The paradox of our age

Excerpt by an article by Dr. Bob Mooreland

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete. "

How true is this paradox. bolded and italicized are ones that are most true for myself. how about you?

public prayer

inauguration prayer from rick warren:

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.

History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesús, Jesus, who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Discussed during youth group tonight,more to come on thoughts later, but for now, an interesting site i stumbled upon while searching for previous prayer, an atheist site that kept count of how many times in the prayer God, Christ, Jesus, Lord was mentioned.

I thought the comments at the bottom were also something to think about.
http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/01/20/inauguration-prayer-2-rev-rick-warren/
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024478.php
mm. teampyro.blogspot.com has some interesting posts leading up to inauguration

mmm yummy

Interesting article I came across today, a little old, but reminded me of our beautiful UCLA campus and the abundance of ....

SQUIRRELS!


Check it!

Many enjoy squirrel, however, simply because they like its taste. Mr. Carter said he didn’t know what he was eating when he tried it. But, he said, “at first bite, I thought it delicious.” Patchwork will send squirrel pâté, by the way, in return for a donation to “Save Our Squirrels” — but only within Britain.

If you want to grab your shotgun, make sure you have very good aim — squirrels must be shot in the head; a body shot renders them impossible to skin or eat. (You want to get rid of the head in any event, as squirrel brains have been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease.)

hmmm... o'course. makes sense...

'and so it begins'

an infamous quote from a dear friend on explaining the feeling of immediate dread or immense excitement. as the title suggests, this is one of those, 'here we go' moments as i like to quote from the Dark Knight as Joker is about to see the destruction of Gotham. Alright I know, a tad dark and whatnot, but this is the feeling of immediate dread of the upcoming week, mixed with immense excitement.

Now you must be wondering, what dread and what excitement, and why would you have such a feeling this early 1. in the morning 2. in the week 3. in the year.

Well I am glad you asked!
Dread- let us define the word [Extreme fear; deep awe or reverence; apprehension or anxiety as to future events. -OED]
yes so the dread that i will be using is the latter definition, of apprehension and anxiety as to future events.
As I am nearing the end of my journey in college, I am apprehensive towards any future decisions I will have to make, and as to what even is to come in the ensuing quarter here, worried about having a good balance. Something that is often said but something still i have yet to grasp. the balance between being selfish and being selfless.

more to come as i head to... class

snl limerick

This has got to be the best limerick I have seen. haha It was written by one of the small group leaders in the skit ministry i am a part of on campus known as "SNL" no not Saturday Night Live, but Salt N Light!

here goes


there once was a group of us
we made lots of skits and thus
we thought us so funny
our brains turned to honey
and now we say hippopotamus.
-kimmie

wedding pictures!

First take on the balcony at Mission Inn Riverside, for the 'fairytale' wedding.


Second take with the '大妹' as my mother calls themo'course can't have a wedding without a black and white! Susy and Lori

Outside The Chapel

Inside the Chapel, knights with swords! and a ruling scepter!
Family + Bride + Groom

Weddings

Weddings are interesting events I would say, [hm... it took me three attempts to write that first line] they are a public proclamation of two people's love for each other, and for Christ. This love isn't just a 'romantic' love, where the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, and the 'feeling' in your gut where you know 'Ohhhh this is the love of my life' type love. Not purely the Disney-esque happily ever after, although this wedding theme was... exactly that. No, weddings proclaim a different type of love, a commitment type love towards their spouse.

Recently re-listening to Rick Holland's Biblical Masculinity series<found here>, from 1 Peter, I came across a new definition of love, and marriage that I will definitely be pondering moreso than before. Love as defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails;"

A passage of love that is well-known, but not the first passage of love that comes to mind for me that describes marriage. Yet, why shouldn't it, if this is the love that is supposed to be characteristic of all Christians, of Christ-followers, then wouldn't it make so much more sense that it would be of marriage as well? The foundational relationship that God has provided for us, to allow us to understand the relationship between Christ and the church, Christ and His bride. One of submission and one of love.

to love like this, to learn to love like this, and to have a love like this from Christ our Savior. mind blowing, utterly mind blowing.