Blank Check

This is going to be a short post.

Today, I was listening to an awesome David Platt sermon on the Great Commission (video/links below), and he brought up the common, almost over-used illustration of giving our lives to God as a blank check.

"As followers of Christ we have sacrificed the right to determine the direction of our life. The language we use all the time is blank check. Every one of our lives, a blank check on the table, no strings attached. Our plans, our possessions, our bank accounts, where we live, our lifestyle, our future, our dreams, our ambitions, all on the table. Whatever you want me to do, God, whatever you want me to give, wherever you want me to go, no strings attached. This is not for super-Christians, this is for every follower of Christ. This is what it means to follow Christ."

As I listened to David Platt rattle off this list of stuff to give to God (which he did incredibly quickly, making this transcript very difficult to do), my initial reaction was, "I don't think giving any of those things over to God would be very difficult." To a large part, this is true. I don't really care much for money and I'm not really attached to any type of lifestyle or a particular line of work. But what would I have a hard time writing on my blank check? Reputation and recognition. This probably isn't surprising to most of you who know me, as this is something that I've struggled with my entire life. And like most deep heart issues, it isn't something that can be fixed simply by behavior, but it's something that requires a reorientation of the heart, which often is frustratingly slow.

I plan to write more on this subject at some point in the future (I already started a blank draft for it last week!), so I won't delve much deeper into this. But I ask you: What do you have a hard time putting on that blank check?

Why the Great Commission Is Great - David Platt - TGC13 Missions Conference from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Avoid Top Job Interview Mistakes

Some of you may not know this, but page hits on this blog are extremely important to me. As a result, I closely examine the content on top sites to see what they are doing to get all their hits. I saw this article on the front page of Yahoo News and was struck by the insight, expertise, genius, and literary prowess of this article - Avoid These Top College Admissions Interview Mistakes. I will try to imitate the brilliant techniques employed by the author and hope to give super helpful advice and draw in millions of clicks!

Acing a job admissions interview is exactly what you need to do to get hired, but having a bad interview will sink you. Don't fall into the latter category. The following are several of the top job interview mistakes - and ways to avoid making them.

1. Insulting your interviewer. While honesty is a trait looked for by most employers, insulting your interviewer is not the correct avenue to displaying this trait. No matter how overweight your interviewer is or how much you dislike their haircut or outfit, try your best not to insult your interviewer. Attempt to find other avenues of exhibiting honesty, perhaps by displaying your self-awareness by admitting to your own weaknesses (e.g. cheating, stealing, pornography).

2. Neglecting to wear clothes. Most employers nowadays prefer their job candidates clothed while interviewing, so it is of utmost importance that your body is covered. The temptation may also be strong to remove articles of clothing during your interview, but studies have shown that candidates that strip during their interviews are less likely to receive job offers.

3. Failing to follow directions. When you interview, it's possible that you will be given specific tasks to accomplish, be it problem-solving or writing code on a whiteboard. It is of utmost importance that you accomplish these tasks within the constraints given you. Many first-time interviewees make the mistake of using the white board to draw dinosaurs and panda bears instead of programming and throwing pens and pencils at the ceiling, but unless instructed to do so, refrain from such activities.

4. Telling lies. We all are prone to hyperbole especially during interviews, but over-exaggerating is a big risk that needs to be avoided. Resisting the impulse to tell lies will save you the trouble of attempting to explain how you managed to finish college in 2 years despite your extensive time overseas helping the poor and the time machine that you built in your back yard.

5. Going overboard with the bragging*: While you shouldn't be so humble that you don't say anything positive about yourself when asked about your accomplishments, be careful not to go overboard. Going on for too long about how great you are and how many amazing things you've done can be off-putting. It's okay to let some of what you've done speak for itself. If certain achievements are really that incredible, the interviewer will show genuine interest and have follow-up questions, allowing you to expand on your experiences in a more natural way.

*All of point 5 copied verbatim from Avoid These Top College Admissions Interview Mistakes

Caleb Tseng is a professional mediocre blogger at fobbymaster.blogspot.com. He earned his B.S.E. from the University of Michigan and his master's degree from the University of Michigan.

Ultimate New Year Party

Six o'clock, New Year's Eve. I was on my way to Arthur and Vicki's for the typical Asian New Year's Eve hot pot dinner and celebration. As grateful and excited as I was to spend a night with good friends, I became surprisingly very sad that I couldn't be home for the giant hot pot extravaganza at Eric and Kat's. I say it's surprising because I'm not usually  a very sentimental person, and while my friends mean a lot to me, I tend not to miss them too much when I'm away. The emotion I felt probably came from a combination of seeing the Instagram photos of the dinner, chatting with Thomas at work, and discovering that Michael, who I didn't see all break, was there.

As I wallowed in self-pity for not being able to hang out with my friends at the huge home-people hot pot party, I was reminded that there is coming a day that I wouldn't have to leave one group of friends to hang out with another, a time where no feast would go unattended. And this was great comfort to me.

So I look forward to the ultimate New Year Party, where we've said goodbye to saying goodbyes, loneliness is only a faint memory, and the food, fun, and fellowship never ends.

As a side note, can you imagine having our hangouts with Jesus? Thomas wouldn't win Nertz every time (unless he was paired up with Jesus), we could all stuff things in Wendy's ears together, and Jesus, James, and Michael would face off in an epic game of pterodactyl. And Jesus won't backstab me in the Game of Thrones game (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, VICKI).

"Ain't no party like a Holy Ghost party cuz a Holy Ghost party don't stop!" - Not the Bible