Several days after I joined Starehe in January 2002 for my high school education, a senior housemate called Jesse Nyoro heard that I could play the piano. And wow! He became excited about me and introduced me to music teachers.
Later on, Nyoro encouraged me to accompany the school on the piano during evening assemblies, which I did. One of the hymns I accompanied was "Jesus, Good Above All Other".
Thankfully, I've a copy of that hymn here in my room. Boy, isn't it lovely! Its melody as well as its lyrics. I especially like the fifth verse which goes as follows:
Lord, in all our doings guide us;
Pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
We'll go on with thee beside us,
And with joy we'll persevere.
Jesus is indeed good above all other. He has set me free from the sins I committed: lying, overeating, oversleeping, having lustful thoughts, reacting in anger and plagiarizing other people's writings.
When I talk of being set free, I mean freedom from guilt, hatred and worries. Oh, I also lost the excess weight that came with overeating! I now feel worthy of achieving the dreams I've had.
But Jesus is not finished with me yet. He is molding me into His likeness so that I can spread His goodness. I'm confident He will carry on to completion the good work He has begun in me until the day He will come for me.
******************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "Finding Identity in Christ".
With permission, I've extracted this picture-quote from Top-Bible Verses. All rights reserved worldwide. When we had a family gathering in December 2012, I sang the wonderful old hymn "Father Hear the Prayers We Offer" whose fourth verse goes as follows:
Be our strength in hours of weakness,
In our wanderings be our guide;
Through endeavour, failure, danger,
Father, be thou at our side.
Looking back on my blogging journey, I've seen how God has guided me in my wanderings as that hymn puts it. He has led me to several places where I gained insights on how to make my blog better. Let me tell you of six.
First was when I was looking for a suitable layout for this blog. I wanted to use one that had a cartoon animal when, by chance, I saw the beautiful and professional layout I now use. And that's what I needed because I come up with beautiful and professional blog contents.
Second, I visited a certain blog to find some information when I saw social media sharing icons on it. Then I thought it wise for me to add such icons on my blog, which I did. And it was an easy task, except the one for WhatsApp.
Third, I was doing something on a Google website when I learnt Google offers customized search boxes to site owners. Because creating a functional search box for this blog was beyond my ken, using the one Google offered saved my life.
Fourth, I informed my Goodreads friends about my blog a few years ago, only for two or three of them to tell me their computers couldn't load the blog as it was insecure. I made my blog secure, making it look even more professional.
Fifth, I went through my Google AdSense account some time back, perhaps to find out if I could make more money from the ads on this blog. I think that's when I noted the Policy Center page where AdSense posts any violations site owners commit.
Not wanting to lose my AdSense account, I started checking the Policy Center page daily. And that saved my neck last year when AdSense flagged a story I wrote on masturbation as adult content.
Lastly, I recently joined a WhatsApp group for my high school class. When I shared a blog link in that group, a friend of mine called Mulinge Ndambuki suggested that I change the words "Young Man" in my blog title.
I eventually changed them to "Christian" and my blog title now sounds better to me because I'm a believer. Hey, haven't I said God has been my guide in my wanderings? He is my guide for sure.
******************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "Where God Leads, He Provides".
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"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 Marital status: Single 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 called 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
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth
Author's Note
I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination; I have therefore given up the things that weighed me down and I am now living my life to the fullest because the tomorrow I had always hoped to live my dreams may never be mine.
Fun Facts
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.
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.
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 Tips
"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 give you that greatest blessing of all - good health."
"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
Space travel
Heart surgery
Fibre-optics communication
Concorde
Radios
Computers
Anesthetics
My Supreme Desire
To borrow the words of Elbert Hubbard, my supreme desire is 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
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
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
MIT
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Brown
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
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
Nikola Tesla
Aristotle
Archimedes
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
United States
Japan
Germany
France
United Kingdom
Italy
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
Politics without principle
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice
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
London in England
New York in the United States
Tokyo in Japan
Berlin in Germany
Chicago in the United States
Shanghai in China
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
Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
Lake Superior in North America
Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
Aral Sea in C.I.S.
Lake Huron in North America
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."
