Song of the Moment: "Walking Her Home"

Currently Listening Broken & Beautiful By Mark Schultz Walking Her Home see related

Play the song and read the lyrics below. You have to be a rock to not be moved by this song. =)



Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

Her dad said son
Have her home on time
And promise me you’ll never leave her side
He took her to a show in town
And he was ten feet off the ground

(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home

Ten more years and a waiting room
At half past one
Was when the doctor said come in and meet your son

His knees went weak
When he saw his wife
She was smiling as she said he’s got your eyes

And as she slept he held her tight
His mind went back to that first night

(Chorus)

He walked her through the best days of her life
Sixty years together and he never left her side

A nursing home
At eighty-five
And the doctor said it could be her last night
And the nurse said Oh
Should we tell him now
Or should he wait until the morning to find out

But when they checked her room that night
He was laying by her side

Oh he was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled when he said this is not the end
And just for a while they were eighteen
And she was still more beautiful to him than anything
He was walking her home
He was walking her home

Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

IV c/o 2006 Reunion @ Bodega Bay

With one of the craziest yet blessed summers coming to a close, a retreat to get away is a not a bad idea. I was so happy to have such an opportunity this past weekend with IV Class of 2006 from Berkeley.

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We rented out a beautiful house called Ocean Song in Bodega Bay (1.5 hours north of San Francisco) right next to the ocean for the weekend. A full house of 10 guys and 5 gals looking forward to seeing each other again. It was nothing less than an AWESOME reunion for us , who were once used to spending so much time living and growing together in our college fellowship days.

Highlights of the fun weekend:

• Driving up north on Friday morning in almost no traffic with Jason and Esther. We made really good conversation that I barely felt the 5 hours on the road. Yeah, we were pretty fast!
  


• Rocking the karaoke machine with the rest of the guys the minute we made it to Ocean Song. Without any shame whatsoever, we "sang" to songs ranging from Britney Spears, Sonny Bono, Afro Man, and many more. I don't think I laughed so hard in a long time.
  


• Hitting the beach with everyone. Between playing mean games of tackle football and finding things to do with seaweed, it was really pleasant just to walk on the sands with friends, catching up and laughing over jokes like it was in college.
  


• Enjoying the delicious meals we made together. Cheeseburgers, crepes, yummy desserts, and even a pie night (chicken pot and lemon meringue) - all from scratch. I'm so grateful for our talented chefs in our fellowship!
  


• Playing "Apples to Apples" and chilling in the hot tub. There was also good time for us to share about our past year - what we have done, what blessings were in our lives, what we are struggling with these days, and how we can pray for one another.
  

Thank you God for my community up there. =) Already looking forward to our next reunion.

Play Time!

Presents…

THE SCRIPT

A one act short by Will Klotz

And

THE OLD FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY

A play by Pat Cook

Produced by special arrangement with Lillenas Publishing Co.

The Script asks the universal questions of our very existence. Are we merely characters in someone else’s play or do we write our own play of life?

The Old Faith, Hope & Charity is a Comedy with lots of heart. It is a tale of traditional ideals and virtues of small town America that encounter the progress and tensions of modernity from the Big City.

August 18th and 19th, 2007, 7:00 pm

Chinese Evangelical Free Church, 1111 S. Atlantic Blvd. Monterey Pk, Ca. 91754,

Admission: $5.00 ($6 at door) Tickets on sale now at CEFC or for reservations call: 626.570.8971 ext. 103

*Acts Of Worship is the drama ministry of Chinese Evangelical Free Church.



We've been working really hard to bring this to you guys and hope you can find time this weekend to enjoy it with us. =) You won't be disappointed!

Home Sweet Home

I'm back home! =)

I just returned from my very first missions trip in China on Saturday evening. The jet lag is killing me (check out a diagram on the left to see my point) and I only have a couple days out of the next two weeks to do nothing. Nevertheless, it is good to be back!

China was a great experience for me. I made so many new friends (I think our team has like 50 new e-mail addresses!) and I am excited for continuing my newfound relationships and seeing it grow. Same went for my team members from church, who were such a encouragement both verbally and through daily evening prayer together. Such divine interactions with both sides could not have happened without God's grace and His hand guiding the entire journey.

About to fall asleep on my keyboard now so I will be back later with a more formal debriefing/testimony and a slide show of my adventure in the big country of the East. Here is a preview for now:

Who says missions can't be fun, eh? =)

Youth Camp 2007

Currently Listening United We Stand By Hillsong United From The Inside Out see related

Just got back yesterday from our annual Youth Camp (my third time!) up in Mile High Pines, and I probably should strike while the iron is hot with my thoughts on what now appears to be one of the most blessed weekends to experience every year.

1. Although I wasn't granted the age group I preferred this year, God continued to ever amaze and fill my heart with wonder as I served as a counselor to the 7th and 8th graders. It was SO encouraging to hear the younger ones really take a stand to commit / re-commit their lives to Christ. The key thing now is how to help them progress forward in their walks with their hearts and minds evermore seeking out our God.
   
   
2. Aside from the dancing workshop, the most successful annual activity for everyone is the Bible skit. Every small group performs a skit based on a different Bible passage that needs to incorporate two pre-selected items and the camp theme. This year, the items were a baseball bat and a plastic trash bag. Some of the topics included Jonah & the whale, Cain and Abel, Jesus tempted by Satan, and David and Bathsheba. My group had the second one, so it wasn't that hard. But for the last one...well, uhh...use your imagination?! =)
   
   
3. The worship team from UCSD was really awesome (Go InterVarsity!). So good that I literally lost my voice halfway through the weekend while singing praises to God. I sounded like someone who can rip apart crate boxes just by talking to it.
   
   
4. Games which come out of improvisation as well as creativity are sometimes the most rewarding. Especially when they can build the body, like "Black-&-White"...with pushups!!
   
   
5. Aerobeds are the way to go. =) 'Nuff said.

Below is the song to go with the lessons learned at camp. Thanks for all your prayers and support, and I am already looking forward to what He can do between now and next year's camp. =)

Putting Faith Into Action

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. ~James 2:14-24


There was once a man stranded in the ocean. As he was treading water, a ship passed by and the crew asked him if he needed help.
"No," he replied, "God will save me."
The ship left. He continued to tread water and as he began to get weary and started sinking, another ship came.
"Do you need help?", they asked.
"No," he replied once again, "God will save me!"
The second ship left, and the man drowned. When he arrived in heaven, the man asked of God with an air of shock,
"Lord, I had faith and you did not save me!" To which God replied,
"Dude, I sent you two ships, you dummy!"


And let's not forget...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Communion

Communion was held yesterday as it usually is for every first Sunday of the month. After the morning's sermon, our pastoral staff would hand out the bread and cup to those baptized members of the church. We would take these materials in remembrance of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our sins so we may be free to live our lives for Him.

During this time, the sanctuary was pretty quiet, almost in sorrowful reflection. While examining my own heart and remembering what Christ did for me, I couldn't help but start to form a small smile on my face. And the smile grew larger, almost turning into a huge grin as I consumed the items with everyone else.

Sometimes I think that while we do take time to examine our own hearts before God, it is also good that we take time to enjoy the food and drink that Jesus invited us to take with him. As believers in Christ, we are called to more than just his followers - we are called to be his friends, and he invited us in to have supper with him, to share our loaves and our lives with one another as a Body. There is a lot of hope and good news pouring from this meal that occasionally we should stop, take in His presence that fills the room, and really "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). =)


Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:16-17