What If

Dated 25 July 2010

I just read my daily devotion book written by a Preacher's kid who is herself now also in ministry. She said her mom's decision to be there for her, if she needed her, despite being so busy as a Pastor's wife, gave her a sense of security. Her mom made being a mother to her, her most important ministry.

She also says, "Be consistent in practicing what you preach. As Paul said, 'Watch your life and doctrine closely' (I Timothy 4:16). Be there for your kids. If you do, I can tell you from experience that you'll have a tremendous influence in their lives."

What if we grew up with our mother not even a believer? Or what if she was / is but doesn't practice what she believes or preaches? What if our parents are the type who really failed in being there for us??? What if when you think of the word "love" all you feel is emptiness??? I pray for you and feel for you, kid. I know, our experiences are so different. Some are really blessed to have such wonderful parents who are mature enough to be parents and are not hurting from their own childhood and failures in life. I pray that you will meet somebody today who can make God's love so real you will realize God is really our perfect Father and His Holy Spirit is the "mom" who is always there for us.

I grew up in an environment where there was so much religion and church-going but God's love wasn't that real. I come from a big family and my mom worked throughout. She was hardly there for me, and if she was, not really to talk about my heart struggles and all that stuff. She felt kind of far away. The reason I try very hard to be there for my children now is because I know the feeling of emptiness when I needed to talk with someone about my feelings, and there's nobody there to talk with. I came to know the love of Jesus and His Father through a Bible study group in graduate school. And that love of God I came to know has enabled me to forgive my parents and move on, to be loving to others, especially my own children. And yet, I can tell you that I still have to see whether I would really have that tremendous influence in the lives of my children. But one thing I know, a hug makes a big difference to a child, especially when things are falling apart. So, find somebody to hug today, not necessarily a child but maybe a friend, a parent, a sibling, a pastor, somebody you love and respect.

And here's a *HUG* to you.


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Dated 3rd July 2010

A Beauty to Behold!!

Germany just demolished Argentina, 4-0. Sorry, but "Adios, Argentina, you did a good
showing." Now Australia (4 - 0) and England (4 - 1) can smile, they didn't do too badly
against GERMANY after all. LOL!! hahaaa!! :DDDDDDDD



I don't want to rub it in but having a star coach (Diego Maradona) and a star player (Messi) are not enough. Germany played and keeps playing as a TEAM. They hardly kick long balls just to try their luck at the goal, instead, they ESCORT the ball as a team to the goal! They also steal the ball from the opponent clinically, hardly any fouls. You should really watch them play, a beauty to behold, hahaaa!!! They had their first goal within the first five min. of the game. When they did the second goal at 68th min. I knew it was "sayonara Argentina." The four goals were shot by three players - Klose 2, Mueller 1 and A. Friedrich 1 - shows it's real team play. Mesut Ozil made the pass to Klose for the fourth goal in the last few minutes.

Unfortunately, Muller will not be able to play in the next game because he got a second yellow card in this game. :( But too much domination by the South American teams in this World Cup is no fun, so, I'm glad Argentina is out. Germany's next game is on Thurs 6am. Huh, have already gave notice to my family, there'll be no party that day. harhar!!! (I need to schedule John's b-day party within this school break.)

Photo from www.washingtonpost.com - Klose (no. 11 in black) celebrates his goal.

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Dated 1st July 2010

Japan's Cool Shots

Japan lost to Paraguay 5-3 in penalties. Not a very nice way to  exit the World Cup. And not a very decent way for Paraguay to remain in the running. But hey, those penalty kicks by Japan that went in were really, really cool. The players had no signs of jitters as they made their strikes and the goalie leaped the opposite way each time, showing those strikers could feign aim really well. Cool. They're really cool - cool goals and cool players. Well, there goes the last Asian team out of the World Cup 2010. Honestly, I don't like any of the South American countries to win, because they dominate the game so much. Now I'm rooting for Germany. ;-)


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Dated 26th June 2010

Beautiful Goal by Lee

Korea just bowed out of the 2010 World Cup but they went down with heads held high. I think it was an altogether beautiful game. Suarez of Uruguay scored the first goal at the eighth minute of the game but it was a "lucky" goal, nothing spectacular about it. I would say the Korean defenders weren't consciously watching out for the Uruguayan striker. If they did it could have been a totally different story. From then on it was a defensive stance on Uruguay's part and Korea kept the pace up with constant attacks, beautiful attempts. Lee Chung-Yong (yesss, he's a LEE!!!) scored the equalizer at 68th minute and it was an awesome beauty of a goal! I loved that goal because there were three players involved in getting that goal in and it was just spectacular team play. It made the game really worth staying up for!! (It ran at 2am onwards NZ time and I watched the whole game.) From then on Uruguay changed their stance to attack mode again and Suarez (again) scored at 80th minute. It was another "lucky" shot because it hit the goal post but it still went in. Korea's free kick even before the 8th minute also hit the goal post but it went out. :( Korea made one or two really beautiful attempts in the last few minutes but it was eventually game over, dream over, for them. I really salute those Korean boys for giving such a valiant showing at the WC 2010. Hats off guys!!! Yeee-haaaa!!!

That was Quick!

Dated 25th July 2010

Whoooaa, that was quick! As early as Monday last week (19th July) God neatly pulled me out of that jam. The enemy was de-fanged, just like that. Now I see this matter in a completely different light. God made this so straight-forward; unlike the guideposts I saw flickering here and there. This just spelled out everything so clearly. God is good, indeed, all the time. Now those two friends who prayed for me were really used by God. I pray, bless them my Father.

I accidentally scalded my left hand on the night of the 20th (Tue) when I was rushing to get dinner done so we could attend our Life Group. So, because of that injury we had to eat out and miss Life Group anyway. Now the skin on the scalded hand is really raw and hurting. And then I have to find a new mechanic for our car. So many things coming up now... and I knew this was coming. God always dealt with me this way. I never can get away scot-free. He is after all, faithful and true.

It's really late and I have to go to sleep now. Gud nite!

Tiring Week

Dated 18th July 2010

It's been a tiring week. Nothing really great. I just shopped and cooked and washed a lot. Hardly even had time to clean house. What with two more people in my house and they all eat different things!! Haha, this is THE life for me. It's hardly a life but it is still A life. God is good.

School's going to start again on Monday. Duh, that means I have to set my alarm clock every night again. But thank God, there will be some order back to my life. :)

I am caught in a snag in my spiritual life and I cannot write anything spiritual here without being a hypocrite, so, I am not going to try nor am I gonna embellish or make this sound pretty because it's not. I have at least requested prayer from a friend and the situation improved a bit, and that prompted me to ask prayer help still from another friend. I really pray I will ride over this, in God's mercy and grace. Probably, this is what is known as the Slough of Despond in the Pilgrim's Progress. I have been through something annoying before but this one's different, coz I actually don't mind it!!! Grrrr... this will require a lot of Grace from God my Father. I never thought I will be caught in this kind of situation ever... but here I am!!! So help me God my Father!!

Sometimes My Life Does Suck

Dated Friday, 25 June 2010, 11:32pm

I have been reading my blogs in my MySpace page again and I realize the melancholic side of me is well-spelled-out there. I do bleed. Sometimes I make the wrong choices and listen to the wrong voices. Sometimes, I do make mistakes.

But I know that God is always on my side. I do have my dark hours but I know that all the time, they do pass. And God guides and comforts me through those dark times. I know that this too shall pass. I am never alone in my dark night of the soul.

I realized that my blogs written here in New Zealand are very depressing, and indicate just the kind of life we have here - boring, deprived and having not many friends, real friends.

God Will Make a Way

I just feel like singing this song today. So I looked it up on You Tube. :) I love this song very much. Enjoy!

The Whole World is a Garden

dated 27 March 2010

My daughter and I watched the movie, "The Secret Garden" which is based on the children's classic book of the same title. We like it so much that we have both watched it three times now. At the end, Mary, the main character says, "The whole world is like a garden."

Well, some parts of the world is really like a jungle I would say. It needs a lot of overhaul and tending to turn those places into a real garden. But then again, indeed, if you think of the world as a real garden, you would do that.

I opened my prayer book today, which also serves as my notebook for everything - from my shopping list to my prayer list - and I realized that these people I am praying for are literally spread all over the world. I promise to pray for and yet, sometimes, I do neglect praying for them. If I think of each one of them as "shoots" sprouting out of my world-wide garden, one day, if I work diligently enough, my garden would be green and beautiful, a veritable garden. And that brings me also to the most basic form of nurturing and watering my garden - reflection, the word of God, and just conversing with Him. It does help to pray aloud, but sometimes, thought-to-thought communication is just as precious. And then there's the "praying in the spirit" realm which is praying in tongues, which in itself is of great value because we allow the Holy Spirit to pray in our behalf when we are lost for words on how to pray for a situation. Sometimes, I just want to be quiet in the presence of the Lord, during my Quiet Time. And in that time and place of quiet I do believe I am nurturing, watering and caring for my garden. Our communion with God every morning is like partaking of fresh manna from Heaven. It is a daily thing. Whatever manna we ate yesterday won't suffice for today as well. And the real manna that Moses and the Israelites ate in the wilderness for 40 years developed maggots if they kept it overnight. It is the same thing with our daily partaking of God each day. Our communion with Him yesterday would already be stale by today. It is a daily thing. And every day with Him is a new thing, a different plane, an altogether different mood, different outlook. He is indeed our daily sustenance.

Proverbs 24

³⁰ I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

³¹ thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

³² I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

³⁴ and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.

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It is no wonder that many times I encounter discouragement, dryness, lack of direction and determination. We can't go slack on our time with God - Word, reflection, prayer. Being a sluggard in my garden brings on the fruit called "spiritual want" and altogether leanness in my life.


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What is God's Will for You and Me?

dated 31 Dec 2009

As the year 2009 comes to an end, some of us may be thinking of New Year’s resolutions! I have passed on that a long time ago; I never follow it through anyway. I am not about to have a change of mind now, for truly, it is far too late. ;-)

However, I chanced on some passages in my Bible that wouldprobably spell out the ultimate New Year’s resolution for anyone - including myself, as a matter of fact.

What is God’s will for you and me?

Jesus said, ‘For my Father’s will is that
everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and
I will raise him up at the last day.’

So there, that’s the Father’s will for us all! Hmmm, God Himself is dangling eternal life and resurrection on the last day for you and me. But that’s only possible if I look to the Son (Jesus) and believe in Him. That’s what it says. I have been a born-again believer for 25 years now, but constantly focusing my gaze on God’s Son and believing in spite of some dauntingly doubt-inducing situations has been a struggle all those years. I know that my faith should be feeding on the “gaze”, which involves copious times of reading and meditating on the Bible, but there had been lapses, really. For others, who have never given a thought to this “carrot” that God dangles to all of us, it probably would cost him / her everything he/she is and he/she has to grab that carrot, as it did cost me, 25 years ago. You’re not about to take on the “nut” cap meditating on the Bible every morning, are you? That’s not going to happen cheap, right? On the other hand, it didn’t come cheap for God to make that "carrot dangling" possible either. The reason we can have eternal life and resurrection on the last day is because Jesus Himself made the most costly resolve at the adult age of 33 to lay down His will to His Father and follow through God’s plan of salvation for us, one dark night in Gethsemane, where He was about to play the role of Sacrificial Lamb.

Therefore, when Christ
came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offeringyou did not desire,
But a body you prepared for me;
With burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll –
I have come to do your will, O God.’ “

At Gethsemane, before Jesus was arrested with the help of a traitor-friend, Jesus prayed earnestly, three times, the same prayer, so earnestly that he sweated like droplets of blood:

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." ⁴³An angel from heavenappeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus laid down His will to the Father, even laying down His own life, as the Father willed. That is what it cost us to be saved, made holy and perfect, ready for life forever and ever in Heaven, with God.

Mind-boggling? It’s true:

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

And ponder this: A father’s love for his son. God the Father Himself gave us His one and only begotten and beloved Son to be the sacrificial lamb to take our place, that we may be saved from our sin, in this life and from eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. It cost Him His dearest One. He had to send no less than His own Son – not a servant, not an angel, not a prophet, but His own Son. Ponder, ponder…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

When we have recognized the value of such a Gift, wouldn’t we reciprocate in equal worth - laying down our own will, … every day… for the rest of our lives, to God? God demands no less and He deserves no less. Worship Him with our all? Why not? He gave us His all.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

So, as we think 2012, ehe, 2010, maybe this is the year we’re going to gaze on Him, constantly, every day, for all time. Maybe it is the year of the greatest resolution ever. And yes, if you think 2012, better be ready for that Last Day. But then that’s another huge topic altogether. (Don’t
get me wrong, I don’t believe in the rumors about 2012, it could be 2011, too, or sooner still.) So, before I go on forever and ever, I wish you, a peaceful and “gaze-ful” year for 2010! Happy New Year! Don’t drink and drive, don’t touch the firecrackers, don’t kiss someone with HIV, etc, etc. !!! :D LOL!

Bible passages are in italics; references in chronology:

John 6:40

Hebrews 10: 5-7

Luke 22:42-44
Hebrews 10:10
Hebrews 10:14
John 3:16
Romans 8:32


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Dated 30 Dec 2009

Behold, the Lamb of God!

There are more sheep than people here in NZ. Thus, I have made it my
ambition to learn to cook roast leg of lamb, though it's not really
that cheap here, unlike what most of us would think. A roast leg of
lamb is always cooked with rosemary herb. When I smell rosemary, I
think lamb; when I think lamb, I think of Jesus. This one was for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Well, it's not a whole lamb, just a leg of lamb roast. Jesus, our
Passover Lamb, was born 2,000 years ago! At Passover, if a family can't
finish a whole lamb, they are supposed to share it with another family
(Exodus 12:4). And for us, all we need is just a leg! :-) Two thousand
years ago, the Lamb of God was born and made a manger His bed. The King
of kings took the lowly form of a human, was born to a humble traveling
couple who were taking refuge from the cold with the animals in a
stable, in the little town of Bethlehem... Hmmmm, ponder that.



"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)





A joyful Christmas Season to those who celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays to those who don't and a Blessed New Year to everyone!



The Rosemary hedge in our yard.


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Dated 24 Dec 2009

Christmas Eve Thoughts

Rosemary blossoms in my yard.

A few minutes more, according to my clock, and Christmas eve is going to be over. It
would be Christmas day!! The stressful part for me is actually over - shopping,
cooking, setting up the table, lighting up the candles, etc. Thank God, I had a few minutes to reflect more on the Reason for this Season - He is
the Light, He is love, He is the Lord, He is the King, the Messiah, the
Hope. However, though so many good things were said of him, one man named Simeon, actually said you'll either love Him or hate
Him:



This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. (Luke 2:34,35)




And two thousand years ago the apostle John said of Him,

"The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:5)

"He was in the
world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not
recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him..." (John 1:10,11)





Deep words for us to ponder, indeed. Jesus - who is He?



And as I pondered over these thoughts, hmmmm, I smelled rosemary...





A joyous Christmas Season to you all out there!

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Dated 22 Dec 2009

Poinsettias on my Window

Oh, how awesome is He, the Person we "do" Christmas for. Here are more
thoughts on Him as we work, drive, shop, rush, clean, cook, wrap, etc.
:-)



Isaiah 11



1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

       from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

       the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

       the Spirit of counsel and of power,

       the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

       He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

       or decide by what he hears with his ears;

 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

       with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

       He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

       with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

 5 Righteousness will be his belt

       and faithfulness the sash around his waist.


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A merry Christmas to everyone!



Poinsettias on my window. Hmmmmm, so Christmasy. Reminds me of the profuse poinsettia blooms screaming crimson red at Christmas time, in
one of the house gardens in our neighborhood back home,... once upon a
childhood of mine. Photo taken today, 22Dec09.

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Dated 20 Dec 2009

Run Up to Christmas 2009

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end....
(Isaiah 9:6,7)

Contemplating on God's unspeakable gift to us.


A blessed Christmas to one and all!



Breaking bread at home, today, 20th Dec 09. The red and green strawberries make it so Christmasy! Photo taken by my older daughter.