Are you afraid of His Calling?

Have you been called to do something beyond your comfort zone? In fact, perhaps something risky or even dangerous, like preaching to hostile countries that are not particularly friendly towards people of our faith.

I think we all experience this at least once in our lifetime. A few times in the past, I felt the nudge that God was calling me to do something far beyond what I think I can do. He seems to be more confident about my abilities than I am myself. I hesitated thousands of times and even begged God to close the doors and choose someone else but His will always prevail in the end.

You might be facing the very same thing. Perhaps all along, you’ve only known your neighbourhood and have never travelled overseas. You have a comfortable desk job but all of a sudden, you feel convicted that God wants you to go to a faraway land that does not speak your language and you will have to stand in front of multitudes of human beings of a different race to talk about your faith. Yet you never even stood on a stage before. Will you go?

Let us look at David. A young shepherd boy was not only anointed by God to be a king but he beat Goliath, the great Giant of his times. Who would have thought he will ever beat Goliath?

It is stated in In 1 Samuel 16:7,” …..The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

We might not think we are capable but we can do all things through God who gives us strength no matter how risky, scary or overwhelming the task might seem. Remember how the Lord used Moses to split open the red sea? There is nothing that is impossible for God. If he can use Moses and David, he can use you. You need only to obey and do your part.

Sometimes we might doubt whether it is truly from God. I find this prayer truly helpful.

Dear Lord, I feel this is your calling for me but I am afraid and would rather do without it, for I am weak and feel that I am not as strong, talented and experienced like the others and if this is not from you, please close all doors for me. But you Lord is the mighty one and you do not see as men see and if truly you have chosen me to do this task, let your will be done unto me. I trust that you will be with me and you are all I need for I can do all things through you who strengthen me. Show me the way and lead me on the right path. This is my faith and trust in you that you will answer my prayer.

If He shows that it is indeed Him calling you, then trust in Him. He will provide ALL that you need to fulfil your mission. May God goes before you and be with you. Go now and proclaim His good news!

Write Like a Lemon!

The other day I was squeezing some lemon and suddenly it dawned on me that if the lemon had nerves and a heart, it would definitely be having a whole lot of pain. Ouch! Even so, would a lemon cease to let us squeeze it if it can think and sense touch like we do? Then it will lose its very purpose, that is to give us those fresh, vitamin C packed juice! How horrible would that be to lose one's purpose?

Photo taken from http://catalysttrainingsystems.ca/2013/10/squeezethatlemon/

What about you? What's your purpose? Would you let pain and tragedies stop you from fulfilling your mission in life? Would you let heartaches stop you from loving? Many times we feel exactly like a lemon, being squeezed of all our vibrant juices of energy and strength. We are always trampled, taken for granted, squashed and many times, even ignored and belittled by those whom we loved the most. Do we stop functioning and retaliate? I am not talking about child, sexual or domestic abuse. That's entirely a different thing. I mean times when we feel like giving up our purpose like motherhood because the chores and demands are just too much and we are being 'squeezed' dry of our love and efforts.

Writers can relate to this as well. How many times we feel so sure we are called to write but how many times we feel like quitting? There are just too many distractions. The neighbours are too noisy. Nobody takes writing seriously and families pester us for a real job. The pay is so infrequent that we keep the rent running late all the time.  We are just too tired after our day jobs to sit in front of the computer and type, not to mention brain-dead of any creativity left! The list goes on. So do we stop writing?

I assure you that many best-selling writers out there have gone through all these juice-grinding moments when they too were sucked dry and left with peels of tiredness. Let us not grow weary and hang in there. If we are truly certain that this is our calling, let us strive like soldiers through sunshine or rain and keep that warrior's ink flowing. Be aware of enemies creeping up on us like procrastination, distractions, temptations of a better pay from a job that does not require you to write and so forth. Don't give up my dear writer friends!

Even the bible has something great to say about enduring our present sufferings for the sake of something better. 

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18)

Let not past discouragements, failures and dissappoinments hold you back from achieving your life's purpose.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead" - Philippians 3:13

Every human is called to LOVE whether it is through writing, painting, accounting, volunteering, cooking and etc. So, love what you do and you can endure all things. Do not be afraid of letting your juice be squeezed! 

To my fellow writers, Write Like a Lemon! ;) 

Photo taken from http://www.jennyonthespot.com/just-jenny/what-do-lemons-mutant-carrots-honda-and-dead-sunflowers-have-in-common/ 

Cheers!

The Great Expectation

This was a snapshot from my phone on a recent doodle I did in my sketchbook while I was enjoying a holiday with my family after Christmas Day.

The Great Expectation by Angelina Bong
http://swakgel.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-great-expectation.html

Who's expecting? My sister! I'll be a proud aunt soon.

We were enjoying the view of the beach from our balcony in the resort. She was quietly reading and as I soaked in the picturesque waves raging on the shore, I noticed how calm and glowing she was in the midst of a coming storm! I can't help but did a quick sketch out of that. By the way, the coconut trees were swaying mad as the wind blew and howled like a mad hurricane.

Besides expecting to welcome a newborn baby into our family, there are many expectations I have set aside for myself this year. I hope to eat less or at least more healthily, pray more, love more, write more, read more, paint more, exercise more and most of all, I hoped my writings and paintings worked out this year! Hopefully, I will get that first novel published. Still working on it. I expect to be more patient on myself and that I may find joy in all that I do. 

There are of course storms and tsunamis that might unexpectedly turn up on our doorsteps like cancer, deaths, financial loss, natural disasters, conflicts and etc. Are we prepared to face them? I believe we would never be 100% prepared for such an unforeseen event. No matter what catastrophe this year might bring us, let us stay calm and let the storm passed us by. Everything would eventually pass.

Shall I keep writing even in the midst of a million hurdles to overcome with pain and stress surrounding me? Of course! You should too...keep writing, painting and do whatever that you love doing for the very act itself could build a fortress for you to lean back and watch the storm with gratitude!

Hope you will find this little sketch inspiring.

Ciao my friend :)

Revolt by Qaisra Shahraz

Revolt is one of the first few books I managed to finish for the start of 2014 and I think you should totally read it up too. Why so? My review is below. 

Revolt by Qaisra Shahraz

I wanted to leave a customer review on Amazon itself but because I have not bought any books from Amazon, I am not allowed to do so although I am definitely going to order some books online, possibly as soon as possible.

Reading has been challenging during the start of the new year due to a lot of recent happenings in my family especially with the festive seasons but I am so glad I managed to squeeze in time to read this book. 

Revolt is beautifully engaging. My feet was on tiptoe the entire time my eyes ran through the words on the book as the stories flowed from page to page, gripping my heart from the first to the last. My emotions catapulted like a chameleon, raging from intense anger and grief to shedding tears of joy and thrill as I felt the loss, desire, passion and sacrifice of the characters. 

The descriptive motions led me picturing myself living in the story amidst the rich traditions and cultures of the Pakistani way of life. Important issues concerning many Asian women and men particularly of contradicting values between modernity, faith and tradition were cleverly brought to light and addressed. The striking contrast between the rich and the poor depicted in the stories are very real in the world we are living in today. This made me ponder on the times I have turned my head away from those who are in need. Read on and perhaps you might be moved to take action to do something about poverty in your area.

I sensed my heart rising in rebellion as each character revolted in the name of love. How often have we encountered these people in our community but shun them from our lives? Perhaps reading this will melt our heart a little and enabled us to embrace the differences that each individual brings. 

Revolt was not only a truly enjoyable read but intelligent as well. I'm an inch wiser now as each character's beliefs and actions taught me a thing or two about love, life and faith. I hope I get to visit Pakistan someday and witness the rich cultures described vividly in the book and of course, to taste all the delicious food mentioned. 

I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Qaisra's works.