Winning Each Season

Resharing because I felt this!

Oh but don't we have a story to share?!

Being a Christian woman, living for God, ah it's really something! Be encouraged ❤️

Every woman who has walked with God has a story to tell you.

▪️ Sara will tell you: "Nothing is too difficult for God".

▪️ Hagar will tell you: "Even in the desert, God is there".

▪️Rahab will tell you: "God can use anyone".

▪️ Hannah will tell you: "My God answers prayers".

▪️Ruth will tell you, "It's not over until God says it's over".

▪️ Esther will tell you: "God is able to transform an unworthy into a noble".

▪️ Elizabeth will tell you: “Even if the age is advanced, you will give birth to a great man”.

▪️ Mary will tell you: "It will be done to you according to the word of God".

▪️The woman with the blood issue will tell you: "When all has failed, God never fails".

▪️ Mary and Martha will tell you: "Dead things can come back to life"

▪️and Dorcas will tell you: "God never forgets what we do for others".

Make up your mind to walk with God so that you too can tell us your own story.

Please let us lift the spirit of women up by sending this message to them.
God bless you!

A lot of Christian Marriage blogs only share the highlights once the marriage is healed. I'm taking a counter-cultural approach and will document the journey as it unfolds, after all we're all a work in progress and I believe there is a win in each season ❤️

Feeling the Load

The past few days I have felt absolutely exhausted trying to stay on top of everything.

I've started going to bed at 8pm once the baby goes down because I have no energy left.

The load of being a West African wife is taking its toll.

Our culture puts so much expectation on a wife. Look after your husband, the kids, the house... And if you need help call on your girlfriends not your husband 🤔🤨

Hmmm I'm unsure whether this is entirely our culture or the culture we have created inside my house, either way I'm exhausted!

Here is to having both energetic kids home for the weekend 😁😁😁

Make the Effort

Am I the only one who makes plans with great intentions of being there only to cancel on the day?! 👀

Maybe that makes me a bit flakey but sometimes I just don't feel up to the social effort.

Recently I was invited to my secondary school friend's baby shower. I felt really honoured to be included. We keep in touch but we aren't the best friends we used to be.

The event was scheduled months in advance, I had the time and address but it was back in my hometown, some 40 miles away.

I did this journey occasionally before I had kids but as the date approached the thought of driving such a long distance with two small kids sounded like an absolute nightmare!

My 9 month old hates being in the car and will scream an entire journey. Fun times!

I really wanted to be there. I wanted to share this special moment with my friend and I wanted to introduce her to my kids.

I had to plan it 'down to a t', snacks, toys, best route, keep baby awake long enough to be absolutely shattered and sleep twice as long as normal and ensure the preschooler had water but not too much water so not to create a p*e puddle.

I was really proud of myself! We made it! It was a smooth drive and we made a day of it stopping for lunch along the way.

I'm not in a hurry to do it again, but I'm really glad I did, I'm really glad I made the effort. ☺️

Lead with your value

Let me be honest this is kind of a rant.

I'm naturally an encourager especially of women's businesses. I am that friend that will repost your content, buy your product, leave a review, anyway I can reasonably help, I will 😊

I really liked an Instagram post from a Careers Coach and left a comment. From the timeline we moved to the DMs. She asked me some personal questions and I answered with enthusiasm.

But pretty soon it felt like a bait and switch. Before I knew it she was trying to sell me her £400 online course! I told her I wasn't ready to commit to a program, I was busy with a two small kids, was barely on top of the laundry and had more than enough on my plate. I threw her a line and said it would be something I'd be interested in in a few months time once I was done with maternity leave.

She started to turn up the pressure and told me to lock in the price now before it went up to £600!

I was really disappointed. She wasn't listening. All I wanted to do was be an encouraging supporter, I wasn't a cash cow. I didn't want to be sold to, I wish she had led with her value.

She might have gotten £30 from me for a 1:1 chat but she hadn't done anywhere near enough to prove why I needed to part with £400. She wouldn't even give me a program outline!

I politely told her I would purchase the course when I felt ready to use it. She read the message and didn't reply.

That was the icing on the cake. From personal questions to ghosting. She didn't even acknowledge the investment of my time.

I unfollowed her. I do not bow to pushy sales tactics.

Lead with your value and you won't have to keep selling to people.

Halloween.

As a Christian I don't celebrate Halloween but in all honesty I couldn't really tell you why. I know it's not in the Bible but neither is celebrating birthdays so 🤷🏾‍♀️ ....

I asked the Sunday school teacher to do a session on it for the kids, but mainly for my own learning hehe. The long and short of it is it has some Christian roots but has become overtaken with focuses on the dead coming to life, ghosts, witches and other scary and evil things.

I'm not sure the kids totally understood but I was glad we could apply Christianity to modern issues.

I've decided to have a Light Party.

I read an article (https://livingourpriorities.com/why-we-host-a-light-party-and-how-you-can-too), essentially every day is for the Lord and so we shouldn't condemn 31st October as an evil day but instead reclaim it for Light.

My husband says I'm just celebrating Halloween but by a different name, lol. Whatever!

Thoughts on opinions on reclaiming Halloween?

It's Thursday morning, it's cold, wet and grey but I'm grateful.

I'm grateful that I get to take a whole year off for maternity leave. I'm grateful that mothering is so much easier for me second time around. I'm grateful that I get to enjoy a hot coffee whilst the baby sleeps.

I choose to see my life as good because I focus on the little pleasures.

What are you grateful for today? 💗