Beware of TEMPTATION!

Just finished watching One Tree Hill Season 2, titled “The Heart Brings You Back”. Hm, I, now, realize something important.

Temptation does exist. The bad news is it is everywhere.

What you have to do is RUNAWAY.

Having seven years relationship, like me, doesn’t guarantee anything. It doesn’t guarantee that you won’t fall for another guy. It is true that you are really in love with your current partner, yet if you think that there is a “better” offer, you will be kind of tempted, right?

It is like you choose a certain brand. Let’s say oil. You are very familiar with this oil – Oil A. You have known oil A since you were a teenager first helping out your mom cooking. When you are at the university, you start cooking for yourself, then you discover Oil B. It says that it has more vitamin, healthier and contains good fat. Would you not turn to it, or at least try to taste it? Then it is coming another oil, Oil C, that even has anti-aging protection and cheaper. Would you not fall for it?

Temptation. Unfortunately, it applies to every relationship. You see another cute guy. You meet this man who is wiser, kinder, and more mature. You are business partnering with a sexy woman who is very aggressive and attractive. Your ex called you for no reason asking how you are and, in the end, asking you out. Or the guy that you fell in love with when you were at high school suddenly appear in front of you and ask your number? Yeah, it is everywhere. It happens to everyone!

I fell once, and I won’t let myself fall for another time.

It was really tricky.
Yes, your feeling is really tricky, especially because I am girl who bases everything on emotion.

You can’t really classify and know for certain what feeling you are having at certain moment, to certain person, right? You can’t really see a word blinking in your forehead or chest saying LOVE, LIKE, ADMIRE, RESPECT, or FAN. Can you?

Sometimes, girls do need to think like guys, who barely base their thinking on their heart. They are logical.

Fewh, it was once, and it won’t happen again.

Yeah, I flew, running away from temptation. Just like what I learned from Sunday School. Remember Joseph and Pothiphar’s wife?

Having trouble sleeping thinking of this kinda stuff lately? My friend once told me “you knew the answer. It is in your heart. You just need to listen to it.”

It’s true.
We all know the answer.
It is your call to listen to it,
Or not.

p.s. there is even a TV reality show called 'Temptation Island'. Gee,..!

And the Oscar goes to,...

Thank goodness Academy Award is celebrated properly this year. Thank to WGA that decided to end the strike! Thus, here are the winners:

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
Best Original Screenplay: Juno
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard La Vie En Rose

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis There Will Be Blood

Achievement in Cinematography: There Will Be Blood
Best Film Editing Achievement in Sound Editing and Achievement in Sound Mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum
Best Original Score: Atonement
Best Original Song: Falling Slowly Once
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem No Country for Old Men

Best Animated Feature Film: Ratatouille
And some other winners,... (click on Yahoo Movie)

Congratulation to all winners!!

To Do List: Perservere!

Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for— love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men— will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated.

If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. He brings fulfillment, "because you have kept My command to persevere . . ." ( Revelation 3:10 ).

Continue to persevere spiritually.

Source: rbc.org

Joel Osteen said,...

As I was checking my mail, my eyes stopped at this specific e-mail. Normally, I go through 'unnecessary' e-mail in the evening; yet this morning, a little, tiny voice told me to open this e-mail.

Voila! I was totally overwhelmed by it. It is kind of saying to me that "if I want to be blessed, that I should bless and be a blessing to other people first!"

Enjoy reading it! And hope you can be blessed by it

---

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:20).

God is able to do more than you could ever ask or imagine! But notice that this verse says it’s according to the power that is at work within you. How does God’s power work within you?

God’s power works in you when you are walking in love. God’s power is at work in you when you choose to forgive those who have wronged you. God’s power is at work in you when you bow before Him with a humble heart. He is at work in you when you are serving others by putting their needs above your own.

Remember, God wants to move on your behalf. He loves to bless you! Choose today to let God’s power work in and through you! As you allow Him to work in your life, He promises blessing beyond your wildest dreams! He will do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. He’ll cause you to live the abundant life He has in store for you!

Source: joelosteen.com

Pasca Valentine

Yesterday was Valentine's Day

Surabaya was dressed up differently. Everybody was talking about love. Every space, building or house was decorated with pinky or red ornaments (okay, not every, yet there were a lot of pink/red touch).

Some were very happy to celebrate valentine. I envied my colleague who received a purple bouquet from her secret admirer. I , too, envied another colleague who prepared perfect gift for his girlfriend.

Why did you envy?
Coz, I have never received one in these past 7 years in a row valentine's day. Poor you, Nia! Hehehe,.. no worries, we never celebrate valentine for a cliche reason: everyday is Valentine for us :D Yet, you know, as a girl, it is always nice to receive small gift like those things, such as bouquet, chocolate or little bear :P

On the other hand, some were unhappy. I had a friend who had a little fight with his girlfriend. Thus, he, who actually wanted to celebrate Valentine Day having dinner with and giving gifts to his girlfriend, had to spend Valentine's Day all alone, having dinner with his mom. One public figure even signed his divorce letter on Valentine Day. Too bad for him!

Another drama in Indonesia regarding Valentine's Day celebration happened, exactly on Valentine's Day. Some parties didn't agree with Valentine's Day celebration, because they perceived it as something hedonist and unnecessary to be celebrated. A few groups did also think that it is against God's law.

That Valentine's Day is stupid, costly, or romantic and a must, I don't really care. What I know is Valentine's Day equals love. Is it a sin to love and express your love? I don't think so, unless you have a LOVE affair (alias selingkuh!).

Dreaming Project

Have you ever lived in a dream that you know for sure it would never become a reality?
or have you ever enjoyed something so bad yet you know you would wake up in the morning or, even worse, fall from your bed and awake and all you dream would fade away?

Would you rather go on dreaming?
Or would you stop it and go back to reality?

I woke up, honey.
I rather live in the real world.

Project Closed

Eat You Like Crazy :P

39%

Thanks God, I would barely eat my friends.

Trust me, this quiz doesn't lie, because I can hardly see blood, especially blood running down from one's forehead or arm.

I am 100% tame :P

Wings of Forgiveness*

Do you think that forgiveness is easy?

I don’t think so!

I have been reading many articles about controlling your anger; redeem your emotion, the power of forgiveness, the Five Languages of Apology, Anger Management, and other similar topics. Why is it so important to control your emotion? And why do we have to learn to forgive?

Are all these so hard to do?

Last month, I was shocked with news about a loving-happy couple that was found dead in their house. The police suspected the wife shot her husband while he was asleep and took a shoot to her own head, committing suicide. Wow! What a drama!

A similar story happened some months back when a police was accused of murdering his wife. Another story was about an ex-boyfriend attempted murder a married woman, because he was jealous and wanted her back. And there was, too, a story about a staff that shot his boss because he didn’t get what he wanted.

How about a story of a mom committed suicide with her three kids? It is, too, similar.

What is the red line of these stories? Yes, anger management and forgiveness.

Those were all extreme stories, about hatred that turned into murder. How about stories in everyday life?

I know some people who haven’t spoken to their brothers or sisters for years and years, just because they had a clash in the past – unforgiving clash. I know someone that had to sacrifice his hands or head when he got really angry – he would punch a wall or smack a mirror. I, too, have a friend that had broken up with her boyfriend just because she was very angry that she said cruel things unexpectedly that hurt her boyfriend so bad.

How about me? I had experienced being ignored by my classmate just because I got a better grade than he did. I, too, had ever had a huge fight with Stefy just because I got so angry that I couldn’t talk it out. I also ever had a problem with one of my housemates just because she didn’t tell me that she took my cookies in the cupboard (it was truly PMS, really!). And I was hurt, until now, just because someone said a very wrong thing, in front of my face, which I don’t really remember again what he said – yet it was hurtful – that I can no longer be nice to him, no more.

Forgiveness seems to be the answer of any hurt, pain, and anger.

Yet, is it easy to forgive?

I wish!

*titled inspired by Indie Arie's song

Happy Rat New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!

I haven't really celebrated Chinese New Year for these past five years. I was abroad for four years and then another year somewhere in Timbuktu :P

This year, I am celebrating Chinese New Year again! Yipee,.. I am not traditional Chinese that do usual celebration. Some people are eating out, praying to their forefathers, purchasing special ingredients, etc. just to celebrate Chinese New Year.

I have been raised in a multicultural family. My Dad has a strong Chinese background and my Mom has Dutch background. Thus, what I remember about Chinese New Year is the red envelope (Angpao).

As a child, I had always been waiting for that red envelop every year. Children always get some from older, married people.

I am not sure whether I will get some this year, but let's hope for the best! At least, I will nag my dad to give me one :D hehehhe

Happy Chinese New Year, peepz!
May this year bring you good luck and prosperity.

By the way, this coming year is the year of Rat. MY YEAR!! :D

Good Vs Bad

My opinion that Suharto has been one of the most influential figure in Indonesia remains. After more than 20 days continuously seeing news about him everywhere, I thought 'his death announcement' will stop. It, indeed, has decreased; yet not stopped.

Mr. Wimar, one of my favorite figure, wrote this to end his article, titled "Soeharto escapes trial, but Indonesia does not":

"Bringing Suharto to trial is not just a case of criminal and civil justice. It is important to give people a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Ethical clarity has been clouded by people straddling fence for so many years. People forget the atrocities because they were kept well hidden. But the damage to the nation's confidence and self-respect is evident, and may well be the remaining legacy of Suharto's rule."

Applause to Mr Wimar, because I, personally, have never thought that way. I had wanted him to be imprisoned so bad (although I'd known for sure that it would NEVER happen), because he was such a bad guy. He did cruel things, especially to my ethnicity. Yet, it had never appeared to me that the utmost result of his punishment would be clarity of what is good or bad.

One commented on Wimar's website regarding this article:

and you know what, after his death, the society now can be grouped into 3:
- those who care a lot about Soeharto, who still defend all of his actions on the New Era, telling people like me that those actions (corruption, human right abuse, etc) was needed.

- those who still think objectively and not affected by those dramas we've seen since the beginning of the year

- those who don't care at all. this is the worse group, because as a nation we really need to pay more attention to the current situation.

I have to admit that I have joined the last group. Yet, I disagree if I am called the worst type of person because I don't care to the current situation. I don't care because I know that nothing would happen Cendana Group (even Tommy's case was a soap opera - not mere justice) and no one could ever touch Cendana Family. Thus, why should I bother with Suharto's case any longer?

Forgiveness is God's. We never know for sure what he had done in the past and what he'd done before he suffered. Call me naive and let me be naive about this case, because I believe there must be good part in every person's heart. And Suharto has one, too.