the pilgrim

'one day, i would like to travel around the world! Wouldn't that be a treat.'

'i guess it would be wonderful! but what is your reason for traveling? to view and experience different places, culture? you know as the world say, to open your eyes so on so forth?'

' yeah! kinda. Well everyone travels now. Its the thing to do. oh, you know what i mean! it would be life changing! haven't you read, Eat Love Pray? you know, Julia Roberts. Wouldn't you want to visit those places too?'

'yeah, it would be rather lovely!, but honestly, i am much more excited about getting to this One destination.'

'so, where is this mysterious destination?'

'mmm.. it is where my Father is. Its not here on earth you see, and we only get to be there, when He calls us back to Him. For now, here on earth, it is where He prepares us for that special day.'

'And how on earth do you expect to get there? a space shutter? your such an alien you know'

' Funny. well first of all, you've got to believe of His existence. The one who made that place where He now is. (He also created the entire world you see, and both you and me). To believe what He has done for humanity, and to know that He is the only way to where He is.

He is the one who created this whole wide world and all of its beauty. He gave us rain, the sunshine, fruits from trees to feed our bellies. Even created the colorful crazy world under the sea of salty water! He is where life is.

And this place where He is, it is a magical place! It is where He rules and reigns. He is, the source of love, justice, mercy, beauty and goodness. I imagine it would be much more beautiful than any place that could be found on earth combine. It would be a place so unheard of that you won't believe what it is like until you actually, arrive.

Anyway back to it, to believe in Him, is ultimately to have faith! Faith in Him whom we can't see, faith in believing in who He is, and what He has promised us. Faith in the unseen Friend, Him that governs this whole wide world and breath it into existence. The thing about faith is that, it is a gift from Him. He gives it to us, and its up to us to receive it or to reject it. He also gave us free will, you see. To either choose our own way, or to say " Father, i'll follow your way, your will be done in my life". 

We can't claim this gift of faith as our own doing. It is a gift from him to us. He told us that we did not need to worry, He is the author and perfecter of our faith. We can trust and depend on Him, He doesn't ask us to do anything for Him whatsoever but to obey. He also gave  us His Spirit, to live in us and guide us towards Him. He decided that once His only Son a perfect being, came to pay the price for our sins, (resurrecting on the 3rd day showing how He is more powerful than death) He would sent us a Helper. A Helper to guide us walk His way, towards that one day where we will finally be ready to meet Him . It would not have been nice leave us abandon you see, We are no longer orphans once we accept Him, but His children. He wants to lovingly guides us as a shepherd with its sheep. Reigning in our lives, shining His light through us in this dark dark world. 

This world we are living in. It is absolutely fallen. Full of hate, violence and destruction. Jealousy, lies, injustice. From the beginning of time, from the fall of mankind. The disobedience towards Him who created us separated us from Him. He meant well for what He asked of us, it was to protect us, out of His love and kindness and His wisdom of what is true and good. But we decided to rebel since the beginning of time. We questioned, 'why can't we just be like Him, and eat the fruit of " knowledge of Good and Evil" which He commanded us not too'. The serpent, the one who despises God and wants to do things his own way, he tempted adam and eve to disobey, with the subtle props of 'why not', did he really say that' come on..' do you seriously think you will die once you eat it'... The one who created us, had His reasons and timing for asking of our obedience. But we rebelled ever since the beginning, sin crept into this world and this is why life on earth is as it is now.

Whether you know it or not. We are ultimately in the hands of the Maker. So you take your pick, to walk with Him or to do without.'

Where are you going after earth?




( may be continued ... )

gulp

accepting the truth.

Sometimes accepting the truth is really going to hurt you because you have got to swallow all your pride. Pride of thinking you are right, pride of your own worth, pride of what you think you can achieve by your own strength, pride of thinking we can get whatever we want. Pride of thinking you are something.

We need to be torn down, really broken, really down on the ground. the dirt.. To actually ask God to be the one to mend us, the let Him be the potter as we be the clay. To let go of our own thoughts, our own personal believes, our own will. Sometimes we have to be so low to be able to hear from the most High. Before we will actually want to really listen.

it's really time for me to swallow my pride :(..

Walk

lingering back to those days,

memories.

moments, they never stay.

seasons.

the old disappears and out springs the new,

changes.

we meet and say goodbye,

lets turn the pages.

can we stop at chapter 1?

no.

time passes with age,

lost.

we learn as we grow,

gain.

we believe before we see,

faith.

we hope even though we'll never know,

trust.

we let go,

grip.

We hold on to God,

the truth.

His promises,

real.

Forgetfulness of self,

love.

Rid of pride,

humility.

He is the light,

sight.

He is the living water,

Life.

Everyday we receive,

gifts.

He is always with us,

blessed.

He said "Follow Me".

Walk. c;

-noelle kan

and we wouldn't know when we'll ever know.

sometimes i wonder when i'll ever met you and if i do already know you. But i do somehow believe you are out there somewhere, though the both of us don't know that one day, our life would crash and collide. Will life take me on a journey that would lead me to you, and will it be so special making the wait seem worth everything? I somehow do believe it would.

Recent and past hopes that disappoint, dreams that came crashing down, rejections that made me feel worthless and as though i just was not good enough or that i am so flawed that they didn't feel the same way about me. But i guess its all is for the better? I guess it would all make sense once the day come when we find out why those things had to happen to bring us to where we ' now' to be able to say, 'so for this reason'. 

I have had lots of dreams, as i am very much of a dreamer. You know, the tendency of creating my own perfect plan before knowing that life's course would actually change? Well, have learned not to do that anymore. You can't like someone and have preconceive ideas before you know you'll ever be together and make yourself think he is going to feel the same. Its silly and i am rather silly. It's good to know, though, that God knows everything and know everything the best. 

And my God, He has brought me this far. Every blessing, every achievement, every random beautiful surprise that have popped up along the way, have been from Him. He truly loves and cares. I cannot boast much about myself because i know, i really do know that if there is anything good that has come my way, its because He has given it to me. Talents,  if i happen to be wise (wisdom),  skills, and the open doors. And those close doors, those insecurities and weaknesses I can be thankful for them too,  His power and strength always shines through them, as long as we trust Him on it. 

Who knew this tiny quiet small town girl would be where she is now. I am utterly grateful:) Life has been amazing, and i wouldn't have want it to happen any other way. Because His dreams for me, are ultimately better, greater and much wiser. He is the source of wisdom, of love, of beauty. How can i expect anything less?

My life is in good hands. I don't know when i will ever meet him. But if we both know the One who is going to bring us together, we can only learn something about patience and to wait.

 c:
-----------------------
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11

boo!

hello , its been awhile :)

"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. " - 1 Corinthians 4:3

You know, you'll realized that whatever you do, there always will be people who are mean, who will always point out the imperfections of others, enlarge it and talk about it. I reckon a person should always learn to look at their self first and realize how imperfect they are before pointing fingers and slandering another. The one who is always slandering the other would always say that they are trying to help the other person but the truth is, they might just be bringing the other person to a much lower view of themselves :(.

I reckon its always good to look at the bright side of things, but not neglecting things we realize that needs change and where change for the better can be implemented. Now, i feel that whatever the view of others is about me. It doesn't matter anymore. Everyone can think what they like, but im never going to be one to dwell in self-pity nor self-exaltation. But to just continue to do the best in all i can regardless of what i think others think. I guess what matters more is your heart in doing things. Where its place is. The reason you are doing things, and to always commit our plans to God and acknowledge Him all the way. And we can't even know how to judge ourselves :p

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding" - Proverbs 3:5

Sometimes i get into the state where i feel, omg i am doing things wrong. I should be doing this, and this and that. But then what i should do is to just trust God with all my heart! We are where we are for a reason, and whatever that has been given to use to do is also a gift, and God can definitely use in every situation we are in. Its good to be contented wherever we are!:) Know that it is a blessing. And that God is sovereign so we don't need to worry about our past mistakes. etc But to always focus on doing the best today! To seek Him each day.

I am so very grateful of how God has brought me this far on this adventure of ours, and I can't expect anything less from Him, even when my life seems like a waiting room at the moment. hehe..

I was reading Daniel and he was within a very secular culture. But whatever it was, he choose to live by God's standards and what honors God. He also wisely choose to negotiate rather than to rebel. He and the rest of his friends also adjusted to the culture of the Babylonians, serve the King, as long as it didn't compromise obedience towards God. God even gave them favor and knowledge and wisdom and skills :D.

 remember now, are in this world, but not of it :)

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:2

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

shaloms

Hope

Hoping in God is like knowing the sun would rise the next day. Have you watched the morning sun, anticipating it peaking from the horizon and slowly rising heralding another day the Lord has made.
He brings forth light, He shows the way, the makes the blind see, He brings forth Life!

"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing." - Psalms 34:10

Seek the Lord. You shan't want any other, nothing else will satisfy :)

" Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sell all that he has and buys that field" - Matthew 13:44

.

"Ma la via che io batto egli la conosce; se mi mettesse alla prova, ne uscirei come l'oro." - Giobbe 23:10


the Lord is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is a good God. Cling on to Him. :)

the Message.

The Christian message.

The Christian message is a beautiful one. Its about redemption and love. about humility and grace.

Sin, being the descendants of Adam and Eve who disobeyed God in the garden. He asked them not to eat of the fruit but they, being deceived by the serpent who twisted Gods words and questioned them saying " did God really say you will die if you eat of the fruit ". Because of this, we have been cursed being thrown out of the garden of eden as a punishment. And Sin is the cause of the disobedience towards God. This cuts of the relationship between us and Him.  And because being cut off from God, we are infact considered spiritually dead.

God knew there was nothing we can do out of our own efforts to save ourselves. So He decided to pay the price. The ultimate sacrifice. Sending His beloved sinless and blameless son to bear all our sins so we may live. He is the great bridge builder, relationship mender. Full of mercy, justice and grace. In exchange for Us, He gave His only Son. God rose from the death on the third day and conquered sin. And also in this beautiful exchange, He gave the Spirit of Truth that would be within us as a Helper, we are not left alone, no more orphans. ( John 14:15..)

In the old testament, they sacrifice blemish free spotless lamb to the Lord for forgiveness of sin or for worship or devotion offering. This was the act, the shadow of what was to come, which was the sacrifice of the Perfect lamb, the spotless son of God, Jesus Christ. 

Even the history of Moses and the crossing the red sea out of Egypt is an illustration of the redemption through Christ. Egypt represents sin and how sin prisons us. Its a place of bondage. Moses He represents the Law. Joshua represents Jesus and the Red sea , the Blood of Christ that has made a way for us into His Kingdom represented with Canaan. 

If you read again the story of Moses, you can see that The Isrealites ( reflection of us) were brought out of Egypt, our sinful past . As they cross the red sea, the enemies came after them but they were drowned by the Sea. ( the blood of Christ washes away our sin ). Moses which represented the Law, was not able to go into Canaan, this is to say that the Law can't save us. Joshua ( Hebrew name for Jesus) on the other hand was the one who lead the people into Canaan, and he represented Christ, Jesus.

If you actually read the Old testament, you can see how it has representations of what was going to come in the New Testament. The coming of Christ!.

:)

My God is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY

there's nothing my God cannot do,
The rivers are His, The mountains are His,
the skies are His handiworks too :)

---
"Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

" O you little of faith, why did you doubt? " - Jesus ( matthew 14: 22-33 the whole of it)

-------

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 
2 Timothy1:7

Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah

"my good Horse, you've lost nothing but your self-conceit. No, no, cousin. Don't put back your ears and shake your mane at me. If you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago, you must learn to listen to sense. You're not quiet the great Horse you had come to think, from living among poor dumb horses, Of course you were braver and cleverer than them. You could hardly help being that. It doesn't follow that you'll be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you're nobody special, you'll be a very decent sort of Horse, on the whole, and taking one thing with another." 

- the Hermit (The horse and his boy, c.s. lewis)

the reality is.

What is real, what is true is found in God

The bible just amazes me. It just speaks. Life. it speaks Truth.

" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not comprehend it." John 1:1-5

" The Lord possessed me ( wisdom ) at the beginning of His way,

Before His work of old.

I have been established from everlasting,

From the beginning, before there was ever an earth." Proverbs 8:22-23

Whatever God says and promises. He delivers!. Right from the beginning of time till forever more. The whole bible is just magical. Once you dash into it, you can see God's fingerprints all over it. Working through men and women who walked with Him.

 God is in heaven and we are on earth. Its wonderful to know there is an eternal destination to look forward too. A place where God reigns. Just like another world where is much more beautiful than earth and God has made a way for us to get there through Jesus.You know like how when you watch a movie. But that is reality it really did happened that God sent His only son Jesus on earth, totally sinless ( God in Human Form) to die for mankind and their sins. And then resurrected from death. This totally fulfilled the prophesy, what he said would happen and also proof that death could not hold Him down. because He is God, and what He says is true. No one but God is able to conquer death. And as He resurrected to Life and got lifted up to Heaven. Those who believe in Him will receive eternal life too and are no more condemned for their sins. He spoke truth of something that sounded so surreal but He did what He promised!. It's just such a beautiful story that makes you go wonderstruck.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:17

freedom is found in Christ.
Love that has no depths.

the mad machinist

i think nature is just immerse with beauty. God is just full of wisdom and is the essence of everything beautiful. every living thing has its own one-of-a-kind blueprint, imperfect, different yet it just makes me go in awe.

This week, im going to start off by being a mad machinist in the attic of my little magical hometown. I enjoy working and being totally immerse in it. It is exciting and there is so much to be done right now!. I can't wait for it to be finished :) But i know i'll have to totally get right at it and put all i have into it right now and work on it like a thomas edison. 

Gonna be full on day and night working on this. making sure it's all made with love and patience and care.Being careful yet spontaneous with every detailing. I want it to tell a story, be magical and just reflect, culture, love and lifestyle.

Can't say much now, but my hopes :). Trusting that whatever God gives me to do, he will provide all that is necessary for me to do it well, and so it will be something created that pleases Him :)

God will look after each and everyone of us with His totally care. We just have to trust Him fully. Buona notte a tutti! 

we ended at hello

sunflowers in the summertime, tuscany.

my thoughts like to linger back to moments that actually made me smile and wonder.

I remember it was about a week before i had to leave the small beautiful magical little city of florence. And there i was found sitting at the Loggia dei Lanzi at Piazza Signoria. A place i like to go to read a book, write down my thoughts,  just being among the old statues and new constantly changing tourist, all at the same time.

And there i was sitting down just day dreaming, just thinking about life, love, God whatever that was filling my mind at that moment. Then a guy came sat next to me. I didn't take much notice of him. I closed my eyes to relax a little. As i opened them, i realized he was looking at me, but quicky turned away.

I didn't really want to bother too much about it and proceeded to read the bible, yes i took the bible out that day. It was a bible i borrowed from the church i was staying at that moment. And old, dark blue, mid sized bible. 

" what are you reading?" he asked out of curiosity.

" the bible.. " i replied smiling.

" I thought that was what it was" he replied.

We then continued talking. A bit about ourselves and what we were doing over there. He was tall, slightly tan, scottish and beautiful. A gentlemen with a backpack.

After our conversation, he said he was going to go grab a sandwich and head to the near by park to relax under the shades. It was summer and a burning hot day. I still wonder if it was a subtle invitation, but we left it at that.

"What is your name?" he asked as he was about to leave.

"Noelle." I replied.

" like Christmas?"

" Yeah" i smiled.

"Im Tom."

-------------------------------------------

press on.

“Just remember, when your wings are weak, your spirit done, and you've flown as far as you can, you’re halfway there!” 

-– The Echidna ( The Legend of the Guardians )

random.

My Father is up there in heaven, and i am His little girl here on earth.

I realized when it comes to relationships, i tend to rush. to want to do things my way. or want to just head dive into them. Telling myself time waits for no one, that there is no time to lose, my imagination goes wild and i tend to over think things, or inflate ideas. thinking my works can get me what i want.

But the truth is, that is unhealthy to do. That is not how they are suppose to be build. I can't just get anything i want. and how can i know what is best for me. I may get excited sometimes when i see someone i want to speak too, my heart my leap out of its chest. but this time around, i want to learn to be patient. To let God lead and direct my path. To tell God it doesn't matter anymore if i get what i want, because i know He always know best and that i can trust Him with all my heart. that i can actually learn to be a friend.

That the guy that i like now, He may like someone else, he may eventually be with someone else in the future, get married to a lovely girl. But that doesn't matter anymore. I trust Him more than i trust my own judgement. And my heart should belong to the One who knows me best and gave me Life. How can i not expect that He would only give me the best. He is gracious and merciful , loving and kind. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I trust God in  providing for me. In every single area of my life.  He will only join me with someone that i can't even imagine how blessed would be. All i know is that I just don't want to create my own inflated ideas of another, or put any guy in the position of God. God always have to have the number 1 spot in my life.

I don't know how all these relationship stuff work, and im really imperfect. but i do believe that,..

Sometimes we really just need to let go of whatever we are gripping on to. Open up our hands. Only then will we be able to receive the gifts He, our loving Father wants to provide for our life : )

You'll never be disappointed as it would always only be the best.

Our God is a good God. He never ever fails :)

Wait on Him.

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger

"Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder, till it drives you mad,

What would have followed if you had."

- C.S. Lewis ( The Magician's nephew 1955)

"Is he—quite safe?" 

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

- (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 1950)

Aslan says to Lucy, “Every year you grow, you will find me bigger.” 

- ( Prince Caspian 1951)