Judge Dogood Thrown out of Church
Dogood was toted and thrown out of the building. The building was a church. As he rolled off, he nearly knocked down an usher who was walking in with the offering baskets.
Dogood had been invited by a group of pastors of a big church to talk to them about creativity and imagination for religious leaders.
“Do not play that game of telling us to imagine.” They requested him. “Give us specific strategies to boost our creativity and imagination.”
As he was preparing to talk about one of his passions, he kept getting a message about God’s glory. At first, he didn’t see how creativity and imagination were connected to God’s glory, but he saw the connection.
3 Types of Workers in the Marketplace
For clarity, I will use the term ‘worker’ broadly to refer to all of us in the marketplace: employees, employers, and entrepreneurs. When starting, we are taught the rules of the market. This advice and induction become part of the informal job descriptions. For many, they never stop to reflect on who they are or how they were meant to interpret their work until they have retired. This is why it is possible to discern identifiable patterns of behaviour across professions. For instance, you can identify some by their sharp dress code because their work demand they do so, or how they speak. And this is how many end up unwittingly multiplying patterns of whatever category they chose to be identified with.
Alternative Storytelling in the Marketplace
Our identity and convictions are nurtured by the stories we have been told, and chosen to believe in. A random conversation with colleagues on integrity, excellence, wealth, money, ethical practices, and success is a display of the stories we carry. Because of the numerous negative stories we encounter, we are under great danger of believing the dangerous single story that one has to be corrupt to succeed.
Today, in Kenya, to publicly identify as a Christian, declare one’s faith or convictions, let alone talk about excellence and work ethics, is an invitation to be mistrusted and ridiculed. Yet we continue to soldier on because there is truly an alternative, and we must not give up.
Shakahola Mess: View from the Pew
We continue to wait for the final word from the government and the courts. Meanwhile, our lives have resumed normalcy, and we are still going to churches, and soon the Shakahola matter will be constrained to history, only to be quoted the next time there is such a related tragedy.
If you have ever warmed a pew, even if it is for a few minutes, this matter affects you, and you hold the key to the solution. For starters, we are all human beings; thus, we need to remember such tragedies happen to people and not animals.
Mosquito Conversation
“What happened…what did you drink?”
“This is strange…I have never felt this way.”
Dogood was woken up by two voices in the general area of his bedroom window. On looking closely, he saw two mosquitoes. One was lying on the fold of the curtain, and the other one standing holding a tumbler of water.
At that moment, Dogood realised that, in addition to possessing a rich imagination that at times manufactures strange thoughts, he could also hear strange voices and see strange things.
“Did the blood have alcohol and drugs?”
“Please, my discerning tongue the taste of alcohol in the blood.”
“It is like nothing you and I have ever tasted before.”
“What?”
“Dangerous stuff that can kill: anger, rage, bitterness.”
“What?”
“You can taste and smell that stuff in the blood, but I thought it was some exotic spices.”.
“Why didn’t you stop?”
“I was blinded by everything around me: the looks and the ambiance! The mere mention of it and I taste it afresh.”
With groans, the mosquito turned to retch.
“I have never seen you this sick. Do you mean to say that stuff stays longer than alcohol?”
“Trust me, that stuff is lethal.”
“We have to think of a way of screening what we suck. Looks can be deceiving.”
Dogood turned with hopes of sleeping again and perhaps dreaming.
Photo by NatsPhotos on Freeimages.com
Fishy Prayer
When the post on the plural of ‘fish’ breezed by my timeline, I was reminded of a time I was asked to say the closing prayer after a family gathering.
I overcame my initial reluctance with the elation that I was being recognized as an aspiring spiritual warrior. I exuded joy, excitement and confidence when I said, “Let us pray.”
Judge Dogood Accused of Practising Witchcraft
Have you ever been accused of practising witchcraft? Yes, I have.
And I am not talking about behind the scenes, hidden chatter and gossip, no. I am referring to a straight up face to face accusation.
On a fine Tuesday morning I was walking to my car. I was preoccupied with my warm thoughts which were warding off the freezing air outside. Ahead of me in the parking lot, John, my neighbour, was already driving out. But on seeing me he stopped and stomped out.
Human Gas
Dogood got a much sought justification for obsessing and talking freely about farting. This he got from an unexpected quarter: church and not a scientific study. He learnt about a spiritual dimension to passing gas. So as not to offend the imaginations and sensibilities of the noses, which have been enjoying some unexpected protection due to Covid-19, we will use the term human gas instead of farting. The masks have saved noses from the vagaries of air pollution.
Noses Will Breathe Again
A season is coming soon when we will stop wearing masks. I will offer artistic opinion and evidence, not expert opinion. I prefer this kind of evidence because it is highly subjective reasoning open to non-scientific interpretations. My assertion has nothing to do with government mandates, success of vaccines or a scientific discovery of a cure. It is an opinion based on a conversation with my nose. Look at your nose keenly, look around at other noses near you if possible, and consider whether noses were meant to be covered.
If Joseph Were Kenyan
While attending the Bible School of the Holy Spirit, I was encouraged to always read the Bible with imagination without colouring outside the lines. On one of those reading assignments, I encountered six Kenyan Josephs —three noble and three colourful. I acknowledge that we have very many noble Kenyans who wear their Joseph names and calling proudly. Some could even be considered composites of all the noble qualities of the Josephs in the Bible.