A thing of beauty

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read:
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

---John Keats
(1795-1821)

Ode to my brother

You are like a familiar song,
filled with tender memories
flowing in my veins.

Although we are far apart,
we are close at heart,
Close in dreams, close in blood.

A Nocturne, a love song for Jesus.

[Because the Honey milk tea is keeping me awake, and because my heart is filled with sweet thoughts from the Bread-break meeting.]

The Son of God, my true Beloved,
Conquered Sin, Satan and Death for me.
Oh valour act! unfailing love,
That melts my iron heart into
A fountain of golden joy.

Oh Son of man…
My heart is Thine.
Reign in me,
And rejoice exceedingly
In Thy holy dwelling place,
My home with Thee.

Holy Sonnet XV

Wilt thou love God, as He thee? then digest,
My Soule, this wholsome meditation,
How God the Spirit, by Angels waited on
In heaven, doth make His Temple in thy brest.
The Father having begot a Sonne most blest,
And still begetting, (for He ne'r begonne)
Hath deign'd to chuse thee by adoption,
Coheire to His glory, and Sabbaths endlesse rest;
And as a robb'd man, which by search doth finde
His stolne stuffe sold, must lose or buy it againe;
The Sonne of glory came downe, and was slaine,
Us whom He had made, and Satan stolne, to unbinde.
'Twas much, that man was made like God before,
But, that God should be made like man, much more.

---John Donne

Kandom note: He is my inspiration

Do not worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’
For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

(Matthew 6:25-34)

The ever expanding universe

While I was sitting in the bus, a phrase came into my mind which lead me into an epiphany.

"The whole universe is moving, and we are moving too."
--Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)
Jesuit priest-scientist.

The idea that the universe is expanding faster than the speed of light simply blows my mind. New matter is created every second. And we are also moving forward with the whole universe. This thought reminded me that God is moving forward with His plan, and that we are moving forward with Him too.

Like the expanding universe, our inner man, created in the image of God, can have an infinite potential to expand in goodness and love. We were created for Him and by Him; surely we must be the best creation. This is the value of man.

Azul y Blanco

Happy Birthday, El Salvador!!

Four years ago, I was in my last independence day assembly, holding the Honduran flag while the boys in my class cross-dressed and danced a folk dance. Little did I know that it would be my last time celebrating Independence day in my beloved country.

I miss that kind of stuff.

Amor Eterno

Podrá nublarse el sol eternamente;
Podrá secarse en un instante el mar;
Podrá romperse el eje de la tierra
Como un débil cristal.
¡todo sucederá! Podrá la muerte
Cubrirme con su fúnebre crespón;
Pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse
La llama de tu amor.

---Gustavo Aldolfo Bécquer

Kandom note: I used to hate reading his poetry in Spanish class (9th grade). But I know find his poetry quiet good now.

Colossians 3:13

Bearing with one another,
and forgiving one another,
if anyone has a complaint against another;
even as Christ forgave you,
so you also must do.

Never give up

This video left me in tears. I am so touched by the love of Abba.

Psalm 139:17-18

Dear you,

I think of you all the time.
Of all the things in this universe,
I choose to think of you...
Of how your day went,
Of all your wants and needs,
You.
I love to think of you...
Of how your hair falls in your face.
Of how you greeted Me this morning
Of how you smiled when you looked at the sky.
These thoughts bring me so much joy,
I cannot describe.
You are adorable. I cannot stop thinking about you.
I love you.

Yours,


God.

Father-Daughter love

How precious that Abba gave me a father on earth to experience fatherly love.

After missioning and hearing so many sad stories about broken families, I realized how blessed I am to have such a good father. Even though my dad hasn't believed yet, he is a very good father. I was always well-fed, loved and cared throughout my childhood. He worked hard to provide the best for my brother and me. He was always there to mediate between my fights with my brother and mom. Even though there may be language barriers, my relationship with my dad has been relatively good.

I love to hear stories about his past. I guess that's why I'm so interested about history. He would tell me how he got arrested by the communist because they suspected him to be a capitalist. Or how he tried to swim his way to Hong Kong to get away from the poverty and misery in communist China. He would also entertain me with stories about people he met. He is hilarious. And he is also the most politically incorrect person I know. He would bluntly blurt out racist, random remarks about people. I crack up whenever he says "peasant."

I really hope that he will believe in God. He has a lot of doubts and wrong concepts in his mind but he believes that there is a God. Please keep praying for my dad so that he can accept Jesus into his life.

Cirrus clouds

Cirrus clouds are my favourite type of clouds.

They are the highest clouds in the atmosphere.
(I learned that in 5th grade)

Sometimes, I image God doodling in the skies to cheer me up.
(I once saw a heart...true story)

And sometimes when I'm sad, I look up to the skies, and remind myself that life is still beautiful.

An Ode to the stars in heaven (an analogy to unrequited love)

Oh Starlight,
Small and bright,
Shining day and night
through distant skies...
But who knows that up close
There is a stellar explosion at your core,
Shimmering lights in a suspended celestial ore.
How lovely and comely you shine!
You've inspired an inner glow
kindling pleasant dreams within
and a deep sense of wonder...
Yet you're a million light years away
for me to reach the heavens,
and make you mine.

The Moonstone

This passage speaks my mind:

'Suppose you were not in love with me? Suppose you were in love with some other woman?'
'Yes?'
'Suppose you discovered that woman to be utterly unworthy of you? Suppose you were quite convinced that it was a disgrace to you to waste another thought of her? Suppose the bare idea of ever marrying such a person made your face burn, only with thinking of it?'
'Yes?'
'And, suppose, in spite of all that - you couldn't tear her from your heart? Suppose the feeling she had roused in you (in the time when you believed in her) was not a feeling to be hidden? Suppose the love this wretch had inspired in you? Oh, how can I find words to say it in! How can I make a man understand that a feeling which horrifies me at myself, can be a feeling that fascinates me at the same time? It's the breath of life, Godfrey, and it's the poison that kills me- both in one! Go away! I must be out of my mind to talk as I am talking now. No! You mustn't leave me -you mustn't carry away a wrong impression. I must say, what is to be said in my own defence. Mind this! He doesn't know -he never will know, what I have told you. I will never see him - I don't care what happens - I will never, never, never see him again! Don't ask me his name! Don't ask any more! Let's change the subject. Are you doctor enough, Godfrey, to tell me why I feel as if I was stifling for want of breath? Is there a form of hysterics that bursts into words instead of tears? I dare say! What does it matter? You will get over any trouble I have caused you, easily enough now. I have dropped to my right place in your estimation, haven't I? Don't notice me! Don't pity me! For God's sake, go away!'

The Moonstone (pg 242)
Wilkie Collins

I can only imagine [Planet K version]

I can only imagine
the day when I see Your face.
Years of friendship and love
unutterable by words,
will be expressed with ineffable joy.

On that day,
My toes will be hovering over the skies
while Your strong arms support me,
And You will whisper to my ear
That all along You were there for me,
I was and will always be in Your heart.

I will soon realize the beauty of this journey
and how my faith has brought me
finally Home.

It will be the day of gladness of our hearts.


Kandom note: this poem has been in my mind for weeks...
I finally wrote it down in my blog.

"Batter my heart, three person'd God"

BATTER my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee,'and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to'another due,
Labour to'admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue.
Yet dearely'I love you,'and would be loved faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie:
Divorce mee,'untie, or breake that knot againe;
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you'enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

John Donne

Summer awesomness

Yay for Summer adventures!

I just booked my ticket to Toronto. I will be flying early June to visit 2 of my close friends. I'm super excited to hang out with them. I can't wait to see them.

Then, I will rush back to write my research paper and prepare for my English final (June 17th). I will then fly to Fiji (June 19th) and stay there for 2 whole months!!

And I also have other fun stuff to do in Vancouver such as BBQs, cookouts, cycling and hanging out at the beach. We use these activities to reach out to new friends. Plus, the weather is amazing.

Summer is the most wonderful time of the year!

Out of Egypt

Egypt = El Salvador (1st stage)
Wilderness = Vancouver (2nd stage)
Promised land = ?????? (3rd and final stage)

Out of Egypt
Across the great divide
I shake the dirt of my sandals
As I run into the wilderness
In search for the Promised land.

YHWH is my rock. Living waters flow into my heart.
He is the cloud of glory that shields me day and night.
Honey and milk flows from His river of delight.

Although this land is a desert.
I feel like I live in paradise.
I might walk in circles for years...
But YHWH is my Patient Guide.

Fullness of Joy

I'm done with my final exams! Praise the Lord :)

I'll be leaving tomorrow for a vacation trip in Hawaii with my mom.

Please pray for our safety, and that we may have an awesome mother-daughter bonding time.

Anyways...

May you enjoy the presence of the Lord, and live in the fullness of His joy everyday.

Rejoice always!

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11)