OWNING YOUR NAME

In my previous post I promised to bring to us 21 days to a good name, while putting together the piece I discovered that life is not just about bulding a good reputation or name, like +John Wooden puts it “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” But about the person of quality we are.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
+Warren Buffett

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.
+Benjamin Franklin

No man will ever carry out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it.
+Thomas Jefferson

Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
+William Shakespeare

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.
+Baltasar Gracian

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
+Thomas Paine

With these in mind lets see how we can work on a good name in 7days.

DAY1

• Hold your tongue and take three deep breaths before responding to comments and situations that make you feel angry, defensive or upset.

DAY 2

• Never talk badly about anyone. Never say anything negative about any person behind their back. If you have a problem with some else’s behaviour, talk to them privately and directly. When you talk negatively about someone in their absence, the person you are talking to feels you may do the same behind their back.

DAY 3

• Be respectful of other people and their opinions. There is never one way of doing things, and your way is not the only way, even if it feels like that at the time. Always keep your mind open and accept other people may have a different experience and a different opinion. Remember, you can disagree and still be respectful.

DAY 4

• Be truthful and honest. lying and deceit always finds its way out, and it’s never worth it. I always say “When in doubt, tell the truth”. Telling the truth is cleansing and liberating, no matter how small. If you are running late, don’t blame the traffic, say “I’ve miscalculated the travel time”, “I left too late”… whatever the case may be.

DAY 5

• Keep your promises. If you made a promise, keep it. It seems so simple, yet very few people can hold ALL their promises. If you can’t make it happen, do not promise. If you’ve promised, but can’t make it happen, tell the other person honestly. They will be flattered with your honesty.

DAY 6

• Accept responsibility for your actions and behaviours, and avoid blaming others.

DAY 7

• Do not judge other people or their behaviour. Do not jump to conclusions and label people in your mind or when talking to others.

Have a good day people.

BRANDING YOUR NAME

I grew up to see that as I played my pranks in school as a pupil, the authorities would go for my parents. It was a case of my parents answering for my sins which obviously they didn't commit. But as I grew much older and became more responsible for my actions, I realized that it wasn't much about my parents anymore and it was becoming more about me. I could remember back in secondary school, there was this notorious boy known for his many pranks, on one of the many occasions where his father was called to school to answer for the boy's sins, we all heard the father scolding Ralph, for that was his name saying "why do you keep dragging my name to the mud?"
Every young man or woman will get to a point in his or her life when he or she will begin to make a name for his or herself. Your father's name will no longer be dragged into your own mess. This is a sense of responsibility the young people of today should uphold.
The question I ask is this: when will you make it your name? With the way young people today count their words to be nothing and thinking that there is a father out there to always bail them out or like Ralph still thinking it’s his father's name being dragged to the mud, by the time our father’s kick the bucket we will realize its then too late.
As young people, our names can open doors today just like our father's opened when we were younger. Our reputation can be an asset. Your name can go to the bank and come back with a facility. Our women can look up to our men for their words.
It comes by holding to the virtues we saw in the names of our fathers, having integrity. When you borrow money or any other thing you strive to pay back. There are little habits in which if we practice daily, we can establish a trustworthy name.
In my next blog you will be having "21 DAYS TO A GREAT NAME"
Know this my young man and woman: your name can stand as an asset. Have a great life ahead of you!

...that joy

The joy of prayer is what every believer should never deny his or herself every day. I can’t imagine what I will be missing without this joy, the joy of speaking in tongues long before others start rising from their beds.

It opens my eyes to see what others don’t see, it puts a spring to my steps, and lights up my face with a divine glow. Whether it’s evident to the physical eyes or not, there is a fire burning in my eyes.

That joy when scriptures begin to find expression in your lips forming a behavior for you for the day. That joy of knowing its going to be alright because you got on your knees and stayed there before GOD.

I love praying in the morning, because it gives me an opportunity to avoid a lot of time wasters and irrelevant discussions and involvements through the day.

When it comes to prayer am still a novice because I know not what to pray as I ought but thank GOD for the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for me with groaning which cannot be uttered so I can have an utterance in my conversations with men and when I am teaching or preaching in church even in the classroom.

I love praying in the Holy Spirit, because this is where I know I will not make mistakes because the Holy Spirit does not make mistakes.

 Every day I learn how not to use my brain to direct the prayer focus, direction, sequence and even the intensity but on how to simply allow the one who is praying to pray and I speak as He gives the utterance.

Give your life a lift as we explore the estimable joys of prayer again. Isaiah 12:3 says “with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”

iykeIGWE (Abuja, Nigeria)

HOW TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE READY TO HAVE CHILDREN

 MESS TEST

Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST

Obtain a 55-gallon box of legos (or you may substitute roofing tacks), and have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or the kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.

GROCERY STORE TEST

Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them shopping with you. Always keep them in sight, and pay for anything hey eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST

Obtain one large, unhappy octopus. Stuff it into a small net bag, making sure all the arms stay inside.

ARE YOU BEGINNING TO WONDER?

FEEDING TEST

Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill it halfway with water and suspend it from the ceiling with a cord. Now start the jug swinging and try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug while pretending to be on an airplane. Then dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST

Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and filing it with 3-6kg of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3pm begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9pm. Lay down the bag and set your alarm for 10pm. Get up, pick it up again , and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more songs and sing these too until 4am. Set your alarm for 5am get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for five years, while trying to look cheerful.

INGENUITY TEST

Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a can of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an attractive Christmas candle using only scotch tape and a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a ping pong ball, and an empty box of cocoa puffs. Make an exact replica of Eiffel tower. Good luck!

AUTOMOBILE  TEST

Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime and stick it into the cassette player. Now mash a family-size package of chocolate chip cookies into the back seat. There, perfect.

PHYSICAL TEST (women)

Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for nine months. Now remove ten of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (men)

Go the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited into the store. Purchase a news paper and go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Find a couple that already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and their child’s table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that their children should never be allowed to run wild. Enjoy this experience, for it will be the last time you will have all the answers.

Culled from

Inspirational wit and wisdom from the internet volume 1

By Dave Balsiger And Chris Strong

leap of faith: your most desired

leap of faith: your most desired: I am more more than mere emotional tremblings. i am more than an antidote for loneliness. I am more than what you've been told about me. I ...

your most desired

I am more more than mere emotional tremblings.
i am more than an antidote for loneliness.
I am more than what you've been told about me.
I am more than your experiences about me.
I am simply more...
I clean up the mess, wipe it clean like it was never there.
I give you a reason to live again, to hope again, and to have faith again.
When you find me, at first your brains will go woah! But sometimes you just smile at life's sense of humor.
I exist in places where you least expect to find me, likewise in the very place where you hope to find me.
When am there, time no longer matters,
when am there you can serve for a double decade and it will only seem like a few days.
When am there you can conquer any mountain, any heart.
When am there any life can be mended.
I simply make you want to live more.
I know you are looking for me right now, well i am here now, right within your heart, but you have found me; right there within your hearts, i can grow, and swallow up all odds.
When i am there, you will simply want to marry and do many other things in life...I AM LOVE!
By Iyke Igwe

+kelechi
+myles