This Weekend and Uganda

Uganda is prevalent in the thoughts and prayers of our class at church these days.   The founders of Ugandan Lambs are leaving for their trip today; and the others in the Ugandan team will join them next week.

Also, yesterday, we had a very interesting talk from one of our church missionaries working with eMI building buildings and building in people in Uganda.   The engineering work being done in architecting and building buildings, structures, and schools is so interesting and seems so meaningful and fulfilling.  And the speaker, who described himself as an "extroverted engineer" was so interesting to listen to.  I was motivated to work on being better able to proclaim the glories of God and to communicate it more effectively.  May God continue to be at work through that family and their ministry.  And may He continue to be with them through all the challenges they have faced - loss of a family member, health issues with eyes, etc.

Saturday, we had a good time of fellowship at our class potluck.  I made fried rice with brown and red rice; but, because of the consistency, it just didn't quite taste right.  It is healthier and it tastes okay; but, I'm not sure how I feel about making it again.

After church yesterday, I spent the day with a friend from class.   Though she fits into the old category of friendship that I "give" a lot to - driving, finding places to go and things to do, paying for meals, etc; yet, it's not totally inequitable.  She has a truly grateful spirit, she encourages me in words, and she prays for me.  In fact, just an hour after we prayed together at the end of the day, God answered.  And she sincerely expresses thanks and tries to think of ways to bless me.  And, we found a good Thai restaurant - Thai BBQ at 7th and Temple in Long Beach.   It had really good Pad Thai and the size of the Thai Iced Tea was nice and large.   We did order Tom Yum Pla - the white fish was good, but, I've never been a huge fan of that lemon grass tart flavor in soups.  The previous week, we went to Bai Plu on Bellflower - that is a Thai/Japanese restaurant.  There, the sushi fish was not so fresh and we ordered a Thai soup with coconut milk.  Overall, the prices were more expensive and the food not as good as at Thai BBQ.    Also, the waitress at Thai BBQ was very friendly and even gave us some recipe tip secrets - the Pad Thai sauce used tamarind, vinegar, and sugar; and the secret was red onions.   The iced tea was just Thai tea with half-and-half.   I would definitely go back to Thai BBQ  (their lunch special Pad Thai was only $6.99 and it was so good).

Top Chef Masters

Just watching Season 1 of Top Chef Masters, it was really interesting to see how the way each chef cooked and the food that they prepared really was a reflection of who they were.

Chef Hubert Keller really impressed me.   He is one who pays attention to detail and works with clean, organized, and neat precision.  His food seemed to rise above those of his competitors, yet, he still maintained a humble personality.  And his presentation was beautiful.

Chef Suzanne Tracht was really interesting to me.   In some ways, I could relate to her.  She mentioned being one of the only women in the kitchen when she started in the business, and I too work in a male-dominated profession.   Also, she seemed to have a quieter, definitely less outgoing personality than many of the other chefs she competed against.  Yet, early on, I already recognized a quality in her cooking that motivated me to root for her.  She made comments several times that indicated how important family was to her; and her cooking really demonstrated generosity and caring.

Chef Rick Bayliss comes across as such a friendly person who is really likeable, someone you just want to hang out and eat with.   He definitely cooked what he knew, keeping with his Mexican flavors.

Esther 5

The beginning of the first verse reminds us that Esther waits until the third day of the fasting and prayer before she appears before the king, risking her life.  She does her part by wearing the royal robes and looking nice; and God moves the heart of the king to favor her (Prov 21:1).

Esther seems to be sensitive to God's leading and timing, for she does not blurt out her petition right away, but invites the king and Haman to not just one, but two banquets.  The king repeats his question for her petition, for he must know that it was important enough for her to risk her life.  The fact that she had the banquet prepared shows that she took time to plan and do some preparation while fasting and praying.

Meanwhile, Haman reveals that he suffers from extreme emotions - high spirits for being invited to the banquet, yet rage when he sees Mordecai.  He is someone who who has sinful pride but is likely never satisfied, for even in his boasting to his friends and wife of all his "successes", he says it is of no avail when he sees Mordecai.  So, he takes their advice to build an extremely high pole to impale Mordecai.   His evil nature is shown when he can happily enjoy a banquet at the same time he is planning to have someone killed.

This passage shows God's Hand at Work in moving the king, in helping Esther wait for His Timing when making her petition, and in restraining Haman from attacking Mordecai at this time.  This also shows that He already has plans for Haman, which we will see in the coming chapters.

Weekend

It was another somewhat full weekend, yet, I also feel like I had a chance to still take care of some things.  Aside from the normal reviewing for Bible Study and exercising, I also cut hedges, took care of some HOA administrative paperwork, and caught up on devotions.

Also, we celebrated my brother's birthday at Medieval Times.  It was still very touristy and not inexpensive.   But, we got the Summer Knights discount and the birthday person free with one full admission purchase.  Along with fees and taxes, it all came out to about $40/person instead of the normal almost $60.  Overall, it was a better show than Pirates Adventure; and I've always loved horses.   And that time period, is very chivalrous and romantic.  We were seated in the Yellow Knight's section.  He was not bad, but got defeated early on.   The food was actually okay - it was interesting to eat with no utensils.  The garlic bread was good, especially as sop for the tomato soup.  The chicken was pretty good, though the white meat portions were a little dry.  The ribs were not bad, and the potato was seasoned well.   The apple pastry dessert was good.   For drinks, we only had a choice of water, iced tea, pepsi, and coffee.   And our waitress was not very nice nor efficient.   But still, I think my brother enjoyed it, and it was a little more of a "special" celebration than just going out to eat.  Besides, I had never been there before, so it was good to be able to experience it at least once.

I got up early this morning, and actually had a lot of time to spend in prayer to the LORD, doing devotions, and playing & singing worship songs and hymns.   In worship, we were reminded of God's general revelation in nature, and specific revelation through His Word.  In class, we had good discussion.  There was a visitor who did not have a Bible.  I lent her the "extra" Bible I always carry around, and at the end, I felt prompted to offer to let her keep it, and she did.  So, I pray that God will use that Bible for His purposes in her life.  Also, it was interesting that several people have asked whether the talk on JWs that we are planning to have this weekend would be recorded.   It's encouraging that there are people who are interested in the information - may God use it to help us be better prepared when witnessing.

After class, I was able to spend some time with someone from my class.  I had originally planned to help her with her computer and printer, and decided to go to lunch first.   We went to Bai Plu in Long Beach on Bellflower Blvd.  It's a Thai and Japanese restaurant.   It had a nice setup.   The food was okay, though the sushi did not seem so fresh; and the prices were a little high.  However, my friend loved the Thai soup (a coconut milk, lemon grass, soup with tofu and mushrooms).   She had never had it before and really enjoyed it.  When we went to her place to look at her computer and printer, there was really nothing wrong with them.  It was just some education and training that she needed, in order to understand what she was encountering and needed to do.

Gorilla Fund

I had a chance to visit Zoo Atlanta for the Gorilla Fund customer.   It was actually quite interesting to learn more about gorillas and about how this organization collects scientific and media data for analysis and reporting, and focuses on the preservation of this endangered species in the Rwanda-Uganda-DRC (Congo) region.   The really interesting work the researchers do make me wonder anew whether I really should have continued on with a PhD.

I learned that the mountain gorillas in the wild are different from those in captivity in zoos.  I also learned some interesting facts about the naming of the newest baby gorilla in the zoo, and the birthdate of the twin pandas.   I also did not know that there are only three zoos in the US that have pandas.  I guess I was fortunate to have been able to see them before, in Washington DC and Australia.

It turned out to be a nice trip.  Aside from having a tour of the zoo and being able to see the gorillas up close; I also got to see the CNN building, World of Coca Cola building, the Aquarium, and the Centennial Olympic Park again.  I was also able to sit at the SunDial, the revolving restaurant bar at the top of the Westin 73 floors up.  The view of the city was great.  Also the structure of the Marriott Marquis hotel is architecturally impressive and beautiful.  And the convenience of the connection through walkways to the Peachtree Center Marta to go to and from the airport is really nice as well.

On the way there, I had a chance to meet another Christian on the plane.  She was on the cusp of some transitions in her life; and it was really encouraging to be able to share about books we've read, ways we've seen God at work, etc.   Then on the last evening, I even had a chance to talk to my manager about Christianity.  I see God at work in his life since he mentioned that he has several other Christian friends who seem to have been talking to him as well.  I will keep him in prayer.  It's interesting how God has given me opportunities to talk about my faith.  I pray that He will use me to plant seeds and to encourage others.   I pray also that He will help me to be a more effective communicator and witness.  Amen.

Fourth of July Weekend '14

The Fourth of July Holiday is a good reminder to not take our Freedoms for granted.  It was a quiet weekend for me but I did catch some of the fireworks from the military base.

It is also nice to have an extra day off to take care of things I just normally don't have time for, and I was quite productive. I finally changed my porch exterior light and put in a new motion sensor light in the back.  Both worked out well and look good.  Changing lights was a very useful skill to learn and I appreciate that my dad was able to show me how to do it.  I also bought new outlet and switch covers and put them into the newly painted room.

In addition, I had a chance to catch the finals of Wimbledon with two of my favorite tennis players battling for the title.  In a long 5-game match, Djokovic defeated Federer.   Both of them wanted the title so much an gave it their all.   It's motivating and causes me to evaluate what it is that I am devoting deeply my time and energies into, and what I am able to "excel" in.   My focus is definitely in serving God, and if I were to say which area I pursue excellence in, it would be in teaching God's Word; which is worthwhile in the eternal perspective.

On Sunday, one of the Assistant Pastors at my church preached on my life verses, with a sermon entitled "What are you Looking At?  How to Win the Race".  He used one of my favorite Olympic stories, the one of Derek Redman's inspiration Olympic race finish, when his dad helped him limp to the finish line despite his injury.  Following are some truths from Hebrews 12:1-3 to help us be successful in finishing our race in life:

• The Crowd - "Therefore" refers to the Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith heroes, who have already run the race so that they can encourage us for continue b/c the prize is worth it.  In our "crowd", we can include NT saints and godly people we have known
• The Uniform - Other passages in Scripture talk about what we put on (e.g. armor, love, etc); but, this focuses on what we put off - sin and hindrances.   We are to throw off anything that will hinder us in the race
• The Track - Christ has already marked out and prepared the path we are to take; and we are to run it with perseverance, for it is not a sprint but a marathon
• The Goal - We are to fix our eyes on JESUS!   When Jesus is in our sights, our perception of temptation, sin, hindrances become clearer in light of Him.  He is also our best example of how to run the race.  His being the "author and perfector" not only indicates that He is at the beginning and end; but also every step of the way.  When we fix our eyes on Him, we will not lose heart or grow weary.  A good related story is that in Matt 14, Peter was able to walk on water as long has he had his eyes on Jesus, but began to sink when he took his eyes off.

Sunday evening, I had a really special time with the Lord in my "prayer corner".   He is GOOD and I love HIM!