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Just keep moving! It is a very motivating sentence that will definitely cause our feet to rise, move and go. When life beats down on me and I get to the place where I really want to hide in a cave of safety, I observe that God usually places people around me who could surely prod me into moving in the right direction. I have learned tha God never wants me to remain in the place of despair and discouragement and He never please to see me keep myself in the stonghold of safety.

I remember what God had said to David when he was trying to flee from Saul.
“Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah”… - 1 Samuel 22:5 . In the story,
David and his company tried to hide in the cave of Adullam. David was content to stay in the safe cave. Then, God’s prophet came to David and told him that he must leave the stronghold of a safe cave and go into the land of Judah. There we are, God wants us to move into the land of Judah which means “praise. He wanted us to move from the land of discouragement to the land of “praise”.

All through my life from childhood until now that I am already a growing adult I used to go through a very difficult time. I seemed to drag on and on with no change until finally I wanted to retreat to a cave and forget to press on. It was a great time of discouragement. Then gentle voice told me “You must keep moving! There are too many around you who are looking at you and they felt being inspired of the joy and strength that exude out of you.” I didn’t totally understand what the voice was actually telling me at the time.

Eventually, I had realized that God intends to prepare each of us to be the vessel He wants to use in the life of another person, but we will never be that kind of vessel if we give up and hide in our cave of discouragement. God does not only require us to keep moving but we must move into a new realm. We must have the attitude that will make us move from discouragement to praise. We will surely begin living above our problems when we are able to move past discouragement to praise. Make a decision today to go into the land of Judah. Praise the Lord and just keep moving.

Can you believe the belief of the people who had been successful because of failures? You may hear them say that failing is not actually a failure per se but it does mean success. They will persuasively recommends that you just keep going with your business even when you are already at the brink of bankruptcy. Keep venturing because failing is just a normanl thing in every aspirant. Well, I myself join them with this advocate. A passage in the Bible will support this matter:

All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader…. - 1 Samuel 22:2

Many times I have heard teachings that will tell us that God uses broken things to accomplish His greatest work not only in a single person’s life but in many people’s lives. If we know the story of David, we will believe this news. When David was anointed to be the next king, he was only a boy, the youngest among all his brothers who could only do little things. Little did he know that the next several years would be years of fleeing from Saul. King Saul was then having an obsessions as a leader who had fallen from God’s anointing. The King’s obsession had caused anger towards David which had made the latter to live like a fugitive. David was the next king and he could be thinking that he must not flee from Saul. Yet, David’s life was filled with adversity after adversity before he ever fulfilled the ultimate calling God had for him- to be the next king of Israel. Others began to hear of David’s successes and identify with his plight. Who you think would be joining him? Surprisingly, it was “those who were in distress or in debt or discontented” who would be part of his army! His army would become known throughout the world as the greatest ever assembled, not because of their skill, but because of the God behind the army. God turned David’s men into “mighty men of valor” (see 1 Chron. 11:10). What an irony! The discontented had been turned into being a mighty men of valor!

We must learn that God often uses failure to make us useful. When Jesus called the disciples, He did not go out and find the most qualified and successful people. He actually had found the most willing, and He found them in the workplace. He found a fisherman, a tax collector, and a farmer.

Failure is definitely a part of maturing in God. We need to understand that failing does not make us failures. It makes us experienced. It makes us more prepared to be useful in God’s Kingdom — if we have learned from it. And that is the most important ingredient for what God wants in His children. What a great iropny?! Failure will eventually lead us to success.

Have you tried living in the dessert? This might be a question that you do not want to give an outright answer. It may seem that you are actually experiencing a life in the dessert but you could not accept that fact. So, You would rather not answer it. You want to deny but deep inside you feel that you are really in the dessert. Sometimes, thinking that you are in such situation will pose a query about your faith in God. So, you may answer an indefinite reply.

Well, It is not abnormal to pass through the dessert. In reality, we really cannot avoid going through such path because we are not that absolutely obedient to what the Designer of Life is asking us to do in every step of the way. I, myself, have been in the dessert for a year now.
I might even describe myself as roaming around the dessert aimlessly. In such place, I find my dreams are dead and the seems to be nothing left in the world to live for. Everything seems to be against me. Note: Not everyone seems against me. All my resources seem to dry up. At first, I felt that I was physically weak. Such physical feebleness gradually weakens everything within me including my soul. My mind? Almost, I lost sanity. Yes, peace of mind had almost gone. I kept asking the Lord of the things I made that had wronged Him and displeased Him in the past. I even protested to the Lord: “I had sacrificially obeyed you and followed you in the aspect of emotion( a part of a person that is so hard to trade in with faith). How come that you allowed me to be in this place?
Life in the dessert seemed to be lifeless. The good news is that God will not allow me to stay in the dessert for life. The good thing that happens with me while in the dessert is to learn this lesson and truth. Being in the dessert is just a season. God is not pleased to let me live there for another year or two. The Good Lord will definitely take me out of this dessert very soon. Well, I did not totally lose my sanity. I still have a sound mind considering that I still acknowledge that God is showing me something for me to get to a better place that he had pleasurably prepared. I know that in times like being in the dessert, God is doing His deepest behind-the-scenes work. During these times, God is performing a deeper work in me — a work that I cannot see with my naked eyes. In these times, I have learned that I can be willing to listen more intently and seek God in ways I would not normally do. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” I believe that God has been orchestrating something for the fulfillment of His ultimate purpose in my life.
Has God taken you into the desert? You may realize that He is forcing you to depend wholly on His provision? Pray that you will learn the lessons God desires you to learn in the desert place. I have been learning. I am sure that He will bring you out when He has accomplished all He wants to build in your life. Remember that it is a season; you will not be there forever. He understands that no one can stay in a desolate place forever.

Nicole Kidman: A Surrogate mother who had just held her second child through a surrogacy system. The report has been filling a lot of websites particularly the news sites. THe well known couple Mr. Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman Urban are now celebrating the joy of having another child.

Anyway, do we really know what does surrogacy mean? Surrogacy is an arrangement between parties where the woman agrees to become pregnant and deliver her child for another couple or individual. Usually, it is called an agreement and practically done with corresponding fee. It is one of various available forms of the so-called assisted reproductive technologies or ARTS in short term. It has been developed to meet the need of increasing incidents of individuals or couples who find themselves unable to bear a child by their own. Its demand is created by a diagnosis that the female is infertile even though it is not necessary that a woman is infertile to be able to employ such service.

Nicole Kidman: A surrogate mother is actually very happy to own a child through this way. The couple Urban are well-determined to love the child just as they love thier first child. The singer, producer and actress Kidman feel blessed and warmly welcomed the new member of their family.

It is also good news that God can possibly bless a woman’s womb whose heart and life have been totally yielded to Him and cause it to bear a child, if she wishes to. Nothing is impossible unto Him who makes miracles before and even today and forever.

Call of God: What does it mean? This is one of the issues that many scholars could hardly explain to many people. We see a lot of successful professionals in the secular world who preferred to respond to the call of God and left their high status in the society. Many questioned them for such preference. Some understood and joined them in trusting God to make them succeed even when they are already doing things that God had assigned them to do for His purpose. I just want to share some ideas about the Call of God for I myself had also encountered a lot of things before responding to His call in my lie. I have been working with a white collar job for eleven years and it had been taken me so long to trust the call of God then. In my days off, I tried to do some work in His vineyard but it was not enough because I had more days spent in my secular job than in my work even if I considered that such job was also given by God where I could also fulfill His call to my life. However, it is still a different thing to be in a place where I am not disturbed by anything in serving Him. When I was in my secular job, I could hardly attend to many seminars and workshop I wished I could attend to because my priority then was my performance in the workplace. I came to the point that I really deeply longed to go to the ministerial field even weekdays. At the same time, I was then asking God for a special gift- a child. Thus, the need for me to resign form my work came to pass.

The call of God has been working in me even when I was still in the secular workplace. He used my job as a testing ground and a stair for personal and spiritual growth. One thing I had learned about the call of God was that I should have an idea about the nature of the One who is calling. Many calls everyday. Some calls are being answered while others will not even be heard. So, we must have the nature of Him who has been calling. The Call is an expression of the nature of the One who calls and it can only be recognized by the person who has the same nature in him or her.

Call of God is actually the nature of God and not ours. Thus, the deals on the call must be exclusively between God and the person. It is not a reflection of our nature which further means that our desires and temperament are of no consideration. To hear the call, we must sincerely have a right relationship with our God. We must also remember that when God places us in a place where the call is being revealed, we will be profoundly changed.

Raising a smart kid is already hard. How much more in raising up a smarter one? The society believes that the smarter a child is, the brighter future he can have. Well, here are some tips for parents to raise a smarter kid:

Give your kid an adequate social interaction and playtime. Kids are generally known to be so fond of playing and interacting with their fellow kids and sometimes with adults. In this way, they will be able to develop their leadership skill and enhance their emotional intelligence which both help them grow more smartly.

ALways bring them to a loving and supportive atmosphere. Such atmosphere will help kids to boost a positive attitude such as the feeling and thought that they are always safe and they can always be whatever they want to be.

Next tip is surprising to majority of mothers and fathers. Encourage your kid to watch TV less. whether it be on your TV screen or laptop, you are encouraged to let your kid stay watching long. The entertainment and effective learning that watching can give are significant but it is not so effective to help develop your kid’s verbal skills such as the right way to respond socially.

Lastly, I would like to share that giving your kid the right diet with the right milk supplement and formulated vitamins will also help you raise a smarter kid. Of course, we are very much concern with the development of our kid’s brain. Thus, brain development is to be considered aside from the physical activities and right manner.

For us to have peace and fun in raising smarter kids, let us also count the importance of raising them up with the Word of God and entrusting them to the One who keep eyes on them everyday second of every day - Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is the song of the season for christians who have been seriously trying to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Obeying the Lord is the greatest occupation. It is a timeless profession. On the other hand, it is not the easiest thing to do. Anyway, I believe that you will enjoy listening to the music and fervently meditate on the Lord Jesus our Savior while listening.

Here is another dose of vitamins for a healthy soul, spirit and body. I believe that every body is very much concern about security of all sorts. Security in relationship, career, status and others. I, for one, have been occupied of worries about many aspects of my life such as those that I have just mentioned. Fortunately, I never stop searching and reading especially the books authored by Oswald Chambers and John Maxwell.

Something that I have taken into mind is the notes regarding security from yesterday. Every year-end, I do feel so excited about what God has in the store again for me this year. Of course, I expect blessing from blessing. However, I also feel anxious every time I remember my yesterday. My past sins and mistakes tend to lessen my enjoyment of living today. It is but a good thing to learn that God is God of yesterday where He simply let me be reminded of memories to make use of them as an instrument for my growth, particularly in the spiritual aspect, for the future.
Second note is the Security for Tomorrow. Another note about security is the fact that the Lord has promised that He will always go before me. What a great revelation for me to hold through the year! God will keep watch over me that I may not be tripped up with the same failures. God’s hands are also ready to reach back to my past to settle my claims against my conscience.
Last note is about the Security for Today wherein I am reminded not to go in haste in everything I do and want to do. Indeed, God is God of yesterday, today and tomorrow. I should not be confined to the pain and frustration of the past but I will surely let my past rest in the sweet embrace of Jesus Christ. I shall not also be in a hurry to get what I want today for I believe tha.

There are various ideas on worship that are available around the internet and book stores. One thing is very amazing where God Himself can give us a great idea on worship when we seek a wisdom about it. Another great important truth is that we are so grateful to have the gentle voice of God giving us the idea of worship, not just the idea on worship. We actually need to have the such idea that everyday we are going to worship our Creator and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We should learn that worship is giving God the best that He has given us. In this sense, we are required to give an extra care of everything that He has given us. We are also asked to give back to Him as a love-gift whatever blessing that He has bestowed upon us no matter how significant that blessing would be to you. We should never ever hoard anything that comes from Him for if we do, the blessing will just turn into a spiritual dry rot as the manna did in the Old Testament. Try to see in the book of Exodus chapter 16. Things we should take note from Genesis 12:8 such as the terms Bethel, Ai and pitching his tent can help us obtain more ideas on worship that will lead to a deeper sense of Worship. In this verse, Bethel is a the symbol of fellowship with God and Ai is the symbol of the world where Abram pitched his tent between the two places so that he would have a quiet time with the Lord. Quiet time is another term that we have to take note when we consider worshiping our God. We need to draw ourselves away from the noisy world. Indeed, the unfading value of our public service for God is measured by the intimacy of our private times of having a fellowship with our God. So, we really have to pitch our tents just like what Abram did to get near to God in quiet time. The last point that we should take note is the fact that the idea of worship takes discipline on our part. We need to keep practicing it everyday until it will become a system in our lives.

Catch the great idea of worshiping Jesus Christ and you will surely live life to the fullest. Only Christ can give us the peace that surpasses understanding so have time to worship Him and obtain this peace that the world can never offer.

Time and again, we have reached another new year. A whole year to enjoy the gift of life wherein we do experience a variety of things such as exciting surprises, burdensome problems, laughter , sorrows, victories, frustrations and a lot lot more. As I met the year 2011, I asked the Lord to give me a message which I would carry within the whole year. It is about giving out my utmost for God’s highest. It is doing my best for His glory.

God had led me to the book of Philippians Chapter 1 verses 20 and 21. “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

I have learned that I have to really surrender to Jesus all areas that He has been asking me to yield to Him. In this way, there is nothing to be ashamed of. God is calling me to be determined to be at my utmost for His highest in all aspects of my life. Giving the best for His glory actually means surrendering the will and that I should obey Him not by reasoning but by will. Just like Paul in the New Testament who had been so determined that nothing would have stopped him from doing exactly what God wanted him to do. In the other hand, I was also awaken that sometimes I am putting myself into place that seemed to be a crisis in my life. By then, God is developing in me a deeper sense of Himself until I get more selfless so nothing and no one can hinder me to give my best for His glory alone. Finally, my eyes have been opened to the fact that whenever it is taking me so difficult to surrender my all in all to Him, I will just look at what God had done to me at the Cross. Then, I can do nothing but surrender all to Him.

I have no means to be able to give the best gift materially to my loved ones including my readers. All I have is the best gift that cannot be bought by any amount of money. It is something about the Lord Jesus Christ. Actually, it is Jesus Christ Himself that I really want to share to everyone. Something about Jesus Christ has to be learned by all human for He is the most controversial not only these days but even in the history. His birth was also a subject of controversy during that moment when He was born as we can read in the Bible that He was being spied by king Herod. His parents tried to keep their eyes and ears to listen to the voice of God who directly spoke to them for them to protect the child named Jesus Christ.

“Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us”, says at Matthew 1:23. His birth from a virgin was even an amazing miracle. Jesus Christ was born into this world but not from this world. Actually, Jesus Christ did not emerge out of history but He came into the history from the outside. He was not a man becoming God but God Incarnate or God coming into human flesh from outside it. Out Lord Jesus Christ’s birth was actually an advent which means the appearance of God in human form.

Jesus Christ was born for you and I and for the highest cause of His Father. As the world is now about to reminisce this birth which we used to do in Christmas, may the true faith in Jesus Christ will be created in everyone’s heart.

Something about the birth of Jesus Christ tells something about our salvation. Thus, Jesus Christ is worth our searching the truth about Him. He is our Savior and Lord. May everyone will accept this truth for as we keep on studying about Him, this fact will be reve

As we offer the natural or I better to say, as we offer our individuality, God will be able to take full control over everything in our lives. The so-called natural or individuality of a person is the hard outer part that surrounds the inner life or the spiritual life. In this sense, the individuality is the shell which has been purposely created by God to protect the spiritual life which bears much more importance than anything else in a person.

As we offer the natural of our personhood, our independence and self-will will also be surrendered to the Living God. Yes, you have read it right. Independence and self-will actually play too much in one’s individuality so to speak they are the main characteristics of the natural. It is true then that God cannot and will not actively involve Himself in our natural lives if we continue to gratify its selfish desires. The natural may say, “no, I cannot do it”. but the spiritual cannot help it but to keep believing..

As we offer the natural, we actually surrender our rights of our lives unto the One Who ultimately owns us. As we offer the natural, we would learn to yield to God and experience more of His awesome work in us. Thus, let us wholly offer our natural lives to God so that the spiritual or even the super spiritual can take place.

It is worth it to wake up early in the morning in a very contemplative moment when I find a devotional literature from the timeless devotional book authored by Mr. Oswald Chambers. It is even more worthy to share some notes to every guest of this lovely website.

“Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” Galatians 5:24

According to this day note, the natural life itself is not sinful. But we must abandon sin, having nothing to do with it in any way whatsoever. Sin belongs to hell and to the devil. I, as a child of God, belong to heaven and to God. It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence, and my self-will. This is where the battle has to be fought. The things that are right, noble and good from the natural standpoint are the very things that keep us from being God’s best. …

The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, ” If anyone desires to come after Mu, let him deny himself..(Matthew 16:24). That is he must deny deny his rihgt to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it..

These are just some of the red letter notes from the devotion for today taken from the book of Mr. Chambers. Try to get a copy of it and you will find more wisdom in knowing the Lord Himself and you will likewise obtain strength in living up His word in your daily life.

We know that tension can really spoil your life and shorten your days. Here are some right healthy food that can help tame your mindless cravings and better yet, lower anxiety. Most of these are actually in your list of favorite foods everyday.

SKIM MILK - I am sure that you have been informed that a glass of warm milk is really calming. Well, there was a study that women who drank four or more servings of skim milk every day were about half as likely to experience stressful PMS than those who drank less than one serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE - With its high amount of flavonoids, which are lauded for relaxing properties and phenethylamine, which is a chemical that enhances one’s mood, you will surely get more chances to fight stress. It is proven furthermore that the darker the the chocolate, the better benefits you can get in your diet. So, look for one that is at least 70 percent cacao or even higher.

SALMON - Fish like salmon has been known to be rich in omega-3 fatty acids which can help reverse stress by boosting serotonin levels and such diet can suppress the production of the anxiety hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

Those are just bits on the long list of foods that can help you fight stress. Keep on searching the internet to obtain more information on health matters.

Time and again, I have to celebrate another year of festive and pain as well. Life is not a year round joy nor a year round sorrow. Just like anyone of you, I have my share of laughter and of sufferings, too. Every time my birthday comes, I use to look a year back and evaluate what had happened to my past 365 days. Every birthday is being spent in a special way. Sometimes with friends and family but most of the time with myself alone. It does not matter whether I spend it this way or that way as long as I do a single same thing on the said day. That is talking to God fervently and searching so deeply. My soul really is busy during this moment. One deep issue I used to raise to the courts of my Creator is something that relates to my way of serving Him. Am I serving Him pleasingly? Is He really taking pleasure in my way of offering my life to Him.

I have been reading the book entitled “My Utmost For His Highest” and it has been a daily question to me if I am really able to give everything for the sake of His glory. I believe that my life is not actually about me nor for me. My life must be all about Him and I am required by Him to absolutely give my utmost for His highest glory and highest purpose. I am definitely without the Lord Who has been loving me even if I am sinful. My special note on this day: My utmost for His highest alone!