Gratefulness: 44 and counting...

Since being challenged by the joyful morning song of the little bird outside my window some weeks ago, I started a “Gratefulness Journal.” I am writing down the things that I am grateful for—day by day, number by number. I have discovered that this exercise in expressing thanks to God and recording it in black and white is an amazing antidote to the slow-working poisons of discontent and worry.  It strengthens my faith in God’s goodness and character while counteracting unbelief and renewing my perspective. It helps me to slow down, take a long look at the things around me and notice the gifts of Grace in each day, in each moment.

1) God's promises to satisfy and fill (Ps 81.10, 16)

2) the way raindrops graze my window and leave their slanted streaks

3) rainbows of umbrellas and ponchos brighten a dreary day

4) wet pavement in the morning

5) the tiny, yellow-green, rolled-up new leaves on my plants

6) new friends

 7) the sound of steadily-falling rain at night

 

8) Sunlight triumphantly breaking through the 3-day long cloud cover

 9) a surprise bouquet of Gerber daisies from a dinner guest

 10) that making delicious ricotta cheese is so easy!

11) Bartlett pears

12) a good, full night's sleep

 

13) sweetened condensed milk for my coffee

14) dozens of golden brown dragonflies to meet me as I leave my house

15) teaching a new little friend how to make animal faces

16) 在神里面没有难成的事! (There is nothing too difficult for God!)

17) another reminder of Ruth

18) 每时刻神赐下应时怜悯 (God grants well-timed compassion in every moment we need it)

19) His ways are gloriously higher!

20) God's multi-faceted care for me

21) John L.

22) the insight of Thomas in Sacred Pathways that allowed me to love my friend more deeply

23) another amazing prayer time with Brittany and Virginia

24) God granting me the gift of forgiveness and compassion when I didn't even know I needed 

them

25) the cool breeze through my open windows

26) birds and cicadas greeting the day in song

27) wearing jeans

 

28) Carolyn and the weekend women's getaway

29) an amazing flower shop tucked into the busy streets like an oasis

30) a bouquet of mini sunflowers

31) new, beautiful business cards

32) a meal idea came instantly to mind when my guest's stay neared lunchtime

33) not one, but two people on my list to call today called me first

34) leaky, broken pipes replaced

35) learning new songs that remind of God's attributes

36) the abundance and fullness of God revealed in Ps 86

37) Robert Miller's refreshing, freeing reminders of the importance, the necessity of spending 

time in God's presence, building relationship with Him

38) a cool morning, hot coffee, My Utmost for His Highest, and my Bible

39) just as I was staring to question the extent of God's care for me (barely even articulated yet in my mind), God gently reminded me in my daily reading: Luke 12

40) a whole stack of amazing children's books in Chinese!

41) the provision of a new friend willing to find a sponsor-location for parent support groups

42) enjoying friends and coffee outside!

43) so many dots connected so as to see the Bigger Picture

44) wonderful friends and co-workers to serve alongside and journey with

Finding Yellow

 

Two Saturdays ago, Brittany and I stepped onto the 903 city bus, maps and cameras in hand. We set out to explore a part of the city we had never been to before. We got a little distracted about three-quarters of the way to our intended destination by grumbling tummies and a bustling market. So, we got off the bus and began our exploration early with a lunch of shao mai (“sh-ow my”; ground beef and vegetable  steamed dumplings) and sesame paste-drenched long-leaf lettuce. Then, we made our way off the main street and stepped into alleyways that made up stop to wonder if we were still in the same city we in which we started out that morning.  Weaving through the market stalls and narrow streets, pork was replaced with lamb and beef, Chinese characters interspersed with Arabic swirls and everything highlighted with yellow instead of red.   

Yellow is a royal color in China, a color only the emperor was once allowed to wear. Now, it is the color of choice for food stalls, doors, and signs in Hui (“hway”) neighborhoods. The Hui people, the largest minority group in our city (one of the 56 officially recognized minority groups in China), share blood lines and religion with those in the Middle East. Descended from Arabic and Persian traders, they primarily practice Islam.  Hui communities, like the one Brittany and I stepped into, are dotted with mosques and moon-topped minarets, men with white embroidered caps, and restaurants with ornate swirled symbols that indicate they serve only Halal food. 

The long line of patrons (even during Ramadan) at one yellow-walled food stall piqued our curiosity.  Yellow-aproned men and women worked non-stop in assembly-line style.  Even though we had already eaten lunch (it was a light lunch J), Brittany and I decided we couldn’t forego a taste of the specialty from this neighborhood hot spot. The first woman took our money and handed us a plastic ticket.  The next woman pulled dough out of a three-foot-high pot and handed to the woman on her left who rolled it out.  Down the line the dough went, undergoing numerous transformations.  It was spread with seasoned ground meat, folded, rolled again, sizzled in a shallow cast iron pan of oil and finally cut before served to and enjoyed by the hungry guests. It was delicious and well worth the wait and the reputation! 

 

The next stop was a sampling from the vendor who sold a rainbow of dried fruit. We chose pear and lotus root slices, yellow grape tomatoes, and toasted sugar candy to snack for the rest of our journey.

 

Brittany and I found one of the largest mosques in our city, all cream-colored marble and gold,  reaching to the sky. It was built just a few years ago to combine four mosques into one to make the land available for high rises and shopping malls.  Across the street was a newly built place of worship, but in the traditional Chinese tiled roof and red door style.

On to one of the largest indoor markets in the city to buy paper and then to a local fast food chain to enjoy cold drinks (I chose green bean tea!) and escape the coming rain. Another ride on the 903 was a fitting end to our day of exploring. We hope to go again soon, riding a different bus and finding new colors and new treats, wandering down new alleyways and discovering more treasures of our fascinating city! 

Challenged to Gratefulness

 

 

After a late night, I awoke Sunday morning to the loud song of my tiny, feathered neighbor.  A little sparrow makes his home in a hole in the brick wall just outside my bedroom window. My eyes weren’t closed quite long enough nor my dreams brought to completion before the bird decided to start his day in exuberance. I admit that I certainly did not share in his morning excitement, but was rather annoyed.  I tried, quite hopelessly, to go back to sleep with my frustration and impatience increasing with every toss and turn.  The sparrow’s joyful song continued. 

I then remembered the prayer of a friend at small group the night before, “Let our response to you in any situation be worship and thanks.”  Then came to mind the encouragement of another friend last week to “give God the first fruits of thanks—always—even in loss and grief.”  My mind flooded with the challenges of many others (both read and heard in the last few months) to express gratefulness daily, moment by moment (see links below).  And, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Rejoice always….give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…..Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice,” (1 Thes 5.16, 18; Php 4.4).

So, though still not ready to get out of bed, I made the conscious choice to turn my annoyance into praise and thanks. I thanked God for my little feathered neighbor that never forgets to begin his day with worship. I praised the Father for His provision—that this little bird wants for nothing (Matt 6.26) and daily proclaims to the neighborhood his Creator’s goodness and love. I smiled at God’s relentless pursuit of my heart, the way He continuously draws my thoughts and attitude back to Himself.  And, how humorous He is—challenging me to gratefulness with the simple song of a bird!

“The whole of creation is an amphitheater, the voices of the created and the Creator ringing off everything that is.”  ~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience, August 2, 2011

May I continue to have ears to hear Him speaking. And, may I continue to choose gratefulness and praise in all things.

A Holy Experience

One Thousand Gifts

Beautiful Addition

Teatime with Jenn

Koodaigirl

365 Grateful Project

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (Rev 7.12)

I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. (Ps 59.16-17)

…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ… (Eph 5.20) 

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness….I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Ps 69.13, 30) 

I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more….My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. (Ps 71.14, 23)

Healing Flowers

“Everywhere, wildflowers, even in cracks in concrete sidewalks. Everywhere, this fragrance, this pursuit, this passion.” ~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience, August 9, 2011

A few weeks ago, I went to a small village in the mountains about a two-hour drive from the city to retreat and spend time with friends. I left my house, anticipating a memorable and refreshing time. 

I certainly was in need of some refreshment. My time in the US in June was intense and full of loss.  Deep mentor-relationships changing, Grandpa’s death and the quickly fading  “home-ness” of the Binghamton area all weighed heavily on my heart (not to mention all of the upcoming changes and losses on this side of the world). I wasn’t doing well. Whirlwind trips, international flights and jetlag have their way of numbing, giving a tangible reason for the fatigue, the apathy, the “need to recover and rest” by not leaving my house for days. Talking with others only helped momentarily. I knew I was on a downward spiral and didn’t know how to get out.

So thankful that God, in His Grace and Steadfast Love did not leave me in that dark place.

When my friends extended an invitation to join them at their house set on a mountain top in a quaint rural village aptly named “Green Mountain Ridge,” I immediately started making preparations.

The long drive, meaningful conversations, cups of coffee overlooking the fog-laden valley, time away in a place unfamiliar and beautiful all helped to start the process of healing that my soul needed. 

“…the mending and binding so necessary to heal our stress-filled lives may flow through creation. For the spiritually oppressed or the socially injured, a pleasing or quiet natural environment can help provide spiritual release. Resting by a clear, free-running river or sitting on a sunny slope in a blooming desert grassland can bring peace and joy into very clouded souls.”  ~ Susan Power Bratton (quoted by Gary Thomas in Sacred Pathways, p. 50)   

But, it was wandering in a sunflower patch, up and down rows of ripening corn, through the village with my camera that lifted me out of the darkening place that was holding my soul tight. Taking photographs helps me pause, look harder, see the Creator’s beauty in the vibrant colors, detailed shapes, and meticulous uniqueness of created things. Looking at the world through my camera lens helps me slow down, feel my surroundings with each of my senses.  I can breathe more fully, smile more deeply, “know in my knower” that God is Sovereign and Good and cares intimately about the details in my life. Just like He promised, He has not left. He is very much present and active. And I can surrender once again to Him.

His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom 1.20)

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!…Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven…. (Ps 148)

 

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. (Rev 4.11)

 

The Funeral

A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday night, there was a funeral for a man in the building next to mine.  Just after it started to get dark, I heard music playing that was an odd mix between a traditional minor key Chinese melody and (Buddhist?) chanting.  Now, hearing dance or pop music playing loudly from a nearby store or even traditional Chinese music from a nearby park, is not unusual.  But, when the chanting began, my ears perked up with my curiosity at the strange, eerie sound. When I looked out my kitchen-balcony window to find the source, I saw all the signs that someone had recently passed away—thirty or so people milling about (many wearing white linen head coverings and belts), large bouquets of flowers with black ribbons, a tent.  Set up on a couple of parking spaces across from the entrance to the family’s building was a large, army-green, canvas tent.  Typically, inside were large paper horses, a paper house, maybe even a paper washing machine that the family feels it is important to send with their loved one to the afterlife.  These items would later be burned in the road, along with paper coins, the small fire and smoke being a gateway to the world beyond.

The music went on for several hours, sending its sad, telltale notes into the night.  It ceased briefly when a man spoke reverberating words into a microphone—perhaps words of memory or blessing—for all to hear.

The chanting was a bit emotionally disturbing to listen to, especially after I knew why it was playing.  I desperately wanted to play my own music—lifting, happy, worshipful, Truth—to drown out the mourning, the lostness.  But, I sensed the Spirit wanted me to dwell on the sadness for a while.  I opened my window and let the notes float in and rest heavily on my soul.

“Baba!” A woman wailed.  My heart broke at hearing her anguished, sorrowful voice calling out to gods with ears of stone and clay or, maybe worse, to absolutely nothing at all.  No comfort for her.  No hope.

The next morning, a large pick-up truck came and the flowers with black ribbons and the contents of the tent were loaded in.  Two young men dressed in all white and perhaps sons of the one who died, were leading the process.  Soon the truck was overflowing with flowers, boxes of food and stacks of paper coins.  The procession could begin.  A parade of mourners—close family members, relatives, maybe close friends all wearing white linen hats and belts—left the apartment complex on foot ahead of the truck.  Firecrackers popped loudly behind them as they marched away.

As the sounds faded, I was reminded of the weight of that to which I have been called.  A city of over 10 million.  Over 60,000 people die in this city every year.  Over 5000 funerals per month.  All without Christ.  They may have never even heard His Name.

"Open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified in Christ."     ~ Acts 26.18 ~

"Ask of Me and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." 

~ Psalm 2.8 ~