Walking in Love

Woohoo~! Since the last 3 weeks ago, I have been so happy, everyday.

The reason? It's so simple! I have been walking in love :)

After being in a stagnant mode for a while, I've once again tasted the presence of God in my life. It's been sooo real! *can't really describe it with words ;p* And I'm so blessed since then. When I walked out of that Sunday service, I felt so different. Life seems simpler. My life becomes happier. My problems do not suddenly solved nor gone. Yet, I can overcome it with smiles.

Meanwhile, I have also been reading the book by Gary Chapman called "The Five Love Languages". On one of its chapter, he stated that, "Learning to love others is the fastest way to receive love". Just like any other person who read those kind of wisdom words, I would also like to give it a try. And I start doing it. Whatever people do to me, I try not to judge them or hate them. No excuse, at first, I would feel mad, but I don't piled up my anger. Instead, I always try to neutralize it before I go to bed every night. Thus, I'll wake up with smiles everyday and ready to spread out more love for the day.

As I said earlier, as I decided to walk in love, my problems are still there. It's now a matter of how you want to solve the problem. It's a matter of how you want to face it. Either you want to face it with anger, disappointment, frustration, and bitterness OR either you want to face it with smiles, hopes, openness, and love. These two options will bring you to a totally different end: destruction or construction. For me, I'll choose the second option. For every problem I face, I want to end it with a smiles and some positively life changing experience :)

What To Do When Trouble Comes

Today's daily devotional was really helpful in helping me to get through my problem..

Here's what it says..

"Fight the good fight of the faith" ~ 1 Timothy 6:12

Sooner or later we all have some trouble in life.

We all have some trials and tribulations.

Everybody goes through times of testing.

And not every storm shows up in the forecast.

Some days we can wake up and think everything is going to be great.

Before that day is over, we may be tested by all kinds of trouble we were not expecting.

Trouble is part of life, so we simply have to be ready for it.

We need to have a planned response to trouble, because it is more difficult to get strong after trouble comes.

It is better to be prepared by staying strong.

The first thing you need to do when trouble comes is pray, "God, help me stay emotionally stable."

Do not let your emotions overwhelm you.

The next thing you need to do is trust God.

The instant that fear rises up, pray.

Stay emotionally stable, trust God, and pray.

Then while you are waiting for God to answer, simply keep doing good.

Keep your commitments.

Do not stop serving the Lord just because you have a problem.

The greatest time in the world to keep your commitments to God is in the midst of difficulty and adversity.

When the devil sees that trials and tribulations won't stop you, he will stop troubling you for a while.

To be prepared for the next time you find yourself in a difficult situation, practice saying, "I am going to be faithful to God, and God is going to give me double for my trouble. Satan, you thought you were going to hurt me, but I am going to get a double blessing, because I am one who diligently seeks the Lord."

Static Moment

What should I do now?

I'm really confused for what's happening to me right now.

I have no more idea that can help me to make things better.

I have tried my best before.

I have gone over my limit.

Pouring all the patience I have to face the problem.

The patience that usually run out short.

But now, my heart can't endure it any more.

It's been gone way far beyond my limit.

What should I do now?

I really want to make things better.

So all of us can hang out and share the laughter together.

For now, it's all seems impossible.

All that exist now is just an awkwardness and hesitation.

Some part of me really want to love you unconditionally.

Yet, the other part of me still can't tolerate the way you behave toward me.

I'm struggling with my own feeling right now.

I totally have no idea how to behave to you.

I want to keep trying to be nice to you,

but I can't lie and fool my own feeling.

I don't want to pretend to be a nice person, when I'm NOT!

I'm now entering my static moment.

Stuck here by myself thinking of what can I do to make things better.

I know there must be something better God has prepared for me.

One day, with a smile on my face, I'd be able to say,

"Thank you, Lord for putting me in that situation back then!"

LeTtinG gO oF oFFensEs

"(You should) be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, so that of your faith may be tested, which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. To redound to praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" - 1Peter1:6-7

After reading this verses, i become understand that every time I am tempted to be offended and upset, my FAITH is being tried; to test the QUALITY in me.

Every relationship test is an opportunity to glorify the work of GOD in me as a testimony to those watching me endure the offense.

Sadly, i am still unable to be a good living testimony for people around me. When i was fighting with my friend, i was still bragging and complaining about why we fought over things to my other friends. I became so emotional and easily offended. When we fought, i will suddenly became an unhappy person, i can suddenly be a person who looked like having a lot of bitterness inside of me.

However, i am now really in the process of changing to be a better person. I really don't want to get easily offended and upset. I want to be a person who is able to glorify the work of God in me as a testimony to those watching me endure the offense. HE promised that nothing will harm us in any way, for God is letting the temptations to come in order to test my FAITH in Him and glorify His name through it. I know for sure that HE will give me the energy i need to treat people right...

Tough LovE

Where am i right now?
Which state am i in?

Tough week
Learning the Tough Love
Learning with tears
Til' no more tears can be shed

A week of pretending to be happy
A week of questions
A week of disappointment
A week of anger
A week of fake smiles
A week of reflection
A week to learn the Tough Love

Waking up from the sweet dreams
Time to face the reality
Time to be more mature
Time to sacrifice own feelings
Time to care for others
Time to do some actions
Time to learn the Tough Love

Thank you for teaching me the Tough Love
Loving You is the sweetest thing
Loving You giving me hope
Loving You give me encouragement
Loving You make me strong
Loving You make me grow
Loving You is like breathing
I will never stop loving You

A Time To Grow

Well, for my first entry, I would like to share what Amy has shared to me during our house meeting this evening... It was taken from girltalk.blogs.com and reviveourhearts.com

So, here it is...

When I face physical and hormonal and emotional difficulties, I feel tired and irritable. It is easy for me to forget God's promises when my negative feelings are so strong.

My strategy has often been to try and wait it out. Once this is over, I tell myself, then I'll get back to growing in the Christian life. I forget that I am still in the middle of God's plan for my life! God has planned these difficult days along with all the others! Difficult days aren't simply a trial to get through. They are opportunities for testing faith and spiritual growth.

Elizabeth Prentiss beautifully expresses this point:

"God never places us in any position in which we can not grow. We may think that He does. We may fear we are so impeded by worrying, petty cares that we are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending any branches upward, we may be sending roots. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, when everything seems a failure, we are making the best kind of progress."

The best kind of progress. Far from being the beginning of a spiritual fall, we often grow more in these difficult seasons than when life is easy, and we feel like we're flourishing (remember, your feelings can't be trusted!)

That's why the apostle Paul sees weakness as an opportunity for boasting in the Lord:

"But [God] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

For the sake of Christ, we are to boast in our weaknesses, we are to be content in difficulty or depression. For when we are weak, it is then that His power rests on us. What an opportunity!

So, what can we do when we feel depressed??

1.) Remember that you have a choice about what to do with your feelings.
Elisabeth Elliot says: "Choices will continually be necessary and - let us not forget - possible. Obedience to God is always possible. It is a deadly error to fall into the notion that when feelings are extremely strong we can do nothing but act on them.
We must not fall into the trap of believing that we are helpless to confront our feelings. Instead, we must choose to obey God."

2.) Talk to God, and talk to yourself!
First, talk to God about your feelings, like David does in Psalm 42. Then, remind yourself of the trust - that you can hope in God. Thank him for the ways he has been faithful in the past.
David talks to God, and then says to himself, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted, depressed, within me? Hope in God," he tells himself, "for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."

3.) Recognize false comforts, and turn instead to the true comfort of God.
What do you usually turn to when you feel depressed? Do you watch too much TV? Do you eat too much food? Do you read novels or spend too much time on the internet? Recognize that these things will never bring you happiness. Only God can satisfy you.

I believe God can handle our questions. He can handle our doubts. We have gone before the Lord many times and many different ways and said, "Lord, I just don't get it."

Sometimes God doesn't answer our questions, but as we continue to ask Him, he brings us closer to Him.

Realize that as you ask Him to lead you, you're really saying, "Lord, not just get me out of my problems." You're not just saying, "Lord, solve my problems." You're not just saying, "Lord, fix my situation or change my situation."

You're saying ultimately, "Lord, lead me into a more intimate fellowship and communion with You. If in order to experience that kind of union and communion with You it means that You keep me right in the storm, then I accept that. It's okay. Yes, it may hurt. Yes, I may weep. But God, You are my exceeding joy. My goal in life is not Your gifts. My goal in life is not to have any easy life. My goal in life is not comfort and convenience. My goal in life is You, God, my exceeding joy."

Lately, I've got into a quite big depression. I've struggled with my feelings. I've reached a point where I can no longer shared my feelings with someone else. I just can't find the right words to share my feelings. All I can do is crying, praying, and thinking.

It really is not a healthy kind of living since I am no longer able to express my own feelings. I never got into this kind of depression before. Now, I'm just too exhausted. I have no more energy to deal with this problem. I've reached my limit!

But, God is great! He won't let me walk alone in this hardships. He walks along the way with me, side by side. And even He carries me, so I don't have to carry all the burden. It's just really amazing how God works in my life. In my saddest moment, when I was no longer able to contain the sorrow, He sent me a friend to cheer me up. He talks to me everyday during my devotional time. And He also speaks through Amy and other people around me.

So glad to have a God who is living and is watching over me all the time. He's not just my Savior, my Father, my Redeemer, but He's also my Friend, a very best friend!!