Thoughts

LEAVING MESSAGES
If you've ever had the misfortune of hearing a message I've left for you on your voice mail or answering machine, then you know what I'm talking about. I am probably the worst person ever at leaving messages. I do eventually get my point across, but I always seem to add too much filler. I babble. I talk WAY TOO MUCH! So, I apologize to all those people out there who have heard too much of me saying things like, "Umm ... well, yeah. Call me back" or "Sooooo..... I'll talk to you soon."
I've decided that the reason behind this is that I rarely ever call people (it's bad, I know. I'm working on it). And when I do, I want to convey to these people just how much they mean to me that I feel like I need to say more than just "call me back." I need a flowery introduction with some pleasantries before getting into the meat of the message. And of course, I have to end with a nice ending to leave them with that good feeling.
Maybe I'm just over-analyzing and should just say what I have to say and leave it at that.

kNOw HUNGER
Karena and I are at the halfway point for the 30 Hour Famine and so far, so good. Needless to say, we're hungry and trying our best to avoid even going into the kitchen, lest we be tempted.

Hungry
Hungry, I come to You
For I know You satisfy
I am empty, but I know
Your love does not run dry
And so I wait for You
So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for.

Broken, I run to You
For Your arms are open wide
I am weary, but I know
Your touch restores my life
And so I wait for You
So I wait for You

WEDNESDAY WORK MEETINGS
When you work for a large corporation like Kaiser Permanente and you're part of the Physical Therapy staff, you would think their weekly meetings were all business. And for the most part, they are. But the last few meetings have been something straight out of kindergarten. Here's a recap:
Four weeks ago: We were asked by our boss to pair up and write down "What Works" and "What Needs Work" for our department. Then, we were asked to write down a flowery vision statement for ourselves in terms of our department. Mine was something cheesy like "I will reach every patient at their level and treat them with the upmost respect and concern."
Three weeks ago: We were asked to take that vision statement and to demonstrate what that would look like artistically by taking various magazines and cutting out words and pictures. Then, we were handed posterboard to paste these cut-outs onto. So, there we were, taking away precious patient time to act like 5 year-olds fighting over magazines, scissors, and glue sticks. Then, we had to present our artwork. It was ultra cheesy.
Two weeks ago: We were given a bunch of junk: paper clips, plastic cups, shredded paper, rubber bands, gloves, etc. We were placed into groups of three and we had to take this stuff and come up with the most creative object. Apparently, it was an exercise in team building. But we just felt like trash pickers. By the way, the winners were a group that put all the paper clips together and made a necklace and earrings. Sad!
Last week: We had to take two mandatory annual competancies exams. They were multiple choice and some of the questions were pretty tough. But here is the kicker: They gave us all the answers!!! They read the questions aloud and then gave out the answer. Needless to say, we all got 100%. What a smart department we are!

Needless to say, my creative side has had enough. I'm ready for a little more of a challenge.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
No matter what you think about all the hoopla surrounding this movie, it's the talk of the town. And that bodes well for Christians and non-Christians alike. Just think, when do you last remember people from all different walks of life spending so much time talking about Jesus?
Did Mel Gibson create controvery where there was none just to get free publicity for his film? Maybe. Are the Jews upset about possible an anti-Semitic portrayal? Probably. But let's be realistic for a minute here. This is still just a movie. The newspaper articles and interviews and public backlash have taken this movie into the stratosphere. Let's bring it back to earth.
The bottom line is that Mel Gibson has made a movie that documents 12 significant hours in Jesus' life. And from this film, we may never take Good Friday and Easter for granted again. I hope this film changes people for the better. I hope this film makes people think. I hope it makes people inspired. I hope they feel "the passion."
Plus, let us not forget that we all killed Jesus. We all drove those nails into his hands and feet. And we all yelled "Crucify him!"
But you can't keep a Good Man down.

PASSION
When you hear the word "passion," you have a certain meaning of the word in your head:
Deep love. Strong emotion.

But as I learned from Rev. Lam in Sunday's sermon, Merriam-Webster defines "passion" as:
1 often capitalized a : the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death b : an oratorio based on a gospel narrative of the Passion
2 obsolete : SUFFERING
3 : the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces
4 a (1) : EMOTION (2) plural : the emotions as distinguished from reason b : intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction c : an outbreak of anger
5 a : ardent affection : LOVE b : a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept c : sexual desire d : an object of desire or deep interest

I found that very interesting. The title, "The Passion of the Christ" is much deeper than I first thought.

TALKING SPORTS
1. A few people have asked me about Karl Malone's knee and if it's really true that a "sprain" and a "tear" are the same thing. Unfortunately, the answer is yes. A sprain is a minor tear. It's more a matter of severity. For me, I sympathize with Karl Malone for the plight he's in. But, as my wife wants me to point out, the doctors and medical staff is correct.
2. The Yankees will now be known as The Evil Empire after trading for Alex Rodriguez. People tell me the Red Sox (and their fans) are just bitter and crying for a salary cap because they couldn't complete the deal themselves. But I say, George Steinbrenner is ruining baseball with his buying-a-championship mentality. Oh well, it'll just be that much sweeter when the Angels boot them from the postseason!

DEBRIEFING
One of my favorite things about Danette is how she always needs to debrief after attending a meeting, retreat, or an event. And that is exactly what Karena and I did while driving home after WCC Sunday night.
We were both captivated by different aspects. For me, I was moved by the question, "What does God get?" WDGG is the question I'll be asking myself everytime I do anything in life. Is He getting the Glory or am I trying to steal the glory? As for Karena, she was very interested in a section of our handbook discussing fasting. And as a result, my partner will now partner with me in doing the 30 Hour Famine beginning this Friday. This will not only help us raise money for improverished people throughout the world, but will also be a time for us to devote to re-focusing our lives, praying, and relying on God's power and mercy both as individuals and as a married couple.
In addition, we decided we'd both give us something during Lent. For me, I've chosen to only watch TV for an hour a day (thanks to Nathan and Jesse). For some of you, that still sounds like a lot. But trust me, it's a major sacrifice for me.
All these aspects will challenge us and make our faith grow.

[Future blogs will discuss Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and the Evil Empire's new addition in Alex Rodriguez.]

WAY OF THINKING
I'll have to admit that I really didn't want to go to WCC. After all, we'd have to arrive late and leave early (since we had to work on Monday). But Debbie continued to encourage us to go, especially when she said "Even if you're not planning on going on a missions trip, it's good to go and get a new perspective or way of thinking about missions."
Well, that is exactly what we got! The conference speaker was a man named Bob Sjogren. The bottom line of his talks were that everything we do is to give God the greatest glory. The focus is not on ourselves, but on Him alone. Jesus didn't so much die on the cross for us so much as it was a way to manifest His glory. Bad circumstances happen to bring about God's glory. In fact, the greater the hardship, the greater the glory. How amazing it is, then, that God has in essence a contract with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, etc. to distribute news that will eventually bring about his Greatest Glory.
Yes, missions exists because worship does not. Missions is only a temporary thing. So do we send people out to reach the unreached? Yes, but that's only the half of it. We really do it to bring God glory.
To learn more, check this out.
When you start to think of living your life from that standpoint, even going through the monotonous duties of life like driving, working, washing dishes, and brushing your teeth become ways to glorify God.
It's a new way of thinking and a new perspective on life.

GAY MARRIAGES IN SAN FRANCISCO
This one should get the guestbook pumping ...
One of the most poignant moments of WCC was one that I thought very little about at the time. During one of the announcement times, somebody came up and said SF mayor Gavin Newsom granted an initiative allowing gay marriages, despite being illegal according to California law. This brought hundreds of gays and lesbians from all over the country to "get married" with an official marriage license. The outcome of a court hearing on this matter will be released Tuesday.
The prayer request was for a pastor whose church is directly across the street from a gay/lesbian center in SF. He was asked for an interview by CNN so that he could give the Christian perspective on gays and lesbians "without being angry." What a great opportunity and responsibility! The interesting part is that CNN specifically wanted a pastor to give the Christian perspective because they felt that is what most of America believes. But unfortunately, many Christians turn angry and ugly when dealing with this controversial issue. The idea of "hating the sin, not the sinner" does not come across as well as we'd like. But we prayed for the right words to speak, compassion, and protection for both the messenger and the Message. We also prayed that the initiative will be overturned and the marriage licenses nullified.
For me as a married person, I know how much I value the santity of marriage. And as a Christian, I feel I value it all the more. I love my wife. I love the relationship we have. To me, these gay and lesbian marriages taint, diminish, and cloud the institution of marriage. I believe homosexuality is a sin.
So do I dislike or even hatethese people? By no means! I love these people. I just don't agree with issuing marriage licenses to them.

STILL PROCESSING
Whew! Praise God for getting us to and from Santa Cruz for WCC safely. We made it up there at 2am and found our room (despite the fact that it was literally pitch black -- we couldn't even see our hands in front of our faces). And we just got back. We haven't yet had time to fully process everything. But let me just say this for tonight: Get ready to hear a lot about WCC and some of the actions we both are beginning to take based on a new way of thinking.

WCC
I am currently at Karena's work, waiting for her to finish so that we can begin our drive to Santa Cruz to attend the World Christian Conference. Please pray for our safety (as we probably won't arrive until 2am or later) and for the weekend. Please also continue to pray for the 30 Hour Famine, which is only two weeks away.

RICK DEES
If you haven't heard already, the end of an era has come with the end of Rick Dees morning show at KIIS-FM. For as long as I can remember, he's been doing that radio show. And let's be honest, at some point in time in all of lives (if you lived in LA), you probably listened to Rick Dees do his sometimes dirty, always corny jokes, his candid phone calls, and his crazy radio voices. I pretty much grew up listening to him and thought he was so funny.
But by the time I got to college, I couldn't have disliked him more. He was too cocky, too full of himself, and his jokes were too crass for my taste. And for the last 10 years, I thought he should have stopped.
But now that he's really off the air in the morning (to be replaced by Ryan Seacrest), I have to admit that I feel a little sad for him. Oh well, I think he's still doing his Countdown.

HAWAII RECAP
Here's the short version:
1. Maui shows the eye colors that you just can't see anywhere else on earth. The blues are bluer, the greens are greener, etc.
2. While in the rain forest area of Maui on the road to Hana, it rained. But it didn't stop us from hiking and seeing some beautiful waterfalls.
3. We woke up at 2am to watch the sunrise from the summit of Maui. It was cold, but it was a priceless pre-Valentine's Day moment for me and Karena.
4. The only thing worse than airplane bathrooms is port-a-potties.
5. Snorkeling was fun, but Hawaii has fewer of the same fish that are in Tahiti.
6. Movies on the plane: Jack Black's "School of Rock" and The Rock's "The Rundown."
7. Kalua Pork: Good!
8. Spending time with the family is getting more and more rare. So, that made me doubly thankful for the opportunity and privilege to spend this time with my wife, my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, my brother and his girlfriend, and my grandfather and uncle. Truly priceless.

WE'RE BAAAACK
Whenever I come back from somewhere, my first blog is usually spent giving a short recap. But I'm going to hold off on the recap until tomorrow. In the meantime, I have two scenario-based situations that I would like to get feedback on.
While we were flying home:
(1) There was a 20 year-old native Hawaiian who was leaving home for Los Angeles. He said, "I'm just not an islander. I want to go to LA and get a job, go to school, maybe major in psychology." Obviously, he's got some huge hurdles to overcome. What advice would you give him?
(2) The women sitting directly behind me was WAY too loud. And I mean, REALLY LOUD! She would talk to people across the aisle, behind her, two rows back. And she would put the headphones on and sing at the top of her lungs, dancing in her seat, snapping her fingers to the music. And it was like that for nearly the entire 5 hour plane ride home. What would you have done? Would you have given a dirty look, said something, or just let it go?
Your responses on my guestbook would be greatly appreciated.

HAWAII AND 30 HOUR FAMINE
We are off to Hawaii with my entire family. During that time, we're going to relax and enjoy the scenery. But while I'm gone, please think about supporting me (or any of the other people) as I will be doing the 30 Hour Famine. It's an annual international event sponsored by WorldVision where people fast for 30 hours to raise support money that will be used to feed starving people around the world. I've done it a few times in the past and loved the challenge, the dedication, and the closeness to God I felt during the experience. Plus, the money raised goes directly to feeding the needy physically and spiritually.
If you are interested, please email me ... or pull me aside the next time I see you.
Thank you in advance!

SUPER BOWL RECAP
I think the best part of the Super Bowl is not the game or the commercials and definitely not the halftime show (more on that in a minute). It's getting together with the guys ... and all the over-eating isn't bad either! I had a great time just hanging out with the guys at Jason's. But the only bad part about it is that there's never really anytime to talk. One of my favorite times was when we used to play basketball at church and the guys would just talk when they weren't playing. It could be serious talk, joking, trash talking, whatever. But during the Super Bowl, you can't talk during the game and you can't talk during the commercials. Still, I had a great time.
As for the now-infamous halftime show, I'll say this: Anybody who still thinks this was an accident is completely out of their mind. Based on Justin's lyrics ("I'll have you naked by the end of this song"), the purposeful movements of both of them (not to mention the break-away outfit and the pastie or whatever Janet was wearing), and the fact that her album drops next week, there is no way that was a "waredrobe malfunction." What's a waredrobe malfunction anyway? The bottom line is it was unnecessary and obviously shouldn't have happened. But that's all that was talked about ALL DAY at work so I guess they accomplished their mission.
Congrats to the Pats (and the Panthers, who played one of the greatest games ever).