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.

Issue 06, Volume 26: Do it Early

Things don’t always go our way every day. A day that starts out beautifully may face some negative happenings. Make up your mind early that whatever comes your way, you will remain at peace. Set up your mind that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Decide ahead of time that no matter what comes in your day, you are equal to anything through Christ who infuses inner strength in you.

Make some decisions early in the morning. Prophecy your future. Call forth things that are not as though they are. Expect something good to happen to you and through you. Set your mind to enjoy your day early in the morning. “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad”. Decide ahead of time to enjoy your day and to live to please God.

Some people say they are not morning people, and that’s okay. But whenever you get up, (even if it is 1pm in the afternoon), that is your morning. Whenever you start your day, start it with God. We need to do some things on purpose, make some decisions early.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and they shall not faint!

Rise up early and seek God because he is your manna. Jesus is the bread of life that we need now. The Israelites got up early and collected their manna. That stuff came down early and you couldn’t wait for it to melt because you weren’t getting anything until the next day. They got up, got their jars and went out and collected it early.

Get your day started right by seeking God first. The Bible is full it. David rose up early and sought the Lord. Jacob rose up early and sought the Lord. Abraham rose up early and sought the Lord. David rose up early the day he slay Goliath. You are not going to kill your giants lying in bed, hitting the snooze button.

If this early thing is not important, if getting things right with God first thing you get up, whenever your morning is, is not important, then they wouldn’t say it all over the Bible.

Get the difficult stuff over with early. Abraham rose up early the morning God asked him to sacrifice his son.

Get up early in the morning and take care of the hard tasks, get them out of the way first. Don’t let some job that you have to do threaten you all day and make you dread the day. Different people dislike doing different tasks. If you dislike going to the market, get up and do it early and get over with it.

Jesus rose up early as was his habit and sought the Lord on the day he was arrested. He was so distressed over what he was going to endure he sweat blood. As he prayed, angels came and strengthened him. Jesus had asked his disciples to pray that they wouldn’t fall into temptation but they fell asleep. Peter denied Jesus 3 times that day.

Pray ahead of time that when temptation comes, you won’t fall into it. If food is a temptation for you, don’t wait until you’ve already eaten half a plate of cake or 3 plates of food at a go then pray. Pray about it all the time. Pray about it in the morning. If telling white lies is a temptation for you, don’t wait until you’ve told one then pray. Set you mind early in the morning by praying about it.

Set your mind right every morning and keep it set. Arm yourself with right thinking. Quit living by whim and feelings. Make up your mind to some stuff. Use your will to line it up with God. How can two walk together unless they be agreed? Get yourself in agreement with God.

Lillian Chebosi

Issue 06, Volume 25: Stay in Your Comfort Zone

There are so many stressors in life today. One of the things I have found helpful is staying in my comfort zone.

Stay in your comfort zone. It doesn’t mean you never do anything difficult. It does mean you recognize your limits and respect them. Stop trying to do stuff that you are not good at.

Stay where you are comfortable. Do things that are within your strength and comfort zone. Don’t think you have to compare yourself with somebody else. It creates so much stress when we think we have to do what everybody else is doing. No matter what somebody else is doing, if they like it they are going to think everybody should do it.

If you don’t stand up for yourself, you will spend your life doing stuff that you don’t like and feel bad because you are not good at it, when it’s not even what you are supposed to be doing.

Don’t do things that stress you out. Whatever you do, let it be that you do it from a position of rest. Be it raising your children, home making, doing ministry, your career, sports or exercise; do it from a position of rest. Don’t be pressured into doing exercise the way somebody else is doing it unless it suits you. Do what works for you.

We don’t get to do only the things we like to do, things that are easy for us. But we shouldn’t have a majority of what we have to do be things that we don’t like doing.

Spend your day in activities that strengthen you, things that make you feel good about yourself, things that draw out your juices. If you dread going home to cook every other evening, then maybe having someone else cook for you may release you to enjoy your life. If you dread going to the office every other morning, seriously consider rethinking your career. It should be something you are not only good at, but enjoy doing.

Lillian Chebosi

Issue 06, Volume 24: It Takes a Lifetime

Pablo Picasso was walking down the street in Paris one day when a woman recognized and approached him. After introducing herself and praising his work, she asked him if he would consider drawing her portrait and offered to pay him for the piece. Picasso agreed and sat the woman down there and then on the side of the street, brought out a sketchbook and pencil, and began to draw the woman. A small crowd of spectators gathered very quickly, but in only a handful of minutes Picasso had finished the drawing. As he handed it to the woman, he said, “That will be five thousand francs.” Surprised at the price, the woman objected, saying, “But Mr. Picasso, it took you only a few minutes.” Picasso smiled and replied, “No, my dear woman, you are mistaken, it took me a whole lifetime.”

What happens in our lives is almost always a result of the things we habitually think and the things we habitually do. Success doesn't just happen in a moment, it is a result of what we habitually practice.

Life is the fruit of discipline, or lack of it. I cannot separate Rory Mcllroy's phenomenal performance and record-crushing victory at the TOUR Championship and FedExCup at East Lake in Atlanta last Sunday from the twenty years of his life prior to that event. Mcllroy holed two shots on the sixteenth hole, his second victory in 3 weeks that made him the first player to win four FedExCup playoff events. His practice sessions fifteen years earlier at the age of six were as much a part of that double victory as his final approach shot to the eighteenth green.

Some of us enjoyed the Olympic games several weeks ago. I still remember some of the phenomenon athletes by name, and the exloits they did in Rio, Brazil. I was wowed by their breath taking performances. Each athlete showed up for gold. They spent the last four years or more preparing for the championship. We celebrated with those who attained podium finishes, walking away with gold, silver or bronze medals.

Champions are not made in the ring, they are only recognized there. None of the Rio 2016 Olympic champions were overnight champions. They spent their lives preparing for that moment.

When you see people advanced in years energetic and vibrant, it didn’t just happen, they worked for it. When you see a family enjoying a strong bond of friendship and thriving relationships, it didn’t just happen, they invested years of quality time together.

Don't just marvel and do nothing. Make the necessary investments in your life to position yourself for what you want to reap in your life now and in future.

Be not discouraged when you don't see any rewards for your efforts now. Picasso spent all of his life practicing his art to be able to do it meticulously. Nobody was paying him while he practiced. Years later after he polished his art, he started reaping rewards from it. Every disciplined effort has its own multiple reward.

Lillian Chebosi

Issue 06, Volume 23: Invest Your Time

We are always spending time doing something. When you spend your time, you are buying something with it. What are you buying with the time you spend doing this and that in your day?

What are you doing with the time you spend exercising? You are buying years. You are buying energy. You are buying vibrancy. You are buying the opportunity to be here a lot longer than you would if you didn’t do any exercise.

What are you doing with the time you spend studying and soaking in God’s presence? You are buying intimacy with God. You are buying confidence in the promises of God. You are buying the opportunity to experience the blessings of God. You are buying a rich and abundant life.

What are you doing with the time you spend reading? You are buying wisdom. You are buying intellectual growth and development. You are buying an expanded view of life. You are buying the opportunity to help others from a position of knowledge and understanding.

What are you doing with the time you spend with your children? You are buying a happy home with children growing up well-mannered and feeling loved. You are buying a close bond that will last for years. You are buying generational greatness.

What are you doing with the time you spend with your spouse? You are buying intimacy. You are buying a thriving relationship that will stand the tests of life. You are buying a strong bond of friendship that you can count on in hard times. You are buying a happy and functional home for your children.

On the other hand, what are you buying with the time you spend worrying, or feeling sorry for yourself? What are you buying with the time you spend gossiping or listening to gossip? What are you buying with the time you spend watching endless episodes of reality television or soaps? What are buying with the hours you spend on social media?

Take an inventory of your time. See if the activities you are spending most of your free time on are investments or divestments. Invest your time. Don’t waste it.

Lillian Chebosi

Issue 06, Volume 22: Living with Passion

Physically, we know that if we exercise regularly, have good sleep regularly, and eat the right sorts of food, we feel fantastic and more fully alive. We're healthier, happier, and have a richer, more abundant experience of life.

Exercise infuses our lives with energy and vibrancy. Additionally, it affords us an opportunity to remain in the business of healthy living much longer. But we think we don’t have time for exercise.

Emotionally, we know that if we give priority to our relationships, our ability to love and to be loved increases. We become more aware of ourselves, develop a more balanced view of life, and experience a deeper sense of fulfillment. We're healthier and happier.

Thriving relationships with our significant others make us happy. But we are too busy that we don’t have time for our spouses and children. Relationships take one thing, and that’s time. Relationships are not built on what you do for your children or what you buy for them; relationships are built on time, spending time with them.

Intellectually, we know that if we take a few moments each day to read something, our vision expands; we become more focused, more alert, and more vibrant. Clarity replaces confusion. We feel more fully alive, and we are happier.

Spiritually, we know that if we take moments each day in God’s presence, and in quiet reflection to reconnect with ourselves, we develop a deep sense of peace, joy, purpose and direction. We're healthier, happier, and we have a richer experience of life.

We know what to do to be happy. We just need to do them. We get a deep sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from those activities because they infuse our lives with sustainable happiness. Choose to live everyday with passion and purpose by doing the things that make you happy.

Lillian Chebosi