Oct 25 to Oct 30 (snow on Oct 29, 2011)

What would you like to create today?

To begin a new day, talk to God:

"Hey, Dad, what would you like to create today?"

When you say it as a co-creator, you will have a fun day with God.

As you do things together with him, you will be creating many good things, of course the most valuable thing you are creating is -- YOU that has God in the center

And amazing thing is: God CANNOT create it by himself; He can do it ONLY with your participation! Isn't this amazing?

This is how much valuable you are to him

When you are in trouble...

Trouble comes in different levels

Why am I always like this...?

Why are these things happening around me?

Why is this person acting like this?

Why is my church doing this?

Why is this country going through this?

etc. etc.

One common element of all these troubles:

You might feel like saying,

"Why is not God helping me/us?"

"Why does God allow this to happen?" ("What is he doing out there?!")

Then a question:

Have you tried to report to him what's in your mind (of course, honestly)?

Pokemon song says, "Itsumo itsudemo umaku yukunante hoshowa dokonimo naikedo..." (Even though there's no guarantee that things will always work fine...)

"itsudemo itsumo honkide ikiteru koitsutachiga iru!" (...these guys always live their moment with genuine seriousness!)

So, at least give it a try--honest report to God (with sincere readiness to receive his response from any unexpected angle)

Once you feel you got any small response, keep engaging and see what happens to what you reported to him...

How can I start from untrue and arrive at God?

Let's say you can't love Mr. X.

Now you have realized how your love for Mr. X is untrue, but you still cannot love him for some reasons.

Your hope is that true God should be able to love Mr. X with true love

so, you will say, "God, because you do, I will do." ...but, you still cannot love him

so, next you say, "God, can you tell me how you love Mr. X?"

then say, "If I know how you do, I will do."

then ask, "God, how do you feel about what I said?"

Then, hours later, you realized that Mr. X had served as a catalyst to bond you and God in heart.

So, you will thank God for having given you Mr. X in your life.

And you learned to say, "God, because you do, I will do; because you do not do, I will not do."

From untrue to God

The moment you see yourself untrue,

That's the moment when you have options at least two

The option one is to give up and lose hope

The option two is to accept the fact and seek for God

If you choose the option two, then that might be a moment to connect to true through true God

and find your true self coming up

which might have a power to melt untrue one

then, you will find a different "you"

So, life is short

to find many unfound "you"

but hopefully long enough to find enough of them

Thank God for challenges

Many different challenges come around in our life

Sometimes we say, "Why this thing comes again! I thought I already graduated this one."

But, there's one good thing about many different challenges.

Through challenges we realize how untrue our love is.

We talk about practicing true love, or, living for others, or, giving unconditionally, etc.

And somehow we assume we are doing these without realizing how untrue our love is

Challenges give us chance to realize how untrue our love is

how much I am not giving unconditionally

how much I am concerned about myself and not others

And when we humbly and courageously face the fact, and redetermined to be more true,

then, that will contribute to the fulfillment of the very purpose of our life.

That's how we can thank God for challenges

Re: limiting yourself

The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:13-30) seems to tell you that your "talents" are given by God for you to develop, and when you do it, he will be happy so do you, and when you do not do it, he will be unhappy so do you.

If you limit yourself, then you will not recognize your talents and then you will not develop them. This will make God unhappy and thus you also become unhappy. (your becoming unhappy may be, in fact, the work of your conscience because it knows what you are doing is not good.)

Then, why would you limit yourself, which cause you to be unhappy?

Is it because you don't want to be challenged on the way to pursue your talents?

It is true that being challenged may not give you good feelings especially when you are defeated by that challenge.

So, maybe it is because you would want to avoid those bad feelings of being challenged and being defeated. In other words, you wouldn't want to face yourself.

If so, then the solution will be to have someone who you can love more than yourself. When you love that someone, that would give you power to naturally go beyond your fear of facing yourself.

Someone said, "Believe in yourself." Believing yourself will help when you have and know someone who believes in you.