In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea.
He lived in a country known as the barren land. High on a plateau far from any coast, it was a place so dry and dusty that it could only be called a desert. A kind of coarse grass grew in patches here and there, and a few trees were scattered across the horizon. But mostly, it was dust. And sometime wind, which together make one very thirsty. Of course, it must seem strange to you that such a beautiful creature should wind up in a desert at all. He was, mind you, a sea lion. But things like this do happen.
How the sea lion came to the barren land, no one could remember. It all seemed so very long ago. So ling, in fact, it appeared as though it had always been there, not that he belonged in such an arid place. How could it be? He was, after all, a sea lion. But as you know, once you have lived so long in a certain spot, no matter how odd, you come to think of it as home..
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
And another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the women fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they would feed her there one thousands two hundred and sixty days.
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels ought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, have great wrath, be he knows that he has a short time.”
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might case her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
“The day when Christ was born, was not a (believed) silent and peaceful night.. The birth of Christ does not bring us (believed) peace, instead it brings us to war.. Being a Christian is not for the soft hearted, but for the strong, are you really ready for it?”
"Boredom's doldrums" were unavoidable,yet also a primordial soup for some of life's quintessentially human moments.. A long drive home after a frustrating day could force ruminations. A pang of homesickness at the start of a plane ride might put a journey in perspective.
"Increasingly, these empty moments are being saturated with productivity, communication and the digital distractions offered by an ever-expanding array of slick mobile devices..
"But are we too busy twirling through the songs on our iPods - while checking email, while changing lanes on the highway - to consider whether we are giving up a good thing? We are most human when we fell dull. Lolling around in a state of restlessness is one of life's greatest luxuries - one not available to creatures that spend all theis time pursuing mere survival.
"To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one. It is in these times of reflection that people often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works. Granted, many people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing.
"But is accomplishment really the point of life? There is a strong argument that boredom - so often parodied as a glassy-eyed drooling state of nothingness - is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science and even love."
Today is Tuesday. Which somehow, happens to be the enlistment day of the new intake. Somehow, I happen to be on duty as one of the ushers. And somehow, I happen to be assigned at the junction to direct the visitors to the exits and sadly, the enlistees to the mustering point.
It’s a ‘nostalgic’ place to be, watching the parents parting with their son and ladies with their loved one.
One last: "instruction, blessing, tears, hugs, kisses, ‘remember to call home’ and ‘I will miss you..’”
Somehow, things which I had always brushed off, actually make me ponder. .
“Some feelings are like wine, gives it some time to age, and the true aroma sets in.”
6Then said I [Jeremiah]: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I CANNOT speak, for I am a YOUTH.”
7But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have PUT My words in your mouth.
10See, I HAVE this day SET you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”
Many times in life, we tend to think in the same way as Jeremiah did. We think of how small we are and little of what we can do in life, due to our age and our inexperience. We do not dare to venture into the unknown, reaching to our passion and dreams, or even the calling of God. Ended up, we remained in where we always were, regretting the many decision which we never did, due to our insecurity.
Reflecting back, how many of your New Year resolutions and dreams were realized? Sadly for me, I can’t even recall which are those that I made. SPAT!!
Fortunately God does not think in the same way as we did! Instead, He thinks that we can achieve far greater things in life! For He has called us to be the salt and light of the earth, just like how He had called Jeremiah to be His prophet.
Matthew 5:13-16
13"YOU ARE the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"YOU ARE the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
We are called to bring flavor to the earth, by changing the atmosphere of the world, and to bring light into the world, by excelling in the things that we do. Which includes, steeping into the unknown, chasing your passion, awakening your dreams and answering the calling of God!
In this new year , start throwing away your old self and believe that you CAN!
I CAN do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
*this is not a red-bull advertisement **drinking red-bull may not allow you to fly
