Questions at Random

Last month, I went to the Power to Change Staff Christmas Banquet and on each table was a small gift bag with pieces of paper with questions written on them. I like doing those "survey" things that you get forwarded from your friends through e-mail so I guess this is something like that. Without further ado... (these questions aren't in any particular order)


1. If you had to eat the same meal every day, what would it be?
Rice, miso soup, chicken, green salad with Italian dressing, milk, and something chocolate for dessert.

2. What phobia(s) do you have?
Spiders, snakes, falling from really high places, supernatural scary stuff

3. How would you spend your perfect day?
Have good meals, play guitar and piano for a few hours, spend time with God either reading/studying or praying while walking, hang out with friends, maybe draw if I feel inspired to do so

4. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
Hmmm... When I was 6, I jumped off the porch (patio?) because my friends said that I should. And so I did because obviously I wasn't very good at thinking about consequences at that age. Luckily I landed on my feet and didn't break anything, but I jarred my back so I'm sure I'll have many problems as I get older...

5. If you could have one super power, what would it be?
Flying power. So cool and you would never ever ever ever ever have to get stuck in traffic nor have a layover at an airport again.

6. If you could travel back in time, what period of time would you visit?
Oooo, that's a toughy. Well, the typical Christian answer would be to visit some time that occurs in the Bible, but I won't go that route. Thinking in terms of music, I'd love to visit the romantic era because that's when a lot of my fav composers such as Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky (to name a few) lived. To hear their music played from their very hands, oh, how amazing would that be!

7. What's your favorite Christmas childhood memory?
I'm not gonna lie, it was waking up and opening presents with the family. I also liked watching my parents' reaction to the gifts my sister and I got them. Fun fun :)

8. What's your favorite movie and why?
I have a lot of favorites but my all-time favorite is "The Shawshank Redemption". Such a classic. It's so interesting to see prison dynamics and how Andy not only merely survived but made a living using the knowledge that he's already gained previous to his imprisonment. The ending is awesome too.

9. What's the best present you've ever gotten for Christmas?
Hmmm, the best, eh? Jesus, of course :) Other than that, I don't know. I've liked almost all the presents I've gotten. Hard to say which one was the best though.

10. If someone made a movie of your life, would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?
Can I choose more than one? My life would be a mix of drama and comedy.

11. What's your favorite holiday treat?
Christmas oranges, shortbread and gingerbread cookies.

12. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
The anticipation of spending another adventurous day with God, whatever that may look like.

13. Where were you when you accepted Christ as your saviour?
When I prayed the prayer at the end of the Jesus film in Grade 5, I was at home. When I rededicated my life to Him the summer after 2nd year of university, I'm not entirely sure. Somewhere in/around Edmonton. It was a gradual rededication. I got baptized at McKernan Baptist Church in Edmonton the following September.

14. When you were a child, what did you tell people that you wanted to do when you grew up?
You know, I have no idea. I don't remember telling anyone what I wanted to do. I do remember wanting to be a firefighter at some point and when I was in high school wanting to become a band teacher, then a doctor. In Grade 5, we had to do a biography of ourselves and I wrote that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom in 20 years.


And that's all, folks. Happy reading :)

First Week Experiences...

I survived my first week of classes in Nursing at UBC. Well, I guess I have one more class tomorrow afternoon but I think I can safely say I've survived. No major melt-downs, no insanity blips. That's pretty dang good. There were feelings of overwhelmed-ness the first few days of class, but the rest of my classmates were expressing the same thing so I felt better knowing I'm not the only one feeling that way.

However, I've noticed a huge.... heaviness in my heart and it's been coming and going throughout my days this whole week. I've realized that it's due to the fact that I am trying to integrate my faith/bring Jesus into this area of my life.

Wait. Let me backtrack a bit and explain.

The main reason why I wanted to continue to work as staff for Campus for Christ was because I felt led to start a ministry in the Faculty of Nursing. I guess that would constitute as an MDA ("movement development area" for those of you not familiar with C4C lingo - ask me about it if you're still confused). I'm super excited because I know in my first degree (pharmacology at the U of A), I didn't do anything intentional for Christ and have felt some regret about it. I was too chicken and lacking in trust/belief that God would work through me to reach out to my classmates. This time around, I don't want to give into fear and I really want to make Christ known to my classmates because they need to know about Him and God wants them to know Him. Also, in Romans 10:14~15 it says,

"But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?"

God wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); that is His will. He's also entrusted us with this Good News (Matthew 28:18~20) and if we love Him, then we must obey Him (John 14:15).

This is the desire of my heart: to love God and obey Him. To see people's lives dramatically transformed. To rejoice in the fact that people have come back home, entered into the heavenly kingdom, adopted into God's family, receive wonderful eternal life forever in intimate relationship with God glorifying Him for all eternity. This is what we were made for. This is what will bring us perfect and whole peace and joy.

But like I said, there's been a huge heaviness in my heart, a raging war that's threatening to tear me apart. One half of me is excited to be a witness to my classmates and see God's mighty hand move in their lives. The other half of me is terrified, full of doubt and selfish pride.

I'm afraid of standing up and standing firm because I might have to do it alone.
I'm afraid of my peers' and teachers' judgements.
I'm afraid of being their object of humiliation for the next 20 months of my life.
Perhaps I'm also afraid to trust in God because maybe a part of me doesn't fully believe that He will show up and work wonders just like He promises to.

It's sad, isn't it? God has always always always ALWAYS been faithful and yet I struggle with doubt and fear. It becomes more real to me of how twisted and mangled up we really are, that even though God has proven time and time again His trustworthiness, we still cower in fear and fall under the pressure of doubt.

I realized today this heaviness could very well be that Satan is working hard trying to discourage me, trying to prevent me from stepping into the unknown and acting in faith because he knows that if I do, God will work miraculous wonders and that's the last thing he wants. It's a huge wrestling match and I feel like I'm going to explode at times, but I know I need to overcome this and I really want to.

God is good. He is faithful even if we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). I'm really glad about that.

Please pray for me as I figure out how I can live out my faith in the context of learning and also in the context of nursing. I'm positive there will be many times where God will stretch my faith, but it will be good for me and I know that it is part of the sanctification process. It will allow me to be a more effective witness, a brighter light in this dark dark world.

Please pray for my classmates, for my profs and also for the Faculty of Nursing that they will indeed see the Light and will come to know the Truth. Pray that God will continue to soften their hearts so that they may accept and receive the seed that will bring life. Pray that the seeds planted will grow big and strong, bearing much fruit and in turn sowing more seeds into other people's lives.

I can't do anything on my own, but with God I can (Acts 1:8).
It's impossible to me, but to God everything is possible (Matthew 19:26).

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the year 2009.

I was planning on doing a post reflecting on 2008 as well as looking to 2009 but it's getting late and I'm super tired so that will have to be another day... I hope. School is starting in 4 days (ack!) so hopefully I can still post on somewhat of a regular basis!

Anyway, cheers to another year!