**Get into your car between 11pm and 4am,wind down the windows, drive slow, get Frou Frou, The Calling, James Morrison or whoever you're 'feeling' on the stereo and let everything you see become your muse.
Everyday we make decisions; some good, some bad. Some days we get almost everything right, other days we get it all wrong. But like the street lights in the rearview mirror, the moment has passed and the deed is done. So the best thing to do is look ahead through the windshield because we'll see more streetlights on an even bigger road.
Everyday, we make mistakes but the starless skies are like our tomorrows, the starless skies are like our fresh starts, the starless skies are like the new mercies of God every morning. If you get it right the second time, celebrate. If you don't get it right, still celebrate. The fact that you know you didn't get it right is the first step to getting it right.
A late night drive like reality may not always be happiness, inspiration and bright lights, once in a while, you'll have to park by the road, wind up (for security) and cry your heart out. But when you're done, wind those windows back down so the fresh air can blow away your hurt as you continue on your journey.
If you've never done this before i beg you to try it some night. Feel the magic. Experience the beauty. Stop for a moment and take it all in.
The road, street signs and streetlights may be man-made but they were inspired by God and a starless sky is one of the most refreshing things to gaze at. The beauty you see may look the same every night but it feels different every single night.
Thank God for sight, thank God for beauty and above all, thank God for a sound mind.
Yup, we can see this! Yup, she and the picture are beautiful. But no, Wandoo's mind isn't always sound! Lmho *snort*
I love how all the constellations are named after Greek heroes
It reminds me that even the immortals, they have vices too
I love around 5am when all the lights dim
After the sexy ones have become middle aged in their 12 hour lifespans
When the glitter fades and rests more like sad stars than gold leaf
I love naked, white sheets, how they work like paint thinner to remove last nights fresco
How they dry you off after soaking in a tub of room temperature lovers
I love the cab rides you take back into yourself
Away from the still beautiful people who are all elsewhere
Doing impossibly beautiful things
When you arrive home, you will greet the mirror like a criminal in a line up
With premeditated sins, armed with brass knuckles and all the good intentions
Buried far beneath the rap sheet
I planned to be a sinner tonight
Could have been something else
But looked way too good in my red dress to be anything Christian
I was talking to 3 different men in 5 different languages
I was twisting a blunt straw into page 47 of the kama sutra
I was dancing in an attempt to melt the belts off every man in the room
But I heard the truth that night!
A Turk, speaking Spanish, didn't know me from Adam said
"Tú creas en Dios pero tu haces malas cosas”
'You believe in God, but you do bad things'
Suddenly, I realized I was in a place where all they play is house music
But can’t say I really felt at home
In a barely audible, barely recognizable zone
Between having a good time and simply wasting it
I was a glutton with a grin, drinking warm gin, knowing no one’s name
but somehow I was everyone’s friend
I was standing in stilettos that made me six feet tall
but still felt small
I was messing up the shoes I paid too much for and still hurt to walk in
Talk about conviction!
Truth is, nobody believes me when I say I’m a virgin
Truth is, the bible didn't see the inside of my face for a week while i was on vacation
Truth is, I’m not innocent
I’m just an abstinent fireplace that doesn’t wanna feel the fire kindles between her legs anymore
So don’t mind the ashes, they’re just evidence of how brightly I can glow
And I wanna glow hard, like one dim star
On an otherwise starless night
That shines just to prove its fidelity
I know what you must think of me,
“What hypocrisy!”
But I don’t wanna enter prayer reeking of my addiction, stinking of cologne
I don’t want God to smell another man on me
Mistaking ménage à trois for the Trinity
So thank God the stars don’t judge us for what we do beneath them
Thank God the stars don't see the evil we commit under their names
Thank God for the silence, for the dimness, for nights spent alone,
Thank God for friends who know more than just your bra strap
And thank God for cab rides home
'Cause tonight, I'm gonna strip the spotlight
Tonight, I'm gonna turn off Frank Ocean
Tonight, I'm gonna take off the stilettos
I'm gonna take off the tourquoise rings
I'm gonna take off the lip gloss
And i'm gonna sleep naked
Not trying to be sexy just trying to be me, a girl
With a shaved head and with eyes deep enough to stand in
With convictions strong enough to stand on
I'm finding the mercy of God right where i'm standing and
It's binding, it's blinding, it's forgiveness
But most of all,
It's mine!
So tonight, I'm gonna sit out on the fire escape and
I'm gonna sit there eating an apple and
I'm gonna nickname the view "Eden" and
I'm gonna look up at those tragic stars
With their pagan hearts full of mourning and i'm gonna say
"What a fall? But what light, what impossible light?"
*Cab rides and the morning after by Alysa Harris.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity... Psalm 32 :1-2a
Here is a video of her performance and the link ( http://youtu.be/JQHdECyAKIk ) if you can't see it on your phone. Stay blessed!
How una dey? Hmmmm... that's how i decided to meet and spend a couple of days with Gbemisoke in Houston o, turns out i've been on a dulling p all this while. As soon as i got there, babe didn't even let me get into the house, she asked me to follow her to go get us ogi and akara for breakfast. I was like "Ehn? Ogi and akara ke?" I kukuma flew into the car with my kpakrikpa to see for myself.
The name of the store 'Onola Imports African Foods' didn't really trip me, these are what got me rolling with laughter and joy
No comment
Do you see the mortar? lmho!
There was "salad cream", ribena, cheese balls, custard and stuff you only find in naija. You should have seen me running around, touching things and smiling like a bush girl. I was sooo happy. We were a little too late for the akara so we just went home and made breakfast but the fact that i was in a place where naija goodies were accessible kept me excited.
Next, we took the kids to IKEA for a radio disney abi na disney radio show, how we ended up eatinglickingchopping consuming frozen yogurt in the rain is a hilarious tale for another day.
On Sunday, we went to Redeemed for service. Aondo wam man terlem e! Chai! Women were in iro and buba, others had on onigogoro that were reaching for the skies and the ushers had on long skirts and those ridiculously wide hats you only see in (naija) churches. I was almost in tears mehn, i felt so at home and super excited. Like i said on twitter, Gbemi was the first Nigerian i had seen in 6 months and so was the number of black people at RCCG that day and i just couldn't stop smiling and staring.
Anyway, after service, an old friend took me out for naija lunch. I had one correct nkwobi like that ehn? Kai! To make matters better, he took us to an aboki's place for koda and kaza (kidney and chicken) to go and then dropped me off at Gbemi's. You should have seen her reaction what she saw the arrangee, lmho, all plans for dinner were cancelled. My guy woman commot ijebu garri and sugar sharp-sharp, it was the most hilarious thing
Forget the koda for a quick sec, do u see
the sewing machine? Ehen! It is not for
decoration, 'come an sow clot'
My baybeee... Biko, turn ya neck!
chop chop! See as she set mouth
My daughters' husbands *cough*
My latest stash from Gbemi :D
I had a blast mehn, the 4hr road-trip was totally worth it and though my arms still hurt, my heart is still smiling. Gbemi is an amazing woman of God and I absolutely love her (and her family). I have signed the papers and adopted myself into her family whether she likes it or yes cos this is one is a keeper. May the Lord bless and keep you babe, thank you so much for having me over
P.S
I had plans to move to Houston but i think i'll just make it my safe haven, a little home away from home where i can run to whenever i need to refresh my mind and soul. Did i mention we had pepperish fish pie, puff puff, fried yam with akara and plantain for breakfast the day i left? Dey there!
P.P.S
Dis naija chidren dat sombody whee born in yankee dat whee come an start teaching dia parents how to speak English ehn, hia!
My friend: ....... EnglAnd...
His son: It's not EnglAnd daddy, it's EnglEnd! Why do you say it like that?!
Me: *side eye*
****
Gbemi: Don't step into the wota!
Nathan: Woter? Woter? Wader rather!
Me: *side eye*
God bless you guys and have a great day everyone :*
I wrote this piece to be my after life post. I was going to leave it in my drafts, give my cousin my blogger password and have it posted after i passed on (that's if i died before her). But as i wrote, i wondered how many people needed to read this TODAY and it just didn't feel like one i should leave in my drafts 'till the right time' like the others.
Secondly, a couple of bloggers have disappeared and we don't know for sure if they just got tired of blogging or are dead so i beg you guys to let us know if you decide to stop blogging and/or write a letter from beyond and have someone publish it after you've passed. I know say una blood dey hot for dis dormot so you don't have to agree with me or do it o, i just think that people who think they are dying leave no holds barred and good or bad that's the kind of thing people who don't think they are dying need to read. This will still be my letter from beyond by the way, just wanted to share.
***
If you're reading this then it means i am dead. Yes, dead and gone like old Roger! Seriously though, I obviously don't know how i died but my sincere prayer is that i'm in heaven sitting beside my Daddy. See, you are still alive! Forget what the world will think of you and give your life to Christ. Life is too short to be messing around, trying to please people. If you're not sure that there is a God out there then i beg you to err on the right side, give your life anyway ('cause what do you have to lose afterall) and see for yourself why the gospel has survived after 2,000 years of persecution.
Forgive your family and friends, love them, with all your heart! Preach the gospel as if the world is ending tomorrow because it just might and above all, love God. Love God with emotions and actions so strong you can't describe, love God as if not loving Him will be the death of you, love God with every inch of your being, every breath, every move, every word, love God! Love Him, praise Him, give Him everything then sit back and watch Him work wonders.
Being a christian is not beans, don't expect a smooth ride 'just because' you've given your life to Christ. Only expect that no matter how hard it gets you will be blessed with peace so deep it will leave your jaw on the ground. The kind of peace that makes you smile from within and say "na God", that peace that populates heaven and depopulates hell. Psalm 37:25 Hebrews 13:5 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said "I will never leave you nor forsake you"
Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love;
Where injury, pardon;
Where doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy!
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life!
