"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."
-Marilyn Monroe
The Dictionary definition of CHANGE is: to become different, to become altered or modified, to become transformed or converted.
Nothing lasts forever. Just as the quote above states, people change and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. This quote helps to prove that nothing is forever and that the only thing that is forever is God. Other than Him, on this earth nothing is forever. As we live life, we all go through different changes. We make new friends, new relationships, and most importantly a new you. Right now, I'm in my 2nd year of college, and many people know that the first year or so is the time that many take to find out who they are as a person. People may join fraternities/sororities, start becoming a party animal when they were a good student in high school and vice versa. People get influenced into doing different things, changing the person that they actually were. But there are two ways to look into this. The person could have changed dramatically on the outside but still the same on the inside as before, or the person could have changed on the inside but still the same on the outside. A good reason for this can be the influence from friends. Family and friends are a big part of your life, so when not at home with your family, it's only reasonable that you are out with your friends. So whatever your friends are doing, unless you have a strong sense of what kind of person you are, you will probably be doing the same things because you most likely have the same interest. This just means that you need to be very careful with who you surround yourself with, because from the perspective of an outsider, they will automatically assume you are the same as your friends because that's just what we do first as humans. We classify the person the same as their friends, because if they are hanging out with a certain crowd, they usually have the same interest. This could be a good thing and a bad thing. It could be a good thing in the sense where they may see something positive like a christian group of friends, but also bad in the sense that if you don't party but all your friends do they may just assume you do. But most of the time, people will fall, make mistakes, and have regrets because that's just the way life is. We make mistakes, learn from them, and become a better person. In high school, I made countless mistakes, many things that I do regret but I know that all those experiences made me the person I am today. Now I know my strengths and weaknesses in certain areas, because of what I went through in the past. But it's just hard for me to see people, that I consider close friends that I've known for quite some time, to be making the same mistakes that I made and all I can do is watch. I know what mindset they have, so I know me talking to them won't change it, but it's always good to still go at it. If you see a person that you've known for a long time, start changing for the worse, of course you are going to try to help him/her out the best you can. But people will only be able to change, if they are willing to, and that's what we need to remember. People may change for the worse, because they want to but also want to become better because they want it. A person doesn't change automatically, but it gradually happens over a period of time. I know that many people have those certain type of friends that they've known for a long time, and now are seeing them go down a wrong path but all they do is feel sad at the thought of it. I'm writing this blog because I'm trying to give you guys hope and a solution to that problem. Prayer is the solution and as long as we are willing to be consistent and pray for as long as needed, God will be able to help change anyone if they are willing to change. This subject was just on my mind for some time, and I just really felt like writing a blog about it. But the main point that I want to get across is, people change for better or worse, but we need to always make sure we know exactly what kind of person we are. When you know something for sure, you will never question it in any situation that may arise, so that's what I wanted to get across. That doesnt mean we will never fall into temptation or make a mistake, because no one's perfect, but it's a step closer to strengthing our relationship with God. So I'm going to leave you guys with a quote, showing how much times have changed:
"Remember when... getting high meant swinging on the playground? When protection meant wearing a helmet? When the worst thing you can get from boys/girls were cooties? When Dad's shoulders were the highest place on earth and Mom was your hero? When your worst enemy was your siblings? When race issues were about who ran the fastest? When war was only a card game? When the most pain you felt was when you skinned your knees, and goodbyes only meant until tomorrow? When we couldn't wait to grow up?"
Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Relationships And Honesty.
Relationships and honesty are probably one of the most important things in life, whether it being a relationship you have with God, family, friends, etc. In a relationship there should be honesty, and in honesty between you and a person usually there is a relationship in some sort. The most important relationship you can probably have is the relationship you with have God. Being a Christian does not just mean believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sin, but also having a relationship with Him. But relationships aren't always strong and happy all the time, there are also times of hardship and troubles. These past few weeks have been like that for me, where I've fallen into the worries and troubles of life, and forgotten to spend time with God. In this relationship, I am honest with Him, because i choose to be, but no matter what He knows everything in my life and what I go through. Everyone always feels saddened whenever they think about a past relationship with a good friend, boyfriend/girlfriend that they don't have anymore that meant a lot to them. Well that's exactly how my relationship with God is. Whenever there are these periods of time when I get sucked into the world, I forget about my Father and Savior and it does sadden me that I have been ignoring Him. If you're a Christian reading this, you should know exactly what I'm feeling. The relationship with God is how we should be doing what our other relationships in life such as family, friends, girlfriend/boyfriend..but that's not always how we are. We lie, use, put down, our worldly relationships with each other because that's just the way we were brought up. This society has put an image in our minds, of doing whatever it takes to succeed in life, even if that means using, lying, or cheating out a friend/family member. Usually, I would only blog about one certain topic, but I feel that these two really go hand in hand with each other. Honesty is something a relationship should always have, without it the relationship will never know the full meaning like a relationship we have with God. Of course I'm not saying we need to make every relationship we have in life the same as we have with God, because nobody's perfect and we all make mistakes. We all lie, cheat, steal, basically sin in life, but that doesn't mean we need to do that so unconsciously to our close ones and not care in the process. There is a quote i came upon one day, "Each time you are honest and conduct yourself with honesty, a success force will drive you toward greater success. Each time you lie, even with a little white lie, there are strong forces pushing you toward failure." We all know this quote to be true, that whenever we lie in a relationship, usually the relationship will end. On the other hand, if we are to be honest, then we are one step closer each time to perfecting a relationship with a close one. My relationship with God is not perfect, because there are times that I do lie to myself thinking that I am getting away with a certain thing when I forget that God knows everything. But the difference between my relationship with God and my relationship with family/friends is that God will always be honest with me, and never lie. So instead of a song, I'll leave you guys with those pretty long quote that I randomly came upon:
"Surrendering means, by definition, giving up attachment to results. When we surrender to God, we let go of our attachment to how things happen on the outside and we become more concerned with what happens on the inside.
When we love, we are automatically placing ourselves within an attitudinal and behavioral context that leads to an unfoldment of events at the highest level of good for everyone involved. We don't always know what that unfoldment would look like, but we don't need to. God will do his part if we do ours. Our only job in every situation is to merely let go our our resistance to love.
Relationships are assignments. They are part of a vast plan for our enlightment, the Holy Spirit's blueprint by which each individual soul is led to greater awareness and expanded love. He brings together people who have the maximal opportunity for mutual growth. No meetings are accidental.
In the holy relationship, it's understood that we all have unhealed places, and that healing is the purpose of our being with another person. We don't try to hide our weaknesses, but rather we understand that the relationship is a context for healing through mutual forgiveness. Adam and Eve were naked in the garden of Eden but not embarrassed. That doesn't mean they were physically naked. It means they were emotionally naked, totally real and honest, yet they were not embarrassed because they felt accepted completely for who they were."
I hope that this has helped some people that have been struggling with honesty in a relationship, or just the feeling of insecurity that the other person in the relationship isn't being honest with them. I can relate to this topic a lot so I wanted to write about it and the people who are feeling this know that they aren't alone in feeling that way. When my birth mother left me, even at such a young age, every relationship girlfriend/friend wise, I never really felt that complete honesty like how it is with God. I would push people away whenever I felt that I was getting in too deep, only for the sole fact that i didn't want them to leave me when I cared so much about them. For me, pushing them away was somewhat a test, to see if they actually cared enough for me to keep trying no matter what, and this is what I've have been going through because of what my birth mother did. I'm trying to fix that emotional scar I have, but it's a work in process and I know in time God will completely heal me from that hurt. So yeah thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
"Surrendering means, by definition, giving up attachment to results. When we surrender to God, we let go of our attachment to how things happen on the outside and we become more concerned with what happens on the inside.
When we love, we are automatically placing ourselves within an attitudinal and behavioral context that leads to an unfoldment of events at the highest level of good for everyone involved. We don't always know what that unfoldment would look like, but we don't need to. God will do his part if we do ours. Our only job in every situation is to merely let go our our resistance to love.
Relationships are assignments. They are part of a vast plan for our enlightment, the Holy Spirit's blueprint by which each individual soul is led to greater awareness and expanded love. He brings together people who have the maximal opportunity for mutual growth. No meetings are accidental.
In the holy relationship, it's understood that we all have unhealed places, and that healing is the purpose of our being with another person. We don't try to hide our weaknesses, but rather we understand that the relationship is a context for healing through mutual forgiveness. Adam and Eve were naked in the garden of Eden but not embarrassed. That doesn't mean they were physically naked. It means they were emotionally naked, totally real and honest, yet they were not embarrassed because they felt accepted completely for who they were."
I hope that this has helped some people that have been struggling with honesty in a relationship, or just the feeling of insecurity that the other person in the relationship isn't being honest with them. I can relate to this topic a lot so I wanted to write about it and the people who are feeling this know that they aren't alone in feeling that way. When my birth mother left me, even at such a young age, every relationship girlfriend/friend wise, I never really felt that complete honesty like how it is with God. I would push people away whenever I felt that I was getting in too deep, only for the sole fact that i didn't want them to leave me when I cared so much about them. For me, pushing them away was somewhat a test, to see if they actually cared enough for me to keep trying no matter what, and this is what I've have been going through because of what my birth mother did. I'm trying to fix that emotional scar I have, but it's a work in process and I know in time God will completely heal me from that hurt. So yeah thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Dreams.
The Dictionary definition of the word Dream is: an aspiration; goal; aim: something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence.
Everyone has a dream profession, girl/guy, or life that they imagine of while sleeping or awake. A dream is something that your mind creates, something that you feel that if you had that certain person or thing in life, would make your life much better or exciting. There are many different types of dreams. The first thing many people think of when they hear the word dream is what happens while you sleep. The images that are portrayed in our mind during the sleeping state, or the scenes that play in your head while resting/sleeping. The definition of dream that I would like to talk about is the dreams that people have in life that they want to achieve. Some examples of these dreams may be making it big in the world as a celebrity, becoming famous, etc. I believe these dreams are only thought up by the person, whenever they see people around them becoming more famous doing things they love and they want that for themselves as well. Everyone should have the confidence to do whatever they have to, no matter how embarrassing or stupid they may look throughout the process, to achieve their dream. The majority reason why people never go after their dream is mainly because of the people they surround themselves with. Depending on whether your family members, friends, peers tell you how much you can or cannot achieve your dream, plays a big role in your decision to go forward with it or not. Throughout my life, I've always wanted to go back to Korea when I became older to make it BIG in Korea either it being an actor, singer, or model. But there has been a lot of negative feedback from my family members that have been making me think twice about forgetting my dream. "You're not good enough to make it" "Don't be stupid, just focus on school" are just a couple of the put-downs I received from my Dad and older brother growing up. The only thing that has kept me going if the positive feedback I've been receiving from my friends and peers. Now I tell them to answer truthfully whenever I ask them if my dream if possible for me, and I trust their answers are from the heart. There is a song that I would like you guys/girls to look up: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes. It was originally written by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Disney film Cinderella. The lyrics in this song are for a way to encourage everyone to keep going for their dreams in life, that if they really want to achieve it they should let nothing/no one stop them from gaining it. I feel that the reason why some people put other people down and give them negative feedback on their dreams is because they have been getting the same. It's a cycle of someone putting you down and saying you can't achieve your dream, and then you going and letting your frustration out on another by telling them they can't make it either. The people that rise above this cycle are the ones that block out the negative feedback or even use it as a way for them to try harder to reach their goal to prove those people wrong. So the reason for this blog is really, if u have a dream or goal in life that you would like to pursue, you should give it a try, because you only live once so why not live it to the fullest with no regrets? Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Everyone has a dream profession, girl/guy, or life that they imagine of while sleeping or awake. A dream is something that your mind creates, something that you feel that if you had that certain person or thing in life, would make your life much better or exciting. There are many different types of dreams. The first thing many people think of when they hear the word dream is what happens while you sleep. The images that are portrayed in our mind during the sleeping state, or the scenes that play in your head while resting/sleeping. The definition of dream that I would like to talk about is the dreams that people have in life that they want to achieve. Some examples of these dreams may be making it big in the world as a celebrity, becoming famous, etc. I believe these dreams are only thought up by the person, whenever they see people around them becoming more famous doing things they love and they want that for themselves as well. Everyone should have the confidence to do whatever they have to, no matter how embarrassing or stupid they may look throughout the process, to achieve their dream. The majority reason why people never go after their dream is mainly because of the people they surround themselves with. Depending on whether your family members, friends, peers tell you how much you can or cannot achieve your dream, plays a big role in your decision to go forward with it or not. Throughout my life, I've always wanted to go back to Korea when I became older to make it BIG in Korea either it being an actor, singer, or model. But there has been a lot of negative feedback from my family members that have been making me think twice about forgetting my dream. "You're not good enough to make it" "Don't be stupid, just focus on school" are just a couple of the put-downs I received from my Dad and older brother growing up. The only thing that has kept me going if the positive feedback I've been receiving from my friends and peers. Now I tell them to answer truthfully whenever I ask them if my dream if possible for me, and I trust their answers are from the heart. There is a song that I would like you guys/girls to look up: A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes. It was originally written by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Disney film Cinderella. The lyrics in this song are for a way to encourage everyone to keep going for their dreams in life, that if they really want to achieve it they should let nothing/no one stop them from gaining it. I feel that the reason why some people put other people down and give them negative feedback on their dreams is because they have been getting the same. It's a cycle of someone putting you down and saying you can't achieve your dream, and then you going and letting your frustration out on another by telling them they can't make it either. The people that rise above this cycle are the ones that block out the negative feedback or even use it as a way for them to try harder to reach their goal to prove those people wrong. So the reason for this blog is really, if u have a dream or goal in life that you would like to pursue, you should give it a try, because you only live once so why not live it to the fullest with no regrets? Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Putting your Faith in God alone.
"That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
- 1 Corinthians 2:5
God is the one and only person that you can full trust in life. He will be the person you can tell everything to, that will never lie or betray you, and the person that will love you no matter what sin you may commit in life. But isn't it funny how us as Christians, knowing this, still put our faith and trust in men at times? Even the people we call friends in life will at some point, betray, lie, or cheat us for their own personal gain. But still we put our trust in them because they are someone who we have known for some time and we feel they are worthy of it. God has been with us even before we existed, never leaving us once, or betraying us but still we rely on man many times with our worldly problems. I wanted to write this blog, because I really have been feeling this these past few weeks. I've been ignoring God, the person that is the most trustworthy and cares for me the most, for friends/girls/going out. I was recently at a revival on Thursday for my church, and it was so hard for me to come to God to tell him why I haven't been talking with him these past few weeks. The reason was because I was too busy with my worldly problems. My problems with trust, dependency, lies, and pleasure. These were consuming my life towards the point where I felt that I was alone and could not rely on anyone so I took some time to be with myself and just ponder on all the thoughts running through my mind. One thought in my mind is the fact that something I felt would benefit a person that I care about, is only making that person complain and feel burdened by it. In life there are going to be situations that will make you uncomfortable or you just need to put more effort into, but then again some people just need to learn that the hard way in life like I have. My worldly pleasures and everything I built up so far in this world, mean nothing to me if they take me away from God. Because I've been having so many conflicts/problems, it has been making me think more into incidents in the past and think differently about the reasons for them. Usually the end result would be me being more angry, and with that I start being more cautious. I'm ignoring the one person that has actually been the only person to stay by me through all my troubles, never leaving me for my worldly pleasures. This blog entry is a two reason thing for me. The first reason is I just really wanted to let out my thoughts, and the second reason is I want people to realize this. The verse I started this blog out with talks about how we shouldn't put our faith into men, but rather in God. A basic translation for this is, to just depend on God and trust him completely alone because He will never fail you like man will. People change, for better or worse, but God is constant and eternal. He will never leave you no matter what, through good times and bad, and He will always love you constantly. These past few weeks have just opened my eyes really to realize that more. The incidents that have happened were just a reminder to me that God is the person I can rely on with all my heart and soul. Another thing is, God will never give you something you can't handle. I remember always hearing this, how God will never give you something that you can't overcome, so when you reach those times in life where you feel there is too much going on at once and you can't deal with it all, just stop and remember that God would never give you too much to handle and that you can deal with it all with Him by your side. So yeah thanks for reading, and sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Like I said i had a lot on my mind ;P
-Paul Lem.
- 1 Corinthians 2:5
God is the one and only person that you can full trust in life. He will be the person you can tell everything to, that will never lie or betray you, and the person that will love you no matter what sin you may commit in life. But isn't it funny how us as Christians, knowing this, still put our faith and trust in men at times? Even the people we call friends in life will at some point, betray, lie, or cheat us for their own personal gain. But still we put our trust in them because they are someone who we have known for some time and we feel they are worthy of it. God has been with us even before we existed, never leaving us once, or betraying us but still we rely on man many times with our worldly problems. I wanted to write this blog, because I really have been feeling this these past few weeks. I've been ignoring God, the person that is the most trustworthy and cares for me the most, for friends/girls/going out. I was recently at a revival on Thursday for my church, and it was so hard for me to come to God to tell him why I haven't been talking with him these past few weeks. The reason was because I was too busy with my worldly problems. My problems with trust, dependency, lies, and pleasure. These were consuming my life towards the point where I felt that I was alone and could not rely on anyone so I took some time to be with myself and just ponder on all the thoughts running through my mind. One thought in my mind is the fact that something I felt would benefit a person that I care about, is only making that person complain and feel burdened by it. In life there are going to be situations that will make you uncomfortable or you just need to put more effort into, but then again some people just need to learn that the hard way in life like I have. My worldly pleasures and everything I built up so far in this world, mean nothing to me if they take me away from God. Because I've been having so many conflicts/problems, it has been making me think more into incidents in the past and think differently about the reasons for them. Usually the end result would be me being more angry, and with that I start being more cautious. I'm ignoring the one person that has actually been the only person to stay by me through all my troubles, never leaving me for my worldly pleasures. This blog entry is a two reason thing for me. The first reason is I just really wanted to let out my thoughts, and the second reason is I want people to realize this. The verse I started this blog out with talks about how we shouldn't put our faith into men, but rather in God. A basic translation for this is, to just depend on God and trust him completely alone because He will never fail you like man will. People change, for better or worse, but God is constant and eternal. He will never leave you no matter what, through good times and bad, and He will always love you constantly. These past few weeks have just opened my eyes really to realize that more. The incidents that have happened were just a reminder to me that God is the person I can rely on with all my heart and soul. Another thing is, God will never give you something you can't handle. I remember always hearing this, how God will never give you something that you can't overcome, so when you reach those times in life where you feel there is too much going on at once and you can't deal with it all, just stop and remember that God would never give you too much to handle and that you can deal with it all with Him by your side. So yeah thanks for reading, and sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Like I said i had a lot on my mind ;P
-Paul Lem.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Reminiscing.
The dictionary definition of reminisce is: to recall past experiences, events, etc.
Everyone in life will always reminisce of past events that occurred in their lives. Big or small memory, a memory is something that is in the back of our mind and we think back to it whenever we feel nostalgic. Reminiscing gives us the opportunity to look back in our own lives and remember events that made us into the person we are today. The time that I reminisce the most, is when I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I'm not the type of person that can fall asleep easily unless I'm really tired, so since I have all that free time a lot of things run through my mind. People always say that "girls think too much", but in reality, guys think just as much as girls do. Thinking is the time God gave us so that we can reminisce back on an event that happened, good or bad, and how it effected the person we became. Usually a person's first thought would be a good memory, because honestly who wants to remember a bad memory that happened in their life? I'm not saying that means that we don't think back on our bad memories because both of them are what really made us into the people we are today. We take what we learn from those experiences and events and keep the lessons learned from them for future situations. We reminisce on many things in life, not only a particular subject. It may range from a life-changing event, to maybe a girl/guy you like. For me personally, when I reminisce I think about all situations. From girls to my future, my past to who I am now, and events in my past that have changed my way of thinking or my life in general. I just got back from a mission trip to Dominican Republic and what a blessing that was. There is always that cliche of what a person's attitude is when they return from a poverty country, of how that person is so grateful of what they have and how they are blessed compared to the other people. Honestly, that's just a feeling many people are going to feel, no matter it being a cliche or not. It was my second time here, and the Dominican Republic and it's people always open my eyes and my mind to a new way of thinking. That feeling of gratefulness and blessing is not a pity feeling, but more of a slap-in-the- face feeling. What i mean by that is the Dominican people may have way less then we do back in the states, but they take what they have and are so happy and praise and thank God for it. It was such a blessing the second time being there, and I know that God is going to do many great things there. Another thing that has been on my mind recently is the simple question of "where the heck is my mind at?". As I said earlier, I am the type of guy that does a lot of thinking before I go to sleep, being either a big or small thing. So since I've been back from DR, I've just been thinking about my life here. I've known this for a long time, but recently it's been hitting me even harder. The fact that I have many emotional scars from the past and how I've been dealing with them my whole life. Throughout my life, I would try to fill that void with many things: girls, popularity, friends, and i realized that every time I did that it never kept me satisfied. God is the only person that can heal and mend my broken heart and emotional scars, and I've rarely given him the chance to mend it all up. For the topic of girls, I've just had way too many situations that were really unnecessary and even though I knew God didn't want me to, I still went and did it. When it comes to my future, there are so many things that I'm unsure about, but I put my trust and faith in God and I know that He will take care of me and let me know what He wants me to do in my life for Him. I let go of my past because I knew it was hindering my relationship with God to grow. The reason for this blog entry is that I want people to know that it's okay to think too much. People say that thinking too much is a problem, but I believe it's okay to a certain extent. I think God made human beings to think too much, because if not, we wouldn't be caring about anything really. People should think out certain situations, but not towards the point where they feel they need to do things to take control and do something about it. God is in control and just as long as we trust in Him, we will be fine. Reminiscing is the time for us to spend with ourselves, thinking back or ahead, on situations and events that we care about. Because in reality, who honestly will think too much about something that they really don't have a care about? The reason we think too much about specific events/people is because we care about that certain person or situation. So I'll leave you guys with a song and you can look it up and listen to the lyrics: Hillsongs - Amazing Love (You are my King).
The lyrics i want you guys and girls to focus on the most is the chorus:
Amazing love, how can it be
that you my King would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you
In all i do i honor you.
There are many things in life that we think and reminisce on, but one thing that we should always have on our mind and wonder is how our loving Father would send his son to die on the cross for all our sins, just so we can spend eternity with Him. He didn't have to save us, but He loves us so much that He wanted each and everyone one of us to be with Him in Heaven. I hope this blog helped someone out, and thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Everyone in life will always reminisce of past events that occurred in their lives. Big or small memory, a memory is something that is in the back of our mind and we think back to it whenever we feel nostalgic. Reminiscing gives us the opportunity to look back in our own lives and remember events that made us into the person we are today. The time that I reminisce the most, is when I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I'm not the type of person that can fall asleep easily unless I'm really tired, so since I have all that free time a lot of things run through my mind. People always say that "girls think too much", but in reality, guys think just as much as girls do. Thinking is the time God gave us so that we can reminisce back on an event that happened, good or bad, and how it effected the person we became. Usually a person's first thought would be a good memory, because honestly who wants to remember a bad memory that happened in their life? I'm not saying that means that we don't think back on our bad memories because both of them are what really made us into the people we are today. We take what we learn from those experiences and events and keep the lessons learned from them for future situations. We reminisce on many things in life, not only a particular subject. It may range from a life-changing event, to maybe a girl/guy you like. For me personally, when I reminisce I think about all situations. From girls to my future, my past to who I am now, and events in my past that have changed my way of thinking or my life in general. I just got back from a mission trip to Dominican Republic and what a blessing that was. There is always that cliche of what a person's attitude is when they return from a poverty country, of how that person is so grateful of what they have and how they are blessed compared to the other people. Honestly, that's just a feeling many people are going to feel, no matter it being a cliche or not. It was my second time here, and the Dominican Republic and it's people always open my eyes and my mind to a new way of thinking. That feeling of gratefulness and blessing is not a pity feeling, but more of a slap-in-the- face feeling. What i mean by that is the Dominican people may have way less then we do back in the states, but they take what they have and are so happy and praise and thank God for it. It was such a blessing the second time being there, and I know that God is going to do many great things there. Another thing that has been on my mind recently is the simple question of "where the heck is my mind at?". As I said earlier, I am the type of guy that does a lot of thinking before I go to sleep, being either a big or small thing. So since I've been back from DR, I've just been thinking about my life here. I've known this for a long time, but recently it's been hitting me even harder. The fact that I have many emotional scars from the past and how I've been dealing with them my whole life. Throughout my life, I would try to fill that void with many things: girls, popularity, friends, and i realized that every time I did that it never kept me satisfied. God is the only person that can heal and mend my broken heart and emotional scars, and I've rarely given him the chance to mend it all up. For the topic of girls, I've just had way too many situations that were really unnecessary and even though I knew God didn't want me to, I still went and did it. When it comes to my future, there are so many things that I'm unsure about, but I put my trust and faith in God and I know that He will take care of me and let me know what He wants me to do in my life for Him. I let go of my past because I knew it was hindering my relationship with God to grow. The reason for this blog entry is that I want people to know that it's okay to think too much. People say that thinking too much is a problem, but I believe it's okay to a certain extent. I think God made human beings to think too much, because if not, we wouldn't be caring about anything really. People should think out certain situations, but not towards the point where they feel they need to do things to take control and do something about it. God is in control and just as long as we trust in Him, we will be fine. Reminiscing is the time for us to spend with ourselves, thinking back or ahead, on situations and events that we care about. Because in reality, who honestly will think too much about something that they really don't have a care about? The reason we think too much about specific events/people is because we care about that certain person or situation. So I'll leave you guys with a song and you can look it up and listen to the lyrics: Hillsongs - Amazing Love (You are my King).
The lyrics i want you guys and girls to focus on the most is the chorus:
Amazing love, how can it be
that you my King would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor you
In all i do i honor you.
There are many things in life that we think and reminisce on, but one thing that we should always have on our mind and wonder is how our loving Father would send his son to die on the cross for all our sins, just so we can spend eternity with Him. He didn't have to save us, but He loves us so much that He wanted each and everyone one of us to be with Him in Heaven. I hope this blog helped someone out, and thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
You can never really prepare yourself for a Miracle.
There are many things in life that we can prepare ourselves for. We can prepare ourselves for a job interview, a date you may be going on later on that day, our future, etc. One thing we can never really prepare for is a miracle. A miracle is something that just happens. The dictionary definition of miracle is: an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. God creates miracles in our lives, that show us that He is in control and that it is Him and Him alone that controls everything. A miracle is of course a good thing to us, something that makes our lives better in one way or another. I have seen many miracles in my life, including last summer when I went on my first mission trip to Dominican Republic. The miracle that happened there was just an eye-opening blessing to everyone. We came there to teach the kids about God, but we got taught in return with many valuable life lessons. It was a miracle to see how precious God was to them. Even though they had very little possessions, they still thanked God for all they had and kept their relationship with Him strong. The mission trip was a miracle in my eyes, because i saw how God works through all different kinds of people: shy, unprivileged, low self-esteem, beggars, etc. As long as the person was willing to be used for His glory, God used that person to show true love to another unbeliever. Dominican Republic 2008 was a miracle in the sense of how even though we came there expecting the worst, God blew our minds and surpasses our worst thoughts. He showed us how it feels to live outside of our little bubbles, and that was a eye-opener in the sense that we now can appreciate all that God has blessed us with and not take it for granted. The miracles were simply saving people through the mission trip like the Dominican people that came to know God and the missionaries that needed this mission trip to strengthen their relationship with Him. Miracles don't have to be something huge and physically able to see, but it can also be a miracle on the inside. The miracle i felt through that mission trip on the inside was a refreshing new way of thinking, and getting rid of the mind set that could have ruined my future. There is now 5 more days until I am going back to Dominican Republic for another mission trip. I thought that seeing how I had already been there once, I would know exactly what to prepare and expect, but there are only five more days until I leave and I don't know what I'm doing. All I can do is depend on God and just trust in Him and I know that everything is going to be fine. So I am very excited to see what miracle God will show me through this mission trip, because I know that God will be in the midst of our praise and fellowship. Now don't get me wrong, the mission trip is not something that you can just breeze through easily. It takes a toll on you physically, mentally, and spiritually. Many people always wonder why someone would be willing to go through all this hardship, but there is a saying, "Don't let go of something you can't go a day without thinking about." God is someone that I can't go a day without thinking about, because of the fact that He is my everything. Without Him, I'm nothing, but with Him, I can achieve everything. So I am willing to go through whatever I have to, to bring people to know this awesome Savior and Father that sent his only son to die for our sins on the cross. The hardships is nowhere compared to what Jesus Christ had to go through to allow us to live, so isn't that something that would make us want to do anything we can to bring people to know such an amazing person? I remember talking to a girl before and she asked me, "How do I know you're going to do all the things you say for me?" I simply replied, "If it's worth it, I will do anything to have it." Isn't that the mentality everyone has in life that if something is worth all the hardships and trials that we will be willing to go through that to have that thing in the end? Well God is way more then worth it, so I am willing to give my all to live for him. Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
-Paul Lem.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Judgment.
Dictionary definition of Judgment: the ability to judge, make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, esp. in matters affecting action.
Everyone judges people at one point in their lives. It may be a judgment made about a person from their past, present, or future. People may judge a certain person from their past. This is probably the one that I could relate to the most. Because of my past experiences and mistakes I may have made, people judge me from that even if they say they wont. There are always two scenarios with new people I meet when I tell them about my past: one is they judge me automatically and put up a wall and watch me carefully or just too scared to even talk to me anymore, and the other is they say they won't judge me but when they see me do something that will remind them of what I told them about my past they automatically say to themselves "oh I knew it, he's still like that". I've learned to deal with it because it has happened many times in my life, and it doesn't matter to me because I know I'm different now and that's all that matters. Judgment is something people always assume they don't do, but they do it unconsciously. Judging someone is just like making an assumption about a person. The type of judgment that happens in the present deals mainly with assumptions. People assume things about you by the way you act, the way you dress/talk, and the way you carry yourself. After that they will put you into a certain category, but isn't that the exact same thing as judging someone? For future judgments, this has to do with guessing. By the way you perceive and judge them as a person in the present, you guess and assume what kind of life they are going to live and what kind of person they will be in years to come. This is probably the least damage of judgment on a person unless said aloud to the person, because then it will just cause an argument to arise. But I'm not saying that it's okay to judge a person's future because judging someone is something we shouldn't be doing in the first place. In the bible, God says, "Do not judge, or you too shall be judged." Everyone judges, and that is why everyone keeps getting judged back. It's a cycle that does need to be broken, only if we are all willing to see past first impressions and actually take the time to get to know the person inside and out. This is a touchy topic for me, because like I've said, it's something that I go through all the time with my past. It's something that i wish didn't happen but just because I don't want people to judge me, doesn't mean they aren't going to. One day i came across this quote on the internet. The quote said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them". This is so true, in the fact that the time we take to judge a person, could be the time to get to know such a loving and caring person. Also, if we judge a person by their past, we may just put up a wall and stop talking to that person when we could've had a good friend or lover. Judgment is still a constant struggle in all of us, but it's only a problem if we can't control it and we let it get the best of us. So I'll just leave you guys and girls not with a song but a prayer request really. My grandma has been in the hospital for the past three weeks with pneumonia. She has it in both lungs, and i was just wondering if you guys and girls could just pray for her. I'm sure she will get better, but it would be awesome if there were more prayers so God will heal her quicker. Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
Everyone judges people at one point in their lives. It may be a judgment made about a person from their past, present, or future. People may judge a certain person from their past. This is probably the one that I could relate to the most. Because of my past experiences and mistakes I may have made, people judge me from that even if they say they wont. There are always two scenarios with new people I meet when I tell them about my past: one is they judge me automatically and put up a wall and watch me carefully or just too scared to even talk to me anymore, and the other is they say they won't judge me but when they see me do something that will remind them of what I told them about my past they automatically say to themselves "oh I knew it, he's still like that". I've learned to deal with it because it has happened many times in my life, and it doesn't matter to me because I know I'm different now and that's all that matters. Judgment is something people always assume they don't do, but they do it unconsciously. Judging someone is just like making an assumption about a person. The type of judgment that happens in the present deals mainly with assumptions. People assume things about you by the way you act, the way you dress/talk, and the way you carry yourself. After that they will put you into a certain category, but isn't that the exact same thing as judging someone? For future judgments, this has to do with guessing. By the way you perceive and judge them as a person in the present, you guess and assume what kind of life they are going to live and what kind of person they will be in years to come. This is probably the least damage of judgment on a person unless said aloud to the person, because then it will just cause an argument to arise. But I'm not saying that it's okay to judge a person's future because judging someone is something we shouldn't be doing in the first place. In the bible, God says, "Do not judge, or you too shall be judged." Everyone judges, and that is why everyone keeps getting judged back. It's a cycle that does need to be broken, only if we are all willing to see past first impressions and actually take the time to get to know the person inside and out. This is a touchy topic for me, because like I've said, it's something that I go through all the time with my past. It's something that i wish didn't happen but just because I don't want people to judge me, doesn't mean they aren't going to. One day i came across this quote on the internet. The quote said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them". This is so true, in the fact that the time we take to judge a person, could be the time to get to know such a loving and caring person. Also, if we judge a person by their past, we may just put up a wall and stop talking to that person when we could've had a good friend or lover. Judgment is still a constant struggle in all of us, but it's only a problem if we can't control it and we let it get the best of us. So I'll just leave you guys and girls not with a song but a prayer request really. My grandma has been in the hospital for the past three weeks with pneumonia. She has it in both lungs, and i was just wondering if you guys and girls could just pray for her. I'm sure she will get better, but it would be awesome if there were more prayers so God will heal her quicker. Thanks for reading.
-Paul Lem.
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