Summer 2009

This summer passed like a swift wind. There was hardly any time to savor the warmth of the sun, facetiously speaking. Could it be that the unusually mild temperatures made summer seems as though it lasted only for two weeks? Could it be that there was so much work to get done that the ticking of time was not accurately accounted for? Could it also be that the mind was so focused on thought and sights that were intriguing and thrilling that the mundane, such as keeping track of time was ignored by default?

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Henry Van Dyke

Shannon and Brahms, who are now both in high school, will be starting school tomorrow. I therefore assume that summer is technically over. Miriam, being in a different school district, has to wait for another week before she goes to school. She intends to sympathize with her siblings by getting up early and working on her activity book (Math, English, Science) as part of her everyday activities. After a fun time of traveling as a family, Tim is now scheduled to travel to Asia. Summer is really over.

For the sake of accounting and preparing myself to shift to normal everyday, I'm going to list the things that we did this summer.

Shonto Mission Trip Tim, Brahms and Shannon left to go to Shonto, Arizona, a community of Navajo Indians. There they helped build different houses or parts of houses by pouring cement, painting, roofing, framing, etc. They worked hard, Tim arrived limping for another week, but they came home refreshed.

Blitz and Crocodile Dock What could be better than attending VBS? (Answer: Attending two VBSs in one summer) Miriam participated in Blitz at Lakeside Church and Crocodile Dock at Cornerstone Christian Church. One of them coincided with the time when the rest of the family were in Arizona. This helped me in trying to keep her occupied while her siblings were not available to do the job. A great way to keep her thinking of spiritual things.

Cousins' Visit A highlight of this summer was a visit from the other Lewis family (DJ, Julianna, Saskia, and Dave). We don't seem to have the gift of choosing a good place to show our visitors but they are always a pleasure to have and to hang out with. They marked this years' visit by presenting us with a Jelly Belly Dispensing Machine. We are enjoying this equipment in regulating our sugar consumption. My father-in-law, AKA Grandpa George, also came during this time of mini reunion. He showed us pictures from their most recent trip to Israel. We missed Barbara but we saw her pictures wading in the Dead Sea. We also got to enjoy the black cherries and flowers that she sent.

Visitor from Africa Brenda Allen, our missionary friend, gave us a short visit. She's lives and works among the Maninka people in Guinea (Africa). She has a very interesting ministry there as a nurse and Mariamo (woman of God).

Canada We headed to Canada both for adventure and meeting friends and family. We enjoyed seeing Niagara Falls, great lakes that are the size of oceans, and the city of Toronto and London. It was fun staying at 33 Harbour Front. Then, after nineteen years, I visited my relatives in Toronto. It was good to eat a lot of Filipino foods but most of all it was good to see my brother and sister and their families again. We all have grown older but there are things that remained the same. This is comforting and scary at the same time. We brought two kinds of presents for them: Blue Diamond Almonds and NIV Bibles.

Aside from relatives, we also got to meet some of my old friends. Soni, who is now married to Cris, had us over at their new condominium space. It is in a new building, they are among the first few occupants. Cris cooked a great dinner for us and our favorites were the cassava cake, tropical fruit salad and the special cupcakes. Soni also joined is when we went to Alliston.

It was great to see Peter VanderZaag again. If ever considered one as my spiritual mentor, it was Peter. However, we've lost communication since my family moved from Fremont to El Dorado Hills. This was the first time that Tim really had the chance to sit and talk with him. The last opportunity would have been on the day that we got married but he was too occupied with the details of the wedding. Our visit with him (Carla, his wife, was in Nashville at the time) and Ruth VanderZaag (daughter) was inspiring and educational. I've always considered Peter and Carla as godly people. For one thing, Peter was the one who led me to meeting my Savior. He mentored me in my younger days as a Christian. Tim and I both are really happy to have seen them again.

Miriam Turned Nine We made it home for Miriam's birthday! This is the first time in three years that Miriam woke up at home on her birthday. All she wanted was a nice dinner with the family. Later on we invited the Lippuners for more celebration.

Leadership Summit Tim had a blast attending the the Leadership Summit by Willow Creek. He admits that this is probably the best conference that he has ever attended in a long long time. After the conference was over his brain was over-flowing with new thoughts that he would talk about it whenever he is not working until we are already in bed. It was my suggestion that he consolidates his thoughts into different versions depending on the amount of time available for someone to hear him. One-minute, 15-minutes, 30-minutes, or one-hour version. I think I'm getting the 5-day echo seminar!

Child Evangelism Fellowship Training Brahms and Shannon attended this training right before school started. It seems appropriate for them because they are regular helpers in the children's ministry as well as AWANA. They enjoyed and learned so much from it.

Civilization IV Our family enjoys playing hot seat Civilization. In this game each player heads a civilization. The game starts in 4000BC with each player getting one settler and a warrior. It usually end in 2050 AD or when a player is elected in the UN as the world dominator or when a player finishes building the Alpha Centauri. We've played many games of CIV as a family. We do this whenever we are not doing anything. This summer we started a new game and it's a lot of fun! Right now, as always, I'm in the lead! Shannon is trying to catch up and she's still trying! Brahms and Miriam are at war with the Aztecs. Tim and I just traded world maps.

This is summer 2009 in a nutshell.

Life Lessons from the Garden

As I worked in the garden today it came to my atttention that a lot of my boxwood plants (Boxus microphylla japonica) are not getting watered at all. If they were, it would have been very minimal. Most of the time I scrutinize my plants from the kitchen window. (Not a recommended way but because of other distractions I can only do it this way.) From there the plants look alright, they're green and even growing, they seem content thus I'm content. On a closer look, however, the problem was revealed. The soil is dry, which means that my plants are water-stressed. Signs of nutrient-deficiency became visible, snails breeding underneath the canopy and my long lost red-handled pruner was discovered hanging within the hedge! After all these revelation, I was morally obligated to do something!

One could digress and parallel gardening with human relationships. The deeper truth about a person will be revealed only through closer associations. Close associations develop with trust. Like my boxwood, people can and will try to appear composed in the eyes of someone who is not willing to get their hands dirty. Imelda Marcos' slogan at one time was "Makialam" (which means meddle). If indifference is the opposite of love then meddling for the sake of others is a noble thing to do.

I like to advise gardeners to regularly sing to their plants (which often cause eyebrows to rise). Surely, music is not a requirement for plant growth! However, the proximity of the gardener to the plants is what matters. Closeness results in communication, communication in understanding, and understanding in meddling.


"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Ephesians 4:29

Whose Favor Matters?

"... Esther won the favor of everybody who saw her". Esther 2:15

"Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen..." Esther 2:17

Favor, the preferential treatment or approval from others, is something that humans all long to have. Regardless of personality differences, every person aspire to have the approval of someone for various reasons. It could be of an employer, neighbor, relative, acquaintance, classmate, church-mate or even an enemy. There are two questions that are worth asking regarding this matter: 1) Is favor free? 2) Who gets it?

It appears that favor is a prize that is bestowed to someone who deserves it. How one deserves favor is totally dependent on the one who gives the favor. The requirements or criteria are completely under the control of the giver. It hangs above the head of everyone and it remains suspended until the one who holds it decides to grant it. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one could say that favor rests in the heart of the giver. A number of stories are based around this same basic idea. Cinderella won the favor of the prince but how much effort did she invest to gain such profit?

Often times people work hard to gain favor. On the other hand, favor that has been previously granted can be revoked without prior notice. We see it all the time in all sorts of relationships, like in marriages ending in divorce and friendships in break-ups. Couples who are so in love see each others characters and then decide to be with each other all the time. They even go to the extent of spending a lot of money in order for them to celebrate a promise that they give to each other (called wedding). This promise basically says, "You will have my favor above anyone else no matter what!" Very touching! However, there is one problem. People change and often the original basis of approval is gone. This commodity called favor is very volatile. It dissipates in the air and the promise is nullified and forgotten. All too painful.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Seeking the approval of men seems like a difficult job and yet there is no assurance of keeping that favor. God's favor is based on His character not ours. He loves us because He is love. To rely on that love is to please Him and to please Him is obey Him. Esther could not have done anything to win the favor of King Xerxes and the people of Persia. If he was looking for a trophy wife, Queen Vashti was The beauty Queen! Esther, however, choose to win the favor of God. She was not afraid of the consequences to break the King's orders in favor of doing what is right. She said, "If I die, then I die." In the end, everything falls into place according to God's good plans for her and her people.

A life that is focused on chasing the approval of men is s stressful life. A life that seeks to win the favor of God is a life worth living.

Nashville

Highlights of our trip to Nashville:

-Julianna's birthday

-The Parthenon

-Giant Cupcakes

-Waffles

-Hanging our with the Nashville Lewis Family
-Driving to Kentucky.

-Great Italian restaurant in Denver, Colorado.

Kill Joys:

-Not finding the Fruit of the Loom visitor center.

-Being stranded in Denver for a night.

Yosemite: Our eighteenth anniversary

Anniversary destination this year was Yosemite. It was snowy, wet, and beautiful up there. The place is magnificent! The beauty of the place announces the diety of the creator! The Ahwahnee Hotel provided a nice place for us to come back to after walking 3.6 miles of snow. We were cold, wet, and hungry but the hotel was dry, warm and had great food. The next day we got to try the famous Ahwahnee Sunday Brunch. Very nice! (Also expensive!)

If we are now eighteen years married then Tim and I must be really old! We are old and have many blessings to thank God for!

Meng Wang

We have a new temporary addition to our family. Meng is an exchange student from Beijing. She will stay with us for two weeks. In the mean time we get to feel how it is to have one more child. This is her second full day in our place and already she is getting comfortable. She is only a year older than Shannon and maybe the same height as Brahms. As a result they get along well together. She gets to eat breakfast with Miriam every morning since they have similar schedule.

Meng speaks English. She is experiencing a problem that I am familiar with. She learned English with a Chinese accent. Now the words that she learned there are now being spoken here in a different accent. Now everything sounds unfamiliar. This was the very problem I had when I was in England for the first time. (Yet, I would be lying if I say that this is no longer my problem.) It takes a while before the sounds she hears make sense.

Yesterday she presented a lot of gifts for us. All of them were thoughtfully selected. We were very touched. One of them is a banner that is now hanging on three sides of our front door. At first glance, our entry way appears to have been painted bright red.

Today she went to watch the Kings play at the Arco Arena. Chinese are really fond of basketball just like the Filipinos.

Trip To Eureka

We took a very quick visit to Eureka last weekend (17-18 January). It was short but definitely a good one. We spent most of Saturday in the friendly city of Fortuna where we had a second Christmas! G-G-Ma, Paul and Pam and the 'Lewis House' all met at Mom and Johnnye's place. We all got to see all the projects that Johnnye has been working on. The kids really enjoyed playing with the giant wood locks, nut cracker, marshmallow catapult, and Yoyos.

We spent the night at the house on R Street. The upstairs apartment has been remodelled and we got to enjoy it. The couch on the living room has also been moved which gave another comfortable feel to the house.

After attending worship service on Sunday we had lunch at Adels Deli. It was good to see Lee again. (BTW her house was featured in the local newspaper during that Sunday) After lunch we all proceededto the house on I Street to see Paul's new and almost completed project, Kayak. Their house is so beautiful and there has been a lot of upgrading and updating since our last visit.

Overall it was a good trip. Thank God we arrived safely before ten on Sunday.