Stuff That Matters in Life – Page 73

03Oct2008

The two simple questions are…

Yesterday, I posted a scenario that Greg Koukl encountered with a Jewish man. The Jewish man said he believed in God, and was living a moral life.Â Those were the important things, it seemed to himâ€”how one lived, not what one believed.

What would you say to this Jewish man?

02Oct2008

Two simple questions

Filed under Bibleby Joyful

This is from the Stand To Reason Ambassador Insights that are emailed to me by Greg Koukl:

Earlier I wrote about everyday encounters we all have in restaurants.Â As an ambassador Iâ€™ve learned that encounters are the bread and butter of my witness for Christ.

For example, while giving a talk at a local Barnes…

Democrats admit fault

Filed under Generalby Joyful

While talking to the secretary at a school today, she said to me in passing, “I don’t want another 8 years of a Republican.” But who really is to blame?

Gary Bauer wrote in his End of Day Report:

In recent days, two Democrats have expressed regret that they did not take more seriously Republican…

Read more of “Democrats admit fault”

24Sep2008

A liberal democrat supports Prop 8

Filed under Generalby Joyful

I hope more will see the reasons for Prop 8 as David Blankenhorn has. We need to protect our children.

Excerpt of his editorial:

I’m a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage. Do those positions sound contradictory? To me, they fit together.Many seem to believe that marriage is simply a private love…

22Sep2008

What would I want to relive?

Filed under Thoughts on lifeby Joyful

As we dropped off our daughter at her college dorm yesterday, I exclaimed in a wave of nostalgia, “Ah…college were some of the best years of my life. It looks like too much fun here!”

If I had a chance to relive any part of my life, would I want to relive my college days?

NO!

It was a lot of fun, and I grew a lot during college. But I did not like the lack of direction at that stage of my life, the inconsistencies of relationships, and the angst of young adulthood (angst=a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity, according to Merriam-Webster).

If I could, which part of my life would I want to relive?

I would want to relive my marriage from the beginning. I want to marry my husband all over again, relive having our first child. I loved being pregnant. Heck, I’d even go through childbirth again!

That stage of life is like getting your driver’s license at 16. You look forward to places you can go, you can do anything, you are in control, and you are invincible. It’s a time for taking risks – start a business, start a family, buy your first home. We did all that.

If I can relive all the fun time without the hard times, wouldn’t that be great?

So taken everything as a whole, I’d like to stay where I am, and look forward to the next chapter of my life (oh I know, that’s so cliche…).

20Sep2008

Treasure Box by Orson Scott Card

Filed under Book reviewby Joyful

It’s not the usual type of book that I like to read.

I usually don’t read fantasy. But Elliot recommended Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Ender’s Game was not available at the library, so I picked up Treasure Box by the same author.

It started out as a rather intriguing mystery. The set up in the first 1/3 of the book seemed to be heading in the direction of how a smart computer geek would outsmart the devil. That would’ve impressed me.

But it was not that kind of book. Yes, there was mystery and suspense, but more fantasy and the “alien abduction” type of genre.

Fortunately, I did not completely waste my time with this book because Card’s writing is engaging, fun to read, and it did capture my attention.

And I like books with good endings.

17Sep2008

Refocus

Filed under General, Thoughts on lifeby Joyful

There is a Chinese phrase with no English translation that I know of.

My literal translation of the phrase is “diffused heart” or “scattered heart.”

My mom used to say that to us when we don’t want to study when school started in September. “You have a ‘scattered heart’ after the long summer vacation.”

The grass is just a different shade of green

Filed under General, Thoughts on lifeby Joyful

We look at others less fortunate, and we feel better about our own situation, don’t we?

But how about when see those in better situations, do we feel dissatisfied about our own?

If I had chosen to go to a different college, my life could be as good as theirs. If I go to a…

14Sep2008

np at all

Filed under Thoughts on lifeby Joyful

“Sorry for the last minute change of plans, mom.”

My son has his own apartment in college. Expecting him to come home for dinner tonight, I took a roast out of the freezer to prepare him some protein-rich-high-calorie red meat to fill his skips-breakfast-fast-food undernourished body.

In the afternoon, he told me he’s going back to school before dinner.

Ok, so I put the roast back in the freezer.

Then he called and said he would come back for dinner afterall. It was 6:00pm.

The roast comes out of the freezer, defrosts it in the microwave, dinner was ready at 7:45pm.

“No problem at all, son.”

For my children, nothing is a problem.

I want to be this way with other people too. I want to have the kind of heart that treats everyone as family.

12Sep2008

Who is praying for you everyday?

Filed under Spiritual lifeby Joyful

As I lay down for bed, it struck me that I have not been praying for my children regularly.

When they were younger, I prayed for them a lot – for their future, that they do not get into drugs, that they know God, that they get good grades, and that they turn out well. That sort of thing.