I often hope that there are caring and conscious individuals in the fashion community, so thank you for your post :)

Thinking of the people of Japan and hoping for the best.

I can’t begin to imagine what those people are going through, it makes me realise just how much I take for granted in this life.

http://flossyblossom.blogspot.com

Shini, my heart goes out to the quake victims in Japan ):

It’s really sad and I pray God will help and heal, even though all seems lost, having faith is enough for things to get better :(

So strange to dreamt about a flood in my house two nights before the Japan earthquake and Tsunami struck.

Spent all day yesterday watching Sky News and emailing international PRs for call ins, it was stressful watching the footages whilst also stressing about getting my work done.

My condolences are with the victims and families.

Thank goodness for my model friend who had left Japan last week, I bet she’s thrilled to be back home she’s only 16.

Gosh, it is so terrible. My thoughts are definitely with those in Japan. x http://www.lostinthehaze.com

God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. Earthquakes are the result of the earth’s plate structure shifting. A tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake. God doesn’t necessarily switch on a button and go ‘Japan, you’re next on the list of big booboo’. Also, the fall of humanity into sin (Original sin) had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to “frustration” and “decay.” Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering.
If there’s good, there’s evil. There’s a heaven and a hell, there’s a God and there’s Satan. According to the bible, God permits Satan to ‘act’ because these ‘destructions’ and suffering has to happen for the prophesy to fulfil (Birthpains of a coming age Mark 13:8)

On the other hand, natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their priorities in life – people realize how tenuous their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. So in the bigger picture, a natural disaster brings more people close to God and closer to eachother through aid and thoughts for one another. Would He prevent 1 million death to miss out on 1 billion to come closer to Him?
(some tailored extracts from here)

gorgeous photographs as always, but such a scary thought :(

http://wordbyjessie.com

thank you for posting this! i follow many fashion blogs and it was getting on my nerves that none of them was saying anything for Japan! they are keep posting for fashion like nothing happened!

hey Shini!

thank you so much for posting this.. watching the news on what is happening in Japan makes me so sad.. Especially if one has close friends living there.

Terrible things are happening everywhere (lets not forget the issues in Libya..), but somehow they do bring us all together a little bit more. And we (living in unaffected places) realize how lucky we are…

take care! xx

I’m glad you blogged about it.
Somwtimes it seems as if fashion blogs are from another planet.

you’re one of the few bloggers who have reported these things from japan. the others
really written about fashion. I think it’s embarrassing, ridiculous and superficial!

you’re the best!

pray for japan, please!

hope for the best and think about the japanese

http://andthespidersfrommars.blogspot.com/

shini, thank you so much for this post.
sitting in tokyo i feel so useless, all i want is to help those worst affected, but for now volunteers would just get in the way while the government assesses the situation. i’m just sitting here watching the news, hearing the earthquake alarm go off every few minutes (usually hitting miyagi or fukushima where the power plant is)
thank you so much for keeping everyone in mind, it’s the greatest comfort in the world to know that people care.

@Shini, thank you so much again. it warms my hearts that you have thought of me!
and please, please don’t let people’s negative response get you down. i am not religious myself but i and os many people i know in japan (which is a very non-religious country) really do apreciate your prayers. even if people tell you prayer is meaningless, it does mean a lot to us that others are keeping us in their thoughts and hearts.
you’re a wonderful person shini, don’t let anyone get you down!

i hope people don’t think praying is a sufficient form of sympathy…what a waste of time…can’t you see time is precious? its selfish. makes you believe that you have done something to help when its an insult to the people who have already lost their lives… ive lost alot of respect for you shini..i thought i could relate to you in more ways than just fashion..when i see what you wrote about god: “Would He prevent 1 million death to miss out on 1 billion to come closer to Him?” i thought man, its so twisted and backwards to try and rationalize this disaster into a game of how many people god can get on his side.. what a selfish way to think..

@passerby, i dont think you understand where im coming from. up until a few years ago i wanted to be like everyone else around me- christian. i used to hate my parents for not letting me have pretty rosary beads, get money, attention, pretty white dresses for christenings etc. as i got older i realised it was the power of conformity in society that led me as a child to resent not being part of that group..don’t get me wrong i was still being taught good from bad, right from wrong, respect for others etc BUT without any religious connotations attached. i was still forced to take up religious educations at my school, but i cared about that subject about just as much as the other christian kids, basically we liked to play outside or talk in class more than listen, but thats natural. what im trying to say is i feel like you can only see something for what it is by stepping outside the box and looking in, you (or i) would probably find it difficult to see the entire picture if we were brought up in “the box”..i feel like christians find it hard to see it from both sides because its ingrained in their thinking. whereas i have prayed, knelt at altars, donated to the church, read the bible in the past and had a moment of realisation that nothing deserves to be worshipped or held with such reverance, other than our earth and the good people on it.

We all need to take a moment to reflect on how fragile life is and how much is NOT within our control. Thanks for this post!

@Meg, you didn’t have to comment on this… it’s just what she believes-she’s not using it to preach at all, that’s just how you’re receiving it.
did she focus on religion and God the entire post? no!

geez

@Shini, well said :)
i have so much respect that you are so strong and voice your thoughts and beliefs without fear. You definitely have a right to say these things and people better deal with it. The world doesn’t revolve around them. This is your blog and it may be a pleasure for us to read, but in the end, it’s for yourself.

people can be so defensive when it comes to religion.

my thoughts go to japan<3

You are one of the few blogers that writes about this!
In times like this I think it’s important to stop with whatever you’re doing and think for a second.
I’m in Japan right now and is completely devestated by the situation in the north.
It helps to know that so many people are thinking of everyone over here and wants to help!

aplogies – i meant is it wrong to ask difficult questions such as this. i recall the times when i’d question Him why He’d let certain things happen to me. i didn’t know this God very well then. even followers would always face this struggle when they try to make sense of their personal tragedies, what more for one who doesn’t know this God of the bible?

@tom tuttle from tacoma, yeah sorry of course it is good to question and talk about these things its just that I was angry that all around tumblr other blogs etc the conversation has shifted from helping japan and supporting them to dont-tell-me-to-pray-im-an-atheist. I know its not the case here, so apologies :)

Last night i had a really similar conversation with my friends at a party about how each and everyone of us are on this earth because we are fighting God’s battle. God doesn’t cause all these disasters but he lets Satan do his thing because he knows that in the end people will draw closer to him and in the midst of trouble people can see His love through our kindness in wanting to help one another. Living in Australia with all the flash floods and also hearing about earthquakes in New Zealand, we all give a helping hand whether it’s just a small donation, going over there and helping rebuild buildings or simply just listening to their stories. Actions speak louder than words. There are a lot of things that we don’t know as to why God would even do that but in the end we just have to trust Him.

Friday and Saturday were very nerve wrecking as I have friends and friends’ families in Japan. I have sent many a prayer to Japan and i am glad my friends are okay.

Lets hope everything would get back to normal soon. I cannot believe what the people must be going through, it’s terrible. We really need to help them

So true, Shini. I can’t imagine what they are going through, but my thoughts are with them all the time. Thank you for making this beautiful post.

Shini – I hope you never stop being so open about your beliefs and who you are. I doubt you ever even stop and recognize your own strength and bravery in doing so. Bravo.

My prayers are certainly with Japan.

God sure does heal and restore – My prayers go out to Japan x

perspective. thanks for posting this and for being bold.

This is a really late comment, but I just wanted to say thanks for this post! Haunting image xx