Needy

Why did Daniel pray three times a day?
Why did the story of Daniel and friends start in the Babylon? And not in Israel?

He prayed because he knew that prayers were his strength. God is the source of his strength to get through each one third of his day.

He prayed not because he is religious. He prayed because he was in a relationship with the unlimited source of wisdom. I bet, as a minister of the most powerful country in his time, Daniel needed constant counsel in order to do the right things and make the best decisions for the country.

I imagine Daniel and God were like best friends. They could not stop messaging and put their smartphone away for a second. He wanted to make sure that God led his way.

Earlier I also wondered why the story of Daniel began in Babylon, a place for the exiled. I believe, it should start in Babylon not because it makes a more dramatic story but because it is about depending on God in the most hopeless place.

Before the invasion, Israel was already a chaotic place--unlike the time when King Salomon ruled. But at least, in Israel, Daniel was at home. He knew the culture, he had his families and friends, he was safe and secure, and he was not oppressed by anyone.

In Babylon, I cannot imagine the office politics, especially in a governmental institution where Daniel was assigned to. It must have been so dirty. Once Daniel put his guard down, he could be dead.

All these are merely my translation of Daniel's story. All I want to convey in this post is only a reminder to come to God each and every day and not only when worst things are happening in our lives. Maybe, we are now in the exile, we are far away from home, we cannot depend on the things that normally back us up, and we do not have strength to fight or any idea on how to solve the problem. Just like how Daniel needed God like he needed his vegetarian meals, do we need God that much? A possible explanation of why we do not need God that much is the likeliness that we are using our own strengths and efforts to solve it on our own. From personal experiences, it never got me out of my problems and mostly made me feel a great disappointment to myself. The only times when I felt victorious and glorious are the times when God brought me through.

      Not by might, nor by power but by my spirit, said the Lord. Zec 4:6

The Pyrex

What's meant to break will break.
What's meant to stay will stay. 

I am going to name this accident The Pyrex.

It was a Friday morning in Tulung Agung. A day before I went back to Holland. My pretty cousin stayed over. We watched Jokowi, the Movie, and stayed up late the night before. It happened when we were preparing breakfast.

Mom was in a hurry. She was going to the bank when she instructed us how to heat the soup and not break the Pyrex bowl -for she broke quite a few herself-. While she was blurting out the instruction from her experience, I thought to myself, "why am I being lectured for doing something as simple as this?". Anyway, I followed all her instruction, including not using the metal spoon for stirring.

But we did not know one other factor that would cause the Pyrex to break. Overheating. I turned the gas higher and after a few seconds. Bam. It broke into two. And we ended up having soto without the soup for breakfast.

Mom tried so hard to keep what is valuable to her. But sometimes it does not matter how hard we try to make it right, things will still go wrong. We can't never know everything and every reason why things happen the way they are.

In the absence of rationality. Only God makes sense.

No power is power

If I can't walk, I know you'll carry me through. 

If I can't run, I know you'll fly me there. 

When I live abroad #1

My favorite place when I have nowhere to study or work is La Place. It is a chain restaurant with a strong wi-fi access and good-sized warm meals and sandwiches. Additionally, it has a big dining space, so I could stay as long as I want. It does not stop there either. Water is free and plenty. 

As you know it, I recently moved to Nijmegen. Back in Amsterdam or Eindhoven I would know where to sit. A place with electrical plug in sight. But today, I had searched the place and I could not find anything. My battery was draining too. I asked one of the staffs if they have a seat where I could recharge my laptop, and he just answered, plug out one of plugs for the lamp, and use that. 

Isn't that cool? He puts me, the customer, first. 

I began to wonder, if I ever would start a business, I would definitely bring these values. The coolness. The flexibility. The organic approach. The not too rigid kind of way. Favor. Easy. 

La Place. Customer Service: 5*. 

Lazy Productive People

I read a section in an article from the Entrepreneur.com and it quickly changes my view on how to work smart. I confess that I spend most of the times working hard when I could outsource those tasks. On the contrary, I forget to focus my time and energy on something that really matters (higher pay-offs for the time). 

The article also refers to sending the email to that big client or making that phone call  as jobs that pays $1,000 per hour while fixing the leaky faucets or extracting a virus from the computer as jobs that should be outsourced. Anyways, this is my favorite part of the article. Why? Simply because that I usually feel very guilty when I don't do "much" during the day.

Don't feel guilty about relaxing. The most productive people are a little lazy. If there are really only a few hours a day in which you do $1,000-an-hour work, does it really matter if you screw around for the rest of the day? Downtime gives you the mental space you need to think. You can't be a great strategist when you're hustling from morning 'til night. Feed your brain instead, so you're sharp when you're negotiating the next sales contract.

Read more on The 80/20 Rule of Time Management: Stop Wasting Your Time. 

Hire a personal assistant, pay her $10 per hour, she will gladly do it and you can focus on making the sale; which will pay you $1000 per hour. 

Masterpiece in Progress

Tonight I am telling a story of my hills and valleys for the last three days of my weekend. And what I got out of it.

• First valley: FRIDAY evening. I got out in the right station after fell asleep in the train (and right before the train left for the next destination) only to find myself stuck in another train which brought me to my destination 25 minutes late.
• Neutral ground: SATURDAY. 
• First hill: SUNDAY evening. I got a dayticket for free for my return train ticket to Nijmegen. Somebody left it behind and I happened to be the first one to find it.
• Second valley: SUNDAY night. I forgot my moving boxes on the train. My boyfriend and I had to got through a lot of hurdles to bring them home from IKEA. But when I had to switch trains, I foolishly left them behind on the train (they were in between the train seats and were unseen to my eyes). 

Sometimes I do not understand why I go through so much ups and downs in life.

One thing I am sure of is that I am a masterpiece in progress. Eveything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen to me are like the potter's hands shaping, adding some water, removing some dirts out, and putting me into the furnace. 

And while I am on the making, it might look ugly. Imagine, the potter's hand full of mud and his clothes splashed with too many colour mixtures and you just want to throw it into the laundry machine. But when the work is done. Rich people are going to fight for it in an auction room. And after a few years, it will stand proudly in one of the greatest museum hall like the Louvre.

Friends, I might not know everything about life now or on my lifetime. But one thing that we can believe on. We are masterpieces in progress. God is the God of artists. He creates beautiful things. And what he creates are always good.

I do not know in what kind of situations your life is in right now. You have experienced disappointments (some to other people and mostly to yourself). You feel that your life is out of control although you have been depending on God as much as your strength could go. Or you feel that you end up in a big mess that strikes you like a lightning. 

God is still working on you.

God is shaping you.

God is carrying out his vision in you.

You are not forgotten. You are here for a great purpose. You are a showcase of God's awesome and mighty works! Don't give up on your life because God has not given up on you. Be willing to be shaped unless you want to make the process longer. Lastly, everyone around you is also a work in progress. You might feel that you are alone in the furnace of life, but you really are not. Everyone can be in the furnace with you. 

Cheers,

Raissa

Wake

Sunday morning rain is not falling, there is no reason for me to snooze away and tuck me back under the warm blanket. The odd thing happens again. I wake my alarm up. I mean, my eyes are opened before the first alarm even rings. It rarely happens to me. Rarely, except the last few weeks after I moved to Nijmegen.

I still can't figure out why I wake up earlier than usual. However, it seems that it is for my own benefit. 

The one obvious answer is that I do not miss church. I am going to Hillsong Amsterdam this week and as planned (I had checked the train timetable the night before) I need to take the 9:18 train. When I get to the train station at 9:07, that train will not get me to my destination. It will stop half way. In short, I have to find out another way to get to Amsterdam on time. 

I remember that the next train will make me late to church and even after I stare at the train information display, I do not see Amsterdam. I ran to the information desk just to see that the train to Amsterdam will leave in 3 minutes. 

Perfect timing!

I do not know how it is going to be if I wake up late today. I might be very grumpy and would not be able to enjoy God as much in the service. 

Sometimes I do not even realize that little things like waking up early is also a part of God's design in my life. It is his little prompts and small voices to be the best of us everyday. 

Have I been listening to him as much? Have you? Start with obeying the small little thing he asks.

Happy Sunday, everyone!