no.429 140704 Thank you for God's colourful creation

The summer garden

I got a chance to get some fresh air and admire the beauty of God's creation. I was at a botanical garden looking at various plant and flower species. It reminded me of how detailed and creative our God is. From sizes to shapes, colours and scents, not a single flower was same as the one beside it. It reminded me of this verse from Matthew.

Look at the birds of the air; 

they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, 

and your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

God takes care of animals and flowers in the field. We are made in God's image and He showed His amazing love through His only son to take the cross for our sins. How much more will God take care you and me?

no.170 131017 Thank you for my birthday

My favourite Anderson photograph.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows"

(James 1:17)

It's here again.

The more I get older, the less I'm looking forward to my birthday. I bet a lot of people are nodding right now. I wouldn't say I was looking forward to it either. I actually woke up happy and thankful this morning. The weather forecast said it was gonna rain on my birthday so I thought to myself "Great, just what I need on my birthday." I opened up my eyes to the blue sky with white fluffy clouds this morning. It was a good start of my day. When I went to bed last night, it was around 1AM so I got to spend a little bit of my birthday last night.

I did a couple of things before the clock struck midnight. I was working on my future husband project and of course, one of the greatest ways for me to finish a year off is writing in my journal. Ever since I started blogging, I haven't been keeping up with my journal. To be honest, I finished my note a while ago and I haven't yet purchased a new one. So what I did yesterday was continuing on my Mexico journal book. Soon I will need a brand new book because the Mexico journal is very petite. I usually get pretty flower printed notes or abstract simple designs from Korea, but there's something I've been eyeing on at Indigo.

As soon as the date changed to October 17th on my phone, the first thing I did was to pray. I praised Him for who He is and for everything that He's done in my life for the past twenty something years. I'm thankful especially for this past year. I've grown soooooo much in Him and I'm so grateful for that. In the past year, I've had some hard times and struggles when I kept questioning God why. I had heartaches and headaches because I just couldn't understand why those "bad" things were happening to me. What made worse was that all the "bad" things occurred one after another. Some of them, I'm still unsure why. However, I learned to accept God's plan without fully understanding them because God knows what's going on in my life. And that's all I need! Another thing I prayed was for my new year. I prayed for two main things - that God will reveal His plan for my life and that He will reveal my future husband this year! I ask God that these will happen in His perfect timing, and I'm secretly hoping that they will happen this year! I would love to spend my next birthday with him:)

Thank you for all the blessings dear God! It's a great time to reflect on everything you've blessed me with and how faithful you've been in my life. You are just so good! Thank you for giving me this life on earth but also the eternal life. I'm reminded of your amazing love for me through your Son Jesus. Thank you mom and dad for raising me to become the woman I am, and all the support and love you've poured onto me. Thank you friends for making me feel special with all your sweet wishes. I'm excited for this new year ahead of me!

Oh, and I wanted to share a song with you yesterday but I totally forgot about it. It's by Diana Krall called Walk On By. For some reason, I feel like listening to "Last Christmas" the Glee cover. I think my Christmas carol craziness is slowly coming back...

no.22 130522 Thank you for the oasis in the desert

From one of my notes, dated Saturday, May 22, 2011 @ Brooklyn Park, NYC

 

Before moving to Toronto, I used to live in the Greater Toronto Area. Unlike Toronto, my old neighbourhood was quiet, nice, clean, and definitely more spacious. Most buildings were two stories high, and the view from my room was great as no tall buildings blocked my view. From time to time I like to get away from the city and the congestion. Living in the GTA, especially in my neighbourhood, I didn't have to go too far. Whenever I needed some fresh air, all I needed to do was step outside. There was no park near my house, but I think the neighbourhood itself was peaceful enough, and certainly not as polluted as the city, that it gave me the comfort and freshness that the nature provides. On some days, I liked to sit down and relax, or lie down on a bench and look at the sky while listening to my ipod playlist. During the night time, I often went out to look at the stars. Yes, there were still lights that interrupted me from seeing the sky clearly, but it wasn't so bad. I enjoyed these alone times to talk to God.

 

When I moved to Toronto, I knew I was gonna miss my old neighbourhood and doing those activities. I was so sure that I won't get to see that many stars as I used to, and I would have to say good-bye to those 'zen moments' outdoors. But I was wrong.  

 

I wasn't feeling that good when I was working out today. I decided to cut it short and go for a walk to get some fresh air. It was my first time walking around the neighbourhood. I purposely refrained from taking a walk in this area because the neighbourhood is crowded with people and cars, especially on the main streets. I took the residential streets instead. There is also a park that is literally a minute walk from my place. I didn't take advantage of the park because the parks in the cities tend to be unclean as they serve as homes to the homeless. But then, I heard people playing baseball from time to time in the park, and when I passed by it today, it didn't look so bad. I decided to visit it on the way home.

 

It took me half an hour to realize how nice my neighbourhood was. Perhaps the atmosphere helped it a lot. It had been raining about an hour ago, and the sky just cleared up. Everthing felt refreshing. Also, I was sweating in the gym, so it definitely felt good. It was still a little humid but it didn't matter because the breeze was nice. It made me feel so good, I was smiling like a crazy person. I talk to myself a lot.. so people on the street might have thought I was weird. But oh well! I was super happy!

On my way back home, I went to explore the park. It had two baseball diamonds and a big tennis court. It also had a short bike path which I found useful. After walking around the path for some time, the beautiful sunset captured my attention. I stood still and gazed at the setting sun. It was too beautiful. At that moment, I had to praise God. I tend to get overwhelmed when I see God's wonderful works in nature. I'm pretty sure most people feel this way when they look at the sunset or the night sky. It makes me realize the God who painted the colourful sky, the God who placed the stars in the sky is my God. God of all creation also created me. And what's more amazing and wonderful is that He loves me.

 

Brooklyn Park in New York, May 22, 2011

Today, I am thankful for not only the beautiful view that I got to see, but I am thankful for the natural scenery in my neighbourhood. When I was thanking God for this at the park, something else crossed my mind. I remember having a similar momement when I was in New York City two years ago. Even the most populous city in the States, provided me with Central Park, Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn Park - a little place of nature when you need a break from the busy city. "Coming to places like this is like finding an oasis in a desert' - I wrote this in my note while looking at the Brooklyn Bridge at the Brooklyn Park, exactly two years ago from today. I know that there will always be a place of comfort and peace that God provides through nature wherever I am. I found it in my new neighbourhood, and even in NYC!