It took a long time to finish this book but it's not because its boring but it's read when I have free time and I savour it slowly as the words and imageries are packed to the full and in an exotic way. She is so good at taking the Chinese imageries and using them as metaphors to describe the moms' thoughts and worldview by making the into pictures (vs. articulating them in terms of philosophical concepts). It's brilliant.
"
"In a matter of seconds, it seemed, I had gone from being angered by her strength, to being amazed by her innocence, and then frightened by her vulnerability. And now I felt numb, strangely weak, as if someone had unplugged me and the current running through me had stopped." p. 200
Tan also has a brilliant way of weaving in and out between the Chinese and American culture--the mothers and the daughters--showing their differences and interactions, and the inbetween-ness the children navigate through.
"Over the years, I learned to choose from the best opinions. Chinese people had Chinese opinions. American people had American opinions. And in almost every case, the American version was much better.
It was only later that I discovered there was a serious flaw with the American version. There were too many choices, so it was easy to get confused and pick the wrong thing." p.214
There is also the delicate relationship between the mothers and daughters, who grew up with a vast contrast in values, with differing ways of showing love and knowing what is good for them.
The stories of the mothers growing up in China also give some insights into the life back then, with the restrictions, cultural colours, regulations, historical bacgkround, and lifestyle in an old China.
"A lot of bad luck fell on our wedding day, even though the matchmaker had chosen a lucky day, the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, when the moon is perfectly round and bigger than any other time of the year. But the week before the moon arrived, the Japanese came. They invaded Shansi province, as well as the provinces bordering us." p.52
Ultimately, the story shows the love of the mothers to their daughters, and their strength that has been masked by their perceived handicap being in a new country that speaks not their mother language. Tan used the stories of four pairs of mother-daughter with immigrant origins to cook up a feast of crabs and fries for us readers. It is definitely a feast for the eyes and imagination as the readers are plunged into the sometimes strange world of the old Chinese beliefs and the more relatable modern young ABCs.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Monday, September 25, 2017
30. Let Me Be a Woman - Elisabeth Elliot
---Notes to My Daughter on the Meaning of Womanhood
"In order to learn what it means to be a woman, we must start with the One who made her."
She quotes Scriptural texts here and there and gives the scriptural basis for her thoughts/advices. A well-thought out, comprehensive advice book to a daughter who is about to get married. Elliot writes from her own experience and God's Word about womanhood, and the difference between men and women. We are called to live out our feminism, not to strive to match the men in every aspect as we are created different. True freedom is living according to the design, within the rules as a sailboat has to obey the rules of the water and wind to sail freely. Hierarchy does not equal superiority, although these two have been equated in societies.
The chapters on "you are marrying a man, a husband, a sinner, ..." give really practical examples and point out the sometimes overlooked obvious differences between a man and woman that often give rise to conflicts and false expectations.
Ultimately, there is true freedom and beauty in living as a woman created by God.
17 Aug-22 Sep 2017
Carol Stream: Tyndale, 1976
"In order to learn what it means to be a woman, we must start with the One who made her."
She quotes Scriptural texts here and there and gives the scriptural basis for her thoughts/advices. A well-thought out, comprehensive advice book to a daughter who is about to get married. Elliot writes from her own experience and God's Word about womanhood, and the difference between men and women. We are called to live out our feminism, not to strive to match the men in every aspect as we are created different. True freedom is living according to the design, within the rules as a sailboat has to obey the rules of the water and wind to sail freely. Hierarchy does not equal superiority, although these two have been equated in societies.
The chapters on "you are marrying a man, a husband, a sinner, ..." give really practical examples and point out the sometimes overlooked obvious differences between a man and woman that often give rise to conflicts and false expectations.
Ultimately, there is true freedom and beauty in living as a woman created by God.
17 Aug-22 Sep 2017
Carol Stream: Tyndale, 1976
Monday, February 20, 2017
15. (Moving Through Your Problems Toward) Finding God - Larry Crabb
"Did the fact ever cross your mind that you are here in this world just to understand the Lord Jesus Christ, and for no other reason?" -George MacDonald p.15
-Feeling better (recovering from pain, finding comfort) has become more important to us than finding God. And worse, we assume that people who find God always feel better. p. 18
"We have learned to praise God the way we tip a specially attentive waiter. Good treatment we expect, but exceptional treatment deserves special recognition.... But this is backwards! We have rearranged things so that God is now worthy of honor because he has honored us. "Worthy is the Lamb," we cry, not in response to his amazing grace, but because he has recovered what we value most: the ability to like ourselves. We now matter more than God." p. 18
"With his blood Christ purchased a people for God and made us priests to serve him (Rev. 5:9-10). We exist for him, not the other way around." p. 19
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
-Not merely living, but walking with God. (Enoch's life.)
-"Agreeing to join him requires that every other ambition in my heart become secondary to promoting Christ. Anything that contradicts this purpose must be abandoned." p. 33
-"Our agenda is to fix the world until it can properly take care of us. God's agenda is to bring all things together in Christ until every knee bows before him." p. 35
"The deepest pleasures of life don't satisfy--they point us forward." p. 56
"Future hope is more valuable than present relief." p.61
-"No one will conclude that God is good by studying life. The evidence powerfully suggests otherwise. Belief in the goodness of God and the worship that naturally flows from this confidence depends on the revealing work of the Holy Spirit. When he ushers us into the presence of ultimate goodness, when our darkest tragedy is pierced by one glimpse of invisible glory, then faith is born. And the faith given by God's Spirit makes self-concern laughably unnecessary. We know we're in good hands no matter what comes. And our manner of living reflects our knowledge. We relax and get on with the purpose of life on this earth--worshipping God and advancing his kingdom." pp. 104-105
"You know you're finding God when you believe that God is good no matter what happens." "Finding God is developing, through Christ, an unshakable confidence in God's absolute goodness and perfect love no matter what we may experience in this life." p.106
Finding God means to face all of life, both good and bad, with a spirit of trust. We have a higher calling than finding joy in good things and working through bad things: we must reflect confidence in God in all our relationships and activities, in all our joys and sorrows.
"But our search for him must be on his terms. ... We are rather the judged, the forgiven, and the invited." p.107
-Replace the fallen structure on which so much of my life is built with a godly foundation.
-"Imagine relating to God with complete contentment, joyfulness, and eagerness to give." the foundation of "I Believe God" rather than "I Doubt God": You no longer doubt, but believe in his goodness. You no longer feel terror, but feel calm at his words: "I'll never leave you. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death with me. Be of good cheer. You'll have trouble in this world but I've overcome it. Your story has an ending too happy to describe. Trust me." You no longer feel rage, but want to worship. "God, you alone are worthy. I believe that those who love you will never be ashamed." pp. 107-8.
The last Word: Christ.
"To believe Christ (faith), to serve Christ (love), and to wait for Christ (hope): that is what it means to find God. But to the degree that you haven't found him, your passions are out of control. Trust is out. You want to explain and control;" p. 211
"Let your passion to heal become a passion to give hope. The wounds won't all go away now... but you can continue on, doing the work of faith and carrying out the labour of love...A better city awaits you." p.212
'It is time to find our way back to the living room and into the Father's arms, where we can listen to his Spirit tell the story of Christ." p.213
"I am making plans right now to take the step that God has placed before me. I've already taken it in my heart. Panic is giving way to the terror of trust. A quiet sense of adventure--almost a thrill--is replacing the despairing boredom. The world is too bad a place--and far too uncertain--to build a home and to count on enjoying it. But it's a perfect place to find God." p. 216
17-21 Feb, 2017
Singapore: Methodist Book Room PTE LTD, 1993 (Asia Edition)
P: A really good and honest book about the inner life of every Christian and how we can move through our problems toward Finding God, which is the most important thing.
-Feeling better (recovering from pain, finding comfort) has become more important to us than finding God. And worse, we assume that people who find God always feel better. p. 18
"We have learned to praise God the way we tip a specially attentive waiter. Good treatment we expect, but exceptional treatment deserves special recognition.... But this is backwards! We have rearranged things so that God is now worthy of honor because he has honored us. "Worthy is the Lamb," we cry, not in response to his amazing grace, but because he has recovered what we value most: the ability to like ourselves. We now matter more than God." p. 18
"With his blood Christ purchased a people for God and made us priests to serve him (Rev. 5:9-10). We exist for him, not the other way around." p. 19
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
-Not merely living, but walking with God. (Enoch's life.)
-"Agreeing to join him requires that every other ambition in my heart become secondary to promoting Christ. Anything that contradicts this purpose must be abandoned." p. 33
-"Our agenda is to fix the world until it can properly take care of us. God's agenda is to bring all things together in Christ until every knee bows before him." p. 35
"The deepest pleasures of life don't satisfy--they point us forward." p. 56
"Future hope is more valuable than present relief." p.61
-"No one will conclude that God is good by studying life. The evidence powerfully suggests otherwise. Belief in the goodness of God and the worship that naturally flows from this confidence depends on the revealing work of the Holy Spirit. When he ushers us into the presence of ultimate goodness, when our darkest tragedy is pierced by one glimpse of invisible glory, then faith is born. And the faith given by God's Spirit makes self-concern laughably unnecessary. We know we're in good hands no matter what comes. And our manner of living reflects our knowledge. We relax and get on with the purpose of life on this earth--worshipping God and advancing his kingdom." pp. 104-105
"You know you're finding God when you believe that God is good no matter what happens." "Finding God is developing, through Christ, an unshakable confidence in God's absolute goodness and perfect love no matter what we may experience in this life." p.106
Finding God means to face all of life, both good and bad, with a spirit of trust. We have a higher calling than finding joy in good things and working through bad things: we must reflect confidence in God in all our relationships and activities, in all our joys and sorrows.
"But our search for him must be on his terms. ... We are rather the judged, the forgiven, and the invited." p.107
-Replace the fallen structure on which so much of my life is built with a godly foundation.
-"Imagine relating to God with complete contentment, joyfulness, and eagerness to give." the foundation of "I Believe God" rather than "I Doubt God": You no longer doubt, but believe in his goodness. You no longer feel terror, but feel calm at his words: "I'll never leave you. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death with me. Be of good cheer. You'll have trouble in this world but I've overcome it. Your story has an ending too happy to describe. Trust me." You no longer feel rage, but want to worship. "God, you alone are worthy. I believe that those who love you will never be ashamed." pp. 107-8.
The last Word: Christ.
"To believe Christ (faith), to serve Christ (love), and to wait for Christ (hope): that is what it means to find God. But to the degree that you haven't found him, your passions are out of control. Trust is out. You want to explain and control;" p. 211
"Let your passion to heal become a passion to give hope. The wounds won't all go away now... but you can continue on, doing the work of faith and carrying out the labour of love...A better city awaits you." p.212
'It is time to find our way back to the living room and into the Father's arms, where we can listen to his Spirit tell the story of Christ." p.213
"I am making plans right now to take the step that God has placed before me. I've already taken it in my heart. Panic is giving way to the terror of trust. A quiet sense of adventure--almost a thrill--is replacing the despairing boredom. The world is too bad a place--and far too uncertain--to build a home and to count on enjoying it. But it's a perfect place to find God." p. 216
17-21 Feb, 2017
Singapore: Methodist Book Room PTE LTD, 1993 (Asia Edition)
P: A really good and honest book about the inner life of every Christian and how we can move through our problems toward Finding God, which is the most important thing.
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