by Ted Kang

God, in His wisdom, marked time with seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years so that we could remember and reflect upon the stories that make up life.  Driving through 2,400 miles of desert and mountains in Arizona and New Mexico over the holidays, I had plenty of opportunities to look back and recount the significant events and changes of the past decade.  Welcoming my fourth daughter at the turn of the decade, taking on the assignment of leading the church in this season, losing 30lbs of weight to become healthy again, going back to school for another degree are just a few of the personal milestones over the past 10 years.  As a church, we launched a preschool and a Chinese school out of our Vision 2020, planted a new church in Mountain View, helped plant the one and only Arabic church in San Jose, and are preparing for the launch of another church plant in the near future. What is not very obvious to us is the fact that these things didn’t simply “happen” to us.  Rather, they were the outcome of a thoughtful, intentional and resolute effort driven by our faith in God’s promises and a vision of the future. And for each of these things to be birthed, we all had to make some significant changes in our priorities and commitments.  

For many, life simply “happens.”  We go through the daily motions of getting up, going to work, and going to bed wishfully anticipating that something good will happen to us.  But I do not believe this is the way God intended for us to live. God Himself is the great Designer, who made the heavens and earth and everything in it with a clear purpose and plan.  They were spoken into being. They were each created with a masterful design and irreplaceable purpose. You are not an accident or a happen chance. Created in the likeness of God, we possess the God-like ability to design each day of life with thoughtful and intentional purpose and plan rather than leaving it to chance.  

God has new and exciting stories to write about you and me, and this church family!  Mere wishful thinking or passive waiting will never get us there. It will require some significant changes in our thinking and actions to accomplish all that God has ordained for us.  Here are some questions for us to consider as we plan and build our lives according to God’s design.

• Where is God taking you in this next decade?  
• Where is He taking us as a church? 
• What are the assignments that God has for you in this season? 
• How are you maximizing the giftings and passions God has endowed you with?  
• What are some old habits, desires and beliefs that need to die?  
• What are some new habits and desires you need to develop in order to live mindfully and intentionally towards the vision God has for you?  
• What stories will you have to tell at the end of this decade?