HEALTH

Of what use is it to a man if he gains the whole world and looses his own soul? When a man’s body is ill, he labours ceaselessly in search of a physician to prescribe remedy. Bitter herbs and tabs he takes to regain his health. With improved health the man relaxes and says to himself’ all is well’. Of what value is it if I gain my physical health when my spiritual health is below the poverty line? What is the delight in having a healthy body carrying a wrecked spirit? What wisdom is there in rejoicing having a healthy body while the life of the body cries of ailment?

When the body is well, the carrier ought to labour ensuring that the spirit is healthy too for what good would it be to have a clean cup having foul contents? The spiritual is ever more superior to the physical. Man must thus not be content when all is well with his body but with the healthy body work to enrich ad keep his spirit in order.

Unlike the body where one seeks different physicians, the spiritual doctor is one who is always available on call and never too busy. A journey to Him is not needed neither do we need any consultancy fees. Step of faith is the only fee, an acceptance of the filthy state of the vessels of our hearts and a genuine confession of our misdeeds are all he asks.

With this realization may we focus not only on the body but of that which transcends this life. May we not take comfort in the healthy body and forget the soul for it aches not like the body but be wise to turn our focus on the life of our life and receive grace from the source of all.

RITH@.

JUDGING THE JUDGE

How funny are we humans that bearing in mind our immortality and being witnesses of our own limited nature, we at times bestow upon ourselves what we have no authority over, pose to take from the giver and give the destroyer yet the giver holds it all. Raising ourselves to the throne of judging over what we don’t control and rule on whom to give and take from yet we have non to give but all received in equal measure.

What audacity that drives us to judge the judge, impersonating ourselves to the mighty throne and even proclaim that we take from the giver that which He is the only possessor and to him who takes from others we proclaim to give in plenty.

Up on the high hill for all to see our triumph and his shame we raise Him bound on a tree. The pain of torn flesh and sourness of vinegar we afflict Him. A crown of thorns the king we crown and proclaim victory over Him.

To Him who gives life and breath we took both and to the murderer we gave a new lease. To Him who absorbs our pain and gives relief we repaid with pain. He who quenches our thirst until our cup rennet over we gave sour vinegar. To Him who clothes our nakedness we exposed, yet He bore all these with humility so that we may have life and have if in full.

What great pain we cause you when we tear thy flesh and shame you by our deeds; the same deeds that you suffered on our behalf for. May you stir in us to use our new lease for thy glory and for the good of humanity.

RITH@.

THE JOY OF CONFESSION

What wisdom is there in labouring to achieve a goal yet when it is presented before your very eyes you turn away wanting yet cannot have? Seated on the pew my mind drifts away to my own world of questions and answers. “Why do I come to church? Why did I wake so early leaving the warm bed to come to church? Am I here on a routine to mark the end of another week or is it because those I love associating with are here? Why, why, why do I come to church?” all these questions bang my mind as I look at the overflown congregation and wonder why they too are here.

Some might be here because they love the routine and have been used to it; I am not a lover of routine thus I must be here for another reason. Some gather because their friends are gathered yet others to praise and worship their maker. Of all these I wonder which brings me. Why do I come sing, praise and worship? It surely is not solely for the sake of praising itself but the joy of being at peace in the Lord.

If that is my sweet and noble reason then I pause the answers and ask myself how foolish I am. Is it not the same Christ that I am seeking that the priest presented before my very eyes and instead of rushing to receive Him that I may be in Him I guiltily look away? What difference is there between me and the hired musicians whose motive is just to entertain the guests if I turn down the invitation to share in the goodness of the Lord?

I however reflect on the state of the vessel of my heart and finds guilt of its contents. I myself carry in me a witness of my own faults which are numerous. It is the weight of these that kept me on the set while others went to be with Him. It sounded prudent to sit down my vessel than add the burden by having Him in a corrupt state. But what prudence is there in a young person; the epitome of God’s good creation, refraining from being at peace with God?

Is it my sin or folly that keeps me in the filth of my own deeds? It’s my not sin but foolishness I see that keeps me from God. My sins He is ready to forgive and make the base of my vessel as white as snow if only I turn and repent. Just a step of faith and acceptance of my faults are enough to compel me to seek the face of the Lord. In seeking His face will I repent and by my confession regain the status as His beloved son. Why then don’t I turn y face to the light of His grace and be at peace?

A troubled man I resolve to leave my folly; I will go to my father and ask for pardon and I am sure he will not deny me to be with Him. After the pardon I now feel lighter and at peace. I am now merry heeding the call to receive Him to be in me for I am in Him. All the folly is gone and as my heart sings praise from the depth of my soul to the highest of mountains, I confess how sweet the source of my delight is. Am glad that in Him my soul has found rest and invites other too to taste His kindness and see that He is good.

RITH@.

RESTLESS HEART

Mighty are thy deeds, great are your works oh Lord who sunrise till sundown labour ceaselessly gathering a people to yourself. You are indeed good Oh Lord and all you have created deserves to give you praise. Man; a little piece of your creation desires to sing you praise from the depth of his heart to the highest of mountains. Bearing in himself his mortality carry in him the witness of his own sins yet you stir in him to take pleasure in praising you since you have for yourself made us and our hearts would remain restless were they not to rest in thee.

Grant me to know and understand, you whose wisdom is immeasurable. Why does man; the epitome of your good creation, turn against the light of your graceful face and try to follow what he thinks as his own? Work of your hands and breath of your breath ought to labour doing that which pleases you. Oh merciful Lord, you are more democratic than the most democratic of our nations. So unrestrictive that you would not though in a position to restrict our will. You continue to call us to yourself but don’t restrict our willing away when we choose.

You are greater than the great and lesser lights; your face illuminates the world and brightens all it falls on. Yet Oh Lord we turn our backs to your light and face away enjoying the beauty of the creation you illuminate forgetting to praise you their source and keeping ourselves from the grace of thy light. What folly is in us that thou witnesses that you resist the proud; we pride ourselves in enjoying what you have rightfully created as thou we owned it and give no regard to you?

You open your palm and all that you have created is fed, in you the troubled get their rest. You never turn back those who come back to you nor hide your face to the prodigals tired of soiling with the pigs. All you ask for is that we seek you and praise your holy name, yet where other than in we are we to seek you? You are already in us for from your breath we breathe and in you we exist. Were it not for you in us, our being would not be sweet source of our delight and life of our life.

Surely man deceives himself in his wisdom; of which your folly is wiser thou you are not foolish, in trying to look for you in external creatures that stem from you not knowing you are in his own being. Grant that I should live in you, who never leave me, so that thy staff will guide me and your ear inclined hear my praise. For you and by you may I not leave the protection of your wings nor roam from the joy of knowing you. May I experience the pleasure of sucking from you the divine infancy food of which my cup overflows than experience the heat of forging my blind path away from your lighted face. May my restless heart find delightful rest in you.

RITH@.

7 GREAT IDEAS ON PEAK PERFORMANCE

I FOUND THESE IDEAS AND I THOUGHT, WOW! I THINK YOU WILL TOO!!

7 Black Belt Insights for Elite Achievement

By Robin Sharma
Author of the #1 International Bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title”

Hope all’s superb.

Sorry I haven’t been in touch with a blog post or training video for a while. I was on vacation with my family at a pretty little town by the sea.

Needed it. This year’s been intense so far with presentations in about 20 countries, writing a new book, a new train the trainer program and a hot new self-mastery summit my team and I kicked off in June…

If you’ve read my book “The Leader Who Had No Title” you know I strongly believe that a giant key to best performance is alternating periods of intense productivity with periods of deep renewal. So I was out by the ocean walking my talk.

Ok. So I’ve got some REALLY juicy + provocative insights for you today. To fuel the last 6 months of 2013. And to help you make sure this becomes your absolute best year yet…

…As mentioned, in June, over one truly unforgettable weekend in beautiful Toronto, Canada (one of the world’s great cities), people from over 30 countries attended my new self-mastery event called “The 48 Hour Transformation” (T48T).

Blew me away what unfolded…

We had a few billionaires with us, top executives, tons of entrepreneurs, peak athletes, artists, authors and other brave dreamers from so many walks of life ready to shatter their limits and achieve 20X the results they’d ever seen before.

Deeply held fears were released, all-new levels of confidence were installed, ridiculously positive mindsets were constructed and childhood dreams were rekindled.

What could be cooler than being a part of that?

And the transformations I witnessed by Sunday really were truly phenomenal. I feel BLESSED to have just been there.

Such inspiration, positive energy, devotion to world-class and commitment to making the world a better place.

So to be of service to your highest ambitions, I wanted to share 7 of the “black belt” ideas that were so valuable to the hundreds of people who attended, based on what they told me after the event.

My real hope is they will serve as catalysts for you to start making some radical changes in your own life:

#1. NOTHING WORKS UNTIL YOU DO THE WORK.

Look, the only thing that’s rocket science is rocket science.

The material, systems and daily performance rituals I taught at The 48 Hour Transformation work beautifully. But like anything, you need to make the commitment and then do the work. Not once a quarter. Not once a month. Daily. When you’re tired. When you don’t feel like it. When you want to give up. That’s how champions play.

And please also remember that consistency is the essence of mastery. Show up, practice hard, stay at it and awesome results will come.

#2. TO GET THE RESULTS ONLY 5% OF THE POPULATION GETS, HAVE THE GUTS TO DO WHAT ONLY 5% DO.

You can follow the herd or you can transform your world. But you can’t do both.

The majority of people have given up on living a “rare air life”. Sad.

They’ve been smacked down, told “no” to and hypnotized into performing at average so long they don’t believe in their genius any more.

What I helped people at the event to rewire as a core belief is that to have uncommon results, you need to start doing uncommon things. I then listed the 20+ best tactics including:

–being a part of a mastermind group of people who are exceptional
–joining The 5 am Club and running the 20/20/20 Rule
–seeing work as a craft and an opportunity for Mastery
–doing a “second wind workout” at the end of every day to kickstart energy and creativity
–getting a massage every week to stay strong and focused
–60 minutes a day without technology to think and plan
–journalling every night

#3. IF YOU’RE NOT FAILING A LOT YOU’RE NOT DOING VERY MUCH

Failure’s got a bad rap.

Failure’s necessary to win.

Failure is part of the learning process. It’s valuable. It’s helpful. It’s massively instructive.

But society teaches us that failure’s a mistake. It’s not. Da Vinci and Picasso and Jobs and Meg Whitman all understood that you can’t make progress without “beautiful setbacks.”

Understand that failure’s a kind teacher. Just leverage the data it delivers for even more success.

#4. CHANGE IS HARD AT FIRST, MESSY IN THE MIDDLE AND GORGEOUS AT THE END.

This idea really moved people at T48T. Inspired them. Helped them to viscerally get that change is a process.

At the beginning of any change (from losing weight to stopping worry to multiplying your sales to saving more money), you’re fighting the gravitational pull of your old habits.

And if you’ve practised those habits every day for decades, how can we expect them to be replaced in a day (the latest research from University College of London says it takes 66 days to install a new habit).

So it’s hard at first. And so most of us give up. But if you stay with it, you get to stage 2 and that’s where your old habit starts to crumble. And your new one begins to form. It’s messy at this point. Confusing. A little scary. And completely normal.

And then, with grit and devotion, the new habit becomes your new normal. This is a great time on the journey to unleashing your potential. And life’s never the same.

#5. SMALL DAILY IMPROVEMENTS OVER TIME LEAD TO STUNNING RESULTS

An amazing life isn’t constructed via revolution: one bold act on a sunny Tuesday that makes you great.

Nope.

All exceptional achievement (whether it’s chess mastery, entrepreneurial success, athletic championship or financial wealth) is the result of daily, consistent actions that over time creates explosive results.

It’s all about the hard work.

It’s all about the steady practice.

It’s all about the insane levels of persistence.

And if you do it (and start saying no to all of those time wasting activities so many of us are seduced by in this Age of Dramatic Distraction), you too will get to your mountaintop.

#6. TO DOUBLE YOUR INCOME, TRIPLE YOUR INVESTMENT IN LEARNING

Powerful idea: once you know more, you can achieve more.

The other night my Dad reminded me that “investing in education is the best investment of all.”

And I still recall a long lunch with a man who built a fortune where he shared “the years I spent three hours a day in personal development were the most financially rich years of my life.” Three hours. Each day. In learning. Studying. Improving. My hero.

If you really want to get to great in the important areas of your life, invest in the books. Go to a conference every quarter. Spend the cash on the online course. Download the audiobooks. And hang with the best (bonus tip: mindsets are contagious).

#7. YOU HAVE THE LIFE YOU’VE SETTLED FOR

This idea had people at The 48 Hour Transformation talking all weekend.

Attendees really got that awesome lives are not built on a foundation of excuses.

Sure-it’s easier to blame others or conditions for the lives we have. That way we don’t have to leave The Safe Harbor of The Known and make any changes. But that’s how cowards live, no?

We have the lives we’ve created.

We’re living the lives we’ve settled for.

And if your life isn’t working, it’s not because of anyone else or anything else. It’s because of us. Our beliefs (that drive our behavior). Our fears. Our habits. And our actions.

The moment you wrap your brain cells around this idea and accept APR (Absolute Personal Responsibility), life is NEVER the same.

You start taking back your power. Doing the difficult things. Taking chances and making leaps. Life gets exciting and colorful and precious and fantastic.

You deserve to live at world-class. So make your changes today.

Hope this post helps you win. And I hope you’ll post a comment below so we continue the conversation.

Your fan always,

- See more at: http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/07/7-black-belt-insights-for-elite-achievement/#sthash.qUclH9Le.dpuf

Marriage and Commitment: The Ring Makes a Difference

More Proof That Cohabiting Isn't Good for Society

Rome, July 12, 2013 (Zenit.org) Father John Flynn, LC 

The rise in numbers of cohabiting couples in recent years could lead to the conclusion that being married does not make much difference: a supposition not supported by studies of couples.

Marriage Intensity: Consolidation, Intimacy, and Commitment,” by Michael Pollard and Kathleen M. Harris.

The researchers studied various sources of data regarding married couples and those who have cohabitated.

Regarding the concept of consolidation the study found that only 16.1% of women in cohabitations said they had joint bank accounts with their partners, compared with 68.5% of women in marriages that were preceded by cohabitation, and 72.1% of women in marriages without prior cohabitation.

As well, only 40.1% of cohabiting women reported that they purchased something over $500 with their partners, compared with more than 80% of women in both types of marriage.

The report acknowledged that the level of consolidation differs according the length of cohabitation, but even so “we can see that cohabitations of more than a year still do not obtain the same levels of consolidation as marriages of less than six months.”

Turning to the level of intimacy the report found similar results, with cohabitors reporting significantly lower levels of intimacy compared to married couples.

Regarding commitment too, cohabiting couples have lower levels than married people. The report commented that cohabitors, as would be expected, have much less certainty about the permanence of their relationship, and the level of commitment is lower particularly among males.

Difference in relationships

“Taken together, the results indicate a distinct difference in relationship intensity between

cohabiting and married couples,” the study concluded.

England’s Marriage Foundation also found a substantial difference between married and cohabitating couples.

In their report published May 22, “The Myth of Long-Term Stable Relationships Outside Marriage,” by Harry Benson, they found that couples who do not marry rarely provide a secure and stable home for their children.

The report said that 45% of teenagers between 13-15 years of age are no longer living with their parents. Of those teenagers who still do live in an intact family setting, 93% of the parents are married.

“The report highlights concerns that the Government has ignored the strong correlation between marital status and family breakdown and focused instead on ‘long term stable relationships’ when developing family policy papers,” the press release from the Marriage Foundation stated.

“With family breakdown costing an estimated £46 billion a year – that’s to say, more than the entire defence budget – in addition to the immeasurable social damage, it is clearly in the interest of government and the taxpayer to work to counter this devastating trend,” commented the author of the report, Harry Benson.

“Airbrushing” marriage from government policy papers is incompatible with the evidence, the report stated.

“A whole body of evidence shows that married parents tend to be more stable than unmarried parents,” the report affirmed.

Not about the money

Another report, published June 24 by the Marriage Foundation, found that divorce rates are not conditioned by economic conditions.

Some have claimed that there are more marriage break-ups during economic downturns, due to the strain of financial pressures. Others, the report noted, claim that economic recessions result in fewer divorces, as couples avoid the expense of separating and buying a second house.

Neither of these two positions is borne out by the evidence of recent years according to the study, “It’s Not About the Economy: Another divorce myth bites the dust.”

Since the ‘70s, the report explained, divorce rates have always stayed within plus or minus 10% of the previous years’ figure.

In three periods of economic decline since 1979, divorce rates have risen in two cases and declined in one, the report said. It seems that marriage is about more than money.

“The first setting in which faith enlightens the human city is the family,” observed Pope Francis in his just-published encyclical on faith (Par. 52).

“I think first and foremost of the stable union of man and woman in marriage. This union is born of their love, as a sign and presence of God’s own love, and of the acknowledgment and acceptance of the goodness of sexual differentiation, whereby spouses can become one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24) and are enabled to give birth to a new life, a manifestation of the Creator’s goodness, wisdom and lo

ving plan,” the encyclical went on to explain.

The accuracy of that wise and loving plan is becoming more and more evident as the consequences of weakening marriage are documented.

“Promising love for ever is possible when we perceive a plan bigger than our own ideas and undertakings, a plan which sustains us and enables us to surrender our future entirely to the one we love,” the encyclical said, clearly pointing out that a commitment to marriage does indeed make a difference.

RAND report - http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/WR1000/WR1001/RAND_WR1001.pdf

Marriage Foundation - http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Web/

The Horror of Abortion

ABORTION

This passionate article is written by Faith Wanja Ndirango, a high school student at Karinga Girls Secondary School in Gatundu County in Kenya.

From a biological point of view, life starts when there is fusion of male and female gamete. Anything deliberately done to stop the development after the fusion is referred to as abortion. The innocent foetus struggles and kicks hard in order to live and see what the world holds for him or her. But mom, dad, girl or boy, why do you have to stop the developmet of this child? This child could be the next president, or the savior of your family!

What would you feel if ever your mother said that she wished she could have aborted you? How would you respond? Many of us would find it hard to forgive. Why not give this child a chance at living? It is saddening to see governments trying to legalize this crime. It is no wonder that our countries will remain poor and with lots of conflicts. The cry for justice by these innocent children killed in their mothers’ wombs cannot go unheeded by God.

You may think that as a girl or a woman, you have the right to do whatever you want with your body but the cries of the innocent child will haunt you and it will be too late because the child can’t come back. Would you ever forgive your parents if they dumped you when you were young only for you to be rescued by a good Samaritan and you later came to meet them?

Abortion affects both men and women. Men may seek to deny this but no child comes around without some form of male cooperation. Men, is it just to engage a woman in a relationship just for sex without care to what happens to the child conceived? Do you think that the fate of the child doesn’t affect you? Remember, the God you worship as a man or a woman who engages in abortion is the same God of the child you kill and He is not deaf or blind. He shall hear the cries of the child and act justly.

Action and choices have consequences and consequences are not necessarily a punishment. Choose wisely!

KARINGA GIRLS

Superb Personal Leadership Series at Karinga Girls High School

MURURIA BOYS

 The AYES team held a series of education to high Character at Mururia boys for a focus group from among the students.. it was an awesome experience!

BE THE LAST MAN/WOMAN STANDING!

PERSISTENCE BEATS ALL ELSE

A young man approaches a sage and asks him for the way to happiness and success. Without a word, the sage points to the East. The young man happily runs off hoping to get to success without struggle. A few minutes later, he comes back panting and exhausted having run for his life from a pack of hyenas. He impatiently implores the sage to tell him the way to happiness. The sage points again to the same direction. The young man walks towards the shown direction albeit cautiously. Again, he comes back panting and bruised. At this time, he shouts angrily at the sage to at least speak and say what he means or show that he understood the question. The sage speaks at last and says that success and fulfillment were to be found just after the place the hyenas roamed.

Water finds its way down to the sea after hitting persistently over stones, going around boulders, getting drunk by people and animals, heated and evaporated but never gives up. The same philosophy is well applied by the ants.

Whether we shall be successful or not is marked by our willingness to face the hyenas that stand in the way to our success. This world is filled by people who never tried because they allowed fear instead of faith to rule them. The non-achievers, and they are quite a number, are those who gave up at sight of the first hyena. They therefore settle for a life of complaining how bad the hyenas are and how they can’t be beaten. But they never tried to fight them and if they did, not long enough, with courage, prayer and determination.

“To finish first, you must first finish!” Wonderful words from Champion racer Rick Mears. The book of proverbs 22:29 says; “You see a man diligent (persistent) in his work? He will stand in the presence of Kings; he will not stand in the presence of obscure men.”

Keep going even if others tell you to stop. Believe in your dreams after thoroughly examining them. Keep going. Pope Benedict XVI defined Holiness as not in never sinning, (failing) but in rising up every time we sin (fail). Beautiful words. The words of Hamilton Holt are wonderful; “Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results. It produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work is the only way to accomplish results that last.” No one finds life worth living. One must make it worth living with persistent prayers and smart, hard work.

Persistence is bitter but sweet in its results. Only those who are willing to eat of this bitterness will savor the sweetness of the results. Victor always belongs to the last man standing in a war. Success and fulfillment begins where most people give up. If only we could have the courage to hang on, one minute longer, it would make all the difference. Persistent people have this attitude: they never lose the game, they just run out of time.

If you want to have the success of the 5% of the population, you must be willing to do what only 5% of the population is willing to do. The question is, will you?

BEYOND THE IMPOSSIBLE

A Story of Two Pebbles

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1)       If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2)       If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3)       But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1.       The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2.       The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3.       The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. Think and believe that it is possible and it will be.

DON'T WORK HARD...... "WORK SMART"