Kim's Cancer-Kicking SURPRISE Party

So last Saturday night we did it! We surprised Kim with a special party at Harvest Bible Chapel (Rolling Meadows) which included about 200 close friends and family and it was PERFECT. I thought she was on to me because I'm a horrible liar and left some inadvertent clues the last few weeks, but it turns out she had NO idea. Here is the video of her surprise entrance:
So a few weeks after we found out about our remission, I wanted to do something special for everyone (at least locally) that had been kind enough to serve us by feeding us, caring for us, sharing their own stories and verses from their respective trials with us, and faithfully praying for us in the midst of the greatest trial of our lives. What better way to do this than throw a big party? But most of all, I wanted the night to be about thanking the Lord, who ultimately healed my wife and who gave us life and gave His life - making all this possible. Thank you Jesus! I also sang a very special song that night after dinner, that I thought I'd share with you.
That wasn't it though. We got to see the Lord's faithfulness (and some funny moments) by walking through a slideshow history of Kim's life and we also got to hear some powerful testimonies from others about how God had used our cancer trial to move in their hearts and allowed them to "see more of Jesus". We ended everything with a video chronicling our journey (see below) and a great time of worship. A special thanks to everyone involved and all glory to God!

I'll try to get more video up on the blog soon - especially of the testimonies. There are so many of you out there that we wish could have joined us, and so these clips are my best attempt at doing that. We love you and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him. Sing praise to Him. Tell of all His wondrous works." -Psalm 105:1-2

The Reason for Our Hope (Part 3)

This post is the final one (of three) that summarizes "the reason for the hope that we have". It's the one post we hope you read and share on this entire blog as it is the reason for everything else - and so I'm also placing all 3 posts and video below under a new page above called "Our Living Hope". Please feel free to pass it along to whomever you wish.
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THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL

As I mentioned earlier, many of us seek answers to life's little questions and until a moment of personal crisis we ignore life's BIG questions. However, I believe before we can find answers to life's BIG questions there is one singular question that transcends them all. And that question is:

"Who do you say Jesus is?"

Jesus asked this all-important question to his disciples (Mt 16:13-17), and I believe this is the BIGGEST question we will ever have to answer. Is he just a man? Is he a good, moral teacher? Is he a prophet? Is he a phony? Is he a lunatic? Is he a liar? (HT: C.S. Lewis) Who or what is he? The funny thing is your answer to this question will profoundly impact all the other questions (BIG and small) you have in your life. 

Paul tells us that....

"He is the image of the invisible God..." Colossians 1:15a

The Reason For Our Hope (Part 2)

This post is a continuation from yesterday's which explains to anyone who is wondering where we find the hope that we have. If there is one post you read or share - let it be this one. If you missed Part 1 you can read it HERE. Final post (Part 3) to come tomorrow...
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ALL PATHS LEAD TO GOD?
Many people in today's day and age will tell you that all faiths are equal and that all religions lead to the same God. (see the blind man and the elephant, the wheel with many spokes, and the "we're all climbing the same mountain" analogies). Don't get me wrong, I am not here to disrespect other faiths or religions (I have many good friends of various faiths and I love them dearly), but as much as I have tried, I could not reconcile this "all paths lead to God" claim with what was being taught within the religions themselves. If you did an honest study of every religion you will find that they all make their own unique truth claims and they all have major differences in regards to life's "biggest questions" on origin, identity, meaning, destiny and especially salvation. So it's not only illogical but it's disingenuous to claim that they are all one in the same. (On a side note: Aren't making the absolute claims that "all paths lead to God" and "there are no absolutes" self-refuting statements and despite the appearance of "tolerance" doesn't it inherently assume an exclusive and more enlightened view over other views - which is the very thing people who make these claims accuse others of?) I won't get into all the details of the major differences here, nor am I trying to create a nasty forum which pits one religion against another. (Please don't leave comments of this nature). This is just a humble invitation to get serious about your own spiritual journey or faith walk, or whatever you wish to call it and to seek the answers to life's biggest questions with all your heart, mind, soul and strength before your heart, mind, soul and strength are taken from you. Life is too short, and it's only a matter of time before you are forced to confront these BIG questions in the midst of your own great personal crisis (if you are even given the opportunity of deep self-reflection) so you might as well start now.

The Reason For Our Hope (Part 1)

If there is one post in this entire blog that I hope you read in it's entirety - I hope it's this one (over 3 parts). If there is one post you share with anyone - I hope it's this one. This is the inspiration and impetus for every other post written on this blog, and I would be ok if every other post is forgotten if this one is given a fair and thoughtful reading. Thanks.
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see how dull and boring we are?

Like so many of you, up until about a month ago, I lived a very normal life. I've been married for over 10 years, live in suburbia with a great job in the city, and my beautiful wife and I are the proud parents of three young children. I love to travel with my wife, I love to play sports with my boys, and I love to go on "dates" with my little girl. Like I said, we're pretty normal - even boring you might say. Come to think of it, I'm Asian-American, studied Accounting, love baseball, and grew up Presbyterian - this is the very definition of "dull" and "boring".

Well, about five weeks ago (January 7th, 2012), our boring lives suddenly became very..."un-boring". It all started for us when, due to my wife's stomach pain, we took a trip to the ER on an otherwise normal Friday night. Over the course of two days the diagnosis evolved from a large stomach ulcer, to a pericardial effusion (massive fluid buildup around the heart) to Stage IV lymphoma cancer. Since then we have faced numerous surgeries, spent nearly 2 weeks in ICU, stared death in the face twice (see here and here) and started an aggressive chemotherapy regimen along with all the "fun stuff" (e.g. hair loss, hallucinations, intense body aches, nausea, fatigue, etc) that come with that.