risingofthesun

takecarebecca: We could all model after a clear umbrella...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:58:12 -0400

We could all model after a clear umbrella by:

BEING TRANSPARENT

being there for others every (literal) step of the way

simultaneously enduring the storms and protecting the defenseless (and turning into a weapon when approached by the dangerously fiendish)

opening eyes and showing off the world (in all its shining shimmering splendor) instead of blocking the view like a tool

being generous (umbrellas usually always have room for two)

they allow your feet to get wet (don’t mistaken them for magic carpets, fool).

they don’t turn inside out when the going gets tough.

Wow.

"We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:56:38 -0400

“We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.”

- Martin Luther (via aussie-ragazzo)

Internships, in general:

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:17:09 -0400

Brian: i just stretched out
a 30 min assignment
to 2 hours
and told them i was done
and they were like
wow that was fast
LOL

"Negativity goes a long way – remember this. Are you bashing something for no reason? Do you have a..."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:54:19 -0400

“Negativity goes a long way – remember this. Are you bashing something for no reason? Do you have a negative opinion about someone/something/somewhere because that’s the general consensus? Consider if negativity should have a place in your daily speech, or if it can be omitted without issue.”

- Preston Chang

At my internship...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:42:00 -0400

Arisa: vid chatting at work will be like the last boss in a video game
that you have to defeat in order to win
you got this tim
you have the armor of faith

Obligatory Father's Day Post

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:45:00 -0400

My dad’s alright. Happy Father’s Day.

Normal

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:44:13 -0400

benshim:

For Father’s Day I did a bunch of gardening with my dad WHAT UP

No but for real. We planted corn and peas and tomatoes. Then he was working on my brother’s car so I went in to take a shower because it was 5:20 and I figured we’d be leaving to go to dinner soon. After he’s done with my bro’s car, he comes inside, sees my mom taking a nap, and decides that he therefore has time to plant one of her flowers in a pot for her. Eventually it’s like 6:45 or something and Mom sleepily walks into the dining room, where Dad’s getting off the phone after talking to his dad.

Mom (groggy): “You… you should have woken me up.”
Dad: “But you were so sweet. You were sleeping.”
Mom: “Did you take a shower yet? I thought I would wake up when you took a shower.”
Dad: “You were still sleeping, so I potted one of your plants.”
Me: -__________-

And there was a lot more of the word “sweet” or variations thereof but it’s my parents so let’s move on.

Anyway then we drove to the post office because Mom wanted to mail something. Then we were driving to the restaurant but Dad decided to go to the other location of this restaurant because he knew Mom liked that one. I mean, never mind that he picked this place because he knew Mom likes it.

That’s just normal Dad. Works nonstop. Doesn’t care if/when his needs are met. Thinks about others.

Maybe by this time next year I’ll have taught him how to use Google hangouts so the distance won’t be as painful. Maybe by this time next year I’ll have learned to be maybe 1/100th of the honest, wise, self-sacrificing, kind person my dad is. I hope so.

"We all experience injustices that we can’t do anything about, which makes you feel powerless, which..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:04:55 -0400

“We all experience injustices that we can’t do anything about, which makes you feel powerless, which is deeply frustrating. There are injustices you can do something about. Tonight, children in the town you live in will go to bed hungry. There is someone sitting in a jail cell who desperately wants someone to encourage them. There is a kid in your school who feels bullied and excluded. You have the power to do something about their injustices. When you feel that anger that comes with being treated unjustly, use that as fuel to help someone else.”

- Jed Brewer on episode 72 of the Say That podcast

Get it Free on iTunes or our Website

(missionusa.com/bridgebox)

"Be appalled, O heavens, at this, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD. “For My..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:04:34 -0400

““Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD.
“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.””

- Jeremiah 2:12-13 (via benshim)

Greetings from Beijing :)

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:59:51 -0400

uhxuey:

Hi friends :)

Firstly, I wanted to let you know that I have safely arrived in Beijing, where I will be staying until July 2nd. There will be the enjoyment of fun and games and good food here, but my personal intention during this trip is to share the love of Jesus to my friends and family here in China. Although I won’t be able to go on an organized missions trip this summer, I know that there are souls in desperate need of Jesus wherever I (we) go.

I’ve realized how little understanding I have of my culture and my family. God has been guiding me to see everything with spiritual eyes, and maybe part of it is the jetlag, but I just feel WEIRD (for lack of a better word) ALL THE TIME. Furthermore, I’m utterly TERRIFIED of sharing the Gospel with my family, for fear that they will label me as a religious extremist or as someone who is bad at Chinese (hehehe). I do feel like the harvest is plentiful, and God has placed me in the perfect position to simply proclaim and share His good news.

My main prayer requests are:

1. To stay disciplined in prayer + the word, especially reading the Bible in Chinese!

2. To have a spirit of humility and find my identity in Christ rather than in my college education/American citizenship

3. To be strong, courageous, and bold in sharing the Gospel and truth of Jesus Christ with my loved ones around me

4. For God to have mercy on those around me, that by His grace their hearts will be softened and willing to receiving the truth of the Gospel

I really miss and love you all, and I’ll be able to check my email a few times a week. Please please please send me your specific prayer requests! I WANT TO PRAY FOR YOU ALL!

And if you’ve been feeling particularly ungrateful lately, please appreciate being in a country where you don’t have to bring your own toilet paper around ;)

love,

yuhan

"This Eastern tradition, of which I had known little beyond stereotypes, turned out to have rich..."

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:27:00 -0400

“

This Eastern tradition, of which I had known little beyond stereotypes, turned out to have rich resources that attracted me and sparked my curiosity.

In particular I became intrigued with the way the Eastern Orthodox family (which includes the Greek, Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, and several other communities) celebrated the Trinity—not as an abstract exercise in theological hairsplitting, but as an introduction to a powerful and dynamic view of God.

I learned that the early church leaders described the Trinity using the term perichoresis (peri—circle, choresis—dance): the Trinity was an eternal dance of the Father, Son, and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy, and respect. Against this backdrop, God’s act of creation means that God is inviting more and more beings into the eternal dance of joy. Sin means that people are stepping out of the dance, corrupting its beauty and rhythm, crashing and tackling and stomping on feet instead of moving with grace, rhythm, and reverence. Then, in Jesus, God enters creation to restore the rhythm and beauty again.

”

- Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy (via hislivingpoetry)

2:44am

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:45:00 -0400

Beauty can only be recognized if there is a longing for something beautiful.

"Won’t you come by and see me? I’m a love letter away; I’d break your name before I say ‘I really..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:41:00 -0400

“Won’t you come by and see me? I’m a love letter away; I’d break your name before I say ‘I really love you, love you.’”

- (via takecarebecca)

"When all’s said and done, there are only two kinds of people. Those who say to God, ‘Thy..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:21:00 -0400

“When all’s said and done, there are only two kinds of people. Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’, and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’”

- Tim Keller, describing hell

"When someone says, ‘You have to unlearn your Christian life from these false preachers and bad..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:18:44 -0400

“When someone says, ‘You have to unlearn your Christian life from these false preachers and bad churches and corny Christian books’ — I wonder if this is what we really need. It’s probably true, but I don’t simply need a commentary on a Christian subculture that I didn’t know existed. It’s cool if that fires you up, but I need more.

My real struggle is trying to fit a ‘Christian life’ into my ‘regular life’ — because I already have so many demands and deadlines that I’m barely figuring out how to squeeze Christ in there. Show me that Jesus doesn’t just ‘fit,’ but that he is everything. Tell me how Christ is the wellspring of life from which all else flows. Tell me who he is and not what he isn’t. Then maybe Christ will make sense. Compel me: Why do I need Jesus at all? I want to know that I need him.”

- J.S. (via jspark3000)

Received a text while driving to work

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:31:36 -0400

Brian Li: where u at gchat is waiting

"Relationships are a gift from God"

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:31:34 -0400

hislovesaves:

it’s how we take care of them that determines their state, but their worth is still immeasurable and irrevocable.

some we cannot receive because we are not ready for them

and others stay with us because we have the means to value them

but all of them, no matter the cost, will remind us that we need, above all, the Giver.

Stories and Sentiment

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:08:00 -0400

I enjoy reading a good story. Words have lovely ways of interacting, in phrases and paragraphs and pages, that are mysterious and captivating. There is music — beautiful, haunting music — in the way we translate the strokes of a pen or the inkings of a typewriter into sights and sounds and smells, into memories we dream about when we find ourselves in that strange not-quite-awake-but-not-quite-asleep state.

I love music just as much, for music expresses the words of the soul in a way that words never could. Oftentimes, an entire symphony of words can hardly measure up to a single line of music. Words may tweak at the heart strings, but music allows us to participate in the wonderful, wondrous dance that binds apprehension to affection to adoration. Music blurs the line between what we know and what we desire, what we are and what we could be.

With words, we may very well be transported into delightful new worlds, some with familiar feelings, others with unfamiliar skin. But with music…with music, we are content to let gravity shackle our physical bodies to a floating rock in space, for our souls are freed to wander the cosmos as they please.

When you start a really long text post but after the first line it's just like "Nahh"

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:41:00 -0400

"We do not want merely to see beauty, though God knows even that is bounty enough. We want something..."

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:28:00 -0400

“We do not want merely to see beauty, though God knows even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves — that, though we cannot, yet these projections can, enjoy in themselves that beauty, grace, and power of which Nature is the image. That is why the poets tell us such lovely falsehoods. They talk as if the West Wind could really sweep into a human soul; but it can’t. They tell us that “beauty born of murmuring sound” will pass into human face; but it won’t. Or not yet.

For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendour of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy. At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in.”

- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory