Tabla like any other Indian traditional art (or I could traditional art period) has always been taught in the traditional guru-shishya parampara. According to Wiki -

Unloading potatoes, Lamur, Belgium, 2009.

To me, Eric Zander epitomizes the 21st century missionary; hands-on, innovative, always thinking outside the box, and involved. The above image is my choice for an appropriate Thanksgiving image for these times. It almost seems insensitive to show images of the Thanksgiving table overflowing with abundance in a sort of Rockwellian manifestation, one more appropriate for another century, not our present day when so many families feel their financial foundations cracking under the pressure.

Eric’s family has felt the financial pressure of these times like others as his support contracts with the economy. He faces the added burden as support from American churches declines not only in giving, but in the falling value of the dollar to the Euro. Yet, his ministry grows in giving. He gives weekly back to his community as he works at thrift store as a driver picking up donations to this community support center. In the photo above he isn’t picking up food for a once yearly event, but rather this is his weekly task of picking up food for the center that will help feed those in need.

His involvement in his local community reflects an understanding of his responsibility to go out into the world and be the light of Christ, not to set up a program or an event, but to go out and bring Christ to the people. The community center is not a Christian endeavor set up by a local church, but a civic program. To this secular program he brings Christ in a real and effective way. This is an economy of mission.

To us it is a challenge, go out and take Christ to our communities. Not in a safe and sanitized church program, but into the world around us, that messy, unsafe, risky world that God can use in amazing, glorifying, and redemptive ways. Proclaim your mission.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to thank some of the men who have made a difference in my life.

Edward Duenes – You have loved me with great generosity since before I was born. You have exemplified for me what it means to be a man of integrity, responsibility, leadership, courage, perseverance, excellence and caring. The trips to various U.S. and world destinations with you gave me great joy and rounding as a young man. You have loved mom in marriage for 45 years, which is almost Herculean in today’s divorce culture. Your life brought security, stability and contentment to my own, and in many ways still does. Thanks for all the times you played catch with me, went bodysurfing with me, took me to Olvera St. to get tacquitos, made sure I did my schoolwork, let me drive your Mustang, paid for my music lessons and countless other things which would take an encyclopedia to name. Thanks for being my dad.

Palmer Aaen (Deceased) – Grandpa, if you were here, I’d thank you for all the foot rubs, the prayers, the gentle strength, the mints, and the laughs you provided with your “unique” driving skills. I couldn’t have had a better grandpa.

Duke Dillard – God brought you into my life during a dark and painful time, when I was in the proverbial wilderness, and you sought me out and befriended me. You invited me into your life and your family’s life as you would a beloved brother. Thanks for always opening your heart to me. Thank you for being the kind of friend with whom I can share anything. You let me join your small group, introduced me to Dallas Willard, and more importantly, introduced me to my wife in circumstances when almost no other men would have attempted. That alone is worth more than I can say. Thank you for being a man of substance, for always wanting to draw me back to Christ, for being honest about your own struggles, for sharing your marital wisdom with me, for finding ways to be intentional with me and for your generosity of spirit. If a man could have a better friend than you, he would likely live in another world.

Alex Van Riesen – You are one of those men who is larger than life. God gave you an authority in my life that has shaped my theology and my Christian practice to this day. Thanks for your sense of humor, your wit, your keen use of your intellect, your forthright counsel and your big-heartedness. Through you (and other I.V. staff) I came to know the writings of John Piper, for which I am eternally grateful. I’ll always be grateful for the week I spent with you, just living life and going where you went, seeing how you lived. Thanks for helping to shape my heart toward greater service to others for the sake of Christ. Thank you for the Scripture manuscript studies, for your penetrating talks at Intervarsity large group meetings and for the always open door at your Westwood apartment. I think of you always with joy, and am grateful to know you.

David Palmer – You inspired me to want to know the Scriptures. You helped me wrestle with the doctrine of predestination early on. Your thirst for God’s glory among the nations is contagious. And you are one of the most gentle men I have ever known. I’m so grateful for the time I had in your Bible study back in 1991, and it is a pleasure to count myself your brother and partner in the gospel.

Jamie Stovall – I can’t thank you enough for all the laughs. My heart swells with happiness just thinking about our shared sense of humor. Thanks for being the kind of friend I can call about any inane thing. But you are not all laughs. You have listened to my ramblings far better than anyone ought to. You have confronted me when I have wronged you because you care enough about our friendship to fight for it. I’m so thankful for all the things we have enjoyed together, from movies to church to sporting events to get-togethers to riding waves together to having heart-to-hearts about life, marriage, childrearing, and whatever else. Thanks for your wisdom. Thanks for sticking closer than a brother during that blackest of times back in ‘04. Thanks for being real. I can’t imagine life without you.

Tony Gervase – Big Tones. Thanks for all the times at CSULB. The pleasure I derive just thinking about those times cannot be measured. Thanks for playing catch, for letting me be your “honorary roommate” twice (with Pups and with Jazz), for putting up with my stupid questions, for your generosity, for the fun we had in Kazahkstan, for all the pick-up basketball, for the visits in Monterey, for the Seinfeld laughter, for your willing ear, for humoring me and going along with some of my hair-brained ideas (like starting, er, not starting, a Bible study at CSULB)  and for your generous nature. I always love just hanging out with you. Your laugh makes me laugh like no other (except Stovall), and your loyalty as a friend is priceless.

Andy McHargue – Thanks for letting me officiate your wedding, a true privilege for me. You (or was it Alan Shlemon?) were one of the first people to get me thinking about the issues surrounding birth control and the fact that The Pill is an abortifacient. I’ve always enjoyed your dry sense of humor and your way with words. It’s been an honor to be a part of your ever-expanding family.

Eric Stelle – You invited and welcomed me into the larger Intervarsity community at UCLA. I thank God for your wit, humor and story-telling abilities. Being one of your roommates my senior year in college will always count as one of the best experiences of my life. Most of all, I’m thankful that you have always taken a “no BS” approach to knowing Christ. You want the real thing, not some bogus “religiosity.” And you bring this into your relationships. It rubbed off on me. I’ve always felt like you had not only an apt word for me to help me see something I was blind to, but also a way of giving it to me such that I could receive it and take it into myself and change. We are separated now by years and distance, but I will always be very deeply grateful for your friendship, for your partnership in the gospel, most especially during the formative years of my relationship with Christ.

Justin Robinson – Pups! I’ve greatly enjoyed our mutual love for sports and our interest in missions. Your zeal for God has been an inspiration, and I always appreciate that I can share ideas with you. Thanks for your constant example in ministry, how you show that relationships are most important. Thanks for letting me be your roommate back in 2000. You let me be a part of your world, and that led to friendships that I have greatly enjoyed over the years. You have always exemplified Jesus’ words: “It is better to give than receive.” I love to hear you laugh. I’m so glad that you have a wonderful family of your own. You are a tremendous example of a man who works hard and fulfills his God-given duties with tenacity. I regret we don’t see each other very much, but I cannot think of you without rejoicing.

Steven Duenes – The fact that you appear this far down on the list is no measure of my thankfulness for your friendship. To have you as my younger brother has been a singular joy in my life. There is little I did growing up that you were not a part of. I’m thankful that we shared a room as we grew up, that we enjoyed talking to each other each night as we went to sleep, that we did not compete with each other in ways that might have caused painful division. I’m grateful for your work ethic, your generosity, your easygoing attitude and approach to life, your intellect, your humor, and your evident care for others. Thanks for offering your artistic talents to the world for our enjoyment. I am honored that you were my best man at my wedding, and my visits to NYC have been wonderful. Thanks for being such a special younger brother.

Rod Howard – Few people have let me into their lives as you have. I don’t even know where to begin. You have done nothing but encourage the best in me. You have pushed me to know and live out my calling as a man of God in a unique way. You have always made me feel included, no matter what setting I’m in with you. You have tried to help me see things in ways that I had not previously considered. Frankly, you’re just a heckuva lot of fun to be around. You have been generous with me in every conceivable way. Our two trips to NYC together were a blast. I’m grateful to be a part of your already large family. Thanks for the use of, well, just about anything that’s yours. Hanging out and chatting over some cold ones is still one of my favorite past times. You’ve had a seminally shaping effect on my thinking about everything from the Creation Mandate to educational philosophy to dating to child-rearing to work to pleasure to the mission of the church to local politics to networking to what constitutes a good wine. Your friendship is one of the most constant reminders to me that God does not deal with me according to what I deserve, but gives me gifts exceedingly far beyond all we can ask or think.

Dennis Tuma – I moved to Berkeley solely because you were already there, such was the impact of your thinking upon me. Thanks for being my pastor for 6 years, for mentoring me and teaching me to direct my thoughts toward God’s truth, no matter what. Thank you for your constancy in preaching and teaching God’s Word, for your desire to have an intelligent, yet winsome faith. Thanks for your hospitality over the years, and for being with me when I had no hope and was in the slough of despond and panic. When I thought my faith was gone, you were there for me. I’m grateful for your teachable spirit and your desire to grow as a man of God. I’m grateful for the courageous decisions you have made in your life, by which God has brought about beautiful changes in you, and I thank God for your perseverance in your current trials. I hope I will always live likewise.

Charles Weller – How we came to be friends I don’t even recall. What I will always recall, as long as I have a sound mind, is the fundamental shifts in my thinking and approach to life that have come as a result of your friendship. You are the one who has encouraged me to take life as it comes, to not try and having everything figured out. You have been a heavyweight in my life when I’ve needed one, and a bringer of “lightness” when I needed to scale by my intensity about things. I’m so grateful that you’ve helped me to enjoy the things I’ve got going right in front of me, right now, rather than fret over every little move I make. You’ve taken me seriously as a thinker, and yet you’ve humbled me and forced me to think anew, to see my unexamined assumptions and my hubris. You’ve let me into the most profound joys and pains in your life. You’ve kindled in me a love for history and what we might learn from it. You have taught me what the pursuit of wisdom looks like. Though we are separated by great distance, I thank God that you are in my life, still influencing me, still pushing back against my strong opinions, still offering yourself to me in grace and love.

Curt Russell – Bro, what can I say here that I’ve not said already. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that God caused us to get hired by Redwood the very same year and that He put us in adjacent classrooms. I would not have made it this far without your friendship. Just thinking about all the conversations, the debates, the laughs, the frustrations and the successes makes me realize that I’ve experienced a love and faithfulness in our friendship that most people would gladly suffer loss of life and limb to experience. You’ve had a profound influence on me when it comes to thinking about race, history, economics, education, philosophy and government. But much more significant is that you have made life at work a pleasure, even when things weren’t pleasant. People are drawn to you because, well, it’s just a great joy to be around you. I will never be able to thank you properly for your kindness, loyalty, generosity, honesty and levity toward me.

And the list could go on. When I consider you men I’ve just thanked, I only wish that I were more deeply struck by the profound blessings that God has given me through you. A billion dollar salary would pale in comparison to the riches I have in your friendship. Whatever else I may be thankful for this Thanksgiving, I thought of you all and wanted to express my thanks. Thanks be to God for his kindness and faithfulness toward me, of which you all are the evidence.

-D

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

India has been an epic experience emotionally and physically.

I’ll be home soon, home to rainy (so I hear) Singapore, and will try to write again regularly.

No promises though!

In the meantime, here is a current favourite photo from the trip.

A reminder of what parental commitment can mean.

As part of my job I often spend time in the UAE.  Many different nationals coming here on the promise of work so that they can send some of the hard-earned money back to their families, often the only means of family survival.

Thus I was touched this morning by a lovely welcome from a Filipino woman who works in a Lebanese café which I often frequent. I asked after her young daughter …

Yes, she said, she is now 7 years old, and she will see her daughter again in 8 months time, because she is leaving the job when her visa expires, which will enable her to get her passport back, and then her return airfare will be paid so that she can return home.

“My daughter was 2 and a half when I last saw her.”

There are thousands of people like her in the same situation, and they still carry on with a smile knowing that others depend on them for life!

By Bob Derham

Bismillah,

You’ve been sitting down for a good 3 hours, doing some chem, bio, maybe physics, and of course some history!

You look at the time, and realize you need a break. What better break than a salah break?!!

Looking down at those socks stripped in pink, you decide to take a big step, and throw them off. You need to wake up– you need cold water on those toes.

Entering the bathroom turning of the faucet and to add to the dramatic affect, you turn on the nice cold water!

You try to imitate those Acne commercials but end up drenching yourself

Go back to your room and see that stack of ‘homework’ even though you always end up doing it at school :p.

Take out some 3utr, and make your mat smell that distinct Meccah store smell…

Stand there, and take one last glance at that pile of work.

Allahu Akbaar.

Verily he is Greater than anything else. Place my head smelling that beautiful aroma, i never wanna get back up. I lose myself with the ongoing duaa’s.

Now, isn’t salah the berfect break

Alhamdulilah for such an amazing blessing!! And this is way better than KitKat [cuz they usually tell you to take a break and eat KitKat ]

The Prophet used to enjoy it, and recite surah after surah and not get tired. Man, your standing in front of your Lord, make each one worth it.

It is the ease your heart is aching for (read my below post).

Please enjoy a very happy Thanksgiving.  I’ll be thinking of you all, or as we southerners say, Y’ALL!!!!

dawn dispels the night …
all clouds of darkness scatter
before its aura

Hi I am back here.. after a few months of silence, i am now back to share a few things that has been transpired so far in my life. I am glad to tell that I had finish school. For 5 years and 5 months of struggle in keeping my academic ivory tower strong and intact in facing the turmoils of examinations from various subject areas, I have finally made it. At long last, I would be part of those people who would walk with pride and happiness after achieving their fields of study. Wahaha.. this is soo deep. Sorry I got carried away, wahaha.  Well, I am very much glad that I had done it with the help of friends and family. With God’s grace, I was able to make it through it all. However amidst the happiness, I also had worries. Well, I am a little bit paranoid because I am still thinking of unforeseen events in the future that might hinder my graduation. But my friends and people close to my heart had shared their views and somehow provide me calmness. They all assure me that my graduation is an inevitable  event on April. I really am hoping and believing what they said is true. You can’t really blame me if I feel this way. I am both excited and worried for the coming graduation this 2010. Hope everything would turned out fine.

As this new day dawns—Thanksgiving Day— I think it’s appropriate that I take just a few minutes before the busy hustle/bustle of this holiday weekend takes over to give thanks.

In short, I’m thankful for:

• Four generations of family members to celebrate the holidays with
• An 87-year-old mother who inspires me on a daily basis
• A grandbaby on the way (OK, you’ve heard this before!)
• My wonderful husband who supports me even when he thinks I’m crazy (as in currently pursuing my Doctorate)
• Three grown kids who make me intensely proud!
• A career (working with kids and adults) that I love
• Purposeful work at school and home
• Our family farm full of animals and adventures
• Friends who “hold me up” and occasionally, let me “hold them up”
• A positive attitude despite everything around us in the news–and world–that could make us pessimistic
• “Enough” of all of the above!

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR ON THIS DAY OF THANKSGIVING?

Last night, a few of us got together to attend Mass and then to celebrate Foundation Day for the Company of St Ursula 474 years ago on 25 November 1535 in Brescia, Italy. After a delightful evening of sharing food and stories, we parted to go on our separate ways home.

I was on a bus with a friend and we were talking about our faith journeys, our vocations and other matters of the heart. As my friend asked me some questions about God’s call, I made the point that I had come to see how one’s vocation is not something that comes at the spur of a moment. I would say that it takes almost a life time for one’s vocation to be nurtured and kept alive in love. In this sense, I would add that one cannot really pinpoint the exact moment a vocation is born.

My friend asked me when I sensed the call of God in my life. I could only lead her back to some key events in my past and show her how, upon reflection, I could now clearly see God’s hand at work in my life. I told my friend that I had come to realise more and more that in the hands of our Lord, we can only be safe and well provided for. God loves us so and He can give us only love and nothing else. I realise how often one fears to take the bold step of saying ‘yes’ because one is uncertain and thus afraid to make the commitment!

Our conversation soon ended as I left my friend to continue on her long journey home. But we had talked and shared about some matters of the heart, and my vocation as a Catholic has impacted me a great deal. Now I understand better how God’s ways are not our ways and how His thoughts are not our thoughts. It is all very humbling if I may say so as I know only too well how far I still am from the kind of person God would want me to really be. My faults are so numerous, and my weaknesses are too many to count!

I can only thank the Lord for letting me see that His love is a transforming one and that this transformation is ongoing in my life. Yes, one’s vocation is the project of a life time, and it is as much God’s project as it is my own in that I am called to respond to His call and His invitation to love. I see now that the response is one that is expected from one moment to another, and these moments add up to make a day and the days turn into months, and these become the years of our life. Yes, loving God is the project of a life time. In our vocations, that is all He asks of us to do – love and do His will.

Best friends are like diamonds, precious and rare
False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.                 

                                                    Anonymous

Recently I attended a meeting with a group of inspiring, intelligent and amusing women.   We had lots of fun, and I left thinking they were the type of people I would like to get to know better, and perhaps one day they would become real friends.    I went onto meet another friend at a cafe for lunch, only to look up to see the same bunch of women from the meeting having lunch together.

Childishly, I felt my stomach tighten and an overwhelming need overtook me to fold myself up and slide under the table to hide.    I was again the awkward twelve-year-old girl starting high school amongst strangers who stood giggling in huddled groups while I stood alone.    I was the new girl, sniggered at, and not included.

Once upon a time making new friends felt like gathering pretty shells along the sea-shore.   There were a multitude to choose from, in all shapes, sizes, colours and textures.   You could hear the ocean when you put one to your ear, others brightened your world with their rich earthy colours, and there were those rare few from the ocean’s depths shaped just right to give you a good belly-laugh every time.   Our friends widen our outlook and bring new worlds to our doorsteps.

These days I find my beaches much emptier and the search for true friendship much lonelier.   It is easy to be surrounded by smiling faces and companionship, but there are invisible walls between us, busy lives and careers to pursue, children to chase and scold, and a lot of fear and apprehension at letting our hearts be seen.

Thankfully, I have a handful of people I refer to as my ‘drop everything’ friends.   When a crisis hits we literally ‘drop everything’ for each other.  There is no guilt, fear or embarrassment in asking for help.    These friends are there for me, and I am there for them.

Yesterday I had a pedicure with such a friend and our time together having our feet massaged in perfumed oil, sinking into cushioned massage chairs, glasses of champagne in hand, was like gold.   These physical luxuries were nothing compared to our lively conversation.   There is never any doubt that my friend wants to hear about my life, and I love hearing about hers.   There is an equality to the exchange, giving and taking, laughing and crying, or sitting together, relaxing and feeling connected without the need for words.

It is painful to lose a true friend.   I had a friend once who was in the ‘drop everything’ category.  We spent lots of time together for a number of years – weekends in the country, evenings in Double Bay watching the rich people while eating mudcake and sipping coffee, and many nights sitting up until the small hours discussing our hopes and dreams.  She was like a sister to me.

However, when I got engaged and the wedding loomed closer, I felt a shift in her attitude toward me.    I tried to ignore my instinct.    A week before my wedding I checked my answering machine one evening and heard a very strange message.   My friend had accidentally recorded herself on my answering machine, speaking on her mobile phone about me to a friend.    Her words were venomous, cruel and dishonest.   I kept thinking she must be talking about somebody else, but then she mentioned my partner’s name and I knew that it was me.    I cried every night that week, leading up to the happiest day of my life.

She smiled at me sweetly and said kind words to me on my wedding day, and I smiled back through clenched teeth, holding in my hurt and anger.   After our honeymoon I wrote her a letter telling her what I had heard.  Even then, I would have accepted an apology or an explanation.   I hung onto hope.   Her reply finally came but was one line.   She was guilty as accused and she said goodbye.  That was it.

I am grateful for that bizarre twist of fate, or as I believe, divine intervention, which revealed her heart to me.   As sad as it was, it would have been much sadder to maintain such a dishonest friendship.

In the Gospels I read that Jesus had twelve best mates who he walked through life with.   He had gathered a rare assortment of shells from the beach, as each of his disciples had unique personalities and related to him in different ways.   Yet out of this group of true friends, Peter, who boldly professed his love for Jesus and said he would die for him, went on to deny even knowing him three times to a servant girl.    Then there was Judas who betrayed Jesus with a kiss leading to his death, for the price of some bags of silver.    Being hurt and disappointed by our friends certainly isn’t a new concept.

When I’m deeply hurt it takes a long time to recover, but I’m learning that the only way back to wholeness is to forgive, let it go and walk away.  I embrace the richness of my true friendships and cherish them as one of life’s greatest gifts.    I also continue to search the seashore for any shells hidden in the sand.   You can never tell how colourful and unique they are until you take the risk and reach out your hand.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day…a day of giving thanks to our Lord for all He has bestowed upon us.  However, we should make Thanksgiving Day EVERYDAY…because it is another day that we are alive!  The Lord has given us so much…our lives, our families, our friends, a roof over our heads, food, and much more!  Many times, we take it for granted all the material possessions that we have.  There are people who have very little.  There are people who have no homes.  So why do we keep complaining about the small things we DON’T have?  Give thanks for what you have.  Even the difficult trials and tribulations, let us give thanks.  Why?  Because the difficult times that we go through ultimately strengthens us.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, reflect on the many blessings you have received, the wonderful and loving family that you have, the friends, the home that you live in, the job that you have, your parish church, your young adult community, the trials and tribulations, wonderful memories, etc. as you listen to the video below…