The retreat that was (PHOTOS)

Just arrived at the retreat venue

Yes this is me...

Me again...

And again...

And again...

They say when the future is too bright, you may need a pair of shades...

Yeaaaaaaaaa!

Sometimes ladies make me blush :)

A man's gotta cook

Army look...lion feeling

The Sanctity of Life

At the beginning of life, we hope for longevity. At the end, we notice its brevity. For some reason, we never get satisfied with the time of life we live on earth. At least that's the general feeling of the bereaved. Anyway, what is long life with no relevance to the society? And is life really short or does death catch us by surprise? 

I'd be easily convinced if I was told that there isn't a single key task in the late Nelson Mandela's to-do list that hasn't been performed. He lived his life to the maximum. He left a legacy that everyone wants to emulate. I pray that the same becomes of me and you. That our lives may not be a matter of inhaling and exhaling but of resourcefulness and giving back to the community. 

Life is a drama, a movie and you're the main actor. Unfortunately for you, there's no rehearsal, so you've got to do your best right from the start. Fortunately enough, you can make mistakes and start all over again, not from the top, but from where you went wrong. 

Each new day is a new opportunity. A new chance to prove to yourself and to the world that you've got what it takes to do what your heart desires. To be who you want to be. To defy the odds and change the course of your life. Like the sun, even though you go down and it looks like you're no more, wake up the next day and brighten up the world.

Men of the cloth, where be your clothes???

Many stories have been told of several not-so-good escapades of ordained pastors who choose to act as ordinary figures in the society and lay pastors who opt to lay low. Now, I cannot speculate, I am not sure if it's true or not. It's a rumor I've heard from anonymous sources just like you. I didn't mean to go Ole Lenku, but I hope you got my point. By all means this post serves;

• not to judge the clergy but to condemn a shameful vice
• not to suggest that I am in any possible way perfect
• not to indicate that Christianity is a questionable faith (judge not a religion by the actions of its followers but by the rules in its holy book)

Decay kwenye beat
A rumor is told of a  pastor's Prado with a johnny walker bumper sticker- now that's swag gone wrong. That guy right there is busy preaching water and drinking wine. In fact, he has a box of bottles of Red wine from France in the backseat. As he's driving Mary- the sassy worship leader off to dine, the woofers in the 4 by 4 are coughing "Una maswali mingi kwani we ni..." SMH, indeed there's decay kwenye beat (no offence to the asusu hit-maker). 

Takes off his clothes
Everyone is busy pointing a finger on this supposed example- the public figure, the moral figure. He's not doing much to defend himself anyway, he's busy bowing down to his not so upright desires and choosing to sit on his principles instead of standing ​on them. Truly it's so sad as the man of the cloth goes ahead and takes off his clothes.

In his arms

For the rest of my life,
In his arms is where I long to be,
As a father holds his baby,
In his arms he will hold me,
As a bird cautiously covers its eggs,
In his arms he will protect me,
As a mother pacifies a child with a lullaby,
In his arms he will give me peace,
In his arms I will close my eyes,
And I will forget about everything. Forever.

On his shoulder I shall lay,
His heartbeat I shall feel,
As it pounds against my chest,
And vibrates through my body,
Resonating with my soul,
It's the only noise I hear,
The silent noise,
The calmness of his love,
I long to be in his arms.
 

The freshness of his presence,
The richness of his grace,
The abundance of his peace,
I long to be in his arms.

There's no turmoil, worry or disruption, in his arms
When the storm comes,
He will lift his right arm,
And he will hold me with the other,
For even before I was born, he was my father.
 

In his arms I will forget my fears,
I will forget my failures, my regrets and past mistakes,
It's a new beginning, a fresh start.
I won't need my achievements, accomplishments, victories or my strengths,
For being in His arms is my success.

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deuteronomy 33:27

Quotes Corner

Below are 10 quotes from some people I follow on twitter. Check them out!  

1. Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't go well. ~ Jim Rohn 
   
2. Haters don't really hate you. They hate themselves because you are reflection of what they wish to be. Poor, confused ppl. - ajamagra fred ‏@mr_leadership
3. a good example is twice the value of a good advice. - ajamagra fred ‏@mr_leadership
4. No God, No Peace... Know God, Know Peace. - MicahStampley ‏@MicahStampley
5.  For as long as you stay hopeful, keep smiling and trusting God patiently, the devil won't hold what God has in store for you. - Joyce Meyer
6.  Don't get burned twice by the same flame. - Bill Gates
7. There is no right way to do something wrong. - M.Jed ‏@_jedm
8. There is free cheese only in a mouse trap.- Petteri Tarkkonen ‏@ptarkkonen
9. It's so amazing that the things we spend a lifetime chasing after really don't matter much in the end.  - Gibson Anduvate ‏@anduvate
10. If your relationship has more issues than your magazine...you need to cancel your subscription. - ajamagra fred ‏@mr_leadership

Kitchen Cabinet

So right now as we speak the 4^th President of Kenya is in deep consultation with his counterpart so as to design the new cabinet. Coincidentally, last evening as I was preparing supper in the kitchen, it hit me- why don’t we have a kitchen cabinet? There are spices, ingredients and fruits we really really really like (I don’t want to sound extremist so I don’t use the word love albeit that may just be the right word) and we just want to tell the world about it! Having said that, I sourced for contribution from some friends (see the list below) on what their best foods/spices/ingredients/fruits are, hence this post!

Welcome to the Kitchen Cabinet- 5 ministers only. Hahaha! Boom!                                                                                                                                                                                            

      1.    Fried meat and Mukimo
        Men I so love this stuff I’ll actually tell you how I prepare it! Let’s get started. So, for the mukimu, all you need is young maize, potatoes and beans. Boil the beans and maize together then add some potatoes. Pour hot water and smash the mixture. That’s it. For the meat stew, you’ll need some garlic, tomatoes, ginger. How do you do it? Smash the garlic and the ginger together as one! Boil the meat till ready then fry the onion till it turns golden brown. Add the mixture of crushed garlic and ginger then add potatoes. Wait till it cooks. Serve while hot with the mukimo n refresh yourself with milk :) DISCLAIMER: PLEASE DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! : )

    2.    The Pear
 

           I like the colorless juice on its flesh. It’s so crispy too!

   
3.    Turmeric 

            I love turmeric so much. Firstly, it gives the food good color and makes it attractive to the guest. Secondly, it enhances flavor to the food. I really like it in fish or coconut sauce- it really gives the sauce its original color.

     4.    Ginger
       I love ginger; it smells good plus it’s got many health benefits.

 

   5.    Brinjals
     I don’t know where to start with these beauties. From their shape, to the color- they’re just so authentic. Well I like them mostly due to their contribution in soup. To me, soup or stew without brinjals is a waste. It’s like having that 50% but missing that 1 crucial vote. I will brinjalize my soup for the following reasons;

·     Its thickening capacity- men, have I told you how much stew can add weight if it met brother brinjal? I know it’s a rhetorical question but I’ll answer it anyway. HELL NO I HAVEN’T TOLD YOU!!! Okay, back to the subject. This species, ingredient I mean (mark you there’s a difference between a spice and an ingredient), has a way of thickening soup. It becomes highly viscous and strong. It actually looks healthy. So next time you cook, please try brinjals. : )

·     Its beautifying qualities- well. Only so much can be said about this ‘constituent’- BY ME THAT IS. And I’d be crazy to leave out the fact that brinjalized stew is like the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see. Trust me on that one- I’m a witness. Okay, let me try and sound like a scientist for a little bit- when this ingredient boils up in your ‘cooking pot’, the immense heat causes its particles to disintegrate and in the process, little tiny bits of grain-like substances are produced. These are the beautifying subjects. Understood? I hope.

·    I just like them. Full stop.

There you have it. I hope this kills your curiosity of how the new cabinet will look like. Remember, curiosity killed the cat.

Hats off to the contributors!

Diva Rose, Baba Jimmy, Rogozz, Tiqwan and myself!

If by any chance, you would like to contribute any article to this blog, it’s simple- let me know!