February 2012
2 posts
Need to Pray
Me: I just had an imaginary argument with a TSA agent...
Wife: I think you need to pray.
Lying to Yourself
Me: I really do think I'm a morning person.
Ferial: I know. I think you're lying to yourself, dear.
December 2011
1 post
November 2011
1 post
“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good...”
– C. S. Lewis (via sketchmedesire)
October 2011
3 posts
Watchhpotterfacts:
Harry Potter as a teen comedy
Sheer genius.
September 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Volcanos: The Deadliest Volcano In the Planet Is... →
The last time the deadliest volcano in the planet exploded it was 1815. It killed more than 71,000 people on the spot and it was responsible for a volcanic winter that caused the worst worldwide famine of the 19th century. Now it may explode again.
August 2011
7 posts
“The disciples were told, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit...”
– Paul Hattaway
Whatever I Tram Well Please →
I’ve decided to switch over from Tumblr to Blogger as my primary blog. I may still post things to this blog from time to time, but if you want to keep up with me, this is the new place to do it.
“His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great...”
– C.H. Spurgeon
7 tags
Scared To Death
For most of my life I wasn’t afraid to die. When I was a student through middle school, high school and college, I actively didn’t fear death. I feared not. I did things that were stupid, adventurous and downright awesome.
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I suppose I felt I was invincible. I knew I was mortal. However, I was young, healthy and strong…for a teenage stick-boy. I had this feeling that the only...
2 tags
July 2011
6 posts
15 tags
Getting Old, Cross-Culturally
I turn 31 this year, and while there may be plenty of hip 31 year-olds, I feel less and less like I am one of them.
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I go to bed at between 10 and 11 every evening (even most weekends). I don’t know who is #winning. I have no idea who Nicki Minaj is. I’ve never heard an entire Lady Gaga song. I’ve never seen Jersey Shore (is it a reality show or a soap?). Oh, and I find Bon...
Vocation: What does it mean to be called?
“It comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a man is called to by God.
There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest.
By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the...
June 2011
2 posts
6 tags
Off To A Rough Start
My morning is not going very well.
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I overslept (like most days).
My wife is sick and staying home from work.
That means I will have to take on some of her responsibilities at work.
Wednesdays are currently my longest day.
I had made plans to go to the bank today, planning for all of my classes yesterday, so that I could afford to go this morning. When I awoke it was raining. The...
May 2011
11 posts
teasipper asked: You live in Korea John? I had no idea. I also have no idea why the bubbleflop shoes were popular. =\
8 tags
My last meal
So, I was laying in bed this morning, while my wife was out running, and I suddenly had a morbid thought:
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If I were on Death Row (not the record company), what would I choose as my last meal?
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As I pondered this hypothetical situation, I first needed a back story.
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You see, I’m not a violent person. Philosophically speaking, I’m a pacifist. I say philosophically,...
7 tags
One Step At A Time
There’s a white guy who lives in my neighborhood. I don’t know his name. I don’t know where he works. However, I do know his job must have pretty good hours. I know this, because I see him many times a week, while I am leaving or going to work. Whenever I see him, he is either jogging, or riding a bike. We call him, “the sporty guy.” The Sporty Guy seems to be...
9 tags
Completely Obsessed With...
…Treasure Summer Blockbuster Films
I’m not really much of a sports enthusiast. I enjoy sports, but I don’t keep up with any. I don’t know who plays for what team or who is in the playoffs. I regularly enjoy making fun of my sports loving friends on Facebook, who post nothing but game updates, celebrations and complaints toward the end of EVERY sporting season.
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...
7 tags
Watch.
Local, Hometown discipleship.
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No, you don’t have to move overseas to be a missionary.
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People need to. Desperately people need to. Millions around the world are dying without the gospel. They need you to. However, if you’re not going to; if you’re going to spit that tired old line about being a missionary at home, in your neighborhood, in your own country,...
Watch“Who I am is in between what I wanna be and what I am.”
-The OC Supertones
6 tags
WatchNow this is something to rejoice about.
“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the...”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
8 tags
Osama Bin Laden
Osama Bin Laden has been killed. I came in from lunch and was met with this news, minutes before teaching. My emotional compass was disturbed, and for a moment, I couldn’t quite figure out which way it was pointing. Whatever my initial response, it was electric. It felt good. It felt exciting. Waves of relief, patriotism and the excitement of watching a really good drama play out...
April 2011
17 posts
4 tags
cross-cultural awkwardness
Me: Andrew, are you playing with your pang-ee?
Andrew: No.
Me: Are you holding your pang-ee?
Andrew: I’m just looking at it…
Me: Give it to me…
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Explanation: There’s a TV show and line of toys here that is really popular (it would appear it’s popular in the west too, but I didn’t know until today) called Metal BeyBlade. The toys are simply steel...
“How not to pray for ice cream:
“Dearest father, we first would like to thank...”
– –Pastor Mark Driscoll
5 things I already regret today
1) I’ve spent too much money today.
2) I am eating fast food for lunch, because I didn’t plan better.
3) I was rude to the lady at KFC and walked out of the restaurant.
4) I was rude to my taxi driver, over a dime and 100 meters.
5) I am posting this blog from the floor of the grizzly bear paddock, at the San Diego Zoo.
11 tags
On the brink of Stage 4
I’ve always been more than a little fashion conscious. Not in the sense that I keep up with trends, but in the sense that I’ve always been particular about what I wear. I guess you could say that I’m fashion self-conscious. In middle school, I was so desperate to be accepted that I was like a lame chameleon whose mother only shopped at Ross. I would wear silly Reebok...
5 tags
Christianity Explored →
For anyone who who stumbles upon my blog or follows my facebook feed and wonders why in the world I would choose to be a Christian…
Perhaps you should check out this website.
15 tags
Declaring Bankruptcy
I was reading an article in the New York Times today, about how etiquette is changing due to the convergence of the real / virtual worlds. It was all very profound, and yet, at the same time, nothing new. We’ve been dealing with this issue from the day we started carrying around telecommunications bricks to the inception of lolspeak (not to mention it’s great-grandfather pager code)....
8 tags
This Time, It's Personal
I bow my heart.
I bend my knee.
Oh, Spirit come make me humble.
I turn my eyes from evil things.
Oh, Lord, I cast down my idols.
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Give me clean hands.
Give me a pure heart.
May I not lift my soul to another.
Give me clean hands.
Give me a pure heart.
May I not lift my soul to another.
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Oh, God, may I be
A holy person who seeks,
Who seeks your face, O God of Jacob.
Oh, God,...
6 tags
The Magnolia Massacre
You may remember a blog I posted almost a year ago called The Parable of The Magnolia and The Monsoon. With Spring finally showing it’s face again, I was awaiting those blossoms that would defy the rains and bloom again this year.
Then it happened.
I was walking to work a couple of days ago, and noticed that over the weekend, some butcher chopped them all down! There are newly...
4 tags
Internal Combustion Engine
One discussion I commonly like to have with my higher level students is “what is the most important invention of all time?” We usually make a long list, and then narrow it down to the top 3. Electricity is usually the top answer.
Inevitably, they ask my opinion on the matter. Now, my personality forces me to think about this in an interesting way. I can’t just think of...