Skin Diseases.

Yo.

Sometimes when I read the Bible the situations are just too perfect and match what I am reading so well. Sometimes this can be really encouraging, and other times it can be really convicting to see how I'm not living the way I should.

I'm not all that sure which category this fits into, but on Wednesday night I decided I should go to a clinic the next morning. I had discovered a small cut that appeared to be infected and so I took to google to try and figure out what I could do about it. In my search I had determined that it was most likely a staphylococcus infection (as characterized by a red, warm, painful area around the wound). However, I began to get a bit more worried than normal.

I'd usually just brush off a cut or whatever, but it had been getting bigger for a couple days and I was going away for the weekend. As I searched Google I found that some strains of staph can cause serious problems and was reminded of my mother who had a serious infection a number of years ago. So, I wasn't just going to sit around this time.

I went in and was in the waiting room for a good while. So I decided to read some Bible and try to catch up on my reading plan a bit.

It just so happened to be Leviticus 13.

That chapter is all about "defiling skin diseases" and molds. > .>

So, sitting in a waiting room to have a doctor check out my skin infection, I was reading a chapter about how serious the Israelites had to be about skin diseases. If there was a rash or infection or sore or boil or burn or swelling, anything, you had to go to the priest and he'd inspect the color of the hair and stuff, maybe put you in quarantine for a week, check again, and judge whether it was a bad skin disease or a passing one. If it was bad you were unclean and needed to be separated from the assembly and all the Israelites and go live alone until you get better.

What a fun chapter to read.

The doctor said it wasn't the virulent strain (indicated by red lines going outwards from the infection) and gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 4 times a day for a week. Ok.

I'm thankful for all of these medical services we have in Canada.

Wouldn't it be weird to go to your pastor and ask about a rash?

Not too sure what this all means though. Haha

Ttyl

D.Fa

Sharing a Kitchen

Yo,

Random thought. I was thinking about food because I was having a snack and it reminded me of a former housemate who often ate similarly. The thought was, although I don't remember all of the specifics of many of the conversations I had with my housemates over the years, I remember the foods they ate quite clearly.

In first year I had 4 housemates. One ate frozen raspberries, lots of chicken breasts, plantains, chickpeas, and protein shakes all the time. Another often ate the food I made him or that we made together (he taught me to grate my carrots), ate out, or ate food his parents gave him. A third had heart-shaped toast on his birthday, had kraft dinner with hotdogs the first day I moved in (this is where I learned it from), and had the sweet chilli chicken sauce. The last also had the KD, but I don't remember too many of his meals... One time a friend came over and we ate piles of chicken nuggets from McDonald's. Haha

In second year I had 4 different housemates. One ate hagelslag, had cereal every morning, brewed his own beers, and cooked delicious pasta. Another had Korean food from his parents (seaweed soup, kimchi, etc.), cooked a really garlicky pasta once, and can really chow down on KBBQ. Haha. The third grew a liking for onions, ate spam regularly, made great garlic and steamed bok choy, and regularly ate steak and white rice. The last would never microwave a plastic container, loved Pirate cookies (where I discovered them), ate sky flakes all the time, and often let vegetables go bad in the fridge.

In third/fourth year I had 2 housemates. The one almost never cooked. Nearly never. He would mostly eat KFC and Swiss Chalet and Pizza Pizza. He did however also make hamburgers. He always had random candies or sweets and his favourite were Hersey's hugs kept chilled in the fridge. Oh. And he always had orange juice in the fridge. Maybe drank 4L each week. The other housemate regularly cooked fish and had rice with it. He also would marinate cut meat and cook it. He used sesame oil and always had bananas in his room.

This year I have three housemates. One is just learning how to cook things. He has a penchant for hot sauces, death sauces as we call them. His most common meals are vermicelli noodles with chicken, carrots, and frozen vegetables; kraft dinner with frozen vegetables; and frozen pizzas. He almost never thaws food before cooking it and usually freezes leftovers. The second housemate is often too busy with phone calls to stop and cook. He has often burnt grilled cheese, and puréed scrambled eggs, and often leaves things cooking while he walks away. He enjoys pasta, cheese sandwiches, and boiling eggs. The last is very particular. He mostly gets groceries from Costco and has dinner on average at 10 pm. He often cooks chilli, fish, and stir fry. All accompanied with white rice. He frequently drinks milk even without food. And uses many spices when preparing fish.

I've also had a bunch of housemates on mission trips and stuff, but I won't get too into that. One guy loved choco pies, couldn't eat duck, and disliked durian. Another guy ate like 3 eggs each breakfast and hated carbs. Another loved this one brand of orange juice.

It's pretty funny to think about how they each ate. Needless to say there were always wars regarding dirty dishes. That will never change with a dish washer or without.

I wonder how people remember my cooking? Haha

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Partnership

Yo.

A few days ago I got to see something really beautiful. Although I guess I knew it was happening, I hadn't really understood how great it was until I saw it in person. I had nothing scheduled, so when I was invited I decided to go.

Saturday afternoon a friend of mine got married to his beautiful fiancée. It was in this big church that had a lot of exposed wood in the beams and panels, it was spacious and bright, it had simple and elegant colors. All of the wedding party was well dressed and there were flowers and a great ceremony. But the best part of it, as always, was that both the bride and groom don't put each other as the most important thing in their lives; Jesus is the center of their lives. The pastor explained how he saw this in both of them and how that is truly the basis of a great marriage; a partnership in the gospel and seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first. Singing songs to our mighty and gracious God and asking Him to be glorified through their lives, wherever He sends them. The vows were also striking. In the vows both bride and groom said the same thing, but what was more striking was how at the end of the vows they said they wouldn't be able to live up to these promises but would confess shortcomings and talk it through together, showing grace as God has shown them.

As beautiful as that was, and it really was, I was actually more struck by another event.

Friday evening I had been invited to go to the Chinese Young Adult group at my church. It was great getting to meet and talk with a bunch of new friends who were international students, but by far the best part was seeing the way the leaders were working together in harmony to share the gospel with them. Some of the students led worships songs and small group discussions, and some of the aunties and uncles on the Chinese congregation led the main study, shared testimony, prepared food, were warm and inviting. It was so awesome to see this. In general my picture of the Chinese congregation had been less than flattering, but this was really encouraging to see how God is really working through them. On Sunday I picked up the 2014 annual report, and what I had forgotten is that some of the Chinese young adults had been baptized just after Christmas. Not only is God using this ministry to really unite and build up the Chinese congregation for gospel ministry, He is also bearing fruit through them and it's just so beautiful to see.

By far the greatest and most beautiful partnership is that between God and the church; Him choosing and loving us, and us now forgiven and redeemed from sin submitting to His gracious will and perfect plans for our lives. And together working that all may know His grace.

As it says in Ephesians, marriage is a picture of God's relationship with the church:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”  This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:25-33 NIV

未来人

This post has somewhat spoilers for certain anime series. You've been warned.

For a large portion of this evening I was watching anime with one of my housemates. It is now one of my favourite anime series. It is called Steins;Gate. It started off really weird and confusing, but now it's all coming together and I'm really seeing the value in everything that had happened in the first few episodes.

One of the key elements in this anime is the concept of time travel. The anime opens it's first episode with a monologue about the difference between infinite and finite and from there out we start the see the effects that playing with time can have on material, relationships, and the world.

The idea to be able to go back and fix mistakes arose. If you could, would you? Have you heard of the butterfly effect? If you make action small change in the past it could have huge effects on the future. What if you knew fixing that mistake would cause more trouble for others? Would you still do it?

This is a concept that I've encountered before. I've seen my fair share of time travelers (未来人 miraijin) in anime.

In 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' there is a time traveler who has come back to interact with the main character which could have huge lasting impacts. Some of her future contemporaries say they should make an action and see what happens, others are much more cautious and would rather observe.

In 'Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica', for the sake of saving those she loves, one of the characters has gone back in time again and again, but merely causes that person more and more pain and suffering because they are forced to relive the ordeal.

And here in Steins;Gate we see a very similar thing, except a lot more drawn out and time does move forward bit by bit.

But one thing that these characters can do, with time traveling abilities, is to try something and if it goes wrong, go back and try something different. If the outcome is still wrong, they can fix it.

I see this as something which would be very helpful to have.

I do not like making mistakes. If I could go back and fix them, I feel like I really would want to. But additionally, when I don't know what to do to move forward, what decision to make, it'd be great to be able to know that I could make one decision and then if it is a mistake I can go back and make a different decision.

But I can't.

I feel like I need to do something.

But I can't.

What if it's a mistake?

...

I know I shared this a while ago, but it's still one of my favourite short films: "Ctrl Z" http://youtu.be/XvvimYZScN0.

'You can't undo mistakes you have made, you can only repent and make up for them. So don't let that make you live in fear. That itself is a mistake.'

'Perfect love drives out all fear'

Hmmmmmmmm.

I pray that God would give me a heart that earnestly seeks after His plans, that trusts in His plans, and is willing to turn from selfish ambition and to follow humbly even on a road of sacrifice.

May we live lives honoring to God as we travel forward in time unto eternity.

Practically a Library

I feel like I start a lot of things and don't finish them.

I have countless books in my list of books to read. But it's not just that I'm not reading them (which is definitely part of the issue) but the ones I do start I don't finish. I just took a tally of the physical books I have in my room that I intend to read. 13 I have read previously, 10 unread, and 12 which I have started, but not finished.

That's quite a bit.

One of my goals this year is to read 12 books (excluding the Bible, which I also intend to read through this year). To do this I'd been planning to put aside an hour or so before bed each day... I really haven't been doing that... and until yesterday I had completed 0 books.

Yesterday I went to my parents' house and did some housework and spent time with my parents just hanging out, nothing special. While there I picked up my mail and part of it was a book I had ordered (I know, eh? Me, ordering books?? The problems with having a visa debit card). It had been highly recommended to me and I couldn't get one here. On Amazon it was 6 dollars (plus shipping because apparently all books are from the UK) so I bought it.

The book is titled "Is God anti-gay? And other questions about homosexuality, the Bible and same-sex attraction" by Sam Allberry. Only 85 pages. It was a good book and I'll write more of my thoughts on it later, but it was really good hearing from a pastor who struggles with SSA and he didn't get into too much detail about personal experiences or anything, but what he did say was really true of my experiences. He also went over the Biblical passages and again without going into too much detail did a great job of explaining the Biblical point of view. It was encouraging to read and a good reminder of how God calls everyone to repentance.

Anyways, ttyl.

D.Fa