Thoughts, devotions, and more from Jeffrey K. Ross, author of "Next Step Devotions"
As you might suspect, pulling off an eight-day trip to China takes planning. There are the logistics of obtaining passport, visa, flights, insurance, hotels, ground transportation, admission and ticket info to various tourist spots, and more. In our effort to visit churches and take part in services, there was coordination to have participants from multiple …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #114: Find a Balance Between Planning and Flexibility
I’m writing this post from somewhere over Russia. It will take a while to process all that I have experienced these past eight days in China. I’m not sure how this experience will impact my future, my values, my hopes and dreams, my perspective on world affairs, or my faith and the practice of it. …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #113: There Is Always Someone Wiser Than You
If I have learned anything so far on this trip to China, it is that humans are more alike than different regardless of nationality. Sure, externals can be radically different. I don't look like any native Chinese I've seen. Still, there are so many experiences that are the same across cultures that it is a …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #112: We Are More Alike Than Different
After periodic perusing of a Mandarin-English dictionary/reference the last couple of weeks, I had an “ah-ha” moment today while reading more about Mandarin. In spite of the thousands of characters in the language, there are still some common aspects of the English language not included in Mandarin. For example, there are no definite articles like …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #111: Learning Another Language Is Good For You
I’m writing this about 4.5 hours into a 13-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Beijing, China. I took a break from my Mandarin crash course to watch the movie We Bought a Zoo. Near the end of the movie Matt Damon tells his son “Sometimes all it takes is 20 seconds of insane courage and …
Continue reading Leap Year Lesson #110: Sometimes All It Takes Is 20 Seconds
