Emergency Numbers

I read so many self-help books before but retained nothing for actual use in my life. I realized that there is only one book or instruction manual that is really applicable for living one's life.. and that is the Bible.

Someone posted this in facebook and i just 'called' number 11 and 12.
11. When you grow bitter and critical, 12. For how to get along with other men.

I am bothered by my reaction to people for the past days -- getting annoyed easily, feeling self-righteous and indignant. I'm happy though that I still have enough sensitivity to realize that something's amiss.. too much complaining, too much analyzing who should really be responsible or how something should be done instead.

I'm happy to have read 1 Corinthians 13. It's the LOVE verse. People usually think it's only for lovers, but reading the NCV (New Contemporary Version) of the Bible pinpointed that it's applicable for everyone. I may have so much faith, so much gifts and talents, and so much knowledge, but I gain nothing if I do not have LOVE.

Romans 12, on the other hand, is about treating your enemies well. Show them kindness even if they are mean, love them even if they hate you.. this appreantly is like pouring burning coal over their heads.

I need to exude more love at work and with my family, especialy with my dad or whoever tries to give me something to do. I wish I could be as loving as my mom. When trouble befalls me, I want to be able to give love and not burden other people with my stress and frustration. Because I cannot speak or express myself well verbally, I hope God gives me the talent to express good things through my actions and my facial expressions.

May I also learn to pray for others and not just for myself.

Seek First the Kingdom

The past topics with Brother JR leading the career group meetings have been very helpful to everyone. I am actually delighted that Edward has found it helpful, too. We enjoyed the peer-to-peer sharing back in the days when it was still Gordon and other younger ones leading the group but I guess, ultimately, what we all need is guidance. The Lord guides us and he assigns people to help guide other people through their knowledge and life experiences.

The sessions have ultimately been about getting down to the core and asking: what is my purpose in life? Not just work but LIFE - in this earth or universe. I thought this questioning was only for back when I was in highschool and college when there was the luxury to really ponder this question. I guess this question was posed back to us because this is the stage in our life when we don't have time to question anymore. We just do things and strive to move forward towards our self-designated path, but then if we are moving toward the wrong direction, then all our efforts are for nothing.

Everyone's overall life purpose is to SEEK FIST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. How we do that will be the ways our individuality will be displayed.

I am also impressed that our pastor can converse with different personalities and ages in the group. There are those who are just starting out at work and want to prove themselves, those who question everything just like philosophers, those who want to dissect everything into a step by step procedure and so many more!

We are all created differently but we come together because we are the children of one GOD. In seeking first His Kingdom, we must know our purpose, our priority and our role in life. Every reading touched my heart because I am guilty of being so busy pursuing things that, in reality, are already provided by GOD. It's like being a Martha than a Mary. Just last Sunday, I was the usher and I was busy observing people and trying to help out that I forgot to partake of the bread and wine. I told myself that I'll try to be a good leader, be early, initiate prayer, smile at people and remind them to smile but I forgot why I was doing all these. God is the most important and in my service, I neglected having the quiet moment to remember Him for all He's done.

Experiences like that make one grow and realize the challenges of balancing life, but I'm happy for that downfall because now I know it's not so easy to do things. Sometimes we just like to complain and criticize other people but haven't really asked ourselves if we can actually do better or even the same when we are placed in that similar situation.

Whoever said that everything he needed to learned he learned in a kindergarten is missing out on so much things life has to offer. In facing life, I know now that our guiding principle should always be to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD because when we do, then EVERYTHING SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO US.