faith

Nick Vujicic and Overcoming Despair

By Don on February 3, 2013 0

Nick Vujicic, speaker and evangelist GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR EVERYTHING, that’s what Nick Vujicic says. But before he could grab onto that idea, he had to deal with a big, big question: “Then why did He make me like this?”

Nick was born without arms or legs. After he entered this world, Nick’s mom didn’t say, “Bring him to me.” Rather, she told the nurse, “Take him away.”

Cut it any way you want to cut it … that is tough stuff.

What would Nick Vujicic know about making a Roadturn in life and beginning to live your Dream? Plenty.

You see, Nick discovered an important secret: God gives us the Dream that is right for us, not the one that is right for someone else. One of the biggest mistakes we make in life is to concentrate on impressing others, rather than doing what we do because it is in our hearts to do it.

After hearing him speak at a Colorado Christian concert, I looked up Nick’s Blog and saw this story …

I recently bought a plant for my living room. I knew it was real, but some of my friends thought it was fake. We forgot to water it for a month and it was still green. One friend said, “See…it is fake.” They actually thought it was funny that I believed it was real. I began to doubt what I knew was true.

After an extended overseas trip, I came home to find this plant was drooping down limp and its color was bright yellow. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was real! Today what dreams or hopes do you think are fake? You might even become so convinced you stop watering those aspirations altogether. Yet I want to encourage you: with God nothing is impossible. Maybe today, if you nourish your mind and heart from the living waters of His Word, the dreams God has given you will not only survive, but thrive.

That is the essence of the Roadturn Principle right there. If you don’t believe in your own Dream, if you fail to water it and care for it … you can’t expect it to thrive. Oh, you might do fine for a while and think all is well–eventually, though, your life will begin to sag and droop, just like Nick’s plant.

Don’t do that to yourself. You are worth the effort.

Where is Freedom?

By Don on April 12, 2010 0

By the way, for those of you who say that the cold war is over and that “everyone knows” what is really going on, consider an article in the Naenara. Here are some excerpts from the piece, entitled “U.S Branded as World’s Worst Human Rights Abuser”:

To be seen in the US are such high-sounding and spurious signboards of “liberty,” “democracy” and “civilization.” A scrutiny into its society proves that in the US the socio-political rights and civil rights of the majority of working masses are grossly violated institutionally and the healthy development of the ideological and cultural fields is impeded due to the prevalence of social evils.

Elections in the US are nothing but competitions among the rich.

The “freedom of thinking and free expression of views,” “freedom of speech” and “freedom of demonstration and assembly” much touted by the US are mere facades.

Where does the strife come from anyway? Why do nations and individuals fight, hate and accuse one another? Are any of us really free? Or did Viktor Frankl sum it up when he declared that the final human freedom is the right to choose our own mental attitude in any given circumstance?

Look, I’m not coming from any holier than thou, my country can whip your country, attitude here. What if we could just get down to basics? What if Aijalon Mahli Gomes could go anywhere in the world and declare his own particular brand of faith? And what if you could too? What if any of us could go travel as we please, without concern for our safety, as long as we were willing to maintain a simple standard of decency and respect?

Yes, I think that Aijalon should be free. And I think that you should be free… free to speak your mind, worship in the way that you choose, live where you wish and give the gift that is within you.

What if the whole world were to stop… and listen? What if?

The Faith of a Child

By Don on November 5, 2009 0

It’s been a tough few days for me, kicked off by a run-in with my direct supervisor at work. I’ve been putting most of my energy and focus into a project that I thought I was clear on. Turns out, though, that her vision is a whole lot different than mine. How did that happen? After thinking about it for awhile, it appears that my desire for the work was so strong that I couldn’t hear or believe anyone who wanted something else. The whole fiasco has pretty well kicked the wind out of me, so I’m back to square one–analysis and planning–but, the truth is that I’ve lost most of my heart for the work.

An article in the New Straits Times (Malaysia) gave me a boost, though. It may do the same for you. You gotta love these kids. They know what they want and how to get there. Oh, to have the gift of a child’s faith. Here they are, finishing the thought, “If I were an entrepreneur…”

“I would make sure that the products I sell bring benefits to my customers. The products would be personally invented by me. My customers are guaranteed to get excellent service from me. I would get their feedback on my products and do my best to improve the quality of my products to fit their requests.” – Nur Afiqah Azizan, 11, Bangi

“I would like to set up an entreprenuer school specifically for unfortunate children, students who come from poor families and the physically impaired. This would help them gain knowledge and exposure to be an entrepreneur so they would have a better future. In addition, I would like to promote Malaysia as an ideal country that offers good products and a full range of local cuisine for tourists to try and enjoy. This initiative would also further promote the 1Malaysia spirit.” – Siti Zainal Sabihah Roslan, 14, Bangi

“I would have a chain of boutiques. I would also love to start my own magazine since I love to write.” – Manpreet Kaur Sandhu, 14, Kuala Lumpur

“I would develop a new awesome Web site for social networking like Facebook, MySpace or Friendster. Maybe I would be like Bill Gates who was an entrepreneur and generated computer software ideas. I would even love to manage a business, even though there’s considerable risks.”
– David Kang Zheng Hoong, 16, Bandar Tasik Selatan

“I would like to boost the economy by doing business and helping my family!” – Puteri Alia Halid, 12, Petaling Jaya

“I would invent a custom-fitted shoe line consisting of only hand-painted shoes for all my customers so as not to discriminate against those with really small or big feet.” – Elsheba K. Abraham, 16, Subang Jaya