Paradigm, schmaradigm

Have you ever had God rock your world so hard it takes a few weeks to stop wobbling? I’ve pretty much been there for the past few weeks... New Year’s hit me hard this year. I REFUSE to allow 2011 to be the same as the past. I want ALL of what God has for me this year, and that means I have to change. All of my behaviors stem from my thinking which comes from what my heart holds as truth.

I feel like I’ve been living Romans 12:1&2 - not just believing it, but experiencing the gut-wrenching, heart rending truth of it. I don’t want my thoughts, ideologies, and worldview be just what I’ve learned and been taught by the world and the culture around me. I want them to reflect what I know to be truth - the Word of God.

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts from trusted pastors/teachers, reading books, reading the Word, and not doing a whole lot of talking (sorry for the blog silence). God certainly isn’t through with me yet, and I have no idea where the process is leading, I just know its somewhere new, somewhere better, somewhere closer to Jesus.

A truth I realized this morning as I was reading was this: true biblical repentance is transformation. Its not just being sorry, its not just feeling bad, its not just changing behaviors... it is changing how we think and perceive the world around us. Biblical repentance is 2 Cor 10:5 and Romans 12:1 & 2 all wrapped up together. We bring our thoughts under submission to Christ and then allow Him to transform them into His thoughts - which of course are higher than our own (Isaiah 55: 8 & 9) I want my ways and thoughts to be like His, not like mine...

So, that’s where I am; a little wobbly and unsteady, but on a better path than before.

Now, in case its a while before I get back here, here’s some links to what I’ve been listening & reading:

Perry Noble: NewSpring Church podcasts, leadership podcasts, and blog

Rich Dunn: Lighthouse Christian Center podcasts

Rick Rocco: Frontline Christian Church podcasts

Darrow Miller: Discipling Nations

YouVersion: New thru 30 (check out #NTx12 for all the details)

Randy Bohlender: twitter, facebook, blog

Hope all of these encourage you!

New Year...

*disclaimer - this blog is a bit philosophical, it is not meant to be a “downer” but perhaps thought provoking. If you only like happy “up” blogs, you may not want to continue reading. end of disclaimer*

New Years...

As a friend of mine wrote on her blog, I’m starting this year in a sober state of mine. I’m not depressed, according to the thesaurus I’m “serious, solemn, sensible, thoughtful, grave, somber, staid, levelheaded, businesslike, down-to-earth, commonsensical, pragmatic, conservative; unemotional, dispassionate, objective, matter-of-fact, no-nonsense, rational, logical, straightforward.”

After spending New Year’s Eve at church and returning home at 6am. I spent most of New Year’s Day in dreamland (try that if you’re married & have kids!) After getting up, I read for a while, and then went outside and sat on the lawn & thought deep thoughts like:

What do I want to accomplish in 2011?

What does God want me to accomplish in 2011?

Is there more to my life than I’m living right now?

Do I need to change my dreams because they’ll never happen?

What is fun? Why don’t I seem to have very much of it in my life?

How have I gotten to this place? Have I slept-walked through my life?

What does “Auld Lang Syne” really mean? (okay this one isn’t so deep, but if you wonder too, you can find the answer on this blog)

These and similar thoughts have been going through my mind ever since. Because of that, and other things, I’m slowly coming to the realization that indeed I am a grown-up and I’m not so sure I’m a fan of that. Mostly because it doesn’t measure up to my childhood dreams. Problem is, I can’t make those dreams happen, and so I have to live the life I have. But what does that mean?

I sure as heck don’t know. Thus my sober musings and my dilemma. I do have some goals for this year like:

• write my book & see if I can get it published
• complete my first term in Kenya
• have more speaking engagements
• read the New Testament every month (#NTx12)
• blog more consistently

2011 hopefully will be a year of accomplishments - in myself, in my job, and in my spiritual walk. Hopefully when I write a blogpost at the beginning of 2012, I’ll be rejoicing in completed goals, looking forward to the future, settled in myself, closer to Jesus.

May this year bring all to you that you are hoping for!

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas! As many have been very eloquent in sharing the blessing & message o

f Christmas, I will pass on their wisdom and words. May you and yours be abundantly blessed this Christmas!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. - Linus van Pelt

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr Seuss

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

Greatest man in History, Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master, had no degree, yet they called him Teacher, had no medicines, yet they called him Healer, had no army, yet kings feared him, won no military battles, yet he conquered the world, committed no crime, yet they crucified him...He was buried in a tomb, yet he lives today.

Great little One! whose all-embracing birth

Lifts Earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to Earth.

~Richard Crashaw

Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making. ~Leigh Hunt

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

DIY?

In the last week or so I’ve come to learn that home improvements here are not what one would expect. Here’s the story...

The Omondi’s have about 4 acres of property here. Currently it is used for: the gues

thouse, staff housing, main house, chicken houses, cow shed, greenhouse, garden, and some yard space. Daniel (their youngest son) is home for the Christmas break from University. He is the “master planner” for overhauling the property and making it more inviting to guests, as well as trying to make better use of the property itself.

That these plans were more than just “on paper” began just after Daniel arrived. Within a week the cow shed was gone, and piles of sand, rock, and other things started to arrive. As I write this there is a new roof on the office of the main house, a new walkway from the drive to the new house, a pile of rocks that are being “dressed” to become a wall to replace the wood fence in front of the guest house, fence posts in the guest house yard, and George is digging up grass to create a new entrance walk to the guest house from the driveway.

I’ve been most amazed by the stone mason. The lorry from the quarry :), dropped off a load of these big rectangular rocks. He has spent the last week, sitting on the pile with a hammer and chisel cutting the rocks to the shapes he needs to build the wall. Here’s the pile of rocks:

Here’s the “left-overs”:

Here’s what the wall will look like:

Kenya, and probably all of Africa, depends very much on manual labor for most everything. As I watch these artisans at work, very often I’m amazed at what they can accomplish. There are also times where I’m appalled at how “in-efficient” it can seem to my American sensibilities, but it is in those moments I remind myself that these “inefficiencies” mean job security for many.

So next time you see a road construction crew and hear the jack hammers, remember that it could be more people at work with pick-axes and shovels digging up the road. It may take longer, but more people are working

Giving Thanks...

For the last 24 days a few friends of mine on Facebook have been counting down the days until Thanksgiving. However, it’s not just been counting the numbers. They’ve taken a letter from the alphabet each day and listed what they’re thankful for that starts with that letter for the day. I’ve been inspired, and so, a couple of days early here are some of the things I’m thankful for this year:

A - the amazing grace of God that leaves me in awe of who He is and how He views me

B - being still, taking the time to breathe in and see where I fit into God’s plan

C - companions that walk through life with me, they have been there through all of the messes and the celebrations. You all know who you are...

D - deadlines and due dates - they keep me organized and focused

E - eternity, God has placed a sense of it in each of us and I am left in wonder

F - family - we may be a bubble of center but I wouldn’t trade them for anything

G - giraffes! I love these gentle creatures that leave my heart in wonderment of our Creator

H - househelp :) I don’t know how I’d make it here without the wonderful people I work, live and interact with each day

I - I AM, God is everything that I need, want, or desire. He is whatever my heart cry is at the moment

J - justice, I’m learning that loving God means desiring His Kingdom on earth & doing what I can to see that Kingdom be established. I want to see Kingdom justice for those that live without it daily - the orphan, the widow, the unborn

K - the kindness of the Lord that draws us to Himself and into a lifestyle of repentance. Leaving behind the things that trip us up and running into His arms

L - life and learning to enjoy it to the fullest

M - mentors and people who love me enough to speak into me so that God can accomplish His will and purpose for my life

N - notes of encouragement that show up in my inbox

O - opportunities - to travel, to share my life, to learn, God has definitely kept my life from being boring

P - partnership with God - I don’t have to do anything alone. God chooses to allow me to walk with Him each day and partner with Him and other believers to see the Kingdom of Heaven become reality on Earth

R - restoration, God has reached out and touched deep places in me that I didn’t even realize were broken and has redeemed and restored them

S - swahili, another language to learn and be able to praise God in

T - travel, to have the chance to see God’s creation and get a broader perspective of Him and the people He loves

U - being uncomfortable, it is these times that keep me growing and seeking God

V - variety and change, they keep life interesting

W - writers & authors; of books, blogs & blarney. Thank you for keeping me entertained & encouraged, challenged & cackling.

X - xoxoxo the only way I can get hugs and kisses these days from family and friends in North America. Its the little things...

Y - Yesu - He has made all the difference in my life.

Z - zain - their phone service keeps me in touch with home (at a decent price!)

Carnivore!

Wow, I can’t believe its been a week since I last posted. It seems like everything has decided to hit at once. Last week we had visitors in from HISG for a workshop day at the office for our Micro-Finance clients.

Bonus to that was that I got the chance to go to Carnivore! This restaurant is an experience all its own, in fact its included in a lot of safari packages. When we drove up we had to go through some security gates (not surprising). As we approached the gate went up & just as I was about to be surprised by motion sensors in this country I noticed the security guard. I should have known. [With all the available manpower here, it does make sense that a lot of jobs use people power versus being automated]. The parking lot was packed so we asked where to park & the attendant said “down after the nissan” so that’s where we went only to be told by someone else “this isn’t a space.” We explain it’s where we were directed & then wait while the attendants figure it out between themselves. So, we pulled up a bit into a formerly reserved space & went inside.

As you enter you’re hit with the explosive radiant heat coming from the 360° flaming rotisserie grill. It is massive (may 7 or 8 ft in diameter). As we joined the guys at the table I saw there was a lazy susan in the middle with a bunch of little bowls and a flag on it. The bowls are condiments and sauces and the flag lets the roving meat carvers know that you’re “open” to them bringing you food. But before they start, you get salad (on the lazy susan) and a small cup of soup. Then when were done with the starters, they brought thermo-nuclear heated cast iron plates and roasted potatoes. Now as you can probably ascertain from the name of the place, Carnivore is all about the meat, and they’re known for the exotic meats. The roaming meat carvers walk around the restaurant with either giant metal skewers of roasted or cast iron platters with various roasted meat items. I tried quite a few “normal” things - honey chicken wings, roasted chicken, turkey, beef & pork, along with 2 exotics - camel & ostrich. I liked them both. The camel reminded me a bit of beef jerky (maybe because I had a smoky outside piece) and the the ostrich was quite yummy, especially with the garlic sauce. I did turn down the ox “mountain oysters”, lamb, and crocodile. Sorry, but I already know I don’t really like lamb, crocs live in water so they’re out, and just the idea of the first one puts me off.

I decided against taking pictures this visit & instead to just enjoy the experience. I’ll take pics next time I go because I’m sure I’ll go again. It was a blast!

This week I’m preparing for the RTF seminar at the church, thanksgiving dinner next Wednesday (I’m cooking for 16!), and the DOVE Africa convention in December. Oh, and I’m starting on Christmas too! Life is getting busier - oops, better be careful what I wish for :D

Christmas is coming!

I’m listening to Christmas music and its helped put in the mood to create my Christmas “wish” list. Also, I was prompted by some family members who wanted to know what I wanted (as opposed to need). As I’m going to be spending Christmas here and not in the US (for the 1st time!) Most of the things are on my “Amazon Wish List” so you can purchase online and can ship directly to me instead of having to deal with the post office hassle.

TV Series DVD Sets (any season)

• Bones
• House
• Royal Pains
• Glee
• CSI: NY
• NCIS
• NCIS: LA

Movies (I like rom-coms, chick flicks, & epic dramas)

• Letters to Juliet
• Notting Hill
• LOTR trilogy
• Robin Hood (new one w/ Russell Crowe or old w/ Kevin Costner)
• Book of Eli
• Gladiator

Books

• Indian cookery
• any cookbook by Nigella Lawson

Other Stuff

• anything from the “Stuff I Miss” section
• Maple syrup
• ear plugs
• any new music (Christian Contemporary, worship) Go here for suggestions

Gift Cards - feel free to designate its use

• e-gift cards (Amazon)
• paypal $ (email me for the link to my site)
• VISA gift cards (cannot use AMEX or MasterCard here well)
• iTunes cards

If you are going to mail/ship things, here’s the address

Angela Kung’u

DOVE Africa

P.O. Box 28721

00200 Nairobi

Kenya