Tag: being christian

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Passed!… Step 2 of Step 5…

So yesterday (8th of May 2012) i passed my Swiss Driver’s Theory Test… i PASSED! šŸ™‚

Very happy about that šŸ˜€ (If you want to know the reason why i need to take this test when i already have my driving license, read here.)

i spent the last few weeks preparing for it; reading the theory book which had well over 1000 points in it, then taking mock tests over the last 3 days on a computer program. i took about 7 or 8 of those mock test as well as going through the entire catalogue of mock questions they had on that CD – yes, i was that nervous about the test.

i was rather disappointed in myself on Sunday night when i took the 1st mock test – i didn’t make the passing grade at all, like not even close, which left me thinking if i shouldĀ scheduleĀ the test for the week after. i prayed hard. And i know i have people praying for me (yes i can hear some going – oh my goodness, all that prayer just for a little theory test!!??Hey, why not? After all, i believe God is into the small things too. Read here.). So i worked at it again on Monday. 2nd and 3rd mock test – still not a passing grade but it was getting better. Then it happened… i nailed it, the 4th time! Well, with a few mistakes but still nailed it. Then i did a few more this morning – again nailed those. i was smiling by the time lunch rolled around.

Just before lunch i read my daily reading (which i get in my email inbox) and this is what it said,

Prepare

Think about times when youā€™ve experienced a sense of success (Psalm 17:14). Reflect on how God played a part in it and give thanks now.

……. reading is fromĀ Genesis 24:29-67, speaking about God leading Abraham’s servant to Rebekah who would be Issac’s wife…….

Respond

Think through what success will mean for you in the next 24 hours. Ask God to be with you and grant you success (Psalm 118:25).

Now that is GOD! That is truly God speaking so directly to me.

Off i went to the test very confident, still a little nervous but confident. i had to wait awhile before i could take the test. In true Swiss tradition, the counter for the registration for the theory test was not opened till exactly 2.15pm, even though the lady was already sitting behind the counter at 1.50pm.

So i waited, along with a few others, who also thought that arriving earlier than the test time to register was a good idea. Anyhow, i registered and paid at exactly 2.16pm, and then was directed to wait some more in the downstairs waiting room. So we waited. Till our number was called and we entered the computer room one by one and sat at our assigned computers and took our test.

There were 7 questions i wasn’t sure about but i thought to myself, “It’s ok, 7 mistakes is well within the passing grade.” Maybe i was a little too confident? Should have checked my answers more carefully – i got 14 points deducted. Another point deducted and i would have failed the test! Talk about God being just on time, just right.

BUT a pass is a pass! And i can not deny that God was speaking and working. Praise the Lord!

i was going to leave you with a scan of the test results but i think that’s too corny so here’s a little Ladybug who greeted me as i skipped my way home after the test šŸ˜‰

Now onto Step 3 of 5.

syc

PS: Here are the steps to take towards a Swiss Driver’s License:

Step 1 – Take the first aid course (10Ā hours) DONE. (It was quite fun.)

Step 2 – Take the theory test. This took me a while to get to because of my heart condition i had extra paperwork. DONE.

Step 3 – Attend the extra Driver’s Ed classes ( 4 sessions). (Click here for post on Step 3)

Step 4 – Take practical lessons.

Step 5 – Take practical test. (Read about the final step here.)

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Prayer is the Power for Victory…

i have been praying for my little Heath and my lovely Heather for a little over 2 months and already my human person is weakening and growing weary and losing hope. i am still praying daily for them, for their daily needs, and most importantly, for their forever families to find them ASAP – like TODAY! However, this past week, my prayers have been tinted with a sort of resignation, you could even call it doubt or unbelief. i no longer pray: “Lord help their families find them today.”, with as much conviction anymore. But i know these kids deserve so much more, so much more than just prayers from afar. They deserve a mummy to hold them when they cry, a daddy to show them the wonders of the world, a family to be proud of who they are.

BUT… God is Good! All the time! And He is always there and knows our heart, knows my heart and He sends great encouragement!

i’m in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) where we spend a whole year studying one book from the Bible. This year we are doing Acts (known also as Acts of the Apostles). In order to understand Acts better, we also cover the letters the apostles wrote.

The previous week’s study was on Ephesians, specifically Eph 6:10-24, which speaks about the armour of God. Our teaching leader gave a lecture on it and her last main point (calledĀ principlesĀ in BSF) was ‘Prayer is the Power for Victory’. Paul had ended his letter to the Ephesians with a request that they pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers” and also for him. Even the great Paul needed to be prayed for. And those prayers were not in vain, although most of the Ephesians would not have seen with their own eyes the results of their prayers. But they prayed on.

11 years old Heath, is a cutie who needs his family asap.

And so i should pray on too. Keep on praying for my precious ones – Heath and Heather, and all the other lovely children on Reece’s Rainbow.

10 year old Heather, is a healthy sweetie who needs a family asap.

Wait! God did not just stop there!

More encouragement as i did this week’s study on the book of James, chapters 1 and 2. And near the end of chapter 1 is a verse which prayer warriors of Reece’s Rainbow hold dear to their hearts:

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

And one of the questions asks us to list specific groups that might be considered as “widows and orphans”. Of course, i listed Reece’s Rainbow’s kids. The follow-up question was, “Do you have a responsibility to any of these? If so, which ones and what might you do to ease their distress?”

God encouraged me yet again. i can pray for them, i can share their stories, i can advocate for them, i can donate, i can fundraise. i can even hope and pray for a mission trip to open up where i can actually go visit them and bring them more comfort in the forms of love and hugs and interaction.

It gets better still. God, then, affirmed that this is my faith in action as i went on to read James 2, where in verses 14-26, it speaks about faith in action, that our actions are the evidence of our faith in God. i pray and hope and have faith that God is moving mountains, melting hearts, enabling hands and feet to bring these orphans a family who will truly love them, value them and give them the life they deserve.

So i will continue to advocate, to pray, to fundraise, to share, to talk about these wonderful children till the cows come home, and still go on some more šŸ™‚

Please do visit my little Heath’s and my lovely Heather’s profiles by click on their names or their pictures. Look, truly look at their amazing faces and see their need, see how much they need you. They can not speak for themselves from where they are currently. Will you speak for them? Pray for them? Will you consider adopting them? Will you donate to their adoption grant? (The larger the grant the higher the chances of them getting notice as this will reduce one of the many hurdles which adoptive parents face)

If you do any of the above, please leave a comment below so that i can send you a personal thank you.

Just one more thing before i go.

7 year old Beau, is a healthy and very independent little guy who needs a loving family.

This little boy, Beau, is the same age as my own Tobias. He has also touched my heart. i will also be advocating and praying for him from now on. He is a wonderful little boy who is intelligent and sociable and loving. He deserves so much more than life in an orphanage, which is where he has been since he was born. Click on his name or his photo to view his profile. Click here to view a video of him, which will sweep you off with what a delightful little guy he is. Once again, i ask you to please consider doing all you can to help him – adopt, advocate, donate, pray…

syc

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Book Recommendation: I Choose to Forgive…

i’m going to do an unusual thing today… i’m going to recommend a book which i have not yet read. You must be wondering how can i recommend a book which i have not even broken its spine to read.

Well, it is because i have heard the author of the book speak, twice. i spent last Saturday morning and this morning at Day Away Association for Women events, listening to this amazing lady speak of forgiveness and her story is all at once heart-piercingĀ and uplifting.

She speaks of how God led her on a journey to forgive the murderer of her son. It is one of the most amazing stories i have heard and it leaves me no doubt that our God is living; alive and truly working in this world today. Her name is Dianne B. Collard and her book is called “I Choose to Forgive”.

My take-away from her talk is this:

There are many layers to forgiveness. What does this mean?
Remember the story of Peter coming to Jesus and asking, “Lord, how many times should i forgive the man who wronged me? Seven times?” And Jesus answered, “Seventy times seven”?

Did Ā Jesus mean that we count the number of times we forgive someone and then take revenge once the 490th “crime” has been committed? No. i have learnt that when Jesus said 70×7, He means 70 to the power of 7, which means you take 70 and multiple by 70 and do that for 7 times. Does it make sense? If you are like me and have no head for numbers, then simply take my word for it that it is a number greater than you can count. And what that really means is every time, all of the time we need to forgive, which should be a normal way to respond for someone who has experienced God’s marvelous forgiveness.

Then she brought it to another level. We can forgive the person who wronged us (but that doesn’t mean the other person is right or that the person is getting away with the “crime”). But if some time down the road, we start to feel the emotions of this “crime” again and start to resent/hate this person or the consequences of his/her action, we need to forgive again. It doesn’t mean that we didn’t forgive that first time around. It simply means that there is another layer of forgiveness we need to take it to, a deeper level. A friend reminded me: it is just like peeling an onion, every layer we peel back makes us cry but brings us closer to the core.

My eyes have been opened and there are issues i have to deal with. But it has also explained to me why i sometimes feel the way i do in certain situations. i have to take it another step further. It’s going to be hard but another important point she made was – the choice to forgive lies with ourselves, but the power to obey (follow God’s commandments to forgive) is in God.

If we are obedient to forgive, just as God commanded, then powerful blessings can flow from the throne of God into our lives and into the lives of others around us. Read to the book to find out more about these fantastic blessings which Dianne experience in her journey of forgiveness.

If you have the desire to hear the talk i heard, then leave a comment with your email and i will try to see if i can get you a copy of her talk on CD. Or visit her blog or her ministry website to find out if she is going to be speaking somewhere near you.

syc

NOTE: All profits from the sale of her book goes to getting translations and getting the book published in countries which cannot afford to publish it. And the profits for those sales (if there are any) are given to a ministry in that country which helps people in great need. It’s a gift which keeps giving. Her statement is that she could never make money from the death of her son.