The Olive tree and its connection to your wealth

"Your children will be like Olive shoots, round about your table"- Psalm 128:3

Recently I felt led to do some research on this very profound Bible verse. Why would the Bible use the Olive tree to describe our children? So this is what I found out.

The olive tree can leave for up to two thousand years. There are some trees that exists today that are about two thousand years old. The trunks of these trees can grown to diameters of over two meters. As the Olive tree gets older the wood in the middle eventually disintegrates. This lives the tree hollow, fragile and vulnerable to damage especially damage as a result of high winds.

The amazing thing I found about the Olive Tree is that I order to ensure its own safety it send up new shoots from its roots. Basically new shoots begin to grow from the root at the bottom. These shoots( small young trees) surrounds the "parent" tree and act as winds breaks that protect the fragile parent tree that is in the centre.  One of these shoots eventually takes up the position of the parent tree. 

In my research one particular article I read states "This provides a graphic illustration of the psalmist’s vision of children who surround and support their aged, righteous parents. If we’ve done a good job as parents and as adult children, caring for our own parents when they need us, we can expect our children to follow the example that we (and the olive tree) have set for them, caring for us in our later years. It is also a reminder of our obligations to our own parents and to our Heavenly Father." 

This is so profound. Excerpts from another article I read says "In situations where extreme cold has damaged or killed the olive tree the rootstock can survive and produce new shoots which in turn become new trees. In this way olive trees can regenerate themselves. In Tuscany in 1985 a very severe frost destroyed many productive, and aged, olive trees and ruined many farmers' livelihoods. However new shoots appeared in the spring and, once the dead wood was removed, became the basis for new fruit-producing trees. In this way an olive tree can live for centuries or even millennia."

This was also very profound. Remember in the story of Noah it was an Olive branch that the bird brought back as a sing of life. This means that the Olive tree survived the great floods and was possible the only surviving tree. It could also mean that the Olive Tree began to produce new shoots immediately after the great flood. The point here is that the Olive tree survived a great clarity like the flood.

Like the Okove Tree, children are meant to take care of parents in their old age. Children are meant to carry on the family name and vision. Children are meant to do the things that their parents couldn't do in their own time. They are meant to outperform and excel more than their parents. Interns of wealth, your wealth is meant to outlive you and your children are meant to consolidate and multiply your wealth.

In order for this to happen parents need to invest time and love in bringing up their children.

The Bible in Proverbs 22:6 says "train up a child in the way He should go and when He is old, He would not depart from it.

God is a generational God. He is interested in your generations to come.

He plans for generations. A generation is meant to out perform the previous generation. Just look at Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph or David and Solomon.

Unfortunately most people in this generation are chasing money and neglect their children. Most of their kids get infected by this new disease called Affluenza.  In their old age they spend the time they should be resting and enjoying the fruit of their labour, running from pillar to post, helter skelter from one rehab centre to a psychiatrist etc. They are trying to put together broken pieces from a shell. Can you put back the pieces of an egg? 

Also this present generation is known as the boomerang generation. Please read Mrs. Nimi Akinkugbes book "the AtoZ of personal Finance" to know more about the boomerang generation.

What's the point of money, fame, success if your children cannot take what you have and make it better?

I met a family sometime ago and at age 18, the son had made his first million dollar. His father was a millionaire in dollars and his father before him. This was three generations of wealth. The last time I heard from them, the father was going to build hospitals in Namibia and his son was accompanying him.

On the other hand in many families in Africa, it is common for wealth to be diminished in own generation.

So how do you ensure your wealth outlives you.

By spending time with your most precious gifts. My taking out time to nurture them, develop them, groom them. Your job as a parent is the most important job you will ever perform I.e. Second to being a spouse. The returns you will receive from the investment of your time are uncountable.

Will you give your precious diamonds to unqualified people to keep for you? So why would you entrust someone else with your children?

Recently I heard that there are crèches that close at 10pm. What time would the child get home, bathe, sleep, play with their parent  and wake up in the morning to return to the crèche if this child lives school at 10pm. 

Here are a few tips to ensuring your kids grow up to be all that God created them to be.

1. Pray pray pray: we can only achieve this through Gods Grace.

2. Spend time with them. 

3. Read the Bible with them

4. Pray with them and let them live your faith and not just hear it

5. Discuss things of God with them

6.  Let them Experience God.

7. Teach them values

8. Teach them the value of hard work

9. Teach them the value of contentment

10. Teach them to love others

11. Teach them to be selfless

12 Play with your children. You can learn a lot about the character of a child during playtime.

13. Teach them about money. 

14. Encourage your children to ask questions. 

15. Ask your children questions. 

16. Invest in your children

This list is not exhaustive. They are just tips and guides from research, books I've read and also people I'm currently learning from. 

 

If you don't have children of your own yet, the Lord will bless you. The Lord is the one who gives. I also want you to think of prophet Eli, his sons were not good but all was not lost, God causes Hannah to give him Samuel. He invested in Samuel and He became one of the greatest prophets in Israel. Samuel was his succession plan. There are many children who need Eli's to bring out the best in them. They are waiting to be a part of the success story of your generation.

Most importantly everything is by the Grace of God. We must pray continue to depend on the Holy Spirit. 

May our children be like Olive shoots around our table in Jesus Name Amen.

Introducing my logo -Part 3

When God said yellow. I told a PR lady and she said, yellow is used for things that go with kids. Use something else. I originally wanted fuschia pink but I knew that God had to be involved in everything concerning my work. After all it is His work. It then occurred to me that coincidentally or rather Gods incidence my producer @mrrusselcompany had used the Colour yellow when he worked on my video for #doitafraid and also my vlogs for @pocketfinancewithomilola . So I called him. I said "ah Oyakhire why did you use yellow?" He said He just felt like using it. No particular reason. Then I also remembered that recently on three different occasions, I had been wearing the Colour yellow when God did some strategic things in my life. I also  remembered that when I wore a yellow dress for HOTM and posted it on Instagram, many people commented and one person said "medium yellow is your Colour". The designer of the dress @kehindeadewole Got 12 orders for that particular dress after that day. I wasn't even meant to wear that dress. I told my friend @lanenza when she came to my house, that God told me yellow. Immediately she googled it and we read what is signified and it made sense. God is interested in every little detail. Involve Him in everything concerning you and your work. The secret is God. #beinspired #beencouraged

Introducing my logo-Part 2

Growing up I had two reactions when I mentioned my name. "Oh wow that's a lovely name". So unique. Or "oh why water?" Then they'll look at me as though I was a mammy water(mermaid). 😆. It was always the Nigerians that were not so exposed that did that . I didn't understand because water is a blessing from God, after all 75% of the earth is made from water and we can't do without it. I asked my aunt who named me and she said don't mind them. Your name is Omilolaoluwa. Water is wealth from God. I was getting married shortly after so I made sure all my wedding print had the full name. God also began to show me what He thought about water. Water signifies the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called Water of life, Living water, Well spring. I was happy. Then during the Masterlife discipleship course we were asked to pray to God to reveal our life's vision so I asked God to reveal my life's vision. And to my amazement, He gave me a Bible verse and it had water in it. I was like wow. (I'm not sharing my life's vision because it's too personal.) So even before I was born, even before He created me, He knew what He wanted to call me. The name you give a child is powerful and can determine their purpose. In the bible the name of a person often depicted their character. We really have to be careful what we name our children. We shouldn't give them names based on the fact that it sounds nice but we should pray for direction. My parents and Aunties named me without even knowing what God had planned. Even then as a newborn, He was interested in me. Jeremiah 1:5 says "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb" I hope this inspires you to ask God for your lives vision. #beinspired #beencouraged #omilola

Introducing my logo- Part 1

Introducing my logo: So the other day I got a call from @bishopforte that he felt led by God to create my logo. I said awesome and then I told him what I felt my logo should represent. I'll explain.  Omilola  Wellspring , Water of life and Living Water. These are the different names of the Holy Spirit.

The name Omilola means water is wealth in Yoruba. Omilolaoluwa means water is Gods wealth. This also connects to the names of the HolySpirit which are Water of life, Wellspring and Living water. 

The source of Omilola's inspiration and all the fruit that she bears is from the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit there is no Omilola.

Yellow, Gold, Black and White:

I prayed to God asking for the Colour of my brand. He said yellow. I told a PR lady and she said ah yellow is for kids. I said but that's what God said. I told my friend @lanenza and she googled it immediately and shared it with me. The Colour yellow signifies light. Yellow is a primary Colour and is the only Colour that does not mix with black however it stands out in black and is often used with black and white. Yellow is the colour of gold which signifies royalty. White signifies the Holy Spirit while black signifies the world. 

The Sunflower:

The sunflower is a beautiful plant that looks like the sun. It is often given as a gift to cheer someone up. It is regarded as the happiest plant. It is also regarded as a loyal plant. The sunflower has so many uses. 

What makes the sunflower special is that When a sunflower is at the growth stage the sunflower follows the sun and its stalk grows toward light. It tilts during the day to face the sun. When it reaches maturity i.e. the flowers are in full bloom it stops tilting towards the sun and faces East permanently. 

The sunflower represents Omilola and the Sun represents the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is a reminder to continue to seek the Master and to be permanently connected to Him just like the Sunflower faces East permanently.

The sunflower also represents the well watered garden which is as a result of the fact that its source is from the wellspring (Omilola) which is the Holy Spirit.

The Value of hardwork

#wealthseries #wealthwednesday The other day I read Matthew 17:27 which says "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money;[a] take that and give it to them for Me and you.” When I read this I pondered. I thought Lord, how come you didn't just give Peter money or tell him to pick money from the floor or from a tree? Why did you tell him to go to the sea? Why didn't money just appear in your hand for you to give him?  I believe The Lord revealed the following. Money is man made. Money comes from work. Money comes from hard work. Peter was a fisherman so Jesus sent him to work to get money.Peter literally had to get his boat, go to sea and then put down his net to fish.  Jesus showed Him the SOURCE of money which is the work/fish. I believe God has called all of us to work. Let us pray that He reveals the source of money I.e. The type of work we should be doing. Many of us are working in an area that God has not sent us. Let us ask for His direction. Let us also embrace the work He has given us and do it well. Let us not despise HARD WORK for that is the source of money. There are no quick fixes. The problem with our generation is that we want it now. We haven't been taught the value of hard work. We are called the micro wave generation. The Bibke says the wicked spring up like grass but the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon. Grass grows fast but it is also cut and discarded very early in its life cycle. However a palm tree grows slowly but lives for hundreds of years and continues to bear fruit. The same with the cedar tree from Lebanon. If you are working hard but haven't seen the fruit of your labour yet, don't despair, don't give up. Your time is coming. #beinspired #beencouraged #wealth #money #success #hardwork

TESTIMONY: JEHOVAH JIREH, OUR PROVIDER

This morning, I received an email from someone who had written to me initially on the 31st of May, 2015. Ordinarily I wouldn't share this, as confidentiality is key,  but she asked me to share this to encourage someone. I'm sharing it also to encourage someone out there to continue to pray and believe. The first time I received Rose's (FAKE NAME) email, I replied her and said I will pray with her. Now sometimes we say things like this without actually making the effort to consistently pray but this time, the Holy Spirit nudged me to be consistent. So for the first time ever, I set an alarm to pray for Rose, at 11am every morning. Sometimes when the alarm goes off all I'll say is Lord please bless her, other times I'll pray longer.
There is power in prayer and I hope this testimony encourages you to keep praying and believing God. He is never late. He is always on time. Suddenly your life will change forever. I'll copy and paste all our emails starting from the first one she sent.

EMAIL FROM ROSE ON THE 31st OF MAY, 2015.

Dear Omilola, 

First of all, big congrats to you on the birth of your cute baby boy, I read your testimony following up to his birth and I was reminded that there is a God who loves his own. 

Please forgive me for taking this long to email you, truth is I am a very discreet person, the story is long and I debated if I should confide in you as you are very encouraging and all I really need is a constant reminder that God will answer me and someone to join their faith with mine for my expectations. I don't like pity at all, thus the debate and delay in emailing you. 

Like I stated earlier, the story is long but I won't bore you with unnecessary details, I will just give you the basics. I am 28years and I have had a very very rough life for as long as I can remember. Now,  I am the first of three kids of a struggling family. 10 years ago , my dad struggled to send me to Canada for my undergrad, a year to the end of my degree, I got expelled for plagiarism(which in retrospect I was guilty of), now I know better. As you can imagine, my world was turned upside down. After being disowned by my dad, I decided to move to UK to start over, I was determined to be a graduate. Anyway, it was tough. Took an army of people to help convince my daddy to struggle to sponsor me, by that time, things were very challenging,financially. To cut long story short, I started my law degree in UK and it was hell. For months, I had no job and no place of my own. I was squating with everyone who could allow me sleep over one night at a time, I experienced reproach, hunger, depression, sexual and verbal abuse, you name it. There were times I would sleep over in toilet cubicles in westfield mall. I was determined. 

Fast forward to last year my final year, I almost got deported for owing balance of my tuition because things were challenging back home but God in his mercies used the VC of my uni, to make an exception for me alone. It was like film trick. They allowed me to write my exams but insisted that I would not have my certificate till I pay up. Last year my visa expired and my fiance didn't send me ticket till about four hours till my flight, I won't bore you with how much he struggled to raise the cash. It was stressful, Omilola. I came back home with nothing but my life to show for all my years abroad, I was devastated. It took me 10 years to get a degree....

I studied Law by the way and as I speak,    I have missed out on law school for this year for obvious reasons. But since I have a passion to cook, I have been cooking for people for a fee, so I am not wasting away. I pray things get better and God enlarges my coast.

 See, I have a fiance who led me back to God. Because when the whole unfortunate expulsion happened I made up my mind that God didn't love me. I lived in pain and anger till we started dating. Almost 2 years now and he has helped me retrace my steps back to God. He has also been through his hell,still is, but I won't divulge without his consent. Bottomline is, he lost everything about five years ago and now both of us are just solely dependent on God for every single thing. It is our heart desire to be man and wife this year but let me just say that it will take the type of the miracle of parting of red sea to make it happen. My mom has been very anxious that my fiance hasn't come to ask for a date, he is honestly waiting for the manifestation of God's lifting before he does. It is a known fact that women from my father's side don't marry but I know that curse is broken over my life. We walk by faith and not sight, right? 

Bottomline of my reaching out to you again, is just so you can encourage me, pray with me and believe God with me that God will turn me and my fiance's tears to laughter. I sometimes forget that God's timing is not ours and I need a reminder. My fiance is always encouraging me and telling me God will come through but I like to hear it from someone like you, who has had countless testimonies. I pray that I share a huge testimony with you soon, Omilola. God bless you and yours, always. 

OMILOLA'S REPLY ON THE 11th OF JUNE, 2015.

Thank you for writing to me. I apologise for the delay in responding. I needed time before responding.

Wow just reading your story again and I see you have been through so much. I also see that Gods hand is upon you as He has kept you this far. In all things we give thanks and you have so much to be thankful for. We give thanks for your life for when you have life you have hope. We thank God for health, for health is true wealth. See I read something the other day which is a declaration that says "I am grateful for all the things that could have been prayer points in my life but that aren't." We thank God that you are not in hospital or running around looking for money to help a sick family member. There is so much to be thankful. 

A lot of things happen to us in life and we wonder why but we rest in the fact that as the Bible says all things work out for good for those who love Him. I have a lot of testimonies because I too have gone through many tests and trials, for there is no testimony without a test and no triumph without a trial. What keeps me going through all those tests is Gods love. Sometimes I get angry and sad and feel that why me Lord but the good thing that I'm learning is to always voice my feelings to God like you would do to your friend or fiancé. Tell Him exactly how you feel and He will speak to you, comfort you and uplift you. Just today I was feeling quite down but before the end of the day, He had sent me words of encouragements. There is no great person on this earth that hasn't passed through many trials. Just look at the likes of Oprah, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King and even people from the Bible like Joseph, David, Moses etc. So we count it all joy. 

I'm glad that you are finding something to do to make ends meet like cooking. Maybe this is the path God wants for you. Sometimes we want the big professional titles but sometimes the blessings come in the little things. Make the best of what you have now and where you are. Focus on being the best cook ever. Develop your potential. There is a lady on Instagram I follow her name is Yetunde Shorters. She is a cook and also a PR person. The other day I was chatting with someone and we agreed that it is now a trend and it's fashionable to be a chef in Nigeria. This is the right time to be in the food business. 

With regards to marriage, I believe God gives a vision and the provision. The mistake a lot of people make is that they are waiting for provision before running with the vision. So they won't marry until there is a financial break through however God seldom works that way.

If God has given you and your fiancé a vision to get married, then you must take the step of faith, believing Him to take make a way where there is no way. 

You know sometimes God withholds certain things from us so we can depend on Him daily. If He gave us everything we needed we won't need Him.

Also we are redeemed from the curse through Christ's finished work on the cross. So no family curse can come over you. You need to believe in His finished work and not any curse. The bible says as a man thinketh so is He. We must make sure our beliefs are in line with Gods will for our life. Fear is to the devil what faith is to God. What you fear will come to pass, just as what you have faith for will come to pass. So which would you rather have. 

Please don't lose hope. God is on the throne and He will surely come through for you if you believe. He loves you so so much. Just keep seeking Him and all things would be added to you.

I hope you feel encouraged. I'll keep you in my prayers and I sure can't wait for you to share your testimony because I know you will surely do.

Take care and Godbless you

Omilola.

P.s. Please stay in touch .

ROSE's TESTIMONY ON 26th OF SEPTEMBER, 2015.

Dear Omilola, 

I trust you and the family are well.

I felt so down the last time I emailed you but God has started oh!

Last Friday, my fiance was made a director of a big corportation. It happened so fast, it all happened within a month. The basic salary package, Bonus, insurance, perks are just directly from God as compensation. Here is someone who has hardly made any money in the last five years.

I mean the job comes with business class tickets for himself and me. Handsome contribution towards our unborn kids' school fees,shopping allowance ooooooo !!!!  Influencial people he lost contact with are already calling and want to do business. 

I have been so numb with thanksgiving since Friday, I am so stunned. This time last month, we both had less than 10,000 naira combined. 

I promised I will share any testimony with you and here it is oh. By all means encourage someone with this not to give up, but please I'd like to remain anonymous. 

Thank you for encouraging me when you did, it helped me not give up. I pray God continues to ignite your fire so you can continue to be a blessing. 

NB: Can you imagine we are now actually projecting next year to marry? This time last month we had no clue! God is something else. 

Warmest Regards

Ten Commandments of Social Media

On Sunday, the teens at church were asked to write down 10 things, Jesus won't do on Social Media. When I heard what they wrote I was like WOW and this is coming from the younger teens as the older ones are back in school. I though got to share because I thought what they wrote was actually very profound and we can all learn from it. I think they missed one though (Thou shalt not boast) lol. Enjoy: This is what they wrote:

1) He won't spend 24hours on Social Media,He would have a life.
2) He won't snap back or retailiate when people post negative comments
3) He will do a Phil 4v8 check on everything he posts ,likes or follows.
4) He wont swear or use obscenities or entertain anyone who does
5) He wont be judgemental or hypocritical
6) He wont take nude selfies or follow anyone who does. (They actually mentioned names)
7) He won't like any page or follow anyone who promotes things that grieves His daddy or is negative.
8) He would use his page not just for fun stuff but also to spread the gospel.
9) His goal will not be mere popularity but to affect lives positively
10 ) He will remember that he represents his father and his social media pages should reflect that as well.