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Captain's Log

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Musing lazily

The drums are my favorite.

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Yeeepurrr

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man should have to seek Him first in order to find her." M.L.

"A man's heart should be so open to God that a woman would have to see Him just to find him." A.F.L.

Come come come! Pray with us!

LOVE is our motivation for purity.

And a happy happy 19th birthday to my not-so-little brother. Wow.

Tuesday, 09 June 2009

Anchor for the Soul

Falling in love more and more with and through Scripture. And I think today's WAU meditation is an exceptionally good one!

However many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him. (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Perhaps we should all join the chorus of saints and angels and declare this staggering truth out loud: Jesus, you are the resounding Yes to everything that God has ever promised!

This may sound more like a theological truth than a reason to celebrate. But there is something wonderful embedded in this statement: Jesus is the answer to all of our dreams and desires! He is the answer to all of our wounds and all of our needs. This is why prayer is so important. We need to spend time with the Lord so that he can imprint his promises on our hearts and convince us that his "yes" and "amen" really can fill our lives.

Imagine a large orchestra on a grand stage. As the music begins, the instruments play in perfect harmony. Gradually the music builds and fills the whole room, climaxing with a loud clash of cymbals. You hear all this with your ears, but the music stirs your heart as well -- and the experience stays with you long after the concert is over.

In a similar way, as you spend time with Jesus, his love and life become like an orchestra. The dreams and desires he has for you will begin to resound within you. His love becomes a triumphant cymbal clash deep in your heart. It is Jesus declaring his faithfulness to you -- and that truth stays with you as an anchor for your soul.

As Jesus fills you with confidence in his promises, a wonderful thing happens. You won't be able to keep it hidden! You will want to proclaim him to everyone you meet. You won't want to hide your light under a bushel basket anymore. Rather, your light will shine before others. You may not recognize it at first, but those around you will see it, and their lives will change as well.

Today, give Jesus a chance to convince you a little bit more that he is faithful. Let his music echo on your heart. Let him become the "yes" that your heart longs to hear.

"Jesus, I want to take hold of your promises. Open my heart to hear you say 'yes' as you build your life in me. May your light shine in me and through me, so that others will be drawn to you.

You may be wondering how life is. Well, life is giving me my share of grief that's for sure. But God's been good to me. Actually, God's been great - to me and my family and friends. In one of the readings last week, Tobit was blinded (by bird poop of all things - how unfortunate!) and he prayed to God, asking Him to "look with favor upon" him. I read that and I thought to myself, "Dzzang, God is so great! He looks with favor on me and my family all the time and I sometimes don't even ask for it." He just gives and provides. When we do ask, He doesn't say "No, you've had yours already." He still provides!

And it's kind of fun when I think about the times when God has "hooked it up". They sort of become little inside jokes between me and Him. I bring it up in conversation. "Remember that one time You did this? Thanks again for that. How about that time You saved my butt!? That was a close one. Remember how much of a mess I was? Maan, that was not pretty..." I can laugh because I can find joy in them now. Even better, I'm learning to find joy in the moment through Christ and in Christ. It's getting easier....especially with a song that my heart's been singing for a couple of months now.

I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through...always.

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Captain & No Name

Captain's Log:

Notice myself and Lauren in the following photos from the Core Retreat back in 2006.

Red shirt and a white logo? What!?
We're wearing the UTC shirt.
Olive green and ponytail.

Ever since then, we've always somehow ended up in the same small group. Always. Core Retreat, two Winter Retreats (for the previous one, sadly, we were separated), General Meeting discussion groups, and World Youth Day small group. Coincidence? I think not.

In response to your text message from last night - home is sick without you, No Name. See you soon.