Day 1 of being in Charlotte, NC

It's been a while since I was on a plane to somewhere, and I didn't have anything on my agenda. Getting out of the office was a refreshing change of pace, even though it's only been the first day.

 

The airport was fun. Instead of getting X-rayed, I let them pat me down and it wasn't as titilating as I thought it'd be.

 

The flight involved gorging myself on bags of Popcorners, which apparently is a new way of making popcorn, but into chip form. There was a Rick James documentary on VH1 and MTV Countdown of the most expensive Cribs ever. I didn't know that Richard Branson had his own private island. There were a lot of good ideas to decorate a house, but the Van Gogh paintings are a bit out of my budget.

 

There are huge bugs in North Carolina.

 

This room is awesome. If only I could get the normal internet working, then we'd be back in business. The lights are kinda dim though.

 

We're sorta in the middle of nowhere. It's an office park-like community, where there are schools, condos, businesses and stuff all around. It's like the area in Wellington, except without buses.

 

The weather is really nice too, but I hear it's gonna rain in the coming days. There's also a tornado warning but I don't think it'll touch down here.

 

There are only a couple hours left before hitting the sack. Time to make use of the fitness center, and then crash hard.

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

QT reflection 2/6/12

How often do we look to the law to break the rules? Sounds funny, right?

 

I've been using this book I borrowed from Lee Yih to do daily devotionals. Most, if not all, of the reflections have some sort of practical application in terms of character, internals, and understanding the nature of Christianity on a day-to-day basis. In one of the things I read, I came across the idea of how if "we follow the 10 Commandments, then the requirements of the Law are satisfied." It makes sense that if we glorify God and don't screw over our neighbors, then we can be held blameless for what we do.

 

Often, I find myself being able or wanting to bend the rules without breaking them. Games are a prime example in our culture where's it's accepted and expected for you to do so. How far and to what depths of actions will you go through in order to achieve what you want?

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

small group reflections 1/17/2012

I love my small group for the diversity of opinion and reasonings people can give, along with the ideas they make me ponder about. I dislike my smal group because....(for that, you can ask me in person)

 

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind in small group this week, and a lot of questions came from it too. Without going into an uber-philosophical tirade, I find it helpful to at least mull about the implications of such questions and issues that popped up. Any one of these can be a good conversation in and of themselves, but for purposes of mental exercise, the thoughts about them will be short.

 

Can we still grow/change, even if we know the answers?

I liken it to a robot that has all the information in the world fed into it. It's at the apex of development where any other information would seem redundant. However, if there is nothing further for it to learn, can it become any better at all? In our walks of faith, we find that even if we do know what the Bible says, that our own personal development is stunted without being tested. Whatever testing that may be - we can still grow, whether by changing our perspective, rearranging our priorities, or understanding a greater importance.

 

Faith & works go hand in hand, but can you develop faith through your works?

It takes effort and will to develop faith. One can go about life easy and "believe" anything, but the main proof is whether you live your life on that belief thinking that it is or should be true. A child could believe in Santa Claus, but if they start buying their own presents and not wait for him to show up, then we would say that they don't believe in him, even though they declared it so. When we say faith, the connotation is that it's a good thing, particularly in the Christian realm. If one were to do good works continuously, without obligation to do so, I believe they start growing into that mindset of a deeper morality. One's mind begins to change, not simply because they are doing something, but rather because they're coming to a realization in their lives by doing do.

 

Who is in charge of the renewing of the mind?: (Romans 12:2)

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

People wanted to avoid talking about pre-destination. One person in our group believed that it's a joint effort. I can't consider any alternatives where it's 100% God or 100% man, since if it's 100% God, then He wouldn't need to renew it, and if it's 100% man, it wouldn't be possible since by nature we despise Him.

 

Are we replacing our thoughts or are we transforming them?

I don't think we are replacing our thoughts, though i can see that we do blur the lines. Sinful thoughts do and will exist, and it will happen. In one case, I can see us moving towards the point where certain desires are dulled out to the point, but are never gone. We are not "brainwashed" in the sense that there is some deviousness or malicious intent to change one's thoughts. Rather it is the forced choices that the world makes us make that if we were to choose a Godly perspective, that by not conforming to the patterns of the world, we are being mindless, stupid, ignorant, etc.

 

We are forced by choice, not by will, to choose between God and the world.

I talked about this before in the previous issue. I believe that our wills are blank slates in that they can be molded and not be preset. I think there is some part in all of us that desire to glorfiy God, but it's not recognized internally yet, or we're being distracted (i.e. other choices). Every decision we make up until the point of death is whether or not we choose God. It sounds melodramatic but I do believe it is realistic to believe so.

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

fruity pebbles, crappy vegetable juice

It feels like a while since I actually blogged a personal reflection rather than a "hey, this is how my X went". Christmas was a good time for learning, but it wasn't something that I would have encountered had I not broken the rules of convention.

I was talking to a friend today, whom I hadn't seen in a while. While catching up with him, we went into a discussion of Reddit and the face of the internet today, that it revolved around social media. We also came to the conclusion of information overload, in that we're getting so much information. As useful as it is, we spend hours on ending soaking up all the information that we're neglecting our other duties, deluding ourselves in thinking that we're being productive.

That being said, I thought of something another friend said to me, that "I always tend to find a loophole in whatever is said." I think that is true, in that I do, but not for nefarious or underhanded reasons. Rather, I'm always looking to see things from the other side of the coin, and checking to see if I can make things better.

Concerning the loophole, it goes back to how the market plays itself out. On the one side, people are looking for one entity to depend on to get their information/services/resources. Yet people are afraid that if this entity gets too large and powerful, it would go out of control and effectively destroy everything around them.

On the other side, we're looking for straight efficiency and keeping costs down. It's why we outsource and use cheap labor, in order to push comparative and absolute advantage. However, seen from a different light, going about those methods means the end of unions and American jobs.

Constantly, I find myself having to act like a chameleon in order to meet the needs and demands of others. Again though, the conflictions continue and there seems to be no end.

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

Christmas 2011

It's not often that I get time off anymore unless I run away. That being said, being able to get out the house this Christmas allowed a lot of time of relaxation and reflection, without the rest. I spent the time with my uncle, aunt and their 3 kids and each one of them taught me a little something about myself surprisingly enough.

 

From my uncle: Love is rooted in resilience and humility. Often during the trip, I know a lesser man would have yelled and screamed at his kids or put down the hammer, but he was really cool about things. Being a workhorse for the people you love is admirable.

 

From my aunt: Sometimes you'll have to look like the bad guy to get things done. It's not that she was mean or anything, but from a comparative perspective, she was the bad cop in the Good Cop, Bad Cop scenario. It's not what looks nice, but what is right that matters.

 

From my 1st cousin: Patience is a virtue, and sometimes the ones you love will hurt you, knowingly or not.

 

From my 2nd cousin: Innocence and sympathy are not to be taken lightly in a world that's oppressive and constantly moving.

 

From my 3rd cousin: Empathy needs to be natural and not stilted or rehearsed, and also that the wonder in the world still exists, even if it starts on a small scale.

 

 

For myself, I'm learning lessons about how to be single and how to treat spouses and children. It was refreshing that none of this burden falls on my shoulders, but that in time, it comes as a second nature. Maybe next Christmas the story can change.

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

thoughts on Occupy Boston

Guess I should have written this post earlier before the tent came down.

Having seen some of the aftermath of Occupy Boston, I had come to many realizations as to why it failed (at least in the short-term):

-A lack of leadership

-A lack of a final goal

-A solidified measure of success

-Lack of cohesiveness among the people

-Internal disputes

-Their depiction in the media

Those are only a small subset of reasons. For me, I had believed in at least some of the message, but disagreed in their execution of their plan. Perhaps in the future, these issues would be addressed. Above all though, the movement has to realize that they need to be about the people, and if they're really about the people, then they need to actually represent what the people want and to represent the people who are truly oppressed.

It brings me to my uncle, who is actually considered one of the 1%, but he acts like a 99%. Right now, I don't believe that the fight isn't merely about money or equality, but rather a change in behavior. More money doesn't cause problems per se, but rather the mishandling of resources is what we're protesting.

We act as if we can levy some sort of behavior on people who are much unlike us, and that they ought to understand our plight. In truth though, it's tough for anyone to be sympathetic to anything if you vilify them right off the bat. Sure, people are people and we do go through the same things, but remember; people are people - they have feelings too.

The fight isn't over for anyone - perhaps the attention is drawn away to other causes, but there's been a sour taste left in the mouths of the people.

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics

small group reflection 11/29/11

Another day, another time of reflection, hunger, and boredom.

 

I kinda zoned out of the sermon this Sunday, also talking to a friend about their high-school reunion and whatnot. We ended up discussing Acts and the characteristics of missionaries and the call behind missions. It's a sensitive topic in that we often feel compelled to do so but really don't know how, and can't really do it ourselves. As one person mentioned, it becomes somewhat of a impulsive cultural phenomenon. If anyone went to Urbana, they would understand; after hearing such inspirational tales of struggle, growth, hardship and understanding, one feels called to go out and do such a thing. However, it may not be the case that everyone, though called to do missions, is suited to do missions.

 

A thing we had talked about for the church in Antioch is how they were fasting and praying for their people. Fasting isn't something we too often do, other than perhaps saving space for a bigger meal, or using it as a time of reflection. More or less, I think about the physical effects and the reality behind it - giving up something consciously so that we refocus and sharpen our relationship with God. It works because in giving up one of our most precious needs, we seek to fill it, and when we start relying on God for that one need, we might be inclined to call on Him for other ones too. The question is though - do we necessarily need to give up food in order to get closer to God? Or rather is it that we give up something of utmost importance to us, so that we allow that dependance to grow? I doubt we're all gonna live lives like Job, having everything being taken away from us, and yet still praising God for who he is, but I do believe that we start stripping away the layers that bound us to humanity more and more, we start to see ourselves less and less within the presence of greatness. It's one of those feelings that leave you awestruck.

 

Another thought had confronted my mind in terms of how we on the base level are in touch with our missionaries. On the whole, I gather that unless we have a personal relationship or a close connection with a missionary directly, we find it difficult to understand and to know who our missionaries are and how they are. Realistically, it makes sense because while they're away in one location, living out a separate life and a separate calling, we are pursuing our own direction. We realize and understand that the call to missions is an important thing, but we've compartmentalized it in our minds so it's just another thing that occurs in our own little world. We seek and strive to be in touch with one another as a church family, but at the same time, we find it difficult when these barriers are put between us. Even more so on a practical level for our church, I felt compelled to enter the Cantonese Fellowship. Even though my language skills aren't great, and even though I'm of a different culture, it pains me to not know what the other side of the church is going through. We are part of the same "family", yet we don't even know each other - we don't interact and mingle unless we're put together the very few times of the year. In the same way, I think that's what happens to us - we get caught up, and we see the idealism in the act, but confront and resolve ourselves to the realities we set upon ourselves.

 

That night, I thought about how we have to start seeing missions as a way of life and not merely a process. Whether or not we cross the ocean or cross the street, we are missionaries in our own right. It shouldn't be a standardized process where the steps are laid out before you. Back then, it was fluid, organic. People saw and confronted the needs of the people on the spot and they lived like the locals. They didn't come in with a "we're better than you and we need to give you aid because we're better off" sort of mentality. They didn't have a cushy world to go back to because the missions call was their life - at the end of the missions trip, they didn't come back to comfort necessarily.

 

It makes me think about where my place is too. Not simply on a missions scale but how I fit into this overall plan. Maybe I'm meant for destruction and someone was meant to stop me. 

Posted via email from Bloodscope Economics