Honeymoon

Sebelum married: "Nanti kalian honeymoon ke mana?"

Sesudah married: "Kalian abis honeymoon dari mana?"

Setelah lama married: "Dulu kalian honeymoon di mana?"

Jadi pertama intinya, honeymoon itu identik sama tempat. Kalo punya budget gede, ada yang bisa honeymoon ke luar negeri or ke negara-negara yang terkenal romantis di Eropa. Kalo budget gak gede-gede amat, bisa ke luar kota (ke Bali or Lombok misalnya). But gimana kalo budgetnya bener-bener terbatas? Hmm..

Kedua, honeymoon itu identik sama newly wed, alias orang-orang yang baru abis married. Pasangan yang mau menikah juga biasanya excited mikirin rencana untuk honeymoon. But gimana dengan pasangan-pasangan yang udah lama menikah? Apa mereka masih bisa honeymoon? Hmm..

Jadi sebenernya, apa sih honeymoon itu?

A honeymoon is the traditional holiday taken by newlyweds to celebrate their marriage in intimacy and seclusion. This is the period when newly wed couples take a break to share some private and intimate moments that helps establish love in their relationship. This privacy in turn is believed to ease the comfort zone towards a physical relationship, which is one of the primary means of bonding during the initial days of marriage. -Wikipedia

So first, honeymoon is a getaway and it is not about the place. Jadi gak perlu sedih kalo kalian misalnya nanti gak bisa honeymoon ke Eropa or ke Korea (hehe..) apalagi kalo budget memang terbatas, we need to be wise as well :) Beberapa tahun yang lalu ada satu pasangan yang aku kenal di Indonesia, dan sebelum menikah, mereka bilang bahwa mereka berencana untuk honeymoon di Puncak. Jarang-jarang kan denger orang mau honeymoon di sana, hehe.. But I said, "Wow, that's great!" Karena mo honeymoon di mana aja sebenernya gak jadi masalah, yang penting bisa punya waktu berdua :)

Aku sama DM dulu juga budgetnya terbatas, kita gak pergi jauh-jauh, cuma nginep 2 malem di B&B di daerah mountain (DM cuma nyetir sekitar 30 menit dari rumah) but we had a great time :) Intinya, kita bisa punya quality time and intimate moment berdua without any distraction.. And ini juga bisa berlaku sewaktu kita kembali ke dunia nyata, hehe..

Kedua, buat aku, honeymoon gak cuma berlaku buat newly wed, tapi setelah kita udah menikah lama atau udah punya anak pun, quality time and intimacy with our spouse harus selalu jadi prioritas. Make sure setiap hari kita bisa punya waktu yang berkualitas dengan suami (mungkin after anak-anak udah pada bobo) or set time to have a special date (nonton, jalan-jalan or dinner berdua). Take a break, and enjoy your marriage relationship again.. again.. and again :)

Also enjoy physical (sexual) relationship yang udah Tuhan kasih sebagai hadiah pernikahan. Jangan biarin Iblis merebut hal ini dari kita. Setelah menikah, it is the BEST time for you to enjoy the physical (sexual) relationship with your spouse! (Bukan sebelum menikah lho ya..) Ini ada satu artikel bagus buat para married couples yang mau honeymoon lagi, hehe.. Click here:

http://fiercemarriage.com/7-reasons-getting-away-good-marriage

And you know what, pernikahan itu sebenernya sama seperti hubungan pribadi kita dengan Tuhan. Di tengah-tengah semua kesibukan kita, we need honeymoon everyday with God. Take a break and spend quality time with Him. Building an intimate relationship with Him. Gak peduli tempatnya di mana, hehe.. And gak cuma berlaku buat orang-orang yang baru bertobat or lahir baru. Kita yang udah ikut Tuhan berpuluh-puluh tahun juga bisa tetep terus mengalami yang namanya "honeymoon everyday" :)

"Lord I pray for every marriage right now, so that You will strengthen their relationship as a husband and wife. Let your love flow into their hearts and let them experience 'honeymoon' again, everyday in their marriage. I also pray for everyone who is reading this post right now, so that they will have an intimate relationship with You as well. Let them experience your love everyday in their lives. In Jesus name. Amen."

New Look!

Yay! Akhirnya blog THE PRESENT ganti penampilan baru, hehe.. Jadi ceritanya, kemaren ini ada temen yang dateng ke rumah and minta tolong aku untuk ganti template design blog dia.. Eh, gara-gara ngeliat contoh-contoh template di internet (apalagi yang lucu-lucu and cute-cute gitu, hihi..) jadi kepengen ikut ganti juga rasanya, haha.. So akhirnya aku pilih satu template ini deh, namanya Vintage Diary yang aku dapet dari link ini:

http://www.ipietoon.com/2014/03/vintage-diary-free-blog-template.html

What do you think about this new look? Do you like it? Or do you like the old one better?

Give your opinion! :)

GRACE (Laura Story)

Hello all, how are you? :)

Pagi ini aku cuma mau share post singkat, and share satu lagu yang lagi memberkati aku banget hari-hari ini.. Judulnya "Grace" by Laura Story, and I hope lagu ini bisa jadi berkat juga buat kalian yang mungkin saat ini lagi ada dalam hard situation.. Jangan cuma sekedar dengerin ya, tapi coba baca and perhatiin juga liriknya :)

Aku dapet lagu ini pas aku lagi bener-bener down banget and almost want to give up with my school (bagi yang belum tau, saat ini aku lagi ambil sekolah/course in Early Childhood Education and Care). Sekolah ini memang singkat, cuma sekitar 6-9 bulan. But bagi orang kayak aku (yang udah lama gak sekolah, and gak pernah sekolah di luar negeri juga :p) aku bener-bener ngalamin kesulitan dalam ngerjain tugas, assignments and tasks yang banyak banget. Bener-bener pengen nyerah rasanya.. but Tuhan kasih aku kekuatan, salah satunya lewat lagu ini..

Aku mau belajar untuk andalin kekuatan Tuhan, to walk in His sufficient grace.. And biar lewat proses ini, Tuhan juga bentuk karakter aku plus hancurin setiap kesombongan aku.. supaya aku sadar kalo aku ini memang gak bisa apa-apa tanpa Tuhan, kalo aku ini gak punya kepintaran or kehebatan apapun juga.. Kalo aku bisa berhasil, semuanya cuma karena kasih karunia Tuhan.. His grace is sufficient for me :)

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

***

"Grace"

My heart is so proud. My mind is so unfocused.

I see the things You do through me as great things I have done.

And now You gently break me, then lovingly You take me

And hold me as my father and mold me as my maker.

[Chorus:]

I ask you: "How many times will you pick me up,

When I keep on letting you down?

And each time I will fall short of Your glory,

How far will forgiveness abound?"

And You answer: "My child, I love you.

And as long as you're seeking My face,

You'll walk in the power of My daily sufficient grace."

At times I may grow weak and feel a bit discouraged,

Knowing that someone, somewhere could do a better job.

For who am I to serve You? I know I don't deserve You.

And that's the part that burns in my heart and keeps me hanging on.

[Back to Chorus]

As I walk with You, I'm learning what Your grace really means.

The price that I could never pay was paid at Calvary.

So, instead of trying to repay You, I'm learning to simply obey You

By giving up my life to you For all that You've given to me.

[Back to Chorus]

***