Thankful Thursday

 

Recently we started our Daniel Fast for twenty-one days at our church and this fast requires you to give up on meat, dairy and all the sweets you can think of. I look forward to this fast not only because it’s a time I get specific in my prayers with God, but it’s a time I detox my body. I mean you can’t beat that! During this fast, a lot of people have one common problem which is not knowing what to eat. I get asked this question “Adaku, what are foods that I can eat?” I basically tell them to become vegetarians for twenty-one days and they will be good and that answers the question. During this Fast, I become creative in the kitchen. I get excited with so many varieties of food that is actually good for your body. Anyone who knows me can tell that I love to eat and when I mean I love to eat, I love to eat good!
Below is a picture of a vegetarian burrito from Baja Fresh. I got this burrito because it comes with all the fresh ingredients and it tastes so good! I like adding mango sauces and hot sauce to go with it.

Needless to say, I am very thankful for a good meal after such a busy day I had today. What are you thankful for? What are you eating if you’re observing the fast? Leave your comment below and share your thoughts. Stay blessed and be inspired.
#adakuinspires

The Battle Is Not Yours

 

Recently, I was on the phone with one of my blog readers who happened to share a deep story on how God spared her life thirteen years ago. It was so deep that I have been pondering in my heart about what we discussed. Sometimes we go through stuff that takes a toll in our lives and we begin to ask God a lot of questions. Many times He is using you and your challenging times to show you His own glory. I am sure you’ve heard this popular quote “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
What am saying is that you should continue to love God regardless of what you’re going through because all things will work together for good just because of your love for Him. Another important lesson I’ve learned about when I’m going through my battle is to sit still and hear what the Holy Spirit has to say. Keep still and know that God is God. He has definitely got your back if you can hold on to His words.
This caught me off guard when she said this “it’s a shame that God has to knock you off your feet to get your attention.” What battle are you holding on to? No matter what you’re going through, just know that the battle is not yours. I’ll leave you off to listen to Yolanda Adams by clicking the attached link below. Hope you enjoy it. Stay blessed and stay inspired. #adakuinspires

 

Thankful Thursday

I am beginning a new series called “Thankful Thursday”. As I started doing my daily activities, the Holy Spirit dropped in my heart to start a series called “Thankful Thursday”. A lot of times we wait until something special happens in our lives before we declare how thankful we are. Why not think of something that has happened to you or someone special that you’re thankful for. In my case starting these upcoming series today, I am thankful for my husband. This man means the world to me and I’m happy to be married to him. Yes, there are a lot of things I’m thankful for and since today’s the beginning of many Thankful Thursdays, why not begin with someone special to me. Here it goes: 

Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for tolerating my imperfections. Thank you for choosing me to spend the rest of your life with. Even when things seems to be tough, you still put a smile on my face. Going from two income family to one income family is not easy but you’ve never complained for once and I love you for that. You let me know that true happiness is when your mind is at peace, and you’re happy. My mind is at peace knowing that I have you as my husband and the head of our family. Thank you for comforting me even when I’m stressed out (mmmmhhhh we all know how that goes).  I am forever happy with you, Mon Cherie. 

What are you thankful for today? I hope this forum will be a place to share your gratitude towards someone or something in your life. It doesn’t have to be long. I’m excited about this and I hope you are as well. Leave a comment below and share some of your thoughts. 

Be Inspired and stay beautiful!

#adakuinspires

A Spontaneous Day with Kizzy

This past weekend was one of those days I wanted to take my sweet little girl out on a mommy daughter date to Barnes and Noble. We had such a lovely time reading, laughing, socializing with other kids, and smiling for the camera. This little boy saw her and they both started smiling and sometimes I wonder what babies say to each other that makes them smile. At this stage, if she’s not cranky because she’s wet or sleepy, she also likes to grab things and put in her mouth because she’s hungry. Just like how she wants to grab my straw and have my drink as well. Can you see how wide her mouth is open ready to drink? Trust me, she would sip all of it if I let her too.

I read some books to her because I believe in starting young to train up a child which is what my parents taught me so I’m trying to teach that to my daughter. We looked at some princess books of course and they all had so many colors which I love especially for little girls. I saw one book that caught my eye. It’s called “What To Expect The First Year” by Heidi Murkoff. As a first time mom, this book is very informative and just by glancing through, it gives you some practical tips on monthly growth and development, how to make your own baby food, so much more. I’m already excited to read more about it!

How was your weekend? Hope you took some time to enjoy the little things around. 

#adakuinspires

Don’t Judge A Tree By Its Cover

Have you heard about this adage “Dont judge a book by its cover?” Well, I was driving by recently and literally pulled to the side to take a picture of this tree. I just love how God speaks to me even when I’m driving and have no business pulling over especially to look at a tree. Anyway, do you see how shredded and ugly this tree looks on the outside? That’s the question The Holy Spirit asked me as I stared at it for quite sometime. Then He continued and said, “just because this tree looks ugly and rough on the outside doesn’t mean that’s how it looks on the inside.” Then He took me around to show me some smooth part of the tree which revealed the inside. I was amazed at the lesson I got just from looking at a tree! All I could do was say, “thank you Lord!”

You know just like God was revealing something deeper than a mere tree, I was thinking of who this message is for today. I believe God doesn’t just bring up a topic for me to flirt with but rather address it. Sometimes, when we see people that don’t fit in our little clique, we ignore them. A lot of people are hurt and have no one to talk to, and some people are sick with deadly diseases and we will never know unless we get closer. 

On a lighter note, I did my research on this tree and here are some helpful facts on this great creation. It’s a River birch tree and as an ornamental tree, it offers fall and winter color to parks, yards and street sides. Its leaves turn bright yellow in autumn; in the winter, its showy silver trunk adds beauty to the landscape. Its durable wood is easy to work with and is used to make a variety of items, including toys, artificial limbs and flatware. River birch also is valuable as a source of erosion control and is used to reclaim areas with high soil acid caused by mining. Wildlife, such as birds and rodents, eat its seeds, and deer eat its twigs and foliage. Ruby-throated hummingbirds drink its sap.

Wow! Who would’ve known that this tree has such great benefits and is highly resourceful! For all reading, don’t judge someone by their outward appearance but try to learn more about them! You might find something about them that you never knew or maybe something to pray for. I hope moving forward, you will not be the one to judge someone without getting to know them. 

Stay inspired beautiful people 

I Am Fearless – Boarding School Series Part III

…My senior went to her classes while leaving me squatting with my arms stretched out.  I was in this position until evening time. Oh by the way, did I mention that this bully was the daughter to one of the Governors in Nigeria! Talk about abuse of power! I also had to clean and iron her clothes. There was a time I cleaned her clothes but didn’t iron it and, on the day of one of my finals, she kept me from going to the finals and took my clothes and soaked them in water! I had to borrow a friend of mine’s clothes to just barely make it in time for my exam!

Despite all she did, I still served this tyrant till she graduated. That was a grim taste of some of the things that I went through with the upper class people while I was in boarding school. Though very rough, boarding school taught you how to be organized, clean, and plan. Mommy and daddy weren’t there to rescue me while in boarding school. I had to be organized and time conscious. This experience taught me a lot.

After 4 years of serving an upperclass students, I now had the opportunity to be served by one of the the students who were now below me. Ah, the freedom I felt but I never wanted to treat anyone the way I was treated. Yet, when my time of power came, my father switched the game plan and notified the entire family that we would be moving to the United States. While I was happy about this, I REALLY wanted to stay one more year in boarding school so I could enjoy the liberty of having a student serve me closely, but I didn’t get this opportunity!

Going through all those horrible experiences has taught me many lessons in this life and that’s why I stand strong as a fearless woman. My Father took me out of the school and I couldn’t finish but the good news is that I graduated with honors here in the United States, both High School and College. I am forever grateful to God for His mercy and grace. When I look back and remember all the punishments I went through that were countless, you will be alarmed, but that’s not the purpose of this blog. I thought of sharing something that was so deep in my heart. Something that I went through for a while and kept it deep down without letting it out and I think it’s time for people to rise up.

Live your dreams without any setback. You are more than a conqueror. You’re the head and not the tail. Begin to declare these things moving forward and watch how your mindset will begin to change. People can never break you, but they make you. I chose a life of freedom. I chose to finish my education and pursue becoming a strong willed entrepreneur by working on my business. I chose to live out the dream that my Heavenly Father has prepared for me. I am not going to sit around and allow someone who is ignorant of what’s their purpose in this world, determine my future. I had to fight the good fight. I have always believed that the choices you make determines your destiny and, in order to make a positive impact, I’m turning my story around to be positive instead of negative. I guard my heart so jealously because of all the things I’ve been through. I would hate for my daughter to go through the same thing I went through.

Sometimes God allows you to go through a test so that it becomes a testimony to somebody else. Hope my story will be an eye opener for all those whom have gone through cyber bullying or whatever bullying you’ve been through in your life. Be a voice and not an echo. Rise up and begin to speak because there’s power in your testimony. That’s how God gets His victory. What test have you gone through? Have you shared it lately?  Leave a comment and share some of your tests that became testimonies. Stay blessed and stay beautiful. #adakuinspires

I Am Fearless – Boarding School Series Part II

My daily routine requires waking up as early as 5am to start my day. Uniform must be ironed, shoe polished, I mean everything has to be on point. There’s a daily inspection to make sure hair, nails, everything else are cut down in a neatly manner to avoid distractions. Once I’m set and ready, I make sure the senior (an upperclass person who’s above me) is taken care of. By taking care of her, I mean her water for her bath is provided, her uniform ironed by me, shoes polished, bed made, and trash taken out. This is very serious because if none of that is done, I’m in a big pot of soup!

I was bullied and scared for my life to the point that, if one day I don’t iron her clothes or polish her shoes, that would be a very bad day for me. Anyway, let’s just say I did everything until one day the whole school had scarcity of water and we had no idea how we were going to bathe. I told my senior that there’s no water in the whole school and everyone is feeling the same way but she insisted that I shouldn’t sleep in the dorm if I don’t fetch her water. I cried and cried until a friend of mine told me I have to walk 5 miles away from school to fetch water if I’m serious. I carried two buckets, one on my head and one with my hand. It wasn’t easy but I pushed through. The sad part about all these is that, as I was coming back with the water, other seniors were taking scoops of water from mine and by the time I got to my dorm, the water I got for my senior was like half way through…she’s a big girl too!

When I got to the dorm, my conversation went like this:

Senior: “Who’s water is that?”

Me: “Yours, I walked five miles to fetch this water”

Senior: ” This water won’t be enough to wash my toes talk less of my entire body so go out there and fill up that bucket!”

I was so upset that I had an attitude walking out so she called me back and punished me for several hours that I can’t even document it on this blog. I squatted with my arms stretched out and all this happened while I was under the sun for a long period of time.

Can you imagine moving forward after all these terrible experiences? I know all these stories might sound a lot but hang in there because it gets better in my next blog.

To be continued

Learn to live fearlessly.  #adakuinspires

I Am Fearless – Boarding School Series

Choosing a fearless mindset requires an awareness and courage. It’s being willing to look from a new angle and do whatever it takes to go from fear into courage. In this blog I will do my best to take you on a journey with me of when I lived in boarding school. Let me take you a few steps back.

The pictures used in this blog was taken from a reflection walk I had before writing, so come with me. I was born in Nigeria and I left with my whole family to the United States when I was fifteen. I am now twenty-eight and I feel like I have two stories to share. Stories of when I lived in Nigeria and stories while I’m living here. I am happily married with a beautiful daughter and now the story continues. Such is my life.

In Nigeria, a lot of parents put their kids in boarding school so they learn to be independent and hopefully grow up knowing what they want in life;at least I will speak for myself. Boarding school is also meant to be far away from your family so they’re not coming to see you constantly. Imagine it being a boot camp. Boarding school is six years and when you are done, you graduate and go to college. You start in JSS 1 through SS6 which, in American terms, is seventh grade through twelve grade. So imagine being in a boot camp from seventh grade until twelve grade without spending lots of time with your family and friends. The only family and friends you will develop are the ones you see everyday in the boarding school. They had visitation days which usually fell on Sundays but very rarely would you see that happen.

During visitation days, my whole family will come with home cooked meals enough for me to take back to the dorms and I ate that food with no mercy. They were always prepared for this visit. I won’t forget the things my mom usually packed in her visitation bag. Things like mangoes, banana, pear, corn, rice, beans, soup, chicken, tomato stew, cookies, toiletries if I ran out, and many things I needed that would last me until I come home again. I wanted this day to last long but the reality was that I would be with my family for just a couple of hours. I’m very emotional so this means, each time they come and go, I stand by the gate, waving goodbye with tears rolling down my cheeks…and for the whole evening I felt so sad until I was able to get tough again to start my daily routine. This was very serious I must say…

To be continued, but until next time, “Learn to live fearlessly.”  #adakuinspires

Worth The Wait Part II

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

This verse definitely reminded me of the promises that God has made concerning my life. Sometimes when God speaks over your life or tells you to do something that requires your faith, immediately as Christians we don’t hesitate to ask questions, we do it. However down the line, fear comes in, doubt, and all sorts of things cloud your mind and you begin to ask God questions like “God, do you think I can continue?” 

Well, this happened to me lately especially when I heard God clearly spoke to me to start ministering through social media. I began to feel like nobody was listening or watching what I was saying and that brought a lot of questions to my heart. The enemy tried to bring fear and doubt by trying to make me quit doing what God has called me to do. Immediately I realized the tactics of the enemy, I began my warfare by praying and speaking in the language of the Holy Spirit. I began declaring positive things over my life and over my social media platforms. I began speaking to the thing as though it’s in existence. As soon as I was done praying, I felt so good. 

The Holy Spirit dropped Treya Cook’s name in my heart. She’s an amazing woman of God and I’m so blessed to call her my dear friend. We met up for an impromptu lunch and had an amazing time. Whenever we meet, we just gush about what God is doing in our lives and it’s so refreshing. She encouraged and pushed me to keep going and never look back regardless of the number of people watching or listening. I knew it was a God moment, due to the timing and, one thing I know for sure is that God is always on time. What matters to Him is the one soul I’m reaching out to and how they’re changing their life through my message. I understand that I’m a threat to the enemy the moment I decided to do what God has called me to do. In order to stay on top, I have to fight back with the Word of God and never give up. I have to speak life into my business and my social media platforms. I have to completely trust God in this journey by doing my part and leaving the rest for Him. Sometimes we go through rough and tough times in our lives and it’s ok because it makes you stronger than before. It’s also ok to get back up, dust it off, and keep it moving. Don’t make it bigger than what it is because it’s not even worth your energy. 

As you enter this month, thank God that it’s a new beginning of greatness, divine favor, divine connection, open doors, and a new level. I encourage you to keep going and never look back. Begin to speak life into that business of yours by declaring it prosperous. Begin to minister to that weak body of yours, it’s made strong. You’re no longer financially broken because God is taking control over all your finances and everything that concerns you. “Be strong and take courage. Your time is coming,” says The Lord. 

Also check out my latest youtube video, subscribe and tell your friends and family about #adakuinspires! https://youtu.be/AlUZcCZOvAs

Stay blessed and be inspired 

#adakuinspires