current mood for taking pics..

ive decided to grow out my hair.. (i cut it to look different, but it seems a lot of girls recently have cut their hair as well, so im growing it out)

so some pics for memories of my awesome short hair... who knows, maybe ill cut it again.. :)

all of course with the courtesy of my supposed to be awesome macbook.. i apparently got the finicky one... bad first mac experience.. :(

Ringo Starr

thought i'm glad i'm not, but if i were a teenager in the 1960's...







bahahahahahahaha..... ringo starr... :D

nashville's best

what i will remember about my time in nashville..

1. God is in control.
2. Church History is stinkin' awesome.
3. Powerbombs
4. Hawaii is overrun by asians (i definitely missed that train)
5. "oh.. reary?" - Manny the Meerkat
6. 10 miles is apparently too long of a drive...
7. it's really bigger and better in texas
8. longhorns
9. north alabama is a long drive
10. hands are on fire!!
11. the road of obedience is hard, yet satisfying
12. what is "frik"? :)
13. somehow, i can withstand the hottness in florida, yet couldn't in tennessee
14. never driving 10 hours again
15. pride and prejudice is never enough without teas and scones :)
16. don't do the dishes so i don't get yelled at
17. pride comes before the fall.. pride got the best of me
18. amazing people
19. mountains, not hills, mountains
20. long line for... yes.. pancakes
21. So.. you think you can dance??? (apparently Philip couldn't and evan could..)
22. Michael Jackson's death
23. awesome roommates who make awesome food. my lunches were great!
24. awesome Pastor Paul and boss Morgan Stephens
25. babies!! kherington, finley, jesse.. and BOYS! jude, jack, and jase!! :)
26. Chili's
27. weekly visits to Korea house and Uhwoolim..
28. "sh**al"
29. direct TV!!!
30. passion for God's Kingdom

quick update..

i am in nashville, tn!!! whohoo.. been here about two.5 weeks.. and it is amazing. learning new stuff, making new friends. i am challenged every single day here. and i started noticing how "lazy" i had become the few months leading up to school.

wait.. let me backtrack for those who don't know. I am at the Every Nation School of Ministry here in Nashville, TN. It is a two month long intensive study program to help you prepare for field ministry, mostly in campus or youth ministry. But, you can come here for other ministries AND you can also come if you think you might want to go to ministry later, OR you just don't know what you want to do with life and just want some cool insight as to who God is. This school is for EVERYBODY. Student, non-student, worker. you name it. BUT, it's purpose is to train and equip for ministry.

i am here studying and learning some amazing stuff. (i.e. THE BIBLE IS NOT WRITTEN FOR YOU) i'm not a heretic, it's true. you wanna talk about it, let me know. Learning real eye opening stuff and its just plain cool! BUT, i did notice my laziness trying to creep in while i am here. Realized the hard way that once you break a discipline, it is hard to regain that back, even if you are in ministry school! once you slowly let go, your heart begins to harden, little by little until you have to chip away at it again, maybe even longer this time around because you let it grow so much. SO.. keep reading your Bibles, keep praying and CONVERSING with God. don't let it become a chore and don't let it slip out of your daily routine. otherwise, you will be called on here at the school for questions pertaining to said Bible and you will be stuck without an answer leading to a red face and conviction to spend more time with God. HA! :)

on another note, i find it so awesome to be around people who will be, or maybe, or even just contemplaing, on doing the same things i am, BUT AROUND THE WORLD!

anyways, ill try to update more. there is A LOT of work to be done here. as in, we read three books at a time, write sermons, memorize information, prepare for daily reviews (i.e. standing in front of the class until you get the answer right OR competing with other students to see who can say the information quicker) yea i got a lot to do.

hmm..

what a weird place i am in. i am talking about where i fit in in this phase of my life. this season of my life is weird. don't get me wrong, i am learning and i know why God is putting me through this season (as hard as it is). but overall, it is definitely odd. i think it is because i am in a place with no real sense of "identity" to describe me. all i have is an overall dependance on God. really, nothing else defines who i am at this particular moment. what i mean is, MPD (ministry of partnership development i.e. fundraising) is my job. but not your "typical" job and REALLY different from what i used to be identified with.. NURSE. also, the days aren't really filled with stuff to do other than the occasional, and i mean occasional, MPD appointment or going to help my parents at the cleaners. also, all of you know but i ended a relationship back in january. so i used to defined as someone's "girlfriend" but now, i'm just me. now don't get me wrong, i am not depressed or is this post in anyway negative. i am just realizing the current state i am in and noticing how my life was so much different just 3 months ago. i guess what i am trying to say is.. this is the first time in my life that nothing, other than "I DEPEND ON GOD" defines who i am. i am completely free of doing thing in my own will. i am free from defining myself in my own strength. am i making sense? at every other point in my life, i claimed i depended on God. yet, there was always something to fall back on. for instance, nursing was hard. i worked my butt off everyday. it was a difficult season. I depended on God. I needed God. it was a time for character building, a time for growing up. yet, God wasn't the only thing to define who i am. somewhere along the way, i also sort of depended on the title "nurse". am i making more sense now? just a thought i had today about where i am, where i am going to be in three weeks, and where i will be in 6 months from now. i know my life will be totally different soon. just taking some time to soak in what God is doing right here, right now. it's good.

strengths finder 2.0

i have been talking with amy and ross some about doing this but i never really fully committed to buying the book and taking the exam. i knew one way or another i was going to do it (at the school of ministry) but after reading Joel's blog and his strengths, i decided to copy him and do that same. sorry joel for taking your idea.. but thanks for doing it to motivate me to do it :)

i won't go into a lot detail with my strengths as joel did. i'm not too good with words and expressing myself. but i did take the exam and found something very interesting. i remember amy's and ross' strengths were in different areas (i dont remember exactly what they were) and joel's too. what i found about mine is my strengths kind of relate to each other. for the most part. take a look for yourselves and the explanations to them. here are my top 5 strengths:

1. Restorative

2. Harmony

3. Empathy

4. Individualization

5. Connectedness

Restorative: my top strength. Problem solver. Some of the job descriptions for this area was medicine and counseling. Ha! i'm a nurse. Restorative people, according to the strength finder 2.0 book, enjoy the challenge for analyzing symptoms, finding and identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution; restoring it to its true glory. These problems can range from practical, conceptual, or personal.

Harmony: i cannot stand arguments. for the most part, i want things to be solved right here and now. Harmonious people try to find the common ground when people hold differing views. They tend to be peacemakers, keep their opinions in check, and look for consensus and support. They will, willingly for harmony, modify/sacrifice their own objectives to merge with the consensus; as long as basic values aren't crossed. And when another is going on and on about their opinions, harmonious people tend to keep quiet and listen. They steer clear of debates (so me), prefers to talk about the practical (yes) that all can agree with. I totally agree when the book says "In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need the boat to get where we are going. IT IS A GOOD BOAT. There is no need to rock it just to show that you can." HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Empathy: These people can sense another's emotions. they can put themselves in other people's shoes so to speak. Though empathetic people don't necessarily have sympathy or pity, they see the world in other's eyes, share their perspective, and understand them (whether they agree with them or not). They can say the right thing at the right time for that person. They anticipate the need and hear unvoiced questions. I never really thought i was empathetic. But i do remember one thing that lauren ayala once said to me on our way back from budapest. i asked her what she thought some of my strengths were and i was surprised to hear her say i have strength with words. i am so not good with words or expressing myself. i wish i was a writer so i can write cool, long, analytical, conceptual, intellectual, creative blogs about different topics. but i dont cuz i'm not good with words. but she said it wasnt the quantity of the words i said. she said that somehow, i find the right time and the right words to say. i thought that was cool. but, i still wonder.... lol.. thanks lauren :)

Individualization: these people are intrigued by the different qualities of people. so true because i really dislike it when people generalize or stereotype. and yes, i do that too. but i dont like that i do. these people are observers of others (which i do a lot) and so can draw out the best in them. they are good at building productive teams because they can pick out the best people for it. cool.. i never put that into practice though..

Connectedness: We are part of something far greater than we can imagine. i dont really know how to express this in words. go read joel hansen's blog "redundancy" on connectedness. he did a good job.

there are my top five strengths. i think they all really close to each other. but i cant explain why. herein lies my dilemma with words. lol. some of the strength i though i would have gotten are significance, learner, relator, competition, developer, responsibility, strategic and belief. lol. guess not. :)

New Year

2009 has come. New Year. i have to say, new years 2009 has been my busiest in a long time. here's a brief.. and i mean, very brief, episode of events..

1. Dec 29: pack up my luggage

2. Dec 30: drive down to orlando

3. Dec 31: catch a plane (which we almost missed and couldnt check in our bags) to LAX.

In california: hanging with family! :)

4. Jan 1: help with wedding stuff and have a FUN FUN time with my family!! it was a big time family reunion.. i love my family.. such a big mix of personalities, culture, fun, you know.. the usual.. but admist all this, my cousin and his finance running errands for wedding . my poor cousin and his fiance.. wowzers.. you could see the excitement, stress, joy, frustration.. all emotions in one facial expression. but they did it! :)

5. Jan 2: WEDDING DAY!! the day started at 6am with make-up and hair.. it was a loooooong day.. but the ceremony was soo beautiful.. flowers were awesome. bridemaids were beautiful.. the bride was GORGEOUS, vows were awesome and impromtu.. lots of tears, games, and dancing..

6. Jan 3: Last day in Cali.. my cousin left early in the am.. only to miss her flight.. so, long story short.. our day started very late.. like 5pm late.. lol.. but got some good IN N OUT.. i havent had in n out burgers since tenth grade! and now, they have animal style fries!! and i also ate some yummy fries but forgot what they are called. mexican fries??.. soo yum..

7. Jan 4: on the plane back to ORLANDO..

8. Jan 5: met with Onew to help with her wedding, but mainly to hang out with her.. i did miss her very much, indeed.

9. Jan 6: nice relaxing day at the SPA with Onew. just the two of us.. massage.. and some.. other.. stuff.. yea..

10. Jan 7: more wedding helping with a little time lost as we got lost on the way to the airport.. picking up a friend for Onew.. i do blame google maps and the iphone for said lost time.

11. Jan 8: more wedding errands!! with a lovely Korean BBQ to end the day. met the groomsmen..

12. Jan 9: day before wedding!!! ahh!! more wedding stuff and dress rehersal at The Villages

13. Jan 10: ONEW GETS MARRIED!! day started at 8am with a little sleeping in till 9.. make up and hair.. driving to The Villages.. pictures.. ceremony.. reception.. such a busy busy, fun fun, short short day..

it was a beautiful beautiful wedding.. and my best friend getting married. i cant believe it.. the atmosphere.. the church.. korean pae-baek.. good friends not seen for so long..

WHEW!! what a whirlwind!!