What's that stench?

I entered my apmt an hour back, and couldn't even breathe. The stench was so bad. I turned on the AC. ( Its 47F/8C outside), finaly I had to open the door, and let the cool air in to take the stench out. So what was that stinking smell. The trash can was empty. Did I leave any leftover food on my coffee table. No. Toilet? No. It was really sickening as I had company. My friend looked over the kitchen and said, that's where it comes from.

Strange. For I haven't been cooking regularly.Yes, there were few dishes, that I had not washed and were in the sink. After my friend left, I decided to see if she was right. She sure was. There were not much dishes. I just finished washing them. Took 10 minutes to wash them all. But they had remained there for...errr... 4 days, leading to that yucky smell.

Lesson learnt: Never let your dishes pile up. No procrastination. God reminded me of my quiet time. It was seriously getting shrunk. I once had my alarm at 6.15. Now I get up at 7. It won't take long before my life gets yucky and stinking. Good wake up call.

Love and Respect

"Women need love.Men need respect.It's as simple and as complicated as that.— Emerson" This is on their home page of www.loveandrespect.com. So simple and clear, but why does so many marriages fall apart? I read further.

LnR is rooted from Ephesians 5:33. A verse that I have had trouble with before. Lady respect your husband? Why not vice versa? I never realised that men regard repect more than love. Kind of weird.

Yes, love and trust are required equally by both. "Though we all need love and respect equally, the felt need differs during conflict, and this difference is as different as pink is from blue! " Conflict! that makes the difference! Aha! More than 70% responded that way states the website.

"A woman needs love like the air she needs to breathe. A man needs respect like the air he needs to breathe." It goes on to say, that they are connected to an air hose to a respect/love tank. When you step on the air hose, ahem you are choking the person!

"Unconditional respect is as powerful for him as is unconditional love is for her." Understanding it and practicing it through the Crazy\Energising\Rewarding Cycle does take time. The simple step towards it is, 'if you have bitterness or boredom or a conflict, trace back to see if you did anything in an unloving/disrespectful way. Set it right by giving 'unconditional love and respect'! ' Some wisdom! All the best to my married friends!!

Give up!

Give up? how rude! It is a huge graffiti on a building that I cross everyday to work. 'Give up' on the way to work is sure not helping!

But it made me think, what kind of signs do I put on, to people around me? At work, or home, do they see me as annoying/offending/proud person or an encouraging/humble/helping/ motivating person.

What do people read you as?

Bits of paper.

It was a huge building. A place that can easily hold 500 people. We had our christmas program there, and the crowd had just left after a sumptuous dinner. Nobody told us to clean up, but few of us started to pick up the trash.


In that huge room, left over cups, spilled food, drinks, scattered plates, paper napkins were all over the place. A huge mess all around. We started to clean. Some started sweeping, some on all fours, wiping a spill. some stooping with the dust pan. And it made me think. There was no specific method. No competition. No one to tell how to, or why to. No one to check if we did it well, applaud, or supervise. No one to compare who did better. But we were all picking up trash. We were moving fast, and we were trying to quickly get it cleaned up and we did finish up within approx 30 mins.

It made me wonder, if it was the answer I was looking for. In this world- like our huge room, we have trash all over. God has placed us in different places, in different situations. Could be a tough spot at work, a small help at church, a small chore for a friend, a phone call to a friend, a small prayer for an ailing friend, could be Houston, or Chennai. Different places, different need, different environment, problems, different situations. There is no competition, no comparison. No specific method. The only target is to help clean the mess. A servant attitude. To help as much as we can, as quick as we can in the harvest.

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35b
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37,38

Got Inheritance?

When a lil baby is born, everyone is anxious, and quick to respond who the child resembles. His nose is from the dad's side of the family. His dimple cheeks is from his great aunt. His thick hair is from her granddad.

On that Sunday, we learnt about Michael's grandpa. A hardworker, who shined his shoes and tucked his shirt every morning . He inherits that discipline and hardwork from him. But above all, he remembers his dad dressed up and sitting at his desk every morning for the quiet time.

I have never seen my mom, dad have a fight, not even raised their voices against eachother or at us. I have seen them handle disagreements in a calm, serene way. At any instance of pain or fear or joy or confusion ( wherever we are), I have seen them say 'Lets pray' and pray aloud immediately, as if God is right there standing next to you. I have seen my dad on his knees for hours every morning. With tears in his eyes praying, with his bible wide open. I have sneaked in on my brother to watch him on his knees, and even read few of his 'post it' notes- letters, he has written to God. I have seen my mom, instilling the power of family prayer every night. I have seen my brother on his knees, fasting and standing in the gap.

Looking back, I see that I have learnt more from observing my family and not from anyone 'telling me to'. That's the biggest inheritance I have got.

I dedicate this blog to all my friends who are mothers/fathers.
My pastor said, if you want a Queen for a wife, check if you are as responsible as a King. I think I can extend it to, if you want good, obedient, polite, smart and happy children, be sure what you leave as an inheritance. Little eyes are watching you.

Deuteronomy 6:7
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Proverbs 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Nourishing and Tempting

Ok, I accept. Most of the time I forget to pray before I eat my food. It especially happens when I am very hungry. I have caught myself chewing/gulping when I remember and start praying.

So it was a thunderbolt when a friend equaled that to what Eve did in Eden, with the fruit. "Good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes". Oh yes, nourishing and tempting that it can even cloud being thankful for our food.

Mom always reminded us of the thousands who have no food/no proper food. Lord, help me to be thankful everyday, for the food in my plate!

925 million undernourished people in the world today. Check where people are hungry in this map. Courtesy: Wfp.org
http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/communications/wfp229328.pdf

Christmas lights?

Oh they are beautiful! Lights everywhere. On trees, on the bushes,even on the tall buildings, on the fence, on the rooftops, the houses, the streets on either side of the roads! The whole city is lit up. I have never seen anything like that before.Red, green and gold!

I sure was carried away, by the beauty of all of it.

Amidst all the beauty, and the excitement, as someone who has seen the otherside of the world, I can't help but gasp at the huge diversity!

But seeing the below display, made me beam wide!

Shopping or Cemetry?

Call me weird, but I like going to the cemetry. Just walking around, reading the epitaphs, calculating their age, and matching the family members! Old tombstones -100-200 years old are even more interesting. Would they have known, that someone from this century would read about them??

It is one place with NO activity. A place so silent, and so still. It seems the world stops spinning there. People who were alive and kicking, with friends, family, someone who laughed, was hugged, kissed, and loved, are now jst a name above the ground. Here lies someone who was once dedicated hardworker, a loving mother, an intelligent scientist, a millionare, a talented singer, a kind doctor they all end up six feet under. Whatever they worked for, lived for, their aspirations, their achievements, everything comes to a standstill. 99% of those who are buried there, don't come there willingly. Ironic aint it.

Working for a leading death care industry, I finaly got the opportunity to see one of their cemetry. The very STRANGE thing, which I've never seen in India was, those well and alive ( not dead), leave their name on the tombstone, with their birthyear. ( Seems it is cheaper to add only the death year later- like that of the picture). Weird? I think that actualy makes you well prepared for that big day. Afterall, that's bound to happen anytime!

Oh yeah, going to a cemetry is less intidimating than shopping. Atleast for weirdo me!

None

Who wants to do nothing? Get up late, laze around, do absolutely nothing all day, but still get paycheck? What do you think?? My pastor asked us to raise our hands. Few hands went up. He asked us again, and this time to tell the truth. :) He raised his hands first. We all did. It felt good to know that its just not me!

Bare minimum. That's what we do at times. Barely getting by. Do nothing, but want to get reward. Easy life. No trouble, no hiccups. Just glide through.

But God wants us to give our best. The best of our strength, our finances, relationships,our health,our time, life. Lesson from the parable of talents. The king does ask for returns. We ought to give the max effort, with whatever we have. Fight against our own desire to be lazy or to do just the bare minimum, but maximise all that we have to the full potential, making use of every opportunity.

He went on, 'God put us in the field to play'. We are just happy to be in the team, and if we don't watch the ball, but just linger around the outfield, you will be chucked out of the field.

Matthew 25:14-30

Restless

I dono why, but recently when I read the passage of Judas, where he decides to betray Christ, it occured to me how he would have felt. Satan had entered into him. and you can imagine, how that would have been. CHAOTIC. The struggle, restlessness, all the worst possible ideas, confusion, doubt, fear, anger, despair. He gave in and then finaly gave up his very life.

I am bad in taking decisions ( big or small), thinking on the pros and cons, what might, what may not, working out the permutation and combination, it is a mess(h) of thoughts. But when the thoughts are too overwhelming, and over controlling that it overflows, we are restless, with too much going on in our minds. Yes or a no, to be or not to be. Yickes. It sure drives me crazy.

But I have learnt to understand that Satan loves keeping me confused( he sure is jumping with joy), pouring out doubts and flow of random, irregular thoughts that can tangle me and get me tied up. It can cloud our minds so bad, that it boxes us up, all we are is restless and a wall builds up blocking the face of God. For after all that's his goal to keep us away from God.

So the key is to turn our eyes upon Jesus, to look full in his wonderful face. And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace!! Oh the tight situation remains. Being cornered and demanded of a decision.Yes or No. To be or not to be. But inspite of everything, I sure know, that God gives me the peace that surpasses all understanding, the wisdom to discern and the strength to say, not my will, but your will be done and After all, it is he who is holding me, and I can see his smile on his eyes. http://nebeula.blogspot.com/2009/01/uncertainty.html

and when we praise God, and put on our smile from the heart, inspite of the mess we are in, haha I can see the frown on the face of our foe.