|
| Blessed..."um...yeah...*sigh*...wow God...(smile) uhhh...how do I explain...what words can I use...errr...well, I'm glad you are omniscent and you know my heart and how thankful I am, God!" -excerpt from a confession/convo I had/have w/ God...especially as of late- True grace is powerful, and it is deliberate (2 Cor. 12:9). It is most definitely a gift from God that, in turn, glorifies Him. Christ is full of grace. Our Heavenly Father was the first to have it, and He is the very essence of it. Through the Holy Spirit, grace actively lives in us, and we honor God and others by choosing to exercise it in many ways. Wisdom and discernment are hallmarks of God’s grace. Exercising all the qualities of grace with a pure heart brings life to us and to others (Prov. 3:21-22, 45:2). Through a pure heart and gracious speech, we will even keep company with kings (Prov. 22:11) Labor Day: A gracious brother wanted to express his gratitude to God by serving His ppl by cookin up a delicious bbq and coordinating a fun picnic at the lake! I rode a waverunner for the 1st time and dood-it was sooo exhilaring! I can still feel the waves...yay-yuhhh =) | | |
| it's been raining like cats and dogs this week! I forgot my umbrella, which was a bummer, but I saw something unusual + cute that uplifted my spirits. With flip flops on, jeans rolled up, and head ducked low under my hoodie, I made a dash to my car with the intention of trying to not get too wet. Silly me-definitely a failed attempt, but I looked up at one point and saw some students swishing their feet around in the water with arms wide open, heads lifted up, and smiling/laughing while getting soaked. Not that getting drenched is cute, but something about their free-spirited, child-like, and joyful demeanor got me thinkin... God pours out His lavish love, grace, and mercy on us everyday. Instead of taking our heavenly Father for granted, I hope believers will enjoy His presence, become saturated in the Word and live in such a way that it makes people stop in their steps, look up and think, "Wow...what kind of freedom and joy do these people have...in such a muddy, dreary world?" After watching them for a few seconds, I walked through a few puddles purposefully, felt the rain splatter on my face, got totally wet...and it felt good! hahah crazzzy anyway, I think when others see people who genuinely love the Lord and are living for Him, they'll want to immerse themselves in Christ and "get wet" too... | | |
| oyyy I really don't like having car trouble. A few weeks ago, someone hit my rearview mirror and ran off  Yesterday, the starter didn't work so I had to get my car towed to Pepboys to get work done on it. It's such a hassle having inconveniences, but the verse in 1 Thess 5 that says to give thanks in ALL circumstances is hittin me hard. since I'm waiting around for Pepboys to call, I don't have to go into lab today tehe This past weekend was a blast cause our  to small group met together for one last time to have a girls sleepover heheh =) Call me biased, but I really do think God blessed me with the most beautiful bunch of sisters  flashback: so in the fall, I went to the ER for the first time cause I had a severe acute allergic reaction to cashews, which I'm still SO confused about cause I grew up eating them all the time. Anyhow, after shooting me up with 2 shots of epinephrine and giving me antihistamine pills, the doc prescribed me an epi-pen to carry around with me in case of an emergency. What emergency, right? For our small group dinner, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and I ate their oh-so-delicious Thai lettuce wraps. Whadda ya know...I had a minor incident where I once again swelled up and had minor hives, but thankfully, it wasn't anything too serious i.e. no shortness of breath=trachea was A-ok. It was funny cause we checked the menu later and it straight up said "tamarind-cashew" sauce...oh nuts. I thought it was cute that Jinlee got a to-go menu and put a big box and NO! next to everything with cashews as an ingredient and gave it to me =) | | |
| 
Heart to heart small group: I cannot praise God enough for these girls, who have been a bundle of joy this semester! I was/am convicted to take care of and feed God's sheep, but I didn't expect the exceeding amount of blessings that God has poured out through this group. God is surely good, faithful, and sooo loving and wants to teach us His Truth, which He has been, so really, ALL praise and glory to our amazingly awesome Father. When I see/speak with/pray for specific individuals, I see how God is so unique in His creation and can and will use His people to reveal attributes of Himself-it's so beautiful. Gesh louise-praise God! My heart swells up inside with much gratitude when I think of them =) Furthermore, praise God for listening to us and answering prayers like...no other. If any of you doubt, please, I beg you, don't limit what God can do. He does things in ways you may not expect, but in the end, His timing and plans are impeccable. His ways and thoughts are beyond comprehension...blows me away...leaves me speechless...so I conclude this entry with ... glory to God...frealll. *Harry-you are a true brother in Christ and it's been a JOY knowing you for the past 4.5 years. I know we'll see you in a semester, but you will be sorely missed by many while you're in Russia. We're praying for you! I cherish ALL the memories we have together, from serious ones to frikkin hilarious moments! =) take care, chowchow~ | | |
| one of my constant prayers is for God to be glorified in ALL circumstances. let's just say that He has been holding up to that commitment and my faith and trust in God has been tested like no other these past few weeks. However, thank the Lord for testing us cause I can honestly say that God is so real to me and I'm beginning to understand what desperation means. in the midst of having a burdensome and heavy/worried heart, God has truly encouraged me with so many brothers and sisters who prayed with me and really "stepped up their love." Whenever I read Scripture, there are verses that speak directly to my heart. It's funny cause I "know" His Word is true, but I stray away from His promises so easily and yet, I know He still has me firmly in His hands. This past wkend, I heard a sermon about how we are called to carry our cross. No matter how heavy/hard it may be, the image of Christ bearing the cross for us shook me up-We need to be reminded of the sufferring He went through so we can come to God freely. It's comforting to know that Christ won't necessarily take away problems, etc, but He'll carry US when we depend on Him. mmm...I'm a little speechless... anyhow, I def wanna praise God for His help and drawing us a step closer to Him. Even though there are times I just wanna complain/quit/yadayada, God doesn't get any glory in that kind of attitude/heart/life. my sweet roomie wrote these verses for me and it's so applicable. James 1:2-3, 6, 12--> Consider it pure JOY, whenever you face trials of many kinds, b/c you know that the testing of your FAITH develops perseverance...When he asks, he must BELIEVE and NOT DOUBT, b/c he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, b/c when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has PROMISED to those who LOVE him. May God get ALL the glory He deserves. | | |
|
