Music

I love stepping into the mystical world of music.

Since I became aware of them, I have been amazed with the idea that multiples of singers can be singing different words and different notes, some at different tempos, but the sound they produce (if orchestrated well,) is comforting and energizing rather than being a mere cacophony.

What then, shall our praise sound like before the throne of God?

Trying to imagine is overwhelming to my mind.

Imagine being in His presence.

That in itself will thrust us to the ground.

Next, imagine the flying creatures singing His praises, the 24 elders shouting, throwing their crowns, and falling to the ground before Him.

Think of the heavenly host standing around Him.

Next, imagine the peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation. How could He NOT allow them to praise in their native tongues and cultures when we are gathered in unity before Him?!

We will see Him as He truly is and then we will be like Him! We will KNOW Him! We will be pushed to praise Him more and more. The seeds of our love for Him that we have tilled while on earth will sprout and bloom.

Our praises will rise, forever!

What will sound be like before His throne? Will it be physically (?) the same as we have discovered it to be here? Will our ears take in sound as they have with these bodies?

Will we all sing according to our unique cultures? Will our former sounds of dissonance be eternally resolved in Him? Will our dissonances come to the most glorious of harmonies we could ever fathom?

May our music praise Him now.
Hmmm....

Soak it in

Why do we study His Word?
To know Him more. To rip out the sin that resides in our tents of flesh.
For no longer are we captives!
No longer are we slaves to sin.

That is the reality.

We are FREE.
We are BLESSED with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
We have the power of the Holy Spirit -- Who is our guarantee -- the very same One who worked to rise Jesus from the dead, living in us.

So, how do we live out these blessings?
How do we live in the light of His good gifts?

Hmmm...

Soak them in daily, momently.

How else can they pour from us and on to others?

SOAK!

We must attend to the needs of our souls. We must soak in the fellowship we have been chosen to enjoy, for we are the manifestation of His wisdom. (We are His tools to display His glory.)

Praise the Lord for such an inheritance that we can taste now, but will fully see in the future.

Beyond our ability to imagine.

Kids' Quotes

“I like to paint. I don’t like to think.”

“Your hair is crazy, but it is still beautiful.”

“Miss Martin! This is YOUR hair!”

--No denying that one. Curly and orange. Kind of stands out.

After my student read a note of love given to him by a female admirer from the other class:

"I knew it! I knew she would love me. I knew it, Miss Martin. But, she doesn’t even write straight lines. Her words are all running together. I can’t read them.”

"How did you know she would love you?"

“She was in my class last year and we played a lot together.”

After a student went missing for some length of time, I went to search him out in the bathroom.

This was at the beginning of the year and his English abilities were not so great. There were times when he wouldn't even respond to his English name because he wasn't used to recognizing it yet.

I stood in the doorway of the bathroom and called out for him. I heard a sound. Not wanting to intrude upon his privacy I asked if he needed help.

No response. He couldn't understand my question. I tried to offer my assistance again. No response. I let him know that I was going when one of the stall doors opened to reveal the 5-year-old Korean boy sitting on the toilet helplessly trying to figure out how to clean his booty and throw away the tissue.

The poor guy started whining and indicating that he needed help.

With what did he need help?

Hmmm...

What does a teacher do in such a situation, but what is needed?

To his delight, the young boy was finally able to get off the toilet. He seemed to be confused as to how to flush the toilet. (Why, I don't know.) But we worked through the situation with some acting and enunciated English and returned to our classroom -- cleaned booty and all.

Merry Old Land of Oz

You know, when I signed up to come to China I was expecting that I would have to be “roughin’ it” for a while.

I bought and packed up enough deodorant, mascara, eye shadow, lotion, body spray, etc. to last me for two years.

But I came and have discovered that it's not the "roughing it" I imagined. The Lord had/has other plans for refining.

And so, I have come to realize (I think I have said this before, but I want to be sure that it's clearly stated,) that where you live doesn’t make the difference. It’s HOW you live wherever He places you. That’s the difference, always: ATTITUDE and the focus of your soul.

Good.

Good.

Am I Dorothy? Is this Oz?

Structures and Atheism

Sometimes I can count a handful of stars as I walk around the streets of Tianjin.

Sometimes the pollution has dissipated; sometimes there are no clouds in the night sky.

It dawned on me that it’s not SO much the pollution’s fault that I can’t enjoy staring up into the vast night; it’s because of all the tall buildings that obstruct our view (in Tianjin).

Maybe that is another way to encourage atheism.

If, when I look up, my eyes merely see massive man-made structures rather than the humbling sight of stars numbering beyond my ability to count, what will capture my thoughts?

Questions of cosmology, or greater architecture?

Secular Meaning

This morning I was preparing for English Corner. Rebekah and I decided that this week's topic for discussion would be "the meaning of life."

In the middle of English Corner preparation I began searching for quotes regarding the meaning of life. (We are going to have a time of discussion where one group will build an argument/reasons to show the meaninglessness of life and one will build an argument/reasons to show that life is meaningful.)

It was so easy to find quotes (from the secular perspective) that speak of the meaningLESSness of life, but I also wanted to throw in some secular quotes that spoke of the meaningFUL side of life. (Not to fear, I grabbed some Ecclesiastes and Micah 6 quotes as well.)

I was actually shocked (Why?? Naivete? No, sin's deceitfulness.) to discover that when you get down to the meaning of the quote, there are actually NO secular quotes that tell us if life has meaning. Though they give the APPEARANCE of an answer, they are all merely facades that vanish into think air upon further questioning.

This is an excerpt from a quote spoken by the late Christopher Hitchens,

A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so.

This quote had me laughing. (Well, actually -- one guffaw.) In the full quote, he first mocks "theists" for supposing that he could not live life without meaning. When he finally gets to the point, he has no point. Essentially, he's just throwing words around when he says that "what could be called meaninglessness can't be called meaninglessness because it doesn't feel like meaninglessness (unless your an existentialist)." He never actually tells us what he thinks, except that he doesn't know...and doesn't want to over-rule the other philosophers' ideas.

His conclusion, "it's not possible to live one's everyday life as if [the meaningless joke life] were so."

But wait, isn't that the question the theists asked him? "How can you live a life without meaning?"

His answer SHOULD have been, "I don't. I pretend I have meaning to make myself feel better."

The reality is that because he denied the One that brings meaning to all areas of life, Hitchens removed from himself the possibility of having a truly meaningful life.

Another quote I found compared us to animals and said our purpose is to stay alive. Well, that sucks considering that it's folly to try to stay alive since everyone dies in the end anyways.

The nicest quote came from Jamine Isabel E. Uy,

“When you learn to appreciate everything around you, that is when you have found the true meaning of life. But when you have learned to love another with all your heart, that is when you have finally understood and start to actually fulfill the purpose of your existence.”

She wants us to appreciate the horror around us as well? What if the one we love with our whole being betrays us? How do we find this "one"? Who has given us the purpose? What kind of love do you mean? What is love? How do we show this type of love? What if the one we love doesn't love us? Though she may come close, she's merely pointing us to each other. Vanity.

As I tried to decide how to bring our discussion(s) to a fitful end I planned to go to Philippians (pressing on for the prize,) but was interrupted by 2nd Corinthians 4 & 5.

Wow.

Then I began looking through the list of songs I have in iTunes in order to end our time with "quiet reflection". I saw Chris Tomlin's, "I Will Rise." I pushed play to see if the lyrics would work within our discussion.

Whoa.

What blessed assurance! To KNOW my Savior lives. I/we have more hope than any other group of beings on this planet because our hope is real. Our answer is real. It is not a facade of a worldview that must be denied in order to allow us to live -- for the mere moment.

Our worldview accurately describes what is around us and brings a fulfilling hope to our past, present, and to our future.

This last week I have been downcast in my soul, questioning what I should do with my life. (Stay in China? Return to family? Continue teaching? Teach a higher grade? Write? Counsel? Why does the Bible say "stay as you are"? What do my decisions matter??)

How foolish. While I will (in December) need to make those decisions, I can't allow them to overwhelm my mind.

How foolish for me to think (which I did, as I was searching for the quotes,) that the secular world could have a semi-fulfilling summary concerning the meaningfulness of life. I can't believe that thought was in my brain! How STUPID I am.

I haven't believed God's truth. I have believed the advertisements and TV shows. They look like they're happy. Sure, some will go to hell, they won't know the love of Jesus and His saving power, etc, etc, but (I guess??) I figured that their statement of having a fulfilled life was to be believed because they seemed to believe it.

Idiot.

Their (the secular) statement of a meaningful life is a distraction to prevent them from thinking about their hopelessness. (Ultimately.) They may feel happy. They may see meaning in their activities, but they can't answer why. They have been given over to the hopes and desires of their rebellious thinking. It is false. It is a trap.

He is the ONLY hope. False hopes and pretend "dreams" don't fulfill because they are not reality. The only reality is rooted in the One who has given life to all.

My focus has been re-aligned. Press on!!

Experiments in the Kitchen

Tonight I am using my powers of experimentation in the kitchen!

I got some tofu, some spaghetti sauce, some raw/bulk legumes, (I am not entirely sure what they all are. I am pretty sure one bean is a dark red kidney bean. The others…maybe a black bean and a pinto??) And then I went through our veggie draw to cut up and toss in all veggies/produce that are wilted and ready to die. (ie carrot, broccoli, bean sprouts, cucumbers, green beans, potato.)

I started the cooking of some of the veggies with an onion and a dibble of vegetable oil in a wok. (It started to smell very nice.) I threw in the tofu.

I added some garlic. (Yummy.)

I started the liquid boiling.

I threw in all the stuff.

I added some salt.

I added some Italian seasoning (From the import store; could be the States.)

It’s still boiling.

Through this experiment I have discovered that raw beans need to be given longer to soak… I think??

I had overheard someone saying that raw beans need to be soaked. I soaked mine for a few hours. They were all still rather hard. I checked a few minutes ago on the beans…they seem to be softening. Don’t worry. I don’t mind a bit of crunch in my soup.

OH! I have to get out my frozen spinach to throw in…

(…Well, the beans are still rather hard…and...dry… They are almost prune-ish, but hard in their pruned state. Ahh well.)

Tonight, I have also croc-potted (slow cooked) a dying sweet potato with cinnamon. Delicious, no? (Dui, bu dui?) <-Chinese being used*

I figured, it works with pumpkin, I really enjoy croc-potted apples and cinnamon, some people put cinnamon on their sweet potatoes (yams) at Thanksgiving, why not slow cook it together?!! (Cinnamon and sweet potatoes, that is. Though I DID think about throwing some apples in there too; just to see what would happen. Maybe next time.)

It turned out pretty tasty.

I may not make it sit in there so long next time.

…Maybe I should post pictures of my concoction. (It will be my lunch and perhaps some breakfasts and dinners all this week…No matter what it tastes like. I will not waste!!!!)

Other recipes still welcomed…

(Especially recipes with these bulk beans and tofu -- so CHEAP! The tofu was 1.5RMB! Oooh! Altogether, the various beans were about 8RMB. That's around $1.25, my friends.)

Radically Mundane

I was recently looking through my journal when I happened upon this entry written at the end of my first month of living in China, concerning my expectations of what China-living would be, “I thought I would be struggling to survive at every turn. I thought I would only be living as I cried on the floor to the Lord in prayer.”

Bad expectation.

In coming here I discovered the opposite and I was greatly disappointed. I was disappointed in the other expats who didn’t live this way. I was disappointed with the nationals who weren’t aware of persecution in China. I was disappointed in the lack of radical living; the lack of a readiness to sell all and die for Jesus. (All according to my standards and judgment, of course.)

But I think the Lord brought me here, to a place of great comfort, (when I was expecting great discomfort,) to discover the reality that even life lived on the other side of the world requires the completing of mundane tasks. The same clothes must be washed, the same streets must be taken to the same work, and the same people must be loved with the same strength of the Holy Spirit.

This is the life most of us are called to live.

Here are some statements from George Muller’s autobiography,

“The Way of the Cross is an ordinary street in an ordinary city. It is an ordinary life lived in the grace of God.” (95)

“’Just think of the mercy of God that He allowed me to carry mops and toilet paper for His glory. […] Many must carry mops and toilet paper, but few get to do this for God’s glory.’” (100)

And may we do those ordinary tasks (even when living in great abundance and without the threat of persecutions,) all the more with a greater fullness of joy knowing that we are doing these things in, for, and through Him AND in light of the great stewardship of BLESSINGS He has bestowed upon us.

Creative-less Cooking (HELP!)

I am discovering with great intensity that I am a less than boring cook.

To illustrate my point: my meals’ main dish is often scrambled eggs. More often than not they’re even unseasoned. (Except when I am feeling low in sodium. Then I sprinkle in some salt.)

What can I say?! They’re quick to cook in the morning, easy to buy, cheap to buy, and they are filled with protein.

For my morning and mid-day meals I, of course, throw in some veggies and fruit. If my roommate made rice for a previous dinner, I’ll throw some of that in there too. I seek balance, if nothing else, in my food consumption.

I have been to several websites where I have seen many nice pictures of creative meals made. But how am I supposed to do this in China?!! How does a real person do this at all?!

When I come home I just want (not literally) to workout, eat some food, finish some work, read, think, shower, and go to bed. Food is not really my top priority or focus for the evening. Accomplishing tasks and getting to bed at a reasonable hour, THAT is my focus. Just eat and get it over with; THAT is my theme.

Adding wondrous meal making to my to do list just stresses me out.

And yet, my ways must be changed.

First, because of my running goals;

Second, for the sake of my roommate who must endure monotony on my cooking night (chicken – always quick, good, easy; spaghetti; chili; pancakes; French toast; scrambled eggs; PB&J; hamburgers;) and

Third, I don’t like being boring. (I want to be cutsie too!!)

How do I go about changing my ways, guys?!

If you all have simple ingredient recipes for slow cookers, send ‘em my way. I now know how to make applesauce in the croc pot. (I can also make some nice steamed pumpkin. I am working on making rice correctly in there, however. It’s always too soggy or too crunchy.)

I also realize that planning is essential.

BOO!

Why is life filled with so much PLANNING?! Why can’t I just spontaneously go to the fridge, pull out random ingredients, and make something satisfying and delicious?!

…Maybe this is why I lack creativity in the kitchen…

If someone would just show me how and why it’s worth all the effort. I would try to make it again. (Like I did after my Chinese friends showed me how to make jiao zi and fungus soup, and after I learned how to make a pizza crust…though I highly question the efforts made with the pizza crust.)

If anybody reads this…I look forward to some simple suggestions.

(Remember: cheese is expensive and “hard” to buy.)

As a point of “accountability”: I will be searching out ways to use more tofu (since I am in China, the people eat it, and it’s so inexpensive,) and I MUST master the use of the Chinese spices/sauces!! (e.g. vinegar, sesame seed oil, cooking alcohol, soy sauce, etc.)

I keep watching my friends, (too bad they don’t measure stuff out while they cook!) but my vegetables don’t taste as good as theirs…and they’re always so limp and brown, (from the soy sauce, not from being burnt. …Well, MOST of the time it’s not from being burnt…)

(Side note: Ironic that making food stresses me out. Ridiculous. GETTING food is most of the world’s stress. Guess they wouldn’t care if their meals were monotonously non-custie or not….)

…Maybe I won’t reform after all…

No. Hospitality and kindness towards others tells me I should. Maybe when I DO I can invite those who are hungry to share my food with me. (Well, why wait? Just do it now.)

Good. Guess I need to go find some homeless people...

Be Ordinary

Oh!!! I hate even the idea.

But where does this desire to be out of the ordinary come from?

Is it biblically based? No.

I almost typed, "How can I be ordinary when Jesus was not?"

Excuse me?

Jesus was ordinary.
That's part of the greatness of His incarnation.

What made Him extra-ordinary was His identity and His obedience to the Father.

REPEATEDLY in my life I have asked this question, "What is being FULLY faithful?"

Praise the Lord for His kind and overwhelming grace!

I have been asking the wrong question because I have had the wrong perspective. It's not my self-made zeal and/or my FULLY faithful faithfulness He is interested in seeing. It's Him in and through us working out what He has worked in, (all the riches in the heavenly places) and us walking in the good works HE Himself has prepared since the foundation of the world.

ALL glory (!!) to Him!

Our (my) being "fully faithful" is only limited by God's faithfulness to us and His Name. ("all the riches in the heavenly places.")

THOUGH it IS dependent on our submission and obedience to Him. (Philippians 2) It will and does require pain and sacrifice, but the reward far outweighs the pain. (2nd Corinthians 5 and 1st Peter 1 and 3, in particular)

Therefore, let us focus all our sight, mind, and strength on our Heavenly home, forever with HIM!!!

What wondrous fruit could He grow from us then? How can we bring glory to His name as the ones in whom He has chosen to delight? How can we, as part of our salvation, be continuously pursuing holiness?

(Wait on Him and see.)

The Prize!!!

As I look into the faces shown on my computer screen I suddenly realize with a greater conviction than ever before that these are the particular ones the Lord has given to me now, presently, for today.

At His right hand is pleasure forevermore. In His presence is fullness of joy. I have His Holy Spirit. I am in His presence. His fullness of joy and His pleasure is mine, now. Will I walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh?

Pleasures FOR EVER more.

How stupid and eternal-less I have been.

David was oppressed. David entrusted himself to God. He did not cry out for other people to save Him. He called out and put His trust in God.

The poor, the lost, the hungry, the enslaved are all God’s responsibility to save and to justify.

It is not mine. It is not the white Westerner’s responsibility. Though we may hold responsibility in their poverty, we do not need guilt to compel us to go out to change their situations.

Rather, we should be compelled to go out and love and serve the poor because we are Christ’s ambassadors and how will they believe unless they hear? And if we are telling them about the Savior who so loved them that He died for them, how can we say, “’Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but […] do not give them the things which are needed for the body”? (James 2:16)

After all, what is pure and undefiled religion, but “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world”? (James 1:27)

This is what should compel us. We must recognize our identity in Jesus – the One we represent. We must know Him and His love and then be compelled by Him to go out and walk in the good works that He has prepared beforehand. We must be zealous in these good works. We must be serious in prayer and always watchful. We must be redeeming the time. We must be active and alive in our communities. We must be committed to godly families and strong doctrine. We must be exhorting and encouraging each other with the words that Jesus is coming back and with Him comes His reward and punishment.

The prize is not to end social injustice throughout the world. Our purpose is not to bring global peace. That is finished in Him. We are here because all His delight is in us. His delight is in us because He has chosen to use us (His Church) to summarize His wisdom. (!!)

Our blameless presentation is the prize. Our eternal inheritance is what we must strain for.

If this happens, there will be no poor in our neighborhoods. Then we would care for those we see "while we are going" because our worldly eyes would have been exchanged for His eternal eyes. Changed by Him, we would “regard no one according to the flesh,” but depend on the Father of Good Gifts to guide us and meet all our needs.

Do not lose sight of the prize for which we live! Do not forget He who is the One we have been chosen to serve. The One who shines brighter than the sun. The One whose eyes are like burning flames of fire. The One whose name is Faithful and True, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; the only One who is worthy to open the seals of the scroll.

Praise Him, today. Delight in His holiness and omnipotence, today. Know His love and the delight He has chosen to place on His Church, today. Love Him, now.

Though we are faithless, He is faithful and will present us faultless.

"To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen."

To the One whose voice is like the sound of mighty, rushing waters.

GLORY!!!