Diet Pop

One of the things that they don't really do here in Taiwan is diet pop. They have Diet Coke & Coke Zero but no diet flavors and Pepsi doesn't offer any diet products. I love drinking pop, always have and probably always will but a few years ago I did start to come to terms with it's negative effects on my waistline. I started to look into the calorie contents of food/drink and surprise surprise pop & beer were bad for me. Ever since then I basically only drink diet pop...i know some of you will have the inclination to share your thoughts on the negative health effects of diet pop but don't bother commenting on that, for me it's about the extra weight. I'll take Splenda/Aspertame over straight sugar any day.

So...when i'm in N.America I love drinking diet pop especially Diet Dr.Pepper and Diet Root Beer. During our annual summer vacation in Saskatchewan there is always a supply of diet pop wherever you find me. On a similar note I'm also a fan of some of these new lite beers at home, like Bud Lite Lime. I'm in trouble if they come up with Sleeman's Honey Brown Lite. I like these diet pops so much that the last few times we've returned to Taiwan I've packed up our suitcases with a couple dozen cans. Some would say, and have said, that it's a crazy use of luggage weight but I see it as a very valuable import. On my recent trip to Atlanta I came across an amazing drink that I could probably drink through I.V. for the rest of my life (alternating with bags of Starbucks coffee of course)...CHERRY COKE ZERO. I had a sample at the World of Coke Museum and made sure to pick one up every time we were near a convenient store. I managed to bring back a 12 pack of cans. They lasted for two weeks, and were good to the last drop each time....however, the sad day has come. Last night I drank the last one. :( Who knows how long it'll be until my next batch of diet pop but i'll remember all the good times Cherry Coke Zero and I had.

The Last Can

Website update (update)

I was informed that the videos weren't working...I've made the adjustments and they are now up and running.

Website update

If you aren't reading this on our website it's time for you to check it out. I've linked all of our family blogs there and there are photos and videos galore.

I've spent some time in the last couple days updating some stuff. So check out the photos page and the videos page. The videos have some golden moments with the kids. I also made some superficial changes, our blog headers are all new and pretty.

Here's the link: http://web.me.com/chrismckenzie/themckenzies/Home.html

Dreading next week

If you've talked to me in the last couple months you've no doubt heard me talk about the struggles of having two kids. I don't know how people raise more than two kids, it's been so stressful, tiring, frustrating. I love both of my kids and they still melt my heart daily but it's no easy task. I have an incredible wife who has allowed me to have a lot of free time this summer as she has taken on much of the day to day parenting. She goes back to work this upcoming Monday and so begins my return to at home parenting. I'm petrified. With one kid it was a difficult but manageable role...Gemma and I would usually sleep in a bit, watch some TV, eat breakfast, do one activity or outing then Nevada would come home for lunch, we would nap for almost two hours after lunch and then kill off one more hour with a snack and activity. It was a busy day but worked out well. Gemma now is a lot busier and needs much more stimulation which is exhausting and now there's a second one with a routine of his own and very different needs. I have complete respect and admiration for at home parents who do this job with their whole heart and whole energy. When I began in the role of stay at home parent my focus was to make up for where my father failed. Growing up without a dad has had it's effects on my life and I wanted a chance to out-do him as well as right the ship moving forward. I believe i started strong but almost 3 years in I'm struggling. I've also gained an appreciate for my role in the workplace and have had a change of heart, I now want to be able to work hard at my job and provide for my family. This is not the reality of our situation here in Taiwan. I work at a small church that pays me what it can but it isn't head of household kind of money. So with that being said I maintain one foot in the door at home and one in the workplace. We have had wonderful friends who have babysat for me in the past years so that I could get away from the house to work or to destress a little. This year we're trying something new by hiring our friend Annabelle to babysit consistently 4 afternoons a week. She's an amazing woman who has a gift with little kids. Gemma loves her and has so much fun when they are together. I know she will do a good job. I'm still parenting in the mornings and one full day a week. Please pray for me as I'm totally overwhelmed and feel like I won't make it. I want to be a great dad for my kids but somedays I just don't feel like I can do it.

Communication gap

Well, we're back in Taiwan after 6 weeks in Canada and it feels great. This is home for now and as everyone knows if feels good to be at home. Vacations are great but it's tough to live out of a suitcase for too long.

Today I shaved off my summer beard. It's a sad thing as I like to have a beard but my beard just doesn't come in that great and makes me look older and fatter. Not to mention the heat of having a squirrel's worth of hair on your face. The next step was to get a haircut. I had grown my hair all summer and was looking forward to growing it out a bit longer. However it needed a trim because it was bushy and shapeless. So I went to my normal place, Yellow Ted, where they give me decent haircuts for a good price. I sat down and gave my usual instructions, "I want it a little shorter here and here, and leave this part long". This is the extent of my haircut Chinese. For the most part it usually works out...today was not like that. The first couple passes of the scissors through my hair took off a whole lot more than I expected. And before I knew it it was too late. She cut and cut and buzzed and buzzed...and all of a sudden I basically had a mohawk. Now I dig a unique haircut as much as anyone, in fact I've been known to experiment a lot with my hair but as a grown up with a public role i can't mess around too much. It's not the best move to look like a punk teenager. Luckily my hair grows quickly and this hairdo will see recovery in about a month but for now I'm looking a little funny. This is yet another reason why I need to bone up on my Chinese skills. God has been speaking to me about my life here in Taiwan. If I'm going to be here, living here as my home, I need to work at immersing myself more. Eat the food, speak the language etc. It's ok to be an outsider with a genuine interest in the place but to be effective and really connect with people here I need to jump in with both feet. My hope is to work on my Chinese and take some bolder steps in connecting with the community around me. It'll be tough but the rewards will be worth it. God is faithful.

Vision...

As a church leader I've been bombarded with questions about VISION. What is the vision for your church? What is your vision for ministry? I've struggled a bit to answer these questions and I realize that it's probably because I've always maintained a broad, generic, generalized vision of wanted to see people come to Christ, join the church and be strengthened in their faith. These are all fair goals but sort of explain the general vision of all churches. Most people want to know where I'm going in ministry (what is my goal?) and where is the church (the Pearl) going. So I bought a book to help learn about this whole topic: Visioneering, by Andy Stanley. I'm only two chapters in but it's been helpful so far. One of the things that has simplified the whole thing is the idea that one's vision comes out of having a burden for a certain group of people or certain issue. He says that most of us see something and want it to be different. We see how it could be and want to take action to change it. That's where our vision begins. I have some strong indicators of what it is I care about and how I want to see it changed but as I work through what my vision for ministry is it leads me to another question. As a pastor/church leader is my personal burden the one that is supposed to shape the vision of the church I'm leading or am I supposed to have a personal vision and a different corporate vision to unleash? I guess the reason I'm working through this question is that in the fall our church needs to clarify it's vision/focus/goal and I'm not sure if, as the leader, I'm supposed to explain my passion and have others join in or is it more of a democratic process where we try to find a vision that captivates the majority of the congregation. Does our church follow my vision lead or do we come up with a group vision. It's obviously easier to just say "here's my vision, this is what WE are going to be about at the Pearl." That way the goal is set immediately and we can begin to work at it together. The other way can be a major challenge. We all know of scenarios where coming up with consensus decisions is a real pain. Too many cooks in the kitchen, if you will. And then there is the issue of my personal vision not co-inciding with the consensus ideas. What then?

You're thoughts on personal/corporate vision would be appreciated? Leave a comment...(and if you can't leave a comment...some people have expressed difficulties...please email me your thoughts chrismckenzie@thepearlintaipei.com)

I need to blog...

I used to view blogging as an outlet for things on my mind and felt like it was a safe place to share knowing that the core of my readers were close and supportive. Through the years though I've scaled back, to the point that many of you are probably surprised that I'm actually writing a post right now. I think that as live goes on I get more guarded about sharing too openly, seems to be too much flack that can be taken. I hate that feeling. The feeling that if I say what's really on my mind people won't like me or respect me. So I'm going to do my best to revert back to my old ways of honesty and openness. I hope you will appreciate that and join in the conversation of my life.

Great night!

Back in the day in Saskatoon I was involved with a group called the Worship Freehouse. It was a collective of Christians that met to explore doing community/worship/church in a different way. Something that I really enjoyed were the theological discussions had over a cold pint at the Black Duck. It was an excellent casual environment to share life with each other.

With that in mind I decided to start something similar at the Pearl. We call it, quite simply, Theology Pub. Since we are an international non-denominational church it's a great place to discuss our different upbringings and viewpoints. One of my goals is to bring us on to a similar page, so that the unity in our community can strengthen. As we share around the table I believe we all learn something and come closer to understanding each others viewpoint. The goal is not to come up with solid answers or discover who's right but moreso to open the channels of communication that sometimes stay blocked and limit our ability to develop relationships.

Tonight we had the best Theology Pub yet. There were about 10 people there representing many different backgrounds and streams of thought. We debated about the Charismatic Spiritual Gifts and their place in the church. Some personal stories were shared, some Bible passages explored and there were some heated moments. I left feeling encouraged that everyone was given a chance to share and that we all have a new spin on things that needs to be chewed on. It's such an amazing thing to see so much diversity in one room coming together in the name of God and building relationship through an unorthodox church activity.

The body of Christ embodied in the church is a concept I'm in love with and look forward to many more nights of arms fighting with legs and eyes trying to be ears all in the name of working it out together to be a functioning body.

My happy place

Although I’m a loyal Starbucks customer sometimes I step out of my comfort zone to explore the local coffee scene. We live in a university neighborhood and despite what you may think about Taiwan there is a very vibrant cafe culture here in Taipei. There are coffee shops everywhere and although some of them miss the mark there are others that stand out as hidden gems.

Today was a tiring day and I spent a lot of time nodding off and eventually crashed after supper for a couple of hours. But with work to do I’ve headed out on the town to find a little corner to seclude myself and focus in on work. My first stop was Cafe Giulano. It’s a great little spot with sort of a Parisienne style. Fancy floral furniture and very old worldly. Most importantly my recent favorite coffee drink...sambuca coffee. It a delightful mix of espresso & sambuca topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Mmmmm...It was a great treat. Unfortunately I got there at 10:30 and they closed at 11 so my stay was brief. Well worth it though for the drink. Funny story side note: While I was sitting on the patio this lady came up with her dog in tow. This isn’t uncommon in Taiwan for people to have their dogs at cafes or even restaurants...especially places with outdoor seating. She leaned her head into the cafe to make her order. Her dog remained outside connected to the leash. While the lady was interested in what liquids would enter her body the dog had other ideas. Before you could even make sense of it the dog started peeing right on the patio and directly on to a fan that was set up on the floor. It was right next to my table and I sat that with a “did that just happen?” look on my face. I shared a goofy grin with some people at another table who witnessed what had happened. What a strange situation...oh well...c’est la vie!

After the first coffee shop closed down I was still intent on doing some work and wanted a chill spot to sit down. I skateboarded around the neighborhood to see of any other places were still open. Luckily enough one of my other favs was open until 1 am. So here I am sitting in the cleverly named “Cafe Espresso”. It has the best atmosphere. Tables with comfy antique style chairs. Each table is dimly lit with a light fixture that drops from the ceiling and sits just a foot and a half off the table. Very intimate feeling. They have classic jazz playing with that record player sound and an ecclectic decor that includes antique cabinets filled with collections of old mugs and glasses. They have a big coffee roaster on display as well as burlap coffee sacks spread around the room. The whole vibe is just relaxing and perfect for achieving that feeling of sacred space away from the busy world. It's times like these that I have no complaints about life. The struggles are forgotten, the stresses are melted away and I can't help but be happy.

Where is your happy place? If you haven't found one yet, keep looking cuz once you find it your soul will thank you.

Visitors galore

So Nevada, Gemma, Guinness and I have been fortunate to have my mom here for an extended visit. All in all she'll be here for a month. She came to hang out with us and to help with the adjustment of adding another little one to our family. She's been a great help, doing dishes, washing clothes, cooking the odd meal and of course cuddling/changing Guinness. She's also shopped a lot and we've all benefitted from some of those purchases. Although her and I don't always get along it's fun to have her here to joke with and banter with. Hopefully she'll make this a regular trip in the next couple years.

In other news, Nate (Nevada's brother) just booked his ticket to come here. Mom leaves on April 17 and Nate gets here on the 29th. It'll be his first time over here so it'll be really fun to show him around and help him to get his first taste of Chinese Asia. It'll be a different type visit than my mom, a little more touristy so that will be fun. I love giving people a taste of our life here and helping them to see the beauty that can be found on our island. It'll also be fun to have the kids spend some time with their uncle. I know he's not really used to hanging out with little kids but they'll grow on him. I'll make sure he gets enough adult time to blow off some steam. I don't know if I've mentioned it before but it's been awesome getting to know Nate in the last couple of years. I've never had siblings and the more we hang out the more I get a sense of what it's like to have a brother.