Friday, August 31, 2007

Where is God when it hurts?

Pray for Josh Bates' family as they deal with the loss of a young, energetic brother and son. In the midst of darkness, may God use us to be light and comfort.

Lord, I don't know why this happened or even what good could come from this. I think we're all at a loss. I know you are sovereign, I know you are in control. God, please bring hope to Josh's family, to all of us who wonder why.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

America is awesome.

Poor AC Slater - he must have been killing himself not to laugh.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Summer's end

Before I begin, I'd like to praise the highway authorities for putting in a very nice overpass and shaving five minutes off my commute. Now if only they could arrange for me to just beam myself to work.

I'm not sure if I've ever spoken about the show Intervention before (probably I have) ... I catch it sometimes on A&E and it's very powerful. Generally it's about someone who is suffering from a terrible addiction or abuse problem, whether it's some kind of substance, or an eating disorder, etc, and then a group of friends and family get together to stage an intervention. I probably didn't need to explain that, but anyway. It's incredibly sad to see how someone's life can turn from a young kid with tons of potential to an adult who has completely lost control. By the time they get on the show (I believe usually they are told that it is a documentary about addiction; they don't know an intervention is coming), the family and friends have become desperate.

I don't really know what it is that I like about the show. Maybe it's the raw human emotion, the reality of addiction, the fact that it's like a train wreck and I can't turn away. Maybe it's that the show confronts stereotypes - the person who is a drug addict is someone's daughter or father or brother, someone who was at one time a good student, who held a steady job, who grew up with a loving family. Or maybe it's that I just can't understand why someone who needs help so badly would reject the help that is offered to them.

Maybe the desperation that the family feels when their loved one rejects rehab is a little like how God feels when we turn away from him, or when we think we can do it all on our own and leave him out of our lives. It's easy to fall into that trap, and it's difficult to remain on the path God intends.

From Romans 5:16-17:

Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.




Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Once more, with feeling

It's my mom's birthday today (happy birthday Mom!) and so I thought I'd write a little ode to my mom instead of the usual rant that appears on this website.

My mom has been a mother filled with strength and courage since the day I was born. Well really, I should say she's been that since my brother was born, since I was an easy baby and he was not. (hi there big brother!) (I am also the smart one!) Times weren't always easy for our family, but my parents never wavered in their faith in God, nor in their love for us. I remember many good times spent with my mom. When I was little and my brother was in school, my mom would take me to the mall, where I would always get to have a "triangle" (a piece of cake covered in chocolate - it was triangle-shaped). When we were older, she would take us to the library so we could each borrow an armful of books. For at least ten years of my life, she drove me to piano lessons every week, at least 45 minutes each way. Sometimes, my teacher would yell at me, and my mom would later say that I should have practiced more, or stopped fooling around during my practice time - I'm glad she never just blindly told me I was doing fine. Or she would tell me that if I didn't like piano, I should quit - meaning that I always had the choice to go on or not. I remember lots of late night chats and laughter in the house, and watching soap operas and reality TV together. No Chinese TV in our house!

Of course, it can't have been simple to be my mother. I wasn't terribly rebellious, but I wasn't the perfect child either. And after God called my dad home, my mom had even more to do, and even less time to herself. Yet she never turned against God for her lot in life. Instead, she taught me through her life that God gives, and God takes away, and yet he is always faithful. She showed me how to put God first, and how to appreciate the abundant life that God offers us. My mom is a woman after God's own heart, and I hope that one day, someone will say that about me too.

Thanks for being a great mom, Mom! Maybe one day I'll have a daughter as cool as your daughter is. Hahaha! Just kidding.

Remember to be good to your parents!

Friday, August 03, 2007

August

One of my pet peeves is know-it-allness. I can't stand a know-it-all who brags about knowing it all. Here's an example: someone asks me if I'm enjoying married life. I say yes, I am rather enjoying it, thanks for asking, although life has been quite busy. Said person then says, why just wait until you have kids! Then you'll really be feeling busy. You don't even know what busy is yet! ... Seriously - how annoying!

(I try my best not to be one of those "I've done it all, you have no idea" people so if I have been like that toward you, I heartily apologize.)

I had more of a rant written, but perhaps I should move on.

Last week, I was driving from far off lands over a bridge and noticed a number of signs on the bridge saying RAMPS ARE SAFE. PROCEED AT POSTED SPEED LIMIT. I don't know about you, but when there is a huge sign saying the ramps are safe, my first thought is that they are unsafe. Apparently everyone else thought so too, because everyone slowed down to go over the ramp (which was really more like a bump.)

Traffic issues interest me because of my long commute. There is a portion of my commute that I dislike tremendously because it is slow and painful. There is a shortcut, but lots of construction along the shortcut lately. Finally, the city has listened to my unspoken pleas for relief and they have been building an overpass to get over the slow part of my commute. Every day, I drive by to see if the overpass is ready yet. Of course, only today did I think to google it and looks like it won't be ready until October. Ugh. Don't they realize it could shave off 5-10 minutes of my commute every day? In billable hours, that's like what, $50? (PJ, I threw that one in for you!)

It's almost the long weekend and I can't wait. Maybe I'll clean the house! Woohoo!