Human Catapult :)

This looks like a whole lot of fun :)

So Let The Travelling Begin...

This year finally after much prodding I got my passport done. I have always wanted to travel to different countries, but could not do it earlier as I did not have enough money saved. Before stepping out of my country to see the world I thought why not check out places in India. Its cheaper, I don't have to bother about visas and I will get to experience the variety of cultures.

So this Christmas my sister and I picked our home state. We have a few friends in Bangalore, Karnataka.So there was a little extra motivation to go there. The last time I went to Bangalore I was in school, so I do not remember much about the city.

We got a really nice Govt. luxury bus, the KSRTC Airavat. The ride was quite comfortable. It was an overnight journey (around 14 hrs) and we touched Bangalore around 10ish in the morning. The moment I stepped out of the bus, I felt I was at home. I have never felt this way for any other city. It was good to hear people speak in Kannada (quite a breather from the usual Marathi in Pune)

I wanted to see the city not as a  tourist, but like a local. We got in touch with our hosts and they agreed to pick us up from a point closer to their home. We took the local bus and enjoyed the ride as it went through all the small lanes and markets. We saw a lot of colleges, churches and MNC's on our way.

We got to spend some quality time with our friends and their kids.Christmas was a quiet one:) We went out for dinner at a well known Steak place. It was worth the 1.5 hrs of travel through the maddening Bangalore traffic.

The next day we took the volvo local bus to meet another good friend. They now lived on the other end of Bangalore. This was the most expensive local bus ticket I have spent in any city (70 bucks for 26 kms). But it was fun and a very comfortable drive :) We got to see some of old Bangalore like MG Road, Brigade Road, Koramangala, etc

One of the things I take back is the visit to the 'Krispy Kreme' outlet. I am not a big fan of doughnuts. But these were heavenly. After the first bite, I turned to my sister and said "Now I have lived". All in all it was a great trip. Refreshing, exciting and a much needed one :)

Turning 30

Wow I never thought this day would come so soon. I officially am done with the twenties. I am happy and sad at the same time. But I guess it is normal to feel that way. The year that went by was unique in quite a few ways. Some of the highlights were:

Experienced that life is frail (during my first surgery)

Blessing of new friends (Nidhi, Tejal, Peter & Yagesh)

God’ protection over me

Experienced betrayal by someone I trusted the most

I am grateful to God for keeping me alive all these years and in faith for 13 years:D. He could have chosen to take my life a long time back. It’s only by His grace that I can go by everyday. I am thankful unto the Lord for saving me from my sins and giving me a new life. To know that when everything comes to an end, one day I will see Him face to face and glorify Him  for eternity :)

Bike Stunts :D

I would be happy just to ride a bicycle :P

Curious Cat ;)

This kinda sums up how I am around gifts :P

Happy Wednesday ;)

 Foresight

They will be sent in magical sonnets that travel through the air.

God is my Strength and Portion Forever

After I hit publish to the previous post I went on to the blogs I read regularly. This post from Pray for Ian encouraged my heart and hoping that you will be too.

 Psalm 73. 

God is my strength and portion forever-A Psalm my Asaph

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find no fault in them.

And they say, “How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

Tired

I am tired. Period. For  the last 6 months all I have felt is exhaustion- physical and emotional. So much has happened that I don’t think I have really had the time to comprehend what is goin on. Its like my body is coming to terms now with everything that is going on, and I am beginning to crash. I am  crying at the drop of a hat, getting upset on things that never bothered me before and I want to do is just take my blanket and go back to sleep.

I know this is just a phase and it shall pass soon. Really learning to lean on Christ at this point and keep my focus on Him. To remember He is the perfect High Priest and He can sympathize with my weaknesses. I am grateful for the Spirit within me that helps me to focus on truth even in these difficult days. 

So what makes a good story

The Boring Stuff Makes The Story-Barnabas Piper

What makes a story good? What makes it move? Action, conflict, suspense, character development, plot twists – absolutely, all of the above. And also all the stuff that we can’t see: the mundane, the rote, the grunt work, the daily tasks and habitual actions. A great story isn’t made of people brushing teeth, showering, packing a lunch and heading to work to create pivot tables. World-class novels are not composed of email responses and traffic jams and grocery shopping. But without such things the characters would never get where they needed to go and be who they need to be.

It is the mundane that allows the excitement to happen. Normalcy is the network of bridges which connects the islands of excitement. Without the boring we could never get to the good parts.

And it is the same with our stories. Much has been written about living a good story and about how we are part of a grand narrative. God is the author and we are characters. My story intersects with others to make a massive, intricate, incomprehensible plot line which only an omnipotent author could understand and direct. And so we are encouraged to “live a better story” and to “make the most out of our stories.”

But what is it that makes my story good? Describing a good story in general is easy enough, but when it’s my story it becomes complicated. For some it’s making memories. For others it is strong relationships with God and man. Or it could be acts of nobility and service. Or maybe it’s risk and thrills – living for the “experience.” Likely it is the unique combination of these which leads to peace and happiness for each individual.

An ingredient is missing from that combination, though: all the boring stuff. Without the mundane there are no “experiences” or relationships or nobility. So we must do the commonplace well. Work hard. Excel at details. Invest our minds and energy in our commutes, our cleaning, the forms we fill out, the children we bathe and feed, the meals we prepare, the teeth we brush, and correspondence we send. For, if you look close, this is really the stuff that makes the story good.

The Candy Cartel ;)

Hilarious video:P Happy Friday y'all :D

The Corporate Life

I have been working in the corporate world for more than 3 yrs now. I don’t  know if I can say I totally love it, but I don’t hate it either. Given a chance I would like to go back to the education industry as I love working with students/children ( you kinda always feel young around them;)

As a single person though, I prefer working in the corporate industry as the pay is good and I am able to support myself. Yeah, it does mean long working hours and some days are just absolutely manic. But the paycheck reminds me of why I am slogging the entire month :)

Working in a corporate can have its advantages too. Unlimited supply of coffee :D That is big for me as I am a coffee lover . I know, I know the machine coffee ain’t that great. But when you have worked in a college that is in the middle of nowhere, with no access to good food, let alone coffee, you start appreciating the little things in life :)

 

The other good part are the offsite trips with your team. When any kind of travel and stay is an all expense paid trip, you  just say yes and be happy ;) I have been fortunate enough to go to some good places, which I am grateful unto the Lord for. So as you work you  might also  have some fun on the side:)

Mid week Humour :)

Need a vacation

This year has gone by fast and it had a lot packed in it too. New job-surgery-relationships-passport application-new church and the list goes on... I don't think I really got a break. I know I went to Goa for a few days in September, but I did not get to relax. I am looking forward to the end of this month though. I have blocked leave from  25th -1st Jan and I have taken a couple of days off before :)

Hoping to celebrate my birthday with a friend in Mumbai and then later travel to Bangalore for Christmas. Right now I desperately need a change of place and people. I am literally counting each day. Hoping that this trip would be refreshing and a good start to 2014 :)

Multilingual

Growing up I never liked school. Studying, exams, Math were some of my least favorite things. Something that I would really loathe, was having to learning different languages. English was anyways the first language( I had no issues with English). Hindi being the national language became a compulsory subject ( I was ok with that as well, as i enjoyed Hindi :) The academic rules changed after a few years and they made Marathi as a compulsory third language .This one I struggled with:( 

I did not understand the purpose of learning so many languages at that time (well I did not know about the sovereignty of the Lord ;) Fast forward 20 years in the future. Here I am sitting at church singing songs in English, Hindi and Marathi able to understand what the Lord has done for me in 3 different languages :) I think today was when I thanked the Lord for those times in school :)