LIFE THROWS US LEMONS AND SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO MAKE LEMONADE OUT OF THEM

Born in 1999 out of wedlock due to the rape incident her mother encountered, Amina had a tumultuous time growing up.  Her background caused her severe depression and drained her of every iota of self-confidence.  Her smallish nature made her an easy target for bullies and she couldn’t live a ‘normal’ life like other kids.  The poor state of her ageing mother who constantly fall sick has kept her wondering why life seems to be working against her at every given time.

However, Amina at some point came to discover her purpose in the world.  She chose to no longer see herself as invisible and undervalued but rather as a unique being. Though she is struggling to make ends meet while juggling freelance gigs and caring for her ageing mother, she resolved that she would make the most of what she had – her passion for photography.  Life had given her a full basket of the surest lemons but she determined that she was going to make the sweetest lemonade out of it.

She understood that God has given her a gift and it is her job to use it.  Then she realized that every remarkable journey starts with a spark of inspiration.  Her resolve to follow her passion led her to an unexpected encounter with a renowned artist who signed her up as his official photographer.  This indeed reignited her passion and inspired her to take control of her own narrative.

Amina’s journey has been an incredible adventure of self-discovery, growth, and artistic fulfillment.  This is a reminder that pursuing one’s passion could lead to a fulfilling and meaningful life.  Through perseverance continuous learning, and embracing the creative process, she has transformed her love for photography into a lifelong vocation that allows her to share stories, capture beauty and inspire others through the lens.

BE THANKFUL

"The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for." - Unknown

Wow! 362 days have breezed by already, yet it seemed like it was only yesterday we hugged each other gleefully, and yelled "Happy New Year," at the top of our voices to one another - how time flies. 

Are you already counting your loses, achievements or are you unable to find anything to count? I'm aware it's less than three days to the end of 2018, but I need you to know that God isn't constrained by time.

He's The Almighty God, His tenure isn't about to end with the year, no way. He's waiting to accomplish His purpose for your life. The past eleven months of 2018, might not have been your best so far, but who says the remaining days can't make up for your past loses - just be thankful.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

"Drugs are merely the most obvious form of addiction in our society. Drug addiction is one of the things that undermine traditional values."- Christopher Lasch.

  

People abuse substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs for varied and complicated reasons, but it is clear that our society pays a significant cost. “Drug addiction destroys lives, tears apart families and harms society” the source of this quote is unknown but the message it carries is confirmed in our hospitals and emergency departments both

through direct damage to health by substance abuse and its link to physical trauma.

Families are also thrown apart because one or some members of the family got into drug addiction. Abused substances produce some form of

intoxication that alters judgment, perception, attention, or physical control.

DON’T WAIT 20 YEARS!

“When purpose is not known abuse is inevitable." - Myles Munroe

The truth is that when one lacks a definite purpose, objectives or the parameters that define success and achievement, one tends to be in a rat race going in circles; or simply using someone else’s standards to determine their own outcome.

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish, and asked how long it took him to catch them. “Not very long," answered the Mexican. "Well, then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life."

DEEDS OF LOVE

“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” – Molière

There are times when we may feel that despite all our labors, we’re barely making a difference, we’re hardly seeing the fruits we wish to make.

It’s never easy. Such times require great patience on our part, a certain tenacity, and a tremendous dose of hope to keep our spirits up, to keep going on.

And we go on not because we’ve already seen our dreams coming true, not even because we feel victory is near. We go on because just like the apostles, Jesus tells us to keep on trying, to look to Him in trust instead of looking towards our many fears.

We cast our nets to catch not what we see, but what God sees. For God sees every fruit that comes out of our labors, and every good thing that happens from each little deed that is done in love.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. – Luke 5, WEBBE

Building an Enduring Friendship

Building an Enduring Friendship

You can be a True Friend!

The friendship that can cease has never been real." - Saint Jerome

These days a lot of young people walk away from friendships and when you ask them why they tell you "some people are just meant to pass through your life". Much as I may agree with this in part. I'm also of the opinion that friends shouldn't get so far apart that they cannot say a word of greeting when they bump into each other. Friendship is enduring, it's lasting, it's not something that you should totally cut off except the person has become a bad influence to you or others around you, otherwise, when you shut the door to a friendship please always keep a window open for you don't know when you might need to use that window. That "some people are just meant to pass through" message does not mean that you should go out there and make enemies. It simply means you should cut down on your level of intimacy; it is not a license to start off world war III! Never forget this "The friendship that can cease has never been real." - Saint Jerome

Learn How to Improve Your Memory

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER

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The Love We Give

The love we give in this life is the only thing that can truly belong to us for eternity. – Jocelyn Soriano

There are times when we start to ask ourselves, “What is the worth of my life? What do I possess now to prove that something has happened and that my life has not been in vain?”
We then look towards our achievements or our status in life, and we start to compare it with what other people have. More often than not however, this kind of thinking just makes us feel worse. It makes us feel that if we don’t have a lot to show, we have not lived well. We feel empty as though nothing good has ever happened in our lives.
But if we start to see things through the lens of eternity, we may start to wonder deeper. What are the things that really matter anyway?

"I" Is For Influence: Your Friends Influence You

JULY SPECIAL

"The first time you say something, it's heard. The second time, it's recognized, and the third time it's learned" - John C. Maxwell

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. Someone said once that, "your life will be a sum total of the books you read and the friends you keep."

In any relationship you experience either of the following:

(a) CORRUPTION: "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners, and  "...a companion of fools shall be destroyed."  Or,

(b)  PROMOTION: "He that walks with wise men shall be wise."

If you do not desire the influence someone will bring into your life, then do not make them your friend because, like it or not, FRIENDSHIP IS INFLUENCE. Have you noticed how an individual enters a new neighborhood and after sometime he begins to speak with their accent? That is called "Influence". As long as you fraternize with people, you must gradually begin to dress like them, talk like them, behave like them, and think like them.

As a young boy I grew up in a  poor neighborhood in Nsukka. Violence, crime and drugs were a very common sight. It was therefore only natural for people to very early in life find themselves lost in alcohol and smoking even when they know it was a very dangerous path to follow in life, but it was  reality. I particularly wondered then why people loved smoking even when they could still attest to the fact that that stuff was so bitter in the mouth. But because they needed to belong and all their friends smoked so who are they to change the rules? 

How would I flow with my guys if I didn't do what they did? It took a lot from me to resist it.