My Walk with God 🌱

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. - Proverbs 3:24 If you saw anyone nodding off today during work or on the bus, it is a possibility that they were 'celebrating' World Sleep Day. Yes, you read correctly. I was pleasantly surprised too to learn that there is a day set aside every year to commemorate it. According to the advocates, its objective is to serve as a reminder of the importance of maintaining healthy sleep habits for overall well-being. By promoting awareness and understanding of sleep disorders, World Sleep Day aims to reduce their impact on society and improve global health. So out of curiosity, I started researching this very common, yet seldom acknowledged part of our daily life, called sleep. According to Wikipedia, "sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activit...

  "And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him." -1 Samuel 16:23 Did you know that every year, the first day of March is used to acknowledge World Music Therapy Day ? It was specifically set aside to recognize and celebrate the healing power of music. According to the organization 'Percussion Play', "music therapy uses music to reduce stress and improve mood and self-expression through listening, singing, paying instruments or composing music."  I'm sure we can all identify a song or a genre of music that we tend to go to when we are feeling down or need our moods to lift. In fact, music has so much reach that it can also have a negative impact on an individual, causing or reinforcing negative emotions, thoughts or behaviours. Being able to harness the effective healing power of music for good is truly the skill of a music therapist. D...

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:18 Have you ever stopped, observed life around us, and wondered to yourself "Hmm, Christianity today surely looks a lot different to the Christianity lived and displayed by Jesus" ? It is something I have been contemplating for a while. Historically, the early Christians lived in simplicity, hungered for truth and righteousness, endured persecution to the death, shared what they owned with each other, worshipped together in secret because Christianity was considered illegal, and were bold in their courage of living for Jesus and dying in Him. Their belief and testimony was so firmly rooted in Christ that even after their death, through the working of the Holy Spirit, more persons were won over and converted to the message and movement of the gospel. After all, something w...

"I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine." -Song of Solomon 6:3 This week many around the world celebrated and treated the loved ones in their life in a special way. Persons may have either showered their partner with affection or engaged in acts of appreciation to their friends, coworkers and family members. Let's be honest: intimacy is something that the human being craves. Finding someone to love and be safely loved by is a beautiful experience, however sometimes, we find ourselves looking for that intimacy in places that can instead end up being a source of disillusionment.  So how can we go about fulfilling that need for intimacy without risking disappointment? While nothing in this life is perfect or guaranteed, it is an important step to acknowledge that human love was created to reflect the love of God in many ways. If we were to learn what true love is from God, we not only elevate our ways of loving, but also, elevate our criteria in our search for and identifi...

  "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29: 12-13 Fun Fact: Did you know that this year (2024), more than 1 billion people around the world will be celebrating the New Year on February 10? While this may sound a bit late to many of us who follow the Gregorian calendar and would have typically celebrated on January 01, Chinese citizens and the diaspora follow the lunar calendar in which the new year falls at this time for them, and varies every year. Great importance is placed on celebrating and spending this time with family, with  traditional meals,  reunion dinners, and prior cleaning and renewal of ones environment. Interestingly enough, my appreciation for Chinese culture has mostly been limited to Chinese cuisine and a visit to a dragon boat festival last year. I have usually perceived it as out of reach due to the language barrier, until recently, ...

  “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." -Matthew 13: 45-46 Last weekend, the nation woke up to yet another news headline: Businessman dies after home invasion and robbery. The thieves seemed to have studied his home like a textbook, and calculated ways to bypass all his security measures. The businessman had 2 pitbull guard dogs, a 9-foot high wall, secured at the top by barbed wire, wrought-iron window inserts in the wall, security cameras, and burglar-proofed windows in his 2-story home.  However, at 3 o clock one morning, a gang of six intruders fed the two pitbulls poisoned meat through the gate to silence them, used a hacksaw to burrow their way through the wrought iron inserts in the 9-ft high wall, used a retractable ladder to reach to the first floor, broke through the window and figured out a way inside, and the rest is a tragic history. ...

Illustration ©  Review & Herald Publ. Assoc. "And I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself. that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:3 I remember reading a piece of writing some years ago that described a vision that the writer received. They recalled seeing a large group of believers sensing the darkness of this world and setting off on a journey to heaven, or as some may refer to it, the promised land. As they progressed along this journey, they noticed that the path got narrower and steeper, and little by little, they needed to shed the bulk and the weight of the things they had started with on the journey. The path was challenging, and oftentimes, they would have lost their footing if they hadn't maintained their focus on the light provided by the Holy City ahead. Some got discouraged along the way, and fell away. Almost at the end of their road, the path was so narrow, all they could depend on was holding on with both...