Memories of 2012

Wow, today is the last day of 2012 and what better way to end it than to blog about the wonderful blessings I received this year?! Where do I start from? Probably the most amazing gift I have received this year is the gift of LIFE! Life is something a lot of people, without realizing it, take for granted. OK every now and then we wake up in the morning and thank God that we are alive and we may say it so often that it becomes cliche. If you however take a few moments, pause and think about all the people who lost their lives this year either through accidents, ill-health or being in the wrong place at the wrong/right time, then perhaps your perspective on being alive till 31st December 2012 will change. We live in a world where terrible things happen on a daily basis to people around us, be it strangers or friends. And while we can sometimes relate with the sufferings of those around us, to be completely removed from calamities, disasters or a state of mourning calls for a celebration of life and shouts of thanksgiving to the giver of life! And so I start the first half of this post by dedicating this poem to my maker (PS: writing poems ain't my forte so don't cringe if I don't quite rhyme, God still loves it! :) :

As I sit and ponder at the love you give
My heart wonders why I live?
I believe you have a purpose for me
One which only you can let be
Saved by your amnesty 
I stand in awe of your majesty
Alive to sing of your praise
I will worship you all of my days! 
Selah!!!

My second blessing for the year is for the gift of family. Family are the earthly beings who define what unconditional love is! Whether a good egg or bad, sad or happy, poor or rich, fat or thin, ugly or beautiful, family will love you unconditionally. I dedicate this next poem to my family:

Family are like diamonds, they shine bright as long as you got them
Family are like precious stones, they remain precious by defacto
Family are like love, they last forever!

I love my family; Papi Ray, Arukakwa, Papa Dozy, Och, Charlo, Miana and Chiro! We are entering 2013 as one formidable force set apart to make a difference in our world!

My third blessing for the year is for the gift of love. I need not define love to you for the definition of love is summed up in 1 Corinthians 13. From this scripture, my favorite verse is ^{13 "}And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love". Love is the greatest gift God has given to us and I am blessed to say that I have found love and love has found me! Love found me in a man who has been pivotal in teaching me what unconditional love means. Patiently and lovingly, he has waited for a looong time for part of God's will and purpose to be discovered and achieved in our lives and that patience has persevered and paid of because............let's just say 2013 is full of many pleasant surprises and even more knee humbling memories! So this next poem is for you Mio ;)

Long ago you came my way
Far away you lingered day by day
One to eight you patiently sought to wait 
Now today I'm yours to take :D
Te amor mi amor!

And lastly my final blessing for 2012 is my Msc. in Engineering Business Management with a "Distinction" from the University of Warwick!!! Wooohooo! Awesome God, thank you for showing the world that the fear of You, determination or faith and hardwork are the keys to succeed and achieving goals!

On this note I can end this blog post which by the way took me over 12 hours to compose considering I've had my laptop open the whole day and been distracted most of the time, whew!

I wish everyone a blessed, fruitful, happy, prosperous, peace and hope filled 2013 and I pray that Proverbs 3: 5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in ALL of your ways and He shall direct your path".

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!

Dilemma of a pretty girl

A friend of mine was telling me a story of a hookup gone cold because the guy she was being hooked up with, thought she was "too pretty to be single" and hence he was potentially wasting his time!! I was deeply perplexed on why pretty girls seem to scare men off! Guys, what's the problem??

So she's drop dead gorgeous but does that mean she has a boyfriend? No. The dilemma of pretty girls is that potential boyfriends or even husbands make assumptions about their relationship status and no one dares to make a move because of the fear of rejection. Newsflash guys, a pretty face is not licence to a lineup of suitors. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I could relate with my friend's story because a couple of times I got to hear the same thing about myself and I remember being slightly peeved as to why a guy could not approach me to ask questions instead of making assumptions. Now I know that some pretty girls look unapproachable and this does not necessarily have anything to do with their character. I'll use myself for example. In university I was told by many that I often had a "shove off my face" expression and so guys were skeptical about coming to talk to me. I found it to be news to me as I was not aware that I was expected to go around with a smile on my face!! Lol.. Now that is taking it a bit far but what I am trying to say is that my facial expressions when walking are not suited to a specific mood and because I was not deliberately trying to get hitched, there is no way I was going to go around with a look on my face that says, "hey dude, I'm single and available so feel free to try your luck". My expressions were just my expressions and nothing more! Anyway, not to digress from the subject, the introduction of facial expressions was to allay some of your likely assumptions that pretty girls remain single because they are either already hitched or unapproachable as a result of their character or facial expressions.

I know this is not such a serious problem because any real man who sees and knows what he wants will go after it like a deer pants for water! I can testify *winks* :)...

A word to the guys...... if you see a pretty girl whom you are attracted to please walk up to her and try your luck, you just never know! ;).. And if you are too nervous to ask her, look for her friend and ask questions, don''t make assumptions! As I normally say, "assumption is a termite"! (Don't ask what it means, think about it for yourself with your God given brain!)

Tots,
Coco Chinny aka Mrs E ;)

The power of your words

The world is a very superficial place.people will often judge you based on what you look like; the clothes you wear,  your hair, legs, nails and even the shape of your nose! It amazes me how callous people can be when talking. Recently I've heard all sorts in the form of 'joke' and I'm thinking that surely people should know when to draw the line on a joke. Let me share my stories and that of others and judge for yourselves if its insensitive or not:

"When you're pregnant na only nose we go dey see for your face"

"I'm sick of your hair, we gave up on that hair 12years ago please"

"Wow you're fat, where is that your small husband"

"Your legs are like broomsticks"

"When are you going to get pregnant, its been several years already" 

"You're getting too fat, lose some weight"

Etc etc etc
While these jokes are funny initially, they are utterly insensitive. First of all, Neither you nor I created a person, so what gives us the right to judge them? Secondly, did it ever occur to you that the recipient of your unkind words already feels conscious about their so-called "imperfections" and would prefer to be different? Thirdly, just because no one has told you that you have body odor, your mouth stinks or your teeth looks like something out of "Jaws" doesn't mean they haven't noticed!
The truth behind "jokes" is that it's a form of bullying and it affects some peoples self esteem. Saying crude jokes is also a way to personally validate yourself by putting someone else down, so guess what? You probably have self-esteem issues! I had a friend tell me recently that I should please make no comments when I see her because she's gotten way bigger than she used to be. While I'm not one to run my mouth before thinking, I wondered at how many of our mutual or her friends had made insensitive comments about her size to get her to warn me in advance!! Clearly her self-esteem is bruised and it got me upset. People just don't think before speaking and its a sign of foolishness.

God wasn't sleeping the day he formed me or you,  as a matter of fact He said that "You and I are fearfully and wonderfully made, MARVELOUS are HIS  works and this our soul knows very well (psalm 139:14)". Now it's up to you to interpret fearfully whichever way you desire but fearfully to me means that everyone should respect and fear God's creation. So next time you feel like running your mouth in a haste, stop and think for a moment how your words may affect the next person.

I won't extricate myself from having spoken callously before and I regret how my words may have hurt someone but I guess experience is truly the best teacher because I have come to a place of understanding and I'll never do it again nor tolerate it from someone else.

Food for thought people, get thinking before speaking.....

Coco C