Awesome July

July 31st, 2010 The author

I can’t believe how quickly July has gone!! Really, if there has been any month in my life where time flew by ever so rapidly, it would be July 2010! Nevertheless July has been a fantastic month for me. Having just returned from 2 weeks training in June and witness 2 weddings, I gotta say I was eager to start July with a bang, and a “bang” indeed it was for me.

July pretty much kept me busy with work. We had a number of training sessions to concerntrate on, so my first priority was to work on the training materials which required some serious revamping work. I also got a chance to meet up with my intern who will be with the proejct until August.  I really thank God for giving me such a good intern. The guy is just awesome!

Also I just learnt that there is a good positibility that I will be returning back to my former project. This is really great news for me as I really felt that we kind left the project in a lurch,  and just a couple of weeks back, I heard that the client actually wants the team back to help with the change management aspects of the project! Damn, it really feels good when you actually feel “wanted” by your clients, so yeah I am really happy with this news!

Speaking about hectic work, in the midst of all the busyness, it was really awesome to hear my current client affirm me on my positive outlook and cheerfulness this week. This is actually the first time someone from work has actually complimented me on having a cheerful outlook to life. She actually told my project manager that he should keep me in the current project and that she loves my positive spirit, saying that it’s good for the team and it helps the project! Wow, talk about scoring brownie points man! But as always, I really am grateful to God for giving me such a wonderful spirit, a positive spirit which helps others, and not just myself!!

Faith-wise also  has been quite an interesting month for me. I finally decided to use the 3Js format, which I learnt from the Padley brothers in Lifeline, and I gotta say, I am really happy I actually did this. I have heard alot of positive feedback from the group leaders who have implemented this into their cell groups. For me personally, I think my favourite point is actually hearing the members share their Jesus moment, and its really interesting to see how they actually need to take time to really think it through. I think this really helps in building the spirituality of the individual, it forces them to just ponder, reflect and articulate their sprirituality to others around them. One of my fellow leaders also pointed out, that it also helps affirm one another and it allows the members to grow spiritually together which I thought was really true as well!

All and all, I am really pleased with the month of July. And I just hope August will be just as aswesome as July!

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Longing for God

July 2nd, 2010 The author

It’s interesing to observe the kind of stuff we would do to fulfill our physical needs. Be it hunger, food and attention, we find all sorts of ways to fulfil our needs. I know for myself, the first things I would do once I reach home is to fix myself a sandwich or rush to use the bathroom to ease myself.  Or if I am bored or in need for some entertainment, I would not hesistate to drive out to watch a movie or hang out with friends. I even need to sometimes fulfil my need to read something before I retire for the night – brain food before I head to bed.

Physical needs are easy to be met, because they shout right at ya. They demand our immediate attention as though flashing red lights are going all off in our brain control center.  I was listening to one of my favourite podcast In Between Sundays earlier today and I was particularly tuned to this episode entitled Spiritual Hunger (you can click on the link to go to the webpage) and it really got me thinking seriously on my own prayer life.

As a young adult catholic I do struggle sometimes with my prayer life. Especially when I am just swamped with stuff to do until I actually literally forget God at times. Work takes a toll of my life and lately (over the last couple of months) it has become more challenging. Part of it is also because I am due for a promotion in the next few months to come, and so the pressure is on.  However despite my work, I still did managed to find time for God. I would spend almost an hour each day in the adoration room of my parish church and if I am lucky, I would even make it for daily mass!

However after a while, I don’t know for what reason, suddenly you just find yourself no longer being able to these kinda things. And it’s not because of work or anything, because to me personally, sometimes I find “work” a cheap excuse to cover up our for our lack of prayer time with our Lord.  As what Jeff Young, who was the guest of that podcast blatantly mentions :

“We do make time to eat at some point in our daily life, why is we can’t do the same with prayer?”

Is it because prayer is not something that can really give us a fulfilled physical need, like a cheeseburger? Or perhaps without food, simply put we would die,  yet carrying on without prayer for 3 days won’t really result in any MAJOR issues/life-threatening problems?

Or to draw on another anology : Can you go on for 3-5 days staight without talking to your girlfriend/boyfriend/family? How does that affect your relationship with them? I know I have done this before in the past, and it sucks as  you feel something is empty, and even though you might miss them, sometimes we get too hung up with our own work we forget the rest of the world. 

It’s about the want

While fulfilling hunger pans and thirst will resolve a NEED, spending time with a person is always a WANT (unless you’re forced into it) .  We need to have that WANT to spend time with others, and that WANT needs to be genuine, not something with strings attached. Likewise it’s the same with God. Finding that spiritual hunger requires that WANT for God.  It’s so much easier to pray when there’s something on your mind, but what about those moments when everything is just normal and dry? What do we do then? Do we still have that same WANT?

But as Jeff mentioned, prayer DOES have it’s physical effects on a human soul. I love the way he draws comparison with exercise in the sense that intiatlly we wouldn’t have the motivation or interest to go exercising but when we get into it, we are in another world. I am sure we have all had this feeling before and it’s the same with prayer.  Perhaps initially, we might feel tired and too disoriented, but even spending just 10 minutes with God will have some changes in our lives over a period of time and I speak of this from my own experience.

God is always there for us, its whether we are always there for him. It’s really sometimes whether we WANT  Him.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart – Jeremiah 29:13

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Back in a hotel room

June 14th, 2010 The author

All by myself...

The all-too-familiar scenario of a hotel room where a king size bed, the bright yellow lights and the wooden desk fills the ambiance of the room.  As I check into my hotel room, which will be MY ROOM for the next 2 weeks, a faint thought returns to my mind…

Been there done that

My adventures as a Corporate trainer/consultant  has given me the luxury of staying in resorts and hotel. I have to admit this : I do have people who are envious of this privellage, and I don’t mean to blow my trumpet and prove a point – that is NOT my intention of this entry. 

In fact more than anything else, I feel this sense of lonliness.  Lonliness because I am all alone.  Yes this time around I do have some friends and colleagues from my training program, but it feels awwfully different. Gone were the days when as a child and a teenager I used to look forward to family trips where Dad will book a hotel room and the whole family will be together in 1 room. I miss those days.

I guess Christopher McCandles was spot on when he said the following :

“Happiness Only Real When Shared”

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