KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Simple things connect everyone in the room. When leading a group activity, always try to keep it simple so everyone can understand and participate. Simple enough?

What does that leave for thinkers like us? I always want to make the best out of every possible opportunities and moments. Is that wrong? Thinking takes time, and we don't usually have the patience for it. I often tend to think of too many options and reinvent a lot of things from scratch. Solid engineering mindset -- good for building things. How about building a fellowship? So far, thinking too much hasn't won me a lot. It's possible that i am not thinking right yet.

Building solid foundation for a fellowship definitely takes more than thinking. I am reminded, again and again, to keep self-thinking to a minimal, and spend my heart and energy in actions and execution. Planning and execution go hand in hand. Let's keep things simple and do my best with the tasks at hand before moving on to bigger goals!

Lemon Treats

Today I got a lemon from someone i care about -- at least i want to care about. Strange things have been happening all around me lately. When you are single, unestablished, and living under someone else's roof, i guess a lot of unusual things can happen, especially if you are the kind up for possibilities.

Well, back to the lemon. Yes, it's from a girl -- a pretty looking girl. Actually, i haven't seen her in person, and i wasn't asking her out. She just ignored me on her phone and email and toss me the silent lemon. It's like a beat-down before stepping into the ring. An involuntary treat when i wasn't even thinking of any bad intentions. I am a bit unsettled about the silent treatment. It's NOT a good way to end a relation.

To be fair, I have never been good with the opposite sex. Maybe I'll need to mix in some women studies and psychology into my reading list.

Love & Pride

it is better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

Home and Car

Today was a remarkable day. I am now the owner of a brand new house and a brand new car. Both deals were completed on the Same Day!! Completing the deals for both are such long process, one would take deep considerations before engaging in the buying process. Many things i learned from the experience in this transactional world.

1. Give out as little information as possible
2. Avoid showing your motives
3. Be passive
4. Find your advantages

Christian and Disrespected?

My car-buying attempt today at Toyota was truly unforgettable. Lack of research, planning, and time, plus a super mean salesperson all added up to a terribly unfulfilled experience. My parents and I got a mouthful of disrespectful words from this unworthy and disrespectful salesman. He was inattentive, boastful, and dishonest (in our opinion). I can go on and on complaining about this person but let's focus on some bigger issue here.

I felt disturbed about being disrespected. How does God see this injustice? How does He expect us to act or react to these worldly experience? How can we be godly and not lose ground, at the same time? WWJD? Especially after listening to Pastor Fred's sermon about developing God's consciousness in everyday decision making, i want to practice a "normal" christian habit in dealing with these kinds of situations.

Retreat Encouragement

Today i had a chance to help Jeffrey design his message to encourage and prepare people for the fellowship retreat. I came up with several personal views:

1. Distinguish groups within your audience, e.g. first-timer, old-timers, interim
2. Forecast and prep people with specific activities in the retreat, e.g. talent show, bond-fire, message, devotion
3. Remind old-timers to take care of new comers (implicitly)
4. Challenge them with specific tasks

This will come in handy when it's my turn to do this~

Vanderbilt Re-Visit 2009

Coming back to the city of Nashville this time is a much more enjoyable experience than the first time 2 years ago. This time I have the excuse to rent a car, which gives me lot more mobility. I spent my first day after the red-eye flight traveling around the city.

Even though i did a comprehensive search over the places to visit. I listed all of their address in GoogleMaps but i forgot which address was which place. I entered all the address into my GPS. I know where i am going geographically but i don't actually know which exact place i am going to. It's a self-organized surprise city tour. We'll see how well or how terrible this will turn out.

After getting out of the airport ~9am, my GPS led me onto a 20min drive. While i was driving, i couldn't help notice the gigantic houses surrounding the area. It seems like owning large estates a common trend here. It earns my respects for the time and energy devoted in building and maintaining these homes. These scenery make me naturally think about home, which i realize has become a bit blurry to me. I was glad that i had this reflective moment in this trip.

Heroes

Many people have a different image of being a hero. Our actions reflect how we want to get closer to this inner intangible. Sometimes we choose to be bold, speaking out or standing up for something or someone. Sometimes, we choose to be reserved and gather for a keener perspective. We strive to manage our situation a little better and a little righter. It's a complicated picture if we put each of our standards together and try to figure out the common denominator. One that would make us understand and agree with each other. If there exists such a thing, what should this be?

It's an amazing fact that we are able to overcome our differences. We build things that are larger than ourselves, car, airplane, and buildings....and even things that lasts longer like organizations and communities. We have proved that we have the capacity to look beyond our own possessions and measures. In the end, we realize that the motivation for us to make sacrifices and greater good for the group is something we can all relate to, this being the power of love. So, in this journey of becoming our inner heroes, the one necessary attribute is love. Without it, a hero has not the purpose to exist.