December 28, 2024

During the holidays, we were in a neighboring state to spend time with our friends. The day after Christmas, Hyemi sent me on an errand to buy a list of ingredients to bake a cake with the kids. The mart parking lot seemed full the day after the big holiday, and while I was figuring out where to park, I noticed a car pulling out of its spot which was fairly close to the mart entrance. I said, “Jackpot!” and drove right next to the spot and turned on my signal. A moment later, there  was another car approaching from the other side that surely saw my vehicle with my blinker on. As soon as this car pulled out of its spot, this other car quickly stole my spot and parked. I yelled at myself, “Oh, come on!!!” I had to find another spot far away. I think many of you have similar experiences.

I got into the mart, only to find out that half the ingredients that I needed to buy were out of stock, after all, it was the holiday season. This added to my frustration that I got from getting my parking spot stolen, and I had to return other items back to the shelves. When I came to the entrance to return the cart, a young man working there said with a nice, big smile, “I can take that for you.” When he said that, I noticed inside his work vest a red UW hoodie. “Are you from Wisconsin?” I asked. “No, but I go to school there.” I told him that I live in Wisconsin and he gave me a thumbs up and a nice, friendly smile once more. This interaction wiped away all of my mental state of being upset and I was feeling a lot better.

We are at the end of the year, and when I think about the two types of people I met that day, I wonder what kind of person I want to be remembered as in 2024, and how I want to improve myself in the new year. In my prayers, I enjoy saying, “May we reflect the character of Jesus.” Let’s think about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” I pray that we will think about the goodness of God and copy Him as best as we can in the new year and be a blessing to all those around us. God bless you all!

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January 4, 2025

Happy New Year, church family! My brother’s family were over for the holidays and we spent the New Year’s Day together. During their stay here, my nephew Paul took out his first baby tooth, but it was not an easy process. Paul is an extremely cautious young boy, and while his tooth was shaking real bad, he didn’t like the idea of pulling it out. When his parents would convince him to pull it out, he just wouldn’t let them do it. I think this went on the whole week they were here. It was time for him to pull it out because a new adult tooth was coming up, and the baby tooth was quite loose. Yet Paul wouldn’t let anyone touch it. 

Finally, on Thursday evening, everyone gathered to convince this little boy. His sister Gracie and my daughters were telling him that it doesn’t hurt, and I showed a video of when Sebin got her first tooth pulled out. Paul gave in, very hesitantly. His mom tied up a thin string around the tooth and let it sit until he was ready to give it a go. My brother had his phone ready, and when his mom pulled up, the tooth came off just like that and Paul didn’t even feel it. This is a common experience all families go through, but still, it is a big deal. We all cheered and celebrated this special moment. The moment was recorded on my brother’s phone, and I know the moment will pop up on his phone each year! 

There’s a special moment in the Israelite calendar that is meaningful. It’s the Passover. In fact, the Passover is their New Year’s Day of the religious calendar. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month to you.” Exodus 12:2. The liberation of the Israelites was such a big deal that God commanded it to be celebrated and made it the start of a year. We are in the new year of 2025. I pray that we will focus on the freedom from sin that God will deliver for us and that we will always celebrate salvation that was brought forth to us through His Son’s death on the cross. May God bless you and happy new year!

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December 21, 2024

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:5

I went to see “The Nutcracker” ballet with my family recently at the Marcus Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee. This was my first time ever seeing a ballet. The show was sensory friendly, so it was good for our kids to enjoy the show without having to worry about our kids staying quiet. We also had the joy of seeing Bonnie and Bill Grimm sitting just two rows in front of us!

I have to be honest, before the show,I had zero expectations about the ballet. I was just going there for the family. I was telling the family that I was going to fall asleep very soon into the show. I mean, you know, it’s a ballet!

Well, I was wrong. I was impressed! The performance, choreography, the plot, the orchestra, stage art, characters, etc. The wholesome production opened my eyes and I enjoyed every bit of it. I could tell the girls were impressed, too. When I looked over, I could see the girls could not take their eyes off of the stage. It was a really good production.

After the show, I thought about how the production was made. There were so many things at play, and the complexity of bringing everything just blows my mind. Everything had to come together. First the ballerinas and the ballerinos. The director has to direct them with choreography. With dozens of performers on the stage, precision is key. I can’t imagine how long they must have practiced. Then there’s the music. A full orchestra playing the music with beautiful and the performers dancing in sync to the music is no easy feat. What about the stage? The stage art director had to invest countless hours to create the stage where the scene changes every few minutes. And all the staff that are behind the scenes are there to help make the show successful. It took them time, practice, teamwork, and commitment to make all this happen.

What about the church? Ministry works in the same way. Church ministry is not, and will never be a one-man show. The whole church needs to come together as part of the body of Christ. It takes time and commitment to do ministry. Each effort and each time that is invested from the church members are extremely valuable. Therefore, I thank our God for blessing our church members throughout the year of 2024. We all joined together as one and committed ourselves to ministry. And I pray that God will continue to bless us in the new year of 2025 as well, that we come together as one, investing our time and efforts. When we do so, great things will happen for the Kingdom of God!

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