tapping into the head

tapping into the head
and the heart of the alvinator.

Friday, August 29, 2003

Growing up with Wayne

This entry is dedicated to Wayne, who will be tying the knot next weekend.

Liwen and I had the chance to meet up to finalize some of the details as we will be co-emceeing a wedding next weekend. (Wayne and Irene's). Wayne is a junior high/high school buddy of mine. As we were prepping some more stuff, I was just reflecting on how many shared experiences we have had and the friendship we have had over the years. Some funny memories with Wayne:

a) One time he came over and for some reason was standing on top of the curl bar we had in the family room. He happened to fall off and one of the curl bar ends went into the wall, creating a hole. Mom wasn't too happy when she saw this hole.

b) On one July 4th in high school, we were trying to get up to the Saratoga foothills area to watch some fireworks. There were policemen at the bottom of the foothills, who ask for ID to confirm who we were seeing and stuff. We 3rd-handly heard that there was some party up there and Wayne said we were going to that party, and the policemen let us in. I remember distinctly the policeman said, "so, you're going to the party as a friend of a friend." We all nodded and he let us through. Of course, we didn't go to the party but parked and ran out on the hills somewhere to watch the fireworks.

c) In high school Chemistry, he happened to be my lab partner. I wasn't into "lighting" the bunsen burner or dealing with anything with fire, but he was pretty into that. But that was all he did. I did all the lab write-ups and everything that dealt with the lab. I carried him through the whole year. However, I never drove in high school, and he was one of the first ones to drive, so he was indebted to me for life...we agreed for carrying him through chemistry that I would receive "free lifetime rides from wayne."

d) One time I was cleaning his windows or something at a gas station and broke his windshield wiper...hehehehe. =P.

e) On my 16th birthday, we decided to take advantage of some free stuff. I got my birth certificate and we went to Round Table, and got a free personal pizza. I think we went to Denny's after, which at that time would give out free meals on birthdays, and he would order an ice tea and I got a free meal that we split. I think we went to a couple of Denny's that day using this same model, at least 2, maybe 3? =P.

f) Wayne came with my family skiing one time over Christmas time, actually using his car to drive and such. Me, him, and Micah (my cousin from Texas), all stayed in one room, and since Micah was younger we made him sleep on the floor...hehehe. During the same trip, which I think we were high school seniors, at Circus Circus, we were at the milk can toss game, where you need to toss a hollow softball into a milk can. The game is quite difficult and therefore had some pretty big prizes. Wayne got a ball to toss, and he tossed it, and was somewhat close, but definitely missed. There were 2 employees working that game, and for some reason, both of us started screaming like we got it in. However, one employee came over to us and gave us this big stuffed animal, thinking that the other employee took out the ball already from the bottom of the can...we both quickly walked away...=P.

g) Senior year in Bio AP, we played the card game "spades" all the time with Prakash and Ajit. It was Hu/Wu (the chinese connection) vs. Bhave/Thomas (the indian connection). We played 25 games that year to 1000 pts. each, which means we played at least 250 games, probably closer to 300 total. We would play during SSR and stay in during some recess' to also play when we didn't have club meetings. Sometimes we would play during class as nothing much would be going on, and when the teacher came to confiscate the cards, we would hide them in our pockets, and go, "what, we have no cards." hahahaha. We won the total games 13-12. When Prakash got married a couple years back, we played spades again together. Good times. =P. That would probably also explain why Wayne and I didn't pass the Bio AP exam...=(. However, as an engineer I didn't need those units.

Anyways, through the years it has been a blessing to have Wayne in my life. As these past couple years he has lived in SF and in the east bay that we don't see each other as often, it is cool that we can reminisce and remember the great times we had. As he also became a Christian and I had the chance to witness his baptism, it has been a joy to see him grow in the Lord. I see how happy Irene and him are together and look forward to the continued shared experiences.

posted by alvin | Friday, August 29, 2003

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Thoughts on Friendster

So, I started on this Friendster thing, and I have like 27 friends linked right now.

I'm noticing that some people have like over 200+ people on their list, and I honestly wonder how much they actually communicate with all of them. Sometimes it seems like a popularity contest to see how many people they can link. Anyways, enough ranting. I got a little caught up in this popularity contest, and had to step back a bit and reevaluate why I am using friendster. =P.

I was able to sync up with some old high school buddies, and as I am going to a high school friend's wedding in a week and a half, it just reminded me of some great memories I had with high school friends. More to come on fun high school stuff I did.

posted by alvin | Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Monday, August 25, 2003

Friendster

Alright, alright, I finally signed up in an attempt to reconnect with some old friends that I haven't heard from in awhile. You can go ahead and add me to your lists.

posted by alvin | Monday, August 25, 2003

Friday, August 22, 2003

Blogger's/Xanga's Identity Crisis

I think there comes a time in everyone's lives where they need to re-evaluate and reprioritize their life commitments.

A lot of my fellow bloggers/xangaers go through this identity crisis trying to really evaluate if people are getting anything from their writings, especially when no comments are posted. A question I pose is really the purpose behind online journaling.

I can only share my own perspective. For myself, readership has definitely dropped off this past week. Not sure the cause, but it has brought me to the point of "identity" crisis.

Do I do this to please the people, or to share my thoughts with the world? I think there is a 2-fold purpose to my blog. One, is for people I don't see or keep with on a regular basis, to stay informed on what's going on in my life. The blog is a passive way of people just keeping up without needing to call or e-mail or stuff, and I'm okay with that. As I read other people's blogs, I also do this "passive" approach to keeping up with what's going on in their lives. There are deeper issues that I write about, but honestly, I'll post more of the day to day activities that are going on. Sometimes I'll probe through the deeper aspects of what I have been thinking...but usually I'll stay superficial. I am encouraged when I get mentioned in other people's blogs, so in one sense, as people get mentioned in my blog...I want to "cyberly" affirm that they are important to me. That doesn't mean if you don't get mentioned, you're not important, but yeah...you know what I mean. The 2nd reason for my blog is for myself to also process information. I want to benchmark the activities I participate in and then re-evaluate why I invest time into these things. My blog allows me to capture these things in an easy way. Plus, I type a lot faster (and a whole lot neater), then I write. Oh...better throw in a 3rd thing. The blog is a much easier way to keep track of all my photo albums too. =P.

So...it's been almost 8 months, since my first post, and some 5000+ hits later. Crazy. So, I think in retrospect, I have enjoyed blogging, and I hope my readers have enjoyed my postings. Please leave comments as that encourages me to post more. =P. 2 eprops for all my faithful readers.

posted by alvin | Friday, August 22, 2003

You Are My King (Amazing Love)

As I was playing my guitar a bit yesterday, I was reflecting on the words of this song, and just the power of Christ and his love for me. His love, so much that He came down to take on the punishment for my sins, and the reminder of trying to bring honor to Him in everything I do.

When singing praise, the lyrics are definitely the most important. I think sometimes I get caught up in the tune and lose perspective of how powerful the words are. Thank you God for the reminder.

You Are My King
I'm forgiven, because You were forsaken
I'm accepted, You were condemned
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You my king would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true
And It's my joy to honor You
In all I do I honor You

You are my king, You are my king
Jesus, You are my king, Jesus, You are my king

posted by alvin | Friday, August 22, 2003

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Catching Up with Friends

I have had a very fulfilling week in terms of catching up with old friends and getting to know new ones better. On Monday night, I had the chance to sync up with Boris. Boris and I have known each other since 8th grade of junior high, so like over 9 years. I haven't seen him in over 2 years though. It felt like old times as we just talked about career, friendships/relationships, where people are, etc. The time flew by, as we spent only 2 hrs. together, it felt like 10 minutes. Boris used to drive me around a lot picking me up to go back to school to work on the school paper, after school, etc. I continue to look forward to journeying with him through life.

On Tuesday, I hosted the RW Monthly Lunch Bunch at my company cafeteria. We had a record 9 people show up, 3 spontaneously, as they did not RSVP. I tried to structure the time a little better, so we had people do quick intros, (like a RW bible study), and then share on 2 of the following 3 questions.

1. thought on the CA recall election.
2. biggest challenge of being a christian at the workplace
3. any suggestions for RW's new upcoming bible study series.

Everyone shared 1, and 2, but I also shared 3. 2 eprops for myself. It was a good encouraging time.

Yesterday for lunch, I had the chance to sync up with blindman. I met blindman through playing basketball. He's a pretty cool laid back kind of guy. He really loves the Lord and seeks to honor Him with his life.

And then, at night, I had the chance to sync up with Slim for SNAP group. So, we'll conceed that we are pretty much slackers when it comes to meeting consistently, but both of us have been trying to meet more consistently. It was a good time of sharing and praying. Slim is pretty funny.

And so today, I had lunch with Andrew. I don't know Andrew that well, but it was good getting to know him better. He has been to so many places around the world, it was really exciting to hear about his traveling adventures. He also knows blindman and some others people I know who go to Canann. Go Andrew.

So, I guess from this week, I have been very blessed to get to know other people better at a deeper level. That's what life is about...relationships...most importantly...my relationship with Jesus.

posted by alvin | Thursday, August 21, 2003

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Identity in Christ

I just wanted to share some truths from the Bible about being a child of God. My identity isn't based on what I do, my education, my nationality, my status...I'm have complete worth because I am a child of God. The following compliation of verses are taken from Neil Anderson's book Victory over the Darkness.

I am Accepted…
John 1:12 I am God's Child
John 15:15 I am Christ's friend
Romans 5:1 I have been justified
1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price, I belong to God
1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body
Ephesians 1:1 I am a saint
Ephesians 1:5 I have been adopted as God's child
Ephesians 2:18 I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit
Colossians1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins
Colossians 2:10 I am complete in Christ

I am Secure…
Romans 8:1-2 I am free forever from condemnation
Romans 8:28 I am assured that all things work together for good
Romans 8:31-34 I am free from any condemning charges against me
Romans 8:35-39 I cannot be separated from the love of God
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God
Colossians 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected
Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind
Hebrews 4:16 I can find grace and mercy in time of need
1 John 5:18 I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me

I am Significant…
Matthew 5:13-14 I am the salt and light of the earth
John 15:15 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
Acts 1:8 I am a personal witness of Christ's
1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God' temple
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God
2 Corinthians 6:1 I am God's co-worker ( 1 Corinthians 3:9 )
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm
Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

posted by alvin | Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Weekend Recap I

I went with Nancy on Fri. night to the Saratoga winery. Her company was having some type of outing there. Chris Isaak was giving a concert that night.

A couple observations:
-there were like only 10 Asians total there, with most of the people there Caucasian. I would say the concert area held around one thousand people.
-the atmosphere there was pretty high class, so that's not usually my style, i'm a simple man.
-music was extremely loud
-chris isaak has tremendous stage presence (the poise and polish of a great performer).
-only 60% of the night was actually spent in singing songs, the other time is in making jokes, and talking to the audience.

I usually don't go to concerts, and my last one was Handel's Messiah at the HP Pavilion. Overall it was a pretty fun time, and definitely something different than usual. After I came home, my ears were still ringing. The highlight of the night was when he came out with this jacket that had a bunch of mirrors on it. He basically looked like a human disco ball.

After I got home, I watched the Pianist. Pretty good movie.

For Sat., I actually dropped off my guitar for repair. A couple frets were damaged in which playing C#m, I wouldn't get a clean bar on the fret, so the high E string sounded way weird. The repair guy said that it would be good to lower the action and get more of the frets changed, so I agreed. Will cost about $100, and can pick up before I need to play worship next Friday.

After dropping off the guitar, I headed over to Safeway to pick up some stuff to bring to a BBQ and RW's Aug. B'day parties. I wanted to time Slim's BBQ correctly, so after picking up Angela, we showed up at 11:45 a.m. when the starting time was 11 a.m. I was hoping that the 45 min. would give Slim and company enough time to get everything started. It ended up that we were way too early, the first ones there. So, after a bit of time, I ended up doing the BBQing, which I haven't done in awhile. I used to BBQ all the time back in college. Slim actually spilled all this pepper into the chicken marinade, so that was pretty funny. Grilled onions and grilled mushrooms actually add a lot of taste to hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. We left the BBQ around 1:45 p.m.

We then headed up to the RW Aug. birthday parties in San Mateo. I actually didn't want to miss the field games, and was scheduling to arrive between 1:50 to 2 p.m. with games supposedly to start at 1:30 p.m.. We actually got there by 2:10, so that was pretty good. The games didn't really start until 2:50 p.m. It was fun playing games in the park with young adults. Organized field games are fun. I posted some photos. We had this one relay race where we had to do cartwheels, tumbling, crab-walking and spinning in a circle 10 times. Honestly, I ended up pretty dizzy, but it was hilarious watching the people do the stuff. Cory is a machine when it comes to tumbling.

Afterwards we chilled by the "little" pool, and I basically took a seat on a lounge chair and relaxed. It was a fun time.

After everything, I spent some time chilling at home, replenishing myself from the social activities. Was doing laundry and had an accident at home, where I ended up spilling all this liquid detergent in the laundry room. I would say you could do over 100 loads with all the detergent that was spilled. My evening plans were spoiled as I needed to clean up all the stuff. It wasn't very pretty at all. =P. Actually, I had to cancel some of my Sunday afternoon plans because of additional clean-up. Crazy.

Lesson learned: when you hear a large "bang" of some sort...go check out what it is...hehe.

posted by alvin | Tuesday, August 19, 2003

New Album Posted

Combo album of RW's August Birthday Parties and Gloria's housewarming party.

posted by alvin | Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Friday, August 15, 2003

The Resurrection of Christ

As I have been prepping for Sunday School on the topic of history and how to interpret events from a Biblical worldview, I was going through some info about the Resurrection of Christ.

Without the resurrection of Christ, and the historical evidence that backs this as a true occurrence, Christianity would be dead.

First though, to strengthen the argument one needs to establish that the Bible is valid.

Some common arguments against the ressurection and a short blurb on their rebuttals. Much more info is out there on the validity of Jesus' resurrection:
1. Body Stolen: a) by the disciples: the disciples would have needed to move a 2 ton stone without anyone knowing and then needed to fight off top-notch Roman guards. If disciples removed the body, they would have sacrificed their lives to die for a lie. b) by the Jews or Romans: they wanted to stop the spread of Christianity and could have done so by producing a body.
2. Swoon theory: the idea that Jesus passed out due to loss of blood and then resuscitated, moved the stone, fought off the guards, etc. Although Jesus is Jesus, after 3 days of no food or water, performing these acts of physical strength would be difficult.
3. Wrong Tomb: The idea that Mary and Martha went to the wrong tomb. Well, they could have went to the wrong tomb, but again the Romans could go to the right one and find a body, which never happened.
4. Hallucinations: People seeing Jesus after were hallucinating. There were over 500 people who saw Jesus after his resurrection, and that was over a span of 40 days. After the 40 days, his visits abruptly stopped. Mass hallucinations typically do not happen.

The bottom line question goes, where is His body if He didn't resurrect?

People who don't believe in the resurrection can't give an adequate answer to this question. Finding Jesus body would definitely eliminate the Christian movement, because everything is then based on a lie. But praise God that He did resurrect, and He is who He claimed to be.

posted by alvin | Friday, August 15, 2003

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Reflections on RW Community Dinner

The purpose of the RW community dinner was to celebrate what God has been doing in our community for the past 4.5 years.

Overall, I had a wonderful time at the RWCD. I definitely felt the flow of the evening went very well. 2 eprops to Mimi for organizing everything. After arriving fashionably late (about 45 min.), due to a switch in all this carpooling stuff, I sat down for dinner, but had to finish in like 30 minutes, as the baptism testimonies were getting started. Mimi's parents home...let's just say...huge. 5 bathrooms total.

Mimi gave a short introduction called the "State of the Fellowship" speech. It was pretty funny, as she did it through numbers. After the "SOTF" speech, Nancy, Ruth, Kathleen and Joyce gave their testimonies and then got baptized by Pastor Wayne (PW). I went ahead and headed to balcony viewing to take photos of the baptism people. Nobody else had that camera angle...=P.

Anyways, after the baptisms, we cut some cake, and PW stayed in the hot tub and Jonathan served him cake and apple cider. PW was living large.

After the cake cutting, we had a short time of worship, Caroline sung a song, and then we had a time of sharing and encouraging one another. It was a real blessed time. Although the sharing was slated for 30 minutes, I'm sure it went longer, but I was enjoying it so much, I didn't even really look at the time. Many of the people who have been more committed to the community were verbally affirmed for the time and effort they have spent in serving God through serving the community.

For myself, in large group sharings, I usually don't say anything. Part of it was that I really didn't prepare anything, and when I have to impromptu speech and try to be funny at the same time, it doesn't usually come off very well...hehe, and then part of it is that I'm shy. =P. I read an e-mail on behalf of Lisa at the end of the sharing. 2 eprops to Nancy for doing the dancing portion of Lisa's sharing.

Anyways, I really appreciate the RW community.

When I first came to RW 2 years ago, I was taken aback by the sure honesty in people disagreeing with one another in Bible Study. The Bible Study flow usually goes well.

I have been to bible studies where it is like pulling teeth to get people to talk. I have never experienced such a study at RW.

I enjoy RW because studying the Word is integral to our community. Another aspect of community I appreciate is that of sharing similar experiences being in the same season of life. As young adults, we take steps of faith and make kingdom-oriented choices. I feel that most people at RW really think and ponder these things, and then step out in faith to make these choices. I think bottom line is that I feel people are very "real" with how they examine Christ in their lives.

Another aspect of community I appreciate is that of people "stepping up" to take on leadership roles. I feel that in RW there is a conscious effort to make sure leaders are not burnt out, and that it is truly a joy to serve God. I feel I have complete freedom to step back from ministries, or to step into ministries. Also, I feel that I can make mistakes and it's okay. Overall, I feel accepted for who I am at RW.

Another aspect of RW, was that I was able to come in "incognito." Nobody from RW was a part of my college fellowship, so many of the past expectations that existed (either in my mind or others), did not exist. It really helped free me to be myself without living under "christian" expectations.

Anyways, some people knock RW for not being welcoming. I think honestly, it took me a good year to feel comfortable in getting to know the people better at a deeper level. However, I wasn't looking so much a group of friends to hang out with, but moreso people interested in studying the Word and discovering where God is leading them in life. I wanted to fellowship with people who were authentic with their walk and authentic before God. However, I realized in life a lot of things take a proactive effort. As a community, we do need to work on being more welcoming (which fellowship doesn't?), and I feel more people are being proactive in this effort. However, I also feel that it takes an individual to desire to get to know people, a desire to step out and take risks to also make that effort to feel welcomed. =P.

Forming deeper friendships/relationships is very important for fellowship, and through hanging out and such, I have gotten to know others better, and thus being able to experience more intimate fellowship.

Anyways, I appreciate the RW community very much and glad that I have the opportunity to journey alongside bros and sis committed to following Christ.

Pics
Here are some pics from the night.

RWCD, 2003

posted by alvin | Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Monday, August 11, 2003

Friday recap...

On Friday, I had the chance to share on "Identity in Christ" with the Phileo fellowship at CBCSJ. Pastor Harrison was there, so I needed to make sure what I was sharing was biblical. =P. hahaha. was going to be biblical anyways.

Overall, I felt it went okay. Lots of biblical truths, but physical environment was not the best, as there were like 25 people and minimal cooling. It is funny because you can see people falling asleep. The post-discussion was good though. Even though lots of biblical truths, if not presented well...kinda' useless. A couple things I can improve on on my presentation skills.

1. I used the word "sucks" like 2 times. One in reference to life "sucks." and another one later on in the talk. Not appropriate to use that word although I use it quite often in my vocabulary.
2. I need to practice the talk instead of just relying on my outline, and have the personal examples exactly laid out, which in turn means that I need to spend more time preparing.
3. Need to work on being more polished including better eye-contact and voice intonations.

After fellowship, I hung out with some of the college students of CBCSJ at Tapioca Express near Marina. I didn't really enjoy the drinks that much there, but it was about "shared experiences". It was good to hang out with them. I wish I had more opportunity to do so.

Also, I finally got my order from footlocker.com. I ordered some new workout gear, 4 sleeveless Nike dri-fit shirts. I was very excited. =P. I got some new bball shoes too, but I wasn't that impressed with them. They looked better in the picture, but for $30, what do I expect. It's cool though.

posted by alvin | Monday, August 11, 2003

Thursday, August 07, 2003

Young Adult Season of Life

I had lunch with Pastor Harrison (PH) yesterday, and as we talked and shared, I realized that in my life, I constantly need new challenges. I get bored easily. I need new challenges to bring excitement. I usually say that my spiritual walk is consistent, but I feel I also need to challenge myself more in this area of life. What practically does it look like?

Maybe reading more books, maybe just sitting myself down to reflect more about life understanding my passions, maybe just sitting in God's word and really allowing it to fill me, maybe memorizing verses. There are so many aspects to the spiritual life, and growing any area really helps other areas. So, I think I will more proactively move towards spiritual maturity.

When PH first came to CBCSJ, I was part of his first discipleship class (after my freshman year of college). It was during that summer where he challenged us to set some clear goals about prayer/reading the Word, etc. I remember clearly that it was a time of growth for my prayer life. It was as simple as just committing to praying for 10 minutes a day. I remember at the beginning it was pretty tough, as I didn't have that much stuff to pray for and such, but as time went on, praying 10 minutes just wasn't enough. As the Spirit moved and prompted different things on my heart, I would have to pray more. I remember that clearly being a point in my life where my prayer life grew.

And I realized that in another season of life, when I had the chance to take Perspectives, that was a milestone where I grew a lot in terms of my view on God's love for the nations and got a better understanding of what global evangelism encompassed. Different seasons, different areas of growth. Awesome.

I guess where I am in life, it takes a lot more to motivated and move me than when I was younger. I guess I have become even more realistic about the world and what is takes to move myself.

Anyways, I was pondering these verses today. James 4:14-15 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

Work has been quite slow lately, and I'm trying to see eternal purpose to sitting in my cube all week, designing boards, reading up on technologies, etc. I mean, it's nice to work, to make money and such, but there's gotta' be more to this young adult thing. Our lives are so temporal...and I know many young adults just keep themselves so busy, they don't have a chance to reflect on life.

PH encouraged me to really think and sit and see where my passions are. To possibly take some seminary classes, and explore life some more. Even if I do tentmake overseas...there will definitely be times where life will be normal, not exciting. Long term missions is much different than short term missions, and there will be times where the day in, day out part of life occurs. How do I reconcile those times now is really the question? And the answer...sitting at the feet of Jesus. =P.

posted by alvin | Thursday, August 07, 2003

Stepping Down/Stepping Up

With the fall quarter quickly approaching and the two classes I'll be taking, I reassessed some of my ministry commitments and realized that I needed to allow myself more bandwidth to do all the things I want to do. And of the things I want to do, I want to do them well.

Starting in Sept. I am going to step down from being the college adviser of CBCSJ. Phileo meets on the same night as RW, and I have only been to one Phileo meeting in the past year, and that was a Q&A session with their new adviser, where I was answering questions about college, relationships, etc. I have met with the leadership from time to time to encourage/challenge them. However, not being there on their meeting nights due to the time conflicts, I just haven't been able to spend enough time (having shared experiences) with them. Although I do enjoy mentoring, I feel in this season as I continue to also learn more about myself, I haven't felt effective in ministering to them. They are all great kids and I have been impressed by their maturity. I feel I sorta' filled in the gap until others are able to step up in the ministry since they were in need for an adviser for awhile. For '04 one of the foci of the church is for the college students, so more resources are being made available, and other advisers are stepping up starting in Sept. I feel very much at peace with this decision. I am open to teaching a college sunday school in the winter time.

I also have decided to step down from worship team for RW for the next 3 months, and possibly closer to 6 months. Although I have played guitar for over 7 years now, I haven't felt like I have improved very much. I have enjoyed being part of the RW worship team, I am finding it harder to have the same joy in serving as I used to have when I played in college. Part of that is because I don't practice much (I'm a weekend guitarist), and when I need to play on worship team I need to practice a lot. I don't feel I have enough time to dedicate to this ministry to be effective.

I am going to step up to become the Bible Study coordinator for my small group at RW. As many people are transitioning (some leaving our community to other burdens/callings God has placed on their hearts), we have needed to consolidate into 4 groups instead of 5. It's a bit discouraging that we don't have enough resources to sustain more groups, but I'm glad that we are flexible and don't burnout leaders to sustain activities. As Tilden always says, "we want service to be a joy and a healthy experience." Coordinating is pretty simple, but it puts more responsibility on me for bible studies than before. I still find much joy in leading bible studies.

posted by alvin | Thursday, August 07, 2003

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Happy Birthday to Mom

Mom celebrated her b'day yesterday. We went out as a family on Sunday night to Black Angus. It's pretty infrequent now that all 5 of us get together for dinner since my brother has moved out. Last night, I went with my mom to Todai. Todai has changed their birthday policy, in which the birthday person gets a certificate to come back at a later time instead of getting their birthday meal free there to their actual birthday. I would have to say that the quality of food there has decreased since they first opened. They cover their seafood with all these cheese and sauces to kinda' fill up the people's stomach faster. Quite a good business model for a buffet type of restaurant. However, I do have an inkling to rack up on their desserts. Yummy.

After dinner with mom, I headed up to Redwood City to swing dance at Swing Central. Nicole was the only one there from RW, and since Tina has left, the momentum and critical mass has died down. Anyways, they had some cool performances there, and had a dance competition. Watching the performances, swing aerials add a lot of flair and energy to a performance, but they look pretty painful when the girl lands and stuff.

Remembering from my first east coast swing class, as the leader, you basically dance the same dance all night long, but as the follower, every dance is different. However, as the lead, if you don't learn new things...it's good to perfect old things, but it can get kinda' boring. Although you can learn from watching others, it's easier to take classes. I can't commit to taking any type of swing classes soon, and with my upcoming academic classes this fall, I think I will be taking that sabbatical starting in Sept. I mentioned before.

posted by alvin | Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Will and Ellie Combo Album Posted

Just posted Will and Ellie's combo birthday album. See right column for link.

posted by alvin | Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Friday, August 01, 2003

Weird encounter at 24hr. Fitness

Alright, so I finished my workout, and was getting ready to take a shower. The locker room at the Mountain View site are pretty small and it was a bit crowded. I still had my shorts on, and was getting my shower stuff from my bag. I was slightly bent over, and unbeknowst to me, this guy behind me also bent over (he also had shorts on), and our butts accidentally touched.

He yelled out pretty loudly, "For God's sakes!" Everyone in the locker room heard.

I looked at him, a bit surprised at his reaction, didn't say anything, and walked to the shower. I was thinking at the situation and was wondering why it evoked such a reaction. I tried to reason how I could be totally at fault with this situation, and came to the conclusion that it was an accident, 50% blame to each party.

Interesting weird encounter.

Anyways on a side note, I really like the Saratoga 24hr. a lot better than all the other ones. The equipment is in better shape at Saratoga.

posted by alvin | Friday, August 01, 2003

Congrats to Shannon

A congratulations to Shannon for finishing her two "BAR" exams yesterday. Good job.

posted by alvin | Friday, August 01, 2003

Contentment in Good times

I was taken aback by this verse through my devotions.

Phil. 4:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

At this stage of life for me, I feel a bit restless (visit my stagnancy entry from before). I think a lot of times, when we study this verse, we are taught to be content when we are in "need", but something fresh came out for me that even in times of "plenty" we need to be content. I think a lot of my restlessness comes from being impatient, just waiting for the next thing to happen.

I do feel that I am living in "plenty" and just learning how to be content in that is something God is teaching me in this season of life. Thank you God.

Psalm 46:10 "Psalm 46 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

posted by alvin | Friday, August 01, 2003