Katalambano It

Katalambano is a Greek word that means to grasp, apprehend, seize, get hold of, or overtake. The term means to compel, bring out the truth, take by surprise, and seize.

Lolita runs Katalambano It, a Christian women’s empowerment brand. I love its mission statement. ‘This website originally started out as a blog which was initially meant to unite women as a whole. But it has blossomed into a brand that believes in encouraging women to break the chains in their lives & challenge the quo. The mission, the heart of the brand is to empower women so that they learn to walk boldly and confidently in their purpose without excuses, without limitations, allowing them to successfully become all that God created them to be.  We know that with God all things are possible.  So welcome to liberation ladies because who the son sets free is truly free indeed. This is where the excitement begins!’

Lolita talks about her life as a blogger, author, and woman who wants to make a difference in this world.

Lolita, a warm welcome to another blogger on women’s empowerment. Talk to me a little about you.

First, let me start out by saying thanks for the invitation to be interviewed. It’s quite interesting to be on the other side of the table today. A little about me, I am the Founder of KATALAMBANO IT. A Christian Women’s Empowerment Brand. I started the brand a year ago with the intent of helping women break the chains in their lives and encouraging them to challenge the status quo. Most people know me as a writer first and far most. In fact, this entire initiative started out with me doing a monthly blog and writing a couple of self-published books & articles for various Christian publications. It has since, blossomed into a movement of sorts as I am helping women walk in their divine destiny. It is extremely important to me that women learn to tap into the power and authority that God has freely given them. So that they can essentially become all that God intended them to be.  

When I’m not running the brand I’m an avid football fan, so you’ll probably see me glued to the television. I also like to cook, listen to music, and hang out with friends or family. And from time to time, I’ll indulge in a good spa day, with a manicure & pedicure. Just typical girl stuff. But otherwise, I lead a simplistic lifestyle. However, at the root of it all, I’m always paying homage to God because he truly is the source of my joy & strength. 

I am intrigued by your YouTube Channel and the name. Explain to me what it is all about, and why we should be subscribers.

I remember hearing a preacher doing a sermon using the word Katalambano in it. I was so intrigued by the word, so I started to do research to learn a bit more. I knew immediately that I wanted to name the brand KATALAMBANO IT right from the start. Because it’s such a powerful statement. It’s a Greek word that means “to take by force”. The brand is loosely based on the scripture Deuteronomy 1:8 ‘See I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to their descendants after them.’ This verse is so authoritative. Every time I think about what it represents I simply get chills running up & down my body.

I feel as though so many of us have strongholds in our lives that prevent us from becoming all that God has called us to be. Figuratively speaking, we can’t go in and possess the land until we are completely free. So that’s why the tagline for the brand is “break the chain, challenge the status quo” you’ve got to be completely free to be ready to go after all that God has promised you. Coming from a space of childhood trauma, I always felt so powerless. This women’s empowerment brand is my way of making certain that every women’s voice is heard, loud and clear. I want to encourage women to subscribe to my channel if they feel led to be a part of a group that embodies what true freedom & resilience look like. Despite your past trauma, I truly do believe that God can get the glory out of your life and that you can walk boldly & confidently in victory. 

Permission To Love is a book written by you. Walk me through the process of how you came about this book and the aim of the book. 

Every process is pretty much the same with every book I write. It’s holy spirit inspired. I don’t have a particular formula or system, to be honest. I just allow the words to flow as God gives them to me. The premise of this book specifically, is really learning to love yourself from the inside out & giving God permission to love you just the way you are, as he created you to be. Understanding that trying to be anything outside of who God created you to be is simply shallow and a huge disappointment to not only God but yourself. God needs to know that who he created you to be is enough. Having this mindset will definitely free you from the cares and worries of this world. Trying to fit in & measure up to the world’s expectation of what true beauty and worthiness look like is not what this book is about. It’s quite the opposite. It is only when you really give yourself permission to love yourself just as you are, then and only then you will become a beacon of light to illuminate God’s amazing love to the world. 

You talk a lot about faith. What is faith? I want to know the practical aspects of it. 

Faith to me is being able to trust God even when what’s in front of me says to do otherwise. If you want the technical term it’s the evidence of things hoped for but not seen. Now let me break it down in a more practical aspect. I’ll use a mother who unfortunately has lost her child in a car accident. Everything at that moment says to question God’s validity. More importantly to question God’s love. That’s perfectly fine, that’s a typical human response. I don’t think that God expects anything else. But as we grow in our faith, that means that we learn to trust his divine plan even when it makes absolutely no sense to our human ability to comprehend. I recently did a video that spoke about God’s divine providence. This is when we must believe that it’s all working together for our good. Regardless of what our physical eyes tell us. Faith is our currency so that God can show himself strong & mighty in our lives. Because we know according to scripture that without faith it’s impossible to please him. 

As humans, we need to have hope. How has having hope helped you in your walk?

As I mentioned earlier I am the product of childhood trauma. Let me tell you if I didn’t have hope, I don’t know what my life would look like today. Hope and believing that God didn’t allow me to go through all that I’ve been through just for the heck of it, is what led me to be who I am today. Even as a child I always believed that everything that occurred in my life would one day be for his Glory and Honor. That’s what kept me going over the years. Trust me, the outcome of my life could’ve looked very different. But it has only been by the grace and mercy of God that I sit here today as an inspiration to many women around the world. The Bible says that the enemy will do things in our lives with evil intentions. But that God can turn it around and use it for good. So that’s the way I see my life. Everything that the enemy wanted to use to discourage, frustrate, and overtake my life. God re-aligned it all to bring me to where I am today. 

Help me understand how we can have our priorities in order.

I can’t give specifics for everyone else. But my guiding force is understanding that my number one priority is God. I’ve always said that if you take care of God’s business he’ll take care of you. That’s literally how I’ve run my life for the past forty-eight years. I know I’ve talked a lot about the brand, but I do still work a regular gig, Mon- Friday. I do realize that my heart & passion is the brand, but I also recognize God’s hand in my life through the job as well.  I believe that’s his way of helping to provide for my necessities in life. The Bible says but seek ye first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. That’s basically how I prioritize my life. God first, and everything else comes afterward. Besides I’m not trying to get on God’s bad side, after all, he is a jealous God. 

Explain what women’s empowerment means to you and how you go about empowering women.

Women’s Empowerment to me is helping women find their voice in the world. And helping them to fully walk in the power and authority that God has called them to walk in. The way that I empower women is by leading by example and trying to demonstrate through my own life and personal walk with God what it looks like to walk in victory. With the brand specifically I offer a weekly power chat video on YouTube. I write an inspirational, uplifting monthly blog and I do quarterly blog interviews with other women under the Hues of Inspiration segment of the brand. I made up my mind early on that the brand would not only be about empowering women but one of my biggest goals also is to get rid of the stigma that women don’t support one another. I truly do go out of my way to make certain to encourage & pour out love to women from all around the world. Because it’s so vital to our success overall, to love each other. 

What is your message for my readers for 2023?

I don’t know that I have a specific message for your readers. But my personal word or creed for 2023 is GRATITUDE. My goal for this year is to be thankful and show gratitude for it all. The good and the bad. The word of God says that in all things give thanks. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing. It’s so easy to dwell on negativity but implementing this mode of thinking sort of forces me to see the best in the worst situations. God has been unequivocally good to me. Even in all my mess, he’s kept me, and he’s certainly blessed me beyond measure. I have so much to be thankful for. So, I suppose that’s what I’d like to leave your readers with. And of course, I extend gratitude and thanksgiving to you for allowing me to share my story & my brand with your audience today.