you bet i'm grateful

reading Leviticus, with the multiplicity of offerings and profusion of laws and requirements, trying hard to imagine the processes but always getting distracted, and cognizant of the gulf between my understanding and the truth, it occurs to me to be grateful that Christ holds within himself the full sum of the sacrifices and their import, and that his death satisfies the entire demands of the laws on my behalf. 

... that you ... distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, - Lev 10:10

my Lord, my sin offering my burnt offering my fellowship offering my peace offering and my grain offering, in whom i am found holy! 

a letter to J2

i remember that imp who was born with a fully formed opinion on every thing. i remember the long plaits the early morning waits for the bus the school canteen and the fishball treats. i remember the latin words the first prom that tumblr blog and the driving lessons. i remember fights and tears and shared jokes and hopes.

i see an imp with a spirit that loves and a heart that is unafraid to dream. i see faith and faithfulness,  grace and generosity. i could not be more proud of her.

even to your old age, I am He,

and even to gray hairs I will carry you!

I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

- isaiah 46:4

stuff i am heartily sick of

• lunar new year songs
• yu sheng
• fishballs

today

my new happy shoes.

in other news, i re-bite that ulcer on my lower lip, thereby drawing blood and generously extending its dominion. i spill coffee on my favorite pair of tailored grey pants. J2 loses her entire wallet. the credit company very efficiently couriers a replacement card over. except it couriers it over HERE, and J2 is in need over THERE.

wilted cabbage

the last guest leaves from the extended family reunion. you could say that our weekend begins finally. except that the new workweek draweth nigh.

if you ask me, it was dashed inconvenient for the first day of the new year to fall on a friday. as a result the crazy busy begins on thursday through the weekend without a real weekend to recuperate in.

moon blues

another year, another lunar new year. another round of hearty wishes for good health and prosperity. another contrived exchange of greetings and red packets. another offering of yet one more special homemade sweet. another cycle of hopeful horoscopes and lucky colors. 

after a half century, the season gets tired. i begin the holiday weekend wondering what it will take to get through it, with no break to look forward to for the next half year.

if you take away the family part, this festival can pretty much be retired. i hope i feel more congenially tribal next year.

你的雙手

springs into summers, autumns into frosts

how many meetings and partings

pass like shooting stars in the night sky

who can catch eternity and hold her still?

laughter and tears, loves and rancors

how many sunrises into days

when passion's flower becomes the faded bud

who can find true love and keep it still?

teach me to number my days, that i may gain wisdom

give me peace by your hands - in your embrace i count no regrets

the wind brought me whispers of you, now my eyes have seen you

give me peace by your hand; in your embrace i find my home

it's been a long time, but i thought i would try to render gist of the original into english.