That side of America Hollywood never portrays

"He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters."

Psalm 23, a portion of the Bible we Christians are all too familiar with. However, being one who was born and bred in a city, I have never been able to fully grasp the image this verse paints. So, when I finally went to Bedford last Saturday, and witnessed for myself what a pasture really is, it just takes my breath away.

Bedford is a small town next to Lynchburg, about forty-five minutes to an hour away. It was the first day of my Thanksgiving break. Pastor Duncan and Betty decided to take Mia and me along as they visit their sister-in-law, and an old friend of theirs in Bedford. As we drove back from the quiet little town, Betty decided to revisit the Baptist church in Bedford that Pastor Duncan first pastored, only to realise that we got hopelessly lost along the way.

We find ourselves driving on narrow winding roads that seemed too small for more than one vehicle. At first, the roads were lined with woods and plantations, and then it turned into hundreds of hectares of farm lands with herds of cattle grazing. A farmhouse or two are seen standing remotely in the background. The pieces of land were so huge that they seem to stretch as far as the ends of the world. And they were green as green can be! Above all, all these were set to a majestic background of the mountains.

Immediately, Psalm 23 came to mind. Now I have a better picture of what the psalmist was feeling and thinking when he wrote the psalm. I can even picture my LORD and I walking across one of the green pastures, hand-in-hand... no... with our arms around each other! As I lie down on the green grass and He lies down beside me, we start to talk about everything. Every single one of my thoughts and dreams, and all that I am going through in my life. How beautiful! How serene! How wonderful!

The image of the pasture in Psalm 23 is not just an image of serenity and calmness, but also of His provision. As Christ said in Luke 12: "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" Isn't that just amazing? Looking at God's creation never fails to strike me with awe. If the LORD looked at all that He has created and said that they are good, and I am called the pinnacle of His creation, what does that make me? It makes me wanna worship Him with every breath of my being!

Honestly, I do not mind getting lost in Bedford for a second time.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Is the LORD Almighty!

I must say that I have never before thirsted for the Word of God as much as I now do. It is a thirst that drives me to think about nothing else but His Word; it is a thirst that stirs up a desire to devour and at the same time savour every little bit and pieces that I can put my hands on. It tempts and calls out to me like a refreshing oasis in the middle of a dessert of busyness. Just when all the hustle and bustle of life is sucking every bit of moisture out of me, there it stands, calling for me to take a deep and long drink from the never ending source of living water. How amazing! How satisfying!

At one point or another, we are all guilty of referring to the contents of the Bible as mere 'stories'. Bible stories, we call them. It somehow connotes the idea that the contents of the Holy Book is a little less than real history, just like how we would never call the Pearl Harbour incident or the Holocaust a 'story'. But the more I sink myself in the texts and words of the Book, the more I realise that every single bit of the book is as real as my being, and as sure as the rising and the setting of the sun. How amazing! How awesome!

Studying the writing and the contents of the best-selling Book of all time drives me to realise the greatness and awesomeness of the One who put it together. Oh, just how brilliant He is! How real! How beautiful! And most of all... how Holy! I cannot help but to stand in awe of Him. Did you know that the use of the title 'LORD' (all in caps) in the Bible we now have is the representation of the Name of the God, Lord of the whole universe, YHWH? His Name is so holy that the Jews did not see themselves worthy of even using the Name. Such holiness that strikes me with indescribable awe! Yet we so ignorantly use the LORD's Name in vain, treating it like nothing more than another exclamation. Shame on those of us who have ever done that!

I am just so utterly amazed by the LORD, by His words, and by His works that are seen spanning across time and history!

Isaiah 6:3 says,

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD almighty;

the whole earth is filled with His glory."

Fundamental Right?

So, as election is drawing nearer, there have been talks about human rights, and things that the people have to fight for. Being where the action is, I have way too many doses of stuff like these. Among others is the freedom/right to bear arms. Apparently, here at Liberty, people advocate the freedom to bear arms. In fact, according to many, it is a fundamental right and freedom that has to fought for and preserved.

One of my lecturers shared in class that she shuddered at the thought that any of her hundreds of students in the class can easily carry a gun in their backpack. Yet, on the other hand, she is a strong advocate of the freedom to bear arms. She said that she did not like to be told, what she can or cannot own. So, it boils down to the very American word: freedom.

This whole issue is totally foreign to me. Being born in Malaysia, I never had to ask such a question. After all, I have not even seen a real gun up close, except the ones held in a policeman's holster. However, I am very curious what non-Americans (Christians, especially) think about this issue. Will you guys please do me a favour and take the poll posted on the right? I want to see some numbers.

Please feel free to leave your written comments here. Thank you!

*The poll is open for everyone to take.

Life in a Container

I recently submitted an English essay paper entitled "Redefining Privacy". My teacher asked me why did I choose this topic, and my answer was that I am seriously deprived of privacy.

Life in a container? If you have seen the pictures of my dorm, you will definitely know what I mean. Yes, I am paying $2900 every semester to live in a container! The small little box that houses three persons is where I call home at least for the next four years.

The container has 23 rooms with 3 girls in each room. So, there are about 70 girls in the little container. What can be more of an encroachment on one's privacy than this?! I think I am starting to be claustrophobic. I cannot stand being in my room with the doors and windows closed, and I have to keep them open all the time.

But the worst thing is not the size of the room, but those who are in it. I am not complaining about my roommates, mind you. But I have had my own room for at least 8 years, and now I have to share a room with two other persons. It sure takes some adjustment. Being in the same container with 70 other girls is not much of a help either.

Every now and then, someone will come into the room. And somehow, I am just obliged to talk to them, however much I do not feel like talking. I cannot lock my door as I would have done if I were in my own home. Then someone will come in and ask if they can watch my roommate's TV. Of course, again, we are obliged to say yes. I mean, I do not have an option, do I? I do not know what is wrong (or right) with my room, but people just love to 'hang out' here. They will come with their stuff and everything and almost spend the night in my room.

I am not a hermit, of that I am sure. But I suppose you can call me a loner. I love having time to myself. I love 'hanging out' with myself. While I do not mind having other human beings around once in a while, but I do need space and time for myself to be alone, which is something that I am seriously lacking.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it, at least for the next few years. As Melissa said, "The Lord has placed us here for His purpose."

Church hunting

Never in my life have I dreamt that I will have to go church-hopping and church-hunting. Definitely not here at Liberty! It is indeed ironical that I am church-hunting when I am in a Christian school with two churches meeting on campus. Truth is, the churches here are mega-churches. No, not like KLBC, but at least ten times the size of KLBC! Yes, I mean it literally! It is really hard to get involved in a church that huge, and I do not want to just attend church every Sunday and then leave right after service. Part of my act of worshipping is serving Him, and at the same time, I also believe that it is easier for me to grow in a smaller church.

So, I began church hopping and church hunting. But to tell the truth, I did not quite know what I was looking for. It was unrealistic to look for a church that is exactly like my home church, because I will never find one. Yet, I knew that I had to settle down. Because if you hop for too long, you will soon get tired of it, and you will quit moving altogether. It was then that I found Living Word Baptist Church. It was like KLBCC in some ways, but it is not completely the same either. Let's see:

Similarities:
1. It is about KLBCC's size.
2. It has a lot of children.
3. It has an imperfect worship team. (Praise the Lord for that!)

Differences:
1. It is certainly not as welcoming as KLBCC. But then again, I was at the other end of the welcome.
2. The pastor is never the first one to be in the hall every Sunday.
3. The order of worship is certainly different.

Well, I guess I cannot ask for more. It takes time to get used to something. It took me 18 years to feel absolutely at home in KLBC(C). I guess I have four years to get used to Living Word. Praise the Lord for that!