Merry Christmas!!!!

Hello, friends! 

Just in case yours copy got lost in the mail, here's our Christmas newsletter for the year! 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Progressive Dinner!

Hello, friends! 

Last week, our family got to take part in one of my favorite Nebraska IV traditions, the Progressive Dinner! We gather students from all over the state and progress from place to place for each part of the meal (appetizers, main course, and desserts). I love this event because it's a great way for students from different campuses to get to know each other and connect in a fun way. It's fun seeing students meeting new people and even getting dressed up for a "fancy" party. 

We knew things would be a bit smaller this year with all of the transitions in the Nebraska area, but we still felt the invitation to gather students, staff, faculty, alumni, and volunteers. We had people present from Metro Community College, Bellevue University, UNO, Creighton University, and University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Instead of using 3 different places for each course of the meal, we had appetizers in one part of our partner church, the main course in a second part of the church, then we all went to our coworkers house for desserts. 

One of the students who came is a Nigerian international student, ChiChi, who had just arrived 4 days before the dinner. She was invited by her roommate, Shelby Little, who is a student intern with InterVarsity at Bellevue University. ChiChi prayed that God would bring an African woman to the dinner for her to connect with as she adjusts to the United States. Jacinta is a Kenyan woman who was an international student over 20 years ago. She was set to come to the dinner but was feeling tired on a Friday night, but as she laid in bed God told her she needed to get up and go to the dinner. They met and connected so well. It's a great example of how this dinner has provided life long connections between people who wouldn't have a chance to meet otherwise. 

The kids also had a great time. They love running around and meeting new people. They REALLY love seeing some old friends, particularly the Bellevue women's basketball team. 

Have an excellent day! 

Wrapped!

Hello, friends! 

One of the most fun days of the year during the holiday season is Spotify Wrapped Day! This is the day when Spotify users all over the world find out just how much they've been listening to Spotify as well as their top artists and songs. It's a fun day for Spotify users, even if it doesn't really mean anything ultimately. 

The whole Omaha Leong family shares one Spotify account, which leads to some pretty interesting and hilarious results. A few of the highlights: 

- This year, I posted in the top .05% of all Kelly Clarkson listeners on Spotify, amassing nearly 2000 minutes of listening time. While this is quite an achievement in of itself, including over 2 extra hours of Kelly Clarkson listening compared to last year, I can't help but be a little disappointed. My goal was to reach the top .01% this year. To the roughly 10k people around the world who listened to more Kelly Clarkson than me, I salute you. 

- We really need to stop putting Ezra on DJ duty. Of our top 5 songs, 3 of them were worship songs (usually listened to by Megan while she's getting ready in the morning), Our top 2 songs were VERY much Ezra. That That by Psy (featuring Suga of BTS) and Stamp on the Ground by the Italo Brothers took our #2 and #1 spots this year. Ezra didn't even discover Stamp on the Ground until after we went to Cub Scout Camp in June and it still managed to reach #1 on our charts. When the boy locks onto a song, he REALLY locks onto a song... 

- We really slacked on our show tunes this year. Last year, songs from Hamilton, Wicked, and Encanto made our top list. This year, they were nowhere to be found. I think this probably goes along with Ezra dominating DJ duties. When we pick the songs as a family, we want something we can sing along to. When Ezra gets ahold of the playlist, it's all about dancing. 

Spotify's Wrapped only takes into account listening between January 1 and October 31 of any given year, meaning all my Kelly Clarkson Christmas music listening won't do me any good in terms of next year's rankings. That means I've got roughly 1 month to figure out how to get my listening up for next year. Increasing by 150 minutes still didn't get me into the top .01%, so there's still work to be done. I guess there's always next year's Wrapped!

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam 

Addresses Please!

Hello, friends! 

We are getting very close to the end of the calendar year, which means it's almost time for us to send our Christmas letters! 

Over the course of the year, I'm sure that there have been lots of life changes for lots of us! Maybe folk have moved! Maybe folk have changed their marital status or the size of their family! They say that the only constant is change, right? 

SO, dear friends, if you've had a significant change in your life over the past year, specifically related to your mailing address, would you be so kind as to fill out the form below so we can make sure our Christmas card gets to the right place? OR, if you've never gotten a card from us before but would like one, you can fill out the form too! 

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for another great year. =0). 

Address Update and Prayer Requests

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

The Goodness of God...

Hello, friends! 

Every morning, as I'm hanging out with Jesus, I start by thanking Him for the goodness he showed me yesterday. Usually, it's related to good meetings or good work getting done, evidence of the generosity and hospitality of others, and a good night with the kids. It's not deep stuff but it gets me into a posture of gratitude and a reminder of God's goodness before getting into areas of confession and supplication. 

Lately, I've had to work a little bit harder to center myself around the goodness of God. A few nights ago, some friends of ours from church lost their 3.5 year old son to a long term illness. We also know folk who have loved ones battling other illnesses, financial struggles, and the like. That doesn't even get into the fact that it seems like there is real evil in the world, both home and abroad that seems to have gotten worse instead of better. Sometimes, the world doesn't feel all that good. 

I've been reflecting on Theodicy lately. Theodicy, the vindication of God in the midst of evil, is a tough topic. On the one hand, platitudes like, "the mystery of God," "The LORD works in mysterious ways," or things like that are TERRIBLY unsatisfying. Paul talks about the clay not asking the potter, "why have you made me?", the implication often coming from that that we shouldn't questions God's ways or his purposes. I also find that really unsatisfying, not in the least because it assumes that we don't have any agency in our lives. We are not robots or puppets moved around by God solely for his own enjoyment. Sometimes things suck. 

On the other hand, I do have to believe in the goodness of God's plan. I don't like the worldview that says that all of life is meaningless or that there isn't a God who is ultimately in control. If that were the case, the incentives to live a life of love are greatly diminished or subject to my own whims or interpretations. That also seems TERRIBLY unsatisfying. 

Where I've landed on theodicy is that eventually, vindication of God's goodness will come. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I know that it will. There is real evil in the world and while God will eventually be victorious, I'm not privy to when that vindication will come nor what my role in that vindication will be. All I can do is live my life, listening to the Holy Spirit and believing that I will be a part of that vindication. 

You too, get to be a part of that vindication. Evil exists in the world but it doesn't have to win as much as it does. We, especially those of us who are part of the body of Christ, have an obligation to fight evil and be part of that vindication. Aho, may it be so. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam 

A Call To Action!

Hello, friends! 

A few weeks ago, The Flatwater Free Press, an independent news organization in Nebraska, wrote a story about how nitrate levels in water around hog farms owned by our current governor were unusually high. The story was written by Yangqi Xu, a Chinese international (and Mizzou alum!). 

When asked about the story, Governor Pillen's response was less than forthcoming and more than a little racist and xenophobic. 

In case you want to cut right to the chase, here's what Pillen said: "“Number one, I didn’t read it. And I won’t. Number two, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”

Pillen was asked about his response later by other journalists and his response was not to apologize but to completely dismiss the question as part of the "political side show." 

Friends, this is absolutely infuriating on a number of levels. Firstly, as a Chinese American living in Nebraska, comments like these, to go along with accusation by our senators that the Nebraska Chinese Association is a front for Communist propaganda and spying, make it very clear to me that I'm always going to be an outsider around these parts and there's a very good chance that my children will always be treated as outsiders too. This sucks, and it sucks hard because for the most part, I like it here. 

Secondly, it just sucks that the Governor can't own up to his mistakes. I'm not calling Governor Pillen a racist; I've only met him once. However, it's possible for people who aren't racists to do and say racist things. This is one of those times. Had Governor Pillen admitted to his mistake and apologized, there'd be no problem on my end. People mess up all the time. It's the lack of reflection, the defensiveness, and the inability to repent that really gets me, especially coming from someone who says faith is such a big part of his life. 

Here's where things get interesting. Friends, especially those living in Nebraska, I'm asking for your help. Could you please take a minute to call the Governor's Office and encourage him to publicly apologize to Ms. Xu and to retract his previous statements? It doesn't have to be a long message. I can even provide a script for you. 

"Hello, Governor! My name is ______________ and I am a resident of Nebraska. I was very disappointed by your comments made about Yangqi Xu of the Flatwater Free Press. I have friends in the Asian American community here in Nebraska that were hurt and offended by your comments. If we want Nebraska to be a place that is open and welcoming to all people, we cannot be making assumptions about people based on their birthplace. I encourage you to publicly apologize and retract your previous statement. Thank you." 

The phone number is: 402-471-2244

To entice you, here's a photo of my lovely Chinese American children who live in Nebraska and who I'd rather not have their motives constantly questioned because they look like they might come from a different country. =0). 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

The Return of Migraine Season!

Hello, friends! 

A few weeks ago, I got hit with COVID for a few days. The worst of it was the fatigue (I needed a LOT of naps) but my other symptoms weren't too bad. I'm definitely glad that I didn't appear to have any long-COVID effects. 

However, one of the things that has been a little more frequent these past few weeks has been headaches, which is unfortunate.

For a long time, I had a pretty bad migraine problem. Through a lot of observation and analysis, I figured out that there were three main factors that contributed to my migraines; my water intake, my sleeping patterns, and the weather. While I can control two, I can't control the third. 

One of the things I've done over the past few years has been committing to drinking more water. I shoot for at least 100 ounces every day, and I've been pretty good about keeping up with that. That's done a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of helping me not have migraines anymore. In terms of sleeping patterns, I found that I when I have consistent sleep patterns along with taking longer naps when I do actually nap, that helps as well. 

The one thing that I haven't been able to control is the weather. I've had the most migraines in October and March, which I think has to do with the change of the seasons. I've read some studies about how the change in barometric pressure can trigger migraines, and the October and March in the Midwest bring on a lot of weather changes. 

Lately, the weather changes haven't been a big deal because I've been really diligent about the other two things. However, in the past few weeks, I've definitely had more headaches. Thankfully, none of them have turned into full blown migraines. I'm still able to function, get work done, and play with the kids. 

I don't know if the headaches are COVID related or not, but I do know that I don't like them much. If you're the praying type, I'd certainly appreciate them. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam