MiSURA

It's weird reflecting in the wintertime even though it is literally the end of the year. But I'm so used to reflecting at the end of the school year in May. So this is kinda weird for me. But what the hey. Let's do the old reflection w/ lots of pictures and words. =)

Today, Pastor Michael's sermon emphasized that every time we reflect, we want to reflect with the question, "Am I growing? Is my love for God and my faith stronger, wider, greater than last year?" Looking back at JAN 2007, I definitely admitted that I grew. I KNOW that this year 2007 was full of spiritual growth, too. It's hard to say in words b/c I'm very poor in my vocabulary, which I'm increasing thanks to the wonderful people behind the GREs, but there's just wayyy too much to say.

So I made a simple video presentation as a tribute.
Enjoy ! ((The first 18 seconds is a black screen b/c I want you to focus on the words: LORD, YOU are Good, and Your mercy endures forever!))

off to AF1 tomorrow.
please pray for us !
the students that will be there. 18 churches and over 150 students !
the theme is WAKE UP based off of Romans 13:11-14.
the counselors that we will not tire and love the students even on the ride to the retreat center !
the security that they will be alert like none other and running on God's power.
the speaker that he will be overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and be able to spill God's words on us.
the admins that they will rely solely on God and be prayerful throughout the retreat.
and everything else you can think of.
thank you in advance and see you all later in a few days. =)

Merry Christmas again !~

From my brother and me.

Man, so good looking. =] haha!

Today's Christmas message was powerful, indeed.
I also watched The Nativity Story and it made Mary and Joseph's experience so real. As the empathetic and emotional person I am, I always wondered how Mary must have felt knowing that she was a virgin and she's with child? And what about Joseph? He must've flipped out. And the Magi making a four month journey, following the star, and finally finding Jesus in a manger. MANNN that was awesome. And especially after hearing the Christmas message.. I realized how God truly came to die for our sins. It's not about Christmas trees, snow on the 25th morn, or giving presents. But about God becoming man to ultimately die for our sins and save us. His love manifested in a baby boy.

By the way... did you know that most people do believe that Jesus was born as a baby boy? But many don't know His ultimate purpose. THAT'S the gospel news.

Remember what Christmas is all about.

Picasso Stolen from Brazil Museum

okay. first of all, how is this possible?!?!?!?!??!
and why these two?
i see in movies how people break into museums whether in broad daylight or during the night to steal. but that's movies. come on. in real life? didn't think it was possible. thaaaaaaaat's crazy.

winter break so far is good. =)
going out for dinner tonight and prayer meeting for AF1. jyeea.

hate it or love it.
wait or dial again.

i am home !
it's AWESOME that chicago's an hour slower than cleveland. so when we got close to chicago, we (joyce and i) got to live another hour. tha was kinda cool.
it wasn't cool when all the snow was delaying us so we spent that extra hour in the snow. but we made it safely thanks to God.
joyce is in the living room just reading and i'm here checking emails, writing, and reading up on the news. it's kinda chilly--just the way i like it. =)
here's something I read @ bbc.com about the Olympics. Ever since I read about the art in Ancient Greece and the story behind Olympia and the Olympics, I'm very very interested in how it's changed, what's still the same, etc. =)

Olympic torch 'going to N Korea'
2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. AHHH that's gonna be crazy ! There's gonna be like double the population in China. CRAZINESS. If you didn't know, the Olympic torch is lit in Olympia, Greece (where the original Olympics were first started) and makes its way to the location for that year. This year it's going to travel across 5 continents and make its way to Beijing. This brief article emphasizes the integration of N Korea into ... the world? Taking one step at a time. S and N Korea are also going to "send a joint team of officials to the Beijing Olympics by train, as part of reconciliation efforts after their 1950-1953 civil war." I wonder what kind of debate and decision-making process this went through.

=====

I'll definitely update more. ^ ^ I'm here for a whole month !
And there's already snow !~

i'm a slob when it comes to packing.
has anyone ever seen "sword in the stone", the cartoon movie? i remember watching it a suuuper long time ago and there's a scene where merlin is packing his bags and all he does is wave his wand and alllll of his furniture, clothing, potions, fit in this tiny bag ! no organization is necessary because he simply uses magic to get whatever he wants. similar events include mary poppins. =)
i'm a total perfectionist so even when packing, i require perfection. i won't start packing unless i KNOW it will be organized. but that's silly because how will you ever know unless you actually do it? ssooo i will start. soon. b/c i'm leaving in less than 12hours.

i am also obsessed with curling my hair. i bought one for less than $10 and i've been curling my hair everyday. it's a bad and unhealthy (for my hair) obsession ! ohyes, the end result is so lovely and i really like it. but like anything else i do, i cannot do it for other people.

here is a list of things i cannot do for other people b/c i know you're so interested.
1. french braid
2. curl/straighten hair
3. manicure/pedicure
4. makeup
5. teach piano
6. explain ochem
7. recommend books/restaurants/songs/etc.

there's probably a lot more. but that's what first comes to mind.

=====

just watched I Am Legend.
I could say a lot of bad critiques like the "vampires" looked like every other monster you've seen in horror films; the plot was pretty stupid like the cure for cancer? pretty impossible. although right after i said that i realized how that shows how little faith i have in doctor's hard efforts and lives.

but i don't really care about the effects and stuff unless i expected it. i care more about the content and the message i'm leaving with. if i can gather a good message from saw III, i'm sure i can crank out a message from this movie.

***SPOILER COMING UP........ ***

the best part was the ending. will smith encounters a woman and her sun while attempting to kill himself after losing his dog, Sam. she saves his life and he ends up saving theirs. and she said that she was led to will smith's character, robert neville, because of God. she took risks to come to the middle of new york city to find this guy. even though he's a complete stranger and he was being attacked by all those "vampires", she risked her life to save his. and in the end, robert neville listens to God's plan and sacrifices his life so that the woman and her son can move on to save others..oh because he found the cure for the "cure for cancer" that's really a virus. haha. sorry that was confusing. but i'm too tired to edit/proofread.

but basically, what i'm trying to say is.............even to the death, he lived out his purpose.

i'm always reminded about Hebrews 11:20-22 about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph's faith. They were commended for their faith because even at the end of their lives, they blessed their children. Why? B/c they knew that even though God did not bring the Messiah then, He would in His time.

our visions and focus need to be longer, farther, and farsighted. we can't be so nearsighted and focus on what's in our hands, our strength, our capabilities. but look farther to the horizon, to the things we can't touch, to the things we have HOPE in. we know that Jesus will come again. we know that there will be rejoicing and times of refreshing. we know that there will be peace and love. it's been thousands of years and each generation looks to the next. not in bitterness or worry, but in anticipation and hope and faith beacuse we know that God is faithful. we will live our purpose even to the death.

=====

other random things:
1. i bought a box of christmas cards (32 to be exact) for only a dollar ! HAH ! Beat that.....
2. i dunno the geography of the middle east. i know about 5-6 countries and the rest i have no idea.
3. i'm not falling asleep as easily as i used to when i read.
4. i forgot to pick up my pieces for jewelry to take home. so now i don't have a xmas present for my best friend or mom. =(
5. my tamagotchi is 7yrs old.
6. i have watched the first three seasons of csi to the fullest.
7. i caught up a littl bit on my Bible Reading Plan !


i reeally need to pack now. =) Have a great weekend and I'll write more when I arrive in... CHICAGO !~ ^_____^;;

MAN, it went by so slow ! haha you thought i'd say fast. gotcha!

But it was a blast ! classes were a breeze and we ended on an awesome note with a praise night with Koinonia. For those who wanted to see the slideshow, I've uploaded it on a site so just click HERE. So that you don't get confused, when you click the link, look to the right and you'll see a three-lettered code. Enter the code and click download. There are so many ads and random stuff that it's kinda confusing. And you probably can't hear the song that was playing during the slideshow, so I've uploaded it for you to download so you can listen to it. just click HERE.

I'm studying for my arth101 final right now, buuut I reeeally wanna take a break. I'm trying to memorize about 10 chapters worth of material and half of them are practically the same thing because they're all churches and depictions of the Virgin and Child. Some of the buildings I actually recognize because I visited there with my daddy and brother two summer ago. Sooo thaaat's cool. Otherwise, I'm definitely going to be seeing churches pop up in my head every now and then.

I'm also auditioning for case concert choir tomorrow. Wish me luck ! I'm worried I'm going to get sick.

=====

On a different note, this past weekend was yoon's birthday ! I made him a lovely scrapbook and although it was only three pages, I promised that I'd keep on adding pages when big days like 1yr anniversary, birthdays, special events came up. So soon that scrapbook will be so big that we'll need a second one !

I also made a bunch of cards and you know what? I reeally enjoyed them. Next time, I should limit like just to my class or just the underclassmen. I tried to do all the girls in Koinonia and there were just too many to count. And even though the materials are a bit pricey, the end result is quite rewarding. I like making things and I like working with my hands. I don't like getting them dirty, but as long as the end result is what I had envisioned, then I have no problem. It's interesting how a ribbon can enhance a page. How colors can make you go, "WOW". There are so many cute things ! AHHH !

Lastly, I am going home in just FOUR DAYS ! I must pack soon.

This was a bunch of random stuff. But that's my thought process right now, otherwise I'd be writing churches, florence, santa costanza, milan, marcus aurelius, and cross about 100 times. So that's it. Study hard for finals ! And I will write more later. =)

I'm gonna go take pictures of my favorite family, the Gobezies !
In about... an hour I will be going to their house. They have the 3 most BEAUTIFUL children and I just wanna hug 'em to death ! So I'm sssooo excited. Their mom is my mentor and I'm having a blast seeing how she interacts with her children, how she disciplines them, what a wife does each day.. things like that. I get the inside scoop on the Gobezie family. haha.

It's SUNNY out. Hardly windy. And the snow's not too deep but not so thin that the grass is shooting through. AHHH, I just can't wait !

Gotta get off the computer so I can go back to my room and get ready !

s... is for the way you smile at me
n... is for the .... haha okay that's enough.

it snowed and it stuck ! yknow when there's flurries but doesn't really go anywhere.
we had some CRAZY winds and finally it's settled down and it's sooo beautiful out.
i'm gonna go take some pictures later. hopefully i'll get to before it gets too dark.
that's the only bad thing about winter. getting dark too early.

i've learned that i really enjoy scrapbooking. i'll probably make some tips list again about scrapbooking, but for now i'll leave it at that. even if it's little cards, i really enjoy them. i just wish i had enough money to explore more deeply and to learn harder stuff. everything's with money ! argg.

i think i'm going home on ... dec. 15th. final on the 11th for arth101. and then i might take one of my suitemates to chicago with me and her final's on the 13th. so gotta wait for her and pack. =)

i dunno what else to say.
i should finish up my homework and get going to class.