the force

so yeah, many people have been in crazy joyful mode since "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" came out. Many fans were crazy about it, and I even got to enjoy a 85% day off because of a Star Wars event at work.

The three original movies were a classic, achieving a legendary status, and revolutionary on the time that were released. Then there were some fake movies that came out later, but that was catastrophic, and the only redeemable thing that came out of it was this: http://winterson.com/2005/06/episode-iii-backstroke-of-west.html

The new movie got very positive reviews. I will abstain on taking too much about it, but I have to admit, it is very entertaining and fun, but the more I analyze it, the more I dislike it.

I want to expand on the concept of the "force", which plays a very major role on the Star Wars story. The force is this impersonal power that seems to be everywhere, and certain individuals can use or control part of it to do cool stuff (psychokinesis, mind control, reading minds, fighting abilities, etc). It seems that individuals must concentrate, focus, and train to use the force. But the force can be used for either good or evil purposes, depending on the user. There is a light side, and there is a dark side. A great deal of the story from the movies is to show the battler between both sides, and how an user from the light side can be tempted to to the dark side.

The idea of the force is very influenced by the worldview of "Pantheism". It is not my intent to describe this worldview in details, but I just want to point out a couple of key points on it:

• Pantheism describes"god" as an impersonal "force"
• The goal of man is to become one with the "force", and that is usually accomplished by denying one's individuality (via meditation, mantras, chants, etc)
• the concepts of good and evil does not really have a standard, other than favoring the process of becoming one with the force, as a "good" think (e.g. karma is considered good, as it helps me to be closer as one with the "force")

There are issues with this worldview, the major one been the classic issue of ethics, where there is no absolute standards that defines what is good and what is evil. Plus the concept of an impersonal god (consistent with the lack of standards of good and evil) is not very hopeful for a purposeful life, and the assurance that a "god" is watching over us.

In Christianity, we have a personal God, who is almighty, all powerful, and is loving and just. The fact that He is personal, and that He has created us in His image is very encouraging, because our lives are made with a purpose, and we are most satisfied when we reflect His image in our lives. This is a much more hopeful and worth "worldview" to live for. Due to God's character, there is a clear standards on what is good and what is bad, and there are instructions on how to walk in holiness.

We praise God for what he has done, by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our transgressions, so that we can find forgiveness and be reconciled to Him, so that we can live in eternity with Him.

Merry Christmas!

maximus decimus meridius

"What we do in life echoes in eternity." - Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator

Gladiator is one of the my favorite films of all times, and I really believe every man should watch it. It shows a character with so many commendable characteristics:  a man who is honorable, who is respected, who keeps his word, who overcomes great adversity to triumph, who fights for justice. I don't get bored at all re-watching this movie. It's also worth mentioning that a lot of the good deeds Maximums end up doing in the movie produce fruits that he did not get to enjoy.

I remembered when I was in university, an upper year brother challenged me to think about the legacy I want to leave behind in my years in school. This is a question that most people will not naturally think about, since school is usually treated as a stepping stone to get a job that pays well. Indeed, this is a question that I still think about today. How do I want to be remembered when I leave the "current place" I am in? If I am able to answer the previous question, what steps can I take to achieve it?

Often, we are placed in locations where we are just there temporary (5 years in school, a job placement, a full-time job, etc) and it is very tempted to do the minimum to get by or to work hard only on the aspects that will benefit us (e.g. work extra hours at a job to please my manager). But how about helping those around us (which is outside of our "job description")? How about making a positive impact on the people that I see everyday at work?

This is often challenging especially when the responsibilities of the "job description" is already stressful enough.

I have been swimming through a bit of disappointments at my current job for some time now, and it got significantly worst when changes occurred on my job management (people moving to different teams, people leaving, people getting fired). So it is easy to be demotivated and wanting to just do the minimum.

But God has called us to do our best in the work we do, as if we are working for Him (Col. 3:23) and we are also called to be the salt and light of this world (Matthew 5). And even if life is tough, we are called to do our best in all situations, walk that extra mile, and be a good witness in all. Even if the my work employers does not appreciate the work that I do, I can only find assurance and peace when I know that my efforts are pleasing our ultimate Boss, the our great Father, our great King.

so much to learn...

helm's deep

In movie trilogies, I tend to like the second installment as my favorite of the series. For example, Star Wars (which there is a great excitement of the new film coming out). The first film (The New Hope) provides a solid introduction and fun, and the third film (The Return of the Jedi) gives a proper ending showing the maturity of the characters and the resolution of the all the problems, it is the second film (The Empire Strikes Back) raises the excitement to new heights with great action and unexpected drama (regarding the character's background and the danger of mis-using the force).

On the most recent Batman series, many agrees that the "Dark Knight" was quite spectacular and the best of the three films, thanks to its psychological depths, and the dilemma of the main characters as hero or anti-hero.

I really like "Lord of the Rings", and I have marathoned the series twice (once w/ extended version, once without it). In addition, I have seen the individual films a couple of times. Definitely, I like the second film the most, "Two Towers". I feel that it has a better pace than the other films (not as slow as the first film, and more organized than the third one). 

I personally enjoy the battle at the Helm's Deep the most of all the battles in the series. The good guys were at a numerical disadvantage, trying to defend the last fortress of Rohan with an army that consisted of a majority of untrained soldiers. Whereas, the opposite army consisted of violent and ruthless beasts that want nothing other than the annihilation of men. Thanks to the aid from the Elf army, and the prowess of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they managed to stand firm until the most reinforcements arrive; which is when Gandalf and exiled Rohan legion comes on the sunrise, and finishes the enemy's army, which is a great scene to repeatedly watch.

This set of scenes made me think about the recurring evil that occurs on our world today, and that we are to stand firm with perseverance against it, until our Lord Jesus Christ comes back to exercise His justice to all.

The recent events of terrorism in Paris has made me think about how should I stand in terms of military intervention against terrorist groups. Tragedies like occur so often nowadays, which is quite sad, and also in a way desensitize people about these issues. Paris was a big deal (and got lots of media coverage) because it was a strike against a Western state, though I don't think we should forget about the more frequent tragedies that occur in African and Middle Easter countries.

After this, of course there is a big push for countries to retaliate against the terrorist group, and to actually have a coalition (i.e. more countries participating other than the US) that can effectively dismantle this threat.

As Christians, we understand that the some of the major tenants about our faith is about grace, and how we should offer grace to others that have harm us. Bible passages like Romans 12:21 or 1 Peter 3 tell us that we should not repay evil with evil, but instead we should repay with goodness. Matthew 5, on Jesus' sermon, He speaks about how if we are slapped on the right cheek, we should turn the other side to them. Looking at these in a brief manner, it seems that we are to not retaliate, and that the Lord will be in charge of exercising justice or repayment (vengeance is of the Lord as in Romans 12:19). 

Of course the thought of just sitting and waiting is hard to accept when there are many people suffering because of this evil organization. So I had to consult some theologians on their views A helpful article explains about John Stott's view on the "Just War": http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2013/09/12/why-john-stott-changed-his-mind-on-pacifism/

He basically explains that as individuals, we ought to not repay evil with evil. But on the matter of state (government), we are to submit to our authorities (Romans 13), and if our government decides to retaliate, then this is ok because God can use governments as instruments to exercise His punishment. In a way he separates the "person" with the "state".  He lays out a few key components that made this retaliation "just":

• its cause must be righteous
• its means must be controlled
• its outcome must be predicable 

The heart of this is that the intention has to be good (or righteous). Of course we can argue about the "intentions" of many countries performing military intervention on countries in conflict are not always pure (secret agenda, a double standard). This is a true reality of our fallen world.

Another helpful article is from John Piper, regarding whether Pacifism is the way to go or not: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/did-jesus-teach-pacifism

Part of me think that defending the innocent and the path of the "lesser evil" might be other argument for military intervention. 

Certainly, this is a very relevant issue today, and I really want to acquire a biblical stance on this.

Still, I can rest assure knowing that our God is sovereign over this situation, and that we have hope that He will deliver us, and that He will exercise justice on the due time (similar to the scene of reinforcements during Lord of the Ring).

It is my prayer that God of compassion will help the needy on the affected areas. I have faith that our God will work and not withdraw even when evil is so apparent on our times, because He is great.

end of an era

Yep, I have moved out from the place known as "OPP", and it was a pretty hectic week dealing with packing and moving lots of stuff. In the future I should consider taking at least a day off when moving.

I have been blessed with being part of a house where all members are fellow believers. We share common goals, and we naturally share the things we have, and we do our chores, and we encourage one other. Also, we usually open up our place for other people to come over for many type of activities such as fellowship, small group, worship practice, inviting good friends for dinner, movie nights, etc.

Definitely, choosing who to live with is a very important decision.

God has taught me a lot in terms of serving others through my years in undergrad (when I used to live at westcourt) and afterwards at OPP. 

One aspect of community that I like is to be able to have people gather outside of the weekly meetings (church, small group) so that we can get to know people more on smaller group settings, and be able to serve and encourage them better. Many times, great discussions and encouragements come from unplanned gatherings.

There are many good memories at OPP, even though I was happy to leave, part of me does miss being there. I was slightly panicking on last Saturday that this would be my last Saturday I get to sleep in at my old room. Yeah, I was the last one to leave, and got to spend a few solemn minutes one-on-one with the empty apartment. 

It is indeed the end of an "era" that corresponded with my life stage of transitioning from school to work. Now I do look forward on what God has prepared on my future place, and there will certainly be no end for more fellowship to occur.

unlimited bladeworks

"I am the bone of my sword,
 Steel is my body, fire is my blood,
 I have created over thousand of blades"

There is a very popular anime series called "Fate Stay Night", that has 3 different stores, and one of them is called "Unlimited Blade Works". The overall story consists on 7 selected mages, and each of these mages summon a specific warrior to fight one another. The last one standing gets to win the "holy grail", which grants any wish.

One of the interesting aspects about this show is the substance in the dialogue. There is a big emphasis on elaborating on each of the characters' ideals and their reason to fight on this war.

One of the main characters, Shirou, has a noble ideal of wanting to save and help everyone, to the extend that he does not care about his well being. He has a kind heart and is always offering his help to everyone around him. When the bad guys show up, he is the first one who stands up to offer protection.

But his peers consider him to be very naive and idealistic, as it is not possible to save everyone. There is a cost associated with a choice (helping personA means I might not be able to help personB). And his peers (especially those who care for him) are irritated when Shirou becomes impulsive to help others but does not take care of himself.

But his future self, who is portrayed by another character (summoned on this timeline, don't ask me why) tries his best to stop Shirou from pursuing his ideals. The reason is because his future self has gone through many disappointments and frustrations while trying to follow his ideals on saving everyone. His future self realizes that it is not possible to save everyone with his efforts, and bitterness grows on his heart as he is not able to protect everyone from getting hurt by bad people.

The is a major dilemma in the life of Shirou, who after various internal struggles, concludes that he will continue pursuing his ideals, even if it is not realistic and may bring many disappointments, because the desire to save everyone brings him hope.

I remember when I was part of the CCF Welcome Team, that a few of us had a common desire to care for everyone (specially the newcomers), and we wanted to reach out to every single person who attended CCF at least a few times, and wanted to make sure they would attend fellowship so that brothers and sisters would look after them. We did many initiatives in order to maximize a "safety net" so that we can "save" everyone from falling off in the cracks of now been able to integrate into CCF. I vividly remember that we even made a very elaborated spreadsheet with all the newcomer's names, and information about their program and what they like to do, and their potential as leaders, etc... (now that I look back, it feels slightly stalkerish haha).

In reality, no matter how hard we tried, there would be people who might not respond to our goodwill. Some people will choose not to join any fellowship, some will get distracted by other priorities, and some might even forget and not appreciate the investment (care and time) that you spend on them.

It is very easy to become disappointed and discouraged at the lack of results when serving at a ministry. This experience has taught me various lessons about serving:

• First priority is my relationship with God. If my main focus is on a ministry, then I am valuing my performance and the results over the greatness of the love and grace of God. 
• Understanding that God loved me first, and that God's love is unconditional (no matter how much I failed or how much I tried to prove myself, His love does not depend on that) enables me to love others. If I fail do understand this, then my serving becomes more transactional rather than serving out of love.
• It is not up to me. It is up to God, His own timing and providence, to save people (God might use another servant to minister to this person). The results are not up to me (for sure God has given us wisdom to make good decisions and execute on them, but ultimately God is the one who can transform hearts). If I fail to understand this, then I would take the matter with my own hands and will grow frustrated if no results are seen.
• Persevere in prayer. Do not lose hope when good work is not rewarded with tangible results. If God has given you a vision, then let us put our trust in Him, that He will carry you through to accomplish what He intends for.

second place again

Yesterday was the soccer final for the Copa America (it's like an equivalent of the Euro Cup, but for South America), and Argentina played against the host team of Chile.

This was an excellent chance for Argentina, captained by the best player of the world Lionel Messi, to make up for the loss of last year in the World Cup against Germany. Argentina have not won a major tournament since 1993, and Lionel Messi (who has broken crazy records with his club Barcelona) has never won a major tournament with his national team.

Considering the talent that they have in their offensive front, they should have no issues in scoring: Di Maria (key player for Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champion League last year), Aguero (led Manchester City to win Premier League in 2012), Pastore (helped Paris Saint Germain win the French league since 2012).

Plus, they have above-average players in the defensive front: Romero (goalkeeper that has proven to be reliable), Otamendi and Demichelis (solid defenders), Biglia and Macherano (gladiators in the midfield). This team is really a monster.

But they lost against Chile in penalty shootouts, and once again are got a second place.

I have been a fan of Argentina since 1994, when I first watched them defeat Greece 4-0, I instantly fell in love with the Albiceleste. I was very sad when they lost against Germany last year in the World Cup (especially because I was in Brazil, watching the game on a big screen in the beaches of Copacabana, after getting bad night sleep at the airport and standing for more than 4 hours). This time I was really hopeful but ended up being disappointed again.

A major portion of the disappointment comes from the fact that Argentina did not play to its maximum capability. They beat Paraguay brilliantly 6-1, showcasing their offensive weapons. Against Chile, they only had one very good chance to score (I even jumped from the couch and slide onto the carpet, causing a small laceration on my left knee).  It's true that Chile is a really good team, and that they played smart and rough, but most key players in Argentina under-performed or failed to deliver on the most decisive moments (some argued that it is the pressure or anxiety or that they are not "sweating the T-shirt" enough).

This reminds me of how Christians should behave at decisive moments. We spend a lot of time studying the bible at church and in small groups, and we learn a lot. But when opportunity comes for us to help the needy, to share the gospel, to provide a reason of our hope to those who do not believe, to serve the church community, to reconcile with someone, to confront someone about the truth of the Word of God, or any other activities that pushes us outside of our comfort zone, do we act well on these decisive moments?

It is so easy to just not do anything about it and have the easy way out, but our mission is a different one as salt and light of this world. And once we take the step to do the right thing, I am hopeful that God will provide and equip us with the right words and actions.

why I care about the remake of FF7

This week it was announced there will be a remake of video game called "Final Fantasy 7". It is an old RPG (role-playing game) that came out on PlayStation 1 in 1997.  The announcement of the remake of this classic game has a deep impact on many of the fans of this series. People were shouting and screaming of joy when they saw the trailer. My housemate was also screaming too, and when I saw the trailer I was also yelling.

The announcement actually increased the stocks of Square Enix by 2.9% (highest since 2008). This is insane.

Final Fantasy 7 is the first game I played from this series, and I proudly own an original copy of the PS 1 game. The game is highly excellent, a great story, very likeable characters, awesome soundtrack, and unexpected twists on the plot, a classic. There is huge debate among FF fans between which game is the greatest, and it is usually between 6 or 7. FF6 is a very solid game, but 7 is always my personal favorite as it was the first game I played, and it has influenced me to play various subsequent games from the series.

Why is this such a big deal? Mainly because many of the people from my generation grew up with this game. This was the first pseudo-3D RPG that came out and it was revolutionary, plus the story is so compelling. Also the recent installments of the series have been fairly mediocre, so this remake of the classic series is definitely a big deal.

The reason why I like RPG quite a bit is because it involves a journey, where a character goes about on the following activities:

1. there is some sort of evil, and the main character can get involved to save the world
2. saving a damsel in distress or helping dear friends
3. collect a bunch of weapons important items that are useful in the journey
4. made comrades who join in the journey
• each party member has a special set of skills, each member's strengths make up for other's weaknesses, and when all combined it is very effective in battles
5. explore the world and find information to figure out what to do next in the journey
6. fight battles to acquire more level and skills
7. use a super flashy final move to finish off the main battles

Gaming usually tend to have a negative connotation as many people use it as a way for escapism or it can be a stumbling block for time stewardship. I think some of the elements from gaming that attract us to it, tells us about certain longings we have as human. And I think we should try to satisfy these longings and bring the battles into real life (and not just fight them in the game). Each of us have a journey of faith, that involves:

1. there is much evil in the world, be proactive in getting involved to bring good (participate in furthering God's kingdom)
2. serve in your local community
3. collect knowledge from Word of God that will equip you for every work
4. get to know solid comrades in your journey, comrades who will pray for you, will encourage you,  whose strengths make up for your weaknesses, especially in serving
5. life is not always certain, trust God as you explore different possibilities
6. as you go through challenges and trials, your faith is strengthen each time, and your character is molded to be more like Christ
7. as you matured in the faith, God will enable you to do more than you can ask or imagine, and bring great victories in big struggles

champion's thirst

Recent weekend, the UEFA Champion League Final took place, between Barcelona (Spanish champion of La Liga) and Juventus (Italian champion of the Serie A).

I read various comments about the game and saw highlights multiple times, and I can conclude it was an excellent game. I was not able to watch it, because I chose to spend time with friends in Toronto, which is also very precious.

Barcelona won the game 3-1, and for many that was an expected outcome due to their formidable world class strikers and of course, the best player of the world, Lionel Messi. But Juventus did put a good fight, and had its chances as well. The Italian press have commended the Juventus team, and stated that they lost but they have nothing to regret from.

Barcelona won its 4th UEFA Champion League in last 10 years, which is a great accomplishment, and it has shown the dominance of the Barcelona team in Europe.

It is also worth mentioning that one of the symbol player and captain of Barcelona, Xavi (who is close to the end of his career) played the last game with the team. He is considered to be one of the best Spanish player ever, and he is a very classy midfielder who can direct the pace of the game with his precise and accurate passes.

There is a usual saying that it is hard to reach the top, but it is harder to maintain at the top. Barcelona has been in the top of club level soccer for a while. It is challenging because once you have conquered a trophy, the thirst for such victory might be quenched. And it is hard to find ways to refueled this thirst that will drive the players to give 110% of what they got to win the same trophy again tomorrow.

Analogous to Xavi, there is also a very classy midfielder in Juventus, Andrea Pirlo. He is good, like really good. Also near the end of his career, but he can still play at a very high level, building crazy passes, and he is considered one of the best free kick shooter in the world. After the game, there were pictures and video showing Pirlo crying. One would said this is normal, as they just lost the final, and they are disappointed. But one has to understand that Pirlo have a very successful career already; he won the World Cup with Italy on 2006, and he won the Champions League twice with his former team Milan. He had already experienced this type of victories. But in the end he cried, that shows that he is a winner, and still thirst for more.

I think both Xavi and Pirlo are great champions, who have a steadfast thirst for more.

Similarly, I remembered clearly the thirst I had for God when I first believed. But as I grew, due to struggles and busy-ness, it is easy to not have the same level of thirst for God, and one can easily become complacent. This is always a constant battle for me. 

I pray that the Spirit will cause me to thirst for God more and more.

"You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water." - Psalm 63:1

breakfast of champions

Breakfast is such an enjoyable meal!

And there are many types of breakfast that I enjoy:

Traditional Chinese - congee with deep fried dough rolls:

HK style - very runny eggs with milk tea

Another HK style - Pineapple bun with a "thin" layer of butter and milk tea

Classic - McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with double hash browns and coffee

The picture from McDonald's breakfast was taken recently, as I was a groomsman of a good brother of mine, and we decided to eat this on the wedding day. Actually, McDonald's breakfast has always been a choice in my experience as a groomsman. Meaning my friends are real champions as they select the best breakfast possible!

I have been groomsman six times (one for a cousin, and five for brothers who I have met in university). And I will be a groomsman again in September. Some friends were joking that I am now a professional groomsman, and some work colleagues were telling me that I will be bankrupt soon. 

(Having a hard time coming up with right words here on how I feel...)

I feel very honored that these men of God considers me a close brother and I feel very privileged that I can witness their very wedding day as a groomsman. I am very blessed that I have met many brothers who I can just be myself and enjoy fun moments together, go to challenges and struggles together, study the bible together, serve together, confide in them whatever is on my heart, and pray together. We are all appreciative of each other in this "brotherhood". Now that we  are spread around different parts of Canada, we don't get to see each other that often, but still it is very easy for us to pick up from where we left.

Life is a difficult thing, and God has placed these brothers in my life to make it easier for me. 

I have quoted this verse many times, but will do it again:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-6

- I thank my God every time I remember my brothers

- I always pray with joy when I pray for them because we shared a special bond on partnering together in the gospel

- I am confident that God will continue working powerfully in their lives even they live far away and I don't get to see them often

i am gundam

This is a Gundam.

It refers to a very famous mecha (huge robots) series in the Japanese anime universe. It's such a huge symbol, that there is a mall on Tokyo located at Odaiba (a bit far from the main area) that have a gigantic 1-to-1 model of the Gundam RX78 of the original series (late 70s).

Yes, on my travel in Tokyo, I took the public transportation (subway + some over-the-sea electric train) for 45 minutes to go there just to see the gundam (the mall was average). And yes, I did buy a gundam model (1/144 scale).

There are many Gundam series (I am definitely not a subject matter expert), and a gundam is a big deal. Gundam refers to the specific robot model that is usually faster and powerful that the average robot. In some cases, it has some sort of a special weapon or ability, and the people chosen to pilot it are usually an enhanced human being that has special mental and psychological abilities.

Gundams can easily determine the fate of wars, and it often represents as a symbol of overwhelming power (Gundam Seed), a symbol of peace (Gundam Unicorn), a symbol of  hope, symbol of insanity y (G Gundam)....regardless, it is a big deal.

On a show Gundam 00, there is was a discussion among gundam pilots (they were a group that "enforces" peacekeeping) about what gundam meant to them, and the main character said the famous "I am gundam". That guy is a bit crazy, but I think he meant that his identify and sense of fulfillment is based on the gundam.

So the topic of fulfillment is an interesting one... I don't have much answers regarding this topic, so I am merely writing my current thoughts.

God has blessed me and many of my friends with the opportunity to choose what to study and what career to pursue. This can be daunting too because with more options, I find it hard to figure out which brings more fulfillment. My parents did not have the luxury to choose this, as none of them have an undergraduate degree, and their options were limited. My grandparents had even more limited options. So I wonder if they even had the idea of fulfillment when they were at work.

I am not saying that fulfillment has to come from work directly, but it is a place where we spend 40+ hours  a week, and I have experienced (both negatively and positively) how a day of work can affect my mood for the week. I understand that for my parents, it is likely the fulfillment came from been able to provide and have fun with the family.

Many of my friends and I are struggling with this question, because up to to finishing undergrad, the path of life was very scripted for most of us. We are told to finish high school, then choose a decent undergrad program, finish school, and then get a stable job. But from there on, it is harder to find clear answers that dictate the choices of life.

After many talks, I have got to known a few options that I could pursue the sense of fulfillment:

1. Work itself is fulfilling
• The work you do is something you enjoy, and you find satisfaction in been excellent at your job
2. Work is a means to fulfillment
• The work you do is fairly neutral, but work allows you to be an active witness of Christ, and as well allows you to provide for your family. Also, it enables you to support missionaries or charity organizations. These are very noble pursuits in life.
3. Fulfillment outside of work
• Work can be a life-sucking entity. You try to find fulfillment on activities after work. This could include leaning a new skill, further studying, volunteering, church ministry.

They are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

I personally think option 1 is very challenging. It is probably my goal to understand how option 1 will look in my life. I know about that God has created us in His image, and He did work during creation and that He entrusted us with the earth, so this should include the aspect of working, cultivating the environment positively, and doing it with excellent as this brings glory to God. In trying to apply this, I  struggle.

I can definitely relate to options 2 and 3.

So what then?

I am still figuring out answers. But there are 2 things I need to keep in mind:

• Don't waste your life, gotta live it as much as possible to glorify God, so if I am on the wrong track, I need to redirect
• Worship God. I am currently reading a book about apologetics, and one encouragement I found is to focus on worshiping God. Paul writes a wonderful book called "Romans" with great exposition on what the gospel is, and on chapter 12, the "therefore" signals how we should respond in light of great theology from previous chapters, and the first thing is to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, as an act of worship. 

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1

family

So last week was family day, and since my family is not here I got to hangout with a few friends. But then this made me think about my family in general...

I have been living away from my family for a long time, since I came to Waterloo for University. Of course, the first few months were tough, very homesick, but I got used to it and by God's grace I was able to find a very good community.

As well I was thinking on the several issues that both my parent's families have to deal with throughout the years. A lot of these issues are caused by money, pride or selfishness. Being away from home has its benefit as it "shielded" me from all the family drama that happening. But at the same time, it is unfortunate that I am not present to make some sort of difference.

On a recent family day, I went to hangout with a group of friends, and they decided to ask from a series of 36 questions that will lead you to fall in love with a person ( http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/fashion/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html?_r=0 ), of course we were discussing it just for fun as we wanted to make some sort of interesting conversation on the car. One of the questions chosen was "if you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?"

This is interesting, because I am pretty sure that there are many things on how I was raised by my parents that could have been better. But at the same time, I don't know if I would change anything. Because even if there are many imperfect factors on how I was raised, this "environment" has shaped me in some way on who I am now, and I also believe that God has used certain aspects of my "turbulent" childhood to teach me how important relationships are, how much should I care for them, how important it is to be gracious and generous towards others.

God is very gracious as He will situations that we think are bad for a good purpose.

In a Christian community, conflicts among members are bound to happen because we are all sinful. I don't think we can more conflict-free when comparing ourselves to a non-Christian community. But I think a key difference is that we as Christians are called to love one another, even if the other party offend us, and that's when we need to be extra gracious and generous towards others. And that cannot be done alone, but only by God's Spirit that live in us.

the best service

In the middle of my trip to Hong Kong, I took a side trip to Tokyo with my dad. At first I really didn't feel like going to a country that did not speak a language I am comfortable with, as I just wanted to chill comfortably without having to plan much. But discussing it with my dad, we decided that Japan was a good option due to the fact that its currency value is low now. So I spent quite a bit of time planning and ensuring I could get around despite the language barrier. It was kinda stressful actually.

But this trip to Tokyo was actually much more fun that I expected, and now I wish I could spent more time there. There are many fascinating things there, like this is the place where anime is originated from, this is also the place of consumer electronics, and the food is really amazing, like intensely amazing (it seems that every restaurant you go to, you are guaranteed to get good food). One thing that caught my eye was how clean the streets were, especially since I did not see trash cans on the streets (so people would just carry his/her own trash and dump it after).

One thing that I actually enjoyed was to take subway trains because it is very convenient to go from one place to another. At first I was quite intimidated by the subway system as the map looks pretty chaotic, but once I understood the system it was actually pretty easy. I really appreciate the "efficiency" of the system.

Perhaps one of the things that amazed me the most was the service that I received in Japan. It's just outrageous, people are super nice and polite, There was a lot of bowing, I was pretty overwhelmed. 

The quality of service was just spectacular. I took the train from airport to the hotel, and I decided to order coffee (bit expensive) during the train ride. And when the train hostess was giving me the cup of coffee, she gently said with a smile (with very decent English) "be careful, it is hot", and then she bowed. I never been treat as nice in Tim Hortons or McDonald's.

This type of good service is very common in Japan as it is part of their culture, they are brought up and taught to treat customers like this.

Two thoughts came in mind when I think about this.

One is, are they genuinely bowing to you out of gratitude, or they just do it because they get paid and it is so ingrained in their culture? This is hard to tell, but I do think some do this genuinely. This does makes me reflect on how my attitude should be when I serve at the church. Sometimes, it is easy to get caught by the "routine" of things, and do things mechanically instead of genuinely wanting to serve out of gratitude to God.

Second thought is, I felt very welcome on the establishments I went to due to this warm service. Often I find it hard to feel welcomed when I visit a church. Many times I have seen that people who already know each other will congregate in their own, making it hard for newcomers to feel welcomed. But I also  have seen churches where the welcoming is quite good, like even the pastor will spend some time with the newcomers, and that is nice. My thought here is that, if a worldly establishment can make someone feel so welcomed, shouldn't a church make people feel even more welcomed as we are broken people coming together with joy to worship our gracious God. 

These thoughts seems slightly random, but yeah.

best cha chaan teng

There is a type of restaurant that are common in Hong Kong named "cha chaan teng" (usually known as HK cafe) that offers a variety of Hong Kong style western food and other pearls at a very affordable price. The Hong Kong style milk tea is one of the staple drinks. The egg-sandwich with the milk tea is one affordable and excellent breakfast that it is offered.

There is a very famous restaurant in Hong Kong called "Australian Dairy Company" and it is famous for the superb smoothness of its eggs dishes: scrambled eggs, egg-sandwich, steam eggs.

There are probably many (a couple of thousands of them) that serves this type of food in Hong Kong (most of them probably pretty decent) but this restaurant is considered by many the best in Hong Kong. During peak hours, there is usually a line to get in.

Though the food is intensely good, the service is bad and sometimes rude. Though this is a typical characteristic of Hong Kong cha chaan tengs, this restaurant seems to have worse service overall.

The reason for such bad service is because its workers are very efficient and focused on getting work done. Since the lines are long, and environment is chaotic, all the workers (waiters and kitchen staff) are non-stop working to ensure food is made and served fast, and that people are eating (no idle waiting).  So they have no reason to provide good service. There is definitely an atmosphere of pressure to eat fast and order more food or leave right away before getting scolded haha. Despite this, people go eat there and it is a great experience.

In my small group, we have been studying the book of Nehemiah, one great book about Christian leadership! And recently we covered Nehemiah 5, where we see him dealing with some serious internal affairs. Many of the Israelites during that time were poor and had to mortgaged their property and even sell their children for food. It was pretty tough times, and to make it worse some rich Israelites were taking advantage of them by charging them interest in loans. Nehemiah was angry and had to rebuked them, and led by example by caring for the needy. This is on top of his main responsibility, which was to lead the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

What I learned from that chapter is that Nehemiah truly a leader who cares for those under him, despite having to deal with many other issues (external enemies) and logistics (takes a lot of planning to coordinate effort to rebuild the walls, to put guards, etc). I am often in charge of planning activities because I like logistical work, and like being efficient at it. But one of the struggles I have is that when I am very submerged in my planning mode, I tend to not care about the people (who are part of the event I am planning) causing leadership to be planning-focused and not people-focused, very similar to the restaurant above.

Definitely, the book of Nehemiah challenges me to know that leadership involves impacting people to challenge them to move towards the direction of Christ.

the best "char siu bao" in the world

I came back from a trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo not too long ago. It was a great time of relaxation (much needed) and good food! There were many great moments, and as well insights that came into mind. I hope I can share some of those here in the blog.

Almost without noticing, the first month of 2015 is gone! Definitely looking forward on the exciting adventures and challenges that 2015 will present.

So most people I know love to eat "char siu bao" (Chinese BBQ pork bun) which is served on Chinese dim sum restaurants. I have been liking it a lot since I was a kid.

I went for lunch with an old friend from Waterloo at a pretty good Shanghainese restaurant, and after lunch he took me downstairs (it was on a mall) to a dim sum restaurant to buy a pack of "char siu bao" to go. He basically said this is the best "char siu bao". Of course I was very skeptical. After we got the box, he opened it and gave one to me. To my surprise, this "char siu bao" looked different from the traditional ones, as the outer layer looks like a baked Mexican bun (instead of the typical steamed Chinese white buns). Excited, I took a bite and I could not help but to submit to the great sensation of biting into a perfectly baked crispy bun combined with the tenderness and sweetness of the BBQ pork. Oh man, this is good, it's excellent. Definitely I agree that this is the best "char siu bao" in the world.

Another friend came later, and we offered her a bite of this "char siu bao", and told her that this is the best "char siu bao" ever. She skeptically asked, "how can you be sure that this is the best, if you have not tried all the 'char siu bao' in the world". After she took a bite, she just nodded and was convinced, hehe.

This is very similar to the question, "how do you know Christianity is the true religion, if you have not tried all other religions?" It seems a very daunting question, and I find it difficult to answer it when talking to non-believers.

A famous apologist Ravi Zacharias explains that Christianity is the only religion that can coherently answer these four questions:

• Origin
• Meaning of life
• Morality
• Destinity

Something interesting to dig into more.