tellitslant

We’re literally on the eve of Christmas, with the clock just past twelve. My parents are probably sleeping by now at my brother’s place, in the room next to his newborn, Carter. (Ain’t he cute?) We’ve no snow here in San Diego and lots of the ordinary, but after we finally turned off the TV [...]

They had to act quickly. If they stayed on the mountains they were surely going to be caught. So, they went down to the Han River.
Since the bridges were blown, small boats attempted to shuttle the fleeing refugees across the river into relative safety, but when the boats landed on shore, the swarm of people [...]

My father’s side of the story is like a Hollywood movie script.
In the early part of the 20th century, Presbyterian missionaries found a receptive audience in northern Korea. But in 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, Korea was divided in two and the Communists took control of North Korea, and started to persecute [...]

Jinhee and I were up in the Seattle area spending some time with family and friends. Our first stop after arriving at Sea-Tac International Airport was visiting my grandmother, on my mother’s side. She lives in an apartment complex for elderly people near the International District in the heart of Seattle, and up on the [...]

I’ve been playing a lot of tennis these days. (Check out my new racket on the left.) Sure, I played a lot in high school, but I belonged to the Bad News Bears of tennis. We were one of the worst teams in an inner-city league in Seattle — before the days of Venus and [...]

A friend and I were walking on the beach a few weekends ago, and she told me about her daily life as a medical resident. Unlike the folks on “Grey’s Anatomy” who walk in through the hospital doors during daylight, she said that she often didn’t see the sunshine. She came in before sunrise. And [...]

Who are the blessed ones? It’s a question my house church leader asked last week. When I call someone blessed, what do I usually mean?
In the past, I meant that they had God’s favor in some way. Or, in a more crass but honest way, God helped them get what they want. Tiger is blessed [...]

As you can see, Tell It Slant just got a makeover, though not quite an extreme one. I was never fully satisfied with the previous look: the colors never looked right. So what you’re seeing is the fruit of some sleepless nights. (Insomnia sometimes has its benefits.) It’s essentially the same website with a few [...]

Today was supposed to be the first day. Finally. After three months of stalling.
On Sundays, I go to church. And at the end of our service, anyone can come up for prayer. My pastor has always encouraged me to pray for others during these times, but I’ve always balked. Sundays, I reasoned, are my [...]

Yesterday, I got a big dose of perspective. I didn’t know I needed the medicine, but it did start helping me heal.
It came when I had a chance to study some of the most beautiful literature ever penned with some friends. The author wrote to a highly gifted community that was prone to showing [...]