for the busy-bodies
is anyone else busy? i bet.
things have definately been picking up here in the land of the west! i’m theorizing that the masters program was created in such a way that you can never be on top of things. how cruel. haha. i don’t think i’ve ever been SO swamped with things to do - one after the other…and having no way to really be on top of it no matter how great your time management skills are. but that’s okay!
God has been so faithful and so close. Reading some old testament, it’s been so refreshing to see how God is so constant. The pastor had some really good things to say last week (like every week). He referenced the Lord’s prayer, the part about “give us this day our daily bread…”. He noted that Jesus taught us to ask just for each day. Like in exodus, when the Israelites were in the desert, God told them to only pick up enough food for each day. it RAINED bread, but God just said…take for yourself what you only need for that day, because He wanted them to trust Him that He’ll provide for the next day as well.
Everyday this week has been packed with one thing to do after the other. if it’s not one thing, it’s another. there just seems like there’s an endless list of things to do. And I’ve realized that no matter how hard i try to juggle my schedule, and plan, i have no control over it. there’s just no way. but God has really showed me this week that He gives each day the things that we need. Even the simplest things of having a huge pot of soup that lasted the whole week so i didn’t have to cook. God will give us our daily needs. we just need to trust Him for it. crazy cool, huh?
Another thing I’ve learned is that our God is an extreme God. Reading the OT, I’m just blown away from all these “crazy” stories. God goes to extreme measures in all that He does. why? i believe that He simply wants to show that He is God. Look at the Israelites…they saw ALL the crazy things God did for them to get them out of Egypt, but they seem to forget it all when they were in the desert. it wasn’t even because it was generations and generations past! they were the same people who witnessed what God did in Egypt, but they STILL didn’t give God any credit! so think about how much worse it would be if God wasn’t extreme!
even for me…i can say that God has shown me some amazing things..He’s touched so many people and done so many things in my eyes. but there are so many times i still get distracted with doing everyday things, that i seem to “forget” God in my day-to-day doings. God wants to show us what He’s capable of because He knows we are pretty forgettable and “stiff-necked” people. haha…i think i just realized why they’re called stiff necked. when you have a stiff neck, you have a limited range of motion to see past a certain point. sort of like short sighted. HAHA. i am smart.
anyways, God is awesome. AMEN!
Posted in Uncategorized on October 28th, 2007 by shirley | | 0 Comments
to be made separate
Edmonton is COLD!! C-O-L-D-!-!-!-! aside from that, life is eventful and full of new challenges each day!
It’s been three weeks since I’ve landed in this land of construction and limited asian food, and it’s been three weeks of hesitation, fear, seeking, remembrance and perseverence. Talking to a fellow friend who’s new in the graduate studies level, we’ve realized the change in intellectual depth. Our classes have TONNES of seminars, where we just discuss about whatever issues. And though i want to contribute and put in my word to the discussoin, the people here are just quicker and faster to respond. I then find myself nodding and “mmhmm”-ing alot and trying to think of something clever to say. This experience has generated an attitude timidness, and onto another thought…
Being “new” is fun but hard at times. You go into a new crowd and want to “belong”. You want to establish who you are, then gain respect from others in order to develop a sense of identity within the group. No matter how energy filled my friends know that I am, I always seem to enter into a phase where I’m a bit hesitant and afraid in these situations when I’m entering it alone. Then I was thinking about it today and reminded myself, there’s no one I have to prove myself to than to God. And God knows my heart, my intentions no matter what the visual output is. Isn’t that so comforting? God delights in a righteous and pure HEART! Of course it’s still hard because we’re all relational humans and how other views us is influential to how we see ourselves. But, when our perspective changes to one that is eternal, that is of God’s purposes, may God’s light shine upon us and protrude out!! No intellectual words can overrule a touch of who God is. Praise God!
I learnt a bit this weekend about “holiness”. Like many others, I think of “purity” or “being clean” with the mention of this word. But in reality, this is a word which means “to be made separate” or as the Pastor said, “to be made a cut above the rest”. God explicitly commanded us to be holy, because He is holy. That is why God is a jealous God…because He IS so separate from any type of idols we have, He cannot tolerate us comparing Him to something that is so “below” Him. comprende? And as followers of the Lord, we are to follow His steps. How do we think, speak and act in a way that is by definition “separate” and “a cut above the rest”? Our society teaches us to “fit in” so that we can gain acceptance. This seems a bit contrary to what we’re called to do, doesn’t it?
Wow. I just realized my two learnings connect. HAH. God is good.
In other news, the university of alberta intramurals volleyball is surprisingly SUCKY. I do not think I will be getting a good dose of volleyball while I’m here =(. In other other news, I am a new “Defining Eve” personal trainer! woot woot!
Onto Calgary I go next week for my first placement!!
Posted in Uncategorized on September 24th, 2007 by shirley | | 3 Comments
hello from edmonton
here will be my alberta stories - the many adventures I will embark on in this scary, but exciting journey which God has led me to. So it is only fair that I give props to the Man who made this happen. *brap brap* i love that sound.
to summarize the AMAZING story God has written about how I ended up in Edmonton, here are a few words which the Lord had spoken to me:
“Lean not on your own understanding, but acknowledge Me in all your ways and I shall direct your paths.”
It’s fun for me to find reason for things: reasons why people act/respond the way they do, reasons why a certain mechanism doesnt work, etc… But in the realm of living our lives, we don’t need to. Faith calls us to TRUST in the Lord. We don’t need to reason out why certain things aren’t/are happening, but we just need to know that God KNOWS and we need to trust in that truth.
“Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in His land and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.”
Praise the Lord for bringing truth to this verse for me. When you delight in the Lord, you are excited to follow what He brings you, no matter how unexpected it can be. Delight in the fact that our God cares so much, and has given us such great plans! woot woot!
Being in edmonton for a week-ish now, I must admit that I’ve been having to come back to this verse a few times to remind myself why I’m here. It’s easy to revert to comfortable places (ie, asian friends, asian church/fellowships). But I know the Lord is bringing new growth in my life here. Things i’ve learned in the blessed western acf group can now be applied =)
revelation of the week: Psalm 127
“Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.”
if God is not the purpose of whatever you’re doing (no matter how big or small the task), what worth does it have? nothing.
do it with all heart
there’s no other way ;)
Posted in Uncategorized on September 10th, 2007 by shirley | | 4 Comments
