(4 minutes read)

We are all in a fight. Everyone is currently fighting a battle. It might be small. Big. Obvious. Or even hidden but everyone of us is fighting at some level. Maybe that’s why some refer to the church as the church militant. Because we’re fighting. Just that we fight from the place of victory that Jesus made available to us.

One of the fights that 99.9% of Christians face is the battle to fulfil destiny and lead fruitful lives. The enemy is always on the tab, devising crude and refined ways to stop any child of God he can, from fulfilling destiny. But it doesn’t have to be you. You will need to fight though because the devil don’t playing dumb. He means serious business but like I said earlier, you fight from a place of victory, demanding for all that is yours and commanding the devil to take his dirty hands off all that belongs to you. Because the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus has made a fruitful life possible for you. The enemy takes you seriously but deceives you into thinking there is nothing to you. Don’t believe him. His agenda is to give you blogs you aren’t prepared for because you weren’t expecting them

Now, If the fight in you is smaller than the fight against you, the fight against you can bring you down. If what is coming against you is stronger than what you’ve put inside of you, your chances of survival is seriously being jeopardized.

Read that again.

‘But how do I increase the fight inside of me?’ You may ask.

Good question. Simple answer but I’ll have to explain.

Just do these three things:

1) Soak yourself in the revelation of God’s Word that scripts your fruitful dream life. That is, Get that Word of God that sparks something on the inside of you and also describes your dream life. Let’s not get spooky though;. ALL word of God; EVERY Scripture, is inspired so it could be one that resonates with you as you study the Word (which is why study is amazing, you get the Word into your core); or it could be one revealed to you, so long as it’s God’s Word and it hits the subject, it’s okay.
When you get that word, speak it. I always love to say this: Seek it? Say it. Talk about it but mostly to yourself and God. Sometimes you don’t have to broadcast your dreams. Brooding over them in prayer before you tell anyone about them, can be powerful.

2) Gather the information relevant to your dream and build up on it. In other words; read, study and amass practical and applied knowledge. Develop your capacity on every frontier that will enable you fulfil your dream. This could mean intellectual knowledge, skilful/hands-on knowledge, even building strength to be able to carry out your dream.

3) Keep your dream before you, in pictures. Your mind’s core language is pictures so speak to your mind in the language it understands. And make it simple. Let me tell you what I did. I pasted my picture on a word document, wrote down my dream beneath it in my name and printed the document.  Its black and white but it doesn’t matter, it’s feeding the fight on my inside because every time i look at it and read it, I read about my future and I bring it into my present. I tell myself, babe, this is the path, we stay here! And we stay here by repeating the dream to myself in words and backing it up with Scriptures thus drawing it down into my subconscious from my conscious world.

So these three things –
The revealed Word,
Relevant Information
An envisioned future;
and you’ll be building the fight inside of you.

And when the fight gets tougher, because it will, remind yourself whose child you are. Tell yourself- I am (insert your name) of the most High.
As for me, I AM Aijay Ufomadu of El-Elyon and in my lineage, we don’t fail and we don’t back down! It might be tough and it might get hard but Greater! Is the God on my inside! Than whatever I encounter on my outside. If God said it, that settles it, we war with it and We STAY here till we possess it.


Hope that put some Holy-Ghost adrenaline on your inside. 

You have yourself an amazing God-Defined Weekend
God bless you


AijayUfomadu
Driven by value | Inspiring you to thrive

Sometime early this year, I had a deadline to meet that ended up taking much more of my time than I had planned so I literally worked on the task for three days straight.

By the time I had gone past the second day, I realised I wasn’t studying at midnight like I usually do and of course I told myself God would understand, it’s the season but by the third day, I was in a place of dire starvation but not from physical food. 

I wasn’t feeding my Spirit.

You see, I was reading my Bible a little here and there but my day to day demands require that I not only feed on God’s Word very well for myself, I feed to the overflowing because someone or something might draw on me. But here I was, just scratching by and managing, and I could feel that weakness inside that had nothing to do with my physical body. 

At that point, I knew something had to give so I don’t give.

Haha

It’s amazing all the parts of ourselves we have to take care of, to be in one piece; body, soul and spirit.

Before we go on, let’s look at an analogy.

Imagine that your life is a house and your dreams are the appliances in the house. And imagine that you live in my country Nigeria where power isn’t too stable and you have to get a standby generator and depending on the capacity you want, there is 1KVA, 2KVA , 3.5KVA and up to 100KVA generator and more, so you can keep your life moving when power goes off.

Now Imagine that you have this big deep freezer you bought to keep your foods fresh and when you went to buy a generator, you got a 2kva generator hoping it will sufficiently ‘carry the load’ of your deep freezer.

I know you’re prolly smiling now. You know the answer.

We all do.

Kolé werk

It’s not possible.

How can it even be? Even if the generator comes on by any miracle, it will have this really low sound like it’s rumbling, more like complaining – ‘Aunty madam or uncle Oga why you put his Kain load for my head’. Plus the deep freezer won’t come on. (If you can think of other things that will happen when the freezer is switched on, please hit reply and let me know. But please finish the post first )

Haha

Ok. Enough of the joke.

But hey, I’m serious.

Wait. how did we get here?

Oh I remember. I was talking about how I got hungry..in my spirit.

So while keeping this analogy in mind, let’s head back to my story.

Having identified my challenge, I promptly worked on my schedule and created time for what matters – The Word of God, all the while wondering why my spirit couldn’t bear with me for a few days.‍  

As I sat down to study and feed my spirit, I heard the words – ‘Do not stop feeding what fuels you’

And like a rushing wind, it all came to me.

‘I’m a spirit being. I operate from my inside. My spirit is what keeps me and enables me function, live and thrive. But my spirit itself needs to be fed to do it’s work and what my spirit feeds on is not amala, it’s the word of God. ‘

And it is same for you, believing you’re born again. (If you’re not, write to me please and we can talk about it)

Do not stop feeding what fuels you.

I have dreams. Big ones. But if my spirit isn’t fit enough to sustain me, I can’t do much and I can’t go far. And as much as physical and emotional fitness is key, spiritual fitness is actually more important. 

And that is where the generator analogy comes in.

Some of us are carrying around ‘2KVA generator powered spirit’ and we have 100KVA dreams and we’re wondering why we aren’t making progress

Sis & Bro. Tiz not the village pipo o. They are innocent this time.

It is your spirit that you haven’t pumped with the kind of food it eats.

You need to be fuelled but only a well-fed spirit can fuel you.

Only a well fed Spirit can sufficiently carry you from season to season.

By all means you still need a healthy body and energetic mind and we will come to that in a bit. But life begins from your inside and till you get it clear there, you will be dragging yourself around on the outside.

Now you might ask, ‘Aijay I know people who are doing amazingly well but they aren’t born again. Let’s leave this church matter abeg.’

I agree. For the first part of the comment not the second.

But you see, these people you’re talking about are not born again (like we just agreed) so they definitely don’t have kingdom-minded dreams like you.

They aren’t Christians so the enemy isn’t so scared that they will partner with God through their dreams to draw someone to Christ. The devil knows that whatever good they do ends there. No one will be invited to church or be told that Jesus did this and He can do it for them too

In other words, they aren’t a threat to the enemy.

BUT. YOU. ARE.

Copy that?

You are. A threat. 

You are a risk to hell because when you become successful, God can use your success to draw men to Himself. 

When you partner with God and do well, you become a light and people will want to know Who helped you..and of course they’ll know God in the process.

You’re going to take more people upward with you than someone out here who ain’t born again and is so successful.

You’re a risk factor to hell

And that’s why the enemy won’t fold his hands and watch you do well. 

That is why if you aren’t paying attention to what you should be paying attention to, the enemy is taking you more seriously than you take yourself.

But what is the connection between this and that?

The connection is this: The only effective weapon we have against the enemy is God’s Word and for that Word to get into our life, we need to pass it through our spirit.

Do you get it now?

Infact, can we have a heart to heart roundtable discussion here? Cos I feel like we are all on this table, me inclusive.

Like we’re busy. So busy our spirits are getting bushy..with weeds.

We’re trying to make a life and in the process, we forget to live. Truly live.

This is 2021 and we’ll make a difference guys. We will.

But we will need to start focusing on what truly matters

Yea? Yes.

I’m going to also say that feeding what feeds you isn’t for your spirit alone. It’s definitely for your spirit first but there are other parts. Like taking care of relationships that light your inner fire.

Consuming relevant information that helps you grow.

Eating healthy foods that keeps you strong.

Handling your money a little better so it can multiply and be available for extra deeds

Fill in the gaps for yourself. You know what fuels you in other ways.

But first, pay attention to your spirit

I wish I could go on but I just realised I’ve passed my word count for my posts and I’m trying to get better at writing shorter mails. I’m not sure how that is panning out though 

But do you see the picture now?

It is some serious business.

And I’m not talking reading 10 chapters a day. That is not sustainable if you’re a busy professional. 

I’m talking sitting down with your Bible and an open heart and asking God to teach you, and if a verse of a Scripture is all you can do in thirty minutes, meditating and getting it into your heart on a daily basis, it’s enough.

I’m talking a real and practical approach to studying God’s Word that will stretch you but will still be sustainable for you. 

I’m talking about writing some verses on a sticky note to meditate on throughout the day or setting phone alarm reminders at intervals, to excuse yourself from the busyness of the day and go somewhere private to declare God’s Word for even 3 minutes.

Sometimes it is not really in the length of time, it’s in the heart you put into it. And sometimes, it’s both.

Truth is, the more effective you want to become, the more you have to make time for God’s Word. 

Get all the knowledge you can for your field or area of expertise because you need that edge to excel. But never rely on that knowledge alone. There is a God Factor.

And maybe if you can’t do much during the week, you can have a weekly word retreat during the weekend. Fight if you have to, but make sure you make it happen

There are different ways to do this but your heart has to be in it first. 

Do you understand?

So my charge to you this week is to get into the middle of your own life and make your life work. What you need to move your life forward isn’t outside of you, it’s on the inside of you and you need to pay attention to it.

I pray for you today that the light of God’s Word illuminating your heart will always exceed the light of men shining on you, and that you will not only show people the way to a great life, you will also live a great life.

As usual, I leave this with you

Let the Word of Christ —the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. 
Colossians 3:16a MSG

And this

“Now I’m turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.
Acts 20:32 MSG

You go on and have a fruitful and amazing God-defined week ahead.

Lots of love, light and laughter!

Aijay.

The year has been panning out nicely and it’s been a mix of excitement and exhaustion. I’m a little behind on my goals but I have decided that I am a human and not a robot so it’s okay. And even though the Holy Ghost empowers me, even God rested so I have to rest to.

Yes? Yes  

You see, I’m a very ambitious child of God and I get kicks from plenty to-do lists and goals achieved but I have also learnt to take the breaks i need when I do, like i did pretty recently.

I decided long ago that I might want to act all smiling before everyone and pretend everything is fine but I would never lie to myself. Not even in naming it and claiming it, I won’t. 

If something was twisted in a way it shouldn’t be, I’ll tell myself the truth and focus on fixing it.

That doesn’t mean I will confess negative. No. But I’d like to identify what is wrong so I can seek specific solutions for it.

So if I need help, I won’t wait till I’m on the floor, I’ll ask. 

If I feel uncomfortable with something,  maybe a relationship or with a person, I won’t sweep it under the carpet, I’d like to identify what could be wrong and discuss with the person if possible.  But I won’t ignore it hoping it will go away.

For me, the exhaustion wasn’t welcome because I had some goals to crush, I still do. But I had to tell myself the truth so I don’t break down. And this decision to be true to my self and not take on more than I’ve built capacity for at the moment, got me thinking on something I have discovered in our generation: It seems to me that we are a generation that generally don’t like to say the truth to ourselves. We often lie to ourselves.

Sometimes it’s because of fear. Other times it’s the desire to impress.

Sometimes it’s because we’re living life very fast and crushing goals that we don’t stop to listen to our deepest feelings.

And at other times it’s the misguided religious conception that you have to fake it till you make it.

Or maybe you want to ‘blindfold’ your heart to the truth so you can indulge in your desires and not feel guilty.

Whichever it is, we’d rather put up a false appearance than acknowledge what we’re going through. We’d rather keep a plastic smile than admit something hurts or is wrong. We’d rather paint a situation to suit our desire than see it for the colour it really is. 

We’d rather live a lie

And I get it. You can’t trust everyone with your heart. I get it. Even Jesus didn’t take the praises of men to heart because He knew what a man’s heart was like. 

That’s why I’m not asking that you tell the world. I’m only asking that you tell yourself – the truth.

Learn to come home to yourself and accept the truth for what it really is

Even if you can’t let anyone in, let yourself into your own heart, tell yourself the truth and attend to yourself.

Pay attention to you.

Let me give you a few examples:

You have noticed your salary always finishes before the end of the month and you tell yourself it’s because you’re underpaid.

Honey, that’s not the reason.

Truth is, how you spend 1000 is how you’ll spend 1000000, prudently or carelessly. If you can’t handle what you have now well, you can’t handle what you’re looking to earn either. You need to tell yourself the truth – my money game is not good- and work on it.

You have exams you’re scheduled for and you’re giving priority to other things and then the time for the exam draws closer and you feel pressured and blame everyone but you. Honey,  wake up and smell the coffee.

You know you shouldn’t eat junk. You know it gets you tired. But you splurge on it and expect to wake up strong and active the next day.  Plus you’re not expecting to add weight. 

You know weightloss is 70% what we eat right?

You are close to a colleague at work and the platonic lines are getting tinier. You’re crossing the lines but you’re still telling yourself – he’s just a friend. And you’re married. Ahh!

You are an ambitious visionary going somewhere to happen. And you have a strong picture of your future but you haven’t sat down to draw up a strategy. 

You’re a Christian and you’re hoping to be a multi-influential personality and you want to do so without engaging God’s Word. You want to be successful as a Christian without playing your part.  That’s a strong spirit of deceit at work because as long as you’re a Christian,  the devil will fight you.  You need to stay awake!

You have some funny dreams at night and it’s  beginning to bother you. If you’re grounded enough in God’s Word, stand your ground and run the devil off. If you don’t have that confidence yet, that’s okay.  Reach out. Or start building confidence in God’s Word aggressively because the yoke will be broken when you’ve fed fat on the Word  of God.

Life is really simple. Let’s not get it complicated.

Year 2021 has just started and I believe you’ve made a decision to protect your peace like we talked about last week. 

To that decision I ask that you please add another- a decision to be true to thyself.

Like a famous person once wrote: “To thy own self be true.”

This mantra has helped me and kept me from getting into things I had no business being in.

It has helped me keep touch with my core so I can live from inside out. 

I can live an increasingly authentic life because I’ve learnt to stop and take count,  introspect, ask questions and really look at situations. 

It will help you know your strengths and grow them. And it will help you know your weaknesses so you don’t tempt yourself.

You will know what you can handle and what you can’t,  and acknowledge the gap so you can fill it up.

You won’t have to try to be what you’re not. Or live in false rhythms because you’re trying to be perceived in a certain way.

It doesn’t mean you won’t be disciplined.  It means you’ll be intentional. 

And it means you’ll start to operate from a place that is truly yours, as you grow to become all God has called you to be.

Authenticity is beautiful

Making a decision to be among the few who own up to tell themselves the truth will probably be one of the best decisions you’ll make this year because it will help you build a life that is truly authentic, something that is rare these days.

I pray for you today that the strength and grace to look inwards and grow your life from the inside out, will rest on you. And that you will from this time to thyself, be true.

I leave you with this: 

Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.
Proverbs 4:23‭-‬27 MSG

You have an amazing God-defined week.

God bless you
Aijay

Ps: If this blog blessed you, please forward it to someone you love. Better still, you can get them to sign up on www.aijayufomadu.com . Let’s share the love

Pss: Forgive me for any typo errors you might see.
 
Psss: Have you checked out this website www.styledbyabba.com? You should if you haven’t 

Pssss: Sending you love, light and laughter

How has 2021 been for you so far? 

Some might say we just crossed the 1/3rd mark of the year so it’s somewhat early to judge.

Well, I’d say that whatever you decide to do, make up your mind from now to have an unshakeable disposition of peace towards the year.

Last year shook alot of folks to the core. There were questions, fears, unrest, deep concerns, lots of speculations etc. But if you observe closely, you’d see one theme underlying all events – the loss of peace. 

All around people were going through stuff mostly covid-related and social-issues-related, amidst other things.
 
Unfortunately,  without peace, there’s so little you can do. 

Peace is a mighty force. 

Peace gives you the clearheadedness and inner strength you need to proceed. 

Maybe that’s why it was a primary target because alot of folks came into 2020 (last year) pumped to pursue their dreams especially after the ten year challenge. And the decade 2020 was a little different than 2010 because social media wasn’t so pumped then as it is now. 

So we had alot of people showcasing their success so far in ten years and the rest of those who didn’t have much success to show, swearing that come 2020, they will do their own bit. 

No more dulling. 

People were charged, inspired and challenged and 2020 was going to be the year of great unveiling. 

That must have really scared the devil

Here comes 2020 and just when some folks  were waking up and gearing to unleash, a little bit of hell was unleashed and till now, the effects are still showing.

But this is 2021 and even though there might be alot of healing for you to do, depending on the level of loss or unrest you had, I’m here to implore you not to give up on your dreams and the one way you can achieve your dreams is to ensure nothing steals your peace this year. 

This year, guard your heart and pursue your peace.

You see, like I said, 2020 came innocent but the enemy threw in a curve that sent alot of us falling and with it went our peace, focus and joy.

But 2020 has gone. Thank God for it.

This is 2021 and we just cannot afford to play tag along again. 

We can not.

‘It’s too early to decide’ some folks have said.

Maybe. 

But you can decide right now that whatever happens in the year, you will do all you can to protect your peace.

If it means staying off news both on TV and social media for a while, then do so.

If it means getting off groups where all they share is bad news, who is sick or dead, where they are fighting etc, please do.

If it means pressing ignore button on some events or happenings around you, please do.

If it means getting a lot of healthy and well-scripted comedy skits and watching them whenever you feel unhappy, please do.

Maybe its staying off the phone or not calling some people

If there is a relationship that steals your peace, it might be time to hand it over to God and take some steps back because truth is, there is only so much you can handle, You need to deliberately guard your peace this year.

What this means is that you minimise your arguments, fights and disagreements. 

Sometimes you just agree to disagree so peace will reign, especially in matters that aren’t that important.

It means you identify what is really important and what is not so you know what to focus on.
 
It means you don’t react in every situation or give your opinion to everything.

It means you gauge your tolerance level for bad news and deal with yourself accordingly.  Do not expose yourself to news, environments and stuff that will drain and drown you.
Just because your neighbour can hear bad news all day and still go swimming doesn’t mean you can handle it. And it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you, it just means you’re differently wired.

It might mean that you forget about what you think people think of you and focus on your life and moving forward

Whatever it is for you, fill in your blanks. 

You might not even know all it means for you now but commit to monitoring your emotions and taking note of situations that steal your peace,addressing them and documenting the appropriate response to them that will preserve your peace.

Because you see, 2021 is pregnant for everyone. But you can only deliver your own when you have the peace of mind, focus and inner strength you need to pull through.

We’re not sure what will happen in 2021 but we’ve made up our mind ahead of time to preserve our peace no matter what.

And I’d say that the most important part of preserving our peace is setting it firmly on God’s Word. Thats the way forward and the way is sure.

Bury God’s Word in your heart and your responses to life will be more peaceful.

You can start by commiting to reading a chapter of the Bible, preferably new testament, just one chapter and writing down one thing, just one thing you learnt. 

If you’d like to get a nice new journal with a biro you love or use an ejournal, by all means please do. Or just get a journal you can write in.

The important thing is that you do it.

Surely that’s not too much is it?

See, I know we’re busy but we’ve got to make time for what will keep us alive and strong so we can enjoy the fruits of our labour.

2021 will be a truly great year that might still have curves and twists..but the level of greatness it will be for you inspite of the curves and twists, depends on your ability to focus on birthing.

Remember a pregnant woman guards her baby by guarding her lifestyle. 

This year, guard your dreams by guarding your heart and peace.

Guard your heart. Guard your peace
Change your lifestyle.  Change the Game 

I pray for you that the God of peace will fill your heart this year and no matter what you hear or encounter, His peace will stand strong like a mighty oak in your life.

I leave you with this

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Colossians 3:15‭-‬17 MSG

Cheers to pursuing what gives us peace this year and beyond

Sending you love, light and laughter 
Have an amazing God-defined rest of the year 2021

God bless you
Aijay

I am a customer service professional and occupying that role in my organization means that you are able to multitask. In fact, one of our bosses humorously said that that’s why every CSO in my organization is a female, because of our innate ability to multitask. We are expected to be able to handle alot at a time and that’s what happens. It’s really difficult making progress in a day’s work if all you do is pick one job after the other. You just have to be able to do more than one thing at a time!

That’s the advantage we have as women. It’s little wonder we combine so many roles well, being a Christian, a wife or significant other,a mom or mom to be, a sister, an employee, a CEO, a serial entrepreneur, and the list continues, all at same time. And for all these roles we find ourselves performing, giving it our best because we grew up knowing that’s the thing to do. Infact, when the picture of multitasking comes to mind, we most often see the picture of a woman carrying a baby in one hand, answering a call with a phone held between her ears and her shoulder, folding clothes into a box and keeping an eye on a toddler so he doesn’t harm himself while playing. It’s amazing what we women do that we see as nothing because we not only grew up seeing life that way, especially seeing the female influences in our life do it, we are also wired that way. A man on this journey will just experience an instant mental block. They aren’t wired that way. A typical man can’t do more than one thing at a time. It’s really rare. But then it’s a balanced situation. The calm and the logic we need to make carefully weighed decisions comes with the man who isn’t entangled with more things than one.

But with multitasking, there should be a limit. Multitasking on the wheel while driving is a no-no. And that goes from making calls, especially without handsfree, to chats and texts or even carrying a baby to drive, even if it’s within the neighborhood. You’re putting both you and your baby at risk. The other day I saw a lady driving with her baby sitted on her laps, on the driver’s seat, in the middle of a city traffic. Specifically, the city of Lagos. That’s a limit we shouldn’t venture to. Multitask and make progress in such a way that you’ll live to multitask again tomorrow.

Multitasking while cooking with a gas is a no-no especially if the other tasks is answering a phone call. Answering calls near a gas cooker is dangerous with a capital D.

Multitasking while making a call or having a conversation with someone is not only not right. It’s rude, except in cases where it’s absolutely essential that you combine the two. When making a call, focus on the call. When having a conversation, don’t pick your calls or if you have to, ensure you get appropriate excuse before you pick the call and excuse yourself.

Multitasking while reading guarantees that you don’t get the full import of what you read, in most cases anyway. So you end up wasting your time because the other thing you were doing was most likely not well done too. If you have to multitask, while reading, take advantage of audio books. But please listen to it at least three times to ensure you get a very good hang of what you audio-read because if you did it while cooking for example, you can be sure you didn’t hear everything; cooking requires your concentrated attention. If you’re listening while driving, it’s better and the more you know your route, the better because your movement is kinda automated thereby freeing up more focus for the book your listening to.

One level of Multitasking you should never ever do Is Multitasking while praying or studying God’s word. Let me just leave it there

These are a few of the instances where multitasking is not appropriate. And in some cases, the danger can be as much as involving life.

What other instances can you sight where multitasking is inappropriate?

Being productive in this time and age has to be a conscious decision with an even more conscious and intentional approach because if you don’t give productivity your focus, you’ll likely drift through time not knowing exactly where your time is going or what you’re using it for.Being a:
– Princess of God (that’s my first a d foremost role and identity- I am a Child of God),
-a wife (who aims at and delights to be an absolutely phenomenal wife in every respect as God gives me grace),
-a mom ( of boys who wants to raise her kids for the kingdom),
– a career person ( and anytime I say this, pride, a type of pride I can’t describe wells up on my inside. I guess. No, scratch that! I know I love the path God has chosen for me
– A woman in ministry ( or maybe I should say, a woman on assignment
– An author, speaker and writer ( what’s the difference anyway between author and writer anyway?)With me having to play all these roles, my schedule can get really busy and tight and if I’m not very focused on making my day productive, I could miss it at some point. Now, while I don’t claim that I get it 100% all the time, planning and structuring my life and time has helped me achieve more than I could have ever achieved, if I just let things run auto or by default.A key part of maximizing my day and achieving optimum productivity is the use of apps. For someone who wasn’t technology savvy, I’ve discovered that technology can literally be a lifesaver if you know how to use it. For me, it’s been a time saver and life enhancer and in this mail, I want to share my top 7 productivity apps with you. These are applications that have literally made life easy for me, helping me to combine all my roles and almost making me appear like a superwoman.

1) My Bible App – YouVersion: This is premium and number one for me because life is first spiritual. I especially love this Bible app because of it’s convenience and usefulness. It has a whole lot of translations of the Bible and it’s easy for me compare different translations with just a click. Another amazing feature is the numerous devotionals that are on the app. There is practically no challenge or life issue that you won’t find a devotional for; and the devotionals are by seasoned authors. The app is simply amazing..and free.

2) YouTube App: This is the second top app for me and is rightly so because it’s my second inspiration hub. After the Bible, the YouTube comes next for videos and various audio messages ranging from Christian teachings to Inspirational podcasts and audio books. And there is practically no one you can’t find on YouTube. Most of your favourite inspiring teachers and personalities are on YouTube, dishing out amazing stuff that has helped make them who they are today. Through my YouTube app, I get my daily dose of inspiration. My current crave is Steven Furtick for phenomenal bible messages; Terri Savelle Foy for Inspirational podcasts and John Maxwell for Audio books.

3) Clock Timer: Everyday has 24 hours, just 24 hours. So it means that i would have to be conscious how I spend my time because every time spent or wasted, is gone. I love to use timers for what I do because it helps me be productive and I use the pomodoro technique. What this basically means is that I set a timer for say 30 minutes to read for example and for the 30 minutes, I focus and execute that reading. There is a source of urgency and in that time, I cut out distractions and I dive into what I’m reading with absolute concentration. This means I get more done than I would have if I was reading with no sense of urgency and time control. It’s a really effective technique that I use for just about anything I do and my timer app helps me to achieve that.

4) TimeTune app: I’m a routines person. Routines are another set of time-savers, more like they help your productivity soar. If you have goals, you should have a daily structure that can help help you build a life that will enable you fulfill your goals. Things you do daily like pray, exercise, listen to podcasts and/or messages, say your confessions etc. But the challenge is having to write this every time and maybe missing out on it because I forgot. That’s where TimeTune comes in. With time tune, I can schedule all my routines from Sunday to Saturday and the app reminds me of the next thing to do when the time comes and it can remind me 5 minutes or 2 minutes or right on time, depending on when I set it. And it also doubles as my alarm as it wakes me up from sleep, to pray! This app is amazing.

5) Google Browser – fondly called Google University. Most of us have this app on our phones but we don’t put it to good use. See, there is almost nothing you can’t find good information about, on the ‘Google University’. Now as with all general information, whatever information you get from Google has to be curated and the more delicate and sensitive the information is, the more work you have to do to curate it so you are sure it’s as authentic as it can be. But Google can be the first port of call to get information for whatever step you need to take next. I know there are other similar browser apps but I love Google for it’s simplicity and UI (User Interface) and UX (User eXperience).

6)E-Book Reader – Media365 reader: I love books. Readers are leaders and anything that makes reading convenient for me is a major. These days, ebooks are topping the charts for preferable book formats and I happen to be part of the wagon who prefer screen reads to hard copy. I love hard copies especially because I can mark and make notes but the inconvenience of carrying hard copies around is gradually getting high. I still have hard copies; alot of them but I’m really easing into ecopies and my app for ebook reader is Media365 reader. I know there are other apps but I love this for it’s convenience ( lol. I just realized that the word ‘convenience’ has consistently popped up in this post. I guess it means a lot to me when it comes to technology especially because I am not exactly technology savvy, as least not like an IT person, so I don’t like anything that will give me headache). Another feature of the Media 365 app that I love is that I can shop for books for free on the app. And the books are divided by category so that I can go to straight to the section of the books I need. Another amazing one even though I haven’t used it so I can’t say for sure how it works, is that you can publish your books for free, there. I guess I’ll be publishing my first novel on the platform.

7) Jotter Pad: Being a creative means that ideas can hit me anywhere, anytime. And sometimes, the beauty of words written occurs because the writer captured them at that point in time when the inspiration hit. If you miss out on that moment when the lightening strikes, you might find it difficult to capture it exactly the way it came to you, at first. And since our mobile phones happens to almost always be with us these days, it only makes sense that it also becomes a tool for collecting ideas when they strike. For me, Jotterpad does the magic. Besides being convenient (again!), Jotterpad has organization. I can organize my thoughts in different sheets and put them in different folders. And I can access everything at some clicks. It’s simply amazing. There are others I use like the Writer+ app but I’ll just talk about this for now. Send me a mail if you want to know the others that I use.

8) Google Notes.(Keep Notes) : This transcribes voice notes to texts and I use it in sync with Jotterpad. When spoken clearly and crisply, it can translate your words to an accuracy that is near 70% and that takes the major work off writing for me as all I have to do is edit, correct and add some finishing touches. I’ve only used it for non-fiction transcripts though, haven’t tried out fiction especially because of all the grammatical structure that comes with fiction stories.

That’s it.

I actually do have a couple of other apps like the one I use for my exercise and video works and I intend to explore some more especially in the area of finance and budgeting so I can share with you guys as time goes on.For you, which of this have you used before and/or what are your thoughts about them?Let’s discuss below

Yours Truly

Aijay Ufomadu

It’s amazing how a new year can make one feel renewed, refreshed and ready to do some mighty new things for God. I’m so grateful for every goal achieved and success recorded last year and I’m already eager and expectant, looking forward to greater things this new year.

Almost everyone welcomes the new year with joy and expectations. I personally think having Christmas and New year in one breath of a week, is not only divine and phenomenal, it’s amazing. From the celebrations of Christmas with the beautiful season of harmattan/winter that accompanies it…right up onto the new year. Heaven planned this one, – a perfect combo.

It’s going to be an amazing year and I hope you’re looking to partner with God and make this year great. No matter what has happened in the past, you deserve a great year ahead because of John 10:10b – Jesus came to give you life and give it to you ABUNDANTLY. If you’re continuosly living a life that’s nothing to write home about, it’s time to make a change and a drastic one at that. And in the light of new year resolutions and awesome plans that grace seasons such as this, I just thought to share a few points that can help you make this year extra special, for you, so you don’t experience in 2019, what you experienced in 2018. Your life can be better, it all depends on your choices, starting today.

So shall we..?

1. Let God be at the very centre of your existence- your centre is the very core of you as a person and at that core is a God-shaped vacuum that can only be filled by God. So you have to let God be central in your life, right at the very middle of your life and in all the decisions you make. Don’t make choices without God and don’t fight your battles without Him. When you win, celebrate with God, when you face challenges, handle them through God. Live in 2019 with God at the very centre of everything and 2019 will be so phenomenal for you

2. Prioritize your focus- Know what is in God’s heart concerning you and go after it with all your heart. Azzin ‘die’ there. Give it your all with ruthless abandon. Determine what you want to achieve in 2019, ensure it lines up with God’s agenda for you and then, make it your priority. Your priority affects everything you do in life -your choices, your words, your belief, where you go, even how you dress, everything! Therefore, the best way and in fact the only sure way to achieve what you desire is to give it laser-focus and to do that, you’ll need to keep that dream before your eyes everyday and in your heart, praying for it, at all time. Know what is important in your own life and go after it with all your heart. No half measures. If it is important, you will make it important. Don’t act or sleep like you have plenty time. Create plans that will help you achieve your goals. Pursuits translate words to actions, thoughts to visible steps and imaginations to doable plans. Tell yourself continually that this year, you will be focussed in everything you do and every morning you wake up, determine the goals for the day and with deliberate intention, FOCUS, EXECUTE and FINISH

3.Your time must pay you and it must grow you- Make sure your time pays you and grows you. Be extremely intentional about that. Spend your time wisely. Know what to DO and when; know what to DELEGATE and when; know what to DEFER and when; and know what to DELETE and when. Your time is precious and as long as 2019 looks, we have just 8,760 hours innit. That means that you need to have value for every time you spend, even when you spend that time having fun. Your time must create assets for you, not liabilities. So I beg you, don’t waste your time in 2019. If a conversation won’t help your 2019 focus, gracefully disengage. Help yourself in 2019. Always ask yourself if what you’re currently giving your time to will yield you value? How much value does your engagements bring you? If that television isn’t contributing positively to your destiny, maybe it’s time you cut it down. If that thing is making you more afraid than courageous, cut it off! In essence, make wise use of your time. It’s your currency. Manage your time wisely, spend your time well. Finish what you have started.

4 Audit your relationships – There are four things you should do to your relationships this year because you will ultimately become like the person or persons you associate with.

– RENEW- Look at your circle of relationships and prayerfully consider those you should renew. Ideally, those that fall into this category might not be much. God comes first. Then your family. And divinely orchestrated covenant relationships. I don’t know what this list would look like for you but prayerfully assert who they are and make moves to keep these relationships refreshed and renewed.

REVIEW. You might need to review some relationships in your lives , especially those that have lost their trajectory. Some others too, you might need to review for upgrade. Some relationships no longer serve a good purpose in your life anymore. Maybe it’s a relationship that it’s season has expired or a friendship that has gone off course. Now, this doesn’t mean you dump your friends and break your relationships anyhow but deep in your heart, you know when something isn’t just working anymore and you need to move on. You know when the centre is broken and can no longer hold. its okay to try to work on your relationships and make it better. That’s great. But I’m talking about those ones that are killing you slowly. It’s time to review and REDUCE the relationship and please do so with no sentiments. Remember they won’t be there when it’s time to answer to God for your life on earth. Reducing does not mean they become strangers or you stop talking to them, it means you reduce the time you make available for the relationship and guard your heart seriously, with them. It means it no longer takes up a huge chunk of your time. Why should it? When it’s not adding to you, instead it’s making you sad and upset and angry continually. Reduction can also be in varying degrees. Some you need to reduce by some notches, others can be a few more and some have to be reduced to the barest minimum, maybe because you just have to have some kind of interaction with them frequently – for example a colleague at work. For these people, guard your heart in those brief moments of interactions so you don’t leave the conversation feeling funny again. Again I reiterate, reducing does not mean malice and does not mean you don’t act in love towards them. No. It just means you reduce the attention you give to it. Whenever they come around you, let them feel the warmth of Jesus radiate to them through the love you show them but know the boundaries.

There are also relationships that you know are Godsent but somehow you have not paid attention to them. This year, review and upgrade, create space in your life for what will add to God’s purpose for you

REMOVE- For those relationships you already told yourself won’t follow you into 2019. You know them, God has been cautioning you about it and you promised yourself that this year, you’re cutting off, it’s time keep that promise to yourself.

Your relationship circle is a mirror of what your future is like. Think about the kind of conversations you guys talk about. What do you focus on. Don’t let anymore make you mediocre because they want to be your friend. Choose friends by purpose not by pocket, including mentors, peers and mentees.

5) Build your capacity. Read good books and consume good content. You can only bless and give from the abundance that is within you so always add to that ‘abundance’.

6)Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive- everyone including you. No one is perfect and things are not always as serious as it seems so let go and ask God to heal your heart and take the hurt away.

Finally. Leave it all in the past. You failed God. You failed yourself, you messed up. You did it baaad! Whatever it was that happened, leave it in the past. Don’t let the memories of yesterday be stronger than the creative juices of today. Goes both ways, both for good and bad memories. Whatever it is, leave it in 2019. Even if it’s this year that it’s happened in already, azzin the year has not started and you’ve ‘commited errors’ already, ask God for mercy and drop it at the cross.

You might have an achilles heel, an area of weakness you’ve been trying to overcome . Yes I know people say you have to be a certain way to be used but the last time I checked, God uses willing hearts, not ready-made lives. This is not to say you shouldn’t live a life of purity and holiness but when you have tried but keep failing, drag yourself and your mess to the One who knows you and understands what you’ve been through. He knows deep down you want to serve Him but it’s tough. See, that person beside you won’t get it because they don’t know your struggle. But God does and He’s willing to help. There are some issues that can only drop off in the place of intense focus on God. When you’ve tried and you’ve failed, take it to God’s presence. If you started from there in the beginning, it would have been long gone by now. But it’s not too late now. Don’ t allow your mess or weakness stop you from serving God, instead, intensify your devotion in the place of prayer. Let your words express your heart to God, telling Him stuff you’ve not been able to tell Him by your actions because of the weakness you’ve had. Never joke with your altar. Pour fire there everyday. Keep it burning. Stay in place- stay in God’s presence. Every morning bring your sacrifice of worship. It’s called sacrifice because it might not be easy but we keep doing it EVERY DAY. Someday you’ll find that the struggle you used to have, you’ll have no more and the place of prayer has become a wholesome delight to you.

And it’s a wrap. Hope these points are succinct enough for you to pick what hits your spirit and run with it this year.

Here’s wishing you a super duper amazing fruitful GOD-DEFINED year and you bet! I’ll be praying for you seeing as you’re part of my blog-family

God bless you!!

Aijay Ufomadu

… live awake