simple joys

what a fun day yesterday :) a random group of us went to play laser tag (something i've been wanting to do since first year!).. such good times! i don't have pics of us there.. lois has those. but afterwards we had another night of downtown fun!

inside talbot centre mall.. who knew that existed?

and this time fun with advertisements in store windows..

after enjoying 4.99 pad thai from cafe one in victoria park.. we ended the night off with starbucks of course! i think the girl behind me really wanted to be in our picture.

i heart sepia!

what would we do without pictures? oh i love them so. ppl give lois a hard time about being so snap-happy. but i appreciate it so much! thanks lois! and praise God for digital cameras :)

it was a great weekend filled with fellowship and fun!

the girls - hikari's birthday dinner @ jambalaya. happy 19th hikari!


















after dinner a bunch of us went to coffee culture.


















and yes. that is a starbucks cup on the table. starbucks even in coffee culture! karina wanted a honey latte. just can't get away from it!

and then some more downtown fun! during the walk back to my car we decided to have some fun with the mannequins in store windows :P

i think kev looks the most like his guy. even without the big furry hat and stick! haha. we looked like tourists that night. i don't think i go downtown enough :P

maaan too many things happening in toronto in the next month!

apr 11-12: 24 hour prayer
apr 12: TC volunteers appreciation night
apr 15: drive mom and dad to airport
apr 27: jason mraz concert (*excitement*!!)
may 4: acf reunion

how can i do all these things? answer - i can't. the only solution?
...........move to toronto!? it's an idea that's been presented by so many friends over the years. at this moment.. a pretty unrealistic option. sighs.. and with summer approaching and everyone leaving, london may not be the most exciting place to be.

i once said that i would never move to toronto. actually i said it a lot of times haha. i just can't ever picture myself there. but if nursing takes me there..... why not?

on a totally unrelated topic.. i miss p&r! here's a pic from roger's bday.



















yaay the return of p&r this sunday!

God never asks us to do anything we can do.

..something i read in sit, walk, stand. made me think of something i've often heard in sermons or among christians talking which is..

God never asks us to do anything we can't do.

contradicting statements? at first i thought so. but after a little bit more thought.. not so much!

the first one from sit, walk, stand is explained by nee:

He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work which we can never do. Yet, by his grace, we are living it and doing it. The life we live is the life of Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by his Spirit whom we obey. Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work.

the second is just saying God won't ask us to do something we can't do because he will provide us the grace to do it. which is the same as what nee is saying!

ooh semantics. crazy what words and a little 't can do to our understanding!

i'm so tired. but i don't want to sleep.

hmm.. almost 2 months since my last post. it's not that life has been boring. quite the opposite actually. and it's not like i don't want to post. i guess i just don't really think to post anymore.

hmm.. blogging seems so foreign right now. i'm trying to remember what used to go through my mind when i wrote blogs. how much to disclose.....

only 2 months since the new year started and it feels like it's been a lot longer than that. this semester compared with last semester have been quite opposite in a few ways. the things i'm choosing to concern myself with are different this year. i can honestly say that the things i am caring about right now are a lot more worthwhile than the things i cared about last semester. things have changed for the better. but at the same time.. i still question whether or not i'm focusing my time on what God wants me to focus on.

hmm i think may know the answer to that question.

sorry i'm being so vague. i've always had a hard time being specific when i blog :P

i've been reading sit, walk, stand by watchman nee. and i've been realizing how HARD it is to sit. to rest in God. i tried doing it for a couple hours yesterday.. and it was SO HARD. my mind races and wanders. my physical body can't even be still. i'm so tired and i just want to know what it means to rest in God.

mmm.. well i'll end with an excerpt from the walk chapter.

Nothing is so hurtful to the life of a Christian as acting; nothing so blessed as when our outward efforts cease and our attitudes become natural -- when our words, our prayers, our very life, all become a spontaneous and unforced expression of the life within. Have we discovered how good the Lord is? Then in us he is as good as that! Is his power great? Then in us it is no less great!

it's not about forcing it. it's about overflow. but it begins with resting. i need to learn how to rest.

-- edit --
i also just realized that the first line of this blog reflects my unwillingness to rest my physical body. if i can't rest my body.. how can i expect to rest my spirit? gaahh i need to rest both!

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 (NASB)

what i like about this picture.. is that the focus is not on the trees. it's on the stream. you can still see the trees in the background.. and there are many of them. but look at the stream. it looks so refreshing.

and there are even plants growing from the rocks that are in the stream! how nourishing this stream must be!

i want to be like a tree planted firmly by the streams of living water. a tree bears fruit in its season. it also provides shade and comfort for those who sit under it.

Onething was amazing! the Lord showed us His greatness and allowed us to experience His presence so intimately. He opened up our hearts to things we hadn't experienced before.. and did not hesistate to pour forth the power of His Holy Spirit. He never failed to leave us in awe of Him after every day.

all of us in the hotel room - our last night in kansas city

O taste and see that the LORD is good!

it's been 10 days since exams ended... already!? wowzers.

life is just passing before my very eyes.. and it's all i can do to just keep them open.

dren and shirley surprised me with a visit yesterday!! well done i must say. well done. i was coming to terms with the fact that i wouldn't get to see shirley at all this christmas season. and BAM! the Lord blesses them with time to come down to london. and blesses me with their visit :D so great to catch up and hang out - the 3 of us again.

the thing i love about these girls is their love for the Lord. it's just so evident by their words and actions. what an encouragement and joy they are to me :)

our time together was too short. but what a great day. filled with sharing, reminiscing, laughter, and silly-ness :)