I miss Italy...

I come home, turn on the news and see there's a "Festa de Italia" at Santana Row. Food, wine, music... Joyce and I drop everything and fly over to Santana Row. Sigh... I miss Italy...

"I just felt like runnin'...."

"I just felt like runnin..."
Famous words by Forrest Gump in his self-titled movie. One day, he just felt like running and he ran across the nation from coast to coast.

The other morning, I just felt like walking. Woke up Friday morning and wanted to get some Peet's coffee. Instead of driving there, which will take 5 minutes round-trip, I felt compelled to walk. So I grabbed my cheap-oh MP3 player and stepped out into the brisk, misty San Jose morning air. That's what 2 weeks of non-stop walking in Europe will do to ya... completely alter your state of mind and being. The 5 minute round trip turned out to be 45 minutes. But it was ohhhhhhh sooooooooo nice.

After a two week hiatus, I returned home on Sunday. It felt great to be back at SJCAC. The familiar faces of strangers. The murmurs of children through the windows. The traffic directors directing traffic. Andrew's voice during worship. Good ol' Sandy bouncing up and down. Little Samuel saying, "Haaaalo Henry gor gor..." Alan giving me a big hug and then punching me at my midsection. (Can pastors do that?) And of course, His strong presence. I never realized how much SJCAC means to us.

Home sweet home...

After 14 days, pass 9 time zones, through 10 cities, across 4 nations, via 6 airports and 5 major train stations, over 16000 miles (25000 km).....we lie in bed, wide awake and hungry, at 3AM in the morning cuz in Europe, it's lunch time.

Regardless....there's just no place like home.

Till we meet again...

Thank you for all your prayers and blessings.

Thank you for your hospitiable grace.

Thank you for the laughter

and thank you for the tears.

Thank you for being the life of my wedding.

Thank you for offering to help me move and help me paint.

Thank you for listening to me complain about school at 2AM in the morning.

Thank you for sharing the love of wine and coffee.

Thank you for being a great friend.

Thank you for being a great brother.

Thank you....for being you.

Papa, thank you for bringing Guy Li into my life.

Papa, thank you for leading Guy into the next chapter of his life.

Till we meet again...

Anyone can be a plumber...

Last night, my toilet handle breaks. I lifted the tank lid and find the part has literally broken in half. No chance in Pluto being in the Solar System of fixing it. So I had to devise a mechanism to last me through the night until I can make a run to Home Depot. I dig through my boxes of junk and I find a SERIAL MOUSE!!!! Some of you may not even remember what a PS2 mouse looks like... and the Serial Mouse came before the PS2!! Anyhoo, this goes to show that anyone can be a plumber...

End of August Report Card

Three more days till the end of August... let's measure my accomplishments (or there lackof) against my goals...hor hor hor...

1. Amazing Race - Praise God for his protection and blessing!! Stay tuned for Amazing Race 2!
2. Climb Half Dome - On Augst 19, 2006 @ 11:30AM...WE MADE IT.
3. Scrub down the jacuzzi - uhm...
4. Reinforce the gazebo in the yard - I still have 2 days....
5. Install electrical outlets/switches in the house - It's already been a year, what's another month?
6. Fix the darn plumbing... (why does it never end?) - Replaced the kitchen faucet. But there's still a minor drip. Only this time, I know how to fix the drip. And just last night...the toilet handle breaks. Sigh...the neverending saga...
7. Rediscover my stroke (DRIVING RANGE BABY!!!) - I watched Tiger Woods for 5 minutes during the PGA Championships. Works for me.
8. Read an average of 2 non-sports-related books every week - Read a few chapters of Celebration of Discipline and some European travel books. So there!
9. Prepare for the overdue housewarming - Still very warm.
10. Slim down to 165 lbs of lean muscle (or glorious blubber...whichever) - No comments.
11. Build up my alcohol tolerance in preparation for France and Italy - AND I can sleep in on Saturday mornings.
12. Plan my European trip!!! - Just seven more days....woohoo!!
13. Learn French and Italian (at least the words for all the food) - Un grande cafe creme, s'il vou plait.
14. Celebrate the inevitable big "2-5." (Denial is a good thing) - Feels good to be 25 again....and again...and again....
15. Furnish the rest of the house - This may happen by default! God provides in mysterious ways!
16. Learn to play tennis - Can't be too perfect in August. Gotta save room for improvement in September.
17. Fix my computer (was it the HDD or the Mobo that crashed?) - Sigh...lost everything on my C drive. Good thing - wiped out all my pirated software and MP3's. Bad thing - wiped out all my legit software, pictures and homework!!
18. Sharpen those Analog Circuit Design skills... (heh...) - With a business trip coming up, gives me something to do on the plane.
19. Cities and Knights (ANNNNDERSON!!!!) - "Anyone gotta wheat???"
20. Somewhere in between all that... I think I'll sit back, relax, bust open a cold one and enjoy Giants / Niner pre-season game... - Giants back in the pennant race. Niners looking like the Niners of last year. Yet..... I BELIEVE!!!!

Kinda sad just thinking about all the things I won't be able to do once school starts again...

Discipline of Meditation

Couple of weeks ago, I was led to a different way of seeking God -- through waiting upon the Lord. At the same time, our cell group began studying the disciplines of meditation and prayer as described in Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. Unlike other forms of mediation where their goal is to empty themselves to reach a state of selflessness, Christians seek to empty themselves of the sinful self and seek to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

As a mediation exercise, we chose to spend 15 minutes mediating on the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Some of the responses we gathered were:

1. It was hard to stay quiet cuz we naturally start praying. - So, so true. Why are we doing all the talking?
2. Is Jesus weeping today? - What are we doing today that's causing him to weep? All our sins, all our rebelliousness, all of our self-righteousness.
3. Weeping, as opposed to wailing, is the expression of deep sorrow. - Like the time I wept when I came to grips that a dear brother of mine will be leaving for Hong Kong. I was overcome not with sadness, but with sorrow. The sorrow of departure was overwhelming.
4. The Bible doesn't mention "Jesus laughed." - Why do I portray Jesus as a stoic, strict teacher? Does He have a sense of humor? Will He laugh at my jokes?

All in all, most of us encountered God in a different way. If we're able to continue getting in tuned with Him, will we not find ways to listen to His heartbeat? Feel His breathing? Catch His pulse? Share His thoughts?

Next up... Disciplines of Fasting and Studying.

Missed Opportunities

Why didn't I think of this?!?!

Stuck in my head...

Ever get a song stuck in your head and you starting singing and humming it without even knowing? The lyrics are sooooooooo meaningful and they sound sooooooo cool, especially in Mandarin.

狂風暴雨巨浪中, 祢的恩典不離開...

One step closer to Half Dome...

YC took us out for a training session this past Saturday.

Mission Peaks: CONQUERED!!
Half Dome: To be determined...

Waiting upon the Lord

From yesterday's TWA:

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and soul sing for joy for the living God. --Psalms 84:2 (ESV)

When I read this, I immediately related it to two lovers and their mutual longing or no less, fainting for one another. What things in life do I faint for? I don't recall ever fainting for Joyce, but I digress.

So I know this this guy who doesn't get enough sleep, sometimes, because his girlfriend refuses to go home. But the girlfriend's reason for staying so late is, "I just want to see you for a few more moments." Awwww...how sweet. Can't really blame the girl...nor can you say the guy is heartless. Just another chapter in their ever developing love story.

A dear brother shared with me a very cool analogy about Waiting upon the Lord. Waiting upon the Lord can be quick...can be slow. It's really not about the quantity but the quality. Like lovers, grasping for those very seconds that they can be together. Sounds much better in Chinese: 你們會如愛人一般，寧可悄悄地溜開，那怕是一兩分鐘... So how long do I wait?? And what do I expect, every time I do? I guess I gotta wait to find out...

FOR THE FEW WHO READ THIS AND WANT TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE ABOUT WAITING UPON THE LORD, PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL HERE.