How I became a morning person in KK (& spiritual discipline)

It's easy to wake up early in KK because the sun rises early and basks our non-curtained apartment with its warm light. We were also eager to see the changing colours with the mountain/city view during the early hours of the day so that gave us ample motivation to wake up; plus, I wanted to make every hour with N count since we spend less than 30 days a year together. 

Mornings here are more quiet and we could have our morning devotion at the table, sipping hot green tea, and look forward to the fish noodles etc breakfast we will get later. The privilege of being on a vacation is that you get the space--both physically and mentally--to be more quiet and to slow down to think about God and listen to Him. This should happen in our daily lives too, but often we fail to make space for God as we should.

"Spiritual discipline means the effort to create some space in which God can act." --Henri Nouwen

Just like how we make time and space for a good breakfast, we should intentionally create space and time for God. Rebecca (our mentor at COCM) or Dallas Willard or someone once said that spiritual discipline is like sleeping. You need to first put yourself in a laying down position in order for the sleep to happen. We cannot will the sleep to happen, but we can make the situation more conducive for falling asleep. Similarly, we cannot cause God to act in our lives to transform us to more Christlikeness because that is His power to act, but we can create the posture for God to be able to talk to us and change our minds and hearts e.g. by sitting down for prayer time with God intentionally.

I'm still working on this goal and as much as I'm a "quiet" person, I still find silence difficult and being quiet in God daily, waiting for Him and praying is not easy. However, I do not want to neglect my spiritual health by being apathetic and then one day suddenly finding myself a different person (one filled with weeds, bitterness, ungratefulness and unChristlike). Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Children of God, let us rise early and seek God. Let us not be idlers. Wake up and meet your Saviour.

New Year, New Day, New Beginning

I'm writing this post early because I just have to share these words by Henri Nouwen in his book "Here and Now: Living in the Spirit." In the past several years, I had grown from someone who enthusiastically made summer/fall/winter break to-do lists and new year's resolution to someon who became disappointed in unmet goals and the lack of discipline to achieve what I had envisioned. I grew skeptical about these lists but I think I've changed in the last few years; I've learned much more about accepting failures and the grace God gives. Anyway, here's an excerpt from Nouwen's book that I hope will encourage you at the cusp of another new year!

"A new beginning! We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to a voice saying to us 'I have a gift for you and can't wait for you to see it!' Imagine.

Is it possible that our imagination can lead us to the truth of our lives? Yes, it can! The problem is that we allow our past, which becomes longer and longer each year, to say to us: 'You know it all; you have seen it all, be realistic; the future will be just another repeat of the past. Try to survive it as best as you can.' 

So what are we to do? We must open our minds and our hearts to the voice that resounds through the valleys and hills of our life saying: 'Let me show you where I live among my people. My name is 'God-with-you'. I will wipe away all the tears from your eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone' (see Revelation 21:2-5)

We must choose to listen to that voice, and every choice will open us a little more to discover the new life hidden in the moment, waiting eagerly to be born."