the first quarter.....

Gue lagi di kelas, nungguin kuliah gak mulai2 dosennya blm nongol, so agak ngebut nge-blognya. Hr ini ga kerasa dah tgl 31 Maret lagi, it means the first quarter of the year will end soon. Duileh ga kerasa euiii, prasaan baru kmrn Natalan n taun bauuu, eee skrg dah mo masuk April lagi. Sejujurnya Spring semester ini kerasa jauh lbh berat dr semester kmrn, ini bukan gue aja lho yg ngerasa, kmrn temen2 di bbrp kelas jg bilang hal yg sama, malah mrk ada yg hadapi 4 exams dlm 1 minggu, aduhhh sakitttttttt....... hehehe. Buat gua sendiri semester ini memang kerasa pasti lbh berat, with 15 credits/5 classes and 15 hrs work every week. Tuing tuing tuing... jd kepengen punya 4 tangan n 4 otak (hehehe nti jadi makhluk ape yeee...). So far setengah semester sdh dilalui dgn baik bin lancar, tinggal setengahnya lagi neh. Gotta keep going. Okay, kelas ampir mulai, sambung lagi ntar.


He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.
(Isaiah 40:29 - the Message)

"Ingvar Kamprad" - monday inspiring story

A new Monday! Pagi2 ogut dah nongol di kantor jam 8 kurang 10. Berangkat dari rmh jam 7.30, panasin mobil, tunggu fog yg beku di kaca mobil sampai mencair dulu. Listen to the radio n drove to my school. Sampe di kantor, bersih2 meja n start to boot my slow DELL Desktop. Ceritanya gua kerja di Admissions Dept ini pake sistem jaringan AS400/CMDS, system yg kita pakai udah lamaaaaa banget, dari jaman bedil sundul.... n ga tau kenapa hari ini komputer gua lemot sekaleee, pencet ENTER aja reaksinya nunggu lama.

Well, I start to think.. minggu ini bakal spt apa ya???

Then I found out this inspiring story about the Sweddish IKEA founder/owner who has just been ranked as the 4th richest man in the world according to Forbes, "Ingvar Kamprad." Harta boleh $28 miliar (waduh, brp Rupiah ya itu.... nol nya berjejer) TAPI dia hidupnya sederhana, sampe skrg masih nyetir mobil Volvo tua yg umurnya 15thn, dan selalu terbang pake Economy Class. Eit, umurnya 80 thn lho...

"If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example." Ini pasti jadi teladan buat 90.000 pegawai yg kerja di chain-store iKEA - the world's biggest furniture chain-store, 202 stores in 32 countries. Ada klaim katanya buku katalog mereka adalah publication yg paling sering dibaca orang KEDUA setelah Bible. (jadi apa mereka admit jg kalo Alkitab adl buku yg paling banyak dibaca di seluruh dunia????) Wow! Gua baru tau tuh! Waktu thn lalu Christmas di Philadelphia gua sempet pergi ke iKEA disana, tokonya rapiii banget. Nongkrong disana gak bosen deh, liatin furniture dan barang2 aneh yg lucu2. Pantesan tokonya bernuansa menyenangkan gitu, ownernya aja punya filsafat hidup yg bagus... so company mereka punya etos kerja yg jelas dan bisa dibanggakan.
Listen to what he said, "I'm not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don't have time for dying." Wah wah... bravo Mr. Kamprad!

Well, gotta go back to my work. It's gonna be a longggg week, but I'm doing well and I'll have fun! Jia you!

...the fifth cry

Khotbah hari ini pas sesuai dgn apa yg gua lg rasain. Sebelumnya ta' jelasin dulu, hari-hari terakhir ini somehow I feel alone. Well, perasaan bisa dan seringkali menipu, tapi itulah yg terjadi. Tante Linda & Om Sam pergi terbang ke SanFran, jd yg biasanya weekend main ke rmh mrk, kali ini gak. One of my friends visit his girlfriend @ Atlanta. And then, my roommate and his girlfriend pergi ke Richmond. Nah, sendiriiiiii dah (well gak jg sih).
Pastor Dave hari ini pas banget khotbah the 5th Cry of Jesus @ the Cross. "Eli.. Eli.. Lamasabakhtani" My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?

Ini sesuatu yg cukup berat utk dimengerti. Jesus-God the Father-Holy Spirit, itu Oknum yg sama, the Holy One. Sepanjang Perjanjian Lama, TUHAN selalu menyatakan diri sbg Allah yg Satu. Baru pas Tuhan Yesus naik ke kayu salib, ada seruan spt itu. Kalo dipikir2 kenapa ya?
Waktu peristiwa itu terjadi, bukan hanya Tuhan Yesus ditinggalkan BapaNya, tapi saat itu jg langit gelap gulita. The darkness people would never be able to imagine.
Tadi Pastor Dave nanya, "have you ever been into a place in your life where you're at somewhere so dark???" (darkness disini bisa literal/figural). That question really stucked in my mind.
Well, there's a good news. The Great Architect of this world has been to the most darkest life situation to bear the burden of the whole world so that we can pass through some of the toughest and darkest life situation. Amin!!! Dia sama sekali gak ada salah. Not even guilty. None! Zip! Nada! Hmm...
Pastor Dave cerita wkt dia tugas sbg tentara di Vietnam War, cuma dia satu2nya prajurit yg selamat di divisi-nya yg bisa kembali pulang ke tanah air. Disana dia tiap hari dengar keluhan, rintihan, kesedihan teman2 sesama prajurit yg merasa sendiri, tertinggal, kesakitan. No family, no spouse, no children, only the weapon and themselves. Ada prajurit yg tertembak di dada, dia menjerit, "Mama, it hurts...Mama..." Yg lain merintih," Dad...I'm alone here."
Hmm, gua jadi kepikiran. Kadang ada kalanya di tempat nun jauh dr rumah ini merasakan kesendirian... loneliness. Something that has been a problem since God created mankind.
Itu baru "perasaan" sendiri, pdhal gua gak sendiri. Sementara Yesus bukan merasa, tapi mengalami langsung kesendirian dan kegelapan hebat. Dua kombinasi yg paling mengerikan....
Khotbah tadi intinya ngingetin, God in the flesh, died in a spiritual death. God of light, died in a terrible darkness, all because He wants to redeem us. No darkness will ever compare to the darkness of the cross. Thank God for the cross!

iHabitat

Setelah minggu lalu berSpring Break-ria di Louisville, Senin kmrn akhirnya gue drive back ke Lynchburg, sekitar 7 jam di jalan, sambil bengong, nyanyi, ketawa, makan, mikir, dan nyetirr tentunya...hehehe.. klo gak mobilnya mana jalan ye.
Sekarang gue kembali berada di habitat semula, bersama dgn roommate Matt dan Jessie, the park beagle dog. Tugas2 menanti, term paper, presentasi di kelas, ministry project plan, spiritual journal, dll. Oh tenang.... semester ini tugasnya makin kumplit. Yah, doa-nya, semoga ini semua bukan jd sekedar 'tugas' doank, tp experience-nya bisa berasa langsung dlm hidup sehari2. The break @ Louisville was great, met with great people, great school, and great fun.
Oh iya, bulan Mei nanti, roommate gue bakal married dgn pacarnya Kristie (half Thai-American), so nanti gue bakal di "kick-out" neh ceritanya. Skrg lagi lirik2 cari apartment baru.
Hmmm... any idea?

"sabbatical rest".... cuih gaya eui...

Dearest all,
Sorry it has been quite a while. Semingguan ini adl Spring break (libur musim semi). Walaupun cuaca masih agak kacau dikit, dingin diselingi hangat2 yg gak puguh tea....
Saya seminggu ini berlibur di Louisville, Kentucky. Sekitar 7 jam drive dari Lynchburg. Pergi berlibur di tempat my good friend, Mr. Zion "Abbott" Tjendana. So far we had a great time here! Ada Nick dari Mississippi, Ajeen dari India, Justin dari North Carolina, dan Davina dari Medan. Berhubung liburan, ada peningkatan dlm hal gizi tentunya....hehehe... yg mana disini lbh terjamin dengan menu bervariasi. Every morning until noon I spent time at the Library at SBTS, which is a larger one than what we have in Liberty. Working on some paperwork due after the break. And during the night we go for hangout to some interesting places like, "Cheese Cake Factory" ..mmmm yummy! Watch movie at the theatre also, and tomorrow we'll go to Southeast Christian Church, the biggest church around here, to see the Easter Pageant 06. We've booked the tickets.
Fhew.... this is one of the coolest break I've ever had in America. Many good friends around me. Masakkkk terus.. makannnnn terus..... dari sayur asem, sambel goreng ati, sampe cocoa coffee cheese cake pun dilahap pula.... Alamat makin buncit dah!
Btw, ko udah lama ga denger2 kabar dari tmn2 Bdg ya? Teman2 di 40 gmn nih kabarnyeee?
Anak2 Hosana gmn skrg, masi berkantin ria di hari Minggu? Tmn2 KSMPMI, seminar nasional...seminar nasional... hayo give the best shot. Semper fidelis!
Nantikan kepulangan saya Juni ini...... higs... jadi kangen rumah nih!
God bless you all!

timid

Agak aneh memang. Minggu ini kayanya kerasa banget capenya. Padahal gak ada exam apa2 tuh. Justru minggu lalu yg rada mendebarkan soale pas ultah barengan sama exam church history, which I felt confidently pretty good. Mg lalu gak gitu kerasa. Hari2 ini yg justru kerasa capee sekali. Sampai2 kmrn sengaja pulang kantor lbh awal spy bisa tidur sejam...take a little nap, eeeehhh malah jadi dua jam lebih, PELOR!!! (skali temPEL, terus molOR).. hihihi. Hari ini? Makin kerasa. Ceritanya lagi ngejar target 2 assignment yg jatuh tempo setelah Spring break, mau gue selesain mg ini, spy ga berat nantinya, apalagi ada tambahan bonus point pula.
Padet, besok lusa ada missions conference di gereja, all the way sampai Minggu sore.
aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

"my help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth"

siapa yg ingat??????

Sapa yg ingat dulu pas gw masih sekolah (skrg jg masih denk), ada TV Show yg namanya "Where's Wally?", buku2nya jg banyak.... Where's Wally! Whew, jadi pengen nonton itu lagi sama rame2 cari si Waldo itu yg biasanya ngumpet.... Where's Wally?????????

Is He Really My LORD?

Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing. The joy our Lord experienced came from doing what the Father sent Him to do. And He says to us, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" ( John 20:21 ). Have you received a ministry from the Lord? If so, you must be faithful to it— to consider your life valuable only for the purpose of fulfilling that ministry. Knowing that you have done what Jesus sent you to do, think how satisfying it will be to hear Him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" ( Matthew 25:21 ). We each have to find a niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive a ministry from the Lord. To do this we must have close fellowship with Jesus and must know Him as more than our personal Savior. And we must be willing to experience the full impact of Acts 9:16 — "I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake."






"Do you love Me?" Then, "Feed My sheep" ( John 21:17 ). He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call— the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas.

Oswald Chambers - MUfHH

life's reflection

a friend just said this prayer for me, just when I need it, now I want to recite this prayer again,

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalms 139:23-24 - NLT

today... or yesterday...

happy birthday to me? nothing really special on my mind, just a few words from Beth Moore stucked inside.
"Bring your 'only' to the LORD and He will multiply it."
He will make it useful, yet I mustn't withhold anything from Him, thus, He will never leave me empty-handed. Just like the lad who gave Him five fish and two loaves of bread.
Hmmm.........