Took it for granted

Today for my Arabic class i had to bring photos of family or friends..only then did i realise i didn't actually bring much photos physically over....except for.....the wonderful photo-plaque You sweet ones made for me before i left for the US!

Praise God haha! SO yeah i kinda introduced you guys to my arabic classmates in arabic..and they were kinda ooh-aahing over such a nice and sweet gift that my friends made for me haha. Only then was i reminded that this was really a very nice gift and sweet thought of you guys, maybe cos it was sitting on my desk everyday...slowly took it for granted haha.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, i thank you for the gift and for your prayers for me. May we always be reminded to thank God for all that is around us and all that we have in our lives, never to take anything for granted, be it our family, our clothes, our friends, our chance to geta degree, or even our tummies.

Here's an intersting link you guys might want to have a look at:

IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
On a lonely stretch of highway just outside ofGroom, Texas (near Pampa) stands a 19 storytall cross that can be seen for miles from anydirection. The arm spans are 110 feet across.It is constructed of a welded steel frameworkcovered with steel sheeting.

http://home.swbell.net/rwpassmo/cross.htm

May we in our own spheres of influence be the solid cross to show others what Jesus' love does in our lives, and hence be the walking/living 'Fifth Gospel', amen.

My Will

yes,God's will in all that we as uni students desire to do..

I'm setting the stage for the things I love
And I'm now the man I once couldnt be
Nothing on earth could now ever move me
I now have the will and the strength a man needs

(chorus)
Its my will, and Im not moving
Cause if its your will, then nothing can shake me
Its my will, to bow and praise you
I now have the will to praise my God

Complexity haunts me for I am two men
Entrenched in a battle that Ill never win
My discipline fails me, my knowledge it fools me
But you are my shelter, all the strength that I need

(repeat chorus)

I'm learning to give up the rights to myself
The bits and the pieces I've gathered as wealth
Could never compare to the joy that you bring me
The peace that you show me is the strength that I need

(repeat chorus)

(bridge)
We've got to be children of peace
Don't you know we've got to be children of peace

(repeat chorus & bridge simultaneously 3x)

Its your will, its your will [4x]

Words

Words are powerful instruments for good or for ill. We can use words in destructive ways, or we can use words to build and encourage. This must be what Solomon had in mind when he said, "A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" (Prov. 15:23).

This must be one of my greatest weaknesses, and i was seriously a big (and successful) gossip-mongerer in the past. May the Lord give me the wisdom and determination to put off this old self of mine and put on the the new self int he armor of God. May my mouth be a sword that pierces through deceit instead of fuelling it.

Keep my tongue, Lord, bridled well,Words of truth, oh, may I tell;Take my heart, its wellspring deep,Cleanse and purify and keep. —Bosch

this hit me - something to reflect about :)

Changing Our Paradigm of Experience
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman


Have you ever heard someone say, "God doesn't work that way? He would never do that." Well, there are times when God chooses to confound the foolish in order to change our paradigm of experience. Moses had never seen a bush that burned but did not burn up. It got his attention and it drew him to God.

When Jesus appeared on the water in the middle of the night during a storm, the disciples exclaimed, "It's a ghost!" They had never seen a man walk on water. This led to a great miracle--Peter walked on the water, too. When Jesus asked Peter to catch a fish and get the coin from its mouth to pay their taxes, you can imagine what Peter must have thought about those instructions. When Moses got to the Red Sea, he ran out of options. God had an unexpected solution to the Israelites' problem--He parted the Red Sea to demonstrate His power and allow the people of Israel to cross over to flee the Egyptian army.

Each of these new paradigms was a stepping-stone of an encounter with God so that the individual would experience God in a new way. God used these times to enforce the principle that His ways are not our ways. Whenever we try to predict that God will act in a certain way, He changes the paradigm to keep us from becoming our own little gods.

Have you ever been guilty of judging someone for an experience they've had that you've never had? Did you dismiss it as extreme or something not of God? God is in the business of changing our paradigm from no personal experiences to God-experiences. However, if you operate on a level of rigid logic, you may never have the privilege of having the God-experiences. Keep your heart free to experience new paradigms with God today.