birthday writing

I wonder every year how to celebrate these.

Personally, I find great joy in celebrating and surprising others on their joyous occasion.

I'm generally low-key when it comes to festivities, but a surprise every now and then is something I'm not opposed to. Haha. I guess what I'm trying to get at is...I cannot Thank those enough for the joy they've brought me on my day. Past and present. Here's to you all. (Pretend I have a champagne flute raised)

To add to that, all due props to Him for allowing me another year to celebrate all that He has blessed me with. Family, friends, food, etc. etc. Here's to Him.

the frustration of bracketology

I gripe about this every year.

My bracket is hanging on for dear life at this point. It always fares well Rounds 1 and 2, but afterward...Fuhgeddaboudit!

But, March Madness never disappoints. The upsets, the overtimes, and the Cinderella stories all make for good Tourny watching. This definitely makes up for the agony one goes through when another team bites the dust, bracket-wise. Plenty of that every year.

March Madness, a good way to start spring.

addendum: 7:06pm. 27th March 2011. my poor, poor bracket...

six degrees of starstruck

After some light reading (read: random stalking), I've stumbled upon some info that made my world a bit smaller.

Apparently, Martin Scorsese grew up a block away from where I used to live in New York. Saying my mind was blown would just be understated.

Next time I'm in the neighborhood, I wonder if I'll run into Marty.

supernatural dogs?

Dear Reader,

I've read that dogs can sense the presence of spirits/ghosts/poltergeists. If that is the case, can they sense the Holy Spirit???

So dear reader, a penny for your thoughts.

強迫觀念

Claude Monet once said,

"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment..."

With good reason too, the color in his art speaks for itself.

More recently, my own obsessions have been brought to mind. Nutella. New York. Needless writing. And numerous other things. So why the obsession in the first place?

In my opinion, obsession is love. In the fact that it is an overwhelming fixation of something on the mind. A compelling notion, so to speak.

Like many of my ruminations, these thoughts led me to this thought; what then is God's obsession?

It hit me one day in midst of a hymn. People. Countless books, chapters, and verses from His Book tell us again and again of His obsession with us.

Our creation by His hand. The Israelites being led through the desert by Him to the Promised Land. Prophets sent by Him to tell of our need for Him. Prophets telling us of His coming. His actual coming. His healing of our brokenness. His redemption of us. Paul and other folks' writings of His relationship with us.

Many have said that His Book is His love letter to us. Each time I read it, I believe it, more and more. He's always thinking of us. We should definitely always be thinking of Him.

Obsess over Him. His obsessiveness needs to be reciprocated.

紅山紅海?

Old habits die hard.

Another outing to Wally World to "win" some sundry toiletries. Woo.

When I came in, I was met with a sea of red, pink, and white. Another pre-V-Day sale, of course. Those colors against a background of that sterilizing fluorescent lighting was almost TOO much, yet so captivating. I wish I'd taken a picture of it all.

As I wandered through the aisles of oddly shaped Mylar and perfectly crafted polyester to the aisles of soap, I couldn't help but think about Moses.

God split the Red Sea so that Moses could lead His people into the Promised Land. How truly wonderful is His love for His people.

How beautiful is the One that moves mountains and waters because He loves us. Among other things.

John 3:16-17.

Happy Valentine's Day!

三代同堂

At most holiday/festivals/celebrations is this a likely occurrence.

In my better-late-than-never-slow-recognizance-of-the-fact, I've seen it where it has been 4 generations together, one of which has been the case of my own family. Needless to say, privacy with this many people in the house can only be few and far between. AND, the old woman living in the shoe thought she had it bad?

With so many shared meals and maybe not enough living space, it is almost inevitable that ideas, thoughts, and the so called wisdom of the ages are exchanged. I can't help but wonder at times, why the discourse at all?

The Pentateuch has countless times mentioned somebody giving due props to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Israel. Certainly wisdom of the ages worth mentioning.

Yes, there will be sweat, blood, and tears included in the deluge of words with the folks we call family. But,幸福 comes, showing its pretty little head in the mire of it all. 通過祂的恩典 and A WHOLE LOT of prayer.