2010 回顧

2010 has 3 hours left. I am very content this year. I usually look back to my journal written in the first day of the year, then look through my journal, and reflect what the year means to me.

My biggest accomplishment this year was the completion of two seminary courses: the New Testament and the Old Testament. I have been longing to study God's words deeper. These courses pushed me to learn the historical background and environment. I found that the Holy Bible is very interesting and intriguing. However.....I did not learn all what I should, because I did not have enough time and energy. These past six months have been very challenging to my body, mind and soul. I wanted to learn more, read more, yet my body told me to rest more.....
So much for that. Two things (at least) that I learned from these courses:

1. The New Testament: I was amazed by how Jesus Christ, who lived just 33 years on earth, affected His followers. Decades after he died, people were still talking about him, and his words are life-changing. Many even died for him under the pressure of the Roman government. Can you think of anyone who died decades ago, whose words are still affecting your life?
   
2. The Old Testament: I am very much reminded by the life of King Solomon. God bless people with wealth. Yet, as a king, Deuteronomy 17:17 reminded me that he should not possess a lot of silver and gold. Too much possession will lead a king away from God. Think simplicity and minimalism.

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Two earthquakes took place this year. The minor one was at HCCMGC. The only staff left for school. God prepared an excellent temporary director for us. The past four months were reverted from frustrations to blessings.

The major earthquake was at work. My office moved, and only 3 people survived the earthquake. It was pretty miserable. I took much more responsibilities and it took me a while to handle the new tasks along with my normal tasks. God gave me enough to survive each day. Thanks also to the 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day, and 4.5 miles of run per week.

(Sometimes, I don't know why people trust me in handling something. I think this is not a question of trust. It is a question of whether there is a choice. )

Highlight of this year was my trip to DC. I fell in love with those paintings at the National Gallery! Will show later.....just wait. Happy New Year!

Emails

I used to like to check e-mail. In the old days, or when I first started using e-mails. The messages were usually greetings and news from friends.

Today, I receive e-mails and they are mostly about communications for work, including volunteer work and job. A new message means new work or instructions. The lines are full of cold words, but nothing personal and warmth. Those facial expressions in text help, but not much. They are still about work.

It makes me think: do we treat others as tools or persons?

We communicate because we need to get works done. "Others" become our tools.

Or, do we communicate because we care about others and care about others knowing what happens on our side? In this case, "others" has relationship with us.

Personal communications have shifted to Facebook, but it seems to be a platform that is too open to public, even with privacy settings. I like to have my personal zone, with my own friends and family. I received two e-mails recently from "others" who have relationship with me as "friends". I feel that I am special by reading the stories of others.

In my opinion, single line texts and photos in Facebook still cannot replace "letters" in electronic format. E-mails still cannot replace the power of physical letters.

Journal of Cookie Making

I want to make the best cookies, but I did not have all the ingredients that I "needed".

• I needed milk, but I only had sweetened milk and water.
• I needed 3 bars of butter, but I only had 2 bars.
• I needed vanilla extract, but I only had almond.

Does it matter? Who knows? I was willing to take this risk of eating all the unimaginable cookies by myself.

What else do I have? It has to be the best cookie. Mila! Yes, I have to believe that it will be the best cookie.

Surprise! My dream came true, even I did not have everything that I thought I needed. I used what I have, and they were actually what I really needed. The outcome was better than expected!