Letting Go

When a man or a woman is in the “approach” mode, it’s normal to keep communication between them, either through BBM, SMS, Phone, or any other mains. This is called a “trial period". During this time, the man or the woman suddenly decides not to continue anymore.

He or she stops picking up the phone, stops replying SMS or BBM, basically stop communicating. I have my frustrations with this, and a friend explained it to me in ways that I can understand, and finally let it go. If you think that this doesn’t apply to you, then it’s different for every person. Let me try to sum up her explanation…..

There are a couple of things why a girl or a guy doesn’t explain. There’s a possibility that she does care for you and doesn’t want to hurt you. There is a saying “The truth shall set you free”. In some cases, the truth will only hurt you.

There are some reasons behind why a person stops communicating:
1. Another (better) person comes along
2. Family doesn't approve
3. I was just having fun with you. Now I m bored.
4. You are just my fling to make my ex jealous. Now he/she asked me to go back together

Conclusion : I don't have feeling for you anymore. So why shall I continue ?

1,3,4 – when someone told you this to your face, you definitely become infuriated…
2. – family rules over everything. Nothing you can do.

A man or a woman might say , “Who are u to ask for my explanations? We are not even dating”. This is to put it bluntly. Maybe if you are already in a relationship, the person might owe an explanation to you.
Even in the dating world, asking for an explanation can hurt you like a thousand needles…let’s say a guy is asking to break up with the girl. Then the girl is hurt because of him asking to, and insist that they stay together. Later the girl find out that there is another girl. If the girl just let him go at that point, there will be less heartache. When confronted, he says, “I already lost my feeling to you. And I asked for the breakup, but you are insisting not to. Now that you find out, what do you wanna do ? I did tell you and ask you to let me go…”

I’m not saying that this has to happen to everyone. Sometimes a relationship is worth fighting for. But on other cases, it’s better to let it go.......

Another situation, let’s say the girl like the guy since he is serious. Then she tell her parents, but they say no. She tries to explain but her parents don’t’ want to take any explanation for whatever reason. Just simple plain NO. As a good daughter she will obey her parents….

When she tell the guy, “ Sorry, my parents don’t approve of you”, what’s going to happen ? That statement doesn’t help anyone. Being the guy, it complicates things, as he doesn’t’ know what to do. Eloping doesn’t solve anything, and forcing himself to the family will make them clash with each other and eventually ruin them.

So, finally in the end, she keeps quiet and take her distance without telling him anything. This makes the guy confused. Keeps thinking about her and can’t forget her. The guy might think all the negative things about the girl, about being disrespectful, being dishonest, or whatever things come to his mind. This, in a way, makes it easier for him to move on rather than knowing the truth....Eventually, not letting everything out in the open does him more good than bad.

What I'm trying to say is this....whatever happened in the past, the future hasn't happen yet. What you have if is the present, and that is the time to believe in GOD.....believe that He has a better plan….
believe that when one door closes, another one will open….God will open it up for you when it's the right time, and it’s up to you whether you want to cry over the closed door, or accept it and let it go….let Him lead you to the best pathway of your life (Psalm 32:8)

And this is her final quote.
“Relationship at the end is very hard. (I used to say full stop here) - but that's the beauty that God created. We are all different. We aren't perfect. It’s how you compromise. Sacrifices.”

An unfair God ?

I was talking to a friend of mine regarding the fairness of God.....she said, God is not fair...because there are many people who are living life lavishly and they don't have to suffer in their life...they can live their crazy life and repent then get to heaven at the last minute..whereas we as Christians have to suffer in this world....we don't have as much money as a lot of people......

She also said, it's better then to have a level in heaven, where the newly saved and the previously saved will have a different place........I told her that, God is fair in His ways...not our ways...we cannot really judge God and tell Him what to do....God will grant whatever He wants to grant to whoever He choose.....that's fair.....we as human beings won't understand this...but God has a far greater plan for all of us and humanities......

In Matthew 20:1-16 (New Living Translation), the Parable of the Vineyard Workers
in verse 9 people are complaining that the one came late and the one came really early get the same wage...here's the answer:

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’ 16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”


But in other passage, God will give reward to those who seek for Him...those who do good deeds for Him..there are perhaps at least 30 mentions of reward in the New Testament alone. For instance :

- fasting, where no one knows, has its reward from God- Matthew 6:18
- loving your enemies and do good things to them will have a great reward in heaven - Luke 6:35
- on 2nd coming, God will give you a reward if you have done a good job - Luke 12:43
- you must really seek God to receive reward - Hebrews 11:6

and many more.....so those so-called "last minute repentant" will not get as much as people who really devote themselves for God...

Then my friend mentioned that why is she not happy ? why is she always suffering and receive the short end of the stick ? why does God interfere in one event and not the others...honestly, I don't have answer to that.....but the bible give us clues why we are not happy here on earth....

1 Peter 1:17
And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.”

So, as long as we are not back in heaven, we will never truly be home as we are “foreigners in the land.” Earth is not our true home....heaven is......the Lord will make everything right and wipe all tears....but that is at the end of days, where Jesus will come for the 2nd time.....

Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people.The Lord has spoken!

God bless you all.....

Signs oh signs, where art thou ?

As Christians, we may be guilty of asking too many signs from God...see if these questions sound familiar to you:

- is he/she the one Lord ? give me a sign...
- should I move to another city Lord ? give me a sign...
- should I quit my job Lord ? give me a sign...
- is he/she the one Lord ? then let him come to my house today at 7 pm.....
- is she the one Lord ? then let her sit next to me on the next flight.....

etc etc etc....blah blah blah....

As Philip Yancey wrote in his book Disappointment with God, we crave for signs from God that we only want more signs and forget about God. Sometimes we even control God on how and what the signs should be.....

There are people who don't want to move until God give them signs....you know what ? God is not your personal genie who gives you signs all the time.....and if He can say something to you directly, He might say "What other signs???You have all that you need to know !!"

Sometimes we already know that the person is not for us, but we want to force our way anyway. Sometimes we already know that the only option is to move to the other town, but we don't want to move because it's inconvenient. Deep down we are afraid. We are afraid to make mistakes. We are afraid to be rejected. We are afraid to be disappointed one more time after a series of disappointment. Somehow we want God to say it through other people or through some magnificent event to give us the assurance that what we do is right. At the end, we are assuming things to be signs from Him....even when God doesn't give it to us.....

God longs for us to communicate with Him....so that we don't need roaring thunder, earthquake, and fire from heaven....God comes in a whisper....the closer we are to God, the more we know what He wants in our life....the important thing is to listen......when we stop asking God to "bless ME, help ME, protect ME, cure ME, enhance ME" and start asking God "what do YOU want me to do God ? who do YOU want me to bless today? what can I do to enhance YOUR kingdom today?" then you will be more atoned to His will...

Stop asking for signs and move on already....

The act of faith is taking the first step and let God lead the way rather than asking God to lead the way and never take the first step......

10 tips for wise women - repost.

This is just an opinion...you can agree to it, or disagree to it... btw, a woman is posting this...so this is from her point of view, not from me telling you girls what to do.....=)

If you want to be a woman that men like, especially your boy friend,husband or potential ones, you need to know what kind of attitudes that men commonly like. With this knowledge, you can adjust some things that men dislike, and enhance the ones that they do. When your attitude makes him happy,the greater his love to you.


1.Motherly
many men like a woman with motherly qualities such as warmth, attentive, and full of love. A man will feel comfortable, or safe, when a woman shows this quality to him. You don't have to wait until you have a child to have a maternal instinct. No matter what a woman's personality, every woman has this instinct build within them.

My comment : :
being mothered and motherly is a totally different matter. Men don't like it when you start acting like their mother...(wash your feet, clean up your room, brush your teeth) But men do look for their mother's positive quality in a woman.....


2. Childish
In the normal boundary, a childish woman can be very attractive in the eyes of men. Of course, this is not the annoying child-like behavior,(temper tantrum, selfish, moody) but the playful one. For instance, a woman's playful behavior can initiate the fatherhood in a man, such as his protective nature. This attitude can make a man feel needed, and make him enjoy life more.

3.Understanding
An understanding woman can make a man feel appreciated and accepted as he is. This reflects in tolerance, forgiveness, choosing the right time to criticize, etc. For instance, when a man is making a mistake, an understanding woman will not curse and berate him right then and there, but tries to understand the problem first and talk to him at a better time and place.

4.Appreciative
A woman who can appreciate a man is a man's dream.Male are wired differently, in ways that women like to be treated gently, men like to be appreciated. A sincere compliment, given a trust or responsibility to do something. A woman's appreciation can boost a man's confidence.

5.Pays attention to how they look
Men like women who pays attention to her own style. Attitude shows how a woman appreciate herself, it doesn't matter whether she shows sporty, sexy, or whatever looks she's trying to do.

My comment : :
This of course, to the point of "normal" standard. As a guideline, too much is never a good thing...a 3 centimeters thick make up layer, overdressing (going to the mall but as if going to a rave party), over exposure (leave something to our imagination please), etc.

For me personally, a little touch of make up, a nice dress, and low heel shoes is good enough...

6. Communicative
Men like communicative women, a person that is great to talk to. Men don't like some topics that women like (obviously) But a communicative woman can adjust. She doesn't' become a passive listener, but actively responding to him. She can be a good listener, know how to direct a serious conversation, and make conversations enjoyable.

My comment : :
There's a subtle difference between communicative and talkative...so be aware of this =)

7.Extrovert
An extrovert woman, kind has a plus in the eyes of men. They know how to act in front of older crowd, and also treat the younger crowd. When faced with new situation, even though nervous at first, she can adjust eventually.

My comment : :
Extrovert is not a must...this depends on every person...but a woman who can communicate well with others do catch our eyes....

8.Respect herself
Men likes women who respect herself. By respecting herself, a woman shows a man how he should treat her...

My comment : :
respect herself, but NOT demanding people to respect her. Men don't respond well to threats or demands.....granted, some men don't know how to treat or respect women....but by telling them to do so or complaining that men(or your friends) around you don't do that, most of the time, gets a negative result....

9.Like themselves
Women who like themselves appear more attractive to those who don't. She always smiled looking at her own image in the mirror. She take care of her body, increase her quality of life by giving the best for herself. By liking herself, she has an aura that makes men like her too.

My comment : :
like yourself, but not to the point of narcissistic....that is not a sign of confidence, but arrogance...

10.Sympathetic
Men adores women who are generous, care about others, consoling a grieving person, not choosing her friends, and not trying to look expensive. A sincere kindness will shine naturally, and it reflects a good heart, thus shows the inner beauty that one has.

Final Thought :
Change for the better, but never try to be someone that you are not just to get a guy. At the end, your real self will be revealed, and when reality hits, men will have a lot of difficulty to accept who you really are.

Maybe you girls have some things to post about how men should treat a woman, be my guest.... =)

10 TIPS WHEN TAKING A WOMAN SHOPPING

This is translated loosely from an email.... ^__^


1.Don’t ever say “You still have plenty of clothes!” especially in term of party dresses. Let it be known that a woman will NEVER wear the same dress over and over to a party in a certain community. Let’s say she wore one dress to a wedding of her coworker, that dress will never be worn to another coworker’s wedding

2.Suggesting to a woman to buy a cheaper item might lead you to go to outlet or wholesale stores, and this will be much more tiring. So consider this: expensive and comfortable at the mall, or cheap and tired at wholesale stores.

3.There's no such thing as a pattern in visiting a shop / counter. Can be linear, can be random … if you try to draw a line, it will look like a tangled web. Prepare a compass and a map of the building if necessary, so that you won’t get lost when finding the exit

4.50 cents difference is a very valid reason to go back to the first shop. And you as the companion have to be ready to answer the location of that shop.

5.The classic line “Just looking around” means “Just looking around, then I will try if it fits, then pay for it” Never got deceived by this, especially if you are the fund source

6.Never believe a specific reason to do shopping.When she says "I want to buy a shirt" means she will buy at least another item, could be more.....The shirt? She might buy it…she might not buy it...most of the time she won't even remember....

7.Remember that new shoes require a matching bag, and vice versa. Even a clashing style has to be designed of how clashed it will be.

8.The question “Does this look good ?” must be answered correctly and accurately. You will need the ability to read her mind, because if you say “No” when she really likes the item, it can be very2 fatal. Don’t ever say “I don’t know” or "Yes it looks good" without even looking at it. That answer won't get you home faster.

9.The question “Does this look good on me?” can be followed by the hardest question on the whole known universe “Does this make me look fat?” Be prepared with the best answer.

10. Get your stamina to top notch condition. Why? Because the shopper can sleep in the car on the way home because she’s tired and satisfied with the shopping, while you still have to drive home in the traffic jam.

A prayer for you, my friends....

I pray,
that you will find a person who treats you right
that will accept you for who you are
that will not take you for granted
that will appreciate you as the Lord appreciates His creations

I pray,
that if it's "Thy will be done"
then let it be that God's will
is to grant you happiness
in this life and the next one in eternity

I pray,
that God will grant you understanding,
to know that God loves you very much,
that nothing in your life happens beyond His control

I pray,
that the Lord will reveal Himself in His ways
to let you know that His plan is perfect

and finally I pray,
that God will grant you patience,
as everything will be beautiful in His time.

Amen.

The "Remote Control" relationship

This might seems weird to some of you....but maybe to some it will make sense.

The other day, my remote control died on me. For some reason, it has liquid inside of it. Please don't think of weird things, you pervs....So I have to live without it for a couple of days as it is on repair.

I am a heavy channel flipper. Even in the middle of watching a show, when ads coming on, I will flip to other channels first then go back to the show. So losing the remote control is a pain. This is something only couch potatoes will understand....

Whenever I want to change a channel, I have to get up and go through all the channels one by one to get through the other one, whereas my favorite channels are sometimes 20 channels apart. Even when I want to watch a DVD is a pain. I need to go through all the menus just to find AV2...and I can't even set the sleep timer because it's not available in the main menu, which I find highly inconvenient because I like to leave the TV set on while I'm sleeping....

Finally when I watch a channel, I decide to watch it from start to finish...even with the ads....sometimes whenever I turn on the TV, I just watch whatever is there just because I am lazy to change the channel...

Bear with me...there's a moral to this story...hehehe

This is what our society is like now...everything is easy...as easy as having a remote control....everything comes with a touch of a button....in a relationship, like a program, when we don't like the person, we just "flipped" through other people who are available right now.

Even when people are in a relationship with someone, (while looking at a show) they still want to look through the other "channels" when things got boring or problems start arising...sometimes they forget to get back to their previous show and end up finishing the new show instead.

When a relationship is hard to obtain and needs a lot of work, people will not change partners as easy as changing channels. People will work through it to the end, no matter how bad, from start to finish.

They also have to accept reality, that whatever it is when the TV is on, it's what the person is truly like.
You might have Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Disney, or C-SPAN. (ooohhh..., grrrroowlllll !!!!, yippee!!!!!, or yawnnnnn......respectively). But that's who your partner is, and you have to stick with it till the end.....

Finally, last but not least, you cannot fall asleep while your spouse is talking as the mute or sleep button don't exist within them.....believe me, the nagging will not put you to sleep...hehehehe

If people don't take a relationship as easy as this, they all might still have a chance in this modern world, where the word "divorce" is said as easy as saying "peanuts"

Well...there you have it folks...my 2 cents on this matter..hope it brightens your day..if it's not, close this note and I'm sorry to waste whatever minutes you spend to read this.

God bless =)

Divinity Above Eternity

Do you realize that our God exist outside of time ? He has seen from the beginning to end what has happen in our lifetime....to Him, our life on earth is nothing but a blip in the whole cosmic scenario of eternity...but for Him to care for us deeply even for just a nanosecond of His time is amazing....

Let me use the Lord of the Ring trilogy.....that’s the longest trilogy that I know, with 3 hours for each movie, that makes the total of 9 hours……. For Frodo, the main character, that 9 hours is his lifetime, although for us it only costs us not even half a day. Compared to the 9 hours that he has, if we live to be 60, that's already 525,600 hours. That means 9 hours period is only 0.0017 % of our time... This is the analogy of God's time and our time.....eternity vs temporary...

We, the viewers, are like God in a way, because we already see the movie from beginning to end…we know Frodo will make it…we know that he will meet his great helpers in the journey…magnificent people like Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf…..people who will die fighting for him or with him.....we know that he will destroy the ring and with it Sauron, the ultimate king of evil….we know he is going to “heaven” with the elves at the end…. we know that everything is going to be alright….

But what if we are Frodo? As Frodo, we cannot skip the bad parts of the movie where he is almost killed during all of his perilous trips to Mordor. In the Mines of Moria, he met an army of deadly, war hungry killer Orcs, topped with a huge devil in flame called Balrog. In the end of the journey to the gate of Mordor, he was almost eaten alive by a spider….In the final part of the movie, after Frodo destroyed the ring, he has no way out and probably ready to die in the middle of a river of hot lava…

He also have to endure the temptation of the ring…the dark power that tries to consume him…the ring that has a mind of its own...trying to get him killed because it only serves Sauron…..and he has to bear it all alone….

I’m sure that Frodo will ask the same question as us….”Why me? “…”Why am I chosen to bear the ring?”…"Why did this ring come to me? "and a series of whys to the suffering that he has to endure.....we will ask God the same thing when it happens to us for all of our "suffer-Ring"

But as much as Frodo begs us (his "god"), if he can, to speed up the process or let him get way with all his troubles, we know that he has to go through all of that suffering to reach the final goal....we know that if one thing happen before the other, Frodo will not be able to finish his mission....everything has to happen in order for him to complete the journey....Frodo can’t make the time go faster or slower...but everything will happen in the determined time and place.....

God knows what’s best for us..... God knows WHEN or IF you are married...God knows you will meet a series of people in your life… but one thing to keep in mind, that God does NOT control LOVE...this is the free will of human being to fall in love....God doesn’t make someone fall in love with you or vice versa….. But He knows the best person that will love you and complete you....He will direct to you to that person and you will meet the person when you’re ready…..

God also knows all the bad decisions that you are going to make....the beauty of it, even when you make bad decisions, God will give you a way to go back to the right path, and it depends on you whether you want to take it or not….again free will takes a role here….

I know it can be frustrating at times when God doesn't answer us instantly....do you know why? because God has seen the finish line of our life.....He knows when is the best time to give us what we need.....or refusing to give what we want....because it’s not the time for the event to happen yet.....the good thing is, unlike watching Lord of The Ring where we have no control over the story, God has a plan for each of us.....a good plan....no matter how bad it seems, in the end it’s always for our own good.....

I guess what’s more important to God is our attitude during our lifetime....the communication and the prayer to Him...waiting patiently for Him to finally reveal His plan to us as we become closer to Him......let me close this with a quote from Frodo :

“Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

We can choose to be bitter over all the trials that happen to us, or we can choose to find God and ask Him for his guidance and wisdom to overcome all adversities.....

Where's your bible ?

WARNING

spoiler alert !! If you have not watch the book of Eli, please don't read this note because I am telling the end of the story. Read this after you watched the movie...

I just watched a movie title "Book of Eli" by Denzel Washington...it's a great movie....and talks to me a lot about the importance of a bible....

The book of Eli tells the story of a person with the last bible on earth....for some reason, people in the world are destroying all copies of the bible that ever existed.....and after that a huge war breaks and the earth is left to rubble with only a few people alive...and to make it worse, these people try to kill, rob and rape whatever is left....

This one man, Eli, happens to be the bearer of that bible......he truly values the bible that he protects it with his life, as it is the only copy on earth.....and what amazes me is that at the end (SPOILER WARNING) when the book is taken by the villain, he doesn't seem to worry at all. Do you know why ? Because Eli REMEMBERS the whole bible !!! From Genesis to Revelation, verse by verse, chapter by chapter verbatim.....

We often took our bible for granted....sometimes it's either we let it collect dust or we never bring it with us as it is too heavy, especially with the digital bible available now.....

We are still blessed to stay in the country where bibles are still widely sold and available....
We are still blessed that we can go to church without being persecuted...
We are still blessed that carrying bible in the public is not against the law...

Here's a thought .... What happen when suddenly ALL the bible in the world is banned and destroyed ? What happen when Skynet in the movie Terminator comes true ? When all digital gadgets are no longer usable anymore as they are taken over by an evil super computer ( don't think that this is impossible in the near future.....the Current fastest supercomputer system is AMD Opteron-based Cray XT5 Jaguar at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was announced as the fastest operational supercomputer, with a sustained processing rate of 1.759 PFLOPS - for info about FLOPS. find it in WIKIPEDIA in this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercomputer#cite_note-3 perhaps it's only a matter of time that A.I. developed by humans will grow a conscience....)

Anyway, back to laptop =)

How many verses of the bible that you remember ? How longing are you to read the bible when you can't anymore ? When it's not available anymore, we start to value the one thing that we never look upon at the first place....

I am guilty of this too.....I don't value the bible as much as I should have been...the book of life....I am not saying that we should put our bible on a shrine and praying on it......because it's not the bible that gives life but the Creator and Savior that does......and he also stresses one important point about the bible....It's not only reading the book that is important, but also living it.....

In the end, Eli passed away.....after he finished dictating the whole bible to the people who will put it to print.........he never regret any suffering that he has to endure in his life protecting the bible and finishing the mission the Lord has given him....this is his final words before he died....part of it was taken from II Timothy 4:7

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I'm so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally
allowing me to rest. I'm so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.

Keep the faith, fight the good fight....and don't forget to bring your instruction book while at it...

God bless you all.....

The Rain and Storm before the Sun

We went to Tanjung Papuma this long weekend for our holiday. We were expecting bad weather, but we prayed over it before the trip. With faith, we went there expecting a good weather from the Almighty Himself.

The first day we came, the tent was not really set. We didn't have tarpaulin, so they set up another tent to cover the ground under us.. But we slept in the tent after all...then suddenly it rains...at first it was a trickle...then a really hard rain ! The "greatest" thing was, the tent was made of clothing fabric. Sure enough, water was seeping from the tent, over and under us. Some of us decided to sleep in the car, while some of us decided to stay. That was unforgettable moment for me. The sleeping bag was wet, the sand splashed to our faces because of the hard rain. It was a crazy first day. The rain was so hard and long ( about 4 hours and counting) , that I began to question this trip...In the back of my mind, I said "Huh...is this going to be a good trip ? it's not a good start.." but I kept my feeble faith anyway.

But amazingly, after the hard rain, the weather began to clear up. The sun was shining, and we can swam in the ocean. The funny thing was, we were so afraid of the rain, we prepared our tarp the next day. We covered our tent so tight, and put tarp below us, put rocks on the tarp. On that night, there's no rain ! it was so hot that a friend finally decided to open the tarp and let the wind in ^^ We had a great time doing trekking, swimming, and some pictures along the way. It was a great outdoor activity with great friends.

In the end, after all is said and done, after too many fish and young coconut, we decided to go home...and the heavy cloud was forming again. ...God has provided a window for us to have a good vacation, and let it close again after we were done....thank You Lord...

For me, it's like life itself...we pray for a good time for our life. We pray for prosperity and happiness to happen in our life. But many times, like our pastor said, when we are really happy, we don't remember God at all. When our ATM is unlimited, when we are healthy, when all the kids are obedient, God is the last thing in our mind.

The Lord sometimes let the storm to happen in our life. The Lord wants to make our faith grow by letting us feel the heavy storm...if we keep the faith and pass through it, by then we can really appreciate the sweet taste of God's blessing in our life...so that we will not take God's provision for granted.

Many times when the storm happens for a long period of time, we often question God's intention in our life. We don't believe that there will be a sunshine after the rain. But God's intention is always good. No matter what happen, He will always be in control. If we keep the faith and finish the race, God will not overlook your suffering and double the reward for your trouble.

Isaiah 61:7 (New International Version)

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.


and last but not least, my two most favorite verses...

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.


Psalm 32:8
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.

God bless you all.....

When All is Hopeless, Look UP !!!

I can finally tell this story after a couple of weeks for various reason. Some people know this already, as I already explained to them over and over....But for the sake for explaining it for the n-th time, I will write it here.

Couple of weeks ago, I went to Makassar for school visits. So I booked travel arrangements with a travel agent. From the beginning, this agency has been giving me trouble.

First of all, after I have paid them my fare, they were asking me to pay in cash even though I have transferred the money. Since it's from a different bank, it took two business days to complete. I showed them the transfer receipt, but they don't believe me, ask me to pay it in cash first, and refund it if the money went through.

The worst part was they threaten me of canceling the hotel room. I was furious. What they ask is impossible, since it's already Friday. If it took 2 business days for inter-bank transfer, then I would be in trouble since I would be leaving on Sunday. The whole Friday afternoon I spent just to argue with them. She kept on saying " my accounting department won't let it"...

I prayed to God to help me with this.....My coworker also helped me with this by calling them...after hour long of argument, by some miracle, the transferred money went through....and I thought my trouble was over...NOT !!!!!

So I flew to Makassar on Sunday. Already feeling tired, I wanted just to shower and take a good night rest. I checked in, and then the concierge told me something unbelievably shocking "Mr Sinaga ? your hotel reservation was canceled" I was so shocked. Apparently this travel agent was using a sub agent. I reserved 2 rooms under the same name for a different date. The accountant of the sub agent, apparently thought it was a double booking and cancel my room without notifying the primary agent.

I was mad and furious. I wanted to call both the agents, but just my luck, it was a Sunday afternoon. So no one to call. I was devastated and angry, BB broadcasting all the friend I have with no luck. To make it worse, the hotel was not helping at all. They wanted me to pay a hotel room with them, and hoping that the agent will cover it, despite the trouble I was in. Truly no help was coming from any side.

But the Lord is good. I happened to take a marketing class long time ago, and I know the franchise owner of the travel agent. So I SMS-ed her about this debacle. But she doesn't reply to me. So I gave up fighting for this hotel room. I was tired, emotionally exhausted, and desperate. This was the point where all knowledge and and all money was useless. So I stood still. I told God. "You are still on the throne. I am at my wits end. No one can help me but You, Lord."

So I decided to move to another hotel. I got a room..but no elevator to the 3rd floor. I was laughing out of madness. But I decided to smile anyway. About 11.30 at night, the hotel called me again. Saying that all was cleared. I got my hotel room back, they even picked me up from my other hotel. Apparently someone ( I don't know who, perhaps the franchise owner or one of my BB friend) called the travel agent and asked to resolve the problem. The travel rep apologized to me over and over (which has no meaning at this point).

Finally all was resolved, they even pay for the cancellation fee..and I can go on finishing my duty there.

Moral of the story :

- God can use whatever event in your life to help you later on. I took the marketing class when I was unemployed out of keeping my insanity. If I never took that class, I would never know the franchise owner, and she won't be able to help me. It's amazing how God's plan work.

- It's not a good example to ask God only when we are backed to a corner...we should always look up to Him in every situation....but when all is hopeless, look up ! God never fails you or disappoints you.

Hope this note will bless you.....