I Am Still Standing…personal story.

January 18, 2016January 19, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha44 Comments

Wisdom chose to come to me through my journey. I didn’t come by wisdom per chance. We all have our individual messages in our stories and each day, it unfolds itself for those who choose to see. 1453177669459[1]

What gives me the reason to believe at the end of the day is so simple ‘that my life has a purpose.’

My Faith is not magic, but a conscious choice to trust God even when I am confused, depressed and cannot make sense of it all.

A lot of times, I have faced adversities, but I always ask myself? What do I turn to in these difficult times? What should I do, when it seems like everything is threatening to cave in?

I simply stand in prayer and walk through the pain. I cry through the pain and this is where my strength comes from. It is not that by persevering I don’t ever doubt or feel exhausted. I do feel all these things, but what I know for sure and from my experience is that there is no strength without adversities and sometimes a lot of pain as well.

Those painful experiences that chase to break you, often times builds your courage and determination if only you persevere.

It’s Gods mercy that kept me through these adversities that would have kept me under or had me turn to negative alternative means to get through them.

It’s Gods mercy that sustained me from dying at the hands of molesters who nearly strangled me.

It was God’s mercy that preserved my life through a fatal road accident that took the life of another.

It’s God’s mercy that rescued me from the Snare of the Fowler in the name of armed robbers, not once but thrice in Lagos.

It’s God’s mercy that kept my mind sane through series of miscarriages and a still birth of my child.

I kept it all in. I pretended to be okay. I trudged on. I smiled, but I bled inside and I wore a brave face outside.

Some of these stories I hesitate to share in depth because I don’t seek for pity and it is difficult to talk through them.

There are days that I look back and wonder. There are days that anger or depression wants to light up inside me for some of these things, but I refuse to go down that rabbits hole. I stand.

Each day Grace meets me and tells me that it’s okay.

Each day Hope tells me not to give up.

Each day my Faith says ‘do not despair’ ‘That what is in front is greater than the one behind.’

Some have asked me before, how I can believe, how I can trust and have faith in a God who allows certain things to happen to some people?

My answer to them is ‘how can I not, when I am a living testimony of Grace and Mercy.’ Know this and know it well, the enemy will always attack us through any means possible, which is why he is called The Enemy. What matters is how we walk through that fire.

Each day at the end of it all, I know that without Faith, Mercy, Hope, Grace, Favour, Trust and Redemption, the story of my life’s journey might have ended long before now.

There is an undefinable reason why it’s called Amazing Grace and each day, I hold out my cup for a portion of grace which is sufficient unto my day.

It’s called amazing grace because through the wounds and the hurt, through the broken spirit and the flayed mind, I am here and I am still standing.

The Daily Post Reason To Believe.

In Reason to Believe, Bruce Springsteen sings, “At the end of every hard-earned day / people find some reason to believe.” What’s your reason to believe?

The Daily Post

Not By Rote Please…

January 18, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha47 Comments

So many times, I have registered for an online program with a lot of enthusiasm, but halfway through it all, I just barely limp to finish or my interest wane’s completely and after settling down to analyse why my interest wavers, I got to realize way back before now, that for me to maintain an optimum balanced interest in a learning activity, it’s got to be interactive enough.

I like bashing ideas with other people, loosening the screws and bolts of a theory and piecing it back together, that way, years from when I learnt it, it stays with me.

I got to realize that though rote learning might work for a lot of people, to a large extent, I can do well by rote learning but I excel by interactive learning.

I would have returned to school long before now but due to family exigencies, I have been pushing it to the side. As a matter of fact, I registered for a Communication Arts program, but because it was online, I backed out and didn’t bother starting it off. I knew that within a few months, I would be bored to tears with it all.

Same issue cropped up with a program I enrolled for at the University of London, due to it’s online/distance learning nature, I had to be truthful to myself, knowing that I would probably start but not finish it and then waste money unnecessarily.

What works best for me really is reading on my own, then bringing a discussion group together and bouncing all the learning curves around.

I remember when I was taking my chartered exams and I knew Quantitative Techniques was not my fort, I hunkered down, learnt all the formulas, did loads of exercises on my own, then cemented my efforts by engaging my course mates in a discussion group. When the results came out, even I was surprised to have received a distinction for that course. Go figure. I probably wouldn’t have scored that high if not for the discussion groups.

That said, I am considering enrolling back in formal education in a year or two. I look forward to going to class, getting involved in adult education and maybe being the oldest Mama among the students, but that’s totally cool by me.

I am sure that it would be interesting because I will make it so.

The Daily Post Learning Style.

What’s your learning style? Do you prefer learning in a group and in an interactive setting? Or one-on-one? Do you retain information best through lectures, or visuals, or simply by reading books?

Creative Writing · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Love · Poetry/Poems

Sweet Indulgence…

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha47 Comments

Honey sweet words you whispered to me,

In anticipation, they tickle me to my bones.

Pupils dilated, eyelashes flutter,

In deep sigh of sated, sweet affection,

The burst of sugary sensation,

Hits the right nerve centres.

It’s a chocolate dream.

Blogging · Inspiration - Motivation · Musings · Quotes For You

Ubuntu…I am, because we are!

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha21 Comments

Our sense of not feeling lost comes from our deep sentiments to have value and common acceptance as an individual. Nothing validates us like a sense of belonging; of being part of a bigger unit.

As humans, we all have this desire and craving for the care or that sense of feeling cared for, which when we receive it, nurtures our intrinsic being.

Knowing that I can come here and write without giving thought to prejudice, but to being myself, leaves me with warm fuzzy feeling. That I can traipse around and blog hop to visit others and later return to my own little domain to find little sticky notes all over the door of my blog, makes me realize that I have found my tribe.

Naturally, we all have tribes that we are born into by virtue of genetic pool and geographical placements.

Then, we have tribes that our driving passion, needs and experiences makes us seek out.

Blogging cum Writing is such a tribe. A unique, wholesome, heartwarming, dynamic tribe where even the most flagging of hearts can be revived and get a boost if they should keep an open mind, heart and seek out the welcoming hands within this tribe of ours.

As is normal, even in nuclear families, you will find those that do not particularly agree with each other, but like every symbiotic existence, we still need each other in order to thrive.

Therefore, for me to be, we all have to be. I am because we all are, irrespective of our differences, in brotherhood, we stand.

Let me leave you with a couple of African proverbs to ruminate on:

‘A bundle of firewood cannot be fastened with one hand.’ In essence, you cannot go the journey all by yourself. You look up to others for support, to teach you the way and to benefit of their experience.

‘A single tree cannot make a forest.’

‘A single string of bead can never jingle.’

My appreciations go to Random Ramblings who invited me a while ago to take part in the 3 days, 3 quotes challenge. My posting calendar has been a bit hectic hence the delay.

I would like to invite these following bloggers to participate in the challenge.

The rules are:

Post 3 Quotes on 3 consecutive days.
Thank the person who nominated you.
Nominate 3 other bloggers on each day of challenge.

The Shivas Ponder

Anghulinghugetero

Christian Dequita

A link to my neighbours/Community · Dubai · Echos Of My Neighbourhood · Photographs

Echoes Of My Neighbourhood #5…

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

On Thursday’s, I share a picture 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 houses, 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 can at least see them through you.

I look forward to seeing your pictures.

Best regards,

Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

At night, when these skyscrapers come alive with the twinkle of their lights, I simply let my mind absorb it’s beauty and roam free. I think of all the humans contained within. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Downright Dodgy.

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Last Week Thursday, Echoes received a decent number of entries from these awesome bloggers below and I encourage you to take a quick sneak peek.

From Kat Myrman’s glimpse of her hometown, we see Dr. Pepper bringing the Superheros to town.

Oba’s shot of Lagos ‘Okada’ had me thinking of my Lasgidi home.

Pancake Bunnykins glimpse of the beautiful Suriname River behind Zorg Hospital makes you think it’s more like a hotel.

Never a dull bling shows us some insights of her work neighbourhood and that very cute live bunny.

There is definitely something stunning about black and white pictures and Tildy of Beespeak shows us snippets of her neighbourhood in black and white.

Spiritual Journeys queer tree deceives the eyes.

Now, let’s see yours.

Creative Writing · Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Poetry/Poems · The Daily Post

If I Was Set Free…

January 13, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha39 Comments

Super powers are certainly lovely to have, if such possibilities exist, however, I doubt very much if I can have those kind of super powers that would make me appear and disappear at will, besides, I am not sure I am keen on the connotation that this power might be used for negative endeavours.

I think I am far too gregarious to appear and disappear. In my language, my mother would call me “the one person, who is welcomed like a crowd of multiple people,” and my love for life around me, almost makes it impossible for me to sneak around.

Even if I had the luck to possess such skills, my reverberating energy would definitely alert those that I am trying to hide or seek from.

That said, I do think it would be lovely to possess the super-powers of a very convincing tongue; so that when I get to sit down with an agent/publisher, I would look them straight in the eyes, wearing my heart on my sleeves, I would tell them my writing thoughts and they would simply nod and nod.

They will have an auction war over my works and sign a fat check, sending me on my merry way to go and hammer out some more words. That’s my dream of super right now.

If I had the wings of a cooing dove,

Soft and gentle I will perch on your cove,

I will coo into your listening ears,

Understanding your sighs and your tears.

If I had the sweet tweet of a Nightingale,

Enthralled would you be with my tales,

You will let me out of my cage,

So that I may soar through the glades,

Tweeting high and free in the blue skies landscape.

The Daily Post Prompt Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.

You have a secret superpower: the ability to appear and disappear at will. When and where will you use this new superpower? Tell us a story.

Devotions · Gratitude · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · Life · Love

I am grateful and blessed to have you as my friend…

January 13, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha47 Comments

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.

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

Creative Writing · Haiku · Hope · Lifestyle · Poetry/Poems · Social Issues

Crystal Meth…

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha34 Comments

A fascination of the Stars it held,

Purported to pleasure he heard,

Hope he keeps away from the Meth.

PLEASE NOTE! ‘The usage of crystal methamphetamine is dangerous.’

This is my first time participating in ‘Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Prompt Challenge‘ with the prompt words, ‘crystal’ and ‘hope.’

Five Sentence Inspiration · Hope · Inspiration - Motivation · My Thinking Corner

Tuesdays Trickles

January 12, 2016January 17, 2016 jacquelineobyikocha15 Comments

Every Tuesday, I share snippets of thoughts that I call ‘My Thinking Corner.’

I would like to invite you to participate. The challenge is quite simple.

Each Tuesday, share your very short snippets of positive, inspiring, motivating, health, spiritual, writing advice, clips, posts etc, that can serve as a prop to motivate others and simply add my link to your post.

I call it my thinking corner because, I actually take out a bit of time just to think through things, encapsulate my thoughts as much as possible and detoxify my mind.

It might work for you in a different way, but the idea is to get the positive thoughts flowing.

Every last Tuesday of the month, I will publish a post with the links of all those who participated through the month and their thoughts.

I hope to see you join. Best regards.

When you run your own race, the chance is high that you will win, but when you run another person’s race, you will spend your time looking at their behinds.