Posts

Showing posts from 2009

The Wilderness

Manhood. It's a long journey. It requires courage. Endurance. Staying power. Much of this is developed in the wilderness. In times of trial. Uncertainty. The Wilderness is a place of necessity. Where every boy goes through to become a man. The wilderness is where your faith is put to the test. There will be doubt. There will be temptation. There will be fear. For each of these, there is faith, hope, and love. The point of decision, the critical moment when the boy becomes a man, is when he decides to Choose this day whom you will serve Choose your allegiance. God put Moses and the people of Israel through the Wilderness. Jesus spent time in the Wilderness. The Wilderness is where a man, in search of his identity, grows in maturity. The key decision that marks a man is how he answers the question: How can I make the most of the Wilderness? The Wilderness is where dreams are born. Visions casted. Courage forged. We each have a Wilderness that we must go through. The decisions during

Who Am I?

Recently, I have been thinking about my identity. Who am I? What was I meant to be? What is my purpose? Do I have one? And if I do, how specific is it? In "The Cure for the Common Life", Max Lucado talks about how we all have a God-given passion. Things that excite us and fill us with energy. What is my passion? I have a personal dilemma. I grew up always wanting to be a medical doctor. This was my dream . Not my parents. Not society's. This was something I wanted. As time passed, life happened. Opportunities, financial constraints, and perhaps even a lack of focus and clarity of vision has led me to where I am now. I have an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science, specializing in Infrastructure Engineering. And now I'm en route to finish a Masters of Applied Science in Urban Transportation Planning from the Department of Civil Engineering. How I ended up here, I don't know. From medical doctor to transportation planner. Interesting, to say the least. I still

A Time of Renewal

Renewal is a part of life. Things must die to allow for new growth. There are the seasons of plants. Animals giving birth to their babies. The "circle of life". Similarly, people also experience times of renewal within a lifetime. Times of physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual renewal. Times of refreshing. For me, I have been going through a time of renewal. Primarily a spiritual renewal, but bringing times of refreshing to every part of my life. This verse from the Holy Bible comes to mind: Acts 3:19 " Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord " Things must die to allow for new growth. For me, it was primarily sin. Sinful thoughts. Sinful relationships. Sinful attitudes. Sin being traditionally defined as "anything we say, think or do that breaks God's law". God was calling me to a time of renewal. He wanted to pour out His Holy Spirit on me. But according to A.W. To

Dec 11 Workout

Spiritual 1 Peter 1:13-19 : On being holy Reflections after Friday morning Prayer Meeting: As more of a follow-up sharing (which I would be excited to hear from you guys as well), I was doing some reflection tonight while working out. I was reading from 1 Peter 1 and reminded of the importance of holiness. A call to be set apart. To not be ashamed of my identity as a Christian. Since we have an everlasting inheritance. An investment that can only "appreciate" in value ... no risk :D Anyways, for those who have it in mind, I ask that you check in on me too - and I welcome accountability of any sort, even if it may "offend". I really enjoyed my morning with you all and look forward to seeing you all soon :) -Josh Physical Tabata Squats 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 - 14 Score: 14 (132) Ab Roller (knees) 10 - 30 - 20 - 20 - 20 Triceps Press (25#) 20 - 10 - 20 - 20 - 20 - 10 Dumbbell Bench Press (weight/reps) + Leg Raises 20#/10 + 10 25#/20 + 20 25#/20 + 20 25#/10

Copy of my vision for CCF 2009-10

Vision: Developing the Cutting Edge Key Verse: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 Why? The essence of Christianity is to know God and make Him known. (Matthew 22:37-40) Knowing God : dedicated Bible study, reading, and meditation, and prayer. How are you doing in your pursuit of God? Making Him known : to Christians and non-Christians, in our love, actions, and words. How are you doing in loving others as yourself? Why develop the Cutting Edge ? So that we have the “ missional edge ” (Ooi, 2009), individually, and as a body of Christ, always being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15) In spurring each other on and encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:19-25) To run the race set before us, with perseverance, being laser focused on the joy set before us through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:1-3) How do we develop the Cutting Edge ? By exposing ourselves to an incredibly sharp sword : God’s Word (Hebrews 4:12) By growing in communit

Extraordinary Love

For a while, I have been struggling with my faith. In short, I've been struggling with why I am a Christian . These struggles have been a source of tremendous stress for me. See, this upcoming year, I'll be vice-chair of CCF. And here I am wondering why I signed up for this gig in the first place. The thought of being vice-chair seemed like such a chore. In short, the feeling was gone. I just didn't have the passion for CCF anymore, I thought. While this was true, my passion in general was fading. The real problem was my attitude towards God. Some say that our view of God dictates how you live your life. Then it struck me. In the midst of all my intellectual and emotional struggles, I was reminded of God's love for me. Mind you, it wasn't an instant strike - but a developing realization that: - the God of the Universe loves me so much - by myself, I am nothing and without Jesus Christ, my destiny is certain death - I had no peace as I grew more distant from my Heave

Beating Bronze!

Hey! So yesterday ... I went to Hart House with my brother. We both did the Hart House circuit. It was his first time doing it and he did quite well. As for me, I did the Bronze level and have never beat it before. Yesterday (July 13) was the first time ever that I beat that level with a time of 27:12 (the cutoff is 28 min). Of course, before I can move to the next level, I need to beat this level consistently. The key things that helped me beat this level were: 1. Practicing pull-ups. I would usually get stuck will pull-ups, being really exhausted. This was one of my weakpoints. 2. Powering through burpees. From pushups to burpees, right away. In the past, burpees have been the other main weakpoint of mine. Key areas of development for me are my legs and upper body / arms. I believe that if I develop a lot more strength / endurance / stamina in my legs and core, I will be a lot more competitive during our team runs. As I saw my time on my last set of dips, I knew I could beat bronze a

Waking Up

In his book, Tender Warrior , Stu Weber opens the book talking about the wake-up call. Often we are called to do certain things, to get moving, to start working, to work harder, to move outside our comfort zone. Or in the context of the book, the call to be a real man. And often times, we like to press the snooze button on life. We like to procrastinate. We don't want to grow up and start accepting responsibility. And please note, when I say we , I really mean me . However, often when I talk about me , it also benefits we . Anyways, suffice to say, I'm done pressing the snooze button. I've slept in quite a bit and have atrophying muscles. I need to train myself again. Reading the Bible. Devoting myself to prayer. Practicing Biblical love. Eating properly. Strengthening my physical body. Keeping my room clean and taking care of chores. Taking care of myself and those around me. The thing about a wake-up call is that it calls you to wake-up and expend energy. At my current ma

[Leadership] Inspiring the Next Generation

I have long been interested in the concept of "leadership". Leadership is such an ambiguous term, and while usually understood in the mind, leadership is seldom understood in practice. I am without exception. I am Christian and go to CCF regularly. There I heard one of my favorite definitions of leadership: leadership is following Jesus and inspiring others to do the same (Clayton, 2008). This simple definition is basically defining leadership as "leading by example" in the Christian context. By submitting to a common vision, you inspire others to do the same. I will share a bit about my experience with inspirational leadership - starting with a "not-so-good" example, followed by a "work-in-progress" example. I invite you (readers) to share your own stories. I have recently joined the Iron Dragons (U of T Engineering Dragonboat Team). Going into the season, I was really hyped up and still am very excited. I love the team more than I can expres

[Dragonboat] The Inner Metronome

I grew up as a classically trained musician. I have played in quartets and orchestras as a violinist / violist. One of the most important things in music is Time . We need to be on the right beat. We need to feel the rhythm. In a quartet, everyone needs to be one - breathing together, playing together, knowing each other's parts and anticipating the music. (Of course, we must train so that we are also in tune and musical - but that's for another entry). In dragonboat terminology, we call this: staying in sync . The Importance of Sync This doesn't even need an explanation. "Sync" refers to a team's ability to paddle together. In a boat with 20 paddlers, it is important that paddles enter / exit the water together, that paddlers move according to a common rhythm, following the inner metronome . Problem Definition: Orchestra In an orchestra, there are various musicians and one conductor. The conduct sets the direction for the beat, the musicality, and acts as the

[UTCCF] Leadership Retreats

Questions : How do we develop new leaders? Why do I need to lead / serve? What areas do I need to develop as a leader / individual? What is my calling / purpose and how does it fit into the big picture? How Leadership Retreat fits in : UTCCF's leadership retreats seek to provide one of many ways of addressing these questions. But first, I want to address some possible misconceptions. Misconceptions : 1. Leadership Retreats are like other retreats . While the leadership retreats can be like previous retreats, the term "retreat" is meant to speak to the heart of what we do. That is, to create an environment where aspiring leaders can vision together, share ideas, and encourage each other. The "retreat" aspect comes from this being a time set-apart for leadership development and developing our visions. 2. Workshops are central to the retreats . Yes, there could be workshops. Yes, we're here to develop skills. However, these things are not central to the leaders

Running: A Vision for the Future

I'm at the computers in Gerstein after an afternoon run. I just finished church (Meeting House), Sunday school (TCBC, relationships), and lunch (Cantonese Fried Noodles, leftovers). I went for a jog and took a few laps around Queen's Park. What follows are some reflections during my run: Law of Conservation in Running Energy in = Energy out As I was running, I was not feeling too good, pausing to walk every few minutes of running. This was shortly after my very "healthy" lunch. While I definitely enjoyed the food, I realized the impacts it had on my performance as a runner. I mean, not just intuitively, but I felt the impact it had. The key is this: it's not just about having energy to fuel your performance, but also about the quality of the energy. And this is contrasted to yesterday, where I had eggs and juice before my dragonboat workout. While I am not suggesting a particular diet, I would argue that eggs/juice is a "slightly" better combo than frie

Hart House Circuits Log + Goals

Image
Hart House Circuit Log (Updated: 15-Jul-2009) : Current Level: Bronze Goal: Beat Silver by End of Summer! 2k Row : 3/09/2009: 7:27.6 Running Goal : Qualify for Boston Marathon (3:10 for full marathon) Required Pace: 4:31 min / km OR 7:19 min/mile Hart House Lap: 38.8 s / lap Athletic Centre: 54.3 s / lap (200 m) Reference Hart House Circuit (Intro 1, Intro 2, Bronze) : 1. Track Laps* (2, 4, 6) 2. Pushups (8, 10, 15) 3. Burpees (10, 12, 14) 4. Stair Runs (4, 6, 8) 5. Situps (8, 10, 15) 6. Bench Steps (10, 15, 20) 7. Dips (4, 6, 9) 8. Chinups (4, 6, 9) (7 laps = 1 km) Minimum Times: - Intro 1: 21 minutes - Intro 2: 25 minutes - Bronze: 28 minutes

Benchmarks + goals

Goals : Pushups, Situps, Burpees: 50 reps Beep test: 12 Bench: 200 lbs Pull ups: 12 Lactic row (30lbs): 70 / 1 min 2:15 erg: 680 m 200 m sprint: 30 s Squat: .. Deadlift: .. Cleans: .. Results (January) : (#improved, #needed to reach goal) * = n/a Pushups (max reps): 38 (*,-12) Situps (max reps): 38 (*,-12) Burpees (max reps): 38 (*,-12) Beep test: 10-8, 9-0 (*, 2 levels) Bench (max weight): 185 lbs (+40lbs,-15lbs) Pullups (max reps): 11 (+4,-1_ Lactic Row: 72 (+28,+2) 2:15 erg (max dist): 676 (+32m,-4m) 200 m sprint: 33.9 s (*,-3.9s)