SO MANY GOODNESS!!!!

Me: "God, there isn't enough of me."
God: "But there's enough of me."

Story #1

At one our team meetings before the trip, I was told by the leader that I will be a translator. Well, most of you know that I can't read or write in Chinese and my Mandarin speaking ability is very limited. But somehow when he told me that, I felt complete peace over me. I didn't hesitate and say no. I just went along with the flow. "Well, at least I'm better off than the rest of the members," was the thought that went through my head. To the rest of the team, everything will look and sound like gibberish. For me, I at least can pick up words and understand the gist of the conversation.

Throughout the trip, I was absolutely amazed how God used me and gave me the ability to understand and translate. It was a miracle! I translated a whole church message to my friend, spoke to the taxi drivers, bargained, ordered food, asked for hot sauce and forks everywhere we went, and conversed with others. God opened up my ears to listen, my mind to understand and my tongue to translate. It was absolutely a miracle. My team members were shock at this gift I have. I couldn't believe it myself. My goal is to learn Mandarin and Korean after I get my MBA degree.

Story #2

Last Friday, we had an all staff spiritual transformational day. It was sooooooooooooooo amazing and needed. I absolutely love having solitude time. It makes my soul happy.

I was excited not to have to work and just sit in nature to converse with God and listen to His voice. Yes, I will admit this: I've been slacking off in spending time with God. Doesn't it seem like when life gets busy, that's the first to go? Is it just me? Anyway, when I found out that we were going to have a day devoted to solitude, I was ecstatic!

We had two speakers from The Leadership Institute come and guide us through the day. Part of the day was devoted to a 3-hour solitude time, sharing time, small group prayer time and a time of affirming one another. It was fabulous! I saw my co-workers in a total different light and have a new appreciation for them and Open Doors. It's amazing how vulnerability draws people closer. I love that the organization sees the need to have spiritual formation days and that it will improve productivity level.

Here's something that we learned at the beginning of the day. It's a simple process, "God-process", that will had huge meaning and impact in my life. So far, within the last two days, these four simple words has dramatically changed the way I experience life. I say it out aloud first thing in the morning, anytime I start to feel anxious and before I go to sleep. It's incredible. The four words are: Pitcher/Cup...Saucer/Plate.

Pitcher: This represents all that God is and longs to pour into the cup of your life: His very being, His existence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His character, and His desires for your life.

Cup: This represents your life. It is the unique and distinctive cup of who you are--of who God created us to be and of all that God longs for you to become. God desires to continually pour Himself into the cup of your life until it overflows with His character and grace.

... : Yes, even the three dots has meaning. It's a short pause between the two analogies.

Saucer: The divine overflow spills onto the saucer. This represents relationships, the network of people your life touches, however frequently or infrequently.

Plate: This represents the events, the places, and the organizations where God's gracious presence in your life can further overflow through you and, at times, through your leadership responsibilities.

The sequence and process of this concept really matters. If you have some time, go through this exercise by sitting with God and think about the process. Often times, I skip right over the pitcher and cup and go straight to the plate. This exercise helped me understand how to prioritize my life to more effective.

You may not have a 3-hour block of time to think over this, but even if it's a few minutes a day allowing God to pour into your life, I'm pretty sure you will see and feel the difference.

*The description above was taken from Chuck Miller's book. I don't know which one since he didn't tell us, but it's in one of his books that can be found here. :)*