Friday 30 March 2012

A Jobseeker Story

Whooohooo..., akhirnya berhasil juga finishing this story. Kali ini gw mau cerita ttg perjalanan gue finding "the one", but not as in "teman hidup" context loh ya..., ini konteksnya tentang mencari pekerjaan, hehe. Hmmm....mulai dari mana ya? gw tulis per chapter aja lah ya, soalnya panjang juga ceritanya. Yang mau baca cerpen non-fiksi (or cerpan kalo kepanjangan) ini...., hyuuuk dimari. Dicicil juga boleh koq bacanya. up to you lah.

Chapter 1: Fresh Graduate

Waktu itu Februari 2007. Akhirnya berhasil juga gw lulus dari kampus gajah duduk a.k.a ITB. Jurusan gw termasuk yang favorit lah waktu itu, Teknik Kimia. Masuknya susah (katanya). Buat gw keluarnya lebih susah lagi. Tapi kayaknya buat 50% temen seangkatan gw gak sesusah itu deh, buktinya IPK mereka tinggi-tinggi, dan yang cum laude cukup banyak. Gw waktu itu lulus dgn IPK selamat aja lah...., cukup buat cari nafkah, hehe. Jujur, gw dulu ngerasa salah jurusan, tapi mo gimana lagi, gw sendiri juga gak punya cita-cita yg jelas sih waktu lulus SMA. Alhasil, kakak gw lah yg milihin jurusan TeKim itu. 
Hehe, ini poto waktu wisudaan =). Kami adalah batch wisuda ke-3 di angkatan. Yang laen udah pada lulus duluan Juli and Oktober 2006. Tapi yang lulusnya setelah kami juga masih ada sih ;) --> menghibur diri.


Waktu baru lulus, yang kebayang ya langsung apply ke perusahaan-perusahaan ternama buat jadi Engineer, seperti kebanyakan alumni Tekim yang laen. Website career centre ITB gw pantengin terus. Trus gw masukin lamaran ke beberapa perusahaan. Dan puji Tuhan, gak ada satu pun yang jebol, hehe. Untungnya, habis lulus kompre Feb 2007 itu, gw langsung dapet proyek research di Dept. Matematika. Itu kerjasama ama Dept. Teknik Perminyakan gitu deh, masih soal oil and gas juga, jadi masih kepakai lah ilmu gw di Tekim. Gw mengira proyekan itu bakal untuk 2-4 bulan aja sblm akhirnya gw dpt kerjaan permanen di luar Bandung. But I was wrong. Tuhan masih ijinin gw untuk tinggal di Bandung sampai akhir thn 2008. Selama ngerjain proyek itu, gw sempet bbrp kali apply-apply ke perusahaan-perusahaan lagi buat posisi engineer. Tapi ya itu, gak ada yang lolos. Seingat gw, dari sejak gw lulus itu cuman 2 ato 3 perusahaan yg manggil tes, dan itu pun gw gk lolos. Perusahaan-perusahaan yg lainnya malah kagak manggil untuk tes sama sekali. I don't know why. Payah ya gw ;p.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Letter to the Hebrews (just my random thought)

So, kemaren I was wondering about who was the author of the letter to the Hebrews alias surat kepada orang Ibrani kalo pake bahasa gue mah. This letter was a bit different, and its author is mysterious. Mungkin kebanyakan orang berasumsi bahwa penulisnya adalah Paul, karena surat-surat sebelumnya adalah Paul's letters. But gue gak yakin kalo penulisnya adalah Paul. 
Pertama, Paul selalu greets the readers and clearly states that the letter was from him (cek semua surat-surat dia terdahulu). So, anonymous was not his style. Apakah mungkin Paul iseng kali ini gak kasih nama? I don't know
Kedua, gaya penulisan dan bahasanya tidak seperti gaya bahasa Paul. Openingnya lebih mirip tulisan John (baca kitab John and his first letter (1 John) ). Tapi again, gak ada bukti juga bahwa itu a letter from John. 
Tapi kalo kata temen gue sih penutupnya agak-agak mirip ama suratnya Paul.
Bukti-bukti authorship dari Hebrew ini susah diketahui dari isi suratnya sendiri although I think ada beberapa clue implisit sih:
 * He knows Timothy (Heb 13:23)
 *He might be in Italy (Heb 13:24). I said "might", karena belum tentu juga dia di Italy. Yang kirim salam dari Italy itu bisa jadi orang-orang yang ada di Italy bilang ke dia untuk nitip salam (tapi dia sendiri gak di Italy), bisa juga orang-orang yang kirim salam itu lagi bersama-sama dia di Italy.
*Dia mungkin bukan salah satu dari apostles (Heb 2:3) ...this salvation, which was first announced by the Lord,  was confirmed to us by those who heard him. Tapi ini juga asumsi sih. Si penulis bisa aja ngomong gitu untuk membahasakan reader-nya yang notabene gak menjadi saksi langsung.

Lalu gue mencoba mencari rekam jejak para rasul di Kisah Para Rasul, untuk mencari kira-kira siapa aja yang kemungkinan kenal Timothy, dan pernah ke Italy. But that doesn't help me to narrow it down though
Then, while I was still thinking about this, I tried to google it. Ternyata emang ini udah sejak lama jadi misteri. Coba aja google the writer of the letters to the hebrews, pasti banyak yang keluar. Memang, its authorship masih tetap misterius, but its a great letter, a very strong one, nonetheless. Nah, sementara sodara-sodara semua ikut mikir juga, meneliti, mempelajari, dan mencari-cari juga, saya mau tidur dulu yah. Sekian edisi random thought di tengah malam.

How Do I Know I Am Hearing A Word From God?

Looking through some old emails, and I stumbled upon this one article that was sent by my dearest friend and spiritual mother, Libertha. I don't know for sure if this is her own writing or she got it from somewhere else. But nevertheless, it still blesses me. Thought I might share it with you and hope it will bless you too

There is no way of knowing for certain that someone is hearing from God, unless that person has been listening to God over a long period of time and then testing what he or she has heard. Such people have become accustomed to discerning God's voice (see John 10:27). There are many others, however, who think they are hearing from God when maybe they are not. How annoying are the superspiritual who always say, "God told me this--God told me that--God told me this other." It seems that their every thought is a revelation from God. God does not customarily operate that way. He speaks to us, but He does not chatter away, day in and day out, the way some people claim He does. This has been my experience, and it is the concept that is in accordance with the biblical record. 

The Bible says that we can tell if someone is a prophet by seeing if what he has said comes to pass (see Deuteronomy 18:22). That is a very pragmatic test, and it works.
A friend who purported to hear from God told me, "My second child is going to be a boy. God told me." His second child was a girl. He said, "Well, God told me that it was not second child who was going to be a boy, but the third child." His third child was a girl too. At that point I determined, That brother isn't hearing from God. It was clear: He made a statement, supposedly from God, that did not come to pass. 

Monday 12 March 2012

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness

Ahhh..., been abandoned this blog for more than a month. Many things happened, but I wouldn't share it today. In fact, I'm preparing it as a whole story to share later.
Today, I would like to share about something I've been meditating. I also share it with my two best friends via email as our online connect group (cell group/ bible study group)

Today I'd like to invite you to meditate over a simple verse that we're all familiar with:

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I don't know about you, but for many years I have considered this verse as a prerequisite for getting the "all these things". You know, all things we need/want in life, such as prosperity, health, job/career, future husband/wife, successful ministry, happy marriage, or just getting good marks in exams. For instance, when I only got a C or D for my exam back then, I always thought that it was because I didn't seek His kingdom first. Then I tried to read the bible more often, pray more often, get more involved in ministry, and then study hard to fulfill the "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness". Or, when I've been waiting for a  miracle for so long and there's not a single clue about it at all, I thought that it might be...because I had not sought His kingdom enough, so it has not been given to me yet. Also, when I shared to some christian friends about how I had not been successful in my study in the past, no luck in relationship, and had not got things I've been waiting for, they cited this verse for me.

So in my own paraphrase, I thought that I have to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, in order to get all these things given to me as well. Can you see how it's twisted?

Monday 6 February 2012

Hukum Perbandingan

Gue bukan mau ngebahas matematika atau fisika disini, tapi just a simple phenomena in our daily life koq, yaitu "comparison" a.k.a perbandingan. Siapa yang pernah dibanding-bandingin sama orang lain?Ato siapa yang pernah membanding-bandingkan (entah itu membandingkan diri sendiri dengan orang lain, atau membandingkan orang lain dengan orang lain lagi)?Hayo ngacungg....!!!! Gue pernah, baik yang dibandingkan atopun membandingkan.



Sekarang gue mau ngebahas yang tentang kita sebagai objek penderita atau objek perbandingan dulu yaa. Familiar gak dengan beberapa ungkapan di bawah ini?
"Itu liat anaknya Bu A tuh, udah ganteng, pinter, kerjaannya bagus lagi, udah manager sekarang. Kamu, dari dulu gak naik-naik. Apa yang kamu harapkan sih dengan jadi guru SD gitu?"
"Liat tuh temenmu, seumuran kamu udah merit. Kamu koq punya pacar aja kagak?Cobalah mikir untuk masa depan juga, jangan kelamaan hidup sendiri"
"Eh, pacar barunya si  B cantik yah, langsing, putih lagi. Pinter juga dia cari ganti lo" (asli...ini mah kejem bgttt)
"Wah, hebat ya si X, masih muda, pendidikannya tinggi lagi, tapi mau memberi diri untuk jadi misionaris di pedalaman. Kamu harusnya contoh dia tuh. Kalo cuma kerja di dunia sekuler mah kurang heroik."
"Ooh...kamu adiknya si Y yah. Kakakmu putih, koq kamu item?"
"Waaah...keren yah dia kalo mimpin worship, sampe merinding deh gue rasanya kalo denger dia nyanyi. Kalo elu kayaknya lebih merdu kalo diem deh".
and so on...and so on...., dziiiiiiiigggg.....rasanya pengen ditonjok deh orang-orang yang ngomong itu. 

Saturday 4 February 2012

Kari Kepiting

Kayaknya dah lama gak nulis resep masakan nih. Tadi gue barusan bikin kari kepiting, gara-gara keponakan gue pengen banget makan kepiting. Resepnya gue dapet dari sohib gue si Mel, dengan modifikasi seperlunya. Surprisingly it turned out enak bangeeeettt looh...., berarti gue gak parah-parah banget lah, masih bisa masak ternyata, hehe. Cuman nih ya, tangan perih semua gara-gara makannya penuh perjuangan. Eniwei, gue kebanyakan ngelanturnya, ini dia nih resepnya


Bahan-bahan:
- 4 ekor kepiting ukuran sedang (approx. 1.5-2 kg)
- 1L santan (atau 1.5L kalo suka kuahnya kental)
- minyak untuk menumis
- garam dan gula pasir secukupnya

Friday 3 February 2012

When things are getting harder

Have you ever been or are you in that situation right now?
Apakah kamu mengalami masa-masa dimana sepertinya kamu sedang naik gunung, dan tanjakannya semakin curam sementara tenagamu sudah terkuras?Ato kamu lagi lari keliling lapangan bola, udah tinggal putaran terakhir nih, tapi sepertinya gak nyampe-nyampe? Ato lagi panjat tebing, ujungnya udah keliatan, tapi tangan udah pegel2, kesemutan dan kayak gak sanggup naik lagi? Things are getting harder and you have all intentions to give up.




Hey, I tell you what. By all means don't give up and don't lose heart. When things are getting harder, you could be one step closer to your victory, one step closer to your destiny. Who knows, the next step might be the one that will take you there. It is getting harder because the devil might know that if he didn't make you to give up, you will cause a catastrophe for him. Jadi sodara-sodara, jangan menyerah!!!! (that pic is just too cute to express giving up :D)

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Steady my heart


I love that song, here is the chorus :


Even when it hurts
Even when it's hard
Even when it all just falls apart
I will run to You
Cause I know that You are
Lover of my soul
Healer of my scars
You steady my heart

Psalm 73:26 "My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"

Saturday 21 January 2012

When Silence is The Answer


I looked up to the sky searching for an answer
It might be hidden in the cloud, 
or hanging up high with the stars
but silence was all I could find
Then I went down to the deepest sea
to a place long forgotten and abandoned
It might be hidden in between treasures
but there was only silence
Then I flew to the horizon
thinking that the answer might be hidden 
in a place where heaven and earth collide
but there was only silence
Then I stopped, paused, selah...
When silence is the answer, will I still trust Him?
But silence........is not the end!


Friday 13 January 2012

Ocha and The "Burning Bush"

Bulan lalu gue baca artikel yg bagus dari blognya Christine Caine. Ini tentang masa penantian yg panjang, tentang Musa yg ketemu 'burning bush'. So, buat kamu-kamu yang juga sedang dalam masa penantian, baca deh artikelnya HERE. Artikel-artikel lain di blognya Christine Caine yang lain jg bagus-bagus koq, singkat, padat, dan powerful. Gue suka ama bible teaching dia, and it was a privilege having heard her teaching LIVE =D. 

Gue cuma mau modify artikel di atas dan gue sesuaikan ama kondisi gue skrg. And let the curhat begin..., hihihi. Tp lbh seru kalo baca artikel aslinya dulu di link di atas. Ternyata ya nasib gue gak jauh-jauh lah sama nasibnya Musa, hehe. Bedanya kalo dia menggembalakan Shaun the sheep, eh domba-domba father-in-law-nya, gue 'menggembalakan' ayam dan anjing gue :p.

Ocha was in her father’s house in a small town for more than 9 months, taking care of the backyard, chickens, and  Mopi & Tesi, the dogs of her father.
It was in this rainy, green, humid, back of nowhere, and quiet place that God turned up to launch Ocha as the leader of one greatest emancipation programs ever. (Amen)
The BURNING BUSH was right there in the green and humid place


(Don't) Follow Your Heart

We are all quite familiar with the saying "just follow your heart". Probably we even give that kind of advice too when a friend asks our opinion in deciding something. But little did we know that our hearts can be deceptive. 
I will associate 'heart' here with 'feeling' or 'emotion', because it is closely related,
and of course I'm not talking about a muscular organ that circulate blood through cardiac cycle. 
Feeling is a conscious subjective experience of emotion (Wikipedia) or an emotional state of reaction, the overall quality of one's awareness, and the capacity to respond emotionally, especially with the higher emotions (Webster). Feeling is temporary, has its ups and downs. And it is very dangerous to decide something based solely on what we feel in our hearts, because it is unstable and sometimes unreliable.



I'm not talking about deciding what pizza should you choose, meat-lovers or vegetarians; which dress should you wear to the party; or which smart phone to buy. But, what about deciding something crucial in your life, such as marrying someone, choosing a major in a university, choosing a job, participating in a certain ministry, restoring a broken relationship, choosing what's best for your kid's education, moving to another town, adopting a baby, etc. which has the long lasting impact or probably even eternal?

Thursday 5 January 2012

A sketch from the heart

Something that burns deep inside my heart

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Proverb 31:8-9)

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives,
and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1) 

I believe this is what I was made for 

Tuesday 3 January 2012

What will you choose?

This year has 366 days, and 3 have passed
what are you going to do with the rest of them?
it is not too late to make a new goal
it is not too late to set a new standard
it is not too late to start dreaming
and put an effort to make it come true
Where would you want to end up by the end of this year?
I'm sure it will be determined by the choices you make day by day
choose to be a thanks-giver, not a complainer
choose to forgive, and not to be bitter
choose to be diligent, and not idle
choose to be patient, and not hasty
choose to be optimist, and not pesimist
choose to be expectant, and do not despair
choose to trust God, and do not fear

choose life, and not death
choose blessing, and not curse
choose to love
choose to be kind
choose to be content
choose to be faithful
choose the narrow road

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. -Jesus Christ- (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV)

Two roads diverged in a wood,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference -Robert Frost-







Forever Reign


Hillsong Live (Album: Beautiful Exchange)

You are good You are good, when there's nothing good in me
You are love You are love, on display for all to see
You are light You are light, when the darkness closes in
You are hope You are hope, You have covered all my sin

You are peace You are peace, when my fear is crippling
You are true You are true, even in my wandering
You are joy You are joy, You're the reason that I sing
You are life You are life, in You death has lost its sting

Chorus:
And oh I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms
the riches of Your love will always be enough
nothing compares to Your embrace
light of the world forever reign

You are more You are more than my words could ever say
You are Lord You are Lord, all creation will proclaim
You are here You are here, in Your presence I am made whole
You are God You are God, of all else I'm letting go

Chorus

Bridge:
My heart will sing no other name
Jesus......Jesus

Chorus

See the video here

Monday 2 January 2012

Happy New Year 2012

To all sweet bloggers in the world
I would like to say ...............


May this year be a year of breakthrough for all of you
Remember that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above, and beyond what we could ask for or imagine. Let's make this year count.
God bless you all