Monthly Archives: January 2013

Life & Love

The Musical That Made Me Weep Silently

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Musical Drama: Les Miserables

Without my realizing it, as my family and I were watching the emotion-packed movie, and as the story climaxed to the ending part of the musical drama film, Les Miserables, my tears rolled down from my eyes just naturally. That’s how touching the movie was for me, my wife and my daughter who also wept silently. And I’m sure many in the audience wept too quietly. It really touched everyone’s heart. The audience spontaneously clapped at the end of the film. It was a superb production.

For decades, I’ve heard the term, Les Miserables from time to time and I’ve heard how popular this musical drama has been through the years. I’ve also heard the name Victor Hugo but I never really bothered to take notice nor did it really interest me to get to know more about him. This movie really touched my heart and it got me into digging the background behind it all. My eldest daughter is different. She just loves reading novels, thick books and stuff like that—literature in general.

As one of the lady actresses sang, I suddenly remembered that Lea Salonga had been singing that song all along and I heard it from her first. I don’t even know the title of the song but it was a song of love from a lady who was unnoticed by the young man she loved so much. For many years I have also heard the French-sounding name Jean Valjean but before this, I also never really bothered to find out who he was until now. Now I know. Such a great story about human suffering, injustice, love, mercy, grace, God’s love and looking forward to a brighter tomorrow in the hands of our loving God. I highly recommend you watch this movie! You won’t regret it. Great actors and great musical drama film!

Who is God?

The Shack Revisited and The Shack

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The Shack Revisited

The Shack Revisited

C. Baxter Kruger’s book, The Shack Revisited kept me engrossed these past few days reading, thinking, pondering about all that I have been learning from him since August 2007. It also reminded me of what he said in one of his 30-minute video interviews that “it’s like drinking in a fire hydrant” to talk about a big topic in so short a time. In this book, there’s so much to learn and too many wonderful things mentioned that it may take a lot of time—maybe a lifetime—to fully grasp and understand everything.

Baxter relates how he got so captivated by the bestselling book, The Shack he wanted to meet the author himself, William Paul Young. They eventually became good friends. Paul Young graciously helped in the making of Baxter’s new book.

The Shack

The Shack

Baxter’s book is somewhat more of a theological explanation and elaboration (citing Scripture and various theologians) of Paul Young’s book which according to Paul himself is fiction which he originally wrote for his children. It doesn’t mean though that Paul Young’s book has no solid theological foundations. It is for this reason I think that Baxter got fascinated with the book and got him interested to get to know “the William P. Young” himself, in person—a person who wrote so well about theological truths in a fictional story. Both authors are great theologians in so far as I’m concerned.

The main thing that is really wonderful for me to know in The Shack Revisited is that God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit is love. This God who is love is eternally in loving relationship with each other such that they are one—mutually indwelling one another. And the wonderful thing is that this loving Father, Son and Holy Spirit has included me (and all of mankind) into that loving relationship through Jesus Christ. It’s so amazing. This is the “truth of my being.” May this be my “way of being” as I yield to the Lord. With God’s help, it will be.

Baxter ends his book, The Shack Revisited with this paragraph:

  • “Holy Spirit, have your way with us, that we may feel the squeeze of Jesus’ hand and hear his Father shout our name. Do what you must, that we may repent and believe and so taste and feel and experience the life and freedom of our adoption in Jesus.”

I say, “Amen and Amen!”

Photography

Non-praying Mantis?

As my wife and I got off the car, we noticed a praying mantis (I’m not sure if it is but it looks like it) on top of the car. I took a shot. Why do I take interest in such things? Well, I guess God has wired me to love photography—and take shots of his creation—showing the wonders of what he has created.

Praying Mantis Pose

I thought it was interesting that this mantis didn’t take off and leave as I pointed my camera and took several shots. It posed for my camera. I really have no idea how it got there. Did it cling on to the car while I was driving from our home to the mall? I don’t know. I’m not so sure if it can do that. Anyway, it was an opportunity not to be missed for photography enthusiasts like me haha!

Life & Love, Who is God?

The Great Dance — Longing for Home

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Great Dance Book

I have been reading C. Baxter Kruger’s book, The Great Dance: The Christian Vision Revisited and I don’t know but it seems like I have already read his book. Maybe because I’ve heard him in video interviews, heard him personally in a conference in 2007 in the US, and I have read many of his short articles through the years. Or maybe, I’ve already read excerpts of this book somewhere—quoted by others. I got this book as a gift from my daughter which surprised me to my delight.

I’m almost done with the book and I’m reading that part where Baxter talks about the reality of our being in union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Being in union with the Triune God is our reality—our home. Deep inside us we yearn for home. Aligning ourselves with this reality gives us joy. To deviate from this truth is to experience sorrow and pain.

The Great Dance and Our Union with God

Knowing, embracing, believing the truth about our union with God through Christ gives us peace, joy and happiness. To be away from home, to be separated and lost in a big city as Baxter experienced when he was a young boy, is to experience fear, anxiety, sorrow and pain.

We belong to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are in union with our God. This is the truth. This is our reality. That is why we long for home. And it pains us to be away from home. If we are not in reality in union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then it wouldn’t matter at all if we’re apart from them. We wouldn’t be hurt. We won’t be longing for home. But the fact is, we all long to be home. This is evidence we are in union with our loving God. We were created for adoption into the inner circle of the life and love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—to be part of that great banquet, that great dance throughout eternity.

Related blog:

  • Longing to be Home
Life & Love

Firecrackers on New Year

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As usual every year, firecrackers light up the street in our neighborhood to welcome the new year. It’s quite a dangerous thing nowadays to be exposed to it knowing that some firecrackers have become more highly explosive than it was during my boyhood years.

Firecrackers and Casualties on New Years

A lot of casualties and even death are reported yearly. But thankfully, there were less casualties this year than in previous years. Maybe the intensified advertising campaign by the health government authorities and media has paid off and people are beginning to become more extra careful. Anyway, I took some shots but from a safe distance.