The One who Creates

As a little girl, I've heard from my parents that God created all things, including humans. I've accepted it without a question. As I grow older, I began to realize there are more sophisticated things me such as computers, cellphones, television, etc. And these were created (invented) by homo sapiens (aka human beings).

They say girls tend to think A LOT. Maybe I'm one of them. I don't know. But one thing I do know is that, at that point of time, I began to think of the creators of all these sophisticated things. The inventor of the first telephone, the first airplane, the first wheel, the first light. As I ponder upon it, it struck to me that, actually, everything starts with God - the Creator. Men may boast in their inventions and wisdom, but it was actually because God who created an organ called 'brain' that enables men to think, probe, discover, question, plan, and to finally 'invent' these things. God also created all the elements, forces that is needed to make 'inventions' work.

You may wonder, why. on. earth. am. I. talking. about. such. an. issue.?

I guess most part of it is because I've been meditating, pondering and reading about The Creator. He created. He creates. Yes, present tense. One of my favorite stories was the story of Creation. All the trees, plants, oceans, sky, sun, moon, stars, animals, human, etc, that were created are wonderful! However, we human are fearfully and wonderfully made. God is able to create a new, clean heart within us. He is able to create, provide and bless you, and me. There is a jubilant feeling knowing that God IS the creator. Again, yes, present tense.

Came across this one video about the earth in comparison to the whole universe. It starts with a mountain on earth, and it zooms out to show planet earth. It zooms out further to show other nearby planets. Then the whole solar system, and the Milkyway, and the galaxies surround it. 

Jaw dropping, indeed.

Earth is smaller than an ant, a period, compared to the entire universe. In fact, earth is no where to be seen when the entire universe was zoomed out! And only God knows how big the universe actually is.

Some of us may be artistic, some may not, but he/she is good in journaling. Some may be good in studies, some may not, but he/she may be good in athletic. How good (and consoling) it is to know that there is no replicate of you in this entire earth. Because if that is the case (literally a duplicate of you from the inside out), then it would be eerie. According to a projection, the world's population was projected to be over 8 billion by the year 2030. Imagine that number, and the variety of people with no any two persons duplicated. Mamamia... Only God can do that. 

I will end with this note:

If God can command something to be created out of nothing, we can be sure that He is able to make the impossible, possible in you.

All glory to Abba!

Hike + Relationship

I once told Gan that his blog is haunted because it's outdated. I chuckled as I stand in that same spot now, too. My last post was, I  think, about 1 year ago. Seriously honestly, I have only been blogging in this brain of mine. If that's not the case, then it will be journalism. Have I mentioned how I loooooove journaling?? Contrary to what people said, journalism is more than a therapeutic thing to do. The spiritual journal that I have is precious conversation between me and Abba. It's a safe place for me to express myself. Spiritual journalism helped me in a tremendous way. Being an introvert, words are many in my brain than in speech (although I have somehow learned to become extrovert in a way, at times, I do get wordy. P.s.- Gan can testify this hoho)

There was once when I was at a low point, I felt a nudge to read up one of my earliest journal book back in 2009. It was mind-blowing and eye-opening! God has been so so rich in His goodness. I read and read, and although it was written by me, it felt like Abba was consoling me over and over again. I couldn't help but broke down in tears. Even words are so limited to describe that moment.

These few weeks I am reminded again of His favor. That He, stedfastly, is with me. Yesterday, our youth group went for a hike to the Crocker Range. What I thought to be a 3-hours hike turned out to be 4-hours hike. My last, long hike was years ago and so, I felt like an old grandma going up the hill by foot (okay, maybe not as old as a grandma, but my point is - IT'S TIRING)

When we started, it was easy and fun. Then it became challenging as we hike to a higher altitude. Soon, we began panting heavily. The too-relaxed-muscles began to work and contract. As we reached a stretch of palm trees, Fenella said, "This is Forgetful Green!" Now, Forgetful Green she referred to was a place in a book that she just read, where people tend to forget their main purpose/focus/destination. Often, it was because of the attractions of the surrounding or influences that distracts. As we hike further up, it became clear that we need to rest. We continued for the steeper slope and just longing to reach our destination. After 2 full hours, we finally made it!

Life is as such. There are times to walk on, time to slow down, time to rest. However, I learned that the journey is worth it because of the destination that awaits, the company around us that encourages and God's presence that assures & empowers.

(When we reached our destination during the hike, the funny thing was this: Fenella said OK now it's times for us to go back because God says our job is not done yet! haha..)

Moving on...

Today -  marks 2 full years with Gan (YAY!). He is my bestfriend and a man that is after God's heart (and after my heart. No no, I'm kidding. But not really kidding.) I remembered when I first met him, being only as friends, I was being very, very stereotypical about relationship. Like, VERY. I would intelligently predict his motives based on his actions and tried to make conclusion in my brain that his true color would show over the time. Ugh. Ugly truth but, that was how it started. Nevertheless, he was amazingly calm (or, look calm) and wasn't being defensive. That was one of the reasons when I realized he was a very friendly, good guy. We get along well and became good friends.

[Long story cut short] After some years of friendship, prior to going in a relationship, he met with my parents for blessing. Now, let me tell you - this wasn't our custom. Normally, boys and girls hook up with anyone, without anyone's knowing. (I can testify to this, too) So I had some time of my own to process this when Gan brought it up. The day came when he sat down with my parents and dined together. And talked. And it was a good night. I didn't expect to have such a feeling, at that moment. Not only we were already officially a couple, but there was something more. He honored my parents. And that is one thing that I am truly grateful for!

There was ups and downs in our relationship. Needless to say, this is totally normal in any relationship. I would say, in short, over the 2 years, we have learned to respect one another, communicate better, encourage one another better, speak truth to one another, pray for one another and love one another. And I know both of us would say, this would not have been possible if Abba is not in it. In fact, being both leaders, our big heads got bigger sometimes, and there are numerous times when we felt that Abba is teaching us to be humble to one another. Now "that" is something powerful in a relationship. If we are not humble, either one of us will have dominion over the other (And we are no Adam & Eve or whatsoever). Thank You, Abba...

Wow, I would never thought I would write this down in a post. However, I thought it will somehow bless others. So, be blessed!

Nethy.

One of the best feelings

Dad went to Europe for two weeks earlier this month and sometimes he send us updates, pictures and even videos. Things were fine and smooth here and also there but still, I found myself missing him a bit. When the earthquake struck weeks ago, one of the first batch of people I informed was my dad and mom and of course, Gan (as he was in KL at that time). I wanted dad to know how we are doing and not to worry much. The first thing in my mind was to eliminate any worries for him (also for them).

Mannn. The earthquake was unbelievable to me. I never ever thought it would hit this land (since its not apart of the ring of fire and stuffs like that). That morning was one of the mornings I would remember well. I was in a deep sleep when suddenly, the house walls begin to move back and forth, shaking steadily strong. I literally jumped out of bed as I know it was not a dream (not that I ever had an earthquake in a dream before). I heard a shout from the kitchen and the next thing I know, I was outside the house, watching for any possible danger. Praise God, it was a brief quake.

And of course, on that day itself, everyone in Sabah (And I'd like to believe, Malaysia) mourns for the deaths of some courageous mountain guides and climbers due to the quake. It was a brief quake for me, but, it was brief and powerful enough to take lives of some people. I cried when I heard of the loss of these dear people although I didn't know any of them. Especially the mountain guides. 

p.s. - Looking forward for the charity concert dedicated to the mountain guides this weekend. Sales from the tickets will all go the MG right away (and this can be assured as the charity concert was a joint effort of various local artists and they willingly organised this without getting any payment! Salute!) Always wanted to contribute something for them, apart from prayers. You can come and join too!

As we waited for dad's arrival, we found out that his flight has been delayed and hence, he will only arrive two days later than we expected.

I never knew this before but, one of the best feelings was when Dad came home safely. Couldn't help but to hug him. There was such a relief at that point of time. More than getting the souvenirs from him, I treasure his presence more. 

I guess that's how it is when we are with our heavenly Father. When we feel his tangible presence, deep and loving enough to make us feel whole, secure and full of joy. No words are needed. Just His presence alone.

Nethy.

DONE.

I'm done. Wow. Have you ever finished a task and you feel like giving yourself a pat at the back? I feel exactly like that now. I never imagined it would be that tough of a task.

Translating a book is not the same as translating songs or speeches or writing a book. This takes more understanding of the subject, terminology and oh, the difference in language. I mean, there's absolutely no way I can literally translate an English saying into Bahasa Malaysia! (it sounds funny and comical)
Yet, as tiring as it could get, I'm glad I took this challenge. It taught me a lot (and I personally think I was meant to read the book as well while translating).

All in all, I've basically read the whole book twice!
One for translating and another round of reading for editing.
Even editing is not easy . . .
But this book is very good! So good that I had to google about the author Jim Rohn. And his mentor.
And the people that were impacted by his mentor.
Although its a book for business success, there were moments while doing the translation I thought I was reading a Christian book. The principles in it are Biblical and sound.

Another thing I learned is  to appreciate books better.
As much as we are in the high-tech era now, old fashioned books are still the in-thing to read from!

Till then, adios~

Taking a step forward.

Health is a crucial part of our human life.

Nowadays, I love drinking detox water. Mint and lemon is my favorite combination. They say watermelon, lemon and mint is also very good.
I can feel my digestive system getting healthier and healthier. (literally.)
But exercise is needed too. No matter how much detox water I drank, its not gonna get me anywhere near to good health if I don't watch my food intake.

Taking a step forward is a decision. How do I relate detox-things with this?

We can always be comfortable once we are in our comfort zone (detox water), however, we are not really dealing with the real issue (need of exercise).

At times, we think are we are doing things right.

But it occurred to me that doing the right things, doesn't make us right, if its not REALLY the right thing (even if we think its the right thing).
We human love to justify our actions. You can call it human nature.
Writing this post, I simply just want to share, remind myself & share it with everyone that- 
In our journey, taking a step forward in faith and obedience brings us a step up to maturity. (despite people may or may not agree with you.) [and its a personal thing anyway, so, look up and see God smiling down on you as you listen and obey.]

Let us inclined our ears closer to Him and obey.

Blessings,
Nethy

Beauty in brokenness

Humans are wired by God in such a way, that longs for completeness, stability and peace.

Almost all humans also long to be in control of what they want to have control of.

Thus, they consciously (and unconsciously) build walls of comfort around them. Environments they choose, friends they choose, materials, and even maintaining desired status quo. All these things become their wall of fortress. Anything less than these means incompleteness. Anything less than these means "no peace". 

Brokenness is seen as a weakness. Fragility is not an option. Ouch.

For the past few weeks, God reminded me gently that brokenness is not a weakness. Because when we realize that we need to be fixed, its the very thing that draw us closer to God. God sees the beauty of brokenness. King David was broken many times, over and over again, through betrayal, hatred, threats, sin of his own, family matters, etc. Yet each time he was broken, he never fail coming to God. Just pouring out his heart to Him. One to one. No veil between them. 

Is the brokenness real? Yes.

Is it serious? Yes.

Is there sadness? Of course.

But do you notice? He was being honest to God in his brokenness.

God highly honors honest people. Because honesty is truthfulness. Honesty allows you to know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). It could be painful; it could be not. But it will set you free. King David was set free after he was broken many times.

You may be someone who could memorize the whole Bible. You could be present in all church services. You could be a leader that people look up to. You could be just a backstage crew. It doesn't matter. If there is not honesty between you and God, God couldn't really work 100% in you.

God is a personal God. If He was serious enough to send Jesus to die for us on the cross, then we should be serious and honest enough to talk to Him and to see Him as our Father and Friend and King.

Personally, how amazing and comforting it is to know that we could be honest with Him! Just like friends. Even better. Abraham had a really close relationship with Him that He even negotiated with God! Now that's confidence, brotha ;)

Gently, slowly, God reminded me that even in brokenness, remember to always be honest with Him. No matter what. That's an important key to a healthy relationship (any relationship, really). Then, you'll gain confidence to enter into a more intimate, better relationship with Him.

In a new light, brokenness is beautiful

The beauty in brokenness prevails when there is an active, honest communication with Him and He personally took it away for a fix, while deepening your relationship with Him in the whole process.

Day 1 out of 365 days of 2015

Last night was one of the most relaxing, calming New Year countdown ever. In fact, we didn't even do the countdown. We were just talking and enjoy each other's presence when we heard fireworks after fireworks. That's when we realized its 2015!! Being with family is, indeed, one of the best places you could be on earth. Especially during New Year's eve. Waking up on the first day of the year is a struggle. Partly, well, because I'm sure everyone sleep late.

Well, at last, dear 2015, you are here. I almost felt like butterfly thinking about entering a whole new year. Butterfly means excited as well as anxious and anticipating something. I jokingly told my mom that I'm gonna be a quarter life this year and I somehow feel 'old'. I guess its true then, enjoy and appreciate life especially when you are younger and active. Make the most out of it. Just like what was written in 1 Timothy 4:12. ;)

As I ponder upon the end of 2014, its also quite tragic with the floods in West Malaysia and crashed plane few days after Christmas. As we enter into this year with laughter and warm wishes from dear friends and family, my heart goes out to those who are crying and grieving as they enter into a New Year without their loved ones. For some people, its going to be an exciting year but, to some people it may be challenging.

Look up. Sun is still shining. Birds are still chirping. We are still breathing. Every day counts in God's eyes. So make it count. He is the One who allow us to enter this new year, new season.

Thank You for bringing us into a New Year, Lord.

Nethy