Form 4 results

Now that the results were released yesterday and some of my friends have children with very good grades, makes me wonder how i would be if i had a child in form 4 now!! Interesting....that would mean i would had to have had the child while still at the university - the very thought still freaks me out. I think am a safe player, so all this anxiety that parents feel will be my portion in 4 years time....so help me God!

Working on Saturdays

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

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!!!

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

scary nairobery!

Today I came face to face with one of my worst fears

A lady seating in a matt I was in lost her handbag in a split second...a street boy slowly walked up to the open window and snatched her bag!! we were all so shaken...so sad for her....the lady next to her offered to go with her as someone she knew sent her mpesa so that she can make her way home

needless to say I quickly removed my earrings, my watch...in an attempt to be as incognito as possible

yaani am so scared of such events, wacha tuu

images of my lost bag of course flashes back....I lost my bag many years ago in a restaurant...and from then on I have a special attachment to my bag

sign

Nairobi Nairobi.....tutapelekana wapi!!!

Loyalty Nayo?

So am minding my own business in a matt some days ago

then this Ugandan song starts playing on radio...the guy sounds so much like Nameless!!

In my mind am like...aiiii....surely....how can this guy dub Nameless's sound kabisa.....lazy musician that's what he is...I wanted to send message to someone, but could not do so right away, given that paranoid me doesn't use my phone in matts

hehehe...you can imagine how I felt when DJ said that that was Nameless new song called Butterfly (or something like that)

Loyalty nayo?

Cognitive dissonance

I was determined to have my hair done today

Its one of those lazy Saturdays that you don't want to do anything but laze around the house. But I had to go to the salon and have this natural hair of mine tamed, makes it more manageable for the next two weeks at least. The lady was busy seeing as it was 2pm and she asked that I come back after two hours. so I trooped in at 4pm (with the kids and neighbor kids in tow) and she was indeed finalizing on the last client she had. I sat patiently and some young man was called to wash my hair in preparation. He did a good job I must say save for the over zealous head massage he gave me...hope I don't get a headache from all that!

Anyways, so finally twas my turn and I was categorical...I want the hair done this way...and she nodded in understanding...Now of course I have to remove my specs when my hair is being done and so I didn't really appreciate the huge lines she was doing...I put on my specs and lo and behold....me not happy...told her to redo one line and she was not happy.....she redid it anyways....cognitive dissonance...should have done another hairstyle!!