Your Spouse Is A Gift

(From "Wife After God" book by Jennifer Smith)

Your husband is a gift from God...

It is important to see your husband and yourself as gifts to each other everyday you have together, for that will influence how you treat each other.

The marriage relationship is also a magnificent gift in that you and your husband have the opportunity to bless to others. Your marriage is a ministry where you and your husband can work together as a team to fulfill the needs of people around you, to show hospitality, to pray for people, to show compassion, to love by reflecting Christ's love as you mirror His image.

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for the gift you have blessed me with, my husband and our marriage. Please forgive me for not always receiving this gift with thankfulness and joy. I pray that you would transform my heart and my perspective so that I may always recognize this powerful gift.

I desire to have a deep appreciation for my husband that helps me treat him really good. May your Holy Spirit remind me daily of this precious gift. I pray for my husband to understand that I am a gift, as well. Reveal to him this truth like you revealed it to me.

Thank you for caring about us so much that you would give us the opportunity to experience marriage. May we live as a team to minister to others. May our hearts be sensitive to where you are calling us and to whom you are asking us to bless. May we be prepared to give as you ask of us, regardless of how big or small. I pray that others would see your love story reflected through our love.

In Jesus's name, AMEN!


When you see your husband next, picture God handling him to you as a gift, and receive your gift by hugging your husband.

Diamond In The Rough

This morning I had a devotion from "Wife After God" book by Jennifer Smith. And I wanna share to you a bit, what she said in the chapter that I read about Diamond In The Rough...

***

Diamonds have always been treasured as highly sought after gemstones throughout human history. They are resilient, strong, and beautiful. Diamonds are formed beneath the weight of the world. Despite the harsh conditions required to form a diamond, its name is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning unbreakable.

You are like a diamond; however, your worth is far greater! As you journey through life you will endure harsh conditions. There are so many different pressures that you may face daily. Pressures to be better, to be a superwoman, a wife that manages perfectly or a mom who does it all. Ridicule, rules, standards, and unrealistic expectations: chains wrapped around your heart, pushing against your soul, forcing you to conform to the world.

However, that is not the message found in the love story of Christ! Rather, His love says you are worth more and with Him you are unbreakable!

Like a diamond endures through time resulting in an exqusite sought after gem, you can endure every season and circumstance allowing each one to refine you, resulting in an exquisite God-fearing woman who is worthy, far more than diamonds, you are worthy! You are resilient, you are strong, you are beautiful!

***

Dear Lord,

There are so many pressures in my life. I feel heavy burdens at times and I also feel insecure that I don't always measure up to people's standards. I pray that you remind me daily to find hope in you, to rely on you and to trust what you say about me. Your opinion is truly the only one that matters!

Thank you for being my source of strength to persevere, my everything. May you continue to transform me into the woman you created me to be. Help me to see myself as beautiful. May your Holy Spirit guide me through every season, every circumstance, every pressure and every moment of intensity.

I pray that I can be a wife who endures for the sake of her marriage. Please bless my husband and release him of the burdens of this world. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

The pressure of this world cannot destroy me if I place my hope in God.

Wife After God

We love young couples! (Because we are still young couple too, hehe.. and going to celebrate our 1st anniversary soon, yay!) Meeting and sharing experience with them is really fun and also encouraging. They can understand how different it is to live as a single, and to live as a husband/wife. Our season of life has changed.. and our life as a wife suddenly become busier than before! Ha! Especially if you live in a different country, where you have no family or house maid around and have to do everything by yourself.. :p

Most of the problem is, after we get married (especially later if we already have kids), it seems like it's harder to give our time for God than when we were still single. One of my friends said that she even doesn't have a devotion time at all anymore. And I can understand that.

Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 7:34 that... "An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband."

When I was still single, I could get up every morning without thinking about anything else beside God. But now, everytime I get up, there is my husband beside me :p And I need to prepare his breakfast and lunch box very early in the morning. I agree that life as a wife is very busy, but it doesn't mean that you can't have time for God :)

Maybe our ways to do devotion now will be different than before. But it's okay! God wants us to be creative and try to find a new way to seek Him everyday. Here are some things that I do to build my personal relationship with God everyday as a wife, and maybe you can do the same thing too ;)

***

1. Everytime we get up (usually around 5 AM) we pray together on bed. I know we are still very sleepy, haha.. but short prayer it does matter in God's eyes :) Usually we say thanks to God for a new day, pray for one another and ask God for His protection and blessing.

2. After that prayer, my husband gets ready for work and I need to prepare his food. And after he leaves, that's the time when I can have my personal devotion at home. My husband also has his personal devotion in the car. We have a different way in doing devotion. My husband loves listening, so he does it by listening to the sermon or worship songs in a radio. He also loves to pray in a car (with eyes open of course :p) I love reading and writing. So I really need to sit down, open my Bible, read a book and write a journal. Right now I'm using a devotion book called "Wife After God" by Jennifer Smith. It is a 30-Day Devotional Book, and it's very good! Inside this book there are Bible verses that you need to read, reflection, prayer, questions and also challenge that you need to do to your husband everyday :)

3. Other things that you can do is to manage your activity during the day. Instead of checking your Facebook (or other social media), you can read a good Christian book. Or if you don't like reading, you can listen to a short sermon at reviveourhearts.com and you can listen to it while you're doing something else. Sometimes I also like to turn on a worship songs playlist at home. Maybe this can be a good idea for you.

4. After a busy day, we always close our day with a devotion time together. Sometimes we read from ODB (Our Daily Bread), but right now we are using a devotion book called "Day By Day With God" that we just got from our church. We read together and then pray together before we sleep (this time our prayer is longer than the morning one, lol). It's really good to have your husband as your spiritual partner. But if he still doesn't want, you can always have a personal devotion by yourself and keep praying for your husband :)

***

We need God in our everyday life and we need to make Him as our first priority. Let's be the wife after God!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

- Proverbs 31:30

Recommended Books For Wives (and Husbands too!)

Kalo dulu waktu masih single, bacanya buku-buku seperti: I Kissed Dating Good Bye, Boy Meets Girl, Lady in Waiting, When God Writes Your Love Story, and beberapa buku lainnya yang kamu bisa klik di sini:

http://marcellaflaorenzia.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/recommended-reading.html

But sekarang udah jadi istri, bacaannya ikut berubah juga :p Apalagi nanti kalo udah hamil and udah punya anak-cucu ya, pasti beda-beda lagi bacaannya, haha.. Never stop reading and never stop learning! :) So, kali ini aku mau share list beberapa buku yang aku udah punya dan udah baca, atau ada juga yang lagi dibaca saat ini, or kepengen baca tapi aku belom punya, haha.. but I know that these all are good books :) Happy Reading!

***

Created To Be His Help Meet (Debi Pearl)

Created To Need a Help Meet (Michael Pearl)

Ini hadiah dari ci Lia waktu aku and DM tunangan.. so special and berguna banget :)

Sacred Marriage (Gary Thomas)

Yang ini dibeliin DM :) Plus ada 52 devotions juga di dalemnya..

You Can Be The Wife of A Happy Husband (Darien B. Cooper)

Yang ini pemberian dari mama mertua, hehe.. but yang versi bahasa Indo.. Ini buku lama banget terbitan tahun 1974, but it's a very good book!

The Act Of Marriage (Tim & Beverly LaHaye)

Yang ini pemberian dari ci Grace sebelum aku married (kayaknya semua buku dikasih orang ya, haha..) Thanks a lot! Feel so blessed :)

What Every Man Wants in a Woman

What Every Woman Wants in a Man

(John & Diana Hagee)

Kalo yang ini, aku beli sendiri! Hahaha.. And fyi, ini cuma 1 buku (bukan 2) jadi rada unik, bolak-balik gitu (2 in 1 book) hehe..

The Marriage You've Always Wanted (Gary Chapman)

Yang ini aku juga beli sendiri, hehe.. But yang versi bahasa Indo..

Wife After God (Jennifer Smith)

Yang ini aku baru beli on-line barusan tadi pagi, jadi lagi on the way bukunya, hahaha... Can't wait! Mau aku pake buat saat teduh selama 30 hari :)

Love & Respect (Dr. Emerson Eggerichs)

Yang terakhir ini, aku kepengen baca but belom punya.. Kalo ada yang mo kasih/beliin, silahkan.. pasti diterima dengan senang hati, wkwkwk.. *just kiddink* :p

So, that's all for now! And hopefully one day I can write my own book for wives :)

My Life in Melbourne (Part 2)

Talk about Melbourne pasti ga jauh-jauh dari yang namanya kuliner and coffee :p Apalagi Melbourne is a very multi-cultural country.. makanan dari segala macem negara juga ada deh kayaknya di sini, hehe.. Lately (terutama pas winter, bawaannya jadi laper terus, haha..) aku and DM lagi demen nyobain makan di tempat-tempat yang belom pernah kita cobain sebelumnya :) Kita punya once a week date, biasanya di hari Sabtu or Minggu untuk hunting makanan di luar.. Trus dari Senen-Jumat, ya masak and makan lagi di rumah sambil ngumpulin duit lagi, haha.. LOL

Beside makanan Asia (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, dll...) or makanan barat (pizza, pasta, brunch, steak, dll...) yang udah sering kita makan, kita juga sempet nyobain makanan Afghanistan sama makanan Ethiopia (namanya misionaris kan harus bisa makan makanan semua negara ya, wkwkwk..) and I think it's very interesting :) Masih ada beberapa makanan negara lain lagi yang pengen kita cobain, but belom kesampean, hehe..

Afghanistan food

Ethiopian food

Ok, udah cukup ya soal makanan.. Sekarang kita beralih ke soal makanan rohani, haha.. I've been reading a book (together with the church members di sini) called "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel. It's a very good book! And buku ini udah jadi temen aku selama aku lagi di bus or di train, hehe.. So buat kalian yang belom pernah baca, kudu hunting and beli buku ini.. *jadi promosi* :p

Ada satu statement di buku ini yang aku suka banget, dia bilang gini:

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. And there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. Love is not something God does. It is who God is. And because of who he is, God loves you... 

WOW!

So, sekian dulu ya the story about my life in Melbourne.. udah harus masuk dapur nih :p Kapan-kapan baru dilanjutin lagi (gak tau kapan, hehe..) And buat kalian yang ada di Indonesia, jangan lupa 2 hari lagi pemilu, ikut ambil suara.. jangan golput, and sama-sama berdoa supaya semuanya berjalan lancar dan aman (gak ada keributan dsb.) Aku udah ikut pemilu di sini hari Sabtu yang lalu (tgl 5 July) and seneng banget karena ada bazaar makanan Indonesia (aku beli pempek, sate padang, nasi goreng kambing, soto mie, risoles, tempe mendoan, siomay, lupa diri deh, hahaha..) DM udah gak bisa ikut vote karena dia udah citizen Australia, but kayaknya dia malah yang lebih semangat ngikutin berita tentang capres.. LOL! Meskipun saat ini kita ada di Melbourne, but.. yes.. we love Indonesia!!! :)

2 hari lagi...
*salam 2 jari* (^o^)v

Our Love Story (Summary)

We wrote this summary special for all of you who can’t understand Indonesian :)

This story is about one girl, named Marcella (Cella) who lives in Jakarta. She surrendered her life to Jesus when she was 12 years old and she made a commitment to not making relationship with any guys until she is really ready to get married. She only wants to make a relationship with one guy (the Godly one) in her life time, and that guy will be her husband :)

During her “single” times, she kept focusing her life to God and to serve the people. There was a time when she also felt lonely and worried about her future spouse, but God always strengthened her and put faith in her heart. She believes that God has prepared the right man for her and they will meet in the right time. She likes to write a letter and also a prayer for her future husband. And God does answer her prayer!

In the beginning of 2012, when Cella was asking God about her life calling, God put a big desire and passion in her heart to do mission and to bless the nations. God opened the door for her (through some friends) to join a mission trip to Cambodia. Before the trip, she got connected with the leader of this mission team who lives in Australia. His name is DM (Daniel Martin). They had never known each other before.

DM was 33 years old at that time, and he also never been in a relationship with any girls before. He has a great heart and passion for a mission, especially in Cambodia since 2006. He also believed that God knows the best and has prepared someone out there for him :)

One day, during the mission trip, when Cella was having a devotional time in the morning, she opened her Bible and this one verse came out:

“It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, MSG)

She was very surprised! “God, what does it mean?” She felt that God wanna say something related to her future life partner, and she asked God for a sign. Actually, she already had DM’s name in her heart at that time, but she was not sure yet.

Few days after that, God really shown His sign to Cella through the pastors (Ps. Edu and Ps. Elly). On the way back from one village to the city, Cella sat beside Ps. Elly, and suddenly she whispered to Cella: “It’s ok if you will get angry with me... but please don’t tell this to anyone... I wanna tell you that... I WANT YOU TO PRAY FOR... DM!”

WOW! Cella was speechless and didn’t know what to say... but deep in her heart, she knew that this is the sign from God and she started to pray for DM.

DM also has another story... At the last ministry that they had in one of the villages, there something happened in his mind when he saw Cella doing her things with the children. He can have this thought: “gosh... this girl was good dealing with children, I wish I could have that kind of character in my future wife…”

That was his simple wish... but he was surprised when suddenly Ps. Edu and Ps. Elly called him to their room and then they mentioned Cella’s name for him to pray over. And then he said, “Yes, I will pray for her...”

After the mission trip, DM stayed in Jakarta for about a week and met Cella couple times. He also invited Cella to come to his sister’s wedding and introduced her to his family. Before he went back to Australia, he decided to talk to Cella and asked her about the future of their relationship. She was ok with that, but she asked time to test and pray. Then, they decided to take 3 months of prayer time and used that time to get to know more about each other. They also shared about this to their parents, pastors, mentors and asked them to support in prayer.

Finally, after 3 months... 11-11-12, on that special date... Cella gave her answer to DM... and she said... “YES!” Woohoo! Wow... They are in a relationship now! And they are not single anymore :p Praise the Lord! So, since that day, they started to be in LDR (Long Distance Relationship). LDR is not always easy. They faced so many trials and challenges, especially in communication. But they always believe that love never fails... :)

In December 2012, DM gave a very special surprise for Cella. He flew back to Jakarta without telling her. He suddenly appeared right beside her when she was having dinner in one restaurant with DM’s family. He also gave her a bouquet of purple flowers and then introduced himself to Cella’s parents. What a surprise! :)

After few months in a relationship, they decided their wedding date (February 8th, 2014) and also decided to write this book. Cella always had a dream to write a book about her love story with her future husband, and to make that book as a wedding souvenir... and here it is... her dream does come true! God has written a beautiful love story for them... and through this book, we can see how faithful our God is and He never break his promises. Amen! :)

For free-download "Our Love Story" book, click here:

http://www.4shared.com/office/ABk28UWZ/OurLoveStory.html

Our Love Story (Behind The Scenes)

Post kali ini khusus buat kalian yang udah pada baca buku "Our Love Story" (soalnya kalo belom baca, pasti kaga connect, hehehe..) Lagi iseng aja ngeliatin file foto-foto di komputer, trus kepikiran.. "wih, seru juga kali ya kalo aku bisa kasih liat ke para pembaca, beberapa foto kejadian yang ada di buku Our Love Story, or foto orang-orang yang terlibat di dalam kisah ini.." So, ini dia beberapa foto yang mau aku tunjukin.. and buat yang belom baca bukunya, you can download it here:

http://marcellaflaorenzia.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-love-story-free-download.html

*****

So first, I want to introduce to you.. our beloved Nie! Ini dia orang yang pertama kali ngajakin aku mission trip ke Kamboja.. :p

Next, nih aku kasih liat juga yang namanya Hermin, hehe.. Ke-2 dari kiri, yang pake kemeja biru.. Still single and available lho, wkwkwk.. *jadi promosi* :p

Ini beberapa foto kita waktu lagi di Kamboja (pas baru pertama kenalan).. Aku gak banyak foto bareng DM waktu itu :p

Liat nih si DM lagi nyempil and senyum-senyum di belakang, hihi...

Nah, ini yang penting nih, mak comblang kita.. Mami Elly and Bang Edu.. :)

Trus ini foto pas kita ketemuan di CP sama beberapa temen mission trip.. At that time, they didn't know kalo kita ini lagi dijodohin and lagi saling doain, hihi..

Trus ini foto keluarga yang pas di wedding adiknya DM.. Gak tau apa-apa tiba-tiba disuruh ikut foto bareng keluarga mereka.. *tutup muka deh* wkwkwk.. But seru juga jadi ada kenang-kenangan :p

Last but not least.. Ini foto waktu aku ketemuan sama pendetanya DM, Ps. Yudah and his wife.. waktu mereka lagi main ke Jakarta.. Ini dia orang yang paling banyak aku tanya-tanya soal DM, hehehe..

*****

Segitu dulu aja deh, bingung mo post foto yang mana lagi, udah kebanyakan foto, haha.. But ngeliat foto-foto ini jadi bersyukur buat orang-orang yang Tuhan pake and Tuhan kirim buat terlibat dalam Our Love Story aku and DM :) And masih banyak lagi nama orang-orang yang gak bisa disebutin satu per satu.. THANK YOU ALL !! ^^

Pemenang Kuis “Our Love Story” (Part 2)

THANK YOU buat semua yang udah ikut serta and udah kirim jawaban untuk kuis “Our Love Story” (Part 2). Bagus-bagus semua jawabannya, sampe bingung milihnya, haha.. But karena musti milih 1 orang pemenang doang, akhirnya aku and DM memilih jawaban dari Januarti Nainggolan (Artie) dari Medan sebagai pemenangnya! Yeay! Congrats yah.. :) Thank you juga karena aku tahu Artie ini salah satu pembaca setia blog aku, and selalu setia ngikutin kisah perjalanan cinta aku dan DM, hahaha.. Akhirnya bisa dapet bukunya juga ya, ihiy.. Bless you, Artie! ^^

Dan ini jawaban yang dia kirim:

1. Apa alasan kamu membaca buku ini?

Karena aku suka baca atau dengar cerita tentang kisah cinta orang-orang. Khususnya cerita cinta yang tidak seperti kisah cinta kebanyakan anak muda sekarang ini. Selain itu, karena aku selalu ikutin update blog and timeline FB kakak, aku penasaran, ingin tahu, tertarik dengan cerita lengkap dan kejadian-kejadian behind the scene dari cerita di blog or foto-foto di timeline kakak. :)

2. Part ke berapa di dalam buku ini yang paling berkesan buatmu? Mengapa?

Part ke 5. Overall aku suka semua part dalam buku ini. Emosi aku waktu baca buku nya naik-turun. Senyum-senyum sendiri, dag dig dug sendiri, haru, bahkan ketawa sendiri. Jujur, aku juga sampai menangis loh baca part 5 ini, yaitu masa-masa LDR kakak. Aku bisa rasakan, dan aku mengerti beratnya untuk menjaga komitmen untuk tetap hidup kudus dalam menjalin hubungan. Apalagi batasan-batasan yang kakak berdua sepakati itu, itu sangat-sangat membuat hatiku bergejolak. Aku tau bagaimana rasanya jatuh cinta itu. Pengen selalu dekat, ngobrol, ketemu, bahkan bangun tidur itu biasanya yang langsung diinget itu adalah pacar kita, nama pacar kita, pengen dengar suara pacar kita. Tapi kakak berkomitmen untuk membatasi hal-hal itu, dan tetap menomor satukan Tuhan dulu. Dan jujur, baca part 5 ini imanku juga dibangkitkan, aku juga ditantang untuk mengutamakan Tuhan di atas segalanya, di atas perasaan, ataupun keinginan-keinginanku yang lainnya. Super sekali kaaa... Jadi teladan buatku kalau ntar aku udah punya pasangan. hehehe..

3. Pelajaran/kesaksian apa yang kamu dapatkan secara pribadi melalui buku ini?

Udah dijawab di pertanyaan kedua :) Untuk dari keseluruhan bukunya, pelajaran/kesaksian yang kudapat secara pribadi adalah: Tuhan itu benar-benar Sutradara kisah cinta yang hebat, yang gak ada duanya dibanding sutradara-sutradara di dunia ini deh. Cerita cinta yang dirancangkan-Nya untuk orang-orang yang tetap menanti-nantikanNya benar-benar super kreatif dan membawa sukacita. Selain itu, lewat kisah kk aku juga belajar untuk tetap tenang menantikan janji-janji Tuhan tentang pasangan hidup, dan tidak menurunkan standard ilahi yang Tuhan inginkan. Tetap fokus pada panggilan hidupku, dan mengerjakannya dengan sukacita. Cerita cinta kk juga sebagai bukti, bahwa Tuhan tidak pernah lalai menepati janji-Nya. Berbahagialah orang yang senantiasa menanti-nantikan Tuhan :)

Kuis "Our Love Story" (Part 2)

Hi all.. aku mau bagi buku "Our Love Story" lagi nih, hihi.. But kali ini aku bakalan kasih cuma buat 1 orang!! Wah, special banget kan tuh, wkwkwk.. Gimana cara dapetinnya? Hampir sama kayak waktu itu, cuma pertanyaannya beda.. and kali ini gak dinilai dari jawaban yang bener/salah or siapa yang paling cepet ngirim duluan :p Nih, coba simak langkah-langkah and pertanyaannya ya..

Step 1  Free-download bukunya and dibaca.. :)

(http://marcellaflaorenzia.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-love-story-free-download.html)

Step 2  Jawab beberapa pertanyaan di bawah ini..

* Apa alasan kamu mau membaca buku ini?

* Part ke berapa di dalam buku ini yang paling berkesan buatmu? Mengapa?

* Pelajaran/kesaksian apa yang kamu dapatkan secara pribadi melalui buku ini?

Step 3  Kirimkan jawaban kamu melalui email ke mizz_purplezz@yahoo.com paling lambat tanggal 11-11-13 (biar gampang diinget, hehe..)

Jawaban bakal dinilai berdasarkan kualitas jawabannya :) Jadi kalo jawab panjang-panjang, belom tentu pasti menang lho ya, haha.. Jawabannya harus jujur, gak dibuat-buat, pake gaya bahasa kamu sendiri.. And jawabannya juga bisa memberkati orang lain, karena akan aku post di blog nantinya.. Oya, kuis ini cuma berlaku untuk temen-temen yang ada di wilayah Indonesia ya (boleh juga sih untuk yang di luar negeri, kalo mau nanggung ongkos kirimnya, hahaha.. *peace* :p) Ok deh, selamat mencoba!

Pemenang Kuis "Our Love Story"

Wow, gak berasa udah mo akhir bulan.. and jawaban kuis "Our Love Story" yang masuk juga udah banyak banget!! Haha.. Sebenernya pas hari H peluncuran buku (gak perlu tunggu sampe akhir bulan) pemenangnya juga udah ketauan, karena udah banyak banget yang ngirim :p

So, akhirnya aku decided untuk kasih hadiah buku ini ke 5 orang (kalo cuma 3 kayaknya kedikitan ya, hehe..) and aku udah kirim bukunya ke 5 orang ini.. Ada tanda tangan + wedding invitation juga di dalem bukunya, siapa tau ada yang bisa berangkat ke Aussie gitu lho, haha..

Ini dia jawaban kuis-nya:

1. Apa kepanjangan dari nama DM? Daniel Martin

2. Tanggal berapa kami berdua resmi jadian? 11-11-2012

3. Apa nama restoran tempat kami pertama kali ketemu? Restoran Sumatra

CONGRATULATIONS TO...

(sesuai urutan pengirim jawaban dari yang paling cepet :p)

Febe Amelia, Tangerang

(Kirim: 12 Oct, 1:57 AM)

Meike Vanesa, NTT

(Kirim: 12 Oct, 4:02 AM)

Delima Hutagalung, Medan

(Kirim: 12 Oct, 10:08 AM)

Amelia Manafe, Bali

(Kirim: 12 Oct, 11:02 AM)

Anita Bong, Surabaya

(Kirim: 12 Oct, 11:06 AM)

***

Selamet yah.. semoga bukunya bisa jadi berkat buat kalian :) Lucu juga yah karena kalian ber-5 tinggalnya di daerah yang beda-beda, haha.. I pray so that you all will experience the love story that written by God as well.. God bless you all..! ^^

PS: Thank you buat semua yang udah ikutan kuis ini.. Sorry gak bisa bales email kalian satu per satu.. Meskipun belom berhasil dapet bukunya, semoga kalian semua udah berhasil download and baca lewat internet, hehe.. GBU..

Free Download:

http://marcellaflaorenzia.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-love-story-free-download.html

Our Love Story (Free Download!)

Mau tahu kisah tentang perjumpaan aku dengan DM? :)

Yup, sekarang kamu bisa baca kisah lengkapnya di buku terbaru aku yang judulnya “Our Love Story”... Buku ke-4 aku ini very special, karena aku tulis berdua bareng DM, hehe... Dan buku ini kita jadiin as a souvenir di pesta tunangan kita tanggal 12 Oktober, HARI INI...! Nanti juga akan dijadiin souvenir on our wedding day di Australia tahun depan :)

Buku ini is not for sale... kita gak jual and kamu gak bakal temuin di toko buku mana pun... but the good news is, kita mau share buku ini ke kalian semua for FREE... wow... gimana caranya? Kamu bisa free download ke link di bawah ini and please feel free to share it to anyone...

For all of you who can’t understand Bahasa Indonesia, you can read DM’s part and also the summary part (it’s in English) :)

Click here --> http://www.4shared.com/office/ABk28UWZ/OurLoveStory.html

(you have to make an account first at http://www.4shared.com/)

Selain itu, aku juga mau kirim beberapa bukunya secara gratis nih, hehe... Aku mau bagi buat 3 orang (yang udah punya nanti gak boleh ikutan ya, haha..) yang bisa jawab pertanyaan di bawah ini... Kirim jawaban kalian secepetnya melalui email ke: mizz_purplezz@yahoo.com paling lambat akhir bulan ini... Ini dia pertanyaannya:

1. Apa kepanjangan dari nama DM?

2. Tanggal berapa kami berdua resmi jadian? (yang lengkap ya...)

3. Apa nama restoran tempat kami pertama kali ketemu?

Aku tunggu jawaban kalian... kalo udah dapet 3 pemenang, nanti bakal langsung aku umumin di blog :) Thanks all... and hope you’ll be blessed by reading this book...

Join OUR LOVE STORY Facebook Page:

www.facebook.com/dmcella

People Behind "Our Love Story" Book

Dalam waktu 19 hari lagi buku yang satu ini bakal segera di-launched! Yeay! Can't wait! Tepatnya nanti pas hari Sabtu, tgl 12 October 2013, kamu bakal bisa download buku ini secara free via 4shared.com (jadi yang blom punya account di www.4shared.com, please make your account first) Nanti info selengkapnya bakal aku post di blog ini.. and bakal ada kuis juga lho.. jadi nanti ada pertanyaan, and beberapa orang yang bisa jawab bakal aku kirimin buku ini (plus tanda tangan aku and DM pastinya, hehe..) :p

So, sebelum buku ini di-launched.. I just wanna say THANK YOU buat semua orang-orang yang udah terlibat di dalem proses pembuatan buku ini.. Without you all, mungkin buku ini gak bakal pernah bisa ada, hehe.. Thank you buat Yuliani yang udah design keseluruhan cover and postcard yang ada di dalem buku ini (love it so much!), buat Arlia and James yang udah did a wonderful job with gambar-gambar ilustrasi aku and DM.. lucu-lucu gambarnya, hihi.. love you both!

Thank you buat semua orang yang udah bantu baca draft buku ini dari awal, udah kasih opini and buat yang udah bantu edit juga (Ps. Yudah, Tim, Aunty Anita, Kezia, ci Lia and ci Grace) For my new friend, Roni, yang udah bantu dalam proses printing :) THANK YOU!

I wanna say thank you juga buat semua orang yang udah Tuhan kirim untuk terlibat dalam cerita ini (in our love story, hehe..) Ps. Edu and Mami Elly (as our "mak comblang" haha..), our parents, our leaders and mentors, our friends (Nie and Hermin) yang udah Tuhan pake jadi connector sehingga aku and DM bisa saling kenal :p Gak nyangka ya bisa jadi kayak begini ceritanya, wkwkwk..

Last but not least, pastinya thank you buat my wonderful fiance, DM, yang udah berjuang buat nulis his part di dalam buku ini (I know you don't like writing at all :p) and I really appreciate it :) Thank you for making one of my dreams come true (mimpi buat nulis buku love story bareng maksudnya, hehe..) and BIG THANK YOU to the most wonderful Author of this love story, Jesus Christ!

This is not a love story which written by man, but it is written by the hands of God.. He has made everything beautiful in its time.. Thank You Jesus, for writing this story for us (bahkan sampe ke hal-hal yang paling details sekalipun, Kau perhatiin, hehe..) We love You, and we want to dedicate this book just for your glory! :)

Ezer Kenegdo

I remember one article, yang pernah di-tag DM ke aku on Facebook. Judulnya "An Irreplaceable Role as an Ezer Kenegdo". Intinya, dia kutip dari buku "Captivating" (by John and Stasi Eldredge) tentang wanita yang diciptakan Tuhan sebagai Ezer Kenegdo... Aku mo share juga di sini, and hope u'll be blessed after reading this :)

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge, pages 31-33, 42:

“When God creates Eve, He calls her an ezer kenegdo. “It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]” (Gen. 2:18). Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, who has spent years translating the book of Genesis, says that this phrase is “notoriously difficult to translate.” The various attempts we have in English are “helper” or “companion” or the notorious “help meet.” Why are these translations so incredibly wimpy, boring, flat… disappointing? What is a help meet, anyway? What little girl dances through the house singing “One day I shall be a help meet?” Companion? A dog can be a companion. Helper? Sounds like Hamburger Helper. Alter is getting closer when he translates it “sustainer beside him.”

The word ezer is used only twenty other places in the entire Old Testament. And in every other instance the person being described is God Himself, when you need Him to come through for you desperately.

“Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword” (Deut. 33:26,29).

“I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

“May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help” (Ps 20:1-2).

“We wait in hope for the Lord, He is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20).

Most of the contexts are life and death, by the way, and God is your only hope. Your ezer. If He is not there beside you… you are dead. A better translation therefore of ezer would be “lifesaver.” Kenegdo means alongside, or opposite to, a counterpart.

You see, the life of God calls us to is not a safe life. Ask Joseph, Abraham, Moses, Deborah, Esther – any of the friends of God from the Old Testament. Ask Mary or Lazarus; ask Peter, James, and John; ask Priscilla and Aquila – any of the friends of God in the New Testament. God calls us to a life involving frequent risks and many dangers. Why else would we need Him to be our ezer? You don’t need a lifesaver if your mission is to be a couch potato. You need an ezer when your life is in constant danger.

Picture the character of Arwen in the mythic motion-picture trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Arwen is a princess, a beautiful and brave elf maiden. She comes into the story in the nick of time to rescue the little hobbit Frodo just as the poisoned wound moving toward his heart is about to claim him… It is she, not the warrior Aragorn, who rides with glory and speed [to take him to her father]. She is Frodo’s only hope. She is the one entrusted with his life and with him, the future of all Middle Earth. She is his ezer kenegdo.

That longing in the heart of a woman to share life together as a great adventure – that comes straight from the heart of God, who also longs for this. He does not want to be an option in our lives. He does not want to be an appendage, a tagalong. Neither does any woman. God is essential. He wants us to need Him–desperately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you’ll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships, a vision to make the world a better place.

A woman is not here merely to complete a man, and therefore a single woman is somehow missing her destiny… It is God who longs to be our ezer… You are the image bearer of this God. This is why you long for these things too. There is a radiance hidden in your heart that the world desperately needs.”

http://www.insightforgirls.com/an-irreplaceable-role-as-an-ezer-kenegd/