Category: Devotions
Best Wishes…😇
A happy Easter to you.
May the gentle spirit
And guiding steps
Of Jesus Christ,
Be a beacon in your life.
Let the love of his pure heart
And the wisdom of his words
Remain a light to your feet
And a lamp to your pathways.
May the Grace of God
from the deep and above
Rest upon you and yours,
Now and always.
Shalom!
♥
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Image credit: Pixabay
It’s A Good Day Today. ..
Thank You!!
![1456585194564[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14565851945641.jpg)
Be They Little…
![1455685840627[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14556858406271.jpg)
Mummy, I want to let you know what you mean to me.
You are like an Angel in the sky
Even at night you shine as bright as a star.
I want you to know, I love you mummy.
Why do I do these gratitude challenges every week? So that I don’t forget to pay mind to the little things that I would have probably taken for granted in the bigger scheme of life’s rat race.
It’s done as an open confession of little positive affirmations in my life, both online and real time. Of course it can be done through private journals *I still do that*, but then an opportunity would be missed to inspire even one person to embrace the attitude of gratitude.
The private journal practice becomes easy to forget or set aside at times when life gets hectic and we continue to roll along until it is completely left unsaid.
This way, I am compelled to pause and appreciate these things openly. It’s like unwrapping a present.
The attitude of gratitude has expanded the coast of my mind and it keeps growing in very positive ways. I find that more and more, I dwell barely on negativity because it’s almost as if my mind is on training on how to swat negative thoughts.
Ordinarily, I would probably have taken for granted the small hands that helped me push my shopping cart, weigh my fruits and tick off my shopping list *making me buy one or two extra tidbits, with a grumble and secret delight.
How will I take for granted how you all supported my blog party over the weekend?
Try cooking a large array of dishes (in this case, blogging hard for days) and inviting people to eat and they don’t turn up. You will be sorely disappointed and upset.
The essence of Valentine might have become subsumed in the cheesy commercial aspect of things, but there is absolutely nothing cheesy about the extra doses of love and attention that I received from my family, from hand-made cards to shop bought rose and chocolate with their pocket money, coupled with lots of pampering 🙂
There are so many little things to be grateful and thankful for. What are the things that decorate your life, be they little or large?
You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
A Wellspring…
Just a few weeks ago, it was Christmas, then New Year and now January 2016 has come an end. It’s gone forever. We can only witness future January’s of other years, but never the last one.![1454425406714[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/14544254067141.jpg)
January took some famous and acclaimed personalities with it, as well as so many other souls, but a whole lot of us are blessed to be well and see another new month cycle in.
That just keeps drawing the transient state of our lives home, that we truly have to spend our days living our best lives now and being happy with it.
As we pursue our dreams and aspirations with tenacity, buoyed with the desire to achieve a whole lot of different things, I am thankful for having had the Grace to stay on course with a good number of things that I set to do.
I am grateful that I have not lost the courage or the zeal to keep pushing along, because it is really so easy to get derailed with the little things that life throws in our path.
I am grateful for the stream of ideas that keeps coming to me and the strength to see them through. Sometimes, the wellspring of inspiration and creativity can run dry, leaving one grasping, so, for me, it is indeed a privilege thus far, to have a fountain that bubbles with inspiration.
I am grateful that for the first time in months, the aches and pains that plagued me has receded quite a bit and I can pencil this down to the consistent little exercising that I have been doing.
I feel a lot more limber and thankful for that. Sometimes, the discomfort of my Myalgia that I have in my back would keep me uncomfortable and awake at nights.
Living in a state of thankfulness, keeps the elusive Unicorn of Happiness close by. That way, you get to ride on it often enough.
Welcome to a new month of abundant blessings and inspiration. Never forget that the little seed of gratitude that you sow, grows into a bountiful harvest for your thanksgiving.
You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson gratitude challenge platforms.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
Look UP!..
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To the glorious Heavens I look,
The abundance of Above
Is a Free Gift to all
Who look up
To See
It.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Strength In These Quotes…
For obvious reasons, there are so many biblical quotes that I hold very dear to heart and return to almost on a daily basis. They give me assurance, comfort, courage and strength. Some of them are:Â ![1453908944212[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/14539089442121.jpg)
‘ Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.’ Isaiah 43:1
‘All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose’ Rom 8:28
‘Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans.’ Proverbs 16:3
‘I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in Him I will trust.’ Psalm 91.2
When I am in doubt, worried, going through some rough patches and all that, I turn to my Bible and Psalms. I hum the words to myself until I feel calmness in my Spirit.
I honestly can’t begin to interpret what these words hold and mean to me.
All I can say is that in the sea of life’s turbulence, The Lord is my Hiding Place, for I know that the plans he has for me are for my good and not harm. To give me hope and a future.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
The Daily Post Quote me.
Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? What is it, and why does it move you?
As The Tempest Rages…
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Master, the tempest rages something fierce in some places.
Some lives lost in many cases.
The Earth is yours and the fullness thereof;
Teach us to appreciate that which you have given unto us.
To respect the Nature that surrounds and nurtures us.
Let us live lives of light,
So that when our time here on Earth is done,
We fear not that we perish,
For we would have run a worthy race.
May each day that we rise to embrace the day,
Bring into our hearts the joy of living,
The joy of thanksgiving and gratitude,
The joy of Grace and Care,
And a new beginning.
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
I am grateful and blessed to have you as my friend…
Life brings friends our way who turn out to become our families in almost every sense of the word and I am particularly grateful for such a friend as my dear good friend Mrs. Ekaete Augustine-Edet. ![1452678658237[1]](https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/14526786582371.jpg)
We have journeyed together from our days as single ladies working at the French Embassy, Lagos Nigeria almost two decades ago, to today as mothers and wives and she has remained such a steadfast friend, sister and motivator.
She is one of the driving forces behind my starting my blog, because she believes in me and my writing skills. She kept asking me when I would start my blog, until I got started.
She is there anytime I call with a need or something on my mind. I had reason to make such a call and as usual she selflessly gave of herself, her time and her pocket.
I thank God for a friend like you and really don’t have much words to appreciate your kindness.
On another hand, I have been blessed with running into interesting characters since last week.
Two lovely neighbourhood dogs, Lola and Cookie and Meow, The cat seem to have adopted me for reasons best known to them, though I do stop to say hello to the cute dogs when I am taking my walk and they are out and about.
Meow is a lone ranger, but always appears by the chair where I sit sometimes to watch the World go by and he rubs himself on my pants legs seeking attention.
I am more a dog person and not particularly a cat person but strangely, this would be the third encounter where different neighbourhood felines come up to say hello.
Since I don’t know much about felines, maybe those who do can tell me what this indicates.
I am grateful for little meaningless moments like this. They end up meaning a lot when we appreciate them and each moment that I spend in a state of gratitude, the phrase that the best things in life are for free couldn’t be more true than it is.
There is so much to be thankful for. Just look around and you will see.
You can join Colline’s or Maria Jansson‘s gratitude challenge platforms
Regards and blessings
© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha
a cooking pot and twisted tales 
