IDENTIFYING YOUR VISION AND STAYING IN IT
BIBLE QUOTES:
* The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2)
* Your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28)
* Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he (Proverbs 20:18)
WHAT IS A VISION?
Vision literally means a state of seeing. For vision to be there, light is inevitable. Light in literal terms are rays that come from anything that illuminates. Spiritually, for Christians light is Christ Jesus. Spiritually, vision is a mental image, idea, statement, or any other that comes when on is awake, asleep, praying or in a trance. There are many examples in the Bible e.g.
- Joseph had two similar visions about his future leadership (Genesis 37:5-11)
- Saul got into a trance and had his name changed to Paul together with a vision for his life (Acts 9:3-6)
NB: A dream can be a vision but not all dreams are vision, because some of them are as a result of what you do during the day and many cares (Ecc. 5:3)
Vision is different from imagination in that one may form a mental image at will, but in a vision there is a DRIVING FORCE COUPLED WITH CONVICTION to achieve what you SAW.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A VISION AND MISSION
Vision means “TO BE”-what you are expecting to be. It’s a point of DESTINY; your DESTINATION. Mission means “TO DO”-what you are expecting to do. It is a process of Reaching your Vision. The connection (relationship) between the two is that you need to carry out a mission for you to reach your vision. In other words, you need TO DO SOMETHING for you TO BE SOMEBODY IN YOUR VISION.
WHY DOES GOD OFTENLY GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE VISIONS?
Joel 2:28”Young men shall see visions”. This is because young people:
* Are strong and therefore can carry out missing needed to accomplish a vision (1 John 2:13)
* Have enough time to fulfil their vision. Don’t wait till it’s too late!
* Are not yet entangled with many cares of life and so can easily conform God’s will for their life. DO NOT get yourself hooked too early in your life.
* They are agile and fast in their work.
* They adapt positive change easily e.g. fast changing use of technology
HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR VISION
- LOOK INTO YOURSELF
Identify what you like doing and are successful in. what you like is not automatically your vision. You must be successful in your vision. Looking into yourself is knowing your God’s given talents and attributes.
- LOOK AROUND YOU
This involves listening to the comments of significance others in your life. Their voice can at times help you catch a vision. However, you must measure their comments against what you already know about yourself.
- LOOK FOR COUNSELLORS
Proverbs 11:14 says that “where there is no guidance, a people fall, but in abundance of counsellors there is safety”. Professional counsellors can help you identify your vision when you finish them with some information about yourself.
- LOOK UPTO GOD
We need God’s guidance every time we are making critical decisions concerning our life. Create time to meditate upon God’s word and seek His guidance in prayers. He knows. He loves you. He created you.
HOW TO STAY IN YOUR VISION
- DISCIPLINE
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation people cast off restraint” (NIV). Restraint is discipline. Having a vision is the first step that makes you have restraint so that people don’t put you into their program at will. This protects you from being tossed to and fro by your peers. IF YOU DON’T PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE, PEOPLE AND EVEN THE DEVIL WILL PLAN FOR YOU.
- IMITATION
Choose mentors that are in line with your vision.
- REMEMBER (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
“Write the vision upon tablets”. Keep reminding yourself about the vision. If you don’t refresh your vision you will keep having additional visions which will lead to DI-VISIONS (divisions) meaning that your mind is divided to an extent that you are torn between forces. This leads to confusion, anxiety, depression, drug abuse etc.
- TIME (Ephesians 5:15-16)
Redeem the time for the days are evil. Stop wasting time with what doesn’t line up with your vision. If you waste it you are forced to procrastinate and you know “procrastination” is the theft of time.
- SIN NOT
Stop gambling with sin. Though Samson knew his vision of delivering the children of Israel, he deviated by sinning repeatedly against God by his drunkenness, sexual immorality, touching dead bodies, revealing the secret of his strength. He devalued his vision.
Lastly, your attitude is very key to your success:
- HUMILITY (avoid pride and arrogance)
- ABILITY to accept mistakes, learning from them, but not passing the back.
- READINESS to learn (attend seminars, read books in line with your vision)
- Have the right value system to help you make the right choices on daily basis.
You are a winner!
God did not create losers!
God has equipped you to win!
Follow your dream/vision and enter your God given destiny as a winner and victor.
SEE YOU IN THE VICTOR’S CAMP
MRS. M. W. KIWANUKA
COLLEGE CHAPLAIN
THE BITTERNESS OF THE BITTER
She stood there; all she had was to starve
As the little birds song filled the air
Life isn’t fair, she had to declare
Pregnant knowing that she had a child to bear
She was strong, but facing her bustard was her fear
Where is father? An answer it would require.
It’s not that she was twilight;
That night she had to fight,
A fight that happened in the dim-light,
She tried to keep it tight
But she knew killing she might
She was strong but facing her bustard was her fear
Where is father? An answer it would require.
Macharia Jennifer Njoki
Certificate IT (JKUAT)
QUITTERS ARE LOSERS
If you think you are beaten
You are
If you think you dare not
You don’t
If you wish to win but think you can’t
It’s certain you won’t.
If you think you are out-crashed
You are
Must think high to rise and be
Sure of oneself before you can earn a prize
For out in the world
You find success begins with your will
It’s all in the mind.
Life battles are not always won
By the strongest and fastest runners
But by those who think they can!
Mwangi Nancy Wambui
Certificate in IT (JKUAT)
Kenya Budget attacks the rising cost of living
By Daily Nation
Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday spelt out an ambitious Budget aimed at the basic level — putting food on the table for all Kenyans and offering the most specific assault on the rising cost of living.
The minister allocated a cumulative Sh100 billion to promote agriculture to enhance food security, which will stem the spiralling food prices caused by production shortfalls.
Also, duty on maize, wheat and rice was cut to increase local supply and reduce prices.
High food prices have been a major concern and the government is acting to avert food riots that have been witnessed in other countries like Uganda, especially going into an election year where emotions can easily be whipped up by politicians looking for votes.
Fuel price and drought
“We all know the tough times we are facing following the new challenges stemming from rising international commodity prices, including fuel and drought-related concerns on food security,” Mr Kenyatta said in the Budget ministerial statement read in Parliament on Wednesday.
“The resilience we have demonstrated in the past will have to come handy again, but most important now is cushioning our people against these challenges.
“We have to take drastic measures to reduce, on a sustainable basis, the cost of living and assure our people of food security and employment going forward.”
He extended Common External Tariff (CET) application to allow the importation of rice at the rate of 35 per cent instead of 75 per cent for one year to boost local supply of the staple food.
And to enable millers import wheat to supplement local production, he allowed duty-free importation, down from the 10 per cent duty granted in the last financial year.
Also, he gave a duty waiver for six months on maize imports instead of 50 per cent applied for the region.
The minister removed excise duty on kerosene, barely two months after cutting it by 30 per cent to stem the impact of rising fuel prices on households.
Measures to boost food supply include the biggest investment ever in irrigation to rehabilitate huge chunks of semi-arid land across the country into arable land.
Irrigation, livestock and other activities geared to enhancing food security and water harvesting got Sh11.5 billion.
This will go into financing water harvesting at Sh2.1 billion as well as storage for domestic, animal and irrigation, livestock production and domestic consumption.
The Budget also takes care of livestock farmers by establishing a Sh400 million Livestock Fund and providing Sh492 million for additional slaughter houses in arid areas.
The irrigation programme, started under the Economic Stimulus package, has been greatly expanded to cover the 1.7 million acres with irrigation potential to transform the country into a food surplus producer.
The total revenue target for fiscal year 2011/12 is Sh787.6 billion – or 24.7 per cent of GDP, based on projected economic growth, the on-going reforms in tax and customs administration, and new tax measures, including fee collected by public universities which was previously not captured in the budget.
Recurrent expenditure for the year is Sh754.4 billion, development expenditure is Sh398.6 billion, while consolidated services will take Sh209.5 billion. The minister said he would finance development expenditure amounting to Sh262.5 billion from the Exchequer.
He said he received commitments amounting to Sh41.1 billion to finance development projects from external grants.
Total expenditure will amount to Sh1,066.8 billion giving an overall deficit of Sh236.2 billion, or 7.4 per cent of GDP.
But Mr Kenyatta said this would be financed by net foreign financing of Sh116.7 billion and Sh119.5 billion borrowing from domestic market.
“This means the fiscal framework for 2011/12 is fully financed and there is no financing gap,” he added.
Leaving a Legacy to Be Followed
By Victor Muto
“Now the Lord had said into Abram, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you; And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed” Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV)
“…. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all your children? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he comes here. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and of beautiful countenance, and handsome. And the Lord said, Arise, and anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward….” 1 Samuel 16:11-13 (KJV)
“…. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in into her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favoured, the Lord is with you: blessed are women…. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favour with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest…” Luke 1:26-32 (KJV)
| T |
he above three verses give a small illustration of three greatest men the world has ever seen. I want to talk about leaving a legacy that other people will follow. I’m basing on a saying that I have come to believe in, “Great men/women are defined by the legacy they leave behind”. I will be looking at great people in the modern world as well as in the Bible. The Bible talks of several great persons that lived; for instance, in my first verse am talking about Abraham, who was called by God and serve, to leave his family and the land of his father, and God made the father of a great nation, Israel. In the second illustration, David was a mere shepherd but God, through Prophet Samuel, anointed him to be king of a great nation, Israel. In the last verse, God sends His angel, Gabriel, to announce the forthcoming birth of Jesus, who is the leader of a great nation, Christianity.
All great men and women of the world have impacted the world in one way or another, either positive or negative. First, a great man/woman may either be good or evil, and this is because, they may have done something that greatly affected or influenced the world. Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein are some of the great men that are considered (and actually they are) to be evil due to the inhuman deeds they have done.
Negatively, as I’ve said, created some impact on the world, leaving some effects behind. In the world, such people have risen, and some of them almost bringing the world to its knees in fear. During the World War II, Adolf Hitler rose and waged one of the world’s biggest wars, threatening to take over the world. Unfortunately for him, he ended up committing suicide and that was the end of him. Osama rose in the 80s or 90s and waged a war against the West and its allies. He has attacked several countries, inclusive of Kenya, and brought the death of so many millions over the years. In brief, all ‘evil’ great men rise but later fall greatly.
Positively, so many great men and women have arisen and have left behind “ideologies” that have influenced the world greatly. They have either influenced the world in terms of business, peace or politics. Over the years, we’ve seen men and women inventing powerful tech-toys that are changing the way the people in the world communicate. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple invented the IPhone which has revolutionised communication around the world. Mark Zuckerberg came up with Facebook, which has taken the world by storm in the social networking, getting to connect people from all over the world. These two gentlemen have greatly influenced the world and thus, have a legacy behind them.
World peace has not been easy to come by and many have suffered or even died in search of world peace. Prof. Wangari Mathai was persecuted during President Moi’s era for advocating for the protection of the environment. Her achievement, she received a Nobel Peace Prize for environment. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetans, has undergone imminent suffering under the Chinese government, as a way of bringing peace to Tibet.
God has assigned every human being some talent and He expects us utilise that talent that His name may be praised. We are obligated to use our talents to help other people; to be a blessing to other people. Abraham was called by God so that he may be a source of blessing to other people. A person’s deeds ought to be the blessing of the next person. If by our deeds a person changes for the better, then we are great. A man/woman cannot live alone by him/herself; they need the other in order to co-exist and to survive. By so doing, it’s our mandate that we influence the other person to be better in life.
Leaving a legacy entails being a source of blessing to others. In order for people to follow your legacy, you ought to be a source of blessing to others. People need to tap blessings from us and by so, they emulate what we do that describes us as great resulting to them doing what we do.
Finally, journey of a thousand miles starts by a single step. Inspiring one person leads to that inspiring another and another. Jesus was born in the lineage of David and all David’s descendants have been considered great because David started by inspiring his son Solomon and Solomon did the same to his son, and the chain continues till Jesus. From Jesus, we follow a great legacy of love that keeps the world in revolution.
One thing you should keep in mind is that legends are not born but made.
A Weekend Well Spent
They say Kenya is the best and perfect tourist destination in the world. No wonder Prince William chose Kenya as the perfect place to propose to his newly wedded wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. Last week I had a chance to visit Masaai Mara National Park, one of the best game reserves in the world, and the place you can find the 8th wonder of the world, “Migration of the Wildebeests”.
We took off at exactly 9pm on Thursday 4th May 2011. The journey proved to be long and tiresome as it took us approximately 8 hours to reach the national park. It was so exciting such that at some point we got lost for about 70km before tracing back our bearing. We arrived at Serenani gate in the afternoon and we were warmly welcomed by the Maasai community living around the place.
We lodged at the Mara Sopa lodge located on the slopes of Oloongan hills, 2104m above sea level. Guests are drawn to this lodge built in an ethnic design surrounded by a rich landscape, covered in fauna from huge desert cacti to sweet-smelling jasmine flowers, all within the fabled Mara game reserve. We were received by the manager of the lodge and his staff. The place was over the top and one of the best places you can ever imagine of visiting. In the evening, we drove inside the park and managed to catch a glimpse of a variety of animals such as dik dik, Thompson gazelle, antelopes, zebras and giraffes. We also managed to see one of the “big five”-the lion with his family resting after having a hearty meal, probably a spiced zebra or gazelle. The den of lions consisted of two adult males, a lioness and eight male cubs.
On Saturday, we embarked on a full game program and we headed southwards towards Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, 100km from Mara Sopa lodge. On our way, we caught a view of animals such as elephants, hyenas, guinea fowls, secretary bird, jackals, ostrich and velvex monkeys. We also came across a hue herd of buffalos, approximately 200 of them. Our first stop was at the Mara River. We found a NGO known as Kenya Mara Conservancy which is a model of community-based conservation. It has been managing infrastructure and anti-poaching efforts within the triangle of Kenya’s Masaai Mara for eight years. When Serengeti enters its annual dry spell, the Mara’s western triangle and the perennial Mara river become the destination of the world’s largest mammal migration of almost two million wildebeests and zebras.
After driving for about 2km, we crossed the Kenya-Tanzania border and entered the Serengeti national park. It was such a wonderful feeling bearing in mind that it was my first time outside Kenya. We had a wonderful time with the lecturers, playing football with them and we had a chance to interact with the tour guide, Mr. Gitonga. We really had a good; for a moment there we forgot about books. I learnt that knowledge does not only come from books but also from interacting with other people, observing and sharing.
After spending an hour in Tanzania, we drove back to Mara Sopa lodge. We stopped by Keekorok lodge; the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. It’s erected in the direct path of the wildebeest migration. At the height of migration, Keekorok lodge is surrounded by a swarming mass of animals, and there’s hardly any need to go on a game drive. Accommodation comprises of stone-built bungalows with private balconies. The liberal use of cedar wood, pink and grey sand riverstone and other indigenous building materials offset the green lawns and colourful bougainvillea. A 300m raised walkway winds through the forest in front of the lodge to a thatched sundowner bar overlooking the plains of the Masaai Mara and a pool with resident hippos. There are no fences in Keekorok lodge, thus it is not uncommon to see elephants and buffalos on the perimeter of the ground.
We arrived back at the Mara Sopa lodge at around 4pm and had a late lunch. We later interacted with the manager and his staff who showed us various features of the lodge. In Sopa, the cheapest room can cost you Kshs.11, 000 per night per head in the low season and can rise up to Kshs.19, 000 in the peak season. The most expensive room can cost you Kshs.20, 000 and Kshs.30, 000 in the low and high season respectively. After the day’s encounter, we had a goat-eating party, interacted for a short while and then retired to our beds. We had such a wonderful time such that everybody was scared with the thought of leaving the following day.
I won’t tell you about the journey back because for sure, nobody wanted to leave the place.
The Beast Is Here…Embu High School Proves Them Wrong
By Victor Muto
28th February 2011 and it’s the Kenya Institute of Education, Nairobi. Prof. Ongeri just entered with his entourage of Ministry of Education top officials and other stakeholders, ready to detonate the most waited time bomb all year…2010 KCSE results! Let me take you back a little and focus on the education success of so great town Embu (E-town). Form almost a decade, there are some notable schools that dominated the top:
- St. Thomas Moore Nguviu Boys (Bluxxville)
Under the belt of former principal, Ambassador Gakumu, the school has remained on the top league and produced some top guys in this nation, like Mucheru who is the President of African Students at Harvard University. Ambassador Gakumu was a father-figure that all boys enumerated and his words of wisdom and encouragement definitely did the magic trick. Personally, I’m proud to be his product and also to have been the last “mono” that he admitted before becoming an ambassador
2. Sacred Heart Girls Kyeni (Reddz)
This is Bluxx biggest and long time rival. Madam Mwea is the Chief Principal of this great giurls’ school and has been leading the school in an academic onslaught against their arch-rivals, Nguviu B.
There are other schools that have been topping the list; Moi High School Mbiruri (Mbich), St. Angela Nguviu Girls’ High School (Nguviu Gee) etc. All these schools have been competing for the longest time possible. This year, tables turned round and a new academic beast was born. Under the leadership of Mr. Kimani (former Principal of Itabua Day Secondary School), managed to place Embu High School at position two in the county, pne place behind Kyeni Girls’.
Embu High School is part of the Embu College Ltd fratenity where it’s the younger sister school of Embu College Campus. The two schools were started by Mr. & Mrs Kithinji Kiragu. Once the new were out, the entire Embu College fratenity took to the streets to celebrate this great victory, and to showcase their supremacy as well their rides with the Airbus 380 leading the convoy of four buses.
All said and done, let’s sit back and see what Mr. Kiamni will have in store for us this year..
Peace out!
STONY PLACES IN THE MIND
By Bosco Munyoki
“The sower let fall some of the seeds on stony places where they had not much earth; and forth wave they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth; and where the sun was up, they were scotched; and because they had no root, they withered away (Matthew 13:5-6)”
The seeds sown on stony ground was scotched, withered away as soon as the sun grew hot. When it comes to receiving the word, the mind can be stony lacking proper nourishment. To nourish the word, the mind must be kept fertile and be fed with the right kind of thoughts. Some minds have stony places in them where there is no production of the word; others are stony altogether. Leeches gather in unprotected stony places in the mind; because the word of God does not move in that area, leeches are in control and their ideas accepted. This is the reason why people are directed wrong, the reason they will not walk in total obedience to the Lord. They fail God and get themselves be led off to the tree of the forbidden fruit. Every time the devil can prepare a little more stony hardness in the mind, create a little more drawing back from following Jesus all the way, he will. He takes the richness of the soil out of the mind and with it the power of the word.
Think how God feels when He looks at a born-again soul and sees stony places-not in the heart but in the mind. That person has blind spots that block him/her out of good spiritual vision when he looks to the Lord. He is not close to the Lord, doesn’t have that meek, and gentle spirit. If you are full of thoughts that reject the anointing of the Lord you find the strife, contention, rebellion flare up, at times in the leech free spaces where the word lodges in your mind, you relax and look as though you will be alright. Then suddenly a problem is directed towards the stony ground of your mind where leeches are attached and they charge in action. You flare up again. When a problem hits that stony place, there is nothing to help you overcome it, to give you strength and gain victory. In this way the devil leads people astray from God in their minds. He gets in because the stony place doesn’t have enough soil for the word to take root and to provide protection. If the devil can form enough stony ground in the mind, then he can draw people in to all kinds of lust, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the world, the lust of the eyes etc.
Do you have leeches? Stony places in the mind? Blind spots? Check yourself. If you don’t act spiritually sane all the time, you have leeches. When your responses come from the stony place in your mind, you have nothing to keep you under control and leeches take an advantage. You give all to leeches and they go into operation. They have you fussing, fighting, using idle talk, doing and saying things you have no business doing or saying.
Stony spots, blind spots cause people to gossip. No matter how much people are warn against gossiping, how much they hear about putting the bridle of love on the tongue, they continue to gossip. The stony spots, the blind spots block out the truth. The word, the living word of God can plow up all the stony place s and provide fertile soil for you to cultivate.
The Beast Is Here….Embu High School Proves Them Wrong
By Victor Muto
28th February 2011 and it’s the Kenya Institute of Education, Nairobi. Prof. Ongeri just entered with his entourage of Ministry of Education top officials and other stakeholders, ready to detonate the most waited time bomb all year…2010 KCSE results! Let me take you back a little and focus on the education success of so great town Embu (E-town). Form almost a decade, there are some notable schools that dominated the top:
- St. Thomas Moore Nguviu Boys (Bluxxville) Under the belt of former principal, Ambassador Gakumu, the school has remained on the top league and produced some top guys in this nation, like Mucheru who is the President of African Students at Harvard University. Ambassador Gakumu was a father-figure that all boys enumerated and his words of wisdom and encouragement definitely did the magic trick. Personally, I’m proud to be his product and also to have been the last “mono” that he admitted before becoming an ambassador
2. Sacred Heart Girls Kyeni (Reddz) This is Bluxx biggest and long time rival. Madam Mwea is the Chief Principal of this great giurls’ school and has been leading the school in an academic onslaught against their arch-rivals, Nguviu B.
There are other schools that have been topping the list; Moi High School Mbiruri (Mbich), St. Angela Nguviu Girls’ High School (Nguviu Gee) etc. All these schools have been competing for the longest time possible. This year, tables turned round and a new academic beast was born. Under the leadership of Mr. Kimani (former Principal of Itabua Day Secondary School), managed to place Embu High School at position two in the county, pne place behind Kyeni Girls’. Embu High School is part of the Embu College Ltd fratenity where it’s the younger sister school of Embu College Campus. The two schools were started by Mr. & Mrs Kithinji Kiragu. Once the new were out, the entire Embu College fratenity took to the streets to celebrate this great victory, and to showcase their supremacy as well their rides with the Airbus 380 leading the convoy of four buses.
All said and done, let’s sit back and see what Mr. Kiamni will have in store for us this year.. Peace out!
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