Treasures Woman's Conference 2013

UNSHAKEABLE

It was coincidentally happened to me, with God's grace, that I attended church at JPCC and saw the advertisement about this event that held just for women. Being unshakable women, the tagline, really make me curious about what they offered to the women in this world full of uncertainty. And finally I decided to join this two-days event on September 5-6, 2013.

Day one was filled with great priests from Australia and USA. They are Jules A'Belle and Lisa Bevere! What a blissful preach they gave. I learned to be strong as lioness but soft-hearted in the same time. Besides, I took single-hood class that gave me different point of view of being single and how to fill this worth-the-wait moments.

I learned to stand still in the storm in day two. Without difficulties, life will never filled with victory. Don't be afraid 'cause God is with you all the time. The next session was self-grooming that brought by Mia Rajagukguk. How she presented about being fearless and fabulous really blew me away. She told us that God never see our look, instead He sees our heart. She also changed the way I see myself, to be beautiful inside out; It means being balance, being self confident without pride, being well-groomed without being obsessed without our looks and being content without being greedy.

I am blessed indeed to be here, as a part of unshakable women. 

Have faith and do not fear because God has plans for you beyond your wildest dream!     

Thesis Defense!

Yeay!

I thank God for officially earned master of management, specifically in Human Resource field, the major that I never dreamed about and I really fall in love with it. 

Thank God for giving me such a great experience here. All the tears and hard work now are paid off. Thank you for my family and friends who always support me no matter what happened. When you do your best and you really try, the results are excellent and you are the living proof of that.

Welcome freedom! Welcome bittersweet life :)

Thesis, how dare you!

I'm a bit overwhelmed of doing thesis. How dare you stealing my peaceful moments! Sigh. Please, help! =.=

Lady in waiting

                                           

In the middle of my little time of finishing my thesis, I read a book from my friend titled 'Lady in Waiting: becoming God's best while waiting for Mr. Right' which gives me a new point of view of being single. Instead of constanly searching for the right man, I have to prepare myself to be the right woman while waiting. We are reminded to be God's best by studying the Biblical character, Ruth. I learnt how to become a lady of purity, faith, contentment, patience, and more as I pursue a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. 

Women nowadays are getting worried to find their Mr. Right and tending to lower their standards just because of loneliness and age problems. They tend to be insecure, underestimate, and not respect theirselves and it seems they praise the men more than they should praise God. That men become the center of their life! With their expectations that the men will fulfill their happiness and hunger of love and their thoughts that marriage is the answer that life would be like fairy tale, full of flowers and love words everyday, that is exactly the root of heartache starts grow. Why? Because we can not depend our happines on someone or something! Otherwise, It is better to take refuge in The Lord than to trust in humans (Psalms 118:8).

In this book, I learn to be the best for God with developing myself to become 'His bride': not too hurry to be in vain relationship, not wasting my time wishing for a dream man, using my single time wisely, not prioritizing my self-interest, serving others while patiently waiting for the right one, improving the quality of myself, and finally seeking and choosing Boas' characteristics (to put the needs of others above his own needs, to be delighted in the relationship with Christ, to maintain  good relationship with others,  to not leaped ahead of God's timing, defend the right, to accomplish all the responsibles that God gave toward him, to understand the importance of affections and emotions and to not compromise with the bads) when looking for a life partner and not only seeking him merely from the physic, money or the outwards. "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b).

I consciously know that the consequences of being not to be patience in waiting are devastation of your future life and family, e.g get divorce eventually, there is no longer emotions between each other though they life in the same roof, some will ruin their children's future, loneliness and burdens that will hurt you so bad till you can't breath. Note this, you will not only marry a husband but you will also choose a father for your children!!

It's not easy, I know it, to give all things to God, to give control to Him toward our life when we sometimes tempted to step forward while God still says wait. You have to surrender and have faith that He will give all things in the right time. But, I believe it will be worth-waiting eventually. This book is very suggested to those who are longing for being loved sincerely and finally, l discover that only a relationship with Heavenly Bridgegroom will satisfy!

Self-talking

Whatever ought to be, can be..

Writing Notes by hand is helping indeed!

I find it is very useful when writing by hands. Well, computers are great but writing by hands is the best device for studying or even to expres your feelings. When I do research for the benefit of writing notes, I find this 4 advantages from the brainmass.com.

1. You Learn More!

Perhaps the most important reason for writing your notes as opposed to typing them is that you actually learn more of what you've written down. This is due to something called the "Reticular Activating System" which is more active when writing than when typing.

2. It's Easier to Pay Attention

Whilst computers are great, they're also great tools for procrastination and distraction (haha!). You can't check your facebook, look at movie news or download music on a pad of paper, and when you're trying to study and learn things, that's a great "feature."

3. It's Brain Exercise

You won't just learn more, you'll actually sharper your "brain power" (otherwise known as your intelligence.) Writing has been proven to increase intelligence and the continuation of writing (such as in letters or in a journal) as one gets older keeps a brain sharp.

4. It's More Creative!

Developing a penmanship style and organizing your notes doesn't have to be a chore. It's an enjoyable thing to do when you take your time. Creating hand written notes can be both stimulating intellectually, and enjoyable from a creative point of view, whereas typing notes up on a computer is more like to feel like a job.

While everyone has their preferences for how they study and the best ways to learn, these four reasons to start writing your notes by hand should hopefully give you an excuse to at least try it out, "the old fashioned way."

How to boost your self esteem and love yourself more?

Everybody is good-looking. Everybody is successful. Everybody has cuter girlfriend or boyfriend. Everybody has.. you name it. All the thoughts that put your self esteem down and prevent you to create and love your self more.
We know that we spend a lot of time focusing on our relationship with other people, both extroverts and introverts. But, we often neglect the relationship with ourselves. The way we see ourselves and our level of self esteem affects the way you see the world. I'm just trying to point it out several things that I do to re-boost my self esteem that I am so worth it in this world.

List of personal good traits

What things are you good at? What best qualities you, your friends and your partner like? You must be have the good things within. Write down everything you can think of. Keep your list and pull it out anytime you start feeling insecure or down on yourself.

Revisit your past accomplishments

What things have you done in the past that you're proud of? You might think you haven't accomplished anything, but when you think back, you have probably done way more than you realize.

Think of what you loved as a kid

What were your favorite things to do when you were a kid? Boost your self-esteem by revisiting the things that you used to love. Take up art again or start playing football again. Do the run because what we did as a kid were the things we did purely for fun.

Spend time with fun people

It could be your friends. It could be your love partner. Laugh is the best trick to boost your self-esteem, surround yourself with people who are easy going and fun. Avoid people who are negative because they will bring you down to their level. Fun people will build you up. It doesn't matter if you're an introvert and don't like to hang out. You can spend yourself to one or two that you are comfortable with. I usually spend my time a lot with my boyfriend and best friends. I feel so good because I choose positive things.

Say something positive to yourself each day

There is no perfect person in this world. Say something good to yourself, enough beat yourself up. You need a break. Make it a habit, like brushing your teeth and look in the mirror and compliment yourself that you're so fine and your life is full of blesses. Compliments aren't just for other people.

Banish negative self-talk

We have so many negative thoughts throughout the day that we probably don't even realize all of the nasty things we think about ourselves and others. We start to be insecure. Try to be more aware of your thoughts and stop yourself every time you start to beat yourself up in your mind. I am still facing this kind of negative thoughts because of my personal bad experience in the past. It makes me insecure and over-thinking towards everything. Once I feel that, I just try to breathe and tell myself that everything is okay and try to control my mind.

Set goals and reward yourself

One of the best ways to feel good about ourselves is to accomplish a goal. Set some goals for the short and long term and set out to achieve them. Have a reward in mind for when you reach them. For example, I just finished my school as my promise from the old time that I will get my master's degree at 25 years old and get decent job. What next? Divide your goals into several aspects e.g. life, love, career, etc. You will feel great about accomplishing what you set out to do and you get a treat out of it to make you feel even better about yourself.

Good luck :)

by Katherina Rumambi

Thesis Proposal Defense

Life goes so fast till I don't realized it's just one step closer before finishing my master study at uni. Yesterday was my thesis proposal defense and I thank God that my examiner and counsellor accepted my thesis topic with corrections. I have to finish it in a month! yeayy! Though many obstacles come, I have to face and overcome it no matter what happen. But, I really thank God for He giving me many good friends and family that will always be there to support and strengthen me. 

Makassar!!

Its holiday time!!

Months ago, my cousin who lives in Makassar, South Sulawesi, contacted my another cousin to come to her place. So, we arranged our flight to go there along together with my 4 cousins and one friend. We arrived on June 14 at 10 pm.  Its been more than 10 years, I'm not visiting that place. Kind of missing, umm..maybe?! Anyway, the first thing we do after arriving was eating Coto Nusantara. Seriously, you should try it when you go there! Its the best soto I have ever tasted!! We went to Losari beach and Trans Studio Makassar afterward. I think the scenery isnt pretty good there but I consider it as the symbol of the city. In the evening, we ate Konro soup and grilled and for dinner. Its so YUMMY!! hahhaa.. We ate like crazy before continuing our trip to Tana Toraja at night. The journey was approximately 8 hours x_x and we continued to the intended destination for another 2 hours to Batutumanga X_X But its worth to wait. Its so beautiful there and many ancient history inside. After that, we went to Londe, the ancient grave of Toraja nobility.

I feel delighted for having opportunity to go to some beautiful places and surrounded with many good friends and family. I feel blessed and happy!! May this trip will give me new spirit and joy to face tomorrow's challenges :D

                                       

                                       

                              

                                       

                                                 

An Affirmation Prayer

Life is like a wheel of fortune, sometimes we're on top, and other times we are not only thrown to the bottom but also being trampled to the ground. Sometimes problems come and never seem to come to a full stop. Everything seems to have gone wrong and no damage can be undone. Sleeps are filled with nightmare and at one point, there's no more tears can be shed since crying has been a painless routine. Yet, in the midst of darkness, the word of God guide me and strengthen me. I wouldn't be able to stand my ground if it wasn't for Jesus who leads me out of the river of sorrow. He fulfils all His promises and not once He let go of my hands. He said this won't be easy, but hang on, you'll get there. In the absence of hope, where problems are flooding in and even my head refuses to think clearly, I kneel down and pray

"When the world seemingly starts to despise me, all my problems seem to have no certain end, and the crook rises to stand against me, I can be still and feel peace because I know You're beside me. Tonight as I pray, I might not know where's the finish line and when it'll be over, nevertheless, I know You have a wondrous scheme in the end of the road. A sketch that is so beautiful even an extreme dreamer can't imagine. All this pain and suffering will be worth it. This path You've chosen is not easy, instead it is very hard and many times I feel like losing the fight. But every time I'm about to give in, You whisper and strengthen me, You said that You'll never leave me alone and You'll stay with me until the end. Together God, You and I, let's show these problems who the boss are. Amen."

Adventure

After all things happened to me, I choose to be happy eventually! I want to do things that I never done before.

On last Friday, me and my 14 church mates went to Batu Karas in Pangandaran to explore new exotic place. We arrived in Green Canyon on day one but only four of us, including me, decided to join body rafting. Seriously, I have to break my fear to get through this 5-hours journey with swimming, jumping from precipice, and floating surrounded by very large trees like in Amazon. It was such a great adventure and my team really cooperated to each other as well. But, unfortunately, my body got bruised almost all over the body. Hahaha. And when the last challenge, which is jumping from 5m-height, I bumped against the water because my jumping position was wrong. It was so hurt but I felt satisfy can break my fear. At night, we ate various seafood for dinner at Batu Karas with affordable price but yummy taste! You should try one day :D

On day two, we went to Batu Karas beach and played UFO and banana boat on high waves. I was so scared! Batu Karas is very famous with its waves and literally made me and my friends like crazy on the boat. And again unfortunately happened to me. Haha. My head got smashed with my friend's head when our boat sinked. Err, seriously, I felt like dying for a while. But thank God, everything is all right. We went back to hotel and got ready for Batu Hiu beach. We took some pictures and went home. Our journey took 24 hours-return by car. Tired but we indeed got so much fun!

Campus life

To be honest, I'm not the kind of person that can be easily mingle for the first time we met. I tend to observe the community first, like I did in my post-graduate class. But now, we are so close to each other. We went to Dufan (re: do fun) last month to have some fun after finishing our internship. And yes, we really had fun! :D

Be careful

Make friends

I love to make friends from all over the world. Seriously! It is such a new experience when you know somebody with different culture and background. My new friends comes from Scotland. He likes to send me some new pictures taken from his country, we also like to spare time for minutes just to say hello and chat. Though we never meet before, he really appreciate me as a 'real' friend. Haha, its hard to explain though. Here are some pics he sent to me. Aaaaaa, I wanna go there!!!

Piano Recital

It was months ago, my music school where I belong held a music recital at Harmony hall, Bogor. My students was so excited yet anxious in the same time because it was the time for them to perform what they've been learning for so long. 

The last picture taken when I was being a piano accompanist together with Christine, the violist. We, the instructors, also gave the special performance with playing 3 songs: All I ask of you, Time to say good bye, and Lascia Ch'io Pianga by Handel. 

I'm so proud with my students! No matter how they annoy me with many reasons not to practice, they prove that they really concern of being the best for things they have to responsible with. I wish you nothing but the best, guys! 

Paid off!

I was in internship session in the last 2,5months at one of the biggest IT solution company in Indonesia, located in Jakarta and Serpong. The main purpose of taking this internship is to fulfill the requirement to start doing thesis. On May 3rd, I got the internship defense with my counterpart and supervisor to present my report about what I have been doing for months. Thank God, I got A!!!

I was surprised and blessed how God works on me. You know, when I started doing the analysis, the head of production got angry to me because I always distract his time. Besides, I broke up with ex and it made me devastated for a while. But, I have to focus! First think first. I forced myself to keep thinking, typing and analyzing, meanwhile the tears can't stop dropping. I have to chase my future no matter how crumble I am. The tears, sweat, hard work finally paid off! I am so happy! I can not describe how happy at the time when my supervisor finally announced my score. She said A and it seemed all my sadness and bitterness wiped and gone! I know God never sleep and He knows what is best for me. I once asked for strength then He gives me problems. It is not because He wants to bring me down but to make me strong, exactly as I asked before. And here me now, stronger, hopeful and faithful that God will give me a better future if I always walk with Him. Amen.

Note this

Sometimes it's better to put that camera and your mobile phone down and really enjoy what you're seeing and being with.

Bitter becomes better

It's 4 am and I can't sleep. Too many reports to finish. Sigh.

Well, we don't know what the future might brings, but you have to face it, ready or not. 2012-2013 have been molded years for me. I ask to God few years ago for persevere, patience, strength, stronger faith and He really gives me that 'gifts' in these years with many challenges that I have to face. And as reward, surely I can get what I asked for.

How can we ask God for sweet things but we don't want to taste the bitter first? It will be sweet after we feel the bitterness and challenges which will mold us to be a better person who see the things with different point of view eventually. Difficult? Definitely! But I have no doubt for He will hold my hands in my bleeding time, yes, just like right now.

I run to God. I have no way out but Him. So why I have to worry?

Faith

Sometimes we make the plans to do this and that, we gonna go to here and there, but do we ever think that it's just a plan? 

So what if it couldn't happen exactly as we wish? Do we have to cry because of the failure that we can not avoid? Because what I've been learning is God already written your story, not you or somebody else.

Human make plans but if God doesn't answer with 'yes', does it mean we stop believe in God? does it mean you don't loved by God?

He has written a big story of you, Have faith!

Don't lose hope!

Community Awareness

To be a servant, you don't have to be a priest, missionaries, or whatsoever you name it. You can simply give your little time to people who needs it much.

The day has come, on February 10th, 2013 at Ragunan zoo, Jakarta, was my batch time to show to the three marginal communities how we committed to give the best for them. From our previous time, we had been teaching the marginal children in around Jakarta for about 4 months and that day was the final activity of our event. We made them many competitions, such as drawing, singing, etc. I was suddenly assigned to be a master of ceremony (MC) exactly at that time to replace the late MC. Hahha.. Though I was a treasurer of this activity, I got so much fun as a Master of Ceremony; laughing, chatting, sharing with them. I feel really blessed with my own life and thankful for the opportunity to share love with them.

Be good, guys! Stay blessed.

Life experience

Before January ends, I hope it is not too late to say happy new year 2013 to each and everyone of you. What a wonderful experience I had in 2012 and the greater will come in 2013, just like I had in this January.

I am so happy because my relationship with my friends is getting so much better; we are no longer in conflict situation and everything goes right though we are not like we used to be. But, I'm grateful.

Well, it doesn't mean the challenges stop here. Now, I'm facing my internship life with lots of assignments from school and tasks from the counterpart. Many obstacles will come but do I have to worry? Absolutely NO!

Sometimes I can not except if things don't happen like it should be. Why we have to turn right or left if we can simply go straight? In this point, I have to lower my expectation and it does difficult. Well, I can not understand people's thought meanwhile I still learning how to manage myself, my heart, my thought, my behavior. I can not force people to do what is good based on my point of view. For example, I think drinking beer to refresh yourself is not a good choice. I did tell him/her it is not good but they are disagree with me. Can I force them to stop? Or simply, can I force people to stop smoking even it is NOT good for their health? Obviously I CAN NOT if it is not consciously whispered in their heart.

So what I have to do to make myself not worry? Surrender. Surrender to The Almighty, for He can do everything you ask to Him. Talk to Him, pray and let His will happen to my life and I have to remind myself that everything can not be forced always as I wish.