Words To Live By in 2023

Words to live by allow us to be present to our day to day journey. Each day, we encounter heaps of events that can make or break our day. Hence it is beneficial for us to have our personal words to live by so as to serve as our goal for each day. We may not be able to fulfil them each day but just the fact that we try to live them is already a triumph for us.

My personal list of words to live by this year 2023.

1. Love-as such an abstract word, love needs to be demonstrated concretely so that it can reach the heart of the other person. How I wish I then could be a bearer of this genuine and concrete love so that others will realise how beautiful life it is.
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3. Positive thinking– life amidst this pandemic time is such a challenging one so I wish to consistently show to others that after all these challenges we have today, each new day is still full of positive things. Our mind is a powerful mechanism that can either positively or negatively influence our day. With this, it is my desire to live every single day on a positive tone.
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5. Gratefulness– indeed each day that passes by gives us so many wonderful things to treasure such as memories, experiences, achievements, etc thus I feel that it is also worthy for us to learn how to appreciate such goodness and to express our gratefulness for all those wonderful things that we have every single day.
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7. Determination– no matter what will happen to all our day’s plans, our work, our dealings with others, whether in a positive or a negative tone, we should also learn to get up every time we fall on the ground due to failures, mistakes, unachieved goals, etc. Let us always think of what’s at stake beyond the horizon and not limit ourselves by the horizon itself.
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9. Respect– respect begets respect. We are living in a very rich and complex world and everyday we come in contact with different kinds of people- we may vary from one to another in terms of race, beliefs, sex, gender, status in life but somehow, at the end of the day we are still the same as human beings and that we deserve respect by each other. Let us try then to practice being respectful by initially showing respect to our very own self.
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11. Presence– oftentimes, experience would tell us that there had been instances in our past wherein we were not present especially to our loved ones so I find it important to include presence so that we will realise how essential for us to give attention to others. Let us all take one step at a time and let us put the whole of ourselves to every endeavour we are in. The “NOW moment” plays a special role in our daily life.

 

Be Consistently Strong

 

” Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:53

Every single day, we are confronted with both sides of reality- the good and the bad. And we always remember that life is like a spinning wheel- at times we might be on its top but on other times, we might be occupying the very bottom of it. Bad times come and some in a very unexpected way. No one among us knows exactly what will happen today. Yet with the help of our strong faith in God, we will then be rest assured that everything will be fine. Wherever we are and whatever we do, surprises come and go. If we look at our work place for example, from the moment we start our shift up to the time that we end it, heaps of challenging things could happen.

We might be challenged by our workmates or it could be something related to our work yet no matter what type of test it is for us, we should put everything in God’s hands and don’t allow our negative emotions to take over our sanity. We bear in mind that we take care of ourselves not just for our own sake but most notably for those people waiting for us when we go home. God knows everything and it is our responsibility to call out His name when things go and get rough. At the end of the day, may we recall back how we go with our day and say gratefullness for the beautiful things that happened and ask for strength for the challenges.

Be Strong: My Faith Journey

 

From PSALM 27

“The Lord is my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—-of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. “

Yes, indeed with this assurance from God, we are reassured of His great love for us…..that no matter how pitiful and perilous our journey may be especially with the present pandemic that we are facing nowadays, He is always with us embracing us with His great love.

His compassion is all encompassing and it is now our turn to exchange this with our gentle hearts freeing ourselves with all our fears and disregarding the challenging times that we have now. In reality this is not easy for it is but our human nature to fill our hearts with worries and fears but again, God’s assurance may constantly remind us that after the storm the blue sky will reappear for us to cherish.

Thus, let us all be brave to trek every single day and to face it with much enthusiasm after all this life is our most valued treasure from Him above.

How Did We Spend Those Days?

 We are almost done with this year’s Lenten celebration. Today’s celebration is the black Saturday since we are mourning the death of Jesus on the cross. Yet then can we also ask ourselves, ” How much preparation did we spend for this year’s Lenten observation? Others spent it by traveling far from their homes and have some moments for reflection- allowing them the opportunity to look back on their lives and see where does GOD exist in all those past events. Some just stay home and spend precious time with their loved ones.

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However no matter how then we come to celebrate this season yet what counts most for all of our preparations is the honesty and sincerity in our hearts to really change for the better. Sacrificing His own life, Jesus did not even have any second thought when He did that for us. Are we ready to do the same to our loved one, friends and even those whom we have have not known personally?

The challenge therefore for this season is that this change should be made constant and never be seasonal. Amidst the business of life, we are constantly in control of our life no matter what the challenges are. We rely everything on our friend Jesus. We never put His sacrifices in vain thus we also strive to become better persons as God has invited us to be. Let us celebrate with much joy the triumph of Jesus on the cross.

Bountiful Pictures of God's Goodness

 As I am nearing to the end of this day, God’s manifestations of His goodness is so overwhelming. Part of my day’s activities is to recall my experiences of the day. Just by focusing to this day’s experiences, it is very clear to me that God has always been on my side. 

He never fails in His love for me. From the freshness brought by a new day up to the coming of the night’s darkness, I feel in every way His presence in all around me. I don’t have to look faraway but rather, I just need to open my eyes to every reality that serves as a manifestation of God’s presence in me, in you and in the world.

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In spite of the presence of life’s trials and difficulties, my heart is so sure that God’s love for me is unending. Aided by this faith, every trial that comes my way becomes light and easy. Every hardship becomes an opportunity to discover more my inner self. Yes, life is so short as what people would say yet I know that we, ourselves, are the ones who can make it last a lifetime.

If me and you become consistently positive in our outlook in life, every road we trek becomes enjoyable. Thus with all humility, I would say, THANK YOU Oh GOD for embracing me always in your LOVE. Thank you also to my family, my wife Yanyan and our little boy Kurt Kristoff, for they constantly add colours to my day.