becoming

對過去一個星期因我的說話、表現和行徑而受傷害的朋友、弟兄姊妹及家人…

很對不起。要你們承受了全無理由的發泄。

我知道我的「心靈排污系統 」出了問題。

需要停一停。

並請你為我禱告。 

不知怎搞，總覺得Eunice越來越似陳方安生—不論外表和做事。

看見現在你班人結婚又要好似Disney咁排對同卡通人物影相，影完仲要「即影即有」，最要命的是連舞都要排埋！

除了額上冒汗之外，就是深深的向主感謝：

「好彩我結婚結得早。」 

Jocelyn says:

It's "Uncle Thomas" and "Auntie Eunice" big day today! Look at the pretty dress I was wearing to the wedding!

My good friend Charis just gave birth to her first-born child on Monday. We are so happy for you, Charis and Anson! It is good to know that you are all doing well.

And now the sleepless nights begin……Enjoy!

「兒女是耶和華所賜的產業；所懷的胎是他所給的賞賜。」

詩篇127:3

My good friend Horace just got accepted to U of C medical school. Congratulations Ivon & Horace!

And now the journey really begins….. 

I am very happy last week that I was able to spent some time on a Sat with Cc and Jocelyn — we didn't went any where particular; just being together. Sometimes I feel that Jocelyn must be very confused about her mom and dad, as she always sees her dad in the morning (but not mom); and she will always see her mom at night (but not dad). Seldom is there a chance (except on Sunday at church) that she sees both her parents together.

Another thing I want to say is a big "thank you" to May and Raymond willing to take care of J from time and time on a weekend when I am busy at church and Cc needs take care of some other tasks.

Starting April, Cc will be teaching Sunday School again. I am very proud of her genuine heart to serve, even though she can have all the excuses anyone can think of for not doing so. Sometimes, I am really disappointed when something happened to us (be it illness, happenings in life, career issues, family issues, etc, etc….) and the "instant" response from us Christians is to give up Sunday worship, fellowship time and/or serving roles in order to "save time". I am not trying to offend people, but I deeply saddened by the fact that people do not treasure the opportunities to experience God's grace despite of their busy schedule or troubles; rather, the first thing we do is to give Him up, or give up the group of Christians whom we is called by God to be in.

I feel sad because by doing so, so much blessings and so much good experiences have been lost — all because we try to take everything in our own hands and to "fix it" ourselves.

As some of you might know, I have been sick for almost 3 weeks non-stop. It affects my sleep and of course for Cc's since I am coughing all night. But I am equally thankful (despite of the sickness) that He has given me enough strength to complete what I have to do each week — no more (that I will take pride on myself), and no less (that I will feel shameful).

I am preaching this Sunday and my Sunday school on Galatians will conclude as well. I hope that you can pray for me.

過去一段時間，我們常因Jocelyn的一句說話甚為不解和不悅。不知為甚麼，她常在我和Cc面前說要「打哥哥」、「打媽媽」、「打」這個、「打」那個…

最奇怪的是她說這話的時候，又沒有甚麼暴力或不高興的表現。還是笑微微的，卻不段重複說「我要打哥哥呀、打哥哥呀…」

當然，為人父母，聽見她每次如此說，我們都極力禁止。 每次她說「打XX」，我們就說「不是，是錫XX」。甚至，我開始留意那些她要「打」的人，對她有沒有甚麼奇異的行為（or vice versa）。但始終也留意不到甚麼。

昨天晚上，我照常從保母家中接她。回家的時候，又聽見她說「我要打哥哥呀、打媽媽呀、打姨姨呀、打爸爸呀…」

跟著，她說：

「我要打波波呀。」

就在那一刻，我才明白她這樣說的真正意思。

「我要打波波呀」是她表達要和波波玩。對她來說，「玩波波」既然是「打波波」；那要和哥哥、姨姨、媽媽爸爸玩不就是「打哥哥、姨姨、媽媽和打爸爸」嗎？

一切就是如此簡單。

對她來說就是如此的理所當然。

還是我們硬要她說「錫XX、錫YY」，顯得更加不倫不類、答非所問。

————————————
人與人之間的溝通豈不也是如此？多少時候，我們以為自己明白對方的意思，或者對方明白自己的意思。誰不知，到頭來，大家也只是一直在自說自話。

越熟悉的關係，我們的要求就越高，可寬容的空間就越少。

直至有一天，我們從那些「想當然」的假設中醒過來。

原來彼此的了解是如此的少。

到那時，我們還有這樣的耐性、這樣的面子、這樣的坦白，從頭來過嗎？

對自己的子女，或者我有。

那教會中弟兄姊妹之間呢？

還有嗎？

Once again we are at the end of the year. It is time for me to look back and share with you some of the highlights which happened in my life in the year 2006.

In chronological order:

1. Feb 14 2006 marked our 10-year dating anniversary. I wrote a little poem for the occasion.
2. My life as a full-time pastor began on Feb 16 2006. All I can say is that it is a dream come true, a prayer answered, and a life offered.
3. Wrote a post on spiritual discipline. Those concerns still stand today.
4. Beginning in March, I started my sermon series on minor characters in the Gospels, the first one being Herod Antipas.
5. Blog about whether “Interpretation should be considered as part of the Creative process“. This post stirred quite a lot of discussions and remains as the highest commented post.
6. Celebrating Jocelyn’s first birthday.
7. To celebrate Mozart’s 250 birthday anniversary, I attended a live performance of Requiem K.626. Although it wasn’t a top-notch performance, I enjoyed it nonetheless.
8. Attended NT Wright’s lectures at UT. Almost feel like I was in a pilgrimage.
9. Was quite upset when I wrote the post about the church “expected” response in the midst of the DVC phenomenon in May.
10. Wrote some reflections after 4 months serving as a pastor.
11. Discovered that Cc begins to blog!
12. In July, my pulse went up to 125 for a few days. Triggered some thoughts about life.
13. Started a series on “Pastor: Proclamation, Word and Person”. (I hope I can go beyond the 3rd post in 2007, ha!)
14. Guest post by Peggy on Faith & Detective Stories. It is an eye-opener for me.
15. Spent 2 weeks in Brazil for Short-term mission. My first overseas mission trip.
16. Exhorting in Margaret & Kevin’s wedding.
17. It was our fifth wedding anniversary on October 13.
18. Went to Vancouver to enjoy a 1 week vacation with my 2 girls!
19. A parachurch fund-raising event prompted me to ask the relationship between Christianity and pop culture.
20. Cc received her Christian Education diploma from ABS Centre of Canada.
21. My reflection on the meaning of Christmas and “silent night” was surprisingly referenced by a number of bloggers.

So, what are the highlights of your life in 2006?