Behind the Scene

Temen tetangga cubicle dikantor punya bola besar yang bisa didudukin. Bola yang biasa kita liat di Gym ato di bbrp store. Temenku beli bolanya di Healthy Back Store. Biasa dia duduk diatas bola tersayangnya selama kurang lebih satu jam, katanya itu bagus buat punggung dan leher.

Alhasil, siang ini setelah ngobrol bentar ama bos, balik ke meja kerja n siap bikin report. Kepikir buat nyobain gimana rasanya duduk diatas bola besar itu, so I borrowed the big ball from her. Pertama-tama susah bener duduk diatasnya, bbrp hari yg lalu temenku baru pompa angina lagi, biar bolanya lebih keras dan lebih besar. Setelah beberapa lama akhirnya berhasil juga menahan bola supaya tidak berjalan-jalan, naughty ball >.<

Setelah kurang lebih 20 menit, aku balikin bolanya n kembalilah ku duduk diatas kursi kerjaku yang biasa. Duh terasa begitu nyaman dan empuk.

Dari situ Tuhan ajarin aku kenapa kadang Allah ijinkan sesuatu yang tidak mengenakkan dan tidak nyaman terjadi dalam hidup kita. Bukan karena Allah iseng, tapi there are things that He wants us to learn. Dari pengalaman mencoba duduk diatas bola, aku sekarang tau rasa betapa kursi kerjaku itu nyaman, meskipun tidak senyaman kursi manajer ato sofa dirumah. Disisi lain, aku juga merasakan apa itu perasaan tidak nyaman, tidak enak dan mencoba bertahan. Lalu aku bisa bersyukur disaat duduk kembali dikursi biasa, aku bisa berkata, duh enaknya….leganya…

Sama seperti hidup yang kita jalani. Terkadang Allah ijinkan yang tidak enak terjadi supaya kita tau apa itu yang namanya tidak enak, apa itu tidak nyaman. Kita bisa membedakan dan akhirnya kita bisa mensyukur hidup yang adalah pemberian Allah semata.

Bersyukurlah kalau kita punya rumah tempat berteduh. Bagaimana rasanya hidup dijalanan, dibawah kolong jembatan, dipinggiran mall atau bahkan diterminal-terminal?

Bersukurlah kalau kita bisa makan yang cukup. Bagaimana rasanya mau makan tapi tak ada uang untuk membeli makanan ato mau makan tapi dilarang dokter?

Bersyukurlah kalau kita punya keluarga yang sayang pada kita. Bagaimana rasanya hidup sebagai anak yatim piatu, anak yang terbuang, atau anak yang terpisahkan dari keluarganya?

Bersyukurlah kalau kita punya teman-teman yang perhatian dan sayang pada kita. Bagaimana rasanya hidup sendirian, tiada teman untuk tertawa, tiada teman untuk menangis, atau tiada teman untuk berbagi hidup?

Bersyukurlah kalau kita punya Allah yang hidup. Bagaimana rasanya kalau kita punya Allah yang jauh, yang kejam pada umatNya, yang tidak bisa memberi berkat, bahkan tidak bisa menyelamatkan?

Hidup ini berharga. Hidup adalah sebuah pemberian dari Tuhan. Selagi kita masih berada dalam dunia ini, marilah bersama kita panjatkan syukur kepada Tuhan atas segala sesuatu yang boleh kita nikmati. Bersyukur atas sukacita, kesedihan, gelak tawa, maupun tetes air mata. Karena semua itu diijinkan Allah terjadi untuk kebaikan kita (Romans 8:28). Hidup adalah sebuah kesempatan.

Masih banyak disekitar kita yang lebih menderita….
So, don’t complaint! But be grateful and be joyful at all times…

Another good article from airhidup.com

A Deck of Cards

It was quiet that day, the guns, the mortars and the land mines for some reason hadn't been heard.

The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week.

As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.

Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?

The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord."

The sergeant said, "Looks to me like you're going to play cards."

The soldier said, "No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards."

The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?"

"You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God.

"The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.

"The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

"The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

"The Five is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them were glorified.

"The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.

"The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.

"The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives - the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the earth.

"The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.

"The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.

"The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.

"The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.

"The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.

"When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.

"There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week, 52 weeks in a year.

"The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

"Each suit has thirteen cards; there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter

"So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for."

The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, may I borrow that deck of cards?"

A clip made for sister Jeane

If you want to check out about sister Jeane, please go to:

A Tribute for Ci Jeane

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yw2H4IF1_QY

A true and inspiring story

"A Tribute to A Faithful Warrior In Christ"

Jeane Gunawan
April 16, 1963 - June 2, 2007

Jeane will be forever cherished in our memory for her vitality, her sweetness of spirit and her passion and compassion in ministering to others.

Even as her physical body slowly succumbed to the complications from lupus over many years, she continued to fulfill her calling in serving the Lord and His church without self-pity.

She was involved in almost every aspect of church life as a full time staff at LACBC for over 15 years and she also touched countless souls as she ministered behind the scene as an intercessor. In the last few years of her life, she extended her ministry to San Diego CBC, touching many more lives, as well as raising up spiritual sons and daughters as she faithfully made the four-hour round trip every weekend.

Her life was an undeniable testimony of determination and "pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus," despite suffering a debilitating and terminal illness.

Jeane had fought the good fight, she had finished her race, and she had kept the faith until the end.

Words of Encouragement

Hi Leaders and Ministers,

Galatians 6: 9
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Often times we see slow growth or no immediate result and we are tempted to give up. We know what God called us to do, but we feel like working alone or no body notices or appreciates what we are doing. Do not grow weary! Do not give up! God is at work. God is using your examples in the lives of others. There are good fruits. We may not see the result right now. Seed do not grow up quickly. It takes time and as God has promised, at the proper time, we will surely reap the harvest. We will see the good result. Do not doubt. Your faithfulness right now is going to lead to specific fruit, holiness, and righteousness.

Those are my conclusion from hearing a sermon from Joshua Harris, the author of the book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Hope it can bless your heart! Especially for my friends who are leading Care Cell now (you know who you are).

Another good article from airhidup.com

.: Keputusan Sang Ayah :.

Setelah beberapa lagu pujian seperti biasanya pada hari minggu, pembicara gereja bangkit berdiri dan perlahan-lahan berjalan menuju mimbar untuk berkhotbah.

"Seorang ayah dan anaknya serta teman anaknya pergi berlayar ke samudra Pasifik", dia memulai, "ketika dengan cepat badai mendekat dan menghalangi jalan untuk kembali ke darat. Ombak sangat tinggi, sehingga meskipun sang ayah seorang pelaut berpengalaman, ia tidak dapat lagi mengendalikan perahu sehingga mereka bertiga terlempar ke lautan."

Pengkotbah berhenti sejenak, dan memandang mata dua orang remaja yang mendengarkan cerita tersebut dengan penuh perhatian. Dia melanjutkan, "Dengan menggenggam tali penyelamat, sang ayah harus membuat keputusan yang sangat sulit dalam hidupnya....kepada anak yang mana akan dilemparkannya tali penyelamat itu. Dia hanya punya beberapa detik untuk membuat keputusan.

Sang ayah tahu bahwa anaknya adalah seorang pengikut Kristus, dan dia juga tahu bahwa teman anaknya bukan. Pergumulan yang menyertai proses pengambilan keputusan ini tidaklah dapat dibandingkan dengan gelombang ombak yang ganas. Ketika sang ayah berteriak, "Aku mengasihi engkau, anakku!" dia melemparkan tali itu kepada teman anaknya. Pada waktu dia menarik teman anaknya itu ke sisi perahu, anaknya telah menghilang hanyut ditelan gelombang dalam kegelapan malam. Tubuhnya tidak pernah ditemukan lagi."

Ketika itu, dua orang remaja yang duduk di depan, menantikan kata-kata berikut yang keluar dari mulut sang pembicara. "Sang ayah," si pembicara melanjutkan ,"tahu bahwa anaknya akan masuk dalam kekekalan dan diselamatkan oleh Yesus, dan dia tidak sanggup membayangkan jika teman anaknya melangkah dalam kekekalan tanpa Yesus. Karena itu dia mengorbankan anaknya sendiri. Betapa besar kasih Allah, sehingga Ia melakukan hal yang sama kepada kita." Sang pembicara kembali ke tempat duduknya sementara keheningan memenuhi ruangan.

Beberapa saat kemudian, dua orang remaja duduk di sisi pembicara. "Cerita yang menarik," seorang remaja memulai pembicaraan dengan sopan, "tapi saya pikir tidaklah realistis bagi sang ayah untuk mengorbankan hidup anaknya hanya dengan berharap bahwa teman anaknya akan menjadi seorang pengikut Kristus."

"Benar, engkau benar sekali," jawab pembicara. Sebuah senyum lebar menghiasi wajahnya dan kemudian di memandang kedua remaja tersebut dan berkata, "Tentu saja itu tidak realistis bukan ? Tapi saya ada di sini untuk memberitahu kalian bahwa cerita itu membuka mataku tentang apa yang sesungguhnya terjadi ketika Tuhan memberikan AnakNya untuk saya."Engkau tahu ... sayalah teman sang anak itu".

KoPer's Grad at SDSU

Graduation Dinner with San Diego family

No Worries

God does not care about our past, but He is interested at our future. God sees the potential in us. God knows what we can be when we walk with Him. God is able to change our life no matter how bad our past is. When we repent and give our life to God, He is ready to take the lead and bring us to a brand new journey. A journey to success, a journey to an abundant life, a journey when you and I will stand amazed at how great our God is.

He is able to turn the ashes for beauty and he is able to turn your life around (Isaiah 61). All things are possible in God (Matthew 19:26). Start dreaming again with God. Dream big because You have a great God. Do not look back but keep walking toward your dream and vision with God (Philippians 3:12-14).