Faith & Life

Dust That Became a Popular Product

At a dyeing factory in Imabari, Japan, most of the textiles being dyed were towels, as many towel manufacturers were located nearby. Towels are made by combining countless fiber pieces, and during the dyeing and drying process, a large amount of dust is generated. This factory produced as much as 240 liters of dust a day. The cost of disposing of it was high, and it also posed a fire hazard—making it a major nuisance. Then one day, an employee suggested an idea: why not recycle the dust? The proposal was to turn the flammable dust into fire starters. As an experiment, they set fire to a clump of dust and found that it lit easily and made starting a…

The Grateful Owl

Stories about animals repaying kindness they’ve received from humans are called “tales of gratitude.” While such tales may sound like something out of a fairy tale, they do happen in real life. One day, a man in South Africa was leaving his house when he found an injured owl collapsed on the ground. He brought the owl home, treated its wounds, and provided it with a warm place to sleep and plenty of food. Thanks to his tender care, the owl recovered and, after about two months, was able to fly again. The man then released the owl back into the wild. But that wasn’t the end of the story. From that day on, the owl would occasionally return to…

Beneficial Shame

Shame is an emotion we feel when we’ve done something wrong or made a mistake. More precisely, it doesn’t arise simply from the wrongdoing itself, but from the fear that others will now see us as flawed because of it. That’s why people who make mistakes respond to shame differently depending on how others react to them. Dr. Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, classifies shame into two types: “destructive shame” and “beneficial shame.” Destructive shame leads people to feel inferior, plunging them into depression, despair, or rebellion—especially when they are met with scolding or blame from others. Beneficial shame, on the other hand, includes a sincere desire to reflect on one’s mistake and…

Altruistic Love

On a loved one’s birthday, you carefully choose a gift, hoping to bring them joy. But when your own birthday comes around, they either forget or give you something far below your expectations. In such moments, many people think: “How could they do this to me?” This reaction stems from a desire to be compensated for the love you gave. When love is reciprocal—based on giving and receiving—there may be moments of happiness, but there are also negative emotions like anxiety and disappointment. However, when you genuinely wish for someone else’s happiness and success, with no expectation of return, that’s altruistic love. Acts of altruism—like helping someone or sharing with others—trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, bringing feelings…

The Mpemba Effect

If you place warm water and cold water in a freezer, which one will freeze faster? Since water freezes at 0°C, common sense tells us that the cold water should freeze first. However, in reality, the warm water freezes more quickly. This phenomenon is known as the “Mpemba Effect.” The discovery of this effect began with a question from a teenage boy named Erasto Mpemba in Tanzania. During a lecture at his school, Mpemba asked a visiting physicist about something he had observed years earlier: when making ice cream, he had boiled milk mixed with sugar and put it into the freezer. Surprisingly, it froze faster than his friend’s milk, which had been cooled longer. Everyone laughed at the boy’s…

The Great Operation

In 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the South Korean and UN forces launched a counterattack through the Incheon Landing Operation. However, due to the intervention of Chinese troops, they had to retreat repeatedly and eventually became isolated in the Heungnam region of South Hamgyong Province. In this urgent situation, with enemy forces tightening the encirclement, the Heungnam Port turned into complete chaos, packed with soldiers and refugees. Over 100,000 troops were to be evacuated, along with 18,000 vehicles and 350,000 tons of combat supplies. Yet, there was no evacuation plan at all for the more than 100,000 refugees. At this, Hyun Bong-hak, civil affairs advisor to the U.S. 10th Corps, earnestly requested General Almond, the corps commander, to…

The Result of Giving Up

A man arrived at a job interview location, only to find the room filled with many young and competent-looking candidates. Feeling discouraged, he looked around nervously when an older gentleman approached and struck up a conversation. “Do you think you’ll pass the interview?” the man asked. “Pass? Look at all these talented people. I don’t think I stand a chance,” the younger man replied. “Then why are you still waiting for the interview?” “Well. . . maybe a miracle will happen. But honestly, I don’t think today’s my day.” Just then, a staff member came out and said the interviews were over and everyone should return home to wait for the results. A few days later, the man received a…

The Road to Becoming a Champion

When Nancy Merki was around ten years old, she contracted polio and had to walk with crutches. Hoping to strengthen her leg muscles, her parents brought her to a swimming coach. Four years later, Nancy placed third in a swimming competition held in California. At the age of nineteen, she went on to become a national champion. President Roosevelt once asked her, “How were you able to become a champion despite your physical challenges?” She simply replied, “I just kept going.”

With a Handful of Seeds

In 1979, a massive flood struck Assam, India. The flooded land was left in complete ruin. A teenage boy named Payeng suggested planting trees in the devastated area. But no one took his words seriously. Undeterred, Payeng planted a handful of bamboo seeds by himself. More than thirty years later, that small handful of seeds had grown into a vast forest—home to countless species of wild animals and plants.

The Best Bald Dad

In the United States, a childhood cancer charity hosted a “Best Bald Dad” contest in celebration of Father’s Day. The goal was to select the dad who looked best with a shaved head—among those who had shaved their heads in solidarity with their children undergoing cancer treatment. The event aimed to support children who had lost their hair due to chemotherapy and to encourage the fathers who chose to share in their children’s pain by shaving their own heads. Mr. Marshall from Wichita, Kansas, entered the contest by submitting a photo with his son. At first glance, the photo stood out—both he and his son had identical large scars on the right side of their bald heads. It turned out…

The Order of What We Must Do

World-renowned business scholar Dr. Stephen Covey categorized daily tasks into four types: ① Urgent and important tasks ② Not urgent but important tasks ③ Urgent but not important tasks ④ Neither urgent nor important tasks So, in what order should we tackle these tasks? Most people agree that ① should be done first and ④ last. The real dilemma lies between ② and ③: should we prioritize what’s urgent or what’s important? Dr. Covey advises us to focus on important tasks rather than urgent ones. Because time is limited, it’s easy to get caught up in urgent matters. But when we constantly prioritize urgent tasks, truly important ones get pushed aside. Eventually, we end up spending our lives dealing only…

One Step at a Time

Yamada Honichi was an unknown athlete when he won the 1984 Tokyo International Marathon. People said he was just lucky. But in 1986, he proved them wrong by winning again—this time at the International Marathon in Italy. When reporters asked him the secret to his success, he explained: “Before each race, I walk through the marathon course and pick out visual landmarks to use as personal goals. For example, my first target might be a bank building, the second a large tree, and the third a red house. I create a series of small, manageable goals just for myself. Then, once the race starts, I run toward the first goal as if I’m doing a 100-meter sprint. When I reach…

Giving Compliments Well

“Giving a compliment is an art that must be learned.” Max Müller A compliment that feels fake, is always the same, or is given half-heartedly is often worse than saying nothing at all. Just like creating a beautiful piece of art requires practice and effort, giving compliments that truly touch and uplift others takes intentional effort. If you make a habit of carefully observing others’ strengths and expressing them often, you can become someone who gives meaningful and heartfelt compliments.

Together

When we observe animals that live in groups, we see that they gain great strength from being together. Meerkats, often called the sentinels of the desert, live in highly cooperative communities. If one of them is injured, others will guard it and help it safely back into the burrow, providing food until it recovers. Meerkats also take turns standing guard at the entrance of their burrows, with the elders going first. When a predator appears, the guard lets out a sharp warning cry, allowing the group to flee to safety. The same is true for animals like zebras and Thomson’s gazelles, which migrate twice a year in search of food and water. They travel in large herds to appear bigger…

Winning Together, Sharing the Joy Together

Road cycling races are grueling long-distance events that push human limits, spanning flat roads, uphill climbs, and steep descents. Since each cyclist rides their own bike, the race may appear to be an individual competition—but in truth, it’s a team sport. Typically, the most skilled rider on a team races for the win as the team leader, while the rest of the team supports him. No matter how strong the leader is, winning alone is nearly impossible. One especially crucial team member is the domestique. Depending on the language, this role is translated as “water carrier,” “helper,” “servant,” or even “friend.” A domestique rides ahead to block the wind for the leader, fetches water from the team car, keeps rival…

For a Single Drop of Water

The Namib Desert lies along the southwestern coast of Africa. In the Nama language, “Namib” means “a land of nothing.” There, a special beetle makes a remarkable effort whenever fog rolls in. On foggy mornings, the beetle climbs steep sand dunes—no small feat for a creature only about 2 cm long. To the beetle, the dune is like a massive mountain. But it must reach the top before the morning sun burns the fog away, so it climbs without rest. Once at the top, the beetle does something surprising—it performs a headstand. Facing into the fog, it lifts its body upside down and stays completely still. This is how it gathers water. Tiny droplets from the fog cling to the…

God Gives Greater Honor to the Parts That Lack It

One day, I tripped over a stone and fell. In the moment, I was too stunned to pay attention to the pain. But as time passed, my entire body began to ache; my hand swelled up, and a deep bruise appeared on my knee. Being unable to properly use my hands and feet proved to be more inconvenient than I had imagined. Cleaning, eating, and even praying became difficult. Each time I struggled, the members in Zion comforted me with sincere concern. The parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body…

Hyeon Su-jin from Incheon, Korea

The Moment Her Fate Changed

Lee Hyun-seo (33) escaped from North Korea at the age of 14 and, after enduring many hardships, finally made it to South Korea. Later, she heard that her family back in North Korea had been exiled to a remote mountain village. Determined to bring them to freedom, she made up her mind to help them escape. Since her family could not speak Chinese, she had no choice but to personally guide them over 3,200 kilometers (1,990 miles) through China and Southeast Asia to reach the land of freedom. At one point during the journey, their bus was stopped at a Chinese police checkpoint. Relying on her instincts, she managed to avoid danger by telling the officers that her family members…

Continue in What You Have Learned and Have Become Convinced of

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Ti 3:12–15 Although God has granted us the truth that leads to eternal life in heaven, there are moments when our faith may be shaken. Temptations that promise wealth, and a culture that glorifies instant gratification, can make the pursuit of…

Kim Jin from Daegu, Korea

The Threat of Loneliness

Research has shown that loneliness not only causes mental distress but also threatens physical health. According to the study, loneliness is linked to arteriosclerosis, which causes high blood pressure, and to inflammation in the body. It can also lead to problems with learning ability and memory. Furthermore, when loneliness becomes prolonged, it alters the immune system, disrupting the production of antibodies and weakening the body’s defense against viruses. In fact, socially isolated individuals have been found to have a higher risk of developing cancer, infectious diseases, and heart conditions compared with those who are not isolated. Coworkers we work with, friends we spend time with, and the family we live with—all are precious people who protect us from loneliness.