ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

And then there was him.

The incredibly smart,God-fearing,respectful and rational guy who knew what he wanted and was a realist. She met him in her office. She worked part time as an exchange program coordinator at Allionce then – sending  kids to ‘Work and Travel’ in the France, and combining the job with her daily studies at Nairobi University. And it all started right there. He was a law student and wore a suit and a tie to class, always well shaved. But she felt she was drowning in his incredible eyes – from the very moment she met him.

 He tickled her intellect. Extremely logical and well read, he was a great person to talk to, a great mind. What they had in common was ambition. What they didn’t – was ‘attitude’. He was a very much ‘here and now’ kind of guy. And her, she's always the ‘if only’ and ‘when’ kind of lady. And she always dreamed of seeing the world.

For a couple of student years they roamed together the streets of her then favourite city and talked for hours and hours. About life… and love… and faith… and Christianity....and things.. and about future -his – in this city – his city, and hers – outside of the country. They were in love,so they thought. And they knew it was not going to work, but they preferred to be lying to themselves instead. They had time. They were not in a hurry.

She remembers him once telling her how he imagined his perfect 'proverbs 31' girl – she would be a tall dark gracious lady  with short hair revealing her neck,shingo la upanga ,thats what she pictured.. This was his game.. This was partially the description of how she looked, but for the part where it wasn’t – the key was she needed to change for him. And  she wouldn’t. And so it was a fair game. Because neither would he change for her. As for her – she could never describe her perfect guy to him when he asked. She never had the image of a perfect guy in her head. (She’s always eyeing the wrong ones, which result perfect in the end.)

And so, one brisk sunny evening they were walking in the campus fields after the classes,'moonlighting'. And then he took a leap. He asked her if She would ever marry him.I think everything mixed up in her head when she heard it. Because she knew he meant it. And she came to a standstill with her heart heavily pounding somewhere in my knees. ‘ – I don’t know…’ was the only answer she managed to squeeze out of herself. And it was an honest one, because she was startled to the core with what he was asking. No one ever said this to her before.

And then he said he was happy. He was happy becasue it wasn’t a ‘No’.And now she realizes that he was waiting, now she can see it. He was smart and understood it wasn’t about talking her into it or convincing her in any way. He wanted her to love him first. The way he was. The way he wanted his life to be. She wished everyone did it like he did. Because normally it is against the human nature – so many of us hope it will be alright and the other person would somehow change in the end. Which doesn’t happen. Consciously, She didn’t know it then, but deep inside she already knew this wasn’t IT for her, that there was so much more to life. She knew it was only the beginning. And so it was.

This is how it all came to an end. They never officially ended it (actually they never officially started it either). Their last day together was just a day,no requiem for a dream, no goodbye,they knew that would be their last. And he is still in her heart, with all the bitter-sweet memories. They were still in touch after she left Nairobi to study at Oxford university that same year. ..2 years later he told her he is married to a short light-skinned lady.They just laughed.

WORSHIP

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”

-John 4:23-24-

“Worship is first and foremost for His benefit, not ours, though it is marvelous to discover that in giving Him pleasure, we ourselves enter into what can become our richest and most wholesome experience in life.”

-Lamar Baschman-

Hello Friend! This week we will briefly look at worship and what it means in our lives as believers. God has told us in His word how He desires to be worshiped. We do not determine the way in which we will worship, the way has been set out for us in His word. No matter how much is taught to us about worship, we never really “arrive” in worship. It is a constant lesson or pursuit in the life of every believer that desires to be a true worshiper. Let us look at the word “worship” and its definitions:

• ·         It is the honour, reverence and homage paid to a superior being or power.
• ·         It is to feel adoring regard for.
• ·         In Hebrew, it means to bow down or prostrate oneself.
• ·         The English word means worth-ship and denotes the worthiness of the individual receiving special honour.

Worship may express itself in the form of direct address, as in adoration or thanksgiving or in service to God, it may be done in private or in the public. In the Old Testament times, worship was done in the privacy of prayer [*Genesis 18*] and the public setting up of an altar [*Genesis 12:7*]. Moses established the basis of public worship in Israel and gave it its focal point in the tabernacle [*1Samuel 1:1*].

After the death and resurrection of Christ, the rituals and ceremonies associated with worship were removed and the New Testament church developed different aspects of worship. Christians met in homes for private brotherhood meetings and other times during the Lord’s Day [*Acts 20:7; 1Corinthians 16:2*].

                             Christian worship consisted of:

• a.     Preaching [*Acts 20:7; 1Corinthians 14:9*]
• b.     Reading of Scripture [*Colossians 4:16; James 1:22*]
• c.     Prayer [*1 Corinthians 14:14-16*]
• d.     Singing [*Ephesians 5:19*]
• e.     Alms giving [*1Corinthians 16:1-2*] and
• f.        In certain occasions prophesying and speaking in tongues.

Going back to our text in John 4:23-24, what lessons do we learn about worship?

1.      Every believer is called to be a worshiper- not necessarily a worship leader or to join a worship team but in an individual capacity even in a group setting [church, fellowships e.t.c.]
2.      God desires to be worshiper- We were created to worship Him.
3.      Worship is life-As you render your worship to your Father, you will begin to see your life flourish, blossom and illumination will come into your life.
4.      Anytime is worship time-We are no longer bound by ceremonial ties or systems that begin to focus more on instruction rather than the joy of worship. You don’t need a band, a time or place. Just worship Him.

NB: What is important in the life of a believer is not where worship takes place, but that worship takes place.

When we worship:

a.     In Spirit: We worship with the whole soul, mind, feelings, emotions and desires.
b.     In truth: We worship with sincerity not formalism.

Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with a way of escape from the bondage of sin. The purpose of our worship is to:

• ·         Glorify
• ·         Honour
• ·         Praise
• ·         Exalt
• ·         Please God.

God and God alone is the object of our worship. When we worship Him, we take on and develop such traits as forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity, kindness and love. We become like those we admire and worship.

This topic is by no means exhaustible in one lesson, but my desire is that your life will begin to enjoy the richness of true worship and that you will say like the Psalmist in Psalm 84:2, “My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh [yes even that too!!] crieth out for the Living God.”

           

The problem is my attitude!

Yester, or was it the day before, I opened a twitter account. Well, the facebook URL at work is forbidden
and I need a distraction. Too much flowcharting without social media makes me feel left out.

Well, I thought facebook was cool till I ran into the chirpers and its making me reconsider my decision to stay married to the face. Anyway,so I bump into the who is who on facebook and what is cooler is that they dont have to accept me. hey dont be quick to jugde, all of us want a good thing and its better to stare in privacy..:). Back to the subject, lo and alas, I am almost left to think, which could be true, that am living an eigth of an eighth of my life.. Nothing seems to be going on with me and the twitting club,is full of guys, sure about what they want, some already there and some not anywhere close.

I only have 2 followers, one a close friend of mine who if she didn't follow me, I would have held it
against her and another a Wedding line in the states which followed either out of custom or obligation
or out of being an optimist saw my profile and liked it or better still saw my status as a potential client.

That profile, you should know how much of my flowcharting time it took. I actually pondered over it and
upgraded it. What I am driving at is I know I am so much more but I cannot put it down. I should put it
down, I know I should be better. My system of education taught me to think within a particular setting,
I can not do unless I have been permitted to. It taught me to conform, not saying no or I would get a
thrashing, courtesy of a chemistry teacher who thinks a burnsen burner pipe is a good tool. I have been
taught NO is wrong.

The problem with my attitude is that its caged. I need to be free,to chirp and fly away and as if to
pigia debe one type of Social media,to tweet away#tweet steps# and yes, my faculties are undergoing
a revamp…am the next big thing Just so you know, whatever you can not have, ignore!!! Tweet
tips…see, its working already.


Courtesy of Njambi.

A Prayer,One more chance

He could not believe that this was how it was going to end. After everything that he had been through in his life it had come down to this. As big and as strong as he once was. Flat on his back in a hospital bed with a heart that was giving up.

He thought about everything he put himself through. The broken bones, knocked out teeth, six years in the military. All the booze, cigarettes and drugs some legal, most them not. Here he was paying for the life that he led. All the hours spent on that big two facet life. Just having to see what was over the next horizon. The wander lust in his heart. Who could have put up with that?

He thought about the girl who spent so many miles riding behind him. How he loved that woman now. Twenty-five years of good times and bad. She never left sometimes he didn’t understand why she stayed. He was grateful that she did. She was his world. Some days his temper was not to be believed. He could be moody for weeks at a time . How that woman could stand that just amazed him. Then there was their daughter.

What a spitfire she is. Whoever she marries is going to have their hands full. He thought about all the overtime he put in and how much of her life he missed. She is almost finished with university. How wild is that, his daughter in law school. Is the world ready for that? He wonders if she knows how proud of her he is. Does she know how much he loves her? Not being there for her is what hurts the most about this.

He was not going to think like that. He’ll get a transplant, stop smoking and drinking and life will go on as it has in the past. A cigarette sounds good about now he thought. The rare blood type that he has that kept in beer, money and half of his life. Is now going to be the reason that he ends dying on his back in a hospital bed. What a way to go out. Where is the blaze of glory he always figured would accompany his departure from this world. No bells or whistle just a slow fading away. 

He woke up to hearing voices in his room. He looked around and saw that they had brought in another patient and put in his room. No dying alone now even if he wanted too. He saw a woman pass by the end of the other bed. She was huge. She must have been at least eight months pregnant. He thought how sad is that to have a pregnant wife and be in the ICU unit of the hospital. He could hear them talking. The mans' voice was weak and he was trying to be encourage the woman. She told the man that he needed to get some rest and that she would there when he woke up. He could hear the steady breathing of his roommate , he must have fallen on the woman’s command. He could hear the woman mumbling. He thought," prayers at this point lady, are not going to help". Then voice got a little louder and he could hear her.

She was praying. Just like he thought. But what she was praying for sent chills down his spine. “Oh God just a couple of more months. Please let him live long enough to hold our child in his arms at least once before you call him home. Please just a few more days. I know he is dying but let him see his child first.”

As he laid he thought how hard her life was going to be. He thought about the unborn child growing up without their father. What would his daughter be if he had died that early in her life. What would happen to his wife. Even with his quirks ,she loved him with all of her being. How would have she survived.

He must have drifted off again.