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 03, Issue 14: Count your Blessings

As I enjoy the slowness that comes with the holiday season towards the end of the year, my mind is free to roam through the happenings of the year that is soon drawing to a close. Not everything turned out just the way I anticipated, but I can’t help to recount all the many things that were really good.

Reviewing my goals for the year confirms what I already knew. A few of the things I committed to do, or achieve, did not go so well, in fact, two or more were a complete flop! For one, I wasn’t able to write nearly as much as I did in the past years. But what I appreciate is that my life was changing. My failure in some areas was as a result of shifted focus that resulted in an overall successful year. You will find that to be true for you too, unless you were plain mediocre.

Think of all the things that you did well. Celebrate your achievements in the year, you deserve it. Despite the obstacles along the way, you pushed through, worked hard, made sacrifices, and excelled.

Plenty of things went well, but it wasn’t all your doing. Lots of good things happened in your life that had nothing to do with your effort. The sheer favour and goodness of God and people brought about a lot of good in your life. You had love in your life, you learnt new things, you got the promotion you desired, you finished the project that seemed impossible at first, your strained relationships were mended, while average ones soared, your needs were met with an abundance, you enjoyed good health, your children brought you joy, you got to stay in a beautiful home, good breaks came your way, and you got out of all the trouble that came your way.

Keep track of the good things in your life. You may not be all that optimistic generally, but by focusing on the good things in your life, you can muster up enough strength to hope. I know it may be hard to imagine that any of the good things I listed above happened to you, but that’s only because of where your focus is. Actively seek to see the positive in your life and you will be surprised at how beautiful it is.

Take note of what’s right in your life, better still, magnify even the little good things in your life, and see if things don’t change for the better.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 02, Issue 13: Don’t Settle for Less

Aim higher as the new year approaches. You may have struggled this year, but that doesn’t mean you should lower your expectations for times ahead.

Don’t just ask for your needs, ask your dreams. Ask for your goals. Ask for the secret petitions of your heart.

God has blessings stored up for those who honour him. Pray God-sized prayers, and expect God to show up in a great way.

It is good to ask for our needs, but go a step further and ask for your dreams. Be bold enough to ask for the secret desires of your heart.

Expect to see the fullness of what God has in store for you, to overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy, and become all that God destined you to be.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 2, Issue 12: Begin with the end in mind

Success is about forming habits that keep you on course. We get to choose how to live, what we want out of life. We can live better lives if we acquire the habits that support it.

The actions that we take over and over again become habits over time. Research has shown that it takes about 30 days to develop a new habit. By then the daily routine becomes a habit.

As once said by Aristotle, we get what we repeatedly do. Therefore, we get what we want by regularly practicing for it until it becomes a habit. Whatever you desire; health, wealth, happiness, love, acquire and practice the habits that will create it for you.

Habit is the servant of great men and women; the servant of failures as well. It will push you onward or drag you to failure. Successful people employ healthy habits to propel them on the road of continuous improvement. Failures take bad habits for granted and find themselves incarcerated by them, leading to despair and disdain.

We make our habits, and then our habits make or break us. Habits are either the best servants or the worst enemies. Be easy with habit and you will live to regret it. Be firm with habit and it will get you ahead of the average person.

Habits require time, consistency, patience and determination to acquire and refine. As you acquire new habits, get rid of the old ones that do not serve you.

If you desire to live a long fulfilled life, full of health and vitality, embark on habits that promote that - daily routines of exercise and healthy eating, making a point to rest after periods of hard work.

If you desire wealth, painstakingly apply the habits of generating wealth – saving, investing, and living below your means.

There are no short-cuts in life. Whatever you desire, consistently apply the habits that will create it for you. If we want to change where we end up, we must begin with the end in mind and get on with the habit.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 11: Keep Walking

In the race of life you will not be measured by the humbleness of your start, but by the greatness of your finish – Paul Tergat, Kenya’s former great athlete. He talks of how his marathon in life was a hard one, second place after second place, before he finally hit gold.

Kipchoge Keino, one of the greatest athletes in his time did not only succeed on the track, he also motivated many young athletes after him to achieve standards in sports which might have been regarded as impossible until he paved the way. Kipchoge’s success not only put Kenya on the international athletic map, it also inspired many of the country’s long distance runners and launched its decades-old dominance of long distance running.

Just like Paul Tergat, Kipchoge has a story to tell of how hard it was for him at the beginning and the hurdles he passed as he pushed himself to greatness. Regardless of how dismal his start might have been, what we remember him for is the grandness of his finish.

Do not be intimidated by your modest beginnings. Keep sharpening your skills where you are and you will rise to the top. God will cause you to be noticed. Joseph sharpened his skills while he was a slave and they were noticed in prison, and he wound up a prime minister in a foreign land.

Aim for excellence. Paul Tergat did not settle for second place. He kept striving until he made it to the top. Stir up what God has deposited within you and reach for the stars.

Be diligent at whatever you do. Joseph was only a slave, he wasn’t being paid for his work, but he still did his best. We are being paid for our work yet we border on mediocrity. We do the bare minimum just to get by and stay on the payroll. The day we realize that we are not working for men but for God is the day we shall get over the bug of mediocrity.

The expression of your talent may not look like it will amount to anything grand, but keep walking. Keep doing what you know to do best, refining it day by day. Only you can determine what becomes of your dream, and how it will look like at the finish line.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 10: Redeem the Time

We are living in busy times. We complain about not having the time to do what we love to do, what we should do, and the things that will count for eternity. We have busy schedules. Most of us are at work from 8 to 5, and in traffic for 2 to 3 hours a day. What time do we have to develop ourselves, sharpen our skills, exercise, parent our children, and build up others? David could have said the same thing while he was taking care of sheep. But he redeemed the time and sharpened his skills, and he made history.

There are lots of pockets of time that we can take advantage of in the course of the day. But we squander time on things and people that don’t build us. Don’t waste your valuable time hanging around people that are not adding anything to your life. Hang around people that inspire and challenge you. Sometimes we do this when we read great books. It matters who you associate with.

Time is what life is made of. If you love life, you will not squander time. The scripture says to redeem the time. We need to see time as a gift. God has destined us for great things. But until we redeem the time, we will not attain our full potential. Now is the time to get prepared.

We must learn the art of ordering our day. We must take into account each day and not squander the time we have. Make use of the pockets of time you have in the course of your working day to pray, exercise, read, and sharpen your skills. Rather than chitchatting for a full hour at lunch time as you eat leisurely every other day, have lunch for 15 minutes and use the remaining 45 minutes to read, or exercise, or pray. Read a book as you wait on queue at the hospital, or the bank, or the salon. Read a book, or listen to a tape as you drive or ride on the bus. Memorize and meditate on scripture as you jog.  There’s plenty of time to do it all. Let us redeem the time and make the most of every opportunity.

Lillian Chebosi