DREAM GIRL, THEN WAKE UP AND DO IT!

Women under-representation in leadership positions is not only witnessed at the highest levels of government, but also at the local and community level in Kenya.

According to Hon. Maria Losile, a County Assembly Representative in Baring County, men in her community tried their best to undermine her political ambitions, claiming, “A girl cannot stand in front of us” and chanting, “We have never seen a woman leading”. These slogans reinforced the cultural barriers for women like Maria to rise to positions of power in the highly patriarchal Pokot community. Against this backdrop, Maria braved the odds during the 8^th August 2017 General Elections in Kenya and  she now proudly sits in the Baringo County Assembly as the ward representative for Loiyamorock Ward, being the first woman from the Pokot community to be elected into political leadership.

The mother of six is a woman of rare courage and her self-determination led her to resign from her job as a Primary school Head Teacher at Chesirimion Primary School to venture into politics.  Passionate about education, Maria’s desire is to see many more girls in Loiyamorock going to school.

“I saw many problems in my community, especially the girl child being used as a source of income by being married off early.” She says in devastation.

“My life through school was hard” she adds, narrating how at the age of fourteen, her dream of being a teacher was almost hijacked by her relatives, in efforts to marry her off against her will. Her father was however very firm, as he refused to marry her off, enabling her to finish her primary and secondary education. Through this experience and her current exposure, Maria has taken the mandate of being the agent for change for the people of Loiyamorock.

Maria is no stranger to leadership. Way before venturing into politics, she was the chairperson for Loiyamorock Women’s Group that collaborated with ActionAid to champion for women’s rights in the area.

“When ActionAid came to Loiyamorock to sensitize the community on women rights, the need to empower the girl child, and championing the need for gender equality, I did not hesitate to join” She says in reminiscence. She attributes her current success to ActionAid saying, “It is through my interaction with ActionAid that I gained the courage to become an instrument of change to empower women, and to to come together in solidarity to improve the economic and educational opportunities for the community.”

As a leader in the local women’s group, Maria has contributed to the empowerment of working with ActionAid, she has achieved to empower her fellow women through forming support groups that fund small businesses such as rearing poultry, growing vegetables and crafting. Among her achievements while serving the community is writing a proposal that earned Chesirimion Women Group a posho mill that has become a source of income for more than 30 women and their families by extension. She is also proud to have contributed to the implementation of some key projects such as digging of boreholes, the construction of a dam, the construction of Early Childhood Development facilities in the ward and getting scholarships for some high school students. Her hope for a developed Loiyamorock continues to unravel, thanks to partnership with humanitarian actors such as ActionAid who held her hand, trained and equipped her with leadership skills that serve the goodwill of her community today.

Maria continues to be a visionary leader, a trait that has caused men in her community to realize their potential and be open to the idea of women leadership in political spaces. “A woman’s leadership begins at home and if she is empowered, she can lead her community too.” She says with great optimism.

Maria continues to encourage women on the need to support one another considering women are still underrepresented in positions of power. “We need women to come up and take positions because they are strong and not cowards, they are capable. They should not shy off from leadership. Men have to see the potential in women”. She boldly says.

In the spirit of empowering women to participate in spaces of leadership she encourages women that if they can lead at home and provide for the family, they can also play a crucial role in leading the community. She is now an inspiration to the young and old women in her community that anyone is capable of being a leader, their gender notwithstanding.

 

“DRINKS ON ME”

What will you drink?

Every time you hear that question your adrenaline gets pumped up, right?

Probably you’ve been longing or craving to have a drink for so long and now, behold a proposal! 

But does this drink satisfy? Or does it leave you craving for more?

God knows your WELL. He knows that place you go to so as to quench your thirst.

He knows that drink that you like, or should I say love? Yes, he knows all that.

He knows that source that you rush to, every time you feel the need to quench your thirst.

And you know what else he knows? He knows that it doesn’t last.

Do you know how he happens to know all these? Coz he knows you too well not to know.

God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.

He knew you before they named you. For he first called you, “MY BELOVED CHILD.” He still calls you that. Will forever call you Beloved Child. 

So God says, “Stop drinking from that well.”

Like a true friend, he tells you the truth. “That well will eventually run dry, and you will thirst again.”

He says “Come, let me offer you a drink. A drink of LIVING WATERS.”

Waters that spring up, welling to ETERNAL LIFE.

You know why he calls it LIVING WATERS? Coz when you drink of this water, you will never thirst again.

You won’t have to go back to the cycle of addictions, you get to break those chains.

Every time you are thirsty and your flesh is burning up with desire, God is saying “DRINKS ON ME”

God is always offering you a drink. Not to feed the flesh, but to feed your spirit.

Do you desire a drink that will last forever?

You have to confess that you need It.

Let go of the drinks(addictions, sin) that separate you from accessing LIVING WATERS.

Drinks that leave you feeling so empty on the inside

Why would you want to be in a cycle of always being thirsty and never being completely filled?

Why would you subject your spirit to anything less than true and complete satisfaction?

When you confess that you are truly thirsty and admit that you cannot live without God’s Grace, He is willing to give you LIVING WATERS.

He is willing to fill you up with the GIFT OF SALVATION.

God fills people up with his spirit, his righteousness, his goodness and his LOVE.

You never have to thirst again, for God’s got the drink that you need.

So, what will you drink?

As for me, am going for the LIVING WATERS!

It gives a more than a good life kind of satisfaction.

It is true, it is real, it is love, it is what it feels to be renewed, redeemed and restored from anything that God did not call you to be. 

It is ETERNAL life. Let’s have a toast to life that lasts forever. Cheers! 🙂

JOHN 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

 

TAKE THAT STRETCH

There those days when I wake up in the morning, and immediately jump out of bed and then stretch my arms. Then there are days i wake up, sit on a slouching position while contemplating whether to go back to sleep or nah. During such instances, even if i’ll get out of bed, i do end up feeling drowsy. In the first instance where i jump out of bed, then stretch my arms, am usually so psyched up for the day and so no matter how much i try, i cannot afford to go back to bed. If i start off on a positive energy, this ignites a positive drive towards the next steps i will take.

GET OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

Having to take a stretch can be painful, because it requires you to get out of your COMFORT ZONE. Taking a stretch is like standing up on your feet after sitting for a long while. Staying in your comfort zone, is to continue sitting even when you need to stand. When you stand up, you stretch your body muscles and this alerts your brain to be active. Sitting relaxes all your muscles that is why most of the times you’ll start feeling drowsy when you don’t engage your brain, since its a complete shut down that tells your brain, “now, lets just chill!

A stretch demands for you to overlook the circumstances deterring you from moving on. It can be so hard to take, because you know once you take it, there is no going back to the comfort zone. A stretch brings out the warrior within you. A stretch says, “Give me another one, and another one. Take another step, then another one, and another one.” It never ceases to say, “You can do it, now you can do better”. At some point it will say, “You can do better than that. I know it hurts,but keep going…keep going… don’t give up! don’t quit!”

Do you know why its so hard to get out of your comfort zone? its not because you are afraid of the pain that comes with the stretch, its because you are so used to the comfort. So now all you know is comfort and you don’t want to let it go. Once you get out of the comfort zone, you’ve set a bar that allows you to only keep going and all you have to do is to keep being better than your old version. Do you know that one of the best decision you will ever make is to let yourself feel the pain if that is what it takes for you to get where you are going? After facing responsibility or taking action, you will realize that it wasn’t the fear for pain, it was ANXIETY. Why would you then be anxious when you got the weapon of PRAYER? (Philippians 4:6) Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, PRESENT your requests to GOD.

Imagine any bodybuilder you know of, now picture their before and after pictures. You realize they were not always fit, right? So what changed? They decided to start with just a single step called a STRETCH. With several stretches, came the need to increase power, so they progressed to lifting weights. With lifting weights came endurance despite the pain. Enduring the pain gave birth to perseverance, with perseverance they had to overlook the pain and focus on something greater. Now, thats the GOAL. They got used to the pain to the point tastes like sugar to them. And so pain has become this positive thing that spices up each task so as to progress. And so up-to date, they are still consistent because pain was never a reason to stop them in the first place.

In any profession that demands a special set of skills, from fitness, to sportsmen, painters, poets, dancers, designers, musicians…name them! they will tell you they never got it right the first time. The point however, is not getting it right the first time, its what  you did when you did not get it right the first time. Did you try a second… a tenth…or even a hundredth time? You only fail when you stop trying. As long as you stick to that grind, know that you are always a work in progress, you are always a step ahead. And that my friend, is how successful people are made.

THE PAIN CRAFTS YOU

God is crafting you into something that has to go through the fire, just like gold. He wants to refine you, he wants you to overcome the tribulations. How will you ever overcome if you never try? You have to say yes to the stretch he is asking you to take. How will you know that you are made of gold, if you don’t wanna go through the fire?

Therefore do not fear, for this is what your God says, (Isaiah 43:2) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

CONFIDENCE THROUGH PERSEVERANCE

Even as you continue to persevere, you need to be confident in the promise God made to you. You need to stand firm in the truth, which is the word of God. When you are confident in what God has said, it means you are unshakable, even when the storm comes. This is because you are deeply rooted and firm in the word of truth so you can shake but you won’t fall.  (Hebrews 10:35-36)³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

God stretches you by getting you through the fire and getting you out of it alive, so that you can learn to TRUST in him alone. So that you can learn to surrender the same way his son did while at the cross because he was at a point of STRETCH. When your father lets you go through the stretch, its because he has something good in store. He wants you to know that if he can get you to stretch, he can get you through the pain. You can overcome just like Jesus did at the cross. Not even death could hold him down, he had to resurrect. After the stretch you can be sure you are headed for VICTORY!

After they had crucified Jesus, he was a symbol of what it means to be stretched. His whole body was stretched on the cross as a sign of surrendering to his father and so were his last words; (LUKE 23:46) Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

KEEP PRESSING TOWARDS THE GOAL

I can really relate to Paul when he says in (Philippians 3:12-14) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Meaning God doesn’t need your perfection, he needs your presence and contribution. After all you’ve done is accept to take the stretch, then all you need to do is to surrender to God. The stretch is painful when you take it, but worth it once you get through it. Its just a stretch, its just a leap of Faith. So why don’t you get up now, and stretch. Take that risk, its worth it!

I LOVES YOU, ALWAYS 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

THE AUTHOR OF MY LIFE Part 2

FAITH

While reading a book, some chapters won’t be so interesting. Some will have happy endings, and some will not. Remember this though, its just a chapter among many other chapters. One thing I know about a story, is that it can never be the ultimate happy ending unless the story is over. When you keep reading a book, it means you believe that there’s got to be a happy ending by the time you are done. Here comes a twist though, even if there won’t be a happy ending as you expected, at least you took a lesson or two from the story. After-all, wouldn’t you like it when an author decides to takes a different turn than that which you expected? You know, at times, predictable could be boring. You got to believe that God has written something incredible that is beyond what you could ever think or predict in the chapters ahead. That is where FAITH comes in. Believing that the chapters ahead are better than what you’ve already read.

Do you ever read a book and feel like you could relate with the author? Its like they are giving you some type of revelation into their world. Then the more you keep reading, the more you understand and get into the author’s mind. You discover and understand their standards, values and so on. It is the same with God, the more you keep pursuing him, the more you get to understand what he is made of. His being, his will, and how he plans to accomplish his purpose for your life.

This does not mean that you will always understand him. God is the type of author that you cannot contain in your mind. He is an infinite being. He is beyond understanding. That is why he says in his book, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”(Hebrews 11:6) 

For you to have Faith, you got to believe in the unbelievable and hope in the unseen. An author likes it when you don’t know HOW, so that he can show you HOW. He likes it when you don’t know WHERE, so that he can take you THERE. Will you believe that there is something good in those pages of life even before flipping them?

“Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1)

THE PROMISE

I want to believe that you wouldn’t mind a “road-map” to guide you when heading on a journey to an unknown destination. The “road-map” is not the destination. It is the TOOL that you will use to get there. By “road-map”, I mean people or tools that will facilitate you to get where you are going. That is how great God is. He will always give you a PROMISE, which is the DESTINATION and along with it, give you a road map that will facilitate you to get to the destination.

Remember, the PROMISE came before the “road-map”. The assurance that you will get there even when you don’t have the tools comes by sticking to the PROMISE. There are times you will ask people for direction and they will mislead you. Why would God provide or bless you with resources, or people and then make them fail? God is trying to show you that he is the only reliable SOURCE that will never fail.  He will make you lose the people and stuff that you are holding on to, to see whether your TRUST is in him or in stuff. So, which source are you depending on?

At times, the journey gets complicated along the way and you end up losing the road-map, the tools, the facilitators, which you got used to holding on for too long. FAITH has taught me to keep walking towards the PROMISED LAND even when I don’t know HOW. For even when I don’t have what I think I need, I GOT THE PROMISE. I will therefore know this is the place, when I get there for I was always holding on to the promise even when everything else seemed bleak. ALWAYS remember, that If he made a promise, then it doesn’t matter HOW he will do it, coz you already know WHO. Why would an author start a story they are not willing to finish? Why would God make a PROMISE he is not willing to accomplish?

 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

FEAR

I have learnt that when all things fail, there is one thing that I will hold on to, that is FAITH. Faith is the fuel that you need through the journey. It fills you up, and even if you overflow, there is no harm because Faith is unlimited! Faith renews your strength to keep you going. Even when you don’t see where you are going right now, at least you are assured that God said he will get you to the PROMISED LAND. All you got to do is keep listening to his voice as you keep refueling your strength with FAITH. Do not be AFRAID just keep BELIEVING. At times the destination might take too long, but do not despair, for the longer the journey, the better the destination for all you were going through was just preparation to get you to a place beyond imagination!

PSALMS 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me”

TYPES OF READERS

1. THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN UP ON THE STORY

There are people who have CLOSED their books. They have given up on the story even before it was over. Have you stopped hoping? have you stopped believing? Then you got to go back and start reading, coz your life is an open book, its waiting for you to have the strength to face up to the story, read it and live it. It doesn’t matter how shameful or heartbreaking some chapters in your life might be, coz all those chapters work for good in the end.

The enemy is however after distracting you every time you get your focus on the book, why? Coz he knows with reading comes understanding, and with understanding knowledge. When you lack both, then what is there to live for? he is after killing your passion to keep reading, then steal your book and destroy it. Are you really going to give him that chance?

God is however patient with you coz he sent his son Jesus Christ so that you may have life, and not just life, but life in abundance. John 10:10

2. THOSE RUSHING THROUGH THE STORY

There are people who are rushing through the story just so they can finish it and get to the happy ending. They don’t read to understand, they read to finish. When you ask them what they learnt from the story, all they tell you is everything about the happy ending. This is the Spirit of stagnation. Meaning they were rushing but made no PROGRESS. Speed does not guarantee progress. So what does God do with such readers? he keeps taking them back so that they can have an understanding and appreciation of the story while God keeps progressing them to the next levels. God will never honor anything that he knows he didn’t bring you through. Ask god to help you be patient with him, coz he has always been patient with you.

Isaiah 40:31 Those that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.

TO CONCLUDE…

When you see a book, you believe that it had to be written by an author even when you did not see them write it, right? could the book have written itself? can a pen and paper ever come together and start writing a story? Well, unless its fiction, there has to be a mastermind behind every form of creation.

The existence of a book proves the existence of an author. The existence of life proves the existence of God. Every creation has to start with the creator, for the creator is the one with the GREATER power and the will to create. Take a moment and look at the things surrounding you right now wherever you are, they could be very basic things like the furniture you are sitting on, or the gadget you are using to read this blog. Now look around for the people who created those things. Are they there with you? Exactly! The fact that you cannot see the creator does not devalue the purpose for the things they created. All those things and all those people you see around, they all exist to serve a purpose.

So keep TRUSTING him that started a good story in your life even when you don’t see him writing it. For one thing I know, he is not willing to start a story that he will not finish. You might be at the breaking point of your story, but know that all chapters work for good for those that love the author and are chosen for his purpose. And until its done, it is not yet over.

“and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

THEREFORE…

  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the AUTHOR and PERFECTOR of our Faith”

(Hebrews 12:2)

THE AUTHOR OF MY LIFE: Part 1

ORDER

An author writes a story book with many chapters. When reading a story, you always start with the first chapter, then finish with the last. Well, unless you’re a kid and you have no clue on how books are read. Why do you read a book from the first chapter to the last ? for there to be clarity there is need for ORDER. Order creates understanding. While reading a book chapter after chapter, dots are formed in your mind in the process. You later join the dots after finishing the last chapter, hence creating a pattern that would now makes sense, right?

PATIENCE

For some people, they would rather read the last several paragraphs of a book, to get an idea on how the story will end. Personally, if i did that, i wouldn’t go back and start reading that book. Why you may ask? because i have already ruined the surprise, and i love surprises! Why would i want to read a book which i can tell how it will end?  I need something to give me the drive to keep reading, and that can only happen by starting with the first chapter.

If you read a book from the end to the beginning, not only would it be boring, but it also wouldn’t make any sense. What would be the point of rejoicing on a happy ending which you do not understand its back story? Thanks to the back story that was laid in the first and middle chapters, not only can i reflect back and see the whole picture, but i also get to appreciate the progress that it took to a great finish.

FOUNDATION

Have you ever skipped reading the first chapter and went to the second? I believe your reason is as best as mine. The first chapter lays a foundation that sees to the build up of the next chapters. That way, every chapter is a build up of the next.  This therefore means that every chapter of the story is important. Are you following my story now? Well, Thank you!

PURPOSE

When reading a book, have you ever doubted that its pages have been written? If you ever open the book, it could be to see the number of pages in the book but not to confirm that the pages have been printed. Why is that? because as long as that book has been published then it has to be on display for a purpose.  There has to be content on the inside. Why would there be a cover page and several pages in it if it had no content? Am talking PURPOSE. You have a purpose in life, just the same way a book has been published to be read, so were you created for a purpose.

Purpose means to serve a significant cause or rather to accomplish the intended or desired effect of the writer. You and i were created with different CALLINGS but to serve the same PURPOSE. The purpose is to serve God,  who is your creator by allowing him to work through you for his Glory. We all have different callings, in that you could be an artist, while i could be a teacher, but within these different callings how are you living out the purpose for which you have been called?

THE INTENTIONAL AUTHOR

Would you rather read a book that is full of good moments, am talking climax after climax after climax? Or would you rather one that has a mix of both highs and lows?When reading a book, an author intentionally includes the highs and lows in different parts of the story. The highs represent the climax while the lows represent the crisis based on the storyline. The important thing is that both the climax and the crisis make it to the story to serve a particular purpose. Learn to embrace all occurrences in your life whether good or bad, high or low, since they happen so as to serve a purpose that will drive the story to the end. You cannot neglect or despise the crisis, coz then what would be the dramatic effect of your story? Other than the adrenaline rush, drama and challenges spice up the story to break the norm.

Before God completes his purpose in your life, he needs to progress you through all the needed stages so that when you get where he intended you to be, you can get to look back and appreciate what it took you to get where you are.

“there is need for progress before completion. There is need to experience the journey, before getting to the destination.”