Tuesday 26 November 2013
Wednesday 2 October 2013
My! People Come and Go So Quickly Here!: Fancy meeting you here
My! People Come and Go So Quickly Here!: Fancy meeting you here: I admire bloggers who stick with it. Honestly, I do. Posting day after day. I suppose I have things to say every day, but I've come up a...
FOCUS ON THE GOAL
"therefore we also,since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses ,let us lay aside every weight,and the sin which so easily
ensnares us,and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us,looking unto Jesus,the author and finisher of our faith,who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross,despising the shame,and
has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
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| Future |
Everyone is going somewhere and choices are being made everyday which
lead us closer to or away from that place where we want to be.a
popular saying says "A journey of 1000 miles begins with one step".So
as we live, everything that we do or refuse to do has an effect on our
short term goals which make up our long term dreams.Life can not be
lived passively,even if you lock yourself in the house and stay alone,you have
got to be active doing something productive or even stupid,something
which brings the aftermath consequences you have to handle.Many times
we know what we want but don't know how to get it,which is very
dangerous sometimes seeing that we may take a wrong way.I like this
song by casting crowns 'Does any body hear' the song lyrics say she has been
running 100 miles per hour in the wrong direction .Let us say you have
always wanted to be a civil engineer but when you applied for civil
engineering at Makerere University,you were given business which you
did or are doing.In that case a good course is being done by a wrong
person and there are few chances that you will perform your job in
business well.
Sometimes we know how to get what we want but we just can't afford the
cost we are required to pay,the cost in monetary
value,discipline,focus,endurance,perseverance etc.
When we first conceive a dream in our mind,we believe it with a lot
of faith however big it may be, because we have learned that when a
dream is within our ability,then it is not good enough.A meaningful
dream is meant to be bigger than ourselves requiring faith in a power
greater than ourselves and determination enough to encounter any
obstacles, as it is written in the good book that 'the just shall live
by faith and not by sight'.
In that infant stage of our dream we
committee ourselves and sometimes make pledges never to drift away
from that which we consider to be our high calling.For almost all of
us,back in the days there are things we once aspired for,some
entertained ideas of being music artists,preachers,inspirational
speakers etc.And by then you thought nothing would ever divert you to
something else because that is where your heart was.
When Jesus described faith (mark 4:30-32),he likened it to a mastered
seed which is sown in mixed feelings of doubt and hope but afterwards
it germinates,surviving natural hazards and human activities, it grows
into a very big tree and gives food to the birds of the air,a home for
the beasts of the field,a shade for human beings.
As dreamers we also have to be aware of the dream
killers,circumstances which happen to us unexpectedly,some time back I
have a guy we used to work with in some odd job and he spoke good
English than I expected him to speak so I was compelled to ask him about
his level of education.He told me how he was very bright in school but
while he was in form 2 he lost his father who was serving in the
army,he told me how he tried to work odd jobs,paid his tuition up to form 4
but because of the dependence on him from home he was unable to go any
further. Negative people will come and tell you how your dream is
nothing more than a joke:
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| Moses kipsiro World Championships in Athletics - Berlin 2009 - |
Moses kipsiro said when he worn the 2010 commonwealth games 5000 meter
race gold in Delhi India,he received an official call from his
excellency the president of the republic of Uganda encouraging him to go
for the next 10000 meters,and he did come back home with two gold
medals.We may have few or no people to support us in our journey to
success,but there is no doubt we will have many who will be there to
tell us how it is impossible,how we are stupid for doing or not doing
something.In such moments we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord
like the ancient King David of Isreal.(1 Samuel 30:6)
The apostle Paul of the bible considered life as a race we have to
participate in.He said
"Not that I have already attained ,or am already perfected;but I press
on,that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of
me.Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended ;but one thing I
do,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to
those things which are ahead,I press towards the goal for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Therefore let us, as many as
are mature,have this mind;and if in anything you think otherwise God
will reveal even this to you....... " philipians 3:12-16
Someone has said that
"Obstacles are those things we see when we set our eyes off the goal."If you fix your eyes on what you want and not on what you don't
want,then though the obstacles may be there,you will be able to beat
them,even if they put you down and they mock you,you will be able to
come up again.You know they say
"Failure is an opportunity to begin afresh."
Micah 7:8 "Do not rejoice over me,my enemy;when I fall,I willWhen a seed of vision is planted in us,we receive it with joy but
arise;when I sit in Darkness,The Lord will be a light to me."
because as Jesus described in the parable of the sower,sometimes that
seed is destroyed by many things,by the pleasures and hardships of
this world.Let us pray to God that he will keep us focusing on that
calling, which is to be like himself .It just reminds me of a Swahili
song we used to sing back then
"Tuta yimba yimba tu fanane naye (wewill keep singing and be like him)".when Jesus came to his desciples
walking on water,they were afraid thinking it was a spirit,but the
restless peter said "if it is you command that I may also walk on
water" and Jesus asked him to come,he walked very well for sometime
while focusing unto Jesus,but when he began thinking about the storm
which was coming,he began sinking.Jesus should be our main focus.The
apostle paul said "I can do all things with him who strengthens me.One
preacher pastor David Kiganda said "how you get it is how you maintain
it".If you got that dream by faith,you have got to make it bigger by
faith alone.
It is this mentality Jesus had when he was here to save human kind.He
knew he had to die for the sins of the world, when the devil came in
to tempt him promising him the world,he knew there was something
bigger than satan's counterfeit promises.The bible says because of his
endurance up to death he was given a name which is above each and
every name.
Isiah 40:31 "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strengthAs the years go by,sometimes we will feel like we are lost and have
;They shall mount up on wings like eagles,they shall run and not be
weary,They shall walk ant not faint."
failed,but if you belive in God,you should always remember that God is
not yet done with you,you are supposed to be where you are.The bible
says those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength like
eagles.Eagles are known to fly too high and travel long distances,but
also they are Known for their perfect sight,it is said that it's sight
is 8 X that of a human.
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| the eagle's eye |
When the bible says we shall renew our strength like eagles when we
wait upon the Lord,it means that faith we had for the dreams we once
had can be revived again.Moses of the bible was living a good life
with all the good things one would ever desire,but one day by a
fearless selfless faith he decided to follow his dream of defending
the helpless weak people.
Hebrews 11:24-27
"By faith Moses,when he became of age,refused to be called the son ofThough at that moment Moses felt that by faith he had all it takes to
the pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the
people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,esteeming the
reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt;for he
looked to the reward.By faith he forsook Egypt,not fearing the wrath
of the king;for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
save his people the Isrealites who were serving as salves in Egypt,God
was pleased with Moses' dream but knew it wasn't the right time.God
caused him to flee from Egypt to some remote place where he lived for
forty years doing things so different from his original dream.When due
time had come,his dream was revived,and the bible says
"by faith they passed through the red sea as by dry land,whereas theIt is painful to nurse unfulfilled dreams and hopes,sometimes you may
Egyptians,attempting to do so,were drowned." hebrews 11:29
be tempted to find someone to blame for what you think are failures as
a way to comfort yourself,you know people tend to feel better when they have someone to blame,but who knows,may be it is not just the right time.If you wait upon the Lord,you could be that
musian,preacher,doctor,author,mother,father or any thing you once
wanted to be.
I hope you fix your eyes on the goal.
Thursday 26 September 2013
As we journey to success
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| pilgrims |
such are the words of a certain man named Jacob,it is written in the bible that before this man would be born,God spoke to his mother and saidI like the way some cultures name people,normally if your name was not inherited like mine of which I don't know its meaning,just that it is common in neighboring country Kenya and normally given to women,then it has a meaning that describes your character.It reminds me of Film actor Jack Chan's 'movie Who Am I' ,Chan wakes up in a tribal village somewhere in the African veldt, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident he cannot remember; as a result, when asked for his name by the natives, he responds by asking himself, "Who Am I?", and is referred to as that by the natives. So Wanting to know what these biblical names mean,I visited my knowledgeable friend Google and he had to reffer me to vocabulary.com and this is what I found.
"Two nations are in your womb,Two people shall be separated from your body;One people shall be stronger than the other,And the older shall serve the younger"
it came to pass that when time for labor pains arrived,two babies were born,quoting the bible,it is written (genesis 25:25-28) "And the first came out red.He was like a hairy garment all over,so they called his name Esau (which means Hairy)afterwards his brother came out,and his hand took hold of Esau's heel;so his name was called Jacob (which means supplanter ).
A supplanter takes over or takes the place of someone else, usually on purpose. If usurping thrones is your thing, then maybe you have a future as a supplanter.
A supplanter takes the place of someone or something that was there first. For example, a new big-name donut shop may become a supplanter if it hurts or ruins the business of the local Mom and Pop donut shop. Supplanter often refers to governments and rulers of countries, and it comes from the verb supplant, which evolved from the Latin supplantare, meaning "to trip up or to overthrow."
DEFINITIONS OF:
supplanter
1
one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another
Synonyms:
usurper
Types:
claim jumper
one who illegally occupies property to which another has a legal claim
Type of:
offender, wrongdoer
a person who transgresses moral or civil law"
The bible also describes these twins in (Genesis 25: 27) saying
"So the boys grew.And Esau was a skillful hunter,a man of the field;but Jacob was a Mild man,dwelling in tents.And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game,but Rebekah loved Jacob".Esau was skilled,busy hard working man,he was a practical man of the field,he had the egoistic pride instilled in all men of not wanting to receive free things,but instead to give free things to other people supporting them.we could describe Esau as a grown up responsible man who supports his aging parents and a lazy sibling Jacob.And his father Isaac loved him more for this.Jacob on the other hand was described as being 'Mild' and dwelling in tents.This guy was a stay at home mummy's kid,he didn't have any skill,he is like most of our young generation today,people who a being educated up to college and on graduation day the commencement speakers advice them not to be Job seekers but Entrepreneurs Choosing the hard way to success ,yet they have been exposed to very little practical skills and more passive theory.So what happens is that after college they move back with their parents at home and make European football betting as their day to day occupation.Jacob was mild,Visiting Vocabulary.com again,"A mild person is humble and meek — the opposite of bold. Mild things are also moderate in some way, like pleasantly mild weather or food that’s not spicy. Mild is the opposite of extreme. There’s nothing wild about mild.
Mild comes from the Old English word milde for "gentle." Indeed, mild people are gentle. They don't brag or do cartwheels in supermarkets. They're mellow and submissive."And such was the man Jacob and his mother loved him more.
But you see everyone wants to be successful,owning something independently,That is why a certain man publicly asked Jesus to help him tell his brother to share their father's inheritance with him.(Luke 12:13),We are familiar with the parable of the prodigal son,how he demanded for his own share from his father and went off to a distant far country I believe in search for a new independent Life.so Jacob wanting to be independent yet without any skill,conspiring with his mother they supplanted Esau's birth right which came along with a bigger share of a blessing and the inheritance.Unfortunately this was a painful experience to Esau and the bible says he felt so bitter and wanted to comfort himself by killing his young brother Jacob,So Jacob had to flee for dear life.
Now you can imagine,a mild unskilled sit at home mummy's boy leaving for the unknown foreign land far away from home.thinking about this and putting myself in his shoes,I can tell it wasn't an easy moment for him.(Genesis 28:10 -22) Explains that experience in depth,there was no taxis or trains by then,unlike the rich who had horses and camels for transport,most people used to walk.Verse 11 says
"So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night,because the sun had set.and he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head (pillow),and he lay down in that place to sleep".In the next verses the bible says he had a dream and saw angels ascending and descending from heaven,He had God talk to him and promised him in verse 15 "Behold I am with you and will bring you back to this land;for I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU UNTIL I have done what I have spoken to you"When I consider the struggles people go through in the pursuit of happiness,I find that in one way or the other there is a way we can relate to this story of Jacob,some of us were not born in wealthy communities to take on ready made possessions,some are actually from wealthy families but because of some reasons they chose to leave and begin a new Life from scratch,it is not always easy and it will never be easy.Comedian Stephen colbert in his commencement speech to the class of 2013 at Virginia he said
verse 20 "then Jacob made a vow,saying.'if God will be with me,and give me in this way that I am going,and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,so that I come back to my father's house in peace,then the Lord shall be my God.And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house,and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you".
"but while we may be leaving you with an economy with fewer job opportunities for new graduates to slip into and while traditional path may seem hard to find,that also means that you will learn sooner than most generations the hard lesson that you must always make a path for yourself,there is no secret society that will tap you on the shoulder one night and show you the way.because the true secret is,your life will not be defined by the society that we have left you"Here we see Jacob moving from a place he has known all his life,a place in which he had hoped to build his dreams in,to an unknown place he has never been to,it can really be scary.right now he is in the survival stage in need of of "bread to eat and clothing to put on" and he is asking these from God.When we were young there is a life we always dreamed having,I don't know about others but personally it is not a life I am living now, like the Americans say ' living the dream ',there is a life I want to have in the future but have no idea whether it will ever come to pass.we don't know what the future holds but we know if we trust in God all will be well with our souls.Jacob is rejuvenated and made strong to carry on with his journey after he has received an affirmation from God how he 'will keep him wherever he goes'.It is God who will always be by our side in whatever situation we go through be it hard or just fine.
"yea,though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me;your rod and staff,they comfort me." psalm :23Later we find that Jacob reached to his final destination,worked hard for someone else though he was promised by God how nations will serve him,he married,had kids,accumulated wealth and servants.Because he had made vows of returning to his homeland,he had to leave the foreign country and go back home,for east or west home is best.But he knew he hard some unresolved issues with family members back home,so he needed to talk to God first.(Genesis 32:9-12)
"then Jacob said.'O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,the Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family,and I will deal well with you':It is this very moment that God changed Jacob's name to Israel (Genesis 32:28).
verse 10 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown your servant;for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff,and now I have become two companies."
After struggling all these years Jacob realized that it wasn't about him,but about God's will and providence,his name was changed from Jacob (thief) to Israel (prince with God).
Along the way to where we are today,we have had different experiences,great and terrible all together.Been called by different names,cheater,poor,lazy,selfish,irresponsible etc,some of these names we don't like and we would want them to be changed.If we are persistent and hold on to our faith in God we will become better people some day.God in one's life is the greatest indicator of success.For God and my Country.
IMPROVISATION
Today,wondering through my past memories,I remembered a friend I was once with,he is a good person and I am glad to have known him.
You know a lot of things happen to us in this life and they go never to happen again,they say "two things can not happen the same way twice" your teenage sweet heart might still be a good friend today but your relationship may never be as great as those olden days when you felt as though you were on the top of the world thinking that everyone was wrong about your relationship.I and my Kuchi kuchi used to have a slogan of 'two against the world',for indeed the first cut is the deepest,do you ever wonder why our first loves linger in our mind for almost forever? no wonder the bible talks about rejoicing with the woman of your youth.(Proverbs:5:18
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth).I think it is so because it is these people who first show us that we are lovable,at a time when we are shy,very innocent about the opposite sex and qualify to be called Kenny Rogers' 'The coward of the county'.I believe in times of teenage relationships,almost everyone has that moment in the past that you consider a lost opportunity,a time you remember and say I wish I... .When you can't live the past again,all you remain with to do is to treasure and keep your memories well.
Ok back to my friend, we used to participate together in the different church activities.As a new convert to the Born again movement,he played a very big role in establishing me as an active believer.Once in a while he could ask me to say the opening or closing prayer during fellowships with the other believers,sharing the word of God and so on,but there was something about this friend,he was so devoted and funny sometimes,for example sometimes the choir could rehearse the songs to be ministered on sunday service when he is not around,but when the time for presenting the songs comes,he joins in trying to match the others even in the dancing.the truth is sometimes he could not follow uniformly but remaining serious,he used not to mind about what he had missed in the lyrics of the song or the steps in the dance.watching him you wouldn't help but release a godly smile if not a laugh.
what my friend used to do is not something only unique to him,it happens to us everyday and it is called improvisation.According to Vocabulary.com ,to improvise means to make something on the spot,or figure it out as you go.It comes from the Latin word improvisus meaning 'unforeseen,unexpected "It is a creative instant way of doing something you didn't have in mind before.it is not the backup plan(alternative) or the secondary plan in military language,it's a new decision you come up with after an unexpected event has happened.Let us say you are a pianist in a church and someone you have never met comes on stage to perform a song,if you are going to play the piano for them,then you will do that by what they call "playing by the ear".
You could be a public relations personnel for an organization and you are somewhere and you are not sure of the questions your audience will ask you,in such a situation they say "taking it as it comes",or perhaps you are a stand up comedian in a foreign community where people are expecting you to make them laugh but you just don't know what is funny to them,then you just "make it up as you go".I am a great fan of the famous comedian Stephen Colbert,in his commencement speech to the graduating class of 2011 at Northwestern University Evanston Illinois, he said "
The unknown is usually very scary,you should have a little concern sometimes but you should never confront it with fear,fear terrorizes a creative mind and disarms it of all her weapons leaving you insecure and vulnerable to further damages.Sometimes when I think of my future,of the things I 'want' to be,I get a little bit worried and feel like I just can't make it.but there is some where I always draw my strength to keep focusing.There is this common saying that "we don't know what the future holds for us but we know who holds the future".One of my pastors pastor Joseph Sserwada said "when God gives a vision he also gives a provision"
In (Mathew 10:1-19)
Jesus said "when you come before councils don't be afraid of what you will say....".In (Luke 12:22-32) talking about human needs he said "don't be worried of tomorrow".King David of the bible in one of his psalms (psalm 18:29)said "with you I can go after a troop and with you I can leap over a wall".Paul of tarsus in (Acts 20:22) said "I go to Jerusalem bound in the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there...".With all these examples of these great leaders who lived before us,we should not be intimidated by the unknown.
(Psalm 121) I look unto the hills from whence shall my help come from?
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| My friend hassan Wabutwa having American corn bread |
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth).I think it is so because it is these people who first show us that we are lovable,at a time when we are shy,very innocent about the opposite sex and qualify to be called Kenny Rogers' 'The coward of the county'.I believe in times of teenage relationships,almost everyone has that moment in the past that you consider a lost opportunity,a time you remember and say I wish I... .When you can't live the past again,all you remain with to do is to treasure and keep your memories well.
what my friend used to do is not something only unique to him,it happens to us everyday and it is called improvisation.According to Vocabulary.com ,to improvise means to make something on the spot,or figure it out as you go.It comes from the Latin word improvisus meaning 'unforeseen,unexpected "It is a creative instant way of doing something you didn't have in mind before.it is not the backup plan(alternative) or the secondary plan in military language,it's a new decision you come up with after an unexpected event has happened.Let us say you are a pianist in a church and someone you have never met comes on stage to perform a song,if you are going to play the piano for them,then you will do that by what they call "playing by the ear".
You could be a public relations personnel for an organization and you are somewhere and you are not sure of the questions your audience will ask you,in such a situation they say "taking it as it comes",or perhaps you are a stand up comedian in a foreign community where people are expecting you to make them laugh but you just don't know what is funny to them,then you just "make it up as you go".I am a great fan of the famous comedian Stephen Colbert,in his commencement speech to the graduating class of 2011 at Northwestern University Evanston Illinois, he said "
AFTER I GRADUATED FROM HERE, I MOVED DOWN TO CHICAGO AND DID IMPROVISATION . NOW THERE ARE VERY FEW RULES TO IMPROVISATION, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS TAUGHT EARLY ON IS THAT YOU ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE SCENE. EVERYBODY ELSE IS. AND IF THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE SCENE, YOU WILL NATURALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THEM AND SERVE THEM. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU'RE IN THE SCENE TOO. SO HOPEFULLY TO THEM YOU'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON, AND THEY WILL SERVE YOU. NO ONE IS LEADING, YOU'RE ALL FOLLOWING THE FOLLOWER, SERVING THE SERVANT. YOU CANNOT WIN IMPROV.EVEN WHEN IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE WINNING."
AND LIFE IS AN IMPROVISATION. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT AND YOU ARE MOSTLY JUST MAKING THINGS UP AS YOU GO ALONG.
AND LIKE IMPROV, YOU CANNOT WIN YOUR LIFE.
The unknown is usually very scary,you should have a little concern sometimes but you should never confront it with fear,fear terrorizes a creative mind and disarms it of all her weapons leaving you insecure and vulnerable to further damages.Sometimes when I think of my future,of the things I 'want' to be,I get a little bit worried and feel like I just can't make it.but there is some where I always draw my strength to keep focusing.There is this common saying that "we don't know what the future holds for us but we know who holds the future".One of my pastors pastor Joseph Sserwada said "when God gives a vision he also gives a provision"
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| when you kneel before God no man can stand before you |
Jesus said "when you come before councils don't be afraid of what you will say....".In (Luke 12:22-32) talking about human needs he said "don't be worried of tomorrow".King David of the bible in one of his psalms (psalm 18:29)said "with you I can go after a troop and with you I can leap over a wall".Paul of tarsus in (Acts 20:22) said "I go to Jerusalem bound in the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there...".With all these examples of these great leaders who lived before us,we should not be intimidated by the unknown.
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| To the unknown |
(Psalm 121) I look unto the hills from whence shall my help come from?
Sunday 25 August 2013
LIFE AS IT IS
They say LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT,in other words you become what you planned and acted to be.In this case we assume that you are the input you applied in the previous you.Some one said,"There is no secret to success,you don't have to be lifted on an elevator,you have to climb the ladder of success." I am also a victim of positive Thinking and I believe that you can be anything you want as long as you are determined to pay the cost,For there is No Gain without Pain.The believers in God's Grace may think otherwise but the Good book is clear on this saying,'The wages of sin is death but the free Gift of God is eternal life through christ Jesus'.You see,God's grace is only accessed by Faith in His Son Jesus who paid the cost for all the sins of human kind.Our salvation was purchased by Jesus at a very high cost of his own painful and shameful death.Anyway that was a by-the-way.In the pursuit of a good life by all people,certain common denominators are not to be missed.All people want Freedom,independence,peace,
Once I sat on the roof top and watched people from all walks of Life down the streets,everybody was minding their business,some were footing,others driving,sitting in fancy cafeterias taking their luxurious coffee cups whose cost exceeds a daily wage for people in the other class.You see God created us in the same class but while on earth we have formed ourselves in more diverse classes even in churches where we go to meant our common creator,for those who have not very soon you will go to this church and they will introduce themselves as An English speaking Church.So what shall we say of this things?,shall we say that the Haves are more hardworking or wiser than Have Nots ? may be yes,but that can not be absolute.For everyone wants to attain something good,it is just that sometimes what you expect is not what you get.Anybody who ever went to school had that hope of a good fancy career that would bring them to their desired destiny tagged with Happiness,Freedom,
I wish everything was to be just as we had planned,but you see they say if your dream happens just as you planned,then it is not good enough.In other words ,Life is not a constant but a variable .Thanks to my Math teacher,I remember her in those days saying ,"You may be given a number,say like X ,find the value of X ".Life is a variable ,we are not sure of it's true value,we just have to solve it out.If you had and still have problems with math,don't worry,unlike back then at school,here in real life you can copy because in some instances you won't have time to do corrections.So copy from other people's successes or failures.
you may have attained a college degree majoring in something just to find yourself competing with elementary and high school dropouts.
But
never stress,in Africa we believe that a pen ( Education) is like a
hoe,you may have a bad season on your farm but there is always something
you can bring home.In life we should always learn to have the faith of a
farmer.For they by faith sow even if there is no sign of the Rains with
a hope that the rains,even if they may delay a bit,will come and the
tiny seeds sown will bring forth fruit.
In this 21st generation we are having a lot of norms and traditions being redefined.say,men wearing Dreadlocks,women wearing tight pants I hear mbu leggings,morning clubbing ,we can as well redefine somethings in our own life,instead of 'Life is what you make it' we can have it as 'Life is what you take it' because sometimes what you want is not what you get irrespective of doing all the common methods to success.Never use someone Else's method of success as your own you could be called to be something else.
Life is not about what you have done,but what the good Lord who gives us all good things to enjoy has done.In proverbs it is written 'A horse is prepared for the day of trouble but deliverance comes from the Lord'.A self made King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in his magnificent palace is brought down but a poor young shepherd David from the bush is anointed king.
The Bible describes worldly achievements as 'uncertain riches of this world'.The rich fool thought he had gathered what is more than enough for him to enjoy and have a peaceful prosperous retirement when certainly his soul was required from him by the Ripper.Everything was well with Job when certainly he received reports of how he had lost his all.And what of our own generation,don't you know that our very own king of kings Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi
In this 21st generation we are having a lot of norms and traditions being redefined.say,men wearing Dreadlocks,women wearing tight pants I hear mbu leggings,morning clubbing ,we can as well redefine somethings in our own life,instead of 'Life is what you make it' we can have it as 'Life is what you take it' because sometimes what you want is not what you get irrespective of doing all the common methods to success.Never use someone Else's method of success as your own you could be called to be something else.
Life is not about what you have done,but what the good Lord who gives us all good things to enjoy has done.In proverbs it is written 'A horse is prepared for the day of trouble but deliverance comes from the Lord'.A self made King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in his magnificent palace is brought down but a poor young shepherd David from the bush is anointed king.
The Bible describes worldly achievements as 'uncertain riches of this world'.The rich fool thought he had gathered what is more than enough for him to enjoy and have a peaceful prosperous retirement when certainly his soul was required from him by the Ripper.Everything was well with Job when certainly he received reports of how he had lost his all.And what of our own generation,don't you know that our very own king of kings Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi
For indeed Life is what you take it,there are no self made men,you could be a Have-Not today and tomorrow find yourself in Father Abraham's bosom watching over a man once a Have who always dressed in royal purple garments now being tormented by the Giant thirst
HEROISM PROVED
first you need to know that there is no secret society that will tap you on the shoulder and tell you how you are talented to make a good athlete ,here in Uganda you are supported after you have become popular.That is when you will hear all the praises and contributions and as it is said in Proverbs 18:16 of the good book that
"A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men",you will also definitely receive a call from the first house in Entebbe inviting you for a lunch or dinner and the next day go to meet Hon.Kadaga and Hon.Lukyamuzi the man at parliament for stately congratulations,what are you talking about ? they will always treat you like this for as long as you keep being the best.if you all of a sudden grow weak you will be forgotten ,I mean where is Dorcus inzikuru and moses kipsiro Thank God at least I know of John Akii-bua because there is Akiibua Road in Nakasero Uphill,but who knows whether some Ninjas some time to come will under estimate that noble achievement and Name the road after someone else say like Gilbert Arinaitwe Bwana,by the way was that guy a civilian or a security officer? You know they say 'Yamba polisi Nayo ekuyambe' meaning help the police as it also helps you,may be he was just helping .Anyway it is good to name infrastructures after important people or events,it helps to remind us of how we have been moving towards our present.At least I can take touble to find out who Dowinton was because of dowinton road at National theater in Kampala.Recently while wondering in illusions about my future,I entertained dreams of owning a commercial building in one of our important towns and name it Y.K.Museveni Complex but I thought it wouldn't be a good idea as long as we still have the 4GC (For God and my country ) activism group formerly A4C (Activism For Change), some people don't take this guys seriously but if they are persistent like this,they might get power come 2070 after afande Sam Omara and Gilbert Arinaitwe Bwana have retired.
On a serious note as a country we should learn to remember and honorably reward our Heroes,there are many personal sacrifices we may never know that they make just to make us as a country shine proudly.
Secondly you should mind your last name.It should at least bear a letter 'K' and 'Ki' just makes it better,I mean we can talk of kiprotich,Kipsiro,Kiprop,
Anyway Thank you so much Stephen kiprotich for what you have done,indeed we are proud of you,You represent the greater number of common Ugandans who are struggling to fulfill their heart felt desires of being somebody in this mother Land Uganda amidst external pressures and poverty drawing us to some other things that we have never planned to be.We have people whose desire was to be preachers,doctors,bankers,
Thursday 8 August 2013
Tuesday 6 August 2013
After you have Lost
You have heard that "no state is permanent" that everything changes
and before you know it things are different.Now that statement is very
true and good to hear or believe when things are tight,like they say
"when you are found between a rock and hard place,at a time when your
options are very limited.But how about when everything is going on
just fine? when everything is just as you had planned it or even much
better than you had imagined? wold you wish for things to change? I
bet not.
probably you have heard someone say "Change is a fact of life" you
can't resist it,some people say we should always cause the change we
want,and partly I believe that though I think there is a debate on
that,but you see,even if you don't cause change,change will come by
its self.They say in life there is nothing constant except Change.You
won't be thinking like that forever ,you won't be young forever
,chances are you won't be doing that Job all your life.
In life there are things we always want to see changed,but then
some,we want them to remain forever or at least for some time,it could
be a Job,a friend,a spouse,an academic course et cetera .But certain
things we can't control because they are not into our hands,so many a
times we see people all over the world facing painful changes in their
lives,Time and again we are forced out of school,out of
competitions,out of relationships,out of business ,out of a job at a
time when we least expect it,so almost everybody feels they are out of
something.So the question is not whether you you will ever loose
something ,it is what you do when you have lost something .after a
loss,some people are filled with anger,fear,bitterness,
etc
I read somewhere that a certain old man was asked "In your own
life,what did you do every time you encountered hardships ?"
meant to be,so we just guess and try our luck in anything,or we just
copy someone Else's life and paste in our own,because John is
successful by being a church pastor you also become one and yes you could also
appear to be 'successful' but in a wrong context out of what God
created you for. And so God always uses problems,set backs whatever
name you could name them to guide us back to his purposes,it is
because of this that the ancient Job,when he had lost his all,did not
curse God but instead praised him and said
a deadly sense of individualism,where by we put ourselves at the
center of everything ,my car,my money,my this my that,we put a me tag
on everything .We want to try things on our own to satisfy our ego so
at the end we can say " I did it" .We tend to think that everyone
should be thinking about us,that is why after we have lost we are
afraid that people will laugh at us.If you didn't know,sometimes
people are not thinking about you,they are busy minding their
business,so after a loss or set back,just take that as an opportunity
to begin over afresh after you have learnt your previous mistakes.
Look it is not about you nor about them,it is about God,
Jeremiah 17:7-8
That person who puts God at the center of everything is always in the
right position to handle any unexpected crisis.Such a person should
not use God to solve his problems but should let God use problems in
their life to fulfill his purpose.
The loosing time is not the time to run away from God,it is the best
time to run to God because he is able to handle anything however big
it appears to us.
The psalmist sang and said
Our God is bigger and greater than anything you will ever think of.His
name is a strong and might tower,the righteous run to it and they are
safe.
Pastor Rick warren in his book says
"A journey is always better when shared"
Will you allow God into your walk to Day?
and before you know it things are different.Now that statement is very
true and good to hear or believe when things are tight,like they say
"when you are found between a rock and hard place,at a time when your
options are very limited.But how about when everything is going on
just fine? when everything is just as you had planned it or even much
better than you had imagined? wold you wish for things to change? I
bet not.
probably you have heard someone say "Change is a fact of life" you
can't resist it,some people say we should always cause the change we
want,and partly I believe that though I think there is a debate on
that,but you see,even if you don't cause change,change will come by
its self.They say in life there is nothing constant except Change.You
won't be thinking like that forever ,you won't be young forever
,chances are you won't be doing that Job all your life.
In life there are things we always want to see changed,but then
some,we want them to remain forever or at least for some time,it could
be a Job,a friend,a spouse,an academic course et cetera .But certain
things we can't control because they are not into our hands,so many a
times we see people all over the world facing painful changes in their
lives,Time and again we are forced out of school,out of
competitions,out of relationships,out of business ,out of a job at a
time when we least expect it,so almost everybody feels they are out of
something.So the question is not whether you you will ever loose
something ,it is what you do when you have lost something .after a
loss,some people are filled with anger,fear,bitterness,
etc
I read somewhere that a certain old man was asked "In your own
life,what did you do every time you encountered hardships ?"
He said " I always choose to look at what God was doing,other thanyou see in this life ,sometimes we don't know exactly what we were
what I wanted,on God's purpose other than my desires"
meant to be,so we just guess and try our luck in anything,or we just
copy someone Else's life and paste in our own,because John is
successful by being a church pastor you also become one and yes you could also
appear to be 'successful' but in a wrong context out of what God
created you for. And so God always uses problems,set backs whatever
name you could name them to guide us back to his purposes,it is
because of this that the ancient Job,when he had lost his all,did not
curse God but instead praised him and said
The Lord gave and he has taken away,blessed be the name of the Lord.job 1:21Normally,we hurt so much after we have lost something because we have
a deadly sense of individualism,where by we put ourselves at the
center of everything ,my car,my money,my this my that,we put a me tag
on everything .We want to try things on our own to satisfy our ego so
at the end we can say " I did it" .We tend to think that everyone
should be thinking about us,that is why after we have lost we are
afraid that people will laugh at us.If you didn't know,sometimes
people are not thinking about you,they are busy minding their
business,so after a loss or set back,just take that as an opportunity
to begin over afresh after you have learnt your previous mistakes.
Look it is not about you nor about them,it is about God,
Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
That person who puts God at the center of everything is always in the
right position to handle any unexpected crisis.Such a person should
not use God to solve his problems but should let God use problems in
their life to fulfill his purpose.
The loosing time is not the time to run away from God,it is the best
time to run to God because he is able to handle anything however big
it appears to us.
The psalmist sang and said
Psalm 121:1-2..."I look to the hills from where does my help come from...My help comes from the Lord maker of heaven and earth"
Our God is bigger and greater than anything you will ever think of.His
name is a strong and might tower,the righteous run to it and they are
safe.
Pastor Rick warren in his book says
"A journey is always better when shared"
Will you allow God into your walk to Day?
ADULTIHOOD
A friend of mine received a call from her friend telling her that she was pregnant and immediately she was going to say "Oh my God,what are you gonna do?",but then after a quick thought in a second she said "Wow,congratulations " because she realized that they are not children any more,they had grown up and adults get pregnant and have babies.
A friend of mine came to me and she began telling me real personal stuff about her relationship and she need advice.At first I didn't know what to say but then after some time I realized I was a grown up and needed to say something.
When I left home for college and was left alone,at first I thought of blaming people for not helping me but then afterward I realized I had grown and therefore needed to find work and survive on my own.
To be an adult involves making hard decisions of life.people fear to be called adults because they fear responsibilities.When you don't have a home of your own,no Job security,no.....you pretend you are still young.For ladies if she is not yet married and desperately searching for Mr right,though she is 28 she will pretend to be 20.
We don't choose to be male or female but to be a man or woman it is a personal choice you make and acompany it with actios. (1 corithians:13:11) the apostle paul said "when I was a child ,I spoke as achild;but when I became a man,I put away childish things."
You may be old in years but your actions show you are still a child .Some of us need to be reminded that we have grown up and need to put away childish ways.Adults think about The Future,five,ten,twenty years from now.When live in a world where everything is done for today .fast food restuarants,holiday parties ,sex just for pleasure his unwanted pregnancies,lottery tickets,beting etc.No time for future plans.
Someone once said "if you have a girl friend and she begins to talk about future, just know she becoming spoiled." People of this generation fear marriage because they think it is some kind of prison.
(Heb:11:24-25) when Moses became of age,he decided to leave his guardian's home and join the slaves because he looked at his future and ignored the passing pleasures.
(1 kings:1:2) When king David was leaving this earth,he instructed Solomon his son to 'prove himself a man' .He said be strong therefore and prove yourself a man. In Bugisu region to be a man you have to go through the circumcision process.
They say change is inevitable,whether you pretend to be something you are not,you will change.Those old friends will change,you body will change.The strength you have now may not be felt sometime to come.Only one person can not change.
(Malachi 3:6) the good book says,"For I am the Lord,I do not change,therefore you are not consumed,O sons of Israel".
Him who created us male or female did that with a purpose,and unless we accept who we are and go to him for guidance ,we can not know that purpose,He knows you need a partner,he knows you need a Job.
A time comes when you stop following and you begin to lead so that others can follow you.
When Moses was of age he said to Joshua "Am old and can not come in or go out with you any longer,but be strong and of good courage,for you must go with this people to the land which the lord has sworn to their fathers to give them,and you shall cause them to inherit it.
LONELINESS
Sometimes you never realise you are lonely until you are not busy with
some thing,say work, school or friends.There are sometimes when you have
some time off from work and you just have some free time to enjoy
yourself,so you try to read,watch a movie,walk around but at the end you
find there is something missing.you try to call your friends so you can
hang out and as if it is a coincidence ,all of them are busy and so
they can't make it.You thought you were okay and relationships suck but
then now you feel like may be it is time you rethink about it.I think
God was not mistaken to say ,it is not good for a man to be alone.
we can
immense ourselves into various activities to find wholeness,
parents,children,siblings,
parents,children,siblings,
For adam on seeing Eve said "truly this is the bone of my
bone and flesh of my flesh".The point of having a relatioship is not
necessarily to provide you with love but to keep you away from hate.As
you grow older,life begins to show its true colors and sometimes those
colors look like s*** that is why its important to have someone by your
side who always reminds you of beauty no matter how dreary things may
get.You start to see your soul wither if you don't have love around
you.
In Africa food is meant to be shared it really hurts to the bone to
always have your meals alone.
Friday 2 August 2013
Morning glory or morning Clubing
We all wake up in the morning at different routine times everyday to
do something.Mostly here in Africa people wake up just to go to
work,either in office,farm etc.For those who don't have work just wake
up in a random way to do anything that comes across (not all) for
believers I hope you have heard of the 'Morning Glory or Morning
Devotion',terms meant for communicating to God before kick-starting your
day.Here in Uganda on most radio stations allover the country religious
leaders wake up as early as 4:30 am to lead people into praying
sessions.Some go to churches,For devotee moslem it is mandatory to wake
up everyday to have morning prayers .I once worked near the Indian
temple in Nakasero and a great number also go for prayers before work.So
whether you pray on your own or in the gathering,whichever way you
choose it is a good experience to begin a day in a spiritual mood
trusting the super natural for guidance through the unpredictable
day.Anybody however great,needs 'something' if I may call it that,which
is greater than himself,it is this sense of the unknown power greater
than ourselves that motivates us knowing that the new day will be
better.
The bible contains several motivational,encouraging,comforting scriptures about this.Forexample (Jeremiah 29:11) God says he has great plans for our future.The unknown can be very scary,not knowing what to expect based on the uncertain present but it feels good to have someone tell you "...there is no need to worry,everything will be fine".(lamentations 3:22-26) after the prophet Jeremiah had shade tears,complained and got weary,he concluded saying "Through the lord's mercies we are not consumed because his compassions fail not,for they are new every morning".everybody needs this.
Though this seems to be a good thing,some people are short of time or have never had a habit of doing this.They wake up and do everything from showering,watching morning news,having breakfast,taking kids to school and later going for work but never praying.
As the world grows older cultures are changing and new ones are being made,they can be resisted at first but with time they always find their ground and following.I grew up Know Morning glory or Morning Devotion as referring to praying But I was challenged to hear Morning glory referring to Morning glory dancing .
In East london people wake up as early as 6am to get into a dance party before they report for work.It is not an after part from a night club.This people are very fresh from bed.they say they can't go to night clubs because they come from their work in the evening when they a very tired and they have to report for work the next day.They say to have a morning glory dancing feels good doing something new.You won't find there alcohol or any kind of liquor,instead you will see people in their office wear,dancing clothes,pajamas and coffee,tea,juice in their hands.Humans are curious and like discovery ,What a generation !.
A new club in London is offering an alternative form of early morning visitors, by giving them the chance to 'rave their way into day' with a new exercise programme of dancing to club music.
'Morning Glory: Rave Your Way Into The Day' has just opened at the Village Underground in Shoreditch, and gives ravers the chance to 'replace the drugs and booze with smoothies and massages'.
Speaking to BBC News, producers Sam Moyo and Nico Thoemmes say the idea to start the club came after trialling it at festivals.
"It's us turning clubbing on its head," said Sam. It's on from 6.30 until 10.30 in the morning and the idea is that people wake up and instead of people going to the gym or pottering about in their rooms, they come here and drop in any time for a massage, a superfood smoothie, some coffee, lots of hugs and just general love and fun before going to work.
"You don't need all of the drugs and drink, and that was one of the reasons for doing it on a Wednesday morning - to filter out the afterpartiers. Not that we don't love a good party."
The bible contains several motivational,encouraging,comforting scriptures about this.Forexample (Jeremiah 29:11) God says he has great plans for our future.The unknown can be very scary,not knowing what to expect based on the uncertain present but it feels good to have someone tell you "...there is no need to worry,everything will be fine".(lamentations 3:22-26) after the prophet Jeremiah had shade tears,complained and got weary,he concluded saying "Through the lord's mercies we are not consumed because his compassions fail not,for they are new every morning".everybody needs this.
Though this seems to be a good thing,some people are short of time or have never had a habit of doing this.They wake up and do everything from showering,watching morning news,having breakfast,taking kids to school and later going for work but never praying.
As the world grows older cultures are changing and new ones are being made,they can be resisted at first but with time they always find their ground and following.I grew up Know Morning glory or Morning Devotion as referring to praying But I was challenged to hear Morning glory referring to Morning glory dancing .
In East london people wake up as early as 6am to get into a dance party before they report for work.It is not an after part from a night club.This people are very fresh from bed.they say they can't go to night clubs because they come from their work in the evening when they a very tired and they have to report for work the next day.They say to have a morning glory dancing feels good doing something new.You won't find there alcohol or any kind of liquor,instead you will see people in their office wear,dancing clothes,pajamas and coffee,tea,juice in their hands.Humans are curious and like discovery ,What a generation !.
A new club in London is offering an alternative form of early morning visitors, by giving them the chance to 'rave their way into day' with a new exercise programme of dancing to club music.
'Morning Glory: Rave Your Way Into The Day' has just opened at the Village Underground in Shoreditch, and gives ravers the chance to 'replace the drugs and booze with smoothies and massages'.
Speaking to BBC News, producers Sam Moyo and Nico Thoemmes say the idea to start the club came after trialling it at festivals.
"It's us turning clubbing on its head," said Sam. It's on from 6.30 until 10.30 in the morning and the idea is that people wake up and instead of people going to the gym or pottering about in their rooms, they come here and drop in any time for a massage, a superfood smoothie, some coffee, lots of hugs and just general love and fun before going to work.
"You don't need all of the drugs and drink, and that was one of the reasons for doing it on a Wednesday morning - to filter out the afterpartiers. Not that we don't love a good party."
Monday 29 July 2013
Should not confuse 'single' with 'Lonely' Philimon Wanja Should not confuse 'single' with 'Lonely'
via Facebook Should not confuse 'single' with 'Lonely'
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