the morning of the recital

The devotional passage from Spurgeon this morning is very meaningful to me.

"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called." ~1 Cor 7:20 (ESV)

"Some people have the foolish notion that the only way in which they can live for God is by becoming pastors, missionaries, or bible teachers. How many would be excluded from any opportunity of spiritual usefulness if this were the case.... God is definitely glorified at the workbench, where the godly worker fulfills his task singing of the Savior's love. In this humble setting God is glorified far more than in many a lofty pulpit where official religion performs its scanty duties. ... God is glorified when we serve Him in our proper vocations.Take care, dear reader, that you do not neglect the path of duty by leaving your occupation,and take care you do not dishonor your profession while in it ... Whatever God has made your position or your work, remain in that, unless you are quite sure that He calls you to something else. Let your first concern be to glorify God to the best of your ability where you are. Fill your present sphere to His praise, and if He needs you in another, He will show it [to] you."

getting ready for the recital

查完 瑪拉基

過去五個月團契查瑪拉基書，昨晚作了個完結篇： 溫習與總結. 部份資料放在這裡。

af retreat @ westmont college

The Westmont Campus

Dining hall

Meeting room, right next to the dining hall

Camp booklet

My cross: one prayer station teaches us to fold a cross using a palm leaf. We're then to meditate on what the cross means to us. I thought of one thing that I need to let go.

* * * * *

Thank God for his work among us.

Thank God for moving b/s among us to pray (& fast) for the retreat, that through our speaker Dennis, our minister Joshua, our adviser Karena (who cares deeply for us), and through sharing from our own brothers/sisters, the devotional material, prayer stations, worship songs, many of us were gently touched by the Holy Spirit.

If I looked at fellowship brothers and sisters as individuals who were just people with flaws in the past, God has now opened my eyes to see each of us indeed as his work-of-art (in-progress). I see God's fingerprints all over us. Such amazing grace!

Thank God for my brothers & sisters. And thank God for AF. (I like Victor's re-interpreting "AF" from Adult Fellowship to Authentic Fellowship.)

As for God's work in my life, I'm still letting messages heard in the retreat sink in. I had a couple questions in mind when I headed out for the retreat, and I think God has given me his answers. I need to figure out how to live out what I heard, though.

有朋自hk來

水哥、我、與貓姐

post-c.h.

Since mom moves back home, I continue to be amazed at the outcome of her brief stay at the convalescent home. Both mom and the home aide seem like a different person: mom has become more amenable, appreciative, happy; home aide now takes care of mom with her heart! PTL.

Among all the "before and after" incidents, I'll jot down just a few.

Prior to sending mom to the ch, I asked Emily whether she could extend her work hours to stay overnight with mom, and she replied, "of course I could stay. It just depends how much you will pay me." And she gave her number. After we sent mom to the ch, she said, "if you take you mom back home, I will take care of her with my whole heart. I don't mind if the wage is low. I will quit one of the two side jobs so that I can spend more time with your mom. Please take her home, will you?"

Before the ch. stay, mom would be yelling and kicking when we tried to clean her. Actually, the first day after we took her home, mom was still kicking Emily. But afterwards, according to Emily, mom said, "oh you're a good person, you helped me." Instead of resisting help, mom now thanks Emily when she's helped.

Yesterday I took mom for a doctor's follow-up visit. Unlike my past experience, it was so effortless. Ggetting mom out of the apartment, having her walk to my car, everything became so easy. When we returned to the apartment building, I thought of saying "hello" to the apartment manager and showing her mom's doing well (in the hope of giving the manager some good impression of mom and of scoring points for renewing next year's rental contract). Mom handled herself so well and exchanged some brief conversation with the manager in English. Two thumbs up for mom!

As a close friend who shares some workload like a sister does of caring for mom noted, in the most positive sense, "I don't know what prayers have been prayed, and who said those prayers, the outcome is beyond our imagination. We were expecting things got back to where they were, i.e. square one, but then, things have changed for the better."

ambition, i want you

This looks like quite an interesting book. Click on image to read some sample pages.

a course i'm taking

After an eventful week, I've taken mom back to her apartment, and her old home-aide Emily has agreed to take care of mom 24/7. We just need to make sure that Emily will take breaks and take care of herself. We're so relying on her.

I've gotten closer to my mom in the past several months in spite of, or because of, all the heartaches and headaches. Suffering has a mysterious power to draw people closer.

I also am learning to practice love with my family, as I love brothers/sisters at church; sometimes it's easier to love brothers/sisters at church than family members. God's the master Teacher. He tailor-made the course curriculum, the length of the course, and the quizzes and exams to help me learn something that's very important. Before He instituted his Church, He instituted Family.

life on the fast track

After moving mom to the convalescent home and having observed for a week, my sister and I have agreed that we don't want to leave her there. My life hasn't had that much "excitement" in a long time; almost everyday in the past few days I was greeted with a piece of news that would drive my blood pressure up, with the last piece being her running a temperature of 102 and sent to the ER. I am taking her home today.

emily

I whole-heartedly thank God for Emily, my mom's home aide. (Picture was taken during our visit on the 3rd day of mom's stay at the convalescent home.)

Emily has worked as mom's care giver for 16 months. Together, she and I moved mom to the convalescent home yesterday. She packed mom's stuff, helped coax mom to leave the apartment, and handled mom when I didn't know how. When we left mom at the convalescent home, another friend said emily looked more distraught than I did.

The next day I went to mom's old apartment to take Emily to visit mom. She said the moment she saw me, "恩，I couldn't sleep last night because I worried about your mom. When my friends talked to me on the phone, I didn't feel like talking. I cried this morning as I entered your mom's apartment." I told her that we're still observing. If it's not a good place for mom, I'll take her home. I had her helped pack more stuffs and clothes to bring to mom. Among the things she packed was mom's wallet with some dollar bills in it, because she remembers mom likes to take them out and count them numerous time because mom forgets that she's already counted them in her purse.

Soon after we arrived at the convalescent home, Emily quickly pointed out some new bruises on mom's hands and face. Mom asked us to take her home as soon as she saw us. There's still much work before mom gets used to the new place and feels at ease being taken care of by a brand new group of people, whose faces she doesn't recognize. Good thing is that mom looked comfortable lying in her new bed, and she would sometimes make short conversation with the nurses, asking out of the blue their marital status. We stayed for about two hours and Emily put mom to sleep. We left feeling more relieved than when we first arrived.

Thanks, Emily.