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I didn't realize how much I had been carrying until I finally put it down.For weeks, I had been feeling unlike myself. Little things were getting to me. I was more emotional than usual, easily overwhelmed and increasingly irritated by things that normally wouldn't bother me. I'm already introverted and don't like unplanned outings or unnecessary phone calls but every time my phone rang,I would think, I really don't have the energy for this.

I couldn't understand what was wrong with me until I remembered something God had already told me:take a break. I hadn't.I kept going because there was always something to do, someone who needed something, someone to call, to encourage or to pray for. I felt guilty whenever I wasn't helping somebody, so even when I knew I needed to slow down, I kept finding reasons not to.I think I had become so accustomed to being available that I had forgotten what it felt like to simply be.

Eventually, I realized I wasn't having a quarter life crisis or anything,I was just overextended, burnt out and depleted.I had been running on empty.

I decided to do something that was really difficult for me:rest for a week and do almost nothing.I made full English breakfasts,went for walks in nature, read a book in the park and sat watching waves at the beach.I stopped carrying everyone else's problems for a little while.I said no to spontaneous plans that required energy I didn't have and quite honestly, money I hadn't planned to spend.

By the end of the week,I felt like a completely different person.Nothing external had changed.I hadn't solved every problem under the sun or suddenly figured out my life.I had just stopped long enough to refill my cup. I started thinking about how strange it is that we can understand the importance of rest intellectually and still feel guilty when we actually do it.

There will always be someone who needs help. There will always be another phone call, another problem, another person who needs prayer or another thing we could do, especially when we love God and genuinely want to serve people.But just because we can do something doesn't mean we are always supposed to do it.Being needed by people doesn't mean we are required to be available to them at all times.

I have been thinking about this a lot, especially when it comes to those of you who spend so much of their lives carrying others spiritually :prophets,seers,pastors, intercessors who pray for families, communities, cities and nations ,who are constantly standing in the gap for somebody else.Are you okay?I mean, really okay?Because we talk so much about pouring out, but not nearly enough about what happens when the person doing the pouring has nothing left to give.Who is standing in the gap for you?Who is asking how you are doing?Who is reminding you that you are allowed to rest too?

God Himself built rest into creation.It wasn't something He added later because humanity got busy.The Bible tells us that He neither slumbers nor sleeps and yet, after creating the world, God rested.He gave His people the Sabbath.

Then Jesus came to earth and He rested too.He slept, withdrew from the crowds and went away to pray.There were always people who needed Him,more ministry to do and people He could have been helping.But He still made time to be alone. Since He is our pattern, man and God in human form, God is showing us through that example that we were never designed to pour endlessly.Why then do we feel guilty for sitting down?Why do we treat rest like something we earn after we have done enough?Why do we wait until we are completely depleted before we realize we are running on empty?

What if today was the day you stopped waiting, stopped pushing harder and put some things down?If He is asking you to come away ,to breathe, be still and be refilled, you don't need another motivational speech about pushing through- you need to stop.

Maybe you need breakfast or sleep or two whole days of doing absolutely nothing.Whatever it is, give yourself permission to be human.You cannot keep pouring from an empty cup.You are not just a vessel.You are a person.Before you can pour into everyone else again, you need be filled.

Because what good are you to everyone else if you are completely depleted ?

Pour from a place of overflow, refill your cup.

I spent this past weekend in bed, down with the flu. Since I had nothing else to do besides take medication, I did what I always do when I try to relax: think about my life. I reflected on all the things I have spent years praying for that haven't happened yet, and I realized, I was grieving again.

For a long time I thought I was just disappointed. But disappointments come and go . while grief stays with you for a while. I had to admit I was grieving a life that never actually happened.

I was grieving the marriage I thought I would have by now, the happy family I imagined, the places I thought I'd live, the career I thought I would have and the dreams I thought would have materialized years ago. These are things I genuinely believe will still be part of my story. But right now, they aren't.

I don't think I have ever talked about this kind of grief with anyone, because I have only known how to grieve something I can point to. But how do I explain grieving a future? How do I explain missing a life I have never lived, or mourning things that were never tangible in the first place?

I don't have all the answers. But I have finally reached a place where I'm ready to stop mourning — not because I no longer care, or because I've stopped wanting beautiful things. I haven't given up on love, family, purpose, adventure, or dreams. I'm just tired of looking backward at a life that doesn't exist. I don't want to spend the years God has actually given me mourning the years I thought I would have.

I imagined what my life would look like at twenty-five, thirty, thirty-two... But life happened -sometimes beautifully,sometimes painfully and other times,completely differently from what I had in mind.

Now I have a choice. I can keep asking, why isn't my life the way I thought it would be? Or I can ask, what can I do with the life I actually have?

I'm choosing the second question. Because this life is still mine.

There are still books to write, places to see, people to love, things to learn, dreams to dream and most importantly, there is still time.

I don't know what the rest of my life will look like, or which prayers will be answered the way I imagined. But I've realized I don't need to know all of that before I start living again.

I'm putting down the imaginary timeline, the constant should-have-beens, and the belief that life has to unfold on my schedule to be meaningful. I'm making peace with what didn't happen while making room for what still might.

Maybe the goal was never to recreate the life I thought I'd have but to build something beautiful with the life I have now; trusting that all things will work together for good, once I stop spending my days grieving the life I thought I'd have by now.

There was a season in my life when waiting for a spouse became my entire focus.

I wanted marriage deeply and the constant stream of “kingdom marriage” conversations online only intensified that desire. What I didn’t realize at the time was that while I was waiting for a husband,I had put my life on hold.

God had already placed dreams, assignments and instructions in my heart, but instead of moving forward, I sat with them. I told myself I would pursue them after marriage. I was waiting for a husband to arrive and help me live out my purpose.

Looking back, I admit that desperation had crept in. I longed to be seen, chosen and pursued, yet during that season, no one even asked me out.It was in that stillness that I had to look deeper.

The desire for companionship is natural and God-given, but when it became the center of my life, it replaced growth, obedience and intimacy with God.

One day I woke up and I decided that I didn’t want to live like that anymore.I realized that singleness was an opportunity for me to do better and become the best version of myself that God created me to be.

I decided I would stop waiting for marriage to give my life meaning and instead commit to stewarding the season I was already in. I chose to chase a thousand while trusting that, in time, God would bring the one who would chase ten thousand with me.

Singleness carries an advantage many of us overlook: focus, clarity and availability to God.

If you are in a waiting season, choosing purity, trusting God and hoping for a godly spouse,here are intentional ways to steward this time well.

1. Prioritize Healing and Health

Physical health matters. Care for your body through rest, movement,nourishment and regular check ups.But more importantly,emotional healing matters. Past relationships, childhood wounds, rejection and disappointment all shape how we show up in future relationships. If bitterness,lack of trust or emotional numbness still surface easily, those are signs that healing is still needed.

Scripture reminds us to press forward, but that doesn’t mean ignoring what’s unresolved. Unhealed emotional wounds don’t disappear with time; they resurface in the way we react, attach, trust and communicate in our relationships and marriages.

2. Clean Up What You are Feeding Your Spirit

Your environment shapes your desires.If your social media, entertainment choices or online presence is saturated with lust-driven or sexually suggestive content, it becomes harder to attract and discern godly connections.

What you consistently consume eventually shapes what you tolerate.

3. Invest in Your Purpose

Do you know why you are here?

Waiting seasons are ideal for discovering direction, developing vision and clarifying values. When you know where you are going, it becomes easier to discern who is best suited to walk alongside you.

Purpose brings clarity and clarity prevents unnecessary heartbreak.

4. Build Financial Wisdom

Marriage doesn’t magically fix financial instability.Use this season to learn how money works. Clear unnecessary debt where possible, save intentionally and develop additional skills or income streams. Financial stewardship is a vital part of marriage preparation.

5. Nurture Healthy Relationships Beyond Romance

Marriage is not meant to replace community.Invest in friendships, mentorships, church community and meaningful connections. Being around people exposes blind spots, refines character and strengthens emotional maturity.

Sometimes God uses people to shape us before He entrusts us with partnership.

6. Develop Character

Beauty may open doors, but character sustains relationships.

How do you handle offense?

How do you speak when you are upset?

How do you respond when things don’t go your way?

Scripture repeatedly shows that wisdom, humility and discernment are what distinguish lasting favor. Character is what sets people apart in rooms where everyone appears equally qualified.

7. Strengthen Your Spiritual Foundation

Waiting well requires spiritual growth and transformation.

This includes breaking unhealthy attachments to past relationships, addressing destructive patterns and deepening intimacy with God. Learn to hear God clearly in everyday decisions so that when you meet someone you are able to discern if you can walk with them till eternity.

Pray for yourself,your future spouse and for the capacity to love well.

Finally, brethren,while you wait, live fully.Don’t pause your joy or treat this season like a phase you have to rush through.Trust that as God is preparing you, He is also preparing your spouse on the other end and when the time is right, He will bring you together by His Spirit.

If this spoke to you and you need further guidance in navigating purposeful waiting, healing and preparing for marriage, I’m available to walk that journey with you.

You can connect with me here:

Instagram:@lizkarenscotch

Website: https://lizkscotch.com/

Email: lizscotch2@gmail.com

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You do not lack time.

You lack alignment.

For years, I followed the advice that said success requires waking up at 5 a.m.Early mornings were praised as discipline, focus and purpose.I tried to make myself fit that mold but instead of clarity, I felt groggy, tired and frustrated.I was awake early, but I was not productive.I was forcing a rhythm that did not work for me.

Over time, I learned something freeing:I function better at night when the world is quiet, notifications slow down and even pets are asleep.That is when my focus sharpens and my thoughts settle.I realized I did not need anyone else’s rhythm.I needed to understand my own.

Consistent progress doesn’t only happen at 5 a.m.It can still happen at 11 p.m., when the world is quiet and your mind is finally clear.

Productivity is not about copying someone else’s routine.It is about alignment and working with your energy instead of fighting it.

For some people, their best hours are early mornings after prayer.For a mother, it may be the quiet hours after everyone leaves for school.For a father, it may be late at night when the house is finally still.For someone else, it may mean staying indoors on certain weekends to tie up projects and prepare for the week ahead.There is no single formula for success.There is only honesty about how you function best.

There are four main wins you need in a day to help you stay grounded and intentional:

● Spirit — prayer, reading scripture and meditation.

● Mind — one focused work block without distractions.

● Body — movement, rest, nourishment.

● Purpose — one meaningful task that moves your life forward.

The goal is consitency not perfection.Do what works for you and structure your days around your real life, not an idealized version of it.

As long as you keep moving forward, you are making progress.

You do not need more hours.

You need alignment.

When your time aligns with who you are,your days stop feeling chaotic and your life begins to move with purpose.

Photo by Marcus Queiroga on Pexels.

Faith is not passive; it is obedience in action, even when you are afraid.

Most people do not stay stuck because they lack potential.They stay stuck because fear disguises itself as wisdom.

They say they are “waiting on God,” but often they are avoiding discomfort, rejection, failure, or uncertainty.They delay obedience not because they lack faith,but because they are afraid of what obedience might cost.

There is a difference between reckless risk and faith-driven risk.Reckless risk is impulsive and rooted in emotion.Faith-driven risk is prayerful, intentional and rooted in obedience.It’s about thinking, praying, planning and then moving anyway.

Sometimes moving will feel lonely.You may have to stand alone, clap for yourself and show up consistently with no applause, no confirmation and no obvious reward.

Abraham left everything familiar without knowing the full destination.Esther approached the king knowing her life was on the line.Ruth abandoned the security of her homeland to follow God into the unknown.None of them had certainty.All of them had obedience.

Their stories are not just history they are an invitation to become all that you were created to be.The same God who led them is speaking to you now.

So ask yourself honestly:

1.What is God asking me to do this year?

2.What fear is attached to that instruction?

3.What is one obedient action I can take this week?

You do not need a full plan.You need the courage to obey.

You will need courage to be consistent and not to shrink back, to hold onto what God told you in the light even when everything looks dark and courage to keep becoming when the becoming feels like breaking.

God rarely gives us the full map.He gives us enough light for the next step.

You won’t always feel strong, but you are being strengthened.You won’t always feel carried, but you are being held.

You don’t need a full map.You need the courage to take the next step.

Keep going.This version of you is being built with intention.

Photo credit :Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.

If you read New Year, New Me, you already know that real change begins with identity, not emotion. Once you are clear on who you are becoming, the next step is translating that vision into action.

Now that you’ve reflected on who you want to become this year, it’s time to translate that vision into action. A new year is empty until you program it. Knowing your destination is not enough, you need a clear map, practical steps, and daily routines that move you forward, even when life is busy or messy. Many people fail not because they lack vision, but because they do not break their goals into actionable, structured pieces.

The first step is to divide your life into six key areas. This ensures growth is balanced and prevents overwhelm:

1.Spiritual growth — your walk with God, serving others, and discipleship

2.Health and wellness — physical strength, mental health, and self-care

3.Relationships — family, friendships, marriage, and community

4.Personal development — skills, education, and creativity

5.Finances and career — income, stewardship, and giving

6.Lifestyle and rest — travel, hobbies, fun, and balance

For each area, write a clear picture of what success looks like if you were living your God-given best life. Be specific. Don’t leave room for ambiguity. Then, identify one to three small daily actions that will consistently move you closer to that vision. For example, if spiritual growth is a priority, you might commit to ten minutes of Scripture in the morning or serving once a week. If health is the focus, a twenty-minute walk or preparing your meals in advance can make a measurable difference.

Next, design your environment to support these actions. Willpower alone is not enough; your surroundings either make progress easier or create friction. Keep reminders visible, automate positive choices, and remove temptations wherever possible. Place your Bible on your bedside table, lay out your workout clothes the night before, delete apps that encourage unhealthy spending, or set up automatic transfers to savings accounts. These small adjustments reduce reliance on willpower and make consistency far easier.

Finally, schedule your actions into your daily life. Treat them as appointments that cannot be skipped. Block out time for your priorities just as you would for work meetings. Even five to ten minutes a day, when done consistently, compounds into meaningful progress over weeks and months. Track your efforts and celebrate small wins — they reinforce momentum and help you stay committed.

The goal is not to create a perfect schedule or overwhelm yourself with too much at once. Start small, focus on consistency, and gradually layer new habits and routines. Remember, Newton’s first law of motion applies here: an object in motion stays in motion, but only if you give it a push. Without deliberate action, your year will move in the same direction as last year.

A new year is not inherently transformative. It is a blank canvas. Your success comes from what you program into it, day by day, habit by habit, system by system. This is where strategy meets faith: God gives the vision, but you organize and implement the plan. Take the first step today, and let your actions, not just your hopes, define the year ahead.

If you would like deeper guidance on building practical, faith-driven routines and a year structured for success, you can explore my eBook, 7 Steps to Freedom from Stagnation here: https://a.co/d/aOxzMo9.

Every January, people set the same goals.This will be the year they finally become disciplined, focused, healthy and financially stable.

But,statistics and experience agree on one thing: most resolutions don’t survive the first three months, not because people are lazy or incapable of change, but because they are trying to fix behavior without changing identity.

When motivation is high, everything feels possible. The problem is that motivation does not last. Real life eventually arrives with fatigue, stress, disappointments, responsibilities, and distractions. When goals are built on emotion, they collapse the moment life becomes uncomfortable. Identity, however, is what remains when emotions settle.

There is also a deeper truth most people ignore: a new year does not automatically create a new life. Like I said in my previous blog, a new year is empty. It carries no power on its own. It becomes meaningful only when you program it with intention, direction and daily decisions. Without that, you simply carry your old patterns into a new calendar.

This is why the difference between resolutions and systems matter. A resolution is a statement of intention. A system is a structure that supports daily action. Motivation makes you start. Discipline is what allows you to continue. Intensity feels powerful, but consistency is what actually produces results. Small actions repeated daily always outperform big bursts of effort abandoned after a few weeks.

In many ways, change follows a principle similar to Newton’s law of motion: an object will remain in its current state unless acted upon by an external force. In the same way, your life will continue in its current direction unless you intentionally apply pressure through new habits, new choices and new structures. Nothing shifts simply because the date changed.

Lasting change begins when your language changes. Instead of saying, “I will try,” or “I hope,” or “I want,” you begin to say, “I am becoming.” You are not trying to be disciplined, you are becoming a disciplined person. You are not hoping to be emotionally healthy, you are intentionally becoming emotionally whole. You are becoming the kind of person who follows through, even when it is uncomfortable and inconvenient. When identity shifts, behavior naturally follows.

If you want this year to look different, you need more than a new list of goals. You need a reset at the level of identity. Start by answering these three questions honestly: Who am I becoming this year? What must change in my habits, environment and boundaries for that person to emerge? What will I do consistently, even when I do not feel like it? The answers to these questions reveal the real work of transformation.

This year does not need a new version of you created by excitement and pressure. It needs a committed version of you built through steady choices, clear systems and daily obedience to the life you say you want. Change is not dramatic. It is quiet, consistent and deeply personal. If you are willing to become before you perform, this year will not end the same way the others did.

Photo by Tara Winstead: Pexels.

A new year brings excitement, hope and plans. Everyone is thinking about what they want to achieve, what they want to change and what they will finally accomplish.

But here is the truth: a new year is empty until it is first given to God.

No vision, goal or strategy reaches its full potential if the foundation is not Him.

Scripture reminds us to honor the Lord with our firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9)In the spiritual principle of firsts, the first of all things belongs to God.Putting God first is not about religion or ritual, it is about alignment.

Psalm 37:23 says:“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”When you consecrate the start of your year to Him, your plans, ambitions and even daily habits are no longer scattered or self-directed. They begin to carry purpose, clarity and protection.

How to Practically Put God First:

1.Prayer

Begin each day with intentional prayer. Ask God for clarity, direction, protection,perseverance and wisdom for the year.Don’t only pray for outcomes, pray for alignment, strength and perseverance to follow what He has placed in your heart.

2.Fasting

Consider dedicating the first days or weeks of the year to fasting.This is not only about giving up food, but about creating space to hear God clearly, focus your heart and prioritize His agenda above your own.

Fasting sharpens your spiritual senses and strengthens discipline which will carry into your goals and daily routines.As you fast and pray, the Holy Spirit adds new vision, wisdom, and direction.He teaches you when to move, when to pause, and when to pivot.

3.Consecration / Dedication

Offer the first of your time, talents, and resources to God.Decide that the first hour of your day, the first decision you make, and the first portion of your finances will honor Him.When the first of everything belongs to God, the rest of your year aligns naturally.

Putting God first also gives your practical goals a solid foundation.Every area of your life, spiritual growth, health, relationships, personal development, finances, and lifestyle, flows better when He is the priority.

Spiritual clarity leads to wise choices, meaningful goals, and ambitions that align with your true purpose.

This year, don’t begin with pressure, lists, or resolutions.Begin with God.Let Him be the first force in your life, guiding every intention, action and decision.

A year becomes transformative not because the date changes, but because God is invited to lead it from the very beginning.

Begin with prayer, fasting and consecration.

Commit your firsts to Him.Then, as you build goals, systems and plans, everything will flow from a foundation that cannot fail.

The year becomes new because you put God first and everything else falls into place after that.

Photo credit:Nicole Michalou

This Christmas was different.

For the first time in a long while, I didn’t cook. I didn’t host, organise, manage or look after anyone. I simply arrived.

I spent Christmas with older friends who feel more like sisters than anything else. They are the kind of women who have lived, loved, lost, prayed, endured and built families along the way.

Somewhere between sitting at the table, being served food I did not prepare and laughing without watching the clock, something in me exhaled. It felt like I came home.

What surprised me was not only the rest, but what the rest revealed.

When you are always the strong one, the capable one, the responsible one, you do not realise how much you are carrying until someone else carries you for a moment- not out of obligation, but out of love. I didn’t know how tired I was of being needed until I was simply included.

In this moment, something deeper surfaced: I had been carrying everyone emotionally, practically, and spiritually, and somewhere along the way, I abandoned myself.I learnt to show up full for others while reserving very little for myself.

Sitting at that table and being served without explanation made me realise how foreign that felt and how deeply I needed it.

I wasn’t just tired,I was overextended. I wasn’t just selfless,I was emptying myself without checking whether I still had anything left.

While watching their son move easily among us, the natural rhythm of family life and the sense of generational continuity,I felt a longing in my heart ,not in a strange or inappropriate way, but in a deeply human way: I want a family.

Not the curated, romanticised, or Instagram version, but the ordinary and sacred everyday kind. I want a table I do not always have to set, a place where I can rest without guilt, and a life where love is not only something I pour out, but something that meets me where I am.

For a long time, I tried to spiritualise this desire away. I focused on gratitude, on staying busy, on purpose, calling, and service. These things matter deeply to me but this Christmas reminded me that wanting family does not mean I lack faith. It means I am human.

Rest has a way of telling the truth. The truth is that I do not only want to build things. I want to belong somewhere while I do. I don’t only want purpose. I want people. I don’t only want to serve,I want to be held too.

This Christmas did not leave me sad. It left me clear. I am grateful for the love I was welcomed into, honest about the longing in my heart, and hopeful without shame.

If this season stirred something similar in you, a quiet longing or a deeper knowing, hear this : you are not weak for wanting family. You are not ungrateful for wanting more.

Sometimes God allows us to taste home not to torment us, but to remind us what we are moving toward.

This Christmas, I didn’t leave with answers. I left with clarity.

Photo:Maksim Goncharenok on Pexels

There is a season in life that few talk about and that's the messy middle. This is the season where the old has fallen away, but the new hasn’t fully taken shape.You are no longer who you used to be, yet not quite who you are becoming. It’s a quiet, awkward, stretching place and most people won’t even notice you are in it because the work God is doing is happening deep inside, where only you can feel it and only you and God know what's going on.Sometimes,you don't even know exactly what God is doing but your spirit senses the shift.It’s confusing, disorienting and strangely holy all at once.

Some days you wake up with vision, other days you wake up with questions. You pray, you plan, you dream but nothing around you looks like what God promised. This is the tension of the in-between, you are carrying a word that hasn’t yet manifested and you are holding onto a future that hasn’t yet broken into your present. It’s the ache of knowing God said something, but living in a reality that looks like nothing. It’s the pressure of believing without evidence, hoping without confirmation and walking forward with a trembling kind of faith.

What I’m learning in this season is the messy middle is a place of transformation. It is the hidden workshop where God chisels, refines, strengthens and prepares. It is the place where your purpose is purified, your faith is stretched, your character is formed and your vision is clarified. The version of you before the messy middle is not the version that can become all that God has created you to be so all of this is necessary. The long nights, the silent prayers, the “nothing is moving” days, none of it is wasted. These are the moments that shape a backbone, a prayer life and a depth you didn’t know you needed.

I have to point out though that there is a loneliness to this place, a stillness that sometimes feels like God stepped away, like He is ghosting you. One day you feel Him, the next day you feel abandoned and you don’t know whether to cry, scream or keep quiet. In reality, this is where He is the closest, carrying you even though you feel forgotten. If you sit still and listen, this is where God whispers the loudest, not through noise or applause, but through small nudges, gentle reminders and quiet assurances that even when nothing seems to be happening….something is happening. Something is shifting. Something is being built in silence.

The middle seems to feel endless and this is where you need to anchor on scriptures like Habakkuk 2:3 to remind yourself that the vision is for an appointed time, Isaiah 45:15 to remind yourself that even though it seems like nothing is happening, God is working behind the scenes and Isaiah 43:19 to remind yourself that God is doing a new thing and it's on the brink of breaking forth!

Flowing out of these scriptures comes some practical ways to survive this season:

1. Write it down because one day, you will need proof of how far God has brought you.

2. Celebrate small wins, they are what add up to the huge breakthrough.

3. Protect your heart because comparison can blur the clarity God is giving you.

4.Be strong and courageous,God is with you in the way and bringing you to the place He is preparing.

5.Stay in community,iron sharpens iron.

Having done all this and remaining in the secret place, stand. You may not see the full picture yet, but God is not uncertain about your path. You are being shaped, strengthened and positioned for a purpose that will make perfect sense in the light of what God is building. You are not stuck,you are on the Potter's wheel,held and shaped by the One who knows exactly who you are becoming.

Hold on, because the forming is the becoming.

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Today I was listening to Amazing Grace by Hillsong and the part that stopped me in my tracks was:

"All these pieces, broken and scattered,

in mercy gathered, mended and whole.”

It took me right back to when I first heard that song.It was about a year after I started walking with God seriously and I played it on repeat daily. Those words carried me through a season when I was convinced I’d never feel whole again.

At that point in my life, I was carrying so much pain. I had lost several uncles, aunts, cousins and most painfully, my parents and my sister. Add that to other hidden traumas, and I was beyond broken. For a long time, I believed my heart could never be whole again

I had grown up going from church to church with my mother. I knew my mother’s God, but I needed to encounter God on my own. It was almost like the experience of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, where each had to meet God for themselves, not just the one passed down to them.

God met me when I was hurt, confused, tired and angry.

He met the scattered pieces of my heart and put them back together.

He didn’t walk past me. He sat with me, healed me and loved me back to life.

With life in abundance came joy, peace, forgiveness and a new beginning. More than anything, I came to know God not just as the Almighty and Powerful One, but as a Father who is loving, near and constant. He showed me that I was never truly alone, even in seasons when everything felt empty.

If you are in a broken place right now, I want you to know: God can meet you there too. He is not intimidated by your pain or your past. Invite Him into your story, even if it’s messy. He still heals, restores and turns shattered pieces into something beautiful.

I know this because when I heard that song today, the healed version of me smiled, in acknowledgement of the God who knows what to do with broken pieces.

For those of you who are born again,where did Jesus meet you?

There was a season in my life when I measured joy by how close I was to leaving,how near I was to that long-prayed-for relocation. I spoke about it often, dreamt about it daily and quietly became consumed by it. My thoughts revolved around how everything good would begin as soon as I got on a plane out of Africa.

Somewhere along the way, God in His infinite mercy, interrupted my obsession with a whisper:

“Life is still happening, even here.”

It startled me because for three years,I had been living like my life was on hold ,like joy, purpose and creativity were all waiting behind the next open door. I wasn't even going out or making new friends anymore. But slowly, God began to open my eyes to what was already around me.

I didn't start romanticizing staying put. I still want to leave. That desire has not changed. But while I am still believing to leave, God is teaching me to live.

Maybe for you, it is not relocation.Maybe you are waiting for marriage, a baby, a new job, a ministry opportunity, or a dream that feels delayed.You look around and wonder, “When will it be my turn?”

I understand that ache. But here is what I have learnt,,life does not begin at the breakthrough,it continues through it. Your life is not on hold because the one thing you want most has not yet happened.This season could be the one that births a version of you that you did not even know existed. It could be the season that gives you what you did not know you needed ,if you allow it to and maybe, it will all begin with surrendering your timeline.

As soon as I surrendered mine, something beautiful began to unfold. I started writing again. Articles turned into books,ideas turned into blueprints,I resumed filmmaking and soon, what felt like a season of waiting became a season of building.

When the relocation comes, I will be ready, not desperate because God is teaching me that fruitfulness is not confined to certain GPS coordinates.The blessing of the Lord makes rich wherever He has me.

Waiting well is not about sitting still; it is about staying faithful,doing the work, nurturing the seed and trusting that the vision will speak at its appointed time. Waiting for change does not mean wasting the now.

Know this: purpose grows wherever He plants you, even temporarily. Do not pause your life because something has not yet arrived. Live deeply in the now. Write the book. Start the ministry. Study. Create. Serve. Grow.

The promise will arrive exactly when it should, but you do not have to hold your breath until it does. The God who fulfills visions also breathes meaning into the in-between.Your breakthrough will come

But,let it find you already living.

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For years, I went to church every Sunday. I knew the songs, the prayers, and the routine. But deep down, I felt stuck. God felt like a distant relative,someone I had heard about but didn’t truly know. I was living in sin during the week and then lifting up “holy hands” on Sunday, trying to convince myself I was doing enough. Yet, no matter how active I was in church, I felt a void inside me that nothing could fill.

One day, I reached a breaking point. I was tired of feeling spiritually stagnant. I didn’t want to just hear about God anymore,I wanted to know Him for myself. That’s when everything changed.

Maybe you have been there too- showing up at church, doing all the “right” things, yet still feeling far from God. I have been there and I want to share what helped me draw closer to Him.

Here are a few intentional steps I took to grow spiritually:

1. I Started Studying the Bible for Myself

I stopped blindly believing everything I heard and began cross-checking teachings with Scripture. I realized that many things I had accepted as truth weren’t even biblical. Studying God’s Word daily opened my eyes to The Truth.

2. I Committed to Morning and Evening Prayers

I stopped treating prayer as a routine or a backup plan for emergencies and made it a lifestyle. Morning and evening, I poured out my heart to God, and in return, He began revealing more of Himself to me.

3. I Fasted Regularly to Break Spiritual Stagnation

I began fasting the first three days of each month to align my spirit with God’s will. Beyond that, I also embarked on longer fasts.I started fasting for 21, 25 or even 30 days when I needed breakthrough in deeper areas, especially concerning generational or bloodline issues (Matthew 17:21). These fasts transformed me in ways I never imagined. My hunger for God deepened,old habits began to lose their power, curses were broken and generational blessings began to emerge.

4. I Surrounded Myself with Godly, Devoted People

I intentionally sought out spiritually mature believers who could speak life into me and help me in my walk. I realized that who I surrounded myself with truly mattered. Having godly mentors and friends strengthened my faith and kept me accountable.

5. I Prayed in the Spirit Daily

Instead of relying solely on my own words, I began praying in the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for me and pray through me. My faith grew stronger and I became more sensitive to God’s voice.

6. I Left a Spiritually Dead Church

I had been attending a church that felt more like a social club than a place of true worship. There was no power, no conviction, just routines. Once I left and found a church where the Word was alive and truth was preached, my spiritual growth accelerated.

7. I Filled My Atmosphere with Worship and Sermons.

Instead of wasting time on meaningless entertainment, I filled my space with sermons and worship music during my daily commute,chores and at night while I slept. It kept my spirit fed always and shifted the atmosphere in my home.

8. I Stayed Connected to the Church and Bible Studies.

Attending Sunday services became a priority not out of obligation, but out of a hunger for God. I also joined a cell group and participated in online Bible studies where I could learn and grow with other believers.

As I became intentional about my spiritual growth, the void I once felt disappeared. I no longer saw God as distant, but as my Father, my Friend and my Guide. My desire to sin weakened and my love for holiness grew. The Word came alive, prayer became a joy and fasting became a powerful tool for spiritual growth and intimacy not just a dieting exercise.

If you have ever felt spiritually stagnant, distant from God or like you are just going through the motions, I encourage you to seek Him intentionally. He promises that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

The journey of spiritual growth is continuous, but one thing is certain: when you seek God with all your heart, you will find Him.

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There was a time in my life when I was deeply afraid of God. Not in the reverential, awe-filled way the Bible speaks of.But a trembling fear of punishment, of not being good enough and of being cast away. Growing up, I often heard preachers say things like, “He’s coming with a winnowing fork in His hand, ready to separate the chaff from the wheat (wicked from the righteous).” Although that is in the Bible (Matt 3:12 NLT) and it rightly speaks of a time when God will judge the world, it painted an image of a God constantly watching, waiting for me to mess up, and every time I did, I imagined Him turning His face away in disappointment.

I believed I had to be perfect to be accepted. That fear became my quiet burden because how does one attain perfection?

I didn’t know God was merciful. I didn’t know that His heart breaks for the broken. I didn’t know that He leaves the ninety-nine just for one.I didn't know that the fear of the Lord meant drawing closer, not hiding away.

All I knew about Jesus was that He died for our sins.But,I didn’t know He also came to give life. I didn’t know He brings healing, joy, identity and purpose. I didn’t know He restores. I didn’t know He gives authority to those who walk with Him. For so long, I lived without the full picture of who He is not because I didn’t want to know Him, but because the version of Him I was shown kept me at a distance.The God that was presented to me was One impossible to please.

The day I sought Him for myself,everything shifted.I discovered grace,not as a license to live any way I pleased, but as an invitation to walk with a Holy God who still calls His children to holiness,a God who sent His Spirit to enable me to do that,daily.Grace didn’t lower the standard,it gave me the strength to live it.

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I found a Father. Not a tyrant.

I found mercy. Not condemnation.

I found a safe place. Not a throne of judgment.

Now when I hear “fear of the Lord,” I don’t think of punishment anymore.

I think of reverence, wonder, deep love and honor.

I think of the freedom that comes from walking with the One who truly sees me and still calls me His.

I think of a Holy God who separated my sin as far as the East is from the West.

I think of a God who watches over me lovingly.

I think of a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers for my sake and I’m reminded that Christianity was never meant to be a religion.

It’s a relationship where God is Father, Christ is Savior and Friend and the Holy Spirit is Helper,Empowerer and Comforter.