KNOW YOUR WORTH

No diss, but try gifting an illiterate roasted corn seller a best seller book titled '5 Easy Steps to Financial Freedom', she will probably shred it into pieces and use it to wrap roasted corn for you and her other customers.

Try selling winter jackets in the hottest climates of the world; Death Valley, Lut Desert...and I promise you 'Dead on Arrival' sales.

Try opening a luxury item/Designer's store in a rundown slum part of a city and observe what happens.

The Bible says not to cast your pearls before swine. (Matt.7:6)

What is my point? Whatever you have no need for has no value to you, regardless of its intrinsic value. When you stay put where you're not needed or wanted, you diminish your worth and value.

On the other hand, if the same winter jackets were sold in a temperate region where they are actually needed and valued, they fulfill their purpose of combating cold weather. In the same vein, where you are valued is where you fulfill purpose, you can not fulfill purpose where you're not wanted or needed.

You have worth and value, discover where you fit in and flourish.
Ciao!
✌

Pain Births Life

When a woman falls into labour pains, she is about to birth a new life, literally.
Pain is an onset of newness; Your wisdom teeth didn't pop up overnight, you probably experienced some agonizing pains; The much awaited promotion didn't just drop on your laps, you toiled for it; Academic success comes at a price: midnight oil.

Pains have purpose:

Pain Expands Endurance
If you were training to run a marathon for the first time, you wouldn't start off by running a marathon. You start with 1km, then 3km, then 5km and so on until you build up the capacity to run a full marathon. Pain works in the same way, it builds up your endurance to weather storms without knocking you out.

Pain Matures You
Discomfort precedes growth, they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Through pain, we learn perseverance and valuable life lessons, maturity kicks in and we become much wiser. Thus people who are more advanced in age do see things from a better perspective and have a wealth of wisdom to share from the seasons of tests and trials they've been through.

Challenges Brings Opportunities
Most people record outstanding success after a major setback. Challenges inspire new thinking and new ideas, it ignites bravery and strength, it provides an opportunity to discover skills you never knew you possessed.

Adversity Builds Character
We are shaped by the ups and downs we encounter in life. Adversity builds resilience and teaches valuable life lessons. It introduces a man to himself for rediscovery and reinvention.

Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfery, Walt Disney are among people of great wisdom and profound success who shared stories of how adversity served as a catalyst for their success.

Don't despise your pain, see it as an opportunity for growth and greatness...Like the phoenix, rise from the ashes with strength and courage.

"All of my obstacles have strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." - Walt Disney


Ciao!

The Brevity of Life

It's a short story that calls for reflection and I thought to share....

*LARRY or HARRY*

Larry and Harry, *two homeless men* were given a chance to travel to a third world country on an all-expenses paid trip.

They were told to carry nothing and return with nothing...

They were to make sure they spend all that was given to them.
Provision had been made for their expenses and welfare which they would get upon arrival at their destination.

The only caveat was that neither of them knew when they would be asked to return home.

As they arrived, they were both given a huge sum of money and a credit card with no limits, but reminded to spend it all before returning to their home country.

 At this, they became instantly wealthy by local standards.

 *Harry* thought to himself. "Wow! This is my opportunity to live like a king for I don't know how long this would last".

 So he went and rented a Ferrari and rented the best room in the best hotel in town.

He went to the best stylist, shaved and transformed his looks. He had parties everyday. Everyone in the city thought the cars and the wealth were his and they loved and respected him for it.

*But....*

At the back of his mind, Harry knew he would go back home someday and leave all of it behind but he didn't want to think about it.

Right now he was living in the moment and enjoying himself to the fullest...

*Larry,* on the other hand rented a small Honda to get him around town and stayed in a modest inn.

 He thought to himself. "This money will not last and I don't know when I am going back so I have to do something tangible with it."

 He decided to *use it to change some people's lives while there was still time.*

So he got busy, went out on the streets and started making a difference.

 He didn't just give away money, rather *he tried to help people be self-sufficient.*
He paid off all the school fees of some promising young ones to enable them get an education and take care of themselves and their families.

He found some responsible adults and funded them in a business that guaranteed they would be able to take care of their family and create employment.

*He devised a means of helping some of the homeless people get off the street and getting them into a trade for he thought "I wish someone would do this for me when I get back".*
*_In short, while Larry was there, he was busy changing lives..._*

Then after just two months they were suddenly notified that it was time to go back.

They hadn't even finished spending all the money but still had to leave it all.

They both said their goodbyes and headed for the airport.

At the airport they were given their original clothes to put back on before boarding the plane back to their country...

Harry reminisced on the good times he had but wasn't too happy that he was going back to his old life.
 How would he readjust to being homeless?

*Larry on the other hand felt good. He came with nothing and is leaving with nothing, but he at least helped others with a chance at life and that alone meant the world to him.*

Readjusting to being a homeless person wouldn't be a problem because he never lived like the wealth was his anyway and always had it at the back of his mind that he would leave it all someday.

But... Little did they know that each moment they spent on vacation was being secretly recorded and they would be rewarded accordingly.

Now, which one do you think would be cast back out to the slums as a homeless person and which one would be entrusted with large sums of wealth and position of authority?

*The same goes with our lives here on earth.*

*We are sent here on a mission and will return empty handed except for the recordings of our dealings here on earth.*

 Yet, many of us walk around thinking that the wealth we have is ours to keep forever.
We look at ourselves in the mirror and think that what we see will always be there, forgetting that we are wearing a temporary cloth, a human body, that would be required of us before we leave this world.

Our vacation on earth is but a short time while eternity is forever. How we spend this vacation determines how we get to spend eternity.

*So.... HOW ARE YOU LIVING YOUR LIFE? ARE YOU A LARRY OR A HARRY ???*

'For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.'
1 Timothy:6:7

Character is an Expression of the Mind

'For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he....'
Prov. 23:7

We live off what lives in our hearts.
Words and actions have to go through a thinking process before they are expressed.

You have the freedom to choose what you dwell on whenever you are confronted with different and conflicting thoughts, bearing in mind that your life will go in the direction of your thoughts.

You give life to whatever you choose to dwell on because what you feed grows.
I will treat myself the way I think about myself, I will also treat others the way I think about them; my actions echo my thoughts.

Change starts not with action, but with the mind. Change your thinking pattern and see your life align with your thoughts.

Ciao. ✌

Your Expectations are Valid

'NO EXPECTATIONS, NO DISAPPOINTMENTS.'
If the message in the quote above is telling me not to have expectations from people so that I don't get disappointed, it is heavily flawed...Expectations and disappointments are inevitable.

I bet we all have expectations in various dimensions of our lives, including the author of this quote in question. It is abnormal not to.
Expectations provide a yardstick to measure the quality and performance of relationships; whether it's a business/work relationship where expectations are explicitly stated and tasks are executed to meet specified deadlines, or in intimate relationships where expectations are more implicit and affection, companionship and emotional support are mutual needs.

All healthy human relationships thrive on reciprocity; if it is one-sided, it loses balance and crashes.
People do not have to do for you exactly what you do for them but if they don't make an effort to match your gestures, you might be better off without them.
Pouring yourself into someone that does not give any back will leave you physically drained and emotionally bankrupt.
If you don't know your worth, people will present you a shabby bargain.

That somebody can not meet your expectations does not invalidate them, when you treat people right, you have the right to expect same back.

Ciao.

Testimony Time

I call myself an embodiment of God's Grace...I don't deserve it but I'm 'Graced' anyway.

It was September 2018, early in the morning as I took the girls downstairs to catch the school bus, hubby was not home, just me and the girls, I got downstairs and was met with pandemonium; glass shards and visible signs of vandalization littered the compound.

Long story short, while the Lord watched over the girls and I as we peacefully slept the night away, armed robbers (they were armed as confirmed by the security guard who was held hostage while they operated) broke into the compound and vandalized all cars...EXCEPT MINE!!!

Yes, there were five vehicles in the compound and all were vandalized; they broke the windows, stole brain boxes, head lamps and car radios...but they did not lay a finger on mine!
They also stole a generator set that was tucked away in a shed, meanwhile mine was  newer and more conspicuous.
It was as though God shielded all my property away from them.

It brought tears to my eyes; God is this real? He loves and cares for me this deeply?
It wasn't anything I did right, it was purely His GRACE.
I was astounded, I still am till date.

JESUS is Lord!!!

No Blueprint

Sometime ago, I was on a panel to discuss the topic '21st Century Parenting.'

Prior to the discourse, the moderator offered me some articles to read through in preparation. I didn't go through them, I just figured out I'll be as organic as I could, discuss off my own personal experience.
'Can parenting be learnt?' was one of the questions asked, and it was an unequivocal 'no' for me.
I believe parenting is intuitive, you can not apply someone else's template to run yours, it will not work; the children are different, likewise the parents.

This same principle applies to life in general; there are no blueprints to do life. Don't fit yourself into someone else's box, do what works for you.
Get your validation from having a deep connection with who you are.
We are created differently for different purposes; your likes and dislikes, strengths and flaws, experiences and expectations are not random...you were deliberately made so, to fit into God's purpose for your life.

Do you!✌

'For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.'
2 Corinthians:10:12