how should i live my life?

i'm starting to feel like this is only my blog....hahahaha

i'm recently reading more and more about the concept of grace, an attribute that i've come to know that i lack.

i'm beginning to realize that it's the one attribute of Christians today that seems to be lacking the most, but as believers saved under grace...shouldn't it be the attribute that we exhibit the most as the church??

i'm not talking about avoiding the issues or allowing sin, but i'm talking like..humility, giving love despite the lifestyle of the one you bestow it upon, developing relationships with such people. really living the life God has given us like Jesus did. As i read more and more about Jesus's life, i see that he wan't concerned about who was in charge of the land he lived because as far as he was concerned, YHWH was in control of the whole world. Jesus wasn't concerned about being liked by the masses because as far as he was concerned, he loved them despite what they thought.

i'm just saying the things that usually hinder us from exhibiting the grace that we should exhibit has a lot to do with our human nature and fear. Living here has made me realize that i have no clue how to live among the unbelieving because i've been living only among the believing for so long.... i'm afraid of telling others of the true way, the gospel because i'm afraid how they react. will they accept? will they deny? will they want to avoid me for the rest of my life? sometimes i would be very very cautious as to how approach people because i'm also afraid that whatever i do will be taken as how all Christians are.

and right now living in Taiwan, i'm so concerned about how the political issues will affect the church here and the unbelieving taiwanese's attitude towards the church. i have heard so many things among people in the church (especially within a certain denomination) that have truly hurt my ears. i am so worried that the current political situation here is something that will divide the church in Taiwan. i am praying so hard for reconciliation among the people in the church and a united effort to spread God's Word to the people here. not just a united effort among missionaries. that's already been done. i'm saying a united effort among the native believers.

i need to remember that He is still in control.

to truly live as Jesus did is to be posessed by the Holy Spirit, to truly let the Holy Spirit overtake our souls so that all the humanity within us is no more. quite easier said than done when humanity seems to always spring back to life within us.

Lord, give us humble hearts, teachable hearts that show us what it means to be Christ-like. rid of all humanity within us and replace it with your Spirit so that we may show the world what it means when humanity is reunited with its Maker again.

i've been reading praise habit by dear ol' david crowder (thanks christine!) and as i've been reading through the psalms that he comments on, it's the SAME theme over and over and over again: praise God.

well duh

but like every single psalm, it would ask for specific things to praise God, but in my mind, i'm thinking, "okay, everything, praise God. period. done. okay next psalm...uumm...okay praise God...next psalm..uumm WHAT ELSE IS THERE?!"

but then i realized...

no amount of words in the human language can truly praise God for who He is...none. and crowder was trying to get at this too: praise is not just the songs we sing, the words we say or write. it is our LIFE. we are God's monument, the thing that aids in our memory of God's greatness. the world was created for His praise.

so simple, yet so easy to forget.

true surrender

am i the only one in this family? probably the only one that makes time to blog. hahaha

i recently read an article by a missionary that i truly admire. he wrote that it's very discouraging to see where we are now spiritually and seeing where God would like us to be. for me, i find that i'm very far from what God intended for mankind to be.

so what happens when i'm find myself drowning in sin?

the obvious answer is to cry out for help, but if i know myself well enough, that is not the case. see if this describes you:

for instance if i think i that i don't pray enough or spend enough time with God, i start thinking about goals. "okay, by the end of this week, i hope to have read at least a chapter a day and pray for at least 3 hours." something like that. and then i start being all "super spiritual" by reading a lot of different books by theologicans and bible scholars, and acting in the way that i'm supposed at someone who follows Christ. most of the time i won't live up these expectations that i make for myself, but then i also start to act like the unmerciful servant and condemn those who sin. i found myself doing this a couple days ago with some classmates. they were complaining about the hot weather (it's really hot here in taipei), and i started to call them weaksauce and tell them that they shouldn't be complaining...blah blah blah. but at the end of the day, i feel no different. i'm still the same, and i end up back at square one where i find myself very very discouraged at how inefficient this all has been.

sound familiar?

but in Philippians, God promises us that He will finish the good work He started within us. God is at work in our lives. Change comes slowly but surely. It's my job to surrender to Him, to obey.

I'm still trying to figure out what that truly looks like, surrendering. What does it mean to surrender? Just pray? Read the Bible? Wait? For how long? What would I be waiting for if i'm waiting? each situation is different, but we as followers of Christ should continue to seek to live by the Spirit. life isn't easy, but that just requires us all the more to depend on the Father, and that gives me all the peace i need.

it's amazing what pride can do to humankind....

today i was reading Matthew 11 and one verse really stuck out to me. Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes Father, for such was your gracious will."

why would Jesus thank the Father for hiding the greatest knowledge to man to those who are "wise and understanding"?

b/c such people depend upon themselves. such people aren't humble to accept such a philosophy, such truth. it is the "little children" that see the need for dependence upon the Father.

as i walk the streets on taiwan, watch the news (o my goodness...that's a whole nother story all in itself), and see what they are mesmerized by, i can't help but think of Mark 8:34-38

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

These people seek to gain the world. less than 5% of people in Taiwan consider themselves Christians, but this number is probably an overstatement as less than that actually regularly attend church. and if i remember correctly, this number hasn't changed much for the past 10ish years. it may have even declined.

WHY?! Taiwan freely accepts missionaries into her country. tell me WHY?

Please pray that the Lord would bring the people of Taiwan to realization that the world has nothing for them to gain. That the Lord would stir in their hearts to become like "little children" to depend on the Father and not on themselves or even the current president to save them. That the Christians in Taiwan would really take up their cross and proclaim His name. That the missionaries would be continually encouraged and have the strength to take on this task.

in yellowstone

we've driven so far...

right now, we're in yellowstone national park in wyoming. we've driving through texas (duh), oklahoma, kansas (you thought texas was boring...try going there), colorado, and wyoming. i think i've just added like 3 states to my repetoire.

so far yellowstone has been amazing. God's creation is quite awesome (not that we didn't know this, but i'm just giving God the credit. hahaha) we'll stay here for a couple more days, and then we'll make our way to san jose while making a stop a reno in b/w.

sorry for not posting pictures up this time, but we're experiencing some technical difficulties. we'll have to post them when we get to san jose.

thanks for your love and support! we miss you already!

the house is a mess!!!

but that's to be expected.

pictures coming soooon....

i think my parents would want them to be accompanied with some "after" pictures.

Our Family

So, this is it. In one month, our family will be separated by a lot of distance. So, as a way to keep in touch with everyone and each other, we have created this blog (Well, more like Cindy started this blog and is forcing the rest of the family to participate. Just kidding).

William and Janet will be at Overseas Theological Seminary for the next couple of years. William will be studying for an MDiv in Biblical Studies. Janet will probably get a certificate.

Cindy will be at the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan. The reason for going is to study Chinese and hopefully become a more effective servant in the Chinese community.

Debbie will still be at the University of Houston studying Hotel and Restaurant Management. She'll be entering her second year in the fall.

This will be a place where we testify to God's goodness in our lives, encourage one another in the faith, and ask the Body for prayer. However, be forewarned that some of these entries may be in Chinese.

We thank you for being great friends, brothers, and sisters. We also hope that you continue to keep in touch as it says in Hebrews," Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."