How Can I Sleep Without Your Love?

How can I sleep?
When your love makes me weep?

Things have fallen apart
I am left with a broken heart
I am no longer at ease.
Oh! When will my heartaches cease?

I stay awake all night
Praying for you to love me.
And I cannot rest
Until I regain your love.

Oh! Why can’t you love me?
Please, tell me what is wrong?
What can I do to win your love?
I will do anything for your love.

How can I sleep without your love?

I composed the above poem from a true life story of a beautiful Indian Hindu maiden who was married for a young Indian business man who was living in Nigeria. But he rejected her, because he wanted to marry another young lady he had known in Nigeria. This rejected bride refused to return to India. The reluctant groom refused to even touch her. So, her people decided to come and escort her back to India. But she made up her mind to commit suicide in Nigeria, so that she would not return home alive in disgrace. Whilst her people were waiting for her to join them in the living room, she was in her bedroom about to drink the poison to end her life. But as she tried to drink the poison, something struck the cup out of her hands. She thought she was very nervous, because she was in fear and trembling. So, she attempted to drink the poison again. And again, the invisible intruder struck the cup from her hands. She was now convinced that there was an invisible intruder in her bedroom. So, she addressed the invisible being to leave her alone. Then, she heard a voice telling her not to drink the poison. The voice warned her against committing suicide. But she annoyingly asked the voice to identify itself and wondered where the intruder had been all these years of her agonies of being rejected by the man she loved and agreed to marry and had been praying for him to love her and accept her as his wife.The voice revealed that she had never asked for help from the true God, because she had been praying to false gods of a false religion. The voice now revealed the identity as the Saviour Jesus Christ. And he promised to change the heart of the man to love her and marry her wholeheartedly. He told her to return home and testify of her conviction and conversion from Hinduism to a believer in Jesus Christ. That in the seventh month of her conversion, the man would come to her home in India and wed her. She believed and returned to India cheerfully. But, when she told her parents and family about her strange encounter with Jesus Christ, they thought she had gone mad from the sorrow of her rejection. She did not give up her faith in the strange being who stopped her from taking her life and promised to restore her beloved to her. She continued to testify of Jesus Christ and her people continued to doubt her as they mocked and scoffed at her new found faith.

On the last night of the seventh month, she waited for the promise of Jesus Christ to be fulfilled. But, her sympathetic parents told her to forget about it. That if the man was actually coming, he would have arrived earlier and at nearly 12 0'Clock midnight, it was too late to expect any visitor. So, they went into their bedroom to sleep. Then, just some seconds to 12 0'Clock midnight, she heard someone knocking at their main door. Her heart skipped. He must be the one. She rushed to open the door and believe it or not there he was. The man who rejected her for years and refused to welcome her as his wife. He embraced her and was full of apologies and regrets for rejecting her when she was brought to him in Nigeria. Her parents rushed out and saw the most unexpected scene they had doubted could ever happen. Their beloved daughter and the man they had given up hope would ever marry her.

They had a beautiful and wonderful wedding in India and they returned to Nigeria where they now have a flourishing business empire. And they don't need anybody to tell them that truly indeed Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever; no matter what people like desperate Dan Brown and their lies of Satan say in "The Da Vinci Code" and other evil lies of Satan to deceive and destroy the gullible and ignorant people wandering aimlessly in the chaos of this wild wild world. Jesus Christ is the only way, the truth and the life.

John 14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
~ JOHN14:5-6, KJV HOLY BIBLE

Never Doubt The Word Of God

Today is my birthday and I appreciate the birthday greetings I have received from my friends and associates from all over the world. The first birthday greeting came from my darling Kye Lee Koi, my Malaysian Muse.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
~ From Psalm 103.A Psalm of David.

Happy Birthday!

Have a great day! Best wishes from the TakingITGlobal Team and community members from around the world!

We made you a small greeting card that you can view over the web! Click the link below to see it:

Taking IT Global

Happy Birthday!

Special greetings from openBC on your birthday!

Here's wishing you all the best, good health, and success
in all that you pursue throughout the coming year.

Best regards,

Your openBC team
openBC
--
http://www.openbc.com - Get together - wherever you are

Happy Birthday! What are we drinking...?
~Imnakoya -Grandiose Parlor

Then, here is a special must read e-mail forwarded to me by CN and this is my own birthday food for thought for you.

God bless.

Never doubt the Word of God!!!
Make a personal reflection about this. Very interesting, read until the end...s
It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
" Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Here are some men and women who mocked God:
JOHN LENNON:
Some years before during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:
"Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, Today we are more famous than Him" (1966)".
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

TANCREDO NEVES:
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

CAZUZA:
During a show in Canecão ( Rio de Janeiro ), whilst smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: God, that's for you.
I can't even explain how he died.

THE MAN WHO BUILT TITANIC:
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked
him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic
tone he said: "Not even God can sink it"
The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.

MARILYN MONROE:
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He is a preacher and Evangelist and the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.
After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
"I don't need your Jesus"
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

BON SCOTT:
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:
"Don´t stop me, I´m going down all the way, wow the highway to hell".
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his vomit.

CAMPINAS/SP IN 2005
In Campinas, a group of friends, drunk, went to pick
up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car
and was so worried about the drunkenness of her
friends and she said to the daughter - holding her
hand, who was already seated in the car: "MY
DAUGHTER, GO WITH GOD AND MAY HE PROTECT YOU",
She responded: ONLY IF HE (GOD) TRAVELS IN THE BOOT,
COZ INSIDE HERE IT'S ALREADY FULL"
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the boot was intact.
The police said there was no way the boot could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the boot was a crate of eggs, none was broken.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive. JESUS!!!


P.S: If it was a joke, you could have sent it to everyone. So are you going to have courage to send this?.
I have done my part, Jesus said "If you get
embarrassed about me, I will also get
embarrassed about you before my father
What benefit does it have, if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul?
What can man give in exchange of his soul?


God Bless u richly

Tyna

When An Angel Sings

When an angel sings
The voice of heaven rings.
As the hosts of heaven sing
Heralding the dawn of Spring
And I hear the Seraphim plucking their strings
As the Cherubim clap and flap their wings.

Behold the children of paradise
Dancing and rejoicing in endless praise.
Their voices echo throughout the universe
Hallelujah!The King of Glory reigns
And so we all rejoice when an angel sings.
For the good news the angel brings.


N.B:
Yesterday,I promised to compose and publish "When An Angel Sings" for Kye Lee Koi my Malaysian Muse before she left to celebrate the Chinese New Year in her home town. "When Angel Sings" is the theme song of one of my musicals of the same title. The story of a African-American girl who followed her dream from Harlem to a music school on Long Island and had to mop the floors of the school to pay her school fees until she won a scholarship.

YOU'RE WEARING THAT?

The Battle of All Mothers
A Review By Megan Rosenfeld,
a former Washington Post reporter who is a freelance writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006; Page C01

YOU'RE WEARING THAT?
Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation
By Deborah Tannen
Random House. 272 pp. $24.95
A woman is standing with her brother at a family reunion when their mother walks over to them. Her greeting to her daughter: "What's that on your skin?" And: "What's with your hair?" And: "You've put on weight."


The son is shocked. "Does she always talk to you like that?" Well, of course she does. In this story from Deborah Tannen's new book, you may recognize your own mother -- or yourself. Or you may think, "What planet is this mother from?"

Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, has claimed a franchise with her series of witty and accessible books that describe how we talk to -- and misunderstand -- each other. Her first bestseller, "You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation," came out in 1990, predating the gimmickier but similar "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" by two years. The gist of both is that men and women are different and thus have a hard time communicating. Tannen has since taken this basic wisdom and parlayed it into books about office issues, arguments and adult family relationships.
She may have run out the string with this one.

You Are One In A Million

For Kye Lee Koi

I have been to many different places
And I have seen so many different faces
Of different colours and races
Beautiful and wonderful people
God created all over the world.
But you are one of a kind
Your beauty blows my mind
You must be an angel from heaven
And the most beautiful I have ever seen.

You are one in a million
Oh, beautiful daughter of Zion.

When you smile, the sun shines brighter
And when you laugh, dark clouds disappear.
When you sing, your angelic voice echoes in the skies
And I see angels dancing and singing along in the clouds
When I look into your beautiful eyes
I see my dreams twinkling like stars
And I am lifted up into paradise
Lifted to the seventh heaven of the universe.

You are one in a million
Oh, beautiful daughter of Zion.

No Romance Without Finance: Love Takes Time? So Does Success

Yeah baby, I hear you well and I hear you right.
You cannot go out with a poor guy.
Even taking you to McDonalds is not gratis. The Dollar Menu has a price.

My Success Coach Brian Rooney of Trafficwave gave me the idea for today's post from the e-mail he sent me this morning with the title "Love Takes Times...So Does Success". And Brian has been teaching me very vital financial skills to make sure that I make more dollars both online and offline. And believe me Brian is a genius in Online Marketing 24/7.

No dollar no show. In Nigeria we say pay as you go. And Nigerian girls and women are cash and carry. They sell to the highest bidder. In Nigeria love has a price tag.
The bride price has levels.
You can even bargain.

In Nigeria, a monkey with the correct amount of dollars can marry the most beautiful girl in Nigeria. As long as you can pay her bride price, she would be all yours 24/7.

Everywhere in the world, there is no romance without finance.
If you don't have money, she cannot be your honey.
No matter the number of love poems you compose to woo her.
Show her the money and she is game.
Then, you can eat the bush meat as we call the local babes in Nigeria.

Years ago, one of the prettiest models in Nigeria took me to the largest market in Lagos and dragged me from boutique to boutique to buy her clothes and shoes. But I had no money on me, except the transport fare to my house. She was so disappointed that she took my transport fare and spent it.
"You will walk back home this night!"
She told me that without enough money to buy her the clothes, shoes, hats and a laptop she wanted she wouldn't go on with me.

I agreed with her.

If you are not successful, no girl or woman will welcome you.

Even love is not free.

You have been reading all the love poems and other writings on my blog gratis, but this wouldn't have been possible without my sponsors with their adverts on my blogs paying the bills to make sure that I am online 24/7. And that is our labour of love. But, every labour of love is done with great sacrifice. And love does not grow without synergy. The synergy of our friendship and relationship.

No Word no seed and no fruit and no feed.
So, my dear reader before you leave, sow your seed of gratitude if you truly believe in Love. Because, true love is not lip service or eye service. Because, there is no romance without finance.

Cheers!

Sleeping In Your Arms

For Kye Lee Koi

When I sleep in your arms
I always have sweet dreams.
Sweet dreams of bliss

Sleeping in your arms.

I can feel your pulse
From my muscle to my corpuscle
Your loving touch makes me tense
From muscle to muscle
As you hold me tight
I can hear your heartbeat.
.
Sleeping in your arms.

How I wish this should last forever
The sweet sensation of my love fever
Ssshhhhhh…don’t interrupt my love.
Let her sleep in my arms in my grove.

Kiss Me Again

From now to the climax and anti-climax on February 14, all my love poems published on my blog are for my Malaysian Muse Kye Lee Koi who deserves all my love. And the best book to give to those you love will be released this coming St.Valentine's Day.It is "The Book of True Love: Greatest Love Quotes." Edited by the Knight of Love himself, this writer who believes that "Love is the greatest gift of Life."
Kiss me again
Kiss away my tears and my pain.

I have been left in the cold rain
And my heart has been broken in vain.

I cried out for someone to rescue me.
I prayed for someone to set me free.

Then, you came to my rescue
You made my dream to come true
Because, you are the answer to my prayer
And I will cherish your love forever.

Kiss me again my darling.

The World According To Adaure

Adaure Achumba

Have you met my soul sister Adaure Achumba?
She is beautiful and wonderful and has a compassionate heart.
She lives in Santa Maria, California (formerly Chapel Hill NC), United States.

Adaure has a very popular blogThe World According To Adaure.And here she introduces her blogzine:

"Hello Folks, Welcome to my new,improved, public accessible weblogzine."

"I hope you'll learn from and be entertained by the topics i'll be writing about. Topics that'll range from news to entertainment and will vary from personal experience to hyperbolized and amplified points-of-view, of which i'll gladly share with anyone who'll pay attention. I'm an aspiring news reporter, CNN international correspondent I mean. I am working earnestly towards that goal and you can say this is a pre-curser, a blue-print for my future news talk show on CNN when all things are aligned perfectly by the Creator. Don't get me wrong, it's a prayer that I'm claiming and by the grace of God i'll be living it some day. Just incase you missed it, i am also of the 'Nigerian Persuation' so be prepared because when we take over the world, you'll be one too. Sit back relax and enjoy the witty analysis, rhetoric, ranting, gibberish or whatever else you choose to categorize this 'blog' as. But as they say on 'that other' cable news network... 'I report, you decide, fair and balanced'"

Just go and see how she does her zing thing! Adaure is chic

Nothing Compares To Your Love

I have been to many places
And I have seen many faces
I have traveled far and wide
I wanted to have a jolly ride
Wanderlust in my foolish pride
In search of worldly glory
In my quest to make history
But my dreams have been shattered
And my hopes have been dashed.

I have been loved and unloved
My heart has been broken many times
And I have written so many rhymes
Writing reams of love to my beloved
But my beloved failed me
And what I had I can no longer see.

I thought there was no more hope
As I was sliding down the slope
I thought I was lost
Wandering from pillar to post
Until you came from above
And wiped away all my tears
And you took away all my sorrows and my fears
Oh, Jesus Christ! Nothing compares to your love.

The Language of True Love

The Language of True Love

“Sometimes the calculus of love is as difficult to get a handle on as quantum physics.”
-By Peter Marks
Washington Post Staff Writer

When we need words to express our deepest feelings, and we don’t know what to say, we become confused and the person we wish to confess or profess our love to will not be amused. So, we need to know the right loving words to say at the right time. And the St. Valentine’s Day offers us the most conducive time to express our love in words and other forms of loving expressions. And here I am offering you the best and the greatest words of love from the most celebrated people in history such as William Shakespeare to Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II to the anonymous poets who are unknown but their classic verbal expressions of love have become immortal.

If there is ever a gift to share with your beloved it is the gift of true love in word and in deed.

“The Language of True Love: Greatest Love Quotes” is a book that everyone should read and spread the word around.

God bless you.

Yours truly,
Orikinla Osinachi
“The Knight of Love.”
January16,2006.

Let Me Give

By Dr. Dennis

I do not know how long I'll live
But while I live, Lord, let me give
Some comfort to someone in need
By smile or nod, kind word or deed.

And let me do what ever I can
To ease things for my fellow man.
I want naught but to do my part
To "lift" a tired or weary heart.

To change folks' frowns to smiles again.
Then I will not have lived in vain
And I'll not care how long I'll live
If I can give ... and give ... and give.

Love Is In The Air:30 Days To Valentine's Day

The countdown to the most celebrated Love Festival in history has already begun.And don't be left behind. The earlier you start proposing and shopping for St. Valentine's Day the better. Here I am your Cupid and I am totally offering to be your Messenger of Love.

What do you want for the one you love? You may ask me and I am more than willing to give you all the tips on how to win her heart or his love.

I can compose exclusive love poems and produce special CDs of love poems and songs specifically for your sweetheart as a special gift to present to her on St.Valentine's Day.

St.Valentine's Day is also the most conducive time to ask her out or ask her to marry you. The time to tie that love knot. C'mon, don't be shy.

Do you need a helping hand?
I Have done this for so many people who are now happily engaged or married.
No I am not a Wedding Planner. I am only the Knight of Love at your service to be your champion in your romantic conquest.

I have already expressed my love to the special one I love and I have already asked her to be my Val. Trust Orikinla Osinachi, I don't waste time beating about the bush like George Bush or roving about like Karl Rove on a wild goose chase. I have sent my dove of peace to the Malaysian Muse I love and on bended knee I cooed:
Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu
Njan Ninne Premikunnu


So while you are still wondering, I have got my own Val already ahead of time.And if you want yours and you have no clue whom to tell,"I love you." The sooner you let me know, the better.

The highest paid model in Nigeria, the black and beautiful Linda is still single and I don't mind to give you the chance to "toast her" and ask her to be your Val.

If you need a man to love you, let me know.
My mission is to make sure everybody finds love and be happy.

Just come out of your closet and hit the street. Love is waiting for you.

You can post your Valentine Love Messages and Pictures to show how much you love that special person on Kisses & Roses from now to the St.Valentine's Day on February 14,2006.

I was born to love.

Vaginismus

Vaginismus?
Yes. And.No, this is not the title of the new Greek Play on Broadway.
Vaginismus is a pain in the arse!

So, when your woman is groaning and moaning with a grimace, don't mistake it for orgasm. She could be contorting in the pains of Vaginismus.

The following article will englighten you more.

Nearly two out of every 1,000 women suffer from vaginismus -- a condition that makes sex very painful or even impossible.
Dealing with Sexual Problems
Sex is a major issue in most marriages, but never more than when there are problems in the bedroom. Experts estimate that as many as two out of every 1000 women suffer from vaginismus, a spasm of the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle of the vagina, which makes sex very painful or even impossible. The good news: Vaginismus can usually be cured if both partners are committed to the treatment.Andrea Mattisen, LICSW, BCD, a psychotherapist at the Human Sexuality Clinic at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, offers this advice:

Talk to Your Doctor. It's up to you to broach the topic of painful intercourse with your gynecologist -- many doctors don't routinely ask about it. Don't be timid in your discussion; offer your doctor as many details as possible. There's no reason to be embarrassed -- chances are, she's heard it all before.

Touch. Often, women who suffer from vaginismus avoid all forms of touching because they fear it will lead to intercourse. Instead, focus on touching or massaging each other without the intent of having sex.

Communication. After each massage or touching activity, give each other three compliments and one constructive criticism. Use this as a way to talk about what felt good and what didn't.

Sensuality. Messy activities, like finger painting and sculpting with Play-Doh, can help loosen you up and tap into your sensual side.

Exercises. Kegel exercises -- tightening and relaxing the vaginal muscles -- may be very beneficial.

Information Resources. For additional information check out: Treating Vaginismus, by Joseph LoPicolo, is also available on video through the Sinclair Institute: 800-955-0888.

A Woman's Guide to Overcoming Sexual Fear and Pain by Aurelie Jones Goodwin, EdD, and Mark E. Agronin, MD (New Harbinger Publications, 1997).

Everything I Know About Men I Learned From My Sons

Sara's two sons taught her many important lessons -- and some surprising ones -- about the true nature of the male mind.

By Sara Peyton

Divining the Male Mind

My husband and I had our first son, Leason, not long after we married. The second, TJ, arrived three years later. Raising them taught me more about what goes on inside the male mind than all my years of observing and relating to my father, brothers, boyfriends, and even my husband.

To be honest, some days I think I would have given up on trying to divine the nature of the male, if I hadn't had sons. Here's what they’ve taught me:

#1 The best way to a man's heart? Through his feet!

Sure, we've all heard the best way is through a man's stomach. And guys do like to eat. But in a pinch, any super-size bowl of cold cereal will do. But the perfect pair of shoes are what boyhood dreams are made of. Shoes for running, kicking, stomping, splashing in puddles, shooting hoops, or climbing trees. The male love affair with shoes starts with their first pair of light-up sneakers with little Velcro closures. Supply clean, comfortable socks by the dozen and acquire goddess-like status. Need I mention foot rubs?

#2 Men have bad hair days, too

When Leason was five, he decided to trim his soft brown curls I loved so dearly. The uneven result brought a smile to my face and tears to his. On the way to the hairdresser, he slid to the floor of the car to prevent anyone seeing him and begged me to claim responsibility for the unfortunate haircut. He told me he had to take matters into his hands to do away with the hated angelic-looking haircut I preferred. As I stared back into his accusing brown eyes, I finally saw how important Leason's lovely mop was to him. As it would be to his younger brother.

And as it is to my husband, who though mostly bald, sports a few white hairs. Now I know guys love a simple remark like, "Your hair looks great" just as much as women do. Try it, and you might receive unexpected compliment or two in return.

Mars vs. Venus

#3 It's possible to be too thin if you're a male

One day when TJ was 14 or so, he pointed out an extremely thin, perhaps unhealthy young man in the grocery store aisle. "Mom, would you say I'm as thin as him or thinner?" he whispered with an urgency usually reserved for very serious discussions. I stifled a laugh. Not only was TJ nowhere near as thin as the young man in question, but fabulously lean, handsome, and healthy looking. I told him so but he didn't believe me. I didn't object to the protein powder he wanted. Or, later the weight lifting equipment. For a male, feeling scrawny is a million times worse than fat thighs or cellulite.

#4 Men really will rescue a damsel in distress

When Leason was 13, I persuaded him to get involved in his school play.I think he volunteered to work on lighting. That is until I got a call a few afternoons later from his drama teacher. She wanted to cast him as Bernardo in West Side Story.

"Do you think he'll say yes?" she asked anxiously. Only if you don't ask him, I replied. Tell him he must take the role because there's no one else, I coached. From my sons I learned the secret of appealing to the males' natural gallantry. Sure enough, when Leason arrived home he opened the door with a bang. "Bad news," he said with obvious pride. "I have to be in the play." By the way, he made a wonderful Bernardo.

#5 Boys really don't understand girls

When my boys each entered seventh grade, they settled down -- along with their other rowdy male pals. Even teachers who found their earlier boisterousness annoying began to like them. Especially because at this age, their cute, quiet, and polite female counterparts became nutty, hormone-induced drama queens. When my sons returned home from school, I heard daily reports of intense female hysteria -- crying and more crying. But if I asked my sons what actually happened, they were utterly and deeply clueless.

If I wanted to know, I talked to the girls or their mothers. The intricate complexities of pre-teen female culture -- the cliquishness, the intimate chats, unforgivable slights, and the like -- escaped my sons. They weren't all that interested. Of course, all that changed only few years later. Then, they had to play catch up. And they are still catching up. As is their father. As are most of the men I know.

Secret Cuddles

#6 Guys (secretly) love to cuddle

When a boy figures out he's becoming a man, he starts pulling away from his mother. Cuddling on the couch becomes banned. Seemingly overnight a once snuggly pajama-clad tyke morphs into a video playing preteen pinning 'Keep Out' signs on the bedroom door.

Still, the grown man in your bed -- the father of your children -- no longer needs to prove his independence. He loved to cuddle as a toddler and probably wants to do it again with someone. That person might as well be you.

#7 The inner boy always prefers action

Lego castles and outdoor forts. Stuffed animal plays. Marathon bike rides. Long walks to town. Canoe trips down the river. When my boys were young, we were always doing some planned activity. And when they got together with friends they were always running around too. They just didn't hang out and gossip as I remembered doing with my girlfriends.

Raising them taught me the joy of planned activities and projects. Organizing a family hike or paint-the-living room day was much more fun than checking off a list of tedious chores or heading off to the smelly gym. Given a choice -- horseback riding or out to a movie, a hike or dinner out -- my husband always chooses moving about over just sitting still.

The guys have won me over. I'd rather go riding, too.

Originally published on LHJ.com., November 2005.

"One kiss from you means more to me than a million from anyone else."

"love is not about finding someone you can live with... its about finding someone you can't live without."

“Sometimes the calculus of love is as difficult to get a handle on as quantum physics.”

-By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer

"If kisses were raindrops, I'd give you a shower. If hugs were minutes, I'd give you hours. If smiles were an ocean, I'd give you the sea. If love were a person I'd give you me."

"There are plenty of other fish in the sea.. but you will always be my Nemo."

"Love is like a mountain.. hard to climb... but completely worth it when you reach the top."
"You know you're in love when its so hard to hang up the phone with him."
"I couldn't find my heart one day. Then I realized that you had stolen it!!!"
"Love is when you don’t want to go to sleep at night because reality is better than a dream."
"If a drop of water was gorgeous - you would be the ocean."
"One kiss from you means more to me than a million from anyone else."
"When angels forget how to flyWhen its 20 below in July."
"When violets are red, and roses are blue... that's when I'll stop loving you!!!"
"How do you know if he really loves you? Its when you scream, and he calms you... When you slap him, and he kisses you... When you cry, and he hugs you... When you tell him you hate him, and he says, "But I love you."
"If loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right."
"Love is when you miss him even before he leaves.When you could talk to him forever and never get tired of hearing his voice.When the sound of his name sends chills down your spine.And you see his smile the second you close your eyes."
"Life is too short -- so kiss slowly.. laugh insanely. love truly.. and forgive quickly."

"No guy is worth your tears, and when you find the one that is... he won't make you cry."

"Love is like the wind... You can't see it.. But you can feel it."

"Sometimes the one thing that you are looking for, is the one thing you can't see..."

"What's Tommy without Chuckie? What's Steve without Blue?
What's Sponge bob without Patrick?Its ME without YOU!!!"

"Never leave the one you love for the one you like... eventually it will all blow up in your face."

"As soon as you get online -- who's name do you look for first?
When a slow song comes on the radio -- Who's face comes to your mind first?
When you hear your phone ringing -- who do you hope it is calling?
Who's name makes you heart skip a beat?
Its the one you love..."
If you can't get someone out of your head, maybe they were meant to be there."

"I love you not only for who you are, but for who I am when I'm with you."
"Love doesn't make the world go 'round.It just makes the ride worthwhile."

"Love is knowing that he loves you, and you mean as much to him as he means to you... and that when he says he loves you , he has that twinkle in his eye to show its true."


These sayings are from the forthcoming book "The Language of True Love:The Greatest Quotations of Love From The Holy Bible, Shakespeare, Pope John Paul II, Mother Theresa and other Saints and Knights of True Love.

Lynn Says: "My Dad Was A Monster" in "CUT THE STRINGS"

Leading Lady Lynn Grocott and a fellow member of our Soflow has written an amazing autobiography that is becoming an international bestseller and a must read.

"In her candid, shocking and heart-wrenching autobiography, entitled, "Cut The Strings: The True Story of a Soul"
Reclaimed" MS sufferer, fund-raiser, mother of three and author, Staffordshire-based Lynn Grocott recalls a stolen childhood at the hands of a monster and the effects it had on her life as an adult.

Abused by her father, bullied at school and neglected by her mother, Lynn Grocott's childhood was a waking nightmare. As an adult, tormented and haunted by her youth, her life went from bad to worse. She was eventually admitted to a psychiatric ward after facing the suicide of both parents.

Somehow Lynn crawled back but fate was relentless in its cruelty She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and virtually wasted away as she battled to overcome Anorexia Nervosa.

Yet despite all that life has thrown at her Lynn is an achiever. She's been able to turn things around, reclaim her soul and live life as a winner, fulfilling lifelong dreams and raising money for charity through sponsored swims.

"Cut The Strings" will at times shock and apall but at the same time it shows how all the pain and challenges life throws at us can be turned around.

The eBook is available now from www.BookShaker.com and the paperback will be available on Amazon.co.uk and at all good bookshops in August 2005.

Lynn is donating 1/3 of all royalties to Child Advocacy International.

CUT THE STRINGS BY LYNN GROCOTT
From the Author
to anyone who buys my book I want to say Thank you, you are helping me to make a difference to the mothers' and babies in Cameroon. I hope it speaks to you and brings hope to many.
lots of love
Lynnx

Sell Your Story To Us

My Malaysian Muse

~Consistency is the handmaiden of success~
-Kye Lee Koi
Author of The Laments of a Broken Hearted Silhouette

My Malaysian Muse

I have found you among the Lilies
Among the lilies of the golden butterflies
Fairer than the nine daughters of Jove
Peaceful dove of my alcove
Kye Lee Koi
You are the merry maiden of my joy.
My beautiful and wonderful Yuna
Who glows brighter even in light of Luna.

Come with me to waltz
In the razzmatazz of New Orleans Jazz
Or come to the marimba of our Indaba
And dance with me the rumba and the samba.

Kye Lee Koi, my sweet ambrosia
Kye Lee Koi, the Ambrosia of Malaysia

Sapphire of Love

Watch out for the mystery of the "Sapphire of Love".
But can you guess?

Trail of Tears: A True Life Testimony of Love

A Woman about to be stoned to death in an Islamic country.

“Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day.”
Thomas Jefferson

Trail of Tears
I was born in a city called Mariwan in the Iranian part of Kurdistan. My dad was a Communist or komala as it is called, and so was my mom. In 1981 my dad became a Christian. When my mom and dad saw each other again, and he told her about the best experience in his life and she also became a Christian. But my mom spent lot of time in prison. My dad was killed in 1984. The last time I saw my mom, she was in a hospital in Tehran. I was sitting outside when my uncle called me in to see my mom. I was shaking. I didn't know what was going to happen. When I reached the door of her room, I fell down in tears. But she called me in and told me not to worry because she would be with God.

She told me that when I got back home to go to where the apricot trees are in a river. There I would find a bag with a book in it. She told me to take the book and read it. After I finished reading it, I was to put it back in the bag and in the river again. She told me not to cry but I could not help it. She kissed me and died after a while. Her last words she told me were "I want you to be where I am. You have never seen your father but you will." And she also sang a song for me which went something like "amineh takanay daya sat birya emin baya" It is a famous Kurdish song that she sang for me when I visited her in jail.

One day after school, I went to the garden, got the bag, and tried to read the book. I couldn't read it because it was in Kurdish. At that time, I could only read Persian. But because they used the same alphabet I was able to slowly figure out the words and by the grace of God, I learned how to read in Kurdish through that book. This book had an amazing impact on my life. Not in the first year, but as I read it over the years, I became better and it gave me the peace that I needed.
After my mom had passed away and because of the torture she had suffered, my uncle sent me to the mosque and I began reading the Qur'an. I loved it for its poetry but they never told us what it meant. I dared not to ask because I was thinking that it might be the word of God and we humans just don't understand it.

What troubled me was that the same character in the book of my mom was also in the Qur'an. And I remembered reading in Peter's confession that Jesus is the Son of God while the Qur'an denied it. So I wanted to know why it was different. One day, without realizing what would happen, I took both books (Injil, and Qur'an) and showed them to my uncle and asked him why they were conflicting. He demanded, "Where did you get this book?" I said my mom hid it. He took it out of my hand and put it in a wood heater that we had. The book was burned to ashes. The only gift I had from my mom was gone. The only memory that kept me going was burned. Now I couldn't go to the garden, read it and cry over it. I used to cry over it all the time. I asked, "Why did you do this?" He said that I might end up like my mom and my dad. This is when I learned that my parents went from Communism to Christ. He insulted my parents and said I would be a kafir (unbeliever) too. My grandma said, "May the worms and snakes eat my parents in the grave and not leave them alone."
One night I prayed and said, "Jesus, you promised if we ask in your name you will answer and we would receive it." I prayed that he would help me to find someone from my city who was a Christian. This was a rather impossible request.

The Gulf War started and refugees poured into my city. They spoke the same language but I had never heard the dialect they spoke. One day, I met Hiwa a Kurd from Iraq. Hiwa invited me to his place for Friday night but I had Qur'an classes and I could not go. I saw my mom in a dream and she told me to go on Sunday. Hiwa said that I couldn't go on Sunday since they were busy. But I said my mom told me to go on Sunday. He asked why she would say that. I told him the whole story and he then said that his father and mother had been Muslim but they became Christians through some Assyrian friends. Hiwa told me to meet him at his house at 5 p.m. He rushed home to tell his parents the story.

When I got to his house, it was time to eat and then hear some preaching from his dad. I ate with them. I told them that my father had been fighting in the mountains and my mom too. One day they were attacked and my dad crossed the boarder into Iraq and went to seek refuge in the home of his friend who was an Assyrian. My dad saw so much through his friend that he hungered for God and became a Christian. He asked my dad's name. I said Karim. He asked if I was a Christian. I said I believe in Jesus and had read his book. But now my uncle had burned the book and I didn't have it anymore. He said he became a Christian the same way as my dad had. He said you have to call Christ into your life and allow him take over your life. I asked, "How do you do that?" He came and put his hands around me like I was his own son. He said to receive God's salvation all you need is a relationship. This relationship could only be through faith and trust. I asked, "How should I pray?" He said, "Repeat after me." I prayed, "Father, please forgive me, a sinner. I know that you are one. Your way is one. I know that Jesus is the way and I want him in my life." - My sorrows turned into joy and my heart was healed. I cried no more.

When I went to my Qur'an class, I asked if Christianity was right. My teacher said, "What?" He brought me in front of the class room (in the mosque not at school) and slapped me as hard as he could. I fell to ground with my whole face shaking. He asked some kids to go outside and get some sticks, dip them in water and then he hit me in the hands. He put pencils between my fingers and squeezed them until I could be only on one foot and I was jumping on it. He had me carry the heaviest kid in the class. I had to crawl around the room. After that he kicked me out of the class room. Hiwa's mom saw me unconscious, bleeding from my mouth and swollen. I couldn't help the tears coming down and she asked who had done this. I said, "Mamosta", which is Kurdish for master. She said, "Go, tell your uncle." I said he knew that I was close to becoming a Christians like my parents and he didn't want this. He didn't want me to be able to try and find out why my parents had become Christians. He was afraid this might make me into a Christian and my leaving Islam would bring lot of shame to his family. She took me to her home and shared a passage where Jesus said that they will persecute you all in my name. I knew this was not the way of God and I was glad that I was a Christian. She told me that they would be leaving in two weeks to go back to Shaqlawa. I said that I want to go with them and get away from my relatives. She said no I had to stay. I agreed.

When I came back home, my uncle asked why am I looked so badly? I said I was punished. He asked for what? I said for asking a question. He said what kind of a question. I said that I had asked if Christianity was right. He yelled at me, "Why this question?" I said, "Because my parents were Christians." He picked up the broom and hit my head with it. Again I was bleeding on my head. He chased me down the stairs and I was hearing my grandmother saying "bikkosh, bikoosha" which means kill him, kill him. He chased me about ten minutes and I couldn't run anymore. I was dead-tired, hungry, and thirsty. I called on Jesus for help. It was about nine o'clock. I didn't know where I was, but miraculously, I ended up at Hiwa's house. I was sitting to rest and than realized that it was their house. I got up and knocked. They open the door and were shocked at what they saw, a swollen face and ripped clothes. Dust was all over me and my head was bleeding. I took a shower and Hiwa lent me some of his clothes. I ate and drank and slept for a while but I got up with a hunger to call out to Jesus and study the Bible. I woke Hiwa up and studied with him. The next day Mrs. Mahsun (Hiwa's mother) said that I could go with them. My uncle was looking for me. He saw me at a store with Hiwa and called me. He said, "I am sorry. You be a Muslim again and I will allow you back to my house." I didn't accept his offer and went the other way around.

Then Mr. Kamal came to me and said, "Islam can't be right because in Islam so many false prophets have appeared such as Baha'ullah and the Ahmadiyyas who claim to be the Messiah. No where in the Qur'an does God warn us of this. Jesus did warn us. He said that the Christian experience was not like any other faith. There is none like it. He explained that in all other world religions, man was trying to reach God. But God is too big for us. How can we reach him? He said in Christianity, God is the one that is reaching man.

I said what about the Trinity? He said, "The Trinity has nothing to do with how many gods there are. It only has to do with God's nature and the three persons make up the one God. He said, "Can a dog understand the nature of man?" I said no. He said, "Right, because we're too unique to be understood by a dog, and when we go to heaven WE will be learning more about God. I became a Christian because of my emptiness and because I needed someone that could meet my needs. Jesus Christ was the only person that did that. I became a Christian because Jesus appeared to me in my dream and told me that I would be with him. I became a Christian because the Bible answered all of my questions."

Today I am living with Hiwa's family in the U.S. I am working on preaching the Gospel of Jesus to Kurds.

Through my walk with Christ I gained understanding of life. I was told that when growing up I would find all of my questions answered in the Qur'an. But this is not the case now. I found the answers to my questions in Bible and not the Qur'an. I would like to give one example. This could be proven by asking what the meaning of creation is. Every Muslim that I asked says that we are created to worship God. Even the Jehovah's Witnesses that I have talked to say this. But Christianity is the only religion that says that we are created to be with God in heaven, but through sin we came short of the glory of God and He has to redeem us. The peace and joy that one gains through Jesus can be found in no one else. In fact, I went to Buddhist temples and to the Bahai's. I studied their books and I could never find something that fulfills. The only joy Muslims find in reading of the Qur'an is that of its poetry and that they believe that it came from God. I do not think that the following poem of Omar Khayyam is inspired. Even though when it is translated to English it still makes sense.
"Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd
Of the Two Worlds so wisely - they are thrust
Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn
Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust."
It makes good sense, doesn't it? Ladies and gentlemen, all you need is the peace of God.

Jesus said in John 14:27
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
All you need is Jesus. I urge you to call on him because he is the only one that can provide what the heart of man needs.
May God show you the truth and it shall set you free.
Please, anyone with any kind of questions feel free to write me. I will do my best to help you.

Sinur
sinur@kurdnet.zzn.com

Love in a Cold Climate

The People's Act of Love
by James Meek
Love in a Cold Climate
A Review by Gerry Donaghy

There is a moment in James Meek's superb novel The People's Act of Love when the widow Anna Petrovna is pondering her past choices and the future that lay before her. Meek writes, "Anna did not believe in new worlds, but she could not help wanting to be with men and women who did." Set in 1919, in the shadow of both the Great War and the Russian Revolution, The People's Act of Love chronicles the convergence in northern Siberia of characters with substantially differing viewpoints as to what shape this new world should take.

The escaped political prisoner Samarin is transformed from seemingly apolitical to violent revolutionary; "the destruction," he calls himself, "of everything that stands in the way of the happiness of the people who will be born after I'm dead." The Christian mystic Balashov leads a sect who seeks to secure a communal paradise on earth through castration. Mutz, a junior officer of a Czech battalion abandoned by the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, simply wants to leave Siberia, taking Anna Petrovna with him. His commanding officer, Matula, rules the village with murderous whimsy, envisioning a new world where "…the terror will stay with them and their children for generations."

Meek is an Englishman writing in the vernacular of 19th-century Russian authors, faithfully replicating the various linguistic and ideological nuances their texts would present. There is a formality of language in the dialogue, where everybody is addressed by their patronymic name (Kyrill Ivanovich Samarin), and even a peasant has the soul of a poet, expressing himself with language that is penetrating, but without unnecessary flourish. The representation of the conflicting ideas are also masterly presented, compressing as much philosophical debate in a relatively short 400 pages (that read very quickly, I might add) as Tolstoy or Dostoevsky would flesh out in works two or three times that size.

The narrative trajectory that Meek achieves in The People's Act of Love is equally breathtaking. There are a stunning number of twists, turns, and revelations; many are surprising and all of them are plausible: how exactly was Anna Petrovna widowed? What is the true nature of the White Garden, the brutal gulag that Samarin escaped from, and who is the cannibalistic Mohican that is pursuing him? Finally, what constitutes a people's act of love? Is it an act of self-sacrifice to protect the living, or an act of annihilation for the benefit of future generations. This is the kind of book that will welcome a second reading, if only to see what ciphers the author laid out for us that we missed the first time around.

What is also surprising about this novel is how relevant it is to the current discourse concerning war and peace. Perhaps this critic is reading too much into the fact that the author has spent the past few years reporting from both Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, but I can't help but feel that Meek is attempting to paint a broader canvas, both in terms of how wars are started and the rather subjective and morally relativistic nature of terrorism. When Samarin makes proclamations such as, "I'm a manifestation. Of present anger and future love," it's impossible not to imagine the same words coming out of the mouth of a jihadist to justify his savagery. When history looks back on our current situation, will the end results be as tragic as the slow, violent death of Trotsky's perpetual revolution? Is there a contemporary people's act of love that doesn't involve politics, religion, or violence?

The previous digression notwithstanding, The People's Act of Love is an unqualified success. A richly imagined story, heartbreakingly rendered characters, and a narrative arc that will keep the reader's attention to the bitter end combine to make this essential reading for anybody who takes the novel as an art form seriously.

N.B: The novel is available at
POWELLS

Because I Love You

(For Kye Lee Koi)

I don't have to say it before you know it.Smitten.
Because, the words could be silent words.Unspoken.
Ah, ah!Even the feelings might be unknown.Hidden.
And no kisses. Not even flowers.Unseen.

We don't hold hands and we don't hug.
But you are still my solid plug.
We are often speechless. But not breathless.
We are often helpless. But not powerless.
Cineraria of Cinderella.
Aphid of Cupid.

You saw the glints in my eyes?
You heard me humming the song of the Black Eyed Peas
But did you know that my heart skipped even before I saw you?
As I heard you coming and singing "Skip, skip, skip to my Lou!"

You may never believe that what I am saying is true.
But, God knows why I am doing all these things.
These little little things I do in titbits
And you don't know why? Because, I love you.

Speaking In Tongues

I love everybody regardless of the race, creed or class. And language barriers have done us more harm than good. How I wish I understand all the languages in the world.

Yes, I must confess that I do speak in both known and unknown tongues in the Holy Spirit whenever God gives me the utterance. As at present, I speak about three international languages. And my fellow poet and the co-author of our anthology Toni is teaching me his mother tongue of Spanish. And one day I will teach him my own mother tongue of Igbo that is spoken in Nigeria, UK, US and so many other countries.

As you should have noticed, I now provide translations of all my poems and the poems of other contributors and literary reviews in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch as shown above just on top of the Google banner. Just click on the flag of the country of your choice and the website will be translated into the official language for your benefit. So, that the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch can now enjoy reading Kisses & Roses like those who understand English have been enjoying since last Summer. The more the merrier.

Enjoy!