Salt & Light of the World

Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good
deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

A friend shared this with me ..."me pp may think that i am very stupid to let my bosses know where i am gg...and even shared with one of them abt my depression last yr and it was through God's grace tt i recovered. XX once told me tt she's very surprised tt i could be very open cos she no longer can trust anyone......i just felt tt by sharing i can also proclaim my faith, let other pp know how God has worked on and healed me...... "

I was encouraged by her trust in God. This was my reply to some of her concerns. I know I went through this phase of struggle just a few days back and God sent my own wife to encourage me too.

" Its a heavy rain cloud over your shoulders and I know that though the storm will come, once passed, you have grown as a person with what adversity will do. Think about a cup half full or half empty.... you may currently be filled with water. But only half full. What if I pour in another half cup of concentrated hot healing herbal fragrant tea. The analogy is how I see change especially to that of an uncertain future. There are just too much unknowns in life and thats why God never leaves us alone to bear all these heavy decisions- and thats why u have ** and us.

About being open as a person, that is how you -and even myself- our preferred way to engage the world, where our energy naturally flow to associate with people. Look at how Joseph the dreamer goes around to tell his family about his dreams. Yet the outcome was a betrayer by his brothers. But that was his immediate future. We may be hurt like others and *** is absolutely right. Yet, God honoured Joseph's faithfulness and used his talents -after many times of "failing" in life- and rose him to be a Pharaoh. Thus, we can only ask God- what is his plans for us. Trial and temptation may come, and we sure will fall, but thats where our faith will take us to a place where He knows whats best for us. And with each step, as we celebrate the small successes of experiencing His grace, we can testify his victory in our lives. Yes, I am looking forward to coming back.

Two days back, I sms Van to tell her how overwhelmed I am with all the assignments. She replied "Don't give up. Whatever difficult times and impossible it is, we have coped for the past 7 weeks. There is no mountain too big God cannot move it. (though I felt my paper assignments were even heavier than mountains). YOu can do it and will be back next week. Why don't you go out for some fun (I am not sure if she understands what this "liberation" can do to me...hee hee) Lonely and freedom days going to be over soon. (interesting how she paradoxically juxtaposed the two...hmmmm... sounds like what I will think to myself on the eve of my wedding day) We love you. Thank God Joanna is better already."

Our God is Jehovah Jireh.

A poem of quiet comtemplation

Surrounded by the beautiful majestic buildings built in the 1800s
o did my spirit sailed as I sat quietly by the Hudson River.

The stillness of Hudson river beckons me into deep thoughts

as I wondered, why did it have to separate two cultures-

of the old town of Troy and the clamor of Albany.

Yet as I lay ashore my dreams of yonder days

like the river, my heart was quiet, lonely, and pained.

A deep longing desire lingers....

Above photo from http://inkbluesky.wordpress.com/2007/02/10/river-calm-wallpaper-immigrant-painter-thomas-cole-madness-and-intelligence-linked/

Historically, Sir Stamford Raffles- founder of modern Singapore, was also part of the East India Company.

Interestingly read from the net a story of the Hudson river- extracted from http://flickr.com/photos/91454858@N00/2337508954 (beautiful shots of the river in this page too)

"It is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609....The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois,or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, in Tuscarora, is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and, along its southern terminus, demarcates the border between the states of New York and New Jersey. The Father of Waters would seem to have been known to many tribes by names more or less similar to that which it bears to-day. It is no doubt true—happily true—that very many of the streams of North America bear Indian names. But these have very generally been given to them by the whites, and were borrowed from the tribes living on their banks at the date of the discovery. The waters received the names of the clans hunting on their shores. The red people had no doubt names of their own for some of the streams in which they fished, but it is probable that these were applied to certain reaches only of the rivers most familiar to them. For some of the important lakes the Iroquois certainly had names of their own, for instance, Caniaderi-Guarunté, or, The lake gate of the country, for what is now Lake Champlain, and Andiatarocté, or, Here the lake closes, for Lake George. These significant phrases, as applied to those waters, have been clearly ascertained.When explorers and colonists crossed the ocean they gave, as a rule, the names of the wild tribes to the rivers on which they met them. Very few received European names. The exceptions on the Atlantic coast number just half a dozen; the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, the James, the Ashley and the Cooper. Of these only one, the Hudson, recalls, the discoverer.Strictly speaking, however, Hendrick Hudson, could not claim the full honors of a discoverer”…………….