Patriotism

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else." - Theodore Roosevelt

A quote given to me by a friend

"The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well."
Lawrence Pearsall Jacks (1860–1955), British educator and Unitarian minister

A poem i wrote once for my Bao Bei ;)

While packing our stuff up to get ready to move i came across this card i gave to Ling easily 5 years or more ago which had in it a poem i wrote.

Here it is:

"Better than bright sunshine on a lazy Saturday morning,
Your smile greets me
With warmth that puts the Sun himself to shame,
Your smile soothes me
More than the finest array of a buffet breakfast,
Your smile fills me
That cup of coffee to get me going can never compare to,
Your smile encourages me
Sweeter than music are the words that come from your mouth as you utter them with
Your smile that comforts me
And as i face the world, in all its strife and all its insensitivity, it's
Your smile that moves me, inspires me

And yes, sometimes the day diminishes to nothing more than a dismal drear... but
Your smile reminds me
Of my hopes and dreams, of victories past and conquests present, of songs yet to be sung and stories yet to be told
Of the wonderful things i have yet to behold
And even through the mistakes that i sometimes make,
As i stumble, fail and falter,
Your smile reassures me
Of the God who is greater
Than my aspirations and fears
Than the laughter and the tears
Than success that gladdens and failure that sears
Your smile infuses me
With hope, with strength, with peace
With confidence to brace the stormy seas
Your smile releases me
To be the man that i'm meant to be
To be myself
To enjoy life and all that God has in store for me
Your smile teaches me
That life was never meant to be taken too seriously
That there's always time to stop and savour
Each waking moment, each God given hour
That the best time is NOW
and that i don't always need to have the answers
To when, why, who, what or how
Your smile is a gift
A token that i'll forever keep with me
A testament to God's goodness, grace and mercy
But more than all of this
Your smile manifests
The abundant love God has for you
The love that you have for God
And the love that you have for me
...
Dear,
Your smile i'll always remember
Even if we haven't seen each other
Or spoken for awhile
All i've got to do is to close my eyes
And picture you
And then
i smile."

;)

Psalm 37

37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

37:13 The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

37:16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

37:18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

37:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

37:22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

37:26 He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

37:30 The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

37:32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

37:33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

37:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

37:36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

37:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

37:40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

New Year's Eve special ;)

"i love me some watermelon!"

Amen.

"Only one life, 'twill soon be past.
Only what's done for Christ will last.
And when i am dying, how happy i'll be
if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee."