at least for a moment, and many times it can improve them.

So don't pass over those Bible verses about laughter and joy, thinking they are lightweight or unimportant. When you go through hard times, every scripture about joy matters. These verses are like a life jacket being thrown out to you, helping you hang on just a little while longer. In other words, when life is at its least funny, that's when you need to laugh the most.

Don't think of yourself too busy, too serious, too sophisticated or too holy to let loose and have a good belly laugh. Medical science has proven there are clear benefits to a healthy sense of humor.

When God created Adam and Eve, he gave them the equipment to laugh. Laughter wasn't an add-on after the fall. The muscles we need to laugh, and the brain cells we need to understand a laugh, were part of the original design. God knew laughter would be a healthy thing for us to do, both when life is going well for us and when it's not. And that original equipment was built to last a lifetime. So why have so many of us allowed our laugh muscles to rust in place?

Laughter releases us from the unhealthy thinking that life has to be or is supposed to be perfect. Laughter is realizing so much about life is out of our control. It validates the fact that no matter what our circumstances happen to be, this too shall pass. Let's challenge ourselves to put our laughter muscles to use in good days and not-so-good days alike.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 09, Issue 24: Reality Check

The last few weeks I have struggled with staying on top of things amidst a very demanding work schedule. Instead of slowing down on my personal development activities, I determined to get things moving as much as I could. It got me thinking about the power of intention, but also the importance of admitting the setback.

What do you do when you are met with a setback in your tracks? Do you push through or call it quits until your situation changes? I have found that I don't easily admit defeat even when I should. I went back to the hospital this week after continuing to experience heavy headedness and dizziness especially in the morning and after a long stretch of work in the evening. The tests revealed no traces of infection, so there's nothing to treat. This is very disturbing for someone who hardly ever gets sick.

Despite the setback, I still want go out for my morning walk and to the gym. Yesterday I thought I would probably be better off putting my routines on hold until I get better, but I doubt I can bring myself to do that. Despite the heavy workload, I still determine to find ways to make up for my dwindling lunch break for relaxing, reading and writing. I want to still deliver quality results at work and in my personal life. I don't want to come to the end of the year with excuses for not keeping the commitments I made to myself.

I should probably find ways to slow down if my problem is burn out. My next break is coming up in a couple of weeks. Until then, I am being a lot more lenient on myself where possible. Most days this week I have settled for half my walk and left out gym workout altogether, and I am also sharing my chores with my family members and cleaning lady.

Have you experienced any setbacks this year? How are you dealing with your setbacks? Whatever your approach, my take is that two things are essential. First, admit the setback and be kind to yourself. Secondly, don't call it quits on your goals, remain true to your actions plans in whatever shape or form you can.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 09, Issue 23: Start with a Plan

Do you ever find yourself so busy, yet at the end of the day or week you haven't tackled what you believe to be the most value addition for your role, what is most needed or expected from you. Do you find that you have been so busy but haven't worked on the things you know how to do so well but require a lot of concentration? In the absence of a strong plan, you allow urgent tasks to take over your days, and before you know it, you haven't really attended to what makes you stand out from the pack.

I wanted to revisit the importance of aiming at something everyday rather than letting the day take its own direction. In my work, I find that if I don't start with a plan of what I want to accomplish by the end of each day, I find myself busy with many other genuine tasks that steal away the time I should dedicate to achieving the goals I have determined to be the most important for the day.

What’s your plan for today? I find that if I don’t aim at something, whether it’s a work day at the office or weekend, I come to the end the day feeling not very fulfilled. Just because you leave your house to go to work every other morning doesn’t mean you are aiming at something. You could be just going through the motions, doing this and that but not necessarily doing what you must get done to arrive at your goals.

Whether it's professional work or otherwise, a lifetime goal is not something you leave for some day in the future, it is attained by your daily actions. Dreams rarely come to pass by chance, we make them happen by the things we do day by day. If I don't have a plan for my lunch break or other transition times, I end up wasting the time scrolling through my phone or something of the sort.

You need to have something you are aiming at every day for the different pockets of your time. Your goals may change as time goes by, but have some kind of a plan every day. Have a plan for the day for yourself, for you work, for your home, for the people in your life, and so forth. Things may not always go as planned, and that’s okay. What counts is that you had an intention for the day.

A goal gives you focus and pushes you to perform. You want to come to the end of your day feeling accomplished, knowing you gave it your all. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In addition to my slot by slot daily work calendar, most days my plan for lunch break is to read a few pages of a book, write a few paragraphs and check my messages or make a phone call. I have a solid plan of listening to podcasts when driving, meal prepping and while at the gym.

Every day, you’ve got to shoot at something. Have something you are targeting to accomplish for the day. If you get up every day and you’re not shooting at anything, you cut yourself short. At work, lay out what you want to accomplish that day and go for it. Do the same for your personal life, and for the people in your life. This is how we get ahead.

Every day, you’ve got to shoot at something. Some days may be all about work, and no play. Some days may have a little bit of both. Some days may have a lot going, stretching you to the limit, while other days you may plan to be a lot laid back. If I rest all day, it’s because I planned to rest all day, not that I got carried away by the couch or the remote when I had some kind of work planned.

Start your day with a plan, then do your best to stay true to your plan. You will accomplish your goals, and eventually, your dreams will become a reality.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 09, Issue 22: He Is Interested

Today I was reminded of an article I posted last November titled, "Even In Little Things". I wrote about how God takes care of us even in little things, using occurrences in my life that week. Yesterday I woke up feeling really dizzy. I struggled through my morning routines but had to go back to bed an hour or so later, sacrificing my morning walk and gym workout.

After coming back from dropping the kids to school, my husband embarked on a mission to find out causes of dizziness and nausea. One of the many findings on google pointed to low blood sugar, so he fixed me a cup of coffee with sugar, something I usually don't take. I felt better after a little more rest and jumped out of bed to go to work, promising to pass by the hospital on my way.

Driving out, I quickly relegated passing by the hospital in order to focus my prime time on work. I had a lot to tackle at work that morning, which was to be followed by lots of grocery organization and meal prepping in the afternoon, something I ended up working on until 6pm. I really couldn't afford to be under the weather yesterday going by all that I had to tackle. I had brought in lots of fresh groceries from the market the morning before and my cleaning lady was coming in to clean and cut them for my further actions.

After being full of energy all day, tackling all my work, I had a lousy night and woke up dizzier and more sickly than yesterday. That got me thinking. I didn't make it to the hospital nor take any medication the day before. How is it that the dizziness completely eased off all day after that morning coffee? I went to the hospital early today and got started on medication but am still feeling under weather several hours later. This tells me something. God was at work all the way from Thursday morning and before.

If the Friday morning dizziness had occurred the morning before, I wouldn't have made it to the market for my bi-monthly grocery shopping. My Father knew it was important for me to be in my whole state to manage a market errand on Thursday morning and ensured the dizziness stayed away until the next day. He knew I needed to be well and energetic to tackle lots of work all of Friday. I certainly didn't have the luxury to be unwell earlier in the week as I had a lot to juggle at the office all week.

Today was the day I could afford handling being under the weather as I didn't have any kind of work to attend to. This morning I was so dizzy I struggled to get dressed, and I certainly couldn't consider driving myself two minutes away to the hospital. It was that bad. On the way to the hospital, I prayed for an accurate diagnosis and prognosis, and I found the perfect doctor for my situation.

I see the hand of God written all over these occurrences. He took care of me. He took care of what was important to me this week even if they would be considered trivial matters by even myself. He made sure the doctor on call at my arrival at the hospital today understood what was going on, and was keen enough to run several tests to verify the condition. It never ceases to amaze me how interested God is in the big and small affairs of my life. We have an amazing Father who is interested in doing life with us.

God is interested in you. He is interested in the things that are important to you, big and small alike. I am wowed to see that God is interested even in our schedules and plans. He is interested in our coming and going. Your needs may be different from mine. It's important to me to do things when I plan to do them. Being under the weather before today would have been a real bummer for me. I needed God to make the sickness stay off until today. You could be more flexible with your schedule. Whatever our orientation, God embraces our different desires and helps us out with our needs.

For His Glory,

Lillian Chebosi