2027 is just three months around the corner.
One of the clearest goals and priorities I set for myself this year was to focus more deeply on discipleship and to finally launch this blog. Yet the twists and turns of this season have been a whirlwind in the most unexpected ways.
Boldness was one of the words I prayed over this year. That quiet prayer to take action boldly in the pursuits God had placed in my heart became one of my compasses. Not because I had everything figured out, but because I wanted to trust the silent and comforting gaze of God over my life.
One thing I am slowly learning is this: God's plans will always be better than the plans I try so hard to control.
And perhaps that is why He has been teaching me to hold my plans loosely.
Plans can serve as a map for how we structure our days, our goals, and even the smallest details of our routines. But I find it deeply challenging to keep everything intact whenever delays, detours, and disruptions happen.
This season has taught me to bounce back immediately, move when I need to move, slowly savor the process, and learn to act in stillness without hurry, even when circumstances don't look anything like how I imagined them.
Because when we become too consumed with how things should happen, we slowly begin taking the results into our own hands.
And perhaps that constant loop of hurry was one of the things God needed to disrupt in me to remind me that I am not in control. He is.
When God Disrupts the Plan
The high hopes I had for 2026 were redirected after a three-month season of pruning and purging.
Before I could fully execute the pursuits I had envisioned, God made it clear that a deeper heart check and consecration had to happen first.
It wasn't my ways. It had to be His.
That season of isolation and consecration became an everyday reminder that His presence had never left me and that He had never abandoned me even when temptations and spiritual attacks felt like they were at their peak.
One of the battles I faced was the temptation to compromise how I present myself online.
My creative line of business requires me to be publicly open. I share parts of my personal life, my interests, and the things I do beyond fashion design because building trust and transparency is part of how I connect with clients.
I knew the advice I received came from a place of concern and love.
"Follow the ways of other designers and creative entrepreneurs. They need to see more of your personality beyond your Bible studies and faith."
I highly respect the input.
But what immediately registered in my mind was Romans 12:2.
If I dilute my faith and intentionally share less of it online, then what is the point of pouring so much of my energy into soaking in God's Word and being part of a community that loves Christ? And honestly, what’s the point of building this blog in the first place?
I don't share my faith to please people.
I share because I genuinely find joy in sharing what God has been doing in me whether through this blog or through my social media accounts.
Audience of One.
That has always been the posture I want to carry.
My decision to make my personal social media accounts public was intentional. And if sharing my faith online bothers people, honestly, that's not mine to carry.
Perhaps it simply serves its purpose to funnel and sift what comes across to the people who genuinely want to connect, engage, and walk alongside me.
What Am I Really Pursuing?
Those conversations left me reflecting on my priorities, strategies, and execution.
Am I really pursuing the right things in this season?
Am I putting enough effort into making myself visible for clients to find us?
Is my marketing strategy and personal branding already outdated?
Does my pursuit of discipleship and faith affect how people perceive our brand?
Does being open and vocal about my faith turn customers away?
A long list of questions came to mind as I processed what needed to improve, what needed to remain, and what needed to be erased in the practical side of life especially when it comes to resources.
Then I was reminded:
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”
Matthew 6:33 (NASB)
And another question:
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”
Mark 8:36 (NASB)
Those verses bring me back to the bigger picture.
Identifying and boldly declaring my faith and allegiance to Jesus publicly has been a personal decision. It eventually became a path not only of being discipled, but of discipling others who desire to be discipled.
God has positioned me in the world of business and entrepreneurship, particularly in Fashion Design, and I know that this platform is a privilege.
If I weren't an entrepreneur today, I probably would have pursued teaching. It was one of the career paths I once imagined for myself if I hadn't been given the opportunity to study Fashion Design.
Teaching has always been something I deeply enjoy.
And when I look at Jesus, I realize how much of His earthly ministry involved teaching, walking with people, correcting them, loving them, and preparing them for the mission ahead.
I used to be a Sunday School teacher in the province during my earlier years. I didn't know then that those small beginnings were slowly training my heart to love the work of carrying God's Word through discipleship.
I've been part of a discipleship group since October 24, 2019, and that journey has made me appreciate this kind of lifestyle more deeply.
Steering meaningful conversations during meal times, facilitator mode on, LOL! 🤣
B1G True Life Retreat (BTLR 2022) I was the assigned facilitator of this breakout group that eventually gave birth into Doulos Dos Dgroup.
Then in 2022, God opened the door for me to begin discipling men to shepherd a small part of His flock.
It started during a singles retreat through B1G Ministry of Christ's Commission Fellowship (CCF), where my faith journey grew deeper as I walked with a community of people who were pursuing Jesus and taking the call to discipleship seriously.
Four years later, I remain deeply grateful.
Handling a small group of men who desire to be discipled has humbled me in almost every facet of life. Their stories, struggles, victories, and the way they continue to show up have challenged me to become better not only as an entrepreneur and creative, but as a brother.
Showing up every Tuesday, whether onsite or online! 😎
Discipleship Is More Than Knowing
Discipleship has taught me lessons that self-help books and simply reading alone could never fully teach me.
Head knowledge of the Bible is good.
But learning to love people beyond their flaws and shortcomings, that is where the rubber meets the road.
Faith is tested beyond the weekly meetings.
It is tested in how we show up when finances become tight, when health changes, when relationships become complicated, when seasons shift, when conflicts happen, when disagreements arise, and when discouragement tells us to simply walk away.
It forces us to ask:
Am I still accountable and teachable regardless of how I feel?
Being part of a community doesn't mean we are spared from friction.
After all, we are uniquely created and wired. We have different preferences, personalities, experiences, and biases. And because of that, we will inevitably hurt one another, disappoint one another, and sometimes bring one another immense joy and love.
But people's responses don't have to determine the condition of our hearts.
That is one of the things discipleship continues to teach me.
It reminds me of the heart of Jesus even when His inner circle deserted Him during one of the most crucial and painful moments of His life on earth, He still chose to love, extend grace, and ultimately commission them into a higher calling.
Perhaps that is part of the cost of discipleship:
Learning to love people not merely because they meet our expectations, but because we have first been loved by Christ.
Daily intimacy with Jesus allows us to serve and love others from an overflow rather than from emptiness.
Our cups are continually filled by His abundant love, joy, and peace. And from that overflow, we are given the grace to extend grace to others to see people not merely through our own frustrations, expectations, and preferences, but through the lens of a loving Father.
So, Is Discipleship Really Worth It?
Yes.
Not because discipleship makes life easier.
Not because it guarantees that people will understand you.
Not because being part of a community means there will be no conflict, disappointment, or pain.
But because discipleship continually teaches me to walk by faith as God's child and to find rest in His presence even when people, platforms, pursuits, and plans go in directions I never expected.
It brings me back to what matters.
My Master.
And the Mission He has given me.
To know Him.
To walk with Him.
To become more like Him.
And to help others experience His presence more deeply than the fleeting promises this world can offer.
Maybe that is why discipleship is worth it.
Because at the end of the day, it is not ultimately about how many people we disciple, how visible our ministry becomes, or how successful our plans turn out.
It is about becoming faithful to the One who called us in the first place.
And perhaps childlike faith is simply this:
Trusting the Father enough to follow Him even when we don't fully understand where He is taking us.
Sealing this with love,
FROI
