nevermind not yet understanding

i'm spending some time during this holiday looking at 2 Tim for bible study next year. even though it has been enjoyable and beneficial to dig into the text, it has been a real s.l.o.w one in progress. i feel that at times, i still miss seeing the big idea or other important points. a few times, even after reading through and through, my mind just froze there, and i would try a different exercise for the same or other passage, something similar to solving the puzzle pieces that i am less familiar with. nevertheless, repetition helps with much of the exercise. i suppose i have all the helps i could get. for one, the Spirit will reveal, besides having some handy materials to start with from the internal training around two weeks ago.

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two y.o. lifestyle evangelism

this quick convo happened yesterday as caleb was back from some place.

ciu-ciu: hey, where have you been?
caleb: rumah allah!
ciu-ciu: hAh? whoa.. (half shocked for the accurate reply as it was the case that caleb went to church earlier on the day).

the parents who overheard had to finally correct what he meant was that he had just been to ella's house (rumah ella).. hehe!

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an odyssey of unyielding peace

at the risk of sounding morbid..

just reading through the videos titles here is enough to convince us that the world is going downhill. the issues are complex, the scale is way beyond reach. of the ten videos listed, only one has a positive tone to it, despite it being strange in nature (i.e. a baby named jesus was born on christmas eve to a mother whose name is virgin mary and a carpenter father named joseph, a young peruvian couple). while the rest concerns either the political unrest of the two 'half-brothers' always in conflicts with one another (perhaps an interesting prophecy of Gen. 16:12) or a deep-seated predicament of the falleness of human being. however, one way or the other, they all are under the same bucket of the problem of evil and sufferings.

it's a fact that many have given up on following such news. yet, on the other extreme, sitting down in front of the computer, miles away in distance, living in the mirage of a 'peaceful' country, many of us are oblivious to what intense disturbances are happening out there. the bubble is about to burst one day. no one is excepted, being in war 'now' (i.e. physical) or 'later' (i.e. God's) as thing may seem, the tension will only resolve when the real Jesus born 2000 years ago, whom God allowed for the evil to befall on as Jesus died being crucified, returns to bring a new order.

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sheep-counting night

did quite a lot today, but don't seem to feel tired physically. probably my body has reserved enough energy to recover from the past working weeks since the holidays two days ago, thank God for the end of year break! i'm refreshed, and keen on having the rest of the holidays.

we (oh, the full house members, even the thriving tot who wants to muster all the world he could learn!) managed to scrub clean the wall at the back of the house, before putting a coat of fresh paint just in time for the rain to come pouring down. i've also managed to do the laundry, clean the bathroom, eat to refuel, download talks, listen to some favourite hymns, read a bit here and there, with no absolute interest at all with what's happening on the telly, plus i never take a nap. it feels so different from the working weeks, very few physical activities, yet the body just shut down on me whenever the clock ticks close to ten each night. compared to working days, i also don't feel hungry very easily when i am not in the office. i guess it's the brain-work and all those mental activities as when one is working and interacting with people the whole day that eventually scrap down the level of energy for the day.

this, is not what i want to blog on.. actually, heh, so much for feeling awake!

perhaps i should read another chapter of the book..

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caleb's 2nd christmas is all about giving.. (into the slavery of cheap labor :)

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nat's 1st christmas, resting contentedly at mu-mu's shoulder

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wots #20081224

i read more than i write these days, which in a way is such a pity as i enjoy them both equally. now i sound very boring here, i know, keep reading and dig something out further than this.

anyway, we finished the proverbs bible study a while ago. i felt that i had to somehow goes beyond what the book suggested, at least in my thinking. i have no doubt it's faithful, i just think that perhaps it's ideal to highlight further on what the rest of the bible says on one particular issue.

now that i just happened to read this article: prosperity teaching without the bling, i guess i can do justice to confirm what was along the line my thought previously, apart the author here said it much better and clearer. i pray that those who meet together in our group may be enlightened as well (see especially point no. 2). the burden (should i say 'joy' or 'challenge' instead) now lies on bringing the head, heart and stomach into alignment with each other, hopefully with less pretension than just appearing to be legalistic at the outset.

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