Superboy!

I grew up in the era of Superman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League, and Superfriends. Wow! If that's not going to give away my age, what will? I wanted to be Wonder Woman - being able to disappear, being able to help others with my power. I also wanted to marry Superman. Now... I can hear you snickering in front of your computer monitor. And when Superman and Wonder Woman marry, what would they have? Superboy!

Well... I'm no Wonder Woman; just a woman who constantly wonder about so many things in life. I didn't marry Superman, either. Although, sometimes he does things that are super cool! We DID HAVE a Superboy. I know it sounds funny but this is a true story that happened a few months back. (Sorry for the very late posting. Too many things to do in a day. I told you, I'm not Wonder Woman. Hahaha!)

We were going to eat lunch out with our friend and co-worker, Jenni. I was finishing getting ready in our bedroom on the second floor. When Jayjay (who was sixteen months at that time) saw his Daddy and brothers heading out the door, he ran after them down the stairs. Thinking he was being left behind, he JUMPED off the stairs!!! Ten feet straight down to the concrete floor while Ed (my husband) and Jenni were watching in horror and shock!

All I heard upstairs was... "No, Jay! No Jay! (two-second silence) Oh, Jay! Oh, Jay!" That's enough to make a mother's heart stop beating! I ran down the steps not really knowing what had happened. I found Ed cuddling a very pale toddler and a horrified "Aunt."

I held Jayjay in my arms and cooed in his ears, "Oh, baby! Oh mommy's baby!" We tried to keep him alert while Jenni told me what happened. As Jayjay was free-falling, his arms were wide open to the sides like he was flying. Now, if you had a child you would know that babies' heads are heavy and usually the first ones to hit the ground. Jayjay's head was up and his chin was the last to touch the floor!!! Fifteen minutes later, pink color came back to his face and he was walking. Thirty minutes later he was eating lunch at his usual superboy speed. An hour later he was walking around, pushing his stroller, and giggling.

That still didn't put us at peace. We decided to take him to a doctor in Bangkok. Four hours later we were sitting in the doctor's examination room after an x-ray was taken. The doctor shook his head and asked us AGAIN (for the 10th time) how Jayjay fell and how he landed. He couldn't believe it - "10 feet?! flat on the floor, not rolling down the stairs?! not a bump?! no broken bone?!" We said... "It was a miracle, Doctor. Angels protected him." He looked at us like we were nuts or something like that.

Psalm 91:11 - For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. (NLT) I will never read or think or look at this verse the same way again... ever! And if Jayjay will ever come to a point in his life where he will doubt God's plan for him, the Superboy boy story will once again be told.

Mommy, I gotta tell you something...

My eight-year-old came to me this morning as I was just getting ready to get out of bed. He normally greets me with a hug, a kiss, and a "Good morning, Mommy!" So when he came and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I gotta tell you something," my heart skipped a bit, wondering what could it be that he didn't want his Daddy to hear. He continued to whisper...

"Last night, I prayed that God will keep me away from temptation," he said.

"Where did you get that idea to pray that?" I said.

"When I watched that Veggie Tales video about Larry Boy being tempted to keep on eating lots of chocolates."

"Wow, Jojo! That's really good, bud! But you don't have to keep it as a secret from your Daddy. Why don't you go and tell him that too. He needs to hear that." And yes, he told his Daddy. And then we asked him what temptation is. His answer, "You wanna do something you're not supposed to."

Don't we all need that reminder every so often! My Jojo is only eight. For now, tempatation is sneaking in the fridge, playing video games when it's not play time, lying, etc. For us adults, it's more complicated than those - bad thoughts, hatred, lack of trust, unbelief, lies, pornography, sexual addiction, indulgence on food, etc. etc. etc.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (emphasis added)

Joseph in Egypt is always the first one that comes to my mind. Jesus did not promise a problem-and-temptation-free life here on earth but He promised a life of VICTORY and FREEDOM! Praise be to Him!

You Are Beautiful

No one knows her inner struggles. Probably no one ever will. When others look at her, she seems to be happy and content. The hurts she experiences and the emotional and physical pains that come with them are sometimes too much to bear. Today was just another one of those sad days for her. All day long today, tears continually rolled down her cheeks. No one noticed, though. She was hurting... again. She felt betrayed... again. She felt alone... again. "Oh God, when is this going to end? How much longer do I have to bear this pain?" was her heart's cry.

At 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, as she paused for a little break from mopping the floors, she decided to look out the back window. The sun was full and big, ready to set and hide beyond the horizon. The sky was the hues of purple and pink, mixed with the orange sun. She paused... Her heart was speechless... She was in awe of God's beauty!

You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words,

Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen or heard.

Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom the depth of Your love?

You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above.

And I stand, I stand, in awe of You. I stand, I stand in awe of You.

Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand In awe of You.

And if the beautiful sky wasn't enough to confirm God's love for her, God showed her another thing. She walked to the front side of the house, loooked at the sky and lo, and behold she saw a clear rainbow painted on a pink-orange sky. She dropped her mop, stretched out her hands, and fell down in full prostrate adoration before her Mighty God. "Lord, You are beautiful indeed. I don't need to know the why's in my life. I don't need to ask you to take away my hurts and pains. I just need to do what you created me to do - to worship and adore You. I love you, my Lord. Only you can bring beauty from the ashes. Help me be content in Your love and in your infinite wisdom. You are beautiful beyond description!"

With tears still rolling down her cheeks, she continued mopping. This time with a different resolve in her heart, knowing that God loves her - unconditionaly!

Who created mathematics, anyway?

I got this through email from a friend. The author is unknown. This is awesome, just shows we have an awesome God, His wisdom is unfathomable!!!

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint...
What equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?Did you ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants us to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
If A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26,

Then H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K would be 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E would be 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%.

But A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E would be 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%.

And look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D 12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%!

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Oh, No!!! My keys are locked inside the car!

If it has to happen, it has to happen to me.... and it has to happen on the day my husband is three hours away. LIFE Camp was over. I was so proud of myself for being independent and thankful to people for helping me take care of our three boys all week long. Everything was packed on Thursday morning, the day we left camp. The car was all loaded up and I was ready to start the car and then... ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek! Uh.... try again.... ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek-ngeeeek! The car won't start!!! Urghh! I ran to the reception area to see if there was anyone who could help me jump my car. I've never done it before ! Thanks to two guys who helped!

As we wiped the sweat off our faces (it was very hot and humid!), as we breathed a sigh of relief, and as the two guys closed the hood, I also closed the trunk and side doors while the engine was running. And then... my eyes got big when I realized the car automatically locked all the doors, with the keys in the ignition, with the engine running, and me standing outside looking shocked and helpless. I called Ed and he said we would have to wait two and a half hours for him to get there. Jenni kept saying "Oh, no! Darlene! Oh, no! Darlene!"

Thankfully, several pastors were still on the campus. Pastor Roger McCarty tried to stick a hanger in the window. Pastor Soonthorn had his tool box with him so they tried to open the side windows. And yes, they did and it opened! A tiny Thai gal crawled into the back seat and unlocked the door for us.

Lesson learned: make extra keys and give Jenni a copy. Also, attach one under the car somewhere.

Kidding aside... as the guys were trying to get the windows to open and the ladies praying and cheering on the side, I was thinking... Wow! What a beautiful picture of these people working together. Just like how God expects us to work together... peacefully, harmoniously, brainstorming on what we can do next. We are a body of Christ, each part unique. Each one has a job. Each one working together towards the same goal.

Romans 12:4-5 says, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."

Oh... thankfully, Baby Jayjay wasn't locked inside the car. That day was his first birthday too!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I'm officially in the "late 30's" bracket. Aaah! I'm old. I know, I know... you who are in the 40's and above are saying, "Wow! She's young!"

I have this mindset that on my birthday I deserve to be treated like a queen. I expect my family to treat me like one, just for today. I expect to get a chance to go out and do some self-pampering. I didn't get a chance to do that today. Not even a special meal (well... at least, not yet. That will come tomorrow). I told myself today that I don't like having a birthday on a Saturday. Saturday is ministry day for us so not much time for pampering. I was kind of disappointed.

I sat down at the bar in the kitchen waiting for Ed to bring dinner (We ordered out because I couldn't cook. Not because it's my birthday, but because I cut my thumb real bad today. That, itself is another story. Ha!) As I was saying, while waiting for the food, I sat down to finish my unfinished coffee (leftover from this morning... I rarely dump leftover coffee!) My three little boys were there too. Eleven-month-old Jayjay was clapping his hands... as happy and content as he can be. Four-year-old Boom-Boom was pretending he was fixing dinner for me - "chicken breast, rice, and broccolli," he said. Seven, almost-eight-year-old Jojo was putting dishes back into the cupboards and drawers. While he was doing that he said, "Mommy, I love you very much, all day today!"

Wow! That just made my day! My birthday couldn't get any better than that. I didn't need "Mommy Pampering Day" after all. My boys took care of that for me. Birthday presents don't always come in packages or special privileges. Sometimes they come in little hearts so pure and innocent!

If You Love Me...

(originally posted on Yahoo!360 December 18, 2006)

As parents, my husband and I always emphasize the "heart attitude" every time we discipline or teach our sons, especially our almost-6-yr-old who understands more than the 2-yr-old does. We tell them that to obey is to show love to Mommy and Daddy. He responded to me one time by saying, "But I don't want to love you!"

Aren't we the same as adults? Most of the time we don't admit it like our Jojo does. We know exactly what we need to do in obedience to God's Word but we deliberately disobey him. "But I don't want to love you, God. I want to love ME now and give ME what I want."

During Sunday School hour in our home church yesterday, our teacher spoke on the book of John, chapter 14. Verse 21 says, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me..." Our teacher then explained that obedience is showing love. Obedience must come from a heart that is willing to follow and demonstrate that love.

"Jojo, what is obedience again? Obedience is doing what you're told to do, when you're told to do it, with a happy heart attitude." We're still in the works... and for the most part our boys are really sweet. Many times Jojo obeys because he's afraid to get in trouble like being sent to his room for time-out, or loose a privilege, or get spanking. This morning, this issue came up again. And we discussed immediate obedience with a happy heart attitude AGAIN... not with a lousy attitude. Whew! I trust the Lord that someday he'll get it. Ha ha! For now, God entrusted us with his little life and his still tender heart. We just want to be faithful parents... showing our love for the Lord through our obedience in disciplining and teaching our children.

"If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15

Adoptive Fathers

(originally posted on Yahoo!360 for Father's Day 2006)

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads in the world, especially to the #1 Dad – my hubby! I know… I know… I’m biased. But really… He’s a great Dad! He loves our boys and he is their best friend. He gives them showers. He changes diapers. He plays ball with them. He takes them to parks. He goofs off with them. He disciplines and teaches them. He says he’s willing to die for these two precious boys God blessed us with.

The picture above was taken just a few days ago in Michigan when we went to see the Weber family. In the picture are Harry, Boaz (the little boy) and Ed. You see, all three of them were adopted. Harry was adopted by Grandpa Weber when he married Grandma Weber. Harry adopted Ed when he married Ed’s mom. And almost two years ago, Boaz was given to us and we adopted him! Maybe this is the kind of legacy the Weber family is leaving for the next generations to come. Whatever it may be, these three “boys” were blessed to have adoptive Daddies who were willing to love them even though they don’t have the same blood.

In the same way, God adopted us into His family through Jesus Christ and our faith in Him. We were undeserving of His love for us but yet He was willing to die for us. As His adopted children, we are equal heirs of everything good that He has prepared for us. Praise be to Him for being our Heavenly Father who is ever loving and merciful!

Ephesians 1 "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."

Indescribable

by Chris Tomlin

(There's really nothing much I could say about this song. God is AWESOME!)

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation is revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go?
Or seen heavenly store-houses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light?
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night None can fathom!

“Indescribable, uncontainable!
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God! All powerful, untamable!
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim,
You are amazing, God!”

“Incomparable, unchangeable!
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same.
You are amazing, God!”

In His Hands

One song I sang a few years back was “In His Hands.” The chorus goes this way:

In His hands there’s only safety
Nothing there can touch me except Him
Bring your burdens and all your failures
Lay them down and rest here… IN HIS HANDS.

The picture above reminded me of this song and one of my favorite verses in the Bible:
John 10:28-29 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

What a comforting thought! With so many things happening in the world now… war, natural calamities happening in every continent, heartaches, incurable diseases, immoral state of mind of the human beings, even the threat of being unsafe in your own home… Jesus, who is God, is there to keep us safe if not physically, spiritually. I know that I have security in Him for all eternity. Praise be to HIM who is greater than he that is in the world!