The Golden Calf
Jul. 1st, 2009 | 06:59 am
The first few times I read this story, I missed a lot of what was going on. I thought it was as simple as people people getting into a rowdy good time of idol worshiping while Moses was away; but, of course, it's not.
The people, impatient to get to the promised land, wanted to forge ahead through their own devices. They said to Aaron, "Come, make us gods (or a god) who will go before us..." (v1), to which he responds by fashioning a golden calf to be their image of God. (Who can forget Aaron's humorous excuse in v24 - "...they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!" Haha...) In doing so, Aaron and the people ignored the first two commandments they just received as well as specific instruction to not make any golden idols (Ex 20:23).
This entire story resonates with me. I, like the Israelites, prefer the easy way out when things don't go my way - and especially if not according to my timing (see most recent exam fail). Still, I don't want to lose the appearance of a faithful Christian. Look at the Israelites after Aaron crafted their idol: they woke up early and actually sacrificed and gave offerings to God. Looks and sounds good, right?
"Worship, to be true, must be based on a right perception of God." - T. D. Alexander
We must have the right perception of God, and by extension His promises. The Israelites turned God's covenant relationship with them into a tool for what their flesh desired. They turned the promised land, a symbol of this relationship, into the end goal, seeing nothing beyond it or above it. They wanted the blessings from God without the relationship (and thus its rules). (In contrast, Moses remembered the covenant and uses it to plead on the Israelites' behalf in verses 13-14.)
How often do I come seeking God when I only seek to fulfill my selfish desires? Is my prayer so easily answered by the silence of my idols? And what are my idols - the desire to finish my exams or a continued prosperous lifestyle?
Dear God, forgive me for taking You for granted. Mold me and shape my heart so that it responds to you alone.
Jeremiah 10
5 Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good."
6 No one is like you, O LORD;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power.
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The Long Road
Jun. 29th, 2009 | 03:33 pm
mood: 
disappointed
*sigh*
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ROIP MJ
Jun. 26th, 2009 | 09:22 am
Now I know most of the kids nowadays only know of MJ as the weird white guy parodied on South Park or the accused child-molester, but to me and the older generation who grew up with his tunes, his music was always playing and always applicable for whatever was going on in your life. You had the moonwalk and Thriller lean for the dancers, you have Billie Jean for the outstanding paternity suits, She's Out of My Life for the heartbroken, Black or White for those caught up in race wars, and The Girl Is Mine (w/ Paul McCartney) for Beatles lovers who need a reason to listen to MJ.
Thank you for all the good tunes and memories.
Rock on in peace, MJ.
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Lately
Jun. 16th, 2009 | 11:29 am
Registry Mania
Gloria and I originally intended to set up one or two registries for our wedding, but we had such a bad experience in one store, combined with our really "lacking" about $300 worth of goods, we figured it best to just direct people to give to Christian charities and accept whatever people would give us on top of that.
If we end up not getting as much as we would've otherwise for the sake of charities, there are worse ways to be shortchanged.
The Prestige
I know this is a strange place to write about a movie but I just haven't had the time to blog about this so I'm grouping it into this entry.
I finally got around to watching this and it was pretty darn good. The acting was good, the plot intense, and the ending completely not what I expected. All in all, one of the best movies I've seen in a while (though that's not saying much because that's probably one of three movies I've seen in the last five years).
WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD
One last thing - the guy that I wanted to win in the end didn't. I was kind of upset about that but when Gloria and I started discussing why I wanted "my guy" to win, it was basically because I liked him and disliked the other. But from Gloria's vantage point, "my guy" was the more immoral and corrupt, a point I conveniently ignored. And I thought I was a pretty good judge of character too. Heh...
New Core Exercises
So apparently the core exercises I've been doing for years can cause disc herniation over time. NYTimes had a video clip showing some nice exercises to replace the old ones. The last two I was already familiar with but the first two I wasn't.
(1) So instead of usual back-on-the-ground crunches which place too much pressure on your lumbar region, bend one knee and let the other lay flat, place your hands under the lumbar region, and contract the abs while maintaining a straight line for the upper body. It only looks like you get off the ground about two inches but it looks effective.
(2) The second one replaces the usual back-on-a-exercise/swiss ball crunch exercise by turning you around to have your elbows on the ball, hands clasped together, moving your arms around as if you were stirring a pot. Your feet are apart slightly wider than shoulder width, though I'm sure it's basically whatever is comfortable for you. It's kind of a variation on the flat body plank exercise. Again, looks good and doesn't use anything except for your own body weight.
(3) The third one is the side plank. They show it with the top foot out front slightly instead of on top of the bottom foot, and with the unused arm holding the shoulder in.
(4) The fourth and last one is the balance exercise where you're on all fours and lifting opposite arm/leg in repetitions. They add a cool variation where you actually get some sideways action instead of purely up and down in one plane.
How to Live
I recently heard a Cornerstone sermon that sums up nicely the picture I feel God is calling us to live our lives. The missionary speaking credited this idea to someone but I think that credit goes to Bryant Myers at Fuller.
The idea is to envangelize by living our lives such that it demands an explanation. You don't need to go around Bible thumping (which is good since I have tendonitis in my Bible-thumping elbow) but rather allows others to initiate conversation and question us about the way we live, which allows us to direct them to the gospel. I think more often than not that was the original idea but we've exchanged obedience and faith for comfort and complacency.
I want people to look at my life and think, "That's crazy!", but still be curious about what is inside and behind me and even instinctively feeling like I might be on to something.
I know this takes time and commitment. It's not something that will be wrapped up neatly in one-year goals and mission statements, nor will it always have a clean resolution (or even a resolution at all), but I want to live more and more for God. I don't know what this will look like, but Gloria and I just started praying about it so we'll see in time...
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Family Pic
May. 27th, 2009 | 06:00 pm
Two highlights:
- We flew United Airlines and we probably won't ever fly them again. Upon arriving at Hartsfield, we were informed that the leg from Chicago to Narita was delayed due to mechanical issues so we would miss our connecting flight from Narita to Taipei. We were told our hotel would be covered in Narita as we would have to stay overnight.
Upon arriving in Narita, we were told that no hotels would be paid for because the plane delay was due not to mechanical issues alone but rather due to lightning hitting the plane. The next night after getting on board our flight to Taipei, we sat for five hours in the plane, all the while getting constant announcements that it would be "another twenty minutes or so" before they would know if we could take off or not. After five hours, they called it quits and shuttled us to hotels (paid for, thankfully). This was not before sitting us in the airport gate in the dark while they supposedly went to find our luggage. Then the next morning as we arrived to take Japan Airlines out to Taipei (they switched us over to JAL), JAL informed us that we had missed our flight; apparently, United booked us for one flight (an earlier one) then told us we were to take another one (a later one). They squeezed us onto the same flight (thank God) and eventually we arrived in Taipei, two days later than intended.
Long story short - don't ride United unless you have no other choice.
- The trip was stressful mainly due to the United mixup but there were other times when cooler heads didn't always prevail. At times, I found myself frustrated and with very little patience, and sometimes it affected how I interacted with Gloria as well. Through it all, I was reminded again and again about how selfish and prideful I am, always wanting things to be the way I like it, always wanting myself to gain the glory. Two big, big sins that separate me from the one true God...
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The 2009 Time 100: Scientists & Thinkers
May. 1st, 2009 | 03:05 pm
Nouriel Roubini
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The Pity Theory et al
Apr. 29th, 2009 | 03:47 pm
Q: Does Dallas' thorough shellacking of the Spurs mean that the Jason Kidd-Devin Harris trade wasn't one of the five worst trades of the decade?
A: .....
A reader (can't remember his name) pointed out something to me that I passed along in a podcast and now I will mention here: Kidd is the only guy who can defend LeBron and Kobe. Why? They respect him too much. They don't want to kick his butt. It doesn't make them feel good. They settle for jumpers instead of just destroying him off the dribble in a goofy display of guilt and respect. Back in the '60s, Wilt rarely unleashed against Russell because he liked him so much. ... In fact, that was Russell's ploy, to make Wilt like him so he wouldn't annihilate him. I don't think Kidd thinks that way; the situation is what it is. Those guys love him from their Redeem Team days and have no interest in eviscerating him now.
But as strange as this sounds, Jason Kidd's advanced age and declining defensive skills might be Dallas' best chance against the Lakers and Cavs. Call it the Pity Theory. Just wait.
Q: Come on ... not one shot at Oden? What about a reader e-mail?
A: Fine, fine. Let's go with this one from Kyle in Chicago: "Oden came into Game 4 with 3:21 left in the third. At that point, I offered my roommate a bet: 'Will Oden pick up his next foul in less than or more than two minutes?' My roommate pounded the over. Huge mistake. Oden immediately began trying to commit fouls at both ends of the floor before finally picking one up at the 2:15 mark when the refs decided they'd had enough of the whole push-Yao-outside-the-3-point-line defensive strategy. Easiest money I've ever made. As a tribute to Mr. Oden, I spent the entire next day posting Facebook status updates such as, 'Watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Can't wait for the part where Greg Oden fouls Orlando Bloom,' and, 'Greg Oden just fouled the word 'Rocket' in the dictionary,' and, 'If Greg Oden goes to an electronics store, and he just looks around without buying anything, could he still commit a foul? Keep in mind, he's not buying anything.' A day well spent, if you ask me."
Q: What are the only three acceptable excuses for a coach not fouling when he's up three with 10 seconds or less remaining in a playoff game?
A: One, he bet on the other team. Two, he's stubborn enough to ignore undeniable evidence that it's spectacularly stupid NOT to turn it into a free-throw shooting contest (especially if you have a Hall of Fame cooler on your team, like, say, Ray Allen). Three, he's trying to make the game more exciting so it might rerun for the rest of eternity on ESPN Classic and NBA-TV.
Fast-forward to the first overtime of Game 4. The Celtics are leading by three with nine seconds to play. Registered assassin Ben Gordon was inbounding the ball, which meant the Bulls were clearly running Mike D'Antoni's patented "Inbound guy throws it to the post, makes a cut, gets a pick and launches a 3-pointer" play. (By the way, Vinny Del Negro WORKED FOR PHOENIX LAST SEASON. Yes, I had to use all caps. The Suns ran this play at least five times last season alone.) I am sitting there going, "Either foul the guy who catches it or foul Gordon as he runs after the pass." The Celtics did neither. Gordon made the 3. Boston lost in double overtime.
One day later? ESPN Classic aired Game 4 as an instant classic. If that was Doc Rivers' intent, he's smarter than we thought.
Q: Why don't opposing teams know that, with less than 10 seconds left in a tied game, Hedo Turkoglu is going to pretend to drive, pull up and shoot a 3?
A: This comes back to two questions: "Don't you guys have scouts?" and "Don't you guys watch 'SportsCenter'?" I watched that game with a few friends, and as that play was developing, I was telling Thad Young -- who couldn't hear me, since we were about 1,300 miles apart -- "pull-up 3, get up on him, get up on him, pull-up 3, get up on him, pull-up 3, pull-up 3." Of course, Young played four feet off him, bought Hedo's lame stutter-step move and allowed him to launch the game-winning 3. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?????
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Franciscan Benediction
Apr. 28th, 2009 | 01:39 am
May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.
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Missions in Atlanta
Apr. 24th, 2009 | 11:43 am
Serving others is an indispensable part of the Christian faith. From caring for the poor in the Old Testament to healing the sick and crippled in the New, scripture speaks frequently and consistently about putting our money where our mouth is. Saved from a life of sin and filled with Jesus' Spirit, Christians should be empowered and emboldened to preach and serve and love proportionate to their faith and gift(s). All barriers, whether socio-economic, cultural, or whatever, are but opportunities for us to be faithful and to tear down with the truth of the Bible.
But with all this given us, with Jesus himself saying that we would do even greater things than He did (John 14:12), why are we as Christians so easily satisfied with (at best) once-a-month service projects that pad our spiritual egos and continue to feed spiritual junk food to our souls? Shouldn't Christian ministry look nothing like secular community service?
Of course, all of this ties back to the role of the church, where I believe the community of believers together is the only way to bring about this change. But as the local church tries to get her bearings straight, I am afraid (for both the church's and my sake, as I am sinful and reluctant to change like everyone else) that the result will be just a temporary surge of activity requiring no power, little faith, and inconsistent prayer.
I've been reading this book called "Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing" by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, and in this passage it sums up nicely how I feel we're led astray in our service:
At best, Christian beliefs are seen as providing motivation to do more and better firefighting, to service the same ends sought by the "real" players in the worlds of diplomacy and statecraft. The church is the ambulance driver while others put out fires. What Christians believe does not seem to offer a unique vision of healing in the midst of conflict or of human flourishing on the ground in real places. It is still the same world of fire, water, hoses, ambulances."
I haven't finished reading the book but I hope it addresses the essential "who, what, when, where, and why" questions that we so desperately need to know before we just go out and do stuff.
Besides writing this post, the email survey did spur me on to remember who/what/when/where/why I am serving right now.
What specific activities does this usually involve? Rallying youth and parents to a vision of a redeemed and reconciled family, one that crosses all man-made barriers and obstacles
Where are you engaging your mission field? Sunday mornings in church buildings for classes, online for communication with youths
How often do you engage the people you seek to reach? At worst, only on Sundays; at best, throughout the week via cell phone, IM, email, facebook communication
After praying about leaving ACCC, I felt God call me to make a difference within the body starting with the youths. I concluded this was what I should do based on the tugging in my heart, the disrepair of the youth ministry back then, the confirmation of the pastor and pastor's wife at the time, and the encouragement since then from youths, teachers/counselors/parents.
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FML
Apr. 19th, 2009 | 01:18 am
mood: 
amused
While many of the ones my sister told me about bombed, I laughed pretty hard on this one:
Today, I was a TA for a history class and the class was taking a test. About halfway through, I noticed one kid had a small piece of paper in his hand. I ran up the row, grabbed his test, and ripped it into four pieces. Then I took the note from him. It said "I believe in you, -Mom." FML
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Joseph's Bones
Apr. 15th, 2009 | 11:59 am
mood: encouraged
Powerful sermon. Some memorable quotes:
"[Joseph] speaks of dying as if it were only a part of living..."
"'Now I have obtained wealth, my daily prayer to God shall be, Lord, help me so use my station that I may not serve this evil world with it, but may be a father to Your poor Israel. If it comes to the choice between the reproach of Christ and the treasures of Egypt, I will take Christ's reproach, and renounce the treasure. I cannot be an Egyptian.' O rich Men and Women, make this a main point of concern - prove that you are not worldings! You have to frequent the exchange, to visit the bank, to handle large sums of money - but be not money-grubbers, rakers up of gold! Be not covetous or grasping. Prove that though in Egypt you are not Egyptians. May this be your prayer, 'May God grant I may never so live as to be mistaken for a man of this world who has his portion in this life. My portion is above. Whatever I enjoy here, Heaven is my heritage.'"
"He who believes in God will find practical ways of proving his faith."
"...never rest till you feel you have an interset in the spiritual blessings of the Covenant."
"My eyes shall see Him in that day,
The God that died for me,
And all my rising bones shall say,
Lord, who is like to You?"
"...we cannot hope to die triumphantly unless we live obediently. We cannot expect to exhibit faith in dying moments if we have not faith now. God grant you faith, O Unbeliever. Seeker, rest not till you have it, and may the Spriit of God give you the faith of God's elect, that living you may serve God, and dying you may honor Him as Joseph did of old."
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Weddings and Stuff
Apr. 1st, 2009 | 11:29 am
A quick highlight of the last month plus since getting engaged:
- Been asked so many times about the proposal story that I now reduce it down to "I gave her chocolates and ice cream and she said 'yes'".
- As far as wedding planning goes, we have figured out very little except that we want people to have fun, we want a lot of alcohol available, and we don't want to spend a fortune. And, as I've been boasting to people, I am more sure than ever that Gloria is perfect for me because she is as far away from a bridezilla as possible. In fact, if anyone is going to be a [ ]-zilla, it's going to be me!
- I've been tempting myself to get a netbook, and I finally caved and bought a Dell Mini 12. I sold it almost immediately though because I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having two laptops. Oh well. At least I made a profit on the netbook.
- Also bought a GPS unit for Gloria because we thought hers was stolen from her car by a valet driver; it turned out to be wedged in between the center console and the passenger side seat. I'm not entirely sure I want to return it because I do tend to get lost in places not beginning in "Buckhead" but the money would be useful for the wedding.
*Sidenote* I like the anti-theft feature that requires the user to return to a specific location in order to unlock it. First place I thought of enabling that feature? Sitting on my bathroom toilet.
- Attended a Chopin Piano recital with Gloria. The soloist was Sa Chen, one of the many new Chinese piano talents.
- Been studying more than I have studied before in my life, all thanks to the motivating power of Gloria. (She said we wouldn't get married if I don't get my hours in. That'll do it for me.)
- Also trying to be diligent in getting my personal time studying the Bible. I've been going through Genesis, picking up a lot of stuff I missed last time, and just finished reading The Living Church, by John Stott (Christianbook, Amazon). One of the things Stott got me thinking about was Donald McGavran's homogeneous unit principle and reminded me of yet another way ACCC (and other CCC's) can and should strive. Below are some good links to pages I found online related to the HUP that I'll reading in my off time.
Neil Robbie:
What is the homogeneous church growth principle?
What happens to homogenous churches?
Is homogeneous church growth ever legitimate?
Tim Chester:
The homogeneous unit principle
More thoughts on the Homogeneous unit principle.
- It pains me to say this but I finally bought a new bible to replace my faded, worn, pages-falling-out Zondervan Student Bible. It was the first one I bought a couple of years ago when I started to get serious about being a Christian, and it has served me well. In buying a new one, I looked for some very specific things - a trustworthy yet readable translation (NASB on one end and The Message on the other), a non-distracting layout (I can't stand bibles where 80% of the page is covered in either study notes, footnotes, or crossreferences), a durable leather cover (my old one was a paperback), and adequate page space for notes.
In the end I went with the NIV Wide Margin Bible because I am used to NIV and it hasn't failed or confused me except for rare instances (plus people end up coming back to memorize NIV even if they read in NASB or ESV). I love the wide margin as it gives me plenty of space to write down my own thoughts and cross references. And the single column layout is extremely readable that I don't think I'll go back to double columns.
P.S. I bought it through Christianbook.com which IMHO is the best website to buy a Bible because of its extensive advanced search options and ability to actually see the contents of each online. Absolutely not one website (that I found) comes remotely close to it.
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Cliffnotes for the Church
Apr. 1st, 2009 | 11:15 am
 The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor by John R. W. Stott |  Cliffnotes for the Church, April 1, 2009This book is exactly what I had hoped for when I bought it - a concise yet thorough expounding on everything the church should be and where it falls short. His thoughtfulness and awareness of the church in an increasingly post-modern society is displayed on every page, and his prescription of change outlined as he takes the reader through passage after passage of scripture. As a Christian who longs to see a truly living, Spirit-filled church, Stott's "The Living Church" rejuvenates me to strive even more in all things for the sake of Christ and His bride the church. |
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Craigslist's Scammers
Mar. 13th, 2009 | 10:39 am
mood: 
annoyed
I'm getting reaaallly tired of the scammers on Craigslist trying to dupe people using the same old tricks. I figure if they're going to keep it up, then I might as well have some fun with it.
On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 10:37 AM, Frank Cawthorne <frankcawthorne22@googlemail.com> wrote:
Thank you for your quick response.i would like to pay $450 USD for the laptop,so please kindly get back to me with your paypal email address because i will be paying for the transaction to be concluded very fast and safe with my paypal account with the additional money of $200 USD for the shipping of the item via USPS Global Express mail Priority(EMS) to my wife who is currently working abroad.Do get back to me as soon as possible so that i can pay you.Thanks.
You to Frank Cawthorne at 10:38 AM
Sorry, I just sold it to another guy who just happens to also have a wife working abroad. What are the chances!
On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 10:43 AM, Frank Cawthorne <frankcawthorne22@googlemail.com> wrote:
ok,but can you get me another laptop?do get back to me asap
Sent from my iPhone
On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 10:45 AM, You wrote:
oh for sure. i actually know your wife so i went ahead and sent it to her! let me know if she likes it!
You to Frank Cawthorne at 10:46 AM
frank! don't you remember me? it's frankie from 2nd grade! with the cowlick and nervous twitch? it's me!!
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What do you make of this?
Mar. 8th, 2009 | 07:49 pm
What do you make of this?
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." ... "I have called you friends."
—John 15:13, 15
Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. Peter said - "I will lay down my life for Thy sake" and he meant it; his sense of the heroic was magnificent. It would be a bad thing to be incapable of making such a declaration as Peter made; the sense of our duty is only realized by our sense of the heroic. Has the Lord ever asked you - "Wilt thou lay down thy life for My sake?" It is far easier to die than to lay down the life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling. We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways. There was only one brilliant moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration; then He emptied Himself the second time of His glory, and came down into the demon-possessed valley. For thirty-three years Jesus laid out His life to do the will of His Father, and, John says, "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." It is contrary to human nature to do it.
If I am a friend of Jesus, I have deliberately and carefully to lay down my life for Him. It is difficult to lay down my life for him. It is difficult, and thank God it is difficult. Salvation is easy because it cost God so much, but the manifestation of it in my life is difficult. God saves a man and endues him with the Holy Spirit, and then says in effect - "Now work it out, be loyal to Me, whilst the nature of things round about you would make you disloyal." "I have called you friends." Stand loyal to your Friend, and remember that His honour is at stake in your bodily life.
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Holy Cow, I'm Engaged!
Mar. 6th, 2009 | 01:22 pm
mood: happy
I wanted to get this all down before I start forgetting the important yet tiny details.
First, though, I want to give all praise and glory to God, not just because I want to feel like a football player or rap star, but because this is only possible through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the washing of my sins by Jesus' blood shed on the cross, I was enabled to live free from the torment of sin so that I could love anew. And if eternal salvation wasn't enough, God was the one who hooked me up with this proposal idea!
I tried thinking for many months, even soliciting the help of my good bros and sisses, but just couldn't come up with something I was excited to do. Then a few weeks before the actual proposal (on 2/23/09), I was joking around with Gloria. I told her how wonderful she was and how I had no clue how we ever came to be (or in her words, how I tricked her into dating me). In that same breath, she made a comment to the effect of 'You're going to have to trick me into marrying you by luring me to the altar with chocolates and ice cream'. (Gloria eats cookies, chocolates, and ice cream as often as I drink OJ. Okay, maybe not THAT much but she enjoys her sweets.) We both laughed and I warned her that it just may happen. Of course, she didn't think anything of this conversation but I knew right then and there that's how God wanted me to do it. (Quite ironic as I felt God was teaching me a lesson about futility in depending on self even in this piece of my life.)
I guess I'll just tell you how it all went down and then later explain the set up.
The Proposal:
Five days before the proposal, I sent her the following email. I used to mystery shop at some Atlanta restaurants but stopped a few months ago due to time constraints; but I magically received this email from Lynne, my old boss, asking me to help her review a restaurant up in Duluth. Driving there would require me to take I-85 which just happens to pass by our church.
> On 2/18/09, Lynne wrote:
> Hi Frank, I know this is short notice but I was wondering if next Monday
> night you could help do a shop. It's SR-Duluth and you wont have to write a
> full report. Just make sure you answer the usual questionnaire. Please let
> me know if that works for you.
>
> Remember to make sure you don't make the reservation. If you want to take
> your friend that is interested in doing this, that would be helpful.
> If Monday night will work for you let me know and I'll send the report.
> Lynne
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Frank
> Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 11:29 AM
> To:Lynne
> Subject: Re: SR-Duluth Shop
>
> No problem at all! Can't really argue with a free meal (and no report to
> write)! Ha!
>
> Feel free to forward the report over.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Frank
>
>
>On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 11:35 AM, Frank wrote: (This is from me to Gloria)
> Care to join me for a free meal Monday night? I know you have a service
> thing down at Fairburn Ave but this doesn't have a reservation time (so long
> as we get there sometime before 10:30) and we can pack it all up and bring
> it for leftovers if we want (just like last time)! =)
Then the day of I forwarded this email from Roger, a friend who is on staff at IV. He let me know the books I ordered through him just arrived!
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:11 PM, Frank wrote:
hey roger,
hope things are going well for you and you had a great weekend.
just wondering if my books came in yet and if so when you would like to meet up for lunch? or if you are busy then just pass it through anyone we know in common (alex, joey, thomas, etc.) or i'll sorta be driving by church tonight (and of course going on sunday) so if you want you can drop it off at church ...
thanks man,
frank
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 12:18 PM, Roger wrote:
hey frank!
yes the books came in like the day after we had lunch haha. i'll get back you later today about getting the books to you.
Roger
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
So that Monday night, after her law volunteering gig, Gloria came over to my place so we could leave together for our steak dinner up in Duluth. While on the road, I told her that Roger had actually replied to me and told me that he left the books at church. I asked her if we could run by real quick to pick them up, and despite being extremely hungry (having not yet eaten dinner) and pining for steak, she agreed. She wondered aloud if the church would even be open/unlocked at this late an hour, to which I tried to bet her that it was. (Of course, I knew it was unlocked, and if not then I would have someone's head.)
While on I-85, her sister, Claudia, called my cell phone. She said she had been trying to reach Gloria on her cell but that she wasn't picking up (Gloria had it on silent while volunteering). She wanted to ask Gloria a favor - she had left her purse at church, but she was stuck at work late (it was then almost 9pm) and couldn't get it herself. Was there any way Gloria could get it for her?
Gloria marveled at the coincidence and told her that we just happened to be going by church anyway because I had to pick up some books a friend had left for me. She agreed and tried to comfort Claudia in still being at work so late.
As we pulled up to the church's front doors, she started unbuckling her seatbelt to join me in looking for Claudia's purse and picking up my books. I assured her that I would be able to find everything and would be back shortly so that we could get going to dinner. I kissed her and, having left the keys in the ignition, told her I'd be right back and sprinted inside the church and quickly out of her sight.
After a few minutes, I called her and - sounding rather disappointed in myself - told her that I couldn't find the purse and asked her to come in and help me look for it. Thinking I was an idiot, she politely said she would be right in.
If I recall, the moment she stepped inside the front door she saw a dimly lit hallway with strange footprint cutouts (made of construction paper) on the ground, beckoning her to walk ahead. On each footprint was an M&M cookie, some Lindt dark chocolate truffles, Ferrero Rocher chocolates (regular), and Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares (both Milk Chocolate with Caramel Filling and Dark Chocolate with Mint Filling). Strings of white christmas lights lined the sides of the hallway off in the distance. As she walked forward, she would see a poster displayed on an easel on her left, saying:
Want to travel to every continent on earth?
------------>
(Free ice cream!!)
(I was trying to include things we had discussed that she wanted us to do together before we died. A couple's "bucket list" if you will.)
As she continued ahead, still following the footsteps and chocolates on the ground, another sign became visible:
Want to learn how to play 'old people' sports?
------------>
(Also, free ice cream!)
As she came near the entrance to the sanctuary, she could see the christmas lights turning to direct her view to the front of the sanctuary. As she turned, she could see the footsteps (and still more chocolates and M&M cookies) leading her to the front of the sanctuary to the altar.
(The view from the fromt of the sanctuary (near the altar) of the back of the sanctuary.)
(A view of the altar in the background and footprint and Ferrero Rocher in the foreground.)
At the front of the sanctuary on the table usually used for communion, I placed one last sign that read,
"Want to start a family? (Try the ice cream)."
Beside the sign were the same chocolates and cookies, but also three ice cream cartons - one of which being her favorite, Haagen-Dazs white chocolate raspberry truffle, which I introduced to her to early on in our dating relationship. By this point, she was out of sorts, both because she knew what was going to happen, but also because it all felt so surreal. She moved slowly towards the raspberry truffle carton, carefully opened it, and found inside it a ring box. She took it out, placed it in her hand, and studied it for what seemed like an eternity to me (I was standing in a nearby room in the dark, peering out at her throughout the process). Eventually, she opened it and upon finding no ring inside the box, I walked out in a suit - having changed from my casual clothes - with the ring in hand, told her how much she meant to me, knelt on one knee, and asked her to marry me.
While we were still dazed and confused by all the happiness, I revealed that Josh and Vania were in the back of the church, upstairs in the A/V area, taking photos of the actual proposal. I did this because I knew we would want keepsakes of this moment but also wanted it to be extremely private.
After all was said and done, and perhaps as another present for accepting my offer of marriage, I presented to Gloria the various ice cream flavors shown on the altar along with (her favorite) sugar cones. Vania, Josh, Gloria and I all enjoyed the rest of the night - and one of us with a little extra ice on her finger.
The Setup:
So there were a lot of things that needed to be done before that evening. In no particular order:
- Buy an engagement ring. The search took longer than I wanted but I'm glad the timing of everything was out of my control and completely in God's. And yes, I know way too much about diamonds now.
- Ask her parents for her hand in marriage. This was just as nervewracking, if not moreso, as the actual proposal because I had to ask for permission in Chinese. (Well, I didn't have to but I wanted to.) This required me to learn some necessary vocabulary (thank you, parents!) but otherwise I kind of winged it. I have a tendency to make up words when I'm speaking in mandarin so hopefully I did not do that.
- Get the church to myself. Everyone asks, "Why February 23rd?" Well, to be perfectly honest, it was the first day I could get the church all to myself. Usually the church is occupied with fellowship meetings in all parts of the church (shocker, right?) but Mondays are always empty. So I talked to Pastor Thomas, let him know about my plan, and he made sure to get me the Monday with a guarantee that no one else would be there. Shout out to the pastor.
- Photographers. Josh was kind enough to help out, and Vania also helped a ton during the set up process. Only Josh and Vania were upstairs handling the dSLR (with camera and lens borrowed from Wen Eu) and camcorder (borrowed from Joey). I can't imagine going through with the proposal without everyone, but specifically them, helping out.
- Fake Emails. I needed both of us to have separate reasons for being at church, else it would look suspicious. So the dinner email from Lynne was made up entirely and the email from Roger was made up the day of (because Roger and I were already corresponding anyway). And of course Claudia was in on it too - she didn't leave her purse at church (though she was stuck late at the office).
- Props. I had a lot of cutting to do to create those footprints, along with hearts, small directional arrows, and letters saying "I <3 U" and "U R HOT". (I know, I know, so romantic.)
And of course, there were the posters/signs directing her to continue down the path, and the ice cream cartons (which were all empty). Earlier in the day I had scooped all the ice cream out and placed them in separate containers so that we could all enjoy afterwards
Thanks be to God for all his blessings. May I be faithful with each and every one...
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Genesis 18:33
Mar. 2nd, 2009 | 07:41 am
Genesis 18:33 (NKJV) So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.The part that stands out to me is that not only did God initiate the conversation by coming down in the form of a man but He doesn't leave until Abraham is finished interceding on behalf of Sodom. It's just so good to know that God is faithful to every last word and breath in us that longs for justice and mercy.
( Additional Commentary... )
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1 Corinthians 6
Mar. 2nd, 2009 | 12:44 am
1 Corinthians 6 (NKJV)
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
Paul is using the term unrighteous in a religious sense, not a moral sense. It isn't that Corinthian judges were necessarily bad judges, but they were not Christians. (David Guzik)
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
"You who value yourselves so much upon your wisdom and knowledge, who are so puffed up upon your extraordinary gifts and endowments, is there none among you fit for this office, none that has wisdom enough to judge in these differences?" (Matthew Henry)
7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? 8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
"The twelfth verse and former part of the thirteenth seem to relate to that early dispute among Christians about the distinction of meats, and yet to be prefatory to the caution that follows against fornication. The connection seems plain enough if we attend to the famous determination of the apostles, Acts 15, where the prohibition of certain foods was joined with that of fornication." (Henry)
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
Sins against his own body: Paul isn’t saying sexual immorality is worse than any other sin; but he does teach that sexual sin has a unique effect on the body; not only in a physical way, but also in a moral and spiritual ways.
Augustine was a Christian who had a lot of trouble with keeping sexually pure. For a long time, it kept him from really following God. He used to pray: “God, make me pure - but not just yet.” But there came a point where he really turned everything over to God. He stopped hanging around with his companions in sexual immorality, and stopped going to the neighborhood where he used to meet them. But once, he had to go there on business, and on the street he met an old flame. She was glad to see him, and started running to him with arms outstretched, saying “Augustine! Where have you been for so long? We have missed you so!” Augustine did the only thing he could do: he started running the other way. She called out to him: “Augustine, why are you running? Its only me!” He looked back, while still running, and said “I’m running because I’m not me!” He was a different man because of Jesus, living a different way. If we have had our lives changed by Jesus, it will show in the desire to flee sexual immorality. (Guzik)
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Dreams
Feb. 26th, 2009 | 12:12 am
mood: amused
"thought you'd like to know that I had a dream of you and Elder Fu last night. We went on some kind of adventure through some city ruins. Ran into a pickup game where Dirk Nowitzki dislocated and lost his left arm. Had a blast biking around the city on some motorcycle and engaged in some discussion about marriage and theology."