I recently found the Ricoh SLR that I had trained on while in College and decided to load up a roll of 35mm film to see if the camera still worked. There is a light leak on the left side of the frame… I’m still theorizing on how to compensate for it. The results were pretty cool:
The view from the computer room at Bak Bak's house
View from the front window
Practicing his swing
I liked the lighting in this one, but the subject wouldn't stay still
Perhaps my favorite of the whole roll
Meeting up with friends in Berkeley
This is to make Kao-Foo jealous
Oh, yes.
Enjoying the bounty
Sproul Hall Fountain
Friends and a cup of sauerkraut
Being silly on the steps of Sproul
My next roll will be in Black and White. We’ll see if that changes the light leak situation.
Just a small portion from our Bible Study for tonight.
When I get angry (which is not very often), I will often try to find a way to be indignant and justified in my anger. I will have a darn good reason to be angry. This is when the verse “in your anger, do not sin” comes out as a blanket permission statement to be mad. “It doesn’t say DON’T be angry, it says WHEN…”
In this section, James is telling us that we need just shut up sometimes.
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (Jas 1:19-20, NASB)
When I came across these verses, it got me thinking about my righteous anger. Though it is technically okay to get angry, James is telling us that this anger will rarely do us any good, and it definitely won’t help us to achieve the righteousness of God. So, the long and the short of it: While it is okay for you to get angry, it is seldom constructive and does not help you become more Christ-like.
Me: “… and because we asked Jesus to heal her, she’s feeling better now!”
E1: “Oh, yeah. Can Jesus do cartwheels?”
Me: “Yeah, I’m pretty sure he can.”
E1: “Does he have a car?”
Me: “I don’t think he has a car. Do you want to get him a car?”
E1: “Yes. A big car? Like yours?”
Me: “I think Jesus would want a smaller car. Do you want to put your car seat in Jesus’ car so he can drive you around?”
E1: “No. That’s silly.”
Wow, it’s really hard to keep up with this on the weekends. Christina was on call on Friday, and we had a pretty busy weekend. But no excuses, I was slacking off.
I had a chance to reflect on the words that do (or do not) come out of my mouth this weekend. I have a tendency to hold my tongue more often than not. That is to say, I am more comfortable not saying anything when I’m not sure of whether or not it’s a wise thing to say. This has worked out for me for the most part, but I think that sometimes, it has proved to be my undoing.
Some verses that speak to this (no pun intended):
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (Prov 15:1)
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit. (Prov 15:4)
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles. (Prov 21:23)
And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. (Jas 3:6-10)
The last two verses seem to suggest that I would be better off not saying anything. However, the first two verses actually encourage speech, it’s just the kind of speech that comes out that is under scrutiny. When we exercise the gift of speech that we have been given, we should seek to make our words ones of grace, gentleness, and healing. When we begin to allow our natural tendencies to take over, our speech will begin to become slanderous, hateful and harsh.
James uses an illustration of a salt water spring vs. a fresh water spring. I really like this analogy, because of what it represents. If you were to have a cup of fresh water and a cup of salt water, you would only need a few drops of the salt water in the fresh water cup in order to ruin the “freshness” of the fresh water. However, no matter how much fresh water you pour into salt water, you will always be able to taste the salt.
We must be equally aware of how powerful negative speech can be. We say one hurtful thing, and no matter how many good, healing, and graceful words we pile on top of it, that one negative word still has an effect on who we are and how we relate to the world around us.
To be sure, it is a tall task to rein in the tongue, but we should be diligent and continue to try.
Yes, I realize I missed a day.
Most of yesterday was spent teaching E2 to walk. It’s been fascinating watching his little brain work to try to figure out the mechanics of lifting one foot and balancing on the other all while not falling over.
It made me realize that as we walk around as adults all of the muscle movements and balance calculations happen automatically and sub-consciously. The things that we learned at his age come so naturally to us, we hardly think about it. Walking, though, is an incredibly complex activity, if you think about it.
In small group this week, we were talking about how when someone comes to know Jesus for the first time, they are finding joy in almost everything, and they are seeing God working in practically every aspect of their life. Like E2 learning to walk, every time they learn how to use a new “muscle”, there is a great feeling of progress and satisfaction.
Have we lost something when we no longer think about what it feels like to experience the indwelling of Jesus and the Holy Spirit for the first time? When we are full grown “walkers” in our faith, have we forgotten the sensations of taking those first few steps?
In a sense, we are supposed to “grow up”. However, I think that if we can somehow recapture that innocent joy that I see on the face of my newly mobile son and in the lives of the newly redeemed, I think that every part of our lives will seem more significant and joy-filled.
Bible Study tonight. James 1:13-18.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
The long and the short of it: In order to avoid the trap of attributing the wrong things to God, we need to focus on His goodness and holiness. We need to dwell on the good things of God, and we need to share the stories of the good gifts that God is lavishing on us. When we do that, we will slowly start to get a better idea of who God is and learn to discern when it is Him acting in our lives and when it is not.
Try to find a good gift that has come down from the Father of Lights in your life today.
I just finished watching that 6 minute video of the small city of Kesennuma, Japan getting swept away by the deluge caused by the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. Crazy stuff. As we were watching it, there was a shot in there where what looked like a small convenience store was quickly filling with sea water. If you were standing in the doorway, you would be about chest to neck high (depending on how tall you are) in water. A few minutes later, the same building gets swept “upstream”, along with cars, boats, dumpsters, and a bunch of other debris.
When I read the Bible to Emmett tonight, we happened upon Luke 12:13-34
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We work our whole lives towards attaining a goal. Depending on your values and/or skills, those goals can be vast and varied. We can strive to have a large family, a big house, a nice car, a successful career, a high paying job, multiple advanced degrees, to have traveled the world, as well as many other pursuits in life. Anything that we do in life is likely to serve another end. I’m sure whoever owned the convenience store in Kesennuma had worked very hard to be able to get the space and have a successful business. We must realize, as Jesus is telling His disciples, that all of this will be for naught.
All of our pursuits to solidify our position in this world will eventually be turned into dust. As is demonstrated by the destruction that is being wrought in Japan right now, we can’t even be sure that there will be a tomorrow for us. (A colleague of Christina’s found an article that says that California is due for a major earthquake of similar magnitude within the next 30 years.)
The solution that Jesus offers to His disciples (and subsequently, to us) is to stop living as if there is a tomorrow. We need to stop thinking about whether or not there will be food, clothing and housing tomorrow. We need to trust that God loves us enough to provide those things for us. We need to plan for eternity; to live our lives as if Jesus were coming back to tell us that our “soul is required of us.”
To be sure, a very difficult challenge when we live in a culture and society that values the dust so much.
It’s late, so just something really quick.
This past week, we studied the first few (12) verses of the book of James. James writes about trials and how we are to persevere through them in order to be made more complete and to be rewarded with the crown of life at the end of all things. The dimension of this discussion that I had not realized until this point was that of providing counsel to those who are in the midst of trial.
When presented with people’s problems, I tend to try to solve them pragmatically. As I have grown older, it has occurred to me that perhaps I shouldn’t even try to solve them at all. Especially in light of the James passage, I should steer clear of trying to solve other’s problems and allow them to walk the path that God has set before them. Maybe the only counsel I should offer is the Scripture itself, “consider it pure joy…”
Or maybe just listen to their pain. Allow them to “persevere” while I listen.
It’s an uphill battle for me. It is difficult for me to listen to people lay out their problems without trying to offer a solution. But God is doing a work in me. Maybe I’ll become more of a listener.
Dear Lord, give me patience to listen and not to troubleshoot. Amen.
We’ll be walking in no time.
Hello, handsome.
The Wong Chronicles 