Social Networking for Businesses

Something happened today on KTN TV leaving me totally exited
You see on Aungust I posted on tiz blog bout using social network to market companies product , and I submitted to my someone a finding bout its implication and how we can engage with our customers using Linkeln Twitter of Facebook and market our new product and services..coz majority of people, more than 70% of Internet users under age 35 browsed social networks, and he said it was a a great thing that they have been working towards ,
So whare was i???…hhmmm oooh okay it was these two guyz Mark Kaigwa and Kahenya discussing bout the same on break fast live on KTN ..

I have been thinking a lot and being exited bout e-marketing and after I finish my lessons for music production I will go back to school and study marketing ..i think am hell of a marketer why lie I market Jesus , my music , my company ,bible… and for me that’s a great gift ..its in me am exited like hell ..hope one day to have a marketing company God willing ..
Look at this stuff i found

Social Networking for Businesses

As we have all seen online, social networks like Face book and Twitter have exploded with internet users. Since this is where the people are online, how do businesses make use of these networks?
Many businesses figure they can use them to market their products or services just like they do in traditional marketing strategies (read: offline). However, what they’ll soon find is that’s not acceptable to users of the social networks. The users are there to network, make friends, stay in touch, not be bombarded with more commercial advertising they see everywhere else. Does this mean that businesses should stay away from social networks? Not necessarily.
Soren Gordhamer explains how social media is changing business, in a good way. Companies like Timberland, which is a boot and shoe company use social networks like Twitter to make connections with the followers of his Twitter account. He doesn’t talk promotional talk, Gordhamer states that he discusses his life and the social issues he’s interested in. Gordhamer cites Southwest Airlines uses their Twitter account to resolve customer complaints in a real-time manner.
The key point here is that businesses are using these networks to enhance their brand and engage with their customers and fans, not shove more marketing messages in their face. Another way to do this is to share information with your followers. Vadim Lavrusik on his blog discusses how universities use social networking sites to communicate with their students. Many of these networks, like Facebook, were created for college students, so this seems like a brilliant idea for universities. They also use these pages to connect with students. Stanford University uses their Facebook page to showcase student talent, further supporting their students in the online realm.
Just as universities can level the platform to connect with students, social networking sites allow smaller businesses, who may not have the capacity or the budget, to play on the same field as larger businesses. Jennifer Schiff with SmallBusinessComputing.com reminds us that Dell earned $3 million in revenue using Twitter. Sure, this is great, but how can a small business do this? Schiff reports on a small, well established bricks-and-mortar business, The James Store, and how they were able to reinvent their 63-year-old clothing business for the modern online world. The James Store uses Facebook to provide special offers to their Facebook fans that are only available to those people – not offline. It gives them the capability to increase their market size – from local to global with their ecommerce site – and bring in new sales.
The James Store is much different, and smaller, than Dell, but social networking sites have made it possible for them to play on the same playing field and connect and engage with their customers.

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If God Created Everything, Who Created God?

If God Created Everything, Who Created God?

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The Genesis Flood: Why the Bible Says It Must be Local

The Genesis Flood: Why the Bible Says It Must be Local

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MY POEMS

Your fellow-ship!Share
® Lawrence Mwangi

Inside my heart is a precious candle
On top of rugged volcanic hills in me
Silent breeze and wind blowing
Making its flame dance like an angel

I normally feel it an see its light
warm, dazzling in the lonely night
Lookin feeble but it has the might
To scare creepy zombies and voices

Sometimes winds are so strong for it
Depending on what I watch, hear
Friends I hang out with
Or how unfair it has been for faithfuls

sometimes I hardly feel my precious
I sit under the acacia tree all alone
Cold breeze , no birds singing
What happened, what went wrong

I walk down the valley .
To the river bed , throwing stones
I hear a tap on my shoulder ‘hey Lawi!’
Its my friends ..I smile ..hurray

We sit and decide to campfire
Mr. Jabali brings a wild pig we roast
Miss Nyota dances with the guitar
Slowly I forget ma worries as we pray

Dude Deli opens his heart to us
The girl Waridi tell us her life story..
Tears of joy roll our cheeks as we identify
With their situations and the paths

On the horizon I start now to see ..yeah
Little precious candle! Just waiting me to
Realize the grace has always been sufficient
Paul said never neglect the fellowship

Ebenezer that Loves I
® Lawrence Mwangi

I cried tears of desperation in I desert
Inside caves ravens brought your love
The echoes of your voice calling …
May son I love you …reached out to I

Your sweet word, kept I going
Your promised so eternal and Ital
Quenched I eternal thirst for real
What can I man be without u

In mars the beautiful red planet
The waters of Europa Jupiter’s moon
In the deep deserts of Africa is your spirit
In I office as I sit to serve I feel you

In middle of I mess your big hand reaches
When I head went down with shame
Them checking what will happen wit’ me
Your hand was always around I father

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Who Uses Social Networks? – eMarketer

Who Uses Social Networks? – eMarketer

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Guyz are becoming social junkiez or what???everyone is on FB or twitter ama vipi hii risto
Tho’ coution shud be used those social medias are sometimes a source of pain there was this ka chille I really really really wanted and I guess my problems started on facebook coz of some other friends I had I am made to believe, after a month or two of nice dating things fell apart he he auch!!! shit happens men and the way she was a cutie!?? n-way never mind zo hupotelea kwingi ……the photos you upload the comments and updates may jeopardize your reputation relationship or even your work
Facebook may have recently passed MySpace as the most-visited social networking site, but it’s facing stiff competition for the attention of social media marketers. By some metrics, Twitter is more popular in the marketing world..if ur on twitter utaweza get the latest news on Nation, on mobile worl, on IT depending on who ur following ..there is this guy called whitemasai gives updates on newest technology in this region of Africa

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Why are Christian Movies So Bad?

Why are Christian Movies So Bad?

maze nimekua ni kithing about this story for long untill i found this article in a Christian forum ..Not only does it happen in Hollywood look at our ‘local artistes’ here in Nairobi, the music videos being produced are of very low standard and they say as long as the message is passed that’s the most important …..listen to choir songs and some gospel stuff and compare with secular ……..that’s not wise……even as you pass the message quality is very important ..i remember when I was doing my song I could have done a full album everybody wanted me to do that but I knew coz of short time [I was on leave] I will produce poor quality stuff ..Everyone who watched the song praised it …and I spent a lot of money on it and time ..the song I re-did it like 4 times … that’s y it dint take long to be played on TV ..so its time we style up as gospel artist and actors alike and take over the Industry I have watched Chronicles of Narnia, Lord Of The Rings, Marriage Cancelor, why did I get married , Passion of Christ and Fireproof and we can do nice stuff believe me ….its my dream that I never tell anybody to act!! Tho Am totally shy on stage ha ha nimejaribu mara mob sana

Read the stuff below I found in a forum!!! Its true..i love being criticized

________________________________________
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/djenkins/2009/04/29/why-are-christian-movies-so-bad/

Quote:
The above points all lead to one predominant problem: young Christians aren’t encouraged or trained to become great artists. If a young Christian wants to become a filmmaker, they are often either discouraged to do so because Hollywood is so dangerous, or if they do find encouragement, they have a hard time getting proper training. There are two primary things that can foster someone becoming a better artist: one, seeing and being inspired by hundreds of great films, and two, getting a great artistic education. For better or worse, many parents won’t allow their kids to see some of the great films (because of questionable content), and many Christian kids are discouraged from attending the best film schools (also because of questionable content). This not only impacts potential filmmakers, but actors as well.

Therefore, when Hollywood starts to pursue more faith-based films and filmmakers (which they have), they find the cupboard bare. So even if and when they decide to make a faith-based film, they have a hard time finding great Christian filmmakers or actors, which affects both the film and the publicity. A name actor in an action or comic book film is willing to go to Comic-con to promote their film to film buffs and nerds; they know they need to go where the core fans are. This publicity is necessary of course. But if they starred in a faith-based or Biblical film, are they going to go to a church or a Christian convention to promote it to the core fans? Not likely.

Yes, it’s true that Hollywood should do a better job of understanding and relating to the heartland Christian audience. But at some point the Christian community needs to know its role in the problem. I’m talking to myself here, too. I’m a Christian, I’m a filmmaker. I’ve made a few films, and they were pretty good, but they weren’t good enough. I’ve got to get better. We can complain all we want about how Hollywood doesn’t reflect our values, but we lose that right if we’re not producing great projects and artists of our own.

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Michael Jackson autopsy leaked

this guy touched our lives Y lie? michael was great entertainer despite all the bad stuff he did and dancil while holding his crotch i can say he used his talents and inspired many
i cant say more i will just sal like reverend
“‘Michael rose to the top. He outsang and outdanced and outperformed the pessimists. Every time he got knocked down, he got back up. Every time you counted him out, he came back in. Michael never stopped.” Rev. Al Sharpton

more news
The Sun is reporting that it has received a copy of the corner’s autopsy report and by the sounds of Jackson was in pretty bad shape.
According to the leaked document Michael was literally skin and bones having barely eaten and the contents of his stomach showing only pills, although they don’t say what kind. His hips, shoulders and thighs supposedly were riddled with needle wounds which is believed to be a result of daily injections of narcotic painkillers.
Further details in the report supposedly point to a wig wearing anorexic body weighing about 112 pound. Additionally the body had several broken ribs from the rescuers attempts to resuscitate him. There is also suggestions that four injection sites were found above or near to his heart.
Three of the injections had penetrated the heart wall — causing damage — but a fourth missed and hit one of the 50-year-old star’s ribs.
The autopsy also found unexplained BRUISING on Jackson’s knees and on the fronts of both shins. And there were CUTS on his back, indicating a recent fall.
The King of Pop’s once handsome face bore a network of plastic surgery scars, while the bridge to his nose had vanished and its right side had partially collapsed.
As inquiries into the tragedy last night focused on the star’s personal physician Dr Conrad Murray, a source close to the Jackson entourage said: “Michael’s family and fans will be horrified when they realise the appalling state he was in.
“He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out and had been eating nothing but pills when he died. Injection marks all over his body and the disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he’d been in terminal decline for years.
Source: Sun UK – The shock findings of the Michael Jackson autopsy
This of course flies in the face of all the reports of the people really close to him who said that Michael was in the best shape he had been in years as he got ready for his concert tour.
http://www.inquisitr.com/27642/michael-jackson-autopsy-leaked/

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Liquid water on Saturn moon could support life

well well guyz i have never told yah i love space science like nobodies business
there is this thing inside me that tells me there is alot in space ..when i look at hizo photos za mars i feel like i wanna be there i am amazed by gods creation and there is no space news i miss..or sci fi movies ..there is this latest movie Knowing by Nicholas Cage about end time ..its kinda religious and its about how the sun all over sudden becomes mans enemy and destroys the whole world ..exiting tings here is some news I wanna share with you

Scientists have found evidence that cold, Yellowstone-like geysers of water are issuing from a moon of Saturn called Enceladus, apparently fueled by liquid reservoirs that may lie just tens of yards beneath the moon’s icy surface.
The surprising discovery, detailed in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, could shoot Enceladus to the top of the list in the search for life elsewhere in our solar system. Scientists described it as the most important discovery in planetary science in a quarter-century
“I think this is important enough that we will see a redirection in the planetary exploration program,” Carolyn Porco, head of the imaging team for the Cassini mission to Saturn, told MSNBC.com. “We’ve just brought Enceladus up to the forefront as a major target of astrobiological interest.”
The readings from Enceladus’ geyser plumes indicate that all the prerequisites for life as we know it could exist beneath Enceladus’ surface, Porco said.
“Living organisms require liquid water and organic materials, and we know we have both on Enceladus now,” she said. “The plumes through which Cassini flew last July contain methane, contain CO2, propane — they contain several organic materials.”
The third necessary ingredient — energy for fueling life’s processes — could exist around hydrothermal vents around the bottom of Enceladus’ water reservoirs, just as it does around Earth’s deep-ocean hydrothermal vents.
The results impressed University of Colorado planetary scientist Robert Pappalardo, who has studied Enceladus and other icy moons but was not involved in the newly published research.
“I think the discovery of activity on Enceladus is about the most exciting discovery in planetary science since the volcanoes of Io,” he said, referring to the detection of volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon by the Voyager probe in 1979.
The findings unveiled Thursday are based on imagery as well as temperature readings from Cassini, a U.S-European spacecraft that has been studying the ringed planet and its moons since 2004.
The precise sources of the geysers could not be spotted directly, because Cassini’s camera isn’t quite good enough to spot the bright spray of water and ice crystals against the bright ice on Enceladus’ surface, said imaging team member Andrew Ingersoll, an atmospheric scientist at the California Institute of Technology.
However, Cassini’s camera repeatedly recorded the spray of ice crystals and water vapor from Enceladus’ south polar region, backlit by sunlight. That imagery allowed researchers to trace the source back to the mysterious dark “tiger stripes” previously seen on Enceladus.
Researchers investigated several possibilities for the origin of the geysers, including the idea that the contents were driven by warm ice turning directly into vapor, or consisted of a cometlike slurry of ice and dirt.
The Cassini team found that the spray from the geysers was composed of equal proportions of ice and water vapor. That ruled out the “warm ice” model as well as the “comet” model, Porco said. The best remaining model was that the geyser was driven by liquid water beneath the surface.

“We arrived at our last model, and in some ways somewhat reluctantly, because this is a pretty extraordinary result,” she said. “Like [the late astronomer] Carl Sagan was fond of saying, ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’”
The imaging team’s conclusion was supported by the temperature readings from Cassini’s infrared spectrometer: Although the surface temperatures were far below freezing, the readings showed relatively warm spots in the south polar region, centering on the tiger stripes. Scientists traced the internal heating patterns that could create such warm spots, and concluded that temperatures could be above freezing mere yards beneath the surface.
“It can be warm enough 10 meters or so beneath the surface,” Porco explained, “and there’s enough pressure to keep liquid water stable at that depth.”
Still more supporting evidence came from an analysis of the ice surrounding the “tiger stripe” cracks. That ice was amorphous and virtually crater-free, indicating that it welled up relatively recently.
Cassini’s images showed that the geysers rose hundreds of miles above the surface. Based on the imagery, researchers concluded that most of the ice crystals fell back to the surface as snow. Some of the ice escaped Enceladus’ gravity field to become part of a wide, thin ring of Saturn known as the E ring.
Boiling water beneath the surface?
The Cassini team theorized that water could be heated to the boiling point far beneath the surface, pushing up through the “tiger stripe” cracks, Porco said. The source of the heating could be molten rock, perhaps extending nearer to the surface in the south pole region, she said.
“If you have molten rock, then we really are playing the game of looking possibly at an environment that is conducive to living organisms,” Porco said. “If this is correct, we’ve just hit the ball out of the park. It doesn’t really get much more exciting than this. If this is all we did on Cassini, this would have made the mission worthwhile.”
The types of living organisms Porco and astrobiologists have in mind aren’t little green men or even little green fish. Rather, they’re more likely to be microbes that have adapted to the type of sunless, chemical-fueled environment seen around Earth’s hydrothermal vents. For years, scientists have theorized that such environments might exist beneath the similarly icy surface of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, or beneath the surface soil of Mars.
Years of further research
It will literally take years to follow up on Cassini’s findings about Enceladus: Although the spacecraft made three close flybys of the moon in 2005, the next close encounter isn’t scheduled until 2008. Porco said the Cassini team is already working to change the probe’s orbit to get closer to the moon, and she said it would be imperative for the Cassini mission to get an extension beyond 2008 for even more encounters.
“It would be insanity to think that we wouldn’t get it, based on this discovery,” she said.
Ingersoll said observations need to be repeated to solidify the case for liquid water on Enceladus. “I’d be perfectly happy to do this again, just to see how much variability there is,” he said.

One of the big unanswered questions has to do with why so much heat is emanating from such a little moon. The Saturnian system is about 890 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers) from the sun, so sunlight isn’t much of a factor. Moreover, Enceladus is just 309 miles (500 kilometers) wide, compared with Europa’s diameter of 1,940 miles (3,138 kilometers).
On Europa, internal heat is thought to be generated by a molten core as well as tidal flexing. But on Enceladus, the calculations for such effects fall short by a factor of 10, Porco said.
Some scientists have theorized that Enceladus is an asymmetric moon, with a small molten core that’s off-center. That could explain why the warm spots are concentrated in the south polar region, and why Enceladus might have regional reservoirs of liquid water rather than a global subsurface ocean. However, scientists would have to explain how the core came to be off-center in the first place.
Related resources
New scientific frontiers
Pappalardo said the research related to Enceladus’ geysers suggested many more scientific questions yet to be answered.
“I think it certainly elevates the priority of further Enceladus exploration, by the Cassini spacecraft first off,” he said. “We really need to understand what’s going on there. What kind of plumbing is there on Enceladus? What could be maintaining the liquid, if there really is a reservoir of liquid water within?”
Like Pappalardo, Brown University planetary scientist James Head ranked the results from Enceladus alongside the 1979 discovery of Io’s volcanoes. Head, an expert on Europa, said the findings could help reverse NASA cutbacks in space science missions. For example, NASA recently put a proposed mission to Europa and Jupiter’s other icy moons on hold.
“People are really striving to try to reverse that, because it is such a clear imperative,” he told MSNBC.com.
Porco said that the evidence for liquid water could well put Enceladus ahead of Europa as a priority for further exploration, but Head said one icy moon shouldn’t be pitted against another.
“These are the kinds of exciting results that exploration is all about,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it would change the ranking on Europa vs. Enceladus. What it really says that we need to get off our butts and explore Europa — because the same kind of exploration is going to give us hundreds of insights about comparable things.”

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my leave

My leave was amazing I had a lot of fun and I think I really rested
My plans for leave was to go visiting places but that dint happen I decided to spend time with friends and I had loads of fun , we traveled, nyamachomas Naivasha and Kitengela with Nafthali[roasted goats ], moooooovies we watched ‘marriage counselor’ more than 4 times waaw! That’s the movie of the month ha ha ha and guyz came to my place twice for a sleep over I will post some photos here[ist day we where 13 guyz and the second almost 20 ]
It was awesome amazing, I dint know people are that a blessing, I felt loved thanks so much hope FM chatz I really treasure you guyz, you are such a blessing and as time goes by more stuff gonna come, wewe na hiyo plot yaku-do a song for the whole group we do together …I think its awesome, we have all types pf talents in the group, script writers, vocalists, instrumentalist, producers, marketers, lets do this,
I have known that God has blessed us with friends but often we take them for granted, when we are going through stuff and we praying for answers to hurts loneliness, being broke, loosing hope, etc God has already answered we just need to take time and spend with people and talk, you cant explain how much healing is with this race made in Gods image …

WE VISITED A CHILDRENS HOME WITH UPPER ROOM BS GROUP IT WAS OFF THE HOOK!! U CAN SEE THE PHOTOS and we went kwa kina Muthoki and ate like never before food food food!!!!!

on the last day other friends come to cook me pilau[alot of it], do me some manicure and pedicu
re ha ha
I am expecting a lot this season I have also thought a lot about music and might be going back to the industry but am keeping my option open ..
Well I don’t have a lot to write I don’t know where my morale for writing went but I know it will be back soon …..THAT WAS LEAVE WELL SPENT!
Be blessed I will keep u posted if something new comes up
Baraka!!

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Apollo 14 Astronaut: Space Aliens Are Real

Apollo 14 Astronaut: Space Aliens Are Real
FoxNews
An Apollo 14 astronaut told a group of UFOlogists Monday that aliens are not a myth and called on the government to disclose its findings, The Washington Times reported.
“It is now time to put away this embargo of truth about the alien presence,” Edgar D. Mitchell, who made the longest moonwalk in history, told those attending a conference in Gaithersburg, Md., set up by the Paradigm Research Group.
“I call upon our government to open up … and become a part of this planetary community that is now trying to take our proper role as a spacefaring civilization,” the 79-year-old added. “We are being visited.”
Paradigm Research Group founder Stephen Bassett backed Mitchell’s theory and demanded that President Obama’s administration release all information concerning extraterrestrial beings.
“If it does not disclose, by the end of May — this is not a threat or anything, you don’t threaten the United States government, they’re heavily armed … the PRG has an enormous and substantial network, and quite a bit of documentary evidence connected to this, particularly politically … and we are going to be extensively putting that out to the media, and we’re just going to make it as difficult on them as possible,” Bassett told the newspaper.

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A Biblical Pattern for Conflict Resolution

by George Cladis

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables [literally: "be deacons"]. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
(Acts 6:1-6, NRSV)

In Acts, chapter 6, we have the election and ordination of the first Board of Deacons. The new committee was formed because of a dispute—sound like your church? There were two kinds of poor widows in the early Christian church: Palestinian (Aramaic speaking) widows and Hellenistic (Greek speaking) widows.

Palestinian widows were allowed to receive food “distribution” from the Jerusalem Temple unless they believed in Jesus as the Messiah; if they became Christians, they were banned from the Temple’s Soup Kitchen line! Greek speaking widows of Judaism were already distrusted, regardless of their convictions about Jesus, and forbidden from receiving the Temple’s distribution for the poor.

The early Church decided to take up a collection to help the new widow believers in Christ but they continued the Temple prejudice of giving only to the Palestinian widows! The Hellenistic widows were left with nothing from both the Temple and the early Church Food4Widows ministry. These widows complained to the Twelve (apostles) who seemed a bit annoyed but sympathetic to the concern: we need deacons [literally: table waiters or "hashers"]! And it is interesting to note that the deacons elected by the early church all have Greek names—one hopes the Palestinian widows would now get their fair share!

A helpful pattern emerges from this Scripture useful for work and every arena of life:

1. Listen Carefully: The disciples listened carefully to the concern, and they showed great customer service!
2. Assess Honestly: They recognized the inequity. Honest assessment is essential.
3. Discard Prejudices: They were willing to change old attitudes and prejudices in light of their new belief in Jesus.
4. Think Creatively: They created a new solution involving the whole group, a team elected from the people. Thereby, they resolved the problem.

God is at work changing your heart and now calls forth a new attitude and way of life to match the inner transformation. Are you ready for it?

© 2001 – 2009 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org.

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Does the Bible Really Say All That About Romance?

The Bible pictures God as a passionate, pursuant, and perfect lover.

Rodney Clapp

The Bible speaks not only of ardent love between men and women, but it presents God himself as a lover and his courting of creation as the Great Romance.

The symbol seems a strange one, considering the Christian reluctance to embrace romantic love. Yet it is distinct throughout Scripture. God desires Israel for his bride: “For, as a young man weds a maiden, so you shall wed him who rebuilds you” (Isa. 62:5; all quotations from the NEB). He fondly recalls the days of harmony, “the love of your bridal days, when you followed me in the wilderness” (Jer. 2:2). Yet Israel is unfaithful—God is the unrequited lover. “Will a girl forget her finery or a bride her ribbons? Yet my people have forgotten me over and over again. How well you pick your way in search of lovers!” (Jer. 2:32). God is a passionate lover, and passion can fuel anger. Like the country singer who wonders, “if I saw you, would I kiss you or want to kill you on sight?” God storms at his lover for her prostitution.

After all, he rescued her as a newborn baby lying in her own blood, raised her to full womanhood, gave her fine clothes and jewelry, provided for her the best of foods, and presented her with sons and daughters (Ezek. 16:114). In return, she imperviously fornicates. “How you anger me!” shouts God (Ezek. 16:30). He threatens to turn her over to her many lovers, to strip her naked before them. The lovers will rob her jewelry, stone her, and hack her to pieces (Ezek. 16:39-40).

Which is it, then, kiss or kill?

Wait, for God is the perfect lover. He vents his anger, then whispers: “But now listen, I will woo her, I will go with her into the wilderness and comfort her” (Hos. 2:14). He follows her through fires, floods, dark woods, wherever she goes, then pleads “How shall I deal with you? Your loyalty to me is like the morning mist, like dew that vanishes early.” Don’t you see, he adds, “loyalty is my desire, not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:4-5). Love will heal: it will reveal the eternal identity and make all things new. Come, God says, and Israel may be “fair as the olive” and “flourish like a vine” (Hos. 14:6-7).

Then the persistent lover takes another tack. He is not out to woo only one tribe, one people, but all, and all of creation. This wild lover will stop at nothing. He condescends and assumes the nature of a slave. He walks among us and heals and proclaims peace and routes demons (and takes up a whip to show some of that old anger too). He demonstrates his power over death by raising the dead, he tells story after story to win our trust. He looks on us adoringly, and yearns, “How often have I longed to gather you children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings: but you would not let me” (Luke 13:34).

And still we will not let him. He is embarrassing us. He keeps company with prostitutes, for one thing. Sometimes he acts too happy, and he eats and drinks more than a holy man should. Worst of all, he makes outlandish claims that he is the same God who has been chasing us all along. Finally, cruelly, we turn our backs on him once more, and nail his back to a cross.

But he is God, and mad in love enough to bear it, to take all our anger and guilt. Three days later, he is backand this shocks us into trying to love him better. Our infidelity is long and habitual, though, and we still slip often. There are yet many other gods winking at us, seducing us. Our resolve to be unfaithful is weakened, just the same.

We have been betrothed to our “true and only husband” (2 Cor. 11:2). We have seen that love really is stronger than death, stronger than life or angels or principalities or powers or anything else. In the end, there is no fighting it. We already hear fiddles scratching away at a distant feast, and we wonder more and more why we ran so hard from this lover. “Happy are those who are invited to the wedding-supper of the Lamb!” (Rev. 19:9).

We hear much of the wedding day, of great, jubilant crowds rumbling like a dozen waterfalls or rolling thunder. They have stopped running and, at long last, accepted true love. “Alleluia!” they cry. “The Lord our God, sovereign over all, has entered on his reign! Exult and shout for joy and do him homage, for the wedding-day of the Lamb has come! His bride has made herself ready, and for her dress she has been given fine linen, clean and shining” (Rev. 19:7-8).

Ah: the bride. Finally she is made new. God’s people bear renewed bodies; bodies sown in humiliation but raised in glory, mortal bodies clothed with immortality (1 Cor. 15:43 and 53). And so suns and moons, rocks and trees, all creation drawn into the heart of God, consummating the praise for which it was made (Ps. 148:5-6). Consumation is what weddings are all about.

Soon, very soon, the wedding of all weddings will begin. Heaven will crash open and the bridegroom appear on a white horse. God’s people may yet be panting from their headlong dash away from him, but they will gather breath to shout.

“‘Come!’ say the Spirit and the bride.

“‘Come’ let each hearer reply” (Rev.22:17)

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 3, 1984, issue of Christianity Today. At that time Rodney Clapp was CT’s editor of arts and sciences. He is now editorial director for Brazos Press.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Don’t miss our other Valentine’s Day CT Classics, “What Hollywood Doesn’t Know About Romantic Love” and “Bonhoeffer in Love.”

For more information on Valentine’s Day and it’s history visit Christianity Today’s Holiday area and read “Then Again, Maybe Don’t Be my Valentine | Does Saint Valentine’s Day have its origins in Christian

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In Gaza, Is Love in the Land of Enmity Still Possible?

In counting their losses, Christians, Muslims, Jews discover common ground in grief.

 

Timothy C. Morgan

Since the outbreak of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in late December, I have received — almost daily — fresh accounts from those close to the conflict.

In November, 2006, I met Labib Madanat, executive director of the Palestinian Bible Society, on my way into Gaza for a reporting trip to follow up on our 2005 coverage by Deann Alford, which we titled: Love in the Land of Enmity.

This week, as the fighting and dying continues, Labib shared some recent experiences with me, which he agreed could be released publicly:

January 2009:

Last year, and after the killing of Rami Ayyad, I had the chance to visit Gaza several times. The most memorable one of those visits was late February 2008 together with Brother Andrew. On that visit I stopped to pick a stone from a location where an Israeli soldier got killed in action 18 years ago; I did so according to a request from the soldier’s father, who later became a friend of mine. We also visited Rami’s widow Pauline Ayyad and her new born baby girl Sama; we encouraged her shared with her pain, joy, and grief.But also during that visit we met with a main Palestinian leader in Gaza, we expressed our condolences for the loss of his son who got killed as he clashed with Israeli soldiers three weeks before our visit. A Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim; in one visit we moved across the dividing lines sharing the love of our Father and his compassion for His tortured humanity in Israel/Palestine.

The last two weeks, and even now, we witness atrocities in Gaza; too painful and too ugly. In south Israel hundreds of thousands keep close to or inside their shelters for the fear of rockets from Gaza.

Sure there is no comparison between the loss of life and injuries in Gaza and inside Israel. Michael Sabbah; the retired Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem said “every person’s pain is human pain”. Whom to blame and how far back we should go? What is the baseline for deciding justice? As a Palestinian/Jordanian Arab Christian I should naturally blame Israel and hold them responsible for the killing of many children in Gaza.

But at the same time a Jewish friend can come and say the same against Hamas or other Palestinian or Arab governments or organizations and hold them responsible for the killing of many Jewish children.

To engage in the blame game is to perpetuate the effect of violence and evil; it adds fuel to the fire. This does not mean acquitting the guilty, it means we submit the file of all the guilty ones, and I am one of them, to the one who judges justly and whose gates of mercy are always open for those who seek it.

So what do we do? To say it is God’s business and run away? Absolutely not. He took the responsibility of justice and gave us the responsibility of compassion. “Love your enemy” in such days mean a lot and so does “love your neighbour as yourself”. In Luke 4, Jesus said to the assembly in Nazareth’s Synagogue ” What you have just heard me read has come true today” . We are the continuation of that fulfillment. So let it be so in action today.

Within the body of Christ, we are people who also belong to our nations. This belonging and citizenship should receive meaning and value and form from our belonging to our heavenly citizenship.

Two days ago I was struck by anger and pain, yesterday I met my brother and colleague Victor, who is a Messianic Jew, we debriefed shared our hearts and prayed. The body of Christ should be a safe territory to walk in the light, receive healing and practice forgiveness. It should not be betrayed to become an additional battle ground, as Jesus said ” My house is a house of prayer for all nations and you made it a den of thieves”.

I invite you all; living stones, the body of Christ, to be that safe place, and a fulfillment of God’s good news to our hurting human family.

May Palestinians and Israelis be saved

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My song playing in the U.S and across many nations..

Read this mail from a friend missioner in middle east…. This is Gods breakthtrough I really thank God for such a great great opportunity ..its also in a chart room that is accessed by many people in the Middle east north Africa among many nations..i am exited Golry to Jesus!!!!!!!!!

 

Hi lawi,

A guy that owns a radio station came into the chatroom today. I gave him your two songs so he could play them on his radio station in the States.

I was going to ask if you could maybe come up with a neat 15 second theme song for the our podcasts. If you could that would be great, if not I understand as well…

God bless you

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Ups and downs of life ;-)

 

Times have gone by and well well …ups and down of life u knw …I came back from Mombasa after one week of fun it was super cool!! Memories memories memories wacha tuu…nway am back to work and everything is fine though I must admit I had run dry spiritually …I haven’t attended serious prayer meeting ..i haven’t been reading my bible..my personal prayers had gone down and you know the consequences I have been in very very many troubles and compromised my stands but God s good the bible says those who are born of God shall overcome the world and that’s the faith..yep! God knows how to renew our strength …even youths may tire and faint but those who wait pon the LORD He shall renew their strength and they shall mount up like an eagle…AMEN!  So that’s basically me now God has renewed my strength spiritually I have this joy of the LORD trhat cant be bought Pastor Pete Odera used to tell us in prayr meetings that the ‘joy of the LORD is my strength ‘ those are King Davids words you know ..and that’s true you know ..the joy of the LORD has been my strength lately…well I shud not forget bout the trip to Mt. Longonot it was amazing though I was sick but God is good I was healed on the way

I received a call this Sunday from a colleague at work ati my song was playing in another station called U TV ..i thot that was really super cool man!!! I thank Jehovah receive honor and Glory …..i have met good people good people..i mean the world is full of good people I make new friends daily and I love it[at work and outside] …one thing I have come to lean is that actually most people are good !! if someone has an attitude and you understand them they become good its amazing ..i really am exited, people I thought were cold, I smiled and talked to them, people who might have wronged me, I just decide to do them good …people I had a negative attitude with , I change my attitude its MAGIC ……….well they might be faking it but its good its better that way.

Jesus said if someone does you a bad thing do them good ..its magic le me tell you …one time you will sit with them down and realize they had personal issues then or ..they thot ur a show off or a sadist or they just wanted to scare the hell outa you ..n-way the motto I have from today is to be good to everyone I meet…..AND AS STEVE PUTS IT IN OUR B.S UR THE ONLY BIBLE SOME PEOPLE WILL EVER READ!!!

I just realize how what you give is what you get, smile to the world and the world will smile back at you…Just as Jesus my LORD and savior sed that what u plant is what you get…….so from now on as I begin to seek God more I want him to teach me to love people more I think I have more love to give …coz I have been loved much by HIM also I have been given enough grace ad extraordinary forgiveness and cover by God and I shud be patient with people and cover them where I can ..Encouraging and doing what I can les when Jesus comes back [HE IS COMING SOON BY THE WAY] asks me what did you do Lawrence with happiness and grace and peace I gave you ..did you give it to people? well …..u sed it its one hell a challenge ..n-way the Grace of God  is sufficient …so far it has been Him not me so if I will be willing and work to seek him more and more he will Help me make a difference ………

Most people have been asking me about my full album and all that music thing and I must admit that am not prepared to do any major song thing for now …..maybe when I will be on annual leave …mid next year…. for now my boss deserves my full attention …………………..

 

 

 

Change Your Attitude, Change the World
by Mike Chalk

I used to tell one of my children, “You have an attitude problem.” Needless to say, such remarks only made the situation worse.

A bad attitude can create absolute misery. We may feel that our attitude is justified, but it still makes us miserable. How does a person respond to someone with a bad attitude?

The dictionary defines attitude as “a posture or manner of carrying oneself, indicative of a mood or condition, a state of mind or feeling.” How we present ourself to the world has a great deal to do with the state of our soul. And it can have enormous impact on the world around us.

One bad attitude can disable the atmosphere of an entire office. Discussion among employees often revolves around how to handle the disagreeable individual.

An attitude problem can grow from many causes, but I would guess it often stems from deep-seated anger. When I am honest with myself, my attitude problems begin with an interior dialogue that sounds a lot like grumbling.

And grumbling is frequently associated with frustration—often because we are trying to do too much in too short a time period. Frustration is the daily companion of any perfectionist. Nothing is ever good enough for a perfectionist. The rest of us just have a patience problem. Our impatience leads to frustration. Our frustration leads to anger. And anger gives root to bad attitudes.

Jesus addresses an attitude problem in the parable of the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16). It’s a story that takes place in a work context where a group of employees think they aren’t being treated fairly. You know the story. The owner chooses people to work throughout the day to finish a job. When it comes time to pay each person, those who worked the last hour are paid the same as those who worked all day.

Those who worked all day are incensed at the apparent injustice, but the owner claims he has paid them what he promised. He asks, “Do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matt. 20:15).

In many respects these workers had lost their sense of perspective. The fact they were picked to work at all was an experience of pure grace. They certainly were not entitled to being picked over the others.

The owner chooses to be generous to a few. Those who have worked all day have a choice. They can either remain angry or be grateful for the owner’s generosity. Even those who worked only an hour will have enough money to feed their families that day.

Often we lose perspective in terms of the many gifts we have received, the most important gift being God’s generous love. Living in the grace of God can reduce frustration, perfectionism, and anger. It changes the way we present ourselves to the world … and our attitude toward life itself.

Filed under: my life updates!!

The super cool trip to coast!! lyfs sweet!!

its 2AM in a cool rooom near the coastal beach of Kilifi actually its few meters ..the beach i was swimming there till kedo 6pm… well it has been long since i posted stuff around i have missed alot i knw you wanna knw whats been cooking in my flowery blessed lyf …well for the girls am still single teheehehehehe girls say Amen !! he he

well lets just begin from my song it has been tremendous it has opened many doors to me i really cant tell its amazing and i give God thanks ,i have sold more copies and gave out free to others well i wish i had done an alburm coz my good friends and above all the workmates yaanni you guyz of better option rocks you have been such an encouranging and as we work together i pray i will be good im my realtionships with yah i love yah so so much so supportive and cool ..in Gheto FM radio reports that reach me is that my song has been requested alot and i might be going for exclusive interview if i Get time G Benno u have done me more work than anybody else and you are a star all those walks as we market my song all those n etworks bla bla all those advices , friends in Kenya bible group members , friends abroad in Christian writes, John and Claud of AFC thanks through your sites the song has reached many and you guyz in CW and AFC thanks for ur encoragemend i can mention names there many …now whom do you see??? please let it be Jesus its all for His Glory not me not at all

you can get it on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RTQXYctP8Y

spiritually i have faced battles i never thought i will face i have found my self in damn compromising situations like never before …almost being run by a car..threats from ..le me not say…sick severally and almost thought God forgote me but HEYYYYYYY am strong than before,i really thought it will be over, i was just very close yaaaani…i sent prayers to close friends and i share with them they prayed for me and i am just crazy for Christ thatks for facebook friends Hope Fm chart my siz and bro at workplace my bible study group memberz  YOU GUYZ ROCK! God has used you mightly so what can i say ma moving coz of you guyz

NOW MOMBASA TRIP

I am on anual leave and we happen to have a prayer breakfast in Coast Mombasa with friends of Hope FM chartterz it was amazing travelling for 8 hours and the prophetic meeting itwas awsome ..thanks Geofrey my workmate fot ccompnying me…wewe msee uache uoga ya ku-swim in deep waters but i admired the way u bonded with my friends ..its like you knew them ..i was amazed ..you have good interpersonal skills ..i hope your maneger reads this he he heeeeeeee..jokes aside …after the breakfast the other group of frinds like 20 travelled to Kilifi with coastal guyz and it was awsome we feasted on Kuku like nobodies business …yaaani you coastal guyz whad did tjhos poor chicken did to you to deserz such …nway …then next morning coz of work the beautyful girls and handsome dudes sold outr for JESUS had to leave and go back to Nairobi coz of work ..now the left guyz or remnants le me be prophetic had all the beaches and time for ourselves ..okay le me just be brief my neck is starting to ache and tomorrow i have to travell to south coast..likoni and swiswim swim …am crazy daring i feel like just geting lost in the Ocean …n-way le me be brief ..i have been spending my time with Kim and the coastal gyz kina Kabs in the Ocean  or having chilly drinks this place is so hot yaaaani..i take a showe more than 3 two times a day ..by the time u are drying your feet with towel u start sweating on armpits ..its that hot …also on sunday we visited a church and a prophetric message sent ..i happen to meet an OGA  a broda from Nigiria!! a good brodah Yami..stays with Kabugi ..thanks Bugi for everything God akubless..now back to my adventures we have also visited several hotels and i have several bronchures nikirudi Nai ntawapa ncheki rates…am postponing my stay evryday life is so amazing here sweet no stress i really thank God for His favor i dont take all this for granted and in the middle of it i have seen His mighty hand and favor …and am just i love with Christ more and more and i just pray i will focus more in Him ..i truelly now testify that God orders the steps of a good/Godly man…i hav seen it ..i really have ..i wish this were the days i had time for detail testimonies ha ha ha

so what else??? ohhh tomorrow i still need to go to south coast ..but i have still tones of invitations from friends and thats a good excuse for me to continue staying in Coast TILL AM BROKE!!!! and am left with only fare to Nai ha ha ha

now its 2:45 am some gospel rocks on the back ground and i just live this am fullfilled and thank God coz His words is tru that …delight in me and i will give you the descires of your heart ……i can say i have seen the goodness of the lord in the land of the living …….the small sweet stuff we take for granted….

well i will see yah around guyz and thanks for everything and those i have fogotten …i apreciate yah ..its ..2:57 am and sleepy and tired i will talk to yah laterz ….LOVE YAH!

Filed under: my life updates!!

i was on TV

Amazing stuff has happened lately ..am amazed ma song playing on TV ???? on Sunday am in maroom just preparing fopr Church the get a call from friends …we are watching yah on KTN am like “whoooooo!!!! Me ont me …..then the put the phone well I can hear it …its amazing its just God am amazed and hubled Glory to Jesus ……in Church the youth leader is like ‘.we say your song the Pastor is exited you will perform for us next week or next week but one “ oohh am amazed ….i go to waterbrook fellowship …”we saw your song ….we say you …how comes blab la …am just humbly saying God be glorified not me

But am so happy Glory to Jesus

Lets see what God has for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Filed under: my life updates!!

Gods favor

i am so humbled and ..really wanna decrease and Christ to increas in me i want him ..finish it

My video is fantastic i hadent planned to sell it coz it a single not albam but guyz love it its selling like hot cake i gloryfy God i dont write ma blog am busy like beeee h ha ha ha ..so when am not working for my boss am busy getting more copies they are never enough am really humbled and thankfull

the musician distributing ma songs said he has not seen anybosy he has worked with that has favor lyk me he confessed that from the time he started distributing MY song even HIS alburm that wasnt selling started getting orders ITS AMAZING isnt it??????? well i really really really thank God

i want to upload it so that i can share with all of us….GOD IS AMAZING GLORY TO ELSHEDAI i havent finished taking them to media stations hopefully this week

men i am so so humbled but io want me to decrease and Christ increase so that he can entrust me with the work as a desciple

I Love you Jehovah

Filed under: my life updates!!

A peak of ma life –Video shooting day

Where do I start ….well am very very very very thankfull first to God for the smooth running of the video shooting yesterday the weather was fantastic and the transport was awesome

I secondly thank Steve and Lizah for providing their premises for second song…… u guyz ROCK !!!!!!!! , I thank Mathaki and Martine wewe ni wetu ahsante sana  , I thank Mrefu the Camera man for going outa your way to travel all those places and even assist in paying the escort police in Ngong ….thanks Xell, Mkal [milly] G-Benno the artist for u stood in the freezing cold and fog in the mountains to see smooth running of the video …maze Joyce Lilian and Christine you girls am so touched by ur patient to wait for me all those hours its only Christ who can bless you , my bible study group for prayers and support najua mlikua committed vinoma thanks for your encouragement ..in one week time it will be nice …for all those who prayed and wanted to be there but we not able to make it ..i love you…

Na wewe Steve …you looked natural when acting that’s how the visitors said so we are forming a committee of inquiry to check weather all that time in our bible study meetings you have been acting all through the committee shall be headed by ……eerrr we will vote next sato

I will say what the Camera man said’ I wish I would be working with a team like this all times’

 

How did it go

I woke up in the morning selected my best clads did the make up collected ..listened to some worship by Paul Wilbur and pray for forgivesness of my sins I needed it devil was reminding me that I am not good in Gods eyes and I knew damn well I haven’t been such a great pal …so I had to read the devotion and I read a lot about Gods promise to Abram that his seed will have everlasting Kingdom that was 400 years before the Law was given, even before he was circumcised……so the success depended on Gods ability to fulfill his  promise but not Abrams ability to live to the standard of the Law ..now that was very very important for me that morning I dind wanna spil the word I prayed took a shower took my guitar and camera ..offf I went ..few minutes at the Wimpy coffee and sousage then at Kencom were the transoport was waiting at 9am ..we traveled and the first stop was at Rongai ..Mrefu comes from that area and he knw the places that are not private properties where we can do our job without someone saying “Nyinyi vijana munafanya nini kwa buroti[plot] yagu nitawapereka kotini”

After doing several shots we picked our instruments all the way to ngong hills where I did the rest of the song the place was so cold in the Mt.we had to pay the police dude aone ngwanye to escort us ..the thungs could have run awa with the expensive cameras …so after several shorts ..exchnaging clothes blab la bla and several joke with youths who wanted to dance in ma video ..we headed to Ngong town where we had …bad foood and was too expensive…..then we whent back to Nairobi it was now 3pm..there the girls Joyce ,Lili and Christine were waiting we strugglrd to get packing in town we dint wanna stop coz of the City KAJU police …we now headed to South C where Steve Lizah Muthoki and Martine where waiting we did quick arrangements the lights blab la and we where on for the shooting which lasted until kedo 6pm we had FUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN REAL FUUUUUUN

I WISH WE COULD DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN ….and Mkal and the friends you promised you will visit our B.S

After which now everybody packed and I was back to ma humble aboard reflecting on Gods faithfulness and I continued with the bible collection movies I was watching.. and a horror

Later in the night

Before falling asleep too tired ………………………..

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video shooting on Saturday Tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

well i have been too busy up and down getting stuff started for video shooting and talking with guyz from music industry to give some advices on how all goes. so i will be shooting it tomorrow hope all goes well the weather and stuff

am tooooooooooooo tired to write alot of stuff but my spirit is high i can feel God so real

the small parcel i sent to a friend is US reached safely am exited though it will get lost ha ha she thought its expensive but not ha ha…i will be checking mine sunday[suposed to have a rived by 28th ]i hear its a great book ..cant wait to open the pages

Filed under: my life updates!!