Women Arising Series #4: ChinyereDistinguished Anoke
Chinyere’s story is one of pain to gain.
One of God turning all things around for good… one of seeming loss of marital opportunity to the birthing of a singles ministry.
If you have ever thought that your life would crash because of the tumbling of a relationship then this is for you!
God has bigger plans for you yet!
Just you watch!
Read and arise!
#MyArisingStory
I HAD TO SHUT MY EARS, CLOSE MY EYES AND RUN WITH THE SFF VISION
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It was September 2016. I was restless and troubled about my relationship. So many things were just not right.
My fiance and I had planned to get married in December 2015, but some unforeseen circumstances came up so we had to pause our plans. I kept praying and hoping that things will work so we would get married. But it appeared that the more I prayed, the more things fell out instead of fall in place.
So here we were in September 2016 with still no concrete plans for the marriage to hold. I remember waking up one morning with my heart so heavy and not knowing who to talk to. The only person who came to my heart was our Aunty Salt Bola Nelson Essien. So I went to her whatsapp and ranted to get the issues off my chest. Later that evening, she called me, counselled me and we agreed on a joint 7-day fasting and prayers to address the issues, starting the following Monday.
I felt some inner peace after the prayers but I was still anxious about marriage.
October is my birthday and I had desired to get married before my birthday that 2016. Here we were in September with nothing for the marriage falling in place just yet. So I had this thought running in my mind, “Another Christmas and I’m still Single…” And this is the thought God used to capture my heart and turn my mess into a message.
In October 2016, God gave me a word of assurance, “Chinyere I see you”. He told me to rest in him that He had everything in control. So I relaxed. Cried when I had the urge to cry (Oh I cried so much that period) but I made a fresh commitment to truly and wholly trust in God no matter what.
My birthday that last year was my best birthday so far in life. In November, God showed me expressly that my relationship had to end and gave me the SFF Vision – SINGLE, FRUITFUL and FULFILLED Vision.
The SFF Vision is the vision that enlightens, encourages and empowers Singles to live Fruitful and Fulfilled lives before marriage. It helps them to rightly define what being Single means, by renewing their mind in the word; as opposed to Society’s popular opinion that Singles need a spouse to be whole, fruitful and fulfilled. It also empowers them with the right tools and mindset with which to overcome any challenge that seeks to resist their decisions to live fruitful and fulfilled lives as they navigate the phase of Singlehood.
The SFF Vision started with the SFF Series interviews on my blog www.distinguishedlives.wordpress.com (December 2016), where I interviewed 10 different Singles from diverse walks of life to get their thoughts and opinions on how feasible it is to be fruitful and fulfilled as Singles.
After that we had the second part of the SFF Vision which is the SFF Book: SINGLE, FRUITFUL, FULFILLED – living a whole and productive life before “I Do”.
Did I mention that I was afraid and skeptical about obeying God when He gave me the SFF vision. I was worried about so many things: What will my parents say? What will my friends think? What will the society label me? How do I get the right Singles to feature in the SFF interviews? And so many other worries. But as I tabled my worries before God, He gave me instructions, ideas and inspirations on what to do, how to go about it, the right people to ask and He sent vision helpers my way as I obeyed Him.
See, this our God is FAITHFUL INDEED!
I really can’t capture it in words but God came through for me every step of the way. Of course, people still talked and gave me side eye when I started talking about being SFF. Some saw me as a Feminist, others said I was preaching against marriage and all. But I already made up my mind to tune in only to God and focus on His instructions to me. I shut my eyes and ears to the opinion of others.
When it was time to write the SFF Book, God gave me another assurance which I hold so strongly to. He said: “Trust me and everything will fall in place. Trust me and everything will play out well.” I stand boldly to testify that God has been ? percent faithful to His words to me.
The SFF Book is available in both softcopy (e-book) and Hardcopy. It is one of the fastest-selling books from a first-time author.
I made the first two chapters of the book available for FREE download, you can get it here – bit.ly/SFFfreeDownload
God used the SFF Vision to cure my heart of my many wrong mind-sets about marriage, heal my emotions, turn my mess into a message and announce me to the world.
Just this December, 9th December to be precise, God placed in my heart to put together the first ever SFF Masterclass – a meeting of Singles, males and females, from different walks of life. Singles who desire to live Fruitful and Fulfilled lives. And are committed to overcome the challenges that beguile Singlehood.
It held on whatsapp this Thursday 21st December 2017, with 21 Singles in attendance. God really came through as He promised; the debut SFF MASTERCLASS was a huge success!
We’ll have live SFF MASTERCLASSes from next year starting from February 14, 2017.
We’ll also have the third part of the SFF Vision – The MFS series (Married Fruitful and Satisfied series), dedicated to the married folks, kicking off in the first quarter of next year.
God has used the SFF Vision to redefine my life and give me a renewed zest for living life with a purpose. I thank Him for the Grace, Strength and Wisdom to run with this vision.
ChinyereDistinguished Lydia Anoke
Author, SINGLE, FRUITFUL, FULFILLED
Email: chinyeredistinguished@gmail.com
Facebook: ChinyereDistinguished Anoke
Instagram: @ChinyereDistinguished
Twitter: @CDistinguished
Blog: www.distinguishedlives.wordpress.com
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS FREE GIFT
We “THE WOMEN AT THE WELL” are excited to give out our book “The women at the well Bible Study collection Volume 1” as a gift to YOU in this Christmas season!!??
We pray it blesses you and you see our heart of love through it.
