Going towards my vision – Part 1 (What is it you want?)

I’m reading Myles Munroe’s book The Principles and Power of Vision, which prompted me to write this article.  This book is great in that it’s straight-to-the-point and enlightening.

You’ll notice that this is Part 1 of my article.  I’ve decided to keep this in my blog to journal my thoughts as I go and accompany an action with it.

Here’s a starter quote from the book and you’ll be getting more in my next articles:

Let me ask you some difficult but necessary questions:  Have you changed jobs several times in the last few years?  Do you keep changing your major in college?  Do you do one thing for a time and then go on to something else because you are bored or dissatisfied?  If so, you lack vision.  You were not created to be bored and dissatisfied….
People who know what they are called to do seem to be possessed by their visions.  In a sense, they are.  They are possessed by the things God has given them to accomplish.

When you fear failure

When I was in school, I was an achiever.  All throughout elementary school, I was always at the top of my class.  I was proud to see my photo on the top ten people on the classroom bulletin board.  I was elected president for three consecutive years and won spelling quiz bees.

In high school, I was in the “gifted class” and opted out just because I thought I didn’t want to be labeled a “nerd.”  But all throughout college, I never failed a subject.  I got the top score in algebra and barely passed Accounting but I never failed.

I was afraid of failure so much so that I learned things acamedically without comprehension.  For example, I was able to memorize a number of word definitions in English class so that I would not fail but could not use these words in a sentence.

When I started working, I realized that people who were always ‘failing’ had an easier time than me.  My younger sister who felt the pangs of being “the sister of the class president” was always called to the principal’s office for her failing grades in Math since she wanted to play than study.  (She had the highest marks in Physical Education.)  But right now that she grew up, she was able to stay in a company and weather its storms in a breeze than I did.

The difference between her outlook and mine?  She was not afraid to fail.  If she did fail, she would simply move on.  I found myself having a very hard time of moving on.  If the notion of failing was even near, it would haunt me so much and make me lose sleep over it.

A different level of shrewdness

Did you remember Lucy Liu’s character ‘Ling’ from Ally McBeal?  Ling was beautiful and confident… and she knew it.  She was also cold, never caring for what other people thought and felt.

I actually liked that character because this was something I could use at work in the corporate arena where politics and crazy personalities abound.

Well, when I did encounter one such crazy personality, I realized something — I just can’t be like Ling.  I can’t be a b*tch.

A few changes in the site

Just a few.  WordPress has put in new templates which were really nice.  And just a few days ago, I discovered I can actually change the default header and do a bit of CSS with this.

The changes are very minor but it makes a big difference already.

Ahh… and so are those changes in my life!

More ‘Sex’ divides Christians

I’m talking about the latest review of ‘Sex and the City’ on Christianity Today and the commentaries elsewhere such as that on Boundless and other Christian blogs.

My blog included.  I had my own view and my own opinion.  What prompted me to write another article on this though is that I think the debate has come too sour that one side is yelling, “Fundamentalist!” and the other side is yelling, “Pharisee!”

And here we are saying that we are Christians?  Who are we really kidding?

This Christian girl’s honest view on ‘Sex and the City’

Yes, I did watch the movie.  (Hold on to the next gasp because I’m going to say….)

I saw it with other Christian girl friends as well.  (Exhale.)

Why I saw it and why I’m putting in a public review of the movie will be the subject of this next post.  Come and stick around further to know why.

Prompted by a review
Recently, I have come around this article in Boundless, which then prompted me to find out whether or not it’s true that Christianity Today had a positive review of Sex and the City.  I found the review to be quite disturbing.  Here’s a Christian girl reviewing a movie that she just said had a “threesome, a naked man in a shower, some steamy makeup sex” mostly served up an endorsement of this same movie as, “But it was refreshing to have a single woman’s sexuality acknowledged. In stark contrast, the last time anyone in a Christian setting spoke to the fact that I’m a sexual human being was in a college church group, where I was blithely instructed that “true love waits.” Well, 15 years later, it’s still waiting. And it ain’t so blithely simple.”

Now that is just plain weird.

The whole world already expects Christians NOT to endorse anything with graphic and detailed scenes of “steamy makeup sex” yet here comes a review saying that well… it’s not quite ok but it is ok.

I don’t think that I should quote anything from the Bible stating why we shouldn’t think Sex and the City is such a great basis for me regarding my sexuality.  That thought has been quite obvious to the world so all Christians know why.  I also don’t want to go further into details of the review.  Let me just say I completely disagree with it.  Here’s my own review then.

Until the next praise report

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love. — 1 Cor. 16:13-14

I wish I had a success story or a “praise report” to tell.  That would have been a good post to accent my blog… a chip off my successful Christian life.  The reason was that when I started this blog, I wanted to tell the world what salt and light living was — that it wasn’t stoned, boring and tedious.  That you can actually “have it all.”

But right now, things don’t seem as rosy as I had wanted it.

A nonchalant post on the 5th wheels of things

Here’s a frank post (and probably one of the posts you’ll hear as “negative” in this blog): The time that I mind the most about being single is when couples gather around me and I’m left to talk to myself.

I’m saying this at the risk of sounding bitter.  I’m just honest.  The truth is I’m very happy for all my “coupled” friends and would be there to plan all their weddings since my life is short of becoming Katherine Heigl’s movie 28 Dresses.

But when you’re with two or more couples where they start talking about the ‘future’ and then they start talking to themselves and commence on all kinds of public displays of affection, what exactly can you do right?  It’s not like you’re there to disrupt their happiness but you’re kind of left without any activity to do by your lonesome.

So I’m saying it now: being fifth wheel isn’t a good thing.  Not even in the girl power / glamazon era.  I mind it.  I’m sure other girls mind it.  It shouldn’t be left unaddressed.

It really doesn’t end with just an answered prayer….

So you’ve asked and received.  You sought and found.  You got a breakthrough.  The first thing you ought to do is praise God and thank Him immensely for how else would you get what you got if you hadn’t asked or sought, right?  (This is assuming that you of course, asked for the right thing!)

God is a great God.  He answers prayer.  He gives us the desires of our heart.  (And by desires, that means that these are aligned to His will.  And whatever His will is, it’s all good anyway.  It’s not something bad or will produce calamity.  He said that in Jeremiah 29:11 which seals the deal.)

The thing is… what if you now got it?  A husband that you’ve waited for.  A great job that is in line with your dreams and talents.  A promotion.

When you do realize later on that husbands aren’t perfect because some snore.  All jobs have problems and you realize that when a jealous co-worker blocks your well-meaning plans.  And a promotion suddenly shows the signs of pressure that just wearies you down.  What now?

What a breakthrough feels like

Do you love to exercise? I usually don’t, but I have to.

So I get my butt up and commit to walk for in place for thirty minutes. This will be a minor workout and this will be for maintenance. It’s not hard. I can do it!!

I look at the clock and saw that I started at one o’clock. That means I will then end at 1:30. That’s fine. I start walking.

Five minutes later, I felt like I’ve done an achievement so I keep going. On the tenth minute, I pat myself in the back and saw that I only have twenty minutes more. That’s great! Things are getting better as I mark myself for every five minute milestone.

That was until I reached the twenty-fifth minute. 1:25. Gosh. Those are the longest five minutes of my life till it hits 1:30 and then I’m over! I picture myself sitting on the couch sipping nice cold juice for all my efforts but realize that there won’t be any rewards yet. It’s just 1:26.

And my feet are just screaming in pain. My mind is making a big deal about the time right now. 1:27, the clock says. It’s just 3 more minutes. Why not get that mango juice now?