Thursday, May 11, 2017

Starting All Over Again 2

Starting All Over Again 2


There are many hindrances for the people who can’t start all over again.
How to move on? What are the hindrances to start all over again?




Negative Thoughts

satan comes to steal and destroy anything good God wants you to experience. Usually, he attacks us by whispering negative thoughts for us to not see the beautiful and wonderful gifts God has for us. Just like while I am writing this. I heard a voice saying, “If your God is powerful, why can’t he whisper positive thoughts? Then why my negative thoughts for you win?”

satan’s power relies on a person’s ability to be against him. If a person follows satan, then satan becomes powerful. This has nothing to do with satan being powerful or God being less powerful. If a person has strong connection with God, he becomes powerful to say NO to satanic forces.

We have the free will. It is God’s gift so when we love and worship God it is solely based on one’s willingness to worship the living God. God’s asking of our love is not out of forceful effort.  God wants us to humbly come into his presence. When satan speaks to us, it is up to us if we would listen to him or not.

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. –John 10:10

Satan is the biggest thief. He wants everyone to experience all the bad things we could experience here on Earth. Satan disguises as our good friend advising us to try illegal drugs, watch porn, enter into pre-marital sex(if single), and so much more things we would be regret doing in the end. They seem to look good at first but they ring troubles in our lives.


Hesitation


Will God help me? Does God really love me?

In Genesis 3:1, satan asked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” satan is so good when it comes to tricking and making us confused. This led to Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit.

Usually, we are not hesitant to try the sinful side of life because they seem to look good. But whenever God is asking us to try something good like doing a risky business, we are hesitant. When God is asking us to evangelize an old friend, we are hesitant. We are hesitant to do the things God wants us to do.

When God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, he was hesitant. He didn’t go. He went to Tarshish instead. Tarshish was at 2,500 miles from Israel in the opposite direction of Nineveh. But although Jonah didn’t obey God, he still found himself in Nineveh after being eaten by a big fish. God has a way to bring us into the ministry or purpose He intends us to do.

Fear


Usually we are hesitant because of Fear. Nineveh people were idolatrous, proud and ruthless nation. So Jonah was hesitant to meet them. We should not let the fearful spirit to govern us. Instead, we must seek God who can cover us with anything good.  We feel fear when we don’t know our God is very powerful.

Joshua 1:9 reminds, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Approval



We are just human being so we definitely seeking the approval of others.  In these days of social media, who would not like lots of Faceook Likes, Instagram Followers and Retweets from many people who approve us of what we do online?

Many dreams have not come true just because usually people ask, “Is my dream good? Is my vision ok? Do you think I will be successful?”

God is the one putting in our heart visions and dreams. It takes faith to do something to be able to achieve those dreams. Or else they remain dreams.

To be able to have dreams come true, ask God for provisions in order for you to start and go on fulfilling the dreams He is asking you to accomplish. If we always seek the approval of other people, time would come we can’t start and we can’t have the things we are dreaming to have.

Many people value the opinion of others. Yes, that is understandable and should also be taken into consideration. But some people don’t get to see the bigger opportunities waiting for them for sometimes we ask the opinion of someone who is not successful—and yet we ask them for opinion regarding success.

Mentorship


There was time Moses could have enough sleep because of too much job. He had so many things to do. If not for a mentor who advised him of which is now classified as the best business advice, his leadership could have failed.

Proverbs 27:17 tells, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

We know so well that when a scissors is not used for a long period of time, it becomes harder to use and its ability to cut become poor. Same is true with knives. Just like us human beings, the more we don’t do anything, the more we feel tired and weak. If we keep on moving and doing something, the more we become better and stronger.

Athletes or anyone who keeps on practicing becomes better. Experts started novice. Through consistent dealing with their line of interest, they eventually got tagged them EXPERT!

Many successful people started from zero, from scratch. Their perseverance and their willingness to get ahead and rise above the average made them successful.

Along the way, a dreamer gets tired and quits. A mentor is someone who advises, guides, gives knowledge and wisdom for a novice to get to the next level he/she wishes to climb up. With the help of advisers and mentors, failures and mistakes become less.

Imagine! A mentor has undergone through many mistakes, disappointments, mistakes and he/she is passing it to you just in the form of advice. But it is up to a person being mentored if he/she is willing to follow the advice.

Knowledge VS Wisdom

Our mind is very powerful so our heart. Proverbs 4:23 is advising us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Yes, we can be very smart but our efforts just go away with the wind. They become nothing. It is very essential to gain wisdom that we can apply in our life just to be able to succeed in life.

To test how wise you are, make a list of the things you’re going to do if you were given:
Amount
How you are going to spend it?
$1

$10

$100

$1,000

$10,000

$100,000

$1,000,000


After having your answer, ask someone successful to have it checked and see what they have in mind about your finished idea. Be open-minded to accept and ponder on his comments.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but fools despise knowledge and instruction,”
--Proverbs 9:10

Unwillingness to Move On


Many people are unwilling to be successful actually. Some people just think they want to be successful but they are not willing to pay the price to be able to be successful. For example, they want to be successful but they are not willing to give up their monthly salary in exchange for a business. Many people can’t forgive not forget who has done them wrong especially if what happened was really painful, degrading and traumatic.

Yes. It is hard to let go of the past but once we do it, better life would be ahead of us.

Imagine a person whose lover has died.  Would he keep loving this person with all his heart and mind? If he/she were single would he/she not find another partner?

Imagine a person who got bankrupt? Would he/she keep talking to banks, friends and customers about his bankruptcy or would he/she fight with life to make another profitable business? Or make a business that just got bankrupt again profitable? It depends on his/her willingness to fight with the challenges of life.

I read a book when I was in high school that always reminds me of a good life quote.

“Don’t say, ‘I am tired,’ tell yourself, ‘I can do even more.’ The more you say so, the more exhausted you’d become.  But if you tell yourself I can do even more, you’d realize there are more things you can accomplish. For every mountain climbed is another one waiting to be conquered.”

Don’t Doubt God


Thomas drowned when he doubted he could walk on water. But at first he already believed and he was able to walk. But his faith subsided and this caused him to drown.

Like us, if we don’t believe God will help us, we will never be able to rise. For we will always see our weaknesses. We won’t be able to see God’s power in transforming our lives.
God wants us become better, do better, become stronger and life a prosperous life.

Jeremiah 29:11 is clear with God’s vision of us. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

There are 365 promises of God in the Bible. And we know so well that there are 365 days in a year. This is like God is promising us something. Whenever you feel like doubting God, try to ponder on this verse.

Matthew 7:11, "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Next:
Starting All Over Again
#Fighting!

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Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Starting All Over Again

Starting All Over Again


Do you believe in starting all over again? What about in forgetting the past? How do we start for a new beginning?




Past is Past


Paul the Apostle popularly known as St. Paul is one of the people in the Bible who’s famous for teaching us significant lesson about ‘forgetting the past’. He’s a disciple of Jesus but he used to be persecutor to Christians. He became a follower of Christ although he used to persecute the followers of Christ.

Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us have something in our past that heart-breaking. There are many issues from our past that make us regret some decisions we’ve had from our past.

Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt when she decided to look back. This happened when God said He’s going to wipe out Sodom and Gomora for sinfulness. This is a clear warning from God not to look back from our past for this might ruin us. Yes, many things from our past can make us to keep on looking back. But like Lot’s wife, we can end up broken if we keep on looking back. There are many bad things from the past but there are also many good things in our future. Terri Savelle Foy suggests to ‘make our dreams bigger than our memories’.



10 Years From Now


Ten years from now, we can still be doing the same things, experiencing the same things and being the same person. But we can also experience tremendous changes and big blessing if we just see ourselves becoming a better, more blessed and living a life we never dreamed of.
How big do you dream? How much time do you spend looking back? Who are you ten years from now?

Dreaming Big

Few people dream big. It’s a very risky world. Dreaming big could be a place of disappointments, failures and heartaches. But actually, even if we choose not to dream big, we would still be experiencing same feelings. For this world failed into sin and anyone is bound to experience satan’s world. Satan’s world is full of negative emotions.

What do you see? Seeing yourself more successful and doing something worthwhile for this world is the first step to dreaming big.

And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
 – Habakkuk 2:2

Writing our visions is what God advised us.  This gives us clear plans and this will guide us in times we want to give up or when we are losing hope to fight. We would remember the time.

It is always easy to plan and dream big dreams. It is always hard to take action in fulfilling the dreams. For sure, you will experience difficulties, disappointments, setbacks, heartaches. But this is normal. We also experience these feeling even if we don’t dream big. The only difference is that it takes bigger and stronger faith to start your journey with the Lord.

Successful people advice, “If one moment of fear can create a season of failure, then one moment of faith can reverse it.”

Yes, it could be frightening to meet your big dream for it’s going to take a bigger YOU. This entails responsibility, discipline, focus and painful efforts. But guess what, in the end for sure it’s going to be sweet. Then you’d discover you could do the things you didn’t expect you could possibly do. Actually, it is God’s work.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” –Hebrews 11:6.

Ten years from now, your more successful version is easy to imagine but each day would be full of challenges. It is like climbing uphill. The way up high is hard but getting at the top would be very sweet, rewarding.

Life is full of choices. Would you want to take the risks, dream bigger and see a better life or just live as what it is for you are afraid to live outside your comfort zone?  Remember, God is looking at you and waiting for how much faith you are going to invest in life.



The Journey


The Bible warns us that our way to success could be fast or slow or very slow. Remember the journey of the Israelites that took 40 years when in fact it could have just taken the 11 days?

The guidance of God is very essential in our journey to dreaming big. The easiest way, the lesser pain when dreaming big comes when we set our eyes in the Lord. When we follow God. When we seek God.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”
--Matthew 6:33

  • .       Moses number the people (Nu 1-4)
  •     Commands concerning the priests and tabernacle (Nu 5:1-9:14
  •      Israel’s journeys from Sinai to Canaan (Nu 9:15-12:16)
  •      Israel doubts God and is prohibited from entering Canaan (Nu 13-14)
  •      Israel wanders in the wilderness for 40 years (Nu 15-25)
  •      Moses prepares the people to enter the land (Nu 26-36)

The cause of their longer journey is their DOUBT. This made God to decide to prohibit them from getting into the Promised Land with just merely 11 days. Try to imagine an eleven-day journey which took the 4 years?

Same is true in our lives. God is giving us visions and dreams. Since we doubt God, we can’t have the bigger blessings He has for us. He could do it instantly but our lack of faith hinders it and makes the journey seems impossible.

Remember our God is the God of the impossible. He created the whole universe. Isn’t it actually impossible? He created our brain—something that’s impossible to get created. He created YOU. Anything that we have is actually impossible to have. Look at what God has done? So, what is impossible for God?  

BELIEVE


“There can be miracle, when you believe…”
                I grew up hearing this line from a song of Mariah Carey. If the only thing we have to do is believe and we still choose to doubt, then it is indeed impossible to have our big dreams to come true. If we want to have something, the first step is to believe.


Remember


And remember, I am always with you to the end of the age.  –Matthew 28:20

Next:

Starting All Over Again Part 2
#Hindrances

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Saturday, September 12, 2015

The Time is Now

The Time Is Now


 If ever you want to reach your dreams, there’s no better time and day than to start NOW.


The steps to reach your dreams.


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Dream and believe that you’d have your dreams now. It’s going to happen soon but deep in your heart, believe it’s coming true not someday---but now. If you believe your dreams are coming true now, the sooner you’re going to receive your gift for believing in your dreams.

Pray for your dreams and the things you want to do. Spend time to talk to God about your dreams. When you fear the Lord, He will shower you with knowledge and wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise corrections,” the Bible reminds us. God’s wisdom through fearing Him would empower you to accomplish the things you want to do.
When you’ve finally decided what you really want to do, make a road map on how you are going to reach your dreams. In your road map, cite the specific things and ways you are going to do to get to where you want to go. 

Consistency and sticking to your life plan will make a difference. Remember one cliché that reminds us to be like a post stamp sticking to the mail until it gets to its destination. The illustration is simple. For a kid to be a doctor he must study hard; believe that he’d be a doctor. After many years of believing and studying as a student of medicine, he would eventually be a doctor. If ever a person wants to be a doctor and on his way to becoming a doctor, he encounters problems, difficulties, challenges and lots of things to study and memorize; to pay and processes to undergo through—he gives up. He eventually shifts course. He can’t be a doctor.
Think: The time is now to believe and act on the fulfillment of your dreams. You must use your head, not your heart when it comes to your dreams. Many people were not able to have their dreams come true for falling in love. 

Keep reminding yourself. Too much thinking will lead you to destruction. To have focus, always remind yourself using notes, boards and stickers.

Nutrition is another thing we must not forget. Many people work hard but they tend to forget giving enough nourishment to their body. So the body becomes weak-- or suffering or even up to the point of getting hospitalized. Along with nourishing your body, you must take time to relax and exercise. You must consistently do all these things. You must not also abuse your body of too much working. You must be aware that there are also diseases that go with working too hard. Cancer due to stress is one of the worst diseases you might have—should you ignore this warning.
You must not live by bread alone is a reminder from Jesus that your body will soon die so you must also feed your soul. And you do that by reading the Bible. You must nourish your soul as well. 
Begin with an end in mind. Start and finish the things you do.
Most of the people are trapped in problems or of things that hinder their growth. Here are some of the hindrances to reaching one’s dreams.

No faith at all. If you have faith in God—and faith in your dreams, soon you’d have what you believe in. The Bible reminds that if you just have a faith like that of a seed of mustard, you can have what you want especially if it’s for something good and Godly. If it’s evil, sooner or later, your plans and dreams would be destroyed. Our God is an awesome and powerful God. He can do anything in favor of you once He gets pleased of your life.

Vices. Addiction to something hinders you to grow. If you can’t stop yourself from doing something that’s making yourself less productive, you are just wasting your life spending time in them. What are your vices? Your decision to stay away from them will make a difference. If you can’t stay away from Facebook knowing it’s consuming most of your time and energy, why not give it a quit? Youths would usually think more on love—in having love life for they think it’s making them feel whole. But it’s the other way around. They feel less loved because of focusing too much on love with the opposite sex. Youths should think that their days should be spent in improving themselves. This is their time and chance to explore the things that could give them good future. Youths should study; go to churches where salvation through Christ and God’s love are being taught.

Laziness. Being successful needs hard work. If you want to be more successful, you have to be more hard working. “A lazy person should not eat.” It’s what’s written in the Bible.

Procrastinations. If you can do it now, don’t say, “I’ll do it later.”
Lack of vision. Having no vision of what you want to have, what you want to be, where you want to go is another problem. If the vision of your dreams is clear, I am sure your days are going to be full of hard work and perseverance. Someone who wants to build his or her body-built well would surely be in the gym for more hours trying to lift even hard objects in the gym. Someone who just wants to be known for being in the gym always-- is another thing. He/She will have different result. A poorer one.

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Lack of education. You must be educated in the things you want to go into. A person who wants to have fishball business should be knowledgeable in making delicious fishball and sauce. He/She must know where to get capitalization. Where to situate his business. Is it enough for him/her to have just one stall? The business would flourish depending on the businessman’s vision, training and education. Education is not always the thing you do wherein you have to go to school. Educating yourself is just simply making yourself knowledgeable in something you really want to do. 

Circle of Influence. The people around you also help or break you. You must choose who you want to be with. They affect your decision making. They may also inspire or pull you down. Some people are so determined and focused with their dreams that no one could change their decisions and plans that make them successful. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers,” Psalm 1:1 reminds us.

Lack of wisdom. God may confuse you to bring you into despair and hopelessness, into defeat and failure for not obeying Him. For being hard-headed. For being rebellious. Psalm 1:1-6. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scoffers. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in His Law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree that’s planted by the streams of water that yields his fruits in its season and its leaf does not wither and whatever he does shall prosper. The wicked are not so but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.” 

Lack of action. It’s easy to dream but the problem is, “Do you act for the fulfillment of your dreams?”

Lack of focus. Nowadays, there is too much destruction that hinders you to do what you are supposed to be doing. If you’d just focus, you’d discover that there are many things you could actually accomplish. The morning you wake up, what do you do first? Christians are expected to pray, read the Bible and reflect on the 
Word of God before anything else. The same routine is still applicable before sleeping. 

Finishing one thing at a time will help you to accomplish many things in the end. Nowadays, since you want to do many things, you don’t finish them all. You just start them.  

ACT NOW!


TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Up Next: The Time Is Now Part II

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Saturday, February 7, 2015

#Mindstep 8: OPTIMISM

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

I am writing this blog entry because nowadays I am having hard time coping up with the negative thoughts. It’s making me feel worthless so I want to speak about it so as to find ways to get out of this mindset—and be of help to others who might be experiencing the same thing.


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First, let’s inhale and exhale. Let’s inhale the positive and exhale the negative. Let’s keep doing it until we feel good deep inside.

I want to believe how we are raised up contributes on our becoming optimistic.

Yesterday I watched videos of terrorists teaching kids to kill so I concluded they might become violent, heartless when they grow up.

What we input in our mind affects us. Remember, no one would be thinking on our behalf—we just get influenced by others.

How do we develop optimism?

Since we are unique from each other, we look at life differently.
When it’s dark, we may see ghosts around when all along there’s no—or we may see light despite darkness.

Here are my suggestions on how we can develop optimism.

1. Find quiet time/meditation to find out the cause of our pessimism.

As a Christian, I believe pessimism is rooted from sin. Anything bad that we think about is given to us by satan. satan wants us to think and feel bad about ourselves. This bears bad fruit and so we get to share something bad to others.

Proverbs 28:13 states, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

It would be good to share our burdens/sins to anyone we trust. This will help us release what bad is deep inside us.

Galatians 6:2 shares, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

2. Seek God.

Matthew 6:33 reminds, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."

Everything we need like forgiveness of sin, blessings, etcera is from God so we must seek Him FIRST. He is the source of everything.

But sometimes we ask ourselves why do we feel far from God? It’s because of sin. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” God is a loving Father so He tells, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more(Jeremiah 31:34).”

How do we receive God’s forgiveness?

1 John 1:9 is telling us, ”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness.”

3. Surround ourselves with good, positive people.

One of our natural tendencies as a human being is we get easily influenced. That is why it is very important that we choose good people to be with us since they are one of the sources of our experience where we get our learning from.

Proverbs 13:20 warns, “He who walks with wise men will be wise. But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

4. LAUGH IT LOUD.

I remember, there was a time our school missionary pastor would always ask us to just laugh, laugh out loud. During our morning devotion, he would give us time to just laugh out loud. All we had to do was laugh.

Here are the benefits of laughing:

-Laughing lowers blood pressure.
-Reduces stress hormone levels.
-Fun ab workout.
-Improves cardiac health.
-Improves T cells.
-Triggers the release of endorphin.
-Produces a general sense of well-being.
source: http://life.gaiam.com/article/7-benefits-laughter

Proverbs 17:22 tells, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

5. REMEMBER: Optimism is a choice.

At the end of it all, the choice is ours if we are going to live in pessimism or optimism. When we choose pessimism, we also invite negative things in our lives. If we choose optimism, we are claiming God’s blessings and goodness.

“Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” –Psalm 37:4


The last life lesson I learned about optimism is that it directs us to a better life. When we keep thinking of bad thoughts, most probably bad thing will happen to us. So why don't we just think of good, beautiful thoughts so we experience God's great love.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY






Friday, February 6, 2015

#Mindstep 7: FORGIVENESS

Whenever I feel guilty of my mistakes, I always remind myself about the story in the Bible, John 8:1-11, but I realized I still can’t forgive myself. Most of the time, I still feel guilt deep inside.

John 8:1-11 tells about a woman caught in the act of adultery and according to the law of Moses, she must be stoned to death. But Jesus knew they were trying to trap him with what He would be saying so Jesus said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.”

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 Growing up, I thought I was always wrong since I would always tell myself, “I feel guilty so for sure I am doing something wrong, “ until I constantly developed guilt. I believed that’s right since people should always feel guilty for us not to do wrong. Now I think I had very poor self-concept.

Today I woke up feeling so tired, down and burdened. It’s a new day God gave me but I was feeling negative so I tried to contemplate on this matter. I tried to ask myself what’s keeping me feel like that.
         
I knew the answers but I just wondered why there’s heaviness in my heart and mind. I really wanted to cry but I couldn't. I wanted to release the negative feeling. I couldn't.

 I ended up watching the airstrikes vowed by the king of Jordan against ISIS(Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). I felt the love of King Abdullah to Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh when he emphasized that the shedding of the blood of the pilot will never be wasted and that Jordan will fight until her last drop of oil. That’s how I understood what I read. When I watched the brutal burning while the pilot was still alive, I had goose bumps thinking what kind of people could they be that they've lost their hearts.

When I think about the killing of the 44 soldiers by the terrorists here in the Philippines I ask myself what kind of world are we living in? If this world is chaotic and my heart also can’t find rest, how can I survive always feeling bad about myself? How will I feel good?

I tried to pause and think about my life.
           
I thought about the bad I’ve done. When I started to feel the tears running down from my eyes, I stopped myself by thinking of the good things I’ve done. “You’re not that bad,” I told myself, “FORGIVE YOURSELF.”
            
I’ve realized I always feel guilty because I don’t forgive myself when all along God has already forgiven me when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. God knew the nature of people. That we are all sinful. So He gave His only begotten son for us to be renewed. II Corinthians 5:17 reminds, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed, behold, the new has come.” I want to emphasize the word BEHOLD. I realized I always feel guilty because I don’t behold, I don’t claim God’s forgiveness.
            
If I would always feel guilty thinking of the bad I did in the past, how can I embrace the good things God wants me to experience in the days ahead? I am a teacher so what good things can I teach if I feel and think bad about myself?
            
For once, I asked God’s forgiveness. I prayed.
          
I wrote the good things I do, I did, I’ve done for me to appreciate my existence. I will share them not to boast myself but to make myself stop thinking I am worthless. I want to appease myself by thinking even if I work extra hard for my life, it’s God’s grace that’s giving me good life.
            
Here are the points I wrote:
        
1. I worked really hard to finish College. I had many sleepless nights just to make both ends meet when I was struggling financially. And it took me ten years to finish College.
            
2. Some of my students(foreign and local) trusted me their secrets, they take me as their good friend. Two of them are my best friends.
           
3. Some of my students are the hardest to teach but they stay with me as friends/best friends.
            
4. I work hard as a teacher.
          
5. I share the good news.           
            
I think God is just using my life so I want to let Him use my life for His glory. I may not be perfect but I remember before graduating from College, I even went to Korea just to find God’s purpose in my life--if He really wants me to be a teacher. I prayed hard just to find the answer. After two months of staying in there, God brought me back to the Philippines. Now I am the head teacher of our school. Sometimes, I feel I don’t deserve it but I know God has a purpose.
            
James 3:1 states, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."

            God has special plan for all who believe Jesus Christ. God doesn't want us to be burdened doing His will on us. He wants us to be happy and we have to claim it. He wants good life for us -->that’s His promise. God promised it so we must believe and claim all His wonderful promises.
       
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

         
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. --I John 1:9
         
And we know that in all things God works for good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 
                                                                                --Romans 8:28
       
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
                                                                                 -- I Peter 5:7
   
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.                                  --Isaiah 41:10
      
John 11:25-26: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?

 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

 

 

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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Mindstep Six: Focus Part 3

Mindstep Six: Focus Part 3

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What hinders us to focus?

Nowdays, there are too many destructions around us. Here's my list of the things that destruct us:
        1. Internet
        2.  TV
        3. Games
        4. Relationships
        5. Friends
        6. Vices
        7. Attitude
        8. Problems/Challenges

Everyone experiences troubles, challenges, problems and anything bad. I believe, getting destructed has something to do with one's perception. This perception is built in him/her by his/her past. Ability to focus is courageousness. It takes a fantastic mind to be focused. 

Someone could be in a peaceful situation and yet he/she feels troubled. Someone could be in tumultuous trouble and yet he/she feels peace deep inside.

Our mind is a battlefield. Our perception about life shrinks or expands depending on how we look at life, on how we battle with the thoughts on our mind.

The Bible, on Mark 4:35-42, narrates:
(photo source: http://lightwork.typepad.com/lightwork/2014/06/waiting-into-the-deep-end-part-1-of-2.html)

That day when evening came, He(Jesus) said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

     He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
 (photo source: http://copiosa.org/church/barque_peter.htm)

     He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other. "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him."

This Bible story reminds us that when we are experiencing difficulties and trials, we should not look at them. Rather, we should think of God who could calm the storm, the wind and the waves. If we think of God, we could focus on the things that we have to do.

In anything we think of, we think about-- we have a choice. It is up to us what product of our thinking would be. There's no other people on earth could make us think what we would like to think. Because our mind is our mind.
     
The crime suspects who are tortured are sometimes asked to admit a crime they didn't commit. The battle between survival and death, pain and self-worth, cowardice and courage are at stake. Still, it is up to them if they would admit it, even if they really didn't do it. 
(photo source: http://www.bombshock.com/brainwashing)


The people who join TV game shows are put in a difficult deciding point wherein both options are making them stand on a risky situation. Still, in the end they decide for themselves.
(photo source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/who-wants-millionaire-facts-quiz-3094846)

What do we do when we are destructed?

We simply close our eyes and think of the things we need to do. That is where the need for a planner takes in. If your plan is at your hand, you could check out the things need to be done. We get out of focus when we get relaxed because of lack of mental image/s that needs settlement. 

In my case--as a teacher-- here are the things that I have to be focused on:

1. Daily lesson plan
2. Daily execution of lesson plan
3. Classroom management
4. Students' behavior
5. Students' progress
6. Quizzes
7. Exams
8. Parents' concerns

This is just what I think as a teacher. Here are my other concerns: being the head teacher, blogger, networker, evening ESL teacher and my future business endeavors about: 
The BELL Experience (http://thebellexperience.tripod.com/home.html), the books I am trying to finish and my personal concerns are actually complicated to think about each day. Well, I have to be focused. I admit, many times I am stressed and my mind has no other option but to visit social networking sites for relief. I still have many friends to mind about.

This is multi-tasking. I am working hard so someday, I can focus only on one concern. Let's say as a CEO of my company. But it will take time. As of now, there's no other choice but to learn more things about life.

I have to learn to focus thinking about many concerns.

Planning is essential. Making a schedule is another.

In another educational institution where I teach at night, I admire our students for coping up with the schedule.

Here's their schedule.

6:00 am            - breakfast
7.50 a.m.          - start of classes
12:00 pm          - lunch
1:00pm             -start of afternoon sessions
5:00 pm            - end of classes
5:00 pm            - dinner
5:50 pm            - start of evening classes
9:00 pm            - end of evening classes
***Some students are asked to memorize vocabulary words after evening classes.

This is my daily schedule:

5:00 am                      - alarm
5:30                            - personal devotion
6:00                            - personal matters
7:00                            - school faculty devotion
7:30                            - school flag ceremony
7:45-8:30                    - Homeroom/Values with Grade 9
8:30-9:20                    - English, Grade 1
9:30-10:30                  - Chemistry, Grade 9
10:40-11:40                - Biology, Grade 8
11:40-12:40pm           - Physics, 4th Year
12:40-1:40                  - General Science, Grade 7
2:00-3:00                    - one on one tutorial

Nowadays, we have extended 1 hour classes due to suspended classes because of typhoons, that's additional one hour job. Every Monday and Friday we have Faculty meeting. Monday to Thursday, I have to teach English/TOEIC in a language school--about 30 minutes away from our school-- from 6:00pm up to 9pm. I arrive home at 10 or 10.30 pm. 

How do I manage to focus?

I actually still feel I am not that focused because I sometimes tend to forget some things need to be done but basically, I can comply with what is expected of me.


From time to time, on a paper, I make an inverted triangle and draw lines inside it depending on the number of concerns I have for a day, a week or a month. I mean, I have an inverted triangle for the day's activities, weekly activities and monthly activities. Yearly activity planning is something I do every December.

I write my concerns inside the inverted triangle depending on their importance or urgency.

There is a debate between multi-tasking and focusing. Some people say, we cannot focus while doing many tasks. For me, we cannot perform different tasks at once but I believe we can do different tasks if we prioritize what needs to be done first depending on their urgency and importance. 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will be established.                                                     Proverbs 16:3

Up Next:

Mindstep Seven: FORGIVENESS

To God Be The Glory