CHARACTER

May 30, 2026

“When she(Naomi) saw that she(Ruth) was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.” Ruth 1:18

Naomi was a Hebrew woman who was married to Elimelech. They had two sons named Chilion and Mahlon. Because there was famine in the land of Judah, the family moved to Moab to survive. While they were living in Moab, the two sons got married to Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.

As time passed, all the men in this family died, leaving only Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth. One day, Naomi heard that the LORD was providing food to the people in her homeland, and she decided to return with her two daughters-in-law. As they were on the way, Naomi reasoned that there was no point in taking Orpah and Ruth to go with her. They were Moabites. They were still young, and they could find new husbands. Naomi told them to return. Orpah and Ruth both said they wanted to go on with their mother-in-law. Naomi was firm. She once again told them to return to their homeland of Moab. At this, Orpah kissed Naomi and returned. But Ruth wasn’t yet firm with her decision to go to Judah with Naomi. When Naomi realized how determined she was, she gave up trying to convince, and the two of them went to Judah.

When I look at this, I am impressed with both Naomi and Ruth. Judah was a foreign land with a different culture and a different religion. Yet Ruth wanted to know about the God of Naomi. Transitioning to a new environment is very challenging, but for Ruth, it was worth a try. Eventually, Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of the great King David.

But what impressed Ruth so much that she was willing to move to Judah with Naomi? I believe it was Naomi herself who impressed Ruth. The lifestyle and character must have impressed Ruth so much. Her life of faith was speaking to Ruth. Her character showed the love of God. Naomi influenced Ruth through her actions.

Our actions will speak a lot. It will speak to people around us. It will influence others.

PRAYER

May 23, 2026

Last night while I was doing some work, there was an internet outage in my area. The page I was on the computer stopped working and the next thing I looked at was my modem and router. The red light was flashing to tell me that indeed the internet wasn’t working in the house. I turned off the WiFi mode on my phone to go on to cellular data mode. Immediately I got an email from my internet provider that there was an outage and that they will get it fixed as soon as possible. I had to tether my computer to the phone to continue working.

Internet is one big way to connect to the world and we are so used to it. Without it, the convenience of communication goes away and it tends to bother us. The next morning when I got up, I got a notification that the internet was restored, but it still didn’t work. I had to reboot the modem and the router, and, thankfully, all things came back to functioning again. Now I can connect to the world again.

I know that’s an exaggeration, we can still communicate with the world even without the internet. As I was thinking about this, I thought about prayer. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14. Unlike the internet, our access to God via prayer NEVER disconnects. Whenever we pray, God will hear us (according to His will). This is a promise and truth that will bring us comfort, knowing that He is there for us no matter what. Therefore, let us “pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

SMALL BUT IMPORTANT

May 16, 2026

There are plenty of ways to improve your swim, bike and run performance. They are small, but important, changes. When you swim, the angle of your head can create drag in the water. We are supposed to look straight down, but a lot of the time we think we’re looking down when we are actually looking ahead. In this case, you simply need to lower your chin just a little bit more. When you stretch out your arm for your swim stroke, the arms need to be straight. In our head, we think they are straight, but in reality, many of us cross our arms. Instead, you need to imagine your arm to be in a V-shape.

When it comes to bikes, our shoulders easily become tense, causing the ride to be less effective. We should loosen up and relax on the ride. We only think of pushing feet down when pedaling, but we should also focus on pulling feet up to draw a nice circle (this only works with bike shoes that are attached to the pedal). Simple, but important changes.

There are small changes you can make while running as well. Your stride may be too long. Shorten your stride, and find the right cadence (the number of steps you make in one minute). Be watchful of your head position. This will help with the body balance for efficient running.

These are all small but important changes to help you improve. It’s not easy to make these changes unless you acknowledge them and are willing to change. The same goes for our lifestyle and attitude in life. I am sure we all have something in our life that can be a drag in walking with Jesus. When we learn to make these acknowledgements and learn to make small changes for the better, there will be great joy and much happiness with Jesus. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10.