"As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country" (Proverbs 25:25).
"Yi, er, san, si..." I think the idea hit me in the middle of Grandpa Ho's calisthenics. Between stretches, I glanced at the sheet above the kitchen sink, trying to etch Proverbs 25 onto my long-term memory. Yesterday morning, verse twenty-five caught my eye: "As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country" (Prov 25:25). My mind drifted back seven years to the early days of "missionary life" in Taiwan. In those days, email was still a foreign concept, so I spent most of my free time writing letters, hoping that in so doing, I could procure more "cold water" for my homesick soul.
Times have changed. Technology has made correspondence as easy as hitting "Enter" on my ThinkPad. On the other hand, free time is fast becoming a foreign concept. As time continues to slip through my fingers, I've discovered that not only have some of my friendships suffered, but my walk with the Lord has also grown stale.
What to do? When I shared with the students in Taoyuan on "Loving God," I challenged them to examine their thoughts and conversation-- does anything occupy their conversation and preoccupy their minds more than Christ? This past week, the Lord turned the tables on me and challenged me to examine the basis of not only my friendships, but also of my thoughts and conversation. Does my life truly revolve around Him?
For the past year, I have sensed my love for the Lord waning. One indication is that He does not dominate my thoughts and conversation. So... I was wondering if you might be willing to help me, to hold me accountable. If you don't mind, I'd like to share some "soul lemonade"-- lessons I'm learning from the Lord-- from time to time. My prayer is that writing will help deepen my love for the Lord and sharpen my mind's eye to view life from His perspective. And perhaps-- it will also refresh your soul in the process... like a glass of ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day.
Oh-- and thanks in advance for reading.
______________________________
Soul Lemonade, Introduction
Taipei, Taiwan
"Yi, er, san, si..." I think the idea hit me in the middle of Grandpa Ho's calisthenics. Between stretches, I glanced at the sheet above the kitchen sink, trying to etch Proverbs 25 onto my long-term memory. Yesterday morning, verse twenty-five caught my eye: "As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country" (Prov 25:25). My mind drifted back seven years to the early days of "missionary life" in Taiwan. In those days, email was still a foreign concept, so I spent most of my free time writing letters, hoping that in so doing, I could procure more "cold water" for my homesick soul.
Times have changed. Technology has made correspondence as easy as hitting "Enter" on my ThinkPad. On the other hand, free time is fast becoming a foreign concept. As time continues to slip through my fingers, I've discovered that not only have some of my friendships suffered, but my walk with the Lord has also grown stale.
What to do? When I shared with the students in Taoyuan on "Loving God," I challenged them to examine their thoughts and conversation-- does anything occupy their conversation and preoccupy their minds more than Christ? This past week, the Lord turned the tables on me and challenged me to examine the basis of not only my friendships, but also of my thoughts and conversation. Does my life truly revolve around Him?
For the past year, I have sensed my love for the Lord waning. One indication is that He does not dominate my thoughts and conversation. So... I was wondering if you might be willing to help me, to hold me accountable. If you don't mind, I'd like to share some "soul lemonade"-- lessons I'm learning from the Lord-- from time to time. My prayer is that writing will help deepen my love for the Lord and sharpen my mind's eye to view life from His perspective. And perhaps-- it will also refresh your soul in the process... like a glass of ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day.
Oh-- and thanks in advance for reading.
______________________________
Soul Lemonade, Introduction
Taipei, Taiwan
