Those who marry will have tribulation

Those who [marry] will have tribulation in their flesh.—1 Cor. 7:28.

It is not unusual for married couples to experience some “tribulation in their flesh.” Why? Simply dealing with everyday troubles can strain marital ties.

 Hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and miscommunications caused by the imperfect tongue can be a challenge in the best of marriages. (Jas. 3:2, 5, 8) Many couples also have difficulty in coping with demanding employment while caring for children. Stress and exhaustion make it difficult for some couples to take the time they need in order to strengthen their marriage. 

Their love and respect for each other may be eroded by financial difficulties, health problems, or other hardships. Furthermore, the foundation of what seemed to be a strong marriage can be undermined by “the works of the flesh,” such as sexual immorality, brazen conduct, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, and dissensions.—Gal. 5:19-21.


Photos are all taken from Google images

Short Story: "Love A Brother"

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. 

Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky. 

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me. 

I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the stolen money right away. 

He made me and my younger brother kneel against the wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand. 

"Who stole the money?" he asked. 

I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, "Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should be beaten!" 

He lifted up the bamboo stick. 

Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and said," Dad, I was the one who did it!" 

The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly. 

Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my brother until he lost his breath. 

After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded my brother.

"You have learned to steal from your own house now. What other embarrassing things will you be possibly doing in the future? You should be beaten to death, you shameless thief!" 

That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His body was full of wounds from the beating but he never shed a single tear. 

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, "Sis’, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened." 

I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. 

Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday.. 

I will never forget my brother's expression when he protected me. 

That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. 

When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central. At the same time, I was accepted into a university in the province. That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking, packet by packet. 

I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children, they have good results? Very good results? "Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of them?"

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of father and said, "Dad, I don't want to continue my studies anymore, I have read enough books." 

Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his face. 

"Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both finished your studies." 

And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to borrow money. 

I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's swollen face, and told him, "A boy has to continue his studies; if not; he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are experiencing." 

I, on the other hand, had decided to further my studies at the university. 

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you." 

I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice. 

That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old. 

With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year of my studies in the university. 

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, "There's a villager waiting for you outside!" 

Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my 

Brother from afar. His whole body was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my brother?" He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at you?" 

I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told him with a lump in my throat, "I don't care what people would say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance is!" 

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. So, I think you should also have one." I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my arms and cried. 

That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old. 

I noticed that the broken window was repaired the first time I brought my boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned. 

After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl in front of my mother, "Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning the house!" 

But she told me with a smile," It was your brother who went home early to clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand? 

He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window." 

I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin face, I felt like there are hundreds of needle pricked in my heart. 

I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage on it, “Does it hurt?” I asked him. 

"No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the construction site, stones keep falling on my feet. Even that could not stop me from working." 

In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my back on him and tears rolled down my face. 

That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years old. 

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't want. 

They said, once they left the village, they wouldn't know what to do. 

My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of mom and dad here." 

My husband became the director of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start. 

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. 

My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled, "Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at you, you are suffering from a serious injury. Why didn't you just listen to us?" 

With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, 

"Think of brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I being uneducated, and would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?" 

My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, "But you lack in education only because of me!" 

"Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he held my hand. 

That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old. 

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from the village. 

During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked him, "Who is the one person you respect and love the most?" 

Without even taking a time to think, he answered," My sister." He continued by telling a story I could not even remember. 

"When I was in primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. 

She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather that she could not even hold her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I live, I would take care of my sister and will always be good to her." 

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. 

I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my brother," And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my face again. 

Love and care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot. 

Photos are all taken from Google images

Short Story: "Cookies"

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

Photos are all taken from Google Images

Don't be afraid for CHANGE

Some little fear are useful, too much fear immobilize you. How many of us afraid of CHANGE?

Most People want and shout out for change but failed to change themselves. They just all have the reason why they won't do it.

Blaming others is nothing more than excusing yourself, in other words  every time you point a finger to someone else or circumstance for it’s what not working in your life, there's  3 fingers pointing back at you.

Blaming others truly is excusing yourself, and every time you blame someone else or circumstances, or someone you work with for example, for what is not working in your professions or in your personal life you know what you really doing?

You’re signing away your power as a human being to that person or to that circumstance, because what you're really saying is for your life to change or for you to feel better that person must change or that circumstance must change, and that to me is every impotent way to live, I deeply believe that, “life is a mirror and we get from life not what we want, we really get from life who we are.”

Blaming and complaining is a respond and it doesn't count, because it doesn't create a results. Everyone is a leader for change; remember if you breathe oxygen you have a responsibility to be a leader, to make a difference to stand for something higher, to develop other human beings.

 Change must start from the inside not from the outside.

“Be that change you want to see in the world.” as Gandhi said.

Remember:  "No matter where you are, no matter what is your status in life if you breathe oxygen you are a leader to make a difference.”

FEAR make us SMALL

Little fear is useful because it make you more alert; fear is actually a tool to help us escape danger. It is part of an evolutionary, survival mechanism. Too much fear immobilized you.

“People want change but hate being changed”

We resist CHANGE because we are afraid of change. You can't force other people to change, and God bless them, but you can help them, let them experience the consequences, I personally believe that consequences are the greatest teacher.

What consumes our mind controls our life. It’s because we habitually think negative thinking for a long period time. 

When we moved beyond our fears, we become free.  It is also true that the truth will set us free, but the truth that people need is the truth they don't want to hear.

Have an Authentic Confidence in your Own

Affirm to yourself: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me”.

The greatest secret for eliminating the inferiority conflicts which is another term for deep and profound self doubt is to fill your mind to overflowing with faith, develop a tremendous faith in GOD and that will give you a humble yet soundly realistic faith in yourself.

But how?  You may ask, do I acquire this dynamic faith? Well the answer begins with the study of the scriptures and the use of prayer lots of prayers- the scriptures say "according to your faith be it done to you." (Matthew 9:29).  So, the bigger your problem, the bigger your prayer should be.

Along with prayer and study of the scriptures another very effective way to build self confidence is by suggesting confidence concepts to yourself if your mind is obsess by the thoughts of insecurity and inadequacy that is off course because such thoughts have dominated your thinking over a long period of time. You must give your mind a different and more positive thought pattern and that is accomplish by the repetition of confident ideas, you see feelings of confidence depend upon the type of thoughts that habitually occupy your mind. 

New beliefs encouraging new behavior, when you change what you believe, you change what you do, and you can believe that the change will harm you & resist it or you can believe that finding new cheese will help you; it all depends on what you believe. - adapted from “Who Moved my Cheese?”

Change for the better not for worse.

Can you do something different?

Ask to yourself - What would I do if I weren't afraid?

The Time is Now

Don’t be afraid, fear is only in the mind.

You can change your life, you can inspire people. Just because your past was hard doesn't mean your future can't be magnificent.  The past is the past you deserve to smile; someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality. Never let someone convince you that you cannot do something ~ especially if they have not done it. Take the time to find your own path and trust your inner voice. Know what is true for you!

Respect yourself by limiting access to people who are negative and unhappy.

When you fall down stand up, hold your heads-up! Life may knock you down but get-up don’t be knock out while you’ll sitting down. Circumstances may hold you down but keep standing inside.  You may get knocked down so many times in life, say to yourself - so what?

Remember: “It doesn't matter where you are coming from, all that matters is where you are going.”

You are greater than you think you are. You have unlimited possibilities and options that can lead you to your goal. You are here for a reason. Your life has meaning and value. Don't let a temporary setback get the best of you. There are many that are depending on you.

There is no question the road sometimes is very tough. You may feel like giving up. But you know in your heart of hearts you can't quit. Where there's a will, there is a way. Press through the pain. Work through the struggle. Let the tears flow, claim your victory and scream at the top of your lungs..."It's not over until I win!

When you fall down again and again just try again and keep on shinning. Remember “stars can't shine without darkness”. The darker the night is the brighter the star.

Seasons change so your life is. Nothing gets better until you change. Results will show up when you do.

Bonus

I’ve often listened to this music by one of the greatest performer in the world - Michael Jackson; “Man in the Mirror” I feel all the words in it, I feel that MJ was talking to me the lyrics goes like this:

Everybody sing……

I'm starting with the Man in the Mirror

I'm asking Him to Change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If  you wanna make the world

A better place

Take a look at yourself, and

Then make a change.

Alright!!!  That was great! I made a little concert each time I sang that song. (Chuckled)  Those words in the lyrics stuck me of its truthfulness, rubs on my thinking, my outlook.

Now I’m starting it with me.

Together, you and I let’s CHANGE the world by changing the man in the mirror.

Photos are all taken from Google images

What makes a man? - 11 Myths

My goal of writing this post isn't selling you my definition of “man”, it is rather to challenge you on how’ll you define “man”.

Through the years I’ve seen most of the people’s belief of what a “man” is.

Here are some of the myths I’ve compiled.

What if I’ve told you that?

1. Your beard doesn’t make you a man… 

If you're rocking a beard but can't manage basic outdoors man skills, you're a fraud!

2. Your tattoos don’t make you a man. 

Each tattoo has personal meaning. Each person will tell you that the tattoos are an important expression of their identity.

Attitude towards body art is dynamically changing. After all, you don't want to end up with a permanent tattoo you're going to hate and regret for the rest of your life.

The Lord plainly, clearly, strongly, and without a doubt – condemns the tattoo.

–        Read (Leviticus 19:28).

3. Having a dozen of piercings or big holes on your ears doesn’t make you a man

Typically and historically, it is women who wear earrings.

 In ancient Israel, a slave (“servant”) who wished to remain with his master had his ear pierced. Certainly no one today wishes to be an indentured servant!

–        See (Deut. 15:16-17; also Ex. 21:5-6).

4. Smoking hundredths of cigarettes doesn’t make you a man. (picture?)

We already know how hazardous smoking to our health, It causes heart disease and stroke (Young people continues to smoke because they think they are ‘Astig!’ when doing so.)

As young people become adults, they are more likely to smoke if they misuse alcohol or drugs or live in poverty. The reasons for smoking differ from person to person. The idea that people smoke cigarettes to help ease the signs and symptoms of stress is known as ‘self-medication’.

 Research into smoking and stress has shown that instead of helping people to relax, smoking actually increases anxiety and tension.

 -          Asserted from World Health Organization

5. Drinking until the break of dawn doesn’t make you a man

The research on alcohol's effect on health suggests both harm and benefits. But before you down an entire bottle of celebratory bubbly, bear in mind that moderation is the key to booze's benefits. Study also shows that it will do your stomach good and help you to get over your frequent spells of illness.

Studies show that red wine is known for its potential to protect against heart disease; red wine also aids digestive health, through probiotics,.

Remember: Too much of everything is bad, worst it can make you sick and poor so drink moderately. –See (1 Timothy 5:23, Proverbs 23:20-21)

 

P.S.: If you drink, don’t drive, if you drive don't drink. B-) 

6. Your big muscles and abs doesn’t define your masculinity

Having those big abdominal muscles is considerably a man’s asset but is his inner being is the most significant part of him.

  

“Physical looks can be deceiving.” –See (1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 31:30)

7. Real man doesn’t cry.

Jesus Christ does cry.  –See (John 11:35)

Maybe the best line for that is “Men don’t cry but Real one does”, he is simply a human bundle-of-responses to primitive emotions and drive, and crying is only part of human emotions...  It’s the plastic man who doesn’t cry. Real man does cry even in front of a girl.  Believe me when a man cries he feels better. :D

8. Real man doesn’t apologize.

Real man never fights without any reason; sincere apology is often an effective way to repair a broken relationship. –Read (Matthew 5:24)

If he offends someone’s feelings or knew he has done something wrong he doesn’t hesitates asking apology.

The key to good relationships is learning the apology language of your spouse and being willing to speak it. Perhaps you’ve been saying “I’m sorry,” when your spouse needs to hear “I was wrong.” When you speak the primary apology language of your spouse, you make it easier for him or her to genuinely forgive you. When you fail to speak their language, it makes forgiveness difficult because they are not sure you are genuinely apologizing... - Asserted from “The 5 love languages.” - Dr. Gary Chapman.

Remember:  "The first to apologize is the bravest."

  

9. How many girls you have slept with and make love with them…

If you are a Christian, you know that the Bible tells you to “abstain from fornication.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

Fornication is an elicit sexual relationship outside marriage. Sexual intercourse was intended for married couples, God condemn that act, he hates the act, it was the act of lawlessness, worst it was classified as acts of sinners or evil doers and doers of it doesn’t inherit God’s kingdom, you probably don’t what to be called that way right? –Read (1 Corinthians 6:9)

10. How many women you date in a week.

In many lands, dating is viewed as a means if romantic entertainment, a fun activity. Dating thus takes many forms.

 But dating should have an honorable purpose—to help a young man and woman determine if they want to get married to each other. Granted, some of your peers might take a casual view of dating. Perhaps they simply enjoy being with a special friend of the opposite sex, without any intention of marriage. Some might even view such a friend as little more than a trophy or an accessory to be seen with in public to boost their own self-esteem.

Reminder:

If you date with no intention of marriage, you are acting like a child who plays with a new toy and then discard it.

Clearly, when you date someone, you’re affecting that person’s feelings. So be sure that your intentions are honorable. Think: Would you like somebody to playing your feelings as if they were some child’s toy—to be picked up for a moment and then quickly abandoned?

Note:

 Real man doesn’t have lots of girlfriends. He has a deep respect for girls, and he is a gentleman.

11. How many women you gave pregnant

    

There's one speaker I look up who says - "February 14 is the most stupid day in our time", guess how many girls lose their virginity on that day, think about that?

Because there are some loser boys who will going to convince some loser girls (I'm not saying all) and say "if you truly love me you’ll going to give me “your everything” since tomorrow/today is Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, all souls day, all of the holidays…

For Girls: How to determine a loser boy? You'll know it in the first place that there's something wrong –
  1. They take advantage...
  2. They're exploring you like you're national geographic…

It's your life...  Be careful, "Once there is a mistake, lifetime’s regret." 


For Boys: What kind of a man are you if you leave a girl in times she needed you the most?








Remember: 
“If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Real man has a stand.”

P.S
I just listed 11 myths that's what I known at this moment, maybe you had some myths too... feel free to add your thoughts and please leave a comment for some myths you know. :D


Photos are all taken from Google images