Women Empowering Women Magazine

SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

A Magazine for the Kingdom Minded Woman, Promoting her Style, Wholeness and Spiritual Etiquette.

SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

THE EDITOR Ladies, Welcome to a new season of amazing breakthroughs in your life.

Spring is a time for new things, the month of April brings the celebration feast of Passover. We are leading up to the month of Nissan, on God’s timetable it doesn’t actually start until the eve of April 22nd, on this date for 1500 years the Jews killed the Passover Lamb, and then on Nissan 14 Jesus, the Christ was crucified.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus before His death went into His Father’s House and chased all the traders out of the Temple (He was clearing out the leaven/sin).

This is where the concept of Spring cleaning comes from, in the period leading up to Passover the Jewish women literally would clean house from top to bottom, the equivalent for us is that, we clean out the leaven/sin from our own houses, physical and spiritual.

I’m particularly excited about what God will do at this year’s #AWSC2016, DELIVERANCE is the Word given to me and I believe God will show up and bring His Daughter’s into a place of total deliverance to move forward to achieve Kingdom exploits for Him.

EDITOR IN CHIEF

JACQUELINE ANI

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Be Empowered!

TAMIKA PUSEY-SQUIRE

Jacqueline Ani

CONTACT US

Prophetess Jacqueline Ani

magazine@empworedwoman.org.uk

Editor In Chief – Women Empowering Women Magazine

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

www.wewmagazine.com

Join Us On FACEBOOK

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CONTENTS SPECIAL FEATURE Will The Real Prophets Please Stand Up

WOMAN STEPPING OUT! ANGIE GREAVES Special Interview

HER STYLE Maximising Your Talent for Career Success

Armour Bearer Wife Part 3

The Power of Telling Your Story

Who Am I Wearing?

HER WHOLENESS Encouragement A Necessary Skill

Maintaining Balance

Raising Godly Children SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE Importance of Having Time Away With Jesus

When It Seems Like God Does Not Make Sense EMPOWERING THE YOUNGER WOMAN The Jeremiah Complex THE KINGDOM MINDED MAN Bachelorhood a Training Ground for Marriage EXCLUSIVES The Mentoring Academy Graduate Mentors

A Woman’s Sacred Calling Conference 2016

SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

STAND UP

By Prophetess Jacqueline Ani

You are endowed with talents from God and it is in different dimensions. According to Matthew 25: 14-15: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip.

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Special Feature | 7

I

remember a time in 2004, while I was reading my bible in my bedroom, it was quiet around me and I wanted to soak in the words that I was reading in the Book of Jeremiah.

As I started reading, my eyes stopped at Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’

As I continued to read these verses over and over again I felt God’s presence in my bedroom. I knew God was speaking to me directly, this scripture is saying something to me, and God is calling me to do something that I couldn’t understand.

“Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I knew you; ….I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

As days passed, I kept on hearing the verse repeatedly in my heart I’ve called you as a Prophet to the nations.

What or who is a prophet? I thought, what is the nation? I pondered to myself, I needed clarity about this verse and how it seemed to be connected to my purpose.

As I continued church attendance, I got involved in the Hands of Compassion Department, a discipleship arm of the church,

where I started discipleship training, visiting new converts and visiting the sick in the hospitals at the same time I always had the scripture in Jeremiah at the back of my mind.

After while my busy routine of work, church, home took over and I found myself forgetting the verse in Jeremiah.

6 months later, I was having my daily devotion and as I open my bible to read a scripture it opens to 1 Kings 19:19.

The verse narrates the call of Elisha the prophet.

In this verse, Elijah was directed to go to the Desert of Damascus to anoint Hazael king over Aram, Jehu son of Nimshi over Israel and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat to succeed Elijah as prophet.

Elijah saw Elisha ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen and Elisha was riding the twelve pair of oxen. Elijah goes up to Elisha and throws his cloak around Elisha.

Elisha then leaves his oxen and runs after Elijah requesting to say goodbye to his parents to follow Elijah.

The story ends when Elisha finally slaughters the oxen, burns the ploughing equipment, cooks the meat and gives it to the people to eat and then prepares to follow Elijah.

As I read the story, I immediately go back to Jeremiah chapter 1:5 and knew without a shadow of a doubt that God had been having an ongoing conversation with me and He hadn’t finished and He hadn’t forgotten what He had told me 6 months ago and He didn’t want me to forget either.

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8 | Special Feature That’s when I knew I was somehow special and I had a calling on my life, I mean....the Lord is calling me, and I didn’t know how this calling would actually take shape.

Once I had come to the realisation that I was called, I cried and cried and cried as if something in me had died. I needed my mother to come and hold me and tell me that everything would be alright, she would explain and I would understand; but I knew my mother wouldn’t understand and she wouldn’t be able to explain it to me in a way that I would be fulfilled and satisfied with the answer. I decided to go to the wife of my department head in the ministry for clarification.

She confirmed what I already knew, God was calling me but my question was how is He calling me and how does this calling take shape?

All she said to me is go back to the Lord wait on Him and He will answer me in His own time.

This was 2002 and in 2010, as I continued to submit, seeking God doing whatever my hands found to do, the Lord answered me and gave me clarity.

I am His servant and I operate in the function of a prophet, I am called to empower women to fulfil their Kingdom Mandate on earth and to bring clarity to often misunderstood events they’ve experienced, I speak on behalf of God to set the captives free, only by His Grace I am equipped to carry out my functions, I don’t speak what I’ve not heard Him speak, but only speak as I hear even if it doesn’t sound right to the receiver. I am called to prepare His People and show them how to build His Kingdom on earth with their abilities, I am a prophet to prophets and I say this with all humility.

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My lack of understanding of my purpose in my early years made me discredit prophets, I saw them as tarot card readers, I remember I had a bad experience meeting prophets when I was a lot younger; I saw them as deceivers who would stop at nothing to entice people with false prophecy just to get their money.

It’s amazing that God had been preparing me in a time when many didn’t value the word of a prophet because of the experiences; however God was preparing me in the midst of uncertainty for such a time as this time.

We’re now in the Apostolic Prophetic period and many of God’s Chosen prophets are rising up, many are coming out of hiding to speak and pronounce God’s message in this time, we have the liberty to speak and also we have the liberty to speak against the false prophets, those who have been deceiving the Body of Christ, distracting them from the word of God. God’s Prophets are those who have gone through deep wounds and overcome, who have experienced pain, who have cried tears of sorrow and as such they hear, see and feel the heart of God for the nation. We’ve moved away from Prophets who can prophesy how much you have in the bank, where you live and what job you have, they are no longer relevant and furthermore those who have itching ears to hear from such prophets are being empowered, disciple and delivered from such deception.

God is sending those who have been chastised, nurtured, humbled to prepare His People; these are the real prophets...Will the real prophets please stand UP!

Special Feature | 9 He is sending out authentic, home grown by His Hand appointed by God to speak only His Words, His Message and prepare people to get in position for the 2nd Coming of Christ......Will the real prophets please stand UP! We are in a prophetic dispensation, Acts 2:17 prophesied by Joel 2:28 says

This is a call out to every prophet to rise up, stand out and shine forth for your time has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Will the real prophets please stand up!!!!!!

"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit Prophetess Jacqueline Ani on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Jacqueline Ani will be launching her new programme The School of the Prophets

We are in the last days and it’s the prophetic nation Programme very soon, please connect with her on who is building the Kingdom, we’re hearing the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Periscope to receive Father’s heart and we’re building as directed, we’re updates about the forthcoming programme. preparing His People setting them free from forms of bondages to be relevant for the Kingdom .......Will the real prophets please stand UP!

Yes, the season and times have changed for God’s prophets to be released to the nations, preparing, teaching and bringing people in total alignment with the Promises of God.

The enemy has attacked these prophets, but God allowed it to authenticate them, so that they will understand and go and release new prophets rising based on Joel 2:28, it’s impossible for these prophets to hide, to be bound, these are the Prophets of God....Will the real prophets please stand UP!

God ordained me back then when prophets were

in hiding, I was in hiding, but now He’s equipped me and many others to manifest the Kingdom of God amongst us....

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Women

Stepping Out With Angie Greaves SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

Radio Presenter

Special Interview | 11

B

ack in 1998 getting ready for work, I would put on the radio and tune into Choice FM, I would never miss a morning without listening to Angie Greaves on Choice FM it was part of my morning ritual back then.

Angie Greaves is a woman who many know, just mention her name and they would say Choice FM or Magic as is the case now.

I took time to meet with Angie to know the real woman behind the radio presenter and I must say, she is a woman of substance who has so much to offer women in so many dimensions, from career, to motherhood, wife, humanitarian and of course celebrity Angie has rediscovered her essence in God, she realises that everything she’s been through in life and to date has been orchestrated by God and she appreciates the process of her journey.

I and of course many others are looking forward to where Angie Greaves takes her lessons in life, how she’ll articulate it so that it blesses others on another level and no doubt she will be such a blessing, she has so much wealth in her the younger generation will be blessed by her experience, charm and of course inner and outer beauty.

In the meantime be blessed with this interview, it gave me an opportunity to encourage her on a deeper level.

WEW: Your career in media started in 1982 when you worked as an Administrator at Television Centre, today amongst other projects you’re involved in, you currently present the Weekday Afternoon Show and Saturday’s Soul Town Show on London’s Magic 105.4 (now also across the UK on DAB). Did you ever know or think your role in 1982 would showcase you as one of the first female presenters in Radio then?

AG: Not at all. I now see all my steps were ordered.

What I do clearly remember is sitting in the Language Lab aged 13 at school, when I was supposed to be speaking French and listening back to myself I was actually pretending to be an American Radio Presenter (smiles). I could remember that and that’s probably where the seed was planted, I just didn’t know it at the time.

WEW: Who was Angie Greaves before Angie Greaves Influential Radio Presenter?

AG: Angie was quite a hurt and confused child, because her parents got divorced at 13. I loved and still love my father with a passion. He is the reason I do the job that I do; he was an extremely articulate strong man, he is the reason I am who I am today.

The mother inside of me is obviously my mother. Music was my escape. I was quite troubled and being the very youngest in the family, which much older siblings I sometimes felt quite lonely WEW: I see that Family is important to you AG: Very! Which is why regardless of the ups and downs that life presents, (including within marriage) I find it hard to give up, especially on marriage - and remember that’s what I grew up witnessing!! No one person is perfect, so it’s impossible for two imperfect people to come together and create perfection, that’s why we need to work on ourselves individually and then work together as a couple. Women now have a stronger role and aren’t as hesitant as our mothers and grandmothers to display that strength. This may come across as us not as “obedient” as our mothers and grandmothers, which can “disturb” the role that a father undertakes as he has watched his own father and learned from him. There are two sayings that spring to mind here : “The man is the head of the household and the

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12 | Women Stepping! woman is the neck, and she can turn the head in any direction as she wants” and the other saying is “The man is the head of the house, but the woman is the heartbeat. If her heart is beating out of time with the rest of the household, it messes up the atmosphere”.

A woman may go to a conference or out with friends. The children and father are at home. If something happens at the conference or when she is out that affects her heart, (spirit), feelings or attitude, as soon as she walks through the door, her husband/ man of the house/father and kids will feel it immediately. Her disposition will have changed, the anticipation is that she has had a great time and is returning home with that great positive spirit. So when that isn’t the case, it repositions all the pieces of the emotional jigsaw and can cause discomfort. Such is the power of a woman’s emotions! That was one of the main reasons why I requested to change my hours at work. It was professional and in Magic’s favour, but it was personal as well. I would leave for work when the girls got in from school, they probably wanted to tell me about their day, but I had to go. I would finish at 8pm getting home at 9pm and I could see in their faces that they wanted to talk, tired as they were, but they could also see that mummy had a hard day, or a meeting didn’t go well. It would then take me hours to wind down, by which time they were too tired to talk to me and went to bed probably internalising a lot of pain and emotion that they weren’t able to share with me or talk to be about. Part of this process gave the girls independence, and they grew up strong and formed a very strong sisterly bond, however, I noticed especially in my elder daughter’s face that she was struggling with early teenage years, she needed me (not saying that daddy wasn't helping), but there were things she needed to discuss with her mum. I could allow the internalising to become a habit and form SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

part of the girls’ personality, so I openly drew up a proposal which I felt would benefit Magic in having a female on the day time section of the schedule. To say I give thanks that it was accepted is truly and understatement. I now have mornings to be there for the girls, they have a little space in the afternoon when they finish school and college and I’m home by 6pm.

So yes, family is a very important part of my life, and bringing up girls in this day and age, you need to be hands on and a support system when they need you.

WEW: So you’ve changed from that young Angie to who you are now?

AG: Yes, I was a very hurt child, very confused, I think my parents separation was unnecessary, but I felt the need to stay with my mum because I was very young at the time, my elder siblings went their various ways and two of my older siblings were in Barbados, so I felt very close to my mum. Sometimes I would feel I wanted to be with my dad, but I didn’t want to upset my mum. I missed out on a lot! I missed out on getting my first car and having my dad come with me, I missed out on getting my first flat and having my dad decorate for me, I missed out on having dinner with my dad, shopping with him, and doing everyday that girls did with their dad’s. I was kind of in the wilderness for thirty seven years. My eldest brother in Barbados called me four years ago and said “dad’s really ill, you need to see him”. Being completely out of my comfort mode I went into radio mode (that’s all I knew) and said “I’ll call one of my friends at Virgin to fly me over” and he said “just go down the North Circular he’s in Tottenham” (laughs). I walked into his house and it wasn’t my dad, it wasn’t the man that 13 year old Angela remembered. I hadn’t seen him for a long time, he was skin and bone and I thought, “Lord, if

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14 | Women Stepping! this man goes to his eternal home now, what would the last thirty odd years have been about?

What was so bad between my mum and my dad that they couldn’t talk, and why have I (the product of the marriage) lost out on this? I just made up my mind, I wanted time with my dad; this is when I believe the power of God truly reached out to my heart and made a strong statement into my life. Lessons in life don’t come through possessions and position, lessons in life come through true love, and I had a lot of love lying dormant in me because of an absent father.

My dad was very, very ill, he was on liquids for a while, I would visit him in hospital and his home. He went from liquids, to soups, to solids and on his 88th birthday we were dancing in his front room to Bob Marley’s “Small Axe”, a song I can always remember him singing whenever I

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Women Stepping! | 15 stepped through the door from Sunday School and he would be in the kitchen cooking. (Angie shows me a recording of her and her regal and very fit father dancing). That experience reminded me that amongst everything we do in life, everywhere we go, everything we buy, where ever we live, whatever we drive, we serve an extremely powerful God. When my daughters recorded that film of me and my dad dancing, they watched it over and over again whilst we were driving home and they both said “mummy we’ve never seen you so happy”. Such is the power of the “father and daughter” relationship. It is one of the most important relationships a girl will ever have, and when two imperfect people choose (notice I say ‘choose”) to create a solid and loving foundation in which to raise children, there’s no safer or more loving place for those children to be.

WEW: What was life like as the only female radio presenter within a male dominated environment?

AG: I didn’t think it was male dominated. I was the first woman on Magic and I didn’t see or think about male domination, I was happy to be on Magic. When I worked on Choice I had the freedom to refer to my Caribbean Roots, constantly using my Bagan accent. As I got older I thought I needed to move on. I started to get tired playing out (which I didn’t do that often but it came with the territory), children listening to the station started growing up and I was getting older, but never once did I feel like a “woman on a male dominated station”, I loved broadcasting and just go on with it.

I took a risk, did some freelancing on Jazz FM and on LBC and ended up on Magic. Magic is such a lovely family stations and I felt I could grow as a presenter whilst my family were growing. I wasn’t thinking about male domination, I just thought get on with your job, do your best, attempt to reach

your best potential and get on with the job you're being paid to do. It became very apparent when I went onto Drive Time that I was the only solo female Drive Time presenter in London; all the other drive presenters were male. After the initial nerves I just though “Angela, here’s an opportunity, knuckle down and make it work”. The Programme Controller at Magic who I had worked with years ago offered me Drive, and I will admit my first response was a little negative “women don’t do shows like that” ……. then I caught myself. He wouldn’t have asked me to do the job if he didn’t think I was capable.

The Drive Show increased its listenership to 964,000. I have a PDF on my office wall at home and when I do feel a little shaky I have a look at it and pat myself on the back. I think that not concentrating on male dominance can look from the outside as if I’m a little arrogant or the other end of the scale - naive. So when opposition comes - and is does because that’s life and people are people - I refer to a statement that my good friend Benny King who I worked with at Choice FM always used to tell me: “Opposition is a testimony of your position”. It doesn’t matter what job you do, where you live, what you wear, what you drive, how you look, what skills you display, you are ALWAYS going to encounter opposition, it’s a form of strengthening. Without opposition you won’t grow - check your position. I love when Benny cones to London, we have such powerful talks, he’s amazing and I love when he says in his strongest accent “my sister, opposition is a testimony of your position. If you’re not facing opposition then your position is low, if you’re facing opposition it’s because you’ve been positioned high by Almighty God. WEW: Why do you think The Angie Greaves

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16 | Women Stepping! and celebrate all of them, issues and all? We have a lot of work to do on ourselves and then we can celebrate each other. I’m so passionate about women and how they feel, the next stage for me is to go out there and do something for women.

Breakfast Show on Choice FM became the most listened to show in the station's schedule and saw listening figures treble.

AG: I was a little unruly (laughing). I used to present an overnight weekend show, the Breakfast DJ was going on holiday, all the other DJs played out so couldn’t get up in time to over Breakfast, and so I was the last resort.

I could remember driving in to Brixton and thinking “what am I doing up this early?” I did the first show and was absolutely nervous. I went in the second and opened the mic. I wasn’t presenting, I was talking hard with my Bajan accent and didn’t realise how much people were laughing. Remember there was no social media, texting, or emailing at the time so I had no idea what was going on.

The whole Choice FM thing came about because I was being myself, I wasn’t venting, just being real.

Sister’s Celebrating Sisters I don’t come down hard on sisters who don’t celebrate each other. If a sister can’t celebrate herself (and we are hard on ourselves), how can she be expected to truly celebrate others, join with them SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

WEW: In reading a bit about you, what I noticed was that when you got into Media, you were able to make a success of your career, you moved from one station to another your repertoire increased, not only that you used your position to start projects within Media such as Feeling Fab and the book club etc.

What is your advice to young women raising their profile and becoming successful in any industry (not just media), how do they take advantage of the opportunities?

AG: Opportunities are always staring at you in the face, a lot of the time we look at opportunities and then we say “I can’t” or “I’m scared” and we go round them. But you will keep coming back to face those opportunities for a period of time. God cocoons you and gives you the desire to step out and do it. But sometimes specific opportunities are missed, however, others will come, may not be the same as the first opportunity, but others do come.

WEW: What was the idea behind Feeling Fab and the Book club?

AG: I’ve been a book lover all my life; a broken relationship started my love of books. I was madly in love with someone who cheated on me publicly. I thought my life was over (!) A colleague of mine in Atlanta called me out of the blue said she was “feeling” me. I told her what happened, she sent me a ticket, I went to Atlanta with my hand bag and passport - you can imagine the looks I got

Women Stepping! | 17

at the airport when I went through Security!! My colleague “nursed” me back to health, she showered me, pampered me and boxed me back into shape……………. true sisterhood is a beautiful thing.

When I was leaving to come back to London, I went into this bookstore to get some books to read on the plane and I saw this little purple book called Acts of Faith, I picked it up and to this day I never understood how or why, but it was if a gust of wind blew this book out of my hand, when I picked it up, it opened to a page where the questions stood out “Would You Marry You?” And I stood there rooted to the floor and I thought this is the lesson....if you don’t love yourself and if you don’t feel good about loving yourself, why am I palming myself off onto somebody else who has confirmed he doesn't love me. No one can love me like me, and if someone doesn't love them self, how can they love me??

I started reading a page a day from Acts of Faith on Choice FM. I would have inmates from Wormwood Scrubs writing to me asking for a copy of the book, and I would send them a copy.

Another book I used to read was Black Pearls for Parents by Eric V Copage I gave those books away and remember one particular inmate who wanted to make sure he didn’t repeat the mistakes with his son so I gladly gave him a copy. I even had BBC Radio (I think it was World Service) coming in to Choice to record the phone lines lighting up with competition entries and listeners hoping to get a copy of Acts of Faith. Books shops were calling Choice FM to find out if I would mention their shops that were stocking Acts of Faith. It was phenomenal fever that has never left me. This was what gave me the passion to start the book club. My desire is to have a mobile interactive book club

Feeling Fab with Angie Greaves is where Angie Greaves is feeling fab! As my accountant has often said, be assertive, be confident, and keep your focus. If I’m not feeling fab, how can I talk to be people about feeling fab, it has been a whirlwind.

WEW: How does one find opportunity in the midst of so much negativity?

AG: Negativity is a state of mind that pulls you down, no one wants to be pulled down, women are so used to pulling themselves down, as mothers our children are watching us, I tell my daughters all the time, when you go out, you must walk with your head held up, never look down, you are royalty, you have a crown on their head, if you look down and that crown falls down, there’ll be someone else to pick it up and put it on their head. Own your crown. With daily struggles, it’s hard, but we must be positive, no one knows how long we have in this life and I believe it is our mission to enjoy ourselves and spread joy. We must learn that in feeling negative, we must deal with the reason why we’re feeling the way we do.

If you want me to help you with why you’re feeling the way you are, I will help you, but you must make steps to deal with real reason for the feelings.

WEW: Do you think the reasons why people don’t spot opportunities where they are is due to the issues of the heart?

AG: There are a lot of interruptions and distractions facing us every day, adults and children alike and when these distractions take over, we become spiritually and emotionally blind.

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18 | Women Stepping!

WEW: Women Empowering Women Magazine is published for the Kingdom Minded Woman, what is your advice to the younger generation of women about being Kingdom Minded??

AG: Kingdom Minded Children should be taught to be Kingdom Minded by their parents who have a strong sense and relationship with God, we have to embrace our children, boys need to learn to become men and girls must learn to become women. We can’t think our kids will turn out right without pouring into them. They must be taught to love themselves as they grow up, it’s a process - and some of us as parents are still learning!!!

WEW: How have you been able to balance your career as a presenter, wife and mother?

AG: I’ve balanced my time very well, it didn’t come overnight and I still have interruptions from time to time Since becoming a presenter, I’ve never worked full time, I either worked weekends, evenings or daytime, I was always available for my girls. 5 years of doing Drive Time was a challenge, the first 3 years was great, but it was the final 2 years that the mothering instinct in me came out, I was almost crying, I was missing my kids’ homework, coming home late and I realised that something needed to change. It was also putting an enormous strain on my marriage and parenting skills.

There are some women that have to do more than one job and don’t see their children, there are some women that have to get up at 6am in the morning to take their child to a childminder and work until 6pm and collect their children and 7pm, and to such women I truly salute them. I realised how blessed I am and may God strengthen those hard women to

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seek and receive the outcome for a more balanced life.

WEW: What do you think is the most important aspect of a woman’s life in this present century?

AG: I think women nowadays need to be true to themselves and in being true to themselves they can be true to their sisters, can you imagine true fellowship amongst sisters? Women have something that builds and flourishes. When women come together and truly value themselves, that embracing is so powerful and that’s when we can go to our husband/partners and be open and honest. I have to say to myself every evening after work, when you go home you’re Angela the wife, I have to turn my

Women Stepping! | 19

phone off, my kids are not interested in my role as a presenter. I am very mindful of bringing my work home. I remember leaving Church with my girls and stopped in a garden centre on the way home (I love gardening in the Summer) we saw a couple pushing a trolley full of flowers who started talking to me about the Breakfast Show Choice etc etc etc and my girls just looked at each other saying “this is my mum” and that’s who they want - mum.

WEW: Meeting so many famous people over the years, how have you been able to stay so humble and keep a good head on your shoulders?

AG: When you first start interviewing someone whose face is well known, it’s exciting. You've watched their shows, bought their albums, read their books, seen them in concert, but at the end of the day, they are earning a living and are human. This is their vision, their job. Generally people are good to work with, nice to talk to. Some take it a bit too far; others truly believe that when they go to the toilet, lemonade

comes out (sorry to be graphic), but some are very lovely.

Once you realise these famous people are just people the fear leaves and you just do your job WEW: Finally tell us what projects you will be working on that we should look out for.

AG: I am definitely going to bring Angie Greaves Feeling Fab alive, on line, in person and via podcasts and workshops.

I want to take Feeling Fab to the next level and really offer a service that makes people (male and female) who choose to connect, feel better about themselves.

WEW: How can our readers connect to your work and Feeling Fab magazine?

AG: It’s online at http:// www.angiegreaves.com/

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Her Style | 21

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22 | Her Style

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CAREER SUCCESS

By Morenike Ajayi

E

xcelling in your career is simple… the key is finding a career that matches your talent.

You are endowed with talents from God and it is in different dimensions.

According to Matthew 25: 14-15: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip”. The man in this story is God and you are His servant. God has endowed you with talents according to your abilities, since He knows you perfectly well. However, there is an expectation of you, see Matthew 25:19: “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.” We will be required to give an account for what God has deposited in us. If you read further, you will discover what happened to each servant. The faithful ones, i.e. the ones who worked hard and effectively used their talents to generate a positive return, were the ones that were not just thinking about themselves but multiplied what they had in order to be a blessing to others. The master was so pleased and bountifully rewarded them with more

responsibilities - meaning promotion, more money, more influence, change of status and much more. On the other hand, the lazy, selfish and self-centred servant who couldn’t be bothered to do something with his talent or gift but instead held onto it lost everything and ended up in destruction.

“God has blessed each one of us with talents and gifts so that we can be a blessing to others and ourselves.”

God’s thoughts towards us are good; they are thoughts of peace according to Jeremiah 29:11. The word also says that the blessing of the Lord makes a person rich and He adds no sorrow to it. Before I progress onto my main topic, I wanted to establish the fact that God has blessed each one of us with talents and gifts so that we can be a blessing to others and ourselves. The act of putting these Godgiven talents and gifts to use is what I call “Career” or “Occupation”. In order to

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24 | Her Style maximise the returns on and be out to her, so I employed her and paid successful at this, there are certain her £80 for her service of 10 hours plans and principles you need to per month. She was very delighted.

KEY DATES follow. The Cambridge The lady later made a conscious Junior Career Nuggets dictionary defines ‘success’ as decision to build on her cleaning Summit “achieving the results wanted skills; she went to college and 2 July 2016 or hoped for” or “something obtained the highest level of British Career Nugget that achieves positive results”. It National Vocational Qualifications Christmas Special 26 November 2016 is God’s will for you to prosper and (NVQ) in Cleaning Services. Today, 14 be successful in all you do, however, years later, she still cleans but runs her there are certain principles you need to adhere to. ow Cleaning business and now employs others.

I will be discussing these principles in this article This story can be likened to the story of the man but before then, here’s a little story. with five talents. This lady now lives very comfortably, owns her own house and has been a I met a girl in a salon who was, at the time, waiting blessing to many. I believe you are all endowed on the Home Office (British Immigration Dept.) with talents to be blessed and be a blessing to for her permanent residency to be granted. As a others. God has fully-equipped you on earth to result, she was not able to get a proper job, so live a joyful, fulfilling and purposeful life. Yours is worked as a cleaner in this salon. After working to discover it and run with it. for approximately 7-8 hours per day, she was paid a measly sum of £10 for the day. My heart reached

Morenike Ajayi is married to Kenny Ajayi and they have a son - David.

She currently works as the Assistant Director of Finance & Procurement with a London Housing Association. She is also the TV presenter and producer of "Career Nuggets", a flagship programme on OHTV Sky 199.

Morenike recognizes that there is more to excelling in the marketplace than just working hard – soft skills and work ethics play a major role too.

She also believes many have the potential to advance in their chosen field, given the right nurturing, mentoring and if they reach out for the right opportunities.

Having mentored a few candidates, Morenike recognised that there are many whose mindsets and work ethics have held them back from aspiring for more. Identifying the gap in the marketplace has compelled her to create "Career Nuggets" a social enterprise aiming to bridge this gap.

Visit www.careernuggets.tv for more information on the services we offer

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26 | Her Style 26 | Her Style

PART II

REBUILDING THE WALLS PART III

By Lisa Maki

You shall be called rebuilder of walls, restorer of homes (Isaiah 58:1).

I

t was the most critical time in my marriage when God gave me this Scripture. I was physically separated from my husband then. He went through some major spiritual crisis that made me panic and ran away. Yes ... I ran away. And I ran away mad and hurt thinking that I was doing the right thing.

A few months before that incident, I dreamed of a woman I know from Facebook, an intercessor who God connected to me. In my dream she brought me a bouquet of multi-colored flowers. She parked her car and entered through my back door. I told her about my

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dream and she said that God is calling me to a higher level of intimacy with Him. I kind of brushed off her interpretation at that time. I was so busy with work and making ends meet and I had no extra time for fasting or quiet time with God more than what I already had.

Besides, everything seemed okay. We were just getting adjusted to a new home we were renting, after being released from our care giving job for my husband’s grandmother.

Looking back to that dream, I now see the symbolisms more clearly. My intercessor friend symbolized the Father. The flowers symbolized love and romance – like God was wooing me to spend more time with Him so He can bring me to a higher level. The multi colors symbolized the brightness and beauty of what is going

to take place. The back door symbolized God moving behind me without being noticed, which also explains why it was an unexpected visit.

Had I paid closer attention to the dream and what my friend was saying, things would have not happened the way they did. Instead, I panicked and even made my friend panic. All I saw was some demonic oppression. I tried warring in the spirit but I felt that the demons were so strong. I consulted other people of God without waiting on God to establish divine connections. I talked against my husband and formed alliances with those who were also suspicious of him and his behaviour. In short, I gave up and turned over my husband to whatever was trying to take hold of him. I became hurt, bitter, and very rebellious.

It took a while before I realized what I had done.

I repented, started picking up the pieces of the mess I made, and reconciled with my husband.

Everything started to return to normalcy. I totally forgot about Isaiah 58:1 until God brought it back to my attention by leading me to Scriptures that talk about “rebuilding the walls”. It was still not making a lot of sense until the revelation on the Armour -Bearer wife was downloaded by the Holy Spirit to me.

Only then did I begin to see deeper and deeper.

It was a friend of mine, Jacqueline Ani, who explained to me clearly that whoever is stronger spiritually in the marriage should stand in the gap.

“Being stronger spiritually”, by the way, doesn’t have anything to do with titles or positions in ministry. It is one’s ability to discern that something is not right, and that there is an attack going on. Your husband may even be a Bishop, but at the time of the attack was not able to see what was about to happen. Remember my dream?

That was God’s warning to me of something that was about to happen, but which I ignored.

There is a major attack going on in Christian marriages today, more so for those who are big threats to the demonic realm. If you are one of these women who are under severe attack, praise

“There is a major attack going on in Christian marriages today, more so for those who are big threats to the demonic realm.”

Before I go on, let me address one common question I have received from women who read the article: THE WIFE: THE ARMOUR-BEARER. The question is: “Shouldn’t my husband be the one protecting our marriage since he is the head?”

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28 | Her Style God because it assures you that the devil is scared of you. Strategically, the first person the devil will attack is the head of the marriage, your husband. No matter how spiritually strong your husband is, if the attack is on him then you are expected to stand in the gap. If your husband is not spiritually strong, then all the more should you be like Deborah, leading in the spiritual battle.

13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”

So ladies ... let us stop wishing and saying that our husbands should lead. They are already our leaders in the physical realm, technically, because God placed them above us. Instead, let us focus on our role as Armour-Bearers.

I want you to close your eyes now as you inspect the walls of your marriage. How severe is the damage? What parts of the walls are broken (trust, love, respect, romance, intimacy, fun, joy, peace)?

I am assuming that by now you have already read The Wife: The Armour-Bearer, and The Armour-Bearer Wife: Her Biggest Stronghold. I also believe that you are now in the process of healing from your wounds and are getting more geared up for your role as an ArmourBearer. It is now time to strategize!

How did it break? What happened? Focus on what you did wrong and not what your husband did wrong. For instance, if the broken part of the wall is trust, look back to where it all started. When did you start losing trust in him? Why? What could you have done differently?

What does God’s Word say about this?

THE STRATEGY Each of us has a different story. We may have common problems and issues that we are dealing with but the details are still uniquely ours. Your husband is different from mine, and so it follows that my strategy may be different from yours. The bottom line is: You have to create your own strategy. What I am going to present to you are guidelines that you can follow in creating your own personal strategy.

These questions, as you inspect the damage to your walls, will also help you in your healing process. As you focus on yourself and what you did wrong, your issues will be exposed. This is the prerequisite to true healing.

Think of your marriage as a kingdom that the enemy has severely attacked. The walls have been broken, which is the reason why the enemy can just come in and out. No matter how hard you fight, unless those walls are rebuilt and fortified, you will just wear yourself out and not even win.

The first step of the strategy then is to inspect the damage to the wall. This was what Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 2.

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Remember what I said in my previous article??? You can’t be an effective Armour-Bearer if you are wounded.

You need to heal. However, you don’t need to be perfectly healed to start rebuilding your walls. You will have to do it simultaneously.

Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other (Nehemiah 4:17).

The second step of the strategy is to take note of your personal strongholds, followed by your husband’s strongholds.

You would need to write all these down. I created two columns when I did this: one for me and one for my husband. And please ... you do not need to let your

husband know about this. There are things that you have to keep between you and the Lord first until it is time. Strategizing requires wisdom and discretion. This is what Nehemiah did. He investigated in secret.

Through your investigation of your walls and the parts that are broken, God will begin to show you your issues. As you become more open to God’s healing, He will begin to dig deeper and show you the strongholds that have been controlling you all these years. These strongholds are the very reasons why your walls are broken. Until you attack the root source, the walls will just keep falling and breaking.

Write down all issues first and let God show you which ones are the strongholds. Strongholds are the root issues. For instance, if your issue is insecurity, the stronghold may be rejection.

The third step of the strategy is to prepare to war in the spirit.

Nobody enters the battlefield unprepared. It is the kind of preparation one does that dictates the victory or defeat. Sometimes, the enemy will just run away scared, only to return again with a stronger force. Our mindset should be only one thing: TO WIN AND TOTALLY DESTROY THE ENEMY. Fasting is the best way to prepare for battle. This is a tried-and-tested method in the Bible. Pray on the kind of fast that God is calling you to do. You can do a one day absolute fast, a 21 day Daniel fast, a few hours of fast each day for three or more days, etc. The best fast is a 40-day fast. However, this is not for everyone, more so if your health or schedule will not allow it.

There are so many varieties of fast. Pray for God’s perfect will and what will work best for you.

Having a consistent time alone with God everyday is another way to prepare. David said in Psalm 27:4-6: One thing I ask; that will I seek; that I will dwell in the

house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of His holiness and inquire in His temple...He will conceal me there when troubles come.

He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.

Part of preparation is to schedule your battle. Choose a day, place, and time where you will do it. Be sure you have your list of strongholds with you. Your warfare should cover these different parts: worship, declaration of God’s promises, intercession for your husband, and cutting off the heads of those strongholds.

The fourth step is the actual day of battle.

I put on my prayer shawl when I enter the battlefield. I start with worship, lifting up and exalting the Father. I follow it up with declaration of His promises. These promises are Scriptures (you should have this ready, written on paper) pertaining to healing, deliverance, spiritual warfare, and everything else you are warring for in the spirit. I then put on my sackcloth and begin interceding for my husband. I act like his lawyer, pleading his case before God. I love this part because it makes me see my husband for who he really is, the way God created him. It makes me put myself in his shoes – feeling what he is feeling and thinking what he is thinking. When I intercede for my husband, God floods me with compassion for him. It is some sort of healing for me too. This intercession is followed by the actual warfare. I position myself again in worship then stand up to declare war with the devil. I command my angels, in the name of Yeshua to guard the four corners of my house. I put on my whole armour and declare the authority that God has given me to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. I call down from the second heavens (where demons are) stronghold after stronghold, demonic kings and spirits in charge of these strongholds. I take my sword and cut off the heads of these demons, in the name of Yeshua, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, I see in the spiritual realm, all

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30 | Her Style my enemies defeated and dead. I go back to the Father’s throne and celebrate with thanksgiving and praise.

Now you see why this battle takes preparation? It is no joke. I get so exhausted and even tired for days after a warfare. Sometimes, you may even have to do it for several days, not necessarily consecutively. Again, create a strategy that will work for you.

Once you have destroyed strongholds, other issues may continue to pop up. This is God’s way of showing you what may still be there that you haven’t addressed. You can destroy more strongholds after your major war, without going through the same extensive process.

Destroying these strongholds is the most critical part in rebuilding your walls. Maintaining your time alone with God each day in prayer and Word will continue to rebuild your walls on the right foundation. Making sure that you use the mind of your spirit and not your flesh is another way of rebuilding and strengthening these walls. Keeping yourself uncontaminated by the world and sin is part of strengthening your walls too.

Having a repentant spirit is another key.

every new journey and/or promotion, there are new enemies to conquer and defeat. This was the case with the Israelites in every journey they took, and every land they possessed. The good thing about it is that God crosses over ahead of us. He said this Himself in Deuteronomy 31. Let me quote the verses for you.

The words in parenthesis are my own paraphrased words.

The Lord your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. The Lord will destroy the (enemies) living in the land. The Lord will hand over to you (the enemies) who live there and you must deal with them. Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you (verses 3-6).

Another promise God gave us is in Zechariah 2:5.

For I, says the Lord, will be to her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

Isn’t that amazing? God Himself will be our wall, and not just a wall but a “wall of fire”, with His glory in the midst of us. Wow!

One thing I also want you to bear in mind is that for

Lisa Maki is the founder, publisher, and editor of God'z Gurlz, a Bible-based web magazine for women. She is a Professional Writer/Consultant with over 20 years of experience in Professional Writing, Public speaking, and Human Resources in Organizational Development. She manages a Professional Writing business which includes Résumé Writing, Business Letter Writing, Business Plans, Website Content, Editing Jobs, Press Kits, and other writing requirements.

More than a Professional Writer, Lisa is an evangelist/preacher/minister with over 10 years of ministry experience including pastoring a women's prison; conduct of Bible-based seminars and Bible studies in corporate offices; preaching engagements in churches, police camps, schools, and other organizations; outreach programs for poor families and children; and pastoring a church.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and some units in Psychological Services. She was commissioned as "minister" in 2006.

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32 | Her Style

TELLING YOUR

STORY

By Teresa L. Holmes

I

have had many dreams for myself, but telling my personal story was not one of them. I never imagined living my life out loud, speaking on public platforms or being a published author. However, what I can tell you is that it was the best thing that ever came my way. There are many things of which I am not proud, but neither do they cause me shame. I now know that each time I fell to the ground there was something down there for me to find. What I found was to be a part of the stories that I am meant to share.

The first time I told my story, I was somewhat bribed into it. My mentor invited me to an event and unbeknownst to me, I was actually on the agenda. I took the stage a ball of nerves.

I had never spoken publicly. However, when I exited that stage I felt like I was on top of the

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world. Who knew that I could do this? Initially, I worried about how I would fill a 30-minute slot. What would I say? Who would even want to listen to me? However, the feeling I got as I was holding that microphone was one I had never felt. Even more fulfilling was the smiles on the faces of the audience and their nods of acknowledgement. Yes, my story did mean something and others did want to hear it.

What I also learnt from that experience was that there is no perfect time or place. We must quit waiting for the most opportune and “just right� time to share our amazing stories.

Whether it is an audience of two, or two thousand, give it all you have.

If it had been left to me there is a great chance that I still may not have told my story.

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However, someone else knew the value it would bring and I am so grateful that he made me.

Your story is valuable also and someone needs to hear it.

Someone needs your words to help them heal or to break an ongoing cycle. Someone out there is hurting and the pain is very deep. They need to know that you too have suffered but you also overcame.

Becoming a storyteller has enhanced my life as well. I have gone from low self-esteem and low self-confidence

to loving, valuing and believing in myself. I have come to accept the choices and mistakes of my past as a vital part of my journey. I also realize that healing and growth are available to me if I tune into my needs by telling my story.

You do not have to be a professional speaker, an accomplished author or an artist of any kind to share your life story. The ways to share it are unlimited. Speak, write, sing, draw, photograph it if you must; just get it out there somewhere.

Teresa L. Holmes is a Career Transition Coach, International Empowerment Speaker and Life Strategist, also known as the Esteemologist. She began her entrepreneur journey as a Certified Life Coach and is now the Executive Director of Full ‘Steem Ahead Life Coaching & Mentoring and the LaQuay Group for Career Development. Teresa possesses a unique blend of personal and career development, clinical specialist, leadership and entrepreneurship. She combines these qualities to help teens and women transform their lives into those of freedom and beauty.

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34 | Her Style

‘JESUS CHRIST...

I’m wearing Jesus Christ.’

By Jennifer Izekor

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A

part from the diversity controversy of

until they are ‘clothed with power from on high’. In

the 88th Academy Awards this year,

Job 29:14 (NASB) Job tells how he ‘put on

there is one common factor in the

righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a

awards season guaranteed to get

robe and a turban’. People have been wearing ‘Jesus’

tongues wagging, paparazzi clicking and the

for a very long time!

headlines screaming. Yes, it’s the fashion, specifically the women’s dresses. Amidst the layers of chiffon,

Recently, I have been learning the art of spiritual

silk and flashing light bulbs, there is that point in the

power-dressing, clothing myself with power from on

obligatory star-struck interview when the interviewer

high; wearing righteousness. It is a fine art, one that

asks the question on everyone’s lips…”So who are

needs regular practice but I have an excellent teacher

you wearing?”.

and mentor - The Holy Spirit. He was there when every masterpiece was created. These garments are

In response, designer names trip off tongues with practiced aplomb that says as much effort has gone into rehearsing the answer as has gone into wearing the clothes. These carefully designed dresses define the women, their popularity for days to follow and the number of inches of newspaper and internet coverage. Knock-off outfits are made available almost before the cameras stop rolling. It’s a question only a lucky few will ever be asked or get the opportunity to

“...when He dresses me not even Solomon in all his glory is arrayed like me!!!”

answer.

Yet, as I stand in front of my mirror this morning, ready to go out, I imagine myself on the red

priceless; this is couture fashion without comparison.

carpet….camera bulbs flashing, microphones in my

This collection is designed by the very hands that

face as I flash a brilliant smile at my interviewer. I

created the universe, the colours mixed by He who

know I look good, I may not have the taut curves of

made the rainbow, placing each colour side by side.

the average Hollywood star and my make-up is pretty

He is God of many colours and when He dresses me

minimal but I am wearing the very best couture

not even Solomon in all his glory is arrayed like me!!!.

available anywhere in the world and beyond. ‘Ask me the question’, I urge my imaginary Interviewer.

Firstly, I am bathed in the water and blood of a

Go on”, I say and then, in response to the imaginary

saviour who gave it all for me. The dirt of sin and

query, I lift my chin, flash my most brilliant smile and

shame freshly washed away, I am cleansed, refreshed,

say it….”I’m wearing Jesus Christ; all Jesus Christ”.

restored. Then I am covered with the oil of gladness and joy (Psalm 45:7); a luxurious balm, soothing away

Now, before you accuse me of being frivolous or

the wrinkles of worry, doubt and fear, pampering

taking the Lord’s name in vain, stay with me here;

every inch till my skin shines and glistens with joy,

wearing ‘Jesus’ is indeed biblical! In Galatians 3:27

hope and faith. As I massage it gently into my face,

Paul says: “For all of you who were baptised into

arms and legs, I can’t stop the smile that breaks across

Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ”. In Luke

my face. I am reminded of how much I have to be

24:49, Jesus tells His disciples to wait in Jerusalem

thankful for and I am joyful.

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36 | Her Style Next, I put on my garment of praise (Isaiah

herself with her jewels.” By His grace, I am

61:3). I have to say it, this looks so good!! Better

indeed dressed with the garments of salvation,

still, it was such a bargain and like all women, I

wrapped up in the robes of righteousness and

love a good bargain. All I had to do was

bedecked with the finest jewels of His grace.

exchange it for the garment of ill-fitting

Finally, like Cinderella, I slip on my exquisite

heaviness that I had grown so used to wearing

shoes, made from the Gospel of Peace; they are

every day. I had made it from various scraps of

all-weather, all-terrain, yet beautiful beyond

disappointment and despair and sown it

comparison, fitting perfectly. The ancient

together with the pain of broken hopes and

Prophet Isaiah describes them in Isaiah 52:7,

dreams. Fact is, it never looked good and I can’t

how lovely are my feet indeed when I walk in

explain why I kept putting it on. Then one day,

His will and righteousness, on a mission for His

the Holy Spirit came and made me an offer I

kingdom.

could not refuse - I could swop my garment of

So, now I am dressed, resplendent in the beauty

heaviness for a garment of praise (Isaiah 61:3). I

of His holiness, clothed with power from on

lifted my voice, opened my mouth, raised my

high. Power-dressed, ready to take on the

hands to the One whose name is above all and

world, to stand firm in the face of temptation,

my new garment slipped right over my

attacks of the enemy and supernatural assaults. I

shoulders and moulded itself around me. It’s an

know I am covered and protected; and I can

incredibly versatile garment; I’ve discovered I

stand firm.

can wear it in all circumstances, all occasions; good days and bad (it actually looks better on

I look in the mirror and see His spirit shining

the bad days). Praise Couture looks good on

out from my eyes. I am dressed, clothed with

me!!!

power from on high and I am ready!!! Who am I wearing? Today I am wearing Jesus and, in

I’m looking good but my outfit is not complete.

Him, I look incredible.

In Isaiah 61:3 the prophet says: “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, just as a bridegroom decks

Jennifer Izekor’s book “Seven days With His Love Within”, published by ZacMedia will be available from April 2016 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and leading online bookshops

himself with a garland and as a bride adorns

As a professional a Jennifer Izekor is a Commissioner with the Independent Police Complaints Commission. She is also currently an Associate Minister with the Loughton Baptist Church, Founder of the Women By the Well Ministry and writes a Christian bog on Facebook called His Love Within which has over 24,000 followers worldwide. Jennifer has just completed her first book 'Seven Days With His Love Within’ which is launched in April 2016. She lives in Essex with her daughter.

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Tope Songonuga, credited with inventing the concept of a Storm Mindset®, is the CEO of Mindset Makeover Mission® Publishing. Having gone through a few storms (divorce storm, bereavement storm, single-parenting storm, financial storm, Accident storm etc.) herself, Tope understands the power of a positive mindset in helping a person to weather a storm better. She draws on her experience to produce the Storm Mindset® book series, an anthology of inspiring real-life stories of how ordinary people overcame adversity by exhibiting views, habits, attitudes etc. (MINDSET) which aided them to weather the storm better and/or become better rather than bitter, VICTOR rather than VICTIM, afterwards. This book is an introduction to the Storm Mindset® series.

It was her positive storm mindset that aided Tope in eventually overcoming her divorce storm and enabled her to identify her life’s purpose, which manifests as Mindset Makeover Mission®. She hosts the Mindset Makeover Talk show on both Radio and TV; this gives her the opportunity to mesh tips shared on her show with those told in the stories she publishes. Sold on the biblical principle of ‘iron sharpens iron’, she tends to gain wisdom and draw personal strength from reading and editing stories about other people’s experiences.

You are invited to contribute to the series by submitting your stories for publication in a relevant book. Please visit www.stormmindset.com for more information about how to contribute.

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HER

Mind Body Soul

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40 | Her Wholeness

ENCOURAGEMENT...

By Janet Stevenson

B

eing an encourager may not come naturally to us but the Bible tells us to encourage one another (Heb 3: 13).

When we do so, we are reflecting the heart of God who is the “God of encouragement” (Rom 15: 5).

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” – Mother Teresa The above quote captures the essence of what encouragement is all about. To encourage is not passive but active, meaning that we purposely reach out and touch people, inspire them, give them hope, lift their spiritsand leave them feeling better and happier.

As women, we are specially gifted to offer encouragement to others because we think, feel, respond and communicate differently from men.

How is this? During times of stress, the hormone

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oxytocin is released into the body and it produces calming and nurturing feelings towards others.

This effect is enhanced by oestrogen in women and reduced by testosterone in men. The sections of the brain responsible for language are larger in women, which is one reason why women tend to communicate more effectively than men. Women also have a larger limbic system, which causes them to be more in touch with and find it easier to express their feelings.

So how can we make the most of this wonderful and powerful gift?

“Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone” – GB Stern A simple thank you goes a long way and shows your gratitude when someone does something for you. Thank those who open the door for you, offer their seat to you, pay you a compliment, make an effort or go the extra mile for you, etc.

Voicing your appreciation not only encouragesbut

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also demonstrates that you have noticed their act of kindness and that you valued it.

“Encourage one another and build each other up.” – 1 Thes 5:11 Look for opportunities to inspire and encourage others. Helpful, uplifting words are often remembered and treasured long after they are spoken and can also be life-changing. Who do you know who needs encouragement? What can you can say that will build them up?

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.”– Mark Twain Give a warm and heartfelt compliment whenever you can. Simple comments like, “That colour looks great on you,” or “I love your attention to detail” make a person feel special and appreciated. When you give a compliment, be specific about what you appreciate. Vague compliments, like “That was great” or “You’re so wonderful” although better than none don’t quite hit the mark in the encouragement stakes.

"The spirited horse, which will try to win the race of its own accord, will run even faster if encouraged" – Ovid Encourage others for their efforts rather than for who they are. “You’re so amazing!” is less motivating than “That piece of work was complex and difficult. I admire your determination in completing it.” Feedback like this encourages adults, and children alike, to rise to challenges, overcome difficulties and stick at time-consuming and complicated tasks. It also spurs them on to higher levels of achievement. How easy it is to focus on the winner and, in so doing, discourage the “also ran”. Praise effort more than success and you’ll encourage both.

In today’s challenging and competitive world, where

“God has blessed each one of us with talents and gifts so that we can be a blessing to others and ourselves.” the successful few are honored, people can quickly fade into the shadows and lose heart. Resolve now to acknowledge and praise others for their efforts because it will make a huge difference.

"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success" – Unknown Pick people up when they fall down.

Disappointments often cause people to give up.

Encourage them instead to learn from obstacles encountered. As Benjamin Franklin said, “I didn't fail the test; I just found 100 ways to do it wrong”.

Acknowledge people for the gifts they have, the progress they make and for the insights they gain from setbacks. Water them with encouragement and watch them grow and flourish.

"Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticise"–Elizabeth Harrison Praise more than you criticise because it is much more effective to do so. This is not to say that correction is wrong, but it depends on how it is done. Research shows that praise positively influences the way we view our intelligence, how we approach tasks and react to failure. Children need lots of praise and encouragement because they find it hard to separate a comment about their work

SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

from being a comment about their person: “I don’t like your drawing” is received as “I don’t like you”. We all need acknowledgement and will seek it through bad behaviour if we don’t get it any other way.

“Actions speak louder than words” – Unknown Encourage people by helping or doing something for them. As James said, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (Jam 2: 15-16). Action must accompany words if we truly want to encourage.

Take the time to write a letter, note, postcard or an email to encourage. Words are powerful to uplift and inspire It is clear that "the finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement. Yet, almost no one gets the encouragement they need to grow to their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams." – Sidney Madwed.

So, come on sisters, let’s use the power of a woman’s encouragement to make a difference in the world!

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”– Prov 16: 24

Janet Stevenson is the founder and owner of Train2Grow, is an experienced consultant, trainer, coach and counselor. She is passionate about facilitating positive radical change and personal growth in people’s lives both personally and professionally. Her style is facilitative and participative, using NLP, Non-Verbal Intelligence, Transactional Analysis and brain-friendly techniques. She runs management and leadership programmes, is a licensed Springboard and Renew-You trainer, and also offers team and psychometric profiling using Belbin, Strength Deployment Inventory (SDA) and MiRoBehavioral Mode Assessment. Janet has trained thousands of delegates in both the public and private sector, and enjoys working with people at all levels – chief executives, senior management teams and those in customer-facing roles. Her style is open, communicative, empathic and friendly; she is a skilled listener and easily engages with people. She creates a stimulating learning environment, where she encourages individuals to participate and think.

She is a contributing author to a number of books for women: “How to Break the Glass Ceiling without a Hammer – Career Strategies for Women” “The Power of a Woman – Embracing the Woman Within” “Madam CEO – How to Think and Act like an Executive”

“Leaders in Pearls – How to Be a Change Architect” “Breaking Free – Overcoming Self-Sabotage”

“The Power Of God”

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Her Style | 43

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44 | Her Wholeness

BALANCE

By Shola Oladipo

A

s a clinical dietitian I am constantly asked what a balanced diet looks like.

To be frank, there is no quick, easy answer to balance. You see, the issue of balance is dependent upon a variety of factors, comprising internal, external, intentional or coincidental variables. These factors have an impact upon our lives and can affect our ability to attain balance.

Whether it be irritable bowel syndrome or liver disease, elevated cholesterol or diabetes mellitus everyone seeks that internal balanceand what they can do to manipulate their dietary intake to ensure this balance is achieved.

There is something so whole, correct, permitted and ‘right’ about balance.

Our bodies thrive most when there is a balanced internal and external environment. This state of equilibrium is crucial for us to fulfil the entirety of God’s amazing purpose for us as women.

Balance – according to various dictionary sources, can be defined as: An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

Being equal or in the correct proportions.

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It is important to note that when we fail to attain balance or when we lose balance, we inevitably fall.

I have come to realise that true balance stems from a relationship with God. Before you ask what that has to do with food and diet, let’s go back in time. The book of Genesis in the Bible describes the most beautiful natural balance known to mankind – Eden. God created everything man would need to be fully fed and balanced. It was aspiritually, emotionally and physicallybalancedenvironment which was set to bring full satisfaction to Adam and Eve; see Genesis 1:4-17.

The beautiful and balanced environment of Eden was the backdrop of health, true wealth and wellbeing for Adam and Eve. Then Eve was beguiled by the serpent who caused her to doubt the balanced diet God had prescribed. She hungered for something more, outside the will of God. We see in Genesis 3: 4-5 that she allowed the serpent to cause her to question the wholeness of her identity: 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will

Her Style | 45 be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Eve seemingly sensed a deep, curiousdissatisfaction, the fact she was indeed already created in the image and likeness of God did not resonate. She and her husband subsequently ate the ‘forbidden fruit’ and fell from balance into a state ofimbalance – emotionally, spiritually and physically – remember, when we lose balance we fall!

Eve’s emotions were aroused to explore & doubt her balance. The serpent was able to make her question her completeness, wholeness, identity and balance!This in turn led to a desire or appetite for something she did not need.She doubted her fullness in God and desired the lie of the serpent.This in my mind was the first and worst occurrence of an eating disorder, more tragic than anorexia nervosaand more damaging that bulimia nervosa; an appetite outside of God’s balance.

subjected to the desire for a ‘sugar rush’ or an onslaught of salt?

It’s fair to say that at certain times in our lives we all fall into the habit of ‘emotional eating.’ We eat in response to how we feel, be it anger, excitement, fear, sadness, confusion, shame or even disgust. Conversely, our appetites may also be provoked when experiencing joy and excitement. Our appetites are quite capable of causing us to eat when we are not hungry.

Satiety is a word used in clinical nutrition to describe satisfaction, fullness or balance beyond desire. The Bibleinterestingly describes this inPsalms 34:10 as state of‘not lacking anything good…’

As women, before we can truly attain and sustain balance in our eating habits, we must reach true satiety

As a good Father, God never leaves His children hungry, so why did they develop an appetiteoutside of Him? Have you ever noticedhow we can experience the desire for food aka ‘appetite,’

without the need for food aka‘hunger?’

All too often our appetites are in direct correlation with our emotions, thus affecting our desire to eat or not, as the case may be! Our appetites do not necessarily crave healthy, balanced food either; have you been

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46 | Her Style

in God; where we are balanced in Him and in whom He we says we are. It’s a state where external forces willnot cause us to run to the cookie jaror the refrigerator for a ‘foodfix.’ That true balance comes when we feast on His Word and acknowledge that we lack nothing – it comes when we find our true beautiful balance in God. It is then that eating becomes something we do mindfully – in control and not emotionally-led.

Understanding that true fullness comes from God is notfar-fetched and unattainable, on the contrary; God lovingly and patiently wants us to come to Him and know Him in a deeper, intentional manner. With this

mindset, it is easier to achieve what I call ‘mindful eating’ which includes eating when hungry, recognising when you are full and saying “no” to unhealthy excesses.

So, going back to balance, it begins as an internal acknowledgement of God in us. This drives the decision behind what we put on our plates and into our mouths.

This may mean we need to obtain knowledge about our personal nutrition. With this combination in place, balance becomes a daily reality for us.

Stay beautiful - stay balanced!

Shola Oladipo loves living a full-time life. She is a registered Dietitian with 20 years of experience in several clinical areas, working in the NHS and in the food industry. Shola runs ‘Food for Purpose’, an exciting initiative aimed at empowering people to eat, live and serve purposefully.

Shola also serves in a pastoral capacity, alongside her husband, in their local church - Kings Chapel based in London. She has a ministry in music and is gifted inteaching the Word. She leads the women’s ministry known as the ‘Royal Daughters,’ andencourages women everywhere to maintain their beautiful balance in God, which comes via His Word. Shola is married to Timothy, together they run an international outreach ministry called ‘Before and After I do’ (BAID), whichfocuses on restoring God’s divine order, longevity and health to relationships and families. They are blessed with four amazing children and call home their primary ministry.

Shola also runs an editing service for ministers, which includes training and supporting leaders in book authoring, editing and proof-reading, as well as developing audiobooks. She is a lively public speaker who also writes poetry on a platform she calls ‘Poemotion’.

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“ This book is a strategic plan on how to war for your marriage!” - Amazon Customer

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48 | Her Wholeness

By Amma Frimpong

H

ow excited were you the first time you found out that you would be a parent?

Through all your emotions, the anticipation and the excitement, the day comes and the baby now arrives into your new world.

Whether you are a mother or father you would remember how much instant love you felt for your child.

I am sure that you found yourself saying that you would parent differently from how you were parented. You start the process happily but with time you realise that you are not the only significant person in your child’s life as the community and environment also plays a huge role.

Now the question is, how do you raise godly children despite the odds? What are the things that we are facing in this generation and our children are likely to encounter in the next generations? It is recently been on the media that adultery is legalised in South Africa by the constitutional court and gay marriage is legalised by the US Supreme Court. As if it’s not enough, Germany’s national ethics council has called for an end to the criminalisation of incest between siblings after examining the same of a man who had four children with his sister.

These are just a few of the odds that are being legalised in certain countries and in no time, other countries will follow in the same manner. It is very obvious that the battles lines have been drawn and satan is working very

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hard around the clock with his agents to win more souls for their master.

I believe that the church and the home have a huge role to play in preparing this generation and the next to take dominion over everything on the earth above and below.

However, church needs to start from home simply because the Bible explains that the children of Christian parents are holy and that God is calling them into a relationship with Him (Acts 2:39; 1 Corinthians 7:14) and also, our children spend more time at home than in the church. Hence it is our duty as parents to prepare our children for the battle ahead and guide them to personally choose to follow Jesus Christ. There are some questions that every person should have an answer to because it helps you to make sense of the world we live in and the things that we are up against. They are: 1. Who am I, 2. Where am I from, 3. Why am I here, 4. What am I capable of doing and 5. Where am I going or what is my destination? It is therefore the duty of parents to help our children to understand and answer these questions and to succeed in life because success is predictable and the same as failure.

Firstly, we need to help our children to discover who they are in Christ. Just as a manufacturer will add a manual with every product they send out to consumers for them to read on how to operate their equipment, it’s

“The best way to help your children learn to love God is through your personal example.”

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50 | Her Wholeness the same way that God would want to keep his reputation by us reading the manual of our lives. The first thing that God placed on us is his image. For our success to be guaranteed, the manual given to us by the creator help us discover the purpose of our existence is meant to be read and instructions followed through because his reputation is at stake. It is therefore the role of parents to teach our children to love and revere God and to read the manual for our lives in order to understand who were are and where we originated from. This is needed in this day and age where children will need help dealing with scientific theories like evolution, people getting confused with their sexuality and their making efforts to change the way the manufacturer made them. The best way to help your children learn to love God is through your personal example. If your children see that you are in constant loving fellowship with Jesus Christ and obey Him at the expense of small sacrifices in your life, they'll likely desire to do the same. Conversely, if you rarely take time to study the Bible or pray, your children may feel that having a relationship with God is of little or no value.

Additionally, be sure to talk often about all that God has done and continues to do. You can also discuss how God provides your family's daily needs and how He has assisted you in miraculous ways. These actions can help your children comprehend that God is very real and also to have a solid foundation in their lives so that they can easily spot the difference when the devil presents something else to them.

Secondly, the question of why am I here and what am I capable of is also very important as we raise children against all odds. Everything that God designed on this earth has the capacity to succeed.

Every bird can naturally fly, every fish can naturally swim and every seed when planted in the right soil has the ability to bring forth a tree. hence everything god made has built into it its own success. God is more committed to our success because he needs us to manage what he has given us and to have dominion and most importantly to protect His image. Dr. Miles Monroe of blessed memory said

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“God has blessed each one of us with talents and gifts so that we can be a blessing to others and ourselves.” that “the greatest tragedy in life is not death but life without a purpose. Without a purpose, there is no meaning to life and nothing is worse than being alive and not know why, to live for so many years and have breath in your nostrils with no sense of destiny”. Parents have an important role to play here because we need to give our children the vision of God's purpose for them and to teach them the laws in life that guarantees success. As stated in Joshua 1 v 8, “this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success”. Your children need to see not only that God has a purpose for their lives, but a demonstration of how the kingdom of heaven can be brought here on this earth and to dominate in our area of gifting. As a matter of fact, it’s easier for children to understand the concept of the purpose of God for their lives if the parents are walking in purpose and having impact in their sphere of influence. Children need a solid foundation where the man and woman is present in the home to build a strong foundation where security and self-esteem is embedded in the children enabling them to discover themselves, their area of gifting and what they are capable of achieving through Christ who strengthens them.

Last but not the least, the question of where am I going is very significant because success is a result of

Her Wholeness | 51 making the right decisions and following through.

Gods plan for our lives and what we were born to do is already finished. Jeremiah 1 v 11 “I know the plans that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” the plans I have for you. Scientists have proven that when a man and woman comes together, not less than 500 million sperms are realised and they all dash toward the egg and the one that won was us. Hence, God will not allow us to be conceived in our mother’s womb unless there was something that is already finished that we are meant to start. The bible says in Isaiah 46:10, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come”.

If we are blessed to be chosen by God, with our destinies already established regardless of the odds, it means that we need to be guided by an adult who is

also on the same journey in order for us to get to our glorious destination in Christ.

No matter how far our children have gone against the will of God, and regardless of the odds in society, keep committing them to the Lord because only God could see a murderer like Moses and also see the first five books of the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments and the leader of a nation. God also saw a Paul inside of Saul and saved Corinthians, Colossians, Philippians, Galatians, Ephesians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon ie the New Testament. It is my prayer that we will have confidence in the One who has called us to be parents knowing that He who called us is faithful.

Amma Frimpong is the Director of Bridging Families, a mentor and a Senior Tutor/ Lecturer for the Leadership Mentoring for Purpose Programme at Empowered Woman The Mentoring Academy. She is married with 3 beautiful children.

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Wholeness | 52

A

clique is a group of friends that

Listed below are reasons why you should not

pick and choose who is in their

join a clique.

group and they leave certain

LOSS OF IDENTITY

people out on purpose. When you

are with others and start to notice that you are no

When you join a clique there is always a stronger

longer yourself or you stop voicing your true

personality or a few others that want to control

opinion then you are probably in a clique.

you. And because you want to fit in and be

Every young girl wants to be respected and liked by her peers. Joining a clique may be a way in which a girl seeks approval but being in a clique can be detrimental to her self esteem and self worth.

accepted, you may find yourself not being authentic. In other words, you are not keeping it real. You won’t speak out. You will agree with everything that the clique says or does just to fit it. Stop it. Be your own person. Find your own

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Her Wholeness Her Wholeness || 53 53

Speaking Out AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

By Ayo Sonoiki

O

ne of the things I love about

about where I was going by my 1970s

my Nigerian culture is its

teachers.

richness. I didn't always

"You'll live in a tree"

appreciate it growing up in

"You'll eat from leaves"

Nigeria, especially as a child who was born

"You'll bathe in rivers"

in the UK and ‘forced against my will' to

I kid you not, that is what I was told. And I

relocate when I was about 10.

believed my teachers rather than my

I had to leave my friends and to me that was

parents... Don't ask me why. So I guess you

the end of the world. I was sure that I would

can understand my reluctance to go.

never meet anyone as nice as Sharon, Julie,

What a pleasant surprise (or dare I say

Sarah-Jane and my best friend Vanessa! I was

shock!) to see that my wonderful teachers

leaving all that I was accustomed to, and was

here in the UK, who knew EVERYTHING

stepping into a 'Jungle'! Yep you read that

were totally wrong.

right a 'jungle' because that I what I was told

I went on to spend 10 wonderful years

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54 | Her Wholeness

growing up in a country that I have loved

(I really can't remember WHY we were

dearly ever since.

talking about such!) He hesitated for a minute

One of my most vivid memories however of

then said "ONLY if she needed it!" I was

growing up in Nigeria is an instance of

taken aback to say the least.. 'Needed it?" I

domestic violence I witnessed, soon after we

asked.

moved back home.

He went on to explain:

Our next door neighbours were ALWAYS

"Children are taught how to behave by their

arguing, you could hear them through the

parents. Children who seem to be going off

walls. But on this occasion, an argument

on a tangent, or who are being rebellious will

spilled into the street. I remember looking out

be brought back to the straight and narrow by

of the window and seeing the husband with a

the hand that doesn't "spare the rod". By so

cane beating his wife. She was only wearing

doing they learn. There are certain lessons

her underwear. I was shocked and shaken at

that SHOULD be taught by Fathers and learnt

seeing this but even more confused when i

from Fathers. If a woman hasn't learnt these

saw and heard other neighbours come out of

lessons while at home, she will learn them in

their houses not to rescue the woman but to

her husband's house. Her husband therefore

tell her it was her fault!

will play the role of the 'corrector'. If it means

"Why didn't you shut up when your husband

she needs to be beaten (spare the rod) then so

was talking?"

be it"

"Oh, so when you were arguing with him you

I was weak. This person wasn't illiterate,

didn't think after all this time he would

unschooled, or even embarrassed by what he

respond?" "Who do you want to blame for

said... he truly believed it. It was what HE

this now?! Weren't you the one being

was taught.

disrespectful?!"

The unfortunate thing is that many people

(All this was being said in vernacular which

(both male and female) have grown up

for some reason made it sound even more

believing that they have the right to discipline

cutting)

their spouse. I don't want to say it's only an

For everyone around, she deserved it, and he

African way of thinking because it really isn't.

was entitled to beat her....

There are many cultures that feel the same

Since then, I've always wondered how

way....

people, who abuse their spouse, justify it in

About 3 years ago, I had on my show a young

their heads. What would you say to yourself

gentleman who had setup a charity to help

to justify hitting or verbally assaulting the

victims and survivors of domestic violence in

one you're supposed to love?

the UK. My initial interest in having him on

I remember a conversation I had with a male

the show was purely to highlight a 'good

friend a few years ago. For some reason i

work' done by a Nigerian. After all, that's

asked if he thought hitting a woman was ok.

what my show is all about. But during the

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Her Wholeness | 55

show it became more and more evident to me

of help

that this was an area that was not spoken about

·

enough, especially within our communities.

whether you're young, old, male, female, gay or

Although I haven't been directly affected by DV

straight.

other than what I had witnessed by neighbours, I

·

have consistently come across people who have.

alone, don't suffer in silence, there are people

And knowing what to say or do to help was

who can offer advice and support.

To remember that DV can happen to you

Whatever the circumstances, you're not

sometimes difficult to figure out. What I have found however is educating myself about DV is

I'd love to find out what happened to those

invaluable. Not only am I now in a better

neighbours of ours.. Maybe one day I will. In the

position to help others who find themselves in

meantime, I'm making it my duty to speak out

this awful situation, but I'm also better equipped

against domestic violence in all its forms

to guide my own children on what healthy

whichever way I can.

relationships look like.

It is not right. It is not right. It is not right.

The internet is full of statistics in relation to DV,

Love doesn't hurt. It encourages, motivates,

there's no need to repeat them here... they are

protects, shields, empowers and even when it

available for all to see.

needs to, it walks away.

But what I think is important is ·

To educate people on the signs of DV,

Please visit www.DomesticViolenceUK.org to

·

That if you come across people who are

find out more information on getting help

being abused, it is not for you to tell them to

regarding domestic violence.

leave the relationship, but more about building their self-confidence so that they find the strength to leave themselves ·

To point victims/survivors in the direction

Ayo Sonoiki is the Host of Thinking Aloud with Ayo radio show, which showcases

positive news stories about Africans, focusing on people and organisations that are making a difference to their immediate environment and even beyond. She is also an

Advisory Board member of the Domestic Violence UK charity.

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Her Style | 57

SPIRITUAL

Teaching Testimonies Inspiration

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58 | Spiritual Etiquette

MAKE SENSE

By Zoe A Onoh

R

ecently, I experienced a ‘tragedy’ that drilled into my soul to the inner core. If I am honest, it knocked me and probably the rest of my family for six; appeared to send us into dizzy spells. We knew God’s kindness and love was apparent and His hand was mighty upon us inspite of this tornado. Nevertheless, though the pain was anaethesised somewhat by the comfort of our faith in God, we were still deeply shaken.

Scripture tells us to sorrow not, not to grieve as the unbelievers and so on, yet in the back of our sanctified minds, as Christians, we often find ourselves numbling the question of WHY! Some of us may not be so bold as to utter that three letter word out loud, but nevertheless the question keeps resounding in our minds. WHY is it that sometimes God does not make sense at all?

How do you explain to a little girl whose father has died that God is working all things for her good? How do you count it all joy when rape, abuse, murder, death and other tragedies happen to Christians - committed Christians, who love and serve God with every fibre of their being?

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“God does not make sense sometimes because we are often people of reason.”

How does God make sense to the pastor of a vibrant church who joins in rejoicing when children of the congregation are saved at the same time their own are being promiscuous or on drugs? When as a minister of God, you are joining people in holy matrimony when your own marriage is crumbling at the edges? When as Christians, you pray for the sick and they recover, yet your wife lies sick with little or no sign of improvement?

If you try to push all these things under the proverbial carpet and carry on with life as though these things don’t happen to Christians, how would you reconcile Hebrews 11. Where it

Her Wholeness | 59

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60 | Her Wholeness paints a mosaic of victories over pain and uses the ‘s’ word; Suffering. None of Jesus’ disciples entered their grave in very old age, without going through challenges and “refining”, many met gruesome deaths.

Just as all sunshine and no rain makes a desert, going through our Christian life oblivious to sufferings of others, or ‘pretending’ we have the lid on our own suffering when we need help, can leave many people eventually becoming disillusioned, disenchanted or even bitter due to unprocessed feelings.

When God seems distant, we may feel: Angry. Anger may be the initial reaction when tragedy strikes, even anger towards God. When this anger lingers it can turn to bitterness and some Christians find themselves backsliding. Recently I heard of a lady who expressed the feeling of ‘hate’ toward God for taking away her son. In times of pain such as this these feelings are very real.

Frustrated. Frustration can come in when we feel that God did not rescue us or our loved one from the peril and danger that came our/their way. WHY did God allow Satan’s work to prevail? Did we not pray? We feel frustrated when we can’t understand when certain inexplicable things happen that seem contrary to what we have been taught or what we believe. When things just don’t seem to add up.

Abandoned/Rejected. Jesus on the Cross asked the Father why He, God, had forsaken Him, the Son? Jesus could ask the question in his moment of greatest grief.

(Remember at the Cross he bore our sins). Sometimes we may find ourselves echoing these very words. We feel abandoned, isolated by a loving Father who said (…no…

He ‘promised’), that He would never leave us nor forsake us. When tragedy strikes unexpectedly especially, we may feel vulnerable. Exposed. We struggle to give thanks in all things. Our spirit spurs us to, but our emotions are constrained. Can we still trust God when the tragedy seems so inconsistent with God’s loving nature?

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Confused. Have we offended God? Was God warning us and we missed the signs? What part of scripture did it say that this would happen?

Let down. I guess even if we don’t feel any of the above, a lot of us may feel let down by God. We dare not voice it but the thought may cross our minds. How can God reward us this way? Surely, God is a kind and compassionate God? WHY did He allow this suffering if He really loved us as much as He says He does? Did not the whole church pray and fast?

Why do we ask WHY God does not make sense sometimes because we are often people of reason. Eve reasoned in the Garden of Eden. Yes, satan gave her a reasonable explanation…an explanation that had not been forthcoming from God as to WHY they were not to eat the forbidden fruit.

When we understand the WHY, our pain often becomes easier. It is easier to stand our ground on something and even die for it when we know WHY. It is easy to understand WHY Jesus did not heal Lazarus only after the event…because there was a greater glory in raising a man who had been dead for 4 days than one that was desperately sick.

But when we don’t have a clear answer?

There are times when the answers to the WHY are not so clear cut. I read a story of a committed Christian lady and her husband who lost ALL their kids. Many years on, they have no ‘reasonable’ explanation as to WHY God did not intervene and save their family. How could a loving God allow such pain? (This couple are still committed to their God. Praise God!).

There are some answers or some things we will never know this side of heaven. We cannot look or search for answers in those cases. If we do, we run the risk of more unbearable pain. Friends, the Job kind of friends, may try to explain WHY this has happened. Let us not be the friends that play God explaining the mind of God when God has not spoken on an issue especially a painful one.

Her Wholeness | 61 Was it because of sin? Was it disobedience? These are questions that we may ask or Satan may even bring into our minds to torture us. This may just lead to more questions. Before you know it, you are in a tangled maze you can’t get out off.

God never wastes a hurt God is omniscient. He knows everything even when He does not appear to make sense. Can we ask WHY when we do not own our lives? After all Jesus did say in the small print that we would have tribulations but we were to be of good cheer. So, in essence, part of the WHY has already been answered.

The fact we are surprised when tragedy strikes does not mean God is less. Neither does it mean that an omnipotent God has suddenly been robbed of His power. Or that He is confused, pacing heaven’s floor wondering what to do!

Last time on Women Empowering Women magazine (Autumn 2015 edition), I dramatised the story of Naomi in the form of a letter between two friends. It is ironic that the article brought me great comfort when ‘tragedy’ struck recently. Many times we read the story of Ruth from her standpoint. What is often untold is the powerful story of Naomi. The excruciating and immense loss that she had to endure.

In her story, we can theorise that Naomi’s husband had lacked faith or even committed sin when he went to live in a foreign land. Some may say that Naomi’s sons had no business marrying foreign ladies.

God turned Naomi’s hurt into gain. He did not waste her hurt. He put a smile on her face. Yes, Naomi would never forget her husband and sons, but God gave her something to shout about.

I firmly believe that, we have the mind of God, and therefore the ways of God should not be strange to us.

However our finite minds can never grasp God in His entirety even if we lived a 1000 years. We have eternity for that project. So to help us understand the WHY, sometimes we just have to be still and allow God to do His thing! To let go and let God. It can be a gradual process but one has to take one day at a time. And allow our emotions to be fully processed once and for all!

So when the WHY questions come against us like sharp darts on a board, let us remember that God has the full story and we only have the chapters. That in those crushing moments, all we can say is ‘God, I know you love me!’. Then put our trust in Him. Only then can the WHY make some sense.

Writer, coach and public speaker, Zoe A. Onah is the author of the bestseller DEFYING THE ODDS – One man’s struggle and victory over mental illness and his wife whose trust in God never failed. Zoe met her husband, Eze, in the 14th year of his tumultuous journey with mental illness and 4 years later, he defied the odds with a clean medical bill of no mental illness. All through her life, Zoe always found herself drawn to and compassionate towards friends and family faced with mental health challenges. Today, Zoe and her husband are not shy to share their experiences and are the voice of hope for mental health /illness, its stigmas and discrimination. Their blog posts on www.defyingmentalillness.com is fast becoming the number one blogging site for mental health topics from a Christian perspective. You can email them on info@defyingmentalillness.com

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THE IMPORTANCE OF

By Valarie Elliot

W

ith the advancement of technology and our ability to do much more every day, we live in a very fastpaced world. Our focus is pulled in different directions very often and in a short space of time. Some would argue that our time is now being maximised; though that may be true, how does this apply to time with God?

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As Christians, maintaining an intimate relationship with the Lord is not an option but the main call of our lives. With so much else to do and focus on, maintaining this needed intimate connection with God can be a challenge. Sunday services, mid-week bible studies or other corporate times of worship can easily become rushed rituals to get our spiritual fix, before we re-engage with “real life�. It could become time spent in the right setting but not time

Spiritual Etiquette | 63

“God has blessed each one of us with talents and gifts so that we can be a blessing to others and ourselves.” spent with the Lord.

Let’s go back to our beginning in Christ. It is a very personal one for each of us. No one receives Christ on behalf of another. Each one has to declare Him as their Lord. It is your life, your heart, your desire and your choice! Your one to one connection with God, in that beautiful moment in time that spiritual birth happens here on earth and angels celebrate joyfully in heaven!

That ever-so-personal moment; the moment we entered into “Life”!

We start with Him in a very personal way, and we are meant to continue the same way. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28aNIV) We are called to a lifestyle of intentionally abiding in His truth, communing with His Spirit and being transformed by His love. This releases us to: BE with Him – enjoy His presence every time, everywhere.

DO for Him – accomplish His plans and purposes on the earth.

BE as He is – reflect His godly nature to the world and people around us.

Maintaining a lifestyle of intimacy with the Lord is very possible in a very busy and noisy world. We

just have to make quality time alone with Him a priority. We need to create time away from all distractions, to just sit in His presence and be with Him. Time to not just share our hearts, but also to listen to His heart…about anything at all.Im Our Lord, said this to His disciples, and it certainly applies to us today… “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:12-15 NIV) The Spirit of Truth has come! He is the Holy Spirit of God abiding in every believer. We can sometimes feel Him tugging at our hearts to come aside and spend some time with Him. The Lord has so much to share with us about our lives, solutions to problems in our world, His ways, thoughts, plans and desires.

He wrote the script of our individual lives before we were born. He knows the way we should go, what we should be, all that we should accomplish and how we are to position ourselves to receive every personal blessing He prepared for us to enjoy! This is my personal pursuit! To be, do, know, see, experience and enjoy ALL that He had prepared for me, IN Him! To live a FULL life!

The only REAL LIFE there is!

Surely, our Lord has done His part. It is time for us all to take more responsibility for our own spiritual growth and development. Our fulfilment, refreshment, strength, encouragement, enrichment and transformation lie therein. It is time to invest in our own lives and be sure that we are living out our God- written script….not

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64 | Spiritual Etiquette our “personal, daily edited versions”.

years to discover!

Where is your heart? Where is your focus? Is HE still your first love?

Take some time to honestly reflect on that, because your heart is where your treasure is and your time is spent where your focus is. Let’s not allow the very blessings of God in our lives to become the distractions from Him.

Take a walk with Jesus.

Book time away from home.

Stay at home but avoid all distractions.

Turn off all gadgets and plug into a different world with the Father of all creation.

Attend Christian retreats.

Talk, write, sing, dance, draw, dream…

Whatever you do together, keep your focus on Him and enjoy it!

There will always be a reason not to take time out with the Lord. Simply decide to!

There are no set rules. Talk and plan it with the Lord.

Go with His prompting in your heart.

There is no set timeframe to make it holy enough.

Remember, time in itself is just a measured portion of eternity. Step into His space in your time together and discover that limitations of time do not apply to Him. He can transform a life-long situation in an instant and reveal life-changing information that could have taken

Do it often enough and eventually, “Time away with Jesus”, will become “Every time with Jesus”!

Valerie Elliot is a passionate Christian with a heart for God’s people. She has a burden to see many turn to Christ and live in a place of intimacy with Him. She desires to see Christians impacting the world around them, from a place of closer fellowship and partnership with the Holy Spirit.

Valerie’s call is to facilitate the Lord’s agenda in partnership with His Spirit, and stir people up in the ways of the Lord. She serves the body of Christ as a speaker, a mentor and a worship facilitator.

Valerie is the founder of “Time Away With Jesus…”, Worship Missionaries and Prayer Lounge UK. She is married to Tobi, her dearest friend and greatest supporter.

“The Power Of God”

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YOUNG

Testimonies Inspiration

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Empowering Younger Women | 67

THE Leading in your youth

By Ify Alexis Ossai

A

s young people if we aren’t

We battle against God’s voice whenever we tell

careful we can readily discredit

Him contrary to His word what we can and

ourselves and cut short the

cannot do. We place limitations on ourselves in

grace of God on our lives, I call

places where God has not. The Jeremiah

it the Jeremiah complex.

complex will have you in dialogue with God about why you are not fit for the task, forgetting

Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament

He’s the one that knows your capacity more

and was one that the Lord used to warn Judah

than you do. Forgetting that He’s not sending

of their sins and explain their impending

you out in your own strength and He promises

captivity by the Babylonians. A tough task and

to go before you and make the paths straight.

in typical youthful fashion Jeremiah complains to God and says “Behold, I cannot speak, for I

We also battle against the voice of the enemy.

am a youth.” Have you ever uttered such?

This voice can sometimes appear as an ally, it’s the amplified and perverted voice of our own

“Lord, I can’t. I’m too young”

fears and inadequacies. This voice is designed

“God if I were a bit older, perhaps they’ll

to keep us passive and silent. We lose this battle

listen”

whenever we believe anything contrary to the

“I can’t speak to her, she’s older than me”

Word of the Lord. We lose this battle whenever

Sound familiar?

we allow our age to stop us from declaring the

Truth is, as young people with a heart to lead

mind of Christ or walking in His truth.

we battle with three voices; the voice of the Lord, the voice of the enemy and the voice

Lastly, we battle with our own voice. Jeremiah

within.

said “I can not speak for I am a youth”, he was SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

68 | Her Wholeness

a

“God is not afraid of using young people, older people, women etc… If He’s called you out for the task then He will guide you.”

own purpose and His own plans. God also shows him that he’s protected in the will of God. Perhaps the thing that hinders you from walking in the call of God isn’t your age? Maybe yours is race, gender, background? Either way God’s message to you is clear. He says, “for every vision I give you, I will make a provision.” God is not afraid of using the underdog. God is not afraid of using the least likely. God is not afraid of using young people, older people, women etc… If He’s called you out for the task then He will guide you, give you the words, give you the wisdom and strength and most

youth indeed but his perception was wrong. He

of all, He will protect you.

allowed the projection of his insecurities to hold him bound, the very tool the Lord required to use –

God’s words over Jeremiah brought forth

his voice – became the tool his insecurities told him

confidence and strength. He did everything that

did not work. We lose this battle whenever we do

God required and the Lord kept him. Let’s lay aside

not think they way God wants us to; whenever we

our excuses and insecurities, what has God laid on

are more easily led by our own emotions and

your heart? Walk in it.

desires than God’s.

For see, today I have made you strong The response of God to Jeremiah is so profound.

like a fortified city that cannot be captured,

God says to him:

like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.

You will stand against the whole land—

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.

For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

They will fight you, but they will fail.

Do not be afraid of their faces,

For I am with you, and I will take care of you.

For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Jeremiah 1:7-8

Jeremiah 1:18-19

God speaks to Jeremiah’s fears by showing him His

Women's Mentor & Leader Ify Alexis Ossai is the founder of Love Limitless. Love Limitless is a Christian ministry aimed to equip every young woman with the valuable tools they’ll need to thrive, flourish and develop into the woman God intends them to be http://www.lovelimitless.com

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Her Style | 69

KINGDOM

Testimonies Inspiration

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Her Style | 70 70 | Kingdom Minded Man

The Pioneer's Mentoring Franchise

Programme (PMFP) The Pioneer Mentoring for Purpose Franchise Programme will seek to apply the following activities to assist you to launch a Kingdom focused training programme using the TEACH – TRAIN – EMPOWER principle.

For more information visit

http://www.thementoringacademy.com/ SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

The Kingdom Minded Man | 71

BACHELORHOOD

By Minister Victor Nwaorgu

T

he stages in a man’s life evolve from step to step. A child grows first into a boy and then a man.

It will be

catastrophic for a child to grow into a man

without

passing

through

the

boyhood stage. For this reason, it is important to enjoy every stage of life in

“God does not make sense sometimes because we are often people of reason.”

which one finds himself; not wishing to transit

to

the

next

prematurely.

Remember, age does not show maturity; maturity is a state of the mind.

Your

ability to endure, take responsibility for

marriage is not a game nor is it an act to

your actions, recognize your vision and

be toyed with. The fact that you are thirty

your reactions to situations demonstrate

years of age does not make you ready for

your level of maturity. Thus, marriage is

marriage. Marriage is not for boys; before

for

making that vow you must have matured

mature

minds

and

involves

responsibility.

and gained the requisite mental, physical

Bachelorhood is a time of life when a man

and

is yet to marry. This period ought to be

today many people tend to rush in and

treasured and made worthwhile because,

out of marriage.

just like every other thing in life, it is not

Bachelorhood is a time when a young

constant.

man develops enough spiritual capacity

Marriage is ordained by God, it remains a

to carry the lives God will be committing

sacred union between a man and a

into his hands.

woman whereby a covenant is made in

Every man is created uniquely in looks,

the presence of the lord. Therefore,

gifts and purpose. As a bachelor, this is a

spiritual

training.

Unfortunately,

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72 | Kingdom Minded Man

time to actually look inwards and discover what makes

Lastly, bachelorhood is a period when we follow our

you unique, study yourself and know your likes and

dreams and aspirations with youthful vigor; setting

dislikes, temperaments, talents and vision. Discovering

our goals and planning how to achieve them.

yourself will help in developing yourself better,

instance, where do you see yourself in the next ten

because you will identify the weaknesses you need to

years? If you are through with education, what skills

deal with and the strengths you need to build upon. It

do you have? Pursue your goals; do not make them

will also set you on the right path in terms of career

ambiguous. This will give you financial stability. Equip

and even when choosing a life partner. When a man

yourself by building upon your capacity and strength.

knows himself, he will also know the right woman for

Gather as much information as possible because

him.

information is power; read books that will motivate

Bachelorhood is also period in a man’s life when his

you and widen your horizon. What are the main things

senses, hormones, emotions and everything that make

you want to achieve in life before marriage? Remember

him a man start to clamour for female companionship.

that marriage is not easy when you first start your life

This is actually natural because God made it so. It is in

as a couple.

this phase that a man gets to study the woman who is

It takes the spirit of God to make you a better person.

going to be his wife in order to understand her

This period is when a man gets closer to God in order

character, temperament, talents and vision. During this

to be more confident, wiser and to gain improved

period, he gets to know her disadvantages and her

stamina and courage.

grace and to incorporate her into his own vision.

weaknesses and correct behaviors which may pose a

For

A time to work on areas of

drawback.

Victor Nwaorgu is a motivational speaker and prolific writer, with a mark of distinction. He makes himself relevant everywhere he goes. He is mandated with a mission to positively impact in the lives of many in this generation. He has a global vision geared towards making positive impact in the lives of youths all over the world. Victor has held various leadership positions within and outside the church. He holds a degree in Business Management from the Prestigious University of Hertfordshire United Kingdom and a first degree in Political science from Madonna University Nigeria. He is currently the Director of Media and Publicity at Golden Pine Konsult Limited and married to Promise Nwaorgu

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Kingdom Minded Man | 73

2015-16 The Mentoring Academy

Graduate Mentors

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74 | The Mentoring Academy

I am a leader and God has given me everything I need to walk in His purpose.

I came on the programme as I was searching for ME. I was frustrated with my job and at crossroads in my ministry and was searching for MORE. I felt as though things had slowed down and the ministry I once had so much energy for seemed to quieten down.

God had given me all these ideas, I felt overwhelmed with creativity, ideas and just not knowing where to start, and which should take priority, and as a result frustration crept in.

A friend of mine recommended the programme to me as she had received great benefits from it and she kept speaking about the importance of ‘Knowing your nation’ this SCREAMED out to me.

The programme revealed to me that I am a LEADER and that God has given me everything I need to start and walk in PURPOSE. It is not a case of me waiting on God, the Father is waiting on me and has equipped me to do all that He has called me to do in THIS season. I am

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Caroline Odogwu

Her Style | 75

truly an EMPOWERED woman.

I learnt the importance of and identified my spiritual gifts and how I can use them in my day-to-day life to show others the LOVE of Christ and ultimately mentor them. The programme has also shown me how to authentically mentor by drawing from personal experiences and helping others.

NOW, I am more FOCUSED and feel armed with the resources and know-how to step out and fulfil PURPOSE. My mission is to empower young women to fulfil their full potential and I do this through a number of ways. Some of which is through dance, mentoring, workshops and accessories. I’m currently using the information and guidance I obtained to launch my own new jewellery line called ‘Adored.’ This jewellery line aims to empower women through unique, modest and beautiful accessories that will spark self-love and know they are ‘Adored.’

This programme is truly a catalyst to help you become more aware of what God has put in you and will reveal to you how to use that to walk out His purpose for your life, which is where you will ultimately find true fulfilment.

I was not entering God’s Presence and my prayer life lacked discipline Before I joined the Leadership Mentoring for Purpose Programme I was at a state of hopelessness. I had no clue to what my purpose was and I experienced a lot of insecurities regarding my future. However, despite how I was feeling at the time, I knew that it was only Christ who could

Fashion

fill the void I was experiencing. To add, it was by far one of the toughest seasons I had ever experienced in my life. Thankfully the Lord granted

Sephora Ochou

Style

me with favour by allowing me to connect with Jacqueline Ani on social media. My first few months on the programme were the hardest. I was confronted with the fact that I was not entering God’s presence and that

Confidence

my prayer life lacked discipline. Although I knew how to pray, I failed to communicate with my Heavenly Father daily. Whilst being at the programme I was given the revelation to rest at God’s feet and to reach mount Zion (like Moses) so I could hear God’s voice. It was at the same period that I was looking for a job and was struggling financially after graduating from university. I learnt through the programme to have so much faith and not lean on my own understanding but to trust in the

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Lord. A few months later I was offered a role at a Management Consultancy firm, which was provided to me directly from the Lord. To add, I grew spiritually and found myself feeling more and more confident when praying to Him. I also discovered my purpose to help young boys be reconciled to Christ and much more. The Lord had also revealed to me a business idea that could be used to advance His Kingdom financially. It is without a doubt that the programme transformed my life and brought me closer to God. There were so many things I learnt from both Jacqueline and the ladies involved. For example, at the retreat I discovered my spiritually gifts which revealed a lot about my identity and spiritual capabilities. It was an awesome time in which I was able to surrender my life to God and accept His will over mine. It also taught me on spiritual warfare and taking a stand towards Satan. I am ever so grateful for all that was prophesised upon me in the programme because I have experienced every prophecy come to pass in my life. I am so ready to birth my purpose and mentor other Kingdom women.

The programme has been a journey of awakening and recognition of who God says I am.

I stumbled upon Jacqueline Ani through a mutual friend on Social Media and saw the Leadership Mentoring for Purpose Programme had just started. I had already completed several courses at my church, completed and graduated from bible school, also had a course of

Fashion

counselling after the passing of my mother, but there was this constant pull from the Lord for me to really drill down on the state of my

Style

character and fine tune me... To prepare for the purpose and calling God has placed on my life.

Confidence

The course has been very revealing; it's been a journey of awakenings and recognition of who God says I am. I have had to look through a magnifying glass at the functions of my character and begin lining them up to Godly characteristics. I have not been able to run away or hide from the truth, which was the main reason for my decision to participate in the course. I have been held accountable and with the Holy Spirit led mentorship from Jacqueline and the leadership team I have been

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Emma Murray

Her Style | 77

inspired and supported to really empower my dimensional shift in the spirit and in the physical.

I was looking for a programme that was filled and totally led by the Lord, to be mentored on a one to one basis and be surrounded by spirit filled world changing women. I am in the process of beginning my ministry PURSUIT OF PURPOSE to empower women and young people to dispel the lie of hopelessness and discover the God given purpose for their lives. Today my journey to live a full and abundant purpose driven life continues, but now I fully understand, am equipped and empowered to embrace the fullness of God and the call and purpose he has on my life.

The programme is very rich in content and the presenters are genuine and very knowledgeable.

Though happily married with three lovely boys, it was not enough just going to church and simply being a wife and mother. I needed and wanted to know my purpose in God’s Kingdom and a direction in my life.

Fashion I attended A Woman’s Sacred Conference last year and left challenged,

Natasha Smith

Style

excited and fearless for what God had planned for me. I joined The Leadership Mentoring for Purpose Programme and never looked back.

It exposed me, challenged me and provided a creative platform where I

Confidence

could learn, share and grow my leadership skills in all aspects of my life and awake my God given gifts and talents.

The LMPP has provided me with inspirational teaching and effective tools to become a better person so that I can be more effective with every opportunity of influence within my home, community, workplace and all Christian Ministry.

The programme is very rich in content and the presenters are genuine and very knowledgeable. The group of ladies who participated on the programme have become my friends and I have learnt so much from

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each of them. I loved the small, intimate group setting.

The Holy Spirit has continued to use Jacqueline to nurture and develop my gifts from God. She is transparent, honest, real and passionate about empowering women. Thank you for all you have done and the way you have allowed God to use you to bless countless women including me.

I loved everything about this programme, everything!

This programme has helped me relocate myself

Angela Callendar I believe this programme was a catalyst for the ideas that the Lord had already deposited in me.

Fashion

When I enrolled on this programme, I wasn’t really moving forward in the things I knew God had put in my heart. I was involved in many

Style

good things but, not the thing that the Lord had for me, I would say that I was unfocused and off track.

I feel that this programme has helped me to relocate myself, my prayer

Confidence

life has revived and as I watch with the Lord, He is revealing the way in which I should go. I’m a midwife at the moment, but the Lord has shown me that He has called me to teach and preach His word which is one of the things I’ve always wanted to do alongside discipline new believers. I am also in the process of setting up a Dulah service called Bumps and Bundles, which is a practical consultancy service that offers bespoke care packages to women concerning various aspects of pregnancy; preconception advice, pregnancy care, labour and postnatal care.

God has a glorious plan for each and every one of us; it’s up to us to get

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+

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Spiritual Etiquette | 81

Conference Special SPRING 2016 WOMEN EMPOWERING WOMEN

A Woman’s Sacred Calling Conference 2016

Reverend Victoria Lawrence Rev Victoria Lawrence is the founder and president of Abigail Outreach Ministry, a ministry dedicated to supporting vulnerable women by lending a hand to bring them out of challenging situations through prayers, counselling, mentoring and other practical means.

Reverend Valerie Elliot Valerie Elliot is a passionate Christian with a heart for God’s people. She has a burden is to see many turn to Christ and live in a place of intimacy with Him. She desires to see Christians from all backgrounds empowered to impact the world around them from a place of closer fellowship with the Holy Spirit; walking in their God-given gifts and fulfil their callings.

Prophet Dexton Davis Prophet Dexton Davis has served in various ministerial capacities within the Church of God of Prophecy such as Sunday school teacher, music director, regional evangelist, and assistant pastor and prophet. He launched (DDEPM) Dexton Davis End time Prophetic Ministries and in May of this year 2015 launched Elijah School of the Prophets, he is currently working on Starting an Elijah School of Eschatology study of the end times.

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Spiritual Etiquette | 83

Prophet Oscar Guobadia Prophet Oscar Guobadia is the pastor and visionary; THE BROOK PLACE here in London. Pastor Oscar is called to a prophetic office and he is an oversight to a number of ministries here in the UK and other parts of the world. He holds an undergraduate in Biblical studies, masters in Strategic leadership and management from the London College of business, an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University, UK and he is pursuing a Doctorate in Theology.

Apostle Deborah Joseph-Edoyibo Apostle Deborah Joseph-Edoyibo is an Apostolic - Prophetic Voice to the nations. She has been in ministry leadership for over 20 years and has worked on various projects with various charitable organizations, within the UK and Africa.

Frank Ani (Master of Ceremony/Host) Master of Ceremony and Host on the day is Frank Ani who is a business strategist, writer and Nollywood actor.

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Minister TsakyChauke Tsaky is a passionate and prophetic worshipper who loves to lead God’s people into His presence. She is fueled by her passion to see people worship God, lifting up the name of Jesus and enjoy His presence.

Dr Yana Johnson MBE (Prophetic Psalmist) Dr Yana Johnson MBE, is a phenomenal role model, Award winning Entrepreneur, Transformative change agent who has made her mark in society and become a known role model in International Business, Media, and amongst her community in a social and professional capacity, often being a spokesperson for diversity, innovation and pioneering.

Reverend Enomfon Ntefon Enomfon Ntefon, an ordained Gospel Minister, Relationship and Marriage Coach and the heart behind Harmony of Hearts Music.

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Spiritual | 85 HerEtiquette Wholeness | 85

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