Month: April 2025

Permission to Pause: Taking a Break without Guilt

Do you dare to stop and pause?

Do you feel guilty when you take a break?

Do you need permission to enjoy a “me-time”?

I am kind of going through a funk, where I am doing a little above minimum and constantly procrastinating, then feeling guilty for not being productive and wasting time (scrolling through social media). I feel there are many things on my plate, big rocks and small pebbles, crowding my life. I spend almost as much time and energy attempting to do my work as avoiding them, especially when they don’t have urgent deadlines.

Rest is God’s Design

During this time, God is reminding me that He has established a time to work and a time to rest, just like what He did in the creation of the world. Our bodies are designed to rest after work, or it will break down and insist upon it. There is always enough time to do the work God has assigned to us. So if we are feeling overwhelmed, it is a sign that we are overloading ourselves with non-essential work and/or inundated with distractions.

“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.”

— Genesis 2:2 (NLT)​

Jesus Invites us to Rest

In this hectic life, we are constantly striving. It has become a norm – we sometimes forget to ask what are we really striving for. Jesus is inviting us and giving us permission to take a break from the hustle bustle of life. He invites us to rest and trust in His providence, His protection and in His timing.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

— Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

Stillness Reveals God’s Presence

In the midst of all the noise, it is only in the stillness that we can listen to the soft whisper of God’s voice. He wants us to be still in His presence. He wants us to experience Him in the stillness.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

— Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: give yourself permission to take a break without guilt, and be still in God’s presence as He refreshes your soul.

Stuck for 38 Years? Get Up and Walk

Have you been stuck so long and you can’t remember what it was like before being stuck? Or are you waiting for the perfect time or circumstances to get unstuck?

The Guy at the Pool of Bethesda

This is the Bible story of a guy who was sick for 38 years, who tried without success to enter the Pool of Bethesda to get healed. I couldn’t help but wonder, how on earth could he be stuck for so long?! Then I realize: it might not be 38 years, but there are some areas of my life that I have been stuck for the longest time!

Jesus’ Question

Jesus asked the man: Do you want to be well? John 5:6

It might seem obvious, but the man didn’t answer Jesus in the affirmative. He replied, “I have no one to help me… Someone else goes down ahead of me” – John 5:7

I can’t help feeling this reply is so familiar! We always find excuses or justification for being stuck. This begs the question: do we really want to be healed? Have we been so comfortable being stuck, and our identity has become ingrained in it, that we unconsciously sabotage our efforts towards healing? Has the mat we are lying on become our so-called “security blanket”, like how a child clings to his/her security blanket for comfort and security?

Jesus’ Command

Then Jesus said to him, “Get Up! Pick up your mat and walk” – John 5:8

The man didn’t need the Pool of Bethesda, because he has Jesus to heal him. All that is required is his obedience – to get up, pick up his mat and walk.

All of us have our little “mats” that we are lying on and keeping us stuck – limiting beliefs, fear of change or fear of failure, past hurts and unforgiveness, waiting for perfect conditions, relying on others to help us, etc. And we have our metaphorical “Pool of Bethesda” – external circumstances, traditions or rituals that we rely on.

What Jesus is commanding us to do is to get up from lying on the fake “security blanket” mat and walk in obedience and faithfulness to God. Then true healing comes, and with it, freedom.

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: Get Up! Pick up your mat and walk.

From Scarcity to Blessed Abundance

I started my personal blog in 2019 as a gift to myself – and to share my journey from scarcity to abundance. I was always worried about money, and anxious about almost everything. So when God revealed Michael Hyatt’s article, “Perceived Scarcity in a World of Outrageous Abundance” – I had an epiphany!

Perceived Scarcity

Social media is a constant reminder of what we think we’re missing out – vacations, promotions, and achievements that others are posting on their social media. We compare other people’s highlight reels with our mundane daily lives, and feel that we are lacking, or not good enough.

It is a perceived scarcity because we fail to recognise the many blessings and achievements we have. When we look back at how far we have travelled, we should be so proud of what we have achieved. We are constantly worried about being good-enough, achieving-enough, and social media-worthy! We fail to remember – we have our own paths and our standards to live by, not someone else’s! And God has His divine plan for each one of us.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:31-33

Outrageous Abundance

Yes, not just abundance – OUTRAGEOUS ABUNDANCE!!! This really knocked me off my socks. I absolutely loved this idea of Outrageous Abundance. God excels in doing the impossible – and He can certainly do Outrageous Abundance – when we ask for it and seek His will for us.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” – Ephesians 3:20

From Scarcity to Abundance

It was a profound mindset shift – and it is through the Lens of Gratitude that we travel through our lives to make this shift from scarcity to abundance. It is also a call to pursue our boldest wildest divine dreams.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” – Psalm 100:4

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: dare to ask God for – Outrageous Abundance..