Me, A Blogger?

Precious Moments and Jonah

2010-10-03T08:58:00.001-06:00

Sam Butcher is well-known as the creator and artist of the beloved Precious Moments characters with their raindrop-shaped eyes. My family and I are fans of his work and creations and we have visited the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri a few times, although we only own a few of his pieces. I do own two of his Bring the Little Ones to Jesus, made especially for Child Evangelism Fellowship. This piece features a mom with Bible in one hand and sharing the Wordless Book in her other hand to her two children.

What is not as well known is that Sam Butcher, before he achieved fame with the Precious Moments creation, was for many years an artist and a local director with Child Evangelism Fellowship. He drew many of CEF lesson visuals and came up with his Jonathan and David designs (precursor to Precious Moments.
Sam Butcher also drew visuals for a lesson on Jonah. I will be posting on this lesson on the Jonah 101 blog.

Moving forward into the future

2010-07-03T16:57:00.002-06:00

This is my first weekend AV (after Village). It's been good to spend some time with the girls this afternoon, as they help me sort through my "stuff" (books, media, files, resources, etc.).

Planning to take in a Jonny Diaz concert tonight with the girls. Haven't had the opportunity to attend concerts on Saturday night for awhile, so this is a treat. We got free tickets from KFIS The Fish yesterday.

Jonny Diaz is known for his song More Beautiful You, a song that communicates to a generation of young girls the truth that their true beauty is designed by the greatest Designer of all and that they are truly wonderfully and fearfully made. The song helps them discern the truth behind the false standards of beauty that our culture promotes. Count my daughters, ages 12 and 15 respectively, as fans of this song and its message. It's pretty encouraging for them to hear this truth from someone else (aside from their parents) as well.

Here's the first verse and chorus. You can look up the full lyrics at Jonny's blog. If you do look up the lyrics, take the time to read the blog comments. They're well worth my time.

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Letter to Village family

2010-06-27T20:01:00.006-06:00

I wrote the following letter to Village families this weekend, but ran out of copies. So I'll reproduce it here as well. This will answer some of the basic questions people are asking. I am planning to resume blogging on a regular basis, so this would be a good place to check up on our situation.

Feel free to post any comments or questions.

------------------------------------------------

June 26-27, 2010

Well, this is it. My last weekend of ministry at Village as Pastor to Children & Their Families.

Thank you so much for the privilege of teaching your kids during our time of ministry at Village Baptist these past three years. We have enjoyed getting to know most of the children and the parents and volunteers at Village.

We do leave with heavy hearts. June has been an emotionally intense month for me. We will miss the smiles of the kids, worshiping with them, and engaging them in conversation each week.

Some of you have asked what our plans are. I am looking for either a next venue of ministry or considering a regular vocation outside of ministry. God willing, we plan to stay in the Beaverton area and allow our children the stability of finishing the schools where they are at.

We are not planning to attend Village on a regular basis beginning in July. Instead, we plan to visit and check out the different churches in the area. We moved to Oregon because of Village, so I have been here almost every week, with few exceptions. We’ll finally have the chance to see what the body of Christ outside of Village is like. That’s exciting.

Please lift us up in your prayers, and feel free to contact us if you have the desire to do so. Should you be willing, we look forward to continuing the friendships and relationships we have started here and beyond the walls of this church.

We also plan to be at Village’s Family Camp in August. So we’ll get the chance to see many of you there.

In Christ,

Frank & Betty Tan

Texas road trip

2009-07-17T16:57:00.005-06:00

Family's on a road trip from Oregon to Texas.

Here's a video of a gathering at Sweet Tomatoes in Stafford, TX, on July 16, 2009, where we met nearly 50 of friends from our years at Fort Bend Community Church for dinner.

Parents' Golden Anniversary video

2009-01-23T11:32:00.002-06:00

We visited family in Taiwan and the Philippines in summer of 2008—it was my first time back to Asia in 13 years. The timing for the trip was my parents' golden anniversary. While there, I put together a 12-minute slideshow of photos using animoto.com. The slideshow had photos of my parents from their youth through adulthood, and each of the nine ABC kids and extended families. There were nearly 200 photos set to a medley of songs from The Sound of Music. My dad is a fan.

The above video is a 3-minute shorter version of how animoto.com takes your photos and music and sets up the photos through animated transitions according tot the pacing of the music. It's pretty neat how it does that.

You can check out animoto and create free 30-second videos. But if you're interested in signing up for a year's subscription, let me know and I'll send you the referral code to save $5.00 off the yearly fee.

Added a new blog recently

2008-08-25T01:30:00.003-06:00

I've just started a new blog on sport stacking in Oregon. Click here to check it out.

Nathan's Notes

2007-11-27T22:52:00.001-06:00

My friend Steve had started a new church plant and invited me to preach on “The Family and Christian Education.” My wife, our three kids and I joined the small church of over 30 adults, youth and kids as they met in a local Chinese restaurant that had graciously allowed them the use of the facilities on Sunday mornings.

I had selected Deuteronomy 6 as the passage to preach from. It contained the mandate God has for parents, as well as the reasoning, method, and goal of parenting children in the faith.

I knew many of the children there and was very comfortable with them being in the service, even though I was preaching primarily to the parents. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking, How do I make this message relevant to the children and the youth? What about those who are single or the couples whose kids have grown up?

Hear, O Israel:

The Lord our God is one,

the Lord is One…

Nathan, my 7-year-old son, had asked for several sheets of paper and a pen before I started preaching. Okay, great! My own son is planning to draw pictures to pass away the time.

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart, with all your soul,

and with all your strength.

Later as I shared how significant I thought it was that Moses spoke to parents first when he began his sermon in Deuteronomy, I noticed Nathan scribbling hard, hardly even stopping to take any break. I wonder what he’s working on.

And these words which I command you

today shall be in your heart.

“God does not intend Christian education to be accomplished through a church or Christian school. His plan is for parents to make it a part of their lifestyle.” I tried hard to concentrate on my notes, but seeing Nathan working so hard, being oblivious, was extremely distracting.

You shall teach them diligently

to your children …

“Moses knew that the people of Israel needed to see beyond their own generation. God’s purpose included their pursuing God wholeheartedly and reproducing this faith in their own homes.” I noticed a couple who was staring at Nathan.

… and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,

when you walk by the way, when you lie down,

and when you rise up.

“The key to making sure that faith is being passed on to your kids is to be intentional and yet informal.” My wife Betty who was seated next to Nathan had peeked a glance at Nathan’s papers and was smiling. What’s going on?

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,

and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house

and on your gates.

“The church’s role is to facilitate the equipping of parents to teach their children, and not to take over the task on behalf of the parents.” Nathan had stopped and was looking at me with a satisfied grin. So, he’s pleased with himself? I need to have a talk with him.

When I finally finished the sermon, I have to confess that in my mind I was already working on a new one that had in mind a specific person as audience.

Betty brought Nathan over to me and asked if I was curious to know what Nathan was working on. Of course, I was curious! What’s going on? Then Nathan showed me several pages of notes that he had written down. Nathan had been taking notes from the sermon!

God surprised me that day. He allowed me a glimpse into the kind of man my son would one day be—someone who took God’s Word and his father’s words to heart. My prayer is that we will all become that kind of parent to our kids, in spite of ourselves.

Sightseers in Seattle

2007-06-20T00:16:00.001-06:00

Most people remembers Sleepless in Seattle, the Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks movie of the previous decade. The City of Seattle, I'm sure, appreciated the tourism boost the film gave them. Well, count my family and me as one more group of tourists that hit the Emerald City by the sea because of it.

The Space Needle. Seattle's answer to Dallas' Reunion Tower, Chicago's Sears Roebuck, or New York's Empire State Building. We weren't planning on having lunch up there but they were charging an arm and a leg for just the lookout level. So I thought, "Why not get the whole experience?" So we had lunch, kinda expensive, the kind I would only indulge in once a decade.

Betty had lamb, prompting a protest from Nathan, saying, "You can't eat lamb. It's like eating Jesus." Someone remind me to check what his Sunday school teacher has been teaching him. Oh wait, I'm in charge of what's being taught in church to the kids.

While in Seattle, we visited with Ms. Christina Fong and rode the ferry. Ms. Christina showed us some of the sights. including this gorgeous flower. Unfortunately I'm not a flora person so I don't know what it is.

Dear John Letter

2007-04-02T11:45:00.001-06:00

I received a "Dear John Letter" last night at a dinner hosted by jack and Lena Y. After reading this, I found myself thanking God for the years He has given me in Fort Bend. Grateful, too, for the privilege of serving Him and being used as His instrument. I usually don't self-publish my press reports, but I did promise Steven's parents I would do this. Steven K. put a lot of hard work into this. Thanks, Steven.

Dear Mr. Frank,

I would like to take the time to thank you for all of your hard work in the Children's Ministry at Fort Bend Community Church. I am now in 7th grade, but I still remember you as one of my heroes. You were always there at Awana to support us and help us with our games, worship time, and memorizing verse. On Sunday during our children's worship, you led us through songs and preached the Word to us. You tried to make the Word fun and interesting to learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for all your help and encouragement. I wish you a safe trip to your next destination where God has wanted you to go and preach the Word. Finally, May God Bless You and Your Family.

Sincerely yours,
Steven Kung

Off to Oregon

2007-04-02T11:36:00.001-06:00

Well, it's final. I got a phone call yesterday from Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, Oregon, informing me that the congregation has voted and approved the recommendation to call me as Pastor to Children and Families.

I am excited, as are my family. However, the stress of preparing to move is also getting to us. Betty and I did a quick count and calculated this to be a double-digit move for our family. Here's the complete list of previous moves, so far.

1) Taipei to Manila (July 1992)
2) Manila to Dallas (May 1993)
3) Sied Apt. to Swiss Apt., within Dallas (Sept. 1993)
4) Swiss Apt. to Biltmore Apt., within Dallas (August 1995)
5) Biltmore Apt. to Swissaire Apt., within Dallas (1996)
6) Swissaire Apt. to Gus Thomasson Rd., within Dallas (Oct. 1997)
7) Gus Thomasson Rd., Dallas to Rosemeade Pkwy., Carrollton (Dec. 1999)
8) Carrollton to Sugar Land (Aug 2001)
9) Sugar Land to Missouri City (Oct. 2002)

Lighthouses in Three

2007-02-24T22:21:00.001-06:00

Last fall the Yang Ming Transport Company held its 1st International Children's Painting Competition. Thanks to Ms. Jesse, who works at the Houston branch of Yang Ming, our kids were encouraged to submit entries. Anne, Joy, and Nathan decided to send in entries depicting lighthouses on the coast. Here are their respective entries.

Anne's entry.

Elise Joy's entry. Third Place in US regional judging. Honorary Mention in international finals.

Nathan's entry

As can be obviously inferred, Nathan only participated because we encouraged him. Anne and Joy worked on their watercolor paintings quite a bit. Anne's approach is linear and clean. Joy decided to fit in as many details as she could, with a lot of variety. As a parent, you're not supposed to play favorites, and I'm not. But Joy's painting comes across as vibrant and creative. Apparently, the judges felt the same way, because Joy's entry made it to the International Judging phase and got an Honorary Mention honor.

Great job, Joy. We're happy for you.

Budding poet

2006-12-21T00:20:00.001-06:00

Surprisingly, Ellie-Joy is showing a knack at writing. She's been writing for her local elementary's "Do the Write Thing" Publishers Party for four years now. What I have found notable are her poems. This is her latest:

MY VERY OWN YEAR
(c) Elise Joy Tan, 2006

Every new year
Brings lots of good cheer. ~ January

Some days the wind blows hard
And twirls the leaves in my yard. ~ February

It's not so cold; the sun is bright;
We have to finish our assignments and write. ~ March

It's been raining this week, raining today;
I'm really glad it's almost May. ~ April

Hooray! School's over, let's have some fun;
Swimming in the pool and lying in the sun. ~ May

Let's go to the zoo, to play and run;
And maybe see an elephant who weighs a ton. ~ June

I'll go watch the fireworks, because it's the 4th of July;
And it'll be beautiful when I see it with my very own eyes. ~ July

School's going to start; I'll need some supplies,
And tell last year's teacher a few more goodbyes. ~ August

Since school's started, I'll get acquainted with the rules,
And always use my leanring tools. ~ September

It's almost Halloween, so say "Trick or Treat."
But in front of a teacher don't say, "Smell my feet." ~ October

It's Thanksgiving now, so be thankful for;
And don't always ask for a whole lot more. ~ November

Jesus is the reason,
For this holiday season. ~ December

Have you ever visited Despair, Inc.?

2006-12-21T00:17:00.001-06:00

Super Stacking Event Tomorrow

2006-11-05T15:37:00.001-06:00

My kids and I will be participating in tomorrow's STACK UP world record-setting event sponsored by the World Sport Stacking Association. According to Matt Reed at WSSA (World Sport Stacking Association), Guinness has officially titled this record as Most People Sport Stacking at Multiple Locations in One Day. This is part of the 2006 Guinness World Records Week. The goal is to have stackers engaged in stacking activity for 30 minutes anytime during the day or night on November 6, Monday.

I expect this to be a lot of fun, and that (along with thousands of stackers around the world) we'll set a record for sure. Since this is the first try, any number of people should be a record. Unfortunately, don't expect to see anybody's name listed anywhere in that record. The projected number of participants right now is around 79,000 stackers.

I am writing this on my way home from Boise, Idaho, while sitting at the Boise airport. I will go ahead and add two more stackers to the projected number, because I was able to recruit two more youth, Kayla and Caleb, to participate in the event.

MyVideos

2006-10-23T15:07:00.001-06:00

Yesterday's appreciation program for me and my family was a blast! The slideshow by Jimmy Chueng was great--only problem was that it had too many pictures of me. Nobody else but me would probably want to sit through that long a show of watching pictures of the same person. 'Nuff said.

Staying on the topic of videos on the web, I recently found this video interview that was made in 2003, I think.

As for my video resume from my last blog entry, I uploaded it in chapters to Youtube today. Check it out.

Video Resume finally done!

2006-10-07T09:03:00.003-06:00

Ah, the wonders of functionality when all your applications work together. That's a strong selling point for the Mac system.

It's taken the better part of three weeks, but I have finally finished my video memories DVD of my Fort Bend years. The DVD will serve as both memories DVD as well as video resume.

The process described simply has been like this:

Acquired a Mac Mini (1.6 GHZ, 512 MB RAM Superdrive)

Transferred my Photos Folder to the Mac Mini.

Imported pictures to iPhoto, and imported audio files to iTunes.

In iPhoto, went through the pictures and categorized them (slightly over 7,000 pictures)

In iMovie, selected pictures and put them together in a photo/movie clips montage DV movie, added some transitions and soundtrack from iTunes

In iDVD, created menus and sub-menus, and additional content for DVD-ROM section.

Burn DVD, watch, and go back to iMovie and iDVD to revise (several times)

Design DVD jacket for DVD case.

Have my wife Betty ask me to stop revising and be happy.

Mac Mini, iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, and IDVD are all trademarks of Apple Computer

Seeing Double

2006-08-24T22:28:00.001-06:00

I've been a Kidology member for a few years now, and nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I do want to clarify that I'm not tooting my own horn, but it is a treat to see a reference to yours truly twice on Kidology. First on the Kidology August newsletter, and then on the homepage for the week (at least I think the homepage gets updated once a week).

Here are screenshots from the August newsletter and the current homepage.

Ten Apples A Day

2006-08-24T12:50:00.001-06:00

Instead of an apple a day, what if God provides you with ten apples? And what if He asks you for an apple back everytime? Well, I've renamed the object lesson from One Cycle at Last blog as "Ten Apples A Day."

I've posted the object lesson on Kidology. Check it out here.

the last five years; ramblings & memories

2006-08-21T09:11:00.001-06:00

disclaimer: i decided to forego the rules of grammar in this post.

5 years, wow! that's nearly a seventh of my lifetime. here are a couple of pennies' worth of reflection on this period of time.

anne finished 5 years of elementary school in one school district (actually 2 schools).
ellie-joy & nathan came to know Christ as Savior during this time.
joy was hospitalized & had surgery
nathan-now six years old, has doubled his weight in five years (from 26 lbs. to 52 lbs.)
betty and i got our green cards.
except for working part-time in different positions at dallas seminary, fbcc marks my longest employment term ever.
attended cpc (children's pastor's conference) 6 times

i'll keep adding as more random, trivial observations come to mind.

Rumor Busters (alternate title: if you want to know what's going on, ask ...)

2006-08-14T18:29:00.001-06:00

The Fort Bend Independent School District's website has a section on its site dedicated to clarifying and correcting rumors. Apparently I need to add this section to the blog as well, in order to clarify some of the news and rumors about my resignation from FBCC.

If you hear anything related to our situation and you're not sure about the veracity (truth), feel free to email me for clarification.

RUMOR
I heard that you're leaving at the end of September.

TRUTH
My ministry end-date at FBCC is October 31. I informed the church of this date at the end of July.

I had originally submitted my resignation on June 22, with an effective date of September 30. In that letter, I asked FBCC to consider allowing me to extend my ministry on a month-to-month basis in order to better handle the transition. The Church Council in July asked me for a definite end-date instead. Thus, the date of October 31.

RUMOR
I'm not sure but some people are wondering if you were fired.

TRUTH
No, I was not fired. In fact, when I informed FBCC of my intent to resign, I was asked repeatedly to reconsider and stay.

RUMOR
I heard that because you're resigning, AWANA will be cancelled this year.

TRUTH
There is no decision concerning any changes in AWANA. At present, we are going ahead with the plans to begin AWANA at FBCC on Sept. 8, the Friday after Labor Day. However, there is a real need for volunteers and leaders in AWANA this year. We still don't have a Commander and have many other vacancies in key leadership positions. We need the parents and adults at FBCC to step up and volunteer in order to implement AWANA at the same level of excellence and quality. We are presently approaching some possible individuals to ask them about the Commander position.

RUMOR
Fourth grader: "My parents wants to know the real reason why you're leaving. They said God is not the real reason."

TRUTH
God IS THE REAL REASON. Betty and I have prayed over this decision for several months before we finally decided what to do. Our original commitment to FBCC was 5 years and in fall of 2005, at the beginning of our fifth year at FBCC, we began to pray for God's direction for our future. We did struggle over the timing, knowing that FBCC was already undergoing transition in the English ministry.

RUMOR
Is FBCC not pursuing family ministry? Is that one of the reasons you're leaving?

TRUTH
Family ministry at FBCC is not a reason for my leaving.

FBCC is pursuing family ministry. This is one of the goals for 2006, and is also a major part of the 10-year vision. There are many parents in the church who are responding to the challenge of pursuing family ministry. But this will require a lot of work and is not as easy as it sounds. FBCC is a North American ethnic Chinese church with different generations worshipping under the same roof.

RUMOR
Congratulations! I heard that you already have several job offers from other churches. [08/13/06]

TRUTH
I started sending out my resume to different churches on July 18. The list of churches included several in the Houston area and some out-of-state. Two churches emailed me to ask for a chance to get to know me more. I met with a contact from a local church and talked on the phone with a contact from out-of-state.

There are no offers, and I'm still waiting to see if the churches will contact me further. Also, the hiring process of church pastoral staff is usually a protracted (longer) one compared to hiring for other jobs. In most cases, the process will take the following steps:

(a) The church will communicate by phone or email for more information from the APPLICANT. (b) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) will go over the list of applicants and decide who to consider as a PROSPECT. (c) The church will invite the PROSPECT and family to visit informally and allow key leaders from the church to get to know the PROSPECT in person. (d) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) decides whether to upgrade the PROSPECT to a CANDIDATE. (e) The CANDIDATE is then invited to come in for a formal interview and additional meetings with other key leaders of the church. (f) The church's search committee (or people in charge of hiring) meets and decides whether or not to tender an offer. (g) The church contacts the CANDIDATE with the offer, and the CANDIDATE decides whether or not to accept the offer.
RUMOR
I heard that you're planning to move away from Houston.

TRUTH
Whether or not my family moves is uncertain. I have sent my resume to local churches as well as out-of-town churches. It's too early to tell if we'll end up moving or not.

The Road to Rome

2006-08-11T01:15:00.001-06:00

If you're looking for some old-fashioned boardgame fun as a change or a break from the electronics craze, The Journeys of Paul Historical Strategy Board Game, produced by Cactus Games Design is a really good family game to try. (Cactus is the company behind Outburst, Scattergories, and Redemption RPG card game.)

I picked up the game a couple of years ago but didn't really opened it until this past week. I thought it was great that someone decided to create a game based on Paul's missionary journeys, but I wasn't sure something as "low-tech" as a boardgame would create interest in today's kids.

Well, I was wrong. My three children, Anne (11 years), Joy (8 years), and Nathan (6 years) had fun playing by themselves. They kinda learned the rules as they played. After watching them go at it for awhile, mom and I got down and dirty with them and took off on the journey from Jerusalem through Asia Minor to plant three churches and be the first to reach Rome.

Sad to say, even with my seminary background and my pedigree as a minister, I failed to win both games we played as a family. Mom and Joy were the first to get to Rome to "get imprisoned" (since that's what happened to Paul in the Bible). Nathan said he won too, because he was the last to get imprisoned, and he built six churches, three more than the required. He's really getting the hang of this "church planting."

The game's pacing was slow. Before we knew it, we had played over an hour. It took about ten minutes to finish each round (two minutes average for each player), with all the declaration of the move, checking the Event card, and then coming up with a strategy to move or build churches. I love the concept that in order to build a church, you had to build at least seven cell groups. You could also appoint a deacon to help protect and guide the church. (Although I think in the Bible a presbyter (elder) fulfilled that role). You can also trade cards but sometimes that doesn't help your cause.

The map of the Mediterranean Sea is excellent. What would be interesting as well would be some trivia cards that provide more information (historical or geographical) about the ancient cities and tell of the modern city equivalent.

There's another review of the game on the web at RPG.NET.

One Cycle At Last

2006-08-10T22:27:00.001-06:00

Object Lesson No. 1: If God gave you ten apples and asks you for an apple back, would you give him an apple or just the core?

I presented three object lessons taught together within the lesson hour during Junior Worship last Sunday. At first glance, they appear as isolated lessons but thrown together, they do present a whole. I taught this series of lessons several times during 1999-2001 in different churches. But after I accepted the position at Fort Bend Comm. Ch., I haven't had the chance to "re-teach" it to the kids.

Last Friday, I came to a realization though. Five years have passed since I first came to Fort Bend. The grade school kids I taught to in those five years have passed on to the youth, and one whole Cycle for me has arrived. I can now teach all the lessons I taught back in 2001 without repeating to any one child. Such freedom, such relief. This is extremely liberating!

I went back to my teaching history notes (back then, I religiously kept track of my teaching topics) and found some of the old but reliable sets of lessons I used. One such set is the Ten Apples-PB on My Face-Jonah Surprise Sketch. I have to confess to being exhilarated to teach the kids with something "low-tech" for a change. No computers, no fuss, no videos, no remotes. Just me, some apples, peanut butter, a marker, and a sketch pad. One of our Junior Worship volunteers commented that this was certainly not her idea of "low-tech," given the amount of creativity presented in one lesson.

Later, I talked with Tony Y., who serves as CM deacon and Junior Worship coordinator, about the Cycle. Since we teach third through fifth graders as a group, we actually have a three-year Cycle. Instead of looking at new lessons every turn, it's about time to take a look at the lesson series taught the last five years, evaluate them, and select the ones that will fit into a three-year Cycle.

This is certainly one of the best lessons I've learned from serving at Fort Bend these five years. That as you accumulate lessons and history, it is time to stop and evaluate which lessons God has truly used and you will want to teach again. We have a scope and sequence in our Sunday school curriculum, but have not considered that even in worship this will be effective.

Time for Change

2006-08-04T09:20:00.001-06:00

My life is a series of adventures in faith orchestrated by the hand of God. I clearly don't believe in coincidences. So many of my past experiences have helped to create in me a whole that is greater than the sum total of its parts. Events and experiences that seem isolated pop up later to provide insight or depth to a new situation.

Our family is approaching a new milestone this year in October. I am resigning from the Children's Minister position at Fort Bend Community Church and am looking forward to God's leading. Am I concerned? Yes, but Betty and I are willing to let God take charge. Pray for us at this time as we deal with transition, search for new ministry, and possible future relocation, if necessary.

We've built many relationships these past five years and we'll need to find a way for closure in some relationships and be creative in continuing others, and wisdom to know the difference.

Family Tidbits

2006-02-09T18:09:00.002-06:00

January 20. Anne competed in the Spelling Bee at her school, Dulles Elementary, and won. Her winning words were arcing and teemed. She'll be competing next in the district/county competition on February 25. I honestly really don't have high expectations on how well she may do in the next round, only that she should do her best to study and prepare. I have a quicktime movie of her reaction to winning but I still have to figure out how to put it on the site.

January 22. Preached in Encounter worship at FBCC on the topic "Beliefs to Convictions" and showed an 18-minute excerpt from Beyond the Gates of Splendor DVD. I encouraged parents to examine whether we are just passing on a belief system or an unwavering conviction and commitment to the cause of Christ. I got a lot of good feedback, and felt it was mostly undeserved. Since my main outline came from Josh McDowell's website and I only got to preach half of the sermon (the DVD preached the other half).

January 25-28. Betty and I were out of town in Orlando, Florida for Children's Pastor's Conference. We didn't travel to any of the theme parks, so did not get to see the Big Cheese, er, Big Mouse. However, Betty did get a few photo ops with Super-U, Roc-Fish, and Miss Patty-Cake.

January 28. Last December I bought several copies of Pastor Karl's Order of the Ancient and received one autographed copy signed to my oldest daughter Anne. Elise Joy wasn't too happy about that then, so it was a pleasant surprise to her to receive her own copy of OOTA, personally signed by Pastor Karl. She brings it to school almost every day and is reading through it right now.

February 5. Preached in the Cantonese service. This is the fourth time I'm preaching this message (part of my Must-Preached Series), its current title being Parenting Lessons from Selected Psalms & Proverbs. This is the same message as the Superman sermon, albeit without the Man of Steel and his parents. I used Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club to illustrate the generational and communication differences in the immigrant Chinese population here in the U.S. I borrowed from the discussion of high-context and low-context culture from a literature course in a New York university.

February 8. Nathan turned sixth. We're real proud of him as he reaches this new milestone. Nathan was at the dentist yesterday, and apparently the anesthesia caused a side-effect in that his lower lip swelled three times its normal size. We felt bad for Nate but he just shrugged it off. Didn't even bother him one bit.

February 9. I'm undertaking a new blog, Jonah 101. It's a resumption of a journey I started a few years ago, but has set aside. I now want to go back and resume it.

Father-Daughter Article on LWW

2006-02-01T17:19:00.001-06:00

See Happy Family for an article interviewing Mr. Frank and Anne about our interest in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Oh yeah, the article is in Mandarin.

Narnia Theme Night

2005-12-11T15:52:00.001-06:00

A magical world awaited the Awana children on Friday (12/9) as they stepped into the wardrobe and saw the lamppost for the first time while snow flurries floated around them.

Anne, Nathan, and Joy (Mr. Frank's children), "we are taking pictures of Anne, Nathan, and Joy" (Nathan speaking).

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Movie Review

2005-12-08T17:21:00.004-06:00

Summary
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe lives up to its promise as one of the most anticipated movies of the year, bringing to the big screen the first of the seven beloved children’s tales by C.S. Lewis.

The movie is opening with great expectations. Christians are looking forward to a “Christian” fantasy epic movie to rival The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Harry Potter series. They also hope this will be the first of seven movies to be made.

Disney is hoping that the movie will sell well, both among Christians and non-Christians. Disney has yet to have a hit movie franchise in the fantasy genre, and would very much desire this to be it. They’re investing $150 million to find out. Sales of The Chronicles of Narnia books, which now stands at 85 million copies and second only to the Harry Potter series, will receive a boost with the movie’s premiere.

Many non-Christians are rediscovering their love for the fantasy world of Narnia. One atheist shared that he read the books as a child, loved them. But when he grew up, he learned that the books were a thinly-veiled version of Christianity and spent a lot of effort “trying to get it out of his system.” However, seeing the live-action movie is rekindling the childlike fascination for this fantasy world. Not everyone is happy though to see the movie made, and controversies already abound about whether the movie is abused by Christians to teach more than what the author intended.

Synopsis
Based on the second book in the Narnia chronology (though Lewis wrote this one first), The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of four children who pass through a special wardrobe and discover the kingdom of Narnia. Narnia is a land of talking animals and mythical creatures under the White Witch's spell of everlasting winter. Fearing that an ancient prophecy has come true, and that the children are Narnia's chosen rulers, the witch tricks the youngest brother into betraying his family. Only Aslan, the true King of Narnia, can help them defeat the wtich and restore Narnia and help them claim their places on the thrones.

Narnia fans will appreciate the overall fidelity to the book by director Andrew Adamson, though he does add additional scenes such as the Blitzkreig in the film’s opening, the chase by the wolves, the extended battle scenes (in the book it is a mere 1.5 pages), The movie touts excellent CGI special efects by some of the same crew who work on The Lord of the Rings. Incidentally, most of the movie was filmed on location in New Zealand, similar to LOTR.

Personal Take
I have been a Narnia fan ever since I read the books when I was 13 years old. I was so fascinated by Lewis’ books that I went on to read his other fiction (Science Trilogy, Till We Have Faces, The Dark Tower, etc.). I have seen the BBC made-for-television movies and the animated version. This movie by Walden Media and Disney is easily the best movie version.
The movie is rated PG and while there are plenty of battle scenes, the emphasis is on action and not gore, hardly any blood at all. I watched the movie during an early preview screening in Houston held by Disney and Disney Radio. There were plenty of young children but I remember only one boy crying. He was approximately two or three years old and was probably tired. The movie is over 130 minutes long. Children who are familiar with the Narnia story will have no problem getting absorbed in the story. I wuld say that young boys would probably like the movie better than younger girls. This is because the movie is presented as action, with the Battle of Beruna as the climax of the movie. In the book, the emphasis is more on Aslan’s sacrifice at the Stone Table, but the movie gives equal weight to both the Stone Table and the the battle scenes.

The CG animation is excellent and many of the creatures from Narnian lore as well as additional ones from the director and scriptwriter’s imagination are done realistically. The CG-created Aslan delivers as both awe-inspiring (raaaaaarrrrr!!!) as well as approachable. The dialogue is very good, with touches of humor added in several instances.

Spoilers and Possible Disappointments for Narnia Purists
The theatrical license taken is acceptable in general. The following are notable changes in the movie that are different from the book:

Opening scene of the Blitzkrieg (bombing over London) which is implied but not described in the book.
When Lucy finds the wardrobe, it is covered by a large cloth.
The much-quoted description by C.S. Lewis of the children’s reactions at the first mention of Aslan’s name did not fare well in the movie. The camera panned over the children’s faces, but they could not emote through the film the same kind of thoughts that Lewis wrote about.
The conversation between the children and Mr. Beaver is cut short, omitting the part where Aslan is revealed to be a lion and the children worry if he was safe, and Mr. Beaver answering, “ ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
The three siblings followed Edmund and watches from a distance as he enters the White Witch’s castle.
An exciting chase through the woods and the river by Maugrim and the wolves.
Edmund and Mr. Tumnus meeting in the White Witch’s dungeon before the faun is turned to stone.
The army of Aslan is camped all throughout at the Fords of Beruna in the movie while in the book they were originally camped at the Stone Table but moved away later.
The meeting of the White Witch and the forest creatures is omitted from the movie. Instead, the fox plays a role in misleading the wolves during the chase.
In the movie, Aslan explains his resurrection as part of the Deep Magic which is written on the Stone Table but the White Witch failed to understand. In the book, Aslan explains that his resurrection is part of the Deeper Magic From Before the Dawn of Time that the White Witch did not know about.
The petrified Mr. Tumnus is in the courtyard along with the other statues and he is the first to be revived by Aslan. The book has Mr. Tumnus located upstairs in the castle and being revived later.
When Aslan leaves Narnia after the coronation, instead of Mr. Beaver explaining that Aslan’s “not a tame lion,” Mr. Tumnus relates this to Lucy.
Douglas Gresham, step-son of C.S. Lewis, who serves as a producer in the film, relates one dialogue that was changed: “… battles are ugly when women fight” changed to “… battles are ugly.” (I did not notice this in the movie when I watched it.) In the movie, the two Pevensie sisters do not join the battle, but many other Narnian womenfolk do.

For me, the major departure from the book is the film’s development of the main characters. When I read the book, it seemed to me that the main character is always Aslan and I got to know him through the initial mention of his name, his first meeting with the children, and so on. The children for me are the supporting cast. But in the movie, Aslan’s dialogue is minimal and the children are the ones presented with well-developed characterization. They changed and grow through their experiences in Narnia.
Peter feels burdened with his responsibility of being oldest and is anxious whether he could fulfill, first, his mother’s trust and then second, Aslan’s charge to him, grows in his confidence both as a warrior and a leader. Edmund is introduced in the story as a misfit among his siblings and makes the mistake of letting his greed take over his good sense. He later learns the tragic consequences of his mistake and becomes just as valiant as Peter and is pivotal in his selfless actions that turned the tide of the battle. Susan is pragmatic and cautious, who prefers the safety of the Professor’s house in the countryside than to assuming responsibility of fulfilling the prophecy. She learns from Lucy’s example to accept her role in Narnia.
Lucy is the girl whose face of wonder when she first steps into the magical world of Narnia is my favorite scene of the movie. (I read that they flew Georgie Henley to another location that was snowing. She was blindfolded and the cameras were rolling as the blindfold was taken off, capturing her surprise and wonder at the snowy wonderland.) She shows unprejudiced friendship with the faun and open trust of Aslan and the Narnians, and still later, the greatest empathy and love for Aslan.
Considerations to Take Into Account Before Viewing
C.S. Lewis was a professor of medieval literature and a lover of all sorts of mythology. The Chronicles of Narnia are replete with mythological creatures (i.e., dryads, naiads, fauns, centaurs, flying horse, unicorns, werewolves, giants, ogres, trolls, witches, dwarves, Father Christmas, etc). Some depiction of the White Witch’s army can be scary, but the camera doesn’t dwell on them.
While Christians may be eager to draw conclusions comparing Aslan to Jesus, we should remember that the the teaching aim is not to get children worshipping Aslan. Aslan is still a figment of the imagination, albeit a very Christlike imaginary redeemer-figure. Instead, the best explanation for your children is to acknowledge that Aslan and Narnia are fantasy and as such, imaginary. Focus the moral on Edmund’s sin and what was required to bring forgiveness.
Don’t try to draw analogies from every detail in the book to the Christian life. The Chronicles of Narnia are also not meant to be theological books. C.S. Lewis, while being an excellent Christian writer who is able to articulate well his beliefs in layman’s terms, did have some theological notions that not all evangelicals would agree with.
Ministry Application
One way of drawing positive teaching from the movie is to have children identify themselves with the four Pevensie children and how they grow or change. Peter is noble and a protector, but he dislikes Edmund and easily “gets cross” with him. Susan is overly cautious and is not willing to respect Peter’s leadership. She eventually learns to trust Aslan’s arrangement and the words of the prophecy. Edmund is selfish and greedy in the beginning but acquits himself in the end with his selfless act to save Peter from the White Witch. Lucy’s trust and love of Aslan is an example to children of trust in God.
While comparisons have been made to Edmund as the betrayer (“Judas”), he is probably more like the disciple Peter. Peter betrayed Jesus but was restored. Edmund also finds restoration. Another spiritual comparison is that Edmund is the prodigal son in Luke 15. Note the differences between Peter Pevensie and the prodigal’s brother.
There are many other ways that this movie could be used in children's ministry. The character of Aslan and his Christlike qualities can be explored to teach about Christ. I worry though about drawing the line from Aslan to Christ for young preschoolers. When my children first heard the story (through Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre audio CD version), my daughter Anne (then 8-years old) was the one who drew the comparison rather than my pointing it out to them.
For other ideas on using the movie in teaching children, see the Kidology Narnia discussion.

2005-10-20T14:40:00.001-06:00

Dreamer. Check out the Family Activities site.

Dreamer, A Family Movie. Hurrah!

2005-10-20T13:35:00.001-06:00

(Spoiler) Be warned. This post is a partial rant.

BTW, folks, there's a new movie coming out tomorrow that stars Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning, titled Dreamer from Dreamworks. It appears to be a pretty good family movie. I will have to check out the story and let you know.

I think Anne will like this film, especially because of the injured horse who gets a comeback. She likes horses and used to sketch them, although she's moved on to other interests by now. My friend Brent though has a daughter who has a long-term relationship with horses. She should enjoy this movie. Hey Brent, maybe you can stay after church to watch the movie on Sunday. (Pastor Brent's church meets at a movie theater).

For now, I'm just grateful for good movie alternatives on the big screen that you can take your family to. I'm normally a cheapskate with movies. I tend to wait for the DVD to come out if I can and just save my money. But really, if we don't go to the theaters to watch good family movies, and the movies don't make money, who's going to want to make wholesome movies. And admit it, a lot of people (Christians) paid good money to watch the Star Wars franchise, buy Star Wars toys and memorabilia, and give support to George Lucas and the Force.

Why can't we support the good family movies and in this way, encourage more good movies to be made? I hate to say it but the argument is usually true that while Christians bemoan the fact that most movies are antagonistic to their faith and that Hollywood doesn't cater to the Christian public, they don't back up their whining with their pocketbook (also checkbook, credit cards, and cash).

Enough of the rant and back to the movie. Check out the Dreamer website that includes activities for the family. You can choose the family faith activities or a small group discussion guide written by Fuller Theological Seminary's Reel Spirituality.

Also click here for an ecard and the music video based on the movie title sung by Bethany Dillon. You can send the ecard to your friends. Lyrics are copied here.

Love woke me up this morning
With a memory
Love came and whispered a story
That awakened a dream

Imagine a beautiful castle
And a beautiful king
He left the comfort of his throne
To fight for victory

(Chorus)
I am a dreamer
Take me higher
Open the sky up
Start a fire
I believe
Even if it's just a dream

Love woke me up this morning
And I ran to see
The king in the winners' circle
On the horse he won for me

(Chorus)

Only a king would do anything
To protect the kingdom
Only a king would do anything
To protect the kingdom
Only a king would do anything
To protect the kingdom

(Chorus)

CT article on the rise and fall of Big Idea

2005-10-20T13:27:00.001-06:00

Found this link at Phil Vischer's site to the Christianity Today article onBig Idea's bankrupty and sale. I like the fact that the article focused on the person rather than the company.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/005/4.44.html

2005-10-19T22:47:00.001-06:00

Remember Kevin of the Space Penguins? The only place you can find him nowadays is at bigideafun.

When Bob (the Tomato) Met Larry (the Cucumber)

2005-10-19T16:45:00.001-06:00

The meteoric rise and fall of Vischer and company.

I wonder how many people were aware of the true story behind Big Idea, the company that gave us Veggie Tales. This seems to be a good time to talk about this now that the latest addition, Lord of the Beans, is coming out next week.

The story relates how Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki started the first Veggie Tale video with their seemingly last pennies, plus the charity of Christians they knew. Then success knocked on the door, and for a while it seemed like nothing could stop the veggies from taking over the world (of children's entertainment). But success became its own trap as ambitions overcame common sense and good business practices. Soon Big Idea was faced with having to initiate corporate lay-offs, a devastating lawsuit, imminent bankruptcy and finally, the sale of Big Idea following the lawsuit defeat in Dallas. Since then, Big Idea has been bought by another media company and its leadership reorganized. With most employees laid off, a core group of its writers and artists led by Mike have moved to Tennessee from Chicago. Phil Vischer today remains a contributor to the videos though no longer officially employed, more like a sub-contractor.

Through it all, the production and sale of the videos has seemingly gone uninterrupted. I did wonder why 3-2-1 Penguins and and Larry-Boy ended their video series.

I have used Veggie Tales in our children's ministry without missing a beat since 1994 and was quite unaware of the big picture (or idea). I had actually read of the lawsuit and the business problems and possible lay-offs. But the success of the Jonah movie and continued subsequent release of other videos led me to make assumptions that everything was working out. After all, Big Idea wasn't just a company, it was a ministry too.

The reason I wanted to bring this up is that I had actually paid much attention to the rise and fall of another company during the same time, a company that exhibited a similar meteoric rise and fall. However, in retrospect I now realize that I don't have any real interest in Enron as I do with Big Idea. I don't own Enron stocks or understand much of its business trading power and how it cheated its books, etc. But I do understand Bob and Larry, 3-2-1 Penguins, and Larry-Boy. And so, I ask myself: How could I have missed it? Did I not see the signs? Is there anyone writing a book on this?

Needless to say, I am now in breathless anticipation of the book or movie, whichever comes first.

(While you're waiting for the book like me, you can read the 22-part "What Killed Big Idea?" behind-the-scenes story from Phil's POV on www.philvischer.com)

Web-surfing: Children Matters and other articles

2005-10-06T15:14:00.000-06:00

Browsing through the web this week I came across the Chinese Coordination Centre on World Evangelization (CCCOWE) website and took the time to browse through their online publication, Chinese Around the World.

I vaguely remember reading CATW regularly about twenty years ago while working as a part-time youth ministry staff/church librarian at United Evangelical Church of the Philippines. UECP was actively involved with CCCOWE as one of the associate pastors, Rev. Wesley Chang, served with CCCOWE in an official capacity.

This recent issue of CATW (Sept. 2005) had the theme "Children Matters" and that definitely caught my eye. It was refreshing to read how Chinese churches outside of North America were approaching children's ministry. There are a few articles of interest that represent significant progress in the thinking within the Chinese Christian community concerning the necessity and role of children's ministry in the church.

Children's Ministry and the Kingdom of Heaven by Anna Hui
Children's Ministry in Australia by Nancy Fung
Age Limit for the School of Mission by Lisa Chan
Children in Taiwan by Jennifer Su

Another article that caught my eye came from National Religious Broadcaster's NRB Magazine. Thom S. Rainer wrote an article titled "10 Predictions for the Church by 2010." Two trends are noteworthy to someone involved in children's ministry as myself. Trend #8: An increase in intentional evangelistic ministries focused on children and youth and Trend #10: The emergence of a children’s minister as the third full-time staff minister. Download a copy of the article at this link:

As Rainer said, undoubtedly these two trends are linked together as churches recognize the need and success of intentional ministries to the younger generation, they will want to find ministerial staff to lead those ministries.

Coming up soon, a list of blogs that I would recommend.

He Already There

2005-09-12T22:09:00.001-06:00

Nathan's Serious Searching. Nathan egg-hunting during Easter earlier this year. He's finally found the most precious thing after all.

Betty and I continue to praise God for His remarkable work in answering our prayers 3 out of 3 that our children, Anne, Elise Joy, and Nathan would accept Christ as Savior. Anne accepted Christ in 1998 when she was over three years old, then Elise Joy confessed belief in 2002 when she was 4 years old. Nathan is five years old and starting kindergarten and now, his time of salvation has come.

Last week, on September 7, Wednesday night, Nathanael made his decision to accept Christ as Savior. Mom was there to pray with him and answer his questions (Unfortunately for me, I had gone back to the office to work on preparing for Awana). But Betty relates what happened:

Nathan asked her about going to heaven and seeing Jesus. Mom answered that he would not be able to go to heaven. This was because he was a sinner. Nathan said: "I know the classroom rules, but I can't do it." Nathan started kindergarten last month and had been bringing home a rather colorful behavior report folder. It seems all the colors that could be there were present, whereas his two older sisters had brought home "boring" folders. To motivate Nathan, we had promised a reward if he could get five "greens" in a row.

He turned to Mom and said, "I know I'm a sinner. I want to believe in Jesus." Nathan had heard the gospel before. In fact, his older sister Anne had told him how to pray a year ago, and he followed her prayer. But when we inquired whether he had prayed, he said he didn't. Apparently it was only to comply with his big sister. However, this time, he was ready to pray for himself.

Resisting the Dark Side. Nathan, Anne and friend Priscilla fights back against Darth Vader at Legoland (San Diego, CA). Nathan and I refers to getting a "red" in his kindergarten folder as getting a Darth Vader. The goal is to come home with a "Luke Skywalker."

After he prayed to confess his sin and believe in what Jesus had done, Mom explained to him what the Bible said about assurance. She asked him if someone were to invite him to believe in Jesus again, would he do it? He answered matter-of-factly, "No." Then he added, "He already there."

Amen.

Family Ministry

2005-09-12T19:16:00.001-06:00

Returning to Our Roots. Helping out at the NTCC camp was a deja-vu kind of experience, bringing back memories of serving the kids of the same church seven years ago. But most of the kids I taught back then are now in college and have moved on.

Labor Day weekend was historic for our family. We went up to Princeton, TX to help with the children's program of North Texas Chinese Church retreat. This was not the first time my wife and I had helped with this church. We did it before in 1997 and 1998. Only this time we were setting out to do this as a family—with Anne, Elise Joy and Nathan as our co-workers in the ministry.

Anne was assigned to help Mom with the preschoolers (2-5 year olds) while Joy would assist me with the elementary kids. Mom was using Lil' K curriculum, while I used Kidmo (www.kidmo.com) in our main teaching sessions. We had 10 sessions to work with the kids, from Saturday morning till Monday morning. Five would be teaching sessions, and the other five would be activity sessions with sport stacking (formerly called cup stacking).

Anne and Elise were extremely excited that we considered them mature enough to be helpers, and they made sure that they were helpful. Although, later on, Joy abandoned me to help with the preschool class. Their class had a lot more fun, it seems.

Great Helper. Elise Joy helps two-year old Christina learn the basics of stacking.

I had asked Nathan to help with the lightswitch but wasn't quite sure what else he could do. He found his niche though, in helping the younger preschoolers go to the bathroom, making sure they had a chair to climb to wash their hands, and in taking care of those who were younger. He showed real compassion by looking out for the younger kids.

NTCC Kids Building a Tower. The biggest hit of the weekend was the sport stacking, as the youth and children spent their free time stacking and building and stacking and building ...

Betty and I were quite impressed with the NTCC youth and children. The preschoolers were very much interested in the lessons and did not present any discipline problems. Isaac seemed reluctant to sit still at first, but when Betty told him clearly that he had to listen to instructions, he fit right in. The older children and youth were respectful and followed instructions as well.

The elementary kids really enjoyed Kwizmo and Memory Max: The Competition (some more than others) and look forward each time to the sport stacking sessions. They divided into two teams and competed to see who could build the fastest pyramid or cocoon. The team who cooperated together came out first both times. But then came the big competition—Stalagmites. Each team was required to build a minimum of 19 towers with the cups they were given. Then they were to stand in a line to protect their towers. The teams took turns throwing a large ball trying to eliminate the other team members and knocking down the towers. You had to catch the ball cleanly or you're out if the ball hits you.

We also used Toybox Tales (www.toyboxtales.com) as an intro to the lessons, which the kids enjoyed a lot. It was fun seeing Kermit, Ms. Piggy, the Kingpin, and the Terminator taking a departure from their normal roles to act out lessons from God's Word.

The weekend seemed to end pretty quickly for something so busy. Not long after it all began, we were driving back the six-hour trip to Houston.

Awana Is Back

2005-09-10T07:20:00.002-06:00

Awana 2005-2006 began last night at Fort Bend Community Church. I don't have a photo of this year's group of kids yet, but here's a photo from last year's Truth & Training Club.

How to Raise a Superman

2005-07-24T23:32:00.001-06:00

I preached today in the Encounter (English) service on the topic "How to Raise a Superman: Lessons from Jonathan & Martha Kent" This is a summary of that message. The mp3 file can be heard on the www.fbcchome.org website.

He was an alien living among ordinary men and wome. Born on a faraway planet that revolved around a red dwarf star, he was the only survivor of a great though doomed advanced civilization. Sent to earth as a baby infant, his kryptonian physiology allowed his cells to absorb the yellow rays of our sun, transforming him into a living solar battery. The power that was stored within him would eventually manifest itself in superhuman abilities of speed, strength, flight, x-ray vision, heat vision, and a host of other abilities. But in all the mythology surrounding Superman, the accounts that I find most interesting are the ones concerning his earthly parents. The reason I find Jonathan and Martha Kent, also known as Pa and Ma Kent, fascinating are because they are the single most important influences in the story.

There have been a plethora of differing versions of Superman's story through the years—different incarnations or origins as presented in novels, comics, television, and movies. It seems that each new writer who takes over the mantle of writing Superman stories feels the urge to rewrite the story according to a fresh perspective. In one of the recent revisits to Superman's origins, the writers of Superman revealed that Jor-El, Superman's genetic father, when he sent him to earth, intended other designs for the baby's fate. Jor-El already knew that baby Kal-El because of the yellow sun and earth's lesser gravity would gain superhuman powers that would make him all-powerful and nearly invincible. His hope, or rather his plan, was for Kal-El to take over the earth by force and become its ruler. But we all know what happened: Instead of ruling the earth, Superman decided to be known as Clark Kent instead; he adopted the values and teachings of his earthly parents as his own, and chose to use his powers to fight the battle for truth, justice, and liberty. HE HAD TWO BENTS IN HIM—A GOOD ONE AND AN EVIL ONE. AND HE CHOSE TO FOLLOW THE GOOD.

What does this have to do with the Bible or with us as Christians? Like the fictional superman, Scripture teaches us that all children are born with natural bents—both good and bad—and God has entrusted a special role to us parents in guiding our children. Everyone wants the best for their children, and in order to see how you can raise your children to be the Super individual God wants them to be, we must go to the Scriptures. In this message, we shall visit two of the Wisdom books—Psalms and Proverbs.

Psalm 127:3-4
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. As arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. (The Amplified Bible)

The Kents found the baby and acknowledge that Clark was a gift. As parents, the first step in parenting is to acknowledge our children as gifs from God. No child is an accidental birth in God's eyes. They are gifts from the Giver, intended for a purpose (the arrow analogy, but more on that later). Acknowledge and thank God for the gift of your child. Your child is given to you for a purpose, to aim true and release later.

Psalm 139:13-14
For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother's womb. I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. (The Amplified Bible)

Pa and Ma Kent understood the baby had a destiny, a noble purpose, and they took the time to instill ideals and values reflecting that purpose.

Each baby from conception is formed by God. Emmanuel (the Lord is with us), every step in the growth and development of the embryonic process. He formed our cells, muscles, tissues, facial features, and yes, even the occasional deformities and imperfections. Not only is He involved in the process of conception and birth, but verse 16 of Psalm 139 declares that He is involved in each and every day of our life after birth. Just as God so diligently and wonderfully fashions us, He also diligently and wonderfully plans a purpose for us. (Romans 8:29 adds to this by saying that He purposed His intention for us even before conception, before the creation of the world.)

While most parents would be willing to dedicate their child for God's blessing, few seem to grasp that this involves surrendering the child to God's plan and purpose. Parents sometimes wish they could live vicariously through their offspring, see their children accomplish dreams of mom and dad. This would be a mistake though for we would be playing God.

Durng the previous two weeks, I made a dog puppet, Fluffy. The puppet was birthed from my own design and pattern. I sewed it together, and when I presented the puppet to the children at church, I had in mind a list of do's and don'ts, and rules regarding the use of the puppet. I had a plan and purpose for the puppet I had created. And for Fluffy to fulfill his true purpose, Fluffy has to submit to my plan. If Fluffy rebels against me, I withdraw my hand, and he loses his life and meaning.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (The Amplified Bible)

Adapt the training of your child so that it is in keeping with your child's individual gift or bent, the God-given characteristics given to your child at birth, and when maturity comes, he will not leave the training he or she receives.

According to Charles Swindoll, parents often commit two common mistakes in parenting. One is to raise a child in the same way they were raised. This kind of parenting is what I call "default parenting." You do what comes naturally (what you yourself went through) when you don't plan and purpose before God your parenting scheme. The second mistake is to raise different children in exactly the same way. Children are different, even siblings. The parent's task is to discover the child's unique design—gifts, strengths, weaknesses, temperament, intelligence, etc.—and from there infer the best way to mold the child's unique design in line with God's purpose.

Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity ; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful.] (The Amplified Bible)
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. (New Living Translation)

Then, of course, the EVIL BENT also exists. The sinful nature, passed on from Adam to every human child, also known as the "want-to" to sin, the "want-to" to choose our own way. The only cure for a defective heart is a new one—only available in Christ. There is no other way to solve the EVIL BENT but God's solution through the death of Christ on the cross for our sins.

In summary, the Scriptures teaches us the following basics on parenting and our children:

Children are God's gift—Thank Him for them
Children have God's divine purpose—Submit to Him
Children have God-given bents—Discover and cooperate with their individual bents
Children have sinful bent—Lead them to Christ

John Schneider, the actor who plays Jonathan Kent on the TV series Smallville, had this to say about his purpose in portraying Pa Kent: he wants people to“think about what's happening in their own house. Think about what's happening in their own neighborhood, their own family. If I can make somebody think, then that's 90% of the work.”
My heart's desire is that parents will take time to think and plan their parenting, submitting to God's plan and purpose, get to know how God has wired their kids, and in this way, bring up a child, who can glorify God in the way God planned it out in His book.

Rocky Mountain Travel

2005-07-05T11:01:00.001-06:00

Last week our family took our annual road trip/ vacation. This time we covered approximately 2658 miles through four states, two nights camping in one national park, stops in three cities (Denver & Colorado Springs in CO, and Arlington, TX), one Children's Museum (Denver), three waterfalls, 6 audio CD's of Star Trek Nemesis (this one is for me), and 42 episodes of Adventures in Odyssey.

Anne and Joy says the most memorable part of the trip was our return home. We drove from Colorado Springs toward Kansas, and on the way thru Dorothy's home state, "a tornado was chasing us." Frank had been driving for a while and was planning for Betty to take over, but every time we stopped for gas and a pit stop to change drivers, the storm caught up with us, and so Frank continued driving. He didn't want Betty to drive in a storm. Only when we were finally headed south on I-35 did Betty take over.

The truth is, we had strong winds and lots of rain chasing us but the twister was reportedly at least a hundred miles south of us, near Stafford, Kansas. I remember Stafford because Joy, at a pit stop in a McDonald's in Kansas, pointed out that we must be close to Sugar Land, TX, because she saw Stafford on the map.

Another highlight of the Colorado Springs visit was going to Whits End at Focus on the Family. Joy and Anne got to record an episode of Adventures in Odyssey. We have the CD, now if only we can figure out how to put an mp3 file on a blog. Betty commented that "the girls had great radio voices." Frank literally bumped into Mr. Whitaker in the hallway, and our family had a picture taken with Eugene. Though this is our second trip to Focus on the Family in three years, we do want to go back again. They're building a Chronicles of Narnia exhibit room.

Frank learned on this trip that sometimes the best deals are found in the simplest places. While searching for a hotel to stay, he discovered that the travel coupon books you pick up in the fastfood restaurants along the highway actually had the best discount for our stay at the Fairfield Inn in Colorado Springs.

2005-06-17T17:20:00.001-06:00

This world needs a hero ... Sure wish Larryboy was here.

2005-06-17T17:13:00.001-06:00

This is for the kids at Fort Bend: indisputable proof that Mr. Frank is not Bibleman.

Kidmunity Blog Goes Online

2005-06-09T20:10:00.000-06:00

Kidmunity.blogspot.com

Is this an idea whose time has come, or am I just running too fast in front again?

I'm not sure whether the church is ready for this, but I am. I just hope bringing the team of CM volunteers online will be revolutionary in that it will facilitate our planning, discussion and evaluation.

We'll have to see.

Milestones ... Transitions

2005-06-09T01:39:00.001-06:00

Today I watched my son (Nathanael, 5 years old) get on the school bus to attend summer school. This was a new milestone for him--the first time to ride the bus to school. As I watched him stepped up, he was very decisive and intentional in his actions. He turned back toward me as he passed the driver (I had called to him, reminding him to find a seat and sit down properly before the bus started). Nathan shouted back, "I already know that." I felt like I had lost a little boy and gained a young man.

Wow! He's growing up fast, and accomplishing milestones left and right. I seemed to have missed the clues about his impending jump out of early childhood. I reminded myself to pay more attention and be there with Nathan as he moves into new frontiers in his young life.

I started wondering then about transitions in CM. In CM, we see each year a new generation of kids move out of CM and into the youth. I often wondered about what my role was now in their lives, if any. Being here at the church for four years, the first group of kids that transitioned out are now going to be sophomores in high school. To them and those that followed each succeeding year, who I am? Am I the guy who just works with the little kids? Just a part of a childhood memory. THE PAST.

If that were true, I would be very much disappointed. But the truth is, the majority of the youth do not connect relationally with me after the elementary-youth transition. The umbilical cord's cut and Adios to the old life. I see kids I once worked with and take the initiative to say hello--usually I say "Hello, NAME" and have to wait for a response. Otherwise we just pass each other in the hallway.

Should we in CM seek to be be more present in the children's transitions of life? Go beyond a role that transcends just saying "goodbye and hope you make it." Do the children that move on know what the transition is all about?

2005-06-04T22:33:00.000-06:00

It's time to reach for new highs. Photo taken at Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land, Texas.

First-time blogger

2005-06-04T21:14:00.000-06:00

I'm not really sure what to say at this point. (This feels really strange--kinda like talking to myself). But as we were teaching the kids in the preschool this weekend, I CAN BE BRAVE (from the Lil' K series produced by www.kidmo.com). My son, Nathanael, was saying the verse to me with the actions: "Be strong and brave, for the Lord your God is with you" Joshua 1:9. I need to start listening to what God is teaching me through my children :)

TTFN. Or as the T-Man would say, I'll Be Back.