Trials and Tribulations

The reason I made the last post about sowing and reaping is because - just like everyone else - I face trials and tribulations from time to time, and mine is from home.

No matter how strong I'd try to make myself to be, my mother is my mother. She knows how to get to me and what hurts me the most. She knows what I'm vulnerable to, the sensitive topics, and how to speak to effectively cripple me, spiritually. It's like THE goal of her middle age life to get me out of church. She's not the easiest opponent to reckon with considering she used to preach when she was my age. Now she uses the bible against me. I'm normally tongue-tied, speechless, and defeated by her.

For one, she says, "Don't think I don't know what you're doing just because I'm not here. You go to this stupid church and waste all your time so you cannot get all A's for your classes. How can a University student be going out in the weekend, the whole day, when it's the only day you can study? Sometimes you even go to church 3-4 times a week. Don't lie! I've been to church. I know they have the prayer meeting, fellowship, bible study, whatever! You do it! You go all the way to Oakland spend all the money on gas and toll and even drive people around. Don't lie! Don't lie! I know what church is like! And you give all your money to church! Especially they're refugees!"

My first reaction is fury. Because it's not true! Well... not totally. Soon, the fury is turned on me. I was so angry at myself because I failed to glorify God. I feel like a ginormous failure! This is why:

True, most of the time, I went to church instead of studying. I would rather go to church if there is a revival, VBS, easter, christmas, new year, church cleanup, food fair, fundraising, camp, etc, than study for my exam or tests - most of the time. I see my spiritual investment to be way more profitable than carnal investment anyway! See, I give zero care to earthly rewards; I'm trying to build up my heavenly treasures! Of course, my Mom went berzerk when I childishly rebutted that they are all going to hell if they don't go to church. (By which I mean believing in Christ, etc.) It was like the best I could think to say at that moment. I am seriously not helping God's kingdom. Way to shine for God at my unbelieving household.

See, not caring for earthly rewards does not mean not studying or working hard in the world. I just realized it! In fact, it's working even harder than worldly people who seek worldy rewards!

See, even with the going-to-church-alot thing, I had time to study. I just had to work doubly hard compared to an unbelieving student. Maybe it means I have to sleep only 5 hours a day. Maybe it means I have to give up spending time on leisurely pleasures; Bye-bye Korean music. Instead, I always excuse myself for having completed an eventful day at church and reward myself at home by sleeping in or watching TV and sleeping some more.

It's like I can't even take a little suffering. I am so spoiled that I don't want to inconvenience myself a bit. Even if it is just once a week. I will NOT sleep less than 8 hrs. I will NOT eat bad food like a mere bun or quick to-go sandwich. I HAVE to cook a full meal with soup, vegetables, meat, and fruits, every meal. I just have to or I feel incomplete and cranky. These are just some examples of that many things I refuse to compromise. So I sow in these things, what do I reap?

What is my true desire? To glorify God. To live a godly life. So it just didn't make sense that I sow in indirect matters more than direct matters. Sure, sleep and eat are important but not THAT important when it comes to getting the work done.

I can definitely go to church as many times as God wants me to and still Ace my classes. Because I go to church for the living God who is just real! My problems are real and He sees it! He would have let me reap a hundred fold if I just had the faith to sow! If I have one more chance to go back to school, maybe for my CPA exam, I will fight a good fight of faith.

Meaning, I should sow not in my flesh! Why am I doing so? It just daunted on me so sharply when I was listening to Dr. Charles Stanley's sermon.

I'm not saying good sleep or good food is ungodly. I was trying to make a point. Listen to the sermon. God bless you.

PS: How fitting, bible verse of the day: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

The Principle of Sowing and Reaping

thoughts from visiting Kelly

Yesterday some of YAF members visited Kelly and I had a chance to meet Kelly's parents for the firstime after I have known her for 8 or 7 years! This made me realize that I have to develope deeper relationship with all the YAF members. I think we should start doing house visitation and get to know each other's family as I believe getting to know the family members is also part of developing deeper relationship.

Trust and Obey

Hi everybody,
I don't know what i have to write today and i was thinking what it is this opportunity God have give me and i can't let it go right so i like to share a few thing here, first of all i will like to thank God for what HE had done for me. Ever since i was in Burma i had a prayer that as long as i live i will try to live for God and after that prayer i see God had bless me with His's grace and mercy. i never thought i will be in US and doing what i like to do but God let me to see HIS Glory.the resent one is last year my Boss ask me if he give me a new operation how would i like? i never think twice i said Yes! i will try my best and i will learn to do my best than he said u got it. most of u guys know i have to move to San Jose Airport late of this July.
I know this is a big responsibility and i never think of one day i will be in charge of the whole operation by myself and this is what God had beaning bless me. I know myself i was nothing and i don't have that kind of knowledge to do this Project but the One i trust is can give me any kind of knowledge and all kind of wisdom. so i will like to encourage all of u just trust in God and live the way HE please the rest r come upon us. if u have doubt about what u believe my friend u can test it HE is a living GOD.
Thank.

Sharing and prayer request

God work in mysterious way when it comes to life and I think he is teaching me something this time around with my accident. I’m leaning how to be patience, appreciate a simple thing in life like walking, appreciate my family and friends, I sometime take life for grandad and when those things are taken away it showed how blessed I am to have those things.

Last two weeks ago I was biking at golden gate park and fall from the downhill and injured my knee. At the time I couldn’t stand up or move my leg. I believe GOD sent me an angel as I was falling because someone out of no where come and give me an ice bag. Without that ice bag I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain I was feeling. I felt very graceful for a bag of ice. William called my little brother to come and pick me up. He is usually not at home on sat afternoon but he was on that day to come and pick me up and sent me to the SF general hospital ER.

I was at the ER from 3pm to 3:00 a.m. due to long wait because of lack of staffs and over crowed patients. As I was lying in the corner of some hospital wall for countless hours, God sent me a special person on my side. Will was patience enough to never once leave my side during my time of need. He kept giving me encouragements throughout the day as I was discouraged with the situations. My lovely family was worry and calling countless time to check how things are going. I learned that God blessed me with wonderful people around me and I felt so blessed to know them.

After X-ray, Dr. Said no broken bone and give me painkillers. I was given two strong medicine without anything food in my stomach for the whole day so, I vomited for at least more than 5 hrs and when my energies are gone I demanded to go home with a brace and crutches. I was instructed to do follow up if doesn’t get better.

One week has passed and I was still unable to walk, band my knee and still feeling sharp pain so I did the follow-up at the school clinic. A school nurse said she suspected that my ligament was torn and suggested to do MRI and surgery. The word surgery freaks me out! Without surgery it could take 6 months to a year to fully recover if those ligament are torn. She referred me back to general intense care for check up. Those doctor can’t tell what happening with me just by examines my knee so referred backs me again to Orthopedic this coming wed. Dr. told me when she examines me my patella was shifted in wrong place and it usually mean that ligament that holding patella is broken and surgery! I guess I’ll find out by this coming Wed to see what they’ll do with me. Two weeks without walking starting to freak me out but I know I should be putting my worry in GOD hand and keep praying for fast recovery.

Lu said God must be trying to say something to me. Maybe so because I been praying more than I ever did these two weeks. Please keep me in your prayer too..

Thanks for reading my very very long sharing and thanks for your time. :)

My Graduation Next Saturday, May 22nd

Hello all, Lia Lian has some problems logging in so I promised him I would post instead.

Praise God cause I've finally graduated. My graduation is upcoming May 22nd, which is next Saturday.

I'd like to invite all to come join me and my family at my school.

The thing is this. It's gonna be super boring. I don't even want to be there but since this is something I have to do and my family insists, I want to invite you too. But you don't have to come because like I'm warning you now, it's super boring.

Another thing is this. There are two ceremonies.

1) 11am-3pm is the big one for everyone, all majors. Not gonna walk on stage. But I'm going just to take pictures and be part of the buzz because it's early in the day and the sun is bright, hopefully.

2) 4pm-6pm is the accounting department one. I'm gonna walk on stage, gonna get my name read, take picture, etc. But each guest have to pay $12 and I have to book in advance. Super troublesome and rip off considering I pay international student fees.

Just showing up 5 mins any time of the day will make me a beaming graduate. I'll be there from 11-6.

THANK YOU. I'll tty guys more in details in person. Hopefully, my house will have a feast for dinner that day.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. I am 90% sure me and my family will attend the 11am-4pm graduation ceremony which is free for everybody. Please join me if you will and come eat mote hin gar at my house after that. Just come eat if you are not free in the day time. GOD BLESS!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms!!!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms!!!!
Tribute to my Grandma: She is the mother of my mom and my spiritual leader. Although we didn’t live together all the time, she always visits to us every summer when we were in Burma. I saw her reading Bible and Daily Bread every afternoon and I thought it was boring to read those. And I didn’t understand why she read those everyday. Truly, her faith leads me to love and trust God. She is a strong and brave Karen woman. There is nothing she cannot handle. She once told me to date with a Kachin boy from Church because she worried that I would date someone who doesn’t have strong faith and gone astray from God. Well… I did what you told me, Grandma. I dated a Kachin boy from Church and married him, but just not the same one you asked me to date… :)
I haven’t seen her for more than a decade. Hope to go see her this year if God’s willing.

My other Grandma, who’s from my dad’s side, left Burma when I was a baby. I knew her through the pictures. I never had a chance to talk to her, but I thank her for my wonderful dad.

Happy Mother's day

i just want to give some testimony about my mom.. well she's a sweet person and loving. I remember in the bible it says that whenever a son asks something from the parent, the parent will give anything a son asks for. Just like when we ask something from God.

Well, there was one time me and my mom went somewhere i don't remember.. but we ended up at KFC.. That time i was still new in America and i cannot speak English. I felt like eating KFC, so i asked my mom, she said ok let's go.. then we went inside KFC. We were in the line and it was our turn to order. Me and my mom looked at each other, i asked my mom what she wanted to eat and she said "IDK," me also don't know HOW to order.. we looked at each other... and then we left! without eating!

I love my mom.. many of my friends came over to my house, they all praise my mom. they like my mom and they say that she is the kindest mom and they want my mom to be their mom. I felt like sometimes i don't do what she wants me to do, and i talk to her without respect. In the bible also, teaches us to respect our parents.. but sometimes it's hard for me to follow. So in this mother's day or any other day, i will try to be a better son for her.

She took care of me ever since i was born untill now.. she raised 3 children and there was a time when my dad got laid off, so she also take care of my dad.. it's basically like she's got 4 children, but i never heard any complaint from her and she learned some new English words from school "I'm Tired." hahaha

Bay Area Burmese Christians Families Annual Revival Event (5/1/10)

Hosted by OBMBC

oops am i too late?

... i know, i know...im "late" for this week.. according to TN. haha but technically i have a couple more hours left till im overdue...ive just been thinking of something eggziteful to blog..since maemae set such a high bar..but luckily to my surprise i found something eggziting and has been on my mind this weekend that i thought i could share with you... By the way this is em, if youre wondering who alergicreactions is..

This year has been a pretty good year, no wait, a GREAT year compared to 2009..as for as things going well for me..I think i've noticed that things get better when i actually pick the bible up and actually pray with meaning before the day ends for me...but just for kicks and experiments plus being busy with school..i didnt pick up the bible for about a good 3-4 weeks, only for sunday school use but i just used material from previous readings and just went over them with the kids..Boy, i realized that within those three weeks, lot of negative things happened for the worse. I think my friendship with God is a relationship where we're pretty close now that he always wants me talkin to him and updating him (he is a jealous God afterall)! So for those three weeks i didnt pick up my bible and indulge myself in his wisdom and intently pray and update him with my personal life, he got a bit jealous and showed me well that i was goin down the wrong road. This week, ive been thinking a lot on how everything has been put together for me and how school is really beginning to stress me out. I thought to myself why again? why these constant annoying feelings of fear and anxiety attacks? I realized that it was because i began to fall away from God, ...oh the tempations! So i got back home to my parents house this weekend, and before i slept, i thought about how everything has been since the beginning of my relationship with my bff God and the many abundant blessings he has blessed me with through all the troubled times. Thanks to my handy dandy new phone with my handy dandy bible application, i search "strength" and all i have to say is that God works miracles and he is sooo real.. because he led me to find Psalms 73 at the PERFECT time. heres the link to it.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+73&version=NIV

this is only a part of it that stood out to me, but check out the rest..
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from the burdens common to man;they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.

This applies to me so very well along with the whole psalms 73 but i didnt want to post it all up here cause this is a novel long blog entry, but it fits everything thats going on during my crazy college life full of ups and downs..Temptations are horrible, yet if we didnt have them we would never learn from our mistakes and mature.. anyway i dont want to put any more pressure on your precious eyes. but i just basically wanna say that God really has been blessing me with the craziest things i never would have expected and that without him we ARE NADA SNADDAS! (nothing), so step your game up!