What is it with MARRIAGE?

Well, my whole great family is overjoyed because of the upcoming wedding of my cousin. We did the engagement ceremony several weeks ago and her wedding is to be held this coming October. In a sense, everyone is relieved now that one of us will actually tie the knot. :) I'm happy for her!!

Now, talking about all the detail preparations...my Mum just couldn't help herself but to brag about me, the one event organizer, the multi-task gal ...the wondergirl of the family...They bought her words and called me up for a meeting.

Voila...they appointed me to be the coordinator for the whole event. I was thrilled. I mean, I did this for others, why wouldn't I wanna do it for my own cousin, right?

So, anyway ...we began the many meetings to discuss details, site visit, making layout, tailored the whole rundown and things. I offered to make the short movie clip for their reception. They were thrilled, of course.

MARRIAGE

As I was sitting and having dinner with my cousin's family, I couldn't help but noticing how easy and light they took this whole thing. Well, to call it a preparation..as far as i observed, they were busy preparing for the event, the venue, the menu, decor, the pre-wedding photo session and all. I was wondering whether they have taken the time to prepare themselves on the essence. I mean, venue, menu and decor were all important, but there is something else that is more important, even the most important...well, at least, I believe it is for me though. 

Wedding, I believe is just an event, a ceremony. It's a one time thing. It's a one day happening. 

As for MARRIAGE, it's a legal union of a man and a woman. Yes, marriage is a legal institution between two parties. But not only it is a legal institution (which is protected under the law), but also a spiritual institution. 

Marriage was the first institution that was ordered and introduced by God to mankind. The idea of marriage didn't come from some soap story of Romeo and Juliet, or some Hollywood producers. It didn't come from any Ken and Barbie doll story. It was originated from the very heart of God Himself. 

I find it very romantic, when God purposely put Adam to sleep while He worked His wonder and formed Eve out of the bone of Adam. Then when He was done, He Himself brought and presented her to Adam - not by some kind of middleman effort or some TV show version of today's TAKE HIM OUT.

Turning on my sanctified imagination, I saw God holding Eve closed by His side, walking her by the isle and presented her, unblemished, pure and without spots, to Adam. I think, based on this ancient truth that today’s fathers would walk their daughters by the isle to be presented to the grooms.

Why marriage?

Some people I know have their marriage life easy. I mean, there were some occasional rough rides, but overall the family stay together, finances are in tact, their kids grew up ‘normally’ – as most people would say.

But then, what is normal?

One of the definition given by the Webster Dictionary of the word normal is:

a.       according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle

b.       conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern

So, who’s standard are we using to be able to label some marriage as ‘normal’? Into what kind of type do we conform ourselves in the area of marriage? Are we just calling it normal because of some regular pattern that we see in society?

What was His idea of Marriage?

There is this one ancient quote that I could not shake in reference to marriage. In the book of Malachi, it was revealed that God wanted a godly offspring from the union of man and wife.

A godly offspring.

Picture this. The idea of a godly offspring doesn’t only imply as merely ‘good’ boys and girls. I’d like to picture this as the prophet Joel described, a young generation that would be able to see and prophecy. A generation that would speak things into existence. A generation that would be sensitive to the timing and season of God. A generation that would walk in the authority of God the Almighty.

I believe even the best wedding organizer in town would not be able to construct this kind of result. Not even the best building and catering nor the best pre-wed photographer would be brilliant enough to prepare you for this. It takes God Himself to walk us through the isle up to the altar and all through life for us to have this kind of offspring. It takes humility from our part to acknowledge His blueprint as a standard of living, as a constitution in which we based our judgment as normal living.

As I help out in preparing my cousin’s wedding, I say a prayer in my heart for her and her future husband. May their union together be blessed by God. May they have godly offspring who will walk in the power and authority of God. 

Message In A Bottle

Message In A Bottle stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne, a writer for the Chicago Tribune. While her son visits her cheating ex-husband, Theresa goes on a vacation by herself. One day, while running on the beach, she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. She opens it and inside finds a love letter unlike any she's ever read.
Captivated by the author's words of love, she returns to her job at the Tribune where she convinces her boss to run an article about the mystery writer, known only as "G." He approves, and Theresa begins her hunt. Scrutinizing every physical detail of the letter and the path the bottle may have taken, she eventually locates Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a North Carolina boat-restorer who has not been the same since the tragic death of his beloved wife Catherine.
Since her death, Garret has written several letters to his dead wife, put them in a bottles, and let them loose in the sea. As Theresa spends time with Garret, she quickly falls in love with him, though she neglects to tell him she knows about the letters. Garret, prodded by his cantankerous, no-nonsense dad, Dodge (Paul Newman), emerges from his shell of grief and develops an interest in Theresa as well. Theresa returns to Chicago and Garret soon visits her; he meets her son, Jason (Jesse James), but also discovers her knowledge of the letters. Eventually the two, who have both lost love, must cast off their emotional baggage and decide if they will pursue love even if it can't always last.

***

What a love story!!  A Movie like this would sure entice many young women (and ummm… many 'love crazy' men, too) to drool over and search for the love of their live. An emotional awakening was purposely put together by Nicholas Sparks to portray a romantic search for the romance of life - though in most of his stories have bitter endings.

Now, don't get me wrong yet (put down the stones, please…hehehe). In my opinion, searching for true love is quite normal. Who am I to judge that if a person desire to have a lover, he or she is off track?

I believe we're all born with a longing for a true love, that as human, we not only have brains but also have hearts. We are capable of both THINKING and FEELING. That way, we are born with a capacity to love and be loved. We are created and born with the capacity to be romantic :) It's in our DNA.

In a matter of fact, the whole story of creation began with a LOVE STORY, a divine love story.

The whole first chapter of the story was dedicated in portraying how this unique Person was thinking, planning, creating and making into existing, a beautiful Garden for the lover of His heart. This was far more greater than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that was built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife.

In all the mystery of universe, He created men that were capable of both thinking and feeling, to receive or to reject, to love or to hate - all in their own FREE act of will- toward Him. He was not creating robots that were pre-programmed to love Him back, nor a toy that He could carry around silently.

He was creating a companion, a mate, a partner for life…for Him.

Then…sin came into that beautiful garden and destroyed the relationship, the beautiful romance that had sprung.

Men died. He lost a lover and it grieved Him.

After so many messages and letters through the ages, in search for His lover, He finally sent His greatest love letter. The difference with Sparks’ letter, His didn’t come inside bottles. His didn’t come in a form of white paper, but in flesh and blood. The whole embodiment of the message was not wrapped in an envelope, but in human skin and bones. This love letter was not written with ink but with drops of blood that dripped and wetted the brown rocky soil. His greatest love letter was nailed on a rugged tree.

This is crazy love, you may say. Yes, I agree. This Supreme Person was and is and continues to love men passionately. He is madly in love with men.

As you read this, look around you…

And when you see the bright morning sun smile at you

When you feel the gentle breeze of the wind caressing your face

When shower of rain asking you to dance in the street

When the beautiful color of the wild flowers greet your way

And the little sparrow hops by your office window

You know Somebody is whispering a gentle message in your heart…

“I love you.”

How To Find Your Unique Talents

Talent need not to be related only with intellect. It can be artistic, technical and physicalas well. Not every talent requires being profitable, it just needs to be useful in a positive way. Many of us are still in search of the talents that are hidden within us. Finding the talent that sets us apart from the crowd can be a long process, often tricky also. It needs observation and analysis of one’s own self. If you want to learn how to find your talents, the tips provided in the following lines will surely come handy.

Finding Your Hidden Talent

Find Your Interests
The first step towards finding your talents is to know your interests. What sorts of things do you like to read about, watch or do? What are your favorite shows on television? Which column of the newspaper and magazines do you like to read?

Try Out Different Things
If you want to find out your dexterity in each of the things that interest you, then try them out. Carry out experiments and explore things. Locate a safe environment, where you can try out different things without anybody’s interference.

Find Your Passion
You may be a person of various interests, but there will be only a thing or two, which you are passionate about. What is the one thing that you love to do the most, with utmost enthusiasm? Get the answer for the question and you will come to know what exactly you are passionate about.

Improve Yourself
After you come to know about the areas of your interest, it is the time to improve yourself. Read lots of books and learn from people. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach. Therefore, teach what you have learnt. This will help increase your depth of knowledge. In this process, you will be able to discover all your hidden talents and skills.

Know Your Limits
In the process of finding your strengths or talents, you should not ignore your weaknesses as well. Know your limits. Find out the things in which you are not a pro or lag behind. Know what makes you struggle. You will then come to know about your talents as well as the areas that you need to work on.

At the end, as we find our own unique talents, there won't be any need to compare ourselves with others and be insecure for the rest of our life. Instead, life can be so colorful because each one of us bring and spread our own unique color to the canvas of today's world.

Grow into Your Dream

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man--29,000 feet straight up. The world lauded him. England knighted him for his achievement.

However, it’s little known that Hillary had to grow into this success. You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members.

Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He shook his fist at a picture of the mountain, and yelled, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!"

Dreams you fail to reach can be conquered later through personal growth. When you first make your attempts you may have made inadequate plans. You may have lacked some skills. You may have partnered with the wrong people. You may have offered an inferior product.

Whatever the reason for initial failure, you can amend yourself and try again. If you desire a thing with enough passion, you can achieve it in spite of multiple failed attempts.

You may need to read more on the subject, take some classes, consult an expert, ask for feedback from trusted associates, or you may need to work a little harder.

See, you can grow. You aren’t stuck with your current weaknesses. You can chip away at these weaknesses. You can learn new skills. And with growth, you can conquer your personal Everest.

Sir Edmund Hillary is known as the conqueror of one of the greatest achievements in history. Yet, he had to grow into his success.

For what great achievement will you be known?

You can grow into it.

When are You Gonna Settle Down?

"So, when are you gonna settle down?" I heard my friends ask me. Well, to be frank, this is not the first time somebody ask me this kind of question. I've grown accustom to sound of it. Heard it in family gathering, old friends reunion and small group family dinner. The exact words might vary but the ultimate curiosity of these well-meaning friends and family is...they wanna know when will I decide to 'settle down'.

What is this idea of settling down? To get married, have kids, start a family...?
It is as if by being single would mean that you haven't got there yet. That you are still somewhere there up in the ozone.

Seems like life is not complete yet, like you have not live your life... NOT COMPLETE ...yet.

Uhhh...I could not shake this thought. So bothering me!

Does it mean, as long as you are not married - you only live half way of the portion of joy, enthusiasm, exuberant life you suppose to have?

To be honest - I feel quite satisfied with my singleness. I'm not lacking anything. God supply me with all the joy I need. If I do get married one day, it won't be for the reason of fulfilling the emptiness in the heart, NOPE!

Because being single with the Lord, with friends and family that love me - I'm quite full. My cup runs over with passion and joy. I'm excited of being me - being the single woman I am, the person I am, created in the image of God, to do the good works according to His great pleasures.

(behind the steering wheel on a hot, dusty Saturday)

Confession of a Bookoholic

On a rainy Friday,
"We really shopped today huh?" I said to her , looking at the shoe boxes and the other plastic bags. There were great sales today at Fladeo and Yongki. She smiled at me and said, "So, what did you call all those visit you made to the bookstores last week, the week before and the week before that? I saw you came out with plastic bags, with books in it!"
Whoaaa...busted!!

Well, to be honest, I won't call "that" shopping! :) Walking out with books from the bookstores I visit seems natural for me. I call that researching...

I shop for books everywhere. Bookstores in the airport, hospitals, hotels, malls... secondhand bookstores, even in a thrift stores in the suburb of America. Every time I go overseas, I would always hunt for the bookstores in that city. So, me and books... we are buddies for life...

And I don't consider that shopping.

Until it downed on me today!!

How can i not consider buying books as shopping... and getting a pair of FLADEO shoes as big time shopping?

When you say, I love you...

In the ICU that evening... He rubbed her bald head, looking into her now dimmed eye sight, he whispered, " Go ahead, rest now. I love you..."

I could not shake of that picture. She used to have long, thick, black hair. Beautiful and wavy. Few weeks ago, all was shaved. Bald.

My old friend was battling ovary cancer. They found out about this 6 months ago, about a year after she gave birth to her second son.

I may think that cancer is a merciless and deadly enemy, but what I saw that evening was something cancer could not kill.

What is it with this idea of 'falling in love' that I'm so used to hear every single day? What are people 'falling' for? Good looks? Muscles and biceps? Long eye-lashes and rosie cheeks? or... long, black, thick hair?

When couples say 'I do' by the altar - do they really know what's in for them? Are they even prepared for the worst scenario life will offer them?

That evening, in that ICU room, I witnessed something that Ovary cancer could not kill, something death could not take. I witnessed love... so gentle, committed and true to the end.


In loving memory of the late Pola Renta Glen...

The Love Garden

Love will bring the best out of people. I've been pondering this thought these past couple of months. It is in love, people will be daring enough to express their real selves - the ugly, the selfish, the unmasked selves. It is in love too, those flaws will be confronted and nurtured and changed. Love is the safe garden for change and transformation to take place.

76 Ways Sugar can Ruin Your Health

In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
3. Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.
5. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
6. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.
7. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
8. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
9. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
10. Sugar can cause premature aging.
11. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
12. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
13. Sugar contributes to obesity.
14. Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.
15. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
16. Sugar can cause gallstones.
17. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
18. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
19. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
20. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
21. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
22. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.
23. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.
24. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.
25. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
26. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar molecules attaching to and thereby damaging proteins in the body)
27. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.
28. Sugar causes food allergies.
29. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
30. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
31. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
32. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA
33. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.
34. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen
35. Sugar can cause cataracts and nearsightedness
36. Sugar can cause emphysema.
37. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body
38. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.
39. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson's disease.
40. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat
41. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones
42. Sugar can damage your pancreas.
43. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.
44. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.
45. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.
46. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.
47. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines
48. Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders
49. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly
50. Sugar can cause depression
51. Sugar can increase your risk of gout
52. Sugar can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease.
53. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone
54. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
55. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.
56. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
57. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
58. Sugar is an addictive substance.
59. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
60. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
61. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.
62. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
63. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
64. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
65. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
66. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.
67. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
68. I.V.s (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.
69. Sugar increases your risk of polio.
70. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
71. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
72. In intensive care units: Limiting sugar saves lives.
73. Sugar may induce cell death.
74. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior.
75. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
76. Sugar can cause gum disease.

My 'Trimming' Season

It was said, 'You can not be the Jack of all trades' - the master of none. I decided in the few weeks approaching the end of December to evaluate and examine the way I've walked my journey so far. I came to find out that I've wasted most of my energy doing things that is not in alignment with my gifts and talents, things only based on assignments, things I didn't find enjoyment doing, burdensome and boring. Things that brought me to my knees and drove me to the wall. Things that pinched my nerves.

So, I began my trimming session. I trimmed branches that bore me little and almost no fruits, activities and connections that is not producing much, and decided to only concentrate on the little few that I can cultivate. These little few are the ones God placed in my hands. He entrusted me with those - like the master gave 5 or 2 or even 1 talents to the servants.

Cultivating and aiming to be excellent in what He called and designed you to be, will make you a unique individual. You will be irreplaceable - just the way He wanted it to be. There won't be anybody in the face of this earth that can be like you. ... hmm, just this thought is already comforting :)

I know that time will come when He will ask of my accountability.

I don't want to stand shy before Him, ashamed that I have not produce anything of those few talents He gave me.

So, 2010 is my trimming season...

Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!
Phil. 3:1

Joy. The word has a quick, poignant ring to it. Yet it, like other words, has been drained of meaning over the years, even tapped as a name for a dishwashing detergent. Nowadays joy is used most commonly for a sensation like thrill. We think of joy as something you save up for months to experience and then splurge on in a moment of exhilaration: a trip to Dunia Fantasi, a free-fall drive, a heart-stopping ride on the world's meanest roller coaster, a hot-air balloon trip. Paul had a different understanding of the word, as this letter reveals.

When You Feel Like Despairing
Philippians uses the word joy or rejoice every few paragraphs, but the joy it describes doesn't vanish after your heart starts beating normally again. Rejoice, says Paul, when someone selfishly tries to steal the limelight from you. And when you meet persecution for your faith. And when you are facing death. In fact, the most joyous book in the Bible comes from the pen of an author chained to a Roman guard. Many scholars believe Paul wrote Philippians in Rome just about the time Nero began tossing Christians to ravenous lions and burning them as torches to illuminate his banquet. How could a rational man devoted a letter to the topic of joy while his survival was in serious jeopardy? in such an environment, how could joy possibly thrive?

What would you write?
This letter to the Philippians continues to amaze me until this day. I admire the focus this man had, the hope and the faith on the resurrected Christ this man possessed. Paul could have chosen to wrote his letter differently, pouring out his complains, the bitter trial and the unfair treatments he went through and sought comfort in the shoulders and heart of the Philippians. He could have filled his letter with tears, sarcasm and self-pity. But, he didn't! His choice of words reflected his firm belief on the solid rock. Though his body will decay, his spirit man is thriving. Though his hands and feet was bound with chain, his spirit was dancing with joy. Yes, I too can choose my words. I too can choose a different look to the surrounding I am in, the people I am with and to the work I am doing. When people read my letter, would they find words of encouragement, words of hope and joy there? It is my choice....

Walking on Your Own Shoes

Have you ever being handed down some second hand shoes or sandals? I have. And you know what, even though those shoes and sandals looks nice... somehow, they didn't feel quite right on your feet. It has a 'funny' feeling to it ... (you can use other words if you like - to describe the odd feeling of having somebody else's shoes on).

Today, I can recall those moments when I was given a pair of secondhand Channel shoes and relate to the fact that though they are expensive and look nice, still - I didn't enjoy putting them on because my feet didn't feel quite 'right' on them.

You know, it's the same thing with our lives. We are created uniquely with some sets of unique potentials, gifts and talents. The way our lives is shaped, the experiences we went through - good or bad, all the highs and lows - have made us the person we are today. And God said (He ensure us, actually) that ...

"God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. "
Romans 8:28

Problems occurred when we try so very hard to be somebody else, to fit ourselves in another mould. Though you may be able to wear it... it won't feel right! Like wearing those secondhand shoes, my nails felt cramped and... it was so tiring!

Yups! So it is, when you try to fit into another man's mould ... tiring! You feel empty and dissatisfied.

You are Unique

I'm volunteering for to be proof reader for any new books that would be sold in the counter - which mean I would get free copies of books and should tell people which one is good and which one is not.

So, I'm reading this new book titled: God is my Coach, by Larry Julian (the writer of God Is My CEO).

I came across an interesting point yesterday (I did speed reading - so fast, but this paragraph was stuck in in my brain and stayed for the whole nite until this morning). So, I pick up the book again...and re-read it slowly...

Boy ... o ...boy... I was captured!!

Larry said something like this:
May be one of the reasons of our dissatisfaction was rooted in the fact that we are not working in position which qualification doesn't fit with our unique gifts. Are we trying to push and fit the uniqueness that God has given and inspired - so it fit with God's purposes for our lives - into something that God has never intended for us? are we a duck that tries so hard to become a lamb?

And then he quoted what Rosalind Cook said (btw, Rosalind is a homemaker, a teacher for the blinds, mother of three - her hobby pottery and makes statues/arts object from brass, etc. Never pursuing her passion because afraid that she would not be ministering to God - karena bikin patung gak ada hubungannya dengan manusia and 'jiwa-jiwa' - she waited until she got an understanding when she was 41 yrs old. At the age of 42, she explore her passion with full effort, and sold that work of art in an instant. Today her works is in sold in many parts of the world.) :
"My artwork is a celebration of life and the Creator. My artworks give me a chance to motivate and inspire people to let themselves to DREAM. If you delight yourself in God (in what He has given you, meaning your unique talents and giftings), He shall give you the desires of your heart - because it is Him that has placed those desires within your heart! Don't ignore His prompting in your heart to do something.; because that would mean you are telling God that whatever He has put in your life is of NO importance. Pursue what gives you pleasure and satisfaction, and you will never deny how meaningful it is what God has done through you."

I never seen Ps. 37:4 from this angle before. I always thought, delighting yourself in God means, taking His words to your heart, believing it. But then...delighting myself, celebrating the fact that God made me the way He made me, with all my unique talents, passion for writing is ...something else.

Whoa...I got it now. ...

What Blocks your Creativity?

Blocks to creativity exist when you find yourself not having a creative space that you can escape to. Your life feels dull and you do not feel inspired. You experience little joy in what you do. It is more like going through the motions!!

Blocks to creativity also exist if you find yourself falling short of your potential. Your inner knowing tells you that you are capable of much more; yet when you try, it seems hard to have a major breakthrough. It is possible that you are stifling the genius within, when you do not allow adequate self expression.

10 Blocks to your creativity

1. Fear of Criticism
Perhaps one of the biggest blocks to exploring creativity lay in the fears that your ideas will be criticised. You are afraid that you will not receive support. After all, if your ideas are new and have never been explored before, you put yourself at risk of being ridiculed for them. You perceive that the more your ideas deviate from current norms and trends, the greater the chance of receiving a poor response to them. In seeking to protect your fragile ego, you prefer not to voice your ideas. You would rather not even indulge in your creative daydreams to begin with!

2. Fear of Making Mistakes
Then, there is also the fear that you are setting yourself up for more failures by coming up with new ideas. While creativity gives you a chance for innovation, your ideas may turn out to be a success or a complete flop. “Wouldn’t it be safer to stick to conventions or to old and tested ways?” you reasoned. Fear of making mistakes can be a huge obstacle, preventing you from exploring creativity freely.

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”
Quote by Erich Fromm

3. Too Much Clutter
Too much clutter can block the flow of creativity. Clutter can be both mental or physical clutter. In terms of mental clutter, creative ideas cannot flow freely if you are limited by thoughts of negativity like fear, blame, worry or shame. It will be quite impossible for ideas to come round, if your mind is constantly busy with thoughts; such as making arrangements for your schedule, how to make ends meet or whether or not to join the MLM program that your friend is promoting.

In terms of physical clutter, too much paper and things lying around, as well as too many possessions, can be distracting. They are productive suckers, occupying your mind with little or no space left to explore creativity.
(Sur comments: At here where the Concept Map can help you to structure your cluterred mind.)

4. Low Self Confidence
If you suffer from low confidence, you may believe that you are not capable. Hence, you choose to believe that you are not able to come up with creative ideas. You think that creativity is the domain of only geniuses or those who are smarter than you. Limiting thoughts make great blocks to creativity!

5. Not Enough Time To Relax
A brain that is overworked, with no time set aside for relaxation, will find it hard to produce creative ideas. It is too busy with thoughts on activities and tasks. When you are relaxed, great ideas will flow like gushing water from a tap that is fully turned on.

6. Inadequate Sleep
Inadequate sleep can hinder you in coming up with creative ideas the next day. Your physical body needs to feel good first before you can develop and explore your mental creative faculties.

In fact, it is said that many successful people have received their greatest revelations while in a dream-like state and transformed their own lives or even the world around them. One good example was Thomas Edison, who was awarded 1368 distinct patents and invented, including the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the film projector, and the first motion picture. Edison was known to have said, “Ideas come from space�. Edison purportedly took frequent naps in the afternoons and woke up with solutions to the most perplexing problems.

7. Lack of Priority
If you do not attach any importance to being creative, guess what? You are not going to enjoy the benefits of being creative either. You will be like how you are now - dull and listless. Consider setting aside time for developing creativity. It will be a good idea to also start keeping an idea journal, to faciliate this process.

8. Stubbornness
A refusal to let go of your existing beliefs and thoughts can limit you in thinking of new possibilities. The more you identify yourself with specific values, meanings, beliefs and symbols, the more you will stifle creativity. On the other hand, the more you focus on how values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed and interrelated, the more you can explore creativity.

9. Poverty Thinking
You tend to associate those in the creative arts as poor and struggling. Hence, you may feel that it is not important to explore creativity since it cannot help you pay your bills. Why bother to waste time developing right brain thinking when you can rely adequately on your left brain to feed you?

10. Inappropriate Comparisons
If you think that only special, talented people are creative and that geniuses are born and not made, then you may have no wish to develop your creative abilities. You protest that you can barely draw, sing or dance. You are definite that you are tone-deaf or color-blind. You consider people like Shakespeare, Picasso and Mozart as “gifted”.
(Sur comments: see again The Multiple Intelligence. Those people are gifted in Verbal/ Linguist, Visual and Musical; but perhaps lacks in Analytical/ logical side.)

Here is an exciting piece of information for you: When researchers examined outstanding performances in the arts, mathematics and sports, to determine if “the widespread belief that to reach high levels of ability, a person must possess an innate potential called talent”, they discovered the opposite. It is also important to highlight, for instance, that Mozart trained for 16 years before he produced a masterpiece.

While it is true that it is best to develop your innate abilities, the strict definitions of creativity to areas in arts, should not apply. Creativity is also an essential part of innovation and invention and is important in almost every profession. It can be explored, developed and trained in many ways.

Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in August 2009 by The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures. It was filmed in several locations, among them Germany and France,[3] beginning in October 2008.[4] The film, set in German-occupied France, tells the story of two plots to assassinate the Nazi political leadership, one planned by a young French Jewish cinema proprietress, the other by a team of American soldiers called the "Basterds".





Tarantino has said that despite it being a war film, Inglourious Basterds is a "spaghetti western but with World War II iconography".[5] In addition to spaghetti westerns, the film also pays homage to the World War II "macaroni combat" sub-genre (itself heavily influenced by spaghetti-westerns).
Inglourious Basterds was accepted into the main selection at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or and had its world premiere there in May.[6] It was the only U.S. film to win an award at Cannes that year, earning a Best Actor award for Christoph Waltz.

Funny??
Well, I was invited to watch this movie in a night where I used to be so occupied. They said this was a good movie and 'funny' too. Thinking that I might use a good laugh after a whole series of meetings, so I decided to go... with the caramel popcorn in my hand. My hopes were high for a fun, relaxing time...

I watched through and even fell asleep in some parts because the movie is partly in French and German - so may be because I had to constantly look at the screen for subtitling, my eyelids couldn't cope with the strain.



The movie started with a polite and sleek German "Jews hunter" that had his troop shooting the basement where a French farmer hide a Jewish family. That set the horror already for what was to come...(well, if you decide to watch it after reading this, it's up to you. But you could also check out the story line which is available on the net.)

Anyways, the climax of the movie is when the movie theater where all the Germans gathered was in fire, and they were all trapped inside. Then the 2 Americans (the Basterds) who had sneak in there started shooting all the Germans vigorously - like they were having fun doing it.

My heart was restless when the movie ended. I could not shake those scenes I just saw. I couldn't explain why I felt that way, I could not put it into words. But after a couple of days, my thoughts began to settle down and I was able to search my heart as to what had made me so restless.


Firstly, I believe World War 2 was no joke - whoever parties involved at that time. Countless lives died during that war. Thousands of families experience loss of their loved ones. These are moments of despair and sadness. So, to turn the whole thing into a joke won't be 'right'. It's too much!!



Secondly, I wonder how would the young German generation think when they watch that movie? What kind of feeling erupted in their hearts after they watch the scene where the Americans slandered and shoot all the German soldiers - taking their scalps alive, even??

Are we creating and igniting a new war? Hasn't we seen enough already???

Other Movies
As for movies, my liking is for true story and children animated ones. I also collect lots of war movies - basically because I study the history and the strategy of wars. You can name all the movies of World War 1, World War 2, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, even the recent ambush to Afganistan - are in my library.

Some of the great true stories during the Holocaust :

God at Work

In the beginning God created...

The Bible begins with these famous words. God, like an artist, fashioned a universe. How can we grasp the grandeur of this?

Michelangelo, perhaps the greatest artist in history, may help us to understand. He painted Rome's famous Sistine Chapel to retell Genesis' story of creation. His experience proves one thing: creativity is work.

An Exhausting Effort
Michelangelo had 6,000 square feet of ceiling to cover - the size of four average house roofs. Anyone who as painted a ceiling with a paint roller has caught a hint of the physical difficulty of such task. But Michelangelo's plan called for 300 separate, detailed portraits of men and women. For more than three years the 5'4" artist devoted all his labors to the exhausting strain of painting the vast overhead space with his tiny brushes.


Sometimes he painted standing on a huge scaffold, a paintbrush high over his head. Sometimes he sat, his nose inches from the ceiling. Sometimes he painted while lying on his back. His back, shoulders, neck and arms cramped painfully.
In the long days of summer, he had light to paint 17 hours a day, taking food and a chamber pot with him on the 60-foot scaffold. For 30 days at a stretch he slept in his clothes, not even taking off his boots. Paint dribbled into his eyes so he could barely see. Freezing in the winter, sweating in the summer, he painted until at last the ceiling looked like a ceiling no more. He had transformed it into the creation drama, with creatures so real they seemed to breathe. Never before of since have paint and plaster been so changed.


The Miracle of Life
But, as Michelangelo knew very well, his work was a poor, dim image of what God had created. Over the plaster vault of the Sistine Chapel rose the immense dome of God's sky, breathtaking in its simple beauty. Mountains, seas, the continents - all these, and much more, are the creative work of God, the Master Artist.
God's world, so much bigger and more beautiful than Michelangelo's masterpiece, is the product of incomparably greater energy. As author Eugene Peterson has written, "The Bible begins with the announcement, 'In the beginning God created,' not 'sat majestic in the heavens' and not 'was filled with beauty and love.' He created. He did something. "

In the beginning, God went to work...

(Introduction to the Book of Genesis, which I committed to study again)

Painter of Light

I went to Placerville, California several years ago and while I was strolling down the streets, going in and out of stores, I came across this painting gallery. Something about the name of the artist that rang the bell in my mind. I watched an interview in TBN while I was in Jakarta about this unique and talented man.




The Artist
Thomas Kinkade is America's most collected living artist. Coming from a modest background, Kinkade emphasizes simple pleasures and inspirational messages through his paintings. As a devout Christian, Kinkade uses his gift as a vehicle to communicate and spread inherent life-affirming values.

It was while growing up in the small town of Placerville, California that these important values were nurtured. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore the world around him. He spent a summer on a sketching tour with a college friend, producing the best-selling instructional book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching. The success of the book landed the two young artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animated feature film Fire and Ice. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore light and imaginative worlds with abandon.

After the film, Kinkade earned his living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California. In 1982, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, and two years later they began to publish his art.

Painter of Light
During my visit to his gallery in Placerville, I noticed one thing. There were light switch near most of those paintings. The guide in that gallery showed me how to switch on the lights and played with the different brightness and saw how those lights effected the paintings. It was interesting.
During the interview in TBN, Paul Crauch asked Mr Kinkade of how he would want to be known. Mr. Kinkaid said that he want to be known as The Painter of Light.



How interesting to hear that. I am amazed of the unique talent of this man who could put lights in all his paintings capturing the best colors nature can offer.

Yet, to think of Thomas Kinkaid, The Painter of Light, I can't help to wonder in amazement of The Great Artist, The Master Painter, Who does His paintings and stroke His brushes, applying the beautiful colors by the words of His mouth. God has in his painting studio, all kinds of brushes...big and small. The way He strokes is always gently and loving.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—

Psalm 8:3

See, God is busy with His brushes... putting all kinds of 'lights' the the painting He's creating.


And as He said, I know the plan I have for you... plan of peace...to give you hope and a future...

Yes, like Mr Kinkade, God my Great Painter has a finished painting in mind of my life... He strokes His bright colors to bring light in my dark and gloomy days. With Him by my side, all my days are full, warm and bright...

Leaky Vessels

Can you just imagine filling water into a clay vessel that has cracks?? Every morning you would fill that vessel and in the afternoon all the water slowly leaks out. When you comes back, the vessel was empty of water. The next day you try again...and in the afternoon, the water is gone. The next day it happens again, then the following day...and the following week. What happen? Have you been so careless and you spill the water before it reach the clay vessel? No..no...no..., The water is gone simply because there are cracks in that clay vessel. All this time, you've been putting water in a leaky vessel. Frustrating, huh?? Well...it happens :)

I've been meeting several leaky vessels lately...some with major cracks, and some with thin cracks - you barely can't see it. All this time I was wondering how come even the best act of kindness from my part was wiped out in just a short periode of time. You give them surprises in their birthdays - still they don't feel it's enough. You write them notes, check on them from time to time, still they don't feel they are cared for. These people constantly feel unwanted, not loved much, not appreciated, under-valued...ah, you name it. Never enough!

Until this thought come to mind... leaky vessel. That's it! All the things you've poured on them was leaking out , they can't contain it. The cracks and the leaks that constantly happen leave them in want all the time. And they want you to keep on filling some more ... giving them more that you can handle. They demand from you...

And the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter;
so he made it over, reworking it into another vessel
as it seemed good to the potter to make it.

Jer. 18:4 (AMP)

(Interestingly, God loves these leaky vessels that He wouldn't want to throw none of them. He would work them again and turn them into the best form God has in mind.)

to be continued...

Fingerprints on my reading glasses

In the early years when I began to use glasses, I remember how my dad used to show me how to clean up those glasses. He would put water and soap in a basin and then carefully holding the frame he would gently rub the glasses. Then dipping them several times in the water while gently cleaning them. He told me not to touch the glass but to hold firm the frame in hand. "Otherwise you would get your fingerprints on these glasses," he would say.

This morning, when I woke up and about to open up my computer, somehow my sight got blurred...I found out later it was because of my glasses. It was dirty. I looked real close and saw fingerprints all over the glasses...hmmm, must be from last nite reading session and falling asleep with those books and the bopies :)

Well, I couldn't help thinking about what my dad told me years ago, 'you would get your fingerprints on those glasses.'

Now here's what I realize. I couldn't help it that my fingerprints are all over my glasses. It would, you know, if you touch those glasses. For sure, you'll leave marks of fingerprints there.
You see, it's the same thing every time we meet people and interact with them. One way or another, we'll leave marks on them. Whether it is good or bad, of joy or sadness, of encouragement or disappointment - but your marks will be there.

With this thoughts in mind early this morning, I sort of make a promise to myself that I would leave good marks in the lives of people I meet today. I want them to feel appreciated, loved and accepted. I want them to feel uplifted and encouraged..

The Soloist

The Soloist is a 2009 drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book, The Soloist by Steve Lopez. The film is based on a true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who develops schizophrenia and becomes homeless.

Foxx portrays Ayers, who is considered a cello prodigy, and Downey portrays Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers Ayers and writes about him in the newspaper. The film was released in theatres on 24 April 2009[1] and on DVD and Blu-Ray August 5.

I watched this movie during my hibernating period a couple of weeks ago... ohh those precious couple of days ...and was deeply moved.

Well, here I saw how a writing can have such an impact to people's life everywhere, even to the writer himself. I watched how well meaning act of kindness can be turned down because of some mental disabilities, but how friendship would bridge the gap and actually bring healing to a mentally disturb person.

The movie really moves me - I don't care what the rating posted by Rotten Tomatoes said - it bring forth the softer side of people, the tender spot any human being has deep within their heart - the side that want to do act of kindness, the side that grieve whenever there's pain and injustice done to mankind.

I wish there will be many more movies like this come to the theaters, to revive the numbness in people's heart because of all the junks in the media [00...i should be sharing more on this in my next posting...hmmm...i just can't stand it!]

Well... watch the movie...you won't regret it!