Thanksgiving in Atlanta

For a change, I went to Atlanta this Thanksgiving. Really needed to get away from the humdrum of Dallas, and also badly needed a rest. It seems I’ve been running nonstop the last 3 weeks and that’s taken a toll on me.

Kenyans in Atlanta are known to grossly misbehave during this Thanksgiving weekend. The word for it in Luo, that has no proper equivalent in English, is dwanyruok. Picture someone vomiting and then rolling around in his or her vomit. That’s my mind picture of dwanyruok. And apparently, Kenyans have a reputation of consuming all manner of alcohol in copious amounts. Needless to say, despicable acts follow such behavior.

Thanksgiving in ATL is essentially four days and nights of drunkenness, clubbing, indoor smoking, careless carousing and absolutely no inhibitions. I wonder if they even take time to think of the real meaning of Thanksgiving? Anyway, I’ve been out here visiting with family and friends and have heard stories about dwanyruok that leave me with a feeling of distaste. To each dog its bone, I guess!

Happy Reading!

My good friend, Sach, has been published at African-Writing.com. Way to go, Sach! I’m so proud of you.

Bummer

I’ve been trying to leave my current job for a year; it hasn’t worked out. I just realized today that it’s expedient for me to stay there…after all, it’s only another 9.5 months, and then I’ll be moving on anyway. If I’ve stuck with it for a year and a half now, surely I can stick with it for another 9 months. Assuming I don’t get bumped off before then. Turnover is high, but I’ve somehow missed the axe all this time. God must be watching over my affairs–there’s no other explanation.

Every Monday I think I’m quitting, then by Tuesday I convince myself I can live through another week of this. By Thursday I’m so excited that Friday’s round the corner and I can take a break from the going-nowhere-ness. I’ll have to take it week to week from here on. 9 months are too many to think of.

The bright side, though, is that the pay is quite reasonable, even though I feel I don’t get paid enough to put up with all the whining and wheedling and needling from spoiled, big children; and with all the A-type personalities and the unwilling-to-help support staff. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules.

One of my teammates joked last night that if I did something wrong I’d be demoted to the Member Care department. I reminded him that I already work in Member Care. Such is the reputation of the work we do. I know it’s molding me for greater things ahead, so I’ll stick with it until then. But you bet I’ll throw a major going away bash. I intensely dislike some aspects of capitalism!

Change We Can Believe In!

What a night it’s been! What an election year, really! Culminating in this victory of victories after all the vitriol Obama has endured from many quarters, I just want to shout: “Yes we can! Yes we did!” I didn’t cast a physical ballot in this election, but I certainly cast a spiritual ballot.

It’s been an interesting election to pray for. There were so many rumors flying around about both candidates; so many lies told, especially about Obama by many who call themselves Christians. Just last week, a well known prophet in evangelical Christendom sent out a prayer alert, indicating there was still time to turn this election around if we all prayed. The tone of his email obviously set up McCain-Palin as God’s choice, which, by inferrence, meant Obama-Biden was the devil’s choice. He has been called the Antichrist in some circles.

My goodness! These are the people who will be shell-shocked to bump into Obama in heaven, even though he’s pro-choice and pro-gays. Incidentally, I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now: God is both pro-choice and pro-life. He upholds the sanctity of life, but He also upholds every person’s right to choose the path he or she wants to walk. If God doesn’t take the choice away from us, why should we want the government to do that? Why should the government regulate things like abortion and gay marriage, in effect taking the choice away from people? Let people do what they please! Each choice already has an inherent consequence built into it.

Controversial, no?

Obama’s victory is a great one for people all over the world. For black people especially, and for minorities. Having traveled the world a little, I have encountered numerous non-blacks in a variety of contexts who think black=daft. Well, here’s a black man who’s gotten to the helm of the world’s most influential country and is proving them wrong. I feel vindicated.

This is a historic moment. I feel privileged to have lived to see and experience it. Here’s to better tomorrows! And to a continuing audacity of hope!

Read this for a more balanced view on how God works.

holy moments

I’ve been asked to lead worship at Refuge again this Saturday. That’s my home church, which I’ve been part of for about 2 years now. I love singing; I especially love worshiping God. For me, leading worship is worshiping God intimately in the presence of others, with a prayer that my holy moment with God will also inspire them to enter into a time of intimacy with Him. What a privilege to share my knowledge of God in this way, not because my relationship with God is better than theirs but because it’s unique. I share God’s expression of Himself in me.

I was at YouTube, looking up a song written by Joel Houston (Evermore) when I came across a Hillsong London song. As it started playing, I was ushered into a sweet, holy moment with God. Oh, my soul loves You, Jesus! If worshiping Him is such a thing of beauty now, can you imagine what it will be like when we’re face to face with Him?

Maendeleo

I just realized yesterday that I’m growing. I’m still afraid of conflict and I still dislike confrontations, but I am willing to confront when necessary. And I’ve discovered that confrontation doesn’t have to be ugly. In fact, if I confront someone in humility, instead of accosting him or her in a belligerent manner, he or she is more likely to see my point of view and compromise on the issue at hand.

I confronted two people yesterday. At first, I was willing to suffer the injustices or wrongs in silence, rather than risk a falling out or getting hurt in a confrontation. Then I realized I was settling, and that won’t do any more. I’m no longer going to settle, if things can be better.

Having grown up in a culture where it was almost always detrimental to challenge authority, I consider myself to have made great strides. Na hio ni maendeleo! (And that is progress)

Cyberbuddies

OK, so I’ve made some cyberbuddies since I started blogging and facebooking. This year, I met two of my cyberbuddies in the flesh: Something Like… was passing through town this summer and we managed to arrange a short meeting at the local airport. That was so cool! Last weekend, I also met Melanie at the Refuge Gathering since we have a mutual friend who’d invited her. That, too, was cool. Soon as she walked through the door I said, “I know her!” Only to realize I’d seen her picture several times and, thus, recognized her.

I’ve just added another cyberperson to my blogroll. I don’t know him, nor does he know me, but his blogging is marvelous. Perhaps we’ll bump into each other someday at IHOP or elsewhere in this big, wide (now small) world.