Our Editor Rachel shares an intimate story about love from the Father of the bride on her wedding day.
Have you ever experienced an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn’t be familiar at all? Some people call it a déjà vu while others say it could be a distant dream. However, I think it could sometimes be a vision that God has placed in our hearts.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” – Joel 2:28
A few months ago, I had a wedding ceremony in Malaysia. Most brides would be exhilarated and beaming with joy. They would agree to many things the wedding planners and vendors propose because it would be ‘once in a lifetime’. However, this wedding was held after our wedding ceremony in California. I felt that we have already been there and done that not long ago with this ceremony being the ‘second in our lifetime’.
Have you ever wondered what love looks like outside of fairy tales and romantic comedies? Our Voice Sherea shares with us what it means to love someone through the challenges of real life.
This November, my husband Brian and I will celebrate our twenty-first wedding anniversary. However, in 1997, we separated for about eight months. That was by far the worst thing – and also the best thing – that ever happened to our marriage.
With Easter Sunday just one day away, many of us are planning various ways to celebrate this glorious day. However, do we REALLY know what we are rejoicing and what significance this Holy day holds? Perhaps it is the Easter Egg Hunt or trip to see the Easter bunny that gets your family excited. Maybe it is one of the few times you visit the church each year because you feel this day is more important than any other Sunday. Perhaps you’re celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and honoring God for the ultimate sacrifice that He made for the human race. With no right or wrong answer, feel free to share what Easter means to you. I’ll start…
Before Easter Sunday, there was Good Friday. Good Friday marks the day of pure sacrifice, eternal forgiveness and divine love. On Good Friday, God paid the ultimate price for EACH and EVERY one of us by sacrificing His only son, Jesus, to be the payment of our sins… back then, today and forever. I don’t have children yet, but if I did, I would struggle so intensely about sacrificing my ONLY child so that the rest of the world could have a future. Jesus didn’t have to die for us… He was Jesus! He could have done many miraculous acts to avoid being hung on the cross. Jesus choseto die for us. The public humiliation, pain and heartache He endured was a choice that He made for us. He bled for us, He cried for us, He was ridiculed and mocked for us and eventually, He died for us. To me, Good Friday marks the ultimate forgiveness for our sins and defines the love that God has for us.
Easter Sunday is God’s reminder of His promise to us, His promise that “Never will I [God] leave you [us]; never will I [God] forsake you [us].” Hebrews 13:5. Even after everything that Jesus stood for seemed to come to an end, He rose from the dead. This tells me that even in our darkest times when all hope seems lost, the faithful and good will prevail. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, imagine the miracles He can perform for us! All we have to do is believe.
Do you ever miss home? Our Editor Dan shares a touching story about the tenderness of the Father’s Heart for those who are living far away from family and friends.
Last Friday my wife Rachel was feeling especially homesick. Being from Malaysia and coming to a whole new world and life out here in LA, she sometimes needs a little taste of home to keep her going. So we decided to have a late dinner at The Spice Table in Little Tokyo, one of our favorite restaurants and one of the only places in LA where you can find truly authentic Malaysian / Singaporean flavors.
We’re regulars there, and we almost always order the same thing, but this time for some reason we decided to try something different and ordered the Kaya Toast - which is a buttered toast with coconut jam that you dip in a mixture of soft poached egg, soy sauce and white pepper.
It had been a hard day and a long week for Rachel.
Our Editor Rachel debuts in WitnessLA with a story which brought her back to one of the darkest times in her life.
A few years ago, I was at the bottom of my career in Hong Kong entertainment. The company I joined was seemingly established with the biggest stars and 30 years of history but all of a sudden, it closed down. When I was drowning my sorrows in Shanghai with my friends, I met an accident which caused me to be hospitalized. That same weekend, I broke up with my boyfriend of three years. When I thought I was at the lowest point of my career, love and friendship, a close friend of mine sent me emails, asking me to come home to Malaysia, where she would be there for me. Her name was Shu.
Shu was the girl with the beautiful hair and features. She had a smile that would light up the entire college hallway. Even when she was going through tough times, she would tell me her stories with a great sense of humor. Her optimism was an inspiration to me.
In the spirit of Valentine’s, at WitnessLA.org we’re featuring the stories and testimonies on what God has shown Christians about singleness, relationships, and love. Today, our friend Touyee shares about the best and most memorable Valentine’s Day card he’s ever received.
The worse part of Valentine’s Day growing up was waiting till the end of class to open up all the cards that were given out from your fellow classmates. Likewise the best part of Valentine’s Day was opening all the cards that you got. There was the classic train that read “I choo-choo choose you!” The bumble bee that read “Let’s Bee Together!” There was the classic card that simply read “I love you.”
As we’ve grown up, for those in a season of singleness, these Valentine’s card phrases can bring back memories of brokenness, heartbreak, and despair.
In the spirit of Valentine’s, at WitnessLA.org we’re featuring the stories and testimonies on what God has shown Christians about singleness, relationships, and love all the days leading up to Feb. 14th. Today, our Voice M shares how God helped her find love and maintain purity in her relationship.
About two years ago I had shared my struggles with purity. I was walking strongly with the Lord when I was tempted and almost succumbed to feelings of lust. Looking back I am so glad God intervened and saved me from that situation for a number of reasons. God saved me from another bad romance, He prevented me from sinning against Him and causing a division between us, and He used that situation to help prepare me to have the godly relationship I would have with my future husband.
In the spirit of Valentine’s, at WitnessLA.org we’re featuring the stories and testimonies on what God has shown Christians about singleness, relationships, and love all the days leading up to Feb. 14th. Today, our Voice Kytia shares how the relationship between God and man is the greatest love story she’s come to know.
When most people think of Valentine’s Day, they think of holding hands with their somebody or avoiding the public due to the fact they don’t have a somebody. However, the greatest love story I’ve ever known is the relationship between God and man. A great thing happened to me when I was single, living in Hawaii, and “oh-so-not” looking for romance. I experienced the love of God and of friendship which both fill a void that causes many hearts to ache. The following is a myspace blog post I wrote over three years ago about that very thing, and it is as relevant now as it was on July 7th, 2008. To give you some backstory, I’ll let you in on a little tradition that happens in Hawaii for people of all ages. At Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, there is a VERY massive rock that beach goers take turns climbing and leaping from all day and this was my chance to do the same. It didn’t go quite as planned, but it is a very memorable moment in my walk with God nonetheless.
Jefferson Bethke shares in spoken word poetry the difference between religion and a relationship in Christ, and why he loves the latter.
