WHO?

I tend to be one restless woman- in fact sometimes still.. Anxiety, like a thief would try to enter in and cause CHAOS!

Did you know that Worrying and Anxiety isn’t of God? It’s true, worrying not only adds age to our mortal bodies, but it rots and stinks up our spirit!

Why let the stench of worry and anxiety consume us?

Are you worried about your future? WHO Knows about your future and created you for a purpose?

Are you worried about your finances?
WHO is able to Provide with more than just finances?

Are you worried about your health?
WHO IS the ultimate Healer of our soul, spirit and body? Who created you?

Are you worried about Family, Friends and loved ones?
WHO loves and knows about them more that they know themselves? WHO is more powerful here?

JESUS Said it: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [worrying doesn’t do anyone any good!]

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

–> what does this mean?
Come to God, let it go to Him, seek Him and He will speak to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

(Matthew 6:25-34)

Kindness. Is it worth the effort?

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Do you remember a time when you “sacrificed” and showered kindness to another person in secret or perhaps without expecting anything in return? If you have any stories, please share.. 🙂

Sometimes, it may seem like we “losing out” because our helping, giving, or serving may never be repaid in the same way… A sacrifice which has been unseen, unrecognised and unappreciated at times.. But you know what, in the bigger scheme of things- I believe that God sees our hearts and will be pleased when we bless others in secret. Or when we do random acts of kindness without expecting anything in return…

Sometimes we can be impatient as if expecting that immediate reward when we bless others… Secretly hoping God would hurry up and bless us… After all, we've helped others countless times. Hello God, are You even watching? Where's my reward?

Reminds me of this passage in the Bible:

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3)

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. (Matthew 6:5)

Anyway – back to topic of blessing others, what can you do today to bring absolute amazement to another person?

Is there anyone in your world going through a tough season in their life?

Is there anyone you’ve been thinking of more regularly recently – as if God is trying to tell / remind you something?

How can you surprise them with a random act of kindness? How can you give or serve them? What’s their love language?

Is it words of affirmation? Acts of service? A big Hug? Words of encouragement? Some form of a gift? You spending time with them?

We are here to be a blessing to others. How can you and I encourage someone today? Be a “miracle bringer” 🙂

Wishing you a Joy-Filled day!

~ Mel

Changing my Personal Values

I have been challenged the past year to live a life that is fully surrendered to God. This means letting go of my desires for what the world values and giving this up to Him.

What are some of the common things that this world values? A person’s Assets? Accomplishments?Achievements? Accolades? Associations? Abilities?

Truth be told I used to think that being fully surrendered to God and obeying Him equates to living a really depressive or boring life… A nagging thought/fear of “what if He asks me to leave everything behind and do something out of my comfort zone?” I have all these anxieties and fears over what He may ask me to do/to give up. Which is really quite pointless because if He is my Heavenly Father then of course He would take care even up to the smallest needs! His plans for us are always better than our own for He knows what lies ahead!

You know, it’s true. Being surrendered to God will mean that you would have to let go of your own personal dreams, agendas and desires.. But if you think about it.. What’s the point in gaining the whole world yet you lose your soul?

What’s the point in temporal satisfaction yet knowing that deep down you’ve missed the mark?

Sometimes His ways are not logical.. But He has the BEST plan and ways for each one of us. Again, only He knows our future!!

It also depends on your calling. What has God called you in this life? What is your assignment while living on earth? What is that passion that is burning in your heart?

I love this verse:

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your Book they all were written, the days fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16)

It does not matter whether you are young or older, it never is too late. OUR LIFE IS A MIRACLE. We were made for a purpose – to Know Him and to be in a relationship with Him. Through this, we will naturally and spontaneously Live out Lives that shine so Brightly.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)

To be honest, there are still things that I do not know about what God has planned for my future.. I have so many passions and many things lay deep inside of me. However, I do sense that He will make it more clearer in His time. As for now, I shall continue to work alongside Him with what He has given me/ what is in my hand. To steward the gifts, resources, time and other things He has bestowed to us by letting Him have His way in and through us!

We just have to stay close to Him, obey Him and continuously check the condition of our hearts. Are our hearts fully surrendered to Him? Are we keeping anything? Are we loving His Word? Or are we loving and prioritizing other things above Him?

Do our actions follow our words?

The challenge for me is to stay faithful to Him and not let the desires of this world to tempt my heart! To not strive toward the things of temporal values and satisfaction but of the things that will remain forever. Ultimately these are the values and blessings in life!

How to deal with Anger

This weekend was full on.

I blew up.

Literally got MAD with a builder working with us on a family property’s renovations. Also both my husband and I got upset with one another.

I woke up this morning pretty despondent. As I did my quiet time with God, He placed two things in my heart:

#1: To submit to my husband.
As a result of my disagreement with our builder – I decided to “take matters into my own hands” and made decisions without consulting my husband first. This particular tendency of mine to do things on my own is sensitive for him – So in addition to him hearing about my outburst with the builder, he found out about the other things that I did.

But the thing is, I don’t like to be wrong.. And to admit that I was wrong..

This morning, I was reading this passage in 1 Peter 3.. Which said:

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, (1 Peter 3:1, 3-5 NIV)

I am all for my husband to be the leader of our household. I believe in this and want this! However if I just take charge and do things on my own without consulting him, this shows that I completely ignored him and did not submit to his leadership.

I’m definitely learning more about living as a unified couple in marriage not as separate individuals! This is perhaps one of the biggest challenges from being single to being in a committed relationship…

As I kept reading the Word I read this:

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

Do not repay evil with evil or INSULT with INSULT. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8, 9)

So the second point which God spoke to me was: To be kind and merciful with our builder. Literally.

I was so soooo SO annoyed and angry at our builder. I REALLY did not want to do anything nice for him any more. However God challenged me to do so!!!

Coincidentally, I opened my phone and happened to read this verse on my Bible App randomly:

But love your enemies, do good to them, and LEND TO THEM without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Be merciful, JUST AS your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35, 36 NIV)

Talk about very timely verses!!!

This verse tells me to put aside my ego, expect nothing in return, keep lending (or being accommodating- something I was adamant against) and to be merciful.

It sounds stupid to do these things and perhaps “let people walk all over you”. However, sometimes God just wants to teach us that it’s not about ‘winning’ or ‘losing’. What may seem as unfair to us now God can easily turn around for Good. After all, who’s more powerful? HIM or us?!

I realized that the More I strived to fix things were because of my own fears and worries of not getting things done in time. You know, I actually left God out of the picture!! I forgot WHO is ultimately in control!! HE IS!!

If God has given us this property to steward, well then all troubles including perceived unfairness from our builder – should be surrendered to God! After all, it’s His property, it’s His project.

My choice to be harsh towards our builder was wrong. Every single person on this planet earth deserves to be treated with respect. It doesn’t matter who was in the wrong- if we treat others harshly, this does NOT reflect our Creator, it also doesn’t please Him.. and it shows that we have not surrendered our all to Him.

Ok Lord. I got your message.

We learnt from this experience and will be more careful with selecting any one we wish to employ in the future! A tip though for anyone wanting to seek the services of any trades persons.. ALWAYS ASK FOR REFERENCES 🙂

To be continued..

Getting the engine started!

Why is it that sometimes doing the positive things, things that are good for you so hard to maintain? Eg) exercising, being organized around the home, producing outstanding results at work.. maintaining good habits… being consistent with our goals and resolutions…

For me personally, I need to be centered in my day. Otherwise I go crazy. I get anxious, worried, emotionally unstable, oh the works!!

One thing definitely that helps to keep me grounded is by having quiet times with God. Through reading the Bible, praying, meditating on the verses and being open to what it is that He is saying! Even my husband comments that whenever I read my Bible first thing, I am less agitated and more at peace.

Actually, I noticed something quite interesting… The more I spent time with my Lord via reading and meditating on His Word.. The more addictive His Word becomes in my life!

Once I start to read the Word, I can’t stop. And you know what, Reading it becomes exciting and invigorating. My heart beats faster, because it seems like I can’t get enough of what He is saying! Even if I have read the same verse before, still, it is the wonder of reading that particular verse/passage at that time which happens to be perfectly timely!

So why is it that a good thing such as this.. Something that helps me mentally and emotionally… is sometimes hard to maintain??? It’s the getting started that’s hard. To get an engine revved up, you have to start it. Sometimes it doesn’t start. Could be the cold temperatures or even after being neglected for so long it’s harder to start any engine! It’s like getting the ball rolling!

The same goes with our lives. For me, it is hard to prioritize and put God first thing in the morning. Why? All the distractions, thoughts, the ‘to do’s’ that needs to be done… When simply, to wiser and more effective thing to do is to put all those things aside and come to Him in prayer and the Word. This will give me the results I need. It’s when my inside (spirit and soul) is healthy and nourished, my actions, behaviors and emotions are in check!

Two questions I have been mulling over recently is:

“What and who preoccupies my mind most of the time?”

“What is it that almost always becomes a distraction for me?”

Most of the times, when I get up I think of all the “to-dos”. Then, I try to do them to get it out of the way.. But you know, most of the things on my “to do” can be prepared the night before… It is more about effective time planning and sleeping earlier. It is also I recently learnt, about letting go of control and following my ‘urges’!

I read this passage this morning. To me this passage is just too beautiful… I hope that it may speak to you as well. [In brackets are my words]:

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His Glory, to be strengthened with might THROUGH His Spirit in the inner man,

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

That you, being rooted and grounded in love [Amen Lord, I receive Your Love]

May be able to comprehend.. the width and length and depth and height – to Know the Love of Christ which passes knowledge that you may be filled with ALL fullness of God [ I Never realized this! I always thought that it is impossible to ever comprehend just how much God loves us.. but I can pray for this! To know His love and to be filled with more of Him!]

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [His Spirit] that works in us [in my heart, mind, soul]

To Him be the Glory… For all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-20)

Aggghhh I love verses like this! They are such bold prayers of faith! My prayer is that we all will experience more of God in our lives this year, to Know His Love and to be Filled with the fullness of His Spirit in our lives!

May you have a God-filled and God-centered day.

Thank you for reading!

~ Mel.

The F.A.C.T.S on building Friendship

I can’t make jokes. I’ve tried to, but I am just not a humorous gal. I also can’t come up with witty come back lines… this used to REALLY bug me, especially in social situations. I’d be trying to come up with excellent things to say instead of just enjoying and being in the present! However, I have finally come to accept the fact that this is OK! There’s absolutely NO need to be “the life of the party”!

So I’ve been reflecting on what makes a strong friendship. There needs to be chemistry, you can’t force friendships between people. Some personalities just “gel” with certain personalities.. and this is okay too! Secondly, one has to be comfortable in their own skin!! Seriously, now that I’ve accepted I just can’t make jokes- phew! It’s like this “heavy cloud” of expectation to be witty is just lifted off my shoulders! Now I can just concentrate on what’s important- getting to know others more and not be so damn self conscious!!

One of my goals for 2014 is to build deep friendships. I know that first of all, I will have to strip off that “invisible wall” I subconsciously put up. I know that I am going to have to be vulnerable (be real) for this to happen.

I also know that it will take A LOT of Patience- friendships don’t just happen without some work. I will be misunderstood and will misunderstand my friends – but this does not mean that they are “rejecting” me. I have to realise that my “people pleasing” tendency is causing me much unnecessary heartache- as long as I am right before God and my conscience is at peace.. That is all that matters!

Now what happens if along the way- I get discouraged? Perhaps my kindness and expressions of love as a friend is not reciprocated… Or perhaps it just takes too much energy and I rather just stay by myself and not be in social settings.. HOW do I remind myself to keep trying?

Well, I created this acronym – F.A.C.T.S of friendship building to remind my self..

F – Forgiveness
No one is perfect. Say my friend says something that “offends” or hurts my feelings. I am not going to assume and keep replaying thoughts in my mind- I will ask for some clarification.. And forgive. Let it go.

A- Acceptance
I will remind my self that I prayed to God to send me / bring close girlfriend/s into my life. So I will accept whoever it is that HE is going to bring into my life. Even if she is not someone I thought / imagined- I won’t judge her or have unnecessary expectations.

C- Community
My friendships is for the community that I have been placed in. So, when difficult moments occur – I will remind my self that what I choose to do will not only affect the relationship between my friend and I, but our community as a whole. Hence, we have the bigger community to think about (how it will affect the rest of our friends etc).

C – is ALSO for Compassion
To know that no one is perfect. That everyone needs grace too.. To be compassionate is to look at the person or situation with a different lens (to see what is really the underlying cause instead of what seems to be at face value). This will help me to understand others more, not be judgmental, be understanding, empathetic and supportive.

T- Truth
This will remind me to speak words of Truth in our conversations. Since the Word is filled with God’s Truth- I will choose to use words that encourage my friends based on His Word.

S- Sincerity
I love this one! “Sincerity” is defined as “The quality of being free from pretense, deceit and hypocrisy”. It involves being authentic and stripping off the mask to be “perfect”. This is possible when I continue to be comfortable in my own skin.

Building friendships take daily effort too. This does not mean that we have to “bombard” the other person with lots of calls and texts.. However, what I can do is to pray for my close friends daily and spend time together intentionally. I read this quote which really struck a chord within my heart..

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make, which, over time, add up to big differences which we often cannot foresee” ~ Marian Wright Edelman

Normally, I tend to prefer spending time on my own. However, how can I build friendship if I don’t spend time with others?

My childhood friend who I had not seen for 10 years is in Sydney at the moment! I caught up with her over breakfast yesterday morning and we had such a beautiful time together. I have not seen her as we both moved cities and now she is living overseas at the moment. The amazing thing is that although we had not seen each other for far too long, it was really as if we hadn’t moved at all! We shared so much and encouraged each other… I was also more conscious about being real and authentic.. And yeah, it felt really good to be real with her and we had such a blessed time together.

Here’s a photo of us taken after our breakfast:

Invest in people rather than things. Friendship has no time limits.

What Money Can’t Buy

“Life Cannot Be Bought” A poem.

I am intrigued with the man
Whose greed consumes him for more
He owns vast estates of land
Yet gives no thought to the poor

He is as the wolf that preys
On the weak and the harmless
Cunning in all of his ways
The light in him is darkness

Will he ever come to know?
That his days are all numbered?
When the curtain ends his show
Who will he be remembered?

For man’s life cannot be bought
Only Christ – He can redeem
If repentance had been sought
This man’s life would not be grim

~ by Melinda

This poem was inspired after my meditation this morning. I was reading through a passage in the book of Psalms:

“For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.

Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.

For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish”. (Psalm 49)

This Psalms spoke about the futility of man’s thinking that money would buy him everything…

Except for the truth that:

“Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice that he should live on forever and never see the pit” (Psalm 49:7-9)

Greed and reliance on personal riches can never fulfill a person. We can’t take our riches with us after we pass to the next life. It can however lead a person towards the pits.

Phew sorry if this post is a little “confronting”, but I feel the need to address this issue time and time again. As it is something I have been contemplating and learning about my self and the state of our cultural society is quite materialistic.

Ok.. a lighthearted post coming up!!

How to Mend a Broken Relationship..

Choosing to love and forgive another is probably one of the hardest thing to follow through.

To say “Sorry”..

Is letting someone know that you know it yourself you are in the wrong.

This is you being vulnerable. While it may seem like a weakness to admit that you are wrong, it is actually a strength and is very, very attractive.

It shows that you are a person who is not afraid to be authentic and to stand up for the truth. It also shows humility.

Have you heard of anyone wanting to be around arrogant individuals? What about being around humble, genuine individuals who are not afraid to admit they’re wrong?

Pride first, then the crash,
but humility is precursor to honor. (Proverbs 18:12)

Now what happens if the other person is NOT sorry at all? Even after you have explained why their actions have caused you pain?

Well you have two options:

1) Stay angry.

It may seem like it is your right to be angry at the person who did the wrong..

I’m sure all of us at some point in our lives have done this- can you try to remember what goes on inside of you as you remained angry towards another person?

Were you at peace?
Were you at rest inside?
Were you able to sleep at nights?
Did you constantly think of this person and what they did?
Were you able to live life to the fullest?
Were you able to enjoy life and be in the present?

If your answers were “yes” and you are still angry – then ok, maybe forgiving is not for you. Or perhaps you might change your mind about this as time passes by..

However if your answers were “no”
Perhaps it’s time to be free from all that and live your life as God intends you to live it- with Joy!

The next option is:
2) To Still forgive them anyway.

This is the hardest. When your love (your act of kindness) is overlooked or ignored… You may even feel like you are a doormat.

However, if you know that BY you forgiving anyway and loving that person even though nothing is reciprocated.. If you know that your conscience will be set free, that you will be able to sleep and rest easy at nights..

If you know that by forgiving anyway, you will be able to move on with your life and enjoy it… That you won’t feel the need to compete / beat the other person at their own game.. . That you won’t constantly think of them.. You WILL experience such freedom inside..

That freedom, my friend, is SO worth it. You will be forever free from such unnecessary suffering and burden!

So, If Love is a gift, and that gift is forgiveness – Then these proverbs below makes such clear sense.

Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone; any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted.

Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

(Proverbs 17:8 & 9)

You can choose to stay angry and bitter.. Or be free- by being vulnerable and letting go the offense even when it’s not reciprocated.

A song I wrote…

I love my husband and family but they are not first in my life. Another person will always take first priority in my life. I was hesitant in sharing this song at first.. but then this is the real me… so, here’s a little glimpse into my world..

“I Love You Lord”

I love you Lord
You are my rock and fortress
You give rest to the weary
Hope for the searching heart

I love you Lord
You are my strength and my shield
You defend the fatherless
Power that saves me

//
To You I give my life and soul
Trusting in Your everlasting Love
Help me to draw deeper and
Closer to Your heart Lord

To You I lay down all my pride
This world can never satisfy me
I long to draw deeper and
Closer to Your heart Lord

~ by melinda

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. (Psalm 28:7)

this is my morning ritual each day: The Word + chai tea

It’s my form of meditation 🙂

Compulsions

Why do I wait
And look away
Till it’s too late
To change my way

Habits that form
I justify
It’s just the norm
To self I lie

Then comes the day
When there’s regret
But I can’t stay
The same and fret

It’s time to change
One step a time
At first it’s strange
But worth the climb

Copyright 2013 by Melinda

Bad Habits. Compulsive behaviors. These are the behaviors we know that we shouldn’t be repeating regularly. They’re often very difficult to break though! Have you stopped any bad habits?

How did you do it?