Henri Nouwen's

Dressed in Gentleness

Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.

two very kind people who lifted my soul today

Jennifer Kuo

&

Elton Chan

:)

very kind & wise. thanks the Lord.

Don't lose heart!

"Don't lose heart! Keep praying"
"Encourager"
"Jesus says, "Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13 and Hosea 6:6)

"Don't lose heart!" These words came to my mind yesterday, when I wanted to send Alan an email. Even though I ended up didn't use these same words, I was really surprised to hear the same words from Dr. David Sherbino at Chapel today, when he encouraged us to be the "encourager". - something that I've been constantly thinking about....ever since, I received...all the many gifts from Hannah again in girl's cell group...I thought...hm...I cannot waste the kindness....and the gifts that I received from others...I must make use of them wisely and be an encouraging woman too.....

And for the Bible verse, I encountered....the Bible verse from Henri Nouwen's devotion yesterday....looking up the verse and its cross references in Hosea 6:6....not too sure I understand fully what it meant...and today... the same verse...I saw it was posted on the wall................this verse became so big and loud that it caught my attention...finally...today. I think that wall decoration has been posted there for a loong time, but for all these time I have never ever actually notice it..... hm...

Today....the food and snacks that were on the table caught my attention first....(I was wondering hm...who will get to eat the snack :P) and then I saw Iris walking my way...greeting..and right after when she went into the classroom...I saw this wall decoration marking this Bible verse...that I studied yesterday.

"Jesus says, "Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13 and Hosea 6:6)

what does this mean? .... I wonder.

~*
lately, I'm growing to understand that I must grow to become someone who's trust-worthy and responsible - and respect from others must be "earned".
While love is a free gift, now I need to focus on "earning" ... earning respect, and trust of others, making my living, and using my ability wisely

blizzard - fear of the Lord

This morning at 6 a.m. there was a blizzard. It was the thunder snowstorm which the news had been reporting the whole day yesterday. This morning when I got up. I watched the storm and it's so severe and it could easily blow anyone away. The wind and the snow were so strong and powerful that the visibility was real low.

The nature is so powerful beyond my imagination. I realize once again, how tiny and small I am on this planet earth, and still God cares for me. (His love is something that I cannot fathom.)

The nature always bring me closer to see God's power and magnificence. This morning brought me to a new level of understanding "reverential fear of God". It's those moments, I had new understanding of the power of God - and reaching a new level of reverential fear that brought me to a point that I could barely move or speak - I reached a new level of stillness.

*speechless*

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

...

i don't have that much to write really...
feeling so tired because I didn't sleep well last night. I dreamt singing a tune with a group of people around the table...it's an actual tune.... humming to a passage in the Genesis I think. What a weird dream... I woke up the moment when the tune go into harmony with Queendy's singing..then I woke up at 5:08...feeling scare...then I turned on all the light in my room in order to go back to sleep until 7:30 which made me almost late for school....I'm glad that the traffic was fine and nice today. So I got to school 10 min before class start.

I like Dr. Rebecca Idestrom so much...I wonder how much Greek and Hebrew she actually knew....and to my amazement...I would never have thought that Biblical Interpretation, the study of translation and Bible history could be so interesting and engaging...finding History interesting really surprised me...

i need to balance my time spending with people and being alone... too much of each isn't good. I'm truly happy to see Alan Ma at chapel today, but I cannot keep inviting people to come to chapel anymore....because Chapel is my time...my personal pilgrimage to get close to God. I can tell other people that we have chapel, but I must not lose focus or I'll lose my precious opportunity to quiet down and reflect...and that time of solitude is So important to me.

I still have an assignment Unfinished ... it's such a small simple assignment....but I don't want to do it, and I will rahter choose to go to bed now worried, than writing it now. hm. ... *.*

a lot of books to read might distract me, but not when I focus! yes.