They Serve Best Who Give Most Of Themselves.

Henry didn't understand why he was always asked to drive the church bus for Vacation Bible School. This was the third summer in a row.
"Lord, You know that I give my best at whatever You tell me to do. But, I'd like to do something else this year. Anyone can drive a bus!" he complained.
I have a reason for everything I do.
Henry knew God's voice, but his dissatisfaction made him pursue the situation further.
"I've driven the bus three summers in a row," he said to Jake, his longtime friend. "I've asked to do other things, but for some reason I'm always given the responsibility of driving the bus!"
"Why don't you ask Charlie, the administrator?" Jake said. "You'd better hurry though, because he's leaving town tomorrow."
"Come in, Henry," Charlie said, shaking his hand. "Have a seat. What can I do for you?"
"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Charlie. I've driven the Vacation Bible School bus now for three year. I enjoy it, but I'd like to do something else. I've asked to do other things, but for some reason I'm always assigned to drive. Why? Have I done something wrong?"
"Goodness, no!" Charlie exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sorry, Henry. I thought you knew that the parents and the children specifically ask for you. They've told me you know each child by name, and you make them feel special."
"You sing, make them laugh, and give them treats. You also take time to talk with their parents," Charlie continued. " We've told them that we have other drivers, but they want you."
"But, we want you to be happy. If you'll finish driving this week, I'll get with the board when I return and see what else we have for you to do."
That afternoon, Henry saw David and his mother waiting as he stopped the bus in front of their house. David hurried up the steps and gave Henry a big hug. His mother smiled and said, "We want to thank you for praying for David. When we took him to the doctor today, the ear infection was gone!"
Henry felt tears run down his face. "Lord, thank You for this special opportunity to serve You. Forgive me for making it look small. The rewards are truly great!"

Are you looking for something big to do for God? Maybe the biggest rewards come from doing the small things.
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

Today's devotion.

Lord, please help me to see that any small way I serve other is big in Your sight. Amen.

Inner Beauty

When looking at someone else other than you, be it a friend, a classmate, a passerby, a colleague, or more importantly, a mate, the beauty is the aspect that attracts you. But what beauty is the main attraction? Is it the one covered up by synthetic cosmetics? Or is it the inner beauty.

Inner beauty:
1, Trustworthyness
2, Wisdom
3, Generosity
4, Diligence
5, Ability to speak wisely and kindly

Can you cultivate this inner beauty and look for such beauty in those around you?

Sharing by Sharon

Lord, help me cultivate my inner beauty so I can proudly show everyone around me how much You have done for me.

The Clean Ambulance.

Saw an ambulance today. It was clean, shiny clean. Pulled up to the street near me. 2 paramedics rushed out. They were neatly dressed. Clothes were shining white, neatly pressed, without blemish. They carried a stretcher. The stretcher looked new, strong, firm, and white.

I thought to myself.. They must be going to rescue some rich person, or a politically famous person since it's not often that you see clean ambulances and neatly dressed paramedics with new stretchers. And I watched as they ran up to a drunk dirty old man collapsed on the sidewalk and strapped him in. *huh? All these for a dirty old bum who probably was homeless too?*

But a small voice spoke to me, how much better do you think you are, compared to that old drunk? Remember the clean, unblemished one who came for you when you were drowning in your dirty, filthy sins? No one is better than the other in God's eyes, since all are with sin. But Jesus still came. He still came. Be grateful.

Sharing by Yow in prayer meeting today.

Lord, thank you for coming for me even though I did not deserve it.

Worry

Worry, was; is; and always will be, a part of our lives. Whether we like it or not. Worry for some, is bad, because it brings along disease, problems, premature aging etc. And worry for some, is good, because it helps them rely more on God, to see his miraculous power and glory, helping them in times of need.

But for me, my worry is self-created. I bring worry upon myself. Traits such as procrastination, laziness, lack of motivation, unwillingness to find out etc etc always lead to worry, and even perhaps, reprimandation, scolding, and if seriously enough, degradation in the student-teacher community and black marked.

And since this worry was self-brought upon, I have no face to turn back to God. I have no right to waste my time and life away, and as deadlines draw closer, hug God's feet and beg with tears. I have no right to ask for something I do not deserve. And so, I worry alone. Alone..

All alone..

Один..

Joy Like A Child

It's been a long time since I last came here myself. Though, I really do wonder if anyone has really been curious enough about me to keep up the blog visits even with the lack of activity. Come to think of it, I really don't think so.

Anyway, I just realized that I've changed. I've lost the joy and excitability I used to have. Looking at my sister laughing and chatting away non stop at every single thing, making my tired friends YKH and JT laugh, I realized that things have changed for me. I used to be exactly like that. I would talk non stop, I would become excited at every single little thing that occured, I would laugh and chatter and unknowingly lift up the spirits of those who were around me.

But now..

As my sister chatters away, I stand in the background, arms crossed, a tired look in my eyes. I just cannot bring myself to say a word, much less laugh. Even a smile takes effort. I wish I could be home, with my family, resting, chilling, playing, sleeping. Anything but thinking. I realized that I've probably mixed a little too much with my friends, with whom would ignore me while I was excited because they probably feel as much as I do now, wanting to get home and leave the tiredness of the world behind.

Thus..

By and by I learnt to shut up. I learnt to keep silent, to keep to myself. I learnt to "grow up". I learnt that "grown ups" are supposed to keep to themselves, to keep quiet and to ignore the cheerful and excited. "Grown ups" look down on "children".

Looking at the bright side, I probably make much less of a fool of myself at occasions since I'm not that active anymore. But I can't help but wonder if my growing up just so that I could mix with my friends was a mistake. Have I lost what it takes to be a child of God? Have I completely lost the cheerfulness, the optimism, the brightness of being a "child"? God only knows.

The bible does say that we need to have the joy of a child, the faith of a child. Children seem to be much better than adults. Why did I grow up.. It's too late now.

Down but ... out?

This is bad. It seems to be a relapse of last year. No mood to study, no endurance to push forward, sliding backwards and downwards. This is bad, really bad. I wonder why.

I guess I know why, and I'll need to get to the root and settle it. But my self-control is really really poor. What about this year's responsibilities? No! I want to, yet I don't want to. I need someone to control me, but I'm not a girl, no one will take care of me other than myself.

I'm falling sick once again. Bad health? Cellular problems? Immunodeficiency? Sigh..

I'm not relying on God once again. Sigh, will I wait for God to hit me again before I step back up? Or will I find the strength to go back to Him myself? Time will tell, but time isn't what I have right now.

Lonely again. Keeping busy keeps those thoughts away. But the current me has no motivation to keep busy at all. I love the time in classes when I'm working my brain. But to do that I'll need to prepare class material in advance. Where's the motivation. Whatever happened to asking Jesus to fill the empty space in my heart?

This can't go on. But can I make it stop?

I can't stay down. I must not!

Get up Aaron..GET UP NOW!!!

Now.. 09/09/09

I just got my internet. But I don't have the time to sit down and put down my thoughts, words and deeds for the past few days here. So I guess since I'm bored of studying pharmaco now, I'd just place a few words about the past few days since I got here..

God is good. He's taking care of me, although I still don't understand what He is doing.
I'm currently staying alone in a 3-sitter room, but the mama says she will put the next guy who enters the hostel into my room..
I've just managed to settle down, but I'm on the 1st floor while 90% of my coursemates and friends are staying on the 5th floor..
My 'babies' are still at Kahov hostel, in Alyssa's room. I hope she hasn't cooked and eated any yet..
My room is cold 24/7. The morning sun is blocked by the opposite room while the evening sun is blocked by the apartment behind my hostel.
The bugs here are HUGE!! But at least they're slow flying, so I catch them and squish them and burn them to end their misery quickly.
But I'm really really thankful to my LORD for helping me settle my documents here in Moscow, even though I had to stand for hours, push and squeeze in crowds, and deal with money hungry people, but I still got them done. Praise God.

Oh by the way, today, 09/09/09 is my parents' 24th Wedding Anniversary. Dear mom, dear dad, thanks for bringing me to this world, to be able to feel, experience what the world holds for me. Thank you both for standing by me through the joy and the laughter, though the tears and the pain, for holding me when I was lonely, for teaching me when I was unlearned, for helping me whenever I fell into 'deep shit'. I just can't thank you both enough and all I can do now is tell you 'I LOVE YOU BOTH' from the bottom of my heart.

I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD..!! HUGS AND KISSES FROM YOUR ELDEST SON AARON. I WILL MAKE YOU BOTH PROUD OF ME..!!