Happy New Year

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer was excavated from the closet and installed on the newly placed desk as part of the on going basement project just this weekend.

Monday was Chinese New Year, welcome to the year of the Ox. We made our annual pilgrimage to St. Louis last weekend. It was entirely too much fun. 7 of the 10 couples that traveled together to China were able to make it this year. Since our last gathering the families have grown some. The most notable addition was one of the couples added their fourth child and their second child from China. This new addition was a bundle of 'ham' named Max. Max is 6 I think, or maybe 5 I don't remember, but he arrived just a few short months ago and is all boy. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the tale about Max.

Total damage for the weekend was two broken toes and one broken arm. One mom and one dad suffered unfamiliar furniture injuries of the toe, and one of the 7 'sisters' broke her arm.

The girls ran and played the entire weekend with little or no rest or hesitation. The coolest thing to witness was that the girls went at each other like they lived in the same house all there lives. The hundreds of miles of separation and in some cases the years of not seeing one another meant absolutely nothing to them. The have been asking about each other all the time and once plopped down in the same room with each other they reacted not as long lost friends, but like sisters who they play with all the time. As each new arrival made their entrance and were greeted with hugs and the like, one of the girls would come and fetch the new arrival. This was usually Gracie, our little Walmart greeter, who would run up, grab a hand and proclaim, "comm'on sis, come play with us, this way, this way"

Tired and smiling eyes


7 of 10 from Hunan falling down

5 of 10 from Hunan posing

"This is my brother, his is a 'ham' "

Yes he is

G squared


Dressed for dinner at Hunan Empress

Cheese !!!!!

what is that pose ??

Hot moms

cool dads

all the kids

(35 people total in the condo)

'Red couch' 2009, 7 of 10 from Hunan

for comparison, 6 of 10 from Hunan 2007

The original 'Red Couch' picture

The three of us and our coordinator Sabrina just after the 'Red Couch' picture

By the time we left for home poor Gracie was exhausted, not tired enough to sleep much on the way home, but she did sleep a little extra the next few days. The bond that exists between these families, between these girls, is not something that can be explained. It is not logical, it is not normal even for people who went through what we went through together. All I can say for sure is that God is in this, has been in this, and will remain in this with us now and always. My gut, or my spirit if you will, tell me His plan is at work here. He has big plans for part or all of this extended family group. I can't wait to see what happens.

(you should be able to click on the pictures to make them full size. I only mention this for the computer handicapped like my sister in law. Love ya sis, but if you cant figure out how to comment, you need help)

Icon-igrapy and Idolatry

This past Tuesday history was made. Barack Obama was sworn in as the first non-Caucasian president of these here United States. As a nation and as a culture we have come so far so fast on the issue of racism. We still have a bit of a journey ahead of us, but another milestone has been reached. Now, most of you who have read me before know I don't like Obama for a host of reasons. His domestic/social philosophy frightens me, I am skeptical of his economic theories, his foreign policy philosophy is too random for me to have confidence in, etc etc....... Having said that, this post is to address US not him.

As a people, we in this culture love our icons. We need and seek a hero. We want to believe in something and we want it to be easy, convenient, recognizable. Advertisers, geniuses that they are, recognize this and do anything they can to Icon-ify there product so that it becomes an easy sell to us. The two biggest and easiest examples of this are the masters who marketed McDonalds and Apple. They are the benchmark for icons. They are so prolific that their monikers have left the industry in which they were born. If your still fuzzy on what icons I am talking about think McNugget, McChicken, and McRib (add a McFlurry and have a McMeal) or i-phone, i-pod, i-Google, i-works, etc. They have morphed into McMansions (ultra large suburban houses), McNasty (sex with an uhm, inexpensive partner), and i-gizmo (latest electronic time waster).

I bring this up as an example because of its relevance to what will happen in the next 4 years and what has already begun to happen over the last year and a half. Mr. President (ouch) Obama has transformed himself from a mere man, into an image, into an expectation, into an icon, and even into an idol. Simply stated he became a rock star with no shortage of groupies, fanatics, and blind followers. Since taking the election he has been desperately trying to spin things back down to lower expectations at least to the level a mortal man has a shot at accomplishing them. He built himself up so mountainously high to gain votes and followers, and believers that he put himself into a position that he either ends world hunger, cures cancer, and regulates the weather to a tepid 72 degrees all over the globe, or he has failed. He knows this and he is now trying to lower himself back down to human. Problem Mr. President, people get stirred up quickly when you play on their passions, they don't come off that cloud of emotion in a good mood typically. I have to give him credit, his campaign was uniquely masterful. If he can lower expectations with angering the masses he will have pulled off a double coup. The people, on the other hand, don't want expectations lowered, they want him to fulfill his promise, they expect 'change' and 'hope' to be brought forth in abundance.

The inauguration brought this idolatry of Obama to a climax. The name Obama and its derivatives are the next big icon. I have already seen a few in news articles such as O-nomics (similar to Reaganomics, but it took him years to gain popular use of that phrase) Another phrase I saw was the O-gasm in referance to the media frenzy around him. I cant wait to see how many new iconic monikers are invented during the next 4 years.

As of Tuesday, we have begun the new era of the Obama Nation (say that out loud a few times if you missed it)

I love lists..........

I don't have any one thing in particular to write about today, but I have the opportunity to write for a change so I am just going to list a few random things that have struck me lately.

1. Gracie struck me in the jewels with her heal, again.
2. Angie struck me with a shoe

Okay, that's not what I meant. Let me try it again.

1. Have you ever seen a hunkered down dog taking a poop and running at the same time. It is a tribute to the adaptable of living creatures. I walked around the corner the other morning and caught our dog Bo dropping a BIG log in the kitchen floor, he looked up at me with that face one gets when straining to push out a big one. He then realized I was not amused and was walking towards him so he took off running, while still hunkered down and still pinching off logs. I picked up 5 logs, in the kitchen, the hall, and one on the stairs. Its not yet 5 AM so I am not interested in chasing him up the steps so I just clean up his little gift. The visual of his little sprint and poop was humorous enough to keep him out of trouble. There is something about starting your day with a hand full of warm doggy do that doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.
2. It is possible to spend just under 2G in 1hr and 20 minutes while purchasing 35 or so items at Lowes. It is advisable to have more than 1 hr. and 15 minutes to do this in. Angie and I went in the store with list in hand and a mission in mind. We accomplished most of the mission, all the items that need delivered anyway, and were at the checkout with a minute to spare. They turned the lights out on us before we left the store, however. The cabinets, counter top, bar top, mouldings, lumber, refrigerator, etc. will all be delivered next Monday.
3. This Monday is Chinese New Year. We will be having dinner at the Hunan Empress in St. Louis with 7 Families we were in China with. I look forward to seeing all of them, but I am particularly interested in watching the 'sisters' play together again. If you are anywhere in North America this Saturday afternoon and you listen carefully you will be able to hear the sonic disturbance taking place in Missouri. Don't worry, its just 7 Hunan girls plus one boy named Max from a different province running, playing and giggling. Kylee, Gracie, Grace, Sarah Penny, Lia Joy, Stevie, Xen, and Max are sure to have fun. Several of the girls have been asking about each other and are looking forward to seeing each other again. I may need to have surgery when we return to put my swollen heart back in my chest.
4. I am a person who doesn't like to be in the middle of the fray, I don't like being the center of attention. I am not a competitive talker, if I am talking I hope someone is listening, if they start talking I stop because I don't compete well. While this drives my wife nuts, its just who I am. I am more comfortable staying on the fringes and listening, watching, observing, and learning. It is amazing the things you notice if you can step back abit. This past weekend I noticed 2 things that I have observed before. The first is that peoples actions are very telling, particularly if they don't know your watching them from a distance. I watched a gentleman at church this weekend for about 10 minutes. He didn't know I was watching because I was over 50 feet away. This gentleman wasn't doing anything wrong or anything like that. He was just standing in a closed office, drinking a cup of coffee, nothing more. The thing that caught my eye was that he was deliberately distancing himself from others and he would stare out the window and then walk in small circles with his head down and then go back to the window. He repeated this between 10 and 15 times. The view out the window is an empty field so he was not waiting on something out there. This behaviour indicated to me that there is something very wrong and he is very uncomfortable with something, but as his distancing was deliberate I didn't feel I could approach him. I hope what ever was on his mind has since found resolution and he can find some peace. The second observance of the weekend was that people, like animals, travel in packs. I was at dinner with Angie and we observed a group of 12 women all there together. Most of the women had on jackets or coats with Mickey mouse on them. All of them looked as if their Harley was parked outside. They were a grumpy and short tempered bunch. They were also a little too masculine if you know what I mean. During a conversation with our waitress their behaviour and demeanor was brought up and she confirmed our suspicions. This group gathers at this restaurant regularly and no body wants to be their server because they are always grumpy and short tempered. I said, "ah, the Lesbian Disney gathering" and Angie struck me on the shin under the table with her shoe.

GOTCHA!!!!!!!!!

Do you know what you were doing on January 10Th 4 years ago?? Probably not. If you were getting married, celebrating an anniversary, or having a milestone birthday party you might remember. I remember what I was doing that whole week 4 years ago, but mostly I remember the morning of January 10Th as Gotcha day. Gotcha day is the day Angie, Gracie, and myself became a forever family. Gotcha day is the day parents give birth from the heart instead of the womb. Gotcha day is the day parents hold their new child for the first time and say, "Thank you Jesus," as they know they finally gotcha. Gotcha day is the end of a trail, the end of a trial, and the beginning of the fulfillment of a dream. Gotcha day is the day that provides a new definition for ," .............and I will fulfill the desires of your heart.................." Gotcha day is the stitches that put back together a previously broken heart. Gotcha day is the beginning of a new family, a new chapter in life. Gotcha day is the day one journey ends and another begins.

I wanted to share with you some pictures from that week 4 years ago.

This one is of me making new friends in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City. These two lovely ladies wanted their pictures taken with the large bald man from America. Notice the peace symbols they are making. Yes my dear ladies, Peace be with you.

This is the lobby of the Dolton Hotel, this is where we gathered before making the trip to the government office to meet Grace, and bring her home.

This is the room Gotcha happened in.

This is the first time I held my daughter in the flesh. Doesn't she look happy.

Me and Angie on the Wall.

Angie and I in the Forbidden City.

This picture just makes me want to watch Mulan one more time. Nothing says China to me quit like this picture.

Church Crisis update

In our culture, what do hero's look like? What do we picture when we think of a rescuer? Maybe its just me (its not really) but our culture has developed pretty standard stereotypes of what the person who come to rescue us from our impending doom will look like. We have a vision of this strong, clean shirted, nice pants wearing, clean shaven, man with large strong yet soft hands coming from far away just in a nick of time to pull us out of troubles. On the female rescuer side of things we picture this angelic face and soft voiced women who pulls us into her to make us feel safe and drive out our fears. This porcelain skinned angel might be the one who rescues us from fears. Our culture also is one who revels in the rescuer because we all feel we deserve to be rescued. What ever we need rescued from is never our fault.

With Christmas just past, I was thinking about this the other night. What does our rescuer really look like, what did our rescuer look like, or stated in a more conventional way, what did our Saviour look like? Did he appear in lush robes dyed in royal purple befitting the King of Kings? No He did not. Did he at least show up clean shaven, strong, and wearing nice pants, a button collared shirt with a silk tie and loafers? No He did not. Did He arrive to a warm reception, a parade maybe, or a ball to honor His presents? No He did not. He arrived as weakly and humbly as could be done. His arrival was not announced with fanfare and celebration, it was whispered to the lowest common denominator, the shepard's in the fields. He was born to parents who where too poor and too late to even get a hotel room so they had to sleep with the animals and stay warm with the straw. Our Saviour could have arrived in a chariot of gold dressed in purple robes with strong hands and an angelic face, but He knew then that our rescuers wouldn't really ever look like that or act like that. Instead he came humbly and brought us Truth and forgiveness whispered into our beings to save us.

Last Sunday night I was reminded of this as I was sitting at a church meeting. On Monday morning our church was going to be sold at the county sheriffs auction. We, the congregation, are and have been in dire financial trouble for some time. The holders of our loan kept increasing our rates, adding fines and such making the matter all the worse. As the devil was taking delight in this, more and more members lost hope and moved on to other Church's, which does nothing to help with the finances as the membership shrinks. The evening before the sale we had a meeting with the Rev. Lyndon Johnson (no I didn't make that up) who owns a mortgage brokerage company and only works with churches in need of money. He was late to the process, obviously, but he was still hopeful that with Divine assistance he could get us help. He seems to know where every nickle in the area is hidden and who to call to borrow it for a while. Our rescuer has arrived, less than 12 hours before the sale, but arrived none the less.

Now, the good Reverend, rescuer of Crosspointe, walks into the meeting room and as any person would do I turned to get a good look at he who hath cometh to rescue us. First impressions are always suspect, but this guy obliterated every cultural stereotype. He was not a knight in shining armor, he was not a Fabio look alike, he was not the clean shaven Lone Ranger image coming in to save the day. His hair was disheveled, his five o'clock shadow could start a fire if rubbed against burlap, his polyester pants were too high and his plaid shirt was wrinkled. His shoes were worn and his brow was furrowed from what looked like a hard long life. His teeth were crooked and he would occasionally spit when he was talking. Hmm, being a victim of my culture for a moment my heart sank as he walked in and I made the mistake of judging this road worn book by its cover. I think I made this mistake while wiping spittle from my forehead.

Once this Reverend began to speak my opinion of him made a sharp turn into the positive and hopeful. He looked down at my bible setting on the table and said, "Is this your bible brother" I said "yes sir", he said, "could I borrow it for a moment?", I said, "yes sir". He then turned right to the page he was heading to, without hunting, and read the story of the fiery furnace. He said he was there to pull us out of the fire. Now that, brothers and sisters, is an entrance. The thing he said that I found most compelling was he asked us, " do you want saved or should I take the saddle back off this horse, I don't want to do something you don't want done" I cant even express how deep that statement is. Too my surprise, we were not sure. I don't know why I am surprised, but I guess I was.

The meeting ended with the Reverend having gotten many different angles and plans together for the next day. Things to stop the sale, things to buy the property, things to account for any and all possible occurrences the next morning. The Reverend would set out to do battle on our behalf early the next day. He had already lined up funds from "wealthy brothers, good Christians, and blessed investors" The next day, he approached the judge but was apparently unable to get an injunction to stop the sale. I don't know or understand what happened next, but the way it is stated, the people who we owed the money to, bought the property and have given us time to buy it from them. With the assistance of Rev. Johnson, this is doable.

Now, did we want saved? That is still in question. We need to bring in more people and grow back to our former size and beyond. I have a feeling the Shepard will leave his flock and go out in search of the one that wondered away. What I mean is now that the immediate crisis seems to have come to a conclusion, some of the people who stoped giving, or left entirely will likely re-appear, with some help from us. I don't know what the future will bring, or how long Crosspointe can stay solvent this time around, but I know this.

God didn't bring me there for no reason and no purpose. So, for now, we will go on.

The lesson I have learned, or re-learned as the case may be is this.

Don't judge.
Don't give up.
Praise Him in all things.
and.

When looking for a big Saviour, or a servant rescuer, don't expect an attractive face, solid chin and glowing beauty, for that is all of the world.

Your rescuer may be as humble in appearance as your Saviour was. He may be a wrinkled, disheveled, suspender wearing old farm boy, or a carpenters son.

Peace...............