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posted by Michael on 07/1/08

There have been so many things going on here at the Staddon house that it has been impossible for me to get anything posted for a while. It seems too bad because those things would make great blog posts. We’ve been splitting bee hives, planting trees, harvesting honey, chipping branches, and all kinds of other interesting projects. I even had my first try at welding. It has been a lot of hard, sweat-dripping work. But what deserves a blog post the most is what our family read in Psalm 118 this morning, especially verses 19 through 23:

Verses 19-20: “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and will praise the Lord: this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter.” Question:Who is “the door of the sheep” through which they enter into the fold?

Verse 21: “I will praise Thee: for Thou has heard me, and art become my Salvation.” Question: Who is our Salvation?

Verses 22-23: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Question: Who is the Head that the builders rejected?

Verse 24: “This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Key question: What is “this” Day that the Lord has made?

Read the verses again. Verse 24 is just a continuation of the other verses. The gate, the salvation, and the stone are speaking of Christ. The Day in verse 24 is not ultimately speaking of any 12-hour or 24-hour period! This is speaking of Christ, the Eternal Day in which I will rejoice, beginning the moment that I made peace with God through the sacrifice of His Son. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” 1 Jn. 5:12. The water Christ gives is a well of water springing up unto everlasting life (Jn. 4:14). “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Cor. 4:6. “The Lord is my light and my salvation” Ps. 27:1, “a light to lighten the gentiles” Luke 2:32, Is. 9:2, and Is. 49:6. According to Hebrews 4:8-10 this eternal day that lives within me is the Sabbath, the Day of rest. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Mt. 11:28. My temporal body may work and sweat, but how glorious it is to abide in the Rest of Jesus Christ forever! Woe to me if I attempt the labor of iniquity on this Day! Question: “And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not  profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest” Heb. 3:18 – 4:3a.

4 Comments » | posted in Politics, Recipes, The Bright Side, Tidbits

posted by Donald on 06/19/08

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This is one more reason I’ve come to appreciate the Mega International Commercial Bank. Not only have they made the classroom banking scenario here at the school as realistic as possible, but in all actuality they have been more than willing to help us, as teachers, with our banking transactions! I don’t think I’m alone in saying that their service for us, newcomers as we were, was handled both with ease and kindness.

With twenty-seven international branches and over one hundred domestic ones, the Megabank has grown to serve many around the world. Besides experience in Law, Accounting and Economy, English is one of the top skills needed to qualify for working on staff. It was also interesting for me to learn that with all Taiwan’s exports and imports some transactions take a month to process.

On a courtesy visit to the head office in Taipei, I had the opportunity to see the team working there, take some photographs in the foreign department and have a special lunch with my hosts. Thank you for sharing in our love for children and particularly the students in Taiwan who have displayed so much eagerness to learn! It’s been our honor to serve here with you this year.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News, Tidbits

posted by Donald on 05/29/08

“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23). On a day that might have been used otherwise, this verse made me think that it might be more wise to take some time and study. I needed to bring together the things I was learning about spoken and written Mandarin.

Up to that point I had been able to listen to spoken Chinese, read and memorize Scripture in Chinese and simply take notice of the Chinese characters I saw by the roadside. However at the same time I was realizing more and more how valuable it would be simply to understand the Chinese radicals: 207 “characters within a character” that can portray its meaning or phonetic pronunciation. They often double as complete words themselves and so account for about 20% of the first 100 most common words, 10% of the first 1000, and 4% of the first 3000. I had spent what time I could getting familiar with the list in the dictionary and making a chart that could include all of them on a two-page spread. Along with each one that doubled as its own word, I put some of their simplest English equivalents, their abbreviated forms and their frequency number. Writing it in my own format was enjoyable and a giant step in comprehension: it helped me begin to think in Chinese.

Then came yesterday. In one afternoon I almost completely remade my radical chart. This time I excluded radicals that don’t occur as words (65 of the 207) as well as a few that are less frequently used, included all the radicals that do occur as words and then went on to include a comparison of the now-standard-in-China Simplified Characters. Most importantly, I wrote down for the first time the phonetic pronunciation for each one. Rather than seeing strange characters, they’ve come alive with meaning. I can almost see them the way I see my students at school: This one has a particular face and his name is _____. Seeing them, or beginning to see them, that way was rewarding. I definitely don’t know Chinese yet but at least it’s not a foreign language any more!

“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off” (Proverbs 24:13, 14).

4 Comments » | posted in Tidbits

posted by Michael on 04/22/08

"For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." Is. 61:11

This has been a fascinating verse to think about at this  time of year as I see the buds opening and the seeds sprouting up after an unusually good spring. How is God like a garden? Just as in a garden plants receive the water,  nutrients, air, and light that they need to grow and produce, so those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God (Ps. 92:13). Like a thirsty deer, a dry seed is ready to instantly absorb life-giving water, and "so panteth my soul after thee, O God!" Jehovah is also my Light and my salvation (Ps. 97:1). Just as the garden provides nutrition, Jehovah is my saving health and the Living Bread. If you have eaten that bread (Jn. 6:51) and comprehended that light (Jn. 1:5), you know what I mean, for we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen (Jn. 3:11).

I advocate and practice sustainability, responsibility, and conservation, but a plant in the earth is only as secure as earth’s conditions allow. The light of the sun itself will not last forever. Droughts can render the richest soil useless and floods can wash it away. But unlike an earthly garden subject to the degeneracy of nature, a soul that is rooted and grounded in Love is as secure as the eternal God. "Although the fig tree shall not  blossom, neither shall the fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet will I rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3:17-18) Indeed, you cannot receive Christ without giving up the world (Luke 14:33). What life is there in the Spirit without the flesh (nature) being reckoned dead? (Rom. 6:5-6, 11) We will not be eating of the tree of life in the new heaven and the new earth until the present earth and heaven have passed away (Rev. 21:1 and 22:1-4)

Yes, Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. He has caused righteousness and praise to spring forth in my soul. At first it looked like death, but when out came life, there were no regrets!

3 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land, Tidbits

posted by James on 03/23/08

O day of light and gladness, of prophecy and song,
What thoughts within us waken, what hallowed memories throng!
The soul’s horizon widens, past, present, future blend;
And rises on our vision the life that hath no end.

Earth feels the season’s joyance, from mountain range to sea
The tides of life are flowing fresh, manifold and free.
In valley and on upland, by forest pathways dim,
All nature lifts in chorus the resurrection hymn.

O Lord of life eternal, to Thee our hearts upraise
The Easter song of gladness, the Passover of praise.
Thine are the many mansions, the dead die not to Thee,
Who fillest from Thy fullness time and eternity!

Words by Frederick L. Hosmer
Music by Tenry T. Smart

3 Comments » | posted in Photography, Tidbits