Challenge: If you want to achieve something, help someone first!

Hello my dear single mums,

October is finally here and the cold is slowly creeping in!  Despite the last rays of sunshine, the days are getting shorter and shorter. And the woolly jumpers are coming out of the winter box.  In my last post I talked about starting to think about what you would like to achieve.

For next year and I also mentioned about my own goals which I wrote at the beginning of the year 2016.  For the next couple of weeks I would like to show you what I did this year and how I tried different things that people say might help us become successful, one of them being: helping others (or serving others).

I would love to be an international public speaker and speak at various conferences. So, when the opportunity came for me to help one of my friends with her own conference, I said "YES" straight away. There are many successful speakers who would tell you how important it is to hang around people, help them, and serve them.

If they do something that you eventually want to do as well, by helping them, you have the opportunity to learn for yourself, find out if you really want to do this and learn from someone (like a mentor) that can teach you a thing or two.

The conference was a real success! The speakers were amazing, the venue was perfect and the room was full. The presence of the Lord was really felt and everything went exactly according to plan. There were no issues at all. (I was the Event coordinator, so believe me its  true!!).

Why am I saying that helping at that conference was amazing for me? Well first of all, I realised that it is not easy to organise a conference.  You need a strong team of people around you who are proactive and can work well together.

I also learnt how to deal with at least 10 questions at the same time!!! I learnt more about my organisation skills and I also learnt that when God asks you to do something, you must take a step and he will sort out the rest.

When you step out of your own comfort and plan to help someone else, God will always present an opportunity for you as long as you are ready.

I had the opportunity to meet some ladies with common interest. I met new friends.  I got advice from different people but I was not ready. I did not print any complimentary cards which could have gone into the goodies bags!

So the message I want to share with you here is to be ready for the opportunities God will bring to 

you.

These opportunities will most likely come when we do not think about our own purpose but we think about others...

Reflection: 9 Months Later!

Hello everyone,

I hope that all my single mums out there are ok and have been coping well with the summer holiday.

By now most of the kids have been settled back into their school days routine and we can also take a rest from having to entertain them 24 hours a day!

For me, September was a good time to reflect on the past couple of months as we are nearing the end of the year 2016 .

I always take this opportunity to start preparing my end of year goals which I plan to achieve in
2017.  I use a goals booklet which I purchased from Terry Savelle Foy Ministries (www.terri.com) where I have pictures of my goals and dreams. I also add scriptures to it and it allows me to pray for that goal or that particular dream to happen.

So far, I have been able to achieve a couple of goals, not all of them, but what I know is that I am on my way to get them done, maybe not by Christmas, but as it is about enjoying the journey while moving forward, I try not to be too hard on myself while maintaining focus on what I am trying to achieve.

I wrote a book last year in November 2015 and I finally plucked up the courage to get it published.  It is all in the making and I am hoping it will be ready in a couple of months.

I remember writing it down as a goal in my goals book with scriptures and I can see it happening in reality.

I strongly believe that when you have life goals which you write down and then pray over regularly, God will make it happen; it works for me, so why not for you?

Some people believe and say that they write goals and achieve them anyway, which is fine ,but for me , attaching scriptures to them is like making a “contract” with God for all the promises he gave me. And when I see things happening and dreams becoming reality that increases my faith even more every day.

So, my dear single mums, I know we are very busy but you may want to take some time to think about next year, where do you want to be?, what do you want to do?, what your plans do you have for the kids?, etc and maybe start setting some goals. I constantly get overwhelmed so writing goals keep me focused throughout the year.

Go on ladies! Prep your goals for 2017!

Challenge: Free Summer Activities for the Kids!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! It is the summer holidays and the challenge for some of us single mums is to keep our children busy or well looked after.

If like me you have to go to work, find childcare or any other activities to do with the kids, you will know how difficult and of course costly it can be.

I am lucky to have "Granny" to look after my little ones for a while.  I arranged for my family to visit from abroad and whilst I am at work they look after my children.  Cheeky but very helpful.

Sometimes having another friend with kids can also be really helpful because you can either do things together with the children or share the babysitting!

My family always nudges me to take the kids out here and there but I always think that outside activities are quite expensive.

However, I have found a lot of interesting tips on Martin Lewis's website; He is a money saving expert and provides valuable financial information to help you save money (yay!)

I recently received one of his newsletters relating to the summer holidays and children activities you can get for free, etc... And I thought I should share that information with you all!

I would invite you to check his website www.moneysavingexpert.com where you can find more financial information and you can follow this link for the summer holidays deals: www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/school-holiday-deals

As single mums, we need to constantly learn and review our financial situation.  Martin Lewis helps you to do that and on a regular basis!

Have a look and good luck!

Reflection: Learning To Do It Alone

Bonjour everyone,

I was having this conversation with someone who had been a single mum herself and is married now.

I was telling her how I find it hard sometimes to be on my own.  Having to take responsibility for my daily life and decisions without anyone else to share things with.

It was nice to hear her say that when she became a single mum, she found it hard too because there was no one to share the heavy load with.

That empty feeling on the inside is there, sometimes constantly. Sometimes it can turn to fear and there are some days when I just do not want to make any decisions at all, because I am tired.

But God is good, and He always picks me up; if I take a decision and I make a mistake, God will intervene or send someone to help.

Learning to be alone is a hard thing.  However, it is important not to find someone just because there is a void you might be trying to fill.  This might lead to another disaster.

Having someone by your side should be a bonus, not a necessity.

So, my dear single mums, if like me, you feel very lonely and tired of doing things alone at times, do not worry, God will send you the right person, male or female.

Learning to do things alone, however hard and painful, made me more confident, resilient, and took away some of my fears.

I am sure it can be the same for all of us...

Au Revoir!

Travel: Kids and Streetdance

Bonjour everyone,

Well, the days have been very very busy!! 
Especially with the kids. Two of them love Streetdance and this time we travelled locally (only 5 minutes drive from home, thank God!) for a whole day of Streetdance competition.

This is a completely different world!


When you are inside the main hall and you see all the dancers giving their best, it becomes a great experience!

Sometimes parents are also invited to dance.  Yes I have tried it once, I came second, to a 90 year old granddad who was an amazing dancer!

I strongly believe, especially for our children, that it is so important to encourage activities that will enhance their confidence.

Let us not forget that some of us are raising our children without a dad and it can sometimes become too much.  Having good friends and teachers outside the home is important too and can help us in sharing some of the hard work.

There are times when those activities can be too costly.  In some cases, I have had to stop some of them.  However some schools also offer free activities for children in the school.  This way our children can also have a chance to build up good relationships out of the home environment.

Our children grow up so fast!  Sometimes I feel activities such as dancing, acting, singing can really make a difference. Well, at least for my children it has.

Financially it might be hard but I am pretty sure there are many things you can do for free for your children. I have done it, and if it worked for me, it could work for you. So, have a go and have a look!

Au Revoir!

Meet Up: Retreat Time!

Bonjour everyone,

It is that time of the year again when I get to go on a retreat with Super Working Mums, a group of Christian ladies who meet three times a year over a weekend for fellowship, prayer, worship, spa time and most of all ...ME time!

Being a single mum, does not mean that you do not need a break from time to time!  Actually, most single mums would benefit from attending a retreat or two throughout the year!

The only difficult part, I guess is the childcare.  I am lucky enough to have people who can look after my children on those occasions when I attend a retreat.
However, even spending the day away could be enough if spending the night is not an option.

I really believe spending time with other ladies, can help us share some of the burdens that we might not be able to share with anyone else.  After all, us single mums, do not always like to " bother" other people.

Well, the funny thing is that most of the ladies in the group are married, which to be honest bothered me at first.  However as time went by, God showed me that, as a single lady, being surrounded by married women allowed me to learn important things from them, in the " marriage" department!

These will definitely come in handy in the future! So yes, here again, I took a leap of faith by joining a group that was very different to my own situation!

Well, I had a good time, we had an award party and we danced, which was really cool! I had forgotten how much fun it was to dance in a room full of women! Ha ha ha!!!

Ladies, if you cannot go away for the weekend, try just for the day. Spend time with the girls, or join a group that empowers women etc... Try to do something that will uplift you and help you keep going! Good Luck!

Au Revoir!

Meet Up: The Birthday Treats Continue!

Bonjour everyone,

Welcome to my MEET UP WEEK!

Well, who said that birthdays have to last for just one day?
Since I have turned 40, I have been doing little things here and there with my family and friends.

Last week was another opportunity for me to eat out and this time again I went did it in style!

My friend took me to Sheesh restaurant in Chigwell near London.

I was wowed by the decor! It was amazing! Especially the Marilyn Monroe picture upstairs by the bar. I had one cocktail while waiting for our table to be ready.  There was a live band and the atmosphere was so chilled!

When we finally sat down, the magic happened! We ordered the food!!  The food was absolutely fantastic!

The main decor near the kitchen was so beautiful! Especially the huge mirror on the wall (I wonder how they got it up there!)

After dinner, I could not stop myself from taking a peek at the toilets and I was not disappointed, great style inside out (I even took a picture ! Ha ha ha)

I believe it is good to try something new, discover new places, new things, new food,etc...

For me, it allows me to stretch myself, but also it increases my knowledge on what is out there.

Now I know, I will be back for more!!!

Au Revoir!