Susu is blessed by angels

I have hated washing my car even before I got my 1st car ... man! who loves washing car .. except for BIL and Chee2 ... who can spend 3-4hrs touching his precious car ... :0 ..

Well, m back in Sban and guess what ... Susu got a good shower!!! Hehehhe ... its really a blessing to have people who are kind enough to help wash my car ....today ... is the hub-wife biz wash and vacuum my car ... the last few times I came back to Sban and dear Dan was the angel who gave Susu a shower .... and talking about that ... I still owe him a KFC treat!

.... thank God for such angels .... especially after a hard day's work and after driving all the way up right after "work" .... :0....

terima kasih yea ...

SPM Result

Though I do not have many youth who got their SPM results today .. the few of them getting their results is already enough to make my heart beat double this morning as I wait for them to SMS me their results ... like any other parent who do not know what is WAIT ... I sms/started calling them by 930am ... when I did not get any news .. :0....

My heart rejoices with those who did very well ... Praise the Lord ... I believe that God blessed your hard work, the consistent study times, the late nights when you needed to catch up or finish your revisions ... yes .. may you continue to work hard and study smart .... and honor the Lord with your studies ... give Him the glory and praise because He held you with His righteous right hand and carried you through your stress and challenging moments when you had to face the exam giant...

For those who did not do so well .... my heart cries with you as well ... dears, still give thanks ... for you know that God was also with you ... He also was there with you when you did your revisions, as you struggle to write the answers in your exams .... or when you started to panic last minute because you did not discipline yourself enough to organize your revision and prepare for your exams .... deep down in your heart, you knew the effort that you did put into your studies ... you know where your heart and mind fly when you stared at your notes and books ....

I can pen this down ... because I was like those who did not do so well in SPM ... I did not work hard enough ... though I did study ... I did not take my studies serious enough to want to work hard .... I hated exams ... I hated the subjects that I took .... my mind is always here there .. though my notes or books may be in front of me. My mind either dreaming of the fun times I can have, where I can go .. what I can play .. or day dreaming of the boys I am interested in ... :0 ... a la ... biasa-la ... teens what .... puppy love .... SPM result was a wake up call for me ... for me not to be lazy ... not to take things and studies for granted ... and not to be arrogant ... it was a wake up call to think and seriously pray over what is God's will for my life .... what God want me to do and be after I finish my studies ...

... God is a God of grace ... God is a God of second chance ... I cried very hard when I received my SPM results because it was not good .. it was boarder line case ... God was gracious enough to give me such a result to allow me entry into form 6 ... and in form 6, I made the choice to really work hard, study smart and I leave my results to God .... I wanted to give God the glory through my studies ... I wanted to shine for Jesus in my studies ... and also because I trusted that my Father had a plan for my life .... a plan that will give me a hope and a future ... I trusted my Father will show me His will and plans for my life -- which will be the best ... but in order for me to reap this, I had to play my part of working hard ... studying smart .. walk closely with my Father ... in my Quiet Time and personal worship .... seeking Him for His plans and will in my life ... and I guess that was why I received my calling to serve Him full time right after I finish my STPM exams ..... God was a God of second chance because He gave me another chance to sit for public exam (STPM) ... indeed He blessed the hard labor of my hands and opened the door to USM ....

Looking back ... indeed I can echo the lyrics of the song :

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

To those who do well and those who did not do so well .... your Savior will lead you all the way .... in your life journey .... as you trust and obey Him .... honor Him .... and He will honor you ... He will lift you up in due time ... seek Him ... and indeed He shall be found by you ... and He will lead you to His will and plans for you ... He will set your foot firmly in His path .... isn't life exciting? You really do not know what is around the bend that is in front of you ... but He knows ... if you place your hands in His hands and walk with Him ... He will indeed help you to journey and lead you beside still waters .... green pastures ....

Seek Him .... seek His plans and purposes for your life ... and He will open a way for you in the wilderness .... rivers in the desert ... He will open up doors that you will never ever think it will be open to you ... and when He opens the door... the door will be wide open .. no man can shut the door .... may Psalms 25 : 1-7 be the cry of your soul ...

In You, LORD my God, I put my trust.

I trust in You; do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

Show me Your ways, LORD, teach me Your paths.

Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior,
and my hope is in You all day long.

Remember, LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to Your love remember me, for You, LORD, are good.

Decisions ... Decisions ...

Life is full of decisions that we need to make and this is what we did on our English Bible study ... decision making ... to surrender and follow Jesus is a decision that we need to make - from that day onwards, its an ongoing decision in life. Then again, if one decides not to follow Jesus ... it's still a decision and life long journey of decision that one decides -- how to life and how one desires to live.

My question then to my youth on that day? How do you make decisions? What is your process of decision making and what will influence you decision making process?

Making decisions is always a challenging process but I do believe that we need to try to learn to make wise god honoring decisions as early as possible because I have seen too many adults (or some "aged" adults) who can't seem to be able to make decisions (which is so sad... ) and many more who seem to go back and forth the two ends of every decision they make (the ding-dong process is tiring and wearies people around you) ... Every decision made and unmade will impact the lives of those who live around us ... especially those whom we love or are close with ... in one way or another ... hey .. we do not live in a vacuum system but God place us in a family and community! I strongly believe that we also need to take the responsibility

So, what's my decision making process? Mine ... simple ....

a) Look and lay out all options and count each cost of every option - cost to myself and people around me

b) Pray and discern what God as to say to me .... on each option -- ie .. wrestle with the Lord every option .... the option of His desires verses my desires .... and ultimately to be able to lay it all down at the foot of the Cross and to listen only to His clear still voice .... this is the hardest of the entire step ... cos it requires letting go.... letting go of self and say : "May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven ... Your Kingdom come .. Your will be done in my life" --- not my will ... my desires ... my ambitions .... my happiness ... my comfort .... it is tough to let of our logical "smart" reasoning and be still before Him ... and to allow God to charge ... cos His thoughts are our thoughts, neither His ways ours .. it is hard humbly recognize our inabilities and that we are not that "clever" after all ... this is the part where we say : "Jesus, You are the Lord and Master over my life .. come what may ... let Your Kingdom come into my life .. thought physically I may not desire it or look good but I trust that in Your love for me, You will want the best for me "

c) To seek the prayers, advise, affirmation and discernment of one or two godly and mature Christian. I don't believe in going out to the entire whole the hear their voices on the matter cos as it is .... there are already too many voices inside and outside ... but I strongly would recommend that we seek out one more mature, godly to put in a word of two of words of wisdom.... yes .... very important key .... godly and more mature ... if not mature ... you will go round and round cos what seen is of the same level or lower ....

d) Lastly, to know Him and what His says in this issue -- to know Him .. we need to spent time with Him .... in our daily lives ... to read the love letters He left for us (the Bible) and to learn to hear and discern His voice daily ....

I know to make a right decision is more important than making a quick decision. Be bold in your decision, a decision needs to be made at the end of the day, .... once the decision is made ... step out of the boat ... look ahead, fixing our eyes of Jesus who will hold our hands with His righteous right hands all the way .... faith will carry us through .. for He will not let go of our hands ....

Am encouraged to hear from 15year old youth that what helps her to make decisions (especially major decisions) .. is to hear out her Mom's opinions and ideas first. Then with the ideas from her Mom she will think through and modify it according to her circumstance. In our world where parents and kids are so disconnected, where the generation gap is so wide ... its refreshing to hear this ... and I know that this girl really wrestles through the peer pressures ... issues of life that any normal youth will struggle with .... and still decides to honor and obey her parents and love God in her decisions.

Learn to be decisive ... learn to make godly wise decisions .. and to let go ... trusting that God will take care of the rest ... even if the decision turns out to be wrong or bad -- remember Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who^a]"> have been called according to His purpose."... so, please be bold .. make your decision and don't stay at reverse gear ... place your foot on the "drive" paddle to move forward in your decision!

The Left Behinds

It has been four years since I last met up with her. We had lunch to catch up ..... from a grieving, bitter and struggling widow, from a moody widow to one that is bubbly with the joy of the Lord as her strength ... from one possessive mother for fear of loosing another, clinging to the son as replacement of what the husband used to be to her ... to one who depends on Jesus instead of men ...

Gone were the days of a sensitive widow of tears, gone were the traces of loneliness, sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling and asking "why" "why do you have to leave me .. why do you have to go ... why can't you fight and pull through for us ... angry cos you are selfish to leave me alone to continue this journey and to raise up our teenage rebellious son alone ... why God has to take you home, why does this have to happen to our family" ...

Meeting up with her reminds me that the pain and sorrow of losing someone we love dearly is real .... How do we, the left behinds continue our journey without the loved one along side us ... this journey will be made easier when we turn to God for comfort, help and our source of strength to go on comes from Him ... just like my friend ...

Having said this ... its OK to grief .. its OK to cry .. think all of us need time out to grief and cry ... all of us need space to say our goodbyes ...

But how we, the left behinds move on ... will all depend on who's hands do we cling on to as we continue our journey here ... till we meet again face to face ...

The song ....I will Rise comes to mind as I reflect on this issue ... let the left behinds rise when He calls our name ....

And I Will Rise when he calls my name
No more sorrow, No more pain
I Will Rise, on Eagle's wings
Before my God fall on my knees,and rise
I Will Rise

It Takes the Bitter & Sweet to Make a Life Full & Complete : Helen S Rice

Life is a mixture
of sunshine and rain,

Laughter and teardrops,
pleasures and pain --

Low tides and high tides,
mountains and plains.

Triumphs, defeats
and losses and gains --

But ALWAYS in ALL WAYS
God's guiding and leading

And He alone knows
the things we're most needing --

And when He sends sorrow
or some dreaded affliction

Be sure that it comes
with God's kind benediction --

If we accept it
as a GIFT OF HIS LOVE

We'll be showered with blessings
from OUR FATHER ABOVE.

Desert Experience

Everyone at one point or other has to go through a season of spiritual desert experience, whether you are a young Christian or matured or in full time ministry or even a pastor. We can see almost all hero in the the Bible went through the desert experience. Jesus Himself went through this when His friend betrayed Him, deserted Him and ultimately, when He hung on the Cross, He cried, "My God, My God, why have You abandon Me?"

So, first things first, if you are in this desert experience right now, don’t worry – it’s normal, all of us need to go thru it.

What is a Spiritual desert experience?

When a soul experiences a period where it cannot sense or feel God. No matter what we do, we can read the Bible, we can even try to worship God or even pray … we cannot feel or experience what we used to feel with God.

It’s like our soul is like experiencing a spiritual drought, its dry and hot …. God seem to be so far away, we do not feel the presence of God and at times wonder if He has left us alone to ourselves or and has abandoned us, especially in the time when we need Him the most, we cannot feel Him ..

It is also during these times that we feel that our live is at a standstill … nothing seems to be moving or going anywhere …. Or our lives is moving ... round and round .... in a circle. During this season, we seem to have lost our sense of direction in life, do not know where we are going and there is a sense of meaninglessness … purposelessness, emptiness and boredom seems to sip into our perfectly OK lives.

Spiritual Desert can come in different forms : - in relationship – marriage, kids, siblings, friends or disappointment with life, discouragement, depression, temptation or even can come in the form of our jobs or in our studies.

Allow me to briefly go through reasons why we go through spiritual desert. I break the reason into two main category : firstly, it is a self inflicted desert and secondly, it is cause by a normal natural part of a growing up process, spiritual growth.

a) Self inflicted

i. Prolong sin & disobedience - we see this example in the 40years of desert that Israel went thru : (Number 32:13, Ps 78 : 8-11, 17 - 19). Here, the duration of our desert season depends on our ability to response to God in obedience.

ii. Do not trust God (Ps 78:22) and is not faithful towards God (Ps 78:8, 37)

iii. Physical tiredness (Elijah) (1 Kings 19 : 7-10) v 10 - when we are physically tired, we push our body to hard to the point where we are running or operating from a empty tank .....

iv. A “cooling off” environment (King David) ( 2 Sam 11 : 1-2, Psalms 51 : 11-12). This is where we think that we need a break in our lives and began to 'relax", let down our guards ... and BAM, the next thing you know, you have entered into a desert. What do we do to relax and destress? Guard what you see, hear and soaked on. It affects your spirit man.

b) Part of “growing up” process

This is a normal part of our walk with God. Every great spiritual hero we want to be or admire in the Bible or in history went thru this season. Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, Joseph, John ...

In the spiritual life, the desert experience is a time of preparation and deepening of our life with the Lord.

i. God uses the desert experience as training ground and preparation before He launch us out to fulfill the vision of the man and woman He want us to be (Moses : Acts 7)

ii. God use the desert experience to draw us to Him (Moses : 40years in wilderness before God appear to him in the burning bush, God called Moses up to Mt Sinai to fellowship with God)

iii. God uses the desert experience to test our hearts (Deut 8:2, 16)

iv. Prolong temptation (Matt 4:1,11)

How then do we response to our desert experience

i. Humility of the soul - if our season is self inflicted, we need to humbly come before God in repentance and if our season is due to our spiritual growth, the we need to humbly accept the portion and lot that God has given to us in that season. Let's soften our hearts and allow God to do the deep cleansing and healing work in our souls.

ii. Dependency on God - during this season, our sole dependency must be from God and not our spouse, our pastor or money or any other thing. God has to be the One we depend on.

iii. Connectivity with God - we must also need to make sure that we attune our spiritual antenna towards God in this season so that we can hear and discern what He wants to do and tell us in this season. Indeed when we seek Him with all our heart, He shall be found by us. He is give us the strategy and keys get out of this season.

iv. Dig deep through praise and worship - through out Psalms, we can see how David and the psalmist dig deep in praise and worship .. to seek for the living waters and then to unlock the rivers of living waters to run in and through their soul once again ...

...Storms ... from Streams in the Desert ..

I just need pen this down as a reminder to myself and to encourage myself that when storms of life come blowing .. and blowing hard in my life .... its not the end of the world but channels from God to make me stronger ... and to bring me to another level ... after all, was it not Jesus who commanded the storm to be "still" .... and I believe that He will command the storms in my life to be still if He want to ... but sometimes He allows the storms in my life to blow and wash away things that is not of Him ..my flesh ... my self ambitions and desires ... storms of life blows to bring me to another level ... of maturity in my journey and more intimate with Him ....

Thanks Pris, for sharing this with me ...

.. .. “the sufferings of life are God’s winds. Sometimes they blow against us and are very strong. They are His hurricanes, taking our lives to higher levels, towards His heavens. Human life works exactly on the same principle. When the storms of life appear, the atmosphere is changed, purified, filled with new life, and part of heaven is brought down to earth.”

When Trouble Comes and Things Go Wrong! (Helen S Rice)

Let us go quietly to God when trouble come to us,

Let us never stop to whimper or complain and fret and fuss,

Let us hide"our thorns" in "roses" and our sighs in "golden song"

And "our crosses" in a "crown of smiles" whenever things go wrong

For no one can really help us as our troubles bemoan,

For COMFORT, HELP and INNER PEACE MUST COME FROM GOD ALONE .....

So do not tell your neighbor, your companion or your friend

In the hope that they can help you bring your troubles to an end ...

For they too have their problems, they are burdened just like you,

So TAKE YOUR CROSS TO JESUS and HE WILL SEE YOU THROUGH ....

And waste no time in crying on the shoulder of a friend

But go directly to the Lord for on Him you can depend ....

For there's absolutely NOTHING that His mighty hand can't do

And He never is too bust to help and comfort you.