Blessings

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.10.2005

I was reading in Relevant magazine today about how the editor was listening to some gospel music that seemed to emphasize the blessings of God over the worship itself. God does shower blessings in abundance, but the editor wanted to reinforce the walk over the gifts received.

It makes me wonder if I am too focused on those blessings I hope to receive from God—namely, a writing contract. Preferably (!) this year. Sure, I hope to serve God with my book, to lift up Christ so He can draw my readers to Himself (John 12:32). But what about the getting there? How can I serve God during the getting there?

I need to think and pray about this. I know God can use me wherever He feels like it, but I should be focused on being used where I am, rather than striving for something I hope to do for Him. I am really not there yet—not in the mindset of salting the table I’m at.

Today at service I was really aware of the presence of God, moreso than ever before. I think it was because of my prayer time this week. I got into the music worship, and parts of the pastor’s sermon spoke to me. I could feel Him there, pointing out things I needed to hear. I love it. I love feeling so much at peace, so cooled and filled.

Diet: I lost another pound from last week! I hope I can keep up the exercise and food choices. I realized I should try to order vegetarian when I go out to eat—it sometimes has lower calories and fat.

Comments

Anonymous said…

*turning off brain now* Very good point... excuse me while I go look for some sackcloth and ashes now. ;)

Mon Jul 11, 04:23:00 PM 2005

Camy Tang said…

LOL Dream. I'm there with ya. Just today I realized I didn't even try to stop myself from griping with my coworkers and not being a good witness for God. My coworkers probably all think I just complain all the time!

Mon Jul 11, 11:22:00 PM 2005

"Sincerely" by TRUE (from Violet Evergarden)

I’ve been watching the anime Violet Evergarden on Netflix and it is possibly the most beautiful anime series I’ve ever seen. The animation by Kyoto Animation is top notch, the storyline (based on the light novel series ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン by Kana Akatsuki (暁佳奈)) is emotional and unique, and the original soundtrack by Evan Call is out of this world. The vocal songs in the series are also really beautiful, but the best one is the opening song, “Sincerely” by TRUE. She not only has a beautiful voice, but the melody and lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t rave about this song enough. 知らない言葉を　覚えていくたびおもかげのなか　手を伸ばすの Each time unknown words come to mind, I reach my hand toward the traces they leave. だけど一人では　分からない言葉もあるのかもしれない But there may be words That I can’t comprehend all alone. さよならは　苦くてアイシテルは　遠いにおいがした例えようのない　この想いはとても怖くて　だけど　とても愛おしくて “Goodbye” is so bitter, While “I love you” carries a far-off scent. This incomparable feeling Is so very frightening… bu...

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Simplification 2013

It seems like every year I realize I’ve filled my time with things that take up too much of my time! As I’ve been praying over 2013 during the month of January, I’ve been feeling I need to (once again) simplify my life. So I’m stepping back from a blog I contribute to. I’m also aiming for less participation in some of my Goodreads groups (that is truly a time suck! Fun, but time suck.) My book writing schedule is still very busy, so I’ll be doing no more critiques with my Story Sensei business in the first half of the year so that I can focus on my books, on writing what God wants me to write. I’m going to focus my energy on my own blog --I’m aiming to post 3-4 times a week, as well as posting contests more regularly. I’m also going to be more active on my Goodreads group and my Facebook page , posting contests there as well. And I absolutely DEPEND on those three outlets for help when naming characters, since many of you know how pathetic challenged I am in coming up wit...

Search This Blog