The Power of a Woman

                                        
A young man who is pampered in his youth becomes increasingly arrogant and demanding as he grows older. Eventually he is transformed by a spell into a literal beast as a punishment because it is a reflection of his true nature. His only hope for release is to be truly loved by a maiden—a seemingly impossible achievement. In his anger he demands to be loved, but his beastly behavior only drives people further away until he is totally alone, isolated from the world of humans.
You probably recognize this story as Beauty and the Beast.
There are many variations on this story in different cultures, but all have the same ending. A woman sees something of value in the beast and begins to love him. That love transforms him back into a man—and not just the man he was before, but a new, changed man. How could she have loved him as fearsome as he was? It's a mystery, but it illustrates the power of a woman's love.
Marriage is intended to be redemptive for both men and women. God has given us women the privilege and the ability to bring life to our husbands with our love. Women have enormous power with men, and we can use it for good or for evil.
Consider three examples from the Scripture. Take the power of Delilah with Samson. Samson could take on an army of warriors, but he surrendered to the charms of one woman. In Killing Giants, Pulling Thorns, Chuck Swindoll describes Samson as a "He-man, with a she-weakness."
Take King David, who faced and felled a nine-foot Goliath, yet fell under the spell of Bathsheba. David was so obsessed, he was drawn away from his God into immorality, lies, and ultimately murder. And consider Solomon, who ruled over the golden years of Israel, but was captivated by the power of women. Actually make that 700 wives and 300 concubines.
A woman's power over men has not lessened since those biblical days. Today, the advertising industry exploits this power in order to sell everything from cars to toothpaste. Magazines, billboards, posters, and store windows use attractive women, seductive women, and blatant sexual images to catch a man's glance and capture his attention.
Every day men walk away from wives, children, friends, parents, siblings—risking career and reputation. For what? Another woman.
In the Middle East, young men and teenage boys willingly become human bombs, causing endless grief to thousands, and for what? The promise of 72 beautiful virgins in paradise.
Female attraction can be deadly. But death was not our Designer's intention. Feminine power was intended to give life. Eve, as a woman, was designed to complete her man, to nurture life in him and to create new life in children.
Many wives do not understand how profound this power is. God has blessed you with a feminine ability that you can use for great good in your husband's life. God has plans for your man. He wants to use you to grow him into a godly man. Your power can meet his aloneness and his companionship needs, affirm his sexual identity, protect him from temptation, and keep him for life.
Meet his "aloneness" need
Something is missing in every man. And it's by divine design. After God created Adam, He said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). It's an astounding truth that the perfect God of the universe created a perfect human being and then declared, "it is not good." God intentionally created the first man with an aloneness need. Man was incomplete. God orchestrated the perfect arrangement for His grand finale of creation: a woman, the "helper suitable for him." It is still true since "in the beginning" in Genesis, a wife makes a man complete and whole.
Your husband has this same "aloneness" need.
God brought you into his life to be his "helper" to meet his companionship need. In Christian marriage, this oneness is a unity of mind, body, and soul, and is celebrated through the sexual union.
Lest we women feel somehow superior that we aren't as needy, we are. We are incomplete without our husbands. We need our husbands to help us become who God designed us to be. Neither can stand alone; as mentioned above, God's Word makes it abundantly clear "it is not good that man should be alone." Women must think as God instructs us to in the Bible about our men, ourselves, and our marriages.
Of course, now after the fall of mankind, no one is totally complete without the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ. Further, perfect completeness cannot occur this side of heaven. But in marriage we can touch the holiness of God; we can recapture a taste of what was lost in the Garden of Eden when a husband and a wife express love, transparency, trust, and sacrifice in the mystery of marital intercourse.
Bless his sexuality
When God made a man to be attracted to a woman, He had multiple purposes in mind. Adam's aloneness need was not just for a companion. He needed Eve for the joy of finding pleasure in her total person—body, soul, and spirit—and for the affirmation and blessing of his identity as a man that come through her love for him. Genesis 2:25 says, ". . . and the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." As a result, every wife has a deep, life-altering responsibility to her husband to be a helper, and help him feel like the man God created him to be. If I love my husband, I won't view his sexual needs disapprovingly.
A number of years ago after Dennis spoke about marriage at a seminary, a young wife came up to him with a question. She said, "I was driving home with my husband the other night after church and decided to ask him a question. I asked, 'What could I do to make you feel more like a man of God?' There was silence in the darkness of the car as we were driving home. Then my husband said, 'When I come home from work at the church at the end of the day, meet me at the front door with no clothes on.'"
With a bit of a blush she asked Dennis, "Do you think I ought to do that?"
Dennis encouraged this young woman to please her husband sexually because he knew that in doing so, she would be profoundly validating his God-ordained manhood. Since all men are created with an aloneness need, they journey from boyhood into adulthood needing to know that their maleness is good and positive. Humanly speaking, this is a question that only his wife should answer, a blessing only she should give.
Protect your husband from temptation
You have the power to protect your husband from temptation by making sure his sexual needs are met by you and you alone. I have a good friend who said it this way: "If you don't want to do his laundry, your husband can take his clothes to the cleaners. If you decide you don't want to cook anymore for him, he can go out to any number of great restaurants to eat. But if your husband isn't getting his sexual needs met at home with you, and he goes somewhere else, God calls that a sin."
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. If your husband sins in this way, he's responsible before God. But at the same time, understand that you play a powerful role in helping him not yield to temptation. God created us as men and women with profoundly inherent differences. If you love him, you'll want to protect him from the limitless temptations that the enemy of his soul floats by him day after day. You are most powerful as a wife when you become a student of what your husband likes and then use that knowledge and your feminine skill to protect him from temptation and sin.
Keep him for life
When we stated our vows at the wedding altar, most of us repeated the words "to have and to hold" and "till death do us part." We signed up for life. But have you ever thought about what it means to "have" and "hold" your husband?
To have implies a possession. It means he belongs to you and no one else. He is your responsibility, and you are his. Are you fulfilling your sexual responsibility? For frequency? Creativity? Have you turned him down more often than you have invited his love? Do you put his needs before or after those of your children or your work?
To hold means to keep or bond, much like a magnet. A magnet has the power within to pull another polar opposite to itself. My husband and I are virtual opposites in nearly every way. It's what attracted us to each other in the first place. But I must continue to be a magnet in his life if I am to keep him. Too many women would love to have him if I let him leave home for work or travel constantly in a state of sexual deprivation. First Corinthians 7:5 (NKJV) tells us, "Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to ... prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."

Written by Stephany Page

8 Career Tips for Young Women Who Want to Be the Boss

                          
Here are eight pieces of career advice for young women who want to beat the boys and become the boss:​ ​

Promote yourself. Although self-promotion is a key step for women who want to get noticed in the workplace, many of them feel uncomfortable speaking out about their accomplishments. ​
"[In]​ their early life, girls have been rewarded for following the rules and not speaking out," says Jane Finette, founder and executive coach at The Coaching Fellowship, a coaching center for young women leaders. "It's just not something girls have been trained to do."

Working hard at your ​job isn't enough to get noticed, ​says Peggy Klaus, author of "Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It." Young women should take initiative and tell their colleagues and bosses about tasks they're working on, upcoming projects, obstacles they have overcome and their overall value in the organization, she says.

​​"You really do need to let your boss, your boss's boss [and] your colleagues know what it is that you are doing," Klaus says.

Write down your achievements. To help young women remember all those accolades in their careers, Jenn DeWall, a Denver-based ​certified career coach​, recommends keeping a running list of successes. She says this document will help you remember your accomplishments when it's time to advocate for a promotion or apply to jobs.

​"We typically have so much going on," DeWall says. "… we sometimes forget to validate our accomplishments and achievements."

Even if you have not been in the workforce for long, the list will help remind you of your value to employers. "Do not just think that because you are young in years that you do not have things to offer," Klaus says. ​

Ask for more. Negotiating is one of the most challenging tasks for young​ women professionals. Men negotiate more often than women and feel more comfortable doing it, according to Gelfrand's research. This poses a major problem for women, she says, given that negotiating is key to advancing in your career.

"Even if you are working hard and doing well, you really need to be stepping up to the plate and asking for things," she says.   

To become more comfortable with negotiating, Gelfand suggests women find out what is negotiable in their workplace and proactively ask for more. "I would definitely recommend women take this skill as seriously as they do finance or accounting, because this is really going to help the bottom line of their salary and of their advancement," she adds. ​

She suggests gathering a group of close advisers who can help you make business decisions, build a career path or just provide support. This "board of directors," as Heath calls it, could include professors, family members, colleagues and even former bosses. "Do not try to go it alone," she says. ​

Gelfand​ stresses the importance of mentors, not only for professional guidance, but for emotional support. "Sometimes women may feel they have to prove themselves on their own, but really navigating the workplace requires having strong mentors," she says.

Take risks. When it comes to carpe diem, men are much more likely to seize the day (and job) ​​than women. A 2008 Hewlett-Packard Co. report ​found women will apply for a job if they believe they are 100 percent qualified, yet men will do so if only 60 percent qualified. ​ ​ 

Klaus says this discrepancy is due to women having the tendency to underestimate their value.​ "I have seen this time and again where there is an opportunity in a company, and the woman will be very qualified but she will second-guess herself," she says.

Young women should pursue job opportunities even if they feel unsure of their qualifications​, Klaus says. ​She also urges women to know their strengths, and use them as leverage when applying for a better job or negotiating for a higher salary.​

Make strategic choices. ​"Too often, young women early on in their careers are so eager to ​[prove] themselves that they take on too much," DeWall says, adding that they often say "yes" to every project that comes their way. ​​Men, on the other hand, are more selective. They typically choose highly visible projects, DeWall says, while young women take on too many projects and are therefore less likely to stand out in one area.

She suggests young women ask themselves, "What will I gain from this?" before taking on another task. If the project does not appear to help advance​ ​your career, and you already have enough tasks, do not be afraid to say "no."    

Make a game plan. Many women feel uncomfortable speaking up in meetings where there's only a handful of other women. ​However, holding back ideas can have negative consequences for you and your company. ​"What I always say to women is [your company] needs your piece of information, or they might make a bad decision," Heath says. "You have to put what you know about the issue into the conversation so that a better choice is made."

Heath suggests women come to meetings prepared and with suggestions in mind. Get your voice heard early by making small talk with colleagues, she adds, so it becomes easier to share ideas later in the meeting.

Use assertive language. The language women use can often be a barrier to their success. For example, DeWall says women tend to end sentences with "Is that OK?" which could convey insecurity. "They might present a proposal to a manger, and instead of saying, 'Here it is,' they will completely undermine all the work they have done and ask, 'Well, give me your feedback,' or 'Is this good enough for you?'" DeWall says.

Young women can convey confidence in the workplace by using an assertive tone with managers or peers, DeWall says. For instance, instead of asking to do something, say you want to do it. By changing language or demeanor, women will both appear and feel more self-assured.

As DeWall puts it: "Women should stop waiting to be asked and be more assertive and confident in who they are."

Written by Allana

Africa: Burundi rejects UN police force to help end violence

                                     

Burundi's government has rejected a decision to deploy a UN police force to the country in an effort to end more than a year of political violence.

The UN Security Council agreed on Friday to send 288 officers, despite Burundi saying it would accept no more than 50 unarmed personnel.
But a government spokesman said even 50 was now unacceptable and the move violated Burundi's sovereignty.
More than 400 people have been killed in unrest since April 2015.
The trouble, which has also led to 200,000 people fleeing their homes, was sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office, which he gained in elections in July 2015.
Government and opposition officials have been among those killed in a wave of tit-for-tat violence since then.

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Dangote Refinery Confirms Lagos as Prime Investment Destination

                                      
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has said that the largest single line refinery in the world being developed at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) by Africa’s richest man and business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is another confirmation that Lagos is a prime investment destination, saying that the project will positively change the face of oil and gas business in the West African region.
 
 Governor Ambode, who spoke at the LFTZ during an extensive inspection tour of the Dangote Refinery by the Togolese President, Mr Faure Gnassingbe, said the refinery eloquently attests to the fact that there is a positive investment climate in Lagos which has resulted in massive investor confidence.
 

The Governor said: “This investment (Dangote Refinery) is one of the biggest in Africa today and will have a huge impact on the economy of not only Nigeria but the whole of West African region.

“This refinery, when completed, will be the largest single line refinery anywhere in the world refining 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

“Apart from creating jobs, this refinery will contribute immensely to solving the fuel supply challenge in the West African region,” Governor Ambode said.

The Governor expressed satisfaction with the level of work done on the project so far, saying that he was happy that a lot of progress had been made.

He commended Dangote for his vision, doggedness and unwavering desire to contribute positively to the growth of the Nigerian economy, as well as his confidence in the Lagos economy.

Troops deployed on German streets for first time since WW2

                                             
Germany is to deploy troops on the streets for the first time since the Second World War and France has cancelled summer festivities as terrorism changes the face of Europe.

The announcements coincided with the funeral in Normandy of Father Jacques Hamel, 85, whose throat was slit at the altar of his church by two 19-year-old Islamists last week.
Ursula von der Leyen, the German defence minister, said that the series of terrorist attacks in neighbouring France had forced the government in Berlin to allow soldiers on to the streets, breaking a taboo that followed Nazi militarism. “Paris has opened all our eyes. I’d rather have the scepticism now than the accusation later that we weren’t prepared,” she said.

Radical Islamism: France to SHUT DOWN mosques to wipe out 'poison' of jihadis

                            

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the country is to shut down mosques, cut foreign funding and police the content delivered in sermons in a massive crackdown on Islamic fundamentalism. 

The comments come following the murder of 86-year-old French Catholic priest Father Jacques Hamel who was killed on the altar during morning mass last Tuesday and three separate massacres in the country in just over a year.

In a newspaper interview Prime Minister Valls says the Republic has been forced to intervene to drive out the "poison" of radical Islamism. 

And he has announced plans to shut down mosques supporting Salafism, an ultra-orthodox religious-political ideology based on a belief in "physical" jihadism practised by some followers of the Sunni faith.