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 09: Keep Growing

We have already seen that the key to realizing our latent potential is to read and educate ourselves. We have treasure on the inside. But it will not automatically come out. It has to be developed.

What we have become so far is not all there is. There are plenty of opportunities to improve. We have no excuse remain at the same level we were last year. We owe it to ourselves to develop what God put in us.

Whatever you do, get better at it. Sharpen your skill. Don’t settle where you are. Stir up what is within you and get better at it. It may look like nobody is noticing and promoting you; nonetheless, do your part to develop what God has put in you, for your opportunities await your preparedness.

We must take steps to grow. David practiced sling shots and playing the harp while taking care of sheep. Like others in his position, he could have just hanged around waiting on sheep, but he practiced his skills. We complain about not having time to do what we love but that is far from the truth.

When God needed someone to slay a giant, and lead his chosen people, he chose who was prepared, David. When King Saul needed a gifted musician to entertain and soothe him, he chose who was prepared, David. What become of the other young boys in David’s village who take care of sheep like David? There’s nothing written about them. Will we be remembered long after we are gone?

God looks for people who have developed their skills. Whatever skill you have, it has to be developed before it can open doors for you. The Bible promises that your gift will make room for you and bring you before great men; and that one who is skilled in his craft will serve kings, not ordinary men. Clearly this is true as we have seen in the case of David. He did not only serve the King, but he succeeded the King. What is keeping us from sharpening our abilities?

We were created for increase. Don’t get comfortable where you are. There’s so much more that you can do. Take classes to improve your skills. Take your abilities a notch higher. Have a personal growth plan. Have good mentors, people who know more than you, people that have gone where you want to go. Let them speak into your life, and learn from their mistakes.

What steps are you taking to better yourself to go to the next level? We must have an attitude to continue learning, to keep growing. God has destined us to soar.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 08: ‘I Give Ye Power to Read’

To think great thoughts we must have them within us. To have them we must read about them. We want to be all that we can be; maximize our best potential. The key lies in reading and educating ourselves.

The sad part is that after graduating from college or university, few of us want to read. While studying to obtain a certificate, we spend tons of hours reading to pass exams. But we hardly read for leisure or to increase our knowledge beyond academics.

Thomas Carolyn put it across well that what we become depends on what we read after the professors have finished with us.

Books are a store of wealth. At our graduation ceremonies the University Chancellor would tell us ‘I give ye power to read.’ But very few of us make a commitment to read after graduation.

Reading is one of the best habits you can ever have. The book of Proverbs advises that we should get all the knowledge we can, then we will be wise the rest of our lives. Expand your knowledge base. Read about everything important in your area of interest.

Succeeding in life takes more than just passing exams and obtaining academic certificates. Happiness does not come from career advancement only, but knowing how to effectively manage and balance all areas in the wheel of life. We do not learn how to do life at the University, but from the books we read. Your University certificate may get you a job, but it is self-education that will open a world of opportunities for you.

We grow through reading. But for sustainable growth to be realized, we must learn to master the books we read. Commit to a program of personal study and development. As we make a commitment to read, we must not read passively, but take our reading seriously and commit to apply our learning so that tangible changes can begin to show in our lives.

The fact that we are living in challenging times should impress upon us the urgency to read. Almost everything within, about, and around us is changing. We are faced with so many challenges, dilemmas and problems in diverse areas of our lives that we do not know how to solve – burnout, career choices, unfulfilled living, discovering purpose, marriages on the rocks, difficult parenting, dwindling health, financial difficulties, and so on. Reading widely opens a window of opportunity in these areas of life.

Irrespective of your age and stage in life read widely and extensively to get new possibilities and renew your way of thinking. When we read great books, they take us to places we have never been before. We meet great minds who broaden our world, renew our thinking, and expand our wisdom to manage life effectively. Utilize your power to read to the full and reap the benefits thereof.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 07: Think Great Thoughts

Other than setting our focus on where we want to be, we must also occupy our minds with thoughts of making it. Our thoughts will then influence our words and actions, which will consequently propel us to our destination.

The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years on a journey that would have lasted a fortnight. Out of that generation, only Joshua and Caleb lived through the wilderness experience to make it to the promised land.

The secret to Joshua and Caleb’s success was adherence to God’s very specific instructions about how to secure success, prosperity, and victory over every adversary. God instructed Joshua to meditate on his Word day and night so that it would fill his heart, mind, and mouth. Then he commanded him to be strong and courageous.

Until his mind and mouth only thought and spoke God’s word, Joshua could not have any hope of being strong and of good courage. Right from the onset God made it a priority to address the issue of Joshua’s mind – no other instructions or strategies took precedence over what occupied Joshua’s thoughts.

Dream about that place. Think about it. Imagine yourself there.

Philippians 4:8-9: “You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse…Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 06: Focusing on the Target

Focus is very fundamental when it comes to staying the course. There are tons of distractions on the journey to greatness. We are faced with disparaging circumstances that have the potential to divert our attention from what we are after.

Dwell on where you want to be, not where you are. Keep your focus on your future desires, not your present circumstances. You start off your day on a good note, with high expectations of having a great day. But in the course of the day, you receive some negative news, or someone in your path irritates you. Most of us allow such distractions to rearrange our focus from the great day we intend to have. As a result, a day that started so well and with high prospects turns sour and ends dismally.

This is exactly what happens to our dreams when we focus on the varied daunting circumstances that come our way. Very often we preoccupy our minds with discouragements, disappointments, denials, delays, and setbacks that we face on the way to greatness.

Despite what is happening around you, focus on the positive. Train your mind to think on what is good and perfect. Focus on the fine things that you are expecting to experience. Learn to live over your circumstances, and determine not to allow distractions keep you from reaching your desired end.

Whatever your predominant focus is, that is what you permit to exist in your life. If you want to go places, don’t focus on things or circumstances that are smaller than what you are hoping for. Your focus will either propel to greatness, or keep you in your not so desirable present status.

Focusing on better things is not just a great idea but a God idea. Before Abraham got the land and child, God trained him to focus on bigger thoughts. God told him to look at the territory he was giving him, walk the land in every direction, and visualize the expanse of his legacy; and that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand in the sea.

Set your eyes on where you are going, not where you are. Come in agreement with God’s promises for your future, and it shall come to pass.

Lillian Chebosi

Volume 03, Issue 05: Stay the Course

We know what we want. We have visualized it in our minds so often it almost feels like it’s our reality. But when we get off fantasy land, we realize that we are not there yet, not even close.

We try to keep the faith. But sometimes it seems too hard, and we consider throwing in the towel. We begin to wonder whether we heard right, dreamt right.

You know you deserve it. You have earned it, but after a long ride, you have realized that nobody will hand it to you. You must take it.

How do we take it?

First, in our minds. We must think, talk and act as though we already got it. Align your thoughts to your words and actions.

Prophet Samuel of the Bible poured anointing oil over David’s head to signify he would be the next king of Israel. What stands out in this scenario is that Samuel did not bring David a crown, but simply anointed him with oil.

It was several years later before David actually wore that crown, but from the moment he was anointed, he was already king in God’s eyes. Good things began to happen to him almost immediately, because he started looking at his world as a king rather than a boy who looked after a few sheep. Even as he overcame the lion and the bear, he knew he would overcome giants. This explains the confidence he had in approaching huge goliath who the entire army of Israel was shrinking away from.

David’s journey to the throne was anything but easy. The presiding king, Saul did not hand him over the kingship. In fact, Saul did the reverse, he did everything he could, including a couple of murder attempts to make sure David did not become king.

David deserved to be king. He earned the right to be king. While Saul was on the throne, David won more battles than Saul did, but kingship remained elusive.

But David did not give up, or settle for chief army commander’s position in the king’s service. He travailed for what God had promised him.

Like David, hang in there; keep the faith and the fight. Stay the course of your dream and believe that in the fullness of time, it shall come to pass. Continually visualize your dream, don’t let it out of your mind. Moreover, think and carry yourself as though you are already living your dream. This will get you used to being there, and after a while, you won’t be comfortable to settle for anything less.

Don’t expect a walk in the park. Just as David took authority and overcame everything that threatened his ascent to the throne, you must take authority and surmount everything that threatens your ascent to the realm of your dreams.

Lillian Chebosi