Category: reflections

How would you respond?

dong-yun-yoon

Dong Yun Yoon [English name is Don Yoon], 37, was at work at his cafe when he discovered the horrible news of a F/A-18 jet crashing into a residential home – his home. His wife, two young babies, and his mother-in-law who had recently arrived from Korea to help take care of the babies [a Korean custom] all were killed in this tragedy.

Eugene C Cho shares Yoon’s story on his blog. And you can watch video on CNN.

And I’ll be honest, had it not been for Cho, I’d have no idea this even happened.

Yoon married his wife, Young Mi Yoon [a nurse], four years ago and had two children: Grace [15 months] and Rachel [2 months]. They had just moved into this house one month ago.

“My wife — it was God’s blessing that I met her about four years ago, and we got married,” he said quietly. “She’s just such a lovely wife and mother, who always loves me, and (the) babies. I just miss her so much.”

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So, your entire family has been taken from you. The pilot of the F-18 that crashed into your house walked away — he ejected just before the crash.

How would you respond?

Yoon responds with grace that can only come from an almighty God.

“…I believe my wife and two babies and mother-in-law are in heaven with God,” he said. “And I know God is taking care of them.”

as for the pilot…

“Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident,” Yoon said. “I know he’s one of our treasures, for the country, and I … don’t blame him. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could.”

Sure makes my petty issues with others seem even more so.

God may we love like you love. May we treasures others like you treasure them. May we see your image in them all. May we conspire to live differently this season and live our lives differently from this point forward.

“Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sins.”

The Chronological Study Bible

A few weeks back I received a copy of Thomas Nelson’s Chronological Study Bible (NKJV).

New AMAZING COLORFUL study Bible

No lie – I was blown away!

Just skimming through the pages wowed me with the layout and the extensive use of color and imagery throughout the pages.

I’ve since used it several times in preparation for various studies and messages and will say that it’s a great companion for any study.

As a “study Bible” I haven’t been blown away by any particular insights included in the study notes and such but that doesn’t diminish my feelings at all. And to be fully honest and fair about it, I can’t say I’ve read this entire Bible all the way through yet (with our without the notes) — so there are likely countless things still waiting to be discovered.

New study Bible

I was thrown originally by the order of the Gospel letters (where I’ve spent most of my study time). As a Chronological Study Bible, I still expected the letters to remain intact, simply placed in the order they were historically (or at least believed to be) written. I have a copy of The Books of The Bible (TNIV) that’s organized more in that manner — and I’m certain this previous experience with a “chronological Bible” tainted how I expected this Bible to read.

(Side note :: The Books of The Bible focuses a lot more on readability than study — with no chapter or verse deviations and text formatted in one column per page rather than multiple columns),

In comparison to The Books of the Bible, the chronological order is that of the Biblical Narrative, not necessarily the order of the authorship. Like I said, this was a disappointment — at first — but I’ve come to appreciate it as an entirely different resource/tool as I delve further into the text. It helps me see the broader picture of where the various stories of Jesus line up and which authors included which stories, and which ones excluded others.

Along with ordering the text in narrative order, I’ve also come to really appreciate the time line that scrolls above each of the pages. This gives an even broader dimension to studying and helps the reader see a better picture of how various events/texts align themselves within the greater Biblical narrative.

Further study of the Bible showed how the editors worked to carry out the narrative order by intertwining texts like the story of David, with his poetry and songs in the book of Psalms. This gives the reader a better feeling of David’s narrative, with his feelings and thoughts and reflections wrapped around them. I’m looking forward to delving into the Psalms even further with this added resource.

Now if only they just had a version with Eugene Peterson’s translation. 🙂

New study Bible

Here are some additional notes/points from Thomas Nelson ::

  • The entire New King James Bible with translators’ notes, arranged in chronological order-the order in which the events and writings actually happened, for absorbing and effective Bible study
  • Full-color illustrations of places, artifacts, and cultural phenomena that give the reader a dramatic, “you are there” experience
  • Fascinating articles that connect the Bible text to world history and culture
    Daily Life Notes that explain how people lived in Bible times
  • Epoch Introductions and Historical Overviews that provide vivid chronological context
    Transition Comments that set the stage and prepare the reader for the biblical text that follows
  • “Time Capsules” of world history that accompany the Bible text
  • Time Panels and Charts that show the flow of Bible history
  • In-text and full-page color maps of the biblical world
  • A handy scripture finder index that provides rapid access to any passage
  • Topical Index and Glossary to facilitate study

Google found my backyard

So, Google Maps still hasn’t updated my street on their site. Not sure why, perhaps the developers haven’t officially turned the roads over to the city yet. Who knows – but you can at least see our backyard now thanks to Google Street view (which covers most of the US now!! WOW!).


View Larger Map

UPDATE :: and here’s the house I grew up in…


View Larger Map
There used to be an amazing Cottonwood tree in the front (where all the grass is gone.) and the house used to be painted red and white.

and here’s the house my mom and her sister grew up in ::


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all the brick work is new and the front door used to be between the two windows. the trees over to the right of the house is where me and my friends used to build forts and such.

What kids really want this Christmas

christmas village
christmas village

The Simple Dollar shares several pointers on how to make Christmas much more meaningful this year.

First off they note, that the really meaningful Christmas gifts don’t come from MegaMart.

My wife and I take pleasure in creating homemade Christmas gifts, as do many of our friends. But even these are secondary to the time we spend “playing Santa”, driving around making holiday deliveries to the people we know. As we chat on porches or sit in living rooms, sipping hot cocoa and fawning over children, it’s the bonds of friendship that are important — not the gifts.

The post then shares several pointers from the book, Unplugging the Christmas Machine.

Robinson and Staeheli (the book’s authors) argue that children don’t really want clothes and toys and games. The four things they actually want are:

  • A relaxed and loving time with the family. Children need relaxed attention. During the holidays, normal family routines are temporarily set aside for parties, shopping, and special events. It’s important to slow down and spend quality time with your kids.
  • Realistic expectations about gifts. Kids enjoy looking forward to gifts and then having their expectations met. The key is to manage their expectations. By educating them about what “Santa” can afford, and is willing to give, it’s possible to prevent disappointment on Christmas morning.
  • An evenly-paced holiday season. The modern Christmas season starts months before December 25th, when the first store displays go up. Things end with a bang on Christmas day. The authors suggest beginning the season late in the year instead. Get out the Christmas music on December 15th. Pick out a tree on the following weekend. Schedule some low-key family events during Christmas week. Stretch the season to New Years Day.
  • Reliable family traditions. When I talk to my friends about what Christmas was like when we were Children, it’s not the gifts that we remember. We recall the things we did as a family. I remember sleeping next to the tree every Christmas eve, but never being able to catch Santa in the act. I remember seeing the cousins. I remember decorating the trailer house. Your kids will remember the traditions, not the gifts.

That last point is so important: it’s the traditions that make this season special, not the gifts.

I shared with our small group Saturday night that the idea of giving and receiving “material gifts” has become a lot more trivial to me in recent years. Maybe I’m ungrateful and expect everyone else to feel the same way — I dunno. I just feel like a gift card or a last minute gift says nothing about how you might really feel about that person.

Spending an hour over coffee at Starbucks, or a bowl of popcorn seems to say so much more.

What about you? What are you thinking, doing differently this year?

A day of fasting

This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

Isaiah 55:6-9

For those interested or curious, you can listen to the message I shared with my tribe yesterday.

re: What would you tell Obama?

I took a photo tonight for my memo to Barack Obama. Took it in the midst of another photo shoot with Laurie (so that’s the brief background on the suit and santa hat :-)).

I posted the photo to Facebook and Flickr and then decided – hey – why not create a Flickr group to let everyone share their memo’s to the president-elect.

So, I’m hoping that by the time you read this – this slideshow will be full of photos (and not just mine). But regardless – share yours and then tell a friend.