Faith & Life

Discard Stereotypes

Let me give you an interesting game. Draw four straight lines without taking your hand off and try to connect all nine dots below. Did you succeed? Here’s the answer for those who have absolutely no idea how to solve it. Assuming that you have numbered ① to ⑨ in order from the beginning of the first line to the end of the bottom line, connect the numbers ①, ④ and ⑦ first. At this time, do not stop the line at ⑦ but draw a line as long as the length between ④ and ⑦. Then, draw a diagonal line through ⑧ and ⑥. Here again, do not stop at ⑥ but continue drawing to the right side of…

Resolution

A French sport shooter Véronique Girardet was blinded in one eye by cancer at the age of two. She was introduced to shooting by her father when she was sixteen. She has been crowned world champion four times. She revealed the secret of her excellent records despite being at a disadvantage to others. “Shooting is more a matter of concentration than a matter of sight. My father gave me strength and convinced me I could make it,” she said and made a resolution that she would do her best in the next shooting games, thinking that her late father would be watching her.

Nanny, King’s Another Mother

The prince of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea was raised by a nanny. The queen, who had to take on her role as the mother of the kingdom, could not concentrate only on childcare, and it was too much to do the work of feeding, washing, and changing diapers for her baby by herself. The prince regarded the nanny, who always cared for him, as another mother. Once the prince was crowned king, his nanny received a great court order in recognition of her contribution. She even had servants, riding in a sedan chair, and occasionally received royal gifts. For the nanny who came from the lowest class of people, it was like a story of rags to riches and…

Filling Emptiness Caused by the Absence of Mother with Care and Love

On a hot summer day, around fifty brothers and sisters from the Gangneung Zion volunteered to clean the place of a young man who has an intellectual disability. He was living alone since his mother had died. His home was a mess because he didn’t clean the place for a long time. All kinds of dirty things were over the wall and floor, and all the furniture and clothes had molds over them. It seemed impossible for anyone to live in such a place. It required urgent cleaning; otherwise, the young man’s health could be in danger. We were divided into a few teams, put on masks and rubber gloves, and started cleaning right away. First of all, we took…

Hong Sun-tae from Gangneung, South Korea

Doing Well and Doing the Best

Phil Lawler, who teaches physical education in Naperville, IL, U.S., let his students run a long distance in P.E. class for their health. Some students were good at running, while others weren’t. In order to improve the ability of students who weren’t good at running, he first tested an eleven-year-old girl’s running ability. When she ran with a heart rate monitor, she had an average heart rate of 187 and peaked at 207 at the finish line. Lawler was shocked when he saw the record. The theoretical maximum heart rate was 220 minus one’s age, so it turned out that she ran with her full speed. It seemed that she was not good at running, but in reality, she ran…

Family Awards Ceremony

At the end of every year, various awards ceremonies are held. It is to recognize and reward for the labor of those who have shown remarkable performance in each field and those who have made efforts steadily in their own places though they were not acknowledged. No matter what it is, good results cannot be achieved by one person. It is thanks to all members who help each other and do their best in their own places. The same goes for home. It would not be the result of one person’s efforts to have a happy home for a year while the family is all right. It may be the result of practicing sacrifice, love, and consideration for the family…

Like Planting a Tree

There is a tree-planting day in Australia. Australia puts a lot of efforts into planting and taking care of trees because its land is wide and has lots of plants and parks. Our Sydney Zion members decided to support the government work for National Tree Day 2018. When we arrived at the park on the day of our volunteer service, the park keepers were waiting for us with seedlings and planting tools. The work seemed easy because they had already dug the hole to plant the seedlings. But before long, we realized that planting a tree was not simple; depending on how we planted a tree, the tree could grow well or die. The method of planting trees was complicated.…

Ryu Mun-suk from Sydney, Australia

Even at the Same Temperature

There was once a record-breaking cold wave in Taiwan, and more than eighty people lost their lives due to hypothermia, heart attack, and cerebral hemorrhage. How cold was it that many people came to die? The temperature of the coldest day in winter was 4℃ [39℉]. You might not understand how people can lose their lives at above-zero temperature, but if you consider the average temperature in Taiwan, you can understand 4℃ could be very cold to them. Taiwan has a subtropical climate and its annual average temperature is well over 20℃ [68℉]. Winter temperatures are usually 10–15℃ [50–59℉], and it rarely goes down below 10℃ [50℉]. That is why Taiwanese people, who have never experienced frigid cold are vulnerable…

Happiness

Many studies on happiness show a similar result even though study periods, objects, and methods vary. The result says that happiness that is achieved by obtaining materials sustains only until the point where you do not need to worry about feeding yourself anymore. Once your survival is guaranteed, the happiness you felt in the beginning disappears and the level of happiness plateaus though your income increases. This explains how people in countries of low national income can have a higher level of happiness. It is not easy to define happiness as people have all different standards of happiness. However, happy people have something in common: They are confident, have a clear goal in life, and make efforts to live a…

An Amazing Plan for Salvation of Each Soul

Among many things happening in life, some are just simple incidents, whereas some are life-changing experiences. I can say meeting my wife was a once-in-a-life-time event, because I received Elohim through her. She’s from Colombia, a country in South America. When she was in high school, her family immigrated to Canada. They arrived in Windsor first, but soon, they planned to move to Montreal in Québec. However, things didn’t go as they planned, and they ended up in Edmonton instead of Montreal. My wife, then a high school student, entered a school among many in Edmonton—my school. We had a good relationship in school. During college, and even until I left Edmonton and came back, we remained as a couple,…

Joshua Michael Dimm from Edmonton, Canada

Buyable Happiness

Can we buy happiness with money? Happiness is not something sold in department stores or markets, so we cannot buy it with money. If we can buy happiness with money, whoever has more money should be happier. But it doesn’t work that way in reality. There is one way to buy happiness with money. Professor Michael Norton of Harvard University conducted an experiment, where he gave $5 to $20 to two groups of people, and ordered one group to use the money for themselves and the other group for someone else. After this, he surveyed the index of their happiness; those who purchased accessories or coffee for themselves showed no difference in the happiness index, but those who bought or…

Unless We Train Ourselves

When a world-famous singer had a performance in Korea, all the audience there felt disappointed and even upset. They had bought expensive tickets in order to listen to her live performance that would touch their hearts with her outstanding singing ability, but her voice was unstable and so weak that the audience at the back couldn’t even hear her. It was because she appeared on stage without enough practice. Even if you were good at and used to something, if you try it again in a long time, it’s awkward. Even if you were skilful at a certain instrument, if you don’t practice for a long time, your fingers will not move properly. Even if you exercised hard for a…

Warm Words Save the Family

There are the sayings: “Words have no feet, but they travel far,” and “Words can even repay a huge debt.” These show how powerful words are. Words can control the happiness of a family; they can break the family bond, or strengthen family’s love. The way the family members talk shows how strong and peaceful their family bond is. “Is there anything you know how to do?” “You stay home all day, doing nothing!” “You are stubborn-headed!” Love cannot exist in a family if the members use these kinds of words, not regarding the other person’s feeling. Everybody wants a sweet home. Wouldn’t you be very happy if a warm atmosphere fills your home when you come back tired after…

How to Minimize Regrets

“What do you say if I sell things on the Internet?” “It’s a good idea, but will it be necessary to challenge when you want for nothing? It would be better if a jobless person gives it a try.” The person, who graduated from a prestigious university and had a stable job with a high salary, handed in his resignation. Foreseeing the possibility of Internet business, he suggested the establishment of an Internet shopping mall to his boss, but he was rejected. So he decided to start his own business. He is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the largest online shopping mall in the world. When he was standing at a crossroads between a stable life and a new…

The LORD Will Make You the Head, Not the Tail

It has been almost eight years since I came to Australia. When I first came to Australia, I was new in the truth; it had been only a few months since I had received the truth. To say nothing of understanding Heavenly Father and Mother’s love and sacrifice, I didn’t even know the basic truths fully. So it was not like I had come overseas for the mission or with the plan to preach overseas like the sincere gospel workers. While I was living in Adelaide for three years, my faith started to grow. While studying the Bible and participating in preaching continually, I could feel my soul grow little by little. After realizing the mission and blessing of the…

Choi Byeong-ho from Brisbane, Australia

A Boast

Those who are healthy are likely to neglect their health care. Since they have no particular part that is sore, they blindly trust their health and may suddenly face a disease just like a bolt from the blue. In actuality, those who looked healthy get ill all of a sudden. On the contrary, those who are weak take great care of their health. Because they know that they are weak, if possible, they avoid the habits that are bad for health, and make efforts to stay physically fit, taking healthy food. “. . . I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” 2 Co 12:9 The reason the Apostle Paul…

The Beautiful Mind of Fathoming the Heart of Her Grandmother

I have a niece, who has a very beautiful mind. She sincerely cares about her grandmother. She sends her grandmother’s favorite snacks, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and oranges from time to time, and remits some money to her three times a year, asking her to eat something delicious. This kind niece had very difficult times last year. She had been childless for long after getting married, so she had been distressed. Then she could barely conceive, but she lost the baby right before giving birth. Upon hearing the news, I went to the hospital where my niece was, without having a time to grieve. Heartbroken, my niece said that she had been only waiting to see the baby in a healthy…

Lee Sun-ok from Changwon, South Korea

The Most Beloved Child

There was a family with five children. The second daughter did well at school and was praised by the people around her. However, she was sad that her parents seemed not to be interested in her while they took good care of her brothers and sister. So one day, she asked her mom, “Mom, who do you love most among us?” Then the mom answered with a gentle smile. “When your brother wandered during puberty, I loved him most, and when you had a hard time after arguing with your friend, I loved you most. When your little brother fell while riding a bike and came back home, crying, I loved him most. When I couldn’t buy your second brother…

Family

Sardinia, the island in the west of the Italian Peninsula, is famous for the highest rate of centenarians in the world. Among its population of 1.6 million, more than 250 people are over 100 years old. A survey team studied the secret of Sardinians’ long life and reported that Sardinians have special genes for longevity, and that those who live long have something in common: They live with their families. The positive family culture that two or three generations live together in the same house and have many conversations with each other acts as an energizer in their life. Our family gives us strength to live on in this world. We have another family. It is the heavenly family who…

Are Cicadas Math Geniuses?

In spring several years ago, cicadas were forecast to come to the eastern United States. How could they have predicted the appearance of a particular herd of cicadas like the weather forecast, even though there is no observation device for it? It is possible because they are the 17-year cicadas that appear explosively in a certain area every 17 years. Mathematical secrets are hidden in the lifespan of cicadas. Cicadas’ life expectancy is a prime number such as 5 years, 7 years, 11 years, 13 years, and 17 years, including the period of time living as nymph under the ground, depending on the species. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other…