Howdy folks. This is a post I've thought about making for some time (several years actually) but never really did. I think it will probably turn into several installments, because as soon as I push the "publish" button then I'll think of something else that I want to add.

At any rate, I've been thinking some about those moments in your life that stand out really, really clear to you. Perhaps they were big turning points for you or maybe you don't even know why you remember them so vividly. But here is an incomplete list of some of those moments in my life, in no real order.

Stacy Lewis' baby. I was probably about 10 or 11 years old when I went with my Mom to visis our friend Stacy Lewis, who had just delivered her 4th (5th?) child. At that time they were living in a small trailer house a little ways outside of Amarillo. I spent most of the time there playing with Jake (Stacy's oldest boy) but not long before we left I got a chance to hold the new baby.

Now of course this was not my first time to hold a new born (far from it!) but for some reason when I held that particular baby I was suddenly struck with just how amazingly precious human life is. I would imagine that holding your own baby for the first time must be something like what I felt then.

Mr. Burnett's kata. About three years ago Mr. Burnett (one of Mr. Murry's first black belts and an amazing martial artist) tested for his third degree black belt. Because of some health problems he did not have to do the fighting portion of his test (he is actually blind in one eye now because he lost vision in one eye in one of his brown belt tests...somehow the stress of the test caused his eye to just give out totally) so he had spent an amazing amount of time preparing his kata. The day of the test he was sick as a dog. As all the testing candidates went through their lower forms it was to the sound of his coughing.

When he got up to do his promotion kata you could tell he was feeling really bad. He threw his first strike and then started coughing again and had to start the kata over.

But after that fit of coughing he did what was truly the most amazing, powerful and real kata I have ever seen (and I've seen some pretty good ones). As long as I live I don't know if I'll ever be able to forget that kata.

Two days into Kinmen. Or perhaps I should say the first two days in Kinmen. From the moment I landed God gave me a love for the island and it's people. On my second day there I told BonnieJean that I was considering staying on for more than the six months I had signed up for.

Easter Sunday Funeral. Two easters ago I was in Kinmen. We had a sunrise easter service in Shun Why and then came back to Jing Chun for normal service. As I walked home from church that day I felt awesome. Christ was alive and I was rejoicing in the wonderful hope we have of salvation. As I came out of an ally way I was stopped by a large group of people walking down the street. Loud drums were playing and fire crackers were going off to keep evil spirits away. A large casket was being moved down the road and the mourners follewed it, their faces covered. The utter hopelesness of the whole scene cut right to my heart. They don't have that hope that I do.

Hmm...Kinda a sad note to leave y'all on....but I need to get back to studying. I'll try and write some more at a later time. In the meantime....somebody comment! please?