Thursday, July 13, 2006

1st day of school

yesterday was my first day of school.
it is really quite an experience (for william n me)
- waking up early, getting daniel & anna ready, sending them to school & my in-laws place, then william sent me to school and got himself to his school
(this will be the norm for the subsequent wednesdays to come)
it has been quite some time (some 9 yrs) since i last studied formally.
i'm really thankful to God who made this possible.
i'm also very thankful to God for the teachers.
they are very professional, qualified and reasonable.
well it's a new beginning of homework and writing papers, on top of existing roles and responsibilities.
But, with God's grace i think i can manage. :-)

Sunday, July 02, 2006

What Matters Most?

What Matters Most?

Youth Sunday - lots of fun - lots of joy
but most of all, lots of glory to give to God
for indeed it is He who made all things possible
many giftings He has given -
many things we can do with our hands (good & pleasant things or bad & nasty things)
many words we can say with our mouths (caring & tender words or hurting & vulgar words)
many songs we can sing and play to worship Him
is God in our heart?
are our hearts directed towards Him?
if our answers are "yes"
good & pleasant things will come out of our hands
caring & tender words will come out of our mouths
songs will come alive and reach the heavens
i can just imagine the smile He has on His glorious face
He would indeed smile upon us
how pleased would He be
On the other hand
if our answers are "no", "maybe", or "not sure"
... what might come out of our hands
... what might come out of our mouths
... maybe we may not even feel like singing
how will He feel?
i can also imagine His disappointment (for He will never leave us or abandon us)
i can also imagine His anger at our insincerity (for He will always be just and true)
but most of all i can also imagine His loving outstretched hands (for He is compassionate and understands our frailty)
reaching out to us,
beckoning us,
awaiting us to direct our hearts back to Him

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b