"Christmas 2014" letter

May the Showers of Christmas JOY Bring Blossoms of LIFE in the New Year!

Dearest Friends & Family:

     Thanks so much for your patience with our “Christmas 2014” letter, though admittedly I should probably call this an early Lunar New Year letter!

     In the past we have told you that each year felt like a blur.  2014, in contrast, felt like it flew by in a blink!  Too many things happened through this year for me to recount, but here are a few of our more memorable moments as a family:

Peace in Pieces

     Back in April while our family was in the car, Evangelina (3) – as often is her custom -- was singing quietly to herself while the rest of us were talking.  She started one of the songs we often sing to her, a song of blessing: “The Lord bless you & keep you…”, but as she continued with each line of the song her singing became louder & louder, with the last line of the song being repeated over & over (& over!).  It got so loud that the rest of us had to speak louder & louder as well just to hear each other.  Pretty soon we couldn’t hear ourselves over Evangelina’s singing: “AND GIVE YOU PEACE, & GIVE YOU PEACE, & GIVE YOU PEACE FOREVER!!!  AND GIVE YOU PEACE, & GIVE YOU PEACE…!!!”

Nervous Observation

     Another time, Evangelina was playing rough with me (Sid) & knocked into my face & glasses.  We’re pretty strict about the kids not touching our glasses (primarily because we've had so many pairs broken when Jadon was a baby), so I gave her a stern look with my glasses knocked down to the tip of my nose.  I was waiting for her to say, “Sorry Daddy for touching your glasses.”  Instead Evangelina, wanting to break the tension, gave me a nervous smile & said, "Hey, you’re like a Grandma!"  This & many other funny comments she made from her growing understanding of the world left us in stitches throughout the year.

Following the Bottom Line

     As for Jadon (8), one thing we’ve continued to enjoy is watching him think “outside the box.”  In September we got dinner at Chick-Fil-A which included a kids' meal that came with a compass!  He was excited to start using it, & marveled at how its needle always points north.  It was a good review of directions (north, south, east, west) for him, & how each direction relates to the other.  As we were driving home, we tried to reinforce his learning with some friendly drills: "What direction are we facing now...?  How about now...? Which direction is to our right...?"  He was finally getting the hang of it, so we decided to throw in some of our customary goofball questions: "Now which way are we heading?"

     "South," he replied.

     "Very good! So which way is our butts facing?"

     We expected him to say “North."

     His innocent response?  "Down."

Rock, Paper, Superlatives

     Later in the fall, Jadon was playing Rock-Paper-Scissors (in Chinese: "Jian-dao, Shi-tou, Bu") with Daddy in creative ways.  While at the YMCA pool, we started playing a version such that whenever we're underwater, the rules are 'upside down': scissors beat rock, paper beats scissors, rock beats paper.  Another time while we were playing in the car, we started coming up with new objects to beat the other: we both came up with the “bomb” (which beats rock, paper, & scissors)... then quickly went on to more zany objects.  It went like this:

TOGETHER:

Jian-dao, Shi-tou, Bu!

(ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY)

JADON: earthquake!

DADDY: the sun!

Obviously, I won that round, to Jadon's chagrin. Then, with Jadon's eyes widening with the determination to beat me...

TOGETHER:

Jian-dao, Shi-tou, Bu!

(ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY)

DADDY: galaxy!

JADON: God's hand!

Needless to say, the game was over with Jadon victorious & both of us howling with laughter… what else could beat God’s hand?

Entering the Kingdom of God

     A more poignant story comes from one of the times we dropped in on Jadon while the kids were at their local Bible club.  Jadon’s teacher asked, “How do you enter the kingdom of God?” to which Jadon replied with a list of good things he had to do, including "listen to your parents."

     I (Sid) was truly saddened at hearing Jadon’s answer.  Thankfully his teacher corrected him and pointed him to trusting in the work and person of Jesus, but I couldn’t help but think to myself, “What am I doing wrong?"  It struck me that it is an uphill battle for us to teach our children the truth, not simply with words but with day-to-day living, that entering the kingdom of God is simply receiving the gift of what King Jesus has done for us in his life, death, & resurrection.  Weren’t we ready to travel 1000s of miles to live in another culture and speak in another language with the intention of sharing this very, very good news?  How had I failed in sharing this news with my own children?
     To be sure, the things Jadon listed in his answer to his Bible club teacher were good & right in themselves.  God in His Word even tells us to do them (I especially like the "listen to your parents" thing!), yet we know that it aches His heart when we think that by following a list of dos & don'ts we can earn enough merit to enter His kingdom.  Our Heavenly Father's unyielding desire is to trust in Him & what He has accomplished for us.  Where was the "disconnect" between my words & my practice before our children?  Was Jadon seeing in me a frantic life of self-reliant, self-centered dos & don'ts?
     Dear Friends & Family, JJ & I are grateful for your love & are often a bit embarrassed at how difficult it is for us to stay in touch with most of you given our limitations.  We pray that your own Christmas was a season of pondering God's gifts, & that your new year is filled with living out the joy & thankfulness (&, as Evangelina will remind us, PEACE!!!) that comes from God's great gifts to us.

With Blessing,

Sid for the Wus