We have all heard it before. The athlete after a victory (usually the one that made the difference in the game) is asked by the sports’ reporter about the game and the response is something like, “First of all, I want to give thanks to Jesus Christ because without Him none of this would be […]
Lessons from a Life-Long Soccer Player
This past Christmas, our family and extended family all gathered together at my cousin’s place. I think their house was the only one big enough to hold all of us together. It was a great time of reconnecting with everyone, as well as enjoying a great home cooked meal – they always go all out. […]
The Infamous Nigerian Scam
KATU News Photo Every time I hear or read about another “victim” of the Nigerian Scam, it drives me up the wall. First of all, the lure of $25 million dollars especially in an economy like this is pretty tempting, but I think it hits a nerve in some of us […]
Weddings and Spiritual Orphans
It doesn’t seem too long ago that I was courting Christina and getting married to the woman of my dreams. Now, most of my friends (if not all) are married and have children. It seems as if I have come full circle now that some of the members in our church are getting engaged and […]
Blessed Christmas 2008
Christian Wallpaper Photo There are so many different pictures depicting the birth of Jesus on the web, but this one stuck out for me. Maybe it was the stars. Or the simplicity of the background. But most of all, I think it was the radiance of God’s glory in the manger. […]
Apple and Leadership
Getty Photo To set the record straight – “I am NOT an Apple hater!” In fact, I used an Apple (Macintosh) when I was in college (I had a Macintosh SE) and in seminary I used a Powerbook 520. I just prefer a PC now. I give all these disclaimers because […]
Ministry According to Will Smith
USA Today Photo I enjoy watching movies, especially with Christina. Some of my favorite actors are in the likings of De Niro and Pacino. But more recently, I have been slowly enjoying Will Smith (I still can’t believe he was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). For the promotion of his new […]
The Blinding Power of Power
AP Photo By now, many of you have probably heard about the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. Blagojevich and his administration were on a 3-year probe by the FBI; and on Tuesday, they were finally charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of […]
First Vietnamese-American Congressman
Things are happening. History is being made all over the political landscape. It is encouraging to hear about how people in the state of Louisiana elected the first Vietnamese-American to Congress. Joseph Cao came out of nowhere. But his committed to the community and wanting to bring change, helped him get […]
The Madness of Black Friday
In the last two years, Christina and I have participated in the Black Friday madness. We have been able to get some good deals last year, but this year we decided to take a break from all the madness. It might be rooted in a slight protest from all the consumerism. In fact, the last […]
2008 Thanksgiving Reflections
Recently, I read an interesting reflection by Jill Carattini, who is a managing editor for a Ravi Zacharias International Ministries newsletter. She writes, “To our grumbling prone lips, these words are quite revealing. If being thankful is by nature being aware and appreciative of things beyond ourselves, complaining is refusing to see anything but ourselves. […]
2008 Undergraduate Retreat Reflections
It seems like every year at the Undergraduate Retreat God does something “unique” for that particular season in our church. This year, it was the first time that we had three campuses come together from UM, NU, and UIC. Whenever you get people from different campuses together it is hard to build unity, but from […]
The Palin Dichotomy
There was an USA Today article entitled, “Southern Baptists Back Palin Despite View on Women’s Role.” Mike Baker wrote that while the biggest Protestant denomination holds to the belief that a woman may not lead a church or a home, but they do not see anything wrong with Sarah Palin serving as Vice-President (if elected) […]
Faith and God’s Honor
Recently, in some of my reflections and meditations, I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between God’s glory and faith. I have been trying to wrestle with the idea that somehow God receives a lot of glory and praise when His people live a life of faith. Faith is a crazy thing. When […]