Grateful

Main Entry: grate·ful
Pronunciation: \ˈgrāt-fəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: obsolete grate pleasing, thankful, from Latin gratus — more at grace
Date: 1552

1 a : appreciative of benefits received b : expressing gratitude
2 a : affording pleasure or contentment : pleasing b : pleasing by reason of comfort supplied or discomfort alleviated


Today is my birthday *yayyy!!!*
So last night i got a lil' time just to have a rewind of what happened to me this year and past years...
A sister of Christ wrote this question one day on her post: Are you following God for His present or for His presence?
On one of my bible study each of use were to give summary/highlights of what happened this year and to give thanks for it. But come to think of it i don't have any really, i don't have a significant highlights. Some of us were married this year or engaged or got a new job but none of those stuffs are happening/applied to me :(

But this year i learned so much about God's faithfulness and His presence through it all. I learned so much about faith and hope in God. I learned so much about preserverance and being faithful. Learned patience in waiting, Learning to trust, to be humble, to be unselfish and that is always good to love more (I'm still learning, not yet an expert :p) Got my relationship restored, got the support i need from my loved ones :)

On my other bible study, we were asked to list out God's blessing (if we can't think of one, we should look at the life of those who are less fortunate than us). Whoa! that makes a difference isn't it? Most of the time i'll look up or look around me but i've never look down. It is a blessing for having a good family, being raised as a Christian, having the privilege to study in America, having the experience working in here and giving the chance in ministry at church and the list goes on...

God reminded me again this year: Nana, doesn't matter if you receive/not receive the gift that you want under the Christmas tree, you have already received the greatest gift of all: Jesus Christ and i'm forever grateful :)

*blushed*

God had made my birthday more special since 3 years ago :)
- december 16, 2007: ci kiki shared the news that she's pregnant in our bible study, full of tears-session T.T
- december 16, 2008: i got to celebrate it with my bible study group + baby maxie
- december 16, 2009: i got to celebrate it again with baby maxie this year!
God has shown Himself through the life of ci kiki and fam and over the years it inspires me in many ways. Thank you for being such a blessing and thank you for letting me be a part of it :)

I'm closing this with a song by hillsong - through it all
the story of my life is that God's with me through it all :)

Happy Thanksgiving

The most happiest person on earth must be the person who give thanks in all.

POSITIVE THINKING:
Researchers had found that grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, more satisfaction with life, and more vitality and optimism. They also found grateful people show lower levels of depression and stress.

HOPEFUL:
What's more, they found that people who write weekly in a journal about things they are thankful for are healthier. They exercise more regularly, report fewer physical symptoms, and feel better in general than people who journal about neutral or negative life events.

CONTENT:
Finally, the research showed that people who daily count their blessings report higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, and energy.

These research was done without religious-ground. just facts.
The research wasn't discovering anything new, but rather confirming the will and wisdom of God. God already knows how great it is for us to be grateful. Now "science" does too.
God had shared this key of happiness in the bible: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Sadly many of us including me haven't been practicing that :(
Even though the "good things" is not happening this season but as Christians, we can always find reason to give thanks – thanks for the salvation of Christ, the nearness of God, and the counsel of His Spirit :)

What can you give thanks for today?

Wake-up call

Ring
One of the question on a group-discussion for our bible study session last tuesday was: what are you really saying about God when you choose to dis-obey?
the harsh truth: i don't really believe that God is trustworthy and that He is on my side, and that He loves me, and that He's by my side :'( and by doing so: God is sad and hurt...

Ring-ring
Last sunday sermon were talking about love. The pastor quoted a paragraph from the book crazy love by Francis Chan. I don't remember the exact words but basically:
1. the simplest/most easy kind of love is the love for friends and family. Simple, everyone even criminals would easily love their friends and family.
2. the next level is the love for the needy, the poor, for those in trouble, etc. Pretty self explanatory :)
3. the highest level is: to love your enemy, to joyfully rejoice for those who's winning when you're failing. To Pray for those who talk about you (false accusation), etc. I'm sure you get my point here.

Confession:
The pastor last sunday said: "you can have the right doctrine but not the right heart." and what i'm about to say in the following pretty much reflect that. I'm so embarrass and sorry as well... for being such a disappointment :( so *taking a deep breath* here we go:
When i see people saying that they're blessed, or when they're thankful of something or that God is good!, in my heart i'll be saying: "Yea, sure. must be something good/great happening here." I was super-skeptical and just bitter :( but no. Once again God is trying to prove me wrong. Some of the situations that those people are in is worst than mine. Some of them loose everything. some of them didn't get what they want. Some of them are overwhelmed with work, some of them are struggling to live. Through those people God said to me during my quiet time: It is impossible to exaggerate Me, you know that. *humbly convicted*

Ring-ring-rriiinggg
- By grace, those people can say God is good because HE IS good! this one is pretty self explanatory. C'mon na, He died for them and you on the cross!!!
- The more self-centered you are, the more unsatisfied you will be.
- To be a woman of God is to be a woman who is faithful~unconditionally.
- and lastly it's from my morning prayer as i pray for myself, i want to pray for you as well who's maybe broken-hearted, disappointed, rejected, bitter or hurt:

Dear Jesus, I know You suffered the sting of rejection and hurt in a much more intense way than I ever will. And while this (enter your situation) is small in the grand scheme of life, it feels huge in my heart right now. Will You help me process this? Will You help me see past it? Will You let this fragile heart feel the warmth of Your love and grace today? In Jesus' Name, Amen.

living in state of grace *blushed*

Audited

So yea, my auditor is going to come today to audit our month-end stuffs...
i hope i do good. i hate it when when i think that i've prepared , but yet sometimes there's another hole that i'm un-aware of :[

So the same thing goes with my life :[
i thank God for using my bible studies to help audit me :]
and the result is: i didn't do so well... i have holes all over :/
i'm quite dissapointed with my true answer... because i KNOW what i believe, what i suppose to believe, but i'm not living it, which is also mean i don't really believe :[

choices to be or not to be a woman of God. what do you believe about God, is He good or is He not? choose child. That question is kinda like the theme on the book and for some reason keep ringing and bugging me after our BS session on tuesday. and i know probably that is because i'm dissapointed at myself. i know what i'm suppose to do, but i'm not doing it. i'm really sorry Lord... thank you for being so patient with me.

Life's been hard :[ and i have always been amazed at people who's worshiping God with full-passion still; despite of, inspite of. Always wanna be one. So maybe now God's giving me a chance... for me to choose, say and act.

"I believe that God is good."

I have known the Father's care for me
He's been good.. He's been good
Through it all He's always there for me
God's been (so) good to me

Through the storm.. Through the night
Come what may everything will be alright
I have known the Father's care for me
God's been good to me


*blushed*

TGIF :)

introducing my friend nahing
:) (taken from our g-chat session)

Natalia: guess what i had for dinner last night
me: rabbit? gaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh T.T
Natalia: HAHAHAHA
oh yeah, forgot to pick that up from your house..
me: - -"
Natalia: maybe one day...
haha i had chicken nuggets i haven't had that since davis!
anyway, i burned them gosong
me: you burned them AGAIN?
*smack hand to YOUR head*
- -" *geleng2*
Natalia: hahahaha
i duno how!! they always burn
me: pake oven lbi enak
Natalia: no matter the temperature
me: jgn pake microwave
Natalia: or for how long
iya ini pake oven
me: they should tell u on THE BOXXXX
Natalia: hahahaa
i dont like to read
me: omg - -"
Natalia: masakin dong...
hahaha
Sent at 11:05 AM on Friday
me: moyung - -"
ci jenny's head will surely be copot this time she hear this story
Natalia: hahaha
we like to make her geleng her kepala and make her cry :)
hahaha we're so loving

*blushed* from malu-ness - -"

:)

Blessed!

I just wanna share one of the proof that I really am blessed :)
I'm surrounded by friends of God that always encourage me
Check my I FOLLOW list on the bottom right --->
This one is taken from Fonda's blog, she is a gifted writer with a wonderful heart!

Be still

Another quote that’s too good to be kept for myself:
"We need to wait on God, NOT because we need answers, but because He is WORTHY of being waited upon" - Alicia Britt Chole
Take heart, seek diligently, be patient and be still.

*blushed*