Sep 26, 2012

Gothic Architecture: The House of Prayer

It is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world. The Cathedral church of Saint. Peter and Saint. Paul, aka the Washington National Cathedral. It pierces through the air, tall and elegant, blending in but standing out at the same time. It looks like an ancient castle, like a mystery house.
I was drawn to visit it because it's a house of prayer. Apart from the imprint it left on mind while driving by on a tour bus, I'd heard fascinating stories about the Gothic architecture.



Front view of the Cathedral

George Washington in his coat of many colors :-)

All Catholics know this structure. Reminded me of "Christ the King" in Kampala

Space window. The dot in the middle of the circle (up there) contains moon rock that  Apollo xi brought  back from his trip to the moon.

South Rose. Depicting the Church triumphant, imagery from the book of Revelations

Choir area

View from the Pulpit

Hall way

The chair that qualifies the church as a cathedral



The atmosphere wasn't reverent, it felt like a museum as opposed to a house of prayer. Our tour guide amused me as she mentioned stories from the bible like it was the history of Napoleon. "This is a crotchet of David fighting a giant" then she would pause to let it sink in, as though she was waiting for us to exclaim in surprise or something.
It has great architecture, that's for sure.

Sep 20, 2012

Worship and an Omelette

Fill in the missing letters.




Friday evening found me bobbing my head, raising my hands and singing joyfully in the Patriot Center at a Israel Houghton concert. I was sitting at a strange angle with those poles at an unavoidable spot. I'm sure the m_stery l_tters will n_t tickle your brains much.

God is the essence of my life but music has the effect of crowning it all. In moments of worship, I feel one with God. I feel like this is where I belong, everyday. Every moment. All the days of my life. It will be a full time occupation when I get to heaven but while I'm here on earth, I got stuff to attend to and some how worship should be woven into my daily routine.

I try to be a good wife but I slip often and my Sam takes it in stride (bless his heart). Two Sunday's ago, I pulled out all the stops and made him a sumptuous breakfast (they are rare like that). It looked good and tasted great too. Mich exclaimed, "wow! mummy, this looks nice" (mind you, he is not very generous with his applause). I scored highly. But quite apart from the gratitude they expressed, my heart was elated. I felt a sense of purpose. This is what I was created to do. I get a similar feeling when I'm worshiping. Then it dawned on me, that through loving my husband and taking care of my family, I'm worshiping God. As simple as that. Right in that moment, I'd heard the sermon and sang the praise - that was church right there.

Living in the DC, worship artists come often. So here are some pictures from the Houghton concert and DC fest early last month. Can't wait to see Toby Mac in December.
Israel

Israel, telling guys to worship passionately so that the babes can notice :-)

Key board player, Israel and the new breed

The New breed

Drama boy - Israel Houghton and the New breed


MercyMe crew

Brandon Heath

Mac Powell, lead singer Third Day
Bart Millard, lead singer MercyMe

Sep 15, 2012

Rex the pet mouse


We went on a pet hunt. At the pet store we looked at fish of various sizes, shapes and colors. They darted back and forth, swimming up to the glass and making fish faces :-). They looked beautiful.
  • Buy a fish tank
  • Buy fish food
  • Buy water filter
  • Clean the tank every so often
  • Total expense - $50
  • Chances that Amani would yank out the little creatures were extremely high.
So fish it was ... NOT!!

We saw some pretty birds. I loved them!! Beautiful colors, cute beaks - perfect pets.
  • Buy a cage
  • Buy branches
  • Watering can
  • Bird food
  • On the whole more expensive than fish - $70
  • Chances that Amani would open the cage and let the bird fly - very high.
Cats and dogs were out of the question. To think of potty training,  finding a home for them when we are away... too much work. I already have 2 little people to deal with, not about to add to an already complex equation.

Hamsters? too big and expensive
Snakes, Chameleons, out of the question.

Mouse
  • Buy mouse cage
  • Buy mouse food
  • Water bottle
  • Floor covering 
  • Amani will keep her distance.
Feed as often as food gets finished, change the floor bed every two weeks - not too bad. No "baby sitting" necessary. A mouse is $5, total expense - $30

So we got a mouse. Never in my wildest dreams did I picture a day that I would purchase a mouse, but you know what they say "never say never" and with kids, there is just no telling. Lots of surprises on the parenting journey. I would like to think of Rex as a little Jerry (Tom's buddy) but the image and reality doesn't fit just yet.

I was nervous, I thought I was making the biggest mistake but Mich was certain about his decision.
He was asked to keep the mouse in his room, that way he knows it's his responsibility. He was excited. The floor bed (wood chips and stuff) has an awful smell. His room smells like a sty but he seems to handle it quite well.
Rex curious about his cage

Rex nibbling at his food

One night last week, I was stretching at the end of a long day when a mouse came through my bedroom door. I screamed so loud the house nearly shook.
"We've got rats in the house!" I thought.
My heart was racing, trying to calculate my moves to the nearest broom.
But in a split second I remembered, "Of course! we have a mouse in the house" duh
It was Rex.
He moved curiously, clearly not afraid, just checking out his surroundings. He must be a town mouse. A country mouse or a "muyaaye" darts super fast, always running to stay alive.
Still, I didn't have a heart to pick him up and return him to his cage. Mich was in deep sleep. Sam had to come to my rescue.
It turns out Rex's cage door was loose so when he leaned on it, it opened the door to freedom - temporarily.

After a bit of sweat trying to get a hold of the fellow (he had begun to sense some danger), we managed to get him back into his cage and reinforced the lock. Phew!

Wow! Rex would have been history just like that.

Sep 1, 2012

Lessons from a two year old



She is the cutest little girl I know, a miracle straight from God’s throne room.
Her screech when I come through the door is priceless! Her heart beats wild and she beams with excitement. I have had good belly laughs watching her discover the world around her and I have learned a few lessons too.

One day, I watched as she tried to demystify a ray of light. She grabbed it with all the might her hand could master, turned her little chubby palm over to see what she had caught but … it was gone. She tried again, grabbed the ray of light, slowly and carefully turned her hand over and again… nothing. She looked puzzled but within seconds she was skipping along to the next thing. Don’t stop being curious.
On another occasion, I watched again as she raised her forefinger and thumb to catch a bubble, the shock and surprise on her face when it popped and disappeared was priceless. Life from a child’s point of view is fantastic! If only I could adopt half her perspective, I would absorb more joy out of life. The mundane would not be. Praise would continually be on my lips. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven belongs to those with child like faith.

She is affectionate, always concerned for others. She reaches out and rubs her brother’s shoulder when he is upset.  I nearly choked yesterday and it was ever so soothing to hear “mummy, are you okay?” I felt better instantly. Showing concern for those near and dear makes the world a better place.

She is dramatic.  When she is upset, she throws every emotion in there, tears roll, she throws her hands down in frustration, falls to the floor and shakes uncontrollably, but words such as grapes, cookie and Elmo bring all theater to a halt. She’ll immediately dust herself off and trace the origin of the words. Except for the tear marks on her face, one would hardly tell she had been crying. Go through the emotions (maybe with less drama) but don’t bottle it up. When you are done, dust yourself off and keep moving.

She counts to ten, she knows her colors and she sings the alphabet. She is content with routine. She is lighthearted and cheerful. She loves to laugh. When we have tickle time, it’s so much fun to see her out of control. She laughs so hard then she says “funny! Again”.  I love it! She makes me feel young again; her zest for life stirs me up. 

She has had no trouble going to bed at night or napping during the day but since she turned two, she is expressing resistance. The world is more interesting. She comes up with excuses like “Amani go potty” I rush her to the special seat, make sure she is seated then she looks at me and says “not coming” or “all done”. We head back to bed and suddenly “my neck hurting”, “my stomach hurting” and now her favorite “Amani say goodnight daddy”. I used to drag daddy in to say goodnight until I discerned her little game. Even the cutest and innocent of us has a trick or two up their sleeve :-) .

She is organized and always eager to learn. She makes attempts to do everything by herself like brushing her teeth, locking and opening doors, dressing up ... She repeats each new word she hears. She can even say “Frankincense” how cool is that?

She likes clothes, shoes and necklaces – daddy had better save up double. I fore see some serious spending in the future. A girl needs to look good! She has got that down alright.

She is spontaneous. I love the way she bursts into song. We enjoy free entertainment when she dances, mostly to music in her head.

She is focused. She knows exactly what she wants and articulates it ably. Attempts to dissuade her will be intercepted with a firm “no!” not in defiance but more like“I have thought long and hard about this and this is what I would like to do” as if to say “I got this mom!”

She loves her fruits; we all know the benefits there in.

To think that she would not be here if Nziiza or Kwizera had made it leaves me in awe of God. His way is perfect!  I’m continually reminded that “All things work together for good for them that know the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

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