A Global War on Baby Girls

A short article by Eric Metaxas at Breakpoint caught my attention today. It is entitled “Dictators and Baby Girls,” and it discusses what has been called “a global war on baby girls.” Simply put, this “war” comes in the form of abortions of baby girls in countries where boys are more desirable. Taiwan is referenced in the article as one of the countries where the ratio of girls to boys is seriously skewed. As the article states, “It is estimated that there are 160 million ‘missing’ Asian women. That’s ‘missing’ as in ‘never born.’” This is a reality we know all too well in Taiwan. However, in Taiwan, it is not just girls who are aborted. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Taiwan has one of the highest abortion rates in the world–an astonishing 3 abortions to every live birth. In the article, Metaxas points us back to the issue of worldview and insists that a warped worldview can cause catastrophe on a global scale. Metaxas says it better than me, so here are his words:

Chuck [Colson] called this dust-up a clear “example of the blinding power of a false worldview” — in this case the unsustainable worldview that sees abortion as an absolute, fundamental woman’s right. Our culture refuses to acknowledge that in the name of “female empowerment,” millions of future women are being eliminated.

Consider your own worldview and critically assess whether you see the world through the lens of Scripture or through the lens of popular culture. Also, please continue to pray for the country of Taiwan and for places like China and India where abortion rates, especially of baby girls, are incredibly high. Pray that God will save the unborn millions who face abortion, and pray for the mothers who must make the difficult and sacrificial choice to give life to their babies.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read the whole article by Eric Metaxas (it’s short!) to understand the enormity of the issue that he is addressing.

Touring Thailand: Out of the City (Part 3 of 3)

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

One of the goals for our Thailand tour was to get out of the city of Bangkok. Though it was a unique and interesting city with its own culture and experiences, we really wanted to see more of Thailand than just the pavement and skyscrapers. So, we scheduled a full-day tour for our last day in Thailand. The tour took us about two hours outside the city of Bangkok to a rural town called Kanchanaburi. We had an exquisite time on the private tour, and this was by far my favorite day of our travels. I particularly enjoyed our tour guide, Nan, who was a fountain of knowledge; I learned more about Thailand’s culture, religion, history, and nature in that one day than in the rest of the trip combined. Here’s our little tour group with Nan (in the pink hat):

Touring Thailand: Being Pampered (Part 2 of 3)

Not Much $$$

In the area around our hotel (the beautiful one in the picture to the right) there were lots of massage establishments, presumably because the area is quite touristy. I’m not someone who spends exorbitant amounts of money on pampering myself, so I’ve never gotten a massage in the U.S. However, in East Asia, the pampering costs a lot less! =) So, while in Thailand, I indulged myself on two occasions, each time in the evening after a long day of the teacher conference.

Touring Thailand: Delicious Tastes (Part 1 of 3)

EARCOS & Why I Was in Thailand

As a teacher at an international school in Taiwan, I have the opportunity to attend the EARCOS Teachers’ Conference (EARCOS = East Asia Regional Council of Schools) which takes place in a different East Asian country each year. At Morrison, teachers must apply and be approved to attend the conference, but if we are approved, our airfare and conference fees are paid for, leaving ground transportation, lodging, and meals to us. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

Drumroll, please…

I don’t know whether it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, but I’ve had enough questions about this in the past two months that I believe it’s the moment for me to share my story.

This story is much different than the way I would have written it. It’s a story that doesn’t completely make sense to me yet. Yet, it’s a story that I believe God is writing and I am excited to be a part of.

I’m a bit bashful, so come a little closer, and I’ll tell you a secret: I have a boyfriend. Eeeeeee!  I know, right?

Now that my girly squeals have ended, let’s get to the serious stuff. I need to backtrack a little, but I promise I’ll tell you more about the boyfriend thing by the end of this post…

Plastic Surgery Your Pain Away

Tummy tucks. Chemical peels. Fat reductions. Fat injections. Lifts, augmentations, and implants. No matter what you want to enhance or remove, plastic surgery is your answer.

Or so says today’s American culture. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) this past April, over half (51%) of all Americans approve of cosmetic plastic surgery. It shouldn’t be surprising then that, as the ASAPS boasts, “almost 9.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States [in 2010].”

Wow.

Our culture does not deal well with its scars and imperfections.

Prayers for Taiwan: Bringing Life to a Culture of Death

A Culture of Death

Search for “Taiwan + abortion” on Google, and you will find titles like “Taiwan’s Astonishing Abortion Rate,” “Abortions Exceed Births,” and “Taiwan has up to 500,000 Abortions in 2010“–titles that depict a culture where choosing death is an astonishingly ordinary occurrence.  Most of these online articles were published in the last six months; in fact, a year or more ago when I learned by word of mouth about Taiwan’s high abortion rate, I could find very little data online about it.  This is because until last summer, the most recent statistics were from over a decade ago.  But on July 17, professor and pediatrician Lue Hung-chi announced in a public forum that he estimates there are 300,000 to 500,000 abortions every year in Taiwan.  One article comments that if his estimate is true, “it has to be one of the highest per-capita abortion rates in the world” (“Taiwan’s Astonishing…“).  Lue’s announcement began a long overdue discussion in Taiwan about the low birth rate and high abortion rate of recent years; rightly, these issues are of growing concern and alarm among leaders of the country.

These little ones were given life. (Photo credit: www.hishandstaiwan.org)

A Perspective on Sacrifice

On Sunday morning, I will ride to the high speed rail station with Trena, Holly, and baby Leia to meet Leia’s adoptive parents, David and Kalina.  Holly and Trena are going to let me be the one to hand Leia off to her parents, and I am THRILLED about this as I imagine what joy it will give David and Kalina to finally hold Leia in their arms!  However, I know the moment will be bittersweet since over the past several months, I have spent a lot of one-on-one time with Leia and I have grown to love her.

A Diet of Popcorn

“But just while there are times when munching on popcorn is okay, no one puts popcorn at the base of their food pyramid. Likewise, while the occasional “popcorn movie” is okay as an occasional diversion, a steady diet of nothing but mindless entertainment is not good for us.”

Read more at “A Diet of Popcorn.”

Beauty in Deformity

“Beauty in Deformity”

Flawlessly the dissonant chords resonate–
rubbing and ringing.
The pain in the notes bearing
Beauty.
a crying, a caressing,
a longing…
The rhythm alternating
Quickening pace,
while voices crescendo.
A sometimes echo reaches
from the depths of wretchedness,
sparks a light, illuminates, dazzles, grows to a blaze–
Then suddenly!
silence
reverberates from the fleeting chaos,
rests on the notes past
and drips lovely peace.
Music is born from the belly of
the unconventional.
And still in consumate tension,
Beautiful is the perfectly formed deformity.

Whoville vs. Sparta

Whoville vs. Sparta.

I’ve read the article that Colson is referring to here; the “logic” of these ethicists is shocking, but so is the argument for abortion. Colson summarizes the issue and expresses well the call to action that we must fight for the lives of those who cannot fight for themselves.

The Stuff of Dreams

I am a dreamer, but unfortunately, I don’t mean in the poetic, wonderful, pondering-the-future-and-all-its-possibilities way.  I mean that I have a very active dream life when I sleep.

My sisters are laughing right now if they are reading this.  But who am I kidding?  My sisters don’t read my blog!  So I’m safe.*

My sisters tease me about a certain habit I have after I’ve experienced a crazy dream. Perhaps because I’m an external processor, or perhaps because I find writing therapeutic, or perhaps simply because I’ve tricked myself into thinking that this helps, I find comfort in writing out the dreams that I can remember shortly after I’ve dreamed them.  It is my belief that when I write out these dreams one of two things happens:  1) If the dream was pleasant, I have something to remember it by days, weeks, or even years later, or 2) If the dream is unpleasant (which is more often the case), I deal with it and move on.  I actually do think that when I write out my nightmares, they revisit me less frequently. {Insert laughter from sisters.}

The Rabbit Room — Who Then Devised the Torment? Love.

Great snippet on the poetry of T.S. Eliot:  The Rabbit Room — Who Then Devised the Torment? Love.

Pray for North Korea

Please pray for God to work in North Korea.  Inside Kim Jong-Il’s Diabolical World – Justin Taylor.

A Lyrical Retelling

What?  You’ve never heard of Andrew Peterson?  Well, it’s time I remedy that.

Andrew Peterson is my favorite musician for many reasons, not least of which is his Christmas album entitled Behold the Lamb of God.  In the following short interview, Peterson describes his album as “a lyrical retelling of the coming of Jesus into the world,” and that it is.  Listen to what Andrew Peterson has to say about his Behold the Lamb album and tour:

I was introduced to Andrew Peterson’s music early in college, and as soon as I heard the first song, I was hooked.  Peterson is a storyteller, a poet, and a theologian.  His songs are rich with meaning and biblical truth.  

‘Tis the Season to be Giving

It’s that time of year again…

Time to buy Christmas presents for others and create our Christmas lists.  Time to check out the holiday sales and shop ’til we drop.  Time to snatch up the best deals of the season on the perfect gifts for others (and maybe even ourselves).

But wait.  Is that what Christmas is all about?

Because of living in Taiwan, my holiday shopping is somewhat limited to online purchases. No pre-dawn lines that wrap around the store for me!  This year, I found it interesting though that the typical one-day, doorbuster, holiday sales lasted for, not one day, but a week each online.  Amazon (my online retailer of choice) advertised Black Friday Deals Week, Cyber Monday Deals Week, and now (I just checked) the aptly titled “Holiday Flurry Deals Week” is going on.  I wonder what next week’s AMAZING deals will be titled.  :)

Like many people, I got caught up in the craze of Christmas shopping and sales over the last couple of weeks.  This was compounded by the fact that my wonderful parents are coming to visit me and my sisters in Taiwan for Christmas–they’ll be here in just 12 days!!–so this was our chance to have them special deliver much-sought-after-and-not-found-in-Taiwan items.  It wasn’t all bad; I was able to find some great deals on gifts for my family and friends.  I even did pretty well at not going overboard on my purchases.  Yet it was my mindset that was polluted by consumerism.  I found myself gazing longingly at pictures of iPads and digital cameras and wondering just how much my budget could be stretched to purchase that on-sale season of Psych or Michael Bublé’s smooth new Christmas album.

In the midst of this greediness of my heart, our school launched its Christmas offering project, and I was reminded about the true meaning of Christmas:  giving.  After all, Christmas is when we remember the greatest gift ever given, the gift of God’s Son to mankind.  Isn’t it appropriate that we take time to focus on sacrificial giving at Christmas time?  What are you prepared to give to others this Christmas season?

Have you heard of Adolf Hitler?

This is an incredibly thought-provoking video that should inspire and challenge each and every one of us to consider our worldview on some level.  I encourage you to take the time to watch the entire piece and to evaluate your own heart as you watch.

Dude, Where’s Your Bride? – Kevin DeYoung

Very interesting–and, I think, accurate–article.  This resonates with the desire of my heart these days.  Take a look at, “Dude, Where’s Your Bride? – Kevin DeYoung.”

Just An Ordinary Guy

“I’m just an ordinary guy who loves the Lord and tries to obey Him.  If I have done any good, it is God working through me.” ~ Grandpa Ralph, August 26, 2011

Grandpa Ralph in uniform (right) and Grandma Gladys next to him

It’s 11 p.m. on Monday night in Taiwan, but a funeral began an hour ago in New Jersey for Grandpa Ralph, one of our dearest family friends and an adopted grandfather to me and my sisters.  

Found. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

Every now and then Jon Acuff gets a little serious and shares profound biblical truth.*  This post brought a moment of clarity to my night.  I needed to read this.  El Roi, please see me.

Found. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff.

*Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE his humor too!

Smoke Stacks and Mountain Ranges

After two years and counting, I am still amazed every time I look out of the windowed balcony doors of my cozy apartment that is perched on a mountain just outside the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  From my 12th floor vantage point, I see a contrast of worlds. 

A Very Google Birthday

It was so nice of Google to wish me a “happy birthday” today.  Thanks.  :)

Tears of the Saints

Tears of the Saints from AsiaLink HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

9/11 and International Students

Great reminder, Matt.  9/11 and International Students « The Smuckers.

9/11 From the Eyes of a Freshman

In August 2001, I packed my bags and made the long haul from Flemington, NJ to Wilmore, KY to attend Asbury College as a freshman.  My parents came with me to help me put together my room and get settled.  There were tearful goodbyes when they left, but excitement loomed at the start of this great new adventure.  The beginning of the year was a blur of newness–new friends, new dorm, new classes, new freedom…new everything.  Classes started without a hitch, and I settled into a new routine.

Against this backdrop of fun and newness, what began as a normal day less than a month into the school year transformed into a day of horrific events that will forever be seared into my mind.  

Redeeming culture. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

Convicting words.  Especially compelling is the video at the end: “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”  ~ from a well-known atheist

Redeeming culture. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff.