Rocky Mountains Vacation – Summer 2014
In the morning of Friday, June 27th we pulled out anchor and started our Summer vacation to the Rocky Mountains region.
Traffic was horrible all the way to Sacramento, but passed Sacramento it was basically a smooth sail except for a few road constructions here and there. We arrived in Eden, UT at 2 in the morning. The next day we went to the Temple Square in Salt Lake City and spent the day there, learning a little bit about Mormonism.
On Sunday we went to hear Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the live recording of “Music and the Spoken Word“- the longest-running broadcast in the US, if not in the world. From there we went to the Park City, the place of 2002 Winter Olympic. Continue reading “Rocky Mountains Vacation — Summer 2014”
Common Core
Above is a question from Grade 7 Math Practice Test in California.
As students in grades 3-8 and some 11th graders are completing their “Common Core” field test in California (officially it is called CAASPP which stands for CAlifornia Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) and many other states, a lot of people, myself included, still don’t have a clear answer of “what is Common Core Standards”? Is it good for our students, or is it bad?
“The TEA Party people hate this. They are just so resistant to changes, and I don’t know why”, and “There are so many people bashing Common Core.” are just a few of many comments that I heard at work. A lot of teachers sing praises to Common Core for its rigor, while many others think it is bad for our students. The question remains, “Will Common Core make our students more competitive compared to students from other countries, or will it dumb down our students?” (The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) which collects test results from 65 countries shows in its 2012 report that US students ranked below average in Math. 29 countries outperformed the United States by statistically significant margin) Continue reading “Common Core”
Christmas in January
Last week Tryphena gave a piano recital in which she played “Silver Bells” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”. The recital was supposed to be done last month; however, because of the availability, or rather the lack of it, of the hall, it was postponed until last week.
2014 is Here
Welcome 2014!
Another year is dawning: Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting, Another year with Thee;
Another year of progress, Another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
Suatu tahun rahmat kembali datanglah,
Terpancar sukacita di dalam wajah-Mu.
Berhasil dalam karya berkat anugerah,
Menyatakan hadir-Mu di dalam hidupku.
Another year of service, Of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training For holier work above.
Another year is dawning: Dear Father, let it be,
On earth or else in Heaven, Another year for Thee. Amen.
Text: Frances Ridley Havergal
Indonesian translation by Tim Nyanyian GKI 1990
Merry Christmas 2013
“Who could do this unless the Son of God should also become the Son of man, and so receive what is ours as to transfer to us what is his, making that which is his by nature to become ours by grace? Relying on this earnest, we trust that we are the sons of God, because the natural Son of God assumed to himself a body of our body, flesh of our flesh, bones of our bones, that he might be one with us…”
-John Calvin, “Institutes of the Christian Religion”, translated by Henry Beveridge, book II, xii, 2
Dear Friends and Family:
Here we are again, at the dawn of 2014. What have we done in 2013? For our family, we started 2013 by going to the Legoland in Carlsbad. Tryphena and Hizkia celebrated their birthdays there.
Tryphena is in 2nd grade now, and she likes going to school every day. She adores her teacher, and she loves her classmates. Between school, piano lesson, Chinese lesson, and weekly Catechism class she is a busy little girl.
Indra still works part time. She drives Tryphena to and from school, as well as to her other activities. Between household chores, work, and chauffeuring Tryphena around, she is a busy wife and mom.
Hizkia starts his day at 4:45 a.m. every day, takes Baron for a walk, and tortures himself on the treadmill for 45 minutes. He then launches himself off to work only to get home in the evening, ready to help with some chores. Between work, exercise, and household chores, he is always on the move.
We feel that this year went by so fast, and as you can see the scary part is that our lives are hectic, filled with activities, and stressful from time to time. How about yours?
In this Christmas season let us find time to slow down and experience the wonder of His gracious love, as He guides us through each day of the coming year.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Happy Thanksgiving
“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor….”
-Thanksgiving Proclamation by President George Washington on October 3rd, 1789
Sunday Hymn 11.17.13
John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology
I’ve been blessed by my recent reading of “John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology”. Praise be to God for raising men like Luther, Calvin, Tyndale, Guido de Brès, Ursinus, and countless others who stood for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On this Reformation Day I’d like to share a tiny part of the book.
Calvin realized that through faith in Christ all the blessings of the gospel were his. Second, he saw that his life must be rooted and grounded in fellowship with Christ. Perhaps it was the personal realization of this that led him to wax lyrical at the climax of his exposition of the christological section of the Apostles’ Creed:
We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ (Acts 4:12). We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is “of him” (1 Corinthians 1:30). If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth…. If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross (Galatians 3:13); if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge*.
*Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.16.19
Various Contributors;Burk Parsons;Burk Parsons. John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, Doxology (Kindle Locations 588-597). Kindle Edition.
Panda
Yesterday Tryphena and I spent a few hours together painting at The Artist In Me. We painted Panda, and as expected, her painting came out better than mine. 🙂
My bamboo leaves were too “patterny” while hers were more natural. We had fun!
