Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

It’s a pretty simple task, really. You sit down with a bowlful of cooked snails. You take a safety pin, stick it into the shell and slowly twist the snail out, being careful to do it slowly enough so that you get the whole snail out without tearing it.

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

“Daddy, count to googolplex.�

“Uh… Max, that number is too big. It’s going to take a really long time.�

“Ok, count to forty-one.� We were playing hide and seek, and my nearly four year old son needed a little more time than the usual “count to ten� to find a good hiding place. Forty-one happens to be largest number that he is comfortable with. So, if dad can’t count to googolplex, then he’ll take the next best, biggest thing. Forty-one.

His older brother taught him that a googolplex is “the biggest number there is.� You know, as in (responding to a claim that one child jumped up and down on the bed a hundred times): “O yeah, well, I did it a googolplex times. So there.�

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

Sunday. We were exhausted.

“Where do you guys want to eat dinner?�

The chant began. “Market Fair. Market Fair. Market Fair.�

“Hmmm. I don’t know.� (Oh no! Not the food court again. Not for dinner.)

“Dad, you have to. We formed a coalition.�

(I should NOT have taught him that word.)

“Well, that doesn’t matter. The grown-ups are going to decide today.�

Pause.

“The will of the people is the best law!�

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

Specifically, your arms are supposed to come out of the water near your hips and they’re supposed to reach up and behind you, entering the water above your head, pinky first.

Well, my son didn’t quite understand what he was supposed to do.

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

He left large magnificent ruins, unmistakable footprints throughout the land (for which archeologists are very grateful).  Everywhere we walked, we stood on his signature stones.

In contrast, Jesus left no stones.

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

One of my fellow pilgrims, perhaps tired from the flight, saw the long walk ahead of him and exclaimed, “Holy Moses!�

An elderly man walking next to us overheard him and said, “You’re in the Holy Land.  You must walk!â€?

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church

During the summer, they mostly waddle about, eat, and poop, completely oblivious to miss-hit balls that come dangerously close to ending their day at the buffet...

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

When it comes to the computer, I remain strictly a user. I can use my laptop to write sermons, send e-mails, surf the web, read Xanga, and carry on Instant Messaging. Even if there is a minor problem, I am totally lost and I usually have to call the PPC Tech Support immediately (a.k.a. Jason)...

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

What fear I did have of falling before had to do with avoiding the humiliation of falling in front of the snow bunnies...

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

It has often been said that the spiritual life is a marathon, not a sprint.
This is a problem in America. The 100 M Dash? No problem. The 50 M Freestyle? Can do. American athletes dominate the sprints, the short races. But how many people can name the winner of this year (2004)’s 10,000 M Olympic race?

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

“Dad, what are six-pack abs?�
I explained to my son that it’s a reference to the abdominal muscles looking something like six cans of soda in a pack when the stomach is in excellent physical shape.

“Dad, do you have them?�

“Of course,� I replied confidently. “But the trouble is that you can’t really see them because I have a doughnut covering them.�

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

During the holidays, I had a chance to visit my parents and revisit some of the places that I loved as a child. One of my favorites was Kelly’s Country Store. As a child, a trip to that store was a special treat, like going on vacation. I remember walking in with a couple of dollars and being overwhelmed by the number of choices, the seemingly endless miles and varieties of colorful candies that were before me.

Written by Pastor David Choi, Praise Presbyterian Church.

My kids were recently introduced to the TV holiday special, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I used to watch it nearly every year as a child. It gives you all the “facts� about Santa, like why he lives in the North Pole, why he wears a red suit, why he comes down chimneys, and so on. It’s a great show. Of course, none of it is true.

Here’s what we do know about Santa Claus.