An Autumn in Korea

A picture paints a thousand words, so they say, eh?

As usual, wherever I go, my love remains with me

This is what a typical Korean market looks like

me in the background
(work of Sis)

In the church, before Sunday morning service

Talk about marshmallows

At the Osanli Prayer Mountain

Our typical pose

A sight to behold

Love, Joy & Peace

They are not waterfalls,

pounding majestically below;

Instead,

they are like rivers,

flowing gently and silently,

and they never cease to dry up,

don't they?

(In case you don't know, still waters run deep)

The silent peace of assurance,

the faint whispers of joy,

the ever patient love (even romantic love),

always flow gently,

just like a river,

never a waterfall;

This was how it was meant to be,

isn't it?

=)

Convicted?

A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day,

Decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,a man came down the aisle,

The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while.

His shirt was kind a shabby

and his coat was worn and frayed,

the man knelt, he bowed his head,

Then rose and walked away.I

n the days that followed,

each noon time came this chap,

each time he knelt just for a moment,

A lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,

with robbery a main fear,

He decided to stop the man and ask him,

'What are you doing here?'

The old man said,

he worked down the road.

Lunch was half an hour.

Lunchtime was his prayer time,

For finding strength and power.

'I stay only moments, see,because the factory is so far away;

as I kneel here talking to the Lord,

This is kind a what I say:

'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU,

LORD,HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP

AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.

DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,

BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.

SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.

'The minister feeling foolish,told Jim,

that was fine.

He told the man he was welcome

To come and pray just anytime

Time to go,

Jim smiled, said 'Thanks.'He hurried to the door.

The minister knelt at the altar,

he'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,

and met with Jesus there

.As the tears flowed,

in his heart,he repeated old Jim's prayer:'

I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,

HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,

SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP

AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.

I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,

BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.

SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.

'Past noon one day,

the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come.

As more days passed without Jim,

he began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,

learning he was ill.

The hospital staff was worried,

But he'd given them a thrill.

The week that Jim was with them,

Brought changes in the ward.

His smiles, a joy contagious.

Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand

why Jim was so glad,

when no flowers, calls or cards came,

Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,

He voiced the nurse's concern:

No friends came to show they cared.

He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised,

old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile;

'the nurse is wrong,

she couldn't know,

that he's in here all the while everyday at noon

He's here,a dear friend of mine, you see,

He sits right down, takes my hand,

Leans over and says to me:

'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,

HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,

AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.

ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,I

THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND

SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.

The Legend of The Cherokee Indian Youth's Rite of Passage

received this email message from ACQ (auntie Choy Quin), interesting -

His (the Cherokee Indian youth) father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN .

He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us.

When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story : Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there. 'For we walk by faith, not by sight.'

The Story of A Stream of River

I received this msg from my friend and found it quite inspiring, enjoy reflecting upon it =)

Once, there was a small stream of river that roamed the lands in search of the vast oceans. The stream, who braved the mountains and endured through the forests, persisted forward with determination.

At last, it came before a desert. The stream then thought to itself, 'I have already persevered through so many trials, what is another one to me'. Yet, the truth differs from its hopes. The stream tried again and again to go through the desert, but each time the stream comes in contact with the desert sand, its water is absorbed by the sand. In haste, the stream said to itself, 'I have tried all that I know of. Looks like I am destined to be a norm and to never reach the oceans!'

Then, the breeze came and comforted the stream saying, "My friend, if I can pass through the desert, I believe you can do it too. You just need to change yourself".

"Change? But I have never done that before!"
The stream started thinking, 'if I really cannot do it, wouldn't I just have to destroy myself here?'

"It is because you have never really known yourself, that you say so. It is because you have never changed, that you know not the value of your own potential," Breeze said.

At last, the stream gathered its courage and, having the thought of improving itself and rising above, leaped into the breeze's embrace. The stream has been vapourized.

The next day, the vapourized stream turned into rain drops and finally has discovered the joy of reaching its goal of life - to land into the vast oceans.

Give us Barabbas!

Remember the scene when Jesus was taken before the Jews by Pilate? Jesus was in His blood-stained robe, wearing a crown of thorns, maybe having His hands chained (feet even), and also a new garment of scars(what the movies depict rite)? And then Pilate asked the Jews, "It is your custom to release a prisoner during the Passover feast every year. So, Hu? Jesus or Barabbas?"

"Give us Barabbas!"
"Barabbas!!"
"woohoo, yeayea yea! Barabbas!"
"Ba-rab-bas! Ba-rab-bas! Ba-rab-bas!"
(whatever..)

And so, the murderer who has taken part in an insurrection was released. Have you ever wondered why the Jews liked him so much? It's not like they hated Jesus to the extent that they are willing to release anyone except Jesus, even the worst of prisoners. It's because they liked him(maybe). Imagine, the authorities in Darlie's (say, it's a boy) school is disliked very much by Darlie and his friends. Then, Darlie rebelled(insurrected), but of course, he was kicked out of school. Then came the headmaster's retirement and all of a sudden, he says, "I'm bringing a student back. Do you all want (whoever who's in the situation paralleled to Jesus) or Darlie?" Imagine what will the students' reply be? Barabbas was considered a hero among the Jews(that's what was written in my bible).

Why did God allow this Barabbas thingy to happen? Can't it just be canceled out of His plan in Jesus' death since it seems so insignificant? Guess what does Barabbas mean? Barabbas is in Aramaic and it means "son of Abba". And Jesus died in the place of Barabbas, in the place of "son of Abba"!! Cool?

so, give us Barabbas or give us Jesus? =)

Are you Resting?

I was pondering on the question "Lord, what do You want to speak to me?" as seen in yesterday's Lent meditation(Sunday meditation) when this thought came into my mind, "are you really resting or just recuperating?"

True enough, today's devotion in e-sword by George Morrison talks about the restfulness of Christ. There are some people who impress us with their restfulness even though they may be energetic, passionate, or even, noisy or "kee siao", haha!. Yet, we just feel the restfulness that radiates out of them so strongly. The people may be our parents, our friends, the elders, the matured, it may also be(not to miss out) the children.

"They are not necessarily brilliant, nor have they any striking or unusual gifts: all we feel is that in their company there is a pleasant atmosphere of restfulness." -Morrison

Every time I read the Gospels, I can see the restfulness of Jesus radiating so strongly, that it even stills me. One of the reasons for the restfulness, as Morrison says, is the love which Jesus has. Another pillar of the restfulness of Jesus is the trust that He has in His Father. Imagine a husband betraying the trust of his wife, and the wife her husband. The next thing you'll see is the restlessness of the betrayed one, constantly checking up on the other one and doubting all that the other one is doing. Jesus is faithful to God, Jesus is restful.

Are you the kind of person whom people feel restful with?