i am glad He allowed me to do the work!

October 25th 2010

Minggu lalu, aku sungguh berasa overwhelmed! - dgn begitu banyak hal yg aku harus kerjakan, juga secara emosi!- Ingin rasanya aku mundur dari segala sesuatu dan menjadi begitu egois.. "i want to do things for myself" - which actually gak salah juga, sekali2 kita butuh waktu untuk diri sendiri = "memanjakan" diri. Btw, dalam kamusku "memanjakan diri" berarti beristirahat, dan tidak melakukan apa2 on weekend *coz there is no way bisa do nothing on normal weekdayz*. Yg padahal adalah hal yg wajar2 aja, karena toh emang kita butuh istirahat!

Alarm -"cape"meter- ku itu sudah rusak dari bertahun2 yg lalu - aku tidak pernah sadar aku cape- sampe2 aku bisa nangis - or freak out - or demand everybody's attention over small things! ; itu berarti Erlyn sedang cape dan butuh istirahat! Aku baru sadar karena weekend kmrn itu aku merepotkan begitu banyak orang hanya to help me decide what dress I should wear to my friends' weddings! (yes, with s, i got 3 weddings last Sat). - itu hari Jumat- dan berlanjut Sabtu pagi, aku jadi "mengeluh" dan mempertanyakan banyak hal, "why me?!" "why should I do this?!" "I don't think I can do this!" "It's too much!" "I want to quit!" dan jadi berujung2, started to worry about other tasks and responsibilities yg masi menantiku, en "NOOOOOO~~~!!!"

Dan bersyukur tuk temanku yg meluruskan "otak"ku sedikit, she reminded me devotional we both read the previous day *ooh, how God has prepared me to face that day!* just DO THE WORK!

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1 Chronicles 28:20 "Be strong and courageous and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."

Whenever I started to get discouraged or overwhelmed by the hugeness of the task, I reminded myself: Do the work—three little words that got me through one of the biggest challenges of my life. Perhaps you need to hear those three little words today.

Make no mistake: sometimes the work will be hard. Note that our verse today didn't say "Lay around and hope things get better." The challenge we face is not in focusing on how hard the work is, but in seeking the God who has promised to show up as we work. We offer our best efforts and trust that He will multiply them. We will see Him supply the words, the resources, the energy, the time, the patience, the grace we need. But first we must do the work. Just like the priests had to first step into the water before the Jordan could part in Joshua 3:15-16, so we must begin working before we can see the solution appear.

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(From Proverbs 31 Ministries' Devotional by Marybeth Whalen "Do The Work")

I was about to change my facebook's status to be "I am officially exhausted and burnt out" that morning, and I was glad I didn't! 'coz last Saturday turned out to be "I love what I am doing" day.. dan aku melihat bahwa tidak hanya aku suka apa yg aku kerjakan *dan aku sangat bersyukur aku mengerjakannya*, tapi He was the source of my strength. Oh yeah, aku tidak dalam keadaan 100% fit to be honest with you, tapi aku sungguh merasakan betapa He supplied the words, the resources, the energy, the time, the patience, the grace I needed that day~ So, really.. it's not because of me..! Not so I can boast about my abilities, but so I can boast in Him. It's Him who is faithful to His words that all I need to do is DO THE WORK, and let Him take care of other things!

That day, I was really thankful kalo aku luar biasa cape, yet I kept doing the work, coz He reminded me once again.. a prayer I once prayed to Him 3 years ago *i had it on my blog* :

Lord, help me to remember it’s not by my power, nor by my might, but by Your spirit that I accomplish anything worthwhile.

how we need His touch!

From Crosswalk Women: Five Areas of Woman's Life that Need God's Touch by Cindi McMenamin

My heart was convicted as I read in Scripture of a woman who was so desperate for God's healing in her life, she was willing to do anything to just touch Him (Mark 5:24-34).

I had to ask myself, how desperate am I for God's touch on my life? There are times I might be desperate to feel and look younger, to be thinner, to have more in the way of peace and happiness. But how desperate am I to be whole and complete in every way?

After surveying nearly 100 women, I found several common areas in which women, myself included, need the touch of God to be whole and complete. I also found that Scripture addresses these areas of a woman's life so that we can receive His healing touch. See if you can relate to needing God's touch in these areas of your life, as well:

1. Our Hearts - So They Can Be "Set On Things Above"
Women often stress over the temporal - bills that must be paid, whether or not a man will come into our lives, if we'll be able to have a child, what someone is saying about us, how our body looks, and so on. At times we are more concerned about what the scales say than what God says. Our heart is closely attuned to our bank balance, rather than our life's balance.

Yet God instructs us in Colossians 3:1-2: "set your hearts on things above." If our priorities were in heaven, not on this earth, we would not only be happier and healthier, but less financially drained and emotionally spent. Matthew 6:19-21 tells us not to "store up treasures here on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven ....For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It takes God's touch to clear our hearts of what this world says is important and focus it on the things above.

2. Our Minds - So They Are Transformed and Renewed
It's amazing how many women profess to know God and follow Him, yet their thinking patterns are just like those of anyone else in the world. Scripture commands us: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is" (Romans 12:2, NLT).

Furthermore, God's Word instructs: "fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise...and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8-9, NLT). What mental anguish we would spare ourselves from if we would let God transform our mind and renew our thoughts to think as He would.

3. Our Mouths - To Be Wholesome and Pleasing to God
Because women tend to be communicators, we can cause much damage with our mouths if we do not bring them under God's control. Whether it is gossip, criticism or unkind remarks, our mouths can be instruments of righteousness or unrighteousness. In Ephesians 4:29 we are told to "not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." God's touch on our lives can make us women whose words heal and encourage, rather than distract and destroy.

4. Our Bodies - To Be Pure and Holy for Him
Are you one to worry and stress about what the scale says, how many calories you took in, and whether or not you can still fit into a certain size? God's command to us is "Give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?" (Romans 12:1, NLT). It is important that we keep our bodies healthy and in good shape (as we are His temple), but God says our most prevalent concern should be that we keep our bodies holy. In fact, God calls keeping our bodies holy our "spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1, NIV).

One of the ways we can keep our bodies holy is by how we choose to dress. People can tell much about us, and whom we love, by how we dress. Do we call attention to ourselves or the God who made us? If the way we dress says "Look at me!" we may want to rethink how we dress so that others can see Christ through us. Can others see Christ in you or are you getting in the way?

5. Our Emotions - To Be Calmed with the Peace of God
There are days when, hormonally or just circumstantially, we need God's touch to calm our frazzled emotions and level out our lives. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Don't' worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and request to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel" (CEV). A woman who is controlled by God's peace is not on the edge, but in the spacious place of His embrace.

I believe if we seek God's touch in those five areas of our lives we would rarely have reason to feel we are going over the edge. For instance, when you get frustrated in a relationship, go back to the principle of letting God transform and renew your mind to only think on whatever is pure, right, lovely, good, and so on. And when you are about to lose it over finances or something that takes you by surprise, remember to not be anxious about anything, but to pray about everything...keeping a heart of thanksgiving for what you've been given. And when your heart begins to desire something that you cannot attain, remember to set your heart on things above.

first thing first

June 21st 2010

Really thought that it was just a normal Monday blues.
*Pusing dan ngantuk sepanjang pagi…. Menguap2 tak berhenti, sampe pak sopir bertanya, ‘abis nonton bola, ce?’ …*

Pagi ini, bangun dengan berharap badanku sudah dalam keadaan PENUH dan siap beraktifitas.
Kenyataannya malah body-ku berteriak, “Lyn, don’t u realize that u even haven’t had me fully recharged for several days? How could u expect me to be in total stamina?”
* Oh yeah, I know! I know!!! Really sorry, my body! >.< * It shouted, "I AM OFFICIALLY EXHAUSTED!!!” Tau dari mana? Kepala pening yg tidak kunjung hilang, ngomong yg mulai ngaco dari sejak beberapa hari lalu dan mudahnya aku upset over small things..yg sedikit lagi disenggol, pasti akan nangis! *huhuhu, this exhaustion really affected my emotion too* Kalo ibarat batterei bb, dari mulai lampu kuning..udah jadi lampu merah.. SOS… bentar lagi mati sama sekali … (matinya berarti sakit though!) * yup, aku sudah disambut oleh tamu flu dan panas dalam pagi ini * Kalau menurut artikel yg aku baca, ------------------------------------------------------------------------- When we're exhausted, we have spent not only our strength, but also we've used up our energy reserves. Instead of making a small withdrawal, we have emptied the whole bank account. When we are exhausted, there is no more energy to take action or even think about what we want to do. We are fully worn out, used up, and all our energy has been consumed. It takes longer to regenerate our energy than it would have if we had taken a break when we were at the tired stage. Our body has employed a great amount of adrenaline to sustain us with our reserve energy. To regenerate now means that we will probably experience a cortisone drop, which is a state of feeling uninspired, sleepy, having difficulty waking up, and very low energy. Depending upon how far we have pushed ourselves, this state can last for days, weeks, and even months. When we are exhausted, we have gone to the extreme: we have used our energy to focus and work beyond our normal limits and we experience an equal and opposite reaction with an inability to focus and extreme mental, emotional, and physical tiredness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *hopefully, I haven’t gone that far >.<* Ignoring teriakan body’ku, I forced to plan this week’s agenda. And yeah ternyata, there are so many things need to be worked out, worked on, let go, given up, thought over, started over THIS WEEK! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa… >.< And I was like… “Ok, ok! Kalem kalem… First thing first..Lyn!” Other part of me whispered ……. “Take care of me first, and I guarantee the rest will be fine..” *the place where only can be satisfied by Dating with Him.* I realized.. how I had let my super crazy busy days…drained me to the core…that I only gave Him my left over' time.. Yet, I did have time to do other things, boo me lah! T_T I am sure, that’s the very first thing need to be worked on this week! Aku bilang, “Lord, I feel miserable!!!!” “Kenapa semuanya serasa gak beres? Kenapa semua orang sepertinya menjengkelkan dan mengecewakan….? Aku perlu kerjain ini, perlu kerjain itu. Kenapa kok aku upset banget hanya karena hal ini??? Pengen istirahaaaaaaaaaaaaat” “Erlyn, Erlyn," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed (right now), choose what is better –come to Me, spend time with Me-, and it will not be taken away from you.” *Luke 10:41-42* Jadi ingat, minggu kemarin, malam2…setelah lelah beraktifitas seharian… setelah aku curhat ke dede-ku dan bilang, “Riez, cici sedih-cape dan pengen pergi!!!” *oh yeah, aku sudah lelah berminggu-minggu… * Tidak lama, setelah Rieza meninggalkanku sendirian…as I cried, I opened my Bible, it was Psalm 62 : Find rest, O my soul, in God alone! Sebenarnya, it was pretty clear yeah from last week, that what I really needed was to find rest only in Him! Yet…I forced myself to attain my “super full activity” the whole last week… and let myself to be drained even more! And bang! >.<
Then today…I was extremely exhausted and miserable….and experienced things I read several days ago during my quite time:

We should desire to be in God's presence so much that we let nothing get in our way. And the more we get to know God, the more miserable we will be when we don't spend time with Him. We will feel like the psalmist when he says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Yet, sometimes, we let the busyness of life get in the way of our pursuit of God. Instead of longing to spend time with Him, we give Him whatever time we have left over after we've taken care of our jobs, our families and our church responsibilities. God wants us to long to spend time with Him, to seek Him out. He wants nothing - not our families, our friends or our activities - to stand in the way of us growing closer to Him.

Yeah, I may still got a super full agenda this week, but first thing first!
Seek Ye first, for The Sovereign LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights. Habakkuk 3:19 - and -
REST in Him alone, as the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2

Have a blessed week and be recharged!!!!! :D :D

stay healthy, with all I am!

Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Let's make it clean and healthy!!

Physical training......

(Fuel your machine with good carbs, protein, fat in the morning,
Have dairy daily,
Support ‘Go Green’ campaign, and even better Go Red, Go Orange, Go Purple –veggies- as many colors as possible *it works for fruits too*,
Lean on lean meat and go nuts with nuts,
Vibe your body with fiber,
Be aware of -sweets and oily- temptations,
Put on your running shoes, turn on the music, and move along with it,
Know when to stop –to eat- and –to exercise,too- ,
Take a quality rest.)

.....is good. 1 Timothy 4:8a

Above all, make it clean by purifying its heart and mind.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Healthy body, oh yeah, that’s one of the goals! But it should go along with the healthy heart and mind, the pure ones.
“The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b

Train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8

So, make sure to have the most nutritious things on your healthy lifestyle:
Train yourself to pray.
*Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17*
Meditate on His delicious Words daily.
*Oh, the joys of those who delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. Psalm 1:1-2*
Lean on Him in everything.
*Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6*
Vibe your voice to worship.
*I will praise You as long as I live. Psalm 63:4a*
Beware of temptations.
*Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8*
Put on your serving shoes, bring the love of God, and share it.
*So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:20a*
Take time to be still, and stay in silence.
*Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10*
Rest in Him.
*Find rest, O my soul, in Christ alone. Psalm 62:5*

Stay healthy!!!!! :D

For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:20

"Into Your Hand, I commit again, with all I am for You Lord...You're the reason that I live..with all I am"
-with all I am, 'Hillsongs'-

honor God with ur body!

May 14th 2010

Take care of yourself!! (it's an ouucch for me >.<)

The Proverbs 31 woman certainly did. "She is energetic. Her own clothing is beautifully made--a purple gown of pure linen. She is a woman of strength and dignity and has no fear of old age." (Proverbs 31:17; 22; 25)

Families are hard work. In order to make our family relationships (and other relationships too, i believe) replenishing, we must be replenished.
Psalm 46:10 instructs us to "be still and know that I am God." Let's apply this verse specifically.

Be still, MY MUSCLES, and know God's RELAXATION.

Be still, MY NERVES, and know God's REST.

Be still, MY HEART, and know God's QUIETNESS.

Be still, MY BODY, and know God's RENEWAL.

Be still, MY MIND, and know God's PEACE.

In order to be all that we can be to our families (our societies, friends...), we must be all that we can be mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. We must be balanced. The Proverbs 31 woman was energetic and hard working for the tasks she was gifted and called to do. Proverbs 31:25 tells us this woman could laugh "at the days to come." The picture here is of a woman who enjoyed her life.She worked hard, but she knew how to stop and plant a vineyard. She liked to shop and watched for bargains. She liked to look beautiful, dressing in purple fine linen.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."

We cannot give our heart to God and keep our body for ourselves. When you take care of yourself, you are honoring God and loving your family.

Source: Girlfriends in God by Mary Southerland.

Do u need to 'fix' ur body? * I really do!!!! * :$ Let's 'fix' it and honor Him with our body. It's not ours.