Day Two

Hey hey! I made it! It's day two and I'm back!

Read Ps 67 this morning. Let the nations be glad!
Yesterday's Ps was pretty heavy. It starts with loud praise for what God has done, and moves on to this:

10 For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a places of abundance.

And then it moves on to more praise and worship. Odd, isn't it, that God would allow or even bring upon us, the afflictions mentioned? The one that even made me laugh because it seems so bizarre - "you let men ride over our heads". God is the one who bring us into the net, and lays a crushing burden on our backs. This doesn't seem like the God of the Sunday morning church song. I'd love to hear a refrain that goes something like:

Ensnared like a foolish fowl
Crushed, burdened and broken
O God, you make my soul howl

It seems to me like God is asking us the same question He asked Abraham. Who is really your God? Me? Or the son I gave to you? Your health? Your standard of living? Your car? Your vacation? Your ability to 'get things done'? Your freedom? Your cappuccino? Your husband or wife or kids? Your political position? Do you trust more in me, or do you trust more in the promise I gave you?

It sobers me and reminds me to look to Him and not at the circumstances around me, regardless of how rosy or bleak they look.

Here's the line up for the day:
- 'Scoot' to Wuda, study lecture notes for an hour or so before class starts
- Three periods of knock-your-teeth-in-difficult Intro to Chinese Philosophy (all in Chinese; I still understand only a few words here and there)
- Back home for lunch around 1:15
- Exercise for 45 minutes (first time since March...)
- Study Ch 1-10 (book 1) for Comprehensive Test next Friday; start with vocab., review grammar (2.5 hrs)
- Eat dinner with my wife
- Start spreadsheet of 'Academic Words' vocab list for study
- Read two chapters of Cross-cultural comm book for study next Tuesday
- Sleep at a decent hour (around 9:30)

That's my day!

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us
Selah
that his way may be known on earth,
his saving power among all nations.

And let them be glad!