Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance was one thing that I learned this week from one of my subject about cross culture. It measures the extent to which people in a certain culture avoid uncertainty (according to textbook definition). It basically says that there are some cultures that don't like to be uncertain in regards to everything that they do in this life.They consider uncertainty as life threatening and must be reduced (again quoted from the textbook :D:D).

I was sitting there in the lecture room thinking, "yup, thats me!"  I am one of those people who doesnt like being uncertain. I would plan most of the things that i need to do beforehand so then i know what am i doing and if needed, i would spare sometime to think about plan b just in case plan a doesnt work the way i wanted it to be. I dont always do that these days, but most of the times i would.

I need something that is certain, something that i can hold on to and depend myself onto. I need more than hope because hope is not certain.

I need an assurance as well in regards to what is going to happen with me after i die?? am i going to hell or heaven?? what am i gonna do later on?? I certainly want to go to heaven and i dont think that i want to go to hell because its an unpleasant place to be in.

Then God showed me that there is this CERTAIN hope where i can hold onto everytime i need. And that hope is Jesus :D:D Many might wonder "why am i so into this Jesus thingy and so sure that he can give me the hope that i need?" Well here is my reason

• The bible says that Jesus died in my place to take away my sin. Which means that I dont have to do good works to go to heaven. I always fail to do so and that makes me uncertain whether i will go to heaven or not. Jesus did everything that needs to be done and its completely done.

Now in Jesus, i have more confidence to say that i am certain i am going to heaven because Jesus did what needs to be done in regards to my sin and i dont have to worry about being uncertain about heaven again only because I keep failing to do things that pleases God.

^"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ"

(Colossians 2:9-11)

I am NOT a hero!!

Having too many things to do will deff make us feel tired. We find ourselves at times not having the courage to say no to take on more things because we want to help those in need or simply because we feel bad. Helping people is a great thing to do and we should be doing them but we cant do everything all at one. We have to prioritise the important things that we need to do and focus on them not adding more stuff each day because it'll just makes u feel overwhelmed and trust me, it is not a great feeling to have and you want to avoid this as much as u can.

My cousin said to me once that I dont have to do all things at once. I am not a hero and the world is not going to end if i say no to do one thing. The world doesnt depend on me!! (thank God for that ) I cant imagine how is this world going to be if it depends on me...

The danger of feeling tired is that you neglect other important things such as eating. Both eating for ur physical and spiritual life. We often caught up doing all the things that we have to do and we forget to feed ourselves as often the case is. I do love food but yet tend to neglect it when im busy because I feel that i dont have enough time to finish the job i have to do if i eat.

For those who are feeling tired from anything (work, study, life issues, etc) just like i do most of the times, lets take sometime to just relax. I knoe that you might feel that your work is chasing you if you stop for a second but taking sometime to relax and be refresh is important. It'll allow u to focus more on the stuff u need to do and be happy with it so then ur work wouldnt become a burden :D:D

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Transforming Grace

I wish I can write the whole book review for transforming grace now but as u can probably guess, I havent finish reading it. Now that uni starts, i dont think i would be able to finish the book sometime soon :(:( and i think when i have the time to read it i might have to skim read the book from the beginning to refresh my memory which means it might take a lil bit longer.

So far, the book encouraged me a lot especially when it talks about "the parable of the workers in the vineyard" It is a story about A landowner who agrees to pay his workers a denarius at the end of the day and throughout the day he keeps asking more workers to come and work for him. In the end everyone get the same amount of wages regardless of how long they have been working for. Many people would think that the landowner is unfair because some poeple have certainly work longer and harder than the other so they deserve to get more wages. I Second that, but Jerry Bridges pointed out a different point of view which is what rights do the workers have to say that they deserve better than anyone else. They agreed in the first place to work for the landowner for a denarius a day (v2). It is the landowner's land not the workers so he can do whatever he wants with his land.

Another point that he also pointed out is that, those workers who work in the lasts hours must be so grateful because they do not have to wait long to receive their payment. We would agree that they do not deserve what they get but they get it anyway which is why it is grace. It is like us who dont deserve to be saved but God chose to save us anyway through Jesus.