End of Chapter

Today marks the end of a chapter in my life.   This was my last Elder Selection Committee meeting for this past three year term.  It was such a privilege to serve on the committee and I am so grateful that I gained the experience of seeing how the Holy Spirit was at work in guiding the selection of leaders for our church.

In tonight's meeting, we selected the two people who would be replacing me and the other person who started when I did.   I think that these were two very qualified and experienced candidates who will serve well on the committee.

As I look back, I feel that I have been able to contribute to the committee through writing all the elder bios and serving as secretary to take meeting minutes.   Also, one candidate I had nominated eventually became an elder; and I think that I've been able to ask some pretty good questions during the interviews.  So, I leave, feeling that I have done my best and that I have served faithfully.

30-May:  The current Elder Selection Committee chairman encouraged me yesterday when he said that I was missed, especially in the area of taking care of the minutes of the meetings.  It's nice to be affirmed that I made useful contributions when I served.

Christmas'13

Christmas is fast approaching.  As I am busily trying to keep up the rapid pace, I feel the need to stop and reflect on CHRIST, the true reason for this season.   Even taking a break from leading Bible Study makes me feel like I haven't been seriously in the Word at this time.  I have taken time to pray, and being at church is a good reminder (although, it also adds to the busy-ness).  I did want to note that I was really glad to see is how my class was able to glean solid truths out of the lesson that was being taught. 

I've been preparing for the COA outreach, with organizing everything for the blankets (purchasing, wrapping, transport, lunch, etc).   We're in the midst of the selection committee process.   There are family things going on; and I'm hosting our family Christmas dinner.

Last night was our Community Group Christmas Party.  It was, as usual, so much fun - we have such a good group of people.   During time of sharing, some told stories of "wonder" from their experiences.   White Elephant is always fun - I got a nice tea set this time.   Then, we did Christmas carol pictionary.   It was a great time of fellowship.

I've wrapped my gifts; but, still need to do cards.   I also need to arrange to get-together to give the gifts.  And, there is still "normal" responsibilities and obligations, including AV duties.  This is still one of my favorite times of the year; and I do try to ensure that what I am busy with has eternal purposefulness.

 20-Dec:   It actually felt like I was finally ready for Christmas when I sent off my last card yesterday.  I do still have the COA outreach blanket wrapping get-together and my family Christmas get-together; but, those are all planned already.  They just need to be implemented.  Before New Year's, I do want to stop and review all that I've learned and grown through this year.

24-Dec:  It's Christmas Eve.  Our church had wonderful services this evening, and they were both really well attended.  The music was good - we had handbell choir, choir, violin, band, and brass band.
But, as I reflect on Christmas this year, there are two passages that stand out:
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  (John 1:14)
and
"Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2:5b-11)
Also, when I had a chance to wish my Pastor and Assistant Pastor a Merry Christmas, they in turn  encouraged me in my teaching and serving.   That means a lot to me coming from two people who I admire and respect much; and who I follow as examples of leadership.

26-Dec:  Christmas was nice.   It was a fairly quiet time spent with family.   I did spend all day cooking, and the food turned out fairly well:

• Kalua Pork - I slow-cooked ~5lb pork butt for 10 hours with about 1 Tbsp each of Alaea Salt and liquid smoke.  I then added some more liquid smoke towards the end, when I removed the skin from pork butt.  It's important to remember to oil the slow-cooker first before starting.  The meat was soft and tasty, especially when served with the juices
• Spinach Quiche - I used half-and-half rather than whipping cream.   It has a soft texture (not sure if the whipping cream would make it more firm).   It was fine though, and better than using just milk.
• Fish Hot Pot - This ended up being served as a soup and was good for a cold evening.  The flavors were really good (stir fried the fish, mushroom and celery separately and added tofu, fish balls, and imitation crab meat).
• Chicken w/Green Bean - I marinated the chicken with cornstarch, sweet soy, and sesame oil.   It browned fairly well, and stayed fairly moist.  When cooking the green bean w/garlic, I kept adding broth to ensure that it stayed soft and didn't dry out
• Sweet Potatoes - Boiled, mashed, and added honey from the Big Island, along with cinnamon and nutmeg.   Place the marshmallows in the nice round pattern before browning
• Asian Cucumber Salad - Diced cucumbers and mixed with green onion, rice vinegar, sugar, and island soya sauce
• Cranberry Bread - Used fresh chopped cranberries - it was quite good   (I had also tried to make cinnamon raisin bread - but it didn't rise so well and tasted old, so I tossed it out)
• Cranberry-Strawberry-Pomegranate-Apple Cider - Started with juices, then added real apples, cinnamon sticks, oranges w/cloves, and nutmeg.   As I continued to boil it, it seemed to thicken and get sweeter - probably works better in a crockpot
• For dessert, I baked a pumpkin pie; but also made an apple puff pastry.  Cut puff pastry into thirds, put apple slices w/brown sugar on top and baked at 400deg for about 18min.   It was easy and not bad; but, I probably wouldn't make it again.

Christmas Concert

Last night was the FISH Christmas concert.  I was not very familiar with the line-up, except for Brandon Heath; but, it was nice that there were a lot of people there to listen.

City Harbor has a lot of room to grow; and Rush of Fools was okay.   I was actually impressed with Colton Dixon.   I did not watch his season of American Idol; but, I had heard his song "You Are" before and liked it, not knowing who the singer was.  He is talented, interesting to listen to, and really played the keyboards enthusiastically.  And he also seemed comfortable sharing about God and praying.  Brandon Heath shared that he got engaged in New York recently.   I've heard several of his songs before.    However, overall, I felt that even though the venue for the concert was a church; I didn't really feel like any of the artists really brought us into worship.   Colton tried and the last song when we all sang "Silent Night" together came close.   So, that was somewhat disappointing.

But, it was nice of the FISH to put this concert together for their listeners; and I definitely cannot complain about the price (can't beat free).  I'm just glad that I had a chance to spend some time with friends listening to some Christmas music.

Hawaii

My Hawaiian Cruise was a really nice 15-day get-away.   It may have been a little too long to be away from email and work; but, I'm glad I had a chance to do so.  There were many great memories and highlights from the trip.

It was  nice to be able to visit Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island again.  And, going on shore excursions allowed me to learn some new facts I had not known before.   As usual, the beauty of God's creation is clear - in the ocean, waterfalls, mountains, canyons, rain forests, etc.  This time around, my favorite island was Maui.   I really liked the Heritage Park, with all the buildings representing the various cultures that came to Hawaii (Portugese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polynesian, etc).   And the Maui Tropical Plantation was impressive, with all the different types of plants and fruits they were able to grow there.

On the cruise, I enjoyed being able to learn to play the ukulele, and even to play it as part of a show with hula dancers as well.   I also really liked the Zumba Fitness class.   It is a fun way to stay in shape.   And, the food was really good also.  I was also glad to once again hear David Klinkenberg perform.

I had a chance to do devotions daily; and to consider what my next class Bible study series will be.   I'm leaning towards Zachariah and Habakkuk.   I even went jogging on the top deck area a few times.

I did get sick in the beginning; and it took me several days to get "caught up" with mail and email when I got back.   But, overall, it was a really good trip!

Christmas Movies

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, and the end of the year is too rapidly approaching.   But, I did watch a Christmas movie today that I wanted to write about.   I have actually always enjoyed Christmas movies:   A Christmas Carol, Love's Christmas Journey, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc.

Today, I saw A Very Merry Mix-Up.  It was sweetly romantic, exhibiting the value of family, love, romance, memories, and traditions.  It was nice to see the two main characters share those values and realize that they belong together.   I also really enjoyed the family tradition game they played - Notes.   There was one cup per person, and each person had to write something nice about each other person and put that NOTE in that person's cup.   Then, the person whose cup it is, would read each NOTE and guess who wrote it to them.   I think that could be very encouraging and memorable.   The only thing is that family members would probably recognize each other's handwriting.  Still, it would be a special "game" to play with loved ones.   Overall, I personally wouldn't mind too much if I had one of those kind of "mix-up"s in my life.

20-Dec:  Fir Crazy was another one of those sweetly cute movies of a career-minded childhood-avoiding person who rediscovers the more important things in life as reflected in Christmas.  And, I've always liked Sarah Lancaster as an actress.
As for The Christmas Spirit, I was not so sure when I first learned about the cast; but, it turned out to be an enjoyable movie that reflected the general Christmas spirit.
Holiday Road Trip was a little slow, but the main characters grew on me; and I was glad to see them end up together at the end.
Christmas Belle reminded me of Beauty and the Beast.  Some of the things that Belle did, I didn't really agree with; and found myself being much more sympathetic with Hunter.   But, it was not a bad Christmas movie.
For Let It Snow, I'm sorry to say that the acting was not so great; and the movie was predictable.  Yet, I didn't really dislike it.  It was fine.
Holidaze was another one of those movies that didn't have a particularly new plot and was somewhat predictable.  However, I actually liked Cameron Mathison's character in the movie and I'm glad it had a happy ending.
Christmas for a Dollar is the best Christmas movie I've watched this year.  It was so touching to watch the love of this family who lost their mom but worked with each other make it through.  The Christmas spirit is really embodied in this movie.
Looking at this list, I sure do watch quite a bit of Christmas movies, don't I?   I think that it is because Christmas movies generally do try to reflect some of the Christmas spirit; so that in general, they are more family-oriented and will show good values in a positive light.   And, I like romantic movies with happy endings - like modern day fairy tales.

2-Jan:   Continuing to watch Christmas movies even after the New Year demonstrates the appeal of Christmas movies.  I just finished watching Christmas in Conway.  It was a tear-jerker of a movie, as expected since one of the main characters was facing death.  The acting was convincing, and the story was touching, truly demonstrating loving and caring.
Angels Sing was a nice movie showing how a father overcomes his aversion to Christmas in order to help his son handle a loss he similar to what he had gone through.  It was also a musician-studded show.
Guess Who's Coming to Christmas was a nice romantic movie that also shows how the main character rediscovers the more important things in life.  I have found that movies by UP are truly uplifting family movies.
Living Proof is not a Christmas movie, but demonstrates the same spirit.  I'm also a fan of Harry Connick Jr, whose good nature comes across.  It was a really touching movie on life and death, where one can't help but root for hope. It's also a reminder of how important it is to find someone that I truly respect and support.
Silver Bells had a clear message on faith, and showed a change in the life of the father who changed his aggressively competitive ways to see the more important values in life.

8-Jan:  It's more than a week into the New Year and I'm still watching Christmas movies....    I just watched "Catch a Christmas Star".   It was sweetly romantic, and I liked the main characters and their relationship.  Now I'm watching "Finding Christmas".  It's similar to "The Holiday", in that two of the main characters swap homes for the holidays.  I liked the characters in the movie and it was enjoyable.  Only, there was just a comment in the movie along the lines of us all being connected through the stars which was questionable.

My Hope America

As I was watching the My Hope America with Billy Graham series of videos, it was clear how much his heart for evangelism comes through.   What an amazing legacy he has built through his faithful service and use of his gift.  One of the quotes that stood out the most to me from the videos was:  "Jesus lived the life I could not live; and died the death I should have died."

Conversations

From the workshop I attended today presented by the CEO/Founder of Compelling Conversations and author of “Transformational Business and Communication Strategist”, there were some good tips on conducting successful conversations.   Following are some of the highlights:

• Address your audience rather than just trying to gather the information you need or focusing on yourself.   This includes understanding the differences in gender communications
• Seek emotional connection instead of just listing facts (allows switch from left to right brain)
• Pay attention to body language, tonality, and words (e.g. some words are better for connecting, such as "imagine" or "share" or "excited")
• A good starter is to ask if the person has time or if this is a good time to talk.   When you ask people "How are you?", ensure that you stop to listen to the answer; and don't ask that of people you don't know 
• Typically, people can only process information in threes, fives, or sevens  (bullet points are more effective than long sentences)
• Create a sense of safety, so that insecurities don't pop up
• Bring out the things that make you unique so that your conversation can stand out (include laughter)
• Don't write emails or make calls when you are angry, overly stressed, etc.   Include in email a greeting or intro, state purpose and timeframe,  and finish up with a unique way of signing out