40 Days of Community

When I first heard that we've to do the 40 Days of Community, the first thought came to my mind was "again?!". Aren't we have enough of that?

Yesterday, I picked up the book Better Together: What on earth are we here for? and read Rick Warren's introduction to this book. After reading the intro, it brings me hope to the program.

In all my life, I choose to grow/learn/experience by myself. The word "together" seems to be an alien word to me. Through different circumstances, God keeps telling me that I'm just not as capable as I thought and "together" is the only way to fulfill my dream - influence other for a better world. This is the reason for this book captivating my heart.

I start looking forward to the 6 weeks experience of being better together (as a Christian and as a member of any community) and I hope you do too.

Acceptance

This happened yesterday...

I hurry to the Yonge/Bloor subway station. It's 5:00 pm and I need to catch the 5:40 bus at Scarborough Town RT station. Yes! Here's the train. Quickly I find a seat and I take out the Time Magazine to read. 30s after I settle on the train, a realize that a lady (maybe around 24-25 years old) who sits at a right angle to me leave her seat after staring at the guy sitting in front of her. This guy sits opposite to me, face to face. He wears a car racing jacket and sunglasses. He covers his mouth with his right fist. Can't really see his face. He has a large traveling bag with him. I examine him for a few minutes. Why the lady left? What's wrong with this guy? My heart beats fiercely accelerate. The guy takes away his fist. He's holding some kleenex in his hand. A lot of saliva comes out of his mouth. That's disgusting and I'm not dare to look at his face now. That guy takes out something from his bag. It's a can of beer (oh! he's a drunk) and a can of thinner (what's he doing with the thinner?) . He pours some thinner onto the kleenex. He covers his mouth with his fist again (with the kleenex). Is he sniffing the thinner? Or is he sucking the thinner? I've no idea. Should I leave? But God asks us to accept all others. Isn't my leave a demonstration of discrimination and inacceptance? After 5-10 mins, I decide to leave. I can't stop thinking about that man after settling in another seat. I take out another book to read. Can't concentrate. I keep looking at the man sitting 2-3 metres away from me, worrying that he'll come near and performs some detrimental acts. Then, I take out the bible, hoping that it will calm my heart. That doesn't work. After reading one chapter, I leave the train.
What's the true meaning of acceptance? Does God expect me to accept everyone on earth, even this weird guy? I can't imagine myself talking or eating or even sitting with that man and I'm sure I don't want to see him again. Am I failing the test of acceptance and love?

1st Valentine's Day after Marriage

Today is Feb 14, 07. The first Valentine's Day after marriage. Hmm...should it be a day to do something special?

I decide to take today off...not because of the Valentine's Day...just because I don't want to get out in this cold weather with so much snow :P

I start off my day with devotion at 9:30 am, then I spend another 45 mins in bible reading. Just finish Exodus and start Leviticus. So amaze that God ended Exodus with a blessing to His stubborn people. After that, I work on some Sunday School stuff for an hour. Oh...it's time to prepare lunch (surprise!? I'm having lunch...hahaha). Actually I'm preparing lunch for Mr. (he takes the afternoon off because he's sick...he has been sick for 3 days...poor guy). After lunch, we watch TV for a bit. It's "Siu Ou Kwok Wu". I love this story so much and really want to pick up the book to read it again. Really admire "Kam Yung" for his creativity and manifestation of human nature...so honest, so true, so human. Oh...go back to my day...after watching TV, I go back to the Sunday School stuff again (while Mr. is sleeping). Checking e-mails, reading some books, eating dinner...now I'm writing the blog and Mr. is teaching piano/bass.

This's my day...nothing exciting, nothing special, but relaxing and I enjoy it.
I hope I can spend my day like this everyday. But I'm sure this'll never happen. Because I still have my dream to pursue.

A Broken Heart

Everyone is broken, regardless of age, gender, social status, ethnicity...
The fact of being broken is actually a gift from God. The brokenness is so personal and unique that no other human beings suffers the same way as you suffer. That's why we find so hard to express our sympathy towards a broken heart. Your brokenness simply resembles the uniqueness of yourself. Your brokenness is something that God has put in you. It's another way for God to say that you are the beloved creation of His and you are special.

Once we start to accept and appreciate our brokenness, I guess it's the time that we can truly accept and appreciate the uniqueness of others.

Love starts with self acceptance, agree?

A reflection on "Life of the Beloved" by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Green Tips for Everyday Practice!

1. Turn down the heat at night or while you are not home
2. Avoid anything that is battery operated
3. Choose water based latex paints over solvent based paints when painting your home
4. Choose recycled or non-chlorine bleached paper
5. Use reusable mugs, lunch containers, batteries, etc.
6. Do not throw out your toxic household wastes (eg. paint, paint tinner, car fluids) in the garbage or down the drain