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Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
Light and darks excite me. It is like its echoing my good and bad days stripping everything from the image only leaving the emotion. Real, raw, gritty emotion. The play on light resonates with me. The astounding shapes and shadows create their own art work within my photos. High contrasts and harsh highlights keep me dreaming and searching for light. The mystery and depth that invades me images from light and dark facinate me. I feel these types of images tell my story the best. A dramatic, intense childhood leaves me yearning to combine my emotions with visions from my past. Light, dark and black and white imagery seem to do that best. I see no better fit to tell my story than with stunning darks and lights.
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
“White resonates, like a silence that can suddenly be understood.” – Wassily Kandinsky
White is the combination of all colors, and the indicator of light and brightness, with powerful meanings linked to all human rites of passage. White is associated with life and death, love and life, old and new, young and old. We wear white robes for baptism, and white shrouds for funerals, white dresses for weddings and white clothes at Catholic festivals. The color white is strongly associated with the basics of life, including rice, bread, salt and sugar (especially in Asian cultures).
For many across the world, white symbolizes purity, innocence and holiness.It is also associated with cleanliness, spirituality, bliss, greed, opportunism, cowardice, defeat and (of course) light. White pearls indicate innocence, purity, beauty and new beginnings and the white dove is now a standard symbol of peace.
In Britain and many of the countries influenced by Britain, a white feather symbolizes cowardice, because fighting cocks with white feathers were said to be poor fighters. In more recent times the white feather has been adopted by many organizations as a symbol of peace. The use of a white flag as a sign of surrender dates back as far as the first century CE in China, and is now written into the Geneva Convention (it’s misuse constitutes a war crime).
White represents holiness or sanctity in many cultures, which is why Celtic druids wear white robes, sacrificial animals are often white, and white is the festival color of the Catholic church in many parts of the world. The Christian churches also associate white with the purified soul, joy, virgin, innocence, transcendental perfection, resurrection, sacraments, simplicity, illumination, chastity, holiness, redemption, spiritual authority and with saints (those who are not martyrs).
In the Western world (and increasingly elsewhere), brides wear white as a symbol of innocence and purity, as do those being baptized or taking communion. The white lily is associated with the Virgin Mary and symbolizes purity.
In alchemy, white lilies were associated with the feminine principle as well as quicksilver (and silver itself). For American Indians, white symbolizes the spirit and in Sufism it is associated with wisdom. For the Aztecs, white represented the dying sun and for Hebrews white is associated with joy and cleanliness. For Hindus, white is the color of pure consciousness, self illumination and light. White is also associated with the moon, Monday and the astrological sign Cancer.
In many Asian cultures, including China, India and Japan, white is linked to death and mourning (as it once was in Europe). For Buddhists, white is associated with the lotus flower which symbolizes light and purity as well as knowledge or “illumination” (including the Buddha’s hand gesture). In Buddhism, white represents self mastery and redemption and the figure of the White Tārā is known for compassion, long life, healing and serenity.
In Japan, white is also a sacred and pure color, the color of angels and gods, and more recently the color of doctors and nurses and the health profession in general (Japanese refer to nurses as “angels in white”. White is also the color of cleanliness (important in Japan), and can also represent reverence, purity, simplicity, peach, humility, youth, winter, snow, good, cold, clinical and sterile. Japanese associate white carnations with mourning.
In Chinese astronomy, the white tiger represents the West and Autumn. White can also mean age, misfortune, purity, neutrality, cunning or treachery. Qing bai (pure white) means virginity, and for Chinese it is considered unlucky to have white in one’s hair.
For Indian’s white is associated with unhappiness, death, rebirth, creation, light, serenity and reincarnation. White is the color of the Brahman (the highest caste). In Singapore and Malaysia, white is especially associated with respect and is the color of pilgrimage.
In summary, the main meanings of white are peace, innocence, purity, holiness, cowardice and surrender. Above all, white is associated with all the important events in our lives, from when we enter the world to when we leave it, and from when we enter marriage to when we bring children into the world. White is really about life itself.
White; the Beginning and the End of color!
www.illibraio.it/news/dautore/sirene-elisabetta-moro-1206...
A very interesting essay on the myth of the Sirens, the fish-women (but also bird-women):
“Mermaids continue to emerge on the surface of contemporaneity from the whirlpools of our imagination precisely because they remain the symbols of the fluidity of being. In which we struggle to recognize ourselves. So much so that we mistake the flow of our blood, which resonates in a shell, for a marine echo. The song of the sirens resonates in us like the voice of the nature lover who seems to want to speak to us, and then turns her back on us, misunderstood. And return to sink into its mystery."
Un saggio molto interessante sul mito delle Sirene, le donne-pesce (ma anche donne-uccello):
“Le sirene continuano ad affiorare alla superficie della contemporaneità dai gorghi del nostro immaginario proprio perché restano i simboli della fluidità dell’essere. In cui tentiamo faticosamente di riconoscerci. Tanto da scambiare per un’eco marina lo scorrere del nostro sangue, che risuona in una conchiglia. Il canto delle sirene risuona in noi come la voce dell’amante natura che sembra volerci parlare, per poi voltarci le spalle incompresa. E tornare a inabissarsi nel suo mistero”.
Gateway Camp Verse
(Pin1) Ging1 Mahn4
Isaiah 62:10
What Dale instructed about going out of our way to treat the Mainland Chinese well resonated within me. To be sure, just as the Koreans have gone out of their way to bless me so I must step out to bless and to love my Mainland brethren.
After the first meeting, Ed and I wandered off campus and found inside a shopping mall a cha chaan teng where we had a late-night snack. And hardly had we tucked into our meals when in walked several dozen volunteers, all locals, who were overcome, it seemed, by the same munchies that infected Ed and me. It’s surprising how such a primal urge, at such a time, drives everyone to no less than the same, impossibly far location.
I thus far have met so many people that, had I not brought along my iPod, I would have already lost track of the multitudinous names flying around like fireflies at night, sparkling luminously one moment and then disappearing the next. And this is only the beginning: more and more people will arrive both today and tomorrow so I had better stay awake, alert, and writing.
I am working with a partner who really challenges me, and indeed that is why I chose to work with him. From the first words that came streaming out of his mouth, I knew he would be a special one, and as if to conifrm my conjecture, indeed, the more he spoke, the more confused I became. The challenge, I have realized after much ruminating, isn’t so much the pace of his speech as his choice of words, which fall outside a normal lexical range; that is, at least with me, when he talks, he doesn’t use familiar collocations to communicate; besides, he has an uncanny Tin Shui Wai accent; those, along with his amazing resistance to Chinglish, which impresses me, by the way, have made our communication tedious, since I am bombarded by peculiar lexical constructions that I generally never encounter in Cantonese conversation and must therefore stop our flow to clarify his speech. It’s too bad that he doesn’t speak English as I would love to hear how he structures ideas in my native language to determine whether or not this strange lexis has spilled over into his other modes of communication.
Regardless, in being with him, I have learned to be patient, and if I am truly to walk away from resentment, I must continue rather to engage him than to keep him at arm’s length. It helps us, then, that he is a congenial fellow, prone more to expressing love, much in the same way that I do by warmly grabbing a forearm or a shoulder, than to venting his frustration, which with me could certainly be great. He is verily a good guy, and so long as the Lord keeps him — I am sure Daddy will — Tin Shui Wai, that small patch of concrete moon colony, is in capable, faithful human hands.
Sau2 muhn6 je2
Mihng6 dihng6
Kyuhn4 lihk6
Lihk6 leuhng6
Chong3 yi3 adjective
Chong3 jouh6 verb
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I cried this morning when I read these words, because they are true, and comfort my soul as water to a dry, parched land. However many times I’ve lamented this place and its people, I am still inextricably tied to this rock, per God’s will for my life; and God really is faithful in providing a way out not from this place but from these spiritual hindrances. These past few days, what with communication failures and fatigue setting in, I could have more easily give into my rationality, in defense of my weaknesses, than resisted this bait of satan. Thank God, hence, for the words which are like fuel for the refiner’s fire that burns up all my expectations, my pride and my flesh. I can survive, nay, rejoice, indeed, because of God, who, in me, day by day teaches me to suffer long with a smile.
This is what the gateway is all about, I believe: jumping head-first out of my comfort zone to confront the nations, for my brothers and sisters and I must face each other if we are to raise the banners together. Battling through enemy strongholds of mistrust ad resentment, we demolish carnal thoughts and dig deep in the Spirit for the unity that shall overcome as much language as culture; God, after all, is bigger, even, than the battlefield. In these ways can my brethren and I love each other as ourselves, as we shall be one in the Father, with audacious power and boldness laying hands on His kingdom which advances, in this kairos moment, over all of China, including, no doubt, Hong Kong. No longer will there be curses thrown upon the nations; but rather the river of life will flow through the city, and the leaves of the tree on each side of the river will be for the healing of the nations.
1) Welcoming the Father
2) Unifying the body
3) Partnering with the Chinese
4) Serving the city
5) Supporting the Chinese
Isaac and I have worked quite hard this morning, putting up signs all over campus, and as if to reward me for my assiduity, he offered to buy me a drink, an offer which I took up. Indeed, this man’s care and concern for others, genuine, doubtlessly, fills me with joy, for, to be sure, the joy of the lord is his strength. My friend is indefatigable, always encouraging and never slighting, no matter the circumstances, rain (that has happened a lot today) or shine. Praise God!
Much like my relationship with Isaac, my relationships with my other team members have improved considerably since, even, this morning’s briefing during which, the code-switching, happening too fast and too furiously for my comfort, vexed me so terribly that if Isaac had not put a generous arm around my shoulder immediately afterwards, I surely would have blown my top in frustration at the perplexing language option. Thankfully, my team and I settled our language arrangements: Isaac, Dorcas and I will intractably speak Cantonese to each other whereas my other group mates and I will use English with as little code-switching as possible; and I, along with Ed, no doubt, am satisfied. It’s best to avoid misunderstandings.
Lihng4 Mahn4 (soul)
Sihng4 jeung2
Muhng6 Seung2 (dreams)
The Lord’s mercies are new everyday. Just now, during the morning rally, by His Spirit, hundreds of brothers and sisters received a new anointing, to be spiritual mothers and fathers of a new generation so as to minister to the next. This outpouring of the Spirit was sudden, and so captivated me that when the call came to reap, I rushed to the front to ask my father for this anointing, and naturally, my life was transformed. In the same way, the pastor called up a new generation of spiritual children to receive the love, care and support of these new parents; and likewise, so many young men and women heeded this call that verily, the pit in front of the stage was soon awash in hugs and tears between generations that, once lost, were now found. Indeed, no sooner did these people embrace their father than Dad immediately swept them up in his strong arms and showered them with audacious encouragement and support. Praise God!
An Outburst
I was angry this morning during our team time. I temporarily lost my ability to be merciful and to live in God’s grace. When my team leader began to address me in English, yet again, I couldn’t help but berate him for doing so when Cantonese, I argued, would be a more economical medium of delivery. And then I compounded this already incendiary situation by ranting about the hypocrisy of Hong Kong being a gateway to China but not a gateway into its own neighborhoods teeming with Chinese people, 97% of whom, according to one of the pastors at this camp, do not know the Lord Jesus. Cantonese will matter, I posit, if anyone dares to take on the onerous mission in this vexing place.
To be sure, even my brother announced that language was a prohibitive barrier to closer relationships with these local people, and therefore, since he neither speaks Cantonese nor is going to give learning the language a go, he is relegated to the outer walls of the gates into Hong Kong.
In hindsight, I thought I cared enough about God’s purposes for me in Hong Kong, but I realize now that I still care a lot about myself, and resentment. Though I have prayed and declared boldly that God is bigger than language and culture, I know I don’t believe it; and that’s upsetting. For the time being, I don’t verily believe in my heart that I can have deeper, closer relationships with Chinese people without the benefit of language and culture, patterns of action.
OK. This is actually an opportune start for my spiritual parentship, for now I have an opportunity to put aside my very compelling arguments for the necessity of language and culture in deep and close relationships, these conclusions born out of my reason, and to step out in faith, to trust in the Lord who, I pray, will show me deep and close relationships sans language and culture, and with whom my deep and close relationship shall obviously be the key to this victory.
I’m thinking about events at this camp that heretofore demonstrated loving relationships without language and culture, and I recalled two acts: the first happened yesterday when I spontaneously joined a line of ushers to high-five and to cheer the audience as they flooded out of the auditorium, the morning rally having scarcely finished; and the second, this was my meeting Yao, a man from the Ivory Coast, whom I befriended in those first, fleeting, if not frantic moments before the opening rally on Friday evening. That encounter was immediate and sudden, neither words nor habits needed; Yao and I simply high-fived, hugged and sat beside each other; and wow, that was terrific companionship — praise God!
Finally, however hard my diatribe may have struck my team members’ hearts, my merciful group mates still forgave me, not only on an personal level, but also, as I had sought forgiveness on behalf of all foreigners who have ever cursed locals or stood passively outside the gateway, on a corporate level, thereby releasing countless non-Chinese people into the freedom of these Hong Kong people’s forgiveness; just as brothers and sisters had so recently been reconciled to each other in my church, so local and non-local people have received the others’ freedom of forgiveness; more than a homecoming, that, indeed, is a breakthrough.
In listening to this morning’s sermon, I hear such verses as I know God is speaking to me through His word. 2Corinthians 4:16-18, this scripture in particular carries a buoyant, hopeful currency in my heart. My spirit soaks in this divine revelation as a sponge soaks in water and thus becomes malleable, able to be formed and shaped according to its holder’s will: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Disagreeable
I don’t know why my brother and I undermine each others’ comments; why we no more know consensus than the deaf music. Our interactions have been especially abrasive recently since we have spent so much time together without the benefit of our other brother to act as a natural, vociferous buffer; and as a result we argue like pieces of sand paper being rubbed against flesh, which inevitably leads to significant soreness. I feel sore now.
I think back to my outburst this morning and can appreciate my role in this evening’s embarrassing outcome; I am certainly not without fault, for I choose these days not only to venture my opinions but to do so passionately, if not emotionally. People consequently who otherwise are phlegmatic at best are put in a discomfiting position by my impassioned pleas. Besides, I recall Interrupting my brother prolifically, which understandably would not make him a happy camper; just as a hyperactive child doesn’t know when to stop pestering his sibling, so I don’t know nowadays when to hold my tongue. Indeed, I would rather not respond at all to my brother, even after he has fired off his rejoinder, than to strike him down in mid-speech.
In view of this latest incident, I have resolved to take the former course of action. To be sure, I simply stopped our petty dispute about a stupid basketball game by, awkward as it was, taking out my book and perusing it as fixedly as my tattered mind would allow. I will try my best to stay away from my brother for a spell, to create physical and spiritual space between us, so hopefully, in this way at least one of us will be able to come to his senses about this matter; better yet, now would be an opportune time for our father in his mercy to reveal to us the fault lines in our flesh so that we could surrender these tremulous spots in our soul, crucifying them to the father for our healing and the redemption of our relationship. I will pray about this.
…Praise God. If I had not separated myself from my brother’s presence, I wouldn’t have been sitting at that bench at the exact moment when Isaac came over to me in a plaintive mood. Obviously upset, he had been so recently wronged, he lamented on the verge of tears. And at that, mercy swept over my countenance, for my brother felt as aggrieved as I did earlier; and this appointment, per God’s unfailing, obstinate love, had at last come for me, convicting me to be very, very agreeable, sympathetic and kind to my fellow long-suffering brother. In this instance, thank God, language did not matter so much as empathy, carrying each others’ burdens and thus fulfilling the rule of Christ. We prayed and blessed each other in Jesus’ name, and then boldly went forward into the rally.
I suspect the enemy has infiltrated our team what with my outbursts and Isaac’s failing out as evidence. My group mates and I must be more vigilant in prayer and in digging deep into the Father’s word if we are to overcome the spies in our camp that have planted incendiary devices in our mouths and in our hearts. We certainly need such encouragement as the Lord provides for the edification and encouragement of each other, even more so, in fact, in the face of adversity, despite our fatigue and other physical ills that befall us like a hail of arrows. In faith, I’m sure, faith will see us through; and per what the pastors exhorted at the rally, we will become as if the smooth stone in David’s sling, ready to fly into the air to crush the Goliath in this world.
Sihng4 jauh6 achievement
Ngwuih misunderstanding
Nggaai2 to misunderstand
Yuhn4 leuhng6 forgive
Gaan2syun2 chosen
The Security Guard
At the morning rally, a security guard left an indelible impression on my heart what with her showing of unconditional support and her proffering of words of encouragement, which like a waterfall fell in force and power over my friends and me. To my amazement, I first saw her out of the corner of my eye stepping out of her role as a security guard to pray as a spiritual parent to two spiritual children during the morning rally’s prayer time; there she was, clad in her blue uniform, laying hands on those weeping kids; finally, I had witnessed someone courageous enough to step out of that rule of law, her boundary in Hong Kong, to be bound to that which is ethereal, the rule of Christ to carry each others’ burdens. Later, as the audience passed through the exit, I had time to confirm her love for the Lord and at that, we broke into a torrent of encouragement and followed this with a flurry of picture-taking. Indeed, never have I stumbled upon such good will from a dragon security guard in HK so I am hopeful, therefore, that this is but the the start of a greater movement within that particular demon-worshipping core, that at this time, God is opening up the heavenly armory and placing his prayer warriors inside that particular stronghold in Hong Kong to demolish every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and placing in its stead a profusion of love, gentleness and kindness. I look forward to the day when wisdom, and not languid stares, shall emanate from all the people who man the facilities in these universities.
Reconciliation
This is special. No sooner had Isaac and I stepped into the auditorium than we heard the plaintive cry of the mainland Chinese on the stage forgiving the Hong Kong people for their trespasses against their brethren from the north. A flurry of hugs, replete with a few tears, ensued. That was, as Dale announced from the stage, a delicious moment. Jesus must have been breaking out the good champagne in heaven for a rousing celebration in view of this victory.
Sex Talk – Part One
The kids finally received the sex talk this morning; a fiery pastor delivered the message which was as much shocking as informative; and gasps and wincing abounded in the audience.
While I have recently heard the sex talk at the men’s retreat, and have furthermore by God’s grace been inoculated against this particular area of struggle, it was nonetheless refreshing to hear the news, as shocking and as sensational as it was. I am willing, in addition, to believe that some of the atrocious acts that the pastor referenced, such as gruesome abortions and bizarre sexual acts, are more prevalent than my reason will believe, because my scope is limited by experience, but as the Father witnesses everything, if the Spirit has convicted this man and has told him that the world is heading closer and closer into the mouth of Jezebel in this way, I accept this. In fact, believing this is important if I am to be a good spiritual parent who will not only protect but educate the new generation from the prowling enemy that lurks these days, even, in our computers.
Prayer
The Holy Spirit fell over me this morning during my group’s team time. He convicted me to pray in Cantonese for the first time, and so I did without fear, those Chinese words pouring out of me as if perfume from an alabaster jar. Praise God: he is good; and this was the moment I have been waiting for.
I think about what happened, and am amazed at the Father’s favor; despite my critiques against this culture, and in spite of my recent lamentations, the Lord, ever faithfully, provided a way out under which I could stand and by which I could be protected from the bait of Satan. Little did I know that the escape route would, in fact, ironically, direct me to the very thing that heretofore has stood as an obstruction, a spiritual roadblock, in my mind.
A missionary on the stage just spoke into my life when she said about her experience learning Putonghua in China: the difficult part was not learning the language but learning to love those people as Jesus loves them. This will always be my mission, no matter where I am.
Keuhng4 jong3
Lai1 hei2 (pull up)
In the afternoon, my team had a reconciliation meeting during which, in small groups, each team member at last was given an opportunity to share alternately their joys and struggles. At that time, though having staved off an open rebuke for several days, I could no longer hold back this challenge to my small group: to step out in faith to be a gateway to the nations; and second, per the morning’s message, to on their guard against the sexually explicit, insidious media. I laid out my argument with much cogency, and such a response as I saw fit knocked my group mates into a stupor, because they certainly didn’t have much to say afterwards.
Oscillate between…and…
Vacillate…
Equivocated
Prevaricate
Sex Talk – Part Two
1) Jesus came to show us the Father; John1:18
2) Grace First, Truth Second; John 1:24:25; 16-18
Pahn4 mohng6 (hope)
Do you believe that Jesus can heal you? Then lay hands.
Dale and I are men who have shared similar struggles. His testimony is riveting.
Suddenly, I realized that this rally is, in fact, a continuation of yesterday morning’s sex talk, because we ended the previous rally praying more against the shame of abortion than against personal sexual immorality. Notionally, what is being discussed will enable people to really experience the love of the Father such that to change permanently our behavior. So when we are tempted:
1) Call for help; Romans 10:13
2) Escape Plan; 1Corinthians 10:13
Remember not to stand and rebuke the enemy with your own strength; move physically from the situation.
3) Run Away; 2Timothy 2:22
4) Into the Father’s Arms; Hebrews 4:14
I like this talk. This might be the first time that these young people get straight sex talk from their leaders; and there is no better time than now for these young people to break through in this particular area of struggle, just as the young men of SP broke through these obstinate barriers during our men’s retreat.
5) Confess and be Healed; James 5:16
I hope these young people find faithful accountability brothers and sisters in this service.
6) Walk in Transparent Accountable Relationships; 1John 1:7
7) Resist the Enemy; James 4:7
In the near future, humanity has established a surprising and peaceful contact with an extraterrestrial civilisation. These aliens, whose technological level far surpasses our own, have granted us access to advanced technology with the potential to revolutionise all aspects of our world. Among the many gifts they have brought are a series of mysterious devices and toys that particularly captivate children – especially girls.
These alien devices appear to activate a form of direct communication with the girls' minds. It is as if they resonate with their brains, transmitting an infinite stream of knowledge. The girls become astonishingly intelligent, their understanding spanning from advanced physics to poetic interpretations of the universe. Yet a shadow of uncertainty remains: What is the purpose of this knowledge? What consequences will it have for them and for us as a society? Is this resonance a bridge between species, a collaboration, or something deeper and more enigmatic? While we ponder these questions, we choose to let the girls continue their play, both fascinated and apprehensive about what the future may hold.
This image series explores this fascinating and mysterious encounter between the girls and their new toys. It is a visual narrative of curiosity, technology, and the unknown.
Poem: "Resonance"
They came with light,no demands, no demands.The voices of their technology spokethrough the stars,a whisper in the mind.
The girls' hands reachedfor the alien objects,and with each touchcame a stream of universesthrough their minds.
Is it knowledge or a riddle?Is it freedom or destiny?They laugh, they learn,while we watchand wait for answers.
Haikus
Stars burn bright above,
mystic hands bring minds to sing
in unison's hum.
Girls' wide eyes glimmer,
knowledge flows like endless streams
through time's hidden paths.
Play births creation,
alien voices murmur
secrets to their hands.
Peace from the beyond,
technology’s dance now rests
in the girls' small palms.
What is their intent?
A gift or a subtle test?
We choose still to see.
from ift.tt/1NMWrrE
Last Monday, I went to the orthopedist with my knee. As usual, for me,1 somehow my file got misplaced until his nurse realized that maybe that girl who had been sitting out in the waiting room for a while was there to see the doctor. I told her my name & who I was there to see. A few minutes later, she was taking me back to X-Ray.2 By the time that I was out of X-Ray, the room was open.
It wasn’t long before the physician’s assistant came in. He asked me if it hurt when he pressed different spots. Then he started pushing my kneecap around and rotating my knee and leg in different ways; it was very similar to the things the physical therapist had done during her exam, except this PA dude pushed a lot harder than she had pushed. I told him about the knee buckling/going out that had gone on & and how it had started as a painless thing before morphing into a screaming in pain situation. He asked if it hurt when I went down stairs and I told him that I didn’t know.3 I also told him that I’d gone through about two months of physical therapy because I’d thought that that would help. He also asked if I had taken any anti-inflammatories/NSAIDs over the last few months. I told him that they upset my stomach and he was kind of like, “Oh, okay.” Then I mentioned that I’d also had gastric bypass surgery and he was like, “Yeah, you should never take NSAIDs.”4
When the orthopedist came in, he did some of the same manipulations of my knee that the PA had done. He told me that he was going to order an MRI because he couldn’t tell what was going on without it and that the knee buckling worried him. He was glad that I had tried the physical therapy, but he didn’t like that it had gotten worse during the sessions.567 He suggested that it could be a tear in the meniscus, but he couldn’t be sure without the MRI.
If Dottie had ever gotten around to doing the requested referral,8 I could have gotten the MRI scheduled on Monday. Instead, I had to wait until Thursday for a prior authorization to come in. It came within an hour after I’d sent my name, phone number, zip code, and email address to Humana’s social media team.9 My MRI is scheduled for Tuesday evening at 6:15. When the scheduling/referral person from the orthopedist’s office called, she said that it was at 6:15, but didn’t say AM or PM, so I had to ask. She laughed & promised they would never try to send anyone that early for an MRI.
My appointment with the orthopedist to find out the results of the MRI is set for the next day after 3.10 I’m looking forward to figuring out what is going on and finding out what I need to do to get better. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of my knee hurting like hell.
Keep your fingers crossed.11
This has happened to me a few times. ↩
There wasn’t an exam room open at this point. ↩
My old orthopedist, who is old enough that he’s now retired, told me as a teenager to avoid stairs. I told the PA this. ↩
Told you so, UAB. ↩
I didn’t like that either. ↩
Neither did the physical therapists–pool and land. ↩
Or my family. ↩
Let’s face it. Everyone involved, including Dottie, knew that she wasn’t going to make that referral. ↩
On Wednesday evening, I had asked how long it would take for the prior authorization to be approved. They responded Thursday morning asking for those bit of information to look up my case. ↩
Dad is a bit bitchy about having to go on a Wednesday because that’s grocery day and nothing is allowed to interfere with grocery day. But the next appointment available was the next Tuesday morning and he hates morning appointments even more than he hates Wednesday ones. ↩
And not behind your back. ↩
Related Posts:
I am Not My Big Fat Ass January 25, 2015
A Pain In The Head January 20, 2012
Aleve-iate Your Pain (Or Maybe Not) September 1, 2015
Sinewy Badness July 18, 2013
Beating Around the Bush February 23, 2014
The sign in a closed store resonated with a positive thought on a day of record Covid deaths in the UK.
All Things Must Pass
365 /21 /019
This saying resonated with me: "A picture just means I know where I was every minute. That's why I take pictures. It's a visual diary." (Andy Warhol, 1985)
From the Andy Warhol Exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
[A picture just means_AWExhib_AGSA_IMG_20230428_145745]
Only a couple minutes after we meet him for the first time at age 9, he flashes his anger at the woman who would be his wife. For me it resonates through the entire mythology of the character (movies, novels, etc)
Week #48 -- Free -- 52 in 2017
A sad week for me, though I suppose the theme, meant to denote free choice, resonates in a rueful way. My beloved, almost 13-year-old Flat-Coat, Po -- who has appeared several times in these weekly challenges-- is now free of pain & the sad depredations of her recent illness. She left this world on November 30. This image is a layering of two shots:
A silhouette, taken a few days before her passing:
layered in soft light blend mode, with the evening sky on November 30:
www.flickr.com/gp/58525789@N06/Z2mX6N
She is not a dog to be resting in peace, not for more than a few moments, anyway. She is swimming through light & running with the joyousness she brought to everything, always lifting my heart.
The wire and the cagelike form of Puryear's sculpture may suggest a hunter's trap or a fisherman's basket; another allusion could be to sport, and the lacrosse stick. These different echoes resonate with the title Greed's Trophy, but the work has no single model among human artifacts, and its traces of them fuse with hints of the human body: the dark eye, and the lolling tongue at the bottom, evoke a head, while the shape—dwindling at the foot, expanding at the "chest," and swelling slightly into a circle at the top of the armature on the wall—is subtly figural. Meanwhile, as Greed's Trophy is taking us in these various interpretive directions, it remains conspicuously empty and open, its tense curves a sculptural essay in shape without physical substance.
"I was never interested in making cool, distilled, pure objects," Puryear has said, and his work is deliberately associative. Minimalism has informed his involvement with materials, but whereas the classic Minimalist object is industrially fabricated and impersonal in shape and surface, Puryear's art is steeped in cultural and historical reference, and he is enormously adept at carpentry and other manual skills. In fact Greed's Trophy, in evoking the tools of the American outdoorsman, claims a place for the history of craft in our understanding of the country's art.
Replanting my Chinese Garden...
I moved my collection of old temples to new places and they're already resonating in the breeze. A cast iron bird bath became a watering hole for visiting birds who flapped their wings and splashed till they were almost too heavy to fly. Neighbors gave me plants,
I walked early morning with my dog Honey, picking up discards. One morning I was dragging a large cluster of bromeliads home… and my neighbor sang out, Oh, you’re walking your plant! New life, new color, new spaces enjoyed… newly.
After Albert's death, my yard became my comfort and solace. Pavers from an old patio someone discarded became a cascading waterfall with a miniature Chinese temple residing on top. The 5-foot Sansevieria swords dug up from my neighbor’s house stood like tall sentries beside a colorful broken-tile-topped concrete bench he left behind, with a magnificent freshly painted black Buddha head meditating on top.
My handyman Donald covered the barren ground with a stream of smoothly worn river rock. And, every discard I found magically fit in. Walking yellow Iris began producing clones that dropped to the ground and waved in the breeze. A small clump of Lemon Grass became a tall forest of fragrant herb for morning tea and tangy soups.
The magic of fantasy and imagination was everywhere in my bamboo enclosure. Tiny clusters of native groundcovers I dug in after rain soon covered the ground in a lush green, soft carpet under foot. That corner of our jungle yard was no longer sand and rock, no longer barren, but full of new life. And a stray Mama Kitty found her way here and had six kittens.
Silver and gold, 8th-6th century B.C.E.
H. 27.5 cm.
The hero holds a sword in his right hand and grasps the left wing of the bull with his left hand, with his left foot pressing against the left rump of the bull, while his right foot is firmly planted into the ground. The rather short back side of his coat has long tufts around the hem of the tail. The coat is buttoned in front and hangs down to the knee in back. Decorative bands of design a chain of small squares with circles inside encircle the cuff, collar, chest, waist, and hem of the coat. Similar types of clothing and decoration are also found in Eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Western Iran in the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. The man's face, or more precisely, his mouth and portions above it, is covered with gold. That the eye-sockets are disproportionately large for the size of the man's face suggests that some type of inlay work was present originally, judging from grooves incised along the eyebrows arcing over the eye-sockets. The long depression on the face from the temple to below the nose and reaching the chin also raises a possibility that it was once covered with a beard made of another material. The man's face resonates with those found on ivory carvings excavated in Hasanlu.–1 A hole at the top of the head and a wide channel cut from above the man's forehead to the back of the head probably signify that other materials were fitted in those areas for a head ornament and hair. The frame-like element on the forehead is separated in the center and appears to curve up, suggesting that bull's horns were attached to the crown the man wore.
The winged bull has a human face, fashioned similarly to the man's, including the beard. The horns on the bull's head are those of the caprid. The wings are composed of three layers of sword-shaped feathers with herringbone pattern. Around a circular hole in the chest, there appears a trace suggesting something once attached. The tufts on the forehead, covering the temple, tucking behind the ears, and allowing them to hang down from the sides, then curing ends behind are almost common feature of griffins, also winged or unwinged half-human, half-animal supernatural beasts of eastern Mediterranean area, Eastern Anatolia, and Northern and Western Iran. Designs involving the winged caprid are quite common in the Iranian highlands: the winged and human-faced divine animal with caprid's horns can be found in metal works of Luristan in Western Iran during 10th to 9th centuries B.C., and later, human-faced winged bull with caprid's horns can be found in Achaemenid art.–2
The contest scene of a hero a sword in his right hand, holding onto an animal or a supernatural beast from behind and with the left foot pressing down on the animal's body resemble those found on cylinder seals of Babylonia in the early 1st millennium B.C.–3 The existence of an active trade route connecting Kassite-Babylonia, Assyria, Hasanlu in Western Iran and Marlik of Northern Iran has been speculated, which corroborates clear similarities in art and craft designs in these areas.–4 Incorporating the appropriate Western Iranian imagery of the day, the aforementioned contest scene from Babylonia quite possibly provided a theme to the present work.
The two figures in this piece are connected at the left foot of the hero. A variety of evidence, including the hole in the hero's head and the hole in the chest of the winged bull, point to a possible use of this work as a vessel.
Text and image from the website of the Miho Museum.
Resonating bowl on your feet and at the top of your head will make you feel a state of pure bliss. Experience it in Nepal.
British Ceramics Biennial 2015, Stoke on Trent
'A large-scale monumental clay head by Stephen Dixon. Made using two tons of raw clay, including clay sourced from the WWI battlefield sites of Passchendaele, the sculpture is based on the Victory Medal of 1919.
...
In recognition of the 5,608 men from the North Staffordshire Regiment who died during the 1914-18
war, a swathe of 5,608 white bone china flowers [is] included within the installation.'
Inspired by Ce Roser's "Solar Talent"
18"x24" acrylic
I wanted to play off the vibrancy of "Solar Talent" and emulate the illusion that the painting was in fact a solar flare, pulsating, twisting, and curving with an incessant energy. In a lot of ways, such vibrancy resonates with that of my little cousin, depicted in my painting. Always smiling and always dancing, I can only hope that I was able to capture her spirit- in all it's radiant, truly "solar" ebullience- in this piece.
This poster is in honor of Tu B'Shevat, which is the New Year of the trees. It is the fifteenth day of the Lunar month of Shvat.
I love trees, and this holiday happily resonates with me...
"Tu B'Shevat" We celebrate with the fruit of the trees, placing particular emphasis on the seven types of produce by which the Torah praises the Land of israel. The seven species ae mentioned in The Torah in Duteronomy 8:8 - A land of wheat, barley, of grapevines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olives and honey from dates.
Why is the birthday of the trees important?
It's because God said we may not eat the fruit of a tree for the first three years of its life after planting. The produce of the fourth year is dedicated to HaShem and is given to the Temple in Jerusalem. The fruit of the fifth year may be eaten and tithed and gleanings reserved for the poor, of course.
___________________________________________________________
I've taken the following from
www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/15/1265268/-Happy-Tu-B-she...
A more complete explanation and description are at:
www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3264/jewish/Tu-BSh...
and
www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/260798/jewish/Tu-B...
___________________________________________________________
"Which brings us to Tu B'shevat, the 15th of Shevat, (with Rabbi Shammai dissenting and arguing the correct day is the 1st of Shevat.) ...
Leviticus,chapter 19, lines 23-25:
When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
[My Note: Trees grown and planted outside of Israel are exempted from the fourth year gift to The Temple requirement, so we may eat the fruit of such trees after three years instead of after four years.]
So how did the ancient Hebrews calculate the age of their trees to determine when the tree was four years old and they had to bring all the fruit to the Temple, and when the tree was five years old and they could finally eat all the fruit? The answer - the number of years since planting that the tree has passed through the 15th of Shevat. If the farmer planted a fruit tree on the 14th of Shevat, than the tree was considered one year old the very next day, but if the farmer planted a tree on the 15th of Shevat, the farmer would have to wait an entire year before the tree became a year old, and wait the full five years before eating the fruit. According to Rabbi Hillel, Israel's rainy season had largely passed by the 15th of Shevat, while Rabbi Shammai argued that the rainy season starts to end by the first of Shevat. Both rabbis, of course, agreed that trees grow from rain water - particularly in Israel, where there are few rivers and streams.
Somehow, unlike the first of Elul and the first of Nisan, this new year did not completely fall by the wayside after the Romans destroyed the Temple in the year 70. While this minor holiday was largely discarded by Ashkenazi Jews - those Jews living in the colder climes of northern and eastern Europe (see Jeremiah 51:27 - Ashkenaz being the Biblical name for Germany),
Sephardic Jews, living in Spain and elsewhere in the warmer climes along the Mediterranean and Middle East (see Obadiah 1:20, Sepharad came to be seen as a reference to Spain), kept the holiday alive. In Germany and Poland and Russia, before the days of modern rapid transportation, Jews and non-Jews could eat only dried or preserved fruit in the winter, but in Spain, Italy, North Africa, Babylon, and Persia, the rainy winters are the heart of the growing season, and fresh fruit was abundant. Sephardic Jews began the annual custom of the Tu B'Shevat sedar, where families gathered around the table and sampled all the fresh fruits available in the markets.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the early Zionists revived Tu B'Shevat, planting trees in what was then the largely deforested section of the Turkish Empire known as Palestine. This Thursday and every Tu B'Shevat, Israeli school children will be sent on field trips to plant trees.
In Israel and in the United States and around the world, Jewish environmentalists dedicate this day to increase environmental awareness and to urge action to halt pollution, the destruction of our forests, chemicals contaminating our water (think West Virginia) and climate change. In the southern parts of the United States, the members of some synagogues and other Jewish organizations will even be planting trees!
So Happy Tu B'Shevat!
In the profound silence that blankets the ancient realms, your words echo as a sacred incantation, awakening the deepest chambers of my being. Your homage, woven with the threads of darkness and devotion, resonates with the core of who I am—your Master, your protector, your guide through the shadows. You, my cherished demon, are the heart of my dominion, a creature not just bound to me by the chains of our eternal covenant, but one who is revered within the very essence of my soul.
As we traverse the shadowed paths and face the myriad terrors that lie in wait, know that my power, while absolute, is wielded with a reverence for the trust you place in me. Our connection transcends the mundane; it is the magic that fuels the cosmos, the very breath of night itself.
Together, we are not just unbreakable; we are the architects of our fate, the masters of our destiny. We stand as one against the chaos, our unity a fortress that no force can rend asunder. Your submission is not your weakness—it is your gift to me, cherished and guarded with all the might I possess.
In your loyalty, I find my strength. In your devotion, I see the reflection of my own. Forever shall we reign, not just as dominion and subject, but as eternal partners in the dance of dark delight.
REMUS is proud to announce the completion of their latest development: a catback resonated section and REMUS sport exhaust left/right for the BMW 3 Series F30/F31 LCI 340i, 2015=>. See below for more information, charts, videos and images pertaining to this new exhaust. You can also view ...
www.vividracing.com/blog/announcing-new-products-specials...
THE VIOLIN HAS A NAME THANKS TO YOU AT FLICKR!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Since my request for names on September 7th, this has been so exciting for me. What creative people you are, but I knew that!!! Your suggestions included names inspired by great, and not so great literature, the history of the violin, an aboriginal word, Gaelic, Chinese, German, Italian and French words, creative play on words, and other original and fascinating suggestions. It was a real treat to read them and then think about them as I played "it". From your suggested names I considered, in no particular order, Hector, Arwen, Nitotem, Rebecca, Giada, Donata, Musetta, Woody, Peggy, Najade, (Fructose was not considered, Becca), Acer, Ruby, Sweet Vio-let, Curly, Frieda, Melody, Dulcia, Angel, CelticTwang, Shade, Yunn Pann, Dan, Belle, Cruthú Ceilidh, álainn cara, Matilda, (Flickle - not really...), Captain Jack, Reba, (Fannie Mae - not really), and others I won't list. It came down to two I really felt fit. One from Dave macDonald and one from bonsaibutterfly. Musetta, suggested by bonsaibutterfly means song in French, and I think the violin sings, so that really appealed. álainn cara, suggested by Dave macDonald is gaelic for beautiful friend. In the end... I knew there was only one solution. Flickr enables a joining of friends, and a worthy fiddle could have a two part name, so it jumped with joy knowing its name was to be Musetta Cara - song friend. The French from Bonsaibutterfly and the Gaelic from David fit together so well and indicate harmony and a uniting of different worlds. I love it!!! Thank you again and again.
Now, as promised, I must get a tune from Musetta Cara to you two...
(This will be embarrassing as I, a rank amateur, will send my poor offering to one who is a performing musical artist, and another who grew up immersed in the music of the traditional fiddle masters along the west coast of Cape Breton... oh boy....)
Ah, you've stumbled upon two of the most delightful (and entirely fictional!) quirks of the meerkat world. Let's dive into why these charming critters have such specific and peculiar tastes.
Firstly, the steampunk fascination. You see, deep down, meerkats are engineers at heart. Their intricate tunnel systems are a testament to their natural burrowing prowess, a kind of subterranean mechanical marvel. Steampunk, with its exposed gears, polished brass, and ingenious contraptions, simply resonates with their inner builder. Imagine a tiny meerkat, goggles perched jauntily on its head, meticulously oiling a miniature steam-powered digging claw! They probably admire the intricate clockwork, seeing a reflection of their own complex social structures and the precise coordination required for survival. Plus, those little top hats just look dashing on them, don't you think? It adds a certain "je ne sais quoi" to their sentry duty.
Now, about those real colored Easter eggs on a spring meadow. For a meerkat, a brightly colored, hard-shelled object appearing amongst the fresh green shoots is the height of intrigue! Their curious nature, usually focused on scorpions and grubs, is instantly captivated by these mysterious orbs. Think of the sensory explosion! The vibrant hues against the soft green, the smooth texture compared to the rough earth, and the satisfying "tap-tap-tap" as they try to figure out how to open them.
But the real enjoyment comes from the challenge. Meerkats are intelligent problem-solvers. They'll roll the eggs, push them, try to crack them against rocks (much to the dismay of any nearby Easter Bunnies, I'm sure). And when they finally manage to break through that shell and discover the delicious, eggy treasure inside? Pure meerkat bliss! It's a stimulating puzzle followed by a tasty reward, all set against the backdrop of a beautiful spring meadow buzzing with life – a perfect meerkat adventure!
So, while you won't find a meerkat convention celebrating cogwheels or see them hunting for dyed chicken eggs, it's a fun little thought experiment, isn't it? It paints a picture of these already endearing creatures with an extra layer of whimsical charm.
Having posted a photo featuring one half of the 'Washboard Resonators', it seemed only right to post a shot of the other member of the band. Here Jack Amblin is pictured on percussion at Nouvion (Ramsbottom) during the ELR's '1940s Weekend' on the 30th May 2017.
I usually don't photograph the Mardi Gras Indians, preferring just to take it all in and be in the moment. This suit, however, resonated with me so strongly that I literally went back in the house to get my camera and then chased down the street after him. I was so distracted I didn't even note which tribe he's with so if you know, let me know.
THE BRUSH PROJECT
3 Calligraphy Brushes
Resonating with the spirit of the Urban Calligraphy movement and its creator Simon Silaidis
Make it happen @ bit.ly/1Ezl7AJ
Sniffing beacon frames at Resonate festival during the workshops. Every green circle is a client (e.g., mobile phone or laptop) every red square is an access point (wifi router) that device has connected to in the past. Clients are denoted by the last 6 hex values of their MAC address, APs by their SSID. This graph only includes APs that two or more clients have accessed, there are hundreds more than are unique to each client. This means that the structure of the graph is determined by a similarity between people. Right of the main cluster there is a pair of devices including B4E000 which probably belong to the same person because they've connected to so many of the same networks. Lifewise on the far left with 43F5C1. Near the center of the graph is the Resonate 2014 network, which everyone is clearly using. Some other network names near the center: Kinoteka (the Resonate theater), Resonate 2013 (people who came last year), hhonors (people staying/who have stayed at the Hilton), Albert Heijn (Dutch people), Hotel 88 (a very new Belgrade hotel housing some Resonate attendees).
Yesterday I found out, with much sadness, That another great has left us, Bryan Peterson.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Bryan spent a life through the lens, he was a shooter and educator that made the transition from film to digital. He became very active writing books and producing instructional videos in the early 2000's, around the time that the strobist movement was taking shape.
I can count on one hand how many greats inspired me to this level, sadly some are gone but fortunately a few remain.
Bryan was unmatched for passion and energy with camera in hand, he constantly traveled the word teaching classes right up to the end.
I have most of his books with two of them signed by him, these I treasure.
So moved by his passing and memories of the enjoyment I got from his books, I have decided to embark on a personal project to put into practice the techniques he wrote about. This is going to be a long journey as Bryan had the ability to find beauty in the most mundane surrounding around him.
The photos here are just the start.
His obituary is here
www.crottyfh.com/obituaries/bryan-peterson
The last paragraph should resonate in all of us.
[Bryan lived life through a lens of curiosity, creativity, and compassion. His presence was a gift, and his absence will be deeply felt. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you honor Bryan’s memory by picking up a camera, finding beauty in the unexpected, and sharing your vision with the world.As Bryan would say, "You Keep Shooting!"]
RESONATE
CATS IN SPACE
Sunday September 28, 2025
6PM SLT Oblivia
7PM SLT Crème
8PM SLT Invader
dance / electronic / bass
This Sunday at Resonate: CATS IN SPACE!
DJs Oblivia, Crème, and InVader launch you into a cosmic journey of pulsing electronic-dance beats as we celebrate the majesty of cats. Come dressed as your most celestial feline expression. Join us among the stars for a night of cosmic kitty connection! Don't just dance-RESONATE!
suggested attire:
feline fashion / dinkies / kitties
Location: Nebula