This week has been long and tiring.Maybe I will elaborate in another entry, but
for now … PRAISE GOD.You all know how
much I love and miss my cousin’s son, Timmy.
But guess what!He now has a
little brother =D Another reason to smile and thank God =)
Welcome to the world,
Benjamin!You are only a little over a
day old, but I cannot wait to meet you =D
(maybe I will post a picture later, once his parents post it
on their xangas first hehe =P)
Currently Listening Worship By Michael W. Smith Awesome God – “… our God is an awesome God … with wisdom, pow’r, and love …” see related
Saturday, October 14, 2006 – It’s a wonderful disciplined life …
One of the perks about working in an optometry office is the glasses.I recently got new glasses.Here is emo-looking Tiff.
Unfortunately, my parents did not like the look.Haha.So I converted them to sunglasses (which was actually my initial intention).I like them a lot!This is the first time I have had prescription sunglasses.I do not need to squint anymore =)
Another good thing about work is my co-workers.I look forward to the days I get to sit up at the front desk and talk with some of them.Sometimes exciting things happen, like this:
Haha.Work is overall good.It can be quite busy and tiring at times, but I try to keep in mind how much I am learning and how much experience I am getting.Plus all the doctors have been SUPER helpful in my preparation and questions about school and stuff.So yeah, work is good =)
The other new thing about post-grad life, besides work, is keeping in touch.It is relatively easy when both people make an effort of course =PAlthough commuting to work can get tiresome, I am glad to still be living in the LA area.Living with roommates again has its challenges but we have a lot of fun (watching tv haha).Some friends are a just a few doors away as well.And a group of us grads have been having dinner for a couple weeks now, and hopefully that will continue.Look at what we had!It tastes a lot better than it looks =P
It is kinda funny how it takes a little while for me to realize what is going on in my spiritual life.I asked God for a job, and he gave it to me.I asked God for guidance career-wise, and he gave that to me too.I have been convicted lately about what it means to love God and love one another, and that just happens to be the series Lighthouse is going through right now.I prayed about keeping old friends and making new ones, and I have seen progress in both.I prayed that serving in the children’s ministry would not burn me out, and God has increased my love for the kids and teaching them.I have been struggling with money and discipline lately and what does God do?He speaks to me on those very subjects through sermons and special speakers at Lighthouse.Even better, he gives me practical applications on how to be a good steward with what I have.How cool is that?
It’s a disciplined life.I went to a finance seminar at Lighthouse this morning, and that is what the speaker said.It’s a disciplined life.That is what the Christian life is!Sometimes I wonder if evangelizing would be more effective if we were up front, did not sugar coat, and let people know that the Christian life is not an easy one.I write about the praises in my life, and although recognizing God’s grace helps, the Christian life is still hard.I fall short in so many ways but I have a strong confidence that things will get better if I work on my discipline.
With that said, I would like to remind you that it is time to play Monopoly at McDonald’s.It is one of my favorite times of the year, and so far, I got a free medium fries and $7 Best Buy bucks.And so I bought the new Jars of Clay.Listen to it.It’s good =)
Currently Listening Good Monsters By Jars of Clay There Is A River – “… so give up the right to control the waves that empty out your life // above wild skies are the rays that break the shadows we design // give it up, let go, these are things you were never meant to shoulder …” see related
Sunday, October 1, 2006 – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
I have been meaning to update for awhile, but trends have
shown my posting correlates very strongly with how happy I feel.It is not that I am sad all the time, but I
tend to post on particularly good days.Today has been one of those days =)So what has been going on with me?
Life is a lifeboat. In the aforementioned book from my last post, Donald Miller
has this theory, about how we are all on a lifeboat.Someone needs to be thrown off, so in our
prideful nature, we constantly compare ourselves with each other, searching for
reasons to not be killed.This hurtful
judgment and self-righteousness hinders us from fulfilling the two greatest God-given
commandments: to love God and to love each other.We want things to be fair and to get what we
“deserve.”(personal commentary: fortunately, life is not fair.thank
god.otherwise we are all screwed).He goes on to explain a lot about how Christianity
is very much relational and not just a list of rules to keep us moral.It is a little difficult to explain fully
what he did in two hundred some pages, so I highly suggest reading the book.
Loving one another.
I like that picture a lot.I took it while at Lighthouse’s all-church retreat.Along with what I learned there and in
reading Searching for God Knows What,
I have learned a lot about what it means to love one another.In short, God has been teaching me a lot
about relationships, moreso of the non-romantic kind.If I am to love others, I need to try
harder.The best way to do that is
improve my relationships.I need to have
the patience and take the initiative in maintaining friendships.I need to establish relationships with my
co-workers if I want to be a good witness to them or have opportunities to talk
to them more about my faith.I need to
be a good daughter/sister and consistently pray for my family.At work, I can show love to a complete stranger,
if I take the time to try.I need to love
less in word and more in deed.
Love is patient. I am not very good at being joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, and faithful in prayer.And
yet, God surprises me by blessing me with things I should not be joyful in only
when I have it, or answering my inconsistent and impatient prayers.God has unexpectedly renewed a few
relationships that I thought were beyond repair.Huge burdens have been lifted!The sense of peace I have now is so very
awesome.I need to learn to trust God
for everything.
Little things. Here are a few other interesting things.Work has been fun and interesting.In the past couple of weeks, I had dinner
with my co-workers, I saw a prosthetic eye, and two glasses frames were stolen.Serving in the children’s ministry at
Lighthouse has been increasingly rewarding.I will be teaching for the first time next Sunday!I have an important interview coming up.I am somewhat nervous.My apartment is feeling like home now.Come visit!
Okay that is all.It
is late and I have work tomorrow.And
hopefully, this is not the only way most of you are keeping up to date with my
life =PThis is just a snippet.Let us hang out and I can share more with you
then =)Okay, good night!
Currently Listening Feels Like Today By Rascal Flatts Where You Are – “… when I reach for you, your love lifts me up // all I want is to be where you are …” see related
