Book Review: Going all the way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance

Before I tell you about this book lets get to know the Author: Craig Groeschel is the founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv which is considered the largest church in the United States and has fifteen locations in five states. He is married with six children and lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, where LifeChurch.tv is based.

His orgnisation have online church also who really cannot go to physical church can attend online church http://www.lifechurch.tv/locations/church-online. And his church team have also designed the most downloaded and used Bible App Youversion. I think he is one of the weird pastor, by that I mean he is slightly non-traditional kind of Pastor who uses a lot of technology to reach out and which have also made him very popular and he is able to reach a great number of people.

Craig is excellent with his humor and how he adds his personal experiences and also he have a story ready for every situation, some of his own experience and some of others whom he know. And he gives very practical but oddly Godly advices to you and mind you they are really good.

Source:http://www.amazon.com/

So about the book. If you are looking for a marriage, relationship, or you are confused about living relationships, marriage, dating and you are standing on crossroads and you feel a little advice is required or you think it would be good to get a perspective on this subject. We might think he is a pastor and he will have some lengthy sermons on marriage, surprisingly as I said he is weird, he gives very practical, humorous and a language we young people use and when you read it, you will feel as if you were speaking to a close friend who is sharing his personal experience with you. And yes as he have experience he gives a great a perspective marriage learning from his own mistakes and how he want us not to repeat mistakes. And what were the principles he followed and helped him in his marriage that is going all the way.

If you are young and struggling whether to date or not? Pick this book up. Not because he gives you tips to date and neither it condemns dating but he gives a very balanced view on relationships. He uses a lot of illustration, first he numbers the person whom you want to love first and second and how that view will keep the marriage grounded and having a common vision. It will help you look for practical steps. He will challenge your thinking, he will challenge you to train your emotions, he will challenge you to change your view on very important thing like relationship, love, sex, marriage and how and what to expect from the opposite sex. He also draws amazing pictures for instance when growing in friendship he illustrates it with “gear system of a car” which makes it easy to remember and fun to read.

He will not let you get bored with theory but he will give you stories which he have encountered which gives us a taste of what if I do this or that what will it result in. Overall its a complete package of fun, learning and changing your perspective of marriage, sex, love and relationship that goes all the way.

          Name: Going all the way: Preparing for a marriage that goes the distance

• Author: Craig Groeschel

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590529383

Sin! Sin! go away lil’ shushant want to play....

    I really want to do away with Sin.Why Ya? I am sinner and I will be but this sin cause me to stumble and fall down. You make me feel guilty, ashamed and fearful. You take away my peace. You confuse me and you give me unnecessary burden which I don't want to carry at all.Oh! you are like a wound all over my body and I am badly wounded. Ya!  God healed many of them but you know it

itches when a wound drys and like a small boy we again try to fiddle with it and sometimes again it gets infected and get worse. You have been my shadows you keep me from reading the bible. Like a boy  try to run away from medicine, I have ran from the Word of my Lord.Oh! Sin I know with my strength I will entangle myself with my flesh and spirit in it; my pleasure and my joy. The wounds are very fresh and are very visible. Some think I am recovering soon but from inside I know how weak I am. Crying to Abba” Father please help me, deliver from this disease. Oh how you have kept me to enjoy good time with family and friends. How you made me angry and anxious. How you made me commit a series after series betrayal. What a blunder you are? You have made false promises you have kept me in dark. You have chained me made me and made me your slave. You have replaced all Godly and original/good pleasures with counterfeits. How far you will carry me? I feel lost many times and find you directing me in all weird direction. You tell me every new experiment will bring me something I never had before. No matter how much I serve you, you are never satisfied. What do you want from me? Everything almost everything you have taken from me? You have replaced my joy, peace and love with false pleasure, business and hatred.

    Why did I taste you at the first? I regret to be friend with you. I ask you to leave me alone but just as some addict is not able to leave the drugs so am I not able to leave you. I know you are dangerous you can kill me still I follow you like a fool who is determined to do wrong. What on earth will satisfy me that I will turn from you?You are deceiver, a liar, evil, you have no power but you want to make it artificially.I don't want to be with you any more. I find my beloved my Lord Jesus Christ asking me to believe in Him and break all the bondages from you. I know you will try your level best to get me. But my Lord is already victorious over you. He have shed blood on the Cross as a ransom for my sins. He have promised me a new heart and a new Spirit and He will clothe me with His righteousness. You are defeated you ugly sin. You are helpless when my Lover stands besides me and His Spirit dwells in me. I will bow down on my knees and pray to Abba” Father that He will heal me. He promised whoever will keep His commandments will never fall sick. I want to follow the Lord. I am His sheep and I know His voice. He is Yahweh-Rapha-The Lord our Healer and I trust in Him. He is the one the Light who loves me so much. I will learn patience from him, He will give me His peace, Joy and Love. Because He loves me so much. I will forget every hatred I got because of You and I will always praise Him and I will play(Live a free life) with Him..... And then with His might and power again I say Sin! Sin! go away lil’ shushant wants to play...

Kya pyar China ka mal hai....

    I have always told myself the best thing about love is yet to be learned and no matter how hard I have tried I have said this definition cannot fit and tell about love. Whenever I heard a love song, saw a romantic movie I felt there is more to it. Whenever people share their thoughts about love I said is all that, is it really that. Someone said there are volumes and volumes about love. Few says love makes the world go round. Others told me love is bullshit. And yet say love is the only magic they believe in. I have always told you cannot put it in words, its more like a feeling. The more you try to understand it the less you solve it. It is and remains an unsolved mystery for me. So please bear with me because this post is going to be unusually long.

source: www.123rf.com

But all said and done, why I am writing about love today is not because I have derived to some conclusion or I know completely about love but I see the culture today is making multiple counterfeits of love and there is so much of confusion around us and in this declining culture do we have any absolute or everything absolutely everything is relative and revolving around you and your definitions. Everyone is shouting and howling “I am in love” and they call it that “I love you” are three magical words by which every teenager is fascinated. Every adult is either cursing it and others are saying they are in cloud 9 because of it. Few others are still finding what does it mean to love.

But I hope we must give a chance to everyone to define their own definition for love but I am afraid some people they learn from others and specially the younger generation. And as we have seen first the art imitates the life and then life imitates the art. All the lifestyle around us does influence us to shape our thoughts and belief system. Therefore as a thinker we must also give our opinion to strike a balance in this declining culture. So what is wrong with love? I mean by the current definition of it? and what is our contemporary arts displaying it. And I want to be safe and when I am criticizing I am not targeting someone but the idea.    

So songs nowadays like Badtameez dil, Besharam, Sudh desi romance and Party all night are setting our trend they are telling us that breaking rules is the new rule now where we leave no right and no wrong. But all this is actually our culture, other day I heard Honey singh telling in Interview its not my words but its the voice of today’s youth I am just bringing it in song. Is it really true. Where are we heading?

But main focus was not even this but what triggered me to write this was this song

Pyaar China Ka Maal Hai(Love is chinese product)

source:Google

Koi Guarantee Nahi(No Guarantee)

Koi Warranty Nahi(No warranty)

Koi Kachcha Bill Bhi Nahi(Not even a raw/duplicate bill)

Koi Guarantee Nahi

Koi Warranty Nahi

Koi Kachcha Bill Bhi Nahi…

Chale To Chaand Tak

Warna Yeh Shaam Tak(If it works it will go till moon otherwise till evening)

This made me laugh for a moment because we have made the word “pyar” so cheap sometimes but definitely the most used and abused. I see hatred towards “love” all around and I see on other hand people longing and dying for it. But we have made love a very cheap.

Rather than I bringing my thoughts on the subject which I am not even a student I will give you advice from a great thinker CS Lewis.In his book Four loves, Lewis treats of love under four categories ("the highest does not stand without the lowest"), based in part on the four Greek words for love: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. Lewis states that just as Lucifer—a former archangel—perverted himself by pride and fell into depravity, so too can love—commonly held to be the arch-emotion—become corrupt by presuming itself to be what it is not. Then he goes on explaining how we have mixed the emotions and played different roles and exploited. We almost use the word love for affection, friendship and Eros(romantic love) mostly and we have ignored Charity most of the time and I have hardly seen in my contemporary culture no one is even aware of it. Charity or Agape is the love that brings forth caring regardless of the circumstance. Lewis recognizes this as the greatest of loves, and sees it as a specifically Christian virtue. The chapter on the subject focuses on the need of subordinating the natural loves - as Lewis puts it, "The natural loves are not self-sufficient"- to the love of God, who is full of charitable love, to prevent what he termed their 'demonic' self-aggrandisement.

That’s Lewis reminding what we found in Scriptures all over again and again that God loves unconditionally. And He loved us from beginning and He alone truly loves and claim to love us. Infact Apostle John writes “God is love” look at the divinity of the word that apostle is describing God as love.So, what does it mean that God is love? Love is an attribute of God. Love is a core aspect of God’s character, His Person. God’s love is in no sense in conflict with His holiness, righteousness, justice, or even His wrath. All of God’s attributes are in perfect harmony. Everything God does is loving, just as everything He does is just and right. God is the perfect example of true love. Amazingly, God has given those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal Savior the ability to love as He does, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The most amazing part of this agape love is that we don't deserve it but God still in His grace loves us. And by the word unconditional love I mean to explain its purely a selfless love there is not even a hint of any self gain or any self righteousness. Its the purest emotion, I am afraid to call it emotion because its permanent unlike others. It is beyond human capacity to even think of such love. As Apostle Paul defines love in this way in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.”

Source: Google

He describes love in both it is and it is not and I really love the final statement he says that Love never fails. I don't know if anything as permanent as Love. Look at this promise or this statement of God which says something like this:

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

   I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

Focus on the word love everlasting. And don't say “you know its just written that doesn't prove God loves us”. How have He demonstrated it to us? I was also reminded its not the first time someone is asking this questions. Its not at all a new question but just the questioners are new. So lets look from the history of Israel. We find the below words from the book of Malachi 1:2

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’

Imagine Israel the covenant people of God asking this question. That Israel who was called out by God. Who saved them from the bondage from Egypt, same Israel for whom red sea was parted and then wilderness God tested their faith and many of them perished because of unbelief and the greatest Exodus took place and then they were given the promise land and God was their King. God dwelt among them. They saw the golden era under His reign. He raised king like David, man after His own heart.

In the book of Ezekiel 16 one of the most blunt passage shows God’s heart where He metaphorically refers Israel as a child then a beautiful young lady to whom He loved and gave His hand in marriage and made a covenant with. The lady was naked and ugly but He bathed her and dressed her with finest clothes and adorned with valuable jewels. Yet what she did, she forgot her past, she forgot every covenant and every oath that she took with her Husband. And she played a whore.He calls her worse than prostitute because they have excuse to say they get gifts for it but she is worse than that because you gave gifts to your lovers. There is no more words left by which I should describe the condition of Israel and we are just like Israel.

And even after all this look what God says  “Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 16:63

God never forsook His covenant and yet they asked Him, “How have you loved us?” and same is with rebellious people like us. We are worse than Israelites. Because in that time only his covenant people that is Israel had access to God. But now is the era of Holy Spirit where God gave us Holy Spirit which is dwelling in our hearts. We are in the era of AD Anno Domini in the years of living God. God actually dwelt among us. Immanuel is His name. And look what His contemporaries are saying:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4    His love is not just in words but incarnate and we know Him by the name of Jesus.

May I suggest you that this is what agape looks like and look at the magnificent words of Apostle John in John 3:16

source: Google

“ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Look what Jesus have to tell us about love “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” John 15:13 and He did. He died for us and thus its not mere but God demonstrated His love through His son. I hope we dont go home and ask God "How can He say I have loved you?".
After understanding this Agape love now tell me is love a Chinese product or steadfast and everlasting love og God.

P.S.: You can read further about four lover here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves

Gospel in short.... Just like that...

This is one of the unusual days when I woke up from sleep and started writing what I felt God is telling me. As yesterday’s passage was also very relevant and then it came as answer to my prayers and I am thankful for the way God spoke to me. And it was so comforting that the Creator of Heavens and Earth, The King of kings, LORD spoke to me and it is humbling to see that He calls us son.

    Who am I? I was reminded of the words of David where he says in Psalms 8:

“3When I consider your heavens,

   the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

   which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

   human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels

   and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

   you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds,

   and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky,

   and the fish in the sea,

   all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord,

   how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Interesting read because think of it! Here is someone who created all things the Creator of heavens and earth what if He decides that He will create everything again from scratch and He can create better creature than us, He is Omnipotent, we don't doubt this right! But still He is mindful of us. Shouldnt we be really thankful towards His mercy and grace that He loves us and He is good and not wiping us out from the face of the earth. And on other hand we the rebellious people how do we respond to His love by saying who is God? What do He think of Himself? How can we call him good if there is so much of evil?

    But have we done the homework, who is evil have we asked ourselves? As it is said in hindi “Apne girban mein jhak-ke dekho”?(Have you introspected in your own life). Are you spotless, without sin, have you not done any wrong till day? Peep in properly and you will find the worst darkness in your own heart. And your brokenness is smelling everywhere and so is of others. Why are we dragging God in all this. And may I suggest if there is no God we will never know what Good is and there will be no Absolute. It is because of God we are able to see good and bad. All goodness is nothing but His character and evil everywhere is nothing but corruption of that good. If anyone is guilty and responsible for it, that is you and me.

    And yet inspite of it God loves us. He is patient and thats why He became Man and dwelt among us. He loves us, truly not just by words but He demonstrated it throughout the history. And He said “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13. What more He can give. He said “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 and Further In John 3:18-21 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

    For this is the message we Christians long to spread. There is no other story to be told. There is no other news but the Gospel. His-story is the main story and rest follows.

Letter to God: Thanks

Dearest Father/Abba,

I love You Daddy and thank You for everything You have done for us. Today I just want to thank You for the blessings You have given to me.

I am thankful for the love that is bubbling out of my heart by being overwhelmed in the love of God, feeling undivided heavenly peace. Which I think no money, no pleasure, no hard work/toil would have given me. I am reminded of Psalms 23 every word of the beautiful Psalm has come true in my life.

Source:http://www.thesongsontheway.com

Sometime its not words, sometimes its not images, not visions, not music, not any event yet you feel super excited and you know in your heart that God is great and doing great things for you. Thank You Dadda for all this You are doing in my life. May I continue to walk in Your ways and experience this heavenly peace and joy which is everlasting because of You. The grace and mercy which are new everyday in my life.

I am thankful for the Friends. Friends who makes our lives so vibrant, colorful, musical and eventful. Without them life would be meaningless and we would have no one to share, care, fight, talk, love, help and to make team. Thank You for young friends as they challenge me with new questions, they take me to dimensions I never thought. Thankful for same aged friends who are like the iron sharpening us. Thankful for elder friends who are guide and torch bearers, examples for us. I pray for all of them, they are truly blessing from You and our companions here in Alien land.

I am thankful for the beautiful Church and leaders who take care of us as good shepherds following Your footsteps. Thanks for the Vision and Mission You have given to our Church.Thank You for such sweet families God. Once upon a time I felt like an orphan but Your word repeatedly have said “I will take care of widows and orphans” even You command us to “take care of widows and orphans” and I have seen that Church is really that family which loves us and takes such care for us. I am thankful for this community and I am thankful that I am also part of this Church. Thankful to know that Jesus is Head of our Church and we believe strongly in Your words and that is our authority.Thankful for meaningful activities of Church which is there for us and all Church members. I am thankful for Youth meetings, Fasting prayers, BTCL, House groups and specially for retreats and Camps.

I am thankful for the Gospel Music.Which have made my day, I generally don't indulge in music, but if its praising and glorifying You, I can't just hold back, I am overwhelmed and awestruck to know such Awesome God. I serve the God who created Heavens and the Earth. I am thankful for my blog and privilege that I can write and share my thoughts. Thankful for fellow bloggers who are always there to encourage. I am thankful for my job, though I am praying that I will get some more work to do. I am thankful that I have completed half a decade working in gurgaon and it was joyful for me. Because when I came here, I was a small little boy afraid to stay alone and now God have blessed me so much that I am turned to be a blessing for my family as I take care of my mom and Rohan(my younger brother) what privilege it is to with a loving and God fearing family. Who stands besides you, love you and takes care of you. Thanks Daddy for making me responsible person who now knows what does it mean to be a son of God, and also to follow law not out of compulsion but in love, knowing well that Your laws are perfect and which provides and protects us.

Your laws are love letters guiding me to walk, grow, think, love and live as You desired for us. Thanks for the freedom we have in You, knowing well who we are and for what we are.Thanks for the Bible which we can study, learn and a way to speak to You, to know You. Teach us oh! Lord to walk unto Your ways which leads to righteousness and eternal life.

Your Loving Son,

Shushant

Mummy my Super Hero

Today I want to tell you about my best companion on earth after God in this journey. One who brought me to this earth, one who took all the pain and difficulty, who gave up her life for my better upbringing. One who loves me endlessly and selflessly. I know you all must be thinking yes same is with our moms but my Mom is really special for me, as I said my Super hero, my love, one who is always standing beside me. Not only in the times of success and praise but some of the most vulnerable times of my life.

Mom, Rohan(my brother) and Me

My father passed away when I was two and half years old and it was a very short period my Mom stayed with Dad. And my Dad was not a very rich guy, nor was he middle class man I would say he use to live a hand to mouth life and use to work in a small factory. I have never dared ask too many questions about him, perhaps I never felt the vacuum for him because my mom loves me a lot. Also there are other reasons. But to give a background my mom also comes from a poor family and her dad passed away before she got married. And she have a background of various kind of diseases as she felt sick when she was small and which also affected her academia and she is not that qualified but she have passed Eighth class. And mind you she is very smart at least more than me hehe ;-) And she was a only a homemaker a very good cook, interested in stitching, sewing, knitting and all type craft work including painting and working on small electrical gadgets and stuff.But she always stayed at home and was a housewife, she fell ill when my dad passed away. And we moved my granny’s place after that started staying with them. And my mom was unfortunately forced to work for living. I was her only son by then.

She started going in hunt of job and she knew stitching so worked with some export companies and then my mom is daughter of a goldsmith so she have that blood running in her nerves and thats what her parents family business was. And she started working with MNC making jewelery for export purpose. She became a professional and had too she didn't have any other choice. And she lived all alone many times shifted rooms from time to time and place to place like a migrant we have to go from places to places because of work changing frequently and I always wondered why she have to change the jobs so frequently and later when I grew up she tells me stories of those days and I have no answers but I just wonder how she did this and how she bore all this all alone. She is gigantic figure taking the whole burden of pain on her. So what all she went through don't ask its a full list of blunders some times company was fraud, other times managers were fraud, sometimes there were people who blamed her, sometimes it was strangers who tried to take advantage of a widow thinking that her state of being helpless demands for that, sometimes it was not from strangers but from family members who doubted her motives and just mocked her everytime. I tell you when I look into her eyes I see the anguish and the pain she carried for year after years and not even letting me know all this.

She was unstoppable inspite of all this blunders everyday in her life I know she earned as low as Rs.1000 per month and most of the months also went jobless so you can imagine how horrible it was. I have seen her staying in a room where we use to lie down and our heads were touching to one wall and feet to another. But yet we had to live, this life was not easy for her. And yet he gave the best for me and he chose the most difficult but if you see for me the best solution, she send me to a boarding school, very far to a state which I never imagined and never thought when I was just about seven years. I was very small and I had a major problem adjusting in new land but we were compelled to do this as there was no option. Because the private schools demanded a huge fees and government schools were not worth it.

But she worked day and night sometimes overtime and without leaves she worked so that I can study well and perform well. So that I will get better education, food and knowledge in the boarding school, she chose something that was very difficult not only monetary wise but also as decision because my other relatives were strictly against this. There also my mom went through a lot of pain as she was criticized for her decision. As she got to hear from her own sister and brother that “you have sold your son to someone just to live freely”. Thats something when I got to know really broke my heart. But in this process even I was broken and many times I blamed her a lot and thought she loves me little and if you have read my selfmade man you know me how I became.

But honestly as its said the sweet tree bears sweet fruit, characters and your worldview is shaped by the environment you live and mostly by your parents so there are many good and as well bad things which I have learned from her. Till day I look up to her for most of the things.( I said most because you know I am a bit crazy, stubborn and Godly man too so some decisions I do take myself and with help of God) May it be decision of clothing, electronic, food, style, decisions,roads, places, bargaining, medical, ayurveda, plants, cooking, drawing, arts and monetary she is the best person to consult with(In short she is my encyclopedia). She is really my hero. Many of you must have thought in your childhood which superhero you will become may be spiderman, he-man, batman, superman or gi joe but I always, always wanted to become a simple person just like my mom is. You know what is the proudest moment of my life when someone says to me that “you are just like your mom”. I can't tell you what does it mean to me. I know all our shortcomings we have most of the things in common may it be fear of something, may it be confidence, may it be simplicity, may it be bearing something. Many things we do are similar and we are best friends, we like to spend time together and I really praise God for my mother for real love in my life through her.She is not only my friend but my love, my father, my sister, my teacher, my guide she is all in one. I have the greatest support, greatest gift in my life is my mother.We are such good friends that I share everything with her, she loves me so much and never condemns me therefore I can even share my failures without fear. She knows everything, even about my relationships which I had in past. I just can't hide things from her.I know and remember when I shared that I failed and I lost my cycle and also a dog bite it was moment where I was so depressed that I thought a mountain of problems came upon me but she came quietly and never shouted on me for that. She said “exam must be very tough I know you studied day and night yet you failed but don't worry do better next time”. And there are n number of things which I did in wrong way yet my mom supported me and loved me.

She is really adorable and lovely, strong, courageous, hardworking, honest, clever and smart, simple person whoever have met her will tell you the same.And I am not just bragging but she is really the most inspiring and loving person of my life. I love her lot and give thanks to the lord for her life. She believed in living God that was turning moment for both of us where we believed in Jesus and now both of our lives are changed by God. His touch have changed us, brought us closer to God and restored joy in our lives. Praise to God alone for his love and care and providence.

Definitely there is a lot to this story but as time I have written enough. I pray for well being of all Moms on this Mother’s day.

Meethi

Sometimes you make a friendship just over a smile, a small talk, over a journey and sometimes it takes years and years and yet we are not sure once we depart whether we will remember each other. And we humans are so wired for relationships that we cannot live without them. We humans are classified as social animals we live in a society.

Though we don't value our society and community but truth is we cannot stay without them. So as I always tell you that on saturdays or sundays we have some or other activity so this saturday it was Married couple fellowship and I was again called for baby sitting and this time I was more for technical support as this time we were showing movies to kids on projector but unfortunately the speakers were not working so Neelima di had to narrate the story.

As we must have heard this saying that all great things comes in a small package. I met a new kid 4 years small girl and if you are wondering what does my title mean “yes” its her name Meethi which means sweet. And yes this small girl is very sweet. Any person that met her will tell you the same thing she is so cute and lovely and she have a wonderful quality to make friend with you. Some people have that midas touch that when you meet them they leave you a changed person, and she is such a sweet girl.

I will never forget how quietly she started and playing with me and her brother Jojo also became my friend. And for those few hours I forgot who I was and I became a small kid which I rarely can do. And I played Ring-ringa roses and hide and seek and chicken walk(which was punishment in our school) and many other games.Sometimes best things to do is to become a kid and play with them. I was thinking of their innocence, enthusiasm and unbiased love. Meethi is a very sweet girl and as one of my other friend would say “I am her fan”. They both(Meethi and Jojo) are new kids and sad that I couldn't meet their parents because I am sure they too are lovely people who have brought both of them in such a lovely way.

I could just see world differently from the eyes of Meethi and on sunday Jojo asked me to come with him and showed me some fishes in our club which I would never bother to see. And thats beauty kids are beyond limitations and their enthusiasm is new and they never get bored as we adults get. I mean they have something or other creative way to spend time and energy and we must learn same from them. And I can really says kids are really blessing from God.

On the flip side I live in a very unsafe place where people are doing horrible things against small kids. Rape against minor have taken every headlines of every newspaper I just want to pray for the protection of the innocence and love of this beautiful kids. I pray that no one will violate their trust and enthusiasm. That no one will take benefit of their innocence but rather learn to love and spread the fragrance of love as they do. That we men will think love without lust and we will respect every women as our mother, sister and daughters. I pray God that You my King will stop all this and let Your kingdom come.

Human longing for peace and justice can be satisfied in His kingdom alone.

Hope and forgiveness...

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

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2 Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

3If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

6I wait for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

Except Your Words and You I have no hope oh! Lord. What a beautiful Psalm it is and I would say it just describes what my prayer is right now and what I go through most of the times when I fail and I just want to wait for the Lord and His answer. I got this from a fellow blogger who posted about waiting and mentioned this Psalm you can read it here.

I was amazed that how I am not the first who is crying like this and have faith in God who will redeem him. Amazingly the psalmist knows that God forgives in verse 4. He knows that God don't keep record of our sins but if he does who will stand before Him. And the psalmist further says I have no hope in anything else but Lord’s Word. And he is waiting, desperately waiting like a night watchmen for morning. Picture is clear that we are waiting to see that marvellous light we are becoming weary of this darkness around and darkness inside.

Then Psalmist reminds Israel and everyone about God’s unfailing love, We might have failed Him repeatedly but God’s love is unfailing, He simply declares to Jeremiah “ I have loved you with an everlasting love;I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3) And in New Testament John reminds us that God is love and His very nature is to love. Therefore His love gives us that confidence to stand firm, to look towards Him, to love Him, to hear Him and to obey Him. And the Psalmist says that He himself will redeem us and as its written He did it on the cross, He became a man dwelt among us and took our sins and died on the Cross made the payment for all the sins once for all and rose from death and redeemed us and now we are His twice and now we look and hope for His second coming when He will take us with Himself to the place which He prepared for us. I see a greater meaning in all the lines of Psalmist I just couldn't resist myself sharing this with You.

That we have received Forgiveness, unfailing love, redemption, new life and everlasting hope in Christ alone and may we never fail to glorify Him and share this good news with others.