Dear Daddy - Frances Okoro

Dear Daddy,

Anytime I think of you, I think of love.

I call you my Beautiful Father but truly, you are more than that.

How can I explain your turning my life around?

How can I explain your total overhaul of the person I used to be?

The one who I am now cannot even reconcile with the one I was in time past - I say time past but it’s really only just a few years gone by, a few years with so many stages that wow me over every time I think of it.

How can one love me so much?

How can you love me this much?

What I think of myself when I think of you is that I am so unworthy, I was so filthy, I was so unworthy… yet you chose me.

Yet you separated me from the crowd.

You could have picked stones to worship you in my place, but no, you chose me.

You chose me to show forth your glory.

You chose me to spread forth your name to the world.

Oh Daddy, you chose to let your fire burn within me and burn it will.

I promise you, by your grace I will burn for you like you want me to.

I will worship you like you want me to.

You showed me love even when I did not deserve it… I still don’t deserve it but you love me anyway.

And so Daddy, the least I can do is love you right back.

With every breath in me…

With every fiber of my soul…

With every iota of my being…

I will love you.

I will love you Daddy.

I will love you fiercely.

The least I can do is love you right back and I do.

Yes I do.

Your daughter,

Frances.

Update - I wrote this last year when I was at Law School and today, I am happy to say that I and Daddy are still going strong!

Gidigba!

I can only pray that just like love grows between couples, our love will continually grow strong and weather all storms - whatever they maybe.

The storms can only come from me though which is another reason why I love my Daddy... He is CONSTANT, with a love for me that never fails!

Your girl will love you forever Daddy... forever, till eternity :-)

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You can read more uplifting, inspiring and brilliant posts on Frances Okoro's blog at www.imperfectlyperfectlives.com

Conversations with One: Worth the Sacrifice?

Hiya everyone!

Welcome to our weekly roundtable honest discussions and deliberations :-) (Not that serious but we try as much as possible to be real :-)). What's more, we encourage your participation as we learn from one another each week.

This week's discussion topic goes thus:

"If your husband tells you the only support he needs from you as his wife is to file away your certificates, care for the home and children and also pray for him while he goes out to bring in money, how would you react?"

What's your take on it? Let's go!

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NubianPrincess: Oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... You know this is a topic after my own heart....
But!!! I think everyone needs to know their vocation (calling) on this earth. You know I've always said I was born to be a Happy Lil' Homemaker! :-)

Happy Lil' Homemaker :-)

So for me, that would be absolute bliss... Being able to cater to my man, being a greaat mum to my children, being active in my Church and my society... And YES, this is me with a BEng in Electronic Engineering and an MSc in Mobile and Satellite Communications!!!

I shall prayyyy the man to very many next levels... Loooll!

Not everyone can handle it to be honest... Not every woman is ready for the sacrifice it entails and not every man can handle the total responsibility it entails...

It takes a lot of understanding, a lot of delicacy, a lot of patience, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of appreciation, a lot of communication, a lot of everything.... On both sides...

Running into a meeting now... Waiting to hear the opinions of everyone...

Gotta run!

Mr JohnNash: Every morning when I wake up, I ask myself a question: Who am I?
I am getting closer to that answer everyday. I believe every human being has potential and was born to excel in a particular area. I believe everyone is a genius, however if you throw a born mathematician into politics he might struggle. With the premise everyone has potential and talent. I think it's selfish for any man to relegate the woman in his life to the duty of housewife. It's unacceptable.

The CEO of Yahoo is female, Marissa Mayer.
The CEO of General Motors is female, Mary Barra.

What if she possesses the capacity to be a Fortune 500 CEO? What if she has in her the best idea that will change the World or Africa?

Change the World... Like Marissa Mayer? Yes we can!

Honestly I will liken it to the parable of the talents. My take is no woman should be relegated to the role of house wife. Every woman should be provided the platform to flourish.

One: Preach Nash, PREACH! :-D

Ms PYT: I absolutely agree with MrNash. It will be very selfish of my husband to tell me to be a full house wife. It should be a joint decision if I need to be a full house wife and a prayer warrior. It's such a joy and honour‎ to look after my kids but it has to be balanced.
Do you know what it feels like to sit at home all day attending to kids? Do you know what it feels like to rely on your husband for financial support?
I can tell you it's not easy at all. I have a friend who's battling with low self esteem because she's a full house wife and she feels she's stagnant.

Sometimes, it could just get too much...

One: Aww that's so sad to hear about your friend... But I can certainly empathise with her. I cannot imagine not doing anything outside of looking after my family *shudder*. Don't get me wrong, it's a great and honourable job indeed and it would be absolute top priority, but to do ONLY that.. I personally believe I was made for much more.. :-)

Ms PumpkinUnited: I'll ask him to show me how and give me practical lessons for three months on how to do it and he has to be there (physically present) everyday for the three months to show me the ropes, if he can pull that off then I'm game and if not, he'll need to reassess his understanding of support..

See, for the kind of person I am, this will frustrate and stifle me and a frustrated and unhappy wife means a war zone and tensed home.. I appreciate the fact that men take pride in providing for their families (it's just the way they're wired, especially my Ibo brothers) but also I would love for my husband to encourage me to be busy or pursue a career or whatever, not because he expects me to bring money home and put food on the table, but because he believes in my ability to make a difference out there and contribute my valid quota in a venture, because he wants me to feel fulfilled. It's also not because I need to prove that what a man can do, a woman can do better ...

Working mothers can also get that family-life balance..

But mind you that this MUST not and can not be at the expense of building our home and being there for the children and each other, sam sam, there must be a balance or the marriage will definitely suffer with the children being the worst hit (God forbid).. I don't mind staying back in the early formative years of my kids to give them the right foundation (infact I plan to), but then staying home as a permanent house wife is personally a no no for me and I thank God that knowing this aspect of me, He gave me a man willing to give me wings to soar on..
But the vital point to note is that both husband and wife need to pray for each other and support each other, it's not a one way traffic..

One: Nice perspective.. I don't even think I would want to stay at home when the children are young (lol), I believe we can manage just fine.. But that's a good compromise.

Mr Motivation: It is my humble opinion that God's reason for marriage is synonymous with that of the human existence- which is the fulfilment of His purpose on earth, but in this case of Marriage; a larger scale. Marriage for me is like a ROWING boat involving two people (Man and Wife) and umpired by God only and not in-laws, friends, siblings etc. The speed and the chances of this boat (Marriage) reaching its predetermined destination (purpose) is contingent of the willingness of BOTH parties to row. Hence the need for team work or collaborative effort.

In this boat together.... Rowing through life's storm together

One: Hmmm... MrM has brought a technical perspective to it.. Row on!

Mr Motivation: Having established this, I consider it to be detrimental to the man to suggest to his wife to be a full time house wife if indeed he wishes for them to fulfil their God given purpose. Although there are benefits to being a housewife, there are several disadvantages to this which outweigh any benefit therein.

I have to two examples for this, one being an uncle who made his wife a housewife and the kids were well attended to, but she now has little or no confidence in herself any more, as she feels the entire world has left her and she is just in one spot, so my dear Aunt has resigned to staying indoors most of the time. The second example is of my uncle who did same and was later murdered, but the wife found it hard to get on her feet to fend for the children, as she had no relevant skill to command value in the market place. Both cases speak for themselves.

One: I am glad to hear the men's opinion on this one.. Any differing thoughts?

Ms MIA: So everybody has sort of mentioned most of the points I would, therefore I'm just going to support the opinions shared here...

I think the problem here is the man 'saying' that she should become a stay home and praying wife. Is there an assumption that she cannot take care of her home and kids as well as pray for him while she pursues her career/dreams?

One: THAT is THE question right there!

Ms MIA: Is there a further assumption that she may not have any dreams/career at all? Or was the man brought up in an environment where men don't involve themselves in caring for their home and children thereby leaving the responsibility to their wives?

I would say that ignorance rules the heart of such men and they will do themselves a huge disservice to undermine the hopes and dreams of their wives while they go on to pursue theirs. He will come home one day to a dummy rather than a wife.

I like Nubian P's point in saying that there are women who love to be stay home mums but there are others who haven't chosen that path. I'm sure Mr Husband found his wife putting her hands to work before he proposed to her, how is it that life will then stop after marriage?

A wise man will give his wife wings to fly and trust that she will fly back home and he will reap the fruit of his seeds!
I'm out xxx

Give her wings to fly.. The rewards are immense!

.... And with that quote and finish, we are out too, leaving the stage for you good people to tell us what you think.. Do you agree or disagree that a woman should be able to sacrifice working in order to stay at home to look after her husband and children?

Talk to us! xxxx

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Also, if you have any question or comment please send us an email too - oneplustheone@gmail.com

Music and Me: God Alone - Glowreeyah Braimah

Hiya!

First post of the week.. How has the week been so far? Isn't it just amazing that it's already the last week in February?? *phew*.... Time waits for no one.. It's movingggg! I hope it's moving in the right direction for you and yours.

Alright, today, it's delightful to bring you the Music and Me feature for this week.. Remember the lady who sang the 'Miracle Worker' song with Nathaniel Bassey? We shared a piece she wrote on what the song meant to her HERE.. Well Glowreeyah is back and this time, a beautiful friend of the blog who runs an online fellowship called E-Fellowship and also on BB (which has now metamorphosed into a monthly soul-lifting and impact-full monthly interactive meeting 'Shekinah Glory'*) talks about what Glowreeyah's new song means to her..

Ladies and gentlemen, Ogo Okafor gives us a glimpse into her worship life on Music and Me this week... Enjoy!!

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It all started with Miracle worker by Glowreeyah ft Nathaniel Bassey and as usual I got everyone around me to listen to it and more or less forced them to fall in love with it. I confess! I confess! You stay with me one second and you will know my song of the week. My song that week was Miracle Worker, I was captivated. My 'Orange Butterflies' sisters (A Christian group I belong to) had been talking about it forever but for some reason I hadn’t had time to listen, and now sitting in my car listening to it I was like ohhhh wow. One of my colleagues who I totally enjoy sharing songs like this with was in my car later that day and after listening twice she had learnt the whole song.The next morning I get into the office and I hear "NkoNko come and watch this…." BAM! an experience I'm yet to get over. I watched the most meaningful music video I have seen in times past ..(In my opinion) 'GOD ALONE' by GLOWREEYAH BRAIMOH….and ooooo Music is soooo beautiful (I just had to add that. I mean how do you explain the fact that we sing…think about that for a second, the voices, the melody, the harmony…then think about the fact that we talk, imagine if we talked songs or sang instead of talking….like I wanna ask you for a cold glass of water and I sang it instead…lol weird…..so its such a beautiful concept that I thank God for…Beautiful God) To top it up, I read this article by GlowreeyahBraimoh which just even made the song have so much more meaning:

7pm - January 8th, 2014: I was at cross-roads and about to make a very difficult decision .One of those ‘jump-off-the-cliff-and-trust-an-invisible-God-to-catch-you-at-the-bottom- type-of situations’. Tumult and turmoil. I was absolutely terrified. I knelt down to pray in my Mummy-N’s living room but I just could not find the words to express how I really felt. Let’s take a station-break. (Did you cry again Glowreeyah? Ermmmm, yes, I did! *scratching head* Why do you always have to cry just before you write a song? Errrmm….silence and a blank stare).

Somehow in the entire process, I received this gift of a song that was given *blowing kisses to heaven…mwah mwah*. The peace and quiet re-assurance I felt while I hummed it cannot be measured. I felt like there were angels all around me, swaying to the beat of the invisible drums I could hear in my head!

I got up smiling; confident in the knowledge that whether kingdoms rise or fall, nothing I would ever face could ever match up to the Almightiness and 'Bigness' of my ‘Main G’ and His available power to act on my behalf! So, here’s to you, dear Listener - if fear, terror, depression, loss, grief and devastation threaten to grip your heart today, I know Jesus can intervene as Lord Supreme over your surrendered life and do only what a ‘Main G’ like Him can do! That’s right! Ahan! Yeah! Yo! *Shout a glass-shattering, pounded-yam energizing Amen, somebooodddyyy!*

So let the worship begin. No one else can wear the crown…….OUR LORD IS GOD ALONE!" - Glowreeyah.

That last paragraph explains just how I feel when I hear that soong 'God Alone' and when I watch the video…….brrrrr. I literally crown him with worship when I sing this song. You know how your heart is being poured out by someone else in their song and then it's almost like your spirit is witnessing with their spirit…lol, yes the spirits are syncing…that’s exactly how I feel. I mean the lyrics…

Kings and Kingdoms take a bow
My God is God alone
No one else can wear the crown  (FULLSTOP)

Isn’t that what the struggle is with the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light? Then she goes further to speak to situation and instructs circumstances to make a u-turn. A lot of times we sit down and worry and complain and imagine things getting worse when we can INSTEAD be speaking to the situation and praising our maker. You know how we say magnify our maker and not our problem or "don’t show God how big your problem is, show your problem how big your God is." This song sums it up for me……and its soooo short lol like 3 minutes I almost wanna scream don’t end!!! Now its just on repeat, as I cant shout.

Off I go…..Hope it blesses you as it blessed me….. #walkingawaysingingSituationshearmenowmyGodisGodalone

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I hope you felt the excitement in Ogo's writing as much as I did! It's very infectious. You can tell that the song excites her :-) And it is absolutely understandable - It is such a powerful song of declaration of who God is to us, who God really is - God ALONE.

Your spirit can't but be lifted, your heart bursting with pride for the one you call GOD! The One who is the Lord of Hosts, King of Glory, Lord of All, Master of the Universe, King of Kings, King Maker, Supreme Being, Sovereign King.. Ultimate no 1!

The song is very catchy too. (As I publish the post, the song is playing on repeat in the background and in a matter of minutes, people around me are singing along too!)

Today, you are encouraged in the words of Ogo to take your eyes and mind off how big your problem is, or how rough the storm seems to be raging right now (go on, you can do it!), and instead focus your eyes family on God, and with your mouth decree how exceedingly great your God is. Praise Him for it and let joy feel your soul as you revel in the assurance that after all is said and done, God remains GOD ALONE!

*PS - Shekinah Glory (led by Ogo Okafor) is a monthly interactive and very down-to-earth fellowship that welcomes all people. We meet every 3rd Sunday of the month. 

Let me know if you would like more information.

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Would you like to share yours too? Remember it could be a song that struck something in you when you listened to it, it could be a song or worship that you used during a down-time in your life and it made a huge difference, it could be a song that takes you into the 'God-zoneee', it could be a song that helps you express what mere words cannot quite convey, it could be a song that brings a zest and zing to your heart and steps whenever it comes up!
Each song will be accompanied by a story, introduction or reason why it is the choice of the week..

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