‘A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.‘ Nelson Mandela
Laughter and such little gestures rejuvenate the soul. Jacqueline
Author: jacquelineobyikocha
A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.
Midnight Motivations and Musings # 68…
Everyone deserves to love and be loved and true love first starts with you.
Loving yourself and accepting that you are whole and worth it, is not being self-centered.
You should know that you are enough without expecting someone else to complete you. It’s a fallacy to anticipate that. No one can complete another.
They can only complement what you already have, thus when you feel inadequate, your sense of inadequacy emanates from within and this is not something that someone else can fix.
What happens when they are no longer there or when they fail to fulfil all your expectations?
How long will someone else have to patch you up?
When will you realise that you are worth loving you for you?
If you are unable to love yourself for your own sake and treat yourself appropriately, then it will be difficult to cascade a non-existent blessing to someone else, for it’s really out of what you’ve got that you can give others.
God’s love is free and without encumbrances.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Fresh breath of desire…Friday fiction in five sentences.
Liam had forgotten this. The way your senses exploded with desire and the pulse raced. A sudden awakening feeling as if he had been in a long deep sleep.
All the exciting tingle coursed through his veins from the soft and warm hand that he clasped in greeting. A deep urge to pull her closer and kiss her full, glossy inviting lips nudged him even as his thumb gently brushed her knuckles almost subconsciously.
Now he understood his son’s fascination with his music and art’s teacher, Miss Felicity. It was easy to get besotted with this exquisite being that stood before him, judging the way he felt. She looked like a fairy with her big baby blue and long-lashed eyes; even her upturned nose had a dusting of freckles.
For weeks, Kevin had gone on and on with one recount or the other on Miss Felicity. Since his mother passed four years ago, this would be the first female he had seen his son warm up to enough for the young boy to try matchmaking his lonely dad with his favourite teacher.
Liam’s heart softened and he muttered silent thanks to God while allowing himself to absorb the sweet energy of the face that smiled up at his in open invitation.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: Pixabay
Photo time… Every day beautiful people #24
‘Some memories never fade.’ Unknown
Our memories are made of those little things that are seemingly so ordinary. Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
A poem submitted by James Patmore.
If I was an arrow, what would I hit?
Would I kill the beast or fall short
Would the string be pulled to guide me straight?
Or would I break in the fall?
If I was a tree where would I stand?
My supports the ground, yet it’s all just sand
My roots grow down to try and keep
Me from falling, into the deep
If I was a song, would I be sung, If I was a story would I be read?
If I follow the line the world chose for me, would I be truly safe and free?
Or when I have my dying breath, would all I trust be for nought
On this earth, I now stand
My path I must choose
The guide I pick will either lead me home
Or torment me when I’m in the deep
If I was a rose, would I be proud
My colours glowing my petals open
Or would I whither and fade away
To join the litter on the ground.
If I was a cloud,
where would I go
would I cause rain, cause the snow
Or in the pushing winds float far away
Until at last I fade
By myself I am weak,
I have no strength inside of me
Its strength in the Lord keeps me going
He’s my bowman, he’s my roots
If I was a rose, I’d chose to open
Displaying his colours for the world to see.
Poetry credit: James Patmore
Midnight Motivations and Musings 67
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Naturally as humans, when we are witnesses to the success of others, there’s a deep inclination inside us that experiences a tinge of envy and want.
This is what gives birth to rivalry and competitiveness.
However, there are ways of harnessing our human need to excel and thrive without letting jealous notions be the main driver or our desire.
One, it’s not sustainable to operate that way because your function will be based on clouded emotions that will get the better of you.
Two, it’s never been a successful line to tow and a jealous master is a dangerous one.
Asides from the scriptural angle of things, it’s simply a terrible way for one to spend their lives comparing themselves to others.
It’s a far better approach seeking your own route. If you per chance admire the work of someone else and wish to do the same, be pragmatic about it. Learn
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Oh My! What A Long List..
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Please don’t peek too closely at my long list of groceries but I have a household to nourish you know 😉
For this week’s The great book of lists, our grocery shopping list is the prompting word.
I have a love and hate relationship with shopping, but it’s unavoidable and since I cook virtually every day except on evenings that we eat out thus, my grocery/shopping list is a quite lengthy.
I actually have a typed list on my computer which I print off and take along with me, even though taking the list has never stopped me from buying something that’s not on it, especially if it looks like a good bargain 😉
I have two phases of shopping. Regular shopping marts for everything and a visit to the African store for condiments to make our native soups and delicacies 😉
I always like a full larder and I do bulk shopping twice a month and then pick up fresh goods like vegetables, bread, milk etc as the need arises.
My children accompany me and sometimes Dear Himself can be talked into tagging along when he’s not at work.
My kiddos are learning to sniff out good bargains too which is a mix of joy at their company and exasperation 😉
The list runs from food items in one trolley and other needed household items in another basket.
Meat: We are Carnivores. Sometimes I think I am breeding little Tigers.
Fish: To balance out the meat.
Chicken:
Ham, sausages etc:
Eggs: We ate lots of eggs. Scrambled, poached, boiled, omelette…
Cheese: Yess!!! I love cheese
Beverages. My children like Nesquick or Nestle Milo.
Milk. Everyone takes full cream except me *not that it’s helped much 
Yoghurt
Waffle mix
Pasta
Rice
Beans
Fresh vegetables
Fresh fruits: Lots and lots of mix of oranges, grapefruit, pomegranates,
watermelon, bananas, dates, clementines, avocado ….
This list could go on for ages so I will let your imagination do the rest.
Somehow, a bar or several of chocolate have a way of sneaking into my trolley 🙂
Hey! Don’t judge! What’s a girl to do anyway? Chocolate always goes well with a good book 😉
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Za’abeel Palace’s outer grounds…Echoes of my neighbourhood 15
On Thursday’s, I share pictures about ‘Echos of my Neighbourhood.
I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple.
Every Thursday, share a photo of bits and pieces of wherever you are at any point in time. It could be a house, backgrounds of your neighbourhood, activities and so forth and you can tag it Echos of my Neighbourhood, add my link to your post so that I will get the ping from your post.
Every other Thursday, I will publish a post with the links of all those who participated the previous week.
This is just a fun way of getting to see more of the World around us through your eyes since we cannot all be at those places, we could, at least, see them through you.
This week found me visiting the palace grounds again to go and see the peacocks.
Za’abeel Palace is one of the palaces for the ruling house of Dubai. It’s situated on very expansive ground space, with beautiful ostentatious surroundings. It has some of Dubai’s well-known landmarks like the Burj Khalifa at it’s back and the Emirates twin towers.
The palace grounds is home to so many beautiful peacocks that love to eat peanuts and if you are lucky, they can eat out of your hands.
The ambience is lovely both in the daylight and at night. One day, who knows, I might get a sneak peek into the inner courts of the Palace 😉
Last Week Echoes took us to different neighbourhoods, hop on let’s go see and we will be glad to see some of yours.
Jazzytower shows us beautiful, majestic cherry blossoms and lots of robust looking Geese. There’s so much to like about this cheery photos. Take a peek.
Subic bay skywatch I am literally jealous of Lady Lee. Beautiful photos, frolic in the water, picnic… 😉
Kat will have you hypnotised in two minutes flat. I want one of this 🙂
Giggles and tales shows us beautiful elevated landscape views of Copenhagen. You can fly to Denmark through her link.
Please do share a peek of your neighbourhood with us. Regards
Jacqueline
Featured Posts …. Let me share your post links.
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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’
Today’s featured blogs are:
Ability to face each day This is a simple message that I believe so much in. It makes a whole lot of difference.
A slice of life Michelle’s new blog is about sharing little bits of Sunshine that happens in her life and will make you smile 🙂
Falling I am certain that possessing certain powers like seeing ghosts is not everybody’s cup of tea, even for the child of magic like Sarn.
A real man a beautiful tribute to a real man. When a man loves his family, it shows in the legacy he leaves behind.
Niki’s thoughts Niki’s blog is a new find of mine and so far, I must say that I like what I see 🙂
‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’
Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.
P.S. Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.
Thank you for your understanding and regards.
‘We create a cohesive community when we come together.’
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Work it out!…Every day beautiful people
‘If you want to go fast you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together’ African Proverb
#Team work. Sometimes we go it alone, but we wear out easily. When we join forces with others, we go a whole distance further because of their support.
I walked at my own pace and took photos here and there, in-between this time, teamed couples jogged past me, individuals jogged past me and I am not exaggerating when I observed the individuals like me leaving faster and those together stayed longer at it.
This observation was done over several days. I like to call it social engineering aka people watching 😉
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 