just saw a great movie,

just saw a great movie, 13 Conversations about 1 Thing.. I love dialogue! I think it was a real portrayal of a slice of life, and so it feels true of what life is like not just in the city, but everywhere too.. for some it’s hard, for some it’s easy, for some it’s random, for some it’s routine. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Don’t get stuck with law and order, go for mercy, grace, and freedom. Oh, and don’t be a Smiley Bowman – life is more than blind optimism.

Received my new Jabra EarBoom Winder today, as I do like using my cell phone, and have had difficulty finding one that fit well and one that the person I’m talking to could hear me on.. I liked the Jabra Earboom, but the wire got tangled all the time, and then the mike broke.. so while surfing the other day, found this new model with a built-in winder to keep the wire from detangling, and this web site has it for just under $30 including shipping. Delivered promptly, and using it now, very happy.

had a toothache this afternoon,

had a toothache this afternoon, after getting something lodged in between my left upper molars, only from eating pho.. wouldn’t think of that as being so bothersome, but this one sure was.. flossed several times, and was distracted for hours.. somehow a toothache draws so much attention that you just can’t concentrate any more.. of course this pain wasn’t as bad as a few months ago that resulted in a root canal, and it has subsided.. and in the mean time, I’ll be chewing on the right side of my mouth thankyouverymuch

recent thought on leadership, as

recent thought on leadership, as I was wondering about the lack of leaders, and all the buzz about the lack of leaders, and need for leadership development, across the board everywhere, and most glaringly among Asian Americans as well.. now leadership has many dimensions and ingredients, but here are some key leadership hinderances I thought of (without which one cannot lead): decision-making; initiative; vision; communicating.. these are ingredients that make it possible for the leader to work with the organization and people that s/he serves. There are other ingredients that go into a good leader, such as character and many other things, but those ingredients alone do not make a leader is the thing…

this weekend is Houston Texas..

this weekend is Houston Texas.. arrived this evening, and had good conversation with an ol’ seminary friend, who has been pastoring about 9 years now in West Houston.. each ministry leader has an unique calling, and the finesse that many don’t seem to have, is to respect each other and allow others to flourish in their personal calling.. why is that? well, there’s the jealousy and competition thing that gets in the way, and lots of other junk that I have a hard time imagining b/c I’m not into that stuff.. I believe too much in people and relationships, that I love to know people deeply and to see them flourish, that’s what the kingdom of God is about.. but reality for too many is competition on the one hand, or superiority on the other, one ministry style or model being presented as better or more “biblical” than another.. the challenge here is this: for niche ministry (monoethnic or the like) to advocate a broadband kingdom mindset, AND for a broadband ministry to allow a niche ministry to go after their specific subcultures..

are people passionate

Do you think people are living life to live life, or do you think most people have a dream that they’re passionate pursuing? Fill in this short online survey on passion that a friend and I put together, and fill it in, so we can settle our curiosity and conundrum. [When I say most, I mean a simple majority (more than 50%), not 90% plus.] We’re running this little contest through the summer and drumming up as many people to this survey so we can get a sense of what makes people tick.

I’m of the opinion that most people are not passionate, and are hard pressed when having to decide what to do with their work and career and stuff like that. Resulting from that, there’s a high job dissatisfaction and also many who are not using their gifts and talents in the right places. And add to that people who are working in careers for monetary gain rather than for doing work that is worth doing because they were created to do that work. Lots of motivational speakers and job seeking handbooks talk about discovering your passion and defining a job to fit that passion. But this would add incredible frustration to the average person, if the average person doesn’t have such a passion. My own story is a wrestling with this concept, and it’s still a struggle for me; I’m a passionate person, as you can see my various interests on my web site, but I have a difficult time defining it and constraining it down to one job description and fitting myself into a career and vocation. So to optimize my satifaction from work, I’m working 2 jobs, each of which covers areas of interest. I have other interests too, but have to delegate those to the arena of hobbies, or something like that.