DEAR BELIEVER.....

I had the pleasure of reuniting with a very good friend from (high) school. She gladly hosted us even though she was busy with her job & family life.  I've had the opportunity to stay with a few non-Christian friends in the past. While all the stays have been wonderful experiences,  I have never had too much of thinking to be done - expect for this recent one. 

She and her husband were extremely generous and gracious towards our family. On one particular day, they took us to one of those man made beaches in Chicago. While I am not a beachy person, I thought it might be a nice outing for Sanjay and her little boy. So we ended up in a beach filled with folks in fashionable garments, drinking, partying, dancing and what not. My friend is a super shy person. I remember standing in the beach and sharing some conversation about the western culture and how to bring up kids in this country.

While driving back, I was filled with questions. We love to call ourselves 'believers' and those like my friend as 'non-believers'. I know a lot of 'non-believing' friends who probably live fulfilling lives than us 'believing Christians'. They (including my friend) are very religious, humble, pious, live a very family centric sacrificial lives, modest, generous, love their neighbors and take care of their parents. In the past I've had a few non-Christian friends ask me what does it mean to be a Christian and how is it different from their lives. Frankly I don't know how to respond. Should I tell them that its not too big of a deal to commit infidelity or fall 'out of love' with your spouse because Christ died for our sins anyways. Or it's ok to wear fashionable garments because we have already nailed Him to the cross. Or is it ok to gather wealth because we have lots of rich men of God in the Bible. 

You know when Jesus told Thomas, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet  have believed" - he wasn't just talking about blind faith. He was leaving a huge responsibility to Thomas (and us 'believers') that we would live a life worthy of His calling and be the hands and feet of Christ on this earth. Those who see our lives would know about Christ and would eventually come to Him. That is definitely not what we the 'chosen ones/believers' are doing now. We have almost given up on living a biblical life and Christ's love and grace are pretty much the justification for all our worldly actions. So you tell me - should I tell my non-believing friends that they live a far better life even though they don't believe in Christ or should I invite them to this side and preach that anything and everything is acceptable under the sun because after all Christ died for our sins! It's paid once for all! 

I really had to think twice about posting on this topic of moral values. Of course I sound like a self righteous person - unless you know me personally and know the burden of my heart. But to me, it's not about finding fault in another person's life. It's about trying to find a way to educate others that its really ok to live a biblical life. When we visit the court, we abide by the rules of the court. Same with Christ, when we believe in Him, we should abide by His word. There is no double standard! 

"It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" Titus 2:12

A 2 MINUTE EXERCISE FOR YOUR SOUL

Sanjay was 15 months old when this happened. We were at the Auckland airport waiting to board our flight to Sydney. Sanjay was extremely hungry so my husband went to grab a sandwich.  10 mins, 15 mins, 20 mins and there was no sight of my husband. I grabbed my luggage and took Sanjay in the baby carrier and started walking towards the restaurant area. At one point, Sanjay screamed of hunger. I walked past a couple who were getting ready to eat their burgers. Somehow they got a clue from Sanjay's screams, that he needed food. The man offered me half of what he was about to eat. And before I could accept it, Sanjay reached out and grabbed it. I couldn't thank him enough. I have often been blessed by kind hearted strangers. But that doesn't happen all the time. 
An irritated driver on the road, a not-so-courteous cashier, a friend who appears to ignore you - these folks knowingly or unknowingly have saddened my day. While I really don't have any control over someone else's behavior, I can control mine and make someone else's day. There are many days when I have been rude and not so pleasant to my family, friends and strangers. While I did know that I was hurting them, little did I know that it would affect me deeply when the tables were turned. 
So I have been trying to include a 2 min exercise routine for my soul. Even if I am going through a tough day, I am learning to be polite. I try to take a conscious effort to say a hi or give a hug. If its one of those days when I'm really not in the mood to socialize, then I send an email to the friend I missed talking to. If its strangers in the grocery store, then I let them get ahead of me in the queue or help them lift heavy stuff or try to make funny faces to a crying baby. 

These are some of the simple actions I have learnt to do, after realizing that the power of courtesy can brighten a person's day. It hardly takes 2 minutes of your time. It will not only help you practice to put others first but make you feel wonderfully beautiful inside. There isn't any magic potion in the market to make you feel young inside! :)

So.....

So, I finally created a blog. I'll give a little introduction in this first post.

I really don't know how I felt the need to write. It all started with one rant some months ago and since then I couldn't stop ranting on facebook. So after your kind suggestions and a hint from my husband, I have finally decided to document everything here. I hope one day my little toddler will get a peek into his mother's mind! 

I write from my heart. If I really feel strong about something then it comes out of my mind in the form of a post or a rant. Lets say you love apples and I love mangoes - and one fine day I decide to write about my disliking towards apples, that doesn't mean I dislike you. Life doesn't work that way. I grew up in a very diverse nation. I have friends from all walks of life - christians, hindus, muslims, buddhists, sikhs & atheists. I was brought up with one of the most important values of humanity - tolerance. 

Irrespective of faith, we all live a hard life. All of us go through suffering. All our tears have similar composition. But at the cross roads of my life, I draw strength from my faith in Christ and I share my experiences. If you would like to talk to me personally about my faith, please feel free to email me. 

You will also read about my experiments in the kitchen, my Indian style of parenting, my naughty little toddler, my 'not-so-socially-active' husband, my parents, my extended family, my childhood, my cultural shock/surprises and my "traditionalism"! 

I thank you for inspiring me to get this up and going. I hope you enjoy your visit here!