Enhancing relationships - some wise words.

I got it from a mailing list, I thought these words are worthed to be shared because it is very inspirational.. enjoy to read..

TRUST is a very important factor for all relationships. When trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship. Lack of trust leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation.

A telephone operator told me that one day she received a phone call. She answered, "Public Utilities Board." There was silence. She repeated, "PUB." There was still no answer. When she was going to cut off the line, she Heard a lady's voice, "Oh, so this is PUB.Sorry, I got the number from my Husband's pocket but I do not know whose number it is."

Without mutual trust, just imagine what will happen to the couple if the telephone operator answered with just "hello" instead of "PUB".

NO POINTING FINGERS

A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?" The father-in-law answered in a smile, "Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."

We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.

If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

CREATING PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS?
A person visited the government matchmaker for marriage, SDU, and requested "I am looking for a spouse. Please help me to find a suitable one." The SDU officer said, "Your requirements, please." "Oh, good looking, polite, humorous , sporty, knowledgeable, good in singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home during my leisure hour, if I don't go out. Telling me interesting stories when I need companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest." The officer listened carefully and replied, "I understand you need television."

There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a blind wife and a deaf husband ,because the blind wife cannot see the faults of the husband and the deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of the wife. Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage is not a bed of roses. The nightmare begins.

NO OVERPOWERING

Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another,or demands too much. People in love tend to think that love will conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after marriage. Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river than a person's character."

It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness.

It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations..

RIGHT SPEECH
There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation." Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other,we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.

A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted,"Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school." On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily you married me.Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker.." She answered ,"You should appreciate that you married me. Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you."

Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship. It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed..

PERSONAL PERCEPTION
Different people have different perception. One man's meat could be another man's poison. A couple bought a donkey from the market. On the way home,a boy commented, "Very stupid. Why neither of them ride on the donkey?" Upon hearing that, the husband let the wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them. Later, an old man saw it and commented, "The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while the husband is on foot?" Hearing this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.

Further on the way home, they met an old Lady. She commented, "How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He is no gentleman." The husband thus quickly asked the wife to join him on the donkey. Then, they met a young man. He commented, "Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you." Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders.

It seems to be the only choice left. Later, on a narrow bridge, the donkey was frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river. You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future.

Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear..

BE PATIENT
This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.

Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, " Daddy,I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?" The father went home & committed suicide.
Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge. Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired.. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.

People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Professional Looks.

This picture was taken we were going to have a proposal presentation for a potential clients. All of us looked so formal.. :)

When I (God) say that I love you (human being)....

lyric by Franky Sihombing

You feel that you're lonely
It doesn't prove that you are alone
You feel that nobody want you
It doesn't mean that no one cares about you

Reff:
Listen to the words I say
that I will always by your side
You mean everything to me
that I will never leave you
cause I love you so

If you think that you're nothing
but for Me you are something beautiful
You think you can't do anything
but you can do a lot of things with me

When I say that I love you
It's mean I give the best for you
When I say that I love you
I will give everything for you

No more fear about the future
and blame for the past
I'll give everthing when I say that I love you
I want you to know that I died for you
I want you to know that I'll give all My life for you
When I say that I love.. say that I love you
When I say that I love you, I really do.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends."

What would you do, if you know your time won't be long..

During the Christmas and New year holiday, I finally have time to spend my time to read for pleasure again. By coincidence the two books that I read this time related to death. One of them is a fiction another one is real story. Having read both of them, I come to realise that we have to appreciate every minutes and every second in this life. Life is so short, instead of complaining, why don't we focus on thing that we can do to fulfil our dreams. The following is the title and short description of the book:

• Ways to live forever. This book was written by a young talented author Sally Nicholls. She was just 23 when she wrote the book. The book describes an 11 years old boy, who may not make his dream come true because he would die by lymphoblastic leukemia. With the encouragement of his tutor, he starts to write a bit about himself, then more, until he is using his writing to sort out his death.

• The last lecture (Real Story). A lot of professors give talks titled The Last Lecture. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. What would a dying person give in a lecture? suprisingly Randy did not talk about his health condition and his family struggles to cope with the situation, instead he talked about how to achieve childhood dreams, overcoming obstacles, enabling dreams of others, and seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. This lecture recorded as one of the most inspiring lecture ever.

Something that worthwhile to read and think about.

I got the following illustration from my philiphino friend. I think it might be useful to share with others. I hope someone read this and realise that what the most important thing in this world and do not take it for granted again in the future. Something that good to start with in the 2009.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

The Rain - by Thomas Kinkaid.

One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick. Suddenly, my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I'm thinking of something."

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.
"The rain!" she began, "is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away."

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That's really good, Aspen."

Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked... "Do you notice how the rainkeeps on coming? What does that tell you?" Aspen didn't hesitate one moment with her answer:
"We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us." I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on. Isn't it distressing to know that when you forward this message you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

In order to see the Rainbow, you must first endure some Rain.

READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit".

May the spirit of first christmas is always kept in our heart.

Ebenezer.

That day was Friday. I was so stressed with everything on my shoulders. Fortunately I woke up in that morning, I read a passage from our daily bread booklet with a title "Ebenezer". The term is derived from 1 Samuel 7:12 which means "The stone of help - thus far has the Lord helped us". Yeah sometimes we may easy to get weary, and forget that so far God always look after us.. Nothing are missed from God's eyes. Hence, believe and put your burden and hope on Him. Happy Christmas !

Take a break is required.

These few weeks I am very exhausted, having so many things that need to manage inside and outside the office in the same time. Sometimes I felt being as Marta in the bible story.. Put so many concern at the daily routine, work and other business and forget the most important part.. hmm you know the answer.

I need to put my focus back in to the right track. Habit 3 - Put first things first.

Perspective.

A few days ago I read a reflection begin with a question: When is a bird bigger than a mountain? The first word that come into my mind was impossible, whatever kind of birds will never bigger than a mountain. Then I read through the article and found out the answer: When the bird is closer than the mountain. Hmm, the answer is truely correct. I never thought about it this before. That's also the way we see our problem. Sometimes we perceive our problem is bigger than anything even bigger than God. It is because we are closer to the problem than God. As such times, God seems as far away as a distant mountain, an we perceive Him as being small and unreachable.

Surely God is always there and give us strength to face our struggle, as He promises to "gives strength to the weary, and young men stumble and fall" (Isaiah 40:29). Just as a bird is never bigger than a mountain, no problem is ever bigger than God. It's all a matter of changing our perspective.

New Managers Conference, Bali.

All in One

Team Work n Fun

Gala Dinner

Mejeng ria..

Mulailah percaya. (Believe).

Rasa khawatir adalah pedang bermata dua. Rasa khawatir bukan saja tidak dapat memberi nilai tambah bagi hidup Anda, tetapi juga melenyapkan banyak hal dalam hidup Anda :

· Kesehatan – rasa khawatir menuntun pada ketegangan, yang merusak fisik Anda.

· Waktu – waktu yang Anda habiskan untuk menghawatirkan sesuatu itu memakan waktu yang seharusnya Anda gunakan untuk melakukan hal-hal lain.

· Produktivitas – pada saat Anda mengurangi waktu yang digunakan untuk melakukan hal-hal yang perlu, mak produktivitas Anda menurun

· Iman – Anda tidak dapat memiliki rasa khawatir dan memiliki iman pada saat yang bersamaan.

Satu-satunya jalan untuk memberi nilai tambah dalam hidup Anda adalah dengan berhenti khawatir dan Percaya.

Not my will, but Your will.

It was approximately three months ago, I felt so confident that's would come true. One step by step seemed went so smooth as I expected. However, suddenly it stopped and no continuance of progress. Part of it was my mistakes, I was so get into it, and put almost my whole energy and focus to the "project". It made me so disappointed, which then continued affect my mind performance. As a result, I become reckless in some perspectives, which end up with losing my wallet.

I was so desperate, why everything turning upside down. I was not only losing my wallet, but everything such as my ID card, driving license, ATM card and Credit card. What made me so mad was the next three day I had to go out of town in order to attend a conference in Bali. Felt really hopeless. I tried to calm down and figured out what to do. I called bank call centre to block out all of credit cards and ATM card. Then re-issued my ID card and ATM on the next day. After a bit relief, three days later when I was ready to go to airport get caught in the traffic jam, which made me late for my flight. I was really nuts. Everything seemed so wrong. Nevertheles, I could take the next flight. After the conference over, I get my driving license re-issued. Then one by one was recovered.

This occasion made me remembered one of the sermon during our fellowship service. The Evangelist said, "Whenever we want to go out from our home in this city, we never forget to bring our wallet. However, do we remember to pray and ask God protection ?". It seems that we put our faith more in our wallet and everything in it when we want to go around the city rather than God. And It is also made me realised, that everything I did, God who has the authorisation to make it success or failure. Whatever He allows to happen are for our own good. Maybe the project was not meant to be for me, it failed so I can realise my limited capabilities and have more a reliance on God rather than my own strength. After all God is greater than everything.

"Lord, give me the courage to change the things which can and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference". - Alcoholics Anonymous Prayer.

Carry your own weather.

Having been trained on 7 habits for highly effective people about one month ago. These 7 habits can only be applied if we succeed to apply the first habit and go on to the next habit. If we cannot apply the first habit then we cannot go on to the second habit and so on. The most basic habit is be proactive. Proactive is more than having initiative. Be proactive means take responsibility on our attitude (in the past, present and future), and can make a choice based on principles rather than our mood or feeling or condition.

Based on the definition above, being angry, stress, happy or sad is a choice. We determine our circumstance. I think this principle is really true indeed. However, somehow it is really difficult to be applied. What do you think ?

SPA families and friends BBQ - 2 Aug 2008.

The settings

Tukang makannya Tukang masaknya

The latest participants

Share The Secret. (by Anon)

One day, one friend asked another, "how is that you are always so happy? You have so much energy, and you never seem to get down." With her eyes smiling, she said, "I know the secret!" "What secret is that?" To which she replied "I'll tell you about it, but you have to promise to share the secret with others." "The secret is this: I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and to meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to His riches. I have learned most of the time I don't need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that 'Secret', I am happy."

The questioner's first thought was, "That's too simple!" But upon reflecting over her own life she recalled how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn't! She thought a better paying job would make her happy, but it hadn't. When did she realise her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, or other children, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, a simple gift from God.

Now you know it too! We can't depend on people to make us happy. Only God in His infinite wisdom can do that. Trust Him! and now I pass the secret on to you! So once you get it, what will you do?

You have to tell someone the secret too! That God in His wisdom will take care of YOU! But it's not really a secret.. We just have to believe it and do it... Really trust God!

During trial circumstances.

2 Cor 12: 9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

James 1:3-4 - "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".

1 Cor 10:13 - "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

1 Peter 1:6-7 - "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed".

We Need Each Other: To Walk With. (by Rick warren)

Received the following reflection from an email.. just felt it is good to be shared.. and realised that the advantage of having community.

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him. Colossians 2:6 (NIV/NKJV)
*** *** *** ***
The Bible often compares life to a walk, because life is a journey; we’re not sitting still. Throughout the New Testament, we are told to walk in wisdom, love, light, and obedience. We’re told to walk as Jesus walked. We’re also told to walk alongside other people. Here are three reasons to walk with other people:

1. It’s safer. Have you ever walked alone at night through a dark alley or down a lonely country road? It’s a little scary. But if you have another person with you, you immediately feel safer.
2. It’s supportive. Life is not a fifty-yard dash; it’s a marathon. Walking with other people gives you the energy to keep on going until the end.
3. It’s smarter. You learn more by walking with others than by walking alone. If you’re walking alone in the wrong direction, you may never realize it. But if you have a friend alongside you, one of you is likely to recognize you’ve veered off the path and need to find the right direction.

We also learn some important lessons when we walk alongside other people. We learn how to get along with others, how to cooperate. We also learn how to love. Genesis 2:18 tells us, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (NIV). God hates loneliness, and community is God’s answer to loneliness. When we walk alongside other people, we find a community where we learn how to love.

Walking alongside other people also teaches us hospitality. 1 Peter 4:9 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (NIV). What’s your grumble? What’s your excuse for not opening your home to friends? Maybe you’ve said, “My home is dirty!” Well, clean it up! Or perhaps your excuse is: “My home isn’t big enough.” Can you put three people in it? Jesus says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20 NIV).

Everybody has a longing for belonging because God made us for relationships. When we walk alongside other Christians in community, we find that longing satisfied.

SPA Outing 2008 - Bangka Belitung.

Old and New of the firm's financial year.

This July our office began new financial year 2008/2009. The subsequent event before the new financial year, there always a promotion and bonus performance announcement. This year was also a blessing for me. I was promoted to a manager. Even so I felt very frustated these days.

Like I have shared before that the past few months I was so stress out with my last project, even until now it hasn't fully closed yet. It took so much of my energy, physically and mentally. The coming year I can foresee that the next coming year would be much more demanding, I don't know whether I am ready with the situation.

At one moment, I had a thought to submit resignation letter. Even a few weeks after the promotion. While thinking what decision that need to make:

• Daniel shared with me for his financial struggles after his marriage. In every move God has guided him and sufficiently look after his needs so He never lack of anything.
• I read through my blog archive, I could see that God has so faithful and never let me down. He looked after me during my post grad study until I could finish it smoothly, looking for job, CISA exam, helped me to let go "thing" and many many more.
• Just realised that in every situations that was me who made everything were so stressful, me who always want to solve everything by my own. No wonder I felt so much pressure.
• I had a sharing with some church friends. Listened to their stories and struggles, after all my situation is much better than them.

Eventually I realised the problem is on myself, always feel so over confident and rely on my own strength. Resignation maybe a shortterm solution, but who can guarantee that I would not face the same situation in other workplace.. Hence, at the moment I would stay at where I am, do my best and keep in faith that He will never fail us.

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you arewith me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Ku di tanganMu.

By Joseph Jafar.

Ku ditanganMu Ku dihatiMu
Di pikiranMu di rencanaMu
Tak pernah kusendiri
Ku ditanganMu ku dihatiMu
Di pikiranMu di rencanaMu
Tak pernah ditinggalkan

Lord I’m in Your hands
Lord I’m in Your hearts
In Your thought
In Your plan
Never be alone
Lord I’m in Your hands
Lord I’m in Your hearts
In Your thought
In Your plan
Never left alone

The Statue of Life.

The following story was forwarded by a friend, which I thought interesting and good to share with others. Hope this story can give you or other readers inspiration.

Here they go:
Once there was a sculptor lived in a country. He worked fro a well-known king who ruled over a huge land. It made everyone knew the king and respected him.

The sculptor had worked for a long time. He made many statues that placed in the palace. They were so beautiful and the king trusted him. A lot of other kings admired the statue when they visited the palace garden.

One day the king had a big plan. He wanted the sculptor made some statue of his family and his best guards and servants. They were 100 statues. The statue of king and his family will be placed inside the palace. His best guards and servants were inside the garden. He wanted the statues in the garden were looked to protect him.

The sculptor started to work hard, days and nights. Some months later, he almost finished his works. The king came to his workshop and checked the progress. "Good, very good", the King said "I want you make your own statue to complete that monument, before I forget".

He began to work again after taking the king's comand. After a while, he finished his self own statue. Unfortunately it looked roughed. Its side wasn't polished well. He tought what the benefit for him to make a good statue if it only placed inside the garden. "The statue will be damaged soon because of sun and rain", he said to himself.

The time was over. The king came again to check his work. The King was was so satisfied. But there was a small thing that made him interested. "Why your own statue isn't polished as mine? Whereas I want to place yours beside mine. If your statue is like this, I change my mine and make yours within my other guards outside".

The sculptor was so regret. His own statue was in outside the palace. The sun and rain came toward it, as his hope about it.

The morality:
How far we appreciate ourselves? God has made us perfect with unique talent and character. And do we care to create our own statue as perfect as God's creation? Our carving that we made now will determine our place later. Create your own "Statue" well and lovely.

Inspirational Movies.

These two films are worthed to be watched. The stories are pretty simple and might happen in our real life. Although the films are not as sophisticated as Hollywood's, they are really inspirational. And maybe can change your way of thinking about this life and GOD.

Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

A7+ SPA Academy 2008 - Group Photo.

Dinner Cruise with Philiphino mates.

My Bag and My Mind.

got this article from a friend, and it is really true that we sometimes put so much attention at our problem..

My Bag :
Setiap hari, sebagian besar dari kita membawa tas kerja dalam perjalanan pergi dan pulang kantor. Untuk kaum wanita, tas merupakan salah satu atribut penampilan yang penting. waktu libur 4 hari ini,cobalah kita bongkar semua isi tas kita. Ternyata sepertiga atau separuh dari isi tas itu adalah barang yang sudah tidak kita perlukan: struk ATM yang sudah buram, bungkus tissue, agenda atau buku yang jarang dibaca, sekumpulan uang logam, ballpoint yang sudah macet, kumpulan tagihan kartu kredit bulan-bulan lalu dsb dsb Meskipun mungkin ringan, tetapi barang-barang yang tidak diperlukan itu terus menambah berat tas kita ...sehingga kita harus membuang barang-barang tidak berguna yang membebani tas kita....

My Mind :

Mirip dengan my bag di atas, pikiran kita ( tanpa kita sadari ) selama ini sering kita bebani dengan hal-hal yang tidak perlu juga : penyesalan masa lalu, rasa kecewa, kejengkelan dan iri kepada rekan kerja lain, sikap egois dan kurang kooperatif, perasaan tidak puas atas kondisi yang terjadi, snobisme, obsesi-obsesi yang kurang realistis, konflik keluarga dsb dsb Pikiran-pikiran yang tidak perlu itu akan terus membebani perjalanan hidup kita, sehingga dampaknya, wajah akan kelihatan kurang bersinar, suntuk / jutek, punggung terasa berat karena pikiran berkorelasi dengan punggung ), stress, hidup kurang nyaman dan yang paling parah adalah kita akan selalu membenci hal-hal yang tidak sesuai dengan kemauan kita,dsb. Yang harus kita lakukan adalah sama dengan apa yang kita lakukan dengan my bag di atas, buanglah segala beban pikiran yang tidak ada manfaatnya itu. Percayalah, hidup Anda di hari berikutnya terasa jauuuuuhhhh lebih nyaman....Makanan akan terasa lebih enak.... Kita akan lebih jarang sakit..Bekerja menjadi lebih nyaman meskipun kita menghadapi rutinitas yang itu itu saja dan juga kita menghadapi orang-orang yang kadang membuat kita menjadi tidak betah untuk terus bekerja.. Ciptakan "POSITIF THINKING" disetiap pagi ketika kita bangun tidur,karena pikiran itu erat sekali kaitannya dengan fisik kita....Biarkan positif thingking itu bekerja di dalam diri kita hingga akhirnya,keindahan hari itu akan ditentukan oleh kita dan cara pandang kita dalam menghadapi dan menyelesaikan setiap masalah.....

He really knows.

Over the past couple of months I have been stressed out with work. So much that need to do, more than that I have no experience with the assignment that have been assigned to my team and me. The higher level management seems do not care and put attention to the project. The feeling that I have now is the same as when I was struggling with my assignments during my post graduate. Feel really tired, pesimistic, which I should not need to feel that way and have more trust on God. He always know what we are going through.

But over and over, I got so much encouragement from God. First, when I did my quiet time, the reading came out with Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Second, I attended an office service the theme verse was Philipians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Third, I had a bible study group. At that time, we talk about David faced a Giant Goliath. During the discussion we make an assumption that Goliath is our struggle in our daily life. Finally we come to a conclusion, that God allow anything happen in our life is for our own good, base on the following verse Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"

I was really amazed that God is really care with what we going through, and He knows everything that we needs. Looking ahead, I foresee there must be a lot pressure coming, knowing that the situation become more competitive and demanding. One thing that I need to always remember that God cares and really cares.

Allah Peduli (God cares).

by Jonathan Prawira.

Banyak perkara
Yang tak dapat kumengerti
Mengapakah harus terjadi
Di dalam kehidupan ini

Satu perkara
Yang kusimpan dalam hati
Tiada sesuatu kan terjadi
Tanpa Allah peduli

Reff:
Allah mengertiAllah peduli
Segala persoalan yang kita hadapi
Tak akan pernah dibiarkannya ku bergumul sendiri
Sebab Allah mengerti

Get down, get wet and get fun.

Debriefing - Sampoerna Team.

How To Dance In The Rain. (Anon)

I got this story from my church milist, just very touched by the story. I hope everyone who read this story may get inspired and could act like the elder gentlement in the story..

Here is the story goes:

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.

He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health; he told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are'? He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is'. I had to hold back tears as he left; I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life'.

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did.

'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, But how to dance in the rain.'

You Are Special

Suatu hari seorang pembicara terkenal membuka seminarnya dengan cara yang unik. Sambil memegang uang pecahan Rp. 100.000,00, ia bertanya kepada hadirin, "Siapa yang mau uang ini?" Tampak banyak tangan diacungkan pertanda banyak minat. "Saya akan berikan ini kepada salah satu dari Anda sekalian, tapi sebelumnya perkenankanlah saya melakukan ini." Ia berdiri mendekati hadirin. Uang itu diremas-remas dengan tangannya sampai berlipat2. Lalu bertanya lagi, "Siapa yang masih mau uang ini?" Jumlah tangan yang teracung tak berkurang. "Baiklah," jawabnya, "Apa jadinya bila saya melakukan ini?" ujarnya sambil menjatuhkan uang itu ke lantai dan menginjak2nya dengan sepatunya. Meski masih utuh, kini uang itu jadi amat kotor dan tak mulus lagi."Nah, apakah sekarang masih ada yang berminat? "Tangan-tangan yang mengacung masih tetap banyak."Hadirin sekalian, Anda baru saja menghadapi sebuah pelajaran penting. Apapun yang terjadi dengan uang ini, anda masih berminat karena apa yang saya lakukan tidak akan mengurangi nilainya. Biarpun lecek dan kotor, uang itu tetap bernilai Rp. 100.000,00. Dalam kehidupan ini kita pernah beberapa kali terjatuh, terkoyak, dan berlepotan kotoran akibat keputusan yang kita buat dan situasi yang menerpa kita. Dalam kondisi seperti itu, kita merasa tak berharga, tak berarti. Padahal apapun yang telah dan akan terjadi, Anda tidak pernah akan kehilangan nilai di mata mereka yang mencintai Anda, terlebih di mata Tuhan.

Don't forget: U're Special. Happy easter !! He gave all He could give, so we can live.

1 Cor 15:3b "that Christ died for our sins.."

Learn How to Pray. (Anon)

I asked God to take away my pride
He said "No"
He said it's not for Him to take away
but it's for me to give up

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole
He said "No"
He said the child's spirit is whole
his life is fulfilling and his body is temporary

I asked God to give me patience
He said "No"
He said patience is by-product of tribulation
it is not granted but earned

I asked God to give me happiness
He said "No"
He said He will give me blessing happiness
is up to me

I asked God to take away my pain
He said "No"
He said I need pain to grow
and I will grow closer to Him in pain

I asked God to make my spirit grow
He said "No"
He said He will provide the path for me to grow
but it's my own decision to walk this path

I asked God to teach me to love others the way He loves us
He smiled and said "You finally get the right idea"

How can I know what God wants me to do?

Yeah sometimes quite frustrating about how.. after comtemplating and pray for sometimes but still don't get any indication of guidances and answers. Or we actually we've got the answers but we are too stuborn to follow the directions.

Maybe some of you have been gone through the same experiences can share your thought, suggestions, advice or ideas.. Any Inputs are welcome.

Mujizat itu Nyata.

by: Jonathan Prawira

Tak terbatas kuasa-Mu Tuhan
Semua dapat kau lakukan
Apa yang kelihatan mustahil bagiku
Itu sangat mungkin bagi-Mu

Reff:
Di saat ku tak berdaya
Kuasa-Mu yang sempurna
Ketika ku percaya
Mujizat itu nyata

Bukan karena kekuatan
Namun Roh-Mu ya Tuhan
Ketika ku berdoa
Mujizat itu nyata

Bridge:
Mujizat itu di dekat mulutku
Dan ku hidup oleh percaya

Life is like a box of chocolate.. (Forest Gump).

About one month ago one day in the afternoon, I got a chat invitation from my MSN messenger. It was from my Junior High School Friend. We haven't met each other for more than a decade, during the period we sent email to each other and then lost contact afterwards. Then that afternoon we began to make a contact again. She live in Bandung, married with one son. Then one week later, fortunately I got an assignment, which required me to travel to Bandung. Without thinking any longer, I used this opportunity to set an appointment to meet my old best friend. And then we met after about eleven years. Nothing change much with the appearance except she gained a bit weight and she weared headcapped. We talked about one hour, she told me about the life of some of our junior high friend. One was murdered three years ago, and one died because of giving birth difficulties recently, I was shocked hearing that news, which I never thought that would be happened with my friends. What I didn't understand how and why she was murdered. Yeah we never know what would happened to our very own life and close relative and friend. Only God know..

S'mua Baik.

By: Tommy Widodo & Budi

Dari semula
T'lah kau tetapkan
Hidupku dalam tangan-Mu
Dalam rencana-Mu Tuhan

Rencana indah
T'lah kau siapkan
Bagi masa depanku
Yang penuh harapan

Reff:
S'mua baik, S'mua baik
Apa yang t'lah kau perbuat di dalam hidupku
S'mua baik, S'mua baik
Kau jadikan hidupku berarti

To begin the year.

After having a ten days of year end holiday, I started to come to my office on 2nd January. That morning began with a hard rain, and when I woke up I did not feel like to work. With a very low motivation I took a bath and prepared to begin my working days. I took all of my stuff and put them in my car. With a full confident I did not do a final check then drove to the office. I arrived at 6.40. I thought it was still early, I had my breakfast and took an easy sleep for awhile. At 7.40 when I want to go upstairs and just realised I forgot to bring my laptop. Oh my.. how could I work without it. I decided to drive back home to take my laptop. I ended up with spending almost three hours back and forth to the office, caught in a bad traffic jam because it was a rainy day. Losing my energy to work normally, fed up with my carelessness. Start wondering it was a bad start for beginning of a year.

Regardless the bad start, I believed our life pathway is not determined by a good sign or bad sign. It is definitely depend on God. These days since the advent period, I was stroke by a verse (Romans 8:28) repetititvely. These past year I have been struggling with my faith. It seems that everything happened in my life was stagnant, does not make any progress at all. Yeah maybe people see on the surface that I quite succeed with my career, but the spiritual inside of me is falling down slowly. At a point, sometimes I was wondering, can I still trust God? or I have to stand up by my own feet? Then in one of the year end testimonial sessions a congregation member shared about his past until he found the Lord and brought him become an evangelist. He closed with the Romans 8:28 verse. That remind me with a long time ago sermon. A preacher illustrated that he was waiting in the airport to pick up one of his family member. The plane actually supposed has been arrived but he heard an announcement saying that the plane was delayed for two hours because of some technical issues. He waited and waited.. seems that the plane was not make any progress to arrive, but actually the airline officers were making effort to reach the destination. Finally after two hours past, the plane arrived and he met with the family member. God's work sometimes is like that he said. On the surface it seems nothing is happening, but in fact He is in progress getting it done. We just need to do our part and put our faith on Him.

With the reminder, my resolution for year 2008 may I put my faith more in HIM, trust HIM and act as I have received whatever I have asked for. Be joyfull in God in whatever circumstances.

Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Yeah a bit late to say that hehehe. Anyway hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New year holiday. The most important thing is really experience Christ present during the season.

Cheers, May God give us strength to go through year 2008.

Exploring a Submarine.

If you believe in GOD

If you have faith in God
If you believe
He will return
Follow the way that Jesus has come to teach you
And then you will see that the life can turn better.

REFRAIN
I will sing, I will sing what God came to teach us
That the way of reaching the heaven is to love, is to love
Is to love, to love the poor, the rich and the sinner
And everything that in this life is cherished by the Lord.
If God want, I will stop thinking about me
And so I will bide one´s time to worship Him.
I will be happy and with me everything that sings

Mengenal-Mu. (To know You, God)

Bila kubuka mataku,
dan lihat wajah-Mu...
kuterkagum...

Bila kulihat hidupku,
dan karya tangan-Mu...
kutersanjung....

Karna semua yang baik dalam hidupku..
itulah karya-Mu...
Kau bri kesempatan yang baru...

Reff :
Dan ku ingin mengenal-Mu Tuhan...
lebih dalam dari smua yang ku kenal...
Tiada kasih yang melebihi-Mu...
ku ada untuk menjadi penyembah-Mu....

Comment:
That was the song, which sang during our retreat, I was very touch with this song. Somehow made me think how well have I known God and realised have been very selfish all of the time.. always thinking about me, me and me.. what if I.. how about if I.. hardly think what God's plan for me. Whether what I've done is according to God's will.. Fortunate, I've realised and need to put thing into perspective.

Tea Walk group.

All about August.

Hmm actually nothing is special in August.. except yeah, my birthday in August.. and office busy season started in August.. just about it. However, I felt very blessed for this year August. Lately felt a bit disoriented, in the surface it seems everything are fine, my routine, activities hmm but just felt a bit lost.. Regardless the feeling, I think God knows what I need. I was introduced to a member of IES (International English Service), ibu Setiawati, who invited me to join "Connecting the Dots" seminar. The seminar is about to connect our past (bad and good) to our present condition. So as a pre-work assignment, we were required to list down all of the past event that have impact to our life at that time. Then during the seminar, a long with the talk we did an exersice to make a timeline through these listed event. At the end, we can see our draft autobiography, and somehow realised that all of the bad or good things happened actually for our own good.. yeah "God is good, all the time", said Don Moen. This seminar has drawn me back to focus.

As I mentioned before, we entered busy season since August. Although it's just started, I've felt so weary hehe.. then out of the blue, one of my friend's friend, Herlina asked me to join a tea walk event. Initially I was not so interested, but I agreed to go eventually.. hmm that was nice, meeting some new friends, experiencing the tea field and nature.. yeah nice... :)

Who Am I ?

This song was sang during the "Connecting the dots" Seminar, which I just attended these two days. I like this song once it was sang, it described the truth about us. Later will share about what the seminar all about.. Feel so amazed, inspired and blessed. Thank's to Ibu Setiawati who invited me to join the seminar.

Artist: Casting Crowns
Album : Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You're

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out throught the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

SPA Outing 2007 Part II - Bali

Romans 8:28.

I was cleaning up my inbox, and found a nice article. I received this email November 19, 2003 from my brother. I think although the story happened for long time ago, it is still relevant to share the story. Here it is:

As you read this, remember Romans 8: 28.. "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose." A man from Norfolk, VA called a local radio station to share this on Sep 11th, 2003. His Name was Robert Matthews. These are his words: "A few weeks before Sept 11th, my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child. She planned a trip out to California to visit her sister. On our way to the airport, we prayed that God would grant my wife a safe trip and be with her. Shortly after I said 'amen' we both heard a loud pop and the car shook violently. We had blown out a tire. I replaced the tireas quickly as I could, but we still missed her flight. Both very upset, we drove home. I received a call from my father who was retired FDNY. He asked what my wife's flight number was, but explained that we missed the flight. My father informed me that her flight was the one that crashed into the southern tower. I was too shocked to speak. My father also had more news for me; he was going to help. 'This is not something I can just sit by for, I have to do something.' I was concerned for his safety, of course, but more because he had never given his life to Christ. After a brief debate, I knew his mind was made up. Before he got off of The phone, he said, 'take good care of my grandchild.' Those were the last words I ever heard my father say; he died while helping in the rescue effort. My joy that my prayer of safety for my wife had been answered quickly became anger. Anger at God, at my father, and at myself. I had gone for nearly 2 years blaming God for taking my father away. My son would never know his grandfather, my father had never accepted Christ, and never got to say goodbye.

Then something happened. About 2 months ago, I was sitting at home with my wife and my son, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my wife, but I could tell she wasn't expecting anyone. I opened the door to a couple with a small child. The man looked at me and asked if my father's name was Jake Matthews. I told him it was. He quickly grabbed my hand and said, 'I never got the chance to meet your father, but it is an honor to meet his son.' He explained to me that his wife had worked in the World Trade Center and had been caught inside after the attack. She was pregnant and had been caught under debris. He then explained that my father had been the one to find his wife and free her. My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my father giving his life for people like this. He then said, 'there is something else you need to know.' his wife then told me that as my father worked to free her, she talked to him and lead him to Christ. I began sobbing at the news. Now I know that when I get to heaven, my father will be standing beside Jesus to welcome me, and that this family would be able to thank him themselves." When their baby boy was born, they named him Jacob Matthew in honor of the man who gave his life so mother and baby could live. This story should help us to realize two things: First, that though it has been two years since the attacks, we should never let it become a mere tragic memory. And second, but most important, God is always in control. We may not see the reason behind things, and we may never know this side of heaven, but God is ALWAYS in control.

What a such encouraging story...

Old McDonald has a farm.

About two weeks ago, with a bunch of sunday school students we visited dairy farm. Having our first experience to milking a cow.. what a fun experience mhoooo hehehe... see how is the milk being processed to variety of dairy product..

Hmmm an interesting place to get away...

Office - End of financial year.

I have passed another end of financial year of the firm. The time passed so fast, I have been in the firm for about two and half years now. Here are some updates of some events that I've been through inside and outside the firm:

• Then Firm's usual annual tradition is the performance result or promotion announcement. This year would be another blessing year, I am promoted as an Assistance Manager. Certainly there will be a significant salary increase, and abundance work would also follow. I tried to encourage myself to contribute as best as I can, and may His name glorify through my career. Sometimes career issue make me worry about how to manage a life balance.

• I was confirmed at the beginning of this month. In addition I have passed the Sunday School teacher lessons and officially allow to teach Sunday School students.. So far so good with the role, I manage to prepare all the stuff right before Sunday. Thank's to the Internet, which help me a lot in providing the material. However, there are still many things that need to improve.

• Our team will have an outing by the end of next month. We plan to go to Bali island. Hmm, have been six years since my last visit, I hope will get some fresh air and energy before the high season come. Looking forward for the outing.

Does it matter?

Last night we have a small chat within the office with other two collegues. The topic was brought up because of Andi was packing his bag and ready to go home when I passed by his desk. He's just bought some DVDs one of the title is "The tomb of Jesus". Then I asked him why did he choose the title ? Andi answered that because he read a lot of discussion re. this topic in the milis which he join. One of the discussion is whether Jesus's married and have his own family. Then another collegue - Melvin joint in the conversation said, that He would not bother about the life of Jesus, whether He was married or not with Mary Magdalene.. What does matter is the teaching of Jesus.. Hmm, I was disagree with Melvin. In my opinion all of part of Jesus life is really matter, which prove that He is GOD. However, yesterday I didn't make any arguments to encounter Melvin's statement. One of the reason maybe I am still lack of knowledge about this..

So feel free to put any comment on this topic.. Maybe I can get some inputs.

Samalona Island.

Ready to depart to ...

Devil's Trick.

Last night I went home on time, this is quite unusual hehe, since I always stayed at the office at least until 7.00 PM. One reason is I want to avoid the traffic jam, so it is better do something else in the office rather than sit in the car doing nothing. I have planned to visit my former office to obtain signature from my former employer for CISA certification application then attended the prayer session in the church.

Last night talk is about Matthew 4:1-11. According to the preacher these verse contain of two parts i.e. how devil try to persuade man become a sinner and how Jesus faced the temptation without being a sinner. For this session the preacher talked about the part one of these verses "How devil try to persuade man become a sinner".

First we looked at Mat 4:2-3 "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said. If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." He explained Devil utilise our needs to tempt us. Other example for this case is Esau because he was hungry, he was willing to trade his birth rights to Jacob. He didn't think about the cause of his decision, he just thought about the fulfilment of his needs. We are human sometimes like that, so we are willing to do anything include sinned action to fulfil our needs.

Second Mat 4:5-6 "Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." The preacher further explained that Devil use our knowledge of God's word to tempt us. Some people sometimes only quote a little part of the bible to make his action seems true. Hence, beware that we need to carefully interpret God's words.. beside the meaning we also need to know the context of the verses and how it is applied. Don't misuse it otherwise Devil will use it against us.

Third Mat 4:8-9 "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship". Devil use our focus to tempt us. One example of this is David. He focussed on his desire to a beautiful woman, which drawn him to commit murder and adultery.

I was made aware by by these explanation.. I hope this could equipped me more in the future.

Reading books.

That is my niece, Clara's answer if everyone asked her about her hobby. She is only two years old, she has showed her interest to books. Although she cannot read, she know the content of every single of her books.. She owns almost a hundred books at home and continue to be added. Reading books is also what I have been doing since a few months ago, started to fill my sparetime with this hobby. I have read different kind of genres. Here they are:

• Betrayal by Randall Arthur. This book is a religious novel like Frank's. Different with Frank's story, this book talk about pattern of betrayal that often happens in the body of Christ or church community. Quite dramatical and worth to read.

• Undomestic goddess & Can you keep a secret. Both of them are chick lits, which written by Sophie Kinsela. These two books are good for light reading, relax and quite entertain. These books are good choices for your spare time.

• The curious incident of the dog in the night time by Mark Haddon. I found this book is quite different in the term of the story telling. The story is about a 15th years old kids, Christopher, with a kind of autism, found his neighbour's dog killed by a garden fork. He is encouraged by his teacher, to write abook about his investigation in finding the murder of the dog. According to book review in amazon - "This is the sort of book that could turn condescending, or exploitative, or overly sentimental, or grossly tasteless very easily, but Haddon navigates those dangers with a sureness of touch that is extremely rare among first-time novelists". Worth to read, if you want to taste a different type of reading.

• Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. I just started to read this book. I found Dan Brown is good at making fiction. Making connection among facts, which in fact actually they do not have any connections.. hehehe.. quite confusing... that's why his controversial book DAVINCI CODE is called novel, not true.

yeah, that's all for now. Looking forward to learn crafting for my sunday school session. Happy reading.

SPA outing 2007 Part I

Just about two weeks ago, as our group tradition we conducted an outing for the first time in year 2007. The season started to lowered a bit. Just an opportunity to bound together and built up a solid team work. Every body have fun, can't wait for the next outing..

Closed up pose.

Lage Mejeng.

SPA team.

Outing Site.

Move on!

Have been struggled to let go a "thing" that I obsessed about, although I knew it was the will of God I couldn't make it mine. I meant actually I could sense God's answer was very clear, but I was so stubborn to think there maybe a chance to pursue it. Until the end of last month ...

Melvin (an office collegue) and I were very lucky, being chosen by the firm to attend a T3 (training the trainers) for BPF (Business Process Fundamental) course by Global Learning and education team in Hongkong. The purpose of the training is to communicate all of the course material to the participants, which then the participants can prepare their own course in their home countries. I met other participants from several of our region offices, which was very interesting. I experienced this before, when I attended SPA academy one and half year ago in Bangkok. However, this training was slightly different with the former one. The participants in this course were much lesser than the SPA academy's participants, which gave more chance to know others better.

Besides training, We had chances to visit some interesting place in Hongkong such as Disney's land and several shopping places like Mongkok, Wanchai and Causeway bay. I spent some hundreds dollar shopping for gift and myself. Overall was very enjoyable. This visit has opened my eyes, that this world still has many things that need to be explored. I should not distress myself with my "failure obsession". Unbelievable I have been sadden with it for more than one year, what a waste of time. I was so stubborn and hard hearted to obey God's guidance. I realised that I should move on and don't stuck myself with my struggle. I hope this is my turning point to change and have more reliance on God rather than rely on my own strength and understanding.

BPF T3 Participants & Instructors.

Training..

Met a new buddy.

Arrived at Disneyland.

Causeway Bay, HK.

Renungan mengenai sangkar burung.

I got this from a milist, maybe some of you have read it before. However, I thought it is nice for a reminder. Hope you get the essence of the stor-e... Here it goes...

Suatu masa, ada seorang pria bernama George Thomas, seorang pastur di sebuah kota kecil di New England. Pada suatu Minggu pagi, hari Paskah, ia tiba di gereja dengan membawa sangkar burung yg sudah karatan dan penyok-penyok, dan meletakannya di altar. Orang-orang pada keheranan dan, seolah-olah menangkap rasa penasaran orang-orang, Pastur Thomas mulai bicara...."

Saya sedang berjalan-jalan sekeliling kota kemarindan melihat seorang anak laki-laki berjalan mendekati saya sambilmengayun-ayunkan sangkar burung ini. Di dasar sangkar ada tiga burung kecil dan liar,menggigil karena kedinginan dan ketakutan. Saya stop anak laki-laki itu dan saya tanyakan,"Ada apa di sangkar itu, nak ?" "Hanya beberapa burung biasa" jawabnya. "Apa yg akan kau lakukan pada mereka ?" tanya saya. "Bawa pulang ke rumah dan menggoda mereka," jawabnya. "Saya akan menggoda mereka dan mencabuti bulu-bulu mereka supaya mereka saling berkelahi. Saya pasti akan menikmati saat itu". "Tapi kamu nanti akan jadi bosan dengan burung-burung itu cepat atau lambat. Lantas apa yang akan kamu kerjakan ?" "Oh, saya kan punya beberapa kucing," kata anak laki-laki itu". Mereka senang burung. Saya akan berikan burung-burung ini pada kucing-Kucing itu". Pastur terdiam untuk beberapa saat. "Berapa yang kamu inginkan untuk burung-burung itu, nak ?" "Huh? Mengapa, Anda tidak mungkin menginginkan burung-burung inikan, Pak. Mereka hanyalah burung biasa. Mereka tidak bisa bersiul merdu. Mereka bahkan tidak menarik !" "Berapa ?" Tanya pastur lagi. Si anak laki-laki itu mengukur kemampuan si pastur dan menilai si pastur mungkin gila, dan menjawab, "$10?" Pastur mengambil dari kantungnya dan mengeluarkan selembar uang kertas sepuluh dollar. Ia taruh di tangan anak laki-laki itu! Dalam sekejap, anak laki-laki itu pun menghilang.Si pastur memungut sangkar tersebut dan dengan lembut membawanya Ke ujung gang dimana ada sebuah pohon dan tempat yang berumput. Sambil meletakkan sangkar itu, ia membuka pintunya, dan dengan mengetuk jeruji sangkar pelan-pelan membujuk burung-burung itu keluar. Dan, itu tadi menjelaskan mengapa sangkar burung yang kosong ini di atas altar ini, lalu pastur mulai menceritakan cerita ini.

Suatu hari Iblis dan TUHAN sedang bercakap-cakap. Iblis baru saja datang dari Taman Firdaus, dan ia nampak rakus dan sedang membual. "Ya, tuan, saya baru saja melihat dunia penuh dengan orang-orang di bawah sana. Saya pasang perangkap, gunakan umpan yang saya tahu pasti mereka tak akan bisa menolak. Kenalah mereka semua!""Apa yg akan kau lakukan terhadap mereka ?" tanya TUHAN. Iblis menjawab, "Oh, saya akan bersenang-senang! Saya akan ajarkan mereka bagaimana kawin dan cerai, bagaimana saling membenci dan menganiaya satu sama lain, bagaimana saling minum-minum dan merokok dan menghujat. Saya akan ajarkan mereka bagaimana membuat senjata dan bom dan saling membunuh satu sama lain. Saya akan benar-benar senang!" "Dan apa yang akan kau lakukan terhadap mereka setelah engkau selesai dengan itu semua ?" tanya TUHAN. "Oh, saya akan bunuh mereka," Iblis menatap dengan bangga. "Berapa yang kau inginkan untuk mereka ?" tanya TUHAN. "Oh, kau tidak mungkin menginginkan orang-orang itu. Mereka tidaklah baik. Mengapa, kau ambil mereka dan mereka hanya akan membencimu. Mereka akan meludahimu, menghujatmu dan membunuhmu. Kau tidak mau orang-orang ini!" "Berapa ? Ia bertanya lagi. Iblis menatap TUHAN danmenyeringai, "Semua darah, airmata, dan jiwamu". TUHAN berkata, "Baiklah !" Lalu Ia membayar harganya, dengan darah, airmata dan jiwaNYA Pastur memungut sangkar tersebut. Ia membuka pintunya dan ia melangkah dari mimbar.

John 10:11 "I (Jesus) am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Where after death?

During the year end holiday, I visited my friend, Yenny, in Singapore. Yenny is the one who lost her fiance in an accident last year. Initially my visit purpose are to refresh/clean up my mind from a messy thought and get away from my routine. My visit was only three days, because I thought it's enough time to explore for a small country like Singapore, moreover I've been there before.

On the first day it was enjoyable, then come to a point that where Both Yenny and I sat at a restaurant having lunch, just she and me. After some conversation, finally she admitted that sometimes she still couldn't let go the incident.. and wonder where does he go to ? heaven or the opposite. She told me that she've already asked some of her friends (catholic believe), all of them answered her with don't know answer. (note: both yenny and her ex are budhist). This question was struck me.. and a bit confuse to answer her. I came to a dillema, what should I say.. If I answered that I don't know either, it means I failed to testify I as a Christian.. but if I answered going to hell, then it makes her sad, and felt Christianity is unfair, because in her perspective her fiance never did anything wrong that deserve him for going to hell. Instead of giving a direct answer, I finally explained her about what is Christian all about ? Why Jesus came to the world and died on the cross.. and People does not judge by deeds but by faith to Jesus Christ.. I don't know whether she understood what I was talking about, and just pray in my heart that she could digest my explanantion. At the end of the conversation, I said, that I am going to ask my pastor in the church for giving a direct answer, which I actually knew the answer. Then before I came back from Singapore, I had a chance to pray with her.. Initially she seemed hesitate to pray with me, because she don't know how to pray. Then I persuaded her that she didn't need a training or course in order to pray..

When I had come back, I consulted with an evangelist in our church, her statement slapped me, said I shouldn't doubt to give an answer for Yenny's question, if that is the truth.. the statement made me think, that I was only given a simple question, but failed to answer it.. how about if I was in a harder situation where I have to choose between my faith or career, partner or even die. This experience had give me a warning that I had to grow stronger not lukewarm in my faith.

Rev 3:16 - "So because you are luke warm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth"

Our office.

In an aquarium.

Everything can change, but He always stay the same.

No body in this world can stop the time.. Unnotedly it is a new year again, we have reached the last quarter of the decade. Sometimes feel so scared, what have I done ? Is it made Him glad? One thing that makes me relief that, although everything in this world change and become worse, but Our Lord. He would not change, He still the Lord that loves us, care about us.. The matter is just us, do we have a faith in Him ? do we still believe in Him ? or we leave Him just because He hasn't answered our prayer ? or we upset and angry because everything happen out of our plans. Maybe we are just human, does not understand His Plan. But one thing, we should believe He has a perfect plan for us, in a perfect time. Happy New year... (although a bit too late hehe..)

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

Hati Natal.

by Anonymous

Natal adalah kasih
Kasih yang diberikan oleh Yesus kepada kia
untuk dibagikan kepada orang lain
Kasih yang membuat kita semua istimewa bagi-Nya

Natal adalah sukacita
Sukacita yang kita terima lewat anugrah-Nya
Sukacita yang didambakan
yang membawa kita masuk ke tahun yang baru

Natal adalah damai sejahtera
Damai yang timbul karena mengenal Yesus
Jaminan yang tersedia karena menyerahkan hidup kita
ke dalam tangan kasih-Nya

Closed up smile.

Click..

Action: Street Seller.

Arrived at HoS.

Kenangan Terindah.

(Free translation: The most wonderful nostalgia)

Aku yang lemah tanpamu
Aku yang rentan karena
Cinta yang t'lah hilang darimu
yang mampu menyanjungku

Selama mata terbuka
Sampai jantung tak berdetak
Selama itu pun aku mampu tuk mengenangmu
darimu kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku kaulah cinta sejati

Reff.
Bila yang tertulis untukku
Adalah yang terbaik untukmu
Kan kujadikan kau kenangan
Yang terindah dalam hidupku
Namun takkan mudah bagiku
meninggalkan jejak hidupku
Yang t'lah terukir abadi
Sebagai kenangan yang terindah.

This song is quite popular, since it was released by an Indonesia Boysband, Samson. The melody is good on my ears, this song also sang when we had a session during the camping. I thought this is a love and romantic song, which describe two lovers who are in love. A partial of my thought was correct but in opposite way. I just realised it when I read the text thoroughly (read: how lost i was, where have I been ^_^) I hope whoever is going through a lowest level in their love life can move on, I know it is hard. Ask for help if we cannot bear it by ourselves, pray to God cause He always there for us.. He always keep his promise, will bring the best one for Us. God Bless.. There always a hope.

Anak Monyet..

Another Sunday school song, which is the fave of my niece, Anne..
Here is the lyrics:

Anak monyet di atas pohon
Anak cacing di dalam tanah
Anak burung di dalam sangkar
Anak Tuhan di dalam gereja

Panjang muka namanya kuda
Panjang hidung namanya gajah
Panjang tangan itu pencuri
Panjang sabar itu Anak Tuhan..

Applause to the author who have created this wonderful song.. :)

Sitting at the hotel lobby..

Today at 10.21 PM I am sitting at hotel lobby in order to connect my compi to the virtual world.. Saturday night hmmm.. Currently I am in Surabaya, like usual fieldwork. :) Yeah work .. work and work.. a little sad actually, because my parent are coming to visit us (sis and bro including me) in Jakarta. In the meanwhile I was assigned to serve clients in Surabaya, what a bad timing.. :(

Hmmm, haven't got enough with the Lebaran holiday actually.. Nevertheles at least I got fun during the holiday. I went to camping !! The whole of my life I never experience sleep at a camp. It was Lingga, two month ago out of the blue called me, and ask me whether I want to join a camping event during the Lebaran holiday. At that time I thought I didn't have any plan yet, and why not. Then the day came, Lingga and I joint with a bunch of people who had registered to the event, took a bus and went to Rancaupas, Ciwidey, Bandung. After a long long journey, 5 hours ride, finally we arrived. But it didn't look good to me.. we were only provided three camp for around 160 people, which means around 53 people in a camp.. I felt like a refugee though.. at that time felt a bit regret hehe.. bcause having used to stay at hotel hihi (while doing a fieldwork) compare to slept on the floor..

One night passed with a bit insomnia and cold brrr.. still two more night to go.. foods were ok.. the committe has been working hard to prepare it for 160 people.. appreciate it.. bravo committee.. Then started to have a lot of fun, meeting people, hiking to "Kawah Putih",.. Singing, Games and many.. many.. more.. I started to like the holiday.. Then I said to Lingga, I was not regret to attend this event, although I was complaining at the first place hehe.. sorry I didn't mean it.. Then the other two nights were passed quickly and came to the end of the camping day.. Before we went home we still have time to visit Situpatenggang Lake. Thank's God, I got a wonderful holiday.. :)

Mejeng di Kawah Putih.

go.. camping.. go..

Sunday School.

Although I have travelled a lot lately, I try to manage my time to bring my niece to sunday school. Hmm, I learnt some sunday school songs and found those songs are very interesting hehe.. Here is one of the lyrics:

KingKong badannya besar
tapi kakinya pendek
Lebih aneh binatang bebek
lehernya panjang kaki pendek

Alleluya.. Tuhan Maha Kuasa
Alleluya.. Tuhan Maha Kuasa

Tuhan membimbing langkah demi langkah.

(by Anonymous)

Jangan memandang kepada besarnya kebutuhan kita

Pandanglah kepada kebesaran-Nya

Keadaan kita seringkali menjadi penghalang

untuk melihat kemampuan Tuhan

Oleh karenanya jangan kita mengarahkan mata kita

kepada keadaan kita

Iblis senantiasa berusaha memanfaatkan keadaan kita

untuk mengalahkan kita dan menyalahkan firman Tuhan

Sesungguhnya kemenangan terletak pada kesetiaan kita

dalam memandang kebesaran Tuhan dan kemampuan-Nya

Ia telah berjanji untuk membimbing kita langkah demi langkah

Tidak sekaligus, namun ... langkah demi langkah ...

Dan setiap langkah, merupakan suatu mujizat!

"Prophet" by Frank again.

Lately felt really fed up with all of the routine, work and work and work... Then after the sunday school last week, I just passed the church library and got an idea to borrow a book, that can give my mind a relieve from thinking about my work stuff.. and flip around and ...ta..da.. I found another book from Frank, the title is "Prophet". I really enjoyed to read Frank's novels.. from the previous experience with "this present darkness" and "piercing the darkness". and I decided to borrow this book..

Last Sunday I've just finished the book. The story is a bit different with the first two it, this is more real, I think it's very common to happen in our life, politics, telling lie - covering truth, and ambition. This book is worth to be read. Please refer to this link for the story summary http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581345267 Happy Readinggg !!!

A new look.

Felt a bit bored about the look of my blog. So I changed the template and now look like this. Ya just wanna refresh.. :) In fact I also want to restore the whole of my heart and energy, so I can left those awkward feeling behind and move on towards a better life..

Clara and Coala.

which one is cuter ?