Advent Day 6

Finally gave in today, and went to visit the doctor. Drugs seem to be working.... hope this is the final stretch and that I actually get better by this weekend! 

Wrote my first final last night.. felt like my hand was gonna fall off from writing non stop for 2 hours... and don't feel too great about the exam... but oh well. It's done, gotta let go and move on to studying for the next exam! 

Haven't been thinking too much lately... just studying... and sleeping... and more sleeping than studying... so hopefully I'll still be able to do okay on my exams! :P

Advent Day 5

Okay... here I am trying to make up for lost time. Day 3 (aka this past Saturday) was spent in bed... literally all day. I woke up ate, and went back to sleep... woke up, had lunch, went back to sleep... woke up to reply to random texts... went back to sleep.... and now I am paying for my day of trying to kill this flu... 5 hours left to cram for my final exam tonight! And well... yesterday was spent at Tim and Jess' wedding... so also no time for getting better and studying...

And now here I am, Monday afternoon... fighting this flu (I think it's actually become bronchitis)... and trying to cram as much facts on Social Welfare and Social Policy as I possibly can... and hopefully not fall asleep... cause I really want to crawl back into bed right now.... 

Helping You Sing “Hallelujah” with True Exuberance

Helping You Sing “Hallelujah” with True Exuberance:

The English word “hallelujah” is a transliteration of two Hebrew words, "hallelu" and "jah". The first word, "hallelu", is the second person imperative of “praise.” The second word, "jah," is the short form of "Jahweh" (or "Yahweh").

So when we say, “Hallelujah!” we are exhorting others (people and angels) to join us in praising Yahweh.

What gives a punch to my singing, “Hallelujah,” is that Jah (= Yahweh) is not a generic word for God, but the personal name of the God of Israel.

To shout, "Hallelu Jah!" — "Praise Jah" — is like standing in the council of the gods and boldly saying, “Not to you, Molech!” “Not to you, Baal!” “Not to you, Dagon!” “Not to you, Artemis!” “Not to you, Zeus!” But to Jah, and Jah alone, I give praise. And I call you to join me! Praise Jah!

And not only is Jah God’s personal name, but it is the one he gave himself to distinguish himself from all the gods. And it is thrilling in meaning.

When Moses asked God what name he should use to identify God in Egypt, God said, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

The name Yahweh is built on the words “I am”. So God put his absolute, transcendent, self-sufficient being at the center of his identity. “All the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but Yahweh made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5).

So, the next time you sing “Hallelujah” pause for a split second between “hallelu” and “Jah” and say it like a name. We praise you . . . Jah! You are above all gods . . . Jah! Join me, all you heavenly hosts, and praise . . . Jah! He is! He simply, eternally, absolutely, independently, gloriously Is! Hallelu . . . Jah!

________

Recent posts from John Piper —

• Steve Jobs: "He Knew the Couple of Things He Wanted to Do"


• Jesus Died to End Abortion and Racism


• Thank you, Brazil!

Advent Day 2

Hello December 2.

This time of the year is so crap for me, I always tend to get sick. Right now... I'm drugged up on Nyquil and Dayquil... I feel so groggy when I'm drugged, and I've only taken HALF the recommended dosage! Oh dear. Anyways... sore throat seems to have resided... or at the very least, the drugs are working, and it doesn't hurt as much when I swallow! FTW!

So today I have been thinking about something... I think I have been conditioned to think that being loved is a bad thing. This means I receive badly... or sometimes I am incapable of receiving love and care from others. My parents were so careful about making sure I didn't get spoiled, that I got in trouble everytime my grandparents or aunts bought me stuff. If we get gifts it must have been because we had asked for it, and therefore we are bad children because we asked for stuff... and good children don't ask for things.

I remember one time when I came back to Hong Kong and my aunt took me shopping for new shoes because the pair I had come back with were so worn out. I felt so guilty when I came home... and I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I should've rejected harder, I should've said no louder...

Sh*t... I'm so messed in the head! This explains why I don't actually know how to react when people give me what I ask for... as a gift. Like when I got my Macbook... or my Kindle... I actually went home feeling quite guilty. I've actually been conditioned to hide all my gifts from my parents because I expect a lecture when I get home. "Why would you let people buy you that? Bad child!" 

Where does this leave me? In a place where I feel like I can't ask for anything. BFF's November gifts left me feeling so loved... but at the same time quite guilty. It didn't help much when someone asked "Why are you getting November gifts?" (It was said in a tone that sounded like, why would anyone want to give you gifts?) It really made me think, "Oh no, I've done something wrong again. People think that I'm a horrible person, and that I shouldn't be loved on by my friends." When people love on me, I have to fight every mental muscle within my brain to stop the need to reject it. And sometimes I lose... and I do reject it. 

Bah... when people care about me, I feel like I've some how taken advantage of them. This might explain why I bawl my eyes out everytime God loves on me. There is so much love, yet there is also this overwhelming feeling of guilt inside of me... I know part of it is acceptable because it reminds me that I am nothing, and God is everything. God gave me a beautiful picture last week... and we prayed that I would take it, and I would have faith and walk it out with God. BUt I'll be honest... I am fighting. The feeling that I've done something wrong for accepting such a beautiful gift from God... to receive from God exactly what I had asked him for.

I want to be free to receive without that feeling of guilt, to be happy... and to feel loved... without that feeling of guilt... wow... God dug deep today. I don't quite know where to take this... alright... more CBT on myself as I study for finals. Good practice for integrative practice class! :|

Advent Day 1

And... here we are again at December 1... and I have decided to try what I did last year, which is to blog everyday as a countdown to Christmas! :) I've decided to open my ducky calendar from the BFF for the occasion, and to share a picture of it with all ya'll. Isn't he the cutest?! I'll be honest, I've left him at home because I'm afriad to bring it into work... I am very afraid that it'll get stolen....

As I enter into the last month of 2011, I am finishing my first semester of school, and well... God has been digging quite deep into my past. I feel that this is something that I'll need to put down before I enter into 2012. So in hopes of helping do that, I've decided to start countdown with a little background info.

I was born in Hong Kong... but God hasn't been speaking much about those couple of years... and well.. I don't remember too many of those years anyways. At the age of 7.... my parents moved me here. Oh St.Albert (for hockey fans, this is where Mark Messier and Jarome Iginla are from...) I miss this place, I really do. They have the bestest farmer's market ever!!! The bestest hill for toboganning... and all around, it was just a nice place. Not too many I talk to nowadays knows me from those years of when I lived out in St.Albert. Yet... there were things that had happened in those years (before I met God) that He is wanting me to deal with. It's been interesting. 

One thing I do know is that I was quite blessed. This is my elementary school:

I don't know if that's what it still looks like... but that's definitely what that front patch looked like when I was still at the school. I should know... we used to spend our recesses and lunch hours sitting out there! One of those windows used to be my old classrooms! My grade 4 teacher is still teaching there, according to the website! Would be interesting to go take a stroll around the school, no? My name should be in there on a plaque... hahaha for my Citizenship Award in grade 6! :) This school is probably hands down, the one reason I am as CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) as I am. There were like NO Chinese people other than my brother and I. The closest I got was my best friend who was mixed! But I'm glad that I grew up in this place... as opposed to the education system here in Hong Kong.

Irony is that I would have never ended up at this school had we gone by school zones and I wasn't a new immigrant! Since ESL (English as a Second Language) was still quite a new program in the St.Albert Protestant school board, we had to travel to this school so that we could take ESL. I'm glad that's where I went... I even met some people who lived by me, and went to the elementary school near me when I entered Junior High and my mom insisted that we moved to a school closer to home (this school was elementary, jr high school). Anyways... that too was an interesting year, but I put up a pretty good fight to not move because I didn't want to have to make new friends. It didn't matter... I was only there a year before my parents decided to move out of St.Albert and into Edmonton. (St.Albert is considered greater Edmonton Area...)

This is a beautiful place... if you're ever in the Edmonton area, take a drive out there and see for yourself. And if you're around on a Saturday morning, go check out the Farmer's market! I used to take drives out there just for fun... or when I needed some space. A lot happened in those 5 years that I was in that school (I did grade 1 in Hong Kong)... I learned a lot and mastered the language of English! This is also where I discovered my love of writing... to which my mother shut down by telling me I would never amount very far as an author because I had poor grammar. This haunts me still... and her response to my poor grammar was to make me do exercise books... my own personal response... journal about my dislike and discontent at my mother's lack of support for my dreams... My teachers were so supportive! They let me go to this Creative Writer's conference that the city puts on for young people... and I LOVED it! BUT... for those of you who have spoken with me within the past month or so... you'd know that God is redeeming this! :) God wants to use my writing...

These are the things that God is calling me to deal with... that is one of many. There are some other ones... but it's good. Because I want to be free of these memories which actually still haunt me some... *ahem* years later. It's time to remember the good times and forget the bad times of elementary school. (School terms, I feel like I'm using CBT on myself...) I think I get to enter into 2012 even more free, and more renewed than any other year yet.... God is removing more! He is so so so so good to me! I'm on a very specific walk with my Father at the moment... He is taking down a walkway (which isn't far or long, I hope)... and it's so so so beautiful!

I am excited for what's next, this is gonna be good! :) Wish I could just drive up to the school and sit in front of it, or in the field to ponder all this and sort all this out... Although I heard it's been quite cold out there... and there was snow the other day... hahahaha... I'd have to be bundled up pretty warm to sit outside.



Lukewarm...

"The essence of lukewarmness is the statement, 'I need nothing.' The lukewarm are spiritually self-satisfied. To find out whether you are among that number, don't look into your head to see if you think that you are needy; rather, look at your prayer life. It doesn't matter what we think in our head, the test of whether we are in bondage to spiritual self-satisfaction is how earnest and frequent and extended our prayers for change are.

Do you seek the Lord earnestly and often in secret for deeper knowledge of Christ, for greater earnestness in prayer, for more boldness in witness, for sweeter joy in the Holy Spirit, for deeper sorrow for sin, for warmer compassion for the lost, for more divine power to love? Or is the coolness and perfunctoriness of your prayer life Exhibit A that you are spiritually self-satisfied and lukewarm?" ~ John Piper

the class comforter

this is so friggin cute....
i love that kids are being taught to care and love on each other! LOVE IT!!!
... and I really want that touque... never too old to put a sock monkey on your head! :P

the class comforter:





It’s not uncommon in grade school for each student to be assigned a class job that rotates every week, but some of the jobs in Claudine’s kindergarten class have been a bit unusual. See her up there at a recent field trip to the park to sketch some trees? She’s the “class comforter”. What’s that you ask? She comforts her fellow classmates when they need comforting, of course. When I asked her what the job entailed she told me,”well, I take care of them if they are crying or sad and pat them on the back and say ‘it’s ok’.”

Damn. I think we all could use a class comforter by our side right about now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! :) As usual, I've managed to score more than one turkey dinner within one weekend... I dunno how this happens, but it does. The record I believe still stands at 4 turkey dinners in one weekend... or something like that. :P I LOVE turkey... or does turkey love me? I don't think it's the turkey that draws me... but the fun of sitting at a table full of food with people I love... that's the fun of thanksgiving (Canadian or American), sitting with my friends for a meal, and just hanging out... 

So I have finally made it to Friday... tonight I do my second and last group presentation for this semester. This weekend I write my group paper... and then one more paper for Human Behavior, and 3 more finals... and first semester shall come to an end! Wow... 

It hasn't been a breeze getting to this Friday though, and last week was such a nightmare. Exactly one week ago, I was sitting at my desk at home, fighting a nasty cough, surviving on a 3 hour nap from 3am to 6am, and on a race against time to format and finalize my paper for Integrative Social Work Practice... It was NOT fun to lose all of my work (which was half my paper) at 11pm on a Thursday night when your paper is due Friday at noon... but God was gracious, and the paper was finished... (only 2 hours late). This week... still fighting that nasty cough, and other physical ails...

Back to last week... so despite God repeatedly reminding of His calling and purposes for my life... I always find myself in a state of self pity. I see other girls around me... walking out their purposes... living out their dreams... and as I watch their dreams come alive for them I find myself wondering and asking God, "what about me? when's my turn?" I know God will fulfill his promises for me, He reminds me all the time... yet I fall and stumble. Still, I struggle with wanting to see it all come alive now... to see the dreams become reality... keyword being NOW.

Thank goodness that my God is relentless. His grace is relentless... his patience is relentless... his love for me is relentless. Despite how bratty I am being, how grouchy I am being... God continues to wrap his arms around me to reaffirm, to reassure... He never gets tired of me. This past Sunday was one of those days... I was so tired... and felt so alone in all that I was feeling and going through... and He came and held me and reminded me that I am never alone, and that He is my strength... My dreams and promises will have their time and place to become reality, but right now I just need to stay faithful and keep taking each step that God lays ahead of me. He will take care of ALL of it.  

Challenge...

Have you ever seen Mona Lisa Smile? I love that movie... I used to hate admitting that out loud, but you know what? There is nothing wrong with loving that movie! That movie touches me to the very core of who I am. I'm not gonna give you a description of what the movie is about, you can wiki it if you want... or just watch the movie yourself.

Don't get me wrong... I'm definitely not a feminist... but the movie inspires me... because Katherine Watson (played by Julia Roberts) dares to ask aloud the questions that were on the girls' minds. She dared to challenge the women of that generation to look beyond what the wold told them they needed... to look beyond what the world told them made them successful!
She desired only one thing... which was to get them to think outside of the box! To think outside of the box, yet at the same time look inside themselves to see what was there. Be who you want to be, and not what the world tells you to be! 

Women of this generation... we are not that much more free that the women of the 1950's. We are not any less bound by our insecurities... and how the world around us loves to play on those insecurities to get us to do what they want, to buy what they want... The trap set by the enemy back then is not any less different than the one set by him now... he is STILL playing on our insecurities! 

The challenge remains... to look beyond the expectations of the world and standards of the world to see that we are of much more worth than that. GOD is your creator, and He is not someone who makes mistakes! That is simply where your worth lies... that you are His creation and He deems you perfect by the blood of Christ on the cross. To look beyond worldly expectations to find that purpose that your creator made you for. 

I honestly believe that the ongoing battle is for the worth of women. That is the battle that the enemy has called on women... he wants us to find our worth in men, in material goods, in our jobs, in our children, in how well we keep our home... God calls us to find our worth in "the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit." It's a tough battle, but victory is ours through Christ... so stand and fight! I dare you to take a good look inside your heart, and to ask God to reveal to you the true purpose that He has for you! I double dare you!

Be You

Wow... Desiring God Blog... you did it again... you've just put into words all that I have been thinking about and pondering over for the last while... and it hit straight through the heart... ouch! But in a good way. :)

Be You:

“Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21)

Peter asked Jesus this question when he learned that Jesus had ordained very difficult things for Peter’s future. So Peter wanted to know about John. Was Jesus going to give John a better deal?

Jesus responded, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me” (John 21:22)! In other words, How I deal with John is not your concern, Peter. If I deal differently with him, you must trust me. I want you to be faithful to the calling I have given you.

“What is that to you?” This is a question you and I need to be asked every day. Because how God deals with other people is frequently of excessive concern to us.

The fallen part of our nature doesn’t look at others and see the glory of imago dei (Genesis 1:27). It doesn’t revel in their unique refraction of God’s glory. It doesn’t want to rejoice in the sweet providences God grants to them, especially if we are experiencing a bitter providence. It is not grateful for their God-given strengths. It does not want to deal gently with their weaknesses (Hebrews 5:2). Being full of pride and selfish ambition it sees others mainly in relation to itself. It uses other people as gauges to measure success or failure; justice or injustice.

Oh the tyranny of selfish comparison! Of using others as tools to gauge our worth! “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24)?

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25)!

Do you hear gospel in Jesus’ words, “You follow me”? It’s a declaration of liberation. Christ died to make you “free indeed” (John 8:36). And this includes freedom from slavery to comparison.
God had you in mind when he created you (Psalm 139:13-16). He knew what he was doing. You — and your “stuff” and your circumstances — are not an accident. God does not want you to be someone else. Nor does he want you to follow someone else’s path. Yes, he’s aware of your deficiencies (more than you are). And, yes, he’s calling you to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18).

But Jesus wants you to be you.

And you are your truest you, not when you are measuring yourself against someone else (or analyzing yourself at all for that matter), but when your eyes are fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and you are following him in faith. And when you are serving others in love with the grace-gifts God has assigned to you (Romans 12:4-8).

So, no matter what today holds, be free from saying in your heart, “Lord what about this man?” For Jesus chose you (John 15:16), promised to supply all that you need (Philippians 4:19), and wants you to simply follow him.

And if you humble yourself under his mighty hand, trusting him to redeem all your suffering, “thorns” (2 Corinthians 12:7) and weaknesses, he will exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6).
________

Recent posts from Jon Bloom —
Jesus Wants You to Waste Your Life
Jesus Died Because He Loved You
The Day of Your Deliverance Is Decreed

Monday Morning Musings...

God woke me up early this morning again... and told me that He missed me, and that He has lots to tell me, I just need to make the time to open up His word. So I did the only thing that made sense... I rubbed the sleepies out of my eyes and opened by Bible.

Okay... confession... I don't think there was anything terribly profound, but God made me smile this morning, because this verse totally made me laugh: "And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and dung came out." (Judges 3:21-22, ESV) What happened to Eglon the king of Moab wasn't very funny cause that kinda sucks... but the way it was described was REALLY funny! It was like a really gruesome scene from a movie... It simply reminded me that my God is the best script writer ever! If God can write something like that into the Bible, there's nothing that He cannot write into my life... That my encouragement from God this morning. That as I continue to let go of the pen of my life, and allow Him to hold the pen of my life, to write out my story, He will continue to write out a story that will blow my mind... Not only will it completely blow me away, but it will stand as a testament of God's hand over my life. It will stand as a testament of how amazing my God is!

You know what? Usually this is where I start talking about how scared I am... and how I'm gonna piss my pants... but you know what, I'm just excited, humbled and honoured that my God wants to use me. I don't feel scared... I've decided that I just want to be available... I WANT TO BE USED BY MY GOD!!! So... BRING IT!!!!!

Last night I had a thought: Open doors are meant for walking through, and not for enjoying the view... those are called windows. When God opens a door, I'm telling you... you better take that step through it! If you're just gonna stand there and ponder about now nice it looks on the other side, but dunno if you want to go into it... that door's gonna slam in your face! Well, it might not slam in your face... but God opens doors for a reason... he means for us to walk through them, so why are you just standing there?! If God opens the door... then he's gonna walk with you through it, he's not gonna push you through and them slam the door and say "Got you sucker!"... He's NOT like that! He wants YOU to make the decision to walk through yourself, but He will walk with you through it and through all that you will encounter once you've walked through the door! He will never leave you, nor forsake you! Trust him!!!!

Other thought this morning.... does anyone else want to start dancing in the streets or on the mtr when they hear their favourite praise song play on their ipod?! Cause I always have these urges. Especially when David Crowder comes on.... I always just want to start throwing up my hands in worship.... and start jumping up and down and dancing in joyful glee! :P

And it's just You and me...

I was listening to this song today while I was doing research for my group project... and the words spoke straight into the depths of my heart!


Take my heart, I lay it down
At the feet of you who's crowned
Take my life, I'm letting go
I life it up to You who's throned


And I will worship You, Lord
Only You, Lord
And I will bow down before You
Only You, Lord


Take my fret, take my fear
All I have, I'm leaving here
Be all my hopes, be all my dreams
You're my delights, be my everything


And it's just you and me here now
Only you and me here now


You should see the view
When it's only You


It's just Him and I here right now... and that's all that matters. 

The Cecil Mix...

I was in the mood for some Green Day and was looking for my Nimrod CD but couldn't find it... :( BUT... I found the Cecil Mix. (And random Korean music CD from random Korean guy in Seoul...) Anyways, the Cecil Mix used to play in my '95 Accord... when it was still the original cassette deck... with the car kit attached to my old school ghetto CD player! I had this CD player from when Discmans first came out!!! The Cecil Mix was compiled by my dear pastor when I was sporting my role as church grunt and would give him random rides... and he disliked my choice of music I was blasting in my car (What's wrong with 50 cent?!) Hahahaha.... and so here is the Cecil Mix:

Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel (Yes... he went there.)

Clocks - Coldplay

History Maker - Delirious

Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods

J Train - TobyMac

Jump Around - House of Pain

God of Wonders - City On A Hill

Feel - Robbie Williams

Forever - Chris Tomlin

In My Place - Coldplay

With Every Breathe (Songs of Worship and Praise) - Sixpence None The Richer & Jars of Clay

Here With Me - Dido

Like a Child - Jars of Clay

Surrendering - Alanis Morissette

God is a DJ (Dancefloor Decade 1990-2000) - Faithless

Hahahaha... I've really missed this CD... I'm gonna pull out these songs and listen to them. Good times... that was one of the best summers ever... the summer pre-round 2 of insanity... before I hit rock bottom and the turning point of my life... The summer where after working in the church wondered what I could do with that because I enjoyed it so much! I know all the politics and whatever that exists, but I loved the whole entire experience. Yet, I didn't want to do church admin and wasn't so sure about being a pastor. :P God's been kinda talking about church work again, but He hasn't confirmed anything about it yet.... so I will keep waiting on Him. In the end, it doesn't matter as long as I'm doing HIS work, then it's all good. As much as I get frustrated at my job... I still love it, and am so thankful to God for this job! I also love what I'm getting to study at school... so I'm on path, I know it! So this could ONLY lead to HIS work! 

In the mean time... that was my random trip down memory lane... good memories. Maybe Cecil Mix will become my new studying music.... :) It'll remind me of my days when I was student and pull out that part in me! (Did I just age myself?!) 

This ain't new.. but just wanted to share :)

Dear Future Husband, 


I would like to share this video with you... I really liked it. Hahaha... :)



The Power of the Gospel and Marriage - John Piper from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.


Love, 
Your Future Wife

Fall Love...

I love fall... I love the crisp cold air that shocks my lungs when I step out the door in the mornings... I miss seeing my breathe in the air. I love sweaters and hoodies and touques and mittens! (hmm.. I have a feeling I might not be a summer person...)

I love the colours of fall... as the leaves turn from green to red, orange and yellow.I love the crunching of the leaves underneath my feet. :) I even love looking out the window in the morning to see that the frost has left it's mark, and everything is covered in a white glitter.

I would like to live in a place with distinct seasons... where fall is defined by the cool air and changing colours, winter has snow, spring is the warming of the air and budding of colours again... and summer is... green and hot.

Oh fall... when will we reunite? I miss you. I want to be able to be in my jeans and hoodie and not feel disgustingly hot still... it is November after!

Happy first day of November!

Jesus Wants You to Waste Your Life

Goodness gracious... as I read this, I felt chills up and down my spine.

Jesus Wants You to Waste Your Life:

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair (John 12:3).

Judas simply could not fathom Mary’s ridiculous decision.

During dinner she had just dumped all that rare perfume on Jesus’ feet! Almost a year’s wages now puddled on the dirty floor. Completely wasted!

“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”

How noble. But Judas wasn’t concerned for the poor. “He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief and being in charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas was concerned for Judas.

Both Mary and Judas had hedonistic motives. Neither was driven by stoic duty. Both pursued the treasure they believed would make them happy. To Mary, Jesus was the priceless Pearl (Matthew 13:45). She wanted that Pearl more than anything. To Judas, thirty pieces of silver was a fair price for the Pearl.

Judas’s sin wasn’t that he wanted happiness. His sin was believing that having money would make him happier than having Christ.

O Judas, the tragedy of your value miscalculation! The Pearl worth more than the entire universe sat in front of you and all you could see were perfume puddles. You grieved a year’s wages while squandering infinite, eternal treasure!

Jesus leads all his disciples to watershed moments like Mary’s and Judas’. They are designed to make us count this cost: “Whoever loves his life loses it. And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). These moments force us choose what we really believe is gain. And the choices we make reveal whether we value the Pearl or puddles.

If we choose the Pearl, we hear in Judas the world’s appraisal of us. They watch as time, intellects, money, youth, financial futures, and vocations are poured out on Jesus’ feet. They watch them puddle on the floors of churches, mission fields, orphanages, and homes where children are raised and careers are lost. And what they see is foolish waste. Do not expect their respect.

Jesus wants you to waste your life like Mary wasted her perfume. For it is no true waste. It is true worship. A poured out life of love for Jesus that counts worldly gain as loss displays how precious he really is. It preaches to a bewildered, disdainful world that Christ is gain and the real waste is gaining the world’s perfumes and losing one’s soul in the process (Matthew 16:26).

So, in what way are you wasting your life today?

________

Recent posts from Jon Bloom —

• Jesus Died Because He Loved You



• The Day of Your Deliverance Is Decreed



• Love Is Patient

Hump Day Happenings...

It's been a rather... slow week. Taking a sick day always throws me off track... so yesterday I indulged and took a sick day... well... less indulgence... I just couldn't get out of bed due to body aches.... So I eventually decided to stop fighting my body and just let it rest and went back to sleep.

Today, back at work... but still rather drained of energy (but I refuse to give into coffee today!). Spent the morning going through some lady's flat for stuff to sell at the upcoming AWA fair. If you're in Happy Valley on November 8th, and need something to do... come check it out! :) Old Chinese ladies can be so cute... but they are so amazingly frustrating to deal with! They function in a whole realm that is seperate from us... I'm convinced. This is my love-frustrated relationship which I have with my grandmother. I love her... she's my grandmother, but she frustrates me like no other! Sometimes I also wonder if those of us who didn't grow up in Hong Kong have too huge a culture gap with our grandparents, that they don't relate to us and we don't relate to them.

Heading off early (not really early, cause it's still work) to a HER fund meeting and then brainstorming session afterwards... hope it ends early... I have tonne of stuff I want to do for school tonight... or should I just skip the brainstorming session so I can get some HW done?

School stuff aside, I had a pretty crazy weekend of weird messages. Hahaha... maybe less weird, just... deeper understanding of things God had already revealed awhile back. So, God continues to speak about the diamond picture. This weekend, He decided that he would tie it in with one of favourite verses: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)... this is a very very special verse to me (I even blogged about it awhile back.), and this time God has tied this in with the picture of a diamond. Diamonds, which are pure, are rare and precious. I know I will never reach complete purity until I reach heaven, but even for God put these things into my heart... that is a very high compliment. I'm still processing because I feel so unworthy of such a compliment from my God. 

Weekend also contained more random catch-ups/hangouts with Edmonton people. God is totally making me miss Edmonton... or just people in Edmonton. It's very interesting to just see and chat with people who have either watched me grow up, or grown up with me. Loving all of it, and embracing it all for what it is! :) So God, does this mean I can have that placement in Calgary?! hahaha... (well... I better finish the application first!) Please pray for me, I only have a couple more days to finish the application!

To end with randomness...
Dear Future Husband,

You were randomly blessed by a lady with whom I was speaking to in the ladies bathroom this past weekend. Hahaha... hope you were blessed. BTW... she also mentioned that you were Godly! :)

Love,
You Future Wife

Robots made me cry... :P

I went to watch Real Steel on Tuesday night as a girl date. It was much better than I was expecting. (Warning: Spoiler Alert!)


So I never expected that a movie about robot boxing would bring tears to my face... but it did! I thought about it as I took my short walk from from the theatre (Kornhill MCL whaddup!??!)... and I realized what it was that touched the core of my heart so deeply! It was the beauty of witnessing someone come alive by doing what they were created to do! 


Now I know it's a movie and all, but that final fight (I did warn you that I was gonna be spoiling the movie, so stop reading if you care!)... when Atom's voice command system broke down, and Max turned on the shadow function to force Charlie (Jack Hughman) to box so Atom could shadow him... IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!! It was the one thing he had been avoiding, but was the one thing he loved doing, and in this case the very thing that he was created to do! The joy that just reflected off his face... priceless.


Now, I know this was just a fictional story... but think of the times when you've seen someone who was absolutely glowing and radiant, what was it that made them so? I honesty believe that the most radiant and beautiful person is someone who has come alive because they have discovered the very thing that God had purposed them for! (Hahaha... why didn't I realize any of this while I was writing my Alchemist paper?!?! Or perhaps all these observations are coming as a result of my class...) 


Have you ever been around someone who has discovered this? Who had come alive because of God? The joy that overflows is so contagious that it sends shivers up and down my spine! That life that just pours out of every inch of them is.... so influential! Ahhh.... this was what made me cry.... because I realized that this was my prayer for everyone single one of my friends... and acquintances for them to find that joy in discovering who they are in Christ... and His purpose and destiny for them! Don't ever give up, and don't ever think it's too late! Keep pressing into our Father in heaven, because I promise you... that joy is available for everyone if you're willing to go after it! 


He requires your life and obedience though.... He will most likely call you to do the thing that you're most afraid to do (not meaning you're not good at it) but the one thing that at the core of you really wants to do, but are afraid because of whatever reasons. This dream that is within all of us... whether conscious or unconscious is what God will call into existence if we allow Him to! The choice is yours. Dreams will come true... but they will come true in His way, and in His time.... and for His purpose! :)

Masculinity Is the Glad Assumption of Responsibility

So a awhile back I shared a video about women.... this one is about men. I won't lie.... his description of what a Biblical Manhood... makes that man sound... absolutely beautiful and amazing! :P

Masculinity Is the Glad Assumption of Responsibility from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Tuesday Tellings....

I read this article yesterday... it's really funny! (Warning... this falls under stupid reblogging items...)

God also woke me up at 5am yesterday to finish reading Deuteronomy. (I am waaaay behind in my finish Bible in 90 days plan...) As I was reading Deuteronomy, it made me think "Wow, I'm so glad that I'm not an Israelite from those times." Their success and affection from God was so conditional! It is full of lines like this: "The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your acnestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut. 30:9b-10, NIV)

You see that "if" in there?? Then God promises plagues if they do not follow the laws and love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. That is so scary! Then again... if we lived in those times... would we be saved? Cause we weren't Israelites... Regardless, makes me so thankful that we live in New Testament times, and that all of those offering rules and regulations of the Old Testament were done with by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Thank-you Jesus! Now... time to move on to the book of Joshua... about taking the promiseland... hmmm... interesting. :P 

On other things:
Just got an email from this place in the Philippines. I spent a month there in 2006 (read blog entries circa June-July 2006 to read my stories)... and great things are happening there... the email actually said they're praying for a CHAINSAW!... so they can cut down the fallen trees from the typhoons and make sure the kids don't get hurt by the fallen/falling trees. Any teachers looking to get out on the Mission field? Cause they're looking for teachers!!! I miss those kids... I want to go back and visit... God willing.

The story in video...

MyStory - Cecilia Yiu from The Vine on Vimeo.

For everyone who's followed this blog since... I don't know when... someone at church helped me to put this video together! Amazing! 


This sums up the past year and a half so beautifully! Thank-you God for being so so so faithful even when I was so faithless at times.... hahaha... all details found in earlier blog entries! 

Monday Morning Ramblings...

How was your weekend lovely peoples?

My Saturday was an interesting blast-from-the-past type of day. I felt like a college student again! Spent the day in sweats at home studying during the day... and didn't change to leave my place until 9pm... for a girls' night out. And even managed to squeeze in Bexx time in there... she missed out on most of the girls' night, but I definitely felt like I had travelled back in time a good couple of years.

Sunday started with freaking out about not being able to connect the laptop to the TV for Hockey Morning in Hong Kong... But it all worked out in the end (THANKS!!!)... and Christina and I were able to enjoy the Edmonton-Vancouver game. We were later joined by my brother and his roommate since they couldn't get theirs to work at home... 2 Edmonton fans vs 2 Vancouver fans... Yius vs the others... unfortunately the family connection did not bring any luck, and we managed to lose 3-4 to Vancouver... so sad. I even put on my Oiler's t-shirt for the occasion! I KNEW I should've pulled out the flag and started waving that thing around my living room!

It's been a very productive weekend, finished reviewing Systems Theory... upgraded phone to iOS 5, and even had time to upgrade my Mac to Snow Leopard. I am now only 1 OS behind.... and still debating whether I really need to pay for Lion... Now onto research for my group paper for my Social Policy class and my individual paper for my Integrative Social Work Practice class... AHHH!!! So much work to do!

Random side note: I had this overwhelming sense of freedom this weekend (despite my school stress and anxiety...). But I just had this feeling that I was free... like a bird to fly and soar as I pleased. Thank-you Jesus for my freedom! :)

"The old Cel would've never..."

Someone said this the other day... and it has kinda been ringing in my mind since.

It has got me wondering in the context of the person who said it... what that means. So here is my attempt to define "the old Cel" in that context. 

The old Cel was:
- driving around in the light blue (according to the car registration it was light green) 1995 Honda Accord V6  MJB 468...
- was still using the email baby_cel@telusplanet.net... (I had to stop when I started sending out resumes for jobs... it was rather... uhh... unprofessional)
- OMG... still working at Kumon!
- was aimlessly taking courses at UofA... this was probably around the time when I went from wanting to do med... to neurology... to forensics... criminology.... 
- had no idea what facebook was... honestly (I'm totally gonna age myself now)... I don't even know if it existed back then!
- was serving in Children's ministry, college ministry, and worship ministry... and on her way to being burnt out
- was in what most would call the most unhealthy relationship/friendship of all times
- was using a VAIO which came with a dock!... and hater of all things MAC.... we won't get into what I am typing on at this moment.... and what kinda phone I own....
- was reliant on her head knowledge about God rather than a relationship with Him
- was baby_ducky on EO... okay most of you won't know what that is (Edmonton Online... Edmonton's very own version of AsianAve basically...)
- had short hair... or was still styling another bad perm... hahahahaha
- was still shopping at Gap Kids... and Old Navy kids section... Jacob Jr... hahahaha... basically I was still wearing kids clothes... *sigh* In my defense, it fit and it was cheaper!


This list could go on... hahahaha.. but those were some awkward times, as well as some stretching times. I was awkward and had so little self worth back then... and I look at who I am today and see the work of God. I see the hand of God over my life, from the way he has guided me even when it seemed like I was in control of my own life.... I see how He has changed me so much. The way I think, the way I act, the way I use my time, the things I value... and most importantly the way I see myself, and my relationship with God... or even just the way I perceive Him now! So good! :)


So... it's a good reminder that I've changed... for the better. That I'm not that same girl I used to be... and that it's not hidden.... but it is visible to those who knew me back then. Praise God!

The time is coming...

Ladies and gentlemen for us to take a stand against the ideals and morals that the world is trying to force onto us! 

If you have 8 mins... watch this video (shamelessly stolen from Pyoo), it's good stuff. But as Christians... let's take it one further... to pray not only will women be inspired but that they will find their worth in Christ... rather than taking it to the other extreme... which would be more feminist movements.... so... yah... just watch it! 


It reflects my thoughts from this blog entry...

Cold La Nina winter forecast for West

Maybe it is a good thing that I'm not aiming to go to Whistler this winter.... Dress warm everyone!!! Looks like it's gonna be a COOOOOOLD one!

Cold La Nina winter forecast for West:

A U.S. weather forecasting company is predicting a very cold winter for B.C. and Alberta this winter.

Circles... God likes circles...

Romans 12:2 again?! I wrote this back in February... (Learning the renewed mind) And this past Sunday's sermon from AndyG was none other than Romans 12:2... talking about the transformed mind.

Obviously, I have not learned since then... because I've come around full circle, and I'm once again struggling with those same though processes and thought patterns again! And this time I'm seeing them even more clearly and more vividly, and it makes me sick in the stomach. It makes me dislike myself oh so very much. Why do I think like this?! Why does my negativity and my critical nature take over so quickly? (And I know that my fuse is shorter with some people than with others... I'm so so so sorry! I don't know why I reacted like that the other night... I could feel myself completely starting to shut off and my wall coming up in defense. I felt it but didn't stop it...)

Guess what else has come up once again... the picture of the diamond. Hmmm... which for the record was brought up by someone a year before it was prayed over me at the 180 retreat last December. Hmm... this might be something that is also still a work in progress... Yet these 2 things seem to go hand-in-hand somehow because they seem to keep coming up together?

The time has come. I believe that by the grace of God I will fight these thought patterns and thought habits! God is bigger, and I do not live in those circumstances anymore, I do not live with those people anymore... it's time to walk away from it!!! Let's go, it's time. Argh... more refining... or just the refining that I've been putting off all year whilst I busy myself with other things. This one will require deeper digging, and I have a feeling this is gonna be by far the most painful. *sigh*

But I shall not be afraid because God goes before, and with me, and behind me. Victory is already mine through the blood that Jesus shed at Calvary! So I need only look forward to the freedom that God is trying to give me!

Jealousy...

Hello October... weather in HK is finally starting to cool down a bit, which makes it feel sort of like fall... but fall will never be fall until I wake up to find frost on the ground, which will never happen in HK... I can dream. Hahaha... and the need to pull out mitts and a thicker jacket... oh I miss fall...

Anyways... finally completed my way through Numbers... it had it's tough moments.... Just because I'm a math major does NOT mean that Numbers is my favourite book in the Bible, ok? There is NO correlation.

I did get hit with this one thought the other night though. Especially since one of our all time favorite songs to sing at 180 is "How He Love Us" which starts with the line "He is jealous for me..." But do you realize what those words mean? In the OT times, when God became jealous because Israel was worshipping other Gods, He sent a plague through the tribes and people just dropped dead, just like that! For grumbling and complaining about how life was better when they were slaves in Egypt, God didn't allow them to enter into the promise land, and their kids had to wander the desert for 40 years until they all died off before they could enter the promise land!!!

Seriously... I'm glad that Jesus stands in the gap for me now. In the OT times, Aaron and his sons would have to rush to over to the Tent of Meeting to offer atoning sacrifices to God so that He doesn't kill off everyone! Since Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, no one has to rush to God to appease him whenever we make him angry and jealous! That's a relief!

But what does that mean in your life and my life? How much more do the words "God is jealous for you" mean? Cause if we lived in OT times, God would strike us dead for those mins of hours where we made ourselves bigger than Him... let's be honest... that happens a lot in all of our lives! God really must love us that He send His son to die and stand in the gap for us so that He no longer has to deal his wrath to us like He once did with the Israelites.

Just some thoughts for a Monday morning... :P

Edmonton adopts new snow-clearing plan

This, my dears, is winter in Edmonton! :) This is not really a common sight... roads don't get cleared up that quickly or that well... yet we don't get snow days. We are still expected to dig ourselves outta the snow and find our ways to school and work. Oh... the life.

Edmonton adopts new snow-clearing plan:

Snow plows will stay in Edmonton residential neighbourhoods once they start blading, even if another major snowfall hits, under the city's new snowclearing policy.

Dreams... and other things.

So... I'm suppose to be writing a paper for my Human Behavior and Social Environment class, and I've decided to write on The Alchemist. One of my favourite books of all times... in attempting to write about it, I've just finished re-reading the book. Wow.... so good. So whilst I procrastinate my paper writing, I've decided to blog, because some of the stuff in this book is just too good not to share! If you have time, I suggest you read the whole entire book because it's awesome! Plus it's a short book, quick read! 


As I started reading the book, I was reminded of myself on so many levels. As I read about how the boy in the story decides to follow the desires within his heart rather than what the world around him tells him he needs, I remembered why this book touched my heart so deeply. 


"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision." When I read this quote, the first picture comes to mind was the picture God gave me just before I decided to take the plunge and quit my job at HSBC. It was a picture of me standing on a cliff which is in the midst of a waterfall, and God was asking me to jump. There was no life jacket, no prior knowledge of knowing whether there were rocks at the bottom of the waterfalls... but he asked me whether I trusted Him enough to jump and know that He will make sure nothing bad will happen to me? I remember Him giving a glimpse of the the freedom of free jumping off the cliff without a care in the world... and with the taste of freedom, I knew that the only answer was yes I trust God, and that I will jump in that confidence. 


How far life has travelled since that day when I was sitting in the HSBC office. How much has happened since then, but when I jumped into that water, it did carry me to places I had never dreamed of. I never dreamed that I would be studying at CUHK... and that I would be working with refugees and asylum seekers... that I would have travelled with the Vine Band, gone on various missions trips to China... attempt to go to Cambodia... and just plain encounter God in the many ways that I have in the past year and a half since leaving HSBC! 


This takes me on to the next passage from the book. Lately... well not lately anymore. In the past while, God has been speaking to me about dreams. He is calling me to dream... actually he is commanding me to dream. Several months ago, he gave me 2 messages. The first one said "Dream big - don't limit big in a box".... and the second one said "Dream bigger!" It was as if God knew that I wouldn't listen to just the first one, and that I needed to have the message enforced! 


"What you will need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon."


I'm still working out that the "bigger" is... but I also know that God has placed many dreams on my heart... and dreams are good things. It's not easy for dreams to come true because the enemy knows that when we dream with God and those dreams become a reality, that means that God's glory is further revealed in this world! That more people will be able to encounter Jesus and desire to follow Him. So he does ALL he can to discourage us and get us to give up on our journey to see our dreams come true! But God also takes these situations and turns them for our good. This is the testing of our faith, these are the times when God refines us... when we learn how good our God is! 


Lots of people have told me that dreams are coming to realization... and that they will come to pass because those are God's promises over my life. But I won't lie, it has NOT been an easy year, and there have been days when I am hanging onto God for dear life... hanging onto that faith and hope with all my strength. Yet... it hasn't been my own strength, it has been God's strength and that of those around me walking with me. This is the only reason I am still standing, and that I can continue to be joyful and excited about what is to come, even when I still am not able to see what these dreams are just yet! 

Random thoughts as I press snooze....

So as I pressed snooze for the 2nd time this morning (I try to limit myself to twice), I was suddenly hit with the following thoughts. We are such a snooze pressing generation. In a recent gathering of fellow young adults, the topic of pressing snooze came up... and I think we ALL put up our hand to admit that we press snooze at least ONCE every morning... where the most extreme that I heard was someone snoozing for an hour before they actually get out of bed. So, as I pressed snooze this morning, I began to wonder if I ever press snooze on God. Do we ever get so comfortable with pressing snooze thinking that it's just another 9 mins? (That's how long my snooze is...)


This was a scary thought. Do I ever hear the alarm clock of God go off in my life for something, and decide God I'm not ready, just give me a couple more days, weeks, months, years? I think I'm gonna have to say, yes I think I do. I think I really want to cut off my snoozing habit... and wake up when my alarm goes off... so that I don't get into such a habit of pressing snooze I press snooze on God. 


So scary to think that maybe God is trying to wake us up from our complacency or comforts... but we are so comfortable there that we tune him out... or worse yet, press snooze on him and go back to our comforts. I don't want to be caught sleeping spiritually. I know when Jesus says "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." He is talking about the second coming and that we must be alert for it... but I think it can be very true in all areas of our life. 


I do not want to press snooze on God when He comes back.... I do not want to miss that! 

Dubnyk, Oilers blank Flames

Woohoo!! Oilers I'm so proud of you! :)

Dubnyk, Oilers blank Flames:

Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots he faced to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-0 win over the Calgary Flames in NHL pre-season play Sunday.

Quesnell Bridge finally open to all traffic

Oh Quesnell Bridge... how you make my life miserable when you're not fully opened... hahahahahhaaha....

I won't lie... I've been missing Edmonton lately... maybe I just miss driving and my friends... less so the place... :P

Quesnell Bridge finally open to all traffic:

After three years of construction and delays, the Quesnell Bridge fully opened to all traffic Monday.

Things to know at 25-ish

Back to things of more... substance.

I shameless stole this from Joanne Kim.... well I found the article on her blog, and I loved it.

This particular snippet caught my eye... and my heart:

"This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.



Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal."

(You can read the rest of the article here.)

Thank-you God that you didn't allow me to get stuck, but forced me to move, face my battles head-on and allowed me to become the person that I am today! Does that mean I've become a real live adult? Hahaha... that's not up for debate at the moment! :P

Am I wearing pants?!

I don't normally post up stupid stuff... but this was really really funny! (Taken off sassyhongkong.com) I think there are a lot of girls that I see on the streets that should go through all these questions before stepping foot outside their homes! Might save them from some later embarrasment. :P

Residential school compensation deadline looms

Argh... unfortunately compensation doesn't take away the horrid memories and psychological damaged caused by these residential schools.

Residential school compensation deadline looms:

Social workers are scouring Edmonton streets hoping to make contact with as many former students of residential school as possible as the deadline for compensation looms.

Most important thing...

This past weekend someone told me that the most important thing to a woman is her beauty. If she's beautiful then she can do anything. I feel that I must argue this statement. We all who have grown up in the church know that "beauty is fleeting." So how can beauty be the most important thing that a woman can have... more important than money and career?! I believe this is why the beauty parlours make so much money in Hong Kong and why the industry is so thriving. Actually not just in Hong Kong, but the same reason that the cosmetic surgery industry thrives in Korea, why the make-up industry all over the world is so large.


This statement was then followed with a story of how they as a beauty parlour were able to "fix" a certain skin pigment problem of a particular lady which resulted in her mother coming to thank them profusely because it was a "problem" not even doctors could fix. And whilst before having these treatments she was unable to find a job, afterwards she was able to find an amazing job, and apparently that followed with a guy who worships the ground she walks on, buys her handbags worth tens of thousands of dollars, and is now planning their wedding. I'll be honest... the only thing going through my mind is "what will happen when the beauty disappears?"


It's a hard battle of self-worth vs Christ-worth. Finding security in knowing that God loves me, and that He finds me beautiful and worthy instead of finding it in the acceptance from the world. That struggle of wanting the world to find me beautiful and worthy rather than being grounded and confident in Christ. That is the one thing that is of the utmost importance. To be grounded and confident in who we are in Christ, man or woman, that is the most important thing we can have other than our relationship with Jesus. It is worth more than all the riches and materials the world can provide, and it remains even when beauty fades.

I don't have an action plan or anything but somehow I want to start taking a stand against stuff like this. I want to take a stand and say, no those are not the things that matter. What you do, what you have, who are have... these things are not what should define you. Meet Jesus, let Him show you what matters, and the things that HE says should define you... I promise, it'll change your life! As you encounter Jesus and allow Him to flow our through every part of your life, the beauty that shines through will be much more radiant than any beauty products or treatment will be able to give you. It'll cost you your life... but when you surrender your life over to God, He gives you a new life... an even better life... an everlasting life which promises an eternity in paradise with Him!

So... to the world that tells me beauty will grant me the desires of my heart as a woman.. I say "up yours" in a nice way.... and God is the only one who can grant me the desires of my heart. :) And let me tell you... He does, he does!


Sidenote: I'm excited. Korean ladies have promised me kimchi next month! :)

Edmonton mega-mall hits big 3-0 with little fanfare

Wow... WEM... you are only 30?!?! Hahaha.. I have to admit... there are days when I miss this place... Edmonton, I think we're due for a visit... hopefully sooner than later. :P

Edmonton mega-mall hits big 3-0 with little fanfare:

West Edmonton Mall turned 30 years old Thursday, but there were no balloons, cake or banners to mark the occasion. Instead, its family owners want to emphasize the mall's efforts to refresh its image.

So Begins a 90 day journey...

So began my 90 day journey with God this morning, as I attempt to finish reading the Bible from cover to cover before 2011 comes to an end.

This morning I read Genesis chapters 1 through to 16... from the story of Creation straight through to the story of Sarai and Hagar. It must've been awhile since I've read through Genesis like that... because I found it quite refreshing... and quite interesting. This is going to make for a very interesting 90 days...

How would you feel if you were Abram? God keeps promising you something... yet everything else in your life, your circumstances seem to be going in the opposite direction? Would you have faith like Abram? Would you keep believeing that God will fulfill what He had promised? I feel like everytime Abram questions God... God tells him to look up. To look around him... beyond what lies just in front... to look further... interesting.


Or else it's just because I feel like him... and have felt like God has been telling me to look up at Him and to keep my eyes on Him lately. :)

Anyways... to end on a very random note... watched this video last night... wherever life/ God takes you, I hope you are thankful for the times we've shared... because I'm very thankful to God for you and the times that God allowed me to share life with you. :)