Blessed to be a blessing

February 2013.

So today was just an ordinary day. The holidays are over, school started again but one of the true highlights of today was that I finally slept like a babyafter MONTHS ! I really needed that. Today's post won't be about my sleeping issues of the last couple of months tho'.

As I was wandering around in the city, I saw a man I have seen many times before, handing out brochures. Of course I knew what kind of brochures they were since I recognized him, they stated ''Jesus saves and He loves you''. I'm sure many people recognize him because he hands these papers out almost every week. And as I was walking towards him this sence of respect came to my mind, like it comes up every time I see him. He's standing there, in the cold, alone, but determined to spread the word of God even though many people aren't interested in what he has to hand out (aware of what the note contains or not).  So the peculiar thing here was, as I approached him to accept his brochure like I always do when I see him, he smiled at me and told me - he didn't ask me - that I was a christian. And I told him that I was indeed, where his reply was ''I can tell''. He didn't tell me that he figured it out because I always accept his notes, or that he was a mind reader or something, but that he could tell by my charisma.

After this encounter I was thinking about it and felt this sense of joy and privilege. This not because he basically told me I have a nice charisma, but by the fact that I always pray to God for Him to enwrap me with His love and presence in such a way that people will be able to see Him when they see me. And if He'll teach me His ways, this can be through my attitude towards some things, or to be there when people need my aid, to stand up for those who can't, to pray for and with the hopeless, to smile more often, to complain less and love more, basically to see life as a blessing. And as I was feeling this joy and privilege, again the thought came to mind: how I admire this man. I mean he's of age and I know for a fact that he knows that many people don't appreciate his old-fashioned way of evangelizing, but he does it anyway!

I for starters, have always felt this kind of awkwardness when it comes to spreading the word of God on the streets, while I'm pretty enthusiastic girl if I may say so myself. A friend of mine told me that it was the embarrassment and that as a child of God there should be no place for it. But I refused to accept that because I'm not afraid to tell anyone that I'm a christian and that Jesus is my Savior. I'm not ashamed to talk to my friends, relatives and classmates about what Jesus has done for all of us, but when it comes to strangers on the streets, I just have no clue what to tell them in such a way I can interest them and keep the conversation going. Then I faced the fact that I actually was embarrassed, because when it came down to strangers I'd rather keep quiet, just because it was more easy and less confronting.

But as I came to realise, it's not just enough to call myself a christian, to go to church every Sunday, to tell my friends and family all about Him and praying how I want to be more like Him if the main thing He did is what I'm most afraid of. Jesus told as many people as he could who He was, who His Father was and what He came to do. And when He resurrected He urged us to ''go in the world and spread the word of God''. I need to stop caring of what others will think or say of me and just start sharing the blessing I'm blessed with. I need to be more like that man in the city, spreading the word of God no matter what people say. I need to start trusting the Holy Spirit: He'll give me the right words to say and God will do the rest, I need to start believing that I can make a difference because God has set me apart for His mighty work. And last bot not least, I need to start my sentences with ''I can and I will'' because God is in my favour.

For all who feel insecure, awkward, ashamed sometimes, when God takes over in your life let Him take over completely, because when He does, all of those fears will disapear for confidence will rise when you act in His name! Consistency, determination, boldness and authority are a few out of many features you'll posses when You start depending on Jesus and will follow His footsteps.

Start being a blessing to others NOW! God will provide, He always has and He always will!

X's & O's!

That thing called love.

If ya'll are thinking : 'Hey didn't you just wrote a love post?' My response will be: 'Yes, another love post, like it or love it!'

Why do we push away love?

The word love and the act of it in itself is so underrated. Everyone wants to feel loved at least once in a while, feel special and even thought about. Love makes people happy, it puts a smile on grim faces, gives butterflies, makes hearts beat faster, it gives hope and confidence etc.

But how come when people say ''I love you'' lately the magic is gone, or it's said out of habit? Or better yet, how come we don't tell our loved ones we love them more often? It's like the act of love gives us a certain vulnerabilaty we often don't appreciate, because it exposes us, makes us look weak, gives a free passage to rejection, hurt, dissapointments and anger. All kinds of emotions which ache to deal with and therefore we are willing to do anything to make us not feel them at all. But love is so much more than that. 

love  

/ləv/

Noun An intense feeling of deep affection

I know everybody defines love in his/her own perspective. This was the dictionaries' : An intense feeling of deep affection. Every word in this description can saperately be seen as an individual description of the word love. 

Intense: strong, extreme, ridiculously, madly, NEARLY limitless. 

Feeling: empathy, sensitivity, open heartedness, vulnerable.

Deep: lost in love, falling, sincere, in it for the long ride.

Affection: caring, attachment, hearty, genuine. 

Of course this doesn't describe love completely, because no matter how beautifully used words are, love can't fully be described by them, only by heart. Our heart is the measure of our profound inner feelings and our given inner feelings towards people and our heart wants to love, it wants to care, it wants to give affection. But our minds often limit it, out of fright, caution, shelter or whatsoever the reason is. But our minds can't satisfy our need of wanting to be loved and cared for, but in order to be loved we need to be willing to give love as well. And as stated above love is ridiculous, extreme, genuine, it will make us stumble, be vulnerable, open hearted, but it will give us sincereness, happiness, courage, strength, fierceness, wild rides, adventure, peace and patience. 

Don't build walls around your heart to provoke you from loving, it will only provoke you from eventually feeling anything all. Love is scary and painful sometimes, but it teaches us the matter of life, it gives us the oppertunity to grow, be independent, cautious, smart, wise and eventually be a better person. We need to love like kids again; hopeful, unconditional, warm, silly and fearless.

So to get back at what started this post in the first place: when you tell your family, friends, neighbors, boyfriends, girlfriends, husband and wives you love them, do this fearless, open heartedly, genuinely, because you might make their day/week/month/year/life, don't say it out of habit or custom, you might as well say nothing at all.

Everybody wants to be loved once in a while! 

 X's & O's!

In loving memory of a father and loved one.

Start being greatful now and not tomorrow, life is too short! This is one of my many motto's in life! 
The story of my dear friend touched me, we never really realise how difficult it is to lose someone until it
happens to us or someone close to us. That is when reality kicks in.. This is her reality.

It's so weird and wrong that a lot of the times when we have a moment of gratefulness, it's when something unfortunate happens either to us or to someone else in our environment. I taught myself to let it sink in everyday how fortunate and blessed I am, but this morning I was taken to a moment of gratefulness because of the loss of a loved one.

A dear friend of mine just lost her father. Wow, that is so much pain in one short sentence. Losing, in this situation, means that someone is out of reach: the term "too late" comes to mind. A million thoughts and emotions are taking over. "What can you do as a friend? How can you show your support? What do you say? What do you do?" and then there is even a natural moment of selfishness that raises the thought "What if it would happen to me?".

It takes you to a moment of intense appreciation of everything you have in life. The people, the ability to do everything you love to do and to even be thankful for the environment you are born in. To me personally, I direct all this thankfulness to God, because He is the one Who provided me with all this. And He is the one Who will continue blessing.

I am so sad for my dear friend. But I know that God is a very present help in time of need. He is our Refuge, our Hiding place, our Comforter and so much more. I pray that He watches over my friend and her family, and I know He will. He holds our hand and takes care of us even when we turn our backs. He provides peace and rest for our troubled souls. His love for us is unconditional; so big and so warm.


I think that happiness to me, is being truly grateful to God from the soul. This appreciation and positivity has helped me living a better me. I enjoy everything so much. You know the kind of enjoyment you see in movies. Like when they stare in nature, or look at the sunset and the background music is on point. My soul is happy, and this happiness will flow over in the rest that I am and do.

So again today I am thankful. I am thankful for life. For life itself, for the lives of my loved ones and for the life as a follower of Christ. And yes, I am so thankful for my dad.
And for the people that read this, please try to let every moment of your life sink in. It's a blessing! Don't let an unfortunate event be the reason for you to think about the things that you are blessed with. Start now, let it sink in and don't stop for a moment.

Written by Nina Akollo.

May God bless his soul! God is able to heal all wounds and restore all broken hearts. <3>

X's & O's ! 

I pinky promise this one.

Hey guys,

I know I have been extremely neglective lately concerning my blog..
But I am going to make it up to ya'll with new adventures, memories,
encouragements, inspirations, pictures, you name it, pinky promise.

Even though I love writing, blogging, capturing memories and all of
that, these couple of years have been so hectic that I have been procrastinating
writing more than anything else. Ironically I actually love to do this the most,
a part from reading of course, but we always make time for books. 

I accepted this new ''monthly post challenge'' my friend suggested, so
this way I'll post at least once a month, - instead of once every 3/4/5-
and I can scrap that from my ''to-do list''. Rather than an ''I'll post more
in 2013, promise'' challenge, where posting itself is a miracle. 

I have to give credits to my dear friend who triggered me again;
Eve Habarurema, and on top of that, she started blogging herself.
Ya'll should give her some love and keep up with her posts, I'm 
telling you she has an eye for these kinds of things. Till soooon!

www.oh-so-girly-stuff.blogspot.com !

X's & O's