Saturday, December 17, 2005

Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa.

- Bart Simpson, The Simpsons

I'm done my first term at tyndale and Christmas holidays have officially begun ;). Lotsa family/friends dinner in the next few weeks. A lot of my extended family is flying/driving in from HK/US and I think there will be around 25 family members celebrating Christmas together. That means... tons of family dinners and gaining mad weight. I'm also trying to get a head start on my readings for next term so I'm starting to read the books for my spiritual formation class. Its very interesting stuff, and I'm hoping that through these readings, I will take some small steps in improving my relationship with Jesus. Also getting really into Leonard Sweet's 'Out of the Question... Into The Mystery'. It's his take on relational theology. From what I've been reading so far, it makes the most sense in how we are to work out our salvation. Well, if you guys want to hang out, give me a call. Family dinners/events only go until 8-9, so I can chill afterwards. All blessings to those who are still studying for exams.


Yu-Ling posted at 12/17/2005 12:37:00 AM

Friday, December 09, 2005

You have a Calling

- Urbana 06

So... for a little bit of promo, start planning for URBANA 06!!! I'll probably be more involed with AFC/IVCF Canada's promotion this coming year so you'll hear more from me. I looked at the list of speakers and I'm already pleasantly surprised. First off, Donna Dong will be speaking! haha. It's great to see her be a speaker as I have worked with her in the past and she's a wonderful servant of the Lord. Other notable speakers include Ray Bakke, probably THE authoritative Christian on the issue of urban ministry (a passion that I'm developing). And of course, the big name guy is Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life fame. Urbana helped me in many ways in taking steps towards working out my calling, and I urge you to consider going as I believe it can do the same for you. It won't help you figure out everything, but it will give you the tools to help you begin the process. I'll be posting sporadically about it as the year goes by, but for now if you want more info, check out: URBANA06. Oh yeah, Urbana's audience is university-educated Christians between the ages of 18 and 30. This audience includes undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent alumni from universities and colleges all over North America. So those of you in masters/seminary/or young career.... you can STILL go ;). Ok, aside from the extended promo, the main thrust in this blog will be very short. I'm currently in the process of writing my major paper for my leadership class. It's about my vision/mission statement. Basically, about my calling. Of all the units in this leadership course, I found this issue to be the most difficult. I have a good grasp about my past, my gifts, my abilities, my passions, etc. But how does this all fit into the idea of personal/specific calling from God? I think I've been struggling with this issue mainly due to 2 things: first, I'm not actively seeking God in close communion, through prayer, through spiritual disciplines... and on the other side, not seeking Him in my moments of great excitement, of joy, and of passion. second, although I've been exhibiting 'feeling' tendencies (as indicating in my myers briggs survey), I still feel I need to work things out in my head as reasonable and logical before I can commit to something. So case in point, I struggle with the calling/will of God issue because it's so supernatural in nature. I really get upset in the stomach when I hear people throw those terminologies around so casually (for more ranting on this, check out Uncle Simon's Nov blog about calling. so what am I going to do about this? well, I'm writing up the paper with guidelines given from my prof. I believe this is the start for me and we'll see what happens. If you guys are interested, I would love to give you a look at my paper. I would want to know if you think the paper is reflective of who you think I am... or am I just trying to copy the life of Brian McLaren, Bill Hybels, or some other famous Christian. Ok, back to work.


Yu-Ling posted at 12/09/2005 03:09:00 PM

Monday, December 05, 2005

A Short little diddy... Last week of classes at tyndale. Next week: major assigments, projects and hebrew exam. Again, I keep on going back to the fact that this term has been good for reflection. It's been very challenging, and even more, it's been frustrating at times... but good for reflection. I'm already thinking about next term... TC, CC, TCBC, and Urbana's around the corner. In any csae... I hope to concentrate on finishing well before having any other type of thots (if that's even possible for me). So, I'm gonna write out the lyrics to a song that I've always enjoyed. I found peace in both the lyrics and the music and I think it's reflective of my mood right now. I WILL WORSHIP by Capstone My soul yearns and even faints for the courts of the Lord My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God So I will worship you till my breath runs dry And soar upon your Word like eagles fly Till my breath runs dry, till my breath runs dry This is my heart's cry This is my heart's cry Oh, and after doing the 3 colors of love test, my greatest fruit is Joy and my weakest fruit is Kindness. Never thot my greatest fruit would be joy (I laugh to myself all the time, but I'm not the always-giddy type of person). I got no kindness. 'Nuff said. Very generally, here are the definitions: Joy - Joy is a happiness that is based on the 'joy of the Lord.' Therefore it is independent of the situation you happen to be in. Kindness - Kindness radiates an atmosphere that is the very center of the term 'grace'. It expresses itself in the many small details of life. note: if kindness is lacking in your life, you should try ot project a more winsome attitude. It's especially important that you develop an eye for the little things that bring joy to other people's lives. oie vey... need to study before I start looking at root issues in myself. Tune in again for musings from a scatterbrain.


Yu-Ling posted at 12/05/2005 01:12:00 AM