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. 

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)

(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?

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-

Catatan Akhir Tahun 2011

Hufffttt....., tau-tau dah akhir tahun lagi neh. Apa aja ya yg udah terjadi taun ini?
First, gue sebut tahun ini adalah 'the unexpected year'. Bukan diartikan sebagai 'tahun yg tdk diharapkan' loh ya..., tapi lebih ke 'tak terduga' ato 'di luar dugaan', ato 'meleset dari perkiraan', 'di luar rencana', dan sejenisnya.....
Dulu, di awal taun ini gue dah pe-de dengan segudang rencana. Lulus kuliah, balik ke indo, daftar ke UNV (United Nation Volunteer), trus dapet assignment, ato ngelamar kerja di tempat2 yg menawarkan petualangan (harusnya gue ikut Jejak Petualang aja kali ya), dapet kerja di tempat yg seruuu, trus kerja 2 thn, loving my job, trus mau lanjut kuliah lagi 2013. 
Gue dulu bayanginnya taun ini gue bakal kerja di NGO yg ngurusin anak-anak gak mampu, yang di tempat-tempat terpencil gitu, ngajar anak-anak itu, sambil menggunakan ilmu engineering gue utk membangun daerah itu, misalnya pengolahan sampah, ato pemurnian air.
Ato kalo gak bisa kerja kayak yg gue sebut tadi ya, at least gue dapet kerja di perusahaan bagus supaya gaji gue bisa gue gunakan juga buat berpartner sama pelayanan/organisasi yang fokusnya children well-being ato anti human trafficking, dan juga ladang misi *cieeehhhh, teuteup hatinya misi booo....

Crossroad

After a looooong season of selah, here I am in the crossroads again
There's a decision I have to make, a step I have to take
The traffic lights will soon turn from red to green
I have to move..........


I couldn't afford making a wrong turn, because re-routing is sometimes costly, painful, and it's wasting the time. Like the children of Israel. They could've been at their destination in 40 days, but they spent 40 years in the dessert. No way, I don't want to spend 40 years wandering around in the dessert :D.
The only way I can choose the right turn is to ask the One who knows the route of my life, the one and only, my Maker, God Almighty.
But I don't want to just ask Him to give me the map, I want Him to be my Guide.


Thanks God for Holy Spirit, my constant companion
I believe I'll never get lost as long as I let Him be my Guide
and I give my ears to listen to His instructions,
because His word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path


Then I also realize this thing:
I could spend my whole life trying to find God's perfect will in every step that I have to take (e.g what He wants me to do, where He wants me to go, what kind of job/ministry He wants me to do, whom He wants me to be married to, how much money should I give, etc.). But if I fail to realize that to find Him and know Him intimately are the greatest treasures ever, all my searching will be meaningless.


So, my point is........intimacy with God is the answer. We won't be confused in the crossroad, we won't be worried in the storm, and we won't lose hope in the valley if we have a relationship with Jesus, because we know Him so well. 
Well, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ....let us draw near to Him. God bless....

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house

What a beautiful home, GOD of the Angel Armies! I've always longed to live in a place like this, 

Always dreamed of a room in Your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive! 

Birds find nooks and crannies in Your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. 
They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. 
GOD of the Angel Armies! King! God! How blessed they are to live and sing there! 

And how blessed all those in whom You live, whose lives become roads You travel; 

They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!

God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn--Zion! God in full view!
(Psalm 84: 1-7, The Message)

Check this out!

But God...I don't have to do this.....

I came back to my sister’s house for an 'emergency' call after spending 3 weeks at my parents’ house. She has to go out of town for 9 days for her career-related program. She asked me to look after his 4 years old son, cook for her family,  and take care of her household.  Her husband is actually still in town, and they have a part-time nanny, but my sister insisted that  I have to come to her house. After all, I haven’t had any job yet. Yes, I’m still unemployed, and that is another story. Anyway, so, I took a long journey back here, 11 hours by bus, plus trapped in the seasonal Indonesian Idul Fitri traffic, when in fact I should've just continued my long holiday with my parents instead. 

I know it won’t be easy here. My nephew is an attention-seeker, violent-screamer, and rebellious kind of kid at this stage. Not all the time, but most of the time. Sometimes he is cute and nice. Well, I know it wasn’t 100% his fault. I don’t know how his parents had raised him.

His dad, my brother in law,  is a workaholic kind of dad. As long as I’m in his house, he will just leave his son with me whenever possible, so he is free to work at home. He is a lecturer. He likes to bring his works home. So, in other words, I'm a substitute player for a mum/nanny/housekeeper.

Lesson from babysitting my nephew - Obedience-

I spent my past 2 months babysitting my 4 and a half yrs old nephew. He is a smart, sweet, funny, and cute kid. But sometimes we (his parents and I) were made upset because of his rebellious attitude. Well, you know...he's just a kid. Whenever we told him not to, he always does the opposite. When he wants something, he just couldn't understand the meaning of "wait!". He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and everything has to be fulfilled "now!" as he wishes. And of course, if we don't fulfill what he asks, he will cry, whine, scream, and probably throw his toys on us. When we explain the reason why we forbid him to do this and that, why we can't give him what he wants at the moment, and that it's all for his own sake, etc...., he just don't want to know.Well...., he's just a kid. However, we still love him no matter how he is. But of course it saddened us when he become a disobedient kid.

no one but You

I've just came back after spending the whole Sunday hanging out with friends and being at church. As usual, the first thing I do when I got home is turn my laptop on. After having dinner and watch TV, I do some stuffs with my computer, browse the internet a little bit, and so on...., but then suddenly something came across my mind, and my heart was just stirred up. I turn the TV off, close my internet browser, and just listening to this song....

..the greatest Love that anyone could ever know
that overcame the cross and grave to find my soul...

All of a sudden I feel that everything surround me was just fade away..., it was only God and me. I long for such a time as this, when I come to Him with no other agenda but to meet Him, to be in His presence, like David said...better is one day in your court, than thousands elsewhere.... When all I ever wanted is Jesus. 
I realize, I was too caught up with my own routines these days, forsaking this precious opportunity to access His presence, to be with the greatest Love..., the greatest Love.., who has forsaken Himself, overcame the cross and grave to find my soul. 
If I've ever thought that I can replace Him with anything else from this world, I'm totally wrong.  The thing is... I know I was wrong, but so often I was still trying to look for something else to satisfy my heart.  Nothing in this world could ever satisfy the desire of my heart indeed.
a great career...
a gorgeous spouse...
a fantastic family...
or any wealth from this world...
would never satisfy...
Only in Him...I'm made complete
in Him, I find my true identity
Jesus..., my hiding place, my safe refuge, my friend and King, my Father, my confidence, my rock and salvation, the Gardener of my life,  my everything...
There's nothing in this world could separate me from His love...

I feel like a little girl, being in her Daddy's embrace, just feel the comfort of Father's love, and never let it go. Ohhh....how beautiful.....^_^

...You've opened my eyes to Your wonders anew
You've captured my heart with this love
because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You....

In Every Season

can't believe it's autumn again here
and now it's my 2nd autumn
time flew so fast, pheeewwww..........
and i should finish my study soon, arrrggghhh.....(wish i was not reminded 'bout this :p)

i love to see autumn leaves
i love how they change their colour from green, yellow, red, brown
then fall to the ground
 















sometimes, it gives a melancholic touch. gloomy sky, cold wind, and falling leaves are just a perfect combination. it will even get worst in winter. fyi, there's no snow during the winter here. it's just a set of rainy days, with cold wind, and sometimes storm. but, the good news is...this season won't last forever. there's a hope for another season to come. falling leaves will be replaced with new buds. flowers will bloom in spring and unleash its beauty. trees will bear fruits, and the sun will shine.
but that's another season to come. what i'm facing now is autumn. how will i survive, and not only survive, but enjoy this season..., that's what matters. uhmmmm...at least i know how to enjoy this season now. probably just take a walk in the park and enjoy watching the autumn leaves while having a cup of hot chocolate will be a good idea, hehe :p.

Well, each one of us must be in a particular season of life now
sometimes...we wish to skip a certain season; season of hardships, boredom, misery, and all that sounds hard to tackle. i'm no different..................................