Psalm 23 Li Xi

Although I'm unable to read Chinese (neither ancient nor contemporary Chinese), I still cherish this little red lucky money envelope that I received on my last Sunday at our church in Oakland Chinatown.

It was a gift given to me by the board of admin and trustees of our church, on behalf of the entire congregation. Inside was a monetary gift for which I am grateful, but more valuable and important to me was the fact that both our senior and our associate pastor had searched far and wide for this very special red lucky money envelope. I am incredibly lucky, to say the least.

As some of you know, the traditional lucky money envelope comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. (The traditional red represents luck, good fortune, wealth.) Some of you already know why red envelopes are given, and on which occasions. For me, for this particular event, the church wanted to give me a little luck and a lot of blessings on my new adventure. So, our pastors found a red lucky envelope on which is inscribed the words (in Chinese) of Psalm 23 in the shape of a chalice.

Chalice, vessel, goblet: a drinking vessel with a foot and stem; the eucharistic cup from which we drink, reminding us Christ shed his blood to make us united as one, to re-member us into the body of Christ.

Blessings for Maddie: Me a Godmother?!

As godmother, I am allowed certain indulgences. It is only fair. I get to buy cute clothes (not for myself). I get to browse and read books for fun. I get to cut, color, fold, and paste things into a blessings book for my godchild. I get to join in with a wider group of people who wait expectantly for this little person to enter into the world. I get to join them in sending our blessings to this little baby who is, after all, God's grace and blessing in our lives. I get to welcome God's new creation... soon and very soon...

How does one go about preparing one's self to be a godmother? I know that I participate to "train up a child in the ways it should grow," but what are my responsibilities as godparent?

As a United Methodist, I understand that "the ministry or office of godparent is a ministry of creative and nurturing love, a gentle evangelizer to younger brothers and sisters in the faith so that they come to a place of owning their baptism, professing their faith in the triune God, and knowing the basic disciplines of discipleship" (Source).

This is from the United Methodist website:

The United Methodist Book of Discipline does use the term "godparent" along with the word "sponsor" and does so because in different regions and different churches one or the other of the terms is familiar and  comfortable.  Both derive from the ancient practice of the church of a mature, reliable Christian serving as a mentor and encourager of persons coming into the Christian life in baptism, whether adult or child. In all infant baptisms, the parents or other family member serve as the primary sponsor, and in many churches another Christian or two are named as "godparents"-- sponsors and encouragers for the child.  In the case of adults, the sponsor walks with the person on a journey of conversion, until the day they are baptized--perhaps weeks or months after having learned and experienced the way Christians live and think. When it is a child or infant, the sponsor/godparent and the parents walk with the child on a journey of conversion until they claim the way of Christ as his or her own at confirmation or some other profession of faith. 

In essence, as godmother to Madeline, I am to live my life as a faithful Christian to help develop, encourage, nurture my godchild's faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that she too may experience God's grace and love and therefore grow up in this world to become herself a disciple of Christ, embodying God's Word, joining in the effort to create a world of peace, love, justice, and mercy.

• Pray regularly for your godchild
• Set an example of Christian living
• Help her grow in the faith -- until she claims the way of Christ as her own

Heavy responsibilities indeed. And that doesn't even include clothing and feeding and the child!

Looking at Enormous Things with Small Eyes

When I pose for pictures, whether by myself or in groups, photographers, amateurs and professionals alike, are always telling me to open my eyes. They don't seem to recognize that when I smile, I can only smile WIDE, and when I smile a lot, my eyes disappear. I can't help it. I blame it on my genes passed down from my parents, because my sometimes cheery disposition often results in my eyes totally disappearing into little dots, and when the picture-takers look through their camera lens, they always tell me to open my eyes. (This could almost be a spiritual reminder -- keep your eyes open!)

Surprisingly, though, my little eyes see so many things! Remember what Rumi wrote?

Look at your eyes. They are small
but they see enormous things.

The following photos are snapshots of the St. Louis Botanical Gardens, taken on my cellphone, when I visited my sister about a year ago. We were walking through the gardens and passed by this great little pond.

I'm surprised that my eyes recognized this beautiful scene, and I am thankful that technology allowed me to capture on film what my spirit sees.

Measuring for Ao Dai: Do Ao Dai

Here are two links to brief instructions on how to measure for ao dai (do ao dai):

courtesy of Ao Dai Cham Khanh. (This site is from a very popular higher end chain in Viet Nam, so the site is all in Vietnamese.)

courtesy of Ao Dai Vinh (this is my preferred site since they show pictures and instructions for how to measure; instructions also available in Vietnamese.)

From past experience, I've seen that each tailor measures slightly differently, but it's always best to talk to a tailor who has done this multiple times before. The best tailor is someone who will not only measure accurately, but who is familiar with you and who can use imagination in creating the designs for you. Ideally, your tailor will know how you move, where you typically put stress or pressure on the tunic, and he/she can recommend  modernized techniques that update the look. (For example, I LOVED it when they put zippers on the tunic instead of buttons!)

My recommendation is to find a customer/client who has been pleased with how his/her tailor has made the ao dai fit his/her frame, and ask that person about his/her tailor. Talk through the process. Don't just measure the basics as if you were going to make a traditional ao dai (ao dai truyen thong), because who knows, you might be inspired to wear something different!  (And, think creatively... don't limit yourself to a high neck (co cao) or a "co thuyen", or a regular sleeve length versus a 3/4 sleeve length. I've seen some women wear amazing designs!)

There are a gazillion and one different designs and styles. You can go modern, traditional, contemporary, whatever you like. Long sleeves, capped sleeves, sleeveless, straps, strapless, 3/4 sleeves, slitted sleeves, flared sleeves, you name it. And the collars... sheesh. Whatever you want. The last I heard was that "3 phan" is the new preferred height for the collars, unless you want to go crew neck, or v-neck, etc. 

Last reminder:  When measuring, wear the bra you intend to wear with the ao dai, and wear shoes that are of the same height as the pair you intend to wear with the ao dai because that affects the length of your pants.

Fabric Store for Ao Dai: Fabrics R Us

If you are looking to buy fabric for ao dai, then you must visit Fabrics R Us in San Jose. The owner is Vietnamese, and the folks who work there speak Vietnamese, Chinese, and English. The selections of fabrics are much better than JoAnn Fabrics, and I think the materials are much better for ao dai. I've had wonderful luck shopping here. Although, a word of caution, you will borrow a bit of frustration here.

The store is located in a little shopping plaza, and since there is so much fabric, they had to expand from the main shop into two other smaller shops in the same plaza.

Organizationally, the shop is messy. There is a small measure of order and in general, you can find different materials grouped together in sections, but the sales associates and the shop owner will know better than you. I've just had to walk through the entire store several times to see what I like before actually beginning "my hunt."

My future sister-in-law is from Da Nang, VN, and she was going to purchase a bunch of materials in Viet Nam and have them tailored back there. However, when she came w/ us and saw the fabric selections, she decided to buy much of her fabric here even the one for her white wedding ao dai, as well as the fabrics for her bridesmaids' dresses.

The fabrics are very reasonably priced. I went comparison-shopping at a "chuyen nghiep" ao dai store in the Century Mall in SJ, and I was quoted $440 for ONE ao dai. The woman quoted me $300 for the fabric for tunic and pant, plus $140 for labor (each ao dai has to be custom made, that's why). Friends, at Fabrics R Us, I bought enough fabric for 8 ao dai for a total of $225. I'm not joking.

[If you know of people who can make your ao dai in Viet Nam, it might only cost you $10 for labor. Plus the cost of shipping the dress -- unless you have a relative or friend bring the fabric to/from from VN.]

Several things to remember:

• If you pay cash, there may be a discount.
• They will often have 10-20% discounts, especially when they're trying to clear the inventory for new materials.
• Check the materials carefully for holes, cuts, rips, etc. before you ask them to cut. Once, we asked to check the material before the woman cut the fabric and they all said we were worrying for nothing; however, upon close inspection, there was a thumb-size hole in the yard that they cut for us so they had to cut us another yard.
• There are always a lot of customers and not enough sales associates so you have to hunt them down to get them to cut the fabric for you.
• After selecting the fabric that you like (such as for the pants of the ao dai), ask them to recommend alternative materials. They might be able to recommend something in stock that is similar in quality but more reasonably priced.

Usually, you can buy about 4.5 to 5 yards for one ao dai, complete with tunic and pant. It's usually 2.5 yards for the ao (tunic) and 2.0 yards for the pant (quan), but how many yards for the ao depends on your size and the kind of material you select. Sometimes they recommend you cut 3 yards for the tunic because (due to the design of some materials) they say the tailor might want extra fabric to cut.

My sister bought fabric for one ao dai for about $25 -- that included the fabric for the ao, the material to "lot ao" and the material for the pants. Sometimes the fabric is only $3 or $4.95 a yard. And if your pants are only 2 yards, well, that's a steal.

The most expensive yard of fabric that I purchased was $18/yard. They also sell pre-cut fabric that is specially designed and those range from $40-$60 each (tunic only, pants sold separately).

There is no website, but there is a phone number and an address:

Fabrics R Us
1745 Berryessa Road
San Jose, CA 95133-1129
408-9292-4330

These fabrics below are for my ao dai. Fabric shown on the left-hand side with the large flowery blotches, $18/yard. The clementine-orange fabric for pants shown on the right-hand side of the photo, $6/yard.

The fabric shown in blue hues: on the left-hand side with the black, blue, yellow and green tones, $10/yard; on the right-hand side with the sapphire-blue colors, $6/yard.















The fabric shown in pastel green tones with heavy embroidery: the tunic of the ao dai has a front panel and a back panel, and each panel was $18.00. The light green fabric for the pants was $6/yard, and the chiffon material for the "ao lot" was $3/yard. Each panel is the design of peacocks, feathers, and flowers, in embroidery, beading, and a whole bunch of other things that I can't really describe. Detailing on the panels is exquisite, though, and the colors -- simply stunning. We saw and knew it was perfect for the mother of the groom. And, let me tell you, the mother of the bride was given an even more stunning fabric in black, mauve, and pink -- but also peacocks in design -- also only $18/panel.