Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

Christmas is indeed a time of great joy. My fondest memories are going carolling with the gang, the hours of practice, the oh so tired, the yummy food, all the fun we had. It is truly a blessing, this Christmas carols and singing and festivities.

But the main reason for the season must not be clouded out behind the christmas tree or lights at the shoping centre. and as beautiful as carols are, it should never drown out the message that Christ came to save, that God loves us soooooo much, that He would plan for His own Son to come and live among us, die for us, be raised up, and now seated at the right hand of the Father.

God loves us, He did all this for us, all we have to do is to receive the gift of His son, to accept the salvation provided by His death on the cross.

Meaningful Christmas everyone!

God is good all the time, He puts a song of praise in this heart of mine...What a beautiful song.

God has been amazing, faithful, and so gracious and kind.

A recent hardship was making me crazy, and people were really wondering why i had not been able to complete a big major project.

But after going thru the tough times, i finally understood why.

1. if i had done it as expected (i;m very good) there would be no issue, no testimony, and all glory would have gone to me.

2. but now, because i needed God and cried out to Him, and He answered me, and so now i know and have seen vey clearly that God truly is in charge , in command. and sharing with my friends, so all glory goes to God, to whom it rightly belongs.

to be cont....how I experienced God speakingto me...beautiful, comforitng, amazing experience.

Thankful for troubles

Is it possible, and is it even right? Sometimes God answers prayers with a big resounding yes and all the people say...yeay. Sometimes His answer is not so clear or not quite what we want to hear, so what do we do then? well, praise God anyway. Wether God answers a prayer or not does not change the fact that He is able to, He is always able to shut the lions mouth, to heal the sick, to raise the dead. I learnt this profound message again recently from "living with courage' a story about the life of Daniel by Our Daily Bread publishers.

So go on, when caught in a fix, together with the last minute whispers of plea, do give thanks as well.

An attitude of Gratitude

It is easy, and even a pleasure to list down what we are grateful for when things are going splendidly great. So when things are not so great, and you're pressed hard to write even no 1 on that grateful list, what do you do? Well, abandon it altogether, since there's nothing to be grateful for...right? WRONG! Quite the contrary actually, this is the time to really ponder upon and look for what to be thankful for, to purposefully think about, recall, and write down what we are grateful for. It is in times like these that the grateful journal would be really useful, to force us to look for the good, despite the circumstances.

Our kids were ill once, so we had to cancel plans with a friend. And he said the most amazing thing, so unexpected, quite crazy & irritating when you're sponging 2 sick kids and wiping vomit off your clothes, but it was so profound that I'm still pondering on its wisdom. He said, give thanks for your kids' illness, thank God for their sickness, in all circumstances give thanks. Well, it was more bitter to swallow than the gross medicine I was shoving down my kids throat, but just like the medicine that made them better, those words have stuck with us and reminded us to give thanks at all times. Giving thanks has refreshed our souls, and reminded us again and again of His overflowing blessings.

So go on, write that list, you'll be surprised at the number of things we have to be grateful for when at the surface all seems gloomy. Maintain a grateful spirit, and remember past blessings to get ready for more in the future.

So thankful for Love

Is it really something to be thankful about, this thing called love? Absolutely, positively, yes, yes, yes. I thinks its one of the MOST amazing things ever. Our God is truly an awesome God, to have created love, to have created us, and our world. It doesn't stop there, it just gets better. He loves us, first. And the best part is, He gives us the capacity to love, and be loved.

So thankful for the love of my life, that our paths crossed some 10 years ago, that we recognized the love we had for each other, worked on it, fought for it, nurtured it. So thankful for the amazing life we share together, for understanding, and forgetfulness ;p, and forgiveness, and fun fun fun. Its just so comforting, and sometimes overwhelming, that there can be soooo much love shared between us.

So thankful for my parents. I only truly appreciated how much my parents love me after having kids of my own. I knew all along that they love me, but the depth and magnitude and sheer power of it just blew me away.So kids, listen up, your parents love for you is just out of this world.

Then there's kids, gosh, where do I even began, so thankful for kids, and how they so innocently look up to me, and love me. And one of life's greatest blessings has to be how we can love one so tiny, so precious, sometimes so annoying, yet always always so full of love.

Count your blessings

It's so easy to get messed up with all the crap that happens on a daily basis. It's like life is full of irritating drivers and screaming kids. But it's not really, is it? Life is full of mini miracles and amazing blessings. Life is full of courteous drivers who give you way, adorable kids who hug you, and the kindest souls who say the sweetest things to cheer you up.

So which is it anyway? Whichever you want, actually. What you focus on expands. So keep on telling everyone you meet about the idiot who scratched your car, or your lousy boss, and chances are, you will be getting more of these. The worst part is, they will be getting the most of you, of your time, energy, and precious thoughts. How about mentioning that even big cars stopped and let you turn in, or about the co-worker who shares bright ideas and the workload. Tell as many people about the amazing way things turned out surprisingly well at work, or at home. Celebrate your success, be it a smooth presentation or loosing 2 kgs, or even if you managed to stick to walking 3 days a week.

The more we look for the good that happens, the more we will find it, and the more it will happen. A great way to do this is to have a grateful journal. This could be a special notebook, or your regular diary, or just pieces of paper. An old exercise book will do fine. To make your list high-tech, you could record what you're grateful for online, in a blog like this or as a list on the sidebar of your existing blog. It could be your daily Fb status, or note, or Tweet. You can even email it to yourself or your friends and family. A weekly or monthly newsletter is an encouraging way to record your victories, give thanks for your gifts, AND let your readers know what you've been up to. The easiest way is to make a list of all the good things that happened, all the people who make you happy, and all the things you love. This can be done daily or weekly, or monthly, or annually. The more you record in your grateful journal, the more you will appreciate the daily blessings that He showers on us.