This year, I was really looking forward to Thanksgiving and the positive attitude it brings. However, when Thanksgiving week came, I couldn’t connect with the sentiment. I didn’t feel thankful no matter how hard I tried. As it turned out, there is no “Calendar” app for your heart. You can’t just schedule your heart to feel grateful simply because it’s the 4th Thursday in November.
Photo by Book Recommendation: Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. After packing and moving 150+ boxes, we have finally settled into our new place!
During packing, I sorted through our book collection for the last few years. While many books went into the donate/sell pile, I paused when I came across this book:
Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace
by Miroslav Volf.
Moving Break
Back in January, I asked God what He had in store for me this year. And the theme He showed me was “Upgrade.” Sure enough, the last 8 months have been full of changes that turned out to be upgrades. Continue reading
The Blessings of a Slow Day
Woke up this morning, and I knew it was going to be a slow day. I had slept for a solid eight hours, and yet my body was still refusing to get out of bed. That’s always a sign. A “slow day” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a “bad day”. I just won’t be following my original schedule. That’s all. It’s not bad, just different.
Journal Writing as Spiritual Exercise
A lot of my friends journal as a way to process their internal stress. However, even though we all use the same word “journal”, the actual methods could not be more different. One person is very formal in her approach. She records a specific event in detail, and saves it on her computer. Another friend hand writes in her notebook, and lists the rational arguments about her decision making. While these methods have their own merits, they are vastly different from the way I journal.
Photo by picjumbo.com
Dealing With Our Shadows
“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
– Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
When tragedy happens, we ask why. The reporters and social media flood us with various theories and responses. Why did it happen? How can someone commit such inhumane acts. We attribute the cause to religion, prejudice, advanced weaponry… looking for any and every external factor that could have culminated in the horrific events. But, I feel like there is one factor that we are afraid to really look into – our own human nature. Continue reading
It’s all about the Heart
Many years ago, there’s a really popular worship song called “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” One day, after service, a friend asked me “What are the ‘eyes of my heart’? The heart has no eyes?!” It stopped me dead in my tracks. I can see he was serious. Completely serious and baffled. To him, the heart was an organ in his body. It’s function was to pump blood through his veins. His heart had chambers, but it surely had no eyes. Continue reading
Lessons From A Coloring Book
Have you ever felt like there’s something gnawing at you, but you just don’t know what it’s about? Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling this whole week. There was a heaviness on my heart, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t figure out what it’s about. For some reason, God was present, but quiet. And that almost made me more nervous. I knew He has a message for me, but I just couldn’t decode it…
Growing In Your Season
Some days I miss being back in school. Don’t get me wrong. I definitely don’t miss those all night lab sessions or studying for exams. It is great to have a set schedule though. The school year starts in September and ends in May or June, and we move on to the next level at the end of that term. The transitions are clearly defined and it’s easy to track your progress. Real life, however, is not set up that way. Life flows in seasons instead of semesters.
FREE Meditation Journal – Promotion ended
Update 3/21/2016: I just checked this link, and looks like the free e-book download promotion is now finished. 😦 If you’re still interested in this item, the book (hard copy) is available here.
One of my favorite authors, Graham Cooke, is giving away his meditation journal for FREE! 
I’ve learned a lot about meditation and how to keep a quiet heart from Graham. His teachings have always inspired faith and hope in me, especially on difficult days. This book, Secret Sayings, Hidden Meanings, is a collection of questions and prompts for journaling or meditation. Continue reading
Sabbath Cafe Podcast 