GOD is LOVE

Something I learned recently on Sunday: “God is Love”
We all know about the famous 1 Cor. 13 passage about love:
“love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Well this past Sunday, Uncle James shared this passage and replaced the word “love” with “Christ” and I was astounded by how perfectly it fit!
“Christ is patient and kind. Christ does not envy nor boast, Christ is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, nor easily angered, Christ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

I guess that makes sense cuz God IS love and Jesus IS God. therefore, Jesus = love!
This is a huge revelation for me because…
1. I saw how much I’m NOT love. how much i fall short of the definition of love! Jesus is the definition of love and I am not. This passage is about Jesus and not about me.
2. I don’t have to strive to be a “loving person” but I can live to pursue the “person of love” (Jesus!)
3. I myself can’t do it, but “Christ IN me” can! (replace “love” in the passage with “Christ in me”)

“Christ in me is patient and kind. Christ in me does not envy nor boast, Christ in me is not proud. Christ in me is not rude, Christ in me is not self-seeking, nor easily angered, Christ in me keeps no record of wrongs. Christ in me does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in me always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

4. With Christ IN me, it is possible for me to love. There is hope!
5. It’s Christ IN me, NOT me.

Thank you Jesus for you transform me inside out. mold me into your likeness that I can display your love to those around me. You are the ultimate exemplar of love, and I seek You above being a loving person. Thank you for your love for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Mad Props-giving

For this year’s thanksgiving, I would like to give Mad Props to my family because I love them….

Mad Props to Aunty Ku: she made a mad delicious turkey for our annual family Thanksgiving potluck yesterday. Mad Props to my Uncle David and Aunt Pam: for bringing our families together and adopting international students from NU for every holiday party. Mad Props to Mom and Dad: For teaching me simple meal planning skills for me to survive in college. Mad Props to my great aunt and uncle: who flew all the way from Taiwan to join us for this holiday season. Mad Props to Fay: who just landed a job at a shipping company that I don’t know the name of. Mad Props to Tu (Leo’s girlfriend): For introducing our family to real Vietnamese food. Mad Props to Leo: For introducing Tu to our family. Mad Props to James: for being Aunty Ku’s chauffeur and my dad’s live Tech Support Team member. Mad Props to Jason: who is pursuing his passion in film and inspiring others (like me!) to do the same.

Thankful for all of you!

Discovering a Passion

Recently, I pulled another all-nighter. It was not the typical college student all-nighters. I was not scrambling to finish an assignment or studying for an exam. I was drawing a blueprint consisting of three floors: the first floor includes a large kitchen where love and mercy is always cooking, a neighboring room with tables, couches, and mugs, and the aroma of coffee swirling with the voices of passion spoken through the local art on the walls. The second floor houses a classroom where future businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and artisans are inspired to dream, and a studio covered in mirrors for dreamers to dance their dreams to reality. The basement floor has a stage, where singers, dancers, comedians, actors, authors, and bands become the voices for their communities.

Note: This is the first-draft-blueprint of my dream café restaurant and community center complex I created using a free program online called Smartdraw. This blueprint consists of a first floor for the restaurant, a second floor for a dance studio, a conference classroom and a living area, and lastly, a basement to for a stage to hold concerts and other special events. The dimensions are based off a building on sale on Taylor St., Chicago.

Before I knew it, it was 6am and I hadn’t even begun studying for the five exams I had coming up. This is the price of a dreamer who is happy (and a little scared) to announce her recent discovery of her passion:

“To create space for local artisans to discover their passions, practice their entrusted talents, and inspired members of the community to do the same for the glory of God, our Father, in Jesus’ name.”

I hope you will join me to see how this dream plays out. I’m not sure what this road will look like except that it’ll involve lots of food, lots of dancing, meeting new friends, networking with others, failures, disappointments, life lessons, personal growth, laughter, tears, and….. who knows! It may take years, perhaps decades (but hopefully not). However long it takes, my hope is that you, or any reader out there, will be inspired to live out your passion(s) along the way. Thanks and God bless!