Faith & Life

“It’s Okay Because We Are Family”?

A family is the first group that a person belongs to after he was born, where the members’ gender and age are different. If the members don’t make efforts to take care of each other with sincerity, their relationship faces difficulty. Most people have a wrong idea about their family that they can keep the family relationship even though they don’t make efforts. They believe that they don’t need to try to look good to the family members or be nice to one another because they are family. However, we can see that big and small disputes that separate family members are from being inconsiderate of and feeling too comfortable with each other. This month, let us think about some…

Dandelions

A man started a garden. He poured soil into the garden, where he planted the seeds of his favorite flowers. After some time, beautiful flowers were in full bloom. While he was looking at his garden with satisfaction, he found that a bunch of dandelions had grown in his garden. He tried every possible means to get rid of the dandelions. But no matter how hard he tried to eradicate them, they did not disappear but continued to grow somewhere in the garden. As a last resort, he called the gardening association. After telling how much effort he had put into removing the dandelions, he said, “What do I have to do to get rid of the dandelions from my…

Bushland Care

“Your two hours equal our six months.” This was what a council member said, when he explained that our volunteer work in two hours would’ve taken them six months to complete. While we were working wholeheartedly with bright smiles and happy laughter ringing through the forest reserve, we planted 120 plants and shoveled three great piles of mulch to cover and protect a large area of native trees and plants. My realization was to do with One of the most memorable things was the task of mulching, which is to cover the ground around plants with wood chips to prevent excessive evaporation or erosion, enrich the soil, and inhibit weed growth; in the ground where the weeds had already been…

Maxine Hannah from Sydney, Australia

Chosen by Grace

I thought I became a child of God because I was good and righteous until I saw the following words: So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. Ro 11:5–6 I could become a child of God not because of my actions, but because of God’s grace. We are walking the path to the kingdom of heaven thanks to Heavenly Father and Mother’s grace and love. I will always follow Heavenly Father and Mother with humility, giving thanks for choosing me as Their child though I’m lacking in many ways.

Park Ji-won from Toronto, Canada

My Dream

In 1952, Edmund Hillary, New Zealand’s most famous mountaineer, attempted to climb Mount Everest after training rigorously, but he failed. Then people asked him, “You’ve experienced how hard and difficult it is to climb Mount Everest, so you won’t climb it again, will you?” “Yes, I will try again. Mount Everest remains as it is, but my dream keeps growing.” The next year, he became the first person in the world to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Be All the More Eager to Make Your Calling and Election Sure

When I was faced with an unexpected situation during my overseas mission, I felt bad about myself. I felt incapable of doing any task and become low-spirited, thinking, ‘If it were another member, she would have done it much better than I did.’ However, after reading this cheerful verse, I never get frustrated at myself any longer. “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Pe 1:10–11 God has called and chosen me. It is not by my own effort or ability that such…

Gong Ju-hui from Medellín, Colombia

Take the Initiative

A family is the smallest unit of the community. A community is a group of people who live or act together or who have a particular shared purpose. When many people live together in the same house, they sometimes pass their work onto another and want someone else to do things for them—even something that must be done jointly. There are also many times when they compete against each other over totally useless things. So, the mission of this month is to take the initiative. It doesn’t mean that you should eat delicious food first and have good things first, but that you should be the first to put love, care, and sacrifice into action for your family. Tip Apologize first after an argument, greet warmly first, smile…

The Importance of the First Comment

When I see malicious comments on the Internet news and criticism people make without any reason, I frown and feel offended even when I am not involved. That is why I tend not to read comments though I read articles. Just in time, ASEZ, the World Mission Society Church of God University Student Volunteer Group, carried out the “No More Verbal Abuse” campaign. The campaign was to encourage people to use uplifting words in daily life online and offline, and I started posting positive comments. Then I realized the importance of the first comment while taking part in this campaign. Normally, a good comment leads to another uplifting and encouraging comment, but a malicious comment leads to another malicious comment.…

Go Na-yeong from Busan, Korea

100 Percent Faith

Elijah and 850 idolaters gathered on Mount Carmel. It was the last battle to distinguish the true God from the gods they served. What Elijah did at that time moved me greatly. “With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.” He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.…

Gu Jeong-min from Durban, South Africa

Go and Make Disciples

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mt 28:19–20 We should not keep the truth of the new covenant only to ourselves, but we should make disciples of all nations and keep it together. In order to accomplish that mission, I made a plan for the gospel whenever a new year came. However, I rarely followed the plan each year. Due to the poor business management at work, I had to look for a new job. I couldn't…

Jo In-woong from Seoul, Korea

Serendipity Law

Many great inventions and discoveries have been made unexpectedly. These include X-ray, penicillin, microwave oven, vaccination method, nylon, glass, etc. It is called serendipity when we make a significant discovery or invention by chance or by failing an experiment. The term was used for the first time in the eighteenth-century by an English novelist Horace Whirlpool; he used the term after reading the Three Princes of Serendip, a Persian fairy tale. However, good luck will not come to everyone at any time. Those who constantly make efforts will gain it after trying despite 99 failures. Hiroshi Miyanaga, the author of The Law of Serendipity, says: “In order to turn accidental luck into your own, you have to always think of…

What I Have

Whenever I compared myself with other people, I felt that I owned nothing better than they did. At such times when I felt a loss of confidence, a verse woke me up. “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” Rev 3:11 God’s word, “Hold on to what you have,” made me realize that I owned precious things more than other people. Father and Mother protect us as the apple of Their eyes, and our brothers and sisters share joys and sorrows with me. The heavenly blessing has been given to me, but not to everyone though he wants it. I was ashamed of myself for having compared myself with…

Kang Yeong-suk from Busan, Korea

Sharing Something Small With Neighbors

“If we want to find happiness, let's stop thinking about gratitude or ingratitude and give for the inner joy of giving.” Dale Carnegie There is a campaign to donate coffee to neighbors who cannot afford a cup of coffee. When you pay for the coffee, you pay someone else’s coffee in advance, and then someone in need would come and drink coffee for free. This was called the “suspended coffee,” which means “the advance purchase of a cup of coffee for someone who needs.” It started in Naples, Italy, and spread to many countries. This sharing movement was also introduced in Korea. The “Half a Bean” movement, which started in Geochang, is not only for food such as coffee and…

So That It May Go Well With You in the End

On February 17, 2016, my son graduated from elementary school. My husband who worked two hours away from home even took a leave take time off work to participate in his graduation ceremony with me. At the graduation ceremony, the names of the graduates were called one after another, and they were given their certification of graduation. Some were called to come up to the platform to receive awards, and my son was one of them. I was so happy that tears welled up in my eyes. People might think that he received an academic excellence award or something like that, but what he received was an athletic award that was given to those who had talents in athletic activities.…

Lee Sun-deok from Gumi, South Korea

Always Speaking Positively

“No Graffiti” “No Dumping or Littering” “No Photography” “No Food and Drink” “No Parking” . . . When you go to the street, an office or a restaurant where many people go, you can easily see various warning signs or the sign that says, “Video Surveillance in Progress.” There was a research that counted the signs in Seoul, which is a busy area, and they found that there were about 2,000 warning signs on the walls, pillars, and entrances of buildings when they walked about 13 km (6 miles). It’s like one sign in every nine steps. Regarding this, a psychologist said, “It is an inevitable measure for maintaining order and safety, but if it is excessive, it can act…

The Law of Jante (The Law of Ordinary People)

“If you are happy, you can make others happy. If you make others happy, you will be even happier.” Gleim (German poet) When people in Northern Europe teach their children, they emphasize the “law of Jante.” This is a customary practice that has been passed down in Scandinavia. Jante is one of the common names like James in America, implying an ordinary person. The law that is deeply rooted in them is as follows: “Don’t think that you are special, don’t think that you are in the same position with others, don’t think that you are smarter than others, don’t think that you are in a better position than others, don’t think that you know more than others, don’t think…

Holding My Grandmother’s Hand Tightly

My grandmother is 92 years old. Since I entered elementary school, my grandmother raised me and my younger brother. When I was young and immature, it seemed to me that my grandmother only cared about my brother. So I often rebelled against her rather than helping her, who was struggling with her business and housework. I hated her because I thought there was favoritism, and I went to high school far away from home. The day I was leaving, I packed up and came out of the house, and my grandmother suddenly started to cry. It was different from how I felt about my grandmother, who was strong and tough. My heart too started to ache. After getting married, I…

Lee Joo-mi from Seosan, Korea

Giving Up One’s Life for Her Daughter

Who could ever lay down their one and only life for a stranger without any condition? If there is, it must be the person’s mother. In 2013, a couple named Joyce and Max lived in New York City. Joyce and Max were so happy to have a child that it felt like a dream. It was because when Joyce was diagnosed with cancer, she was told that it would be difficult to get pregnant if she received chemotherapy, so she had already given up having a baby. However, the joy of pregnancy did not last long. One month later, Joyce had a recurrence of cancer in her back and underwent a tumor removal surgery. The problem was after the surgery.…

A Daughter Who Took After Her Dad

“Mom! Why don’t I look like you?” “What do you mean? You’re my daughter. We look alike.” “You’re lying! Today I heard some people say to you about my older sisters, ‘Your daughters are pretty as they resemble you.’ But they said about me, ‘Oh, your youngest daughter probably look more like her dad.’ So, you all laughed a lot, didn’t you?” When I was a child, I always heard people say that whenever I went out with my older sisters while holding my mom’s hands. As I got grumpy and pouted my lips, my mom and sisters giggled and consoled me in their own ways. “In my eyes, you resemble me the most. They don’t have eyes to see…

Goh Su-jeong from Jeonju, South Korea

Gollum, King Kong, Ape

If you ask people if they know who Andy Serkis is, they may tilt their heads. However, most people will recognize him when they hear “Gollum.” He had been a nameless actor until he was cast in The Lord of the Rings, but his role was to be played with motion capture techniques, so even though the movie was a big hit, he was hardly recognized by people. Motion capture is a technology that captures facial expressions and movements and superimposes them on computer-generated images with a sensor attached to an actor's body. In other words, an actor can act, but his appearance would not be shown in the movie. After that, he was cast in the movie King Kong.…