So for my brother's wedding, the three of us siblings have decided to sing a blessing upon him and his bride. A blessing! I have never sang a blessing over anyone before. So this will be a first. We plan to stretch out both our hands and put it over the couple. And just sing a blessing over them. I hope it will turn out well, given that it will be done in front of 1,000 people. Haha! But I love the idea because it is a statement and it is something I can say people will remember forever.
The Blessing is called "A Clare Benediction" by John Rutter. Beautiful Music and Beautiful Lyrics. I myself would really love to sing this to my loved one in the future. I would really like to hear a solo artist sing this in the future though, with voicing...that would be great
A Clare Benediction
May the Lord show His mercy upon you;
May the light of His presence be your guide :
May He guard you and uphold you;
May His Spirit be ever by your side.
When you sleep, may His angels watch over you;
When you wake, may He fill you with His grace :
May you love Him and serve Him all your days.
Then in heaven may you see His face.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Believing in yourself
So i attended this seminar sometime in October. The main idea of the whole thing was about believing in yourself. Pretty much like how Oprah preaches it in her TV show.
"Believe in yourself"
"Love yourself"
"Impossible is nothing"
"You can overcome any obstacle"
"You're worth 1000,0000,0000,0000 BILLIONS of PESOSES!"
etc etc etc...
Funny thing was the whole seminar had a big bunch of staffers - volunteers to help facilitate the whole event. A selfless job actually. Spending two whole days with strangers. Cheering them on, helping them grow and overcome any bad historical baggage they may have. The staffers had a very cult-like following to the whole idea the seminar was preaching.
Not bad actually. Seminar had a good message
"Everything you ever need and want is right in front of you. You just have to take the first step" So they say
But as we all know, life is not that way yea? Once i stepped out of those doors after two whole days. I was back in the real world, dealing with real situations, and dealing with real people.
If the whole idea of believing in yourself really did work, then maybe...perhaps...all the prideful, pompous, egotistic, and self-absorbed people in the world would be uber-successful. Well then, why isn't the ENTIRE world 'successful' yea?
Good message. But don't take God out of the equation.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;' whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15)."
There are so many verses that can be used to rebuke the teachings of the seminar actually, and i really wanted to explode at certain moments. Its sad because so many people really do believe.
"Believe in yourself?" really?
Life seems to be a mix of 100000,000000,00000 variables. Maybe 0.00000001% is in your control. How can one simply say "I can do anything if i believe in myself". How really? I would like to ask one of those staffers.
I will give the seminar 10%. Ok 10% i agree needs to come from within the person - Hard work, responsibility, perseverance. 90% is simply uncontrollable. We all know that this world was not created fairly, but there is equality in the life afterward. And if this life is only but a moment, then maybe the bigger picture, though it may seem hard to believe at times, is in fact, fair. (run on)
Again, message is good, yes. But please, do not take God out of the equation
"Believe in yourself"
"Love yourself"
"Impossible is nothing"
"You can overcome any obstacle"
"You're worth 1000,0000,0000,0000 BILLIONS of PESOSES!"
etc etc etc...
Funny thing was the whole seminar had a big bunch of staffers - volunteers to help facilitate the whole event. A selfless job actually. Spending two whole days with strangers. Cheering them on, helping them grow and overcome any bad historical baggage they may have. The staffers had a very cult-like following to the whole idea the seminar was preaching.
Not bad actually. Seminar had a good message
"Everything you ever need and want is right in front of you. You just have to take the first step" So they say
But as we all know, life is not that way yea? Once i stepped out of those doors after two whole days. I was back in the real world, dealing with real situations, and dealing with real people.
If the whole idea of believing in yourself really did work, then maybe...perhaps...all the prideful, pompous, egotistic, and self-absorbed people in the world would be uber-successful. Well then, why isn't the ENTIRE world 'successful' yea?
Good message. But don't take God out of the equation.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit;' whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15)."
There are so many verses that can be used to rebuke the teachings of the seminar actually, and i really wanted to explode at certain moments. Its sad because so many people really do believe.
"Believe in yourself?" really?
Life seems to be a mix of 100000,000000,00000 variables. Maybe 0.00000001% is in your control. How can one simply say "I can do anything if i believe in myself". How really? I would like to ask one of those staffers.
I will give the seminar 10%. Ok 10% i agree needs to come from within the person - Hard work, responsibility, perseverance. 90% is simply uncontrollable. We all know that this world was not created fairly, but there is equality in the life afterward. And if this life is only but a moment, then maybe the bigger picture, though it may seem hard to believe at times, is in fact, fair. (run on)
Again, message is good, yes. But please, do not take God out of the equation
Late night conversations
"You're lucky. You're part of a huge company, the growth of which seems to be far beyond imagination. You're set. What do you have to worry about?"
"It's not that simple. My dad taught me to depend on God, and not on the Company. Nothing is certain, but God."
Oct 2010
"It's not that simple. My dad taught me to depend on God, and not on the Company. Nothing is certain, but God."
Oct 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
God as Treasure
The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever. - A.W. Towzer
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuning in to the God frequency
There will always be situations and cross roads in our lives, wherein we consult God and ask Him for an answer - unfortunately for us, we do not have the privilege of David's Ephod. So how do we really know how, when, if God really answers our questions on situations?
An insight that hit me a while ago in our Bible study was to tune into the God frequency. Of course, when we ask something from God, we would like to receive signs and symbols on what God's reply is. The God frequency is simply understanding and discerning what God's answer really is, believing that it is more than coincidence, or not just coincidence for that matter. It is knowing what specific sign and symbol did come from God.
How do you tune into the God frequency? Based on my experience, the answer is simple. Always have God in your mind. Whenever you decide on anything, always consult God first. Think about which decision would please Him more, think about what He would do. Think about God all the time. And this would make you more sensitive with what He wants to tell you. When i knew that God answered me through a specific symbol, i just knew. Of course it has to do a lot with faith, but with God always on my mind at that particular time, i became for attuned to Him and what He wanted me to do.
This is actually quite similar to the opposite side of the light. God warns us not to delve too much into the occult and paranormal - not to think too much about it, like a third eye. Because it makes you more susceptible to attacks.
Think God. Always God on my mind.
An insight that hit me a while ago in our Bible study was to tune into the God frequency. Of course, when we ask something from God, we would like to receive signs and symbols on what God's reply is. The God frequency is simply understanding and discerning what God's answer really is, believing that it is more than coincidence, or not just coincidence for that matter. It is knowing what specific sign and symbol did come from God.
How do you tune into the God frequency? Based on my experience, the answer is simple. Always have God in your mind. Whenever you decide on anything, always consult God first. Think about which decision would please Him more, think about what He would do. Think about God all the time. And this would make you more sensitive with what He wants to tell you. When i knew that God answered me through a specific symbol, i just knew. Of course it has to do a lot with faith, but with God always on my mind at that particular time, i became for attuned to Him and what He wanted me to do.
This is actually quite similar to the opposite side of the light. God warns us not to delve too much into the occult and paranormal - not to think too much about it, like a third eye. Because it makes you more susceptible to attacks.
Think God. Always God on my mind.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
You can't save everyone
This is a hard one.
Crazy hard to accept, but true nonetheless.
You don't know the whole story of any other human being. Not of your kids, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your co-workers. No one. You don't and you never will. Even if you were to walk side by side through each and every moment of your lives together, you still can't know how a person is distilling their life experience in their own heart and mind. You may never really know what motivates someone to do what they do. You may never understand their choices. You have to learn to trust that the people in your life are capable of walking their own paths and are going to do so. They may do beautifully with the lives they have been given or they may take tragic turns and everything in between. Relationships can be blissful and they can be torturous. And while your relationships may mean everything to you, you have to know where others end and you begin. Ultimately you have your own path. And they have theirs.
Period.
You don't get to walk the path for someone else (even if you desperately want to spare them or save them, or help them, or heal them) and they can't walk yours for you, and they won't always be with you on your journey. Sometimes people die. Sometimes people leave. Sometimes people are only here for a season and it hurts to the core when they leave but your path was never theirs to walk. Sometimes people are with you but they can't really be WITH you. Sometimes people are unreachable. Sometimes, like today, you learn that someone in your family attempted a murder/suicide...maybe they succeeded. You have to decide what to do with that. You are the only one that you know will be with you when you come to the end of your journey.
You have to choose how you want to walk in the world. You have to choose whether you will add to the love or the pain in the world. I hope you choose love. I hope you are able to. And the people who help you do that...embrace them. Love them. Cherish them. Thank them. Relish them. But don't confuse them with you. Don't hold them responsible for your choices. Don't make them, and their eternal presence in your life a requirement for your happiness, or your sanity, or your reason for being.
I hope you can celebrate your path. Celebrate when paths cross. Grieve when paths diverge. Pray for those who have been lost. Remain open. Above all, remain open. Love your journey even if it scares you.
Now, I think I'll go take a walk.
-Laura Young-
Crazy hard to accept, but true nonetheless.
You don't know the whole story of any other human being. Not of your kids, your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your co-workers. No one. You don't and you never will. Even if you were to walk side by side through each and every moment of your lives together, you still can't know how a person is distilling their life experience in their own heart and mind. You may never really know what motivates someone to do what they do. You may never understand their choices. You have to learn to trust that the people in your life are capable of walking their own paths and are going to do so. They may do beautifully with the lives they have been given or they may take tragic turns and everything in between. Relationships can be blissful and they can be torturous. And while your relationships may mean everything to you, you have to know where others end and you begin. Ultimately you have your own path. And they have theirs.
Period.
You don't get to walk the path for someone else (even if you desperately want to spare them or save them, or help them, or heal them) and they can't walk yours for you, and they won't always be with you on your journey. Sometimes people die. Sometimes people leave. Sometimes people are only here for a season and it hurts to the core when they leave but your path was never theirs to walk. Sometimes people are with you but they can't really be WITH you. Sometimes people are unreachable. Sometimes, like today, you learn that someone in your family attempted a murder/suicide...maybe they succeeded. You have to decide what to do with that. You are the only one that you know will be with you when you come to the end of your journey.
You have to choose how you want to walk in the world. You have to choose whether you will add to the love or the pain in the world. I hope you choose love. I hope you are able to. And the people who help you do that...embrace them. Love them. Cherish them. Thank them. Relish them. But don't confuse them with you. Don't hold them responsible for your choices. Don't make them, and their eternal presence in your life a requirement for your happiness, or your sanity, or your reason for being.
I hope you can celebrate your path. Celebrate when paths cross. Grieve when paths diverge. Pray for those who have been lost. Remain open. Above all, remain open. Love your journey even if it scares you.
Now, I think I'll go take a walk.
-Laura Young-
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Being Commonly Rich
Think about it.
Would you want to raise the typical rich family, with the pretty wife and two kids running around? Yes. Sending your kids to private schools, going to rich people's parties and family affairs. CHOOSE to be oblivious to the world's suffering?
Would you want to help people. Even if it means going solo all the way. After all, the real root of perhaps 95% of all marriages is financial capability. Is it possible to find someone in the higher echelons of society with a heart for the people? Maybe, but likely not.
Commonly Rich?
Think about it.
Would you want to raise the typical rich family, with the pretty wife and two kids running around? Yes. Sending your kids to private schools, going to rich people's parties and family affairs. CHOOSE to be oblivious to the world's suffering?
Would you want to help people. Even if it means going solo all the way. After all, the real root of perhaps 95% of all marriages is financial capability. Is it possible to find someone in the higher echelons of society with a heart for the people? Maybe, but likely not.
Commonly Rich?
Think about it.
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