Thursday, November 29, 2012

Fear Not, Have Faith

I am waiting for admission to hospital again. This is my third time this year.
I am so used to it that I do not feel afraid any longer. Somehow, when you are used to certain procedures and pain, you are numb to them.
I have been having gastro and abdominal problems for quite a while and medications do not seem to help.
I am prepared for the worst. I am at peace in the midst of all these troubles. I have accepted that trials and tribulations are part of our life and we cannot escape from them.
Everyone is showered with mountains of challenges but it is up to us on how we face them. Do we face them alone or do we surrender to God and let Him lead the way?
Fears can easily put a chain around us and make us paralysed with hopelessness. Faith releases fear and enables us to cling on to God although we cannot see what lies ahead of us.
Most of the time, unexpected events throw themselves at us and we are caught off guard. Some of us become depressed and drive even a few to the point of committing suicide.
However, our God is bigger than any of these events. He repeatedly tells us not to be afraid all through out the New and Old testament.
As I sit here waiting, I feel peace more than anything else. His words are my pillars of strength. I could feel my inner being transfixed on the words, " Fear Not, Have Faith".
I hope you have faith too.
May God be with you.

Friday, November 23, 2012

I dedicate this to you...God Loves You

Dear friends and readers who stumble upon this blog, 
I would like to dedicate the following painting of mine to you all.
Whenever you feel down or low, look at the Cross.
God loves you so much.
Ponder on the Cross.
The Cross will never fail you.
Do not for one second believe in the lies of the world.
You are precious and His cross proves it all.
Embrace Him and let Him restore you.
I wish you well.
God loves you.
Amen.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Kadosh

The bag pipes are calling,
Sacred sounds of sweet raindrops,
Fragrant of blood and tears plummeting,
Footsteps threading slowly,
Mesmerized by the voices of angels,
Echoing a million miles from home,
Picking up the fragments of broken hearts,
The spring of life ticking away,
Unfortunate tragedies stole an heir,
Mighty is the throne no more,
No living creatures used to hail,
How precious yet fragile,
Battles fought till all drops are gone,
Refuge in the shadows of the forest,
The river of the divine spreading strength,
Trailing the fountain of life,
Unseen cherabims beaming with light,
Lonesome and weary filled with pain,
Kadosh kadosh he cries out
Who may answer the call
Bleak with crushed dreams and hopes
Wishing in the cavern of crosses
Running to that white pure house 
All might and soul drawn to its glory
Forsaking a life with jewelry
Diamonds and gold no more
One day in his court is better
Than a thousand elsewhere
Caressing whispers of sacrifice
Embracing Kadosh 
Oh Kadosh

Monday, November 12, 2012

Hope in Pomegranate Sky



There is thunder in the city, i can hear it from my bed 
and it's filling every corner, waking every weary head 
but when that wind rolls down to take me, and bear me up through stormy skies 
i know i'll break on through to morning, i know i'll reach the other side 

and all my friends will be there waiting, 
and my sweet amanda leigh 
and i'll know that every crossroads 
brought me where i'm supposed to be 

and we'll be singing hallelujah, till we reach the by and by 
and we'll rest our weary hearts in the pomegranate sky 

there is hope in misdirection
, there is beauty in the fall 
there is sunlight in the setback, and in every engine stall 
i was made to tread deep water, made to walk a winding street 
never knowing where i'm headed till it's underneath my feet 

but i'll find that home uncertain, with a fire in the hearth 
i'll find comfort in deliverance from the coldness and the dark 

and we'll be singing hallelujah, till we reach the by and by 
and we'll rest our weary hearts in the pomegranate sky
The lyrics above belongs to Taylor Berrett who sings the song as well. It's entitled "Pomegranate sky". 

It's such a lovely song. Sometimes God reminds us of His love and hope through random things of the world. This song gives me hope.

There is hope in misdirection and there is beauty in the fall; Taylor sings..

Autumn always depict leaves falling and cold sombre mood..we humans are like that too..we fall and make mistakes and most of the times, we play the mistakes over and over in our heads..even when everyone else has forgotten about it.

The one person we always almost never get to forgive is ourselves. Forgive yourself, let the past go and begin anew. Love yourself because God loves you.

No matter if your future seems to fall apart or you're dying of cancer, do not give up and give in.

There is always hope.

We can always look up to the pomegranate sky and smile because God who makes lovely pomegranates is looking down on us, smiling and sheltering us in His arms.

God bless and keep you. Alleluia!

Butterflies in the Stomach


Ramblings
Weird Crushes
Nauseating Pulls
Love in the pit
Stomach crunches smell

Highlights of Maalox
Charcoal swirls
Perhaps one or two
Windy anxieties
Crazy infatuation gushes

Unknown forces
Bacteria or virus
Love or hate
Naughty dreams
Gastric spells bewitching

Butterflies flapping
Flipping intestines
Wishes upside down
Missing reverie
Awake and behold

Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Silent Voice


Enclosure,
Cloistered behind the high walls,
Bricks of cosmopolitan consumption,
Ambushed by creeping poisonous ivy,
Thickened dusty moulds of wood,
Formed beneath a hidden cavern...

Voices,
Endless messages outside numbed her,
Listening intently to the silence,
Within her a voice that none can hear,
As still as a mouse in prey can be
She sits facing against the world...

Darkness,
A dim candle flickers in the cavern,
Stenched of blood and sins engraved,
A martyr's wish cannot be reversed,
A torturous yearning to be embraced,
Is it the beginning or is it the end...

Emotions,
Fragile and moving yet not conforming,
The standards of society impenetrable,
Yet the voice aches to be heard,
An audience that knows no bounds,
In the world yet not of the world...

Hungry,
Crouching beneath the chaotic lines,
A thirst insatiable that knows no quench,
A princess in waiting to be fed,
Malnourished beyond the naked eyes,
She starved for bread of words...

Death,
Die to herself by means of denial,
Partaking the cross of holy sacrifice,
Be she perfect like a pure bride,
Her parched throat with no sound,
The silent voice awaits the groom

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Are you Ready for God's Call?

The song below has been sung many times in church. How many of us truly burned in our hearts when we listen to the words?


Many hearts are hungry tonight
Many trapped in darkness
Yearn for the light
So many who are far from home
And many who are lost
O Lord Your wounded children need
The power of Your cross
Chorus:
As bread that is broken
Use our lives
As wine that is poured out
A willing sacrifice
Empower us Father
To share the love of Christ
As bread that is broken Lord
Use our lives
Help us to begin where we are
Help us love the people
Near to our hearts
Then give our faith a mission field
Wherever You may call
Lord love Your world
Through each of us
Until we've touched them all

Do you feel broken when you see the wounded people in the world? Not just the hungry and physically poor but the spiritually starved in the rich world because they do not know Jesus.

Do you feel you are born for a higher calling?

Do you feel God has a mission for you?

Do you feel a burning zeal to reach out and touch people with God's love?

Many of us feels being called but are we willing to sacrifice it all to leave our comfort zones and leave a life that we would never imagine? 

Many of us hesitate to leave our comfortable lives. We are afraid of losing our houses, cars, holidays and so forth.

We need to look right at the heart of Jesus and ponder these words of His.

 "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
Luke 10:2

"And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life." 
Matt 19:19

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Matt 19:21

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me".
Matt 16:24

Not everyone is called to the mission field or leave it all for a radical Christian life. However, if there is this nagging in you and all those words above kept ringing in the voices of your heart, God might be calling you to somewhere.

Let us continue to pray that God will make us be willing to be willing, to be His hands and feet for many are hungry for God; for many are trapped in darkness.

Let us be ready when God calls.

Amen.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Battle in the Dark

Darkness falls and lights go off
Nurses still busy past midnight
The dark tunnel amazingly calm
The soul at peace with lyrica

Celebrex soothes roaring nerves
Fibro wakes up now and then
The disc says hello unexpectedly
Sending excited waves all over

Stillness of the night brushes over
An occasional snore stir the silence
Faux drowsiness running through
Buzzing sounds of far emergencies

Lights outside sheds a bright twinkle
Ignoring neverending pokes of pain
Central nervous system likes to joke
Pouring waves of tingle till you cry

Numbness became one's best friend
A new soulmate as close as fibro
Unspoken words shared the cannal
Borderline carpel tunnel syndrome

Muscles and veins dances together
Forming jingles of tap dancing
Weakened arms exhorts a laugh
Expressing turmoil without energy

Alas the dark night is still long
It is a beginning of a new battle
Science and emotions join forces
Shaping warriors of divine strength

Monday, August 27, 2012

Love


People come and go
Yet you always stay
The tides keep changing
Your promises never sway

Glorious is your name
Yet poor in spirit
A palace you left behind
To save mankind like us

No men can fully fathom
Pure loneliness
Total rejection
Extreme pain

Change of hearts
Conversion of sinners
Purity you behold
Love you taught

Deliver us
Save us
Teach us
To love

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Fighting Fibromyalgia Exhaustion

Sitting in the hospital lobby waiting for my housemate to pick me,
I decided to type a few notes. I had just completed one session of Physiotherapy. My back feels comforted with the tender consolation of machinery working together to help ease my back pain.

However, I am feeling very weak and lightheaded.
I'm not quite sure if it's fibromyalgia exhaustive tiredness or the side effects of lyrica that I took last night before going to bed. It took so much effort to wake up. I felt it was even easier in those days to do a few rounds of kickboxing than to get out of bed now. I feel extreme tiredness and heaviness on all my limbs. I am thinking of next week when I go back to work. How will I cope with these? 

I feel cold and numb as if all energy has been drained off me. This is not the first time. I have gone through these many times; dragging myself to work like a zombie. If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, you would probably know what I am talking about. I could barely bring my mouth muscles to form a smile.

I think of millions of people who might be in worse conditions than I am and yet they are still cheerful and fighting the good fight. 

These verses below brings me much consolation. There is no suffering here on earth that can be compared with the glory that awaits us in eternity. Whatever we are going through, God allows it to happen to shape us or make us more like His son. Remember that all things work out for good for those who love God. I would like to dedicate this to you if you feel like giving up because of all you have to go through.


18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

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.


Don't give up! Fight the good fight!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Sciatica, Disk Herniation and Fibromyalgia

     It has been almost a month now since I last blogged. There are so many words in my head, so many things I want to share but that is not possible.

     I finally managed to see my doctor. I was admitted to hospital and found out I did have muscle injury near my left shin bone. However after a series of ultrasound therapies on my leg, I still have stabbing pain in my leg especially when I was lying down in the hospital bed. That was weird. I should not be having any pain when my legs were not moving. My kind doctor advised that I should do an MRI on my lumbar spine just in case. True enough, my L5/S1 has disk herniation. Most often, people called that 'slipped disc'. My leg was experiencing sciatica pain. The bulging disc was pushing on my nerves that were connected to my left leg near my shin. That was the culprit! In fact both of my discs were bulging. Doctor said that God is good to me to only allow pain on one side. Thank God for that.

     All these years, I always had backache and sometimes it was so bad that I could not even lie on my back. Little did I know all these accumulative 'pains' would lead to a condition like now. I also have fibromyalgia syndrome so I have many overlapping symptoms which masked the nerve impingement pain that I felt. Fibromyalgia did intensified my pain.

    I have never wanted to take medications to treat my fibromyalgia as I wanted to deal with it naturally. In fact, I was improving naturally due to lifestyle changes and more prayers. However, doctor advised that it is best now to take Lyrica to help with the 'crazy' nerve signals that fibro is sending. It has been making me very sleepy and drowsy. I feel blur and my head just need to plop on the bed every now and then.

    As of yesterday, I have cut down my dosage of Lyrica. I have to admit that my fibromyalgia pain is lessening. I do not feel much pain in my legs anymore but my back seems to be hurting more. That is still bearable. I thank God for many friends who visited me and helped me throughout these days of 'sick leave' and bed rest at home. Big thanks to my mother who flew in to nurse me. I feel like a grandmother now.

     I guess the whole experience has been very interesting. I have not slept in the hospital since I was six and it was 'enlightening' to have two different old ladies being admitted and discharged right next to my bed through out the duration of my stay. Perhaps I shall blog about them on a new post entirely. I have been pushed around in the wheelchairs, even in the malls and I must admit that it was quite fun. The best part was seeing how people react to me on wheelchairs. I know now how a handicapped feels like. I felt pampered to have so many people taking care of me especially when I was hospitalized. I also kept thinking of the many millions of poor people who could never afford medications or a visit to the doctor. I am very saddened by this. 

      Right now, I have finished a set of physio-therapies and am undergoing another set of interferential therapy and traction with hot pack. They really helped a lot. I am improving day by day thanks to all these technology plus lots of tender loving care from above and around me. I would be going back to work in a week. I pray the extra pressure of walking and everything would not urge sciatica to recur on me.

      I have to be extra careful now with everything that I do. I guess I took my lumbar spine for granted. I am going to miss all the kickboxing that I had always wanted to resume and a lot more fun activities that I have to avoid. There's always a bright side to everything. I guess and hope I'll be more compassionate to elderly people with aches and pains far worse than mine.

Praise the Lord for His mercy and healing!

p/s: Many people around me has never heard of fibromyalgia..it is so rare in Malaysia..I wonder if there are more people like me.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Missionary of Charity

      I have been on bed rest for at least five days now. Still, my leg is painful. It does not seem like muscular pain but only a proper diagnosis can prove what is wrong. I tried to call the doctor the whole morning but could not even get through to him. He's a good doctor and that is why, he is on demand as well.

     He is fully booked and could not slot me in till tomorrow morning. How hard it is today to see a good doctor. Harder still for those who cannot afford. I thought of the poor. How painful it must be for them to see their own children die because of malnutrition and disease. How much suffering for those who are poor, sick and still have to work to fend for their family.

      It so happened that I am reading 'Come Be My Light', the revealing private writings of the late Blessed Mother Teresa. She herself went through so much sufferings so she could identify and relate and fathom the sufferings of the poor, the sick and the dying.

      It makes me think of a lot of things. There are still so much poverty in the world but many of us are so caught up in materialism, the latest fads and the next property to buy. The list goes on. Will we just spend a little more time and love for these people?

      I think of the many graduates of medicine out there. I pray and I hope you will join me in prayers for many more volunteer doctors and nurses to help care for the sick amongst the poor. Pray also for more willing hearts to serve as a missionary of charity like Mother Teresa, serving the poorest of the poor, thus serving God.

     You and I are both made differently with a different calling. If you do feel a stirring in your heart, a calling to serve the poor but are afraid, think of these words that Mother Teresa wrote," It is to make unhappy homes happy, to bring Jesus into their dark homes....If only one family, if only one unhappy child is made happy with the love of Jesus, tell me, will it not be worth all of us giving all for that, for u having all the trouble?"

     Perhaps God is calling you. Praying you have the courage to answer God's call.

Friday, June 22, 2012

My Poor Artist


Now your bags are packed,
You are ready to go,
My heart is sad,
Words cannot explain,
All those passing years,
You have been there for me,
My wild rollercoaster days,
Your artist mood swings,
Our endless melancholy chats,
Our dreams of backpacking,
Our hopes to trek every jungle,
Fashion dreams collide into cloud nine,
Hippie songs and beatle mania,
I wanna hold your hands we sing,
Reggae bar and rainforest fests,
Artsy bazaars and coffee rantings,
Oriental arts and psychedelic colours,
Rockclimbing and waterfall adventures,
The strings that held us together,
Our swimming and kayaking days are over,
Suntanning we shall leave to the kids,
Who are oblivious to freckles and wrinkles,
You sang amazing grace,
And I almost fell off my chair,
I still cannot believe that deep voice is yours,
Boyfriends come and go,
Yet you stay and make me smile,
God's grace you are,
A blessing and gift to me,
A friend like you is like Vitamin C,
Keeps me from the viruses of blues,
As sad as I might sound yet am happy,
My poor artist is spreading his wings,
There is none like you,
I know I will never find a substitute,
So please be happy for me over the sea,
I pray God keep you safe in His wings,
And please my dearest artist,
Keep the arts flowing

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Random Poetry of the Soul


Pictures paint a thousand words they say
Poetry stirs up imagination a million times
Missing the good old days with poetry
The inner blues and soulful tone are fading

Why do sorrows always meet creativity
A bubble of joy finds it hard to express
Finesse in top of the cream word of arts
Random words are thrown for playful sake

Perhaps the loneliness of Van Gogh
Matches the colourful vigour of Da Vinci
Creations of geniuses spark mystery
Leaving behind a trail of followers

Sufferings exude great strength
A drop of pure blood sanctifies all
In the dark night the soul grieves
Mourning poured on masterpieces

A grand finale awaits the artsy soul
No one understands yet many feels
The depth of imaginations and longings
True to itself till death does it wait

Saturday, May 12, 2012

What Makes Us Different?

What makes the followers of Christ different?
Is it the bible knowledge? Is it the belonging to a certain church? Is it the weekly attendance of going to church on Sundays? Is it community living?

More than often, we hear remarks from non-believers that Christians are no different than the rest. They fight among themselves. They criticize and judge. They look down on others. Sometimes they behave worse than other people. Christians are humans too. We are still learning to be a good Christian. Sometimes we take a lifetime to learn to be a Christian. Forgive us.

So what is a Christian? A christian is a follower of Christ.
The question is..what does it take to be a follower of Christ?

Take a few examples. The late Mother Teresa, Heidi Baker, Lydia Prince and etc. They are all Christians but what do they have in common? Everyone in the world recognizes them not because of their preaching and not because of their going to church. The Indians love Mother Teresa so much that they gave her a state funeral when she died. Heidi Baker is known all over Africa for her compassionate ministry to the poor. All the Arabs and Jews probably know Lydia Prince for her risk in taking orphans from two most conflicting races.

What is the one thing that people from all over the world recognize in them? Is it the habit that Mother Teresa wore or is it the vows that she had taken? Is it Heidi Baker's great preaching or her PHD education? Is it Lydia's courage to leave her homeland? It's simple yet difficult to grasp. The answer is LOVE. God is love as it is written in 1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."


How do we love? It is easier said than done and love is always interpreted in a million ways. The most important question is,"How do we love with God's love?"

In John 3:16,"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus set the perfect example. He obeyed His Father and gave His ALL for us. Every drop of His blood He poured for us. He gave His All and fully surrendered to His Father's will so that He can show us what is Love. So what do we do? To love means to surrender our whole being, body, heart, mind and soul to God. The rest will follow.

In the book "Come Be My Light" which revealed a couple of private writings of Mother Teresa, she wrote,

" I wanted to give God something very beautiful and without reserve." She wanted to say Yes to God in all circumstances despite her fears and worries and weaknesses. She further explained," Why must we give ourselves fully to God? Because God has given Himself to us. If God who owes nothing to us is ready to impart to us no less than Himself, shall we answer with just a fraction of ourselves? To give ourselves fully to God is a means of receiving God Himself. I for God and God for me. I live for God and give up my own self, and in this way induce God to live for me. Therefore to possess God we must allow Him to possess our soul."

It is difficult and many times, it involves sacrifices, a change of lifestyle, persecutions and even the loss of loved ones. Mother Teresa never saw her mother again after she left her homeland at the age of eighteen. Lydia left her homeland and went to Jerusalem with no mission or church to support her. Heidi had to leave the comforts of her home and live poorly for many years.

To love means to surrender to God and love as He wants us to; be it in the mission field, be it at home or be it in the office.

Let us look beyond status, races, countries, genders, denominations, theological differences and whatever that differentiates us from the outside.Let us take a step further and obey what Jesus has commanded us to do.

John 13:34 -35"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

That way, everyone will know that we are the followers of Christ because God is Love.

Let's pray that we will give ourselves wholeheartedly to God and love as He commands us to without reserve.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Do not Judge and You will not be Judged

The world is a melting pot of colours, cultures, religions and personalities. As much as we love peace and harmony, there are bound to be conflicts between countries, races and clash of characters. Since centuries ago, skin colour has always been an issue whether we like it or not.

How many of us look at one man's race and has a quick generalization on his character? How many of us make racist jokes and intentionally try to bring down another man because of his race? How many of us look down on another person because of where she or he comes from? How many of us stay away from someone who perhaps are different from us?

We are all guilty at one or more points in our life to stereotypically judge a person because of their race or country and etc. It is not a new thing. Since ancient times, Jews do not mix with Samaritans because they were considered unclean. The story follows till today.

Do you ever think why God made men and women of all colours? If He made them all, don't you think He would love them all just the same? Why must we discriminate and belittle our brothers and sisters just because our skin looks different or we have different levels of education?

It says here in:1 Samuel 16:7 


But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."


I read this in 'The Traveler's Gift'. I shall recap it in my own words.

"A father and a child was looking at the sky. A hundred helium balloons of different colours floated up into the sky. The child asked the father,"Which colour balloon will go the highest?" The father answered," It's not the colour of the balloon that's important. It's what inside that makes all the difference."
The child had some serious thoughts about that statement and told the father," It does not matter whether any races or gender has bearing on what one can become. Greatness does not care if one is a girl or a boy. In fact, it is what's inside us that makes all the difference, then the difference is made when we choose what goes on inside."

Are we that shallow to judge someone based on skin colour, gender, status, income like how the marketing experts would do?
The next time we see a person that is different than us, let's get to know that person first. Who knows we might be pleasantly surprised :)


Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged.


Sunday, May 6, 2012

I Give you My All

In solitude I seek your presence,
In the desert I meet your holy face,
You embrace me in the wilderness,
Holding me like a lamb in your arms
You call me precious one
You bestow lavish gifts on me
Wolves and snakes you chase them away
The brokenness in my heart you make it whole
You wipe away every single tears
In the darkness and pain
You care and pour out your anointing oil
Holding my hands you fix the holes
You beckon me to pick up the cross
When I fail you lift me up
When I am too weak
You shower me with graces
In the gates of hell you put your angels charge over me
You stop me if I run away
No hiding place can be covered from you
You love me so much till it hurts
My beloved one
Till death you lay down for me
What more can I ask for
You gave everything for me
With every drop of your precious blood
I love you so for you first love me
With that I give you my all

Take this Cup Away from Me

Many of us live with a broken heart..
How many of us have gone through life with more disappointments, rejections and loneliness than happiness?
How many of us fought battles of temptations, loss and diseases?
How many of us woke up with a mountain of struggles to go through each day?

Look at Jesus. Meditate on His life.
We have broken hearts but He would know best.
He was rejected by the very people He came to save.
He was betrayed by one of His closest and most loved one; one He has chosen to be His own.
He was abandoned by all his disciples except for John at the foot of the cross.
He suffered the worst humiliation and punishment ever existed for something He has never committed..that of our sins. The scourges, the insults, the crowning of thorns, the carrying of the Cross, the nailing on His hands and feet..

What is our trials compared to what He had to endure?
He was King but He left it all to come and save us.
Our pains and sufferings are pale in comparison to His. He understands your very pain. He understands your innermost sorrows. He understands the diseases that you have been diagnosed with. He is holding your hand. He completely understands.

Alphonsus Rodriquez endured many trials and losses. However, he endured them with joy in His heart. He wrote," Putting these sufferings between God and my soul, I must say,"What does it matter, my God, that I should endure for your love these small hardships? For you, Lord, endured so many great hardships for me." Amid the hardship and trial itself, I stimulate my heart with this exercise. Thus, i encourage myself to endure for love of the Lord who is before me, until I make what is bitter sweet. In this way learning from Christ our Lord, I take and convert the sweet into bitter, renouncing myself and all earthly carnal pleasures, delights and honours of this life, so that my whole heart is centered solely on God."

God sees what you are going through.Perhaps He is preparing something bigger for you and moulding your character. Perhaps He is giving you a wake up call to repent and come back to Him. There are so many "perhaps" but we have to trust that He will bring good out of all your sufferings.

Romans 8:28 says "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".


All we have to do is say it like Jesus in Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." and trust fully in Him, knowing that if the cup is not taken away, it is God's will and He will bring good out of it.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Good out of Evil

Tragedies struck
Piercing the bubble of safety
Fragility vaporised
Sinking in the depths of vulnerability
Unseen and unexpected
Unforeseen shadows of war
Massacre of the innocence
Testing the thresholds of relationships
To stay and protect
Or to run away
Mind over heart or vice versa
Pride and selfishness set aside
Better to make peace than proving what's right
Right and wrong is subjective
Unclaimable grey areas
The only standards that are true
Is Divine and from above
Meek and humble is the Truth
Loving and patient
Never running away or forsaking
The only rights ever worth fighting
Are the rights in the Divine's hands
Restoring to wholeness
Poor or rich in the world's eyes
For the One from Above
Brings good out of evil

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Our Greatest Need

I thought this was really good so I am reposting this. Roy Lessin wrote this.


If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,
so God sent us a Saviour.

-Roy Lessin

Keep up the Race

I remember the times when I was young. My mother used to wake up every morning without fail at 4.30 am to make breakfast for me and my sister. I never used to really appreciate that but now I do. I sometimes wonder if there are days that she would be too tired to wake up, days that she just would like to sleep in and days that she was too sick to get up. Yet, she always made breakfast. Why? Because she loved us. Her love is stronger than her own interests and desires. She wanted the best for us and were committed into doing the best for us whether or not she felt like doing it.

Today, I saw this in my daily inspirational calendar.

" The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not."

Looking back at my mother's exemplary behaviour, I thought of my relationship with God.

Have I been weary doing my best for God?
Have I failed to pick up my cross and follow Him as He told me to?
Have I slacked and sleep in just because I did not feel like waking up to pray and thank God for the new day?
Have I turned down someone in need just because I was not inspired?

Let's strive to do our best for God whether or not our emotions feel like it. "Be ready in season and out of season" - 2 Timothy 4:2

Let's keep up the race else we fall behind and lose the prize. May we able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7