Why I Love Demi Lovato ?

Why I Love Demi Lovato: Ah, where to begin. I guess at the beginning, like most stories do. It was the Saturday before Easter this year when Demi's interview with 20/20 aired. I'd always adored her before then and supported her fully, but this is where it really set. I watched her interview, one of the first she did out of treatment, with an open mouth and tears in my eyes. Demi struck a nerve in me, and I broke down. For the first time in my life, I broke down. I posted something on Tumblr about my own personal struggles that night, feeling inspired by Demi's words, that my sister had come across. She immediately showed it to my mom and it all took off from there. My whole family spent the night in my room while I spilled out all that had been across my mind for the last four years. I was depressed and I needed help and I needed it soon. Demi did that for me. By appearing on TV and telling her story, I knew what I was going through wasn't something I could just "get over" on my own like I thought. I know a lot of people say she saved their lives, and I'm one of them. I firmly believe that I wouldn't be here without her and to get the chance to tell her this and to return the love she's given me and the rest of her fans is my biggest dream. She is a beautiful girl that isn't afraid to admit where she's been and what's she's tackled. She's one of the most talented young singers and I really hope she receives the press she deserves for all the right reasons.

Greyson Chance

What is The Meaning of Forgivness?

Forgiveness is an active act of a person to rebuild the broken relationship due to an error. There is a dimension of forgiveness in this life. 
1.   Forgiveness is an act not to forget a mistake but humbly accept that he made ​​a mistake and did not bring up the error after the incident. 
2.   Forgiveness is not to avoid conflict. Conflict will always occur and must be faced and find a way out with communication. 
 3.  Forgiveness must be an active act of building together towards common improvement.
 4.  Forgiveness is also a manifestation of repentance, so ready the consequences of errors that occur while still upholding the human dignity of a valuable no-frills existing errors.

May we should be forgiving in the life and courage to apologize if there is negligence.



Memaafkan adalah tindakan aktif seseorang untuk membangun kembali hubungan yang retak akibat kesalahan. Ada dimensi memaafkan dalam hidup ini.

 1. Memaafkan adalah tindakan tidak melupakan kesalahan namun dengan rendah hati menerima ia yang melakukan kesalahan dan tidak mengungkit kesalahan setelah kejadian tersebut.
 2.  Memaafkan adalah tidak menghindari konflik. Konflik akan selalu terjadi dan harus dihadapi dan dicarikan jalan keluar dengan komunikasi.
 3. Memaafkan harus merupakan tindakan aktif membangun kebersamaan menuju perbaikan bersama.
 4. Memaafkan juga merupakan manifestasi dari pertobatan sehingga siap adanya konsekuensi dari kesalahan yang terjadi namun tetap menjunjung martabat manusia yang berharga tanpa embel-embel kesalahan yang ada.

Semoga kita boleh menjadi pemaaf dalam hidup dan berani minta maaf jika ada keteledoran. 

My Lovely Cousin

Badai Salju dan Pengalaman Terburuk di Belanda

Mulai sekarang belajar nulisnya pake bahasa Indonesia aja deh..hehe
abis bingung mau nulis pake b.inggris kaya gimana lagi..

jadi gini ceritaku waktu umurku masih 10th di Belanda..sebenarnya aku udah lupa, aku tau kisah lengkapnya itu aja dari mamaku..karena seingetku cuma kena badai saljunya saja, tapi soal yang lainnya sungguh,, aku sudah lupa!!!(ke Belanda tanpa adikku karena dia belum boleh ikut waktu itu,, kasihan!!)
just look ok??!

Musim dingin di Belanda adalah pengalaman pertama aku melihat salju secara langsung. Menyaksikan butir-butir salju berjatuhan di balkon dan lanskap yang memutih sejauh mata memandang, semua sungguh tampak begitu indah.

Dua hari pertama salju turun, aku berusaha menikmati pemandangan di mana-mana. Aku ke Amsterdam, keliling pusat kota Utrecht, dan bersepeda di sekitar Zeist.
Akan tetapi, salju sebenarnya juga menyimpan cerita buruk. Dan aku juga telah benar-benar mengalaminya—di saat yang sungguh tepat!

Kejadian itu terjadi satu hari setelah badai salju yang melanda Belanda. Minggu, 20 Desember, salju turun sepanjang hari sehingga ketebalan salju di balkon saya hampir mencapai 30 cm! Menurut berita di situs Radio Nederland, Badai salju yang turun di beberapa negara Eropa ini memang telah memakan cukup banyak korban(kata mam sii begitu).

Aku juga menjadi korban keesokan harinya, saat aku hendak berangkat liburan ke Frankfurt dengan menggunakan bus Eurolines dari Utrecht CS. Menurut jadwal dan tiket yang saya pegang, bus Eurolines ke Frankfurt akan berangkat pukul 09.45 dari Utrecht CS. Jadi, pukul 8.30 saya sudah menuju Utrecht CS dan tiba di halte bus Eurolines di Jaarbeursplein pada pukul 09.00.

Halte bus Eurolines satu komplek dengan halte bus-bus antarkota lain di sisi barat Utrecht CS itu. Kabar buruknya: tak ada tempat duduk untuk orang-orang yang menunggu di ruang terbuka itu. Jalanan, pohon-pohon yang meranggas, sepeda yang diparkir cukup lama, semua memutih akibat badai salju kemarin. Putih dan tebal. Butir-butir salju di pepohonan itu sesekali tertiup angin dan jatuh ke bawah.

Aku berdiri saja di halte Eurolines bersama beberapa saudaraku yang juga sedang menunggu bus. Tas punggungku tak dilepas. Tak lama setelah aku di situ, ada 4 mahasiswa Indonesia dari Deventer juga tiba di halte tersebut. Mereka mau berlibur ke Paris dan juga menggunakan Eurolines(mamaku mengobrol dengan mereka katanya).

Waktu berjalan melambat saat menunggu. Tak terasa waktu menunjukkan pukul 10 pas. Aku sangat kedinginan, karena udara dingin di situ seperti sudah sulit ditahan. Yang paling terasa adalah kaki dan tangan—agak kaku, seperti mau membeku. Karena itu, sesekali aku pindah ke tempat lain yang tak bersalju, agar sepatu tak bersentuhan langsung dengan salju tebal itu. Tapi tetap saja. Karena dingin telah menyebar ke mana-mana.

Saat pukul sebelas tampak ada bus Eurolines masuk ke area Jaarbeurs, aku berharap ini adalah bus ke Jerman. Ternyata itu bus ke Paris.
Jelang pukul 12, aku sudah tak tahan dengan dingin dan penantian yang serba tak jelas itu. Aku heran, mengapa tak ada kabar dari Eurolines. Papa sudah mencoba menelepon nomor kantor Eurolines di Amsterdam, tapi tetap harus antre panjang di jalur telepon itu sehingga papa akhiri saja. Aku masuk ke komplek Utrecht CS. Mungkin bisa sedikit menghangatkan badan, pikir papa, dan sekalian untuk ke toilet.

Setelah dari toilet, aku duduk-duduk di ruang tunggu Utrecht CS, tepatnya di dekat Blue Screen, papan jadwal kereta. Sambil menikmati segelas kopi, aku kembali mencoba menghubungi kantor Eurolines. Akhirnya, meski berada di antrean ketujuh belas, aku menunggu. Setelah menunggu agak lama dengan agak gelisah karena khawatir pulsa terkuras habis, akhirnya saya tersambung dengan operator.

Dan ini dia kabar buruknya: setelah diperiksa, si petugas mengabarkan bahwa bus Eurolines ke Frankfurt baru saja meninggalkan Utrecht! Papa pun menerangkan bahwa kita telah menunggu di halte selama hampir 3 jam, dan tak ada kabar apa pun, sampai akhirnya papa memutuskan untuk masuk ke Utrecht CS karena sudah tak kuat menahan udara dingin. Si petugas menjelaskan bahwa hari itu semua jadwal bus menjadi kacau karena badai salju.

Tapi kita tetap saja heran: apa gunanya papa memberi nomor teleponnya di formulir pemesanan tiket jika dalam situasi darurat seperti ini kita sama sekali tak mendapat kabar! Memang sih, tiket Eurolines itu hitungannya bisa relatif murah. Tapi kan itu bukan alasan untuk membuat penumpang terlantar kedinginan. Satu-satunya jalan keluar adalah menunggu bus berikutnya. Dan itu, paling cepat, pukul tiga sore. Aku harus bersabar dan bertahan di tengah cuaca dingin.

Akhirnya, pukul empat kurang seperempat aku sudah berada di dalam bus Eurolines ke Frankfurt. Gara-gara badai salju, aku dan papa mamaku sudah terhukum kedinginan di Utrecht CS menunggu bus. Sungguh ini adalah pengalaman terburukku selama di Belanda.

"REMEMBER ME THIS WAY" (Ochie Manik)

Q: How would you like to be remembered?

A: You choose.

Pilihan bukan di tangan orang yang akan mengingat kita.
Sebaliknya, bagaimana kita ingin diingat orang lain?
Seperti apa kita ingin dikenang oleh orang-orang yang dekat dengan kita, sahabat-sahabat kita, atau orang yang pernah berinteraksi dengan kita ?
Pilihan ada di tangan kita.. Pilihan ada di tangan Anda.


WHEN GOD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

 















Terlahir 31 Maret 1997 dengan nama Yosephine Priskila Taruli Manik, dan memiliki panggilan sayang Ochie, sebagai putri pertama dari 2 bersaudara.
Semua mengenalnya sebagai anak yang cantik, baik hati, sopan, suka tersenyum, suka menolong teman dan sangat suka belajar.
Saya ingat semasa balita, orang-orang senang mencubit pipinya karena sangat cantik dan menggemaskan.

Desember 2010, saya mendapat kabar kalau Ochie demam tinggi, dan ketika dibawa ke RS, hasil pemeriksaan menyatakan mengidap penyakit LEUKEMIA. KANKER DARAH. Seperti petir di siang bolong. Begitu tiba-tiba.
Ochie menjalani perawatan intensif di sebuah Rumah Sakit khusus kanker di Subang, Malaysia. Dan dipastikan, ya... memang Ochie menderita penyakit Leukemia. Perkiraan dokter waktu itu hanya butuh beberapa bulan saja untuk menangani penyakit tsb.

Bulan demi bulan dilalui, ternyata penyakit ini tidak mudah untuk diatasi. tidak seperti perkiraaan dokter semula. Leukemia yang diderita Ochie sangat agresif sekali.

Meskipun begitu, anak yang suka tersenyum ini, benar-benar menunjukkan perjuangannya melawan penyakit yang sangat ganas ini. Berkali-kali menjalani kemoterapi, hingga semua rambut rontok, dan berbagai tindakan medis lainnya, yang sangat menyakiti tubuh anak belasan tahun ini, tidak mampu melumpuhkan semangat hidupnya.
Ada 1 jenis obat yang bila diminum akan membuat Ochie kesakitan dari ujung kepala sampai ujung kaki, tapi tidak pernah ia menolak atau enggan untuk mengkonsumsi obat tsb.
Semangat hidupnya tergambar jelas dalam salah satu status di twitternya, Ochie menulis :


"I HAVE CANCER, I HATE CANCER,  AND I'M KILLING CANCER"

Semua keluarga yang menyaksikan perjuangannya setuju bahwa Ochie tidak mau diintimidasi oleh penyakitnya. Tidak sekalipun kelihatan anak kecil ini mengeluh. Setiap orang yang membesuknya selalu melihat senyuman menghiasi wajah Ochie.
Padahal semua orang tahu bagaimana rasa sakit yang dideritanya.

Banyak pasien lain yang mengalami derita seperti Ochie, mulai patah semangat, murung, dan tidak mau makan. Ochie sebaliknya, selalu tersenyum. < Photo di atas diambil ketika Ochie dirawat di  ICU>

Apapun yang disediakan dia makan dengan lahap (kita bisa terkecoh, dan menyangka makanan yang dimakannya sangat lezat).
Nggak heran, badannya bukan semakin kurus, malah lebih gemuk dan segar daripada sebelum didiagnosa Leukemia.
Suatu ketika, melihat Ochie yang makan dengan sangat lahap, mamanya ingin mencicipi makanannya tersebut, dan akhirnya menyadari ternyata makanan itu sangat plain, tidak seperti yang dibayangkan.
Sang mama menangis dalam hati menyadari betapa putrinya ini sangat berjuang melawan Leukemia.

"MAMA, RUMAH BARUKU SUDAH SELESAI...."

Setelah 10 bulan berjuang, akhirnya Ochie menghembuskan nafas terakhir,
4 Oktober 2011 di tengah keluarga yang mengasihinya. Ia sempat berpesan kepada adiknya Catherine supaya menjaga kesehatannya, Ochie sempat memeluk erat papanya, dan ia juga mengucapkan terimakasih kepada mama yang tidak pernah lelah menemani dan merawatnya selama sakit.

Banyak orang yang mengenalnya menangis dan bertanya "WHY GOD?"

Selama 10 bulan semua keluarga tahu bagaimana Ochie dan seluruh keluarga berdoa kepada Tuhan memohon kesembuhan. Papanya meninggalkan pekerjaannya selama 10 bulan untuk bisa mendampingi Ochie, sang mama juga selalu ada di sampingnya, merawat Ochie sambil tekun berdoa memohon kemurahan Tuhan untuk kesembuhan anak terkasih.
Setiap pagi dan malam di RS mereka membaca firman Tuhan, memuji, menyembah dan berdoa, mendekatkan diri kepada Tuhan. Keluarga ini masuk dalam keintiman yang sangat dalam kepada Tuhan, yang belum pernah mereka alami sebelumnya.

Mulai dari dokter, suster, bahkan janitor di RS negeri tetangga ini pun mengasihi anak kecil yang tabah, dan suka tersenyum ini.

  















Ochie menjadi pasien favorit di RS.
Ada keluarga pasien lain yang sama-sama menderita Leukemia, berwarganegara Malaysia, juga sangat mengasihi Ochie. Sering membeli keperluan-keperluan Ochie, membawakan makanan untuk Ochie.
Semua orang yang mengenalnya di sana mengasihinya..

Muncul pertanyaan, kalau manusia saja sangat mengasihi Ochie, masakan Tuhan tidak menunjukkan belas kasihnya dengan menyembuhkan Ochie?
Mengapa Tuhan? Bukankah Ochie anak yang baik? Bukankah ia meminta dengan sangat supaya Engkau menyembuhkannya? Ohhh Tuhan, .... bagaimana mungkin anak yang Kau beri otak yang pintar (angka-angka yang menghiasi raportnya rata-rata angka 9) tidak Engkau beri kesempatan berkarya bagi Tuhan lebih lagi? Ohhh Tuhan,,,,,,, Air mata membanjiri hati keluarga, dan teman-teman yang mengasihi Ochie.

Saya sebagai tantenya juga sangat berduka.
Semalam sebelum kepergiannya, saya menangis berdoa di hadapan Tuhan, dengan berpegang kepada 1 ayat firman Tuhan saya berdoa "Tuhan, jangan ambil Ochie di pertengahan umurnya. Ijinkan dia menggenapi seluruh rencanaMu dalam hidupnya"

Ditengah-tengah galaunya pikiran yang dipenuhi pertanyaan "kenapa ?", satu kesaksian yang membuat hati saya bisa berkata "God makes sense" (sekalipun belum mengerti) adalah ketika kemudian mendengar bahwa 2 hari sebelum pulang ke rumah Bapa, Ochie berkata kepada mamanya,  

"Mama, .... rumah baruku sudah selesai."

Yesus sudah menyediakan rumah baru untuk Ochie, sehingga Ochie harus pulang. Pertandingannya sudah selesai. Ochie sudah sampai garis FINISH.

"REMEMBER ME THIS WAY"

(a true story of Yosephine Priskila Taruli "OCHIE" Manik)

Selama berada di rumah duka, saya melihat banyak sekali orang-orang yang mengasihi Ochie. Berbagai kalangan berusaha menunjukkan simpati.
Teman-teman sekolah yang sudah 10 bulan tidak ditemuinya, menyempatkan diri datang ke rumah duka mengucapkan perpisahan terakhir kali.
Bahkan menulis lagu perpisahan dan menyanyikannya untuk Ochie.
Mereka juga minta ijin kepada pihak sekolah agar diberi kesempatan mengantarkan Ochie ke tempat peristirahatan terakhir. Tidak hanya berseragam putih-biru selayaknya siswa SMP, bahkan banyak yang berseragam putih-abu-abu, siswa SMA. Panas terik cuaca saat itu tidak mengurungkan niat mereka untuk ikut sampai ke tempat Ochie akan dikebumikan.

Guru yang pernah mengajarnya ketika masih TK juga datang ke rumah duka. Kalau bukan karena Ochie anak yang menyenangkan, tidak mungkin guru yang mengajarnya 10 tahun yang lalu masih ingat kepadanya. Orangtua teman-temannya juga menyempatkan diri untuk menyampaikan kesaksian mereka tentang Ochie. Melihat banyaknya teman dan saudara yang mengasihinya, kita mungkin cenderung akan mengingat Ochie sebagai anak yang baik, supel, pintar bergaul, sehingga dikasihi semua.

Apakah seperti itu Ochie ingin diingat?

Sebagai seseorang yang baik dan menyenangkan ?

SHE LEFT HER FOOTPRINTS : HER DIARY

 Sampai saya melihat sebuah diary, yang selama Ochie sakit dipenuhi dengan tulisan-tulisan tangannya.
Sebelum membuka halaman demi halaman yang ada di dalam diary itu, apa yang ada dalam benak Anda?

Pastilah isi dari diary itu kira-kira seperti ini:
Dear Diary..... hari ini aku merasakan sakit yang luar biasa, .... aku sudah nggak kuat lagi ...
Dear Diary ......kenapa ya Tuhan mengijinkan aku mengalami sakit ini?
Dear Diary... kok aku nggak sembuh-sembuh ? Tuhan kenapa nggak tolong Ochie? Apa Tuhan nggak sayang sama Ochie?


TERNYATA  ...............

Yang saya temukan dalam halaman demi halaman, adalah tulisan tangan yang sangat rapi. Semua diberi garis tepi. Dan semua tulisan itu adalah alamat ayat Alkitab berikut isinya, yang selama 10 bulan Ochie berjuang telah memberi kekuatan, pengharapan, dan pengucapan syukur.

Kapan Ochie menuliskan ayat-ayat di dalam Diary ini ?
Apakah ketika ia sedang dalam kondisi agak fit ? Yang sangat jarang terjadi?
Papanya bersaksi, bukan hanya ketika kondisinya baik, bahkan ketika merasa sakit pun Ochie tetap menuliskan ayat-ayat firman Tuhan yang menguatkan imannya.

Di antara ayat-ayat tersebut ada yang diberi kotak merah :

Aku hendak menyanyi bagi TUHAN selama aku hidup, aku hendak bermazmur bagi Allahku selagi aku ada.

(Mazmur 104:33)

Saat membalik lembar demi lembar diary ini, saya bisa merasakan pergumulannya, pengharapannya, bisa merasakan kasihnya, bisa merasakan kebergantungan Ochie kepada Tuhan.
Karena Ochie tetap menulis bahkan ketika ia sedang di tengah rasa sakit yang hebat, saya bisa merasakan sukacitanya sekalipun doanya belum dijawab. Saya bisa merasakan pengucapan syukurnya, sekalipun Ochie tidak melihat adanya fakta untuk mengucap syukur.

Rasa penasaran saya membuat saya terus membuka halaman demi halaman sampai tulisan tangannya yang terakhir. Saya menghitung.

Semuanya ada  101  halaman yang berisi tulisan tangannya.
Total ada  599  ayat dari Alkitab yang ditulisnya ulang di diary ini.



WHAT WOULD YOU DO WHEN GOD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE ?
Kebanyakan orang akan complain. Mengeluh. Bersungut-sungut. Atau marah kepada Tuhan. Itu yang dilakukan jutaan bangsa Israel ketika berjalan keluar dari Mesir menuju Tanah Perjanjian.

FOOTPRINTS mereka adalah COMPLAINING.

Banyak kejadian dimana kelihatannya tindakan Tuhan tidak makes sense.
Kenapa harus berputar kembali dan terpojok di tepi Laut Teberau menghadapi serbuan tentara Mesir ? Kenapa hanya ada manna?
Kenapa harus menghadapi kehausan dan kekurangan air di padang gurun?
Kenapa Musa yang diangkat menjadi pemimpin?

Saya menemukan kata 'COMPLAIN' di perjalanan bangsa Israel tersebut lebih banyak dari pada kata 'PRAISE' atau ucapan syukur.

Apa yang dialami Ochie, bagi kami keluarganya, bagi teman-teman yang mengasihinya, sepertinya nggak masuk akal.
Tapi kalau teman-teman membaca diary Ochie, teman-teman akan melihat sosok seorang anak yang berusaha tetap mengucap syukur sekalipun nggak mengerti kenapa semuanya Tuhan ijinkan terjadi.

599 ayat Alkitab yang ditulisnya menggambarkan isi hati Ochie yang mungkin tidak pernah diungkapkannya kepada orang lain. Tapi diungkapkannya dihadapan Tuhan, Penciptanya.


STOP COMPLAINING. START PRAISING.

Beberapa hari setelah Ochie dikebumikan, papanya menemukan di ipod Ochie, chatting Ochie dengan seorang temannya di Direct Message twitter.
Percakapan dengan adik kelas yang menderita kanker otak dan sama seperti Ochie harus menjalani kemoterapi dan mengalami rasa sakit yang mungkin hampir mirip dengan Ochie.
Sang adik kelas mengeluhkan tentang rasa sakit tersebut, merasa putus asa atas siksaan yang tak kunjung reda.
Apa yang Ochie tuliskan di situ?

Ochie menghibur adik kelasnya, mengatakan: "Jangan percaya perkataan vonis dokter .... Tuhan Yesus lebih berkuasa. Tuhan Yesus itu baik....."
Dan ketika papa Ochie melihat tanggal postingan chatting-chatting tersebut, air mata menetes.
Itu adalah tanggal-tanggal dimana puterinya sedang merasa kesakitan,
itu adalah hari-hari dimana Ochie belum melihat tangan Tuhan menolong....
tapi Ochie menghibur temannya seolah-olah dia sudah mengalami jawaban, Ochie menguatkan sahabatnya seolah-olah dia sendiri sudah mengalami kesembuhan.

Ketika dokter di Singapore berkata bone marrow Ochie sudah rusak, Ochie menyatakan imannya di status twitternya:  

"Kata dokter bone marrowku rusak, tapi kata Tuhan Yesus tidak."

Bahkan ketika ujung dari perjuangannya, ... akhir dari imannya bukanlah kesembuhan, Ochie tidak complain, tapi mengucap syukur dalam segala keadaan. Dia percayakan hidupnya kepada PenciptaNya.

Apa yang akan kita lakukan saat apa yang Tuhan ijinkan nggak masuk akal?

Stop complaining. Start praising.

GOD HAS REASONS WE CANNOT SEE.

Karena Tuhan berjanji bagi semua umatNya, Dia tidak pernah merancangkan kecelakaan even yang kita lihat sepertinya kecelakaan.
Melainkan rancangan damai sejahtera yang membawa kita kepada hari depan yang penuh harapan. (Yeremia 29:11)



KEEP REJOICING. KEEP PRAYING. KEEP THANKING.

Ochie hanya 14 tahun hadir di dunia ini.
Kehadirannya yang singkat mengajarkan saya banyak hal.
Untuk tetap percaya bahwa Tuhan itu baik, ... apapun kenyataan di hadapan.

Apa yang saya baca dari diary tersebut membuat saya mengerti seperti apa Ochie ingin dikenang.
Bukan semata sebagai anak dan kakak yang penurut dan baik, bukan hanya sebagai teman yang setia, bukan hanya sebagai murid yang pintar dan rajin, tetapi lebih dari pada itu semua, .......

Remember me this way.

As a little girl who always rejoicing, 
always pray without ceasing, 
and always give thanks to God in everything    

(Ochie Manik)

Winds of Change

Several cedar trees tower over our house. They’re about 80-100 years old, according to the arborist who came out. And this time of year, many of the fronds turn rust-colored. Not to be outdone, the leaves on a gargantuan maple tree in the yard also turn yellow edged with rust. Some of the leaves immediately go brown, fall, and bedeck the yard like craft-supply scraps. But many leaves hang on for dear life.

Switch gears. I’m a writer. I write novels, and lately I’ve been plotting one. Well, re-plotting really because it needed some serious work. Jeff Gerke offers some great tools for writers. In his Plotting for the Character-First Novelist eBook, he explains how we writers have to go about pretending to be the god of our characters. Now, hear me out because that doesn’t sound like something you’d expect to read here at Net’s Notes. Here’s where I’m going with this: as a writer defines her character and then puts that character on the fast track to change (80,000 – 90,000 words is all you get to accomplish a profound character arc), they have to push the character toward change. Writers motivate characters to change. 

Same’s true in our lives, and that’s why this method of plotting works. It’s how God relates with us. As the Author and Finisher of our faith, as our God, He positions us in life so we’re faced with the option to change. Here’s the cycle: He points out a better way to live, we resist because we don’t like change, then He escalates the motivation until we’re convinced and finally relent. Resonates, doesn’t it?

Rack your brain with me. What are some changes you know you need to make, but haven’t? You’re semi-comfortable where you’ve always been. You’ve settled there like that fallen leaf in my yard. Bugs treat you like part of the landscape and make their way around or over you. Birds land on you. Nothing moves you. 

Well, except for wind.

Confession time, and please don’t tell our neighbors, but we don’t rake our yard. We’re fenced in on every side, so that fact shouldn’t affect the neighbors. (I do regret that the huge maple spills leaves into their yards, though.) Why bother raking when the winds will come? What does the wind do? It sweeps the green lawn clean and tucks the leaves into the corners of the yard where we can get to them in spring, if we want. Wind changes the landscape and those immovable leaves get moved, like it or not. 

Same’s true for those cedar fronds. Wind changes everything. Strong Autumn winds come along and clear the trees. Suddenly, there is no more resistance to change.

Then the trees rest. So does the wind. See the tie-in?

God’s asking us to change. He really does have the best for us in mind. And yes, change isn’t fun. It’s not comfortable. And it's not often pretty. But things’ll turn out better if we just get on with it. We’ll turn out better if we cooperate. 

If we don’t? He’ll bring the wind. Ever since a huge tree missed our house by only a few feet as it fell years ago, I’ve been a bit apprehensive where wind storms are concerned. Remember those cedars I mentioned? Yeah. We’re surrounded. They come down, we’re toast.

But they’re not going anywhere. The other benefit of 80-100 years in our windy climes is that their roots are deep, strong. Those trees are anchored. 

Wind storms make me pray. Intensely. I hold my breath waiting for the next gust and press really close to God. My “roots” go deep in Him. And the same’s true in my life. He brings motivation (wind), and I dig deep in Him. He’d been chasing me but suddenly I’m chasing Him. 

And when the storm is over, I see His wisdom. The trees are cleared and the winds die down. And then, a season of rest. Followed by a season of new growth and beautiful life. 

One night as I prayed about the wind storm roaring like a freight-train convention outside the window, God told me fall winds had to happen; that's how He designed things. It's how those fall leaves and dead cedar branches get cleared and make way for a new season. The trees cooperate and they earn their rest. 

Will you?

Penuntas Generation

Penuntas generation is the generation that did not leave any task that is even happening restitution of all things, and I am coming soon. Whatever you call this the last generation that is not unstoppable as it has been foretold by the prophet Joel.
A generation of fire into character, passionate love and obedience. To them I confers the acceleration due to the already very short time. Acceleration makes whatever you do is complete grace. No place is too high, no burden is too heavy. Their hearts yearn just to complete the task and reach the finish line.
This generation, the generation that captures of me and do exactly what I want. Unity is a joy for them because they know it is impossible without a complete and finish all work together, without love, without putting one another.
Generation penuntas is my hope, the hope of God's people, the last generation who feared his power all enemies.
While all things are heading in the end, then this generation will be penggenap that makes all the will and promise-promise fulfilled over the whole earth.
I'm in front tentaraKu, my men very much. Trumpet is blown, the earth trembled, the sun, moon, stars await your arrival and look forward to the children of God that terrible day, the day on which generation penuntas win and conquer the world.
  Arise hero!

Penuntas generation Arise!

This is the goal, here's your time!

Photography

All of this photos are my favourite photography...
couse, they have a meaning that can bring me up,, they are my inspiration photos

Daily Life in Oz Land

Ok, I am sooo not used to these temps! We have a heat advisory today, which basically advises everyone to stay in air conditioning, if you can. Heat index may get as high as 107 today, plus the humidity is very high, so a very bad combination. At 1:53 p.m., it's currently 96 degrees.

Daily life consists of early rise between 6:30 and 8 a.m. to get the girls outside and then feed all the critters, excluding the horses who are happy with their grass this time of year. Put some coffee on, check my email and maybe do a little reading. I'm currently readingThe Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs. Great book if you're interested in streamlining and getting back to basics. I made some "from scratch" macaroni & cheese yesterday morning. This morning I made pancakes from Bisquick, but quite tasty with a little vanilla added to the batter.

I'm having just a little difficulty adjusting to my schedule, which consists of getting up around 1 a.m. to fix/finish Tom's dinner. Then I'm awake until 3, sometimes 4 a.m., watching TV with him. Usually he falls asleep before me. Last night he started watching "The Kingdom" with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner -- not usually my pick as far as movies go. But I got involved in watching it while he fell asleep. A bit graphic for my taste, but a very simple and profound ending. I seem to run out of steam every 3rd or 4th day, and I can only attribute this to my weird sleeping/waking schedule. So yesterday I ended up napping for about an hour. :) I've never been much for naps, so that's a very new concept for me.

Tomorrow we are heading north to Abilene, KS to visit his relatives and attend a rodeo; it's about a 2 hour and 45 min drive. Tom was born and raised in Abilene and although both his parents have passed way, he still has family up there. They are throwing us a little party, then we'll head to the rodeo for the evening so Tom can watch some of the team roping events. Hopefully I won't pass out in the forecasted 104 heat!! How embarrassing that would be! :-0

I've included some new pics -- some are for fun, and some are me playing around with my camera and trying to get better at taking pics. Blogger.com isn't very user-friendly when it comes to arranging your pics in your blog, it's quite tedious. So if it looks a bit mussy, oh well, what can I say. I did my best. ;-)

The Life of Non-Working Girl

Ok, first off, that title is not totally accurate. Even though I am not working a full-time job, I can't believe how busy I am staying. I end up with more on my "list" than I can get done in a day! So I may not be working at a professional job and getting paid, but I sure am working at the homestead here in Kansas.

Today, I got my hair cut. Yep. I think we took 3 or 4 inches off. It was getting pretty mangly at the ends and I just could not stand it any longer. I like it, I think. I'll give it a few days and see how it works out when I wash and dry it. Could be a whole different look then. I'll try to get a pic in the next few days and send to a select few. :)

Stopped at the grocery store before I headed out of town to get some fixings for a pasta salad; just finished putting it all together, and first taste was pretty good. We'll see how it tastes after the flavors blend together for a few hours.

Tom & I also took paint horse to the vet this a.m. for a follow-up. He tangled with some barb wire fencing last weekend, and it was very, very ugly. He tore off a section of his foot above one of his front hoofs (hooves?). We were up until midnight last Sat, between Tom getting him to the vet and then rigging up a small pen to keep him in from this point forward. Of course it was raining too. Took Tom almost an hour just to get the fifth wheel loose (rusted) and the trailer hooked up. He hadn't used it since last fall. He learned his lesson from that lil episode. :-( While he was doing that, I was holding paint. Amazing how high a horse's pain tolerance can be. He walked around with blood pooled at the bottom of the ripped portion, and he was quite content to eat the "good" grass. In any event, when the vet took off the bandage today, he just shook his head and said (again), "not good". So it's a day by day thing now. Tom has given paint a shot of penicillin every day for the last 5 days, and redressed his wound and rebandaged it every day too. Now we'll just be redressing it and rebandaging it everyday. I was blown away at Tom's patience, his calmness and his knowledge. He's awesome with horses. :)

This pic of paint a few days ago belies just how serious his injury is; you can just barely see the lovely aqua bandage on his front leg. His sedate temperament has really shown through these last few days and he's been awesome through everything. His problem is that he's only 7 years young, and he gets bored easily. He had a bad habit of hanging his head over the fence to get the grass on the other side, even though he has 15-20 acres to graze. He must have got his foot caught in the lower string of barb wire; we weren't home when it happened. We just came home to a disaster after a lovely day running errands on Saturday and eating at a mexican restaurant at Magelang.

Update On My Life

Ok, so I've been most terribly remiss in keeping everyone up-to-date on my blog. Let's see, who or what shall I blame? The beautiful Kansas weather this time of year (up to 60 degrees today Dec. 2), the family that was here off and on throughout last week, the job at South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center that lasted just shy of 3 weeks, or the Mobsters game on Myspace???? Hmmmm, take your pick!

I will say that Mobsters can be quite addictive -- I play it for the strategy angle (should I buy more income-producing territory or more equipment for attacking other mobsters?) rather than joining some of the clique mobs that populate the game. And trust me, some of these mobs can become quite antagonistic at times! No, I prefer to play on my own, attacking those who do not belong to big mobs and making $$ off them so I can advance to my next level. I guess that mirrors my place in life -- I always prefer to take the lonesome road, or at least the road less traveled, as I excel by myself!

The job at SCKRMC was not for me. I was getting all the different medical insurance plans down pat, even though it can be extremely difficult and confusing. What finally pushed me over the edge and made me decide this job wasn't for me -- being alone on the 3-11 shift in ER, not only responsible for registration of all ER walk-ins and emergencies alike, but also responsible for answering the switchboard, calling code blues or reds and gathering appropriate staff as needed for these code calls, handling the fire alarm if it went off and following all protocols and processes involved thereto, etc., etc. The hospital's business is increasing rapidly, plus they just received approval to build a new hospital on the edge of town, which will cause their business to increase even more. I had a discussion with the Business Office Manager upon my departure, and she agreed with me on many counts that there should be 2 people staffing the ER registration desk, not just one. Just think how these patients must feel as the registrar stops to answer the switchboard multiple times as she is trying to get the patient registered!!

WalMart called and I just couldn't go through with that one!! They wanted to hire me as a cashier for the holiday season -- sure, it would have been some income, and perhaps I would have been retained after the holidays and even managed to move up in the ranks due to my most excellent abilities and experience (LOL), but I decided I just could NOT deal with the holiday mobs. Nope, not for me. I served my time in the retail world in my 20s!!!

And so I search for the next job. I just applied for an Accts Payable clerk with Sumner County. This job pays relatively well, and obviously would have great benefits as it is a gov't job. I decided a few years ago I really like working with numbers, so I think I might like this job. The only drawback -- full time 8-5, so I wouldn't see Tom much during the week, just on weekends. I just can't worry about that right now, maybe I could transfer into another position within the county later down the line. I'll cross my fingers and hope I hear from them.

We are less one horse as of yesterday. No, we haven't put paint horse down (yet). Tom's daughter Missy took Mike (Tom's former roping horse) back to Wyoming with them. Mike's roping days are over due to his age, so he will be pampered and get tons of attention from Missy and Jason and the kids.

The vet came by on Saturday to look at paint horse. He's been limping much worse the last 3 to 4 weeks. The vet thinks that he may actually have some hoof trying to grow under the old hoof growth. So Tom trimmed his front hooves and he seems to be walking a bit better, altho still limping. He lays down out in the pasture more during the day. I'm still going to try to get him into that sanctuary in eastern Kansas. He may still have the potential to be used as a training horse for kids; time will tell.

Tom was in WA state at the Boeing plant for the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving. There were some defective nut plates that had to be replaced; seems they didn't get anti-corrosive material applied to them before installation. So Tom got to work 12 hr shifts while he was in WA, and bulked up his paycheck for 2 weeks, for which he was very thankful. He was off all last week, and just returned to work at Spirit today, but he is still on the 3-day work weeks due to the recent Boeing strike. I hope he finds out some good news today when he returns to work -- such as they are going back to regular work shifts, or they may even want him to go to WA state again. I guess there are still some Spirit guys up there this week.

I think that's about all since October. I must say I love living out here and have never felt isolated or lonesome. It is so rugged and beautiful, and quiet. I do miss everyone back home in Ohio and I'm hoping I can drive home for a visit very soon. I'm trying to work something out, so we'll see.... I know it would be easier for me to do before I get a job!

Oh, re: pics........ I'm crossing my fingers that I can get a new camera real soon. My old camera just doesn't have the focus that I want or need. So IF I get that new camera, I promise there will be new pics coming. I didn't even get any pics with Tom's family here last week. :-(