Turning 60!
Adventure in Ministry to Inspire your Journey
A Happy Birthday at School
It was a wonderful day of surprises. The day started with all the preschool, kindergarten and grade school students singing "Happy Birthday" in chapel. Jeanne and the school administrator organized every class to send me birthday greetings on the back of beautiful nature/tree photos. As I started the staff meeting at the end of the school day, Jeanne showed up with a big cake!
And in other news...
In a span of two weeks, in addition to my birthday and surgery (see below), our two children got engaged! Ellie and Isaac were engaged on February 21 and Timothy and Brooke on March 8. We are looking at an August wedding and a December wedding.
Birthday Trees
Here are the two trees that were gifts for my birthday!
Interesting—below is an air quality chart for our area. My birthday had the best air quality of 2025 thus far!
60 and My Body
Turning 60 is weirder than other birthdays. I think because "60" sounds like a new stage of "old". I don't think I look 60 and still feel very energetic...until I was recently diagnosed with a inguinal hernia. The timing was strange. Just when I'm feeling so healthy and turning the old age of 60, my body says, "you're old". So all in the same week: birthday on Wednesday and laparoscopic surgery on Saturday.
Of course being in the hospital and being operated on emphasizes the frailty of the body and dependency on others. Any pride that I had for being so youthful at this stage in life vanished! I was also humbled by all the people praying for me: BCCI school staff, a Chinese church, a Thai church, and many in the U.S. My frail body combined with this prayer support has deepened my resolve to be an even more committed disciple of Jesus Christ.
From a discipleship perspective: life is a precious gift from God. Life is not about how I feel or what I want. We must all come to terms with what motivates us and what desires stir deep within our hearts. In this next stage of life, I trust God in every situation. My life is completely in his faithful, sovereign hands. A good day is defined as a godly day, a prayerful day, a day submissive to God's will. I want these two Bible verses to become a greater reality every single day.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.