Mike's and Ana's Wedding

Below is the column that appeared in my church buletin.

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Today I attended Mike and Ana’s wedding. Many of you were there to congratulate Mike and Ana on their wedding and to celebrate the joyful occasion with them. They looked great. I gave them my best blessing. It was great to see them enter into a covenant of holy matrimony with the pledge to stick together “until death do them apart.” It was a reminder of the pledge I made 11 years ago. I understand some of you have been married longer than my wife and I. I thank God for your faithfulness to God and to your spouses.

With Mike and Ana newly married and added to the ranks of married couples, I’d like to ask our seasoned and still-learning married couples to extend their hands of special encouragement and care to the newly wedded couple. Marriage is a tough thing. It is a union of two different individuals with two different perspectives, backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, and lifestyles. It is a rendezvous of two worlds. People who never lived together now begin to live together. So it is expected there will be difficulties, challenges, and arguments. I can tell you those moments when I raised my voice, when I felt disappointed at myself, and when I cried because of lack of maturity and love on my part. I am aware that mutual effort has to be made for the couple to become more intimate, understanding, and loving. Pain always precedes growth and maturity. Couples who enjoy longevity of marriage are the ones who have learned how to stay connected with each other even when problems arise.

I have a long way to go in my marriage to help my wife to be the person God created her to be. I remember one pastor talking about the role of men in helping their spouses blossom. He said, “Men are the props and women are the vines that climb up the props and blossom on their top.” For men sometimes it is unthinkable to let the vines climb the props or let them stay on top. Although it is hard, it is us men’s responsibility to empower our wives to blossom with their gifts and potential. As Mike and Ana entered into the covenant, let us, married couples, rededicate ourselves to one another. Moreover, let us also recommit ourselves to our Eternal Bridegroom, our Lord Jesus Christ, in our walk with Him. I long for the day when our Eternal Bridegroom will welcome us into heaven for a life eternal.

After attending Lead like Jesus Seminar

Whoever wants to become Great among you must be your Servant. (Matthew 20:26).

Speakers included Ken Blanchard, Erwin Raphael McManus, Margie Blanchard, Rosey Grier, Phyllis Hendry, Phil Hodges, Laurie Beth Jones, Patrick Lencioni, John Ortberg, Nancy Ortberg, and Pill Polard, and the worship leader was Eric Lovett.


Last Friday on Oct. 19 I attended Lead Like Jesus Conference held in Walnut Creek. The church was the live site for the simulcast for many places in the States, Canada, and Jamaica. The conference site was packed out and people were very receptive to the messages. I was somewhat familiar with the concepts and ideas they championed because I had read the book Lead Like Jesus authored by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges before I attended the conference.

I just wanted to share a few thoughts I had while attending the conference. First and foremost, I was reminded that leadership (influence) is on loan. Namely, there is a season of influence. It’s not something we will possess forever because no one is irreplaceable. I thought about the influence I have on our congregation, my family, friends, relatives, and neighbors. I pray God would empower me to empower people around me to be the leaders and winners they need to become in Christ.

John Ortberg said something that's very important. He said, "We can be intentional about our habits. Thomas Aquinas spent 70 pages of his book Imitation of Christ to habits. There’s a difference between trying to be like Jesus and training to be like Jesus. I arrange my life around habits that enable me to do what I can’t do right now." How true!

Toward the end of the conference “Ken demonstrated servant leadership when he stooped to wipe his co-host's shoes with a small white shoe mitt. Attendees then bent down to find mitts beneath their own pews and followed suit. They exchanged hugs before each moved on to another person.” I liked the idea of using the mitt to wipe other people’s shoes, although Jesus washed the feet of his disciples with water. It was symbolic enough of Jesus’ foot washing. Leading like Jesus is servant leadership, not self-serving leadership. The best example is Jesus coming down to earth to give his life as a ransom for many. He clearly mentioned, “I came not to be served but to serve.” Servant leadership was another reminder of what kind of leadership I need to exercise.

Lead like Jesus involves Heart, Head, Hands, and Habits. It is through our hands and habits what happens on the inside manifests itself. I need to take an inventory of my existing habits and see which habits I need to discard and which new habits I need to form in order to lead like Jesus at church, at home, and in the world. Please forgive me when I make mistakes, with the hope that I am a leader training to be like Jesus. I hope that you would join me in that training to lead like Jesus and to live like Jesus.

Moses Received His First Award

Moses received his first award at Ponderosa. Ever since we came to California, Moses adapted to the new environment really well. He excelled in his studies and finally proved himself able to receive awards. The top picture shows those four award recipients from Moses class.

The one in the middle shows all the second graders who received their awards in different areas such as math, reading, penmanship, citizenship, and so forth. Moses received his award in math.

The bottom shot shows Moses and Alex one of his best friends. Good job, Moses! I'm very proud of you. Remember the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.

My Tribute to EM Members

Below is my tribute to my EM members who went on the retreat:

Thanks, folks, for your participation not only in the retreat but also in assuming responsibilities. God was present at the retreat and he spoke to us and showed us what we can be like as EM congregation. God truly blessed us through His mouthpiece, Pastor Jon Choi. He exposited Ecclesiastes Chapters one and two and told us how life can be meaningless, which means transient, temporal, futile, a breath, and mist, without God. No matter how much we gain, accomplish, and succeed, it amounts to nothing apart from God. He also highlighted the fact that we are all destined to die once and after that to face judgment. Pastor Jon challenged us to examine our lives and see where we are and what we should do with our lives. His great sense of humor along with his close relationship with many of you helped better connect with him and benefit much from his messages.

I thoroughly enjoyed the many interactions and brief and long conversations with y'all. I am sure you got to know me a little better and I got to know you a little better too. I hope I came across amicable and friendly. If not, please give me a little more time and you'll know I am personal and easy to talk to. Toby and Mike, thanks so much for leading the praise. Although there were a few moments when you were not in sync musically, you were in sync spiritually and relationally. You helped us come before God readily and stay there for long. Please keep up the good work. Also Toby, the T-shirts you designed were excellent. I could see your creativity as well as aesthetic quality. You made sure everyone paid the fees (Is there still anyone who didn’t pay?). Job well-done. My gratitude also goes out to our wonderful sisters who worked hard behind the scenes and in the kitchen making sure we’re well-fed. Joan, Lisa, April, and Young, you’re the stars. Thank you for your service and care. I am also grateful to our warriors who kept things going. Mike, you kept the fire and praise going. Jung, you kept our fellowship going by bringing us nectarine, ramyun, corns, and a few things, let alone taking pastor Choi to the airport. Joe and George, you kept the retreat going by ensuring the kids are okay by cleaning up. John Chung, you kept us going by your presence and mingling with the youth. Nam, you kept the whole thing going by contacting the prayer house, picking up pastor Choi, and making sure everything is in good order. I greatly enjoyed our talks around the campfire. It was a good eye-opener in terms of getting to know you better and getting a better feel of our EM as well as our KM. I enjoyed the baked corn, ramyun (I heard Jung had two bowls of ramyun and I know what happened to him on Saturday morning), and marshmallow. Everybody pitched in when the retreat was over by cleaning and our sisters fixing lunch for us. Yes, it was a good retreat. However, if there is anyone who disagrees with me or felt bad about something, please give God and us a second chance. I look forward to the next retreat. God is awesome. Our God is awesome.

EM Retreat

It was my first EM retreat, so I wasn't sure how the EM congregation would have their retreat. On the way to Mt. Hermon where the World Fasting Prayer House was located, I had to experience a heavy traffic due to a car accident, it was past 6 p.m. by the time I got there. Some of the members were already there. One thing funny was that they had to keep the prayer house gate closed so that giraffes won't enter the properties. After dinner we had our first session. Mike and Toby led the praise, and I got to pray before the speaker, Pastor Jon Choi, shared his message. He preached from the book of Ecclesiastes and he was a good communicator using illustrations from his own experience. Since he grew up with some of my EM members, I think he connected well with them. It was a blessing for me to be able to rub elbows with a veteran EM pastor. After all, it was Pastor Jon who recommended me to FKCC.

When the first session was over, it was 12:30 a.m. We went to the campfire place and there we ate marshmallows, chicken, and nectarines. I got to talk with Jung, Nam, and Joan about the church and heard past stories. Being an EM pastor working with a Korean Senior pastor is a challenge, but I believe God will work something out for our best.

I went to sleep around 4 a.m. but woke up around 6 a.m. due to someone snoring so loudly. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to take a walk. I ended up going up a hill, and there I prayed loudly. Even though I was sleep like crazy, I went over my sermon outline for Sunday. Later we had morning session and dinner and headed home.

It was a time well spent with Pastor Jon and my EM members. I got to know my members a little better.

Waiting

My visit to First Korean Christian Church turned out to be a blessing. God blessed my time there. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversations with the core members as well as the entire EM congregation. The senior pastor was very kind and eager to work with me. He even showed up for the EM service and sat there for almost twenty minutes. I was surprised to find out that he once served as EM pastor for two years and he also worked as youth pastor for a little while. He was very sincere and eager to help me come on board, although nothing has been decided yet. A few people stand out: Nam, Jung, Joan, and Joey. They are the lay leaders and have been serving in many capacities for the church. I wonder whether they are the Timothys, Priscillas, and Tituses I have been praying to God to send me. It's always a blessing to find people who are committed to God and to the church.

The importance of Reading

Below is an excerpt from Ms. Linda Sue Park's website. Ms. Park is a second generation Korean-American married to an Irish man. I am currently reading one of her children books entitled Project Mulberry. My son Moses read it first and liked it a lot. Someday I want to write my own books, but until then I will read and keep reading and write here and there. In a sense I'm building my writing muscles. Right now, they don't look much, but someday they will amount to something.

The Importance of Reading. Read. That's the single best thing an aspiring writer can do for his or her work. I once heard an editor say, "Read a thousand books of the genre you're interested in. THEN write yours."I was astonished and pleased to hear her say this--because that's exactly what I did. During the years when I had no thought of writing for children. I read and read and read. Middle-grade novels. Hundreds of them--easily more than a thousand. Then I wrote mine--and it sold on its first submission. Luck? Coincidence? Maybe...but I doubt it.My personal reading list draws from a wide variety of genres. I love middle-grade novels best, but I also read Young Adult novels and picture books. I read adult literary fiction, mysteries and nonfiction. I read poetry. I love books on food and travel. Whether a wondrous story or a hilarious passage of dialogue or a beautiful sentence or a memorable image, every bit of reading I do helps my own writing. The rhythm of language and the way words combine to communicate more than their dictionary meanings infuse the serious reader's mind and emerge transformed when that reader sits down to write.

http://www.lspark.com/writing.html