JCA Fall Retreat 2009!

Just a couple of sermons I took notes on, and was moved by. Enjoy =]

"Maximizing Your Freedom" -Gal 5:13, Eph 5:15, Jer 29:11

- With freedom come responsibilities, but don't abuse your freedom; don't "freedom overload" E.g. computers, Internet, dating, socializing, studying
- The unbiblical way of freedom; snares:
1) Freedom is doing what I want to do whenever I want to; experimenting
2) What I "feel" like doing; not totally bad, because you may need to experiment things in Christianity like spiritual gifts

Freedom is: 1) the ability to say "no" to less valuable things and say "yes" to more valuable things, and 2) ability to set your own boundaries in your freedoms
To maximize freedom:
1) Surrender your life to Jesus Christ, for He gives the power to gain freedom.
2) Prioritize: E.g. 1. God 2. Grades 3. Family 4. Friends 5. Dating


"Facing Storms in Christ" - Mark 4:35-41
- We are either in a storm, about to enter a storm, or just got out of a storm
- Storm: v. 35
- Disciples encountered storm in the obedience of Jesus
- If you follow Jesus faithfully, you will face difficulties and trials of many kinds; should be no surprise, for He guarantees this
- Response of disciples: "Don't you care...?"
- Exposes where our faith is, our true theology (-)
- Express their faith at where they're at, no matter where it is (+)
- Went to Jesus (+)
- Jesus was sleeping, paradoxically, because "God never sleeps", but Jesus became a man, our high priest
- Loved us, rescued us, a picture of a loving God to experience tiredness, and later, suffering, trial
- Conquered sin and death
- Is always with us in love, suffering
- God can stop the storm, if He wills
- God is greater than anything in our lives; be more afraid of God, and don't be afraid of the storm.

First Days of Oxford College!

Well, I finally moved in, and became accustomed to this whole college life. I have so much to say!

So my mom, my brother, and I finally headed down to Atlanta, Georgia on August 19, 2009, with an overwhelming number of baggage. My first impression of Atlanta was bland; I thought that it was strikingly similar to New York, with its diversity and huge buildings. But I knew that Oxford College was not here in this city; in fact, it was 1 hour away from Atlanta to Oxford. We grabbed a hotel in Covington, near Oxford, to stay in for one night, since orientation started the day after. A quiet and serene place, Covington is pretty much the closest town to Oxford in which Oxford students can hang out and eat out.

That's the boring part (haha). Now, the next day, we went to orientation in a pretty ghetto yellow taxi. As we entered the campus, the first thing we encounter was a group of girls, holding up a colorful sign that read in bold letters: "WELCOME, INCOMING FRESHMEN! WHOO!", and as we entered and came into their vision, they ecstatically jumped for joy and screamed. I initially ducked my head, embarrassed. Crazy people; that was my initial impression of them. Everyone in the taxi, including the taxi driver, laughed out loud as we slowly found ourselves in a campus filled with greenery.

Despite Oxford College's small size, we got lost as to where my dorm hall (East Hall) was. We eventually found it (in like 10 minutes or so), and immediately after the taxi driver parked the car, three sophomore guys (I already forgot who they were) approached us and helped us out with our baggage, and brought it inside East Hall. I mean, at first glance, it was beautiful; the entrance led to a spacious lobby room, where people can hang out in, with tons of comfy chairs and couches placed all around, and a TV (but I found out it was broken at the moment, and it still is). However, after checking out other halls, I found out that I got the worst hall of them all. Eh. It's fine with me.

I checked in with an RA (Residential Assistance(?) gotta check up on that), who is a sophomore at campus. Her name was Ashley. Sophomores at Oxford College are practically seniors here, because they move out of Oxford into the main Emory campus at junior year. She gave me some orientation stuff, along with my mailbox keys, and most importantly, my room key. I hurried to my room, which was conveniently on the first floor, so I didn't have to struggle carrying my luggage to the second floor.
So my mom, my brother, and I started to organize my stuff in this room. Quietly, but surely.

After a couple of orientation meetings, it was time for my family to leave me behind in Oxford. We didn't cry; in fact, we laughed (sort of). It was the appropriate action for the time being, and I totally appreciated it. A quick shout-out to my mom and Eric! It was the start of my new journey, independent from family, into college.

Ahh... too much to say. Hopefully pictures will do =]

World, stop crashing around me;
Life, stop crushing me;

Temptation, stop seducing me;
Conscience, stop eating at me;

Parents, stop lecturing me;
Friends, stop disappointing me;

Pride, stop making a fool of me;
Prejudice, stop hindering me;

Hunger, stop torturing me;
Satisfaction, stop leaving me;

Hate, stop finding me;
Love, stop losing me;

Me, stop destroying me;
God, save me.

-written by Sang-a Bae : http://prosiac.blogspot.com/2008/12/selfish-words.html

I am blogging at the moment, at 2:27 AM in the morning, because of the clamor within my mind. Everything that's going on in my life--the approaching college life, future, past, present--is increasingly filling up my thoughts. I can't sleep. Words are truly powerful, but not enough to save myself. I practically scream the above, yet even more confusion arises. I cry out for help, for strength, for fixture, yet nothing happens. I wait for the true deliverance, in my futile human's resistance, yet my defense easily crumbles to the ground, and once again, I find myself initially vulnerable and helpless, then indifferent. Having pleaded far enough, I find my soul has fainted, grown weary. And it keeps getting weaker and weaker, as every second flies by.
Despite of all of this, I see a glimmer of hope within my heart. I understand the sovereignty of God, but at the same time, unable to understand it within my own life. I understand His timing, but don't understand His timing in my life. In a sense, my patience is diminishing day by day.
When, God; when?

A Short Life, Eh?

Check out the link I posted.

Well, after reading this, I just had to say wow. Wow. She was living the dream, and then, because of a climbing accident, all of it vanished. It just showed me how life REALLY is short. No one knows when his/her time will come. No one. Neither do I. I won't waste this short life I received. No way.

Should I or should I not?

Well, it's 1:41 in the morning right now as I write this...
My brother is still up, and Justin came over... lol

I need some guidance on whether I should go to missions this summer or not. As of now, I've been reluctant to go, even unwilling. I just felt that I wasn't ready for something crazy. But strangely, when the deadline for the initial deposit came (about 2 weeks ago), the deadline was extended. So that just gave me time to think about this.

I think I should've asked earlier, but the past is past; I'm doing it right now. Should I or should I not? There are 4 places to which I can choose from: Costa Rica, Tanzania, Seattle, and Japan. Or, I can choose none. Reply with your own opinion of this! Thanks guys. =]

The Kingdom of Heaven

Hey! It's been a really long time (well it seems to me) since I've posted before...

So I'll start off by answering the generic question people always tend to ask each other: How's life?
Life's good. Real good. haha
Coffee + House is coming up at Stuyvesant High School!!! (We invite you to come!)
Really little stress because I have a really small amount of homework to do.
Getting into all of my colleges (and I mean, ALL), but that's only so far...
Church is just a blessing every week (although I'm there for like just the service =/)
I guess the only problem I'm really facing is financial aid; I'm not getting any information on how much money I will get...
Otherwise, I'm really pumped up for Coffee + House!~

I wanted to share with you guys something I got out of today at church. The sermon came from Matthew 13:44-46 :

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."

These verses really struck me today. I recall that prior to finding Christ, I wasn't exactly seeking truth and meaning in my life, but instead, stumbled upon Christ, just like the first man in these verses. I wonder if in either case, whether it be the man who simply stumbled upon it or the merchant who was seeking for it, people would find the treasure (Jesus Christ) in Coffee + House, Christians and non-Christians alike. I pray that we would see Jesus Christ as the ultimate treasure in our lives. Because in the end, He's all that matters.

Future

Prayer requests:
1) My brother and Paul Seok to be able to be passionate for Jesus Christ.
2) I don't know what college to go to, and I need financial aid.

Ecclesia!

I just came back from Ecclesia, and all that I can say is that... God is just AMAZING, WONDERFUL, SUPERNATURAL, OMNIPRESENT, ALL-SATISFYING, ALL-POWERFUL, GLORIOUS, GRACIOUS, LOVING, FATHERLY, and the list goes on and on and on, but words will never be able to fully describe God. He's just indescribable!!! No matter how many times I disobey God and sin against Him, He's always there for me. And I am truly thankful for His abundant love and grace!

The thing is, I would share of my experience at Ecclesia, but I will not for two reasons: 1) We made a promise that we won't. 2) If I did tell you of my experience, it'll ruin it for you guys who goes (I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO GO; IT'LL BE JUST BREATHTAKING. The next one is in August).

I was that ignorant brat who constantly asked people what I should expect, and I constantly kept asking questions. I felt the need to know before I go. But all I can say is this: Go in with full faith, that God has everything in control, and that He will reign in Ecclesia!

If anything, I'll tell you one thing that I got out of this:
Pray with earnest and genuine faith, and you will see miracles and supernatural wonders of the Holy Spirit. And I tell you; the power of the Holy Spirit is just tremendously real! This is what I got out of Ecclesia V!

Weird!!!!

Ok. So a strange thing happened during the weekend, and I don't know how to explain it. But I'll just tell you guys what happened. =D

Ok. So I was watching the Australian Open (tennis) on Sunday, but the announcers were just chatting like mad and weren't showing me the matches. I got a bit annoyed, so I decided to surf through some channels, and came across the movie "A Cinderella Story" (my mom watched it with me too lol). But I started from the middle of the movie, so when I finished seeing the movie, I watched the rerun right after it all over again just to understand the story. Right after I finished, I thought to myself, "Oh wow. Selena Gomez is pretty". T_T

After coming across this sudden emotion, I decided to research stuff about her. I found out certain things such as her birthday, job, and whatever. But the most interesting thing to me was the fact that she was a Christian, and to live it out, she proves it by wearing a purity ring that would represent her willingness to abstain from sex until marriage. I was like that's pretty cool.

And then suddenly, I remembered a story in the Bible, where Jesus Christ was being followed by a huge crowd which wanted to make Him king. But instead of going with the crowd and taking all the glory and praise from men, He humbled himself, and withdrew himself from the crowd. So I asked myself, "How do 'Christian' celebrities really live their life for Christ, if we as Christians are to imitate Him? Just showing committment to purity really isn't enough for Christ... right? How do they do this: (Matthew 28:19-20)" I was unable to answer the question. Maybe you guys can?

But anyways, my curiosity took over, and I decided that I should talk to her myself, and even be an encouraging brother to her (lol). I laugh because this sounds ridiculous from an objective point of view. She actually gave away her number to her fans (I think it's like a phone specifically for fans or something; I don't see why she would give away her number). But anyways, I left her a message. I think that's the best I can do.

I honestly feel stupid, yet willing to do this. For some reason, I just want to talk to her ONCE. lol. This is sounding really stupid to me as I am writing this blog. The thing is, there's like a one out of a billion chance she would ever bother to respond to my messages, so I know it's really not worth it. But then again I look at that possibility, if given the chance. I think it'll be amazing just to see a Christian celebrity's point of view on life, particularly his or hers. Maybe I can just be a brother in Christ for her. Man I don't know. I just felt like ranting.

Anyways, I know this is like a celebrity craze phase that people always have about a particular celebrity. But at the same time, I have a purpose. Maybe I should think more like this for everyone else in the world. Yea. That's a good idea.

*Edit*
Ok. I came to my senses. This is insanely stupid, and seems impossible and without purpose. I'm in my world; she's in hers. And that's as simple as it gets. But still that question looms over me, and I wonder if I'll ever find a definitive testimony of a Christian celebrity living out his or her life for Christ, even if it's not from Selena Gomez lol. Shouldn't we pray for our brothers and sisters in the Hollywood business? Hm. I think that's the best thing we can do. And I'll just leave it at that.

P.S: How long does it take for a celebrity craze to completely vanish, and is there a useful strategy? lol. I heard many different answers, so I guess it varies?

1/24/09
Oh my gosh. I thought I got a message from Selena Gomez, but it wasn't. T_T So much for that. False opportunity. =[

Accountability

Today was a blessing (although I was way beyond sick; I thought I was going to die lol.. just kidding =]).

Leadership meeting was great. We first spent some time talking about our feelings of Ava's recent death from meningitis. A lot of us stirred with passion to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ after this, I noticed. But I can't help but wonder where she went. I never knew her, so I know it's up to God, who will rightfully judge and punish if necessary. I liked Mee Young's comment on how fragile life is, and I couldn't possibly disagree with her. It's just so true; tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone. This frailty of life stirred me even more passion in me to proclaim the good news. I pray Jesus Day will be a great opportunity to do so.

Some of us left early, narrowing down the size of the group to only four people. We decided to share our troubles and just pray for each other. That was truly a blessing to me. Being accountable for each other was something we always said we would do, but never really initiated. But for the first time, I felt that we leaders (at least) finally opened up to each other, and so we were able to pray for each other. I hope we can do this more often! =]

So for now, I need to sleep. I'm just so sick that I can't do any work. I ask that you guys pray that I would feel better. =]