13 Hours of Rain

Our March focus... I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Oh boy... I am now well passed the middle of the first half of my 5th decade of life. It is that time of year again, where I look at the goals I set three years ago and assess my progress. 1. Learn to play the piano. My daughter and I continue to learn together. I frantically plunk out the piece and then provide her with pointers when she is stuck. Thankfully, your Daddy learned piano in his youth, thus can assist us when we are both befuddled. (Score: 1) 2. Learn to read and write either Hindi or Urdu. I do not want to even talk about this... Ha, ha... Sadly I have very little motivation to learn how to read the language, especially since we are surrounded by English in prairie southwest. I need to remind myself to even speak Hindi to you two children! Slightly depressing... (Score: 0) 3. Travel the world with you two kids and your Daddy. I have a dream date set: 2020. I originally envisioned taking off a semester to travel. But since our finances are not as promising for su...

In a world that often lashes out with evil hate, we embrace Psalm 23 as our February prayer focus. It is a good reminder of how the powerful Tribune God -- the epitome of love and justice -- is in complete control in spite of what we witness.

For many North Americans, Jesus is far too familiar. His name evolved into a curse word. His claim to be fully divine (along with fully human) became reduced by popular society to an image of a "good man" teaching "good things". The seriousness of our sin -- or outright rebellion! -- was minimized. And God's love was elevated and esteemed more highly than God's justice. In doing so, we have rejected chapters upon chapters of the Bible, labeling them as irrelevant to a culture bent on a theology of Universalism. You're okay. I'm okay. We are all okay. It will all work out in the end, whether you believe in Jesus or not. He will let you into His Eternal Glory even though you decided that you wanted nothing do with Jesus on Earth. Sure. Come on in. Take the best seat in the house. I know what I write above is laced with sarcasm, and may even sound judgmental. However, I am currently wrestling with some truths I have recently gleaned through our small ...

I just finished reading "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus", an insightful and powerful story of Nabeel Qureshi's conversion from Islam to Christianity. And while Nabeel's testimony strengthened my faith in Jesus, it also convicted me on how I often lack sincerity in how I approach God. Many Muslims around the world pray to Allah five times a day. True, we can argue whether or not those prayers are authentic outcries from one's soul. However, it is inspirational that a group of believers collectively pray world-wide, at the same time. We attend a Christian church that is part of the Evangelical movement. And while I generally resonate with the beliefs and values of Evangelical churches, I often wish we had a collection of liturgy. One of the benefits of liturgy is that it can be a constant reminder of what the group believes. If a person is asked about her religious beliefs, and she has the Apostle's Creed memorized, then she can succinctly communicate the key...

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. Pslam 62:1-2 (NLT) The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV) I sit here, contemplating what I should write to commemorate 2016 and mark the advent of 2017. My mind is blank. So I will do what I often do in such a moment. Just write. This year has been like no other since we moved to prairie southwest. My children transitioned to be in school everyday and I began to fill my "spare time" with other pursuits. The biggest challenge was leading a Family Support Team for a Syrian refugee family. If you have kept up with my sparse entries this year, then you would have noticed that Refugee Sponsorship  has been my prime focus. Interspersed  among my refugee-themed entries where glimpses into my Dad's he...

A year ago, I signed on to assist a refugee family. A year later, our refugee family is here, integrating into Canadian society. As I reflect on the journey thus far, I would like to comment on my community. I am pleasantly surprised and proud of how our community has come together to welcome our family. Honestly, I doubted this a year ago, since our city has a "red-neck" reputation. And most individuals in our constituency do not appreciate our Liberal Prime Minister, the one who strongly advocated for refugees. Yet, our community has rallied behind this family with their generosity and love. People of various Christian denominations, in addition to people of different religious (and non-religious) backgrounds, have come together to serve. It is truly beautiful and inspirational. On a personal note, this experience has been incredibly exhausting and rewarding. Most of our committee members feel the same way. We all wonder if we could ever do this again because of how all...