Let there be light

Let there be light…

-a simple light bulb with yellow glow enhances a cozy and warm feeling at a dwelling place.

-a sparkling crystals chandelier makes a place looks extravagance.

-a tiffany styled stained glass lamp shade creates a classy and an antique-filled home.

Once I was at a thrift store and saw a very beautiful decorated stained glass lamp shade with a pretty cheap price, and to this day I still regretted not buying it because while thinking about it, it was taken and bought by another person.

Other lights that I like best are the natural light of sunlight, moonlight and starlight!

Genesis 1 tell us the creation story on light…

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 

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As much as I enjoy and amaze by the sun, the moon and the stars that God created, I am often in awe by what the scripture says about these celestial body.

The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life;

The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:6-8)

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more;

the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. (Isaiah 60:19-20)

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,

for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (Revelation 21:23)

How Glorious!

Autumn Delight

Autumn weather is so delightful with blue sky and fluffy cloud and the scene are decorated with hues of gold and yellow, red and brown. The beautiful scene adds smile and joy to one’s spirit. Looking at the abundance of these colorful leaves remind one of a generous God who provides.

Deuteronomy 11:12

The bible verse on this beautiful Chinese calligraphy is taken from Deuteronomy 11:12b which states “from the beginning of the year to its end, the Lord Jehovah, your God always watches over you”.

This special verse is often used as part of the New Year’s thanksgiving prayer and blessing to remind us of God’s faithfulness in our lives day in and day out.

Christmas Joy

The best comment I’ve heard over this Christmas holiday was “Your presence brought joy to this home!”; such pleasant word, such Christmas joy!!

Christmas helps us to ponder the Christ in Christmas who is the joy bringer and joy giver of our lives.

Romans 15:13 states:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

但 願 使 人 有 盼 望 的 神 ， 因 信 將 諸 般 的 喜 樂 、 平 安 充 滿 你 們 的 心 ，

使 你 們 藉 著 聖 靈 的 能 力 大 有 盼 望 。(羅 馬 書 15:13)

Morning Glory

One of the flowers we learned in elementary school was this white flower we called trumpet flower because it was shaped like a trumpet.

These flowers are simple and cheerful to look at; and their heart-shaped leaves are very alluring too.

The plant is so common that not many care about it; it can be considered a weed that intrudes into people’s garden. The vine grows bountifully in hot weather regions; it was delightful to spot them creeping along some beaches in Hawaii.

Years later,  I learned that the correct name for this trumpet shaped flower is called “Morning Glory” because the flowers only bloom first thing in the morning, hence its beautiful name.

Another fact I discovered is that each of the flowers lasted for a single day and then they withered and died in the evening.

Whenever I stumbled upon the Morning Glory, it always brings back sweet childhood memories,

where we had so much fun venturing into the wild bushes, pulling out the flowers, and blowing through them as if they were musical trumpets!

Summer Scent

As I whisked along on my bike, suddenly I breathed in the familiar pleasant summer scent;

I turned around and couldn’t help but to stop and smell the fragrant roses!

Broom Shrubs

It’s that time of year again to see the golden shrubs sprinkle along the sandy shore and wasteland.

These vibrant yellow plants are known as the broom shrubs or thorny shrubs in German/ or Cytisus broom and Lena scotch broom.

Some of these plants have a touch of scarlet color on the petals known as Sister redhead.

These flowering shrubs grow profusely along the shoreline and are known to be great vegetations to help prevent erosion and to stabilize dunes by the sandy beach. That’s good to know it’s purpose!

Winter Jasmine

Every year there is usually one new plant that captivated me;

This year it’s this bright yellow shrub called Winter Jasmine.

I was amazed to find out that the first sign of spring is the sighting of these bright yellow shrubs which is known as Winter Jasmine (5/6 round petals) and Forsythia (4 petals).

This winter floral starts blooming near the end of winter and it can be as early as in December. In Chinese, the plant is known as 迎春花 “Ying Chun Hua” which means the first floral plant that welcomes the Spring season.

The name Winter Jasmine sounds lovely. Winter sometimes represent harshness, weariness and depression; and the sighting of this vibrant yellow Jasmine shrubs in the early spring bring great joy, positive mood and hope to one’s soul. The color of these yellow shrubs are best enjoy under the full sun.

Soon the golden petals wither and fresh green leaves take over; ah, the cycle of lives.

“The first blossoms of spring remind us that God has been at work all winter long! “

~ Assurance from Sight Psalm ~

Solitude

Biking is a leisure pleasure for me. It’s fun to bike as a group to enhance team spirit and watching out for each other. I also enjoy riding alone, taking my sweet time, slowing down, savoring the stillness of the surrounding.

And I can resonate with what this naturalist artist says:

“I have lately got back to that glorious society called Solitude.” — Henry David Thoreau

Encountering Ravens

On one of the hiking trips, I overheard a conversation on raven.  One guy asked his friends if they knew which is the most intelligent bird; I eavesdropping him said it is the raven.

 I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation but the fact that the raven is the smartest bird fascinated me and stuck in my head for a long time. 

Then I recalled several stories related to ravens and seems like they are pretty smart:

One is from the story of Noah. After the global flood, the first bird that Noah sent out to explore the dry land was a raven (Genesis 8). Sometimes I wondered why the raven; perhaps the birds have great survival skills in the wilderness and resilience to harsh surroundings.

Another story is from the Aesop fable where we heard it during the elementary school: While searching for water on one scorching day, the black bird excitedly spotted water in a tall pitcher; Instead of knocking off the jar to get the little water at the bottom of the jar, the bird creatively put in some pebbles into the pitcher until the water raised up so it could have a sip. Indeed, the bird is smart to solve the problem to quench its thirst; and the moral of this fable on the black bird is truly inspiring and a great life lesson to help one thinks outside the box https://fablesofaesop.com/the-crow-and-the-pitcher.html.

I Kings 17:2-5 also mentioned about ravens, on how God told the flying creatures to feed Elijah the prophet food by the ravine, during the several years of drought season.

Luke 12:24 reads: Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! (English Standard Version, ESV)

Encountering ravens for me is a delight! When I’m up on the mountain,  I always look forward to meeting the birds who never fail to keeping me company especially during my lunch time; either they are trying to snatch my food away or wanting to remind me that my daily food is provided by our Heavenly Father.