The Special Boy

There is this boy who has recently been playing a rather huge role in my life. We see each other everyday, eat together at least once a day and never run out of things to say to each other. I had initially thought that there was much I could teach him about life -having a wealth of knowledge and all (not)- but then I quickly learned that I couldn't have been more wrong. The converse is, instead, the truth.

From the endless hours of engaging in computer games come moments of great maturity. From the childlike excitement over a new episode of anime to watch come godly conversations. From the seemingly timid disposition come surprising acts of courage. Out of the numerous things I admire about him, it is his quiet yet confident spirit that I most adore...and hope to emulate.

I am thankful for this boy whom I can call family and friend...and cousin brother. (Haw haw haw.) Boy, am I glad that he's here with me!

What a blessing to have such an apartmentmate who, really, is more than just an apartmentmate. Just like the special girl whom I had as an apartmentmate and dearly miss. God is good.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17

All Shapes and Sizes

To be blessed is to have extraordinary friends who call my mother on her birthday, make plans to take her out for brunch and stress on what (food-related) present to get her.

To be blessed is to have my cousin brother preparing dinner with me in the kitchen and telling me enthralling stories about his childhood right after dinner.

To be blessed is to have a Math professor who took ten minutes out of precious class time to tell us that it is alright to feel stupid and to get us acquainted with math humor and math maturity.

To be blessed is to have a Geology professor whose ridiculous excitement for rain drops splattering on a muddy surface is beyond comparison.

To be blessed is to be praying for something as simple as a ride and to be receiving a call (offering a ride) fifteen minutes before the appointed time.

To be blessed is to be passed a sweet note from a beautiful sister in Christ with an invitation to our upcoming "secret club"...and to be given the nickname Schnazzlefrazz.

To be blessed is to have the dear company of my uncle and aunt who loved me as their own.

To be blessed is to have my thoughts, intentions and actions admonished by the Man Upstairs.

To be blessed is to have family and friends I miss everyday, and yet have family and friends right in my midst.

To be blessed is to be given the doubting of my own plan and the assurance of God's plan.

To be blessed is to have faith that God's hands are moving, and to be given the opportunity to witness it.

To be blessed is to have the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

God has been good.

True Identity (Not the Movie)

So, the one who lost in the card game tonight would be in charge of the next dinner...and of course, I had to lose. Oy. But I am thankful that my aunt cooked tonight and only had me chopping garlic. I am sure everyone was relieved that we had a proper dinner instead of the instant noodles I was really planning on cooking. Double oy.

Rewinding back to the start of the day, we all woke up in the wee hours of the morning to run some errands on campus. The lady at the health center saw my face one too many times today and even remarked, "It's you again!" upon my third visit of the day. Oops.

In other awesome news, my long-awaited all-new good-lookin' floral-covered NIV Bible is finally in my hands. I suppose it is now a good time to work on becoming a woman. Because I almost puked a little typing that, I am clearly not one yet.

I will now come to an abrupt end.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." -John 8:36

Faithwalking

The last few days of 2011 and the first few days of 2012 have been highly eventful because God is always full of surprises.

The Faithwalkers conference in Omaha was nothing short of rewarding and I am thankful that God showed up in far too many ways -one of which was through the invaluable counsel a pastor-slash-geologist blessed me with. I am still reeling over God's goodness and gentleness.

The day after I got back from the conference, my relatives and I hit the freeway in search of something fun to do outside of Lincoln. Since the Strategic Air and Space Museum which we had initially planned to visit was closed for the holidays, we decided to embark on our own mini excursion in the Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. I concede that I have now developed a greater respect for Nebraska.

Night came and we invited a friend over for dinner. Once we were done scarfing down the exquisite food on the table, we decided to play a nifty card game for about two hours before toasting to the new year with cans of 7 Up. 'Twas a great night.

The morning of January the first arrived all too quickly and I jumped out of bed to head to church. I reminisced about the exact same moment last year -when I was running away from God- and marveled at the very moment I was in this year -when I was and still am running to God. There has been much He has seen me through. I am thankful. And more.

Afternoon rolled around and I fell ill. After much resting in the evening, I was still feeling unwell. I eventually felt better after a round of the card game with my relatives. It is really quite a sight to watch a family -mother, father and son- try their level best to sabotage each other. I am convinced that the most amusing part of every game is the unleashing of every player's true self. 

It is now the night of January the second and we have just finished yet another round of the card game. The winner would have to prepare dinner tomorrow. Everyone is going to have to make do with instant noodles...as it is one of my favorites. Heehee.

Off to bed!

"Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom." -Psalm 145:3

Winter Warmth

Today was quite like every other day since the break began. My uncle, aunt and I went to the mall for Boxing Day while my cousin brother chilled in the apartment. Two hours later, we picked up my cousin brother for a Vietnamese lunch in a car that was now filled with shopping bags. Haw haw haw. Right after lunch, we thought about what to cook for dinner and hit the supermarket for the missing ingredients. The first thing my rad uncle did was pick up a family-sized bag of chips and dump it into the cart. Then, he went on to fill the cart with a tub of cookies and cream ice-cream. I was a happy child.

Dinner turned out to be the highlight of the day again. My aunt demonstrated her excellent chicken-chopping skills and asked her son and me to follow suit. The chicken pieces became interesting shapes and sizes when she handed the knife over to us. It was a painful sight. But boy was it fun! With the wonderful supervision of my aunt and the careful cooking of my cousin, the food served was unbelievably good! They have certainly got a fan in me.

Tomorrow, I will be going for a four-day conference in the hopes of taking a few more steps forward in my journey with the Man Upstairs. I know He will not disappoint. He is Awesome like that.

T -  5 days 'til the new year...and new battles. Time to flail. And claim victory in Christ.

"You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head." - Psalm 139:5

The Golden Year

It is Christmas! The weather has been insanely marvelous ever since my relatives arrived last week and today is no exception. As I sit here on the toasty floor of my room, mulling over what Jesus is and listening to good music, all I can think about is how the year has been (as I am wont to do this time of the year...or, uh, most other times of the year).

2011 has been the most eventful year for me yet -by a very long mile. It started off with deliberate disobedience to God followed by immediate redemption by this same God. To plunge right into rock-bottom and to be made whole again just as quickly, the love of God had finally hit me left, right and center. The ugly times did not last, but the trying times did. Recognizing for the very first time who my horses and chariots of fire were, my lenses had never been clearer as I saw God's mighty hands take hold of my garbage, perform a little magic and hand me back gold. I cried, I grieved, I healed, I laughed, I danced, I read, I flew, I cooked, I learned, I grew, I fell in love with the Man Upstairs. It was quite a semester -definitely a tale for my future kids one day over a hearty meal of nasi lemak.

The ensuing months were too much of a blessing. God gave me the extraordinary opportunity to set foot on a few continents on planet Earth...with the Greats in my life...doing the most spectacular things. As if all that hadn't been enough to blow my socks off, God also saw to it that my cousin sister and I got to realize our ten-year-old dream of scaling a pretty bridge. My cup-eth had overflow-eth with tea-eth. This chapter of my life will always read like a fairytale in my book. The crazy love of my Author overwhelms me.

And finally, we reach part three of three in 2011. The semester which ended not too long ago had been painfully challenging -both academically and emotionally. I bade goodbye to two precious friends, had my pride necessarily thrown out the window, wrestled with my loony mind, got well acquainted with my f-f-f-flaws, realized that dreams change and lived in misery 75.28% of the time. Oy. Amidst all that, little life-changing moments like experiencing the sheer faithfulness of Christ and catching a glimpse of God's heart kept my spirits soaring high. 

I concede with great shame (and bang my keyboard as I type this) that I had never had to seek help with understanding class material since a mutant lizard landed on me back when I was sixteen...and thus, always thought that I could handle things well on my own. This semester, God decided to spice my life up a little by vividly showing me that no, I cannot handle things well on my own...at all. It was a novel feeling to have to bring every single assignment, homework, quiz and exam before God but I pray I never stop doing this until the day I leave school. It was also a novel feeling to be so over the moon each time I could answer a question correctly. Every accomplished homework called for a little dance party (inside my mind). And God carried me from victory to victory throughout the semester despite my burgeoning fears and doubts. He is as real as real gets.

Looking back at how the semester had unfolded, I come back to the present moment and see that I am still standing at a crossroad. It perplexes me how God has seen me through so much and never withheld His best from me...and yet I find it pretty t-u-p-h to forge on despite knowing that He has got my back with my future. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten things figured out. But I am trying. He has got my back in this, too.

It has been a year of the worst of times and the best of times; a year of fulfilled dreams and changing dreams; a year of joy and more joy. 2011 has been wild. May 2012 not be so. Gulp.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." -Philippians 1:6

The Lincoln Musical

Thanksgiving had been supremely marvelous. The past few days were, hands-down, the greatest days of the semester. I quiver at the immense goodness of the Man Upstairs. What a blessing to be reunited with the best of friends. The good times -involving intense card games, awkward high fives, late-night chats, "bimbotic" tendencies, jukebox moments, the reminiscence of older good times- were far too numerous to count. I could try describing just how precious those times were...but words would never do it justice. Now that the dearly missed friends are no longer here, the apartment feels emptier than usual even though nothing changed. I suppose when amazing presence comes, and then goes, the void becomes magnified.

Cheers to friends who light up my life. Cheers to friends who stay. Cheers to friends in joy and sorrow. Cheers to friends who are like no other. Cheers to friends like these.

I am thankful.