Ep:26 Joy Ighodaro - Overcoming the power of negative words

The Full Life Podcast with Melanie Lynam

Joy grew up in Nigeria and had a very unique family structure that we would probably never encounter here in Australia. Joy shares with us her story of the negative words that her father spoke over her when she was a child, the power that they had over her and how she was able to overcome them. She also tells us how the Lord brought her husband into her life in a surprising way.
Joy went from being forbidden to go to school as a child, to working as a qualified Teacher!
Now a Teacher with her own family and living in Australia, Joy is passionate about speaking life giving words over her own children and students. There was laughter, there were tears, here is my conversation with Joy Ighodaro.

Born in Nigeria, came to Australia when 27 years old. 16 siblings.

“All my life I was in a battle of truth.”

“I knew God was preparing me for something.”

“The enemy was fighting my destiny and who I would become.”

Her Father forbid her from going to school. “Never, never. You’re not going. You don’t know anything, you can’t amount to anything.” “Every time, constantly, the words would echo around in my head.”

2 of her older brothers decided that they would do everything in their means to make sure that Joy could go to school.

The primary school battle

The high school battle

The words would constantly undermine her confidence. She kept failing in her assessments.

"I constantly just failed."

“The time came in my life I had to run away from home.”

"On the 6th time I passed my exam."

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

"I had to trust God every step of the way."

“When I saw who God made me to be and I saw those words weren’t good enough, I had to change it.”

The words that Joy tells her class of students everyday:

“Class class class (Yes yes yes). I’m not giving up, I can do it.”

Joy prays over each of her students. She can see the results of negative words that have been spoken over some children’s lives and she asks the Lord what she can do to help these kids. Every word that she says to these kids are life giving.

“Words can be so powerful and as parents we should be really careful of what we speak to our children because it’s hearts.”

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