Loving old friends - part 3

A friend whom I haven't seen in awhile recently Facebooked me telling me he was in town, and wanted to see if I would like to meet up. I was quite surprised by his message, because when I was a young Christian, he was one of the giants of faith at my fellowship, so being the shy me, I never mustered up enough courage to really speak to him. Sadly though, I heard from friends that he had been struggling in his relationship with God in the last few years, and as I headed to dinner, I really didn't know how I should go about conversing with him. Should I pretend like things are same old? Or should I ask about how he's been doing? I couldn't not care for a friend's eternal well-being, but if I asked, I feel like I would be prying...

And of course, God is amazing! Because even without asking, this brother just poured everything out, and my heart broke as I heard his story of pain and hurt. But by God's grace, I was able to share my experiences with him, which weirdly, he seemed able to relate to. Even though this brother still has a rough journey ahead, but I trust that God will be there leading and guiding his every step. May God heal his heart, and remind him often of Jesus' amazing, unconditional love for us!

Cultivating a heart of repentance is love!

Lately, I've been a little short-tempered, especially at my dad. This is really horrible, because it's has not only been been hurting our relationship, but it has been making me a really bad witness for Christ! I try to be good, but unfortunately, just like Paul says, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing."

So what do I do? I cry out to God, because I know that only God can overcome sin as deeply rooted as this. I believe and trust that when I acknowledge my sin, and turn back towards Him, that He will give me the courage to do what is right. This courage and strength is not something that I have myself. What's most encouraging though, is that over and over again in the Bible, God shows us that having a repentant heart is what we need, not loud acts of worship or sacrifice. And so, I pray that God will help me to cultivate a heart of repentance, so that I can love others well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving weekend and my family LOVES to celebrate it...by inviting friends over for a nice turkey dinner and eating lots and lots.
I can't wait!
I really love to bake so I made pumpkin cheesecake! The first time I made it with friends, the crust burnt and I felt it wasn't sweet enough so I decided to go for Martha Stewart, which requires more time and a few more ingredients. Try it!

Loving D

There's a sister I know, whom I think must be one of the smartest people in the whole wide world. I know she must have a stash of letters following her name, but I can count the number of times on one hand that she has talked about her degrees. So it wasn't a surprise when I found out that she moved to Hong Kong, because the number one consulting company of the world recruited her, and merely 2 years after joining the company, she was already promoted to manager.

Now this sister is definitely a type-A girl, but she handles whatever the stress the world throws at her with much grace. Although we don't get to see each other too often, since her job has her all over the world, but every time we do see each other, we can just pick up wherever we left off last. I'm so thankful for her. :)

Today is this dear sister's birthday, and I felt like an email, or a regular ecard wouldn't do the trick (she's been put on a really tough client), so I put together a picture of us on the beach, as an encouragement to her to keep steadfast, and stay hopeful!

Sending God's Truth to others is love!

In encouraging others today, instead of merely replying emails with "I will pray for you", I also sent people Scripture verses, because I believe that God's Word is the Truth; it can not only bring hope, but has the power to heal. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

In fact, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." So could it be, that when I send others the Word of God, I'm actually sending a bit of God Himself? Woah! That blows my mind...

Praying for the 1040 tour is love!

JMA's most recent post told of obstacles they have been encountering on the 1040 tour. JMA called for us to pray, and pray we must, because that is the most important thing that we can do! Send JMA your prayer to support the tour!

Here's my prayer:
Our Father in heaven,

You are amazing and wonderful! We give you thanks and praise and all glory for the work that you are doing through Jaeson and the 1040 team. May You protect them, physically and spiritually, and bless the work of their hands. May You lead them and give them wisdom. May You fill them with the Holy Spirit and help them to stand firm in the Truth. God, may You help them with any and all logistics involved with the tour. May every vacant seat be filled at every single showing. May every heart be turned back toward You!

Father God, may You rain down Your love upon each and every single person who attends a 1040 showing, or watches the 1040 film. May Your love and Truth fill their hearts and souls. May we be empowered by Your love to live a life that is worthy of Your calling. Father God, we be humble and contrite in heart, leaning on You always, and loving You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

In Jesus' powerful and mighty name,
Amen!

Giving up your freebie parking discount is love!

At some shopping malls in Hong Kong, you can often get a discount or a full redemption for your parking fee if you spend money at the mall. Us Hong Kongers love this, because in such a tiny city where space is so precious, parking can be quite costly!

I drove my dad to lunch today, and while we were there, he ran into a good friend, who eventually joined us for lunch. We had a good chat, and it was quite interesting listening to the two go back and forth with juicy stories from the past. When it was time to go, we only got one receipt that could be used to redeem one parking ticket. And without further thought, I of course handed it over to "uncle". It wasn't every day that we got to see him!