Bounceback mag1

...we celebrate

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Contents From The Editor's Desk————————-—————–———-——–—————–5 A Word In Season by Prophet Oscar Guobadia—————————-—–—————7 Bouncing Back Into Your Father's Love by Rev Enomfon Ntefon————————-—9 Exclusive Interview With Ruth Dickson by Bounce Back In Style & Ruth Dickson——12 Lessons From Samson In A Bounce Back Story by Rev E.A. Effiom————————16 Nutrition For Harsh Season by Omowunmi Olunloyo————————————–18 The Heart Matters by Rev Robert Ntefon—————————————————--21 From Divorce To Mission Field With New Wife by Rev Kola Tayo————————–29 Frontline News (Women In Business) by Prophetess Jacqueline Ani———————–33 How To Keep Your Budget Low & Fun High During Holidays by Tokunboh Osunbayo-38 On Dreams & Interpretations by Bishop Joe Ibojie——————————————40 Experiencing 2015 & Beyond by Rev Allen Joe Opoku—————————————43

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Blossom no matter what season!

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From The Editor’s Desk Many of us have gruelling stories of set-backs, hardships, trials, failures, frameups, put-downs, illnesses, ostracisms, relationship failures, financial issues, homelessness, poverty and shameful episodes in different shapes and forms that we are not really proud of. Some were due to bad decisions we made and we have found it difficult to face ourselves, forgive and move on. Some were other people's wrong decisions. Maybe even right now, you are in one of those times.

As I write this editorial piece, I am facing one of the worst crisis of my faith.

This has produced some unanswered questions, People that do not know you emotional roller coaster rides, levels of pain but pass judgement before they simultaneously lots of healing and revelation of even get a chance to finish grace in my heart and my life and family. I am reading the headline news of practicing this message. God will use practitioners your failure. and not theorists.

God's grace is strong where sin abounds. Light is most appreciated where darkness prevails. God did not promise us a smooth ride to heaven but He did say, He will be there for us on the way to sustain us on our journey.

Bounce Back was birthed in my heart as I observed many ladies struggle with getting their self worth, sense of dignity and life’s purpose after a painful relationship demise . Mostly recovery was slow and many felt their identity was linked to their past. What contributes to slow or no healing is the “others factor”.

People that do not know you pass judgement before they even get a chance to finish reading the headline news of your failure. After all, who wants to be used as a bad reference and definitely no one want to be rejected. We are so used to allowing others see the best parts of us.

So, what we usually do when we condemn others is we are just propagating guilt, pain, fear and condemnation in our hearts first and then in others. We assume the place of God and pass judgement without gathering all the facts. We must stop shooting our wounded. Where criticism abounds recovery is slow and bouncing back very difficult for those who have failed.

Jesus said to the woman caught in the very act of adultery " Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more".

He also said to Peter who denied him (without taking it so personal that one of his best friends denied even knowing him!)

"When you have returned strengthen your brothers" 5

From The Editor’s Desk (cont.)

After Jesus met the woman by the well, she was ready to tell the world about a Man who did not Like Samson after failure every new beginning is mighty with God. As you go through each article, may you experience massive encouragement, new strength, doses of inspiration and loads of grace for your journey.

Connect with Gods 'heart , change your mind (which is what repentance means) and align to His views and opinion. The Divine spotlight on your bounce back journeys is that even when you have veered off course, that you will be redirected into God's purpose and plan for your life. Like Joseph, what was meant to harm will turn out for good ...all things will work out for good as you love God and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 You will become what He originally intended for you even when the options have changed. Your destiny is intact, retained and you are moving through a redirection into your purpose.

Your Heavenly Father believes in you. He knows you are not stopping where the crisis is leading. He knows you will cross over to the other side.

The storms can only temporarily set you back. But you are unstoppable.

"The righteous will fall seven times and will rise again" Proverbs 24: 16 What a promise!

You can Bounce Back!

That is your Bounce Back Legacy!

With love, Rev. Enomfon Ntefon Editor-in-chief

"When you have returned strengthen your brothers"

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A Word In Season!

Bounce back as I hear is a ministry that will empower the “WOUNDED SOLDIERS” back to the Field. And the Lord took me to Ezekiel 37 as the Lord impressed in the heart of His prophet to speak to the Dry bones…

The Breathe of God is His Ruach, and that is what is needed for a bounce back! The testimony of the bones was the fact that the rose up and became an “ARMY”.

Very important and strategic.

Bounce Back is raised to empower the wounded soldiers NOT to the place where they sustained the injury but to the place of equipping an army. This is so that they can defend and protect HER people from the snares of the fowler.

God is helping you Rev Enomfon. I asked the Lord why so many broken homes even in Christendom, all I heard was: THE THRESHING FLOOR Back in the book of Ruth, the threshing floor encounter where the Ruth met with her Lord isn’t just a place of separating the Wheat from the chaff but the place of fellowship. Jesus was from the loins of Boaz and Ruth, therefore if the devil can contaminate that bloodline, the Messiah wouldn’t be born.

Bounce back, as the Lord impressed in my heart is to make room for a threshing floor experience where the wounded soldier finds solace and refuge in her Healer.

This ministry will cater to the bruised, broken and battered…. The testimony of reconciliation is the fact that Jesus is willing to make their mess a message. But they need nurturing for the growth that is needed.

Our rejoicing is in the fact that even though the devil had messed us up before, we do not regret because of the scars we see, we rejoice because every soldier in a battle filed has the scar as testimony. But in the scar is a STAR. Bounce Back, I pray in this age reaches to the broken and bitter, converge them in a threshing floor so they have an encounter with their LORD and be clothed with the FULL ARMOUR! Yours – in- HIM Oscar Guobadia Ministries TWITTER: Oscar Omoede Guobadia FACEBOOK: Oscar omoede Guobadia I G: sleekeyz FB PAGES: D Deep dimension, Strategic Christian leadership and management, NU LOGIC 7

Merry Christmas

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Bouncing Back Into the Father's Love

by Rev. Enomfon Ntefon

To some of us this is foreign concept. Many did not have fathers. One of my earlier pastors wrote a book called "Not Many Fathers”.

Today there is a wrapped understanding of what real fatherhood is. Yes, we know stories and maybe have even experienced the absent fatherhood syndrome. For some of us, daddy died, to others he was not nice and used to maltreat us, to some he "just left" and we have not seen him again. To others he was „there‟ but not really „available‟. Either way, the memory of fatherhood triggers pain and even fear.

This shows up as “ a not having feeling” which has been projected into many outcomes in our lives. The wrong decisions and the wrong turns we make is linked to a sense of lack. We wanted something to fill a void and then we behaved in a certain way. Unacceptable but it looked promising to us at the time and we had hope that it would whisk the pain away. But no it did not. It compounded the problem.

In my work with ladies from diverse backgrounds, I could trace an abusive partner, husband, or a stormy relationship to the inner sense of NOT EXPERIENCING a father's love, guidance and attention.

As adults those needs do not just go away.

"When our mother and father forsake us the Lord will take us up". Psalms 27:10 My Own Journey I stood at the gate of our church parsonage at age 11 in the twilight hours of the morning to break the devastating news that daddy had died in his sleep to our Pastor.

I was the only "strong person" to do it. Mum was beside herself with grief. She was being held down by neighbours as I heard screams of "how will I raise your 9 children"? "Why would you leave me with 9 children"?

I was the eldest.

I went through my teenage years in a daze feeling disconnected from the real world. I was placed in psychiatric care. I was strong outwardly but inwardly I was a nervous wreck. I had to be strong for mum. That was what everyone was saying and they had to be right.

However, the panic attacks, intense stress, family and relationship issues coupled with low performance at school were overt signs that something was seriously wrong.

After 4 years, I had a dream in which I saw my dad. I had just started becoming interested in boys or rather showing signs of responding to the interest they had in me. Nothing serious, but I needed to be validated, I 9

The previous Sunday, mum had forced me to go to church and I protested telling her I had no good dress.

I had gone very unwillingly. This Sunday, I was ready for church before, she call my name. I was hungry for a change. I needed to hear something that would explain the experience I had.

I Bounced Back Home To My Father It was the same Pastor; I broke the news about the death of my earthly Daddy. He did not know but the Spirit of God spoke through him to me. He was used of God to introduce me to my Heavenly Father.

"For as many as received Him he gave them power to become children of God". John 1:12 You are the one to receive Him. It is your choice and He is waiting for you. He is your Father and He is waiting for you to bounce back into his love.

I did. I stood up while my mum looked up flabbergasted, wondering what was happening.

I was bouncing back into Daddy's care. My recovery journey started having lost my dad, when I connected with the love of my Heavenly Father.

It‟s been over 30 year‟s journey, but each day, I find that my Heavenly Father is there. He has not left like sometimes our earthly fathers do.

What is your own journey of bouncing back into God's love?

The world, at large and society and sadly the church sometimes gives a wrong assessment of our worth and judge us wrongly. But your Heavenly Father is not your judge.

The previous Sunday, mum had forced me to go to church and I protested telling her I had no good dress. I had gone very unwilling. This Sunday, I was ready for church before, she The previous Sunday, mum had forced me to go to church and I protested telling her I had no good dress. I had gone very unwilling. This Sunday, I was ready for church before, she call my name.

Father's must discipline, guide and bless their own children. He corrects and brings us back to Himself.

Do not use your history as an excuse to step out of your Fathers' care. His corrections are done in love and not for His ego. Let your hardships, unexplained life issues, pain and grief drive you back into your Heavenly Father's love. He is waiting. God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees”~Hebrews 12: 7-12 As a Bounce Back Coach, Author, Marriage Mentor and Pastor, Rev. Enomfon is passionate about recovery , wholeness and walking in God's plan and purposes no matter the harshness of your experiences. After losing her father at a tender age, she went through life traumatised and directionless. Today, she is an epitome of God's love and faithfulness. She has experienced the love of her Heavenly Father. She is Editor-in-chief of Bounce Back In Style Magazine and CEO of Winning Relationships and Co-founder of Love & Marriage School. She also co-pastors The King's Mission in London with her husband., Rev Robert Ntefon.

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uth

Dickson

Exclusive Interview With Ruth Dickson And Bounce Back Q. In a nutshell, do you mind sharing a major bounce back story in a marriage built on deception with our readers on Bounce Back In Style?

A. I got married to a man through a spirit of deception. He had been married and I was told at the time the woman in question forced him to marry her. When he subsequently got married to another woman in Africa, while still being married to me in England, I got me thinking. I started to question things and make further investigations. I unravelled a whole network of tales, deception and lies.

It had undoubtedly continued in my case.

Q. What you went through how has that contributed to the woman - Ruth today?

A. It has made me stronger, more compassionate towards others facing any form of difficulty, sorrow or hardship. I have learnt how to be patient, and I have been taught how to forgive. I have looked injustice in the face and come out smelling of roses.

Q. Bible says in Psalms that "When we go through the Valley of Weeping that He will turn into the Place of Springs has that happened in your experience?

A. Oh yes, the Lord comforted me through my situation and assured me of hope for the future. He has also given me the ability to comfort and encourage others through their storms with the comfort that He has given me.

Q. From that horrible experience you wrote a Book called 'Lifting the Lid off Deception,' how has that been received by those who read it?

A. Well, some of the comments can be found on Amazon in the comments section. When talking with people, sometimes I read their judgement in their expressions...�How could you have been so stupid...?� At other times I see compassion in their eyes...for the unmarried, they are always very eager to find out how they can avoid being deceived.

Q. What advice would you give single ladies or guys preparing for marriage?

A. Don't get carried away. Look beyond the outward appearance of a person. It is of utmost importance to be patient. If someone is trying to rush you into making a commitment of any form it is a sign that something is not right. Ask God whether this man or woman is the right person for you. Don't be afraid to ask questions, especially if he or she has been married before! If anything unsettles you, follow your instinct: pray and fast about it until the matter is settled in your mind. Make sure Almighty God is in the centre of all your decisions.

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Q. You have through this experience been transformed into a minister in music, a Publisher.

A. No. I believe the gifts were already within me. The adversity made me let go of what I thought was the most important thing to me, my marriage. It made me re-focus and place Christ in his rightful position. By making Christ the centre of my life I was able to see a reflection of whom he had created me to be.

Q. Tell us of the journey that led to you to this Place of Springs...?

A. Well, I suddenly found myself on my own, abandoned by a man I thought loved me and his children. I was emotionally distraught; I also had children who were clinging to me emotionally for dear life, a huge mortgage, several debts and bills to pay. I was struggling beneath the weight of it all. I had to let go of the house which represented the marriage. At lot was at stake, but God told me to let go of what was built on deception. God led me, page by page, through The Book of Ruth. He showed me how she let go of her past to embrace her future. He also gave me time to do this.

Q. You have a heart for Digital Publishing. What is the future of this trend as we move into 2015?

A. The world is a global arena through the window of the internet. In a moment, you can reach millions of people. The way we reach people and talk to people is changing. The internet is here to stay and having a hard copy of your book waiting to be bought from Amazon may soon be a thing of the past. Available downloads, with text or voice; ready and available to read online is the future.

Q. In the music arena what is your story from where you just started out a few years ago?

A. I started off with recording one of the songs I had written live in a studio. It was not a mastered recording, just an unrehearsed vocal and piano piece, recorded live in the studio.

Just as it was recorded, I had it burned on a CD and started giving out copies to people. People loved it so much they started inviting me to churches to sing nationally and even internationally.

Q. What goals and targets are you reaching out for?

A. I have several projects I am working on, including helping writers through my publishing company, translate their books into other languages.

Q. What advice would you give to those who have kept their dream in too long or are just starting out in a new venture or ministry in their 40's or 50's?

A. Never give up, it is not over until it is over. You may see yourself as 40 or 50 and just starting out, while God see's you as just starting out and ready! Ripe and ready to be released into your destiny.

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Bounce Back Lessons In Leadership

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Lessons From Samson In A Bounce Back Story (Your Hair Will Grow Again!)

Samson was born with a specific mandate, because God said to his parents he will begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. He was a man with a mission. He was a leader in his own time for a specific assignment.

Samson is the only man in scripture that was consecrated a Nazareth from the womb and remained a Nazareth to death.

Every other Nazarite took a vow that during these 40 days I am going to live like a Nazarite to God but not Samson. God said to SamRev. E A Effiom son from womb to grave. Why? Because God has a specific assignment He wanted him to fulfil. So is it with you. Samson was different. You are different. Samson was a man different from any other man in his time. Samson knew that God was doing something unique in his life. Samson knew that no razor could touch his head and that his life was supposed to be different from others.

Samson Missed It In Two Major Points.

1. He allowed hormones and emotions to lead him.

But Samson had a problem; as soon as he went there he saw a Philistine lady and said "I want to marry her". And her father said to him “Son, we don’t do it this way, find another woman among our people”, but Samson said no, she pleases me.

2. Samson Did Not Listen to Wisdom from his parents.

If you live your life and do things only that please you, you are almost guaranteed to displease God. He lived his life to please himself. Not even his parents could talk to him.

We live in a lawless generation; nobody wants anybody to talk to them. If there are no people speaking into your life, you have a big problem. If there is nobody that can call you to order, and say don’t do it this way do it that way.

I’m not talking about people who want to take control of your life and dominate it I’m talking about people that can be a father figure to you, a Pastor to you.

Somebody that can instruct you on the way to go, somebody that can look at you and say I think you will be better this way. If there are no people that can talk to you like that, the likelihood is that you will end up in trouble.

Your Anointing Does Not Make You Invincible We are living in a time where everyone can hear God for themselves. Lawlessness will rob you of your potentials. Nobody could talk to Samson in spite of the fact that he was anointed. In spite of the fact that Samson could move into the camp of the enemy with the jawbone of a donkey and kill 1000 Philistines, he could grab 300 foxes and tie them tail to tail and set them on fire and release them into the farms, he could do whatever, this man was invincible. Delilah said to Samson please tell me where your strength lies. How did a man get to a point where a woman says to you show me your secret so I can bind you and afflict you. And the bible says he went to sleep on her lap because nobody could talk to him. So he said, "Bind me with seven fresh bowstrings not 16

Rev. E.A. Effiom (cont.) glory are few. It is because so many people are doing things that please themselves and very few are willing to stay consecrated to God. Staying consecrated to God doesn’t mean being isolated from the world. It simply means if you say you are a Christian be a Christian.

If you say you are a child of God be a child of God, does that mean that I will make mistakes? Yes! You will make mistakes but when you fall you arise.

The Fall They came upon Samson and arrested him; he rose like before and moved his muscles as though nothing had happened. When the Philistines came to arrest him they took out his eyes then they bound him, he lost his liberty as his only function was to entertain people.

Samson's Bounce Back Pitch The enemy unaware that his strength was returning asked him to play sport and entertain the nobles from every part of the city. “

While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to

entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. ~Judges 16:25 -30 The conclusion about Samson is that he bounced back. He died but this is the catch. He fulfilled his assignment in style.

He made it but also chose to die alongside the Philistines. God will cause your hair to grow again. Your hair will definitely grow again.

You might have disappointed God, yourself, your family and those who looked up to you, but choose to live and fulfil your mandate.

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Nutrition for Harsh Seasons

By Omowunmi Olunloyo Do you eat more when you‘re feeling stressed? Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you are sad, angry, bored or anxious)? Imagine you had an argument and right now you are upset.

A friend asks what's wrong. How do you respond?

Tell your friend what happened and have a long, comforting talk about it.

Or tell your friend, "Everything's fine" and head to the freezer for the ice cream.

But can that ice cream really help you feel better? When you are at your weakest point emotionally, feeling depressed, lonely or exhausted; the strongest cravings for food may happen. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods.

What is Emotional Eating?

Emotional eating is eating in a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness or loneliness. Major life events and hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions such as unemployment, debts, health concerns, relationship conflicts, work stress or exhaustion.

While some individuals eat less when emotional, some may turn to impulsive or binge eating — you may quickly eat whatever is convenient, without even enjoying it. It serves as a distraction and you focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you feel guilty and the unhealthy cycle begins again— your emotions cause you to eat, you feel bad, and you eat again.

"Comfort" Foods” We all have our own comfort foods which may vary according to moods and gender. A study found that happy people tend to eat food like pizza, while sad people fancy ice cream and cookies. Bored people desire salty, crunchy things, like chips. Researchers also found that men seem to prefer hot, homemade comfort meals, like steaks, soups and casseroles. Women go for ice cream and or chocolate. Further studies suggest that consumption of comfort food is triggered in men by positive emotions, and by negative ones in women.

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Rev. E.A. Effiom (cont.) Were you made to be like any other man? God didn’t create you to be like any other person. Of the estimated 8 billion people on this earth and whatever billions have raised this glorious earth none are the same. We may look alike but we are not the same. Our fingerprints are not the same.

Where did you get the mind that you should be like any other man? When did you become like any other man?

The Deception & Downfall of Leadership is Persuading You to Aspire to Become Whom You Are or Are Not The original instruction at your point of birth was that you are a Nazarite consecrated to the Lord. The bible says Delilah wore him out; she wearied him with nagging, tears and controlling words. He now opened up to her.

He then told her "no razor has ever come upon my head for I have been a Nazarite from birth.

If I am shaved then my strength will leave me then I shall become weak and be like any other man".

He opened up to her about the secret of his strength. And the bible says she summoned the Philistines, they even brought the money to her and they cut off his hair. Then he woke up like other times but the Holy Spirit had departed from him.

Pleasing Ourselves Or God? Samson had a problem, no-one could talk to him, he didn’t listen to anyone. He had to do what pleased him. If you are called by God and a child of God serve God with everything you have. Let the devil know that you are a child of God whether it is day or it is night.

The anointing and the power of God are not in short supply. The reason we are not seeing the glory of God in our generation like we ought to be seeing as we approach the end of the age is because the carriers of the

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Research shows that high-fat foods, like ice cream may activate certain chemicals in the body that create a sense of contentment and fulfilment. This almost addictive quality may actually make you reach for these foods again when emotional. Typical comfort foods include: bag of chips, ice cream, chocolate, cookies, pies, fish and chips, puddings and roast meat.

As we approach winter leaving autumn behind, things begin to fall and mature, the dry weather usually causes an itchy throat, a dry nose, chapped lips, rough skin, hair loss and dry stools. We need to eat well to promote the production of body fluids and their lubricating effects throughout the body.

The body needs extra fluids to counteract the dry environment. In winter, living things slow down to save energy and build strength as a prelude to spring. Since appetite tends to increase over winter when there is a lower metabolic rate, absorbed nutrients from foods can be stored more easily.

Eating good food when going through can be challenging as negative emotions can trigger emotional eating but there is hope, you can take steps to control it like: •

Recognize the triggers

•

Keep a food diary

•

Fight boredom by keeping busy

Take away temptation Snack healthy Ever notice how stress makes you hungry? When stress is chronic, it leads to high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol triggers cravings for salty, sweet, and high-fat foods—foods that give you a burst of energy and pleasure. •If you feel the urge to eat, choose a low-fat, lowcalorie snack, such as fresh fruit or vegetables with low-fat dip.

Or try low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favourite foods to see if they satisfy you.

Delicious and Nutritious Autumn/Winter Produce to Eat This Season Sweet Potatoes are rich in antioxidant beta-carotene, fibre, vitamin B6, foliate, vitamin C and potassium. They are especially nutritious when eaten with the skin on and they are not fattening. They are delicious baked whole in the oven or roasted with a drizzle of olive oil.

Brussels sprouts are little cabbages, rich in phytochemicals and believed to have antioxidant properties and a great anti-cancer fighter. They are delicious when roasted in the oven and sautĂŠed with olive oil and drizzled with honey.

Apples provide fibre along with antioxidant quercitin. It is best to eat with the skins and a baked apple sprinkled with cinnamon and raisins makes the perfect after dinner treat.

Butternut squash is a delicious and sweet orange vegetable rich in antioxidants beta carotene and lutein. It can be baked in the oven, roasted or pureed and made into a soup. It tastes great with a sprinkling of cinnamon and ginger.

Grapefruit provides vitamin C, foliate, potassium and fibre. Pink grapefruits are particularly rich in antioxidant lycopene.

Pears are loaded with fibre and vitamin C. Baking or poaching pears brings out its delicious flavor.

Incorporate a poached pear into a salad for a delicious and nutritious twist.

Parsnip is a root vegetable containing fibre, vitamin B, folate, vitamin C, and potassium. Their sweet and nutty flavor makes them a great addition to use in soups.

Kiwifruit provides vitamin C, potassium and fibre. It makes a great addition to a fruit salad.

For more nutritious produce when feeling low try these autumn/ winter specials; Barbados cherries, cranberries, grapes, guava, mushrooms, passion fruit, pineapple, pomegranate, carrot, onions, garlic, clementine, dates, oranges and tangerines.

Have you tried self-help options but still cannot get control of emotional eating, consider taking advantage of expert help. Counselors and therapists can help you deal with your feelings. Nutritionists can help you identify your eating patterns and get you on track with appropriate diet. Fitness experts can get your body's feel-good chemicals firing through exercise instead of food.

Omowunmi Olunloyo or Toks, as she is also known, is a leading authority in food technology. She has a passion for food and is committed to teaching people just like you how to transform a food idea that begins at the kitchen table from concept to launch, using established methods and techniques to a finished homemade food product suitable for retail sale. Omowunmi helps home cooks with an amazing recipe/idea to develop their food product from concept to launch so that they can sell their homemade food product. For more information visit www.forkandspoonbook.com, www.letstalkstartingafoodbusiness.blogspot.co.uk

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The Heart MATTERS by Robert Ntefon The Human Heart is hidden below the surface but is worth being understood by every human being. The thing about life is that it is a matter of the heart!

Using Dr Jim Richards’ words “The heart is where your spirit and your soul meet together.” It is where our core-intents and purposes are formed. Whatever your head processes makes not much lasting meaning to you or to God until it is rooted or forms a strong base in your heart. Your heart is the one place that you can truly communicate with God and Him speak to you.

If you have ever read from the book of Jeremiah 19:7 that says "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it?" (KJV) doesn't it make you feel that humanity is destined for destruction? My point is that if the heart is where God looks at to judge who is right or wrong, it therefore means that not one human soul will make it to heaven.

Hearts Covered With Foot-prints 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”. (KJV). So, while humans assess others from the outward appearances, God looks at the innermost part of our being, the human heart. He sees the makeup of the human hearts and judges us by the intents and motives of our heart. Moreover, your heart is where your sense of self-worth is formed, and nobody is ever able to progress in life without the equivalent of same in the heart.

There are several things you need to know about the human heart, but we will explore what the scripture really means by “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” .

You might have wondered what Bible means by that; that might make you think if there is a need to ever want to live for God or you might want to ask The Lord; "Then who can be saved” like the people in Luke 18:26 did, considering the fact that “LORD looks at the heart.” ~ (NIV). That seems to leave every human unable to please God.

Jeremiah 17: 9 says that “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” ~ (NIV).

Aren’t you shocked that this sounds like there is no cure for the human heart?

Here is the truth about Jeremiah 17:9; According to Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, the Hebrew translation could have rightly been translated thus:

Nobody is ever able to progress in life without the equivalent of same in the heart.

"the heart is foot-tracked, held back, restrained that it is not in shape at all” or “the heart is in a state of complete confusion and disorder” Or “the heart is covered with footprints that make it become chaotic",~ Dr, Jim Richards So, you can see the meaning of that verse emerging more clearly now. The foot-tracks from deep emotional pains you might have been through have left marks of footprints trampled on your heart. I am not interested in making anything sound complicated at all. If anything, I wish to make very complicated subjects become as easy to understand as possible.

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(The Heart Matter cont.) Do you remember any sad experience that you had in the past? Some things you wish never happened to you, and you have not been able to forget them either? Those sad experiences left foot-tracks or footprints on your heart. Your heart is held back, or your heart has become restrained and wouldn’t let you be your fabulous self. Instead, your heart became chaotic, disorderly, disordered. When anybody’s heart is in disorder, chaotic, in disarray, disorganized, topsy-turvy, haywire, confused, in pandemonium, in turmoil, tumultuous, disrupted, polluted and crooked etc. that is what King James Version Bible means by “the heart is deceitful…”

Real Success Begins From The Heart The heart that is foot-tracked is insidious; it works or spreads its hurts in a hidden and usually injurious ways. The result of others trampling upon your heart and leaving foot-tracks on it have caused it to become “desperately wicked” and “beyond cure” humanly speaking. That leads us to the aspect of that verse that Bible translates from the Hebrew word as “Desperately wicked” in KJV but NIV translates it as being “beyond cure”. This does not in any way infer that The Almighty God cannot cure your heart of hurts. Rather, it means that the heart that has been food-tracked becomes weak, sick, frail and therefore, it cannot work to serve you in life as it should. That state of human heart usually ends up in a damaged life.

The thing you need to be aware of about the human heart (which is directly connected to what the physiologists refer to as the subconscious mind) is that it does not know the difference between truth and lies.

If your heart is not healed by God it is predictable that your life stands a possible chance of becoming chaotic and the conclusion is that even your marriage and relationships will be operation from the foot-tracked heart.

So, the Hebrew words translated as “desperately wicked” could have also have been translated as the heart is incurable, sick, desperate, incurable, woeful or very sick. Since no human can heal your heart, you have to know how to receive the healing that God as 22

the hurts are eliminated from your heart.

People might be impressed by your outward shows but God judges by the intent of your heart. Moreover, it is with your heart that you will believe unto righteousness (right-standing with God or life as it should be).

The Heart is the determining factor for success or failure in marriage. When all that is running your life are reactions from pains, hurts or resentments that is pointer that your relationships and marriage will face some changes. So, the question you need to answer now is ―What is written on your heart?‖ Personal Application Make this a very practical moment by getting your pen and paper and seating where nobody is going to distract or disturb you. Next thing to do is to be clear of your intention. Your intention at this point should sound like this: ―I am sitting now by myself to listen to myself so I can confront and overcome the hurts in my heart‖. In the same atmosphere, be quiet and listen to your heart without trying to reason them out. Take note of the issues that well up from your heart as things that people (including your parents) did and you felt badly hurt are showing up in your heart. Do not try to hinder your memory from reminding you. Rather, take notice of those issues and get ready to overcome them in a matter of seconds.

Vexation of any sort, anger, selfishness or outright resentment against the society or people of the opposite sex, you will need to write them down. Whatever has settled in your heart is what will determine how you relate with your spouse and subsequently, the outcome of your marriage.

What you consciously think about can help you a very nice groom during your wedding ceremony but your heart-beliefs and core-values will make your marriage succeed or fail. Lastly, visualize your offender that trampled on your tender heart and call them by name and pronounce forgiveness upon them. This may be in a matter of seconds or could run into minutes. Just make sure you release them for free so you can be free to let your body do what you were designed to do.

Ever let go what you don‘t want in your hands, so you

for your food-tracked heart by turning it to Him for healing. Therefore, if you are seeking to have God as the source of the kind of life that must flow in your family, then you sure do need ensure that God’s words are written upon the tablet of your heart after No one sets out to marry a woman he loves with the intention for that marriage to fail. One hidden basis that marriages fail is in the deciduousness of foot-tracked heart..

“Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy”~ Proverbs 12:20 (NIV).

If you have discovered that your heart is with these evil plots against others, or you feel like the psalmist who said: “My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me.…” ~Psalm 55:4-5 A miserable heart cannot be made good by a great marriage, instead, it will render a great marriage miserable; “A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song.” ~Proverbs 15:15 (MSG) This is the time to call upon the name of The Lord and He will deliver you and give you a brand new heart. He promised He will.

A Heart Transplant For You “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” ~Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV) Jesus said that Moses allowed divorce because of hardness of hearts.

“They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away ? He saith unto them , Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” ~ Matthew 19:7-8 (KJV) He also taught that every evil thing comes from your heart: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”~ Luke 7:2023 (NIV) No human will be able to see through into your heart but The Almighty does. He alone can give your life’s solution at the heart level. By the way, a heart of stone is a hardened heart and this type of is nonresponsive to God and often it show in how we treat people we deal with on a daily basis. The heart of flesh, on the other hand is responsive and sensitive to people based on how sensitive it is to God’s Word.

Download some audio teachings at www.robertntefon.com/hearttransformationeshop 23

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Out in February Book NOW! To order text NEWBOOK to 07828675037 or 07828015872 27

Your Bounce Back In Style STORY

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From Divorce to the Mission Field with New Wife Kola Tayo, New Life Church, Cirencester Style is peculiar to each person and so bouncing back in style has to be connected to the individual. The style known with King David might not be the same as Queen Esther‘s. Both styles may be valid yet different in pattern. Nevertheless they must all have substance to worth recognising and documentation. The Christian person‘s style in whatever you do must have a common denominator to be worth our attention; that is Godliness.

God & Marriage At 29 years My account is typical of most people who depend solely on God. We go out in good faith believing the best of what we know and our entire wherewithal. And so at age 29 and a very active believer in the Lord, I ventured into the wide sea of marriage. I had prayed fervently, knew enough of my intended‘s background and reasoned that since the Lord was with us, we can overcome the now recognisable deficiencies of her family. The major deficiency being long standing feuds. It seemed nothing to the family to quarrel at everything and anything. Since she was not directly involved in the quarrels, the little I knew at the time, it seemed explainable and the fact that she was a believer like me, I took it that we are born-again and it‘s probably our testimony that will make the difference. My mantra was, ―our story does not have to be like theirs; we are to make the difference‖. Good faith and best of interests laced with love.

The Start of Trouble Marriage is indeed of God. From the start of expressing our intentions of marriage to my partner‘s family, the spirit of disagreement and quarrels came up. The parents, who had been separated for years and still feuding, could not agree on a date or anything for that matter.

It took two years of tough times to get the father‘s agreement. The mother of the bride, who eventually proved to be our arch enemy, was just impossible to relate with. Inflammatory comments, false claims and damaging behaviours characterised her relationship with us. Over the years, it soon became clear to me that we needed to be in full agreement as a couple and recognise our ―enemies‖ in the order of 3rd parties. Unfortunately, my partner saw this differently and preferred to see them as nothing else but her ―family‖. Statements like ―She is my mother, I have no other‖; were her favourite retort to my presentations. I reasoned with her that this may be true but you are NOW a mother to our children too. The mothering style of her mother ended in disastrous breakup of the family, we don‘t need to have a repeat.

All these entreaties, despite the involvement of several well-meaning Uncles of her family who argued as I did, she proved to have little or no respect for my views or even person. This lack of respect was to be our Achilles heel. I can say so now with benefit of hind sight and prove in her two siblings who respected and kept their marriages as they dared to rebuff the suggestions of their mother. They refused to house her against all sentiments but my Ex was determined to have her live with us permanently even though I made it clear she could only visit but 29

not live permanently with us. As both of them (mother and daughter) carried out a campaign of quarrel, ignominy and even near physical fights, the home became combustible. I decided to pray and not get directly involved as much as possible. My own home became a place of egg-shell and fear for me. Terrible dreams, diabolical sightings and terrible disrespects even in the view of children eventually forced me to decide that although I had waited and endured because of my children, for their same sake I will not allow myself to be disgraced so in their presence lest they have a bad memory of Dad and marriage all together. I vowed to go the way God would show me even if it meant what I could not imagine previously.

Divorce When she finally filed for divorce, I was not sorry. I was so liberated in my spirit that the doctrinal fears and condemnations were of little or no hold on me anymore. John 5 and 9 emboldened me a lot especially the quote ――The man who made me well said to me, ‗Pick up your mat and walk.‘ I was ready to walk out if the Lord gave me grace to do so. .

At the death of my marriage, I was taken aback when the Lord informed me in simple words I would paraphrase as “this marriage is dead”. On the day, I was set to lead a Prayer Meeting when 1 Kings 3: 16-28 came alive in my heart. The reasons for our matrimonial disagreements became plain like day event. The two prostitutes in the reference seemed like the two of us and while I was more interested in the LIVING message of Christ, my partner was more interested in very important and impressive messages of career, house, progress etc. which were all reasonable and important but nevertheless DEAD. When Light (understanding, wisdom) came, the mother of the Living baby could not be quiet but agitated for her living baby. Thus I, now in Ministry struggled to keep my Living baby (Ministry in Christ) and could no longer be quiet. The Lord told me that night, that my marriage was dead…it had to be declared so not hidden just as a dead child had to be declared dead and buried.

Time to Bury The Dead Past Failure to bury will result in worse consequences of odour, infections to other things etc. It was painful and I almost could not continue with the prayer meeting as I cried quietly and backed the congregation who had come for the prayer meeting. At the time, my ex did not attend the prayer meetings. She never really acknowledged my calling to Ministry, often deriding it as a default and excuse of a job despite the fact that we were experiencing great testimonies of God‘s workings in the Ministry. The Lord‘s notice of the ―death‖ of the marriage was not easily received by me and I asked HIM why? He gave me HIS answer one day on the way to plant a church. I was on the train and HIS response was ―it‘s because of a previous covenant; Judges 16‖. The previous covenant of Delilah and the resultant destruction of Samson was only too apt for my turmoil. It was like I had never read it before. At this, I sobered up and asked of the Lord to give me grace to live as I have read the Bible while Samson did not have a Bible to read. The Lord granted my request so am alive today and so is the Ministry in my hands, glory to God. A New Vision!

In the year 2009, while expecting the visit of her sister and struggling with heavy loses to maintain all the bills and costs of housekeeping compounded mainly by the quarrelsome pressures alone, the burden of living with my Ex was too much for me and I had to accept that I was going quietly mad. Depression was all over me and I was losing it. I cried to God to give me something to do so that I will find some excitement and not go mad. There and then, squatted over my computer, the Lord gave me the vision of raising my Secondary school Alumni group. I called it Grand Reunion and all sets that ever graduated from the school were brought together on Facebook. Three years later, I held the first major Reunion of the school on the grounds of the old school. The anointing to lead was so present that all sets submitted to my direction of the events. The success was unprecedented and I was unanimously mandated to lead the Alumni group. The following year was the 40th year of the school so I had to prepare for a second event so close. In all these, God was faithful in provisions, success of events and great attendance from all over the world.

Mission Field Opening

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My secret prayer was that God would restore the many broken lives I observed all around me at the Reunion.

People found much joy and consolation in the friends of their youth. So many were obviously blessed and highly favoured, most noticeable were folks from very humble backgrounds in school days but were now highly placed. I prayed that God will also help those who had suffered in various aspects of life like marriage. I noticed that many people thought my life was perfect hence I could put the reunion together.

A Wife Sent In Answer to Prayer I was not ashamed of myself yet I needed to respect myself so I kept it much to myself. Yet when I noticed so many lives coming back together after so many years, I realised that people are not bad in themselves but people carry dead issues foolishly just as the woman in 1Kings 3. I secretly prayed to the Lord, ―Father, You have given me this project to do and You have blessed it with much success. Surely You can answer my need for a good wife too even among this large number of people here‖. I left it at that and was open minded to receive whoever the Lord would bring even outside of the Alumni group. I had prayed that many people would get to meet their life partners, network for success etc. at this reunion, why not me too?

The hotel desk rang to tell me I had a visitor. So many visitors were in and out my room anyway so I said, ―yeah let the guest in‖. Turned out to be a junior alumni who did not meet me at school. She came with her son and wanted to make returns for the sale of the Reunion Magazine. She soon caught the tone of my upset voice and successfully calmed me down. After she left, my friend commented that he was sorry to see me face all these challenges especially that of a failed marriage. He went on to say that he was highly impressed at the way the young lady understood my being upset and wisely calmed me down. He said this type of lady will make a good wife not the ones who fuel and make your upset worse. I grunted my agreement with his views and carried on our friendly banter about everything and old memories.

Reunion & Marriage The next day, I found some excuse for the same lady to visit me so when she again turned up with her son, I observed how well settled they both were. To my senses, this is a good family so I innocently asked after her husband. She replied that he had gone ahead so I said she should invite him to the alumni events. She smiled and said, ―You don‘t understand, I meant he has gone home to be with the Lord‖. I immediately felt sorry for her and for my naivety. I apologised for this and she simply said, ―It is okay, no problem‖. We then talked a bit more about this….she has two children; the husband had died before the 2nd year anniversary of their wedding…etc. Although there were a few distractions, my mind rang clear and loud that there is a precious person.

The Reunion was in October and I was only too aware that my Missionary travels would soon kick off. I could barely manage two days in some countries so it‘s constant move and work. This year, my team was covering more countries than previous missions. Despite the tight schedule, I managed to find time to phone my new found love.

By the end of the Mission, I was desperate to get back to England but to the surprise of everyone, I made a detour and flew to Nigeria. I love winter in UK yet my travels often punctuate the pleasure. So I found myself in Israel with a group of partners in Ministry. Wedding was scheduled for March in Nigeria.

God was helping me to BOUNCE BACK IN STYLE. From the cowered, depressed and battle wearied man to one who has enjoyed the uplifting grace of God, I ought to be very grateful; God met all my needs in both cash and kind. Great company of very good friends, family and loving in-laws were all more than ordinary to me. It was God‘s doing and it‘s marvellous in the sight of all.

Praises be to the Lord and all glory to God forever. Amen.

Kola Tayo, New Life Church, Cirencester.

Questions/feedback are welcome by email: kftayo@yahoo.co.uk

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BUSINESS Trends

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Women In Business

by Jacqueline Ani

For as far back as the 17th Century, women have been known to be business minded, entrepreneurs, pioneers and the like and such women include: 1739 - Eliza Lucas Pinckney 'Dying' to Make a Difference She's known as America's first important agriculturalist for introducing blue indigo dye into continental North America.

1766 - Mary Katherine Goddard Spreading the Word Her famous firsts began when she became the first woman publisher in America in 1766. In 1775, Goddard became the first American woman postmaster in Baltimore, Maryland. But she is most famous for printing the first copy of the Declaration of Independence that included the names of all the signers. Goddard remained postmaster until she was replaced in 1789, then continued to work as a printer and bookseller until her death in 1816.

1875 Lydia Pinkham The Ann Landers of the 1800s Some would call her the Ann Landers or Dr. Ruth of the 1800s. In 1875, Lydia Estes Pinkham of Lynn, Massachusetts, converted her herbal home remedies into a big business by skilfully marketing her products toward women and educating them about health issues. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound became one of the best-known patent medicines of the 19th century.

1905 Madam C.J. Walker Carving the Path for Women Entrepreneurs Considered one of the 20th century's most successful women entrepreneurs, Madam C.J. Walker built her empire out of nothing. Her parents were former slaves, and she was orphaned at the age of 7. In 1905, she created Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula.

1910 Coco Chanel Revolutionizing Fashion One Accessory at a Time "May my legend prosper and thrive. I wish it a long and happy life." Coco Chanel's legend certainly has lived on since she died in 1971. At the time of her death, Chanel's fashion empire brought in more than $160 million a year.

1932 Olive Ann Beech Skyrocketing to Success Olive Ann Beech co-founded Beech Aircraft Corp. in Wichita, Kansas, alongside her husband, Walter, at the height of the Depression in 1932. Together the Beeches grew the business from 10 employees to 10,000. Two hundred and seventy of their Beech Model 17 Staggerwings were manufactured for the U.S. Army during World War II. 33

1950 Brownie Wise The Planner Behind the Party Her knack for sales, charm and ambition helped launch a product as common to most American kitchens as forks and knives. Wise was a single mom in 1939 when she got her lucky break: After selling Stanley Home Products in the early 1950s, she realized that Tupperware would be sold more effectively at home parties than at department stores.

1972 Martha Stewart The Final Word on Fine Living She's been named one of the "50 Most Powerful Women" twice by Fortune magazine and has made Forbes magazine's "Forbes 400" list. Born in 1941 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Martha Stewart channelled her passion for cooking and stylish living into a multimedia empire.

1984 Oprah Winfrey The Multimedia Maven She's a media queen, and she reaches an estimated 49 million viewers a week through TV alone. Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, in 1954 and lived in poverty while growing up. Despite a dysfunctional upbringing, Winfrey eventually received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, where she studied communications and worked at a local radio station on the side. Winfrey got her big break in Chicago in 1983 when she began hosting a morning talk show. Within months, The Oprah Winfrey Show replaced Donahue as the highest-rated talk show in Chicago, and from there, her career skyrocketed. Today she not only serves as supervising producer and host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, taped in Chicago, but Winfrey is also the founder of her own magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine and women's lifestyle website, Oprah.com. Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $70 million and given 100 percent of donations to non-profit organizations worldwide. Her production company, Harpo Productions Inc., created another daytime hit, Dr. Phil, in 2002. There's more-Oprah is the co-founder of Oxygen Media, which operates a 24-hour cable television network for women.

Along with these women, we have women in the bible who went into business and had such favour and grace flowing with, through and in them.

These women had something they identified, something they could turn into a business, but they needed to do it not at the detriment, but in line with their households.

2nd Kings 4:1-7 The Widow’s Jar of Oil Through her loss, she experienced something that looked so insignificant but was of a great sale value and would later bring profit to her household. Her success was very dependent on identifying how significant this item was and how she would use it to bring deliverance to her household and she did. If she were alive today, she would be described as an oil baroness of our times.

Proverbs 31: 10 – 31 The Virtuous Woman She served her household with wisdom, love and integrity so much so that her husband could truly trust in her because she didn‘t bring him harm but only good all the days of his life. Her godly character epitomised her busi34

ness ethics and as such her success overflowed to her household including her husband who could be in his position and flourish in which he acknowledged her by calling her blessed.

It is with the qualities of the Virtuous Woman that I would like to conclude my premise on what a Woman In Business should emulate.

1. She Knows Her Worth – A Woman In Business knows her worth and it is priceless, she wouldn’t allow anyone to put a price on her neither would she sell herself short or betray her standards and principles.

2. She is Trustworthy – A Woman In Business is trusted by the people in her camp, especially her husband.

Her first priority is to honour him as her spiritual leader and at the same time maintain her godly principles which she understands is a protection to him and her children. For a woman who may not have a husband, she still abides by her godly principles honouring God and recognising that He is her First Husband and as she submits to Him, He honours her with the work of her hands.

3. She is Resourceful – A Woman In Business is filled with ideas and identifies potential in her ideas, as a result she is willing to put her ideas to good use; her discernment takes her to places that will benefit her and her household as well as making sure her helpers also benefit from her ideas and resources.

4. She Neither Slumbers nor er idle and whilst everyone in receiving spiritual food so household spiritually.

Sleeps – A Woman In Business is nevher household is still asleep, she is up that she can also feed and cover her

5. She Considers Opportunities Business considers business her profit, she knows she has that her profits are not for her future generation as the inheritance for his children’s

that will Bring Profit - A Woman In opportunities and ideas that will bring a household and as such she knows her but to sow seeds continuously for scripture says a good man leaves an children.

6. She Manages Her Emotions – A Woman In Business is able to make wise decisions and doesn’t allow her emotions short change her; therefore she surrounds herself with strength not fainting in the day of adversity instead leaning on her Greater Support in God. Her strength and good focus accepts that her resources are good and as such will not allow anyone to take advantage of what she has; neither will she fall below her standards of providing quality.

7. She Gives to the Poor – A Woman In Business is aware of her surroundings and realises her good fortune and blessing should be shared amongst the less fortunate as her hands extends beyond her surroundings to the very needy.

8. She Does Not Operate in Fear – A Woman In Business is prepared at all times no matter the season and as such she does not live in fear because she is prepared for every eventuality, she also is able to turn circumstances into an opportunity.

9. She Clothes and Is Clothed – A Woman In Business makes sure that her home is always presentable with the best designs, furthermore she presents those in her household as princes and princesses with fine clothing, she is also exquisitely presentable as she understands that presentation is one of the keys to success and forming good partnerships. She is honoured as she honours others.

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10. Her Husbnd is Successful – A Woman In Business encourages her husband to fulfil his purpose and ensures that he also gains from her opportunities, realising that she is only a source and is not limited to her but to her household. She will not pursue notoriety at the expense of her husband ensuring that he is in position.

11. A Woman of Kindness – A Woman In Business is a woman who speaks with wisdom, kindness and good instruction. She believes that death and life are in the power of her tongue so life is what she chooses to speak to others in building them up and not bringing them down.

12. She is Blessed – A Woman In Business knows she is blessed and believes that she is called to be a blessing to others.

This woman is not one single woman, but is the spirit of what God has called every seasoned business woman to become. We can learn from this woman as she has a Kingdom focus and as such God will give her the power to get wealth to establish His Kingdom here on earth.

Looking back at the history of women who have been in business since the 17th century, if you were to investigate their successes further, you will discover that some emulated qualities of the Virtuous Woman‘s qualities and character and hence were blessed to be noted in history as women who made significant changes in their environment.

In conclusion, a woman in business is no ordinary woman given the qualities of the Virtuous Woman, but what‘s significant about this woman is that she puts her household first and builds from her environment and such a woman who has her household in mind, tell me why wouldn‘t God bless and promote her in business? I believe that God is calling Women In Business to aspire to be like this woman with the support and assistance of the Holy Spirit and the Grace of God and as they submit to His Will, He will bless them according to His Will for them.

Jacqueline Ani is a transformational leadership coach, inspirational speaker, author of 3 books, mentor and member of the Social School of Entrepreneurs. She is Managing Director of Empowered Woman, Programme Director of The Mentoring Academy and Chief Editor of Women Empowering Women Magazine. Website link is www.empoweredwoman.org.uk

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Money Matters

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How to Keep Your Budget Low & Fun High during the Holidays

By Tokunbo Alero Osunbayo Holiday seasons are those times of the year where there is a lot of excitement in the air. The holiday glee is on and it is quite easy to throw financial caution to the wind. I completely agree that the holidays are indeed the best times to unwind and give oneself a break but that does not mean we need to break the bank along with our holiday rest. So yes, holidays are great but if not handled well, they can become a financial nightmare, taking you to a place of stress, despair and unnecessary debt.

Let‘s take a look at the Christmas season for starters. Christmas, is that time of the year when the majority gets all excited and tingling. It is a season where you think of gifts, food, family and friends coming together to enjoy the season. As a Christian it has a double meaning for us. As we know the reason for the season. Yes, the world has turned it into a commercial beehive of possible mind-blowing profit. But in the Christian world it is a time celebrate the birth of Christ and the reason he came, while enjoying the fun fare of the season too!

How can we keep our budget low at Christmas?

1. Eliminate Emotional Spending Yes, you want to give your family the most amazing gifts. You absolutely love them and believe they should have the best for Christmas. But it is also important that you remember you and your family will still have to live life after Christmas. Too many people become ‗spending junkies‘ during the Christmas season, spending like there is no tomorrow as their emotions go through the roof. There is truth in the saying, when the emotions are high, intelligence is low. Keep your emotions in check; take a look at your bank account it will tell you how much you can afford and give you a picture of your true financial ability.

2. Create a Christmas Budget One main way to curb emotional spending is to be guided by a budget. A budget is a habit many still struggle to embrace. Yet, it is the life wire of good money management. If you truly want to keep the fun high during Christmas then the budget should be your buddy for the season. How do you draw up your Christmas budget? I tend to recommend to my followers and readers on social media to have a fun account. A fun account is where you save money to give you great holidays and holiday seasons. As we are presently close to Christmas, this might not be practical for the ‗last minuters‘. I must apologise here as not everyone is a ‗last minuter‘ by choice. The state of one‘s financial affairs can put many in this category, as they have to wait till their Christmas bonus or pay check to do their shopping. Just as the Holy Spirit is our helper in life. A budget is your helper when it comes to your finances and keeping you money in check, especially during holiday spending. I will not be talking about how to budget in this article but it is important to learn budgeting techniques.

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3. Create a Christmas Shopping List I have met too many people over the years who tell me they know exactly what they want to buy when they get to the shops, as they have it all in their heads. Sure, they might know what they want when they go in but when they come out there are many things in their bags that were not part of the original shopping plan. A shopping list will guide you and help you stay on track when you go about your Christmas shopping. Even if you go off track it will only be a little shift in the wrong shopping direction. Without a shopping list, you can fall into the trap set by the stores to get you spending. And I can tell you they do it so subtly that you won‘t even notice till you get to the till, many people are too shy to take things off their trolley when this happens. Voila! The store wins. A shopping list will also help you remember all you are meant to buy.

4. Shop as early as possible Those who start their Christmas shopping early and take time to shop around will surely spend less than those who leave it to the last minute. So if your circumstances are not the culprit for last minute shopping, shop early to get the best deals.

5. Set Aside Christmas Cash Even the best plans can sometimes go pear-shaped but being ready in advance for the unexpected is a wise move. Set aside some emergency Christmas money. Just in case something comes up, at least you are prepared for the unexpected. Who knows the Christmas turkey might get burnt and you‘ll need another one.

How to keep our budget low during other holiday seasons I won‘t be saying much here, most of the Christmas tips apply to other holidays. But I will talk a little bit about going away on holidays.

1. Do Your Research It is important that you do as much research about the place you are going to visit as possible. What do things cost at your holiday destination, like food, souvenirs, entertainment, etc.? Is the town or city generally expensive?

It is important that you learn as much as possible and remember the budget.

2. Know Your Financial Cap One of the ways I keep my financial fuel supplied during holidays is to use my daily financial cap. Now what is this? I calculate how much money I‘m travelling with and divide it by the number of days I‘ll be spending on holiday. This way I know exactly how much I can afford to spend per day. This has worked wonders and I have a chest freezer in my home that came from the holiday money I brought back. The chest freezer was a pat on the back for a good job done, even though we really did need an extra freeze.

3. Do not keep up with the Jones or family members Do not try to outdo family or friends when shopping for the holidays and this especially applies to Christmas. Also if possible do not go shopping with anyone who will make you buy stuff you don‘t really want or need. It will lead to a spending disaster and mess up your budget and finances. Follow these tips and I can assure you that you‘ll have so much during and after your holidays. Stay blessed!

Tokunbo Osunbayo is a Financial Skills Trainer (known as the Financial Teacher), a serial entrepreneur, writer and speaker.

Her passion is to see people live their best financial lives. Her area of expertise is financial intelligence, money management and income generation techniques. She has been in the financial education industry for almost twenty years. She runs MoneyStart and Absolute Exposure both businesses reach out to people‘s financial needs. You can connect with Tokunbo via her websites (www.moneystart.co.uk and www.absoluteexposure.co.uk or on Facebook - Tokunbo Osunbayo

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From the Book Dreams and Visions by Dr Joe Ibojie.

Do you dream and not know the meaning?

Are you confused by the multiple dreams and are looking for humanistic interpretations?

Are you strongly prophetic but need direction?

Are you looking to grow in the Word and mature in prophetic gifting and be used of God in this area?

Then read on...

Ultimately, God uses dreams to align our hearts, thoughts and intentions to His eternal purpose. He may use dreams in a variety of ways: to answer our questions; to appoint us to a new mission; to command changes in how we live; to commune with us concerning secrets of His heart; to promise us something yet to come; to teach us vital truths that we might have missed, and so forth.

Many misconceptions about dreams result from precepts of worldly wisdom. Humanistic ideology states that dreams only tell us unresolved aspects of a dreamer, such as anxieties, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, secret yearning s and untapped ambitions. This school of thought further claims that all these occur in dreams because the person has not recognised them while awake, or perhaps unwilling to admit to them. The fact that God relates these aspects in our dreams both to correct our excesses and guide us into truth. He brings them into our dreams for the purpose of aligning us with His eternal purpose. As the bible says: For God [does reveal His will He speak not only once but more than once! even though men do not regard it [including you, Job]. [One May hear Gods voice] in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men while slumbering upon the bed, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction [terrifying them with warnings], that He may withdraw man from his purpose and cut off pride from him [disgusting him with his own selfsufficiency]. He holds him back from the pit [of destruction], and his life from perishing from the sword [of God's destructive judgments]. (Job 33:14-18 AMP).

The message from a dream or vision can come in many ways: as prophecy (most common); a word of knowledge; a gift of discernment; a gift of healing; a gift of wisdom or as a gift of interpretation. Solomon was given wisdom in a dream. He woke up and was wiser and began to demonstrate divine wisdom and respect for human life. God can radically rewrite our lives through the dreams we receive. Dreams have the power to expand, confirm, enlighten, enrich and deepen your understanding of God's word:

- Through dreams, we get more detail and specific direction for achieving a given task. Dreams can also give hidden insight of wisdom specific to the situation.

- It is important to know that God does not send dreams to embarrass, condemn or confuse us.

- Through dreams and visions, God grants us insightful understanding of our own hearts. The apostle Peter's wrong mind-set that Gentiles were unclean (which came from his Jewish upbringing) was revealed to him through visions he received from God:

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"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean". The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean". This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. (Acts 10:14-16).

In modern times, these visions sound like what many would describe as "pizza dreams", which supposedly come from eating junk food too late at night. But these dreams were divinely inspired, even though Peter did not understand the message until later.

-God uses dreams and visions to give us insight into circumstances if life and the true reason behind our experiences . Abraham's dream of his descendants going into slavery in Egypt was foretold and explained as follows: Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13).

- God exposes Satan's plans and gives us insight into hell's assignments God designs some dreams to be therapeutic; He reveals hidden hurts from the dreamer's past and gives healing.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias! "Yes, Lord," he answered. The Lord told him, "go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man named Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name." But The Lord said to Ananias," Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name." Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hand on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, The Lord-Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here-has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised. (Acts 9:10-18).

-Some dreams and visions have significant intercessory calls, and may require the dreamer to stand in the gap through prayer.

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:9-10).

- Through dreams, God gives the voice of proclamation and deliverance.

That is so we can be the voice of agreement that allows God's transformation and renewal to come to a situation, as in Amos 3:7: "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without I revealing His plan to His servants the prophets."

If you are a high volume dreamer and do not know how to interprete or apply your dreams, then get in touch.

Email us atinfo@thebouncebackeffect.com

Dr Joe Ibojie is the Bishop and senior pastor of The Father’s House, a vibrant family church located in Aberdeen. He travels worldwide as a Bible and Prophetic teacher and combines a unique prophetic gifting with rare insight into the mysteries of God and ancient biblical methods of understanding dreams and visions. He has authored 15 books, 4 of which are international best sellers.

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AVAILABLE FROM 1ST JANUARY, 2015 ORDER YOUR COPY BY FOLLOWING DETAILS BELOW

Text MY COPY to +44 (0)7868015872 42

Experiencing 2015 & Beyond

Rev Allen Joe Opoku

Every great act of God requires genuine preparation to fully maximise it. Not to prepare is to be readily available for poor performance

So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. 2 Chronicles 27:6

He became mighty in wealth and power, and influence upon the neighbouring nations, who courted his friendship and feared his displeasure; and this he got by “preparing his ways before the Lord his God”. The more steadfast and diligent we are in the lord the mightier we are both for the resistance of that which is evil and for the performance of that which is good.

Every year is loaded with both good and evil; the level of your preparation most importantly spiritually is what positions you to fully get the most out of the goodness of each year. The way you start a year influences the way you will end it. When you start the year without genuine preparation and expectation, you are likely not to fully maximise the best the year has to offer.

If we will experience a real change in 2015 and beyond, it will take preparation especially in the area of prayer.

Prayer is one of God’s undeniable provisions for preparing the way ahead in the journey of life for smoothness, soundness and solid results. When you refuse to pray you can easily become a prey.

It is a profitable course for enforcing divine authority over the issues of life. It is highly loaded with the capacity to open up closed heavens as well as close up unfavourable situations. Prayer works and it work wonders. Until Jabez prayed, he could not enter in to triumph. 1 Chronicle 4:9-10

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Every time God speaks, he speaks based on his capacity to perform. God is not limited to your situation. When he speaks, the manifestation is already uploaded; it nonetheless takes the force of faith and prayer to download the manifestation.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." Isaiah 40:8

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good” Numbers 23:19.

“I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.” Psalm 89:34

The God that said he will bless you is committed to doing so, as we cross over into the year 2015, it is of necessity for us to position ourselves at the altar of prayer for the full manifestation of all that God has said concerning 2015 and beyond.

Rev Allen Joe Opoku Gateway Initiative Anchorage House Chatham-Kent

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