many of my favorite things… (in picture form) November 27, 2009

so though the transition to chinar has been quite rough (again more than i can explain), I must say.. there is MUCH that i am thankful for.. and besides the list of 100. I am learning that I have many favorite things in chinar.. that totally make each waking moment go by sooo much better.. truly.. each of these are a reminder of His Gr8ce and His love for mee ^___^

1. the joy of traveling with mommy chan to Qing Dao & the freezing cold beaches in china-r.

2. the sun still sparkles when shining on water. 

3. 2nd Grade creativity and knowledge: Alex’s Octopus research project: (made of clay and sand)did you know that octopus have three hearts? their blood is blue? and the male dies after it mates, and the females die after its eggs hatch? 3b. Elaine’s Ostrich (made of a waterbottle, chopsticks and cotton). did you know that an ostrich is the largest bird in the world? they have no natural enemy. they like to eat shiny things. so they often eat diamonds, therefore diamond hunters kill ostriches to get the diamonds.

4.  really cute little girls named Skylar (named after luke skywalker) that has ridiculous parents that are such an example of what it means to abandon all for the sake of the g-spel.

5. living by so many water towns: jiaxing

6. the quality people that are a part of P.Co and the awesome accountability group i have.. specifically from L to R: Mary, Andrea, me, Annie, and Vivian. (NO JOKE, their names are QUITE similar to a few of my FAVORITE friends!!)

7. Hotpot. 

8. Birthday surprises/celebrations for my close favorite friends here. (L to R: Jen Shang, Diane, Susannah, Dana, me, Danielle, JenChan).

9. H1N1 Vaccination at SMIC: my pretty korean boy, ian, was scared outta his mind.. while my class clown, alex, was being silly. Getting the H1N1 vaccination in china is a bit ridiculous.. but its china. expect the unexpected.. look at them. 🙂 SOOO cute.

10. my athletic class that won  GOLD medals for Sport’s day, YAY Matthew!! YAY 2D!!

11. jolin that almost “froze her nose off” because miss chan made her go out to do morning exercise. lol.

12. Kathleen’s Family & Family friends coming to visit and chris and… 🙂 🙂 🙂

13.  shanghainese food!! Xiao Nan Guo… haven’t had this good stuff since i left CA. 🙂 🙂 🙂 xiang jin bao, xiao long bao, and, fai zhu ro, dao miao and bamboo shoots 🙂

14. mirror pictures and KATHLEEN being with me in SH!! 🙂

15. for chris and kathleen, for the catch-ups, the laughters, the company that was so memorable! 🙂 

16. china version of Taco trucks: Yummy taiwanese sandwiches (fatty pork, lettuce, and spicy spices) off the subway street venders

17.  nice evening stroll around Sci & Tech trying to find a KFC. and running for our lives across the street

18. Mcdonald’s in china. at the begining it was so frustrating to go out to eat because if you cant speak you cant read and dont know what to order. most places in SH dont have english menus.. except for McD’s. ALWAYS will be a favorite.. DEEP FRIED TARO PIE!! 🙂

19. the ability to bargin and for getting cheap fake jackets and hats to save us from the freezing cold SH winters.

20. the ability to pamper myself for very cheap. ^__^ (look carefully) ^___^

21. birthday celebrations in the classroom with poppers ^_^

22. Kids being kids ^__^ their laughter, goofyness, sillyness, their ability to make me laugh. for my T.A.

23. the gracious invitation to Pstor Jason’s house for our first thanksgiving away from home ^__^ and the conviction, whether in china or in the states to reach out to the “homeless” in the future.

24.  Classroom Thanksgiving feast/potluck: especially Homemade Kimbap

25. Homeroom moms: their thoughtfulness, generosity, and support.. 🙂 organized our thanksgiving meal wiht TONS of leftovers that i could bless many other teachers with after school and.. will probably last me until NEXT weeek!

26. playgrounds,  friday fun, when my kids are SOOO good they earn rewards ^_^ from monkey bars, to swings, to frisbees, to soccer, to play structures, and laughing hysterically.

27. raising up servant boys and girls: whether cleaning my white board or getting me hot water ^_^

28. Soft serve ice cream and street food: bacon wrapped mushrooms to lamb skewers ^_^ 

29. nice big bed, with clean ikea sheets,  level 5 in warmth down comforter,  down pillows, and an electric blanket. my desk whiich has my laptop which lets me VCHAT/SKYPE! 🙂

30. goose/duck feathers in a down jacket ^__^ that keep me from freezing ^__^ i actually got two: a red and a white, not this blue one.

sooo in china.. though theres many “inconviences” in life.. there are also MANY blssings. though we may not count them all… He gives UNENDINGLY!

overwhelmed with gratitude, christine ^__^

future Gr8ce by j.pipe excerpts November 26, 2009

THANK YOU ZOYA for the book. and for many that purchased it thinking to get it for me ^__^!! 🙂 i am SO blssed!

… “[i must] live my life between two lines of “Amazing Gr8ce.” the first line: “tis gr8ce has brought me safe thus far.” the second line: “and gr8ce will lead me home.” Before I could explain it, I leanred that believing the first line fortifies faith in the second line; and believing the second line empowers radical obedience to J3SUS.” pg 6

christine wants an…

  …in and out cheese burger and french fries. mmm ::drools::

Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

wow. first thanksgiving away from home.. 🙂 happy slapsgiving ^__^ (HIMYM has new episodes that i cannot see!! boo!)

well.. i think this thanksgiving.. i could tell you many things that i am NOT thankful for…  however, there are MANY things i am. so since its thanksgiving, and were called to give thanks in all circumstances.. im just gonna list a few of the MANY that i am thankful for these past months… (in no particular order, well some are, and im sure im missing many!)

1. J*sus,  Father, and HS.
2. the cross, gr8ce, mercy
3. fruit of spirit
4. the word
5. family
6. friends (old and new)
7. BASICS
8. CBCSJ
9. DCCC/Compass/Acacia
10. Universal body
11. knowing i am loved by the king
12. how he expresses his love through people
13. provision of food
14. provision of shelter
15. packages!!!
16. HOTPOT in China-r
17. Kim bap
18. hot water
19. fruits
20. corny/lame/cheesey jokes
21. the ability to walk
22. the ability to see
23. thoughtful friends
24. long lunches
25. American holidays
26. the beauty of skype
27. the wonderfulness of videochating
28. having a job
29. my kids
30. my limited chinese
31. being fluent in english
32. being cantonese
33. laughter
34. sunrises
35. my small group
36. the ch*rch here in SH-TEF
37. p.co
38. clean air (wish there was more here)
39. stars at night
40. GCHAT
41. threads in gmail
42. innocence of children
43. moldability
44. resilience
45. cheese
46. quesadillas!
47. digital cameras
48. the sparkles on water when sun rays hit it.
49. Tongue scraper
50. floss
51. Pearl earrings
52. friends that come to visit my life here in SH
53. having a “simple” life
54. water colors
55. electric blanket
56. goose down jackets
57. fake markets (science and tech)
58. HIMYM
59. ridiculous english phrases/names/words that come from chinese people
60. jap jae
61. fan tuan and the guy that makes it
62. taxi’s being relatively cheap
63. eyelash extensions
64. POST-IT’s
65. Expo markers!
66. crayola
67. rubber spatula’s
68. mugs with lids
69. tupperware
70. double-sided tape
71. soft toliet paper
72. index cards
73. north face backpackets
74. x-tian literature
75. peanut butter
76. facebook (though limited)
77. subway/buses/taxi- all public transportation
78. maps
79. Qtips
80. bath and body soap
81. cell phones
82. down comforters
83. down pillows
84. curtains that keep out sunlight
85. elevators
86. guards that sometimes help you cross the street
87. abitlity to travel
88. lotion
89. facewash
90. internet
91. rice cookers
92. refridgerators that are bigger than most
93. things in bulk
94. doctors and medical hospitals
95. chapstick-softlips
96. mirrors
97. umbrellas
98. rainboots
99. slippers
100. blue toliet water! ^__^

haha. theres one hundred things im very simply thankful for…. i think i did that in less than 10 minutes. 🙂 i am thankful though i may complain.. theres so many things we can see that are from him. i really think i have turned all the way around. PTL. i feel like myself once again.. 🙂 PTL. i am learning to be content whatever the circumstance. he is SO good. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

i will leave you with this photo… of my cute boy alex being silly as he was getting the H1N1 vaccination shot. 🙂 more stories to come ^_^ happy slapsgiving, y’all! 🙂

 

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee… November 7, 2009

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed…. we do not lose heart. Though we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an e*ernal gl*ry that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is e*ernal.

2 cor. 4:8-9, 16-18

A story that i was bl*ssed by….

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up; She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The da! ughter t hen asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door,how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are ! like the bean, when things are at their worst,you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

(photo of homecooked meal)