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Sep 26, 2014

Andy Gibb - his sweet voice


He was not just my teen crush, but he's forever my beloved musician, (sorry Leehom.. I guess when it comes to Andy Gibb, you can only land on the 2nd :) My liking was not as intense as compared to Leehom's,  but I have been in love with him since I was only 15 years old. It's been almost 30 years now. wow... phew!

It was a tape at that time. A cassette. He was wearing a red t-shirt and with all that lightening from his fingers, and I swear it's not because of his look, even when I now look at him.. I admit, he's a good-looking guy. He kind of reminds me of Jerry Yan, Mr. DaoMingShi. My friend, Julia, said that it maybe because of his hair. LOL! Anyway.. I grabbed the album because I'm a super huge fans of the Bee Gees since I was 11 years old, I decided to bought that tape. It was not cheap for a teen who lived in a dorm for school.. but I have never regretted the decision a single moment. When later all my tape collection were gone because I carelessly left them on a train ... I bought a new Andy Gibb tape and many Bee Gees tapes.


There was no internet at that time. I didn't know how to get information about him at all. All I have was that tape. Just that one tape. It's his Greatest Hits collection. Don't get confused. It's not an "After Dark" album just like in the picture. I guess at that time many local companies in Indonesia sold tapes of hit songs collection without having to resemble the original.

Andy died in 1988. Sadly I can't remember when it was the first time I heard about his death, and how my reaction at that time. I think only few years after he passed away.. during the early times of internet.. the 90s.

He was good-looking and charming :)
and that dimple was really cute

Maybe his fave color was red















I think, dark suited him best




 





or.. maybe purple?















what about in this fave color of mine?



















I don't quite understand fashion at that time, but man.. he's not afraid of yellow pants












He was still looking good in black and white





















and even more... in skin color. *blushed*


I told you... his fave color is red. LOL!



















And now in the present times.. He would have been 56 if he's still around. Funny that I feel missing someone whom I have never met in my whole life. I am totally a fan of his voice....

I have all his digital albums, I played them on my driving to / from office.. I have listened to many songs he has sung that I have never heard before (thanks to youtube).. and I collected them all too. I read his bio, I browse to find trivia about him ... I spent hours collecting his videos on youtube. And then.. I found this song:



There must be something about this song, about his voice and about his performance in this song that's giving me goosebumps every time I listened to it. And it has been on a repeat for several days already.

It's a combination of sweet and bitter, it's soft but deep, it's sad but beautiful.... His performance is just beyond words, it takes my breath away. It gives me a feeling of sorrow but it's so amazingly beautiful that I don't want to lose that pain...

When I get to think about his life, I feel depressed. How come a person as nice as talented as loved as him ended up with drugs that led him to die in such a young age. He was only 30 years old when he passed away. And when I read all the wishes on youtube, I got even more depressed. All fans were wishing him a peace in heaven. I know ... I should not judge, but I don't think Andy is a born-again Christian. How can he go to heaven and find peace if... he didn't have Jesus as his Saviour...........

Oh Andy.. I wish you were still here so you can get to hear about Jesus and get saved. But I really wanted to thank you ... somehow, my love for your sweet honey voice conveys one thing... I have to tell people I really love, about Jesus. My sisters and their families, my friends, my relatives... and Leehom. I'm sure they have heard about Jesus, but do they believe in Him as their God the Saviour who can save them from eternal doom?

I will pray hard for those people I love so that they receive Jesus in their heart and make their ways to God the Father in heaven.



I dont own any of the photos, they are from google.
credit back to the original owner.



Sep 6, 2014

Walking with Jesus


Walking with Jesus 
it's a walk from the darkness into the light.
Things that are unclear, confusing, and sometimes depressing,
will start to really make sense, and become bright.

When you're walking with Jesus...
ask HIM to hold your hands and never let go.

John 8:12

Aku pernah mendengar Pdt Agus Marjanto berkata: "ketika berjalan bersama Yesus, sebaiknya bukan kita yang memegang tangan-Nya. Tapi biarkan Tuhan yang memegang tangan kita"

Lalu beliau menjelaskan kurang lebih spt ini: natur manusia adalah berdosa. Keinginan manusia adalah melakukan dosa. Kalau kita yang memegang tangan Tuhan, hati kita akan berontak karena jalan Tuhan adalah bukan jalan yang kita inginkan. Kita pasti akan melepaskan pegangan tangan kita dan lari dari Tuhan. Tapi, kalau kita rela Tuhan yang memegang tangan kita, kita rela dan taat mengikut kemanapun DIa menuntun kita.. walaupun hati kita kadang berontak ingin melepaskan diri, tapi tangan Tuhan selalu cukup kuat untuk membawa kita kembali ke sisi-Nya.

Seperti apa ya berjalan bersama Tuhan Yesus...
Banyak orang mungkin berpikir, berjalan bersama Tuhan adalah enak, sukses, kaya dan berhasil dalam segala hal. Banyak gereja dan hamba Tuhan yang menyodorkan konsep sukses ini, membuat orang datang pada Tuhan karena ingin sukses, ingin kaya, ingin sembuh. Tidak sepenuhnya salah, karena Allah adalah Maha Kuasa dan sanggup melakukannya. Tapi mengikut Tuhan tidak sesederhana itu. Ikut Tuhan lalu mendadak kaya, mendadak sukses, mendadak sembuh. Itu tipuan. Itu ilusi.Tidak ada satu cerita pun dalam Alkitab tentang hal seperti itu, karena mengikut Tuhan adalah pikul salib. Mat 10:38, Mat 16:24

Apakah itu pikul salib?
Memikul salib adalah kondisi kita mengosongkan diri dan membiarkan kehendak Tuhan saja yang jadi (Kenosis). Kelihatannya gampang.... Benarkah? Benarkah membuang seluruh kehendak diri kita dan hanya membiarkan kehendak Tuhan saja yang jadi itu gampang? Kita menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam untuk nonton film seri, dibandingkan membaca buku rohani apalagi membaca Alkitab. Kita memilih jalan ke mall daripada ke seminar Kristen atau bahkan gereja. Kita berbohong, menipu, berkata kasar dan kotor, malas, ngedumel, complain sana sini... setiap hari. Kenyataannya... setiap hari kita memilih melakukan kehendak setan yaitu melakukan dosa dari pada membiarkan kehendak Tuhan yang jadi. Ef: 5: 1-21

Kehendak Tuhan
Banyak buku bagus tentang petunjuk praktis mengetahui kehendak Tuhan. The Road Best Traveled, karangan Ray Pritchard misalnya. Tapi, kehendak Tuhan bukan hanya tentang menentukan pilihan A atau B, maju atau mundur, kanan atau kiri, atas atau bawah, ini atau itu. Bukan sesimpel itu. Buku "Mengetahui Kehendak Allah" karangan Pdt. Dr. Stephen Tong bisa membantu kita mengerti lebih jauh apa sebenarnya kehendak Tuhan.

Aku percaya setiap orang memiliki panggilan / calling sendiri-sendiri. Apa yang Tuhan kehendaki dari setiap kita berbeda-beda berdasarkan keunikan kita masing-masing. Satu hal yang pasti. Tuhan ingin kita berjalan bersama-nya, selalu disisi-Nya menuju sinar kemuliaan dalam Kerajaan-nya yang kekal.

Sekali lagi tentang berjalan bersama Tuhan, menuju TERANG
















Ketika kita mau taat berjalan beriringan dengan Tuhan, mau taat membiarkan Tuhan menuntun tangan kita... Tuhan akan menuntun kita, membawa kita menuju TERANG.

Menurut aku, dalam perjalanan menuju terang ada 3 hal yang akan kita rasakan. Pertama adalah sakit, kedua adalah malu dan ketiga adalah sukacita.

  1. Sakit - coba bayangkan kalau sekian lama mata kita berada dalam gelap, lalu tiba-tiba kita melihat sinar terang, apa yang akan terjadi? sakit mata bukan? Setelah sekian lama kita bergaul dengan dosa di dalam kegelapan, kita akan merasa tidak rela untuk membuangnya. Kita tidak ingin melepasnya. Kita tidak ingin meninggalkannya. Terang akan menyakiti kita karena kita tidak rela berpisah dengan dosa.
  2. Malu - setelah sadar bahwa kita harus meninggalkan dosa didalam kegelapan dan berjalan menuju terang.. kita akan sadar betapa kotor, najis dan rusaknya kita. Kita akan merasa tidak layak berjalan bersama Tuhan yang begitu suci dan mulia di dalam terang.
  3. Sukacita - aku membayangkan Tuhan Yesus memeluk aku yang bau busuk, kotor, najis dan compang-camping karena dosa, lalu memegang tanganku dan menuntunku berjalan sambil berkata lembut: "I love you. come, walk beside Me, stay close to Me all the time, My blood will cleanse you". Jaminan pasti bahwa darah Yesus menyucikan dosa, mengampuni aku dari hukuman mengerikan dan membawa aku ke surga kekal. Adakah hal lain yang melebihi sukacita ini? 

Tuhan tidak menjanjikan kita tidak sakit selama berjalan bersama-Nya. Dan dosa pun akan terus senantiasa mengintip kita dari dalam kegelapan. Dosa menunggu kita kembali kepadanya. Karena kita lemah, dan pada dasarnya kita selalu ingin mencari dosa.. maka biarkan Tuhan saja yang memegang tangan kita sehingga walaupun kita ingin kembali kepada dosa, tangan Tuhan akan terus memimpin langkah kita kembali menuju terang.


Di jalanku ku diiring
Oleh Yesus Tuhanku
Apakah yang kurang lagi jika Dia Panduku
Diberi damai sorgawi asal imanku teguh
Suka duka dipakaiNya untuk kebaikanku 2x

All the way the Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who thro` life has been my Guide
Heav`nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell
For I know whate`er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well 2x





  



Jul 22, 2014

Team PangBon KKR Regional Solo - Judulnya "SEMANGAT"


Gereja-ku, GRII Karawaci rutin melakukan penginjilan ke beberapa tempat di Indonesia yang kami sebut KKR Regional. Dan untuk pertama kalinya Tuhan memberikan kesempatan untuk aku ikut serta melayani. Aku tergabung dalam Tim Panggung Boneka dengan tujuan Solo. Tanggal pelayanan 17-19 Juli 2014. Tapi berhubung sedang sibuk planning Q4, aku hanya bisa cuti hari Jumat saja dan berangkat ke Solo hari Kamis malam.

1. SEMANGAT mengejar pesawat
Kirain bisa leha-leha sambil refleksi dan baca buku "Lies Women Believe", ternyata... aku harus masuk pesawat dengan dengkul gemetar. Haha. Bukan karena takut terbang, tapi karena cape ngejar pesawat. Kok pesawat dikejar? Jadi ceritanya...

Hari Kamis itu hujan deras dari siang, sehingga aku memutuskan berangkat lebih awal ke airport. Apalagi aku harus mampir ke gereja di daerah Karawaci untuk mengambil peralatan wireless PangBon yang tertinggal. Dari Karawaci aku berangkat jam 16:00 dan sampai pintu tol Karang Tengah menuju pintu tol JOR arah Pluit/PIK lancaaar. Tapi, 500mt lepas dari pintu tol JOR itu .... langsung stuck. Awalnya masih santai-santai, bahkan aku sempat tidur membiarkan Reza anakku berjuang didalam kemacetan. 30min kemudian waktu membuka mata, aku menoleh ke Reza dan dia bilang "baru jalan kira-kira 200 meter, Mih" Aku lihat jam, belum jam 17:00. Masih aman, pikirku.

Tapi ketika hari makin gelap dan mobil tidak juga beranjak dari tempatnya, aku mulai sedikit panik. Jam 6 kutelpon Lion Air, dan mereka menyarankan aku telpon ke office mereka di airport. Jam 18.30 aku mulai pasrah karena pintu PIK masih sangat jauh dan bbrp orang malah mulai berjalan-jalan di dalam tol. Teman-teman Tim PangBon di group whatsapp pun mulai ikut senewen menerima update menit demi menit parkir di jalan tol.

Mungkin Tuhan tidak mau memakai aku melayani Dia? Aku berdoa: "Ampuni aku kalau ada yang tidak berkenan padaMu, Tuhan". Dan teman-teman di group Whatsapp PangBon memberi kekuatan sekaligus ledekan "kalau mau dipakai Tuhan memang harus melewati ujian dulu, Bu Ema..." Aaah.. ini sih bukan ujian, tapi sport jantung.

20min kemudian, jalan sebelah kanan lancar dan kami tiba di persimpangan Pluit/PIK. Aku lihat jam 18:50. "Tenang Mih... gak sampai 10 min sampai airport" kata Reza. Aku cuma bisa tegang merasakan mobil bagai terbang dan benar, jam 19:00 tepat kami sampai. "Tunggu ya Kak, Mami cek dulu masih boleh cek in atau tidak". Aku segera lari ke check-in area.

Setelah membayar wrapping koper yang aku tandemkan dengan box wireless dari Gereja, aku antri untuk drop bagasi. Dari speaker terdengar.. "last call untuk penumpang Lion Air JTxxx. Kepada Ibu Eka Emajanti segera boarding melalui gate xx." Karena yang cek in tidak antri, aku langsung dilayani, tapi... "Ibu, kami sudah tidak bisa terima koper Ibu. Silakan dibawa saja masuk ke cabin. Ibu harus lari ke Gate, semoga belum di tutup ya Bu.." Aku rasa saat itu, aku bahkan tidak sempat kaget or melongo, tapi langsung menyambar boarding pass, meraih koper dan berlari.

Di ujung pemeriksaan pertama, sudah ada petugas yang menunggu. "Lion ke Solo ya Bu.. ayo cepat-cepat". Dan dia yang berlari lebih cepat dari aku. Di pemeriksaan kedua, sudah ada petugas lain yang menunggu dan segera memimpin aku berlari menuju Gate. Di ujung Gate, sudah ada petugas lain yang menunggu dan kembali dia berlari estafet ke petugas berikutnya... haahaha.. mirip lomba estafet Kancil lawan Kura-kura. Saat itu aku berpikir, kenapa sih mereka tidak menyambut aku dan membantu koper.. tapi malah lari duluan meninggalkan aku. Ternyata, memang mereka melakukan pesan berantai sampai ke petugas dengan alat komunikasi langsung ke pesawat. Aku terus di ajak berlari menuju mobil kecil yang membawaku ke pesawat. Sampai di samping mobil, aku hanya bisa diam mencoba mengatur napas..Aku kan gak pernah olah raga, boro2 lari.. jalan aja males. aahahhaha. "Mas.. mas.. tolong ya naikin koper saya ke mobil, saya sudah tidak sanggup lagi... " waktu aku menoleh ke dia.. dia rupanya juga sama ngos-ngosan nya dengan aku... yaaaaah....... Kirain sudah terlatih mengawal lari penumpang yang telat Mas... :(

Perjalanan Karawaci-Bandara 3 jam ditebus dengan perjalanan Jakarta-Solo yang hanya 50menit saja. Puji Tuhan, ternyata Tuhan ijinkan aku boleh ikut melayani :)

2. SEMANGAT Jokowi
Awalnya gak kepikiran bahwa aku mengunjungi "kampung' Pak Jokowi. Tapi waktu duduk di taxi, aku iseng bertanya: "kita lewat rumah Pak Jokowi enggak, Pak?" Dan supir taxi itu langsung bilang: "Ibu mau saya antar kesana? Saya ini dulu tetangga Ibu nya Pak Jokowi loh Bu. Dulu.. Pak Jokowi itu blablablabla... "

Kota Solo di malam hari terlihat lancar. Dan di siang hari, walaupun jalan nya cenderung kecil/sempit, tapi semua rapi dan bersih. Salut deh Pak Jokowi.

3. SEMANGAT Mencari Batik
Hari Jumat, karena sesi PangBon ada di pagi dan sore.. aku menyempatkan diri mencari toko Batik. Naik becak. Padahal waktu yg ada hanya 1 jam saja. Akhirnya aku harus memohon ke bapak tukang becak untuk "ngebut" karena sudah di telpon untuk segera kembali ke basecamp (MRII Solo). Warning: jangan sekali-kali naik becak kalau lagi buru-buru. no matter how fast you think you can be. tetep aja.... selowww.... hahaha!

Dan besoknya, didorong oleh semangat membeli titipan suami dan teman, aku berjalan kaki ke toko batik di dekat hotel. Hari terakhir, aku juga masih terus hunting batik sambil menyewa 1 taxi untuk membawaku kembali ke airport. Hasilnya... everyone's happy but my husband. Maaf Pih... motif yang kamu suka itu tidak ada ukurannya... dan harganya mahal banget. hihiihii...

4. SEMANGAT Bangun Pagi
Baru dapat konfirmasi setelah di Solo bahwa Tim PangBon selalu harus berangkat subuh. Biasanya jam 4 atau jam 5 sudah berangkat. Kalau informasi ini aku dapat waktu masih di Jakarta.. mungkin pikir-pikir dulu mau ikut KKR atau tidak. hahaha. LOL. kidding. Bangun pagi bukan masalah, yang jadi masalah.. siang nya bisa tidur lagi atau tidak. Dan tentu saja tidak.

5. SEMANGAT Angkut-Pasang-Bongkar-Angkut
Kami melakukannya sendiri. Semua peralatan PangBon, baik itu yang super ringan seperti bonekanya, maupun yang super berat seperti rangka panggung dan soundsystem-nya. Kami juga angkut sendiri dus-dus aqua, dus buku lagi, dan dus-dus lainnya.

Jadi, mobil pangbon harus 2. Satu untuk angkut orang, satu lagi untuk angkut peralatan PangBon. Setiap sampai di tempat, kami harus menurunkan semua peralatan, dan memasangnya. Setelah selesai, kami harus membongkarnya dan mengangkut nya kembali ke mobil. Bayangkan saja kalau dalam 1 hari ada lebih dari 2 sesi PangBon. Kami pun harus memasang karpet dan melipatnya kembali. Belum lagi wajib bersih-bersih tempat sebelum meninggalkannya... Sampai di Jakarta, aku ditanya oleh Guru Sekolah Minggu lainnya: "gimana Bu Ema pelayanan di Solo?" Aku dengan jujur bilang: "cape Bu.." Hahah..


Tim PangBon krucil "semangat" bergaya di atas tiang panggung




















Pasang panggung















Setelah panggung jadi, kami keringetan tapi tetep.. gaya















6. SEMANGAT Beradu Acting
Kalau tidak salah ada 7 sesi PangBon dan aku bersyukur bisa melayani 4 sesi. Sebagai apa? Selain sebagai tukang angkut dan bongkar-pasang, sama seperti yang lain.. aku hanya berperan sebagai Narator, tukang bercerita. Semua tim selalu sangat menjiwai peran masing-masing dan kami bisa bertukar peran anytime dibutuhkan. Tim PangBon yang berangkat hanya 6-7 orang, dibantu 2 anak kecil. Jadi, misalnya Marcus, kalau pagi dia jadi pembawa Firman Tuhan / pengkotbah, sore nya dia bisa jadi Mario, si boneka yang nakal.

Kata mereka yang berperan memegang boneka, boneka2 itu sudah basah kuyup kena keringat mereka. Memainkan boneka di panggung boneka lumayan menyita tenaga. Mereka harus jongkok, kadang duduk sebentar ditambah tangan yang harus terangkat sepanjang waktu. Mungkin saja keringat hasil angkut dan bongkar-pasang belum kering.. sudah harus berkeringat lagi memainkan boneka dalam posisi yang tidak nyaman.

 






























Dan yang terjadi di belakang panggung..

Pak Djunaedy: "kan Papa sudah bilang Paul, nasi liwet kalau di bawa ke Jakarta pasti basi. Lagipula Papa kan baru balik ke Jakarta hari besok malam, masak suruh beli nasi liwet sekarang.."












Pak Ferry: "tolong jangan paksa saya buka sepatu, nanti anak-anak gak konsen mendengar Firman..." hihhii



















Vincent: "waaah.. payah nih Bapak-Bapak, katanya mau main di D (Depan panggung).. eh kok malah di B (Belakang panggung)....












Ibu Ema: "Wonogiri! Wonogiri! Gratis kalau sepanjang perjalanan duduknya seperti saya"












Maklum ya ibu2, jadi memang sudah siap bawa handuk kecil untuk lap keringat. Para Bapak akhirnya setuju next time bawa handuk "good morning" biar mirip tukang becak .. haahhaa





















7. SEMANGAT dan SUKACITA
Satu hal yang aku sungguh belajar dari para pelayan Tuhan di GRII Karawaci, tidak ada seorangpun yang aku kenal, mengeluh tentang beratnya pelayanan, atau cape atau bosan atau hal-hal yang tidak menyenangkan lainnya. Aku yakin banget semua capai, bahkan beberapa orang bahkan tidur hanya sebenar, 1-2 jam saja. Bahkan tim PangBon pun datang ke Solo naik mobil, bukan naik pesawat. Mereka pasti letih sekali.

Bahkan aku dapat informasi baru bahwa seringkali hanya 1 orang pelayan KKR regioanl yang bertugas dalan 1 sesi. Jadi, dia harus menjadi MC dan menjadi Pengkotbah sekaligus.

Kami bisa beristirahat dimana saja.

 

























8. SEMANGAT Mengabarkan Injil
Pada saat melihat anak-anak begitu antusias, mereka begitu haus mendengar Firman, pada saat mereka tunjuk tangan atau pada saat mereka tertawa terpingkal-pingkal karena percakapan para boneka, bahkan ketika ada yg nekat maju ke depan untuk melihat lebih dekat.. semua rasa-rasa yang lain tidak terpikirkan. Hanya ada 1 semangat di hati. Memberikan yang terbaik untuk Tuhan.









Jul 7, 2014

Buku Tanpa Kata





Kuning tandanya Surga
Hitam tandanya Dosa
Merah darah Tuhan Yesus 
yang menghapus dosa
Putih hatiku suci
Hijau aku ingin bertumbuh
jadi anak Tuhan yang baik

Aku belajar buku tanpa kata waktu Paskah beberapa bulan yang lalu. Salah seorang teman guru sekolah minggu, sang maestro kain flannel, hehe.. yang membuat aktifitas buku tanpa kata. Selembar kertas karton HITAM ukuran A6, gambar Salib berwarna MERAH, dengan beberapa garis berkilau warna KUNING terpancar dari salib itu dan seekor domba terbuat dari kapas berwarna PUTIH,  serta rumput dari kertas berwarna HIJAU. Walaupun semua anak-anak antusias menempelkan domba, salib dan pancaran kuning serta rumput hijau di kertas hitam.. ada beberapa hal lucu terjadi.

  • Ada anak yang menggambarkan domba dengan bulu mata lentik. Kita bilang.. Domba yang di korbankan harus jantan, sehat dan tak bercacat.
  • Lalu ada anak yang minta tukar domba karena... dombanya terlalu kurus
  • atau bahkan kami sebagai guru yang dengan hati-hati memilah2 supaya domba dari kapas itu adalah yang terbaik, kalau ada yg sedikit bengkok2 pun kami singkirkan
Lalu aku berjumpa lagi dengan buku tanpa kata di SIL 2014. Kami harus mempersiapkan 400 lebih buku tanpa kata dari kain flannel. Dan dengan tambahan ide "brilliant" dari sang maestro kain flannel kami pun harus menghiasnya dengan pedang dan perisai mini, sesuai tema "More than Conqueror" di ke 400+ buku tanpa kata itu. Masalahnya bukan gak sanggup.. tapi sungguh aktifitas membuatnya membuat hidung gatel, mata pedih dan buram, jempol kapalan, pinggang kaku, kaki semutan, sesak napas dan ... tangan belepotan lem... hahahaha....

Buku tanpa kata dari sang maestro yang tersohor itu. hihihii... didalamnya ada lembaran kain flanel warna kuning, hitam, merah, putih dan hijau. dan bayangkan... buku itu cuma berukuran sekitar 10 cm.





























Kami memberikan buku ini kepada anak-anak SIL 2014 untuk tugas penginjilan. Mereka harus membawa buku ini ke orang2 di sekita mereka dan bercerita tentang Yesus menggunakan buku itu. I really really love the idea. Buku tanpa kata adalah alat yang hebat untuk menceritakan tentang Injil Kristus.

Sejarah buku tanpa kata bisa di baca di wiki

Mungkin mulai sekarang instead of menyukai semua serba pink, aku bisa mulai memakai warna-warni buku tanpa kata dan start telling people about Jesus.


Tell People that JESUS Loves Them



I was bored with many things. Works and that hundreds of daily emails, MGO - a new term that haunted me recently, my Q4 plan, Once Upon A Time series that is not interesting anymore since I intentionally let myself being spoiled by youtube ( my fault, I know!), with Leehom who has not yet released his new album for the last 4 years (sigh..), with Arrow which will only be back on October, with facebook with all the crazy presidential election fights, and I even still got bored right now when I have a big chocolate bar right in front of me. What I can say? I'm so hard to please, recently :)

Then.. since the mood is all about boredom, I went to some sites to find out what fun things to do when you got bored. Yeap! I went to a few sites and produced small slight grins on my face. Not interesting. But a few more minutes, what I read next was a shock. In all sudden, I'm not bored anymore! The site told us to tell people that Jesus loves them. So what's wrong with that? Absolutely nothing except that it's written in a page where you try to find fun things to do when you get bored.

No offense.. I guess they have no idea what they really meant, or maybe the writer was not even Christian. And also because what my priest said it's true. There are only very few of us who are willing to do what Jesus has asked us to do in Matthew 28:19.

I can think of several different reasons why Christians are not willing to speak about Jesus.
  1. Have not yet born again - I can still remember my priest told us in one of our Sunday services: everyone who has not yet experienced the love of Jesus in Calvary will not be having the will to share it. And if that person felts he has experienced the love but not share it with others.. he actually has not yet truly experienced it (other word: not yet born again).
  2. Scared.... of a lot of things - rejection, humiliation (the site has somehow proven this), hatred, public speaking skills, persecution and could also be of losing someone or something precious. This probably relates best with my situation. I'm so scared of pushing away the people I love if I start talking about Jesus. I know, it's the devil's trick. It's so sinful. So help me dear God :) 
  3. Don't know how - I've learned this smart simple way to start talking about the love of Jesus. One of the guest priest shared it during a Bible study: He was in a dinner invitation where all the people around him were not Christian. Since they knew that he was a priest, they allowed him to pray before he had his dinner. So he prayed out loud: "My dear Lord Jesus Christ, who loves me so much that You have died for me. Thank you for setting me free from the eternal flame of hell. I believe that You have risen and lifted to heaven because You are God. And thank you because I know you also love all people here and you are also willing to save them and give them eternal life too ..... " It's just way beyond smart. love it! :)
  4. They think money talks - you can bribe as many people as you want with your money but money will not bring them to Jesus. My priest told me that MIRACLE (in this case I translated as good fortune or money) will not make people become God's disciples. When Jesus had thousands of people following Him, He knew that they wanted Him to do miracle. So He did. With only 5 breads and 2 fish, He fed them all. (John 6: 1- 15). But when He continued to talk about how to really follow Him, many of them started to leave Him (John 6:66) (note: I had this weird thought since few years ago.. that probably John 6:66 relates to Anti Christ 666). is it not? 

I was about to add BUSY and LAZY. But I guess those are not, because if people use those 2 words as their excuse... we can point them to no 1 above. If you truly have HIS love in your heart, it will automatically flow out, you just cannot hold it. You just want to share it with others. That's the power of HIS true love.

It's a heart breaking to see people make fun of it. But we can always see it as a blessing. The Holy Spirit can turn that joke into something very serious that make people repent and turn to Jesus. Like what HE just did to me. Because of that, I just wrote something to remind me to spread the love of GOD.



May 2, 2014

Count your blessings



It wouldn't be a surprise if I dared to create my own bday card like that. yeaaa!! I guess beside being "strong sense of humor kind of thing - haha".. I am also one of so many narcissistic people in the world. LOL!

But seriously ... why can't I feel good about myself? I have one loving husband, sweet and kind 2 teens at home, warm strong united family, wonderful job, and super nice friends out there and most important one is a chance to be able to serving the LORD. All in 1 word: BLESSED... I have all the AWESOMENESS in the world!

Even google gave me birthday cakes today! Awesome!

so yeaaaa.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!
















Jan 18, 2014

Ancol has never been this fun


Who would guess that after all these years... I would fall in love (again) with Ancol. I didn't. For me, Ancol was just an old dirty beach with bunch of crowded people during weekend and holidays, and who were there to make it even more dirtier. Honestly, there's nothing attractive for me in Ancol. I can't even remember when the last visit was ...

Until this day came.

Jan 14, 2014.
It was planned. A church outing. If it weren't for my beloved church, I would probably pass the opportunity to visit Ancol. Hey, we can't say no to a Godly activity, right? Right.

Now, let's count the funs ..

Beach City Mall
I really have no idea that there is a clean white sand beach in Ancol. Is it new? My husband told me it was there for some years already. Hello... kemane ajee?? Tangerang, I said. The beach is right in front of a huge shopping mall, which also surprised me, because *blushing* I didn't know there is a mall inside Ancol. If at any time on your birthday, you were there with your friends and they threw you out to the water ... don't worry. Get yourself a clean clothes and even the undies in the mall.

How can we not love these sparkling white sands?



 




























Fun Kids
No matter what they do, no matter how they look like, anytime and anywhere.. seeing a happy face on a kid will always make me smile. And seeing a bunch of happy kids like these has made me grinning from ear to ear.













Fun Friends
I was a newbie in the group. If your friends ever told you that hanging out with church people is boring, sorry... they were very wrong. They may have been hanging out with the wrong people, or the wrong church, but with my new church friends, there's not a minute we spent without laughing. We made fun at each other, mocking at each other and the best part was .. no one or nothing has been damaged. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, think. When we were out with friends, what kind of words, what kind of jokes, and what kind of thoughts were there? What are the all time fave jokes when friends are together? Yep. Dirty ones.

Smile, Cringe, Laugh, and lots of Laughs




 















Fun Sharing Time
oh yeaa.. it was so much fun that every time someone's turn to come up to the front and did the sharing session, all he or she did was.. making others laugh. And if he/she failed to do that.. we would all still be laughing because each of us has own funny comments on just about anything.

Even when Pak Jay shared the Words of God was still fun.
He's out in the sun and we're covered under the hut. Wasn't that fun? Haha.




















Fun Pot Luck

It's becoming a habit. When a pot-luck gathering was held, my share was fruits. Yeaa.. easy. But not on the part where we should be able to enjoy eating them freely and happily. And that is not gonna happen if you chose to have the pot luck at Ancol Beach City. Since the beach is surrounded by a mall, where literally you can find all kinds of foods there... the security guards were checking on everyone's bag. Sorry Mam.. no foods allowed.

We, however... managed to 'get permission' with strict warnings: not too obvious that we're eating our own foods and to keep the place clean and tidy. The last part was easy, but where can we hide our foods? our tummies! LOL!

















Fresh rujak party!



Fun Park
The beach was fun. Yeah! But we're looking for a place where we can enjoy our pot luck properly. And here .. it even looked like we had the whole green grass for our selves.

yeahhh!! we did it...





   



FUN BIKE
We had a moment of sport at the Eco Park. The good thing was ... we can share! 1 bike for more than 1 person. Why? Because none of us were an athlete. Biking for half an hour along was too tiring.

1 bike, many spouses




and even other spouse. Haha!















Fun Games, yeaaa.. why not?
this is the legacy of an outing, right? Even with simple logistic, we successfully created an unforgettable moments, especially when we had a chance to see Erryck fell down kissing sands on his way running to the sea to get water in a games competition. It was hilarious, but unfortunately it wasn't captured in a camera. It happened too fast and we also didnt expect that, of course! LOL.


























Fun Pose
Why? Because it took time to really gather everyone in one shot. When one just came, the other one went to a rest room. And also, we had to worry the fire ants joining us in the pictures. They were a lot in Pasar Seni.

But we made a few good shots, didnt we?