Women – Page 4 – Dupe's Blog

Posted on February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 by Mo' — 3 Comments

Black Girl Magic || Interview with Seunbabara Oluwadare on Modest Dressing

Your physical appearance is most times, an expression of your mind. What you wear, and how you wear it, represents your inside. For out of the abundance of the heart…
Dressing modestly involves being decent and appropriate and should be done by both the man and the woman.

Today, Oluwaseunbabara Oluwadare a fashion entrepreneur, specialized in women’s clothing talks to us about modest dressing for the woman.

Welcome to Dupe’s blog ma’am

Thanks a lot. It’s a privilege

Tell us about you.

I’m Seunbabara Oluwadare; a bundle of light and joy to many generations; living for an audience of One.

What do you do?

Hahaha.. This will be a long list;
I’m a fashion entrepreneur. I run the label “O’BABARA” which specializes on bridesmaids dress and wedding gown.

With a sister brand called JUST SKIRTS NG that specializes only on Skirts

I’m also the Ministry Director at The Wholesome Girl Network; a network for teenage girls to be thoroughly equipped within and without.
I’m a graduate of Project management from the Federal university of technology Akure.

What do love most about being a black girl?

The power of resilience in the black girl that she’s able to thrive even in the midst of difficult situations and circumstances.

What, in your opinion, is modest dressing?

Well; Firstly I will like to address dressing as a way of showcasing who you are on the inside.
So, who you are on the inside will be visible in your appearance. Its about being modest on the inside then it shows in your dressing and vice versa. So I will say modest dressing is exemplifying our true nature as believers which is Christ.

What are the disadvantages of immodest dressing?

To analyse immodest dressing; it means dressing inappropriately or “exposive” dressing.
To think of it, dressing immodestly is not about any other person first but about the wearer.
So it’s actually about yourself.
Immodest dressing will ALWAYS ATTRACT immodest people to you. It’s important that we are cleared on the type of people we want around our lives. Because really the type of people around our lives determines how far we will go.

Why do you think ladies no longer want to wear “modest” clothes or see them as “boring”? And what can be done about it?

The world is actually pushing nudity as the norm but the world should not be our standard neither should trends dictate our dress sense.

And modest dresses doesn’t mean boring dressing. One can dress modestly and still be classy.
People want to trend and be the happening babe. But modest dressing comes from a place of understanding who you are and whose you are. This will definitely give a change of perspective; Identity is one area the enemy tries to mar and because people don’t know who and whose they are, they opt for just anything.

I’ll quickly do a reminder for the Ladies: You are the King’s Daughter; An eternal excellency; You are the joy of many generations; this means that you bring joy to many generations beyond your generation.

So it’s important we don’t give in to the dictates of the world trends because trends will certainly come and go.

As someone into women clothing, do you think it’s possible for women of different body types to dress modestly all the time and still look good?

Oh Yes.
Its absolutely possible and one doesn’t even need to look too far to see that there are people that dress modestly and still look good.

Can you give few fashion tips or examples of modest clothing for ladies?

Embrace your shape(embrace who you are and how you were made. Avoid comparison)
Always check out the rear view (this is super important because those behind you, look behind you so ensure the panty lines are invisible)
Avoid exposive dresses.

Thank you so much for your time ma. We hope to have you here again.

Thank you. It will be my pleasure

You can find Oluwaseunbabara on Instagram and Facebook

Posted on January 25, 2019March 5, 2019 by Mo' — 13 Comments

Remain Where You Last Heard God

Grace paced back and forth for the umpteenth time. Beads of sweat were beginning to form rings on her forehead.

“You need to calm down o” Chioma said, trying to be calm herself.
“How can I calm down? This isn’t fair!” Grace sat down and began shaking her feet vigorously.
“Let us call Paul. He may be able to help” Chioma suggested.
“Great idea!” Grace reached for her phone. Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? Paul should be able to help. He always had a solution.

After two rings, Paul picked the call.

“Hello Grace”

Grace was the founder of the “Sisters in Christ Network”. A weekly fellowship for ladies where women, mostly of ages ranging from 18-30 met to share God’s Word, worship and share their challenges.
It was a fast growing fellowship of about 2 years.
Grace had received the instruction from God to start SCN during the last days of her National Youth Service Corps and she had prayerfully started the fellowship.

Over the years, there had been numerous testimonies of transformation, encounters and miracles. And every testimony brought increase to the fellowship.

She had successfully raised a group of leaders consisting of 5 women who led the ladies and attended to counselling sessions.

The hall they used for the meeting belonged to Paul’s father.
Paul was her friend from the University who had supported her assignment from the onset. Paul’s father also supported her and allowed her use the hall without paying.

The hall was becoming congested because of the number of ladies that joined weekly so, Grace had gone to pay for another hall in Venice Events Center.
A decision she was beginning to regret now.
The agent she had paid to, had taken off immediately and his number has been switched off.
She had gone to the head office with the receipt he gave her, only to be told that she’d been scammed, the agent didn’t work with them and the receipt was fake.

“I came over as soon as I could” Paul had come over to her house after she explained her dilemma over the phone.

“Thanks for coming Paul” Grace said as she gave him a side hug.

“How are you doing Chioma?”

“I’m fine, thank you” Chioma smiled at him.

“What do we do now?” Grace interjected, bringing their attention back to the issue on ground.

“I’m sorry Grace. Nothing can be done. I called my friend and nobody was found bearing the name you gave.
The man did a smart work and left no traces. I’m afraid, the money is gone”

“What!?” Grace could not believe her ears.

“You have to calm down Grace. How much did you pay to him?” Paul asked.

“5 hundred thousand naira. That was supposed to be for 6 months. He said they were giving a discount so I had to pay on time.”

“What? Why didn’t you talk to me first? The smallest hall in Venice event goes for at least 1.5 million naira per annum.”

Grace had stopped listening. Her head was spinning.
She had been scammed! She had never been scammed before in her life.

“Grace” Chioma’s sharp voice brought her out of thoughts. “I have to run now. I have a meeting at the office, but I’ll be back this evening. Try not to think about the money. We’ll try to find the man, but if we don’t get him, just let go. God is in control”.

Chioma gave her a warm hug before waving at Paul and going to her car.

“Can we go in and sit down?”
“Okay”
Grace led the way and Paul followed.

They sat in her small but comfortable living room. It was a two room apartment that the firm she worked with, gave her.

“Did you pray about this decision before going ahead?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And what did God say? Did you feel peace after you prayed? SCN was an express instruction from God and every decision you’ve taken since its inception was expressly from God. This is a major decision. Did you wait to hear from God?”

Grace was silent so Paul continued.

“I know you love being independent and want to stop using my father’s hall for free but I don’t think it’s wise for you to have gone ahead with this without telling us. My dad was happy with you using his hall. He saw at a way of contributing to the fellowship. You really should have been patient.”

That evening, after Paul and Chioma had left, Grace sat in her room, thinking about everything Paul had said.
She had prayed about renting a bigger hall for their fellowship meetings but did God approve of it?

She had prayed about it for weeks but God was silent.
The last instruction she had received from God about their meeting place was to meet Paul’s father and ask for a hall and he had gladly given her one for free.

Although grateful, Grace was not satisfied. She wanted something bigger and more fancy and something she paid for by herself so when the number of women in the fellowship began to increase, she immediately used the opportunity to venture into a search for a new venue even though God was silent about it all.

Every hall she had tried to pay for, didn’t work out. Something always came up.
The last one she tried was with Venice events centre and she had been scammed.

Slowly and painfully, she came to the realization that God was never in her plan to rent another hall.
She sat up on her bed and closed her eyes. She needed to speak with God.

“Father, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have”

Silence

She waited and listened but heard nothing, so she picked up her Bible and as if planned, it fell open to the book of Jeremiah.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…”

Tears fell from Grace’s eyes.
Renting a bigger hall was a good plan but it wasn’t God’s plan.

“Lord, I’m sorry”

Then she heard the still small voice almost as if someone was with her in the room.

I have you here now for a reason. Don’t run ahead of me. Walk with me and act on my instructions and when you can’t seem to hear me, remain where you last heard me.

“I promise never to go ahead of you again Lord. I will walk with you. I’m sorry Father” Grace fell on her knees, seeing how hasty she had been.
And like a cloud, she felt the presence of God mightily in her room.

***************

Remain where you last heard God.

As a Christian, you must pray for hearing ears and seeing eyes and that your spiritual senses be sharpened so as to be in tune with what God is saying seasonally.

But when you’re faced with a decision and God seems silent, don’t ever be under pressure or try force God to talk because you can’t.

Read also: Wait

Sometimes, we become frustrated when we can’t seem to hear God. We desperately want to make a decision but God doesn’t seem to be cooperating.

Have you ever wondered what to do at such times?

Here’s your answer; remain with God’s last instruction. Especially if you’re a leader of a ministry and the decision has to do with God’s work.

Last Friday, my spiritual father said something that struck me.
While explaining the word for the year 2019 for the ministry Koinonia, which is Extraordinary Fruitfulness, He said;

“If God did not give me a Word for the year, we would have just continued with the Word He gave us last year because God is only committed to defending what He really said…”

After the fall in the garden of Eden, God came to the garden as usual to visit Adam and Eve but He didn’t go to where they were hiding. He went looking for them where He had asked them to stay.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 NKJV

God is only found where His Word is, so doing any other thing, moves you out of His will.

When you leave the instruction of God and go elsewhere, He doesn’t follow you there. You go there alone.

To enjoy God protection, provision and presence, you must remain with His Word. Remain where you last heard Him.

Also, you can only fight the Devil confidently when you’re abiding in God’s Word. If you veer off, you can not have God’s backup.

Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. John 8:31 CEV

Dear believer,

I know you feel like this phase ought to be over and it’s a new season. I know you’re trusting God for the instruction for the next phase.
I know you want to move to the next big thing. You want to take territories and break grounds. You want to expand and break forth.

But if you do that against God’s instruction, you will do it on your own.
God’s power only goes where His voice is. So if the instruction is not from God, don’t expect Him to bless it.

God directs people by making a commitment through His Word – Apostle Joshua Selman

You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God . You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God , prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.
Psalm 119:1 MSG

Lessons for the Proverbs 31 girl

When God “fails” you

Posted on November 23, 2018November 24, 2018 by Mo' — Leave a comment

BGM || Interview with Angela Onyemowo, Founder, Oakbridge Foundation

Angela Ejeme Onyemowo is a teacher, humanitarian and educationist. She is the founder of Oakbridge Foundation, a non profit, community based organisation that provides quality education for vulnerable children in rural communities, in a conducive learning centre.
Angela is passionate about Children especially those from less privileged backgrounds and social status. Her passion, converted into action has blessed many children as she impacts the world, one child at a time.

Welcome to Dupe’s Blog ma’am. It’s a privilege to have you here.

Thank you for having me, Dupe.

Tell us about you.

I am a trained teacher, who is passionate about improving lives and fighting for children’s right to education. I am Nigerian from Benue State, raised in Jos, Plateau State.

What do you love about being a black girl?

It’s the first time I’m having to think of this, so let me say, the fact that I was born black I BELIEVE it’s for a grand reason. That’s what I love about being black.

Tell us about Oakbridge Foundation

We are a community based organisation that provides quality education for vulnerable children in rural communities, in a conducive and stimulating learning centre. We also provide links to scholarship opportunities for children at different levels of education.

What motivated you to start the NGO?

Primarily, a desire to give indigents opportunities that their socio-economic status does not provide using education as a vehicle. I have seen the struggles of the rural child and I know they can have better and be better if someone decides to create the opportunity for them.

What challenges have you encountered so far?

Community participation has not been encouraging, you’d expect that the local leaders in the area would support a cause like this by giving land in order to create room for more children, but that hasn’t happened YET *laughs*. Parents’ involvement in the education of their children is another challenge which has so far improved after several dialogues and meetings. We need more volunteers especially in the special subject areas, Arts teachers, Coding instructors, French teachers, Math teachers and so on.

What inspires, motivates and keeps you going?

Ha! The harvest! Every day, I see the same little people who walked in timid developing confidence, I see the ones who couldn’t speak a word of English improve right before my eyes, I see children take pride in their natural gifts (you should see how their eyes light up when they are in their zone and everyone is showing approval of their performance). Finally, the vision I had from the beginning: we’re not there yet, so why won’t I keep going! Hahaha Would you pack up if it were you, Dupe?

What successes have you recorded so far?

We have schooled children from Pre-school level to Primary 3 in past three years.
We started with one child, now we have 39 children receiving free education across three grade levels.
We started in a 10 pupil capacity room with no toilet and one small window (not to mention the fact that prior to this, I started with one child sitting on mortars and short stools), but now we’re in a three bedroom space. Not anywhere near our peak, but better than where we started.
Our children are getting the quality of education and exposure [through field trips and class lessons] to things they would ordinarily never have known existed.
Our results have motivated people to make donations of instructional materials, including some computers.
We got our new learning centre from donations made by partners who see and believe in the impact we are making.
We have given scholarships to children of both primary and secondary school levels for the past three academic sessions. In fact, we had our first secondary school graduate this year thanks to a very consistent and committed sponsor.
We have given clothing, shoes and back to school materials to hundreds of children in the community.
Our presence in the area has provided jobs for young men and women, these include our paid teachers, painters, masons, electricians, traders and so on.
We have been providing one meal a day for children to aid mental alertness and healthy growth for the past eleven months.

There’s more and more to come.

What are your aspirations as regards the NGO and making impacts generally?

It’s a long list, but I’ll give you a few.

To replicate what we’ve already started in more communities.
To inspire and train children to the point of being inventors, great artists, musicians; to be people who see problems and seek ways to solve them.
To have volunteers from all over the world.
Build schools with state of the art learning resources, boarding houses, secondary section too.
To have our children as exchange students in other countries and have them study in prestigious schools in different countries of the world where they can learn new cultures and advanced ways to improve our world.

Long term would be, to reach more remote corners of the world.

What is your advice to women who are full of potential and willing to make impact but are not sure where to start?

First, pray and seek the wisdom of God. Everything inside you was designed by Him, there’s a book He has written of you, so ask Him to give you an insight into it. He will show you where to start and how.

The first thing you find yourself mustering the courage to start, is most likely the area He wants you to launch out in, so go ahead.
Also, only speak about your intentions first to people you are sure would encourage what God has put in your heart, let the others find out later.

The last thing you need is someone who would tell you how impossible what you want to do is, especially if you don’t look like it or have the complete resources for it. And that brings me to this point which you may have heard many times “START WHERE YOU ARE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE”.

Even if what you “have” is a borrowed baking pan and few ingredients, a proposal or part payment for the tailoring class-start!

Keep the big vision in view, but make little progress, it will all come together just as you saw in the beginning.
Finally, be your biggest fan, measure your progress and cheer yourself on making sure not to compare your process with any other person’s.

Be inspired, but never compare. In addition to that, know and stick with your tribe; your cheer leaders, the ones who criticize you constructively, who appreciate your journey, who encourage you and contribute to your progress.

Thank you so much for your time ma’am.

It’s my pleasure. Thank you too.

You can find Angela on Facebook twitter and Instagram

You can also find Oakbridge Foundation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.