Mary and Martha

December or Christmas season is known to be the busiest month for retailers, churches and families. The 'buzz' of activities in December is just non-stop. Extended trading hours: working on Sundays and late nights; buying pressies for: colleagues, secret santa activities, friends, family, kids, mum, dad, church people; carol singing and lots of other xmas activities; plus other normal celebrations such as birthday parties, dinner invitations and weddings, the list just goes on.

If I'm not at work, I'm either at church, or at carol singing, or someone's birthday party, or doing xmas shopping. Busy busy busy! That's the theme of the month. Every single one of my day off in December is packed with a list of things to do or to attend.

In Luke 10:38-42, there's a story about Mary and Martha, two sisters who invited Jesus to come to their house for tea. Common sense tells you that if you invite somone over for tea, there's a lot of work to be done: preparing food, drinks, plates, cutleries, cleaning the house, and many more. In this particular story, Martha did what common sense told her, but she found her sister, Mary, sitting near Jesus, enjoying his company. Being normal, she then complained to Jesus asking him to tell her sister, Mary, to help out. To her surprise, Jesus pretty much said that Mary chose the right thing! While Martha was busy with the things that she thought was important, Mary chose to enjoy Jesus' company.

I feel a bit like Martha nowadays. With so many things happening around me, it is just so hard to find some peace and quiet. Tonight was a good example: because it is school holiday, we've allowed Naomi to sleep later than her normal bedtime. Plus with so many evening activities, such as carol singing, dinner invites, etc, it hasn't been easy getting her to sleep early. Today she went out and about with my parents because I was at work. After work, I took her to a friend's birthday party. We got home at about 8.30 pm and straight away she had her shower, bedtime reading, and then it's bedtime for her. I thought it was going to be easy for her to fall asleep since she was probably tired from all those playing at our friend's house. I was really looking forward to my peaceful night where I can just have my quiet time to read and to blog. Something that I haven't been able to do for a while due to various activities. But guess what?.... It took her a good 20-30 minutes to actually fall asleep! As usual, she started by lining up her dora toy, then her baby doll, and her white teddy bear called 'Tyler', all next to her. She put the blankie over them and she'd have some sort of bedtime conversation with them. She then toss and turn besides me and told me that she couldnt sleep. So I had to put everything away, and help her to fall asleep by softly scratching her back (I swear she's so addicted to this). After about 10 mins, she's finally asleep (phew...).

As a working mum, it is so easy to be so task oriented. It's always do this, do that, do this, do that. Like Martha, I just keep going and occupy my mind with a 'to do' list, almost all the time.

Today I am reminded that as much as it is good to serve others, serve our families, our friends, our church, and the community, there is one very important thing that we can't forget, and that's keeping our relationship with God. Afterall, Christmas is suppose to be all about Jesus. Why have we been busy with others and everyone else but Him?

There are 5 more days till Christmas.... who do you choose to be: Mary or Martha?

The Little Match Girl

Christmas Note 12th of December

by Thomas JaMang Thawng

"The Little Match Girl" is a story by Hans Christian Andersen. The story is famous not only because of its poignant tragedy, but also because of its beauty. Our imagination (and literature) can give us comfort, solace, and reprieve from so many of life's hardships. But, literature can also act as a reminder of personal responsibility. In that sense, this short story reminds me of Hard Times, the short novel by Charles Dickens which instigated change in the age of Industrialization (Victorian England). Or, perhaps we could compare this story to The Little Princess, the 1904 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Does this story make you re-evaluate your life, those things you cherish most?

The Little Match Girl

It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and darkness, a poor little girl with bare head and naked feet, roamed thru the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, for they had belonged to her Mother and the poor little girl had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling at a terrible rate.

One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized the other and ran away with it saying he could use it as a cradle when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along, looking like the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.

Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New-year's eve yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but could not keep off the cold. And she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches.

Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out- "scratch!" how it sputtered as it burnt. It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed as though she was sitting by a large iron stove. How the fire burned! And seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out!

The stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.

She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table cloth on which stood a splendid dinner service and a steaming roast goose stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in it's to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.

She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one she had seen thru the rich merchant's glass door. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out.

The Christmas lights rose higher and higher till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it it a bright streak of fire. "Some one is dying," thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now in Heaven had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.

She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance.

"Grandmother," cried the little one, "O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large glorious Christmas-tree." And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day. and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.

In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall. She had been frozen on the last evening of the year; and the New-year's sun rose and shone upon a little child. The child still sat, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt.

"She tried to warm herself," said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year's day.

Watch the clip - 'The Little Match Girl - Disney'

Ripple Effect

When you throw a stone into a still pond, it creates a 'ripple effect'. Some creates small ripple, and some creates big ripple. But each stone, no matter how big or small, creates a ripple.

Each one of us is like that stone. Whether we like it or not, we influence people around us: our family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers. It's not really a choice, it just happens. It's like cause and effect, it's like momentum, it's like gravity law, it just happens, and we don't really have a say. In other words... we are walking ripple-makers, we are born to INFLUENCE.

Do you notice that you and your closest friend or partner share some similarities? The more you spend time with each other, the more you become alike in some ways. When hubby and I first began our new life under the same roof, I had a few bad habits: like not closing the toothpaste cap, not returning things to where they belong, not washing my drinking glass (thinking I'm going to use it again later) and many more. Surprisingly, V can be a very tidy person and my habits use to drive him mad all the time. Through years of hard work, I finally change some of those habits and we become more alike in our cleanliness standard (although sometimes I still revert back to my old self and still drive him nuts when he cant find the nail clipper for example :p).

As much as V has influenced me, I have also influenced him: he is now addicted to Facebook, he knows how to chat online, he knows how to use google search, and he eats sweets! (well, ... a little bit). Growing from somone who doesn't know how to text on a mobile phone to someone who knows how to upload photos from his iphone to Facebook? Yeah... I'll take credit for that :)

On a more positive note, I have a close friend, whose positive attitude never fail to amaze, comfort and encourage me. No matter what she goes through in life, she always says "Yaudah... It's ok", meaning "That's alright, let it be, everything's going to be alright". Everytime she tells me about her life, good or bad, she always says "But I'm not complaining, I choose to just be grateful for everything". She probably does not realise that she has brainwashed me with her positivity, but she really has. Although we no longer live in the same country, her positive influence still lives within me and is part of who I am today.

That makes me wander sometimes... what kind of influence am I to those around me? What kind of influence are you to those around you?

Proverbs 18:21 says "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Proverbs 10:11 "The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked."

Proverbs 16:24 "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

What comes out of your mouth most of the time? Are they words of encouragement? Do they help your friends and loved ones in the midst of their difficulties? Do they build up faith? Bring some laughters? Make them smile?

Apart from influencing others with our words, we also influence others with our attitude. Some of my closest friends now are friends I met in highschool. We grew up together, went through years of University together, shared our dreams, our problems, encouraged each other, and allowed everyone to be themselves, no judgement made. Everyone always has good attitude and the glass is always half full. Hanging out with them brings smiles to my face, always. We never fail to make each other laugh, and most of us are alike in our beliefs, our attitude, and our outlook on life. We influence each other, and I am grateful for their influence.

What kind of attitude do you choose to display today?

My five year old daughter, Naomi, knows how to gets what she wants from mom and dad. She's learnt it, and she's learnt it well. Ever since she understands the concept of 'wanting' and 'getting', she's been doing all sorts of 'trial-error' experiements on us. V and I had to make sure we are aware of what she's trying to obtain and HOW she's doing it. Everytime she displays good attitude, she gets what she wants. We make sure we praise her and make a big deal about rewarding her behaviour.

One night just recently, I was at home alone with her while V was at work. Before we went to bed, she decided to tidy up the whole lounge room for daddy because she knows daddy likes a clean house. She put all her stuffs in the drawer, she wiped the coffee table, put all her shoes in the shoe rack, and I swear I was just watching her while watching TV (oh yeah... lucky me!). When daddy came home that night, she was already asleep but I made sure V knew what she did. The next morning, V was like "Thank you for tidying up the house baby! You are such a good girl!" He made a big deal out of it, gave her a piece of chocolate, and put the biggest smile on her face.

Naomi's good attitude drove her to do good, which brought smiles to our faces, which in turns, brings goodness back to herself. I believe this is true for all of us... good attitude drives good behaviour, which in turns drive great results.

So, you, walking ripple-maker, what kinds of influence do you choose to be today?

What type of legacy would you like to leave behind?

If you had to go back to the Father's house tomorrow, what would you like your friends to say about you? How would you like them to describe you?

You are born to influence.... with all power, comes responsibility. Use it wisely :)

Stop Asking!

Sometimes you might be able to predict your future and able to see where you will be in the next 6 months, a year or even 5 years. Other times you will find that you have no idea where you will be in the near future. The future is not always predictable, it is more often unpredictable and uncertain.

 

I am the type of person who likes to plan. Whenever my family go for our holiday, I'd be the one planning the itinerary, looking for accommodation, flights, and places to go, to see and to eat (being Asian, we love to travel the distance just to 'eat' at good, recommended places :p).  For some reason, having a plan makes me feel 'safe' and 'secure'. In a sense I know what's going to happen and I can 'predict' the trip. If better things come up, I can happily discard my plan for something better, but if nothing else comes up, at least we're not wasting our precious time wandering around in places we do not know just because we don't plan.

 

Not everybody is like me though. Not everybody is a planner. My mum for example, is so completely the opposite. She's the most spontaneous, most random person in the world. She can wake up one morning and decide to take a 3 hours drive down South without any planning whatsoever. No particular destination, no booking for accommodation. She always says "Yah jalan ajah... ntar juga ketemu", meaning "Just go, just drive, we'll get somewhere somehow". I often choose not to participate in her random travelling, but the ones I experience were a mix between good experience and time wasters. Surprisingly, things just seem to 'work out' no matter how unplanned or how random she is.

 

Me and my husband are complete opposite as well. I like to plan, he doesn't. Well he does, but only to a very limited degree, like planning to wake up at 3 am in the morning to watch the soccer game for example. That's probably about the only planning he does.

 

Lately we've been having discussions about our lives, the ministry, our family, etc, you know, the usual family talk. This year in particular, V feels a really strong calling to step out into fulltime ministry, and although I don't particularly feel that fulltime ministry is my calling, I certainly feel the calling to be more involved and to spend more of my time, energy and talent for the sake of His Kingdom. So I said I will fully support his decision if that's what he feels is his calling. However, the one thing that I find difficult is the concept of not knowing what to do or where to begin.

 

If V quits his fulltime job tomorrow for ministry, it's not exactly like he's signed a contract to work somewhere else, where he knows what date he starts, what hours he will be working, what he's going to do and how much he's going to earn. If he quits tomorrow, we both will be stepping out blindly and the thought of it feels like we're leaving this nice bright and comfortable home to travel into the dark forrest where you cant even see more than 1 meter ahead. Well, that's just me being faith-less I guess. 

 

Me being a 'planner' always wants to know what's going to happen. Time and time again I pray to God, simply asking (or telling) God of my future and how it should be or how I want it to be, and it is difficult to learn that sometimes God just wants you to step out blindly! 

 

When Jesus asked Peter to step out of the boat, Peter didnt ask Jesus "will I walk on water? will you hold my hand? what's gonna happen?" He just did! He walked on water until he began to feel scared when he saw the wind, and immediately he began to sink. 

 

In Acts 8:26-40 Phillip was asked by the angel of the Lord to go to the 'desert road'. Phillip didnt ask "What for? What do you want me to do there? Tell me the plan and I'll see if I agree to it". He just went. When he got there, he saw this man sitting on his chariot, reading the book of Isiaiah. Again, the angel of the Lord told him to go near him, and again, Phillip simply went, he simply obeyed. No question asked. In the end, the man gave his life to the Lord and asked to be baptised, and the story has an amazing end, all of a sudden Phillip dissapeared! Vanished! Like a ninja. The Spirit of the Lord took him somewhere else to begin another work.

 

I know it would be cool if the Spirit of the Lord could just take me from one place to another like what happened to Phillip, or if I could be invisible, or if I could read people's minds, or just have some super power. However, that's not the point. The point is that sometimes we have to just simply obey. No question asked. It is something I am teaching myself to do at the moment. To be sensitive to His calling, and to simply obey. It's ok to plan and to organise your life, but I cant plan absolutely everything, and it is ok to just let your life flow and be surprised with what God brings into your life tomorrow.

 

All I need to do is remind myself that God has been good for all these years. We have been blessed tremendously with everything we ever need and want, and blessed with things that money cant buy. Things like health, the love of our family, good company of friends, peaceful home, and many more. If our earthly employers can pay our salary and give us benefits, imagine how much more God can do for His 'employee', for those who devote their lives for Him. Afterall, He is the Creator of this Universe and every complicated being that is in it (including me), and there is no limit to what He can do for you and me.

 

Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

 

One challenge for me... Stop Asking!

 

 

 

 

You Are Beautiful...

Growing up in a girls-only boarding school in Perth was one of the best experiences of my life, but like any other things in life, it comes with its own challenges. Any sixteen/seventeen years old girl want to look pretty, but when your parents spend $14,000 per year just so that you can have a better life and a better education in another country better than your own, you would probably hesitate to ask for another $50-$100 per week just so that you can buy more clothes like your other girlfriends.

 

As boarders, Saturday was the highlight of our week. Because that's the only day we were allowed to leave the boarding house to roam the 'real' world, to be out and about, to do some shopping, to feel 'normal'. So we used to catch the train down to this posh shopping area in the Western suburbs and the only clothing stores they had back in those days were Esprit and Sportsgirl, which are not exactly 'budget'. Some of my girlfriends used to easily spend hundreds of dollars in one transaction while I could only wish for the same, so I spend many days journalling about how I wish I could have the same. 

 

One Sunday at church, I came across this passage in the Bible that talks about how God looks after every part of your life and provides everything you need. Being a sixteen years old, these two verses caught my attention:

 

Matthew 6

²⁸ "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you."

 

As I ponder upon these verses, my negative thoughts and worries disappear. It gives me strenghts, it gives me joy, it brings a smile on my face, and it builds a healthy confidence in me. As a sixteen years old growing up, I learnt that beauty doesn't come from the price tag of your clothes, that it doesnt come from what you wear, or how you look. Because God's created you with your own uniqueness, your own inner beauty and it all comes from within. 

 

Looking at all of my girlfriends now, nearly every one of us is blessed with a good, loving husband. I was one of the first ones to get married to such a lovely and handsome young man, and that's not because I was the prettiest one in the group (well...  I wish I was), but because I have always believed in God to choose for the best spouse for me and to make everything happen according to His beautiful timing.

 

I hope I am not being misunderstood. I have absolutely nothing against shopping for clothes or dressing up or making yourself look pretty and presentable. I guess I'm writing this just because nowadays I see young teenage girls trying so hard to be noticed by what they wear or how they look. The trend seems to be to 'expose' as much as you can. Little do they realise that the boys who are attracted to them are probably more attracted to the exposed body parts than their inner beauty and personality. She'd hook up with him in desperation for love and attention, just to be disappointed, broken hearted and some scarred to life when found out that he's only interested in her body parts and pleasing his own sexual appetite.

 

My hope for all of my young friends, God's children, His daughters and princesses, is that you come to understand that God has made you absolutely beautiful and wonderful. With your skinny or chubby cheek, size 6 or size 16, pear shaped or ruler shaped, wearing $5 or $60 top, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL...  and He loves you, even when nobody else does... 

 

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart"  

 

 

[Read Matthew 6:25-34 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:25-34&version=NLT)]

Private VS Public Journal

I am still undecided about whom I will share this blog with. Should I just put this blog on my profile as my website? Should I share my entries randomly on facebook? Should I just leave it for some random strangers to read? Who is my target audience?

The more I think about it, the more I realise that I should just share it with EVERYONE I know. Absolutely everyone. It doesnt matter who. Just everyone! Because the reason I have been thinking or wanting to create this blog to begin with is so that I can be a witness to God's love. So I can use my life and events in my life to glorify His name. So that more and more incidents will happen in which God clearly displays His mighty love and power in my life, and the end result to all these is so that God gets to claim His people back, and so that more and more people turn back to God as the one and only answer to all their prayers.

But somehow I have been quite nervous about this. I have been nervous for numerous stupid reasons that I cant even articulate properly on this blog, but I know I've been nervous and I think God knows. Because this evening I came across this verse:

1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message)
"But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you - from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted."

I have enjoyed blogging since I was able to write. I have kept all my journals from when I was a little girl not realizing that there's a purpose to my hobby. Now is the time to make something out of nothing... to actually start living a life that I was called to live: "to do His work and speak out for Him", to reach my destiny in Christ.

So today, my new online blog is launched.... :)

First Entry

I've been wanting to create an online blog for a while. A platform or tool that I can use to share my journey with God with others. To share about His love, His mercy, His grace, and everything I have learnt about Him. To bring others closer to Him, and to encourage others to receive His love that's freely given to us with nothing asked in return.

Like any others, my life has its own ups and downs, and through every single event or incident in my life, I never fail to see God's hands intervening for a good outcome. I have been blessed not because of what I've done or who I am, but simply because He loves me. My friends will tell you that I am not some super holy/righteous woman. I am just a normal person with lots of of weaknesses and flaws. This blog is not about me, but it's about what God does for me because of His love for me.

I love blogging, so if I can do the things I enjoy to bring more glory to His name, I will do that. My only prayer is that you'll open up your heart to Him and allow Him to love you and to be in your heart and in your life.