My Favorite Walk Sign

Everyday while walking to the rehab center I stand and look at this walk sign and try to figure out the timeless question, "to walk or not to walk."  

As you may be able to make out... Both "walk" and "don't walk" are lit up.  At first I thought it was a mistake and then I further analyzed the dangers of pedestrian life in China and I now feel like all cross walks should have this sign... It's as if the maker is saying "walk if you must, but I strongly advise against it as this may be your final jaunt across the street."  I now think of all walk signs as really flashing the cautionary "don't walk" and I think I'll be much safer :  )

Merry Christmas!

Oh, New Year’s resolutions : )   This year along with the 12 or so other resolutions that I made, I decided that I wanted to read the whole Bible.   I don’t remember where I fell off of the wagon but I know that I didn’t even make it to Leviticus which is supposed to be where all resolutions go to die.   With time running out I decided to cheat and take another approach… a book that summarizes the Bible… spark notes, if you will, for those of you who also cheated in High School English class : ). 

The book that I started reading is really good (thanks Katie Harris for a great book recommendation, miss you and our theological conversations!).  It’s called “God’s Epic Adventure” and it outlines the Bible and explains the background and meaning behind many of the books. 

Reading my way through the Old Testament made me see and appreciate Christmas in a new way because I read the prequel so to speak.  If I had to further summarize the Old Testament I would summarize it as G0d’s relentless pursuit of His creation… This theme begins with Adam and Eve in the garden.  G0d could have had a variety of responses to their disobeying His commands and eating from the tree, but His response is to walk through the garden and call out “Where are you?”  From the beginning of time G0d has chosen to seek after as when we are lost or hiding.  Beginning with Exodus and continuing through the rest of the Old Testament, the story is basically the Israelites’ breaking covenant with G0d and Him finding ways to try to bring them back.  It’s both exhausting to read because you see the constant disobedience of humans, and heartbreaking to read, because you see a loving G0d that doesn’t give up on His children. He reaches out using a variety of sources and method, ranging from strong leadership like Moses, written guidelines like the Ten Commandments, hard knock methods such as conquest, different forms of leadership such as the Judges and Kings, wise words from prophets etc.  and STILL HIS people turn from Him.  Then the Old Testament ends. 

 I’m curious to know what the unfamiliar reader would predict would happen next.  Perhaps a flood, a massive fire, a volcanic explosion, something that wipes out mankind for our never ending rebellion, wickedness and contempt.  But instead, we get a silent night that is pierced by the sound a baby’s cry, we get a star pointing Wiseman to the birthplace of their new king, we get angels singing in the night, and most importantly we get Emmanuel “G0d with us” .  With Christmas we see that G0d’s pursuit of us stops at nothing… He sends us His son.  Even though mankind hides, runs and defies Him, He sends us J3sus.  

As I read through the Old Testament I was annoyed with the Israelites’…I wanted them to get it together.  But then I thought about myself.  I too have been through my ups and downs and have experienced G0d’s grace.   I too needed the gift of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.   

 
I don’t think that I ever read that story quite like that before.  I’ve never thought of Christmas as G0d’s merciful, loving, relentless pursuit of His children on not only a corporate level but on an individual level.  The baby in Bethlehem was G0d’s gift to capture our hearts and turn them towards Him.  This Christmas get lost in the AMAZING love story between a father and His children… the story of a patient and loving G0d that stops at nothing to bring us into relationship with Him.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 

"All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"

Well if you need a dentist in China, I can refer you to mine : ).  On about my fifth day in China I broke my tooth because that is the kind of luck I have!  A LONG time ago (maybe ten years ago) I got a root canal done in the U.S.  Due to the absurd cost of dental work and my lack of dental insurance, I never got a permanent crown put on it.  This tooth has been good to me and not bothered me at all until I decided to travel to the other side of the world. 


While I was on the road trip to the rural villages I was offered quite a bit of very hard foods (nuts, dried corn etc).  In my effort to be polite, I ate all of them and ate them in the manner that the locals were eating them…by cracking them with my teeth.  I am not sure which one did me in, it was either the raw chestnuts, dried corn pieces or dried cheese (I don’t even want to think about how cheese gets as hard as a rock).  After we had left one of the villagers homes, I felt something odd in my mouth and found that a piece of my tooth had chipped off (it’s a back molar so you can't see it thankfully).  I was a little worked up...my memory of dental work in China is a guy with a chair on the sidewalk yanking teeth out of screaming "patients" mouths.  I really wanted to wait until I got home to see a dentist but eight months is way to0 long. 

 
About two weeks ago the short term coordinator went with me to the dentist.  I was feeling ok initially but the panic soon set in.  The dentist told me (through the coordinator) that I wouldn't need any Novocain.  I was relieved because I thought that this meant that he didn't need to drill.  Imagine my surprise when a drill entered my oral cavity!  I need to consult with my dental friends (Allison and Chloe any thoughts?) because maybe they never numb you when the root canal has already been done.  It truly didn't hurt it just TERRIFIED me!    I sat there for what seemed like eternity, my palms sweating, my heart racing, my stomach churning and bits of my tooth flying out of my mouth.   The panic really heightened when I saw that the drill was smoking and I could taste the smoke!  Somehow I managed to not die under the stress! 

 
All things considered it went well.   The dentist was a really nice guy and seemed very professional.  This week I went back and the dentist put on the new crown.  I was told that it is the one that the foreigners all get (all two of us) and that it is "world famous."  It was the only one that didn't seem to be made of toxic metal which is how I settled on it over the cheaper one.  The short term coordinator tried to haggle about the price but the dentist wasn't having it.  He told me that it is about a fourth of the cost of a crown in the U.S.  He is probably right.  As I sat in the chair I reminded myself that I am trying to avoid buying some of the junky souvenirs that so many people get in China.  I had wanted to find myself something functional and long lasting .... VIOLA!  I found the perfect souvenir (and Christmas present) from China… a world famous tooth!