Ain't it cool God listens...

Yesterday was the 'doubts & discussion' week at my Kid's bible study place. It's really fun, I have this bible study week with a few teenage boys and its been really nice as it helps me to understand them as I teach more about the bible. Usually the kids are very mischievous and in their own world, so it takes patience and their sense of humor to deal with them. But I have been enjoying every moment of it... Thanks to them they love me... :)

There is this one peculiar boy, Savio. He is very brilliant but hardly ever serious about the study. Yesterday he was in his usual funny mood and wasn't in a mood to have some serious study. So I asked the kids if they had any doubts and he replied they knew everything and didn't have any doubts. I was like, 'fair enough then we could spend some time praying' and asked Savio too initiate the prayer. Savio didn't really wanna do it. but we insisted him to and gave him 3 points to pray for - pray for the rains, for the swine flu and for more people to come to church. Well Savio did pray, though his each point were just a one line prayer. And right after he finished his prayer I told them, 'alrite boys lets get back to our discussion... so where were we?'

We had a crazy hearty laugh. We had put Savio in his place. But when we came back home it truly began to rain. And I texted Savio saying how God had honored his prayer and it was raining. He texted me all excited, "Ain't it cool God listens... :D "

Yeah I think its totally cool that He listens... and that's why He is our God... :)

Discomfort?

Noun: discomfort dis'kúmfurt
An uncomfortable feeling of mental painfulness or distress

So what is discomfort?

is it the feeling that your parents don't understand you?
is it when a dear friend despises you?
is it when you are hurt but you do not want to express it?
or still harder, when you do not know how to express it?
when everyone succeeds in life and your still trailing behind?
when everyone has someone to love but you don't?
when everyone has someone to hold but you don't?
when you are in pain but no one cares to ask you how you are doing?
when the world's too fast to give you a little attention?
when you try your best but still are termed useless?
when you long to talk to someone but they aren't available to talk to?
when you miss something/someone bad but you know you will never get it?

well I thought these were real discomforting moments, until I realized there was one other moment that beats them all. It is being holy and still getting flogged and having every muscle and flesh of your body ripped apart and then made to carry a cross in which you would be crucified and left to die... all of this for someone who doesn't love or care about you at all.

I sometimes wonder what made Him do that?

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Something To Think About :)

The last few days have been crazy... to begin with our Internet connection had work had a problem and hence could not surf the net for almost a week. And then I was down with Flu and that sucked more. But in the midst of all this, i came across this very beautiful note my friend Tracy pereira wrote on her Facebook profile which really blessed me, so I thought about blogging it here.

Tracy, this is 100% un-adulterated content... just the way it is... ;)

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Somethin to think about :)

Friday, July 3, 2009 at 5:07pm

Someone sent me a FB quiz this past week about "what bible character would you be " and it was funny coz the same week, a kid at school asked me the same question...." if you could be most like one of the characters in the bible Ms. Tracy, whom would you wanna be like...and why. Jesus is not allowed as your answer coz everyone should be like him and I know you will say that"...

KIDS and their questions! You can never escape them. Yeah and he was right coz I was gonna say that ;-) KIDS! :D I thought that was pretty interesting and I've never given it much thought before...Anyway, I was dumbfounded and didn't really have an instant answer and neither did i wanna answer that question without giving it some thought......coz I wanted to know too, "What bible character I would wanna be most like and why". So I told the little kid that I would get back to him soon. "Once you give your answer, you can't change it, it will be forever and ever..for a million zillion years" he said, before he went out of the classroom. I laughed and nodded my head :-)

Forever and ever..for a million zillion years! Wow now that was huge! What character would I wanna be like forever and ever?! I came home that evening and for some reason I couldn't concentrate on anything. I kept making lesson plans for class the next day, watching tv, munching on snacks, talking to friends, doing my thing...but my thoughts kept drifting back and forth to this one question.

That night, I lay down on my bed and started thinking about all the great characters in the bible I could think of and read or learned about.....umm...maybe I wanna be like David, a man after God's own heart...why did God call him a man after his own heart I thought....he was a sinner, he was not perfect....but yeah because he would do anything for God and god knew that(Acts 13:22). Would I wanna be like David forever and ever? Yeah sure, why not.....but something was missing for me personally.....Let's think about the next character, I thought.....umm..Maybe I wanna be like Esther...it's one of my fav books in the Bible. She was a strong, confident woman of God who stood up for her people and found favor with the king. She was beautiful too! Would I wanna be like Esther forever and ever ...a million zillion years....yeah of course! umm....no...wait a minute Esther is awesome, I thought, but maybe I wanna be like Paul.....whoa PAUL! He was the man! He was a rebel and then he wrote most of the books in the new testament! Kinda cool ...I loved the passion he had for God and His word and I love how he says in Romans that his ambition is to preach the good news where the name of Christ has never been heard rather than where a church has already been started by someone else(Romans 15:20). It's one of my fav verses in Romans. And plus I've been to Ephesus and stood and prayed and worshipped God at the very place he once preached to the Ephesians....Cool...so maybe it's Paul I would choose....hmm...forever and ever...yeah why not?for a million zillion years....yeah totally! But still let me think of more.....umm..Maybe Moses....I would love to have parted the Red sea ;-)...Maybe Abraham.....I SO envy that man...he was God's friend and the father of faith! Wow! Maybe like Steven, or hey even Ruth, or another fav book of mine DANIEL....or maybe like Peter....Gosh so many choices....I kept thinking for so long....So many characters stood out and there are so many reasons why I would wanna be like all of them and I didn't know which one to choose......After what seemed like hours of thinking....lol....One character kinda stood out to me somehow more than the rest! A kinda quiet character who said nothing, preached nothing, didn't perform any miracles......Now I'm not saying that character is better than the rest or anything......It was just a personal opinion.....and somehow when I thought about if i would wanna be like that everyday for the rest of my life ......my answer was Yeah...just like that...i would wanna be just like that......forever and ever?? Yeah I would wanna be like that forever and ever...for a million zillion years? Heck yeah! I couldn't even think of any other character after that...I knew this is my answer....I was SO excited to have finally found my answer...YAY.....i went off to sleep that night and was so happy i thought about that question.....cool stuff.

So the next morning as soon as that kid walked in through that door, he comes up to me and says "So did you think about your answer Miss Tracy? Now remember you can't change it forever and ever even in a million zillion years ...so think properly okay?" I laughed. "So who is it then? Lemme guess it's Eve because she was so beautiful and she was the first woman and she had really long hair and she loved apples" I laughed at his innocence...."No? Oh man! Wait wait...last try..."It's Mary because she was his mother and she would give him timeout when he was naughty and even played with him when he was a baby and he would fall asleep on her shoulders...that's what all moms do" I loved his perspective on Mary :-) hehe. Giving Jesus timeout when he was small! So cute!I never thought of that! hehe...

"Okay okay, I give up , who is it?", he said. I said I will tell him at the end of the class and he can guess some more coz i knew how bummed he was feeling that he couldn't guess it right :-) He agreed.

So at the end of class, the kids lined up at the door and started walking out.....He stood last in line so we could talk.....He stopped next to me and I looked at him and said " A donkey".....he didn't laugh ....He was confused but was waiting for me to continue......"i would wanna be like that donkey that carried Jesus.....here's why....coz just like that donkey...whose very purpose was to carry Jesus...I wanna be just like that... coz my purpose...whatever I do, or say, or sing, or talk, or learn, or teach you guys at school, or write , my gifts, my talents, my skills, whatever I have and whatever I am.....more than anything else, i want it to carry Jesus...to bring him glory...to love him and honor him with a life that pleases him and brings him glory...that's my purpose...i don't care if the world notices what i do or not....it doesn't matter to me...it's not about me.....it's all about Him....and yeah i would wanna be that donkey forever and ever....for a million zillion years...a zillion times over even"

He just kept looking into my eyes for 30 seconds or so.....I just smiled but didn't say a word...i kinda call it the 'God moment" . I love 'God moments" :-)He took his coloring page and left without saying a word too. I turned around and sat down on my chair, in that huge empty room ...and had tears in my eyes coz I thought...Yeah...Lord,I so wanna be like that donkey...everyday ...every minute, every second of my life....I realize that even more...whatever I do, i wanna do for you....i just wanna make sure that whatever i do, it carries You.....You get ALL the credit, ALL the glory....I'm just a donkey whose purpose is to carry you, my Christ....

I thanked God for asking me that question through that kid.....and hoped my answer reached him too. I was about to get up when i heard someone running down the hallway towards my class.....and so turned my chair toward the door....It was this same kid!

"Miss Tracy", he said.....Can I be that donkey too, or only one donkey is allowed?" he said, still panting coz he ran all the way from the other building to my classroom to ask me this. I smiled and said "Sure, you can be that donkey too. And there is room for many more...millions and zillions".....He was happy! "YES!!Even I can be that donkey! that is So coolllll " ,he shouted totally excited ,as he ran back through the hallway to catch up with the other kids........

I heard Angels singing...

The last few weeks have been kinda like a struggle for me. But I knew something was up for me on the other end of the tunnel... Yesterday my friend Virginia, introduced me to worship leader Jason Upton's songs. She gave me a few of her collection and there was this album 'Remember' which was recorded live and was a compilation of two nights of worship.On the first track, he is heard rebuking a tornado which was tearing through Oklahoma City at the time and was headed directly towards the building that he was worshiping in. Some say the tornado broke apart at the moment Jason spoke against it. And there is this 6th track ' Lullaby' where he asks the Father to come and play with him and just after that the last track 'Fly' you can hear an unknown high-pitched voice. Jason Upton credited it to 'An Angel'. I usually don't fall for these things, but when I heard the track I had tears in my eyes.

I didn't know what was it, but I never felt like it before. I have always been a Christian and never shed a tear for my God. And this moment was totally different. I think it was all real. I believe the Angels were already there. They were there to protect them from the tornado, maybe they couldn't just stand there when everyone else was worshiping that they joined in. I think everyone should experience this. I am attaching a video below here, check it out and be blessed... :)

Cartoons speak better than words...

Courtesy: www.joyfultoons.com

Daddy Knows Best!!

I heard this little story somewhere... and I thought it would bless you too...

Once little Jen was playing with her older brother John, when she saw the sun setting and was charmed at this beautiful gradient of colors displayed in the sky. She went up to her brother and told him how beautiful the sunset was. John to prove how smart he was told her that it wasn't the sun that sets but its the Earth that revolves around the Sun. Little Jen did not really understand what John was trying to say. She told him, "But Daddy says the sun sets in the west."

John now irritated with his sister's innocence told her that 'Its never the Sun, its the Earth that revolves.'

She still asked him, 'But daddy says..' John interrupting her says, 'You will learn that when you go to school... It's Science... I believe in Science...'

Poor Jen says nothing but just walks by saying, 'I believe in Daddy...'

If You're Gone...

We had this church camp for 2 days the other day, and it was quite a encouraging time with the Lord and one another... and ever since I came back from the camp, this song has been playing in my mind. It just feels so real like God himself singing it to me.

If you're gone - maybe it's time to come home
There's an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you're gone - baby you need to come home
Cuz there's a little bit of something me
In everything in you

I found that so powerful especially the last line,
'Cuz there's a little bit of something me, In everything in you.'

So true... there's a bit of something about Jesus, in everything in us...
He paid the price for it.

How Smart Are You?

As I hit off to bed last night, my brother started this conversation about how a normal human being just uses 2 - 4% of his brain and the remaining is just idle... inactive... unused... So I began to look this up on Google and found that Einstein himself used only 11% of his brain. And we began to think about it.

If the humans are so intelligent and just use 11% of their brains, what would it be like if they utilized 100% of it? I guess we wouldn't be humans then.

The Bible says that the 'Lord's foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of the world...' and also at another place it says that we are 'created a little lower than the Angels...'. The Angels mentioned is here with a capital A... which means God himself... Looking further it also says that "God has made us in his own image..."

To sum up it up... I think if we ever utilize 100% of our brains we wouldn't be humans anymore... perhaps we would become more like GOD...

But there is always one more that strikes my mind when I write this... how intelligent or smart are we really are?

Forgive & Forget

The Holy Bible, the book I read teaches us to forgive and forget. Something many of us fail to grasp or understand. But then if you look closely its the most complete thing. I have heard many people say, "I will forgive you, but will never forget what you did to me." I really doubt if they have really forgiven the person in the first place... ;)

Forgiveness isn't complete unless it is forgotten...

I have had this special gift where I would forget everything that I been thru or wouldn't remember anyone that has hurt me after I have listened to some soothing music or had a nice nap. And I thought this was a curse over me cos people would just simply walk over me and take me for granted. I really wished I would never forget anything ever and I would begin to hate the people who hurt me.

until I had this little conversation with my friend Ann last night...

As I confided in Ann and told her what I have been thru, I realized how what I had was a gift. But perhaps, I was waiting for a reward for staying calm and bearing it all... not realizing maybe the gift I have is indeed a reward in it... Ann told me how there are some people or things in her life she has found it difficult to forget or forgive and how it has dragged on to ages. But I am really a happy man today as I understand what I possess. I really wanna take this opportunity to thank God for what he has created in me and hope that he would make me use this gift to bless and give hope to someone in need... :)

What is Wisdom???

I was just reading the bible the other day... and found this in proverbs "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" I have read this like a thousand times... but there was this urge to actually understand what I was reading... So I began to meditate over it.

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom... also means... its really wise to fear God... cos without the fear of the Lord in our lives there is no beginning of wisdom... which means we are all fools... he he he... cos wisdom hasn't began its work in our lives.... pretty deep huh!!! he he he

Further... it also says that... The Lord uses the fools to shame the wise of the world... WOW getting deeper huh???? ha ha ha ha
So the Lord's foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of the world... then what would be his wisdom...?? you don't need to rag your brains to find what would God's wisdom be like...

Look around you... what do you see... every thing from the Earth, the galaxy, the trees, the animals, the fishes in the seas, the climatic changes, every little thing that our naked eyes can never see... and the brightest stars who's light has never reached Earth as yet... that is His creativity... the execution of his wisdom.

So now... what really is wisdom...???