She stared out through her tiny window into the dark African night. The effect of loadshedding was such that she could barely make out anything in the dark of the African night. Except it wasn’t night. It was technically the morning. Monday morning.
She wondered about how morning can be both light and dark. Why the sun didn’t come out earlier. She wondered if the sun was shy and spent the dark parts of the morning wearing make up and doing all kinds of mental preparation to come and deal with the world. She was convinced the sun was a woman because nobody prepared that long. Except her mother.
As the hours went by and the sun slowly creeped around the corner, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of imminent trouble and the resulting dread. She just knew it. She just knew it.
Just then, Papa walked into the room. She forgot to close the door. With a smile as large as the sun itself, he lifted her in one swift move and laid her on his lap and said, “Good morning my sunshine.” He sensed her apprehension and saw her sleep deprived face. It was a morning sombre.
“My sunshine. Remember on mornings sombre, that we choose if we’ll be sombre with them or be joyful with the sun. It’s a new day.”
Then, without warning, she felt the warmth of his embrace and the assurance that he was with her. Through the fear. She could rely on him to be there. Always. If she just turned to him on mornings sombre.
There and then, she knew. On mornings sombre or on days bright. On nights cold and nights spent in warmth, she was better off relying on him. And so she decided to rely on him. To rely on her father.
In that warm embrace, she closed her eyes and entered slumberland, a person new. It might be a morning sombre, but the warmth of love shone even brighter than the sun. And it wasn’t shy.
Glad you’ve come this far 😁. Help me on the road to 100 followers😊.
Hit the follow button if you liked this piece and do check out the rest of the blog. Been about 5 years of random articles and poems you might like.
Still not sure why I wrote this particular one, but I’m convinced it will make sense to someone or at least be an interesting read.
It’s been a whole month of 2022 and what a glorious month it has been. I will write about how glorious a month it has been in a separate post. To cap it all off, today is my fiancée’s birthday. A woman I truly love and can’t wait to spend the next 8 or 9 decades with. Yep! We’re here till we’re 120. Or until Jesus returns. Whichever happens first. You should check out her blog. It’s called Laura Uncensored! Her podcast too. Same name, really. I’ll post links when I figure that out 🤣 (I promise I used to know)
As this month comes to a close, I’d like to ask you something. What new thing are you going to learn this year? What new skill do you intend to aquire in 2022? Sounds like one of those cliché questions but hear me out.
Someone said we die when we stop learning. Nothing is truer. Especially in a time such as this when we’re as uncertain about the future as can be. I mean, we’ve never really been certain about the future but the level of uncertainty has gone up a notch in the last few years. You simply have to be able to adapt and adapting involves learning something new many times and often.
Back to skills. The one gift you can give yourself this year is to learn a new skill. Data analytics, how to play an instrument, a computer skill, a sport, a soft skill of some sort, a ‘hard’ skill, whatever skill. Just learn something.
Here’s why. As the sun starts to set on 2022 and you are taking stock of the year in preparation for the dawn of 2023, you will be grateful, satisfied that you achieved something. It’s not easy to achieve stuff. Most people don’t achieve anything in life. Don’t be one of them. That’s one reason.
Secondly, you could earn from a skill. Skills increase your ability to perform tasks and solve problems. Chase the right skills and the profit will follow you. Are you looking for ways to boost your current career? Learn a new skill. There’s a plethora of those. Do you want to serve your society, serve in church, volunteer? Learn a new skill. Learn how to mix sound, how to work a camera, administration skills, learn a language. Learn something.
Finally, the people around you will benefit from it. Immensely. Your wife will be grateful that you can fix the wiring without having to call an electrician (please don’t go and get electrocuted trying to prove a point). There’s lots of examples I could use but the bottom line is, your skills will serve others and trust me there’s no feeling like knowing you have used your skills to help others. None.
What skills am I learning? I’m learning leadership skills (Joined the Harvest Institute School of Leadership) and FoH Engineering skills among others.
Let us know in the comments what new skill you’re learning this year and why. Have a great rest of 2022.
Waaaiiittt!! Help me cross the 100 followers mark👏🏾. Give my blogsite a follow 🤗. After 5 years of sporadic writing, I would like to make this place look like the 5 years it has existed for. This year I’ll be posting more consistently and more intentionally. You’re more than welcome to peruse through the posts over the years. Some will make you laugh and a few will have you thinking about life in a new light, or not. Still, have a look through.
“Hamilton takes a comfortable lead at the start, Verstappen is right behind him on the soft tyres, Bottas has fallen down to 5th behind Gasly just before turn one and ooohhh there’s chaos at the back of the grid, Danny Ricciardo rams into the side of Tsunoda, we’ll need a replay for this one but three cars are out and the drama this afternoon has started early.”
That’s not an actual quote from a race but imagine a person shouting all that really loudly into a microphone all in one breath! If you still can’t imagine, just find an old video of the start of a formula 1 race and you’ll see what I mean.
There’s no denying commentary adds spice to an event. Anyone that’s watched a football game on the telly will tell you football without commentary is like salt with no food. The same applies with wrestling, rugby, basketball and pretty much every sport there is. Except perhaps golf. I wouldn’t know.
Life’s a bit like that. There’s constantly people providing commentary on the sidelines. People who aren’t actually playing the game, providing analysis and shouting in earnest to offer support or ridicule.
“Eh, you’ve added weight. Haa, will you handle? That one we don’t have the capacity to. We’re not lucky enough. See how bad things are. Be sensible.” These are a few ‘ nicer bits of commentary in our lives.
People believe commentary. Whether you like it or not, the things said about you will influence how you think about yourself. Similarly, the things you say influence others and how they think. Words are powerful.
It’s therefore important that for all the commentary the world gives us, we have a separate channel that is giving us positive, God inspired commentary. The type of commentary that exhorts, restores, heals and launches us into the stratosphere. Not just for us but for others. For us to then exhort and touch others with the things we say.
That type of commentary can be found in two places. The word of God (which is the Bible, for the avoidance of doubt), and teachings of the word of God. The more we hear from God and His word, the more we start to see what God sees. The more we start to trust Him and the better our own outlook on life becomes. Even more, our own commentary changes. It’s amazing how it works. Truly amazing.
Therefore, I ask that you do this. Read the Bible. Everyday. Listen to a teaching. Everyday. You’ll like the results. The people around you will like the results. The commentary from your lips will uplift and exhort. Your thoughts about yourself will be better and you’ll be the better for it.
Now for practical tips for someone saying where do I start. Download the YouVersion Bible App and start reading Bible Plans. There’s Bible plans on everything and you can read with your family and friends. For teachings, I recommend you search for Worship Harvest Ministries online and listen to the teachings on podcast and on YouTube. There’s lots of other teachers of the word, though. Thank me later
Anyone who loves sports will tell you if you listen to good commentary it’s best to start to stay away from the bad commentary. So, watch what you listen to. Carefully filter it out. You can’t be listening to music that tells you you’re worthless because you’re a woman or that exalts sadness or whatever else you’re probably already listening to. Focus on where you want to be and not where you are.
Finally, reading the word of God and listening to teachings of the word without receiving Jesus Christ can be like listening to commentary in German when you grew up in Masaka and have no idea how to speak the language beyond what you heard from DW TV growing up. It can be foreign sometimes. So, how would you like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. An opportunity to become a child of God.
If you’d like to do that today just say this prayer, yeah? Say Lord Jesus, today I receive you as my Lord and saviour. I believe in you. I believe that you died for my sins. I believe I am a child of God. Today I am born again. In Jesus’ name. Amen
If you’ve said that prayer and believed in your heart that Christ died and rose to save us, then you’ve become born again. There’s a celebration in heaven 🎉🎉. Write me at piusandruda@yahoo.com or text/WhatsApp +256775642449 and let them know you’ve made the decision.
It is not often that I am slapped and encouraged this much in one article. I am convinced that this is something we must all hear. It’s such truth.
Comment, share, like, reblog. Make sure this reaches the ends of the earth.
I think, it’s about time I wrote about something that’s been on my mind for nearly two months.
I dont know why I never got around to penning my thoughts down but it was probably that the thought felt half baked and not yet worth sharing and yet I write best when I write impulsively 😂.
So here goes😂
The Life you Choose
I’d even come up with a title for it😂. The life you choose!
You know, my brain is a very interesting place😂. Have you seen that video where some guy says he thinks his talent is thinking cause he can think all day? That’s me😂.
I am/my mind is a myriad of thoughts 😂
Back to writing;
My parents have always told me, Life is a choice Laura. And if you are a frequent reader of my sometimes extremely long statuses, you’ll know I’ve spoken about…
I find myself in a state where I don’t quite understand what’s going on, have a grip on the things that matter, or have certainty of any shape or form. So I turn to a thing that I have forsaken. The one thing I am sure of. Well, one of them. The result is the following short poems (if you can call them that) I shared on my WhatsApp status. The joy I derive from writing is unreal 😂.
The first
As I fall flat on this bed that’s broken my back more than the weight of this world, I ponder upon these thoughts. I ruminate in silence.
“Some days adulting is the least of these worries😅.”
“Most days rising is the best solution of a bad bunch. Most days.”
Littered thoughts, almost in jest.
For I know tomorrow I’ll rise and I’ll punch again. I’ll rise again and go again.
For I am a prisoner of hope!
The Second
Why do I write?
Do I write?
I write?
Write.
Right.
When all the things I court turn on me
To the thing I know I return
To the verses and stanzas and lines
To the certainty of the rhymes
The cradle of a passion that’s truly mine
TheConclusion
And so I realized that writing poetry was not an actual solution to things🤣. I never did think it was. I never quite understood how people wrote for emotional reasons. I wrote out of burden. Out of spite for the words that swam around my mind. Perhaps it’s caught up with me. It matters not. For writing poetry is still no actual solution to things🤣.
Not the ones I face.
The Aftermath
And now
We deal with life
As life must be dealt with
Head on
The Response
The real tragedy is if you haven’t been born again yet.
I refuse to write anything with a tragic ending.
But to what end would a life be lived if it ends with the loss of breath.
To what end when there is more. When there is eternity.
Like I said, tragedy never sees the end of anything I write. Would you like to receive Christ today??
In a brief stint of adoration and obsession with the British star, Amy Winehouse, I listened to every one of her songs that I could get my hands on but my absolute favorite was “Valerie”. Word for word, I’d sing along grooving in enjoyment. Today I found out that it was only a cover of “Valerie” by the Zutons, a British band. Also, she was only featured on the track (at least I knew that). Nonetheless, that cover went on to do really well on the music charts. I mean, thousands of miles away I knew so big deal.
It really got me thinking. As good as the Zutons are (they did write the song), the truth is the song didn’t do as well as it did when Winehouse got on it. One might argue that before it did as well as it eventually did, the song had likely garnered success and I daresay the Zutons were okay and happy with it. Then Mark Ronson gets Amy Winehouse on it and it blows. To a completely different level. Immediately it clicked. That’s what it’s like when we let God in. Another level. One we didn’t even know was there.
For most people our lives are quite normal. We do what we need to do. We want to have some degree of sanity and succeed in what we do and it’s all good. I’ve debated deleting those last three sentences because that is all I have craved for the last few months 😂. But I know this for sure. From experience. When you let God in. When you let Jesus in. When you give him your life, just like that lovely song, next level. That’s where it goes. Not just on the physical level. That’s a bi-product. On the spiritual level. I’ve seen both sides of the music charts and I guarantee you the one with Him in it, constantly, is better.
That last paragraph sounds imperfect to my inner writerman but there’s no mistaking the fact that you were meant to receive this message. Here’s just a trail:
I am approaching the end of work. It’s a drag. I decide to read a blogpost I saw in the morning (Samali’s brilliant post). I get there and I feel the urge to write. So I open my wordpress after months of inactivity (forget that I’ve only written once this year) and the first thing I see is that I have been followed by someone named Valery Nangula who has a lovely blog (Tap to check out Valery’s blog). Then I remember my ex-favorite Winehouse song. So I google it. I find out it wasn’t her song to begin with. Here we are now. A roughly written piece with no holds barred and no real title.
My point in all these rusty rumblings is that Jesus takes your life from PAM Awards contender to guaranteed Grammy winner every year for the same song😂. It all begins with you accepting and taking Him in. Quite simply. Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that he was raised by God from the dead, you will be saved. Saved from what, you ask? Saved from ourselves. From the sin we are factory-designed to be a part of. From a life that goes from what it is now to nothingness when you pass to a life that has a purpose on earth and goes to heavenly bliss when you pass (quite literally).
Like I’ve already mentioned, it’s quite easy. You utter with your mouth that He is Lord and believe in your heart the He was raised to save you and just like that you will be saved. But that’s not all. Join a Bible believing church and start, like a child, learning how to walk daily in this new-found life. Out of all the things I’ve posted on here, this is hands-down the most important.
Don’t leave your life to the Zutons. Allow the Amy upgrade today. 🤗🤗.
I spend a lot of my time studying football and footballers and how they come to be. I watch documentaries, read biographies and pore for hours on YouTube trying to understand why and how footballers, clubs and all things around football come to be. It’s a real fascination. I’m not satisfied with simply watching the game and following a team. I am deeply engaged.
Last year, I traveled to a refugee camp in Northern Uganda and met a number of refugees. My translator was an 11 year old South Sudanese boy. To be honest, his translation skills weren’t great but his confidence was admirable so I stuck with him. After a long day of interviewing dozens of refugees, I’d spoken in at least 5 different languages and even my translator was visibly tired. When all was said and done, I paid him the agreed amount and figured I should probably have a chat about life with him. It was a lot better than sitting bored in wait for the driver. So I gathered him and 3 of his friends for a chat. And what a chat it was.
This child had seen war, he’d seen his family get torn and scattered off to 3 different countries. He had no idea when he’d see them again. They lived in a camp where the odds are ridiculously against anyone growing up there. You’re almost guaranteed a wasted life. Dependent on insufficient rations from donors for food, stuck in an endless pursuit of survival with little hope to ever thrive. But he had hope. Him a little more than the other 3 (who were younger and had larger families on the camp and relatives in Australia, USA and Kenya)
A whole half hour into the conversation, the other 3 started to lose interest so I turned to my translator and asked him what he intended to do with the money, he quickly and excitedly responded, “I’m going to buy an Arsenal jersey.” Baffled, I began to speak to him about saving and using money well. In less than a minute I realized he wasn’t going to barge so I began to question him about it and that’s when it struck me. Three things kept this boy alive. First, the Jesus his mother had taught him about. Secondly, the opportunity school gave him to become a doctor and thirdly, football. These three things lit the fire in his eyes. He came alive when he spoke about them. He had such hope!
Back to my love for digging deep into football matters. I recently chanced upon the life story of, in my opinion, the most exciting Left Back in football today. Alphonso Davies. Born to Liberian parents who fled their country due to civil war (you should read about the war in Liberia. Very traumatic ), Alphonso came to life in a refugee camp in Ghana. Growing up he played football with the other kids in the camp until his parents immigrated to Canada. Fast forward, he went on to join the soccer league in America becoming the second youngest player to play in it. Lightning quick, with an eccentric yet humble character, it was only a matter of time before Alphonso was snatched up by one of the world’s best and most successful football teams. Bayern Munich. With the Germans, he’s bound to win everything. He’s already won the domestic league and the continental championship. In both he contributed immensely and has caught the hearts of many a fan.
Now for the connection. You probably know what I’m going to say. But this morning, I remembered the 11 year old South Sudanese boy who just wanted some money to fuel his hope. But instead of remember him in sadness, I couldn’t help but smile in hope. If Alphonso could do it, why couldn’t he.
As the driver pulled over and signaled for me to hop in, all I could see was 4 boys that were going to buy themselves jerseys they’ve always wanted to own. 4 boys who, if they attempted to follow my (sage) advice, would respect the girls and women they meet, study hard at school, try to enjoy life, read their Bibles and stay hopeful always. I saw 4 delighted children. But my translator stood out among them. There was something about him.
This morning nearly a year later, however, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that that little boy will one day be a pro footballer, or a doctor or someone that blows away the odds. Perhaps he might turn out like me, hungry for knowledge. But how do I know, you ask? Hope! He has hope! Where there is hope, there is always a way.
This was meant to be a 25 day challenge but as experience has shown, I’m horrible at those. I mean, look at the gratitude challenge. I stopped on Day 3. Day 3! To be fair I completed the challenge in different places like my Whatsapp status and one of my many notebooks. So instead of a fully blown out challenge (I really just wanted to say fully blown out😂) I’m going to make 2 or 3 separate lists with my #BOTY2019🤗. Sindio? Whatever Sindio means😂
This was the original list. I’ll pick out a few of them. Let’s go!
1. Movie
Shaft takes it for me. That’s because I really can’t think of many other 2019 movies I’ve watched. Secret Life Of Pets 2 was nice as well. Avengers did not live up to the hype. I can’t think of any other movies (I haven’t seen The Irishman yet though). I guess the equal opportunity ass-whooper takes it. Let me know in the comments which was your MOTY, will you?
2. TV Show Season
I’m big on African content lately. I particularly like My Flatmates but I’m only on season 1 from a few years back so that doesn’t count.
But if I’m being honest, Blackish Season 6 takes it for me. The Johnson family never disappoints. Again, let me know in the comments what you think. I have a feeling you’re in a better position to give a right answer.
3. Fiction book
Is Jennifer Makumbi’s When Manchester Happened a 2019 book? If it is, then it’s my pick😊. I haven’t even read all the stories in it(because I love to drag books I like😂) but it’s taking this spot for me😊. What’s yours?
4. Non fiction book
The lantern meet of Poets released their anthology Streetlights At Noon Eclipse this year and boy is it good. I’m not entirely sure it falls in this category but IMO, you should get it before year end.
5. Song
This year has been one of those where I revisited the past so a lot of the music I listened to was from the past. But if push comes to shove, these three are it for me.
Éko – Coldplay
Another in the fire – Hillsong
Chikibombe – Levixone
Parte after Parte is a close fourth mostly because it’s everywhere really but I’ll pass.
I bet you’ve got better taste than me so let me know in the comments.
Album Art for Coldplay’s Everyday Life album on which Éko is
6. Album
People – Hillsong United without a doubt.
I considered Coldplay’s two part album Everyday Life whichis a beautiful beautiful album but People is a life giving album. People underlines how worship and love bring us together as people in the world and it comes from a place of a faith with questions. The kind of faith we are familiar with. Each individual song is quality, the message crisp and clear, the devotion undeniable. They’re great worship songs. It’s a wonderful album. Not my favorite Hillsong album of all time (Let There Be Light😭 made me cry) but definitely album of the year on my end. How about on your end?
Album Art for Hillsong United’s People album
7. Experience
For me it’s been such a rollercoaster year. I performed at some terrific shows😎, I taught poetry😊, I almost failed at school😅, I had a period of sleepless nights in which I was slowly sinking into a sea of anxiety😔 (thank God those ended), took over a Missional Community at church👯 (we started a Community Book Club 📖 for less privileged kids around Bugolobi – hit me up if you know any), I had my heart broken💔, broke a heart😔 (was that this year🤔), my sister got married, I finally graduated from University 🎓 🎓, got a wonderful job 🕴 where I’m having visible impact on people🤗 and the firm heavily invests time and money in our learning, I completed a 9 month leadership program under Global Leadership Summit😎, even attended the Summit thanks to Aunt Beat Bisangwa (she wrote a book this year that you have to read) and head of GLS Uganda, Betty Rutare.
Yeah. We rocked it! Suit by Oga UG
Y’all should come for Dialogue next year (it’s this fantastic space where young people and the older generation get to have conversations around life)
Those are just the big moments. Truth be told I’ve had a year I can’t complain about. Despite all the loss and pain that’s animated the year, there’s been some huge wins. Some of those, like work, reduced the amount of time I have to blog but that’s also served to test my resolve to write. I’m here, am I not?
With that I come to the end of a disorganised post😂 that I am glad you have endured to this point🤗.
Let me know – let us all know – what your #BOTY2019. See you. Kwaheri.
Food is a gift straight from above. I learnt that the hard way.
When I was 19, I spent a few hours in jail for a crime I have never been made aware of. One of those hours happened to be the jail lunch hour😅. Of course I refused to eat the food. It looked horrible. Absolutely terrible, I tell you. Until some inmate assured me “You only have one meal a day. If you don’t eat now, you’ll have to wait till the same time tomorrow.😒”
The thought of not having a meal for close to two days was not one I was willing to have. So I joined the fight for that bizarre looking food. It tasted worse than it looked😂 but I pushed on till the plate was near empty. I have had very few worse experiences.
That day taught me to be grateful to even have food on the table.
So today I’m grateful for all kinds of food. All except onions😒.
Me and my Big Mouth! 