Have you found your reason of living?

A good reminder of what my life should be.

“...But if it dies...” John 12:24 NKJV


Have You Found Your Reason for Living?

One day a depressed woman jumped off a bridge into a river. Without thinking, a man standing nearby jumped in to save her. But ‘our hero’ suddenly remembered that he couldn’t swim, so he started thrashing around and screaming for help! Hearing his cries, the depressed woman swam to his rescue, hauled him out, administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and saved his life. What happened? She found a need greater than her own, and in so doing she found a reason to live. Jesus said, ‘...Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies [to self-interest], it produces much grain.’ Christ had just finished saying, ‘...”Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing”’ (Luke 12:22-23 NKJV).

Career success and material things cannot be your reason for living! You need a larger purpose, and God will give you one if you ask Him. Some of us are born knowing what God has called us to do in life; others discover it along the way. Some of us actually find it in our closing years. Indeed, some of us are awakened to it by tragedy and loss. What matters is that we find God’s purpose and pour ourselves into it. Helen Keller wrote, ‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which God has opened for us.’ So, have you found your reason for living?

In loving memory of Uncle John

There are only a handful of people who come into your world, and touch your life in a dramatic fashion. Some of the people are just flickers of light during a long life, while others are a consistent glow through the years. Uncle John - I would term him as a consistent glow in my life since he’s always been around as far as I can remember. He’s a fellow church member, family friend as well as our reliable repairman.

I used to see him around a lot when I was younger because he would be the answer to everything that went wrong in my parents’ home. He was the first person we would call when something wasn’t working or a fixture addition was required. So it wasn’t strange that even after I got married, Uncle John continued to be the “answer” to everything that went physically wrong in the house be it a plumbing issue or a shift of built in cabinets or wiring repairs.

And there is a reason for this….out of about thousands of people that have the skill set to fix things or come up with practical household solutions, why is that I (as well as many others in this room tonight) have always called Uncle John?

For me, it is simply because he was trustworthy and reliable. I know that whenever I call, Uncle John would come and help me solve it. He would provide us with correct identification of the problem, choices of solutions at reasonable prices. We always left our house keys to him and went to work. And that may seem like something trivial to some. But to me, that speaks out qualities such as honesty and integrity. In all my years of knowing Uncle John, he has always been very mild tempered and pretty good natured.

I still remember when I was pregnant with my daughter - Uncle John told my husband that I had to be careful not to go smell cement as cement had a lot of bad chemicals which would badly affect the baby. So this man who was the handyman eventually became a personal family friend.

So tonight I stand here and have to be honest that it will be strange to live without having the ability to pick up the phone and call this reliable family friend ever again. Uncle John’s sudden passing saddens me greatly. However, I take heart to know that one day I will meet him again in heaven.

Life

I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. The same goes for true love.

I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many years you have lived.

I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I've learned that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned that the people you care about most in life are sometimes taken from you too soon.

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.

Remembering 2009

2009 has been one CRAZY year. It threw me challenges I had never experienced before. Some milestones/ new experiences in retrospect:-

(1) I went thru my first ever surgery - not an experience I would ever want to go through again.

(2) Nov'09 marked my first anniversary in raising a teenage boy! Most people are rather presumptious that just because one has been the head of a youth group and a youth cell leader for years automatically means one has the "knowledge" and skills set required to "raise" a teenager. I have to refute this assumption thoroughly. Conclusion to the experience thus far - PARENTING is tough....and sticking together as a family takes a whole different meaning altogether....but in a good sense, it has given me a chance to reflect on my values system & test whether I would stick to them when times are tough.

(3)My first wedding anniversary. No offense, some people claim that the first year of marriage is a honeymoon year. I can't really agree though. I would say I feel like an old married couple sometimes with all the chores & BILLS!!! Oh, but I definitely think marriage is way better than the courtship phase =). So for all those couples out there who are in their courtship phase & of marriageable age, er don't wait forever to tie the knot. MARRIAGE ROCKS!

(4) I am officially 4 months pregnant today =). I have to say that the pregnancy was a pleasant surprise. A bit overwhelming sometimes when I am looking at baby items. A little scary also cos soon I will get my chance to er "bring a life into the world" and this all seems very much like a dream which I am sure will pop once I hear the baby crying ;)

(5) Meng Hong & I started a Young Adults cell group in our home. We had prayed about it for some time and finally made that decision & not long after that found out I was preggie. Initially, I thought God was doing one of his testing stunts but I guess I decided not to figure out whether He was testing me. Instead decided that in whatever circumastance, we would still want to give our best to Him and ask for His providence for our lives together as a family.

Alright another proof that I am getting older is that I can't blog for long. It tires me. Hehehehe....So I guess this summarizes the highlights of 2009. Looking forward to a great 2010! BRING IT ON!!!!

Philippines braces for another storm

[Source: Yahoo News]

By Raju Gopalakrishnan Raju Gopalakrishnan – Tue Sep 29, 12:43 am ET
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine authorities braced on Tuesday for another storm as the death toll from rain and floods from a weekend typhoon, now bearing down on Vietnam, rose to 240.

Weather forecasters said a new storm forming in the Pacific Ocean was likely to enter Philippine waters on Thursday and make landfall later in the week on the northern island of Luzon, just like Saturday's Typhoon Ketsana.

Ketsana dumped more than a month's worth of average rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas in one 24-hour period. About 80 percent of the city of 15 million was flooded.

Authorities estimated damage from the storm so far at around 2.34 billion pesos ($50 million). More than 1.8 million people were affected and 375,000 had abandoned their homes and taken refuge in evacuation centers.

The death toll could rise further once reports come in from remote areas. The storm hit metropolitan Manila and 12 provinces.

"For casualties, the increase will be not as great, but the damage figures may increase," Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Even opportunity loss of revenues for establishments, that alone would amount to hundreds of millions at least per day."

VIETNAM NEXT

Ketsana is now likely to make landfall in central Vietnam later on Tuesday, where authorities have ordered the evacuation of at least 170,000 people.

Hundreds of soldiers were helping evacuate people and with storm preparations. Ships have been told to take shelter in Danang. Vietnam Airlines has canceled all fights to the port city since Monday and schools in several coastal provinces were closed.

In the Philippines, authorities released water from Angkat dam north of Manila, but stressed it was being done carefully to prevent any recurrence of floods.

"Angat opened their gates slowly just to keep it at spilling level and the effect would be minimal," Teodoro said.

Communist rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire with government forces and ordered cadres to help in flood relief operations.

Private citizens and volunteer groups were collecting relief goods -- mostly clothes, drinking water and medicines -- and distributing them to victims. Many people have thrown open their homes to those who were forced to abandon theirs.

U.S. soldiers deployed in the south of the country have been brought to Manila to help in relief, while the United Nations has announced it will give food aid and cash for medical supplies.

The government has come in for scathing criticism for its response to the disaster, with many calling it inadequate and delayed.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has called the typhoon "an extreme event that has strained our response capabilities to the limit."

"But it is not breaking us," she said in a statement on Monday, after opening the presidential palace for relief efforts.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime typhoon."

But analysts say the floods have worsened the reputation of Arroyo, who has been accused of corruption and poll fraud, and that it could affect the prospects of Teodoro, the administration candidate, in the May 2010 presidential election.

(Additional reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Genuine Faith

Sent to me by a dear friend. I thank you for the sweet reminder.
By Micca Monda Campbell

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5 (NKJV)

Devotion:
Today if you were to ask someone what a genuine Christian is, you might hear something like this: “They are someone who is at church every time the doors open. They serve on committees, teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, feed the hungry and pray for the needy. They never get discouraged, never doubt, but have little time for fun. They’re too busy working for the Lord.”

I think Satan has deceived us with the illusion that a busy Christian is a genuine Christian. It’s just not true. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying these are not good things to do, but I fear we’ve turned our walk with God into a frenzied pace by adding to our faith a lot of extra baggage that we don’t need. We need to get back to real, genuine faith.

The trouble is we are no different than the Galatians. They started with faith, but then added works as well. In Galatians 3:3, Paul asks the people this question: “Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (NLT). Good question. I can’t tell you how long I lived doing that same thing. I tried to live for God by my own efforts instead of allowing Him to live in and through me by faith.

Genuine faith is not about doing. It’s about believing God. It’s a relationship between us and God that begins by faith, is lived by faith, and ends in faith. It’s that simple. Everything else - such as good works - flows from the source of this relationship.

However, some Christians fall into the trap of organized religion instead of practicing simple, genuine faith. This kind of oppression is growing in our world today because nothing is simple anymore, especially our faith. We do a lot of extra stuff for all the wrong reasons, such as impressing others or trying to win God’s approval. It’s not that we shouldn’t do good deeds, but we need to ask ourselves, “Why am I doing what I’m doing, and who am I doing it for?”. We just might surprise ourselves with the answer.

Life is heavy enough with the responsibilities God has given us. I’m finding that people today are burned out from trying to do it all and then feeling guilty because they can’t. I know. I was a lot like the The Little Engine That Could. Do you remember that children’s story? At some point in my life, I adopted the engine’s motto as my life’s purpose. “I think I can, I think I can…” Whenever someone asked me to do something - especially at church - I quickly responded, “I think I can!” Only to discover, I can’t do it all.

I had the same problem that plagued the Galatians. I was practicing religion instead of relationship.

Genuine faith is not a long list of performances we do to try to impress others or even God. It’s about maintaining our relationship with God. This is the secret to the Christian life. If you and I will daily stay connected to our source, then the natural outcome will be a simple life of genuine faith.

Dear Lord, I humbly lay all my works, efforts, and life before You today. I long to pursue You. Draw me closer to You, Lord. Teach me to live by simple, genuine faith in You alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Where is my heart?

It has been many, many years. And I can't remember the last time I had the time nor the peace to re-evaluate who I really was. The funny thing is technically speaking when those around looked at me, they saw a girl that was passionate and went all out to achieve much. The ironic thing is whilst I was serving others, whilst I was working hard, whilst I was trying to find a sense of balance, it was when it finally hit me that I had lost myself and what truly mattered to me.

I had been a cell leader for 11 years and a youth worker for more than that. I had what church leaders would call as "moving forward" yet from where I am standing now, I realised I cared less and less cos I was so focused on the task at hand, the next outreach event, the committee runnings, the next outreach lunch, my exams, then came my audit deadlines, and the list goes on and on.

It was also this time I had this question which I'd asked myself whether it mattered to me if today I was not chairman, if I were not a cell leader, if I were not in everything which someone else dictated as important, would I still serve, would I still care when the world did not see it? Would Meng Yoe, or Kenneth, or Josh still be my brothers/ good friends if I were not all these? Would I be loved any less? Would I be more of myself? Would God be pleased with me? Tons of questions running through my head in the last 8 months prior and throughout the time I had stepped down.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that one should not serve in a capacity, or one should not be a cell leader but more than the position, personally for me, there were all these questions running through my mind and I desperately wanted to know the answer for my own sanity and to face the truth.

Many have been answered and the testimony of God's goodness in my life is something I hold very dear. I guess this time of stepping back was a good break from the usual hustle and bustle. It has also been a very faith challenging time and a pride breaking process.

I am grateful that God had given me the chance to step back to re-align myself with His purposes. This year I've spend more time to with some of my closest friends eg Pritam, Li-Ann (pre wedding times....we seriously need to catch up), had time to run around and do the things people should do visit the sick, teach those who require help, attend friends' loved ones funeral, talk to my grandma, do grocery shopping, share the gospel, be there for friends' on the important times and most of all, to find myself again. To remember that the things that should matter in life do matter -integrity, love, passion, and Jesus.

"Purpose serves as a principle around which to organize our lives." - Anonymous.

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds." - George Elliot.

"We were not sent into this world to do anything into which we can not put our heart." - John Ruskin.

May we always have the "heart" element in the things we do.