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Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Expect the Unexpected
always expect the unexpected.
i went from a F to a C- in ECS 30(engineering computer science). the final was pretty easy compared to the midterms but i was only expecting D from my F. i didnt know the material as well as i should. but surprisingly, i got a B on the final and that pushed my grade up to a C-!!
God has been SOOOO good to me this and last quarter here at Davis. i really dont deserve it. i complain and worry about being on AP and losing financial aid, but at the same time, i dont study as i need to or i use my free time on other things. but God has still been GREAT to me. He has shown me mercy. our God is gracious god. He has also shown me that with faith in Him and effort, I can achieve anything. He has helped me financially, emotionally and academically when i needed it the most this quarter. praise Him for that. thank you Lord.
now i really have to step it up next quarter. He really has put me at Davis for a reason. He has helped me overcome my grades and keep me from AP for a reason. I must stop wasting His efforts and put my efforts into it as well. thank you Lord once again. amen
i went from a F to a C- in ECS 30(engineering computer science). the final was pretty easy compared to the midterms but i was only expecting D from my F. i didnt know the material as well as i should. but surprisingly, i got a B on the final and that pushed my grade up to a C-!!
God has been SOOOO good to me this and last quarter here at Davis. i really dont deserve it. i complain and worry about being on AP and losing financial aid, but at the same time, i dont study as i need to or i use my free time on other things. but God has still been GREAT to me. He has shown me mercy. our God is gracious god. He has also shown me that with faith in Him and effort, I can achieve anything. He has helped me financially, emotionally and academically when i needed it the most this quarter. praise Him for that. thank you Lord.
now i really have to step it up next quarter. He really has put me at Davis for a reason. He has helped me overcome my grades and keep me from AP for a reason. I must stop wasting His efforts and put my efforts into it as well. thank you Lord once again. amen
Saturday, March 20, 2010
One and Only
sermon from New Hope Church, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro:
"God is our Lord and Savior."
we often times strive to make Him number one in our lives, but fail to remember that He is our one and ONLY. a lord dictates us and the things we do. that determines whether our day is going to be pleasant or unpleasant. in our lives, we go through situations where we let others become our lord. for example, when we are driving and someone cuts us off, we immediately gets mad and want to retaliate. or when someone else insults you, you really want to just give them those four letter words and do something about it and defend yourself. it is times like these that we let these other people become the lords of our lives. we let what they say and do affect and determine what we will do next. but the reality is that we only have one Lord, our ONE and ONLY God. we have to remember this and just turn away from situations that might cause us to forget who the real Lord is. listen to our Father and He will guide us to the right way.
http://www.enewhope.org/videobeta/index.php?id=40
"God is our Lord and Savior."
we often times strive to make Him number one in our lives, but fail to remember that He is our one and ONLY. a lord dictates us and the things we do. that determines whether our day is going to be pleasant or unpleasant. in our lives, we go through situations where we let others become our lord. for example, when we are driving and someone cuts us off, we immediately gets mad and want to retaliate. or when someone else insults you, you really want to just give them those four letter words and do something about it and defend yourself. it is times like these that we let these other people become the lords of our lives. we let what they say and do affect and determine what we will do next. but the reality is that we only have one Lord, our ONE and ONLY God. we have to remember this and just turn away from situations that might cause us to forget who the real Lord is. listen to our Father and He will guide us to the right way.
http://www.enewhope.org/videobeta/index.php?id=40
Friday, March 19, 2010
How Much We Need Him
sometimes when we are feeling down, we fill ourselves with "happy" things like food or video games. i know for me, schools been kinda stressful sometimes and i play COD(Call of Duty) whenever i have free time in between classes. or sometimes i watch TV or my episodes of Leverage or Burn Notice. but how come we never fill that up time with God? how come never spend that quiet time or maybe a time of devo when we are down?
the reason i think is because we live in a world where everything is materialistic and we tend to get caught up in that. THINGS make us happy and sometimes they cause us to turn away and forget that He still exists.
i think i havent realized that until just recently. my grades have been down and finals are looking slim. might be put on Academic Probation. i know i dont deserve to stay b/c ive been wasting my free time doing other things like COD and TV. and the reason for it is b/c i thought of them as a stress reliever, but in reality, that of which i thought has relieved me, hasnt done me much at all. i thought these MATERIAL THINGS will make me happy and relieve the stress, pulling the load off the many difficult classes i have. but NO, that wasnt the case. the reality is that i should of spent that time with God. that time of stress and hardship and tell Him about it and ask Him for help, rather than rely on the X-Box or laptop. im glad i see this now. going to Him and giving him that time is really relieving me of a lot, pulling burdens off me. it IS hard sometimes. but remind ourselves and do our best. i pray that me and every one else dont forget this and will continue to turn to Him as the source of our joy. amen.
the reason i think is because we live in a world where everything is materialistic and we tend to get caught up in that. THINGS make us happy and sometimes they cause us to turn away and forget that He still exists.
i think i havent realized that until just recently. my grades have been down and finals are looking slim. might be put on Academic Probation. i know i dont deserve to stay b/c ive been wasting my free time doing other things like COD and TV. and the reason for it is b/c i thought of them as a stress reliever, but in reality, that of which i thought has relieved me, hasnt done me much at all. i thought these MATERIAL THINGS will make me happy and relieve the stress, pulling the load off the many difficult classes i have. but NO, that wasnt the case. the reality is that i should of spent that time with God. that time of stress and hardship and tell Him about it and ask Him for help, rather than rely on the X-Box or laptop. im glad i see this now. going to Him and giving him that time is really relieving me of a lot, pulling burdens off me. it IS hard sometimes. but remind ourselves and do our best. i pray that me and every one else dont forget this and will continue to turn to Him as the source of our joy. amen.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Turning Junk to a Masterpiece
i was listening to a sermon by New Hope. Anthony Evans was sharing his testimony about a mirror he has.
a friend of his was helping him redecorate his room and got his all these new things. it was expensive so he decided to return everything, all but this mirror. so the next day while he was at the store returning things, he goes up to the man who made it and asked how how he did it because he was so amazed by it. the man tells him to look outside. all there was was a shed and a pile of trash. when ever his friends come over now, they always ask about this mirror and now he is able to tell them about a Man that takes junk and turns it to something amazing.
this is how God operates. we all have our struggles in life, we all have our brokenness. but God is about to take all this, all this junk, all this trash, and put it to together and form it into something that is marvelous and amazing.
this is an encouragement because God takes messes and turns them into miracles so we can hang this mirror in the living room of our lives and share with others about this Man that can take junk and turn it into something beautiful.
http://www.enewhope.org/videobeta/index.php?id=45
video @(33:19)
a friend of his was helping him redecorate his room and got his all these new things. it was expensive so he decided to return everything, all but this mirror. so the next day while he was at the store returning things, he goes up to the man who made it and asked how how he did it because he was so amazed by it. the man tells him to look outside. all there was was a shed and a pile of trash. when ever his friends come over now, they always ask about this mirror and now he is able to tell them about a Man that takes junk and turns it to something amazing.
this is how God operates. we all have our struggles in life, we all have our brokenness. but God is about to take all this, all this junk, all this trash, and put it to together and form it into something that is marvelous and amazing.
this is an encouragement because God takes messes and turns them into miracles so we can hang this mirror in the living room of our lives and share with others about this Man that can take junk and turn it into something beautiful.
http://www.enewhope.org/videobeta/index.php?id=45
video @(33:19)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
got this from Gracepoint today, thought it was pretty good:
"We often surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, thus forming a club or clique, not a community."[...]"it takes grace, shared-vision, and hard work to form a community."-Phillip Yancey
this kind of made me think about our James verse this week, 2:1-13, about favoritism.
but yea, it was a very good service.
"We often surround ourselves with the people we most want to live with, thus forming a club or clique, not a community."[...]"it takes grace, shared-vision, and hard work to form a community."-Phillip Yancey
this kind of made me think about our James verse this week, 2:1-13, about favoritism.
but yea, it was a very good service.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Dormal
dormal was aite. the DJ was kinda whack. not all too great but overall i think it was alright. its good for what the moneys worth. was only 5 dollars so yea lol. cant believe some people were like "its way better than high school" haha definite no. but i think it was more mature than high school. in high school, ERRbody be tryna...............yea. lol but yea. had some disappointments at dance. didnt really expect some things from some people, dance-wise. i knew what i was gonna expect at dormal before hand but didnt really expect from some ppl. that was the reason why i didnt wanna go kinda cus didnt wanna be exposed to that kind of stuff but yea. i would say it was more mature than hs. dont really know how to handle this situation, something to pray about. things did can be justified both ways whether appropriate or not in terms of opinion. but idk, the ultimate answer, might be no. but its not for me to say. dont know if i should address the issue or was it really no biggie? idk. maybe i should let it go. idk. guess the only thing i can do is pray about it. maybe sometimes accountability does involve going out of the boundary and talking about what seems uncomfortable. idk. but yeaa. overall Dormal was good. those that didnt go, didnt miss much. lol these are my thoughts but im not trippin over it, yea we shouldnt judge. :]
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Leadership Lunch
so today i went to the aacf leadership lunch. they had core leaders from the aacfs all over norcal. it was good, had some activities and got a lot out of it. of all the issues within fellowships, a lot of times we dont know how to deal with them. from the Q and A panel, they asked some of the questions. this is one of the main things i got out of it.
within our fellowship, there are ppl that come frm different denominations and churches. often times the value are different and we tend to often want to argue and defend that OUR church values are right as opposed to others. but fellowships and leadership isnt about whos right or wrong. rather, have grace with one another. agree to disagree. fellowships are to bring non-believers to Christ and allow for the bonding of current believers. a place for them to be. and the sole foundation of all this is Love. this agape love, this passion, this grace, this mercy, that God has shown us and expressing that to others.
in terms of leaders, i think we must remember that with this "leadership" position, we are all students and we arent that much different frm one another in terms of age and situation. so looking to follow one of these leaders and really relying on them for mentorship might not be a great choice b/c they lack the wisdom and experience. im not saying dont look up to them but treating them as a young pastor might not be the best choice. i say save that for a church and looking for people that are certified and really have that creditial.
but AACF is looking good b/c we MIGHT have a new staffer soon! hurray! and some changes of leadership is made. so thats all good. but still, definitely much prayer to AACF and pray for its advancement of its kingdom and for growth. amen.
within our fellowship, there are ppl that come frm different denominations and churches. often times the value are different and we tend to often want to argue and defend that OUR church values are right as opposed to others. but fellowships and leadership isnt about whos right or wrong. rather, have grace with one another. agree to disagree. fellowships are to bring non-believers to Christ and allow for the bonding of current believers. a place for them to be. and the sole foundation of all this is Love. this agape love, this passion, this grace, this mercy, that God has shown us and expressing that to others.
in terms of leaders, i think we must remember that with this "leadership" position, we are all students and we arent that much different frm one another in terms of age and situation. so looking to follow one of these leaders and really relying on them for mentorship might not be a great choice b/c they lack the wisdom and experience. im not saying dont look up to them but treating them as a young pastor might not be the best choice. i say save that for a church and looking for people that are certified and really have that creditial.
but AACF is looking good b/c we MIGHT have a new staffer soon! hurray! and some changes of leadership is made. so thats all good. but still, definitely much prayer to AACF and pray for its advancement of its kingdom and for growth. amen.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Dead Squirrel
so we were biking and found this:
its a dead squirrel, a car ran over it i guess and the head is crushed and splattered.
its a dead squirrel, a car ran over it i guess and the head is crushed and splattered.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
James Study
so today was the officially the day we started james study! and it was GREAT!! definitely the highlight of my day!. we read james 1:1-12. went over verse by verse. it was good! i got more and a lot out of it. my bad on my part a little bit, but i was asking the most questions and talking the most haha. i guess its some what good. but wished others might ask more maybe lol yeaa. but overall it was great!!
the thing i was even more happy about was one of my prayers got somewhat answered. before, from the past, i had experiences at like christian club when i get too like in control. like personally i dont like things being i guess not my way. maybe selfish on my part. kind of had to do with my childhood and how i was raised cus i tend to be very independent so it was hard for me to i guess trust others. but yea i get like anal about things like not working a certain way cus im scared other ways arent gonna turn out good. but thats one of the things ive been praying about. and today, God really helped me with that. i was able to realize that I was about to be controlling and hold myself back. and b/c things worked out fine and GREAT as a matter of fact. so praise goes to God for that. such a good day.
cant wait for next week!!!
the thing i was even more happy about was one of my prayers got somewhat answered. before, from the past, i had experiences at like christian club when i get too like in control. like personally i dont like things being i guess not my way. maybe selfish on my part. kind of had to do with my childhood and how i was raised cus i tend to be very independent so it was hard for me to i guess trust others. but yea i get like anal about things like not working a certain way cus im scared other ways arent gonna turn out good. but thats one of the things ive been praying about. and today, God really helped me with that. i was able to realize that I was about to be controlling and hold myself back. and b/c things worked out fine and GREAT as a matter of fact. so praise goes to God for that. such a good day.
cant wait for next week!!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
3D Business Cards
so i saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was REALLY COOL!
now i really want my own business cards.
now i really want my own business cards.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Our Daily Bread:
"When God delays discipline, it’s not due to indifference; it’s due to His very nature—He is gracious and slow to anger. Some see that as permission to sin, but God intends it to be an invitation to repent (Rom. 2:4)."
Prayer: Lord, thank You for being slow to anger and filled with compassion. May I not presume upon Your mercy by assuming that there will be no consequences to my sin. Help me instead to confess it. Amen.
"When God delays discipline, it’s not due to indifference; it’s due to His very nature—He is gracious and slow to anger. Some see that as permission to sin, but God intends it to be an invitation to repent (Rom. 2:4)."
Prayer: Lord, thank You for being slow to anger and filled with compassion. May I not presume upon Your mercy by assuming that there will be no consequences to my sin. Help me instead to confess it. Amen.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Failure To See
as christians, we are shown to love others as we love ourselves. for me, loving others might not be easy in terms of everyone. but overall, i think im quite decent. im not saying im great, but im like terrible. i tend and try to show love to most ppl. but the bad thing is, as i thought about it, i realized even though is "easy" to love others, its hard for me to show the same kind of love to my family. like i can care for others and sometimes ill go WAY out of my way for others. but when the problems at home, i tend to avoid it. idk why. that's something i definitely have to pray about. i prayed for challenges. but this whole time the real challenge is right here in front of me, i just failed to or chose not to see it.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Satisfy
we just came back from a retreat with my fellowship AACF. the theme was "Satisfy". the speaker was Pastor Jason Kim. he was a cool guy, driving a sports car, dressing all G and very outgoing with his messages. he said a lot of things but only some were main points that stuck with me.
SATISFY - people always try to get more and more to satisfy themselves
being christian, we have a lot things we do. like bible study, church, devos, etc. but at some point these things turn somewhat into routine. sometimes we dont want to do them but we do them anyways because we feel guilty for not doing them. we feel like we have to. other times we do things to put on an image. to look "Christian" in front of others b/c we are scared to be criticized or to be viewed a certain way. it is at this point that we start "Doing Christian stuff without Christ.". we forget why we do things we do and act the way we act anymore. it is all for ourselves and not for the glory of God. we try to satisfy ourselves rather than look to Him for satisfaction. this is what we fail to see sometimes.
"Being a good Christian is not about the image, but about the thirst."
SATISFY - people always try to get more and more to satisfy themselves
being christian, we have a lot things we do. like bible study, church, devos, etc. but at some point these things turn somewhat into routine. sometimes we dont want to do them but we do them anyways because we feel guilty for not doing them. we feel like we have to. other times we do things to put on an image. to look "Christian" in front of others b/c we are scared to be criticized or to be viewed a certain way. it is at this point that we start "Doing Christian stuff without Christ.". we forget why we do things we do and act the way we act anymore. it is all for ourselves and not for the glory of God. we try to satisfy ourselves rather than look to Him for satisfaction. this is what we fail to see sometimes.
"Being a good Christian is not about the image, but about the thirst."
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Praying for Struggles
over break, i realized that davis was too comfortable compared to sf. everything seems too "good" and there weren't enough "bad" to challenge my life and faith. so one of my prayers was for these struggles. when i got back to davis, my prayers were answered. slowly "bad" news came to me. two of my friends resigned from davis for personal reasons. other things as well. its bad but at the same time, i know theres faith and hope that this "bad" will be GREAT in the bigger picture. i guess its also a praise to Him that theses struggles arent hitting me fast and hard at once. it is slowly coming and helps me open my eyes and heart a little more. thank you Lord, amen.
Small Group
yay! so we finally came together and had our meeting about the small group that i wanted to start with a bunch of our friends. there is six of us and we'll be studying the book of James. we have partners leading each week. and we take turns. im super excited.
the main reason why i wanted to do it was that i felt that i wasnt reading the bible enough. i want the knowledge but my lazy butt cant read. so hopefully this small group will help me grow in knowledge and spirituality. also with leadership and experience leading a bible study.
we picked groups today. three groups, one boy one girl in each. they said it was "fate" for the partners, but idk. i kinda hope not. i was hoping to be partners with __, but i wasnt. i guess this is God's way of telling me, its not the right time or thats not the way to go. it will help me keep my focus on the right things and not get distracted for with the wrong reasons. i just have to have faith in Him and trust that He is doing me good.
the main reason why i wanted to do it was that i felt that i wasnt reading the bible enough. i want the knowledge but my lazy butt cant read. so hopefully this small group will help me grow in knowledge and spirituality. also with leadership and experience leading a bible study.
we picked groups today. three groups, one boy one girl in each. they said it was "fate" for the partners, but idk. i kinda hope not. i was hoping to be partners with __, but i wasnt. i guess this is God's way of telling me, its not the right time or thats not the way to go. it will help me keep my focus on the right things and not get distracted for with the wrong reasons. i just have to have faith in Him and trust that He is doing me good.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Postal Express
i had quite an interesting today! so i went to the school post office to ship some stuff. as i was in line, there was guy ahead of me and he was trying to ship something for his girlfriend to Hong Kong. but the address that she gave him was written badly so it was hard to figure it out. so yea i ended up helping him and talking to him in the process. paid for some of his shipping too. took about an hour but it was worth it. hes from fremont and was just up here visiting. best of all he was Christian! man thats so cool. God must of made this meeting for a reason. dont know what it was but i will. anyways so the postal office at school didnt have Express mail so went to the downtown office. as we were leaving i was stopped by some security students cus they said i was suspected for stealing from the bookstore. i was kinda excited haha made my life more interesting. but yea turns out they had the wrong guy. i knew i was innocent so i wasnt worried. i actually thanked them cus it was a new experience. but yea. happy for today. praise God for it. im so thankful i met a new friend and was able to have fun today.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
LIFE
today i went to Rite Aid and they gave me something interesting :]
they were doing some LIFE game and u get like stickers every time u buy stuff and u have to complete the board for prizes or something. it made me think back about retreat and our theme "Doing LIFE Together". the rite aid thing didnt really speak to me but it did make me thing wow, amazing how my real life involves incidences that reminds me of LIFE board games and the retreat theme. makes me more excited of what God has in store for me and why i came across this Rite Aid Life Board.
they were doing some LIFE game and u get like stickers every time u buy stuff and u have to complete the board for prizes or something. it made me think back about retreat and our theme "Doing LIFE Together". the rite aid thing didnt really speak to me but it did make me thing wow, amazing how my real life involves incidences that reminds me of LIFE board games and the retreat theme. makes me more excited of what God has in store for me and why i came across this Rite Aid Life Board.
Locked Out
apparently we arent suppose to be back in our dorms until sunday at noon. not knowing, i decided to come back on saturday at night, hopping to settle in before school started. our ID cards wasnt suppose to work so we couldnt get into the building. but for some reason mines did. haha skills! i thought it was weird that ALL the lights of the dorms were closed and no one was here. anyways, half an hour later, one of the housing people knocked on my door and told me i wasnt suppose to be here and asked me if i had any where else to go. after saying no, he decided to let me stay. so nice. i thank him for that. he said it was an honest mistake. glad the trusted me. he also said "oh the cops might be doing their routine check up later and if they come up, you might have to deal with them. but just let them know i let you stay." haha i was little scared so i turned off all my lights. i ended up using a desk lamp all night haha. ooohh weee. i love these experiences haha. me and my davis incidents. LOL
Blog
so i havent really blogged for a LONG time. probably a month or two and i think i got caught up in other things. but blogging kind of helps me grow in my faith. much of the stuff i write about is about my spiritual side and my life within it. just sitting and thinking and blogging allows for that quiet time where i can just reflect on my day and the meaning of it. but i havent been doing that much and my spiritual walk has kind of been at a halt. but im back! lol new year, start fresh. i will try to get back into blogging. so far so good and im really glad to be doing it. praise God for putting me back on track and thanks to all the prayers.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Newstart
before i left for Davis, i had my doubts about newstart. we had just gotten a new pastor. things were kind of idk. i jus wasnt feeling it. i prayed about it for the longest time and after coming back from time to time. i really saw a change. more and more ministries were formed. people stepped up for leadership positions and i can really see a growth of the church. really praise Him for that.
after this past break and retreat, i really felt as if our church really got closer to one another and i feel as if i really belong here. we have a great family relationship as well as fellowship brother and sisters in christ relationship. truly a blessing.
best of all, im extremely happy for my college group. i love everyone of them and is glad that i have them to come back to and relate to. thanks guys and much praise to Him.
College Group
Newstart Retreat 09'
after this past break and retreat, i really felt as if our church really got closer to one another and i feel as if i really belong here. we have a great family relationship as well as fellowship brother and sisters in christ relationship. truly a blessing.
best of all, im extremely happy for my college group. i love everyone of them and is glad that i have them to come back to and relate to. thanks guys and much praise to Him.
College Group
Newstart Retreat 09'
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