heheheheheheeheheheeheheheeeeeeeeeeeee...

*this is how bored i am*

How Sam are you?

and according to this i only have geekish tendencies, rating at just over 10%, surprisingly. i'm not sure why, as a girl, i had my score increased by an average of 1%... perhaps i'm not geek enough to know...

*triple o*
<-- does this look familiar to anyone? well i know it probably wouldn't, except to renee (and the few vancouver people who actually read this site).


let me introduce you simple folk to one of the elements that makes western canada so beautiful. triple o sauce. yes, the secret sauce, and all its compadres, have now made a home in the basement of pacific place. it's heavenly. just ask derek. he once dared to doubt, but now he is a firmly converted born-again-into-the knowledge-of-triple-o believer.


i must make an amendment here however. not ALL the compadres made it through the immigration gates. like all other transplanted franchises, the white spot here in hong kong is not like it's original in canada. they do not have a full menu, which distinctly lacks many of the desserts and fountain items and most importantly, the pirate boat. and, like many new franchises in hong kong, it sells it wares at exorbitant prices. $32 for a milkshake!! i mean, REALLY. just because it's hand-dipped doesn't mean it has to cost a hand... but nonetheless, it is a little bit of home. i doubt i will be able to fork out another $58 for a meal there anytime soon, but just knowing it's there, the westcoast joy being spread around (even for insane amounts of money) for all unknowing expats to enjoy, is comforting enough.


and while we were sitting there eating (more like relishing), derek and i noted the amusingly obvious ways to tell an abc from a cbc.


an abc: carries attitude, pride, swagger, and copious amounts of bling while trash talkin like there's no tomorrow.


a cbc: wears practical clothing of the mec/teva variety with tapered pant legs, clean-cut, distinct lack of bling bling, and makes proper use of the english language.


and then there are, of course, the locals. how can you tell the locals, you ask? "what is der tippo oh??"

+/-
my eyes to the world seem to trick me sometimes. sometimes i feel like everything is under control and sometimes i feel like i'm trying to balance 12 shots of 'sotb' (sorry i think there are underaged readers...) with one arm through a crowded bar... um yeah. i've tried and it never makes it. the shots usually end up in some poor girl's lap before it gets to it's destination. time just never seems to be enough. i'm glad i quit my job.


last sunday andy g. spoke on the ninth commandment: don't lie (exodus 20:16). but he chose not to focus on the don't part of it. rather, he turned around and looked at the mirror image: tell the truth. a small, yet densely significant, difference.


there is power in speaking the truth. speaking Truth. jesus told a lot of truths. take john 8:31. if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. a mere 2 short sentences, yet there is such amazing power in those few words.


look at them carefully. think about what they're saying.


obedience comes before enlightenment. so often people ask why and demand answers before they are willing to act, or believe. but very simply, jesus says here that we first need to hold to the teachings (live according to them), THEN you will know the truth. and THEN we are set free. knowledge sets us free. knowledge of our own errors and limitations sets us free from them. how many of us feel stuck in our own failings, inabilities, imperfections? we simply need to walk in the truth, and we will be free. FREE!!


a couple of years ago, a friend and i had a discussion about whether continued obedience can undo the chains of spiritual bondage just as much as a deliverance session. this verse very clearly says yes. God may choose to break bondages in a moment's time, or he may choose to loosen them through our obedience.


i sometimes wonder if some people really grasp the significance and value of freedom. true spiritual freedom. sometimes i come across people who are only able to see the negative of every situation, and they allow the negatives to overtake any possibility of a positive. then they complain about how miserable life is.


maybe we should all look just a little beyond ourselves, and find the positive. it doesn't mean pretending that nothing is wrong, but it's choosing to receive the rights over all the wrongs. i believe there is power in that, when we choose to look at the things that are good. it's just turning around and looking at the flipside, the mirror image. let's look at the truth of something rather than the lie. the Truth is what can move us forward. the Truth is what can change our perspective. the Truth is what can change the situation. the Truth is what sets us free, not the lies. wallowing in the lies just keeps us stuck in that place. i don't want to be stuck in the same place. i like moving, moving forward.

psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
        will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare of the LORD:
        He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
        he is my God, and I am trusting him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
        and protect you from the fatal plague.
4 He will shield you with his wings.
        He will shelter you with his feathers.
        His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
        nor fear the dangers of the day,
6 nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness,
        nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
        though ten thousand are dying around you,
        these evils will not touch you.
8 But you will see it with your eyes;
        you will see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the LORD your refuge,
        if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
        no plague will come near your dwelling.
11 For he orders his angels
        to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you with their hands
        to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes;
        you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me.
        I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
        I will be with them in trouble.
        I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will satisfy them with a long life
        and give them my salvation."

turning chairs
amidst a retirement home in florida... there was no conversation, no evidence that any of these people had been created by a relational God to enjoy intimate relating.


these people's souls were asleep, numbed, i suppose, by years of life-less relationships and pointless conversations. no doubt those conversations had all seemed important at the time - business deals, romantic encounters, child scoldings, religious meetings - but maybe such encounters with other people had never touched anything deep enough to stir life...


i wonder if the Spirit feels as we did when He walks by a group of christians. there are, of course, some differences. most often we're chatting, sometimes singing, occassionally (in certain circles) dancing. we're engaging in serious couversations, bible study, storytelling, and weekend retreat planing, as well as in lively but mundane interactions about sports and juicy "did you see so-and-so" tidbits.


every sunday morning we stand, then sit, then sing on command. some of us raise our hands, most of us sit still while someone talks to us. at some point we reach into our wallets and drop a mixture of green and silver into a big soup bowl with a velvet lining to keep the silver from clanging.


we're doing alot. but i wonder if the Spirit, who lives in a circle with two Others who are always relating, sees us as we saw the retired folks... ~ the safest place on earth


the above exerpt is from one of my favourite teachers and authors, dr. larry crabb, who i can safely say is instrumental in forming who i am as a christian counselor. i've been thinking a lot lately about the authentic self, and when i picked up this book again, one of the first things i read was a something i had underlined earlier: BEING IS SO MUCH TOUGHER THAN PERFORMING.


it certainly is. and reading this book again has reminded me of why i really went into this 'business'. the thing i fear the most for our church (or any church for that matter) is the spiritual equivalent of that retirement home. i suppose we are always in danger of falling into that 'comfort zone', because it IS easier to perform and just walk through life as we encounter it without really trying to live it as it CAN be lived with the living Spirit. we let our circumstances shape us rather than shaping our circumstances. it's so damn hard to BE who we really are, as God had intended for us to be, in front of people who we don't really - i mean really - know, or who don't really know us. it's exhausting to fight for our true identity in a world that only cares about what's on the outside.


but i think it's worth it. our eyes have to stretch farther, WAY farther, than what we can see at the moment. life is not about this me you them, or what happens in 10, 20, 30 years' time. it's not even about whether people will remember who we are or what we did when we're dead. life is very simply, about Him, and what His heart is for his beloved creation. as we have heard so much of lately, what we do on earth has an eternal significance in the spiritual. shouldn't we try to live that way?


intimacy with people is difficult because we're never really sure what people think of us, and it's a struggle to bare all of us before others. but in a spiritual community, we should be able to do that shouldn't we? of all the places in the world, within our spiritual community there should be safety and unconditional acceptance shouldn't there? but why isn't it that way then? why do we still have people who put up fronts amongst us, who are afraid to be vulnerable, weak? because somehow, we have made this sacred place an unsafe place. how do we expect people to find refuge then? one of the few things i have really retained from my university days is that people change not when they are in a comfortable place, but when they are in a safe place. safety is what allows people to bare their all, and eventually the Spirit will change them. comfort just keeps us where we are. but not many people recognize this. they like people who make them comfortable, who tells them everything will be ok, even when it might not be. but we like to hear those words. it's... comforting. but i would much rather have someone tell me something's wrong, and stick with me through it all. telling me something's wrong doesn't necessarily mean they are judging me, just that they care enough to see me change. change into the likeness of Jesus.


i want to see people turn their chairs and let their souls face each other.

*i'm lazy*
i actually do have a lot on my mind but can't be focused enough to put it all into words at the moment, so i'm just gonna follow liz & dan's suit and do this for now... i wouldn't mind some feedback especially about the knowing me bit... i honestly don't know :(

NAME FOUR BAD HABITS YOU HAVE:
- wasting time on computer when i should be praying or sleeping
- being annoyed at my sister
- not eating enough regularly
- eating too much junk/sugar

NAME FOUR THINGS THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD:
- more disciplne
- a bigger appetite/slower metabolism
- continued with ballet when i was young
- more patience with my sister

NAME FOUR SCENTS YOU LOVE:
- flowers (esp. lilies)
- jasmine
- fresh laundry
- my pj's

NAME FOUR PEOPLE THAT KNOW YOU THE BEST:
this one's hard... derek? koryl? someone help me... i guess i'm not very easily "known"...

NAME FOUR THINGS YOU'D NEVER WEAR:
- lacy socks (esp. with shorts & sandals... sheesh)
- bright red/orange lipstick
- spandex (at least not in public)
- hmm.. someone else's underwear??

NAME FOUR THINGS YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT NOW:
- what to do for worship for plus tomorrow night
- derek :)
- i wish i was a real ballerina
- when is KELY gonna pay me?!

NAME FOUR THINGS THAT YOU HAVE DONE TODAY:
- got up at 6:30am (that's ridiculous for me...)
- ran workshops at 2 schools
- had micky d's with derek, rhiana, den & den's friend
- cleaned the reception desk at the point.

NAME THE LAST FOUR THINGS YOU HAVE BOUGHT:
- micky d's filet o'fish meal with corn soup
- recharged my octopus card
- vita lemon tea
- taxi ride

NAME FOUR BANDS/GROUPS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW YOU LIKE:
- matthew good band
- beastie boys
- indigo girls
- don't know... i'm just guessing these because i've never talked about them with anyone in hk...

NAME FOUR DRINKS YOU REGULARLY DRINK:
- vita lemon tea
- vita lemon tea
- vita lemon tea
- vita lemon tea is about the only drink i drink REGULARLY...

FIRST GRADE TEACHER'S NAME?
- ms. wong??? wild guess but i'm probably right....

LAST WORDS YOU SAID:
- "hello? HELLO?? i can't hear you... it's very loud.. hello?? what?! i can't hear you..."

LAST SONG YOU SANG?
- out loud? don't know, but i think it was on the mtr yesterday...?

LAST PERSON YOU HUGGED?
derek

LAST THING YOU LAUGHED AT?
- den & friend talking about ed at st.stephens... hehee inside scoop!

LAST TIME YOU SAID 'I LOVE YOU' AND MEANT IT?
- last night

LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
hmmm.. maybe a week ago...?

WHAT'S IN YOUR CD PLAYER?
- hillsong 'you are my world'

WHAT COLOR SOCKS ARE YOU WEARING?
white with yellow toes & heels, and multi-colored fishies all over

WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
ikea drawer thingies... with lots of junk & dust bunnies

WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP TODAY?
ugh 6:30

CURRENT TASTE?
i don't know what i taste like....

CURRENT HAIR?
dark brown with fading red, & blond streaks, long & very tangled

CURRENT CLOTHES?
- jeans & second hand shirt

CURRENT ANNOYANCE?
- don't really know....

CURRENT LONGING?
to see breakthrough at sna, the realization of the vine center, 24/7 youth center, to hear God (more)

CURRENT DESKTOP PICTURE?
derek & karen, framed by arching trees on a beautiful sunny winter's day in sydney

CURRENT WORRY?
- i don't worry much.... maybe that i'm getting another canker sore...

CURRENT HATE?
uhh... the devil?

FAVORITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?
a relatively good build... i'm not too fussy...

FAVORITE PLACE TO BE?
in God's will

LEAST FAVORITE PLACE?
that would be the opposite, out of God's will

*revolutions*

You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.


What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


yes i went to see matrix revolutions last night. have much on my mind... will post when i have time...

*please share my excitement*




ok. i don't think many of my friends in vancouver read my blog, so i don't expect much noise, but please understand my deprived state here in hong kong, being thousands of miles away from canada and most importantly, HOCKEY (that's ICE hockey). with the exception of renee who also shares my pain, let me fill you all in on why i am so grieved that i can't be there to support my team:
the vancouver canucks is the top team in the nhl right now, with 18 points. they are also leading in goals scored, with 43 (6 ahead of second place) and have been unbeaten for 8 games, and have yet to lose a game at home.


Dad, can i PLEEEEEASE go home for christmas??

*the extravaganza continues...*
the hillsong marathon weekend has been smashing so far... will write more when i feel more coherent. in the meantime, you can go check out my latest pics here -->. sorry they're not too terribly exciting, but there are a couple from uncle joe at hku, the baptism at repulse bay, and rockit fest. sorry, none of PASSIONATE or YOUTH ON FIRE... but ned, nigel and peter were definately rockin though and i'm just itching til july... :D


oh yah, and the canucks won again... :D :D