It’s that time of the year again when many of us take time out to do a review on the year behind, and with the best of intentions, draft our resolutions for the year to come. If you’re like me, as the end of December approaches I reflectively pause on the year past to count the blessings that God has bestowed upon my life. Continue reading “The Best of Intentions for the New Year”
When I was studying in Japan I wrote a monthly newsletter for the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Thanks to the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr Milagros Ibe, for encouraging me to do it. I’ve found the original copy of the newsletter I wrote in December of ’92 and decided to share it. Please scroll down to see the 23 year-old printed copy, and though it’s still readable I decided to type it all for easy reading. 😉
December 1992
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Greetings to you and yours! May your holiday be a deeply meaningful time as you celebrate the wondrous event of God becoming man! I am especially looking forward to celebrating Christmas this year because I’ll be with a Japanese Christian family for the winter vacation homestay program. Can’t wait!
Lately, I’ve been observing the character qualities of the Japanese people. One trait that stands out is faithfulness. For example, I spend time with Japanese friends for discussions and studies together. The group consists of three graduate students. I really enjoy them very much. Kindness, warmth and faithfulness usually characterise the members of this group. Continue reading “Christmas Memories”
Today I went for a walk in Holland Park, my favourite park in our neighbourhood, despite the freezing cold weather. The air was crisp with the sun warming up the day after a very cold night. Continue reading “Larvae of Wonder”
God is in everything, even in the most dark, despicable, and dismal situations. The poet Wilfred Owen realised this while going through a very distressing time in his life, and he wrote on his diary from the horrid trenches of the First World War, “I, too, saw God through the mud.” Continue reading “Musings on an Autumn Day”
I lost my father on the 1st of November 1984. There are times when the grief is still fresh, but not as sharp as the pain of losing my mother when she died on the 15th of November 2009. I wanted to share with you what I’ve written on my diary on the 15th of January 2010, a couple of months after my mom passed on.
This is the 4th month of my blogging adventure, and I have so much to learn. I begin to feel like a child again, and that’s exactly how I feel each time I start learning something new. And I realised how brilliant God is to allow older people (like myself) have a sense of newness when their minds wander up a fresh learning path.
Looking back, as a young student I was always hungry to learn new things. At the time, my focus was on academic learning trying to master a subject and become an expert at a particular field of knowledge. All my study was focused on this single pursuit. Continue reading “Life’s Journey: As a Foreign Student”
“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” – James Bryce
I find that one of the best ways to learn about humanity, history and the world in general is through reading biographies and memoirs. Opening the pages of a biography book is learning about the details of a person’s entire life from birth to death and the major events that transpired and the obstacles that the person has to overcome in his or her lifetime. Continue reading “Love for Biography and Memoir Books”
One afternoon while I trudged around the park feeling exhausted and wanting to simply unwind, I saw a little bird that caught my attention. Continue reading “On Perching”