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


Becoming a Husband Material

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With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from a website called Women's Podium. All rights reserved worldwide.

Back in 2006 when I was a member of my hometown Catholic church youth group, I formed a friendship with a young lady called Gloria. She was such a caring and charming lass. And she had all the qualities a man would want in a woman: beauty, brains, character and diligence. It is those qualities that endeared her to us: we, the youth group members.

One evening in December 2006 when I boarded a bus bound for my hometown of Kiserian, Gloria literally appeared from nowhere and came to sit next to me in the bus. She struck up a conversation with me and then proceeded to engage me in chat for the next one hour or so during our bus ride to Kiserian. We had such a pleasant talk that I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

After that enjoyable bus ride, all I wanted was to be with Gloria. Smitten with love, I would send her text messages just to get her talking with me. And I tend to think she loved me too, given the way she mischievously wore my sweater at the end of the night mass we had on the eve of Christmas day in December 2006.

Come February or March 2007, Gloria informed us during one Sunday youth group meeting that she would be leaving Kiserian to go study nursing at a school in western Kenya. We were all saddened to hear that from her. A number of youths showered her with accolades on how wonderful she had been to us. As for me, I didn't say anything; I just gave her an affectionate bear hug at the end of the meeting.

Soon after Gloria left us, I kept in touch with her via phone and email. I would phone her at night just to tell her that I loved her. And I would also email her love poems that I plagiarized from the internet. She seemed to appreciate my advances because I remember her telling me that she loved me too.

Somehow as the days went by, my love for Gloria waned. We corresponded less and less. And when April 2007 reached, I also left my hometown Catholic church youth group and joined a choir at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi. Though my affection for Gloria diminished after I joined the cathedral's choir, my desire to fall in love with a young woman didn't die.

I remember one rainy evening during my first days in the cathedral's choir, a lady named Betty offered to escort me to the bus station where I was to board a matatu bound for Kiserian. As Betty shielded me from the rain with her umbrella that evening, I suddenly wished it was a girl of my age who was escorting me; a girl as lovely and beautiful as Gloria. Of course I didn't let Betty know what was going on in my mind.

It is that desire to fall in love with a young woman that motivated me to try my luck with a few female students I met in JKUAT where I matriculated in May 2007 to pursue an engineering degree. One of the students was a beautiful lass named Lorna Ogolla who impressed me with her ambitious nature. Lorna and I hit it off when we got to know each other during lectures. I wonder what would have happened to our friendship had she not dropped out of JKUAT in July that year.

A month or two after Lorna dropped out of JKUAT, another young female student started appearing on my love radar screen. The student was the most gorgeous lass that I had seen thus far. During one Chemistry lesson held in the university assembly hall, I kept turning my gaze towards her as the lecturer droned on with her lecture. But you know what? I never summoned the courage to approach the student. So I missed a chance to know her name for the few months she was in JKUAT. Like Lorna, she must also have dropped out of the university since I didn't see her again when I reported back to JKUAT in 2008 for my second year.

As I look back on my life, I am now thankful to God that I didn't fall in love with any of the lasses I was attracted to in those bygone years. Why? Simply because I was not a boyfriend material. I was shy, timid, confused and emotionally unstable - traits that became apparent in the way I behaved in August 2008 when I went astray at JKUAT during my second year studies.

Having learnt from my past mistakes, I have been working on becoming a boyfriend, or rather, a husband material. These days, I am striving to conduct myself maturely. I am also endeavoring to be financially stable, a goal that is taking longer to achieve than I had anticipated. Now that I have realized the importance of money, I have resolved not to get hitched or bear children without a guaranteed source of income.

And from what I have learnt from my own experiences and those of others, I advise all single young men out there not to rush into marriage without developing the qualities that a successful marriage requires. They should also refrain from sex if they are not ready to raise children. Well, I understand waiting to get into a relationship can be difficult but falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time is more painful. So exercise patience while working on becoming husband material. That's all I am saying.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on becoming a husband material, you might also enjoy another one I wrote last year on "Having a Successful Marriage". Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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Maintaining Good Looks

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With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Azquotes.com. All rights reserved worldwide.

While reading a certain ebook on my tablet a few years ago, I came across an interesting assertion by the author that if you are not more handsome at 80 than you were at 18, then your life has been on the wrong track for more than 60 years. That interesting assertion recently had me thinking about good looks and how we can maintain them.

I don't know about you but for me, I am lucky to have been born handsome. My first realization that I am handsome happened one day in the mid-90s after I had my first haircut at a barbershop. (Previously, my mother used to shave my hair by running a pair of scissors across my head like a tractor ploughing a farmland.) On the evening of the day I had my first haircut in a barbershop, an aunt of mine called Mukui kept on commenting about how handsome I looked.

Somehow as the years wore on, I faced a lot of criticism which lowered my self-esteem to a point that I lost that conscious belief that I am handsome. I was criticized for cooking meals poorly, for not dressing smartly, for doing my domestic chores shoddily and for not excelling in school the way my brothers did. Those pieces of criticism diminished my self-esteem for shizzle.

My self-esteem was further weakened during one school holiday in 2002 when I was a Form 1 student at Starehe Boys' Centre. This is what happened: my mother noticed a gap on the front part of my teeth. She asked me in a concerned manner whether I had lost a tooth at school. I hadn't lost a tooth but Mum's concern made me worry about my looks. As the days went by, I would silently wish the gap on the front part of my teeth would close itself. It never did.

Martin Wamoni, a deskmate of mine in high school, was among the first people to reawaken my belief that I am handsome when he asked me at one time in 2003 to never have my sideburns shaved completely. The day I reported back to school with my sideburns visible after a haircut, Martin and some other classmates remarked on how good I looked. I couldn't have been more proud of myself.

Then when I was in Form 4 in 2005, our biology teacher - a PhD holder named Dr. Makobe - further bolstered my self-esteem after she told us during one lesson that some women get attracted to men who have a gap on the front part of their teeth. Dr. Makobe's remark made me instantly proud of the gap on the front part of my teeth, the same gap that had worried me a few years before when my mother brought it to my attention.

By the time I was finishing high school in November 2005, I had regained that vital belief that I am handsome. And I could tell I was indeed handsome by the interest some girls were showing in me. On one Sunday afternoon in December 2005 for instance, I overheard a certain lass tell a guy called Dan that I was very handsome. That was during a meeting of my hometown Catholic church youth group.

So much did I become proud of my looks that I would sometimes admire my reflection in a mirror. At one time in 2006 when I was in Starehe Institute pursuing a diploma in information technology, I took a selfie with my brother's digital camera and then put the photo on the screen of one of the institute's computers. You can call it vanity if you like, but I am telling you the truth.

But then came September 2008. On that month, I was forcefully admitted in a hospital after I went astray at the university. Oh my! I gained a lot of weight during my time in the hospital due to too much eating and little exercising. That weight gain lowered my self-esteem so much that I lost the belief that I am handsome. I would sometimes feel embarrassed of my looks as it happened one Sunday in 2010 when I saw my face on video screens at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi during a church concert.

Over the last two years, I have worked hard to regain my good looks by eating moderately and going for one-hour walks in the evening. My efforts have bore fruits since I am now as lean as I would love to be. These days, I am again proud of the way I look, including the sideburns on my head and the gap on the front part of my teeth. Sometimes when I see my reflection in a mirror, I whisper to the reflection, "You handsome thing!"

Now that I have regained my good looks, I have resolved to maintain them for the rest of my life in this grand and beautiful planet. How? By:
  • eating moderately
  • exercising every day
  • having noble thoughts
  • drinking water regularly
  • engaging in a labor of love
  • associating with positive people
  • bathing and brushing my teeth daily
  • refraining from drug, alcohol and substance abuse
My dear reader, I implore you to also get yourself into shape and do all you can to maintain your looks. Exercise, eat moderately, drink plenty of water and above all, have noble thoughts because, as I heard my friend Stephen Odhiambo say on Facebook, a person with good thoughts will always look lovely. I believe if you do that, you will be more handsome at 80 than you were at 18. Adieu!

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NEW! NEW! NEW! If you missed my social media update two days ago, let me take this opportunity to inform you that I have produced a new hymn which is available in the videos' section of this blog. Just click on the "videos" link on the menu at the top of this blog to access the hymn.

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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 trying to enjoy each day 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. Computers & Radios
  6. Anesthetics
  7. The atom bomb

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 hate, guilt, worry, jealousy, cynicism and envy. 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)