10 Steps to a Blessed Day IV

(By Rowland Croucher and others)

Day 4:

TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE

I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.
I will find ways to make life more pleasant.

Last night I purposely set the alarm clock for an early rise and shine. I wanted to enjoy the hotel experience a little longer before having to go to work. I also had a very pleasant sleep last night so this morning I woke up quite happy and very inspired.

Waving mum goodbye I had to stop her from walking me to work. Outside the temperature is freezing... and mum hates the cold! Plus all I had to do was catch the bus down Adelaide Tce then take a short walk to the company's building. All is rather simple, nothing to worry about but thanks mummy, thank you for always doing more than what's required for me.

And so I got a taste of what it's like living in the CBD and what I liked about city living is it's convenience. However, as much as I like convenience I'd MUCH rather be living closer to church as my life revolves around His Church. God willing that after my probation period and before the year ends that a big step could finally be taken.

Everyone at work is talking about Australia's new Prime Minister - Julia Gillard. I didn't know at the time (but found out later) that factors I have in common with Ms Gillard stop at our magnificent name. Sadly our moral stands are poles apart.

An 'extra mile' I did for someone today was unlocking the door for a colleague who'd forgotten to bring her pass when she went out for lunch. Actually... That was more being at the right place at the right time. Today there were also lots of prayer requests so I spent some time praying during breaks instead of watching soccer.

I am afraid today's challenge was poor efforts... Writing this now I realise just how passive I was today; I didn't actively sought out opportunities to be a bigger blessing to others. At first I questioned why didn't God provide obvious opportunities today for me but the more I think think about this the more I am convinced that my passiveness is actually a great hindrance to His work through me. What's more scary is the fact that I behaved not much different today to any other day of my life! Am I always this passive in the ministry of 'being a bigger blessing'?


I am blessed through God's blessings to Abram to Israel to Jesus to me.


Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. - Gen 12:1-4

I am nothing but a steward of my time, my money, my possessions, my body, my thoughts, and my words. I am missing out - missing out on the blessing of being a blessing to others (not from a selfish perspective).

I'm humbled. I'm heading to bed now and think more about how to be a blessing to others.


Tomorrow:

I WILL FORGIVE

10 Steps to a Blessed Day III

(By Rowland Croucher and others)

Day 3:

TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY

I will carefully choose and guard my words,
being certain that I do not spread gossip,
slander or malign anyone in any way.

Good evening everyone! It is time for another blog entry on the progress of the challenge.

OK so this morning (yesterday), no drama. Zilch. A far cry from the mornings of Monday and Tuesday. I got up, got ready for work, walked to the bus stop and arrived with time to spare. The weather was slightly chilly plus a little drizzle of rain which made the stroll just beautiful. I soaked up every moment of it. Great start to the morning, tick!

8:05 am - Not long after leaving the house, I realised that I'd left my beloved iPod at home.

Nuuuu... :(

I am by no means a serial new-technology offender but I do love being able to read my bible, or blog, jot down random thoughts, listen to some music, or play games, or check my email while I'm on the go. I begin to feel sorry for myself... I just downloaded Ray Comfort's audio book last night and I was really looking forward to listening to it today.

8:25 am - I'm sitting on the train. I start to think about today's challenge - be careful about what I SAY... I wonder if this challenge applies to my thoughts as well? Ok now I'm thinking WHY did I just think that? Now the challenge definitely covers speech as well as thoughts. Today I will be careful about what I say AND think.

8:39 am - Can you believe it... I almost had an unkind thought about a complete stranger! It was something really random but definitely not something loving. Thank God for the challenge which nags me to be careful. I quickly bin the thought and say a quick prayer.

Walking up the escalator at the Perth Underground I came waist-to-face with a tall figure. Just as I looked up, this tall guy turned his head to look to the left... Lo and behold from the side of his face I matched that to the side of Caleb's face!

Everyday this week I've seen someone from church - Monday was Sarah, Tuesday was Rowena, and today da da da duh da dah Superman ♫ ~

2:13 pm -  Hasn't had any time for distracting thoughts, work actually kept me pretty occupied. Time now to take a quick break - I made a nice warm cup of cuppacino and sat down to watch the soccer. Nothing much happens otherwise... Simply work, learn, and apply. One thing odd today is that there're no email visitors... I also told myself that I wouldn't initiate though a few times I was really tempted but thank God I never gave in. Well our emails were never once the tools for spreading gossips or slender of any kind, I just thought that I'd be careful about my 'speech' today - as careful as God convicts my heart to.

When I got home after work and opened up my Gmail inbox, it actually took a while to download today's inbox. Later I found out that none of the conversations had included my work email address! I'm amazed at how God led things this way.

3:30 pm - Home time bell rings! Once more, work finished early... And very timely indeed because mum and I are going to Novetel tonight. Get home as quickly as possible to pack was on top of my agenda so there was no space left in my brain for distracting thoughts.

We checked in around 6pm just in time to use the gym, jacuzzi, sauna and spa.

Our room: modern furnishings with lots of trimmings and the softest, most sleep-inducing king-size bed.

We watched Bizzare Foods on Discovery Channel, it was pretty good! Mutton brain curry and roti prata... How interesting!

After using the hotel facilities we sat down to order dinner through room service.

This was what I had for dinner, Beef Burger with Fries and Side Salad - $25.

Ok so that was pretty much my day. I think the most significant event to which this challenge really kicked in was when at night time I received a call from Steven. He had a burden on his chest. Remembering today's challenge again I opted to practice more active listening than active talking. Having listened and thought through his words I was led to the conclusion that it's better for him to seek the counsel of a godly brother than that of his biased sister. I mean, family always side family even if it's just 1% over the line it is still biased. Steven is God's man so it's more important that God talks to him through godly brothers rather than me.

So the end of our hour long conversation was also the end of my day. Feeling the tire from over usage of gym equipments, mum and I drifted to Dream Land and called it a night.

Tomorrow:

I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE

Night night everyone :)

Blogger Missing-In-Action

Dear blogger friends

Sorry, no story today. Mum and I are going out for dinner and spending the night at Novotel. Our regular Mother&Daughter bonding session just got a lavish upgrade hehe. My bags are packed, just waiting for mom to gather her things.

Promise to make it up to you tomorrow. In the mean time, go out there and give your mum a big hug!

Ciao :)

10 Steps to a Blessed Day II

(By Rowland Croucher and others)

Day 2:

TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY"
If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly,
I will quietly ask God to bless that individual.

I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbour, co-worker or stranger.

I lost my temper and it hasn't even been one hour yet since I'd opened my eyes. I was too bothered to check the time but it must have been just before 8 O'Clock as the time now says 8:10 am on my iPod.

"ENOUGH putting me down already and reverse to the right!" That, my friends, was the verbal form of my BRAIN imploding. I did it. I snapped. It happened so fast that 10 seconds later the war was over. I was genuinely surprised by the way those words came out but it felt good. Ever seen a kettle on the stove and when the water boils the kettle lets out a deafening whistle and out floods the steam? It felt better than that though the guilt afterward was overwhelming. I was still slightly annoyed by the time I was on the bus and since smoke bombs they don't exist, there is but one solution to shut the noise in my soul.

Pray.

I needed to ask for forgiveness and be set free from this terrible frustration. During prayer God convicted me of my side of the wedge. Regardless of what others do but if I am the cause to their behaviour then I am at fault against them and ultimately, against God. The sense of freedom and joy after praying felt 100 times better than the pleasure of sin. I've lost an "enemy" and gained back my dear brother.

Today's corporate look: Shirt - Miss Shop (Myer); Vest - Temp; Pants - Cue.

10:15 am - Micro break. Made myself a cuppa black tea and stayed away from the coffee machine as I've already had a cappuccino in the morning. This time I added sweetened cocoa powder instead of milo to the coffee and found a happy place!

12:22 pm - Lunch Time! I had a warm buttered roll and another cup of tea. There were many people in the cafe area again watching the World Cup. Buttered bread roll, can't get any safer lunch than this after yesterday's food embarrassment. Julia: 1, Crowd: 0.

3:22 pm - Another early finish today! By now my brain sounded an information overload warning so really thank God for finishing work early. I was going to meet Ling jie after work but it turned out to be Rowena who I saw and we caught the train home together... Such a wonderful blessing to have company to what is usually a very mundane trip! Definitely no enemy there :)

You must have noticed that I've kept to a short entry for today because the time is now almost 11 pm and I still need to shower and sleep. Thank God for today for practicing love and praying for my enemy. To overcome evil with God's good. Well in saying this I am by no means saying that Steven is the evil! I'm sure you guys understand what I mean. What Jesus taught in Matthew 5:44 "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" contradicted to that of the Pharisees' and also our culture today. I must never conform to the world's standard of love and hate. I must follow in my Father's footsteps with all carefulness and diligence.

Have you prayed (for God's love) for your 'enemy' lately?

Tomorrow:

I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY

Till then, take care!

♥

There are personal 'enemies' and there are spiritual 'enemies',

The world, Satan, and my flesh.

Overcome the world by separating from it - (1 John 2:15)
Overcome the flesh by denying it - (1 Peter 2:11)
Overcome the devil by resisting him - (James 4:7)

10 Steps to a Blessed Day

(By Rowland Croucher and others)

Day 1:

TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK
If someone is rude;
If someone is impatient;
If someone is unkind...
I will not respond in like manner.

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil - 1 Corinthians 13:4,5

6:22 am - My eyes opened wide as can be, 33 minutes before the alarm was set to go off. Oh no, I thought. Today is going to be a lonnng day. Never mind, practicing positive thinking and miraculously got out of bed... At least I can afford to taking my time in getting ready.

Brrr! *Shudders* The morning air is so chilly!

8 am - Mum gave me a lift to the train station and we had a little debate in the car about 'holiday pay'. Yes. I know. You guys are all thinking 'what the?' I know. Well... skipping all fine details, the main point I want to share is that in keeping to today's challenge of not striking back, instead of the usualy 'no no no' self, I found that I was more explanatory in the things I say and opted for a lower voice and a slower pitch. At the end of the quick 5 minute drive mum and I had come to a happy and mutually agreed conclusion. We then waved goodbye to each other and off to work I went. On the train I did my daily Bible reading and committed the day again to the Lord for His use.

10:30 am - Fire alarm went off twice but no drama. Back to work.

11:05 am - Coffee break time. I stood there and watched the coffee machine buzzed and churned to make me a mugachino. The smell of coffee quickly diffused the room. Champ. No provocative moment since the morning debate. Nice. Drank coffee in peace and tranquility. Excellency.

To my coffee I added 3 heaped spoons of milo which made the carefully orchestrated milk froth collapse. An ugly thing but delightfully delicious, think I will make this again tomorrow.

12 pm - LUNCH! WOOT! Work is going well, learning lots of new stuff is physcially and mentally draining. Before we left the house I saw mum packing into my lunch box two zhong zi (粽子) and so I've been looking forward to eating them all morning. Finally that time has come! I skipped into the kitchen but to my horror the place was packed! The boys were out there watching the world cup while others stood around and chatted amongst themselves. I was terrified having to peel away the long bamboo leaves so I did it as fast as I could and disposed of all evidences of 'fobbiness' in the trash can. For a moment there I was a little embarrassed of my Chinese heritage and the seemingly weird food we enjoy. Still feeling the heat in my cheeks I sat outside in the undercover alfresco area and smsed my equally fobby friends. "Be proud of you roots," came both replies and I felt much better. My friends :)

 Zhong zi and cup-a-noodle laksa soup. Can't get any more Asian than this combination!

2:40 pm - Milo time! Everyone's so nice to me today... Even our usual teasing emails have become well-mannered and encouraging. I paused for a minute to ponder why. I noticed that my attitude fine-tuned a little for the better; I'm voicing out the inner 'thank you's, 'sorry's and 'after you's than I normally am comfortable with. A quick prayer for the rest of today to wrap up another episode of micro break.

A little thanksgiving... While in the kitchen making milo, a skinny figure waved at me. It turned out to be Sarah who I did training with for Products and Services. We are both taking the exam coming up in July and both have an assignment to hand in. Sarah asked me how my preparation is going. "So-so, I lost my written notes from training," I told her. Hey I've got your notes! It's at my desk I'll go grab it for ya, said Sarah.

Amazing.

Last week I've lost all hopes in finding them, God was silent regardless of how often or how hard I prayed for the situation. I honestly had come to peace with not having help from my written notes... Now that the notes are in my hands again with every page intact it's like additional bonus sent from above. Truly the Lord makes all things beautiful in His time. If I hadn't gone out to make milo at exactly 2:40 pm... if Sarah hadn't walked past at the right time... if God didn't prompt her to say hi to me... if I never told her I'd lost my notes...

Julia Sun, less IFs, more FAITH. God's plan and timing is always perfect.

Hot milk and froth to make a nice warm cup of milo.

Mega-height milk froth thick enough to reenact the gotMILK? ad.

3:24 pm - A rare blessing... finishing work early! Thank God for a smooth and productive day. My supervisor told me that we're ahead of the schedule so I can take the rest of the day off. When I was waiting for the lift the junior receptionist called out cheerfully "See ya! Have a nice afternoon!" I was indeed touched by her warm hospitality so returned her a friendly greeting too. Really thank God for such nice people at my work, a vast contrast from some of the previous employment I've had.

The kitchen nearest the balcony. Quite pretty and a bit IKEA-like. Love the homey feel.

Tomorrow:

I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY"

Good night everyone, rest well and sleep tight ☺

I will say a prayer for you before my sleep. Not for the reason that you are my 'enemy' but because we are to pray for one another.

We are unworthily yet dearly loved by God.

June Murmur

*Busy week forecast alert*

 Doing the '10 Steps to a Blessed Day' starting tomorrow.

Studying... studying... studying.

Less than 3 weeks to go till the exam!

Did most of my assignment but found out toward the end that it should be in first-person narratives >.<||| No choice except to go back and re-write everything. God is gracious to me as is so no complaint!

Blessed week ahead everyone :)

Sisters by Divine Adoption

Ballet flat, Cooking thongs, Black boots, Mary janes, Brown boots & Converse
forming a beautiful friendship flower!
(LRSKJH @ Sunday School Workshop)

A blessing is...

Having a friend you can share food on your plate with,

and after the first bite you both acclaim "YUM" in unison!

Memorable lunch fellowship today ♥