Day 14 - God is real, no matter how I feel.

Quotes from the Book:

• You wake up one morning and all your spiritual feelings are gone. You pray, but nothing happens. You rebuke the devil, but it doesn't change anything. You go through spiritual  exercises... you have your friends pray for you.. you confess every sin you can imagine, then go around asking forgiveness of everyone you know. You fast.. still nothing. You begin to wonder how long this spiritual gloom might last. Days? Weeks? Months? Will it ever end? It feels as if your prayers simply bounce off the ceiling. In utter desperation, you cry out, "Whats the matter with me?" The truth is, there's nothing wrong with you! This is normal part of testing and maturing of your friendship with God. Every person goes through it at least once, and usually several times. It is painful and disconcerting, but it is absolutely vital for development of your faith.
• I go east but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden. I turn to the South, but I cannot find him. But He knows where I am going. And when He has tested me like gold in a fire, He will pronounce me innocent. -Job's hope when He could not feel God's presence in his life..
• God's omnipresence and the manifestation of his presence are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is always present, even when you are unaware of Him, and His presence is too profound to be measured by mere emotion. Yes, He wants you to feel His presence, but He's more concerned that you trust Him than that you feel Him. Faith, not feelings, pleases God.
• Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to God. Unload every emotion that you're feeling. Admitting your hopelessness to Him can be a statement of faith. David wrote, "I believed, so I said, 'I am completely ruined'" This sounds like a contradiction: I trust God but I'm wiped out! David's frankness actually reveals deep faith: 1) he believed in God. 2) he believed God would listen to his prayers. 3) he believed God would let him say what he felt and still love him.
• Focus on who God is --- his unchanging nature. Regardless of circumstances and how you feel, hang on to God's unchanging character. Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God: He is good. He loves me. He is with me. He knows what I'm going through, He cares, and He has a good plan for my life.
• Trust God to keep His promises. During times of spiritual dryness you must patiently rely on the promises of God, not your emotions, and realize that He is taking you to a deeper level of maturity. A friendship based on emotion is shallow indeed. So don't be troubled, by trouble. Circumstances cannot change the character of God. God's grace is still in full force; He is still for you, even when you don't feel it.
• Remember what God has already done for you. If God never did anything else for you, He would still deserve your continual praise for the rest of your life because of His son did for you on the cross.  God's son died for you! He gave up everything so you could have everything. He died so you could live forever. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for.

 Question to Consider: 

How can I stay focused on God's presence, especially when He feels distant?

Day 13 - God wants all of me

Quotes from the book:

God doesn't want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your money and time. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life.

Four Characteristics of Worship that pleases God:

1. God is pleased when our worship is accurate. People often say, "I like to think of God as ... ," (guilty of this) and then they share their idea of the kind of God they would like to worship. But we cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry. To "worship in truth" means to worship God as He truly is, revealed in the Bible.
2. God is pleased when our worship is authentic. Made in God's image, you are a spirit that resides in a body, and God designed your spirit to communicate with Him,. Worship is your spirit, responding to God's spirit. It must be genuine and heartfelt. It is not just a matter of saying the right words, you must mean what you say. God gave you emotions so you could worship Him with deep feeling -- but those emotions must be genuine, not faked. He hates hypocrisy. He doesn't want showmanship or pretense or phoniness in worship. He wants an honest, real love. We can worship Him imperfectly, but we cannot worship Him insincerely. Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That's why both spirit and truth are required. It must be both accurate and authentic. The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God, based on the background and personality He gave you. He made all of us differently, so He doesn't expect us to love Him the same way. There is no "one size fits all" approach. One thing is certain: You don't bring glory to Him by trying to be someone He never intended you to be. He wants you to be yourself.
3. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful. Love God with all your mind. He is not pleased with thoughtless singing of hymns, perfunctory praying of cliches, or careless exclamations of "praise the Lord," because we can't think of anything else to say at the moment. If worship is mindless, it is meaningless. You must engage your mind. Also be specific. If someone approached you and repeated. "I praise you!" ten times, you would probably think, For what? You would rather receive two specific compliments than twenty vague generalities. So would God.
4. God is pleased when our worship is practical. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Why does He want your body? Why not your spirit? Because without your body, you cannot do anything on this planet. You have heard people say, "I can't make it tonight, but i'll be with you in spirit." That means NOTHING. Its worthless! As long as you are on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. If you're body isn't there, neither are you. So we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Now, we usually associate sacrifice with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. He wants you to live for Him!

 Question to Consider: 

Which is more pleasing to God right now -- my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this? 

"I'll bring you more than a song,

because the song itself is not what You've required.

You search much deeper within

than the way things appear.

You're looking into my heart.."

Day 12 - I'm as close to God as I chose to be.

 Quotes from the book:

continuation of 6 Secrets to becoming God's Best friend:

I must choose to be honest with God. He doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty. Can God handle that kind of frank, intense honesty from you? Absolutely! Genuine friendship is built on disclosure. What may appear as audacity God views as authenticity. God listens to the passionate words of his friends; He is bored with predictable, pious, cliches. To be God's friend, you must be honest to God, sharing your true feeling, not what you think you ought to feel or say. It is likely that you need to confess some hidden anger and resentment at Him for certain areas of your life where you have felt cheated or disappointed. It's encouraging to know that all of God's closest friends -- Moses, ABraham, David, Job and others -- had bouts with doubt. But instead of masking their misgivings with pious cliches, they candidly voiced them openly and publicly. Expressing doubt is sometimes the first step toward the next level of intimacy with God.

I must choose to obey God in faith. Everytime you trust Him and do what He says, even when you don't understand it, you deepen your friendship with Him. We should obey Him, not out of duty or fear or compulsion, but because we love Him and trust that He knows what is best for us. True friendship isn't passive, it acts. We are often challenged to do "great things" for Him. Actually, He is more pleased when we do small things for Him out of loving obedience. They may be unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them acts of worship. Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day. Even through such simple acts as telling the truth, being kind, and encouraging others, we bring a smile to God's face.

I must begin to value what God values. This is what friends do - they care about what is important to the other person. The more you become God's friend, the more you will care about the things He cares about, grieve over the things He grieves over, and rejoice over the things that brings pleasure to Him. What does He care about the most? The redemption of His people. He wants all His lost children found! To be a friend of God, you must care about all the people around you whom God cares about.

I must desire friendship with God more than anything else. The truth is you are close to God as you choose to be. Intimate friendship with God is a choice, not an accident. You must intentionally seek it. There is nothing - absolutely nothing - more important than developing a relationship with God. It's a relationship that will last forever.

 Question to Consider:

What practical choices I will make today in order to grow closer to God?

ps: I know I have been slacking off. My excuse?. I'm doing it in my own phase >.<

Day 11 - God wants to be my best friend.

Quotes from the book:

Our relationship to Him has many aspects: He is our Creator and Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Savior, and much more. But the most shocking truth is, He also wants to be our Best friend. We were designed for this type of friendship with God. In the garden of Eden before the fall, it was like that. God just came and spent time with Adam and Eve. But ever since we decided that our way is better than God's, he has loved us enough to let us make our own mistakes. Now we are confused on how to get back to a real friendship with God.It's difficult to imagine how an intimate friendship is possible between an omnipotent, invisible, perfect God and finite, sinful human being. It's easier to understand a Master-servant relationship or a Creator-creation relationship or even Father-child.
6 secrets to Becoming God's Best friend:
Through Constant Conversation. The fact is, He is with us all the time. So all we have to do is recognize this and do something about it. If we want to talk to Him, we just pray. We don't have to kneel down and close our eyes and bow our heads. Those are habits made to keep us from being distracted while we pray. Real prayer is just going through the day, letting Him know how you feel. Including Him in every activity, every conversation, every problem and even every thought. You can carry on a continuous, open-ended, conversation with Him throughout the day, talking with Him about whatever you are doing or thinking at that moment. "Praying without ceasing", means conversing with God while shopping, driving, working, or performing any other everyday tasks.

Through Continual Meditation. Meditation is often misunderstood as some difficult, mysterious ritual practiced by isolated monks and mystics. But meditation is simply focused thinking -- a skill anyone can learn and use anywhere. When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's word over and over in your mind, that's meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to God's Word. The more you meditate on His word, the less you have to worry.

Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you ~ Rick Warren

 

Question to Consider: 

What can I do to remind myself to think about God and talk to Him more often throughout the day?

Day 10 - The heart of worship is surrender.

Quotes from the book:

there are 3 barriers that block our total surrender to God: fear, pride and confusion. We don't realize how much God loves us, we want to control our lives, and we misunderstand the meaning of surrender.
Can i trust Him? Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. You won't surrender to Him unless you trust Him, but you can't trust Him until you know Him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but Love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.
What it means to surrender. Surrendering is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life or surrendering in order to change what needs to be changed. He calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. It is not for cowards or doormats.. Likewise, it does not mean giving up rational thinking. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. He would not waste the mind He gave you! Rather than your personality being diminished, surrendering enhances it.
u know you are surrendered to God when you rely on Him to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don't have to be always in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more. You don't react to criticism or rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts don't edge others out, don't demand their rights and aren't self serving. Genuine surrender says, "God, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another's, please don't take it away." This level of maturity does not come easy.
everybody eventually surrenders to someone or something. if not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God -- and if you fail to worship Him, you will create other things to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. If you don't surrender to God, you surrender to chaos. Surrender is not the best way to live, it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment and self-destruction.
Regardless, surrendering is not a one-time event. There is a moment of surrender, and there is a practice of surrender, which is moment by moment and lifelong. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, so you may have to re-surrender your life 50times a day.

Question to Consider: 

What area of my life am I holding back from God?
hmmm..
1) A friend once told me to "give up the person God has been asking me to release."
2) my goals consists of living an abundant life, a full on 360 degree change. Sometimes i think He is the one on the drivers seat cuz ultimately i mean well, but then there are times I get scared that it may not be what He wants for me and that always makes me wanna grab the wheel.. My heart is urging me not to settle for anything less than that.. Well, from here, I can only wish that what I want is what He wants for me too..

Day 9 - God smiles when I trust Him.

Question to Consider:

Since God knows what is best, in what areas of my life should I trust Him more?

Everything! Starting from my love life to my ultimate life path. I got this funny feeling, I'll be slacking off from here. On a totally unrelated note, here's some pretty quotes and song..

Day 8 - I was planned for God’s pleasure

 Quotes from the book:

How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Him and by carrying on a continual conversation with him while you do it. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship-doing everything as if you were doing it for God. The Message paraphrase says, "Take your everyday, ordinary life your sleeping, eating, going-to work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Work becomes worship

When I first fell in love with my wife, I thought of her constantly: while eating breakfast, driving to school, attending class, waiting in line at the market, pumping gas-I could not stop thinking about this woman! I often talked to myself about her and thought about all the things I loved about her. This helped me feel close to Kay even though we lived several hundred miles apart and attended different colleges. By constantly thinking of her, I was abiding in her love. This is what real worship is all about -falling in love with God.

Question to Consider:

What common task could I start doing as if I were doing it directly for God?

Probably all of them.
Example: If I start folding my clothes as if I was doing it for Him, it would probably be a more enjoyable activity. That's probably one way to stop procrastinating. I've never really look forward to it. Most of the time, I just leave piles of my clothes unfolded and iron the one I'm going to use.. I know im such a lazy ass slacker!!

Day 7 - It's all for Him

Question to Consider:

Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God?

So far, this book has been pointing out that:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life.
Knowing your purpose focuses your life.
Knowing your purpose motivates your life.
Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity.

A lot of the questions are very loaded, and its hard to answer them. One word: Clutter. There is so much clutter in my life that is simply not as important as I thought they were. Things that I worry about that I shouldn't really be worried about, because its not even valid.. I don't even know if i have the true information for some of them.. 

Daily routine: Work, Class, Homework, take home paper works from my job. In between, there are email messages that I think about all the time and sender that I didn't want to feel ignore, face book chats, blogging, scrap booking, reading this book, reminding myself to eat and drink water, reminding myself to find something pretty to appreciate, reminding myself to think positive, promised someone i'll hang out with them on Friday night, promised parents i'd call them every Sunday night. Group projects are due, more test coming up, reviewing for Nclex on the side, bills, bills, bills. Everything is going on at once.

Where in that routine can I become more aware of God, I guess reading this book makes me aware of Him. I wake up extra early to read the chapter that I'm supposed to, sometimes I wait up til the clock strikes 12am so I can read the next chapter, and think about the question till I doze off.. The daily trying to find something pretty to appreciate, I think noticing something like that glorifies Him. I'll add how I sometimes just randomly look up to the sky (happened last night) and quietly say, "Good job!! what a lovely landscape you created up there for me to see!!", if I were a painter, I'd drew that.. Then there's the, you know, just trying to talk to Him when I'm feeling really overwhelm, confuse, or bless, especially when I'm feeling bless.. He's been a daily part of my life and I am very much aware of Him, more so for the next 33 remaining days of reading this book..

Day 6 - This world is not my home

 
Quotes from the book:
You won't be here long, so don't get too attached. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.
Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away.
In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, He allows us to feel a significant dissatisfaction in life -- longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We are not completely happy here, because we are not supposed to be. Earth is not our final home; we were created for something better. Like A fish would never be happy living on land, because it was made for water. An Eagle could never be satisfied if it wasn't allowed to fly. You will never feel satisfied on earth, because you were made for more. You will have happy moments here, but nothing compared with what God has planned for you..
You are not home yet. At death you won't leave home - you'll go home.

Question to Consider: 

How should the fact that life on earth is just a temporary assignment change the way I am living right now?

This chapter pointed out that life is a temporary assignment, and that would be serving Him faithfully.. Well, it helps me to become more of a positive thinker. No matter how hard life seems to knock me down, I can always look forward to His promise, all I need to do is pass His test. Most of the books I've read describes Life as a game.  It doesn't really work for me. I'm way too uptight to play games. I obsessed over it, I anticipate losing and it makes me wanna quit. The idea that life is a test gives me peace of mind. Because it makes me feel it's all on me. If I study hard enough, I'll pass the test. And everybody else can pass the test, If they studied too. Unlike games were it feels like a part of it is base on luck and that in order for someone to win, somebody needs to lose.

It also reaffirmed to me that its perfectly normal to sometimes feel like there is a big chunk of my heart that just cannot be filled.

Day 5 - Life is a test and a trust

 Quotes from the book:

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You are always being tested. You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism and even senseless tragedies. A very important test is how you act when you can't feel His presence in your life. Sometimes He intentionally draws back, to test your character, to reveal weakness and to prepare you for more responsibility..
When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. Some test seems overwhelming, while others you don't even notice. The good news is, He wants you to pass, so He never allows the test you face to be greater than the grace He gives you to handle them.
Our time on earth, our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships and resources are all gifts from God that He has entrusted to our care and management. We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans the earth to us while we're here. It was God's property before you arrived, and He will loan it to someone else after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.
What do you have that He hasn't given you? And if all you have is from Him, why boasts as though you have accomplished something on your own?
Life is a test and a trust and the more He gives you, the more responsible He expects you to be.

Question to Consider: 

What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?

 I think the pressures that I have at work and school are a test. My finances falling apart were a test. Losing people were a test. Loving someone who has a very different perspective than I do, is a test. Not knowing for sure, that there is a God who is guiding me through all this, is a test.. Anyway, the greatest matter that He entrusted me is my life, there were times I didn't think much of it, and I know I failed Him miserably on that.. I'm getting better at it though..

Day 4 - Made to last forever, there is more to life than just here and now...

Question to Consider:

Since I was made to last forever, what is the one thing I should stop doing and the one thing I should start doing today? 

 I'm not sure If I believe in heaven or hell.. I like the idea of reincarnation. And if there really is a heaven or hell, then hell is here on earth while heaven would be the spiritual world. Dont make me explain why earth is the hell everyone is talking about, I picked the idea from The Four Agreements, and it make sense to me..
But anyway, I think no matter what I need to stop making decisions for one and start including Him.. Ask myself every step of the way if what I'm doing is going to make Him proud of me..
I need to get past of the petty things that i want NOW and focus more on investing my energy to something with a LASTING VALUE.. I should stop building walls and start building bridges..

Day 3 - living on purpose is the path to peace

 Quotes from the book:

God specializes in giving people a fresh start.
I don't know the key to success but one key to failure is to try to please everyone. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss His purposes for your life. No one can serve two masters.
Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren't. Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base your decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures and your mood at that moment.
There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life. The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused life has little power or impact, but you can concentrate its energy by focusing it. With a magnifying glass, the ray of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire. When light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel.. "focus all energy on one thing, forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."

Question to Consider: 

What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to be?

ahh. This is hard to face. I haven't bothered on what my family would think of me. Maybe.. probably they would say that materialism is the driving force of my life.. simply because they witnessed me aim most for the best quality, expensive, popular products. I don't know. I'm just not one who would buy something I don't like just because its on sale, im more of "i know what i want, i want what i want, and i'll get it no matter how impractical it seems".. I look at everything that I buy as something I'm gonna live with forever.. I haven't really been into giving away my things, even when I don't use them anymore, I still like to keep them.. So in my head, I kind of divide the cost of the product in the years that I'm gonna have it, so that makes the price look insignificant.. LOLz, i know excuses, excuses!!! I'm actually scared to find out what my family thinks of me.. with that being said.. I think my friends would say, fear is the driving force of my life. Fear of rejection, fear of further emotional pain, fear of lack. Fear of being too caught up in a negative emotional cycle that I wouldn't be able to rely on me to save me. Fear of finding myself in a wrong relationship and not be capable of getting out because of
(A) lack of options (u know, we have so many kids, and i have no skills so even when he cheats on me on my face or abuse me, i'd still stay w/ him),
(B) pride or
(C) i invested too much on it and im way too stubborn to cut my losses..

What do I want it to be? Love. Strength. Courage. Enlightenment. Attainment. I want to be that hermit who provides a guiding light for someone who is traveling in the dark..

Day 2 - I am not an accident

Question to Consider: 

Knowing that God uniquely created me, what areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?

This chapter raised up too many questions for me. It tells us that He had everything planned, and the control freak side of me can't accept that. Did He planned for someone to be miserable, did He planned for those kids to be born just to die in hunger?.. Did He planned for me to feel so broken sometimes.. What if He planned for me to be unhappy for the rest of my life, do I really have no say on that?? 

God made you so He could love you. - that melts my heart.. What a relief, aight?! Of course He loves me.. And if you love someone, you wouldn't want or wish for them to be unhappy, much more devise an intricate plan to make sure they'd be unhappy.. There's a lot running through my head, but I'm not going to write it in here..

Anyway, the areas of my personality that I am struggling to accept?..
(drum roll!!) December 13, 2007..
and religion. I've always felt out of place. And that sometimes stop me from asking or talking about Him. Cuz if I talked about Him, i tend to talk about Him in a Christian way, and there are people in my life that makes me feel guilty about that.. They took it as a personal attack, as my way of disrespecting and punishing them, what they failed to see is I just don't really know any other way. I'd been learning things on my own, they weren't there to guide me. How could someone punish me and makes me feel so terrible over something that wasn't really my fault?. So in order to not step on anyone, I just shut up, but its been hard sometimes, cuz I get lost and I didn't know how to find Him..
 Lets just say, whenever I pray, a side of my brain makes me feel guilty with the way I pray, and then the other side of my brain argues back and defend my way.. So once upon a time, to stopped all those arguments in my head, I just stopped praying altogether.. Right now though, I'm learning to take a stand..

I'm not at all pointing fingers and putting blame on anyone here. I know now, that they had their share of hard times. I'm finally understanding how your personal struggles could keep you away from being present to the people who may need you to be there. Its definitely not my grandma's fault either. It is what it is.. At the end of the day, we are all praying at the same God.. that's what i believe.. Religion just impose limitations on how great and loving He really is.. 

Day 1 - It's not about me..

Question to Consider: 

In spite of all the advertising around me, how can I remind myself that life is really about living for God, not myself?

by loving

by respecting other people's feelings, respecting their privacy..

by learning to take responsibility of my own feelings, my own destiny.

by making sure i will turn out okay, so im one less person to worry about, hoping one day I'd have enough to lend a helping hand too..

by reminding myself that He's like santa clause ^_^, keeping lists of everything i did or did not do, so I make sure that no matter how hurt i feel, i don't wish the same thing to anyone..
animals/pets - reminds me how we are here to care for all of His creations
when my siblings calls me ate, a silent portion of my heart always seems to thank God for that
 listening to songs like this one:

40 days journey

I picked up this book 2years ago. I scanted through it while I was in Borders, but after I bought and took it home, it stayed on the shelf for, well, 2years.. I wanna start a little mission tomorrow. The reason I chose this book wasn't really to know my purpose. I believe I have an idea about my purpose.. It's been a popular book, so I got it just to see what is the fuss all about.. I believe my original plan were to go to Borders for 40 consecutive days, but between 40days worth of gas to paying $9.99 of owning it, I voted for ownership!.. LolZ

Rick Warren, recommends that the reader do this book as a study; instead of reading it from end to end, take it one chapter a day, reading slowly and thinking about what’s just been read. Anyway today, I'm signing the next 40days of my life. I'm gonna try to stick it out and answer each chapters question.. I admit, I'm afraid on how personal its gonna get, but that doesn't stop my curiosity. I wonder how its going to change my perception, or if it will change anything for me at all. From here, I absolutely have no clue if I can answer all the questions.. so.. here goes...