Cool Hymn

I stole this from Chris Powell who mentioned this hymn when he was teaching at Bible study at my house. Really encouraging.

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E're to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

From "The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life"

"The Story is told that as the Athenian senate met together in the open air, a sparrow that was pursued by a hawk flew in the direction of the senate. Being hard pressed by the bird of prey, the sparrow sought shelter in the bosom of one of the senators. Being a man of rough and vulgar mold, the senator took the bird from his bosom, dashed it on the ground, and so killed it. Whereupon the whole senate rose in uproar and without one single dissenting voice condemned him to die for not rendering aid to a creature that confided in him. Can we suppose that the God of heaven, whose nature is love, could tear out of His bosom the poor fluttering dove that flies from the eagle of justice into the bosom of His mercy? Will He give the invitation to seek His face, and when we with so much trepidation summon courage enough to fly into His bosom, will He then be unjust and ungracious enough to forget to hear our cry and to answer us? Where do such thoughts come from?"

Oh Maggie!

On Sunday afternoon I heard Maggie, my cute puppy, barking outside. This isn't an abnormal occurrence; she often goes outside to bark with our neighbor dogs. But this time I couldn't hear any other dogs barking. My dad made some remark like, "Now, what's she barking at?" And my mom, probably knowing Maggie best since she is around her so much replied, "She's probably playing with some poor bug."

I had heard about Maggie "playing" with bugs from all members of my family, but I had never had the opportunity to see it for myself. So, in hopes that my mom was right, and Maggie was "playing" with a bug; I quickly went into the backyard to investigate.

I found Maggie near our patio table, nowhere near either side wall (where she would normally be if barking at the neighbor dogs). She saw me come outside and she quickly glanced at me and then back at what she was doing. She let out a bark, literally the cutest bark I've ever heard. I don't know how to not sound biased, but I really do believe that it is one of the cutest sounds I've ever heard. It's a mixture between a howl and a woof - it usually sounds like she's telling someone to come play with her - kind of impatient but longing.

I quickly looked where she had now placed her attention, on the ground at a little struggling bee. If you've ever seen a bee that has been drowning in a pool until someone decides to splash it back on shore, then you can picture what this bee looked like. After the bee has been rescued from the water it kind of wriggles pathetically, its legs moving in all directions, body convulsing - trying to go back to its natural form of life. At this point Maggie was just looking at the bee and I was trying to figure out what she had done to cause the bee this kind of torture and then she showed me...

I don't love cats, but one of the most endearing things a cat can do (in my opinion) is when it paws at something, like a ball of yarn. It just looks really cute. Well, you can imagine how cute my already adorable puppy looked pawing at the bee. She pawed at it with hesitation and curiosity, mingled with a desire for the bee to react. I don't think she realized the bee was already too injured to do any sort of fighting back or "playing". When the pawing didn't create the desired effect, Maggie tried a different tact, the fake eating game. I saw Maggie come down on the bee with her mouth and I thought that the show was over, without a doubt. But once she put the bee in her mouth she spit him out again. She did this a number of times, and would afterward look at the bee intently and expectantly.

At this point I was shocked the bee was still living, but it still struggled in it's poor pathetic way. If I hadn't been so entertained by Maggie I might have been a little more compassionate towards the bee. Maggie went back to pawing some more at the bee. He had to have only moments left. I was sure that soon his struggling body would become still and peaceful.

Then, she ate him.

After she swallowed the bee she looked around for awhile. She must have assumed she had spit him out again, but she finally gave up on her search and came back in the house.

Those were two really entertaining minutes of Maggie.

Embarrassing Moment

This is an old story, but the other day some of us were chatting in the office about the Crossroads volleyball tournament that raises money for short term missions, and so it came to my mind. I told Lisa Martin about it and she told me to blog about it, so here you go. One of the most embarrassing moments I have experienced happened at one of these tournaments.

The day before the tournament I had rediscovered a pair of khaki capri pants that had been missing. Do you know that feeling of losing an item of clothing that you would wear all the time and fit just right and looked just right - it's a horribly sad feeling. After about a year I had given up hope of ever finding them and had come to grips with the loss. But they reappeared - they had been stored away in some "summer clothes" storage box that had never been unpacked. The morning of the tournament I excited pulled them on - they were a little more snug then I remembered, but they still fit. I performed the usual stretching techniques and was ready to go.

The tournament began and I was feeling good. I was on a team with some good friends and my hilarious Bible study shepherd. He was hilarious for many reasons, but this day in particular he was funny because of his competitive nature. He was serious about winning, the only problem was that our team just wasn't cut out for that sort of thing, including him. It was funny to watch him scurry all over the grass going for the ball and calling out commands to the other team members. I also happen to be competitive, especially in sport games. I'm not much good at volleyball, but was still getting a little caught up in the competitive spirit. In one of our earlier rounds, at the upper field, the ball came to me. The ball was coming in too early so I was really going to have to stretch to get it. I did what was necessary. I took a giant step with my right leg, bringing my left knee to the ground, I heard and felt a rip the sucked all the air from my body and then made contact with the ball. The ball sailed safely over the net to the other side. It may have been a moment of glory, with people cheering for me and giving me pats on the back, but I quickly said "sub! sub!" and ran off the field behind a friend of mine.

After making contact with the ball I looked down at the damage and it was great. The rip started at my knee and went all the way up. The rip was not on a seam either - it was shredded. I've never felt so exposed in all my life, hiding behind a friend of my mine while people looked at me strangely... I needed to find a bathroom and fast, I also needed new pants. There was still a lot of volleyball to play and I was stuck there until the end of the day. Thankfully, Becky, the friend I had found refuge behind, had an extra pair of pants, but she had to get them from her car which was very far away. I found a bathroom in that time and waited it out, thinking through the incredible embarrassment that had just occurred and laughing to myself. She came back with some rust colored capri pants and they were such a relief to put on. I threw away the greatly anticipated khaki capri pants, knowing they could never be rescued from the destruction they had gone through.

There were a few people that questioned me as to why I had a different pair of pants on. Some people got the story, others... a very generalized something.

I don't know what it is about ripping pants, but it is really humbling, and not just from this experience do I know this, but it happened to me in junior high as well. And there is no worse time to rip your pants than in junior high, I'm sure all of you will agree with me. And you know in the movies... when people rip their pants in the back, right along the seam? That doesn't actually happen to anyone right? That's what I thought. But no... it happens and I know from personal experience. In 8th grade I would sit on a brick wall with my friends at lunch, the brick wall was just low enough to take one giant step to climb up. So I, in my freshly washed jeans, took my giant step onto the wall. "RIIIIPPPPPPP!" It was horrible and right down the center. I had to spend the rest of the day with my jacket tied around my waist - hoping it wouldn't come untied or hike up a little. Somehow I made it through the day with little abuse, but it was pretty scarring.

Embarrassing...

Christmas Fever

That's right, it's happened again. The Christmas spirit has me. And I know that sounds worldly of me, at least I think it does. The Christmas spirit that I'm writing about is that warm and cozy feeling you get when you see Christmas lights, snowmen, snowflakes, drink hot cocoa and listen to jazzy Christmas tunes. I love to walk into my house after work and be greeted by the warm glow of lights from my Christmas tree and soft humm of carols. My family may go a bit overboard on the Christmas decorations but I love every bit of it. You can't go into a room in my house and not know that it's Christmas. My mom has even made Christmas pillowcases.

The sad thing about all of this wonderful decoration is that I'm not at home most of the time; I'm at work. That needed to be fixed and my good friend Lisa who works with me agreed. So the two of us put our efforts together and created our own winter wonderland in the basement where no natural light shines. It is so pleasant to have decorations around; it's such a festive atmosphere now. We even made our own snowflakes. I don't know if any of you have tried that but it is quite crafty and easy to do. You cut out a circle of paper fold it up as much as you can and then make a bunch of cut outs,the more you cut the better it looks. You unfold it and miraculously have a beautiful snowflake. Lisa started getting creative on me and made a snowflake with Christmas tree cut outs. I had to copy her because it was so cool. The trees turned out nicely, but then I tried to make a gingerbread cut out and that didn't turn out quite as well. I don't know if any of you have seen "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" but my gingerbread men most closeley resemble the aliens in that film than actual gingerbread men.

I have often struggled at Christmastime in not getting too caught up in the "spirit of Christmas" and remembering what I'm actually celebrating. While I love the pretty Christmas decorations and music the whole point of the holiday is to celebrate the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So I'm making a pact with myself, that each time I get that warm cozy feeling from the enjoyments the holiday spirit brings that I remember Christ. This is when the real warmth and real joy comes because of Him I can live and rejoice with joy inexpressible because of the life I have in Him. So don't be scroogy and say that a true spiritual person can't have fun with decorations, Christmas trees, and snowmen, because every good gift is from above and as long as we give Him the glory and honor and attention we can enjoy those gifst.

Tribute to Jeremy and Amanda

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and simply the fact that I really love these people, I wanted to write a brief post about why these two members of my family are so incredibly amazing.

I was recently thinking about how my sister is my very best friend. It's kind of nice to have that knowledge, I remember the drama of the "best friend" status in grade school. I wanted to be my best friend's best friend. I didn't know then that Amanda was my best friend, we have grown closer over the years. Now I no longer have the "best friend" drama because she is it and that won't change. She is a pretty great one too, it will be impossible to expound on all the ways she qualifies, but here are a few. She loves me, she cares for me, she teaches me, she's patient with me, she laughs with me, she laughs at me, she makes me laugh, she listens to me, she confides in me, she gives to me, she prays for me, she considers me, she forgives me, she includes me, she's honest with me, she shares with me, she's silly with me, she understands me... I could go on and on. I wish all of you could understand the context in which all of these individual things have taken place and how many times, pretty cool. So anyway, love you Manda.

Then there's Jeremy. As I was thinking about how Amanda is my best friend, I think about my really close friends, but suddenly as I was sitting in Jeremy's truck with Amanda I realized that Jeremy is my second best friend. I haven't told him this before, maybe he just knows that it's true. I have always been close with Jeremy, he was my buddy growing up and now he is my friend in Christ which is so much more meaningful and he's still my buddy. I have some great times with Jeremy, I've already written about the laughing game, but there are so many more silly, fun things that the cousins to together. But recently in addition to those things Jeremy's relationship to me has changed, he is an encourager, a convicter, a confider, and many more things. But the fact that I can say those things about our relationship now is totally a testimony of God's grace and power and how little trust I have in Him. Never in my wildest dreams or most doubtful prayers did I imagine this kind of deep relationship with my cuz. It's truly a blessing.

The three of us have often spoken about how we always want to be together, near enough to spend time together. We have talked about how our possible future spouses will have to get used to our strange closeness and have to come to enjoy the cousin hang out time. What a sweet relationship the Lord has given to us. I can honestly say I get a glimpse of heaven and the way relationships will be there when the three of us are at our best together. I love you both mucho!

2nd Annual Sister Day

Today is the second annual sister day for Amanda and I. She posted on our last year's sister day and she will probably post again, but I wanted to post too. Especially since part of this post will be a sequel to one of my earlier posts "Louie Lee". Amanda and I went to breakfast, per usual, at the Egg Plantation. At the restaurant we did our gift exchange - because sister day isn't sister day without presents, I mean come on! She opened my present first, there were four goodies in there for her. Of course she pretty much always outdoes me both in style and quantity. My favorite part about her gift, and hers too, is that she gave me two cards. The first was titled "card #1 - Happy Sister Day" and was a very sweet card about our close relationship. The other card was titled "card #2 Because on Sister Day you can do Whatever you Want (pretty much.)" Needless to say I was intrigued by this card #2. I opened it and found the picture above and inside there was no explanatory funny saying that explained the picture - it was a blank card - with her writing in it of course. This is what I found inside... (please keep in mind "Louie Lee" at this point)

"A Short Story

Little Lee lee always worked hard. (That was why her real name was Emily, which means industrious, or something like that.) Lee lee had 2 dreams. One was to fly. The other was to marry a man bearing the last name of Lee. That way she could have the amazingly unpredictable name; Emily Lee Lee. She worked hard at achieving both goals. Starting at the age of 2. (Lee lee was always a brilliant child, a true prodigy.)

At the age of 3, Lee lee had already bought a plane making kit. She worked hard on building that thing every day after preschool. Neighborhood kids mocked her. They didn't understand why she never came over to hang in their crib. (Literal use of the word.) But Lee lee had a dream.

At the age of four, Lee lee was almost done with work on the plane. She thought she would finally allow herself to try her first ice cream cone. (Up until now she had been watching her weight so that the plane could actually take off with her inside it.)

She rode her trike down to one of the parks in Newhall where she met up with the neighborhood ice cream truck. She paid the man her quarter and turned around, ice cream cone in hand, only to trip on a green shoe. Amazingly enough, the ice cream cone was still in tact. As she lifted her head she was suddenly gazing into the eyes of an Asian boy. He pointed out that she had skinned her elbow in saving her ice cream. I say pointed because the only English word he knew was "yes." Lee lee asked if he happened to have the last name of Lee? He replied, "yes." Lee lee was overjoyed! She ran home, got a band aid from her mommy and proceeded to puffy paint her purple shirt with one word. She put in on and went to go sit in her almost completed plane. She had a feeling it would fly the next day.

The End."

Yes, that is my sister, and that is how much she wants me to be Emily Lee Lee. The rest of our day will consist of more normal activity and behavior, hopefully. We will probably go see a movie after work in Pasadena, hit up some shops, have dinner at Hurry Curry and then dessert it up at the Melting Pot - we've never been there before. It should be fun, and yes, all of you who do not practice sister day or who don't have a sister should be sad you don't get to experience such a day of fun. You should start a sister day of your own, or a sibling day, or a brother day, or a friend day, depending on your own circumstances. It is highly enjoyable!

I love you Amanda!