CNN International Publishes A Photo I took From the Air

Sometimes the maalo (primitive curiosity) of sitting in an aeroplane and peering at the world with wide eyed wonder can lead to double joy. First, the joy of the experience and second the joy of sharing the experience. Woke up to this cute little tweet from CNN international:

Took this on my way back to the U.S from Vietnam. I had a 4 hour lay over at Narita Tokyo airport. I knew I would not visit the city so I made the most of it in the air. I'm glad I get to share it with the world. 

The Wedding Invitation 50 Years Later.

How can we say thanks for the things you have done
Things so undeserved, yet you gave to prove your love for us
The voices of a million angels could not express our gratitude
All that we are and ever hope to be, yeah
We owe it all right now to thee

To God be the glory
To God be the glory
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

Happy 50th Anniversary Mummy and Daddy! We've seen the ups and the downs and the in between's. Through it all you continue to say yes "I do".

Celebrate Spring

I walked out this morning to the sound of a bird tweeting with all its might. I looked up and there it was – a cardinal right at the top of the branch. Its rich red feathers and black mask were a beautiful contrast with the green leaves.

It’s a new day – the birds are eager, the flowers are eager to bud. It’s spring!

A Call for International Hair Day

When she was a baby I kept her hair short. The hussle of plaiting a squirmy little girls hair was more than I could handle at the time. The less the maintenance the better. Then we relocated. She grew older and slowly the idea of short hair wasn't appealing anymore. I yielded and started plaiting little toots. Her hair grew. Imagine her shock and surprise when we washed it and it shrunk.

She looked in the mirror.

"Mummy?"

"Yes"

"Why is my hair going in circles?"

I thought, oh oh!

"Well, that is what happens to our hair when we wash it. It shrinks"

She looked puzzled. It was the strangest thing ever. 

You see, my little girl thinks we are a mirror of the people around us.That we all look the same - especially the little people she spends time with. How ever things get a little complicated when the fine toothed comb does not move as easily through her hair as she thinks it should. Reality check! Culture shock!   

Now mummy has to explain things that would not be issues in Kampala. I remember my friend Ama's experience at the barbers and how it led her to write "Sunne's gift".

Like waves erase foot prints on the shore, my little girl soon forgets and assumes her hair is the same as that which she sees.

"Mummy, make it go up like this and like this"

I look at her and my face cracks into a smile. I resist the temptation to say "girl, that is how our hair bes". 

She says "leave it open" and in her little mind, it is now flowing down to her back well, until she looks into the mirror again and it's gloriously standing strait up and singing alleluya.

I tell her it's beautiful. I tell her it's perfect just the way God made it. That she's fearfully and wonderfully made - unique and special in every way.

One day I un-braided my hair and washed it - naturally it shrunk. She would not come near me. Little miss who is generous with hugs was reserved this time. She would not let her head touch mine. We talked about hair again.

And that is why we need International Hair Day, so that humans of the world can rock what God gave them with out fear or favor and in the process understand and celebrate their differences - long, short, straight, kinky, steel wire, kaweke, GQ all of them.
Here is to International Hair Day! oh yes and to African mama's living in "outside countries".

Little Bear Goes to Work

The Gay Agenda - What Would Jesus Do?

The elephant in the room; - a metaphorical idiom that refers to an obvious truth that is being avoided. That truth for me was the gay and lesbian agenda. I hoped I could wish it away but it grew and slowly squashed me into a corner. I was challenged to rethink my position. I tripped, stumbled and learned the importance of being politically correct in conversations. The sensitivity around the topic was like the growl of a wounded cat before its claws emerge. Activists and proponents were ready to snuff out any fire that did not warm the “right ideas”. I began to question whether there was room for free speech- room to hold my view and not be coerced or challenged for it. It seemed either I believed in the cause or I didn’t believe at all. I wanted to agree to disagree and have that space respected.

Once I had to slowly retrace my steps after I walked into a colleague’s office and caught sight of the portrait on her shelf. Two ladies dressed in wedding gowns. All over a sudden I was alert, I looked around in case I had missed other clues. You see, not only am I old school but usually I imagine someone else telling these stories. I'm a conservative Ugandan woman who avoids controversial topics like the plague. This issue that had once been somewhere out there stared me in the face and I couldn’t run. I purposed to leave the things that people do in their private space and to relate with them as colleagues and friends unless of course the opportunity presented itself for conversation. I hoped not – I preferred not. I figured I was home scot-free if I didn’t talk about it and it was not mentioned well, until another colleague placed the topic on the table.

I engaged in the discussion best I could although I got animated too. Issues surrounding my faith wind me up like that. I said it is man and woman that is God's design, He will not have it any other way. We argued for weeks on end, just could not get enough of the subject. My views were ultimately hinged on my faith and my upbringing. He thought I was narrow minded and offered to give me a tour – meet the people and attend gatherings that sort of thing. A kind of introduction to portray its harmlessness;-“It’s ok as long as no one is hurt”; “two consenting adults = no one else’s business”. I squirmed in my sit, this was an uncomfortable experience but one thing I have learned about God is He doesn't take well to comfort zones. I realized this situation was bigger than me and my comforts, so I indulged and asked..."What Would Jesus Do?"

This question swarmed my mind until I had a eureka moment. I found the answer in three little words “FEED MY SHEEP” John 21:17. Jesus fed His sheep and asked us to do the same no if’s and’s or but’s. Oswald Chambers puts it quite nicely in “My utmost for His Highest”. He says “Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty, some that are awkward or pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God’s love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me. The love of God pays no attention to my prejudices caused by my natural individuality. If I love my Lord, I have no business being guided by natural emotions— I have to feed His sheep. We will not be delivered or released from His commission to us. Beware of counterfeiting the love of God by following your own natural human emotions, sympathies, or understandings. That will only serve to revile and abuse the true love of God.”

That brought me to 1 Corinthians 13:4 –8:

^“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.”

It means don’t make fun of, don’t ridicule. It means grace abounds above and beyond. Jesus is the shepherd and he loves ALL His sheep. When He asked for them to be fed, He meant all of them.

The case was closed.

* We can't change people. Only God can.
* Let the truth of the Word of God shape your thoughts and actions. We either accept the truth or compromise it to suit our purpose. The truth leaves consequences to God compromise leaves consequences with man. 

* Jesus was all about people - He loved them all: Judas Iscariot, Doubting Thomas, lying Peter, Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery and me. 

We all have issues but He sticks with us. 

When they grumbled or fell shot He rebuked them in love - never accusatory. 

So now I'm here facing this elephant who seems to shrink each passing day I don't know if it’s because I'm getting used to its presence or that I understand my stand better. 

One thing I know is, it’s not my job to fix but to love and feed the sheep. 

Love means acceptance not perfection. 

Love keeps no record of wrong it means each day I see you afresh, with new eyes not for your behavior but the human being that you are. God is perfectly capable of handling the rest of the business.

Spring, Come Already!

Snow weighs on branches. The sun is furious. The days are brighter. The birds tweet so loud, so early and so long as if to say "time up winter - get with the program". When rats the size of squirrels make a debut on the D.C street scene on a cold winters day, you know something has got to change. Spring anybody?