Asterix's Expressions

2006 Mid-year Review

They say that time flies when you're having fun. Well, the last six months flew by in a jiffy. That must mean that I've been having a fun 2006 so far. ^_^ Seriously, though, I hardly can believe that more than half of 2006 has already gone by. Where did all the time go?

Looking back at the events of these six months, I do see God's hand in almost all of them. Whether or not I've been having great fun is subjective, but one thing is clear: God has generously poured countless blessings into my life. As a result of this revelation, I'm humbled. Who am I that I should deserve all the riches of his grace? If God were to bless based on merit, then I'd be pauper devoid of any gifts or blessings. What can I say, then, except to praise him? There's a popular hymn that goes something like

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!

As praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, I'll share some of these blessings here. This list is by no means exhaustive; it's simply a peek into the generous riches that the Lord poured out lavishly.

1) Kenaniah Choir - When the choir (re)started in January of 2005, I was very excited but also had my reservations. Why were we starting another ministry at Canaan when we were already short on servants in existing ones? One year after that beginning, the Lord continued to bless the choir with renewed number of eager singers. I began to see how the choir was a blessing to Canaan Church. It allowed some people to serve in a way that they were not able to before. Several people at Canaan are gifted singers, and the choir allowed them to use these gifts to serve God. The alternative form of music--e.g. hymns--are also more familiar to some people, allowing them to connect better with God when they sing. One of my great joys is to people smile and become animated as they sing these songs. Finally, as for how leading the choir has been a great joy for me, I can go on and on. Suffice to say, though, that I've learned to be satisfied with what the Lord provides in ministry. My favorite motto has been "however much the Lord gives, I'll take it." So whether we have fifteen singers or five, I've learned not to grumble but to be satisfied. Kchoir singers, thanks very much for your service. I praise the Lord for you guys. :)

2) Tentmaking - For the first time in my life, I've caught a glimpse into what the Lord's master plan for my life may be. Looking back, I clearly see how the Lord has led me thus far: to the United State, acceptance of Christ Jesus into my life, good education, good job, good church, short-term missions trips, and the list goes on. What all to what end? Tentmakings appears to be the answer. He's preparing me to be an overseas tentmaker sometime in the future. I'm not certain about it, but seeing how tentmaking ties everything in my life together, it does make sense. So I praise God for giving me a possible vision of something to work toward. What a blessing!

3) My new Camry - I've wanted to drive a manual car for a while, but I haven't really had a good reason to get one, until this year. While I was in China last year, I could not find a single car that had automatic transmission. If I will ever live in China in the future for a significant period of time, it's probably a good idea to know how to drive a manual car--see 2). That reasoning was enough to give me the incentive to get a manual car. Thanks to Mike, I got a newer manual Camry and sold my older automatic Camry. Now I'm enjoying driving manual and have one more useful skill up my sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if this skill comes in handy in the future, even in the field of ministry.

Okay, this post is getting long. Perhaps I'll finish it in a later post. :)

posted by Asterix @ 6:57 PM