Holiday Cheer 2009

Yes, it’s here, my annual Holiday Cheer blog. I realize that it’s a little early. I usually write after Christmas but before New Years. This year I couldn’t wait. Last year,the Davis family (wife’s family) treated me to my first full-Christmas experience. It was Christmas morning and the family sat around the Christmas tree opening their gifts starting with the youngest person (Becky) to the oldest (big poppa). It’s really an all-American family. I was the poor fool that was completely unprepared and didn’t buy any gifts when I was showered with them.

Not this year baby! I’m hooking up the family. Jon already got a pair of Laker tickets (the Miami game where Kobe hit the game-winner). Becky already knows some tickets are coming her way. That’s all I’ll say for now because it isn’t Christmas yet.

Speaking of the family experience, apparently the Davis family has their Christmas decorations stored up in boxes that take up about a third of their garage. I asked them why would they keep that stuff around when you only use it about a month out of the year. The mother-in-law told me “because it’s Christmas” like it was self-explanatory. For most people it would be self-explanatory but for a guy who didn’t have much of a Christmas tradition growing up it almost seemed foolish to use up that much storage.

The mother-in-law continues and says that one day I will be doing the same thing when the kids come along. I replied, “What does Christmas decorations have anything to do with raising kids?” She says, “It has a lot to do with raising kids.” I wouldn’t have ever made the connection between Christmas decorations and raising kids. After giving it some thought, I realize that having a family tradition where you think outside of yourself (getting gifts for other people) and coming together to show that we care enough to put some thought into the gift we give each other shows community and love towards one another. It builds an environment and atmosphere of family and togetherness. It shows that you're not the center of the universe and what truly makes the holidays great is the gathering of God's people in the form of families. Even Becky wanted the wife and I to stay over on Christmas Eve so we could wake up together on Christmas morning. If you know Becky, she never openly admits that she wants us around. It’s just been ingrained in her since she was a child that this is a time where the family is to be together.

All right, I will concede the fact that I will probably start decorating for Christmas in the future but I certainly won’t take up a third of the garage to do it. Besides, I have visions of the garage being my “man-room” where I study the Scriptures, play video games, watch basketball, and invite the guys over for poker night (all in that order).

Okay, on to more important things like the NBA on Christmas. In years past there use to be a game or two on Christmas at the most but now there’s a full schedule (five games in all). Of course the match ups of match ups, the Lakers vs. Cavs, Kobe vs. Lebron! Since the NBA went through all this trouble to schedule Christmas day games I decided I should schedule my day around it. Here it is:


8:00am – Wake up and have some breakfast, open gifts, and make fun of other people’s gifts.

9:00am – Miami @ New York: I’m going to DVR this game while I make the family watch “Always Showtime,” a documentary on Magic Johnson. The other night the wife and I were watching it and she says, “I didn’t know Magic was such a good passer.” My reply, “For being a social science major you really don’t know your history.” I promised myself that no one in the Jamreonvit household would ever say something like this again. Surprisingly, even the father-in-law hasn't seen "Always Showtime." He loses Big Poppa points for that one.

After finishing the documentary with the family I’ll watch Dwayne Wade light up the Knicks and fast-forward through all the time-outs and commercials just in time for:

11:30am – Boston @ Orlando: KG vs. Dwight Howard. Even though Paul Pierce isn’t playing because of a knee infection it’s still going to be a good game. Of course this is all a warm-up for:



2:00pm – Cleveland @ L.A. Lakers: Like I said, Kobe vs. Lebron! Do I really need to say anything else? Historically, the Lakers and Kobe haven’t played well on Christmas (4-6 in there last ten Christmas games) but I believe last year’s win over Boston is a turning point. One game won’t settle the Kobe vs. Lebron debate but it will sure to add fire to it. I’m fired up just thinking about it. After the Lakers win I’ll cerebrate by drinking too much root beer in one sitting and regretting it later. Yes, a Christmas tradition in the Jamreonvit household. Happy holidays.

My picks for the games (home team in caps):

NEW YORK (-2.5) over Miami
ORLANDO (-5) over Boston
LAKERS (-5.5) over Cleveland
PHOENIX (-9.5) over Clippers
Denver (+5.5) over PORTLAND

Mentors and Kobe

Luke had Yoda, the X-Men had professor Xavier, Bruce Wayne had Ra’s al Ghul, Robin had Batman, Larry and Curly had Moe, Uma Thurman had Pai Mei in Kill Bill, Jack Black had Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda, and Britney Spears had Madonna. Okay, the last one didn’t work out so well but you get the point. Very rarely, if ever, does one achieve greatness without a mentor to guide the way.

In order for a mentor to work, a person must be teachable. This of course requires humility. The humility to be able to admit fault, to learn from personal mistakes, to ask questions, and to realize that we don’t have all the answers nor do we have our act completely together. Once this realization happens the door of excelling blows off its hinges.

My professors at Biola University and pastors at Grace EV Free La Mirada had, and still have, a profound impact on my life. Older and godly men invested in my life. These men have tons of life experience, wisdom, and knowledge. I wanted to tap into that life experience and incorporate that wisdom into my own.

It’s been three years since I’ve graduated from grad school. I have a full-time job, a dog, and a wife. Basically, I’m a busy dude. There is a tendency to rest on my past accomplishments and think I’m okay without further guidance feeling like I’ve “arrived.”

Now, there’s Kobe Bryant who just won a championship last June. For several years he took the brunt of the criticism for the Shaq trade (no one points out that Shaq demanded to be traded that summer but whatever) and destroying a possible dynasty. To add to the insult, critics continue to discount the three championships that Kobe won because “it was with Shaq” as though they didn’t count. Anyone who believes that clearly didn’t see any of the games.

Winning the Finals last June cemented his legacy as one of the best ever to play the game. Kobe could basically tank the rest of his career and his legacy wouldn’t be affected. Despite winning it all, Kobe never felt like he’s “arrived” in a sense that he no longer needs to work. What else can you do if you’re Kobe? Is there anything else left to prove?

A week into this season ESPN.com's J.A. Adande so expertly noted, “Kobe's still doing work -- but he relocated his office … [he] is leading the league in scoring by relying almost exclusively on a post-up game -- even against bigger defenders such as Houston's Shane Battier. In fact, the one notable change about Bryant's 41-point effort in Houston as compared to other efforts against Battier was how deep Bryant was catching the ball.”

John Hollinger says, “You have to admire a guy who comes back from a championship season -- the icing on his career cake, basically -- with a new facet to his game rather than resting on his laurels.”

Kobe is currently averaging 29, 5, and 4 shooting a career high 49% from the field. He is also one of the league leaders in steals at 2.30 a game. He’s having another MVP season and has the Lakers as favorites to win another title. But the new facet of his game didn’t just drop out of the sky. He worked on it with the help of Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest post players of all time. This really blew my mind. This takes a great amount of humility to ask an all-time great, “Hey, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers.” This also takes a passion for the game. No, he's not trying to prove anything. He just wants to get better because he loves the game of basketball.



No, Kobe isn’t as athletic or as explosive as he used to be, but it’s his drive to always continue to get better that will keep him at a superstar level for years to come. This gets back to my main point. There is no retirement in the Christian life. There is always room for improvement and seeking older and wiser people that can offer godly counsel and guidance and above all, accountability is way to "improve" yourself. Kobe continues to find ways to get better and asking someone to mentor him is a good resource. I say we should use the same strategy.

Reassigned 2.2

A couple of weeks ago my staff decided to have a potluck. The cool thing about being a part of a new staff is that they haven’t discovered that I’m an unbelievable moocher. My old staff found that out quickly and hind food from me and never told me about the potlucks until everyone had eaten first. Of course I played the fool and pretended I didn’t know there was a potluck and the staff graciously said that it was “okay” that I didn’t bring anything and to go ahead and enjoy the food anyway. Enjoy the food I did, and then some. I even saved a great deal of it for lunch the next day. Bingo!

Now I firmly believe that no events are isolated from one another. What we do in one instance, affects another. For instance, hiding the fact that I’m an unbelievable moocher, the Lord would not allow me to get away with it. This week the heater in my room broke down and it has been 20-below zero since. I could keep food in my room without it spoiling. A work order was sent in but if you know how school districts work, it won’t be done this year. Wonderful.

Now if I brought food like I was suppose to for the potluck things might be different. You might be saying that the Lord didn’t break my heater or that the Lord wouldn’t do something like that. My argument would be if he allowed Israel into the captivity of foreign nations because of their idolatry then it wouldn’t be out of character for Him to break my heater because I’m an unbelievable moocher to teach me a lesson. Either way, it’s freakin’ cold!! This happens to be reason 56,610 why I will never move to Portland – It's too cold.

Devotional – 111909

Material taken from commentaries written by J. Alec Motyer and John Oswalt along with a sermon preached by Erik Thoennes at Grace EV Free La Mirada on November 15, 2009.

Our church is currently going through the book of Isaiah (one of my favorite books of the Bible). As I mentioned before,I took a course in Isaiah while going through graduate school at Talbot. This week Erik Thoennes (one of the elders at our church) preached through chapter two of Isaiah.

Here are some observations of the chapter. It’s an indictment on human pride. Throughout the chapter, the author continues to point out the things that Israel relies upon or things for which they have left the Lord. In verse 6:

“For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with the children of foreigners” (NASB).

This is Israel’s reliance on the validity of human insight and human resources. In verse 8 Israel, “worships the work of their hands” (Idols) and therefore is relying on their ability to manipulate the divine. It continues throughout the chapter:

v. 12-18 The author is contrasting all the “high” things in creation:

v. 13 Trees, v. 14 mountains, v. 15 high tower and fortified walls, v. 16 ships of Tarshish (ships of Tarshish were the largest ships, capable of the greatest voyages and cargoes).

v. 18 “But the idols (things mentioned above) will completely vanish.” All of human artistic achievement, which brings self-worth, will be gone.

v. 22 “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” The “Breath” that is mentioned in this verse alludes to the breath given to man in the Genesis account of creation (Gen. 2:7, Is 42:5). It was the Lord, the maker of all things, who gave (and gives) the breath of life. How foolish it is to trust in the one who receives the breath rather than the source of the life Himself?

It would be so easy for me to stand back and think that Israel was idiotic for doing these things and finding personal value in their own achievements and accomplishments. Then I look at areas in my life that resemble idolatry. I have desires for personal achievement and they are lofty. Being ambitious is not evil. It only becomes evil when they take the place of honoring God in everything that we do. Ambition could also become evil if we believe that we could some how approach God in our own righteousness through personal achievement. And this is something that I struggle with at times. I want something I could point to and show that I’ve achieved something of value on my own. But “apart from Him, we can do nothing.” This Biblical truth is the hammer that crushes human pride. No matter how much we achieve personally, it will never bring the satisfaction of relying on the Lord’s grace, humbly approaching Him without absolutely nothing to offer, and accept that our value rests is not in things we achieve but in the goodness that God showers us with. I pray that I get this more everyday.

“Our attempt to make humanity holy actually ends up making us unclean. Our attempt to give ourselves significance renders us worthless.” (John Oswalt)

Friends in the Motherland

Thanks John and Renee for the shout out while you're in Thailand. My mom would have been lovin' it. This certainly makes me want to travel some more.

Here is John and Renee's blog entire while at Thailand:

We enjoyed a late night stroll through downtown Bangkok on our first night in Thailand. The night air was thick and steamy. Shoppers, diners, vendors, stray men, and, sadly, countless young women standing alone crowded the sidewalks. A band strolled by in the street blaring amplified music from a synthesizer and giant speakers on wheels. Groovy dancers in orange construction vests bobbed and twirled in their wake. Steam rose from carts where shrimp, chicken skewers and whole fish fried in pots of oil or batter.

To read the rest go to John and Renee's blog here.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot Part II of II - West

For Part I click here.

The West:

Forwards
Carmelo Anthony: He's playing like an MVP and keeping Denver in the title contenders conservation. People talk about Lebron's strength and size at small forward. Carmelo doesn't get enough attention in that area. His combination of size and quickness makes him almost impossible to guard. I'm glad to see that he wasn't content with one good playoff run.

Dirk Nowitzki: Now I vote for Tim Duncan for this spot annually like clockwork. I don't even look up Duncan's numbers because I know what he means to his team and what he brings to the table both offensively and defensively. But if you look at Dirk's and Timmy's numbers this year - TD: 15/12/2 and Dirk: 26/8/3. Dirk, as of now, is having a better year. You might be saying, "didn't you just say it's not about the number?" Yes, it's not solely about the numbers. But the disparity can't be ignored and coupled with the Spurs slow start and Dallas' decent start, I have to give the edge to Dirk right now. Furthermore, Dirk had some major personal issues to deal with over the summer. He didn't even pick up a basketball but went backpacking Into the Wild style for almost the entire summer. But instead of eating the wrong berries and dying a slow and lonely death like Christopher McCandless, he came back to the NBA and is playing at an All-Star level and will make 20 million dollars this year. I think that is a much happier ending, don't you? On top of all that the All-Star Game is at Dallas this year. Way to overcome your issues and perform in front of the home crowd, Dirk.

Center:
With Yao out for the year and Shaq getting traded to the Eastern Conference the door is wide open for the up-and-comers.

Andrew Bynum: This is another coin flip and the other side of the coin is Chris Kaman. Here are the numbers: Bynum - 20/10/2 shooting 55% from the field and 76% from the line (great for a center) vs. Kaman's 22/9/2 shooting 57% from the field and 73% from the line (also good for a center). There isn't that much of a difference in regards to numbers (the difference is most people expected Bynum to have a strong year because he's healthy but no one expected that Kaman would be putting up these numbers). When this happens you usually go with team success. Lakers vs. Clippers? Do I need to go any further? Lets move on.

Guards:
Chris Paul: He's the best point guard in the game today. Another MVP candidate who probably won't get the award because he's on a crappy team. It's sad really. New Orleans was an up-and-coming team only a couple of years ago but regress because expectations became too high and the owner is more concerned with the luxury tax than wins. Despite that, Paul is dropping 26/10/4 and shooting a whopping 63% from the field and a sizzling 68% from 3-point land. I doubt he keeps those shooting percentages up the entire season. But if he gets anything close to that by the All-Star break he's got to start.

I hate to see special "once in a generation" type players like Paul stuck on crappy teams. If you don't believe me that Paul is a "once in a generation" type of player, compare his first four years to the first four years of all the point guards who ever came in the league and you only come up with one other player comparable - Magic and that's it.

Even though Boston creamed my Lakers in 2008, I was slightly (ever so slightly) happy for KG. KG was stuck in lottery hell with the T'Wolves for years wasting away his talent playing for nothing. He gets traded to Boston and transforms an entire franchise over night, rejuvenates the careers of Paul Piece and Ray Allen, saves Doc Rivers' job, and restores the Celtics to their former glory. And in so doing, creates one of the best "What if" questions - "What if KG had the same type of supporting cast as Tim Duncan?" Would KG be considered better? Would it even be a debate? One wonders, right?



Pipe Dream Warning: Anyway, my point being is that it isn't right that Paul is stuck on a crappy team. Here's my solution. Paul has an opt out clause after the summer of 2011. Everyone is making a big deal about the free agents for 2010 (Lebron, Wade, Bosh etc. - But I'm guessing that most of them stay with their respective teams [because they could offer them the most money] and all the hoopla was for nothing. Players say that "winning is the most important thing" but at the end of the day their actions say otherwise. If it's true that "winning is the most important thing" then why not sign for less money so your team will have cap room to get more players? But I digress.) People should be making more of a deal with Paul's pending free agency the following summer because he might actually leave. He's clearly frustrated but is playing the good solider by not complaining and just playing hard. Now, what if the Lakers could convince Kobe and Pau to take less money (both contracts are up in 2011 - unless Kobe signs an extension this year) because they want to go after Paul?

Both players look at each other and say "Holy S***!, Chris Paul!!" Pau says, "Kobe, you've already made a ton of money and you're getting millions more with endorsements." Kobe says, "Okay, if you take less I'll take less." Pau, "Deal." Jerry Buss, "Done and done." Kobe will be 33 by then and Pau will be 31. If they look at it from a career standpoint, Paul setting the table for them instead of Kobe and Pau creating for themselves will add another four or five years to their careers because Paul will only be 26 by then. Not to mention another four or five rings. Bynum will only be 24 in 2011. So you have Paul and Bynum picking and rolling teams to death for the first 40 minutes of the game and having enough SportCenter highlights to fill the week, while Kobe and Pau take over the last 8 minutes? Scary thought.

Depending on how much less Kobe and Pau take, the Lakers still won't have enough for a max deal for Paul. But here's the kicker, every team with cap room this summer is intent on spending it, all of it. This will leave most, if not all teams, with little to no cap space for the summer of 2011. Now Paul has a choice to resign with New Orleans for a max deal and live in lottery hell throughout his prime like KG did with the T'Wolves or he could sign for less with the Lakers and follow in the foot-steps of Magic Johnson and dominate for an entire decade. If winning is truly the most important thing, then every player in this situation takes less money for the ultimate goal of winning championships for the rest of their careers but of course, I'm dreaming. It's still fun to dream.

Kobe Bryant:

He gets his own blog, which I will post at the end of the week. I'm despicable I know.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot part I of II - East

Here is the 2010 NBA All-Star Game ballot. The fans vote for the starters (this is the first year you could text your vote) and the coaches vote to full out the rest of the roster. Coaches cannot vote for their own players.




Every year fans ruin one or three spots on the starting roster. Although I'm a Laker fan I want to give my picks and my justification for them. I like trying to be objective in my evaluation (that's why I'm not picking the Lakers' starting five) even though you may not agree with everything I'm saying, I'll give sound reasons for my starters this year.

First, it's only be a few weeks into the season. It's probably a little early to be thinking about the All-Star game already. But since the ballots are out, why not at least start talking about it. Second, my picks are based on who is playing the best right now. Of course this could change in two/three months time. But if we HAD to pick the starters today, based on the few games that have been played already, who deserves to start? I'm not a fan of the "he's exciting to watch so I'll vote for him even though there are three or four guys playing better than him" mentality. Finally, there are tough choices to be made when there are only a limited amount of spots and a larger number of great players. Someone is not going to make the cut although they might be deserving. When there are several deserving players for a particular spot, I like to use character as one of the deciding factors. Something that most people don't even consider. You could make arguments until the cows come home but at the end of the day this is just my humble opinion. You don't have to agree with me. And if you don't, I really don't care.

The East:



Lets get the easy ones out of the way.

Forwards:
Lebron: Do I really need to say anything?

KG: Now KG might not be putting up his Minnesota numbers and other forwards, like Chris Bosh, are putting up better numbers. But you can't statistically measure what KG brings to the table in the form of defensive intensity and keeping Boston operating as one singular unit. That can't be measured by numbers. KG doesn't care about stats and that's a lost virtue in today's game and should be honored with a starting spot in the All-Star game.

Center:
Dwight Howard: He's the best center in the league. I chuckled when the Cavs traded for Shaq "so he could guard Dwight one-on-one." Really!? Maybe if it was 2001 but it'll be 2010 when the playoffs start. And Shaq currently weighs about 500 pounds. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Cavs and Magic meet in the playoffs again (likely) and realize that they can't stop Howard with Shaq alone (more likely) and employed the "hack-a-Howard" with Shaq on the team? All those years of Shaq complaining of such a tactic? What would be the comical scale? An 8 or 9?

Guards:
Dwyane Wade: He's picking up where he left off last year when he was leading the lead in scoring. He'll be in MVP talks all year and has the Heat to a surprising 6-1 start. He's one of the most exciting players to watch and by all accounts seems to be a decent person with a crazy ex-wife.

Derrick Rose: Okay, I have to admit this might be a mistake at this point because how can you choose someone over Rajon Rondo who is currently shooting 59% from the field, leading the league is steals (3.10) and dropping 9 dimes per game? Here's my reasoning, there were a few experts who predicted the Bulls were not going to make the playoffs this year. By all accounts, it looks like that might not be the case. A big part of that is Derrick Rose. Yes Rondo is putting up better numbers but again, it's not all about the numbers.

Factoring in the immaturity issues that Rondo apparently has and Rose gets the edge. I'll fully admit that if Rondo gets the starting spot it wouldn't be a bad choice. You could really flip a coin on this one. But I'm guessing since Boston is a title contender that Rondo will get it anyway.

The Groomsmen

Originally posted on Feb 9, 09

I know that this is about a month over due but I was busy getting married. I wanted to give out a special thanks to the people closest to me who shared with me the biggest day of my life.

Jordan Wessling: Jordan is one of those guys that is too smart for his own good. He has a passion for philosophy. Sadly, it used to be theology but that’s another story. Every time we get into a conversation I can always count on him to tell me at some point that I’m, “sooooooooooo irrational.” Jordan is always trying to think about philosophical ideas and studies like his life depends on it. He’s the only guy I know that can study for the GRE for forty hours a week and actually feel like he’s not missing out on life. He’s an Asian in a white man’s body.

But when it comes down to it, I can also count on Jordan to give godly advice. His passion for being rational is motivated by a desire to be godly with that rationality. He honors God with his conduct and desires to glorify God with his mind. We can have deep theological and philosophical conversations and in the next minute we can talk about basketball, girls, and Boomtown. Having Jordan as a friend has enriched my life is so many ways. Thank you Jordan, for being one of my groomsmen.

Chris Hunt: Chris and I have a lot of the same desires although we have nothing of the same personality. We spent five weeks in Israel a few years back and have enough inside jokes to last us a lifetime. He has been a great example to me in how he treats his wife (Katie [Hunt] also treats him well). Chris and I were living in an apartment together when we were going through graduate school when he was dating Katie Cook. They were truly a godly example of a dating couple. It doesn’t surprise me that he is a good husband and that she is a good wife.



A side note for you girls, when you take good care of your husband their close friends notice and deeply appreciate it. I told Katie, Chris’ wife, that it was a blessing to know that Chris will always have good support from his wife. Chris deeply desires to be a godly man and to be involved in ministry. His wife Katie empowers and “makes him feel a hundred feet tall,” so thank you for being an example to me of how even a young couple can display years of wisdom.

Aaron Brown: There is something about Aaron that, I believe, is a gift from the Lord. He has the ability to look into a situation and discern exactly what may be going on and cut to the heart of the matter with good insight. I can always count on Aaron to give godly advice in any situation. Also, he is not afraid to confront people, especially me. He has called me out several times when I’m acting inappropriately or behaving ungodly. That is a mark of a true friend. There is something else that I didn’t realize until we graduated and Aaron moved back East. Because of Aaron’s gift of discernment, whenever he’s around I just knew that everything was going to be okay. I knew that he was going to give me some good and godly insight into the situation to help me understand what was going on spiritually and psychologically and allow me to be at peace with it and to deal with it appropriately.



Thank you Aaron for always being playful and fun but never compromising godly values in the process, for being a friend that would admonish and rebuke when necessary, and to be willing to do anything to support me in my time of need throughout the years.

Dominic Avila: I’ve known Dom since 7th grade. His older brother, Brice, sadly died in a motorcycle accident when we were in junior high, and that incident prompted us to start going to church. Since that time, we’ve had several peaks and valleys. Both of us grew up in a broken home. Our moms were the only ones around for us and we had to go through the school of hard knocks. But whatever it was, whether it be running around the streets of East LA, playing street fighter, playing chess into the late hours of the night, working out, training for basketball, or going to church – we did it together. There was a time, however, when Dom strayed for while and I had my worries. But he came back to the Lord and hasn’t looked back since. Both of us love studying the Word of God, playing basketball, and the Lakers. That is a three-cord bind that cannot be broken.



Thank you, Dom for being there for me. For admonishing me when necessary and pushing me to be a godly husband. I know that we’ll always be in each other’s lives and that our children will grow up together learning about all the stupid things we used to do (and some we still do) with Bryan. I know that both you and I want to stop the cycle of growing up in a broken home and be there for our family and future children. And I know that we will be there for each other.

Bryan Benavidez: What in the world can I say about this fool other then that he’s a fool! I’m just kidding (of sort). The big care-free-hairy-jolly-giant-headed-goof-ball I’ve known since the beginning of time, it seems. I bagged on him for six years because he choked Dom’s wedding speech. Here's the scene:

(Bryan was walking up to the front like he was walking to Brickhouse, all week he was saying how he was going to "rock the house" when it came to the best man speech.)

Bryan: In all the years I've known Dom, I've never seen him as emotional as I saw him last night . . .

deep awkward pause for about two painful seconds because he's trying to hold back his emotions like a broken damn. It doesn't work, his eyes begin to tear up and he couldn't say a word and ends the speech by lifting up his glass to toast and says . . . "shell we"? I said to myself, "THAT was rocking the house!?" I've been bagging on him ever since.



But when it came time for him to do the speech at my wedding, I have to admit, he came through. I was deeply touched with everything he had to say and the memorizes that were brought up. It really summed up our relationship nicely. We could be having a great time together talking about love, life, and the Lakers. Immediately though, we could also become serious, real, and transparent with each other. Bryan is a hard worker providing for his wife and three wonderful children. He’s been through some of the most trying situations but manages at the end of the day to always have a reason to smile (although that reason is probably me).

Thank you, Bryan for being the best friend you could possibly be. There is so much history between us and so many memorizes. I know that I could fill books with stories of God’s redemptive and comical journey for us. I won't forget the support and encouragement you gave me during the weekend of my wedding. Continue to laugh the way you do because it’s that laughter that reminds me, there’s always a reason to smile. And above everything else thanks for paying back the money you owe me. You forgot to pay the interest but thanks for at least paying the principle.

Devotional - 110609

Our church has a tradition that before we preach through a particular book of the Bible, we first read through it (sections of it anyway). This is known as a Reading Service. It’s quite impacting. If “faith comes by hearing” the word of God, it stands to reason that we should do this more often. During our devotional time we read to ourselves. We don’t actually hear it audibly so Reading Services are a great reminder of how powerful it is to simply hear the Word of God being read.

We are starting a new preaching series on the book of Isaiah. Lemma tell ya, I’m more than giddy. Our pastor Erik Thoennes did a wonderful job reading the first six chapters. While reading aloud, the proper intonations, emphasis, and pauses at times when it’s called for in the text, gives insight and understanding without commentating. It’s a wonderful way to learn Scripture.

During my graduate work at Talbot School of Theology, I took a course on the book of Isaiah and read John Oswalt’s commentary. I remember the course and the commentary rocking my world. In short, Isaiah demonstrates in his account that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. At the same time, while God does not overlook sin, He constantly and consistently offers an opportunity to repent. Even when repentance is refused and judgment is passed, the Lord still offers hope in the form of a faithful remnant. The enormous amount of patience the Lord has for us blows me away, especially now that I am a teacher trying to teach young students how to walk straight.

There is an amazing aspect about God as I read through Isaiah. Namely, God is fully and completely merciful and wrathful at the same time. This drew me back to when I was at Biola University studying Theology Proper into the late hours of the night. A.W. Tozer says this, “The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one. All of God does all that God does; He does not divide Himself to perform a work, but works in the total unity of His being.” In understanding the Scriptures, we better understand the properties of God. In understanding the properties of God, we better understand the Scriptures. It's part of the beautiful cycle of sanctification and growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

It brings great comfort to know that God never stops being merciful towards us. At the same time, it’s sobering to know that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. If God is not divided in Himself, it stands to reason that neither should be His people between their affections towards the things of this world or God being the ultimate objective of our affections, adoration, and loyalty.

What A Weekend part II of II

SATURDAY:

I figured that the weekend was young and so was the season. There was nothing to worry about. My Saturday morning routine is playing basketball at the La Mirada Community Center. The regulars were there but the place was thin. We had just enough people to play full-court. My team lost every single game and I played terribly. I was so frustrated that I busted a Lebron and stormed out of the gym without saying anything to anyone. Not exactly a good witness.



I didn’t give up on this weekend quite yet. After I got back from basketball, Dom called me up again to meet up at The Boat for a late lunch (or at least that’s what we called it so we could go restaurant hopping later. Note to you guys: if you were thinking about taking a girl to this place don’t. It’s strictly a guys place and the girls were complaining about the lack of food choice (burgers with chilly, lots of it – I think that’s pretty much a guys meal) and more big screen televisions playing sports, which caused Dom and I to stair into them like the little girl from Poltergeist. So to appease the ladies, we decided to go to Old Town Pasadena. The wife says, “It’s Halloween, it’s going to be weird over there.” Simultaneously, I was thinking “It’s Halloween, it’s going to be cool over there!” Go figure.

At arrival we started out at Louise’s. It was coffee around except for Dom. He had mozzarella sticks. The wife and I tried some Zabaglione. It was crap. We had some good and edifying fellowship, talking about life, and how we think the Lakers will repeat this year. We also talked about up and coming movies we were looking forward to. Dom and I wanted to see Ninja Assassin. The girls said, “That’s boy’s night out.” I guess they were waiting for an inspirational movie like Blind Side.

Afterwards, we went walking around for a bit, witnessed a car accident, and watched a fat spider-man pass out balloons while we were waiting to be seated at Cheesecake Factory. If you’re counting we’ve attended three restaurants in five hours. Word! On the way home I wanted to take a picture with the 90-year-old Green Lantern. The wife didn’t see the point. Killjoy.

SUNDAY:

We went to the early service at our church in the morning, listened to a great sermon in Isaiah, and wondered if my sister in-law-Becky was going to bring another boy with her to church and call him her “friend.” I like talking to her “friend(s)” because they make things sooooooooooo awkward I find it absolutely hilarious. Why can’t they just be normal and have a normal conversation? Why do they feel the need to try and be witty? Do they not know they are talking to the Master of Wit himself? Teenagers these days simply don’t know how to play it cool. But I digress.

After a Sunday afternoon nap I went with my buddy Andrew (Bubba) to the Lakers’ game, hoping that they would redeem themselves from the terrible game on Friday. I haven’t hung out with Bubba for a while and it was a good time catching up with him. We talked about life and how his family was doing. It was a fun game and we even got in a Sasha-hate section, which just made my night. In addition, there were a couple of drunk guys in the section scouting out, “You suck!” to anyone and everyone (they were scouting out other things but I won’t repeat them here). It always adds another level entertainment when you have a couple of drunk guys in your section. We even got on the JamboTron. I hope they were season ticket owners.



Kobe dropped 41 and we got the win. Not bad. On the way to the car, Bubba insisted I finally try the “sewer dog” his treat (he actually bought four of them, I’m not making this up). Well, since he was buying I had to try one. I didn’t have the girls telling me how gross and unhealthy they are. I KNOW how gross and unhealthy they are but what’s life if you don’t try a “sewer dog” at least once? It was great. Probably worth the months it shaved off my life.

What a weekend in deed. Just when I thought it was going to be a terrible one it turned itself around. This made me come up with a new motto: “If life gives you lemons, then make Mike’s Hard Lemonade.” Beautiful. I think I’ll start my diet tomorrow.

What A Weekend part I of II

FRIDAY:

In the afternoon I took a fitness test. All but two categories were either above average or well above average (e.g., cardio, strength – I’m flexing as I’m typing that one, etc). My body fat was only average, sad day. We’ll have to work on that but not this weekend. Overall I’m in good health. I don’t know how else to celebrate good health other than completely tanking it for the weekend.



It’s been a while since the wife and I spent any time with Dom and Jess so I decided to make a phone call and get us some Laker tickets for Friday night’s game versus the Dallas Mavericks (that’s how I roll). Dom and I decided to meet up early and eat the ESPN Zone at LA Live. This way we could really do some catching up instead of just yelling at the refs and Sasha Vujacic.



The traffic on the way was dreadfully painful despite the fact the wife and I left two hours early. It’s Friday night and people are hitting the club scene, so that’s LA for ya. Dom and I have never been to this particular ESPN Zone but they have T.V(s). EVERYWHERE playing every game you could possibly imagine. There was a T.V. at every table. Do we need to research to see if a bunch of guys thought of this idea? I think we could figure that one out (Can you imagine the meeting that took place here? A group of fat guys sitting around in expansive suits coming up with a restaurant idea and saying, "Hey, why don't we put T.V(s). EVERYWHERE and play every single game possible all at once? Guys won't even care what's on the menu!" This was definitely one of those "Why didn't I think of it first" moments for me.) They were showing the Boston/Chicago game. Needless to say that guys didn’t contribute much dialogue and the girls were slightly frustrated. I’m sorry but when you decided to marry Dom or myself, you have to know that basketball is a part of life (I’m planning to devote an entire blog to this).



After dinner and about three words between Dom and myself, we entered the game from the Star Plaza entrance. Why do I mention the entrance? The reason being, if you’ve never been to a Laker game you don’t know that entering through the Star Plaza right before game time encompasses enough scandal (e.g., drug dealing, scalping tickets, soliciting prostitutes, etc) to last about three Sopranos episode. My regular season ticket entrance is on Figueroa Street. It’s pretty uneventful on that end except for the fat guitar player at the corner jamming away with his 600-watt amp and the “sewer dogs” that they sell on the corner (more on this later).

I was pretty excited. It was my first game of the year and we’re favorites to win the Western Conference for a third straight year. Then the game started, at least for Dallas, and my Lakers rolled over with a lifeless effort, which had the entire crowd shaking their heads. I thought to myself, “Wow! I went through LA traffic, paid for these seats, and paid a drunk parking attendant an additional $10 (he was so drunk you probably couldn’t tell what kind of bill I was giving him) for this crappy game!” My only enjoyment of the night was booing Sasha profusely. Interestingly, there were a couple of middle-age Korean ladies sitting next to us. One of them leaned over to Katie and asked, “Are you guys season ticket holders?” Katie replied, “Yes, but our normal seats are on the other side.” The Korean lady says, “Good, I’m a Sasha fan and I didn’t want to endure your husband profusely booing Sasha, even when he gets on the JamboTron, for an entire season.” Well, I’m glad one of us was relieved. This on top of Boston destroying Chicago the same night. Am I heading to a 2008 repeat?

All of us went back to the car dejected, but on the way there, I smelled the “sewer dogs” (a hot dog wrapped in bacon served with grilled onions and peppers with all the fittings) cooking on the grill. I didn't bother asking how it got that name. I'm sure that I don't want to know. But it was calling my name. When I was thinking about getting one, the girls collectively voiced how grossed out they were at the very idea of eating one of those things. Well then, I can’t even comfort myself with a “sewer dog” over a loss like that. Not a good way to start the weekend.



Click here for part II.

Year two without Mom

It's been two years since my mom went home to be with the Lord. I decided that every year I would write a little something about her for those of you who didn't have the pressure of meeting such an amazing woman who had to endure raising me (that was the least of her problems, if you could imagine).

My mom lived one of the most difficult lives I have ever known. She was born and raised in Thailand; she married a man and had a son and a daughter. That same man would become an impulsive gambler, verbally and physically abusive, and unreliable at best.

She moved to America with her two young children and met another man who was even more physically abusive- not to her only, but also to her children. Since she needed his financial help, she decided to endure the abuse. But when the time came that she could afford to buy her own 7-Eleven store, she could endure the abuse of her and her children no longer. She finally kicked him out. I remember that being one of the best days of my life.

I remember my mom working long hours as a 7-Eleven clerk. She couldn’t afford a babysitter so she brought my younger sister and myself along. We would run up and down the aisles in playful laughter and come to a screeching halt in the candy section gazing in complete wonder at the beauty before us in countless forms of chocolate.

If there is one quality I want to point out right now, it’s my mom’s perseverance. There are times in my life when I’m going through something difficult and simply wanted to cash out. However, something inside me just doesn’t want to quit. First, I believe that it’s ultimately the Holy Spirit who perseveres God’s children. Secondly, though, it’s also the example of my mom who endured great difficulty throughout her lifetime but persevered because she loved her children and towards the end of her life, she endured because she loved the Lord. As a result of that endurance, she left a lasting godly legacy for her son and is now in the presence of our beautiful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.



Mom,

If you were still here, I would tell you about the beautiful wife who I married and how she’s an answer to your many years of prayer. I have no doubt that you would love Katie and her family (especially her mom, Lynn. I could see you guys talk into the night about whatever it is that mothers talk about into the night and laughing about stories of my foolishness).

If you were still here, I would take you to a Lakers game and have some good quality mother and son time. Of course, I would make you pay for parking, food, and have you buy me a Kobe jersey. If you were still here, I would find joy in the fact that you love watching your son grow into the man of God he knows he could be. I know that you would love how I take care of Katie but would demand I do a better job regardless. You would like our new dog, until he jumped on you. You would also be shocked that the dog has lived past two months under my care but then you would realize that Katie does most of the work. You would be teaching Katie how to cook Thai food and of course I would be the primary beneficiary. You would be pushing us to go to Thailand so the rest of the family could meet Katie but I would be complaining about how hot it is over there and that I don’t want to deal with the traffic, poor air quality, and the hundreds of geckos that seem to stock me every time I arrive. It’s been two years since you’ve been gone. I still feel a part of me isn’t quite whole. I don’t wonder what it would be like if you were still around, I know exactly what it would be like. And that’s what makes it difficult. But “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory” that you are now experiencing and what I will be experiencing with you when Christ returns. I’ll see you soon mom.

Your son who misses you very much,
Junior J.

Reassigned 2.1

The advantages continue as I was reassigned to an entirely different school site at the beginning of the year. Now, I have been reassigned to an entirely different classroom due to the fact that the Kindergarten class is too big and with some rearranging of the classrooms I some how ended up on the ghetto side of campus. I no longer have wireless internet access, the room is so old and dusty there were tumbleweeds roaming through it, and the beautiful work my aide did setting up the current classroom was all for not.

In addition, when I walked into the staff bathroom on that side of the campus I felt like I walked into a scene from Escape from LA. It’s amazing to me how the same campus could have such a contrast in regards to quality of facilities and equipment. In a matter of a couple of days I went from The Jeffersons, “Movin’ on up!” to Everyone Hates Chris. Sweet.



On another note, a couple of days ago I was trying to teach one of my students a simple word problem. As I was explaining what the problem was trying to ask, his eyes started rolling back as though he was being demon-possessed. I told him that it was okay if he didn’t understand the work initially and that I was more than willing to explain it to him again. He wasn’t having it. I never knew how a child would look like if his brain literally shut down but I do now, and lemma tell ya, it wasn’t pretty. Darn word problems. I don’t know how many times a typical person has the “Why Lord?” moments throughout a given week but that was one of them for me.

This past Friday we had English Language Development (ELD) training at the district office. If you’re an educator you know exactly how district training days works. If you’re not just know that teachers are the worst students. We do the same things that we tell our kids NOT to do (e.g., not paying attention, side conversations during instructional time, etc).

Let me explain the typical staff-training day. So the staff and I are in a Lotto poll. My buddy Larry did the math and if we hit the jackpot this weekend our take-home cut would be $7 million a piece. Word! While the training was going on, I decided to do something more productive and begin budgeting the $7 million I have not yet won. Here’s my running list:

$7,000,000 Take-home winnings
-1,000,000 Tithe – Got to give to the Lord first. If you don’t He might strike you down. Who wants to take that chance? I’m tithing more than 10% not because I’m spiritual but because I would feel better about myself when I spend it on superficial things.

$6,000,000 After tithe
- 20,000 Bills/loans
This would include my wife’s car loan. Bills/loans – I’m not really 20k in the hole but I want to give myself a buffer.

$5,980,000 After bills/loans
-1,000,000 Give this to my sister Vicky. After all that she’s been through these past couple of years, she deserves it. Not to mention if she came in with a lot of money she would do the same for me (or at least that's what she tells me).



$4,980,000 After hooking up my sister.
- 1,100,000 Buy some land and make a custom house.

3500 sq ft
5 bedrooms
4 bathrooms
Big yard for the dog. My buddy Larry did the math for me. The actual house would be about $535,000 – the rest would be the land. Interesting note, even though the lot cost 1.1 million, the property tax is based only on the cost of the house. So the 1% property tax is from the 535k and not the 1.1 million. I like to do my research when I'm budgeting money I have not yet won.


$3,880,000
- 300,000 Hook up Dom and Jess for a down payment for a home. Dom and Jess probably won’t be able to get a house in Santa Clarita for 300k but it’s a good enough down payment that will make the mortgage rate low. Of course I would require them to name their firstborn after me, regardless of gender.

$3,580,000 After hooking up Dom and Jess
- 500,000 Investment home Why not? I would buy one near Biola University, up-grade everything in it and rent it out to students. We’ll have a steady flow of income every month.

$3,080,000 After investment home
- 80,000 New car
I don’t know what I would get yet but this is the budget. Initially, I had put $30k away for a new car but Larry talked me out of it. The 80k would include a maintenance fund (e.g., brakes, tires, etc). Whatever car it ends up being it would definitely have a GSP system. I'm tired of getting lost. I could also verify any lame directions that Bryan gives me.

$3,000,000 After the car budget
- 500,000 Hooking up the in-laws – Serving the Lord faithfully through the years and raising six children, four of which turned out okay, I figured that is a pretty commendable job that deserves a kick-down. Since my mom is no longer around, I would help out my in-laws. This would probably be the nail in the “Whoever Becky (sister-in-law) marries will never measure up to Junior” coffin but I can’t help it if I rock.

$2,500,000 After hooking up the in-laws
-2,000,000 Conservative investments. Boring, I know.

$500,000 Miscellaneous: Vacations, Laker front seats, fine dining, Playstation 3, Starbucks coffee, an iphone for both the wife and I, a new laptop, buying all my groomsmen a cool gift of their choice, a puppy Rottweiler, training for the puppy Rottweiler so he could grow up and be a killing machine, a cruise for my entire grace group, and missionary support.


Well, it looks like another productive day of staff training. They even gave me a certificate for being ELD trained (I have no idea what that means). And we’re only two months into the school year. I wonder what’s going to happen next week. Stay tuned . . .

Reassigned 2.0

A month into the school year and my new site has been running smoothly. As I said before, the staff have been great and the kids are not so bad. I’m not sure what the Lord may have for me working at a new school but it hasn’t been bad so far. Of course I have two meetings this week with parents regarding placement for their child, hoping to receive additional special education services but that’s pretty normal. If you don’t have at least a couple of demanding/difficult parents then count your blessings.

People ask me if it’s more work. I wouldn’t say more, just different. Moving from Middle School to Elementary has been interesting. You don’t have to deal with as much behavioral problems because they are still young and uncorrupted. Of course you have less than stimulating conversations with them because they are so young.

You can’t beat the schedule. School starts at 7:55am and ends at 2:12pm. At two o’clock most people are just getting back from lunch. The wife is a little jealous every time she looks at the clock around 2pm. When she's getting out at 3pm I'm already well into my workout. Of course she makes more money than I do so she's got me there. But what do I really have to complain about? I’m sure to find something to complain about because of my negative disposition. I'll have to work out that.

During the time when I was teaching Middle School, I was sadden with the fact that many of the students did not have basic skills such as knowing how to multiply and divide for example (I’m not making this up). Being with younger students I could make a concentrated effort to make sure that they do acquire those basic skills and build a solid foundation to be able to succeed at the next level. In additional, since the students are younger you don't have to deal with as many behavioral problems that are usually coupled with their learning disability. Maybe this is why the Lord moved me, to impact young impressionable students. Or maybe He just wants me to get out earlier so I could start my workout sooner. Either way, I’m grateful.

Then again, the school year is young and who knows what's going to happen. Stay tuned . . .

An Open Letter to Ron Artest

Opening day is about three weeks away. I haven't had this much anticipation for an up and coming season in quite some time. In Kyle Slavin’s blog he wrote an open letter to newly acquired Ron Artest. He has the same feelings I do towards the situation so I’ll post it here. Here's a quote:

Let me be absolutely clear: you absolutely cannot mess this season up. You fail here, and you will never redeem your career again. You ruin this good thing we have going in LA, and the rest of your basketball days will be tarnished by it. In LA, we fans run deep. We know our basketball, we know our history, and we have more than a passing interest in the Lake Show. We will be here longer than you. We have more influence than you. Win us over, and you will be a Hall of Famer. Lose our faith, and you will never see this level of love again.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm totally looking forward to the season. I have no doubts that we'll go down as one of the best teams in league history. So let's get this started already.

Worst of the Worst

Aaron Brown posted this on his blog so I'll post it hear since I like being warned to not waste my time watching crappy movies. I'm certainly glad that I haven't seen most of the movies on this list. I have no doubts that I could come up with my own list of top 100 awful movies, which I wasted my life watching. That has to be one of the things I hate the most, watching a movie hoping that it's good and by the end you say, "I could have been doing something productive with that time, like putting a puzzle together or call and actually talk to someone." Time is a gift and we shouldn't be wasting it on crappy movies. Although there's no way to be certain which movies will turn out lame even though some are a little more obvious than others. So I suggest taking a look at this list and seeing the directors and production companies that have multiple movies on this list and avoid these companies in the future. Deal? Deal.

This list was made by Rottentomatoes.

Is anything starring Vin Diesel ever good? Early in the decade there were more of his films on the list but since producers are intent on making their dung hill higher this is the only movie that made the list. I think it's safe to say that if Vin is in it you should take a pass.










I never really understood why people think that Dane Cook is funny. I think that Bryan is funnier. Now that's saying something. I'm starting to get tired of people getting by simply on name recognition.




I remember seeing the trailer for this movie on TV and thought it was going to come out on TNT as an "original movie." Then when the trailer ended and showed the release date at the theaters, I thought, "there's no way that's a real movie." It looked a film major's senior project. If the film looks low-budget that's never a good sign. And this movie was "straight out of lo-cash."






I'm certainly glad that these mockumentaries made the list. For the life of me I don't know how production companies get away with making half-baked movies over and over and over again. The script of these movies must of taken about twenty minutes to write.



It doesn't take a lot of thought to put these movies together. I understand that they market these movies to Middle Schoolers but I teach my Middle Schoolers better than that. I tell them that producers don't think very highly of them when they keep trying to feed them the same crap rapped in a different package. That's my way of educating the youth and sticking it to The man.




Hopefully my students will actually remember what I taught them and stop paying for these dumb movies so they can stop making them.






Knowing didn't make the list. This doesn't imply that it wasn't bad but there are THAT many movies that are even more awful than this one. Now that's really sad.









Here's another movie that didn't make the list. My wife and I went to go see this movie. I thought to myself, "I like funny people and the title is 'Funny People' so it must be funny." Well, the logic didn't follow or the humor. The wife and I were a little late and sat down at the back in the middle of a scene. From the time we opened the door to finding a seat we must of heard about seventeen F-bombs and a host of crass and degrading language by men towards a particular woman. We walked out immediately and kindly asked for our money back. I was pretty offended, not so much with the language but with the fact that the producers of this movie thinks I would enjoy such base humor. Really? I am a grown man now, if I wanted to watch other grown men act like they're still in Middle School I would just go hang out with Bryan.




I rented this movie thinking that it couldn't be bad because it had Brat Pitt in it. Wrong again. Even though there are amazing stars out there, every single one of them has a flop here and there. The story was slow in developing and the editing was completely incoherent. I didn't even finish watching it. So even a great actor like Brat Pitt is in a movie that does not guarantee quality.



Well, it's time for bed so I'll just let you finish the list on your own and make your own comments. Believe me, there are plenty of movies to bag on, sadly. I'm certainly not looking forward to the next decade of movie making. There will come a point where there be nothing to rent as well. I guess I better learn how to read.

Jordan - The Mortal

Throughout Michael Jordan’s career, starting from his game-winning shot as a Tar Heel at North Carolina in the 1982 NCAA National Championship game to the game-winning shot in game 6 at Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals, he was labeled a “force of nature,” the “most fierce competitor” and to many “the greatest of all-time.” Even his nickname, “His Airness,” commanded respect and relevance. The further away we go from his playing days, it seems the more his legacy grows. I do not recall any other athlete with the same mystique as Jordan.

I remember watching Michael throughout the 90’s in the NBA Finals and just being in complete awe (and yes a little mad after he destroyed my Lakers in 91’). He is known for his drive as well as his ability. There are so many talented and athletic individuals in today’s game but no one has the same drive to win or was as ruthless as MJ when it came to competing. His ability to bring that passion and drive to every single game throughout the course of his career was astounding.


Yesterday he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. As I was watching all of the highlights, accolades, and accomplishments by a man who dominated his sport like few athletes have in this lifetime a few thoughts went through my mind. In Jordan’s interview with Michael Wilbon, Jordan admitted that he was not ready for this honor because it felt so “finite,” an end to something that he will always love, the game of basketball. I thought about what made so many people admire him, myself included.

If there’s anything that bothers me as a fan it is when a player doesn’t play hard all the time. Sadly, there are several players in today’s game who fit that profile. I can understand that fatigue and the travel can make it difficult to play at times, but that’s their primary responsibility. They get paid millions so they don’t have to worry about anything else. Jordan never had that problem. He brought it every night.

Then I thought about the great heroes of the faith whom I admire. The John Pipers of the world, missionaries like Hudson Taylor and Jim Elliot, people that moved church history like Augustine, Luther, and Calvin and even my current pastors Erik Thoennes and David Talley at Grace EV Free La Mirada, just to name a few. I started to think why I admire these people and why I aspire to follow Jesus faithfully in the same manner. The reason why they are my heroes is because they applied the same fire and passion that Jordan has for the game of basketball toward serving God with their lives. They are consistent and bring that passion everyday. The difference is that living for the glory of God is not finite but infinite. There will be no end to our relationship with God and our constant and growing sense of awe of who He is from now to eternity.

There are days where I don’t feel like reading my Bible or praying. There are days where I should be paying more attention to my wife instead of indulging myself in self-pity when I don’t get what I want. In those instances, I have become the player that floats through games and have allowed fatigue to lead to complacency. Unlike the professional basketball players who are being paid millions of dollars to play the game of basketball, my life has been paid by the blood of Christ in order to serve Him fully. What is my excuse?

For Jordan, it was clear that it’s difficult to let go of the past and Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo sports pointed that out here. Yes, there is a human side to Jordan. Despite all of his accomplishments, I saw a man that was discontent and even a little bitter, which leads me to believe that he is still unsatisfied. As Christians, we will be satisfied throughout eternity because there is nothing finite about loving the Lord with everything in you, for "our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee . . . "

Reassigned

The summer is officially over and it’s back to work for us teachers. There are usually mixed emotions that run through my mind at the start of the school year- the bitterness of the end of summer and vacation but the sweetness of working and impacting children’s lives and working with co-workers you enjoy being around (and of course, getting paid).

However, due to the economic crisis and the disaster known as the California State Budget, work is not the same. Education was one of the areas where the cutbacks hurt the most. I have seen it first hand how having diminutive resources severally handicaps educators to be able to inspire students to achieve their full potential.


Over the past two years, I’ve been working at Benton Middle School in La Mirada, California. During that time, I have grown close to my staff and have been able to aide children to make better decisions with their lives. I didn’t expect this coming year to be any different. After spending two days working on setting up my room, I received a call in the evening saying that I’ve been “reassigned” to another school. This happened the day before the first day of school. Classy. This was due to declining enrollment and the school simply did not have the numbers to keep me at the current site. I felt like Tom Hanson in 500 days of summer, before he got over Summer. Why did I choose the education field as a profession? Oh that’s right . . . summers off.

I pulled up to my new site today in a mass of traffic as though there were a sixteen-car pile up on the freeway. I ended up parking three blocks away from the school. I was introduced to my aide and I told her where I parked, hoping that it was okay. Guess what, it wasn’t – it was street sweeper day and it already passed by the time I could move my car. My aide also told me to park the car “where I could see it,” because her car was stolen a couple of years ago. I’m sure that will bring some peace of mind, wondering throughout the day if my car is going to still be there when I got back after work.

Now there are two contrasting schools of thought going through my body. The first being, “This absolutely sucks and God hates me” (A little dramatic, I realize). If I were still single, I would be thinking, “Okay, this is where God wants me to find my wife.” But since I’m already married to the best woman for me this makes zero sense. Second, my theology tells me that God is both good AND sovereign, that ultimately He knows what He’s doing. Although I may not like the idea at present time, in the end He will do a work.



(Consequently, I entered the staff lotto pool before I left so I’m crossing my fingers. What does the lotto pool have to do with me being reassigned? Imagine if the staff won the lotto, we would be splitting up a few million dollars. I am currently at the lower income side of the district. I notice a couple of needy students at the new school and now I could afford to buy a couple of ipods with some John Piper sermons already downloaded for them. They love me for it and their lives are changed forever. I might even teach them something. The students continue to write emails to me through the years and become missionaries to some far off land. That sounds good to me). Of course I’ll miss my friends/co-workers and students from Benton but I guess there is something else in the fold for me and only God knows what it is. That will have to do for now. Stay tuned . . .

NBA Season 2009-2010

Opening night is Oct 27 against the Clippers. Why does it seem so far away? ESPN panel of 53 NBA analysis came out with their predictions for the up and coming NBA season, 2009-2010. I can't wait for the up and coming season. I plan to renew my season tickets (for the 4th straight year). Although money is going to be tight and we are in the middle of trying to buy a house. Some may say that it's unwise to be buying season tickets during this poor economic downturn. This may be true, however, we (the Lakers) are a championship caliber team and will be for many years. In addition, we are coming off a championship year and Phil Jackson has never won a championship where he did not win two others that followed. That's my rational for renewing my season tickets and I think most people would agree that it's a wise move. Besides, I decided NOT to buy an iphone and renewed my contract with Verizon. I've been kicking myself ever since. I'm not going to let the same thing happen to my Lakers' season tickets, consequences be da****!

Furthermore, Laker tickets make great gifts (but don't ask me for any). I love the look that one of my pastor gives me when I tell him to take his son to a ball game. He serves so much at our church it's a great way to show some appreciation. Also, the games that I can't attend are easy to sell. I mean, think about it . . . they're Laker tickets! You don't have to package a deal. They sell themselves.

How about date night with the wife? Katie was never really into basketball when we started dating. I converted her quickly and now she even follows the Lakers on her own time and enjoys talking to me about anything and everything that involve the Lakers. Now that's an amazing wife (she doesn't like the Laker girls though, go figure). Not to mention, when I need some time with my boys, what better place to do it than at a Laker game? I already have my check list of must see games:

- Oct 27, vs. Clippers (Dom) - Opening night, free shirts, and the presentation of championship rings.

- Nov. 17, vs. Detroit (Brent) - Brent is a big Detroit fan but we're still friends. We're both teaching in the same district and going through the same school for our teaching credentials. In other words, it's a perfect time to vent.

- Dec. 4, vs. Miami (Dom) - Dom's a D-Wade fan. If you don't think that both D-Wade and Kobe don't circle this date you're crazy. Last year, Dom and I upgraded to VIP and those two were a wonder to watch. You truly can't appreciate their basketball abilities without seeing it up close and live (Lord, why couldn't you make me that good? That will be one of my questions in heaven).

- Dec 25, vs. Lebron - No more need be said.

- Dec 29, vs. Golden State (Chris) - Chris is a GS fan. This is a good time for Chris and I to catch up on things.

- Jan 29 @Philadelphia - there's an outside chance that the wife and I will fly to Philly for this game and visit Aaron and Megan in the process. The wife always wanted to visit Philly (among other cities) and I always wanted to fly out to a great city and watch a Laker road game. It works out for both of us. Of course, I'm still waiting on Aaron getting back to me to confirm that he'll be available (Aaron - hurry up and get back to me!).

- Feb. 28, vs. Denver (the wife) - it's a national televised game (Sunday morning). Now here's a great day. You go to the early service at your church then drive to LA for a brunch at The Original Pantry Cafe, the food is great! Afterwards, you could take your time and park because you're already there super early. As a result, parking isn't a hassle and it's cheap. The closer to game time the more it cost for parking because people working the lots knows you're probably running late and are desperate and try and take advantage of you like you're hooked on drugs and they're the drug dealers. Once you walk in the Staple Center the excitement begins and you feel the buzz in the air. You sit down in your seats and begin listening "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman and somehow for those few minutes you forget about all the bad stuff that Los Angeles has going for it and you just remember, the Lakers! The video of all the Laker greats come on starting with George Mikan, then moving to highlights of Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain. Then the Showtime era with Kareem, Magic, Worthy, and Cooper then transitioning to the Phil, Kobe and Shaq championships. After all that, they show a highlight mix of all the current Lakers on a giant shower curtain and once it finishes it drops to the ground in slow motion, instantly the lights come on. One by one each member of the starting lineup are introduced with Kobe being the last one coming out to a hero's welcome that would have rivaled a Roman gladiator. It's game time! I'm sorry but no television can come close to that experience.

- April 4, vs. San Antonio (the wife) - Why not? You could always count on this being a good game.

- April 11, vs. Portland (the wife) - I just like to go to this game and bag on my buddy Bryan (who moved to Portland) as the Lakers lay the smack down on the Blazers. This makes me feel better all over and inside.

Undoubtingly, they'll be more games I'll be attending but these are the must-see games and the people that accompany me are a part of the experience. Attending Laker games is a tradition that I made for myself and one that I think I'm going to stick with. Everyone should have a tradition that they share with the ones whom they love. This happens to be mine and it happens to be an expensive one.

Imagine years from now when Junior Jr. comes along, I realize that Kobe will be retired by then but if you know the Lakers they'll have another star in the fold, I'll be talking about Kobe like my father talked about . . . wait a minute! I didn't have a father, forget that thought. But hold on a second . . . that's another point, I could build great memorizes with my future son and what better way to do that than attending Laker games with him? Is there a better father/son bonding time? Okay, maybe reading to him at night and constantly affirming him in all he does but lets not forget that a good-old-fashion ball game is when you could truly let your hair down and allow your son to know that it's okay to have fun in life. I think this gets left out too often. So yes, it's an expensive tradition, but well worth it because it will result in good parenting.