Please follow the amazing blog of my sister, Felecia Wong.

My dear sister is currently in Indonesia with her three kids, spending Christmas break with us. She is my oldest sister &  the Early Childhood specialist for VITA School. She has such a big heart & vision for children’s growth & parenting in Indonesia.

Greater things are yet to come,

Isaac

Wow, it’s been a year since i wrote my last post. Blogging was one of my resolutions that i couldn’t accomplish last year.

I really hope that i can accomplish it in this year & make it a habit to write at least three times in a week. Would you please help me in this? So yeah, i just stated one of my resolutions publicly & if i didn’t make it, please slap my face when you meet me.

2011 has been such a great year, filled with ups and downs. But above everything else God is always good & faithful to me. Many unexpected things happen in my life, and it was only by God’s grace.

Only by His grace.

What i am thankful for 2011:

• Family. My family has never been this strong.
• My Relationship with the one i love.
• New friends, community, & connection.
• Business Opportunity in the beginning of the year, but God then shut the door for me.
• Growth in my work at VITA School.
• Photography Business with my longest best friend!
• Mission Trips to Papua where i live in an island with no electricity, no internet connection, no phone connection. Somewhere out there
• More business Opportunities for 2012.

I really believe that 2012 will be such an amazing year. There is this assurance from God that this year will be an extraordinary one. God spoke to me through several people about what He is going to do in me. The vision & dreams are still on.

I am excited.

But above everything else, Let it be done according to His will.

The steps of righteous are ordered by the LORD, & He delights in his way – Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)

Isaac

This picture was taken in Jimbaran, Bali in December 2010.

My oldest sister came visit us from the States with her husband and three little kids for a month at the end of 2010. It was full of joy. Seriously. I really thank God that we could celebrate Christmas 2010 together as a family. My mom said that this is like a dream because the last time we celebrate Christmas together was back in Fresno three years ago, when Baby Carson was still in his mom’s tummy and the fact that bringing three kids from US to Indonesia is quite a challenge.

This was the first time for my nieces and nephew celebrating this joyful season in Indonesia. They were happy, even though there were no white Christmas, and not even some cold weather. But, the warmth of the family & this beautiful family gathering are just way better than anything, and what even better is the understanding that God loves us so much and His extravagant love just fills our heart ’till it overflows. Thank you, Lord.

http://IsaacMunandar.tumblr.com

and follow me on twitter @IsaacMunandar

Cheers

-iSaac

The book of proverbs is one of my daily read. I read it every day along with my devotional schedule. One chapter for each day. I find it most interesting when I realize that I always get new understanding every time I read my bible, especially this book.

This book filled with powerful wisdom, written by the most successful, the wisest, and the richest KING in the entire history. This book contains his advice on how to live well. He wanted us to appreciate wisdom and knowledge, and make them the most precious thing on earth, which I couldn’t agree for more. I think in this blog, I will write quite a lot of stuff about proverbs. It’s never cease to amaze me how powerful the word of God is.

In my devotional today, I was reminded again how important it is to do regular self “check-up” in certain parts in my life. The Proverbs 4:23-27 (MSG) says:

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that’s where life starts.
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust.”

These words were written so that we can live up to the fullest; live a maximized life and be person of significance. We are here in this world for a purpose.

Four important things to check ourselves up:

• HEART: Check if our heart is clean. If yes, that’s great; if not, let’s find a way to make it clean. Don’t hold any grudge. Do not have unrest heart. This is the first and the most important in our life. Heart is the wellspring of life. The heart of the matter is the matter of heart.
• MOUTH: Make sure we use our mouth for good things only. Gossiping is sometimes enjoyable, but it will not bring our life any better, and even worse. There is no such thing as white lies; it is still lies. Mean every thing we say. Proverbs talk a lot about how we use our mouth. Guard our mouth well. Stop cursing; be thankful all the time.
• EYES: Fix our eyes upon God, one and only. Live in purity and holiness through guarding our eyes. Lust mostly comes from letting our eyes to see everything. Feels good, but it’s a temporary. Put our eyes to what is unseen, because what is unseen is eternal. Which one do you want, temporal pleasure or eternal happiness?
• FEET: are we still walking on the right path? On the track that God has prepared for us? How about the narrow path? Carrying our daily cross and living in the purity and holiness relate to the path that we take. And it is really getting out from our comfort zone. Living in holiness is definitely outside from our comfort zone. The word of God is the lamp unto my feet. Asking God what to do, way even before we make that move.

I realized that in entering 2011 with this big vision and huge dreams, I could only depend on God who gave me the vision in the beginning and He is the source of my strength and the center of my joy. Once the vision is casted, the provision will follow from above. He is the one who enable me to do all things, for His glory. To achieve the maximum and to be my best, I start with this regular check-up every day and make sure that I get everything right.

How about you?

will try to keep this blog updated everyday #OneofMy2011Resolutions

There were mountains & obstacles I’ve been facing this year, but there were also many great things I have had.

A lot of great experiences I’ve had
A lot of great & successful people I’ve met and learned from
A lot of cool leaders I’ve had an honor to know
A lot of new things I’ve learned
A lot of miracles I’ve had
A lot of wisdom & understanding i’ve received

Everything happened only by the grace of God. Only by the fact that He loves me so much.

And I’m humbled.

This year, I’ve learned a lot about giving, and I feel that it is the key central of ever good things I’ve experienced.

I started 2010 with 40 days fasting, putting my seed, and laid down my resolution to HIM.

Even though some of the mountains and obstacles are still there, I know it for sure that the victory is in my hand!

2010 is also the year when I realized that Indonesia is the country where I belong. I’m glad that I now live in Indonesia, make a living in here, try my best to bring great impacts.

Thank you Jesus for 2010. It’s only by Your grace.

Many ups and downs, Many tears and laughs, Many learning and re-learning process, and so on. It is a humbling experience for me if i look back to the point where i started. There are still great and big things are yet to come in me and in my workplace.

One side-job that i like to do in here is photographing kids. Their smile and laugh is just priceless.

Matthew 19:14 (NLT):

“But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

-Isaiah 40:31

I accidentally read this verse last week at my workplace, and somehow tears just falling off my eyes. I don’t know why, but this verse just struck heart, and i had this amazing feeling about God’s love to me; How He loves me so much. His love is so deep, more than i can stand; I was overwhelmed. I had this really nice & sweet encounter with God for couple minutes.

Portland, OR is my second home. I enjoy almost everything that it has to offer. One of my favorite things about this city is the bridges. There are in total 16 bridges to connect the east & west side of portland. The bridge in the picture is called Railroad bridge; it is basically a very old bridge, which only used for small train. It has the rusty look during the day, but look beautiful at night. I took this picture on October 2008 during my fall break. I used bulb-mode to get this long-shutter pict. It was fun, and i wish i could take more pictures of Portland bridges. I took this picture using my older D40x with 50 mm 1.4

I took this one with my iPhone while i was driving. I have this cool feeling every time i drive through Fremont Bridge, especially on the west bound (the upper side). The view from this bridge is just exhilarating. Got to stop breathing for seconds to enjoy the view You can see almost everything of southwest Portland; the downtown, the pearl district, and the uptown.

I still remember i took this picture at around 5.30 am, on my way home from Seattle, WA, which i had a special story behind it. Got to write that in the later post.