Priorities

"Choose 5 things to prioritize in your life right now," my mom said to me.

You see, I love staying busy. When I see a blank square in my calendar, I feel like something isn't right and that I am not maximizing my time. 

And now I have too much on my plate. Monday golf lessons, Fusion Wednesday nights, Friday youth group, and Sunday church + small group. Add in the occasional Alumni and Parent Admission Program for WashU (college fairs, interviews, etc). Then there are the activities I am considering/toying around with: DSP Atlanta Alumni Chapter, Fusion leadership, volunteering with Intervarsity, helping start a college/post grad ministry at church. Now I'm in over my head. 

Help! 

1. Job

2. Family

3. Exercise
4. Church youth group

5. 

God, help lead me to fill out the blank.

Creation

Yesterday I made a few new dishes with the promise of pictures for other recipes I try this week. I was in a very paleo-snack mood, so I decided to try the kale chip recipe I've been seeing all over forums. In addition, I did not wake up in time to try the egg-in-tomato dish, so I tried it tonight. Both were fun to make, but didn't turn out exactly as I would have liked. The kale chips were a bit too salty (must add less salt next time!) and the eggs were too runny :(

Cooking these few days have given me some insight into God as Creator. I would sit down, think about what I was going to make, be really excited about the idea knowing full well that it may not come out exactly as I wanted. However, I was still willing to go through with my creation even if it turned out to be a failure. 

Now I can't say I know exactly what God was thinking when He created us, but I think God had an idea of how He would like for us to turn out (righteous, good, etc) like how I wanted my eggs to turn out more well-done. Yet, we have minds of our own and do what we want, like my eggs choosing to not cook all the way. All the while, I still hope that my eggs would cook more over time, like God wanting to see us grow more like Christ.

Pull kale leaves off the stem. Drizzle with olive oil & sea salt. Make sure they don't overlap on the cookie tray. Bake for 15 min at 350 degrees.

The finished product: crispy, salty kale chips! 

Hollow out a tomato, add pesto, crack an egg inside. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

It was a bit more liquid-y than I was expecting, but it was fun nonetheless. 

Cooking Experiments

I made it through last week's paleo on a budget challenge! Every morning, I had a onion & green pepper omelet. For three days' lunch and dinner, I had chicken, onion and green pepper stir fry. On the other two days I had beef and broccoli stir fry. On Saturday, I was blessed with the ability to eat at Sushi Itto before it opened because the owner wanted our opinion/feedback - so I got a free meal! Saturday night I had a sausage from our office's cookout on Friday. And Sunday I had two meals of omelets.

But this week, one of our "challenges" is to Taste and See God in something artistic. This could be exploring a new place, trying a new food, or watching a good movie, etc. So far, I've cooked two new things!

1. Spaghetti Squash. FUN! Popped this bad boy in the microwave for 20 min or 5 min per pound (flipping halfway through). Cut it open, de-gutted it, and scraped out the "spaghetti" with a fork. This was really exciting because I've never cooked any type of squash before, plus this was a very interesting squash. It is very watery, but has a subtle sweet taste similar to yams. I can't say it is as fun as eating normal spaghetti, but I do find it a very suitable substitute for spaghetti especially when I'm craving Jo Mama's Famous Spaghetti sauce.

2. Home made pesto. Used basil, pecans, garlic and olive oil. I have to admit, I do miss Washu's rendition of pesto... it must be the pine nuts and cheese. Mine tastes a bit... woodier? ALSO. We don't have a food processor, so I was slaving away at trying to mince the pesto as fine as possible, and then used the stone bowl smoosher thing, then finally discovered our blender. Man, without the blender, I think it would have been impossible to make pesto. But I do have to say, I really felt caveman-ish while using that stone bowl.

If I get up early enough, I'm going to bake an egg inside a tomato (w/ pesto) for breakfast! I should really take pics of these things..

Paleo on a Budget

As you may know, my small group decided last week to post 10 things we're grateful for each day. That was great because I got to see how God was working in even the small things in my life & how blessed I am. At the end of the week, I really felt happier because I had all these things to be grateful for. If I wasn't forced to write 10 down, then I wouldn't have thought about what all I'm grateful for. I think I'm going to continue doing this because it really helped me to see how God was blessing me.

THIS WEEK we have some exciting challenges. The one that I am most nervous/excited for is the "Simplify Your Life" challenge where as a group, we are choosing to not eat out this week and only live off of $25 worth of groceries for the week. Originally, I thought we were going to do $2/day or $14/wk, so the jump to $25 is huge for me! The idea is that we would be able to better empathize with people living on less than $2 per day in third world countries. Then we take the money that we would have used to go out to eat and donate it to a cause.

For me, the real challenge is trying to figure out how to keep the Paleo Diet while limiting myself to $25. This makes me angry because I'm realizing that all the cheap food that I would've purchased while not on the diet (spaghetti, bread, rice, beans, corn syrup, etc) are all not as good for you. However, hopefully I can prove that it is possible to go paleo on a limited budget. 

H-mart Total: $12.27

3  Huge chicken breasts = $5.20

Korean Yams = 1.98 lb @ $0.39/lb totals $0.77

3lb Bag of white onions = $1.79

2 Gala apples = $0.88

Bunch of 5 bananas = 2.17 lb @ $0.59/lb totals $1.28

18 pk of Large Eggs = $1.99

Tax = $0.36

Buford Highway Farmers Market Total: $4.84

Broccoli bunch = $1.99

NY Steak = $2.71

Tax = $0.14

Kroger Total: $7.00

Salad bags = $1.98

Green peppers = 3 @ $0.59 totals $1.77

Silk Coconut Milk = $2.94

Tax = $0.31

Grand Total: $24.11

Gratitude 7

1. Thankful that I can sleep in and get some good sleep.
2. Thankful for brunch at Ria's Bluebird with Andrew.
3. Thankful that I am blessed with good health.
4. Thankful that despite having a bad face for sunglasses, I have the ability to see.
5. Thank God for ikea.
6. Thankful that our family was the only neighbors invited to the Indian Doctor's birthday party.
7. Thankful for the opportunity to fake gamble with my mom, and also see my dad in social action.
8. Thankful that I now know a personal injury attorney in case I ever need one. 
9. Thankful for a great restful day.
10. Thankful for Hulu!

Gratitude 6

For Friday

1. TGIF!
2. Thankful for an awesome/fun dream this morning about dating Josh Duhamel and he was trying to impress me by how manly he is :)
3. Thankful that my first client training went well.
4. Thankful for the opportunity to sit in on strategic planning meetings to see how the higher ups think and approach client relationships.
5. Thankful that I'm of good health and don't have cancer.
6. Thankful for the reusable Leukemia & Lymphoma Society bag I won so that I can carry my lunch stuff back home.
7. Thankful for living at home.
8. Thankful for the opportunity to be in Atlanta to watch my brother grow up (and to teach him how to drive!)
9. Thankful that when Jonathan Hsieh saw that the girl counselors weren't present and joked, "The girl counselors must not love you," that Victoria yelled, "But Joy loves us!" :) Made my night.
10. Thankful for slowly rebuilding my relationship with my dad.

Gratitude 5

1. Thankful that I cut the onions last night so that I can make an omelette this morning. 
2. Thankful that I have a great boss that I've been learning so much from. 
3. Thankful that I feel more awake on the new diet.
4. Thankful that God took away unnecessary feelings. 
5. Thankful that even though traffic was a beast, I had Jonathan Hsieh's hilarious pick up lines to entertain myself with.
6. Thankful that my brother is involved with a competitive robotics team  at Westminster.
7. Thankful for the workouts in Fitness magazine subscription redeemed from My Coke Rewards points.
8. Thankful for loofahs because they make using body wash so much more efficient. 
9. Thankful for Facebook because it helps me connect with people I haven't seen in a long time.
10. Thankful for my hard contacts still being in once piece and giving me the ability to have 20/20 vision during the day.

Gratitude 4

1. Thankful that I had a very entertaining dream this morning.
2. Thankful that I saw someone else napping in their car during lunch!! :) Glad I'm not the only one...
3. Thankful that what was supposed to be a really busy day at work turned out better than expected. 
4. Thankful for having met Joelinda at The 40 and possibly hanging out with her tonight at Fusion!
5. Thankful that I had a back up Client Distribution List saved on my desktop because I deleted the one in Outlook by accident.
6. Thankful for Gungor Radio station on Pandora Radio.
7. Thank God for how He got me this position at Nielsen - so divine.
8. Thankful for the message at Fusion tonight - really needed the push to go all out in helping someone know about Jesus.
9. Thankful for encouragement from Nesta after Fusion. 
10. Thankful that even though I was bawling tonight (from cutting onions), I am actually very happy. 

Gratitude 3

1. Thankful for Max Lucado on the radio reminding me that it isn't about My story but that it is about His story.
2. Thankful that I don't have much work to do today since I am taking a sick day - feeling really weak and tired.
3. Thankful that I got some good rest.
4. Thankful that I joined Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity in college.
5. Thankful that I can still spend time with my mom.
6. Thankful that I'm feeling better.
7. Thankful that I got to check off Watching Wicked from my bucket list. 
8. Thankful that I got to my dried clothes before my grandma folded them because I hate that it gets wrinkly. 
9. Thankful that despite all my desires of being in a relationship, I'm not actually in one yet.
10. Thankful that in exactly three weeks I will be partying it up at WashU and catching up with friends.

Grati(two)de

1. Thankful that mom helped me boil eggs for today.
2. Thankful that my presentation today got moved to tomorrow because I wasn't prepared to present it.
3. Thankful that in times of need, I accidentally left things in the right place. For example, leaving my peacoat in the trunk because it is so chilly today!
4. Thankful that I have a car that I can nap in during lunch time. Exhausted.
5. Thankful that my golf instructor has extra golf clubs I can use tonight since I accidentally left mine at home.
6. Thankful that a kind Samaritan returned my instructor's golf club that I borrowed and lost >.<
7. Thankful that I have a friend who knows how to cook with a limited budget. 
8. Thankful for Scoutmob deals in Atlanta.
9. Thankful that my umbrella was found. 
10. Thankful that I forgot about my sweet potatoes from this morning. Now I have lunch for tomorrow!

Also, this seems like it is going to be the Caveman month where I eat nothing but meat, fruits and vegetables and where I hit things with clubs. 

Gratitude 1

Hi friends! I have two really exciting updates.

1. "The 40" aka Georgia's Intervarsity Fall Conference. I'm friends with various staff workers in the Georgia region who invited me to help out as a prayer intercessor/minister. Since prayer ministry has been a huge part of my relationship with God, I wanted to help other students experience it too. This weekend, God really worked in huge ways.

Satan was really putting up a fight and continuously tried to thwart God's plans, and we knew it was because God was going to do something big. And He did. Last night, we invited students to receive healing by coming up to the prayer ministers. Going into it, I was very weary of how many people would actually come up to get prayer. Before coming to The 40, I prayed that God would at least give me the opportunity to pray for one person. Last night, I had the opportunity of praying for that one person, and after going back to see if anybody else wanted prayer, not only was there a line, but there was a pool of students standing there waiting to receive prayer. PRAISE GOD! I had the privilege of helping six students hear from God and be freed from what was holding them down.

This weekend has shown me how much I miss college ministry. While rooming with a fantastic woman of God that reminds me of my college roommate from last year, I learned that she moved to Atlanta and started work at a social media marketing firm the exact same day that I started work at Nielsen, and she helps with Emory's BASIC (African-American) chapter as a volunteer staff. That got some wheels turning in my head about the possibility of me being a volunteer staff as well. The idea is still premature and may or may not come to fruition next year or in the future. For now, I am committed to ACCCN's youth group and I know I won't have the time and energy to do that and help with Intervarsity and go to Fusion on Wednesdays. So we'll see where God brings me.

2. A few of us young adults around Atlanta were desiring community of people really seeking to follow Jesus and challenge each other, so we started a post-graduate small group that meets on Sundays. We currently began our group study of reading "Practicing The Way of Jesus: Life Together In The Kingdom of Love" which is a book that shows how to practically follow Jesus' teachings. I'm REALLY excited for this. Each week, we take on one or two of the experiments/challenges as a community.

This week we are experimenting with security:

• Gratitude. Each day, we are writing down ten things that we are grateful for. (without repeating anything)
• Time/money journal. We keep a detailed journal of where we are spending our time and money, and will share these with the rest of the group.

I will be posting my gratitude journal here each night (hopefully). I'm thankful that...

1. God really showed up at Georgia's Intervarsity fall conference "The 40" and showed His power as our Healer. 
2. The car ride to and from The 40 was great in the sense that we got there fast and had good conversation.
3. I have the privilege of choosing what I want to eat each meal.
4. We started this post-graduate small group.
5. I had the opportunity to lead a GIG my senior year & that our Bible studies still speak to me today!
6. I can bundle up when it is cold. 
7. God provides everything in my life abundantly.
8. The Kroger near my house is open until 1am. 
9. I got to see old faces at The 40 and met many new people!
10. I have a job to go to tomorrow.

God is like Excel

Thought of the last two months: God is like Microsoft Excel in that I thought I knew all about Excel in high school and college, but I've been learning that there's SO MUCH more to it. I'm continuously humbled by what little I know about Excel's capabilities and just how powerful it is.

Which segways into something AWESOME that happened to me tonight.

While cleaning up my room, I found a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card from my birthday. Since I've been learning so much about Excel at work, I wanted to get a copy of Excel for Dummies, so I drove to Barnes and Noble. I went to my local Barnes and Noble on Peachtree Rd, picked up the book, and got all the way to check out to find that my debit card wasn't in my wallet. NOOO. It could've been in my other bag, it could be in the car, or it could be left at the Peruvian restaurant I was just at. After apologizing to the cashier, I ran back to the car and found my debit card in the cupholder - hallelujah! I got back in line with three people in front of me. The first was this really down to earth girl with tousled brown hair and a huge smile, the second was her friend who had a grey beard and a baseball cap on. The man in front of me was a really tall balding business man.

As the girl was checking out, she pulled out a 40% coupon from her iPhone. The cashier exclaimed, "Wow, what a great deal! And you can use it over and over - it is a public coupon!" She let her friend use the coupon too, and the man behind her was saying, "You and I should be friends. What's your name?" With a huge smile, she said, "Patricia! It's nice to meet you." She proceeded to graciously wait for the third guy to check out, and let him use the coupon too. The whole time she was so friendly and loving toward this stranger. At the end, he said, "I really need to make this up to you! Thank you so much Patricia!" She replied, "Oh no, not at all! You can just return the favor and pay it forward," and she left. He turns around to me and asks, "Are you a Barnes and Noble Member? If not, you are tonight!" and swipes his card before the lady rings up my transaction to get the 10% discount. The cashier looks to me and says, "What divine timing! If you didn't have your card, you wouldn't have gotten this blessing!"

She was so right. If I hadn't found that gift card while cleaning my room, then I wouldn't have gone to Barnes and Noble tonight. If I hadn't gone to the Peruvian restaurant and left my debit card in the car, then I wouldn't have been in line behind those three individuals. Divine timing indeed.

I really admire Patricia. I'm not sure if she's a Christian or not, but she was so kind and loving to strangers that we were all immediately drawn to her. I want to be like her, a magnet that draws people to Christ. And look at the impact that she had! Her little action of sharing her coupon caused a chain reaction, a butterfly effect. Imagine what God can do through us!

I went to Barnes and Noble tonight so that I can learn more about Excel, but tonight, I also got to experience God's grace. Thank you God for being the master systems engineer that so intricately weaves our lives together.

Lies

These past few days, my head has been filled with lies. Lies that I'm not good enough, desired enough, capable enough.

Then David talked about Samson & how he had the spirit of strength in him that he was strong enough to rip a lion's jaw in half. Like ripping a sheet of paper. Imagine what you can do by having the power of the Holy Spirit on you. And we need the Holy Spirit because Satan is roaming the earth like a lion, seeking people to devour and destroy.

One of those people was me. But Holy Spirit, I pray that you would anoint me with wisdom to discern those lies, rip them up, and hear truth.

I really do make you happy, God.

-----------------------------

On another Fusion note, worship also spoke out so loudly today.

Many of my friends are getting engaged & planning their weddings already. That's bizzare to think about, but I guess it's been making me think about romantic relationships a lot lately. Like, a LOT. And I've been trying to think of what kind of guy would be good for me - but whatever I come up with, I can never find in real life among the guys in my life. Nobody can meet my expectations.

Then worship came on:

He is faithful to the end

He is faithful to my heart

He is faithful to the end

He will come and marry me

(Jesus is Faithful to the End - Cory Asbury)

I can't find what I'm looking for because only Jesus can be that person for me. Not that he will literally come and marry me, but the idea that Jesus has bound himself in a covenant relationship with me (like marriage) & that He will always be faithful. And that our hearts can resonate with each other and seek God and his Kingdom. That there's no way He can't not meet my expectations. So reassuring & satisfying.

I realized that my ridiculous expectations weren't meant for humans, they were meant for God. Time to be more realistic with my expectations from people & myself.

Knocking down my Idol

Fusion really convicted me of something tonight.

It started with us singing " as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you." And that became the cry of everyone in the room.

Pastor Johnson began talking about how we look for things in our lives to satisfy us, whether it be porn, boys/girls, food, etc - but these things can never fully satisfy. What we really need is to be satisfied in God, and that we would be filled & satisfied with spiritual food.

Yes, I've heard this countless of times, but it really strung a chord in my heart tonight. Lately, I've become such a foodie with my facebook food blog and all, I've come to criticize everything that I order and eat. Food has become the thing that I live for, but my body has become increasingly less satisfied with what I'm eating.

Then it dawned on me that food has sadly become my idol. It took a higher priority than God. And I need to change that. So from now on, I forbid myself to eat out unless I've done my devos & Bible reading for that day. In addition, each time I go out to eat, it needs to bring glory to God in some way.

Chipping

Had golf lesson 2 out of 6 yesterday! This time, we learned how to chip the ball from off the green (rough patches of grass) back onto the green. For this, we used either a 6 iron, P, or 7 iron, depending on the distance we needed to go.

1. Keep the ball on the inside of your right heel.

2. Line up the club so that the flat of the iron faces the hole.

3. Put your weight on your left leg and lean to the left.

4. Keep your left arm straight and lead the swing with your left wrist.

I think my golf skills have gotten worse since the last time. Maybe it is because I've been practicing putting in my brother's room where the carpet is perfectly flat. Now I don't know how to hit on grass or when it is hilly. Fail.

Another memo to self: do not go to the gym to work out your leg muscles right before going to golf. Because when you bend your knees, they will shake.

Chef Wang

After a whole summer's worth of being an amateur food critic and posting my food blog album on facebook, I've realized that I can't properly be a food critic unless I know a little something about cooking.

Last week while buying groceries, I picked up the latest issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray (food magazine) with lots of pretty pictures of summertime dishes and recipes.

After much deliberation, my brother and I decided to attempt the End-of-Summer Chicken Milanese and Mushroom Straw and Hay Pasta. The End-of-Summer Chicken Milanese is essentially breaded chicken breast topped with corn, tomato and onion relish. The Mushroom Straw and Hay pasta gets it name from the green spinach fettuccine and yellow egg fettuccine that look like staw and hay. However, the real flavor in this dish comes from the marsala sauce and porcini & portabella mushrooms.

Let me tell you, we were a wreck in the kitchen! We kept dropping things on the floor, spilling things on ourselves, and messing up left and right. But in the end, we had a finished product! We cooked a little too much pasta for the amount of sauce we had, so the pasta wasn't as flavorful as we would have liked. However, that chicken dish was THE BOMB. Really impressed myself with that one haha.

Lessons learned in the kitchen:

1. Don't cut the stems of thyme too - just use the leaves.


2. I have a fear of portabella gills.


3. When breading chicken, don't just plop the chicken in the flour. Gently place it there, otherwise flour will blow everywhere.


4. Use more spinach than you think you'll need.


5. If you're feeding 4 people, don't cook 8 servings worth of pasta.

Putting

I had golf lesson 1 out of 6 yesterday, and we learned how to putt!

1. The ball should be lined up to the inside of your left foot.
2. While standing, bend your knees and place eyes directly over the ball.

3. Grip the club palm to palm - I prefer right hand over left.

4. Tilt the top of the club to the left.

5. Keep elbows to your side.

6. Rock shoulders side to side to swing.

7. Finally, don't look to see if you hit the ball in - it'll affect your swing. Keep your eyes down, and listen to hear if your ball went into the hole.

The instructor was pretty good and said I was a natural putter. Cool :) Now I want to go mini-putt putting!

Chosen

After two months of internal conflict, I've decided on a church. My primary church will be ACCCN, the Chinese church that I grew up in. But on Wednesdays, I'll still be going to Fusion.

After Shocco, our youth retreat, I was reminded of my love for the youth in our church and helping them grow in their relationship with God. Plus, they trust me and look up to me. Also, one of my original intentions for going to a multicultural church is that I could comfortably invite co-workers to church if they aren't Asian. Luckily, both my boss and my mentor at work are Christians, so our co-workers could go with them to their churches.

This past Friday, I talked to our youth director and told him I wanted to sign up to be a counselor at youth group. Right after I did, I wondered if my decision was the right one. And when I first walked into the sanctuary and saw a sea of young faces I didn't recognize, I freaked out. But once we broke up into small groups, I loved being a counselor for them again, and the rest of the night confirmed my decision.

However, ACCCN still lacks a young adults ministry, and that's been a big issue on my heart lately. Maybe I should start a young adults Bible study or Sunday school if I can find enough of us. Anyway, for the time being, Fusion will be the place where I can find that community and get the feeding that I need.

I'm pretty at peace with my decision, and pray that God may really bless it.

That was Beautiful.

The most interesting things always happen at Fusion, the young adult's ministry of Victory World Church. Tonight, I got to witness something beautiful.

My Peru teammates and I were chatting when a tall guy comes over and motions for the whole crowd to come over. "I have something I want to announce to the whole group, so even if I know you or don't know you, please gather around."

We huddle together waiting to hear what he has to say. He takes this girl under his arm and says, "I would really like for you guys to pray for me. Six years ago on July 6th, I moved to Atlanta. And this girl has been my best friend since, and she really means a lot to me." He continues to shower her with praise, and I don't remember exactly what he says because at this point I'm going, "AWWWW."

"So I just want to ask you tonight, will you enter into a courtship with me?" This girl is so red and bashful, and her hand is covering her smile as she nods her head. "Great! So guys, I could really use your prayer because I don't want to be like one of those guys who disappears after they get into a relationship. You gotta keep me accountable." Then we all lay our hands on him as he prays for himself to be the spiritual leader and to be Christ-like.

Man, that. Was. Beautiful. I want a man like that!

Desperately Needing Peace

Right now my heart is being tugged in two separate directions, and the pain of choosing is almost putting me at the brink of tears.

Originally, I was planning on leaving Atlanta Chinese Christian Church North (ACCCN), the church that I grew up in and served in. However, now that I'm back in Atlanta for good, I'm thinking of finding a church that can meet my spiritual needs better.

Victory World Church Pros (no cons)
- Multicultural: Gives a bigger picture of the Kingdom, and allows me to invite coworkers to church without feeling awkward if they aren't Asian
- Vision: They're super missional locally and globally, care about reconciling cultures, and are passionate and genuine
- Has a solid young adults ministry, Fusion
- Has really challenging messages and rejuvenating worship

ACCCN Cons
- Not multicultural
- Isn't challenging me or feeding me
- Doesn't have a solid young adults ministry
- Not as missional as I would like

ACCCN Pros
- I have previous relationships with people that I grew up with, and it is hard leaving these relationships behind
- After serving as a counselor for 9th grade girls at Shocco this past weekend, I'm realizing how much of a need there is for the youth to know more of who God is and what it means to be in relationship with him. My heart breaks for them!

This decision is so difficult because either way, I will have to sacrifice something. As a wise friend pointed out, both churches have benefits, but I have to give one up even if it's good for the people or good for me.

God, I pray that you would give me peace about this decision!!