The Year of Living Biblically

Chanced across this book...
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible.
can't wait to get my hands on it... the premise looks cool...



Amazon.com
The Significant Seven, September 2007 :Make no mistake: A.J. Jacobs is not a religious man. He describes himself as Jewish "in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant." Yet his latest work, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible,is an insightful and hilarious journey for readers of all faiths.Though no fatted calves were harmed in the making of this book, Jacobs chronicles 12 months living a remarkably strict Biblical life full of charity, chastity, and facial hair as impressive as anything found in The Lord of the Rings. Through it all, he manages to brilliantly keep things light, while avoiding the sinful eye of judgment. --Dave Callanan

Amazon.com
Subtitled:"One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible,"Jacobs, or A.J., as his two-year-old son calls him, does just that. Itis likely that no one but A.J. Jacobs could have accomplished such a feat. After all, his last book, The Know-It-All , chronicles his reading of the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica,from A to Z. No one but a smart, witty, self-deprecating, nit picky kinda guy would undertake two such daunting tasks, and complete them with grace, no pun intended.

Jacobs, a New York Jewish agnostic, decides to follow the laws and rules of the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, for one year. (He actually adds some bonus days and makes it a 381-day year.) He starts by growing a beard and we are with him through every itchy moment. Jacobs is borderline OCD, at least as he describes himself; obsessing over possible dangers to his son,germs, literal interpretation of Bible verses, etc. He enlists the aid of counselors along the way; Jewish rabbis, Christians of every stripe,friends and neighbors.

In an open-minded way he also visits with atheists, Evangelicals Concerned (a gay group), Jerry Falwell,snake handlers, Red Letter Christians--those who adhere to the red letters in the Bible, those words spoken by Jesus Himself, and even takes a trip to Israel and meets Samaritans. Through it all, he keeps a healthy skepticism, but continues to pray and is open to the flowering of real faith. Jacobs is a knowledge junky, to be sure. He enjoys the lore he picks up along the way as much as any other aspect of his experiment. One of the ongoing schticks is his meeting with the shatnez tester, Mr. Berkowitz. He is the one who determines whether or not your clothes are made of mixed fibers, in keeping with the Biblical injunction not to wear wool and linen together. The two become friends and prayer partners, in only one of the unexpected results of this year.

In the end, he says, "I'm now a reverent agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there's aGod, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred." Not a bad outcome. --Valerie Ryan

A Dialogue

Me: I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.

Gohonzon : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don’t know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic. It’s rush hour all the time.

Gohonzon : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results.
Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still can’t figure out. Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

Gohonzon : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?

Gohonzon : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit.
That’s why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

Gohonzon : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. .

Gohonzon : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

Gohonzon : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.
With that experience their life become better not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

Gohonzon : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why cant we be free from problems?

Gohonzon : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons
(to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you! are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading…

Gohonzon : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.Look inside.. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?

Gohonzon : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Gohonzon : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?

Gohonzon : when they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me” Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I cant get the answer.

Gohonzon : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

Gohonzon : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Gohonzon : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs.


**************

Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away! ” Believe that all powers are within ourselves.

2008 Been there & Done That!

2007 bye bye . 2008 hello.

Another year slip by...
In review of e pass year, i just want forget every negative things and just refresh everything tat Daddy God taught me.

1) All my worth in found in Jesus not wat people say about me.

2) On the boat you focus on the horizon tat is fixed and constant to prevent yrself from vomiting.
In life you focus on God's love which is constant. Instead on yr own fluctuating love.

3) God is a now god. My very present help. My now comfort, my now peace, my now love. My present ATM & Bank.

4) It does not matters what i have in my hands.. God can still do it when i believe. (this revelation is really amazing to me)
David a boy faced this Giant call Goliath. Mission Impossible lah.. Btw, Goliath means naked in Hebrew... which explains why David shout you uncircumcised Philistine. べーっだ！

David have five small stones in his hand as weapon... only five small stone lor... but with God, he needed only one to kill the Giant... think abt it.. it is not wat we have but wat we believe...

5) I am easily tempted to resist humility, even though I deserve to be totally humiliated.

6)When u r hungry, u eat. When u need a miracle, you believe.
When u need to believe, keep hearing e word of christ.

7) For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!
once upon e time we all have this bondage to fear, but e answer is daddy.
You can just call out to yr daddy! It is a matter of spirit. E spirit of sonship is greater than fear. when a daughter need help they call daddy! there are lots of name to God but e name Jesus came to reveal is abba,
Lord today i live e life of e son of e greatest daddy .

8) Proverb 4: 18
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more to the perfect day.

9) GRACE = UNDESERVED FAVOR Pls dun work or try to qualify for it... And put my life under Grace

10) Have a good opinion of Daddy GOD. Know his heart and I will always feel secured, and loved.

11)BUT IT IS THE STRENGTH OF YOUR HAND IN MINE, THE POWER OF YOUR PRESENCE, THE GLORY OF YR GREATNESS THAT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE MY LIFE!

12) Always pray for God to enlarge my faith, to open my eyes to the unseen, widen my horizon... So he is a BIG BIG GOD!!

Dear Lord,
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I go from nothing to Eternity


This story was shared by TJ Dakes if i am not wrong..

There was a boy named Tom who love looking and eagles... He begged his mum for a binoculars and on his birthday, his mum got him one.... And out he went, for eagle watching...

Setting himself in a comfortable position, he took out his binoculars and pointed his pair of eyeballs through it, scanning the sky.

And he saw this majestic eagle... glorious in its flight... soaring effortlessly in the sky...

Suddenly it descended in a helix rotation as if to draw an invisible circle in the air.. it swopped down, diving into the ground like a kamikaze plane..
In one swift blurry movement, the eagle is already soaring back up with its prey tucked firmly between its claws..
But suddenly, the eagle just started tumbling,,,, he fell, lifeless into the ground. Tom can't believe it.. the Majestic Eagle which was meant to soar and roam the sky will actually fall....
Marking the spot where the eagle crashed into, he headed off towards it.

There he saw a weasel in the eagles claw... tightly clenched. but the weasel has half dead with his head buried into the eagles body, its teeth on his heart... refusing to let go of his prey, the weasel ate through the eagle's chest.

For Christian, it is normally not the circumstances that hold us back... but our own heart and wat we refuse to let go..... dun let what you are holding onto eat into yr heart....Is there something eating at you? Is there something holding you back from reaching the heights, the dreams that the Lord have put into our hearts. it can be past relationships, bad results, friendship problem, financial.... We need to learn to let it GO, before it poison our heart...We are meant to be like eagle and soar above our trouble.... to reach for the dreams that is now a seed to soon reality!

Lord, i pray that you help me to let go what i have been holding now... Lord, I want to achieve the dreams you put in my hearts...
if those desires are from you.. it must be mutual... and i can't go on like these.... If is from you, give me the grace to flow... if it is not from, it will kill me... so pls free me.... i am lost...




Ben "Daddy, hows 2008 going to be?'
Daddy " 2008, Been there, done that! It is GOOD!!!"