Friday, October 12, 2012

Catching up

I missed about 3 days of my reflection due to...well, I guess nothing but everyday events.

well, I got to post the first one so if people want to continue them, youversion.com has it.

I went back to the reflection to read on what I missed and I am so glad to have read the next 4 reflections because they were just what I needed. 

I have here a few excerpts from the reading..

Day 2:
Maybe you have a friend like that, someone who always manages to cheer you up and cheer you on, to offer support and friendship in tangible ways. Or you’ve sensed the difference between a place with fresh air and a place without it. There’s something, some quality in certain people and their attitudes, that can transform any environment into a magnetic, life-giving, enjoyable place to be.

Day 3:
Here’s the real secret: You can fulfill the commands of the Bible better by falling in love with God than by trying to obey him. It’s funny, the things we do for love. I hate cleaning out the garage—the time, the effort, the trouble. However, my wife feels like the most loved woman in the world when I help her clean out the garage or tackle a big project that needs to be done. It’s better than sending her a dozen roses—well, almost. The point is, I do it because I love her so much that it brings me joy to do something I know she really appreciates.

Falling in love with God is just like falling in love with another person. You think about him constantly and want to be with him all the time. You can throw away your checklists and just enjoy spending time together.
Your only desire is to be with him, to enjoy him, to receive what he wants to give you, and to give him everything you have.
I encourage you to have an honest conversation with God today. Tell him how you feel. Tell him where you’re frustrated or afraid of loving him. Spend at least a few minutes listening for his response. And remember, God already loves us more than we can imagine.
Day 4:
Paul never lost heart and neither should we. Why? Because what we see and experience around us is not all there is. If we want to enjoy life in the vibrant, fully alive way that we all crave, then we must focus on something bigger than our problems. When we have a larger perspective, we realize that most of our problems are really not significant in the long run
Indeed, God calls us to travel light by keeping our destination in sight. When we live for eternity, our difficulties don’t disappear—but they don’t weigh us down either. We can choose to focus on our problems even as we try to reach some imaginary place of trouble-free living. 
Day 5:
In 2009, (from author) my father-in-law, Billy Hornsby, discovered a stage 5 melanoma tumor on the bottom of his foot. Billy’s response was that God could heal him—and if God didn’t, he said, “I’ve already lived an incredibly full life—better than I ever hoped or dreamed.”
In all his struggles through life, Billy never complained—never. In fact, in the twenty-seven years that I knew Billy, I never saw him have a bad day. And I never heard him say anything negative about anyone—ever. 
He was honest about the fear, pain, and even doubt that accompany suffering. At the same time, he pointed us to the Word of God, sharing how we can let go of fear and dread when we submit ourselves to God, who promises never to leave or forsake us. As he was staring death in the face, Billy modeled courage, a positive attitude, and faith for us. Even his doctors and nurses were blown away by his faith and peace.

These really helped a lot especially now that I'm rushing again just because of some set back. I have literally lost focus again and I guess I'm just too young and I have to learn a lot to know what I really have to do in life..So, even at my age, reflection really does help. We can't keep barging our heads through walls just to get there faster. There must definitely be a better way, or we keep getting headaches for pushing what we want all the time.


Monday, October 8, 2012

Learning through the readings

Good thing I downloaded the bible app in my tablet, now i get to start the a reading plan from youversion and hopefully stick to it and be committed enough to read everyday despite my "busy" schedule.

so anyway, since I am starting a new reflection and bible reading series, I have decided to share every reading that I will accomplish and encourage other people to take some time during the day to reflect on it as well.

All credits to youversion and the authors of their bible reading plans.

So the new reading plan I started is called Experience 14 days of fresh air. It has a reflection and a bible verse together with it so that you get to be familiarized with reading the word.

That just about what I need right now to get over the fussing, rushing and worrying about everything in my life.

This is day 1 and I hope it helps you too.


Have You Heard about “the Doldrums”?
There’s something amazing about feeling a warm ocean breeze across your face from the deck of a ship. And watching the wind fill a giant piece of canvas, tilting that large sail in a way that both powers and directs the vessel, is even more incredible. Before the age of motorized boats, sailors relied on these trade winds to carry them across the ocean.
However, all mariners knew about one area that was to be avoided at all costs: the Doldrums. Taken from the root word meaning “dull” or “lifeless,” the expression “in the doldrums” was used to describe the state of being bored and restless, in a slump. Sailors then gave this name to a specific region along the equator where the weather always seemed to illustrate this lifeless condition—where the air mass just hovered overhead, keeping these sailing ships stuck in place.
It’s not surprising then, that the Doldrums were once feared more than the Bermuda Triangle. Many ships became trapped in the dead zone, forced to endure grueling storms until they wrecked. Sailors would try everything they knew to do to get the ship sailing again, but nothing worked. They were stuck, sometimes permanently.
I think most of us can relate to being in the doldrums. You may know what you’re supposed to do in life, you may even know where you want to go, but you are stuck in this zone where there’s no wind, no breath, no life, nothing to help motivate you and move you along. Maybe you’re going through a storm and doing all you can just to stay afloat. Maybe it’s been a long time since you’ve been fired up about anything. Maybe you’re in a rut and don’t know how to move forward.
The problem is that, when the storm winds are blowing and life gets hard, most of us don’t run to God for shelter and protection—we run from him, right into the eye of the storm. Maybe we feel like we’ve done something wrong and therefore stay away from God, afraid he’ll punish us more. Or we feel like God should have prevented the trials we’re going through. Or maybe we find we’re just too lukewarm about God—we don’t want to go to hell, but yet we don’t really want to serve God, either. So we drift away and get stuck in the doldrums.
If you find yourself in the doldrums today, I encourage you to invite God to come alongside you and begin to revitalize you with his healing wind. I am convinced that if you pursue God, you’ll discover a passion and zeal for living while enjoying every dimension of your life like never before. And be encouraged: as painful as the doldrums are, God is able to use this stuck place to do great work in your life.

8For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:9But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:10Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;