Psalm 27 (NIV)

Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

 ² When the wicked advance against me to devour me, 

it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. 

³ Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; 

though war break out against me even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: 

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, 

to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 

⁵ For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; 

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent 

and set me high upon a rock.

⁶  Then my head will be exalted abovethe enemies who surround me;

at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; 

I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, LORD; 

be merciful to me and answer me. 

⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. 

⁹ Do not hide your face from me, 
do not turn your servant away in anger; 

you have been my helper. 

Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 

¹¹ Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, 
spouting malicious accusations. 


¹³ I remain confident of this: 

I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; 

be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 139 (ESV)

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 

²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

³You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.


⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.


¹³For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book 
were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.


¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more than the sand. 
I awake, and I am still with you.


¹⁹Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
²⁰They speak against you with malicious intent; 
your enemies take your name in vain!
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
²²I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.


²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; 

   the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

2 Day after day they pour forth speech; 

   night after night they reveal knowledge. 

3 They have no speech, they use no words; 

   no sound is heard from them. 

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

   their words to the ends of the world. 

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 

 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, 

   like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 

6 It rises at one end of the heavens 

   and makes its circuit to the other; 

   nothing is deprived of its warmth.

 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, 

   refreshing the soul. 

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, 

   making wise the simple. 

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, 

   giving joy to the heart. 

The commands of the LORD are radiant, 

   giving light to the eyes. 

9 The fear of the LORD is pure, 

   enduring forever. 

The decrees of the LORD are firm, 

   and all of them are righteous.

 10 They are more precious than gold, 

   than much pure gold; 

they are sweeter than honey, 

   than honey from the honeycomb. 

11 By them your servant is warned; 

   in keeping them there is great reward. 

12 But who can discern their own errors? 

   Forgive my hidden faults. 

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; 

   may they not rule over me. 

Then I will be blameless, 

   innocent of great transgression.

 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart 

   be pleasing in your sight, 

   LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Diane and Her Cup of Milk

Over the past two years, I had come across several kinds of student - angels and demons, and everything in between. Although there were quite a few "special" students that had walked through my classroom doors, the one who truly defeated me on my own turf was none other than the four-year-old:

DIANE!

This little monster was not only a brat, but she also knew how to get to your weak spots. She knew she was oddly cute, and boy, did she work it! She was adorably terrible (not the other way around), and so quick, not even the older kids could keep up with her. Fortunately, over the course of three months, I was able to get a hold of all her sass, tantrums and play, and started to grow a fascination with this girl. Whenever I had spare time, I would sit at the snack table and just watch her - eat, sleep, cry, you name it (creepers? Perhaps. But what kid does not like to get additional attention from their teacher?).

Diane was usually loaded with attitude and was too smart for her own good. However, on a particularly slow afternoon, there was a frightening calmness in the air - Diane was still and lovely. Like a potion that sinked her into a deep spell, Diane's cup of milk turned her into a beautiful work of art that was fascinating to watch in action. She was in her own world, giving no regards to anything else but herself and her delightful afternoon beverage.

After 20 minutes...

It never ceases to amaze me how kids can entertain themselves with the simplest things-such as Diane's cup of milk-with such satisfaction! I hope as I grow older, whether I'm on my own or with others, I would be able to face every minute of my day with such curiosity, innocence, and fascination to all the simplicities and complexities that life brings!

HAPPY MONDAY!

What Some People are Calling: The "Snomageddon"

It started with what "I" felt like was a typhoon - winds gushing, snow showering, and doors pounding (yes, one of our cabinet doors in our backyard was unlocked).

 Front of the House

Side House View

Backyard 

Then, morning came (this was before the sun came out)!

17-18 inches of Snow!

This is my window view! 

Untouched snow! 

You can't even see the road anymore! 

White as Snow! 

Backyard Snow Pile

Mom getting ready to get down and dirty! 

I mean, shovel snow. :P 

 So Clean and Pretty!

Our Front Door 

Camouflage!

With the help of our neighbor, we were able to finish clearing our driveway in more than half the time it would have probably taken us to finish!

Happy Snow Day!

Future. Career. Job. => G/JC/HS <= Life. Living. Ministry.

I "pimped out" my blog page (it's fancy enough for a non-techy person like me) in hopes to actually have the urge to make good use of this. Still trying to find a purposeful goal for this page. Until that happens, I shall just ramble away like I usually do.

Recently, I've been having a lot of "future-plans" discussions with various people. Along with the X% of unemployed college graduates that are desperately trying to figure out life "as soon as possible," I too am eagerly trying to envision my future in the most suitable work field for myself. Unfortunately, simply "envisioning" my future job is not going to get me anywhere; in addition, to work in a desired work field and/or position requires time and experience, which are things most college graduates lack. 

After working as an overseas English teacher for the past two years, I realized how much thought, drive, and courage it really requires to actually pursue after a job, let alone a career, in something one truly has a passion for. For some people, this process happens so naturally that it almost seems like no intentional thought had been put into their planning, and they just happen to fall right in place when its the season to obtain an occupation. I'm all thought. I think about what I might be interested in doing. I think I have the skills to do well in a particular position. I think I have an idea with the direction I want to go into. I have neither drive nor courage though. And I think that's where my problem lies.

For me, I'm the kind of person that needs a purpose in order to be driven to do something. If the goal is not clear or worthwhile to me, I fall into an idle state that makes me impossible to move (a quality about myself that I'm not very fond of). Therefore, it is quite obvious that my future career would have to have a strong cause in order for me to offer anything into the work, for a long term at least. It is something I'm praying about, that my life's work would be something that is so important that it would move me to go even beyond what I can "envision" myself doing right now; and within this "grand" work, God's glory would be seen and Christ's name would be known. The question is, what would this work be? In what shape and form would this take place? God hasn't given me an answer yet. So I'll just have to wait, pray, and see. 

November 14: The Most Animal Filled Day I have Ever Experienced in A Long Time

For all you animal lovers out there, this post is for you. Personally, I'm not that big on animals. Besides the occassional doggy play internation with my friends' dog, my life has been animal-free since I owned a gold fish (or was it a turtle) when I was living with my aunt and uncle in junior high. As I grew up, pets and animals no longer interested me. Dogs are nice, and they're fun to play with from time to time, but the moment they slobber all over me with their wet slimy tongues, that's when I'm done--the end of all love and affection towards all dogs.

Lately, I've been surrounded by animal lovers, particularly dog lovers. Actually, I should say this close encounter with dogs really began in college. For some reason, people around me either have dogs or at least love dogs with great affection, and I must say, I think they're beginning to have an effect on me.

Feeling Like A Kid Again!



Doggy Play!!!....or, More Like An Attack!! JK.