THE MAYONNAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

A Friend of mine just sent me this article. It’s quite pleasant and sweet. I hope you found sometime yourself to enjoy this cup of coffee (coca works just fine if you don't drink coffee. =)

THE MAYONNAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things like family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So …pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Don't sweat the small stuff!

Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID!

Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way BUT never forget to remember the blessings that come each day.

Remember to always smile!

The Tune of My Father's Heart

Dear prayer warriors,

Just came back from Kansas City, I am still processing what I see and hear in International House of Prayer. For those of you who are faithfully praying for me, this is a song that I wrote on the flight coming back to CA. I hope you enjoy it. I don't have a set tune to it yet, but perhaps this will be perfect, so you would have a personal tune from the Father's heart instead of me.

The Tune of my Father’s heart

What burns inside of me?
The heartache for the lost,
is the burden of my Lord.
The Father for the broken heart.

His heart, cares for the fatherless.
His love, comfort the mourning souls
Can you hear?
The tune of my Father’s heart.

Do you know?
The day I found my Father,
I couldn’t let Him go.
Oh, He never let me go.

In His arms,
I hear the tune of his heart,
In His eyes
I see my deepest love.
His tune healed my broken heart

Have you found my Father?
His heart is searching for you,
His joy is to sing to you,
a tune for your heart and soul.

Are you, longing the father’s voice?
Your love, is what He loves to sing for.
Can you hear?
The tune of your Father's heart.

Lay down your life,
Exchange His love,
He’s been singing song to you.
Hear the tune of your Father’s heart.

He is singing the tune of his heart to us.
His love is fathering us.
Can you hear?
Hear the tune of our father’s heart.

He is here. He has a song for us.
Listen, to the tune of our Father’s heart.
He is singing over us.

Daddy don't sleep...

This testimony are very moving...

Is there a man in the house?

A message from House or Home series by living on the edge ministry

MEN! We need to listen up!
Is There a Man in the House? Part 1|Part 2
(click on listen now on the web to listen)

Ladies, here is your part:
Is There a Women in the House? Part 1 | Part 2

Hear more sermons on web clink here

Brokenness

I normally don't listen too much radio, but happen to switch my channel to AM1100. I come across to the message "Brokeness: The plan (Part A)(Part B)"(<-Click to listen) by Dr. Stanley. (>.< color="red">I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"

What am I holding on today of my self-life, that I am willing to keep on holding on to, knowing that it is going to cost of what God’s loving best of my life, and His best for His eternity, the expense of God’s loving best that He has planned?

I remember in the retreat, one of the “Ungame” questions was this, “What is that on thing that you want people to remember you of your life?” This is the kind of dead wish question that Ricardo always likes to ask (^o^). I don’t really remember what I have answer, and I don’t expect anyone does, but one thing that I know now is this and it has been finally able to express in word: “I want people to remember that I am a kind of person that attract them to Jesus.”

Surely, I have not been coming to the point of living out what I just wrote. Because as long as I have my self desire to attract people to remember something about me, I will stand in the way of getting them to see Jesus. Unless my “self” remain dead, otherwise I will be in the way. If I want to be the best of what God intended for me to be, I have to be willing to fully surrender myself to him, but as long as I insist to have things my way, it will never happen.

During the course of this past two months, God has shown me where I have stored my security and trust. Fear has come upon me because I sense that pain is coming, for He is constantly asking me the question will you surrender this? I cry out to Him say, “God not this” or “God help me to keep this safe”. I have come to realize that I have tight my soul into so many other things that I want to hold on to, especially relationships, they cost me what God has intended best for me, which is His the ultimate relationship with Him in my life. Will I willing to surrender my comfort, my security, my relationships, in exchange for a relationship with Him that is in Him alone, so that I may truly keeping my oaks to serve the little ones that he intended for me to feed?

God know my heart’s desire, but he withhold them from me because he knows that if he would have given them to me now, they will take control of my life and become the gods that I serve, He knows that I can't handle them. Our life is rule by the decision that we made. We can choose to live by the control of the Holy Spirit, or we can choose to quash the Holy Spirit and live our ways. God is trying to reset a new vision in me, to replace my old selves: self-advancement, self-centerness, self-dependency, self-righteousness, and self-will; but brokenness is what it takes to reset my life, to bring self-live into an end. God is after all of the self-images that doesn't fit me as who I am.

“God whatever it takes, whatever it takes to get my attention, whatever it takes to get my “self” out of me, send it. It might cost me to fail a thousands times, it might take my heart through the furnace every day. I am going to trust you that your grace is going to help me bear it. I am going to trust you to take me through it. But God, just don't quit on me until you have work me till what you have intended for the best of me."

This is not so much of a gospel song, but it share my moment. I am willing Lord, but be patient with me.

Patience by Take that.

From ideal to reality 1/17/2007

Something what I learn today and hopefully will be a blessing to you. God once again reminded me not to focus on the reality of the world and the fantasy of my desire, but focus on the ideal image of God and let it becomes reality into this world. Let me try draw an illustration. Like the teaching of "love your enemies". Some says that the biggest enemy of man is himself. The reality of self in this world is that "I am a sinner". No matter through what dimension I look at myself, I will always find sin that I despised. So reality of self in this world does not bring any good for me to love myself. When reality doesn't help, some dwells themselves into the fantasy world. In this case would be believing someday I would be perfect without sin, which of course also is unreliable to help us to love self. What is the ideal image of God that we can bring into reality then? It is when I give up self-help and totally trust in Christ who reign in me to rule. In other word, if I am to love myself, love the Christ image that is in me. Same idea apply if my enemies are other than self. Neither should I love the person the way they harm me, nor should I love the person as if they are good when they really being bad. I should love the Christ that is (or potentially will be) in that person. I am ask to love my enemies means to love in a way that finding and placing Christ in them.

Lastly, come across an artist presenting Psalm 139 on You tube enjoy!

God will make a way 1/15/2007

I felt so emotionally tire. I still haven't learn how to have rest. My mind just keep telling me constantly to strive for things to do. I am afraid of resting. When I rest, I became worry. My mind would tell me that I am lazy and wasting time that God granted for me. I was so fulled and filled with the spirit after the week I came back from LA. Now I just felt like my old self have came back. Although I have my time with Abba in the morning. I am hungry for His word, but I had a very hard time lately to put myself to rest and listen to His nurturing voice. When I couldn't get the rest in my solitude time with Abba, I find myself just couldn't do well the rest of the day. I couldn't fit in myself to anything or I can't find myself right with any group. I felt I am close to an empty tank and couldn't go any further, but I believe in what Christ said, "anyone who seek his life will lose it, and anyone who lose it because of me will find it." There is nothing that I have is not given by Christ. Thought I have not much left. What I can share with you here in return all your prayer support for me is this few verses that I have been using to battle my anxiety in the past month and I am still finding encouragement with them:

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalms 16:7-11 (NIV)

While encountering so many thought in my head about where He is leading me, this verse also comes to me tonight. I find some encouragement to it. So anyone is reading my blog, I hope this encouragement would also bless you.

Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. 1 Corinthian 4:5

God Will Make A Way
God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way

© Don Moen