Category Archives: Spiritual

Dear God,

I believe You’ve placed dreams within me that are yet to be realized.
Teach me to delight myself in You as I pursue the desires of my heart.
Show me Your perfect will,
May I move as far and as fast as you wish, never less or more.

I know that You bring people and circumstances into my life for a reason.
Thank You for giving me assurance.
Thank You for giving me direction.

I commit my aspirations to You.
Give me the courage to work toward my own goals
and not be swayed by the opinions of others.
Grant me the wisdom I need to accomplish Your plans for my life
and the humility to give You the glory in them.

Love,
Your Loving Daughter
Merry Riana
(Singapore, 27th March 2011, 10:47 PM)

Need to have faith?
 

We already have faith, the only thing is where we place it.
 

I recently heard this analogy about faith. It says that “Faith is at the heart of life. You go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce, He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen. He gives you a medicine you do not understand and yet you take it.”  Now, that is living by faith !
 

We all have faith. In fact every day we act on beliefs that have little or no evidence to back them up. Every day, we are living by faith. When you on the light switch, you put faith in the electrical wiring. When you mail a letter you have faith in the SingPost (Singapore Post Service).
 

And that is also true in a spiritual sense. Just as one person has faith that God is real, an atheist has faith that there is no God. Both people hold strong beliefs, and neither person can produce evidence to absolutely prove his point of view. Right now, you already have faith in something.

I’m grateful that I grew up in a family that filled with faith. Since young, my parents always thought me to always have faith in God. Turns out, that simple lesson has really brought me to be where I am right now.
 

Even from the latest Sunday Times interview about me and my mom, She also shared the same thing.

As we get closer to the beginning of 2011. Yesterday, I did a reflection of my life in 2010 and counted my blessings. What an amazing year that I have !  And I believe I have come this far by faith, trusting, and leaning on God. And through it all through joy and pain, through sunshine and rain, it was God who brought me through.

There are some things in life you will arrive at only through faith.

I thank God for everything that He has done for me. And as much as I’ve been blessed, I hope this sharing of mine will bring blessings into your life too.

First of all, I just want to wish HAPPY EASTER to those of you who celebrate.

Today, I thought of just writing a little message about what I felt today, in this special Easter day.
Early this morning, I received message from one of my facebook friends. He wrote this quote to me
 

"The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice."

Which I think is very true. At least in my personal capacity, there is always spiritual power that motivates me and gives me a reason to keep doing what I’m doing despite the many obstacles and challenges that I’m facing.

When I went to Easter Service today, my pastor shared this very interesting story
This story is about an athlete named Eric Liddell, a great missionary and Olympic champion. A lot of people admire this man because he was an incredible athlete, and because of the way he held so strongly to what he believed to be right.

“When I run, I feel God’s presence,” are the words of the young athlete called Eric Liddell.
Eric was born in China to missionary parents on January 16, 1942. In his early childhood years, the Liddell family moved from China to Scotland, and then later to London, England. Eric’s outstanding skills for running began when he was still in his teens. At sixteen, his time of 10.2 seconds broke his school record for the 100-yard race. Although running was his favorite of all sports, he also enjoyed being the captain of his school’s rugby and cricket teams. Even though he always beat everyone else in sports, the praise never went to his head. This young man always remained humble, and never became overly proud. He knew that his accomplishments were the result of a lot of hard work. When he was twenty-two, he tried out for the Olympics and made it onto the British team.

One of the reasons why Eric Liddell is an extraordinary hero is because he refused to run on a Sunday. When he heard that the first Olympic 100 meter race was to be held on this day, he boldly said, “I’m not running.” He believed that this day was special, and he never had run on a Sunday before. So instead of being on the track that Sunday with all of the other racers, Eric was at church. His country called him a traitor, and it seemed like the world had turned its back on him, but Eric held onto his beliefs; even to the point when the Prince of Wales begged him to change his mind! Eric’s resolution not to run was so strong that he turned down the Prince’s pleadings, as well as his country’s.

Although it seemed that Eric had let Britain down, he showed what he could do in the next competition. In the 400 meter race, Eric beat the runner-up by an amazing fifteen meters! He won the Olympic gold and the world record for the race. Later, although he was now a famous celebrity, Eric decided to return to his family who had moved back to China. There he became a missionary to the Chinese people.

This man was a hero because he was not afraid to stand up for what he believed was right. Eric also showed perseverance in always trying to do his best till the very end. I think that these are some of the characteristics that make a person a true hero.

The message that I want to share with all of you today is this: I know many times I keep emphasizing that for anyone to succeed, they need to find a strong WHY. They need to have a strong reason on why they want to achieve what they want to achieve. And I believe I find out the strongest reason when I know my life purpose. The moment I knew what is the main reason I’m being put here on earth, I never lost my motivation ever again.

“The purpose of my life is to be significant as God’s living miracle, enjoying every moment and pieces of my miraculous life with my loved ones and testifying my blessed life story to the world as a gift of love for myself and others.”

     – Merry Riana –

One of he reason that is stopping people from becoming successful is because they are afraid to be successful.
You might be thinking in your head right now: "How is it possible that people are afraid to be successful? What is it that they are afraid of?"

You will be surprised, but in many occasions during my seminars, a few of participants have shared the same concern. They worried that if they become rich, or famous, or too successful, than people might think that they will be boastful and arrogant, and that's why they prefer just to be mediocre rather than outstanding. In my personal opinion, actually money, fame and success are neither good or bad, they are neutral. It's the person who owns them who will decide whether to use it for good or not.

Another possible reason that stopping people from achieving their success is the "I don't deserve" mentality. Some people always have this questions asked on the back of their mind:  " Who am I to be successful, happy, and beautiful ?"  Well, who are you Not you to be ?

I would like to share with you one of my favorite poem. Every time I read it, it never fail to give me positive energy and inspiration. 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,talented & fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~by Miriam Williamson~

It is really a very powerful poem, and it has strengthen my belief that I am here for a reason, I am here for a greater purpose, and I was born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within me.

I received this message from my Facebook yesterday. (for privacy reason, the name is not be shown)
 

It is my greatest joy to know that my life experiences and my success journey has made an impact in the life of others.
 

As much as I've been inspired by many successful people out there, I do too want to be an inspiration for others.
As much as I've been blessed, I too, do my best to be a blessing for others.

Last time I used to have this "Personal Mentorship Experience" where I dedicated certain portion of my time every week to mentor young people, but due to my schedule, I wasn't able to do that anymore. But I'm doing my best to always be accessible and offer my help for those who need it. Most of the time they can connect with me thru my Facebook or my email which I will answer it personally. Sometimes If I do have a chance, I'll chat with them on facebook too

True success in life is not measured by how much you make, but how much of a difference you make in others.

So, don't be afraid to be successful, and don't think that you don't deserve it. Because believe me, EVERYONE of us deserve to live our best life!

Always choose to be successful. Always choose to be outstanding.
Then, use your blessings to bless those around you too.

When was the last time you prayed? ….

Seriously! Was it just a few minutes ago? Was it this morning before you go to work? Was it last week? or Was it many years ago until you can't even remember?    

Well, if you already answer my 1st question, then help me to answer my 2nd question. What did you pray for?   …    

Did you pray for a good health? Did you pray for you to have more strength? Did you pray for wisdom? etc…  

Now my 3rd questions …  

Have you ever thought that maybe, we don't really need to ask for all those things?  

Maybe we already have all those things. Maybe everything that mentioned above are already within us. When God created us, He created us with wisdom, strength, knowledge, and all the positiveness that a person could ever have. So when we already have all those things, does it mean that we don't need to pray anymore?   Definitely not. We still need to pray, but instead of asking for those things mentioned above, I believe the most important thing for us to ask is to have FAITH.  

One of my mentors recently shared this analogy with me. He said that we are similar like TVs. When you see a TV that is not on, you will not be able to see anything, or hear anything. But you actually know that everything is actually inside the TV: the movie, the sound, the motion picture, etc. There are many channels that you can access and there are many things that you can enjoy. All you need to do is to turn on the TV.  

Similarly like our lives. We as an individuals are full of potential, everything is already inside us, but we need to have FAITH to 'on' it and to be able to see it.  

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible  

So remember, the next time you pray. Ask for FAITH !  

The FOUR BLESSED LOOKS:

Look back and Thank God

Look forward and Trust God

Look around and Serve God

Look within and Find God

I am very blessed with everything that I have today.

These things are definitely not easy to have been achieved, and I should give thanks to God knowing that He plays a big role in each and every one of them. There were many nights when I couldn’t seem to fall asleep as there was so much on my mind.

Sometimes I was just worried about my business, worried about my work, or even worried about my personal life. There were also times when I couldn’t find any solutions or even when I was just so anxious about few things.

But how did I manage to go thru that? The answer is because I learned how to  Let Go and Let God.

(photo: Courtesy of my talented cousin, Joshua)

“Let go and let God”, a phrase we hear often in our circle of Christian community, but what does it mean?

Well, probably I’ll try to explain it by using a simple story. 

One Sunday evening a man was out walking, but he had become so engrossed in his own thoughts that, without realizing, had wandered far off and was now completely lost. It was getting late and cold and would soon be dark. He began to feel afraid and his steps became quicker and unsteady.

Suddenly, something underneath him gave way and he fell. He tumbled down and down and just as he was about to fall over a cliff, he managed to grab onto a branch. But, he was now just hanging there; no way to climb back up and nothing but darkness below him.

Help! Somebody!! Please…Help me!" he cried out. …But no one came; it was a desolate place. He was terrified. His hands were freezing cold and he was losing his grip on the branch. There was no one to help!! In sheer desperation this man, who was an atheist, call out to God, "Please…please…if you're there…God…please help me, save me and I will believe in you always!!" Suddenly, and to his amazement, a voice echoed all around him, "Trust Me….Let Go…. I've Got You… Trust In Me." The man looked around him and below him and thought for a moment, then he mumbled to himself, "Let go? Trust? You must think I'm mad?? No way!"

This story doesn't always end like this but I think that many people find themselves in this man's situation. Sometimes we were caught in a desperate situation where all our deepest instincts are telling us just to let go, to surrender ourselves to God and trust Him. But we are so full of doubt and fear that we just cling on instead and solely depend on our own strength.

The alternate ending to this story is that the desperate man decides to let go. He falls into the void below, but moments later he finds himself on solid ground. It had been so dark that he could never have known that the ground was no more than about 5m below. He was safe and unharmed. What's more, it turns out that the ground he has landed on is a pathway; the pathway he had been searching for all along – the route home!

This whole story is a lovely metaphor for having the courage to trust and to surrender everything to God. Be it in my business or personal life, this understanding really helps me a lot.

As a human I can only do the best for my part. The outcome is something that I have no control of. But now I have no worries because I know and I believe that God will take care of it.

When I was a teenager, my teacher always taught me: “Do your best and God will do the rest”.

That is very true, but I’ve also learned that the only way He can do the rest is when we start to let go and let God do His work.

Sometimes, if we don’t let go, it may even intervene with what He wants to do. So, my job now become very simple. In every single thing that I do every single day I just need to always do my best, let go and let God do the rest =)

I just did my talk in NUS this evening. It was part of my non-profit project that I have, which is called Pay It Forward. It was a wonderful session, and I enjoyed myself sharing my experiences with the students there

Not long ago, I received a message in my facebook from one of the student who attended my talk earlier on. He told me that he has been working hard to pursue his dream but he is still far from what he wanted to be. He asked me how can he know when to stop and when to continue doing?

It is actually an interesting questions, why I said interesting?? Because I believe many of us, including myself had probably asked that kind of question to ourselves sometimes.
So I decided to write this blog to answer his interesting question.

If you are wandering what will be my answer? Well… follow this closely..

In my opinion, whether you are not sure about what you do is the correct thing or whether is this the correct choice for you, or whether is this something that will help you in the future, there’s only 3 tips that I want to share with you.

1. Just Take Action first!

It is better to make a wrong decision rather than make no decision. So if you are not sure, you are still doubtful, just go for it first, if not then you wouldn’t know
 

2. Take Action wholeheartedly

This is important because I believe the quality of your action will determine the quality of your results. There is a huge different in results from someone who really give 100% in whatever that he do, and those people who just doing it for the sake of doing it.
You might think that you already working very hard by working 10-14 hrs per day. But I’m sorry to tell you that working hard is not only determine by how many hrs you worked.

Once you know the first 2 steps, by now you probably will still ask the ultimately question which is when do you give up on one pathway in life and move to another? When do you quit?

This is the time where I’m going to share with you the 3rd key, which is Faith !

3. Have FAITH

I believe in one thing: “Do your best and God will do the rest”
I believe that as long as I’ve done my part, taking action and giving my 100%, I’ll let God lead me to where He want me to be and what He want me to do.

And how would I know that? Well, If this is the ‘right’ thing for me, I'm sure He will make me see progress and growth. He will give me passion towards what I’m doing and He will also give me sense of fulfillment. Somehow I’ll find peace and I just know it.

Similarly, when do I know whether I should give up on one pathway in life and move to another? The answer is simple, when I have an alternative path that will give me more growth, passion and fulfillment.