be thankful always...

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the God of gods.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever, to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." -Psalm 136:1-4 & 26

It is always nice to be "home" even though I want to live far away from my hometown.  The longer I stay away from Birmingham, the more I appreciate my hometown.  Last night, I drove to get onto Interstate 459 and realized how much I enjoyed growing up in Birmingham.  When I arrived, my sis, Beth, and I met for a coffee visit at the Summit right next to my parents' neighborhood. Then we had Chinese Ming's take-out dinner at my parents' house - just like old times!  My mom, sis and I started cooking and baking for the next day's Thanksgiving feast just like old times.  Not surprisingly, my sis and mom went crazy and danced around the kitchen for no reason.  No wonder why Dad stayed away from them.  This morning, my sis and I got up earlier to run on the lovely Lakeshore Parkway near my alma mater.  After our run, we came back home and turned on TV to watch annual Thanksgiving parade, ate homemade pumpkin bread, looked through store catalogs for Black Friday sales, and drank strong coffee just like old times.  I thank God for my sweet parents, my incredible sisters (Juju and Beth), a stable home in Birmingham, wonderful memories since I was born, my amazing friends who taught me a lot about what life was about, my "second" family in Robertsdale, FBCR church/friends, my work in Mobile, my precious preschool students (even though they get in trouble sometimes), my place where I can sleep in peace, difficult times that drew me closer to God, DTQ ministry/WaveSTAFF friends, my dependable Honda car that has been faithful to me (she'll be 10 years old next year!), my boss Jen and aides, God's endless grace and redeeming love, my life tests to challenge me to stand firm alongside with God, coffee to keep me awake every morning, friendly folks in Robertsdale, Bob & Kathy Ayres, Matt & Shannon Reynolds, countless great restaurants in Birmingham (you'll understand better after a couple of years living in Mobile), seven22 group in Pensacola, gorgeous beaches in Alabama, breath-taking mountains in Oregon, slow-paced lifestyle in Robertsdale, God's faithfulness...I just have to thank God every minute for everything.  Also, I thank God for bad circumstances that I really don't want to happen in my life - but God uses them to teach me more.  Isn't God good?  

"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  -Psalm 118:28-29

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!  

silence

Last Saturday, I noticed the framed poem on a wall when I walked into my friend's grandmother's kitchen for her graduation party. 

Silence

She cannot hear my words.  

The music is lost on her ears.

She cannot hear her children cry.

She only see their tears.  

Though the second of life is absent.

Her inner world is vast.

Through the graceful language of hand

Her spell on you is cast.

We watch in fascination

As she speaks with gestures grand;

Her emotions displayed openly

By the swiftness of her hand.

Her gaze on your intense,

She works hard to read your voice.

If you cannot speak her language, 

You see, she simply has no choice.

The wisdom, the joy, the precious life

That's trapped in a silent shell, 

Is released to us through fingertips;

To listen might do us well. 

-Lisa Williams Coggin

random acts of kindness

Last Saturday, some stranger paid for my 5K run registration and t-shirt before I arrived at the registration booth.  I told him that I would be happy to pay back, and he shook the head and said, "No, enjoy your race."  

Yesterday, someone was more than willing to come over to check my car to see if my brake pads needed to be replaced.  He didn't accept money...he just wanted to help.  

I thank God for people with caring hearts!  

my parents' marriage

Happy 29th Anniversary, Dad & Mom!  

Dad first noticed the lovely face of Mom in some college newspaper at their college in Springfield, Missouri...even though Mom thought that picture of her was horrible.  Dad was interested in that beautiful lady and then asked one of mutual friends to see if he could meet her.  Finally, they did meet each other; however, Mom was not interested in him at first.  She agreed to go on a double date with him because she had crush on another guy who also went with them.  

They ended up falling in love with each other after a few dates.  Mom knew that he was the one.  Three or four months later, they agreed to have a small November wedding.  After seven months of being together, they got married and celebrated Thanksgiving with both families during that week.  

29 years later, they have been blessed with two daughters and a wonderful life together despite illnesses, financial problems, new changes, etc.  I've never seen them argue...not a little bit!  The foundation of their marriage is Jesus Christ, which continues to amaze me.  They know how to "disagree" with each other, love each other through all circumstances, embrace their opposite personalities (which amazes me, too!), minister together to others, etc.  

I praise God for their beautiful marriage that glorifies Him.

in the midst of November busy-ness

The last two weeks have been EXTREMELY busy!

weekend trip to Atlanta, 10K race in downtown Atlanta, tons of delicious food made by Beth’s mom, a quick visit with my precious family at the Cheesecake Factory in B’ham, movie night with church friends, sharing my testimony with college students, work, work, work, cooking theme for my classroom (made peanut butter/jelly sandwiches, fruit salad, mini pizzas, muffins, and sweet potato casserole with my students), went to Pensacola twice for seven22 and my friends’ lovely wedding, deep cleaning, cooking, massive loads of laundry, Thanksgiving potluck at my house (amazingly, 30 people can fit in my house!), taught ASL class Tuesday and Thursday nights, taught Philippians for the Deaf Bible Study, grocery shopping field trip with my students, ran 3 miles almost every afternoon, birthday parties for my student and boss, went to Early Intervention/Preschool conference, ran into my former college professor, four fun family nights and revival services at my church (about 70 youth got saved Wednesday night!), late night chats/dinner with friends, Thanksgiving feast at my school…

I guess you see why I couldn’t find a time to update my blogspot. : ( I know that blogspot is like the very last thing to do on my list. However, I do need to sit down and RELAX unlike Northerners (that’s what Beth preached about!). Also, my car needs to relax, too…I notice it needs an oil change badly!

Last summer, I made a lot of mistakes and learned my lesson the hard way. I thanked God for letting me learn from them and teaching me how to “plan” my weaknesses and rely on His strength. When I became extremely busy, I tended to be weak, tired, unguarded, moody, etc. However, God tested me again a few weeks ago…Satan knew my weaknesses; so I quickly became alert when an “old” temptation was back on its way. I chose to stay in God’s presence every moment and be into His Word daily instead of ignoring temptation without knowing the painful consequences of giving in to it. He said to me, “Keep alert. Be firm in your faith. Stay brave and strong. Show love in everything you do.” (1 cor. 16:13-14). I recently asked my parents, my “second” parents, and best friend to pray for me as I fought to be the best for God. I pray that God continues to mold, sharpen, and change me into a stronger, better woman for Him. I know I continue to learn more and more throughout my lifetime.

Let me tell you one more thing…I’ve been overwhelmingly and amazingly blessed with a “second” family here in my town. I first met my “second” parents, sis and bro at church two years ago when I was in the midst of decision-making process about moving to Mobile for my first career. At first, I had a fear of being alone and having no support in an unfamiliar area far away from my hometown where my family lives. However, God has continued to use this “second” family in my life. My “second” mother was more than willing to stay up late some nights to chat with me and give me some wise advice. My “second” father was being protective of me around guys and kept his eye on me. He told me that I should not get married until I am 50 years old. Haha! My “second” older sister was very encouraging to me during hard times and spent a lot of time with me recently – she said that she would stand up for me. There is nothing important about my “second” brothers – they just constantly pick on me.

Happy Election Day!

An hour ago, Dad texted, "Follow your heart as it seeks God and His holiness." I love Dad for his wisdom and encouragement.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." Phil. 4:6

I voted today! :)

Happy 1st Day of November!

I love November. I love Thanksgiving which is my favorite holiday because it is less stressful than Christmas and more about spending quality time with my family. I love the typical November weather here in Alabama. I love November football games especially the Iron Bowl game! I love getting up earlier in the morning on "Black Friday" and shopping crazily with Dad or Mom. I love celebrating my parents' anniversary on November 23rd. I love seeing colorful leaves in Birmingham - none here in Mobile, sadly!

I am looking forward to this month! I already celebrated the first day of this November by running in my first 10K race with Jeanne and her husband Nate here in Mobile. I ran 6.2 miles in 73 minutes! Next weekend, I am going to Atlanta to run in another 10K race with Beth. Whoo!! I hope that my body will not be that sore.

This afternoon, we had the BEST fun-filled DTQ outreach event.  I was amazed at how God sent those teens to this event and how we went with the flow instead of focusing too much on schedule.  We played a camera scavenger hunt, looked for lost candies in boxes full of flour without using our hands, ate our favorite doughnuts, played "Hear me out" game, discussed about losing things/people, and shared about the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:4-7).  I praise God for those teens' willingness to participate and share their thoughts/feelings with us during our discussion time.  I pray that those teens will continue to know how much God adores them and wants to have intimate relationship with them. See the picture below....some of our teens decided to play with my Mac's photo booth after the discussion time.  

Last weekend, I mailed two hilarious Hallmark's cards to my sweet friends....they LOVED their cards! 
CARD #1: On the front, it said, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Inside said, "But when life hands you a load of crap, don't make anything. Trust me on this one." (snickering!)

CARD #2: The front said, "Thanks from the bottom of my butt." Inside said, "It's a lot bigger than my heart!" (yup...yup!)