INSIDE THE COOKIE JAR (Motivation for Monday)

If you are a constant to the motivation for Monday on Moj In Touch, you may have read the one I called, “Don’t Blame the Coach“. If you missed it, please check it out, you would learn the importance of taking responsibility for your life and more……..Today, I am taking you on a slightly different journey that I like to call “Inside the cookie jar”! When I got to the University, university of Ibadan to be precise. University if Ibadan (UI) is Nigerian’s premier university and I am privilege to have attended such a tertiary institution. So, when I was in the university, I ate so much cookies. The ones I loved a lot were Maryland cookies. I loved them so much, I made up my mind that when I grew up and started working and have my own money and home (goals), I would have a massive cookie jar where I would store my Maryland cookies and eat which ever amount I wanted when I wanted them. Unfortunately, before I finished uni, I stopped liking Maryland cookies, I stopped eating them all together…..Like, I said earlier on, today, I would like to encourage you in what I call, “Inside the Cookie Jar”

I discovered that GOD gave me the gift of writing and since I have been writing, I have grown, improved and still learning and look for different angles to tell my stories. Sincerely, I like to call myself a story teller. WHY? It is because I look for angles that are PRACTICAL and REAL to tell my stories so it could truly inspire YOU my dear readers. I also like to share myself and my story, what I see around me in real life and other people’s life experiences to deliver my message and that is WHY today, I am sharing this one………I am hopeful that the person concerned would read this one 🙂

Yesterday, I was in a party, a child’s party. In the party, there was this gorgeous girl who stood out. She wasn’t shy, she danced as soon as the music was turned up. She danced till her parents announced that it was time to go home. While she was dancing, a lot of parents(mums) there in the party kept passing comments like: “wow, she is such a good dancer”, “wow, she is so good”; some mums said, “wow, she is gifted”; another mum said, “wow, she should start a dance school”; some of us called her “Beyonce” and so on………..

Where I was sitting, I responded gently to all the mothers by saying, have you read my book, Use What You Have? All of them said NO but that they have it. I said okay. I then said, in that book, I thoroughly explained what the mother of the child could do in case she is not sure about the GIFT of her child. She looked stunned and said wow…….one of the mums then asked me what they could do to help their child on knowing their gifts. For them, I am writing this blog too………..

The reason WHY I wanted to talk to you about “inside the cookie jar” today is that I wanted to encourage you especially if you are a parent that we as humans are “COOKIE JARS”. You may have discovered that inside your cookie jars at home, you may have different types of cookies or biscuits. When you open a new pack or bag of cookies, to preserve the cookies or biscuits from going stale, you throw them into a cookie jar. You may also notice that although the contents of the cookie jar may change from time to time, the jar itself will never change except you buy a new one…….

WHAT AM I REALLY SAYING?

I am saying that whether a child or not, our interests MAY change BUT our GIFTS will never change. We are all cookie jars. Inside of us are different cookies (GIFTS), although our interests or what we like may change, our GIFTS will never change!

Here are some ways to help you or your child know exactly How to Maximise the cookies they have inside their Jar.

1, Clarity:

Clarity is to be SURE or to be clear about something. You want to know specifically what is it your child likes. Pay close attention to them. What they like, what they gravitate towards. What they spend their time doing. What they like to do for leisure and what they are drawn to etc. Once you notice this, you can help them further.

2, Speak With The Child

Call their attention to what you have noticed and say; Daniel or Sammy (those are my children’s names), I have noticed you like dancing or playing the guitar or drawing or speaking for example, would you like me to enroll you for guitar lessons (fill the option for your child HERE to suit their interest)? I think you are very good and you will do great if you get help from professionals. Once you say this to your child, please pay attention to your child and see their reaction…….

There are two things that could happen here…..

1, Your child could get excited and say, yes mum, that is amazing, I would love that. She or He would be happy, excited and wouldn’t be able to wait any longer to start the lessons or training.

2, On the other hand, your child could say, no mum, I am not interested. In this case, it is now time to encourage the child and explain to them WHY it is important to build on their gifts or develop their gifts. (See definition of gifts bellow……)

3, After a While

Once your child continues to grow, their environment, surroundings or peers MAY influence them. You know we are not the only influence in the lives of our children…… The things we see or the people we mingle with, walk with or hang around rub off on us. They have influence on us, be it positive or negative, they can or will rub off on us.

If your child looses interest on what you consider their gifts, don’t start “fighting” with them. Encourage them BUT don’t force them. Remember, their interest may change because of what they see or where they hang out, their gifts will never change. Encourage them, pray for them and let them be.

If their interests change, follow through on what they like now or at the moment  and help them build on it. If I as an adult in the Uni could change my mind about my favourite cookies then, a child’s need can also change. Having said that, remember, they are cookie jars and inside of them are many kinds of cookies. Although the cookies in the jar may change, they, the cookies will never change. So, encourage and help them build on each cookies in their jars and develop those cookies.

4, Prayer Works

Okay, I know many people would expect me to put this on the first line of my recommendations BUT I do not write based on what people expect me to write, I write based on what God is teaching me. I like to pass my message across the way, I understand the spirit of God. It is when you know what you are praying about that you can truly pray about the situation and that is WHY my number one point is clarity (to be sure). The bible also tells us to be clear, get the vision and write it down so we can run with it….Habakkuk 2 vs 2.

Now that you can see that the interest of your child may be changing, pray wisdom for yourself to handle what you should focus on. Pray for your child that God will teach him or her what to focus on.

Now be patient. Don’t push anything. Remember, the cookies inside the jar may change, the jar itself will never change.

5, Maximise it

Once you are sure about what to focus on, go back to number 2 above. Encourage your child and help them develop their gifts through training, practice and supervision. With their gifts, they can find their way in life. With their gift, they can do great things. With thier gifts, they can discover thier life’s purpose. With thier gifts, they can do exploits and with their gifts, God promised that they will be positioned before great men/kings (women / Queens).

The Other Thing I Want to Say About Cookie Jars……

If you buy a book or are given a book on a subject and do not read it, you will not see what is in the cookie jar. A book is also a cookie jar, inside a good book, there are answers to your questions. Writers write to help so if you do NOT read, you will not get the information the writer wants you to know. So please READ!

As For You Big Boys & Girls or Mums & Dads

You are also not too old to discover your gifts. You can discover them, own them, embrace them, develop them, maximise them and use those GIFTS to fuflfill your God’s purpose. Don’t waste it.

To learn How to discover your gifts (“Use What You Have”), my book “Use What You Have” will help you discover your gifts, own them, embrace them, develop them, maximise them and use them to fulfill your purpose in life. Get Your copy HERE if you live in the UK and HERE if you live in the USA & Canada. You can also search “Use What You Have” by Mojisola Obazuaye on your home country Amazon to get yours.

Finally, What is a GIFT?

It is a natural given ability, gift or talent that is in-built and is given FREE OF CHARGE to all of us, by God. With our gifts, we can discover ourselves and fulfill our God’s given purpose in life……..To learn more about gifts, please check HERE where I explained it in full.

I want to thank you so much for stopping by, for reading and for letting me be your Cheerleader. My prayer for you as you invest in your self and your child/ren is that you will get clarity and fulfill your God’s purpose IJMN, amen.

Have a FABULOUS WEEK, Mojisola