Go light your candle

Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn,
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, go light your world.

-J

Things that make you go hmmmmm

So this past weekend we logged more than 24 hours in the van. So let's do the math:

3 hyperactive preteens plus,
1 teenage exchange student from Taiwan plus,
2 emotionally needy shi tzu's, plus
2 tired and cranky parents...

divided by 700 some odd cubic feet

equals:

Me focusing my mind anywhere else in the universe I could. And that brings me to today's topic.

As I was listening to many songs over the course of the trip I realized how much lyrics have played a part in my philosophical life. I wondered if I took the lyrics out of context and posted them here what you, the lovely reader, would think.

Here is the first one... I am looking forward to your thoughts

~John

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead...
Yesterday is a promise that you’ve broken...
Don’t close your eyes, This is your life and today is all you’ve got now; and today is all you’ll ever have.

Don’t close your eyes, This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be, when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

The better half

I, John, have been spending perhaps too much time wondering what kind of impression I have on people. How does the passer-by see me; how do my co-workers see me; how does my family see me; how do the people at church see me?

Does that matter? I think it does. Not in the sense that I will strive to become what 'they' like, but more in line with "Do they see me as I wish to be seen?"

I think there are two halves to me.

One half is the person I want to be.
One half is the person others see me as.

So as I think, I contemplate what is within my control. More than I might like. It is easy to blame others for their "incorrect" perceptions of me, but a much more noble task to act in such a way that they have "no other choice" but to see me the way I want to be seen.

As I read that sentence I hope it makes sense.

The church service today was about compassion. Compassion being a combination of two halves- a soft heart and a willing hand.

I would like to think I have both, but really I have a willing hand with a dense heart.

As a Christian it is my chosen lifestyle to follow Jesus' example- so was he compassionate? More than anything else.

Jesus never passed up an opportunity to help. When his disciples encouraged him to escape the crowd, Jesus chose to serve them. When the masses pushed past one downtrodden, Jesus sought out the individual and served him. Jesus always put others before himself. Yep- every time. If there are any reading this that wonder what Christianity is- please don't loook at me because I am a failure.

Look at Jesus. If you look with sincerity you will find that he turned away from power and glory. He served the lepers, criminals, poor, prostitutes, etc. with all he had. He treated everyone with respect regardless of religion, race, gender. (go ahead- challenge me).

When I think of my two halves, I like to think I am a lot like Jesus- but I must admit that I doubt others see me that way.

I have a lot of work to do.

See ya along the way.

-john

Chinese New Year, Pre-School, and the Paperchase

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

I know I'm a little late since Chinese New Year was actually over a week ago, and now officially over, but things have been so hectic here that I'm just now getting around to updating.

We celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Pig with our family, the Matterns, and the Gupta's. We ate Chinese food for lunch (of course), and the kids got some little treats including red envelopes with 'lucky money' inside. We're enjoying learning about western culture and having a lot of fun with it!! I hope you enjoy the pics!!

Also on Friday of last week, I registered Sam for Pre-School!!! I was so giddy with excitement!! He'll be going three mornings a week. Our hope is that he'll enjoy the time spent with other kids his age (since that is what he is used to) and that he'll catch on with his language skills. We are so excited to bring him home!!!

Lastly, the Fed-Ex man dropped off the last piece of paperwork for our dossier yesterday!!! I went and made copies (101 sheets) and overnighted our completed dossier to our agency!!! The Paper-Chase is complete!! What a relief!! Our agency will give it one more authentication, which should take about a week, then our dossier will head to China!! Check out our China Adoption Blog to read more about it.

Have a great day!!!! <>< ~K

Finally a post you can laugh with

I thought about posting a poignant & profound quip to help you think about life's quandries, but I thought that perhaps you wanted to see what makes me laugh. And religion makes me laugh.

Leave a post- you are guaranteed a reply!

-john