23. You will not be remembered for your possessions but the mark you left in people's hearts

Alert: this is post number 100!

In the last few months I've attended quite a number of funerals in the last few months and listened to many Euologies. As usual people dwell on the good the departed have done. In all those numerous speeches memories that were left are recounted from loved ones, friends and colleagues. Laughs you had good things you did together and the impact made in the life of those left behind. Some of those who passed away were wealthy and though their achievements may have been mentioned it was just in passing.Nobody talked about the big cars, land or houses that were left. What mattered more was the people. It is great to acquire wealth but in the final analysis you'll leave it here and your descendants will enjoy it. So as we live our lives physical capital is not the most important but the 'human capital' i.e the impact we have on the people around us. SO go ahead and build those memories!

22. Accept when you're wrong

We al make mistakes and though we may not realise it at first the reality dawns on us later. Nobody is perfect and so we'll do something wrong. However once we do what's important  is to agree and make amends. Goes a long way as opposed to sweeping stuff under the carpet. It's not the sweetest but every now and then we eat humble pie. Even the first step in recovery is to admit you have a problem in the first place

Even to receive God's forgiveness we start by confession. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

21. Words are powerful

Words have the power to build and the power to destroy. An often quoted bible verse is "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" proverbs 18: 21. What we say with our mouths can work out for the good and also the bad for the hearers and for ourselves too. We can discourage as well as encourage ourselves by the words we confess and make things happen due to words that shape our attitudes and inspire our actions. Taken literally somebody's death can be declared by somebody else's decree but I've noticed there's another power that lies in words. A couple of times I've heard people wish death upon upon themselves and sure enough it came and took them. Serious it's not superstition I've seen it happen which made me wonder afresh about the meaning of that statement. Probably those negative words affected their will to live and it's not that they were terminally ill or anything but in good health.

Closer to home in Kenya in 2007-2008 we saw people displaced and killed due to careless words spoken by so called 'leaders'. Same can be said in countless other instances all over the world. On the other side words of encouragement and positivity from leaders have brought change and transformation in peoples lives all around. All it takes is the right words at the tight time.

So we see the tongue wields great power and can change situations- that power is to be used wisely. Speak positive and you'll get positive results, speak negative and you'll reap negative results!

20. Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance

Practice makes perfect goes the old proverb. Nothing can substitute good preparation.
I remember in high school before any event we had to go through vigorous rehearsals to make sure everything is right. In my time I've also participated in a number of drama productions and know how important preparation is. every time you see a good performance on stage, you best believe a lot of work went into that. Of course we all know about exams and how we must prepare for them.

Generally for whatever we do, good preparation makes a world of difference, let the day not find you unprepared. Remember the story of the virgins in Matthew 25? the wise ones were ready when the bridegroom came.

Don't get caught out, be ready!

19. The closer you are to somebody the more likely they are to piss you off

This is so very true I'll repost something i wrote a couple of years back...

One thing in life is the people closest to you are the ones who have the greatest effect on you. They can give you the happiest moments and the saddest moments. It's easy to think that life is all clear blue skies and when a cloudy patch comes up you wonder what's up and think that something major is wrong.

One of the scriptures that is frequently quoted with respect to friendship is proverbs 27:17- " Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" (KJV)

Now consider how this happens, two knives do not sit up next to each other warm and cosy and then they magically become sharp. No what happens is they strike each other and sometimes sparks fly, that's how it goes down. Similarly with our friends there can be those heated moments which come up when due to our humanity our flaws become evident. Nobody's perfect and so we do not see eye to eye all the time but we can build each other using the right words and end up being the better.

Let me quote Dr. James Dobson who put it so well in his book "Life on the edge"

" Whenever two human beings spend time together, sooner or later they will probably irritate one another. This is true of best friends, married couples, parents and children, or teachers and students. The question is: How to respond when friction occur? There are four basic ways they can react.

- internalize anger and send it downwards into a memory bank that never forgets. This creates great pressure within and can even result in disease and other problems

- They can pout and be rude without discussing the issues. This further irritates the other person and leaves him or her to draw his or her own conclusions about what the problem may be.

-they can blow up and they to hurt the other person. This causes the death of friendships, marriages, homes and businesses.

- Or they can talk to one another about their feelings, being very careful not to attack the dignity and worth of the other person. This approach often leads to permanent and healthy relationships."

And I end with the words of Psalm 133:1 "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity"

18. Do not put all your eggs in one basket

Now this is one concept I have come to have close knowledge of in my short life. It is wise to think of eventualities and cover your risk because if the plan of action you have chosen fails to go as planned it's best to have something to fall back on. It really hits you when the worst that could have happened does and it finds you unprepared. Tough lesson to learn but all the wiser...

17. Be grateful

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
In Luke 17 there were 10 lepers healed by Jesus Christ but only one came back to give thanks.

Gratitude is a wonderful thing, I bet everybody likes receiving words or deeds of appreciation, more so God Himself who though we don't usually acknowledge has already done so much for us. When some things are going bad there's always the small stuff to be thankful for, it may be good health, family, friends a job etc. Not that we should be complacent where we are but when yo look at it there's always something to be thankful for- it's never really that bad.

So every once in a while take some time  to say thanks and appreciate God and the people around you!