I wouldn't mind the Heat winning the championship

I'm okay with Lebron getting a ring. There. I said it. Some of my fellow Lebron-haters may feel a little betrayed (sorry, Tim), but my heart just can't hate Lebron with the passion that I used to. I'm still pulling for the Thunder to win, but my disdain for the Heat has really faded these playoffs. Here's why.

Lebron has been doing everything his critics (like me) said he couldn't do. 
Lebron is driving hard to the hoop, drawing contact, and making free throws. He's playing well all game, every game.  He's showing up in the fourth quarter. He's closing games. He's kept his flopping to a minimum. He's playing with that look in his eye that we didn't think he had, with the will and desire to win we all thought he lacked. Even though he's teamed up with Wade and Bosh, with Bosh injured and Wade sucking, there's no question that Lebron carried this team to the Finals. Lebron has proven to me that he's grown a pair, and what I considered his biggest weakness - his mental strength - has improved drastically.

Shane Battier is a stud. 
I've always loved Battier because he reminds me so much of myself - tall, dark, and handsome. Well. He's the player I hope to be like. A great defender, with a decent offensive game. Actually, I've always wanted to be more like Jason Kidd. But whatever. I'll settle for Shane.

Chris Bosh is making a huge impact that's going largely unnoticed. 
In my opinion, Chris Bosh deserves a ton of credit for the Heat's last two wins. His offensive rebounding has absolutely killed the Thunder, giving the Heat all those second shot opportunities. He's playing his heart out, and for that, mad respect.

I really dislike the Thunder play style, and don't really think they deserve a ring. 
One of the biggest reasons I wouldn't really mind the Heat winning the championships, is that I kind of really don't want the Thunder to win it. I don't like their style of low-assist, high-turnover, iso-every-possession basketball. I don't like how much of a jumpshooting team they are. In my mind, I think the Thunder winning the championship would be too easy. It's not because they didn't play good teams (they probably had the most difficult road to the finals), but I guess just much more prefer seeing wily veterans win championships, not young athletes with questionable basketball IQ win. Also, I don't like how Westbrook plays. Or how he dresses.

So that's that. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm no longer a Lebron-hater. I am now merely a Lebron-disliker.

[As an aside, I'm now a Wade-hater. Flopping, crying for calls, not showing up in games, flagrants, and being an all-around douche. No thanks. Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ]

Best double flop ever.

Trusting Your Teammates

There's no worse feeling in sports than feeling like you can't trust your teammates. I just got home from my third summer league game, and we are now 0-3. The first two games were decently close, but we just got blown out 15-6. The main problem with the build of our team is that we have very few true handlers - 2 guys and 1 girl. On a 15-person team, this isn't nearly enough, especially when there are 40 mph winds out there like there was today. Half of our team are new to ultimate, making it even more difficult to move the disc.

Today, we had a bunch of first/second-throw turnovers. It's a horrible feeling running out to set up the offense for cuts only to turn around and see the disc dropped right in front of the goal-line. The motivation to run back on defense in these situations is hard to come by. It becomes increasingly difficult to keep churning and fighting at my own role as cutter when we make these crippling mistakes. The mistakes start eating at your brain, and I found myself getting more and more frustrated with my team, which not only made me less and less encouraging, but it also really hurt my energy level out on the field. Conflicting temptations battle withing me - one to quit on the team and give up, and the other to be a hero and overstep my role on the team (even though  probably wouldn't do any better).

It really all leaves me in a very weird position. I'm a cutter. That's what I'm best at, and that's what I like playing. Despite the drops, our handlers are still better handlers than me. But a cutter needs someone to throw it to him, and when our handlers aren't playing well (or aren't in the game), it's hard for me to play my role as a cutter without getting disappointed, especially when I run hard and make great cuts but never get the disc. Due to both selfish frustrations and obvious all-around poor performance, I found the trust in my teammates slowly eroding over the span of the game. And this is probably the worst mindset an athlete can succumb to.

When you don't trust your teammates, your head gets way too big and you think you're better than everyone else on the team, and you try to do too much and screw the rest of the team over. You get frustrated and bring your team's morale down with a bad attitude. You lose motivation to play hard because you feel like no matter what you do, it won't make a difference. I need to learn to continue to trust my teammates even when I'm tempted not to and be a positive encouraging force, not a negative one.

Sorry this post was so all over the place and ramble-y. I'm extremely tired, but just decided to share my frustrations with the world. Here's a picture of me looking fabulous playing ultimate.

Don't I look FABULOUS?

Mockingjay Book Review

I just finished the 3rd book of the Hunger Game series, and it under-delivered more than any book I've ever read. I'm extremely disappointing in this final book, and just thinking about Katniss makes me angry. I get overly ticked off by incompetence and foolishness (which is something I need to work on), and the stupidity of Katniss set me off the entire book. Allow me to just go on a little angry rant about it.
Again, as before, don't read any of this post if you haven't read the books and plan to (I wouldn't plan to. Not worth it). Here's my review of the first book, which was also pretty disappointing...but definitely not as much as this one.

Katniss is an idiot...and becomes more and more of an idiot as the book goes on.

This is a theme that has actually been present in all three books, but the other two have had some saving grace to end the book. In the first book, Katniss gives us the satisfaction that she has cheated the system, and in the second book, Katniss is the spark to a revolution. In this book, Katniss' idiocy doesn't lead to any greater good. Throughout the entire book, I couldn't stop thinking to myself, "What is wrong with you? Don't be an idiot? Are you seriously this dumb?" All in all, Katniss is a stereotypical teenage girl that no one likes - overly emotional and impulsive, irrationally rebellious, selfish and dramatic, etc.
I gave her a pass for it in the beginning when she was still recovering from the concussion, but she still continued being a selfish, foolish little bi...girl who managed to screw everyone over with her crappy attitude. Every single decision she made in the book was a foolish one. Here's a short list of "wtf is she thinking" moments I had when reading the book.

• When she decides it's a good idea to run off, get Boggsstomped on the face multiple times, and attempt to bring down the entire Capitol Air Force with her cute little arrows.
• When she's in the underground bunker, after she's explicitly told to remain calm because she's the example for everyone else, goes absolutely hysterical when she can't find her sister. The reaction is understandable, but come on. Is there no better, less panic-inducing way to go about this?
• When she decides to run towards the armed enemy Peacekeeper and make some BS speech about peace while reaching out to him. DO YOU LACK NO SENSE, WOMANGIRL?! She totally deserved to be shot. Too bad it didn't do more damage.
• When she devised her own plan to steal the Holo and go prancing off herself to go assassinate Snow. What an idiot. I mean seriously. This is the worst idea ever. And maybe I missed it, but it also seems like the author never really spent the time for Katniss to narrate to us the development of the plan in her head. She just sort of drops in the "I need to steal the Holo" line and then builds it in little by little. The reasoning behind the plan really escapes me. Did she think that Coin wouldn't let her kill Snow? Did she think that the rebels weren't going to win? Why in the world did she feel the need to take this into her own hands? Here, we have Katniss again thinking she's the center of the world, and the betrayal and physical harm towards those around her are disregarded by her, as long as she gets what she wants.
• When she goes to talk to Haymitch, he makes a bad joke, and she storms out and cries. Anyone else see a fifteen year old drama queen?
• She approves of the last Hunger Games. Maybe it's just me, but I was really surprised that she would back this. Again, her spirit of revenge takes over any rationality she had. [Aside: this issue of the last Hunger Games seems passed over though. There really doesn't seem to be a point in it.]
• When she shot Coin. Seriously? You're telling me that you risked the dozen lives of your team, most of who died for your little fantasy mission, to kill Snow, and yet you kill the person you enabled you to get your revenge instead? I get it. Coin may have killed your sister. But you've killed the new leader of your country based on a short conversation you had with your arch-enemy, the most cruel and trecherous person you know? What in the world is wrong with you?!

The whole middle of the book was pointless. It neither added to the plot or developed any characters.
 
I'm talking about the whole deal with Katniss leading her team to go assassinate Snow. What's the point of it? How would the story be any different if they just sat in the camp and waited for the rebels to take over Capitol, which they were bound to do, given their control over all the other districts? The entire section seems unnecessary, and just something to fill pages and get a little "excitement" in the book (reminds me a little of car chase scenes in movies). Other than Katniss seeing Prim die, there's just nothing in that entire section that adds to the plot. The team doesn't really contribute to the rebel efforts in any way, and they end up in a spot they could have been had they just stayed at camp and (this is unthinkable for Katniss) obeyed orders. The characters that die we don't really care about or know well, and what happens to the characters doesn't give us a deeper understanding of who they are (besides Katniss being a moron). The only scene from the book that added any sort of depth to the characters is when Katniss listened in to Gale and Peeta talking about her at night. Otherwise, nothing really significant happened in the character development. Another thing. Doesn't it seem way too easy that the three main characters are on this mission together? Maybe it's just me, but it just makes the entire mission seem so much more contrived.

The threat of Coin's authoritarian leadership is woefully underdeveloped.

This complaint of mine is similar to the one I had about the first book, when the conflict that the author set up between Capitol and the districts was basically neglected for the second half of the book. In the first third of the book, we see the development of this weird tension between District 13 being totally controlling and almost even oppressing of its people, and Katniss and the other people from District 12 need to adjust to their new controlled lifestyle. The question that inevitably comes up is: If Coin and District 13 overthrow Capitol, is this what life in the districts will look like? Will all people need to follow a strict schedule every day for the rest of their lives? Will they only be portioned a specific amount of food, with severe punishments for stealing? Are the people fighting to overthrow one tyranny only to be ruled by another? We've seen this so many times in history. The people are disgruntled with the tyranny of their government, so they sign on with a new revolution, which turns out to actually be more oppresive and cruel than the first one. See China. See Cambodia. District 13 seemed very much like a Communist state. It was probably necessary for them to survive in the hard times, but I really wondered if Panem was going to actually be worse off with Coin in leadership.  As in the first book, this whole issue is basically brought up and then ignored for the rest of the book. The author touches on it again towards the end, with Snow telling Katniss how bad Coin is. Katniss goes on to kill Coin, which a naive reader may assume is an act for the best of Panem because of Coin's authoritarian leadership, but it's quite obvious that Katniss was basically still insane at that point and killed Coin because she thought that Coin killed Prim. So in the end, the whole issue of Coin bringing in an even worse government is drowned out by what Katniss thought was Prim's murder. Really disappointing.  

The ending seems forced. 

Every aspect of the ending seems forced. Katniss going crazy. Katniss killing Coin. Katniss choosing Peeta. Katniss remaining crazy. I said it earlier, but I'll say it again. The end of the book simply didn't seem to fit into the rest of the book. Katniss' mind, which the reader sees through, is completely muddled. The end of the book is like a blur, making it really hard for me as the reader to actually get any closure on. The twist with Katniss killing Coin seems to be a contrived twist, as the author cops out from dealing with the whole Coin being president issue because she's reached her page limit. There wasn't a real twist in the entire book, so I guess she just decided to put it in. It really just seems so incredibly forced, and not something the rest of the book built to. The entire book seemed to be building up to Katniss killing Snow. That was her mission. It was even her mission after Prim was dead. And she goes and kills Coin? Come on.  

But fine. Katniss kills Coin. Fun twist. Then...she gets aquitted?! Are you joking me? If you want to end in some tragic sort of way and not have it be a "fairy tale", fine. But Katniss just killed the new President of the country, and the only punishment she gets is that she's sent home? What?! The whole chapter with her in prison thinking about suicide was pathetic and pointless, and the author is obviously trying to get a more melancholy ending to the book and not a "cheerful" one, but again, she cops out of that. The ending is still a fairy tale ending. Katniss is living at home, marries the man she always wanted to, has three beautiful children, and they live in peace. Sure she has nightmares, but it's hard to call that an unhappy ending. Maybe this is just my sense of justice coming out. Katniss deserved to die. Not just for killing Coin. The entire series was basically about how the things she did caused everyone around her to die. Her rashness and foolishness throughout the entire series were only minimally punished. There was no justice for her.  

My own alternate ending

Here's my better ending, given that Katniss still assassinates Coin: Katniss gets thrown in prison, but she's confident that Haymitch and Plutarch will get her out of this situation, as they have previously both privately voiced concerns about Coin being in power (they didn't really in the book, but let's just assume they did). After some time in prison, she comes out to be sentenced. As the sentence is read out loud, Katniss crumbles to the ground and starts screaming hysterically. "Katniss Everdeen. You are sentenced to play in the final Hunger Games. Should you survive, you will be granted freedom." Katniss is shackled and carried away. Katniss slips deeper into insanity. She can't go through it again. She can't face the mutts again. She just cant. In the few days leading to the last Games, Katniss' emotional breakdowns become less frequent, and she begins to consider her long journey there, how she will be the first and only player to play in three Hunger Games. She realizes the irony of being sent to the Hunger Games that she herself instituted. She thinks about Gale and Peeta, still unable to make a decision. She thinks about Prim and her mother, both of whom she has let down. She thinks of Haymitch, who has always backed her up and saved her, but who could only bargain for her to play again in the Hunger Games, as opposed to an instant execution. The day has come, and as Katniss steps on the ring to bring her up to the arena, and as she looks around at the surroundings and her opponents, she has a moment of clarity before the madness of the Games begin. In the games of hunger, you win or you die. Prim was always right. Vengeance and retribution may bring blood, but compassion and forgiveness are what bring healing (or something to that nature). Then the horn sounds. The 76th and final Hunger Games have begun. 

That's just how I would have ended the book. But I'm not a best-selling author, so whatever.  

Book Review - The Hunger Games

Northpark Prayer Meetings

I've been going to the weekly prayer meetings at my new church for a few weeks now. It's a lot different from any prayer meeting I've ever attended, and God has used it as a huge learning experience for me.

Very Small
First of all, it's tiny. Northpark is a 300+ person church, but the prayer meeting averages around 8 people. That's less than three percent of the church. I remember someone (I think it was Sara) saying to me that she read in a book, "You can tell how popular the pastor is at a church by how many people show up on Sunday morning, but you can tell how popular Jesus is at a church by how many people show up at their prayer meetings." I don't want to jump to conclusions about the church or make unfair judgments on the spiritual lives of others, but I've gotta admit that the small number of people at the prayer meeting was quite disappointing to see.

Very Elderly
Not only was the prayer meeting small, but all of the members in the prayer meeting were very old. Apart from me, the average age of an attendee at the prayer meeting is probably 70-75. The youngest person there aside from me is probably around 60 years old. I must admit that in my pride, I looked down on the old people, but I've been learning to love and appreciate the elderly. But it just doesn't seem right that the prayer burden of the church is placed on a few elderly of the church. I don't really know how else to describe it. It just doesn't feel right that the only people going to prayer meetings are the elderly.

Very Unfamiliar
What we pray for in the prayer meeting is also quite different from what I'm used to. The majority of the time is spent praying for those with physical ailments and the families of the recently deceased. Considerable time is also spent praying for the country, as these older folk are extremely conservative and upset that the US is no longer a "Christian nation." We haven't prayed for the global church and we rarely pray for the salvation of the unsaved. Being in these prayer meetings and praying for these things weekly has taught me a lot. In my pride, I was quite annoyed at first that we didn't pray for "things that matter." But like my parents tried to teach me earlier, God cares about everything, not just what I consider to be "important things."

Very Edifying
Praying with these older people really has taught me a lot. The love they display each week for those they are praying for is to be imitated. But what has surprised me the most is the childlike faith of the people I'm praying with. One of the older men has bone cancer, but when he prays, he just gushes praises and thanksgiving. It's absolutely amazing. The solid faith of walking with the Lord for more years than even my parents has been alive is a joy to observe. But again. It's absolutely humbling how childlike their faith is - how they come before God completely convinced of his power and sovereignty. How they don't feel the need to use big words or loud petitioning or eloquent speech. They just pray with faith. It's amazing. I feel like such an immature young man with them...with my subconscious need to "pray a powerful prayer", if that makes any sense.

On the Magnitude of Space and Time

Our questions are never completely and fully answered. Growing as a Christian, there are questions that I face that I find difficult to answer in different chapters in my life. For a good portion of my college career, the main question that bothered me and nagged at me was the question of natural disasters. Why would God allow them to happen? This is probably because of the various natural disasters that happened in the recent past - Katrina, Haiti, South Asia, Japan. For these doubts and questions, I usually have head answers that I already know. If someone asked me questions on my own doubts, I could answer them. But deep down, I have yet to fully come to peace with those answers.

For me, the question/doubt that is nagging me right now is really hard to describe and articulate, but I'm going to try anyways. It has to do with the bigness and vastness of the universe. Basically, given the enormity of the universe, is it not arrogant to say that of all of the universe, the millions of stars and lightyears, God especially loves humans so much that He sent his son down to die for us? Now I know Romans 8, and I know that God is here to redeem all of creation, but I can't help but think that it all just seems so human-centric. Why would God decide to plan things such that something as insignificant in the universe, such as human beings, have a special ability to communicate with him? Why would God choose to bless a single life form with his special revelation on a tiny planet in a tiny galaxy in a single universe, to which there could possibly be parallels?

And put space aside for a bit. What about time? Time just rumbles on. Humans have only been able to communicate via writing for a few thousand years. What will the gospel look like in another 10000 years? Or 1,000,000 years? Will humans even be recognizable then, or will some sort of natural or man-made evolution have happened? Space is vast, it is but finite. Time, however, is a number line that never ends. Will people a million years from now be able to understand that God came as a man and died on the cross for them? Will not Christianity seem more and more bogus and insane as time passes? Will the Bible avoid becoming completely obsolete as our forms of communication shifts completely away from text?

These doubts have been in the back of my head for a while, and I think about it every so often, but reading Isaac Asimov's short story The Last Question really makes it all come back again (I highly recommend reading it - it's pretty mind-blowing). We often forget just how small and insignificant we are when measured by time and space. Atheists, like Isaac Asimov, seem to have a significantly more firm grasp on the magnitude of the universe and the finitude of humanity. But this insignificance in time and space also leads to a certain hopelessness and meaninglessness. It's all sort of hard to describe. In a way, I think it's beneficial to periodically ponder our smallness in comparison with the universe. How much smaller are we in comparison to an infinite God that holds the entire universe in the palm of His hand! How much more remarkable is it that he loves us! Who is man that You are mindful of him?! This love is a great mystery, and one that I can't wrap my head around, and I doubt I ever will fully, in this life or the next.

Even though I find it incredulous that a God would care about a single species on a tiny speck of a planet in the enormity of the universe (and the space of all possible universes) and I find it unbelievable that such a God would invade time at such a precise time as to interact with humans that are more or less experience many of the same things I experience, I hold on dearly to the empty grave. Though I have not yet in my head reconciled these things, I know that Christ rose from the dead. Christ rose from the dead! I do not know why this universe was allowed to exist, and I do not know if there exists universes parallel to this one. I do not know what the human race will look like ten thousand years from now, and I do not know when time will end and Jesus will come back. But this I know - that Christ was crucified, died, and was buried, and on the third day he rose again! It is on the resurrection that my faith rests. And if he didn't, we of all men are to be most pitied.

NBA Playoff Predictions - 2012

First Round
I know I haven't chosen any upsets, and I wish I could have, but I really just don't like any of the lower-rated seeds. The Clippers are the team that, in my opinion, have the best possibility of pulling an upset, but I really dislike them and I'm going to root for them to lose, so I just can't advance them in my bracket.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls over (8) Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games

The 76ers didn't live up to the expectations they set in the beginning of the season, and they're an incredibly hot and cold team. If they're hot (which I hope they are...for basketball reasons...), I think they could put up a real fight against the Bulls, especially with Rose still getting back into the groove of things. They're coming off of a meaningless loss over the Pistons, which followed a 4-game road win streak. If the Sixers can convince themselves they can win, even after losing Game 1 (and maybe Game 2), I can see a really good series where the Bulls surprisingly struggle with the 8-seed. But if they lose the first two games, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Bulls sweep. It's funny how that works.

(2) Miami Heat over (7) New York Knicks in 6 games

Some "experts" like Stephen A. Smith say that it would be better for the Knicks to play the Heat in the playoffs as opposed to the Pacers, but I think they're dead wrong. They say that the teams like the Knicks match up better against the Heat than teams like the Bulls (whatever that means). But I remind you that the Knicks haven't won a game against the Heat all season long. They are 0-3 against the Heat, and while the playoffs may bring a little more intensity, I really can't see the Knicks taking this one. We know that the

(3) Indiana Pacers over (6) Orlando Magic in 5 games

I'm giving the Magic one win out of respect for Van Gandy, but no Dwight Howard? Forget it. Random aside: Now that I'm living in Indiana, I think I'm supposed to root for the Pacers. Go Pacers!

(4) Boston Celtics over  (5) Atlanta Hawks in 6 games

The Hawks ended the season pretty strong, but the Celtics were also straight up killin' people in late March and April. I think that the Celtics will be playing with extra motivation and push this playoffs, so I really can't see Atlanta winning more than 2 games against a super-experienced Celtics team.

Western Conference

(1) San Antonio Spurs over (8) Utah Jazz in 5 games

The Spurs really get no respect. They quietly nabbed the first seed from OKC on an active 10-game win streak, but still no one is talking about them. Many say that the Spurs are a good regular season team, but I don't think this stigma is necessarily true anymore because now instead of guys like Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley, they've got guys like DeJaun Blair and Daniel Green. But really, the Spurs post-season really depends on their big three - Manu, Duncan, and Tony Parker. Can they carry the team into the Finals? Can Manu stay healthy this post-season? We'll see.

(2) Oklahoma City Thunder over (7) Dallas Mavericks in 5 games

I haven't watched much Maverick basketball this year, but I have watched a good amount of OKC ball. The Thunder are freakishly explosive and have a lot of different ways to score, and I just don't see a team like the Dallas Mavericks being able to stop them. Dirk won't be able to bail his team out against a much superior team this year.

(3) Los Angeles Lakers over (6) Denver Nuggets in 6 games

The Lakers are nowhere near as dominant as they have been the last few years, but if Bynum can keep his cool, I don't see how the Lakers could lose this series to the Nuggets, who lack that go-to offensive player. The big question on everyone's mind - Can Kobe win his first ring without Luke Walton? Who knows. I hope so. Kobe also won't have Metta World Peace's hustle and defense this series, but I think the loss isn't that great. Who would you need him to shut down on the Nuggets anyways?

(4) Memphis Grizzlies over (5) Los Angeles Clippers in 7 games

This isn't so much a pick for the Griz as much as it is against the Clippers. Sorry guys, but I just really can't Blake Griffin. He's a flopper and a whiner, and he doesn't even jump over the top of Kias. I think this series is really up for grabs, so what the heck. Grizzlies in 7.

Conference Semi-Finals Prediction
I was going to do descriptions and reasons why I'm picking the way I am...but I got lazy. So here you go. Just the picks.

Eastern Conference
(4) Boston Celtics over (1) Chicago Bulls in 7 games
(2) Miami Heat over (3) Indiana Pacers in 6 games

Western Conference
(1) San Antonio Spurs over (4) Memphis Grizzlies in 6 games
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder over (3) Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games

Conference Finals Prediction
(2) Miami Heat over (4) Boston Celtics in 6 games
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder over (1) San Antonio Spurs in 5 games

NBA Finals Prediction
Oklahoma City Thunder over Miami Heat in 7 games


Closing Thoughts
I know what you're thinking. Caleb copped out. He chose what everyone thought would happen. OKC-Heat Finals. Just know that this is what I think will happen, not necessarily what I want or wish will happen. It was difficult for me not to pick the Lakers over the Thunder, and I'm kind of bummed that they're on the same side of the bracket, because I really don't think any of the teams on the other bracket can beat the Heat. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the Celtics somehow found a way to beat the Heat in the conference finals (though I can't see Chicago doing it, to be honest), and I wouldn't mind at all if the Heat got knocked out even earlier than that.

Yes, you've figured it out by now. My entire thought process is wrapped around my deep desire to see the Heat lose again this year. Let's go NBA! Beat the Heat!

Happy playoffs, everyone.

11111 Pageviews - Thanks for Reading!

We did it everyone! 11111 pageviews! Special thanks to whoever was the 11111th viewer, as I frantically kept on refreshing to make sure I captured this important moment. Maybe I should have put up a "Congratulations, you're the 11111th viewer!" that flashed different colors, and said you would win a PS3 if you clicked on it.

For all of you who regularly visit and read what I write, thanks! My blog doesn't really get that many hits, and most of the pageviews seem to come from image searches that lead to some of my more image-heavy posts (like this one on Lebron and this one on the Lakers). I actually think that this blog only started gaining some more traction this past summer when I updated a lot when I was in Taiwan and posted the fun Iris' Taiwan Documentary videos, and I'm glad that whoever of you have started reading this recently has decided to finally click this link or subscribe or whatever. Some of you may have only met me in these last year or two, and may not know me as well and may not have been following this blog for that long, so in commemoration of this awesome milestone of 11111 views, which took four years to get to (but hopefully less to get to 22222), I've compiled a list of some of my favorite posts for your viewing pleasure (some of which I think are my better posts, but that's for you to decide).

[Reading over a lot of posts of the pasts, I realize how knuckle-headed I was in a lot of different places, and how crappy of a writer I am, but whatever. I'm sure I'm gonna look back at me now in five years and marvel at how dumb I am now! ]

I know that a lot of you are studying for finals right now, so I thought it best to give you more stuff to waste your time with, as I know many of you are just sitting in front of your computers bored, just waiting for your distraction. Well, wait no longer! Your distraction is here!


If you want to know a little bit about my church and family history...

• I love my dad (and God)
• I love my family (and God)
• Being an Asian American Christian
• Why I sometimes (okay...often) "tease" Canto people

If you want to know what I do for fun...

• What my friends and I did during summer 2010 (hint: it includes a lot of punishments...and embarrassing videos of Iris!)
• "Funny" videos with a Penguin

If you want to read about some of the cool evangelistic experiences God has blessed me with...

• How I gave away a brand new Bible to a stranger on the bus
• Interesting conversations with two cab drivers from completely different religious backgrounds
• A little lesson on God's sovereignty

If you want to know my stance on some controversial sports topics...

• Why I think college football playoffs is a bad idea
• Some thoughts on the use of technology in sports (with some case studies here)
• What I think about Lebron going to Miami

Some miscellaneous posts that I like ...

• Why Asians are bad drivers
• The future of auto transportation - automated driving
• More than slactivists
• My one haunting college decision
• On quoting Scripture in evangelism
• Kobe's work ethic
• Prayer in sports
• Thoughts on 1 Samuel (and my first series ever!)

Church Hopping - Final Decision and Lessons Learned

The Final Decision - Northpark Community Church

I've made my decision. In this spring, this is very tough, in this spring I'm going to take my Bible to Flutter Road and join the Northpark Community Church. That was the conclusion I've come to after a few weeks of church-hopping. I feel like it's going to give me the best opportunity to grow and to grow for multiple years, and not only just to grow in life's easy seasons or just to grow five days in a row or three days in a row, I want to be able to grow every day, and I feel like I can learn and grow down there. [Here's what I'm referencing, for all of you who haven't caught it yet.]

So yeah. I've made the decision. I've laid out an overview of what the church was like in my review of it here, so if you want to know what it's like, read that post! The two main reasons that swayed me are below. Needless to say, I think the teaching is solid and the church seems relatively healthy, but the following two factors are what elevated it over the other church I was considering.

Northpark's newly built sanctuary!

Location 
It came down to St. Andrew EPC and Northpark, and St. Andrew is in another town twenty miles away, so it would be much more difficult to really get connected into the community there and serve in the church because of the distance. Northpark is only about ten minutes away, with most of its congregation living in Fort Wayne, making it much more possible for me to be a part of the community there.

Young Adults
Northpark already had a small group of young adults, and we just started a Thursday night Bible study in my apartment! We have dinner every week at 6:00PM in my apartment, then we play a game, do a Bible study, and then pray. We are going to start our study of Mark tomorrow night! It's super exciting being part of a new community of fun believers who are committed to meeting together. This small group is just starting, so pray that we can mesh together as a community and grow together in Christ!

Lessons Learned

- How to spell "Presbyterian" correctly on the first try.
- Multi-ethnicity and diversity don't seem important until it isn't there.
- There is no perfect church.
- Hymns can be pretty cool, especially when everyone sings it together.
- A small church with packed pews feels a lot "better" than a bigger church with more people but sparse pews.
- Church websites can tell you a lot about a church, but you have to know what to look for.
- Indiana is really conservative.
- Finding a church is difficult.

Church Hopping Week 1 - Fellowship Community Church
Church Hopping Week 2 - Calvary Baptist Church
Church Hopping Week 3 - Providence Presbyterian Church
Church Hopping Week 4 - St Andrew Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Church Hopping Week 5 - Northpark Community Church

Book Review - Following Jesus by NT Wright

At a Glance
Book:   Following Jesus - Biblical Reflections on Discipleship (Amazon)
Author:  NT Wright, renowned New Testament scholar (wiki)
This book is good for:  Newer Christians who want to understand more deeply what it means to follow Jesus, and older Christians who want to be 'wow'-ed by familiar Scripture.
Difficulty level: - Medium-low difficulty - Fairly easy read for most Christians.
My rating: - 7/10 - A worthwhile read, mainly as a supplement. Not an "essential" read.

Overview
This book is split into two halves, where the first six chapters of the book are a collection of sermons focusing on the Eucharist and the last six chapters tackle specific topics concerning Christian life. In each of the chapters in the first half of the book, Wright takes us through a big-picture summary of a New Testament book of the Bible. These chapters are absolutely amazing as we get to trace through the major themes and motifs of the book, many of which aren't very obvious and which were new to me at least, as NT Wright brilliantly shows the connections between passages I had never considered, all spectacularly pointing to the all-important death and resurrection of Christ. I absolutely loved the first six chapters of Following Jesus, as Scripture just came alive to me in a way I've never experienced before as I got a unique bird's eye view of some of the books of the New Testament.

Unfortunately, the second half of the book wasn't quite as spectacular or groundbreaking, but still good reminders nonetheless. Where the first half was more about how all of Scripture declares the supremacy of Christ's death and resurrection, the second half lays out more clearly what that looks like for believers. NT Wright expands on the significance of Christ raised from the dead and its implications in our lives for thinking about things like heaven, hell, temptation, and a new life and new mind. This half of the book would, in my opinion, be helpful for the thoughtful new believer trying to connect all the Christian lingo and traditions he hears with the biblical support for it and the life application for these principles.

Why I read it
I had recently listened to a few NT Wright lectures and I really loved them. I had always known that he was one of the Bible scholars of the day, so I thought it would be worthwhile to read something of his. Looking through the Kindle store, Following Jesus seemed to be a relatively easy (and cheap) read with pretty good ratings, so I just chose bought it to read.

Why you should read it
If you feel like you haven't been getting much out of Scripture recently or have been getting 'bored' with reading familiar passages, I think that reading Following Jesus can really be a breath of fresh air and a big reminder that there's so much of Scripture that we, especially as young people, have yet to discover. If you are a new believer and want to know what Christianity is all about, this could be a good book to read, though I imagine that there are also a million other books that may be more suited for a new believer. All in all, I really enjoyed the book, and I think that you will too!

This book is also a pretty easy read and a great way to ease into Christian literature for all those who aren't big readers. The chapters are written in manageable sizes, easily finished in one sitting. [Personally, I read an average of two chapters a week, finishing the book in a little over a month.] NT Wright writes in a way that is understandable, relate-able, and surprisingly simple for the profundity of the content he presents. To me, his writing in Following Jesus is comparable to that of RC Sproul - simple and understandable yet illuminating and at times, quite profound.

Quotes
[It is somewhat difficult to pinpoint specific amazing quotes here and there from the book that were good because the beauty of the book comes mostly from the interweaving of thematically connected Scripture and the buildup of that Scripture pointing towards the cross and the resurrection. Again, this is a big-picture sort of book.]

"The world is not ultimately divided into bits that are irreducibly good and bits that are irreducibly bad. Everything - the invisible things as well as the visible - was made by the creator, through the agency of his eternal Son, whom we know as the man Jesus."

"The cross was not the defeat of Christ at the hands of the powers; it was the defeat of the powers at the hands - yes, the bleeding hands - of Christ."

"Paul's vision of the Christian life is thus of a life lived between D-Day and V-Day. The decisive battle has been won; the battles we face today are part of the mopping-up operation to implement that victory."

"John does not describe the transfiguration, as the other Gospels do; in a sense, John's whole story is about the transfiguration. He invites us to be still and know; to look again into the human face of Jesus of Nazareth, until the awesome knowledge comes over us, wave upon terrifying wave, that we are looking into the human face of the living God. And he leads us on, with our awe and bewilderment reaching its height, to the point where we realize that the face is most recognizable when it wears the crown of thorns. When John says, 'We beheld his glory', he is thinking supremely of the cross."

Thoughts on the Decrease of Emphasis on "Not Being Judgmental"

We don't talk about "being judgmental" anymore. I just realized it this morning. Not being judgmental used to be a huge talking point for Christians, but it seems like the phrase has gone out of use recently. There used to be a huge emphasis on not being judgmental in Christian communities, but I haven't heard anyone talk about it in a long time. It could be that the Christian lingo has simply changed in the last few years, but I think that the relation between the church and those outside the church has shifted a bit, making talk of being judgmental somewhat obsolete.

It would be helpful to first define what it means to be judgmental. My definition is as follows - deliberately fingerpointing at other people's sins while being unapologetically hypocritical. Being "judgemental" goes beyond a declaration of both general and specific sin - it is characterized by the pride of the "Thanks God I'm not like that sinner" kind of attitude. Being judgemental inherently stems from a prideful, self-righteous, hypocritical attitude.

[I also think I need to take a quick moment to point out that people can feel judged, even when Christians aren't being judgmental. This is a huge topic and I could spend a lot of time talking about it, but in this post, I'm primarily addressing the decrease of exhortations to Christians by Christian leadership to be "less judgmental".]

The following are two possible reasons for the decline in talk of being judgmental.

1) The church has become less "judgmental".
No, I don't think that the church struggles less with pride and self-righteousness than in the past. Those are human problems that will never go away until eternity, but I do think that the church has shifted attitudes in two key areas in the increasingly secular environment, as described below.

The church has taken greater ownership of its past failures and present brokenness.
In my opinion, the eyes of Christians everywhere have been opened to the brokenness of the church and church leaders are finally admitting to being personally broken. Gone is the idea and the ideal that all Christians are morally upstanding people with perfect marriages. Gone is the illusion that being a Christian will fix your life. Gone is the myth that church leaders are less prone to temptation and sin than their members. As Christians, we've been hit in the face with the reality of the despicable actions by countless pedophile priests and the secret sins of evangelical pastors everywhere. We can no longer pretend that the church is a bunch of holy people led by even more holy ministers. Similarly, we can also no longer deny the historical atrocities of the church. As Christians, we've been taught and forced to confront the failings of the church in the past - the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem witch hunt, and the list goes on and on. More than ever, I think that Christians are forced to recognize and admit the brokenness of the church, dispelling a bit of the previously assumed self-righteousness for being a Christian.

The church has become tolerant, accepting, and sometimes even supportive of sin.
The decline in the seriousness towards sin is so obvious, I don't need to write much to convince anyone of it. The word "sin" itself has become taboo in churches, Christian music, and evangelism techniques all around the country. "Christians" living in licentiousness is almost the norm, and non-Christians can find churches to attend where they are comfortable for the simple reason that the people they see in church are living similar lives to the ones that they live. And then there are the churches far out in left-field encouraging the practice of what the Bible calls sin and even ordaining ministers that unabashedly, unrepentedly practice those sins. However, as easy as it is to pinpoint and blame the liberal, mainline church, we evangelicals are also very guilty for downplaying the seriousness of sin. How often do I find myself euphemising sin in conversation and evangelism with more user-friendly words like "struggle" or "brokenness"! How rare is it to hear contemporary Christian music that properly addresses the wretchedness of the human condition!

2) The objection to the church is much deeper.

In the past, most people agreed generally with the values of the church, but I think that now more than ever we see a divergence between the beliefs of the religious and non-religious. Where it seems like a few years ago, the complaint mainly was on how things were preached, but now it's about what is preached. We have seen the progression from "Practice what you preach, then maybe I will" to "Practice what you preach, but don't expect others to" to finally where I think it is now - "What you preach is wrong." No longer do you need to be carelessly insensitive or obnoxiously self-righteous about your beliefs to offend - simply holding certain beliefs is enough to be cause offense. For example, the mere suggestion, no matter how gentle and loving, that homosexuality is a sin is enough to offend and turn people away. The declaration of the universality of sin itself is considered a needlessly self-deprecating way of making people feel bad about themselves.

When others think that it is simply wrong to believe what you believe and the resentment goes beyond the presentation of your beliefs to the core of your worldview, most talk about being judgmental is moot. People feel judged not simply because of how you act or what you say, but what you believe.

"There is no higher testimony to their fidelity than for the servants of God to evoke the rancour and hostility of the reprobate." - A.W. Pink

In a way, I'm glad that we've started to realize as a church that it is impossible to sugar-coat sin, as Christians have been attempting to do for some time now. We've begun to see just how offensive the gospel really is to those who do not believe. I truly believe that it isn't long before Christians will be not only scorned, but hated for stating their beliefs on sin. Christians in our generation don't know yet what it means to be hated for their beliefs, but I genuinely believe that it won't be long before God bestows on us the privilege of suffering deep scorn and hate from the world.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree that there has been less talk of "being judgmental" in the Christian community? Do you think it's actually a real change in attitude or just simply a change in rhetoric?

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

- John 3:19-21

"Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

- John 8:43-47

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
- John 15:8