Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Make ready your heart indeed... God speaks to even the hard of hearing
I had just spoken to my friend about preparation of the heart belonging to man, and how difficult it was to prepare your heart in the midst of all the heavy commitments.. Guess wat came into the mail this morning..
Preparations
Margaret Manning
Preparations are an integral part to Christmas. There are the baking preparations for holiday favorites, attending to holiday decorations and décor, and the anticipation of parties to celebrate the season with family and friends. We prepare our menu for Christmas day, and we shop sometimes beginning early in the fall or late summer searching for gifts and stocking stuffers for all those “wish” lists that come our way. There are preparations for church pageants and concerts and for all the many events that our churches conduct to mark the season. Before we know it, all of our preparations culminate in Christmas day, which comes and goes like a dream.
It is only fitting that this season is filled with preparations. Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is a season in which Christians are called to examine their preparations--namely, the preparation of our hearts and lives in anticipation of the coming of Jesus, first as the babe in the manger, and again as the sovereign King. The gospel of Mark even suggests that preparation is the beginning of the gospel proclamation: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare Your way; The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” (Mark 1:1-3). The Advent season bids us to examine our preparations, but not of our decorations, baking, gift purchases, or party-planning.
We are called to examine our hearts and our lives: Are they prepared for the Coming King? John’s message is one of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. His was a call to consider the preparation of our lives in light of the coming Messiah and the judgment that would follow. In anticipation of this awesome event “people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5). In the same way, as we anticipate Christ’s coming, both in the manger and in his glory, we are called to focus our preparations. How will we use this time and season? What are we really preparing for? Will we be caught up in all the preparations that our world tells us we should be caught up in? Or will we use this time to focus on Who we are preparing for? This is the season to prepare our hearts and ready our lives. Will we make room for the way of the Lord, the way of repentance and confession? Will we make these necessary preparations, even as they run counter to all the preparations we normally consider during this season? The beginning of the gospel message is that we prepare our hearts for the coming King, make ready Christ’s way, and make his paths straight.
Mantou at 10:49 AM
Monday, December 01, 2008
Happy Birthday Indeed
What a way to mark a quarter of a century of existence! Haha. I have a lot to thank God for, but basically wanna say He's an awesome provider! All glory goes to Him. I really hope this time I can consolidate the photos and video that were taken last night and I can really do a proper post to log it in as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. =) The Vietnam trip must be given justice! I will get the photos I promise!! Haha..
Anyway, just to say a BIG THANKS to all who came last night and their well wishes! Not to mention totally awesome presents! And presence! Haha..
I can't really say much about the happenings last night without the photos, or I'd have to repeat. But I also wanna give a post on the awesome presents I got.. Haha.. This is my first time getting such presents really. Like, a helium balloon greeting! Haha.. White Chocolate Coated Strawberries! Totally awesome right?? My poly friends got me a custom made t-shirt! I'll be using a lot of exclamation marks! JOSH GROBAN CD!!! haha.. And three other CDs from different genres, totally awesome. A photo montage with personalized messages from my cell group! A GIRAFFE HAND PAINTED LAMP! GIRAFFE STATIONERY! GIRAFFE INFLATABLE! This nick is really sticking man. Haha. And a greeting card with many giraffe stickers and other stickers! Haha.. Could tell straight away it was done by a kid. =P Also, a birthday cake from Twelve Plus One Patiserrie, with brownies made to spell my name! So sweet... There were many other stuff, but essentially thoughtful gifts from true friends. I will take pictures when I can get hold of a good camera back home.
I don't think I'm raving about the gifts more than the fact that I got such interesting friends who really take time to make and get meaningful gifts that in a fun way or in a serious way speak about what we have in the friendships and how they've come to know me as. This is really a far cry from the past, when I tried to be a somebody thinking I was a nobody and basically caused people not to know me in the end. God has proved to be faithful in helping me discover myself, and teaching me to allow others to see me as myself. It may be a little thing or something taken for granted or at least taken as a given for some, but for me, it's phenomenal. So thank you, dear friends, for being you and being my friend. =)
Mantou at 11:13 PM