I gotta admit. I’m trying really hard to see the light at the end of this week. But I can barely see anything at all.
I love how when you think everything is actually going to get better, God sends another test to overcome. For some reason, it just keeps on piling on.
Pray for meeee 
I had a fabulo birthday! Thanks you all! 
The cake being smashed up my face + nose ==> quite a treat on Friday night lol. THanks for the surprise guys .
To the LW sophomore class, thanks for the amazing dinner ‘surprise.’ lol Yes I knew it was coming, BUT the pieing was indeed a surprise for me! Once I obtain this on video, I have to show it off lol. Basically, everyone thought they were just celebrating my birthday, but the plan was to surprise the other birthdays in April as well. So when Ryan pied me (again…for the 2nd birthday in a row), George pied Ryan , then Matt pied Rebecca, then someone pied Tiffany. It was a sight to see No one expected it lol.
Thanks for the random gifts and the yummy food + the dinner! . The soup, popcorn stops! etc .
It was a beautiful weekend .
Jesus Rules`!
“Thank You…, really, thank you.”
.
That took less than one minute, and made my day.
But that wasn’t an easy thank you, in fact, many others would’ve waited forever to say it if they even say it at all.
I said my “Thank you…, really, thank you.” a couple of months ago – that’s about… 5 years late.
I hear “thank you” all the time, so people might be like…”why was this one so special?” This one- it was real- you can really tell the difference, because you can feel it inside.
I didn’t know what I did and why exactly she was thankful. When I asked “for what”, she said, “You know.”
And then, I knew lol. Funny . Jesus is amazing .
Which comes down to this. A lot of times, it’s the simple, quick encouragement or comment that helps another friend grow . I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to spend valuable time with my friends this year, and a lot of them who have been in some way “impacted” by me, ONLY took a simple phone-call or a simple talk over some food. Really, I think that a life can be changed within a minute’s decision .
Think about it. I have an idea or a longing- (i.e.: I want to make my friend a card), but that idea becomes nothing if you don’t act on it. Sure, the idea entertained you for a while, but why did you want to make it in the first place? Did your “idea” that never happened fulfill the purpose (In this case- wasn’t the card for your friend, but…what card? It was only a plan that disappeared).
So next time you want to say thanks, or encourage somebody, or set something up and the time is right, don’t wait. You take one big step, and the pathway ahead becomes a lot clearer.
If none of this made sense to anyone, I’m saying…take initiative. Act on your ideas/longings. If you want to say thank you, don’t be shy, say it. If you want to do something good, don’t be scared, do it . It’s always hard to start something, but once you start it, you can see results immediately!
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” -Hebrews 10:25
My two cents of the day.
Encourage.
Step it up (that’s for me, I’m not telling you guys to step it up. But feel free to 
) lol
JESUS RULES~!
Learning is hard.
That idea is so simple.
Learning is hard.
That’s one reason I’m still sitting here trying to understand the “basics” of Econ .
All my friends tell me, “It’s harder for you because it’s your first time taking it. We took it in high school.”
So I ask them questions.
Whenever they answer- it’s a reminder for them, and a new thing for me .
But sometimes, they learn, because I ask about something that they forgot.
Last night, at my church retreat- a “new learner” reminded me about the love of God.
We circled around the camp-fire, sitting down on those tiny pebbles that prodded our butts (at least mine). And we just sat there, reflecting- watching this beautiful fire crackle and spark, changing colors from blue to yellow to orange to gold and then green..because someone threw copper inside.
It was a time of sharing- but there was silence – it’s always ‘awkward’ to share first.
There’s this new girl- who very recently started coming out to our fellowship to explore Jesus.
And in this time of silence- when no one can really reveal their true selves just yet- she musters up the courage to break the silence and outdo the cracklings of the fire.
She started out by saying thanks but she was so thankful and so touched that she started crying and crying. Every word came out with true sincerity and the experience that she described could be felt by all of us, because she described a moment that we, as believers in Jesus, first felt when surrounded by loving brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now here’s what I found very encouraging.
1. She broke down all her walls and in 2 days, was able to reveal herself to us as HER. No one else but her.
2. She’s not discouraged at all, even though her knowledge of the Bible is limited compared to our’s.
3. She continues to seek, continues to ask questions, and hungers for the Word of God .
Sometimes I think that I’ve learned a lot – that I’m an “expert in the field.” But learning happens everyday. And sometimes, you learn from people who you think knows nothing.
From her- I found it so amazing that she was able to encourage all of us just by opening her heart up so easily and so sincerely. As a fellow brother puts it, she was able to “stand naked on the stage,” and say – “this is who I am.” She reminds me that being a Christian isn’t about knowing the Bible, knowing the facts, but it’s about the relationship with Jesus.
And she reminds me that I should STILL continue to seek, ask questions, and be hungry for the Words of God . Because we’re on the same boat.
Learning is hard.
I once knew everything that she unknowingly taught me – but I forgot it all because
Learning is hard.
There are “experts” and there are “n00bs.”
But in God’s eyes – I’m the same as her.
That idea is so simple.
But learning is just so hard.
She doesn’t know it. But I’m thankful for the openness.
No – I’m not in love with her . But I was so blessed to see God work in her.
Retreat was amazing, God-glorifying, eye-opening, heart-ripping, heart-mending, overflowing, learning.
As always, Jesus Rules`!
My goal for spring break was to enjoy it because once I got back, midterms would hit one after another.
I sure enjoyed spring break .
A lakehouse with my closet friends.
Learning how to snowboard, aggressive go-karting , hiking in the frozen swamps, horse-back riding, scavenger hunt in a large outlet mall and getting kicked out for taking weird pictures .
(A view of our backyard)
I marvel at God’s beautiful creation.
But..now it’s back to reality!
The escape was nice. And here I am facing exam after exam after exam after exam *tears* haha.
And … I feel kind of screwed? My days are jammed packed for some reason. Retreat is right before two very crucial exams. And Calc IV has been kicking my butt since last semester.
OH, and I lost my potential job for the summer. Thank you Hong Kong.
But at the same time… I have so much comfort. Things have never gone the way I’ve planned them to go. I thought I was going to go to UNLV or a nearby college, but then doors started to open and I was 100% set on going to Johns Hopkins. Then for some reason, I chose Penn. I came in wanting to be a doctor, but now, I don’t and it doesn’t seem like that’s the path I will be taking. I wanted to work in New York this summer, but now that’s gone, and I’ll be in Hong Kong for half a month.
But you know what? God’s plan for me is BEAUTIFUL and I can’t complain .
Because every single experience I’ve had, good and bad, was planned perfectly by Him.
And to quote one of my favorite verses
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11
As always – Jesus rules!!
—
PS: Want to donate to the American Cancer Society as I participate in Relay for Life?
CLICK HERE TO DONATE
Remember how last year, I participated in Relay for life and asked for donations. The person with the largest donation would be able to shave my head?
Well – it happened .
THIS YEAR! What will a great donation do? Give me suggestions!
The goal of the American Cancer Society is to eliminate cancer as a major health issue. Your donation will help them make this goal a possibility . I know that it sounds korny and kind of unrealistic, but I truly believe that it’ll help reduce the amount of cancer deaths in this world. Just look at the survival rates for all types of cancer within the past few years!
Why do I care about this? It’s something that I think everyone will have to face one way or another. My grandfather died from cancer and my aunt is battling it right now. It’s something that can just sneak up on you. I’m trying my best to help victims in any way that I can. Who knows? Maybe the donation I make today can help save the life of a loved one tomorrow.
Either way – if you feel called to do so. Please consider donating to the American Cancer Society as I participate in Relay for Life – ANY monetary amount will do. (even a dollar) .
PS: You can leave me a message and let me know if you want me to do anything if I reach a certain donation amount.
This past weekend, I was volunteering with my service fraternity APO (Alpha Phi Omega). After painting an elementary school for a few hours, I had to leave so that I could make it back to an interview by 1pm.
At 12:10 I called the cab company, and waited outside with 3 people for 20 minutes. When we realized that no one would come, I called the cab company four more times. Each time – the operator would yell into the dispatch radio “SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME AT 22nd and Brown!”
– no reply 
So we kind of stood there hopeless – two of us desperate to get back by 1pm. We needed a dang cab to pick up that call!
(This is where my faith comes in). For one second, I had this big faith, and I was SURE that God was going to provide a way home for us. Then just a few seconds later, a cab pulls up at 22nd and Brown.
- Now keep in mind that this is a SMALL residential road – no cab randomly goes by!
So we figured that somebody had picked up our call request- but no one did – it was another cab company. He was dropping off a lady who requested to be dropped off at OUR EXACT SAME LOCATION.
Now who gets dropped off at 22nd and Brown!? And how in the world is it in JUST ENOUGH TIME to get back to my interview RIGHT before it started.
The cab driver and I got to talk during our ride back. We talked about faith and Jesus. He used to be a strong Muslim who turned to Jesus and now, he’s writing a book comparing Islam to Christianity . It was so encouraging to hear how God was working in another person’s life .
For me – this was enough to convince me that it was a miracle, God’s work -The woman getting dropped off at 22nd and Brown at the EXACT time we needed to be picked up by to get to our interview by 12:59pm (30 seconds before our interview began).
But just for the sake of it.. because some of us are analytical – I did a simple mathematical analysis .
Here’s how I calculated.
I simply took 2 factors into consideration (even though there were more)
1. The cab driver came at the perfect minute to take us back to campus. I gave it some slack and said that the taxi cab driver can come in a span of 5 minutes for us to make it back at exactly the right time.
So 5min/1440 min = 1/288
2. The cab NEVER stops at 22nd and Brown even though there are thousands of cabs in Philly.
I gave it A LOT of slack and said.. the cab stops at 22nd and Brown 1/100 times.
In the law of probability – for both of these to happen at the same time, you have to multiply them.
1/288 * 1/100 = 1/28800!!
That’s one chance out of 28,800 chances that this moment could have been a coincidence more than a miracle . I believe strongly that God provided for me when I placed my faith in Him .
That’s my story of the day –
“…” I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you
can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you” - Matthew 17:20
Whoa – high school buddies/acquaintances are getting married
I’m getting old yippeeeee – but I’m still YOUNG (get it) haha.
I think.. the more and more I open up my mind and reflect on my life – where I’m headed – what I’m doing – who I’m meeting – the more I can say that God is amazing .
College is a stressful time – the week before spring break is horrible .
Sleeping is harder than studying because studying overpowers sleeping.
But whenever I think about God, whenever I just… kind of give it to Him, everything bad goes away .
And everyone tells me – it’s just because you rely on this “deity” that everything feels good. Because you feel like if you give it all to this “god” (any god) then you’ll feel like you’re okay because you make yourself believe that.
But.. it’s not just belief. There’s this sensation that I can’t explain because it’s too good to be true. I feel uplifted, renewed, joyous, and this great feeling of spiritual warmth just overflows throughout my body.
Last weekend, this past weekend… all I had to do was pray and believe. And God provided.
I guess miracles still do happen .
-Random 3:15am study break –
There’s my moment of sharing .
As always -JESUS RULES~!
lol so…
There’s this book out there called “The Five Languages of Love.”
Basically, it talks about how everyone can feel loved in different ways (broken down into 5 categories).
I ran into Aunt Toni’s myspace note and I figured..I should give it a try ahha.
I found my results interesting lol.
My primary love language is
probably
Quality
Time
with a secondary love language
being
Acts of
Service.
Unhappiness in
relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact
that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don’t understand
our partner’s requirements, or even our own. We all have a “love tank”
that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but
there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there
are different ways that we can express love to others.
target='_blank'>Take the quiz
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
That’s all i needed !
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