Community

I was a part of such a deep committed community when I was overseas.  They really loved me and I in turned loved and of course still love them.  We shared so much being so far from "home".  Coming back, I felt so far from everyone and getting back to the busyness of life... felt the loss of that community.

These couple days of orientation was so good for me.  I'm really so excited to be around a community of believers, who I pray will stick to the commitment they talked about during orientation.  Just to be open and honest, upholding each other in biblical standards.  I guess thinking that I will be spending a lot more time with these people makes it a little bit more the community... I may be tricking myself and romanticising the whole thing, but I feel so hopeful in being with these people with common direction, same faith, passion for God...  I can't wait to get to know the professors more either... I love that my professors will be praying for me and have already started praying for me by name, before even meeting me.

I know some people do not understand my struggle to keep up with the busyness, but more so that I don't want to be a part of that busyness.  During our orientation they talked about how we need to keep up with our spiritual walk with God and just because we are learning biblical stuff, doesn't mean that is our personal time with God.  I know my life is going to start being crazy with A, school, life, but I do not want to sacrifice my time with God to keep up with others' schedules or standards.  And as I type this I am really recommitting myself to this.  I have been a little lazy lately, just wanting a break... but that's exactly it, I don't want to burn out, which I feel like I have been over this summer.  I know my limit and I want to do everything for His glory and don't want to do anything half heartedly.

As I do this, I want a close community to walk with me and I with them.  Lord I pray for godly men and women to be my community.

God added to my community today.  I got to my orientation a little early so I sat in the lobby waiting for it to start.  As I sat there, I started talking to this lady next to me.  We talked about what we are going to study and where we are from... I was so excited and praise God for His provision.  This lady, R, lives like a few blocks from our place and has two girls, in which A is like in between their ages.  The older one is going to the school that A is going to.  R began explaining the work God is doing in this school... It's amazing.  Thursday mornings, moms get together in the playground after the students go into class to pray over the school.  How amazing is that???  The PTO also has a world vision child that they sponsor and the students are really involved in it.  I praised God for giving A a believing teacher, but I am just so glad that years of prayer went into this school before A even attended.  There is some other things I learned, but I will share that at a later time.  I'm really excited to see what the Lord will do with this community in my life.

God calls us to be a people of community... to be a body.  We need each other.  A guy at orientation today was talking about how even at our school people (a Christ centered school) get so busy and caught up in their deadlines that they walk around campus and do not acknowledge people that they know.  I need people... I admit it.  I need people to affirm me.  I need people to help me.  I need people to confront me when I am sinning.  I need people to have fun with me.  I need people to be interested in my life and want to be a part of it.  I'm sure so many other people out there are like that.

There was a guy at my table today who is a second year grad student and he said how we could really get lonely, we as people.  Really encouraging us to be a part of community.

I had a women's group when I was overseas.  A group of 4-5 women... we got together every Monday (almost every Monday) and we got down dirty with each other... updating each other on our lives, asking the hard questions, challenging each other, talking about the heart issues and praying for one another.  I ask this in the humblest way possible, but how many of us are in that kind of community??  I mean having people to share life's disappointments, hardships, burdens, sins with, but in turn also can rejoice with...  We need that...  God commands that.

A reverse culture shock that I have been experiencing is the individualistic lives that we live here...  I am Korean and have lived in an Asian country for the past few years...  They are so community based, sometimes I think a little too much :), but there has to be some kind of happy medium right?

I am a people person.  Enjoy being with people, get energized by being with people, love people, find pleasure in having people over...

I am someone if that if I don't have it, I'll go look for it.  So beware, I may come stalk you to be my friend... :)

TIU here I come...

Today I had my first day of orientation and I'm so excited about what the future holds.  Being in a room with so many people who love JESUS and want to serve HIM in so many different capacities... the stories that were in the room and where they want to go... I am so really psyched!!!

A went with me today and will also join me on Monday.  It was fun for me and her to go with.  The first hour she joined me as I met various student organizations and got my ID, then she went down to the children's program they had.  I went so nervous and A gave me one of her rings so that I wouldn't be.  It turned out great.  We both had a very fun time.

I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us.  I can't wait!!!

pictures...

"cousins"

my tehteh (older sister)

the beautiful bride

aren't they all sooooo gorgeous

A and her bibi-bibi

she danced the night away

The News in life

It's been exactly a month since my last post.  Since then I have finished my statistics class and passed it!!  Woo hoo... A has gone to her first VBS (thanks to R&T for helping with rides) and walked down the aisle once again as a flower girl!!!  Our condo is so close to being done that I am jumping out of my skin in excitement.

A and I are embarking a new chapter in our life... we are both starting school.  I start with orientation this Saturday and start my actual classes on Wednesday.  A starts the following Monday.  It's so crazy that my baby is starting kindergarten and we are going to meet her teacher next Friday.  I just know I'm going to start crying.  My friend CI was one of the first ones to pray for a believing teacher for A and now we reap from the prayers that were lifted.  A's teacher is a believer and I'm so excited about that.  I really have been praying for next year already.  It would be lovely for A to be in the public school with believing teachers.  Please lift this up with me... It would be great for both of us if that were to happen.

Transition back to the states have been hard.  We are still in transition, mostly emotionally, but really praying through this season and hoping to really settle in well as the Lord leads us into our niche, our schedule, our life...

Please pray for us as we both start school and start this new schedule.  Pray for our transition as we still find ourselves emotionally adjusting...

I wanted to put up some pictures, but it's not working... hopefully soon!!!

sick...

please pray for me. i have been fighting something since thursday. i've been drinking orange juice, sleeping a lot, drinking tea, drinking lots of water, all that jazz... but it's finally got me this thing called a cold. been taking day-quil and tonight for the first time i took nyquil. i have a test on tuesday this week and really with two weeks of school, this can't last long. i know that's such a strong word... can't... if God wills it, what can i do right? but i believe in prayer and that He does know what i need, so... i will go now to rest, but just thought i would throw it out there. please pray that this will be a really quick round of the cold.

two more weeks

my beautiful city... welcoming us back

bike rides

and boat rides...

we have been on the move even during transition. constantly doing something... in two weeks my class will be done and hopefully all the final details of the condo will be done too!! i pray that from then til i have to start school, we will be able to have a time to breath. i have been so thankful for counseling and the friends that watch A so that i may have this time. it is good that in the midst of hectic chaos, i could sit and talk about the issues of my heart. in two weeks, i hope to spend more time in quiet at the foot of Jesus and just enjoy HIM.

i have an hour between the time that i drop off A at camp and i go to class. i love that during this time i get to have a long deep intimate conversation with my Savior. who else could i go to than the one who gives me life? i think of how much i miss P, but at the same time so glad that i have an eternal husband who knows me much more than P or any other man/woman could know. i am in debt for this life that the Lord gives me and the breath He gives me and the opportunity to serve Him in ways that i find myself not worthy of.

i have recently finished reading the book of daniel and am struck by how i lack in prayer. daniel prayed 3 times a day to maintain his intimacy with his Lord, but not only that he prayed for his people... i mean he seriously prayed for his people and asked for forgiveness for their sins and was just a man of prayer. i have been convicted at how i need to be on my knees more. i know i have mentioned this before, but my favorite thing about P was that i would walk into his study and he would be on his knees in prayer. i'm not sure if this is appropriate, but i find nothing sexier in a man than when he is praying on his knees alone in a quiet place. i knew that he was so worth following and respecting as my husband because i knew he was going to the right place for his leadership. i want to build this family on prayer and pour out my soul to the one who knows before i even utter a word and who will hear!!

praise God...

1. for A's adjustment back here and her camp as i have been going school.

2. for a car, condo, and all the wonderful people that have been helping with the remodeling of our condo.

3. for friends and family.

4. for His goodness and faithfulness in our life.

5. for KB, a friend of ours, an old student of P's. she will be our nanny while i go to class. so excited that she lives so close and is willing to be a part of our lives in this capacity!!! thanks KB... we love you!!!!

please continue to pray for us...

1. as we transition. still going through some reverse culture shock and adjusting.

2. as we start school in a month, both A and i will be starting school.

3. as i look pray through what ministries the Lord would have me invest in as i start my life here in the states.

4. as i long to spend to more time in prayer... pray that i will pray more.

AWOL

i've been AWOL due to my life rapidly changing. funny how just a little over two months ago i was in a completely different season of life. now that we are moved into our condo, me in school A in day camp, still getting things settled here and there, and finishing a few things around the condo still yet. i bought a new computer and two weeks ago it started doing something funny, in which i thought i was the reason it was doing it, but i took it in two days ago and my brand new computer's ram drive or something is out. so it's in the shop for at least a week... so i haven't been able to do much on the blog.

i will try harder to keep updates here... sorry family and friends.