Vietnam, Vietnam, Bangkok?

Hello Everyone,

Because it has been such a week full of activities, I will only write once a week and try to fill you in on my activities.  It is now 11:49 p.m. here in Ho Chi Minh, where I've been staying for the last few days.  Saturday, saw the departure of my mom and my sister back to the main land, leaving me here to the care of my aunt, uncle, and cousins.  But before they departed we embarked on a three day adventure through a tropical storm, winding mountains, and of course the exhausting and delightful traffic that is Ho Chi Minh. 

On the day I arrived, I tried to get rid of the grunge look and come back to reality a little and headed of to the barber shop to get a haircut (cat top or something like that).  It was very unimpressive as no doubt the barber looked quizzically at my head before lopping of the curly strands until it formed some shape I'll try not to describe.  A little shampoo and massage followed.  I think this place fronts the hair cut because I was to the back room and the lady kept smiling at me.  I know I'm somewhat of a good looking guy--ha, ha, ha--but flashing the smile more than a couple of time and pausing for a response may indicate something or just my imagination.  Another indicator is there were guys were hanging around the front and the only girls there were the one's working behind the counter.  As I entered a couple of gentlemen came out from the back room.

Enough with the haircut and on to the trip.  Before I left, I though I would be going to Da Nang, Hue, and Hoi An.  However, when I arrive I was corrected and told that we would be heading to Nha Trang and Dalat, both have their own majestic appeal.  Too bad on this trip, one was more appealing than the other.  Nha Trang occupies a span along the South China Sea and is a popular place to go for vacationers.  It has a array of islands you can take a boat to.  While on your trip, they feed you lunch....

TO BE CONTINUE.....sleep has caught up with me

It's been a few month and without my friend Mindy to remind me, I would of left this blogging thing go to not.  Anyways, sorry if I missed you this Sunday.  I cleaned up my bedroom and went to Menlo Park Presbyterian for their evening servist called Catalyst.  In the last few weeks, no matter where I go the sermons have hit me.  When you are a Christian for a long time you can forget if you are not seeking the source consistantly.  I must confess, with the long summer, I was averaging about once a week.  Where will my spiritual life go?  Nowhere.  The Christian life is rigorous in that the hardest work might be submission in order to be lifted up.

Thanks again to my sister Mindy for keeping me accountable.  This is what I had hoped for.  She care for my spiritual well being enough to ask.  When I think of Living Stone, this is what I think of, a spiritual community that challenges one another to live in Christ.

Anyways, ask, "Yo, how are you do'in?" in the life of people's walk with Jesus.

Perspectives--a mission class is happening in San Jose, Monday starting today @ Hillsdale Evangelical Free Church.  Pick up your material, start of class is next week.  There is homework.

Love and Peace!

Proverbs 16:9

"I his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

While I was reading, I came upon this verse.  I had to stop and write about it.  In the last few months, there has been an overwhelming desire within the small circle of people that I know and the greater public arena to pursue a purpose driven life.  Taking this into account, I thought this was an appropriate verse.  To gain greater context I would suggest people read from the beginning of the chapter.  This not a license to do what ever and say God has permitted this, it must be God's will.  I am blogging now to share with my friend some of the thoughts I have and also creating a point of accountablity for myself to richly meditate on God's word.

There has been growing concern on my part, presume my arrogance as well as ignorance on this matter, that many people are searching for purpose and meaning in their lives.  They seek to know answers and to see definitively where they will be in the future.  The funny thing is that they know the uncertainty of the future and yet go on.  I reflecting upon the verse, I come to see a couple of things in myself and in people who talk about knowing the will of God for their life.  I think that most of us who are indeterminant or indecisive do not live with this verse in mind.  Rather we live by the A² principle:  Apathy and Afraid.  There seems to be a correlation between the two, weather they are direct or indirect.

A² implies that if we are apathetic, we may have doubts and reservations about the future.  These reservations and doubts over time can produce fear, anxiety, and worries.  Some of you may be thinking, "What is he talking about?! An apathetic person wouldn't care enough to worry about his or her future?"  However, I would argue that the current use of the word implies a movement in the direction of nowhere.  Since we are a generation that is much more emotive in our actions and apathy being the lack of emothon, it produces in us a lack of motion. 

Here in lie the problem.  The practice of apathy can lead to the erosion of a vibrant life.  It can lead to paralysis.  I will only make one assumption on how this may play out a regards to a person future.  As the apathetic person moves out go seek his or her future, he or she may be bogged down by the listlessness of their current existence.  The choices they make may not have any great importance to them and may seem very arbitrary.  What insue may be the feeling of "goning through the motion", a lifeless movement that reflects what is going on within.  He or she cannot move beyond this feeling.  On the other hand, there is the apathetic who tries to move out but encounters the life he or she had been living is now a road block.  He or she come to crisis of caring that has been atypical of his or her life pattern.  This caring, a desire to do something that is purposeful to him or her, can produce a sense of anxiety that can either be benificial or detrimental.  What is benificial would be if he or she can move beyond their existing state of being and have a sense of urgency and focus in the decisions that they make towards their future.  If this is not the case and they maintain the apathetic state, fear will insue and pits itself against their hopes without the power within to move.

A² also works in reverse, being afraid can lead to apathy.  I don't have time to elaborate on this point.  Think about how this might work.

I addressed the antithesis to this verse in order to make it come more alive in my mind and apply it in my life:

Plan it up!--> Make plans and decision on the direction I want to see my life move. 

Give it up!-->Pray it up to God.  Be specific as possible at every step in the plan.  Take heed of the Spirit movement in the midst what I want to do.  Make adjustments where applicable to God's call.  God knows the desires of my heart.

Live it up!-->I will put my trust/faith in God as I take steps towards what I have plan and what God has revealed to me.  Keep in mind God's command and obey them as I go.  Thank God for all things.

Heart & Hands plus the Omniscience, the Omnipresence, and Omnipotence of God = God's Omnipresence in the Heart and Hands plus his Omniscience and Omnipotence = Living Water plus the Breath of Life

H² + O³ = H²O + O² = the essentials for life--> Living Water + the Breath of Life

Life is much more complex than what was pointed out above.  Seek truth and understanding.