My Body does not Belong to Me

Whenever I would eat infront of the television, I would be so absorbed with the Food World especially when I'm watching Travel and Living that it literally causes me to increase my appetite. What a good and warm feeling food gives us especially when elegance and style are added to its presentation! It transforms the plain ingredients to a beautiful work of art and makes one so proud and wishful of the "finer things in life." And then my tummy starts to feel heavy, then I'm back to reality that I cannot have all the things I want including good health with voracious appetite for rich elegant food without exercise.


You see, my body does not belong to me. It solely belongs to God. I was bought with a price, therefore, I should honor God with my body. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I should obey His Word. I need to be holy and not commit any form of immorality. This is what it says in the Bible, the Word of God. ( Please See I Corinthians 6:18-20) I need to take care of my body by eating good natural food like vegetables and fruits and have plenty of exercise and appropriate rest and relaxation. But the most important thing is to be holy for God is holy (I Peter 1:16)

So tomorrow, I would eat less, drink more water, have some workout, do my best for the Lord, go to bed early, and then sleep well.

Wait, why wait tomorrow? I can start tonight. I can sleep early. Oops... I need to visit someone at the hospital. He is one of our church members who has some kidney problems. Oh well, I can start tomorrow. So help me, God.

These Little Things

As soon as I opened my eyes this morning, I was ready to attempt something -- I was ready to conquer the world. That is, my world. In my mind, I have the formidable energy of a lion freshly released to the wild. I had the youthful excitement of a fresh graduate waiting for her first job, (although I graduated many years ago and have had a few jobs already.) I had the audacity of a great warrior with the voracious appetite to annihilate my "foes." I had the measureless strenght of a tsunami wave breaking the walls of a timeless resort. Then "these little things" came.

After I responded to the call of nature, the forever familiar hole would not work. "Ah, This little hole with this disgusting little water again." I complained. Then the telephone downstairs rang when I was about to lift the pump. "Ah, This little noisy phone again!" I said. I tried to ignore the little ringing as I started pumping. The little water would not go down. The little seconds turned to minutes. The little minutes turned into multiples of deci minutes. Then "these little things" started to control me.


My focus started to turn blury. The formidable strenght of the lion in me faded. The youthful excitement in me became frustration. The audacity of a great warrior turned to sluggish hesitation. The measureless strenght of the tsunami wave in me turned to a weakened muscle pain.

Then I realized that "these little things" are hindering me from fulfilling my attempt to conquer. I started praying. At first it felt ironic that I should disturb my great awesome God with infinite power about "these little things." Then I realize that my infinite God cares about the infinitely small things which are "these little things." He is the infinitely big God who cares about the infinitely small things also in our lives. He even knows the number of strands in our hair. (Matthew 10:30) What an awesome God!

TGIF

"Thank God, It's Friday!" I've outgrown this expression years ago. I was a young ambitious, goal-oriented, freedom lover, and adventurous college graduate some years ago in L.A. To top it all, I was a determined hardworker trying to finish grad school. I experienced working in offices at downtown L.A., Wilshire Blvd. Century City, Westwood area as well as the Beverly Hills area. It was like I'm dreaming when I sat on one of those soft-cushioned leather arm chairs on the 27th red-carpeted floor over-looking the blue swimming pools and artistic bungallows in Beverly Hills. No, I am not materialistic. Although when I walked out during lunch time and passed by the fast low black bench cars, I had wished that I had one of those shiny cars rather than ride the bus. Deep inside, all I wanted was to overcome whatever hurdle I have to take. And every Friday night when work was over, I literally jumped out of the workplace. You see, I work really hard. I give it my best whether the boss is over my shoulders or when he is on vacation. Every moment is a test of honesty and integrity when I do my best according to excellence which is required of me. I hold my breath everytime the work gets so demanding. I try to focus when it gets tedious and boring. And then when the time has come, I shout in relief, "Thank God, It's Friday!" and off to my friends I go.

Gone are the days when I get super excited on Fridays. I've outgrown that TGIF expression. Whether Mondays or Fridays, I try to focus on achieving my goals towards eternity. The weekends for me are busier. I have a husband and a daughter whom I adore greatly. You see, my real boss is the one I could not see but someone who definitely exists and see whatever I do and knows whatever I think about -- God.

Today is Friday. I get a little excited too not because of the relief but because we are doing something different on weekends with my family. No, I never was able to have one of those shiny black cars but had a white mazda as my first car, and no, I never got to live in Beverly Hills, and no, I never was able to finish grad school. But I was able to see London and the English countryside, Paris, Netherlands, and Israel, by God's graciousness. But more importantly, I was able to overcome some personal weaknesses -- like impulsiveness, boredom, lack of direction, etc. and I got closer to my Lord. Now that I'm not getting younger and youthful strenght is vanishing, I try to focus on reading more of the Bible-- that I may know Him.

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

Well, I will say it again but not too exuberantly -- "TGIF."

The First 20 Days of 2009

I'm writing this on the day of the momentous Obama inauguration. Although I'm miles away from D.C., I'm glad that the historic day has come and yet, quite restless about the future of the economy.

Oh well, the first 20 days have come to past and I'm very pleased that each single day, except last Saturday, I had my daily devotion. I plan to study more the holy scriptures so I can know Him better.

Philippians 3:10 " That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"

Time is Ticking to Eternity

And so, here we are... the last couple of days of 2008 and then the year is gone forever to eternity.

I get pretty introspective whenever the year is ending and another year is approaching. Every single day I am aware that I am not getting younger and white strands are trying to conquer the black ones. Oh well, everyone will have whites, sooner or later.

After asking some trivial questions regarding my own life and expectations like have I consumed less calories this year than last year, I decided to ask some questions that for me matter.

Have I as a servant of Christ pleased my Master well this year? Am I a better Christian today after 365 days? Have I gotten closer or have I known my Master better because I read His Word well and obeyed Him? Have I done my best to be a blessing to my family? Have I shared Christ to people?

Anyway, as the 2008 curtain is closing, I would like to say that I am praying for me and for you that we might know Christ better -- the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the King of Kings.

I am expecting unspeakable power in my life as I get to know Him better each day by reading His Word and applying it in my life until the end of my time.

Happy New Year, everyone.

What Would You Give to the Birthday Celebrant?

Last Sunday, as usual, I was busy with the kids in our church. Since it was starting to be busy for the Christmas season and all the the schedule of activities are beginning to be crazy, I decided I need to warn the kids not to miss Christmas -- the real meaning of Christmas, which is the Birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

There would be a cantata after the Christmas party next Sunday for the Sunday School department which would mean lots of food preparation, gifts, games, to mention the least. I felt so burdened with all these "traditional" activities.

15 minutes before we ended our lesson, I ran to the car where I hid the Christmas cake we bought and brought it to the Junior Worship class. I lighted the blue candle before we sang "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Then I asked each of the kids "What is your gift to Jesus?" Here are their answers: my life, my love, my trust. I asked them, "What is that one thing you love so much that you can give to Jesus?" One 7- year- old boy thought for a while, "Aside from my life? I think I would give my puppy." That's one concrete answer I got, and yet, it is so real and inspiring.

We can easily say we want to give our life for Jesus, the one that gave His life for us. But can we give up something we really love for Jesus? What about a bad habit? What about our imaginations and some unholy thoughts? What about our selfish desires? What about our tithes and offerings which rightly belong to Him? What about one hour a week to volunteer to tutor a struggling student?

I struggle to give an answer to my own question, "What would I give to Jesus on His birthday?"

It is so ironic that what I can give honestly to the Holy God are my unholiness and sinfulness in exchange for His forgiveness and edification which lead to a fulfilling life of tremendous and exciting victory.

I was 8 years old when I gave my life to Christ in an old church which building still stands today.

"What would I give to Jesus on his birthday this year?" I think I would give him all my unfair and cruel judgments on people which I know little of what their hearts say.

May God help me. Happy Birthday, my Savior and my Lord.

Suddenly...

Right after every Thanksgiving, my heart pounds faster out of excitement for what is to come-- my most favorite of all holidays and occasions: Christmas. I don't really know why suddenly, the monotony of the routine of life just rushes out and the forming cobwebs of my tired mind are immediately swept away. Suddenly, it feels my long-gone youth is back and I'm out, fresh, and ready to face life again! It is not the turkey I eat on Thanksgiving because I'm not fond of eating turkeys, nor the glitters and fresh scented christmas trees at the mall. It is everything! it affects everything and everybody. It is the message of hope.

Suddenly, the message of hope begins to affect almost everyone even those who are hopeless. A Savior has come! Joy to the World! Even recession is overshadowed by it!

O, the wonder of it all! I wish that not a single soul will miss Christmas. Dear friend, Jesus was born about 2000 years ago as the Messiah -- the Savior, and he has come to redeem every soul including yours -- He is the reason for the season! Merry CHRISTmas.