Loving my neighbors

I decided that it wasn't enough to just send love and invite one person to Alpha, so I picked up a stash of Alpha cards, and stuffed them in my neighbors' mailboxes. Sure, I'm spamming people, but this spam could change souls for eternity! I thought I could take the risk of being called a solicitor, in hopes that more will come to know the glories of our wonderful Lord!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him."

Inspiring someone with Nick Vujicic's powerful testimony!

At the beginning of the summer, I blogged about how much I was looking forward to the summer, because I could spend time with my cousin. Well, the summer definitely flew by, and given everything that happened, we unfortunately didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked... we didn't even get a chance to finish watching the Nick Vujicic DVD that we started watching the last time she was over for dinner. So, as an encouragement to her, and as a thank you for being such an awesome cousin that she is, I gave her the Nick DVD as a gift, and included a card with words of encouragement and Truth. I know that this summer had been a really stretching summer for her, but I also pray that she would remember that nothing is too big or too impossible for our great God!

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"
Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
For from him and through him and to him are all things."

I was invited to blog here by a dear friend ... what a privilege. Thanks dear! I think this blog for me is about being mindful of living each moment as a possibility to reflect the love of Christ.

No moment is ever wasted, if you think about it. Whether you're stuck in line at the bank or waiting for a friend, you won't be bored, because you have the most powerful activity at your disposal--prayer!

This was hammered home to me over the weekend. I was at the gym and about to go to yoga class in the studio, when I noticed in the spinning studio next door there were some people talking urgently and the music still blaring but all exercise had stopped. I understood that someone had collapsed during spinning class and he was still on the ground. A lady was on the phone with 911, describing the situation. The instructor was administering CPR. It had JUST happened, so there weren't many people around yet; they had alerted the manager of the gym but he hadn't even arrived on the scene yet.

The HK side of me wanted to go by the studio and peek in... see what the man looked like, etc. I could've done so easily, without getting in the way of anyone, but I didn't. And I couldn't be of much use. Instead I went to the (empty) changing room and prayed--out loud. I prayed for him to not be scared, that angels would come into his unconsciousness and tell him about Jesus.

This incident also showed me the urgency of spreading the gospel--you could be exercising one minute, and then unconscious with no pulse the next. I don't know whether people are given a "last chance" to accept Jesus before they die, but either way, they are missing out on living a life on THIS earth knowing our Lord and Saviour in intimate way, and doing HIS work in cooperation with Him. I have never experienced more joy than when I know God is using me.

Pressing on through the sleepiness

Do you have days where you feel so tired that it's hard to even keep your eyes open? (It reminds me of an episode in the Tom & Jerry cartoon, where Tom was so tired that he had to keep his eyes open with toothpicks.) That's what I felt like last night. Since 4 that afternoon, I was already looking forward to jumping into bed after dinner.

And of course, God always has the best timing in challenging us to love others. After struggling to stay awake and responsive through dinner, I was just getting ready to say good night to everyone, when my sister asked if I could drive her around to run some errands. Oh mannnnnn.....

Thankfully, it was a lot quicker than I expected. Plus, it reminded me how fun and relaxing it is to go out at night in your pj's. I'm glad that I got to spend that time with my sister, and she was very thankful for my help as well.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

True love is costly

It's interesting how love and pain go hand in hand sometimes. One would think that in love, there should be no pain, that we'd just be lying on fluffy clouds and skipping in meadows with one another in perfect harmony... and yet, often times, real love is only experienced through pain and suffering. Think about it, any true act of love requires sacrifice. When we help others, it requires us to step out and give up our time, our energy. When a mom gives birth to her precious child, it requires painful labor. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, it cost Him His life.

Yesterday was supposed to be the greatly anticipated annual super duper lovely jubbly Island ECC Sports Fellowship summer time junk trip. Boy was I looking forward to it, especially when I was going to bring my cousins! The summer had been pretty rough on all of us, and we were really looking forward to being able to get away and have some fun in the sun. Unfortunately, 9 hours before we were about to take off, one of my cousins called and informed me that our aunt, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, was not doing well and was struggling immensely to hang onto life. So yesterday, instead of riding on jet-skis, the Carebears (cousins) spent the afternoon together in the face of pain and suffering, comforting each other, and rooting each other on.

It's one thing to hear about suffering; it's another thing to be in the midst of it. Suffering is heart-wrenching and agonizing. Suffering makes time drag on forever. Suffering can deflate people and make them bitter. And perhaps that's why Jesus had to come and live in this fallen world, so that we would know that He too, experienced in our pain and suffering, and because of that, can give us the hope that we need, because He is victorious over pain, and suffering, and even death itself.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

An unexpected love opportunity

I was really looking forward to catching up with a sister over dinner. We were both super busy this summer, and hadn't really seen much of each other. Even finding a time that we were both free to meet was quite a challenge. So you can tell my excitement when dinner time drew near. I was literally skipping down the street on the way over to meet her.

We ended up going over to her house for dinner, and although we spent some time catching each other up on what's been going on, an unexpected house guest arrived (her brother's friend, who was in town for a holiday) and joined us at the dinner table.

Hm, so much for girl talk. So, in efforts to be welcoming to the house guest, we ended up talking about everything else under the sun, like scaling mountains and internet speeds, to life at boarding school and Judgment Day; everything besides what I had intended to talk to my close girlfriend about.

Honestly, in the back of my mind, I was trying all night to figure out an excuse to get away from this house guest, so that I could catch up with my sister. But perhaps it was God's plan for us to talk to this house guest instead, because for a part of the night, we talked at length about faith issues and his personal view of faith. In retrospect, I feel very privileged that I had this opportunity to have such a heart to heart talk with someone whom I just met, and I appreciate his honesty in opening up his heart to a stranger, like me.

Although I didn't share the gospel with him, but I pray that seeds were planted, and that God will make them grow. I pray that he will discover that following Jesus is not about following a set of rules and rituals, but about having a personal relationship with the Creator and Savior of this world, who loves him dearly.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

May we continue to lay down our agendas for the sake of reaching out and helping those who are still walking in darkness!

Humility

M inspired me to blog about humility. Recently, one of my sisters has been going on an emotional rollar-coaster ride, and taking many of us along with her. Now of course everyone has their good days and their bad days, but for this sister, she often seems to have more bad days than good, and the things that she claims causes her bad days, IMO (in my opinion), are not always worth of sympathy.

And of course that's where my problem lies, because I'm trying to view her struggles IMO. "To practice humility, we need to think less of ourselves and more of others." To this sister, her struggles are real, the obstacles are huge, and the darkness is thick. I pray that God will help me remember that, and put myself in her shoes, even when she calls me at the most inconvenient times to talk, even when it's late at night, and even when it seems like she will never understand or change.

God never gave up on us, so how can we give up so easily on others, who are struggling and need our help?

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."

#56 Humility

Yikes...so how many weeks am I behind? I will just keep going forward.

I was really blessed by Jaeson Ma's post on Humility. I could really relate to his struggles dealing with pride. He wrote, "To practice humility, we need to think less of ourselves and more of others." This is a challenge, because friends have recently come to me sharing their stories and I quickly give them a list of "what they should do" and "what not to do" when all along, all they needed was a friend to listen and understand them fully...
how foolish and arrogant of me to see myself as the "know it all."
God is opening my eyes to see that we are all sinners, we are created equal..of course I know this, but do I live this out daily?
my friends don't need me to ramble on with advice and judgment, what they really need is love and support.

Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you think of yourself less.
-Ken Blanchard

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. -Proverbs 27:17

Loving the lost by inviting them to Alpha!

I'm a chicken when it comes to inviting the lost to Christian events, because I'm scared that it would be awkward for them, and honestly, I don't really like getting shot down. However, Jesus reminds us that "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven."

I don't know about you, but I want some reward in heaven!

There's a good friend that I've been praying for ever since returning to HK. We've known each other for years, and go way back, but I didn't get to know him better until coming back to HK this time around. Our friendship is something that I really treasure and am thankful for. And perhaps precisely because of this, I was so afraid of inviting him to church. Thankfully, God gave me the courage that I needed, and I invited him to Alpha over lunch today, to which he said, "sure!" Wow! It was so easy! I feel so silly for being such a chicken...

Righteous Anger?

Like the rest of Hong Kong, I was in a state of anger and unrest all day today. I still cannot believe that the slaughter in the Philippines actually happened. What kind of a world are we living in?? It is in fact 2010 and not 1010, isn't it? Just because we cannot get what we want, does that give us the right to harm others? To destroy families?

Honestly, I'm still trying to reconcile how God would want us to love in this situation. How do we love a country and a government that is so irresponsible? How are we supposed to trust them again? How do we forgive such a heinous act?

The only thing I can do and must do, is pray, for God says "For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

I pray that God will comfort the hearts of those who are mourning. I pray that He will bring vengeance on those who refuse to repent of their wicked ways. I pray that He will again fill His people with hope and love and faith.

Sending love via words of encouragement

Dayspring makes great cards. They are always so encouraging, and so pretty. I knew 2 people who really needed a pick-me-up today, so I got each of them a Dayspring card, and wrote words of encouragement that I pray will shed light into their darkness. And I trust that this will be done, because these words that I wrote are not my own words, but God's Words of Truth that will bring hope and life.

Love challenge: "therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

MPF

By law, all Hong Kong employers are required to help fund their employees' MPF, or Mandatory Provident Fund, aka the stash of cash for your retirement. But does this apply to only HK residents, or can ex-pats enjoy this work perk too? Uh....

So, I did a little research, and I found out that HK employers are also required to fund their ex-pat employees' MPFs. When the contract is over, and you switch over to work for another HK company, you can carry-over your MPF to the new company. If you decide to leave HK, you can cash out on your MPF.

Hm, looks like I learnt quite a bit through my act of love today... perhaps it should be my ex-pat friend's act of love instead!

Dim Sum Love

Hong Kong people love dim sum. For me, having dim sum typifies family time, because ever since I was young, whenever family friends and relatives come to town, our family would bring them to have dim sum.

This summer, my cousin came back for granny. Normally, whenever my cousin is back in town, my super awesome brother-in-law would take him and his family out, and treat them to dim sum. He would do so every time without fail. This time, I felt that I should also treat my cousin and his family too, so even though they didn't know, I helped foot part of the bill. (My family likes to eat, so those dim sum bills can really add up!)

This incident made me realize that giving in secret is really powerful. It not only is something that God approves of (Matthew 6:4), but is also something that brings great joy, enough to fill your heart for the whole day!

Have you ever given in secret, and in doing so were so filled with joy?

Trying to reduce the plank size

In my previous post, I wrote about a coworker that wasn't performing at work as she should be. Today, God gave me another chance to reach out to her and to build up our relationship. When she sent over her work to me for review, instead of railing on her and listing out all the changes she needed to make, I praised her for the work that she had done. And it wasn't the type of "oh, this is good, but...." type praise, but praise that I really meant from the bottom of my heart. Although it was only a few sentences, but I think it was enough to give her some encouragement. She seems to be performing a bit better at work these last few days. I hope that it persists, not just her performance at work, but more importantly, that my love for her will be consistent, so that she can see Christ in me. Christ loves us despite our work; we should love others the same.

"He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities... But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Loving others means getting your hands dirty

For those of us who often cross the Hong Kong/China border, we're armed with either two cell phones, or cell phones that take dual sim cards (i.e. two numbers that can send and receive calls on one phone.)

On my way back from China, I sat next to a lady, who definitely was not a frequent border crosser. For most of the trip, she struggled with trying to take one sim card out of her phone, and replace it with another. Perhaps it was her nice long manicured nails that got in the way, or maybe it was just that she wasn't used to the drill. In either case, she managed to drop the little sim card... somewhere... somewhere dark and not very visible. Great.

Do I pretend not to see anything and just keep banging on my berry? I wanted to! But of course the Holy Spirit wouldn't let me! And so we searched, high and low... and we finally found it! ... stuck between the yucky crack of our two seats. Well, she wasn't going to stick her nicely manicured nails down there, and it seems like her hands were bigger than mine anyway, so I volunteered to tweeze the tiny sim card out of the crack for her, after which I dropped it in her hand with a smile. She was very grateful. It only cost me a few minutes and 2 dirty fingers, but I'm glad that God gave me the chance to help out a stranger!

When was the last time you got your hands dirty helping someone else?

There's a plank in my eye!

I've been starting to realize that the more I wrestle with something, the more likely that God's telling me that I need to grow in that area. Lately, again and again, God's been challenging me at work. Recently, I've had to take over someone else's work, without any guidance or direction. It was pretty much a sink or swim type deal, and dude, I started sinking quickly! Not only did I not understand what I was doing, but the people who helped out this person who's job I took over, were not very smart or on top of their work either! Sadly, I have zero patience for incompetence! (No, it's not a positive trait of mine...)

Unfortunately, a few days ago, one of the colleagues, whose bad work attitude others have started complaining about, got it from me. I wouldn't say I yelled at her, but my words were definitely not laced with much patience or mercy. It probably sounded like noisy gongs and tasted like sour lemons.

Well, today, God graciously gave me a chance to try to redeem my poor attitude, and show this coworker some love. I heard from someone else that she had taken 2 days off earlier because her mom wasn't feeling so well, so I called her up, and instead of just diving into correcting her on her work, I chatted with her a bit to see how she was doing, and to see if there's anything I could help her out with. I think she seemed to appreciate it, especially because she seemed much more positive in regards to the work that I told her she had to do afterwards - haha!

In all seriousness though, people just need a little bit of love. We just need to off over our own high ground. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"

Day 49: Love Don't Cost a Thing (or does it?)

I was reminded me of J. Lo's 2001 hit song Love Don't Cost a Thing this morning. Well, I was thinking more that love always costs something. It's the cost of it that makes it all the more valuable.

On my way to work this morning, rushing as usual. Had just dooted my way into the mtr station. Walking briskly towards the escalators, I heard a man's voice shout out 'leng lui' (or beautiful girl). It cracked me up that several of us ladies turned our heads at once. It was an old uncle standing on the other side of the divider (the outside of the mtr). He managed to catch my eye and asked: leng lui, can you pass me a newspaper (free newspapers stacked on my side of the divide)? While all the other ladies had rushed off already and in those brief few seconds, a thousand excuses flooded through my head. I'm in a rush...should just go...already passed the newspaper stack...would have to walk back...maybe someone else will help him...

When it suddenly hit me like a brick wall, how selfish could I be? A simple gesture of love to make someone's day. How much did it cost me? A few seconds time. Sure, that few seconds could have cost me to miss an earlier train, which would have possibly led me to being late for work. But I'd rather be late than pass up an opportunity to lend a helping hand.

So I walked back, grabbed a newspaper, walked over and handed it to the uncle with a smile. He smiled back and gave me a heartfelt thank you. And in some way he seemed surprised that I had made a U-turn and gone back for the newspaper. Good surprises that make your day are the best.

Love challenge: Surprise someone today with unexpected kindness.

Manga!

I just met a friend who started publishing Christian manga. His vision is to capture the hearts of this generation's youth by sharing stories of God's faithfulness to us. And what better way to capture their attention than through manga and anime?

He's all the way on the other side of the world though, and to encourage him, I thought I would send him some manga (Next Manga!) from this side of the world (though technically, I'm just sending it back to where it came from, because it was published in his neck of the woods. :P) In any case, I pray that it would be an encouragement to him, and give him some good ideas for his own Christian manga!

Have you ever read Christian manga? What do you think of it?

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
May manga be used for the glory of God and to usher in His Kingdom!

Learning forgiveness

Whenever I think of forgiveness, I often think of going up to someone, with my tail between my legs, head bowed, very embarrassed, and mumbling a quick "sorry", before scurrying quickly away. Or, I think of someone coming up to me, while I'm in an arms-on-hips, head held high, eyes looking down on the wrong-doer type stance. But this Sunday, my pastor reminded me that forgiveness is not about either of those things. Forgiveness is about remembering that Christ forgave us by dying on the cross for our sins, and as such, we have no right to be able to keep the record of anyone else's wrong-doings either. Forgiveness is about letting go of hurt and bitterness, so that we can grow in maturity. If we don't forgive, our heart will grow hard and die out. What a great reminder!

And of course the test comes bright and early on Monday morning...

The craziness at work continues, the uncooperative people have not gotten better, and sometimes, it seems like the break will just never come! And it's at times like these, when people seem to like to test my patience the most. Yet, I must remember at times like these that God died for my sins. I'm sure it wasn't convenient for Him then either, but He did it, for me. So I must try to do it for others, without (any more) whining or complaining, and without letting any bitterness take root in my heart!

Is there something you have to let go of and forgive someone else for?

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Home worship

I'm a huge fan of Sunday worship services. There's just something special about gathering with other brothers and sisters and worshiping God together. Normally, I would attend service with my parents in the morning, but because my mom has a bit of difficulty getting around, and because of granny's funeral, my dad was still in China and wasn't available to drive us to worship service this Sunday. So instead of venturing out, my mom and I we decided to stay in and conduct our own service instead.

It was the first time that I got to be the worship leader (aka I found a good praise song on youtube and played it), as well as the presider (aka I said the opening prayer for our time together). It was a simple service, but it was so refreshing at the same time. Although I still love Sunday worship services, but God reminded me that we have the ability to worship Him anywhere, anytime. What freedom! What sovereignty!

Have you ever conducted your own worship service?

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture."

Crying out for the lost Part 2

Earlier, I had blogged about the challenge that Jaeson Ma had called us to, to cry out to God twice daily for the lost. Doing this for the first couple of days was quite exciting and fun; I would pray for whoever was around me at that time, my co-workers, my friends, my family, random strangers on the road. It was really refreshing to drop everything and spend a minute or two praying for those who had not yet received God's free gift of salvation.

But, just as human nature would have it, I started getting lazy, and the prayers started sounding the same...

Interestingly, God used my granny's funeral to refresh my heart for the lost. My granny's funeral was a very traditional Chinese funeral, so picture lots of chanting, and wailing, and people you never met trying to send their condolences. In the beginning, I spent my time trying to figure out what these people were actually chanting, but after awhile, I knew it was a hopeless cause, so I started praying for the people that were there. Every time the chanting got loud (and annoying), my desperation would grow, and the prayers that I shouted to God (in my heart) would get louder and more urgent. This went on for hours... from morning until night...

Although the funeral was a sad and long affair, but this episode showed me how many people were still lost. It showed me how many were still in darkness, clinging onto old traditions that cannot save them. Although I didn't get to use words to share the gospel with anyone that day, but I trust that God heard my prayers and petitions. I know that He loves us too much to forsake us.

Are you crying out for the lost too?

"Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy."

Egg tarts

In preparation for granny's funeral, we planned to meet early in the morning to get a head start on our drive to China. With the gloom and doom already so thick in the air, waking up early for a long road trip was probably not on the list of things that any one of us wanted to do... so what does this call for? Fresh hot egg tarts!

"Love... endures all things", even waking up early for long road trips to get to somewhere you don't even want to go...

Yoyo!

It was one of my best friend's birthday yesterday, but unfortunately, all I was able to get around to do was bbm her. How horrible. I had wanted to send her an ecard, but couldn't find one that was nice. Then, I found this snazzy program from Simlebox that lets you create your own! So that's just what I did! I hope she likes it (and approves of the pictures. :P) Next time, I'll try to get the premium edition and add either Lady Gaga's Paparazzi, or Bon Jovi's I'll Be There for You in it; those were our summer songs!

Love challenge: Send love in creative ways!

The gift of time

Some people say that the most precious thing on earth are diamonds. Other people say it's gold. I think it's time! We only get 24 hours of it in a day, and only 60 minutes in one hour. If there was a genie that could grant me 3 wishes, I would definitely want one of them to be to double the amount of time we get in one day!

This week, I continue to be super swamped at work, and with the recent events that have occurred, it seems as if the things I have to deal with just keeps growing... exponentially. And yet, today, I just felt like I should give time to people.

So, rather than surrey back to the office to work on some analysis in excel, I took the time to have a long lunch to get to know one of my clients better, which was really refreshing, because most of us business people just defaulting to mere small talk or zeroing in on business deals. I also left work early to accompany my parents to run errands and to drive them home.

Although I'm starting to get a little dizzy thinking about all the work that awaits me at the office tomorrow, yet I know that the time I spent today was not wasted. I trust that relationships were built, and that people were loved. Besides, the work will always be there...

Love challenge: Reconsider where your priorities lie; work will always remain here on earth, but relationships will carry over into eternity.

Crying out for the lost

At the Kingdom Advance conference that I went to this past Saturday, we learned about how to make disciples, and one of the things that Jaeson Ma challenged us to do was to pray for the lost. Before planning any activities, or sitting down with anyone, prayer is the first thing we should do, and it is the most important thing we can do. Jaeson challenged us to cry out to God every day, twice a day, at 10:02 a.m. and 10:02 p.m. If the lost are to be saved, we need to cry out to God to remember His people, to save the lost, and to send out harvesters into the harvest field. We need to cry out in faith, trusting that our God of the universe will send the perfect people at the perfect time, to bring the Good News of His salvation to the hurting, needy, poor, and lost of this world.

So we set alarms on our phones, and we have been praying. I decided that I will not only be praying for harvesters, but I will be praying for those who are lost - by name. Today, I prayed for one of my close friends and my cousins. Tomorrow, I will pray for my dad and my coworkers. Most of all though, I pray that God will empower me to keep praying, to keep trusting, and to keep loving the lost.

Love challenge: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Loving Dad Part 3

So my church is showing Jaeson Ma's 1040 movie tonight to raise funds for our new church plant. Jaeson Ma will also be there to perform one of his new songs. Needless to say, I've been looking forward to this event ever since I heard about it a few months back, and I was definitely one of the first to load up on some tickets, so that I could invite believing and non-believing friends alike to join me.

Sadly, my granny, who hasn't been feeling so well lately, passed away this past weekend, and after a long week away from home to be with her, my dad came back to HK today. So of course I dropped everything to spend time with him, to encourage him and to grieve with him. Poor dad. He loves my grandma so much. Although I'm going to miss being with my church to witness the revival that God will bring through this movie, but I'm so glad to be able to be an encouragement to my dad too. I pray that he will see and experience God's love, and be comforted, because God promises to comfort those who mourn. (Matthew 5:4)

Love challenge: Think of others' needs before your own.

Old friends Part 4

It was one of my closest friends from high school who taught me about the wonders of coffee. Over the years, we've drifted apart a bit, and he is now living and working in another city, so we only get to see each other every once in awhile. But this past weekend, he was actually in town for a wedding.

Besides making sure that I made time to meet up with him and catch up, I also wanted to get him something to let him know that I treasured our friendship. And what better way to show him how much he had taught me (in this case about coffee), than to get him some of the best espresso cups in the world.

(And just as a plug... :P) Bodum Pavina is a 2 ounce espresso glass made from mouth-blown glass. What's special about it, is that it's made with 2 layers of lightweight, durable borosilicate glass as the base. The double layer will keep the espresso (or whatever drink is inside) insulated, but it won't form condensation on the outside (so your hands don't get all gross from the drippy "water", ew).

The best part about it is that my friend just moved into his new bachelor pad, and these cups are dishwasher and microwave safe - great for keeping the work to a minimal, while still impressing the ladies, ahem, I mean, guests. ;)

Love challenge: Don't just spend time with a friend, but thank them for the things that they have taught you in life.

Jaeson Ma!

Just by typing the title of the blog makes me feel like a groupie! And as a disclaimer, I'm not here to encourage anyone to worship celebrities or idols, or even be followers of people who bring the Good News of the gospel (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-17), but I merely wanted to do something as an act of encouragement for someone who has encouraged me.

I knew that Jaeson was coming to town for the Kingdom Advance conference, and my super inspiring friend invited me to one of the night sessions, so what better way to give him some encouragement than that night? So, after hearing Jaeson give an awesome talk about how to make disciples of all nations (as per the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20) and after worshiping and praying our hearts out for the city of Hong Kong, I very timidly stood in line hoping to just thank Jaeson for being an inspiration, and to give him the Love Cheer game (see below!)

Honestly, as I was waiting in line, I wanted to back out every other second, but my super inspiring friend encouraged me to keep at it. I'm sure Jaeson has his fair share of groupies and crazy people stalking him, and after a long night, I'm sure another giddy fan is not what he needed, but he graciously accepted the gift and said thanks! :) I really do hope that I could have been a tiny bit of an encouragement to someone who has encouraged so many around the world...

Love challenge: Being encouraging takes courage sometimes, but remember, God commanded us "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

The Love Cheer game goes like this:

A cheerful heart is good medicine Proverbs 17:22

You’ve heard before that laughter is the best medicine. Here in your hands, you hold the world’s best drug-free medication for the body and mind. Your objective is to heal as many people as you can, spread as much love as you can, by creating and sharing as much laughter as you can with those around you.

Instructions:

This game is like telephone pictionary, except with a twist.

It is played with an odd number of people; 7, 9, or 11 people work best. If you have an even number of people, one person can act as the time-keeper and judge.

Everyone starts with a piece of paper and a different colored pencil.

Write your name on the bottom of your piece of paper.

Choose 3 words or phrases (some have been provided for you below), and make up a complete sentence using these words. Remember, the objective of the game is to spread joy, so the funnier and more creative the sentence, the more laughter you will be able to create!

After you have written down the sentence, pass the paper to the person sitting next to you. This person now has to draw out the sentence that you wrote down!

When they are finished drawing, they need to fold down the paper, so that it covers the sentence that the first person wrote, and pass the paper showing just the picture to the person next to them. That person then has to write a sentence based on the pictures that were drawn by the person before them. Continue doing this, drawing pictures and writing down sentences, until the paper with your name on the bottom gets back to you.

Unfold your paper, and have a good laugh!

Suggestions:

• Juggle the difficulty by limiting the amount of time you can use to write your sentences and draw your pictures. For starters, you may limit sentence writing to 30 seconds, and picture drawing to one minute.
• Rotate sitting places to switch people up
• Everyone’s a winner in this game, but to up the competition, you may want the judge to keep points for the piece that has the most number of words correct at the end, whoever has the best drawings, the piece that is the most hilarious, or even give extra points for those who can guess which Scripture passage some of the verses are from.

Word list:

Some words and phrases to get your creative juices flowing:

• jamming with the band
• beat boxing and break dancing
• galloping horses
• Toy Story 3
• meting the president
• colorful & bright
• The Yellow Brick Road
• couples figure skating
• stand firm
• Love never fails
• helping someone in need
• praying for someone
• you & me
• heaven
• exchanging marriage vows
• best friends
• mom & dad
• yesterday
• afternoon tea
• Noah's Ark
• ... add your own!

Loving fellow alum

My high school alumni association has been hard at work planning for the annual alumni event. This year, we're planning on having a School of Rock Halloween party, which is only about 2 more months away! Needless to say, planning is in high-gear. Given everyone's busy schedules, the only time that we were able to carve out to meet was over lunch. Hearing that it would be a lunch meeting in an office conference room, I knew that the stress would begin to pile up. So what better way to de-stress and cheer people up, than with some sweet colorful macaroons?

Love challenge: When the stress level gets high, encourage people with some sweet beautiful treats!

Tearing down walls

Lately my grandma hasn't been feeling so well, so the grandkids have been taking our turns visiting her. When I went to visit granny yesterday, I was expecting a long drawn out day ahead of me. However, at granny's I ran into one of my cousins, whom I haven't seen in awhile. Although the atmosphere was quite somber, but the cousins had a great time catching up. Before I left, we even prayed together for his family, for my family, and for our dear granny.

That might seem like a normal thing, but even though the cousins grew up together, we had never been that close, so praying together was definitely breaking down a wall or two. But what was even more iconic for the both of us, was that we prayed in front of the ancestral alter. Growing up in a traditional Chinese family, we were always taught to respect our elders, and to participate in the annual traditions of presenting food offerings and incense at the ancestral alter, in hopes that our ancestors will "watch over us" and "bless us". Now, as Christ-followers, we wanted to renounce these traditions, not because we don't respect our ancestors, but because we believe in the one true and living God - Jesus Christ. We prayed that the shackles of tradition and old-wives tales be broken in our families. We prayed that hearts would be opened and that our families would be able to know and receive the love of Jesus Christ.

Love challenge: Pray that God will tear down walls and change the hearts of your family!

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Start-up Designers

I work in the textile industry, manufacturing and trading knit fabrics, and ever since entering this field, I've always had the dream to do something to help promote design, especially in the area of graphics. Unfortunately, as much as I love the arts, I personally do not have much skill in the arts. However, I do believe that God has gifted each of us uniquely, so perhaps my role is not necessarily one as an "artist", but as a "supporter of the artist".

Today, I met up with an old friend for lunch. She told me that she had just quit her job to start her own t-shirt line, but was struggling to meet the minimum production quantity, because she was merely a start-up designer. What a great chance for me to help! Fabric and manufacturing connections are what I have, which is exactly what she needed to help her get started! We had a great time chatting over lunch about ideas and production capabilities, but the best part was the encouragement that we were able to give each other in getting closer to our dreams!

Love challenge: Think of how God has gifted you to help others, and put yourself in situations where these gifts can be put to use!

"He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work, as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers."

Loving my auntie & uncle

My auntie hasn't been feeling very well lately. In fact, she just had surgery the day before yesterday, so I went to visit her in the hospital after work yesterday. I had called my uncle the day after the surgery to ask how they were doing. I called around afternoon tea time, and my uncle jokingly said, "oh, you're calling to ask how we are doing? I thought you were going to come take me out for afternoon tea!" Soooo, before I went to visit them yesterday, I went to get some afternoon tea snacks for my uncle....


Love challenge: Even if they're joking, show them love anyway.

Old Friends Part 3

I must be on a loving old friends spree. Today, I took most of the day off to spend with some good friends visiting from out of town. I got up extra early to meet them for breakfast. Unfortunately, the dim sum place wasn't open yet, so we ended up just having coffee instead. Afterwards, I took them to Noah's Ark in Ma Wan. It's so peaceful there! Maybe it was because it was a mid-day on a Monday, and everyone was at work, but perhaps it's also because the Ark is such a great reminder of God's faithful covenant of love to each of us that made it so peaceful. Either way, it's such a blessing to have great friends, people whom you can just pick up with where you last left off - no matter how much time passed in between or how many miles now separates the two of you.

Love challenge: Take time out to spend with old friends, especially when they come to town!

Old Friends Part 2

I was taking the red mini-bus home last night, and as I was looking out the window, a guy caught the corner of my eye. (Sure, he's cute. :P) But I realized that it was an old friend whom I hadn't talked to in awhile. When I saw him, I was really tempted to get off the bus, to say hi, but the red mini-bus driver was driving at law-breaking speeds, and I was doing all I could to keep from falling off the seat, so I opted for the safe thing to do - I sent my friend an email to let him know that I spotted him and wanted to say hi.

He was encouraged! But it turns out that it wasn't him, but it was his brother! :P Oops! Oh well, at least he was reminded that he had a friend. :)

Love challenge: Reach out to an old friend to say hi - no matter how many years you haven't spoken to him/her!

Seeing love through marriage

I had the honor of taking part in a beautiful wedding this past weekend. The bride and the groom are such an encouraging testament of God's faithfulness and love to us. Their wedding was held in a chapel where the groom's parents were married 30 years prior, and where the bride's parents attend church today. If that is not God's sovereign faithfulness and love, I don't know what is. Both these families just ooze and glow of God's presence, and I'm so blessed to have been able to witness such a wonderful union!

As part of their wedding gift, two girlfriends of mine suggested printing their engagement picture on a tshirt for the groom, and a tote bag for the bride. They came up with the brilliant suggestion, and I was able to provide the service. I pray that as they wear tshirt and use the bag, that they will be reminded of God's faithfulness to them in their relationship thus-far, and in the exciting journey to come.

Love challenge: Take part in a wedding, and be reminded of God's love and faithfulness!

“We love because he first loved us.”

Oh! And I also got to see R. at the wedding - she made my night. :)