That's What Friends Are For

Last Friday Tai Ha Jacob and Austin brought their Wii system and lifted my depression with lots of crazy games and laughter. Thank you God for great friendships like theirs. Now would You please move them back to San Jose to live near us?

Shut-off

My wife came home and found this notice on the front door, "Water service has been discontinued for non-payment of your water bill". No water. No shower. No cooking. My wife got a break. We went out for Chinese food and used the rest room at KFC.

I'm bad at personal management. I'm always late on bill payment. I get overwhelmed when multitasking. It's just who I am. My personality. My weakness. That's why pastoring can be a very stressful job for me. If a man can't handle his personal household, how can he manage a community of God's people?

Thank You SJ2 Teachers

Showed this video in church today. I really meant what I said, "Thank you Teachers for your labor of love throughout the year. Your sacrifice has really made a difference in the lives of these children today, tomorrow and forever!"

Thank God for the Phamily

Had a great Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's house on Thursday. Everybody brought something and dinner was served buffet style. When the food were ready, my niece Heather suggested something that I'd never had the courage to suggest - everybody saying something he/she was thankful for. Despite the unfamiliar tradition and tempting dishes in front of us, we made through the round unscathed and I am thankful for the opportunity. Thank you Heather, my favorite "knee"!

I treasured the evening. When we were living in Canada a few years ago, Thanksgivings were the times I felt homesick the most. Watch this slideshow and you'll understand why.

We had a special guest of honor: Cô Hiền, our private teacher / tutor when we were young. It's her first visit to the US in 40 years, and her English is still flawless. Amazing! Cô Hiền has remained close to our family throughout the years. It was surreal for all 5 of us to be in the same picture with her again.

My Most Memorable Thanksgiving

This is my 33rd Thanksgiving celebration in North America. Each celebration with family and loved ones is always a special event in itself, but this week the Lord leads me back to the most special one of all - Thanksgiving 1989.

I started dating my wife 2 months earlier. She was living in Houston, TX, I in San Jose, CA. That Thanksgiving weekend was the third time I flew over to visit her. After the Thanksgiving dinner with her church and family, I took her to a piano bar in the Galleria Mall. She liked piano, I liked jazz. A perfect spot for a perfect plot. I presented to her a special photo album I'd recently purchased in Japan.

She looked embarrassed, "What is this for?"

I advanced, "It's our wedding album ... that is, if you are willing to marry me. Will you marry me?"

She blushed, "So soon???" A moment later she said "YES", and my life has not been the same.


BTW, I reminded her about the event a few days ago. She didn't remember that it was on Thanksgiving. I love her nevertheless, and I thank God for giving me the most memorable Thanksgiving ever. God is good!

Thanksgiving (con't)

10 more things I'm thankful for:

1. My family of origin, for giving me life and a context to understand grace.
2. The SJ2 church family, for being generous and faithful to their vision of grace.
3. The SJ2 Teachers, for dispensing grace into the lives of our young people. (Teachers: check back Friday for a special video about you)
4. The SJ2 Youth & Children, for making the grace in me come alive.
5. The VAY Youth & Children, for thrilling me with a grander vision of grace.
6. Giao Hat and the C&MA, for opening the door to grace.
7. Regent College, for instilling in me a deeper and wider understanding of grace.
8. The food I eat, the house I live in, the car I drive, the full tank of gas I could afford earlier today - what can I say? Grace provides!
9. All my illness and signs of growing old, for demonstrating the sufficiency of grace.
10. My life, with all its joy and sorrow, hope and despair, victory and woundedness, for I am discovering that it is a sacred journey filled with grace upon grace.

Thank you God.

Thanksgiving

10 things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My wife, for her sacrificial love for the family.
2. My children, for being the best kids in the world.
3. God, for taking me out of the pit and giving me true life.
4. An increasing intimacy with God, especially since the beginning of Ignatius Spiritual Exercises this year.
5. Don and Charlotte Ferris, our beloved spiritual directors.
6. Mục Sư Thạch, my mentor in life and in ministry.
7. All my spiritual friends, for being leaders and companions in the journey.
8. All my un-churched friends, for helping me see the grace of God in and out-side the church.
9. All my pets, too many to name here.
10. The California Golden Bears, for steering my carnal energy in a non-destructive way.

More to come tomorrow.

English Service

Every month or so we offer a worship service for the younger, English-speaking crowd. We haven't had it for 3 months because I haven't been able to get a guest speaker for the Vietnamese congregation. Today Mục Sư Hồ Xuân Phong was in town and graciously made himself available. Cám ơn Mục Sư!

I'm not sure why, but I love English Service. Probably has something to do with the following reasons:

1. I think more like a Vietnamese American than a "pure" Vietnamese.


2. I feel more free to be myself in front of young people.


3. I have more compassion for young people.


4. I enjoy it more being with young people.

You see, I'm a 48 years old guy who still has confusion over his identity and his age! Lord, please have mercy.

Oh ... one more reason I discovered today why I like English Service: I get to eat some delicious birthday cakes. You have to be in my shoes to feel my pain - every month, my wife would collected fresh eggs from the backyard coop, use her magic and turn them into temptingly looking cakes, allow the sweet aroma to escape the oven and fill the house on Sunday morning, yet I was not allowed to touch until the birthday boys/girls cut them after class. Well, by the time I finished the Vietnamese Service and came down to their class, the cakes were gone. That's why I like English Service - I get to be first in line for the birthday cakes. YEAH!

Look at their happy faces before cake time, and you'll understand my pain ...

The Bears' Implosion

What's happened to my Cal Bears? They went 5-0 to start the season and was on the verge of becoming the number one team in the country. Then they imploded, losing 5 of the next 6 games. Today they lost to UW who's ranked last in the Pac-10. As I contemplate on this (yes I am learning to bring everything to God these days), there are two possible lessons for me:

1. I need to "go" to every game. Of the last 6 games, the only win they had was the one I showed up in person. Is this a "sign" for me to purchase season tickets next year?
2. I need to take Cal Football less seriously and spend more time with God and family and friends?

Which one do you think is God's message for me? :-)

It's Stolen!

I have 3 beat-up cars, a 1994 minivan, a 1991 pickup, and a 1986 sedan. My sister borrowed the sedan yesterday and parked it in front of my parents' house. Somebody stole it overnight! Yes, the 21 year old sedan that leaks oil and has a broken radio and broken AC! And a full tank of gas! I first thought my dad called a tow company to remove the unsightly scene from his window. Someone must be desperate. Lord have mercy!

My mom had been asking me to give the car away. I was hoping to sell it for a few hundred bucks, to recover the reg fee and insurance I'd paid earlier this year. Hannah wanted to save that car for her when she grows up. Oh well, God is probably teaching us a lesson for this Thanksgiving season, to focus on giving rather than getting. Should have listened to mom.

Parenting

Last Saturday we went to a parenting seminar at the Community of Grace church in Hayward. My kids went to the children class while my wife and I attended the seminar, sitting next to two of our favorites - pastor Andrew Ong and his wife Kally. Andrew and Kally recommended this seminar to us. I have attended several parenting classes in the past, and I must say the material we learned Saturday was among the best. It was Biblical, practical, and suitable for many complex family situations today.

A church member asked me this week, "how come you like to attend so many seminars and classes?" My response was (1) I need the education for myself, and (2) I need good teaching resources for my community. Being a lone staff/pastor of a very diverse church, I lack the expertise to teach to so many different needs. Well, I think the material we learned last weekend could be a very good resource for parents in and out-side the church. Check out their promo video. My dream is to join with a few Vietnamese churches in the area and offer these DVD classes on a monthly basis. What a great way to invite churched and unchurched parents, form for them a supporting community, and invest in the future for the Kingdom's sake.

Wanna join the dream?

Operation Christmas Child

I love Operation Christmas Child - a great opportunity for our children to give rather than receive, for the church to think ministry outside the church walls, and for the impoverished children of the world to be blessed. As we participated the first time last year, some wished that the children in Vietnam would receive these boxes as well. It turned out last year was also the first time Operation Christmas Child (OCC) went to Vietnam. Our churches gave 39 boxes last year, and OCC record shows that 44,106 boxes were delivered to Vietnam. That's more than 1000X Return On Investment. It just shows how much more profitable when we invest our treasure in heaven!

This year our church gave 59 boxes! I was hoping for only 50. This after a significant giving commitment during our Mission Sunday only a 3 weeks ago. I am so touched by the generosity of this congregation when it comes to mission giving. Great job, SJ2! I know you will be blessed!

Today I delivered these 59 boxes to the OCC collection center in South San Jose. I decided to drive 15 miles instead of dropping them off only a few blocks away, because I wanted to meet Willine Welch, the OCC volunteer who inspired our church so much during her visit last year . Just seeing her face lifted my heart this afternoon. Thank you Willine for your faithful sacrifice.

Family Night

It's been a long time since we had a "quality" family night. My kids are loaded with homework so the weeknights are out. We have church activities every Friday night, and Saturday night I am always occupied with Sunday preparation, no matter how hard I worked earlier that week. Too many times my heart melted on Saturday evenings, when the kids asked "can we watch a movie tonight?" and I had to say "no, Bo have a lot to prepare for tomorrow." The time I'm most relax is Sunday night, after church service, but then the kids have to go to bed early for school on Monday.

Well, yesterday (Sunday) was the day, since there's no school on Monday (Veteran Day). We got home late, had a quick dinner, barely made it to the video store before it closed, lit the fireplace, got the popcorn ready, watched the movie. Joshua selected an excellent movie, Meet the Robinsons. Hannah sat on my lap throughout the movie. My wife had to spend 2 hours on the phone with someone in need, but I treasured the moment. Thank you God for family night!

Also, thank you God for the cozy woodstove.

Apology

My internet connection was out for a few days, and then came the weekend rush. My apology to those who have been checking my blog. Still have several emails to take care of. Hopefully will resume blogging soon. Until then, shalom!

Small World!

Last April I heard an NPR radio program interviewing a Vietnamese American journalist, Andrew Lam. It was the first time I heard of his name. I was taken by his insight into the social and cultural development of the Vietnamese people. I thought to myself, "I want to meet this young man - he has so much to learn from." Apparently, Andrew Lam is a hot shot who has received several writing & journalism awards. He wrote an award winning book, Perfume Dreams: Reflections on Vietnamese Diaspora, which I have been saving on my Amazon cart for several months. But I thought my chance of meeting him would be close to nil.

Well I just found out today that Andrew Lam was an old friend! I knew him as Lâm Quang Dũng from UC Berkeley. He and I talked at the reunion party 2 weeks ago, but I didn't know I was talking to the celebrity I'd been admiring. I'm excited! So today I googled his name on the internet - PBS did a touching story on his journey. I purchased his book from Amazon. I'm looking up his contact to invite him to lunch sometime. I'm excited, but I'm not sure why. May be because of the common bond we have - we both left behind engineering degrees from Berkeley to pursue callings in the field of humanity.

BTW, I made the discovery from this Viet Tribune's article. Anh Bùi Văn Phú wrote this moving article to reminisce the UCB Vietnamese Student Association 25 years ago. For those who attended UCB, this is a must read!

Go Bears

How do you help a football team that is really struggling? By going to the game and cheering them person. Thanks to our help, the Bears broke their 3 game losing streak and beat WSU today. However, it was an ugly win, 20-17. I think coach Jeff Tedford has been too conservative. He should swap quarterbacks, mix up the defense, and add a few radical plays to the play book. May be he and I should switch jobs. With his conservative mindset, may be he can do a better job at pastoring than me. But God must know what He's doing, for the sake of the Bears and for the sake of the church! Go Bears and Go SJ2.

What Breaks My Heart

This is a bad week. Since Sunday I've heard about 5 married couples having problems and considering divorce. Some I don't know well, but some are close to me. All have children. This just breaks my heart, for the couples and especially for their kids. God please have mercy!