fairly tactician

A regular thing that people like to say when making decisions is "follow your heart". Perhaps, not the wisest advice, taking into account that our hearts can be deceitful:


"The heart is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?" - Jeremiah 17:9


There is manga called "Fairy Tail" which is a pretty light-hearted show with very good fighting and with themes of friendship, good beats evil, "who do you think I am?" attitude... it is a great show for guys. There is a character called Fairy Tactician "Mavis", who is looks like a little helpless girl but she is actually the founder of magic guild and she is known for her accurate planning when making strategies to combat the opponent guilds. She can accurately predict the enemies' moves so she can plan a proper counterattack.

(warning: possible spoiler if you plan to read Fairy Tail)
In one specific battle, Mavis needs to take down a key member of a enemy guild "Rufus", and "Gray" (one of her guild's members) requests her to set him up to fight Rufus because he has some personal stuff to settle with him. But Mavis declines because based on her analysis from their abilities, Gray is not the most compatible member of her guild to fight Rufus. But Gray insists, and Mavis decides to let him fight Rufus. So she is not able to predict the outcome of the battle, but she acknowledges that "feelings can sometimes surpass calculations". Eventually, Gray beats Rufus, and it is a happy story.

When we make decisions between two good things (like choosing what schools/jobs to apply, where to serve, implementation for a ministry), sometimes it is very hard to figure out what to choose. For example, on the Winter of 2008, I was struggling with deciding whether not running for the CCF committee (actually for the 3 years that I ran, I always struggled with the decision). Serving in committee seems to be a good thing, but also not serving in committee seems to be a good thing to me. It is always difficult to exactly discern what God wants you to do in regards of decisions like this.

Definitely, much prayer, bible reading, and counsel from mentors and peers are essential. On one hand, this can be an intellectual decision based on facts (example: pros and cons, doors that have been opened or closed, time budget, impact on existing commitments, etc). On the other hand, it can be a decision made by "sensing" (example: the Holy Spirit can give reassurance on a decision). Obviously, it can be a mixed of both.

I tend to be more on the intellectual side, and I remembered that I actually made a decision-matrix (something useful that I learned from a bad course in school). It looks similar to that:

Basically, I list the factors that I am considering for my decision-making, and weight them numerically, and then I analyze the choices, and see which option has the higher score. I remembered vaguely that the decision-matrix I made on 2008 had like 10 factors. And based on results, I should not be running for committee (it was a very close). But, in the end I decided to run because somewhat I felt that was the right choice to make despite the results of my intellectual analysis. And by God's grace, it was a great year in committee.

Based on this example, I am not trying to justify that "feelings" should supersede "intellect". I believe that thinking and analyzing thoroughly on the facts is very important as it gives you a better idea of the advantages and risks. But God can also work despite the eminent risks, and we should be opened to what He can do. I believe that our God is one who works in an organized manner but at the same time God can blow your mind, and go beyond your expectation.

And our God is good and sovereign, who is in control of everything, so it is hard to think that we can "block" His plans. That does not mean that we can make irresponsible decisions, but that we should do our best in seeking God to discern for the right decision, but also be reassured that He is in control. And once we have made the decision, we should go for it wholeheartedly trusting that God will work in you.

calling my mom

So I was calling my mom around 1am (since it will be 12am in Guatemala) to wish her a Merry Christmas. And the background noise was so loud that she could barely hear me. The noise is due to the non-stop fireworks and firecrackers, as it is part of the tradition during big celebrations like Christmas. She told me to call her back in 30 minutes (I guess that's how long the firecrackers usually last).

I kinda miss that type of festivity, it's way too quiet here in Canada =P.

Thank you Jesus

I have been reading the Old Testament starting from Genesis with the goal to go through the entire Old Testament. In the past, I often skipped the "boring" parts, so I have not read books like Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

So as I was reading a couple of days ago, there is this prophecy that Jacob made to his son Judah:

"The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
    and the obedience of the nations is his." - Genesis 49:10

It is a prophecy about the Messiah, who will come from the line of Judah. This is not the earliest prophecy about Christ, but I still think it is quite awesome that God has planned everything so perfectly according to His good will. There are many prophecies about Christ, that He will be born from a virgin, that He will be born in Bethlehem, that He will take away our sorrows and give up His life for our transgressions. It's just amazing that God planned this with such accuracy, showing that He is truly sovereign, in control, and all-powerful. But, God did not have to go through all this, and it will be ok to leave humans as they are, but God is rich in grace, that He sent Jesus to die for us. God is the one who initiated everything, we didn't do anything to deserve it. Intense.

As I was reading through Exodus, it is kind of disappointing to see the Israelites complaining against Moses (and eventually against God) when they were in the desert without water or food. God has just owned the Egyptians in the most spectacular way possible, and delivered them from the harsh slavery, but they tend to forget God's awesomeness so easily. But that actually reminds me of myself since it is so easy to forget about how good God is, and I start to complain about uncertainties in my life, and act sinfully even though He has just blessed me recently. The more I think about that, the larger God's grace becomes.

Christmas is a good reminder of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. It's definitely a great time to spend joyfully with close relatives and friends. I have chosen to spend some days in solitude because I really need the personal time with God, to ponder and be marveled at His immeasurable grace. It is a good time for me to rest, to get recharged, to reflect about my life, and to set goals for the near future. This is really helpful since work life has been considerably busy and draining. I have also set some time to catch up with family and close friends via skype since life becomes so busy that if one is not intentional, it is really hard to keep up with relationships.

Christmas is such a joyful times. All for the praise of His glory. Thank you Jesus.