Satan is a liar

What does Satan do to make us don't see God's plans and promises in our lives? ( John 8 : 42 - 44)

Satan is lying about God's love.When we don't see miracles happen in our lives, or
we think that our diseases can't be healed, we assume God's love is limited to certain people.
Satan is trying to make our faith weak by accusing us as sinners, we don't deserve the miracles.
BUT MIRACLES HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND GOD'S LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL!! AMEN.

Satan is lying about the concept of joy. He's lying that we can only find joy in this world.
But the joy that the world gives is temporary.
Free sex, alcohol, drugs. These 3 are the worst things we face in our society.They don't do any good to people.
They don't give us real joy.Instead, we're trapped and do more sinful things ( abortion, robbery, and try to take our own life)
BUT A TRUE JOY COMES FROM GOD ALONE!!

Satan is lying about the concept of hell. Some people think hell is not real,some says if God is love, will He
throw people in hell? Others think there is only purgatory.The souls need to be purified before going to heaven.
SATAN IS TELLING LIES SO WE DON'T SERIOUSLY GET RIGHT WITH GOD!
If we know hell is real, we will live a holy life. We will choose abstinence, we will avoid drugs/alcohol, we won't
slander or gossip and do other evil things. We will be afraid of God and obey Him.

Satan is lying about our power. Satan is lying that the only one who has power is Jesus. But in Mark 16:17 says
Everyone who believes me will be able to do wonderful things.
By using my name they will force out demons, and they will speak new languages.

God Bless

God's Ways

When we pray..
We don't pray for what we want..
But we pray for what God wants us to do..
For He knows what's best for us - His children..

Sometimes we impose God to fulfill our desires..
We may think what we want is the best..
God doesn't answer our prayers..
Bitter disappointment mounts in our hearts..

God tells us to wait, we're impatient..
God says NO, we don't listen..

We drift apart from God's presence..
We go our own ways..
We brush aside a little voice..
The voice of Holy Ghost..
________________________________________

Have you ever been disappointed because God didn't answer what you prayed for? Most people have. Me too..

I have tons of prayers that haven't been answered. Prayers that I thought would be good to me, but again..because God loves me so much that He DIDN'T answer all of my ACCORDING TO MY WAY prayers.

If I look back on those days, I'm thankful for what God has done to me. His ways are marvelous!

Back in 2003, why God didn't give me any clients, when I needed to achieve my target the most? I was deeply distressed. I didn't know what's wrong with me. I worked as hard as others but I got nothing.Big zero! But in midst of the year, a big downturn hit the mutual funds market! The NAVs of MFs were going down in no time. Every body panicked especially those big clients who put their money in mutual funds. Only 2 words came out of my mouth THANK GOD!
God really knows what will happen ahead of time. I couldn't imagine what if I got some clients. How could I handle them? Most of them didn't know how exactly MF works at that time. They thought MFs always yield high returns with no risks.

God showed his kindness to me again in 2005. I was applying for a fiancee visa. I supposed to get all my paperwork as soon as my husband to be (at that time) sent it to the US Embassy in Jakarta. But after 2 weeks or so, I didn't get any mail/ phone call from the embassy. Finally my husband emailed the embassy and was told that I had to pick up the documents by myself. I went to the embassy and there..when I was in line waiting for my turn, a young lady who stood in front of me turned and smiled at me. She was friendly and asked what visa I was applying for? I said fiancee visa. She said oh really? me too... And we started talking and changing information. To be honest, I didn't know there were so much paperwork should be completed! T gave me a list of what docs I had to complete. Since then, we become friends :) Thanks again to T. I believe our meeting that day wasn't an coincidence, but God had planned it.
________________________________________

I believe when God doesn't answer my prayers, not because He doesn't love me, but He loves me dearly that He will give more than I wish for. Amen.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(Jeremiah 29:11 King James Version)

Tribulations

The bible has given prophesies of all tribulations that will happen at the end of time.

Isaiah 24:20;CEV - It staggers and shakes like a drunkard or a hut in a strong wind. It is burdened down with sin; the earth will fall, never again to get up.

We ask, what can move this earth?
"According to scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the 8.8 magnitude quake that hit Chile has moved planet’s axis enough to speed up Earth’s rotation. As a result, our days have become shorter by 1.26 microseconds compared to last week." ( quote from The Money Times)

We know it happened in 2010. and now in 2011, a deadly 9.0 quake hit Japan!

"The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis." ( quote from The Weather Channel)

Also the bible has foretold about the earthquakes and tsunamis!

Luke 21:11; CEV - There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases.

Luke 21:25;CEV - Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nation on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides, and they won't know what to do.

I believe some skeptics might say, earthquakes and tsunamis also happened in the past,but your God hasn't come yet? You my say that, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.What we can do is to prepare.

Matthew 24:36;CEV - No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows.

My prayers are with all those in Japan.

Searching For the Truth

There is an empty space in my heart, and I believe that only Jesus Christ can fill that emptiness. That's why I began searching for Him because I long for the truth. I'm sick of people who easily judge; "Hey you know what? you've sinned against God!!" C'mon WHO GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO JUDGE ME? It happened recently one of a friend of mine said if I've sinned because I didn't get married at the Catholic church yet I still receive communion. Oh well, my initial plan was to receive the holy matrimony at the Catholic church, but turned out the procedure was so complicated. I was rebuked by a parishioner (?) when I told her I didn't know the name of the father at church I attended. She was the one who would give me a petition in order to receive holy matrimony.To make a long story short, my husband's friend who is a pastor blessed our marriage in the end. And now I can proudly tell you that I'm blessed!! I'm blessed because God knows the best for my life. He wants to show me the truth behind all those man made rules and traditions which are AGAINST HIM!! I asked God in my prayers if it's so difficult for people who want to come into His presence? of course NOT!! Those arrogant people who try to make simple things to be difficult! After my 90 days bible reading,I find there are so many unbiblical teaching at the Catholic church. You want PROOF?

10 commandments has been corrupted. the bible said : Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 5Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the LORD your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations. 6But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations ( Exodus 20:4-6, CEV) Am I telling a lie? Read this http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm

- Does bible say Mary and the saints will save us at the end of time? Instead "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father ( John 14:6, CEV) We can't find any verses that say we have to worship Mary or the saints in the bible! The second commandment has been deleted and the tenth commandment was split into 2 parts.Yet still, we know that most Catholic church bow down to Mary, pray rosary, etc. There are still lots of things go against the bible, the words of God. I'm not perfect, so if you want to know the truth, start searching for it by yourselves. You will experience how the Lord himself will guide you to find the truth in the Holy Bible!

Happy Holidays!

It's almost the end of the year again! I always get this sentimental feeling on holiday seasons. It's probably affected by the cloudy gloomy weather.

I liked to stare at a Christmas card embossed with white snow covered the trees in a remote place. A little house was standing among those white trees. A pale candle light shone from inside the house. Every time I looked at it, it gave me a warm feeling in my heart. I imagined myself walking in the snow, building a snowman, or just sitting in the house enjoyed a cup of hot tea with some cookies. Ha! That's my childhood fantasy. Yet,it was so sweet. I grew up in a tropical country where doesn't have snow :D

So what is Christmas all about? Christmas is a day when our Savior Jesus Christ was born. He was born in a little town of Bethlehem. That night, Mary was about to deliver her baby but every innkeepers turned her away. In the end, She bore her baby in the stable. That was a story about the birth of Jesus Christ I was told during my elementary school years. At that time, we celebrated Christmas at school. Some students danced to the Christmas carols. That's what I recall. I can't remember another details :) It was in the 80's :D

I remember my dad bought a little artificial Christmas tree. I was so excited and put it up right away. It was so gorgeous with colorful tinsel and ornaments. Also I decorated the tree with cotton wool as if it were snowing :). When the night came, I lit the light on the tree. Nice!!

Now, What is Christmas all about to me? I wish one day I can give a wise answer.

Kimchi

I've been eating kimchi for these few week. Also, my husband makes kimchi pancake. We add imitation crabs, fermented oyster, and scallions. The taste is fabulous. Inspite of the taste, kimchi is really good for health.Kimchi is loaded with vitamins and healthy bacteria called LACTOBACILLI, found in fermented food like yogurt.Also, it's believed that kimchi is good for digestive and keep away flu. I heard from my ex co worker when SARS disease spread in Asian Countries a few years ago, Korea was free from the outbreak.

According to an article I read, kimchi is made from napa cabbage or bok choy, garlic, chilli powder, red pepper paste,salt,minced ginger, sliced scallions,and fish sauce. The salted cabbage has to sit at room temperature for about 4 hours before mixing up with another ingredients. Then it has to leave out at room temperature for 24 hours before refrigerating.
It takes a lot of works, indeed!! My friend said that most people now tend to buy kimchi instead of making it themselves.

I can live on kimchi and rice, and those kinds of fermented Korean foods, since I don't really care for meat and chicken :)

Are You A Hoarder?

I watched Oprah Show last week. She talked about hoarders. Believe it or not, those kind of people exist in our society. They hoard things are not necessary to buy. The guest was a lady who liked to shop every day. Gosh.. She could not stop herself. They showed the audiences how her house were full of things, from the living room to garage. To make a long story short, the reason behind her habit was she lost her brother and sister, and to fill the emptiness in her heart, she went shopping.

Okay, this is a psychological matter. When we feel lonesome, sometimes we just can't control ourselves from doing something. Believe me, some people get pleasure by going shopping, eating, and even doing something stupid like smoking pot.

But no matter what,I can't agree with it. I always spend money carefully. Thank God so does my husband :) Sometimes, we just look like a cheapskate couple. LOL. We're NOT. Definitely not! We don't buy things if we don't need it. I'd rather see numbers grow in the bank than spend it on unnecessary things.LOL.

Seriously, If we get trapped in this situation, think of this simple question:
Do I really need to buy it? If yes, why do I need it? If we don't need it, then FORGET IT.
There's no point to spend money on stuff we don't need when we can spend it for other things. Am I correct?

Materialistic Men, Do They Exist?

People used to associate women with materialism.Even Madonna had a song called Materialistic Girl. But, the world has changed. I bet you can find more and more men around you have become more materialistic than women. I've seen and heard a few of them.

Some of them break up with their girlfriends just because they are pursuing richer ones. They don't care how they have hurt their ex GF's feelings.What they care about is money. How they can rest assure for the rest of their lives without worrying about money. Everything is about money...money and money... I call this kind of men f***ing JERK, and I call those stupid women MORON. Moron if they've already known what kind of men they were dating and they got married eventually.

Once it happened that a man who had a rich girlfriend was trying to "fish out a bigger fish in a pond." You know what I mean? He was trying to get a richer girl. At last, his girlfriend was aware of it and they broke up. I was stunned, speechless because I know both of them. But,thank God that girl didn't get married with her ex jerk boyfriend.

I wonder what will happen to those men if their wives' families declare bankruptcy? lose their houses, money, everything? Are they gonna divorce their wives and go find another rich women? I believe some of them will.


C'est la vie..

Indonesia 2010

This post has been delayed for more than 2 months since I came back from Jakarta. Initially I wanted to post it as soon as I arrived in LA, but due to some circumstances I couldn't finish up writing it. Today I decide to get it done.
_____________

We left for Indonesia on Friday night, February 12 and arrived in Jakarta (CGK) on Sunday afternoon. The flight was about 19 hours + 3 hours waited for connecting flight in Taipei(TPE).The hot and humid weather greeted us after we got off the plane. Because my husband is the US citizen, he had to get a visa on arrival. The part of waiting to get a piece of visa was irritating whoever who was in the line. You can imagine the line was sooo damn long, but only 4 or 5 windows were opened, and the officers worked at a snail pace behind those windows. For God's sake!! My husband was in the line for almost more than an hour. I asked an officer who stood beside me, why they didn't open up all the windows since it was so crowded. He said," that's Indonesia. kind of disappointing." :D

I was surprised when we left the airport. The roads were way more crowded than 4 years ago. Also, many new malls were built in these 4 years. I started counting how many malls were built after I left Jakarta in 2005? My gosh believe it or not, 8 new malls. ha!

The day when we arrived was Lunar new year's day. I stayed at my mother- in-law's.
She has prepared lots of good food. What a feast! :D We stuffed our face that night.
Since my parents live in another island, my mom came to Jakarta the next day. I spent the whole week with mom in Jakarta and the following week, I went to my hometown where I grew up.The place has changed a lot. More crowded than in the 90s. I got together with my childhood pals. What a lovely memory. We reminisce our old school days, and of course eating was a part of the meeting :D
I spent only 3 days in my hometown and flew back to Jakarta since there were still friends to meet up with.

My activities in Jakarta were going around from one mall to another.Many things to see, but few things to buy :D The price was not as cheap as I thought. Clothing are more expensive than in the US. I saw a pair of shorts that cost around 20 bucks. No brand name. I haggled over the price, and the seller said no. Geez... :p
But most of all, what I was looking for were the foods. I ate Indonesian fish cakes and Siomay ( Indonesian steamed dumplings) to my heart's content. They are very cheap there :)

Time flies.. 3 weeks were just too short. Felt like something was missing after we came back. That's what people call homesick dude...:D

All About Names

Finally I changed my mind not to post something that stir my resentment. In fact, I've written it half way and decided to cancel it. I'd better think of something more fun. Hey... I like my Chinese name. It's common in my country that most of the IBC have Chinese names aside from Indonesian names. We use it once in a blue moon. In the 80s, I didn't even care about my Chinese name, tend to be embarrassed :)

Recently I just found out the meaning of my name 尤慧娜. 尤(You) is my surname, 慧娜 is my given name. Apparently they have a nice meaning. I checked in the dictionary, 慧 (Hui) means intelligent, and 娜 (Na) means graceful. But again...I'm not intelligent nor graceful. At least that's what I think.

If I were intelligent, I would have been numero uno student when I was at school. But I didn't. I could only reach up to be number two :)School sucks sometimes :D
Can I be someone without going to school? Like ..what's his name? That Microsoft guy.. damn it.. I can't remember his name :D what a joke!! AHA!!! Remember now..Bill Gates...:) It doesn't challenge me anymore, because I have remembered :)))

Anyway, I'm wondering now if my mom has picked the correct name for me? There's a belief in my country if a name is not suitable for a person, it will bring you bad luck, instead of good luck... eew... scary huh?
In old days parents usually consult their almanac..ehm..stuff like that to pick up a nice name for their kids.

There's another story about names. My friend once told me : In one of the Indonesian provinces,people have a unique culture. Parents will name their children according to a thing they see when the child is born.If they see a chair, so they name their child CHAIR :)) Can you imagine Chair sits on the chair? :p
Hilarious!!

Little Peek About My Passion

It's been quite a long I haven't posted something on my blog. Not because I didn't have time, but I didn't have any idea what to write about. Besides,I was busy, self taught doing Illustrator and Photoshop. Two months ago, I decided to take up Adobe class at SCROC- So Cal Regional Occupational Center. I pretty much enjoy it.

Back to my school days, I remember that I was so excited about drawing and handy craft. I had realized since long time ago that I have passion for art. I even planned to major interior design after I graduated from high school, but Dad didn't agree with my idea. Guess what!! I ended up in management program for 4.5 years. I didn't really like it, except marketing. I believe so..

As time went by, I forgot about my interest in drawing. Until a few months ago, I prayed "God please show me what I'm going to do. Let me see what my talent is. I promise to use my talent You have given me according to Your way."
I made a decision after that. I went to SCROC.

It turns out great doing things we love. I feel it. I feel energetic every morning when I have to go to class, no matter how late I go to sleep at night. Does it mean I'm meant to be to do this??

Well, let's see..

Writing or Speaking?

When it comes to learn a new language, I start thinking which one is more important; writing or speaking? For some languages that don't use alphabet, I prefer speaking to writing. It'll be different when we talk about English.We have to know both well. That's my two cents, of course.

I just finished my writing class today. Basically, punctuations are similar between Indonesian and English. One thing is for sure, we've never really paid attention to them. Who cares? We're used to writing all the way to end of the paper without comma or period :)

Today, a friend taught me how to write in Korean. My gosh.. what a language! I had to wrinkle my forehead to figure out how to combine those characters together :p It's not like taking candy from a baby. That's why I always envy those people who can write in other characters besides alphabet.It rocks!

Now, let's talk about speaking. My Chinese friends said that I speak Chinese pretty good. Oh well, I'm flattered :) How about my English? I'm not sure. English has 26 letters, but it has around 40 sounds. As long as I can pronounce those 40 sounds correctly, most people will get the idea what I'm saying :) It takes time though. I need more practice. I'm even thinking of eliminating my accent..I'm very hung up on American accent :) haha..

17 Years Have Passed

In 1992, 2.30 AM, I woke up as I heard the noise in the house. I got out of my bedroom and asked mom what's going on. She told me that grandma had to be taken to the hospital. I stayed at home and to be honest, I couldn't sleep anymore. I was so nervous what if....?
At 4 AM, Mom came back from the hospital said that grandma had left us. Tears streamed down my face. I was so sad to know that the closest person in my life had gone forever :'(

Now, I'd like to reminisce about her. Grandma was a timid person. She didn't speak loudly. She didn't make noise when she laughed :). On top of that she loved me the most. I ran to her every time mom flew off the handle :p. Also, she was generous. She gave me dough aside from what I've gotten from my parents :). But she always did it secretly. Sometimes mom was suspicious where I got all the money from. LOL

I missed grandma when she was away, then I would take her muumuu with me in my sleep. I felt comfortable when I smelled it. I slept with my grandma until I was 12 :)
Grandma cooked every day. I liked most of her cooking. My favorite one was fried anchovies with peanuts and dried chillis. One day grandma accidentally fed me the chilli :) . Grandma didn't eat meat every first and fifteenth days of the month, only porridge and peanuts. I liked to help her take off the peanut shells.

When I was in middle school, grandma was diagnosed with stomach tumor. According to the doctor that was a benign tumor, and he said grandma had a chance of living for 2 years. After having a procedure, grandma had to take a rest. Since then, mom cooked for us.

Two years have passed. I went to high school. I remember 3 days before she passed away, I had a long day at school, I was knocked out when I got home. She asked our housekeeper to buy a beef ball soup cause she knew I didn't like the food on the table.

If I had known that she would have lived for another 3 days, I should have used those 3 days to cherish her. If I had known that morning was her last day, I would have gone to the hospital.

Even though grandma has left, she will be always in my heart.

I wish I can be your granddaughter again in my next life. This writing is dedicated to you, my beloved grandma.

I miss you...

Dialects

I'm an Indonesian born Chinese. Great great grandparents are from Fujian Province, China. We speak dialect at home. When I was little, I was kind of embarrassed when my folks talked to me in dialect. It wasn't cool at all, I thought. In fact, I don't speak the dialect 100% correctly. As I grew up in Indonesia, I understand more Indonesian. I have no idea how to say "potato" in dialect. We call it "ma ling shu" in Mandarin which sounds like "maling", a thief, in Indonesian.

As a kid, I interacted with other kids in neighborhood. Most of them spoke Hakka (客家话).
That's why I can speak Hakka, more or less. I feel darn lucky! Speaking a little dialects is better than none. At least they really helped when I decided to learn Mandarin 13 years ago. Hakka takes a lot of Mandarin pronunciation. If you know how to say "papaya" in Hakka then you'll remember how to say it in Mandarin "木瓜" (mu gua) . Another example, they both say 有用 ( you yong ) when you want to describe something/someone is "useful". It's easy,isn't it? :)

Little Me

In 1981, I went to the kindergarten. Mom bought me a red lunch box with picture of a rabbit printed on the lid. The first day of school, she took me to the classroom and waited outside the class with another parents. I was as quiet as a mouse sitting at my table, looking around the room and at my peers. The teacher yakked in front and then asked " Who wants to come to the front and sing?" Give me a break teacher..I didn't even dare to speak, let alone sing :) I felt relieved when the bell rang. One day has passed.

As time went by, I enjoyed going to school. One day, I had an accident. It wasn't serious though. I got hit by a bicycle while crossing the street near my house. I hobbled home and cried loudly as I saw the blood oozing out of my foot. Mom helped me to apply some Chinese ointment.It damn hurt. Practically I couldn't put on shoes. Instead, I wore flip flops to go to school. It took a few weeks for the wound to heal. But.. A devious kid in my class stepped on my injured foot on purpose. The teacher, without question, punished him. Yes, I still remember that evil kid :) I wonder where he is now..:)) I distinctly recall, another kid cut my hair with handy craft scissors some time later. I laid my head on the table and he did it quietly.When I found out I cried. The other kids snitched on him, told the teacher what he has done to me :) After school, mom took me to the salon next door to get my hair cut

When the class finished, the teacher would lead the pupils to the gate and everyone shook hand with her before leaving. One afternoon, I extended my left hand to the teacher. I waited and waited....hmm... It was definitely something wrong. Why did she ignore me? I saw mom fixed her eyes on me, but I didn't get with it. At last, I realized I used the wrong hand :)

I didn't have the guts to play on slide. I was afraid of hurting my rear when I reached the bottom :) The slide is way better nowadays. Long time ago, It was made from cement. I loved see saw and swing anyway.

Little Me graduated from the kindergarten in 1983.