Welcome to SGYWBD.COM

Thursday, December 11, 2008 @7:29 PM

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 @2:39 AM

Don't Quit.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Anonymous

Love, Joanne.

@2:28 AM

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints,

so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,

“The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936

Love, Joanne

@1:54 AM

This is a story which I first heard from my dad, even before I heard it from the pulpit.

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went.

As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean.

He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Love, Joanne.

@12:56 AM

I gonna write this down. It is my turn to put a footprint. HA...

Honestly, I have been down for the past 1 week upon hearing the news that my good friend is leaving us because she needed a break from all responsibilities and commitments.

I was down not because she was leaving and there were many things to settle or because she let me down. Rather I was down because I felt that I did not do much to equip them with a strong foundation like we do. That when bad things happen to good people, we will still stand instead of running away or sweeping the problem under the floor mat. I really felt that I have not been a great leader.

Saturday was the day I turned 22 officially and many remembered and wished me. *THANKS ALL*

It caused me to stop, reflect and think that I can really make many friends easily but not a disciple and I’m making a decision to be more like a leader rather than just a friend to those that I’m accountable for. Like what my mentor used to say about a team, there will only be that 1 leader and others can be friends to one another and if I become their friend, who will be the leader?

Definitely, when she said she’s leaving us, I felt that I failed as a leader and I do want to give up.

BUT He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. Instead of letting go, giving up or putting it down, I’m making a decision to stand even in the day of adversity. I knew that this is the process of “sowing in tears and reaping in joy”. A process of “not losing heart because in due season we will reap a harvest”! The process of moulding and shaping the clay in the hands of the Potter and burning in the furnace to remove all impurities.

I was really encouraged when I was reminded why in the first place I wanted to be a leader; isn’t it about bringing the good news? And I remembered what Joyce Meyer said that you can never please everyone around you because there be this 10% of people who will disagree. So if I will to give up because of the 10%, what will happen to the 90%? An analyst will say that it is not worth it.

So I’m moving on, i'm letting go.

Of course, I’m not gonna give up working on the 10% as I remember about the story of the prodigal son. Instead going to find them, they will come and find us.

So to those who are still staying and fighting this war, let’s not be discouraged but stay together as there is power in unity.

“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God – my God – will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord” 1 Chronicles 28: 20

Love, Joanne

Sunday, December 7, 2008 @1:17 PM

Hey guys. Ivan here again. I guessed that I should blog here before it gets rusty. Haha. =D

Well anyway, i'd just want to talk about some things that have been happening around me recently, namely people around me who are not in the best of times. Its been a rough patch for many of us lately. Things haven't really been going well and the people around us don't really seem to understand what we are going through. Yes i know what you mean. For some of us, we get disappointed with our friends and family and for others, we feel that we've done things that let others down.

I don't really know what to say, so I just want to say some words to encourage everyone who is going through a down time in their life now.

To those of us who have been disappointed by someone else, I want to just tell you that we have to understand that nobody is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Yes, everyone. Including you. Ah. No arguing. We all make mistakes. There's no doubt about that. There are words and deeds that we commit that may sometimes unwitttingly hurt someone else even though we don't mean it. With the same measure, someone else around you might have done that. For aggressors around who may deliberately step on your toes, please have grace and forgive them. With a positive attitude as such, life probably wouldn't be so tough for you.

To those who did something wrong and feel that they are unforgivable - Come on, you can't have done worse things than me. Yes i'm certain of that. Even if you did, there are those who did worse deeds than you. Forgive yourself, repent and move along. Don't get trapped in the vicious cycle that will eventually shun everyone away from you and lead to depression.

Pain is just part of this life that we are living. Don't try to nurse the hurt. Let go, and let God. Since you have nothing to lose, why not just give it a try? =)