What a year I have spent with the Westminster family!  I have enjoyed all the musical activities and relationships with people around me through this season.  Many memories of this year will be with me for a long time, including; the Animal Public Concert;  Messiah Sunday; Children's Christmas Musical "King Wenceslas"; Westminster Chimes Talent Show; Music Recognition Sunday and Hymn Singing Sunday.

Now, we are into the Summer! Energy will abound and we will enjoy this exciting season!  Bu...

How amazing it is to see the life of nature!  After many months of hiding, leaves and grasses are showing green out of drab braches and ground of a long winter.   New leaves and flowers are so soft -- like a new-born baby's skin.   But, they are so strong!  God's wondrous creation of Genesis continues - on-going  -everyday around us.

As spring is a time of new beginning, May is a month full of the celebrating ceremonies of the church and school year’s closing.   Many will venture to highe...

In my memory, most Lenten periods were in the end of winter.  But, this year we experience this solemn time at the beginning of spring.  We need to remind ourselves of the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice and set our minds away from earthly desire as we fill our hearts with spiritual hunger. 

However, even in Lent we still celebrate God’s great love for us through our Sunday services.  This is why the 40 days of Lent following Ash Wednesday excludes the Sundays.  I am happy that it falls int...

One Sunday, Pastor Tricia gave a children’s sermon with two football teams' uniforms.  The conclusion was that we are followers of Jesus, so our behaviors and beliefs should reflect the image of God to the world.  It sounded like one of the most basic sermon themes we commonly hear.   But, the more I think of this matter, the heavier responsibility I feel as a Christian. 

We represent our God to people around us and we hope to do well. Often we don’t. Who will represent us most in hum...

We often recognize that we are weak and sinful in nature.  Even with Jesus' sacrifice and God's endless guidance, we stumble and disobey God.  Apostle Peter was rebuked as a Satan by Jesus right after hearing that he would be a rock of the church (Matthew 16: 16-23).  Our battle with our sinful nature will continue, until we stand before our God and join the eternal life in heaven.

During Lent, some people decide to sacrifice a favorite part of life to get a step closer to God.  It can be ...

It was after just 2 months of dating that I asked Miah to marry me.  The answer from her parents for us was to spend at least a year to get to know each other.  People in Korea generally say that you need to spend 4 seasons (one year) with people in order to know them well.

It has been 4 seasons for me and my family since we joined the Westminster family.  We have shared times of joy, sorrow, and many other emotions with Westminster families and the people of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area....

As it gets closer to the end of the year, we will be adopting a new directory.  While updating  the addresses and phone numbers of members, we sometimes need to eliminate certain names because there is no longer a reason to contact them.  In other cases, we call someone to say "hello" after a long absence.   This time of year, we recognize the importance of the relationships and realize that it needs continuing efforts to maintain.

This is true to the relationship between Jesus Christ and u...

While living in the United States since 1997, I have encountered various cultural differences between South Korea and the U.S.A.  Sometimes it's amazing to find that opposite expressions are used for the same situations.

For example, when Koreans leave work before their co-workers they tell them "work hard."  What do we say here in this case?  We will say "don't work too hard."  I don't think that these different sayings will make people work any differently.  It has been a "custom" in greet...

During the first couple weeks in this choir year, we have been blessed to see many returning and new members in each group.  The reason we need to move in to the new choir rooms for bigger space and renovated facilities became clear with the increased number of children and youth choir members in the current choir room.  Not only with numbers, but the plans we have with our church choirs will even demand more room.  We need to encourage our musical groups to grow in numbers and quality, but a...

“(Elijah:) I am the only one left... (God:)Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel-all whose knees not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him...”  (1 Kings 19:10 and 19:18) 

This conversation happened between Elijah and God when Elijah fled with fear for Jezebel's threat right after his unbelievable victory with God's help against the prophets of Baal.  Sometimes we think that we are alone in certain situations.  It's caused by our arrogance or lack of confidence.  But i...

Having  children enjoy vegetables for a healthy diet has been always challenging.  One day at a picnic in the church back yard a few years ago, I was a little surprised  to see a mom pick all the vegetables out of her hamburger:  tomatoes, lettuces, and so on.  When she had only the meat and cheese left, she became finally satisfied.  When found me looking at her, she smiled and said, "I cannot ask my kids to try vegetables because I am not a good eater as you see."

One day, I picked up a CD...

I remember a saying that I first heard a long time ago; "If you want to be happy for a week, have your hair cut. For 6 months of happiness, get a brand new car."

How do we bring happiness to our whole life?

Answers vary from person to person, but most agree that the people around us are more important than material things.  We need a certain level of financial stability to maintain our happiness, but it is only one of the factors that make our life meaningful.

Dr. Albert Schw...

Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night.
(1 chronicles 9:33)

When I found this verse in the Bible, it took me by surprise.  All the duties in God's temple are equally important.  Why are musicians specially excluded from other work because they work day and night?

The legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) said, "If I don't practice one day,...