A Trip to Book-in-a-Faso

Hey! Hey! Hey! 👋🏽

Are we still wishing each other happy new year at this point in time? 🤔

If so, then Happy New Year to you yet again!

There’s this song that’s playing in my head as I type out this article;

🎶It’s a new day, It’s a new season… 🎶

You can watch snippets of my jammin’ sessions via my Insta-stories.

We are almost at the tail-end of this beautiful month of January and I’d like to know whether you’re keeping up with your reading goals for this year. You know you gotta keep it read-up, if wanna keep your head-up..😎

A good friend of mine challenged me to be reading two books per month and I gladly accepted the challenge! I purposed to read more books this year so I needed to have an accountability partner to monitor my reading progress. It’s a good way to stay on track.

This is my first book review for the year and I am ecstatic to be featuring yet another man on my blog! Yaaayy!!

Remember the parable of the servant who was given five bags of silver and he doubled it to ten? [Matthew 25:14-30] Well, the embodiment of that faithful servant would be none other Mr. Steve Ngunyi! Here’s why:

Steve Ngunyi is a man of many hats; he is the Founder of Icon (Be One) Kenya, a social impact strategist, a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate amongst a host of other responsibilities that the Lord has bestowed upon him. Mr. Ngunyi has a demonstrated history of working in the global marketing and advertising industry and quite frankly; time fails me to talk about his committed involvement in church ministry, youth empowerment initiatives and various philanthropic activities that he champions. Need I mention that he is the husband to Kami Kionga; founder of Her Butterfly Effect? Whew! [Draws in deep breath] We could talk about Steve all day.

“but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Daniel 11:32 KJV

If the word exploits could have a face, I believe it would be Steve’s!

I first met Steve about four years ago when I willingly went to church for the first time in what seemed like a millennium and he happened to be the one who was reading the announcements that fateful Sunday.

As time went by, our paths happened to cross in very interesting ways. We came to realize that we had a few mutual friends, we’re both actively involved in youth engagement in Agriculture, we both champion SDGs in #ClimateAction and #ZeroHunger and that got us talking a little bit. I noticed his knack for reading because Steve always had a book in hand whenever we met for Bible Study. What perfect candidate for a book review other than him? 🙂

With that background in mind, let’s take a walk into Mr. Ngunyi’s reading world:

🔸What kind of books did you enjoy reading as a child?

Actually, I didn’t like reading as a boy, teen or young adult…

I didn’t grow up in an environment that made reading attractive. My dad read a lot of books, and that made me think reading is for old folks (boring stuff). When I got to upper primary; our school library wasn’t very well stocked, so only comic books ended up being my top picks. Then, come high school; I still didn’t pick up reading much, even though it was a requirement in literature class. I opted to watch plays of the literature set books in order to get excited about the stories in the books as opposed to actually reading the stories.

I must admit, there wasn’t a huge push neither from my parents, teachers nor at least one peer to create a reading culture. If wrestling was in a book, perhaps I would have considered reading. 🙂

🔸Did you carry the reading culture with you into adulthood? 

The culture of reading books began when I started working. I got interested in developing my career in advertising, so I started reading books about David Ogilvy, the godfather of advertising.  Since then, the habit stuck with me. I now read inspiration lead books.

🔸Did your your booklist change when you got born again?

No, I still read same genre of books because they inspire me to take some sort of action as well as learn something that provokes me and/or changes my mindset positively.

🔸What influenced your current book selection?

I am influenced by a high desire to put into action whatever I learn. The desire to learn is a key driver to my quest in reading; be it in marriage, business or faith. 

🔸As a businessman, which books have helped you grow your business or change the way you were handling things before?

• The BIBLE: Holy Spirit
• Purpose and vision by Dr. Myles Munroe
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
•  Faith and Marketplace by Dr. Bill Winston

🔸Who are your top three authors and what do you like about them?

JESUS CHRIST: I am very intentional when I mention Jesus Christ because through His Spirit,  He has revealed many things pertaining to life and godly living through the Bible. I am never tired of reading the Bible and meditating on God’s word. I can read a particular verse on different days and during my meditation time, I get a fresh revelation each time for that very same verse. JESUS CHRIST truly is the great Author.

Dr. Myles Munroe– I am inclined to his books because of the impact his teachings have had in shaping my life. I am an alumni of the Myles Munroe Leadership School and I finished my course 3 months before he passed on. During the program, Dr. Myles Munroe’s books were the set work books and I got to read a lot of his writings. 

Joseph Prince: I really connect with Pastor Prince.  His understanding of the Word of God is amazing! I believe he is a teacher of the Word (of God), and this grace upon his life makes his writing look customised for ME. There is just something about the way he writes that makes me easily understand his books.

🔸Do you think reading has had an influence in your life?
Yes it has. 

A Man after God’s Own Heart – Jim George. This was one of the first books I read after accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. It unpacked a lot of wisdom on my identity in Christ as a man, husband, father and most importantly as a believer.

Divine Favour – Dr. Bill Winston. This book opened my eyes to understanding more on divine favour. This understanding made me shift my focus from people to God. I didn’t realize how much people tend to look to each other rather than looking up to God until I got hold of this book. 

Destined to Reign – Joseph Prince. Just get this book! Period! Simply put, this is the book that made me have a personal statement. In Him I live, move and have my being. Acts 17:28

🔸During courtship, did you read any books to prepare you for marriage?

Yes we read books and Bible plans that helped us get an insight on marriage.
Any recommendations?

Books such as; Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts by Dr. Leslie and Les Parrott and The Power of a Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian. 

🔸What books are in your 2019 reading list? Why did you choose them?

I just finished reading The Holy Spirit by John Bevere and 100 Days of Favour by Joseph Prince.  I chose these books because I wanted to learn more about growing intimate with The Holy Spirit, His role in my life and on earth. I also wanted to make some decrees over my life, business and family and what other way than to speak from a point of understanding on favour? 

I’m currently reading The Table That Speaks by Kenneth W. Hagin, it’s a book about the Holy Communion. As a family, we take holy communion very often, and I wanted to refresh my understanding of the Holy Communion so that it’s not just a normal practice. For the 30-something pages that I’ve read so far; I’ve had a huge eye opener.

“In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” I Corinthians 11:25-26 NKJV

 

One can barely imagine that Steve was never much of a reader when he was growing up! I was utterly surprised when I found that out myself! What a turnaround this has been for Steve’s reading culture! Steve and books are now two peas in a pod!

This man is so widely read now that he was struggling to decide which books to mention in my interview and which ones to leave out!

There are a couple of things that I’ve learnt from my interview with Steve:

• I like how he chooses his books based on what he wants to learn and/or what he wants to achieve. That is a practice that I will definitely emulate.
• I also admire how intentional Steve is about being the best husband, best father, best entrepreneur all in accordance to God’s will.
• With all that Steve is juggling, I am amazed at how he makes time to read numerous books! I took that as a challenge for me to make time for what I want.

So, did you enjoy that trip to Book-in-a-Faso as much as I did? 🙂 What have you learnt from today’s feature?

Please let me know via the comments section below.

Thank you for reading!

XO,

That Lady.