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. :) 

Hello Edmonton... we meet again.

So my meeting up with people from Edmonton continues today. 'Twas another interesting night of chatting with an old friend, finding out about what she's been up to, as well as what others in Edmonton have been up to. She is now the Petros counsellor to the girls I used to teach in Team KID, now run as AWANA. I can't believe they are now in grade 11! The last time I taught them... I swear they were still in grade 4... has it really been 7 years? Perhaps... This is the grade of kids whom I used to go visit in the nursery back in the day. I would go by the nursery, take them out for a walk around the church... and then bring them back... or I would just stand in front of the nursery making faces at the babies inside... THESE are the kids which are now in grade 11... goodness gracious, where has the time gone? For me, a lot of them are frozen in the time when I used to team them in Team KID... cause that was the last time I taught some of them. 


That was realization number 1... the next one is... how much I really am honorary '87... which all started as being called honorary first year... but most of the 87's are now graduated and working... or doing various other things... we cannot go by university year anymore... hahaha... so I deem myself honorary '87. Good times! I still talk to a good number of them, and LOVE talking to them, so it's always fun to catch up with one of them! :)


I'm really starting to enjoy nights like this... where I can spread my Edmonton wings and let them stretch. This is good... because that means I'm accepting that part of my life and embracing it into all that I have become now. This is fun now! Perhaps a part of it is simply catching up with people and finding out what they have been up to! I love talking to people who share my thoughts and views on certain things... and even more fun when they're teaching them to the girls that you used to teach and pray for! LOVES IT!!! There is a part of me that wishes that I had been around to watch those girls grow up... to still be a Petros counselor so that I could be there when they had arrived into Petros... but that is not to be. God had other plans for me. I actually used to dream about that... about following my girls all the way from kindergarten up to high school... what impact would that have on the girls? Well... I'll never know. But sometimes it's fun to think like that. 


On a different note... someone broke into our office during the Mid-Autumn festival holiday... whoever it was... wasn't the smartest of thieves... or has a grudge against the Education office... cause it wasn't like they took too many valuable things... other than a couple thousand dollars in petty cash and a laptop. They could've at least taken my computer and monitor as well or something... but NO... they only took my mouse and keyboard, and my duck!!! They stole my duck which Sky and RQ gave me to cheer me up at work!! BWAR!!!! That makes me so upset... and they took my iphone cable... and a really old camera that belongs to work. My poor duck... I hope they are at least treating you well. They also stole various other toys off my coworker's desk. So sad.... and I had make sure to clean off everything off my desk this morning to make sure all the glass was cleared up as they had broken in through the window above my desk! Why would anyone rob an NGO that's trying to help people?!??! That.. I don't know if we'll ever find the answer to. 


It has been a very long and interesting day... and I think I shall sign off on that. Oh... I forgot, I've decided that before this year (2011) ends, I will complete reading the Bible from cover to cover... so I shall start the Bible in 90 days reading plan! Anyone else wanna join me?! I think I'll use this blog to keep me accountable... hahaha... I have a bit more than 90 days before this month ends... so that leaves me some room to stretch! I'm excited... speak God speak! :)


And I'm outs... til next time! I love you! :)

This is me!

So last night I went to Will and Karen's HK wedding banquet... here in HK obviously! (So happy for them!!!) While I was there, I had the oddest mixture of my Edmonton life and my HK life. I thought the whole uncle Alan incident at 180 a couple of months ago was strange, but I think this was even more so. Let me try to put the weirdness into words.

I was physically sitting in Hong Kong, everything around me was telling me that, from the banquet hall, to the people sitting at my table, to the phone I was holding in my hand... I was very clear that I was physically in Hong Kong. Yet, all the pictures and scenes that were showing up on the screen were of my life in Edmonton. I was emotionally and mentally in Edmonton. For the past little while, I've actually been feeling like this. Physically in Hong Kong but emotionally and mentally in Edmonton...

Last night, all that I had been feeling and thinking became something that wasn't just in my head, but it was made real. At first it felt so strange because I was so confused as to where I was and what was going on... but it felt kinda cool after awhile. This should be a reality that people can see, because this is who I am. Everything in the physical was a part of who I am now, and everything on the screen is also a part of who I am... all of those years in Edmonton shaped a lot of who I am today, I can't ignore that.

So as strange as last night was, it confirmed that what God had been speaking was true. That my old self and current self needs to be reconiled together. As my mind began to replay all the memories from high school and university... the most shaping years of my life, I felt that I was okay. I wasn't angry, I wasn't upset, I wasn't yearning to bury it all and pretend like those years never happened. I was grounded in knowing that was my past, and this around me was who I am now. I could embrace all that WAS me into who I am NOW!

Still learning a lot, but praise God for coming through and using the oddest of situations to make me see that He IS working in my life!

Anyways, back to the wedding! So happy for Karen and Will... for 2 people who walked with me through some of the hardest years of my life, and whom I got to walk with through some of their interesting times as well... I am sooo happy and excited to get to share and witness this moment with them in Hong Kong. I am a bit sad that I missed the actual wedding ceremony, but it was nice to get to share in their moment of celebration in HK... surrounded by random random HK aquaintances. hahahahaha... :P