Tend your Garden

My neighbour has a very beautiful garden. He somehow finds time to tend his little garden despite his busy schedule. For the love of me, I think he uses magic! I've got this gut feeling he is a leprechaun..lol Whatever the season, his garden is always looking plush and radiant with colours. My garden on the other hand is like a little wild land filled with weeds.

 Mind you I am clueless about gardening but I do love the idea of having a garden that will be the envy of my neighbours. I'm sure the people that built the house and included a garden did not intend it to be a mini Amazon forest but a haven filled with lovely flowers and plants to enhance the features of the house and give some pleasure to the owners. Right now the garden is anything but!  So I have decided to enlist the services of a professional to help bring life back to my little garden.

To give more meaning to this post, I decided to check what it means to tend.Tend according to the on-line dictionary means to apply oneself to  a task, give attention to, care for or look after.
Do you have a garden and what state is it in? In this instance, a garden is a metaphor for a dream, vision, family, health, finances, relationships, anything at all that is of significant value in your life.
God has put in every life a garden that He designed ultimately to display His splendour.
"they will be called oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, for the display of His splendour" Isaiah 61:3.
 There is nothing beautiful about a life gone awry and without structure. An untended garden has the tendency to attract wild creatures so does a life not fulfilling its original purpose. In fact its a sorry sight!
Like a garden, every life designed by God has inherent potentials for infinite possibilities if only we would guard and nurture what the lord has entrusted to us. Stop leaving your life to chance! Stop neglecting the things that are of utmost  important to you. Stop taking your health, family, finances, relationships for granted. Just stop because some of these people are irreplaceable.! Don't wait till it goes down hill before getting a grip.
I know what it is to lose grip on reality so this topic resonates deeply with me but THANK GOD FOR SECOND CHANCES!

Photo Credit:www.photos-public-domain.com

Every successful business or relationship is a product of conscious positive decisions. The people you see and admire did not leave things to chance but nurtured and tended their purpose, visions and that includes everything that is of significant value to them. YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY. What you carry is too beautiful/important to leave to chance and wild creatures to peck on. GET A GRIP.
Admittedly certain situations happen to us that cause us to lose focus but its time to get back in the grid and allow yourself to smile again. THE WORLD IS WAITING!

In gardening, certain activities are carried out to ensure a very aesthetic outlook and these rules are applicable to life.
DE-WEED-weeds are undesirable plants that have the tendency to choke out more desirable plants. In order to have a "beautiful" life vigorously uproot emotions, relationships and attitude that would bar you from making your desired impact.
NURTURE- This means care and feed what has been given to you and this includes your family, health, business, finances. Every farmer knows to nurture their plants and flowers so the garden does not grow wild  Don't let wild creatures devour what you are blessed with and don't you mess it up either. What you have in your hand is delicate.

PROTECT- Set barriers around your vision. Guard it jealously. Mind your influencers.
PLAN AND STRUCTURE: Not all gardens are shaped the same way. My garden is oval in shape while my neighbour's is square but enough to plant flowers and plants. What you have might seem small but it is right for you. Work with what you have.

SEEK HELP: Its OK to ask for help if you don't know what to do. There are people out there who have overcome the challenges you are facing, seek them out. You only have one life, pride won't help you in this matter. I know what it means to ask for help and its beneficial in the long run. No use groping in the dark when help is only a phone call away.

Other factors include patience and commitment(would expand later. dashing for a meeting)
My prayer is that as the year draws to an end, you will receive grace to attend to the things that truly matter so your life will display the splendour of God. DON'T LEAVE YOUR LIFE TO CHANCE. TAKE CHARGE.
HAVE A GREAT DAY AHEAD.

Find your selling point.

The world is a market place full of buyers and sellers. It is a hub of activities with constant exchange of good and services. Unlike some trade centres, the world market is not product specific but full of diverse range of product and exciting offers.

 People visit the market to either buy or sell as market places are not recreation centres except for a third group of people who are simply window shoppers.  Given its dynamic nature, the world market is highly competitive with vendors vying to capture customers and sell their goods. No business person wants to go home without making sales. In all the seller is the most active in the world market Even the casual observer sometimes cannot resist the allure of the goods or the persistence of the seller .

Photo Credit:www.sheknows.com

WHO IS A SELLER?
A seller is anyone who offers goods and services for sale in a market. He or  she has products tailored to meet a target market or demand. In order words, your specific gifts are the goods entrusted to you to sell to the world in either direct or indirect methods.
FEATURES OF A SELLER.
1. must have something that someone must be willing to buy.
2. must have a strategy to attract the right customer
3. must be able to create a demand for ther products
4. must be able to generate repeat custom for the product
5.The product must be in stock.
6.Know the market.
 WHAT ARE YOU SELLING.
If the world is a market place and you are the seller, what are you selling?. Everybody have unique skills and talents that are innate and dormant until discovered.. The world is full of needs that require fulfilment and it is only people that can satisfy those needs that will be appreciated. For instance, a person that is very sick will not appreciate a plumber as his needs at the time can only be met by a doctor. The doctor's selling point is his ability to treat sick people. Medicare is what he is selling! God did not create anybody empty. Colossians 1:19 says "out of His fullness we have all received"  and we know God does not do things in half measure so "you carry something".

Don't allow circumstances or your past or even naysayers talk you into believing otherwise "you have something to sell !".
You have within you ideas and vision that needs to be birthed to satisfy the needs of people "for the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God's sons to be revealed" Romans 8:19. 
The world is waiting for you to discover and embrace your unique selling point.  A wise person said "The provision lies where the vision is". Your wealthy place can only be found if you find and follow your vision and passion. YOUR VISION IS YOUR SELLING POINT.  When you find your vision, you find both provision and fulfilment.

I am a broadcast journalist with an insane sense of humour. Talk and stand-up comedy are my passion. So in in July, I obeyed the lord and organised a comedy night titled "Laugh Out Loud". The mandate was for God to restore broken lives through humour and HE DID. Already people are demanding for more and the next edition is in January. My passion and skills have become my selling point.

A winner at Laugh Out Loud

As a seller, your number one purpose in the market is to make sales. As a person you are created to positively impact your world. You are not permitted to return "home" with your God given talents.
So  what drives or motivates you? what do you like doing? When you discover what you like doing, it will automatically become your selling point.

MAN UP and stop running

Of all the challenges that come with moving house, having a dog problem never made my list! I wondered how my little boy will make new friends amongst other issues but dealing with doggy poop never crossed my mind.

I am blessed to be living in a lovely estate filled with ardent dog owners and lovers but the problem is I AM NOT AN ANIMAL LOVER. All animals on four feet scare me including chickens!

Aside from my other concerns of having too many dogs around, I am caught in the dilemma of finding stray dog poop on the lawn across my back garden and this poses a serious problem as my son loves to play there. In previous occasions I'd clean up the place so my son would play unhindered but not this time.

 I relocated my parking space to another part of the building and permanently shut my curtains against the disgusting view. However my response to this challenge was not helping neither was picking up after the unknown culprit. The situation was denying my son the chance to play on the lawn and me a lovely view of the back garden. So, I have decided to drum up a campaign on the matter that will involve the Resident association and local council. I believe this response will tackle the challenge at its roots.

FOCAL POINT:Positive change is a consequence of hard work and commitment to a vision. Nothing is achieved running from any situation unless its life threatening. Instead of running away from any challenge, Man-up and deal with. Pretending an issue doesn't exist does not benefit anybody in the long run neither does running from it. The offender will not know where he/she has gone wrong and would keep repeating the same mistake. While the "offendee"(new word coined from the creative mind of my dear friend..lol) will still meet trying situations in the future. Conflict and challenges are part of life. I had a friend who left his wife because of her constant nagging but further examination revealed my friend has a record of jumping out of "difficult" relationships. For how long will this person continue to run?
In my case picking up after stray dogs does not opportune the owners to properly train their dogs which leaves me at a disadvantage of doing unpaid disgusting jobs-relocating my parking space was not helping as well until I chose to pro -actively deal with the issue.
Avoiding dealing with a knotty issue or wishing a difficult situation away only gives a temporary reprieve till it arises again. The earlier you learn that conflict is a part of life and the ability to properly deal with an issue saves a lot of future heartache.
Now its dog poop ruining my view, next it could be relationship matters but the same method applies. Man up and deal with no more running away. Find a strategy that works for you that does not include fighting, exchange of words but definitely NO MORE RUNNING AWAY. You may have to get other people involved in finding a solution but please no more running away, ITS TIME TO MAN UP.

Mr Fix it

I am the crappiest person when it comes to D.I.Y. I'm just all thumbs when it comes to anything self assembly  even with products that come with the most basic manual. As far as I'm concerned manuals are written in gibberish and the pictures just don't compute with me. Don't blame me please! I didn't know how to change a bulb up till I was 28 but these and many more I started doing as a single parent(make that forced to).

  There is a saying that "necessity is the mother of invention" and I rightly agree. Prior to living alone I never showed interest in anything outside my immediate female sphere i.e money, career, men and eating. Cooking did not come close...lol. Things changed for  me as a single parent living far from home. I learnt to change light bulbs, pay bills, do basic checks on my car etc. There were some things I could fix and some that I had to enlist the help of a professional. Good ol' Andre is my fix it guy. He fixes everything in my house including electrical, painting, carpentry. I break it, Andre fixes it. I need anything assembled, Andre is just a phone call away.

In the Christian walk, the Holy Spirit is the go to person when anything is broken or needs assembling. The flesh cannot help itself because its inherently flawed and weak. Paul aptly express the weakness of the flesh in Roman 7:18-19 " for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh; for the willing is present in but the doing of the good is not.For the good I want to do I do not do but I practice the very evil that I do not want"
Now since the corruptible flesh cannot help itself it therefore needs the incorruptible to save it in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Since we are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, He is the go to person when you want something done. John 14:26(Amplified version) describes Him as the Comforter, Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor,Strengthener and Standby. You need the Holy Spirit for everything from salvation to victorious living.
Everybody with a gadget knows that some things are best repaired by its manufacturer. Who else can restore a broken world or person except the creator and those that were present at creation. The book of Genesis helps us to know that the Holy Spirit was right there at beginning of creation. I call Him God's MUSCLE MAN.

Photo Credit:www.stylegerms.com

Jesus knew the disciples will be ineffective without the Holy Spirits that is why He told them in the book of Acts to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy and what a transformation they had when this happened. Peter went from preaching to a hundred and twenty people to an incredible three thousand! He couldn't have done that without the Holy Spirit.
The Holy spirit equips the saints, teaches, guides and enables the believer to live a victorious life.  He also interprets scripture and turns word of God into pictures.No more struggling to understand the bible.

Life will be a constant struggle without the Holy Spirit. Are you battling an addiction or need help in your Christian walk? Only the Holy Spirit can help not will power or good intentions.What are you waiting for? Call on the Holy Spirit, He's just a prayer away.

Choose HAPPY.

No, the lady in the first picture is not me. I wish!

The next picture looks more like it..lol.

The battle of the flabs is taking too long abi? I get frustrated sometimes too.

In a bid to shift the belly flab, I went for my normal exercise this morning. Exercise for the body, music for the soul remember? At least according to my Physical Education teacher back in secondary school. I was so engrossed putting one leg after the other that I did not notice the man on the bicycle until he shouted a boisterous greeting that startled me. He rode away barely missing a stride while I mumbled a response in return. With a smile, he busted into an Irish melody and whistled away oblivious to the cold weather.

Many things came to my mind as I continued my walk and top on the list was the whistling stranger.  His high spirits did not match his appearance. He looked very unkempt with very shaggy beards and somewhat dirty clothings. It wasn't a work-dirty look, more like a lack-dirty-look. There was nothing about him to even suggest "secret millionaire", I would have known(I have an inbuilt raider for these things..lol)

He was singing this very catchy lively song but his circumstances was contrary. It didn't matter that the weather was cold and nippy, my new friend chose happy over dreary. He could have chosen to be morose despairing on whatever was wrong with his life but instead he chose to enjoy the day and spread his joy by shouting a warm greeting to a strange woman battling to shed her belly fat. 

This strange encounter reminds me of what scripture says about happiness. It is devoid of the circumstances around us whether good or bad but founded on the truth of God's Word "Whoever trusts in the lord, happy is he"Proverbs 16:20.

 

If happiness was determined by circumstances and stuffs, what poor fellows we are indeed. For such people life will be frustrating because circumstances change. "weeping may last for a night but joy comes with the morning" psalm 30:5. Basing your joy on transient situations is an unstable way to live. So instead of wallowing on what you have or don't have, the storms that are raging in your life, the situations you may not be able to handle at the moment, chose Happy.

I finished my walk with a new bounce to my feet grateful to be alive belly fat or not. Instead of complaining I am spurred to LIVE HAPPY.

Staying On Track with Your Bible study Plans.

Starring at me were several apps on my phone to help keep track of my bible study plans for the year. Some read 14% completed while others ranged between 20 to 35%.  As these numbers glared at me I guiltily starred back. The numbers reflected another bad effort to completely finish a study plan. Of course I study my bible but I would love to strictly adhere to these bible plans without that nagging guilty feeling of incompetence.

Picture courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net

Truth is I want to be able to boast that I started and actually finished the plan...lol. Every girls's desire is to be a good bible study girl simply both to please the lord and have an effective Christian life. But somehow these good intentions get swept under the tidal wave of school runs, work and several activities hence the guilt trip. Excuses taken and pushed aside, nothing should take the place of an effective bible study. It is crucial to a successful relationship with the lord.

www.freedigitalphotos.net.

 Bible study should not be a chore but an enjoyable endeavour, acceptable and pleasing to the lord. It's full of treasures and therein  lies the map. SEE IT AS AN ADVENTURE WAITING TO BE EXPLORED. It's a love letter from a devoted lover to his beloved. I just love love letters and I love adventures so my bible gets all the angles covered. Its THE TOTAL PACKAGE covering issues such as finances, marriage, leadership, health, social responsibility. you name its, its all there.
Given its importance, it is essential therefore with the help of the Holy spirit to have an effective bible study strategy. I found this article by Biblestudytools.com Editors very useful and had to share.
Follow this link to read more on bible study tools

Give Willingly

There is nothing as upsetting as a gift that is given grudgingly. It is not only upsetting but downright disrespectful to the recipient.  The gift no matter the cost also losses its intrinsic value as  the recipient may not appreciate it knowing it's given grudgingly and not out of love. Both the giver and the recipient are therefore ultimately hurt in the process.

 What a platter of complication!! As a little girl when I wanted something badly, I'd, harangue my mother maybe not angrily but enough to get my way. In exasperation she'd grudgingly yield the object of my desire with a loud "gba je kin simi". "Gba je kin simi" is a statement in Yoruba which means "take and let me rest" implying an object is being handed over so the giver could have some semblance of rest or peace of mind.

 As a child it didn't matter how I was given the object of my desire as long as I got it, shikena! But not any more! I want a gift that is spurred from love not coercion.

In Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, he spoke highly about the Macedonian church who gave  as much as they could not out of compulsion but willingly. The emphasis was on the act of giving and its ensuing attitude . The gift  is important but so also is the condition of giving i.e. how it is given."for if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have" 2 Corinthian 8:12. 

God sets the perfect example on how to give. "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for all of us all-how will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things" Romans 8:32.
To give graciously infers giving freely, generously, joyfully and liberally. How exciting!!
This attitude encompasses every aspect of giving, yourself, gifts, emotion. Never give anything half heartedly, it only demeans the gift. When next you give, check your heart and give willingly.