Xin Nian Kuai Le!

God has been good, as always. He's provided in so many ways in the past 5 months, and He's answered some prayers as well. :) It always amazes me how He provides at just the right moments...sometimes when we least expect it.

• New home
• New church
• New fellowship
• New friends
• New responsibilities

And, just the circumstances that He brings about, especially upcoming family trip. Although a part of me dreads it because my family members are the only ones who really push my buttons, I'm grateful that this trip is happening. It's going to be the very first trip we've ever had with all 5 of us going somewhere together. There has always been at least one person missing in past trips. I hope that it's a memorable experience in a good way of course

With God, all things are possible.

I've been reading "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. He writes the following: "If we try to display the excellence of God without joy in it, we will display a shell of hypocrisy and create scorn or legalism. But if we claim to enjoy his excellence and do not display it for others to see and admire, we deceive ourselves, because the mark of God enthralled joy is to overflow and expand by extending itself into the hearts of others. The wasted life is the life without a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples."

To glorify God is to express the joy that comes from our faith in Him who loves us to others. Sometimes, it's hard to be joyful in everything we do. In fact, it can be hard to be excited about certain activities or relationships because there is always that fear of disappointment. However, God does not call us to live lives with no disappointments. We live in a world where bad news arises every day. It is the joy in what can be learned and taught in these disappointments that can keep us going. If we found no joy in what we do, then doesn't it give what we do little or no meaning at all? There are so many people out there looking for joy. If we have experienced some kind of joy at one point in our lives, then shouldn't we share that joy with others? Why be selfish and keep that joy to ourselves?

There is this feeling of joy in my heart that I have and hope to extend to others in some way. Someone had extended that joy to me. There is always room to extend that joy even more.

Road rage observation #2
Being stuck in traffic isn't always that great, especially when your exit is only a few yards away but it feels like it'll be an hour before you actually reach the exit ramp. So, some people will drive onto the shoulder to bypass all the cars and then try to sneak their way in right before the exit ramp entrance so that they can beat the cars who have patiently waited in line to exit. That really doesn't make things any easier for the rest of the cars. In fact, it could be dangerous.

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As the light rail was making its stops on my commute to work this morning, I observed the passengers who were waiting at the stations. Majority if not all the people had their headphones on listening to their iPods or mp3 players. And, they would sit or stand several feet away from each other, looking down at the ground or looking away from the crowds. I'm guilty of this as well. As great as it is to be able to listen to music while commuting/walking, sometimes it provides a greater hindrance in our interactions with people we do not regularly associate with.

What did people do back in the day when there were no such mechanisms of entertainment? Did people just stand around in silence? Or, did people actually talk to each other while waiting for the train? I wonder how many friendships/acquaintances developed from waiting for a train/bus/ferry every day? If not friendships, at least random conversations.  Just imagine..

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." ~ Colossians 4:5-6