A seminary student once asked Eugene Peterson what he liked best about being a pastor.  He replied, “The mess.”  Personally, I would use the word, “The unpredictability.” We will never know what will happen tomorrow.  Somebody, who is healthy today, may get sick tomorrow and s...

Being reduced to a smaller scale—especially to nothing— is not easy to adjust and to accept.  When I asked a friend in ministry who is now retired how he was doing, he thought for a moment before giving me his answer, “I keep reminding myself that I am retired.”  I knew what he mea...

The other day when I went to the mortuary in New Hall to make arrangement for Tante Agnes’ funeral, I was reminded of how far it is from Monrovia to Santa Clarita, where Tante Agnes used to reside in—almost an hour-drive! I thought about her consistency—she was never late in showing up early f...

On Monday morning Our Lord Jesus came and took Tante Agnes home.  And on Thursday in the wee morning hour, He also came to take Tante Gwie, beloved wife of Oom Kiat, home.  In the words of Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, they both have fought the good fight; both have finished the race, and [&he...

“God’s time is not our time.”  That is what one of you reminded me of upon finding out that our latest test results were still positive. Thank you, Brother! Yes, God’s time is not our time. We thought we would recover from Covid infection in a week, but we are now in our third week. [&h...

I wonder what I would be thinking about when I, if God’s willing, turn 90! Perhaps I’d be thinking about how grateful I am for the life God has given me and how I look forward to finishing it well.  The last thing in my mind would be about starting another project.  I’d simply be [&h...

Evil is everywhere but few could even imagine that it would enter a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde, Texas, last Tuesday. And that evil took the lives of nineteen students and two teachers. It is hard to see the images of these children flashed on TV screen and to hear the crying of their parents, ...

TOne of the good habits that we should foster is the habit of being thankful and appreciative for the many little things God has blessed us with.  The other day while we were at our daughter’s house, I watched Santy play a game of monopoly with our grandchildren.  I could tell she really had a [...

I often say that the greatest gift we can ever give to the one who will marry our child is a stable and healthy upbringing.  In the early days of ministry, I knew the importance of family’s upbringing through books that I had read.  But now decades later, I know how important one’s upb...

Every time I am with our grandchildren, I cannot help but wonder, “How can they communicate to one another?”  You see, only the eldest can enunciate the words clearly; the other two cannot. Often Santy and I must ask them to repeat themselves several times to decipher what they are saying.&...