WARNING:  This article is not for grammar-correcting prone type of people

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs!

Cdnoul’t blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid does not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azamanig huh? Yeah and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!!! See if yrou fdreins can raed tihs too.

OK let’s take a break so the mind doesn’t have to process so much. As I wrote this, the spell checker is going crazy.  It’s quite interesting that our mind can do that, and I am really curious whether it would work for other languages like French, Spanish, German as well…

My kids won’t know about this until they are done with grade school, by the way.

"Sleep tight. Everything is under control. Love" - God

Worrying, that’s something I’m pretty good at. Just to name a few, family, health, rent, mortgage, foods are things I constantly worry about. It’s like a non-paid part time job that I keep volunteering in doing, and I need constant reminders that I need to stop exerting my strength for meaningless work. Instead just relax. It sounds all so simple but very hard to do.

We are human after all, and it is our nature to worry, to be anxious just about anything. God knows that, for He created us,  and He  reminds us to stop worry. Worry does not add any single hour to our lives, in fact it’s the opposite. So relax, we already are in good hands, just rest leave the rest to God. He knows what we need, and it shall be given in due time.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:25-26)

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34)

So, live and enjoy our day. Sleep tight. Everything is under God’s control. Listen or sing along to this melody “Live for Today” by Natalie Grant

Live For Today (Natalie Grant)

Sittin’ in my room staring at the wall
Wonderin’ about the meaning of it all
Why is it this thing called life
Has got me goin’ crazy
So I open up your word and let it speak to me
The purpose and the plan that you’ve designed
Is clear to see, and I believe

Chorus:
I’m gonna live for today
I’m gonna follow in your way
I’m gonna let my little light shine
Like there’s no tomorrow
I won’t worry about the past
I know my future is intact
So I’ll choose to live my life one way
I’m gonna live it for today

You told me not to worry
About what lies ahead
So I am gonna focus on today instead
Making every moment count and counting
Every single blessing
I’m gonna set my mind on the
Here and the Now
This is what I want my life to be about
And this is How… (repeat chorus)

Taken from the devotion yesterday:

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

In a universe so vast, what is our little planet? In a planet so diverse and so full of life, what are simple everyday people? Among all the billions of people alive and who have lived before us, what significance do I have? Jesus reminds us that our significance is great — not because we are so important, but because we are known personally by God. We don’t have to be afraid; we are known and loved by the One who is and was and is to come!

Daddy and Benji

I think being parents and watching the kids grow each day is truly a special gift from God. It certainly brings me a clearer perspective on my relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Our little Benjamin is now quite talkative using his limited bilingual vocabulary pools. It is quite funny yet adorable hearing him talk, trying to explain something with only words that he knows. Most of the time, you probably already understood what he is trying to say before he finishes his sentence as he takes his time choosing the words, while the other times you will be guessing what he tries to say as he mixes in English and Vietnamese words altogether.  I can’t keep from laughing every time he finishes his stories. At first, he thought I probably made fun of him, so he blushed and shy away. But then, now he takes it as I am cheering him on. Ha ha ha. I love it!! I absolutely love to hear him telling stories of his day.

It must be the parent instinct or something very cool like superhero power in us that we parents typically already know what our kids try to say before they even say it.  Our ‘parent-sense’ probably tingling all over as we can sense when our children are happy, sad, excited, hungry, in pain, or something bothers them.  Even though we can read their mind most of the time, we still wish our kids would talk to us about what’s going on in their lives. We would give them foods, clothes, toys, things that they like anyways, but we would like to hear they request them first.

Isn’t that strange that this is exactly how things are between us and God, that He always knows what is in our hearts before we even lift up our prayer to Him? Well,  it shouldn’t be a surprise since we are created to His image, His likeness. We are His children, and God loves to hear from us, our stories, our needs, what going on in our lives, what bothering us. Not that God doesn’t know since He is the omniscient One (simple word, He is Mr. Know-it-all), but He longs for that interaction, conversation, relationship that connect we and Him.

“Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord” (Psalm 139:4)

“for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8)

When Benjamin talks now, he often struggles finding words to express his thoughts. That’s when I come in to help him, either complete his thought by saying it for him, or help him saying it right. Again, we learn to do that from the Master. God knows our hearts and He is praying for our weakness.  He even has given the Holy Spirit in us to intercede for us when we cannot find words to express ourselves.

“Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you,  that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31)

“the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)

The love in our earthly relationship between parents and children is simply just the small scale manifestation of the “truly, madly, deeply” God’s love for us. Our mind just simply cannot fully grasp how strong, how far, how high, how deep God’s love is for us. Then God gives us that gift of being parents so we can have a glimpse, a taste, a somewhat comprehension of His love through the love for our children.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ” (Matthew 7:9-10)

God knows what in your mind, and your heart. Yet have you talked to Him lately?

You are not alone – for God is with you.
You are not defenseless – for God is your protector.
You are not inadequate – for God is your sufficiency.
You are not useless – for God has a purpose for your life.
You are not worthless – for God sent His Son to die for you.
You are not without hope – for God has a place prepares for you.
You are not unloved – for God loves you with an everlasting love.
You are not rejected, or abandoned – for God calls you His own.

“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” – Hebrews 13:5-6 NLT

Devotional by Roy Lessin

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There is a joke saying a woman marries a man thinking she will change him, but she can’t. A man marries a woman thinking she will not change, but she does.

My thought: It’s not really a joke; it’s the truth. We need to expect, acknowledge, and accept that there will be differences and changes in marriage. The sooner we recognize those changes and differences, the better marriage relationship we would have.

Actually, this is not so much a random thought. It was triggerd by Dr. Gary Chapman’s question of the day: “Looking back, what wasn’t discussed at pre-marital counseling that you wish you would have known before you got married?”

Dr. Gary Chapman is the author of the famous The 5 Love Languages book. I highly recommend this book, and sign up for his very insightful weekly newsletter. More information at The 5 Love Languages website

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I just love road trips. There is just something fun about driving, discovering places, trying new foods, being outdoor, being spontaneous. For Thao, she just doesn’t like the part sitting in the car for too long. I don’t think the kids like sitting in one place either, not to mention the dreadful repetitive question: are we there yet?

With recent little short road trip to Denver with the kids, another issue arise: bathroom break. Benjamin was quite fussy and kept requesting bathroom break like every fifteen minutes. When he was younger, he just slept the entire trip in his car seat, which was a whole lot easier. He’s not wearing diaper anymore, but for little road trip like this, we put him in diaper just in case but he refuses to go in the diaper.

The we have the little guru in back seat giving us tip: “Mommy, usually he wet his pants when you don’t tell him. If you tell him pee in his diaper, he won’t. You should tell him: don’t pee in the diaper, then he will!” Then, she turns to her brother: “Don’t wet your diaper, ok?” I couldn’t help but laughing out loud during that little therapy session. She already uses reverse psychology at her age.

This gets me thinking of the huge “road trip” the Israel took from Egypt to Canaan, the promised land. Now, that is some road trip, 40 years long, crossing many desserts – not so much of a scenic drive. There was a shorter route but of course due to their constant complaining, God made them took the long route, wandering in the dessert.

Forty years, can you imagine that? There were lots of them, like sand on the seashore, like stars in the skies, with donkey, camel, pets, cattles, belongings, kids. That is one heck of a trip. I don’t know how Moses did it, leading millions of people, knowing when to start moving, when to stop, what to do for foods. Then, I got to curious how the bathroom breaks were handle. That trip was a miracle in itself.

Road Trip

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Lately, I notice how Grace and Benjamin play and interact, and their differences in solving problem just amaze me.

When we give Ben a toy still in its package, he immediately goes for the “main content”, yanking it off the box, then try to press on everything that might be a button, or flip it up side down to locate a switch. If nothing happens he gives it couple bangings against the floor. If still nothing, he concludes: “het pin roi!” (translation: it’s out of battery!) and will try to find a screw driver to open it up.

As for Grace, she goes for …the manual booklet first. Ha ha ha. She carefully pulls out the piece of paper from the box, spreads it across the table, and starts reading the instruction and follows the steps. When she got stuck, then she goes to daddy.

(On a side note, I’m so proud of her on the reading part. She’ll read just about anything she sets her eyes on, whether it’s her Bible, her books, Mommy’s book, back of a cereal box, or.. a toy’s manual booklet!)

The other day I bought them Happy Meals at McDonalds (bad parent, I know! Lol. This is not a frequent thing so it’s OK .. ha ha I hope), so they both got the toys that come with. Benjamin already gave me the Iron Man toy so I could turn it on for him while he’s eating the fries. I was driving away from the parking lot, finding the switch on the back of the toy and flipping it on, Grace shouted from the back seat: “No Daddy! That’s not correct. You have to pull the tape off on the chest first. That’s step one!” I looked in the mirror and saw Grace already had the instruction sat squarely on her legs with the toy already blinking light on her hand.

Isn’t that something?! We are blessed that God gave us 2 beautiful children with very unique in personalities and characteristics, which make our parenthood quite flavorful and completed.

Today I learned:

Playing Tetris (remember that addictive blocks falling game that we used to still play all the time?) can really develop amazing skill in fitting many tupper ware containers into a lunch box.

Actually what I really learned is appreciation for what my wife prepares for me each day.

Fitting these containers into lunch box requires skills

Today I learned (actually last Friday, but didn’t got time to post until now):

There’s another part of the song “I Worship You Almighty God” (Sondra Corbett) and it’s beautiful.

I WORSHIP YOU ALMIGHTY GOD

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Today I learned:

Have Faith

Faith and Hope is when my boss brought his broken work laptop to the shop for repair and came back happy and said: “I knew something good will come from this set back!”  He explained that coincidentally, the repairman is someone he had came across and worked with in the past, and now this guy owns the computer repair shop. On one of the projects we work with, we were thinking it would be great if someone with good technical skill, not working full-time but be flexible to take care some of the tasks when needed. My boss thinks we found a pretty good candidate!  That is “something good” despite the broken laptop, don’t you think?

You know, we say things happen for a reason all the time, but many times we tend to focus on problems and issues rather seeing the big picturen or sit back and look at them with different perspective. God is great, I tell you. Nothing comes at us that He doesn’t know. Neither does He forget or ignore  when we are in need.

“All we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Suddenly, I remember my bookmark (or of someone else, LOL): When life gets tough, toughen the faith!

By the way, this is a new category for my blog. Looking forward to post more under this category, I hope. We learn new things everyday, ain’t we?!  ;)

Normally, I don’t dread the  Monday workday, but today I feel its effect.  My Monday’s blue: my Samsung LCD monitor is dead.  It was a nice monitor  but too bad that it didn’t last too long,  granted it has been in service for four years or more.  I don’t know what is the lifespan of a LCD monitor, but 4 years of service is a short amount of time.

Anyway, my boss has ordered a new LCD monitor to replace the dead one. Pretty awesome and generous boss, I’d say.  Meanwhile, I carried and setup my desk with the old, clunky, off white, back-breaker 40lbs  (actually I don’t know the exact weight but it seems to weight that much) 21-inch monitor that I ditched years ago. It uses the analog VGA that I have to find the DVI-VGA adapter for. I have to mess with the refresh rate, sizing, spanning options just to get the screen looks right. Oh yeah, degauss screen too, remember that? Then, I have to adjust the window blind to get rid of the annoying glare reflected on the glass of the monitor. Oh, how I miss my LCD monitor!

There are many things I use and interact with daily without realizing their importance, until they are gone or taken away. Then there are things I simply just can’t live without. It’s funny (or scary) seeing how technology slowly integrates, spoils and soon takes over my life through time. When I was:

4 years old –  These weird sticks have color coming out from them. I can decorate walls with these. Crayons rules!

5 years old- No more sharpening with mechanical pencil. Oh, and markers, how I love to smell them.

9 years old – First digital hand watch with light. Ask me the time . I can’t believe how I live without knowing the time at all time before.

10 years old – First black and white TV. How did I went to bed at 7pm before is beyond me.

12 years old – Calculator. Oh elementary Math would have been so easy. Why did they not telling me about this gadget before?

14 years old – Uncle let me play on his computer with a monochrome screen. Somehow this black screen with a blinking cursor just looked so  attractive.  Spent hours on it trying to beat the Price of Persia levels.

17 years old – First computer family bought. Came with Windows 95 and 16MB of memory. I got email now. Don’t call me, send me email. How come I have waited hours and no one send me an email yet?

18  years old – Created first personal HTML website on Geocities (now defunct.) Oh yeah, I’m on the Internet now. I’m plugged in to the matrix.  Computer is my buddy now.

23 years old – Married to my wife. How did I survive being single before? (Oh, I know this is not a tech “item”, but it certainly fit the “can’t live without” category so it belongs. hahaha)

Well, then comes high speed Internet, pda, cell phone  with data plan and text messages, Adobe Photoshop…  the list goes on so let me stop here. Several items have become must-have items and life is a struggle without them.  See the trend here?

Technology changes our lives, in good way and bad way.  Being attached or relied too much on technology is not all beneficial. I gotta find that balance so that I am not living under a rock, but not being a moth attracted to the technology flame either.

Oh wow, that was long. There’s another long rant of Monday’s blue for you. Well, here’s your reward for reading this far: an epic fail in technology usage (see picture)

An epic fail in technology usage.