Darn it... I love these!

from http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100241048&page=2

8. WORST BOTTLED COFFEE

Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino (13.7-ounce bottle)

• 290 calories
• 4.5 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
• 46 g sugars

Add one of these to your diet every morning and you’ll add about 28 pounds of flab to your body in a year.

"We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright-shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace."

- Oswald Chambers

Thoughts on Isaiah 6

I never realized just how intense of a man Isaiah was.

Yesterday I was reading Ch 6. That chapter has been pretty inspirational to me, especially this past year. It reminds me that even though God may not call me specifically for a certain task, I need to be developing a willing and ready heart... and that there may times He will enable me to step up to do something nobody would want to do.

For the first time (-__-), I paid attention to God's instructions to Isaiah. God told Isaiah to speak words to the Israelites that would harden their hearts towards Him. God basically sends Isaiah to turn people away from Him and thus destroy them for eternity.

When I think about things God calls us to do, I think of loving Him, loving others, spreading the Good News, and spreading His name. I think of His call for each of us to be salt and light wherever we are. And I think about the hope we have in predestination: that because of God's sovereign will to save, there will be harvest whether we live to see it or not.

Yet with Isaiah here, God sent him to basically do anti-missions! God sent him to turn people away from Him and guaranteed that "cities [will] lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land [will become] a desolate waste..."

-___- I had never realized the depth of Isaiah's faith. I saw his willingness and readiness, but not how his faith was grounded in God's character rather than His actions.

Of course it's awesome when I can give thanks and praise for what God can do, but deeper intimacy with Him should lead me to worship Him simply for who He is. I guess it is logical, then, for Him to care more about who we are (our hearts), than what we do...

Settling Down

I got to MA this morning :) Thank you for your prayers... my Amtrak rides were ridiculously smooth. Some super nice + cool people helped me lug my 60000 luggage to the station AND redistribute some of my stuff into an extra box because some were overweight! Erica even rode the train up with me to Baltimore! Our first train from Cville --> DC was delayed for 3 hours, but several nice friends kept us company and brought us FOOD >_< After Erica got off the train in Baltimore, my momma began calling me every several hours to make sure I'm not to lonely.

I'm ridiculously spoiled by my family + the people around me... I just hope I'll be able to bless others in similar ways! These experiences with super nice people really makes me think of 1 Jn 4:12.


Anyway... today, I was able to tour B-town a bit...




















Is it weird that the first place I visited was the Boston Public Library?

























Stairway of Library

























Study Area!

























Courtyard of the Library




















A nice day to chill outside!




















Library Coffee Shop

























This random picture of a skyscraper is dedicated to Ms. Jaeeun Cho :)


I walked around the Copley area for a bit and bought some new underwear (so that I won't have to do laundry as frequently)!



When I got back to my cousin's place, I grew kinda excited about school!























Pretty textbooks for summer session!



















Then I found my way to a nearby Asian grocery store and stocked up on some essentials (noodles, kimchee, etc.)

NOTE to prospective visitors: they have a small food court selling bubble tea, "Yo! Berry," Korean Cruisine, and more!



















Despite being excited about school and getting to know Boston, I'm intensely home (C'ville) sick. Good thing Jae is nearby... JJ/her bro! :D


I do look forward to tomorrow's church hopping adventure... I wonder where God will call me! Highrock? CityLife? CCFC?? I'm going to try to visit all three tomorrow...


One tremendous blessing (in disguise), I suppose, is that loneliness really forces me to cling to God... Ps 63:1, dude, seriously!

A New Degree of Intimacy

I thought it was pretty hilarious how I'm on a first-name basis with the mechanics at Finley's Car Services.

Today I called in about a new car problem, and the receptionist recognized my voice.

The Motherland

Sortin' through some old photos, I found these...







My old cell phone (left)













Fashion












Busy markets












Intersection outside my parents' apartment











And of course, FOOD.







shrimp rolls












FISH












MORE FISH











almond jelly dessert











egg rolls










crispy, delicious egg rolls











eggs with tofu and tomatoes

In Need

I was driving around Emmet St. this morning and thinking to myself how much I'll miss this place. I couldn't believe I'm moving to Boston next Friday. I wondered, When will I ever feel ready?

These past couple of weeks, I've been wondering how I'm going to survive grad school. Where is the self-discipline? Where is my spiritual maturity?

If there's anything I learned this past year, it is that I need to grow.

I drove to Hotcakes for a date with God. A group of Korean-speaking young adults trickled in and gathered 'round the table diagonal from my corner. They chatted comfortably with one another. My thoughts trickled from Aaron, Levites, and ephods to my parents as young immigrants back in the early 80's. They probably gathered similarly with other Chinese-speaking grad students. They probably also gained a sense of belonging from mingling others who didn't think they belonged.

For some reason, Boston seems more like a foreign land to me than C'ville did when I was moving from Taiwan. Will I find a new group of friends? Which church does God want me to join? I wondered how my time in Boston will fit in with God's plan for my life. And then I remembered why I'm leaving.

I remembered how He's been revealing and developing my deepest desires as well as a dream that fuels all other dreams. One fraction of that dream is this: that we (the church) would go out quickly into the streets and alleys... bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame... so that [His] house might be full. And I hope and pray that the speckle of my life will be a part of His galactic restoration of Creation.

If there's anything I learned this past year, it is that I need help.

I need help with the simplest things like staying focused when reading Numbers, keeping my room organized, and refraining from eating when I'm not hungry. And I need help in fixing my eyes on Someone far greater than myself. I need to remember what He said right before and immediately after giving us the Great Commission: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

If there's anything I learned this past year, it is that I need God.

In countless ways, I need Him. In ways I have yet to experience, I will need Him. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

I know I am in need,
therefore I know
I'm ready.