SMILE AT EVERYONE :)

Today, I just decided to smile at every single person I saw. Dude, it was AWESOME :D  I think almost every person I smiled at, gave me a smile back. From little kids, to teenagers, to office workers, to grand parents… it’s so powerful to see what a little smile can do in making a big difference in brightening someone’s day…

I think I’m going to do this everyday to everyone I meet from now on as often as I can to whomever I can… to simply smile :)

365 Days of Love Challenge: Smile at everyone that crosses your path today… watch what happens :) Share your smile stories in the comments!

Will Smith has always been one of my role models, someone I aspire to be like, someone who fights for what he believes in, makes the impossible possible, defies all boundaries, does good to others, stays true to himself, stands for what he believes in and it’s mad cool at the same time. This video is inspiring, it’s wisdom that can only be gained through experience. Remember talent is given, but skill is gained. Learn from what Will has to say, apply to your own life and make your dreams happen…

ps… I’m going to work with Will Smith one day… just watch :)

STRAWBERRY NIRVANA MY FAVORITE :D

So I was at Jamba Juice tonight, getting my usual “Strawberry Nirvana” after I ordered the worker asked me if I wanted to add on some additional items, sign up for a Jamba Juice benefit plan or something haha, and instead of giving her the cold shoulder and saying something like, “No, please don’t ask me that!” or giving a really negative attitude I told her, “Thank you for asking, but I’m actually going to be okay, but thanks for letting me know about all these other good things at Jamba Juice, I really appreciate that!”

She responded with, “Wow, no one or barely anyone ever responds back to me politely or with gratitude. Thanks for being such a nice person, that just made my day. I normally hate asking people to add more stuff to their order but I have to because its part of my job, normally people shrug me off, but thanks for being so nice!” :D

I used to work at the mall and solicit stranger to buy “lotion” haha, I know what it feels like to get rejected. Trust me, no one that is out there doing sales normally likes to solicit or bug people it’s part of their job. It’s already hard enough for them to make  a living we should do our best to respond with gratitude and politeness even if we don’t want their products and services, and of course.. smile :D It’ll make them feel loved, respected and appreciated!

365 Days of Love Challenge: When a salesperson somewhere asks you to buy something extra, instead of being negative respond with love and respect :)

This past week I came back from my spiritual retreat to an email box full of hundreds of emails that I had not answered, voice mails asking me to respond and many people wanting to meet with me personally about different things. At first, not thinking too much about it, I decided to respond to many of these requests. For a few days I had back-to-back meetings on many exciting new projects, proposals and exciting opportunities. Although, I came home at the end of the day excited about all these new ideas and projects, something inside of me didn’t feel at peace.

Whenever I don’t feel peace in my heart about something I remind myself to stop and pray. So, I prayed to God asking for wisdom and guidance to stay focused. After I prayed, my good friend called me to see how I was doing. I shared with her how I was excited about all these different ideas and opportunities. She then stopped me in my tracks and said, “Jaeson, one word of suggestion, although all these things are good, you need to focus on what you are supposed to do, EVERYTHIGN ELSE CAN WAIT!”

When she said this, I knew it was a message from God telling me to slow down, remind myself of what I am called to do in this season of my life and to focus on what needs to get done. Many times, without thinking, we get ourselves involved in many good things, but not the best things. We end up wasting a lot of our energies on things that may seem exciting to us, but they may not be effective in reaching our goals in life. Busyness is the enemy of productivity. Some people think that just because you are busy, it means you are getting things accomplished. Actually, the opposite proves true. It is when you are doing less that you may actually be doing more. The tyranny of the urgent and the exciting can wait. We need to learn to focus on what we know we need to do, get it done right, before we try to get anything else done. It is so easy to become distracted by others and other things, we must make it a discipline to keep ourselves accountable to doing what we know is right first, before we do anything else. Everything else can wait! How do we do this?

How to do more, by doing less?

1.    Remember that good is the enemy of best ~ many times we get opportunities daily to do a lot of good things. But, many times these good things distract us or deter us from doing the best thing. You can do a lot of good in your life, only to recognize one day that you never got to do what was really in your heart to get done.
2.    Focus on the best. Know what is best. Do what is best. ~ When you know what you are called to do, focus on that goal and do it. Don’t let anything else even urgent needs of others distract you from getting to your goal. If you don’t know what you are called to do, you need to seek guidance and find resolve in what that is or you will be continually lost.
3.    Work smarter, not harder ~ just because there is a lot of activity in your life, doesn’t mean you are actually getting anything done. People like to be busy because it makes them feel that they are being productive. But if you are busy, producing many things, but the end result is not what you aimed for, then you may just be burning a lot of energy. Think through your goals in life, figure out what is the most efficient way to reach that goal and set out to do it. Don’t get sidetracked!
4.    Pray about every major decision & opportunity ~ I pray about everything. If I don’t feel peace about doing something or a clear witness in my spirit that I am to do it, I wait on it. Don’t move on a decision till you first pray! When you pray over difficult decisions to be made, or whether or not an opportunity should be received, or if you pray on what you are to do or not do, it brings God’s wisdom into the situation. Prayer will guide you towards the right direction, because God has a perfect plan for each of our lives. We can only fulfill that plan by seeking God’s direction through prayer.

So don’t do what you are not supposed to do. Make sure you know what you are supposed to do and stick to it! There are a lot of other things that would be good for you to do, but not the best for you to do. You won’t die or miss out on life if you don’t do them. So remember, “Everything else can wait!”

God bless,

Jaeson Ma

For the Chinese version of the article please click here.

I gave this sermon and message this past Sunday at Newsong Church Irvine on the power & purpose of prayer. This is a message that will spiritual awaken you to the importance of prayer in our lives. Prayer is the most powerful weapon we have on earth at our disposal. God does not do anything except through prayer. If you want heaven to move earth, then learn the importance & power of prayer.

This Saturday March 20th we will also be kick starting our 1040 Movie Screening Tour at Newsong Church in Irvine at 6PM. If you are in the OC, Southbay area… get the word out as we are going to pack the house with over 1,000+ for an official 1040 Movie Screening at 6PM & a live performance/concert with The Nehemiah Band and Jaeson Ma (yes, myself). I am really excited about this concert because I will be performing a live set, with a live band and I’m performing two new songs off my upcoming album “GLORY” …. I know that everyone who comes to this is going to be spiritually awakened, will have an encounter with God and I’m believing a revival will break out in OC across the Southbay through this 1040 Screening+TNB/JMA Concert! Keep this event in your prayers… it will be an encounter with the supernatural!

Please mobilize your local churches, college campuses, high school campuses and communities to this 1040 Screening+Concert March 20th in OC. Below is the info… Spread the movement!

Sign up on the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=361666241671

What: 1040 Screening + JMA/TNB Concert @ Newsong Church

When: 6PM-10PM – Saturday, March 20, 2010

Where: Newsong Church

How much?: Free! Donation will be taken at the event*

18842 Teller Avenue, Irvine Ca

Why: 1040 “Christianity in the New Asia” feature film documentary about God’s movement in Asia. Answer the call!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The 365 Days of Love TV Episode you have been waiting for… “COOKING CHAOS WITH JMA” hahahhahaha! So as you know last week I tried to cook my first ever meal for my friends to show them my love and appreciation….

Again, I’ve never cooked for anyone a dinner before so this was history in the making. At the same time it was going to take a miracle for me to do it. As you watch in this episode of 365 Days of Love TV… everything that could go wrong, went wrong! It truly was mission impossible for me to cook the meal for my good friends…

Mission: Cook chicken katsu, curry & rice, salad, pie and a la mode for about 12 people…

Challenge: Everything that could possibly go wrong… OMG… went wrong!!!

Result: you will have to see from beginning to end… haha!

365 Days of Love Challenge: Cook a meal for your friends, even if you have never cooked before. It’s fun, terrifying and all LOVE in the end!

HELLO HAN HOW ARE YOU DOING?

I went to go get lunch today during work at my favorite lunch spot behind our building “RED BOX”. Many times, when you go somewhere to eat you don’t take the time out to even mind the people who are serving you or work there. Today, I thought I would change that attitude. Instead of ignoring, I would go exploring and getting to know the people at Red Box where I eat almost every other week.

Many times, we also ask people “How are you doing?” but we really don’t mean it, or take the time out to listen to someone to see how they really are. I asked the man behind the cash register today, “How are you doing, really?” He said, “I’m okay, working you know?” Then I took it a few steps further and began to ask him about himself, his work, his family and his life. He began to share with me how hard and how short life is. His name was “Han” and he was a single father, but his son had just graduated from UCSD and was accepted to medical school recently. I could tell he was very proud of that fact. I told him, “You must know that you are a wonderful father to raise such a great son!” He said with a smile, “Well, thank you, thank you very much.” I felt like I should just honor him for working his life away as an immigrant from Korea so that his son could achieve a better life. We kept talking about a lot of things. We talked about life struggles, the importance of family and how times goes by so fast, as well as his story of how he started this little restaurant.

By the time my food was ready, he came to tell me before I left all the way from the back of the kitchen, “GOOD BYE JAESON!” (with a big smile) I said, “GOOD BYE HAN” and at that moment, it was a happy moment, because we both recognized each others existence and it was a moment of love.

365 Days of Love: Ask someone how they are doing for real. Take the time out to listen to their day, their life and get to know them. It will make them feel heard and loved. Share your stories in the comments!

BEING THERE IN TIMES OF DESPERATE NEED

During church service, when I was about to preach a friend of mine gave me a note with a request. In the note he shared with me that a brother in law of his who was 9 months homeless, mentally ill and needed desperate help needed my time and prayers. He asked if after service I could drive over to a local hotel to meet with him and his brother in law. It seemed very urgent. As I prayed about it, I really felt I should go and meet with his brother in law who was in the struggle.

Right after service, instead of going to eat lunch I drove straight over to the hotel. When I met with my friend and his brother in law, honestly it was a desperate situation. My heart sank as I began to speak with this brother. I could tell by our conversation that his mind was not completely there, at the same time, I felt this overwhelming love from God for him. His clothing seemed street, almost gangster, but his heart was pure and the more we talked the more I got to know him.

I asked him about his life, his spiritual journey and his passion. He told me his passion was music. We were able to connect on that point and I began to share with him about my own passion for music. I then began to encourage him to pursue the dream of making music, not to worry about what others thought, but to follow his heart. I asked him if he knew God, if he desired to be forgiven of his sins and to enter into God’s purpose for his life… he told me yes, he was willing, so we prayed.

In the next minutes something powerful happened… he prayed with to repent and accept Christ in his heart. He then prayed with me to release all his anxiety, hurt, fears and doubts to God. I prayed for him to receive the presence of the Holy Spirit and at the very end I asked him, “How do you feel now?” He said, “I feel better, yeah, I feel better.”

He had a lot of stress, anxiety, fears and lies running through his mind, but by simply showing him some care, interest, love and prayers and most of all introducing him to Jesus he was able to find a certain peace that wasn’t there before we met…

Pray for my brother, pray God heals him completely, restores his mind and uses him to make music that brings heaven into earth!

During church service, when I was about to preach a friend of mine gave me a note with a request. In the note he shared with me that a brother in law of his who was 9 months homeless, mentally ill and needed desperate help needed my time and prayers. He asked if after service I could drive over to a local hotel to meet with him and his brother in law. It seemed very urgent. As I prayed about it, I really felt I should go and meet with his brother in law who was in the struggle.

Right after service, instead of going to eat lunch I drove straight over to the hotel. When I met with my friend and his brother in law, honestly it was a desperate situation. My heart sank as I began to speak with this brother. I could tell by our conversation that his mind was not completely there, at the same time, I felt this overwhelming love from God for him. His clothing seemed street, almost gangster, but his heart was pure and the more we talked the more I got to know him.

I asked him about his life, his spiritual journey and his passion. He told me his passion was music. We were able to connect on that point and I began to share with him about my own passion for music. I then began to encourage him to pursue the dream of making music, not to worry about what others thought, but to follow his heart. I asked him if he knew God, if he desired to be forgiven of his sins and to enter into God’s purpose for his life… he told me yes, he was willing, so we prayed.

In the next minutes something powerful happened… he prayed with to repent and accept Christ in his heart. He then prayed with me to release all his anxiety, hurt, fears and doubts to God. I prayed for him to receive the presence of the Holy Spirit and at the very end I asked him, “How do you feel now?” He said, “I feel better, yeah, I feel better.”

He had a lot of stress, anxiety, fears and lies running through his mind, but by simply showing him some care, interest, love and prayers and most of all introducing him to Jesus he was able to find a certain peace that wasn’t there before we met…

Pray for my brother, pray God heals him completely, restores his mind and uses him to make music that brings heaven into earth!

365 Days of Love Challenge: Be there for those that need the most help. If a friend asks you to come help a family member or someone they care about. Do your best to be there for them!

Check it out everyone in Orange County, Irvine, Southbay LA… I’m excited to let you know that we are kicking off our 1040 screening tour at Newsong Church Irvine, California this Saturday with a music concert after the screening featuring Nehemiah Band and yes, yours truly, JMA! I”ll be performing a few new songs off my upcoming album “GLORY” and I’m excited because it’s going to be an acoustic live set with TNB & my man Caleb Lin on the vocals.

For those of you who didn’t get to see 1040 at the world premiere, here is your chance to show love, support and be challenged to join the 1040 movement. Spread the word to everyone at your local church, your campus fellowships, community groups and everyone  you know to come to this 1040 screening + concert! Get everyone you know to bring at least 5 friends! It’s going to be a night that will change your life, and by your response to it… change the world!

We are going to begin our nationwide screening tour of 1040 at Newsong Church this Saturday… if you want the 1040 film screened at your local church, campus or community & have JMA/TNB perform live in concert after goto: www.1040movie.com and click on “host a screening” and our team will get that set up for you. As of now, we are close to 100 screening requests across the US and are overwhelmed in a good way with the demand and response to see this film. Let’s make it happen! Let’s spread the movement!

Sign up on the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=361666241671

What: 1040 Screening + JMA/TNB Concert @ Newsong Church

When: 6PM-10PM – Saturday, March 20, 2010

Where: Newsong Church

18842 Teller Avenue, Irvine Ca

Why: 1040 “Christianity in the New Asia” feature film documentary about God’s movement in Asia. Answer the call!

1040 SCREENING + JMA/TNB CONCERT AT NEWSONG CHURCH IRVINE SATURDAY MARCH 20 6PM! LETS PACK THE HOUSE!