Happy Belated April's Fool!

I understand if my peers think that China is part of South East Asia, or that Kimono is Chinese.... but this? In my History textbook?

Don't I just LOVE them...

of Dreams...

I was taught to Dream:
To Dream big and to Dream far;
To reach for the moon, lest I should fall,
I'll still find myself among the stars.

But what is Dream
when I am just a gush of whirlwind?
And what is Dream
as I bathe in tears that flow like a stream?

Still I did dream:
I dreamt big and I dreamt far.
I reached for the moon, and surely I did fall
to find myself among starfishes on the shore.

A Geography Lesson

It was the first Residence Hall Leaders' Meeting after Christmas break and the first one for this semester. So we were going around sharing what we did over the break.

TommiLee: Our family had a Chinese Night. We had Chinese food and Chinese tea. I don't know what's it called, but we had this thing that is wrapped in seaweed.

Dorcas: Er... I don't think that's Chinese. It's most probably Japanese food.

TommiLee: Oh, really? Anyway, we dressed up as Chinese too!

Rachel: Oh! What did you guys wear?

TommiLee: We all had Kimonos on!

Dorcas: Erm... Kimono is Japanese too.

(Girls laugh)

TommiLee: Oh well, it's just an inter-cultural night then.

Natalie: Maybe you can call it South East Asia Night!

Dorcas: Well, actually, neither China nor Japan is part South East Asia.

Natalie: (blushes) Oops, sorry!

Well, this is American Geography for you.

*Please take note: Kimonos and Sushis are Japanese, and there are 10 countries in South East Asia, but Japan and China are NOT in the list!

Let My Walk Speak Loud

Nothing closes the heavy wooden double doors of the church as effectively as hypocrisy does. Bang! The door is slammed shut, never to be opened again. The crowd sneers and jeers at the closed doors, and the people turn their backs on the church. "Look!" they say, "And they call themselves Christians."

Nothing is as great a turn-off as hypocrisy is.

Since hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not, or saying something that you do not actually practice, can we all agree that hypocrisy amounts to deception? You are presenting yourself to be someone you are not! I feel so deceived to hear one speaking so loudly on stage, and yet his actions have such a great discrepancy with his words. Oh, the deception!

I understand that no one is perfect, and Christians are humans too. Christians make mistakes, just like everyone else. No one is excluded from mankind's downfall. But maybe it's time we start practicing what we preach. Or maybe it's time we stop preaching and start living. Let our walks speak louder than our words!

Because our actions can either put a 'Welcome' sign or a 'No Entry!' sign at the gates of Heaven.

The Legacy

If there is one most profound mistake that a great man of God can make, it is the failure to pass on his faith to the next generation. This is seen recurring all through history, from Moses to David, and the nation of Israel as a whole. Moses, God's chosen one, failed to pass on his faith to the next generation. You do not even want to know what his decendants did. David, a man after God's own heart. But look what happened to his family, or rather, families. And Israel's downfall was caused by her failure to pass her faith on to the next generation.

Unfortunately, this does not stop there. What was true in the times of the Old Testament is still true today. We see the same thing recurring again and again. It breaks my heart everytime I see great men of God failing to pass their faith on to their children. It pinches my heart to see their children slowly turning their backs on God, and turning to the world instead.

This is such a pity, because the only thing that you can leave behind for your children is your faith. And for those who failed to pass their faith on, they walked the length and breadth of this earth and earned the title of a great man of God, but when they leave this world, they leave nothing behind. They are like shadows who sojourned the world, leaving not even a footprint behind. They are like breaths of air that disappear with the lightest mist.

The only legacy that we can leave behind for our children is nothing less that our faith in the one true God. And the greatest ministry the LORD has commissioned to us is our family. Let's live the legacy and pass it on to generations to come!

"...choose you this day whom you will serve...

but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Joshua 24:15