DETOX DAY 1

Today is day #1 of my 21-days of purification.  I've been planning for this day for awhile now and was very excited, but now that I'm on it, I'm constantly asking myself "WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?!"   Now that I'm limited to what I can eat, I'm realizing how much my food is a part of my life.  I know that the first few days are always the hardest, but I'm going to keep going.  So, if you see me in the next 21 days, please do not try to tempt me with any foods that aren't in the vegetables or fruits category.  Thanks!

WELL...

Well...I'm not sure what to say exactly.  I wanted to post something so that my readers (yes, all two of you) would know that I didn't abandon my blog AGAIN.  :)  So, here's a little update about what's going on with me!

Life:  Full and crazy.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  School is totally killing me and my brain is fried, but I love and enjoy it all at the same time.  Work...eh...not much to say there except that God and I have been chatting about it.  Ok.  Mostly, it's just me telling God what needs to be done.  :) 

Friends:  Always have them and always making new ones.  It has been truly amazing to see how God keeps bringing people into my life.  Whether a close friend moves away or a friendship dies, He brings new people into my life to journey with.  And I am so grateful for old friends who I can still call up or visit even though we're far apart.  I love you gals!

Church:  Currently in progress and defining what it means.  I know what some of you are probably thinking, but in all honesty, I feel closer to God and have worshipped Him more intimately these last couple of years trying to discover what "church" is than I've ever have when I actually went to church!  So...don't worry friends.  I know what I'm doing and I know that when the right time and place comes...it will be a glorious event. 

So, there you have it...a brief summary of what's going on in my life.  If I haven't heard from you in awhile, drop me an email or text or call (I may just pick up the phone).  Would love to connect with you!!!

1040 MOVIE

Watched this amazing documentary today.  Either find a screening near you or pre-order the DVD and watch it when you receive it in October.  It's pretty incredible.  I don't think I've ever cried so much watching something.

For more information, please visit http://www.1040movie.com/

TOTALLY OVER IT.

I'm totally over many things in life. I'm all for simplicity. Hopefully this will last longer than "just a phase" I'm going through. And, I'm totally over Southern California. This place sucks!!!

YEAH...

It's time.

BETTER DAYS.

I've had better days than today. But one thing that I'm doing is keeping myself in perspective such as:

At least I am not being persecuted for being a Jesus follower.

At least I have a roof over my head, a comfy and warm bed to sleep in at night.

At least I have food to eat whenever I'm hungry.

At least I have clothes to wear.

At least I have a car to drive.

At least I have a job that pays the bills.

At least I'm healthy.

At least I know that God still loves me despite of the bad news.

At least I have the "at leasts."

Life isn't so bad after going through the list of perspectives.

MEDIOCRE.

Conversation between me and the guest speaker in class last week:

Guest Speaker (GS): First, do not EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER go into partnership (in business) with someone. It will ruin you. It's worse than marriage. Second, if you can help it, do not work for a non-profit.

Me: (laughing and my friends around me patting me on the shoulder).

GS: Oh, I mean, I'm sure you work for a great non-profit.

Me: (laughing, giggling, shaking my head because I UNDERSTAND where he's coming from).

GS: (not exact word for word, but almost exact) I'm saying that non-profits, especially Christian ones, really suck at treating their employees well. They have the concept of "Because this is for the Lord," they think they can pay them less than what they deserve and work them till they are barely breathing. That's the mentality of all employees in a non-profit company. The reality is that God wants the best and hires the best. So, pay someone what they deserve so that they can do the best. Non-profits needs to stop hiring mediocre people.

Me: (nodding and totally agreeing with him. Friends around me whispering in my ear that you're not mediocre because a mediocre person wouldn't be in a MBA program. I heart my friends!)

GS: (seeing that he just struck a chord with me and feeling bad for inserting his foot in mouth contiues with this...) Well, it's not like you sit in a cubicle and all you do is accounting!

EVERYONE bursted out in laughter.

He's totally right...sadly enough. I am vowing to myself that I am not going to be that MEDIOCRE person at work. Two years till I'm done with school and I will be off to bigger and better things!

THIS YEAR I'M DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

SO MANY GOODNESS!!!!

Me: "God, there isn't enough of me."
God: "But there's enough of me."

Story #1

At one our team meetings before the trip, I was told by the leader that I will be a translator. Well, most of you know that I can't read or write in Chinese and my Mandarin speaking ability is very limited. But somehow when he told me that, I felt complete peace over me. I didn't hesitate and say no. I just went along with the flow. "Well, at least I'm better off than the rest of the members," was the thought that went through my head. To the rest of the team, everything will look and sound like gibberish. For me, I at least can pick up words and understand the gist of the conversation.

Throughout the trip, I was absolutely amazed how God used me and gave me the ability to understand and translate. It was a miracle! I translated a whole church message to my friend, spoke to the taxi drivers, bargained, ordered food, asked for hot sauce and forks everywhere we went, and conversed with others. God opened up my ears to listen, my mind to understand and my tongue to translate. It was absolutely a miracle. My team members were shock at this gift I have. I couldn't believe it myself. My goal is to learn Mandarin and Korean after I get my MBA degree.

Story #2

Last Friday, we had an all staff spiritual transformational day. It was sooooooooooooooo amazing and needed. I absolutely love having solitude time. It makes my soul happy.

I was excited not to have to work and just sit in nature to converse with God and listen to His voice. Yes, I will admit this: I've been slacking off in spending time with God. Doesn't it seem like when life gets busy, that's the first to go? Is it just me? Anyway, when I found out that we were going to have a day devoted to solitude, I was ecstatic!

We had two speakers from The Leadership Institute come and guide us through the day. Part of the day was devoted to a 3-hour solitude time, sharing time, small group prayer time and a time of affirming one another. It was fabulous! I saw my co-workers in a total different light and have a new appreciation for them and Open Doors. It's amazing how vulnerability draws people closer. I love that the organization sees the need to have spiritual formation days and that it will improve productivity level.

Here's something that we learned at the beginning of the day. It's a simple process, "God-process", that will had huge meaning and impact in my life. So far, within the last two days, these four simple words has dramatically changed the way I experience life. I say it out aloud first thing in the morning, anytime I start to feel anxious and before I go to sleep. It's incredible. The four words are: Pitcher/Cup...Saucer/Plate.

Pitcher: This represents all that God is and longs to pour into the cup of your life: His very being, His existence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His character, and His desires for your life.

Cup: This represents your life. It is the unique and distinctive cup of who you are--of who God created us to be and of all that God longs for you to become. God desires to continually pour Himself into the cup of your life until it overflows with His character and grace.

... : Yes, even the three dots has meaning. It's a short pause between the two analogies.

Saucer: The divine overflow spills onto the saucer. This represents relationships, the network of people your life touches, however frequently or infrequently.

Plate: This represents the events, the places, and the organizations where God's gracious presence in your life can further overflow through you and, at times, through your leadership responsibilities.

The sequence and process of this concept really matters. If you have some time, go through this exercise by sitting with God and think about the process. Often times, I skip right over the pitcher and cup and go straight to the plate. This exercise helped me understand how to prioritize my life to more effective.

You may not have a 3-hour block of time to think over this, but even if it's a few minutes a day allowing God to pour into your life, I'm pretty sure you will see and feel the difference.

*The description above was taken from Chuck Miller's book. I don't know which one since he didn't tell us, but it's in one of his books that can be found here. :)*

HOLY IS OUR GOD.

I've been hooked on the song "Holy is Our God" by Starfield. I've put it on repeat on my iPod and haven't been able to go pass this song for a couple of weeks now. It became my song for the trip. The team had the priviledge to meet incredible people who has suffered for their faith. We heard their stories of the troubles they've faced and are currently facing. Despit of all the hardships, they sing of God's goodness and repeatedly praise Him for His faithfulness, provision and guidance. I was so awestruck by their response.

The first verse of the song goes like this:

"Lift your hands, oh saints of God, lift up your hands
Sing for joy unto the risen Son of man
Celebrate the life that's been reborn in you
Celebrate the One who's making all things new."

The believers in China are lifting up their hands and celebrating the life that God has given them. They are doing this even when they know it may get them in trouble. I love their genuine heart. I love their dedication. I love their eagerness to learn. I love their simple faith. I love their willingness to praise God wherever and whenever. I just love it.

I suggest that while listening to the song to turn off all the lights and close your eyes. Focus on the words. It's pretty amazing.

Day #1: LAX-South Korea-DMZ Zone-Beijing

In less than 26 hours, we went from LAX to South Korea to a 5-hour DMZ Zone tour then to Beijing, China. It was packed but amazing.

The DMZ Zone is the border between South and North Korea. For more information about the DMZ Zone, here's a post that I've did recently. The tour was a very quick tour, but it was well worth it.

First major stop was to The Freedom Bridge. Here are some pictures:

Hope of reunification between the two countries are always in the talks.

On the way to the Freedom Bridge, the surrounding fences are filled with ribbons from South Korean families to their North Korea Families. It was a very emotional walk.

Add the end of the bridge, were more messages. These were much more personal. Some had pictures of their loved ones that were left behind when North Korea closed its border.

I cannot even imagine what these people are feeling. To know that they have families across the border, but they have no access to them, not even via phone or email. Currently South Koreans are not allow to enter North Korea.

The second major stop was to the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. This tunnel was first discovered by Kim Bu-seong, a North Korean who defected in 1975. It is 2 meters wide and 1,635 meters long, and has the capacity to infiltrate 10,000 armed soldiers into the South in an hour. There are 3 other infiltration tunnels that has been found, each to different parts of South Korea. Sorry no pictures because we weren't allow to take anything besides our passport into the tunnel. You can see some pictures here. Going down the tunnel was easy. Coming back up...well...let's just say we all felt very out of shape.

The last major stop of the was to Dorasan train station. This train station was built solely to take passengers from South Korea to Pyongyang, North Korea and vice versa. It's not functioning yet since North Korea has closed off its border. However, the train station is ready to function whenever North Korea is ready to open its border.

"Not the last station from the South. But the first station toward the North."

Here's a 360 view of the station. All the people in there are tourists. :)

Those were the 3 major stops on the 5-hours tour. After this, we headed back to the airport and boarded our flight to Beijing. The day was packed and emotional. I had so many thoughts and feelings going through me while visiting these places. I'm already planning for the opening day of the train station. I will be there and I will board on that train to take a historical ride of a life time. :)

More of the trip to come!

AMAZING GOD.

One of the many highlights from my trip to China was attending a very well-known Beijing house church. Little did we know, we were attending their very last service in the building due to government pressures. They had no clue where they would meet the following Sunday, but the pastor spoke with peace, faith and assurance that they will experience God's divine intervention.

This morning, our leader sent us an article on the result of their move. Here's the article: Beijing Shouwang Church

Here's a clip from YouTube of their service:

This is what church is ALL about. It's doesn't happen in a building. It happens when a group of God-fearing, God-loving people gather together singing and acknowledging HIS GOODNESS, LOVE, COMPASSION, PROVISION, etc. no matter what the circumstances are. Truly amazing and inspiring story.

THE TEAM. :)

Well, it's not professionally done or anything, but here's the team. :) We leave in 10 DAYS!!!!

NORTH KOREA ARTICLE.

THE PARADOX OF NORTH KOREA (BBC NEWS)

DMZ.

In 20 days, I will be landing in Seoul, Korea for an 8 hour layover before heading over to Beijing, China. So, what am I going to do during the 8 hours? I'm going to the DMZ! Actually, I will be traveling with other team members, so basically we're all going to the DMZ.

God has really worked this out for us. You cannot go to the DMZ without being part of a tour group. From our research, usually the tour is 8 hours long, but since we have 8 hours total for our layover, we can only afford 5 hours of our time touring before we need to check ourselves back into the airport. So, we looked around and my friend decided to ask a tour agency if they could do a private tour just for us. They were emailing back and forth and finally they said yes! So, we'll be having our very own private tour of the DMZ with breakfast and lunch included for less than the cost of a one-day, one-park Disneyland ticket!

And then yesterday my friend, Deanna, wrote a check for me for the EXACT amount of the tour cost. I told her that and she said she just felt like God was telling her to give me that amount. Didn't know why, but she did. I love how God works!!! He's so amazing!

NORTH KOREA 101.

23 more days. I'm an super stoked! I'll be posting periodically on here facts and prayer requests for the upcoming trip. So, here's my attempt #1.

North Korea is a country isolated from the rest of the world because the leaders wants total control of the way people think and live. The brainwashing starts at a very young age where citizens are taught that their country is thriving and achieving great accomplishments while the rest of the world is suffering and falling apart. The citizens have no contact to the outside world and the outside world has very limited contact/information about the country. All newspapers, tv/radio shows are government run. Internet and cell phones are not permitted.

Within each homes, you will find two pictures hung on the wall of the great leader, Kim Il Sung and his son the dear leader, Kim Jong Il. This is to remind them they are the only two people to praise and worship. Besides the pictures, every house also has a speaker that is use to pump out reminders of what the great and dear leaders have provided for them and how lucky they are to be living in such a thriving country on a daily basis. Due to such isolation, North Korea is known as the Hermit Kingdom.

Please click on the image below to read more on how you can pray for this country.

Some of you may think I'm crazy for wanting to pursue this, but God has laid it on my heart for the country and the people. I have been preparing myself the last couple of months by researching, reading, watching documentaries, and discussing about North Korea. Having to know all that is going on, I just can't ignore it anymore.

So, will you please join me on this journey? The team of 8 leaves in 23 days and we need your prayers! Here are a couple of things you can pray for:

1. Details: There are still a lot of logistics and details that needs to be worked out.

2. Finances: As a team, we are still in need to raise a chunk of money to cover all the costs.*

3. Health: Pray that God will keep us healthy now, during and after the trip. Swine flu is in full swing in that area.

*If you would like to contribute in any way, please contact the office at 888-524-2535 and ask for Michele Miller.

Thank you so much for journeying alongside with me! I couldn't do this without your prayers, encouragements and support!

"Having seen all this you can choose to look the other way,

but you can never say again 'I did not know.'" -William Wilberforce

I HEART STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN!

Last night, my friend invited me to go to Women of Faith. I normally wouldn't even think about attending things like this...a bunch of strange Christian women/estrogen gathered together is not my ideal choice of spending my Friday night or time. But I wanted to hang with my friend and it was free, so I went. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. We heard from Patsy Clairmont (HI-LARIOUS!), Rich Stearns (AH-MAZING! He's the CEO of World Vision, which is currently where my friend, Ange works), and lastly Steven Curtis Chapman performed (SPEECHLESS!).

I haven't listened to Steven Curtis Chapman since my college days. I remember my friend Gina and I would always belt out "We will abandon it all for the sake of the call!" I have his recent album on my iPod, but haven't listened to it in awhile. But last night, I was reminded why I love his music so much. All his songs are from his heart and personal experiences. It has depth and meaning to it. I pretty much cried the whole time he performed. I am now going to upload all his cds that I have onto my iPod and blast it! He's coming out with a new album soon and he debuted "Heaven is the Face" last night. This is a song dedicated to his daughter that tragically died last year. Yup, I think all 15,000 women were pretty much balling at the end. I CANNOT wait for the new album to come out. I HEART SCC!

It's articles like this: I cannot stand reading/hearing stories like this that irritates me to no end.

The answers from the officers and neighbors just show how stupid and ignorant people really are.

LOTS OF ACCOUNTS.

I have quite a few email accounts. I guess this is my way of separating the different aspect of my life from one another. What seems like a great, organizing idea at first only turns out to be more pain in the butt. So far, I have:

1 email for junk mail. I NEVER CHECK THIS ONE. EVER.
1 personal email for people I kind of know, but really I don't, plus junk mail.
1 personal email for people I REALLY know and love.
2 emails for school: BUBBS-which I don't really like using, but require to have it and a Gmail account I give to my professors to send me stuff to.
2 work emails.

That's a total of 7 email accounts! Do you have the same problem or is it TRULY just me?

I HEART SAUCES.

I heart sauces. I love having a variety of them available to me before I dip my chicken strip, fries and whatever is dip-able. And then of course, there are other varieties that can be created by mixing one with another. What can I say? I HEART SAUCES!!!

Also, I love Chick-Fil-A because they aren't stingy about their sauces. I can get any one that I want and as much as I need. Love it!