disciple7's Xanga

I am here

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:45:15 GMT

What better day to come back from the Xanga dead than on one's birthday? I can't think of a better day, so here I am. It appears that xanga has changed immensely since I last wrote on here. What's with all these other options? I am not sure what to make of it all, actually. It seems almost like there is too much now. Anyway...

It actually seems like quite a few people have dropped off the xanga world. I still don't really know what to write. This has been one crazy year (academic year). I am now just teaching 6th grade science, but it is quite a bit of work. Today really made me feel all good though. I can't say how many times different groups of students sang "Happy Birthday" to me today. Every time I entered a new classroom, they would begin again and sing. Those kids are quite wonderful. It was definitely a gift from above. Speaking of wonderful gifts from above, I have also found a group of guys that are like me. Our Father has lead another guy who also is married to a Chinese woman and who also believes into my path. It is great to have this sort of fellowship, and it was provided right at the necessary time. He also seems to be thinking that he will be here for a while, He-willing. Well, I must be getting back to work. I hope all of you are doing well. Let me know what's going on!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 02:03:25 GMT

Wow, at least right now in China it is the ominous 6/6/6 day. The once a century happening, and next year we get to have a 7/7/7, now that will be a great day. :) Eh, I doubt that anything big will happen. Hey, if any of you would like to read my other blog, you can go to http://blog.sina.com.cn/u/1233832073 and check it out. I don't know if any of you will be able to see anything except my picture being though that it is all in Chinese. For those of you who can read Chinese, I am sorry for the few mistakes that are in it. I didn't proofread it after I wrote it, so there are a couple mistakes. Congratulations to Leah Fahrni who got married this past weekend! I wish you and Joe the best! I'll write more later!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Tue, 23 May 2006 05:52:34 GMT

Wow, I am ready for a break. Only 3 more teaching weeks left (not including this one), then a week for finals, and then one more week that teachers need to stay here, and then summer! And boy am I looking forward to that. Even more than I was for last summer. Quite a hectic teaching schedule, so it feels good to see the end in sight. Then, next year being able to teach only science classes (no more English classes) is an added blessing. Wow, I need to go grab a candy bar or something. It is 2:48 and I am feeling a bit tired. Maybe a bit too much MSG in the food or something. :)

Many times, my TV decides not to work for me, but even in those times, two channels work. These two channels always work. They are JCTV and TBN. So, yesterday I was watching a rather interestin show on TBN about the 12 guys who knew Him and saw Him. Just how these 12 guys were 12 ordinary men (just like the book, in fact, the author was on the show). Amazing that just 12 ordinary men were able to be used by Him to do great things. They weren't the powerful, the rich, or the wealthy. Just normal. That is pretty sweet.

That's all for now. I'm going to get a candy bar.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 14:33:09 GMT

Yeah, new profile pic of my babe and I. Here are also some pictures of my animals...

The Love of Him

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 04:34:55 GMT

I remember a while back when I was talking with my brother Scott that he said something to the effect of that one will never understand the love of Him until one becomes married, and then eventually a father or mother. It is in these relationships that you can more feel what it is like to experience the love that He has for us. That the joining together of another with you and the event of having a child allows you to see a whole new depth/angle/perspective of His love. At the time, maybe due to pride, I don't know to what extent I believed his words. Now, looking to marriage with my future wife, and looking back on the experiences that we have already had, I can see how the relationships that we develop can allow us to see His love in a new light. As I look back at my life, never before have I ever been able to see His love and understand His love as much as I do at this point after having experienced such deep love with Rui. So many things, such as sacrifice of self, forgiving what has already past, and not loving because of the other person's actions, have become so much clearer. I can go through the well-known Corinthians verse and relate more now to what it says than I ever could before. I am beginning to understand the words of my wise older brother. I look forward to learning more of His love for me and for all of us, as my relationship with Rui continues, and as one day (a while in the future) I become a father, He-willing. And may each of you be able to see Him in all of your relationships that you have.

There is just something about Him

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 01:25:31 GMT

Just this morning I was browsing through some of the headlines on msn.com. I came across an interesting one about a book entitled The Jesus Papers. Interestingly enough, the author of this book just sued Dan Brown saying that Dan's book, The DaVinci Code, stole information from one of this author's earlier works from 25 years ago. Yeah, so go figure that this new book claims that J's crucifiction was a set-up, that he married Mary Magdelene, and that in a letter that J wrote, he denies being the Son of G. His proof of this? The Gospels (well, part of it, he chooses what he wants to be historically accurate and what he wants to be false). Also, he says that he has seen this letter where J denies being the Son of G, and he says that a friend of his has seen "undeniable proof" that J was alive in 45 AD. Where is this "undeniable proof"? He doesn't even know, he's never seen it.

This just got me thinking just how much He is set apart from every other historical figure ever. So many people try to prove that he never existed or that some event of his life never really happened. I have never heard of any other historical figure, religious or otherwise, being so hotly debated. What is it about Him that stirs up a fire within each of us. I would say it would be a rare person who could hear His name or His truth without having something stirred up within him or her (be that love or hate). This all makes me realize what a powerful G we serve. Oh what a wonderful day it will truly be when every knee will bow and not be able to deny Him. And on that day, I will willingly bow to my great King.

Women's Day

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 06:51:12 GMT

Happy International Women's Day to all of you women (and men) out there. I thought that I might write a little interesting trivia concerning this day in China. Well, first of all, I must ask what today's date is. Yes, it is March 8th or 3/8. In Chinese today is called ¡°Èý°Ë½Ú" or "SanBaJie". "San" means 3, "ba" means 8, and "jie" means festival. So, it is the festival on the 8th of March. Well, that is one translation. Strangely enough, if you put the exact same two Chinese words ("san" and "ba") together, it has another meaning. It means in English what we call a female dog, or a very derogatory name for a female. So, "Èý°Ë½Ú" could either mean "March 8th Festival" or "Festival of [technical term for a female dog]" with equal accuracy in translation. I think that maybe Chinese should stop naming their holidays by what day it falls on, and start naming it for what it is about (unless some man named it this on purpose just to get back at the women for having their own day, and men not having one). So, in America, Happy International Women's Day! (Hopefully this doesn't offend to many people, I just thought that it was very interesting.)

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 05:30:51 GMT

Well, if any of you want a good read, well, maybe "interesting" is a better word to use than "good," you should go and check out TheTheologiansCafe blog. He asks some rather controversial questions. But, the real interesting part is all of the comments, not so much the questions in and of themselves. It draws many people from all different types of beliefs. In some ways it is painful to read. The division among the c*urch is disheartening. Just the comments show the various causes of this division: bitterness, pride, hurt...

People so often stated the whole "culture" arguement. That His words in the *book were written just to the people of that culture. My question is, if it is just for that culture, that would mean that every culture could have a different version of His words. But then, when He returns, and establishes His kingdom, which "culture" is He going to choose to follow? It seems kinda silly to even ask that His words would follow a culture. Sigh. I think so often we as humans just try to find something to argue about. I wish I had more time, but I am off to teach a class. Trying to keep focused up,

Andrew (Drew)

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 05:18:01 GMT

To answer some of your comments, yes, I am alive, dudes. I survived the nice little break that we get here for Chinese New Year. Rui's hometown was quite nice. As I mentioned earlier, Rui, her mom, and I stayed with her grandfather in his place. It is a small little place. It is also one of the oldest buildings in the city. Needless to say, it had no heat. It was quite cold. After like 2 days, I went to the store to get her grandfather a small little heater. The rest of the time, whenever we were at home, we all stayed around the little heater watching TV or whatever. Most of the time, we were not at home. It seems that most of the Chinese have not adopted the custom of streamlining visiting. Every day, for lunch and dinner, we ate at a different relative's home. One day, her mother's brother's place, the next, her mother's sister's place, then her mother's mother's place... you get the picture. All in all, it was a good time, just a bit busy.

Now I am back and starting school tomorrow morning. So, I am heading off now. Prepare for what is to come!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 04:36:12 GMT

After nearly 2 months at sea and sitting in an office for some time, I finally got a package in the mail! It had quite a scary look to it. I thought it might be some sort of bomb or something. It was a box, but then it was wrapped in the brown paper bag material and lots of tape. I was a bit concerned when I was opening it, but then, it was all ok when I opened it. It did have a little cowboy getup in it, complete with guns and everything. So, all this to say, thanks Robert. My birthday present finally got here about a week ago. :)

Well, the semester is finally over! I now get a month long break before the new semester begins. Well, sorta. I still have another week I must hang out at school, but there are no classes. It is a time of preparation for the next semester. Eh, not too bad. On another note...Yay! For Chinese New Year I will be headed over to Rui's grandfather's place. Rui, Rui's mom, her grandfather, and I will all be staying in his small real Chinese style place. I love it.

Oh, xanga is not working as well as it used to. More often than not, when I try to open it, the whole "Page not found" error appears. It is a pain in the butt to get on. So, that leads to my less than perfect updating record. :)