The last mile.

The half-marathon was so much fun.  My training waned a little the last month and a half, and I never ran the full 13.1 miles in the weeks leading up to the half-marathon.  I tried to conserve as much energy as possible in the beginning of the race and started off slow (maybe too slow), but I started picking up speed towards the middle.  The last mile was the best.  I sprinted the whole way.

I hope the last mile is always the best one.

Until autumn…

The considerate love of the Lord Jesus to us seems like such a kind thing now.  I know it has always been so, but somehow I didn’t see how wise it was when it didn’t seem kind.  “With mercy and with judgment my web of time He wove, and aye, the dews of sorrow were lustred with His love…”

(Jim Elliot to Elisabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty)

Now that “summer” officially started with the end of summer school a couple weeks ago, I have a month before fall classes begin.  The absence of evening classes, homework, and group projects affords me hours and hours of extra time per week.  :]  This season only lasts me one more month, so I mean to make the most of it (as I should be doing with every season…)  So that means that some “good” things in my life need to be pruned away to make room for some “better” things.

The curtains will be drawn on this window for a little while.  :]  Hopefully the next time I open these curtains, leaves will be rusting and falling.

His love is kind and wise.  See you soon.

A piece o’ that kit-kat bar.

Right Wrist’s distant relative, Tendonitis, is in town.  They’ve never met before, so while they get acquainted (and until Tendonitis leaves), I’ll be very busy making the visit as uneventful as possible …

Free tea.

Came to work on some projects at Panera.  Ordered iced tea.  While fumbling around my backpack looking for my wallet, I suddenly realized it was at home in my other bag.

I told the cashier I’d be right back.  She said not to worry about it.

What shall we call that?  Charitea?  Generositea?

:]

Simple joys.

O ’twere not in joy to charm me, were that joy unmixed with Thee.
(Henry Francis Lyte)

Driving to Visalia and back

One month ago: My friend, Steph, and I joked about meeting halfway between San Jose and Fullerton.

Three weeks ago: We gave it more serious consideration.

Two weeks ago: We decided to do it.

A week and a half ago: Done.

A couple Saturdays ago, we each left our homes around 6:45 AM.  Three hours and about a hundred dead bugs on my windshield later, we met at the midpoint (Visalia, CA) at one of our favorite conversation spots:

(I took this picture on my phone as I arrived — haha.)

It was totally worth the trip to see her and catch up face-to-face.  Who knows, it could happen again.  :]

Walks with Mom and the pups

My mom and I have started to take evening walks a couple times a week, mostly on the weekends.  I’ll put a leash on one of our dogs, Choco, and only put a collar on our other dog, Atom.  (Choco gets lost, so we need to keep her near, but Atom can find his way home from just about anywhere, so we let him loose.)

Atom will race ahead of us and sniff around and wait for us when he’s half a block ahead.  When we catch up to him, he’ll race ahead again.  And we just shake our heads and laugh.  Silly pup.  Love my mom.

His invisible hand.

Living at home for the past few years and reconnecting with old friends has really stirred up the old memory bank.

Today, I started to think about the different people and things God has used in my life to transform, mold, and draw me closer to Himself.  There were (and are) so many of them, but here are a handful of them:

Dad

He was the first believer God placed in my life.  My dad isn’t a perfect man.  But to my old age I don’t think I’ll ever forget the times he repented of his sins before God with tears.  Because we’d sometimes be affected by them, he’d gather us (his family) around him as he repented.  Not only would he apologize to us, he would pray with us in his brokenness.  I’ll never forget its influence on me.  Through my dad, I learned of a God who forgave.  Of a God who restored.  And I learned what it meant to grieve over my sin and run to Jesus with it.  Through all kinds of trials and hardships, my dad’s clung to his faith; and though he didn’t use so many words, his example counseled me to do the same.

Mom

God has been changing my mom’s heart toward Him over the years.  I don’t know for sure where she stands before Him today, but there was a time in my life when I wondered if she would ever feel anything but hostility towards Him.  I can’t think of anyone else God has used more to break my heart for those who don’t know Him.  And aside from maybe one other person, I can’t think of anyone else God has used more to drive me to my knees in prayer.  As she’s been slowly changing, she’s been one of the greatest reasons for rejoicing in my life, too.

Mrs. Lindsay

Mrs. Lindsay was a lady from my church with a huge heart for God, for evangelism, and for children.  I was her assistant for Good News Clubs (for children 4-12 years old) and her assistant on my first mission’s trip to Mexico.  She encouraged me to train to lead my own kids’ clubs, so I spent every summer of high school volunteering as a summer missionary for Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF).  She faithfully picked me up for the week-long training all those years and dropped me off at home after; the time I spent with her in commute was where I learned the most about her and her passion for the lost.  She labored for His kingdom, especially in prayer, and it was through training with her in CEF that I received assurance of salvation my first year of high school.

Jinny

I spent the first two years of college really praying for an older woman who could disciple and counsel me, someone whose honesty and godly wisdom I could invite into my life.  During my second year of college, I went to Jinny’s baby shower (for her third daughter), and our pastor’s wife, Ange, was sharing a little about Jinny before the gift-opening time.  From Ange’s sharing about Jinny, I just remember thinking, “Here’s a woman who loves, honors, and supports her husband; a woman who shepherds her children; and a woman who doesn’t sit in the limelight but serves Christ and His body in ways that are unseen to men.  I need to get to know her!”  And to this day, she is one of the few people who can gently (but so cuttingly and precisely) reveal the sins and motives of my heart and then point me to the Savior.  I want to imitate her as she imitates Christ.

D-House Romans Bible Study

My first year of college, God put me in a sweeet dormitory.  D-House was the name of the two floors that made up our “house.”  The two floors shared a common lounge and had a spiral staircase that connected the two floors.  I soon found out that there was about 7 of us believers in D-House, and under the leadership of Carlan (who was a third year and affectionately called “Papa Carlan”), we coalesced into a Bible study.  Carlan led us verse by verse through Romans, and it was the first time I came face to face with the depth of the gospel and God’s sovereignty.  God used this Romans study to lay down the bedrock to my faith.

Lighthouse’s Galatians Study

We studied Galatians my second year of college in women’s discipleship.  I never knew how much of a legalist I was until this year.  My sophomore year of college was one of pretty deep depression (too bad I didn’t read Spiritual Depression until my first year out of college); I was driven to despair by the sin I saw in my heart.  And I ran to one extreme to the next: one day, I questioned and agonized over my salvation, and the next day, I set strict guidelines and fasted and made all kinds of vows to God and myself.  I was driven into deeper depression as I saw that no amount of good resolutions and renewed vows could change my heart.  But as we studied Galatians, God made it clear that He was my Savior and my Sanctifier.  Having begun in the Spirit, I wasn’t now being perfected by the flesh.  The doctrine of His grace was never more real … or more beautiful.

. . .

There are other people and things He’s used over the years.  Some years, I wondered where He was and why He wasn’t doing anything.  A few of those years, I spent rebelling in my heart against Him and trying to convince myself He wasn’t even there.  But He’s used people and things to reveal His invisible but sure hand in my life.  I guess our lives sometimes read like the book of Esther; there’s no blatant reference to God, but it’s undeniable that He is Savior and Sovereign behind and through it all.

Who are some people God’s used in your life?  What are some things in your life He’s used to draw you closer?  I pray you’re encouraged as you reflect on His invisible hand in your own life.  To God be all the glory!

One word says it all:

Maranatha.

Church plant this June.

I’m pretty sure I told everyone that I should have told “in person” (or as close as I could come to doing it “in person”) about this, so I’m ready to freely write about it here now.  :]

Here’s the short version:

I’ll be part of a downtown San Jose church plant this June!

Check out our preliminary website, www.downtownsynergy.com, and I’m more than happy to talk to you if you have any questions.  In fact, please talk to me about it, even if you don’t necessarily have any questions. ♥

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:7)

The pilgrim’s oasis.

This verse was like water to my soul today.  (Thanks, Rachie.)

Cars require gas (Part 2).

So, I thought I learned my lesson last May … but apparently, I didn’t.

Last night, on the way back from Bible study, I noticed my gas tank was getting low, but I was too tired to fill up on the way home.

This morning, I didn’t have enough time before work to fill up, so I decided I’d fill up after work.  After all, I thought, I still have 20 miles to go …

We had so much going on at work today that I ended up getting off work around 4:20 PM instead of at 2:30, like I normally do, so I hit traffic on the way to the gas station.  As I exited the freeway, I was waiting at the signal light, and my car started spazzing out (you know, the low-on-gas trembling).

I saw a Shell station up ahead just across the intersection, and I started praying.  Seriously praying.  My car kept trembling.  The light turned green, and I started to cross the intersection.

Even though my foot was on the gas pedal, the car would only go about 1-2 mph, and I started inching my way across the intersection.  (I think the cars behind me realized something was wrong, because they didn’t honk at me.)

It was the intersection of the freeway exit and a busy street, so I was surrounded by cars on all sides.  A stopped car in the middle of all that would have been devastating to the flow of traffic.

Then my car died.

But I was exactly in the middle of the intersection, and the remaining way to the gas station had a little bit of a down slope, so while I was in neutral, I pulled into the gas station and my car stopped right next to the gas pump.

I was extremely thankful, to say the least.

And I hope I learned my lesson this time … to say the least.

God is kind to me.