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.

Bruised Ribs

What a weird volleyball practice yesterday. Maybe it is the Monday after a tournament over the weekend. The energy level was low to begin with, but with the hitting drill the excitement picked up. The ladies did a great job learning the left and right tandem attacks, the other teams are in for a surprise this weekend.

During scrimmage to wrap up the practice, everyone was acting silly and we felt we were actually giving a bad name to volleyball. But it as a good practice in calling plays in game situations. During one play, Sam called "quick" for me, and just for fun, he called a "pipe" and an "A" for the back row. So after the pass, I ran right up next to Sam to approach the "quick" hit. But in the last moment, Sam decided to set "pipe". Generally, that would not matter, but in the instance, in order to push the ball to the back row Sam stuck his butt out. This cause me to crash into him, jabbing my own elbow into my ribs, complete knocking the wind out of me. Hahaha...

I vaguely remember the last time I had the wind knocked out, it was a long time ago while playing soccer. This time, all I could do is to fall on the floor gasping for air as the play continued. Well, at least I now have a nice bruised rib as a souvenir. :P

All this talk about ribs, it's making me hungry.... mmmmm.... ribs.

Feels like a dagger in the heart...

I knew this day would eventually come. It is the risk of my occupation - a risk of being a minister and pastor. No doubt about it, it hurts me to see it happen. It's feels like a dagger plunged into my heart.

Upon receiving the email first thing this morning, I went for a walk and than took a long shower. Two of my favorite things to do when I want to think and reflect. I took an 90 minutes stroll, into Brimley Woods. I have not been into this forest since high school. The morning fog was perfect, it felt like I was all alone, just a morning stroll with God. I had a good chat with God, sharing with one another how was our day. It was nice to be able to ask him for advise in regards to this situation. When I returned home, I hit the showers. Showers are an nice place to be when my heart is overwhelm with sorrow because I cannot tell whether or not I am crying or it is just the shower raining down on me. I can just sit in the tub with water raining down on me, and think. Maybe this is another reason why I love to take a stroll in the rain.

In the end, I am glad for this opportunity to learn God's lesson for me. Thank you, Lord.

I awoke this morning to the news of one of my sheep in pain. And it was because of the indirect results of my actions and words. My heart sank. It felt like a dagger was plunged into my heart. What I thought actions I have taken to guide my sheep have backlashed and deeper cause pain to one of them. The one thing that came across my mind was "what have I done?" I felt inadequate, ill-equipped, unqualified. (I knew I should have taken intro to preaching first) I have made every mistake a young preacher makes - all in one sermon. The advises of Dr. Alfred Lam echo through my mind. I wanted to ask God why did he choose me. I am not ready to be responsible to be put in charge of his sheep.

In my mind, I can my sheep... in pain, crying. One side of me wants to run up to her and hold her in my arm in effort to ease her pain. But another side of me is telling my that my mere presence may cause her more pain.

I can see why some preachers have waterdowned their theology to a point it have become dull. However, the Scriptures reminds us:

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
~Heb 4:12

I would not allow my theology to be dull, just for the sake that the members of my congregation would be comfortable. The Gospel is inconvenient. Discipleship is uncomfortable.

Yet, also as stated in Hebrews 4:12, only the word of God judges. I would not allow others to judge my sheep and inflict pain on my sheep. And that includes myself. If any of you sense that I am hurting my sheep, you have my permission to smack me on the side of my head. Or even to plunge another dagger into my heart.

But if it is the word of God penetrating to the heart His followers, then I shall be ready for more wounded sheep. Lord, fill me with Your love to heal Your children.

As the dust settles...

God's stamp of presence was there every step of the way.

I had been a month less a day since the car accident. It seem as though my world was flipped up-side-down by something as small as a little car wrack. I'm picking up the new vehicle tonight - a shiny new 2007 Subaru Impreza, gray colour. Last Friday, I was at the collusion centre cleaning out my wracked Protege, I learn that Alan at the collusion was a Tyndale alumni - class of 2006, M.Div in Pastoral Ministry. That's amazing. What a small world. We got into a cool little conversation because he noticed my Saddleback Church license plate cover. He said he was from Willowcreek Church. Wow. Afterwards, I proceeded to the insurance company to turn in my keys and ownership and to receive the cheque for my car. At TD Meloche Monnex I had my Tyndale clipboard with me to take notes, and at the sight of that the insurance agent informed me that he has a buddy attending seminary at Tyndale. And as if that's not enough, afterward during lunch time I was at my physiotherapy appointment. While I was getting hooked up to the electro-treatment machine, I had a chat with the young lady helping me out and she asked me where I go to for school. I told her Tyndale but she did know where that is. So I proceed to tell her it is behind Sister of St. Joseph and how Tyndale has purchased that property. She exclaimed that was her high school. 3 stamps of God's presence with a span of 3 hours, at 3 difference places. Wow!

Thinking back, the car accident has truly been a blessing. Through this accident, I am almost out of debt because of the cheque from the write-off of the Protege. Also, my back is a million times better because of the weekly treatments. And now I have a safe vehicle to carpool the kids from church. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings in unexpected places. I love you, Lord.

"...you are the one who won't relax!"

When I was at my physio appointment yesterday, my treatment included chiropractic adjustment of my back, and massage therapy. Massage therapies are usually done by Robert, but on Tuesday during lunch it is done by another lady. During the appointment, she said that she didn't recognize me, but I reassure her that I had her treat my back last week.

As soon as she begins her treatment, she exclaimed: "Oh, I don't remember your face, but I remember your back. You are the one who won't relax!"

At that, she told me to relax. But no matter how I tried to follow her instructions she said I'm not relaxed. And she would lift my hips and start shaking it from side to side to get me to loosen my back...

Maybe that's part of my problem - I have not learn to relax. Even during my "down time" I'll find things to do. I must learn how to relax.

Call me Petter Solberg...

Call me Petter Solberg...
Or call me Richard Burns...
Or Colin McRae...
Or even call me Bunta Fujiwara... lol...
If you know any of these names, you know where I'm going at. I have made my decision on what car to get.

No, I'm not getting a STI nor a WRX, though I wish. And the STI is the fastest car I've ever driven. The Subaru Impreza 2.5i is the closet thing to my dream car since university.... only without the "whiiiiirrrrll..... ssspppzzzzzz" sound of the turbo.173HP, all-wheel drive, and the best part is 3.8% lease and connections with the dealer manager. Thank God. So, I can say God is my Nicky Grist.

PS. Wondering what happened to the Nissan Versa? Well, I test drove it today and it made this very annoying clicking sound every time I shift in to gear... plus the sale rep didn't know know anything, I had to back the car back into the parking spot for him. Also since it was a six speed, the first question I asked the sale rep in the car (since it was dark outside) was whether the "reverse" gear is on the extreme right and down. I assumed that because my only experience with a six speed was in the STI and it was extreme right and down. The sale rep promptly replied "Yes". So with that said, off we go. Then what do you know... at a red light, right turn, from a complete stop, I slapped the stick left and up to put it into 1st gear... and surprise surprise, I was in reverse. Thank to the sales rep. That gave an excuse for dad to make fun of me. Therefore, no Nissan Versa.