Cock And Bull

• A Simple Solution To Consider

  Posted: March 8, 2008, 7:46 am by Administrator

  Have you ever read or heard about the encounter between Naaman the Syrian army commander with a prophet of God whose name was Elisha? The story is told in 2 Kings Chapter 5. Naaman was a great soldier who had led the Syrian forces to great victory and was the highest ranking officer in the forces. Unfortunately, Naaman suffered from a dreaded skin disease.

  One day, Naaman heard that he could be cured of his disease if he went to Israel to see Elisha the prophet who was highly acclaimed for his astounding miracles.

  So Naaman went with his horse and chariot and stopped at the entrance to Elisha’s house. And when Elisha leant that Naaman had arrived, he sent a servant out to tell him to go and wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, and he would be completely cured of his disease. But Naaman left in a rage, saying, “I thought that he would at least come out to me, pray to the LORD his God, wave his hand over the diseased spot, and cure me! Besides, aren’t the rivers in Abana and Pharpar, back in Damascus, better than any river in Israel? I could have washed in them and been cured!” Obviously Naaman considered his own greatness and thought that the prophet was disrespectful for dismissing him so casually.

  

  However, his servant went to him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it. Now why can’t you just wash yourself, as he said, and be cured?” So Naaman went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had instructed, and he was completely cured. His flesh became firm and healthy like that of a child.

  The story of Naaman in the Bible reminds me of the often talked about redemption from sins through accepting Jesus Christ as savior. Jesus Christ said that this is the instantaneous solution for anyone whose heart is suffering in bondage. And yet many people whose hearts are hurting greatly today will not accept this simple solution. Whenever told about it, a person will dismiss it without trying it or giving it much thought. And yet the same person would be willing to do something more difficult – say visit a therapist for years or spend an incredible amount of money – rather than take this free cure. Ironically (and annoyingly) after everything else has failed, the followers of Jesus Christ will still insist on the same simple and free solution of salvation through accepting the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse all the sins and give a new beginning.

  Are you willing to consider this solution today?

• Choice at the Lodging House

  Posted: March 8, 2008, 2:42 am by Administrator

  If you ever find yourself needing to spend the night in any town in Kenya on a low budget, you might end up in what we Kenyans simply refer to as a ‘Lodging’. The ‘Lodging’ is usually a building that has several sleeping rooms for travelers and any other person who might choose to spend a night away from his or her own bed. All the ‘Lodgings’ are similar and if you spend a night in one in a particular town, be assured that you might as well have sampled the ‘Lodgings’ in all the other towns in the country.

  Once you pay for your room – usually just a few hundred shillings – you will be given a key attached to an oversized wooden or plastic key holder with a number written on it. The clerk will then direct you to the room whose number is the same as the one on the key holder. On unlocking the room and entering, switching on the single naked bulb on the ceiling will reveal a small room with a smell you might never have encountered before. There will be a bed at one corner and on the other corner, a small reading table with drawers and a rickety chair pushed under it. There will most probably be an ashtray with numerous burn marks on it, mounted on a huge base with the initials of the ‘Lodging’ printed on it. The bed will have freshly laundered linen and a dirty mosquito net tied on a knot, dangling from the ceiling. In the adjacent toilet cum bathroom you will find a clean towel whose snow-white days are long gone and a tiny bar of soap that is just enough to wash your whole body once. There will also be a new roll of white tissue paper next to the toilet closet. The bed linen and the towel will have the name of the ‘Lodging’ printed on them in large conspicuous letters.

  Under the bed, you will find a pair of mismatched rubber flip flops (bathroom slippers) – each with a different color. You might also be surprised to find that a tiny wedge has been nipped off at the heel of the flip flops. This extraordinary flip flops will discourage anyone who might be tempted to steal them, just as printing the name of the lodging house on the linen and mounting an extra base of an ashtray will do.

  Next to the bed, you will see a small bedside table. On this table it is guaranteed that you will find two items; a well sized Bible and a packet of condoms. Perhaps the person who set the ‘Lodging’ standards in Kenya assumed that anyone who spends a night at the ‘Lodging’ without having sex must be a particularly holy person. Whatever the case, as in most places in life, these two items in the ‘Lodging’ will remind you about the choices that you have to make while going through life.

• A Friend for All Seasons

  Posted: March 7, 2008, 1:54 am by Administrator

  The rain suddenly poured this morning when people were going to work, and many were caught unawares. I only saw a few people shielding themselves under umbrellas. If it rains tomorrow at the same time, I bet more people will have their umbrellas as they make the gloomy morning trip to town. Being that mid-March is the advent of the long rainy season in Kenya, I am sure many people are now looking for their umbrellas in their homes while others will have to purchase new ones after being caught in a storm or two.

  Isn’t this just the way that many people treat God? When everything is sunny in their lives, God is safely tucked away like a faithful old umbrella or even given up altogether. When the clouds gather and the storm comes that is when they make frantic efforts to recall God into their lives with rusty prayers or search for Him with panicky repentance.

  But that need not be the case. Everyone can decide to carry God around every day. You know, like that favorite handbag that acts as the bank, contains the paraphernalia for re-assuring beauty, and carries many secrets that belong to its owner. That kind of handbag is never left behind, and nor does its owner leave it unattended for long. If allowed to, God can become a friend for all seasons.

• The Secret In Nairobi

  Posted: March 5, 2008, 2:20 pm by Administrator

  The website states:

  The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages and saviors in the world’s history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. All that they have ever accomplished or attained has been done in full accordance with this most powerful law.

  Without exception, every human being has the ability to transform any weakness or suffering into strength, power, perfect peace, health, and abundance.

  Rhonda Byrne’s discovery of The Secret began with a glimpse of the truth through a 100 year old book. She went back through centuries, tracing and uncovering a common truth that lay at the core of the most powerful philosophies, teachings and religions in the world.

  What Rhonda discovered is now captured in The Secret, a film that has been viewed by millions around the world. The Secret has also been released as an audio-book and printed book with more than six million copies in print.

  The Secret explains with simplicity the law that is governing all lives, and offers the knowledge of how to create - intentionally and effortlessly - a joyful life. This is the secret to everything - the secret to unlimited happiness, love, health and prosperity.

  This is the secret to life.

  When I first read about The Secret, I was eager to watch the movie and looked for it all over Nairobi without success. And then one day, I just came across it being sold at a small stall next to a staircase that goes towards the basement of Embassy House opposite Sheria House along Harambee Avenue.

  At the very least, watching this movie will stimulate your mind to take a different look at your current circumstances and the way you have lived life so far.

• ‘OK’ Certified

  Posted: March 5, 2008, 11:49 am by Administrator

  The only man that villagers knew who worked in a big Mzungu (White Man) Hotel in Nairobi came from 2 ridges away from my rural home. The man was the uncle to one of the friends that I grew up with. Apart from being envious of my friend for having such a well placed uncle, I also enjoyed the privilege of getting to shake the hand of the great man whenever he turned up while I was visiting my friend’s house.

  Many years later – about 2 years ago – I visited that particular Hotel in town for the first time for a cup of coffee with friends. Just before we left, I decided to visit the bathroom. And I cannot exactly describe the feeling that overcame me when I looked into the big mirror and saw the reflection of my friend’s uncle tiredly leaning on the wooden handle of a mop taking a break from his chores of cleaning the bathroom floor. He was wearing a brown uniform with a cute beige collar and shiny buttons. None of us had changed very much physically and we instantly recognized each other. We politely enquired about one another’s welfare over the years, and exchanged information about our respective families’ wellbeing. When I came out of the restroom, I was surprised to realize that I was embarrassed at having broken the larger-than-life myth that my friend’s uncle’s job at the hotel carried in the village over all the years I have known him.

  A few months later, I was to look at the hotel from a distance and think about all those times I hear someone say, “I know a guy who works there!”, and realized that people mostly do that to elevate their own status in the eyes of their friends. And so the next time I want to impress someone, I will not gleefully point at the hotel and say; “I know a guy who works there…he is the guy who cleans the loos and is from my village!” How does that sound? And yet, ever since I have known him, I can attest that the man is a Loving husband who travels upcountry every weekend to be with his wife, and an excellent father who works very hard to put his children through school and afford a comfortable life for them. I also remember his interest in our school work, encouraging us to work hard and pass all our exams with flying colors. And yet if allowed, one afternoon of finding him at his work station will take away the vision of a great man and replace it with one of an old tired one leaning heavily on a wooden handle of a mop.

  It is this knowledge of a person for who he or she truly is and embracing them in Love and acceptance that means something to them. Everyone has an area in their life that has always been less than glamorous, perhaps that even needs to be carefully concealed lest it pops up and surprised everyone else. You and I yearn – sometimes even demand – to be understood and to be assured that despite all our known and unknown foibles, we are alright. I am sure you know what comfort there is in the assurance that even though you might not measure up to all the standards that society expects you to conform to, there are still people who consider you OK in their eyes.

• Honour yourself

  Posted: March 5, 2008, 10:36 am by Administrator

  “I’d gone through life believing in the strength and competence of others; never in my own. Now, dazzled, I discovered that my capacities were real. It was like finding a fortune in the lining of an old coat.”

  - Joan Mills

  Take a moment to stop and think about what you give to the people and life around you. Don’t think about what you’re not doing right. Look instead at all you do that is a blessing.

  Many of us continually beat ourselves up for not doing or being enough. But imagine for a moment that you are great just as you are. Feel the relief this brings! Now open to the possibility that this is not a daydream. It’s true! Believe it!

  “People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success.”

  - Norman Vincent Peale

  “We cannot rise higher than our thought of ourselves.”

  - Orison Swett Marden

  From The Inner Journey e-newsletter

• Little Meets Big

  Posted: March 5, 2008, 10:33 am by Administrator

  “If a pickpocket meets a Holy Man, he will see only his pockets.”

  - Hari Dass

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes