today

Hi people. I'm back in US. never thought I'll be back so fast, but here I am.
Been enjoying myself in my brother's new house in MOuntain View, Ca. His housemates are hospitable, funny and cute. hahaha.
cant wait to catch up with all of you in LA.

The past few months have been different; some became eye-opener, lots of learning, swallowing pride.
today is yet another significant day.
don't know it, but might be the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart.
So I was struck by the realization of how important family is.
not only my closest ones, but also my extended ones.
these past weeks, I've met with my extended family and looking at their lives, I feel that I'm much much more privileged than them. I say my life is so blessed and I feel I have to do something to bless them.
I feel that restoration needs to happen in my big, big family.
so, i wanna start praying for them, doing little things that hopefully will bring impact to their life.

Ps. Danny Tumiwa said a few weeks back in his sermon that God is looking closely on families now.
so, maybe it's time for your families and mine to experience RESTORATION and ABUDANCE.

amen-

the Pencil

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS :

1.) EVERYTHING YOU DO WILL ALWAYS LEAVE A MARK..

2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.

3.) WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS INSIDE OF YOU.

4.) IN LIFE , YOU WILL UNDERGO PAINFUL SHARPENINGS,
WHICH WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON.

5.) TO BE THE BEST PENCIL, YOU MUST ALLOW YOURSELF
TO BE HELD AND GUIDED BY THE HAND THAT HOLDS YOU.

Gbu!

believing is a decision

Hi guys, I got this great message from Fanny Mandik's (aka Mrs Sammy Mandik) facebook msg.

It's something I need to be reminded of today =D and i wanna share it with you.

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How was you Monday??? Great? Smooth? Tough?
Well, no matter how tough your Monday was, give yourself a big smile!

God reminded me about something that I posted last week.

"Those who choose to believe in and cling to God and His grace,
shall prosper in everything they do. So, choose to believe."

I used the word 'choose', because TO BELIEVE IS A DECISION,
not based on feelings or situation or what we see right in front of us, and
THE PERFECT TIME TO BELIEVE IS WHEN THINGS ARE IMPOSSIBLE!!!

When we decide to believe, we decide to go against the current. We go against our own feeling, we go against the situation, we even go against the possibilities. But, BY THE TIME WE DECIDE TO BELIEVE, WE HAVE ACTUALLY ACTIVATED THE PROMISE OF GOD TO COME TO PASS in our lives! Hebrew 11:1 talks about what faith is. My interpretation of Hebrew 11:1 is simple: Faith is seeing the unseen =)

Don't miss God's best, just because of our unbelief.
We still have the rest of our lives to enjoy God's best, every step of the way. God has the best in store for us =)

Choose to believe!
Fanny
(Oh, by the way, if you say that it's hard to believe when everything seems impossible, I can only say: just enjoy the experience =))) I am enjoying that experience too at the moment! Everything I write in this group message is what I've been or I am going through. So it's real, and God (only God) gives us the ability =)))

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Ameennn :D

Oh, have fun for those of you who're going to big bear hehe

Just keep at it

Hello!

Yup I tried to write this entry using Bahasa; I gave up after two paragraphs.
Today, I face 3 exams next week and 4 papers next2 week. Tough and tiring journey ahead but I always remember how God always get me through this kind of situations.

In LA, before my GMAT test, Easter preparations and practices kept me from studying GMAT. However, God still opened up ways for me to pass the test and get into a university. Before the winter holidays, I had to balance school work with church ministry and, my, it was a disaster. Unending papers and exams gave me a hard time, while church ministry during the christmas events added on to my stress. One would wonder why would I accepted the tasks when I have so many school work to do? The answer is simple- I asked for it. Soon after I settled down in Tokyo, I prayed and fasted for God to use me. Apparently, not only does He want to use me, He wants to train me.

Nonetheless, everything ended well. The event was successful and I completed all my assignments. And the grades I got so far, are nothing less than a miracle. 2009 ended well and 2010 began with events to organize and tasks to complete. Again, I prayed to God to use me more. And again, I got it.

So with finals and events coming up, I have to balance again. Call me dumb but you just can't reject what you asked for. But I know everything will end well again, like it had previously, because God doesn't engage in "trade-offs" like the world does- He gives us the best in every aspect.

So for all of you balancing your lives right now, remember: snatch opportunities you asked for and believe God will give you the best in every thing (not in overall-- it is "every individual thing").

Kenji Theodore Kusuma

not given up yet

A big hello to all from jakarta! hee-

So, holiday's over for most of you all now.. hohoho. Just wanted to drop by and share something short today! I was in the midst of reading this book called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (which I heard it's great.. i agree so far!) and stumbled upon this one line:

"When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."

This sentence got me thinking about my life. hehe. and realized the many times God is telling me to turn back to Him when I screw up. Sometimes the things that He has let happened to discipline are not that great, I admit. haha but that's because He cares.

How many times have you felt God telling you to stop doing something that's not in His will? How many times has He nudged you?

That means He hasn't given up and I'm thankful for that. :)

As written in Hebrews 12: 5-6

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

So, I just want to remind all of us to not forget that He has and will never give up on us!

God bless you all!

Treasure Hunt

If you seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord. —Proverbs 2:4-5

On January 1, 2008, Keith Severin and his 7-year-old son, Adrien, agreed that they would spend at least 15 minutes every day that year searching together for treasure. Carlos Alcalá’s article in the Sacramento Bee described how they went out each day in every kind of weather to see what they could find. A year later their collection of coins, golf balls, recyclable bottles and cans, and various other items had yielded more than $1,000. In the process, they enjoyed many hours of companionship and fun.

If we decided to spend 15 minutes a day searching for treasure in the Bible, what would we find? Solomon wrote: “If you seek [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. . . . Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path” (Prov. 2:4-5,9).

Growth won’t happen all at once. But gradually, day by day, we will be changed through reading God’s Word and obeying Him. And think of the privilege and pleasure of spending time with our heavenly Father.

It begins with a willing commitment, continues with exciting discoveries, and leads to the treasure of wisdom and life. — David C. McCasland

Rich treasures of God’s truth are waiting to be discovered.