Am seating here at my desk on a glorious Saturday morning....and laughing at myself at the way i had effectively stopped this habit of working over weekends. Over 10 years ago when working with a local NGO, working over weekends was normal to me...to a point where it, to some extent, became an expectation!!
i told myself, this is one habit i will definately not encourage if i move jobs....and so far, i have managed!! but times like this when, i can see that next week will be packed, i need to get some pending work off my desk
let me get back to work
Saturday 21 February 2015
Tuesday 3 February 2015
Heat and Opulence!
Wrote this in July 2013...
Never been to the Middle East before…can’t count the one
stop over I had in Dubai some years ago.
I was therefore more than excited to be visiting Doha –
capital city of Qatar….checked online for most affordable tickets and of course
Etihad came out tops. Booked ticket and was ready to go. The flight was some 4 hours to Abu Dhabi,
stop over for two hours then less than one hour flight to Doha. We were late
leaving Nairobi and so this two hour stop in Abu Dhabi was compromised….reached
well, and ran to next stop, but by the time we reached there we had already
been bumped off since our bags ‘could not make it in time’. Long and short of it is that flight was to be
at 9.50pm and I ended up in the one at 4.55am!!
Anyways, less than one hour later we were in Doha, it has
one hour time difference with Abu dhabi, but same time as Nairobi. Looking out
of the plane, the sun has already risen and all I can see is miles and miles of
desert….reclaimed into this city. From the plane took a long bus ride to next
stop where were to alight and go to baggage claim (at least my bag was
there!)….Sam was on hand to meet me…was so tired didn’t notice much of the
airport…..took a taxi driven by a Kenyan with an interesting twang (wonder about that)….apparently there are many
Kenyans here who drive for this government owned taxi company called Karwa. Not
far to where Sam stays…I was so tired, as soon as Sam took off to work I slept
like a baby!! That evening we took a walk around the place…..still warm in the
evening…..but better that mid day of course. Next day was Thursday and I
basically watched movies as Sam was still at work. Evening we went to this
hotel that had a Kenyan night with none other than DJ Joe Mfalme of Capital FM
spinning the decks….was great!! Many Kenyans!! And I realise that most are so
young….around 25 years!! For sure watu hutafuta mbali!!
Friday there is no work for Sam…and anyways since we slept
at 4am, half the day was spent recovering….later in the day we went to this
massive shopping mall called Villagio……….wow….yaani, don’t know what to
say…..let’s just say it was impressive….many women are veiled, but many also
are not….was worried may have to wear long robes only!! There are many
Philipinoes and Indians…with their families…….the mall has an ice rink…..and
the aircon is so low, you would need a sweater!! The shops are the usual brands
found in malls…men are walking around with long white robes and head gear that
make them look like royalty!! …this is the last weekend before ramadhan starts
and maybe that’s why its so full of people…..on leaving of course as we wait
for taxi, we can see all manner of cars in the parking bay of the mall….i mean,
wanapenda GMC sanaaaaaaaaaaa……….plus all manner of posh cars…aiiii…evidence of
wealth is all around….
Sato, same drill….back to the mall to complete the mission.
I love malls, that’s all am gonna say!! Anyways, Sunday work for sam, so spent
day packing and watching movies….had
carried over 70 movies for Sam thanks to Weety & Jose….to the
airport at midnight, flight at 4am reached Nairobi at nearly 2pm…summary, don’t
say the sun is out there here……huko uarabuni, the sun and its people come out
to play daily!!!
Monday 2 February 2015
Baptism
So this year am gonna be a God parent....this is my second time in this (now that i know) noble task
We had to go through some sessions where various topics were discussed. The first one, on a loose Wednesday evening, the guy spoke so passionately about PRAISING God..that i had to google some more info on it!!
Question: "What does it mean to give a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15)?"
Answer:Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name." The terms "sacrifice" and "praise" might seem to be opposites. We think of sacrifice as offering something at great cost to ourselves. Praise, on the other hand, sounds joyful as it bubbles from a grateful heart. However, in the spiritual realm, sacrifice and praise are intertwined.
Praise does not always cost us something. We praise our dogs for fetching the ball and people for a job well done. Praise is often our response to some action that directly benefits us, and we feel generous because we extend it. We often find it easy to praise God from the same motivation. When He has blessed us, helped us, and protected us, we feel generous toward Him. We can sing, worship, and talk about how good He is because we can see it. That kind of praise, although worthwhile, does not cost us anything. It is not a sacrifice.
Then there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems very far away, and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We can't see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us.
To praise God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of the will to lay our all on the altar before a God we don't understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2;Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17;Job 13:15).
The command inHebrews 13:15says that this sacrifice is to be offered "continually." Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God for His obvious blessings.Isaiah 29:13says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real praise continues regardless of circumstances. It flows continually from a worshiping heart in good times and bad (Acts 16:23-25).
The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a humble heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from a spirit that has chosen to honor God in spite of the pain that life is causing.Psalm 51:16-17expresses this idea best when it says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/sacrifice-of-praise.html#ixzz3QacV5Gbp
We had to go through some sessions where various topics were discussed. The first one, on a loose Wednesday evening, the guy spoke so passionately about PRAISING God..that i had to google some more info on it!!
Question: "What does it mean to give a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15)?"
Answer:Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name." The terms "sacrifice" and "praise" might seem to be opposites. We think of sacrifice as offering something at great cost to ourselves. Praise, on the other hand, sounds joyful as it bubbles from a grateful heart. However, in the spiritual realm, sacrifice and praise are intertwined.
Praise does not always cost us something. We praise our dogs for fetching the ball and people for a job well done. Praise is often our response to some action that directly benefits us, and we feel generous because we extend it. We often find it easy to praise God from the same motivation. When He has blessed us, helped us, and protected us, we feel generous toward Him. We can sing, worship, and talk about how good He is because we can see it. That kind of praise, although worthwhile, does not cost us anything. It is not a sacrifice.
Then there are those times when God did not come through the way we thought He would. The medical test comes back positive. The spouse wants a divorce. A child is wayward. The mortgage company calls in the loan. God seems very far away, and praise is the last thing to bubble up from our hearts. We can't see His goodness, and circumstances scream that He has forgotten us.
To praise God in those times requires personal sacrifice. It takes an act of the will to lay our all on the altar before a God we don't understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise," we choose to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and can be trusted (Psalm 135:2;Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honored, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17;Job 13:15).
The command inHebrews 13:15says that this sacrifice is to be offered "continually." Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a "reward" we give God for His obvious blessings.Isaiah 29:13says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real praise continues regardless of circumstances. It flows continually from a worshiping heart in good times and bad (Acts 16:23-25).
The "sacrifice of praise" comes from a humble heart that has been purified by fire. It rises from a spirit that has chosen to honor God in spite of the pain that life is causing.Psalm 51:16-17expresses this idea best when it says, "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/sacrifice-of-praise.html#ixzz3QacV5Gbp
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