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Saturday, January 31, 2009

"I will be as the dew to Israel." (Hosea 14:5)

The dew is a source of vigor and freshness.  It is nature's provision for renewing the face of the earth.  It falls at night, and without it the vegetation would die.  It is this great value of the dew which is so often recognized in the Scriptures.  It is used as the symbol of spiritual refreshing.  Just as nature is bathed in dew, so the Lord renews His people. In Titus 3:5 the same thought of spiritual refreshing is connected with the ministry of the Holy Spirit- "renewing of the Holy Spirit".
Many Christian workers do not recognize the importance of the heavenly dew in their lives, and as a result they lack freshness and vigor.  Their spirits are drooping for lack of dew.

Beloved fellow- worker, you recognize the folly of a laboring man attempting to do his day' work without eating.  Do you recognize the folly of a servant of God attempting to minister without eating of the heavenly manna?  Nor will it suffice to have spiritual nourishment occasionally.  Everyday you must receive the renewing of the Holy Spirit.  Quietness and absorbing bring the dew.  At night when the leaf and the blade are still, the vegetable pores are open to receive the refreshing and invigorating bath; so spiritual dew comes from quiet lingering in the Master's presence.  Get still before Him.  Then ou will be renewed and refreshed.  Haste will prevent you from receiving anything.  Wait before God until you feel saturated with His presence; then go forth to our next duty with the conscious freshness and vigor of Christ.

Dew will never gather while there is either heat or wind.  The temperature must fall, and the wind cease, and the air come to a point of coolness and rest- absolute rest, so to speak- before it can yield up its invisible particles of moisture to bedew either herb or flower.  So the grace of God does not come forth to  rest the soul of man until the still point is fairly and fully reached.

- Streams in the Desert





patience
quietness
wait
calm
He sees
He plans
He knows
He knows
just Trust

simply Faith

When You Speak, God Hears

Those who pray keep alive the watch fires of faith. For the most part we don’t even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. His name is not important. He is important not because of who he was, but because of what he did.
He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend. His friend was sick, and Jesus could help, and someone needed to go to Jesus, so someone went. Others cared for the sick man in other ways. Some brought food; others provided treatment; still others comforted the family. Each role was crucial. Each person was helpful, but no one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus.
John writes: “So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’” (John 11:3, emphasis mine).
Someone carried the request. Someone walked the trail. Someone went to Jesus on behalf of Lazarus. And because someone went, Jesus responded.
In the economy of heaven, the prayers of saints are a valued commodity. John the apostle would agree. He wrote the story of Lazarus and was careful to show the sequence: The healing began when the request was made.
The phrase the friend of Lazarus used is worth noting. When he told Jesus of the illness, he said, “The one you love is sick.” The power of the prayer, in other words, does not depend on the one who makes the prayer but on the one who hears the prayer.
We can and must repeat the phrase in manifold ways. “The one you love is tired, sad, hungry, lonely, fearful, depressed.” The words of the prayer vary, but the response never changes. The Savior hears the prayer. He silences heaven so he won’t miss a word. The Master heard the request. Jesus stopped whatever he was doing and took note of the man’s words. This anonymous courier was heard by God.
John’s message is critical. You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens.
Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God” (Rev. 8:4). Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.
One call and heaven’s fleet appears. Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven.
You are the someone of God’s kingdom. Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!
When you speak, Jesus hears.
And when Jesus hears, the world is changed.
All because someone prayed.


From
For These Tough Times:
Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing

© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado

Thursday, January 29, 2009

my creative DNA

i like things that match
i don't like chaos, unless there is order in the chaos

i like things that calm me
i like colors
i like plain
it's either very colorful or very plain
nothing in between
i like simplicity
i like things that are handwritten / hand-made
i like fun, like pillow sledding down the stairs
i like bonding with friends / my family
i like happiness
i like smiley faces
it warms my heart when i see joy

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

creative DNA

1. what is the first creative moment you remember? don't really remember :(
2. was anyone there to witness or appreciate it? probably my parent
3. what is the best idea you've ever had? pillow sledding with my siblings :P

4. what made it great in your mind? it was super fun and a great siblings bonding time :)

5. what is the dumbest idea? jumping down the stairs and skipped 7 steps on purpose
6. what made it stupid? er... i hurt myself and got stitches
7. can you connect the dots that led you to this idea? my mom kept telling me to stop, i (wanted to be a rebel) didn't listen to her and (thought that i knew better) jumped down
8. what is your creative ambition? to create something that brings happiness
9. what are the obstacles to this ambition? a lot. like im not creative enough, i dont know what works...
10. what are the vital steps to achieving this ambition? observe what makes people happy/ smile
11. how do you begin your day? wake up and think "crap! im going to be late for class" or wake up and check my email calmly because i still have a ton of time before class
12. what are your habits? what patterns do you repeat?
13. describe your first successful creative act.
14. describe your second successful act.
15. compare them.
16. what are your attitudes toward: money, power, praise, rivals, work, play?
17. which artists do you admire most?
18. why are they your role models?
19. what do you and your role models have in common?
20. does anyone in your life regularly inspire you?
21. who is your muse?
22. define muse.
23. when confronted with superior interlligence or talent, how do you respond?
24. when faced with stupidity, hostility, intransigence, laziness, or indifference in others, how do you respond?
25. when faced with impending success or the threat of failure, how do you respond?
26. when you work, do you love the process or the result?
27. at what moments do you feel your reach exceeds your grasp?
28. what is your ideal creative activity? decorating a room, interior design

29. what is your greatest fear? the result is not what i expected

30. what is the likelihood of either of the answers to the previous 2 questions happening?
31. which of your answers would you most like to change?
32. what is your idea of mastery?
33. what is your greatest dream?

tharp: your creative dna

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

"touch of god" talent

what is the "talent that god" gave you? do you even know? what about the people around you? who do you think has "touch of god" talent?
i think my gift is building relationships with people. i'm not afraid to go up to random people to say hi. i love meeting people. i'm fascinated by the interaction and relationship among people and how people from different culture prefer different ways of interaction. you get to learn so much about a person from talking to them. sometimes you click with that person, it's like chemistry or math, when you add the right things together, you get the answer you want; sometimes you don't quite click with the person but you still manage to have awkward small talks, then the awkward small talks might or might not turn in to normal conversations; sometimes you just meet the person who you don't even want to deal with and that person would remain in your "blocked list". interesting, at least i think it is. though sometimes i get tired from being a butterfly all the time and get a little anti-social, i generally like being around people and i like to pass on my happy mood to them.
everyone has "touch of god talent" but if i have to name someone, its has to be my mom. somehow she just has the gift to earn money. she understands how people think and what will motivate people to buy. god definitely gave her the intelligence for her to work well in the business world. in the business world, maintaining good relationships with people is, i think, the most important characteristic one needs. my mom, being intelligent as she is, can persuade a person to be loyal and faithful to the company. i remember there was this one time when a manager wanted to leave the company but still had loans from the company that he had not finish paying (so.. he obviously can't leave yet). no one could persuade him not to leave the company but my mom, after talking to him for an hour, got him to stay.  my mom is cool :P
daily routine/ procrastination
wake up in the morning, check email/ facebook/ wash my face, brush my teeth, class, lunch, class, reading/ schoolwork during gaps, back to room, check email/ websites/ news/ facebook, dinner, club activities, schoolwork/ email/ facebook, talk to people in my dorm
interesting how i forgot to put in their how much time i spend/ day talking to people which is a good thing, at least that's what i think
it sounds like boring everyday life but it's not. everyday something exciting interesting. maybe it only lasted for 1 min, 10 mins, 30 mins or an hour but it was the highlight of the day and it made the everyday routine awesome. like today, i was walking around spring quad day and i randomly met a guy who graduated last year, the group of exchange students i made last week and made 4 new friends (through my friends). so i talked with the group of friends and kept up with their lives for 20 mins. i had dinner with the guy who graduated and some other friends in my dorm, found out that he's going to be in an intensive rangers training, military stuff, in a few days. learned a ton about the military and how much i don't ever want to be in the military ;P it's too intensive. they have to march 15 miles with 100 Ibs on them, live in 15 degrees weather, live in extreme conditions...
then i realized i spend too much time socializing and being on the internet and it's already midnight aka time to start on school work. that is for sure my other talent that i dont really want: procrastination. i wish i can be one of those people who always have everything ready days before the project is due. what do i do to procrastinate? er.... wait till the last minute. sometimes (most of the time) i can't get things done when i can't feel the urgency.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

it's the 6th year that i spend my chinese new year without my family
the 6th year i've been away from home
the 6th year without red envelopes

you'd think that i'm used to it now
but i'm not
still not

every holiday makes me think of my family

最幸福的事
是有家人的愛

Friday, January 23, 2009

權力

當人有了權力後
好容易走錯路

奇怪吧
人花那麼多時間
得到他們想要的
可是得到後
卻可能是腐敗的開始

自大
驕傲

自大
驕傲