...in the outer...: Who am I?

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As an INFP, you are Intraverted, iNtuative, Feeling , Perceiving. This makes your primary focus on Introverted Feeling with Extraverted Intuition. This is defined as a NF personality ... the Healers or Idealist. As a weblogger, you have wonderful words to express your feelings ...

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Recommended for your Library

Ethics: The Heart of Leadership
Edited by Joanne Ciulla. An important collection of essays by philosophers, leadership and management thinkers considering the role of ethics in leadership

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
By Robert K. Greenleaf, Larry C. Spears, Stephen R. Covey. Servant and leader--can these two roles be fused in one real person in all levels of status and calling?

Warranted Christian Belief
By Alvin Plantinga. Third in a trilogy of works on the issue of warrant - the basis of the rationality of Christian beliefs written by arguably the most important philosopher of religion alive today

Renovation of the Heart
By Dallas Willard. A philosopher and quintessential Christian teacher relates and reflects on what it means to put on the character of Christ.

Foreign Bodies
By Hwee Hwee Tan. An impressive first novel by young new author from Singapore acclaimed as an up and coming Pulitzer Prize winner

Mammon Inc.
By Hwee-Hwee Tan. Second novel by this very important young new author from Singapore applauded the world over, including The Times in London and the New York Times

Three Philosophies of Life
By Peter Kreeft. Three life philosophies presented through the works of three of Scriptures most beautiful poetry books, Job, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon

Horrendous Evil and the Goodness of God
By Marilyn McCord-Adams. A seminal response to the age-old problem of evil which attempts to take seriously the theological ramifications of the character of God

Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant.

Smart Mobs
By Howard Rheingold. A social commentary about how "sophisticated mobile Internet access is allowing people who don't know each other to act in concert".

Linked
By Albert-Laszlo Barabasi. An engaging treatise about the fundamentals of interconnectedness and complexity that underlies neurology, epidemiology, Internet traffic, and many other fields.

The Peaceable Kingdom
By Stanley Hauerwas. A clear explication of a Christian ethic based upon the meaning of the gospel, highlighting virtues and character, and narrative as a mode of ethical reflection.

The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Gospel & Wisdom, Gospel & Revelation
By Graeme Goldsworthy. A collection of masterful works expositing on the centrality of the Scriptures: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Law: St. Paul, Kant, and the Hebrew Prophets
By Heinz Cassirer. A Kantian scholar looks at the Old Testament Law, and Paul's understanding of it, concluding that Kant's delimma is answered by the gospel of grace.

The Un-Right Christians

Progressive Christian Blogger Network

Church Directory of Evangelical Blogs

Thursday, January 27, 2005

"Daddy, who am I?" My youngest daughter asked, tentatively, puzzled and confused.

"I mean, am I Australian, or Malaysian, or... Ch-Chinese?"

I said, "Why, honey?"

"Well, the other day at school, the teacher asked all the Chinese kids in the class to go forward for a meeting. I didn't go forward because I thought I was Australian, and you and Mom were Malaysian, but not Chinese."

I wasn't sure why the Chinese students were called out for a meeting. Perhaps the school wanted to survey the Chinese students to see if any were interested in attending special Chinese language classes, but the real problem was my daughter's confusion.

I spent some time explaining to her that she is ethnically Chinese, that her parents were born in Malaysia, and grew up with Malaysian nationality. However I assured my daughter that indeed her parents are Chinese ethnically and that all her grandparents were also Chinese, as are their parents and grand-parents. So we are true-blue Chinese (I was going to say true yellow, but that might not be appropriate, even if it is coming from me). As for my daughter, I explained to her, because she and her siblings were all born in Australia, she was definitely true-blue Australian as well as 100% Chinese!

This uneasiness about our heritage seems to run in the family. A few years ago, when my oldest daughter was just eight years old, she had a similar conversation with me. She was sitting next to me as I was reading. She had this contemplative look on her young face.

"Daddy, I have a question."

I put my book down. "Yes, honey, what is it?"

"Grandma and Grandpa... they are real Chinese people right?"

"Yes, dear, they are."

She nodded slowly, still visibly thinking hard, she pointed to her chest, "And, me.... I am a real Australian, right?"

"Oh, yes, you sure are!"

She nodded again.... "Now, I don't know about you and Mom."

"Why is that?"

"Well, sometimes, you are Australian, and sometimes you are Chinese."

I couldn't help but break out in a huge smile on my face. "Yes!" I chuckled, "you are right! Mom and Dad are confused people!"