NAIROBI KENYA - OUR CITY

 WELCOME TO NAIROBI KENYA. BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS OF AN AMAZING CITY IN THE SUN!!

FINDING MR. OR MRS RIGHT

FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON

I found this article on a column of Catholic News Agency and I thought it is a wonderful article full of useful ideas for young people planning to get married, courting or thinking about a serious relationship that may hopefully end in marriage. The article is written by Joe Tremblay. He writes for Sky View, a current event and topic-driven Catholic blog. He is currently a contributor to The Edmund Burke Institute, and a frequent guest on Relevant Radio’s, The Drew Mariani Show. Joe is also married with five children.

 Here it is..

As each generation fails to draw from the well of Christian wisdom, they experience more difficulty in finding the right person for marriage. Indeed, you will be surprised how shortsighted materialism and sensuality can make us. The result is that attraction is often confused with love.

Below are seven tips that may help you find that right person. You may find that some of these basic principles may seem like unrealistic ideals or attainable goals. But remember, with God everything is possible. It is He who will lead you to that right person if you are meant to get married. However, He needs your cooperation. And that cooperation may require a great deal of patience and self-discipline on your part.

1. Love’s priority: Your prospective spouse should love God more than you and you more than their parents. Christianity brings a right order to human love. A person who does not put God first in their life will likely put others, including their own parents, before you. The right order is this: God first, spouse second, children third and everybody else fourth. Too many wives and husbands will not defend their spouse when their mother, father, brother or sister meddles into their affairs. This causes problems. And more importantly, a person who loves God more than their wife or husband is much more likely to be faithful when no one is looking. More often than not, their priorities will be what they should be.

2. Christian identity: If a person claims to be Catholic or goes to church, do not assume that he or she is follower of Christ through and through. So many prospective spouses are fooled by this. Keep in mind that each soul is like a mansion or building. As you enter it, you will find that the first floor may be tidy and may even have Christian décor so as to express their religiosity. But as you proceed to the second or third floor, what you may find are things wholly contrary to that Christian expression. In other words, church pews are filled with sinners; sometimes of the worst kind. Do not take someone’s word that they are Christian nor should you consider their church-going practice as proof their faith is authentic.

There has never been a time when people are confused as to what a Christian really is as today. Pastors, parents and teachers are partly (if not, mostly) to blame for this. Just remember that the garb of religious devotion can mask many a sin. Some may pray the rosary or even do other pious acts and yet, they may have no qualms about backstabbing or doing things that will betray a relationship. The real test of Christian identity, therefore, is not so much in devotion but in virtue; especially when their will is contradicted. 

3. Character and Contradictions: Before you get married, make sure you know how your prospective spouse responds to adversity and contradictions; especially when you are the source of that contradiction! Ask yourself: What is my boyfriend, girlfriend or fiancé like when I disappoint them, when I contradict their will or when I am a burden to them? When they have nothing to lose, how will they treat you when you have a chronic illness, when your family becomes burdensome or if you should be unemployed for several months, thus making it necessary to make financial sacrifices? In other words, know how they carry their crosses; especially when you are likely to be that cross for them! If you get married and still believe that your fiancé can do no wrong, you do not know him or her enough! Love is not only an act of the will, but it is based on knowledge. You cannot really love a person you do not know.

4. Mom and Dad: Another very important consideration is how they relate to their own parents. If there is any discord between your prospective spouse and their parent, know that it just may carry over into your marriage. For instance, when a man does not get along with his mother, he may have difficulties, in some form or another, with his wife. There may be a tendency to be too rough or too insecure on his part. And if a woman is not secure in her father’s love for her, she may develop codependency habits in the marriage. Sometimes the slightest disapproval will cause a great deal of insecurity for her. On a very important note: If you were sexually abused, get help, talk things out and make sure the counseling you receive is coupled with good Catholic spirituality. A key to a happy marriage after having had your innocence violated is to forgive your offender.

5. Vices: Remember that vices rarely exist in isolation. Rather, they exist in families. The same applies to virtues. For instance, if a man is into porn, he may have problems with lying or infidelity. If gambling or alcoholism is a problem, again, dishonesty, intemperance and covetousness are probably vices that lurk nearby. Also, how someone treats a previous date or partner will most likely serve as an index as to how you will be treated. I can never understand why a man or a woman can marry an adulterer without realizing that they too are likely to be a victim of the same sin.

6. Sex and Cohabitation: Sexual activity is a distraction before marriage and worse, it is a rehearsal for divorce. A man or woman who says “I love you” or has sex on the first date is a person who will quit the relationship just as quickly as they rushed in. They are not to be trusted because they know not the value of love! For this and other reasons, when there are sexual attachments involved, it is exceedingly difficult to properly discern the right person for you.

Christ elevated marriage into a sacrament because married couples need his grace. But sexual sin prior to marriage forfeits the most important kind of grace – sanctifying grace! Not only are we short-sighted without it, we seriously compromise our salvation. Therefore, exercise the virtue of chastity before marriage; deny yourself in that area and open yourself to God’s grace. As such, you will be much more likely to have a long and enduring marriage with the right person.

7. Spirit of Sacrifice: Try to look for the greatest of qualities in your future spouse, namely, the spirit of sacrifice. John Gray, author of “Men are from Mars, Women from Venus,” stated that God gives every marriage about 3-5 years of a strong dose of attraction or hormones. After that expires, love (as an act of the will) must carry you the rest of the way. This is not to say the romance ends after five years. In fact, I believe that the biggest mistake that husbands and wives make is that they stop courting one another.

Here is my point: Marital love is accompanied with sweetness and romance in those first years of marriage. However, when children come along, that marital love matures and moves beyond the romance. Instead of frequenting restaurants and going for walks in the park during their free time, the married couple now has to change diapers, take the children to the doctor or stay up at night with them if they should be sick. Indeed, they have to share their time – the time they used to have exclusively for one another – with the little ones.

Believe it or not, some people take this work to mean that their love has lost its sparkle when in fact it has matured into a more selfless kind of love … the right kind of love. But the right kind of love can only be shared with the right person. This is why finding the right person is very important.

51 Ways Ordinary People Reached World-Class

Extraordinary you!!

Am  a great fan of Robin Sharma and I liked this 52 great reminders of moving to world-class!! Tell me what you think about'em..

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

1. Know what you want. Clarity is power. And vague goals promote vague results.
2. Remember that every problem has a solution. Maybe you just can’t see it. Yet.
3. In this Age of Dramatic Distraction, the performer who focuses the best wins the most.
4. Before someone will help you, you need to help them.
5. Become the most passionate person you know. It’ll be contagious.
6. Know more about your craft/the work you do than anyone who has ever done the work you do…in the history of the world.
7. Join The 5 am Club. Your most valuable hours are 5am-8am. They have the least interruptions.
8. Devote yourself to learning something new about your field of mastery every day. Success belongs to the relentless learners. Because as you know more, you can achieve more.
9. Remember that when you transform your fitness, you’ll transform your business.
10. Don’t check your mobile when you’re meeting with another person. It’s rude. And rude people don’t reach world-class.
11. Every time you do what scares you, you take back the power that you gave to the thing that scared you. And so you become more powerful.
12. A problem is only a problem if you make the choice to see it as a problem.
13. Stop being a victim. Your business and personal life was made by you. No one else is responsible. To make it better, make better choices. And new decisions.
14. You can lead without a title. Don’t wait to get a position to stand for excellence, peak quality and overdelivery on every expectation.
15. Find your own style. Be an original. Every superstar differentiated themselves from The Herd. And marched to their own drumbeat.
16. Understand that when you play small with your success, you betray your potential. And the birthright you were born under.
17. Eat less food and you’ll get more done.
18. As you become more successful, stay really really hungry. Nothing fails like success. Because when you’re successful, it’s easy to stop outlearning+outOverDelivering+outthinking and outexecuting everyone around you. (Success is Beautiful. And dangerous).
19. If you’re not overprepared, you’re underprepared.
20. The only level of great manners to play at is “Exceedingly Polite”. In our world, this alone will make you a standout. And differentiate you in your marketplace.
21. Remember that the moment you think you’re a Master, you lose your Mastery. And the minute you think you know everything, you know nothing.
22. To double your results, double your level of execution.
23. Invest in your personal and pro development. All superstars do.
24. Get this year’s best Targets of Opportunity down onto a 1 Page Plan. Then review it every morning while the rest of the world sleeps.
25. You don’t get lucky. You create lucky.
26. When you push through a difficult project, you don’t get to the other side. You reach The Next Level.
27. Smile. And remember to inform your face.
28. Spend time in solitude every day. Your best ideas live there.
29. Debrief on how you lived out your day every night in a journal. This will not only record your personal history, it will make you uber-clear on what you’re doing right and what needs to be improved.
30. If your not being criticized a lot, you’re not doing very much. Ridicule is the price of ambition.
31. Develop a monomaniacal focus on just a few things. The secret to productivity is simplicity.
32. To get the results very few people have, be strong enough to do what very few people are willing to do.
33. Rest. Recover. It’ll make you stronger.
34. Buy a smaller TV and build a larger library.
35. Remember that the bigger the goal, the stronger a person you must become to achieve that goal. So goal-achieving is a superb practice for character-building.
36. Food fuels your body. Learning feeds your mind.
37. Don’t ask for respect. Earn it.
38. Finish what you start. And always end strong.
39. Breathe.
40. In business, don’t play to survive. Play to win.
41. Protect your good name. It’s your best asset.
42. Remember that words have power. Use the language of leadership versus the vocabulary of a victim.
43. Give more than you take. The marketplace rewards generosity.
44. Know that if it’s not messy, you’re not making progress.
45. Be a hero to a kid.
46. In business, aim for iconic. Go for legendary. Make history by how awesome you are at what you do.
47. Please don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many many people are simply busy being busy.
48. Your doubts are liars. Your fears are traitors. Stop buying the goods they are attempting to sell you.
49. The best anti-aging remedy in the world is working really hard.
50. World-Class performers have no plan B. Failure just isn’t an option.
51. You have the power to change the world—one brave act and one person at a time. Please use it.
    
    
    After I  read, I was just wow!! What about you?

My best to you!

MASTERPIECE

REMEMBER YOUR DESTINY, FOCUS ON YOUR ORIGIN

You and I are God’s original masterpiece. We were created geniuses, holy and brilliant. This is our origin and it is our destiny. We are made for God and we will go back to Him if we live excellently. To live a Holy life is not to spend the whole of your life’s hours on your knees. It is more than that. It includes that surely but it must go beyond that. Doing well in your business, in your studies, performing brilliantly and whatever you do and touch and feeling awesomely satisfied is the mark of Holiness.

However, the quality of your life is a sum total of the quality of your thoughts, of yourself and of life. John Mason reminds us that no life is a coincidence. It is a reflection. Most of our problems are out own making, a result of our own low quality thoughts. If you could beat up the person most responsible for your problems, you would not have teeth. We all admire the people who have succeeded and who have gone through great problems and have come through alive. However, when problems come our way, we give up, become angry and blame God while playing the victim. We can change this by seeing problems as challenges to purify us as gold is. It is a matter of changing the way we think and as Christians, the way we believe. Faith is walking everyday believing that everything will be alright. Louis XIV once said, ‘there is little that can withstand a man/woman who can conquer himself/herself.’ So, conquer those feelings of fear, of smallness, of insignificance or they are going to cost your life, literally. Act against your fear, not in agreement with it. Walk in faith and not in fear.

Stewart Johnson was right when he said, ‘Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves, to break our records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before.’

Believe in you God and in yourself. One without the other won’t work. If you doubt yourself, you doubt God’s creative genius and vice versa. ‘A person who doubts himself is like a man who enlists in the ranks of his enemy and bears arms against himself. Alexandre Dumas wisely says. You may and you can succeed even if nobody believes in, be they parents or friends, but you will never succeed if you don’t believe in yourself and your potential.