The Learned

I come from a Muslim country. Their agenda is to marry Christians to convert them. Once they get married, they treat them like trash. They are allowed to have many wives. Their idea of peace is to conquer the world. They are usually very different before marriage -- they can be anything you want them to be but they will never be a Christian.  Basically, don't even think about it. It is going against God's Word. You're basically making the devil your father-in-law James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God

When the Japanese occupied Malaysia, they would kill and torture innocent civilians, turning women and girls into 'comfort women'. Many were brutally raped and murdered casually, publicly and and as leisurely. They would take a pregnant woman and force her to drink soap water, then balance a plank of wood over her belly and play the see-saw on it. Did it make my blood boil just hearing about it? Of course, it did. Could I forget? Of course, not. My grandfather would rant on and on for many years -- how and what they did, what he saw. Horrific first-person stories. They were disgusting. Did listening to those stories create resentment, hate and bitterness in my heart? Yes, they did.  Every grandparent had their fair share of stories, so did every war-torn country affected: Korea, China, Malaysia, even America -- the thought of Pearl Harbour still sends chills up our spine. I remember seeing an elderly Chinese woman who demanded a public apology from a Japanese ambassador for usi...

 1 Kings 19 When a king is gone, does he need to be replaced? Yes. When a priest is gone, does he need to be replaced? Yes. When a prophet is gone, does he need to be replaced? Yes. Elisha was not clergy. He was a farmer, a worker. And he did not work for his own. He worked for his father. He honoured his own father. Sometimes the road to be a prophet is not by going to Bible School. You can be working in the world when you are called. But remain faithful. Even to your own parents until the day you are called to be a prophet under training.

Lack of sleep can turn any nice person into a monster. Also, no expectations means no disappointment.  I just do it the easy way -- I co-sleep.  Also, I imagine I am a single mom and have to do everything myself. I tell myself all the time: if a single mom can do it, so can I. I am not in any way less capable than a single mother just because I have a man by my side. If he wants to help me, that's a plus but I am tired of demanding for his help and tired of being disappointed if he doesn't live up to it. The difference between me and a single mom is that when things go south, there's still someone around I can call upon for help -- I still have a hero around to save the day.

I married an acquaintance as well. It can get really bad just before it gets better after the first few years. We are now happily married even though there has been so many rocky roads. It's not easy and many times I thought it was the end.  There are so many reasons to quit but then again there are so many reasons to stay. Focus on the reasons to stay and not on the reasons to quit. We have now been married for more than 13 years and are practically love birds now. Sometimes it is the hard times that breaks down the barriers -- the openly raw times that shows who we really are -- which is needed for a healthy marriage. So don't be discouraged by the hard times. Good things can come from it.  Romans 8:28.  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. And don't ever let anyone question whether it was the right choice to marry this guy because that's way over and what's done is done but...

If you're just starting out then read Not Without the Children by Clarine Chun. Understand that the children's ministry is not a ministry to the children but a ministry by the children.  It is not a babysitting service. But it is a part of an intergenerational family of God. Children can experience the power of God, if not more than any of us.