Crazed-insanity's Devotional Blog

Thanksgiving...

2011-11-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

For this Thanksgiving, I'd like to thank God for giving me Misha! :D

Boeing 787 Dreamliner's maiden flight from Tokyo

2011-10-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! :)

Finished with new bed!

2011-09-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Our bed doesn't quite look exactly like the original Prealpi bed, but at least I saved a lot of money! ;)

Anyway, besides finishing up our bed... today's sermon by Pastor Jim was interesting. He used a battery's positive and negative charge to demonstrate 'potential'... saying that positive alone or negative alone won't do any good. Only when both are combined than you can unlock a battery's 'potential' to light up something. Just like life. God uses both good things and the bad things in order to unlock the potential in all of us in order to be better human beings. A life that's all good or all bad would probably be pretty worthless and boring... so yeah, may God uses both positive and negative things to unlock my full potential as well! To build something more than just a bed! ;)

Oh, also one more interesting milestone is that Boeing 787 is finally delivered to its very first customer! Yeah!!! :D

Princess?

2011-09-24T09:37:00.001-07:00

Princess Picture

Mom kept on referring our new baby as a 'princess' upon finding out that we're having a baby girl...

Hmm..., just wondering which princess does she look like! Ariel? Belle? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Jasmine?

I think she kinda looks like the Sleeping Beauty? ;)

Oh, and coming up with a name for her isn't very easy also...

So far we've narrowed down to Mabel(meaning love) or Misha(Meaning Who is like God?) Mom seems to like Mabel, but baby seems to prefer Misha because she'd actually kick around more whenever we call her that. Or perhaps she simply was agreeing with us that there's none like God? ;)

We've also recently purchased pretty much most of the baby stuffs that we need... and our house is really too small to fit all that stuff! Good thing we're only having one baby! ;)

Besides all the baby stuffs happening..., I've also been trying to build a bed for wife... we've been sleeping only on mattress before, figure that's good enough..., but now that she's pregnant, it's getting harder and harder for her to get up. So yeah, a bed is necessary now! So I've been trying to build a bed that looks like this:

Of course the finishing product probably won't end up looking exactly like that! ;) I'll post some pics of the actual DIY bed when I'm totally done. So far, at least I have something that can help wife get up to pee more easily at night! :D

Oh, and last but not least, I've recently discovered some books by a Jewish scientist/theologian who was actually able to reconcile the creation story with modern science. Yes, using biblical principles and modern scientific discoveries, he has discovered that our universe could very well be created in six (24hr) days AND being around 15billion years old at the same time depending on how you look at the universe... Another interesting paradoxical duality that's fascinating to me. Haven't finished reading all his books yet, but will also post some thoughts afterward.

Anyway, things just have been super busy for the past couple of months. Busy with work... and then over the weekend, it felt like one social event after another with friends or family members... and all the baby stuffs... Oh well. Better just get used to it because things probably won't get easier once baby princess arrives! ;)

I suppose one thing we need to be careful of is that we better not end up too much like Martha..., being too busy with many of the chores in life and forgetting what's really important? Also was recently talking with wife about having a good marriage on earth is difficult just like the narrow gate into heaven. Where as failed marriages have a wide gate! Most people do want to have a good marriage or enter heaven..., but often times most folks end up divorced or do not have a happy marriage... This happens most often because people have lost sight of what's really important and begin to see self as more and more important.

May God help us to not to get too drown out by things of this world and lose sight of what is truly important(Himself)..., and may God help us to not get too fat!!! ;) Yeah, for some reason I've been gaining weight as if I am pregnant.

(Mat 7, 178 lbs, $4.049)

Whoa! 4 years!!!

2011-07-08T23:40:00.001-07:00

Wow... 4 years.

Can't believe Boeing 787 has been late for 4 years... ;)
Can't believe space shuttle is also flying it's final mission today... Shuttle seems to always have a special memory... I still remember Challenge blew up on my birthday in 1986...

Anyway, but today is the most memorable because it actually is my 4th year wedding anniversary.

4 years is actually no big deal... and hard at the same time. How paradoxical! ;)

Yeah, the reason why it's no big deal is because plenty of folks had longer marriages than us..., but to maintain a loving marriage continuously is definitely not an easy task. I was reading Jonah recently and I commented to wife that Jonah reminds me of her... they're both actually quite obedient... it's just that sometimes when things don't go their way, they can get very upset over it... even at God! So I think that's probably the only part of my marriage that I'm afraid of... the 'fire' which sometimes burn within my wife! ;) So may God help me like He helped Daniel's friends: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. When they're thrown into a big fire... nothing can happen to them! Regardless of how big the fire is, it cannot harm my marriage! Yeah!

Hmm, I wonder what wife thinks of me... which bible character reminds her of me the most? I'm not even sure...

Anyway, this year, wife got a nice neckless (shown) in the pic above...
I got a new steering wheel. Now, this is no ordinary steering wheel... but it used to belong to a Gran Turismo Champion!!!

GT Academy US National Finals(video)

Interview with the Champion!(Video)

Yes, after I saw the video above... I asked my friend if I can buy his steering wheel since he'll now be racing in Europe! So here am I enjoy this virtual racing chassis!!!

Over the weekend, we also had our 20yr reunion with bunch of old solar car racing friends...

what a weekend full of memories... :) Looking forward to making so great memories of the future when this thing(80% chance a girl) grows up!!! ;)

(Micah7, 175 lbs, $3.999)

Happy Father's day!

2011-06-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Had been busy working... or working around the house...

Heard of a great news from wife recently but was afraid to post earlier...

Anyway, will I be a father next year? Hope so! :)

Resurrection! (Day 40)!

2011-04-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

The LONG weekend is finally over... wife had to wake up early both on saturday and sunday in order to prepare for the easter concent service at hollywood bowl. I've also been sweating with some manual labor work over the weekend...

Just glad to be able to resume to our regular sleeping schedule.

Jesus, it seems too good to be true, but it is true. Death could not hold you. You are resurrected and are alive! You have also regenerated my life! I have encountered you Lord in a new and fresh way and your resurrected life lives in me. You have blessed me and strengthened me. Lord, I worship you! You are amazing. As I venture on from here I want to follow your leading. I am your servant. Use me as a conduit of your love and grace so that others might know you in the way I have come to know you. Glorify yourself in and through me I pray. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen.

Regenerate (day 39)

2011-04-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today is supposedly the day between Christ's death and his resurrection. Of course back then, disciples didn't know about the resurrection so naturally after Jesus' death, they lost hope. But thankfully today, we know about the power of resurrection. That is why we have hope... and able to be at peace even when faced with various unpleasant things of today... Anyway, thanks God for the peace and comfort God has given me. God has also blessed me too! Today I actually did some manual labor with couple of amigos mom hired from home depot. I actually did my math wrong and ended up paying them double the wages. No wonder they seemed so happy to receive their wages! ;) Oh well, hopefully my money can also bless them a bit too during this eastern weekend. I think they're probably Christians too, but I can't really communicate with them too well because of their poor english...

Lord Jesus, you are the author of peace. You have made my life complete and I find myself fully content in you. Thank you for all you've done for me. I wait with anticipation to celebrate your resurrection tomorrow. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 131)

Regenerate! (Day 38)

2011-04-22T14:50:00.001-07:00

Was thinking of a song from the korean soap opera 'secret garden' in my head... and with the subtitle, knowing what the song is about... it almost felt like as if it's Jesus singing this to people of the world.

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

But unfortunately a lot of folks don't really open their doors... even if Jesus allowed himself to be crucified for them... some people just refuse to respond no matter what God does. Or they just cannot see or hear the spiritual God I guess. Anyway, don't know who wrote the song, but I really believe it's perhaps inspired by Jesus himself... ;)

So I felt moved to respond to Jesus today by rewriting the lyrics a bit. This song really sound kinda like a worship song too... Here it is Jesus!
================================================================================
The lyrics I wrote go with this version of the song:

Here I am, O God, here I am
Here I am, Jesus, I am here
to sing to you with praise.

Here I am, my Lord, here I am
Here I am, Jesus, I have come
to worship you with praise.

Though I’m guilty and in shame,
you still love me as I am.
You have for-Given all my sins and set me free
I will sing to you with praise, here I am!

Here I am, Father, here I am
Here I am, Jesus, I have come
to worship you with praise.

I have come to do your will
Take my cross and follow you
You have put Your word in my heart and now I see

What you’ve done for us... who else can be like you?

I have come to do your will
Take my cross and follow you
You have put your word in my heart and now I see
I will sing to you with praise, here I am!

I will love you to the end, here I am!

===============================================================================

Yes Lord, hope you like the lyrics I wrote? How good it is to stand at the cross and remember all that you have done for me. You paid the price for all my shame and guilt and it cost you your life. I didn’t deserve for you to do this for me. But you willingly gave yourself because you loved me. And by your grace I have been saved. I reaffirm my commitment to you. I am your servant. You are my Love/Lord! In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

(Psalm 40,130; Heb 10:7~9; Rev 3:20, 172.0 lbs, $4.399)

Regenerate (day 37)

2011-04-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, perspective is indeed an interesting thing. What we see from the ground does look different than from the airplane. Quite often we simply cannot see what God sees.

When disciples see the storm coming while on their boat trip, they got really scared, but Jesus was sleeping.

When Christ was about to be judged for all humanity... about to be crucified on the cross, Jesus was really scared, but at that time, disciples were sound asleep. Couldn't watch and pray with Jesus...

Why can't our lousy flesh truly see what our Lord sees and truly carry out God's will...?

Last nite I was feeling sick, but today I'm feeling a lot better. Even in a healthy state, my sinful nature is probably still preventing me from seeing what's really important in life.

Lord, help me to keep the big picture in mind as I make my way on this journey. I don’t want to get distracted by what appears to be the prosperity of the wicked. Today, I recognize two truths. First, the only sure way is your way. Second, when I live my life for you it is not lived in vain. So I will not grow weary in doing good. I will press on! Also, please be with us while we're studying your Word tonite with my parents. Help my parents to be able to see who you really are. In Christ's name. Amen!

(Psalm 73, 171.8 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate! (Day 36)

2011-04-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today the Regenerate manual warned us about fatigue... ha... it turned out I really had to wake up early for work and ended up really 'fatigued'! I even ended up with some headaches later on in the evening... and I felt like throwing up again!

We actually had some unexpected guests in the evening, Dorcas, Kitty and Jay, just catching up on old times... Anyway, it would've been bad to throw up in front of them, so what can I do? Just PRAY! So I didn't throw up! Whew! ;)

Father, you are the good shepherd. You are the one who provides for my needs and in your compassion you bring me rest. It is so encouraging to know that your goodness and unfailing love pursue me. I can’t get away from them! Thank you for refreshing me today. In Christ's name.

(Psalm 23, 172.0lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate! (Day 35)

2011-04-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I put too much soy sauce in sukiyaki, after eating it last night, I think I'm now bloated... or perhaps I'm just getting fat! ;)

Anyway, one good thing at least, I think I've figured out how to solve my problem at work. Thank God! I guess He does hear my prayers! :)

Besides work, we've been watching quite a bit of soap operas lately. The Taiwanese show called 'the fierce wife' was interesting for a while. I suppose it teaches wives not to 'worship' husbands as God and completely forget about living for themselves and enriching themselves too. Who wants the worship of a boring wife? Hmm... I wonder if God finds boring people's worships pleasant? Probably not either..., hence Jesus said he'll spit out lukewarm people... Anyway, the ending of the show was really disappointing. If it's going to be opened ended, it really should've been MORE opened ended. Otherwise, it should've been more clear with it's ending. We were also watching another Korean drama called the 'secret garden'. That one was more interesting to watch I thought. But the ending was kinda stupid. It would've been much better love story without that stupid ending. Anyway, I guess nothing beats the love story in the gospel... you also have this character who's willing to lay down his life to save somebody he loves... and its ending isn't stupid nor does it disappoint! Leave it to God to write a beautiful and hopeful love story! :)

Lord, you are such an amazing God. You are so good to me. I choose to put my trust in you for you are faithful and will accomplish all you have promised. By faith I receive your blessings today and expect more tomorrow! But blessings or no blessings, I wish that we can just stay close to one another no matter what! In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Psalm 20, 172.8 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate! (Day 34)

2011-04-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Probably ate too much over the weekend. Gained back the weight that I lost doing all the house work! ;)

Anyway, today is about often times we're stuck in the wilderness somewhere. Well, I'm kinda stuck with a problem at work and still haven't been able to solve it. Kinda lost in this 'spiritual' wilderness in that sense I guess. I hope God will lead a way and help me out soon!!! But in the mean time, hopefully I can take the opportunity to learn something new while trying to figure out my problem...

Of course while in wilderness, we also need to be careful about wild beasts! Yes, this morning on my way to work, I nearly got caught by a wild beast(police), but luckily(thru God's grace), there was another guy behind me so the police stopped that person instead! Anyway, I guess, I shouldn't just rely on luck or waste God's grace on stupid things like that too often. Better just try to drive more carefully and 'legally'!

Lord, I can hear the wild things which stalk me in the wilderness of life but I am not afraid for you are with me. I know you have sent your angels to protect me. I know that you have given me the victory. So I choose to praise you in the midst of the wilderness. I choose to be faithful and to walk on the righteous path regardless of my circumstance. If I do go slightly off the path, please help me get back on my nudging me back on or something. Either that or please empower me to be able to overcome the weakness of my flesh. Strengthen me with your Spirit! In Christ's name. Amen!

(Psalm 91, 171.0 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate (Day 33)

2011-04-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend had been a very homely weekend. I finally finished the bathroom vent, that's one thing off the to do list for fixing up the house! ;) We also got a new electric mower so we won't have to transport the gas mower from my house to parent's house all the time. The electric mower worked pretty well, but hopefully it'll be as durable as the Honda gas mower... we'll see.

Wife had also spend most of the weekend gardening... or farming! Really looking forward to be able to eat food that's growing by ourselves! But of course we're only planting and watering them... it is God who makes them actually grow... Pastor Jim also talked about sowing seeds in good soil in his sermon. Now it sounds like some thing we can relate more because we think our yard has pretty poor soil! ;)

Father, I am excited to go to your house to worship you today! I prepare my heart to proclaim your rulership in my life. My desire is to honor and glorify you. Build up my faith today and use me to build up the faith of others. Strengthen me today for the journey which lies before me. Plant your Word into our hearts and help us grow and be more fruitful with our lives so that we may be able to bless others more..., in Christ's name. Amen

(Psalm 122, 169.0lbs,$4.379)

Regenerate (Day 32)

2011-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Tonite I got to meet a bunch of old brothers and sisters who brought me to the Lord. It's aunt Josephine's grand-daughter's "full month" banquet. Thank God for the opportunity to see some of them who I really haven't seen for a while. It was really nice to have such a reunion to be able to see them again. Although some of them I haven't even talked to much... But anyway... ;)

Father you have rewritten my life and I am so very grateful for the brothers and sisters you've placed in my life! When I look back over my journey I am amazed at what you have brought me through. Your transforming power has done such a work that sometimes I don’t recognize myself. You have made me strong and given me confidence. And as if that wasn’t enough, you are still at work in my life taking me to new places. May you continue to be with us, to guide us, to guard us and to bless us regardless of where we all are.All praise to Christ's name. Amen

(Psalm 18, 169.8 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate (Day 31)

2011-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

In the darkest hours, when I'm really scared, I wonder if I'd act like Peter before Christ's crucifixion or after? Don't really know for sure... I could brag like Peter did, claiming that I'd never..., but in reality did!

Anyway, will worry about that when the time comes, in the mean time, may God protect me from such a fall when that dark hour hits.

Lord, may the night be no longer a time of fear, but rather a time to meditate upon you. You have dispelled my anxieties. I will be at peace. Thank you for your presence which sustains me. In Christ's name. Amen.
(Psalm 119:54-64, 171.0 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate! (Day 30)

2011-04-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

The engineering work that we do is really kinda stupid and meaningless in my humble opinion, but it does pay the bill. So might as well continue to do it to hopefully bring glory to God? It is suppose to be a defensive weapon so hopefully it'll actually be able to save some lives...

Today actually had been a busy day at work. Ran into some weird issue yesterday so this morning I woke up early to work on it..., and thank God we had it resolved and was actually able to spend some time to prepare for bible study with mom and dad..., but unfortunately on my way home... I learned that they had to cancel the bible study... sigh... haven't had bible study for a while... hope we can at least do one while little uncle is around. Hope to be able to at least get a little bit of the Word into him too...

Anyway, compared to people suffering in Japan or other disaster or war zones, my busy day is probably pretty easy.

Lord, how reassuring to know that you will not allow me to stumble and fall no matter what. You keep me from evil and preserve my life. You know the situations I currently face. I look to you for you are my help for I know that nothing is too difficult for you. Guide my steps, and watch over me I pray. In Jesus' name. Amen!

(Psalm 121, 171.0 lbs, $4.379)

Regenerate! (Day 29)

2011-04-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

It's so funny how I somehow accidentally got mixed up with a small group of folks called 'Christians' nearly 10 years ago and now, just like them, I'm also climbing or on a journey to Jerusalem to seek God too! ;)

I really hated Christians before... well not as much as Apostle Paul of course, but just think it's kinda funny in retrospect that I'd become a Christian too. God is indeed amazing. Of course I'm thankful for my wife too. Knowing how 'passive' I am, God really knows how and who to put into my life in order to change me for the better. Need to be more active to seek Him now from this time forward!

Lord, I am grateful that you have given me companions—that I am not alone on this journey. These friendships have enriched my life. As we move forward in this journey may we harmonize with one another, may we be able to live in unity and in love. While I thank you for blessing me with their friendships I ask that you would help me to be a blessing to them too. As for the family and friends who do not know you yet, may you also help them see the Light just as you've shown me. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 133, 170.6 lbs, $4.359)

Regenerate (day 28)

2011-04-12T08:47:00.001-07:00

The path we follow is a path where we delight in doing God's will. It is a path that is not well traveled because such a path is probably very difficult to travel on... without such a 'delight' most folk probably just won't walk on it. So yeah, may God continue to put that 'delightfulness' in me so that I'm not just forcing myself to walk on such a narrow and hard path... so that I won't just mindlessly drift onto the wide and easy path which eventually will lead to destruction.

Father, thank you for directing me to the narrow path. There is such joy being led by you along this journey. Show me the direction I need to take today and everyday forward. May my conversations and interactions with others be reflective of your path! May my actions be in accordance to your will and be reflective of your glory! Also, if possible, please heal Barrett's mom and be with their family. Please also help Daniel's in-laws to be able to work out their differences and save their marriage. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

(Psalm 1, 170.6lbs, $4.359)

Regenerate (day 27)

2011-04-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hmm... it's been one month since the big earthquake in Japan. The nuclear disaster is now listed as bad as the Chernobyl disasters. Poor Japan.

But interestingly that today I saw a documentary about life after Chernobyl. It seems mother nature has a way of dealing with radioactive fallouts. Without the humans around, wild life around Chernobyl seemed to have flourished! Plus, there didn't seem to be any weird mutated life forms. Most mutated life forms were probably eaten or died off by themselves... So I guess we don't have to worry about Godzilla appearing in Japan! ;)

Anyway, today we're suppose to set our hearts on a pilgrimage to God. Yes, the spirit is willing... and may God also continue to strengthen my weak flesh so that I can actually make the pilgrimage...

Heavenly Father, my heart is set on pilgrimage! I am excited to climb up to a new level in my walk with you. I am excited to come into your presence and reconfirm my commitment to you. If my flesh were to weaken, please strengthen me so that at least continue to return to you. If I should fall asleep, please wake me! Lord you have done so much in my life already during this process of regeneration, but I know you have more to do. So I surrender to your process. May I be regenerated to become somebody who you'd not only love but also be well pleased! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 84, 170.0 lbs, $4.359)

Regenerate (day 26)

2011-04-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today we are to meditate on discipline. If Psalm 15 listed most of the things we need to exercise regarding discipline, that I think I've done most of those things other than being 'blameless' or totally 'righteous'. But if God has justified me righteous by my faith, then I guess that's taken care of too! So I guess I'm a pretty disciplined person! But surely my wife would disagree! ;)

Anyway, today I overcame my lazy butt and actually worked on the house a bit. Wife also took some time to do some gardening. Anyway, may God watch over what we do for otherwise we'd do these things in vain. Wife planted a catnip plant in the backyard a while back, but somebody, we're not sure who, completely destroyed it. We don't think it's one our cats who did it... could be some other animal perhaps... Anyway, whatever. We're just gonna keep on planting and building. Not getting discouraged and easily giving up is part of the discipline. But hopefully whatever we do are in accordance with what God wills too. No need to keep on trying to do things that God doesn't really want us doing either.

Lord, I have seen that when I live in an undisciplined manner, my life gets messy and it does not honor you. In fact, I find myself in more bondage. But with discipline comes freedom. So today, I commit myself to discipline. Help me to be disciplined in my words, thoughts and actions. Help me know your will so that I won't be disciplining myself in the wrong areas! ;) In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 15, 169.8lbs, $4.319)

Regenerate (day 25)

2011-04-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today we finally found a nice Italian restaurant in LA that's tasty, reasonably priced and with a nice decor! Too bad it's not located at a very convenient location, otherwise I think I wouldn't mind going there every week! ;)

Anyway, today's suppose to be about patience. With my lazy and laid back personality, I think I often see myself as a pretty patient guy... or it's very easy for me to look like I'm patient. ;) But am I really? Hmm... not really sure.

I often feel like I have a split personality. I think it shows more while I'm driving. I don't mind driving slow at times nor will I get mad when stuck in traffic, but then again sometimes I also do feel the urge to pedal to the metal and speed... and getting mad when other drivers do something stupid. I think my passive-aggressive behavior makes it hard for me to determine whether I'm really patient or not. Anyway, if I'm not that sure, then I guess I'm really NOT that patient then!

Point is I hope God can help me know when to quickly get something done... and when to wait to do it. Especially not to do stuffs that's against God's will.

Lord, there are times in life when I admit I do not understand your timing. Patience is something that I sometimes struggle with. Yet, in hindsight I have found that waiting on you is far better than taking matters into my own hands and trying to force things. Your timing is divine timing. I choose to wait on you, patiently trusting your faithfulness. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 40, 169.0 lbs, $4.339)

Regenerate (day 24)

2011-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today is suppose to reflect on obedience. Yeah, I think I've been pretty obedient to God most of the time, but then upon further reflecting, exactly how many % of the time am I really actively obeying God and actually 'doing' His will? Hmm..., probably only a very small % of time...

Anyway, perhaps I shouldn't discourage myself too much... have faith, hope and remember to actively LOVE God and one another!!!

Lord, I do not want to live passively by responding to life as it happens. Instead, I make a declaration that my decisions and actions will be reflection of your word. I choose to obey you, anchoring myself to your commands! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 119:57-64, 169.8lbs, $4.299)

Regenerate (day 23)

2011-04-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

I think I've been following the Lord for 8 years now. It's really kinda amazing how one thing led to another and then to where I am today. Yeah, I've never always gotten what I wanted in life, but in the end, I do believe God always knows what's really good for me and consequently prepared the best for me. Take my marriage for example..., yeah, wife isn't my first love, but for sure she's my best lover now! Not only that, she's also very good for me... making me a better man as result.

Wife doesn't always like to hear that... feel like God is just "using" her to help me and while I get all the benefits, she's getting a rotten deal out of it! ;) Well, may God also use me to help and love my wife for the rest of our lives. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I trust in You Lord and I'm looking forward to it!

Father, when I look at who you have revealed yourself to be in your word and in my daily life, why would I ever consider putting my confidence in anyone or anything else? You alone are worthy. You alone are able. You alone are good. I choose to trust you with all of my heart. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 146, 170.2 lbs, $4.299)

Regenerate (day 22)

2011-04-06T08:58:00.001-07:00

Just when we were talking about pruning, interestingly this morning some guys from the city came to prune the trees in our yard today. We have 2 big trees and both are kind of growing into the utility lines, I wonder why they only pruned one and not the other... perhaps they'll be back to prune the other one?

Anyway, today is actually more about taking a stand for God. I can't really say that I'm like the psalmist..., that I've led a blameless life..., but I have tried my best! ;) I do hope that I can try and better in that regard. However, my faith in God hasn't faltered. But of course I also wouldn't mind to have even more faith!

Lord, you are the foundation of my life upon which I stand. And you are a sure and solid foundation. I declare today that I will live my life openly as a Christian doing my best to obey your commands. May you test my heart so that my faith can be further strengthened. May your Spirit fill me so that I also lead a more blameless life! In Christ's name!

(Psalm 26, 168.2lbs, $4.279)

Regenerate (day 21)

2011-04-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Today, it's about how God prunes us... or how we prune ourselves such as fasting...

But I guess because I didn't do any fasting, so God decided to cause me to throw up pretty badly in order to cleanse myself of anything dirty inside? Hope so.

Not sure what happened. After dinner, I started to feel real bad... and then finally I threw up. Anyway, after a night's sleep, I'm feeling much better now. Wife said it's probably food poisoning, but we both pretty much ate the same thing and she's fine... Anyway...

Lord, you have pruned me. You have cut me back and I am in a vulnerable place completely dependent on you. I know that this pruning was not done in vain. You have a purpose for my life and I humbly wait upon you. Because of this process, I will be stronger and ready for a fruitful season. In Christ's name. Amen

(Psalm 86)

Regenerate! (Day 20)

2011-04-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today is about the cost of following Jesus.

Hmm... so far in my life, I think I've only been 'persecuted' somewhat by my parents and by a group of internet video game forum friends due to my new 'faith'. But in retrospect, I think I'm somewhat at fault too. I could've handled the situation better and perhaps there would've been a better outcome? But oh well. There's no 'controlZ' or do over in life. ;) BTW, I do kinda like that Taiwanese TV drama. A fictional story of a guy that was able to have some do overs in life because God some how gave him the opportunity so that he can learn to truly love..., the guy finally learned to love... anyway, it's an interesting concept for a TV show. I liked it, but wife didn't... because she didn't like the fact that those do overs were not real..., but I thought as long as the guy learned, that's the more important aspect!

Anyway, back to my own life... fact is that God doesn't allow us to go back in time to change anything... and I didn't know better back then... so oh well. I just hope that I didn't disgrace Christ's name with my mistakes... and didn't cause my parents to hate Jesus more because of me...

Lord, whatever the cost I will follow you. When I am under attack of treated poorly because of my faith, I will remember that at times you yourself were treated this way. I will trust you to vindicate me rather than trying to accomplish that with my own hands. But of course I'd like to have the wisdom to be able to know how to treat other properly too, sometimes others react badly toward me not just because of my faith, but because I really had done something stupid, right? So please direct me to be able to do the right things with others. Help me to be MORE Christ like... and to be sure that I AM really blameless myself! While I know that I walk with your favor on my life, when life requires that I pay a price for my faith, if I really have to pay it after being blameless, then sure, I will pay it. I just hope that in the end, my life can really lift up Christ's name. Help lead more people to Christ than turning them away... In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

(Psalm 109:1-5, 21-31, 171.8 lbs, $4.269)

Regenerate (day 19)

2011-04-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

Today should be about devoting ourselves to God.

It's funny how I just bumped into Pastor Zo in my front yard when he drove by..., we also talked for a while about his recent 'sufferings'... Sigh... I really like Pastor Zo. And by the fact that he's probably the only pastor I know personally(other than my very own parents-in-law) who actually has a very good relationship with his wife and kid. As for most other pastor's family, I'm not sure if they have a family life which I find very enviable...

Anyway, I just think it's such a shame that pastor Zo has to struggle so much. But at least he has set a good example of never lose sight of Jesus during these difficult times. I hope I will be able to do the same if I'm ever in such circumstances too.

Father regardless of what others say or think, regardless of the shallowness of the times in which I live when people give their word and then break it, I am devoted to you and nothing will ever change that. I commit myself completely and fully to you. I am determined to walk according to your Word. I also like to pray for Pastor Zo and his family. Lord, I'm not sure why he's struggling so much. I'm sure you have your reasons and perhaps you even are preparing something even better for him... Whatever happens, may you be with him and his family. May you also bless his family like you have never blessed another family before! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 119:105-112, 170.2 lbs, $4.269)

Regenerate (day 18)

2011-04-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today is about sacrifice. Psalmists said:

Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless^[a] I will show my salvation.”

Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them;
let all the neighboring lands
bring gifts to the One to be feared.

Sounds good. But I think I seem to have a problem offering "real" sacrifices nowadays. For example 'tithe' is simply a contribution. Not really some sort of sacrifice that "hurts". So basically I've been trying to think of sacrificing for God that'd hurt me, but not my wife, but haven't really been able to come up with much of anything other than rising up earlier to do devotions..., but then again, today I even failed that and almost forgot to do my devotions today because I was more focused on mowing the grass and fixing the house... lame.

Father, I acknowledge that all that I have, my strength, time, talent, resources, etc. belongs to you. Forgive me for it seems I haven't really done much for your kingdom. During this season, please strengthen me to be able to bring more of my sacrifices to you. Use what I bring to you to honor your name and to build your kingdom. Thank you for accepting my sacrifice. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 4:5, 50:14-15, 50:23, 76:11, 170.2 lbs, $4.259)

Regenerate (day 17)

2011-04-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Interestingly I lost couple of pounds of weight just by eating less and not completely fasting... Gee, I guess I can probably lose a lot of weight if I were to go on a full fast... and focus on God more too! Yeah, today is suppose to be a focusing on God day. I actually drove Akiang's car to work today and her car stereo is filled with chinese worship songs! So I worshipped God on my way to work and on my way home too!!! ;)

But of course that's not real 'worship', just listening to Christian music. I also got a copy of Great uncle Andrew's sermon today. He used scripture to illustrate how 'once saved always saved' doctrine is false. If we don't commit ourselves to follow Jesus and stay faithful, of course we can lose our salvation! God may love us unconditionally, but His salvation for us is certainly conditional upon our faith. What's kind of scare is that the little things in life can really distract us from walking with Jesus... little by little... after a while maybe we're walking further and further away from our Lord! Anyway, thank God for using great uncle's sermon to remind me a bit...

Lord, how good it is to focus in on you. As I worship, I have come to find that nothing compares to you. Help me let the cares and concerns of this world fade away. Protect me to not get distracted and help me give my full attention to you. Lord, show me your way. Teach me your Word. I want to know you more and live my life completely for you! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 119:9-24, 169.6 lbs, $4.259)

Regenerate (day 16)

2011-03-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today is suppose to be hungering for God day. Didn't really do a complete fast today, but did managed to eat a much smaller portion of dinner... so I actually AM kinda hungry today! ;) But yeah, we shouldn't live by bread alone... may the Word of God fill my spirit up more today!!!

My coworker Barrett told me about the time he went to Mexico to help the locals build some small houses. People were really poor there. There was also a little girl there wanting to give her little sister to Barrett to take her back to America because life was so very hard there. But the amazing thing was that Barrett said he has never seen churches worshipping God more joyfully in such a poor neighborhood. They really do let the joy of the Lord becoming their strengths. We Americans really have a lot to learn from them Mexicans when it comes to dependence on God...

Lord, like the psalmist I thirst and hunger for you! Only you can fill me. I have tried other things but they have left me wanting more. You are the one who gives meaning to my life. You have created me and given my life purpose. You are my protector ad the source of my security. I hunger for more of you in my life. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 63, 172.0 lbs, $4.239)

Regenerate (day 15)

2011-03-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I fasted snacks, but amazingly I got heavier! ;) I'm also suppose to contemplate about my Lord my God more today..., but I think I kinda failed to do that too... perhaps I will try to do more contemplating tomorrow... Akiang also went back to Taiwan tonite... so we'll have the house all to ourselves again! Yeah! But of course she's not the reason for me failing to meditate more about God today. I simply allowed too many distractions to interfere with me at work today...

Anyway, Lord, as I try to meditate upon you more tomorrow, please help me to be able to focus on You more. I know you are amazing, powerful and wise. Anything's possible for you. Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts... so help me to be able to think like You more. Your ways are also higher than my ways..., so help me learn to be able to do things Your way more. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

(Psalm 139, 174.0 lbs, $4.239)

Regenerate (Day 14)

2011-03-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today is suppose to be a day of fasting, but we bought Akiang dinner to celebrate her birthday today... ;) Oh well... I'm not really sure what to fast... maybe I'll start by fasting snacks first. We are probably allowing our flesh to grow too fat, perhaps a more serious fasting in really in order! King David could not only fast, but also skip sleep until he finds a dwelling place for the Lord. Hmm..., baby steps first.

Father, as I slowly begin to deny myself during this season of fasting, I do it for the sole purpose of seeking your face and acknowledging that you are the source of my life. Lord, I want to go deep in my relationship with you. You are the one who sustains me. Help strengthen my spirit and weaken my fleshly desires. Thank you. In Christ's name.

(Psalm 132:1-5, 172.6 lbs, $4.239)

Regenerate (Day 13)

2011-03-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

I think the vacation really refreshed or regenerated me over the weekend. I used to have trouble waking up, but today I woke up early and easily all without the help of alarm clock! Wow! ;)

I still have a slight cough today, but for sure also getting a lot better. Not sure why Hades is still not well with his wounds... and he even threw up last night so I had to spend quite a bit of time with my early morning cleaning up his mess... Oh well. There are still a lot to be grateful for. Although the entire family's not 'perfectly' healthy, but at least we're healthy enough. And I'm sure the cats are also glad that we're all back home and to be able to just be together.

So life is good! But of course hopefully we can get 'gooder'! ;)

Lord, I acknowledge that all good things come from you. I don't want to take anything for granted. Today, I reflect upon all the blessings you have poured into my life. You have been so very good to me and has given me a great wife, cute kitties, nice house, cool cars, good health... for all your blessings I am eternally grateful. Hope I can be of blessing to others too. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 100, 172.0 lbs, $4.239)

Regenerate (day 12)

2011-03-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

OKAY! Vacation over! It was nice and relaxing... also had some delicious food..., but now it's back to work! Back to getting busy and not lazy! Luckily I didn't get too fat! ;)

Anyway, it's also interesting that a mega-church pastor named Rob Bell is stirring some controversies amongst the Christian community with his new book 'love wins'. Haven't read the book yet, but supposedly it's currently the #4 top selling book on Amazon... and #1 selling religious book. Main issue is that he deviates away from the age old Christina main stream belief that hell is a place that torments souls forever and ever... it seems that if you don't believe a soul burns in hell forever, then something is wrong with your faith?

Personally, I believe hell's fire is definitely eternal, but I really kinda doubt anyone can really 'live' forever in hell. Surely eventually unbelievers must perish at certain point in time? Are souls really indestructible? So I don't think Pastor Bell was probably that wrong based on the articles that I've read ..., but then again, Who really knows? I could be wrong. Who has been to hell and back? I also haven't really read his book. As long as we understand Who we really believe in, that's the more important thing, right? I wish Christians would quit bickering amongst themselves regarding these side issues.

Father, thank you for your forgiveness. If I'm wrong regarding theology of hell, then I need your forgiveness there too! In whatever areas of my life or thoughts that's wrong, please forgive and correct me. Thank you for removing all my shame and guilt and making me righteous. I bask in your love and mercy. I thrive in your grace. You are so good to me. I love you, Lord. In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 103, 174.0 lbs, $4.259)

Regenerate (day 11)

2011-03-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today we had a nice breakfast... nice drive thru of Joshua Tree national park... and a nice dinner. Too bad we missed one of the planned activity which is to have a date ice cream at Shield's Date Garden. But who knew they close at 5pm!!! Guess this area is just full of old folks so they don't stay up so late? ;)

Oh well. But at least the pleasant surprise is that I got to watch a live F-1 race in the evening in the hotel room!!! That certainly wasn't expected at all!

Anyway, having a nice day aside, day 11 really is about repentance. So...

Lord, today I repent and choose to turn around and walk according to your word. I know that your Holy Spirit empowers me with your grace. And it is your grace which enables me to change. In the areas where I struggle, create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me so that there won't be any dirty thoughts nor will there be any sort of laziness. Help me to get connected to other believers who will support me in my transformation. I desire for every aspect of my life to reflect you! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 51, ???lbs, $???)

Regenerate (day10)

2011-03-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Today has been a relaxing day. Driving to Palm Springs, spent some time at the outlet with wife and then had a nice dinner. The wine we had over dinner also made us very sleepy! ;) Weather is better than expected. Hopefully it'll get better tomorrow as we head to Joshua Tree national park.

Anyway, enough about the vacation. Today is suppose to be confession day!!!

Well, I think my main sin is just laziness. So a relaxing vacation suits me just fine, but may God help me overcome my laziness whenever some action is necessary! Besides action type sins, I think another thing I find annoying is having 'dirty thoughts'! I don't understand why they sometimes just pops in and distract me... possibly indirectly cause me to become lazy! Anyway, thank God that He has helped become more aware of my sins and help me change for the better. Thank God for giving me a wife who can help me have less dirty thoughts and she also help push me to get me off my lazy butt too! :D

Holy Spirit, search my heart. Expose my excuses, rationalization and rebellion and reveal to me any areas where I have been disobedient to your word. I know that as I confess these sins, you will forgive me. Thank you for continually help sitting me free! In Christ's name. Amen.

(Psalm 32, ???, $???)

Regenerate (Day 9)

2011-03-24T08:30:00.001-07:00

Had a big lunch yesterday and looks like I gained a pound right away!!! Gas prices are shooting up quickly again... Sigh... hopefully I'm also growing bigger spiritually? ;)

Anyway, thankfully tomorrow will be the start of a mini-vacation to Palm Springs. Hope we'll have some fun experiencing nature, but with less rain!

Father, you have revealed yourself to me in so many ways. You are my savior, my provider, my healer, my shepherd. You are all powerful; nothing is impossible for you. So please don't let it rain so much when we're at Palm Springs? You are also good and can be trusted. You are filled with mercy and grace. With my entire soul I praise you. You alone are worthy of all praise. Hallelujah! In Christ's name. Amen

(Psalm 148, 171.4 lbs, $4.219)

Regenerate (Day 8)

2011-03-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today on an video game forum I actually answered somebody's questions regarding 'marriage'. Not sure if the person is afraid of marriage or just wondering if marriage is the next step or what. Anyway, hopefully my advise based on experience can be helpful. ;)

Wife and I haven't had any major fights lately. However, there are certainly still room for improvement of course. Hopefully God can regenerate both of our lives and our marriage!

Lord, today I want to be real with you. You know where I struggle. You know what I do not understand. I know I'll continue to struggle and perhaps never completely understand until the day I die. However, I open my heart to you. I look to you fully assured that you hear my prayer. I put my hope in you for you are faithful, for you are able and you are good! I hope that you'll help me live a life that's pleasing to you... and to have a marriage that can bring glory to your name. In Christ's name. Amen!

(Psalm 61, 170.2lbs,$4.139)

Regenerate (Day 7)

2011-03-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Funny that I found this video of deer(elk) panting for stream(puddle) of water today! Look at that cute animal being so joyous when he found what he longs for! :D

Lord, I ask that you'd continue to put that longing for you just like that deer longs for water. Please also prepare me for what lies ahead. I want to be renewed. Correct me in areas where I am trusting in people or things rather than in You. You are the source of true joy and your way is higher than my way. So I quiet my self before you, that I might hear your Spirit speak to me. I am open for you to do your work in my life. In Christ's name. Amen

(Psalm 37, 170.4 lbs, $4.139)

Regenerate! (Day 6)

2011-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Got super busy at work for a while... and then got real sick for the past weeks... thought the lemon water was keeping me form sickness for a while when I see co-workers getting sick left and right..., but finally the flu virus got a hold of me. Anyway, thank God that I'm feeling much better now.

Also Pastor Jim started a new 'regenerate' campaign! It's suppose to be a 40day fast and prayer thing until Easter. I'm already 5 days late..., but better late than never I suppose! Another thing I'm not really sure of is what to sacrifice out of my life for the next 35 days. Perhaps just a bit of sleep to wake up earlier each morning to keep up with my devotions daily... ;)

For the first 6 days, we're suppose to yearn, desire and crave God and allow God to stir up that longing for Him so that regeneration can take place.

I do long for God, but to be frank, not really as the deer pants for streams of water. Also found this video... showing the Kimyal Tribe in Papua, Indonesia receiving their first ever NT Bible! Their emotion and longing to finally receive God's Word in their native language..., wow, that really puts me to shame.

So yeah, starting from today, may God stir my soul to have the same amount of longing for Him! Reading and meditating in His Words in multiple translations! :D

Lord Jesus, today I place all my hope in you. I am confident that you will hold me fast through the storms of life. I can hope in you because you are faithful, able and willing to fulfill every promise you have made. Therefore, I will trust you with all my heart. I also pray that you deliver the Japanese people to be safe from harm too! In Christ's name! Amen.

(Psalm 42, 172.8 lbs, $4.119)

Amazing story...

2011-01-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What an amazing and heartwarming story of a modern day prodigal son, lost to drug abuse... and then found his way back in a dramatic fashion.

Here's hoping that the guy truly repented and is faithfully following the Lord! Otherwise his instant fame might cause his life to screw up again...

Anyway, another somewhat amazing story is that it seems that my own commitment plan is working. Haven't fought with wife for a while now. It's interesting that Pastor Jim said we ought not make any promises, because it's just so easy for us humans to break our promises... We ought to just make a commitments! If you screw up? Hey, repent and commit again and agian and again! Quite honestly, I haven't committed 'perfectly' to my commitment plan so far, but since wife sees my genuine effort, she's also willing to let go of her perfectionistic attitudes too. I'm also trying to have my parents try this out..., they are still reluctant, but hopefully their relationships will improve too!

Last week, Pastor Dawn also spoke about we should leave behind 3 things in the past year in order to move forward:
1) excuses,
2) resentments, and
3) shame.

It really seemed like 1 is for me, 2 is for my wife and 3 is for Akiang. ;)

Yes, no matter what happens, we're going to commit to do what is right and what pleases You!

1King8
⁵² “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.

And may we also have some amazing stories of our own because of You! :)

(1king7-9, 170.0 lbs, $3.459)

Oops, I did it again...

2010-12-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, wife got upset at me again last nite...

Asking the Holy Spirit for pointers to continue to add to modify my plan... I guess 'ask and you shall receive!' ;)

Yeah, it appears that my "list" indeed wasn't comprehensive enough. So I've added a new item onto that list... still aren't 100% sure if my list is now complete or if I'm still missing anything, but Lord, you know I'm trying my best right? Also please grant me more insight so that I can have a more complete list...(hopeful the foresight to see the trouble spot before it happens!!!) and of course I also need the ability to following plan through successfully!

And thank God at least I managed to turn wife's mood around faster this time. It didn't take all night, just a few hours... ;) May God continue to work on me so that I may continue to improve myself in all the areas where I'm lacking...

Lastly, I'm looking forward to a merry Christmas and a happy new year! May God continue to be with us and guide over us.

In baby Jesus' name we pray. Amen! :)

Isaiah 58

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

(20/20, 169.4 lbs, $3.459)

Commitment Plan

2010-12-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've actually gotten into fights with wife for quite a few times since Thanksgiving. Thank God we were able to patch things up every time, but still these fights can still be very annoying. Personally, I thought we're fighting over little things..., what's the big deal? But then, if they're so little, why couldn't I just do something about these little things? Shouldn't be a big deal to me too, right?

So I drafted up a list of all possible things that could tick my wife off. To be honest, some of the things are not so little to me... some of the habits I've actually tried to change in the past, but I ended up continue to let it slip. All thanks to my procrastination tendencies I guess... :(

Anyway, as hard as some of the things might be, I shall still try my best to 'walk on water' and focus more on my Lord than on anything else this time! Today's 20/20 reading talked about Peter's walk on water... Hey, if Peter could do it, so can I! Even if I do fall into the water, Jesus would still come save me and I shall dry myself up and try to walk again until my little faith grows bigger! :)

Of course besides stopping habits that might hurt my wife, I'm also trying to take more initiative on planning out the good things too. Hopefully, this commitment plan will help smooth out the rocky parts out of our marriage! ;) Now, if something is still insufficient about my plan, may God give me some pointers thru the Holy Spirit so that I may modify the plan as we go along...

(20/20, $3.379, 168.8lbs)

Thankful for healthy choices...

2010-11-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

During the trip back to Taiwan last month, we learned of the benefit of graphite... that can shield us from EMF and turn water more alkaline..., but I've yet to confirm for sure its effects are real or not. My cheap EMF detector couldn't tell the difference... and the pH test strips I bought also doesn't work very well...

Anyway, all of that also eventually got me looking into diets that are more alkaline. Basically all meats are acidic, all process foods such as snacks are acidic... and the medications are typically all acidic... some veggies are also acidic, but most veggies are alkaline... for sure the root type veggies are alkaline, such as garlic, ginger, onions, (sweet) potatoes, lotus roots, radish, carrots... We supposedly should have diets that consist of 20% meat and 80% fruits and veggies, but I don't think we're doing that yet.

But one other thing we're doing seems to be working well... which is to drink mineral water with lemon juice. It tastes refreshing too! I seem to be losing weight, lowering my blood pressure and I haven't had any headaches lately too!

Wife has tried to get me to stop drinking Coke for the longest time, but it never worked! (Coke is extremely acidic along with other soft drinks) I did 'fast' from drinking Coke for 6 month hoping that we'll get the house, and as soon as God granted us the house, I went back to drinking it! ;) But this time, I think God has helped me quit for good. Sodas we bought are still sitting at home untouched... of course I'd occasionally drink Coke in restaurants still, but those are indeed "rare" occasions! ;)

I think wife is claiming that it hasn't worked out as well, but perhaps that's due to the fact that she forgets about drinking it sometimes... and she didn't really stop drinking coffee... so perhaps she needs to drink MORE lemon water or be on a more stringent alkaline diet in order to offset the acidic effects of coffee?

Anyway, it's not easy to stop all of our poor health choices... coffee and snacks are wife's favorites. But at least we're stepping in the right direction. I'm just glad that Coke cannot tempt me as much as before! Hopefully we'll both be able to make more healthier choices next year.

Acidic foods can just taste so great but so bad for us. I wonder if satan is acidic? All things fried do become acidic. Potatoes maybe alkaline, but french fries are acidic. So I can only assume that satan/evil/wickness are probably acidic!

Psalm 140

¹ Rescue me, LORD, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,
² who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.
³ They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.

⁴ Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net
and have set traps for me along my path.

⁶ I say to the LORD, “You are my God.”
Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy.
⁷ Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD;
do not let their plans succeed.

(20/20, 172.6 lbs, $3.319)

Feeling musical lately...

2010-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

^{Feeling lucky and blessed too!

1} Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
² Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
³ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
⁴ Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

Perhaps this is the joy of the Lord? Of course, whether good times or bad, hope I will continue to depend on Him.

Still need to figure out which new health insurance plans to sign up for..., our traveling/driving details, and of course to finish working on the house!!!

I can do all those things in Your name I suppose, but what have I really done for You lately? What can we DO for You?

Anyway, in the mean time, I will just try to love You and love those around me for now I suppose... ;)

(20/20, 174.4 lbs, $3.279)

Lecrae-Background Ft. C-Lite Video

2010-11-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

I don't usually like rap music, but I really liked this one! Kinda cool to hear rap music intended on glorifying God! :)

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

2010-11-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

Very cool idea for the Opera Company of Philadelphia! People can shop while praising God! ;)

300,000 miles!

2010-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, my 20 year old Honda Civic has just reached the 300,000 miles mark! Can't believe this car is still running since my high school days! It has been lost(stolen) and found again! And it just won't die! How awesome is that?

When I was in High School, I actually dreamed of having a VW Rabbit convertible. I actually wanted a brown color car. I knew it wasn't possible because mom and dad were going thru financial trouble, but I dreamed it anyways. Amazingly Honda sold this cheap car that we can afford, it's gold on the outside, but happens to be brown on the inside. It was one of these rare love at first sight kinda thing. It wasn't a convertible, but oh well. For sure it's a better handling and longer lasting car than the VW. And few years down the road, I do end up owning a convertible that is much much better! ;)

I wasn't really a Christian back in High School, but Somebody up there must've really love me in order to help my dream come true in a better way! Praise the Lord!!! :)

Anyway, besides the good story, one disturbing piece of news is that using the EMF detector I recently bought, it turns out that our house can feel some effect the EMF field generated by the powerlines a block away!!! Actual health risks are still unknown, some are saying it's BAD BAD BAD, but others are saying it's perfectly safe. So everything's pretty inconclusive...not sure which side to believe... I'm currently reading a book called 'cross currents' in order to have a better understanding of effects of EMF on human bodies...

We also have to own this house for 3 years or else we have to pay the government back the tax credit we receive...

Oh well, we did pray to God about this house... if it's really that bad for us, He should've just not let us get it! Right God? I have to believe that God is reserving the best for us, but I have to admit that doubts are creeping in...

But today's reading, God said thru Isa 27:3

"I, the LORD, watch over it;
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
so that no one may harm it. "

Okay. Whatever You say LORD! ;)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever!

(20/20, 176.0 lbs, $3.299)

Baby worship extended !!!!! This shocked me honestly. twitter.com/rosiec...

2010-10-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Wonder if she's really worshiping God or just mimicking some of the adults in the congregation. Regardless, it's pretty cute! ;)

Back to America!

2010-10-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

Just came back from a 2 week Taiwanese vacation. It had been very restful and relaxing, but sure gained a lot of weight!!!! 10 lbs to be exact! I usually eat only 2 meals a day, but in Taiwan, we do nothing and yet eat 3 big meals a day, I suppose it's only natural to get fat! :D Thank God that I'm steadily dropping my weight day by day...

Anyway, we were also very lucky during our visit. It's nice that we missed the typhoons. There was a big one before we arrived and another big one hitting Taiwan after we left. The heat we experienced was kinda unbearable while we were there, but I suppose it's better than spending our vacation with a typhoon! Anyway, may God have mercy on Taiwan. Feel really bad for the people suffering because of these huge typhoons!!!

Another thing to be thankful for was that we prayed for healing of grandma and hopefully she can be well enough to eat out with us... well, she didn't get well enough to eat out with us, but we were able to see grandma walking about around the house! So that was pretty cool! Hope she'll be her full 100% next time we go back!

Anyway, for the sake of fun, I guess I'll rank the top 3 food that I enjoyed the most from this trip:

1) The stinky tofu!

2) The pig feet!

3)This meal purchased from the side of the freeway was pretty tasty too!

The other honorable mentions are mom's minced pork sauce that goes on top of the rice! Hmm... amazingly delicious. China airline tried to do the same but failed miserably! ;)

The other honorable mention is this NT$25 egg cake with cabbages we found by accident!

Not sure what's up, but it seems I enjoy these relative cheap 'little eats' more than some of the more expensive stuffs. These are what makes Taiwan great I think! ;)

Finally, on a more serious note... I'm hoping that I can introduce the gospel to my uncle. Trying to have email exchanges thru my cousin, may God help us make this endeavor successful! Hopefully my cousin can be converted too! Fingers cross! ;)

Isa 12:4
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.

(20/20, 176.6 lbs, $3.299)

My latest creation...

2010-09-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Company potluck yesterday and we had a lot of left over eggs in the frige so I've decided to try to make a frittata. First tasted one from Europane Bakery. Been wanting to try to make one but never got around to it. I planned on making fried rice for potluck but turned out couple of other co-workers have decided to make fry rice... so I guess I'll finally make a frittata! ;)

It looks prettier than the crab cake I made, but it didn't quite taste as good as the ones from Europane though... needs more seasonings I think. Regardless, at least it also tasted better than the crab cake too! ;)

Pot luck organizer also handed out awards to encourage us too... my friend Daniel has been winning twice in a row!!! Oh well, if God is willing and if I practice and improve, surely someday I'll win that certificate and the wooden spoon award! ;)

Oh, and wife's friend A-kiang is staying with us... perfect timing so that she can take care of the cats while we're visiting Taiwan! She had stayed with us nearly 3 years ago and was kinda suffering from depression... hopefully she's feeling better now...

Yesterday devotion was psalm 88. It's an amazingly depressing psalm... King David's Psalms could have horrible or hopeless beginnings, but they'll usually end with something uplifting..., but nope, not Psalm 88! What would be the purpose of Psalm 88?

Well, hopefully when the entire congregation back in the time of Israel sing that Psalm, they'll be able to sympathize with people who are suffering from depression better?

Anyway, hopefully we can give A-kiang some positive impacts while she's here with us...

(20/20, 172.4 lbs, $3.099)

So much to do with so little time...

2010-09-08T17:23:00.001-07:00

Sigh...

Work is getting a bit crazy lately. But it's still good to be able to make some extra money in such lousy economy I guess. Today I actually totally over slept... was really sleeping like a baby this morning until wife woke me up! ;) Guess it's because of the sudden cold weather recently... just doesn't feel warm enough to wake up yet. I do love sleep, but sometimes wish that we don't have to sleep. That way we can have ourselves some extra time!!!

What would I do with the extra time though? Probably playing video games! ;)

Anyway, may God help me manage my time wisely... and help me practice to be good enough to work thru whatever I need to get done efficiently... and of course, after I become just so amazingly good, may God also help me not to forget about Him. Don't want to be like King Asa, faithful initially and then prideful later on in his years...

I also need to learn to be more focus and not spread myself too thin on whatever it is that I do. Over the weekend, I think I was a bit over ambitious with cooking. Watching too much Korean cooking drama I guess... really need to just focus on doing one thing well at a time... over ambitious or pride, like the Bible said, will usually come before a fall.

The main 'fall' was the crab cake I was trying to make. I suppose it tasted okay, but it just looks weird. One of them actual broke in half... and they looks like some sort of Chinese food actually. ;)

(20/20, 171.0 lbs, $3.119)

Ferrari Virtual Academy - Official Trailer (www.ferrarivirtualacademy.com)

2010-09-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Woohoo, on September 9th, I can attend the Ferrari virtual racing school!!!

Kinda looking forward to this... 5 top finalists can win a trip to Italy and visit Ferrari!

Oh my God! Do You think I can go? ;)

http://www.ferrarivirtualacademy.com/teaser/EN/index.jsp

Sharing the love...

2010-08-27T17:05:00.001-07:00

Tonite, I'll be sharing and discussing about 'love' to some young Art Center students thanks to Howard! I'll be sharing pretty much all I know about love... all the stuffs that I wish somebody had told me about love when I was in their age...

I think the info I'll be providing is right..., as for my personal experiences, they're just my experiences, cannot really be right or wrong, at least so far I think my marriage is as good as it could be..., but of course there's always room for better than just 'good'...

Anyway, may God anoint me with sufficient amount of His wisdom during tonite's sharing. Here are the outline of my sharing session... Everything I know about romantic love condensed down to 6 pages! ;)

This Truth Triangle shown on the last page really doesn't have to be restricted to male and female kinda love only. It can be applicable to father/son, boss/employee... basically in any sort of relationships including Jesus to us! These ingredients are crucial in order to maintain a longterm loving relationship... Anyway, hope my info will be helpful to them. ;)

(20/20, 171.0 lbs, $3.179)

3 years!!!

2010-07-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

Today is our 3 year anniversary!!!

Wow! Hard to believe time flew by so quickly! And I haven't blogged for over a month!!!

I got a model 787 plane with our names on it as anniversary gift this year. Yeah, it took a while for 787 to take flight, but at least it eventually made it!

Also took a day off to chill and relax with wife at home... and we prepared our first ever prime rib dinner... trying to emulate Lawry's prime ribs! Everything tasted pretty good I suppose, but there are still room for improvement for sure. ;)

I've never noticed the awesome aroma of the roast meat at Lawry's, but that roast smelled wonderful while it was in the oven. It even drove our cat Hades nuts... he couldn't wait to get a taste of the meat...

I guess perhaps this is why God also like the aroma of the meaty sacrifices... we had our dinner at our home made 'tabernacle' in the backyard too... well, besides the nice smelling meat, I hope God finds our marriage pleasing as well! :)

(20/20, 170.2 lbs, $3.239)

Our cats are pissed off for some reason...

2010-05-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we thought our cats are getting used to the house, but then a new cat, Chap, moved it..., then all hell broke lose! Hades went on a hunger strike and started spraying all over... finally had to temporary remove Chap for a few weeks...

Now, we're letting Hades run around in the backyard more, we think that is helping him somehow... there are now less spraying inside the house (because he's doing it more outside)... we believe besides Chap, there probably were other cats living in the house before..., plus there is a stray cat who like to hang around our house... perhaps Hades is just going nuts because of all the different cat scent...

Chap is moving back in this weekend... we can only hope that things won't go crazy like before... it's just this time, we'll be more careful and make sure we separate Chap in a room until they're really used to each other's scent.

Poor wife had been wiping off cat piss pretty much on a daily basis..., we can only hope that situation continues to improve! As bad as the situation is, one can see the power of love at work in our house... wife is cleaning up the messes the cats were making just like God cleans up our messes!

Dad's latest sermon said it well:
「愛」是一種動力，驅策著自己不斷的努力向前，為了自己也為所愛的人，神造人原本看為美好的，但人的罪性卻讓世界走了樣，耶穌來替我們找到挽回的方法，那就是回到愛的源頭，掌握愛的本質，行出愛的真義，來回應愛我們的神。

Anyway, there's still a lot more work to be done around the house, but we are steadily making progress! May God continue to help us build our new home... I feel like I'm rebuilding our own little Eden... we're still a long ways off, but steady as we go...

(20/20, 171.6 lbs, $3.239)

We're finally MOVED IN!

2010-04-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah! After countless visits of Home Depot and countless hours spent sanding and painting and waiting for our handyman Peter to finish fixing up our house... we've finally moved in to our new home!

Interestingly the house is both bigger and smaller at the same time... how paradoxical... ;)

Yes, each of the rooms are smaller compared to our old apartment... whether it's the living room or the bedrooms, but of course overall, the house does have more area than the apartment.

Another thing that takes getting used too is the hardwood floors and the tile floors of the kitchen and bathrooms... we now only have carpeting in the bedrooms. Not sure if it's water retention due to fatigue or what..., but the colder and harder floor can be really hard for my feet!!! Should've carpeted the whole house!!! But the looks of the hardwood floor is not that bad now that it's finished...

Whatever, the house is still in a big mess after the weekend move. Probably will take us a while to organize everything... clean everything... and the finally finish painting everything! But nevertheless, thank God that we now have a place of our own and we love it!

I think our kitty cats are getting use to the new place too!

I'm so tired for the past couple months though... probably won't be able to rest and relax much because there are still so much to be done... cool thing about all this hard work is that I have lost quite a bit of weight and even with all the hard work and stress, we do look so very happy together, huh? ;)

(20/20, $3.199, 170.6 lbs)

It's official! Our 1st home!

2010-03-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wanted to post something about it earlier, but didn't want to jinx it. But Yes! I just got a call from aunt Jean a minute ago... we are now the official owners of this house!!!

After an exhaustingly long search, we finally bought a house! We've been asking God for a best possible house that our money can buy... don't let us buy anything that's just not that good!

So we've made plenty of offers, and then all those deals either fell thru because of weird credit problems or because some other crazy buyers would out bid us in such a depressing market.

Anyway, as things turned out, this house probably is the best deal out of all the offers that we've made in the past! Plus, we now can actually qualify for the tax credit whereas previously we couldn't qualify for...

So yeah, the journey was long and frustrating, we were even close on giving up(giving up buying a house in the San Gabriel Valley area at least), but God certainly remained faithful and helped us out. Things for sure couldn't possibly worked out if we weren't 'lucky'. But of course, we know there's no such thing as 'luck'! ;)

Plus, we were also shopping for new appliances and tiles for the past week..., it's rather amazing that after we've done our research and thought have found ourselves the best deals in town... then all of a sudden, 'angel' salesmen would appear and give us even better deals that what we were happy with!!! God, You are amazing. Thank You so very very much! :)

Romans 11
³³Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
³⁴"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
³⁵"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

For the sake of our future house, I've even "fasted" for the past 6 months..., not food, but my favorite drinks- soda pops! So I guess it is licit for me to drink up tonite!!! Yipee! ;)

(20/20, $3.199, 172.6 lbs)

Happy birthday to US!

2010-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I'm freaking 38 years old already. I think I'm really getting old... can't really stay awake much... getting really tired at around 12-ish... and I can't really make up the lost sleep in the morning because I'd wake up in the morning!

Anyway, we didn't take advantage of Disneyland again this year... don't want to bankrupt Disneyland with 2 free b-day tickets again..., plus, wife doesn't really want to visit Disneyland again anyway! ;) So this year, since our b-day is in the middle of the week, we decided to just chill out and take it easy!

787 work had really burned me out a little... actually lost quite a bit of sleep over that! Burning the midnight oil try to meet deadlines... so I'm glad that is over. Plus, wife and I had not been fighting much lately! (Fighting usually means lost sleep too!) So hallelujah! ;) Today's scripture was particularly encouraging to me!

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

But of course God only helps those who wants help! Since one of our main problem is that my inability to carry out meaningful and interesting conversations, I have been trying to read up some more stuffs in order to generate more conversation topics that can help bring us closer together... Honest to God, I have never read more books in my life... all this I have my wife to thank too! I never really had the hunger for more knowledge... very complacent personality... So I think for sure God give me my wife to kick my lazy butt on the right path and try and work hard in order to prevent us from turning our marriage into a yellow-dog marriage!

I think God has probably sent Little K to remind me to exercise my brain some more by memorizing more new vocabularies! Today's word of the day happens to be 'yellow dog', that's weird... is that really a word? Or merriam webster dictionary is crazier than I am? ;)

Anyway, we enjoyed a nice little new restaraunt we found on Yelp. Pretty good food and reasonably priced. Not only that, we had a soup, appitizer, 2 entrees, and then 2 desserts and we didn't even get fat!!! WHOA, that was like too good to be true! Wife and I recently started a plan to lose weight together because we are steadily gaining weight for some reason, we've been making steady progress so far... and I was like expecting to completely mess the plan up, but instead, we continue to lose weight! Amzing! ;) Afterwards, I gave her a LUSH bomb bath! That really help relaxed her and put her into a good mood I think.

May God continue to give me the wisdom to know how put push wife's right buttons instead of the wrong buttons! ;)

(20/20, 175.2 lbs, $3.179)

Enneagram

2010-01-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

787 work seems to continue to drag on for whatever reasons. Thought I'd be done by the end of the year, but then it kept on going and going..., after this week, maybe it'll be done for sure..., but then again, Lord knows. ;) It kept me busy and lost a few nights sleep too, but at least I was able to make a few bucks out of that. At least I appreciate that part, just hope that the extended work hours won't just drag on indefinitely though. Wife was also making extra income this month. Besides teaching, she had to work extra recording some score for movies. Very tiring work actually, but I think she likes it better because she doesn't have to deal with some of the lazy and untalented students! That is just so unbearable for a 'Perfectionist'! ;)

Yeah, we've recently discovered our types of personality thru facebook. Wife is a perfectionist(Reformer) and I'm a peacemaker. Thru the website http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/, I also managed to learn the good things and the bad things about such a combination. It was shocking for me to learn how accurate of a description they had for us whether the good or the bad! Actually Pastor Su had already done something similar for us during our pre-marriage counciling. He was pretty good too... he had already warned us of the potential problems we might face, but we weren't really there back then, so the impact wasn't as great I guess. Now after the fact, I was just amazed how psychologists already knew about people like us! It took wife and I years to get to know one another, but psycologists already know what we're like... what's even more shocking to me that there are only roughly 9 types of people.

So if I truly learned about all 9 types of folks, and how to properly deal with them... then I guess I will be awesome in all kinds of social situations... perhaps also stratigically spread the gospel differently with different personality types?

Anyway, first things first, I need to learn to deal with perfectionists better! ;)

I also signed up to have that website send me words of encouragement/improvement every day. Today, it says:

Remember, you will grow by moving toward those things that are symbolized by Type Three. Can you acknowledge your potential and recognize your own value today?

Type III's are 'Achievers'. I do score kinda low at the 'Achiever' category. Low self confidence? Dunno. But yeah, today I'm going to acknowledge my potential and recognize my own value! ;)

Today's 20/20 reading actually was about how Abraham asked his servant to find Isaac a wife back home... That's actually the part I was reading when I was about to find my wife... I used the same tactic as the servant used... asked for 3 signs to be sure I'm finding the right one. (Wife also had her own 'signs'!)

So anyway, no marriage is going to be perfect and problem free. Although a perfectionist may disagree with that, at last God will help us thru our troubles and imperfectons and the move both of us more toward that perfection. We just need to have faith like Abraham to hang in there I guess. God can't possibly lead us wrong, right? Right. ;)

(20/20, 172.6 lbs, $3.179)

New year New hope!

2010-01-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

The year actually began wonderfully..., I've never celebrated the new year that way before!!! Not the most exciting new year, but definitely the most wonderous! But 'good scene don't last long' unfortunately... things turned out really bad because wife and I end up having a really huge fight thanks to the stupid movie Avatar! It was a decent movie I guess, besides the predictable story, it is actually not too bad overall. It's just too bad that it end up causing us to have a huge fight... So interestingly that 2010 began with a new height... and then fell into a new low... what an emotional roller coaster!

But fear not! Today's 20/20 devotion, God told me this:

Psalm 4:5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

Just do what I'm suppose to do and then trust God... and voila! God was able to lead us out of the valley of shadow of death! ;) I think God used this bad situation to further help wife and I get to know each other even more! 'no fight no know each other!' Tonite I was able to have decent enough of a discussion with the wife, developed based on the fights we had, and I think it helped her feel a bit better and offer her new hope!

Anyway, tomorrow is another day... more sacrfices will be in order and I will continue to trust in my God! :)

(20/20, 174.6 lbs, $3.159)

Life after 787...

2009-12-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

Had been super busy with work for the past month and cousin Jen just recently went back home after visiting us during the Christmas break... so things are slowly settling back down.

Faith Community Church is starting a new devotional campaign called the 20/20. Hopefully it can really help me 'see' God more clearly. Life had been kinda hectic lately.

I was kinda annoyed at work because supposedly I was picked to do more 787 work, but somehow office politics got in the way so that somehow got derailed. Oh well. I'm not really that particularly attached to that plane, it's just that 7-8-07 was our anniversary date and has a special meaning to me that's all.

Anyway, I was working on a particular part on 787 called the 'pickle fork' and that item was actually the 7th of all the rest of the item. So anyway, regardless what happens, I still kinda see that as if God's reminding me that He's still with me no matter what!

Today's 20/20 reading, this scripture verse came to my attention:

Isaiah 65
23 They will not toil in vain
or bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD,
they and their descendants with them.

May God bless us... and cousin Jen... since she is a descendant of a blessed family! So hopefully she'll be able to have a blessed 'marriage' with some blessed guy! ;)

HD!!! Boeing 787 First Flight Takeoff of the Dreamliner - December 15, 2009

2009-12-15T23:34:00.001-08:00

787 Almost Airborne

2009-12-14T18:21:00.001-08:00

Suppose to be delivered on July 8th 2007, our anniversary date... after more than 2 years, it may be finally ready to take flight tomorrow... weather permitting... ;)

Blink...

2009-12-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, past month seemed to have passed me by in a blink of an eye! Mostly been busy with working on the Dreamliner! Some called the plane the impossible dream, but we'll just have to wait and see... expecting the worst, yet hoping for the best! At least I'm earning some overtime money! ;) The part I'm responsible for is called a 'pickle fork' and was assigned an item number of 7! I will take that as a positive sign and things will go well in the end because God is with me?

I also finished reading a book called 'Blink'. It talks about how our subconscious mind can make rapid decisions without us knowing how it was made. Sometimes the decisions are good... other times it may be bad... so it all depends. I've been reading a series of decision related books recently. "sources of power", "predictably irrational", and now "blink". I think the main issue with my slow decision making process is simply because I'm too inexperienced with life! ;) Practice does make perfect. Furthermore, I think perhaps my subconscious mind is just somewhat damaged or something... Yes, the book mentioned that there is a specific area of the brain if damaged, can cause people to be really indecisive. They can list all the pros and cons all day long, but won't be able to reach a decision in the end! I don't think I'm that bad, but for sure wife thinks that I'm bad enough.

Anyway, another interesting thing I found out with their research is that our facial muscles do not just express our emotions within. We CAN actually make ourselves happier by activating the muscles we use to smile! Interestingly I read about this when Pastor Jim was preaching about sometimes we ought to 'act' good even when we don't feel like acting good. And this brings us to another interesting thing... that is... exactly which is our true self? The one that feels sad or feel like doing bad things... or the one decided to 'act' good and happy?

Of course in the real world, such as economist, whatever we actually 'do' is considered as what's the real us. Psychologists on the other hand would have problems identifying which is the real you..., but as for God, I'm sure He can figure us out easily for He truly knows our hearts!

Anyway, past month has also been filled with some difficulties too. Such as fighting with dear wife... But everytime after we fight, I do gain new insight on who my wife is... and what kind of man I am. So it's not like our fights were all in vain..., but hopefully someday we can grow without the fights! ;) Besides our own difficulties, one of our dear friend is current going thru some difficulties of his own as well. Is God really Handpicking this Tangerine for some special purpose? I'm happy and excited and at the same time sad and worry about our friend's future.

Oh well, we'll just have to continue to expect the worst(so that we may be prepared to handle all difficulties coming our way), and hope for the best! If God is with us, why wouldn't He give us the best? :) We may not be able to predict exactly what's going to happen tomorrow... such as we can't predict how the stock market will go tomorrow, but in the long haul, surely stockmarkets had been steadily growing leaping past even the worst depressions! So YEAH! Our best is indeed yet to come!

Oh, btw, I've temporarily quit sodas for a while... I think it has been helping me to lose some weight. Sure looking fwd to another sip of Coke soon. O God O God when can I sip on Coca-Cola again? Hopefully soon? In another blink of an eye?

(Gen 1-3, 171.0 lbs, $3.05)

F-22 Edwards AFB

2009-10-27T09:01:00.001-07:00

Clam Chowder, NASCAR, and Air Show!

2009-10-25T09:25:00.001-07:00

Had been real lazy keeping up with the blogs lately..., but not being too lazy with life though... for example, my goal of learning to cook my favorite American soups from scratch is now complete! After chicken soup, my clam chowder is pretty good! I surprise even myself! ;)

And for the first time in my life, I've attended a NASCAR race. I didn't really like NASCAR all that much, but hey, with free tickets, I'm there! I like fast and loud machines! Whenever they restart the race after some sort of accident... when all the cars going full throttle passing us with thunderous sound: 'zoom, zoom, zomm...' What an awesome feeling. But wife's ear drums were probably close to being popped even with ear plugs! ;)

Speaking of loud and speedy machines, we also went to the annual airshow at Edwards Air Force Base. Here's a simulated attach from the Japanese! ;)

Here's a picture with America's newest fighter, F-35. It's so new that it's not really flying in service yet! ;)

The most exciting part of the show has to be the next-newest fighter, F-22:

Anyway, watching these things are fun, but I think I enjoy doing things more than just being a spectator watching things... Just found out in a recent personality test that I'm a 'craftsman'. So I guess it all makes sense. I'm also continuing on my projects too... To build another stuff animal kitty cat for wife... to build an automatic feeder for our cat... and to continue to build myself to become a better husband too... So many ongoing projects, so much fun... hey, gotta live my life to the full, right? ;)

(1 Tim 4-6, 174.0 lbs, $3.199)

Arduino Tests

2009-09-27T23:45:00.001-07:00

One small step for mankind, one giant leap for ME!

2009-09-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been in a creating mood for a while. Can't say that I've been very creative yet... as in creating cool new things, but just trying to create stuffs in general and gather up more experiences. With these newly gained experiences..., hopefully after some tinkering around, I could possibly create some cool new things in the future! Who knows? ;)

So anyway, I managed to prepare and cook one of my favorite soups from scratch over the weekend for the very first time! The Chicken Noodle soup can really take a lot of ingredients and time than I originally thought, some herbs and spices which I haven't even heard of..., but anyway, the end product was worth it! Maybe I'll try the Clam Chowder next time when we have another weekend with not much to do! ;)

I'm also slowly progressing regarding my robotic project! I actually hit a road block on that one and just couldn't build it from 'scratch' so far as I hoped I could... either I fried my micro-chip or has some other defective part or just didn't follow the instructions right or something... :(

Anyway, so I 'cheated' a bit... thanks to the Arduino Board, I've been able to get up to speed pretty easily quickly... finally able to turn on some lights when I program 'let there be light'... or when I say, 'let there be movements...' and then there were movements! ;) After I learned all the basics using Arduino, hopefully my actual 'robot' will begin to take shape and then become more fruitful and multiply as time goes on... ;)

(See above entry for video...)

Oh, another achievement which I'm pretty proud of myself was that I was able to tie my wife in a game of carrying conversations! ;) Yeah, not a very good talker... or conversationalist. This new game of ours requires us to not to drop the ball in a conversation within 45 mins of time... whoever drops it... loses!!! Well, hopefully I can beat her tonite... ;)

(Romans 7-9, 175.0 lbs, $3.279)

Mt. Rushmore and Lobster Fest!

2009-09-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Wife got some free tickets accumulated with the soon to be gone NW airlines... so we figured why not go some place where we probably wouldn't spend our own money going... like to the middle of nowhere in South Dakota!

So Mt Rushmore, here we come! ;)

We actually went on 9-11, so they actually lit up the presidents all night long in remembrance of that sad day in history....

Although these great American presidents were immortalized, one of the mountain sculptors who worked on Mt. Rushmore actually dedicated his life to pay tribute to one of the great American Indians- Crazy Horse! This guy started the project all by himself by the request of local Indian chiefs... and after decades, only Crazy horse's face is finished. They say perhaps in 7 more years, the horse's face can be done... we'll see. The story is very inspirational that's for sure. Although the guy is now dead, a number of his children continue on as their life mission... to finish this huge mountain sculpture... all funded by tourists like us! ;)

Oh, and last weekend we attended the world's largest lobster festival! We didn't like the amount of people who were there, but the lobsters were really good... and the price is really good too! Yum!!!!

Back to two of us again!

2009-09-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, the little bros have all returned to Taiwan. Apartment will be emptier now... was actually hoping to put the little bros into good use to help us move and paint our new condo or something like that... too bad that didn't work out. I hope they at least had a good time over the summer here in America. It's also nice to get a chance to get to know them better.

Anyway, the hunt for a new place is still on..., we can only hope that God is still preparing for us something good! With low inventory and lots of folks trying to qualify for the 1st time buyer deal from the government, housing prices have actually gone up a bit recently! Pastor Jim did teach us to "SEEEEEEEE?" with faith! ;) Yes, may the Lord of Hosts help open our eys so that we can 'see' better and not to be too discouraged with our house hunting!

Last week, Pastor Dawn actually encouraged us to pray risky prayers such as the one David prayed in Psalm 139:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

So I actually followed thru... and interestingly, God answered! Buying a house, God seems to be taking His sweet time, but testing me and showing me what I'm doing wrong... God answered pretty quickly! ;) Yeah, I'm usually a pretty mild manner person, but sometimes when I see idiot drivers on the road, I tend to want to teach them lessons by doing whatever they're doing to me or others! I'm actually okay with old ladies driving slow, but I can get real pissed at seeing people driving like idiots deliberately. So one day last week when I was returning home, I saw one such idiot driving on the road who cut me off. So I returned the favor by racing him and then cutting him off!!!

And then the interesting thing happend... that car was equipped with flashing lights and siren!!! It was an undercover police car!!! So I got pulled over... almost got a ticket, but I suspect undercover cops don't really have any tickets to write on! Anyway, the point is that I think God has answered my 'prayer' by teaching me a lesson instead. I think I'm going to think twice or 3 times or more before trying to teach other drivers lessons anytime soon! I know road rage isn't good, but sometimes it isn't that easy to control the 'rage'! May God help me deal with that better...

Another interesting revelation from last week due to the risky prayer was that I think God really wants me to get my act together!!! Yes, I've often complained that wife is too picky and she needs to learn to be more merciful..., but I think God has let me known that perhaps I should just get my act together better first! Before I want to help remove the toothpick out of wife's eye, why not take out the telephone pole in my eye first? Yes..., so thanks to God that I'm trying to focus more on myself and trying change myself by getting my 'act' together more. I haven't attained perfection yet, but at least so far this week, wife and I haven't really fought yet... fingers crossed! ;) My strategy so far is to get my act together so good and eventually wife will be the one end up screwing up more... and THEN I can properly show and teach her what 'mercy' really is! ;) Will I really become that good? I personally kinda doubt it, but by the Spirit of God, anything is possible, right? Can you "SEEEEEEEE" the new Billy? YES I CAN!

(John 19-21, 176.0 lbs, $3.159)

Long time no post!!!

2009-08-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Had been quite busy with wife's bros around lately... but luckily work has been kinda slow this week so I have some time to collect my thoughts for the past few days.

It's kinda funny to see a bunch of my older posts talking about how I pissed my wife off... well, I'm sure it's not that funny to the wife! ;) Anyway, even for the past month, the story really hasn't changed much. There were still fights. Well, actually not fights, just mainly wife pissing offs at me! Yeah, there's really not that much for me to fight about when I'm the one screwing up... of course sometimes occasionally I will 'fight back' when I think I'm not wrong, but I have to admit that those are rare occasions. ;) Anyway, wife seems to be pissed of against either me or her little bro..., the two of us is sorta on a rotating schedule to receive the wrath of WTF! ;)

Of course to prove that wife is not just an unreasonable person, the older bro had been able to stay on her good side most of the time! So this proves wife's theory that she just cannot get along with the irresponsible youngest siblings of the family... and interestingly most of her friends and even her students are usually the youngest siblings of the family! Yikes!

So moral of the story? We younger siblings really need to learn to act more justly... and wife also needs to learn how to be merciful with us irresponsible younger siblings... , but most importantly, we all must humbly follow God instead of each of us sticking to our 'old selves'. That's the commitment we all have to make.

Anyway, so I have been trying and demanding myself to change lately. Trying hard to do the things that wife appreciates and minimize the stuffs that she might find annoying! I'm also trying to learn to build new things by completing more sewing or robotics projects... I think I also need to be a better employee at work too!

So may God change me for the better. I will also try hard doing whatever that needs to be done... Hopefully the collaborative effort will show some real results! ;)

(John 1-3, $3.199, 175.4 lbs)

Better week!

2009-07-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

The long July 4th weekend was relaxing and pleasant... except that at Ontario Mills, I was distracted by 'magic' that I ended up pissing wife off a bit... ;) She was tired and I wanted to see magic! So naturally things didn't end that pleasantly. But thank God the un-pleasantry didn't last very long though. I must be getting better at talking and comforting my wife! ;)

A bit of some more good news is that the condo we originally wanted to buy ended back on market again. So here's a 2nd shot, but I think the seller is really reluctant at selling to us at such a cheap price though... well, to us, it ain't that cheap, but compared to the previous offer, I can understand why the seller is a bit more hesitant. So far we still don't have a yes or no regarding our offer. I kinda like the place, it wasn't our most ideal nor 1st choice, but it is pretty nice. Hopefully we'll get it, but may God do what He thinks is best for us when it comes to such a big purchase!

Anyway, also finally saw the move UP. Pixar films surely have never failed to impress me. Not only are they masters of computer animation, but also master storytellers. It has the same old ingredients of how there's a battle to fight, and adventure to live and a beauty... or somebody to rescue..., but even with the same formula, I really love how they mixed everything up. I think the moral of the story is that we should all have dreams, but then we shouldn't get too focused on those dreams and completely lose sight of the journey along the way. And most importantly, I'm sure often times we don't 'feel' very loving at times, thinking that other people can be quite annoying..., but true love is really a 'choice'. When we choose to do loving things even against our natural 'feeling', surely only good can come out of it! I think this is for sure one of the ways we can harness the Spirit of the Lord behind our sails! May God continue to breath and blow on us... so that we can have an even better week next week! ;)

'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
不是倚靠勢力，不是倚靠才能，乃是倚靠我的靈方能成事。

(Zech 4-6, 176.6 lbs, $3.099)

Bad week

2009-06-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last week seemed to be a pretty bad week.

Had a huge fight with wife. Somebody carelessly backed into my beloved S2000. Lots of celebs such as Michael Jackson ended up dead. There were lots of other little things too... Everything just feels all wrong!

Anyway, pastor Jim reinforced the idea of Jehovah Shammah... that God is there with us whether good or bad!

At least wife's bros arrived safely and we had fun... and we're not fighting anymore... and nobody ran into me... and nobody really close to us are dead yet...

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.

So may God continue to be with us whether thru thick or thin... Below is a picture taken by wife's bro... using some special technique which made LA look like it's on fire! But may LA be revived or rekindled by the Spirit's fire... not the real fire or course! ;)

(Micah 4-7, 174.8lbs, $3.099)

Hosea 10

2009-06-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.

Good and bad....

2009-06-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

The couple of offers we made... none of the Condo owners decided to sell to us... Very disappointing, but all we can do at the moment is to continue our search and trust in God that He'll prepare a more suitable one for us later I suppose.

As a consolation prize, at least we were fortunate enough to book a relatively cheap trip to Miami at the 5 star Ritz Carlton resort! Hopefully it won't rain..., but even if it does, I guess we can still enjoy a relaxing time at our posh hotel! ;)

This weekend also had an opportunity to have dinner with Jo E whom I haven't seen for years! It was also nice to see some old friends from Kam Kwong Church..., but it's also kinda sad to see how we've grown apart. Just like the chinese saying, 'there are no banquets that won't ever end!' I'm thankful and appreciative of knowing them, perhaps we'll have more 'banquets' to come in the future... or not. All in God's hand I guess...

Pastor Jim on Sunday continued to talk about 'seeds'. He also prophecied over us saying that God's going to do 'something special' for all of us during the summer timeframe..., but of course it's conditional... he talked about 7 things that we can expect...
1) break up fallow ground, prepare our hearts thru repentance
2) plant seed(Word of God being the seed of course, we don't need a religious experience to get the Word... we can just as easily get the 'seed' from the 'seed bag' which is called the Holy Bible!)
3) nourish to flourish, just as Apostle Paul plants churches, Apollo waters it... just do whatever we can do so that God can ultimately grow it...
4) we also gotta be patient during waiting periods, but of course waiting doesn't mean we do nothing, revert back to 3 when necessary! ;)
5) of course if we carried on, surely we'll bear fruit!
6) expect to be pruned by God so that we may bear even MORE fruit!

There was also this point 7 which I either missed it or he's going to continue on next sunday... ;)Anyway, considering what happened to my former church, perhaps that's just God's way of pruning us... preparing us to produce more fruits later on? Besides that, even during day to day life now, I'm sure wife feels like she's getting pruned left and right by God because of me... ;) But we are indeed getting better and better though. That's for sure...

(Hosea 4-6, 174.0 lbs, $3.199)

Fight, fight, fight!

2009-06-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

The stress of buying a house caused wife and I to have a pretty big fight again..., but at least everytime we fight, we managed to get a better understanding of each other, we managed to make the change, perhaps too slow for wife's sake, but at least things do get better! Another side bonus of course is that it helps wife lose some weight. She was in a pretty good mood recently and was complaining about weight gain, but I guess God indeed does make all things, whether good or bad, work together to benefit us! ;)

Anyway, the stupid fight was over... we're now left to tackle with 2 different condos to deal with. One of them we both like very much is more expensive... and the other one is less expensive, but we don't like as much... after talking with Aunt Jean and developed a best strategy to go forward, hopefully we can get the place we want... if not, then hopefully we can get our 2nd choice. If not, then I suppose we'll just wait some more if that is indeed God's will! Besides offering our best possible price, I also wrote a letter trying convince the seller to sell to us! If after trying our best and still can get it, we'll just have to trust God that place isn't for us I guess. But until Monday evening comes (that's when seller reviews all offer), we'll remain hopeful!

Pastor Jim also preached an interesting sermon today... explaining how our thumbs are like 'prayers', our index fingers are like the 'Word' pointing to us the way..., and our middle fingers are like ways to 'reach out' to others(to help, not to screw others of course), our ring fingers signifies our commitments or 'Convenants' and our little fingers represent being 'giving'... and it's thru all those 'fingers' that we can actually 'grip' securely God's seeds and blessings to us.

I suppose I have been using all 5 of my 'fingers' so far, but I just need to practice using them some more I think. May God can help train me how to grip better so that I won't let His Promises slip thru my fingers too much..., given my procrastinating nature, I'm sure I've let a lot of things slipped away... :(

Anyway, wife and I ended the weekend having dinner with her old high school friend at the Duck House again. We had a pretty good time and we probably gained some weight again... ;)

Tough call indeed... weight gain while in a good mood? Or weight lost while in a bad mood? May God help us to be able to maintain a healthy weight while in a healthy mood too! ;) Oh, also, may God help us get that condo! We believe both sellers are Christians, so yeah, our prayer is that may we get what's best for us! Surely He knows! :)

(Dan 1-3, 174.8 lbs, $3.099)

General Motors becoming Government Motors?

2009-06-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

Today is a pretty historical day that an iconic company such as GM is declaring bankruptcy after 100 years! Such thing is probably unthinkable just a few years earlier! But amazing thing is that the market wasn't all that affected by it today and continued to climb pretty bullishly because of some encouraging financial data..., but I'm not sure if the economy is that fundamentally sound to warrant such a rise. People are just irrationally speculating I think..., but anyway, we'll see.

We also spent most of the weekend looking at condos again. Only saw a couple of properties that are decent... and we've decided to make an offer again to the same condo that we've already made once few weeks earlier..., but we'll see how things go on this too. Supposedly the seller is a Christian, actually both properties that we liked are occupied by Christians I think... hopefully God will influence them to lower their prices for us! ;)

Pastor Jim's sermon is getting a bit too 'pornographic' lately, especially for Jack! He talked about why God asked the Jews to be circumcised... because without the extra piece of flesh, it'll be easier for the 'seed' to flow thru... well, I'm not sure if that's really the case sexuallly, but I suppose it does make sense for us to have circumcision of the heart... to get rid of the excessive flesh that's preventing God's Seed to come into our hearts... when we are catering too much to our 'flesh', yeah, naturally we'd end up forgetting more about God. Anyway, so may God also help us cut away extra un-needed flesh off of us so that we can be closer to Him. Wife is complaining about a bit of weigh gain, so yeah, less flesh the better! ;)

Also still reading Ezekiel..., so many judgments and horrible prophecies. So haven't been able to find any more encouraging verses to remember... some atheists really hate God for being so judgmental..., but hey, if you don't want to get judged, then don't do evil! So I suppose the moral of those stories in Ezekiel is that we should not forget about God and should fear God... if we don't want to end up like them...

(Eze 31-33, 174.0 lbs, $2.939)

PUSH!

2009-05-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend is usually the biggest auto racing weekend, with Monaco GP and Indy 500, but the races had been rather boring..., fastest qualifier wins the race in the end..., but I still enjoyed watching them though.

This past LONG weekend has been pretty boring overall too especially for the wife, but we did manage to at least enjoy a new burger that I've developed that can perhaps rival the In-and-Out burger! We've also got a new work table for me from Ikea... we've also for the first time tried out the Metro train in LA! We've been on metros in lots of other various cities, but never around LA, so we figured we try go shopping in Hollywood while minimize pollution! ;)

Anyway, pastor Jim sorta did a rehashed sermon this past weekend. So that was kinda boring too, but still something worthwhile some meditation I think. He talked about dreams vs fantasies. I've had plenty of dreams..., but of course not all of them came true... actually, not all of them are capable of coming true... so I guess they were just fantasies. But nevertheless, I do believe dreams can help motivate us for otherwise, I'd often not feel like doing anything! ;) Wife disagree about dreaming, thinking it's a waste of time, worse yet, it can often times disappoint when it's unfulfilled! Anyway, I don't know who's right and who's wrong... surely if we're just mindlessly day-dreaming, for sure that can be a waste of time I suppose. But how do we know that we're dreaming a worthwhile and achievable dream?

Well, we can only hope that God will help us out on that I suppose. Like Pastor Jim said, we just gotta allow God's(seed) Word to penetrate us... don't allow our hardened hearts to reject the seeds... we also gotta nourish the seed, if our dream is in line with God's will, we just gotta have faith that it will be realized! And like delivering a baby, we just gotta keep on PUSHING! (Pray Until Something Happens!)

(Eze 28-30, 174.8 lbs, $2.839)

Whew!

2009-05-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

Got super busy at work starting beginning of last weekend. Hopefully things can slow down a bit so that I can catch my breath a bit... About the only interesting thing that we did was watching the Star Trek movie. It's not bad, but it ain't that great either. I guess I was expecting too much!

Anyway, finally finished reading the book 'Sources of Power'. Not sure how long I've been reading that, just occasionally a few pages here and there while sitting on the toilet! ;) I was planning to finish reading that on the plane during my trip to Taiwan, but watching movies was the only way I could stay awake in order to deal with the different time zones... I've decided to read up on some books regarding how we make decisions because I'm sometimes known to be kinda indecisive! So, my conclusion for this book is that basically I'm just too 'inexperienced', that's why often times I'd consider too many options. "Experienced" decision makers often knows what to do that works at any given situation... So anyway, I guess the main point I got was that I need to gather more experience so that I can make more inform decisions faster!!! ;)

So I suppose I'm more appreciatieve of the extra work that I'm doing because it's adding to my 'experiece'! ;) I'm even 'experiencing' my wife more by having more 'fellowships' or digging into each other's brain kinda talks. Hopefully I can really gather and sort out these experiences and help me become a better decision maker! ;)

Pastor Jim also finished up with his 'Lamp' or 'Word' series. I'm kinda glad that I've been able to maintain reading the Word even when things got real busy! I do try to find verses here and there to try to remember by and then post them in this blog, but lately, I've been reading a lot of God judging His people... so I guess the main point is that we probably should just remember to NOT do evil like the Jews back then so that hopefully we can spare judgement!!! May God have mercy on us... and may we behave ourselves like Noah, Daniel and Job...

(Ezekiel 13-15, 174.6 lbs, $2.759)

Ezekiel 11

2009-05-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Lamentations 3

2009-05-12T23:05:00.001-07:00

²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

²⁴ I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;

²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.

Rancho del Descanso

2009-05-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

AKA Descanso Garden... descanso meaning rest in Spanish. Haven't been there for a while and wife hasn't been there before... so I thought we take a stroll... and as it turned out it was much better than the LA Arboretum! We liked it enough to actually joining their membership! For a gal who doesn't like flowers that much, that's amazing! ;)

Anyway, also celebrated Mother's day at the Duck House. The food there was not so bad I guess, but not very impressed by their service. Not sure if I'll go again... especially when the duck not only made me fat, but also caused some extra pimples! ;)

Besides over-feeding on regular food, I'm finally done with Jerimiah. The book is pretty depressing and scary... and not very easy to find memorable verses which I'd like to remember... hopefully things get better later on... If God is with us, of course things will get better later on! ;)

Another interesting thing worthy of mention is the TV show Lost. It's actually dealing with how predestination is intertwined with free will... I was debating with some atheists on the forum about such topic just recently and it was cool to see a TV show demonstrate the paradoxical co-existece of both! One more season and it'll supposedly end... I wonder how the show is going to finish. Wife is usually pretty good at guessing the ending, but this show is just so unpredictable she's not even going to try! ;)

(Jer 49-52, 1772. lbs, $2.599)

Jeremiah 39

2009-05-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.'

Swine Flu...

2009-05-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

This thermal picture's taken at JPL this weekend. We went to their open-house, I look like I have a fever, but that's only because it was kinda hot. So, no, didn't get swine flu yet, but I think we're getting fat like pigs all of a sudden over the weekend! Not sure what happened, perhaps it was the hotter weather causing us to drink too much... consequently caused water retention? We really should be eating more of God's Word as Pastor Jim was telling us... ;)

I think I'm going to try to pick out at least one memorable bible verse to remember everyday our of my devotional reading. But today's reading, I really wasn't able to find any particularly good verse that's all that memorable... the only interesting part of the story was about the Recabites who were really faithful to their fore-father's instructions... to never drink wine and to remain life as nomads... God was complimenting them regard their obedience... why couldn't the Jews be more like them?

Well, as nice as I am on the outside, I know I'm not always all that obedient myself. Hope I can be more obedient to God in the future...

Anyway, after drinking from our bitter cups recently, wife and I seemed to be making more progress regarding our relationships... may God continue to guide and inspire me to be able to keep it up! ;)

(Jer 34-36, 177.0 lbs, $2.499)

Bitter cup...

2009-04-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Speaking of better dish last weekend, interestingly pastor Jim talked about the bitter cup!

Actually this past week, wife and I both had to drink from some bitter cups..., but thanks be to God that we're able to get thru the troubles we were facing...

Yeah, often times in life we only see other people's glory... other people's good results..., but rarely do we know how much blood and sweat others have put in. We all want the glory... the nice life... sure! But are we willingly to pay the price?

If that something doesn't kill you, will it really make you stronger? Can love really conquer all?

Or are we doomed to die anyway... and can the various things of the world conquer the little love that you have?

Anyway, only we ourselves can answer these questions.

Like pastor Jim said, may we all be able to past the test so that we may have good testimonies... may we all be able to get thru the mess so that we can have good messages for those who are hopeless...

God is wonderful. God is great. God rocks! ;)

BTW, I tried out the new Kentucky Grilled Chicken today... it's not bad, but not that great either... still like it fried... I guess we should just stick to whatever we're good at and don't try to be something we're not!
(Jer 19-21, 174.6 lbs, $2.519)

Better dish...

2009-04-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hmm..., my employer seemed to have stopped allowing people to log on to Blog or social networking sites... so I guess I can only blog at home now instead of at work. Oh well...

Pastor Jim's sermon last sunday was about choosing the 'better dish'... it was about how Mary chose the 'better dish' by spending more time with Jesus instead of Martha choosing to get done what needs to be done and missing out time with Jesus.

Yeah, it sure is easy to lose focus of what is really important in life. But of course the moral of the story isn't to justify our laziness... avoid doing what we're suppose to do and 'pretending' that you are busy with something else more important... For sure I have issues with being lazy or procrastinating... and I think I'm slowly improving recently, by setting myself with some to-do-list. I think my problem is that I just tend to lose focus, not only NOT doing what I'm suppose to do, but also not really doing anything important like Mary either!!!!

Anyway, this past week, I think I've managed to do what needs to be done both at work and at home pretty well, thanks for the "to-do-list", but of course I'm still missing out on important stuffs... such as paying more attention to the wife!!! The F-1 race at China last weekend was sort of the straw that broke the camel's back!!! We're already watching too much TV already..., trying to catch up to missed espisodes of recorded chinese shows..., and of Lost, and Heros, etc. At least those shows we can sorta watch together. But F-1 is really boring for the wife, plus it's just too much... and wife began to really feel like I'm not paying attention to her and the F-1 cars sounds was probably annoying her too!

And its kinda funny to find out that Pastor Jim's family suffer similar problems at his house. Pastor Jim would focus in on his sports games sometimes and forget about his wife! Of course this is definitely NOT the 'better dish', only shows that even the pastor is only human! ;)

We also talked about that movie 'Revolutionary Road' some more..., I think the troubles experienced by the characters were clearly caused by people focusing on the wrong priorities. The husband lost focus..., that's why he was unfulfilled at work and even had a stupid affair! The wife also lost focus and instead, really focused on moving the whole family to Paris... I guess often times realities will force us to lose focus of what's really important... may even shatter some dreams... like the song Susan Boyle sang on Britain's Got Talent! However, since there is a God who loves us and is with us, why should we lose hope?

May we all be able to enjoy our dish, instead of feeling that other people's dishes are better than ours! ;) Of course may God help us choose our dishes wisely too!

(Jer 4-6, 175.2 lbs, $2.519)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

This Easter Sunday we actually got to church late..., and so we couldn't even get in! Even the overflow section was filled..., so we ended up listening to Pastor Jim's sermon in the coffee shop! ;)

Yeah, pastor Jim encouraged us to bury our old selves in the cemetery with Christ... in order to be able to be really born again and rise with the resurrected Christ! That'll certainly be my prayer...

I've taken steps to manage my time better, with God's help may I can soon become a better time manager! I even finished my taxes before wife came home on Saturday evening! ;)

Anyway, Sunday evening, we're also lucky enough to get free Laker tickets from cousin Wesley, who works at the NBA office at Taiwan... At luckily that's not first come first served... so we actually squeeze in a pretty packed game at Staples Center! Perhaps it was because of Easter weekend, we didn't really see any Hollywood celebrities at the game..., but at least we saw Kobe Bryant!

So it has been a pretty relaxing and fun Easter Sunday...

I also did a personality/career type of a test and found out that I'm rather philosophical! Kinda interesting..., perhaps I'm in the wrong field as an engineer! ;)

(Isa 55-57, $2.479, 174.6 lbs)

分析：您的性格類型是「INFP」( 哲學家 )

理想主義者，忠於自己的價值觀及自己所重視的人。外在的生活與內在的價值觀配合，有好奇心，很快看到事情的可能與否，能夠加速對理念的實踐。試圖瞭解別人、協助別人發展潛能。適應力強，有彈性；如果和他們的價值觀沒有牴觸，往往能包容他人。 INFP把內在的和諧視為高於其他一切。他們敏感、理想化、忠誠，對於個人價值具有一種強烈的榮譽感。他們個人信仰堅定，有為自認為有價值的事業獻身的精神。 INFP型的人對於已知事物之外的可能性很感興趣，精力集中於他們的夢想和想像。他們思維開闊、有好奇心和洞察力，常常具有出色的長遠眼光。在日常事務中，他們通常靈活多變、具有忍耐力和適應性，但是他們非常堅定地對待內心的忠誠，為自己設定了事實上幾乎是不可能的標準。 INFP型的人具有許多使他們忙碌的理想和忠誠。他們十分堅定地完成自己所選擇的事情，他們往往承擔得太多，但不管怎樣總要完成每件事。雖然對外部世界他們顯得冷淡緘默，但INFP型的人很關心內在。他們富有同情心、理解力，對於別人的情感很敏感。除了他們的價值觀受到威脅外，他們總是避免衝突，沒有興趣強迫或支配別人。INFP型的人常常喜歡通過書寫而不是口頭來表達自己的感情。當INFP型的人勸說別人相信他們的想法的重要性時，可能是最有說服力的。 INFP很少顯露強烈的感情，常常顯得沉默而冷靜。然而，一旦他們與你認識了，就會變得熱情友好，但往往會避免浮淺的交往。他們珍視那些花費時間去思考目標與價值的人。

您適合的領域有：創作性、藝術類、教育研究、諮詢類等

您適合的職業有：

心理學家
心理輔導和咨詢人員
人力資源管理
翻譯
大學教師（人文學科）
社會工作者
圖書管理員
服裝設計師
編輯
網站設計師
團隊建設顧問
藝術指導
記者
口筆譯人員
娛樂業人士
建築師
社科類研究人員
教育顧問
各類藝術家
插圖畫家
詩人
小說家

Time after time...

2009-04-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

Feeling kinda restless lately, not able to sleep as soundly as before... maybe jetlag is finally hitting me? ;)

Also, I'm really starting to notice that I'm not a very good manager of my time... I don't effectively use the time that I have and I'd end up not having enough time to do stuffs that I'm suppose to do... I still haven't file for taxes yet! And April 15th is approaching!!! I'm such a procrastinator!

What's worse is that I noticed this problem but I can't seem to fix it. Littlest things can sometimes distract me from doing what I'm suppose to do. Whether it's the internet... or the TV... or the PS3! ;) When I first got the TV back, I turned the PS3 on to try things out and then I'd lose track of time on the virtual race track!!! So I actually haven't turned my PS3 on ever since!!! ;)

I think perhaps I need to carry a to do list with me. List out all the things that must be done for the day. Anything that's not on the list and it's not an emergency... then I better just have the discipline to NOT do it! Will this work my Lord? Hmm... May God help me able to truly change... help me shake this thing off and be able to rise up and sit enthrone next to You!!!! :)

And a bit of good news... that is I'm slowly getting rid of the fat that I gained from Taiwan! Yipee!
(Isa 52-54, 175.4 lbs, $2.549)

Economy leveling off?

2009-04-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

Stock market really surged again thanks to Wells Fargo. However, is the economy really getting better? The Baltic Dry Index, is still going down..., granted at much slower pace than before... down .2% at $1,463. So perhaps things are leveling off...

But suffice to say that people are really getting ahead of themselves..., feeling hopeful when there still not much international trade of the basic goods going on... People are acting a bit irrationally..., first they panic and sell off everything..., and now they all want back in again because of the slightest bit of good news... Investing in the stock market sure is annoying. I'm not sure what to do now...

Some say best thing to do is to go against the herd. When everyone wants in, that's when you should get out. Of course if you get out too early, you'll lose out on opportunities for more gain..., but then again, if you get out too late, then you'll be left holding an empty bag! ;) And reverse is true too. The best time to get into the stock market is when eveyone else are too scared to get it!

Anyway, I guess the best stretagy is to slowly get back into the market... no point just having my retirement money just sitting around not making a whole lot of interests... Tomorrow is Good Friday, so market's closed... so I don't have to worry about the unpredictable market ups and downs! Whew! ;)

I cashed out one of the 401k account from my previous employer near the end of the last year to stop the bleeding... and transferred to an IRA account in etrade... just to gain some control of my money I guess. I'm slowly starting to get back into the market since February..., surprisingly I've generated roughly 12% return just within the past couple months!!! Can I keep it up? Hope so..., this is money I can't touch until I retire anyway... may God give me the wisdom to be able to generate huge returns so that I can retire early! ;)

(Isa 49-51, 176.2 lbs, $2.519)

Thank God for Costco!

2009-04-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

We bought our TV from Costco because they automatically upgrade the one year warranty to two. Sure enough, as 2 year limit is approaching, our Sceptre HDTV developed a "line" on the screen. So I sent it in for warranty repair, good thing they are close by so that I can save shipping charges...

Anyway, after couple of weeks, I finally had my TV back... they replaced the entire LCD panel. Things are looking good now! It certainly is nice to have a big TV again... So hopefully we're good for another 2 years? Of course preferrably more than 2 years... Hope they won't let us down again... or else we won't buy another Sceptre product again!

And wife, if you're reading from Taiwan, I just found out that we haven't recorded any show on the computer... because I think Sherry turned off our cable converter box. I just saw plenty of shows recorded on the PC that showed hours and hours of blank screen...

Oh well, too much TV isn't that good for us anyway. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. No matter what happens, His name is to be praised! ;)

(Isa 46~48, 176.2 lbs, $2.519)

How can we change to stay the same?

2009-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

The book I'm reading recently..., thought I'd be done by now after flying to and from Taiwan... anyway, the book talked about something interesting... author was saying that often times in life, we don't really have a well defined problem. Main piece of the work is actually problem definition! Unlike in school..., we are used to dealing with well defined problems to solve... now in the real world can we even properly define the problems?

This is where experience and wisdom come in I guess. Experienced leaders will usually face the problem... and then just do whatever it takes to solve that problem. As he become more aware of the details, then he may decide to use different tactics. They don't really think and analyse all the options that he can do and then make a decision by picking what he thinks is the best... whether it's fire fighter or army commander. Experienced leaders will always instinctively know what to do in any given situation. (The instinct is developed thru experience of course) Only the less experience would actually take the time to think of what to do... and weighing all the different options! ;)

Of course as they face whatever 'problems' head on, they will be able to get to know the problem more. As more information is gather, the problem will become more clearly defined... If we don't clearly figure out what's the problem, what hope do we have trying to solve it?

So in school, the emphasis is more on solution. But we really need practice more on defining the problems in the first place! Once that is accomplished, finding the solution should be a easy part! Of course wife often times would like me to identify problems even before problems surface! That is clearly not possible. My problem is that I often don't see the problem when it sometimes is staring at me in the face! ;)

Of course life shouldn't be all about fighting fires or fixing problems. We can also act justly, love mercy and humbly follow God whenever there's no troubles whatsoever too! ;) I meant besides being so spiritual, I think our life goals also perhaps need to change as our lives become more clearly defined. I used to wanted to be a scientist as a kid..., then a race car driver..., then a car designer..., but I finally had to settle for an aerospace engineer.

I think Kate Winslet's character in Revolutionary Road simply all of a sudden become too rigid... and naturally when stuffs happen that caused her life goal to shatter, she was unable to cope with it. Anyway, the only thing that shouldn't change in our lives should be the love we have for God and for one another. As for all those other things in life... they're all subject to change at any given moment!

Did I get this right God? ;)
(Isa 43-45, 177.2 lbs, $2.519)

I'm waiting on the Lord...

2009-04-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

Been quite busy at work a week earlier... and having just return from a week worth of vacation in Taiwan was actually very relaxing. I even adjusted to the different time zones very well. I just basically forced myself to stay awake on the planes... and the just goes right to sleep at the destinations! ;) I slept well last night after arriving LAX late last evening. Perhaps my jetlag is effecting me a bit, because I'm still not that sleepy! ;)

Anyway, during my busy work week and during my vacation, I haven't even done my devotions that much. I read a few chapters here and there... trying to keep up with that daily plan, but distractions is always around to foil the plans... and I also haven't blogged for about 2 weeks!!! I don't even remember where I was with regard to may reading plan!!!

Oh well, so I'm just going to start over where I left off 2 weeks ago! Today at lunch, Tigran showed up to buy us lunch again. So once again, not enough time to finish my devotional blog... So I think I'm just going to try to wake up early and read my bible early in the morning where there can't be any distractions!!! Unless if I over sleep... ;) Anyway, may God help me! Isaiah 40 talked about God promising strength to the weary... so may it be true!!! ;)

Tonite, I had dinner at parents' home. My nephew Daniel is there because he's on break or something... anyway, over dinner, mom started to complain about dad again... and then giving dad a warning... wanting me and Daniel to know that if someday grandma were to disappear, it'd be because grandpa annoyed her to leave! She was actualy kinda kind by saying that she won't divorce..., she'll just take off.

So I tried to be the mediator... I think I'm an improved mediator now because I 'know' what she's talking about... and I know what dad is feeling... because I've been on the same boat with my own wife!!!! ;) Hopefully I helped diffuse the situation a bit... and then I diverted our conversation to Dan. Talk about what he likes in school... what his friends are like... any girlfriends... no girlfriends? then is he gay? Hopefully a little humor also help defuse the situation further! ;)

On the plane, I saw plenty of movies, and one that stuck in mind is Revolutionary Road. The Titanic stars showed us how to fall in love earlier, now they showed us what real life is really like! I think my personality is well suited for boring life style, but don't get me wrong, even I want a little excitement from time to time. God also don't want us to just settle for a boring life, but a godly life. If eternal life in heaven is just going to be boring, why bother going to heaven, right? But on the other hand, is life all about having exciting adventures? Without exciting adventures, life's just not worth living? Solomon seeked and had plenty of adventures in his life. In the end, the world's wisest guy finally realize what is most important about making life meaningful is 'love', or God. Life can be boring... and exciting at times..., but life without love for sure would be hell.

May God help all of us to be able to be filled with love like the eagle is lifted by the wind. I didn't watch any TV tonite. All I did was take care of the cats, chat with wife in TW and sang this strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord song! My fingers were weary and hurting playing the guitar because I haven't done that for a while..., but I think my heart feels better now! :)

(Isa 40~42, 178.2 lbs, $2.499)

Losing or out of control...

2009-03-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been pretty busy at work... and it's also cutting into my devotion time. I think this is probably the main cause for my losing it. Whether it's road rage... or just falling asleep and forget to wake up!!!

Hopefully things can change for the better now. Today, I was able to get up rather quickly without the alarm even sounding off! I was able to send our TV in for repair and then still get to work on time! Wow! ;)

Anyway, there was a guest speaker this sunday at faith. Some hippie preacher who've one day decided to pick up his cross(literally) and go around the world for/with Jesus. He had some interesting tales to tell after his 40 year journey. I think he's probably the real life Forrest Gump... except that he's not dumb, just crazy! Yeah, for sure I'm not crazed or insane enough compare to the guy! ;) Arthur Blessitt for sure is an interesting character... and he reminded me that no matter where we're at and what's going on, our Lord Jesus is indeed with us. It's also important for us to keep the faith... and our love and zeal for him!

Today's reading of Hezekiah also reminded us of this fact. No matter what happens, for sure God will help us..., but of course we shouldn't become too complacent whenever our situation gets too good and comfy either. Yes Lord, help us maintain our relationship with you at a level that is healthy I guess... and I guess there's no better way to keep that relationship healthy than to just pick up our own cross and continue to follow Jesus! ;)

(Isa 34-39, 175.2 lbs, $2.279)

Losing control...

2009-03-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

Today is kinda of a weird losing your temper day. In the morning I ran into some stupid driver... and on my way home, I ran into some other stupid driver. I don't really mind when people drive stupid when it's obvious that they clueless. I have no problems with old ladies driving slowly or people making careless and honest mistakes... What really gets on my nerve are the people who drive annoyingly on purpose.

So today I actually raced some crazy Mexican in my 70hp 19 year old Civic! Almost cause one of them to lose control on the road... I also ended up missing my connection to another freeway... causing myself to go extra distances to get home... on the surface streets while trying to navigate home, I even saw couple of guys fighting on the street!

What a weird day... it's kinda like losing our temper day!

In retrospect, I'm kinda stupid for allowing myself to lose control like that. It's not often that I get mad like that... maybe it's the lack of sleep and the extra work load..., but still, I should've handle myself better. So what if there are other crazy drivers on the road? It's not really my job to teach them how to drive...

Anyway, may God help me control my temper better when I'm driving. Perhaps I'm just so mild mannered most of the time, sometimes these kind of things could just trigger me to snap on the road!!!! ;) Whatever, it's stupid. I pray that it won't happen again.

Pastor Jim taught us that God wants to have justice for all and live a lifestyle of love. It's really not our job to bring other people to 'justice' using our own means. We should just make sure that we act justly... as for others, we ought to just learn to love them... instead of racing them on the freeway endangering ourselves and other motorists... sigh. I sure have a long way to learn from my Lord...

(Isa 28-33, 175.6 lbs, $2.299)

Uncertainties...

2009-03-12T17:27:00.001-07:00

That God given chance for a breather during the end of February is still on... the stupid security issue is still left unresolved... so we're suppose to start testing a hardware soon but still can't do it until we are cleared to proceed... I hope they won't all of a sudden turn us back on just when we're ready to go back to Taiwan! Oh well...

Also found out that the program we're working on may be used by Obama as a bargining chip with the Russians. Perhaps this is the real reason for the hold up. Our program may get cancelled in the name of peace!

Well, hopefully we can win more big programs then... cancellation of this program could hurt us pretty bad.

Well, other good news is that I got a 5% raise recently and company rated me as 'highly effective!' So hopefully I won't be the first to go if there's a layoff, but then again, if the company has no money, then the company has no money... also, Daniel got a 7% raise... he must've been super duper amazingly effective! Anyway, he really needs the money to support his wife, kid and the stupid house that he bought at the peak of the market! ;)

Speaking of market, stock market seems to be steadily climbing back up. Have we hit the bottom? The stock market really rallied because Citi Bank posted profits. However, is it really all that impressive that you've shown that your paycheck can cover your grocery bills? What about the massive debts that you're carrying? The car, the student loan, the mortgage?

It remains to be seen I suppose..., and it seems mom's going to be in the market to buy another car... I guess she's doing her part at stimulating the economy! ;)

I wonder what God's planning for the world. Is this economic crisis just a warning to get us to not be so greedy... or is God perhaps really trying to drive us to the ground for being disobedient.

It sure would be nice to be Isaiah..., to be able to know things ahead of the time... so he can plan properly. Anyway, I don't think the Americans are really as bad as the Israelites at the time..., so my guess is that things won't go too badly... things are already bad enough... and may God deliver us soon. And may more and more folks repent soon so that God can begin His deliverance soon... instead of having to wait until we're totally devestated...

Anyway, whatever happens, whether God gives or takes, opens or close, we should just shout Halleluja anyways!!! :D

(Isa 22-27, 175.6 lbs, $2.319)

Heros...

2009-03-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Just when I was watching 'Heros' last night, mom called and said that she was in an accident! It turned out she was in a pretty serious accident... a big semi truck hit her and she spun out of control. It's amazing that the semi-truck didn't bother stopping at all. With an impact like that he should be able to feel it. Anyway, thank God she didn't hit other cars on the freeway. A guy behind her saw what happened when she spun across the freeway and stopped to help her call the police. He didn't have to do that but I guess there are everyday heros too. Thanks God for those people too!

The car's damage is estimated to be about how much it is worth... so insurance company is still thinking about what to do... whether to fix or total it.

Don't know why we keep on having car troubles. Good thing we fixed the Ford... but now the Toyota is seriously injured...

Anyway, besides the bad things that happen, at least we had a good weekend whale watching! I wasn't expecting to see any whales actually because I went once and saw nothing! However, I guess it's always good to have low expectations and then be pleasantly surprised! ;) They're probably more hi-tech nowadays... capable of using sonar or something to track the whale movements... wife was actually able to capture a few photos. Very impressive! ;)

(Isaiah 16-21, 174.6 lbs, $2.319)

The next big thing...

2009-03-06T17:46:00.000-08:00

I read it from some investment email newsletter, Motley fools, saying that the next big thing would be 'cloud computing'. Buying those company's stocks now would be like buying Microsoft, AOL, Amazon, Yahoo, etc right at the beginning!!! They're going to revolutionize the industry again! Supposedly cloud computing will help companies or whatever users minimize IT expenses. Instead of buying software and install it on your PC, we can simply use whatever software we need remotely. Similar to surfing and browsing the net... essentially it'll be like doing everything over the net... all we'll be needing is just a browser! No need to buy additional hardware or software... basically we use this virtual services as if we're using electricity... as needed basis. Pay as we go.

Hmm, I wonder if it's really going to take off though. Wouldn't security become an issue? Even today, who knows what google or yahoo's checking up on us... keeping a tab on what we're doing? Even on this blogger site, even if we lock it up so that nobody else can read it..., surely blooger.com admins will still be able to read it, right? ;)

Anyway, I guess it won't hurt to buy some of those company's stocks. My 401k money can't be withdrawn anyway..., plus retirement is still a long ways away. Betting a few thousand shouldn't be too big of a deal. If Motley Fools were right, I should be reaping large rewards later on! ;)

Well, Lord, what will really be the next big thing? How can I make wise investments instead of just burying my money in the ground? Given today's falling market, one really feel like we ought to do just that..., but may God give us insight on various opportunities...

(Isa 13-15, 174.6 lbs, $2.359)

Final prop 8 drama?

2009-03-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

California supreme court will make a final ruling on what 'marriage' is really suppose to be...

This proposition is really tearing a lot of things apart. Should voters have a right to change constitutions? Or should judges make sure the law is really just and fair and disregard the will of the people? And by which standard are the judges to decide whether or not if they are really fair and just?

CA justices have allowed gay marriage for a while before... prop 8 turned that around. Will the justices turn it back again?

I think it's likely. But then again, I didn't think the CA liberal voters would really pass prop 8... and I was proven wrong! ;) So maybe the judges will respect people's will this time?

Anyway, personally, I think homosexuality is obviously a sin according to scripture. However, scripture is also clear that love can cover up all sins. If we're just having 'sex' with one another, for sure God doesn't like that. However, if we are making love... if the love is true... will God really be upset by that? I don't know.

Human sexuality is pretty messed up that's for sure. All I know is that people should just focus less on sex or whatever physical of this world... and focus more on love. Instead of trying to judge sins committed by others... we ought to spend more time examining our own sins.

May we all be able to choose wisely.

(Isaiah 10-12, 174.0 lbs, $2.379)