Meditation: Matthew 8:5-17

taken from www.wau.org

In no one in Israel have I found such faith. (Matthew 8:10)

This pagan centurion certainly had a lot of faith! He loved his servant as a son and was willing to go outside his comfort zone and ask a Jewish rabbi for help. And it was his love and his faith that moved Jesus to commend him so highly.

This man took a very bold step in coming to Jesus. He probably knew there was a good chance he could be rebuffed because he was a Gentile and a member of Rome’s occupying army. But he pushed through his doubts and inner objections, and came to a position of confidence in Jesus’ power: He trusted that Jesus only had to speak the word and his servant would be healed.

This is a good example of living, active faith. Every household, every family, every community has some need for Jesus’ healing touch, but it seems so rare that we hear of people praying with the confidence that this centurion had. Somehow, we have accepted the false premise that we should just take life as it comes—the bad with the good—and not expect that Jesus can intervene to change a difficult situation.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus wants to give us good gifts. Over and over again, Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. God’s ways may not always be our ways, but whether we can see it or not, he will act. His response to our prayers may be to use a challenging situation to bring about a healing of relationships or even a dramatic conversion. It may move us to be more compassionate or generous toward others who are sick.

This question of why we don’t always see the healing we ask for is a mystery we will never fully understand. But as mysterious as it can be, we should never let it keep us from praying for his intervention, whether it be spiritual, emotional, or even physical. We have a good and generous God, and we can be sure that he will act!

“Jesus, I ask for a miracle today. I trust that you want to do great things because you love us and want only the best for us.”

Love Your Mark

it's a special, colorful part of themselves that few other people have. -Patrice Hyde, kidshealth.org

Port-Wine Stains. That's the word the doctors use to call my birth mark. It has some other types, but I'm 100% sure this one is mine. Okay, this is not a disease. It's not contagious. It's not genetic. (I remembered one of my classmate in junior high once said,"Oh, you must find a husband with dominant genes, so that IT would not be inherited to your children." WTH. I already knew it wasn't genetic at that time, but I chose not to give any responses.)

I don't know why I ended up browsing those things since morning. I guess it started on last Saturday. My Mom saw this three things about doctor, lasers and birth marks at newspapers ad. She said to me, "If you want to be cured, you should keep praying and keep in faith." It kind of struck me. Yeah, I actually had done and am still having some laser treatment at the moment, but I haven't been praying for it since a loooooooooooooooooong looooooooooooong loooooooooong time ago.

MOST of the time, I even forget that I have the birth mark. It's right there on my face, but I don't see it on the mirror. I'm not in the attempt to pretend not to see it. The fact is it's just a part of me that I don't realize 'normal' people don't have one. So it was like,"Oh ya I am 'different'. Thanks for reminding."

My Mom sayings made me think what I exactly want to do with it. I don't really mind living with it, but I don't mind having it 'cured' either. I wasn't sure which one I wanted. And still, I'm not sure until now.

When going to church at Saturday night, I prayed about this thing. I asked to be given a guidance what to do, because I really didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I want. It is okay, no big deal. And yeah, DUEEENGG this morning I found this site. CLICK HERE. AND HERE. AND HERE ALSO. It struck. It touched. And yet, I'm still not sure what to do. Haha. I guess I'm still in the process and thank God for the way to finding those people being inspirations. I wonder if I can become one too.

just like the olden days

Just like the olden days,

we chatted,

we laughed,

we shared.

Many stories to be told as many as 2 x 365 days,

it all was mixed up during the first 2 x 60 minutes.

Thanks for all the stories,

they really refreshed my mind,

encouraged my self,

to think "one step ahead" :)

Glad that we met,

even after twice the earth rotated around the sun,

we are still just like the olden days.

a traveller wanna-be

Now, I'm officially a traveller wanna-be.

I just finished browsing www.travellerspoint.com

I randomly searched for budget accomodation in some cities out there in Europe! Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, etc, etc, etc, I'm quite amazed they have SO MANY nice accommodations in an EXTREMELY AFFORDABLE price! About 50SGD per person per night?? Okay, it may not be 3 stars hotel, but from the photographs *i hope they aren't so deceitful* it's more than enough for a place to sleep. I mean, it's unlikely we're gonna spend a whole day in the room, right?

Then, strolling and wandering around the town with a companion of adventurous pals and a MAP! :) Get lost for a few hours. Asking the locals. Struggling to survive with the native language. Going to the place anywhere you want. Wow, it seems so EXCITING and CHALLENGING!

Oh, but when will this dream come true? Money, money, money, I don't have any.