I Fly Away

My dear friends and readers,

You must be wondering why I have not posted for so so long. The reason is I have done a very thorough reflection (during my recent holidays) on my life and my purpose of blogging. Blogging for the last 4 years have achieved its aim in setting my trapped emotion free... the hurts in my childhood days and the hurts as an adult.

Along the way, I have made a number of good online friends whom I could share my thoughts freely. Thank God for all of you! Some of you have a very special place in my heart because of what we have gone through together. I will treasure those memories always. Some of you have told me I have made a positive difference to your lives. I like you to know that you have made a difference to mine too. Thank God for the experiences I have in blogging and the friendship we have developed thus far.

Yes, along the way we may have hurt each other in what we did or said, or what we didn't do or didn't say. Yet God has allowed them to be used to make us stronger and not to tear us down. Our wings may be broken for a while when we are hurt, but this is where we need to let God heal us so that we can fly again. If I have hurt you in anyway, my friends, please pardon me.

I like the book/article, "You Can't Fly With A Broken Wing"by Dick Innes (also the author of daily encouraging devotions for "Daily Encounter"). It has helped me to forgive, to let go, and to fly again. I feel freed! You may download it and read it for yourself.

Another article that touched my heart (I felt like crying as I read) is "Born To Fly". My friends, if you have Jesus Christ in your heart, you are born to fly like the eagle, don't be a chicken. ;) If you do not have Jesus Christ in your heart, I urge you to let Him in so you can experience what I have experienced.


Though I may not update my current blogs anymore (no more need to do so) we may still communicate by email or msn messenger, if you like.

May God be with you wherever you are.


Cheers!


Yourfriend, Bee

Forgiveness ABCs

What Forgiveness Isn't
6 myths that may be keeping you from letting go.
by Denise George

Forgiveness ABCs

Acknowledge the hurt. When someone deliberately hurts you, don't try to diminish the pain and its effect on you. Acknowledge your suffering—and express it aloud to God. Scripture promises: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18), and "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3).

Blame the offender. If a person hurts you by mistake, she didn't mean to inflict pain, so she needs no forgiveness. But if a person intentionally hurts you, then the pain she caused was deliberate. Say aloud: "I personally blame you, (name of offender), because you hurt me on purpose." Correctly placing the blame readies you to begin the forgiveness process.

Cancel the debt. You've acknowledged the hurt and rightly blamed the offender. Now you're ready to make the willful decision to "cancel the debt" your offender owes you. Find a quiet place to be alone and ask the Lord's help in forgiving the person who hurt you. You might pray the "Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13) and meditate on verse 12: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." After you've prayed and while you're still alone, speak aloud your decision to forgive: "(Name of offender), I've chosen to forgive you for hurting me; I've decided to cancel the debt you owe me." You've now embarked on the process of forgiving the person who hurt you. —D.G

Forgiveness - Misconceptions

"It does not matter what happened to you or what others do to you, but it really matters how you respond to the love of God."
- Dr Tan K S

That was what the speaker, Dr Tan S K, said during the church Service yesterday. The message was on Forgiveness.

Misconception about forgiveness

1. "Please forgive and forget."
The fact is we can't forget, but that does not mean we can't forgive. We have 2 kinds of memories:
- emotional memory... memory that hurts us when we recall, e.g. your loved one jilted you.
- historical memory... memory that doesn't hurt us when we recall, e.g. you fell down while learning to ride a bicycle.

2. "Please understand and forgive."
The fact is we can't understand everything, yet we still need to forgive.

3. "Please overlook and forgive."
The fact is we can't pretend things didn't happen, but still we need to forgive.

4. "Deny your feeling, just forgive."
This is one reason why men die younger than women 'cos they tend to deny their feelings.


How to Forgive

1. Face the wrong
2. Face the hurt
3. Face the resentment
4. Face the cross
Only the blood of Christ can cover all our hurts and heal our wounds.

Forgiving by faith is an act of our will, it's not a feeling. We need to forgive others, ourselves, and God.


My Thoughts

Although I have forgiven the people who have hurt me, yet for two particular cases I still feel the pains whenever I recall them. As I listened to the above message, I realized that it's because I have not converted these "emotional memories" into "historical memories" yet. I guess I need to "face the cross" to deal with them.

A nice poem here on Forgiveness.