Spiritual Formation

Distracted. This is the new normal. Checking your phone is now a reflex, a default. But technology is not just a shiny new tool, it’s like a prescription drug that we’ve become addicted to.

As a little girl, I had a negative perspective of the word ‘different.’ Why? Because throughout elementary and middle school I was teased and made fun of because I was different. So over time, I changed how different I was, to blend in.

There is such a thing as healthy, mature disagreement. I know there is. I have seen it a few times in my life and it is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, it is not that common. I have seen the opposite—the passive aggressiveness, the gossiping, the judgmental assumptions, the divisive

Each summer we partner with the Bosnian IFES movement (EUS) and send a team to Bosnia—to teach English to Bosnian college students and to share our lives and faith.

When I was in high school I went to Taiwan on a mission trip. My home church in Fremont, CA had been planted years ago by Taiwanese immigrants and now, we were helping plant a small church in Taiwan.

This is how you know that Eugene Peterson—pastor, professor, and bestselling author of the Bible paraphrase The Message— is stone-cold cool.

It's summertime. The weather is beautiful. Your high school and childhood friends are home from their respective schools. You hang out with your favorite brother or sister. You have that summer job. And most of all, you have no school work.

In 7^thgrade, I was obsessed with Civil War history. During lunch I would sneak off to the library and read cheesy historical fiction about one of the bloodiest conflicts in American history. Some kids knew a lot about getting girlfriends; I knew a lot about Gettysburg.

I love sports, especially basketball and tennis. Recently, Wimbledon and the NBA draft has whet my appetite for these sports and inspired me to pick up a ball again. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm as a spectator did not translate to skills on the court.

I’m a pretty nerdy guy. I collected comic books in grade school. At age 13, I could answer any piece of Star Wars trivia you could come up with. Today, if you press me hard enough, I can name Star Trek episodes by their number. Yep… welcome to my world.