I wonder if anyone even reads this blog anymore. (I'm not trying to sound pitiful here just so you know.)
My inconsistency and long absences from posting here does not indicate that I have no time at all. Well, I'm not as free as I was but I know I could spare the time to post here if I want to.
I'm not sure if its due to the loss of interest in blogging that I'm doing this. Then again, I'm not exactly disinterested, maybe just not interested enough. Seems like college is turning me to into a paradoxical freak.
I have conceded however, in the course of typing this post (I never have a plan when I first begin) that I will continue to keep this blog alive even if its only for myself.
I feel that the days of 'what I did today along with a thousand descriptions' are gone.That's not to say I'm never gonna inform on what I did or I will not be me. Maybe I'm entering into a more contemplative, reflective phase of my life that always existed but never really dwelled in.
So with these musings I shall now end, I really do have a lot more to say, should've said and will say..
I'll be back here, soon. My constant repetition of this makes it much less believable but I'm serious this time around. The word soon itself means differently to everyone anyway.
God bless you all. Love.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Your 100 Day Prayer by John I. Snyder
Your 100 Day Prayer is a useful devotion as well as prayer material. The author describes it as a "guide to your own 100-day prayer, where you will bring your issue before God every day for this 100-day period." Since it is a prayer adventure, it is not easy to fully describe what the book covers. The format everyday is the same. A Scripture is given, a few paragraphs on a certain topic followed by a prayer for the day. There is also a section called 'Today's Progress' that leaves space for notes or our own prayers; a very helpful section indeed.
Some of the topics that are frequently covered in the book include Waiting on God, Faith, Persistent Prayer, Hope and Joy. I have often come across relevant topics to the things I face and God has used the prayers and words of the book to speak to my situation. I certainly think its a good book especially for those who find it hard to pray and don't really know how to begin. Wherever you are in your spiritual walk, this will still be a good book to have or give as a gift.
There are a lot of Biblical truths and Snyder gives a lot of great insights to things. One of the quotes I couldn't help to pen down is: 'So keep this in mind when you are praying for the things you want and need: if you do not receive what you ask for now, you've lost nothing, because in th end, you will have than you ever dreamed.' Snyder often reminds us to continue having faith despite the circumstances we go through and to fix our eyes on God. In this age of uncertainty and upheaval, God is certainly the only One that we can fully trust and this is what Snyder speaks of.
Definitely a book worth reading and more importantly, applying to our lives. The meditations are not lengthy too so it won't take much time a day for those who find it hard to focus.
God bless you should you choose to embark on your 100-day prayer! I've certainly been blessed.
*I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. All opinions expressed are of my own.*
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Loneliness
Loneliness- is like a disease
It plagues you once in awhile when you least expect it
When you thought all was well,
When you thought you were fine
And that you didn't need a doctor.
It creeps on you, slowly
And soon enough you feel it
You want to get rid of it
But it doesn't just go away
Sometimes it stays longer than you wish it to.
What can we do?
Do we complain?
Do we question?
Do we stop trusting?
That He will make us well again
That He sees our pain
And will heal us completely
And provide the cure to our loneliness
But no matter what we think will satisfy
There really isn't anything that can cure us of it
None but His love...
Lord, You are enough for me.
I'm trusting in You Lord
You know so much better
I'll wait Lord, I'll wait....
I feel my faith rising as I call upon Your name
It plagues you once in awhile when you least expect it
When you thought all was well,
When you thought you were fine
And that you didn't need a doctor.
It creeps on you, slowly
And soon enough you feel it
You want to get rid of it
But it doesn't just go away
Sometimes it stays longer than you wish it to.
What can we do?
Do we complain?
Do we question?
Do we stop trusting?
That He will make us well again
That He sees our pain
And will heal us completely
And provide the cure to our loneliness
But no matter what we think will satisfy
There really isn't anything that can cure us of it
None but His love...
Lord, You are enough for me.
I'm trusting in You Lord
You know so much better
I'll wait Lord, I'll wait....
I feel my faith rising as I call upon Your name
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The States Thus Far
I'm just so grateful to God that I'm here...
There were a few adjustments I had to make and am still making but overall its been great. I'm just gonna go through a couple of things I've experienced etc. Condensing everything into a single post is not easy, it turned out longer than I wanted it to be but oh well.
1. The flight was surprisingly good. It went without a glitch. My flight was a day after Hurricane Irene and because so many flights were cancelled during the weekend I was expecting some huge aftermath as well. Turns out, there were no delays and absent-minded me didn't make much blunders. Thank God. I was tired after the flight and it was painful to sit for so long especially during the 2nd (11 hour flight). I had 3 flights; KLIA - Narita, Tokyo, Tokyo - Chicago, Chicago - Boston. Altogether including transit time was 28 hours. Pretty long huh. But God sustained me through it all.
2. The families I've met here, two in particular. One is a local couple. The wife is originally from HK and the husband's from here. They hosted me for a night because my friendship family (every international student here has one) wasn't around when I arrived. Anyway this couple was really nice and their house was just beautiful. Most of the houses in the area are! Then I met my real friendship family as well and just last night I went to their home and had dinner with them. They are so nice too. Both families are Christians, how wonderful is that. God is certainly bringing people to help me keep my feet on the ground. I can't ask for more.
3. The orientation both International Student Orientation and the freshman one was great and not too taxing. There were talks, activities etc planned everyday so I was quite busy but there wasn't anything too bad and I enjoyed it. Got to know lots of people through it as well.
4. The residence hall I'm staying in is more than I could ask for. Its a substance free dorm so there is absolutely no alcohol allowed and even if a person staying here comes back drunk, should he be caught will be charged with internal possession of alcohol. The state law is that no one under 21 is allowed to drink and drugs are absolutely prohibited. Its a rather safe place I daresay. Of course there are those who go agaisnt these rules but its hard to fine. Just need to mix with the right people and no problem would arise. Just last night a few parties were busted so its kinda interesting. This is America indeed. But on the contrary, my hall is probably never gonna host any of these parties for obvious reasons and its not really loud too so its super chill. And most of the people are really nice too which ties in with my next point which concerns
5. The roommates. I have 3 of them and initially I thought it'd be a problem to get privacy and all that. And if there's a bad hat among one of us its gonna be a huge problem to deal with for one year. So far (I hope it'll remain this way) things have been great. We don't have any personality clashes and no one's really dirty so its fine. We try to accomodate each other as well when one needs to sleep etc. Not everyone is always in the room so there is privacy at times. One of my roommate's a Christian and I'm so glad God answered my prayer (and hers too) for another. She's pretty solid in her faith I daresay so its great. There's a girl from China as well so its nice to have one from the same continent if not country. Hey, I'm Chinese too.
5. The friends I've made. I've met alot of people but not all of these people are my friends. I was told that most Americans are friendly but not deep and it seems to be true. Some people, you just can't get past a certain stage and its just a superficial friendship. Even a 'How are you' when you past each other doesn't mean much which to us Asians is like 'seriously'? But anyway, I've made a couple of friends (most in my residence hall) who are really nice and are not up for all those partying nonsense as well. Some of my other friends I've made aren't that 'innocent' so to speak but I'm not gonna be judgmental and I still accept them as they are. I'm glad that at least they are accepting enough to mix with someone different and they don't have any problems with that. But they're nice as people and its fun being with them as well.
6. The food is fattening. Haha. Well I'm trying to have a balanced diet here and its all Western food though sometimes there are international dishes as well. But its not too bad and sometimes its really good so no complaints!
7. The weather. It gets really chilly sometimes and without a sweater, I'd be really cold. But its still bearable. Its sunny in the day but its still cold with the wind blowing, definitely colder than Cameron's on any normal day. It was raining for a few days as well but I'm glad that season is over now. It's not fun walking in the rain with the COLD wind blowing right at you. Grrr... I don't want winter to come! (I'd like to see and feel and play with the snow but thats all! I sound like a kid now. Haha) The winters can last up to 5 months here. o_o
8. The classes. I've had a week of classes and I'm already having a couple of reading and writing assignments. Participation is vital in college and it affects your grade if you don't speak up. Thankfully I haven't had much of a problem saying things now and then. The professors are good so far. The only thing I have to do is time management and make sure I complete my assignments on time or I'm gonna suffer, badly. Oh and for this semester I'm taking:
A Pathway class (its like a course where we do in our first semester and then a continuation in our sophomore year that is a requirement for our education here).
Sociology
English
Math
Writing (mandatory for all freshmen)
I'm happy with the classes I'm enrolled in as well, I chose all of them. :)
9. The Christian Fellowship. I've only been to one meeting last Monday, a pretty small group but it was nice. Shared some testimonies and I talked about how God calmed the storms in me about coming here etc. Its not really the same as the CF's I've been involved in but what does it matter. As long as we serve the Lord, it doesn't matter how we do it. As long as He is glorified. As long as the gospel is being lived out. But the people are great and its so much more personal and close-knit. I went for a leadership retreat today and it was super chill. It was at a house just by beautiful Lake Sunapee. You can Google that =p. Glad for the new spiritual support group I've found, may we continue to walk and shine for Him in this place.
10. The campus. Its small but not TOO small. It takes around 15 minutes at most to walk from one end right to the other. Which is good especially during the winter when you wouldn't want to be walking much. Its just the perfect size. And its so green as well. The campus is pretty old so the buildings aren't too fancy but its still nice.
11. The town. New London is a beautiful place. A quaint, peaceful town. Trees are everywhere. Not many people live here so its not busy at all. The shops are along the side of the roads, mostly isolated buildings which makes it really nice. The pictures are all on my FB. Only walked into town once, no time yet. But I've got 4 years to explore as much as I want so yea. There's absolutely no public transport here so getting around won't be too easy but its not too hard either. Once in awhile the college vans leave for Concord, the capital and my friendship family offered to bring me shopping at other places when I need to so no problem with that. Also, my roommate has a car. Heh.
Overall, I would say I'm glad. I believe God had His purpose in allowing me to come here. And though I was initially fearful of so many things prior to coming, everyday He's showing me more and more of His grace and releasing me from my fears. Instead, He bids me each moment to draw near, to depend on Him and Him alone. He tells me that my only refuge, my stronghold is Him and its with Him I am able to overcome every challenge. I know the days ahead won't be easy and I have my concerns. But because I have Him I am strengthened and I am not afraid.
He leads me, I follow.
Lead me on, Lord. You're all I have, You're all I need.
And I love you guys :)
There were a few adjustments I had to make and am still making but overall its been great. I'm just gonna go through a couple of things I've experienced etc. Condensing everything into a single post is not easy, it turned out longer than I wanted it to be but oh well.
1. The flight was surprisingly good. It went without a glitch. My flight was a day after Hurricane Irene and because so many flights were cancelled during the weekend I was expecting some huge aftermath as well. Turns out, there were no delays and absent-minded me didn't make much blunders. Thank God. I was tired after the flight and it was painful to sit for so long especially during the 2nd (11 hour flight). I had 3 flights; KLIA - Narita, Tokyo, Tokyo - Chicago, Chicago - Boston. Altogether including transit time was 28 hours. Pretty long huh. But God sustained me through it all.
2. The families I've met here, two in particular. One is a local couple. The wife is originally from HK and the husband's from here. They hosted me for a night because my friendship family (every international student here has one) wasn't around when I arrived. Anyway this couple was really nice and their house was just beautiful. Most of the houses in the area are! Then I met my real friendship family as well and just last night I went to their home and had dinner with them. They are so nice too. Both families are Christians, how wonderful is that. God is certainly bringing people to help me keep my feet on the ground. I can't ask for more.
3. The orientation both International Student Orientation and the freshman one was great and not too taxing. There were talks, activities etc planned everyday so I was quite busy but there wasn't anything too bad and I enjoyed it. Got to know lots of people through it as well.
4. The residence hall I'm staying in is more than I could ask for. Its a substance free dorm so there is absolutely no alcohol allowed and even if a person staying here comes back drunk, should he be caught will be charged with internal possession of alcohol. The state law is that no one under 21 is allowed to drink and drugs are absolutely prohibited. Its a rather safe place I daresay. Of course there are those who go agaisnt these rules but its hard to fine. Just need to mix with the right people and no problem would arise. Just last night a few parties were busted so its kinda interesting. This is America indeed. But on the contrary, my hall is probably never gonna host any of these parties for obvious reasons and its not really loud too so its super chill. And most of the people are really nice too which ties in with my next point which concerns
5. The roommates. I have 3 of them and initially I thought it'd be a problem to get privacy and all that. And if there's a bad hat among one of us its gonna be a huge problem to deal with for one year. So far (I hope it'll remain this way) things have been great. We don't have any personality clashes and no one's really dirty so its fine. We try to accomodate each other as well when one needs to sleep etc. Not everyone is always in the room so there is privacy at times. One of my roommate's a Christian and I'm so glad God answered my prayer (and hers too) for another. She's pretty solid in her faith I daresay so its great. There's a girl from China as well so its nice to have one from the same continent if not country. Hey, I'm Chinese too.
5. The friends I've made. I've met alot of people but not all of these people are my friends. I was told that most Americans are friendly but not deep and it seems to be true. Some people, you just can't get past a certain stage and its just a superficial friendship. Even a 'How are you' when you past each other doesn't mean much which to us Asians is like 'seriously'? But anyway, I've made a couple of friends (most in my residence hall) who are really nice and are not up for all those partying nonsense as well. Some of my other friends I've made aren't that 'innocent' so to speak but I'm not gonna be judgmental and I still accept them as they are. I'm glad that at least they are accepting enough to mix with someone different and they don't have any problems with that. But they're nice as people and its fun being with them as well.
6. The food is fattening. Haha. Well I'm trying to have a balanced diet here and its all Western food though sometimes there are international dishes as well. But its not too bad and sometimes its really good so no complaints!
7. The weather. It gets really chilly sometimes and without a sweater, I'd be really cold. But its still bearable. Its sunny in the day but its still cold with the wind blowing, definitely colder than Cameron's on any normal day. It was raining for a few days as well but I'm glad that season is over now. It's not fun walking in the rain with the COLD wind blowing right at you. Grrr... I don't want winter to come! (I'd like to see and feel and play with the snow but thats all! I sound like a kid now. Haha) The winters can last up to 5 months here. o_o
8. The classes. I've had a week of classes and I'm already having a couple of reading and writing assignments. Participation is vital in college and it affects your grade if you don't speak up. Thankfully I haven't had much of a problem saying things now and then. The professors are good so far. The only thing I have to do is time management and make sure I complete my assignments on time or I'm gonna suffer, badly. Oh and for this semester I'm taking:
A Pathway class (its like a course where we do in our first semester and then a continuation in our sophomore year that is a requirement for our education here).
Sociology
English
Math
Writing (mandatory for all freshmen)
I'm happy with the classes I'm enrolled in as well, I chose all of them. :)
9. The Christian Fellowship. I've only been to one meeting last Monday, a pretty small group but it was nice. Shared some testimonies and I talked about how God calmed the storms in me about coming here etc. Its not really the same as the CF's I've been involved in but what does it matter. As long as we serve the Lord, it doesn't matter how we do it. As long as He is glorified. As long as the gospel is being lived out. But the people are great and its so much more personal and close-knit. I went for a leadership retreat today and it was super chill. It was at a house just by beautiful Lake Sunapee. You can Google that =p. Glad for the new spiritual support group I've found, may we continue to walk and shine for Him in this place.
10. The campus. Its small but not TOO small. It takes around 15 minutes at most to walk from one end right to the other. Which is good especially during the winter when you wouldn't want to be walking much. Its just the perfect size. And its so green as well. The campus is pretty old so the buildings aren't too fancy but its still nice.
11. The town. New London is a beautiful place. A quaint, peaceful town. Trees are everywhere. Not many people live here so its not busy at all. The shops are along the side of the roads, mostly isolated buildings which makes it really nice. The pictures are all on my FB. Only walked into town once, no time yet. But I've got 4 years to explore as much as I want so yea. There's absolutely no public transport here so getting around won't be too easy but its not too hard either. Once in awhile the college vans leave for Concord, the capital and my friendship family offered to bring me shopping at other places when I need to so no problem with that. Also, my roommate has a car. Heh.
Overall, I would say I'm glad. I believe God had His purpose in allowing me to come here. And though I was initially fearful of so many things prior to coming, everyday He's showing me more and more of His grace and releasing me from my fears. Instead, He bids me each moment to draw near, to depend on Him and Him alone. He tells me that my only refuge, my stronghold is Him and its with Him I am able to overcome every challenge. I know the days ahead won't be easy and I have my concerns. But because I have Him I am strengthened and I am not afraid.
He leads me, I follow.
Lead me on, Lord. You're all I have, You're all I need.
And I love you guys :)
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