To all the Fire Service Men/Women out there…

January 2, 2016January 2, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha51 Comments

You know at times, we tend to take a lot in life for granted, going about our daily business grumbling and sometimes without care or in-depth thought as to what others pass through in the course of their jobs.

It took watching the luxurious building of The Address Hotel rage with fire on the Eve of the 2016 New Year’s day at a close range, to serve as a big eye opener for me, as to the enormous pressure and brave exploits of Fire fighters all over the World.

They put their lives on line every time they step into such blaze and even though some of us will very well say that it’s their job after all and that they are trained for it, it takes a heck of gumption to do the stuff that these courageous humans do.

For All the TEA in China and all the Swiss CHOCOLATES and a million dollars on top, I, Jacqueline, would not venture near that raging inferno that I witnessed.

The orange tongues of the fiery blaze licked with thirst and reckless abandon, in search of who and what to consume. The billowing smoke was choking even from a distance and yet these service men, did such a fantastic and efficient job even as others (including me) were watching in silent prayer.

Since the night of the 31st, the image of the burning skyscraper has been stuck in my head and my vivid imagination has been in overdrive ever since. On television, fire service men tend to look glamourous and sexy, but, gosh, when the chips are down, their job is one tough cookie to bake.

To the brave men and women of the Fire Service all over the World, how can one say thank you to your selfless services?

How can one appreciate the utmost help received from all of you for fire incidents which sometimes stem from actions of irresponsibility of others.

Yet, all I can say, and I know some people have this in mind as well, is thank you very much. Thank you for being there to mitigate a situation that could be worse. Thank you for giving so much of yourself. For your courage and faith in the face of such scary adversary.

Respects.

Bless you all.

Photographs · The Daily Post

In Circles…

January 2, 2016January 2, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha11 Comments

The Daily Post Photo Challenge Circles… Today, let a familiar shape inspire you.

Come to dinner and take your pick of cutlery.

The circle of time.

Ringed Fabrics

Nicely rounded hedgehogs asleep in the dark.

Warm soup in round loaf. Delish 🙂

The diver and the round discs

Another circle of light.

Circle of Light

1451714732389[1]

Dubai · Gratitude

Happy New Year From DXB – UAE… Double Fireworks

January 1, 2016January 1, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha35 Comments

1451572004534[1]

It’s was an exciting evening as we ushered in the year 2016 with fantastic fireworks, which went on for well over fifteen minutes.

I like to be in the thick of such positive memorable moments, so we set off early enough to get a vantage viewing point, because I can assure you that people traveled from all over to Dubai in their thousands for the New Year Eve’s party at the foot of the Bury Khalifa, the title holder for the tallest building in the World.

It was well organised but a bit of misfortune was unfolding at the same time.

For several hours just adjacent to the Burj another high rise – The Address 5 star hotel was on fire. We experienced initial moments of panic, watching in despair from outside, but things were quickly brought under control.

The response team was quite swift in evacuating people thereby minimizing casualties. No deaths have been recorded thankfully.

Edited short video clips are attached.

Creative Writing · Friday Fiction in Five Sentences · Love

Friday’s Fiction in Five Sentences.

January 1, 2016January 1, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha18 Comments

saxophonist

His fingers caressed the Sax with fondness.

Tears pricked his eyes as he remembered.

The faint sounds of ghostly play echoed in his head and in the house.

Everything was now covered in a film of dust.

Touching his dad’s Sax once more, he packed it back in it’s old box and walked out of the house for the last time, into the bright afternoon Sun.

Dubai · Echos Of My Neighbourhood · Photographs

Echoes Of My Neighbourhood #3…

December 31, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha34 Comments

Creative Writing · Family · Poetry/Poems

My daughters poem…

December 31, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha47 Comments

She kept bugging me with the new poem that she wrote and I had to stop and listen to what she is reciting.

So, let me indulge her and share it with you.

A Winter Wonderland

The first snowflake of storm falls
I couldn’t see anything at all
Woke the next day, the snow was tall
And I instantly started jumping off the wall

I ran outside but slipped and fell
Oh well who cares anyway
My mom gave me the option to come inside
But I decided to stay out and play * she is disobeying me 🙂

I ran and ran with all my might
Climbed up a tree disregarding the height
Then I realized my mom was right * Mother knows best, always 😉
Maybe I should go back inside.

I caught a cold, I should have listened
But walked over to the window stall to see what I’d been missing
I saw Mr. Frankle the snowman my sister had made outside * Is she trying to tell me that she wants a sister ?

He started to sing, dance, run and prance
I went back outside to watch his performance
He looked to the sky and said ‘I have to go.’
While I wondered where is all the snow

I woke up and realized its all a dream
But what a wonderful theme ‘A Winter Wonderland.’

From Nnenna Christine Oby-Ikocha

Devotions · Gratitude · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · Life · Love · Weave that Dream

Striding Into 2016 With Grace…

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha23 Comments

Dear Lord

We thank you.

We thank you for preserving us through it all.

Through trying moments and good moments

Your Grace has been sufficient unto the day.

As we cycle out of the year 2015

We stride into 2016 with a heart filled with gratitude,

And our mouths filled with praise.

We stride into 2016 with Faith, Hope and Grace.

You are the source of all that we have and are.

Our inspiration and strength which comes from above.

Our Blessings and Salvation are at your right hand.

Our Peace and present help in time of need.

Our Shield, Strong Tower and Wise Counselor, You changeth not.

You are Our Everything God.

As we embrace this new year,

May we embrace goodwill.

May love, respect, peace, strength, blessings and joy,

That comes from the four winds, from above and the deep be our portion.

May we be washed anew and renewed as vessels of honour.

Your abundant grace and mercy shall follow us.

Your word O’Lord will remain a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Our lips will declare your love and your goodness in the land of the living.

Your words says that as we proclaim and as we believe and so shall it be unto our days.

We are eternally grateful.

A link to my neighbours/Community · Blog Awards · Blogging · Gratitude

A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR…

December 30, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha55 Comments

The year 2015 is practically a wrap.

We made it through despite so much upheaval around the World, so many individual challenges that looked insurmountable, and if there is nothing else to say, the fact that we waded through it all, is a massive blessing and a huge reason to be thankful.

My gratitude challenge today is two pronged.

Foremost, I am truly thankful to God for so many things that I can’t begin to count but above all, the gift of life, the gift of family and the gift of friends.

I deeply appreciate the connections that I have made on this platform.

A lot of you have been winds in my wings and oxygen in my lungs.

Your words have decorated my heart in indescribable ways and I am grateful that I met you in this space.

I have received a whole bunch of award nominations from my good friends and I truly must appreciate them for the generosity of their hearts.

Please, let me apologize upfront if I missed out mentioning a nomination.

It is not a slight but an oversight, because it has grown in number (over 20 of them) and I truly didn’t want to inundate people with putting out an award post ever so often.

For the Epic Awesomeness Award, I thank Yinglan of This is Another Story, for this kind nomination.

awesome-award

For the Versatile Blogger Award nominations, my appreciations go to: iamabloggertoo, Gharkepakwan, Emma of Shut that negative noise off, Amra of Perfect My Days, Izzyasabee, Star Scrolls, Koolaidmoms

To Sam of Starlit Octave , I say thank you for The Word Magician Award:

The nominations for Leibster Award comes from: Recharge Your Day. Sister Emma, Pamela of K. Phoenix, Walty, Rebirth of Lisa, you warm thoughts are very encouraging. Thank you.

liebster-award-discover-new-blogs3

For the Sisterhood of The World Bloggers, my appreciation goes to Inspiring Max, Susan, Jake of The Peasant Blog,

sisterhood

Now I have a loyal Dragon to guard me from marauders and I say thank you to Kaushal of Expressive Human/Original Thoughts, An Off beat bluestocking, for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. This made me smile.

dragons-loyalty-award

Chape, a heartfelt thank you for the Darts Awards/Premios Dardos

Premio dardos 2

Dear Joanne of Vellissima found my blog neat enough to nominate me for Real Neat Blog Award. Thank you my friend.

In my place, it is said that ‘the man who has human support is better than the one that has money.’ Money can buy you a lot but cannot warm your heart with it’s words.

So, to all of you, dear friends of mine, who have supported me by breathing life into my blogging journey, ‘may the Sun shine on your path and may the shadows fall behind.’

Thank you very much and do stay blessed.

Uncategorized

For the love of reviews.

December 30, 2015 jacquelineobyikocha9 Comments

Lots of love flowing my way and yours too. From an inspiring Naija sister of mine. Thank you Oba. You are a chosen treasure 🙂

Bamikeadeyemiwrites

Thank you wordpress.com for the review of my blog for the year ending 2015. I had mixed feeling about though, I wasn’t too excited about it, that could be as a result of my state of mind in the last 2 days. Well life happens. 🙂

I have seen a lot of growth in the last couple of months,So thankful for the growth and development of my writing muscles,and the fact that I can pour my heart out without any reservations,my poetry ability became more alive this year all thanks to BloggingU and the related courses. I have found and made amazing friends out of bloggers on this platform. So thankful for all you beautiful people out there.

Special Thank you(s). YOU ALL INSPIRE ME!

https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com- I want to speak up here that Jacquelineobyikocha made this blogging thing a beautiful love affair for me. Her constant and ever supportive feedback…

View original post 297 more words