Bad Luck, Good Luck?

Bad Luck, Good Luck 

An ancient Chinese story: A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer's neighbors heard about it, they sympathized with the old man over his bad luck. "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" said the farmer. A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" said the farmer. 

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, "Bad Luck? Good luck? Who knows?" 

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they let him stay. Everyone was very happy at the farmer's good luck. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" 

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes it seems like things are going well, and at other times, things seem to be going badly. And we let those things dictate our feelings and our outlook on life. When things are going well, we're happy and we think God is with us. If they are going badly, we get discouraged and think that God must have abandoned us. We end up being tossed around by our circumstances. 

But the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4 that he had learned to be content, even happy, in all circumstances. He was happy when things were bad (he was in jail at the time), and he was happy when things were going good as well. That's the great thing about being part of God's family. We really don't have to worry in our circumstances, because no matter what, we have hope in Christ. "We know that in everything, God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). 

Anonymous

The Bitter "Why?"

The Bitter "Why"

Us: "God, why did you do that to me? Why did you take the one I most love? Why did you permit such illness to conquer my life? Why am I sterile while others have children? Why? Why?"

STEVEN: Before blaming God, let me tell you my story. Many years ago, I thought richness to meant the ownership of the most precious diamond. So, I kept petitioning God to make me rich by granting me this diamond. One day, God let me stumble upon a very precious diamond on my way to work.

Delighted, I scooped it up and swiftly tried to hide it in my suit. At that moment, an angel blocked my way, fiercely took the diamond and threw it far away.

Shocked, I kept yelling and screaming at God, "Why did you do that to me? Why? Why?" A few minutes later, I found the King's soldiers approaching me. They started searching me thoroughly. When they finished, I angrily asked reason for their act. To my astonishment, they told me that the King has lost his dearest diamond and ordered them to search for it and instantly kill whomever they found with it. Alleluia. God did that to save my life and help me enlarge my vision scope to other means of richness like good health and happy family.

GOD: my dearest son and daughter, I'd love you all to be always satisfied.
But, I select the kind of satisfaction I see suiting my purpose in each one of you.
I grant some good health, others wealth, others children. I sometimes
permit the loss of beloved ones or certain illnesses to enrich your souls and
draw you closer to my heart. My dear children, your "whys" are bitter to my
soul. They reflect your lack of love, trust and submission to me. Why do not
you just lean your heads on my shoulder and trust my love and care for you?
Remember, it was written, "For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth,
and his hands make whole." (Job 5:18). "Yet I will not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." (Isaiah 49:15-16).

Us: Dear God, I am sorry for any complaint we have raised against you.
Let it be Your Will in my life. Please help me feel your healing hands during
my toughest times. Thank you. Amen.

Contributed by Maria Hanna.

How Do You Perceive Sunsets?

Sunsets could tell us or remind us of a few things:

- That even if the day has ended, we don't have to likewise end things on our side. It could serve as our rest or break before we continue battling over our trials when the sun rises again. That is, battle trials with strength and gratefulness - grateful that these trials make us stronger, probably without us realizing it yet.

- That we evaluate and reflect how our day has transpired and try our best to count the graces of God, and maybe this way, we will go to bed hugging our loved ones, instead of stress. After all, life is balanced by pain and struggle so fretting about them is just a waste of time, energy, and most of all, happiness that we could not gain back when time has already passed.

- That no matter how frustrating, stressful, sad, and disappointing things could be, the sun reminds us that life goes on and we can flush these emotions that badly affect our decisions down along with the sun so we can always start anew.

- That since we cannot control its setting everyday, there are also things in our lives that we do not have control over. And even if we pour all our efforts to disagree, argue, or rage over uncontrollable things, nothing good will come out of it if the change won't be coming from the source. Thus, we go back to the second point above, waste of time. Since God has control over all things, the one thing we have control over is pray.

I know things are easier said than done but reminding us of great things definitely lightens up the mood, don't you think?

So how about you, how do you perceive sunsets?

Find People Worthy of Your LOVE

BUSINESS MATTERS (Beyond the bottom line) By Francis J. Kong

A teacher asked her third grader to write about their personal heroes.

One little girl brought the essay home and showed it to her parents. Her father was flattered that her daughter had chosen him.

"Why did you pick me?" he asked expectantly. And the sweet little girl replied: "Because I couldn't spell Schwarzennegger."

Who are the people you admire? Who are your heroes and role models in life?

Who would make it to your personal "5 Most Successful People list?"

To many business people I know, the five names on their Successful People list would most likely be found in the world's richest people list.

But what about yours?

Who would make it to your list? Michael Josephson takes it a step farther. He says: "Think of the five most successful people you know. Now think of the five happiest. How many made both lists?" Amazing isn't it?

The five most successful people in the world for you may not exactly turn out to be the five happiest people in the world too. Here is the reason why.

My heroes in life are certainly not the names you find in business magazines.

They are heroes because they have positively impacted my life and inspired me to become better.

In real life, the greatest heroes are often found among the most ordinary people.

Josephson says: "Most people think of success in terms of possessions and achievements, while happiness is a state of mind. It's common to think success will bring happiness, but that's often not the case." Think about what the people on your happy list have in common. I'll bet they have better-than-average relationships, especially with their spouses and children. Of course, other factors besides good relationships also tend to produce happiness – like good health, enjoying one's work, and having fun. And people driven by spiritual and ethical values usually are more content than those who measure success in terms of prosperity, pleasure, and peer approval.

Why are many successful people unhappy?

I guess one of the reasons is that in their quest to succeed, the journey getting there has been littered with a lot of relationship casualties along the way while those who are happy have very healthy relationships. And if I were to choose the one thing most essential to happiness, it would be good relationships. Many leaders fail to understand this.
They would sacrifice relationships just to achieve their own versions of "success" and then one day looked at themselves in the mirror and say: "It's lonely at the top." If that is the case, then there is something wrong.

Real successful people are those who do not only have healthy accomplishments they have healthy relationships along the way and they share the joy with other people at the top.

Think about it. The happiness quotient of people who live high-flying lives of the rich and famous or the swinging lives of the young and beautiful is surprisingly low. Yes, these people experience plenty of moments of soaring satisfaction, but they become harder to duplicate and sustain. Often such people are left with an "Is that all there is?" feeling that can lead to depression and boredom.

No matter how rich, sexy, or famous one is, happiness is almost impossible for people who have hurtful and unsatisfying relationships. Yet people surrounded by the affection, love, and respect of others can find their way to happiness in spite of economic hardship, hard work, and even ill health. That's good news. We can't all be rich, famous, or beautiful, but we can all find people worthy of our love.

And when you have it you are successful aren't you?

I don't know about you but as long as I know that there is a God who loves me and I live my life for Him, I am both successful and happy and you should be, too.

ABC: An Update

I have written a previous blog about my ABC and this is just an update to that.

Well, B is still an on-going financial responsibility, yep. And hope to taste it come January.

At last, A has stopped holding on. It is now within my reach. Just so happy to have it. =)

The next thing with A would be categorized as a sub of A, i.e., A-1, etc. The materialization period of a sub is yet to be seen because as always, it would depend on financial factors, again.

That's just about it.

And again, happy with A.

Taggity Taggity Tapopo

As tagged by my kumare Lian...

Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their 10 things and post these rules. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are 10 facts about me:

10. Show-offs repel me.

9. Blue is my fave color.

8. I love listening to other people's stories.

7. I almost always wear my hair long. I once sported a very short one-length do back in high school but never tried it again.

6. The Notebook is my number 1 romantic movie.

5. If given the chance, I'd like to try to do a voice-over for an animation or a cartoon show maybe.

4. I love to travel, my dream is to see Greece!

3. I am empathetic.

2. I love pasta and cheese even if cheese causes my migraine.

1. Great photographs amaze me.

Now I'm tagging:

Aiee
Ann
Arra
Cathy V
Sir E!
Cordz
Evic
Fifi
Jasi
Isco
Jenny
JB
Joy
Louj
Lady
Marj
Najah
Orlando
Peejay
Ping
Princess
Roslyn
Sheng
Tine
Valerie
Vanessa

Listen

Listen lyrics by Beyonce.

Listen to the song here in my heart
a melody I start but can't complete

Listen to the sound from deep within
Its only beginning to find release

Ohh the time has come for my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside and turned
Into your own, all 'cause you won't listen

[chorus]
Listen
I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I've tried and tried
To say whats on my mind
You should have known
Now I'm done believing you
You don't know what I'm feeling
I'm more than what
You've made of me
I followed the voice, you gave to me
But now I've gotta find my own
You should have listened

There was someone here inside
Someone I thought had died
So long ago
Oh I'm screaming out
And my dreams will be heard
They will not be pushed Aside or turned
Into your own
[ Listen lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
All 'cause you won't listen

[chorus]
Listen
I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home in my own home
And I've tried and tried
To say whats on my mind
You should have known
Now I'm done believing you
You don't know what I'm feeling
I'm more than what
You've made of me
I followed the voice, you gave to me
But now I've gotta find my own
You should have listened

I don't know where I belong
But I'll be moving on
If you don't, if you won't

Listen to the song here in my heart
A melody I start, but I will complete

Now I am done believing you
You don't know not what I am feeling
I'm more than what you've made of me
I followed the voice you think you gave to me

But now I got to find my own - my own