Thursday, January 1, 2009 @ 4:45 PM
looking back, moving ahead.

Wow, the first post of the new year! =)

To be honest, I approached the dying days of 2008 thinking it was a forgettable year for me, one in which no great breakthrough really occurred – pretty much the kind of year I wouldn’t go through again if given the chance.

But during the thanksgiving session yesterday, God really gave me a lot to write as I filled up the 5 boxes corresponding to the thanksgivings for various areas in my life – it was almost as if He was telling me, ‘How can you say that 2008 wasn’t a good year? Look at all that I’ve given you! ‘  And as I completed the boxes, I realized that He has indeed given me a lot in 2008, and that I’ve a lot to be grateful for. Even all that I wrote on that single sheet was but a fraction of all that God has blessed me in ’08.

I’ve just finished planning my goals for this year, which I divided into 4 categories – school & studies, personal improvement, relationship with man, and relationship with God. I guess part of the reason why I didn’t do as well last year, in my opinion at least, was the lack of goals to motivate me and give me something to strive towards. Sure, I did set a couple of goals, but I got carried away by the hustle and bustle of school life early in the year and soon forgot about them, and now the paper I wrote them on is languishing somewhere in my room.

This year, I’m going to have to learn from the last – to use these goals as a source of motivation and something to work for, and as importantly, to make a plan and set a timeline about how I want to achieve them. It’s not going to be easy – it never is, especially considering JC coming up and all – but I’m determined to make it work this year. Even if I don’t hit my goals, I’ll still know that I’ve given my all trying. After all, as they say, if you aim for the stars but you don’t reach them, you’ve still gotten pretty high!

But one thing that I’ve learnt from ’08 is that I can’t do it on my own – which is why I pray that as I enter the new year, God will grant me the motivation to reach my goals, the strength to keep going even when all hope seems lost, the wisdom to make the right decisions, and the love to bless those around me.

I hope that at the end of this year, I’ll look back and be able to smile in the fact that I’ve given my 100% and shone for Him in all I did, and that he was always there with me, in both triumph and sadness.

I hope that in the future, I’ll look at 2009 as a watershed year – a tremendous year where God really transformed me into a better person, a whole new character ready to shine for him. Indeed – 

If God is for me, who can be against me?

Happy new year. =)

Thursday, January 1, 2009 @ 4:45 PM
looking back, moving ahead.

Wow, the first post of the new year! =)

To be honest, I approached the dying days of 2008 thinking it was a forgettable year for me, one in which no great breakthrough really occurred – pretty much the kind of year I wouldn’t go through again if given the chance.

But during the thanksgiving session yesterday, God really gave me a lot to write as I filled up the 5 boxes corresponding to the thanksgivings for various areas in my life – it was almost as if He was telling me, ‘How can you say that 2008 wasn’t a good year? Look at all that I’ve given you! ‘  And as I completed the boxes, I realized that He has indeed given me a lot in 2008, and that I’ve a lot to be grateful for. Even all that I wrote on that single sheet was but a fraction of all that God has blessed me in ’08.

I’ve just finished planning my goals for this year, which I divided into 4 categories – school & studies, personal improvement, relationship with man, and relationship with God. I guess part of the reason why I didn’t do as well last year, in my opinion at least, was the lack of goals to motivate me and give me something to strive towards. Sure, I did set a couple of goals, but I got carried away by the hustle and bustle of school life early in the year and soon forgot about them, and now the paper I wrote them on is languishing somewhere in my room.

This year, I’m going to have to learn from the last – to use these goals as a source of motivation and something to work for, and as importantly, to make a plan and set a timeline about how I want to achieve them. It’s not going to be easy – it never is, especially considering JC coming up and all – but I’m determined to make it work this year. Even if I don’t hit my goals, I’ll still know that I’ve given my all trying. After all, as they say, if you aim for the stars but you don’t reach them, you’ve still gotten pretty high!

But one thing that I’ve learnt from ’08 is that I can’t do it on my own – which is why I pray that as I enter the new year, God will grant me the motivation to reach my goals, the strength to keep going even when all hope seems lost, the wisdom to make the right decisions, and the love to bless those around me.

I hope that at the end of this year, I’ll look back and be able to smile in the fact that I’ve given my 100% and shone for Him in all I did, and that he was always there with me, in both triumph and sadness.

I hope that in the future, I’ll look at 2009 as a watershed year – a tremendous year where God really transformed me into a better person, a whole new character ready to shine for him. Indeed – 

If God is for me, who can be against me?

Happy new year. =)