However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
“Yet you say, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ Listen to me, O people of Israel. Am I the one not doing what’s right, or is it you? When righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things, they will die for it. Yes, they will die because of their sinful deeds.
And if wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives. They will live because they thought it over and decided to turn from their sins. Such people will not die.
And yet the people of Israel keep saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right!’ O people of Israel, it is you who are not doing what’s right, not I.
“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!
The Lord wants you and me to choose the path of righteousness and be like Him. Let’s be carriers of light in the things we do and say. Most people believed in Christ because of His way of life. Since we are made in the image of God we carry the same spirit of righteousness.
The world needs to see more Esthers, Abraham, David, Ruth, Solomon, Daniel, Paul etc in today’s error to believe in the power of God. Let’s get up and cause transformation in our family, friends and the community. Let’s turn away from our wicked ways and be more life-giving. Let’s carry on the great legacy of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We need to be the change we see it starts with you.
Being the change we want to see is something we hear people say a lot. I suppose because there’s a great deal of change we want to see happen. But wanting to see changes happen and having changes happen are two different things. One speaks more of a desire expressed and the other a desire fulfilled through effort and initiative.
We can go on and on about how we wish things were but until we activate the wish, no change will come to us. Take for instance our tendency as Ugandans to expect the government to fix every problem we encounter. You’ve heard it; I’ve heard it’s almost become an utterance without meaning: “Government ettu yambe”.
These days when I hear these words I can’t help but laugh. I laugh at how long it’s been used and how little change it brings. This is not to say that the government doesn’t owe its citizens financial assistance, no. Don’t get me wrong, it does. What it doesn’t owe us in every sense of responsibility. Somethings we’ve got to do for and by ourselves as this country’s citizens.
This is just an example of what we expect others to fulfill for us when we can collectively work together to bring about the changes we wish for. There’s so much out there that we can do something about if we choose to act. Dreaming about it just won’t do. Demanding for help that may or may not come just won’t do. This is a what can I do situation. Imagine if many of us with this very question got together and figured out a strategy to bring about change, just imagine what could happen.
I remember a couple of years ago, I’d attended a Bible study at one of the new churches that were sprouting in our neighborhood. The pastor had invited some American friends of his who had wanted to support the church with some funding. I was still a young girl and was excited about the prospect of meeting and hanging out with the Americans.
Like most people, I had always been fascinated by Americans and so I couldn’t wait to meet up later after the Bible study was over. This one was a bit different from the ones we’d usually had, I guess because we had guests. Quite typically of Americans, they’d beamed at some of the children around, waving at and blowing them kisses.
Some of the Americans were older than the others and some of them were my age. I couldn’t wait for when we’d get to the introductions and get to know each other a little better. The service went on a little more than I would have liked. I don’t think I was giving my full attention. I kept looking at the back and front scanning through those I would approach first. Americans can be that distractive.
Anyway, some of our guests were allowed to say something and one of the ladies went on to praise Ugandans for having and maintaining our faith. And that this was so rare in America due to the many distractions they’d had. She’d told us that their country was so materialistic that the things of God often came secondary or not at all.
That did puzzle me because I’d always had the impression that America was a great country that feared God. She did go on to tell a story about a young girl she’d seen walking in the rain when she’d taken a drive into town. The young girl had no shelter from the rain, looked underfed, and wore dirty clothes.
Seeing that poor child that way stirred some sad emotions in her that she was wasn’t shocked to discover tears running down her cheeks. She was moved, so moved that she went on to question God about why He’d give others so much that they didn’t know what to do with and deprive others who’d obviously and desperately needed all the help they could get. She’d questioned God’s compassion because according to her, it had seemed unfair that others suffered needlessly when He could do something about their plight.
As she struggled with this disturbing fact and issue, the voice of God spoke to her and said, “This is the reason for which you were born, to see the pain of them that suffer and do something about it.” She’d said to us that God had opened her eyes to the need of others and her responsibility toward fulfilling that need.
It’s a real blessing being in a relationship with a kind, caring, and loving Father. It has revealed to me who I am and how special I am to Him. At a young age, my classmates at school would tease me about the structure of my head and the arrangement of my teeth. They would say comments like, “You have a fish head” or “If you are closing your mouth, then why is it that I can see your tooth between your lips”. This put me down and made me wonder why I was created with such ugly features. I even went ahead and suggested to my earthly father, “Daddy, I think I need braces because people are saying my teeth are sticking out”. He then tried consoling me saying,” Your teeth are fine, you don’t need braces”. And I was immediately convinced that he was right, but it was not enough to make me feel fully satisfied with myself.
During those years, I didn’t know God the way I do now and I must confess, He is one of the best people to have a close connection with. When I started building a relationship with God, He revealed to me through His word that I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. I should be proud of every feature I have because I’m another one of His marvelous works (Psalm 139:13-14). This made me fully satisfied with myself.
Ever since then, I know that I was created in a special way which makes me feel more confident about myself and my appearance. As I conclude, I want to thank God for creating me with my “imperfections” and for the relationship I have with Him. I hope to draw closer to Him so I can receive more wonderful blessings Your truly Pauline My father is the number one mortal man. I honestly could never ask for another. God choose him specifically for my siblings and me. He has been apart of life since I was born on 24th October. I can’t say that I know exactly how involved he was on that memorable day but one thing I can say was the very exciting fact that he named me after his mother, the late Angom Pauline.
He has been involved in all aspects of my life, financially, academically, spiritually, socially, economically, most importantly he was present. In school, I was part of arts & M.D.D clubs, my papa knew it and he encouraged me to follow my dreams supporting me physically being present and financially were need be. I sing both at church and social gatherings. My father has attended most of my church concerts. When he doesn’t attend he makes sure my siblings are present to show support. He’ll provide transportation for them so that no excuses are made. He knows I love my music and that I write songs. There was this one time I wrote a song in English called ‘Dew of Heaven’ and I wanted the bridge to be in my mother tongue I asked him to translate for me the bridge to Acoli since I, unfortunately, can’t speak my mother tongue let alone write songs in it. After his hectic day from work, we sat down and wrote the song together. I eventually went to the studio to produce the song and now I love it so much because I got insight from my old man. He loves music too and he is a singer himself so you can imagine my siblings and I deeply bonding musically. Mostly my sisters because we all sing. He is the perfect tenor.
Mary, My sweet dad has always been a devoted father to us and we shall forever be grateful for that. Growing up my dad was always in and out of the country because of his kind of job. Every time he was around we made it count as a family went for vacations or a safari trip with him and it was memorable. My dad has been a hard-working man of honor and he’s been awarded for it and as a daughter, I have looked up to him for his character. Now that l am all grown l treasure those day l spent with him and remember this particular time l was about 15years old my dad was teaching how to drive and the drama it came with was funny. I saw a girl lady pass us by and the look in eyes was sad like she missed something. I remember we said hello to her and she replied her a smile. I will never forget that stop and stare look l saw in her eyes to this day. She must have missed her dad too. Every moment I spend with my dad is special because of my friend and confidant. Can you imagine he still gives me money at my age 30yrs old and l can take of myself but he still treats me like his baby girl? I can’t thank him enough for setting such a great example of a father. My father has been such a role model to my older brothers too they have become fathers too and l see my father in them it makes me proud of him. Dad thank you for loving and believing in me. l am what lam because of you great influence of my life l honor you.
Dear father, Thank you for being the best father l could ever ask for and l certainly look forward to starting a family of mine someday. Teaching us how to be happy for those who have gone ahead of us in life and to be obedient put me in check. I believe in the power of being brave and courageous because of you. Becoming a leader and taking charge has nothing to do with age. If it is upon you to lead, then you take a position. As l have matured in age and wisdom, I have come to realize how important it is to listen and to take instruction seriously. This grounds you in the fear of the Lord.
About My Father Growing up, I had assumed that every child had had the same experiences as me. I had no idea how much I was shielded from, until the coming of age exposed brutal truths that shook my faith in family life and showed me how it affects our understanding and behavior in our daily lives.
As a young lady, l saw my father taking full responsibility for the family. He was your typical father in-charge kind of man. I had never experienced neglect and abuse until l was old enough to understand what that meant.
I come from a big family majority of whom are girls. I must say we all got to a point where we all thought that each of us was our dad’s favorite. We came to the realization that our father treated us with the same level of love and respect and that we were all special. Especially the girls. I have come to the knowledge that women who grew up with loving fathers are different from those who did not. My understanding of a father is one who protects, provides, cares, and loves.
For every child, we need to have a feel of this experience. Once, my late brother came to talk to me about his girlfriend and l was concerned about the detail of her behavior. The first question l asked him was, “Is there a father figure in her life?” He told me that her father left them when they were young. I was really sad for her and her family because l know the importance of a father figure in a girl’s life. My biggest worry for every young lady is realizing that you could have a father and not experience his presence. And yet, you could have a father and experience both his physical and emotional presence which is very vital. I have and can’t fully express the extent of how rewarding it is.
It seemed the most normal thing in the world. Girls to women weren’t allowed to dream about stepping out of their predestined roles. I can’t even begin to imagine what our grandmothers had to deal with and put up with yet they took on the hardships of undervalued with such quiet strength and grace. These qualities are what kept homes strong and thriving.
My father grew in a polygamous setting. That was the era where having male children was considered a great privilege. It elevated a father’s status. Having female children didn’t spark that much excitement because girls weren’t seen as valuable human beings. Our role in society seemed to be conditioned to just domestic responsibilities. We were to turn out exactly like our mothers and their mothers. The cycle was designed to keep women in docile attitudes.
Sometimes when l wake up in the morning and l wonder whose that girl starring back at me. It’s pretty strange when l look at the changes and wonder does the real me show up when l walk out of that door. I can fool the world but can’t lie to my heart. Am l worth what l see in that secret place when it’s just me,myself and l.
Life can be a roller coaster today your displaying that go getter self and then next thing your timid side.#Reality check. The world can taste your ability to be human and kind. People will praise you today and your forgotten the next day woww what a life. Does it really matter to be kind and be mindful of that script that society puts out there for your liking? Wild thoughts arise in my mind like a game of chase every move counts. Walking on eggs shells with people surrounding you not to offend by them.
Who l am when l wake up every day of life honestly it depends on the state of my heart. I will show the world who l am l tell myself and the world has to accept me for thyself. When will my true reflection show? It’s complicated sometimes to be myself and sometimes l have to hide myself and what l believe in. I need my reflection to show who l am inside. Sometimes l want to be alone and unbothered by anything and sometimes l want to shout on top of my voice.
Who really cares l want to wear shorts and walk around my neighbourhood. But l think twice before l walk out of the house. The shorts are too tight than l change into my workout clothes. I hit the road listening to my music and walking through the streets and l meet all kinds of people. Sometimes I want to run and hide because l just want to walk without distractions from anyone.
I am weird l know..lolest There’s this uncle of mine l want to dosage everytime l walk past him he has so many questions. Please just leave me alone l have 45mins to go back and forth. 😒 I know this might sound mean and all but whose that girl in the mirror l have to be true to myself.
I have learnt to extend Grace to the people around me even when l don’t feel like it. I have been tasted by a little boy l tutor when he says something l don’t like how to l do react. Does it reflect the love of Christ in me!Love one another… Express that love to all.. and one of the ways we express love is through giving! God taught us that, He was the first example! And we follow him, he is our father!!!
What is love?? Love is not a feeling, it is not an emotion!Love is to express yourself in another person, drawing them to who you are, imparting your very life in the inside of them!!Giving is an extension of love! That’s why God has expressed himself in you!So if you are in Christ, and are not a giver, you are living in pretence and denying your identity! I want to be the reflection of my Father from the inside of me. Like l said whose that girl in the Mirror ls she the reflection of her father or the fallen state of the other. Choose your identity wisely when you look back at your reflection.
So many times in life the world has its demands of us and how we should live our lives l wondered in my room. l felt over whelmed in my heart and l look at how far some of the people in my space had moved on.
The pressured kicked in, my mind started to calculate how do l catch up with everything else l thought! l spoke to my self softly and l looked at memory verse in Psalm 103:13 the father speaks As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear HIM. I remembered how l have a great father who has great plans for me and He will never let me settle for nothing.
l honor my father and l love him and He has wants best in store for me. l started looking forward to what life has to offer. Within my soul and knowingly that l have my Father backing me up why should l compare myself to others I thought?
l started to remember key stories in the bible that spoke to me the likes of Esther who knew an orphaned girl would save a whole nation. Ruth after all she had been through she kept being faithful to her mother -in- law and served with love and endurance and better still she was very hard working.
God really had great plans for her with a bonus of a great husband who knew that would happen. Sometimes we are pressed down in different ways but yet the father knows the finish line for us in all things. I have learnt not to settle for anything just because things are moving in a certain direction. God has kept me in line and continuously reminding me of his love. His plans over my life are big and great.
Plsams 20:7 _8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we remember the name of the Lord our God .They have bowed down fallen;But we have risen and stand upright.
So it was one of those days during my holiday break from work. My friend had invited me for a weekend do. We were chatting away about our experience with Gang and some of the things we have learnt and beating deadlines with assignments. She’s like we need a weekend get away with a few friends. And l was like great idea l don’t remember the last time I went for something like that since the Covid drama kicked in.
We had places we had thought of and we even reached out to find out if they were opened. Unfortunately most of them were still closed due to the pandemic situation around the world. Until Seziwa came in mind for us and created a group for further discussions about the road trip. For some good reason, we felt like this place was the it place to be at over the weekend. Now the task was who can make it for the do and we thought through carefully. People can be disappointing when it comes to such events.
One of our friends told us l am in for the weekend do. We were so excited about it and added a few people to the group. Pretty much came to about six people. We talked through the budget and contributing started coming in Saturday evening. We called our boda guy to deliver the food stuffs but he had already gone home. Personally l don’t like things done last minute and this bothered me that we now had to wake up early to prepare and now we had to wait until the next day when supermarkets open at 8:00am for some of the things we needed to buy. We woke up early watched business Garage and my friends had to go out and buy the stuff.
It clocked 9:00am we haven’t yet had breakfast and we needed to start cooking for our road trip. At 9:30am my friend brought the foodstuffs home we started preparing and cooking. Remember our plan was to leave at 10:00am and as you can tell that was in our dreams. We started running up and down, knives here and there it was just dramatic. It clocks 10:00am and we decided to watch Garage as we were getting ready.
Our win for the day.
Our ride arrived at exactly 10:15am and now the pressure kicked in as most of the snacks were not yet ready. But we kept it calm but l was dying inside because l hate last minute things. We watched Garage and were are singing along and laughing together. We were doing the some ka money series so you can imagine. The boys came in & they decided to lend a hand and things started shifting yours truly was the chef for the day. On the sad part of things was one of our friends had just lost his Dad during the lockdown. This road trip was to cheer him up and also to comfort him.
I personally lost my younger brother last year and the feeling was mutual. We shared alot in the kitchen and the process of dealing with grief and pain. I realized that it’s always important for us to check on each other especially in such a trailing time. It got emotional for both of us but we overcame it and decided to look forward to the journey. It clocked 11:00am most of the food is ready but remember l haven’t showered yet and these guys chased me out of the kitchen to go and prepare myself.
I went and took a shower then got dressed up pretty fast. My hair wasn’t done well and l had to get moving. My friends had packed our stuff and we were ready to hit the road. Please watch out for part 2 Seziwa Walls to be continued.
Oh l now remember l was getting ready to set off before we leave ofcourse we had to check for all the doors if they were closed. We started running down the stairs laughing and all excited about our outing for the day. We all get in a BMW red in colour just we were so on fire for the day. Before we set off we take selfies guys this experience felt soooo good. So we are driving out and we realise our car had a bit of technical issues but we still drove away.
Our music was pimped up and we are busy laughing and singing along to some great Nigerian music. We reach Mukono and then car starts it’s drama guys uhmmmm you have no idea what was going through our minds. But we kept cool and basically our whole road trip was out of faith. We prayed and we were reminded that being Spiritual minded is not enough but rather speaking with power and authority is the way to go.
We drove but our car kept giving us weird vibes and remember l was seated in the front with my friend who was the driver. I had to keep being level headed and encouraging him not to be so worked out about the car. I felt like this was also a place for us to learn from each other and look out for our one another during a tough situation like this. During the car drama people are saying all these mean things and we had to shut them out. We kept driving with our hiccups until we reached a certain point, and packed the car unfortunately the police grabbed us.
Hahahahaha we tried explaining to the police guy but he didn’t want to know. But we were almost reaching our destiny and this annoying thing happened. People remember we had packed our bags, food, mats, etc now we had to find away to move with them to Seziwa Walls. We had all dressed up for the day and now we are grabbing bodas with all this stuff. The boda guy l got was really kind and we kept chatting away with me. My friends had gone ahead of me sooo l was way behind them l wouldn’t even see them.
I kept looking at the beauty of my country Uganda and l felt so proud to be Ugandan. I finally reached the place only to realise that some of my friends hadn’t reached yet. It was a surprise for me because l was the last one to set off. Anyway l reached and another friend of mine arrives too then we enter. My other two friends had reached and they helped us carry our stuff and we met some people from WH it felt cool just saying hello to one another feels like home. We went on with business and set up our camping area.
Guys our hungry was on another level remember went Naalya without eating anything now it 3:00pm. Our other friends were still settling the police issue and they had taken my friend’s permit. We kept on asking them how far with the permit how can we help! One of my friends settled the matter and they arrived Jesus Christ we were super happy.And we took great pleasure with others company made noise,danced and laughed.
The real fun started when we toured the place it was amazing. We had lots of fun. My awesome friend got another car which was bigger and better. We left Sewiza at 7:00pm our ride back was lite. We dropped off a friend of ours in Lugazi town then headed to Kampala. We still had lots of food on us. I must confess every time l come back from a road trips l feel sickish. My friends were chatting away but l was feeling uncomfortable and unwell. We packed somewhere and l ran to rest room and threw up. After that l felt little more better. We managed to reach home at 10:00pm tired and fatigued from the long journey. The kitchen was a mess and l wouldn’t sleep well with it looking like that. I took a shower and washed all the utensils made sure the place was clean then headed to my room. My phone was buzzing like crazy my other friends were on my case about me not inviting them for the road trip. Our Traveller’s group was on fire too until l told them guys peace yooo am out. That’s how our weekend went with abit of drama but better still made beautiful memories with each as friends.
So a week ago we shared ideas about improving our outreach as the Kids and Teens M.C Naalya zone. We felt like there’s more we can do in our community. Strategizing on our next steps an awesome ideal popped up as we chatted over tea. Immediately we decided to act on it. So this was our brilliant idea of reaching out to the kids in our community. We have a talented young lady called Vanessa whose good at hand skills like braid,shoe making, etc.
But before diving into action we had to use the right channels and that meant informing the Chairman about our mission. We happened to contact a great friend of ours to let us know when the Chairman is available for a meeting. He was excited to help with all the necessary tasks to make this happen. As we prepared to have a link up with the chairman, a great task a waited us and we had to collect some money to purchase materials for the project which we were able to get. We also prayed about for this cause.
On the other hand the Chairman has a busy schedule reason being we are in the Elections period and we understand what that means. This didn’t stop us from aleast starting with what we had in mind. We were able to visit the children’s homes and spend some time with them.
Its was on Tuesday evening Grace and I had slotted 3 families and we were led to minister Christ to them. We had such a wonderful time with the children and finding out how they were and how life has been during the pandemic season. We realized that most of the kids had been through a stressful time not being able to attend school. Some of them had not received a holiday packages to keep them busy with school work. This meant that their interest in school work has totally changed and dropped down. So my team and l have been thinking through this situation and what we can about it. This is also opening up more ideas to be implemented in the community.
Kids & Teen M.C Frontier
This experience opened our eyes to knowing that our God has commissioned us for a great task ahead of us. This means we need more time to catch up with these innocent children and disciple them.
For many young people,family life is not always a happy experience. They may have been thrown out their homes, or circumstances may have forced them to leave. Some are homeless, others are at risk of drug addiction or prostitution.
It’s even more of a challenge if such young adults are themselves parents. I know that family life is extremely important, and as a mother of small boys l think we may have to find a secure way of helping our children, to nurture and prepare them to see life as stable and confident adults.
Today, few children lose parents through early death but many do experience that loss through divorce and increasingly more complicated families results from separation and remarriage. These children experience of family life maybe different, but l do not believe it need necessarily any less satisfying or effective.
“We all loved Diana for her enveloping authenticity, for her beauty, for her easily expressed love always showing that she genuinely cared. Then her impressive mothering skills became a standard for us all,for she chose to never let her boys suffer the unloved that she herself had experienced so young in life These young boys have now grown into amazing men,showing deep concern for all they meet and touching people in that special Diana way. May we never forget the effect she had on our lives and continue to love her with the zeal that we saw often in her incomparable eyes.”
Diana is not easy to forget for these very obvious reasons. There are so many qualities that can be attractive about people and l have to say that she possessed a lot more than can be found in one person. One of her most captivating was her companion. In my eyes, Compassion without bravery or risk is simply not it.
This, l find interesting considering the fact that it meets such unnecessary abuse. If it weren’t so empowering why would it bother resisters so much that they are driven to oppose it? Diana was stubborn in her ability to live out her love. She made royalty beautiful and relevant. She gave royal life the identity it needed, the identity it lacked, She made royalty loveable to us. We were fascinated, hooked, obsessed, and moved.That’s what made her special. With Diana gone,Nothing there is quite the same. Her sons carry her torch quite well. Especially Harry, but sadly nothing is what it was when to believe that there’s only one of us and Diana’s light is gone. I miss her and wish she was still here. Rest in peace our beautiful queen.
The journey to growth. 