God said...

I was rummaging through my friend's dvd collection and their 'Life in the Undergrowth' by David Attenborough greatly interest me. This documentary featured insects and was filmed using high definition photography. I am not a big fan of insects nor slimy creatures so knowing about them on a screen seemed like a better idea.
The first episode was enough to blow me away. Things that could not be seen by the naked eye was portrayed clearly on my television screen. Every strand of hair on a spider now appeared before my very eyes. A few things that fascinated me was the splendid and intricate web spun by the Nephila; the millions of giant mayflies fluttering for the last time against a magnificent sunset at Körös River; and the dragonfly after emerging from its chrysalis, spread out its wings and takes it's first flight.
Throughout the whole documentary, I was awed; awed at God the creator of all things. Here is an account of Genesis 1:20-25:

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

I am convinced that nothing can replace the truth about creation except that God spoke and it was there. In all of our intelligence and might, we can never take care of an entire ecosystem nor replicate a single strand of human DNA. If we do evolve from monkeys, where do monkeys come from? If life was originated from the Big Bang, where did the first atoms or particles come from? There might be intelligent agnostics or naturalists out there who would never believe the words "God said, and it was" but I believe God has shown us in His Word and in this world He created, that He existed before time and He is all-powerful. He just need to speak and He can create a world filled with so much wonder and beauty. Some says faith is blind but I often wonder isn't nature one of the best evidences before our eyes that God's word is true?

One of the things I want to see before I die is the glow worms in the Woitomo Cave of New Zealand. There, you can see thousand of lines suspended from the cave's ceiling made by larvaes of the glow worm. Every line is a strand of silk with a series of droplets made by the larvae. The light produced by the glow worms reflects on the droplets and illuminates the cave, like that of a million stars in the night sky. Who can create something like this? Definitely not me nor the most brilliant intellect.

A Picture

My sister had her graduation ceremony yesterday. It was a joyous occasion for her. Her 4 years of labour, time and late nights were all for this day. She is the most hardworking student I've ever seen in my life and I am proud of her achievement.
On a day like this, there will be hundreds of cameras snapping away. Some are the digital point-and-shoot cameras while others have the hardcore DSLRs. A typical 'kiasu' sister like me was dubious about my sister bringing just her point-and-shoot camera. I thought that was mediocrity. I have to lug my Nikon D40 along.
So, the shooting begun. Somewhere towards the end of the day, my sister had the chance of taking a photo with one of her classmates. Her friend hired a professional photographer to take her graduation photos. I asked the photographer to show me one of the photo he took and there on his camera's display screen was a picture that looked surreal and professional. At that moment, I wished I had his camera, his speedlight and his gadgets. I thought it might be the camera that could produce something like that. I tried to hide away my seemingly unexceptional camera in case he knows I am just using an entry-level DSLR.
In the end, I felt ashamed of myself; not because I owned a less superior camera but I have lost the focus of why I was in love with photography in the first place! An expensive and topnotch camera can produce the highest quality photos but I think the best picture is one that can paint a thousand words. It is one that when you look at it, it's poetic; it's indescribable; or it simply brings out the heart of the image.
My favourite photo of the day taken with my humble and cherished D40 was this:



It may be an ordinary photo to some but to me, this picture captured my sister's joy while hugging her best friend who had journeyed with her throughout the 4-years course.
Her happiness was contagious. Their smiles were perfect. And I think this picture can paint a thousand words of their uncontainable joy that day.

Revive, blog!

Though my blog entries are sporadic but no amount of words can describe how faithful God has been in my life.

I've come to a conclusion that I am a person that,
1) Loves organiser especially pretty ones but charts a few pages of agendas in the first few months and subsequently, neglects the whole thing altogether.
2) Wants to pen down things that go through my mind but the lazy bug is always there to stay.
3) Regrets not documenting my thoughts and then tries to remember what it is exactly but to no avail.

I woke up to a beautiful morning and started the day reading Vance Christie's biography of Hudson Taylor.

He is the pioneer missionary to China. His life overflowed with love for the gospel and the burden for the millions of lost souls in China. If you had read about his life, he learned the Chinese language and clad in Chinese dressings so as to assimilate with the Chinese. One thing that was eminent in Hudson Taylor was his prayer life. When he was left with his final bowl of porridge, when there was a need for more missionaries in China or during the times he lost his children and wife to various fatal diseases, he retreated to pray. He tenaciously clinged to God in times of trials, hardships and joy and finally, at the age of eighty, he died on his last visit to China. His tombstone read "A man in Christ."
At the end of the book, I teared at how faithful God is in Hudson Taylor's life. God had used this man and many others mightily so that the gospel can be made know to the Chinese. Praise God for His patience and compassion to us sinners! I am also deeply encouraged by Taylor's dependence on God's providence and promises.
On one occasion when Taylor read about some disparaging article with regards to him, he smiled to his friend and said, "This is very just criticism, for it is all true. I have often thought that God made me little in order that He might show what a great God He is."
Amen.