Faith & Life

Division of Housework Has an Amazing Power

Cooking, doing the dishes, laundry, cleaning, arranging, recycling, taking out the trash, grocery shopping . . . The housework repeats every day, and it’s not even that noticeable even if you do it, but it’s very obvious if you don’t do it. Although the housework seems simple and trivial, quite a lot of families have conflicts because of it. ‘Why can’t he help me with the house chores?’ ‘How can she ask me for help after I came back from working all day?’ ‘Mom will take care of it’ . . . The problem is not the housework itself, but the difference in understanding among family members. Sometimes, you don’t feel like doing housework, and they seem like trivial and…

Happiness That I Learned in the Military

When I joined the military, my parents didn’t look sad while seeing me off. I entered the training center, thinking, ‘It’s good that my mom and dad didn’t get too emotional.’ But on the day we had the completion ceremony of the basic training, my parents ran to me, looking like they were about to cry, and gave me a hug. That was when I realized that my parents were actually hiding their feelings at the admission ceremony. Ever since that day, I tried harder to get myself adapted to the hard trainings, thinking that they would be very concerned if I couldn’t adapt myself there. I called them four or five times a week at least to ask them…

Kim Seung-hyeok from Busan, Korea

Respond with “Of Course!”

When someone asks you for a favor or makes a suggestion, replying with a simple “sure” is perfectly fine—but responding with “Of course!” can be even more meaningful. Those words go beyond basic agreement; they convey the message, “For you, there’s no need to hesitate.” That sincerity makes the other person feel not only grateful that their request was accepted, but genuinely happy as well. Such warmth often inspires them to extend kindness in return. This month, try responding to your beloved family with a cheerful “Of course!” and experience the joy that flows from wholehearted generosity. Tip When responding to a request “Could you bring me a glass of water?” “Of course!” When agreeing with someone’s idea “This is…

Where Life Sprouts

To preserve the environment, 28,000 trees were planted throughout the Gunpowder Valley watershed in Maryland. However, the trees need to be continually monitored and maintained for the first three to five years of their life. So, our Baltimore Zion members partnered with the local conservancy organization to help maintain the trees. Under the instruction of the guides, we checked the young saplings one by one to see if they were growing well and removed invasive plants around the trees. We stabilized the trees by reinforcing the tree tubes and stakes and by adding more soil to where the soil was swept away. Although it was hard work especially on such a hot, humid day, everyone cheerfully worked together to complete…

Melissa Hutchins from Baltimore, MD, U.S.

Wind Chill Temperature

There are two ways to know the temperature: the actual temperature measured by the thermometer and the wind chill temperature felt by the body. The wind chill temperature is produced on the basis of wind strength, humidity, and solar heat including the air temperature. Apart from these, individual’s physical difference responding to the heat and cold also adds to it. Those who are sensitive to cold may shiver with cold despite warm weather; those who are sensitive to heat are likely to be insensitive to cold weather though others feel cold. There is also a wind chill temperature felt by heart. Despite the same condition, people sense it differently. A warm spring to me can be still a cold winter…

Family

In this weary life, I was looking for a place to lean on. One day, my younger sister visited me and recommended me to attend the Church of God. It was the church that I went with her at the invitation of my sister-in-law two years ago. Unlike me, who had stopped going to church after hearing slander from people around me, my younger sister started her life of faith in the Church of God. I was reluctant to go, but since my sister asked me sincerely, I went with her and became a child of God. A month later, I moved to another region and started having Bible studies in earnest. I didn’t know that the Bible was such…

Hongcheon, Korea

What Is Important to My Mom

When I came back home from meeting my friends on a Sunday evening, my mother had several layers of bandages on her pinky finger. “Mom, what happened to your finger?” “I got a little cut while doing something.” Glancing at it, however, it wasn’t just a little cut, and so I asked her to see a doctor quickly. But she said it wasn’t serious and she could go tomorrow. She said so as if nothing really happened, so I thought she was okay, but that was not the case. When I came home after work the next day, her condition was really bad. It was not just her finger; her whole hand was wrapped in bandages. When she went to…

Lee Sun-mi from Seoul, Korea

Home & Mother

On a day off, which I don’t usually have, I was busy doing all the house chores that had piled up and didn’t even notice my phone was ringing. I checked my phone later and found there was a missed call from my mom. “You called me?” “Yes, did I wake you up? Did you get up?” “Of course! Look at the time!” My mom felt bad that I had been working part time for a few years to help with my children’s education fees. She said that her neighbor gave her some big and nice radishes and so she made diced radish kimchi for me and sent it. She asked me to call her to let her know when…

Kim Hyang-sun from Uijeongbu, Korea

Adhesive Bandages for His Loving Wife

Newlywed Earle Dickson had one concern; it’s about his careless wife. She often cut herself or got burns on her fingers while cooking. At that time, as he was working in a company producing surgical tape, he could treat his wife skillfully with bandage and tape. But he wasn’t relieved at the thought she would be flustered if she got cuts when alone. ‘I would feel relieved if she alone could easily give herself first aid.’ So he began to produce adhesive bandages for his wife’s convenience. On the basis of his experience of treating his wife, he cut the tape in proper size, laid folded gauze in the middle of the sticking side, and put down a crinoline band…

Lost Memories

When I was a kid, I liked animated TV shows a lot. Whenever I came home after school, I was always excited to watch them, and whenever they ended, I felt so sad. I tried to figure out how to save those episodes so that I could watch them over and over again, and I learned about video recording. There is a square hole on a video tape. When I covered that hole and recorded the show, what was originally recorded was deleted and the animations were recorded over it. We had various kinds of video tapes: my kindergarten talent show, bowling guide, foreign movies, my parents’ wedding, etc. I started recording animations with them. Of course, I was only…

Hong Sun-tae from Gangneung, Korea

According to What You Have Done

No one idles away his days, not doing any work. When a man is born, work devours him until his last breath on earth. Even people who seem to do nothing, they eat, sleep, and think. While all people are doing work whether small or big, some people achieve great things that no one else can. They are the ones who have quickly learned out that human life is too short and precious to end, repeating the same things every day. They have clear goals. That’s why they don’t dissipate even a day. They make efforts to live meaningfully, discerning things they do in general, things they must do, things that are good to do, things that are unnecessary, things…

Mother’s Errand

I am the second child in my family; I have an older brother and a younger brother. We live in different parts of Melbourne in Australia, and our parents live in Adelaide which is nine hours away by car from Melbourne. We cannot go visit our parents that often due to our work, but our mother travels such a long distance whenever we get sick or something happens, and she looks after us. One day, my older brother got a flu. My mother would have made a trip to my older brother’s house right away, but she was also sick and busy taking care of something else, too. Late at night, my mother called me. “Yeon-uk, could you make some…

Jeong Yeon-uk from Melbourne, Australia

The True Rest

There is something that many workers do when they receive a new calendar. It is to count holidays. Holidays give that much happiness to workers. To me, as a person who has just started a career, the autumn season of 2018 was one of the happiest moments in my life. It was because I could rest for seven days: five days for national autumn holidays, one day for National Foundation Day of Korea, and one day for Hangul [Korean alphabet] Proclamation Day. I got back to work after the long vacation. I started to work with a determination, “I will work hard from today since I got a good rest,” but I found it difficult to focus on work. I…

Lee Jae-uk from Sacheon, Korea

Birthday Cake

When I was young, my family suffered financial difficulties. To make a living for seven children, my mother used to do hard work such as repairing walls, floors, and toilets. Since she could not afford to hire an employee, she had to do it herself. I was the youngest daughter, and I was ashamed of my mother who did rough manual labor. My mother also used to mend bags, sewing all night, for a small factory in order to buy food. I remember falling asleep, listening to the noise of her old sewing machine. Even though we were in a tight situation where we had to worry about meals, I was immature. “I’ve never received a birthday cake,” I complained…

Suzana Machado Botton from Porto Alegre, Brazil

The Harmony of Happiness Built in God

I was raised by my grandmother during my childhood. She was a devout Christian, and sometimes I went to church with her. But the memories I carried from those days were far from pleasant. I watched her cry because of conflicts in the church and witnessed her being treated unfairly. Those experiences left a deep aversion to churches in my heart. In June 2021, while preparing for marriage, I encowuntered the truth of the new Covenant through my fiancée. She was a member of the Church of God and occasionally shared the Bible with me. Having cold feelings toward religion already, the idea of “God the Mother” felt shocking. But my fiancée was so kind, sincere, and gentle that I…

Kim Gyu-beom from Mirayng, Korea

With the Love of the Heavenly Family

When I was in high school, a terrible crime occurred in our neighborhood. It was the kind of incident I had only ever seen on the news, and suddenly it felt frighteningly close. I couldn’t shake the fear that something might happen to me too. Around that time, a friend called, and I shared my anxiety with her. She comforted me and encouraged me to keep the Passover—the promise of God’s protection from disaster. She was a member of the Church of God. Some people around me spoke negatively about the Church of God, but their comments sounded like opinions made without real understanding, so I didn’t pay much attention. More importantly, I trusted my friend. She had always been…

Im Seon-hui from Seoul, Korea

The Reason I Cannot Give Up

Today’s fragrance of Zion features a young adult sister. Two years ago, I met this sister through her mother, whom I happened to meet on the street. Her mother had been baptized long ago, and the sister had once attended Zion with her—but over time, she drifted away from the truth. When she finally returned to Zion with her mother after many years, I wanted to greet her first so she wouldn’t feel awkward. She smiled kindly, but I could sense a wall around her heart. Still, I continued sending warm messages and calling her whenever I could. Little by little, we grew close, and she opened up about the struggles and pain she had been carrying. Because I, too,…

Kim Eon-min from Busan, Korea

The Words of the Water of Life Delivered Through Video

Balancing full-time work with caring for my family, I gradually began to neglect the gospel work. Busy with daily responsibilities, I barely managed to attend worship services and slowly lost the joy of faith. My spirit became weary, yet I made no effort to change. Living with my sick mother added to my burden. Complaints and resentment filled my heart: Why am I the only one suffering like this? The weight of life pressed so heavily on my shoulders that I often wanted to run away. On nights when things felt unbearable, I would slip out to the balcony and cry like a child. I knew I needed to regain my strength, but I didn’t know how. What helped me…

Ahn Hui-yeon from Seoul, Korea

Becoming a Happy Family Overflowing With God’s Blessings

My husband accepted the truth shortly before we were married, but he continued to struggle with doubt about the life of faith. He felt uncomfortable when I went to church, and he coldly brushed off greetings from Zion members. Although he sometimes attended worship services for the sake of family harmony, he clearly did not like it. Many times, the grace I received from worship was undone by his disheartening words. One day, overwhelmed by sorrow, I held our four-year-old daughter and cried. She gently hugged me and said, “Don’t cry, Mommy. I’ll pray for Daddy a lot.” Her small words felt like a message from Heaven. One Sabbath after the autumn festivals of 2023, my husband came to worship…

Kang Ju-hui from Gimpo, Korea

A Friend Who Was in Jamaica Received the Truth in the United States

In 2020, Heavenly Father and Mother allowed me to hear the truth and receive baptism in Zion. From that moment, I was overflowing with the desire to share this precious gospel. I preached to my closest friends and family—both those around me in the United States and those back home in Jamaica. One of them was my dear friend, Kimberley, who was still living in Jamaica at the time. She was always happy to hear me talk about Zion, but she never showed interest in studying the Bible. She would simply say she was glad I had found happiness in God. As my faith grew and I slowly came to understand the value of the truth, I found myself presenting…

Danielle Williams from Bronx, NY, U.S.