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Christianity, Michael's Posts, Our Taipei Life, Taiwan, Travel & Exploring 1 Response »

Nov 122011

My buddy, Daniel, recently showed me this graphic from the Economist that compares US states and countries that are similar in terms of gross domestic product. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the two places I consider to be my homes are pretty much the same…well at least in terms of GDP. Taiwan and Michigan are definitely both industrious places. Michigan equals cars, Taiwan equals semiconductors; Michigan equals seed corn, Taiwan equals rice; Michigan equals Great Lakes, Taiwan equals Taroko Gorge and Taipei 101. I highly recommend both of them!

Speaking of Michigan and Taiwan, over the past week and a half Emily and I had been hosting one of the world’s most beautiful and kind women. Margot, mother to Emily, flew all the way over from Michigan to see our lives and spend time with us. We were so happy to have her here! During her visit we were able to show her our church, Fulong, Jiufen, Muzha tea houses, the National Palace Museum, Chiank Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, the Shilin Night Market, the 2/28 Peace Park, several of Emily’s tutoring sessions, Wulai Hot Springs, Taipei 101, why traveling around Taiwan by scooter is so rad, and a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting. This past Thursday we delivered her to the airport and said goodbye. We miss her already. I’m putting the screws to Emily to get pictures up, but I need help from all of you so please let her know you want to see them and read her words about Margot’s visit!

Some friends of ours from church recently started a youth group here in Taipei called Uturn that meets once a month over in the Nangang area, on the east side, of Taipei. They asked me to speak at the October meeting and I was very honored to accept. I was a bit nervous preparing after realizing that this is my 10th year out of high school (I graduated in 2002). It has been a while since I have hung out with that age group very much. Trying to get into that mindset was something I really wanted to do as part of my preparation though. After all my nervousness was over and I actually got up and spoke I really enjoyed talking with them and sharing my love for Jesus and His Love for me. I videotaped my talk and as wildly amazing as this sounds I have already posted it on YouTube so feel free to check it out here: http://youtu.be/–lETwFtNXg

Speaking at Uturn reminded me how much I like presenting. It also challenged me personally to realize again how awesomely big God is, and yet He still wants intimate relationships with us. Thanks again for the invite Chris and Julia!

When I met the least of these

Cambodia, Christianity, Emily's Posts, Our Friends Orphanage, Travel & Exploring No Responses »

Mar 112011

“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,

“Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?”

And the King will answer and say to them,

“Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

-Matthew 25:35-40

My husband and I just got back from a trip through Cambodia, and I’m still reeling from all our encounters with Jesus. I saw His face, held His hands, kissed His cheeks, twirled His hair in my fingers. I have met the “least of these,” creations of God who have hardly any possessions and fight every day to survive.

Continue Reading Here, on Completely Devoted

Is God More Than a Stop-Gap to Me?

Christianity, Michael's Posts No Responses »

Jun 202010

I read this recently and was really hit by it:

“how wrong it is to use God as a stop-gap for the incompleteness of our knowledge. For the frontiers of knowledge are inevitably being pushed back further and further, which means that you only think of God as a stop-gap. He also is being pushed back further and further, and is in more or less continuous retreat. We should find God in what we do know, not in what we don’t; not in outstanding problems, but in those we have already solved. This is true not only for the relation between Christianity and science, but also for wider human problems such as guilt, suffering and death. It is possible nowadays to find answers to these problems which leave God right out of the picture. It just isn’t true to say that Christianity alone has the answers. In fact the Christian answers are no more conclusive or compelling than any of the others. Once more, God cannot be used as a stop-gap. We must not wait until we are at the end of our tether: he must be found at the centre of life: in life, and not only in death; in health and vigour, and not only in suffering; in activity, and not only in sin. The ground for this lies in the revelation of God in Christ. Christ is the centre of life, and in no sense did he come to answer our unsolved problems. From the centre of life certain questions are seen to be wholly irrelevant, and so are the answers commonly given to them…In Christ there are no Christian problems.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, taken from his book Letters and Papers from Prison