I Beg You –

By Laban Erapu

‘I beg you,
If you feel something like love for me,
Not to let me know it now
When I feel nothing so certain for you.
Wait until you’ve conquered my pride
By pretending not to care for me.


I beg you,
If you think your eyes will give you away,
Not to give me that longing look
When you know it will force the moment
Wait until our heatbeats have settled
Then put your head on my shoulder.


I beg you,
Not to let us surrender to passion
Until our liking has grown to love
Let’s stop and look back
Let’s draw apart and sigh,
Let’s stand back to back,
Let’s say goodbye for the day
And walk our different ways
Without pausing to wait
For an echo to our last word.

I beg you
If you find yourself interlocked
In my embrace,
To kiss me and keep me silent
Before I start making promises
That time may choose to by-pass -
Wait until our hands are free,
Then listen to me;
Wait until our love is primed
Then give me your hand.’

Colors Of The Wind

 

The highlighted words below form part of my current thesis ... 

The rest reflect how awesome God and nature is ...

We are all in tune with nature - and we are all the same!!!

 

By Vanessa Williams

 

You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim  
But I know every rock and tree and creature  
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people  
Are the people who look and think like you  
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger  
You'll learn things you never knew, you never knew
 


Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?  
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?




Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest  
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the earth  
Come roll in all the riches all around you  
And for once never wonder what they're worth
 


The rainstorm and the river are my brothers  
The heron and the otter are my friends  
And we are all connected to each other  
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends
 


Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?  
Or let the eagle tell you where he's been?  
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain?  
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
 


How high does the sycamore grow?  
If you cut it down, then you'll never know



And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon  
For whether we are white or copper skinned  
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains  
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind


You can own the earth and still  
All you'll own is earth until  
You can paint with all the colors of the wind


 http://www.metrolyrics.com/colors-of-the-wind-lyrics-vanessa-williams.html

Today

Today I have chosen to accept that Christian Pastors are human beings 


That they try to follow Christ as best they can.

That they err just like we -the flock- do.

That in some cases they might misinterprete the Bible and prejudge in others.

That like the Lord Jesus Christ, they get angry and wallop the unrepentant or stubborn flock.

That their calling is a tough one -

That I will respect the fact that at least they are trying to follow God


Today I have chosen to believe that Pastors need my prayers more than I need theirs. 

That they get hungry and need to eat.

...and to dress up

That they are human enough to desire good, nice and pleasant things.

That some are really way off the right path -

That there is a remnant exemplary enough to speak out against evil and compromise.

That there are principled ones who will shun greed and strive to be disciplined



Today, I choose to pray for all those Pastors in my Life and in the world.

May the Lord put a shield of protection around them

May He lead them not into temptation

May HE deliver them from evil.


Today i choose to pray that the Lord will give Pastors grace 

And a peace that surpasses all understanding -

That HE will also give them discernment to do what is right -

Even where we do not agree.


Today I pray-

May the Lord show them - and us- his continued abundant mercies

And the way of truth.


AMEN

To Ruhanga

Today I choose to pray for my country Uganda!

I cry out to Ruhanga – the God of Uganda

May You raise up godly men and women

To invest their time and energy

In the  leadership of our nation.

 

May You clear the minefields of doubt

May You assemble an army of righteous might

To fight-

Tribalism, bitterness and  gloat

To resist –

Laziness, palliation and hate

O Ruhanga

May You bless us with rain,

Inconvenience us with truth

Challenge us with opportunities

Encourage us with ideas

Unrest us with innovation

Convict us with education -

 

May You prune the branches of idleness,

Weed out the disease of nepotism,

Inculcate in us a spirit of hard work

Guide us into good neighbourliness,
Entice us with the rewards of reconciliation
Lead us from the lust of vengeance


O Ruhanga
May You revamp in us -
The passion for  cleanliness,
The desire for righteousness
The craving for lawfulness
And the addiction to justice


May You invigorate in us,
A spirit of perseverance,
And a search for good governance
Expell the cankerworm
That has destroyed our Ubuntu
Restore what the locusts of greed and ignorance
Have eaten and crippled
Replenish the resources of  hope
Rebuild the faith of a better tomorrow
Castigate the doubting Thomases
Melt the mountains of impossibles
Bless the handiwork of honesty
Multiply the sweat of ingenuity
Deceive the corrupt to their doom
And raise honest children to their bloom


O Ruhanga
Today I pray
Remember this nation
This pearl of Africa –

O Uganda

May Ruhanga continue to Uphold thee!

 Amen!!

 D.R.Ruhweza
February 3, 2012

The Prayer of the Nigerian Man

an email i received...

May the Almighty bless you all! Eternal God, we put our faces on the ground before you today as we beg you to forgive our sins, even though, we black people, haven't sinned. I'm saying this because we are not the ones who killed your only son Jesus Christ, white people did!

As you know even better than we do, he was betrayed by a white man, they handed him over to another white man who ordered him to be whipped!



Moreover, these same white people ordered him to be crucified! The traitor was called Judas Iscariot. You can check this out, we don't have names like Iscariot here in Nigeria, we are called: Ikenna, Emem, Yakubu, Achebe, Odige, Ada, Sade, Sola, Halima, Idara, Chidi, Hassana, Nana, Taiwo, Nnamdi, Shehu, Osaro, Funke, Chidera, Danjuma, Doyinsola, Aloaye, etc...



We have no clue where is the Golgotha (that's the place where they crucified your beloved son), we just know how to go from Lagos to Kaduna to Abuja to Ibadan to Enugu to Maidugiri and come back. We've never been to any of the holy cities in the Bible; therefore we can't possibly be implicated in the crucifixion of our Lord. If you don't believe us, please watch the movie ''The Passion of the Christ'', and you will see for yourself that no black person, let alone an African or a Nigerian took part to that sad event



This is why we beg you, O Lord Almighty, please make black people rich at long last and let white people work for them for a change!



Amen.



.

"Today is what Mama?"

''Borrowed'' from a certain CKR

"Today is what Mama?" the answer to that question is a month of the year. A few weeks ago Damita posed this famous question and i responded June. This response brought such joy her face lit up. Mama is June 1st? i said yes. Each following day i was reminded that is was June 2nd till this Saturday when we made it to June 12th. it was like Christmas fever in Damita's heart for the 13th of June was her big day. Saturday night our usual lights out at 9pm was impossible to meet for by 11pm Damita was wide awake.


 I pestered and threatened but she would not burg. She later brought me a note and watched as i read it. "Mama am not happy am sad". for someone who had been extremely excited about her birthday i found this very odd. we proceeded to mummy's bed where we sat and i asked her what was making her sad, she told me that her bicycle was broken and i told her that she would be able to get another, she then informed me that she was sad coz her daddy was not there and yet tomorrow was her birthday. i held her close as she sobbed and then told her that her daddy had sent her a present and that he would call her tomorrow. I eventually managed to get her into bed.


The big day arrived and i was up at 6am only to discover she was very much awake. "Mama today is my birthday" yes my dear but why are up so early?" i cannot sleep lasnite. i dreamt of my birthday" happy birthday my baby number one". the Joy on her face was priceless. she is normally very jovial yesterday she was worse than a cricket jumping and laughing like the world was all around her. Mama I am 5 years old i was often reminded. yes Damita you are a big girl now. Bath time like in most other families is one where we have to wrestle to get the girls in the bathroom especially when they are watching cartoons or busy in their color books, well not this morning Damita quickly run to the bathroom and proceeded to brush her teeth and bathe herself. she didn't want any delays on this big day.

As we left home she looked out of the car window and told me..."mama those people are walking they don't know today is my birthday" i reminded her that i did and so did many others. her words reminded me of how often I have felt in moments of great excitement and sadly also in depression that people as they go about there business were oblivious to what i was going through.

We got home after a long day and i asked her what she had like the most about her birthday and she told me she liked her bible, the crayons and a new jacket she had got. she also told me she liked the cake very much. it was a chocolate cream cake i reminded her to which remark she responded "no Mama Black forest.............

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

An email i received....

 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
 
As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  Nothing could be closer to the truth.  But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.
Here are some ideas to get you started:

1.    Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you.  You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot.  Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth.  And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends. 

2.    Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on.  No, it won’t be easy.  There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them.  We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems.  That’s not how we’re made.  In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall.  Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time.  This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become. 

3.    Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself.  Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.  Read The Road Less Traveled .
 
4.    Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.  Yes, help others; but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. 

5.    Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. 

6.    Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one. 

7.    Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did. 

8.    Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come. 

9.    Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive.  But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions. 

10.                       Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either.  You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else.  Read Stumbling on Happiness .
 
11.                       Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place.  Evaluate situations and take decisive action.  You cannot change what you refuse to confront.  Making progress involves risk.  Period!  You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first. 

12.                       Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first. 

13.                       Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely.  It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company.  There’s no need to rush.  If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely. 

14.                       Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet.  Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you.  But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you. 

15.                       Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you.  Concentrate on beating your own records every day.  Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only. 

16.                       Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  Ask yourself this:  “What’s something I have that everyone wants?” 

17.                       Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you.  You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough.  But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past.  You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation.  So smile!  Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be. 

18.                       Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart.  You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate.  Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.”  It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.”  Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself!  And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too.  If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time. 

19.                       Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs. 

20.                       Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway.  Just do what you know in your heart is right. 

21.                       Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly. 

22.                       Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things.  The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you. 

23.                       Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done .
 
24.                       Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t take the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary. 

25.                       Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while.  You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well.  You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears.  The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again. 

26.                       Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life. 

27.                       Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out.  But making one person smile CAN change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  So narrow your focus. 

28.                       Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about. 

29.                       Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right. 

30.                       Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing................

Also never FORGET and ALWAYS say " THANK YOU GOD" at every chance you get!