Mother's Day Celebration

Mother’s day came early for the moms in ICC Michigan. 

We celebrated it on Saturday, May 7^th. It was a bright day. 

The weather was nice, the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming.

The families went to Brody Square dining hall, a cafeteria at MSU, 

where lunch were served buffet style.

For this event, the moms sat separately from the dads and kids. 

The moms were happy for they were surrounded by their family 

(although at different seating), 

good friends and good food, especially desserts.

Besides having their tummy full, their hearts were also filled with spiritual food, 

spoken by Ibu Hanna Sudirgo from Toronto. 

Meanwhile, Pastor Joe Sudirgo who sat with the dads and kids, 

also shared his experience about being a husband.

After lunch, the fellowship was continued at Suandi and Rini’s house. 

The moms were very grateful for this wonderful day.

Thanks to husbands who made this event possible. 

Thanks to Pastor Joe and Ibu Hanna for sharing and mentoring the families

Thanks to Rini and Suandi for helping to organize the event and opening their home

by: Sandra Nursilo

thanks Lydia Yosephine and Pungki Riadi, for the photos, and David Yuan, for taking pics.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World

 “Tangan Cici kok sekarang kasar yah,” bisik adik kepada mama ketika saya baru tiba di Jakarta dari Amerika dengan membawa anak saya yang baru berumur setahun.

“Yah begitulah tangan seorang ibu, beda dengan tangan anak gadis, “ komentar Mama

Mama saya benar. Tangan saya setelah menjadi ibu adalah tangan yang sibuk.Banyak pekerjaannya. Dari yang kotor sampai yang bersih, tangan ini pernah menyentuh semuanya. Dari membelai sampai yang mendisiplinkan, tangan ini pernah melakukannya. Tidak heran William Wallace membuat puisi yang berjudul “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Rules The World”.

Saya percaya bahwa itulah yang diimpikan oleh setiap ibu, bahwa anak yang dirawat dengan segenap hati oleh tangannya akan menjadi anak yang rule the world, anak yang hebat dan perkasa yang bisa berguna bagi dunia.

Di balik ide yang mulia ini, ada suatu campur tangan dari Sang Pencipta. Beliau, yang adalah sumber kreatifitas, merancang sebuah kehidupan sebelum kehidupan itu terjadi. Karena ada tertulis, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,” Sang Pencipta berkolaborasi dengan seorang ayah dan seorang ibu untuk menghasilkan seorang individu yang unik. Sang Pencipta menyerahkan hak untuk membesarkan dan mendidik anak kepada ayah dan ibu, seperti ada tertulis,” My son keep your father’s commandment and do not forsake your mother’s teaching,”

Tangan seorang ibu, yang merawat dan mengajar anaknya, adalah tangan yang diberkati oleh Sang Pencipta. Tangan itu adalah tangan yang mulia walaupun kasar, berotot dan berurat. Lotion dan handcream mungkin akan membuatnya halus dan lembut, namun otot dan urat tetap ada di tangan seorang ibu.

Di hari ibu ini, biarlah tangan itu dikuatkan, supaya tetap perkasa. Biarlah tangan itu dihormati, supaya tetap berharga. Biarlah tangan itu dikasihi, supaya tetap bahagia.

Untuk ibu ibu, teman sejawatku, biarlah tangan kita tetap terawat supaya sehat. Buang perasaan sebagai martir yang bisa membuat tangan itu terluka. Biarlah tangan itu rela ditopang oleh tangan Sang Pencipta yang rindu untuk melangsungkan partnership dengan kita. Sang Pencipta, walaupun Beliau memperkenalkan diriNya dengan gender laki laki yang disebut Bapak dan Putra, namun Beliau sangat mengerti perasaan seorang ibu. Bukankah ada tertulis, “…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

Marilah kita gunakan tangan kita untuk membawa anak anak itu kepada Sang Pencipta. Dengan ketekunan ketika mereka kecil. Dengan teladan senantiasa. Dengan doa kepada Sang Pencipta yang berkuasa. Marilah kita berpartner dengan tangan Sang Pencipta yang berlubang paku itu, supaya anak anak kita menemukan jati dirinya dan tempatnya di dunia ini, so they can really rule the world.

Diberkatilah kiranya tangan para wanita. Amen. 

From The Garden of Ibu Berlian Bijaksana

My garden is tiny, but it’s my favorite place at home. It is surrounded by a weeping willow, some bushes, and an ornamental pear tree. My husband built a small patio where he put garden chairs and table. I love to sit in the garden chair to enjoy the view. Today in the month of May, yellow daffodils and purple tulips display their amazing colors.The sound of birds chirping is a beautiful music to my ears. The willow is budding and the pear tree is blooming white

 Looking at those trees, I remember a verse in the Bible.

Psalm 92: 13-15.  The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

The righteous are the people who made right by the blood of Jesus Christ. People like you and me who received Christ as our personal savior. After being saved and cleansed, we cannot stay the same. A spiritual growth will happen to us.

2 Peter 3:18. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Growing in the knowledge is like the growing of palm trees. Palm tress grow quickly. They are tall but their roots are not that deep. Strong wind will easily uproot them.

Peter asked us to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ. We should learn the habit and discipline of studying the Word of God. But we must be aware that growing in knowledge solely will not enough for us. It has to be balanced with growing in grace.

Cedars of Lebanon grow slowly. They take years and years to be mature and tall. Their roots are very strong, planted deeply inside the ground. Growing in grace is like the growing of Cedars.

I will share with you, three definitions of grace

1.    Unmerited divine help given for men for his regeneration of sanctification

2.    Divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life

3.    Active force within us giving us the desire and the power to do things God’s way

To practice what we have learned in the Bible, we need grace. If we rely on ourselves to do God’s will, we will be easily frustrated.

However… take heart! Our God knows what He’s doing. The verse below tells us how God builds ourselves. He functions as a master builder here. Jesus is the pattern of how our redeemed lives suppose to be. Then He calls us one by one, by our names to set a relationship with us, with Him as the base/foundation. After the relationship is set, God is staying with us until the end, to overseer the workmanship, to invest on the project, to interfere when troubles comes or when the work overwhelms us. He never leaves us alone. What we need to do is building the personal relationship with Him.

Rome 8:29-30.  God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

Let’s us grow in knowledge, let’s grow in grace. Let’s grow like a palm tree and a cedar. Hmmm that made me thinking … Should I plant a cedar tree in my garden?

Inspired by the book : Roots of Character by Wendell Smith