With the recent news of so many lost of lives in China, Burma (Myanmar), and here in the U.S., I am echoing the words of Habakkuk:

How long, O Lord, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Are you going to do something about this, Lord?

How does the Lord answer Habakkuk? The Lord says:

Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed.

That sounds promising. What amazing thing will the Lord do?

He promises that things will get better. But before that happens, things will actually get worst! He is doing something, alright. But it was definitely not the way Habakkuk wanted it to be.

We want the world to be cleaned up, NOW. We want the suffering to end, NOW. We want the injustices to end, NOW.

From our perspective, God seems to be sitting around doing nothing, merely passively allowing events to come to pass.

But He tells Habakkuk that He is actually actively involved, ordering things to happen. When the time comes when all is in place, everything will be set aright.

I think it’s sort of like playing chess. I hate playing chess. I am not smart enough to see my opponent setting up the pieces for the final kill. Out of nowhere, “Check Mate” and I lose!

I think world events are like that with God. The final order has not come because He’s setting up the pieces. We think nothing is happening. We think these are just random events.

But in the fullness of time, the righteous will triumph when “Aslan” comes.

God says to Habakkuk:

But the righteous will live by his faith

By faith we foresee the Lord’s plan. So the last verse of the book of Habakkuk says:

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

In the midst of circumstances that we do not understand and cannot explain, living by faith in God’s ultimate good plan gives us strength for today.

Yes, Habakkuk is my favorite book of the Bible.

It’s not easy to buy a house.

It has never been easy, but the over reaction to the subprime fall out has made it especially hard.

But all it takes are 2 steps to begin: Save money for a down payment, and work on having good credit.

I did say it’s not easy.

Lenders are looking for near perfect credit nowadays. If you do not know what your credit looks like, pull up a credit report online that includes your FICO scores from all 3 credit bureaus.

Credit repair has become necessary for people who has not kept up with timely payments of their obligations. There are many good credit repair services out there that can help. It takes some time to repair your credit, so if you want to buy a house, take care of your credit right away.

Saving for a down payment also takes time. Start that right away too. Work out a budget and cut back where you can. If you can save a couple hundred dollars a month, that’s a good start.

Don’t depend on the lottery.

I was a part of the Jesus Movement.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the Jesus Movement was a revival in the 60’s and 70’s that started here in the West Coast and spread to other parts of North America and Europe. According to my pastor, it even went overseas. It was a revival of young people across the globe, a “generational” revival and not a “geographical” revival, as my pastor explained. He was saved during the Jesus Movement as well.

According to Wikipedia, “The Jesus movement left a legacy of various denominations and other Christian organizations, and had an impact on both the development of the contemporary Christian right and the Christian left, as well as Jesus music, which greatly influenced contemporary Christian music”

I went to a couple of Calvary Chapel Maranatha concerts, and Keith Green concerts. I didn’t know I was part of Christian history in the making. (BTW those concerts were all free and they passed around an offering bag, unlike the Christian concerts now.)

Whenever I think about my Christian journey, I wondered how a person like me growing up in a non-Christian home, who wasn’t even searching for God nor had any desire for spiritual things got a chance to hear the gospel and actually had the sense to accept it?

I wondered how I continued in my faith and did not falter when I am the type of person who quits easily.

I wondered how I have developed a more mature outlook on life now when I am usually more like an irresponsible kid inside.

I am so lucky, that God reached down to me. I know for a fact that my changed life is not due to any effort on my part. Truly I am experiencing the meaning of grace.

I don’t get out much, but this weekend, my hubby and I actually got to see a first run movie, before it came on TV.

Iron Man was entertaining and generally on my approve list. Considering movies like Mary Poppins is my usual preferred genre, Iron Man is pretty exciting for me. I would’ve liked to see Iron Man do more cool stuff though.

The movie made me think about the type of hero we tend to like: The rugged individualist, defies the establishment, able to get out of tight situations by being quick on his feet, strong and tough yet has a soft spot. It matters not that he lives an immoral lifestyle. He can be a heavy drinker, a womanizer, practices promiscuous sex, and a liar. We overlook all that because he’s just so cool.

That’s the kind of role model we set up for our kids.

Who is wise? He will realize these things.
Who is discerning? He will understand them.
The ways of the LORD are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.

This verse is found at the end of the book of Hosea.

When the nation of Israel was in trouble, they turned to everyone and everything for deliverance, everyone except God.

Did they forget that God was there? I don’t think so. The prophets were always reminding them. Did they think God won’t help them? I don’t think so. God continually reminded them of his faithfulness.

They were simply rebellious. They were having too much fun without God. They didn’t want to turn to God just as the prodigal son didn’t want to stay home with his father. They thought they knew better how life should be lived.

God’s ways are too strict. God’s ways are no fun. God demands too much. Why can’t I just do what I want to do? I am doing fine without God. In fact, if I turn to God, he’ll probably make me give up everything. He probably wants me to go to Africa as a missionary and suffer. I’ll lose my boyfriend, I’ll have to give money away and have less for myself.

I like this verse because it says God’s ways are right. We are wrong, no matter how right we think we are.
If we want to live the right way, be righteous, we live his way, not our own way.

If we don’t like his ways, it’s not because he is wrong. It’s because we are rebellious.

This verse makes it pretty simple. God is right. Follow him and be right. Don’t follow him and be wrong.

A SAHM (StayAtHomeMom) said, “I gave up the work I love to do what I love more.” - I heard that on Family Life today.

Women often think of “giving up” their career to stay at home with their children as a “sacrifice.” Or the lost of a second income is a “sacrifice.”

Is it a sacrifice to give up a baloney sandwich for a prime rib?

We only have one life to live. Every choice we make there is an opportunity cost. Would you rather be there to help your company grow to be a success, or would you rather be there to help your children grow to be a success?

Chuck that baloney sandwich.

And save money on rabbit food!

For my sister who has 5 closets full of clothes, I don’t dare buy her a gift from a department store.

But I know this is something she does not have - clothes from Bamboosa. Bamboo fiber is soft and comfortable, and it’s naturally anti-microbial.

These are the 3 items I would get for my sister in a gift basket:

1. Long Sleeve V-Neck Tee in Passion Purple - so soft and warm

2. Fine Jersey Fitted V-Neck in Bamboo green - so stylish

3. Ribbed Tank in Basic Black - comfortable with a little stretch

I might even throw in a pair of socks.

Thank you to Bamboosa for sponsoring this giveaway contest and to Envyla for hosting it.

I did not like her other book, but this one was really good!

Laurie King has a series of Sherlock Holmes books where King creates a new partner for Holmes. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is the first in the series. The other book I read earlier, The Game, made more sense now that I read this one.

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice retained much of the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Mrs. Hudson. Of course some “artistic liberty” was taken to add to their character for this story. I liked the intrigue and the mystery of the plot. The ending was a bit disappointing, but it was satisfying nevertheless.

Thanks for lending me the book, Kimberly!

What do you think of when you hear the story of Jonah?

We usually think of Jonah as the main character. His disobedience landed him in the belly of the fish. Then he repented and he went to preach in Ninevah. After hearing God’s message through Jonah, the Ninevites repented and were not destroyed.

What is amazing to me is not Jonah, but God’s ability to forgive so quickly and seemingly easily.

The Ninevites had done some pretty awful things. They have for centuries been a disobedient bunch, a mean and violent people. Yet when they simply ask for forgiveness, God forgave them, just like that. They did not have to pay their debts, they did not have to offer sacrifices, they did not have to commit to a life of servitude to earn that forgiveness.

We seem to take it for granted that when we ask God for forgiveness, He is somehow obligated to forgive us. “Well, I ask for forgiveness. God must’ve forgiven me, so everything is fine.”

Have you ever had to forgive someone who did something really horrible to you? It’s hard, isn’t it? Let’s say you find it in your heart to forgive him. Now you would expect him to act better and not do it again, wouldn’t you? “I’ll forgive you this time, but just do it to me again!”

If someone wronged us over and over again, would we forgive them again and again?

Yet with God, we wrong Him over and over again, and we expect him to forgive us over and over again.

Grace and forgiveness is not cheap. Jesus paid the price. Whenever we confess and ask for forgiveness, remember it was not “easy” for God.  When we fully understand that on a daily basis, we understand how we can love a God that we cannot see.

I went to Linens n Things yesterday and forgot to bring a coupon, can you believe that?? I didn’t want to make another trip, so I bought what I needed anyway.

Before you buy anything, check for coupons first. Go to online coupon sites like Savings.com and you may find what you need. Whether it’s 20% or even just 5%, it’s better than nothing.

While I like shopping online, the one thing I don’t like is paying for shipping. It feels like you are paying for nothing (though you are paying for the convenience, the gas, the wear and tear on your car). At Savings.com, you can get coupon codes for free shipping. For example, for Shoes.com, you get 15% off plus free shipping. They sell expensive shoes but nice shoes though.

Last Sunday was my mom’s birthday. We visited her grave site at Rose Hills in remembrance. What I remember most about my mom was her laughter. She was well-liked by her friends and relatives because she is easy going and laughs easily.

I learned from my mom to be patient and kind to people. She showed me how to persevere in relationships when the other person is not acting as you hope they would. I learned to love family and children as a priority in life. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her children.

I appreciated her for not pushing her Chinese culture expectations on me. She was open to new ideas and accepted my decisions though she did not agree with them. She allowed us to go away for college and never held us back from doing what we wanted to do.

After I got married, my mom cut coupons for me, bought soap and toilet paper for me when they were on sale, and held and sang Chinese songs to my son when he was a baby.

I look forward to seeing my mom in heaven… well, I mean to see her in heaven someday, not too soon I hope.

In an effort to conserve energy, I think having ceiling fans are a good alternative to turning on the air conditioning.

I saw a house with a ceiling fan in every room, well, except the bathrooms and the kitchen. They had traditional casablanca ceiling fans which is rather a nice decorative touch. I prefer modern ceiling fans with a clean simple design. Running a fan at night to keep cool in the bedrooms will cost a lot less than running the air conditioning all day. Ceiling fans have handy remote controls now, so you can keep the remote next to you and turn it off in the middle of the night when it gets cool.

My brother just remodeled a room in his house and he removed the ceiling fan that was there! The room had a rather low ceiling and it does look bigger without the fan. But I bet he will miss having the cooling factor this summer.

I don’t like going to the mall, so for people like me, shopping on the internet is great. We’ve bought a pool heater online and saved a couple hundred dollars. We bought a camera, computer equipment, books, toys, all kinds of stuff.

Shopping for clothes is a chore for me. You can probably tell that by the way I dress! I don’t know how some people actually enjoy shopping for clothes. Internet shopping for clothes, including ideas for how to put outfits together is just what I need.

With the price of gas now, it makes sense to compare prices online instead of driving here to there looking for sales. I’ve even gotten shoes online.

Grocery shopping online does not seem to be catching on though.

When you feel discouraged about life, read Genesis 37-50, the life of Joseph.

When Joseph was merely 17, God told him he would rise to greatness. He was going to be big, a CEO, a huge success.

God could’ve taken Joseph from point A of his teenage life to point B to his ultimate position of power in a straight line, couldn’t he?

This is how I would’ve done it:

The brothers’ plan to sell Joseph was foiled when a caravan of nice people came by instead of slave traders. Seeing Joseph in the pit, they fought off the brothers, saves Joseph and gives him a ride home. Upon hearing what happened, Joseph’s father buys Joseph a separate home to live in, and in order to avoid the jealous brothers, Joseph gets a job working as a clerk in a grocery store and leaves the family business to his brothers.

God was with Joseph, and due to his diligence and integrity, he gets promoted to management and helps the owner expand the company into a multi-store chain. With a higher salary now, Joseph was able to buy his own house, provide a housekeeper to care for aging father, buy each of his brothers a herd of camels, and all family harmony was restored.

Then 7 years before the famine, God helps Joseph successfully doubles his employers earnings. As a bonus, his boss gives him a vacation for 2 to Egypt.

While Joseph and his father travels to Egypt on a luxury caravan staying at 5-star inns along the way, all paid for by his grateful boss, he hears rumors of the Pharaoh’s dreams. God reveals the interpretation to Joseph and he relays it to Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he asked him, “By the way, do you have any experience with managing large inventories of food storage?” Joseph replies, “Yes, I happen to be the manager of a multi-chain grocery store!”

Joseph is hired on as Pharaoh’s right hand man, and the rest is history as they say.

Don’t you like my version of Joseph’s life? God’s purpose is accomplished at the end, and along the way, Joseph lives a comfortable life.

Alas, for some reason, God never takes the easy route. What’s with the suffering, the humiliation, the disappointments, the deserted friends and dysfunctional family?

I may never know…but I know that if there was an easy way, God would’ve taken it.

He did not even give himself an easy route. He took the hard road by being the son of a poor carpenter, lived a life of hardship, because that’s what it took to accomplish every detail of his plan.

When I face difficulties, I have reason to believe that there is something in the suffering that is accomplishing some good purpose. My life is part of a greater plan that affects not only myself, but it effects the purposes of those around me. After all, God’s plan for Joseph not only played out in Joseph’s life, but it affected the numerous people he rubbed shoulders with. His brothers, his father, the cupbearer, the jailer, those in jail with him, the slave traders, Potiphar, his wife - all these people’s destiny were affected by Joseph.

Aside from the fact that the trials made Joseph into a better person, it probably made others around fulfill their purposes in God’s plan for them as well.

The best way from point A to point B may not be the easiest one. But we do arrive there, and that makes it all worthwhile.

A 20-something year old girl at church said something to me on Sunday that was incredibly mature.

“I decided to stay at this church because when I was growing up at this church, a lot of people here contributed to my growth. Now I want to give back and help other people grow at this church.”

When she says she wants to give back, what does it mean? Is she going to help the same Sunday School teachers who once taught her? If the youth group helped her, does she have to give directly back to the youth group?

No.

She is giving back by using her gifts to help in any way she can in order to provide the opportunity for others to grow. Sometimes that would mean some support services such as ushering, or helping with sound, or counting the offering.

But most often, merely her presence as a part of the family is enough.

There is always a place for someone to give to a church. There is never a time when someone can say, “I am not needed here anymore.”

People don’t often realize that for someone like me who has been a part of a church for a long time, the greatest joy is to see someone who has benefited from this family of Christ, stay at the church to provide that opportunity of growth to someone else.

People don’t often realize what a great pain it is for me to see someone grow up in the church and decide to leave it because it no longer serves them or they think they are not needed.

Who will then be the support for people like me and people like this girl who decides to stay? Doesn’t it mean something to give back to the church that have served you over the years?

I have to admit, when I was 20-something, I did not see church that way. Now that I am older, I realize church is not a “place”, not a means of gaining and meeting my needs. When I see church as a place to serve others, I know that God is faithful to provide for my needs in ways beyond my expectation.

I am glad to know that at least this girl knows how church works. I wish more would see church as a family in the same way.

Watching Geico commercials is our favorite pastime now!
I love the Pips!

At 86 years old, my dad is doing great. He lives by himself, he can drive (just renewed his license before his birthday with only 2 points off!), he can eat just about anything.

I am proud of his ability to keep up a bit with the technology world. He uses the computer to read the news, send email, check his stocks. Being able to learn to use the computer at his age is a tremendous feat.

He sacrificed much of his life in providing for his family. While we were not rich, I grew up in a nice house in a good area of town. I remember he bought me a brand new Subaru 2-door coupe when I was in college. I even got to pick the color maroon. He taught us to be careful with our money, yet be generous to others.

To be honest, I didn’t have a close relationship with my dad when I was young. He was busy with work, and was the strong and silent type of dad. I naturally gravitated towards my nurturing mom.

But now as an adult, I am appreciating him as a caring father, who continues to put himself out for his family. He even paid for his own birthday dinner that we had for him (at his favorite HopLi restaurant)!

The best part is, my children enjoys having a grandpa. Pictured above is my dad with my son Elliot.

God bless you, dad. While you continue to live a productive life on earth, I pray that you seriously prepare yourself for an even better life to come. Allow Jesus to come into your life, let him clear your conscience of the mistakes you’ve made in the past, and your remaining years on earth will be filled with a sense of joy that is beyond what you can imagine.

Instead of reading my usual genre of mystery books, I read a different type of mystery.

I am sorry to say, I don’t like it.

Acceptable Risk by Robin Cook didn’t receive any awards nor on the Best Seller’s list. I can see why. I don’t like his style of writing, the characters are not consistent, the girl falls for losers, there is unnecessary drama with her parents that has nothing to do with the story. The plot tries to show an insecure girl with issues become more confident and mature. But it’s not convincing and cheesy. I felt no sympathy for her.

The only interesting part of the book is it’s attempted scientific explanation of the Salem witch trials. The whole book was rather ridiculous though. I skimmed through it just to get to the end. It’s a good thing I didn’t waste too much time on this book.

Is materialism drawing you away from enjoying life?

I had the privilege of writing a post about this topic for Great Circle.

Check it out and leave a comment.