Words, please come back

Sometimes there are seasons where there are lots of activities

And milestones to mark on the calendar

The days run so fast

Sunset comes and I ask, “Where did the day go?”

There are seasons where there are few words to write

I am barely catching my breath after all the events of the day

So many thoughts and planned written words

Yet those words escape me

In the midst of it all, I feel very blessed

Indeed, I am blessed

I thank God for His uncountable blessings

The experiences, good and bad are a learning curve

I wouldn't trade my life for another

Indeed, I am blessed 

3 ‘Randomities’ of the First Quarter of 2013

By the title above, I’m not in any way saying that I’ll bring you ‘Randomities’ for the second or third quarter or whatsoever. I couldn’t think of any better title, that's all.

Sad but not sad, sad: Earlier this week, I decided to keep up to date with my blog reading and read an update from Google that  Google Reader  was going to be discontinued in July. “Oooh Google Reader!” was my response. :-( But whatever, I decided to check out other free RSS readers and found, The Old Reader. It’s simple, less colourful compared to Google Reader but good. I’m currently in a looooong import queue. Are you in the queue too? Crazy mad rush!  

Blessed and very blessed: New job, new environment, new home (coming soon!), …everything is just new. Well, at least in my rose-coloured world. I cannot thank God enough for His mighty works and goodness.

Hair Secret that Works: I discovered a secret ritual for permed hair that prevents split ends and it’s working well. So I don’t always have to trim my hair at every retouch. My hairdresser is famous for her scissors; she loves trimming hair. Not sharing, not yet, you gotta ask to know. : -) 

My random thoughts. 

 Can I bow out now?

Thank you,
Lady Akofa.

Valentine = Red

Yes, this is late. I took the pictures late but I had the idea much earlier! So I’m dating it 14-Feb-2012 instead of 27-Feb-2012. Yes, I can do that, it's my blog!

In honour of Valentine’s Day, I decided to do an all RED photo shoot. I didn’t think I had enough red things to merit a photo shoot but I looked and found several items. So here we go:

Pleasures has become one of my favourites because some members of my family can’t stand the other perfumes I use except this one.


So they’ve ended up becoming my ever faithful suppliers. Gotta love them!

Red car lights.

Can you see my shadow? I look so tall!


Audio Bible

She who hears these words is blessed.

Red marker.

Mr. Red Scissors is here for all your stationery cutting needs!

Cherry coloured, smiley, brown purse. So cute!

Chocolate.

I didn’t really enjoy the chocolate, to be frank. But, don’t get carried away we’re supposed to be thinking and seeing red, right? Good!

Finally, Mr. Valentine is here!

But what’s inside?

Heart-shaped, lemon-scented shea butter cake lotion that melts on contact with the skin! I love, love, love this! A valentine gift from my sister and made sure to tell her how much I love this.


Happy RED day!
Lady Akofa.

Who? Me? Yes, you!

Hi, Hi, Hi! I’m taking part in a BIG BLOG BASH... lol! And just as people introduce themselves to one another at parties, I’m introducing myself to party goers who hop over to say, “Hello!”

Helloooooo! It's great to meet you! : -)


You asked: Who are you?
I’m Lady Akofa from and living in Ghana but haven’t necessarily exclusively lived all my life in Ghana. I’m a royal princess because I’m a daughter of my Papa God, the King of all Kings, in Christ Jesus. I’m one of 2 daughters and have worked in the communications industry for the last 5-6 years.

I’m so, soo crazy about mangoes and wish I could have them all year round. And I love almost anything with rich chocolate in it... ice cream, cake, muffins, all that stuff and... oreos. It doesn’t matter whether it’s dark, brown or white chocolate, I take delight in all of them! Besides food, I experiment with perfumes, so if you’re allergic to such fragrances be advised! You can read more about me here.

You asked: Why do you blog?
I write because love to write. I often share what God is teaching me in seasons of my life to encourage and inspire others, people just like me. Other times, you’ll find posts about random things and life in Ghana. While I’m camera shy, photography is a new hobby, so blogging it is.

Attempting the photo art and failing horribly... lol!

You might ask: By the way, where in the world is Ghana?
Check Google Maps and you’ll find it. And while you’re there, please note that Ghana and Guyana are miles apart. : -)

This was definitely a success and a hit!

You can join the blog bash by clicking the link below and it's free!

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa.

Lady Akofa’s ESSENTIALS FOR THE HOME

These are things I think homeowners or renters (is that a word?) need, but don’t always consider or think that these tools are needed until there is an emergency. In order of importance, not written. :-)

1. A plunger
2. A cobweb brush
3. A ladder
4. A fire extinguisher
5. A rake, if you have a yard or a garden
6. A screw driver and spanner set
7. Bolts and nuts
8. A sewing kit
9. A torchlight/ flash light
10. A first aid kit/box

Anything else?

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa.

Of Key holders and Love

There is a new trend in Ghana where couples give gifts to their guests at marriage ceremonies. They are often pens, a set of jewelry or necklace for ladies, can openers, book markers, a set of mini-towels, mugs and... key holders. Some of the gifts can be as glamourous as big hampers full of assorted goodies, if the couple is well-to-do or if one or both of the married couple are from rich families. It doesn't matter whether it's a customary, Muslim or Christian/ordinance marriage ceremony.

Often the couple's names and date of the ceremony are scribbled on the gift as a memorial. It's nice to receive these gifts but sometimes it gets redundant... needless to say, I have a several key holders and I'm looking for people to pass them to, haha!

Above: not a wedding gift...

A wedding gift... I turned it upside down so as not to reveal the names.

I think it was a birthday gift, but I don't remember, haha!

Cheers,
Lady Akofa.

All Things Blue

Hi there!

I got this idea from a lady photographer's blog in which she posts pictures of random things of the same colour from time to time. I was a bit bored and realised I hadn't taken photos in a while. The colour BLUE came to mind and the word 'randomities' as well, haha! Of course, Bethany's shots are better than mine. She is a professional, I'm just a beginner. :)

So here we are:

Yep, perfume box... I could care less what brand it is, as long as I love the fragrance.

My folded comforter... these days it gets cold, ahem.

A CD cover of a famous Ghanaian youth choir.

Wanna guess what was wrapped in this?

Dictionary... I'm always learning, you know?

Different shades of blue.

Earrings in a bracelet.

The good old vaseline.

Blue Magic Hair Pomade.

Grateful for blue things,
Lady Akofa. :)

***Note, I use British English on this blog, so color is colour here. :)

Hope whispers...

When the world says, “Give up,”
Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
~Author Unknown~

Caught in the Act but Free in the End!

I’m really, really fascinated by the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Sweet Grace! This is more or less my rendition of the story:

So this woman was caught in adultery.  I can imagine the commotion as  the person(s) who saw the act, the Pharisees and the teachers of the laws dragged Madam from the ‘crime scene’ through town to the temple courts. I can imagine the taunts and threats of death being yelled out as she was paraded through town. “Boo! Shame on you, woman!” People shouting at her in disgust.

BUT, it takes two to tango. Where was the man - her male accomplice? Why wasn’t he dragged through town to face the same punishment?

So the leaders brought her to the temple courts. What blessedness that Jesus Christ was there teaching at that same time!

“They made her stand before the group.” 3b- NIV

“They made her stand in the middle of the court…” AMPLIFIED

I can imagine Madam standing all alone before everyone – fearful, ashamed, remorseful, unkempt… after all she had just been dragged from bed! Eyes looking her in judgment. Busy tongues wagging. “Have you heard……. Eeeeiiiiieeee, this woman paa! How could she do such a thing!” Fingers snapping and fingers pointing at the culprit.

“So let’s ask Teacher Jesus. He should be able to justify that Madam should be stoned to death, just as the Law of Moses commands. As for this one, we caught her feeli, feeli. No... libilibi, no lavalava!”

BUT, they didn’t say, “We caught them!” They said, “We caught her!" Were there not two people involved in the ‘crime?’

“So what you say, Jesus?”

I can imagine the whispers and the noise gradually dying down as the gathering wait for the final judgment.

But Jesus has already stopped teaching. He too grows silent. He bents down to write on the ground. Was He making Madam’s anguish lengthier by making her stand there or what?

The people persisted with their question, after all Jesus claims to be the Chief Teacher of the Law. “Aaaaah, Jesus paaa! You mean to tell me that you don’t know what the punishment should be, eh? You say, you be Messiah. Talk now!”

Still… complete silence all around the temple. If pins had dropped, I’m sure you could have heard them.

“If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her,” John 8:7b; NIV.  And He continues to write on the ground.

One by one, they leave. Gray-haired Koo Hia drops his stone and leaves first. Another wrinkled old man limps away with his walking stick.  One of the priests adjusts his  tunic  and walks away. An old lady remembers her unexposed sin too; she steps aside in shame. Similarly, the younger ones begin to leave the temple courts until it is almost empty.

The ‘accused’ is still standing before Jesus, who is continues to write on the ground. He looks up and surveys the temple courts.

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” John 8:10

“No one, sir,” she said. John 8:11

“THEN NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU.” JESUS DECLARED. “GO NOW AND LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN.”

What liberating words!
A ‘dead gonna’ is now a free woman.
The accused, now justified by Jesus!
The death sentence turned around to a new and better life.

AND CATCH THIS: Because her male accomplice wasn’t brought before the temple courts along with her, he may have missed the true forgiveness and justification from Jesus.

God bless ya, 

Akofa.

Only in Ghana! MJ Wafer

So, so, so.... One of our lovely moms gave this to me in church last Sunday. She is always giving small gifts to people at Sunday services. I was so amused to see the label: Michael Jackson's initials and an image of him moonwalking. Hehehe! And yes, that's a made-in-Ghana product.

I have yet to eat it though.

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa.

Service is the call for all leaders; not squabbles!

Ah! Who am I that I should even stand before these big, big people, eh? I recently had a bit of epiphany and I just had to share to our African leaders, specifically these 3 groups of people: politicians, traditional chiefs and religious leaders, especially Christian leaders who should know better!

There is a deep sense of pride and power that potentially comes with “rising to the top.” There is a lot at stake, lots of people looking up to you as a leader and lots to be done. May God grant our leaders grace.

When leaders are blinded by long-drawn out disagreements, they seem to lose sight of the very character traits that got them to the “top,” --- humility, teachablity and accountability. They forget the inherent call of a leader is SERVICE.

Such blinded leaders hold on to their pride, unrealistic expectations and hurts in their squabbles. It’s a shame that some of our leaders have been so blinded by “self-rights” that they cannot serve the people they had promised/pledged to serve when they took up “post.” No wonder development, growth and success so often eludes us in Africa.

It’s time to pray for these leaders to uproot bitterness from their hearts and lives, to completely forgive and reconcile so that they can really focus on what really matters.

Jesus Christ refused to be entangled by the traps of the Pharisees and Sadducees because He wanted to accomplish His ONE GOAL: the salvation of people like me! Amen!

Praying for African leaders,
Lady Akofa.

A Season of Change

Hello Blog readers,

How are you?

I'm afraid this is going to be a looooong post and it would be inappropriate to do a part 1 and 2 series, considering the nature of the message.

I’ve been reflecting on my fickle purpose for this blog for quite a while and I sense it’s about time I changed its direction.

When I started blogging, I intended for it to be a place to share creative writing stuff and keep my family and my few friends abroad, up to date with me. I was thinking of creative writing as in God-glorifying “Nobel/Pulitzer" literary kind of stuff! :) Weeeell……I never really got to sharing that on this blog. Weird, I know…. see how I was aiming so high.... for Nobel, lol! If you're familiar with Dr. Phil, I'm sure he would have asked me with an incredulous look and in my face, "Helloooooo? What were you thinking when you set yourself up to be a literary writer, young lady?" Pop Pyschology! Lol! It's been a few years now since I last watched the show, considering that I rarely watch television now.

Anyway, my family hardly read this blog ‘cos we live together and see one another so often, lol! When I try to continue a blog conversation later in the day at home, I often get this baffled look. “Didn’t you read what I posted on my blog?” I ask and I get this response, “Ooooooh, you mean your blog! No, I haven’t seen that.” My busy family with workaholic traits… gotta love them! : )

My known friends abroad, well… most love this blog because we are far apart and this is just a way of keeping updates, somewhat. To you I say, “Me like your visits here!" : )

So, half of the intended primary audience doesn’t read this blog, while the other half does.

Checking my stats, I have quite a number of international visitors and I’m quite amazed that you stop by, even if it’s a brief visit. Thanks for your love.

And there are visitors who ‘borrow’ or should I plainly say, steal content from this blog without asking. I’m okay with sharing content, just let me know, okaaay? :)

I’ve met some great bloggie friends and I’d love for this e-friendship to continue. You never know, we might meet someday and soon! : )

So this blog, on its 3rd anniversary will undergo changes. I just don’t want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth by ‘disappearing’ suddenly as some bloggers do and make you brush your tongue a thousand times a day thinking, “What’s that bitter mango I ate from Lady Akofa’s bloggie home the other day?” Trust me, I’ll only serve you BIG, ripe and sweet mangoes over here, okaaaay? Just 'feel free' to come over when the next harvest season is in full swing, LOL! In between, you're welcome to have Hot Brown Gold or some other delicious chocolatey delight with me. It's no wonder Ghanaians are known for our hospitality. : )

I‘ll continue blogging but access will be restricted from October onwards. For those who want to keep up to date with me and my not-so-worthy ramblings, I’ll appreciate that you comment by sending your preferred e-mail address which you’ll use to sign in to this blog. To prevent spammers and hackers who crawl anonymously from reading your e-mail address, please write this way as an example: ladyakofa AT gmail DOT com, with spaces in between and spelling out the symbols. They will not be published or shared with anyone.

I may bounce back in full public glare sometime next year… or 2011 or 2013 or 2025…. assuming I have the energy and time to blog when I’m much older, lol! For now, I seek just a lil' repose from blog limelight.

I’ve greatly enjoyed this e-journey, sharing ideas, sitting at the feet of others in their bloggie homes, e-meeting lots of Christians and young, like-minded ladies from afar. It’s been fun and there’s definitely more ahead! I’ll definitely be visiting your blogs and commenting so I won’t be completely MIA.

So...

Keep the Faith,
Stay Strong
and
Stand Firm,
in His Grace alone.

Many blessings from the Mango Lover,
Lady Akofa. : )

Great who?

On discussing recent trends in publicity and adverts of church ‘power-packed’ programmes in Ghana:

"Why not say, ....
the man of the Great God
instead of
....the great man of God?"

asked by Mrs. E.B. Quarcoo-July 2009

Are we excessively qualifying the servant/man of God yet failing to give proper recognition to the Incomparable God, who is much greater than the human vessels He chooses to use?

Food for thought!
Lady Akofa.

Strange sights?

Yo-hooooooo!

Strange sights? New header up. What do you think?

Just trying to spice up this blog a lil'. :)

Have a great weekend!
Lady Akofa.

Ask any question

I’m staying away from this blog for about 2 weeks, ‘cos of another work related trip. So now is the time to put back my “Ask Any Question” post. Trivial stuff. And I’ll do my best to answer your questions when I get back.

Today is somebody's day.

Unfortunately, it's not mine. I wish it were.

It's yours.

Yes, I mean you.

You can ask me any question such as favourite game, favourite book, best memories... you know, the trivial kind of stuff. Or just a spin off question from one of my blog posts.

How about that for a lil' fun?
Lurkers, it's time to de-lurk!

:)

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa

Happy New Year!- A mixed bag of thots

Afiehyia pa!*

Afi yi nkↄ ne afi pa bɛ to yɛn!**

Ghana has a new president, John Evans Atta Mills (Prof), after 2 rounds of elections, with his major opponent closely tailing him. The elections were not without some minor skirmishes here and there but all ends well. The date set for his swearing in is 7th January, 2009. I pray that he will be able to faithfully serve the people and lead with divine wisdom during his term of office.

Last year was the most challenging so far. Spiritually. And we all know that the spiritual has a profound effect on the physical, right? I can only say it's been by God's grace that I've gotten this far. It reached a point that I had to step back and pause. It seems I really didn't know how to pray. Thus it became a constant prayer, "LORD, teach me how to pray." There were other challenges of course, but this is how I'll describe 2008.

I really appreciate the wisdom of God when our new pastor preached on Isaiah 40:31 at our watch night service. Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. It was a confirmation of my end of year/new year convictions after my spiritual challenges of 2008.

I also appreciate God's power and loving-kindness on New Year's day. It rained with peals of thunder, although we are in the dry season! It seemed God was saying, "My daughter, this is just a foretaste of my power. In the days ahead, I'll show you even more and you'll be awed. Then you shall give Me the glory due Me." I couldn't help but think, "Double blessings. Showers on New Year's day! I can't wait to see the all goods things God has in store for me, my family, my country and the world at large!" Aaah, how I love rain....

I've purposely not drawn up any new year resolutions. I seem to always fail at them anyway. :) Really, apart from my already existing commitment to love God passionately, to be faithful in prayer and personal study of His Word, to serve God faithfully and gladly through my job, family and ministries I'm involved in at church, I simply have no new year resolutions. All that I failed to do or wasn't consistent in doing last year, I'll seek to do this year, God willing. There is no point in getting worked up over new things while old things have been left undone. I'd like to live simply, focusing on the few things that matter most to me.

For some reason, these words from a song have stuck with me since last December. I've never had a personal theme for the year before, but I think this will be it:

Great things He has done, GREATER THINGS HE WILL DO.

Please read 1 Corinthians 2:9 and Isaiah 64:4 to understand why I know that God will do greater things in 2009. As already mentioned our watch night exhortation was on Isaiah 40:31, coupled with my personal convictions make me so excited for this year.

I wish all my readers nothing less than God's VERY BEST in 2009. May God equip you with everything good for pleasing Him and doing His will (Hebrews 13:20-21) through Christ Jesus and His Spirit.

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Literal Translation from Akan to English:

*A good year meets you! or Happy New Year!

**This year should go and a good year should meet us!