SPA families and friends BBQ - 2 Aug 2008.

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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.