I love being at home. I enjoy staying indoors. I love the smell of home and fresh air.
I used to think that staying away from home would be a bit tough job.
I rarely stay away from home for too long.
But like I told you, I have spent about 29-30 months away from home.
And it has changed me.
Something has changed.
Nostalgia
Sometimes, ìn life you learn to stop having attachments.
The attachment to home I thought I had has waned and instead I seek home anywhere I have peace of mind.
Home is where there is peace.
Things have changed because I stayed away from home. Sometimes, I wonder if staying away from home was what I needed.
I love home. The corners of the building, the garden, the trees. The ground. The smell. The air. The people. The backyard. The rooms I share with loved ones. I love the mornings and night in the place I call home.
I miss it yet I do not long for it from my soul. I long for a place filled with total serenity.
You see, earthly home is a combination of many meaningful and warm elements. The atmosphere is different from anywhere else but it is not perfect and maybe I am being unrealistic by looking for perfect.
Or maybe I am being too…. unrealistic.
I miss home and I want to be there.
Home is slim fit Home is no belly fat Home is health check Away from home is struggle to maintain…….#home#homeseries
Home is comfort Home is company Home rest Home is familiar Home is safety Home is some people Home is somebody Home is somewhere….. Away from home is loneliness#home#homeseries#loneliness#family
Home is analgesia Home is sedative Home is anti-depressant Home is where my body does not ache….. Away from home is pain#home#homeseries#pain#analgesia
At home I can eat anytime And my belly would never complain Away from home And a little dare to eat at night. Allows my belly the opportunity to smile sacarstic smile
At what point could I confidently call God my home?
Okay…let me rephrase
I call God home but how much do I mean it?
Why should God be my home?
What do I mean by God being my home?
Am I being realistic?
God is my home because….. of many things.
Our experience together has made it more clear to me. The realization that no-one and nowhere could hold the amount of safe zone for vulnerability I have with God.
Vulnerability means a lot to me and I have learnt that even with people you love and that love you, there is an amount of vulnerability they can bear.
It sometimes takes a long process to be in a certain level of vulnerability.
(Unless, this is just specifically for me)
The vulnerability I have exposed to God is very raw and knowing that after every session, I can feel comfort, kindness and tenderness makes my relationship with God home.
There are many things which I won’t bother sharing but at this point, I’d encourage that you define home and I pray you find it.
Heaven
This is home after death.
I long for heaven. I wonder how amazed I’ll be.
I hope to see many people I never met but knew through paper and those I met and loved but that went before me.
I hope to be in heaven, the perfect home.
I hope to be in heaven, a place where music never ends.
I hope to be in heaven when God’s presence is permanent.
Until heaven comes, I pray to make a home and be a home…..
And I also hope to go back home to the people I left for this long………
Hebrews 13:14 For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. (THE LIVING BIBLE)
Prayer
LORD, thank you for today. Help me to understand what home is. Help me to live with the consciousness of heaven. Help me to be the right home to those on earth. Help me to find home in the right place. Help me to realize you are home. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
Conclusion
Home is many things to me……
One thing any home should have is abundant love and affection.
If you have kids around you that are either yours or others, make sure to give them enough warm hugs. Leave a mark of affection in their minds.
If you do not have a place to call home, I pray you find one.
Today, I really longed for my earthly home, then to home I want to make, then to the clouds and…..to heaven.
Today was filled with thoughts of home.
Your comments are welcomed. Kindly share to others as well.
Based on my love for these items and the other many things I love, I would ask you some questions.
Do you think passion is enough?
Do you have opportunities for your passion?
If you have opportunity, what do you do with it?
If you have resources, what do you do with it?
If you have support, what do you do with it?
Do you think if you have all of these mentioned above, you will suceed?
Why?
Most times we complain we do not have opportunities, resources, and support and thus we are unable to make progress.
I also complain sometimes
But will these things make us succeed?
We have to define success first
What is success to you?
Success to me is
Fulfilling God’s plan and purpose.
I have thought of it several times
That is what success is to me. Taking steps that lead me into God’s will for my life.
As I take these steps daily, I feel more successful and the days I get wearied or discouraged or lazy, I feel like I wasted time.
Proverbs 16:3,9
a]Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],
And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance]. A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life],
But the Lord directs his steps and establishes them.
Amplified Translation
Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s mind,
But it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).
Amplified Translation
As a Christian, my definition of success is dependent on God’s interpretation of my activities. It is on this leverage, I feel peaceful with my achievements.
Truthfully, sometimes what I do not perceive as success is success to God.
Different and better lenses
Take Home
1Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].
Amplified Translation
Consistency is key.
Even when you do not seem to see any fruits. God is causing growth behind the scenes.
I believe that 😊
My love for these items and the other things I love have been consistent because the meaning of their presence to me has not changed over the years.
I love many things.
Some reasons I shared today
Do you want to answer some of the questions I asked?
Don’t be shy, I would love to see your responses in the comment section.
I have been ticking off old posts but today, a new one appeared called today’s topic.
I wonder how you did feel? How you feel when you can let the air you hold within out.
Therapy…..
Some days it is music🎶
Some days it is singing 🎤
Some days it is writing fiction 📝
Some days it is writing poetry✏
Some days it is just writing📠
Some days it is reading📖
Some days it is watching cat videos🐈
Some days it is laughing (even though it turns around to sting)😂
Some days it is cooking something too new🍽 or eating (depends on brain directives)
Some days it is painting abstract (or maybe call it rubbish)🎨
Some days it is dancing💃
Some days it is crying😭
Some days it is talking to a loved one or some one I like ( usually rare but mostly mama does the trick❤)🗣
Some days it is auto talking🤖
Some days it is walking🚶
Some days it is fresh air (just say nature)🌫
Some days it is the fruit/vegetable man who add extra fruits ( I am a regular/everyday customer)🍎🍌🍊🍋
Some days it is swatting flies (no emoji (like…🙄🙄))
Sometimes it is praying (actually most times. Only that I may run away because I want to dwell on the mood, on the low mood🙃) 🙏
Sometimes, I use all……🕊
Therapy can be anything.
Comfort in unlikely places
Comfort can sometimes be found in unlikely places. O. R. A
Sometimes you feel better, sometimes you don’t In every moment I pratice counting my blessings.
They keep me in gratitude.
God sends people (cute and kind ones) even the most unlikely to bring comfort (very soothing)
My mother would say: “Onyiyechi what are you thinking of? You don’t have children and you are thinking and thinking. Take it easy” 😂😂😂😂
This would be in response to my response which would have been I was thinking. That was when I was a pre teen or teen…..(wot-eva)
N.B Thinking in the theme is not thinking like a human/ or a normal pattern of thinking like a rational human. It was thinking like a person who who was going to transport the eatrth to another galaxy (I wonder if that made sense. Wot-eva again)
It is steps…..it takes it time but that does not mean it should stop. Time still has time before it stops……
A therapist is a good idea especially if you have not gone mad already. Better late than never.
N.B listening to Hollyn : Isaac ( Try listening to Horizon too by the same singer. So beautiful songs and voice😚. I told ya). On repeat like xjdjoeeivs times…
Something new🙂
There is a poll at the end of today’s post. Pick your favourites.
I am doing more experiments….😆😁
I hope you felt sunshine today, if not outside,inside. If outside, I hope you felt it inside too…..
If I repeat this word N…..gia, it would sound too weird. Seeing I have used it too frequently in previous posts….
I wrote a post some months ago titled Rejection, I was as honest as I could be on that topic but you know, No is hard to be heard and sometimes also hard to say….
Maybe I will give spontaneous characters the opportunity to tell their story.
N.B The characters just knocked on the door of my mind that they wanted to feature in today’s blog post, so here they come 🤖
Christie was tired of saying yes to almost everyone but herself. Anytime she shaped her lips and mouth to say no, it would turn to yes. Like for example, the other day Vivian (with her annoying rag hair🙄) came to borrow her hair dryer.
“Chris, I would like to use your hair dryer” in her fake American accent
“But….I am going to… “
“Eyah na……My hair is dripping wet” Vivian complained
Dry it with a towel! Christie shouted inwardly
And stop calling me Chris…..its Christie🙄
“Please……” Vivian continued as she made a pleading face
“Okay….but…I would like….”
“Oh..thank you very much. I will bring it back in few minutes” Vivian repiled without waiting for the complete statement
Christie sighed, she knew that getting her hair dryer would be a tug of war but as usual she could not say no. Her hair was wrapped in a towel, she had washed her hair an hour ago and was even holding the dryer in her hand before the girl she preferred to call V V collected it.
It was not only Vivian but other people like Matt, Chest Nut (she meant Charity), Nonso, Pat the hat hand 🙄 and all the people she could think of. She always inconvienienced her self, borrowed them money and did all sorts of crazy stuffs because the word No could not form on her lips.
She was used to hearing these compliments:
“You are such a nice person” (whatever)
“You share my mother’s name” (liar)
“You are just like my mother” (bigger liar, she would have spanked you by now). That was Chest Nut after she had refused to give the money she had borrowed after three good months. Instead she was eating spicy chicken legs everyday😒
The painful part was that she struggled with all the thoughts inwardly but did not have the courge to say them out. In sincerity, she liked the attention and the compliments. At least everyone knew her as a nice girl (or stupid sometimes). So she continued to give in, even when she knew she ws supposed to say no.
Five days had passed since Vivian borrowed the hair dryer and Christie bumped into Tochi, the new girl in their student flat with it in her hand, oil all over, coconut oil. The girl did not even apologize…
“Excuse please, who gave you this dryer?”
“The owner lent me” Tochi replied sharply
“Is it Vivian?”
“Yes”
“Please, give it to me. It is mine” Christie said as clamly as she could. The girl was already annoying her
“I am sorry but I paid her to use it” Tochi replied as she continued doing what she was doing with her hair
What? Pay?
She was not supposed to be surprised. This was not the first time Vivian had done this. The last time she had used her (Christie) toaster to sell sandwiches and she even bought it.
This was the end…she was not accepting such again…..
“Vivian!”
“Hey babe, chill. What is it?” Vivian asked calmly without removing her eyes from her laptop. She was watching something funny, and she laughed in between while munching some chin-chin
“My hair dryer”
“Oh…I am sorry. I will bring it later”
“No! I want it now”
“Why?”
“I said I want it now and if anything is wrong with it you will pay me” her voice was rising
“Chill abeg. Common hair dryer” Vivian said as he wore her slippers
“Eh..it is common. Dont come and borrow it again”
“Take abeg…..small thing you vex” Vivian said as she handed the equipment back, oily and all.
Without saying more words, Christie left the room and returned to hers …
Her new plan was to start saying No……
No to nonsense and nonsesity (if it is a word🙄)
🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒
“Today, I plan to jump 20 times. Run for Two hours. Skip for 1 hour then do press up for 30 minutes”
30 minutes later Sarah was sleeping on the paper she was writing on.
She had done some many lists. Started so many diet plans but ice cream was hard to ignore. Okay if not ice cream, donuts, pizza, barbecue, burger….just the mention of them made her stomach rumble like royal rumble. Moreover who was she losing weight for. Nobody noticed her.
🍔🍟🍕🍦🍩🍰🍪🍗🍖🍡🍢🍫🍧🍥🍭🍬
“Let us go out this night. There will be plenty of everything” Cynthia squirmed in delight
“Are you serious?” Mary asked with interest
“Ehen. See I even managed the gathering, it will be a bomb! You girls must not miss it especially you Jessica” Cynthia said rolling her eyes
“Ahaha. Why are you rolling your eyes at me?”
“Why won’t I? You ready know”
“See ….I am very tired today. I need to rest, I cannot come and stress myself again. Moreover it is a late event and you know how I feel about them” Jessica tried to explain
“I hear you. Even the day ones, do you go? Always avoiding people” Cynthia complianed
“Cynthia I like you but our styles are different. If you dont like me, it is okay but dont try to force your style on me. I am not going, period. Did we not go to the beach yesterday? So dont try to blackmail me, I have things to do” she replied as she arranged her bed
“I hear you, her royal Majesty. I am going, I also have things to do”
“Bye bye. Stay safe oh. Doing as if you have several copies of your life, I have only one”
Mary mused as she watched them. Jessica always stood firm by her words and Cynthia was still finding it hard to accept. She would have loved to attend the event but just like Jessica had said, it was too late and not very safe. The town was not safe.
👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧👧
My Turn 😏
I went to buy 7up, the one with extra fizzles (I wonder if it is English😂😂) so that after shaking it, it would pop and make me feel excited 😂😂
I have been looking for options to reboot myself, the nostalgia I am experiencing is making me sluggish….🤒🤒
I have been finding it hard to say no to myself for some days now. It is all about discipline😒. So many things/stuffs to do but instead I find better comfort with my phone and scrolling through Instagram pictures and laughing at YouTube cat videos, and YouTube comedies.
A simple Kitty
My belly fat has been warning me, and I have had to re-tell myself no to avoid more belly fat catastrophy😏😒
See…..I need to tell myself no….so I can write….to write….to write…..then afterwards tell myself no…..to timidity….
PickaNo
I am not always confident of my works. I appreciate and love them 100% but I still they are not very adequate some of the times. I still feel like…….I am an alien living on Mars👽
N.B I use the word ‘Alien’ alot but I am not a fan of aliens or alien stuffs, cartoons..blah blah blah……
Alien No😂😂
I used to find it hard to say no and sometimes I still do but as I have grown older, I have realized that saying No is therapeutical and important. There are very important times to use that word, and you better use it.
Sometimes, we fear to be labelled as the bad person, and so allow all sort of toxic things and attitude around us, when a simple no would have avoided it.
A simple No
I also realized that saying no does not make you the bad person for reasons that will protect you. Saying no for things you do not allow and accept according to your principles will help others see that you are firm on your words. At the end of the day, they let you be.
For a while now, I have been recieving a lot of Nos from humans and even from computers. I have had to deal with it because that is their no…..
Has it affected me?
Yes, of course. It has made me rethink several times and ponder……and …….akdfullkkznkmlL
To be able to say no in a way that does not hurt people too much (you may not be able to avoid it), you have to have a meaningful reason. It should not be because you are having silly fun or practicing how to use your mouth, there should be a candid reason.
You should have atleast had a mini-thought on it and imagine what the effect afterwards would be like. What I am saying here is that, you should have at least looked at both sides, yours and the other’s before letting the word out. The word No can really hurt especially when used carelessly
Chiki😂😂
Importantly: after reviewing your reasons, don’t feel too guilty about using the word no. Maybe some guilt may follow especially if the other person has some attachment to you but if your decision to use that word is very relevant and important and healthy, then don’t allow guilt get you. Do not allow the other party blackmail you into feeling guilty for doing the proper thing because you will still feel guilty if you do not use it (No).
Which guilt will be better?
Moreover, anyone who would blackmail you into doing what does not make you feel comfortable is someone you should tell No more often…
Don’t you dare cook me!!
Let me ask you a simple question: Have you read any of my books?
Have you even checked the review where I put the review of my works?
Have you even shared any blog post before?
Like never ever?
If your answer is this:
Then……..
Okay….that hurts…..
Do kindly check my page on this blog to see my books. You can scroll down to the end of this post to still see them. Or click on the Menu button on the top of this post to see them or Books section for a quicker access.
Let me add
As a Christian, I find God telling me No several times, and even though it is hard for me, I find strenght and comfort in the times I feel most out of space. Even in the No times, I have learnt to continue drawing to God more. The NO has allowed me the opportunity to see how important Faith is to me…
Deeperlook 