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When the word “faithful” comes to mind, I think of loyalty, carrying through with one’s word, perseverance, dedication, reliability. Wouldn’t it just be great if there was someone who was like this… someone who you know you can always count on 100% of the time? Oh wait, we do know that someone:

#3 – The Almighty God

“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you” (Psalm 89:8)

Real good friends are hard to come by.

so if you have some, keep’em and treat’em well!

did you know that every human being has a distinct innate smell to them that makes them unique compared to every one else.  it’s like fingerprints, but with your odor.

i wonder if i smell good?

For the past few months, i’ve gone through 4 different computers.  I bought my first computer in the beginning of September and I thought this was the perfect timing as I would get it just in time for school. Yet sadly, the darn little thing had a tendency to freeze at random times as well as made facebook go crazy (and of course i could not have that!).  So after much struggle in trying to return computer #1 to the company (they tried to prevent me from returning it), I ordered another computer and waited another 3 weeks.  In the meantime, I needed a computer for school so I borrowed my grandma’s laptop (yes she quite the techie! ).

Fastforward three weeks, and I received my second computer and everything seemed to go fine…except at the time i thought there was a sound problem: the webcam and sound did not work at the same time. feeling slightly defeated, i returned that computer even more frustrated yet was thankful that I still could use my grandma’s computer.

sadly though, my grandma’s laptop did not seem to appreciate me as much as I appreciate it as it’s screen died out on me.  I held onto hope one last time as I reordered another laptop (computer #3).  suffice to say, at the time, it seemed like i had the magical power of breaking every piece of technology that i touched. lucky me.

so when computer #3, i did not expect much. i seriously told God: “whatever happens with this thing will happen.” and as it panned out, computer #3 had the same problem as computer #2: the sound and webcam did not work. But instead of getting angry and freaking out (like i did before), I shrugged it off and realized that God somehow wanted it to be this way. (maybe God answered my prayer of giving me a super hero power = i can effectively make laptops not work! bwhaha).

As I thought about these past few incidents over the past few months, I never thought about how God could use these insignificant computers as such a HUGE learning tool for me.  All this time I was so affected by things of this world, which was just manifested through my desire for a working computer.  and for me, it took 4 computers, 3 months, a lot of money and a ton of inconvenience to teach me how to further let go of my own worldly desires/plans and instead trust God, having a eternal & God-pleasing perspective.  oh my, what a stubborn human i am. I hope i learn my next lesson a little faster…haha

~~~

Present day: Luckily though, i had my friend (who is a computer genius. guess who it is?) check the sound drivers of computer#3 and after working some of his magic, the computer sound problem was resolved.  yay! ptl for a working computer.

the laptop screen dies.  you trip on the sidewalk.  the bananas go bad. you can’t open a simple can of spaghetti sauce.

the small things in life can make me so frustrated.  i think it’s because i expect the little things to work out.  i’ve come to understand the big plans and decisions in life usually don’t pan out the way i want them to.  but when it comes to the little things in life, i’m not as understanding.  i end up asking myself: “couldn’t this small part of life just work out the way i wanted it to, please?”

It’s just another lesson that God is teaching me that EVERYTHING is in His hands and in His control.  Big AND small.

communication is key.

whether in any relationship (familial, friendship, romantic), whether in the business world, or whether in everyday life.  in order to convey your thoughts, you have to know how to express them in a tactful and proper manner.  the ability to communicate also extends to your interest in other people’s lives. you have to be able to go outside of your own bubble and interact with others.  with the give and take of communication, that’s how a relationship starts.

i guess even nuns text...

but with technology like gchat and even more so the cell phone, we are losing that ability to communicate. sure we can interact with each other through space and time with the click of our fingers and thumbs. and sure the phone, computer, technology definitely allows us to keep in touch with people that we can’t see every day.  but when it comes down to it, do we have the basic skills of real communication?  can we talk with people who we get along with and can we talk with people who we don’t get along with?

it’s sad to walk around campus and instead of people talking to each other, they’re using their cell phones to text or facebook each other.  or even if they’re talking with another person face-to-face, they just have the need to be texting at the same time to someone else.  it’s sad to see that our generation knows how to type better than they can verbally express themselves. it’s sad when a cell phone or laptop practically becomes someone’s only form of communication.

come on people. let’s learn how to talk and interact and communicate.  let’s put down the cell phone. let’s stop the texts for just 5 minutes (especially if someone is talking with you. didn’t yo momma teach you yo manners?). let’s get off facebook and vidchat and instead walk a little and meet your friends and have fun.  let’s reach out to people who you might not know or necessarily share the most interests with.  let’s care about something more than ourselves, our texting plan and how many virtual friends we have on facebook.  let’s talk…

in economics we’re learning about supply and demand.  recently we just learned about what can shift the demand line.  one of those things are the consumer’s preferences.  if a consumer randomly starts to like more of a certain product, the demand for the product will obviously shift upwards and increase.  in contrast, if a consumer just so happens to not want a product, the demand will decrease. the entire demand line will move.

similarly, what we like or don’t like can dramatically change our “life line”.  we don’t like science, so we choose a major in north campus of UCLA and thus our future is set in the path of an econ major.  we like boba, so we choose to go to Tap-Ex every other day and $16 of our income is forever dedicated to a green tea boba drink.  and sometimes, we can’t decide what we like or don’t like.  take allergies for example.  some people did not have the choice to be deathy allergic to peanuts.

but for the most part, what we tend to be drawn to (or away from), i feel like, IS a choice.  we have the ability to choose what and how we say the things we say (depending on if we like or dislike the object at hand).  we have the ability to choose how we act (with the thing we like or dislike).  we have a choice to act upon our preferences or not act on them.

sometimes, the excuse “i had no choice” or “i just felt like it” doesn’t carry much weight.  and sometimes, the way we handle our preferences can mean all the difference, no matter how much we hate or how much we love something.

personally, i know i am held accountable and responsible for my actions.  but why do i still act like i’m the center of the world?  why do i act like what i want (what i like/dislike) is the only correct way to live life?

^“16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh^{. 17}For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

Galatians 5:16-17

- why do people call each other “dawg”? i just don’t get it. it sounds dumb (actually a lot of things we say when you think about it don’t really make sense: “what’s up?”…”homie”…etc)

- i really like rain, but not when it gets in my shoes and causes my feet to squish with water with every step that i take. you’d be surprised how loud it is in a quiet classroom.

- i don’t have rain boots or any other waterproof shoes. so i wrapped my socks in plastic bags and wore them in my shoes. no good.

- i have not mastered the suave introductory handshake/”pound”/handshake-and-then-hug. i’m always prepared to do one of those gestures, but the other person will inevitably be preparing for something other than what i’m doing.  for example: i extend my hand to shake, but at the same time the other person makes a fist to do a “pound.” it just becomes an awkward hand/fist ordeal.

- most tv shows take up a lot of time. and usually they don’t account for much in the end. except for decent water-cooler conversations.

it’s interesting how sometimes we’re dealing with a struggle of our own and it’s so hard to look past the pain, hurt and confusion. But somehow, when we’re consoling another or hearing about their recent trials in another person’s life, we become illuminated with how they’re exactly supposed to respond and what they have to do.  the solution to someone’s problems become: letting go of an idol in life or remembering God’s promises and living them out or some other (sometimes hard-to-swallow) Biblical principle.  and to us, it seems so easy if only the other person did this one thing of reading the bible or trusting in God more.

but the when the table is turned, it becomes so hard for us to read the bible or trust God for what is going on in our own lives.  why? maybe because we know all the tiny circumstances and details of our life and the entirety of our hardships.  in comparison, sometimes we cannot always fully understand other people’s struggles, where it stems from and how others think and work through things.  maybe it’s harder because it’s a double standard: we’re quick to judge and correct others but for ourselves, we just can’t get over that one trial in our life because it’s “too hard” or because “i’m too lazy.”

either way, it has come to my attention recently of how it is easier for me to give out biblical knowledge or sound advice than understand it and live it out in my own life.  i think there’s a term for this: hypocritical.