Tu by Tu
Wandering and Wondering TogetherSoCal ‘09
We just returned from a week-long vacation. I’m more tired now than before we left, but we all had a terrific time. Here’s a little (7:40) video recap.
And one more photo:
Show & Share
Here’s a video I made for Sam’s monthly show and share time. It’s a 3 minute recap of her first 3+ years of life. They’ve gone by fast.
Sam on Skates
On January 4, 2009, Daphne took her first ever unaided steps. Five of them before falling! Her current record is 18.
And now, Sam has started skating.
Here she is, a week ago. It was her first time on the ice.
The next two videos are from this past weekend. She’s at the top of her class, not that that matters.
Happy New Year
Some photos from the last little while:
Daphne and friends
From Halloween
Halloween Redux
With Gma, Great-Gma, and Gpa Fung
Stockings
S & D
Cutie
Braids
Check out the weather in Vancouver
Christmas 2008
A warm and belated Christmas greeting to all our family and friends. It’s been an exceptionally busy season for us which is why I haven’t updated too often this past month.
One of my December highlights was preaching a children’s sermon at a neighborhood Christmas celebration. The event was held in a low-income housing development where our church has been involved in different ministries. An informal survey of the parents who were there suggests that at least 80% of the people who attended were non-Christians.
I can’t remember too much of what I said since it was very off-the-cuff. (I had prepared to speak to an all-adult audience so had to scrap my plans once I saw who was there.) Anyway, I remember mentioning something about how even someone as good as Santa needs Jesus.
The truth is, though, that the Santa Claus version of Christmas is really quite insidious. I know lots of well-meaning Christians find it relatively harmless, but consider the similarities between Santa and the God of the “moralists.” There’s a popular Christmastime song that goes “He sees you when you’re sleeping / He knows when you’re awake / He knows if you’ve been bad or good / So be good for goodness sake.” Sure sounds like the traditional version of God, doesn’t it?
That same song begins “You better watch out / You better not cry / You better not pout / I’m telling you why / Santa Claus is coming to town / He’s making a list / Checking it twice / Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice / …” In other words, you better be a good person if you want him to do good things for you. If you do bad things he’s going to know and he’s going to punish you.
Young children, in particular, confuse Santa with God. And why wouldn’t they? They’re both omniscient, they’re both ominpresent … and the problem is that this popular understanding of Santa blurs with our notion of God.
So this year, since Sam understands a lot more than she did last Christmas, we told her that Santa is just a guy in a costume. I even made the Santa at her daycare Christmas party take off her wig - yes, it was one of the female teachers playing Santa - to make sure she gets it.