I love sleeping :-) I unashamedly write it down as one of my hobbies till this day! My family and close friends will attest to this fact as well. They may also regal you with tales of how difficult it is to pull me away from this great love of mine, i.e. wake me up.


I had a feeling when I was younger that my siblings used to pull straws for who will have the privilege (read: unsavoury experience) of trying to wake me up. My all time trick then was to tell whoever was sent to wake me that I was up but wanted to pray first and then I’ll kneel down and start praying and then sleep off again (hides head in shame)!! And then, if my sibling accuses me of sleeping rather than praying, I will insist that I was still praying and ask them to prove it.... and that argument could continue for a long while!

I also remember another sleeping episode in boarding schools when burglars came into the house (I think it was purple house) which was next to mine, and everybody in my house woke up and ran out of the dormitory screaming in case they decided to come to my house as well, and I slept right through loads of girls’ screaming and the robbery. The girls in my room returned to find me still sleeping...

I do feel that I have gotten a lot better with the waking up bit in recent years. Though, some friends may say otherwise but I’m able most days to get up in time to catch the bus for work with the aid of two to three alarm clocks without any of the said clocks coming to any harm.

But the boot got firmly fitted on the other leg last weekend when I went to Alton towers with a friend of mine, Buchi. I had previously stayed at hers for a couple of weeks when I newly moved to Wales but she was still at Uni then so didn’t need to get up early while I was working and had to set two to three alarms to get up in time to catch my bus. So I had no clue that she was a sleepaholic like me!

So fast forward to last weekend, and we are in an unfamiliar town and need to go catch a bus to take us to Alton towers and Buchi refuses to stand up from bed.

I try everything,

Calling her phone so she thinks she has a call and wakes to answer it, she doesn’t budge..

Putting on all the lights in the hotel room, nothing..

Repeatedly calling, pleading, cajoling, threatening... she doesn’t even stir and only mutters that she’s on holiday and I should stop disturbing her...

In that one moment, I had my epiphany and suddenly realised that this is what my family and friends have gone through with me in trying to get me to wake up early for school, church, social events, fellowship... I had to stop my ‘getting Buchi to wake up’ efforts for a minute or five to quickly mutter an apology to all the people who had every tried to wake me up in the distant past and I will say it again,

To everyone who tried one way or the other, using various techniques to get me up from bed, I say that I understand your frustrations and I will like to say sorry for the grief I caused :-)!!

As for the Alton Towers visit, Buchi finally got up and although we did miss our bus, we finally got to Alton Towers and had a lovely time!!

Apologies for the time away, you who occasionally pass by... I never intended to be away for this long, it just kind of happened- kept on meaning to write something and kept pushing it back or in some instances, coming up with nothing worth writing about.. 


I came to the point where I wasn't sure if writing a blog was for me and I wanted to spend time and review why I blog- my blog started as an outlet for my poetry and then drifted off into a place where I share my experiences and thoughts. I still have loads of experiences and thoughts to share so I guess I'll still be here for the time being :-) 

A lot has happened since I was away- the London Olympics- went to see the women's football match between Great Britain and Cameroon, and even got interviewed by BBC World service cause my friends and I were the only Cameroun supporters; I got a lot of flack on Facebook for carrying a Cameroonian flag but like I said to the flack-dishing folks, I'm African, get over it!! 





The by-product of the Olympics is my resolve to get into playing some form of sports, I occasionally play table tennis at work but I was looking for something more cardio-intensive; I had previously tried both tennis and squash and that didn't go too well, so on Friday evenings I now play badminton with a bunch of people :-) Its good exercise and also a fun way to meet new people!! 

What else has happened? mon cours de français est terminé et j'ai passé mon examen! I am doing my best to practice regularly but a lot of times I forget. I am trying to do the exercises in www.languagesonline.org.uk. It’s really quite helpful and has other languages like Spanish and Italian, incase anyone is interested in learning a language.. I am thinking of retaking the same French class next year to help solidify my knowledge of French verbs, as well as present and past tense! 

I will do my best to update my blog regularly from now, but no promises ...


xxxx

This morning was one of those mornings.....

The one where the bus passes as you are just on your way back...

The one where you decide to wait for the next bus due in 10 minutes...

The one where the bus does not show up...

Zumba, for the unaware, is a high energy dance workout that includes Latin style dance routines in the workout. The end result is that you have fun- which most exercise classes do not include- and you get fit in the process.

I started searching for Zumba classes in my area and found three different classes and decided to go for all three to find out which class best suited me and herein lies the gist of this post..

My first class went really well save for two things: My dance instructor was male and although he danced in tune with the music and we all worked up a sweat, I couldn’t concentrate! For one, I couldn’t help staring at the dude and wondering if a guy was allowed to grind his waist and hips in that manner and two, I kept on wondering if getting all the ladies to butterfly (we used to call it shuperu in secondary school) while lying down was more for his benefit than ours cause I’m still not sure what muscle groups we were working on dancing in that position.

My second dance class, the week after that was at a community centre. The good thing about it was that it was a lot cheaper than the second one and I was hoping that the cheaper price didn’t mean that the dance instructor would be rubbish at dancing. So I arrived at the dance class, not sure what to expect, but hoping for the best. For one thing, the class was a lot larger than the first one I attended- it was in a really large room and was packed full- they even had ticket collectors at the door incase someone tried to sneak in without paying.. I paid for my ticket, showed my ticket and found a spot near the back. The instructor was a bit late so people just milled around and waited..

And then the instructor walked in, or should I say glided in. I looked around and noticed that everyone was staring too- the lady looked like she just popped out of a movie- and not just any movie oh, one of those films where they'll have street parties, and her father would forbid her to go, for fear she would meet her lover, Eduardo, a poor dancer but she would defy her father's commands and go and meet Eduardo and they'll dance away in the moonlight!!

Where was I?

The Zumba class was really quite good- we all danced the best we could, she would show us the dance step and we would try to copy- each with their own interpretation of the dance. I left the class, at the end, fully spent but glad to be one of the back up dancers in my dance instructor's movie....

I attended the last Zumba class because I had intended to attend all three but I had already resolved to continue with the class at the community centre. The last and final class was also at a community centre but a much larger one, and this time, I went with a friend. The normal dance teacher wasn't available so the community centre staff were trying to find a replacement and they eventually did. Now, we should have suspected something when the replacement instructor came in and four girls left at once- we just thought maybe they went to get a drink or something.

And then the music started and then we discovered why- the instructor couldn't dance AT ALL!!! Not in tune with music or in tune with anything- all she did was shout and then move her body and jump up and down! There was nothing Latin inspired about any of the steps she demonstrated and if you didn't dance or jump as high as she did, she would come to your side and start shouting!!! I did work up a sweat but also gained a headache as well!!

So I'm returning to my little community centre this week to continue my back up dance role!!!

Now, I didn't notice anything was amiss when I got back home from work. I dropped my back and began making my supper, as I was cutting some cucumber, one fly just breezed by my face, as if to say hello. I promptly dealt with it, but still didn't notice anything. And then I spotted another one, and then another one and then several more!! I shut both windows and then chased and swatted and chased and swatted some more until the coast was clear... I detest flies with a passion so when I thought the coast was clear; I started cleaning my place using every anti-bacterial cleaner I could find.

The annoying thing, and this is what I want to draw attention to, was that anytime I sat down or tried to get back into whatever I was doing at the time, I spotted another one (I even saw a couple this morning). The end result was that I was very frustrated by the time I dragged myself to bed...

Isn't sin like that though? We leave ourselves unguarded by either not praying as we should or not praying at all or spending very little time in God's Word. This leaves us open and vulnerable to little flies (habits, deliberate sins) and the like. We then struggle to get rid of these things using our own strengths and abilities and then wonder why we fail each time.. When we finally reach our lowest ebb- the point where we feel we can't take it anymore- we then remember to seek God's face again and He shows us those areas that we need to work on and lovingly helps us begin the work we have to do.

This is what I thought about after the War of the flies was won and just wanted to share.. I'll probably by some bug spray on my way back from work, just incase a remnant still remains!! As I was looking for a picture to use, I saw that someone had written about chasing flies and God using it to speak to him as well!!

God Bless xxx

But a lot of times, I like to pretend that I am, that I know it all, have all the answers and can solve every problem that comes my way!!

I'm moving out of my flat at the end of this month and I'm excited!!

I got up by 6am this morning, NOPE, I didn't say I woke up to turn off my alarm and go back to bed [usually the norm]; I actually woke up just before my alarm started ringing, got out of bed to turn off my alarm, got back into bed and then got out again!!

Said my prayers, Had my bath, got ready for work, had breakfast..........

I left my house to catch the bus for work by 7.50am and got into work by 8.48 am!!


And guess what? It didn't kill me :) I shall, with God's help, attempt it again tomorrow!!

It's official..................I'm baby crazy................

Thank you Lord for helping me be the bigger person!!

It could have gone one or two ways..............

OK, so now I'm on a roll...more like, I'm a bit more determined to write :)

Its strange to hang in a balance.......to be in transition, to go through changes and uncertainties.. Everyone loves when their lives are in order.they know what next they plan to do....and are not in any doubt about the next stage that is to come.....

I like any other normal, sane human being loves and relishes these perfect moments in life; when everything is going according to plan - when communication is as it should be, your project plan lists all the tasks you have to carry out for the next year or so, and more importantly, you know what's next in store for you....so you're not scared, afraid or apprehensive about the coming week and issues like, where would you live? where would you be? where is next month's maintenance money going to come from?

My friends say that I worry a lot... and from the above, I tend to see their side of the argument.....The truth is I love it when my life is smooth, and there are no rough patches on the road... But because we live on earth and are human, there would always be certain patches on the road that would come to challenge us and ask us, who we are? and where we come from? The skill in successfully scaling these rough times is not trying to do it ourselves but depending on God... The one set of footprints story readily comes to mind and as I write this, I am encouraged that although I go through difficult times and even if it seems as if I am all alone. God is with me and HE is IN me. He is lifting me up over the rough patch I'm going through and the ONE who knows the end from the beginning would PERFECT all that concerns me......

One more thing before I go to bed........I am becoming more and more like Christ every day and as such, worry is FAR AWAY from me... I do not Fear, I am not afraid of what tomorrow may bring but rather I say, BRING IT ON! God and I can handle it!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey! I felt it was time to give a somewhat brief introduction of me, so here goes:
THIS IS ME:

• Avid novel reader
• Lover of rap music
• Terrific cook (most of the time)
• Can be quite timid
• Spends a lot of time thinking
• Dances
• A little shy
• Likes to lend a helping hand
• Tends to overreact
• Can get angry
• Tends to fantasize
• A bit self conscious
• A bit insecure
• Tends to day dream
• Likes things to go her way

AND YET THIS IS ME:

• Cleansed by HIS blood
• Child of the Most High God
• Saved
• Set free
• Loved by God
• Patient, Gentle, Kind
• Slow to get angry
• Self- controlled
• Renewed daily by the Word of God
• Dead to flesh
• Rescued from slavery and bondage to sin
• Avid reader of the Bible
• Crucified with Christ
• Not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
• In love with God
• A friend of God
• Disciplined
• Ambassador of Christ
• Sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit
• Holy
• Righteous
• God's Own

So there you have it..............ME in a nutshell, who I am, who I'm becoming and what I have become by reason of Christ's love

What do you do when you purchase a product, say a car for instance, because you've looked at it and it seems to meet all your specifications; you bring it home and begin to enjoy the product and then some months pass and you find out that it really isn't the right specification? it may have claimed to have certain features and you realise, to your utter dismay that those features are not there... or you discover that the product reacts in certain ways to high voltage or the packaging is not what you thought you could handle?

Do you resign yourself to the product you have purchased? or do you trade it in for a better model?

Do you attempt to reshape and reconstruct the model by lovingly trying to restore it to what you think it should be? or do you with cruel jabs harshly try to get the product into shape?

Sometimes we never realise that all we have to do is read the manual! The product was manufactured in a certain way and you need to know the details of the product and why it functions the way it does. you also need to know which buttons to press to activate the different features of the product.

Other times, it may be that the car has been used before and it got a worse deal from its previous owner so it responds in certain ways because its been down a certain path before and in some ways, has some preconceived notions of how it is expected to behave at certain points in time................................ It may therefore need loving restoration and the owner has to bear in mind that the car has a good engine under its hood but if you don't fine tune it, you may never know!

What am I trying to say? Don't discard your product or change it in for a better model until you are completely certain that you and the product do not match!

I adjure you not to stir up love until it pleases. .............

But when would true love please?
When would true sensations be released?
When would the hidden depths appear?
When would the yearnings be put at ease?

I do not long for things material
-Flowers, chocolate and jewellery are all lovely
Yet I yearn for communication and a union
Not of body but of minds
Of words, thoughts and laughter
Of feelings of pain, joy and uncertainty
A joining together of ideas and beliefs

I speak of a fusion of lives
Two becoming one

I long for genuine fellowship
Deep calling to deep

So how much time will it take?
How long must I wait?
What will it take?

Therefore I sit and wait
As I was warned, not to awaken love until it pleases!

I stayed awake for quite some time before I was finally able to drift off to sleep. This is usually the norm for me but this time around my thoughts were fixated on my phone's battery charger.

My phone was plugged in to recharge the battery and the charger has this light that shows the level of the battery, it starts from red when the battery is completely empty and then slowly changes to green when the battery starts to get full. At the point when I started observing the charger it was flickering from red to green and it reminded me of a christian's life!

When we give our lives to God, we are plugged into Him and we now live through HIM. As long as we remain plugged in Him, the old self with all its habits and sins and way of thinking dies daily and we are able to grow and mature and become more and more like Christ! We have to make the conscious effort to remain plugged into our source because the things that surround us, the cares of the world, our thoughts and sometimes our friends try to convince us to move away from our source before we are 'fully charged'

So my Word for today is let us all try and stay connected to our source with the help of the Holy Spirit..Study and meditate on the Word..... and keep our eyes stayed on the Source of ALL things!!!

'And all of us have had the veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like HIM and reflect His glory even more' II Corinthians 3:18