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


Jesus, the Way

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
This is my friend Michuki and I in our hometown Catholic church that Sunday in the year 2000 we were allowed to receive the sacrament. I am on the left.

When I was in primary school in the '90s, I heard a story whose details I can't recall. But I understood the story well enough to retell it interestingly. And that's what I will do.

A boy attended Catholic mass one Sunday for the first time. When he saw people lining up to receive the sacrament, he decided to also receive it the following Sunday.

What he didn't know is that Catholics attend Bible classes before they are allowed to receive the sacrament. He just assumed the tithes he had seen them offering were payments for the sacrament.

He also didn't know that when the priest says "The Body of Christ" before giving the sacrament, a congregant is supposed to say "Amen", bow their head slightly and then open their mouth, ready to receive it.

So he went for mass the following Sunday with a few coins, tithed and lined up during Holy Communion. When it was his turn to receive the sacrament and the priest said "The Body of Christ", he looked at him and said, "I have paid!"

That story must have amused me for it to have stuck in my head all these years. On giving it a passing thought, I think the boy was the poster child of people who don't know Jesus offers free salvation from sin.

Having felt how Jesus has wonderfully freed me from sin, I thought it wise to come up with a way of leading the sinning digerati to Christ. So if you are one of them and would like to get saved, click this button:


Ha! Ha! You are now saved for sure. On a more serious note, read the Bible often and meditate on its teachings to avoid the sins that so easily entangle. Beyond that, be beautiful and be you!
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A Classmate Who Helped Me

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on May 11, 2017
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story
On the right is David Munene posing with Moses Aran during our Starehe years.

A high school classmate of mine at Starehe Boys' Centre, David Munene was appointed a sub-prefect in 2003 when we were in Form 2. He rose through the leadership ranks to become a deputy school captain in 2005.

During the assembly he was promoted to that position, the whole hall burst into a seething cauldron of cheers. I would have chimed in by running my fingers across the piano had students not jeered me when I attempted it earlier in the assembly.

After finishing high school in November 2005, Munene and I chose to return to Starehe to pursue a diploma in information technology in the institute division of the school. As we waited to join the institute, I advised him to emulate Gilbert Kimani, the 2003 school captain who struck me as friendly and easy-going.

While I doubt whether Munene kept my advice in mind, he was a nice fellow during our institute days in 2006. I especially appreciate the way he held me in high regard. During one school baraza, he referred to me as a genius for setting up a website for our high school class. That was before the advent of Facebook and WhatsApp that we now take for granted.

And he wrote me a glowing peer recommendation letter when I was applying to Dartmouth College in the United States. He mentioned in the letter how I had volunteered to teach piano at a remote Catholic parish during the 2006 August holiday. Dartmouth didn't accept me but I am to blame for the rejection.

Unfortunately, and I say unfortunately for a reason I will explain later, Munene dropped out of Starehe Institute in November 2006, a few months after becoming the school captain, and chose to go do a gap year internship at the Armidale School in New South Wales, Australia. I was heartsick when I heard he was leaving Starehe.

By leaving Starehe in November 2006, Munene became the first school captain in my time who didn't finish his one-year term. He was also the only student in the Starehe Institute class of '07 who didn't finish the diploma in information technology.

Had Munene finished his term as school captain, he would have been offered an opportunity to enrol at Deerfield Academy, one of the best college preparatory schools in the United States, from where he would have been accepted at such elite colleges as Yale, Harvard and Stanford. Why he chose to drop out of Starehe Institute in 2006 is something I craved to understand.

Later on in 2010, I asked him in a chat we had on Facebook why he sacrificed an opportunity to study in the United States. He didn't disclose the reason to me; he just told me he lost something by not flying to Deerfield Academy but gained something by flying to the Armidale School. That sounded wise to me.

I have had an inkling that Munene would have had me take up an opportunity that opened up in 2007 for one Starehian to enrol at a college preparatory academy in Cleveland, Ohio. That's why I have said it was unfortunate he dropped out of Starehe Institute in November 2006.

After his gap year days at the Armidale School in Australia, Munene flew to Great Britain to pursue a degree in business information systems at the University of East London. He graduated in 2011 with first class honors. As I wish him success in his future endeavors, I pray he remains a good friend of mine.
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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
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 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; 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

  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 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."

~From Your Body (A Ladybird Book)

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

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

  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)