Purposeful Pursuits

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits March 22 What Fasting Can Teach Us About Ourselves And why being "hangry" isn't a good excuse I have a friend who used to get “hangry” all the time. If you’re not familiar with that term, hangry is a portmanteau of “hungry” and “angry”—and I’m sure we are all familiar with that irritability that often comes at lunch time. One day he said to me, “I was doing my devotions this morning... and I think I figured out why I get hangry all the time.” “Do tell,” I...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits February 9 I used to like winter. Then I hated it. Now I'm changing my mind. Turns out, you might be missing out on hidden joys. What comes to mind when you think of winter? Growing up in Southeast Asia, snow and cold wasn't really a part of my life. So when I started college in Midwest United States, I was excited for the possibility of snow. To me, winter was fun, pretty, exciting, and adventurous. I wasn't a big fan of the freezing cold, being a...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits January 25 I made the mistake of visiting a botanical garden in the winter – and it taught me a lesson How winter taught me more about myself than I expected. My family was visiting for Christmas and I wanted to show them around the city I had recently moved to. For some reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to take them to the botanical garden... in December. I realized the ridiculousness of it when we arrived. Where were the flowers? Where were the...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits January 10 The Symbolic Meaning Behind Christ’s Birth That Most People Miss How the Nativity reveals Christ’s destiny In mythological storytelling, the birth of the hero often serves as more than an origin—it is a prophecy wrapped in narrative. The circumstances surrounding the hero's arrival characterizes and foreshadows their life's meaning and symbolic destiny. In the Christian tradition, the nativity of Christ is no exception. The multi-layered details...

The Keurig signals it has done its job, and I transport the mug to where I will be sitting for the next two hours—not before adding a splash of vanilla creamer. It's time for my annual Year In Review. I open my notepad to a new page, click a pen, and wrote at the top: Meditations on 2024. Sporting my alma mater This year has been a wild ride. I got a new job, packed everything into a U-Haul (car in tow), and hauled my entire life from wintery Pennsylvania to sunny Alabama. Even then, things...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits January 1 Don't Set Goals Goals are so last year Happy new year! I hope the holidays have been for you a time of refreshment and loving relationships of family and friends. And I hope you are leaping into 2025 with a sense of excitement and purpose. I'm also aware that some people haven't been having a good time this season, whether due to new situations or old wounds that are tied to this time of the year. If that's you, my heart goes out to you. You...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits December 16 Magic, Makeup, & Nostalgia Glimpses of the Christmas spirit I Christmas was two weeks away, and Margaret wondered how she was going to make it through. She had four children, ages ten, seven, two, and six months. But she hadn’t expected that the holiday would find her left with three—December came as her six-month-old daughter passed away. On top of that, her husband had just been admitted into a psychiatric ward, leaving her and the children...

Nathanael Chong |Purposeful Pursuits December 7 The Paradox of Love Why true love hates. Hey friends!I've been traveling with family for the holidays and am just so grateful for all the blessings in my life. I'm also grateful that I get to write my muses and explorations in this newsletter, and that you've joined me on the journey! I hope you continue to find this valuable. Have a great holiday season! And now on to this week's thoughts... Chesterton said: "You need to hate the world enough...

November 22 Bite-Sized Christianity Why easy religion is not better religion. I was on the highway one weekend and decided that day was the day to wake my radio up from its lengthy hibernation. It took me no more than 3 seconds to realize what I was suddenly listening to. The Christian radio had come on. The wheels on my car went round and round, and Air1 blasted on the stereo. I didn't mind the music. I didn't mind the intermittent ads and pleas for donations (they were listener-funded). But...