More than Gold: Becoming a Woman of Excellence (Wk 19)

The year 2020 began with the usual goals for the year, a practice I have partaken in for almost four years. But this year, it is personal because Intentionality is involved in my pursuit of excellence. One of my goals is to read at least one book every month. I am also actively studying the Bible and listening to Sermon and Gospel Music. I am sharing some of the tips I have learned from Week 19.  

"Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm." Daniel 6:3

Live your life offensively rather than defensively. Don’t wait for things to happen before reacting. Make a plan for your day, think about it the night before or early in the morning. Get up and get busy. Be Intentional with your time. Be intentional with your life. Quit the procrastination. Do it now, stop putting things off until tomorrow or next week. Stop making Excuses.

You don’t have to have everything in place. Have a vision, make the plan, design the blueprint, chart the course, take the first step and things will start to fall into place as long as you keep working.

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.” Matthew 25:14-15

God has planted a seed in you which is your talent or your gift according to your purpose. A gift cannot be taken away from you. 

The seed by itself is useless to you and everyone else around you. No one eats orange seeds, but take that seed and plant it. You get a tree that can provide shade and oranges, lots and lots of oranges over the years. 

Take more seeds and plant them, eventually, you have on an orchard. Take those oranges which are by now too much to cater to your personal needs and sell them or start an orange juice factory. Just like that, your single orange seed has been multiplied after took action and found the right spot to plant it. 

If your talent is singing, join your church choir, take singing lessons, write songs, sing songs, record your songs, share with family and friends, and teach someone what you are learning. You will start off with something really bad, but it will get better. Your reward will start to trickle in, and one day it will become a downpour. 

Practice each day, build on it. Become Competent by developing your talent every day. Start with one hour a day. Imagine if you spent an hour each day in the month of June. This would be 30 hours of practice. That blows my mind just thinking about what would happen if one simply applies this principle. 

Persistence, Patience and Endurance go hand in hand in the pursuit of excellence.

"Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." Hebrews 10: 35-36.

It is going to be difficult in the beginning, no one may believe in you, you may lose hope in the situation but please do not give up if you truly believe in what you are doing. Act Now. 

“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Have Faith. Faith believes what your eyes have not seen. Faith believes in God to supply all your needs through Prayer. Faith is knowing that with God all things are possible. The God who made everything is our Father and he will care for all our needs, therefore we have no reason to fear. Fear robs us of our blessings, our joy, and peace. God has asked us to “Fear not” many times in the Bible. Feed your faith and starve your fears and worries. 

"God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did." Romans 4:17b

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21: 21-22

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Gratitude. Give thanks at all times. Give thanks when things are good. Give thanks when things are bad. Give thanks to God even when it feels like nothing is going on. Lift up praises onto his Name. Sing His praise at all times. A grateful heart makes a positive disposition.  

Words are Powerful. There is power in the tongue. Be careful what you say about yourself, your situation, and about other people. Use your words to speak words of encouragement, Value, and Wisdom.

Be positive, Say positive things. Look for something positive even in a negative situation and focus on that. 

What you Focus on becomes magnified by your mind. Focus on God, Focus on Faith, Focus on Gratitude, and Positivity. 

I am learning that these things take time, so I am taking things one day at a time. Some days it is easier to practice, other days not so much. But every day by the power of the Holy Spirit, let's strive to become a Woman of Excellence. 

Bibliography

Book- An Enemy called Average by John Mason (Nuggets 1-21) 

Sermons- Apostle Joshua Selman-Diligence Financial Dominion Part 4, Bishop Bismark- Breaking Limitation

Bible References: New King James Version. "Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."