HE DELIGHTS IN YOU.

God speaks loud and clear at times. It's been an amazing journey with my relationship with Him this year. Finally finding a place where I belong makes such a HUGE difference. That is family.

On Sunday, God spoke to me through people I hardly know. I went up front in hope to hear a word of affirmation/confirmation that has been on my heart for awhile, but instead it went completely a whole different direction.

The whole thing was great, but the phrase that stood out to me the most was "God delights in you!" The girl kept saying that over and over again in my ears as the others prayed. I've never felt this way before. For the first time, I felt released and free from the bondage that I've been struggling with. Those words and prayers spoken on Sunday broke that for me. I feel totally different and can see the freedom that has set upon my mind.

This is such a whole new experience for me. To have people pray over you, lay hands of you, prophesy over you...ALL new. It's pretty amazing.

Have you ever experienced such an amazing thing before? Please share!

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM....

An article I found that made me just wonder at times about the human species.

Click here to read article.

Let me know what you think.

SO HAPPY!

So, I've never been a BIG sports person. But for some odd reason, I'm really into USC football. I enjoy going to the games, watching the games on TV, reading about the games on the Internet and occasionally, if I'm not at the game or at home, listening to it on the radio. I may not understand every play, but I just love it!

Saturday was the BIG game. USC vs. UCLA. I couldn't get tickets to it, but I had the whole day planned out: Watch the game in the comfort of my own home and by myself. I wanted it this way in case...well...lets just say it didn't happen. :) So, I woke up, put on my new SC shirt, ran some errands, went to the church to help decorate for Christmas, came home, turn the TV on and watched the game. It was so great!

So, now my dilemma...should I fork out money to go to the Rose Bowl or watch it on TV? I guess I would probably get a better view and be much more comfortable watching from my couch, but being at the game is just so different. Maybe I'll get a big screen TV as a Christmas present. (Hint, hint.) Just kidding. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to say that it was a good weekend. My boys won. Got an apartment. Finished 2 lessons for a curriculum that I'm helping to write. Ate at Wahoo's. Exercised. Downloaded music from iTunes. Went to church. Life is good.

What did you do this weekend?

FOUND IT!

We found a place!!! It took less than a week. Thanks for all your prayers. Christina and I will be moving into a 2 bedroom, 1 bath in Placentia. It's very central to our church, school and work. It really is a God-send and the very last apartment that we looked at. So, now just pray that I have motivation to start packing up my junk and move.

Hopefully this is the last time I will move into an apartment. Next time I move, hopefully it will be a place that I purchase. :) I think it's about time I start considering that and maybe start saving...nah...life is too short. I'll just consider it for now. :)

I AM SPOILED.

Yes, I know. Many of you wouldn't tell it to my face, but I am no longer ashamed to say that I'm spoiled. :) But in all honestly, in lieu of Thanksgiving, I think back of all the great things God has spoiled me with.

Here are 10 reasons why I am spoiled by God...

1. His daily blessings

2. Family: not only do they support me in my crazy ideas/adventures, but they truly do spoil me with their love and making sure my bank account is never below a certain limit! :) For that I am truly grateful.

3. Good friends

4. A job that I love

5. His neverending love, patience, mercies, forgiveness on my life

6. Never having to go without: money, food, car, a roof over my head

7. Good health: especially for my parents and my grandmas

8. My oldest brother and his wife accepted God and has changed in tremendous ways

9. My church, Southlands. I've learned more in the last 3 months than I have in the last 4 years!

10. Peets Coffee, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, MEAT! (Yeah, vegan during the week, meat on weekends is my plan. :)) and GELATO!

What are you thankful for and how has God spoiled you? Please share!

I HEART MY JOB!

There are a lot of perks at my job and one of them is where I'm going to stay this weekend! It's for our major donor event and lucky for me, my friend Ange, is on the planning team, so I'm crashing with her in her room. PLUS, Brother Andrew is here! I'll post those pictures later. It's exciting and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it! :) Hope you'll have a great weekend as well.

Our room at the Four Seasons Aviara, Carlsbad

Our bathroom. :)

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION #2,3,4,5,6....

So, this week was full of fun! My friends at work spoiled me to no end and I spoiled myself today by going to the spa. I treated myself to a full hour massage with hot stone therapy. And then I spent 2 hours sitting in the steam room and jacuzzi. It was fantastic. I felt so relaxed that I spent the rest of the night with candles lit around the room and with my iPod in my ears listening to David Crowder Band. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday! I think I will be visiting the spa more often. I wonder if they have annual passes like Disneyland. Hmmmmm....

"Thank you" to all those who dropped me an email, left me a voicemail (and yes, I don't answer the phone... EVER), sent me a card, took me out for a meal or two, gave me presents, a hug and the list goes on and on. THANK YOU for making me feel so special during this very tragic time for me. :) You are a blessing from God and I am truly grateful for each of you.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION #1

I am having a really hard time this year acknowledging my birthday. I'm not sure why, but it's been really hard to think that I'll be turning 29. That means:

1. One year before I turn the BIG 3-0.

2. My last year in my twenties.

3. 11 years before I turn 40!

4. 21 years before I turn 50!

Yup! All those reasoning scares the H*** out of me. I am just having a hard time. I don't know what I'm going to feel when next year rolls around, but for now, turning 29 is crappy! As much as I refuse to celebrate it, my friends are needing an excuse to go out. So, here's pics from my bday celebration #1.

Ephraim, Shannon and Christina at All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ.

Meat. Yum!

Kimy (my other Asian friend) and me.

My very FIRST COACH anything! Thanks Kimy!

Good friends+good food+GREAT presents= Priceless good times.
I guess that's worth getting a year older. :)

AN EMAIL FROM A FRIEND...

So, I didn't get permission from my friend Kimmy Lee to share this, but I'm sure she won't mind. It's hilarious!

dear friends,

thank you for the wonderful night yesterday! when i got home i was so exhausted, i immediately went to bed! anyways, i am up early at 5 in the morning. i have made a "todo" list, taken a shower and am getting ready for the day that is ahead of me. first of all - i have many errands to run (things i haven't done in the last month), such as going to costco, trader joes, 99 cent store, staples etc. i have also projected the amount of $ i am going to spend so that i can take that out of my bank and won't exceed $80 (i have to purchase ink for my computer...bummer thats the most expensive!) and since many of these stores open their doors at 8, i am all ready (almost that is) to go and spear through my saturday errands! i hope to finish all of my errands by 11 am...

anyways, then i will come home - clean my room bathroom, kitchen and living room (since my mom is super duper busy with church today, i have decided to clean the house for her) and...maybe the garage (this is definitely a MAYBE because the garage is a MESS, mostly with my things...

well - during my cleaning process i will occassionaly check the washer and dryer for my clothes - b/c i will be multi tasking - i hope to finish all this by 6 pm tonight! also - during the "washing my clothes" process and after i have cleaned my house (some of it at least) i also hope to lesson plan for my week =D!!!

then, i would hope that the rain has stopped and the skies have cleared b/c then - i can meet you GRACE at disneyland for fireworks and/or fantasmic!!! sorry shan...=( thats of course IF i am finished with everything...

these are my sat. goals....i am up and ready to take on this task and i feel that i will be successful - i have sat down and done my quiet time and i feel ready to conquer the day with the grace of God at least!

well friends - i do not know when you will get this email (sorry i generally don't write such long emails) but i wanted to share with you my day...

have a magical day and may it be as wonderful as my errands and cleaning day!

love you gals,

Kim

So, my goal for today (notice it's not plural) is to get ready by 4 pm to go to Disneyland. She has informed me at 9:21 AM this morning that she's already an hour ahead of her schedule and $27 under budget. She will reward herself with this accomplishment by buying grapes and pasta at Costco, which she's waiting in front of since it doesn't open until 9:30 AM.

What are your goal or goals for today?

USC vs. STANFORD

It started with a beautiful day...

Jarrod, Eddie and Elaine

1/2 of me, Jarrod, Eddie and Elaine

At the cardio dog stand

So yummy!

Yummy to the tummy!

Elaine and I stuffing our face. So good!

Beautiful day. Beautiful stadium. Great seats!

Stanford's half time show. Yup. Scary christmas tree as mascot and penguin as conductor.

It's kettlecorn time!

Sad, sad ending.

Elaine looking sad. Me looking like I can kill someone.

Eddie and Jarrod...happy for the defeat. Whatever! (What they don't know is that they are going to a bad bad place. A place where child molesters and people who talks in movie theaters go to. *inside joke*)

Last but not least, we got stuck behind this truck on our way home. It's like pouring salt on an open wound!

Although, the Trojans lost, it was a great game. When the Stanford team walked back to the lockers, people started to clap for their victory. It was priceless and I was proud to be a Trojans fan. BUT, the best part was that Bruins lost to Notre Dame. So, I immediately felt better when I found out! :)

ONE MORE DAY!!

+

=

HAPPINESS.

I'VE BEEN TAGGED...AGAIN.

I've been tagged by my friend, Ange. So, here are my answers... Enjoy!

Middle Name: Hmmm...I don't feel comfortable sharing. I have this thing about people wanting to know my middle name or how to pronounce my last name. I'll tell you and then you'll try to pronounce it and butch it. What's the point? You just make it sound horrible, so I don't like sharing it. Unless you know how to speak Mandarin...maybe I'll share with you then. :)

Last magazine you read: Real Simple

Last crossword puzzle you finished: It was back in 2003. I don't like crossword puzzles very much. It's fun for about 10 minutes and I get bored.

Cell phone wallpaper/screen saver: An empty lounge chair by the pool.

Black & white or color pics: Sepia

The Office or Grey's Anatomy: The Office. Meredith gets too whining for me!

Travel to Sicily by air or boat: By Air...First Class. :)

Family BBQ's -- cool or stupid: Cool

Pierced eyebrow or nose: None

'Nooma' or 'Life Together': Oh ok. Have no idea.

Affleck or Damon: Neither.

Blog or not: Blog!

You find $20 in your pocket: Put it into savings. YEAH RIGHT! Go to Target!

Last place you traveled to: Spain :)

Movie or TV show: Movie!!!

Where were you...When OJ's FIRST verdict was announced: Economic class in H.S.

When OJ was arrested a few days ago: Probably at work.

9/11: At home, getting ready for work.

Feel free to answer these questions as well! :)

CAN'T WAIT...

For one of these...

This is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, topped with grilled onions. Take off the ketchup and mayo and it's perfect!

Counting down the days till I can eat one or two...9 more days. I will get one this time!

REALLY?!

Hmmmm...I wonder why some people think Christians are retarded?

I found this in the Christian Examiner newspaper. I'm sorry, but this is just LAME and STUPID. Why would Jesus need to call for auto insurance? Seriously people! Who did you hire to do your marketing?! I would call just to ask them why they think Jesus would need auto insurance but I would NEVER purchase insurance from them because of this stupid ad.

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Why do guys think it's cool to talk about girls as if they were a piece of meat? Yesterday night, we were at a USC football game and we got stuck in front a row of guys. With these guys, there were 2 girls. Anyway, throughout the game, they would make comments about the cheerleaders and how they wish they can see more. Why? Why do they make stupid comments like that in front of their girlfriends and in front (or in back) of us? We can hear EVERYTHING! It doesn't make them sound smart. In fact, it makes them sound STUPID! Do they think that it makes them sound all that? Because it doesn't. Who taught these boys that it's ok to say those things aloud? I'm sure everyone around them who heard their comments were disgusted by them. I really can't stand stupid people and these guys definitely falls under that category.

For all those who have little boys, brothers, boyfriends, husbands...please teach them to RESPECT girls. Teach them not to make comments or gestures that would make girls feel like a piece of meat or whore. Seriously, I've been meeting both married and unmarried men lately and I just keep being disappointed in them. So, my mission...to keep hoping that there are decent men out there, but I think my hope is coming to an end...

FOR NOW...

I'm not sure what happened to my blog template, but it just disappeared one day. So, this will have to do for now. Sad, sad, sad day.

YUP. STILL HATE IT.

I HATE TRAFFIC! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DO! It doesn't really matter what time I leave, I always end up sitting in it. I can leave early, I can leave late, I can leave in between. No matter what, I end up sitting in the stupid traffic! I can't handle it anymore. It's insane. Oh, the joy of working in Orange County.....

In order to help me get through this time of frustration, my friend Ange and I are trying to remain positive. We've text each other while sitting in traffic just encouraging one another and putting a positive light onto the situation. It's great. I also love sarcasm. It makes everything better! :)

MEMORY LANE

Usually I'll listen to my iPod or just have the stereo off in the car, but today I wanted to do something different. I actually pulled out a stash of old Cd's and randomly picked one and put it into the CD player. It was Out of Eden. It totally took my mind back to the good old Sigma days! It was great! Here are some of the things I remember:

1. Playing Nertz in our room...We would squeeze everyone in and it was crazy trying to keep track of all the cards.

2. All the birthday celebrations. It felt like we had one every week! I remember making posters after posters. Good times.

3. Brick making party at the beginning of the year to keep our door open at 45 degrees when guys are in our room.

4. Gathering in the hallway to go to Chapel, lunch and dinner. Remember how we would squeeze everyone around a round table because no one was to be left out? It was pretty amazing how we made it work!

5. All fitting into Brandy's car to go to church, beach, anywhere our freshmen year.

6. Late night chats. Lots and lots of those.

7. GYRADS. Too overrated.

8. ROTIC dinners. Loved it.

9. Saturday breakfasts and Sunday brunch. They were the best.

10. Whatever was left over from lunch and seeing it as "something something stir fry" for dinner. I do not miss those!

11. Singspiration.

12. Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

13. Common Ground and Eagle's Nest.

What are some of your memories? Please share!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND and RANDOM RAMBLINGS!

Well, I couldn't think of a good title, so I just thought I go with an obvious one. :) So, what's everyone up to this weekend? Let us know! I'll be driving up to Bakersfield and spending some quality time on the couch, eating and chatting up a storm with some of my favorite people in the world! I'm so looking forward to just a relaxing weekend away from Orange County!

So, I haven't ate in since I got back from Spain. I even made a trip out to Costco the day after my return to buy veggies and fruit, but only to find them all wilted and nasty this past Wednesday. Sadness. What is wrong with me?! So, my goal is to to eat as much as I can in and less out. This will not only save me money, but it will also decrease the amount of calories I consume when eating out! So, after Labor Day, I will try my best to do this. Please hold me accountable. Drop me a line asking how I'm doing. And when I'm out of line, you have the right to yell, scream, make me feel guilty, slap, whatever. I have to stop this insanity of eating out! It's a must!

Alrighty then. On that note, I leave you all with best wishes on your Labor Day Weekend! And no, I haven't worked on my pictures from Spain in over 2 weeks. Honestly, I really don't want to and I have no desire to do it. Maybe in a year or two. Sorry folks. And of course I can't just show you the unfinished product because that's just lame. So, the wait continues....TRUST ME, I want to get it done as well, but when I don't have the desire to finish, there's nothing more I can do. At least I know you still love me...maybe? :)

Locked Up.

Hi! Here's a video of the "Locked Up" simulation I blogged about right before I left for Spain. Hopefully it will give you a better picture of one of the many things we do at Open Doors. Enjoy! Oh, you might want to turn up the volume because the music is awesome! AND thanks Ange for putting this together!