Tummy Time- Take Two

Some of you have been asking for the update video of Evan's tummy time. Here it is. This video is about 2 weeks later from the first... in it he's doing so much while doing really nothing at all.

And no, that's not my Mickey Mouse t-hirt I'm wearing. It's, um....

In routing on Evan to muster up strength to lift up his head, I'm reminded of the One who gives us strength, both physically, and spiritually.

Psalm 3:3 "But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head."

Tummy Time: Take #1

This is Evan's first Tummy Time. We're trying to train him to lift up his head and push himself up on his own. I know... he sounds discouraged in the video. But don't worry, we encouraged him once the cameras were off.

Baby Evan, don't worry. Even Jesus had to take time to grow in stature. You'll lift your head up one day, son.

Luke 2:52 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

Poopey

Ok, no more pictures of Evan. Enough of that.

I've always remembered Hebrews 12, talking about a Father's discipline for his son.

"Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Heb. 12:10-11)

I've always understood it to mean that God will discipline us, and it's for our good. He does it out of his love, though at the moment we wonder why he would put us through it.

Now I think I'm really starting to understand it... from a father's perspective.

Evan is a good boy. He REALLY is. Everyone who comes to see him mentions how he doesn't cry very much. To be honest, he rarely does full-on cry beyond a wimper.

Ok I lied, here's some more pictures :)

But I noticed, as I assume it is with all babies, Evan punctures my ears whenever I open up his diaper to change.

I heard recently from a friend that it's because the baby is so used to being wrapped up tightly, bundled together, just like when he was in the safety of mommy's womb. That's why we swaddle the baby so snug, Evan Asada Burrito style. And when we open him up, we're exposing him and creating a sense of vulnerability, a feeling of insecurity.



And so Evan screams like no other moment in the day.

But as I'm cleaning him up, there's not a single second that I consider not going through the process of wiping up the mess. Not for a moment do I think it'd be better for Evan if I'd just close up the diaper again just so that he doesn't have to cry and feel insecure or vulnerable. No stinkin' way.

In my mind, as a father, it is without hesitation my desire to bring him through the process of getting him cleaned up. I know, without a second guess, it'll be good for him, and he will be glad he went through it.



God, our Father, is Good. And I know that. I've always known that.

But now, I think I feel it and understand it a little deeper.

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?" Hebrews 12:7

9/9

I preached a sermon recently on God's "kairos". According to the Bible, it's the divinely appointed time for things to happen as God determines it.

9/9 is a special day. Many friends and family were hoping for Evan to come on 9/9. How cool would that be?
Mommy was born on 11/11,
Uncle Ed (Monica's brother) was born on 10/10.
How sweet would it be if Evan was born on 9/9?

Sure enough, Evan arrived on 9/9. Absolutely Fantastic.

But I think 9/9 is special for other reasons as well.

I titled a recent post "The Lord Taketh Away". Just recently, my Grandma passed away at 93 years old. In the very same season, Evan was born. I thought is was rather timely.

Then, my mom told me that my other Grandma passed away on... you guessed it... 9/9.

As one generation passes, another arrives. "The Lord taketh away, and the Lord giveth." Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Then I remembered... wasn't I baptized on 9/9, 1989? I think I was! Then, at the hospital, my younger brother Daniel goes, "That's cool. I was baptized on 9/9."

YOU too?!

As one receives new spiritual life, another receives new physical life!

9/9... God's "Kairos" for the Mah family?

Maybe. But then, maybe not. Maybe it's just coincidence.

What I really hope for is that Evan will live his life pointing as Zechariah pointed in 9:9 of his book:

" See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

- Zechariah 9:9

BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD!



Daddy and Evan reading through Romans


We got into a little heated discussion over Romans 14.

Ridiculous Cuteness

Mini Evan


Jumbo Evan


Evan Asada Burrito



And here's a video of Evan doing absolutely nothing at all.

My Hero

This is my hero.



I'm really not trying to be sappy or cheesy, but she really is. I've already shared with others about how much I appreciate her having to alter her life by carrying around a human being inside of her for 9 months. I can't imagine the weight she's had to carry, physically, but also mentally and emotionally as she deals with the reality of having to give her life fully to the care of this baby inside of her. What she eats, what she can't eat, what activities she can't do, what new activities she MUST do, what fun she has to forgo, what education she has to pick up. The list of things that have changed her life are intimidating; her endurance through it all is inspiring.

All that had already blown me away. I told her numerous times before this week that I was so thankful for her and all that she does for our family by bearing Evan.

But then Evan is ready to break forth, and Monica comes through and delivers. And I am even more inspired and in awe of how much Monica has given. I can't explain how helpless I felt as a husband, standing there in the delivery room, with the tremendous task of... holding her ankle. While Monica was suffering intense contractions, then having to experience the nauseating symptoms of going into labor, to having to push for an hour and a half with all that she had, so much that she literally couldn't push much longer. Then, to see the doctor have to make an incision to open up the way for Evan to make his arrival.

Pray for Monica. She's gone through a lot. It's hard to see her so utterly drained from this delivery. And now the doctors say that it'll be a few weeks for her to recover from the lacerations that she received.

She is my hero.

BABY UPDATE!!!!!! PICS!

Introducing, Evan Jedidiah Mah: 7lbs. 14oz., 19 inches.


Mommy and Son


Papa and Son


The Gramms


The Gramps


The Auntie

Visiting hours are 8am-8pm. Feel free to visit us tomorrow at Torrance Memorial Hospital. *We are in room 360 on the Third floor. Thanks for standing behind us in prayer!

BABY UPDATE!!!!!! #4

SUCCESS!!!! Cutest baby EVER!!!!!!

Pics to come...

BABY UPDATE!!!!!! #2

Monica's now 8-9cm dilated! 1cm to go, and this baby is coming out! Keep praying, people!

BABY UPDATE!!!!!! #1

So, I'm dying trying to text and reply to everyone with my non-qwerty phone. And since I don't Tweet or Facebook much, I'll keep you guys posted here.

so basically, it's SHOWTIME baby!!! Monica and I checked into the hospital at Torrance Memorial last night at 12am since her contractions were acting up while leaving Disneyland. They sent us home at 4 am saying it was still a little too early.

This morning at around 10am, her contractions were unbearable and her nails were driving just a little too deep into my flesh, so we returned to Torrance Memorial.

Monica has been admitted, the doctors broke her bag, and it's time to get this Party Started.

Please keep praying for the good arrival of our baby! God is good.


Love,

Greg and Monica

The Final Four

I can't stop thinking about having a BABY BOY!!! Yeah Baby!!!

I also can't stop thinking about what to name him. This is killing me... we only have four months left. Time is running out!

So I finally got Monica to consider four names... and of course, we don't just want any name. We want something with real significance and meaning. Here are my top four:

1. Jedidiah- means "Loved By God"; nicknames: Jet, Jed, JD; Monica hates this idea, but I thought I'd include it here since it's quite amazing.

2. Evan- means "God's Grace; God's gracious gift"; I wanted to name him "Evangelist" (Messenger of Good News), with Evan as his nickname, but Monica WILL NOT HAVE IT. She likes Evan, only if it's Evan. This is fitting, since we agreed on Karis for a girl's name, which also means "Grace".

3. Bryce- ready for this? Means "Of Britain", or "Freckled". That's deep. It's a dope name, but the meaning kills it.

4. Kyle- means "Straight, narrow", as in a straight, narrow passage way. More narrow than it is deep, I guess. Nickname: Ky-Ky, Ky. Monica likes this too, but once again, not much meaning.

The Baby Results are in....

So we found out the baby's gender today. CRAZY. It's nice to finally know how to refer to our baby. I no longer have to call the baby "Baby" in order not to have to call "Baby", "It". :)

I have no idea what we're looking at in this ultrasound picture. See if you can guess. Can you see the peepee... or lack thereof? 5 bucks if you can guess Baby's gender before watching the video.



Watch this to see if you got skills.



So there you have it!

Some people have mentioned to me how they were encouraged by my "Reflections on 30" to start praying for their future partner. DO IT! Just a brief background, I started praying for my spouse in college, years before I started dating. I didn't know who she'd be, but I started praying that God would prepare me for her, and prepare her for me.

In 2001, I was convicted to start praying specifically for the possibility of a future with Monica. CRAZY THING IS, I didn't even like her then! After a conversation with one of my best friends, Mike, I told him that I was going to start praying about her. A year later, God worked in a way where we both began to find interest in each other. Now, we're having a baby. :)

But it's never too early to start praying for God to prepare us for the road ahead. I started praying for this baby even before we were pregnant! As soon as we got married, though we planned to wait 2-3 years to have a child, I began praying for the possibility of a future child- that God would give us children who loved Him and devoted their life to him. I prayed that God would prepare us as parents, to know how to raise the child in the Lord, and that God would prepare the child for us.

I pray for our baby everyday. I hope you would pray for him too.

I hope that you will pray for your future partner, whoever that may be. That God would mold you and make you ready for that person, and that person for you. I hope that you too would start praying even now for your future kids, if God decides to give you them.

Can't Tell Time

Thank you everyone for your emails and messages regarding our pregnancy! Many of you have asked me, "Were you guys planning to have a baby?!"

Yes and no. Yes we wanted a baby. No, not now. But I guess I realized something- I can't tell time. Not God's time at least.

Many of the Bread of Life youth have been memorizing Scripture as a response to the retreat we just had. So I recently memorized Proverbs 16:9.

"In his heart a man plan's his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Just looking at my relationship with Monica, I've had all my plans in line, my course mapped out. But geez, my clock does NOT seem to be in sync with God's clock, and my steps are NOT His steps! Here's how I've come to realize that God runs on a different schedule than mine.

- I wanted to date Monica immediately, He had us pray for 2 years.
- I wanted to date for 2 years and then get married, He had us go 5 years.
- I wanted to be married for 2 years and then have a baby, he had us go 5 MONTHS!

I GIVE UP. It seems like my 2's are his 5's, his 5's are my 2's. My years are his months, my months are his years!

I remember having memorized Isaiah 55:8-9 in the past:

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I think the Word of God got it right. WORD.

Name that Baby!

Alright, so Monica is now in her 2nd trimester. Still early, but we figure we start getting some ideas. We're having a hard time figuring that one name we both like.

People are always asking, what are you going to name your baby?! Then naturally, everyone's got their own suggestion. We've been given some meaningful names, from "Elijah" to "Maleia", to some outrageous ones, from "Nebuchadnezzar" to "Enduro Shark".

Here's your chance. Leave me your suggestions (one boy and one girl name), and any, if any, meaning behind it. If we end up using your suggestion, we'll let you be the first to baby-sit. Pizza's on us.

Reflections on 30

So I turned 30 this year. I figured I spend some time reflecting on my first 30 years, and so I wrote down the first memory that came to mind for each year I lived. Here are reflections of my first 30 years:

1. Born in San Francisco Chinatown, Kaiser Permanente. Taken to our home in Daily City, CA (don't remember much of this)
2. Moved to South Torrance.
3. Had reoccurring dreams of a T-Rex that would chase me around the house, and I would have to jump over a pit in the middle of my hallway to survive.
4. Fell in love with a brunette named Amanda. I would repeatedly draw her the same picture of a hill, a four-door car, and a rainbow.
5. Asked Keiko to marry me. She said she would if I would marry her.
6. Started my 5-year career at Hickory Elementary School.
7. My second grade teaher, Mrs. Cousin, pulled my hair and called me a “fat” liar. Traumatized.
8. Had a fat crush on Ms. Yamamoto. Made her a clay cup that said “#1 Teacher”, but the handle broke off, and I couldn't give it to her.
9. Was baptized at South Bay Chinese Alliance Church. Gave my best friend, Jose Morales, my 1972 Reggie Jackson baseball card for Valentines day, because it meant so much to me, and he meant so much to me. Now I can't even find him on Facebook.
10. Won 2nd place in my entire Cub Scout troop for the annual school-wide derby car race. My dad spent DAYS building the car.
11. Realized how fat I was, so tried to lose it by riding the exercise bike we had at home for at least ½ hour.
12. Stepped on a power sander and sanded off the flesh of my second toe.
13. Cut my own hair for the first time ever. Just under 4 hours.
14. Moved to a new school, West High. Prayed fervently that God would cause all the girls to like me. No joke.
15. Made it to frosh/soph tennis for West High. 0-11 record.
16. Truck broke down while driving to PV, got out to check under the hood, and my truck started rolling down Hawthorne Blvd. because I forgot to put on the brakes. It rolled down hill until it was stopped by a van coming up Hawthorne.
17. Got my first pager ever. 4 years late. Bravo LX. Mods: burgundy case, red back light, badtz maru and dragon ball stickers. 4364, 8684!
18. Top 5 Homecoming Court. Greatest high school accomplishment.
19. UCI Anteater.
20. Joined Crossroads Campus Ministries.
21. First cell phone ever. 4 years late.
Started Praying about the possibility of a future with Monica on July 11, 2001.
22. Graduated UCI with a B.A. in International Studies. Preached for the first time ever for the youth group at church. Preached outside for the first time at the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
23. Started the Masters of Divinity program at Talbot School of Theology.
24. Started to date Monica officially on September 4.
25. Started AlphaOmega Learning Company with Mike Yim and Jeff Wu.
26. Started developing a women’s designer jeans company. J-Star. Rustic Jeans.
27. First retreat ever. FCBC Hikoi Fellowship. First mission trip to Taiwan with OMF.
28. Proposed.
29. Married my beautiful wife, Monica.
30. Baby daddy.



Conclusion after 30 years: God is GOOD.