Get Up Get Outside

I think this is the 2nd time reading this infographic. I’m going to try to walk to work more – saves gas and adds a little movement to my sedentary day. It’s a little scary walking back from work though, because it gets dark so early now and no one else is walking these days. :(

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Spring Cleaning

I have been trying to clean my room and clean out my closet for the past 4 hours without much success. So, I’m going to write about it instead.

Why is it so hard to part with some of the most insignificant things? It really boggles my mind. This pastel yellow Aeropostale hoody from high school has followed me all throughout my undergrad years and then 3 more. I have not even worn it in a few years. Yet, at the thought of donating, I questioned if I should at least take a picture of it. You know, for memory’s sake. It’s painful to say goodbye to my once-upon-a-time favorite pair of jeans, boots, etc.

It really doesn’t make much sense, but perhaps it is shedding light on my tendency to hold on to things too tightly for too long. I don’t want to lose what I have. I don’t want the familiar to change. Change is hard. Letting go is hard.

I know letting go isn’t always such a bad idea. In life, you gotta let go of the past to move forward, right?

Even as I have been evaluating what may happen later half of this year, and what possibilities lay ahead in 2012, one thing that holds me back is fear. It’s really hard for me to imagine what it will be like, and I’m afraid of what it will all mean for the longer term. But…

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus

I also keep thinking about when Peter walked on water in Matthew 14:25-33. He was probably really scared too, but he still took that step of faith out of the boat to walk with Jesus.

Perhaps I can take the step of faith out of the boat too? Ahh.. always learning this same lesson of trusting in the Lord.

And, in terms of my closet, there’s just no room to keep everything, so some things just have to goooo. Back to work!

Will Smith and a 5K

I found this article from The Black Collegian that I had clipped. It was from when Will Smith’s Pursuit of Happyness came out, and the article talks about Will Smith’s career success and how he went about it.

There were a few quotes from Will Smith himself in the article, but I really liked these two.

“What we call luck, what we call chance, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. If you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.”

+

(talking about self-discipline)
“They won’t be able to achieve anything if they don’t command their minds to overcome their bodies. I always call it the treadmill test… You deprive somebody of food and you deprive them of oxygen, you’re going to see exactly who you’re dealing with… I’ll just watch and learn while your chest burns. Cause if you say you’re going to run three miles and you only run two. I don’t ever have to worry about losing in nothing to you. It’s that idea.”

I’m such a lazy bum. Wow. Okay, let’s run the 5k.

Toby Mac – Get Back Up Song

I was leaving work today when this song came on. Hit me hard, so encouraging!

we lose our way,
we get back up again,
it’s never too late
to get back up again,
one day you will shine again,
you may be knocked down,
but not out forever.

Maria Robinson says,

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

or,

“22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

I re-read my last post and I sound like a bitter monster! The next day was better, but I never updated.

This past weekend was wonderful – attended a simple but sweet wedding; saw some old friends who came down; ran into my co-leader from Freshman year (!), who is also getting married soon(!); watched Inception (Leonardo DiCarpio & Ellen Page have won me over).

Grace.

I think I want to name my daughter Grace.

“Tentmakers”

My new project is to dig in to the Bible and see what it really says about work, calling, vocation, etc.

One, because I talk a lot about “figuring out my calling” and do very little in going to the Bible for that. Two, my understanding of work + ministry right now is very conflicting; sometimes I just end my frustrated thoughts with “maybe I will be a stay-at-home mom and avoid all this junks”. Not because it is an easier role, just that it seems more “reconciled” in my head with where the work/calling/ministry aspects intersect.

Anyway, some notes from this message on being a tentmaker from P. John Piper.

1. First, as believers in Christ, you are God’s chosen people.

2. Second, as God’s people you are aliens and exiles in the secular world.

3. Third, God wants you there (1 Peter 2:13) and he wants your goals for being there to be different from those around you:

- the excellence of the products or services you render in your job shows the excellence and greatness of God.

- the standards of integrity you follow at your job show the integrity and holiness of God.

- the love you show to people in your job shows the love of God.

- the stewardship of the money you make from your job shows the value of God compared to other things.

- the verbal testimony you give to the reality of Christ shows the doorway to all these things in your life and their possibility in the lives of others.

Jimmy Dean says,

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

What excuses am I making? How can I adapt to the situation rather than sit and complain?

Lesson on Love from Hitch

This scene from the movie “Hitch” came to mind today:

Alex: “love is my life”
Albert: “no, love is your job!”

Do I “love” people because I’m “supposed” to, just as I go to work because I’m supposed to go to work each day?

Or, do I love them?

Definitely made me think.. hrm.

What a good movie, so redeemable. =)

Love vs. Duty

It’s not just about our decisions/actions, but it’s our desires that matter.
love > duty.
I thought this illustration was so profound! I like good analogies, helps my brain to connect things. :)

John Piper quotes in When I Don’t Desire God,

“Provided the thing is in itself right, the more one likes it and the less one has to “try to be good”, the better. A perfect man would never act from sense of duty; he’d always want the right thing more than the wrong thing. Duty is only a substitute for love (of God and of other people), like a crutch, which is a substitute for a leg. Most of us need the crutch at times; but of course it’s idiotic to use the crutch when our legs (our own love, habits) can do the journey on their own.”

– C. S. Lewis

Going Through A Storm?

“And he [Jesus] said to them [the disciples], ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

- Matthew 8:26

Calm the freak down man. Know that God is God. Have humility in accepting this truth, and embrace how GOOD this truth is. If Jesus can calm the winds and the sea, I have no reason not to have peace.

Reminds me of the song “Still” by Hillsong.

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
Within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust