Unwrapping Gifts

Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Psalm 111:2

I just unwrapped a piece of Ferrero Rocher and am currently enjoying it. It’s my favourite chocolate and since university, Eng used to get them for me as a gift. He hasn’t changed much in his gift giving and still gives them to me. I received a box from him for Christmas. I actually ended up with three boxes altogether over the holidays. The other two came from friends who visited separately. The Lord is so kind to ensure that even with my sons enjoying the treats with me; I’m still to have my fill of them. I am certainly relishing them. =) We are now (mostly me) consuming box number two.

Another gift I got over Christmas was a book by Ann Voskamp called “One Thousand Gifts”. It is amazing the wisdom I already gleaned from her book and I haven’t even finished it. I’m seriously dreading the day I finish reading it. It will feel like losing a friend if I am no longer able to reach out for it to read it some more. I highly recommend it as a must read. It’s probably available in your local bookstore since it is a New York Times Bestseller.

What spoke volumes to me is how she shared how to have joy all the time. She wrote:
“If I can give thanks for the good things, the hard things, the absolute everything, I can enter the gates to glory. Living in His presence is fullness of joy – and seeing shows the way in.
The art of deep seeing makes gratitude possible. And it is the art of gratitude that makes joy possible.”

It is the deep seeing that isn’t always easy for us. We go through a hard time and seeing the good in it is usually the last thing we do. She wrote about noting down what she sees that she’s thankful for and as she notices them, she compares it to unwrapping the Lord’s gifts. She started to list them, hence the title of her book. She got to a thousand gifts and now just keeps going indefinitely. Encouraged by her list, I started my own two weeks ago and intend to keep going, myself. Some of what’s in it are:

3. a New Year welcomed with words full of hope
13. a day of rest full of sunshine
18. my mother smiling and enjoying my touch
24. unwillingness of a son to just do without certainty and clear leading
39. five more months with undecided son at home
62. cold nose pressed on a warm cheek
91. kisses goodnight
107. a mission's committee happy to hear about what we do
108. the sun’s warmth on my cheeks
112. directions known
114. reading by candlelight
115. waking up to a song playing in my head

There’s always something to thank the Lord for. He is constantly blessing us with gifts. I am happily unwrapping mine daily. Please choose to see deeply and go unwrap yours.

Change Winner

...the help of man is worthless.
With God we will gain the victory.
Psalm 108: 12b-13a

Last night, we again had our annual end of the year family meeting. Since it was already January 7th, it truly no longer qualified as a year-end meeting but I’m glad we did it nonetheless. It’s a meeting where we write down one another’s positive and negative traits. We do it with the

intention to encourage ourselves on what we do well, and to mirror out ourselves so that we find out what we can change. We started by each of us writing what we liked best about Evan. Although we first did this activity ten years ago and had already established a way to go about it, we had to do it differently this year because we didn’t have our notes from the years before. It must have been left in one of our boxes in Chiang Mai. Except Evan since it was his turn, we individually wrote no more than three but at least one positive trait that each one liked about him. Then, we also wrote one trait that we thought he could focus on in changing for the New Year. He then read our positive and negative comments. After that, Eng affirmed Evan and prayed for him. The Lord was thanked for what Evan does well and then requests were made on his behalf to do better and change in the areas written.

When Evan's turn was done, we did the same thing all over again for Eli, Eng, me, Eric, and Ethan. We usually feel great after knowing what we do well. With regard to the negative trait, we often pray first to word it graciously. Thankfully, no one had been hurt in the ten years we’d done the activity. As I facilitate the whole process, I often would add that the intention is to let the other person know what he can change for the better. Often, the encouragement is to have the negative trait worked on as a resolution for the New Year. With the prayers offered, the hope is that the negative trait won’t be seen nor heard again in the following year and especially during the year-end's meeting.

The final thing we did was to vote on who changed the most last year (a new addition in the last five years). I thought an award would be an extra incentive to change. Sure enough, one of us kept saying he wanted to win! There's a $30.00 or 1,000.00 Baht (when we were in Thailand) award. The winner of who changed the most in 2011 was Evan; his second victory in the last five years.

I’d never won once. All the same, as my family told me what I can change, I hope to truly do so. May this year be the year I change so well that they'd actually notice. It’s not because of the award since the money comes from Eng and me anyway. It’s because I thrive on change. Winning would mean the changes in me were truly evident. And change is really good for all of us. As the Lord transforms us, it’s great for us to be purposeful in joining Him in the process. May all our resolutions and intentions to change in 2012 be fruitful for His glory.

Thanks to 2011!

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits –
Psalm 103:1-2

In 2011, the Lord changed me. For that, I am grateful. I also understand even more the magnitude of his love for me, what grace truly is, and just recently, comprehending joy. I’m sure I have LOTS more to learn about all three. The Lord blessed us so much and had us do many things last year that I’m extremely grateful for but learning those three tops my list. =)

Ethan is grateful for his family, his friends, this house, Eric’s graduation, and our trip to Europe.

Eli appreciates his school, his family and friends, and being in Canada.

His graduation, plus our Europe trip and his seniors’ trip to the south of Thailand are the highlights of Eric’s year.

Evan is grateful for his college, that we are home this year, and his grandparents as he’d been able to stay with them while we’re on the field.

Eng is glad he was able to travel to Malaysia to visit his mother and other relatives. What made that trip very special was the concurrent visit of his friends from Manila. He is likewise thankful for our Europe trip and Eric’s graduation.

It’s been an eventful year and one that we closed off by being at a church service. We were all there, along with Evan’s friend. Not all of us wanted to be there to greet the New Year that way. Some of us were excited to do the countdown, share a toast, meander around Nathan Phillips Square, etc. By the time 2012 did come around, the speaker was passionately talking about what the Lord will do in Toronto this year. After that, we shared communion. Prior to that, we worshipped and heard prophesies for the year. I think the only way we could have made greeting 2012 better was if the speaker paused just before midnight and we all welcomed the year rejoicing together. Also, it would have been great if we stayed at the service until it was finished. Instead, we left shortly after midnight since some of us didn't really want to be there in the first place. We came home for some drinks and snacks. I know that someday, in our old age, we may look back at how we ushered in the New Years of our lives. There would have been the ones spent lighting fireworks, being in front of the TV doing the countdown, cajoling at a party, praying with people, or simply hanging out with friends. I believe last night’s way of waiting in the new year tops it all. I’m glad we were at a church service honouring the One who keeps giving us new years. Thank you, Papa God, for 2011, and all the exciting events You have in store for us in 2012. You will not do any less. YES! =D

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Let's be intentional in having fun and in building memories with those we love. =D

With love and blessings from us,
Eli, Evan, Linda, Eric, Eng, and Ethan

Of Trees and Men

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord, for He comes,
He comes to judge the earth.
Psalm 96:12-13a

I’d wanted to write about trees for a long time now. There’s just something about them. In Chiang Mai, I’d made friends with several of them. In Seven Fountains where I used to go to be quiet, I’d make sure to walk around and lay a hand on each of the trunks of trees that I’ve become fond of. I’d audibly bless and thank them for doing such a great job praising our God. They really do, and now that I think of it, I suppose they can’t help themselves! They don’t have a free will like us people so they are just so into God. They don’t ever wonder whether they should or that they don’t have the time, they just fully adore God. They stand majestic and all-knowing. Their branches seem to be arms reaching out to the heavens, dancing and swaying, praising and rejoicing. I enjoy looking at them, they are a wonderful sight! I tried hugging them before too, but the ones I liked were humongous so my arms couldn’t reach around them. Secondly, some barks are rough, hard, knotty, and sometimes crawling with ants so my tree hugging experience stopped very quickly. =)

Tonight, I remembered to write about them because we have a real balsam pine tree in our living room this year and I was just touching it awhile ago. It is beautiful and smells great! We used artificial Christmas trees in the past so I was really excited to have a real tree for a change. It’s great not to have to look out to admire a tree. A gorgeous one sits right in our living room. It is a blessing.

Trees fascinate me. Now that their leaves have fallen, they’re even more interesting to look at. The complexity and intricacies of the branches are now visibly apparent. Apart from the beauty of the leaves, the baring of the branches is God’s way of showing off His creation. One cannot help but be fascinated by the way they are made!

I now understand my fascination with trees. I heard a teaching that said God is complete. He doesn’t need anything. He made us not because He needed us. He is a Creator and He lovingly made us in His image and gave us our free will. Our greatest gift to Him is to use that free will and willingly choose to love, worship, and adore Him. Trees and the way they look like they’re crazy-about-Him-all-the-time is I think what I relate with. They don’t ever stop praising; it is why they exist. Which brings my thoughts back to us; it’s what we should be doing. I’m drawn to trees because they show me what I should do more of: lift up my hands, rejoice, clap, sing, do with a purpose to serve, and just adore and love our God. Lord, please help us to simply adore and worship you in everything we do, just like the trees.

Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27

Today, I received an email from my doctor explaining the results of the biopsy done on a cyst in my right forearm. It’s been over two weeks since the actual procedure was done. I actually initially started thinking worse case scenarios because during the removal of the cyst, the doctor commented that he hadn’t seen anything like the “stuff” he took out from me.

First, he showed me the small piece that he cut off the top of the cyst. As he prepared to stitch me, I asked him if I could watch. Somewhat perplexed that I was interested, he paused and allowed me to shift my body so I could have a good view of my arm while he “closed me up”. That momentary delay was all that was needed for him to see the unusual ‘something’ in the cyst. He commented that it looked like they had tiny legs and might be parasites. The only way to be sure was to look at it under the microscope, he explained, and then we’d talk about the treatment.

I don’t know how you would have reacted to that but I started to look at the other growths in my arms (there are a few) and wondered if there were tiny parasites in each of them just like the ones we saw. I had a good look at the beaker where the cyst was deposited. The tiny white particles looked like little fat caterpillars to me. How could they possibly be eliminated if they lived in cocoons in the form of cysts? What if there were cysts near the vital organs in my body? Would those little critters start invading my organs where it could kill me? Would they then do incisions in different parts of my body to rid myself of all of them? Yes, for several minutes and upwards to two days, my mind imagined and thought of all those. I think the funniest was when I looked at my arm again and saw little white spots. I started to imagine that underneath my skin were the bugs trying to escape the site of the biopsy’s incision!

Thankfully, I got a hold of myself and learned to choose what to think. The enemy could continue to steal my peace or I could just let the results of the biopsy arrive (as it did today) and deal with it then. I certainly had other things to deal and think about. I did that and with the Lord’s help, enjoyed the last two weeks, peace intact.

There was a time when I dealt with Eric’s cancer treatments and my hands literally shook. My lips professed faith but the rest of my body expressed fear. Eventually, complete calmness and peace took over but not before missing both of his first chemo and radiation treatments. I had to learn to trust God to take care of Eric in my physical absence. The Lord taught me to obey His command not to fear (Joshua 1:9). It was a hard lesson but worth all the difficult inner wrestling of sorts to learn it. Praise God for His patience in teaching.

Had I not learned, my last two weeks would have been stressful for me. Thankfully, it was anything but. Now that I know the cyst wasn’t parasite filled but merely a steatocystoma which is benign and has a hereditary pattern, I’m even more grateful I didn’t waste my time worrying! I’m glad I didn’t allow my heart to continually be troubled. There isn’t even a need for treatment! Thank you, Lord, for your grace and goodness, and most of all, your peace.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

Being Washed

"Wash me, wash me, and I will be clean.”
Alberto and Kimberly Rivera from the song “Wash Me”

“Wash Me” had been a favourite from the moment I heard it. Every now and then when I listen to it, it becomes my prayer. I like to be cleansed, especially of sins that I commit while unaware of my selfish motives and humanity. Thankfully, Papa God is more than willing to oblige if we sincerely ask Him to cleanse us. He is not just once but three times Holy (Rev. 4:8), and wants us to be holy, too. He will expose our sinfulness if we want Him

to. Last week, I became aware of mine on Sunday morning. After my alarm woke me and I sleepily thought of what I needed to do that day, I was immediately excited to get up. I remembered that it was a Sunday and it’s when I played the piano and worshipped. Sunday mornings have been my time with God and I enjoy the quiet while no one is afoot. Everyone in our household is asleep so I’m usually undisturbed. I could sing loudly or off-key and no one minds. Before I was able to head downstairs though, I remembered that our two older sons were home and I knew they would go back to their colleges by the afternoon. I also knew that I should cook breakfast and have them eat nutritious food since they don’t usually eat healthy food while in school. Sigh, I didn’t really want to cook. Cooking isn’t on my list of things I like doing. If I was getting up early on a Sunday, I’d really rather play the piano and try to worship with my playing. I wanted to do what I usually did during my undisturbed time with God. Still, the novel thought of giving up my usual activity to serve instead, felt too right. I didn’t want to do it but it dawned on me that it was a new way to worship. It wasn’t worshipping the way I wanted to. Instead, it's a sacrificial way that I knew the Lord would receive just as well and, it would also bless our family. I was reluctant and hesitant but I cooked blueberry pancakes and eggs. While doing it, I remembered all those other Sunday mornings in the past when Eng would wake up and come downstairs. He’d come and kiss me while I was playing the piano but I used to see that more as an intrusion than receiving the greeting that he was giving me. After all, couldn’t he see that I was busy “worshipping”? Unpleasant as it was, I realized how selfish I’d been. I’d actually carved out that time for myself and called it my “worship” of God. I honestly never really

listened to Him to find out what He may have me do instead. Had I listened, I might have heard Him say, “Go read my Words with Eng” or “Spend the morning with Eng”, etc. Thank you, God! With my selfishness discovered, I can change and begin to behave differently. I can deal with it, and with God’s help, I can continue to be transformed. This is just like washing in real life. We can just use water (as Ethan would often do!) but it doesn’t really clean us. If we wash with soap however, similar to having the Lord work in our lives, we can be truly made clean and be completely made new. The Lord not just forgives but also cleanses us of all unrighteousness. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful process that you do in our lives if we let you. =) Praise You!