Welcome, thanks for all the good will messages you have sent concerning the book Sista Power.  God bless you! Please commit to buying a copy for you and maybe one other person.  You will not be disappointed.

See below the second part of my ‘Sistafriend’; Bola Essien-Nelson’s review of the book.  She calls them “My Salty thoughts”.  Isn’t that just empowering?  Thank you so much, Bola. God will honour you in Jesus name.  Please see her salty thoughts below:

In Agreement (page 35)

How do I know who is in agreement with me Lord? This was the question I prayed as I read this part of the book. God just told me to do my own and he will do his own. He will only lead women of like mind to partner with me because I am doing his bidding. For a God given task, there is no need to force or cajole anyone. Deep calls unto deep, I guess. But the truth is like Bidemi says, women should really get their act together more and leave all this cattiness and petty jealousies behind. A battle is raging against our seed. Is this the time to be checking our hair and nails? Methinks not. The truth is that if we channeled all the energy we use competing in the arena of fashion and weave on, into peer coaching, mentoring and other value adding activities, I dare say our society would be a better place. When will we change, we women?

The Action Exercises

I love these questions!  I encourage everyone to spend time after reading to respond to them. They have helped me better articulate my collaboration goals and the reasons why I am doing what I am doing in 2013.

Thoroughly steeped in The Word

Not sure you can go one page and not encounter the Bible.  Bidemi is not picking stuff out of the air. She has tied all she is sharing with us to God’s word. I like how she has woven bible stories all through the pages using them to highlight places where collaboration was at play. From Miriam and baby Moses, to the Mary and Martha, etc. You and I know that the best collaborative effort we know is the one between God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!, Right? Together the work, hand in hand to deliver, redeem, empower humanity! Praise God!

Passion!

Indeed Bidemi, Indeed! Passion is key! I have not met any mom who is not passionate about her children. This makes JUM (Joined Up Motherhood) such a natural thing for moms to be a part. You are so right. When we have passion for a thing or cause of goal, it helps us overcome obstacles (real and imagined) and to see the world as a place of infinite possibilities’ (page 74). I don’t know what it is that I would face in this world that will make me stop praying for my children. Can you? Think about your mandate, or your goals. Are you passionate about them? You need to be! PapaGod, above all, make me passionate about you!

It does not have to be BIG! (pg 84 to 85)

We are all part of a bigger painting. We all have our own ‘dot’ to contribute to the masterpiece God is creating. Your mandate, that change you want to effect, that cause you want to drive does not have to huge to be worthwhile. Just using your life’s experience to help another overcome a painful situation is a worthy as building a shelter for women. The point is that we all must realize that we are on this earth for a purpose and the truth is not all of us will be Deborah in this world. Some of us will be Jael. Not all of us can be Mary, mother of Jesus. Some of us might just be the little slave maiden in Namaan’s household. But all these ‘dots’ were mighty in God’s sight and they impacted the world equally. My favourite example of this in the book is when Bidemi talks about how she was sick and about to go in for surgery.  A group of women stood in prayer over her from all over the world. Do you think they were just praying? Not at all. No, that was collaboration at its best. When women come together to hold another up in her time of need. I am sure that those women added some awesome dots to God’s masterpiece that day!

10 Must Answer Questions on Page 88

Even if you don’t have any collaborative effort in mind, I find these questions very useful in getting a better understand of who you are as a person. What you stand for, your values, principles and very importantly, your purpose.

It must add Value!

God never does anything for ‘fun’. As that old song goes, ‘where ever Jesus went, he was doing good’. When God send us out to collaborate, it is always to add value. I like what Bidemi says about this because it  helps me when negative thoughts plague me. Look back on anything you have done with others, no matter how small and ask yourself this question. Did it add value to even one life? If you can answer ‘yes’, then give all the glory to God, you have fulfilled destiny. You have collaborated. You have sown a good seed into the soil of our future generations to come. You have tapped into a mighty source of power: The power that becomes available when women, sisters, come together to work for God: Sista Power!

Bola Essien-Nelson

Remember to check out Bola’s blog here; http://diaryofadesperatenaijawoman.blogspot.com

Here is to your success!

 

 

REVIEWS FOR SISTA POWER

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

 

Hello people, it is Tuesday, I know;  life has just happened back and forth for me.  Anyhow, through this week beginning from today, I will be having guests on NeverTheLess to share their thoughts on my book Sista Power scheduled for release this weekend here in Lagos, Nigeria.

Today’s post is the first of two by my Sista Bola Essien-Nelson; of the DNW fame now The Salt Chronicles.  Please see her blog here:   http://diaryofadesperatenaijawoman.blogspot.c0m

 

Please enjoy and make up your mind to buy a copy of Sista Power.  You will be glad you did.

“Coals stay hotter and burn brighter when clustered together. But Separate one from the group and it quickly grows cold and faint”.  This quote right at the beginning of the book, more or less encapsulates what collaboration is all about. The ‘why’, the ‘how’ and the ‘when’ of collaboration. As I read these words, my heart was so filled with gratitude to God because I just knew that he was encouraging me knowing the task he had set before me in 2013. Papa God, thank you for being so kind and good. Of course, it was natural for me to feel cold and faint sometimes in my prayer closet but there is no need to stay that way. I can collaborate with others. I can cluster with others and get my prayer coals burning hot and bright again.

The Mandate

I have come to believe and this book has confirmed it that, most of the time when God gives you a task to do, you usually have to wonder ‘how can this be?’ It always seems so big, too big for you and for me, that right there is a sure banker sign that it is a God thing. For were you able to do it in your own steam, then it would be a man thing. When I think about JUM (Joined Up Motherhood), I get clammy hands and my heart beats faster but then I remember that it is God’s initiative and that it is for the greater good of his children and I relax in the confidence that God will accomplish his work. The mandate is not about me. It’s about ‘the greater good’. Thank you Sista Power for making me see this again.

Collaboration

According to Sista Power Collaboration is all about recognizing that you need help and reaching it for it. Collaboration is not an admission of weakness. It is actually the reverse. It takes real character to step out to work with others. To share your dream or goals with others and invite them to travel your journey with you. And in the times we are facing today, much of what needs to be done has to be a collaborative effort for it to have an impact. The task is too big. We need to partner with others. This book is a guide on how to do this ‘well’ and wisely.

So honest. So fresh.

No airs. No ‘humble’ bragging. Simply real. There is just something that strikes me about people when I meet them for the first time and the same thing happens when I am reading a non-fiction inspirational book. It is how ‘real’ the words sound to me. As I read this book, I feel like the author is right there with me, sharing with me from an earnest heart about her life and her experiences and I love that.  Bidemi does not try to ‘make like she is perfect’. I can identify with her. Sometimes I read books and I just feel that, underneath all the ‘self-effacing’ words, there is still something screaming out for me to notice how smart, business-savvy, prayerful, helpful and philanthropic’ the author is. Such books simply put me off. I can get that from my church!  Nowadays, we are all ‘forming’ perfect and it is not helping. Sista Power is a down to earth conversation between you and another lady who wants to help you reach your full potential in life as you collaborate with others…..wisely.

The battle between the woman and seed of the woman….(page xxi)

Papa God, thank you for this. Indeed the battle is one for our children, our seed. I am grateful for you showing me through Bidemi how important JUM is and I just ask you to help me. As Bidemi says, thank you for being interested in how it all unfolds.

The Ripple effect (page 29)

Bola just do as God has led you, he will cause the ripple effect to impact as he wills. The key is for me to move! Be the pebble! Make the waves… no matter how little the first wave may be. Make it!

These are my thoughts on this so awesome book.  Please grab your copy now.

Blessings!

Bola Essien-Nelson