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


7 Songs That Blew My Mind

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Quotes Lyfe. All rights reserved worldwide.

Although I have faced many challenges in my life so far, I just thank God that I can hear. My sense of hearing has connected me to the inspiring world of music. And it has done so ever since I was a little boy in the '90s when I was growing up in a village environment.

Today, I thought it wise to share with you, my beloved reader, the seven songs that touched me to the core when I first heard them. They touched me due to their funky beat, beautiful melodies or inspiring lyrics. Here are the songs:
  1. I am a Barbie Girl by a music band called Aqua. I first heard this cute love song back in the '90s before I became a teenager. Even though I heard only its audio version on the radio, some parts of it stuck in my memory like glue on paper.

    It's not until 2016, about nineteen years after I first heard the song, that I got to watch its video. I found the video decent and its singers as cute as the song.
  2. I Know I Can by an American rapper known as Nas. I first heard this song in 2003 when I was in high school at Starehe Boys' Centre. It came to inspire me, especially its refrain which goes as follows:
    I know I can,
    Be what I wanna be,
    If I work hard at it,
    I'll be where I wanna be.
    One of my high school classmates named Lawrence Sikuku, a bright and disciplined chap, was also entranced by the song. On two or three occasions, I heard him croon its refrain as he went about his business.
  3. The Power of a Dream which was sung by the lovely and talented Celine Dion during the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics Games held in the U.S. city of Atlanta.

    The first time I heard this song in 2006, I instantly liked it. I would listen to it over and over again on the computer of my brother Paddy. The song has encouraged me to reach for my dreams and to believe there is a special part I can play in advancing the course of mankind.
  4. Binti Kiziwi, a Swahili song by a Tanzanian musician known as Z-anto.

    I like listening to decent songs about a couple madly in love with one another, for such songs help me form a clearer vision of the kind of relationship I'd want to have with my future wife. Z-anto's "Binti Kiziwi" falls into that category of songs.

    In the song, Z-anto rhapsodizes about how he is crazily in love with a deaf damsel. It's really a decent song with a pleasant beat and melody.

    The song pleased me so much that I copied its beat and melody in a song I produced when I was preparing to run for a political seat in the 2013 Kenya's general elections. But my remix of the song didn't come out as brilliantly as I desired.
  5. I Believe in You by Don Williams. I first heard this song in 2008 when I was an engineering student at the university in JKUAT. It so much captivated me that I came to love country music.

    This rhyming song has encouraged me to dare being different. It has also made me believe in love and in God more. Hail to Don Williams (God rest his soul) for composing such a delightful song.
  6. Missing My Baby by a Kenyan female musician known as Amani.

    This song, which Amani sings in Sheng, is another decent love song I enjoy watching and listening to. It makes me think falling in love is a wonderful thing. How I look forward to sharing stories with my future wife the way Amani does with her soulmate!
  7. Daima Mimi Mkenya by Eric Wainaina. This patriotic song, which Eric Wainaina sings melodiously in Swahili, stirs in me feelings of affection for my country Kenya.

    Having liked the song, I contacted Eric Wainaina to inquire from him which music studio produced it. He informed me that it was an American friend of his who produced the song.
Those are the seven songs that blew my mind. Thanks to the internet - the best thing that ever happened to mankind since the invention of the printing press in 1440 - I have downloaded the songs on my laptop. I now listen to them whenever I am in high spirits. Ciao!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on the seven songs that blew my mind, you might also enjoy another one on "My Favourite Hymns" which I wrote four years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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Becoming as Bold as a Lion

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on May 11, 2024
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
With permission, I have extracted this picture-quote from Heart Light. All rights reserved worldwide.

While at the Kenya National Library in Nairobi on one lovely morning in 2012, I picked Myles Munroe's The Spirit of Leadership - a book I had never heard about before. I came across in it a story that was so enlightening that I felt compelled to google it on the internet. Since then, I have reread the story a couple of times.

As the story goes, there once lived in a certain village a farmer who was also a shepherd. He was out in the field grazing his sheep one evening when he heard the sound of an animal coming from the end of the field. At first, he thought the sound was that of a kitten. But on nearing the animal, he found out it was a lion cub.

His first thought when he saw that it was a lion cub was the danger he would be in if he went close to it and its parents returned while attending to it. He therefore watched the cub from the safety of a leafless tree.

When the sun began to set without the cub's parents returning, he decided to take the cub with him to the farmhouse in order to protect it from the vagaries of the jungle. He kept it together with his sheep. And for the next six months, he hand-fed it with milk.

After the cub grew into an energetic ball of shiny muscle, the farmer began taking it out to the field with the sheep. Not surprisingly, the cub came to behave and bleat like a sheep, even when it developed the body of a lion. It became a sheep by association.

One day when the farmer took out the sheep and the lion to the field as usual, they strolled to a river that nourished them with water. As they were drinking water, a large beast suddenly emerged from a nearby forest.

The beast roared with a loud voice that seemed to shake the forest. Stricken with fear, the sheep ran with breakneck speed toward the farmhouse. So did the lion that had grown up with them.

After the sheep and the lion were safely huddled together in the farmhouse, the farmer, who was watching the incident from the safety of a leafless tree, saw the beast holding a lamb in its blood-drenched jaws. That made him know danger had returned to his part of the village.

Several weeks went by without any further such incidents. But at one time when the lion went to the river to drink water, it had a panic attack when it saw something in the water that resembled the beast that had preyed on a lamb.

Alarmed like an antelope that had spotted an approaching predator, the lion bolted to the farmhouse. It then wondered why the sheep hadn't also scampered for safety. Didn't they see the beast?

A few days later while the sheep and the lion were lapping water in the river, the lion again saw the beast in the water and began to tremble with fear. Then out of the forest, there emerged the same beast that had preyed on a lamb. It roared deafeningly.

The sheep hotfooted it back to the farmhouse. But the lion stood in confusion because it was now seeing two beasts: the real one and the one in the water which was its own reflection. It thought it was going to be killed.

However, as if to encourage the lion to be bold, the beast continued roaring. The lion attempted to imitate the beast yet all that came out of its mouth was the sound of a sheep. But on further attempts, it started to sound like a lion.

No sooner had it began to sound like a lion than it felt new stirrings in its body. It felt strong, confident and courageous. Sure that the timid lion had acquired the boldness of a lion, the beast turned on its paws and loped back to the forest.

The lion looked back and surveyed the village it had grown up in. And then it resolved to follow the beast into the jungle, for it knew its time had come to be all that it was intended to be - a lion king! End of story.

Well, I haven't retold the story as eloquently as Myles Munroe did in his book, The Spirit of Leadership. All the same, I believe my version of the story still aptly captures the kind of person I have been and what I am aspiring to be.

Like I narrated in my previous story on this blog, I grew up as a timid boy - a weakness I carried into adulthood. I was more or less like a sheep. But I am now beginning to realize that I have been a lion all along. It's just that I have had the mindset of a sheep.

In recent weeks, while endeavoring to live out the life God intended for me, I have felt new stirrings in my soul. Stirrings of hope, of faith and of courage. It has truly been a life-changing experience. I intend to continue following those stirrings to wherever they may lead.

My beloved reader, I exhort you to also acquire the spirit of a lion. The world out there is a jungle. There is a lot of bullying and intimidation. And for us to excel in it, we need to have the boldness of a lion. Why, then, should we cower from becoming the lions God intended us to be?

*********************
RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on becoming as bold as a lion, you might also enjoy another one on "Developing Hope & Optimism" which I wrote a few years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.

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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; to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so; to treat all men with kindness; and 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)