Finally done what i've been meaning to do.. delete my secret garden.. hahahaha sort of figured tat the secret garden is meant to be a place between God and myself... in the past it existed on my drawing book, my journal, my dreams, and in my visions. So, back there again i think..

This place however is different.. like the inner court, it is the Utopic view of what i would like to uphold. And hope that He will be here with me.. as he is with me everywhere else~~

^-^

March 6, 2007 – The Priority of Obedience – 1 Samuel 15

Before leaving for work, a father says to his son, “Straighten your room, take out the garbage, and sweep the driveway.” When Dad comes home, the son explains his unique approach to the chore list: “Well, Dad, the garbage can was only half full. And, I figured nobody would see my room. But, I cleaned the driveway, just as you said.”

How many of us would say the son obeyed his father? Some of us treat God the same way. We approach Him with rationalizations and arguments, instead of submission. When Saul spared an enemy king and kept the best of the war plunder, He disobeyed God. The Lord commanded him to destroy everyone and everything, but Saul followed his own plan.

First, he argued that he followed the Lord’s command. With the exception of the rival king, everything had been wiped out (1 Sam. 15:13 & 15). When the prophet Samuel rebuked Saul for disobedience, the king passed the blame to the people. He also attempted to justify the sinful action by claiming he was planning to offer the choice plunder as a sacrifice. Persistent disobedience led the Lord to withdraw His blessing from Saul’s reign.

We might think our rationalizations sound convincing. But God isn’t fooled. He requires complete obedience. When we choose to follow only portions of His will, we are actually being disobedient — and there will be consequences. Anytime we step outside God’s will for our lives, we can expect consequences for not choosing the right path.

"Ephesians 6:18:'Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers.' I wanted to make the revoluntionary point that if this verse if true then prayer meetings were unnecessary- we should cancel them in favour of always praying in our hearts. The leader of the Bible class replied wisely:'If you are to pary always there must be specific times for the cultivation of such a spirit of continuous prayer. You cannot pray everywhere,' he said, 'unless you first learn to pray somewhere. You cannot maintain the spirit of prayer unless you make a specific time or times for prayer." -- Selwyn Hughes

"A diver who would be too busy to think about making sure his air supply is in good working order before he descends into the depths would be no more foolish than the man who descends into the stifling atmosphere of today's world without getting his breathing apparatus of prayer connected with the pure air of the kingdom of God." -- Dr E Stanley Jones.

Have been rather impacted by a book i have been reading lately.. Actually i am very surprised that this book turned out differently than i what i had in mind. I have been thinking about prayer and i realised that it is now a very very important part in my life. However, strangely, each time i want to share this joy, whatever comes out of my mouth has this intonation "boring" attached to it.. Until i found this phrase from Dr Stanley.. it illustrates beautifully the meaning of prayer, it is a connection to the pure air of the kingdom of God.

A pure air, just the word alone, i can taste the sweetness of it at the tip of my tongue. And that was how my Time along with God has been, a taste of morning dew each day. Yup~ as tasty as that at the same time as wholesome and essential as all the meals i take in the day.

My friend send this to me.. its rather inspiring.. isn't it? >.<

What Will Matter
Michael Josephson
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire.The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.What will matter is not your success but your significance.What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.What will matter is not your competence but your character.What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you.What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.
Unknown

Getting the Pieces Right


A father wanted to read a magazine, but was being pestered by his daughter. To
keep her busy, he tore a sheet out of the magazine that had a picture of the
world printed on it. He tore the picture into small pieces and said "Here, now
go into the other room and see if you can put this picture of the world back
together again."

A few minutes goes by and he daughter appears in the
room and hands him the picture all correctly fitted together.

The father
was surprised and ask her how she was able to fit all those little pieces of the
world back together again so quickly.

"Oh.." she said, "On the other
side of the paper was a picture of Jesus and once I got Jesus in the right
place, then the world came out alright."

Suppose, all of us would be whole-hearted, for once in one thing that we do, i think we would surely accomplish much in that one thing, but narrow-minded we would become of other things.

:::A Casual Book Review:::

Being a book person, i enjoy finishing a book very quickly.. yet often than not, christian books somehow couldn't allow me to do that ;) Lately however, i've been drawn to read "Five people you meet in heaven"-- by Mitch Albom, which, I happily finished it within 2 days.. =D

It speaks of this man who lived his life to a ripe age of 83, but didn't live life as fulfilling as he would have wanted it. An unhappy, discontented, disgruntled old man who died saving a child while he was at work at an amusement park. Five different people he saw in heaven, some he was glad to see, reminiscing the past, wishing for time to slow down. Some he was surprised to see, and shocked by the fact how each's life intertwined with his. But all appeared to him for one purpose, to make sense of what happened on earth, and to leave with him something, that will help him make peace with himself...

Thereafter, i chance upon this mail that someone forwarded me:

To my dear friends,
quote :-A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last ! night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.


"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many da! ys you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.


"You know, Jack, after your father! died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said


"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.


As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.


The nigh! t before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said


"What box?" Mom asked.


"There was a small gold box th! at he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.


It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I' ll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep! . I have an early flight home, Mom."


It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting! was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.


"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life" A small key was taped! to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.


Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:


"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."


"The thing he valued most was...my ! time"


Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.


"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

"Life is not measured by! the num ber of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"

Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

- At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.

- At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

- A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

- Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

- You mean the world to some! one.

- If not for you, someone may not be living.

- You are special and unique.

- When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better.

- When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.

- When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world.

- Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

- Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

- Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy.

- If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

Interesting.. how we need to be constantly reminded of what is truely important in life.. its not the things that we chase after, often it is the things we leave behind when we are caught up in the chase of life. Is it really a fulfilling life that we are looking Forward to? or has the fulfilling life been with us all the while, but we can't see it because of the sunshades of blindness...

Matthew 13:13-15
That is why I tell these stories, because people see what I do, but they don't really see. They hear what I say, but they don't really hear, and they don't understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: 'You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes – so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.'

To have my voice, but him speaking.
My steps, but Christ leading.
My heart, but his love beating
in me, through me, with me.
What's it like to have Christ on the inside?

To tap his strength when mine expires
or feel the force of heaven's fires
raging, purging wrong desires.
Could Christ become my self entire?

So much him, so little me
that in my eyes it's him they see.
What's it like to a Mary be?
No longer I, but Christ in me.

Max Lucado- Next Door Saviour

Very drained and slob-ish feeling lately. Like one of those days when ur life is black and white, and people talk like characters in one of those black and white films with no audio features. I think thats what people mean when they say they are experiencing a dry season.

Either way, pressing in is my best shot i suppose~ ^o^ Thank God that i have a joyful nature to begin with, now whats left is to persist in persevering in terms of drawing near to Him. Never belittle a dry season though, had many mini ones in my life time, that i know every one that comes, brings a lesson to be learnt. And by belittling it, distancing away from God instead of drawing nearer, one may risk losing the purpose in life. ^-^

My prayer after last nite's cell: is that if prosperity, wealth, riches will pull me away from you, then let me forever have "just enough". :P