...ItGOesON::::::: May 2007

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

On 27th of May, you passed away...

I missed you so much
I kept thinking of the time we'd shared together
I just couldn't believe you're not there anymore

I passed by the place you used to live
It felt like as long as I get off the train
Walk to your house
I'd see you again
Sitting in your little room full of some old things that
Other people wouldn't bother to keep

I missed holding and rubbing your hands
They were so swollen last time I held them
They once were so skillful at cooking and sewing

I missed stroking and combing your hair
They were so grey and soft last time I combed them
There wasn't the hair band you'd always worn
That's useless when you just lie in bed all day

I missed singing Amazing Grace in your ears

The last time we talked face to face
You told me to open my heart
And be happy

You're like my another mother
For seven years you took care of me

I missed the little house we used to live in
The well I used to play next to
The fruit tree you planted
And the big green field before our front yard
I thought they'd last forever

I missed you

I'll see you in the City of Live
See you when I get there

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

People tend to put the norm of other "religions" in their understanding of Christianity. The most obvious one is making a happier (or healthier, wealthier, you name it) life. They think the holy bible is merely a guide to a better life. I won't deny that, but it's just partly true.

We all know that we can never escape from sorrows and troubles as we live in a fallen evil world. Bible's pretty open about this fact. You look at the bible, sad stories are all over the place. Good people get killed, poor people are suppressed by the rich, people suffer from incurable diseases, righteous people are persecuted by hypocrites, and there more. The worst is the protagonists in those sad stories are people who believe in God Jehovah...

So what's good about Christianity? There's only one thing - GRACE. It's grace makes Christianity so different from other religions. Grace can't be gained by any means. Grace is not about what we can do to get things right but how much help and understanding and comfort we can get when things don't get right. Very often people wanna get things right by themselves. That's understandable as we hate the frustration of incapability and the rejection of asking for help. However, for most of the time we can't do everything by ourselves as we all are limited people with different strengths and weaknesses. That's why we need grace. Grace's rare in this world as people can't offer what they don't have. People can't give grace if they don't receive or experience grace. And only God gives grace.

Originally written on 1/26/07 at 4:08 PM

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Genesis According to the Miao People
by Edgar A. Truax

Introductory Note:

The Miao tribes, or as it is spelled in most encyclopedias "Miautso," at one time occupied most of inland China south of the Yangtze River, but have been gradually driven into the mountains of the southwest by the better-armed and better-organized Chinese. The Miao of our section claim to have been driven out of Kiangsi Province.

The Miao traditions are very precise, as compared with those of many primitive peoples, because they are not only handed down in metrical form, but, also, they are in couplets, in which the same or similar meaning is expressed in different wording, so that the second sentence acts as a definition of the first, where it might otherwise not be clear. This is very much like one form of Hebrew poetry - an example of which is found in Psalm 21:1,2.

The Translation

The Creation

On the day God created the heavens and earth.
On that day He opened the gateway of light.
In the earth then He made heaps of earth and of stone.
In the sky He made bodies, the sun and the moon.
In the earth He created the hawk and the kite.
In the water created the lobster and fish.
In the wilderness made He the tiger and bear,
Made verdure to cover the mountains,
Made forest extend with the ranges,
Made the light green cane,
Made the rank bamboo.

Men

On the earth He created a man from the dirt.
Of the man thus created, a woman He formed.
Then the Patriarch Dirt made a balance of stones.
Estimated the weight of the earth to the bottom. (Note 1)
Calculated the bulk of the heavenly bodies.
And pondered the ways of the Deity, God.
The Patriarch Dirt begat Patriarch Se-teh.
The Patriarch Se-Teh begat a son Lusu.
And Lusu had Gehlo and he begat Lama.
The Patriarch Lama begat the man Nuah.
His wife was the Matriarch Gaw Bo-lu-en.
Their sons were Lo Han, Lo Shen and Jah-hu. (Note 2)
So the earth began filling with tribes and with families.
Creation was shared by the clans and the peoples.

The World Wicked

These did not God's will nor returned His affection.
But fought with each other defying the Godhead.
Their leaders shook fists in the face of the Mighty
Then the earth was convulsed to the depth of three strata.
Rending the air to the uttermost heaven.
God's anger arose till His Being was changed;
His wrath flaring up filled His eyes and His face.
Until He must come and demolish humanity.
Come and destroy a whole world full of people.

The Flood

So it poured forty days in sheets and in torrents.
Then fifty-five days of misting and drizzle.
The waters surmounted the mountains and ranges.
The deluge ascending leapt valley and hollow.
An earth with no earth upon which to take refuge!
A world with no foothold where one might subsist!
The people were baffled, impotent and ruined,
Despairing, horror stricken, diminished and finished.
But the Patriarch Nuah was righteous.
The Matriarch Gaw Bo-lu-en upright.
Built a boat very wide.Made a ship very vast.
Their household entire got aboard and were floated,
The family complete rode the deluge in safety.
The animals with him were female and male.
The birds went along and were mated in pairs.
When the time was fulfilled, God commanded the waters.
The day had arrived, the flood waters receded.
Then Nuah liberated a dove from their refuge,
Sent a bird to go forth and bring again tidings.
The flood had gone down into lake and to ocean;
The mud was confined to the pools and the hollows.
There was land once again where a man might reside;
There was a place in the earth now to rear habitations.
Buffalo then were brought, an oblation to God,
Fatter cattle became sacrifice to the Mighty.
The Divine One then gave them His blessing;
Their God then bestowed His good graces.

Babel

Lo-han then begat Cusah and Mesay. (Note 3)
Lo-shan begat Elan and Nga-shur.
Their offspring begotten became tribes and peoples;
Their descendants established encampments and cities.
Their singing was all with the same tunes and music;
Their speaking was all with the same words and language.
Then they said let us build us a very big city;
Let us raise unto heaven a very high tower.
This was wrong, but they reached this decision;
Not right, but they rashly persisted.
God struck at them then, changed their language and accent.
Descending in wrath, He confused tones and voices.
One's speech to the others who hear him has no meaning;
He's speaking in words, but they can't understand him.
So the city they builded was never completed;
The tower they wrought has to stand thus unfinished.
In despair then they separate under all heaven,
They part from each other the globe to encircle. (Note 4)
They arrive at six corners and speak the six languages.

Miao Genealogy

The Patriarch Jahphu got the center of nations. (Note 5)
The son he begat was the Patriarch Go-men.
Who took him a wife called the Matriarch Go-yong.
Their grandson and his wife both took the name Tutan.
Their descendants are given in order as follows:
Patriarch Gawndan Mew-wan,Matriarch Cawdan Mew-jew;
Patriarch Jenku Dawvu, Matriarch Jeneo Boje;
Patriarch Gangen Newang (wife not given);
Patriarch Seageweng, Matriarch Maw gueh.
Their children, eleven in number, was each the head of a family.
Five branches became the Miao nation.
Six families joined with the Chinese.

The story continues through many more pages, telling of the separation of the Chinese and Miao; their travels and demon worship, their division into families.

The Miao at funerals and weddings recite the ancestry of the principal or principals clear back to Adam. Their frequent use of it may account for its accuracy.

Notes:

[1] The Miao say that on the bottom of the bottom of the earth is a land of dwarfs.
[2] Note the similarity of some of these names to those in the Bible account: Seth, Lamech, Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japheth.
[3] Note the similarity:
Ham's descendants: Bible Cush, Mizram; Miao Cusah, Mesay
Shem's descendants: Bible Elam, Asshur; Miao Elan, Nga shur
[4] The literal translation here is: "They parted went live encircle world ball." The Miao know nothing of the world being round, so this passage seems to indicate the perfect knowledge of the original man - Devolution instead of Evolution.
[5] From this we see that they trace their ancestry from Japheth and Gomer, which makes them of the Indo-European stock.

The Miao did not originally worship idols, but learned this from the Chinese after having been subdued by them. This poem, which is learned by heart and transmitted from generation to generation, is translated and brought to you with the hope that you will be inspired to PRAY MUCH for these people. They evidently once knew the true God. Pray that they may learn to know Him as Father, and Jesus, whom He has sent to be the Way back to Him.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

"Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all."

Matt 6:32

God always gives us what we need even before we have recognised and asked for it. Before Adam was made, God used five days to make the whole world which have got everything Adam would need in his living. And well before Adam felt alone after naming all the animals, God had got the idea of making Adam a mate (Eve) in his mind. So He did. And for Eve, God's even "better" to her because she didn't even experience being alone like Adam had. Still she got everything she needs.

So sad that Eve didn't recognise (or believe) that her God Father always gave her what she really needed. She thought the loving Father would have kept something she needed away from her; that's "the fruit of wisdom (knowing good and evil)". She probably didn't think if she needed it or not. She just thought it's something good to have as it was a delight to the eyes, and it makes one wise. Finally, she got something that God hadn't given her. What happened is the fruit also brought her shame, sorrows, pain, and death which are not given by God. God knew she didn't need those...

I wonder how many times we think we need something but actually we don't. And the things we want can eventually destroy us, just like what eating "the fruit of wisdom" did to Eve. I think sometimes, we're just like Eve, we want something just because they look (or sound) nice to have. And other time, we want something simply because we don't have them. We don't totally believe that God always gives us everything we need - He keeps something good or even we need from us.

However, I'm so thankful that God is still faithful although we are not. He always gives us what we really need, even before we've recognised. He made Adam and Eve the garments of skins (which represent the salvation) and clothed them before they asked for it.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

After dinner, I spent time singing some hymns about God's grace. I love songs about God's grace (my favourite is Amazing Grace), because there's nothing better than God's grace. Or I'd say there's nothing can be compared with God's grace. Today talked about following God with Dean. He quoted John Piper - God alone is worthy to follow, even though he gives nothing good to us. So true. Very often, I heard people saying God is good BECAUSE blah blah blah (some reasons)... Actually, God is still good even though there's no "blah blah blah". God is good even he didn't know me; God is good even he hadn't had saved or chosen me. He is good simply because He's the origin of all kinds of goodness. He can stop blessing me but it doesn't change the truth that He's a good God. Because it's His nature. As we're fallen we deserve nothing good from Him, but judgement. However, grace makes the holy and mighty one come.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Days and nights I must offer my praises to the merciful Lord. As You're the one who remembers the need and the one who meets the lowly. Thank you for listening to my plead - my grandma eventually has become a Christian! How exciting it is! My grandma's over a half century older than me, but she's a new born baby in Christ. How wonderful it is! Her body's old and possessed with illnesses, but she'll receive a new body on the day we together meet Christ our Lord. How great it sounds. Grandma has been living a tough life, but on that day there will no more tears in her eyes. What kind of hope it brings us! Seriously, I can't wait until that day!

However, our enemy's been trying to attack my grandma's faith. It keeps stopping Iris (my sister) and I preaching to my grandma. Sometimes it used criticism in the hospital, sometimes it provoked arguments with the people around us, and even physical sickness. We do need to pray, for our grandma, Iris, and I. Please pray for Dean too, as it's so exhausting to be my support.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Prayed with Dean before we go to sleep. I love praying with my husband, anytime and anywhere. I feel such indescribable intimacy with Dean when we're praying together. It feels closer than any physical touch. And I come to know more of Dean from what he prays. For this, I feel sorry for Dean because I usually pray in my first language. I tried praying in my second language, but making grammatical sentences always distracts me from my praying spirit. I wish I could pray in the tongue of English. It's not necessarily for my edification but for Dean's. I'm always thankful for Dean's understanding. Tonight we especially prayed for the direction of our future and our marriage. I prayed for humility, patience and forgiveness. Marriage is such a challenge. Before I discover Dean's weaknesses I discover how terrible I am! I'm inpatient, stubborn, and most of all, I think I'm always right (haha- it's funny- I know)! Some people say friends are a good mirror that allows you to see yourself. I think the same parable is also appliable to marriage.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:5

I praise God as He's the one and only who's worthy of all praises. He's always in control. As what's stated in Ecclesiaste chapter 3 (v.1-8): There is a season for everything, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. And God has made everything beautiful in its time.

I've been crying and down for so long. What gain have I got from the toil? I've learned what it means to weep with the people who are weeping. I've witnessed what the gospel means to people who're dying. And I've understood all men share the same ending; no one can escape - we will have to face all the sins in our lives. For the truth God's revealed to me, I give thanks to Him. And just as Solomon said, I should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. This is God's gift to man.

Jeremiah, the prophet of tears, for decades he'd been telling God's people (his brothers) to turn back to their Jehovah (the existing one). The Isrealites were so stubborn that they remained the same, even they were warned that their city would be destroyed. During his mission time, he experienced all kinds of humility, sorrows and frustration. However, in his Lamentations, he sang: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust - there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. (v.22-33)

Monday, May 14, 2007

Totally emotionally exhausted. Don't feel like praying, laughing, working or doing anything. Don't even wanna meet any of my friends. Just wanna hide in my house, and be with my family. Don't know what response I can give when I'm asked "How are you doing?" Apparently, I'm not fine at all; seriously I feel sick.

The scenes I saw in the hospital kept weighing on my mind. I've tried not to think about them and thought of something else. But they just came back. And when they are back, my tears just came out and I'd just start crying. I'm so tired of crying cause I've been crying for two days. I wondered if I'd become blind of crying.

I tried to talk to some brothers and sisters in Christ that I thought they'd care. Ironically, they didn't take it seriously. Their carefree speech hurts so much...

It's so hard to accept that someone you love so much is dying. What's worse is you know the person you cherish so much just doesn't mean anything to other people.

Everyday she's despised and insulted by people who should care about her. She's got no dignity at all. She can't walk and talk and see, so she can't escape and release her sorrows. But she still knows what are happening around her. The other day, I read her a gospel tract about God's unchanging love, she cried silently. I saw tears coming out from her shut eyes.