JB Lifestyle

Yesterday's readings had a theme of conversion, especially the Gospel about the conversion of Zaccheus. Zaccheus was a tax collector in Israel and in his time, was considered one of the worst sinners and a social outcast. He was however singled out by Jesus when he climbed a tree to get a glimpse of him and told that he would be hosting him that night for dinner. We are all imperfect and we all make mistakes but we love to compare our lives to others and think to oursleves, "i am not as bad as that guy." Dont fool yourself into thinking you are good just because you havent made the same mistake as someone else. Instead of judging someone, respond with kindness and understanding. St. Theresa of Calcutta is quoted as saying "if you judge someone, then you have no time to love him." You cannot help someone change if you respond with haughty judgements and accusations. Let us all take the example of Jesus and forgive those who have erred and give them the c...

I think we have all heard about the famous song, "it is well with my soul". What was even more amazing to me about this song, is the story behind it. The composer, Horatio Spafford was a once very successful lawyer in chicago in the 1800's who literally lost everything. He first lost his youngest chid (a son), then his business, then his four daughters died in a shipwreck. It was one tragedy after the other and what does he do? He composes a song that brings hope to us even today. Today i was reading my psalm for the day which says God is always close to the broken hearted. I feel like this is an important message especially for our times. So many people are struggling with depression, dissappointments and broken hearts. So many people searching for hope. Your hope shoudl always be in the Lord God, he will never abandon you. He loves you even when you cannot love yourself! In the toughest storms of our life, let us ask God to help us to say it is well. Always let u...

I have lost count of the many times that there have been unfortunate deaths in the United states due to the unending gun violence unleashed on innocent people, including children. At some point i thought that after the shooting of children at a kindergarten, it would be the tipping point in ensuring more stingent control on access to firearms by the U.S Goverment but here we are again. I will not and cannot accept this. It is unacceptable. I am not a U.S citizen but as a concerned human being, i feel for the realatives of those whose lives were lost senselessly and in deaths that could have been prevented. My prayers and thoughts are with you. I keep asking myself, when will it be enough? How many peeople must die before we take this issue seriously? How many children must we lose?(sigh) We are living in dangerous times, and we need to be on our guard at all times. However lets not allow this to make us live in fear. There are still many peace loving people in this world and the...

Lately, there have been alot of attempted suicides in my city , kampala and around the world. Unforutnately in Uganda, suicide attempts are considered criminal acts and are pusnishable by prosecution. However we really need to ask ourselves, how does this help the person involved and the society? Is this really going to help to heal this deep rooted pain? Essentialy, i think that aatempted suicide is a cry for help and is on the rise in the world today. To be honest, life is really hard for many people , if not for all of us but some people can truly feel like they are alone in the world and that they have no way out of a bad situation or that they have no one who cares for them.  Granted,  that is not a right way of thinking, but some people can be cruel and out of touch with the people around them. We are the reason that some people are so screwed up. Half of the blame should fall on them and the other half on those aouund them. Do you even know your next door neighbo...

Here i am not referring to the American holiday of thanksgivng which is apparently a celebration  to remember  when the indians (native Americans) made peace with the settlers. ( " i assume?") Anyway i am referring to giving thanks to God especially and to others for the good things we receive. Today i woke up to a sunny day and i took it for granted. How many people actually long for a little bit of sunshine in the cold , harsh regions of the world. (like iceland)You are able to breathe without difficulty today. How many people are in hospitals, unable to breathe on their own? There are too many things we take for granted. Even a smile, just a smile to the person next to you ("dont care if its not reciprocated") is enough to lift someone's spirits. Let us learn to say thank you to God and to others. Even the trials and suffering we encounter have value and teach us something. So today and everyday, no matter how things are going, keep your chin up and...