SERAH HOPE AMANI

So, what's in a name? Like the name gracing this blog post title today...What's in it? Well, I could say that there is so much in a name. A whole lot that could fill volumes upon volumes of books.

Serah Hope Amani for instance is the newest member of my family. Born on Father's day, June 16th 2013 weighing a whooping 4.2 Kg! This is exactly 3 days after we celebrated the second birthday of her brother, Ethan-Norman! We seem to have perfect timing for the month of June...and the father's day timing was simply a bonus blessing! 

Serah Hope Amani

You look at Serah and you see nothing but newness. You see nothing but promise. You see pure innocence and total dependency. You also see amazing calm and assurance that all is well. I actually nick-named Ethan her brother, 'Mr President' because at that age, anything he said (Cried for) had to be attended to immediately and it mattered less whether the request was granted or not! It just had to be attended to immediately.

Serah Hope represents so much. What this lady can do, time will tell.

• She could very well be Kenya's first woman President that is if it would not have happened by the time she's 35
• She could be the UN secretary General
• She could be a great mother and matriarch,
• She could be a great business lady travelling from one continent to another, generating profits,
• She could be a great compassionate worker, spending her life for the voiceless
• She could be a songstress, out-striping her mother,
• She could be a great radio personality following her parents' footsteps,
• She could be a great wife and mother,
• She could be an awesome youth leader

In other words, there are boundless possibilities for my little bundle of joy. I however do not believe that she could be anything she wants to be. There is nothing of that sort. You cannot be anything you want to be, you can only be all that you potentially can be!

Serah Hope has come already packaged, yet with one blank thing...the mind. In fact there is absolutely nothing I can do as a parent to create a newly packed Serah Hope. 

There are however two possibilities: I could either accentuate her package...or I could slow it down to stagnation. Such is the powerful mandate of parenthood. Parents are not owners! Am sure all the parents of teenagers already know that revelation. Parents are stewards! In other words, we are responsible for the best possible outcome of the life of another human being for more than half their life-time. In fact, we are to some measure, directly responsible to laying down the correct foundation for their Life Signatures!

The Girl Has got cool hair!

According to Rick Warren, the author of Purpose Driven Life, Serah Hope Amani has come to our lives with the following packages in the acronym of S.H.A.P.E.

1. Spiritual Gifts: First off, Serah Hope is an eternal spirit. Selah! She is a pure spiritual being that has been packaged into the physical body that we can see, feel and touch. That is why it beats logic that an atheist for example would not believe in God. Is it any wonder that they would claim they came from a chimp...amazing how a human being can say he was once a chimp (yet we still see chimps), but that stand easily explains away the spirit part of human nature. As a parent, I cannot give her these spiritual gifts. It is God who has packaged her for whatever reason that he has brought her on earth. She will not acquire these gifts as she grows, no she will just discover them with time. My responsibility as a parent is to help her nurture these to the maximum potential.
2. Heart: This speaks of a special passion that God has already placed inside her heart. That explains why I am passionate about Legacies more than I am about saving buffaloes. It's a heart issue. I think one of the greatest adventures of parenthood is to allow great room as possible for Serah to fully wrap her heart around something worthwhile in life. Music? Dancing? Human rights? Child care? Environment? Only God knows.
3. Abilities: These are innate talents. Am so grateful that already Serah has some innate talents! I know she's versatile because on her second day on earth, Serah can already hold the milk bottle by herself! It is another pure adventure to see what abilities God has put inside of Serah. I can't wait for this blessed adventure.
4. Personality: The all critical one! I have never understood myself. As a teenager, I used to be so outgoing, an extreme sanguine. Later on, I just changed. I am cool, calm and collected, shunning publicity at all costs, yet with the kind of passion I have, I need to be before people! Serah has a personality already, quite different from mine, my wife Beth's and her brother Ethan-Norman. Being at peace with that personality is a prerogative of her parents.
5. Experiences: Aha! This is where my stewardship will count. True, her life experiences will be totally different from mine and her grand parents! For example, her grand parents had never driven a car. Her dad owns one. Her dad is Kenyan, Her mum is Ugandan, and shortly, she will be living in West Africa with her dad, mum, and little brother. What Serah will experience is two fold. First, it is all within my control.
   
    The environment I allow Serah to interact with is fully under my control. It should nurture her to the maximum capacity to bring out her life signatures. My Words, the words around the environment we live will shape her life view and her values (That tells you that TV will be shot dead in my house). My actions,  the actions of the people around her will determine what kind of behavior she will pick. I am totally responsible. On the other hand, there are some experiences that will come Serah's way due to the choices that she will make. Either way, these experiences will help shape the person that God wants Serah to be. Non of those experiences will be wasted.

So, as this new life begins, I know that it is a humbling responsibility to nurture this bundle of joy. I remember reading a book long time ago called, "Growing up is a family affair", where the author says that the parents grow together with the children.

Our growth with Serah Hope has begun. This will be definitely a Life Signature!

WHAT IS FATHERHOOD ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." --Mark Twain

Father's day is not officially celebrated in Kenya. In Uganda, It is celebrated every 21st June. In the USA, it is celebrated on the third Sunday of every June. That third Sunday makes it most popular as the Father's day world wide.

You have probably heard that Mother's day is more colorful that Father's day. You probably heard of the story about how men in a certain prison sent thousands of Mother's day Cards to their mums, and just a few cards on Father's day. Why is that?

Some years back, while I was leading a mastermind spiritual group, I posed this question to the several men in my meeting: "Who among us does not have serious issues with his father?" Not one person disputed. All of us had serious hangups with our dads.

Fathering is such a powerful thing. Without a father, there is no life. That simple concept should have all #Atheists re-think their philosophy again. I can emphatically say that nothing exists without a father. Creation itself has a Father.

The most crucial aspect of fatherhood however is propagation after your own kind. This means that what I do as a father today is not in any way an isolated incident. Fatherhood speaks of seeds! Fathers not only carry seeds for life, but they also carry seeds for legacy with each day they live and do things. Nothing goes unnoticed in the end!

So really...what is fatherhood all about? Well, after all the action heroes we see in movies for two hour sessions have faded away...what is left off of real examples of fathers?

Well, my take is that Fatherhood is not all that complicated. Why? Well, men (who are mostly fathers) do not have the capacity to handle lots of details at a go. Fatherhood is simple! At the most basic level, fatherhood involves providing, protecting, being a friend, and caring.

It is all about the following:

1. Keeping Your Word: A man, a husband and a father who would keep his word, keep his promise no matter what is a true representation of fatherhood the way it should be. His word is so valued you could take it to the bank. Women are so trusting in nature and they easily take in words that we give them. Children are in fact used as examples for having faith. They trust so readily and so easily. A true father keeps his word to his wife and keeps his word to his children. So what happens if he cannot keep his word? A true father would be devastated. A pretender father would not remember, so he would not feel anything.
2. Staying Power: Fathering is all about commitment. Can your wife count on your support in the long run? Can your children count on you prioritizing them over other things? How long are you available as a father? Men tend to vacillate when things get tight unlike women. A true
   
   father stays and stays and stays and stays. Their loyalty to God and their family is unwavering. A father remains a father in steadfastness at all times and at all seasons. This does not mean that he is not tempted to take an easy way out. However, in spite of the temptation, a true father remains supportive of his wife and children.
3. Nurturing: To be honest, any man can deposit his seed into a woman and a child is formed. Top on the list of what scares pretender fathers is this statement: "I am pregnant!". Some pretender fathers will respond by accusing the lady claiming that "the baby is not mine". Some will sweat bullets and disappear out of her life. Women have been gifted with this wonderful ability to nurture life from conception...till death. I kid you not! I have always wondered how my own mum would call me every time I am in trouble...I wonder how she knows...how she senses it...and I have told this to my wife who marvels all the time at this ability. But here is the thing, a true father will do everything possible to help mothers nurture the children to maturity. In other words, a true father will take care of his seed!
4. Giving Vision: The biggest crisis we have in the world is that of leadership. This is largely because leadership is becoming extinct at the family level. A true father has a personal vision and a family vision! He speaks this vision over his family in their hearing and in their absence. He depends on the Divine to see further than the mother and the children would see. A true father is a master dreamer for his family. I have always told ladies to shun any man who does not have a vision for life. I have always told the ladies to beware of men who are not passionate about anything. Such like living dead men will be overrun with the responsibilities of fatherhood unless something massive in resolve happens to them. Let me repeat: A true father has a vision.
5. Honor: A true father honors his wife...whether she is present or not. Many men (especially pastors) have this knack of 'showing off' their spouses in public. Am not against it. Anybody can do that...in fact, it is generally expected of you to do so. Real honor however is when nobody is watching....and to a good extend, when your wife is not there! How do you honor her? Your character honors her. A person who honors his wife will constantly communicate, prophesy, comfort, teach, and lead. The best way a father can honor his children is to honor their mother! Nothing nurtures a woman more than being honored by the husband...and really knowing for sure that the husband honors her. He will know what she cherishes. He will seek to provide it. He will keep learning and growing and learning and growing in a bid to keep honoring his wife.

Like I said, fatherhood is not complicated. It is a simple calling. Simple things however are not necessarily easy to do.

A happy Father's day to everyone out there! Enjoy!.