Unstoppable

The Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way. —Numbers 22:31

Under it. Over it. Around it. Through it. Nothing will stop me from doing it.” I often hear people express this kind of attitude when they get an idea or see an opportunity that seems good or profitable. They devote all of their resources to getting it done.

As evidence that this way of thinking may be flawed, I call as my witness a donkey—a donkey belonging to a man named Balaam.

Balaam was offered a profitable assignment from a neighboring king, and he inquired of God for permission to accept it (Num. 22). When God said no, the king’s representatives made a better offer. Thinking God might change His mind, Balaam asked again. God granted permission for Balaam to go with them but with strict conditions. God knew Balaam’s heart and was not pleased with him, so He placed His Angel in the way. Balaam couldn’t see the Angel but his donkey could. When the donkey refused to continue, Balaam became angry with the animal for blocking his progress.

Balaam’s story teaches us that not every obstacle is meant to be overcome. Some are placed by God to keep us from doing something foolish. When our plans are hindered, we shouldn’t assume that it’s Satan trying to stop us. It might be God trying to protect us.

( by Julie Ackerman Link)

Let Your wisdom guide me ever,
For I dare not trust my own;
Lead me, Lord, in tender mercy,
Leave me not to walk alone. —Reed

God is always protecting us— even when we don’t realize we need it.

( taken from Our Daily Bread)

Quote for the day

If it's very painful for you to criticize your friends - you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue.

( by Alice Duer Miller)

What I Learned in Life...

That no matter how good a person is, sometimes they can hurt you and because of this we must forgive.

It takes years to build trust and only seconds to destroy it ..

We don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change..

The circumstances and the environment influence on our lives, but we are the one who responsible for ourselves..

That you have to control your acts or they will control you..

That patience requires much practice..

That there are people who love us, but simply don't know how to show it..

That sometimes the person you think will hurt you and make you fall is instead one of the few who will help you to get up..

You should never tell a child that dreams are fake, it would be a tragedy if they knew..

It's not always enough to be forgiven by someone, in most cases you have to forgive yourself first..

That no matter in how many pieces your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop to fix it ..

May be God wants us to meet all the wrong people first before meeting the right one, so when we finally meet the right one we are grateful for that gift ..

When the door of happiness closes, another door opens, but often we look so long at the closed one.. we don't see what was open for us ..

The best kind of a friend is the kind in which you can sit on a porch and walk without saying a word & when you leave it feels it was the best conversation you ever had.

It's true we don't know what we have until we find it, but its also true, we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives..

It only takes a minute to offend someone, an hour to like someone, a day to love someone, but it takes a life time to forget someone.

Don't look for appearances, they can be deceiving, don't go for wealth even that can fade, find someone who makes you smile, because it only takes a smile to make a day better, find what makes your heart smile..

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much, that you wish you can take them out of your dream and hug them for real..

Dream what you want, go wherever you want to go.. because you have only one life, and one change to do the things you want to do ..

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything that comes their way.

The best future is based on the forgotten past.. You can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling...
LIVE YOUR LIFE SO THAT WHEN YOU DIE, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT IS SMILING AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU IS CRYING"

( by Paulo Coelho)

Desires of our Heart

“Thou didst well in that it was in thine heart.” (1 Kings 8:18)

One of the great desires of David’s heart was to build a Temple for Jehovah in Jerusalem. The Lord sent word that he would not be permitted to build the Temple because he was a man of war, but the Lord added these significant words, “Thou didst well in that it was in thine heart.” It seems clear from this that God counts the desire for the act when we are unable to carry out our desires for Him.

This does not apply when our failure to perform is due to our own procrastination or inaction. Here the desire is not enough. As has been said, the streets of hell are paved with good intentions.

But there are many occasions in the Christian life when we want to do something to please the Lord but are prevented by circumstances beyond our control. A young convert, for instance, desires to be baptized but is forbidden by unbelieving parents. In such a case, God counts his unbaptism for baptism until he leaves home and can obey the Lord without being insubordinate to his parents.

A Christian wife desires to attend all the meetings of the local assembly but her drunken husband insists that she stay at home. The Lord rewards both her subjection to her husband and her desire to meet with others in His Name.

An aged sister wept as she watched others serving meals at a Bible Conference. It had been her great joy to do this for many years, but now she was physically unable. As far as God is concerned she receives as rich a reward for her tears as the others do for their labours.

Who knows how many there are who have willingly offered themselves for service on the mission fields, yet they were never able to travel beyond their own home-town? God knows—and all of these holy aspirations will be rewarded at the Judgement Seat of Christ.

The principle also applies in the matter of giving. There are those who are already investing sacrificially in the work of the Lord and just wish they could give more. In a coming day, the divine ledger will show that they did give more.

The ill, the handicapped, the shut-ins, the aged are not cut off from first-place honours, because, “in His mercy, God judges us, not only by our achievements, but by our dreams.”

( by Manorama)

Quote for the day

To give up hope, is to give up on God. 

God isn't done with me, and I'm not done with Him. I guess it just boils down to believing what God says in His word. He promised He won't forsake us, and as long as I still have that hope, I'm not giving up. On life, or anything else.

( by Judith Bronte)

Simple Things...

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Sing in the shower.

Own a great stereo system.

If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

Keep secrets.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

Whistle.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Choose your life's mate carefully and prayerfully.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Lend only those books you never care to see again.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

When playing games with children, let them win.

Give people a second chance.

Be romantic.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.

Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for your convenience, not the caller's.

Be a good winner.

Be a good loser.

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Keep it simple.

Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else or circumstances choose it for you.

Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; stay a few minutes.

Begin each day with some of your favorite music.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're terrific'.

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

Make someone's day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

Become someone's hero.

Marry only for love.

Count your blessings.

Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home.

Wave at the children on a school bus.

Thank good God before sleeping.

Lessons Through the Keyboard

This isn't an article on how to learn to play the keyboard. Rather, its about the lessons God has taught me through my keyboard. Quite a long one, but worth the read.

Ever since 2008, I eagerly waited to buy a good keyboard for myself. A childhood friend of mine had a PSR-2000 (Rs. 65,000). My heart was set on getting that model. I had pictures of it, and kept looking at them regularly. I planned to buy myself one after I joined work. I was pursuing my Bachelor's in Engineering at that time. So after a two year long wait, I hoped to join work and buy it. But God guided me towards my Post Graduation in Management, and I realized that I had to wait for another two years to buy it. 

Thats when my sister surprised me by offering to buy one for me. From then on, I started searching for a good keyboard to buy. PSR-2000 was an old model now, no longer in production. I could get a second hand one or buy some other recent model. I kept my options open. 

First starting with the second hand keyboards, I went through many online shopping sites, looked at various keyboards, contacted people, tried to fix the prices and so on. This went on for about a month and a half. Then I happened to visit my guitar master one day, and he advised me to not get a second hand one. Its more prone to get repaired, he said. 

So I started a fresh search looking at the latest keyboards and their features. There were many to choose from and decision making became very tough. During this time I had this renewed desire to learn to play the keyboard better, and so I wanted one that would help me learn more and improve my playing greatly. I downloaded the pictures and features list of about 6 to 7 keyboards and went through them everyday. I would spend hours reading the features again and again even though I knew them by heart. I would look at all those keyboards longingly. Day after day, I went through all those models, sometime many times a day, and I still wasn't able to decide. 

At first I chose a simple model. It had touch sensitivity ( a feature) that was one of my top priorities. I assumed it would suffice my purpose and almost decided on it. Then I realized that I would need a better model if I had to use it for my church choir. We never had a proper keyboard in my church at that time and Christmas was fast approaching, and I needed one before that. 

So the search started again, this time with new models in my choice list. My budget also had to be looked at, and I finally narrowed down my choice to two models - the PSR-s550b (Rs. 36,000) and the PSR-s710 (Rs. 48,000).

I was accustomed to the s710 model as we had a similar one (s700) in my college, I had played on that before and I knew it was an awesome keyboard. And somehow whenever I looked at this model PSR s550b, I had this feeling I cannot explain. I didn't want that keyboard. I always wanted a silver color keyboard ( probably because PSR-2000 was of that color), and this one was black, jet black! I knew I was being silly, a keyboard should be valued based on its features and not its color. I knew it, but somehow I just didn't want the s550b model.

I knew the s550b had more features than I actually wanted, and it was a good one. But I didn't want that. A month passed, and I still couldn't make up my mind. My parents felt that the s710 model was quite expensive but since it was a one-time investment they didn't object when that was on my choice list. 

One day, a friend of mine felt I would end up buying the s550b. And I got this all too familiar feeling again (the one I cannot explain). I felt peaceful. Later when I saw the s710 again, I was confused again. And I  delayed my decision one more time. Days went by, and I felt drained of my energy whenever I tried to make a decision. There was the s550b which had the features I wanted and the s710 which I wanted to buy. I could not go ahead with either one. I couldn't believe my state. I had waited for more than two years to buy a keyboard, and now when I had the money to buy it, I just couldn't make up my mind.

I wondered which one God wanted me to buy. I didn't know. I told my friend Sagai that. She said I should fast and pray to know God's will. This may sound ridiculous, that I sought God's will to buy a keyboard. But I have always sought His will for even minor, insignificant things in my life and I felt that my keyboard which I loved already should also be in accordance with His will. I had this undeniable faith that His plans are "the best". 

So that day I fasted and prayed asking God to reveal which one I should buy. I prayed for a long time but I still got no answer. Thats when I remembered some preacher saying long back that God has given us good brains to think and we ought to use them when we seek His will. I asked God to guide me to the answer and  I took a sheet of paper and a pen. I wrote down what my needs were, what were the features I wanted. I also wrote down the features of both keyboards and matched my needs with their features. Both had the features I wanted and much more. So I started writing the positives and drawbacks of each. Among them, weight was an important factor. The s710 weighed 10.5 kgs whereas the s550b weighed only 7.5 kgs. I've carried the s700 before in college and I remember how breathless I was after having walked carrying it for hardly two minutes. 

I realized that I would have to carry my keyboard quite often to and from church. Would I be able to carry the s710 to church almost every week? (The church is about a kilometre away from my home). I wasn't sure. I felt I would dislocate my shoulder if I carried it even once to church. I would have to use an antorickshaw to carry it, and I wouldn't be able to afford that every time. 

I looked at the features again. The s550b had more features than I wanted. It was more than enough for my needs. The s710 had more features than the s550b, features I never know to exploit, features I would never use. I was a beginner after all. If I bought the s710, I would actually be buying a heavier keyboard that would leave me breathless when I carry it, a keyboard I would be paying more for for features I would never use, a waste of money and energy. 

I realized that the s550b was the one I had to buy. I once again had this familiar feeling and now, with it a lot of peace. That kind of peace cannot be explained. It leaves no doubts about the decisions you've made, it assures you that everything's gonna be alright, it makes you feel that the best will happen now. 

I had made my decision. I was going to buy the s550b.

We paid for it, and I carried it home on my lap, tightly holding the keyboard I had waited for for years. I was happy. I was peaceful. I wanted to give him a name. This verse from Joshua 24:15 where he says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” was one of my favourites. I named my keyboard after him. 

The story doesn't end there. The liar doesn't give up, does he?

As the story goes, I played on the s550b at home and the s700 ( similar to s710) in college. The music from  any keyboard will sound very good when its heard on amplified speakers. I've heard the s700 on speakers, but not mine. In my church, the speakers face the other side and I never get to hear my keyboard on the speakers. 

So I had this feeling that my keyboard was not as good as the s710. Also, by this time I got better at carrying the s700 in college ( we use it for the prayer meetings every week). Now, I could carry it without losing my breath for that short distance to the prayer room. I wondered if I had made the wrong decision. With practice I could have carried it. But this decision was from God. How could it be wrong? I remembered the decision making process and I would tell myself that this was the right decision. But confusions came now and then and this thought about the s710 kept eating at me for about 4 months. Nevertheless, I still liked my keyboard. I learnt lots as I played on it everyday and my music improved greatly. 

So it was after 4 months that I actually took my keyboard for using it at a night vigil for the first time. I was close to the speakers this time. As the music kept coming, I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Was this my keyboard? It sounded so beautiful! It was awesome!

I realized that God had given me the best, only I hadn't known it before. 

After the night vigil I had to carry it home. I had to walk for a little more than a kilometre carrying it. I felt it was no great deal as I had carried mine to church often. But I failed to notice that I was exhausted after the night vigil, and had no strength to carry it. I became breathless soon. I developed some pain in my chest as I was trying to catch my breath. I was shocked, it was my keyboard and I was breathless! I struggled to carry it home. And I kept wondering what would have happened if I was carrying the s710 now!

It took me four months to realize that God had given me the best keyboard. God has used my keyboard and me on many occasions. And I'm able to go to those places (the night vigil too) because its my keyboard that I'm carrying on my shoulders. I carry it as I walk, as I travel on the bike, I carry it myself whenever I have to play.

The decision to buy the s550b is one of the best decisions I ever made in my life!

I know that the s710 is still better than my keyboard, but the s550b is the best for me! Whats best by worldly standards isn't always the best for us. By giving me the s550b, God gave me the not what I wanted but what I needed. He gave me the best, He gave me only that which I'm capable of carrying. 


This is an important lesson in life. Many times we go after things we don't really need, they weigh heavily on our shoulders, drain us of our energy and rob us of our happiness. And the alternative from God could be plain, simple, not attractive perhaps and we doubt if it'll be the best one. But what comes from God is what we're capable of carrying. For God says in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Believe me, they're the best we can have, ever!

P.S.: Here's a picture of Joshu :)

Beating the Single Catholic Blues

Really meaningful and worth pondering for all those who are seeking their better half.....

Why am I still single?

That’s a question a whole lot of us Catholic girls and boys find ourselves asking these days.

The plan, our plan, was always marriage and babies. But God hasn’t gotten the memo yet. Which leaves those of us who still believe we’re called to marriage trying to make sense of our prolonged singleness, not to mention striving to understand how we’re supposed to live in the gap between college and “I do.”

It’s confusing. It’s frustrating. And sometimes it just plain hurts.

So what’s a good Catholic single to do? Give in to the culture? Give up on our heart’s desires?

Buy lots and lots of cats?

No. No. A hundred times no.

Just try these tips instead.

1. Remember, It’s Not You

Okay, maybe it is. Maybe you have some deep-seeded issue preventing you from recognizing or committing to the person God has for you. Chances are,however, you’re still single for the same reason most of us are:

We’re Catholic and the culture is not.

The sexual revolution, divorce, abortion, contraception, pornography, cohabitation, even serial dating have left countless potential mates wounded and in need of healing. Others want and expect things from us that we cannot and must not give. The pool of eligible spouses is small, which leaves many of us single later—maybe much later—than we’d like.

But your unwillingness to widen that pool by turning your back on God and compromising on what you know to be true doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you. It means something’s right.

2. Seize the Day

The single years aren’t always a walk in the park. But they do come with certain perks and opportunities. Don’t let those perks and opportunities pass you by.

At night, read by the fireside. Buy season tickets to the ballet or symphony. Go on that missionary trip to China. Open the brewhouse of your dreams. Finish that masters in theology.

As your married friends will tell you, your time for most of these adventures is limited. Embarking on them now, however, tempers depression in the short-term and enriches life in the long-term. You see more and learn more. You grow more. And who knows? Maybe in some mission church in China, you’ll meet your future spouse.

3. Make a Gift of Yourself

All of us—single or otherwise—are under orders from God to give ourselves away in love. See Matthew 10:39: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

So lose your life. Give it away. Volunteer at the local crisis pregnancy center. Sing in the Church choir. Teach CCD. Feed the homeless. Take a meal to new mom. Make a holy hour for the singles you know. Just smile at the crabby clerk in the grocery store.

Whatever you do, do it often and do it gladly. God, after all, loves a cheerful giver. Accordingly, the more cheerfully you give yourself away, the more joy God gives back to you.

4. Count Your Blessings

Literally. Write them down. Tick them off on your fingers. Use an abacus. Enumerate them however you like, just count them…all of them. Your mind, your health, your strength, your friends, your faith, your beauty, your smile, your talents, your job, your lack of job, your great family, your crazy family, blue skies, green grass, hot coffee, strong whiskey, cashmere sweaters, fat babies, broccoli, old doors, new plumbing—whatever it is that floats your boat put it on the list. Then bless God for it. Tell him you see his goodness in all these things, and ask for the grace to see it in your singleness as well. Chances are, by the time you’re done counting, you will.

5. Hang Out With Jesus

Why? Because he loves you and wants only the best for you. He’s not surprised you’re single. He saw this day coming from all eternity. He’s accounted for it. He’s providing for you through it. And as long as your singleness lasts, he will continue to provide. So go to him, daily: in the Eucharist, in Confession, in Adoration, in his Word, and in prayer. Being in his presence reminds you of his love. It also can remind you of how much you love him, and how your deepest desire is not for a spouse, but rather to do his will.

6. Hope Always

There comes a time in almost every single Catholic’s life when we’ve had enough—enough dating, enough disappointment, enough bad endings. No matter how good we’ve been and no matter how hard we’ve prayed, it never seems to work out. So we contemplate giving up.

Bad idea.

If you truly believe you’re called to marriage, you can’t throw in the towel. You have to put yourself out there, and you have to leave yourself open—to getting hurt, yes, but also to being surprised by some totally

unexpected, totally perfect gift from God.

And it’s never too late for him to send you that gift. Never.

( by Emily Stimpson* )

*Emily Stimpson is a contributing editor to Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly and the author of “The Catholic Girl’s Survival Guide for the Single Years.” (Emmaus Road, 2012). She lives in Steubenville , Ohio, and blogs at CatholicVote.org.