Forgetfulness is a common symptom of pregnant people. It must be true…So, today is my little brother, Justin’s birthday. I decided to email dksda@umich.edu which is the list serve for all the youth at Detroit Korean SDA Church. It was a one liner, “Happy 19th Birthday, Justin!” My intentions were good. I wanted everyone to know so that they would wish him a happy birthday. Soon after sending out the email, I get an email back from Justin. It reads, “it’s my 18th…18th, but it’s the thought that counts.” What a horrible sister! Actually, I’m not all that horrible. It boils down to the root of the problem. What is the root of the problem you ask? I honestly thought we were in the year 2006. I know my bro was born on Oct. 27, 1987. That would make him 19. Don’t ask how in the world I thought we were in the year 2006. On my chalkboard at school, I change the date each day (with magnetic numbers) and I see that it’s 2005. And THIS, I blame on my pregnancy. Happy 18th Birthday, Justin!
Monthly Archives: October 2005
Fall GYC BOD 2005
We had a GYC Board of Directors meeting this weekend. It was good
to see all these people whom I respect and admire so much.
A powerful thought was shared during one of the sermons presented.
Humans are so selfish. We even tend to be selfish in the way we
approach salvation. Don’t get me wrong, we should love salvation,
cherish it. Saying that “it’s the best thing in the world” is an
understatement. But at times, we love ourselves more than we love
salvation.
Think of this:
Moses and Paul were willing to give up their salvation for the people
they were ministering to. That’s how much they loved
others! That’s almost a powerful thought! But it’s too hard
for us to fully comprehend.
Try this:
Jesus was not only willing to give up His salvation–He DID.
He, of course didn’t need saving. But Christ is SO unselfish that
He–in reality–gave up His eternal life. The constant thought
running through His mind, perhaps from Gethsemane to Calvary, was that
there was no human way He would survive the death of sin resting on his
shoulders. It was too great, too offensive. Faith surpasses
reality. And faith was the only thing that allowed the thought of a
resurrection being possible.
And He decided to die anyway—eternally!
That is unselfishness. And I am not synonymous with that!
Too often, we just care about our salvation. Maybe it’s time that
we start caring about the salvation of others. Maybe that is what
true religion is all about. Maybe our salvation remains most
secured in seeking to secure the salvation of others.
Even So, Lord Jesus
Last night, I heard the saddest news. A church member (from Ann Arbor) just lost her unborn baby last week. It would be a little easier to handle if she was in her first trimester, but she was in her 8th month and the baby was due around Thanksgiving time. In the morning, she felt her baby girl kicking, and by that afternoon, when she went in for her routine check-up, the doctors failed to find a heartbeat. The baby had passed away. They induced her a few days later and after a long labor, she gave birth to their stillborn child.
While these things are difficult to understand, we have to have faith that God knows what He’s doing. This situation has caused me to put myself in her shoes and wonder how I would handle it. It reminded me of Ellen White who actually prayed that God would take her children if living on would cause them to lose their salvation. In times like these, it’s so comforting to know that there exists a God who loves us so much and is willing to do whatever it takes to save us. Through the eyes of faith and against our carnal nature, we know that even situations like this somehow work together for good to them that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose.
Please keep this family in your prayers…
Go Fiber!
My teacher in-service was great. I’m so inspired to eat healthier…and to eat more fiber! I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but my OB looked at the pictures of the ultra-sound visit and because of the baby’s size, she thinks I’m only at 20 weeks now, rather than 22 weeks which was the original dating. There is a possibility that the baby is just smaller too. Kerri read that Asian women tend to have smaller babies, regardless of the husband’s size. So anyway, my due date has officially been changed in the system, from February 24th to March 4th, 2006. Just about everything else is going well. Okay, I need to get going. Hope all of you are doing well!
CAMPUS Musings
Alanna and I are the only ones in the office. I made it in before
everyone even though I missed the exit. Dr. Pipim had a meeting
yesterday with the Secretary of the GC whom he calls “The Cardinal” (I
thought that was so funny). Anyhow, he got in at 5 am and slept
in even though we had a staff meeting today. I don’t know WHERE
IN THE WORLD JUSTIN is even though I just got off the phone with
him. But he’s late too. Even Randy isn’t here yet. I
think he forgot we had a meeting. Or he might just be out of town.
Even though Alanna is present with the flesh, she’s absent in the
spirit. I have no idea where in the office she is! I’m
starting to get freaked out. Was there a secret rapture that I
missed?
Judy is at an inservice today. It’s on health or diet or
something. Dr. Griffin, MI Conference Health & Temperance
Director, is going to be there. Which is so funny because
last night I dreamed that we were on a flight with her. Judy and
I totally moved everything around in the house. It was so
impulsive. Oh man! Justin and Dr. P just got in. I
better go before the doc reads our xanga!
True Colors
So we’re (Jen, David, Justin, Alanna, Judy, and IR) playing “True
Colors” at Jen’s place in Berrien Springs. Have you heard of that
game? There are a bunch of question cards. You choose to
ask one of them from the pile and you get to vote which person fits the
question the most. The name of the game is to guess what others
think about you.
One of the questions was: “Who would you rather be for 24 hours?”
More surprising than the person with the most votes was Judy winning
2nd place! SHE’S PREGNANT!
So I’m like “JUDY! Who would want to be Judy!” I thought
for sure that Jen would have the most votes. I mean no one wants
to be a pastor, teacher, or CAMPUS worker!
And then Justin Kim is like “I mean, it’s not every day that a man can
experience pregancny.” And it took a while for me to process that
a man…would…want…to…be…pregnant.
BTW, he’s sleeping right now…on the job. But he just woke up.
Today’s Alanna Knapp’s B-day. She’s 26. All the CAMPUS men,
IR, Justin, Doc, and Bro. Randy took her out to eat…quite an
interesting group of people eating. Dr. Pipim wore his striped
polo shirt. Colors: orange, black, and white. It looked
very “festive.” Justin’s pizza had chicken, and mine had bacon
(CPK). I think I might have eaten some of it too!
Judy’s sick…again. I think she got what I had in SA. Jen is over though. She’s taking care of her right now.
B-Day Thanks!
Thanks for all of the “happy birthday”(s)! I had a great day yesterday. I think the biggest surprise, apart from the “Israel-behind-the-door-surprise”, was that Jen drove all the way from Berrien Springs to come see me! She even brought over Sam’s chick’n…YUM (although, I didn’t feel too “YUM” after eating so much for dinner)! Thanks to all of you who remembered me and/or came out to spend time with me…especially my lil bro who had to take an Orgo exam right after we ate dinner! It was a long, but fun evening chilling with you guys. I feel so blessed to have such great friends like all of you. It is my prayer that we will be faithful to Jesus always! He is coming soon.
Half-way Surprise
Yesterday, I came home from school at around 5:45pm and after pulling into my driveway, I ran into the house without even bringing my bag in because Bentley hadn’t gone potty since I took him out in the morning before school. So, I burst into the house and my kitties, as always, came to say hello, and as I’m taking off my shoes, I hear a deep “hello” coming from behind the door. I look and there is a tall figure standing there. Out of shock, I screamed bloody murder as my pregnant body momentarily convulsed…IT WAS ISRAEL!!! He was supposed to come home TODAY at around noon, but he decided to surprise me by changing his flight a day early! Some surprise…I almost fainted! It was nice– after I recovered. He shared story after story about his experiences there with Chester and Shaun. He definitely had a great time hanging out with them.
He bought me a bouquet of stargazer lilies from Amsterdam and some nice “curiosos” (souvenirs) from S. Africa. Israel keeps on insisting that the flowers are tulips because in Holland, “they were only selling tulips and roses”. HAHAHA. Israel, if you read this, google “stargazer lily” and what you’ll behold is the species of flowers that are at home. I win the bet. Flower identification was never his forte.
Pregnancy is going much better…for some days. I could use some help gaining weight and I’m still waiting in anticipation for the day when I get a craving. Hopefully that will come in time. This Friday I’ll be 20 weeks…half way there!
Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard
I’m still alive! The reason why I didn’t write you back, Israel, was because on Friday, we went to Wiard’s Orchard and went apple/pumpkin picking with the students so I didn’t check email all day. SORRY! I did pick a pumpkin for you from the patch, though…if that is any consolation. It’s a cute one…and perhaps if I see Jen this weekend, we’ll make a pumpkin pie with it! That will be fun.
Happenings at home…
So, Bentley is sick too now. If he wasn’t a boy and neutered, I’d suspect he was pregnant. He barfed up all of his dinner in three separate installments, around different parts of our house. Lucky me, I got to clean it up! He’s been a little down lately…(except for when Alanna came over last night!!!) Hopefully he doesn’t have anything serious. He seemed very sleepy last night and this morning.
Well, all of you guys should come visit us sometime, for real. We’d love to have you over. Is it? YES!