Faith & Life

Vernalization

Forsythia, azalea, cherry tree, magnolia … Spring flowers burst into bloom when a warm southern wind blows after cold winter is gone. Outwardly, it seems that spring plays a crucial role in blossoming, but it is actually winter that does the job. Did you know that? The trees that make flowers bloom in spring must endure severe cold throughout the winter. If you leave the trees in a warm greenhouse, the trees do not bloom even if they become lush with leaves. The reason is because of vernalization. It refers to the phenomenon that winter plants bloom after being exposed to a certain low temperature that stimulates their growing points. Even though trees seem to be dead during cold winter,…

For Your Own Good

We often hear people say, “small but definite happiness.” It refers to the small happiness that we feel in our daily life. Seoul National University’s Consumer Trend Research Institute chose the “small but definite happiness” as one of the top ten consumption trends in Korea in 2018. The term “small but definite happiness” came into vogue when a famous Japanese writer said in his essay book that he felt satisfaction while snacking off his freshly baked bread with his hands or looking at his clothes well-organized in drawers. The writer’s message was “Live with such small happiness in everyday life because happiness doesn’t need to be tremendous,” and his message has aroused great sympathy from modern people who are having…

Conversation between a Father Emperor Penguin and His Young

“Dad, how long was I in the egg?” “You were there for two months.” “Then what were you doing until I hatched?” “I was holding the egg on top of my feet to keep it warm.” “For two months without rest? Eating nothing?” “Sure. Unless I incubate the egg even for a while, it will freeze soon in the piercing cold. Sometimes it becomes the food of skuas that keep their eyes on eggs or other penguins may come and snatch it.” “Wow! That’s awesome. Dad, when I grow big like you, I’ll protect you!” “Haha, yeah! Sounds wonderful!” The father emperor penguin, who smiled with satisfaction, said to himself, ‘By that time, however, you will be busy keeping your…

A Fun Day like a Picnic

We went to a vineyard in Daebudo Island to help a farmer. It takes over an hour to Daebudo Island from Bucheon, so we left early in the morning to give the farmer as much help as possible. Very early in the morning, we were excited as if we were going on a picnic. The farmer of the vineyard welcomed us as if he was welcoming his own children visiting him from a different city. He thanked us for coming all the way there in a busy farming season when it is hard to hire people even for a high price, and he smiled brightly, which made us feel great even before starting the work. What we needed to do…

Yun Mi-hyang from Bucheon, South Korea

Family

A few years ago, in a high school in Bucheon, Korea, a homeroom teacher attracted a lot of attention by making breakfast every day for her class children. At a high school in Seoul, Korea, students who were absent from the beginning of the semester began attending school by their school counselors’ suggestion to eat breakfast together, and the absent rate was remarkably reduced. The breakfast contained the school counselor’s affection for students. It didn’t only deepen the relationship between the teacher and the students but also was a great communication tool. Students were able to enjoy healthy and pleasant school life by sharing their concerns with the teacher and receiving comfort and advice. There are many situations that draw…

I Am the Supporter of My Family!

When we watch sports, we can see the people who are as enthusiastic as the players. They are supporters. Supporters refer to the people who support or sponsor a specific group or person, or the people who cheer for players in the stadium. The supporters’ backing and cheering give players strength and confidence, which leads the game to victory. It is true that the players who have finished the game say, “I was energized by the cheers of the spectators.” Not only sport players but everyone needs encouragement and support. This is because everyday life towards a dream or for a task given to us is sometimes like a fierce game. This month, become a reliable supporter for your family.…

Find Something in Common

Joe Girard, an American salesman, has been on the Guinness Book of Records for twelve consecutive years as the world’s greatest car salesman. One of his secrets of success was that he found what he has in common with his customers and developed a close bond with them, believing that they would buy a car from a salesperson they have a good feeling toward. People are likely to have a good feeling toward the person who has something in common with them like native place, hobby, tendency, and appearance. This is called Principle of Similarity in psychology. It works in objective parts, but the effect is much greater when we show empathy to others with words like, “I felt the…

God Will Guard Your Minds

A man has tens of thousands of thoughts in mind from the moment when he gets up till he goes to bed. A study by American psychologist Shad Helmstetter shows that most of them are negative thoughts like anxiety or worry and that few are positive thoughts. Negative thoughts do not spring up from the beginning. When distracting thoughts are left alone in your head, they naturally flow in a negative way. A person who easily feels bored even for a good thing, comes to incline toward a negative way unconsciously as time passes by according to the habit of brain that accepts negative things more actively. So experts say that we need to make efforts in order to have…

Gospel Work Is Surely Done in Its Time

“The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly”Isa 60:22 God promised He would do this swiftly. When I look back, I realize my gospel life has flowed according to this prophecy. While praying to God and waiting with patience, God’s grace which was given to me spread to my family and to people I had never known. It happened as “its time” came. From when I was seven, I went to church that believes in God Jehovah as the Savior. That church denied the existence of the soul and of heaven and hell. However, I could see many words about hell in the…

Ahn Jong-hui from Ansan, South Korea

A Lesson from Kauai

The island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands is now famous for its beautiful scenery, but it was once a dark gloomy land. The residents suffered from poverty and diseases, and criminals, alcoholics, and juvenile delinquents were serious. In 1954, a research was conducted about how family background and socioeconomic environment influenced the development of people there. Experts in each field observed about 800 residents from the time when they were fetuses to adulthood, and found out that the worse their living environment was such as parents’ flaws in character and mental health and the like, the harder they found it to adjust to society, living a wrong-headed life. Among 201 residents in the high-risk group with the poorest living…

God Is Light

If you turn to the light, the shadow retreats backward, but if you turn against the light, the shadow—darkness— is in front of you. … God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 Jn 1:5 If you look toward God, who is light, darkness always backs away. On the contrary, if you turn your back on God, you cannot help but put darkness before you. The only way to escape from darkness is to look at God and come toward Him. Everything is seen under the light; our sins and the way to go are clearly seen. In the light, we are not likely to overlook sins, stumble in darkness, nor wander in the dark, losing…

Time Is Gold, We think time is gold especially when we spend time with our families

A woman in her fifties goes to see the doctor to get the result of her medical checkup and is told that she has nine months to live. The woman is at a loss for words by the unexpected result. This is a scene from a viral video. Actually, the nine months given her to live are not the time she can live, but the time she can spend with her family. Assuming that human lifespan is eighty-five years, the remaining time for a fifty-three-year-old housewife is thirty-two years. If you think about the time for work, time for sleep, time for TV or smartphone, and the time for herself, the time she has for her family is just nine…

Appearance and Value

In January 2007, a man wearing a hat in shabby attire began to play the violin at a subway station in Washington D.C., U.S. For forty-five minutes of performance, many passersby went by him, but only a few people stopped for a while; most of them did not even look at him. Two days before this, a violinist’s concert was held in Boston. The ticket that was over 100 dollars was sold out, and the concert came to an end with great cheering by the audience. His name is Joshua Bell. He is a musician loved by Americans and a world-renowned violinist. What was surprising was that Joshua Bell was the one who played the violin at the subway station.…

Putting Down the Burden of Sin

Last October, my husband and I moved our gospel field to Baybay in the province of Leyte, Philippines. We had been to Baybay once for a short-term mission, but there was almost nothing we knew about the city. I was a bit worried because it was an unfamiliar area quite far from Zion my husband and I belonged to. However, we were willing to go to Baybay, believing that there was God’s will to quickly complete the gospel work. But our willing hearts did not last long. It was because we got impatient as there was no fruit borne even after a month since we had moved. It seemed there must’ve been something contrary to God’s will, although we thought…

Mary Rose Paulines from Pagadian, Philippines

Open

Open concert, open lecture, open competition, open experience . . . There are many “open” events that emphasize the opportunity to participate without any restrictions. If it says it’s open, it gets a little easier to get closer because you won’t have to open the door yourself or hold back yourself from entering in front of the closed door. It is the same for preaching the gospel; the door must be opened. In front of someone whose mind is closed or hardened, everything what you say will be disagreed. Even if you bring out all kinds of rhetorics and use all means and methods, you can never get into their minds. The one who has the key is God. Only…

When We Look Most Adorable

There is something that contains my vivid childhood days. It is a video tape recorded by the camcorder that Dad purchased about twenty years ago. Since the appearance of smart phones, the camcorder had been placed out of sight for a long time and the tape identification device didn’t work. I was curious about the videos in it, so I found a company that converts the video into a digital file. A week later, the flash drive that contains the videos arrived at home. All my family members gathered in front of TV with excitement and played the video. My whole body was dark because of the sunburn, my younger sister whose teeth had fallen out, and my youngest sister…

Lee Jeong-yeon from Bucheon, South Korea

When You Talk about Others

One disciple asked his teacher, “You said backbiting hurts three people.” “Yes. It turns the backbiter, the listener, and the one who gets backbitten into victims.” “So what should I do in order not to backbite others?” Pleased with his disciple who was going to do as he learned, the teacher responded with a smile, “Think of three things before you talk about others: First, ‘Did I hear and see it myself?’ Second, ‘Is what I’m trying to say a good thing?’ Third, ‘Is it necessary for me?’ ” Not to forget his teacher’s teaching, the disciple repeated to himself what his teacher told him. Looking at him, the teacher said again with a gentle smile, “The simplest and easiest…

A Single Message

The Island of the Five Lighthouses written by Spanish author Ferran Ramon-Cortes is a book about the process of solving communication problems through five lighthouses. The story goes that the protagonist finishes a presentation, thinking that he has done well but the audience shows a lukewarm reaction. Shocked, he asks his professor what the reason is. The professor recommends him to go to an island with five lighthouses and observe each lighthouse to look for the answer rather than giving him the answer directly. A lesson from the first lighthouse is impressive. This lighthouse blinks repeatedly about 3,000 times a night. The lighthouse, which flashes without rest for 365 days a year to vessels sailing in the dark night sea,…

Pit Crew

Formula One Grand Prix is a world-class motor race. As Formula One [F1] is a single-seat racing car, it may seem the game depends on the driver, but it is actually a game that requires teamwork. The racing team includes pit crew members in addition to the driver, manager, and director. The record can be poor when the tires wear during the race, and so tire change is a must. A pit stop is a place where a racing vehicle stops during a race for new tires. The mechanics who work there are the pit crew. It takes less than three seconds for about 20 pit crew members to change four tires. The pit crew is very important for car…

The Fruit of Unity

Our Torrance Zion has been doing various kinds of voluntary works, keeping a good relationship with the City Hall of Torrance, since we held the global environmental cleanup movement for the first time in October, 2015. Recently, the City Hall asked us to clean the Charles H. Wilson Park. Wilson Park is famous in Torrance because it has a small steam train that runs there twice a month. However, as it rained a lot recently, weeds grew around 2.4 km [1.5 mile]-long train track, and it spoiled its beauty. The City Hall asked us if we could remove the weeds so that the residents and children could use the steam train more joyfully and safely. On the day of the…

Kotaro Uechi from Torrance, CA, U.S.