Having missed FocusTeam for 1.5 yrs made me almost forgot how great it is to sit and listen and grow in God’s Word. In particular this week’s topic is the doctrine of the jealous God. It also gave me a clearer understanding of the relationship between God and Israelites in Old Testament, as i’ve been reading the books of the Prophets for my personal reading.

God has a right to be jealous because he created us, look after us from very early, hence we belong to him as his people. What struck me is the idea of God looked after this little girl, washed and clothed her, courted and married her (i.e. the Israelites) in Ezekiel 16. Yet she relied on her beauty and instead committed adultery with other man. God was angry and jealous and one day will punish them. But in his great love, he will have mercy on them again and call them his people again. The fact that God is jealous means he cares for us – so much that he’s willing to send his own Son to make us his again, now extended to the Gentiles.

Thank God i’ve got an inspiration to write this draft lyrics based on Ezekiel 16. I know some words seemed strange in Indonesian, and the syllables are still messy – it’s still a draft anyway.And based on a dear friend of mine’s request, now i’ve provided the English translation as well. anyone wanna try write the melody?

Aku Ini MilikMu
Yeh.16, Kej.2:7, Mzm.51

Aku ini milikMu
Dari awal dunia
Debu tanah yang hina
FirmanMu menghidupiku
KasihMu meliputiku
Dengan air Kau membasuhiku
Mengenakan pakaian
‘Tuk layak jadi milikMu

Seiring waktu berjalan
‘Ku terlena dengan dunia
Mengandalkan kecantikan
Beralih pada illah lain
Oh, besarlah amarahMu
Benarlah cemburuMu
Kau telah menolakku
Tak lagi jadi milikMu

Tetapi lebih dari itu
KasihMu sungguh ajaib
Kau relakan AnakMu
Menanggung amarahMu
Dosa pun diampuni
Dengan darah Dia membasuhiku
Bersih seputih salju
Layakkanku jadi milikMu
I am Yours
Ezek.16, Gen.2:7, Ps.51

I am yours
From the beginning of the world
The contempt dust
Your Word made me alive
Your love embraced me
With water you washed me
Clothed me
To make me worthy to be yours

As time goes on
I’m astonished by the world
Relying on my own beauty
Turn to other gods
Oh, how great is your anger
How righteous is your jealousy
You have rejected me
No longer to be yours

But more than that
Your amazing love
You gave your Son willingly
To bear your anger
Sin has been forgiven
With blood he washed me
Clean as white as snow
Made me yours again.

Dear Mr. Wisdom,

I don’t know why or how, but somehow today i feel like i want to write you a letter of encouragement, to share how God has been good and faithful to me and to Pelita. Or maybe it’s because i feel so joyful now that i want to share it with everybody ^^

For me 1.5 yrs has passed like a rocket. It’s been hard, but i tasted firsthand of what it’s meant in Hebrews 12:10-11, “For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” God has been really gracious to me – even in the midst of that painful discipline he keeps me holding on to him. Now that he brought me out of that valley (I called it as if a valley of death), i know i can keep trusting him in whatever situation i will face in the future.

At the beginning of this year I’ve felt like i’m coming back to my normal me, slowly but surely. I learned that the healing time does take time and it happens in a progress, i can’t expect God to return everything to normal in an instant – God will do it in his own time.
Hence after a good 1.5 yrs of break, i’m ready to come back to serve again. It was good to have a break, to refresh & re-evaluate myself. To reflect again what the cross means to me. To rethink again what a cross-centered life looked like. And it seems like i’m falling in love with Jesus once more, just like when i first became a Christian. All the joy and the passion and the enthusiasm are rushing back again – i have and i will keep growing more and more into maturity in Christ.

So I told Charles that i’m ready to serve again, and he told me to help out as Pelita Open Church committee. I thank God for this opportunity, because it also helps myself to grow in my understanding & my doing of evangelism. After some time of struggling & reflection, i finally understand that one of my purpose in life that God has set is to make Christ known, esp now in the context of workplace. I tried to test and escape from that fact, but it’s no use at all. I just need to trust the Maker’s plan and obey him – and i can enjoy the side effect of obeying God, that is, the joy that is overflowing. Joy from telling people about Jesus, and joy from seeing people responding to Jesus.

I invited several of my workmates and friends to Open Church, though only 2 of them came, it brings me hope that whatever i’m doing is not in vain. In particular there’s this one Indian guy that i’ve been constantly having good gospel conversations over 2 years i worked there. He keeps asking me questions like “do you believe in luck? in fate? in Pope? in reincarnation?” etc. And whenever he asked, i just talk, talk and talk about our great God and Christianity. One day when i invited him to Open Church, his response is positive, eventhough he lives in Blacktown (so far!). Then when he came to church, he asked lots of questions to Charles. I’m very surprised to find his status on Facebook the next day said like this: “had a nice day @ pelita…..new friends and learning new lessons of life…. thnks pelita for makin me feel home …….!!!!!!” – no kidding, it’s a copy and paste. And we’ve got lots of newcomers coming, and thank God the Pelitans have been really encouraging and welcoming – may God keep up His good works. Now i really do understand what it’s meant in 1 Thess 2:19,”For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”

Another big thing for me is preparing myself for MTS next year. Haha, yeah, it’s happening – so quick ^^ I’m really really excited for next year – i can’t wait!! I know it won’t be easy, but hey, God has walked me through the valley of death, nothing else can remove my confidence in him. I thank God for delaying my plan for MTS (it’s supposed to be this year) – for he knows what’s best for me.

If people asked me why I want to do MTS, I guess for me there are 3 reasons:
1. Somehow i just love to explain about Jesus to someone else. There’s a great joy in seeing people understand/grow in the knowledge of Christ when i explain to them. So i’d like to be trained in how to do it better.
2. Experiencing the Black Dog is like experiencing death itself – emotionally, mentally and physically. From there i learned that ultimately my life is not in my hand, but in God’s. Now that he gives me back my life (like being resurrected again), i want to use my life for God – for the things that really matters till eternity.
3. Related to that, i’ve been thinking a lot about relationship with other people for the last few years, and i’m convicted that out of all the things in the world, only our relationship with God and our relationship with other people are the only thing that will carry on till eternity, all others will fade away. Hence i want to start investing my time and energy in the things that really matters: building relationship with people and affecting their lives in the hope of bringing them to know and grow in Christ (like you did to me =D)

Yeah that’s all from me so far. Haha i know it’s a very long one (like i used to :p) – i hope it’ll brighten your day knowing that the effort that you put in ministering to me back then is definitely not in vain – and i really thank God for you because of that Please do let me know how you’re going and what i can thank God and pray for you

chika

Yay! Song #2 of Project X is on the way! We’ve got draft lyric & draft music already, keep in touch for the final song but in the meanwhile, enjoy the lyrics! (feedback will be very much appreciated)  =)

Draft Lyric #1

Last year i wrote a post about why i love TWIST so much right after i went to Twist Away 09. And i still do love TWIST so much for exactly the same reasons. Also i wrote about Lessons and Personal Encouragement from Twist 09. And this year i’m going to write about the lessons and encouragement i got from Twist Away ‘10 last weekend.

Some personal encouragement for me:

* It was sooo great to meet up & catch up with the people who went to Twist last year, it feels like a small reunion for long-time friends. We were so excited to see each other again after dunno-how-long. Having said that, it made me missed the last year’s friends who didn’t go to this year’s Twist. It prompted me to give them a nudge (in FB haha), just to see how they’ve been ^^

* Also, meeting up new friends! Quite a lot of new friends i came to know, all from different churches. I’m quite surprised there are a few of other Indonesians there – eventho they’re sort of grown up in here (ABI – aussie born indo? haha), i’ve been wanting to know & networking with other Christian Indo around Sydney, to build relationships and share our resources, so hopefully we’ll be able to keep in contact.

* Again, it’s really encouraging to hear different people’s testimony and how they’re going in their Christian lives or in their music ministry. Especially chatting with another fellow songwriter in his teen age who had just become a Christian 3 months earlier and has lived a very very different life to the previous one. It blowed my mind to hear of his sinful life before turning to Christ, and now although temptations are still around, he continuously tries to make the right decisions to live for God. How cool is that! I can’t stop thanking God for him!

* As usual, the Saturday (mid)Night Boat Shed Jamming was a great fun and fellowship of praising & singing to God! Especially Becky was teaching us how to sing in sign language – knowing that the deaf ppl are still able to sing & praise God is absolutely fantastic! And this time a lot of keyboardist already, so i got the drums almost all the time to myself – there are some others who can play drums but they were either singing or playing other instruments. I haven’t played drums for a loongg time now, luckily no one commented of how basic & how easy i played :p Haha well, the most valuable lesson i learned from the Play workshop last year is that playing less is more, and i don’t have to do complicated rhythm or fill in, as long as i keep the timing right, i can play the same thing all over the song. And that’s what i did – keep it simple. So i’m pretty happy with that (Although it made me realise that i still need to keep learning how to play drums hahaha).

* I’m so privileged to live in the heart of Sydney, close to everywhere. While for some others, they had to travel 6 hours or even 14 hours to get to Twist Away! But it’s encouraging to see their effort to keep growing in Christ through these conferences eventhough it costs them travelling far away ^^

* I’m humbled by the humility and godly examples of the Emu musos – something that is different to the world’s musicians. Especially when i shared to some of them about our vision of Indonesian biblical music ministry, starting by translating Emu songs and later on trying to write our own songs, they are very supportive and excited about it too. Still heaps to learn from them

* Last but not least, the Composing/Away workshop. It’s great to learn songwriting with the experienced songwriters, and it’s funny and encouraging to see them critique each other’s work in love and humility. I do learn a lot from the workshop, and it’s especially encouraging how they gave constructive feedback to me personally. I know there’s something wrong with how i’ve been writing songs, but i just don’t know what it is. But they knew straightaway, and it’s opening my mind & my eyes as they helped me to think through more how to write good songs.

I didn’t expect at all that this year’s Queen Birthday Convention’s topic on Eternity was going to be talks about eschatology. I thought it’s gonna be something about what the Bible says about heaven, what would it/we be like when we’re there, would we still work in heaven, would we have different body, etc. I guess having spent a year with the Doggie last year makes me wonder about heaven a lot lately, where there won’t be any pain, tears, and suffering.

Instead, quoting Jensen, the answer that i got is,” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies” – Paul’s answer in 1 Cor 15:36 when some ppl asked him in what kind of body the dead are raised. Jensen said,” I can’t tell you what heaven is going to be like because we’re not there yet, but i can tell you what the Bible says about the present time, for that’s the whole New Testament is about.” He’s right – i guess no point keep wondering too much about what will happen in heaven because we won’t know until we’re there, and so it’s more important that we keep striving to be holy and blameless until the Day arrives, and making sure that we bring as many people as we can into heaven in the meantime ^^

I’m really glad i came to QBC yesterday, for it was a very timely & powerful reminder for me personally. I know lots of people can’t make it (yeah maybe due to sleeping in from watching Aus vs Ger soccer hahaha) so i’ll try to give the summary:

Talk 1: Eternity In The Heart (Ecc. 1-3)
Where will you spend eternity? “He [God] has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what GOd has done from the beginning to the end” – Ecc. 3:11. Unlike animals, only to human God gives this sense of time/eternity, the sense that there’s something more to this world and yet in such a way that we can’t know what it is/what it means. The purpose of this is “so that people fear before him” – Ecc. 3:14
Jesus comes from eternity, die in our world, then rises up to eternity, bringing us with him. What is this Eternity? that has transformed our world?
There is a time for everything, so understanding the time (or the time-liness of something) gives meaning & purpose. So don’t be confused between telling the time with understanding the time.

Talk 2: From Everlasting to Everlasting (Isa. 57:14-21, Ps. 90)
We need to understand the nature of God of the everlasting, he’s God who dwells in heaven, far above & set apart from the creation. Yet he who’s in heaven dwells with us the lowly & contrite – very contrast! God the Creator dwells not only in heaven, but also with his people (since creation). But because of sin, death comes as the judgement & God’s anger upon creation. Yet in Psalm 90, the Psalmist is calling God to return to us – to be our dwelling place again, not leaving us to mortality. This is fulfilled in NT, where God’s anger is spent on the cross so that we can dwell with God again in heaven eternally.
Hence knowing the reality of eternity affects how we live now!

Talk 3: The History of Eternity
There’s a sequence and consequences of the history of this world (imagine this is a timeline) – from eternity to eternity – under 10 points:
1. The heresy of Arianism: there was when he was not (Jesus was not there in the beginning, he was created – this is not right! heresy!)
2. there was when we were not (i.e. before the creation, God Trinity were there)
3. there was when he became flesh (Jesus’ incarnation from eternity to creation. Incarnation: eternity –> humanity)
4. there was when he was crucified (his crucifixion has an effect on eternity)
5. there was when he was raised (the resurrection ushered us through into eternity. Resurrection: taking humanity –> eternity)
6. there was when he was made both LORD and Christ (Acts 2:36 – Jesus is not Lord & Christ until his incarnation, death & resurrection)
7. there is a fixed day – it is appointed (judgement & salvation at the same time)
8. there is a planned delay (this is the period of history we are living in! to bear testimony about Jesus)
9. there will be an end (when all things are put under Jesus’ feet, who will hand back the authority to the Father)
10. there will be new heavens and a new earth (the end of this creation is the beginning of the new creation)

Hence, we’re living in the time of the delay. We don’t know what will happen in the new heavens & new earth, but we do know what will happen in the delay area! (from NT).

Talk 4: Living in The Light of Eternity
Knowing what lies ahead of us, how then should we live? what sort of people we ought to be?
1. a new birth. We have been born again, we already have been raised up with Jesus spiritually. Hence put off the old self & put on new self (Col.3). Living in the delay involves: remembering the past, knowing the future, and also present experience of regeneration. In contrast with the prosperity gospel (who confuses the past, future & what we can expect in the present), we are in heaven spiritually, but not physically yet until heaven comes.
2. a world wide command: REPENT! (not the “Go therefore and make disciple” hahaha – i guess this is not Challenge Conf :p). Repent of our foolish ways because he’ fixed a day of judgement – Acts 17:30.
3. a changed motive. Col. 3:1-4. We are the citizen of heaven, why would we live like we are the citizen of earth anymore??
4. bring us the profound holiness. Live differently! If you are the citizen of the next, then live like you are the citizen of the next.
5. a living hope. Faith in Jesus and the love for the saints comes from the hope of heaven, so when we preach the gospel, preach the hope of heaven too. This hope of eternity is what we need to preach to the society.

So we know what it means: repent and live differently for the new age to come! to give one sentence summary: Knowing and understanding the time we are in now (i.e. in the delay period of waiting of the 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ) helps us to know how to live in the light of ETERNITY!

If you know me for a while, you’ll know that by God’s grace I’ve been trying to start writing and/or translating) gospel- , Christ- , and cross-centered Indonesian songs so that we can sing more Christian Indonesian songs that focus on who God is and what he has done for us in Christ Jesus. Hence I try to encourage other brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same, and work together with them simply because I can’t do all things by myself, and because everyone has different gifts, all the same for building up his church.

In particular, I’m very thankful to God for the privilege of being able to work with 2 gifted musos from Pelita, Hendy & Hilda. We met together at the end of last year to pray & plan about our music project for (at least) the next 5 years, i.e. writing at least 2 songs/year, with the hope of producing a compilation CD by Dec 2012. I am so so excited that things finally started to get realised (direalisasikan gitu maksudna :p). We plan, write, record, give feedbacks on each other, all while having fun & enjoying our time at the same time. It’s particularly amusing for me when we meet, because Hendy & Hilda will just tease each other kyk bikin acara lawakan sendiri, and my part is just the laughing part :p hahaha.

We call our project the “Music Project X”. Why ‘X’? Because it symbolises Christ and the cross, which is what we are trying to achieve, if God willing: Indonesian songs that focus on Christ and the cross. And we’re pleased to announce that our very first song has finished, the lyrics and melody has been finalised, and even last Saturday we’ve recorded a demo version of the song. The only thing is that we haven’t come up with a title yet -_- hahaha so have a look at the lyrics below, the melody will follow later on after Hendy’s finished editing it. Pls give your thoughts/feedback, and see if anyone can come up with a title enjoy! (there’s also direct translation to English if you can’t understand Indo)

The cross: No name1

Verse 1 [Jesus' incarnation] 2 Cor 8:9, Phil 2,

Yesus Kristus, Anak Allah
Berk’uasa di takhta surga
Tak meninggikan dirinya
Namun menjadi manusia

Chorus

Verse 2 [Jesus' death] Roman 3:21-25, 5:1-10[v.8]

Yesus, mati disalibkan
Pada waktu yang dipilih
Menunjukkan kasih Allah
Saat manusia berdosa

Chorus

O sembahlah, Domba Allah
Kematian-Nya, t’lah membuka
pintu damai, O puji Dia

Interlude

Verse 3 [Resurrection] 1 Cor 15

Hmm February almost ends. So quick. Yet my time seems like it has just started. The reason is that i’ve been deliberately ‘taking my time off’ from the start of the year until uni semester starts – basically until now. That’s because i know once the uni starts (hence when my younger bro comes here), then life will be hectic again. On the other hand, i know i can’t be relaxed all the time, so it’s time to get serious again ^^

So just a quick update this year so far for me:

* Sort of co-leading a seminar on Depression with AL at Focus Grad Con earlier this month. Thank God for the opportunity to raise awareness of this critical yet often hidden issue. Had good conversations afterward with some ppl who are concerned or want to know more. Yaahh whatever things they took back from the seminar, my only aim was actually for ppl to know that there is help, and there is at least one person (i.e. myself) who’s been in the situation before. So next time in the future if somehow they know someone who’s going through the same thing or going through it themselves, at least they know i’m available to talk to – so that they don’t have to struggle by themselves.

* You must be aware that i’ve been trying to translate some of the EMU songs into Indonesian since it’s a bit easier to translate than to compose a song. One of them is Garage Hymnal’s Take My Life – which I did together with HC. Then I sent the translated song to the original songwriter via Andy Judd from Garage Hymnal to ask  for permission. The (music) composer agreed, and even more than that, the good news is that Juddy’s keen to put it on the website and maybe even record a version! So yeah, that’s where we’re heading So he did the first step, and Tuhan Ambil Hidupku is now available in Garage Hymnal’s resources website That’s all the more incentive to keep composing & translation songs

* In the process of applying for a driving licence: that’s my new year’s resolution this year!! haha. will apply for L licence very bery soon.

* My younger brother is here! yay! He came a week ago with my parents, my parents are staying here only until this Sunday, but my bro stays here to study food tech @ unsw. yeah the same old food tech :p
It’s been quite a tiring week, having to accompany my parents around. One of the highlight was that i mentioned to them (again) that i’m thinking of doing MTS next year. Well i told them at the beginning of last year, then i didn’t  mention again at all until 2 days ago. They had the same reaction. Yaahhh well, what can you do. Please pray for them.
While with my brother, he deliberately says that he doesn’t want t0 go to pelita church. Well that’s fine by me, until he asked the whereabout of an indo charo church in the city ~_~ haiizz from there on, there’s this growing worry-ness about what would happen to him, would he go to a biblical/evangelical church, would he really understand the gospel and be willing to put Jesus as his King, would he grow as a christian as much as i grow here, would he… would he… Sigh. God is sovereign, God is good, God is in control, God has his own plan, God predestines, God decides, God knows the time & place, God can change ppl, God determines, God changes people’s heart, God is in control, God is sovereign, God is in control, God is sovereign, GOD IS IN CONTROL, GOD IS SOVEREIGN!

Hoho i’m back to blogging world again after long process of moving out, moving in, holiday, and waiting for internet access at home. So here we go again

A lot of thing i want to write, but maybe the simplest & first one is that i’ve been joining my flatmate’s dance class with the IPC Pemuda for the last 3 weeks, and unexpectedly been enjoying it a lot!! It brings back memory when i took a ballroom dance course at uni a couple of years ago with the other foodies (ie. my classmates). And that’s also why i’ve been able to learn quite quickly.We’ve been learning about Rhumba dancing – the one with “slow, quick quick slow, quick quick slow, …” rhythm.

Haha but to be honest, one of the reason why i like it is because i think (ballroom) dancing reflects the very basic biblical principle about men and women: the men are to lead & women are to submit/follow. Well i do think in this case the women get the advantage, we just need to wait for the guys to give the cue for the next movement. Sometimes it’s funny to see the guys’ face when they are thinking hard of what to do next :p hahaha.

Having said that, sometimes it’s hard to see where the guys are going if they are not clear enough, or if the girls respond incorrectly, resulting in confusion and disharmony in the movement. Or, there’s a temptation for the girls to be impatient & just make our own way, which will not work either.

Anyhow, it’s just great to see some of the basic of God’s principle still being applicable even in this common, secular thing such as (ballroom) dancing. If the principle is not followed, things get messy & won’t work. So that’s how our condition will be also if we don’t want to follow God’s Way. *Hmmm this also can be a good idea how to start evangelistic conversation with ppl who enjoy dancing as well* :p hahahha.

Anyhow, it’s fun! Sadly, i’m still reconsidering whether to keep joining every week or not. I do enjoy it, but it’s quite costly, and finishes really late while i need to work really early the next day. But yaahh we’ll see

Here’s the picture of our class with our teacher (Marek? Marrick? Marreck? whatever the name is :p) taken on Ronald’s last class before he went back for good – courtesy of Ronald’s picture :p

The dance class with the IPC Pemuda

Mon 7/12/09, 10am

Aaahh… what a nice and quiet day it is today. here i am, sitting in the Pavilion Cafe @ Maroubra Beach, waiting for my brunch & ice coffee here.

This is my day off, since i worked on Saturday i got Monday off in return. initially i could get some extra cash for working overtime, but considering the busy, busy situation i am atm (with work, moving house, preparing to go back to Indo and all that stuff), then I thought, nah, some ~$200 wouldn’t worth it. What i need now is not some extra money to buy furnitures, but time. some time to relax, resting myself, and especially some good quality time with my Big Dad up there. I haven’t had my Sabbath Day for a couple of weeks now and i know i won’t be able to have it on weekend until i go back to indo.

So, a Monday day off would be even more perfect: it’s really quiet, my flatmates are gone to either work or somewhere else, i’ve got the whole day and house to myself, no one to disturb me, and this is the day where i don’t want to think anything about packing, moving out, work, parents, family… nothing. Except only me and my God. That’s all i need. A little date with my Big Dad

So woke up at 7:30, staring at the beautiful, beautiful weather out there – thank God. Quickly prepared myself, in 30 mins i was gone, walking to Maroubra Beach, as usual. Sitting there beside the beach, taking my time while i’m continuing my Bible reading. Just finished reading 2 Chronicles a few days ago, it’s been really amazing seeing God’s & Israel’s history in a continuation from Genesis – 2 Chron, learned heaps from the OT & i enjoyed it a lot! So i decided to read Jeremiah afterwards, because he was just there at the end of 2 Chron, while the story is still fresh in my mind, i want to read his story too.

So i’m up to Chapter 3:6, then i read until 4:4 & meditate upon the truth. I learned about God, who keep calling the faithless & adulterous Israel and Judah to repentance, with the promise that he won’t be angry forever for he is merciful. For those who acknowledge their guilt & confessing that they haven’t obeyed God’s voice, to those who circumcise themselves to the Lord and remove the foreskin of their hearts, there is a promise of restoration from God, to bring them back to Jerusalem. And there stated in 3:15-18 the beautiful prophecy that was fulfilled in Jesus: the Ultimate Shepherd after God’s own heart, who is leading us with knowledge and understanding. And quoting 3:17, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, & all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.” It’s happening already! How wonderful!

After praying a prayer of confession & thanksgiving based on the Jeremiah passage just then, i was looking for a shade, sitting there and responding to God through singing my favourite Sovereign Grace songs from my fav. Worship God Live album, while listening to the lyrics and singing it to God at the same time. Aahh… the truth reflected in the lyrics “Not death nor life nor anything can ever separate me, O love that will not let me go, Yes, I am his forever” (from the song His Forever) moved me again almost into tears. Yes, no matteer what circumstances we are in, he will never leave us nor forsake us, I am his forever through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

After a couple of songs and feeling a bit hungry, i went to the cafe i’m sitting & writing this now. This is my fav cafe after Coffee Club Pacific Square, because it’s just right there beside the beach, got excellent service and very nice Ice Chocolate. Decided to have brunch & try the Ice Coffee, it would’ve been good one if only they put sugars in it… Ah well, never mind. I wont’ let this ruin my day ^^;

Just a few more things to do during my date with my Big Dad today. After this I’m going to stop, reflect, and list out all the things i can thank God for, for He is good and his marvellous works always working in my life despite of my circumstances. Then tonight, to make the day even more perfect, is the EMU live recording @ Annandale. Sorted out how to get there – thanks to Jason from MBF who’s giving me a lift ^^. And it’ll be good to see my friends form other churches again – we always meet on some music events :p But most of all, i’m sooo looking forward to singing to God with his people!

Indeed, because God has been, is, and will always be good to me, it’s a very, very good day

Just randomly found this article on the net, it sounds good, altho i’m not sure about the potato bit ;p

http://news.id.msn.com/lifestyle/okezone/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3650282

Empat Makanan Pengantar Tidur

Empat Makanan Pengantar Tidur

SERING KALI rasa kantuk tak juga datang menghampiri. Padahal, tubuh sudah dilanda kelelahan tingkat tinggi, baik secara fisik maupun mental.

Jika Anda tak suka mengonsumsi obat tidur, tak usah khawatir. Sebab, ada cara alami untuk membantu Anda mengatasi masalah susah tidur. Caranya, Anda dapat mengonsumsi beberapa asupan makanan berikut ini, seperti dikutip okezone dari Sheknows:

Kentang

Kentang terbukti sebagai makanan dengan nilai GI rendah (Low Glycemic Index). GI adalah indikator kecepatan proses perubahan dari karbohidrat diubah menjadi gula di dalam tubuh.

Kentang tak membuat gula darah Anda naik bila dikonsumsi secara bijak. Malahan dengan menyantap kentang, Anda bisa cepat terlelap tanpa harus mengonsumi makanan dengan GI tinggi.

Pisang

Pisang kaya akan potasium. Potasium merupakan mineral penting yang dapat menormalkan detak jantung, mengirim oksigen ke otak, dan mengendalikan kadar cairan tubuh. Saat tubuh sedang mengalami stres, tingkat metabolisme menjadi naik, sehingga terjadi pengurangan kadar potasium. Ini dapat dikendalikan dengan melahap pisang.

Tak hanya itu saja, buah yang satu ini dapat mendatangkan rasa kantuk secara alami. Pasalnya, pisang mengandung hormon melatonin dan tryptophan, yang membuat Anda tidur nyenyak.

Hormon melatonin adalah zat yang dihasilkan oleh kelenjar pineal didalam otak dan pembentukannya akan dipicu oleh gelap. Kadarnya paling tinggi ditemukan menjelang pagi hari sekitar pukul 02.00-04.00 WIB dan paling rendah di sore hari. Hormon ini mengatur mengatur bioritme atau irama tubuh dalam hal pengaturan tidur.

Susu

Semasa kecil para ibu membuatkan segelas susu sebagai pengantar tidur si anak. Susu tak hanya kaya akan tryptophan. Kandungan di dalam susu dapat membantu memberikan rasa tenang dan membuat tubuh terasa lebih relaks.

Meneguk segelas susu hangat di malam hari bisa membuat Anda cepat tertidur. Tak percaya? Coba saja!

Oatmeal

Oatmeal tak hanya menghangatkan perut dan kaya serat, namun bisa membuat Anda kenyang dan mengantuk seketika. Semangkuk hangat oatmeal dapat menjadi sumber melatonin. Sehingga rasa kantuk pun akan segera menyerang Anda.

Bila ingin lebih cepat mengantuk, sebelum tidur Anda bisa menyantap oatmeal dicampur dengan susu hangat sebagai pelengkap.