God Knows What We Need

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In life, we always ask a lot of things. Whether it’s the things that we want or the things that we actually need. The important thing is actually the latter rather the former. In today’s service, God teaches us that He knew what we need, and how He helped us.

Matthew 37-38

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Here is a scene before God was arrested and then crucified to atone our sins. He isn’t afraid but in this verse, He wants to teach us that in our sorrow, in our suffering we need a friend. We need someone to accompany us. For example, if we are sick and if our friends come to visit us. It’s not the things that they brought that make us happy, it’s their presence and us chatting with them. The couple of verse after this one shows that even when God asked them to accompany Him, they or in some cases, we, failed his trust to do so.

Genesis 26:29-33

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” 31 Jacob replied, “First, sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

This is a famous verse where Jacob earns his brother birthright but also it pictures something different. In this scene, Esau(pictured as us) needs something, and he even said that he could die if he didn’t get it. Yet, Jacob(people/friends) used our needs and took advantage of it to gain something for himself. This happens quite a lot in real life, where when someone needs something, say farmers in the villages, the loan shark took advantage of it and put out crazy interest. So make sure you share your problems to the right person, beware/be careful that someone can do it to you, except God.

Exodus 17:10-13

10Joshua led the attack as Moses had commanded, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the hilltop. 11The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he had to lower them. 12Finally, Moses was so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset. 13That’s how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.

Sometimes we want something or we need something. People knew it, but they don’t really know what we really need. For example, we love shoes, but what if your friends gave you shoes that are too big for you or too small. That doesn’t fulfill your needs right? This verse shows us that Aaron and Hur helps Moses, and they understand what he needs, and in the end everyone is happy because Joshua won the war. If there’s no Aaron and Hur, everyone would be defeated instead.

1 Kings 19:3-8

3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

God understands what Elijah needs. He was afraid, he was hungry, he doesn’t have any strength anymore to continue. God made something impossible happen for him, he is served by bread and a jar of water, two of things that are definitely didn’t came from this world because it is impossible for humans to have those in the middle of a desert. And what happened after? He traveled 40 days and 40 nights. HE understand what WE need, and HE fulfills it so WE can continue our life, and even greater one each time.

John 20:19-20

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

God’s disciples were afraid that time and NO ONE can save them. No one can provides safety, or something to beat the afraidness in them. Then, God shows up, He knows that they are in fear, they don’t have someone to rely on. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. So are we when He fulfilled our needs. We will feel overjoyed!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus

And HE will fulfill/meet ALL of our NEEDS. When or where can you find someone that says that to you? He is the one that is able to do that. Knowing what our needs are, meeting them in a right moment and in a right place, without mocking us or taking advantage of our needs. God knew what we need, and He is there for you every time, because He has all the things that we need and in Jesus we trust.

This is a summary from Handoyo Santoso service from Gereja Kemah Tabernakel – 12th February 2012

About Failure

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We all have experienced failure in life, at least once. Whether it’s an exam, driver’s test, relationships, business deals or even tougher ones like health problems and marriage. So what does it means for us? Do we surrender and just act nothing to the failure? A lot of people said that we have failed because we lack skills, experience and the will power to do it. So then should we just try it again when we have it all? Nope. Why? Let’s start with a verse:

Luke 5:1-3

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God 2 he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked to put out little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Jesus saw Simon as an experienced fishermen with skills, yet he lacks faith in God. He chose to got into Simon’s boat to give out God’s words to people and also to Simon.

Luke 5:4-7

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Simon with all of his experience has been failing to catch a single fish all night, and God told him to set sail in a time where it’s unusual for fishermen to do their job. Yet after receiving God’s words, he began to believe and has a faith in God. The result? He received multiple returns of what he usually got with all his experience and skills, and that is what we will get if we put God first before our experience and skills. With God, there is no dead end, with God, your win is expected and being prepared by Him.

2 Chronicles 13:13-14

Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rer, so that while he was in front of Judah the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets

In this verse, we clearly learned that we have faced this in life probably more than once. We faced the impossible, the odds are against us, it’s easy for us to just surrender and receive what we afraid of, which is losing and the failure itself. Israel was turned into two kingdom fighting each other, Jeroboam was a part of Israel which at that time boasts more power than Judah. As we see it, Judah was faced with the impossible, Jeroboam has all the skills and power, Judah turned into God, they cried it out, the priests blew the trumpets.

2 Chronicles 13:15-17

and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 18 The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. 17 Abijah and his men inflicted heavy losses on them, so that there were five hundred thousand casualties among Israel’s able men. 18 The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

I’d like to put a pressing issue against the last word of the last verse. And the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. They RELIED on the LORD, and not themselves, not their skills nor their experience. They put God first, and God made a certain failure into a huge win.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

This is what the LORD says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

This truly sums up what this post is about. Don’t trust human’s strength, even our own strength to face our problems. Human has limitations, God never has one, and never will. For those who did, they won’t even see prosperity when it comes, how poor is that? But if you trust God, you will be blessed, you will always be producing the goods of God and people will see that in you. God bless you!

This is a summary from Handoyo Santoso service from Gereja Kemah Tabernakel – 5th February 2012

 

About Suffering

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Suffering has become some kind of a thing that we will face. For some it may be once a week, once a month, but for more than a few it can be something that he/she/they should face every day. So, has God left us and let us suffer? Definitely no. God has given us an example, that He, the greatest of all the kings, has to face a suffering as well.

Matthew 16:21

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

He said it Himself that He has to be sacrificed, He has to face the suffering, only to win against death and be raised to life again on the third day.

Matthew 16:22-23

22 Peter took him aside and begain to rebuke him: “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you1″ 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter,” Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

After He predicted His death, Peter, who in this verse ‘acted as a Satan’ being told by God that he doesn’t have the mind of God, he doesn’t know what will happen and what is to come. The suffering will only last for a while and what will come after that is far more than the suffering itself.

John 16:21

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

This verse really pictured what is being told before. We will face suffering, we will suffer – even in God – why? Because what will come after that, the happiness – the rewards will make facing the suffering worth it and we will smile in the end, thanking God. Just like a woman who is pregnant for 7,8,9 or even 10 months, the suffering is incredible but when she saw the face of her own flesh, she will be smiling and became happy exactly from that moment on.

John 9:1-3

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus,” but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Sometimes we think that we are suffering every day because we have sinned, we did some things that we aren’t proud of, we acted against God’s will. Yes, maybe we have did that, but don’t put every suffering in one big box of an aftermath of your sin. Like this verse, it’s neither the blind man or his parents’ sin that he suffered through the blindness. It’s because God will work and make a miracle in his life. (And yes He did as the blind man was healed with just a mud that being put in his eyes by God – John 9:6-7)

Hebrews 2:18

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted

Experience always help, and if we have beaten the suffering over and over again, we can always be strong for others who are suffering. We can make changes in people’s life, not necessarily healing people’s pain but through our testimony, through our experience. Be blessed, and always, be thankful!

This is a summary from Handoyo Santoso service from Gereja Kemah Tabernakel – 29th January 2012

The Year of Water Dragon

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I think it can be the best Monday, or at least, one of the best Monday in 2012. Is there any better way to start your week with going to your relatives’ home, eating best homemade foods(pork ftw!), seeing and chatting with your uncles, aunties and the best thing is? Collecting red envelopes!

This year has definitely a different feeling from the previous years, the family is starting to shrink because of my grandmother’s death and then there are few families living abroad now so it’s not as big as it used to be when I’m in childhood. What struck me is that I have a cousin who diagnosed with cancer and his mother got hit by a stroke just few weeks ago. I felt really sad and like, being super thankful that God has always protect my parents and my sisters.

The Year of Water Dragon. Dragon always being symbolized as power and wealth. The baby boom in China. I think, even though I wrote 2011 is my best year yet, I can safely say this year is gonna be a prosperous, healthy and wealthy one. Even this month, is already a hectic one and if you compare it to last year, my activities are totally different. I felt like I’m living my passion and chasing my dream right now. I sure hope that you are too! Happy Chinese New Year!

Jesus’ Witness

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Have you witnessed Jesus’ miracle? Have you became one of Jesus’ witnesses? Have you give a testimonial witnessing Jesus’ miracle in your life?

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

In this verse, it’s clearly shown that we as the chosen ones, the holy nation, the people that belong to God, may declare, may give a testimony – a truth – a fact of how God has picked us out of the misery and into His blessing. We all are in the darkness before we say that God is our savior, we did all the sins without thinking, we are still imperfect humans but now that we’re in God, we won’t fear anything.

John 4:7-9

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her,”Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him,”You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with the Samaritans)

Then the Samaritan woman are blessed by God in the following verse because she believed in Him. The Samaritan woman has five husbands and was living with a man who is not her husband, so in short, she has been seen as a (pardon me) prostitute who live in a wrong way of life. But let’s see what happens after she has sought God and receive God as her saviour.

John 4:28-30

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward Him

John 4:39-41

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the womans’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and he stayed for two days 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

A woman who is living in lust and saved by God is able to then gave testimony to her fellow Samaritans. And you know what? A lot of people believed in God because of her and they are saved because of her. Imagine what we can do, if we testify and the testimonials got spread around. Because, a testimonial can’t be hold and will always spread around.

Matthew 9:27-29

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes Lord”, they repleid. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said,” According to yout faith will it be done to you”;

Psalm 4:8-9

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing

We need to taste and see for ourselves that our LORD is good that HE is GREAT. If we believe and have faith in him, we won’t fear anything, we will be able to do everything and lack nothing. Have a blessed day!

This is a summary from Handoyo Santoso service from Gereja Kemah Tabernakel – 8th January 2012

2012 Resolutions

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With a great year as a foundation of this year, of course there’s gonna be expectations and wishes upon this year. One thing for sure, we’re gonna celebrate Christmas and New Year while laughing at the Mayans and John Cusack’s 2012. So here goes my 2012 resolutions:

Write more, Read more and then Write even more.

It hasn’t really going well, my blog that is. It logged only 10 posts over the 2011 and I’m quite confused why I didn’t write more while I experienced so much things! I guess it’s different when I’m writing for Penn Olson, there I have an objective and a specific topics to discuss about, but here, it’s too general and sometimes a blank sheet of paper a blank page of post made us a bit harder to start. To boost my posts here, I’m setting a goal for myself to post at least 3 times a week so next year when I’m making 2012, My Best Year Yet post I can see at least 160 posts here! As for my blogging gig I’m hoping for 75 posts per half of the year, so it’d make my post at the end of the year 230 posts over at Penn Olson! (P.S: Willis, if you’re reading, see my enthusiasm! :p).

Reading has been a way for me to write new vocabularies, adapt new style of writing, getting new point of views and definitely it improves my English as a whole. I read a variety of things from newspapers & magazines(regularly reading The Jakarta Globe and Glove Asia) – thanks to Times Bookstore, I’m able to read BusinessWeek, The Economist, TIME, Fortune, Forbes Asia, Forbes Indonesia for free! – and of course Books! In 2011, I’ve finally continued the Artemis Fowl series with Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception. Started The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo & Delivering Happiness as well! And there’s the Steve Jobs biography that I have bought that I haven’t read yet. Another resolution goes here: Read at least 10 books this year!

Be healthy physically and spiritually!

At the end of last year, my father, me and two of my younger sisters registered for a membership over at PIKFIT(at Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta). It was a health club membership that covers you to be able to swim, sauna, and pull some weight over at the fitness area. At the first few weeks we were there quite often, but as the year closes, laziness got to us and we barely came. This year, I want to be able to swim at least 3 times a week – each at least for 1KM.

Ever since I’m baptized (Joshua is the name I got from Him) going to the church isn’t something that my parents have to told me to do so. Church has became a place where, at least for 2 hours and a half, I feel relieved & blessed. A place where I don’t have to worry about anything but to praise Him and thanking Him for what a great life He has given us. Yet, at times, there’s something that can get in between my schedule to go to church. So, I’m promising Him that I’ll be coming to 52 services in 2012, if I didn’t come to the Sunday service then I have to come to either Tuesdays or Fridays.  It’s not an obligation or that I’m being forced but it’s my right to do so!

Getting even closer to graduation with great grades

2012 is going to be THE YEAR of my whole university years. I’m gonna defense my minor project(a bit easier than thesis but still.. 800 pages to defense) in a few days, and then on the first half of this year I will know the result(GPA) for the 5th and 6th semester, then after the summer holiday I’m gonna start working on my thesis. My resolution? Of course getting the maximum possible GPA(4.0) for both semester and acing my minor also my thesis. Expected graduation ceremony: June/July 2013. A year to go!

Eat, Pray, Love!

Like the movie we all knew of I wish this year I can eat more but it doesn’t mean eating a repetitive foods or just to make myself full but more of enjoying the food we ate and eating varieties of foods that I never ate before. Travelling has always been my favorite part of my childhood. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,  and South Korea – Bali & Lombok has been graced by me but I spent more than 3-4 years on a travel hiatus because of financial turbulence experienced by my parents(and not to mention their divorce). Last year, I get to travel to Singapore and Manado. I hope this year I can travel to at least 3 countries(please oh please, Stanford, accept my application!) and 5 cities – saving up for South Korea is also my priority next year!.  Singapore is gonna be my second country, and even more so next year – Startup Asia is coming (if you’re doing start-up, register now!) Not the least part of this paragraph, is love, well for most parts of the year love has been out of the question but nevertheless as a young adult I get to think of it. Here’s to 2012, I hope to fall in love yet again :-)

Personal projects, start-up, community

Being around and about in start-up community(s) has an effect that will definitely get to you. It’s the urge to start something, to realize your ideas and actually taking the first step into the cold hard damned world of entrepreneurship(yes, it’s hard and lonely path – contrary to the belief). Yes, of course, I have lots of ideas, who doesn’t? It’s cheap and worth absolutely nothing unless I do something about it. This year, if opportunity arises, I will take that first step not only in realizing my ideas about start-up but also starting/helping to start a community to help educate and instill the entrepreneurship culture into the now and future generation. Amen!

To close this post, a verse that I got from my church to guide me this year: Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Happy New Year 2012, may we have an even greater year, and fulfill our potentials and to chase our passion!

New Year Service

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New Year is a new start for all of us. We start a fresh, new page, a blank sheet of paper. So what’s in it for us, how will God help us getting through this year?

2 Kings 13:20-21

20. Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

Spring is the season that tells us it’s the new year already, yet the ‘Moabite’ or translated as ‘trouble’/’evil’ are always there to haunt/disturb us. We, humans, are never left without trouble/problems, even if we’re in Him, we will always have problems to face. The difference are because we are in Him, we will not be afraid of it, and because we are in Him, we are going to win everytime!

The meaning of Elisha name is God is my salvation, and if we are in Him and He is in us and we are bonded together then as we read the 2 Kings 13:21 verse, the man STOOD UP, he came back to life and he beaten the death. If death can be beaten, why we can’t beat world’s problems?

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the ressurection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

Do you believe this? This question will be the reminder for us for the rest of the year. If you believe in Him, we will live and never die. It doesn’t mean we will live forever, but we have been redeemed by God himself. He has beaten the death and we will too. 2012 problems will not be bigger than Him and we will win in 2012, always and always will be as long we are in Him!

This is a summary of Handoyo Santoso service from Gereja Kemah Tabernakel on 1st January 2012

2011, My Best Year Yet!

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2011 is really the best year ever in my life, yet. A lot of things, I mean great things, have happened. Met a lot of inspiring people, make a lot of new friends, all because of the Internet and social network specifically. I love my job and I’m passionate about what I do. So here’s the breakdown of things that happened to me in 2012 2011(thank you Ivana for correcting me!) (well, at least of what I remembered, will try to add more if I suddenly remembered something important. And yeah, thank you Facebook Timeline!)

January – March 2011:

  •  I’m finally done with the Forum Member Event 2011 for HIMSISFO which took a toll on me and made me take a rash decision to cut my hair into a bob style! Yeah, i’m doing the impossible and brave things!
  • Celebrated the New Year over at my cousin’s place in Ancol, which is a great thing because his rooftop is the highest among all the houses, saw a lot of fireworks!
  • Starting to come to #StartupLokal meetup after failed to do so in November and December. Attended the iMULAI workshop by Microsoft Indonesia too.
  • Chosen as #StartupLokal 1st Birthday Project Manager (which is the turning point of my career & year)
  • Got into Applied ERP (in Bina Nusantara University, you have to choose a specialization if you’re majoring in Information System. Applied ERP(SAP) and Applied Database(Oracle) is both the ones that has limited class(90 people each out of 1k students)
  • Got the 4.0 GPA for the first time (WOOHOO!)
  • All of the hollywood movies are banned from showing in the movie theatre (OMG right? There goes our weekend)
  • Started writing for Penn Olson at the end of March.
  • Met Valentcia Trifonia for the first time! Whom will be one of my bestest friend over the year.
  • Watched 2PM for the first time in Blackberry Live n’ Rockin (with Lius Steven, Fredy Jingga, Valentcia Trifonia and Amelia)

April – June 2011:

July – September 2011:

  • AKSI 2011 (Acara Kebersamaan Sistem Informasi) – basically an event where we welcome new Information System students, attended by more than 500 people.
  • East Ventures finally has an office in Jakarta and it’s renovated! Ready to move in!
  • IDBYTE held with Bubu Awards inside of it. Penn Olson writers in Jakarta finally had a dinner together with Willis Wee and Minghao!
  • East Ventures Alpha launched! and incubated 6 companies for its first batch.
  • Summer holiday fulfilled with tech events and meetups (Investor Idol – Ramadhan – Female Founders)
  • Blackberry 9900 and Torch 9810 launched (I have the 9900 as my second Blackberry now, yeaaaa!)
  • Starting my ‘adventure’ with Minor Project (Minor Project is sort of a preparation for the final project but has quite similar characteristics, you have to analyze a business’ workflow, provide analysis report in Microsoft Visio, and code an App to help the business at the very end you will be ‘judged’ by a lecturer)
  • Had a first date with JOSENT! (Joshua – Sevian – Valentcia)

October – December 2011:

  • LDKK – Leadership, Togetherness and Competence training for the newly accepted HIMSISFO members (freshmens!) – for days I yelled quite a lot, burnt my skin and at the very end had a lot of laughter!
  • Second date with my JOSENT (polaroids ftw! and say no to Han Gang!)
  • Watched 2PM’s full concert on 11.11.11 – totally worth the wait(4 hours!) and they performed even better live! Accompanying Monica Corina and Diana Citra (Thank you for Diana’s sister we’re able to stroll around for hours before queue-ing)
  • Bought So Nyuh Shi Dae – Girls Generation Asia Tour Concert tickets (Thank you Kevin Kho!)
  • Travelled to Singapore on 8th December 2011, Joash (Community Manager for e27) kindly provided me a place to crash for a few days. Had a great time flying with Jetstar, on the 9th came to Singapore Indoor Stadium queued from 11AM to get the tag, ended up queing all the way until the concert started(9 hours!) – but it was totally worth it! Seeing the 9 girls live and upclose(second man from the stage) and getting HD fancams :-)
  • On the 10th, I spent it visiting my uncle(in Busan) who’s working there so his family is all there. Quite surprised of their eating habit(they eat quite a lot!) and at the end of the visit got a pocket money for the Chinese New Year(thanks uncle!) – and then spent the entire day left shopping around 313 Somerset and ION Orchard(UNIQLO and Topman being the top contributor of emptying my wallet) and in the night meeting up Sabrina after 6 months(been missing you, party girl!)
  • 11th December 2011 – doing nothing except lying back at Starbucks chair reading Artemis Fowl – The Opal Deception and at the afternoon Joash introduced me to his girlfriend Dung Nguyen – talked a lot about kpop and k-drama and to sum it up I had a plane to catch at 6AM in the morning so I woke up on 4 and then grab a taxi :|
  • RIM launched Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 (and everyone attended the launch got the Bold for free, thanks RIM!)
  • An all-time busy month because of the Minor Project, visited Starbucks even more regularly to meet up with the team and pulling a couple all-nighter, barely finished all of it (more than 800+ pages) and we will have our judgement day on 7th January 2012!
  • Telkomsel through its program Telkomsel School Community Smart Camp invited #StartupLokal to speak in 10 cities, this month I got Manado as a destination. It was quite good in terms of how enthusiastic the students are, how they adopted the technology already and overall it was a fun trip! (too bad I didn’t get to go to Bunaken)

So there goes 1,000 words to sum up what a humbling, fantastic and simply mind-blowing year. I really hope for more of the same, getting to meet more inspiring entrepreneurs, travel more, and learn more. And of course, to finally start-up my own company. Thank you 2011, Thank You God for Your blessing all year. 2012 is gonna be even better!

To Live is To Be Thankful

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Today’s service in Church gave me this beautiful verse: (Isaiah 46:3-4)

(3)Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.(4) Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Reasons? It is truly proven that God Himself has promised us that He will take care of us even before we are born into this world. He have planned a great and beautiful master plan in our life, from our birth, all along until we have gray hairs and finally back to His side.

That we don’t have to worry about what we will have or whether we will be successful in life. As long as we stay inside Him, be thankful and always pray and ask for the best from Him, all of things that you wanted will come. Of course it won’t always arrive on our time, on our demand, because God’s timing is the perfect one.

So yes, Be thankful, and believe that He already has a great plan ahead of you and your future. Why worry?

Inspired and Motivated by Him

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Went to church today and what a really great service I had. Today, the main point is about how we look at God as our inspiration and motivation and vice versa, how God see us as His inspiration and motivation. We might think it’s easier being the former than the latter, but as we getting closer to Him, being both is as hard and as easy.

First, looking at God for our inspiration and motivation. My minister took bird as his example how it inspired us to make us fly, and motivated us to actually make something that can make us fly. Yes, we should thank the bird because the planes are flying thousands of us every day. He also said that from our inspiration we actually turn it into something even better than the original idea. How about God? We should look into Him as our inspiration to do great things and positive things every day. God’s love is everlasting, it’s about how close we are to Him to actually feel that. The closer you are the more you’re going to get to feel His warmth.

God looking at us as His inspiration and motivation, it might seem impossible. We were just a mere mortal, you said. Yes, but we are His creation, God actually do great things in our life because inspired of compassion and how we kept thriving and struggling beside Him. If you actually knew Him, worship Him and admit that He is your savior then He will be inspired to help you in your problems and make you feel safe and secure.

God bless you all!