On the Way to Urbana

Michigan City, IN, 4 hours away from St. Louis for Urbana.

It has been an awesome journey, traveling with Mike Jr., Angie, Jenny, Winnie, Crystal, Belinda, Becky and I. From stuffing our face with oranges at the border crossing to having lunch next to a crime scene, we had a blast! However, what's on the top of my mind is not the trip, is not Urbana, but rather the young Jehovah Witnesses who came to our door yesterday. I had the opportunity to speak to them and help them interpret the Bible correctly. They are so young, knows the Bible so well, but yet they are blinded in their interpretation.

As I talked to them, I prayed the Holy Spirit will open their eye... but yet, they did not see the errors in their interpretation and do not believe. I didn't want the stand there and argue the doctrine of Trinity with them... but they are so close yet their hearts are so far away.

My prayers goes out to those two young individuals... I pray that my challenge for them to read the gospel of Mark will open their eyes and their hearts.

Will arrive in Urbana tomorrow. Praise God for His protection on the roads so far.

Conversations

Just came home from Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec City. Near 20 hours of driving over the past 3 days. From the Parliament Hill, to St Joseph Oratory, to Petite Champlain, the highlight of the trip were the conversations we had.

From our past, our present or our future, we covered it all -- including certain topic I was afraid of bringing up since our relationship began. God is gracious. He has filled her with love and mercy. Thank you, Lord, for filling her with the prayer of Col 3:13:

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

I am left speechless -- in awe of God's love. I asked her why, and she said in response "I'm learning to be like Jesus." Jenny still amazes me with her faith just as the day we first met. There is so much I can learn from the Lord and from her. I only pray that I can be the example for her as she has been for me.

blessed.

blessed. I feel extremely blessed. I cannot put into words the richness and the overwhelming joy. The support from Angie, my family, and friends.

On Thursday night during the Seminary Christmas Coffeehouse, I was blessed with the countless words of encouragement from my fellow classmates and facility. I was busying running around take photos and taking care of council matters, at time I'd left Jenny alone socializing with others. And boy, she was an angel.

To me, the highlight of the night came when we were about to leave. After a night of praises and encouragements, as I was stepping out of the cafe Andrea suddenly calls me, "Joel!" I peeked my head back through the doors and Andrea gives me two thumbs up and said "I like her."

Thank you, Lord. I am overflowing with your joy. All night, one verse echoed in my mind:

[Joel] is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
~Prov 31:23

However, the more I feel blessed, the more fear I have for the future. But I was blessed with a wonderful conversation with Jenny what calmed many fears. Thank you, Lord, for reassuring us as we discovered we are on the same page in terms of intimacy and vision. Thank you for those are praying for us. Candy, come back from England and we've got some much to thank you for.

She's here

Jenny arrived this morning. I cannot contain my excitement. Praise God. It has been more than 5 months since I've seen her. We talked about the very thing Candy is keeping me accountable of. Praise God for getting us off on a good start.

One funny story. While I was making breakfast for Jenny, I was so nervous that I made a mess. :P

However, though I might be nervous, yet I am at peace because of the things Jenny and I can talk about. To help each other face challenges together.

Remodeling

Talking to Angie while cleaning my room last night (procrastinating from my studies), I'm thinking about remodeling my room. I always wanted to paint my room, but there's no point. Since there is a last of "space" in my room, and my desk that I don't use takes up 1/4 of my room, I'm think I'll give the desk to Angie. She said she could use a larger desk. That frees up some space so that I can move the dresser off the vest so my room won't be freezing anymore (though I grow to like it) and maybe I can toss a couch into my room. So I don't have to sit in bed all the time doing homework while killing my back.

So, if anyone has a couch they want to get rid of, let me know. :P

Now that F06 is done...

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
~Phil 4:8

Now that this past term is done... time to celebrate. Time to relax. Time to relax. But best of all, Jenny will be in town tomorrow and we'll get to Christmas together. When we said our goodbyes back in Hong Kong International Airport this past July, December seem so far away. And in a blink of an eye, that day it tomorrow.

But in the mist of all the excitement, I must remember the challenges and growth opportunities ahead. There will be times where emotions will run wild, but don't mine me saying again:

Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.
~Proverbs 4:23

Think about what's true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy.

I would like to revisit the notion, what is love? Not the worldly notion of love, but God glorifying love. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. The challenge is to keep these things in mind for the next two weeks.

Last but not least, Candy, thank you for all your prayer. And with your daily prayers, I will keep my word and we will celebrate when you return from England.

One more thing, I thought this while I was driving. Even though I'm going to take these few weeks as a challenge and an opportunity to grow from God, and I must not let my guard down, this should not stop me from having fun in the Lord. Not to hang my head low because of a challenge and trials, but to "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil 4:4).

Something exciting

Flight Number:AC162

Departure		Arrival
Airport:	Vancouver (YVR)	Airport:	Toronto (YYZ)
Date:	Tue 12-Dec 2006	Date:	Wed 13-Dec 2006
Scheduled Time:	23:30	Scheduled Time:	06:55
Terminal:	M	Terminal:	1
Status:On time

Now this is exciting!!!

Church Sign Generator

Taking a break from studying...

http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/



Oh what fun can this be?

Craziness with Angie

This is what happened when you set Angie and I loose in a mall.Oh what fun times we have...

Treatment completed

3 more physiotherapy visits and I'm done... I'll miss the massage therapies, but I'll regain 5 hours every week.

Be Strong and Do The Work

NIV 1 Chronicles 28:9 "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work."

People watching

People watching
by Jack Johnson
Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George [SOUNDTRACK]

Well I'm just people watching
The other people watching me
And we're all people watching
The other people watching we
We're as lonely as we wanted to be
We're all as lonely as we wanted to be
Just as lonely as we wanted to be
I'm just you, you're just me
But it's only true if we believe
Well there really ain't no use in stopping
What nobody never told me not to do
So I'll keep people watching, watching me now
Finding my way back to you
We're as lonely as we wanted to be
We're all as lonely as we wanted to be
I'm just as lonely as I wanted to be
I'm just you, you're just me
But it's only true if we believe
I see so many feet going so many ways
People passing by, they got nothing to say
All on our own, just watching and confused
Nobody told me what to do
I can't stop breaking all the rules
And I'm just people watching
The other people watching me
We're all people watching
The other people watching we
We're as lonely as we wanted to be
We're not so lonely as we wanted to be
I'm just as lonely as I wanted to be
Not so lonely
Lonely, lonely, lonely

The Seminary Student Council was volunteering at Fairview Mall today for the Salvation Army manning the Christmas Kettles. I was the first one to arrive at 3:00p while the rest of them will come after classes at 4:30p. My job was to stand next to the kettle with the Salvation Army red vest on, and smile... simple enough.

Standing there in the middle of the mall by myself, time ticked by slowly. What made time go by slower was the fact that I was posted opposite from a jewelry story which had a grandfather clock in plain sight.

{tick} {tick} {tick}

I kept reciting Phil 2:14 in my head:

"Do everything without complaining or arguing"

To pass time, I began to hum "People Watching" by Jack Johnson while I watched people. I learned so much in the hour and a half of observations.

The Widow's Offering

41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

~Mark 12:41-44

Jesus was too people watching at the temple - Watching people put large sums of money into the temple treasury. I also watched people put large sums of money into the kettle. There were these two ladies I would describe the "Pharisee ladies". One took out a loonie and just before she deposited the coin she loudly exclaimed: "I do this every year, and next year I'm planning to make a large donation!"

{sigh}

Then there are those who sneak up to the kettle and quickly make a donation... I would turn my head and suddenly there will be someone right in front of me. And they would be gone before I can say thank you and Merry Christmas. This was the case with one lady, suddenly appeared, deposited $100 and gone.

God bless them, bless their meek and gentle spirit.

What touched my heart the most today was this little boy, around 10 - 12 years old. Came by the kettle and push some coins out of his pockets and toss them into the kettle. Touched by his act of kindness at such a young age, I bowed and said "thank you, sir, and have a Merry Christmas" as he smiled and hurried off. 5 minutes later, the same boy came out of Shopper's Drug Mart now with a big chocolate bar in his hands grab the remaining change he had and tossed it into the kettle, saying "that all I have."

May God bless this little boy. And thank You, Lord, for challenging me through the actions of this little boy.

Heman Tang

"So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel" ~1 Ch 15:17

Heman, oh, this tops the list of names for my son... just when I thought nothing can top Aaron.

Other possible options:
Aaron Ga Tang

Duo Tang

Orange Tang
Wu Tang

Oh, fatherhood will be so much fun... as long as my future wife does not kill me first.

Finish Strong

Deep breath...

8 more days, and the term would be over. 1 exam and my reading assignments left to complete ...

What a term it is? Lessons in ministry. The car accident. Debts being paid off. It was a term filled with challenges and blessings.

The only thing left for me to do is to do the one thing I always preach to my volleyball team. To finish strong. This is one area I need to improve on. Last term, in the last week of school, due to tiredness and stress, I gave up on two papers... There a part of me that wants to do that again. To toss in the towel now. But would that be beneficial? No.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
~1 Corinthians 9:24

How can I claim the prize if I give up? Yes, I'll still finish the race, yet, it's not run in such a way as to get the prize.

So I have a race to get back to...

I don't want a slip-disc

During physiotherapy yesterday, the assigned me a new massage therapist. I cannot remember his name, but we did have a good conversation during my therapy. Through our conversation, I told him I was a M.Div student. To that in reply he said he has been to church in the early 90's. But sensing the awkwardness of his tone of voice, I decided to ask some non-intrusive questions (ie "what brought you to church?" and "what did you think?") He told me that he is into recording and he was looking for a few gospel singers for a project. At that, we clicked. Chatting about recording and studio work, in attempt to put him at ease.

I pray that next week I'll have the chance to continue our conversation.

He also explained to me to complications of my tight hamstring and calf muscles. He tool me that the tightness of my muscles will put stress on my pelvis, tilting back and in turn pulling on my lumbar. The result of this will be the straightening of my lumbar arch, thus applying pressure to my intervertebral discs and increasing the risk of slip-discs. I don't want slip-discs... so time to do my stretches.