Celebrating Another Year Of Growth

On my birthday, I am celebrating another year of growth and thank God for his love, mercy and grace. I found myself reflecting over the past year and writing down the things I have learnt, so I decided to share my notes and reflection.

Some Life Lessons

1. When you have an attitude of gratitude your ability to be thankful never wanes. It is important to thank God for the little things and the big things. Celebrate every accomplishment and thankfulness will become a habit. It is hard to get into a funk because a reason to say thank you God is just round the corner.
2. I have embraced being bold and have done so much more this past year. Bold enough to ask, understanding that the worst that will happen is that you hear a “No”. There is always the chance that maybe the person will say no, but they just might say yes. When you present yourself or cause with self-confidence, it is easier for people to help you.
3. Be Passionate. I truly believe that passion is addictive, there is a positive aura that follows someone who is passionate about life, ministry or whatever they are doing. When you know what your calling is and boldly embrace it, the passion is never far away. The older I get I realise that if I am not passionate about what I am doing – then why do it at all?
4. Health and Lifestyle – for the first time in my life I have been working out with a fitness trainer for over a year! I have gone down from a US size 8 to a US size 4 as a result of eating right, exercising, cutting out soda and taking other steps towards a healthy lifestyle. There are no short cuts to weight loss and fitness. It starts with your mindset and believing that you can do it, believing that you can eat right and that your body loves to exercise. A healthy lifestyle is the only way to feel and look your best. Your body is yours to take care of, no one can do it for you.[Tweet “Your body is yours to take care of, no one can do it for you.”]
5. Love is the greatest of all, no matter what you do if you do not love yourself and truly love people then it does not count. Through some rather painful experiences I have learnt that love is a choice – it is not a birthright. It is clear to me now that God wanted to teach me what true love means. I know God loves me unconditionally and that helps to centre me every day!
6. Christ is the truth – there is no other way to navigate life. Reading and meditating on Gods word is the anchor you need to live the life you have been called to. Christ is the only way! Gbam! #NomoreToSay
7. The real reason you don’t take that step or make that move is because of fear. Most limitations we face are self-created. You think about fear of rejection, fear of what people will say and doubt yourself. But guess what? you will never know unless you try. So instead of ‘I Cant” you have to think “how can I?”. I have seen this over and over, when I think of how..usually an answer presents itself. I truly believe that the universe aligns to help you achieve that which you truly commit to. Faith should trump fear!  
8. Motherhood is truly a joy and a privilege not to be taken lightly. Have a healthy vision of the adults you want your children to become, then raise them with those values and skills from today. I see myself as a gardener, my goal is to nurture and guide my children to be who they have been called to be. God has placed my children, your children, in our care for his glory. I also can’t imagine this motherhood journey without all the wonderful women (and men) supporting women I have met through LagosMums. Having a community has truly been a blessing when it comes to parenting and raising a family.
9. Everyone has a gift or talent and if you are in the position to identify it; help them to hone it. This is especially true with our children, they have unique gifts and talents and we can help them to excel in these areas. Also in your role as a boss, employer, mentor and friend make it a conscious effort to help others to excel in their gifts and talents. Have you noticed that childhood talents and interests are not a fluke? as an adult, you can trace some of your interests today to what you enjoyed as a child. For example, as a child, I always wrote novels and dreamt of having a magazine. Here I am years later on LagosMums and other platforms.
10. Marriage is a beautiful thing especially when you use the rules that God has given us on how to be successful in marriage. All the things God has said love, respect, submission, are all guides to help us be successful. Do not ignore some for others. Marriage is like fine wine, it gets better as you both work on it. By the way, marriage does not complete you, no one except God completes you. To all singles, before you say I do, shine your eyes!                                                                                              [Tweet “marriage does not complete you, no one except God completes you.”]
11. Learn to forgive yourself! There is no mistake that you cannot rise above. As I have learnt to forgive myself, I am less conscious and able to let things go. Life should be celebrated as you go through the many lessons to be learnt, and experience many firsts. Learn what you need from each experience and move on.
12. Have a mentor. My mentor is a fantastic person, she is everything I would want to be. She is the proverbs 31 woman! I remember the day so clearly when God told me that living an abundant life is possible. He said it is not a mistake that I say the proverbs 31 woman is my mentor – because it is a reality that can be achieved. To be like her means that all areas of your life are in order, the homefront, marriage, spirituality, finances, business, reputation, fashionable and so much more! So why do you think you cannot achieve it? This is what I strive for.

Many times a woman is focused on the end goal of being a wife and a mother. Remember that you still exist for yourself, your goals, talents and desires matter. However, no one should be given the task to complete you, not a spouse nor a child. Only walking in God’s purpose for your life can complete you.