Positive Quote for Today

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."— Maya Angelou


Cultivating Love

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
This is the front cover of Bill Clinton's memoir that I loved carrying around when I was first-year engineering student at JKUAT in 2007. I will mention the memoir in the story below.

God once told King Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted from Him, so says the Holy Bible in the book of 2nd Chronicles. I can imagine the excitement that welled up in Solomon as he contemplated what to ask from the Owner of the Universe.

"Should I ask for a chance to meet the woman of my dreams somewhere out there? Or should I ask for success in the business I am trying to establish as a side hustle?"

Interestingly, Solomon didn't ask for any material possession. He instead asked for wisdom and knowledge, perhaps because he knew that mental excellence is a splendid and lasting possession.

Because God is faithful, He gave Solomon wisdom and knowledge which eventually made him wealthy and honored. To this day, Solomon is still recognized as one of the wealthiest men in the crowded canvas of human history.

Since the same God that Solomon worshipped is the same God I worship today, I have also asked Him the one thing I desire most. And that is love.

Now, the Bible says love is the greatest virtue. Jesus stated that loving God, ourselves and our fellow human beings are the greatest commandments. Then St. Paul said that even if we acquire a masters' degree and a PhD and still lack love, we have gained nothing. Well, he didn't say exactly that, but he meant that anyway.

By extolling the virtue of love, Jesus and St. Paul must have understood that if we grow in love, it becomes easier for us to practice other virtues such as courage, diligence and gratitude.

That's why I have asked God for love. To love Him with all my heart, mind and soul, to love myself as I am, and to love my fellow human beings regardless of their age, sex, race, tribe or creed.

When it comes to practicing the virtue of love, my role model will be former U.S. President Bill Clinton. I just like the way Clinton said in his memoir that his mother gave him a love of life, his wife gave him a life of love and one of his grandfathers taught him to look up to people others look down on because we're not so different after all.

Besides loving God, myself and my fellow human beings, I also want to love what I do and the challenges I will encounter along the way. So I have asked God to help me convert my writing venture from something I have to do to something I love to do. See?

As for the challenges I will encounter along the way, I have a clue what they will be: theft, failure, injuries, criticism, rejections, sicknesses, disagreements, technological hiccups and loss of loved ones. Such are the kind of challenges I have asked God to make me love so that I may appreciate the exhilaration of overcoming them.

Enough about me. How about you, my beloved reader? What one thing would you like God to give you? Don't be afraid to ask Him for it because the Bible says nothing is too hard for the Lord. Adieu!

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My SAT Exam Experiences

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on May 17, 2018
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Fennel's Priory. All rights reserved worldwide.

"That SAT exam," I confidently told my friend Kevin [not his real name] in 2006, "I will score over 2100 in it."

"I also thought so," Kevin replied, "but I only managed to score an 1880."

Kevin and I were both applying to MIT and he happened to have sat for the SAT exam before me. Even though he insinuated it was impossible for me to get a high score in SAT, I still believed every word I said when I made it known to him that I was aiming to score over 2100 in the exam.

Almost everything about the exam tended to make me believe I could accomplish my goal. Its questions were multiple-choice, the kind we had in primary school. Then the math section of the exam tested what I learnt in junior high school. (Yes junior, not senior high school!)

The critical reading section of the exam was the only dark cloud on the horizon since it involved reading stilted passages. It also required me to absorb a huge number of college-level vocabularies.

That troublesome critical reading section notwithstanding, I stayed focused on scoring over 2100 in the SAT exam - the sort of marks that most admitted students to top American colleges scored.

But alas! Come the day when I was to sit for the SAT exam, I didn't feel as clear-headed as I wanted, something that made me fill answers of certain section on a part reserved for another section.

When I realized my blunder, I had a panic attack. The invigilator was kind enough to allow me to rub out my answers and transfer them to the right part. But that of course worked against me as the exam was strictly timed.

After taking the SAT, I had a gloomy inkling that I would score low marks in the exam, thus hurting my chances of getting into MIT and three other selective colleges I was applying for admission. Sure enough, I scored low marks in the exam, something like a 1770. Mark you, I was the same guy who had confidently boasted to Kevin that I would get over 2100 in the exam.

Several weeks after receiving my SAT scores, I registered to take the exam for the second time and began to study for it more diligently. Once bitten, twice shy.

Although I was sanguine I would make a significant improvement in my second take of the SAT, I have to confess the critical reading section of the SAT still worried me. I found it rather hard to remember the meaning of the vocabularies I crammed for the exam.

As it happened, I made a significant improvement in my second take of the SAT by scoring 1880 marks. But the score was still not good enough to get me into such a selective college as MIT.

Never one to easily give up, I retook the SAT exam two more times. I would have loved to tell you what transpired in my third and fourth takes of the exam but let me spare you the details. Let me instead tell you three lessons I learnt about the exam.

The first lesson is that the exam tests more of students' reasoning skills than on their amount of knowledge. That's why it's possible for some 'C' students to outscore some 'A' students in the SAT exams.

The second lesson is that the critical reading section of the exam favours those with a strong word power, a factor that has been said to be crucial to attaining success.

The third lesson I learnt, which is perhaps the most important, is to never revenge. You see, the SAT test makers gave students stilted passages to read in the critical reading section of the exam. Then they asked them to write a very interesting essay in the writing section of the exam.

If a student dared to make the mistake of revenging by giving the examiners a stilted essay to read, they'd get a low score, which would hurt their chances of getting into their preferred college. Indeed, revenge is for suckers; as enlightened people, we should leave it to God.

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Bible Quote

"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)

About the Author

Name: Thuita J. Maina
Nationality: Kenyan
Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya
Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.

Just for Laughs

There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"



The 7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Gluttony
  4. Lust
  5. Anger
  6. Greed
  7. Sloth

Author's Note

I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am striving to enjoy each moment even as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams, especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.

Fun Facts

  1. The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
  2. A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
  3. Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com

Health Tip

So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health.


Wonders of the Modern World

  1. The Simplon Tunnel
  2. The Sky-scrapers of New York
  3. The Boulder Dam of Colorado
  4. The Panama Canal
  5. The Golden Gate Bridge
  6. The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
  7. The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs

Great Example for Politicians

"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."

~Bill Clinton

Scientific Marvels

  1. Space travel
  2. Heart surgery
  3. Fibre-optics communication
  4. Concorde
  5. Radios
  6. Computers
  7. Anesthetics

My Supreme Desire

Although I'd like to be rich and famous, my supreme desire is to be radiant: to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without fear, hate, guilt, worry and jealousy. I wish to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so and to treat all men with kindness - to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.



Greatest American Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. George Washington
  3. Thomas Jefferson
  4. Franklin Roosevelt
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Andrew Jackson

Making Peace With the Past

"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."

~Eileen Caddy

Toughest Colleges to Get Into

  1. MIT
  2. Princeton
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. Stanford
  6. Brown
  7. Columbia

Why You Should Trust God

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."

~Ezra Taft Benson

The 7 Greatest Scientists

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Isaac Newton
  3. Galileo Galilei
  4. Nikola Tesla
  5. Aristotle
  6. Archimedes
  7. Charles Darwin

You Matter

"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."

~Unknown

The Most Industrialized Nations

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. France
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Italy
  7. Canada

Keys to Success

"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."

~Booker T. Washington

The 7 Social Sins

  1. Politics without principle
  2. Wealth without work
  3. Pleasure without conscience
  4. Knowledge without character
  5. Commerce without morality
  6. Worship without sacrifice
  7. Science without humanity

Cherish What You Love

"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen

The World's Largest Cities

  1. London in England
  2. New York in the United States
  3. Tokyo in Japan
  4. Berlin in Germany
  5. Chicago in the United States
  6. Shanghai in China
  7. Paris in France

Benefits of Optimism

"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."

~Pepe Minambo

The World's Greatest Lakes

  1. Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
  2. Lake Superior in North America
  3. Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
  4. Aral Sea in C.I.S.
  5. Lake Huron in North America
  6. Lake Michigan in North America

Demonstrating His Love

"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."

~Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

World's Longest Rivers

  1. Missouri-Mississipi (U.S.)
  2. Amazon (Brazil)
  3. Nile (Egypt)
  4. Yangtse (China)
  5. Lena (Russia)
  6. Zaire (Central Africa)
  7. Niger (West Africa)