Tips for an Exceptional, Superb & Powerful life
1.) Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2.) Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3.) Always pray and make time to exercise.
4.) Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of Six.
5.) Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants. Eat less foods that are manufactured in Plants.
6.) Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
7.) Try to make at least three people smile each day.
8.) Clear your clutter from your house, car, desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
9.) Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
10.) Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
11.) Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge Card.
12.) Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
13.) Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
14.) Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.) You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
16.) Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
17.) Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no Idea what their journey is all about.
18.) Ladies – Go on and burn those ’special’ scented candles, use the 600 thread count sheets, the good china and wear fancy lingerie now. Stop waiting for a special occasion. Every day is special.
19.) No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
20.) Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
21.) Forgive everyone for everything.
22.) What other people think of you is none of your business.
23.) Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!
24.) However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
25.) Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.
26.) Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
27.) Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides, remember?!
28.) The best is yet to come.
29.) No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
30.) Do the right thing!
31.) Call your family often.
32.) Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
‘I am thankful for today:-
Today I accomplished _________.
33) Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
34.) Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. LIFE’S A PRESENT … UNWRAP IT!
Some changes are good for you: so take your pick…..and good luck!
~ Marlene
on what we want and what we are given
Dear all, I saw this lovely poem on the 4.30pm class’s blog (thanks Liz!) and thought that it’d be nice to share it with you guys:
I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for,
but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself,
my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
We may spend 1.5 hours with each other every week, but each of us treads our own path in life. Our experiences are different, our relationships with God are different, and our requests are different. But one thing all of us share in common is this: At some point in time, we’ve probably felt that God isn’t really listening to what we ask for. If He loves us so much, and we want something so badly, why don’t we get it? Does He even hear us?
This poem has expressed, in the simplest words, what goes on when something like that happens. Indeed, God doesn’t necessarily give us what we want for ourselves, but He certainly gives us what we need. Looking back, many of my requests have gone unanswered, but He has given me far more than what I’ve asked for. A manifold of blessings that I don’t deserve and couldn’t even imagine for myself. Oftentimes, some quiet time spent with Him reflecting on my life was all it took to realize this.
Spend some time with God this week, and I pray that you come to realize the workings of His loving grace in your life. 
- Stephanie
He won’t quit
I got this in the email today, and thought it might tie in nicely with Marlene’s post on Praying for One Another since a strong relationship with God is founded on good communication with him (i.e. through prayer).
One day I decided to quit… I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.‘God’, I asked, ‘Can you give me one good reason not to quit?’
His answer surprised me…
‘Look around’, He said. ‘Do you see the fern and the bamboo?’
‘Yes’, I replied.
He said: ‘When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit.
Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. ..But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.
Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.
Don’t compare yourself to others.
The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.
Your time will come. You will rise high.’
‘How high should I rise?’, I asked.
‘How high will the bamboo rise?’ He asked in return.
‘As high as it can?’ I questioned.
‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Give me glory by rising as high as you can.’
I left the forest and brought back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, Never, Never Give up.
For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
Don’t tell the Lord how big the problem is, tell the problem how Great the Lord is!
What presents itself as silence on God’s part need not be indifference. Perhaps God is allowing you to grow roots as you mature. This ties in with the Parable of the Talents which we discussed in class — God gives each of us different talents, and some are more gifted than others. But what is important is using what you have been given for the glory of God — for the more you have been blessed, the more is expected of you.
May the good Lord bless you this week. Have an enjoyable week in school =)
- Stephanie
Possibly related posts:
God lives under the bed
Nice story… Hope you’re blessed by it! =)
I envy Kevin. My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, “Are you there, God?” he said. “Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed…”
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he’s 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day’s laundry chores.
And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. “That one’s goin’ to Chi-car-go!” Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent. His life is simple. He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue. Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an “educated” person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s care
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won’t be surprised at all!
When you receive this, say a prayer. That’s all you have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful.
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards.
~ Marlene
Praying for one another
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, they agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island .
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and
decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,”
The first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of My blessings.”
“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. When Jesus died on the cross He was thinking of you! Let’s all keep one another in our prayers!
I have an idea – why don’t we post our prayer intentions on our class blog? When you’ve helped to pray for your friend, or if your prayer has been answered, please give your testimony and share your story on our blog! This will help to encourage and edify others. Shall we do that, class? Let’s hear your views! It’s our class blog, not catechists blog! Where are all your entries, Con 1s?? 
~ Marlene
a moving testimony
Remember we mentioned during our session on Miracles that sometimes we experience minor miracles in our lives through the actions of others (and we asked you to perform one if you could). Today I experienced one, and I share it with you.
A very dear friend sent me a moving testimony by a convert to Christianity. Before you click on the link, I’d like to first state that the video is not meant to denigrate or criticize any other religion. Neither is it meant for any of us to use to say to believers of other religions: See? We’re right and you aren’t. No. Such a testimony is meant to witness for the spiritual transformation that takes place when one encounters and embraces Jesus Christ in his/her life. Each person’s conversion or encounter with God is different from the other (just think about how you and your friends/family are such unique individuals).
How was this a minor miracle in my life? Well, as a human being I often find that my walk with Christ isn’t all that easy or smooth. I grow lazy, take things for granted, and do things routinely (as opposed to with real conviction). This testimony touched my heart and woke me up again to the reality of Jesus in my life.
All the same, I hope this testimony will be a miracle in your life. It combines so many aspects of the lesson we just had on the Prodigal Son. This testimony speaks of God’s great love and mercy, and it speaks of His ready embrace for people who have wandered far from Him and want to return home.
In the last post, I wrote:
Hopefully, through today’s lesson, you will come to realize God’s love and mercy; and will grow to understand and recognise His love for you. (Such a realization is a transformation of the heart.) Only then can you attest with conviction that the God with whom you have a relationship with is one of Infinite Love and Grace.
It is my sincere wish that this testimony brings you one step closer to reaching out to our Heavenly Father and His Son, and helps you recognise His great love for us.
You may view the video here.
(I left it till the end so that you’d read the post first!)
Have a wonderful week ahead!
- Stephanie
God is love
Hi all!
It’s been a long time since I blogged here. So just thought I’d post a little something related to today’s lesson.
Today we began with 4 different impressions of God, and we asked you to pick out one that best fits with your impression of God. All of you probably picked different options =) It was meant to be a useful activity for you to articulate how you think of God (and in turn, reflects how you would expect your relationship with God to be).
Then we went through 2 parables: the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost (Prodigal) Son. (Both are in Luke 15.) And showed this video:
The Parable of the Prodigal Son carries so many important messages that Jesus had for us. As was mentioned by various peers of yours, through that one story, there were messages about selfishness, jealousy, forgiveness, and God’s unfailing love for us. So great is the Heavenly Father’s love for us, that no matter how far we’ve strayed, when we are desolate and utterly empty and want to return to Him, He will not only welcome us with open arms. Indeed, He will run to us! (He must miss his lost children terribly!) No matter how sinful we’ve been, the Father would gladly take us back if we were to feel sorry for our willful actions.
One more thing the Parable highlighted to me about our relationship with God is that we are responsible for how strong this relationship is. (That’s the beauty of having free will, isn’t it?) Do we choose to stay with Him in his house? Or do we choose to leave His presence with the gifts He has bestowed upon us (our talents, for example) and use them for selfish, worldly purposes? The Father will never turn his children away. No matter how much we have hurt Him.
And how will He react to the homecoming of one lost child? Recall the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7; Matt 18:12-14)
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
It was mentioned by your friend in class, and it’s worth mentioning again: God does not give up on us, He goes in search of those who run away from Him. (Chances are, though, those who stray refuse to pay heed to the tugs in their hearts which tend to be the Father calling them home.)
Think of the love you have for your most prized possessions, or your parents’ & friends’ love for you. These are but a fraction of God’s love for us. In my favorite Bible passage on love, St Paul wrote:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Cor 13:12)
The love we witness in our lives with fellow human beings are but ‘dim reflections in the mirror’. But when we are reunited with the Heavenly Father, when we are in communion, we will “fully know” what love is. For God is love (1 John 4). (And through God’s grace we will be able to love even our enemies.)
And what if we are not ‘lost’, but continue to dwell in the Father’s house? Think of what the Father said to his older son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son:
And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.’ But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’
Be joyful for your Brother- or Sister-in-Christ who has returned home to the Father’s love. For that does not mean that God is unfair, or that you are less important to Him. No. You have just been faithful to Him, and the Father is fully aware of that =)
Hopefully, reading the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Parable of the Lost Sheep have reminded you that God is ultimately a loving God. We do not expect you to change your initial impressions of God accordingly, for your impression of God isn’t one that is meant to be memorized. Rather, it’s something you form by yourself. Hopefully, through today’s lesson, you will come to realize God’s love and mercy; and will grow to understand and recognise His love for you. (Such a realization is a transformation of the heart.) Only then can you attest with conviction that the God with whom you have a relationship with is one of Infinite Love and Grace.
Have a wonderful week ahead! See you next Saturday!
- Stephanie
P.S. Go read more of the Parables if you can. Each of them contains valuable lessons for the followers of Christ.
A bit of me!
Hi all,
Sorry haven’t been a real active contributor of our class blog cos sch juz started n real bz.
Here’s 2 blog entires I had to do for one of my modules in school.
It will tell u a bit more about me.
cheers
James
My 2 Adjectives to describe teachers:
1) Worn out
2) Tired
Sorry if it does appear cynical n negative but sadly that’s usually the first thing I think off.
Why so is because people always have the impression that teachers have long school holidays and only work half days.
We all know that this is far from the truth.
I saw myself and almost all the teachers I know feeling tired and worn out which also means we are being stretched a lot..
It also boils down to the sch mgt n stuff, but let’s not dwell into that.
The fact that many are still teachers, speaks for itself.
We cannot let our feelings affect us as feelings change all the time.
Just like marriage, teaching must also be based on commitment, trust and promise; not just feelings as our human emotions fluctuate ever so randomly. The feel good factor does not last forever and it’s the commitment, trust and promise that will carry us through.
I believe that teaching has many aspects and perspectives as it is hugely measurable and unquantifiable, organic and evolving.
Just like a war, the greatest enemy and fear is sometimes within.
Conquer your enemies & fears within and you will find peace, just like in Batman Begins.
Batman Begins
The Joker
Let’s Put a Smile on that Face!
Hey all,
I guess u muz know dat I’m a huge movie, comic, superhero buff.
Not in the childish sense these days….I hope 
But more abt interest in the storyline, hidden meanings and morals of the story.
Doing a module on Text and Context in NIE where we had to watch “Titanic” strengthened that interest too.
If u want to find out more abt me, u can always add me on Facebook @ jamescwm@gmail.com
I shall use this Blog to maybe just talk abt how I got into this profession.
April 2002 – After NS, didn’t know what I was going to do. Teaching never crossed my mind.
May 2002 – enrolled in SIM RMIT Biz Ad for less than a Sem, n left cos I didn’t find my calling there.
Oct 2002 – Church aunt (retired teacher) suggested Teaching since I enjoyed teaching Sunday school, so I went for Dip Ed interview n got accepted.
Jan to Jul 2003 – Taught @ Changkat Primary School, fell in love with teaching.
Jul 2003 to May 2005 – 2 yrs Dip Ed Course @ NIE, joined Trainee Teachers’ Club n Catholic Students’ Apostolate.
Jun 2005 to Jul 2007 – Taught @ St Stephen’s School, challenging as it’s all boys. Learnt a lot, had loads of fun and made lots of friends. Jul 2007 to today – back in NIE for 2 yrs BSc (Bio) course. Very challenging as lots of heavy topics to cover…..praying to graduate in one piece so I can continue my passion and mission. Back in Catholic Students’ Apostolate and joined NTU Inline Hockey (seldom now cos of slipped disc)
To end off, try n smile more….relax, don’t be too serious and stressed out….as teachers, u’ll have to find the lighter side of things or u’ll end up cuckoo like the Joker and Harvey 2-Face.
“Always remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”
(Will Smith from the movie “Hitch”)
Why go to Church?
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column,
“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.. But I do know this … They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!” When you are DOWN to nothing…. God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!
much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, “Jesus, could you please get that for me?”
~ Marlene
Miracles
Hi all!
For those who didn’t attend class, today’s lesson was on the Miracles of Jesus. At the start of the lesson, we discussed certain Bible passages such as the Feeding of the Five Thousand, and the Wedding at Cana; and talked about the differences between miracles and magic.
I think the gist of the lesson is best summed up in this passage from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Jesus accompanies his words with many ‘mighty works and wonders and signs’, which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.
The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask. So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father’s works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God. But his miracles can also be occasions for ‘offence’; they are not intended to satisfy people’s curiosity or desire for magic. Despite his evident miracles some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons (see Jn 11:47-48; Mk 3:22).
By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness and death, Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all evils here below, but free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God’s sons and causes all forms of human bondage (see Jn 8:34-36).
The coming of God’s kingdom means the defeat of Satan’s: ‘If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.’ (Matt 12:26, 28 ) Jesus’ exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons. They anticipate Jesus’ great victory over ‘the ruler of this world’ (Jn 12:31; Lk 8:26-39). The kingdom of God will be definitively established through Christ’s cross: ‘God reigned from the wood.’
[CCC 547-550]
One important thing to note about miracles, however, is this: the importance of faith. Consider the passage in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus heals the centurion’s (Roman officer) servant (also see Lk 7:1-10, Jn 4:46-53) — The centurion was so sure that as long as Jesus “[gave] the word… [his] servant will be cured”, and Jesus was surprised. He remarked to his followers: “I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this.”. Most importantly, look at what he finally said to the centurion: “Go back, then; you have believed, so let this be done for you.” And the servant was cured without even having met Jesus in person.
And so, it is our hope this week that you will perform a minor miracle in someone else’s life. Through one simple action (anything that you deem doable), “bear witness that [Jesus] is the Son of God” and in doing so, help someone else “strengthen faith in the One who does his Father’s works”
Have a wonderful week ahead! And see you the week after National Day =)
- Stephanie
