Deep thoughts inspired by making omelets...

Wow. It's been a while since my last blog post. 

A lot has happened since my last post. I got a job in the graphic design field. I graduated from college. My nephew was born at then of May. I'm a first time Aunt. So I was beyond excited. He's a little miracle of life. :) I got engaged mid-July. I feel extremely blessed to be engaged to the love of my life. I love him dearly. I know that in 10, 20, 30, 50 years, I'll look back and chuckled at the thought of how much I loved him then. It'll seem like a small flicker of flame compared to the growing and glowing bonfire that my life will be then. It will continue to grow. A lot of things in my life has changed. Things in my life are moving. It seems like life is happening around me and I'm in cruise control or something. It's weird.

This morning. I slept in. It felt so wonderful to walk up without the alarm clock (happens 0-1 times a week). I showered and got dressed. I opened the fridge and freezer to put out the green, yellow, and red peppers, sausage, cheese, hashbrown, and eggs. Soon, the sound of sizzling butter told me that it's time to pour the mixed egg into the frying pan. Then I added hashbrown, cheese, peppers and sausage to it. I loved how colorful the omelet is. The colors are relatively simple with brown, yellow and orange but the peppers add splashes of red, green, and yellows. I slid the omelet onto a plate and brought it to my sister. As usual, she thanked me with a sparkle in her eyes and one of her dashing smiles. 

I made another omelet for myself. When I added the peppers, I realized how much my palette for food has changed. All my life I loved things plain. 

As a child, I loved tacos with just ground beef, cheese, and the shell. 
Now I love tacos with ground beef, cheese, peppers, hot sauce, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, and the shell. 

As a child, I loved chicken breast with corn and mashed potatoes. 
Now I preferred well seasoned or marinated chicken breast, asparagus, mashed potatoes seasoned with thyme and garlic. 

As a child, I loved getting chicken nuggets and french fries at fast food places. Now, I can't stand fast food. When I eat out, I'll try a chicken Alfredo with fettuccine noodles or a japanese hibachi with steak, a vegetable medley, mixed rice, a sweet sauce and a pita bread. 

As a child, I love omelets with just cheese and bacon or sausage. 
Now I love omelets with hash brown, sausage, peppers, cheese, and salsa. 

As a child, I thought food was delicious and it was made the best way it was cooked in. (Don't get me wrong, my family always had good meals with great flavors but I usually wanted everything plain because I was super picky with food.)  

But now, I realized how much I limited myself when I was young. I was content with what I was given  when there was so much more out there. Since then, I tried french, chinese, middle eastern, italian, and egyptian foods. There are so many good food and flavors out there. If I hadn't been open to trying them, I probably thought chicken nuggets and french fries was the greatest in the world. Now I realized, that that's not exactly healthy for you and it's really limiting myself. 

As a child, I had a spoonful of the ocean and was completely happy with it. 
But.. what about the rest of the ocean. I know that I'm made for more than just a spoon of the vast and beautiful ocean. 

Perhaps that's a bad imagery. Hmm.. It's like if I was born and all I had to eat all my life was rice. Then it's like me being completely happy and content with rice when really... there are other things like vegetable, meat, fruit, desserts and stuff that make my taste buds rejoice even more. 

I feel like that's where I am in my spiritual walk with God. I've been a Christian for most of my life. I rededicated my life to Christ when I was in 8th grade. I have grown and changed a lot ever since then. God has saved me and set me free. God has used my hearing loss to make my faith in Him stronger. I trust in God and use His promises in the Bible as an anchor for my soul. I know I am a child of God. I know that I've been place on this planet for a purpose and that is to glorify Him. 

Lately, I feel like I've been stuck on chicken nuggets and french fries. I know that I am to bloom where I've been planted. I know that I've been place where I am for a purpose. The job I have now isn't my dream job but it's a good stepping stone to where I would like to be. I've been blessed with a job in the graphic design field right out of college. I've got a man that loves me like no other and is excited to marry me. I'm excited to marry him too. 

But, there is more to life than this. I know that God's grace is so much bigger and real than it seems to be. I want the fire in my heart to reawaken and open its eyes to the more flavors of God's amazing grace. I want to taste AND swallow the whole ocean of God's amazing grace and unfathomable depths of His love for me and you. I don't want to settle for a spoonful. I'm not sure if it's even possible to have a whole pitcher of the ocean when it's God that we're talking about. It's like a rich cheesecake, it's so rich that you can't finish the darn thing in one sitting. You take your time eating it to savor every flavor. Maybe a relationship with God is like that...God wants us to grow closer to Him, but he knows that it will take time to expand our taste buds to the richness of his love, mercy, grace and compassion. 

I think I'm hungry for more than just the live I'm living now.

God. 

Open the eyes of my heart. 

Light the fire in my heart. 

Help me see You in my daily life. Help me not to just embrace your love and grace.. but to live it in my daily life. 

Help me not to settle with a spoonful of the life you have in mind for me. I know you see a lot of potential for me. You have a lot in store for me that's waiting to be unlocked. When it's unlocked, it will come out like a raging flood. 

God, unlock the dam of your goodness and grace and let it fall on me. 

I pray that when that happens.. that I will not lock it up and keep it for myself... but rather let it overflow in me and let it overflow to the people around me. Let people know and experience your love through my life. I'm not sure how that's possible, especially when I'm imperfect as I am. But it seems like out of brokenness, there is heart-wrenching, life changing, and mind altering Love that transform everything. 

Jesus, mold me and melt me into the person you created me to be. 

Change my heart. 

Do not let my heart be satisfy with just a spoonful. 

I want more. 

of You. 

^"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." 

- Ephesians 3:16-21

"In essence, the Christian life is a lifelong journey of coming alive to the multifaceted freedoms we’ve been given as
the beloved children of God. We begin the journey standing at the base of the Swiss Alps of the gospel, with a tiny spoon and a little sand bucket, trying to take it all in. But our joy lies in knowing the Father will bring to completion the good work he began in us, and in his whole creation." - John Piper 

9. Eyes

For a week or two, I had an nasty eye infection. My eyes felt like were burning, my vision were blurry, and I had yellow eye boogers. Eeeew. Thankfully, I'm almost out of the woods now! My eyes are getting better due to the eye drops.

When my eyes were "sick," I realized how much I take the ability to see for granted. We have eyes to see God's creation, to see the facial expressions of people we love, to see the food we eat, to see where we are walking, and so many other things! Heck, I wouldn't be able to do my job if I couldn't see! (I'm a graphic designer..eh heh. Kinda important to have eyes...) Eyes not only allows us to see the simple yet precious things in live. It also allows us to avoid danger!

We have to look both ways before we have to cross the street right? We have to watch where we are chopping when we're chopping up onions. We have to watch we're walking to make sure we don't run into a tree...because that would be quite painful.

Eyes can also be used to communicate. In cartoons, girls flutter their eyes at boys to showcase their beauty. Eyes can communicate happiness, fear, anger, surprised, frustration, sleepiness, hyper, excitement, and so much more! Eyes can also communicate hope when a person's eye open for the first time after a 10 year coma.

Thank you God, for my eyes! And for the ability to see!

8. Hugs

I'm thankful for hugs. I don't know what the origin of hugs is...but whoever thought of it is pretty brilliant. I love hugs. I love giving and receiving hugs. It's crazy because it's just a simple way of telling someone that you care about them.

We give hugs to say hello! When I see an old friend, I automatically give her a hug! It's as if the hug is telling her "I miss you!" When we say good bye, I give her a hugs as if I'm telling her, "It was so good to see you! I love you" or something like that.

Sometimes when we need to cry, a hug helps us let go and cry. The hug reminds us that we are not alone.

Sometimes hugs reminds us that we are loved and that people care about us.

So... go give someone a hug today! :)

The Lord is the everlasting God.

"28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."
-Isaiah 40:28-31

Learning to Live Loved

I was reading "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado.

I thought this was a great chapter. It has some deep stuff that I'm still trying to chew on! I thought I would share it with you! This is a selection from one of his chapters in the book.

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God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his.The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but god will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the
unloved and make them beloved.” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With
unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.”

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (I John 4:10 NIV). Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!

Don’t forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God’s work, and what is the first fruit you see? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal.5:22 NIV, emphasis mine).

Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve? No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit produces the fruit” (Gal.5:22).

And, this is so important, you are a branch on the vine of God. “I am the vine, and you are the branches” (John 15:5). Need a refresher course on how vines function? What is the role of the branch in the bearing of fruit? Branches don’t exert a lot of energy. You never hear of gardeners treating branches for exhaustion. Branches don’t attend clinics on stress management. Nor do they groan and grunt. “I’ve got to get this grape out. I’ve got to get this grape out. I’m going to bear this grape if it kills me!”

No, the branch does none of that. The branch has one job-to receive nourishment from the vine. And you have one job-to receive nourishment from Jesus. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing” (John 15:5 MSG).

Our Lord gets no argument from us on that last line, does he? We have learned the hard way apart from him we can’t produce a thing. Don’t you think it’s time we learn what happens if we stay attached?

His job is to bear fruit. Our job is to stay put. The more tightly we are attached to Jesus, the more purely his love can pass through us. And oh, what a love it is! Patient. Kind. Does not envy. Does not boast. Is not proud.

Let’s rewrite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 one more time. Not with your name or Jesus’ name but with both. Read it aloud with your name in the blank, and see what you think. Christ in _____ is patient, Christ in _____ is kind. Christ in _____ does not envy, Christ in _____ does not boast, Christ in _____ is not proud. Christ in _____ is not rude, Christ in _____ is not self-seeking, Christ in _____ is not easily angered, Christ in _____ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ in _____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in _____ always protects, always perseveres. Christ in _____ never fails.

Will we ever love like that? Will we ever love perfectly? No. This side of heaven only God will. But we will love better than we have. By being loved, we will love.

8. Nose

I'm thankful for my nose. I can stop and smell the flowers! I can smell the aroma that comes from the kitchen when someone is making something super duper tasty! I can tell when my clothes needs to be washed when I almost pass out from smelling it to see if it's clean. lol. I can avoid food poisoning if I can smell the sour milk! Imagine life if I wasn't able to smell those things! I would be getting food poisoning all the time, wearing smelly clothes (thus scaring people away), has no desire to try food because the smell doesn't attract me to try it, or appreciate flowers for its sweet smell, simplicity and beauty!

Thank God... for noses!

7. Hands

I’m thankful for hands. I’m in awe as I’m typing this blog. All ten of my fingers work together to push buttons in a certain order to create words with the help of my brain!

Our hands have 5 fingers on them each...each finger is important in our daily rountie. We use hands to open/close doors/drawers/jars/presents, to pick up something you dropped on the floor, to hold your significant other hands, to pray, to throughly wash our hair, to hold & move the toothbrush to brush our teeth, to cook, to bake, to sign ASL, to raise our hand to ask questions, and the list goes on!

I’m just amazed at the many bones and muscles that are in our hands alone! And..how well they work together.. If one part was missing...life would be so much more difficult! God’s just pretty much awesome in that way.

YAY for hands! :)