The Song of My Heart is coming …

I am just terrible at keeping a secret … especially when I am excited about something!

And right now, I am over the moon about my new book – The Song of My Heart. Putting the book together was rather exciting! I shuffled through every poem that I've written in the last three years and picked out those that speaks about God's love for mankind.  I spiced up the entire book by inserting a scriptural quotation before each poem.  Each scriptural quotation captures the essence of, and serves to introduce, the coming poem in such a way that the reader is drawn into a deeper relationship with the poem and with God, the center of each poem.

I did all this in just 4 days!

Can you imagine?

Now the book is at the printers and I will be receiving the first batch of copies sometime next week.  The book will be launched by my Senior Pastor during the Action Conference and I will do some book signing at the occasion.  

I am not quite sure right now how much the book will be going for but I can assure you that you will not be disappointed if you put aside your $10 (being the highest price you can expect to pay for a copy of the book).  

There will be a limited number of copies for sell and I am sure that if the book will sell out fast.  However, I do wish that you, as an Inspiration Online Subscriber, get your copy even if this becomes the case.

So, today I want to extend to you the opportunity to make an advance reservation for your copy. To do that all you need to do is to send me an email indicating the number of copies that you want me to reserve for you.  

Seriously, if you are interested in buying the book and you are afraid it will run out before you get a copy, just tell me. Drop me a line at emasendeke@rbz.co.zw and let me know how many copies you require.  Also, be sure to let me know the payment and collection/delivery options that are open to you.

I cannot wait to hear from you.  Do not hesitate to drop me a line even if you are not sure whether I can eventually get the book to you.  There are always means and ways and I am sure I can get the book to you regardless of where you are in the world.

Keep your spirit open, The Song of My Heart is coming…

Romans 1:16

Sorry for no post over the past few weeks.  I'll try my best to be keep up to date with my posts in the future.  Otherwise, today I have a poem for you. It is from my latest book which is going to be launched sometime soon.  I hope that you are inspired by it.

Be Inspired

        Romans 1:16
Some blame it on their children
Others on their wives
The lives they live
They play it so small, so simple, so safe
It makes no difference at all

Some blame it on their hubbies
Others on their folks
The lifestyles they live out
So quiet, so indifferent, so laidback
It touches nobody at all

You can call it being selfish
Or being proud
But I would rather step on someone's toes
Than to live the rest of my life in regret

I'll make my best shot at it
Maybe some day somebody will rise up and say:
He played it so big, so complex, so risky
But he made a difference in my life

I'll put it all on the line
Maybe some day somebody will rise up and say:
He was so loud, so decisive, so firm
But he touched my life all the same

You can call it being selfish
Or being proud
But I would rather step on someone's toes
Than to live the rest of my life in regret.

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I’m not the person for a job like that!

"When God called me I was blown away." This is one of the reoccurring statements you would hear in the testimonies of most of the mighty men and women we read about in the Bible if you were to ask them about the experience of their calls.

But why would they possibly say that? And most of them, too?

Well, I've spent some time studying their lives and came to realise that each of them was given a task they could neither dream of nor comprehend to accomplish in/with their own abilities.

For Abraham, it was to posses a foreign land and drive out its inhabitants, with the help of one relative, their families and slaves.

For Joseph, it was to administer Egypt's nation-wide farm programme in preparation for an impending seven year drought in the land.

For Moses, it was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

 For Esther, it was to go into the king's presence, without an invitation, believing that she would be given enough audience to allow her to make a request to the king.

For Gideon, it was to deliver the nation of Israel from under the yoke of the Midianites.

Today, God may have already spoken to you or in the future He will speak to you about a special assignment He has for you. You have or will look at your task and, like Moses, exclaim, "But I'm not the person for a job like that!"  [Ex. 3:11]

Guess what? You are not the first person who have or will fill inadequate for the task God has for you.  Nor are you the last one!  You are just one of them.  Moses did. Isaiah did.  Jeremiah did.  Esther did. The disciples did. And most probably, Paul did, too.

Most of the great men and woman of God we read about in the Bible said something that sounded something like that when God gave them their assignment - "But I'm not the person for a job like that!" – but still went ahead and did the assignment anyway.

Many of the mighty men and women God is raising up today are also sometimes found saying, "But I'm not the person for a job like that!" but still go ahead and do the assignment anyway.

What about you?

Be Inspired.

[Inspiration Online] Presentation

Last month when I went for my Master's classes I volunteered to take one of the morning devotion sessions. During the session I made a presentation on four principles that we can learn from the lifestyle of an athlete. Everybody enjoyed the presentation and must have learnt a lot from it [the whole class, including the course facilitator, downloaded a soft copy of it]. So, I thought of sharing the presentation with you.

Here's the presentation

Be Inspired.

Edmore

Doing Something Foolish?

Has anyone ever called you a fool?  If so, what had you done? And how did you feel about it?

"Foolish?"

Insulted?

Discouraged?  

Annoyed?

Whatever feelings you had they must have been somewhat bad.

When your actions attract negative feedback from those around you or watching you it is natural for you to feel bad about yourself, reconsider your decisions and change your course of action.  While this is probably the most logical response to give to any such negative feedback, unfortunately, it is not always necessarily the wisest one.  These negative feelings that you have about yourself and the reverse of your decisions and actions only serve your best interests if the actions that you took cropped up from a wrong decision.

Nevertheless, this is not always the case. At times the people around you or watching you call you a fool in error: they can call you a fool because they do not understand your decisions and actions, do not see where you are going nor do they perceive any reward from what you are doing.  But you will be doing the right thing in a way that seems foolish to those around you or watching you.

When you are doing the right thing in a way that seems foolish to those around you or watching simply pay no attention to those that call you foolish and continue with what you are doing.  Maintain your focus and do not allow those that call you foolish to derail you from what you are doing.  For I have heard of many people who created their pathway to success by doing things that seemed foolish to those around them or watching them.  

What can stop you from creating your own pathway to success by doing things that are or may seem foolish to those around you and those watching you?

Be inspired.

I gave them a piece of my mind

Sometimes the wrong thing to do is the right thing to do.

Every now and then you have to stand up for your rights: You have to say NO to discrimination.

Those times usually appear at your doorstep when you least expect them.  Like last Friday afternoon on my way home.  I happened to among a group of people who were looking for a ride home at the roadside when a van (the local form of public transport) swung in from the junction and pulled over to look for passengers.  One of the man in the van called out, "Mabvuku, Tafara," to invite us to it.  The place at which the van stopped was a few meters away from us so we walked to it.  When my turn came to get into the van a man in the front passenger seat said to me, "It's fifty cents. Do you have money?"

"Yes," I replied.  (Though being asked this question before being accepted into a ride offends me, I do not blame the transport operator entirely for wanting to know my financial position before I enter into their van.  I am aware that some of my disabled brothers and sisters give transport operators a challenge by refusing to pay their fares on the basis that they are disabled or because they have a letter that warrants them free rides when using public transport.  Since transport operators have the right to refuse anyone any such privileges, I find it only fair that they ask their potential clients whether they are in a position to pay or not.  However, they shouldn't push it too hard.)

I thought that this was going to end be the end of our conversation but obviously I was wrong.

"Where are you going," the man demanded of me.  I told him my destination but before I could finish what I was saying he snarled back at me, "We are not going your way."

"No, I will pay you your fares," I answered back.

"We are not going your way."

It became apparent that this man did not want me in the van for some unknown reason. But I was determined to go home – in this van.

"Do not let him in," the man said to his colleague who was standing at the van's door and directing passengers to free seats.  

But it was already too late.  I was already in.  And about to sit down.  The man at the door grabbed me but I grabbed on to the hand of the passenger who was already inside the van and sat down next to her.  I found a seat in the first row that is right behind the driver's seat.  That is also close to the door.

"Get him out of here," demanded the driver.

"You shouldn't have allowed him in," the first man said. "We are not going to Epworth."

Who wanted to go to Epworth?  This man was making up stories.  I was going to Hillside and would drop at a junction that is along the route to Mabvuku.

"Please, we are not going your way," the man at the door tried to plead with me to exit the vehicle as he slightly tagged me, trying to get me out of my seat.

"No, I will pay you your fares," I answered back.

"Get him out of here," demanded the driver again and again.

"I am going to drag you out of this vehicle," the man at the door said as he began to pull me.

"No, I am not leaving this vehicle," I retorted in direct defiance of the three men's commands.

"We do not want any trouble. We are not going to Epworth. Get him out of here," demanded the man in the front passenger seat.

"Get out of here. We do not want any trouble with you. We know you have the money to pay but we are not going your way," retorted the driver.

"No, I am disembarking from this vehicle," I responded to all their demands.  "I am going to Hillside.  This is discrimination!" Apparently, I was also working hard to resist the tug of the man that was at the door who wanted to drag me out of the vehicle.

As the commotion increased a crowd gathered at the door of the van to see what was taking place.  The man in the front passenger seat told the crowd that they wanted me to disembark from the vehicle because they were not going my way.  A man from the crowd came to talk to me. He said that he understood that I was going to pay my fares but the vehicle was not going where I was going.  I told him I wasn't going to Epworth either.  "Then, where are you going?"

"Hillside," I replied, "I drop along the way."

"I know him. He drops along the way," spoke up another passenger who had just entered the vehicle and was about to take up his seat.

However, all this seemed to fall on deaf ears. The three men kept on insisting that the vehicle was not headed towards my direction and that I should disembark from the vehicle.  

I refused.

The man who had come in to speak to me from the crowd withdrew and gave the man at the door the reassurance that I was in the right van and that I was going to pay my fares.  However, he took it with a pinch of salt.

All this while the driver was beaming, "Get him out of here. He will cause us trouble. We are not going to where he is going."

An older man entered the vehicle and when he saw me he said, "I know this guy.  He drops along the way."  

Now every seat in the vehicle was occupied.  They had to leave.  I was still inside but they wanted to leave me behind.

"You got your money," the driver asked as he turned to look at me.

"Yes!"

"Take it out," he said.  "Take this guy's fare," he instructed the man who had been standing at the door. The vehicle was now in motion and they wanted me to collect my fares before we went anywhere far or leave me behind in the event that I could not pay.

The last time I was insulted in this way I boldly told the man who was collecting the fares, "Because you insulted me and thought that I wasn't going to pay you, truly I am not going to pay you. I am doing this so that the next time you see me, you will remember this incident and not discriminate against me."  Indeed, I enjoyed a free ride home on that day.  Nevertheless, I saw that there was no room for such talk in my present situation so I dug into the pocket of my bag and drew out of it a coin which I pressed hard into the man's palm.  "There," I said, "I told you I would pay you."

"You sure are trouble.  The next time we see you we won't give you a ride," threatened the man in the font passenger seat.  He went on to pass some derogatory statements that agitated me so I snarled back.  I told them that the three of them were stupid and that their discriminatory behaviour was unacceptable.  I told them that they should treat disabled as any other human being.  I was restrained by the older man who had vouched for me otherwise I was ready to pick on them until we got to my stop.

I do not usually handle such issues this way.  I usually address the matter at hand and quit, especially when it is a minor misunderstanding or misjudgment and the offender quickly acknowledges their offense.  But the way the current incident played out proved to be a case of outright discrimination and I think I did what I had to do: I gave them a piece of my mind.

I felt a little bad afterwards but I quickly got over it.  That was the best way to handle the issue at the time I believe.  Even though I wish that there was a better way.

Discrimination is a part of our everyday lives that we cannot ignore.  The reason that I relate this incident to you is not so that you may feel sorry for me but rather that I may find opportunity to ask you what are you doing about the discrimination that is part of your life – be it discrimination that is being perpetrated against you or the discriminatory behaviour that you are perpetrating against someone else.  

The basis upon which any person may be discriminated against are diverse – gender, race, colour, ethnic group, religion, education and so on – and the reparations are invariably negative – job loss, limited opportunity, physical and emotional hurts, among many more.

Even if there is no discrimination that is being perpetrated against you and you are not perpetrating any discriminatory against anyone, I am sure you know someone who is being discriminated against by someone else.  I am sure you are in a position to help them.

Let's do something about it.

Vroom! Vroom! Am I too daring for you? - Part II

Back home things did not immediately take off as planned. It was not until sometime in February 2007 that I was able to start my driving lessons. Before then I had only managed to take three or four lessons under the guidance of my cousin and an instructor from one of the local driving school. The major setback that I faced during this period was that of having limited access to fuel – through one of the organisations for disabled persons in our country I was able to access 50 liters of petrol per month at a subsidized price and this was only sufficient to take me to and fro work for close to three weeks. I was then required to buy whatever excess fuel I needed at market price, which was unsustainable due to rising inflation. (In addition to the fuel expenses, I had to also consider the costs of hiring a professional driving instructor who would teach me how to drive.)

Research on driving with cerebral palsy
Despite being unable to take driving lessons over the eight month period, I did not lose heart. Instead I conducted a mini-research on driving with cerebral palsy. I opened a couple of web pages and in the search engines typed the words ‘driving disability,’ ‘disabled driver,’ ‘driving cerebral palsy,’ ‘driving and cerebral palsy,’ ‘driving with cerebral palsy’ or ‘driving with cerebral palsy hints and tips.’ I came across a lot of information but not all of it was useful – I came across general health information about cerebral palsy as well as empirical research findings and discussion forums in which people with cerebral palsy shared their experiences of learning how to drive; the challenges they faced in learning how to drive and eventually getting licenses; the time and effort it took for them to learn how to drive; and the liberation that they feel from being able to drive.

Cerebral palsy? What the heck is cerebral palsy?
The term cerebral palsy has appeared in this article several times now, even so more often in the last paragraph. Because you are not very much aware of disability related issues, you may as well be asking yourself ‘Cerebral palsy? What the heck is cerebral palsy?’ each time you come across the term.

Well, I’m glad you asked. Because, right now, I am going to take the opportunity to explain to you what cerebral palsy is. After that I am going to share with you my findings about driving with cerebral palsy and the experiences of people with cerebral palsy that have learnt how to drive.

Cerebral palsy… it is a term used to describe a group of disorders affecting body movement and muscle co-ordination. The medical definition of cerebral palsy is a "non-progressive" but not unchanging disorder of movement and/or posture, due to an insult to or anomaly of the developing brain. Development of the brain starts in early pregnancy and continues until about age three. Damage to the brain during this time usually results in cerebral palsy.

This damage interferes with messages from the brain to the body, and from the body to the brain. The effects of cerebral palsy vary widely from individual to individual. In my case it has resulted in low muscle tone and poor coordination of movements. The type of cerebral palsy that I incurred makes me look very unsteady and shaky. It also affects my sense of balance. Hence, I have poor coordination and walk unsteadily with a wide based gait, placing my feet unusually far apart. I also sometimes shake a lot, like a tremor you might have seen in a very old person, especially when I am trying to handle or hold a small object such as a pen. Because of the shaky movements and problems coordinating my muscles, I often take longer than other people to complete certain tasks such as doing up my shirt buttons. Also due to my disability my speech is somewhat slurred.

It is possible to drive
Obviously after you read the description that I just gave about my disability you must be asking yourself How on earth can this man ever think that one day he will be able to drive?

Well, one of the most important lessons that I learnt from the research that I conducted, I believe, was that it was possible for a person with cerebral palsy to drive – even though it may not be the easiest thing on earth to do.

In a study that was conducted by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI, 17 out of the 24 young people with cerebral palsy who were undergoing training for a driving license and were part of the study had already got their driving licenses at the time the researchers compiled the report that they posted on the internet.

Simply put, the researchers observed a success rate of 70.8% among young people with cerebral palsy. This rate was fair enough for me to believe that the possibility of me being successful at my endevours were high. What more with the testimonies of many individuals with cerebral palsy that had taken the initiative to learn how to drive and had been successful at it.

‘10 years ago I finally accomplished driving a car,’ wrote one 37 year old lady.

‘I got my driver’s license in 1969,’ wrote another person.

Statements like these really raised my hopes but there was obviously more to their stories than the simple fact that these drivers had accomplished driving despite their disability.

To know what else was captured in these individuals’ stories keep your eyes open for when I send you the link to my next blog entry.