My Anniversary

Our 3-year wedding anniversary is coming up on Wednesday of next week. I told that to my cousin last night and he said "3 years, where did time go?" I said, "I know, it flew by so fast!"

Anyhow, here are my top 10 reasons why marriage is so great:
10. I do not have to use my mack daddy moves on other girls who will then in turn give me weird looks (like I left my brain somewhere else).
9. I get to use my mack daddy moves on my wife, who will then in turn give me a look of: "oh boy, here he goes again." =)
8. I really don't have any mack daddy moves, so there's no pressure to obtain them.
7. Which to expand on #8, this saves me time and money. No eHarmony for me!
6. I now have somebody to teach me how to wash clothes (I know, isn't this sad?).
5. I have a companion to watch "America's Got Talent", "Big Brother 8", and "Last Comic Standing".
4. I start singing a random song and then all of the sudden I have a kareoke partner.
3. No more fighting over the TV remote control, we now have Picture-In-Picture. Hooray for technology!
2. We get to use the carpool lane.
1. I love my wife with all of my heart and I devote myself to her! She is the best, absolutely irreplaceable!

Motorolla KRZR

We bought the Motorolla KRZR a few months ago and love it! It is thin both in thickness and width. It plays MP3's. It has a 2.0 megapixel camera. It records video and sound. The battery life is great. It even looks sleek. And, best of all, now that we have the software, we can now send files (i.e. songs, videos, graphics, etc) from the phone to our computer and visa versa! Woo hoo!

My have times changed. I remembered that back in high school I told myself that I would never buy a cell phone. Then, in college, all my phone could basically do is make phone calls and set an alarm.

Memoirs of the Green Book

The Bible that I was given way back in 1990 from my mom's friend has now been retired. Some of you may have seen me carrying this small, green book. It was my companion, my friend. After 17 years, the binding has finally given way. It caused the pages to rip and the cover to separate. On a happier note, my wife bought me a new dark grey/red Bible. I hope that this one lasts at least another 17 years. Printed pages fade away but God's Word lasts forever!

To change topics, I now have a Facebook account. My wife has Friendster, but we both like Facebook a lot more. Just face it, one day you will join and connect with me, your friend.

WWYD

Yesterday, I heard on the radio that around 20 South Koreans are kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Two have been already killed. Most of the South Koreans are women. All are Christians who are there as aid workers. The Taliban wants the prisoners captured by the U.S. freed. What would you do (WWYD)? Negotiate with the terrorists? Attack?

The Emerging Church

Today, Pastor Xavier Ries spoke about the dangers of The Emerging Church. This extremist movement is characterized by, among other things, its lack of viewing The Bible as a literal document. Also, it rejects Christ's second coming. Furthermore, it encourages mysticism and having other forms of worship (i.e. incense) and prayer (i.e. chants). What's more scary is that some of the pastors somewhat connected to this include Pastor Rick Warren (Saddleback Church) and Pastor Erwin McManus (Mosaic Church). Just Google it! Not to say that these are evil men, but just be careful and do your homework. Don't let their good works overshadow the truth of what they stand for.

God in the Midst of Trials

This morning Pastor Xavier Ries at Calvary Chapel of Pasadena preached on book of Acts. While Pastor X's messages usually consist of spitting out fact after fact (he calls it inductive), they are always very informative and applicable. No doubt, his messages are heavy like a solid Bible study, but sometimes that is what more of today's churches need during a sermon, not just fluffy words and simple catch phrases.

Everyone goes through trials and hard times. Christians are no exception. After Jesus' death, his apostles were spreading the Word of God (Acts 5). In doing so, the high priests were jealous and wanted the apostles executed. Afterwards, the apostles' lives at that time were spared. Pastor X pointed out that the apostles weren't crying or complaining about the whole ordeal. In fact, in Acts 5:41, "the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

What would this ChowDown have done? Knowing how weak I am sometimes, I probably would have been terrified. I genuinely hope that this would NOT be the case. But I know that God can give anything (exceedingly) to those who call on His name. Lord, please use me as your servant, your child, and your follower. Help me and everyone reading this post to have godly courage and boldness knowing that You "have the whole world in Your hands."

Show Some Love

My wife is so terrific! I came home tonight with a nice home-cooked meal on the stove. She stir-fried: (1) a tasty noodle dish with grilled chicken, and (2) succulent mussels with Chinese veggies in a wine/ginger sauce. I have been shown some love!

I wonder what's for dinner tomorrow night. =)

Big Daddy Vlady

I know I'm late but I have to write a post about this. Go Big Daddy Vlady! Vladimir Guerrero won the home run derby!

Baldness

If you are a girl and your significant other is going bald, or if you are a guy and are going bald, what should the guy do:

1. comb his hair forward
2. balding is beautiful, leave it alone
3. shave his head
4. shave his head and use a magic marker to simulate hair
5. wear a wig
6. wear an Angels cap
7. cosmetic surgery (hair implants)

If my hairline receded so far that I couldn't look at myself in the mirror, I'd opt for #4. =)

Chinese Tea Ceremony II

Andrew's tea ceremony and wedding were a hit! Although it was about 90 degrees on Saturday, everyone enjoyed themselves to celebrate Andrew's momentous day.

So, for those of you who don't know what happens during a tea ceremony, here are the details:

1. Groom had to first sing some songs and dance before entering the house. We were standing outside for over 15 minutes waiting for Andrew to sing some love songs. We brought two large baskets of fruit and a whole pig for the bride.


2. We ate. Had lots of dim sum and regular Chinese food.


3. All of the elders drank tea with the wedding couple in exchange for red envelopes.

The ceremony was cool too. It was my first time being a Scripture Reader and to light the candles. One awkward moment was when one of my candles didn't light up. Boy, were my arms shaking and heart pounding. Thankfully, James came over and saved the day!