The Smell of Old Books

Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how Divine Providence has arranged for second hand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us.
(Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez) 

On Dependable Damsels

I met a long lost friend yesterday evening in Mumbai.
She has not changed.
Yes, she has grown in years, got married, and her roles at work have tripled. However, she remains the same person I first met four years ago. If I were to describe her in one word, the word would be "dependable." Her thoughts, words, and actions seem to be well coordinated and always.
For example, if she thought about helping a person, she would let the person know, and all her consecutive actions would be such that the person was indeed helped. She is humane and a blessing, but yes, she also does make a personified version of the word.

So what qualifies a person as dependable?
Well, that depends. Accountable, committed, consistent, faithful, responsible, truthful, and trustful are some of the traits that I can think of that did encourage me to depend on her.
Dependable people are honest. I am certain that if my friend was reading this post, she would let me know that some of the traits I have listed above may not apply to her.
Dependable people are warm. Although the place where we met had air conditioning, I was still sweating!
Dependable people have a wonderful sense of humor that perhaps helps them take difficult situations in their stride.
Finally, the best quality of dependable people is that they do not change. They simply get better!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

- Romans 12:12 

He's Still Working on Me

There really ought to be a sign upon my heart:
"Don't judge him yet, there's an unfinished part,"
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hand

He's still workin' on me
To make me what I ought to be
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars,
The sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be!
He's still working on me

In the mirror of His word, reflections that I see
Make me wonder why He never gave up on me
But He loves me as I am, and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the Potter, I'm the clay

Artist: Joel Hemphill

Lord Help Me

• To search for life's answers first in the Bible and then on Google 
• To believe in results from Yahweh more than Yahoo 
• To look for something that cannot show up in Bing 
• To remember the Way to heaven is not uploaded on YouTube 
• To help my mom cook rather than poke on Facebook 
• To make my life better besides sharing it on Twitter 
• To listen to You God and not just iPod 
• To spend time in prayer before I post to this blog! 

Here I am! Me voilà! Ecco mi! Da bin ich! 

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. 

We are the clay, You are the potter. 

We are all the work of Your hand. 

(Isaiah 64:8) 

The Language of the Spirit

There is one language that is common to each missionary—the language of the Spirit. It is not learned from textbooks written by men of letters, nor is it acquired through reading and memorization. The language of the Spirit comes to him who seeks with all his heart to know God and keep His divine commandments. Proficiency in this language permits one to breach barriers, overcome obstacles, and touch the human heart.

- Thomas S. Monson in “The Spirit Giveth Life,” Ensign, June 1997 

The Vertical Dimension

Spirit of the living God ... fall afresh on us
Spirit of the living God ... fall afresh on us

Melt us
Mould us
Fill us
Use us

Spirit of the living God ... fall afresh on us

The Potter

It is the same with the potter,
Sitting at his wheel and turning it with his feet,
Always concentrating on his work,
Concerned with how many objects he can produce.
He works the clay with his feet
Until he can shape it with his hands;
Then he takes great pains to glaze it properly,
And will work far into the night to clean out the kiln.
(Ecclesiasticus 38:28-29)

Fruit of the Spirit

• Love 
• Joy 
• Peace 
• Patience 
• Kindness 
• Goodness 
• Faithfulness 
• Gentleness 
• Self-control 

Fruit of the Spirit fills a Spiritual Vessel. 

About the Blog

An instance where people wished to reach heaven by their own means has been documented in the Pentateuch:

Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech. And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it. And each one said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire.” And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar. And they said: “Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.” Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building. And he said: “Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work. Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.” And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city. And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel’, because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region.
Genesis 11:1–9 

The people were trying to reach heaven using bricks baked with fire.

An instance where God wished to create heaven on earth by His Spirit has been documented in the Acts of the Apostles: 

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak in various languages, just as the Holy Spirit bestowed eloquence to them.
Acts of the Apostles 2:4 

God wishes to create a heavenly earth using His Word and Spirit!