twnxn's Xanga

We Don't Go To Church. We Are The Church

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:22:33 GMT

I was driving today and drove pass this church not far from where I live. I noticed the church had a nice, brand new sign. The sign read “We don’t go to church. We are the church”. That is so true. The church is not a building, but the body of Christ.

Similarily, some 9-10 years ago I attended this conference. The keynote speaker would ask us what is the difference between saying “I am going to worship” and “I am going to worship”? Okay, you may be saying “huh?” Well, of course, it would be easier if I were to ask you that question verbally. You would hear the difference in the tone of my voice. Some people view worship as a noun- like attending a worship service on Sunday. They will say I am attending worship this Sunday. While the other context of “worship” may be that of a verb- the act of worship. I am going to worship (e.g., going to church to worship God). Of course, worshipping God should not be confined to only Sunday mornings and inside a church building. Worship should be 24/7. Everything we do should be done to honor or glorify God- that can be worship.

Anyhow, more planned to come…

TONY SNOW (RIP 1955-2008)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:38:20 GMT

I have been busy the last few days. Tony Snow actually and sadly passed away this past Saturday, July 12, 2008, after a 3 year battle with colon cancer.

He was a political commentator on FOX News, a political pundit, and a former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush.

Just taking time to reflect on this latest passing. My thoughts and prayers go out to the surviving members of his family- his wife, 2 daughters and son.

More planned to come...

INDY MAC BANK

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:42:00 GMT

In the news... Indy Mac bank goes under. Just part of the domino in our economy. My parents also have money in Indy Mac bank. They have an IRA, despite the fact that the FDIC insures about $250,000.00 for IRAs, my parents are taking money out of Indy Mac, just like many others. For non-IRAs, the FDIC insures up to $100,000.00

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_9882858

More planned to come...

BY THE NUMBERS

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:58:31 GMT

The years just flash on by. I am pretty much “just the facts” type of person and love statistics. Okay, this will really show by age:

BY THE NUMBERS:

Graduated from high school: 19 years ago

Graduated from college: 15 years ago

Graduated from law school: 9 years ago

Living in the same city: 6 years

Working at my current job: over 5 years

Living in my current home: 3.5 years

Almost sounds like a Master Card commercial. Might as well say something that will have you answer “priceless”.

More planned to come…

TRUE FREEDOM

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:33:31 GMT

The true “independence day”. Here is the verse of the day:

Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1, NLT)

Who (or what) are you a slave to? Are you truly experiencing true freedom? Ask yourself these questions.

Sidebar (on the side):

Kudos to Hsieh Cheng-peng and Yang Tsung-hua for winning the Wimbledon boy’s doubles finals. They will become the first Taiwanese to win any sort of Wimbledon’s championship. We also know that Rafael Nadal of Spain won Wimbledon men’s single championship (his first Wimbledon champion, upsetting Roger Federer’s quest to seek a 6^th Wimbledon championship in a row) and Venus Williams of the US won Wimbledon’s women’s single championship (defeating her younger sister Serena Williams). See link below about Hsieh Cheng-peng and Yang Tsung-hua:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/07/07/2003416752

Anyhow, more planned to come…

NEW VOCABULARY: "STAYCATION"

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:46:39 GMT

Well, summer is in full swing here in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in America, there seems to be a new word in our vocabulary that has emerged. That word is "staycation" instead of vacation. With gas/petro prices rising, people find it more costly to travel be it by plane or even driving. In light of these rises in expenses, people are now opting to stay closer to home for their vacation/holiday, hence the word "staycation". There is also the word "daycation" which are merely local, day trips.

Wonder what new word will come in our vocabulary next in light of our current state of the economy.

Anyhow, more planned to come...

PASSIONS OF LIFE

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:04:29 GMT

Okay, this will be another short blog entry. Here's a link to an interesting article about attorneys doing other things on the side that they are passionate about (running a side business) which is something I have contemplated doing:

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/of_passions_and_practice/

Tonight, I will be co-facilitating a Bible study at my small group. I will be leading discussions about Acts 19:21-41. Paul is in Ephesus ministering to people. He does cause a stir in Ephesus, essentially "pissing off" Demetrius who is a silversmith and makes lots of money on these shrines for the goddess Artemis. It does raise a question: which do we serve? I am asking this from a Christian perspective. I know not everybody who stumbles across from blog is a Christian. Do we profit from things that are not of Christ? I think that is a very relevant question for Christians today.

Anyhow, more planned to come...

THE NEW CELLPHONE/MOBILE PHONE DRIVING LAW IN CALIFORNIA

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:01:05 GMT

Well, starting July 1, 2008, the new cellphone/mobile phone use while driving law takes effect here in California. You must use a handsfree device when using your cellphone/mobile phone while driving such as a Bluetooth or earpiece. You will be fined $20.00 for the first violation and $50.00 for each violation thereafter. These fines will not impact your auto insurance premiums or DMV driving records. This law takes effect in less than one week from today, as I write this. However, while driving this week, you still see lots of people with one hand on the steering wheel and another hand on the cellphone/mobile phone.

I hope these people quickly adapt their habits. But, I am sure a lot of people will forget and some may not care. I personally have been using a handsfree device while driving for several years.

Here’s the DMV link to this new law:

www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/index.htm

Anyhow, more planned to come…

THE DREAM I HAD LAST NIGHT AND MY INTERPRETATION

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:46:25 GMT

I have dreams quite often, sometimes quite bizarre dreams (of course, I won’t share everyone I have on this blog). I will write about one I had last night because if I don’t I will forget. For some reason, I can remember this dream. Many times I would wake up knowing that I had a dream, but can’t recall exactly what it was. It’s a big blur. But, I can remember bits of this dream and I will write my interpretation also.

I dreamt that I was outdoors with a group of people sitting in this park with these picnic benches (often on weekend mornings I jog to this park with nice picnic benchs, which may explain why this appeared in my dream). We were gathering and then it suddenly started to snow. So, I invited a bunch of people to my place to watch a movie (I have invited people to watch movies at my place before and I was thinking of doing that again). So, a group of people came to my place to watch this movie. For some strange reason, one of my cousins was there, a cousin I hardly see. But, he was portrayed as being very “gung ho” in my dream. In real life, he is somewhat gung ho also. When the movie was done, people left my place. But, I noticed that the house was a different house- it was very nice house- larger than the condo I live in now and a new and nice neighborhood (I think, I have been thinking about real estate quite often- there was also some resemblence to my parent’s neighbor- I was in my parent’s neighborhood on Sunday afternoon and evening- visiting my parents and attending a Bible study 2 house down from my parent’s place). Then, I was driving back home (yes, does not make sense, since it appears I was at home and opened the door to let people out and now I’m going to drive home; perhaps, I was really at my parent’s house and going to drive back at my own place). Next, I am in my car with my friend (I spent time with her this past weekend, which may explain why she was in my dream, in the car with me) and driving back to my home (which I did on Sunday evening after visiting my parents and attending Bible study in their neighborhood). But, strangely, I was going to drive back to Virginia Beach, Virginia (my parents live in Southern California and I also live in Southern California; but I did live in Virginia Beach once-some years ago- which could symbolize I was driving far away). I started driving and then realized that I needed my Navigation System/GPS to direct me on my drive to Virginia Beach (I recently purchased a Navigation System/GPS System for my car).

So, as bizzare as some parts of my dream may sound, I have an explanation of almost every sequence of the dream. The dreams are all the things that have been going on in my life and things I have been thinking about and sometimes things for the past that come out. Heck, who needs a dream interpreter when I can have an explanation of most of the sequences of my dream.

More planned to come…

GEORGE CARLIN (1937-2008) RIP

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:05:50 GMT

I found out this morning that the comedian, George Carlin passed away yesterday from heart failure. I know he was not necessarily the most “wholesome comedian” and often used profanity. He often mocks God or religion. I did remember when I was in college, my roommate would often play tapes of George Carlin. Strangely, just last week I saw George Carlin on a live TV show where he was being interviewed. I don’t believe in karma, but people sometimes say when a celebrity passes away, it “happens in threes” meaning when one celebrity passes away, another strangely passes away and a third one in days. Just recently we had the sudden passing of Tim Russert from a heart attack. I am not suggesting that saying about the threes is true. As I stated I don’t believ in karma. I believe in a designed plan.

More planned to come…