20 Thanksgiving Topics

The other day, I told my sister we should come up with twenty Thanksgiving topics and put it on our blogs. She already wrote hers so you can read her Thanksgiving topics here.

Here are my Thanksgiving topics: I am thankful for...

1. Jesus dying on the cross for my sins that I may live before God. He is the zealous lover who pursues us no matter what. This is so assuring. It was God who initiated this relationship and is in control.
2. Our church family. Over and over again, I am amazed by how people love one another in our church. Despite their extremely busy schedule and lives, they make themselves available. If you ever need help in anything - tutoring, a ride, etc., there is always someone who is willing to help you.
3. The opportunity to go to attend college. I realized this year that it is such a privilege to go to college. Since most of my peers end up going to college, it seems like the norm, but compared to the rest of the world, it's not. I'm so thankful for the great opportunities to be found in and through the University of Maryland!
4. Related to the previous one, I am thankful for my parents for supporting me through college. More than this, I'm thankful that they have supported my interests throughout my life. They have sacrificed their time and money so that I could have piano and violin lessons for years. They also bought me DSLR almost two years ago. (:
5. For my best friend Hannah. I'm thankful for this friendship God has given me. We used to be so different ten years ago that no one would have guessed that we would become friends. 
6. Tea & hot chocolate on cold, rainy or snowy days.
7. YDJ. Through the discussions and lectures each Friday, I've been learning more and more of what it means to be a Christian and in aspects I have never thought about before.
8. The Holy Spirit who guided me throughout high school and still continues to guide me. Most of this semester, my prayer request was that the Holy Spirit would just guide me because I didn't know where He would lead me. I can't believe the semester is almost over! I thank God for providing such a great schedule with great professors this semester because I had no idea what I was doing when I was making my schedule at orientation. God also provided a pretty early day to schedule my classes so that when I scheduled, I had a lot of options (so thankful for AP classes).
9. My two months spent in Korea. I think my trip to Korea has opened my eyes to the cultural differences between Koreans and Americans. Then the question of - where do I fit in between by being Korean American? I believe the trip had a great impact on my life much more than I give it credit.
10. My Asian American studies class, which has taught me more about the difficulties and struggles early Asian immigrants faced. I never knew that Asians suffered so much! I knew there was racism back then, but I didn't know the extent of the hatred they faced. Now I'm really interested in the futures of first, second, and third generation of Asian Americans. 
11. My biology study group! God knew that I needed a study group and he provided me one.
12. Rides to school. I'm thankful that I get a ride to school half of the week from my dad when he's not working, which means I can sleep a little bit more (or stay up a little bit more). I've also had rides from various people (my Korean neighbor, James, msy. Abraham), which I am grateful for! 
13. The libraries at Maryland - Hornbake and Chemistry are my two favorite right now. I also really like CSPAC but it's just so far away from everything.
14. For my Bible study teacher, msy. Susanna Bae, who is always faithful and flexible with her time. I've been studying the Bible with her since freshman year of high school. Even though she had Josephine and Joanna (and now Jeremiah) and was busy as a mother, she continued to study the Bible with me! We haven't had Bible study for the past month or so after she gave birth to Jeremiah, and I realized how important the Bible studies were in my life. As Christians, we must be rooted in God's word and really study his word. The other day I was trying to explain certain parts of the Bible to my friend and I realized how difficult it must be to teach the Bible. It really revealed to me that receiving and teaching the Bible can only be done by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
15. Quality times spent with others! This morning a group of us went to Georgetown for Black Friday shopping and although there weren't major sales in Georgetown, I really enjoyed just spending time with them. 
16. Mothers & their prayers. They're so genuine & sincere.
17. All of you bloggers. I enjoy reading your posts and they encourage me to look towards God and praise him for all of His good works!
18. My lovely sister who never fails to entertain me. She's so artistic and talented that I'm excited for how God's going to lead her through all of her talents.
19. Now. I'm thankful for this time God has given me in this season of life. So many things can change in a year. People I see now might be on the other side of the world in another year. Therefore I am so thankful for the relationships God has placed in my life now.
20. My license! I'm thankful that I was able to drive during my senior to school when I needed to stay after school. (:

Wait, one more. I'm thankful that I was able to volunteer at the School of Public Health this past semester on Saturday mornings! It was really fun just playing with Delia and here is a video I made for the clinic. You can see pictures of the kids and some of the things they did.

What are you thankful for?

remain in me

 This is Delia, the child I'm responsible for on Saturday mornings. She has three cute younger brothers who also come on Saturdays. She has so much energy that I spend most of the two hours chasing her around. I really enjoyed volunteering at the clinic and I can't believe next Saturday is the last one for the semester.

2013 is an interesting year.

Stewardship

In YDJ, we have been studying different aspects on what it means to be a Christian.
Last Friday, Abe lead the meeting on the topic of stewardship, a word we don't use often.

A steward knows the master's will, who he or she is, never misses an opportunity, and is faithful.

After our group discussions, we established 4 principles of stewardship.

1. God is the owner and he owns everything. Therefore we are stewards to what belongs to God, which includes our talents, time, and money.
2. Responsibility to do the owner's will.
3. Accountability. What are we doing with the time given to us? We are accountable to God.
4. Reward. There is an eternal reward. 

As I was learning this, a great relief washed over me as I realized that I am not the owner. I don't have to worry about making things go according to my plans because God is sovereign. He's the owner. I also realized that I've been viewing school more of a burden rather than something I enjoyed. I realized that I can have two different approaches to what God has given me. I can accept them as burdens, a laundry list of things that need to get done. Or I can enjoy it. God doesn't have big plans for my life to watch me struggle on my own. He's going to be with me every single step of the way. Instead of focusing on getting every step of the way perfect, God has been teaching me to rely on him. I don't know where He's going to lead me in one year, five years, or twenty years, but I am certain He has the best plans for my life. He's full of grace and mercy. Last Thursday, so many things were going wrong one after another. I was feeling sick and couldn't think clearly, but you know, God was full of grace.

"Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."
-1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blessed his people with peace." 

- Psalm 29:11

"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

- Hebrews 13:20 

Coram Deo

"What Does 'Coram Deo' Mean?" (read the full article by clicking on it!)

"To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God...

     The Christian who compartmentalizes his or her life into two sections of the religious and the nonreligious has failed to rasp the big idea. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. To divide life between the religious and the nonreligious is itself a sacrilege.

     This means that if a person fulfills his or her vocation as a steelmaker, attorney, or homemaker coram Deo, then that person is acting every bit as religiously as a soul-winning evangelist who fulfills his vocation. It means that David was as religious when he obeyed God's call to be a shepherd as he was when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship. It means that Jesus was every bit as religious when He worked in His father's carpenter shop as He was in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

     Integrity is found where men and women live their lives in a pattern of consistency. It is a pattern that functions the same basic way in church and out of church. It is a life that is open before God. It is a life in which all that is done is done as to the Lord. It is a life lived by principle, not expediency; by humility before God, not defiance. It is a life lived under the tutelage of conscience that is held captive by the Word of God."

I read this article two weeks ago and it's been floating in the back of my mind. The part that stuck out to me the most was "David was as religious when he obeyed God's call to be a shepherd at he as when he was anointed with the special grace of kingship." Whether we feel like we're doing big things or God or living through the daily, mundane routines of life, we are living for God. I pray that God may be glorified through my studies although everything is so uncertain at this moment. College is hard. But God will bring me through. All I can do is come before God and ask him to lead me because I just don't know how to approach some assignments. Also some things are just so hard that I can't do it on my own. 

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." - Proverbs 27:1

This verse is so good! Although I may not consciously acknowledge it, there's a plan on the back of my mind on how my life is supposed to be like. I realized that I really don't know about five, ten, or twenty years from now, but I have plans on how tomorrow, next week, or this semester is supposed to be like. However, all I can do is bring it all down to God and let him lead me. He has the best plans for me!

For example, after my first biology test I knew that I needed to be in a study group. And of course God knew this too! Somehow I got involved in a formation of a study group and it has been so helpful in preparing for the next test. Thank God! I have my bio test in two hours...