posted by James on 01/5/09
O the joy of selfless giving; O the creativity of homemade surprises! O the excitement of the Christmas Eve gift exchange!
Despite Donald’s distant locality in Taiwan, he was able to participate in the gift exchange by sending Michael a unique gift in the mail: a few authentically Taiwanese items including a pair of chopsticks!
Michael’s gift was presented to David: a handy pencil and eraser holder of original design skillfully crafted with artistic ingenuity from the branch of a maple.
David’s gift was for Donald, covertly sent to him earlier and unannounced until that night. He had compiled instructions for over 8 family-night games for Donald to play with the ministry team in Taiwan.
Next came Jonathan’s gift for Robert: an extraordinary and exceedingly innovative boardgame of Staddonopoly complete with custom-made properties and personalized chance and community chest cards!
Robert expounded on Daniel’s keen interest for refined classical music by assembling on CD a collection of classical masterpieces from the famed Van Cliburn 12th International piano competition.
Completely unaware of the gift Robert was making for him, Daniel had created a very similar gift for Esther focused more from an educational standpoint. He had meticulously compiled three classical music CD’s with a 7 page booklet designed to familiarize the listener with the composers of various music periods and their distinctive styles.
Esther, knowing James’ desire to learn the art of meal preparation in Chicago, gave him some practical recipes and bags of pre-made mixes. Very practical!
The final gift of the evening was a booklet James gave Jonathan of tips and techniques to assist him in his videography interests!
The love that went into each gift was a reminder of the great love that motivated God to send to us the greatest gift of all: Jesus Christ.
1 Comment » | posted in Family News
posted by Robert on 01/3/09
I spent some time wandering through a graveyard today. It amazes me how walking through a graveyard can impact a person’s outlook on life.
My great great uncle Arthur Bland passed away on Tuesday and today was the funeral. Since he was a veteran of a foreign war, the burial ceremony was recognized with a three-gun salute, the folding of the flag, and a trumpeter playing the slow and haunting notes of Taps. Emotions welled up inside me and I could hardly keep back the tears.
Afterwards I meandered from tombstone to tombstone, reading the names, pondering the lifespans, and considering the lives of person after person. Each of these people had dreams, goals, and aspirations, just like me. Slowly the things that were really important in life came into focus as being really important. And the things that really weren’t so important didn’t look so important.
Here’s a good thought to keep in mind as I make my happy little New Year’s resolutions, "What am I doing now that is going to matter when my body is lying under a tombstone in a lonely country grave?"
Happy New Year!
4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side
posted by Robert on 01/1/09
As I sit here typing away on my laptop, I can overhear my brother Jonathan up in his room. He’s working diligently on memorizing a verse of Scripture—II Timothy 2:2! This is because several of us have taken on a New Year’s Challenge. From now to January 26th we’re going to be helping each other work toward a common goal: memorizing the entire 2nd chapter of II Timothy—26 verses in 26 days!
The character quality connected to this New Year’s resolution would definitely be Determination: Purposing to accomplish God’s goals in God’s time regardless of the opposition.
The team at livingthejourney.com is encouraging Journey to the Heart alumni along the same lines and they will have a daily word of insight or encouragement from each verse of the chapter. I enjoyed what Chad Paine shared from II Timothy 2:1 this morning.
May God bless each of us with good success as we daily meditate on His Word in the New Year!
1 Comment » | posted in Tidbits
posted by Donald on 12/30/08
Have you decided on any specific New Year’s resolutions yet? Maybe they would be easier to remember and apply if each resolution was connected to a certain character quality such as responsibility or truthfulness. Defining and recognizing good character is definitely a need at our time in history.
A couple weeks ago, here at Nan Jung Junior High school, I heard the wonderful news that a series of character announcements had been translated into Chinese. Like the school in Taoyuan, this type of thing is prepared so that students will have a daily reminder and encouragement to practice character in the daily situations they face.
The Lord still looks for those on whose behalf He can show Himself strong. He will reward each student and teacher in the successive fields of academics, sports and social relationships as they continue encouraging a solid base of character.
3 Comments » | posted in Family News
posted by Esther on 12/29/08
The dream of all gingerbread is to one day be a gingerbread house, set on a pedestal and admired by many a passerby. This season a fortunate piece of gingerbread was bought and masterfully glued together with icing into the shape of nothing less than a house! “Oh how exciting! It 
actually happened to me! I have arrived! I am a gingerbread house!” But as I looked at the simple frame of our unfinished gingerbread house, I had different thoughts. Because I knew what it could be. How similar we could sound as Christians. “Oh how exciting! I have been forgiven and am on my way to Heaven! I have the indwelling Holy Spirit! I am living the Christian life!” While you should never cease to wonder in gratitude over these truths, you must realize this is only the beginning! God has an incredible plan to expand on this foundation if you will have a learning spirit, a desire to move forward, and a willingness to let Him work on you.
Let Him smear wet sticky stuff all over you to create a blanket of snow edged with icicles, let Him cut up your little decorations to add wreaths
Read the rest of this entry »
9 Comments » | posted in Family News, Tidbits
Despite Donald’s distant locality in Taiwan, he was able to participate in the gift exchange by sending Michael a unique gift in the mail: a few authentically Taiwanese items including a pair of chopsticks!
Michael’s gift was presented to David: a handy pencil and eraser holder of original design skillfully crafted with artistic ingenuity from the branch of a maple.
Next came Jonathan’s gift for Robert: an extraordinary and exceedingly innovative boardgame of Staddonopoly complete with custom-made properties and personalized chance and community chest cards!
Robert expounded on Daniel’s keen interest for refined classical music by assembling on CD a collection of classical masterpieces from the famed Van Cliburn 12th International piano competition. 
Completely unaware of the gift Robert was making for him, Daniel had created a very similar gift for Esther focused more from an educational standpoint. He had meticulously compiled three classical music CD’s with a 7 page booklet designed to familiarize the listener with the composers of various music periods and their distinctive styles.
Esther, knowing James’ desire to learn the art of meal preparation in Chicago, gave him some practical recipes and bags of pre-made mixes. Very practical!
The final gift of the evening was a booklet James gave Jonathan of tips and techniques to assist him in his videography interests!
