ME AND MY SHELL

I often love asking people what they thought of me at first impression (this is the kind of question where you have to be level headed and be ready to take in the answers because they can be brutal.) Many of them say I looked like a bad-ass-I -will –kick- you –in- the- face – kind of person, others say I looked like a snob, others say I seemed uptight and conservative (which I totally disagree with) and others say I looked like a wild girl-whatever that insinuates. All of the things they mentioned are true about me to some degree. Well I am confident, and since I was a young girl, I learnt how to pull a don’t-mess-with-me-poker face on cue. I usually use that poker face to my advantage when I meet someone new or someone who seems to take things lightly so that they don’t assume and think I am a push over. I am a choleric, I tend to be-let me rephrase that, I am a control freak. I love being the one on the wheel-steering, and because of that I can lean on the extreme of authoritative/dictator-yes there I said it. I am only aware of it when someone mentions it or else I can really be a pain in the @##.  

But in the past year I have become emotional, that’s the closest word that can describe my transformation. I am in touch with my emotions now,I used to be disgusted with people who cried over small things (in my head that’s what they were) but nowadays I cry easily-over a good book, a movie, someone saying something sweet to me or to someone else e.t.c. I have become a weeper. Plus I have noticed lately that I am empathetic- I may not show it but deep down I am (it’s all part of my shell).

My shell disguises my inner feelings. I don’t want people to think am gooey inside-because as I explained earlier I am a choleric and my temperament doesn’t like to show weakness which is stupid really because we are emotional beings and the mushy gooeyness is what balances the equation. 

I am a loud and chatty person, those who know me can attest- but when I am in a group (mostly made up of people I don’t know) I feel intimidated. Either because I feel I am not in their league intellectually, socially or spiritually- And I know you can relate, I usually slouch, go silent and shut down as the discussion ensues. Then comes the question, “Hey, why are you so silent? Are you OK?” 

I usually don’t know how to answer that question because I don’t have a good enough excuse, so I just end up saying, “yeah, am ok, just listening”, as I smile sheepishly. It’s Sad. I know, actually pathetic but I don’t why I do that all the time. It’s like my body and mind goes into a lock down-I don’t have esteem issues, I dealt with them in 2008 and am pretty sure nipped the bud (and am not in denial here, am being honest, I think). Any way I noticed this on Sunday when after the service a friend of mine invited me to attend a small gathering called young professionals, it’s like a bible study. I was terrified because as earlier stated-gatherings where I don’t know anyone tend to turn me dumb. He convinced me and I agreed to go. The members of the group however were running late, we were given some excuse to keep us around but I was hyper ventilating, sweating, fidgeting and acting like an introvert. My mind was on over drive- my mind was telling me to run, that this was not going to be pleasant. My pal noticed something was amiss, and came over to find out what was wrong. I shared my fear with him; he laughed it off and told me it was going to be okay. It was going to be okay? Really my body wasn’t in agreement. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I went across the room told him I was leaving and started to walk away. The people I had introduced myself to started calling out,”hey Cynthia don’t leave we are starting in a bit.” But I my legs were already in motion and I couldn’t look back, I had to leave.

When I reached home, I thought to myself the people must have thought I am very rude-but I shrugged it away saying they didn’t know me any way so no harm done. I might have made very good friends and connections since it was a young professionals meet up, but my fear or is it phobia(I will look it up) made me miss that opportunity.  I realized that in my campus days there were so many groups I wanted to join but my fear wouldn’t bring me to attend those meetings. I don’t regret how my life has turned out at all but am just thinking how richer it would be if I had learnt to overcome that fear.

‘If you hear a voice within you say

 ”you cannot paint,”

then by all

means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

I first heard this quote when I was in primary school and only recently did I actually understand it. We often try to avoid people who tell us we can’t do something because they bring in negative emotions and we don’t want them around. It’s the same thing with our internal emotions and the battles we face. Just as we use someone’s negative words to fuel our success, I will do the same with MY thoughts-the ones that tell me I will fail, I can’t add anything to the discussion- I will use them to propel me into that room of strangers and interact with them. I don’t want to miss out on life just because I felt a little nauseous and light headed. I will overcome myself. I don’t want to be the reason I let ME down. I hope you will take up the challenge too-The only thing that stands between me and success is ME, or in your case YOU.

Princess Nereah

Faithful Stewardship

When Ruth Matete won the 5million shillings from the Tusker Project fame reality show, my young brother was so ecstatic. He started telling me how if it were him, he would buy a Ferrari ( which I was skeptical about because he wouldn’t be able to drive for 15years because he wasn’t legal), a house, a boat, a castle and the cherry on top, a candy factory because he loves his sweets. I listened to him carefully till he finished then reminded him that he would buy all that after he had tithed. He raised his eyebrows, and asked me how much.

I grabbed my phone and together we started calculating 10% of 5,000,000 which is Sh 500,000. And my, oh my, you should have seen his shocked face. Mouth ajar and eyes popping. “Cynthia, I am taking all this to church?” he asked. “Yes.” I answered. “God says we give him 10% per cent of our earnings and Ruth’s great singing has earned her that 5million.” Steve was in denial. He couldn’t believe that he would have to give Sh 500,000 of his 5million to the church.

I found his reaction interesting and the next day I asked some friends of mine if they would tithe the Sh 500,000. Some were skeptical, others straight away said yes and others said they were not sure. I would tithe the Sh500, 000 in a heartbeat even, because that cash is a blessing I received through God’s grace and favor and what other way to say thank you than to give it back to him. After all in Malachi 3:8-10 he explicitly tells us not to rob him and to ensure His house never lacks food and in return He will open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

On Sunday, I attended a service at CITAM (formerly NPC) Buru Buru and they were concluding their 40 day series on Stewardship. I am glad I caught this last series because they were talking about being a good steward by keeping God’s command of diligently giving tithe and offering. 

As always God’s command is accompanied by a promise as it is written in Malachi 3:9-10 where God says, “You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that they may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

When I read that and saw If I don’t fulfill this command I Rob God, I didn’t want to be that kind of criminal. Who really wants to rob God, huh? Not me.

Some of the lessons I learnt from the sermon.

Tithing:

a) helps the extension of the Kingdom Malachi 3:10 “ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that they may be food in my house

b) it’s a blessing to me Malachi 3:10 “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” There is a blessing when you choose to be faithful, Malachi 3:6-12 it’s the only time God tells us to test him if we tithe.

Being a faithful steward gives me access to God's resources. Matthew 25-parable of the talent-that's why some believers are rich (blessed) and others aren't. Tithing is the key.

In Acts 10:1 we read about Cornelius, who was a diligent steward and God made the heavens open up to him. ( I fully recommend you read the passage)

7 FOLD BLESSING FOUND IN TITHING

1. Open heaven (Malachi 3:10)

2. Blessing poured out. (Malachi 3:10)

3. Blessings of over flowing abundance (Malachi 3:10)

4. Blessings of assured income (Malachi 3:11)

5. Blessings of assured productivity. (Malachi 3:11)

6. Blessings of honor and recognition (Malachi 3:12)

7. Blessings of happiness and joy (Malachi 3:12)

Tithing is a command from God, and just as God’s commands are-it is accompanied by a promise and immense blessings. You may be the one standing in the way of your blessing, so do tithe and watch what the Lord will do for you.

Princess Nereah

Take charge of your Self

Self-motivation is detrimental to our existence; it is what separates the successful and the un-successful people in life. Just a little push, a little shove can make you achieve a lot. Many people give up because they simply lacked self –motivation. They gave up on their dreams, their business, their talents because they lacked a reason to move on.

Everybody experiences a case of lack of motivation from the self once in a while, but you should not let it prevent you from experiencing the glorious treasures life has to offer. Lack of self –motivation should not hold you back from taking up an opportunity.

In my 4^th year of University I experienced a case of lack of self-motivation. I didn’t feel like doing my course work at all, I would just zombie in for class, go back to my room and just watch movies. I worked at the school radio and was always excited about going there, but for some reason, I started dreading going there, I did my duties half-heartedly and for that month I was the worst team player ever, and it seemed to affect the others. My friend Koki, who saw a change in my attitude and had given me 3GB worth of E-books the previous week, advised me to read “Seeds of Wisdom on Motivating Yourself” by Dr. Mike Murdock. I wasn’t motivated to read at that time but something just told me to try, and that was the end of my self pity.

Dr. Mike Murdock in the first chapter of the book says the permitting yourself to remain unmotivated will compound your problems, until you lose everything.  He mentions motivation is the desire or passion towards a chosen goal. It is the energy, incentive or desire for a goal. Motivation is incredibly important and a necessary ingredient in the life of every achiever. Many people stay motivated to avoid pain, e.g. financial stress, failure etc.  and others  stay motivated  to get a reward in the form of success, a job.

Dr. Murdock points out those failures occur daily. Thousands of people fail with their lives, weekly, daily and hourly. They fail to achieve their potential, their greatness and their dreams. We must learn the secret of motivating ourselves to avoid the horrifying and tragic consequences of daily failure.

From this book, I learnt that I am responsible for myself and it is my personal responsibility to point myself towards my worthwhile dreams.

I am responsible for my own future.

I am accountable for my gifts and skills.

I am accountable for my opportunities.

Reading that opened my eyes completely. Self – motivation is the fuel that transports us to our destination and without it we will not reach our desired destination. That’s the point in the book , where I started sitting up straight because I felt like he was talking to me.

Just like me I know you have friends and family who help motivate you, but for some reason its not enough. Dr.Murdock in his book says that it is good to have these support systems but one day you will find yourself alone, and thus must cultivate the gift of motivating yourself.

We must start taking charge of our own lives, be in charge of making sure that our attitude and our mind is in check, always positive, because a negative attitude and mind is the killer of self motivation. 

Princess Nereah

" We want leaders with a difference"

 

The Spirit of Leadership by Myles Monroe stares at me when I enter Annette’s room in the afternoon; she loves to read a lot. “I love surrounding myself with books that talk about leadership because they enlighten me to spot qualities of a good leader.” With the January semester coming to an end, the student body at Daystar University will be conducting elections this April 2012 to usher in the new leaders. 
The elected student body leaders serve as representatives of the students at the University, it is a great leadership opportunity which comes with a lot of responsibility. Annette Muthoni, a 3rd year Psychology major strongly believes that student leadership at Daystar has been greatly compromised. “The people who have been elected in the past, have gotten into office because they were more popular than their opponents and not because they had anything tangible to offer to the student body in terms of leadership,” Annette explains.

The book I saw  in  Annette's room

I wanted to know if many students share Annette’s view and that set me to find out what qualities they want from the new crop of leaders who want to vie for the student body positions.  

The student body posts are the highest form of student leadership in the University, these people are the ones who represent the University in functions, they interact with the senate and the Vice Chancellor when the student’s needs need to be heard, and thus they  want people who are competent and have the people’s interests at heart. 

Lotan Salapei, a 4th year Peace and Conflict major, who is also a prolific personality at the Athi River Campus believes that its time that we elect leaders who are willing to serve. “I want a servant leader who has the people’s interests at heart and who is open to people’s ideas. I strongly advocate for leading by example, because to me leadership is the ability to get others to willingly follow.”

Every organization needs leaders at every level and Lotan  pointed out openness and humility as some of the qualities that he would want from the new leaders. Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team, they try elevating everyone. Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Lotan added, “Openness is a very important trait that should be embraced by the Social Welfare and the Clubs docket which mainly deal with planning events.”

Lotan Salapei

Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision. “We need things to be done differently. Some of the people who have held these dockets have been close minded and have been doing the same things over the years, and we need a change. We should think outside the box”, Lotan further explained. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. 

In the 2012 January semester, there were some video clips circulating the student’s emails that showed some of the student body leaders drinking at a bar. “I felt this was very shameful. You know they are our leaders, and not just that, student leaders at a Christian University that doesn’t subscribe to drinking. "That was just wrong. hawana integrity.” Joan Anyango, a 2nd year Economics Major retorted.

In a chapel service in late 2011, Reverend Stephen Nduto,The Daystar University Chaplain preached about integrity and he explained that, integrity is the combination of outward actions and inner values. "A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be dangerous." Reverend Nduto said.  From his sentiments we can draw that a leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.

The newly adapted Kenyan Constitution clearly states that no one should be discriminated on the basis of skin color, race, disability, gender or tribe. The aspiring leaders should keep these things in mind and apply fairness and justice in their dealings. “I don’t want a leader who will do me a favor just because I come from the same region as them. Our generation should be past that mentality. Everyone should be treated equally, kwanza hapa Daystar we have International students, thus we should be universal thinkers,” Lotan Salapei remarked. Joan Anyango also added that communication skills will help them with fairness; it will help them listen, analyze and offer correct judgement on situations that come their way. “For me fairness will show itself through communication skills which will help them in negotiations, crisis management and in circumstances that require persuasion.”

The views shared above indicate that the student body has a blueprint for what kind of leaders they want and it seems this time round the Daystar University Students Association (DUSA) aspirants are going to have to work extra hard to impress the students with their manifestos and their promises of change. Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States said that, "Every generation needs a revolution," and maybe the time for Daystar University is now, in the 2012 DUSA elections.

I was still at Annette’s room when the sun was setting. We had talked from late afternoon about  what she thinks leaders, especially at Daystar should emulate. Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior, were some of the names that came up. Last words from Annette were, "the aspirants vying for the DUSA  seats should have a clear vision of how they want to run the different posts as this will guide them and keep them in check." Before I left Annette’s room, I grabbed myself a copy of Becoming a Better you by Joel Osteen from her vast library.

Cynthia Kimola 
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