Marriage 101

The month of August is a special month for Kerry and I. It was in the month of August four years ago that we decided to start on a new life adventure-an adventure we have come to associate with marriage. Prior to this period, we had struck acquaintance and were getting to know each other. Those few months were exciting as I recall and one thing was always on the cards whenever we met. We never to be apart from each other and even after four glorious years of marriage (which is till fresh and brand new !!!), we still cannot bear to be apart from each other.

Call it dependency or whatever word you choose to describe it and I will show you what power there is when two people decide to commit to each other for the rest of their lives. It is amazing these days how intimacy has been misinterpreted. It is almost as if it has become unacceptable for two consenting adult to commit to each other intimately. My guess is that the whole intimacy thing has been 'plagiarised' so much that it is no longer held in high esteem. It really is a sad state of relationships in our world today.

Back then, when we were dating, we talked about a lot of things we wanted to experience in our marriage. And although it seemed afar off - existing only in my mind's eye, there was one thing we were very certain of-we did not want to earn like our parents. You see, Kerry and I had a similar background, both products of broken marriages. As a result, we had seen some of the often negative energies broken marriages brought- the constant abuse, low self confidence, no maternal or paternal love and the all the sh bang that goes with it. We grew with the worldview that all marriages were just like what we had experienced in our homes as well as what we were seeing and hearing thanks to a 24 hour news media. The perception of this esteemed institution was that of distortion, abuse, loneliness and fear.

Our faith in God, quite to the contrary gave us a unique perspective about the whole origin and make-up of this great institution. More than this, it gave us a preview into why the Creator, God instituted marriage and why it has lost its value in our society today. And that is what we committed ourselves to building. Today, we have found the answer to the negative press marriage has received over the years. Not only have we found the negative press, we have also found the secret weapon God is using to reclaim and to restore this institution back to its original appeal.

As we celebrate four years of togetherness, health, wealth and a fulfilled lives, we want to share with you readers, some of the insights we have learnt, many of which has come about as we strive to find out from God's manual, the Bible, what his blueprint for marriage is. We also would like to take a closer look at the whole institution of marriage and how it is supposed to be lived.

Be sure to stay tuned in.

The Recession - What It Means To The Christian

Stop Press !!! It is official, the United Kingdom economy is in recession. But hang on a minute, where have they been all this time? Have they been existing in a different planet to ours? That they have just decided it was inevitable to enter into recession and thus join the rest of the international community of recession-prone people. Well, your guess is as good as mine but this is even not the point of this article. We have in the past couple of months been told largely by the media that the world is in some sort of economy paralysis, something that the world's 6 billion or so have nothing to do with it. However, we are told that we are all going to suffer for it because whatever has happened is affecting every single human being on the face of this earth.

For some of us, we do not even know what recession means. Some of us are so economically inclined to really understand what this whole crisis is about yet it is affecting our lives. We are finding it difficult finding work as more and more people are thrown out of work. The little money that we have worked with all our sweat and blood to acquire is suddenly not enough for us as cost of food has sky-rocketed. Those of us who have houses with mortgages are uncertain of what is going to happen next; whether we will have those red letters coming through our post demanding payment on our mortgage or risk re-possession or foreclosure as it referred to in the US. This, we have been told is what happens when our economy goes into recession. But what is this recession? What is it all about? And why are ordinary people; hard working people suffering because of it. After all, it is not our making? And in particular, what does it mean for us as Christians? Are we immune from it? And what can we do during and after this period?

Now, I must be honest, I am still grappling with the discourse on recession and I am not for a moment try to write in all the economic terminology; something that I do not quiet understand but I will try to explain in lame man's terms, what recession is and what the implications of recession is to us especially as Christians. But why would we want to know about all these economic terms?

One of the issues we face is the lack or saturation of information in our society. For what of a better word, it seems this generation is the most informed generation in human history. We are constantly being bombarded with information whether it be in the shopping mall about products and services or what is happening in a distant country. But suffice me to say, this generation is also most ignorant generation. With all the information, we are still making wrong and terrible choices in our lives. For us as Christians, this is very important as "for lack of knowledge, my people perish". Besides, knowledge they say is power and so we cannot withdraw ourselves from what is happening around us. When we disengage with the world, we lose our taste; we cease to be the salt of the earth; the light of the earth as prescribed by our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why it is imperative that we become aware of what is going on, position ourselves so that we can make the difference to the generation.

Secondly, I am quiet sure that you would agree with me that the answer to the crisis the world is facing is in the hands of Christians. If you for a minute think that this is a mess created by the world and so the world will eventually fix it, then you are missing out on an opportunity. Let me submit to you that what is currently happening on the world economic system can only be rectified by believers. And this is why...

Mankind over the centuries has decided it did not need God. We became enlightened right at the garden of Eden and so all of a sudden, we know it all so that we do not need any God in our lives. This has been the basis of everything we have done over the centuries. We built up systems to suit our greed and for a while, it looked like we are having our way. We have witnessed unprecedented economic growth in our time and many people made money and material wealth our God. This is why we will kill to acquire material things. It is this same greed and our obsession with money and material wealth that has led into what we are currently experiencing. That is the more reason why we ought to understand the time and season we live in so that we can find our way out. So these are the reasons why we need to understand what recession and how we can deal with it.

So what is recession? It is a word which is derived from another word recede. To recede among other things means "to withdraw from a point or limit or go back". It also means "to slope backwards or to cease to grow" (Collins English Dictionary Desktop Edition). Thus, the definition above gives the impression negative or better still, stunted growth in an activity. The economy grows to a certain point at which point, it is no longer growing or worse still it declines and this is certainly the dictionary definition of recession. It is actually "a temporary depression in economic activity or prosperity". It is a time when businesses no longer grow primarily due to lack of market for their products and services. And when there is no market for services, workers are made redundant as the owner cannot continue to pay workers. This in turn has a spiral effect on everything. People without work cannot get paid money and if there is no money, bills cannot be paid leading to suspension of services including house re-possession or foreclosure. Now to the technical stuff ...

"Recession is a term which describes the reduction of a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for at least 2 quarters" (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession). The United States based National Bureau Of Economic Research defines economic recession as "a significant decline in the economic activities spread across the economy lasting more than a few months normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal incomes, unemployment , industrial productions and wholesale-retail sales" (source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recession). This may seems a bit techie but there are many ways you can look at this question of what recession is...

One way at looking at it is by observing the characteristic features of recession. And this is very easy to observe. There is massive unemployment across board. In the United Kingdom alone, the unemployment record stands at nearly 2 million out of a population of 60 million. Unemployment in turn causes a lot of problems such as house re-possession or foreclosures due to non payment of mortgage and generally restlessness due to uncertainty. These are not very pleasant statistics or information. It is usually a period of doom and gloom. At least, that is the view held by the rest of the world.

Businesses are closing because they cannot find market for their services or products. People generally tend to spend less money as it is very limited. In some cases, the money is simply isn't there. So with this in mind, how do we go about life? Do we just sit down and speak the same language everyone is speaking?

In my next post, I will put forward a few suggestions as to how we can cope with the economic downturn. Be sure to join me !!

2008 - The year Under Review 4

Still on the major events that marked 2008. Quiet apart from the landmark election in America, the world was also thrown into financial turmoil when billions of dollars were wiped off the stock market which in turn threw the entire world into pandemonium.

As a result of this, major downsizing by corporations small and big began. The most affected was by far the financial sector. In the United Kingdom, the 'square mile' was badly hit as thousand of employees of major banks such as Morgan Stanley and Barclays were made redundant. The effect was also felt on main street as people were struggling to pay off their mortgages as jobs were becoming more difficult to get. It is even estimated here in the United Kingdom that 72,000 more homes will be re-possessed as a result of defaultment in paying mortgages. There seems to be a general sense of doom and gloom and many analyst predicts that the crisis is far from over. It is very likely to continue all through the new year with some glimmer hope of revival.

This has come about as a result of some greedy financiers who have gambled with the hard-earned cash of the public. There is however some hope that we will survive this downturn. This is not the first time the world has been plunged into such chaos. Talking to people who have survived previous recession, one gets the impression that there is nothing new under the sun. On all occasions of economic downturn, people have always said it the worst season to be in but the same people have managed to come out of these seasons with much optimism and the current situation is no different. We hope that people will use this opportunity to reflect on what life is all about. What strikes me as surprising is that the current economic downturn has created a false notion that mankind is doomed forever and I begged to differ on this. It is almost as if the whole duty is to indulge in materialism and since the means to indulge in this concept is no longer in abundant supply, the supply suddenly is not worth living in. If there is anything to talk about, I firmly believe that it is the value that we have over the years placed on our lives. Is life all about making money? Is it all about living the ostentatious life and nothing else? We need to re-consider what is the important things in life. That is what I see to be the major issue we are facing.

We need to go back to the basics. Money afterall, is the ultimate in life although the lack of it makes life unbearable sometimes. We need to bring back the sense of community and the family to the centre of our lives. One thing is for sure; when we wear ourselves in get wealth, it will be long that we will be faced with more of this crisis that we are faced with.

2008 - The Year Under Review Part 3

Barack Obama will be inaugurated on Tuesday, the 20th of January as the first Black President of America. This followed a historic election in America last November in which the son of a Kenyan goat herder and a white American educated elite was elected to the high office of President of America, making him the most powerful man on earth. This, as pointed in the earlier post is by far, the most significant event of 2008. The elections of 2008 brought a lot of issues about Americans and their attitude to people of other colour. Whiles there were a whole new set of attitude put forward by the American people of all races, there were also the negativity by people who had issues with voting a person of colour. I have to indicate that this is not an article about racism and all the other issues that arises from it although one cannot steer away from it.

This piece is about the perception of many people, particularly those who think that dreams cannot be achieved. It also about the role of people of colour and what the future holds for them all across the world. Before we go any further with this piece, it is also important to acquaint ourselves with issues that surrounded the elections. Today, many people, especially those who are associated with christianity and prophecy for that matter believe strongly that the elction of Obama marks an significant turning point in the direction of our world. Indeed, he has been linked with the apocalyptic movement. This cannot be ignored since his tenure in office will see a pattern in world politics and those associated with apocalypse believe that the policies and programme implemented by the coming administration will usher the world and indeed America towards what is been described as 'the end of the age'.

But suffice me to say that this piece as already indicated is not about the apocalyptic movement and whether Obama is the anti-christ or not. It is about what the election of the first black American President means to the rest of the world, especially to the black race and their place in the world.

One thing though is for sure and that is his election has brought some level of confidence and self believe that the black man is also a person who has the ability to achieve the same level of success in whatever area they choose to work in if not higher. This negates entirely, the discourse out there to the effect that black people are under achievers. This is gone on for so long that they have eventually accepted their fate. The Reverend Jesse Jackson did try to break the mould if you like but when as far as the democratic Party primaries. It was people like the late Martin Luther King (although he did not stand for nomination of President) who tried to win some sort of respect and dignity for the black person but got killed. So Barack Obam's election signals freedom for the black man and his abilities to achieve whatever he sets himself to do. What does it means to those black people around the world. Particularly, is there the possibility of the United Kingdom of the rest of other European countries with black presence elected a person of colour to the highest office in the land?

2008 - The Year Under Review 2

Hi there and welcome back to integritycorner. Still reviewing some of the events that made the news over the last year and there is no denying the fact that 2008 was an important year, especially at the local, national and global political arena. What we will be looking at in this post are some of the notable political events which marked last year.

It is fair to begin the end of the year, rightly so, just after the Christmas break with the resumption of hostilities between the Palestinians and the Israelis on one hand and the usual rhetoric from the Arabic world. Much as this is an unfortunate event,it seems there is no end on site. We have heard and witness countless number of ceasefire agreements being signed over the past two decades or so only for it to be broken and a resumption of hostilities all over again. As always, it is the ordinary Palestinian people or Israeli people who bear the brunt of these hostilities.

The reasons behind this conflict can sometimes be very confusing. Firstly, it is the Palestinians who firmly believe that the land which is currently occupied by the state of Israel was forcibly taken away from them, hence their resolve to fight until final victory is won. The Israelis also believe that they have right to exist as independent, political entity. And so in order to achieve both goals, violence is the only way forward. Some historians, both secular and biblical believe that the source of this conflict goes way beyond the questions of legitimacy and Zionism. They firmly believe that the conflict has arisen because of the events which is recorded in the christian bible. Basically, during the time of the patriarch, Abraham, God promised him and his wife, Sarah a child (son) who will be the heir of the promise; the promise of a world reconciled to him (God) as it originally was in the creation story. The story goes on because they were both old in years (actually, Abraham was believed to be 90 years old at the time of the promise and so was his wife) that they decided that Abraham would have the child through a maidservant, Haggai the Ishmaelite. The child that came out of this arrangement was ostracised because he was not the legitimate heir of the promise. Significantly, God made a declaration to the effect that there was going to bet strife between the descendants of the legitimate heir of the promise, Isaac and that of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham. This, scholars believe is the source of the on-going conflict. We hope that a permanent peace solution will be found for this conflict.

While we are touching on conflict, we are again reminded of other hot spots around the world. In most of these cases, the motivation is that of power and prestige than settling some age old historical inaccuracy. The war in Congo for instance illustrates this point. Thousands of people have been made homeless and refugees as a result of some people's desire to satisfy their political ambition.

Still on the political scene, the situation in Zimbabwe came under intense scrutiny. It all started when the world was exposed to the corruption, mismanagement of the resources including the people of Zimbabwe. The country once called the 'food basket of Africa' was struggling to feed it's citizens. To make matters worse, Mugabe decided to play God with his country men against what is pretty much the rest of the civilised world. We watched in horror as ordinary Zimbabweans were tortured and maltreated much to our disgust. When light started to shine at the end of the tunnel by way of the ballot box, again the world watched in bewilderment as Mugabe rejected the outcome of the election when it became apparent that he was heading for the exit door. No man can remove me from office except God, these were some of the remarks he made. It sparked a campaign of brutality against those who had supported the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai. In all honesty, politics in Africa needs to be cleaned up. It follows the old stereotype which suggest politicians are there to line their stomachs; they do not care about the people who voted them into office in the first place. A similar situation nearly marred what had been a very stable nation - Kenya. Although the situation has not improved in Zimbabwe, we hope that Mr. Mugabe will see sense and give way for the ordinary people of Zimbabwe to determine their destiny.


The situation has not been all doom and gloom on the political scene in Africa. In fact, during the year under review, some countries maintained a strong democratic as well as economic success despite the dire financial crisis the world was facing. Where other nations have failed, the west African nation of Ghana demonstrated to the rest of the world that Africa was emerging as a frontier force in global economics and politics. For the second time in the country's 51 year history, there was a fiercely contested democratic election which saw it go to a run off due to candidate's inability to secure 50% of the votes. And when the run off ended, one democratically elected president handed over power to another democratically elected president. Ghana through the election in December have shown to the rest of the world that Africa is up to the challenge when it comes to economics and politics. There is renewed hope that many African countries will emulate the Ghanaian example and thus create the needed environment for development. We congratulate the people of Ghana on this occasion. It has been ushered into the league of the nations of integrity.

With all the developments taking place all around the world, one cannot lose sight of one major polical event which took place in 2008. Political commentators have argued this is by far the most significant landmark and will perhaps be remembered for generations to come. I am refering to the landmark elections which took place in America, the proponents of representative democracy as we know it today. And the reason why it was significant was the fact that for the first time in the history of this great nation, a person of colour was elected to become the 44th president. Now, before we go any further, let's look at the whole scenario again. America has always been a country of freedom and independence. It has always been a country that prides itself in the unalienable rights of the infividual and his ability to fulfill his dream; hence the American Dream It has held principles like freedom of association, no decrimination in the grounds of colour, sex, creed and the like. It has always been the ideal place to live in; at least that is the views of many young men and women from developing countries thanks largely to the cultural indoctrination they receive through the media. But for all those lofty ideals of freedom and liberties, the highest office of president has never in its history gone to a person of colour other than the anglo-saxon or caucasian males. This is why the elections in America was significant. It in effect answered the burning question of whether people of other race or colour were equal even in such a liberal society as America. Your guess is good as mine. One thing this election indicate was that men and women of colour had arrived on the scene; it was time for the black man to be recognised. This is why although it was a domestic election, many people across the world were watching with some interest. Barack Obama did what nobody could do centuries ago.

Who could have thought that in 2008 (in the year of our Lord), the son of a Kenyan goat herder and an American mother will become the president of the most powerful nation on earth? Obama through his election victory restored some hope or perhaps some element of pride in the dignity of the blackman and all people of colour. This is undeniable. He also through his victory justified the belief that America is a place where dreams come true. Or perhaps not...

Obama may have won the election and with his inauguration in the next few days, one cannot wonder pondering over what the victory in the American election meant. Is American society saying through the elctions that they are ready to accept only a specific type of person of colour? Remember that Obama as many will notice is not a 'son of a slave' so to speak. He is not part of the establishment. For a start, he is a 'mixed race' man more than a thorough-bred son of the civil rights movement. Perhaps, this is what America is saying, they are prepared to accept a person of colour based on some criteria; may be not too black. Even if this is the case, there is no denying the fact that stereotypes are being wiped out. Maybe, they are not quite ready to accept a black president yet; especially one who is a son or daughter of a slave. One could see it coming considering the faces of the men and women who in recent years have held important positions in the heart of the American political system.

First, it was Ron Brown under the Clinton administration when he became the first black person to be appointed secretary of commerce. Then came Magdalene Albright, as the first woman secretary of state, representing American foreign policy on the international stage. Colin Powell, also became the first black person to be appointed to the position of chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the highest military position in American politics. He also became the first black person to be appointed as secretary of state during the first term of the Bush administration. His successor, Dr. Condelezza Rice is a black woman and thus the first black woman to be apppointed to the office of secretary of state. Before then she was the first black and the only woman to be appointed as the national security advisor to President George Bush. So these are some examples of why America is still the most liberal and accepting country in the world.

In my next post, I will be discussing in some detail, what the US elections means to the political landscape of other western countries, especially those that have significant number of people of colour among their population. Be sure to join me then.

2008 - The Year Under Review Part 1

Hi There, welcome back. The year is 8 days old; the first week in 2009. How as it been so far. I know for some of us, we are nursing the hangover from the Christmas and new year celebration and so have not shifted into gear yet. Some are still trying to look into the crystal ball to find out what the future in 2009 will hold for us. For some of us, there is simply no time to waste in moving into rhythm in accomplishing the tasks ahead. Whatever your situation is, that is alright because we all do things at different pace. One thing though is certain and that is depending on where you are and where you are going, the year without a doubt will be an exciting year for everybody. If you are feeling blue as to what lies ahead of you, I will say that your best year is yet to unfold before your eyes. Do not pessimistic about things. It would not help in any form or shape. Being an optimist is all we need to jump the hurdles we will be faced with in the coming days and months.



In my earlier post, I made mention of a new blog I have just created. www.the-infopreneur.blogspot.com is a really exciting new blog which will provide good but vital information on how we can create a future for ourselves. We often admire those who have achieve great things in life, especially when we consider the odds that was against them. In most cases, we wish we were in their shoes to enjoy all the fame and money; not to think of the status they enjoy in their communities. Well, what we do not realise is that we can be like these great men and women if only we are willing to endure all the odds these guys have gone through and with the right attitude. These men and women have been often referred to as Entrepreneurs. They have created empires of businesses and other services and they are at the pinnacle of life. But what we have not realise is they did not get there in a day. Mention Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin group of companies, Sir Alan Sugar, the successful multi-millionaire businessman and host of the The Apprentice reality show and Donald Trump and you have in these achievers, the characteristics of entrepreneurship. It is almost as if entrepreneurship is an Art or call it a culture or attitude which needs to be developed.



For us as Christians, this should come as no surprise to us, because the Person we have put our faith in is one who encourages the entrepreneurial attitude. And so this new blog will bring readers and all those who want or need the encouragement including myself to be all that God is created us to be, the needed information, encouragement to move into the next level in our life. Be sure to visit this authoritative blog often as I am about to start writing. The information will be based on quality research and in some cases interacting with seasoned as well as budding entrepreneurs with particular interest in christian entrepreneurs on how they have been able to make it.


As I indicated in my previous post, we have all moved into the new year with a lot of resolutions. I remember asking whether we all had our goals met in 2008. I am pretty much sure that we had some successes and some disappointments in 2008. Some did not have any dream or goal achieved in the whole of 2008 and that is alright. It does not mean that you are a loser or failure as the world would have you believe. I think it is fair to say that we all set out in life with big dreams and ambitions but whiles others go on and achieve great things with those visions and dreams, there is a sense of underachievement and failure on the part of others. And the question that you often will ask is is it worth it? Will I ever have any dream or vision of mine accomplished? The answer is an emphatic YES. This is one of the reasons why integritycorner was created. To inspire hope into those who will read the posts every now and again. To bring to life those dreams you never thought will be accomplished and also to give you the needed motivation to achieve them. Do not give up hope as you are about to fulfill your dream; that is if you do not throw in the towel.



What are your goals for this year? Ofcourse, you need not tell me. That is alright. My goal this year is to keep on doing what I like best - writing and posting on this blog. I have a thing for the written word and that is why I love this blog. It took me a while to really figure out why I loved writing. That is because, I wanted to make money writing. I wanted to get recognition for writing just like other new talents have done but unfortunately, I did not quite make that grade. As you can see from the previous posts, I have not had any one post a response to my blog and that led to frustrations. As a result of that, I could not post anything on the blog for almost a year until now. During those wilderness days if you like, I learnt a virtue and asked a lot of questions which actually opened my eyes to what is really important in life. Success is not instant as the world would have us believe. And in any case, what is success? and how do we measure success? I got reminded from God's word that although we may start life from a small and humble beginning, it is our latter end that matters; it will greatly increase. This can only happen when we are in Him.



You see, we can all get swamped in the celebrity culture and end all terribly wrong. I know we live in a world that prides itself in instant success but that is not the way to go about things. Hard work has been thrown out of the window. These days, it very easy to be sapped into the instant money conundrum. But what I have learnt from the past year is to build on a solid foundation and this is often very difficult to do these days. But the harsh truth is that is the true way to success. So I have dedicated these blogs to providing information to help people steer their lives in the right direction; even if I do not get paid for it or get any response from anybody. I know that what I am writing will bless the lives of many people. That is my motivation for writing these posts.



So what is yours? I will like to offer some simple but very important truths. It may seem irrelevant in our today post modern society but I can guarantee you that when you put these principles into your lives, you will see an improved 2009.



1. You may not have achieved all you set last year but 2009 provides you with another opportunity to do so. It is actually not a bad idea to commit yourself into achieving what you could not do last year this year in addition to what you have set for the year. Do not throw away the dreams and goals of last year when it is till relevant to your life. Goals and dreams are not restricted to time. There are a lot of other people who are now realising their childhood ambition and indeed are loving their lives. You can do likewise.



2. This is very important but many people ignore this point. Since this is a blog which discusses issues from a biblical standpoint, I will like to add that it is vitally important to include God in all the goals and dreams you have set for this year. Perhaps, the reasons why we have not been able to achieve the goals in the last year is that we have depended solely on ourselves and our abilities to achieve them. Proverbs chapter 16 verses 1 and 9 reiterates the importance of letting God in on your plans. It said "To man belong the plans of the heart but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue...In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps". It is either of 2 things: we plan our course; dreams and vision but we do not submit our plans to God to direct our steps. And the second instance is we do not plan. Many people live according to chance which is very unfortunate. We are not creations of accident. We need to plan our lives. So be sure to involve God in your decisions.



3. The third thing we need to consider is to dire to be different. This means we may have to move into a different realm in our lives. In otherword, we ought to move away from "business as usual" and start taking some decisions which may appear to be foolish or unwise. Some of us are actually sitting on a massive treasure throve of ideas, talents and skills until we step out in faith into the unknown. Until we do that, we will continue to live ordinary lives and by so doing deprive other people and indeed the the world of our talents which will bless other people and set them free. I guess I am saying to you that you need to take risk.



4. Following risk taking will be the development and nurture of a persevering spirit. This is very important. It is one of the fruits of the spirit. Some called it endurance or long-suffering. The ability to 'stick at it' inspite of the odds against you. It has become my favourite virtue now. I have vowed to stay put at doing what I believe in line with God's will. Christians need to develop this attitude. We need to set the standards for the rest of the world. Amazingly, the entrepreneurs whom we so much admire and who in many cases, are not Christians are the ones who are practicing this virtue and are reaping the rewards. We need to start developing this culture into our DNA and psyche. We will reap a whole load of blessings from it.



5. Finally, whatever the circumstances we face, we need to continuously give thanks and praise to our God. Whoever is reading this article, God is the centre of everything we do as Christians and since this is a blog has the bible and God as the centre, we make no apologies for encouraging thanksgiving and praise to God, the creator of the heavens and the earth for everything we do. Praise and thanksgiving has a spiritual significance. When we praise and thank God for every circumstances we find ourselves in, we are saying in effect that God is responsible for sorting everything for us. If we are in trouble, He is the one who will release us from the trouble and so we acknowledge Him long before He even does it. If we are successful, we acknowledge that we would not have been able to do what we have done if he was not with us. So it is vitally important that we put these 5 principles into our lives for this year and we will see the amazing hand of God.



Finally, I know there are some of us who want to lose weight this year. Well, it means we also have to take a look at our diet and then exercise. There are a whole lot of weight loss programme available. Check out these sites for fitness and weight loss products and programmes:

1. http://www.fitness-programme.com/
2. http://nigel4chri.mikegeary1.hop.clickbank.net/
3. http://nigel4chri.fatsecret.hop.clickbank.net/
4. http://nigel4chri.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/
5. http://nigel4chri.stripfat.hop.clickbank.net/


So much about goals for 2009. In the next post, I will be highlighting on some of the landmark events, political, social-economic, religious and enetertainment that featured prominently last year. Be sure to join me.

2008 - The Year Under Review

Hi There and welcome to 2009!!!. This is my way of welcoming you into this brand new year. There is always excitement at the beginning of a new year and 2009 is no different. But there is also another reason why this year is going to be an exciting year. This year see a return of your famous blog integritycorner. After almost 12 months in the 'wilderness', integritycorner is back with a bang!!! It is bigger and better. One thing is for sure for readers of this blog and that is 12 months in the wilderness has not been all doom and gloom. If anything at all, it has been a period of learning; not the ones we do in the classroom with all the text books and endless assignments and presentations. Not that I am rubbishing the importance of education; I have gone through 15 years of education from secondary schools right up to postgraduate education so I know what it means. One thing is for sure, had I not gone through formal education, I will not have been able to really understand the use of blogger let alone write the various posts over the past years. The learning I am refering to is the one you do as go about in your day to day life. Decisions you take, places you go, learning to deal with disappointment and rejection. On many occasions, I have felt the pain of rejection and frustrations that I have not been able to gather the motivation to keep on writing on my blog. And this is what I have had to go through during the last 12 months of 2008.

What is the result? It has given me the confidence to keep doing what I really enjoy doing - and that is writing as well as posting on my blog. As part of my education in the 'school of life', I have learnt some vital lessons which will put me on the road to achieving great things this year. That is why I am really excited about the journey we are about to embark on. You should also be excited because it is an opportunity to put into practice, what you have learnt over the last year. I am pretty confident that this year will be the most fruitful year ever. Oh yes, I have every right to say so despite the dark economic and financial gloom that has already been painted for this year. In life, we really have a choice; a choice as to whether we live according to what human beings are predicting which in any case is not full proof or what we believe to be the truth. This is the beauty of our creator, he gave the power of choice. I have decided to believe in what He says about this year and that is He is putting everything my wife and I will need to enable us live life to the full. So much about that !!!

What about 2008? If we will notice, we are almost at the end of the first decade of the 21st century and if the first decade as we have seen it is anything to go by, it has been a mixed blessing of unprecedented boom and a corresponding bast not to think of the chaos into which the world has been put into. But what about 2008 as it the year we are reviewing? Has it been a good year for you? Was it the year you will never mention in your adult life? Would be grateful if you could share with us what the year was like for you. Did you accomplish all that you set for yourselves at the beginning of the year?

What I intend to do in the next couple of posts is to share with you what were for me, the highlights of 2008. You would agree with me that 2008 was one of the most exciting year of this decade. I am convinced that 2008 will be remembered as one of the remarkable year in the first decade of the 21st century. I will touching on what happened on the global political scene, what happened economically, socially and all other areas of interest to us. I am really excited about the coming days as we explore how the last year went.

But for today, I want to highlight on something that may have occurred in our lives. Were you able to achieve your aspirations and goals in 2008? I certainly did not as I went through an experience which was a bit painful; a bit because I did not quite understand why we were going through it. It was as if the world was being ripped from underneath us. All of a sudden. doing all the right christian things were not enough. Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about. How does look like when you do not have any job and hence any source of income on a more stable basis? How does it feel to 'lose it' completely? As I am writing this post, I have not been able to get a stable job for the past 5 months, not quite sure of how I am going to survive. This is what I am referring to. Yet in this 'valley' experience, I have learn one thing - my life does not depend on my job. I know this sounds ridiculous. How on earth can you say that your life does not depend on your job. After all, you are expected to work to earn a living so that you can live. What this means is that the moment you stop working, you cease to live. I am not a lazy person. Quite to the contrary, I like to work to take care of my lovely wife and family. But the mere fact that my entire livelihood depends on my job is what I have learnt over the year is not right.

I know I have left a lot of things unsaid. Do not worry as I will come back to this subject in my next post. Talking of which, I have also launched a new blog which I have titled the-enterpreneur.blogspot.com. I will in the coming days and months reveal more about this new blog and what it will achieve.

So 2009 is well underway. I am confident that we will have many successes on the way. Welcome !!!