In the face of progress ...

i wrote this a couple of months ago ... saw it in my journal today ... and decided to post it :)

In the face of progress,
stands the orthodoxy of my faith,
that has stood against the evils of this world,
when evil is masked by progress,
our generation caved in because of modernity,
our hearts become more callous,
in the face of progress,
we will challenge the status quo,
we will challenge the change,
if it the change is towards a convenient, heartless generation.
In the face of progress,
I will fight,
not because i'm less modern, or less educated,
but because of the word of God,
because of the evils that is masked by progress,
let God's truth set us free from these lies masked in progress,
let God's love set us free from the fear of not progressing,
let us return to this faith,
ancient yet relevant,
in the face of progress,
let our faith be the measure of this progress, of this challenge,
if progress means a godless society,
then i rather have none of it,
not because i'm scared,
it's because we'll be missing the point,
and the One who matters most.

Gen-Xers in Asia

As i was thinking about this, i was listening to several older songs by Jay Chou on my Zune ... songs like this




i know i'm in the middle of nowhere (in the middle of texas ... ),
definitely not in the midst of the culture of east asian gen-xers,
how they think,
how they act,
what they buy,
what kind of philosophy they subscribe to,
but i feel an urge to pray for them,
for this generation who might be lost in the battle of culture, academic, materialism and lust,
from the rocking music of underground music to the angst from Jay's song,
what do they want?
what do we want?

i pray for souls that will be awaken for the kingdom of God.

South America on deck ....

This post has been sitting in my edit mode folder for a couple of weeks now ... it's not finally done 

I've been thinking about South America lately, you know Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, countries that we don't really talk about unless it's something related to soccer/football events such as World Cup or Copa America or their football stars such a Kaka and Messi. Also, other things aside from football comes to mind, specifically the politics and the green economy of Brazil. Time magazine had an article up a couple days ago regarding how Brazil might not be affected by the economic down turn at all see this article , also about their left-leaning governments , also from Time. 

on the other hand .... 

Hillsong United has been rocking out in South America
(i've seen a few of them from the I heart Revolution DVD,
 and i was practically ballin' at the end of it .... )

here's just a clip of "From the Inside Out" in Spanish ... 

Just an observation on the crowd, they had been very enthusiastic, i'm not trying to make any generalization statements about the continents just from the video itself, but it seems like the younger generation in South America (maybe just like the rising generation in Europe, see Red Moon Rising) is rising and hoping for truth, and tend to be edgier on the outside, but regardless need the hope and love in Christ. I don't have much statistics for South America, here's one from Wikipedia on Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism_in_Brazil), and another article from Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSN3023920920070503?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0). 

(i know these sources are from MSM ... let me know if you have more info to supplement that!)

anyways ... that's just something has been on my heart lately ... to pray for South America!

so, next time when you watch Copa America, or heard of the latest news on Messi, pray for their countries, pray for truth about Jesus Christ to be preached, for the church to reach out, and for healing and reconciliation !

peace out .. =P

til next time,

Daniel

Finally settled ? Let's move on.

Somewhere between the last post, and this one ... 

i've made a decision to stay in College Station, instead of moving to the Metroplex ... 

i know the decision doesn't sounds like me ... with the lights of the metroplex, sports teams, coffee shops, inner-city challenge, possibly 20's something ministries, relevant-minded / missional churches .. etc ... calling ... in the midst of that .. to decide to stay in a suburban college town .. 

i'm not sure my reasonings completely make sense, maybe it's just a feeling, a gut feeling. Part of me wanted to leave for a while now, for reasons stated above, but somewhere ... between decisions there's a heart change. I think, as for anything, reasons might not be clear cut, it's like murky waters sometimes. 

anyways ... 

though it might not look like a new start, as in moving to a new city and start everything over ... 

it's a new start ... though it might not look like new on the outside. i admit there are still many thoughts that i need to sort through ... from careers, ministries, to relationships. 

It all goes back to the new year resolution that i made ... freedom in Christ in my workplace, freedom in Christ in ministry/faith communities, freedom in Christ in my relationships ... i guess much of that has to do with Matt 11:28 ... with rest in Christ, and going to Him !

after making up my mind, i've decided to delve more into this local community - and found groups of people that are trying to do the same thing. i hope again to engage this community for Christ, it might not look like seattle or portland, but ... again ... every city has its challenges and needs ... so after googling for sometime ... here are some local resources that i've found and maybe i'll blogged about them ...

Brazos Valley Happenings ...  

http://www.lifeinthebrazos.com/

Village Cafe / Art 979 Gallery ... 

http://brazosvillagecafe.com/

Brazos Valley Farmers' Marker ... 

http://www.brazosvalleyfarmersmarket.com/

to somewhat wrap it up, i know that God is not done with me, well He is not done with any of us. 

i think this might just be the environment that He wants to grow me in for a few more years ... 

til the next post ... peace out.

Daniel.

meanwhile ... check out Jon Foreman's new band/project ...

I've been here before ...

Dec 2004 ....

decisions are hard,
outcomes are not always easy,
regrets are always there,
but there's also courage,
opportunities,
winners and losers,
there's also the middle-way that serves as the compromise,
but that's not always there,
and the guy that follows his heart instead of his brain
or the other way around,
ahh,
now here my chance to make the choice,
would i stay or go,
get it or
let go.

i am at the crossroad,
forward or backward or stay where i am,
i don't know which step to take,
i waited here for You to come,
to come and take me away,
and if i fall and stumble,
i'll fall and stumble back into Your arms.
Up to the mountains or down to the valley,
i'll wait and i'll walk with You,
and if i slip and fall,
i'll slipped back into Your arms.

--
guess i'm back to where i was ...
--

Choices.

as i am writing this (in my fav. coffee shop),
a deadline for decision is fast approaching,
just with thoughts of whether i should stay or leave,
a friend told me that i'm in a spacious space,
with much freedom in God.

sometimes, it seemed like the decision is between the glitz of city life,
and the simplicity of a college town,
sometimes, it seemed like the decision is between life long friendships
and the adventures of making new friends.

so ... stay tune.

Daniel.

this should be shared ....

(Love is here by Tenth Avenue North)
come to the waters, you who thirst and you’ll thirst no more.
come to the father, you who work and you’ll work no more.
and all you who labor in vain and to the broken and shamed:

Updates from the land of my heart ....

i guess the title sounds a bit cheesy, but oh well .... here's a long long list of updates for a long long while ...

first up, my job situation, for all my concerned friends ...
since the last posts (about interviews and such), i am still waiting for a job,
i have started working as a substitute in the mean time and experience life in a different way.
Through this process God has though me much about humility, patience, waiting on Him, and trusting Him (even when dealing with self-esteem).
I admit that the process is frustrating because pride usually gets in the way, but i'm learning to let it go. So, please continue to pray for my job situation, that i'll land in a work place that i can usher in God's kingdom =)

meanwhile ....
i've started my job (temporarily ...) as a substitute teacher for the local school districts and i've so far subbed for classes such as 4th grade math, life skills and high school algebra ... with more classes such as intermediate art coming up in the horizon. Through my subbing experience, i've gained new insights into life, on how beautiful it is and much much more respect for my friends that are teaching (or becoming teachers :-P or working with kids ...).

on the other hand,
i've also been thinking quite a bit about prayers after re-reading parts of Red Moon Rising and the 24/7 prayer movement. One idea that came up is combining prayers and sports. Basically, speaking as a sport fan, we (i) are very passionate about our teams, and that in many countries and cities these teams actually controls the mood or even economy of the country/cities. Many of us (including myself) learns about another city or country through their sports teams (for example, i've never been to England but i know much about Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham through their soccer team), likewise with other places in Europe and South America. So, one idea is to come out (or collaborate with others online) to create a prayer guides for cities and countries by the way of their sports teams ....
here's an example :
Manchester, UK which houses both Manchester United and Manchester City Football team, where MU is one of the popular team is the world, is one of the secondary metro in the UK after London. The spiritual condition in Manchester is ..... [fill in the blank] and the prayer need is ..... [fill in the blank].

anyways, those posts hopefully should be coming soon and if you would like to contribute on a city/sport teams (and any sports would work) .... that'll be great :-)

and ....

God has also put on my heart this past week to pray for the situation in Gaza/Israel,
please pray that peace will come through Jesus Christ in the Middle East,
and that reconciliation will happen through Christ as well.

that's about that for now ... and i got a new layout too !

be blessed in Christ.

peace out.