Who do you say I am?

This very question was asked by Jesus to Peter, in the book of Matthew.

Probably many Pastors and Christians with the knowledge of Christ written in the Bible will be able to answer the same way as Peter did, as his reply to Jesus was, “You are Christ, Son of the living God.”

What we hear from the leaders in Church or even read from the bible or books about God is termed as Knowledge. To put it simply Knowledge is the information or awareness gained through experience or education.

While Understanding is defined as knowing or realising the intended meaning or cause of something, it can also mean an intepretation or view of a particular thing.

It is said that Knowledge is greater than understanding, and one without another is incomplete.

I think this concept of Knowledge is greater than understanding can be applied over many things. However I realised that when it comes to making sense of this thing known as life, understanding is just as important.

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How do we apply knowledge and understanding to our own lives?

Case in point, when it comes to difficulties we experience through life, knowledge is not enough.

I might know that I am experiencing some form of difficulty or problem or even what caused it, but understanding will be more crucial here; why I am going through it?

Often we just see on the surface why we have to encounter a difficulty or trial in life.

When we analyse the situation from a logical perspective, it may be a consequence of an earlier decision we made. Also surrounded with well-meaning friends or relatives, who will remind us constantly, saying “It’s your own fault, you did this and that, you made the choice.”

Or it might be that we are participants of decisions that others selfishly make (i.e., in a family unit), or a victim of circumstances (we are just placed in that situation without any intervention of our own action).

If I take the regular church-goer Christian perspective of, “I am experiencing this, as God wants to humble me. Or that I need to count my blessings…” I would have just skimmed the surface of something deeper.

When I look deeper, I believe there is a purpose for difficulties and trials to change us to be a better person.

 

What if, it is more than just ME?

But what if, we took it a step further and see things from God perspective, everything we encounter a difficulty and trial, and ask this same question. “Who do I say He is?”

If I choose to see it simply, I think trials and difficulties fulfilled these 3 things;

1. Refine our characters

2. Build a greater revelation and understanding of God in our lives. This means to know God personally, as He can and will speak personally to address our problems and trials (this includes the solutions). Not just what is preached in the pulpits, or shared by others.

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3. Help us develop an identity of ‘who we are’ and ‘Whose we are.’

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It all comes down to our relationship and understanding of who God is; which translates to developing our identity of ‘Who we are in Christ’ and a greater revelation of God.

If we can seek God to refine us, and also come to an understanding of these things every time we face any difficulty. The purpose of these difficulties and trials would have fulfilled its purpose in our lives, and that’s when it will usher in the breakthroughs.

A life journey walking with God is not rocket science, it’s religion that complicates it. It is actually very simple, yet profound. I know this works, as I have experienced it in my life.

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It’s often our quest for knowledge that complicates, as I don’t need a theological degree to share all that. All it takes is time seeking Him.

Don’t resent your difficulty or trial either by shaking your fist towards God, and feel resentment towards Him for allowing the trial.

Instead, start asking yourself this question, “So who do I say He is?”

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It’s worth spending that 47 minutes of time to listen to this and think about how much of these Names of God you truly know and understand.

Click on this video below and listen to the lyrics in this song ‘Names of God’.

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Pinned it, Made it – Geometric Blocks

I have been spending time browsing through Pinterest and found so many good ideas for Home Decor display items.

One of the design decor ideas that I mentioned in a recent post that I will be adopting for the home will Geometric Designs, and I spotted this item; Geometric Blocks that I really liked.

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The only limitation is that most of these things are available in US and it can get rather costly to get them shipped to Singapore :( So I decided to make my own version of Geometric blocks.

Plain wooden blocks can be easily found at Daiso, and it is sold in a pack of 12 for SGD $2, so I bought 3 packs of 32 blocks and together with these other materials,

Geometric Blocks 1

Materials needed to make Geometric Blocks;

32 Wooden Blocks

Sandpaper

Gouche or Acrylic Paint

Brushes and a Paint Palette

Washi tape or masking tape

1. Sandpaper the surface of the wooden blocks, before paint is applied

Geometric Blocks 2

2. Use washi or masking tape and tape on a block cross diagonally to create a triangular shape

Geometric Blocks 3

Geometric Blocks 4

4. Apply paint on the triangular area on the block, taking care not to let paint drip to the sides of the block

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5. Paint triangles on all 32 blocks on all six sides, one colour at the time.

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6. There you have it, Geometric Blocks. Each block has 6 sides to it, so you can select a colour palette of 6 different shades that are complementary to one another.

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As I went with 32 cubes, of 6 sides each, it can work out to quite a number of sections on total number of cubes to paint. Then the cube was finished with a paint setting spray.

This project (including drying time for the paint) was completed in 2 sessions of 2 hours each. Rather time consuming, but the final outcome of the decor item was worth the effort.

There are likely many permutations of geometric patterns that can be created with 32 blocks with 6 sides each, and I haven’t found the time to explore how much patterns can be created with this.

But I love this decor item as it is interactive, and not static like most decor items or shelving displays.

And most of all I made it myself!

Geometric Blocks 8

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The Home Decor Project – My 8 Year Old’s Room

(NOT a sponsored post)

I have always been a very visual person with a passion for design and crafts, but have never been formally trained in any form of art or design.

So putting together details and decor for a space got me rather enthusiastic and I was all game to transform this room into a space that Kyle will be drawn to and enjoy spending time in.

I wanted to re-use some of the furniture, namely, the baby changing table, an item we purchased for Kyle since he was an infant and minimise buying new furniture for his room.

Nonetheless, we went with three items from IKEA.

Kyle s room 1

 (L to R): Micke Desk with integrated storage $99, Micke Drawer unit on castors $89 and MALM Bedframe (super-single) with 2 Drawer Units $449

I think IKEA furniture is good for a growing child’s room, as it is affordable. But since it is hardly durable, it becomes a necessity to update the furniture after 3-4 years.

IKEA furniture can look generic, i.e., you can probably find 10,001 other copies of children’s room that will look the same as your child’s room if you don’t make the point to decorate the room with other items. Can totally understand why IKEA Hackers exist, as I would likely fall under that category of consumers if I had more wood-working knowledge and time on my hands.

So with a lack of knowledge of how to hack furniture, the next best thing I can do to a room is to put together stuff tastefully.

The Room BEFORE Kyle s Room 2

 

The Room AFTER

Kyle s Room 4

The neutral shades that are fundamentally in his room are white, grey, black and brown. The grey curtains darkens the room, but the room needed curtains that blocked out the sun, especially during weekend mornings so that the boy can sleep in on non-school days. Besides I abhorred the design of the curtain that came with the house.

I layered multiple sources of lights to the room with table lamps and other lighting near the dark curtains to create a warmer ambience.

Kyle s Room 7

The shades of blues, greens and primary colours from the art and plants in the room adds some vibrancy and creates a more personalised touch to his room.

Kyle s Room 14

The accessories for the room such as the ‘block out lights’ curtains, potted plants, lamps and other lights (fairy lights from IKEA, others from Lazada.com), cork board from Art-Friend work out to be less than $200.

All artwork in the room is by Kyle created over the past 1 year, some are on canvas, while others have been mounted on cardboard.

Air Balloon Hanging Mobile near window is handmade, patterns and instructions can be found on the blog here.

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Kyle s Room 9

Except for the one with ‘washi-frames’, which were very old but much-loved postcards of dogs that I kept for years, that were dugged up from the dusty boxes from the rental storeroom space.

Kyle s Room 6

The most challenging part of decorating the room has to be fitting the old furniture into his room; the baby changing table, a 5 year old table and IKEA plastic chair.

The old changing table is now a book shelf. All I did was to reduce the number of books that Kyle has, by keeping those that he currently likes and read and having a decluttering sale to clear the rest of the other books through my Facebook page. So with less books, I am able to brighten the shelf with some green but artificial plants.

Kyle s Room 8

I have created a little Lego building / reading nook behind his bed, and brighten it up with ambient lights and the boy helped me put up more of his artwork on the side of the bed.

I am still toying with the idea of up-cycling the old table and plastic chair, but until I am done with fitting in the furniture and work on the decor for the other rooms, I will work on this table and chair at a later time.

Kyle s Room 13

So far Kyle loves being in his room, as it is not just a comfortable place to sleep but a cosy place for him to read and play as well.

I am sure this space will continue to evolve, but before I work on anything, I am sure to run the ideas by him first. I have made a point to ask for his input on various things in his room and included him in on the planning, as I want him to feel like he is a big part of the planning process for the decor of his room.

When we move again in 2-3 years time, he will definitely be included in the process of the design of his space in the home.

Kyle s Room 5

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