Talented

So I wrote this post on the Stand Magazine blog, but I feel like I wanna keep this here as well, so enjoy. I'm just gonna edit the end to make it more personal.

What up Church? This is for you! So I'm reading this book Boundaries and it basically talks about setting boundaries in our spiritual lives in a healthy manner. Boundaries meaning setting limits to where our responsibilities end and where other's begin. The focus of the book is analogous to physical land property, we, or actually our parents own. There are clear lines that show where your property stops and your neighbor's starts. Boundaries are clear physically, but when it comes to the intangibles, we don't know where to draw the line. With that said, we must take OWNERSHIP of what God has given us both physical and spiritual. Anyways, that was too long of an intro this is ONE thing I got from it.

Regarding Talents and The Parable of the Talents:

As we know there are two responses the master gives to his servants. First, "Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" Second, "You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents." (Matt 25:23, 26-28)

Sermons and sharings I have heard on this passage discussed how we are all gifted different amounts of talents in this world, but it is what we do with them is what matters. Now, onto the Boundaries perspective...

"Our talents are clearly within our boundaries and our responsibility. It takes work, practice, learning, prayer, resources, and grace to overcome the fear of failure that the "wicked and lazy" servant gave in to. He was not chastised for being afraid; we are all afraid when trying something new and difficult. He was chastised for not confronting his fear and trying the best he could. Not confronting our fear denies the grace of God and insults both his giving of the gift and grace to sustain us as we are learning."

I've always been quite comfortable in staying out of the danger zones when it comes to facing my fears. I guess it is because I'm a weak human and it takes a whole lot of conjuring of courage to push myself to be bold. But this commentary reminds me that I am not like/of the world. My strength is not by conjuring from within, but it is by His grace over my life. It is not merely what I can do for Him, but allowing Him to use and guide me into my everyday battles, victory or defeat.

"By His grace I am sustained
though all was lost,
now all is found and more is gained."

-Thrice

"By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

-1 Corinthians 15:10 (ESV)

So may the Giver and Sustainer receive the glory!!

"Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

-1 Peter 4:11 (ESV)

God gets the glory because He gave the grace.

Kudos goes to John Piper for the passages drawn for his sermon.

Anyways this post is a lot longer than I planned, but after reading this, where do I stand? Before the throne, I pray. Let it be true!!!

Merry Christmas 08

It has to be a Merry Christmas when the Lakers are playing the Celtics at home! Haha, but in all seriousness I hope everyone is enjoying their time at home during this break. I was behind a van and they had a sticker that said "Keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas." That's wassup.

So this Christmas I got an awesome gift from the Irv. Check out these customized Foxtrot kicks!





It's somewhat surprising to me that so many people have never heard of Foxtrot. It's Calvin and Hobbes meets Home Improvement!



These handmade gifts really blow away the typical material toys and gadgets we all get caught up in from time to time. Thanks Irv, they look so professional!

Last weekend was Angie and Larry's wedding and it was for lack of a better word, perfect. Yes that was a biased claim since it was my first wedding ever, but if you were there you know what I'm talking about. I had the opportunity to take some pictures of Angie getting ready on her big day. Something I wanted to quote Angie's mom as she and Angie were getting their hair and make-up done, "Angie you know this is really the last time you ever get to be a princess...because after today you will be a QUEEN." Hahahaha, that was pretty cute.

Young Insights

I would say that one thing God has blessed me with when I work is just the short, but deep conversations I get to have with my kids. Most of the time I would want to instill a spiritual teaching into their hearts and minds, but often I am gifted one from them.

Today as I was walking into the pool one of the kids I have been coaching for the past 2 years asked if I was looking into teaching because of my frequent attendance in Miss Chai's classroom. He applauded my response and said that he was considering it himself, except his mom told him that it's not a good enough job because the pay is too low. He understood the reasoning behind teachers choosing their career is not for the six figure paycheck, but the influence. He then quoted his dad saying, "If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life." Of course I've heard this before, but why is it so true this time? Of course we would say this is cliche, but how come it rendered me to write this post? I would say it's all in timing, His timing. At the right time, the Lord speaks what you need most to change your life, bringing it back to basics, remembering why we do what we do, and who we do it for. Let it be true...

Weekly Halloween

So tomorrow is Monday meaning I have a long day starting at 630 AM as I wake up to get ready and pack the things I need to go to school and work. I have to prepare my lunch which is usually a PB&J sandwich, a piece of fruit, a Nature Valley granola bar, and a bottle of water. Why so healthy? Because I need to lose the weight...No, it's just convenient. Anyways I have to pack a lunch because I have 2 periods of publications and 3 periods of observations, in between I dine with Becca for about 40 minutes. Then I have to go to work and coach either a practice or a game.

Now as I do the school thing I have to dress up, slacks, dress shirt, boat shoes, the whole getup. Whereas, the coaching thing I prefer to dress down, raw denims, vans, and a white tee. 2 outfits in one day, for the same work location. It kinda makes me feel like I have a secret identity like Superman except, I have no super powers. Oh yeah, I intentionally wear glasses to do observations because I feel like I look like a young noob and the frames give a touch of sophistication. I hope I'm not fooling myself.

Happy 24th HOC

4th Year

So here's to my last year in college and the stage I see myself right now is pushing this huge stone sphere/boulder, call it what you like up this hill. I think after this quarter or next quarter it's going to take it's toll and roll awesomely down the hill.

What I'm really trying to say is I need just buckle down give it one last push because I gotta balance a lot of responsibilities. I have one month to study for my CSET in Social Science and I have to be honest, it's a little intimidating. Also the application process for teaching credentials is a lot more demanding than I thought it would be.

I could go into an elaborate explanation of my class schedule and stuff, but I should get crackin' on my reading so I'll save that for another time.

I just want to throw this into the post, so I can look back and not forget this heart hitting experience.

After a week or more I haven't been to work because I was busy doing other things, moving in, getting ready for school and such. But this Friday I went to work and I asked one of my kids who has been under my wing for 3 years, this being his 4th and last year. He has often looked up to me, at least I think he has, picked up photography, desired to be different, morally upright, and a leader. He's quite a popular kid, socially equipped, encouragingly optimistic, and most importantly respectful. I do know that he often likes the analogies I try to draw to illustrate my teachings especially ones that involve the abstracts, the unseen, and eternal elements I share. (This is not in a way to build myself up, I'm just trying to describe him the best I can.)

So the story is I pulled him aside to just see how the team is doing. Since I'm not there 5 days a week a lot of things pass by me that I wish didn't, but I can't be a full time student at Irvine and coaching in Walnut. I asked him about what he's been observing of team in terms of things that they need to improve and what things have been working for them. He replied with an essentially fundamental answer to life, "Well you know, there's always something to work on."

Ok maybe I blew up the story and built him up to give a revolutionary philosophical statement, but this really struck a chord in my soul. Whatever it was, I'm glad it's something he has learned from other people, school, or in the pool. I pray it will just stick with him though. Alright that's all folks. Let it be true......

Mountain Valley Ranch - Medford, Oregon

Dear friends I have been away for a about a week for an awesome and relaxing vacation in Oregon.  I will do my best to give a recap of the incredible experiences that took place. 

Sunday 9/14
We left LA around 3 and pushed our way up for 6-7 hours to Cupertino to stay over for the night at Kuan's.

Monday 9/15
We woke up at 630 and dined at the Original Pancake House. We ordered a gargantuan apple pancake that had 3000 calories. It was ridiculous, but to split it 9 ways it meant only 300 calories per slice. -___- Took off from the sweet home of Apple Computers Inc. and 7 hours later we made it to Medford, OR. Bought the groceries we needed at Costco and made it to Chuck's ranch by 5. We unpacked, prepared for dinner, and enjoyed a relaxed time in the cabin. It's pretty crazy how it's all solar powered and the water is pumped from a fresh spring.  

Tuesday 9/16

Waking up in a tiny cabin with 7 other guys in pure wilderness is a one-of-a-kind experience.  We spent most of this day just checking out the ranch walking around the property.  We got to swim a little bit in the pond, but it was way too cold. Ate dinner at Fish Lake and spent the rest of the night relaxing and talking outside.

Wednesday 9/17

This day was dedicated to rafting down the Rogue River.  We left the ranch around 11 and visited Amy's house.  From there we headed towards Eagle Point rented the rafts that we needed.  We planned for the full day ride which is 3.5-4 hours long. @_@ The water was freezing and the rapids were not that intense, but we had an unbelievable time because all of the danger we put ourselves in.  We were trapped under two trees and were pinned down by the branches.  Jason freed Dave and I as if we were 9/11 victims. It was pretty crazy because it was an all-naturale, uncontrolled course. Even if it was a class 1/2 course it put all those water rides at amusement parks to shame. We ate dinner then went back to the ranch to celebrate Christine's birthday.  Happy 20th! We had a good few rounds of Naked and called it a night. The homeboys however had their own action in the cabin playing for imaginary winnings in blackjack.

Thursday 9/18

Jackie, Christine, Shaina, Tiff, and Victor left early in the morning and the rest of the guys woke up nice and late and spent the day relaxing because of the tiring rafting adventure.  We cooked lunch and I got to ride the ATV around a little bit.  ATV's are awesome, but I never knew they were kinda expensive.  You also need a lot of land that you can just tear up. One day... Anyway, we then decided to go shooting, and pulling that trigger was so exhilarating. We shot skeet with a 20 gauge shotgun and another 22 rifle.  Later that night we cooked dinner and Amy's family came up and it was cool to share our experiences from China with them. We cleaned up and called it a night for the next day we were to leave bright and early.

Friday 9/19

We headed down from Mountain Valley Ranch and decided to stop in Berkeley instead of San Fran.  350 miles later we arrived at Hubert's apartment and he took us on a tour of Cal.  Berkeley is a pretty cool city, reminds me like an Ivy League/East Coast school, but just in California.  The people there are a little artsy and out there, but I think they're more real than a lot of the Orange County heads I see in Irvine.  I had the impression when I was there that Berkeley was like the complete reciprocal of Irvine.  Minimal chain restaurants and stores, pedestrians, busy, and small streets.  I see a lot of culture in Berkeley, which was pretty cool.  After we decided to eat at Zachary's which is a Chicago style deep dish pizza place.  It was pretty cool because we ran into JennKo there and Sarah Jay met us up.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to Cupertino to catch our z's and to wake up in the morning to work our way back down the 5 to LA.

The trip was really a lot different than I expected and I had a lot of fun and deep conversations.  Relationships were built and strengthened and what I went to Oregon for (a vacation) I definitely got.  Bring on the school year. I have a lot of responsibilities and commitments I need to keep, but I'm taking things slow and so far I feel good. My future to me seems a little unclear, but I'm really trusting that He would reveal more to me ask I seek Him.

The Grind

So I decided to switch to blogger only for the reason of convenience.  When I upload photos here, it automatically uploads to my Gmail account so I have an online gallery set up. =p Yes, so it's been a good and long ride with Xanga (1600+ days), but it's time to turn over a new leaf.

So a few things that came across my thoughts this week. First, every few days we get LA Times in our mailbox so I get the enjoyment to read up on what's going on outside of Walnut/Hacienda Heights.  As I guessed it was covering the elections and I'm beginning to get irritated about how excited people get about who they are advocating.  We all know that most politicians make hopeful promises that they can't quite keep, but what amazes me is that every 4 years it seems like everyone forgets that! There's like this refreshed honeymoon period with the candidate again. On top of that, there so much twisted quotations that goes back and forth, taking things out of context and blowing it up. It's really a cycle. Not to say that we throw politics out the door, I know the necessity for it and the liberties I gain from it. But I want to say that it seems to have gotten muddy through these years.  All I can wrap up with is that Jesus, the Word in the flesh is the only one that will keep ALL His promises. Let it be true...

Well this week has been pretty much work and stay home. I sleep a little earlier now, usually before 1, but for some reason i sleep for like 9 or 10 hours! I don't know why I'm so tired?? If I didn't want to read my Bible I would sleep more. -__-  Anyways I was at work from 2-8 today and coming back I felt a hint of routine working life. The 9-5 Grind is nothing to look over. It's so easy to lose your focus of your purpose for each day. Coming home I just want to relax and get my brain sucked into some TV. But each day has its purpose and its lessons that I pray we embrace and not overlook or take for granted. It's late, Hosanna.

It's not about YOU

Hello hellos,

There have been a lot of thoughts that have been running through my mind these days and I have settled on giving this a shot again. I feel like I'm in a blogging stage to really just pour out all of my thoughts and experiences I'm going through. So sit tight, here we go....

Today I decided to go with my dad to Costco and run other errands as well before I had work. We got all the items we needed and we got in line. While unloading our cart the "assistant" to the cashier was cracking some wise-guy-joke about his coworker with the cashier. From my memory he said, "Hey what's going on with your homegirl "Maria"'s hair? Look at her she got that girl mullet cut goin' on." The cashier shrugged off the petty comment and began to ring our items. When finished my dad whipped out our costco gift cards. Now when I say this, it seems like a pretty normal thing, but my dad pulled out about 8 cards to compensate the $120 bill. Our family buys costco gift cards and apparently puts $25 on each one, exactly. For what reason you may ask? Well one has been to give as gifts to my mother's customers and I guess also it's a security reason if you put too much on one card? Anyways, my dad is swiping one by one and sometimes it takes a little time for the gift card to finish the transaction to swipe the next. As the total is being deducted by each card, cashier says "Wait for it to clear," to my father. Under his breath the "assistant" mutters "You would think he got the idea by the third card, haha." At that very moment I didn't know what to do and I had a few seconds to respond. This worker just totally treated by dad with pure disrespect in his impatience and arrogance. A million sarcastic as well as serious lines went through my head trying to figure out what would slam this guy the most. "Awesome customer service," "Hey could you be any more helpful to this situation?" "I'm jealous of you to work with someone like this everyday." But in the end, I said nothing. Pure silence and I didn't even look at either one of them in the eye. Walking to the car to load the groceries I was still thinking of what would have been good to say, but I got nada.

The reason I tell this story is I wonder if my silence stemmed from my cowardice or my self-control to not flip out over insignificant situations like this. I pray for the latter, but does it really matter? To be the witness God calls us to be, I really think it is to not saying anything. Nothing you say can change him, and anything you say will fuel him. Fools like these have nothing better to do and just want to create something out of nothing. There are more important things around us to address and open our mouths about. There are absolutely so many situations that scream injustice in this world far heavier than horrible customer service. Let's open our eyes to see the bigger needs and issues of this world.

Don't talk crap about my dad though. Good night.