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| Could I be happier?
Not by too much.
As many of you already know, two good friends of mine recently made a commitment that will encompass the rest of their lives. Also, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Cause. Effect. Moon and Bia are engaged. James writes what will most likely be his last xanga marriage entry. (Moon concludes all of my former roommates from Anaheim).
BIA! Remember I used to drive you around in my old white Jeep and lecture you on what type of guy you need to marry.......do you remember that??? Well, I'm glad you took my advice. Didn't think back then things would end up like this, huh? Well, it ended for the best and I always wanted the best for you. Knowing your heart and devotion to God, deep within my mind, I wanted to make sure you were given someone that would be able to lead and cherish you. After all kid, very few women are able to stand in the same tier as you. Bia Park, you are my sister, truly, one of a kind.
You know Moon, I know I told you I stopped looking at you as my small group boy after our small group was over. Looking back, I think the truth is, I stopped looking at you as my small group boy after you wrote me that dissertation on JP Moreland. I still never responded to that dissertation. Truth is, I lost it like a month after you gave it to me. haha
Indeed brother, you are someone after God's heart. I know you want to serve God wholeheartedly which inevitably lead you to choose the girl you will now marry. Take that same worldview and sentiment, those same convictions, and persevere. Do not look back. Watch your life and doctrine closely for in doing so you will not only save yourself and others, but you will also save your wife. I have high hopes for you Moon. Why? Because there is GREAT strength in you. I have seen it. Stay humble. Stay focused. Stay open. Everything else will unfold in its proper place.
I guess I'll be seeing plenty more of this in the future. Nonetheless, I'll post it anyway because it's too cute.
Please lay the path for us common folk. I want to see it.
Ephesians 5:22-33
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| I don't think I've ever written in my xanga twice in one week before. However, circumstances now dictate otherwise. haha
Aaron, I still remember the night you told me you two were going out. I remembered how we both laughed and how I kept telling you how crazy you were....You are indeed the crazy one friend.....
Tina, I remember the first day I met you.....It was at Pastor Peter's house and you were checking out Berean....
I have to say Tina......with confidence I can say that you are very easily someone who garners reverence and emulation by the way you live and carry yourself. In truth, I never would have thought you would be where you are now. I did not think you would come so far so quickly....I still remember how I gave you that silly video game icon and we used to milk it with Bible verses. And indeed Tina, as you have said you would be, you are running the race as to win the prize. Continue to run in such a way sister.
Aaron...Aaron.....fellow soldier and brother.....we have come a long way haven't we? From peanut butter ants to progressive dispensationalism.......As I have shared with you before brother, my heart still leaps when I see and hear about you ministering to the people at our church. As Tina is very well aware, you are very gifted in many ways. Your heart is still malleable and everybody knows the manner in which you have chosen to walk. I commend you brother. I commend you for your example to everyone at church and the boldness in which you preach the Word. I would admonish you to continue to run with joy and perseverance, but to someone such as yourself, there is no need friend. My loyalty lies with you Pastor Aaron. Lead our church in the noble way God has taught you.
Therefore, what I will exhort you two to do is.....love each other like never before. Love each other as if your lives depended on it because the lives and souls of many others do depend on it. The Christ-centered love between husband and wife is one of the most powerful witnesses of the Gospel. May your marriage be a pure reflection of Christ and the church.
What kind of children will you two have? My gosh, are they going to evangelize all of Asia?
(Man, you guys are cute together. I had too many good pictures of you guys so I'm going to post a couple of them).
Please lay the path for us common folk. I want to see it.
Ephesians 5:22-33
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| I have about 2 weeks left before my examination. After that, I'll have the privilege of going to Mexico missions and speaking at a high school retreat (August 4 - 8....I added that so anyone that reads this can pray for me :) ).
And all of a sudden while I am deep in thought memorizing arcane legal rules that are supposed to measure my qualifications as a barrister, I become reflective.
For anyone that's ever been to my room, I hang a quote on my desk made by my long time artsy friend Virginia. She gave it to me while we were in college for Secret Santa.
It reads:
It is in vain O'men that you seek within yourselves the cure for your misery. All your insight has lead you to the knowledge that it is not in yourselves that you discover the true and the good. The philosophers have promised them to you, but they were not able to keep their promise because they do not know what your true good is or what your true nature is. - The great mathematician and philosopher of science, Blaise Pascal
It is not within myself that I find the true and the good. The New Testament echoes this exact same sentiment. The Apostle Paul said that nothing good existed within his flesh. Nothing good......Isaiah said that all of us like sheep have gone astray.....We have all gone to our own way. And of course, who can forget the oft-repeated phrase in the book of Judges: Every man did which was right in their own eyes.
We are so inundated with ourselves. Our career. Our future spouse. Our reputation. We will fight, kick, scream, compromise, hide, and do whatever else it takes to please our flesh, but yet maintain all these things.
And I am the chief expert.
For some odd reason, I was touched during the last communion service this past Sunday Worship. As the song was playing, the same song I remember I sang when He first saved me, all those memories flooded back. I remember vowing to give my life, my very breath, for this great God. I remember promising God I would do anything and whatever it took for me to finish this race. "Run in such a way as to win the prize, my child." I could almost hear God saying those words audibly to me. But much more than all of this, I remember the sheer ecstasy and exhiliaration and at the same time brokenness and contriteness I felt. Why in the world would you choose a ktown bum like me? I've wasted my adolescent years doing the dumbest things.....but because of that......what I have left is Yours.
I am 26 now. I'll be 27 in December. It's been about 8 years since my first real encounter with Him and I have to say I am more humbled than anything when I think upon my first vows to Him as a very young man. But.....there is this left. In the quietness and solitude of sitting at the beach my freshman year, I remember saying to Him over and over again.......Whatever you want me to do.....Wherever you want me to move......Whomever you want me to leave behind........No matter what it costs.....I will do it. But I will ONLY do it, if You come with me. Just come with me.
This life is short. Everything will soon pass. Discern not what is good. Discern what is best. That is the challenge.
For after all, is there a greater love than this?
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| Thanks for the crazy ride CCMers.....see ya and take care. Phil 3:13-16.
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THIRD DAY
Offering
words by Mac Powell/music by Third Day
Magnificent Holy Father
I stand in awe of all I see
Of all the things You have created
But still You choose to think of me
Who am I that You should suffer
Your very life to set me free
The only thing that I can give You
Is the life You gave to me
This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
And I will give You my life
For it's all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me
I stand before You at this altar
So many have given You more
I may not have much I can offer
Yet what I have is truly Yours
This is my offering
In my opinion, one of the greatest songs ever written......
P.S.
THIS IS SPARTA!
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