In Loving Memory of Dr. David Brainard Woodward  Sept.2011

Happy Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival!  We’ve much news this month, but we start by celebrating the life of Dr. David Woodward (1918-2011), who married Sue and I in 1981 in Taiwan. Even today, 30 years later, he continues to influence our lives, and many others, especially through one of those strange ‘coincidences’ that seem to pop up in our lives…

Coincidences or Father’s Hand?  In early 2011, twoChinese reporters interviewed me  about the amazing “coincidences” that have helped me pull together the history of the Amoy Mission (I was able to show them emails and other materials to document them).

Scientists have long tried to explain these uncanny coincidences.  In the 1920s, Carl Jung dubbed it synchronicity.  Even Einstein spoke of how his insights came not from logic but from unexplained inspiration.  Some call it the Force (rather like Star Wars!).But I see it as our Father’s hand.  He weaves the tapestry of our lives so deftly and gently that we  usually go about our lives completely unaware of just how much we takefor granted.  But sometimes we  entangle ourselves so much that He reaches in to straighten out a knot or two—such as he did right after our honeymoon, and later did with a gift from Dr. Woodward...

The Magic Zheng While in Taiwan for our wedding,  Sue bought a Chinese zheng for my wedding present. I had wanted one for years, and was delighted—and then I left it on a public bus in San Francisco while transferring to another airport. I was devastated, and halfheartedly threw up a hopeless prayer—more of a complaint than a plea for help, blaming my Father for allowing his child to be so careless.  I had zero hope of ever seeing the zheng again because neither the instrument nor the case had any ID.   It was not, I felt, an auspicious way to start married life—losing my wedding present before I even got it home.

A full month later, back in Los Angeles at grad school, I was called out of class to the office—and on the dean’s desk was my zheng—no note, no explanation!  The bus company must have spent a month of detective work tracking down the owner of an instrument with no ID on it or in it.  For me, it was a special delivery straight from heaven.  

I thanked our Father for the returned zheng—and apologized both for losing it and for blaming Him for my loss, because the incident drove home two valuable lessons.  One—we, not our Father, are responsible to steward what He entrusts to us.  But two, and more encouraging to me, our Father really is there to help his children.  And He continues to drive home this lesson even today in ways so amazing that some have made it into the Chinese newspapers!   But one of my greatest lessons came through the book “Detour from Tibet,” which Dr. Woodward gave to us at our wedding....

Dr. Woodward, a grad of Princeton and Fuller T.S. (my alma mater), set off on horseback in 1945 for Tibet, and then served for decades with Betty in India, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where Sue knew the Woodwards while she was growing up (Sue’s parents were in Taiwan 30 years with TEAM, and she was born and raised there).

Marital Counseling—or Cautioning?  Sue was thrilled that Dr. Woodward agreed to marry us at Taipei’s ChristChapel, but I was nervous when he said he had to first counsel me. My ears were still burning from the marital counseling of Chuck Saunders, my friend from Taiwan days.  (Read more about the Saunders at: www.amoymagic.com/AM_Saunders.htm)

Don’t Do It, Willy! I met Sue at Chuck and Donna’s house in Pasadena on Easter Sunday, 1981, and after watching our love blossom, Chuck took me to a Mexican lunch and dispensed these words of wisdom:  “Don’t do it, Willy!” (Only Chuck,  and Art Velasquez, ever called me Willy—precisely because they knew I hated Willy).

Chuck was concerned not for me but for Sue.  He knew me from Air Force days in Taiwan, and my time as a special agent in the U.S. and the Middle East, and he was worried Sue would not be able to handle the kind of life I was likely to live in mainland China.  I of course greatly respected Chuck and his advice. He and Donna influenced me on everything from attending Fuller T.S. to going into business, and then leaving business to go to China.  But when it came to Susan Marie, I was deaf!  Happily for us, once they realized we were determined to marry, they embraced us like 2^nd parents, and Chuck was the first to visit and encourage us in China right after we arrived in 1988.

Marriage Counseling—the Sequel  After Chuck’s insights on marriage, I certainly did not want a second round of marital counseling from Dr. Woodward.  But Dr. Woodward did not dissuade me, perhaps because the wedding was only 4 days away (and Sue’s dad had my plane tickets and wouldn’t let me leave the island without his daughter in tow).  But Dr. Woodward did advise me on how to keep the wife happy, and given that he was married to Betty for 66 years, I figured he must know what he was talking about, and I listened!

The Magic Book As we prepared for the wedding, Dr. Woodward delighted us with tall but true tales of entering Tibet on horseback, and he gave us a signed copy of his book “Detour from Tibet.”  I treasured that book, which I read several times, and was one of the few books I took to China. So imagine my frustration when Sue loaned it to a Chinese student, who loaned it to another student, who lost it.  I did not say much about it, but inwardly I stewed at losing yet another wedding present. And unlike the zither, I never saw that book again, but our Father used it to teach us a great lesson!

A year after losing my treasured book, we heard that some of our university’s Chinese students had volunteered to work in Tibet so they could also share their new Life there (Chinese tentmakers).  And a year after that news, we had one of those “coincidences” that even today gives me goosebumps to think about.

Tibet and back.  I was exhausted by the time we reached Lhasa,(Tibet) but the second day both body and spirit wereIn 1994, Sue, the boys and I drove 40,000 km. for 3 months around China, up the coast, through the Gobi Desert, to charged when a young Chinese said to us, “Are you Bill Brown?  I’m a believer from Xiamen Univ. who volunteered to serve in Tibet.  I was movedto do that because of your book, “Detour from Tibet!” 

A year lesson, Dr. Woodward was delighted to hear that he was still touching the hearts of Tibetans half a century after he left the place.  And happily for me, he gave us another signed copy of his book.  I do hope to hold on to this copy, but I also pray that I’ll never again put books, or anything else, above people. 

On August 23, 2011, Dr. Woodward ended his brief 93 year sojourn on this planet. And now, for the first time, he can   view the magnificent tapestry of life—not from the knotty and tangled backside but from the beautiful perspective of the
Master Weaver, for whom even the smallest thread has both beauty and purpose.

Ping'an, Dr. David Woodward! 

Bill Brown
Xiamen University www.amoymagic.com

An Amoy Tribute for Lorraine Pierce--Spiritual Founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse

Bill Brown Xiamen University

Amoy (Xiamen, China), April 5th , 2011

One of the 20th Century's most influential Christian women just went Home. Two days ago, I learned of the failing health of Lorraine, wife of World Vision and Samaritan Purse's founder Bob Pierce.  And as I was starting a letter to her today (my 55th B-day, by the way), I learned that she had already “returned Home”, surrounded by family and friends.

Grandmother of Millions The day before Lorraine went Home, she had smiled at learning she had a new great grandson, Taylor Anthony Ruesga.  Today, Lorraine is learning face-to-face from our Father that decades of selfless and largely unsung sacrifice, and the ceaseless prayers of a faithful mother and wife, have made her a spiritual mother of millions, and helped change our world in ways we will not fathom until we too join Lorraine with our Father, face-to-face.

The Seed of WVI in Amoy  As I wrote in February, 2010, World Vision was founded because of an incident here in Amoy in 1947.  American missionary Tena Holkeboer challenged young Bob Pierce to not just preach but to give practical help to poor orphans.  Bob gave his last 5 dollars to help "White Jade" and promised to send 5 dollars a month.  And that was  the seed that led him in 1950 to start World Vision, and in 1970 to found Samaritan's Purse (now led by Franklin Graham).

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God," wrote Bob Pierce in his bible after seeing the tragic conditions of orphans in Korea.  And Bob devoted the rest of his life traveling the globe and building two organizations that would help countless millions of people.  Bob literally spent his life and heart and soul to reach the poor, but in some ways, his wife Lorraine paid an even greater price. 

In "Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer," Bob's daughter Marilee shared that after Bob began his global ministry, his family saw little of him, even though wife and daughters desperately needed some time with him at home. But though heartbroken by suffering in other lands, Bob could not see the pain in his own home, and he justified his long absences with yet another prayer that has become famous.

Bob's Jephthah Prayer   Like many others in his shoes, Bob struggled with how to balance the needs at home with the demands of a growing global ministry.  So Bob said, "God, if you take care of my children, I will take care of yours."   The prayer is often quoted, and may sound admirable on the surface, but it was neither wise nor necessary.  In Judges 11, Jephthah promised God that if he won a battle, he'd sacrifice whatever greeted him first when he returned home.  To his  horror, he was greeted by his daughter, whom he was then bound to sacrifice.  Bob also made  a Jephthah sacrifice. 

Like Jephthah, Bob Pierce sacrificed his family by leaving his young wife Lorraine to raise their children alone while he traveled abroad for months and years—and the Pierce family suffered great tragedy.

Did God fail Bob Pierce?  Bob did his best to care for God's children, so did God fail to keep his own end of the bargain by allowing tragedy to befall Bob's family at home?  Obviously, God did not fail Bob, just as he did not fail Jephthah, because God never asked for such a prayer from Jephthah, or Bob, or anyone else.  Bob's children were Bob's responsibility, and his family should have been not an obstacle but an opportunity to help him prepare for a broader work.

Small and Great  Jesus taught, "He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in great things."   God uses 'small' things to prepare us for great things, and to teach us to rely not on our own strength but on His.

For example, honoring the Sabbath may seem unimportant, but it proves that if we trust our Father, we can do more in 6 days than 7.  Tithing  money proves that 90% of our money can go farther than 100% when wisely stewarded.  But the brief  time on earth with our family is a bootcamp for eternity, preparing us as nothing else can for our own unique roles in our Father's eternal Family.   Some, like Paul the Apostle, were called to be single.  But if we are blessed with a family, then that family is our greatest God-given priority, from which all else springs, and faithfulness in this 'small' thing prepares us for the greater things to come.

Fortunately for Bob, and for the world, Lorraine Pierce did not succumb to bitterness and resentment.  She continued to struggle, largely alone and unheralded, to keep her family together, and she continued to pray without ceasing for her beloved but absent husband—and I am confident that it was her prayers that moved both heaven and, through her husband, earth as well.

Samuel Chadwick wrote, "The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. ... He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. ... Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. ..."

Great works for the Kingdom are not successful because of the blood, sweat and tears of toiling spiritual entrepreneurs ready to sacrifice themselves and everyone around them.  Their success is rooted in fervent, faithful prayer.    Hudson Taylor wrote, "God's will done in God's way will never lack God's supply." Though the China Inland Mission had thousands of workers to care for, Hudson Taylor learned that, through prayer and wise stewardship, he never lacked the resources to accomplish whatever task the Father put before him.

Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, and many others who have made eternal contributions to the kingdom knew the truth of Chadwick's claim that success is rooted not in our toil or in our wisdom, or in our bargaining with God, but in our prayer—the faithful, fervent prayer of spiritual warriors like  Lorraine Pierce.

Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer.  To learn more about the Pierce family, and the founding of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, read Marilee Dunker's "Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer." Regrettably, the publisher later shortened the title to "Man of Vision," but it was the the prayers of a faithful mother and wife, and a Woman of Prayer, that helped make possible the vision that changed the lives of millions.

I have heard that Marilee is preparing a newer book about her parents and their work.   I trust that her new book will help us all to better appreciate and emulate the selflessness and faithfulness of Lorraine Pierce, the spiritual founder of both World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, and spiritual mother to millions.

Our prayers, and gratitude, go to Marilee and her sister Robin, and the entire family.

In closing—a family news update! Our oldest son Shan and his wife Miki just moved to Beijing, where Shan has a new and challenging job.  And Matt at University of Arkansas has a very special friend Jessica (I hope to add her to the family cartoon!).  She is in Argentina for six months.  Lots of changes!

Bill Brown
       & family

www.amoymagic.com

Jabez Prayer Wheel--Guaranteed 100% Answered Prayer!

Note: Jabez Prayer Wheel void where prohibited by law, common sense, or lack of faith. Also: this blog is not criticizing the Jabez book itself. It is well written and insightful--but only if read in entirety, and the verse preceding Jabez' prayer is kept in mind. I take issue only with the notion that some believe simply parroting this prayer always guarantees the answer you want from God. I think prayer is always answered, but not always as we expect. And thank God for that, because I've winged prayers aloft that I was later thankful my Father had not answered as I had hoped. Dr. Bill
Toying Around When we first arrived in China in 1988, we could not buy good toys locally, so I made playthings from cardboard, paper, string, and wood. Even adults played on my 50 lb. wooden rocking horse (I threatened to publish a photo of the Foreign Affairs' Director on the horse if he didn't renew my contract; he is now one of Xiamen's top leaders).

Shannon, 1992

I did my best, but I was not Santa's toy-making elf, so in 1992, both Shan and Matt were thrilled when Sue and I promised them a real store-bought toy when we returned from a Beijing meeting. But dear old mom had a trick up her sleeve.

The Black Lacquer Plate Plot Sue gave Shannon a beautiful Chinese cloth box, which the 6-yr.-old gleefully opened to discover not a toy but a black lacquer plate. Only Shannon's eyes betrayed his disappointment. He smiled, thanked us, and walked away with the plate clasped to his chest. I could have cried (and kicked his mom).
"Come back Shannon!" I said. "Mom's fooling you. We do have a toy for you!" Shan hesitantly unwrapped a second package. He laughed as he held up a plastic basketball game, then hugged, kissed and thanked us. He started from the room, prized toy under his arm, then stopped in the doorway and said, "But it really was a nice plate."

I did cry at that point.

Toys 'R Us—I want everything! A few months later, Shannon saw his first Toys 'R Us. He was overwhelmed by the towering shelves of toys and said, "I want this! I want that! I want…" and he stopped, thrust his arms out happily, and said, "I want everything!" (The Hong Kong Toy's R Us had a sign at the entrance saying "Please leave your values at the counter." It was a typo--but later made sense!).

Hong Kong Toys R Us

The World 'R Us—We all want everything! So which was the real Shannon—the one who accepted the plate, or the one who wanted everything? They were both Shannon, but even the 6-yr.old who hid his sadness at not getting a toy was easily led to exclaim, "I want everything!" And we've all been this way since Eden.

Adam and Eve did have everything—except for one tree. But they gave up their inheritance for that one forbidden fruit—and ever since, we have all hungered for everything, and used clever psychology and even theology to justify it.

Maslow 'R Us. Maslow's 'Theory of Needs' helps explain what drives us. He said we all seek first to survive (physical needs and security), and then to belong (to be with others), and then to have self-esteem (for those others to look up to us). But even Maslow could not explain the highest need, which he called "self-actualization" (SA).

Ultimate Drive or Desire? SA is our need for purpose and fulfillment, but Maslow admitted, "It is unfortunate that I can no longer be theoretically neat at this level." Unlike 'lower' needs, Maslow said SA is not a driving force but an unexplainable universal 'desire.' It is unexplainable because scientists cannot admit that our ultimate need is to fill what Pascal called the "God-shaped abyss" in our hearts—a spiritual silence we try to drown out by an endless and mindless accumulation of anything and everything, living a lifestyle that is all style but little life.

The Evolution from Simian to Shopper (Homo Ebaggit)

Consumer or Consumed Only two centuries ago, a "consumer" was a squanderer, or a wasteful person, but yesterday's vices are today's virtues. In 1955, the economist Victor Lebow said,
"Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in consumption. We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever-increasing rate."

Distressed Jeans or Distressed Consumer

Cult of Consumerism People who want everything are easily led to buy anything—such as a $200 pair of ripped and stained "distressed" jeans. But today, even churches reinforce Sony's Youniverse campaign, which says we are the center of everything and deserve everything.

Today's Tetzels

The church of the Dark Ages amassed a fortune by squeezing poor peasants for money to free loved ones from purgatory. As Tetzel said, "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, another soul from purgatory springs."

In this even Darker Age, today's Tetzels amass fortunes by focusing not on the afterlife but on this life, promising an immediate tenfold return from God if we donate to their 'ministries.' (Why not bypass the middleman and give us the money so God can repay them tenfold?)

Seek Ye First—or Demand Ye First? Ironically, our Father does want to bless us—and is eager for us to ask! Jesus said that if earthly fathers know how to give good things to their children, how much more our Heavenly Father! (Matt. 7:9-11).

But how do we ask for our Father's blessings? Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be given to you" (Matt. 6:33). And Jesus said to pray first for the Kingdom, and then ask for our daily bread. But today, we are taught better prayers than Christ's, and told to skip the Kingdom part of it and go straight for the desires. And now, we don't ask, but demand an answer.

The Prayer God Always Answers? The preface to the book "Prayer of Jabez" begins with, "Dear Reader, I want to teach you how to pray a daring prayer that God always answers!" This is followed by stories of people who succeeded simply by repeating Jabez prayer for months and years. Not surprisingly, an entire Jabez industry now caters to people who want a foolproof prayer to get anything and everything. You can now buy a dozen versions of the Jabez book and endless Jabez trinkets, from mugs, cups, ties, rugs, plaques, key chains, etc to $250 Jabez jewelry.

Magic Jabez God Box

Jabez Magic One ad promotes a Jabez Prayer inside The "God Box" pendant. The God Box is identical to boxes sold to hold spells and potions—which isn't surprising, because the Jabez Prayer is used like a magic prayer that God must "always answer." But the Jabez merchandise ignores the verse before the prayer, 1 Chron. 4:9: "Jabez was more honorable than his brothers."

As Jesus said, and Jabez demonstrated, 'Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be given…"

Dr Bills Patent Pending Jabez Prayer Wheel

The World-Changing Jabez Prayer Wheel! The Magic Jabez God Box reminds me of Tibetan Prayer Wheels, with written prayers inside that fly off to Buddha when the wheels are spun. Chinese temples take it a step further, with motorized prayer wheels that send prayers soaring heavenward 24/7.

The ingenuity of Tibetans, Chinese, and Jabezite Christians inspired my own spiritual invention, the Jabez Prayer WheelTM, a brilliant concept destined to change the world (I say this with all humility).
My wood-handled tin can prototype is adorned with plastic gems as a reminder we want answers in cash, jewels, etc. A backup Jabez Prayer in the swinging locket doubles the prayer's punch, and the locket swings faster than the can, so "The Prayer God Must Answer!"TM gets faster results!

Coming Soon! An electric Jabez Prayer Wheel, because "You Do Deserve Everything. 24/7!TM"

New Improved JP for Young Hearts 2.0

Jabez is Child-Tested! Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." So I suggest baby rattles with Jabez InsideTM so even toddlers can learn that they too deserve everything, and can get it by simply wielding, "The Prayer that God Must Answer!"TM

Does this sound farfetched? Then consider the half dozen Jabez titles for tots: PJ for Kids! PJ for Little Ones! PJ for Teens! PJ: Living Big for God! PJ for Young Hearts! And the Jabez industry is evolving rapidly. The cover of the first Jabez for Young Hearts' had what looked like a balding poster child for poverty. But JP for Young Hearts 2.0's new and improved cover shows a child opening a shining pot of gold. There may not be gold at the end of the rainbow, but Jabez for Young Hearts 2.0 will ignite any child's passion for his very own personal "Prayer Pot of Gold."TM

Millstones. But neither we nor our children need infallible prayers because our Heavenly Father is faithful and always answers our prayers—though sometimes the answer is not what we expect.

Backyard Millstone, Xiamen, 1992

I love giving to my sons, but I would not give them something I know would harm them, or something they would not take care of. In the same way, our Father hears and answers all of our prayers, but sometimes answers "no," or "wait."  And sometimes, we have to just grow up and work ourselves out of a situation we've pushed ourselves into.

I cannot imagine how I would feel if my sons tried forcing me to give them whatever they desired—yet we teach children magic prayers to force God to answer prayer! I am reminded of Jesus' warning in Mark 9:42, "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck."

Heirs of "Everything" Jesus' life and teachings prove that we do not need 'trick prayers' because even tiny mustard seed faith can move mountains. Most importantly, Jesus taught that as God's children, we are already to everything—but we will not receive our inheritance until we have grown up.

Child, Heir –or Slave? Galatians 4:7 says, "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." But Galatians 4:1 explains, "What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate."

When we try to manipulate God with magic prayers, or even religion, we act not as heirs but as slaves trying to usurp what is not ours. We will never receive our inheritance until we have shown obedience and stewardship. As Jesus said:

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Matt. 25:23

Prayer—a Two-Edged Sword God not only hears and answers our prayers, but he knows what we need even before we ask (Matt. 6:8). But blessings are a two-edged sword, because with answered prayer comes responsibility. As Jesus said in Luke 12:48b,

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

One of my favorite passages is Jeremiah 29:11-13, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." But every time I read those verses, I am also careful to read what follows:

"Then you will call upon 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."

Heart or Lips? Do we seek our Father with all our heart or is our relationship just an endless plea for everything he can dole out? No wonder Jesus said in Mark 7:6, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."


The Greatest Gift is Giving Jesus taught that the best way to receive is to give. Luke 6:38, "Give and it will be given to you…For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Or as God says in Malachi 3:10, "Prove me now…if I will not open upon you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it!" But even more important than giving is simple obedience (1 Samuel 15:22, 23)

God Answers All Prayers. If prayers seem unanswered, the problem is not God's but ours. Perhaps we are not acting as heirs but as children—or worse yet, as slaves to the spirit of this dark ,age that teaches we are the center of our own Youniverse and that we deserve everything, here and now.

Ironically, I have learned to be thankful even when my Father says "no," or "wait," because when I have stubbornly persisted in some prayers, and he has at length answered them, I have regretted it! But even my wrongheaded prayers were used for good, because they helped teach me faith and patience, and to trust that my Father knows not just what is good for me but what is best.

In closing, repeating Jabez' prayer or reciting Biblical promises is fine for encouraging ourselves, but we do not need infallible prayers because our Father is infallibly faithful. We all want everything, but our Father wants to give us even more than we can think or imagine! But His answer to our prayers may well be "no" or "wait" –at least until we show ourselves wise stewards of what he has already blessed us with.

Bill Brown
Xiamen University
Email: Amoybill @ gmail.com
Website: www.amoymagic.com
Noodles http://ourdailynoodles.blogspot.com/

Trapped Behind the Great FireWall

Bill Brown   ...  Xiamen University

Hi! Many have asked why I've not posted new "Noodles."  The problem is that for the past couple months, the Great FireWall of China has been blocking blogspot, so I've not been able to access "Our Daily Noodles," or the other two blogs, unless I use a nonsecure Proxy.
    But it was fun while it lasted.  I uploaded almost 200 over a six month period.  So now...I'll work on other things, such as my Lin Yutang project.
    Blessings,
      Bill
www.amoymagic.com

How Eric Liddell UnLearned Profanity

Bill Brown .. Xiamen University
"Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned." James 5:12 我的弟兄们，最要紧的是不可起誓。不可指着天起誓，也不可指着地起誓，无论何誓都不可起。你们说话，是就说是，不是就说不是，免得你们落在审判之下。 雅各书5:12

Eric Liddell was the gold-medal Olympic athlete who refused to run on Sunday, and later became a missionary to China, dying in a Japanese concentration camp (his older brother Robert served as a doctor in Longyan City--Leng-Na--of West Fujian).

From watching the movie "Chariots of Fire," you'd never guess that quiet Eric used profanity in his youth--though not for long!

Eric was born in Tianjing, and Robert in Shanghai, but when Eric was 5 the family returned to Scotland, where for the first time in their lives the boys were free to explore on their own without a Chinese Amah to protect them. They quickly picked up some local profanity, which they tried out on their horrified mother.

McCasland, author of "Eric Liddell: Pure Gold," wrote,

'Once he understood that swearing was unacceptable, five-year-old Eric offered a simple solution. 'Just tell me what all the bad words are, and I won't use any of them.' Mary resigned herself to dealing with the problem as it arose, one word at a time.'

Can you imagine if Eric's mother had indeed given him a list of 40 or 50 swear words that he was neither to use, nor even to know? Just imagine Eric trying to not think of them, much less not use them!

As I blunder through life I sometimes think that a nice list of rules would make things simpler, but then again, I don't think I'd care to go through life weighed down by thousands of laws and rituals, like the Pharisees, or Confucius' 3,305 Laws. Jesus certainly rebelled against the rules and rituals, not only taking the whip to the moneychangers but giving a verbal lashing to those religious leaders who enslave people with burdens that they don't help carry.

Not Rules but Example Jesus came not to lay down more rules but to lay down his life as an example. He urged us to walk with him and learn from him, day by day, just as Eric learned from his mother. Jesus said,

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:29,30 我心里柔和谦卑，你们当负我的轭，学我的样式，这样，你们心里就必得享安息。因为我的轭是容易的，我的担子是轻省的。 马太福音11:29,30

The yoke is easy and the burden is light because He carries the bulk of the burden, allowing us to learn naturally and easily from our Heavenly Father just as Eric Liddell learned from his mother--one word at a time, one day at a time.

Enjoy your day--and learn from it.
See "Favorite Book, Moving, and Song"
www.amoymagic.com

The Fragile Folk

Bill Brown   ...  Xiamen University

"What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web." Job 8:14 他所仰赖的必折断，他所倚靠的是蜘蛛网。约伯记8:14

Last week a gate guard stopped an overloaded garbage truck that was spewing trash onto the street.  The driver got out, looked at the mess, and then simply drove off.  I've seen this before, so this time I decided to do something about it.  I followed him to his destination and photographed the truck, the license plate, and for good measure the driver as well. 

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm writing to the Mayor's Hotline," I said.  "You're supposed to pick the trash up, not redistribute it!"  When he said he did not know there was a problem, I said, "Nonsense!  I saw you get out and look at it, and then drive off!"

He shrugged and said, "I was going to have my wife and daughter sweep it up later."

I drove back home but just as I was parking the car, I remembered Scott White's comments a few years earlier about a bad waiter.  "These people lead such fragile lives," he said.  "Just one wrong look or cross word from a customer can cost them their job, and maybe ruin their lives.  We need to be careful with them, because we've no idea what they're going through."

As I thought about these "fragile folk," my anger changed to remorse.  The problem is not just the workers but the system--poorly designed trucks, too few workers, and too much litter thrown daily onto the lawns and streets by citizens who take our beautiful island home for granted.  I asked a student at Xiamen University why he threw trash on the ground just a few meters from a trash can, and he said, "We pay sweepers to pick it up!"

I certainly don't take our own area's sweeper for granted. Like many others, he works cheerfully from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, to keep our area spotlessly clean and neat.  And even though he works for low pay, he has dreams, and is saving his money, and has often proudly shared about his child in college.

I got back in my car and drove back to the Sanitation Center and apologized to the driver I had photographed.  I told him that I'd still write to the mayor's hotline, but not use the photograph, or mention specific places or people, but just the general problem.  And then I thanked him for working so hard to help keep our beautiful island clean, and said that I hoped we Xiamenese could work harder to make his job easier by not littering.

The man was surprised, and mumbled shyly, "I just do my job."But it is not just his job, but his life--and in my anger and pride I could have jeopardized it.

These people are fragile indeed--but so are the rest of us.  None of us, from the Mayor on down, are so indispensable that someone higher up the ladder could not cause us grief. 

Next time I see a problem, I won't ignore it, but I'll be careful to attack the problem and not the person, because lives are fragile--theirs as well as mine.

Related Blog: Judging Without Eyes and Ears
.www.amoymagic.com

Leaning Glass & 5-Pointed Snowflakes

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8
耶和华阿，现在你仍是我们的父。我们是泥，你是窑匠。我们都是你手的工作。 以赛亚书 64:8

Susan Marie and I each have a set of our own breakfast glasses, but because I can never remember whose is whose, she bought me half a dozen unique, clear glasses that leaned like the Tower of Pisa (or Fuzhou's Black Pagoda). I loved them! But they broke over the years, and when I was down to my last one I asked Sue to buy another set of leaning glasses.

Susan Marie laughed and said, "You can't buy anymore like those. They weren't designed that way--they were just rejects!"

No wonder she'd so generously bought me six of them. They weren't Designer Glasses but Defective Glasses--rejects of cheap clear glasses, sold for pennies apiece by a street vendor. It was a bit of a letdown--but only for a few moments.

Then I thought about how much fun I'd had over the years with them, watching the milk or juice fill unevenly (I know: simple minds, simple pleasures). And I realized that whether they leaned by design or defect did not matter. In fact, my last leaning glass was even more precious to me now because I knew I'd never see another one.

I treated my last leaning glass as if it were exquisite lead crystal from Bavaria, but in the end it was broken, and I was forced to drink my breakfast juice from unimaginative humdrum vertical glasses like other mortals. But our Father has a sense of humor, and enjoys nothing more than surprising his children.

Just weeks after I broke my last leaning glass, Sue returned home with a surprise--another half dozen leaning glasses exactly like the ones she'd given me years earlier! I said, "Verily I say unto you, if you give a cup of cold water in my name, you shall not lose your reward--especially if it is in a leaning glass!"

It's all perspective. I thought my breakfast glasses were uniquely designed and it turned out they were just defective, but the end result was the same. It was not the glasses themselves but how I looked at them that gave me enjoyment.

Designer or Defective Lives? My life often leans a lot more than my breakfast glass. I can choose to complain about it, or I can appreciate the unique beauty and opportunities that my uniquely leaning life offer me. My life is not perfect but it is certainly unique--as one-of-a-kind as a six-pointed snowflake.

5-Pointed Snowflakes. Scientists say that with trillions and gazillions of snowflakes, no two are alike. Hard to believe. But if we did find a five-pointed snowflake, would we cast it off as defective? Of course not! We'd treasure it even more than a 5-leaf clover. We'd photograph it, enlarge it, and hang it on the wall as a reminder of its very unique but fragile and transient beauty, and the snowflake itself we'd enshrine in cryogenic storage with more care than they lavish on Lenin, Mao and other extinquished revolutionaries.

Each of our lives is as uniquely beautiful as a snowflake, and while it may be as "defective" as a 5-pointed snowflake, it is our very "defects" that give rise to our unique strengths as we learn and grow and overcome the constraints that we all face.

But like a snowflake, our lives are also fragile and transient. Enjoy it.

www.amoymagic.com

Perfectly Imperfect

Bill Brown 。。。 Xiamen University
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded..." Philippians 3:15 KJV 所以我们中间凡是完全人，总要存这样的心。腓利比书3:15

"If others succeed with 10 efforts, use 100; if they succeed with 100 efforts, use 1000. Thus even dull become smart, and the weak, strong." Confucius, "The Mean" 人一能之，已百之；人十能之，已千之。果能此道矣，虽愚必明，虽柔必强。

Paul's "as many as are perfect" phrase worried me during my youth because I knew that I was far from perfect (完全)! Fortunately, it is clear from the rest of Paul's writings that he that even he himself was not perfect, and in the following verse he said, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained. "然而我们到了什么地步，就当照着什么地步行。腓利比书3:16

Or consider the preceding two verses: "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13,14

Paul did not just "forget" what was behind, but was continually "forgetting" what was behind. This was because every day he made mistakes, so every day he "died daily," put his past behind him, learned from it, and pressed on--like James, who wrote so eloquently of such weaknesses as our tongue...

James said that "no man can control the tongue" [3:8 惟独舌头没有人能制伏，雅各书3:8], and that a person who was faultless in speech was perfect. But of course we cannot be perfect even in our speech, which is why I can start every day with a heaping bowl of Daily Noodles and Good Intentions, and end up not just eating my Noodles but eating my words as well (which aren't always so sweet).

Daily I am faced by the consequences of my many imperfections--my thoughts, my words, my deeds (or lack of them), but this does not discourage me because 1) I at least know that I'm imperfect, and 2) the fact that I am now imperfect means I am a "work in progress." I won't be like this forever because I am growing, learning, and becoming. And that gives me hope and purpose, and so I don't wallow in my regrets or compare myself with others but press on trying to "live up to what I have already attained"--as little as it is!

Like Paul, I will forget what is behind and press forward--and if I seem to have a harder time than others in reaching the goal, I will remind myself of Confucius' wise words: "If others succeed with one effort, use one hundred efforts; if they succeed with one hundred efforts, use one thousand efforts. This way, even the dull will become intelligent, and the weak become strong." 人一能之，已百之；人十能之，已千之。果能此道矣，虽愚必明，虽柔必强。

We of course rely upon His strength, not our own--but it is a partnership. We, not God, are the ones forgetting what is behind and pressing forward. Just make sure we're pressing forward in His direction.

it also requires OUR effort and persistence. As Paul said, WE are the ones who forget that is behind and press forward.

Related Blog: "Why Lao-Tzu was Wrong about the 1000 Miles"
www.amoymagic.com

The Mother of Mother's Day

Bill Brown  ...  Xiamen University
 Happy Mother's Day from Amoy!
  I wrote this article for Common Talk in 2006.

When Anna May Jarvis's mother died on the second Sunday of May 1906, Anna May wished she had heeded the warning to, “Lavish your flowers on the living, not the dead.” Driven by remorse, the gentle, easy going Anna May became obsessed with the desire to see her mother and motherhood honored throughout the world.

After a year’s planning, the first Mother's Day was celebrated on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, May 10, 1908, at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna’s mother had taught Sunday School. A year later, Philadelphia became the first city to proclaim an official Mother’s Day. Three years later, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed Public Resolution 25, establishing the second Sunday of each May as Mother's Day. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Anna May retired and spent the remaining 34 years of her life, and her fortune of over 100,000 dollars, fighting against Mother’s Day!

The problem was that from day one, Mother’s Day had become a great commercial extravaganza to boost the incomes of card and candy makers, and a salve to soothe the consciences of those who each May made mother a “queen for the day” but neglected her the other 364 days.

Anna May complained, “Mother’s Day has nothing to do with candy. Candy is junk. A maudlin, insincere printed card or a ready-made telegram means nothing except that you’re too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone else in the world. You ought to go home and see your mother on Mother’s Day. You ought to take her out and paint the town red...You ought to give her something useful, something permanent...Is she sleeping warm at night? Could she use an eiderdown? Maybe the stairs in her home need fixing...”

For 30 years, Anna May fought for the integrity of Mother’s Day. She finally died in a sanitarium — old, tired, deaf, blind, penniless, and having never married nor been a mother herself!

Sixty years later, mothers may be more neglected than ever. Statistics show one half of Americans, which of course includes one half of our mothers, live in poverty. Where are the children? More than ever, mothers deserve more than cards and candy one day a year and anonymity the other 364.

My appreciation of motherhood only began as I watched my wife, Susan Marie, in both sickness and health, unselfishly spend herself on her two sons (and her husband as well!). I also slowly came to better appreciate my own mother, and though she’s 12,000 miles away, I am now careful to not only send her the obligatory Mother’s Day card and flowers but also to regularly write and phone her.

Fortunately, most Common Talk readers are not 12,000 miles away from home! So as Mother's Day catches on in China, let us seek to make Mother’s Day not a card-and-candy substitute for well-deserved love but the crown and pinnacle of a full year’s expression of love and appreciation for the one who gave us life: our mother.
www.amoymagic.com

Spears & Shields: Faith & Works

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." James 2:17,18 这样信心若没有行为就是死的。必有人说，你有信心，我有行为。你将你没有行为的信心指给我看，我便藉着我的行为，将我的信心指给你看。雅各书2:17,18

"Heaven never helps the men who will not act." Sophocles

A Maodun in the Market The Chinese word for contradiction, Maodun, is made of the words "Mao" [spear] and "Dun" [shield]. In ancient times, a weapons merchant hawked both a sword that could penetrate anything and a shield that could stop anything. This of course led onlookers to ask what would happen if the unstoppable spear struck the impenetrable shield. It was a "maodun"--a contradiction, an impossibility--much like the maodun of "faith without works."

Faith without action is not merely dead but stillborn; it never lived. For how can faith not affect what we are, and what we are not affect what we do? Faith infuses us with the unstoppable force of life and direction. The visible manifestation of that unstoppable force of faith within us is the visible life we lead--our actions and works. Faith that has no power to change or direct is not faith (unless we claim that the unstoppable force of faith has been stopped in its tracks by the impenetrable shield of the world--but is that possible?

We of course need both faith and actions. Ephesians 2:19 says works are not enough (lest we boast in them). But if a changed life does not follow the birth of faith, then there was no faith, or else it was faith in the wrong thing--perhaps faith in religion, rites, rituals, or even faith in ourselves.

Jesus' life and message is summed up by two words: love, and stewardship. We are to love our Heavenly Father, and to love others as ourselves, and we are to be wise stewards and bear fruit during the brief years we are allotted on this little planet.

Jesus said it is impossible for a good tree to bear bad fruit, or a bad tree to bear good fruit. How much more impossible is it for a good tree, rooted and nourished, to bear no fruit at all! If the tree bears no fruit, it is because it never took root, it has not received nourishment, it has refused training and pruning--or quite simply it is dead.

What actions? Brother Lawrence, the 17th century French monk, said "And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God...When I cannot do anything else, it is enough for me to have lifted a straw from the earth for the love of God."

When Jesus said we would be rewarded for giving a cup of cold water in his name, he did not mean for us to make a ritual of everything we do--tacking a "in Jesus name" onto every act to rack up Brownie points for heaven. He meant that, whatever our deeds, great or small, do them out of love, and we will reap the rewards of love.

The Spear of an Unstoppable Life If that unstoppable force of faith wells up within us, there is no impenetrable shield that can hinder our lives from bearing witness more eloquently than words alone of whom we love and live for. So don't just have faith but be faith and live faith.

An Excerpt from "Adventures in Contentment"
by David Grayson (quoted in Lin Yutang, "Between Tears and Laughter")

[The man said], "I have been a botanist for fifty-four years. When I was a boy I believed implicitly in God. I prayed to him, having a vision of him a person before my eyes. As I grew older I concluded that there was no God, I dismissed him from the universe, I believed only in what I could see, or hear, or feel. I talked about Nature and Reality."

He paused, the smile still lighting his face, evidently recalling to himself the old days. I did not interrupt him. Finally he turned to me and said abruptly, "And now it seems to me there is nothing but God."


"Without God, man cannot; without man, God will not." Anonymous
www.amoymagic.com

Tiger Zhou & the Preacher

Bill Brown ... ... Xiamen University
The beautiful South China tigers, or Amoy Tigers, in West Fujian's Meihua mountain reserve (in Longyan), remind me of the story of Tiger Zhou, from the 1930s (told in "Twice Born--and Then?" by Andrew Gih).

Tiger Zhou was a gang leader, and so hardened in heart that he threatened to kill his own father (unimaginable in China, a land in which filial piety is the foundation of society). After hearing a Chinese pastor in the countryside preaching, Tiger Zhou angrily told others, "He makes us all out to be sinners! If he keeps this up, I'll beat him." When the Chinese preacher heard this, he was frightened, so he prayed, but felt strongly to continue preaching the same message.

After the next evening's message, furious gang members told the preacher, "Last night we did not talk to you, but now we tell you that if you do not behave yourself, we will attend to you tomorrow."

The preacher decided to preach anyway and put everything in his Father's hands. The next night the place was packed as people from all over came to see Tiger Zhou and his band pummel the preacher. But at the end of the sermon, the preacher heard a scream, and saw a man had fallen to the ground, crying, "My sin, my sin." He ran to him and found it was Tiger Zhou! He confessed to the preacher how he had threatened to murder his father, and on the Chinese preacher's urging, he walked the several miles to his home the next day and asked his father's forgiveness, and healed the relationship not only with his father but with his Heavenly Father.

Tiger Zhou returned to the services the following night, and Andrew Gih (of the Bethel Band) wrote,

"It takes the power of God to transform such a man's life. You may train the tiger; you may teach the tiger; but he will still be a tiger. It takes the power of God to transform livfes. Let us be faithful to God and to the souls before us."

You and I have probably not fallen as far as the murderous Tiger Zhou, but we still fall short in other ways. What can change us? We may faithfully follow the 3,305 rules of Confucius, but in the end, like the great philosopher himself, we will find that even a lifetime of faithful outward observances of ritual will not change the inner heart. We are still tigers--or worse.

Confucius resorted to systems and government to change people. The Taoists, such as Lao Tse and Mencius, appealed to principles. But as great as Confucius, Lao Tse and Mencius were, they all admitted that they were unable to tame the tiger within. No wonder that China's ancient classics wrote that the people anxiously awaited the coming of the "virtuous Prince" who would save them from the guilt and punishment of their failings.

Tiger Zhou met that Prince, face-to-face--and found that the Prince did not come to tame the tiger but to complete it.

No Tame Tigers We cannot change ourselves any more than the leopard can change its spots, but that is okay because our Father made us tigers for a reason. And our Father does not want "tamed" tigers but obedient tigers--and there is a big difference. Tamed tigers are cowed, listless, purposeless, and obey their master out of fear. But obedience is willful and purposeful, born of love and respect and, above all, trust. We obey not just a master but a Father, and we trust that our obedience will not only bring joy to our Father but also, in the end, greater happiness and fulfillment in our lives than if we went the way of Tiger Zhou.

So if you're a tiger, be a tiger! But don't waste your strength and purpose like Tiger Zhou. Be a tiger with a purpose.

Supplement

"Tiger and Fox"--ancient Chinese Story.
A tiger was about to kill a fox when the fox said, "Stop! You can't touch me! I'm king of the forest and all creatures fear me!" The tiger laughed in disbelief, so the fox said, "Follow me and you'll see that I am feared by everyone." So the tiger followed the fox as he wandered up and down the forest paths, and sure enough, all of the forest creatures shrunk back in fear.

"It is true!" said the tiger. "You are feared by all! You must be king indeed." And so the tiger left the fox, totally unaware that the animals had been in mortal fear not of the fox but of the tiger walking behind him.

We may be like the fox--a small creature in a vast threatening woods, but we can choose to walk with Him who made the tiger--or choose to go it alone.
www.amoymagic.com

Rev. John Sung: Gulangyu Miracles

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8 耶稣基督，昨日今日一直到永远是一样的。希伯来书 13:8

John Sung (click here for biography & photos), the famous Chinese evangelist from Fujian, is said by many to have been the greatest evangelist of the 20th century--perhaps surpassing even Billy Graham. But like most famous figures, he was controversial. Chinese flocked to hear him, but many foreigners, including missionaries, were not so enamored of him, as I learned when I interviewed two elderly Christians (brother and sister) on Gulangyu Islet, who shared with me about the John Sung service they attended, and of John Sung's unique preaching style--as well as the controversial healings.

I have seen amazing answers to prayer, but even so, I am skeptical of the "professional healers," so this story was especially interesting to me, and is a good reminder that our Father is indeed "the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

Interview of two eyewitnesses of John Sung's Gulangyu Service (1930s), Bill Brown, 2008

Gulangyu Brother: "We were junior high students when John Sung preached here on Gulangyu in the 1930s. Foreign missionaries did not like his style. They said he was too theatrical on stage. He was animated, and waved his arms about as he preached. He prayed for hours, and then preached for hours, but people could never get enough of his preaching.

"So many people went onto the stage for John Sung to pray for them that it was like an assembly line. They went up the left side of the stage, John Sung prayed for them, then he touched their forehead, and they would exit the right side of the stage. But many of them fainted when he touched their forehead, and someone would catch them. And after his services, there were crutches left by those who had been healed."

Bill Brown: "This sounds like a modern televangelist meeting to me! Were any healings really documented? Did you personally see any people that you know for sure were healed?"

Gulangyu Sister: "We were just children, and did not know most of the people. But one that for certain was healed was our school principal's son, who could not walk because of childhood illness [I was just told it was congenital, and he'd not walked since birth]. They wheeled him in his chair up the left side of the stage. John Sung prayed for him as quickly as he prayed for everyone else, and touched his forehead--and the boy got up out of his wheelchair and walked off the stage! So we don't know about the other healings, but that one healing was enough to shake up a lot of people on Gulangyu Islet!"

Related Link: "Water From a Chinese Rock"

Mr. Lim, who is writing a dissertation on John Sung, wrote the following about this famous healing:
"Following up on your interview account, I have actually met and interviewed (2003) the older brother of the young boy healed by Sung.  The family's name is X.., I was told the boy was five years old and his father taught at the Anglo-Chinese School (some literature say college, but i know it's a high school, can you confirm?). Apparently he walked home by himself.  His grandmother, though a faithful Christian, doubted the news she heard that the grandson could walk. Upon seeing the boy walking towards her house, she suddenly found that she could not utter a single word (literally). Realizing she was much like Zechariah of old who was mute due to his disbelief, she quickly knelt to confess her sin of disbelief. She regained her speech after that...


[The rest I have discretely left out; needless to say, this made a big impact upon the family, especially upon the healed boy's older brother, who is still alive today.  It helped give him courage during the difficult 50s and 60s].

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize...  Philippians 3:13,14  "弟兄们，我不是以为自己已经得着了。我只有一件事，就是忘记背后努力面前的，向着标竿直跑，要得神在基督耶稣里从上面召我来得的奖赏。" 腓利比书3:13,14
www.amoymagic.com

Secret Giver at XICF Retreat

Bill Brown   ...  Xiamen University
"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Jesus, in Matthew 6:3,4  "你施舍的时候，不要叫左手知道右手所作的。要叫你施舍的事行在暗中，你父在暗中察看，必报答你。（有古卷作必在明处报答你） 马太福音6:3,4

Susan Marie has been hard at work pulling together the annual Xiamen International Christian Fellowship retreat, which this year will be held in a remote town (the very area ZhangzhouLin Yutang was born).

Our XICF numbers almost 200 some Sundays, with upwards of 50 children in the Awana Sunday School program.   And many of the adults are students from Africa studying at XIamen University on Scholarship, and could not afford even the minimal cost of the retreat this year, so XICF has given scholarships to make sure money alone does not deter them from joining in (unfortunately, I can't go because I have classes all day Saturday, and cannot change them!).

One family in XICF gave Sue 1,000 Yuan as an anonymous gift to help those who could not afford to attend the retreat.   But to our surprise, as Sue was finishing up some last minute paperwork for the retreat, she was that this family is only taking one room for 3 adults and 2 children!  So obviously they themselves are not burdened with too much money--or else they just choose to be very good stewards of what they have.

I wish I could share the names of this family, but they chose to give as Christ commanded, in secret--and their reward will come not from men but from our Father.

Thank you, secret giver, for being a blessing to many this coming weekend at XICF.  And thanks to all of those in XICF who, weekly, give of their time and skills, as well as their money, to make this fellowship such a special place.

Taste of Heaven  Yesterday, three women shared their experiences with us, and one noted that she had never attended such a fellowship anywhere else in the world, with so many people from so many countries worshipping together.  As she said, "XICF is a taste of heaven!"


www.amoymagic.com

Success or Slavery?

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic." Numbers 11:5 我们记得，在埃及的时候不花钱就吃鱼，也记得有黄瓜，西瓜，韭菜，葱，蒜。民数记11:5

"Things done don't talk of; things completed don't cast blame; don't blame someone for the past." Confucius, Analects (Bayi:21) 子闻之曰：“成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。”

Were Those the Days? In the late 90s, an elderly Chinese neighbor lamented to me, "I miss the great days of the 1950s! Life was simple, you didn't have to lock your door at night, no one would ever steal your bicycle! Not like today!"

Numbing Nostalgia. Nothing numbs memories better than nostalgia! It is true that few people stole bikes in the 1950s, but one reason was because few people could afford a bicycle, so anyone pedaling about town on a stolen bicycle would have stuck out like someone today driving around Xiamen in a stolen Maserati (though we do have a few now!).

There was, of course, a heady, fresh spirit in the New China of the 1950s. The Chinese had, at long last, created their Promised Land, but they had no ideas of the two difficult decades ahead of them before then began the amazing reforms of 1978. I think that my neighbor who longed for the 1950s, would not have cared to repeat the 60s and 70s. And I suspect that, if pressed, he would have admitted that the China of the 90s, where people had bicycles, fridges and televisions, was much better than the China of the 50s, when most people had a tough time finding food, much less a bicycle.

[Of course, today it is again hard to find bicycles--but that's because most people now have cars.]

It is tempting to idealize the past when swamped by the complexities of today and the uncertainties of tomorrow, but the past was never as good as we remembered it--as the Jews learned the hard way.

Slaves or Victors The children of Israel spent 40 years in the desert on their way to the Promised Land because they still had the mentality not of conquerors but of slaves. They faced problems not as opportunities to learn and grow but with complaints, and longings for the "free" fish and vegetables of Egypt. But the price of those "free" fish and vegetables had been mindless but relatively "secure" dawn-to-dusk slave labor in the fields and brickyards, and barely subsisting upon the "free" fish and vegetables scavenged from river and fields.

Success or Slavery? Do we see adversity as an opportunity to grow, or are we slaves to a past that never really existed--or perhaps slaves to our fears of the future?  It is our choice.

Regardless of what we face today, today is the best day of our life because it is the only day we can do anything about. Yesterday is but water under the bridge. We should learn from it but not long for it. And tomorrow offers hope and a Promise, but only if we prepare for it today. So don't be slave to past or future but seize this day, and be thankful that every day is a new day--lest we end up like the poor guy in Groundhog Day who lived the same day over and over. (I certianly would not care to relearn the lessons of puberty, my first date, Air Force basic training, or my first year in China!).

Learn from yesterday--and then move on.

See The Night After Groundhog Day

www.amoymagic.com

MacDonald's Secret of Life

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 耶和华说，我知道我向你们所怀的意念是赐平安的意念，不是降灾祸的意念，要叫你们末后有指望。 耶利米书29:11

"The one secret of life and development is ..." George MacDonald (the rest is below)

When a Beijing radio station interviewed me a few months ago about my favorite book, movie and song, I easily picked "Lord of the Rings," (read the blog to see why). I could even narrow the movie down to my favorite line.

I was only nine when I first read the Lord of the Rings, and being one of the smallest kids in 3rd grade, I was heartened that the fellow chosen to save the day was an insignificant member of the smallest people of Middle-Earth, the Hobbits. Elrond said of these diminutive, peace-loving Hobbits, "This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields, to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?"

But of course my favorite part from the Rings film was:
Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

Over a century before Lord of the Rings was filmed, George MacDonald, whose writings most influenced C.S. Lewis, wrote something quite similar to Gandalf's speech:

"No man can order his life, for it comes flowing over him from behind...The one secret of life and development is not to devise and plan but to fall in with the forces at work--to do every moment's duty aright--that being the part in the process allotted to us: and let come--not what will, for there is no such thing--but what the eternal thought wills for each of us, has intended in each of us from the first." George MacDonald [327]

Ring Bearers We, like Frodo, have not only been Chosen for a 70-year Quest, but also Equipped to carry it out. Our Father asks but one thing of us, and no other--to never give up. Our only task is to accept the Ring handed to us and to bear it, in His strength and wisdom, not ours, to the end--which for those who complete the quest is but the Beginning.

Refusing the Quest Of course, we are not made to accept the ring, but if we do not, someone else will. And if we refuse to carry out the sole purpose for our brief life on this spinning little planet, we may well share the fate of the fig tree in the vineyard (Luke 13:6-9). But that is for another day.

Note: The George MacDonald quotes above are from C.S. Lewis' George MacDonald Anthology (365 daily quotes).

http://ourdailynoodles.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-favorite-book-movie-song.html

www.amoymagic.com