Ups and Downs

God definitely puts us through things, and in places that we don't want to be, and all we can do is ask Him to teach us whatever it is He has in mind.

First of all, I finished the rough draft of my thesis, which is a huge deal. I just pray that I don't have to change too much when it comes to revising and editing once professors start looking at it critically. SO...I kind of took it easy on Friday and Saturday - did a little research for a possible business idea, but nothing too much.

Today, however, was a day I don't want to repeat. Ever. I never thought I would go to a funeral on Easter. I especially never thought that I would go to a funeral for a two year-old. Even though her family is Christian, and are confident that they will see her again, it's still just so painful that a girl so young should be taken from her family. The only thing left to do is to give God all of the grief, all of the questions, and all of the pain.

This brings up the question that humans have asked over and over, and for which we have never quite found a completely satisfactory answer. How can a good and loving God allow pain and sorrow to His children. While good things do come out it, and although He DOES sustain His children, it's just so darn HARD.

Here's a thought: If God the Father didn't save Himself from incredible sorrow, and His Son from incredible pain, should we, as His children, expect any different?

Life passes quickly

I know...I'm terrible...For some reason, I thought about my blog yesterday, and realized that I haven't blogged for almost two months! These last two months have been crazy...and extremely good! Last Sunday, of of the most important things of all of life occurred, when Whitney agreed to become my wife. Even though we've only been together for 8 months, I know that she is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.

I am so blessed to have Whitney in my life. She's sweet, thoughtful, kind. patient...she loves learning, and is always ready for a new adventure. She puts up with my crazy ideas, and is ok

Other than that, not too much is happening. The most important and time-consuming project this semester is definitely my thesis! I've been spending hours and hours on research and analysis, and Whitney and I can't wait for my divorce from my  "little wife". Thankfully, I'm actually enjoying this project, and haven't dreaded doing more research every day.

Two other classes that I've been taking is "" and "Business Ethics" and "Competitiveness of Asian Economies" More than just blah about Ethics, the teacher is trying to teach us decision making processes, as well as the "MISI" method of describing a problem() If I can make this a part of my life, I think it will help me. In the Asian Economies class, we discuss a case study each week, focusing on Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China.

Case studies are probably the single biggest thing that have helped me learn the most in this MBA...a different way of looking at a problem. Some of my case studies are conducted by professors that really want us to dig deep in the story...what is the real answer? Most of the time I don't understand the real ideas, but when I do, it's such a great feeling!

The biggest thing that God has been teaching me is about pride. I heard from a couple different people that I often insist on being right, and don't quit until others agree with me. Fiancées are wonderful for that sort of thing ;). Other than that, I've been learning about patience - I'm finishing school in 2 months, and have no idea what's after that, other than a 2-month trip to America. If I talk to a company now, and tell them I'm not available until the middle of September (5 months from now), I'm not sure how likely it is that they'll want me :P.

I have a rough idea of what I want to do, but have no idea of what GOD wants me to do. Ideally, I'd work in Taiwan for a year, then go to Australia, where Whitney would start school, and I'd change jobs. I don't want to work in Taiwan long term - the work culture here is not how I want to live my life. I want my family to be more important than my work - not the other way around!

I have no idea how God will work this out...I just know that He will - He's led me so far, and I believe that He will keep on showing me what He wants me to do!

Life...Keeps on Moving

Since I last blogged, a LOT has happened. The direction of life has changed, and I'm just following God. First of all, the trip to the Philippines was AMAZING. I got to meet people, and see things I'd never seen before, such as Subic Bay, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We also spent time in Manila, and also Tagatay City. I was shocked when I saw a sign that mentioned Tagatay City was a Character city... (The Christian group I used to work for, IBLP, had a program to teach character to government people in different cities.)

After 4 days in the Philippines, I went to Brunei. The entire trip from my hotel to Whitney's aunt's house was crazy...first of all, I met a friend of Whitney's in the Philippines, who showed me how to get to the airport, using a taxi, 2 buses, a jeep bus, and a tricycle (motorcycle with sidecar). It was so cool to do something "local"...not just looking at the city from a tour bus.

After 2 plane rides, and a SUPER long day, I was SO ready to see Whitney. HOWEVER, when I got to the airport at 10pm, it was empty... nobody was there to meet me! Apparently, the plane arrived a half hour ahead of schedule...and I was rather freaked out! I had Whitney's phone number, and if nobody showed up, I would have some way of contacting her. Thankfully, I didn't have to use it, and it all worked out...

We spent about a month in Brunei...relaxing, learning about each other, and having fun. I saw a few lion dances, set off firecrackers, and ate some GREAT food. We saw some of the famous stuff in Brunei, went hiking, and saw an entire town...built on top of a river! We bounced between Whitney's two uncles' houses, which was kind of weird, but it worked...for a month.

The last night of the trip was the best. We were in Malaysia, and had satay meat and rice, drank coconut juice at a place right next to the water. It was BEAUTIFUL.

When we got back to Taiwan, we spent two days at the Flower Expo, a day in Danshui, and two days in Taichung. The Flower Expo was amazing, and incredibly beautiful.

When I last wrote, Whitney and I were thinking about going to Australia next year. That's changed, and now we're thinking of spending a year in Taiwan or the US first. We're just waiting for God to tell us what He wants. I'm learning a little bit of how big God's promises are. He has promised that he will provide all our needs. Right now, He's given me work, so I can save up for the plane tickets, and he's given me a WONDERFUL dear to share my life with.

I know that when I graduate, even if he doesn't give me a job right away, He will still provide me with food, and a place to live. I don't know what I'm going to do, or where I'm going to live, but I know God does. The job market in the US is tight, and I think it's hard to find a business-related job in Taiwan, but no matter. I just hope I can say the same thing when things are a lot tighter!

Marching on...

Time is marching on...I am almost done with my last paper of the semester. All that's left of this entire MBA is two elective courses and a thesis! The thesis outline is coming together, with my professor helping me firm up the outline and giving me some other papers to use and follow.

I am SO ready to be done with this semester! 5 months is a long marathon! I couldn't imagine doing this for two more years! My girlfriend will be back in Taiwan in 4 days, in Brunei in 7 days. I'll be in the Philippines in 9 days, and I'll be with her in Brunei in 12 days! Wow...this winter break is going to be insane, but SO good! It will be wonderful to spend time with her and meet more of her family. Hopefully, I'll learn some more Chinese, and help Whitney with her English. When we get back, we'll be going to be going to the Flower Expo, skating, and hopefully we'll have a few days in Yilan.

I'll bet that by the time this is all over, I'll be looking forward to the break known as school ;). Next semester, I'll have 2 electives and the thesis! Other than that, I'll be spending as much time as I can on the next great project: finding a job!

For some reason, I really want to go to Australia. After Whitney and I both finish school in a few months, we'll have no commitments, no connections, and no reason not to travel to someplace new. The more I observe, and the more I learn, the more I'm convinced that I don't want to live in Taiwan long-term.

However, life isn't about what I want ~ it's about what God wants. If He makes it clear that He wants me to stay here and teach English for the rest of my life, I will learn to be content with that. However, for some reason, I don't believe that He led me to do an MBA in Taiwan for 2 years, just so that I could teach English... Oh well - we'll see. All I can do is trust in the Lord...

Keep on swimming, keep on swimming, keep on swimming, swimming, swimming

Well...I keep promising myself that I'm going to write a blog post, so I'm going to DO it! Midterms are now over, and the big project is working on my thesis outline, figuring out the specifics of what my project is going to be. I have a rough idea, and as I do more research, I'm continually honing it, figuring out exactly what I'm going to do.

Right now, the topic will be discussing open vs. closed business models, as applied to Google and Apple for smartphones. Google is generally open - wants to work with lots of other companies. Apple is generally closed, and wants to control (most of) the system itself. I'll be analyzing the companies, and comparing them with other stories in the past, like Microsoft vs. Apple, or Betamax vs. VHS. If this paragraph makes no sense to you, it's ok ;).

As my Facebook status indicates, I'm officially in a relationship...it's weird (but so good) to write that on the web. God has given me an incredible girl named Whitney Wu - suffice it to say that we're both feeling very blessed (though I'm definitely the one who is more blessed).

As part of this whole thing, I'm REALLY learning trust and sensitivity, and I now have a whole new motivation to really listen to God, and find out His will and His way. Having a special person in one's life is a completely new experience for me, and I hope I never get over the feeling of how incredible and special it (and she) is!

At the same time, I'm sobered by the realization of what a huge challenge and responsibility this is - for both of us. I've heard many times that marriage (and child rearing) are both the most challenging and most rewarding things that a person can do.

All I can do is to trust God. I know I can't do it, and have no idea where to start. I can only trust God, trust Whitney, and trust others who have done this before. "Trust in the Lord... and He will direct your path."

A new view of God

First, the update on life...


One midterm is done, one more to go, which means that we're more than halfway done with the semester. The required courses are done, leaving me with two electives and a thesis to finish next spring. My thesis is coming along, and I have an awesome professor as an advisor, and a rough idea of a topic. Right now, the topic is talking about how developers, users, and systems interact, as applied to the smartphone market, specifically Android vs. iPhone. Why do programmers develop for one platform rather than another? For example, why do people buy iPhones instead of HTC? Also, once I have an idea of what people think, I'm going to compare it with past technology competitions (ex. Apple vs. Microsoft, AOL & Earthlink vs. open internet, etc).


I'm not sure if you understand all that, but I'm still finalizing it myself :p. 


God has really been blessing me, and I've been enjoying this semester. I've been learning a lot, and I think that this whole thesis-writing is (or will) helping me learn how to think better, and become more thorough.Well....I was reading Oswald Chambers today, and what I read made me stop and reread 3 times!

 "We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. “. . . the Lord led me . . .” and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, “I will never do this or that,” in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him."

From what I understand, if we are in communion with God, (assuming we're following the Bible and other authorities), we can do whatever we want, trusting that God will say 'no', and give us some sort of a check if we do something outside His will? Does it mean that we won't go through dry spells, where God isn't talking at all? 


When we DO go through dry spells, and are faced with a situation where we need guidance, does it mean that God doesn't care, that either one we pick is His will? How does this idea fit into real life?

Another Update

School is now in full swing. Although I'm only taking 4 classes, I'm super busy - I'm part of our class's student council, starting to work on my thesis, and talking a lot with special friends. I'm doing a Bible Study on Wednesday nights, which has been a HUGE blessing - we're going through Hebrews, and it's been so cool to see different things connect in ways I've never seen before. AND I'm teaching 10 hours/week, which has been good, because I'm now focused on saving up for my plane ticket home next summer. Another major project this semester is a business plan competition. Right now, my team is still in the idea process. We've got less than a month to find the idea and put a proposal together! However, there are a lot of possibilities

Last weekend, I went to Penghu to visit a friend. It was so good to get out of Hsinchu, relax, and talk and connect. Penghu is so different from Hsinchu...it's a lot smaller, slower, and has a more relaxed lifestyle. An awesome place for a vacation - NOT a good place to live.

The main thing I've been learning (again) is the need for patience - for God, for myself, and for others. I've been learning that I need to let God control me, and to not let me control me. I've learned about repentance and forgiveness, and how God always does things better than we could imagine...