The Fear of Fear.

Decades ago, scientists experimented in the Arizona Desert, they built "Biosphere 2" - A large steel and glass enclosure with purified air, clean water, nutrient-rich soil, and lots of natural light.

It is intended to provide ideal living conditions for the flora and fauna in it.

The conditions worked in several ways but faced absolute failure in one.

Many times when the trees within the Biosphere reached a certain height, they would simply fall over.

At first, the phenomenon confused scientists. Eventually, they realised that the Biosphere lacked the most important element needed for trees to grow which was Wind.

In the natural environment, the trees are blown by the wind. They respond to the pressure and shaking by growing stronger bark and deeper roots to increase their stability.

We waste a lot of time and energy trying to stay in our own cosy bubble Biosphere.

Sometimes we fear the pressures and challenges of change, but those pressures and challenges are the wind that makes us stronger.

Or on the other hand, many also choose to give up and withdraw.

Then which one would you choose?

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein.

Boost Your Confidence in 5 Minutes.

There are times when we lose ourselves, even though we already know what to do.

This sometimes happens when you want to do a presentation, facing a job interview or hard exams.

If you are a fan of the Grey's Anatomy series, maybe you remember a scene where Amelia Shepherd before going into the Operating Room to perform surgery on her mentor dr. Herman, you can see the snippet below.

https://youtu.be/cdNDa-cUrtM

Amelia Shepherd did the "Super Hero" pose to build her confidence before the major surgery.

The "Super Hero" pose is a "High Power" pose consisting of standing tall, legs apart, chin up, hands at waist with elbows bent.

This "High Power" pose was first introduced by Amy Cuddy in 2010, stating that by doing the "High Power" Pose for 5 minutes it can increase Testoterone and decrease Cortisol levels.

After knowing this simple method, many times I applied it together with taking a deep breath and then exhaling, it feels like I can conquer the World.

It's worth trying and doesn't cost a penny.

"Fight until you can't fight anymore". - Amelia Shepperd

Mission Possible.

Sometimes in setting targets, many say has to be realistic.

After taking a deep thought, "What does Realistic mean in this context?" "Does it mean something that can be achieved?"

Or "Does it mean something that has been achieved by someone else before?"

Sometimes setting a Target that is too high is considered Unrealistic and we afraid that the Target cannot be achieved.

In 2017, Alex Honnold shocked the world when he became the first person to climb a ropeless rock (Free Solo) - a nearly 3,000 feets climb to the top of the Legendary National Park, Yosemite's El Capitan. Honnold's remarkable feat was the subject of the award-winning documentary Free Solo.

In the film Honnold is asked How he controls himself knowing that when he does Free Solo, his choice is Perfection or Death.

"People talk about trying to suppress fear," he replied. "I tried to look at it in a different way - I tried to expand my comfort zone by practicing the movement over and over again. I tried to feel the fear until it wasn't scary anymore."

Honnold's fear prompted him to put in some focused effort before committing to Free Solo. Making his fears productive was an important part of his training, and it propelled Honnold to the top of the mountain.

If we can stop viewing stress and fear as negative and instead see the potential benefits, we are in the process of changing our relationship with fear.

Remember that what makes the target realistic is the amount of effort and skill to achieve it.

So want to set realistic or Fantastic target?

"Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you". - John C. Maxwell

Walk away...

from arguments that lead you to anger.
Walk away from people who deliberately put you down.
Walk away from pleasing people who never see your worth.
Walk away from any thought that undermines your peace of mind.
Walk away from from judgmental people who do not know your struggle or what you've been through.
Walk away from your mistakes and fears, they don't determine your fate.
The more you walk away from things that poison your soul, the healthier you will be.

Sebuah Jalan

Aku menyadari ini setelah lama merasakan luka
Namun luka itu dapat menjadi sebuah jalan
Jalan untuk mengenal siapa Engkau Tuhanku

Tidak ada kehidupan tanpa tiupan angin
Angin harus bertiup, agar pohon dapat mengakar
dalam pada tanah sehingga tetap kokoh

Itulah sebabnya angin mengayunkan pohon
Itulan sebabnya angin mengayunkan kita semua
Supaya kami bersandar hanya pada-Mu
Supaya kami tidak mengandalkan kekuatan sendiri
Supaya iman kami bertumbuh menjadi kuat
untuk menjalani kehidupan bersama-Mu

Luka dapat menjadi sebuah jalan
Kesedihan dapat pula menjadi sebuah jalan
Jalan untuk lebih dekat kepada-Mu Tuhan

The Power of Vision

Florence Chadwick, American Women's Open Water Swimmer, set a goal to swim from Catalina Island to the California Coast, 20 Miles.

By 1951, she was already practicing. It was a cold day, the water was also cold, the air was foggy.

There were two ships following her. One ship brought a coach and her mother, who gives encouragement. The other boat brought a number of gunmen to keep the sharks from getting close to it.

It's not a happy situation, but she has a goal and a big desire to get it done.

He started swimming! Seven, eight, nine hours had passed, and the land was still nowhere to be seen. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen hours later still nowhere to be seen. Finally after fifteen hours of swimming, Florence returned to the boat saying "I can't go any further!".

Then Her Mom and her coach pulled her into the boat, and actually less than a mile after that they reached the California coast.

How do you think Florence feels? All the practice, all the energy, all the effort, she's just a little less to reach her Goal.

While on the mainland the reporters asked him "What happened?" Florence replied "If only I could see the Target, I would have succeeded!".

Fortunately Florence was not a Loser, she trained and tried again a few months later, and she managed to beat the Male Swimmer Record.

What's the difference? Despite the foggy, cold weather, surging waters, and threatening sharks, similar situation like before - she visualized the California Coast clearly, brushed aside any adversity and succeeded.

Having a goal alone is not enough to make someone successful in her endeavors, but visualizing and believing that she will succeed in achieving it is the key.

Are you sure about achieving your Goal?

Small things give an impact.

In the mid-19th century, many mothers died after childbirth due to Puerperal Fever.

Puerperal Fever is a bacterial infection that attacks the female reproductive tract, after childbirth/miscarriage. At that time no one knew the cause of death of the mothers.

It was Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865), a Hungarian doctor of German descent, who observed that the mortality rate at birth was higher in the doctor's ward than in the midwife's ward.

The clue that helped Semmelweis solve the mystery was the death of one of his colleagues who worked at the Clinic, due to an infection after his finger was pierced by a student's scalpel during an autopsy at the hospital.

The doctor's autopsy itself revealed a common cause of death with the women who died during childbirth.

He understands the diffrences of the Clinic of doctors and medical students dissecting corpses and then assisting deliveries with the same hands. Midwives, on the other hand, do not participate in autopsies or make contact with corpses.

Then Semmelweis experimented with having doctors wash their hands with a solution of chlorinated lime (now known as a disinfectant) before assisting in childbirth, and this drastically reduced maternal mortality.

Sometimes small things can have a big impact and even save lives, but these little things are often overlooked.

Small things like being on time for work, exercising 15 minutes every day, reading a 2 page book every day, 10 minutes for prayer and read the words of God, and much more can have an impact on our health (physically as well as mentally) and success at work.

However, do we care to do or ignore it?

On March 20, 2020, the Google Doodle featured Semmelweis to show how to wash hands properly during the 2020 corona virus pandemic.

Everything Happen For a Reason.

God breaks us with a purpose...
His purpose is not to break us but to mould us...
He loves beyond any measure....
He doesn't want to see you being hurt...
When you are broken, the lesson you learn would turn out to be a blessing to many....
In every trial we only see the pain in it.....
But God sees the blessings it will bring forth...
Yes, through all that you go through, God is moulding you to be a better person!

2 Corinthians 1:4
Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

BROKEN WITH A PURPOSE! YES, HE ALONE COULD CHANGE OUR TRIALS INTO TESTIMONIES!! REJOICE IN YOUR TRIALS! GOD IS MOULDING YOU TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL!!!

Keep Going?

 

You started well but how are you going to finish it?
If you are planning to quit just think why you started.....
Don't you think it was God's plan? Why did God bring you this far?
Before quitting cling on for a while and rest upon His shoulders....
In your insufficiency trust in His strength....
He will carry you through to the end!
Before you quit pause for a moment and rethink about your decision....

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING JUST DON'T GIVE UP! RUN TO THE ONE WHO INITIATED IT!! YES HE WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH!!!

Ketika Agen Asuransi Berhenti Mengejar Anda (Part 1).

Ditulis oleh: Gusnul Pribadi.

"Suamiku baru saja divonis kanker..."

Tubuh saya sontak lemas.
Siska bercerita kondisi Roni, suaminya.
Sampai akhirnya dari pemeriksaan diagnosa mengarah ke kanker.

Memori saya berkelebat cepat ke beberapa bulan belakangan, masih tercetak jelas raut muka kurang senang ketika saya menawarkan asuransi padanya. Entah karena menurutnya saya terlalu bersemangat, terlihat memaksa, mengganggu, apa pun itu saya sudah tak lagi pedulikan pandangan dia pada saya. Saya hanya bisa mengutuki diri saya mengapa saya tidak memaksanya dengan lebih keras!

Waktu itu Siska bilang bahwa semuanya akan baik-baik saja, bahwa mereka sehat-sehat saja, dan sudah ada asuransi dari kantor Roni. Singkat cerita, aplikasi asuransi selalu saya bawa pulang kembali dalam keadaan kosong setiap kali saya bertemu Siska. Bahkan sampai saat ini, mereka tidak pernah memiliki asuransi.

Seminggu yang lalu motor dan perhiasan emas termasuk mas kawin sudah dijual untuk menjalani rawat inap, kemoterapi dan transfusi...

Ini baru bulan 3 bulan sejak pertama kali dia divonis sakit, dan rumah yang telah mereka cicil dalam 24 bulan terakhir pun terancam di over kredit.

Dan, spontan saya pun menceritakan hal ini kepada teman-teman saya yang juga sahabat-sahabat dekat Roni di kampus dulu. Saya pun membuat inisiatif untuk menggalang dana untuk bisa membantu meringankan beban Roni dan Siska.

"Titip salam ya buat Roni..."

Itu yang dikatakan Sandy, Tika, Rendi, Selly dan Husni pada saya. Mereka berlima sahabat karib Roni.

Dada saya berdesah, "Kawan, salam itu takkan bisa membantu sedikitpun buat dia, tapi mudah-mudahan bisa menguatkan semangatnya bahwa masi ada teman-teman menitipkan salam."

Sebagai agen asuransi, fungsi saya seperti sudah mati di depan dia. Saya seperti sudah tidak berguna lagi untuknya. Sebagai sahabat pun saya hanya mampu memberikan jumlah yang tidak banyak dari sisi materi. Selain tentunya kekuatan, dan menyediakan diri untuk mendengar keluh kesahnya tentang keluarga dari suaminya yang bahkan tidak memberi dukungan secara moral sekalipun. Dan sampai saat-saat kepastian itu tiba, kami akan selalu berusaha keras menjalankan misi kemanusiaan kami sebagai agent asuransi.

Karena kami sayang kalian.

Ketika Agen Asuransi Berhenti Mengejar Anda (Part 2).

Ditulis oleh: Gusnul Pribadi.

Hanya bulan berselang setelah Roni terdiagnosa kanker. Dia meninggal dunia. Semua berasal dari Tuhan dan kelak akan dikembalikan kepada-Nya.

Siska dan anak-anaknya, yang sudah tidak dinafkahi Roni sejak terakhir saya jenguk, sudah pindah ke rumah orang tuanya. Sejak Roni sakit, tidak ada lagi biaya untuk mereka melanjutkan hidupnya. Terutama setelah aset-aset utama mereka seperti rumah dan mobil sudah dijulai untuk biaya berobat beberapa bulan saja.

Tak lama setelah Roni sakit, Siska langusng mencoba melamar kerja dan dia sudah bekerja saat ini. Bekerja bukan menjadi keinginan Siska. Karena Siska tahu bahwa sepeninggal Roni, dia adalah sosok yang paling dibutuhkan anak-anaknya. Dia ingin menemani anak-anaknya bertumbuh.

Saya coba berhenti menyesali ini, memberitahu diri saya apa yang dulu seharusnya saya lakukan. Tapi itu tidak akan mengubah kenyataan apapun bahwa Roni telah meninggal.

Almarhum meninggal di sebuah Rumah sakit di Jakarta, di sebuah KURSI di Instalasi Gawat Darurat. Saking penuhnya rumah sakit tersebut. Ada ketakutan dari orang tua mereka kalau dibawa ke rumah sakit sejak awal akan menghabiskan banyak uang. Praktis, sejak terdiagnosa kanker, Roni tidak pernah mendapatkan perawatan yang layak.

Satu-satu kertas yang saya pandangi saat ini adalah formulir aplikasi asuransi kosong yang seharusnya menjadi biaya hidup Siska dan anak-anaknya.

Siska, maafkan saya. Kertas ini seharusnya menjadi payung untuk kalian. Saya tahu bahwa payung ini takkan menghentikan hujan, tapi payung ini bisa membantu kalian tetap berjalan menembus hujan menuju tempat tujuan.

Asuransi tidak akan mengubah keterjadian segala sesuatunya, tapi asuransi akan membantu meringankan resiko keuangan mungkin terjadi ketika sesuatu harus terjadi.

Maafkan,
karena kali ini saya harus benar-benar berhenti "mengejar" suamimu.

TIPS INVESTASI ALA WARREN BUFFETT - (Source: Phillip Sekuritas Indonesia)

Warren Buffett adalah salah satu dari sederet orang terkaya di dunia. Buffet merupakan investor ulung yang memiliki banyak cara menanam uang. Dengan pengalamannya yang banyak sebagai investor, maka banyak ilmu yang dapat diambil. Salah satunya melalui kutipannya berikut ini "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when other are fearful." Yang bila diartikan adalah belilah saham ketika orang banyak menjual dan jualah saham ketika banyak orang membeli. Dengan kecerdikannya dalam berinvestasi yang menjadikan Buffett menjadi salah satu dari segelintir orang terkaya di dunia.

Bagi Anda yang ingin berinvestasi, Buffet adalah contoh seseorang yang tepat bagi yang ingin berinvestasi saham. Berikut tips investasi ala Warren Buffett :

1. Putarlah uang dengan mengalokasikannya secara efisien Jika nilai saham Anda saat ini kurang bagus, langkah terbaik adalah menjualnya dan membelikannya dalam bentuk saham baru yang prospeknya jauh lebih bagus sekaligus menguntungkan untuk jangka waktu yang panjang.

2. Jangan hanya membeli sahamnya, tetapi beli juga bisnisnya Cobalah untuk mengetahui lebih dalam perusahaan yang Anda beli sahamnya. Serta mengetahui bisnis apa yang dijalankannya, karena Anda pun turut memiliki bisnisnya dan turut bertanggung jawab atas perkembangan usaha yang dijalankan.

3. Pastikan keamanan dari uang yang Anda investasikan Jangan mudah tergoda dengan imbal hasil yang besar, apalagi yang mencapai 200 persen pertahunnya. Dalam berinvestasi Anda harus menganalisis dengan teliti investasi apa yang akan memberikan keuntungan dan menjaga keamanan uang Anda.

4. Hindari berhutang dalam berinvestasi Uang panas tidak akan membuat investasi Anda terus berkembang. Kecenderungan yang dilakukan para penghutang demi membeli saham adalah menjual sahamnya ketika harga naik. Hal ini sama saja seperti gali lubang tutup lubang tanpa mendatangkan kekayaan yang signifikan.

5. Pentingnya percaya diri dan hidup sederhana Hidup sederhana dan tetap percaya diri akan menjadikan Anda tetap merasa nyaman sekaligus menerima apa yang Anda miliki. Begitu juga dengan berinvestasi, Anda harus percaya diri agar tidak mudah terpengaruh oleh dunia luar yang mampu menjatuhkan nilai saham Anda.

(Penulis : Nita Novita - 2 Januari 2019)

DEPRESI, apa yang anda ketahui tentangnya?

Ketika anda mendengar kata "depresi," pemikiran apa yang langsung muncul di benak anda? Beberapa orang menggunakan istilah "depresi" untuk menggambarkan suatu kondisi stres. Namun, apakah penggunaan istilah itu benar? Asosiasi Psikiater Amerika (American Psychiatric Association) mendefinisikan Depresi (Gangguan depresif utama) sebagai penyakit umum dan serius yang secara negatif mempengaruhi perasaan seseorang, cara berpikir seseorang dan bagaimana seseorang bertindak.

Depresi adalah penyakit kejiwaan yang serius

Berdasarkan definisi di atas, kita dapat memahami bahwa depresi adalah penyakit kejiwaan yang serius, bukan suatu perasaan yang dapat ditimbulkan atau tindakan yang dilakukan. Dalam artikel ini, saya ingin berbagi beberapa fakta mengenai depresi, dan hal-hal yang dapat saya petik setelah saya pulih dari depresi.

Orang-orang menghindar untuk berhubungan

Depresi menyebabkan perasaan sedih dan/atau kehilangan minat pada aktifitas yang pernah dinikmati penderita. Ini dapat menyebabkan berbagai masalah emosional dan fisik, sehingga dapat menurunkan kemampuan dan kinerja penderita di tempat kerja dan di rumah. Karena alasan-alasan ini, kebanyakan orang enggan berada bersama seseorang yang menderita depresi. Seringkali, orang berpikir bahwa penderita depresi menolak untuk memperbaiki diri dan tidak mau keluar dari kondisi depresi mereka. 

Diperlukan perawatan

Jika kita melihat kembali definisi di atas, jelas bahwa depresi adalah penyakit serius. Seperti halnya penyakit serius lainnya, baik fisik maupun mental, depresi memerlukan perawatan. Kita tidak dapat mengharapkan seseorang yang menderita depresi pulih dengan sendirinya. Dalam beberapa kasus, saya berpendapat bahwa depresi lebih mematikan daripada penyakit kanker atau penyakit kritis lainnya, karena depresi dapat mendorong penderita untuk melakukan tindakan bunuh diri kapan saja.

Untungnya, depresi adalah salah satu gangguan mental yang dapat diobati. Statistik menunjukkan bahwa delapan puluh hingga sembilan puluh persen pasien yang menderita depresi merespon pengobatan dengan baik (Sumber: Asosiasi Psikiater Amerika/American Psychiatric Association).

Depresi dapat terjadi pada siapa saja

Ketika saya menderita depresi, beberapa teman atau orang yang pernah mengenal saya sebelumnya, tidak percaya bahwa saya menderita depresi. Mereka selalu berpikir bahwa saya adalah seseorang berkarakter yang cukup kuat, dan sepertinya tidak mungkin menderita depresi. Selain itu, beberapa orang mengira bahwa penyebab depresi adalah karena kurangnya iman dan kepercayaan. Ini jelas tidak benar.

Ditekankan kembali bahwa, depresi adalah penyakit umum, serius dan bukan kelemahan pribadi. Ini berarti bahwa hal itu dapat terjadi pada siapa saja, pada usia berapa pun, dan pada orang dari ras atau kelompok etnis apa pun. Pada bulan Mei 2017, menurut Eka Viora, Ketua Perhimpunan Dokter Spesialis Kesehatan Jiwa Indonesia, mengatakan bahwa di Indonesia terdapat 3,7 persen dari populasi menderita depresi, artinya ada sekitar 9 juta dari 250 juta orang di Indonesia yang mengalami depresi. 

Orang-orang terkenal menderita depresi

Berikut adalah beberapa karakter dari Alkitab yang menderita depresi seperti Daud (Mazmur 69: 3), Ayub (Ayub 3:20), Elia (1 Raja 19: 4). Orang-orang hebat seperti Billy Graham dan Ibu Theresa juga pernah menderita depresi. Namun, dengan pertolongan dari Tuhan, mereka menjadi orang-orang hebat seperti kita mengenal mereka. 

Dampaknya dalam hidup saya

Depresi bukanlah musuh terburuk saya, tetapi depresi memainkan peran penting dan positif dalam membentuk saya menjadi diri saya sekarang.

Ini mungkin terlihat aneh, tetapi saya bersyukur bahwa saya memiliki kesempatan untuk mengatasi depresi yang pernah terjadi dalam hidup saya. Menaklukkan sesuatu yang pernah melumpuhkan hidup saya, telah memberikan kekuatan yang luar biasa. Mengalami depresi telah membuat saya melihat hidup dengan perspektif yang benar dan belajar untuk menghargai bahwa setiap peristiwa buruk yang terjadi dalam hidup saya, tidak sesulit dari apa yang sudah saya atasi. Oleh karena saya telah mengatasi depresi, saya ingin berbagi hal-hal yang saya petik dalam pengalaman ini.

Hal-hal yang saya pelajari

Pertama, menghargai mereka yang mendampingi saya di saat-saat terendah saya. Ketika saya memasuki fase gelap dalam hidup saya, saya kehilangan teman-teman terdekat saya, komunitas, dan hubungan saya dengan beberapa keluarga menjadi tidak harmonis. Hal ini memotivasi saya untuk mencari lingkungan baru, komunitas baru dan kegiatan baru. Saya mengembangkan keterampilan yang memungkinkan saya untuk dengan cepat mengevaluasi siapa yang saya bisa dan tidak bisa dipercayai. Sebagai hasil dari pengalaman saya, saya sekarang memfokuskan energi saya untuk membangun dan mengembangkan ikatan yang mendalam dengan orang-orang yang saya yakini setia dan tulus. Kesetiaan adalah salah satu sifat manusia yang paling diremehkan dan juga merupakan salah satu cara terbaik untuk membangun hubungan jangka panjang dengan orang lain. Beberapa pertemanan saya menjadi solid, biasanya diperkuat ketika saya datang untuk membantu mereka, atau mereka datang untuk membantu saya. Orang tidak pernah lupa siapa yang telah membantu mereka (dan siapa yang tidak) ketika mereka membutuhkannya, jadi berbaik hatilah dan menjadi orang yang setia.

Kedua, anda tidak bisa mengendalikan apa yang orang lain pikirkan tentang anda dan bagaimana mereka memperlakukan anda, tetapi anda bisa mengendalikan reaksi anda terhadap mereka. Sebelum saya menderita depresi, saya tumbuh dari orang yang introver menjadi orang yang cukup percaya diri, karena apa yang saya raih dalam catatan akademis dan karier saya. Orang-orang mungkin menghormati saya karena apa yang saya raih. Namun, pada saat saya depresi, saya kehilangan kepercayaan diri dan semua prestasi yang pernah diraih menjadi tidak signifikan karena kondisi depresi yang diderita pada waktu itu, sehingga mempengaruhi cara saya berpikir tentang diri saya sendiri. Dikarenakan tidak dapat bekerja dengan baik pada saat itu, orang-orang mulai kehilangan kepercayaan dan rasa hormat terhadap saya. Saya menyadari bahwa cara orang lain memperlakukan saya di luar kendali saya, tetapi peduli terhadap apa yang mereka pikirkan tentang saya adalah pilihan. Saya juga belajar bahwa ketika orang memperlakukan saya dengan buruk, itu lebih merupakan cerminan dari karakter mereka, dan bukan karakter saya.

Ketiga, hidup dalam kondisi yang anda harapkan, bisa membuat anda lebih bahagia terlepas dari anda kaya atau tidak. Sebelumnya mungkin saya telah mencapai di atas rata-rata dari orang seusia saya. Namun, saya merasa terjebak dengan pekerjaan saya yang sebenarnya tidak saya sukai karena banyak tekanan telah diberikan kepada saya. Saya tidak dapat mengembangkan potensi saya sepenuhnya. Hari ini, saya merasa menjadi versi terbaik dari diri saya dan menjalani kehidupan yang penuh sukacita. Penjelasan terbaik tentang akar penyebab kebahagiaan dan ketidakbahagiaan yang pernah saya temui adalah karena saya hidup dalam situasi yang saya sukai dan senangi.

Akhirnya…

Selalu ada pelangi setelah hujan. Saya tidak akan menukarkan setahun masa depresi saya dengan apa pun, karena itu telah membentuk saya menjadi orang yang tak kenal lelah, bersemangat, bahagia, dan setia seperti saya hari ini. Saya mencintai kehidupan dan saya berharap bahwa pelajaran yang saya petik dan akhir yang bahagia dari kejadian yang saya alami membantu siapa pun di luar sana yang sedang berjuang untuk optimis di masa kegelapan.

Translated is assisted by Google Translate.

Depression, what do you know about it?

When you hear the word “depression,” what thought comes directly into your head? Some people use the term “depression" to describe their stressed condition. However, is the use of that term correct? The American Psychiatric Association defines Depression (Major Depressive Disorder) as a common and serious illness that negatively affects how a person feels, the way a person thinks and how a person acts.

Depression is a serious psychiatric illness

Based on the definition above, we can understand that depression is a serious psychiatric illness, rather than just one of those feelings that you can act on. In this article, I would like to share some facts with you about depression, and my lessons learnt after I recovered from one.

Other people may avoid contact

Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities the sufferer once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person's ability to function at work and at home. Due to these reasons, I learned that most people hesitate to be with a person who suffers from depression. Often, people think that sufferers from a depression refuse to improve themselves and are unwilling to come out from their depression. 

Treatment is required

If we look back to the definition above, it is clear that depression is a serious illness. Like any other serious illness, whether mental or physical, depression requires treatment. We cannot expect a person suffering from depression to help him/herself to recover. In some cases, I might say that depression is more lethal than cancer or any other critical illnesses, because it may drive the sufferer to commit suicide at any time.

Fortunately, depression is among the most treatable of mental disorders. Statistics show that eighty to ninety percent of patients suffering from a depression responded well to the treatment, and relief from their symptoms (Source: American Psychiatric Association).

Depression can happen to anyone

When I suffered from depression, some friends and other people that knew me before couldn't believe that I was suffering from it. They always thought that I was a person with quite a strong character, and it seemed impossible that I would suffer from depression. Furthermore, some people accused me that my cause of depression was a lack of faith. This is definitely not true.

To emphasize it again, depression is a common, serious illness and not a personal weakness. This means that it could happen to anyone, at any age, and to people of any race or ethnic group.  In May 2017, according to Eka Viora, Chair of the Indonesian Mental Health Specialist Association (Perhimpunan Dokter Spesialis Kesehatan Jiwa Indonesia), said that in Indonesia, 3.7 percent of the population suffers from depression. Therefore, there are about 9 out of 250 million people in Indonesia that are depressed. 

Famous people suffer from depression

Here are some characters from the Bible that suffered from depression such as David (Psalm 69:3), Job (Job 3:20), Elijah (1 King 19:4). Great people such as Billy Graham and Mother Theresa also suffered from depression. However, with the help and assurance from God, they became great people like others know them. 

The impact on my life

Depression isn’t something that I would wish on my worst enemy to have, and it played a significant and ultimately positive role in shaping me into who I am today.

It might seem strange, but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to overcome depression which came into my life at one time. Conquering what was once crippling my life has given me incredible strength. It has put my life in perspective and I have learnt to appreciate that every bad event in my life is now isn’t as hard as to what I’ve already overcome. As I have overcome depression, I would like to share the lessons I have learned.

Lessons I learned

Firstly, cherish those who will stand by you in my lowest of times. When I entered this dark phase of my life, I lost my closest friends, community, and my relationship with some of my family faltered. This is a lesson that reinforced me to look for new environments, new communities and new activities. I developed a skill that allowed me to quickly evaluate who I can and can’t trust. As a result of my experiences, I now focus my energy on building and developing deep bonds with people whom I believe to be loyal and genuine. Loyalty is one of the most underrated human traits and it’s also one of the best ways to build lifelong relationships with others. Some of my strongest friendships were permanently solidified when I came to help them, or they came to help me. People never forget who had helped them (and who didn’t) when they need it, so be a kind and be a loyal person.

Secondly, you cannot control what others think and how they treat you, but you can control your reaction towards them. Before I suffered from depression, I grew from an introverted person to a confident one, due to what I’ve achieved in my academic record and my career.  People may respect me because of what I’ve achieved. However, during my depressive period, I lost my confidence and all my achievements seemed insignificant because of my condition at that time, which affected how I thought of myself.  Not being able to work properly at that time, people start to lose their trust and respect to me. I realized that how others treat me is out of my control, but caring about what they think of me is a choice. I’ve also learned that when people treat me poorly, it’s more of a reflection of their character, and not mine.

Thirdly, living in a condition that you expect, can make you happier regardless you are wealthy or not. I might have achieved more than the average person at my age in work, which gave me the advantage to earn more than the average salary. However, I felt trapped with my job which I actually didn’t really enjoy because a lot of pressure has been placed on me. I wasn’t living up to my full potential. Today, I feel very close to being the best possible version of myself and thus living a joy-filled life. The best explanation of the root cause of happiness and unhappiness that I’ve ever come across is because I live in a situation that I like and passionate about.

And finally…

There is always a rainbow after the rain. I wouldn’t exchange my one year of depression for anything because it has shaped me into the relentless, passionate, happy and loyal person that I am today. I love life and I hope that my lessons and a happy ending will help anyone out there who is struggling to be optimistic during dark times.

Edited by: One of my smartest students: Joceline Geulista (Grade 10th, Beacon Light Community School)

Wrong design?

In my previous article titled "Are you a winner or a loser?” I stated that God designs people like you and me, with a potential to be a winner. It is proven by the process of how a human is formed, 300 million sperms and only one will survive, fertilize the egg, become an embryo and born as a baby.

After I shared the article, I received questions such as “Does God always design His creations correctly? How about children who are sick, disabled, or mentally ill at the moment they are born?", "Haven’t some people got a better starting position for example born in a rich family? Isn’t the likelihood for success depending on the circumstances in which you were born?" These questions have thrilled me to write another piece of reflection.

The Book Genesis Chapter 1:24-31 (NIV):
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 
25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 
30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Before we discuss further about God’s designs, let’s read the following passage from Genesis 1:24-31. In the biblical account of creation we read how God made everything, He looked at everything he made and found it very good (Genesis 1:31). In the case of humanity, we read that God created mankind in His image (Genesis 1:27). In other words, God always makes everything in a good condition, no matter what, He does not know how to make bad designs.

The next question is, what the proof that God’s creations are good. Years ago I attended a seminar about whether creation based on Bible is true or just a fairytale. During the seminar one of the discussions was that our solar system demonstrates remarkable evidence of intelligent design. If taken separately, each object and its characteristic are highly improbable by random chance. When taken together, the probability is so small as to be impossible—by random chance. For example: the Earth where we live, until now is the only planet that has living creatures. The composition of Earth’s atmosphere and the distance between the Earth and the Sun need to be precise, if it is not, then it is impossible that Earth can host billions of living creatures. We must admit that we are a product of a miracle—either a miracle of chance or a miracle of design; and all of these amazing designs are created by a Divine Creator, God.

Continuing to the subject of those who are born sick, disabled, or mentally ill - it seems that it contradicts with my statement that God designed humans with a potential to be a winner, because they seems does not as competent as a normal healthy person. I disagree that it contradicts with my statement. I believe we have seen a lot of people who are disable that had achieved a lot in their life. You can see people winning in the Paralympic Games, or Got Talent Shows. Or if to name an inspiring person, Nick Vujicic. He is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker, who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, causing him has no arms and legs. Although it may not be easy for him to live as a disabled person, you can say that he has achieved a lot in his life, maybe more than an average normal person.

Answering the previously asked question if people born in a more fortunate condition have a better starting position. Isn’t the likelihood for success depending on the circumstances in which you were born? I would like to start my answer with the following illustration: When someone is asked, "Why do you have a curly hair?" He would answer "My parents and grandparents had curly hair, so I have it too". However, if he was asked why he is poor, people would laugh if he said “My parents and grandparents are poor, and genetically we are poor”, because everyone knows no matter how poor our parents and grandparents were, we are given opportunities to improve our condition to a better one.  

If opportunity arises once, it could be luck, if twice, coincidence. If third time, then it is a pattern. Luck is great, but I believe that most of life is hard work. Let's look at most of the success and well known people, such as, Thomas A Edison, President Jokowi and Jack Ma etc. These people were not born in a wealthy family and yet they achieved a lot. On the other hand, I had seen examples where people who were born rich but unable to continue their parents’ business, because they did not work hard and incompetent. You can predict how they ended up being.

Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV) – "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well”.

To sum up, I believe God never make mistakes in His designs. The human body is the most complex and unique organism in the world, and that its complexity and uniqueness reveals the mind of its Creator. Every aspect of the body, down to the tiniest microscopic cells, reveals that it is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14). Although, in some situations they may not seem perfect on the surface. We have a finite mind, which cause us impossible to understand everything about the infinite God (Isaiah 55:8-9). Nevertheless, in our worst situation, God is always in control and promise to be by our side to the end, so never lose hope to fight and achieve what we are intended to. Keep going… Just like what Dory said, “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming”. ^_^

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) - “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.

Edited by: One of my smartest students: Joceline Geulista (Grade 10th, Beacon Light Community School)

Are you a winner or a loser?

I searched in Google, what does a winner and a loser mean? Here is the result, Winner is a noun, which means a person or thing that wins something. The synonym of winner is champion, conqueror, and victor. While loser is also a noun, which means a person or thing that loses or has lost something, and the synonym of loser is defeated person.

Romans 8:37 - "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us".

According to the verse in Romans 8:37, God designed you as His child, not to be a loser in your life. The verse affirms that God designed and created you with a potential to be a winner. Let’s have a closer look at the story about you and me: during sexual intercourse, about 300 million sperms fight the battle of conception, and only one will survive, become an embryo, and born as a baby. In other words, you and I are winners, even before we were born.

Then if God has designed human being with a potential to be a winner, but after they grow mature, some of them have not become "something" that they are intended to be, what is the root cause of it? I believe all people in this world does not like to lose, and never plan to be a loser in their life. However, somehow some people end up in this unpleasant condition.

Based on my experience winning is not an instant thing. No one in this world, directly can run right after they are born. Babies need to go through a series of processes and growth before they can walk their first step, then many steps - with unbalance walk then stable ones and eventually they can run. During this learning process, they experience many unpleasant situations, such as falling to the ground, stumbling against the wall or tripping over other hard objects, not only once but hundreds, or may be thousands of times. However, whenever they fall, they have courage to try again, again and again. Until finally they are strong enough to stand, walk and finally run.

I don't know when exactly a person develop fear to fail and give up attitudes. Being a senior high school teacher, I often heard that my students complain that they cannot do this and that, because it is difficult. Instead of trying to go through the learning process, they’ve just given up. In fact, some of them have not reached their 17th, they've already felt defeated when encounter difficulties. One thing I always remind my students, a theory that I usually call it "50% winning" theory. The theory is like this, when we give a try we’ve already gained 50% of chance to win, then we only need to earn another 50%. On the other hand, if we refuse to give an effort, it means we never have a chance to win.

What actually that made people refuse to give a try? Here are my guesses, first, maybe because they hesitate to give a try, second, maybe having difficulties to let their faith win, and the third, one maybe afraid to fail.

What's wrong with these three points? First, hesitate to give a try, see in Proverbs 10:4 (NIV) say that, "Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth", so, if we develop this character we definitely would end up with losing in our life.  There is a Chinese saying, 努力不一定成功，不努力一定失败 (Nǔlì bù yīdìng chénggōng, bù nǔlì yīdìng shībài) which means “Work hard does not necessarily can bring you success, but if don’t work hard, you will fail”. Hence, doing nothing will not help our life progress.

Second, difficulties to let their faith win, which means, we may have lack of confidence that our God is able to help us succeed? One of God’s character is Omnipotent, which means having unlimited power, able to do anything. One of the reasons maybe we have not known our God better, hence we hesitate to ask for help to our God.

The last one is afraid to fail. From the fact of how a baby learns to walk, we know that winning is a process. Throughout the process, it is highly possible that we would encounter obstacles and hardship, so it is useless to avoid it. Hence, it is better we make an anticipation action to encounter these obstacles.

In summary, a winner is not a person who never fails or a perfect person or a person who never had a problem in his/her life. A winner is a person who fails but has the courage to rise and fight until he/she succeeds. So why should we be afraid to fail, as long as we want to rise again, it will not be a matter anymore. A winner is a person full of perseverance through every test in his/her life without complaints, until he/she redeems what God has promised. Becoming a winner or a loser, I would like to open those options for you to choose. 

Choose wisely. (",")

"WINNING IS NOT A SOMETIME THING; IT’S AN ALL TIME THING. YOU DON’T WIN ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU DON’T DO THINGS RIGHT ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU DO THEM RIGHT ALL THE TIME. WINNING IS HABIT. UNFORTUNATELY, SO IS LOSING". - Vince Lombardi.

Trust His Heart (Rewrite - Updated Edition).

I wrote a similar article on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Then I think to rewrite and make it more structure and clearer.

As humans sometimes we feel very hard to understand why bad things happen to good people. Like the following story, that I heard one day while I was driving from my home to my office years ago. I was listening to a bible conference message from RBC by Rev. Bill Crowder (Our Daily Bread Bible Teacher). He talked about suffering. He said many times we do not know why bad circumstance happen to our life. Further, he shared his experience when he was a young pastor for a church, he received a call from his family to inform that his dad has passed away. While his heart was overwhelmed with grief, a senior pastor came to him and said "one day you will be thankful for this". He thought why he should be thankful for his dad's death. That happened to be his first funeral service. Years have passed by, he conducted many more funeral services, because of his experience with his dad's funeral, and he was able to serve the grieving family more passionately and connected with them.

Admittedly when unfavourable circumstances come to us, or good things have not happen to us, for example maybe a family is waiting for having a baby, an adult man or woman is looking for a job or a life partner or a very sick man or woman is waiting for a miracle that he/she would fully recover from his/her sickness, and yet these prayers have not yet been answered. To make it worse, sometimes when one bad event has not been recovered, another misfortune occur, it's like an old saying, "Rub salt into the wound". Some of us if it is not all, including me, sometimes would questioning God when an unfavourable situation occurs to me, "Why this happen to me? Has God forgotten me?" and in fact does God really forget about us? Or we think that God enjoy to see us suffer?

Isaiah 55:8-9 New International Version (NIV)
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Before we judge God, we need to know who we really are, and who God really is. God is an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent being. Who can fully understand Him? We are not all knowing, nor are we everywhere present. Furthermore, God never and will never enjoy to see us suffer. If he does, the cross will never happened. I wrote an article previously re. Blame-Shifting, where we as human sometimes do something wrong or inappropriate, and then dump the mistakes on other people's head to avoid taking responsibility or our own behaviour, while God does play Blame-Shifting too. In contrast compared to us, instead of dumping the mistakes on others, He voluntarily take the blame although it is not His faults. He is willing to take the consequences of the sins, which are not belong to Him, so we may be hindered from the consequences, which is dead (Romans 6:23a). Do you think why He would do that? He did that because He loves his creations including us, until he would better sacrifice himself so we will be saved.

Chorus of “Trust His Heart”
God is too wise to be mistaken, God is too good to be unkind,
So when you don't understand, When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand, Trust His Heart

There is a song title "Trust His Heart", we may comprehend the chorus of the lyrics. I think this lyrics may help us how to respond, when we are experiencing suffering. We really do not know why those bad things happen to us, and where this horrible situation will bring us, maybe God is working on something to prepare us for our future. Like the story at the introduction, the sad situation that occurred to the young pastor has prepared him to serve better in his future career. We do not need to understand everything about God and His actions. However, we have to know and understand our God has a loving heart, which is reflected by His real work on the cross. Therefore, when we really do not understand and do not know what to do, just trust His Heart.

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

References:
Omniscient: knowing everything
Omnipotent: having unlimited power, able to do anything
Omnipresent: of God present everywhere at the same time

Blame-Shifting Game.

Being a teacher is not easy. My colleague found out the hard way. One of our students blamed my colleague for not motivating her enough. As a result, our student could not finish her homework… she said. Was it really my friend’s failure as a teacher, not being able to motivate this student to do what she was supposed to do anyway? Let’s discuss further.

According to the bible, blame-shifting *) is the oldest ancient game played in this world. Let’s open the bible, and we will find the classic example right in the beginning of the book of Genesis. 

THE BOOK OF GENESIS Chapter 2:15-23 (NIV):

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 

22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 

After God had created all animals, and Adam had given names to all of them, God realised that none of them was suitable to be the true helper for Adam (Gen 2:18). So God made Adam fall into a deep sleep, He took one of Adam’s ribs, made a woman from this rib, and He brought her to Adam.  At first, Adam was most happy when God brought this woman - called Eve - to him (Gen 2:23). But his sentiment shifted after a while.

Let’s move backward a little to see this more clearly. God had created a variety of trees, from which Adam and Eve could eat the fruits as they desired, except for one tree: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad (Gen 2:16-17). However, Eve could not resist the fruit, and finally neither could Adam, and together they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  As written, the consequences of eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they will certainly die.

Chapter 3:8-12 (NIV):

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

God called Adam upon his deed. And rather than admitting his deed, Adam shifted the blame to Eve. To God, he answered: “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Adam blamed God for giving him a woman who led him to sin. He perceived that if God has given him a better woman, he would not commit to sin. Adam was so easily change his perspective on God after breaking God’s command.

We human beings easily blame others for our mistakes. We do not want to look bad because of our mistakes, and we would rather flee from them. We dump the blame on someone else to avoid that we have to take responsibility for our own faults. Are there any benefit that we may gain from the Blame-Shifting behaviour? No way. We may escape this time, but we will make other mistakes in the future. So how would we like to solve that? Blame-shifting again? How long? How often? There is a saying "No matter how good a squirrel can jump, it will fall eventually.” In plain language: no matter how good you are at blame-shifting, eventually you will suffer from the consequences of your actions. 

Instead, we may apply those famous football or basketball players' attitude, if they are interviewed after they lost in a game.  They often say words like:  "Yeah, I am sorry, I played badly today, or maybe this is a bad day for us.” “This is a learning experience for us, we need to come together again and practice harder. Hopefully we win in the next season".  They never seem to blame their team members. They admit that they made mistakes, and own the responsibility for their own behaviours or actions. Further, they also evaluate on how to correct the mistakes that they've made. 

If we never own the responsibility for the mistakes that we made, then we may not feel the need to correct it. Ultimately, we will live in this devilish circle forever. Is that what we want?  It is a matter of choices.  I would like to open those options for you to choose. (^_^)

Tribute to Rev. Bill Crowder (Bible Teacher at Our Daily Bread Ministry)  for his sermon on King Saul, which has given me inspiration to write this short article.

*) Reference - Blame Shifting Definition:

• Blame-shifting is an emotionally abusive behaviour or tactic (https://distantspark.wordpress.com/what-is-blame-shifting/)
• Blame-shifting is when a person does something wrong or inappropriate, and then dumps the blame on someone else to avoid taking responsibility for their own behavior. (https://www.psychopathfree.com/articles/5-types-of-narcissistic-blame-shifting.388/)

Renungan, Senin - 19 Feb 2018.

Bacaan: 1 Raja-raja 19:7 Tetapi malaikat TUHAN datang untuk kedua kalinya dan menyentuh dia serta berkata: "Bangunlah, makanlah! Sebab kalau tidak, perjalananmu nanti terlalu jauh bagimu."

Renungan:
Pembantaian terhadap nabi-nabi Baal oleh Elia membuat amarah Izebel naik sampai ke ubun-ubun. Izebel mengancam untuk membunuh Elia dan tiba-tiba saja Elia merasa takut pada ancaman itu. Beberapa sarjana Alkitab mengatakan bahwa Elia Elia mungkin mengalami "bipolar disorder", yaitu suatu keadaan di mana suasana hatinya mulai berubah secara drastis. Baru saja ia mengalami perasaan senang karena menang atas nabi-nabi Baal, tetapi kemudian dia langsung terjerembab ke lembah ketakutan. Ketakutan yang berkembang ke tingkat depresi itu membawa Elia berjalan hingga ke padang gurun dan membuat ia putus asa, sampai-sampai ia ingin mati. Saat Elia sudah putus asa, Allah mengirim seorang malaikat untuk menemuinya dan memberinya makan. Lalu Elia diperintahkan untuk pergi ke gunung Horeb. Menurut tradisi Yahudi, gunung Horeb merupakan lambang kehadiran Allah. Di gunung inilah Elia menemukan perlindungan dan tuntunan Allah. Ia dipulihkan dan siap melakukan tugas selanjutnya.
  Ada 3 pelajaran yang bisa kita petik dari masa depresi yang dialami Elia. Pertama, makanan yang disediakan oleh malaikat-malaikat ketika Elia ada di padang gurun meneguhkan bahwa Allah senantiasa memenuhi kebutuhan anak-anakNya. Allah peduli saat kita berbeban berat. Kedua, kehadiran Allah saat angin sepoi-sepoi basah berhembus yang dibarengi oleh pertanyaan koreksi yang lembut, mengajarkan bahwa Allah mengoreksi kita karena Dia mengasihi kita. Ketiga, di masa depresi itu Allah malah mengutus Elia untuk mengurapi Yehu dan Elisa. Pada tahap ini Dia mengajarkan kita bahwa jalan keluar dari tekanan yang berat adalah dengan terus melakukan tugas kita. Saat kita memandang keluar dari diri kita, saat itulah kita keluar dari perangkap mengasihani diri sendiri yang sebenarnya  menjadi sumber depresi. Tuhan memberkati.

Doa:
Yesus, terima kasih karena Engkau tetap setia mendampingiku dalam menjalankan hari-hariku yang terasa sangat berat, sehingga aku bisa melaluinya dengan tetap penuh pengharapan padaMu. Amin. (Taken from someone with initial - Dod).

Whatever it takes.

There’s a voice calling me from an old rugged tree
And it whispers
“Draw closer to Me
Leave your world far behind
There are new heights to climb
And a new life in Me you will find”

For whatever it takes to draw closer to You, Lord
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
And whatever it takes to be more like You
That’s what I’ll be willing to do

Take the dearest things to me
If that’s how it must be to draw me closer to You
Let my disappointments come
Lonely days without the sun
If in sorrow more like You I’ll become

I’ll trade sunshine for rain, comfort for pain
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
For whatever it takes for my will to break
That’s what I’ll be willing to do
That’s what I’ll be willing to do

Only by God.

I arise today through God's strength to pilot me
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's words to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me,
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.

Don't look down!
Keep your fork --- Something better is coming.

Grace Alone.

Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.
Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace

Chorus:
Grace alone Which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us, our cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.
Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.

Life is a process.

Kadang kita bertanya dalam hati dan menyalahkan Tuhan, "Apa yang telah saya lakukan sampai saya harus mengalami ini semua?" atau "Kenapa Tuhan membiarkan ini semua terjadi pada saya?"

Here is a wonderful explanation...

Seorang anak memberitahu ibunya kalau segala sesuatu tidak berjalan seperti yang dia harapkan. Dia mendapatkan nilai jelek dalam raport, putus dengan pacarnya dan sahabat terbaiknya pindah ke luar kota.

Saat itu ibunya sedang membuat kue dan menawarkan apakah anaknya mau mencicipinya. Dengan senang hati anaknya berkata, "Tentu saja, I love your cake."

"Nih, cicipi mentega ini," kata Ibunya menawarkan.

"Yaiks," ujar anaknya.

"Bagaimana dengan telur mentah?"

"You're kidding me, Mom."

"Mau coba tepung terigu atau baking soda?"

"Mom, semua itu menjijikkan!!"

Lalu ibunya menjawab, "Ya, semua itu memang kelihatannya tidak enak jika dilihat satu per satu. Tapi jika dicampur jadi satu melalui satu proses yang benar, akan menjadi kue yang enak."

Tuhan bekerja dengan cara yang sama. Seringkali  kita bertanya kenapa Dia membiarkan kita melalui masa-masa yang sulit dan tidak menyenangkan. Tapi Tuhan tahu jika Dia membiarkan semuanya terjadi satu per satu sesuai dengan rancangan-Nya, segala sesuatunya akan menjadi sempurna tepat pada waktunya. Kita hanya perlu percaya proses ini diperlukan untuk menyempurnakan hidup kita.

Tuhan teramat sangat mencintai kita. Dia  mengirimkan bunga setiap musim semi dan sinar matahari setiap pagi. Setiap saat kita ingin bicara, Dia akan mendengarkan. Dia ada di setiap saat kita membutuhkan-Nya. Dia ada di setiap tempat dan Dia memilih untuk berdiam di hati kita.

Rendah Hati - 1 Petrus 5:5-6.

Sebagai seorang kristen kita dituntut untuk rendah hati (1Petrus5:5), karena "Allah menentang orang yang congkak, tetapi mengasihani orang yang rendah hati". Kesombongan dapat timbul karena kecintaan diri seseorang akan kemampuannya sendiri, dan juga karena merasa apa yang kita punyai melebihi dari kepunyaannya orang lain. Seolah-olah apa yang kita dapatkan adalah berdasarkan atas kemampuan, kuat dan gagah kita. Kita lupa diri dan tidak sadar bahwa semua yang kita miliki sesungguhnya berasal dari Tuhan, sehingga tidak ada tempatnya untuk menyombongkan diri. Seperti nasehat yang Paulus sampaikan kepada jemaat di 1 Korintus 4:7 dalam versi BIS "Siapakah yang menjadikan Saudara lebih dari orang lain? Bukankah segala sesuatu Saudara terima dari Allah? Jadi, mengapa mau menyombongkan diri, seolah-olah apa yang ada pada Saudara itu bukan sesuatu yang diberi?".

Lalu bagaimana supaya kita dapat menghindari dosa kesombongan, (ayat 6), Karena itu rendahkanlah dirimu di bawah tangan Tuhan yang kuat,

Semua yang kita miliki saat ini, apakah menurut kita biasa atau istimewa, besar atau kecil dalam pandangan manusia, itu semua adalah anugerah luar biasa yang berasal dari Tuhan. Dan Paulus berkata "Ada tertulis: "Barangsiapa yang bermegah, hendaklah ia bermegah di dalam Tuhan." (1 Korintus 1:31). Sesungguhnya sebuah kasih karunia dikatakan kasih karunia karena bukan berasal dari perbuatan kita melainkan dari Sang Pemberi yaitu Tuhan sendiri. Dan itupun sudah disebutkan di dalam Alkitab. "Tetapi jika hal itu terjadi karena kasih karunia, maka bukan lagi karena perbuatan, sebab jika tidak demikian, maka kasih karunia itu bukan lagi kasih karunia." (Roma 11:6). Kesombongan merupakan bentuk penyangkalan dari hal itu, karena artinya mereka berpikiran seolah-olah semua itu adalah hasil pekerjaan mereka atau beranggapan bahwa mereka sudah sangat hebat melebihi orang lain atau bahkan Tuhan sehingga lupa diri. Menyadari bahwa kasih karunia merupakan pemberian Tuhan, milik Tuhan yang diberikan kepada kita akan membuat kita tetap sadar bahwa tidak ada satupun yang pantas kita sombongkan.

Marilah kita menyadari betul anugerah kasih karunia yang telah Tuhan berikan kepada kita. Semua yang ada pada kita hari ini sesungguhnya berasal dari Tuhan. (Ulangan 8:14-18). Ingatlah bahwa semua itu dari Tuhan, oleh Tuhan dan untuk Tuhan. (Roma 11:36). Kesombongan merupakan awal dari kehancuran seperti yang Amsal 16:18, kesombongan merupakan sikap yang ditentang Tuhan (Yakobus 4:6), dan merupakan kekejian bagi Allah sehingga tidak akan luput dari hukuman (Amsal 16:5). Kita harus mensyukuri semua yang telah diberikan Tuhan, dan itu bisa kita tunjukkan lewat sebentuk kerendahan hati bukan lewat sikap sombong atau tinggi hati. Sehingga pada akhirnya Tuhan memberikan yang dijanjikannya  kepada kita (1 Petrus 5:6b) supaya kamu ditinggikan-Nya pada waktunya.

God walks with the humble, He reveals Himself to the lowly, He gives understanding to the little ones, He discloses His meaning to pure minds, but hide His grace from the proud. - Thomas Aquinas.

Why have you chosen me?

This song is included in our church Caring Group Fellowship's worship song book, I found the lyrics of this song is really beautiful and so real...

Why have You chosen me out of millions Your child to be?
You know all the wrong that I've done
O how could You pardon me, forgive my iniquity
To save me, give Jesus Your Son

Reff:
But (Oh) Lord, help me be, what You want me to be,
Your words I will strive to obey;
My life I now give, For You I will live,
And walk by Your side All the way

I am amazed to know that a God so great could love me so
He's willing and wanting to bless;
His grace is so wonderful, His mercy's so bountiful
I can't understand it I confess