I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
—Galatians 2:20
People sometimes will use the expression, "We all have our cross to bear." But our cross to bear is not whatever we find difficult in life. The cross to bear, so to speak, is the same for everyone: it is dying of self.
Dying of self means resisting the temptation to do what everyone else is doing when you know it is wrong. Dying to self means forgiving instead of harboring a grudge. Dying of self means putting down the remote control and picking up the Bible. Dying of self means praying when you would rather be sleeping. Dying of self means swallowing your pride and telling someone about Jesus Christ at the risk of being mocked. Dying of self means doing what God wants you to do rather than doing what you want to do.
Sounds really hard to ‘die of self’ huh? Especially if you gotta do it for Jesus, it seems so hard. Even not doable.
But for your boyfriend? Girlfriend? You done died and gone to heaven and back for them! Seriously!
How many of you ever been in love?
If you have, you know that when your boyfriend says he’d die for you, he’d do anything just to be with you…those GOMBAL words really get to you. You’d end up cooking for him, slaving yourself for him. Come on, admit it, the minute you hear those words….like “you’re the only one for me….I’d do anything for you… All you wanna do is please them! Which means: you die of self. You give up things you normally do for things that would make your beau (tata, yayang, koko etc) happy. You start waking up an hour earlier to shave your legs, put on make up, etc….You find yourself doing things you normally wouldn’t do just to please him/her. Oh what love can do.
Isn’t it amazing to think that we’re more willing to ‘die of self’ without hesitation when it comes to our boyfriend/girlfriend, who generally won’t do what they say they would (die for me? do anything for me? Please, we know better :)). But for Jesus, who DID IN FACT DIE FOR US, who did erase all of our sins and made us righteous, it is such a tough thing to do to give up ourselves for Him!! We always find reason NOT to die of self and bear the cross when it comes to Jesus. Would you agree???
Today I want all of us to realize, that the ONLY one who is not a "GOMBAL king" is our God Jesus. When we are crucified with Him on the cross, He automatically lives in you. Knowing how much He loves you, how much he had sacrificed for you, should be MORE than enough reason for you to die of self everyday.
His love for you should be more than enough reason for you to tell people about Him, to wake up just a bit early in the morning to read the bible. To eat better, to live healthier. To study and work harder. To forgive that person whom you hate to the bone, to forgive yourself for the things you did, To stop worrying. To tithe more (for us Chinese people, that's tough :) )To give away money to those who are unfortunate- when you don’t think you have enough. The list goes on.
I pray today that you would decide to take ONE little step of self sacrifice to show Him how much you appreciate His love and sacrifice for you. Whatever action you choose – it will please Him!
I challenge you, to pick ONE specific action of ‘DIE OF SELF’ each day, and log it in a note book (Walmart has it on sale for 50 cents!). Call it: " My DOS (Die of Self) Book". In a a couple months or so, we will hang out and use this book and testify how your life is transformed, just because you are willing to take a small dose of DOS.
Have a great week y'all!!
M'goose
for GOL ATL
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
SIMPLY: WOW: LIFE
Just when I started to wonder where to start in carrying out God's vision to be a world changer in the most tangible way, I came across this website called AMAZIMA (http://amazima.org/) a couple days ago.
When I read the story behind this charity organization out of Tennessee, I was shocked in amazement! Why? Get this: this 18 year old girl named Katie Davis traveled to Uganda in 2006 just for a short-term ministry. She fell in love with the people and long story short, a year later, she moved to Uganda, started a child sponsorship program which now grows to 150 children and counting along with other programs for the families in that village. And the most amazing thing is: Katie (who is only 21 now) adopted 13 children from Uganda as a single mom!!!!!! She is one of the most amazing women out there and I told myself that one day, I gotta meet this lady!
Read her blog, you will be constantly amazed of Jesus' work in her life and it will inspire you to do more for Him :)
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
I share this awesome story just so we all can 1) pray for her ministry, 2) be encouraged: that when we stop focusing on ourselves, He will empower us to do far greater things that we could ever imagine!!!
Obviously, I don't suggest for GOLers to start moving to Africa (wouldn't it be cool though :) :) :) - but I want to keep encouraging you to find one little project that you can be involved in that God has put in your heart- if you think your contribution is so small that it won't make a difference, think again!
For example: If you sponsor a kid from the World Harvest Ministry or other ministries, you have CHANGED that kid's life significantly. Now he will have a chance to further his education, and one day he will have a chance at university, great job, and great future. From that, he will start breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. All because you were willing to spare a few dollars a month!
So let's continue to carry out His vision of love and grace by pouring our love to others in whatever way possible, so we can experience the SIMPLY:WOW:LIFE
With that said, stay tuned for our "GOL SIMPLY:WOW:LIFE" projects coming up soon! These will be ongoing projects we will do together as a team to make a difference in the world around us...Details will be on the next blog!
"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10
When I read the story behind this charity organization out of Tennessee, I was shocked in amazement! Why? Get this: this 18 year old girl named Katie Davis traveled to Uganda in 2006 just for a short-term ministry. She fell in love with the people and long story short, a year later, she moved to Uganda, started a child sponsorship program which now grows to 150 children and counting along with other programs for the families in that village. And the most amazing thing is: Katie (who is only 21 now) adopted 13 children from Uganda as a single mom!!!!!! She is one of the most amazing women out there and I told myself that one day, I gotta meet this lady!
Read her blog, you will be constantly amazed of Jesus' work in her life and it will inspire you to do more for Him :)
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
I share this awesome story just so we all can 1) pray for her ministry, 2) be encouraged: that when we stop focusing on ourselves, He will empower us to do far greater things that we could ever imagine!!!
Obviously, I don't suggest for GOLers to start moving to Africa (wouldn't it be cool though :) :) :) - but I want to keep encouraging you to find one little project that you can be involved in that God has put in your heart- if you think your contribution is so small that it won't make a difference, think again!
For example: If you sponsor a kid from the World Harvest Ministry or other ministries, you have CHANGED that kid's life significantly. Now he will have a chance to further his education, and one day he will have a chance at university, great job, and great future. From that, he will start breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. All because you were willing to spare a few dollars a month!
So let's continue to carry out His vision of love and grace by pouring our love to others in whatever way possible, so we can experience the SIMPLY:WOW:LIFE
With that said, stay tuned for our "GOL SIMPLY:WOW:LIFE" projects coming up soon! These will be ongoing projects we will do together as a team to make a difference in the world around us...Details will be on the next blog!
"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:10
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Get Fit for the Summer!
Hey Golers n friends!
I know it's been a while since we blog it out, but today I wanna just share my 'Get Fit for the Summer' plan, in case any of you are planning on getting on that bathing suit or just planning on being healthier and less sluggish...:(
PLEASE PUT YOUR GET FIT FOR THE SUMMER PLAN/SUGGESTIONS ON THE COMMENT SECTION SO WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND GET FIT TOGETHER!
Anyways, for the past month I have been DETOXED from WHITE RICE!!! Remember, carb is one of the most important things our body needs, but we really should get our carb intake from UNPROCESSED/ NATURAL foods like banana, whole wheat products, etc. The way I have been eating white rice has been pretty NUTS: I can eat 2 full plates of it without hardly any meat or veggies...I can eat just rice and rice and rice with sambel 24/7.
So now you know how hard it was for me to live without my beloved NASI PUTIH for the past month. But: I DID IT!!! And now, I am starting to ease back into it with much less intensity (Like what my grammy and Jillian Michael said: it's all about PORTION CONTROL!). Now I prolly eat 1-2 cups per day, and increase my protein intake by eating LEAN meat and of course, lots of veggies!
Exercise: I have been doing a lot of exercise video on a daily basis (AEROBIC/CARDIO/ABS, etc) combined with swimming....I try to do a 30 min exercise per day for 6 days/week. There is this super challenging exercise video by Shaun T (called INSANITY WORKOUT. Nuff said!) that I want to try. Bought the video, but do not dare to try yet (hear it is SOOO HARD but it works!) - so I let Yanti and Nana borrowed it for now. Hope they will blog out their experience soon!
Result so far: I lost about 2 pounds for the past 3.5 weeks, not much, I know, but my focus is more on FEELING ENERGETIC and HEALTHY and I can tell you, since I have been on this mission of making a change to a healthier and more active lifestyle, I have been feeling so much better!
By the way, there is this comprehensive fitness website that can help you track your progress, nutrition intake, fitness goals, etc that I have been using:
www.sparkpeople.com
Check it out!
I know it's been a while since we blog it out, but today I wanna just share my 'Get Fit for the Summer' plan, in case any of you are planning on getting on that bathing suit or just planning on being healthier and less sluggish...:(
PLEASE PUT YOUR GET FIT FOR THE SUMMER PLAN/SUGGESTIONS ON THE COMMENT SECTION SO WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND GET FIT TOGETHER!
Anyways, for the past month I have been DETOXED from WHITE RICE!!! Remember, carb is one of the most important things our body needs, but we really should get our carb intake from UNPROCESSED/ NATURAL foods like banana, whole wheat products, etc. The way I have been eating white rice has been pretty NUTS: I can eat 2 full plates of it without hardly any meat or veggies...I can eat just rice and rice and rice with sambel 24/7.
So now you know how hard it was for me to live without my beloved NASI PUTIH for the past month. But: I DID IT!!! And now, I am starting to ease back into it with much less intensity (Like what my grammy and Jillian Michael said: it's all about PORTION CONTROL!). Now I prolly eat 1-2 cups per day, and increase my protein intake by eating LEAN meat and of course, lots of veggies!
Exercise: I have been doing a lot of exercise video on a daily basis (AEROBIC/CARDIO/ABS, etc) combined with swimming....I try to do a 30 min exercise per day for 6 days/week. There is this super challenging exercise video by Shaun T (called INSANITY WORKOUT. Nuff said!) that I want to try. Bought the video, but do not dare to try yet (hear it is SOOO HARD but it works!) - so I let Yanti and Nana borrowed it for now. Hope they will blog out their experience soon!
Result so far: I lost about 2 pounds for the past 3.5 weeks, not much, I know, but my focus is more on FEELING ENERGETIC and HEALTHY and I can tell you, since I have been on this mission of making a change to a healthier and more active lifestyle, I have been feeling so much better!
By the way, there is this comprehensive fitness website that can help you track your progress, nutrition intake, fitness goals, etc that I have been using:
www.sparkpeople.com
Check it out!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
CONGRATS GRADS!!!!
To all Golers n friends who are graduating this semester, I just wanna say CONGRATS!!!
I still remember VIVIDLY the day I graduated high school (even though it was before some of you were born!). For me, I felt a huge sense of RELIEF from all the peer pressures, the drama, and: yes, the peer pressure! (can't you tell that my high school time was not one of those memorable ones??? LOL)
But I am sure for some of you who were Mr. or Ms. Populars, high school graduation presents us with an overwheling sadness, realizing that you will no longer have your BFFs, groupies, and all the perks that came with being Mr/Ms Populars.
For some, who were straight A students, took gold after gold in Math Olympics, belonged to the Society of Young Chemists, high school graduation is just a small stepping stone to bigger and better things. Next stop: the Ivy League (heck, some of you in this category probably got into the Ivy league by junior year of HS!). You had plans. You sticked with it, and it paid off!
Some of us who were just simply "moody" throughout high school would probably think that nothing great is gonna come out of graduating, so we choose to just 'go with the flow'
Some of us who are graduating from college in this day and age of ' the toughest economic recession since the depression era', you might have fears and uncertainty about the future, even if you were a valedictorian, or a cum laude graduate.
For all of you in any of the above category, this is what Jesus said about your future:
(Jeremiah 29:11)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
To sum up the story in jeremiah 29: this is the time of HOPELESSNESS for Israelites because they were in babylon, living under law that absolutely noone can follow, and ridden by false prophets. It was a messy situation.
However, God lets them know on verse 11 that despite all the hopelessness, despite anything bad that happened in their lives, He has a GREAT plan for His people!
So, if you ever feel hopeless, indifference, uncertain, unmotivated, uninspired, or feel like your situation now seems to prevent you from having a great future, DON'T FRET! He wants you to know that He knows exactly what you are going through, your worries, your fears, and somehow, it all fits into His GRAND PLAN to give you the greatest future.
All you have to do is RECEIVE the great love that He has for you, know that He loves you that much, that He won't ever forsake you and your future in His hand can only be translated in one word: BRIGHT!!!!!!!
Congrats to all 2010 grads.
M'Goose
for GOL ATLANTA
I still remember VIVIDLY the day I graduated high school (even though it was before some of you were born!). For me, I felt a huge sense of RELIEF from all the peer pressures, the drama, and: yes, the peer pressure! (can't you tell that my high school time was not one of those memorable ones??? LOL)
But I am sure for some of you who were Mr. or Ms. Populars, high school graduation presents us with an overwheling sadness, realizing that you will no longer have your BFFs, groupies, and all the perks that came with being Mr/Ms Populars.
For some, who were straight A students, took gold after gold in Math Olympics, belonged to the Society of Young Chemists, high school graduation is just a small stepping stone to bigger and better things. Next stop: the Ivy League (heck, some of you in this category probably got into the Ivy league by junior year of HS!). You had plans. You sticked with it, and it paid off!
Some of us who were just simply "moody" throughout high school would probably think that nothing great is gonna come out of graduating, so we choose to just 'go with the flow'
Some of us who are graduating from college in this day and age of ' the toughest economic recession since the depression era', you might have fears and uncertainty about the future, even if you were a valedictorian, or a cum laude graduate.
For all of you in any of the above category, this is what Jesus said about your future:
(Jeremiah 29:11)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
To sum up the story in jeremiah 29: this is the time of HOPELESSNESS for Israelites because they were in babylon, living under law that absolutely noone can follow, and ridden by false prophets. It was a messy situation.
However, God lets them know on verse 11 that despite all the hopelessness, despite anything bad that happened in their lives, He has a GREAT plan for His people!
So, if you ever feel hopeless, indifference, uncertain, unmotivated, uninspired, or feel like your situation now seems to prevent you from having a great future, DON'T FRET! He wants you to know that He knows exactly what you are going through, your worries, your fears, and somehow, it all fits into His GRAND PLAN to give you the greatest future.
All you have to do is RECEIVE the great love that He has for you, know that He loves you that much, that He won't ever forsake you and your future in His hand can only be translated in one word: BRIGHT!!!!!!!
Congrats to all 2010 grads.
M'Goose
for GOL ATLANTA
Monday, May 3, 2010
Mama: "My (slightly) Overbearing, Ultimate Hero"
Top 10 Sayings of Biblical Mothers
10. Samson! Get your hand out of that lion. You don't know where it's been! (Judges 14:5-8)
9. David! I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons!
8. Abraham! Stop wandering around the countryside and get home for supper!
7. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Leave those clothes outside, you smell like a dirty ol' furnace!
6. Cain! Get off your brother! You're going to kill him some day!
5. Noah! No, you can't keep them! I told you, don't bring home any more strays!
4. Gideon! Have you been hiding in that wine press again? Look at your clothes! (Judges 6:11)
3. James and John! No more burping contests at the dinner table, please. People are going to call you the sons of thunder! (Mark 3:17)
2. Judas! Have you been in my purse again?!
1. Jesus! What do you think, you were born in a barn?
As 'Mama Day' is fast approaching, I can't help but think of my beloved mom. I got the above Biblical Mama's jokes on the internet and was wondering if any of your mamas are like these biblical ones.... Cause mine is so similar with most of them - it's scary!
My mom is undoubtedly my "(slightly) overbearing, ultimate hero!". She has been the rock in our family; the glue that keeps it all together. We went through lots of hard times, but no matter how tough things got, she never stopped praying, hoping, believing, and praying, hoping, believing, and praying some more, hoping some more, believing some more.....and so on...and so forth...
Why I put 'slightly overbearing'? Not to ruin my mom's image, or to be contradictive with the "ultimate hero" statement....but to share with y'all that the overbearing trait of a mom is God-given! Without this character, they'd be weak, like dads (LOL - I am kidding...I think...)
If my mom was not slightly overbearing and persistence, our family would have fallen apart. Literally!
Let's take a look at Mary, the ultimate mom of all! I mean, for me, raising a regular kid is hard enough, but raising a PERFECT MAN? THE WORLD'S SAVIOR? I figured she must have had 'freaking out' moments....but throughout the bible, the depiction of hers were just calmness, full of wisdom, SUPER faithful, SUPER trusting in His will, necessarily overbearing at times....She is simply amazing. No wonder she is hand-picked by God to mother Jesus....
My number one favorite "(slightly)overbearing mama-(slightly) annoyed kid" moment of Mary and Jesus was the story of Jesus' first miracle performance at a Canaan wedding. Check this out:
John 2:3-9 (NIV)
3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you." (btw:She is the first person in history to say this about Jesus)
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[a]
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
When I read the above passage, I respected Mary even more! If I had a 'God' as my child, I think I'd be so awkward in trying to teach him, or be annoying & overbearing even if it's for his own good...But she's like,"hey Son, there's no more wine..." (when she knows that Jesus knows there is no more wine, get it?) Then when Jesus was totally annoyed and basically told her to leave it alone, let him handle it, what did she do??
She left him alone alright, but she did a 'behind-the-scene' work to the servants...I imagine Jesus was rolling his eyes out thinking: well I guess now I really gotta turn those waters into wine!
But you see, Mary's overbearingness actually played a great role in Jesus performing his first miracle!
So, what do I learn from the story?
I learn that overbearingness is often what makes my mom my ULTIMATE HERO. During the times when I did not feel like praying, did not feel like trying, did not have the strength to go on, she would not give up in telling me to press on: to keep praying, to keep coming to church, to keep trying, hoping and believing. Because of her persistence, I am here today, strong as ever!
This Mother's Day, don't forget to thank your mom, and tell her how much she means to you! Most importantly, tell her never to stop being the 'Slightly Overbearing-Ultimate Hero' that she is!
M'Goose for GOLAtlanta
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