Twelve Days of Christmas in accapella

I was listening to the Christmas playlist in Apple Music and the presentation by the Tenebrae choir of The Twelve Days of Christmas arranged by Ian Humphris was included. I loved it! 

I could not find the Tenebrae's version in YouTube, but this one by QuireCleveland choir is just as good. 

Twelve Days of Christmas, arr. Ian Humphris

presented by QuireCleveland choir

pearlie

Can you be gay and Christian?

Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding with Love and Truth to Questions about Homosexuality

by Michael L. Brown, PhD

I had wanted to know more about the LGBT subject for awhile now. I missed a conference on it once before and so when I noticed this book, I quickly got a copy and dived in. 

I did not know much about it, not about what their arguments were and how they justified and explained their lives in light of Scripture. The book presented it very well with every chapter beginning with a "gay Christian" argument followed by a biblical answer. Brown was fair in his treatment of the subject with grace and compassion. 

He explained the biblical position of homosexuality through context and word study. And as much as the LGBT scholars try to read it positively into God's word, Brown has shown that "every single reference to homosexual practice in the ancient Jewish world is 100 percent negative—sometimes in the strongest of terms—and there is not a single positive reference to be found." 

And I like the way he explained the creation of man and woman. I have never looked at it this way before: "The author of Genesis is explaining to us that because the woman was taken out of the man, the two are now joined back together as one in marital union, each one uniquely complementing the other." Then he quotes A.B. Simpson saying, "Man was created male and female. This does not mean, as it would seem at first from the language, that he created the male and the female at the same time, but He created male and female in one person. The woman was included in the man physically and psychically, and afterwards was taken out of the man and constituted in her own individuality," concluding that "only a man and a woman can be joined (rejoined!) together in this way."

This is a must-read book. You may or may not agree with him, but at least he presents both sides and faithfully explains the Bible as it is intended by the original writers as inspired by God. And most of all, he is firm in his stand that we are all broken people before God and we are all in need of God, as heterosexuals or homosexuals, in need of his grace, mercy, love and redemption. 

pearlie

My whole being waits, and it will happen!

Rediscovering Advent, A 30-Day Guide for Family and Individual Reflection 

by Christianity Today

I was searching for some Advent devotional material to use for this season but I didn't really find anything good until I found this one yesterday. I read some excerpts from its preview here and decided to get a copy and spend time daily meditating on God's word in the following four weeks. 

Today's reading was from Psalm 130:5-6 and Isaiah 9:6-7 with the perspective of viewing Isaiah's prophecy through Psalm's lens of longing and waiting. 

Psalm 130:5-6 NIV

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 

Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

This is one thing we have always been doing all our lives. We have always been waiting, whether in anticipation or in fear or in apathy, we have been waiting. As I have noted in yesterday's devotion that it is a gift to be thirsty, I think it is also a gift to be in waiting.

How so?

It is in waiting that we depend on God as we cling to him in weakness and trust. It is in waiting that we learn profound spiritual lessons which will be lost if we ever had the privilege of hindsight. It is in the experience of longing that we value what we will receive when it comes. It is in the longing that we know when to rejoice when it becomes a reality. 

My whole being waits! The emphasis is seen in Psalm 130:6 where "more than watchmen wait for the morning" is mentioned twice. The Psalmist says it and then he says it again, hence we better pay attention. But why would the watchman watch for the morning? Isn't he suppose to watch over whatever he is watching, rather than the morning? The NIV Zondervan Study Bible states that the "watchmen know that the morning will come and provide relief from their burdensome task, but they still must wait for that relief. Likewise, the sinner can be confident that the Lord’s forgiveness will eventually come, but in God’s own timing."

My whole being waits. And it waits in anticipation for the fulfillment of the kingdom of God, and it will happen! We will see justice and goodness and fairness and peace. The Lord Almighty will surely make it happen. 

This is Jesus's message of hope, of Advent. 

pearlie 

Advent begins today

 

It is the first day of Advent today. It is a season lasting four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Lord, both to celebrate his coming as Immanuel 2000 years ago but more so, the eager anticipation of the second coming of the Lord in glory, his parousia. It symbolizes the present situation of the church in these last days as we await his return to take his place in the eternal kingdom.¹

With this, I meditate on Psalm 42:1-2 and 63:1-8 on this first day of Advent this year: 

As the deer pants for streams of water, 

so my soul pants for you, my God. 

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 

When can I go and meet with God?

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; 

I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, 

in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 

I have seen you in the sanctuary 

and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, 

my lips will glorify you. 

I will praise you as long as I live, 

and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 

with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 

On my bed I remember you; 

I think of you through the watches of the night. 

Because you are my help, 

I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

I cling to you; 

your right hand upholds me. 

How do I cultivate and dwell in this longing for God? We need to become the patient, expectant, thirsty people of God. We must, for longer than a moment, see the daily distress of living. Only in view of suffering will we learn to watch for the dawn—and thirst for its merciful rain. To be thirsty for God is in itself a gift.²

In times of contentment, I rarely feel that thirst. What I see as "blessings" of God can ironically be that which draws me away from him. I pray that I will thirst for him like a parched deer that pants for water. And in seeking him, I will be filled with that living water, and only in him will I find life in all I do, in all I am, in all that I find myself in. 

pearlie

1 "What is Advent?", Christianity.com

2 "Rediscovering Advent", Christianity Today, 2016

Debut - a vocal recital by Chow Ee-Tan and Alphonsus Sim

I had a good day today. I spent the morning and afternoon with my hubby, song and mother-in-law and it was lovely. And then in the evening, though I had tired out, I attended my good friend, Ee-Tan's vocal recital debut. It was a small cost setup and it was nice. The repertoire chosen by both the singers were really good ones. And they did very well. 

 

 

Ee-Tan and Alphonsus started the recital with a duet. 

 

Ee-Tan told me that she has taken singing lesson for nine years. I wish I had the time and resources to do that too. She inspired me to reconsider going back to singing classes. The challenge though would be to get a good teacher. 

 

She emotes well in all the songs she sang, both sad and even one playful one, which is most important in relaying the message and heart of the songs. 

Well done, my friend!

pearlie

A prayer to be closer to God

 

My Father, my God, my Lord. I feel so far away from you even though I know you are near. You are here. Your presence is with me. Yet I long for more closeness. I long to seek you every moment of my life and yet I know I don't all time. I desire to come near, to center my life in you, from you, through you. I need to put you first and seek you. You have told me that when I seek you I will find you when I search for you with all my heart. So here I am, Lord, coming to you, believing in you—despite my fears, doubts, and failures. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  

pearlie

Prayer inspired by Jackie M. Johnson, Powerful Prayers for Challenging Times

Kyrie Eleison

I accidentally added this song into my playlist and I can't seem to undo it. (I'm still getting used to Apple Music.) So I just let it stay. I know I can click edit in the list to remove it but I didn't bother to. 

Which was a good thing because I heard it on my commute back from work today and I loved it! I just found out that he released it only a month ago, on 21 October 2016. 

A really good find. 

I might as well add his entire Never Lose Sight album into my Apple Music and see if it's any good. 

pearlie

So many books to get but...

The Ringgit is weakening by the day and I still have a whole list of books from the Kindle holiday deals that I want to get. And so I thought I might as well just get these few before it gets worse.


Money, Greed and God, Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the Problem
by Jay W. Richards
I have not read any books that looks at the economy, capitalism and the Christian faith before, and so I thought this will be a good start.


The Bible Tells Me So...Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It
by Peter Enns
I found out from Hank Hanegraaff's book The Creation Answer Book that Peter Enns is a theistic evolutionist, and so I thought since this book is on sale anyway, it would be good to hear what he has to say.


Parables, The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told
by John MacArthur
I have not read John MacArthur before and this would be a good book to find out more.

pearlie

Spotify or Apple Music

 

I have been using Spotify Premium to listen to music for a year now and it's great to have access to whatever  music you feel like listening to at any time of the day. 

However, the free premium service has come to an end after one year. I have just stopped the premium account and I was about to sign on to their family package when I realized that I should try out Apple Music first. 

I have read some comparison reviews between the two and Spotify was recommended for a higher quality of sound and Apple Music if you use Siri a lot. 

I don't think the sound quality would bother me much because I'm not that much of an audiophile. I'm good with it as long as I have access to the kind of music I want to listen to.

I feel that Siri might be a plus for me, since I usually listen when I'm driving and it would be safer to just tell Siri what to play. 

Apple Music also offers a free three-month trial and I've just signed in. But I find that in terms of the user interface, Spotify is much better. It's easier to find music and create playlists in Spotify compared to Apple Music. I wanted to delete an album that Apple made me put into the iCloud, but even though I'm quite sure I just deleted the album, all the playlists I have created went missing as well. And I had to start all over again. What a bummer. 

I'm giving Apple Music three months. If I can get used to it and if I can get a good experience out of it, I might continue with a paid subscription. If not, I'm going back to Spotify. 

pearlie 

How do you know when you need to change your car battery?

 

How do you know when you need to change your car battery? For me, it has always died on me, or exploded on me the last time I got it changed. 

It happened again today and I was stuck outside a restaurant near my house. Oh no, it didn't explode this time. It just died. My son and I had dropped into the restaurant for a quick meal and when we were ready to leave, my car will not start. 

I have shared here before that I did have problems starting my car, and I am now not sure if it is a starter or battery problem. On top of that, my hubby just informed me a week ago that AAM, the auto assist services that we have subscribed to, has wound up and we no longer have their services.

And there I was in the car, not sure of what to do. My hubby was with some foreign clients and was not able to attend to me at that time. 

I then remembered that when I changed my car insurance provider, the agent did mention something about an auto assistance services that I can use. I quickly called him, got the number and arranged for a technician to come check the car. 

Alas, it is the battery after all, which only lasted one year! I hope this new one will last longer. 

But the next question is this: was the problem of getting my car started a battery problem in the first place and not the key lock cylinder?

pearlie

Lao Dou (Old Dad) Pork Noodle

This has kind of became our weekend staple - pork noodles soup. So yummy! 

 

 

And this is my favourite - minced pork with dung choy.  

Restoran Lao Dao Pork Noodle

7 Jalan Kenari 4, 

Puchong Jaya, 47100 

Contact No: 012-2868262

Opening Hours: Mon.-Sun. 08:00-19:00

pearlie

Photo Source: openrice.com, foodsandcosmetics

Ten years ago: Oh, that I had wings

 

And I say, 

"Oh, that I had wings like a dove! 

I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away; 

I would lodge in the wilderness; 

Selah.

Psalm 55:6-7

These have always been my favourite verses, since school days. I still remember those late nights studying and being so tired. I would recite these verses and feel at peace with God knowing that His grace is sufficient for me. 

I still love these words - they bring me peace to know that I can be alone with God and be safe.

That was me 10 years ago. I still feel the same today, 10 years later.

pearlie 

Ate a lot but still feeling hungry

 

It's 10pm and I'm feeling so hungry. I've had all my three meals today, and quite a heavy lunch too. And so why am I feeling so hungry?

My hubby said that it's because I didn't have enough carbohydrates. 

I ate quite a lot today but I did cut down on my carbs intake though I did not cut it off completely. Is that why?

I've tried to check the Internet for some answers but I'm not sure who and what to believe. 

Those websites on low carb diet doesn't sound so reputable and so I think I will take advice from here: When Your Healthy Diet Isn't So Healthy. 

It makes absolute sense:

1. Avoid one food wonders

2. Going vegetarian may not work

3. Too much of a good thing isn't all good

4. Don't snub carbs

5. Being fat-free is a fallacy

6. Cutting off your favorite food is being on denial

pearlie

A Thousand Words #193

 

pearlie

Answers to questions you may have on the creation of the world

 

The Creation Answer Book

by Hank Hanegraaff

I have started reading this book and I like it. It is indeed an answer book. It poses multiple questions about creation and provides brief but succinct answers to them, complete with a book reference for each question if you need more. 

There are too many questions to be included here but they fall under these main themes:

- Creation and First Things

- Creation and the Garden of Eden

- Creation and the Flood

- Creation and the Age Question

- Creation and the Problem of Evil

- Creation and Dinosaurs

- Creation and Evolution

- Creation and Re-creation

It is a recommended read and at the moment on sale at $4.99 in Amazon Kindle. 

pearlie

God is Red, The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China

 

God is Red, The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China 

by Liao Yiwu

I started reading this book a week ago and I finished it today. 

Like I was saying, the book was translated by Wenguang Huang and he noted that the author, Liao Yiwu, is "one of the most prominent and outspoken contemporary writers in China today. His epic poem 'Massacre' composed in 1989 in condemnation of the government's bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square, landed him in jail for four years." He has subsequently been researching the Falun Gong group, and was pursued and investigated by the government as well. He got interested in Christians in China as part of his wider project about people living at the margins of society in China today. He remains an unbeliever, which in a sense made the book quite an interesting read from an outsider's point of view but as Huang said, "the journeys brought him kinship with millions of Chinese Christians who are finding meaning in a tumultuous society."

It is indeed a very good read. The tone is conversational as Liao reconstructed his interviews with the people in dialogue form allowing us to hear them as they are. 

It is also a painful read. I cannot imagine the atrocities, persecution and suffering that they went through. And what I am thankful for are the missionaries who were there with them before they were deported when the Cultural Revolution started. The missionaries certainly plowed and planted and harvested and is now still harvesting many believers in the Lord. 

pearlie 

My Melancholic Playlist

I have a list of songs I simply love listening to time and again. I have only realised recently how melancholic they are. And so I have started my Being Melancholic playlist in Spotify. It does not have many songs but these are the ones that sets me down to think and mull about life.



pearlie

Please be my strength, cause I don't have anymore

pearlie 

Fell in love with this song: If I Didn't Know Better

My hubby kept saying that I should watch Nashville since I like singing so much, and so I watched the pilot episode today. I would say the show is not too bad, but I feel in love with this song and with Clare Bowen. 

If I Didn't Know Better (Nashville)

pearlie 

A Thousand Words #192

 

pearlie 

I passed an audition!

 

It's a singing day for me today. I have our twice-weekly practice this evening to prepare for The Messiah by Handel to be sung this Christmas on Saturday, Dec 10th in KL Wesley. We are only doing Part 1 and if you are available, do come and join us as we share the Christmas good news. 

I also auditioned to sing in the chorus of two Beethovan sacred music pieces with Yin Qi. It was tough. I had to sight sing seven pages of scores. I ended up sight singing because I only received the scores three days ago and did not have enough time to learn up the music. Nevertheless, I am thankful I passed the audition, even though I did not do so well. 

I am quite glad though that my singing range has broadened over the years. My range is now from G3 to C6#. And I was told I can still go higher. 

It will be a busy year of singing for me next year and I'm really looking forward to it. 

pearlie

I have a confession to make

I have to confess. 

I did not keep to my promise of fasting TV for one month. I only lasted for 4 days! 

I got bored over the weekend and after spending Saturday finishing three books, I needed to do something else. 

Yes, I am feeling guilty and I am still trying to keep away from the television. I am trying very hard. I recently noticed quite a number of new good shows in iflix: like The Catch, new season of Quantico, Code Black, and new season of Agent Carter. 

But I'm going to read this evening. I just bought this book yesterday, and have started on it. It feels like a very interesting read.

God is Red, The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China

by Liao Yiwu 

The book is translated by Wenguang Huang and he noted that the author, Liao Yiwu, is "one of the most prominent and outspoken contemporary writers in China today. His epic poem 'Massacre' composed in 1989 in condemnation of the government's bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square, landed him in jail for four years." He has subsequently been researching the Falun Gong group, and was pursued and investigated by the government as well. 

He got interested in Christians in China as part of his wider project about people living at the margins of society in China today. 

He remains an unbeliever, which in a sense would make the book quite an interesting read from an outsider's point of view but as Huang said, "the journeys brought him kinship with millions of Chinese Christians who are finding meaning in a tumultuous society."

I have just read about 16% of the book and I am looking forward to it. 

So it's looking good so far, to keep me off the television, at least for this evening. 

pearlie 

I will soon have 1000 books to "show off"

 

You have to checked out the non-fiction Holidays Deals in Amazon Kindle for the month of November. There are 274 titles on sale! There were only about 40-50 in the previous months. 

I have already purchased 14 books this month, and there are 21 more titles I am considering. 

Am I mad or something?

Where in the world will I find the time to read all of them, I really don't know. But they are so interesting and affordable it is hard to stop myself.

After all, I am a book collector, albeit electronic ones. My friends do challenge me in the sense that it is only when I buy print books that I can put them all on my shelves to show off my collection. 

But I beg to differ. No one will come to my house to see my shelves but anyone can now view my online shelf right here in www.goodreads.com/pearlie. 

I now have 946 books and counting, both print and electronic combined.

I bet I will be reaching a thousand in no time at all.

pearlie

We finally figured out my car problem

 

Thanks to my hubby I think my car problem is finally solved. 

I had problems getting my car started for quite a while now. It's not that my car won't start. I need to try it a few times before it does, especially if I've just turned off the engine and wanted to restart it again. 

I have asked several mechanics but no one could tell me why. I finally brought it to the Honda service center and they told me it was the starter motor. I wanted to get it changed but they did not have any units stocked.

So I left without getting it fixed and I left it be. I thought since I can still get my car started, even though sometimes it does take a few tries, I ignored it hoping against hope that my car will not just die on me one fine day.

On our way to church yesterday, it suddenly dawned on my hubby that it might be the ignition lock cylinder that might be problem. He felt that the connection might be cut off if I turn the key all the way to start the car. He suggested I only turn it midway.  

Viola! It now works everytime. 

I am thankful I did not waste any money replacing a good starter motor and not solving the problem. I suppose it pays to wait it out sometimes. 

pearlie 

I was sad and I failed, and now I'm frustrated. What a week!

 

My good friend Lee Mei was worried reading my posts about me feeling sad and having failed that when I saw her yesterday, she made it a point to ask me if I am really ok. 

I assured her, I am. 

I still am but today I got really frustrated. 

I train the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People at work and I have just read The Like Switch by Jack Schafer. Both have a section on emphatic listening and emphatic language, and I was reminded of it today after a conversation went haywire. 

Steven Covey introduced me to the subject of Autobiographical Listening. It is a kind of listening that we are quite used to, that is we listen to what others are telling us by using our own stories and filters. In such listening, we tend to probe, evaluate, advice and analyze. As a result, we lead the story away from the person who owns it in the first place. 

It is alright to use this kind of listening in normal circumstances, but when emotions are high, we cannot listen to others with our own filters and add to it with our own stories. We need to listen empathetically. 

But Schafer went further to say that we should even use empathic language at all times. It is putting yourself in the other person's shoes and listening to their stories as they are and understanding the person as a result. The focus is not you or even the story, it's the person you are speaking with. 

This was how the conversation went haywire this afternoon. I was correcting my vehicle's side view mirror when I was reminded of what happened a few days ago that made my driving that day quite risky on the road. 

Me: Do you know that someone flipped close my side view mirror on my right that day? I did not realise it until I was already on the road and I did not have any chance to stop by the side of road to adjust it back. It was so difficult to drive without it, without a view of what's coming from my right. 

Him: Really? Well, that person did something good for you. He closed it so that your mirror won't be spoilt when others come by. 

Me: What? I had my car parked at a place where pedestrian traffic is minimal. It is fine that the person need space to walk through but he should have readjusted it back. 

Him: No, he did you a favour.

Me: Why are you not on my side and why are you speaking for others? You weren't even there to really know what happened. 

Him: Why are you so emotional?

Me: Arggh!!!

For the rest of the day I was just being quiet and not wanting to say anything anymore. I keep telling myself that it is so, so trivial and that he lacked in empathetical listening anyway, that he is basically a person of common sense and facts but the other half of me just cannot accept it.

To do it Schafer-style, the conversation should have gone this way. 

Me: Do you know that someone flipped close my side view mirror on my right that day? I did not realise it until I was already on the road and I did not have any chance to stop by the side of road to adjust it back. It was so difficult to drive without it, without a view of what's coming from my right. 

Him: Really? Well, yeah that could have been very dangerous. 

Me: Exactly. It's alright that the person need space to pass by my car but he should have readjusted it back. 

Him: You may be right, but it must have been a natural reflex for the person to flip it close and then not think to adjust it back. Good that you managed to drive more carefully though. 

Me: Yeah, next time I do need to check all my mirrors before I begin to drive. 

See? Isn't that a much better conversation?

pearlie 

No TV but Three Books

I stopped watching TV for several days and end up finishing three books today. It wasn't easy laying of TV I must tell you. The pull was there but I held on and read some books instead. 

Visual Intelligence, Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life

by Amy E. Herman

This is a good book but not really that easy a read. There are too many shoulds and should nots, and step-by-step stuff than I would prefer. But it is good that it introduced me to practicing close observation of what and how I see things. It uses art to train us to better see and observe things around us. I really liked the first half of the book. Her second half of the book concerning communication and message is something I'd rather read from other experts. What I would have preferred is more of the first half of the book. 

 My Holiday in North Korea, the Funniest/Worst Place on Earth

by Wendy E. Simmons

This is quite a fun read, not that North Korea is fun. It is a pitiful place and I really feel for the people there who are the most uninformed, inhibited and repressed society in the world. And the sad thing is they don't know it and it's not even their fault. The author tells of her 10-day solo visit to North Korea and how they scheduled, planned and staged her visits to show how great and advanced the country is, except that anyone can see it is not. They even staged a football match complete with spectators in a 50,000-seat stadium just for her at the last minute due to a itinerary change. Simmons wrote, "So was this a real, previously scheduled, Monday-morning-at-9:00-a.m. football match? And had I just been super lucky to have a Monday-morning-at-9:00-a.m. slot on my schedule that needed filling? Possibly, given the damned good luck (knock wood) and propensity for remarkable coincidences I tend to have. Or had a country just pulled together an entire football match (minus a few thousand fans) in less than twelve hours solely for my benefit? It was a thought too absurd, too egomaniacal, too lunatic, and too paranoid, to even consider…right?" I would never have the chance or the the courage to go to North Korea, and so it is good to read about it instead. 

A Thousand Miles to Freedom, My Escape from North Korea

by Eunsun Kim

After reading a book written by a tourist to North Korea, I wanted to read one by a North Korean sharing first hand experience of their lives in the country. Eunsun Kim was just eleven when she nearly died of hunger in a famine, in the mid-90s. It took nine years for her to escape before she set foot in South Korea to begin a new life. It is an amazing story, no doubt about it but the writing was very choppy. She goes in and out of different timelines giving it a very disjointed flow with repetitive sections and statements. But she writes from her perspective, telling her harrowing story from the heart. I would prefer a little bit more information about her perspective and life in North Korea though, but I think that is as much as you can expect from someone who left the country when she was just eleven. Maybe, I should look for a book written by a more elderly North Korean. 

Finishing three books is great but the TV is still beckoning me. I must resist and not submit or yield to its calling. 

pearlie 

Lord, I thank you

 

I feel so thankful today and I found this prayer that says it all. 

Prayer of Thanksgiving by Vienna Cobb Anderson

God of all blessings, source of all life,  giver of all grace:    

We thank you for the gift of life:  

for the breath that sustains life,  

for the food of this earth that nurtures life, 

for the love of family and friends without which there would be no life.    

We thank you for the mystery of creation:  

for the beauty that the eye can see,  

for the joy that the ear may hear,  

for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,  

for the expanse of space that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.    

We thank you for setting us in communities:  

for families who nurture our becoming,  

for friends who love us by choice,  

for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks,  

for strangers who welcome us into their midst,  

for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding,  

for children who lighten our moments with delight,  

for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.    

We thank you for this day:  

for life and one more day to love,  

for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace,  

for neighbors and one more person to love and by whom be loved,  

for your grace and one more experience of your presence,  

for your promise: to be with us, to be our God, and to give salvation.    

For these, and all blessings,  we give you thanks, eternal, loving God, through Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen.    

pearlie 

Source: BeliefNet

I have failed

 

I failed at something today and I am feeling so horrible about it. I need to hear some wise words of comfort. 

It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. 

~ Bill Gates

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be. 

~ John Wooden

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. 

~ Richard Branson 

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. 

~ Truman Capote

And this one I really need to think and mull over:

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. 

~ Abraham Lincoln

pearlie 

No TV for one month

 

I have made a vow today to fast TV for a month. I have binged on it too much over the weekend and I have decided it is not a good thing at all to waste all my time on it. 

As much as it's the only thing that can help me switch off my brain for awhile, I have been doing that too much lately. But the thing is I feel that it is a good thing for me to switch my brain off sometimes because I do think too much. 

One month. 

I'll see if I can last one month without watching any TV. I have got loads to read by the way. 

pearlie 

Just feeling sad

It doesn't hurt to feel sad from time to time. 

~ Willie Nelson

Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.

~ Christopher Morley

The word 'happiness' would love its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. 

~ Carl Jung

Tears are the summer showers to the soul. 

~ Alfred Austin

Sadness is also a kind of defense. 

~ Ivo Andric

Delicious tears! The heart's own dew. 

~ Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Tears are nature's lotion for the eyes. The eyes see better for being washed by them. 

~ Christian Nestell Bovee 

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. 

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

pearlie