Fun Video Of Caine's Arcade

Probably one of the cooler videos I've seen in a while. Super creative and very touching. Enjoy!

 

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

much love,

the petersons

Things We Can Learn From Kids Movies

So I mentioned the other week that we had a kung fu party after we watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Well for the past few weeks I’ve had a post idea half completed about some things I’ve learned from Kung Fu Panda 2. But first you need to know this. For the longest time in the back of my mind I thought that it was terrible that Lily’s parents abandoned her.

Makes sense, right?

Well recently I’ve been thinking of a different scenario. If you remember, in Kung Fu Panda 2, Po’s parents leave him behind when their village is attacked. Not because they wanted too, but because they had too. And the thought that has begun to develop in my mind is this “maybe these parents didn’t want to give their kid up" or "maybe it was the hardest decision they ever had to make."

I don't know the reasons for why Lily's (or Ellie and Sammie's) families abandoned them.

I wish that I could tell them that we love their child. That Lily will go to bed tonight full. That she will wake up and have clothes to wear. But most importantly that she is surrounded by people that love and care for her.

Maybe I should also re-read my post on not judging others because we don't always know the whole story...

What are your thoughts?

much love,
the petersons

Why I'm A Jerk

"A jerk if I've ever seen one."

(Some of you already know why I'm a jerk. This is just one more example of why.)

Our whole family got on the subway after a fun lunch date at Burger King. The subway wasn’t incredibly packed, which was good. Throughout our trip home our family all ended up getting seats (with me standing next to them holding the stroller with the boys). The only thing that was wrong with the picture was that a man sat in the middle of our family separating Ellie, Aubrey, Caleb, Sammie and I, from Heather, Lily and Sydney. In my mind this young guy was being selfish for not moving and letting us sit together.

I was annoyed. 

I’m just looking at this scene and thinking how simple and obvious is it that this guy should offer me a seat so we can sit together as a family. I let Heather know of my bad attitude. Then something happened that changed the story. Something I didn’t expect. 

When the young man got up to get off at his stop, I noticed that he limped to the door. That’s when I was reminded that I’m a jerk. Why am I a jerk? Because, I judged this guy’s actions and I shouldn’t have. In my mind it was simple. He was taking up a spot that made sense for him to give to us. In my mind it was because he was selfish and unconcerned with my family. So when I realized he had a limp the story opened up a little bit.

Maybe it’s not easy for him to walk, maybe he’s in a lot of pain, maybe he’s ashamed. All of these are reasons that make sense; I just didn’t know them when I judged him and his actions/motives.

We shouldn't judge for many reasons, but one is because we don’t know the whole story. Only God knows every detail. Let's withhold judgement in our relationships. With our spouse, our kids, our friends and even strangers.

And you know what judgment also does, it divides us. I can’t love someone I’m judging. Plain. And simple. More on why I’m a jerk another day. 

What are your thoughts about judgment and love? 

much love, 

the petersons

Teaching English in China

So I've been teaching English on the weekends for the past year. It's been a good run and I wanted to put some funny stories together for you.

First off, many Chinese people who are studying English have the worst English names. It makes me laugh to think of some of them, I will miss the following students; Purple, Garden, King, Nemo, Rain, Rainy, Sky, Star, Boson (no idea what this is or means), Dress (who's name was actually Joyce, but I called her 'Dress' for probably 4-5 months). I also won't forget the most popular English name in China, which is Jerry. Kids here love Tom and Jerry and I would sometimes have multiple kids with the name Jerry in my classes. One benefit is that if I forget my students name I could guess Jerry and be right more times than I would be wrong.

Then there were the times where I would be at the whiteboard and I would spell words wrong. One time I was asking my students what their favorite animals were and then I would write them on the board. One kid said "hippopotamus" and there was no way I was going to get it right, so, out of embarrassment, I quickly moved on to the next animal. I also discovered that I can't spell giraffe or sandwich without the help of spell check. Thank you spell check you are my freind.

I will not, even for a second, miss the way my students would make fun of my Chinese. Correcting all of my tones and making me feel like my Chinese was worthless.

I won't forget when one kid was confused as to if I was a boy or girl. Also, I won't forget how on my last day a student asked me "Are you white, black or yellow?", I wanted to say to him, "I have no idea". And I'm almost certain that I was called fat on multiple occasions. We've covered this in previous posts, the Chinese have no problem telling you you're fat.

Leaving was tough. I loved my students and tried desperately to encourage them and build them up. I did have some kid's parents tell me some really encouraging things, which was nice. Other kids told me they were sad that I wasn't coming back. I appreciated it. I really loved my students and will miss them. Even if they did drive me crazy from time-to-time.

Do you have any questions for me about teaching English in China? If so, comment below.

much love,
the petersons

What Would You Do If You Were Boss

"What would you do if you were boss?"

I would start by saying close your eyes, but then my soothing voice would go away.  So for now keep your eyes open, but in your mind imagine the following situation.

You walk into work tomorrow; and it's just like any other day, expect on this particular day the owner comes to you.  He then announces to you  “We’ve just promoted you to president of our company.  Congratulations!”  Of course, you would be overwhelmed with joy.  But what would you do with your new authority? 

Some of your reading this would maybe fire the previous boss, you know, the one you don’t like too much.  Maybe you would demote the person who hurt your feelings last month.  Or maybe you would transfer another co-worker, the one that always gets on your nerves, to position far far away.

Maybe you wouldn’t use your authority to do anything like that.  Maybe instead you would flex your authoritative muscle to move your office to the best spot in the office.  Or maybe finally get that special parking spot you’ve always wanted.  Maybe you do something small like extend your lunch break.

For most of us we would use our authority to do one of two things; punish our enemies and protecting or expanding our comfort.

But I love when the Gospel of John says “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything...”  John 13:3

Same position right? Jesus with all the authority, but it continues to say this...

“So he (Jesus) got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin.  Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.”  John 13:4-5

Wait.  Jesus knows His authority and then His first order of business is to bend down, like a slave, and wash the dirty, stinky, grimy feet of his followers… huh?

That’s right, He serves.  He could do anything with his authority.  And He serves.  I want my marriage and parenting to look like this.  That I could take the authority and responsibility given to me and use it to serve.

What things are you learning about God these days?  Join the conversation by commenting below.  Or if you like it, click the "like" button.

much love,

the petersons

Where Does Generosity Come From

It doesn’t matter how much you have in your wallet.  Generosity is more than financial freedom; it’s a mind-set, a spirit that we need to foster.  It has more to do with your heart than it does your bank account.  For the longest time I had dreams of becoming rich and then sharing that wealth with others.  But if I can’t share now (without the millions of dollars), who can say I will share than (when I do have the millions of dollars)?  

Generosity is freedom from the fear that money and scarcity bring.  Are you free or fearful?

You and I both have something we can share right now with those around us; those at our work, our school, our neighborhoods, and our own homes.  Even if we are in need, we still have something we can share. 

Maybe what you have to share is just a few bucks.  Maybe what you have to share isn’t the color green at all, but instead is the one thing that is most needed.  Let’s find what we have to share, what our gifts are, where our time is and let’s give it away to a ridiculous degree.

That’s just my thought for the day.

A great way to put this in practice is by checking out our post from yesterday where you can give $10 and help an orphan meet his forever family.

Am I wrong?  What are your thoughts about generosity?

much love,

the petersons

Kids Kung Fu Night

"I used this to help win my award."

It’s been many moons since our last dance party.  However, a few nights ago, as we finished watching Kung Fu Panda 2 we had a different kind of party.  A Kung Fu Party!

We all threw pillows, balls, fists and kicks in all directions.  I felt like I was Neo fighting the 100 Mr. Andersons, except in my version two of the Mr. Andersons (Caleb and Sammie) were crying because they didn’t get to use the foam sword (or some other lame reason).  A couple times I would get buried with pillows and then yell “Jesus” and shoot out of the pile sending pillows in every which direction (This, however, is not meant to be a theological point, because I doubt Jesus would give anyone supernatural power to shoot out of a pile of pillows).  I feel like I need to hand out some awards, so the following awards go to these winners.

Awards:

Highest hit percentage (for the contestant that hit the most targets when throwing balls)

Me.  I was on fire, I had to have hit my kids 9 out of 10 throws.

Lowest hit percentage (for the contestant that missed the most targets when throwing balls)

Ellie and she won by a mile.  The only time I remember her hitting anyone was when she hit me in the nose. At least she made her one hit count.  Good work!

Highest dance percentage

Aubrey, it wasn’t a dance party but she danced and fought her way into the record books by dancing for 99% of the time.

Least active contestant

Lily and it wasn’t even close.  Half the time she was at the table eating strawberries.  At one point all the kids were burying me with pillows and I dramatically reached my hand towards her and in a desperate tone I  said “Lily”.  Her reaction?  It was to continue to watch me get buried alive with pillows.  (To her credit she did start rescuing me shortly after that…)

Slasher (to the player who imaginary cut the most stomachs with a fake sword)

Me.  To be honest I was the only one doing this.

It was fun.  But it also reminded me of a post I wanted to write.  About how we can learn things from kid’s movies.  In particular, what I learned from Kung Fu Panda 2 and how it relates to adoption, foster care and abandonment.  I will post it in a couple days.

But for tomorrow I have something special planned... you'll have to come back to check it out.

What fun things do you do with your kids?

much love,

the petersons

A BUNCH of Photos Of Chinese Food

The boys and I went for a walk the other night.  I decided to take my camera and snap some photos.  I ended up getting a bunch of photos of the local Chinese food and put them together in a little post for you.  I hope you enjoy!

"A little BBQ eggplant.  Actually I'm surprised at how much I enjoy eggplant dishes."

"Sammie looking up at me while a click away."

"Caleb was super excited to be out on a walk and taking pictures.  Can you tell?"

"BBQ shrimp anyone?"

"Or how bout chicken wings?"

"Or whatever this is? Maybe there should be a prize for whoever can tell me what this is."

"Here's the whole gang."

"Vacuum sealed fish.  I hope you're not too jealous."

"Spam."

"Vacuum sealed tofu.  This is for people who don't value their life."

"More vacuum sealed snacks.  I imagine that if I grew up in China and was going on a road trip I would grab me some chicken feet every time."

"These are a yummy snack."

"You can never go wrong with a Chinese Snickers.  This is where happiness is."

Food in China. What would be your first choice if you were hungry and out on a walk in Xian?"

much love,

the petersons

What Do You See As Holy?

"One place to find rest, coffee and a book."

I was reading from this book recently, you might know it, and in it God calls the Sabbath a holy day.  You know, the day that God chose to rest and the day that He tells us to rest on; He calls holy.  I can tell you that, honestly, I’ve never really valued rest and I’ve certainly never viewed it as holy.

But here it is, in the Bible, being called holy.

The truth is that I’m influenced by some deep unhealthy need; to do, to produce, to achieve and that’s why I don’t value rest. At the end of the day I believe that I’m only as valuable as what I produce, what I achieve and what I accomplish.

It's not true though.  It takes everything within me and even faith to realize something much more important, I’m valuable and worthy no matter what I do or don’t do. There's more.... I’m not the only one.

This includes you. You are important, valuable, and worthy too.

I want to value rest.  I want to see it as holy.  I want to be comfortable not doing.  I need God’s help even in this; resting.  It’s not that I don’t rest now, I just think I want to be more intentional about when I work and when I rest (and how I rest).  Take care of yourself, of your spouse, of your children, by choosing to rest and do it on a regular basis.

How do you rest?  Do you see your rest as holy?

much love,

the petersons

20 Questions

20 questions I’m pondering with my wife being in Beijing for the next five days:

1. What are the long-term consequences (and benefits) of an all grilled cheese diet for five days?

2. Can I land on hoarders after only five days of not cleaning the house, washing the dishes and not doing laundry?

3. What’s the Guinness book of world records record for largest blanket fort? 

4. And do I need to borrow some blankets from Mr. Gao from across the hallway to beat that record?

5. How many nights should we pull our mattresses into the living room to have a sleep over movie night?

6. What outfit will look best on me for five days straight?

7. When was the last time I went five days without a shower?  I’m due for another fiver.

8. Are the kids too young for a Star Wars marathon?

9. Can I dread my hair on my own in five days?

10. Two words; Handlebar and moustache?

11. Is five days enough time to teach Sammie to say “Go Vikings!” and “I hate the Packers!”?

12. Can I teach Sydney how to play Madden football in five days?
13. Will my neighbors and friends give me looks if my kids go to school  in their pajamas?

14. Will I make it to anything on-time without Heather?

15. Who will I talk to if I’m feeling down?

16. What are the lyrics to “Jesus loves me this I know” in Chinese?

17. Is it 3 or 4 layers that Heather puts on the kids?

18. If my kids get sick how will I comfort them like she does?

19. How will I survive without her?

20. Is my wife having a good time?

I love my wife.  The kids and I will miss her terribly.

What question was your favorite?

much love,

the petersons