thousands of words

崎岖高低... sorta.

Its quite black and white. 黑白记忆 i guess..

Our dear Lord isn't away when we're down, neither is he just standin' there. He brought along tissues...

Shoes left in a hurry. "Proof" of abandonment. Oh God! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!

My bible. In there is the promise of fellowship on the journey of the cross.. the dude in the song doesnt think the promise is true.. hence the bible's discarded and collecting dirt.. well, sand.

Plain: memories sealed in a bottle. Imperishable. The bottle was some really robust stuff, i tried to crack it open with a piece of solid metal... didnt work.. or maybe the heat from the sun was really getting into me.

The cone shell, recorder of the sea. You listen to it and hear the sound of the sea, right?

Hence, instead of really somehow projecting (or photoshopping) memories into the night sky, here's the substitute.

The sleeping bag represents "having had" the dream. It saves the photographers alot of trouble which will be incurred should the photos be taken at night.

- photo by Tucky

Dear Dominant 7th,

Footprints in the Sand once told me its lesson with great force – His great love and faithfulness, my blindness and weakness. Through the years, it has lost its impact on me. I would recognize it immediately in its clichéd form, printed on a photograph of a set of footprints (or two) on the sand by the beach, and go, “Ah, THAT story, I know how it goes” then move on to other things, without giving it another thought.

Weeks of uninspiring rehearsals passed and I wondered if there’s any worth in singing this song at all? Surely you guys have heard, read and seen this, now even sung it more than a dozen times. Is there anything more, something to inspire an inspiring rendition, perhaps?

你说只要紧紧跟随你
你会陪我走到底
为何当我最忧伤低迷
你却选择远离

I saw myself staking a claim to a promise that He’s made, suggesting that I was faithful even in the tough times and implying that He did not keep His side of the bargain to walk with me. As I began to read between the lines, I saw a child, an ego-centric child, thinking like a child, talking like a child, having not the slightest idea what was actually happening. Beneath all the hurt, pain and disappointment lay self-righteousness, demanding that I be rightfully rewarded for what I had done.

“……
亲爱的宝贝我疼你
永不会将你撇弃
当你软弱
双脚无力
可知道狂风中
我怀抱着你 ”

How little I understood of His grace!
If He hadn’t chose me, called me, would I have followed Him?
If He hadn’t carried me, kept me, would I have continued on this path with Him?
Did I even have the capacity, the strength to do anything righteous out of my own accord?

It’s only when we come to grips with our total depravity that we begin to comprehend the depth of His love and open our eyes to His infinite glory.

May His love be our inspiration this Sunday, for us to carry each note with gratitude for His glory.

Love, Apple

yes, during sermon there was this voice resounding in my head.
must write, must write....

well the verse for the sermon was phil 1:9
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

as usual, a chinese methodist pastor would go and say
hence, we must achieve a balance between our biblical knowledge and our love for one another.

that'd miss the point, because there is no balance to speak of if true spiritual knowledge results in greater love: which you'll discover in verse 10
10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
Not reckless love, but righteous God glorifying love.

thank God, the pastor didnt go "as usual" and delivered the message as it is.

my contention? balance.
i dislike the word balance because people just misunderstand it.
this is imbalance, as many think, and are right in think so..
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balance, as they think


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not so, balance isnt the compromise of one leading to the rise of another.
If the rows on the left represent knowledge and the right represents love, what are we saying?
that an avid reader of the bible and spiritual books should put down his book and start trying to manufacture affections of love for the people around him?
Not so, if he is lacking in love, let him repent. What safer way to repent than to continue keeping himself deeply rooted in meditation of His word?
The Christian balance is radical, it is not a compromise:
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This, is then a balance worthy of being called "Christ-likeness".
God is infinite, and has infinite zeal in everything he does. His justice, His mercy, the wrath He made Jesus bear on the cross, His love, His glory etc.
If as Christians we seek to conform to the image of Christ, then such is the balance we want to seek in our lives.
And God isn't being harsh on us by demanding such a standard. Refer to the message at the start of this post!
God says to you that if indeed you comprehend (hence grow) in knowledge, then your love will be refined, will grow, as well!

He has prepared ahead of us a perfect mechanism to help us.
Hence, do not be discouraged, it isn't easy, but God already knows.

2010

"Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."

-- Thomas Mann

My sentiments exactly. But count each day, we must, and make each day count.

Each day is as new as the one that starts the year.
Every moment is a new beginning, a new resurrection–
dying to our old selves, living in Christ, with Christ, for Christ.

"Teach us to number our days aright,
____that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
- Psalms 90:12