Dave, I'm really sorry to out you like this, but this is just too funny. So last night we were all at this "Table Talk" discussion on the Asian-American church and ministry, when the age old discussion of multi-culturalism came up and how to break out of the mold of being ethnically driven, or if it's a mold to be broken at all. So the question was posed to us non-Asians (4 of us were present), of why we were there. Dave went on to say some pretty thoughtful and considerate things about having been so influenced by the friendships that he's made at Westminster, outside of his usual white-boy world, and how these cultural issues begin to really matter when it becomes personal through relationships, yada yada yada.
Later Tiffany and I were discussing how we were pleasantly surprised to see a different side of Dave, especially being so articulate and kind with his answer on this topic. Then he confessed that he had no idea it was an Asian thing at all, but just wanted to go out with the group on a Friday night. He also logically concluded that of course there would be food there. Ha! Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't sincere in what he said...but that's just too funny.
And then he got his (police man) arse beat in mafia - twice!
My computer is dead, so Israel/Jordan pics will unfortunately be a bit delayed. I think it's time to get a Mac. heh heh heh.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
argh!
I'm not sure how quality my posts will be this semester...my classes are already overwhelming and I was about ready to kill someone tonight just trying to figure out how to read the critical apparatus of the Hebrew Bible. But then others in the same boat began to come over and commiserate (how in the WORLD are you supposed to read something when it's all encoded and you need decoders for the decoders of it?), so the frustration somehow became insanely humorous. But it still remains. Especially because I missed most of the skating finals and still haven't finished the assignment. It is in these moments that I see just how depraved I truly am, and so, this, I couldn't resist:
| You Are 22% Evil |
 A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil. |
Monday, February 20, 2006
this beautiful, convoluted mess
It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches...It is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field...
Wow, I can't believe it's been one year today since I started this blog...it's really amazing to look back over this past year and remember all the events that took place, both big and small, and to see how things have changed, how I have changed and have been surprised by the many unexpected blessings - some in the form of bumps - along the way. Not that I have blogged about all the nitty gritty details, struggles, and irreverent thoughts...afterall, keeping a "journal" online is kind of like splicing yourself on the microscope slide and inviting everyone to observe with as much magnification and anonymity as they prefer. (And I actually have more control over myself in this form of expression. Don't believe me? The other day at the 'Bucks, a well-dressed man came in who had a seemingly unfitting pin of a skull and crossbones on his lapel. Before I could stop myself, I couldn't help but ask him, "Are you a pirate?" He just looked confused for a moment, and I realized, a bit too late, that maybe he wouldn't see the humor in it, but I pointed to his pin questioningly. No, it was a society of some sort that he belonged to. My co-workers had fun with that for the rest of the day.) But at least I can read between the lines and the stories that I have documented on my blog to remember the other side of things, and most importantly, to see the hand of God so faithfully at work in my life, and the lives of those around me, even at those times when my heart is far from him...and hopefully I have been able to communicate this to all those who have happened to stumble across my blog as well.
In a sense, blogging sort of reminds me of scripture...that may sound a bit out there, but listen to what I mean: God could have chosen to work in a vacuum devoid of time or space or humanity. But he didn't. He chose to work with us and through us...to communicate his message in a very relevant and timely fashion through culture and language and hardship and suffering and good times and bad...this beautiful mess called life.
Of course, the Bible is now a nicely bound book, but to think of how God inspired his word to be written over thousands of years, by hundreds of writers, in countless cultural and historical contexts...and messiness...well, it's just a beautiful and miraculous thing...and it's even more amazing that our lives are now a part of that story of redemption. So as we write, and as we read and interact with each other through our modern convention of cyberspace, we get a glimpse of the hand of God in our lives, documented across the world in real time. Of course that does not make our blogging the inspired, infallible Word of God, but it does show us that he is still at work, yet in the nitty-grittiness of our lives. Blogging is rooted in history, in humanness, in...well, mess. We don't know what will happen from one day to the next and we often get things mixed up. But it's a mess wherein God reveals himself through our hopelessly imperfect lives. My goodness, there are some things I blogged about that I wish I could go back and change, or some comments that I generated I wish I could erase, but that's life, and as our lives unfold as such within the grander scheme of God's kingdom, that's basilea.
In the Greek, basilea means "kingdom" and is used in reference to the "kingdom of heaven" or the "kingdom of God" in the gospels, a theme that Jesus often spoke on, trying to get the attention of those around him, that they might understand it not as something which could be attained by human means, yet as something for which we were created. It's his free gift of grace...yet it will cost us our lives...yet it is so worth it. This is the paradox and the joy of basilea. It comes surprisingly and unexpectedly, to people of all colors and cultures and walks of life...and messiness is the medium by which it comes. I hope that as I continue this blog in the years to come, that somehow my writing will be an instrument to see "your kingdom come," even when it's hopelessly obvious that I don't have everything figured out.
Wow, I can't believe it's been one year today since I started this blog...it's really amazing to look back over this past year and remember all the events that took place, both big and small, and to see how things have changed, how I have changed and have been surprised by the many unexpected blessings - some in the form of bumps - along the way. Not that I have blogged about all the nitty gritty details, struggles, and irreverent thoughts...afterall, keeping a "journal" online is kind of like splicing yourself on the microscope slide and inviting everyone to observe with as much magnification and anonymity as they prefer. (And I actually have more control over myself in this form of expression. Don't believe me? The other day at the 'Bucks, a well-dressed man came in who had a seemingly unfitting pin of a skull and crossbones on his lapel. Before I could stop myself, I couldn't help but ask him, "Are you a pirate?" He just looked confused for a moment, and I realized, a bit too late, that maybe he wouldn't see the humor in it, but I pointed to his pin questioningly. No, it was a society of some sort that he belonged to. My co-workers had fun with that for the rest of the day.) But at least I can read between the lines and the stories that I have documented on my blog to remember the other side of things, and most importantly, to see the hand of God so faithfully at work in my life, and the lives of those around me, even at those times when my heart is far from him...and hopefully I have been able to communicate this to all those who have happened to stumble across my blog as well.
In a sense, blogging sort of reminds me of scripture...that may sound a bit out there, but listen to what I mean: God could have chosen to work in a vacuum devoid of time or space or humanity. But he didn't. He chose to work with us and through us...to communicate his message in a very relevant and timely fashion through culture and language and hardship and suffering and good times and bad...this beautiful mess called life.
Of course, the Bible is now a nicely bound book, but to think of how God inspired his word to be written over thousands of years, by hundreds of writers, in countless cultural and historical contexts...and messiness...well, it's just a beautiful and miraculous thing...and it's even more amazing that our lives are now a part of that story of redemption. So as we write, and as we read and interact with each other through our modern convention of cyberspace, we get a glimpse of the hand of God in our lives, documented across the world in real time. Of course that does not make our blogging the inspired, infallible Word of God, but it does show us that he is still at work, yet in the nitty-grittiness of our lives. Blogging is rooted in history, in humanness, in...well, mess. We don't know what will happen from one day to the next and we often get things mixed up. But it's a mess wherein God reveals himself through our hopelessly imperfect lives. My goodness, there are some things I blogged about that I wish I could go back and change, or some comments that I generated I wish I could erase, but that's life, and as our lives unfold as such within the grander scheme of God's kingdom, that's basilea.
In the Greek, basilea means "kingdom" and is used in reference to the "kingdom of heaven" or the "kingdom of God" in the gospels, a theme that Jesus often spoke on, trying to get the attention of those around him, that they might understand it not as something which could be attained by human means, yet as something for which we were created. It's his free gift of grace...yet it will cost us our lives...yet it is so worth it. This is the paradox and the joy of basilea. It comes surprisingly and unexpectedly, to people of all colors and cultures and walks of life...and messiness is the medium by which it comes. I hope that as I continue this blog in the years to come, that somehow my writing will be an instrument to see "your kingdom come," even when it's hopelessly obvious that I don't have everything figured out.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
johari window
Not sure if I really want to do this, but following Mia's example, I've constructed a Johari Window to finally figure myself out. So if you have a minute, now is the chance to finally tell me what you really think of me - just click here! And then do likewise for yourself.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
happy heart day, everyone!
Dave finally has a girlfriend!
Sophie, Ying, myself and Charis sculpting our snowwoman (the snow was too light to roll into a ball, so we had to pack her).
These pics are from this past Sunday when we were all snowed-in and going a little stir crazy in Machen (aside from morning venture to church, those of us who are jundosanims, that is).
Israel/Jordan pics and stories are coming soon!
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