The Die is Cast

The die is cast,
the stage is set.
Last minute rehearsals
before the final act.

35 days, each day numbered and counting. 4 nations, 6 flights in between. Beautiful peoples I will meet, God's purposes to fulfil. Only grace to carry me.

Oh, to shake off that feeling of doubt and unbelief!
Oh, to have more of You and less of me!

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
(Théoden King, The Ride of the Rohirrim, Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)

Out of doubt, out of dark to the day’s rising
I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
To hope’s end I rode and to heart’s breaking:
Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!
(Éomer, The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)

Forth, Éorlingas!

Something This Week

From Left to Right: That's Prof Seah w my Parents and I

Commencement... again!
What commences, I wonder...

Mercy Me

Kyrie Eleison! Kyrie Eleison! Kyrie Eleison!
Christe Eleison! Christe Eleison! Christe Eleison!

λεγων ιησου υιε δαυιδ ελεησον με

I need you, I love you, I cannot survive without you. Yet you are Good to me. You do exceedingly, abundantly beyond what I can ask or even imagine. Your love reaches me, and amazes me.

Thank You for the moments of rest and respite from the swelter of the day. I come to You, as a deer desperately thirsts after the brook, after miles of fierce chase through the heat of the day, miles over the plains of the savannah.

Thank you for your Word which assures.
Say the word, and your servant will be whole.
Your promises, because you are faithful and true.
You cannot deny yourself, because you Are.
You cannot stop being your Self.
You Are.
Yet, because you Are,
I am who I am, because the Great I Am says I am.

Thank You for fellow walkers in that long obedience in the same direction. For community I find myself in, as that paralytic, sitting on the mat having been taken a-hold of by his friends, helpless, hapless, yet assured as each corner is hoisted and gently, gently lowered into You. Being remembered before your presence. A determination to transcend social, geographical and theological boundaries to wrestle not with flesh and blood. The battle is already won. (thank you Kiong, Dawn, QY, CK, Jo, Merv, Ivy, Eve, Tim... the rest, you know who you are)

3 things our mind can't understand about Miracles. Uncomprehendable.
(Thanks Eve for summarizing better than I could)

#1. Time-- God has His perfect timing. We can never prepare when He wants things to be done.
#2. Way-- Each miracle is different as each life He created is unique, so each story is different.
#3. Magnitude-- He said He can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever ask, think or imagine.

I got good warranty. =)

God can do anything, you know--far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesian 3:20 (the Message)

The Seasons of God
Timmies, July 2005

How good God is to send the rain.
It teaches life
Despite the pain.

How good God is to send the snow.
It melts the heart
Though the flesh be cold.

How good God is to send the storm.
It calms the soul
After the spirit is torn.

How good God will be to send the sun.
For rest awaits
When life's trials are done.

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

The Essential thing "in heaven and earth" is... that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living. Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

If you're worn out in this footrace against men, what makes you think you can race against horses? Jeremiah 12:5

For all of Nietzsche's objectional philosophies, something rings very true in that observation. We are called by the Spirit and the Word to follow hard after Aslan's call- Further Up and Further in!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. It calls us again and again. The Hound of Heaven dogs us unflinchingly through the alley-ways of time. Yea though we walk through the valley of shadow of death, His rod and His staff, they comfort us. Indeed, grace and mercy will chase after us the days of our life. Relentless. Nevertheless.

Looking back through past entries, I'm amazed at how prophetic some of them were (ignoring the utterly insane/nonsensical bits). The Valley of Decision (בְּעֵמֶק הֶחָרוּץ be.e.mek he.kha.ruts) written some 10 months ago still challenges me in my long obedience in the same direction:

He puts markers in our lives- milestones, roadblocks, signposts... those sort of things.

We don't get to Oz on an 28hr direct non-stop flight.
No. We don't get straight there.
We sip and taste of His goodness.
We walk and weather,
Sit and gather.
Cast our nets wide, and
Be obedient to obey when
He says to cast our nets on the right side.

That's the story for me right now anyway. Cast my bread on many waters, spreading my net wide, trying to be obedient to walk that seemingly dead-end path, that everyone thinks is a lemon. What will it take for me to walk my days, preserving my heart and nourishing my soul?

We are led into the valley of decision. What will we make of Christ? How do we approach his Throne of Grace? Will we look into His face because we've been longing and loving to all our lives, or will we slink away in shame and fear? How will you meet the Creator and Writer of the poem of our lives- a holy letter, written by the blood of the Author to be living sacrifices on the altar of faith, hope and love!

Flower

Ivy, July 2005. Used with Permission

If I were just an ordinary flower,
Somewhere in the corner of this world,
I would rather be picked up to die in Your admiration,
And be in Your hands and mind always,
Than to sway in the wind
And have never come to know You at all.

If You Say Go

Diane Thiel, 2002

If You say go, I will go
If You say wait, I will wait
If You say step out on the water
And they say it can't be done
I'll fix our eyes on You and I will come

You ways are higher than my ways
And the plans that You have laid
Are good and true
If You call me to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand
I'll gaze into the flames and look for You